Tandem Talks Podcast

Married entrepreneurs Carrie Bohlig and Craig Clickner discuss the power of side hustling, how it solves the human paradox we are all struggling with, and how it helps you live with fulfillment and create an impact. In this latest episode of Tandem Talks, Carrie and Craig will share their personal journey to side hustling, how it changed their lives, and how you can apply it to yours.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Finding your end of the spectrum
• The side hustling breakthrough
• Reasons to do side hustling
• The roadblock misconceptions
• Different opportunities to side hustle
• The side business approach
• 5 ways to side hustle skillfully

QUOTES

Craig: “I craved more freedom or independence, I realized they needed to divorce my time from my income so that I could wake up every day and do what I love.

Carrie: “So the challenge for people like me, it's not a lack of interest or passion or ideas, but it's narrowing in and down on what gets us closer to the life vision.”

Carrie: “Following the traditional logic of getting a good job and living happily ever after? It definitely insinuates there's one magical path. Yeah. But that's not really the case for most people in reality.”

Craig: “We basically were able to create a lifestyle where we are full-time parents and full-time entrepreneurs, and we wish this lifestyle and choice for everyone.”

Craig: “The reasons to side hustle are vast, there are so many beyond just diversifying your income you diversify your skills. You can use it to explore new passions and interests.”

Carrie: “You don't have to be passionate to start a business not just like you don't have to be passionate about your job, which many of you are not.”

Learn more about Carrie and Craig with the links below:

• Carrie Bohlig: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carriebohlig/
• Craig Clickner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-clickner/

Carrie and Craig were involved in TEDx and this inspired the latest episode of Tandem Talks, learn more about TEDx with the link below:

• Website: https://www.ted.com/about/programs-initiatives/tedx-program

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Be sure to visit our website at https://www.tandemconsulting.co/.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Shannon’s background and experience
• Starting up Enlivened Studios
• Improvisational Mindset in Entrepreneurship
• The concept of “yes, and”
• Collaboration in improvisation mindset
• Importance of Improvisation in communicating as an entrepreneur
• Shannon’s tips on Improvising
• Applying conversational facilitation on online platforms
• Deep thoughts on Tandem Talks (Special portion)

QUOTES

Shannon: “Improv is highly structured and highly rehearsed. And so, there are a number of concepts that performers practice. One of them that most people are familiar with is the concept of “yes, and” which doesn't always mean agree, yes actually means to receive and to witness and to accept what's been offered.”

Shannon: “When you think about that, on a stage, right, two people have to collaborate in order to build something from nothing. And, and when you take “yes, and” into a collaborative environment, magic can happen.”

Shannon: “Get curious, because people love to tell their own stories. And if you can lean in with curiosity, and start to and I don't want to overuse the word human, but humanize the people that are in the room, ask them for their own personal stories. See, if you can engage at a level that will take a little bit of the air out of the balloon.”

Shannon: “Don't forget, you can break the fourth wall. You know, you don't need to be the sage on the stage, right? You can also be the person who is saying, Does this resonate with you? How do we feel? Do we want to go in a different direction here? How's everybody doing? Do we need a break? Like what are ways that we can quote unquote, break that fourth wall to make the room more of a collective versus me behind a pedestal telling you what I know?”

Shannon: “As a facilitator, I always say connect early connect often. So how can you if you are the meeting owner? How can you get people maybe into a breakout room for five minutes at the front end and give them a simple game? Like, “hey, you have five minutes to find three, you know, three things in common, go” or two truths and a lie. You know, how can you have a little bit of fun at the front end so that people come back and have connected with somebody so that they have a true north they can go back to if they get a little bit? They lose their footing in the meeting”

Shannon: “I put myself into rooms with people that are a couple steps ahead of me. Because there's always something to learn.”

Carrie: “Well, it's nice to have people modeling that balance, I think too. But at the end of the day, we do kind of have to trust that inner voice and turn up the volume on a bit because even if we have good models of it, like we're still living with ourselves every day”

Carrie: “When you start a business like life doesn't stop, like the roller coaster doesn't stop life keeps going. But that's where I think that intuitive piece of it all is, is even more important because you don't have an employer saying you have to do this by this date. It's like, everyday like you're the boss.”

Shannon: “Just remember what your vision and your mission is, rather than appealing to what you think might be needed.”

Shannon: “Don't ask what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive, and then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” (a quote from Howard Thurman)

You can find out more about Shannon in the links below: 

• Website: enlivenedstudios.com
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/shannondeanhughes
• Twitter: shannonhughes1
• YouTube: Shannon Hughes - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKplX4Aktdcpy-tcBUe9sJQ

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Be sure to visit our website at  https://www.tandemconsulting.co/.

HIGHLIGHTS

• A lifetime of learning and micro-pivots 
• Developing CEO Dreams and an entrepreneurial spirit 
• Owning a business vs being a business owner
• Mountain climbers, craftspeople, and freedom fighters
• The 8 types of Entrepreneurship
• Working as a mergers and acquisitions advisor 
• The business model canvas
• The best way to learn about business is to run one
• What is your Return On Time?
• Being an entrepreneur can be lonely
• Deep thoughts on Tandem Talks 

QUOTES

Laurie: "If someone wants to own a business or do they want to be a business owner, I think that's where the conversation could start. What's the difference between the two? Well, one might look at it as a lifestyle. I want to have my own business, I want to be a business owner because ultimately, it's gonna give me the lifestyle that I want to live."

Laurie: "Freedom fighters, they too really value control. All three archetypes do. But the freedom fighter most of all, is the one who probably will say I am a business owner, and they will probably own that business for 20 years or longer."

Laurie: "In my story, I thought I couldn't be an entrepreneur because I didn't have the big idea. And as I have been in business so many years now, looking back 25+ years later, here I am saying I'm an entrepreneur. Well, how so? I think there are others who explore other paths. Another big path are people who are buying companies. They are acquiring businesses. They're getting an SBA loan from the government, or they're getting a loan from friends and family." 

Laurie: "For people who are really interested in exploring other options and think starting your own thing from scratch is the way to get there, I'll say to them, 'hey think again.' The other thing I would say about this notion of I can't start a business unless it's new and you know this crazy technology, I'd say, 'let's think about that, let's unpack that' and point to all kinds of examples of the type of entrepreneur that we call an Imitator. It's not negative, it's just a descriptor."

Laurie: "The number one thing is to be clear about who you are, why you're doing what you're doing, and who are you doing it for."

Laurie: "For an entrepreneur starting from scratch, what do we need to do? What is step one? Well with the students, we say, do competitive research in this space. Understand the ocean you're swimming in, the lake, the pond, the puddle, where are you stepping in, where are you swimming in." 

Craig: "Go do something, go learn. Because I say the best way to learn about business is to run one. Not like theorize, like do the canvas but don't do the canvas for six years. Do the canvas, take your time, like build it out nice, but then go learn and make the micro adjustments that we're talking about." 

Laurie: "I think that's the other side to really know from the economics in your household what do you really need to be doing because you may not truly be ready from a budget standpoint to go all in. So this test and learn, side hustle is a great way to fare that out and see if one, you would enjoy it and two, if you're seeing the market demand that you need."

You can find out more about Laurie in the links below: 

• Website: https://smalldotbig.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriebarkman/
• Business Model Canvas (Creator: Alex Osterwalder):

https://interaction.net.au/articles/business-model-canvas-template/

• 8 Types of Entrepreneurship: https://youtu.be/ceFheMe1YB4 
• Succession Stories Podcast: www.successionstories.com

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Be sure to visit our website at https://www.tandemconsulting.co/.

HIGHLIGHTS

• What problem are you trying to solve in the world?
• Just talk to business owners in the real world 
• Know your skillset and create a team to fill the gaps
• How to vet people for your dream team 
• Dig into people's motivations 
• Building a founding team is almost as serious as marriage
• Are you in it for the long haul?
• Track all the goals that you want to accomplish

QUOTES

Nick: "I like to ask, what  problem are you trying to solve in the world? That is something that everyone, if you're thinking of trying to get into business and entrepreneurship, I would encourage you to come from that angle. So it's not just like an idea in the shower."

Nick: "We empower and inspire and drive growth for entrepreneurs because this world runs because of entrepreneurship."

Nick: "Everyone is gifted in actually pretty narrow ways. But everyone has some very specific things that they probably do best in the world. I would say, first and foremost, hopefully you're able to know or discover what you're really great at and hey if you're technical, you're probably great at coding and building a product and kind of visualizing that and putting it into play. Some people are the idea people, which, that's great and fine, but you need to someone to actually build the product."

Nick: "As a leader, it's important for you to dig a little bit, because the more that you can surface from the people that want to work with you and join your team, the better you can serve them." 

Nick: "Of course, it's important to have a founding team and co-founders. But that is a very serious relationship that's a bit harder to unwind. So have that filtration process, know what you're looking for and be confident in actually saying, that's not the right time, and it's okay." 

Nick: "Look at their history. Is this person just fishing for a job and somehow create some quick income? How passionate are they about the vision and the market you're in? Do they have a past history of either working in this industry or building a product of some sort of similarity? Have they created a product before? Have they brought something to market? Do they have an exit in their history? These are things that you start filtering out. Doesn't mean that you say yes or no. You just need to know your filter."

Nick: "Have patience. Weirdly enough, success in the longevity of life is just staying in the game and waking up everyday and doing your thing. If you do that for 30 to 40 years, you will end up at the top echelon of the world because no one does anything for 40 years."

You can find out more about Nick and Founders Live in the links below: 

• Website: https://founderslive.mn.co/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jnickhughes/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FoundersLive

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Be sure to visit our website at https://www.tandemconsulting.co/.

HIGHLIGHTS

02:28 The Dames: Empower more women into 7-figure and C-suite roles

08:14 Networking in an ecosystem of collaboration transforms you 

10:38 Leads groups and working with someone to align values and business models

14:49 Intuition: Harnessing this female energy for business success

21:17 Develop intuition by distinguishing mind from heart 

27:02 For new entrepreneurs: Align your business to your zone of genius

31:22 Combining feminine energy and data-driven strategies in business

36:31 Always have your litmus tests and learn to say no

42:37 A community that shares your goals and challenges create solutions together

44:47 Connect with Meghann
 

QUOTES

09:00 "Being part of an organization where you're looking for your golden geese and you then develop these long-term relationships to... cross-refer business or collaborate to create a bigger footprint or mastermind your challenges..., those fostered relationships end up being long-term, very fruitful, but also extremely nourishing for both of the women."

12:34 "In those initial stages, as you're beginning to do your work and you're beginning to work with different clients, really be paying attention to who those ideal clients are that light you up and make notes all the way along."

18:38 "I would listen to my intuition and really be guided by it and take the actions, it has never led me wrong. And I continue to do that today. And that's what really has created all kinds of opportunities for us to open up chapters internationally."

36:40 "Work in alignment with your higher vision and make sure that you've got your litmus tests that you're always using. Like, is this going to match my values? Does this make the boat go faster in terms of moving me to achieving my epic mission? If not, then I need to learn how to say no."

44:00 "The masterminding and the problem-solving and the celebrations can really transform your life and the lives of those around you. So really open up, get in community, and share what you're going through because you're definitely not alone."
 

You can find out more about Meghann in the links below:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/meghannconter/
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/meghannconter/
• Website - https://thedames.co/

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Be sure to visit our website at https://www.tandemconsulting.co/.

HIGHLIGHTS

01:42 Falling into coaching: How a tripping incident gave birth birth to a career

06:12 Leadership is a skill anyone can develop

08:25 Be intentional with time, energy, and presence

11:09 Set very clear boundaries

16:25 Fear of ego: A selfish undertone beneath the fear

25:18 Meditation and mindfulness: Start with one minute and build from there

32:41 "Try" is an out to accountability and the problem with got to/need to/have to

42:25 Being transparent and vulnerable for a meaningful life

46:15 Connect with Joshua and join his LinkedIn Learning Course

QUOTES

09:01 "I am very intentional with my time, my energy, and my presence. So the time that I spend with, who, where, my presence, am I really present? As a coach, my job is to show up and be present in a way that other people don't find."

12:26 "If you're an entrepreneur, the one thing that you have that's more valuable than getting a seed round of money is your time. That's the one thing. It's actually more important than your product or your service or your business."

18:18 "When I hear the fear of ego, to me, it's people that really... don't know what to do. They're paralyzed because they can't own their greatness. Like they just accomplished something amazing, they're afraid to acknowledge it."

39:46 "You have a better chance of putting your energy, your best foot forward, when you say 'I want that promotion.' Great. Versus I got to get that promotion."

44:39 "If you want to have a more meaningful and purposeful life and really have some breakthrough around meditation or business success or hustling, one of the access points is learning how to be more vulnerable."

You can find out more about Joshua, get his book, and join his LinkedIn Learning Course in the links below:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuahmiller/
• Website - https://joshhmiller.com/

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Be sure to visit our website at https://www.tandemconsulting.co/.

HIGHLIGHTS

01:54 Tisha makes her side hustle the main hustle 

04:17 Get started, have a mentor, have a vision, and invest in yourself

09:12 Choose a skill you love and focus on it

12:01 Gain momentum, increase confidence, and keep going 

19:00 Networking tip: Strike up genuine conversations 

22:14 Create your personal brand: Personal and work life will always intertwine

30:07 Connect with Tisha

QUOTES

04:36 "You have to get out there. You have to start getting out and networking. I had a mentor that I highly recommend when you're starting something, having a mentor, having someone that's 10 steps ahead of you, that can be there to be bouncing ideas off of."

06:31 "Every time I invested in myself, every time I said, okay, I believe in myself, I'm going to do this, I'm going to put the money even though it could be a little bit of an air situation, it absolutely came back to me in the form of new opportunities."

12:44 "Once you start with one, it's easier to start building the momentum because now what happens, you're believing yourself, the confidence is there and now you, in a way, are unstoppable. You just keep going."

17:37 "Get back up, do it again, get back up, do it again. And you see that you progressively get better if you keep learning. If you keep surrounding yourself with the right people and you keep going with it." 

23:38 "What I always share, the biggest takeaway that I feel people get when I talk about personal branding is that your personal and your professional life are going to intertwine. There's no mistake about it."

You can find out more about Tisha in the links below:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tishamariepelletier/
• Website - https://tishamarie.com/

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Be sure to visit our website at https://www.tandemconsulting.co/.

HIGHLIGHTS

02:31 Developing an entrepreneur's mindset and embracing side hustling early on

07:25 Entrepreneurs are made, not born, and they find better ways of doing things

10:17 The multipreneur follows 4 P's: People, Processes, Products & Profit

14:45 Entrepreneurs need clarity to build confidence and gain momentum

19:53 Mistakes and learnings with the 4 P's: Keep testing, keep optimizing

26:11 Let go of processes that don't work to give you time

28:30 Get business partners and offer equity

31:52 Find a coach for the stage your business is actually in

37:06 Connect with Pete

QUOTES

08:22 "If you found yourself asking, why don't they do it this way? And that kind of stuff, as opposed to just accepting that that's the way it's done, I think those kinds of questions come out to entrepreneurs."

10:31 "I thought I would buy a franchise off the bat to kind of give me some structures and things like that that I could start off with. And from that perspective, I did."

11:31 "I need to have the structures and systems in place that allow me to have the right people in place, the processes in place, the products in place, so that I could generate the profit. And those are the four P's that I often talk about." 

16:19 "What do I think is most important? Well, I think clarity is most important. So I always start with clarity because clarity gives you confidence and confidence builds momentum."

26:28 "The sooner you let go of something that really just isn't working, the better, because it allows you then the freedom of time. And that's one thing that most entrepreneurs don't have is time."

You can find out more about Pete in the links below:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermohr/
• Website - https://simplifyingentrepreneurship.com/
• Email - [email protected]

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Be sure to visit our website at https://www.tandemconsulting.co/.

HIGHLIGHTS

02:12 Nathan's passion for side hustling and military service 

05:42 Entry to entrepreneurship after defense contracting

11:35 Time management is the biggest challenge to side hustling

16:12 Scale faster: Let go of time-consuming tasks and hire talent to grow with you

25:11 Work ethic: Know what you want so you can decide what to give up

28:03 Life hack: Add software as you fix problems, not as infrastructure 

33:16 Connect with Nathan

QUOTES

06:47 "I started looking at how this company was making money and everything, and I was just like, there's no reason why I need to sit here and work  for what little bit I'm working for when I can just go do this on my own."

12:59 "As we were growing, it was more of I need to book 10 a year, right? When we made that transition, then I started realizing that okay, my time is way more valuable selling than it is me working."

18:06 "You can just go out Willy-nilly and say I'm going to go get the best people or I'm going to get the cheapest people. It doesn't necessarily work that way, you've got to try to find that middle ground of getting the most out of people that are looking to grow with you." 

26:12 "You gotta figure out what you can give up and what you can't. And some people, you gotta decide what your side hustle wants to be. If you want it to just give you an extra thousand a month, there's nothing wrong with that."

29:55 "You want to look at systems that give you the most in one place, if that makes sense. So you kind of want to create this unified ecosystem. Will you be able to cover everything with one company? No, but you can get most of it."

You can find out more about Nathan in the links below:

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nateflood/

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Be sure to visit our website at https://www.tandemconsulting.co/.

HIGHLIGHTS

02:40 Creating the number 1 incubator for startups

05:34 Deciding when your side hustle is good enough to go full-time

10:10 Hunting for demand and finding the best people

15:05 Ask, don't tell: A winning culture on empowering your team

21:08 How to secure venture capital and close deals

32:08 The real work after securing funding: Hire the best and don't be cheap

38:54 Connect with Steven 

QUOTES

06:36 "What are their problems? What's keeping them up at night? What are their dreams? What are their goals? Do you align with these? If you don't align with the top three priorities of your potential customers, you're off their radar."

08:20 "I always say the entrepreneur's job, and especially when you're doing a side hustle, is really to gather as much information as possible information. Information. Data about the real world. What's really going on, where the market is. That will inform you."

19:02 "A lot of entrepreneurs think it's their job to have all the ideas, to figure out the whole plan to do everything. It's not your job. Your job is to go to your employees and get them doing that, getting them to think, and then really supporting them."

22:15 "(Venture capital) are really good at giving you money to acquire more customers, basically like to grow that business, to grab more customers and then to meet the need by hiring more people. Like that's what the venture money is for. It's not to figure it out."

28:10 "The thing that makes investors close more than anything is one thing. It's fear, but it's also greed, right? You need to make the investor more afraid of losing the deal than they are afraid of losing their money. So it's this balance."

You can find out more about Steven in the links below:

• Website - https://www.foundersspace.com/
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/foundersspace/
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/foundersspace
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/foundersspace/
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/foundersspace

Please subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Be sure to visit our website at https://www.tandemconsulting.co/.