Avant-Garde Entrepreneur®

How far are creating value and providing products and services while putting people and the planet first from being considered the only way of doing business?  Today, I'm thrilled to be joined by Amanda Kiessel. Amanda is a Catalyst, Connector, and Cocreator at Good Market, a digital commons created to facilitate connections between social enterprises, cooperatives, responsible businesses, ci...

How much are your fears of taking risks impacting the growth of your business? When you look closer at them, how big are those risks anyway? Today, I'm very excited to welcome Alexander Concepcion. Alexander is the Founder and Owner of Taco Street Locating, the Author of "Survival First: The Rebel Entrepreneur's Guide to Risk, Riches, and Immortality," and a bold, sharp, and creative entrepreneur...

Is your social impact business ready for the world that's coming?  Today, I'm thrilled to be joined by Peter Schroeder. Peter is an award-winning DJ, Entrepreneur, and Founder on a mission to make people's lives easier by developing unmatched technology and products. He is the Founder of Telzio, a unified communications company, an artist at heart, and a pioneer in innovation.  Born in D...

Is your social impact business sustainable? What does sustainability look like to you?  Today, I'm revealing publicly my secrets to sustainability for the first time. Whether you are a seasoned social entrepreneur or are at the beginning of your journey, these tips will help you build a social impact business that makes a difference in the lives of thousands of people, thrives financially, an...

If I tell you you must scale your personal brand for your social enterprise to grow, would you know where to start? Today, I'm excited to be joined by Dylan Vanas. On paper, Dylan is the Founder of one of the most successful SaaS companies, Agency Box, and the co-founder of Mindful Agency, yet as you'll see during this interview, he's much more than that. He has been featured on Fox, ABC, and Yaho...

What small changes are you open to make for a sustainable start to 2024? Today, for our first episode of 2024, we start with a recap of some of the most impactful interviews from last year. We will go through some of the things you can expect in the new chapter of the pod that starts today, and I will share four tips you can apply to ensure a sustainable start to 2024.  The start of a new yea...

When is the best time to set your goals for the year?  Today , in our last episode of 2023, I revisit the most downloaded episode in the podcast's history, which touches on the #1 topic discussed in almost every end-of-the-year conversation: setting goals for the following year. You'll hear about my approach to goal-setting, top tips to set your goals, and the things about goal-setting I wish...

How often do you shop online? Would you like to help dreams come true with every purchase?  Today, I'm joined by the extraordinary Kirstyn Liang. Kirstyn is a Social Entrepreneur, Linguist and Language Instructor, Franchise Owner of Shop Donation, and the Director of Shop Donation South Africa. Through affiliate marketing, Shop Donation redistributes commercial profit to non-profits, helping...

What kind of leader are you? One who is always there for others to lean on, or the one who makes the leaning unnecessary?  Today, I'm thrilled to welcome my good friend and Executive Coach, Kathleen Seeley. Kathleen is the Founder and CEO of Massively Human Leadership™, a Globally Acclaimed Speaker, Facilitator, Author, and Corporate Consultant who, for over 25 years, has been developing tale...

Do you have a strategy to prevent the urgent from conquering the space of what's important? Today, I'm super excited to be joined by Ginni Saraswati. Ginni is the Founder and CEO of Ginni Media, hosts two podcasts, "PodPops" and "The Ginni Show," and is a Forbes, Fast Company, Rolling Stone & Entrepreneur Contributor. Born in Sri Lanka, Ginni and her family moved to Australia when she was two....

Do your social impact business metrics reflect your passion for the change you want to create?  This week, on the second and last part of our series on Investment Readiness, we receive the Co-founder and CEO of CommonGood Capital, Jeff Shafer, to learn about investment readiness from the impact investor standpoint and the metrics, values, and opportunities impact investors feel called upon.&n...

Is your social impact business ready for investors? Do you know where to find the right investor?  Today's episode is the first part of a two-part series on Investment Readiness, and we kick off this conversation with someone who has been putting his money where his heart guides him for almost 40 years, Don Simmons. Don is the Founder and CEO of the Steward Advisors Group, is the Author of th...

Do you think there is someone out there, anywhere in the world, capable of taking the torch of your hand and running with it to the next generation? Are you mentally prepared for that? Is everything in your social enterprise ready for a smooth succession?  Today, I'm excited to talk about my merger experience and share my top 5 tips for business continuity and planning a smooth succession. Af...

"The first thing most people in any of these enterprises should be concerned about is: If I can't run a sustainable enterprise, the doing good goes away." In today's episode, we go through the second part of my conversation with the Director of the M.Sc. in Information Systems Program at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and the Founder of Change University, Dr. Jim King.  Tune in and list...

"The education world is more than just the academic content, and I grew to appreciate that more the longer I was in school." This week, we go through the first part of my conversation with Dr. Jim King, Director M.Sc. in Information Systems Program at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Founder of Change University, a portal for information about homelessness, poverty, and hunger that promote...

Regardless of how passionate we are about our social enterprise, a passion project can become a job if we don't have boundaries in place and learn to balance the business side of it.  In today's episode, we go through the second and last part of my conversation with the social entrepreneur, husband, father, and Owner of Crescent Tactical Fitness in Tennessee, Joseph Peer.  Tune in and li...

Social entrepreneurship isn't butterflies and flowers all the time; sometimes, it can be a bit stressful. When the stress hormone runs loose, we can either numb its effects with alcohol, nicotine, and binge eating or help our body process it. What is the best option to do so? Exercising, meditation, and healthy eating and sleeping habits.  Today , as we start wrapping up the special avant-gar...

Social entrepreneurship is not only about giving someone job training or an opportunity; it's about helping them realize their worth, that they are worthy of having a career and making money from it. That's what makes social entrepreneurship so unique.  Today , in the last part of my conversation with David Wampamba, he shares his thoughts on social entrepreneurship, how he prepares physicall...

Never in social entrepreneurship history has anyone said: we already had the impact we wanted. Yet what makes social entrepreneurs that have a heart for people keep going is thinking about the results they already had and the changes they believe they can promote. Today, in the second part of my conversation with David Wampamba, we learn a bit more about his upbringing and the challenges he crushe...

How hard are you willing to commit to fulfilling your dreams?  Today, I'm so excited to be joined by David Wampamba. He is a Startup Founder, Social Entrepreneur, Web Designer, and Developer, published Author, and the Founder and CEO of Ablestate, a company based in Kampala, Uganda, created to help businesses find developers across the globe and developers land the job of their dreams. ...

In GuardUp App, security agencies' links are for more than just calling for emergency or quick response. You can also share information with their intelligence units. When you see something, say something; if you suspect something, report that. That is how we can all work together to reduce insecurity in our country. - Aisha Bello. Today , we continue our chat with Aisha Bello, Sexual and Gender-b...

"No matter what we're going through, we still have people who need us and must help each other." - Aisha Bello. Today , I'm thrilled to be joined by Aisha Bello, a Sexual and Gender-based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Advocate, Author, M & E Specialist, and Social Entrepreneur. Aisha is also the Co-founder of GuardUp, a mobile application designed for the safety and pr...

"Just sitting here and thinking about 'I want good things' isn't going to make a difference. We must be responsible enough to do the things that lead to where we want to go." - Steven Ross.  Today , I'm very excited to share the second part of my interview with Steven Ross. This week, the Realtor, Speaker, Guide, Transformational Coach, and Best-selling Author of "Doors Open When You Knock,"...

What is the thing that keeps you going when you feel you can't go any further? Today , I'm so excited to be joined by Steven Ross. Steven is a Trainer, Realtor, Guide, and Best-selling Author of the book "Doors Open When You Knock." With over 30 years of experience selling real estate, and after knocking on over 125,000 doors and walking approximately 5,000 miles, Steven learned what it takes to p...

As a social entrepreneur, what is the best way to be purposeful, financially stable, and do humanitarian work successfully?  Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Sharon Williams, a lifelong server, founder, dear friend, a traveling partner. She dedicated her whole life to serving others; Sharon is an expert in fundraising, helping people in crises, rallying people around the cause, and relying on h...