Onward Nation With Stephen Woessner | Interviews With Todays Top Business Owners | Careers

Phillip Stutts is the founder and CEO of two startup marketing agencies, “Go BIG Media” and “Win BIG Media” and has been lauded as a “marketing genius” by FOX BUSINESS. He is also the author of Amazon.com Best Seller, “FIRE THEM NOW”, and one of the masterminds behind the curtain of political marketing. Phillip is fighting a rare and incurable disease — so his mission today is to find a cure and pursue a life of constant growth and giving. What you’ll learn about in this episode: How Phillip Stutts entered politics and went on to contribute to many successful gubernatorial, US Senate, and Presidential campaigns How Phillip launched his company, Go Big Media, and built it into a $20 million business in just four years How Phillip is dealing with an incurable esophageal disease called Achalasia and fighting to manage its symptoms Why Phillip decided not only to combat his disease but to work on finding a cure for the incurable Why Phillip believes being diagnosed with Achalasia saved his business, his marriage

Ed Rush is a 5-Time #1 Best Selling author and a former F-18 fighter pilot. His combat career included over 50 missions and two tours to Iraq. While in the Marines, Ed served as one of the country’s leading instructors on aerial dog fighting and recently worked as a key player in the development of the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. His books and expertise have been featured on CBS, FOX, ABC, and NBC. Ed’s latest book, “The 21-Day Miracle,” is available now. What you’ll learn about in this episode: How Ed’s latest book, “The 21 Day Miracle,” was born and the philosophy behind it How the most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who build their lives out of strategic sprints Ed’s fundamental philosophy for life Why most entrepreneurs feel like they’re not getting enough done The importance of setting goals so big that people will laugh at you when you say them Why you shouldn’t spend time in the future on mistakes you’ve made in the past The single most important thing you can do as a business owner Why you

Good Morning — I’m Stephen Woessner, CEO of Predictive ROI and your host for Onward Nation. I’m excited to share the lessons and the insights of today’s episode with you — but before I do that — I owe you a really big thank you. I owe you a big thank you, Onward Nation because each and every day you give my team and I the hug or the push we need to get better. Each day — I get to walk into my office and have this amazing privilege of hanging out with you — while you and I both learn from some of the top business owners on this planet. You are right there beside me — as we learn together. And all of the feedback you share — the tweets you send — hitting me up on LinkedIn — and dropping me lines of support on Facebook…I appreciate all of it and am so very grateful. We are now impacting business owners in 102 countries and I don’t take that lightly. That didn’t happen by accident — it happened because of you finding something here in our episodes and then taking the time to share it with your friends and co-work

Allison Maslan is the CEO of Allison Maslan International, a global business mentoring company and is the #1 bestselling author of “Blast Off.” Her new book, “Scale or Fail: How to Take the Leap from Entrepreneur to Enterprise Without a Safety Net” hits bookstores this month. Allison’s built 10 successful companies starting out at age 19. Now she pays it forward helping ambitious business owners around the world grow high-revenue businesses and passionate lives. Allison’s been featured in SUCCESS, Fortune, and Forbes and is a regular contributor to Entrepreneur Magazine. She’s also a featured expert on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and FOX. What you’ll learn about in this episode: How to preorder Allison’s new book “Scale or Fail,” available for purchase October 16 Allison’s history, career journey, and how she became a business-scaling expert How a near-fatal car accident forced Allison to re-prioritize her life and take a different career path Why growing your business sometimes means letting go of responsibilities

Steve Farber is the President of Extreme Leadership, Inc. and the founder and chairman of The Extreme Leadership Institute, organizations devoted to the cultivation and development of extreme leaders around the world. He’s listed as one of Inc.’s Global Top 50 Leadership and Management Experts and is a bestselling author on extreme leadership. His three books include “Greater Than Yourself,” a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller; “The Radical Edge”; and “The Radical Leap,” which was recently named one of the 100 Best Business Books of All Time. What you’ll learn about in this episode: The framework for extreme leadership Why you need to ask yourself how you can become an expert in your field How to determine if your point of view is of great value to people The value of constantly learning and becoming a student of your mentor’s work How you develop your own body of work How to apply the LEAP framework to your business How the greatest leaders become the greatest leaders Why love is such a powerful

Josh Fonger is the owner of WTS Enterprises and an expert in designing and implementing systems to help small businesses grow. The foundational methodology he uses was developed by his business partner — author, Sam Carpenter, in his book, “Work The System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less.” Josh is also an international business consultant, coach, and speaker and helped fix hundreds of businesses across multiple industries, from start-ups to billion-dollar operations. What you'll learn about in this episode: Why you need to focus on working on the systems that produce results Why the owner is typically the bottleneck to growing and scaling a business How it can be helpful to take an objective perspective of your business Why it’s vital to just simplify your business’ systems and processes How to calculate the exact time of day that you’re most productive The reason you need to master the skill of playing the long-game Why you shouldn’t wait for the “perfect” client The value of supportin

Our special encore guest today is Mike Michalowicz. He is the author of “Profit First,” “Surge,” “The Pumpkin Plan,” and his newest release, “Clockwork: Design your business to run itself.” By his 35th birthday, Mike had founded and sold two companies - one to private equity and another to a Fortune 500. Today, he is running his third multi-million dollar venture, Profit First Professionals. Now...you may remember Mike and the wisdom he shared during Episode 361. If you haven’t listened to, studied, and applied all he shared during his first interview...I highly encourage you to add Episode 361 to your list of vital priorities. What you'll learn about in this episode: The story behind why Mike wrote his latest book, “Clockwork” The four elements that make up every business Why business owners must support all decision-making from their employees when it comes to delegation The one thing that entrepreneurs don’t do, but is the most important thing to do Why we need to change the reward mechanism from followin

Our special encore guest today is Christopher Lochhead. Christopher is a retired three-time, Silicon Valley, public company CMO, entrepreneur, and category designer. Fast Company Magazine calls him a “Human Exclamation Point” and The Economist calls him “off-putting to some.” He’s also an acclaimed public speaker and proud advisor to non-profit “1 Life Fully Lived.” Now...you may remember Christopher and the wisdom he shared during Episode 448. If you haven’t listened to, studied, and applied all he shared during our first interview...I highly encourage you to add Episode 448 to your list of vital priorities. What you'll learn about in this episode: Why Christopher and his co-author decided to write their new book, Niche Down How “niching down” will not take away from, but rather catapult you into opportunity Why you should follow your niche, not your passion What we are taught about the pathway to success The characteristics of people who make a difference How great marketing can both attract and repel Why

Hundreds of thousands of business students have learned about marketing from Michael Solomon’s 30+ books, including “Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being” -- the most widely used book on the subject in the world. He is a professor of marketing, keynote speaker, and an advisor to global clients in leading industries on marketing strategies to make them more consumer-centric. He regularly appears on television shows including The Today Show, Good Morning America, and CNN to comment on consumer issues, and he is frequently quoted in major media outlets such as The New York Times, USA Today, Adweek, and Time. And today...we’re going to dive deep into Michael’s latest book entitled, “Marketers, Tear Down These Walls! Liberating the Postmodern Consumer.” What you'll learn about in this episode: Why it’s not about what you buy, it’s about why you buy How to succeed with your marketing in today’s super competitive marketplace Why storytelling is vital to a brand’s success Why your deliverable is not about th

Our special encore guest today is Henry DeVries. Henry is a book publisher, bestselling author, Forbes.com columnist, and professional speaker. He is an expert on helping people close more sales by teaching them how to persuade with stories on how they took a client from mess to success. In 2014, he founded Indie Books International, the marketing with a book and speech company. Now...you may remember Henry and the wisdom he shared during Episode 433. If you haven’t listened to, studied, and applied all he shared during our first interview...I highly encourage you to add Episode 433 to your list of vital priorities. What you'll learn about in this episode: How powerful it can be when you get the story right The three characters that you have to put into a story Why people remember stories — not lectures Why it’s getting tougher and tougher to get really good people to join your company What to do if you want employees to follow core values How it all comes back to business and storytelling The #1 marketing t

Paola Girotti is the founder and owner of Sugarmoon, a sugaring business with three salons, take-home sugaring and organic body care product lines, and the Sugarmoon training academy. She spent 10 years growing her successful brand — and then four years fighting — and winning — a trademark battle dispute that almost robbed her of the Sugarmoon name. I am so excited for this conversation, Onward Nation because Paola is going to share some of the lessons learned from the experience and her big plans for the future. What you'll learn about in this episode: The importance of protecting your brand name and slogans The benefits of being an early-riser Why you need to be flexible and adaptable to change Why it’s vital to have a plan for growth in place Why it’s important to align yourself with people who have gone through what you’re going through Why you need to recognize what you need from a financial perspective Why you need to put together a strong leadership team, sooner rather than later The importance of hav

Jeff Rohrs serves as chief marketing officer for Yext, the leading Digital Knowledge Management platform that gives companies control over their customer-critical facts across the digital universe. His first book, “Audience: Marketing in the Age of Subscribers, Fans and Followers”, has been lauded by marketers and executives as a must-read. Prior to joining Yext, Jeff served as Vice President of Marketing Insights for Salesforce and ExactTarget. What you'll learn about in this episode: How Jeffrey’s vision for digital research coincided with—and was enhanced by—Morgan Stewart, founder and CEO of Trendline Interactive Why audiences can be built as a proprietary marketing asset, as well as the responsibilities of growing them from such a foundation How today’s social media channels, like Instagram, are constantly shifting How to target your most loyal advocates and amplifiers as these shifts happen, assuring you’re never too far from your most valuable customers Why audience management, now, is a core marketin

My special, encore guest today is Misty Lown. Misty is the founder, president and energized force behind More Than Just Great Dancing. Her accomplishments in giving back to the community are on a scale seldom seen by small businesses owners. Her studio, Misty’s Dance Unlimited, founded in 1998 and named a “Top 50 Studios in the Nation” by Dance Spirit Magazine, has provided over $200,000 in combined cash and studio scholarships for young women and she is the founder of the “A Chance to Dance Foundation.” Misty is also the author of the bestselling book, “One Small Yes: Small Decisions that Lead to Big Results.” You may remember Misty and the wisdom she shared during Episodes 80 and 544. If you haven’t listened to, studied, and applied all Misty shared during our first interview...I highly encourage you to add Episodes 80 and 544 to your list of vital priorities. What you'll learn about in this episode: How Misty’s brand new international performing arts center came to be How finding a mentor who aligned with

Glenn Elliott is the founder of Reward Gateway, a world leader in integrated employee engagement technology with more than 1,800 clients worldwide. His new book, “Build it: The Rebel Playbook for World-Class Employee Engagement,” which he co-authored with Debra Corey, highlights practical improvements that organizations can make to build a highly engaged company culture. What you'll learn about in this episode: How good founders know instinctively what the market needs to be successful Why you always need to keep your team under constant review How you shouldn’t hire people for what they’ve done in the past but rather what they’ll do in the future Why Glenn and his co-author, Deborah, decided to write the book “Build it: The Rebel Playbook for World-Class Employee Engagement” Some of the ways that companies are disengaging employees How the path to better engagement is different for every organization The importance of helping people develop their skills How honesty and transparency can help you be successfu

Our special encore guest today is Ace Chapman. Ace bought his first business when he was 19 years old. It was an online stock market simulator called CoolWallStreet. After selling it, and seeing the benefits in buying a business over starting one, he caught the business buying bug. Since then he has bought and sold over 40 businesses and has helped his clients all over the world buy companies. Now...you may remember Ace and the wisdom he shared during Episode 561. If you haven’t listened to, studied, and applied all he shared during our first interview...I highly encourage you to add Episode 561 to your list of vital priorities. What you'll learn about in this episode: Ace’s 19 years of success since his first successful venture at age 19, when he got involved in the technique of selling businesses professionally The brief history of purchasing small Internet businesses and what it can show us about the art of buying mature entities A behind-the-scenes look at private equity firms, as well as how to leverage

Good Morning Onward Nation…I’m Stephen Woessner, CEO of Predictive ROI and your host for Onward Nation. And today’s episode is going to be a solocast…where it’s just you and me exploring a topic at some real depth — something helpful — so you can build and scale your business. So let’s dive in. Much has changed since I wrote The Small Business Owner’s Handbook to Search Engine Optimization in 2009. Google now has a longer and more complicated recipe of factors it uses to rank you and your competitors as you attempt to earn the attention of your prospects and customers. And many of the factors within Google’s list are not properly setup within the typical small business website. That means fewer leads and perhaps less opportunity to generate higher sales. All of which makes it important — for you as the business owner — to know some of the fundamentals to SEO. Not so you can do the work — but so you can establish expectations for your team — and then audit their results. So for today’s solocast — I am going to

Jason Hsiao is the co-founder and chief video officer of Animoto, an award-winning online video maker that makes it easy for anyone to create professional-quality marketing videos. Animoto is a certified partner with Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and the Small Business Administration and give it unique insight into the changing social media and business landscape -- which may be why more than 1-million businesses around the world are already using Animoto to create marketing videos. Prior to founding Animoto, Jason was a producer for MTV Networks and Comedy Central. What you'll learn about in this episode: Why all businesses are trying to stand out on social media with video How video is becoming the preferred way that people want to consume information Why you should think of video as a form of communication The method to use to come up with video topics How social media has been a game-changer for small businesses Why video is a great investment Why you need to be aware of how you approach the small things

David C. Baker is an author, speaker, and advisor to entrepreneurial creatives worldwide. He has written 5 books, advised 900+ firms, and keynoted conferences in 30+ countries. His work has been discussed in the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Forbes, USA Today, BusinessWeek, and Inc. Magazine. He lives in Nashville, TN. His work has also been featured in the NY Times, where he was referred to as the expert’s expert. What you'll learn about in this episode: David’s history approaching U.S. Businesses after arriving in America at age 18 and the foundation upon which he’s build a legacy: an intense desire to learn and the bravery to start an agency with self-taught business approaches The secret behind creating something from nothing and how David’s approach to risk-taking thrives on calculated spontaneity How the challenges of an entrepreneur’s “professional DNA” manifest in multi-project tackling The pitfalls of having multiple great ideas and why it’s important to divide your time wisely The importance o

Michael Stallard is a former Wall Street executive who left the Street 15 years ago to found the Connection Culture Group, a leadership training firm and focuses on improving workplace cultures. He’s a keynote speaker and expert on how effective leaders boost human connection in cultures to improve the health and performance of individuals and organizations. Michael is also the author of two books, "Connection Culture" and "Fired Up or Burned Out.” What you'll learn about in this episode: The story of how Michael became interested in culture How having more human connection in your life can be beneficial to your health The metrics that are used to define levels of loneliness How we can be so focused on chasing money and power that we crowd out time for relationships that really matter The benefits of using social media to establish offline connections The power of having face-to-face connections Why, as a leader, it’s vital to care about both people and results Why you need to be intentional about achieving

After traveling the world, David Osborn returned home to Austin, Texas broke and unemployed...at the age of 26. Though his travels may not have yielded wealth, they instilled the key motivation that he brings to every part of his life -- to create it freedom. David began to test his entrepreneurial merits and the results were nothing short of remarkable. In less than 10 years, David built one of the top real estate brokerages in the world, founded over 50 companies, and became the best selling author of “Miracle Morning Millionaires” with co-author, Hal Elrod. What you'll learn about in this episode: How saying “yes” to taking a trip around the world turned into a valuable learning experience for David Why it’s a bigger risk to NOT take risks How David’s book “Wealth Can’t Wait” & “Miracle Morning Millionaires” came about Why you need to focus on hiring great people Why you’ve got to put yourself in a position to get lucky The importance of managing your expenses Why David believes that there should be a