WeMentor Mondays with Nancy PODCAST

Episode 351: Building Multi-Million Dollar Businesses with Skip Thaler, Part IV Episode Notes In our three-part podcast series, Skip Thaler generously shared what it took for him and his family to build several multi-million-dollar businesses. Today you will learn the confluence of events that led to Skip’s decision to sell his 25-rental properties. The properties he and Jill worked so hard to acquire, fix up, and rent out. You will find out how our prior podcast conversations played a part in selling his last 7-bundled properties to one buyer. Skip dives into how he made the decision and how it affected his wife, Jill, and their three adult-children: Tim, George, and Sara. You will also hear Skip’s concerns for future landlords with rental properties in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. There are long-term consequences to the social unrest and violence after George Floyd’s murder and a Renter Protection Ordinance passed by the Minneapolis City Council that went into effect on June 1, 2020. Plus, I found new rules for screening renters in effect for 2023. Read it HERE.  In 2021, another life-changing decision was made. Skip and Jill moved to Bonita Springs, Florida. Find out why moving from Lakeville, Minnesota to Florida made sense. A Brief Recap of Skip’s Multi-Million Dollar Businesses Skip’s first job out of school was in sales with IBM. He left there to start as a manufacturer representative; a business selling Fleetwood tires. That led to the most successful Fleetwood Franchise in the United States. Skip created a brokerage business to sell discontinued and blemished tires that grew into $13M in yearly sales. This financial success positioned him to merge his company with Tires Plus, combining the sales volume to $25M. At Tires Plus, Skip worked to help grow the business to $50M, selling his ownership in 1991 to his two business partners. Semi-retirement allowed Skip to pursue his love of sailing and found an international tire wholesale business, Intercontinental Marketing Corporation (IMC), while upholding his 5-year United States non-compete agreement. IMC is the birthplace of three pledges Skip made to himself. No more hiring of W-2 employees. IMC will not carry accounts receivable. He will not own inventory. Keeping faithful to his three promises, Skip prepared his company for George, his son, to join him in 1998 to learn the tire trading business. They diversified into motorcycle tires and used truck tires (casings) for retreaders. That business generated more than $10M in sales. Uniquely positioned in the marketplace, they kept their expenses under 8% of their gross profit, so 92 cents out of every dollar went to the bottom line. In 2012, his other son, Tim, joined the business as Skip transitioned into a new business. The business of acquiring brownstone apartment buildings in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Skip acquired 25 buildings with more than 400 apartment units. In our third podcast conversation, we learned that in December 2019, Skip purchased his 25th and last acquisition, an 8-unit complex Brownstone apartment building built in 1890 by the Cathedral in St. Paul, Minnesota. Skip enjoyed 20+ years of renovating and restoring these 100-year-old apartment complexes making each complex a standout in the neighborhood. He describes himself as the opposite of a slum lord investing to make everything appealing, from the curbside to each building’s inside. Skip’s attention to detail was apparent with the purchase of his 25th property, too. Original photographs from the late 1800s of the Brownstone properties were adorned in the hallways and entryways, giving a personalized touch. Beautifully landscaped yards with Mum-filled planters outside the buildings in the fall changed seasonally to make tenants feel good. New vintage lightwork, 100% wool carpets, restoring the house, and preserving past woodwork are a few examples of Skip’s effort for each tenant to feel they have a nice place to live in.

Episode 350: An Honest Self-Assessment of Mental Health with Daniel Libby Episode Notes Enmeshment is common amongst entrepreneurial leaders. Whether you have a psychology degree or not, it is natural, almost necessary, to be totally engrossed in realizing a big vision. I am not talking about workaholism, where there is a hyper-fixation on work with little joy, although that might be some of what Daniel Libby, Ph.D., is sorting out. I am talking about implementing a big vision that, to achieve it, encompasses your entire being. Dan gives an honest self-assessment of his mental health at the end of his 12-year reign. Dan acknowledges how difficult it has been to separate his identity and self-worth from Veterans Yoga Project. A national organization he built over 12 years. Separating your identity and self-worth from your entity is a real thing. We can be so focused on achieving the mission that we forget about the people in front of us, as Dan realized. Almost always, these are the gems we uncover during significant life changes like the sale or closing of a business or in Dan’s case, transitioning out of a nonprofit enterprise. He is taking the first quarter of 2023 to reflect. This includes a 10-day Vipassana Retreat. We discuss the purpose of a silent retreat and what he fears. During the last six months of 2022, Dan deliberately planned to pass his Executive Director role to the well-respected veteran Brianna Renner. It took courage to recognize that this next growth phase for Veterans Yoga Project is best carried out with a new leader and operations officer, Brianna Renner. Thankfully, his leadership team and board of advisors agreed. At the start of 2023, as a freed-up man ready to take a sabbatical to figure out the next phase of his lifework. He is looking forward to self-focus and self-growth and discovering something that can be as rewarding, joy-inspiring, and fulfilling as the work he did to advance Veterans Yoga Project, only on a smaller scale. His statement reminded me of a friend who finished an Ironman Triathlon saying she would never do that again. A few months later, she is contemplating her next Ironman Triathlon. To refresh your memory from last week’s podcast conversation, Dan worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Yale University Department of Psychiatry at the West Haven VA Medical Center, Connecticut. “While providing psychotherapy for veterans recovering from PTS(D), he found that those who developed empowering self-regulating practices had better outcomes — they moved through post-traumatic stress to post-traumatic growth more quickly and gracefully,” as summed up on the website. Thus, the idea for the VYP was born in 2010. The Veterans Yoga Project (VYP) was formalized in Alameda, CA, in 2014. They are on a mission to support recovery and resilience among veterans, military families, and communities. We explore more of what Dan learned as a leader. One basic leadership lesson was to allow people to be who they are and let them do what they need to do as executive team leaders, volunteers, or staff members. We also discuss his excitement for the future of VYP and re-emerging with a new vision once he accumulates all the wins and integrates the lessons he learned along the path of self-leadership mastery and life success. My Reflection on Balance I don’t believe an equal balance is achievable in small business ownership and entrepreneurial leadership. We need to be ‘all in.’ I mean invested, determined, and committed to the entrepreneurial journey, which is all about trial and error, learning as quickly as possible, and cash flowing our life as we realize our vision and live our mission. Instead, we are better off focusing on meeting the seven Universal Human Needs categories of connection, physical well-being, honesty, play, peace, autonomy, and meaning. When our needs are met regularly, we increase feelings of affection, engagement, excitement, confidence, inspiration, exhilaration,

Episode 349: Daniel Libby Passes the Leadership Baton of Veterans Yoga Project Episode Notes Daniel Libby, Ph.D., and I are both in transition. He is in a huge transition; mine is a blip on the Adobe Audition editing screen. We discuss his evolution that coincides with an abrupt departure from my sound technician and my quick learning to edit WeMentor Mondays with Nancy PODCAST. At the end of 2022, Dan passed the leadership baton at the Veterans Yoga Project to Brianna Renner. Dan started 2023 as a freed-up man ready to take a 6-month sabbatical to figure out his next step. He is looking forward to self-focus and self-growth after founding and growing the Veteran’s Yoga Project (VYP) over the last 12 years. Maybe develop a private practice? Dan was working as a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Yale University Department of Psychiatry at the West Haven VA Medical Center, Connecticut. “While providing psychotherapy for veterans recovering from PTS(D), he found that those who developed empowering self-regulating practices had better outcomes — they moved through post-traumatic stress to post-traumatic growth more quickly and gracefully,” as summed up on the website. Thus, the idea for the VYP was born in 2010. The Veterans Yoga Project (VYP) was formalized in Alameda, CA, in 2014. They are on a mission to support recovery and resilience among veterans, military families, and communities. We talk about his leadership accomplishments and the excitement for the future of VYP. When I called Dan to let him know I was reposting our podcast conversations, he informed me of his decision to pass the baton of leadership to Brianna Renner. VYP is a nonprofit educational and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of military veterans. By providing support to all veterans, whether they are currently struggling with severe symptoms or focused on increasing resilience and giving back to others, VYP is doing its part to serve those who have served in our armed forces. Trained instructors teach over 100 free yoga classes weekly for veterans and their families across the country. They partner with veterans, active-duty military personnel, student veterans’ organizations, and other non-profit organizations.  In October of 2022, I reposted our two 2018 podcast conversations (see Episode Resources). After re-listening to them, I was reinspired about life and leadership and heard what takes precedence your entity or its mission; and how we can create space for post-traumatic growth. Those conversations helped me as I committed to taking on the editing role of this podcast for 2023. My phone call with Dan sparked my curiosity to schedule a new podcast conversation so you can hear how Dan’s leadership baton passing is going. In entrepreneurship, learning new things under pressure is what we do. The intensity of our emotions is ever present because we need to learn new things fast while keeping the cash flowing. In learning this new editing role, we discuss a core component of psychological well-being, frustration tolerance, and an example of how Dan works with his 10-year-old daughter as she bumps into the frustration of learning something new. The tools of self-mastery that we learn through yoga, meditation, and breathing practices help us during these transitions and learning opportunities, so “we don’t absorb the stresses of that thing, causing us anxiety. We can stay in the present moment,” says Dan. That is the goal. Stay in charge of our emotions, not letting them control us and our behavior. We can be grounded and focused on solving problems without moving into muddled thinking or a rigid mindset. Real growth for a yogi is expanding your practice beyond the yoga mat. I had a chance to do just that. Others we lead have feelings, too, as we problem-solve together. Dan and I chat about that. My transition brings up a metaphor for life. It takes many attempts to communicate with a human and get into the emotional ...

Episode 348: Up Level Your Brand to Reflect Consumers’ Changed Behavior with Ann Anderson Episode Notes With so many creative people making products people love, why are some brands making them on retail shelves and online stores while others never get their products into the average consumer’s hands? Ann Anderson of Retail Partner Solutions explains how big-box retailers have changed, current trends in consumer behavior and which group of consumers are leading these trends. Learn how to Level Up your product brands to bridge the gap between brands, retailers, and consumers.  Ann’s positivity and joy radiate through the sound waves as we start with how she separates her identity from her business cash flow fluctuations, from one product launch to the next and from one client to the next. We continue with Ann’s experience as a business owner and what her 30 years of retail expertise and services can do to get your products on store shelves and in the hands of consumers. The flow of our conversation is organized so you can engage in learning without feeling overwhelmed. Ann is a fast talker releasing a plethora of valuable content. I found myself as inspired to take notes as I did when I first aired our conversation on August 16, 2021. Leveling Up topics we discuss: What Leveling Up your brand means and how to do it. What it takes to get products into specialty stores, grocery stores of all types, regionally expand, and increase chances of getting into mass retailers. The gestation period for getting products online and on big-box retail shelves. Certifying your business can be a game-changer with big-box retailers if you qualify. Certification websites are outlined in the Episode Notes. Social media from the client’s perspective or consumer, and what big-box retailers look at and consider when going with a brand or not. Benefits of pro bono work as a brand strategy. Wholesale Case Study: How to modify a product strategy from a retailer and channel perspective. Building Buyer Relationships. Ann’s extensive database of buyers and different levels within big-box retailers (the chain of command) and what you need to know. E-Commerce Product Process: determining where you are. Supply Chain Logistics: scaling capabilities, quantity, and timeliness to replenishing store shelves. What to be aware of right now within supply chains. Marketing and Customizing Brand Sheets. What information to include when approaching a retailer? Handling Negotiations. What you need to know. Product Differentiator. Sustainable products and packaging can be reduced, reused, and recycled. Find out how else you can differentiate your products and services. Trends Affecting Big-Box Retailers and Consumer Behavior. Do a quick search exercise on Target.com. Ways to be responsive to consumer behavior changes. We finish with Ann highlighting critical Up Leveling strategies so you can close the gap between your brand, retailers, and consumers.  DOWNLOAD         NEXT STEP: Challenge yourself and do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below.  Podcast Sponsor Redefine how you lead and redesign your business. Dual innovation leadership works! Strategies to Grow Your Business Meaningful Conversations Leading to Action Evolve How You Lead Get Support, Insight, Accountability SUBSCRIBE NOW    HIRE A MENTOR       Episode Resources Black-Owned Beyond Measure Brands at Target Black-Owned Beyond Measure Brands at Target Certification Websites LGBTQ-owned businesses (sba.gov)Minority-owned businesses (sba.gov)Native American-owned companies (sba.gov)Veteran-owned businesses (sba.gov)Veteran assistance programs (sba.gov)Women-owned firms (sba.gov)Perks of Registering as a Women-Owned Business (nextdoor.com)Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program (sba.gov) Small Business Administration Guide Small Business Administration Guide

Episode 347: Ann Anderson Gets Products into Big-Box Retailers Episode Notes “New products are hitting store shelves every two minutes,” says Ann. How are entrepreneurs gaining expertise quickly? By hiring a retail specialist. Ann Anderson, MBA, and founder of Retail Partner Solutions, LLC, gives a brief overview of what we need to know about getting our products on Big-Box retailer store shelves like Walmart, Costco, Lunds & Byerlys, Hy-Vee, Petco, Target, Specialty Stores, to name a few. If you are rolling out new products in the food and beverage space, consider talking with Ann. Her retail expertise, resources, and strategies could help you accelerate growth. She has a proven record of succeeding across many categories, including launches of kid’s snacks, home essentials, pet products, coffee, ethnic products, and beverages. Here are some of the questions Ann answers still pertinent in 2022 and 2023: What is needed to get your finished product ready for Big-Box Retailers? Why not approach Big-Box Retailers yourself? When is a good time to hire a retail specialist? Do you have your channel strategy worked out? What is the priority of your brand from a channel perspective? What is the timeline for getting new products on retail shelves? What elements do you need to organize? Online operates differently; in what ways and what do you need to consider? What is involved before and after getting our products on store shelves? In 2021, when we taped this conversation, I asked Ann about closing the door on corporate employment and planting her feet solidly in business ownership. It is an essential step in succeeding with a new venture after leaving a fulfilling legacy in corporate America. Owning and committing to each part of redesigning your future is exercising bravery. Listen to her answer. DOWNLOAD U.S. and Global Entrepreneurship in 2021 and 2022 I was curious to learn about 2020 and whether our economy started more businesses than closed. Yes, that is the simple answer. On average, annually about 130,000 U.S. businesses close. In 2020 the number of closings spiked to 200,000, as reported by the Federal Reserve. We won’t know the accurate number until well into 2023. Use the table below to understand how many new U.S. businesses formed in which month and year. This will give you an idea of business start-up trends. We started 2021 with 134,623 new businesses more than in December 2020. We are ending this year with new business formations up from prior years. The future looks brighter than the prior few years, but who knows what is behind the horizon. I know that with faith and purpose, we can get through anything.   U.S. New Business Formations   YEAR     MONTH     New U.S. Businesses Formed   2004     August (1st-month new businesses were tracked)     159,076     December     193,153   2005   January   202,362     December   233,400       2020   January     279,273   December   347,372     2021   January     481,995   December   420,388       2022   January   430,372     October       432,258       November   418,905   Here, you can look up all kinds of industry-specific data from the U.S. Government Census website.  Here is a pdf report on how women entrepreneurs and men faired in 2021 and 2022.  You can read an executive summary from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor here.         NEXT STEP: Challenge yourself and do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below.    Podcast Sponsor Redefine how you lead and redesign your business. Dual innovation leadership works! Strategies to Grow Your Business Meaningful Conversations Leading to Action Evolve How You Lead Get Support, Insight, Accountability SUBSCRIBE NOW    HIRE A MENTOR       Episode Resources Business Exits During COVID Federal Reserve Statistics Business and Industry Trends

Episode 346: Ann Anderson Transforms from Corporate Executive to Resilient Retail Specialist Episode Notes In 2019, Ann Anderson’s aspirations changed. She left her 31-year corporate career with TIME, Inc. to launch Retail Partner Solutions, Inc. We discuss how she went from an employee mindset to acquiring an entrepreneurial mindset and the resiliency it took to land on her feet as the retail industry remarkably changed forever in 2020. Ann Anderson, MBA, has three decades worth of retail expertise. Her enthusiasm for getting client products into big retail stores like Target, Costco, and Walmart is make-it-or-break-it for clients. Ann does whatever it takes to move herself and her clients forward. She strategically works the odds of success in her client’s favor. Ann has this relatable quality that is part of resiliency. Relating skillfully to others and our world makes us feel safe and connected and helps us bounce back from failures and heartbreak. In Ann’s younger years, you will hear the strategy behind her three strengths in relating. According to Rick Hanson, Ph.D., resilient individuals have three strengths they exercise when relating: courage, aspiration, and generosity. I re-listened to this 2021 conversation with Ann. The anxiety I felt quickly dissolved as I relaxed into the conversation and connected with Ann’s upbringing. It is comforting to hear how her Italian Mother and German Father raised her and Ann’s two brothers. Ann says, “I come from a family of strength.” She and her husband, Howard Anderson, have passed the baton of strength to the next generation by raising two resilient adult children. Ann has been a client of mine since 2019. Every time we have a conversation, I witness greatness in the making. Being a quick and enthusiastic sponge absorbing as much learning as her mind can take in fuels her entrepreneurial leadership. Hear other parts of our inspiring conversation: The most significant shift Ann needed to make in going from a corporate mindset to an entrepreneurial mindset. Being raised by an Italian Mother and German Father. The impact of moving from Michigan to Iowa. Ann’s derailed experience with an injury as a gymnast in high school and the courage it took to reshape her aspirations. Ann’s two brothers, who liked to play tricks on her, prepared her for speaking up in corporate settings. Early on, when there was a noticeable gender disparity, Ann’s courageous voice helped get a girls’ sports team started. The gems Ann learned being a senior executive at TIME, Inc. Pitching over 30 products and what she learned starting a business in a pandemic. Her life mentors, including her gymnastics coach and me. Her passion for bridging the gap between buyers and brands.  Note how Ann cleverly packaged her retail expertise and got busy connecting with entrepreneurs in the food, beverage, kitchen, and other miscellaneous industries. Getting products in big-box retailers like Target, Walmart, Costco, and others is a hurry-up and wait-for kind of game. As a results-driven executive and retail strategist, Ann continually understands each retailer’s processes and timelines. Being skilled at building relationships is a must, and Ann is exceptional at it. DOWNLOAD P.S. Fast forward about one minute to jump into the current information. I also mention the book I am still writing. The title is not yet solidified, but it is about mentoring and how you can be resilient as you evolve with your business.         NEXT STEP: Challenge yourself and do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below.  Podcast Sponsor Redefine how you lead and redesign your business. Dual innovation leadership works! Strategies to Grow Your Business Meaningful Conversations Leading to Action Evolve How You Lead Get Support, Insight, Accountability SUBSCRIBE NOW    HIRE A MENTOR       Episode Resources 3 Top Small Business Trends in 2022

Episode 345: Building Multi-Million Dollar Businesses with Skip Thaler, Part III Episode Notes Skip was building Intercontinental Marketing Corporation (IMC) while starting another venture. Purchasing duplexes and fourplexes as a passive investor served his interests in the 1990s. It turns out tires and real estate go together. Once IMC was secure in his son George’s hands, investing in larger apartment complexes became appealing. In December 2019, Skip purchased his 25th and last acquisition, an 8-unit complex Brownstone apartment building built in 1890 by the Cathedral in St. Paul, Minnesota. He describes another critical point in his success, hiring a management company for real estate to handle the day-to-day activities like collecting rent. A common thread to all his ventures was working with small groups of contract workers to manage the details so he could focus on other financial details like growing his businesses. Skip has enjoyed 20+ years of renovating and restoring these 100-year-old apartment complexes making each complex a standout in the neighborhood. He describes himself as the opposite of a slum lord investing to make everything appealing, from the curbside to each building’s inside. Skip’s attention to detail is apparent in this venture too. Original photographs from the late 1800s of the Brownstone properties are adorned in the hallways and entryways, giving a personalized touch. Beautifully landscaped yards with Mums-filled planters outside the buildings in the fall changed seasonally to make tenants feel good. New vintage lightwork, 100% wool carpets, restoring the house, and preserving past woodwork are a few examples of Skip’s effort into each building and unit so people could have a nice place to live in. ‘A crowning blow’ turned 2020 into a liquidating year instead of an expansive one when a confluence of events induced a stress-related wake-up call. The coronavirus pandemic hit—riots in Minneapolis and St. Paul. A growing adverse political climate towards Minneapolis businesses and, to some extent, in St. Paul created a hostile environment and a no-win scenario for business property owners. You will learn more about that. Skip’s advice. City governments must work more effectively with small business owners to rebuild our Twin Cities. Private property owners feel abandoned. Skip says, “the long-term problems are greater than people realize.” Hear the details. A 52-Year-Old Memory Resurfaced. This experience provoked a 52-year-old memory for Skip. When Skip started at IBM, he needed training in Detroit, Michigan. Visiting Detroit, he felt sadness and fright after Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered on April 4, 1968. Riots broke out for a week. He will never forget the smell of burning houses and watching tanks roll down the street. These feelings resurfaced after the protests against police brutality broke out upon George Floyd’s death on May 4, 2020, in Minneapolis. With resolve, Skip says that it will take decades to rebuild and repair the damage done to our city and its people that summer. In some respects, the Twin Cities are forever changed. Skip Thaler ends 2020 with a complex but liberating decision. In an upcoming episode, you will hear the outcome of his decision to sell his 25 rental properties and what our podcast conversations had to do with it. Attributes of Resiliency One of Skip’s endearing qualities is his willingness to acknowledge his limitations and strengths and reflect on his learnings. These qualities are attributes of having a resilient spirit. Often entrepreneurs are accused of being workaholics. Are you a workaholic or a hard worker? Find out for yourself. Take the WeMentor Workaholism Quiz. Another key to Skip’s success is his long-term stable relationships with Jill, their adult children, and their families. Big thank yous to his excellent support staff and many accolades to Jill, who has supported him from the start. Jill is his backbone and soulmate,

Episode 344: Building Multi-Million Dollar Businesses with Skip Thaler, Part II Multi-venture entrepreneur Skip Thaler talks about his terrifying moment after merging his Fleetwood Franchise with Tires Plus and how he influenced a workable partnership with Tom Gegax and Don Gullett to expand Tires Plus from 11 retail stores to 40 or from $25M to a $50M business. Timing and the right partnerships made the difference between success and failure in Skip’s life, always teeter-tottering on the fringes between financial disaster and exponential growth.   I just finished reading the inspiring book Shoe Dog by the founder of Nike, Inc., billionaire Phil Knight. Terrifying moments were part of his journey too. A must-read autobiography for every business owner and entrepreneurial leader who wants to learn what it takes to build a global brand. Phil wrote that until he took his athletic shoe company Nike, Inc., public in 1980, he had been in debt most of his adult life. He directed Nike from 1962 until 2004. Phil and Skip’s journeys show how women were unconsciously left out of leadership. Phil organically created his executive teams with people (men) he knew in track-n-field. The first female executive hired at Nike was in 2010, executive vice chair and general counsel Hilary Crane. Skip followed a similar course in working with men in his circles. Growing profitable businesses is intense and expensive. Phil’s borrowing to pay for his ideas started with the 50 dollars he borrowed from his dad. This led to borrowing millions of dollars from banks and other investors. Phil’s well-told story validated my experience working with business owners and entrepreneurs over these past 30 years, including Skip’s experience as he reflects on his journey here. The intensity to drive profits never lets up, which is part of the excitement and other emotions like the fear of survival that can drive humans to new heights in self-awareness and brand expansion. Cash-flowing businesses can become a science of mastering intuition and calculations in financial risk-taking, timing, and circling yourself with the right team and money resources and operating together within the restraints of moral and ethical behavior. I marvel at Skip’s impeccable timing that he has honed over decades of launching, growing, and shaping new ventures. He trusts his intuition, especially when he is freaked out. Even his hobbies of growing 1,000 orchids and sailing worldwide have a depth of time mastery in their life cycle. When the idea starts taking shape and curiosity grows, is that when Skip’s passion emerges, and his focus, skillsets, and energy take hold? Or does his entrepreneurial leadership process take shape differently? You decide. Another element in timing is within the ‘windows of opportunity’ where critical decisions can create wealth. Skip discusses those leaps of faith and how he lands firmly on his feet with boundaries that support healthy relationships. Below are some pivotal moments within the spectrum of timing we discuss. The business model of the wholesale and retail sides of the tire business begins competing. Now what? He was turning over inventory. How about someone else worrying about turning the inventory? Skip has another idea that works better for him and his temperament. Who of the four partners has the most significant financial exposure? How long can one sustain financial exposure? How many nights can you go without sleep before changing your economic model? A hiring technique that works for each new hire. I am regaining self-productivity by founding Intercontinental Marketing Corporation. Learning the international marketplace with a $5,000 investment: bank site drafts and third-party freight forwarders lowers financial risk and is efficient. Tires have cosmetic issues, too; how. Skip capitalized on blemishes—building a family-owned business. Passing the baton from one generation to the next.

Episode 343: Building Multi-Billion Dollar Businesses with Skip Thaler, Part I An obsession with opportunities started in his twenties for Skip Thaler, a multi-venture entrepreneur. We start when Skip is out of graduate school and working at IBM. His entrepreneurial mind recognized his first business opportunity. This inspires Skip to start a new business and build it into a viable business. He perfects the process of generating millions of dollars in multiple ventures and breaks down his life story by reflecting on learned lessons. This first of three conversations lays the foundation of Skip’s entrepreneurial lifestyle. His ability to recognize opportunities and develop businesses from them is not unique to him. It is a unique skill set that all entrepreneurs possess and often take for granted or don’t realize that others do not see opportunities as they do, nor do they want to risk their livelihoods to pursue a higher goal that potentially could fail. That is one of the reasons why it takes so much energy to get new products and services into the marketplace. We must help others see the opportunity and convince them that the risk of trying our new products or services in their stores or investing in your new venture is worth it. Skip summarizes five lessons from his first ventures, including a 5-5-2 theory he learned from his tire business that you won’t want to miss. You will get an answer to this question, is this theory what led him to his next venture with Tires Plus? I first aired this series on November 23, 2020. That year turned into a liquidating year for Skip. Instead of expanding his real estate holdings, a confluence of events led him to sell his properties. The coronavirus pandemic hit. Riots in Minneapolis and a growing adverse political climate towards Minneapolis businesses created a negative environment for business property owners. We still feel the impact of that time and subsequent events since then. We also discuss often not talked about issues like the financial and emotional sacrifices loved ones need to make. The degree of discipline it takes to become profitable. The experimentation required when implementing new business ideas. And the ethical, moral, and emotional health and well-being challenges. You will hear how Skip addresses these challenges as we begin analyzing each multi-million-dollar venture. Skip’s success is tempered by humility and compassion for others. He is the first to tell you that marrying his high school sweetheart, Jill Kroll, and building a life together raising their three children and now six grandchildren are one of the best decisions he has made. Dolly Parton described her ambition at age 74 during a Friday evening PBS Newshour episode that sparked a thought about Skip. Dolly Parton described her purpose and inspiration—releasing a Netflix musical and her first album in 30 years in 2020, A Holly Dolly Christmas—by saying, “I would rather wear out than rust out.” Skip has embraced that same philosophy, as have I. Enjoy our conversation. DOWNLOAD          NEXT STEP: Challenge yourself and do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below.  Podcast Sponsor Redefine how you lead and redesign your business. Dual innovation leadership works! Strategies to Grow Your Business Meaningful Conversations Leading to Action Evolve How You Lead Get Support, Insight, Accountability SUBSCRIBE NOW    HIRE A MENTOR       Episode Resources Tires Plus History Tires Plus History Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring After listening, do these three C.A.L.M. Activities:Take this risk: Review your venture. Crunch this year’s numbers. Assess what is going on in your industry. Make a list of the opportunities you see within your industry. Ask yourself, where can I seize an opportunity to develop, shape, and mold in 2023?Apply Self-Compassion: Sit with the list of opportunities and focus on your breath for six min...

Episode 342: 5 Levels of Conversation and a Mother and Daughter’s Business Transition Did you know that 80% of businesses worldwide are family-owned? And second-generation companies have only a 30% survival rate, according to the Family Business Institute. Tune in to hear how Dr. Lois Zachary and Lisa Fain managed a successful business transition of ownership from mother to daughter. Plus, we discuss five levels of conversation that you can use to deepen your connections during the holiday season. Dr. Zachary has been cited as “one of the top 100 minds in leadership today.” She and Lisa Fain, her daughter, were deliberate about their purpose and values, identifying a process and developing a plan. The ownership transition of the Center for Mentoring Excellence began four years before the official handoff in 2018. A coach worked with both of them and didn’t shy away from asking Dr. Zachary tough questions to help her psychologically and emotionally let go. Writing an operational manual gave Dr. Zachary a path to transfer knowledge and decades’ worth of documents, research, client information, etc. This operating manual also helped prepare Lisa to take over. Dr. Zacharay said Lisa brought freshness, curiosity, and inclusiveness into their mentoring work, especially essential now. Their formula worked, and I am grateful to re-air our conversation from November of 2021 and what worked for them. Dr. Zachary also breaks down five levels of conversation: monologue, transaction, interaction, collaborative engagement, and dialogue. In healthy relating, each person’s needs are considered equally—the same with conversation. Monologues are few and far between. The approach with each other respectfully moves to collaborative engagement and meaningful dialogue with a focus on understanding and strengthening the connection. These conversations are heartfelt, with genuine feelings and an understanding that you both are doing the best you can. You feel your authentic self when you finish the conversation. There are common misconceptions about mentoring and the cycle of mentoring that we clarify to finish our conversation with what they are looking forward to. Below is a beautiful acknowledgment Lois and Lisa included at the end of the book they co-authored, Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring. “We acknowledge each other with love, admiration, and deep gratitude. It is rare indeed that a mother and daughter get to collaborate professionally. What a privilege it has been for us to co-author this book. We encouraged each other to bring our special magic to Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring and were able to weave our subject matter expertise and varied experiences together to create a book that reflects and elevates our strengths and passions.” I don’t think a mother and daughter relationship can get much better than that. They agreed. DOWNLOAD         NEXT STEP: Challenge yourself and do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below.    Podcast Sponsor Redefine how you lead and redesign your business. Dual innovation leadership works! Strategies to Grow Your Business Meaningful Conversations Evolve How You Lead Get Support, Insight, Accountability SUBSCRIBE NOW    HIRE A MENTOR       Episode Resources Leadership Lessons from Great Family Businesses Leadership Lessons from Great Family Businesses (hbr.org) Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring After listening, do these three C.A.L.M. Activities: Take this risk or do this adventurous task: If you haven’t, purchase Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring by Dr. Lois Zachary and Lisa Fain. Then, choose a relationship you want to move from transactional interactions to collaborative conversations. Get curious and excited to learn something new about this person. Once you have decided which person to try this out with, schedule a phone conversation or in-person meeting.