Episodes
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If you’re a leader, a big part of your job is getting people to do important things. Maybe it’s getting your team to follow your strategy, getting customers to buy more, or getting your stakeholders to support you. But sometimes you can’t get people to do those important things, and sometimes that’s a big problem. And when it’s a big problem, Jamie Dixon is here to help you. He is a coach, facilitator and author of “The Story Habit - How Leaders Shape Stories That Drive Action”.
Jamie has worked with leaders in over 160 multinational companies over the last 10 years. He is an IAC certified coach, a Tiny Habits coach and a Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centred Certified Coach.
Links:
Shaping Paths Amazon Author | Jamie DixonShow Notes:
00:26 – How was your covid-19 lockdown experience in Shanghai? 01:29 – How did you end up in China? 04:10 – How did you transition from an English Teacher to a Leadership Coach? 08:55 – Can you tell us a little bit about your first book? 13:44 – How did this first book open new doors for you? 16:31 – What got you started on writing the second book? 20:52 – Can you tell us about your last book and how it has helped transform leaders ? 26:00 – Is this formula good for influencing people? -
Sam Marks, co-founder and host of Invest Like A Boss Podcast, and self made millionaire through investments, joins me in Japan and we discuss why it is so traveler unfriendly, amongst catching up as we haven't seen each other for quite some time.
Links:
Invest Like A BossShow Notes:
00:33 – Why Japan difficult for foreigners to travel within 05:15 – How I became semi-fluent in Japanese. 09:14 – How did we get into biking? 11:23 – What impressed Sam about Japan? 16:55 – Why i wouldn’t move to Japan 18:43 – We talk about my Bali residence and how I got to purchase it? 25:51 – Why is Sam so impressed with Dubai? 28:33 – What the current state of self storage is 38:49 – My plan to open more properties in Hong Kong and abroad 42:00 – What is Sam’s plan for 2023? -
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Jon Goodall, who has worked in Silicon Valley over a decade and is the founder of chatback.com, a messaging Omani chat software for school and hotels.
He just started a new NFT venture call Niftopia and is here to discuss the future of NFT and Web3
Links:
Niftopia.meShow Notes:
00:42 - Can you give us a little background of your employment? 02:26 - How did you get involved in the internet and computer industry? 06:33 - Tell us about Chatback.com? 11:44 - How did you get into crypto and NFTs ? 14:00 - What do you think about Bitcoin not being recognised by the government? 16:16 - What about the ease of use of Bitcoin? 20:05 - What about investing in NFTs and the Metaverse? 25:57 - What are the applications for buying an NFT? 30:19 - Can you tell us about Niftopia? 31:52 - How do you think crypto will change the business world in 5 years? -
Steve Suh is an American Korean who came to Hong Kong with nothing but a dream and started Floship, a successful e-commerce logistic platform powering users of shopify and kickstarter.
Now he is reinventing himself again and moved to Columbia , to learn Spanish and look for opportunities in South America
Show Notes:
00:42 - What do you do and how did we meet? 02:10 - What is floship? 05:42 - Why are you in columbia? 08:40 - Did you consider copying successful businesses in North America to apply in Latin America ? 09:57 - How difficult is it to start a new business there? 13:54 - Do you find you need to be on site in the country or can you operate remotely? 17:09 - What kind of legacy has Pablo Escobar left in columbia? 22:19 - Are Asians considered easy targets to get robbed in South America? 27:48 - How are you socializing and meeting new people? 32:08 - Where do you see yourself in the next 2-3 years? -
Alex Bodagnov is working as a project manager for a tech company. Before the Russian invasion, he was living a pretty active life in Kyiv, Ukraine. He used to go to the gym, attend different events and most importantly He had many friends. Now He is trying to understand what his next step should be since after Feb 24 his life turned upside down, with the invasion of Ukraine
Show Notes:
00:55 - What's happening in Kiev? 04:17 - How did you get out of the city? 06:47 - How did you get to the bomb shelter? 07:59 - Are they trying to take over the entire country or just a portion of Ukraine? 09:03 - How are you operating with banking as purchasing basic necessities? 09:56 - Have you ever had any military training? 11:36 - How do you think this will play out? 13:03 - What are some of the most shocking images in your mind right now? 15:28 - How much of a risk for a foreigner (American) to stay in Kiev? 18:56 - Is the “western media” reporting accurate? 20:30 - What's your mid-term plan? 21:33 - How do we pledge to support Ukraine? -
Handi Kurniawan is a driving force to enable organisations and people to grow. He does it through his uniqueness and expertise in Learning, Leadership, Career Management, Business Management, Talent Management, Knowledge Management, Cross Cultural Management, Stakeholders engagement and strong People Management.
His career spanned over multiple geographies, and worked in 7 countries (Indonesia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, China, United States, and Taiwan) and he worked in some of the world's leading companies in various industries with both multinationals and conglomerates.
Links:
Jardine Matheson Linked in : Handi KurniawanShow Notes:
00:36 - Can you tell us about your background? 03:48 - Why did you decide not to be an entrepreneur like other family members? 06:36 - How was your first Job at General Electric (GE)? 08:26 - What was the catalyst of GE’s downfall? 11:50 - Why did you leave GE and where did you move to after? 13:45 - What do you like about Human Resources as compared to finance? 15:08 - What kind of skills do you develop while in HR? 17:48 - What do you suggest for employees who are in a “boring” business ? 21:03 - What do you teach to different employees? 23:53 - Would you recommend young adults to work for a company first or go straight into entrepreneuring? 26:06 - Are middle-aged employees at more risk of being replaced? 29:21 - Do you think employees should also make investments? -
Bryan Clayton is the Co-Founder and CEO of GreenPal, an online marketplace that connects homeowners with local lawn care professionals. GreenPal has been called the “Uber for lawn care” by Entrepreneur magazine and has over 100,000 active users completing thousands of transactions per day.
Before starting GreenPal, Bryan Clayton founded Peachtree Inc., one of the largest landscaping companies in the state of Tennessee, growing it to over $10 million a year in annual revenue before it was acquired by Lusa holdings in 2013. Bryan‘s interest and expertise are related to entrepreneurism, small business growth, marketing, and bootstrapping businesses from zero revenue to profitability and exit.
Links:
GreenPal Bryan Clayton (@bryanmclayton)Show Notes:
00:46 - Can you tell us about your background and how you got into landscaping? 02:46 - In your first business how did you separate from your competitors? 04:47 - Why did you decide to sell the business? 07:28 - What did you learn from selling the business? 10:02 - What then motivated you to start this new business? 12:50 - How tough was it to get started? 15:20 - What are the benefits of using your product instead of traditional methods? 20:12 - How do you stop the contractors from “Cutting out” you and working directly with the customers? 21:54 - What was the next challenge after scaling up with both customers and contractors? 24:44 - How did you learn about digital marketing? 27:25 - Are there plans to expand internationally? 28:35 - Do you have any regrets about not having any investors in your businesses? 30:45 - Any advice for entrepreneurs and startups? -
Nike Anani is an entrepreneur and a Consultant. She was rated as a top-100 Family Business Consultant globally. She helps her clients bridge the gap between the senior and younger generations. As a result, they communicate, collaborate and collectively gain clarity, to increase profit and productivity in their family businesses.
Nike works privately with select business families. Nike’s clients choose to engage her, not only because of her extensive professional training, but also because of her practical extensive experience (over a decade) as both a business founder and a NextGen. This allows her to uniquely empathise with both generations and act as a connector.
Nike is passionate about diversity, and celebrates the uniqueness in every individual, family and business. As such her approach is highly customized for each client and not cookie-cutter.
Links:
Nike Anani | Award-Winning Family Business Strategist. Speaker. AuthorShow Notes:
01:29 - Can you tell us about your background? 02:40 - Was there any pressure on you to carry on the family business? 06:00 - Did you have difficulties from staff and other family members taking over the family business? 09:01 - What are some of the leadership skills needed for a next generation leader? 12:15 - Can you give examples of how the drive has changed in the business? 15:22 - How do you keep in touch with the latest trend in technology? 16:35 - What common mistakes do you see a lot of next generation leaders make? 20:44 - How can you be a change creator in your business? 23:21 - How would you handle multiple siblings wanting to come into a family business? 26:44 - What is your passion for next generation leaders? 28:21 - What is your greatest wish for next generations at large? 29:02 - Has Covid-19 changed the family business world? -
Kevin travels to Spain to have a sit down with “Serial entrepreneur” Raphael Dana. He talks about some of his previous businesses and then goes into detail of how he got involved in Africa and challenges with operating the business from overseas. He later offer advice to entrepreneurs based on his many years of experience.
Show Notes:
00:28 - Can you tell us about your background? 08:53 - How did you decide which country to start in Africa? 12:14 - What is your customer base right now? 12:45 - How do you manage the staff and company from around the world? 14:39 - What are the challenges with various currencies and languages in these countries? 15:52 - Are there any local tech companies? 18:07 - Do you see competition in your future? 19:12 - Do you have any advice for emerging entrepreneurs? 21:06 - How was transportation done before any ride sharing apps in Togo? 22:07 - Do you see the business expanding beyond Africa? -
“Authencious” Automation is about starting with understanding the operations of your business and moving towards the action of automation.
By doing this we can:
Maintain the authentic way you show up for your clients as a human interacting with another human, and Increase your conscious awareness of what is going on in your business so you can make smart decisions about what to do nextIf you understand your business then you have knowledge of what makes it “tick”
If you have knowledge then you have the confidence to delegate and automate.
That automation improves every part of how your business operates.
“Authencious” Automation How to simply your business to 5 steps LinkedIn | Richard Schnitzel
Links :Show Notes:
00:15 - Can you tell us about your background? 01:12 - How did you start out working in business automation? 03:20 - What different kinds of automation do you offer? 05:04 - Do you have a system which interacts based on KPI? 08:47 - How do you keep automation useful for not disingenuous? 10:41 - Besides customer acquisition, where else is automation useful? 12:47 - Do you think there is enough software out there that we can combine or should some companies build their own system? 16:19 - Can you describe a case study where you helped the company turn around through automation? 20:03 - Do you supply the programmers and codes for the software? 20:47 - Can all staff be replaced with automation? 23:23 - What do you think the world will become if everything becomes automated? 25:00 - Do you do personal matching with the data you collect? 26:49 - What is a cheap, efficient way to automate my business to be more efficient? 28:59 - Any off the shelf programmes or software you recommend? -
Maceo Jourdan is a serial entrepreneur with two decades of building businesses by creating great products and great marketing. With his background in discretionary and algorithmic trading, he is able to merge the risk management of a portfolio trader with the aggressive risk-taking of an entrepreneur to time business trends with uncanny accuracy.
Maceo scaled his company Insider Code from a $25,000 ‘friends and family’ loan to a $245 million valuation in under 3 years with an exit value of $420 million. Maceo’s pioneering vision brought breakthrough new technologies such as developing some of the first cloud-based web applications.
After his exit, Maceo was responsible for turnarounds as a confidential CEO/CMO for hire. In CPG, a $120M increase in enterprise value, healthcare $220M, and more. This is where Maceo perfected his proprietary non-linear integrated marketing system.
Maceo Jourdan | the Greatest marketing mind of the 21st Century [email protected] LinkedIn | MaceoJourdan
Links :Show Notes:
00:16 - How did you get into the healthcare business? 05:04 - Can you explain the model of the business you had before? 07:21 - Were you the first of its kind in the market? 09:32 - How do you protect your interest? 11:56 - Do you encounter problems with differentiating between employees and consultants? 17:04 - How do you market yourself and keep the balance between doctors and patients? 20:43 - What technology do you use for marketing? 25:00 - How do you use technology to manage the platform? 30:01 - What challenges did you encounter? 36:46 - Did you sell the healthcare business and become a consultant? 39:47 - What are your thoughts on Covid? 42:47 - Do you think technology and innovations will get a big push from Covid? 49:18 - What advice would you give to CEOs on how to scale the company or when to take money? -
Melvin Price has pitched NLN at various One Million Cups organizations over eighteen times via twelve different cities all across the USA. Also in 2017, He was selected as a speaker at South by Southwest, ‘SxSW,’ and chosen to be a speaker at the Techstars Inland Empire Startup Week in Los Angeles in October 2018. He was featured in a podcast called “Your Startup Advisors,” which has listeners in over thirteen countries. NiteLifeNav was created to be a helpful tool to assist people and make certain that they have a fun night out while on vacation or in a new city or a local just out for the night with their significant other.
NiteLifeNav [email protected]
Links :Show Notes:
01:24 - How did you get into the nightlife business? 02:22 - What was the original idea for NiteLifeNav? 03:06 - Is NiteLifeNav an App? 04:38 - What’s the incentive for people to upload the information to the app? 06:33 - What stage are you at with the launch of version 2.0? 09:29 - How has Covid-19 affected your business? 10:46 - What’s your motivation for this business? 12:57 - What’s the plan for expanding the business outside of the US? 14:33 - Where is your revenue stream from? 15:51 - What are some of the challenges you had running this business? 17:10 - How many people are in the company? 18:25 - What advice would you give to young entrepreneur? -
Aaron Pang is an author, motivational speaker, and business strategist. He founded his first e-commerce business at age 21 and a digital advertising business a few years later and reached over one million USD revenue in the first year. In 2015, he led and grew the home market of a successful global venture Lalamove and was recently Head of Digital Transformation for Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA). He is currently on a mission to help build a better working world at Ernst and Young.
HKICPA
Links :Show Notes:
02:03 - Does every business need to be transformed digitally? 05:24 - So it starts with a pinpoint the customer is facing, and not to add for IT sync correct? 06:39 - How do you measure success? 09:22 - Can technology impact a company and make it your competitor? 10:36 - Would you say in a lot of industries winners take all? 12:10 - What kind of advice do you give people to transform their business? 18:46 - How do you think the difference in culture of the East and West countries affect the digital transformation? 21:04 - How will someone contact you to get help with their digital transformation? -
In this episode, Kevin is back with Scott Jensen to discuss Chinese New Year and Tao Bao!; The consumer tech giant, dominating China in place of eBay and Amazon! They take a glimpse into antitrust laws and the influence Tech has on the world around us, both personally and politically
Shownotes
4:48 A look at how technology is transforming real-estate 13:19 Introducing Tao Bao 17:44 Anti trust laws surrounding Tao Bao and Alibaba in China 20:46 How Tech industry can influence Government 22:12 Predictions on the future of Tao Bao and China big Tech 22:50 "We need an apple in China, We need somebody who can make hardware; like Xiao Mi" - Kevin Shee 26:10 Changing public perspective and opinions -
Scott Jensen is a Senior Marketing and Business Strategist. His recent work was as SVP of Marketing at Partner Fusion as the manager of SEM, Product, Creative, and Data Science. In addition, his consulting practice helps companies around the world apply digital marketing to their business strategy.
In this episode; Kevin chats with returning guest Scott Jensen to compare and contrast big China Tech with Big U.S Tech and what the future will hold for both industries, during and after the pandemic, and how it will affect business and lifestyles worldwide
Links:
Shownotes
1:54 The economy after Covid 6:58 Alibaba to Google, Comparing tech from China to U.S 9:21 Big Brother vs Big Tech; How Government regulates growth 9:38 "It's not illegal for a company to have a monopoly, it's illegal for them to use that to their advantage." - Scott Jensen 13:50 Advantages in Cultural systems of East and West 17:46 The future of Big Tech politics and how it may affect your business 24:52 Will U.S and Chinese competition create a 2 system standard? 25:58 The far-reaching Chinese Tech of tomorrow 28:14 "The Pandemic has accelerated some aspects of the economy that were going to happen anyway" - Scott Jensen 30:41 Kevin's Photo Art Gallery, Charity event! -
Carl E. Touhey began his real estate career in 1986 selling investment real estate in Phoenix, Arizona. His family built their first storage facility in the early 1970’s and they currently own and operate eight storage facilities. An investment opportunity in 1992 launched him into the self storage industry as he went on to acquire five storage facilities from 1992-1994 and owns multiple facilities today. His interest and success in fixing “problem” properties resulted in an impressive ownership track record. In the early 90’s, Mr. Touhey took his knowledge of the self storage industry and began brokering self storage properties in California. He has personally brokered over $865 million worth of storage properties and his extensive track record and outstanding results have distinguished him as one of the most successful self storage sales and acquisitions specialists in the industry.
In this episode, Kevin and Carl discuss the world of storage property investment; software and new industry tools and some solid advice from Carl on how you can start investing in this growing industry
Links:
Performancestoragegroup.comShownotes:
2:30 - contrasting property investments; apartments vs storage 4:32 - "In storage, we do good in the good times and sometimes we do better in the bad times" - Carl Touhey 5:36 - Is there still time for new players in Storage investment? 6:08 - "If we look at a deal and they don't have a website, that is something we are gunna target and try and buy" - Carl Touhey 8:07 - What good software can do for you in storage investment 8:56 - Storage investment and Covid-19 13:11 - "I see technology helping us, not hurting us" - Carl Touhey 14:14 - From Self storage owner to Enterprise 16:13 - What you need to be a self storage broker 19:06 - Advice for Storage Investment new comers -
Alan Miltz is the founder of Cash Flow Story and an expert in cash flow management for business. He is a Chartered Accountant from South Africa, currently living in Melbourne Australia, and a former shoe designer for Esprit. Alan has a history of advising many companies in the clothing and textile sector.
Cash Flow Story is an accounting firm designed for financial and non-financial people to understand their numbers by getting into the shoes of the company CEOs and explaining the numbers in a storytelling way.
In this episode, Kevin and Alan discuss understanding your business financial story and the different levers that will support growth.
Alan Miltz Website Cash Flow Story Website
Links :Show Notes:
5:02 - Common misunderstanding of Business Owners 7:16 - "Our real passion is helping business love the numbers" -Alan Miltz 7:33 - Cash Flow Story and how it can help ordinary business owners 8:37 - The Four Chapters of your business financial story 10:01 - When is your business ready to hire a CFO? 10:29 - "If you don't know your story, you'll be making decisions that could have a negative impact on your business" - Alan Miltz 10:46 - 7 things a company can do to improve their cash and their profit 14:03 - Should a company borrow or take on investors in order to grow? 15:40 - Pricing vs. Cost-cutting, which is more important? 15:55 - "Price is a gift that never stops giving" -Alan Miltz 16:55 - Managing the cost of growth in your business 18:20 - Advice for business owners during Covid -
Simon is an entrepreneur, angel investor, mentor, podcast host, founder and Chief Purpose Officer at The Purposeful Project.
He has started 17 companies, invested in over 60+ startups and has mentored hundreds of founders. Having sold his award-winning branding and digital agency, Fluid, to PwC, Simon now focuses on inspiring, motivating and guiding both budding and experienced entrepreneurs by sharing his personal experiences, insights, ideas and tips. Part entrepreneur guru, part student.
In this episode, Kevin and Simon will discuss the various stages of his career, including starting as an entrepreneur and after selling some of his previous businesses, and moving from Hong Kong back to the UK.
SimonSquibb.com The Purposeful Project.
Links :Show Notes:
00:43 - “I had no choice but to become an entrepreneur or starve” - Simon Squibb 04:54 - How did you get into a marketing company? 08:05 - “i never build a business to sell it” - Simon Squibb 10:00 - How do you think digital marketing has changed? 14:14 - Can you tell us about Nest? 20:15 - How did you feel after you moved on from Nest and Fluid? 28:52 - Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? -
Andrew Work is Founder, Harbour Times & Co-founder, The Lion Rock Institute has over 30 years of experience working in politics, media, events, and community building. This has led to his founding and stewardship of prestigious organisations through senior leadership and general management roles over the last decade.
Andrew Work is currently the Executive Director of the Self Storage Association Asia, representing and connecting this growing and thriving sector leading the real estate industry by providing lifestyle and business solutions for the 21st century.
He is sought after for commentary in business, economics, technology, innovation and politics on matters concerning Hong Kong, Canada, and, more broadly, Asia. His recent work in digital currency (in particular China's forthcoming DC/EP) fintech, blockchain, cryptocurrency and an integrated approach to all the above sectors sees him asked to present in media, in written commentary and on-stage wherever insight is needed.
In this episode, Kevin and Andrew will discuss the future of the economy and various industries and Businesses in Hong Kong for entrepreneurs. They further discuss his new involvement in Self Storage.
Self Storage Association of Asia
Links :Show Notes:
07:28 - “Human Freedom leads to Human Flourishing” - Andrew Work 11:20 - What is the Harbour Times? 15:15 - “Unfair Market Power only comes with Government Support” - Andrew Work 20:01 - Can you name something that the government did that you agreed with? 25:35 - Is it hard to get talent into Hong Kong? 30:01 - Do you fear for Hong Kong’s Future? 32:48 - How is Canada’s stance with Honk Kong? 40:08 - “Self Storage...was serving a genuine need” - Andrew Work 42:24 - Why would you join the Self Storage Association? 51:40 - What’s ahead in the Self Storage Industry? 54:20 - Do you believe it’s a supplier led market? 61:07 - What’s the ratio of operators to suppliers? -
Michell Smith took a sales job to learn about people and overcome her fears and fell in love with the industry. Eventually, she became the #1 sales rep, then opened her own sales company at 21 and her business exploded. It went from one sales office in Toronto and within 5 years grew to 1000 sales reps, 29 locations across Canada, billing over 10 million dollars in annual commissions. It was the largest and most successful direct sales force in Canadian history. Now she speaks, trains and consults with other companies to increase sales, improve systems, develop their leaders and hit their goals faster. She coaches entrepreneurs, sales professionals and executives to scale their businesses and perform at their highest levels.
In this episode, Kevin and Michell will discuss how she got involved in the direct sales industry and how she inspires, leads and coaches others in the field.
Michellsmith.com
Links :Show Notes:
04:58 - What was the first product you sold? 10:48 - Did you have a mentor or a coach or did you just learn on your own? 13:50 - Can you tell me more about the Direct Sales company you started at 21? 18:08 - “we were dominating in every single territory….we outsold all the competition” - Michell Smith 21:00 - “My passion was seeing that new sales person finally discover that they can succeed” - Michell Smith 24:05 - What is Direct Sales and how is it different from other types of sales? 26:21 - What is required to be a salesperson leader or trainer? 33:12 - What do you look for when hiring a sales person? 39:08 - How important is building a system or goal settings for your team? 40:16 - Is it easier for women or men to be in sales? - Show more
