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

Gerard Adams is the co-founder of Elite Daily, the No.1 news platform for Generation Y, is an experienced angel investor, millennial thought leader and social entrepreneur who overcame early adversity to become a self-made millionaire by the age of 24. Now 30, he has built, backed, or invested in nine businesses and trades across multiple industries that have all delivered over seven-figure profits. While he continues his role as an investor and influencer, his mission in life is to mentor and inspire young entrepreneurs on what it takes to be successful and how to turn dreams into reality. Secret – timesaving technique Gerard takes down notes every night of what he learned that day and what he wants to accomplish tomorrow -- hold yourself accountable, be self aware, and have a good mindset. ONWARD! Daily habit that contributes to success Have a regular process -- Gerard firmly believes in using quarterly reports. Could have ruined your business – but now – an invaluable learning experience Gerard was a month

John Addison is the newly appointed Leadership Editor of Success Magazine and CEO of Addison Leadership Group. John is renowned for his insight and wisdom on leadership, personal development and success. A sought-after, world-class speaker and motivator, John is sharing his business know-how and leadership insights in his upcoming book, “Real Leadership”, which shares his straightforward practices for successful leadership through his personal and professional journey, helping leaders at any level understand and emulate the nine principles that fostered enduring results on his path to success. He is also the former co-chief executive officer of Primerica. Following the financial crisis of 2008, he spearheaded the process of separating from Citigroup. These efforts culminated with a successful IPO in 2010 that was 22 times oversubscribed.  Secret – timesaving technique John works to make -- and finish -- daily goals -- spend your time focusing on being the best you that you can be. ONWARD! Daily habit that con

Ira Chaleff is the author of a very unusual book called Intelligent Disobedience; Doing Right When What You’re Told To Do Is Wrong. It was named the best leadership book of 2015 by the University of San Diego and has been featured in many publications including Fast Company and Forbes, as well as in the New York Times Educational Supplement. Ira is a frequent speaker and workshop presenter on Courageous Followership and transforming hierarchical relationships into powerful partnerships. Ira is also the founder and president of “Executive Coaching & Consulting Associates” and an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University. What does a small business owner need to understand? You need to hope your employees say what is needed -- don't create an environment where they would be afraid to give you valuable insight. What are some strategies small business owners can use to launch a new product? Don't put out your new ideas too enthusiastically -- ask for feedback first and invite discussion. Are there other

Paul Akers is founder and president of FastCap, based in Bellingham, WA. FastCap is an international product development company founded in 1997 with over 2,000 distributors worldwide. A prolific inventor, Paul holds US and international patents. His company launches approximately 20 new innovative products per year and won business of the year in 1999 and 2010. Paul and his wife, Leanne, have built FastCap from their garage into a multi-million dollar company in 13 years. Secret – timesaving technique Paul works to make today better than yesterday -- deliberately improve every day. ONWARD! Daily habit that contributes to success Read or listen to audiobooks consistently -- Paul has read at least one book a week every week since college. Could have ruined your business – but now – an invaluable learning experience Paul spent too much money way too fast -- and Paul tells the whole story here. Most critical skill you think business owners need to master to be successful "Uncover the greatness in every human bei

Dave Mammano is the founder and CEO of the Next Step Education Group. His mission in life is to help people realize their highest potential through education. Next Step is a multi-media enterprise that has grown to become a nationwide resource with prestigious awards and honors, including being named a three time consecutive Inc. Magazine 5000 growth company and Top 100 growth company in Rochester, New York. David has spoken at hundreds of high school, college, business and EO events, including TEDx, and is the author of the new book, “Make Love in the Workplace”.  What do you do in the first 60 minutes of your day? David reads immediately upon waking up at 5:30 in the morning, meditates, and exercises -- don't leave your morning up to chance. ONWARD! Favorite quote or lesson? "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." - George Bernard Shaw How do you define success? Success is

Dr. Marcie Beigel has been redesigning behavior for professionals, families, schools, and businesses for over 15 years. Her specialty is engaging with behaviors directly and giving clear and insightful directives to clients ­­ who are oftentimes ­­ business owners looking for balance at home to help create balance at work or new approaches to become better leaders. Her approach is heartfelt, but filled with tough love. You can get her weekly behavior newsletter at BehaviorAndBeyond.net. Dr. Marcie is also featured on NBC's Parenting Toolkit. What do you do in the first 60 minutes of your day? Dr. Marcie starts her morning by waking up to a real alarm clock (not her cell phone), lies in bed and plans her day, and does yoga -- stay away from technology for as long as you can. ONWARD! Favorite quote or lesson? "You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." – A.A. Milne How do you define success? Success is happiness -- it's the fullness and richness of life that defines suc

Marty Wolff is an entrepreneur, business coach and business journalist. He's the President of Marty Wolff Business Solutions. What do you do in the first 60 minutes of your day? Marty starts every morning out with prayer/Bible study, exercise, healthy eating, and then goes into email and social media -- clear your slate of necessary communication to have the time to do the important things. ONWARD! Favorite quote or lesson? "Make a mistake of aggression, not of omission." How do you define success? Success is making a difference -- in an individual's life, in a group that you're working with, in someone you're coaching, or in your family's life. What strategy do you use to combat fear? Marty believes you have to feel worthy of success -- and Marty tells the reasons why here. What makes as "A player" an "A player"? An "A player" is a good team member -- the most unique skill set is caring.   Final Round – “Breaking Down the Recipe for Success” How can we become better mentors? Model the behavior you expect of

Jennifer Maffei is the Founder and President of VEA Services; a coaching and consulting firm specializing in helping CEOs get the most out of their Executive Assistants. Jennifer developed her A-Z approach after working for more than 20 years as both a Business Owner and as an Executive Assistant - from Fortune 500 companies to small firms. Jennifer is also a Vistage Resource Speaker - presenting How to Maximize the Executive and Assistant Relationship, to CEO peer groups across the country. Secret – timesaving technique Jennifer calendars absolutely everything -- schedule time for yourself to sit and think. ONWARD! Daily habit that contributes to success Review your priorities every single day -- Jennifer reviews her to-do list immediately before bed and again when waking up. Could have ruined your business – but now – an invaluable learning experience Jennifer was severely injured while working in San Francisco -- and Jennifer tells the whole story here. Most critical skill you think business owners need to

Virginia "Ginny" Roth is president of PPO&S in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania based marketing and advertising firm serving clients in 14 states. Her 30-year career launched in the arena of media research and has evolved as she now owns the firm offering integrated marketing communications counsel to clients in insurance, finance, the environment, higher education and issues management. PPO&S was recently selected as the 2015 Small Business of the Year by the Harrisburg Chamber. Secret – timesaving technique Virginia starts her day by making her plans for the day, week, month, quarter and figuring out her schedule -- have a set morning ritual to keep your day on track. ONWARD! Daily habit that contributes to success Make yourself as available as you can -- Virginia keeps herself free by making lists and staying focused during vital priorities. Could have ruined your business – but now – an invaluable learning experience Virginia's mentor and business partner was given a terminal diagnosis -- and Virginia tel

David Long is a Speaker, Author, Successful CEO and Student of the Game of Business. Founder/CEO of MyEmployees, a 26 year-old firm in the Top 1% Worldwide in the Employee Engagement and Recognition industry. What do you do in the first 60 minutes of your day? David wakes up between 5:45 and 6 AM -- with no alarm. He also reads -- both The Bible and other books -- you have to constantly seek out learning. ONWARD! Favorite quote or lesson? "Is the highest and best use of my time right now?" How do you define success? Success is finding the will of God for your life -- and doing it. David learned powerful lessons on success from his father. What strategy do you use to combat fear? David believes you can't wait for all the answers before you start -- and David tells the reasons why here. What makes as "A player" an "A player"? An "A player" has to be all in.   Final Round – “Breaking Down the Recipe for Success” How can we become better mentors? Be the mentor you'd want to mentor you Groom the people in your bu

Becky McKinnell is an entrepreneur who loves design and believes that building a company should be fun. She started her first company, iBec Creative in 2006 the day after graduating from the University of Southern Maine. She taught herself web development, design, and digital marketing and was able to grow to over $1 million in revenue in 6 years by bootstrapping. She currently has 14 amazing, kind, and talented full time employees, and 200 happy clients around the country who are growing their businesses. Becky has been featured Business Week's Top 25 Entrepreneurs 25 and Under, awarded the Small Business Administration's Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and a recipient of the Stevie Women in Business Award. Secret – timesaving technique Becky brings her paper and pencil to-do list to bed -- plan tomorrow today -- and know what you're going to do right when you wake up. ONWARD! Daily habit that contributes to success Be timely in your communication -- Becky returns emails immediately -- even if she doesn't ha

Stephen is the CEO of Predictive ROI and host of the Onward Nation podcast. He is the author of two bestselling books, speaker, trainer, and his digital marketing insights have been featured in SUCCESS, Entrepreneur, The Washington Post, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and other media. Good Morning Onward Nation...I’m Stephen Woessner. Before we jump into the topic of today’s solocast -- I wanted to take a moment to wish you, your family, and your friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. My hope for you is that you will be able to take some time away from your business to celebrate all of the wonderful blessings in your life -- and to take this opportunity to plan for 2016 and to gain even more clarity on your most vital priorities for the coming year. How will you make 2016 your best year ever? I can tell you for certain -- that becoming your best and achieving more -- will not be the result of you working harder -- or even as a result of you working smarter as we often hear. Nope. You need to add more sc

Scott McKain’s keynote presentations benefit from three decades of experience, combined with his innate talent for articulating successful ideas. McKain has spoken before and consulted for the world’s best companies. What do you do in the first 60 minutes of your day? Scott begins his day with stretching -- your body and mind both need warm ups in the morning. ONWARD! Favorite quote or lesson? "That which is easy to do is also easy not do -- which is why most people won't do it." - Jim Rohn How do you define success? It's the progressive realization of a worthy goal -- Scott learned this lesson from the late Earl Nightingale. What strategy do you use to combat fear? Scott looks at every decision as a trade -- and Scott tells the reasons why here. What makes as "A player" an "A player"? An "A player" has to be willing to do the work, is open to change, and has a sense of purpose.   Final Round – “Breaking Down the Recipe for Success”  How can we become better mentors? Walk the talk -- people know whether or n

Nancy Marshall is known as The PR Maven(R), after having worked in public relations for 30 years. She recently published her first book called PR Works! What do you do in the first 60 minutes of your day? Nancy begins each day with a swim -- exercise, meditation, and time to think about the day ahead are building blocks of a successful day. ONWARD! Favorite quote or lesson? "Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it." - Maya Angelou How do you define success? It's all about the relationships -- Nancy gets such a feeling of accomplishment from being able to keep up with the people in her life. What strategy do you use to combat fear? Nancy sought out a hypnotherapist to overcome her fear of public speaking -- and Nancy tells the whole story here. What makes as "A player" an "A player"? An "A player" has to have a deep rooted desire to be a continuous learner, a leader, and a follower.   Final Round – “Breaking Down the Recipe for Success”

Marc Mawhinney has a passion for entrepreneurship, having started a number of businesses in his life and growing one to 100 employees. Marc is now on a mission to help coaches build stronger businesses! After becoming a coach, he saw the struggles that coaches face while trying to build a successful business, and decided to do something about it! He launched “Natural Born Coaches”, a daily podcast where he interviews successful coaches to share their advice with listeners, and he has created a number of innovative programs to help coaches get more clients and less stress, including his 6-week “Seize Your Niche” program!   Secret – timesaving technique Marc time batches -- schedule certain tasks at certain times so you're at your best and most efficient. ONWARD! Daily habit that contributes to success Journal and read on a daily basis -- Marc ends every day by reading and journaling in a moleskine notebook. Could have ruined your business – but now – an invaluable learning experience Marc's real estate busines

Monica Wofford has been seen on CNN and Fox News. They have quoted her in Forbes, Bloomberg, and Investor’s Business Daily. She has spoken in all 50 states, 27 different countries, and began her speaking career 25-years ago. Monica is a former corporate training executive, author of six books on leadership topics, and CEO of the training firm, Contagious Companies. Monica has trained and coached thousands of managers on how to become better leaders, even if they are faced with difficult barriers, employees, bosses, or people. In fact, she wrote the book “Make Difficult People DISAPPEAR.” Secret – timesaving technique Monica keeps a list with four quadrants -- continuously get the information out of your head. ONWARD! Daily habit that contributes to success Connect regularly with people you want to do business with -- Monica makes phone calls to five people at least three times a week. Could have ruined your business – but now – an invaluable learning experience Monica got stabbed in the back by an employee --

Stephen is the CEO of Predictive ROI and host of the Onward Nation podcast. He is the author of two bestselling books, speaker, trainer, and his digital marketing insights have been featured in SUCCESS, Entrepreneur, The Washington Post, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and other media.   Good Morning Onward Nation...I’m Stephen Woessner. Since the advent of the commercial Internet, I have collected tens of thousands of data points that have given me the ability to identify what I call the 8 Money Draining Mistakes. These are the things -- the simple mistakes -- that can cause of business to leak serious money every single day. Cash being sucked right out of the company. I devoted last week’s solocast...episode 127...to taking you on a deep dive into the 8 Money Draining Mistakes. But say you studied last week’s solocast -- and have taken corrective action and you have plugged all of the holes in the bottom of the boat. All of the leaks -- the money draining mistakes have been solved. Awesome! The next step is to maste

Bill Jelen is the host of MrExcel.com and the author of 49 books about Microsoft Excel including “Excel Gurus Gone Wild”, “Pivot Table Data Crunching”, and “Power Pivot Alchemy”. He has made over 80 guest appearances on TVs “Call for Help with Leo Laporte” and was voted guest of the year on the Computer America radio show. He writes the Excel column for Strategic Finance magazine and has produced over 1,900 episodes of his daily video podcast “Learn Excel from MrExcel.” Before founding MrExcel.com in 1998, Jelen spent twelve years "in the trenches", as a financial analyst for the accounting, finance, marketing, and operations departments of a publicly held company. Since then, his company automates Excel reports for hundreds of clients around the world. The website answers over 30,000 questions a year for free for readers all over the world. Secret – timesaving technique Bill gets his one or two most vital priorities before he ever opens his email -- email is a huge time-waster. ONWARD! Daily habit that contr

With more than 25-years of experience in the marketing field, Lori Jones brings top retail, consumer product, business-to-business and non-profit organizations knowledge and experience in all aspects of integrated marketing. Her experience with Fortune 500 brands and entrepreneurial start-ups, enable her to contribute a keen understanding of the intricacies today's businesses. She has presented at numerous industry sales and marketing meetings and small business forums on topics such as "Selling on the Trade Show Floor, “Tips on Growing a Small Business in a Down Economy”, "Brand Differentiation", and more.    Secret – timesaving technique Lori gets up every morning at 4 AM -- schedule yourself alone time to think and strategize. ONWARD! Daily habit that contributes to success Have a synchronized approach to everything you do -- Lori has specific daily team meetings that help each team member do their work. Could have ruined your business – but now – an invaluable learning experience Lori had to fire her gori