Company of One with Dale Callahan

To succeed in business you need to do something you love -  you need to find your passion. It is the driving factor or "WHY" of your work. But, finding your passion is something that many find hard to do. Today, Anthony Witt and I, do the second in our series on getting started in your business by addressing the question "How do you find your passion?" "Turning Passion Int...

Why do you want to be an entrepreneur? Sounds like a silly question, but finding your why can be a big part of your long term success. Your why will get you through the rough days, teach you when to say yes and when to say no, and will keep you laser focused on serving your customers. In today’s show, Anthony Witt, of The Champion Entrepreneur, and I discuss finding your why. "Finding Your Wh...

Are you thinking about starting a business? Over 3000 new businesses are started each day in the United States alone. But, most new owners are not prepared for what they are getting into and have failed to prepare - which is the reason many will fail. I am not talking big issues or big strategies to get started - but some common sense things each person who is looking to start a business needs to...

A few years ago I was consulting with a telecom startup. One day the chairmen of the board (and primary investor) called me to ask a quick and simple question. “Dale will you take over as CEO?” I did not answer immediately - but somewhat out of obligation felt I needed to step up and take the reigns. I really enjoyed the people and the company. I became VERY busy. But one day I looked in the mirro...

I hate A or B decisions. You know, those times when you have to decide to take a job or not, move or stay, and/or sell your business or keep it. Yet I have I counseled with multiple people recently caught in the “whether or not” trap. One person had a job offer which was going to pay him significantly more money - but in a job he would not like. He told me “I think I am going to literally throw up...

Do you just hate networking? Does the word feel slimy. Yeah - me too. So don’t network. Instead, do something that matters more. Listen in today to my interview with John Corcoran as we discuss why networking does not work and what you should think about instead. Click to ListenIn this episode John and and I talk about networking in a way that just makes more sense to me. Forget shaking of many ha...

Do you have the technology skills, but feel left out of the leadership and decisions? Do you feel under appreciated? Is it as if all the important decisions go on with limited input from you - even when they are stupid decisions? How can you become part of the bigger conversation and get the bigger salaries to go with it? Do you need to do some engineering for your career? "Creative Commons&q...

Are you suffering from doubt, fear, and indecision? I am. In fact, I have been for some time. It is a dark and deep hole. I have been wondering where to go next. It is not a matter of work alone - it is much deeper. For the past few years I have even turned into a sorta hermit. I quit meeting and networking. I was just sick of it all. Everything seemed empty and hollow. Some of the steps I took I...

Do you like who you are when you are with your friends? Jim Rohn, business philosopher, says that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. I totally agree with this, and I have seen it modeled in my own life. If you look around, I am sure you see it in yours. But, who SHOULD you be spending your time with and who should you be avoiding? And how do you get around those peo...

A recent message to my voicemail (message played on the podcast) was challenging me on why I charge for my service when so many people were in need. The question reflected what I often hear from people starting in business “Should I Charge for my services?” "Creative Commons" by Sonja Langford is licensed under CC BY 2.0[/featured-image]Click to ListenThree Views on "Should I Charge...

[guestpost]This is a guest post from Howard Ward. Howard writes a blog about turning critical thinking into critical doing called "The Critical Doer" and you can follow at criticaldoer.com. [/guestpost]For anyone looking to start a new career or a new business, what you want to do and how to do it are not the most difficult decisions in putting your dream in motion. In reality, the most...

Last week in Episode 91- Who is Hiring -  I talked about who is hiring. Today I will give you some detailed examples about how to find a job. These are real examples. And last I leave you with a few hints to find new opportunities in every conversation. ”Creative Commons" by DeduloPhotos is licensed under CC BY 2.0  [/featured-image]Click to ListenReview My PodcastIf you offer me a review of...

Who’s hiring? That is one of the most common questions I get when I speak to career transition groups. I will start by asking them what questions I can answer that will help them quickly move from unemployed to employed. Someone usually says “Who is hiring? That is what we need to know. And how do we find those employers who are hiring?” The answer to their question is simple, but takes a little e...

Overwhelmed? Recently, I spent some time in Dallas with members of my mastermind team and one topic that kept coming up over and over was the feeling of being overwhelmed. So, we decided to take an hour out and talk about strategies for dealing with overwhelm by learning what each one of us does when we feel overwhelmed. I took notes, and now I share them with you. "Creative Commons" by...

When we think of ways to make a living, we often get stuck on our training, our college degree, and our past work history. But, many careers have been started out of raw personal experiences. Today I interview one of those career changers - Steve Ozanich, - who went from engineer to author specializing in chronic pain relief. His journey did not take him through medical school, but instead through...

One of the biggest challenges with new businesses is they are slow to start. Once the decision is made - you must get products on the market as soon as possible. Seth Godin uses the term "SHIP IT" often. Seth is trying to say "It will never be perfect, you must ship product. Here in this audio and video I will walk you through the common sales path, I call the critical sales path, s...

So you have a business idea. Want to find out if you have a good idea and can really make money? Well it is a simple process I call Opportunity Analysis. An opportunity analysis allows you to get some idea of the size of the market and then to get a reasonable view of just how much money you can make. Don’t be like so many others who have gone into businesses which are limited in the amount of inc...

The dream of many across the world is to own their own business. Everyday many industrious people all over the world are exploring business ideas. I want to help you in your explore to find ideas that  fit your personality AND also will make you money. "Creative Commons" by Josefa Holland-Merten is licensed under CC BY 2.0[/featured-image]Click to ListenCoachingI have recently started wo...

How do you keep someone from stealing your idea? This is one of the most frequent questions I get from budding entrepreneurs. Here is my common sense advice that will help you move past being frozen without totally abandoning common sense. "Creative Commons" by Grégoire Hervé-Bazin is licensed under CC BY 2.0[/featured-image]Click to ListenDale’s Rule of Thumb:  "People who will ste...

In my annual review, I wanted to find my most popular shows of 2014. Why would you care? First, many of you are content creators and I wanted to show you how I find new ideas. Second, it is just fun to learn what others are thinking. So here is a quick review of my most popular shows of 2014. "Creative Commons " by Rula Sibai is licensed under CC BY 2.0[/featured-image]Click to Listen Lo...

Is it OK to want a new job that has more meaning to you when so many other people are unemployed?  Should you not just be content with your work and live the blessing you have been given? Most of my clients do NOT like their job. There - I said it - most do not like their job. For most, they work for a good company and have good people around them, but something is missing. They are unfulfilled. T...

Want answers and solutions to your problems? Then FIRST you must get clarity in your questions. As I sit here reviewing my interactions with you and others from last year, I realize that most people are very unclear in their questions when they approach me. Instead of asking what they really want to know, they come with statements, which are often statements of hopelessness. "I cannot get mor...

Ever get stuck needing ideas, or perhaps just needing better ideas or more ideas? We often find ourselves stuck in not knowing what to do over even seemingly simple decisions. Just the other day I was meeting two friends, one being Jonathan, a musician who has started blogging. Jonathan was stuck trying to find what to write about on his blog and had few ideas. As two of us listened and heard abou...

Do you feel overwhelmed? Just a few days ago I was sitting ready to get to work, looking at a list of things to do. But the list was huge and some of the individual items seemed overwhelming on their own. I sat for some time staring at them and wondering what to do first. I finally shook out of it and went to get coffee. But, when I came back, the list was still there. I needed a better way to dea...

The most successful people I know spend time to think. Like us, they are busy, have families and responsibilities, so they have to find ways to force thinking time into their schedule. Why? They know success is tied to thinking and action. Action can be easy, but thinking about what action to take, now that is the key. As one person suggested to me on thinking time, if you are not thinking you are...