Know Pain, Know Gain

“Commitment is bigger than a choice or a decision. There is an energy that happens when we get committed to a thing that dials in.” -Wendy Hart   In this episode, I speak with Wendy Hart, Founder of Wendy Hart Coaching. Wendy helps her clients find clarity and wisdom to make decisions they can be proud of. As entrepreneurs, we make decision after decision every day to keep our business running and stable, and that is, apart from decisions we also have to make in our personal lives. As we spend more of our mental powers, our decision-making capacity depletes. At the end of the day, it’s not only our body that gets worn out but also our mind. As a result, we end up making reckless decisions or just doing nothing at all- either way, we are stuck. Poor decisions basically stem from having decision fatigue. Today, Wendy and I talk about how to make intelligent decisions easier. Wendy shares why strategizing is not needed in accessing our deepest needs, how we can build trust in the decisions we make, the 3 steps i

“Success consciousness is the consciousness of being when you know that you're a miracle incarnate.” -Sarah Negus   For this week’s treat, Sarah Negus, “The Modern Day Shaman”, joins us all the way from London. Sarah’s expertise is on helping her clients identify their challenges, explore what is holding them back, and uncover communication patterns. I am excited about this conversation because as entrepreneurs, we often go through stagnant moments, whether in our business or professional lives. And in this remarkable time that we are in right now, it is crucially vital that we lean in towards the spiritual aspect of our entrepreneurial journey. Our day-to-day hustles have drowned our opportunity to flourish as spiritual beings and frankly, that is the most significant piece in fulfilling our purpose and satisfying our passion.    Sarah talks mainly about weaving in spiritual practices in our endeavors. Along with that, we also learn about what would happen if we kept ignoring our calling, what is involved in

“The name isliterally like an address. It has nothing to do with the results you're delivering. Focusing on messaging is definitely more important than just the name.” -Holly Chantal   What’s in a name? This week, I am joined by Holly Chantal, a Business Integrator and Brand Strategist. You may remember Holly from Episode 059 where we talked about business experiments. And today, I’m excited to have her talk about that one thing that gets us pulling our hairs out for- brand naming. Of course, we want a name that can do the marketing for us and can represent exactly what we stand for. But sometimes, our brain just isn’t excreting enough creative juices for that. It’s about time to take that pressure off of our shoulders and learn from an expert. Today, Holly comes to the rescue with her signature brand naming methodology, Trailblazing Trifecta. She also gives valuable pointers on determining when is the right time to start thinking about your brand name, what makes a good brand name, and whether you have a goo

“Things happen differently when we're in… the place where comfort ends, and the unknown begins.” -Kenton Bell   This week, your KPKG hour is turning into your KPKG power! We often say how things are good but we wish we knew how to apply them in our lives. Well, why not! It is my earnest wish to provide richer empowerment hence, I tweaked our weekly bonding a little. As we bring in experts and geniuses in their fields, we also get to watch them live in action. Our first guest in this series is Transformational Coach, Kenton Bell. Just thinking about what tomorrow will bring gives us a bag of anxiety. Evidently, this fear of the unknown caused some to get stuck and others to step backwards. Today, Kenton teaches us how to balance that fear so we can live our intentions, step into our growing edge, create a discovery space where we can build a solid foundation for a future we cannot see, cultivate deliberate decisiveness, be childlike in how we work through our choices, and so much more! If you’re still thirstin

“It builds trust for people to see an entire human being in terms of coaching and in that particular industry.”-Kate Pintor   In this episode, I sat down for an intriguing interview with Kate Pintor, Marketing Synthesist, and TikTok Expert. Kate helps her clients build strong leadership and work culture that thrives. Kate and I talk about all things TikTok and why entrepreneurs should start considering this platform as an innovative business strategy. This conversation resonates a lot with me, not only because it made the headlines lately, which makes it all the more intriguing, but also because as entrepreneurs, we are always looking for ways to authentically build a connection with the people we serve. And TikTok is apparently moving forward to serve that very purpose. While TikTok swiftly invades the social media space, others remain skeptical about it. Today, Kate talks about why entrepreneurs hesitate to utilize TikTok for their marketing and how to turn those hesitations into motivations instead. Kate a

 “The goal as an entrepreneur shouldn't be to just continue to work on random ideas in perpetuity. The goal is to find something and to spend all waking energy on that thing.” -Derek Andersen This week, I had a profound conversation with Derek Andersen, Founder and CEO of Startup Grind and Bevy. Entrepreneurs are visionaries but it takes more than bright ideas for a business to thrive and be firmly grounded. We must make sure we are creating a space where our creativity meets our target audience. I had a lot of insights as Derek and I unbox a lot of good stuff around bootstrapping and profitable hiring. Derek points out where entrepreneurs should direct their resources to ensure they’re not killing their own vision. On top of that, he also gives us some direct and rational tips on getting over failures, creating the future we want, hiring efficiently, and so much more! Evidently, those who we choose to work with have the ability to dictate our results. If your vision includes going from local to global, thi

 “If you want to balance, you have to think about what you stand for as if it's the contract by which you see the world and the agreements that you keep with the world around you.” -Shadeed Eleazer   In this episode, I had an insightful convo with Shadeed Eleazer, Baltimore’s leading Small Business Advisor. Half of being an entrepreneur revolves around building a network and the other half is all about nurturing that network. This discussion is striking to me because, as entrepreneurs, we always engage in transactions, barely noticing that our relationships are gradually turning transactional as well- solely need-based, without the human element of it. In relation to that, Shadeed talks about being intentional as to why, where, and how we show up, and for whom should we primarily do it for. He also discusses how to deal with the dynamic nature of relationships, understand the Power Circle concept, being founded on your core values, and so much more!   If you are an entrepreneur wanting to establish long-lasti

 “Life gives us one word: It's either a YES or NO… When we grow up with a YES, that's such an empowering thing.” -Judd Armstrong For this week’s treat, I had an amazing exchange with Judd Armstrong, Founder of Jaybird and modern entrepreneur. Judd’s key focus is on helping people obtain independence, self-sufficiency, and financial freedom. What’s noteworthy about this convo, is while we are aware that there is a price set for great things, we are often hesitant to take that big leap and Judd’s story is like a map for navigating the ebbs and flows of the entrepreneurial journey while setting a solid stance towards sustainable success. Judd reveals how he changed his financial status from being broke to being financially independent, the eight (8) truths about entrepreneurs, how to change our outcomes by having the “YES” mentality,  the guide to having a fresh and unique perspective, the Excavate-Expand-Experience Method of embracing big ideas, how to succeed in Bitcoin Trading, and much more!  If you’re cur

“What leaders and entrepreneurs have to do is understand the local game if they want to play in it.” -Kyle Hegarty In this week’s show, I interviewed Kyle Hegarty, General Manager of TSL Marketing in Singapore, and author of The Accidental Business Nomad. Kyle helps leaders and teams refocus their company culture towards global innovation so they can grow their sales and marketing capabilities across new markets. This conversation is very timely and practical because as innovative entrepreneurs approaching the new normal, we need a borderless marketplace where we can maximize our potential. However, being clueless before diving into this avenue has so much risk and may even lead to failure. Kyle shares the challenges of entrepreneurs launching their first venture in an international setting and how to overcome these challenges, how to win against the local competition, how to adapt to cultural differences and language barriers, and some useful tools for global entrepreneurs. So if you’re an entrepreneur wi

“The key differentiation of how you actually make time with your family is how you scale smart.” -Austin Sams   In this episode, Jay talks to Austin Sams, founder of Family Entrepreneurs. Jay and Austin discuss: how to align your family and business life to have more family time while earning more money, the need to reevaluate how you spend your time as often as possible, being authentic with the type of life you want rather than going with societal ideologies, implementing your life rules, observing your shut off time, setting yourself up for success through recurring revenue, and so much more…    Visit https://jayrooke.com/101-Austin-Sams/  for resources and show notes.    Check out my website: https://jayrooke.com/    Follow me on: Facebook LinkedIn Twitter   Episode Highlights: 01:44 The Secret To More Family Time 05:23 How To Have Time for Family and Money 10:51 Set Rules For Life 15:32 Be Real 18:48 Kid Time 24:46 Your Life and Your Business

“Helping other people do what I did without having the painful experience that I had is what I wanted for others, to both help them understand themselves and get to the business side of things right.” -Jay Rooke   Know Pain Know Gain is at 100!    Another milestone has been added to our journey together and this is because of your loyal support and unending encouragement. No podcast, no show, no endeavour would have any success by itself. THANK YOU VERY MUCH for tuning in weekly to Know Pain Know Gain-Entrepreneurship Made Real!    A big THANK YOU also to Podcast Magazine for naming this podcast, “Editor’s Pick”.    Stay tuned as we move forward together to 100 episodes and beyond. Look forward to more great and authentic entrepreneur stories to move past all the unnecessary pain in your journey and head straight to making a career path that brings you success and satisfaction.    Jay has been interviewing a number of business geniuses for the past 99 episodes. But who is this man behind the mic? Today, Jay s

“Know when to be efficient and know when to be effective.” -Scott Jeffrey Miller   In this episode, Jay talks to Scott Jeffrey Miller, the Executive Vice President of Thought Leadership at Franklin Covey and author of the book, Management Mess to Leadership Success. Jay and Scott discuss: the difference of being reckless vs fearless, being emotionally agile, being a contingency planner, how to avoid disruptions, how to be emergent rather than deliberate, the importance of picking the right counselors, the visionary versus the integrator role, matching your ideas to your capacity to execute, what makes a successful CEO, staying on the top of creating contents, and so much more…      Visit https://jayrooke.com/099-Scott-Jeffrey-Miller/  for resources and show notes.    Check out my website: https://jayrooke.com/    Follow me on: Facebook LinkedIn Twitter   Episode Highlights: 02:25 The Role of Thought Leadership  08:20 Be Emotionally Agile 13:16 Emergent vs Deliberate 21:44 Pick Your Counselors 28:33 Visionary

“There is no ‘how’; you just do.” -Amanda Young   In this episode, Jay talks to Amanda Young, a Mindset Coach, Bestselling Author, Speaker, and Energy Healer.  Jay and Amanda discuss: the necessity of a mindset shift, creating a filter for the information we receive, the importance of being fun and creative, dealing with your resentment of the corporate world, finding your alignment, being both human and spiritual in the business, the moral compass in decision-making, trusting yourself as opposed to deluding yourself, and so much more…      Visit https://jayrooke.com/098-Amanda-Young/  for resources and show notes.    Check out my website: https://jayrooke.com/    Follow me on: Facebook LinkedIn Twitter   Episode Highlights: 02:50 Why Personal Journey Is Important to Entrepreneurship 09:40 Create a Filter 15:33 Be Fun, Creative and Grateful! It’s How You Run A Successful Business 23:26 The Human Side of Entrepreneurship 30:18 The Spiritual Side of Entrepreneurship 34:31 The F Barometer: Family, Fun, Finance 4

“To not say anything is out of integrity.” -David Wood   In this episode, Jay talks to David Wood, CEO at Tough Conversations International and Play For Real, High-Performance Coach, Expert on tough conversations, and Author of Get Paid For Who You Are. Jay and David discuss: how to artfully navigate through tough conversations, speak your truth, discern things out of your values, deal with integrity leaks with kindness, be transparent, and so much more...   Visit https://jayrooke.com/097-David-Wood/  for resources and show notes.    Check out my website: https://jayrooke.com/    Follow me on: Facebook LinkedIn Twitter   Episode Highlights: 02:18 Day-to-Day Tough Conversations 08:12 What Does Integrity Mean For You 17:50 What Are Tough Conversations  23:08 Pay Now or Pay Later  26:22 What’s Considered As A Nitpick 29:39 Create An Impact When You Speak Up  39:19 Be Transparent

“It's not just what you know about customers, but it's often how you know.” -Tom Coburn   In this episode, Jay talks to Tom Coburn, co-founder of Jebbit, a Boston-based startup that Tom created as a sophomore in college in a business competition.  Tom later dropped out of college to pursue the business, and it's still growing 7 years later. Jay and Tom discuss: how to capture customer data through an interactive experience, changing how customers connect with your web site, how old is new, following one's heart, trusting the leap, beginner's mind, and so much more...   Visit https://jayrooke.com/096-Tom-Coburn/  for resources and show notes.    Check out my website: https://jayrooke.com/    Follow me on: Facebook LinkedIn Twitter   Episode Highlights: 00:55 From Dorm Room to an Interactive Platform  04:23 How to be Sophisticated in Value Exchange 09:26 Earn Your Customer’s  Loyalty 19:33 Experience Makes A Difference 24:30 Questions Worth Answering 31:00 Perfection Leads to Failure 36:39 Keeping the Balance 4

“You don't necessarily have to be as overt about it but it's really important that you as the brand, understand what those values are so that you can make sure that everything flows out of them in alignment.” -Rebecca Horan In this episode, Jay talks with Rebecca Horan, founder of Plot Twist, a Brand Strategy Consulting firm.  Rebecca works with an array of business owners on nailing their branding and messaging to that it is authentic and emotive.  Jay and Rebecca discuss: how good branding is all about consistency, storytelling in branding, feeling vs. thinking your brand, getting market feedback, strategically investing in your brand, how to pivot your brand and so much more.   Visit https://jayrooke.com/095-Rebecca-Horan/ for resources and show notes.    Check out my website: https://jayrooke.com/    Follow me on: Facebook LinkedIn Twitter   Episode Highlights: 02:07 Loving the Brand 09:37 Branding and Consistency  17:30 The Meeting Point 23:15 How to Niche Down  29:38 Pay Attention to the Competition 

“Investing your time, money and energy is the only way that you create transformative results in any area of your life.” -Theora Moench In this episode, Jay learns from Theora Moench, a love and relationship expert who shares her insights about the intersection of love and entrepreneurship.  All entrepreneurs need more love, so here are some of the things they talked about: when it comes to love, little changes yield big results, how to get as good at love as you are at business, entrepreneurship, and relationships as vehicles for personal growth, how to create healthy relationships during stressful times, how time fixes nothing, and so much more...   Visit https://jayrooke.com/094-Theora-Moench/  for resources and show notes.    Check out my website: https://jayrooke.com/    Follow me on: Facebook: LinkedIn:  Twitter:   Episode Highlights: 02:24 Missing the Relationship Norm 06:46 What Is Love?- Not Your Typical Definition 14:22 The Difference Between Business and Love  22:22 The ROIs of Love  26:54 Entrep

“A really great referral system is… all that a business will ever need if they execute it.” -Steve Gordon   In this episode, Jay interviews author, podcast host and founder of The Unstoppable CEO, Steve Gordon.  Steve has made the transition from becoming a CEO of an engineering firm (at age 25!), to launching his current brand, where he helps service-based entrepreneurs increase their visibility and authority so they can increase sales.  Jay and Steve discuss: how to break revenue plateaus, mastering minimalism before you expand, referral strategies (Steve's written a book on the topic!), patience in running one's business, ROI on investing in advisory services, podcasting as a growth medium, and so much more...   Visit https://jayrooke.com/093-Steve-Gordon/  for resources and show notes.    Check out my website: https://jayrooke.com/    Follow me on: Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Episode Highlights: 02:03 Building Marketing Systems 07:00 Business Symptoms 14:45 The Attention Ladder 23:03 Unstoppable CEO 31:1

“You have to approach the law just like you approach any other aspects of your business… from a position of power and not from a position of fear.” -Victoria Smolyar   In this episode, Jay chats with Victoria Smolyar, a business attorney that runs a virtual law firm in New York City.  The two discuss legal challenges for small business owners and early-stage entrepreneurs, how business owners can change their viewpoint of working with a business attorney, ostrich syndrome, embracing being woo-woo, leveraging the law for growth and much more....   Visit https://jayrooke.com/092-Victoria-Smolyar/ for resources and show notes.    Check out my website: https://jayrooke.com/    Follow me on: Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Episode Highlights: 01:49 From Music to Business to Law 06:04 How Early Stage Entrepreneurs Should Think About Working With An Attorney 18:16 Approach Legal Matters with Power 25:13 Know Your Stuff 34:47 Common Mistakes Early Stage Entrepreneurs Make   38:07 Shift From Corporate Mentality 43:20 Not

“...everybody has inherently great qualities.” -Stephan Thieringer   In this episode, Jay talks with Stephan Thieringer, the founder of Human Innovation Garage in Boston.  Stephan is a brilliant strategist who understands that the inner-game of business is where the battle is lost or won.  Jay and Stephan discuss: business empathy, learning how to fail, fitting in mindset versus contributing mindset, entrepreneurial agility/finesse/grace and diversifying your sources of advisors.   Visit https://jayrooke.com/091-Stephan-Thieringer/  for resources and show notes.    Check out my website: https://jayrooke.com/    Follow me on: Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Episode Highlights: 02:32 The Human Innovation Garage Cores 05:07 Open Dialogue, Vulnerability and Empathy in Business  12:07 Leadership Laid Out  23:57 Do Not Underestimate Millennials 28:26 Perfectionism- the Destroyer of Culture and Teams  32:58 Agility in Human Innovation  41:03 Burst Coaching  45:19 Shift Your Perspective