Tag: success story

IIP045: HIJACKED! Alex Barker Takes Over The Show And Interviews Meron Bareket

Inspiring Innovation Podcast
Inspiring Innovation Podcast episode 45  Get it on iTunes

I’ve been hijacked!

This week, my show has been hijacked by Alex Barker of Leadership Dojo, and boy, has he certainly turned the tables on me!

Being on the receiving end of this interview certainly brought out the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of my journey, including the reasons and inspirations that led to the creation of Inspiring Innovation Magazine and — of course — Inspiring Innovation Podcast!

A Journey To The Past

With a bit of retrospect and a touch of nostalgia, discover how a kid from a kibbutz in Israel went out of the norm and set to create a life free of restrictions and filled endless opportunities. I myself never realized until Alex asked me, what made my younger self search so obsessively for other ways to live life. What was the trigger? What could I not stand imagining myself doing? You’ll have to tune in to find out 🙂

My entrepreneurial journey started early on in my life. At a young age, I developed an affinity for computers and technology. Gifted with anything to do with mathematics and considered to be a genius by some, I moved on to acquire more knowledge to equip myself with what (I thought) I needed for my better future. That included leaving high-school at 10th grade and moving straight on to my undergrad degree, with a master plan to become the youngest person to get a Ph.D ever! (Yeah.. that didn’t happen..).

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

However, in life, you have to expect the unexpected.

With numerous opportunities already on my way, the universe gave me a trial — in shape of a pretty bad car accident. As Alex points out in the interview – while it might have defeated someone else, I never let that blow put me down.

As I lay recovering, I’ve never kept an idle mind. Even incapacitated and with my injuries keeping me awake for long hours, I listened to audiobooks that inevitably inspired me to look for alternate ways to generate income. I started a business from bed – and it did fine for a while – until I took one bad, bad, piece of advice that ended up crumbling my business (we discuss everything in detail in today’s episode!).

So I moved on.

Going Corporate

Needing to make ends meet, I took a corporate job. While managing hundreds of thousands to sometimes multi-million dollars projects, being a technical lead, and managing employees with the freedom to hire and fire them at will — all at the age of 22 — was a dream of many of my fellow undergrads. Yet, I was unfulfilled.

Searching for a better way, I stumbled upon podcasts. People like Pat Flynn and Leslie Samuel were making it big in the world of online business, and right then I knew that’s how I want to design my own life.

I left my job a few months later and was back to entrepreneurship. But I had no clue what my next move would be. I just knew it was the only way for me.

Entrepreneur, Again!

For the second half of today’s interview, I’ll take you from that moment of realization that I am, and always have been, an entrepreneur, to the HOW and the WHY of Inspiring Innovation as you know it today.

Tune in to this week’s episode and you’ll discover the nitty gritty details of my entrepreneurial journey and more – and please, leave me a review so I know what you think of this episode. 🙂

Items mentioned:

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It by Kamal Ravikant

1 FREE Audiobook Credit RISK-FREE from Audible.com

Don’t Miss an Episode! Subscribe Below:

Click Here to Subscribe via iTunes
Click Here to Subscribe via Stitcher Radio
  • Subscribe in podnova
  • Subscribe with Feedly
  • Add to netvibes
  • addtomyyahoo4
  • Subscribe with SubToMe
Using something else? Copy this address:
––– http://www.meronbareket.com/feed/podcast/ –––

I Need Your Help!

If you haven’t already, I would love if you could be awesome and take a minute to leave a quick rating and review of the podcast on iTunes by clicking on the link below! It’s the most amazing way to help the show grow and reach more people! Leave a review for Meron’s podcast! Thank you again for your ongoing support.

Stay awesome,
Meron

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links. There is no additional cost to you, and I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.

Transcript

Continue reading IIP045: HIJACKED! Alex Barker Takes Over The Show And Interviews Meron Bareket

IIP044: Purpose

Misfit Walks Away From A 6-Figure Monthly Salary

Inspiring Innovation Podcast
Inspiring Innovation Podcast episode 44  Get it on iTunes

What makes anyone walk away from the perfect job, the perfect house, the perfect income, all the things they worked so hard to achieve… and reboot their lives?

How did our guest handle the journey from rock bottom to conquering the peaks of corporate and material success, just to realize she still hasn’t fulfilled her life’s purpose?

This episode is going to be in-your-faze and brutally honest — just like our remarkable guest: Chief kicker of shins and an amazing entrepreneur, professional coach, speaker, business strategy consultant, author, half of The Shut Up Show (a podcast and blog with Phil Gerbyshak), and the founder and president of Xiong Consulting LLC – Berni Xiong.

Berni Xiong
Berni Xiong

Married With A Baby At 16, To a 6-Figure Monthly Salary?!

Yes, that’s the first part of today’s amazing story: The ultimate misfit, making it big in the corporate. There’s no doubt that leaving high-school at the age of 16 to have a baby is not exactly the run-of-the-mill beginning to an inspirational story of success, definitely not in corporate America.

Still (listen to the interview to find out how), Berni reached an enterprising career that went on for 12 years, working as a corporate sales executive and managing a multi-million territory for Fortune 500 companies. She wore designer clothes, lived in a penthouse overlooking Lake Michigan, earned a six-figure monthly salary and spent a lot of time in airports and luxury hotels.

It might sound like an amazing life (well, actually, if you follow my podcast, I doubt if you’ll think that living in airports for the sake of your company is that amazing), but underneath it all, she felt unfulfilled. Growing sick and tired of having a job that sucked the life out of her – finally, in 2008, she had enough. Waving goodbye to her corporate job and lifestyle, she embarked on a different and scary path – a solo coaching business led by a fulfilled misfit.

Finding Purpose: Bye-Bye Luxury Hotels, Hello Entrepreneurship

Today, Berni works with small business owners and solopreneurs, helping them work out their fears and help them become leaders in their chosen industries. Apart from that, after finding her life’s purpose and her voice, she set off to do good sh*t by joining forces with other inspiring entrepreneurs, making a difference in this world through charitable and philanthropic deeds.

To reinforce her voice of inspiration, she writes on her blog and newsletter (Your Life Spark Weekly) about love, life, relationships, career, how to brave through the other side of fear, how to talk out the fears out loud in a safe place like writing, how to make sense of what you’re going through so you can do something about it and more. And by 2013, she co-founded and launched a successful podcast “The Shut Up Show” with Phil Gerbyshak to share more and inspire more.

Shut Up and Make Things Happen!

Berni has finally arrived.

With many things in store for 2014, including her podcast, her online community and an upcoming book, Berni is on a winning streak. But as she shares in today’s interview, the more important thing is that Berni finally found WHO she is, and in that, her purpose in this world.

This episode is truly jam-packed, brimming and over-flowing with life-altering revelations, practical advice, unconventional wisdom and stuff you are surely going to take into your own lives. Click play, and tune in to the latest Inspiring Innovation episode.

Items mentioned:

Don’t Miss an Episode! Subscribe Below:

Click Here to Subscribe via iTunes
Click Here to Subscribe via Stitcher Radio
  • Subscribe in podnova
  • Subscribe with Feedly
  • Add to netvibes
  • addtomyyahoo4
  • Subscribe with SubToMe
Using something else? Copy this address:
––– http://www.meronbareket.com/feed/podcast/ –––

I Need Your Help!

If you haven’t already, I would love if you could be awesome and take a minute to leave a quick rating and review of the podcast on iTunes by clicking on the link below! It’s the most amazing way to help the show grow and reach more people! Leave a review for Meron’s podcast! Thank you again for your ongoing support.

Stay awesome,
Meron

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links. There is no additional cost to you, and I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.

Transcript

Continue reading IIP044: Purpose

IIP043: Solving a Pain And Turning a $100 Investment Into $20,000,000

Inspiring Innovation Podcast
Inspiring Innovation Podcast episode 43  Get it on iTunes

Being a mother of four is already a great feat. Being a mother of four AND managing a multi-million dollars business – now, that’s inspiring!

Join us in the 43rd episode of Inspiring Innovation Podcast, where Nellie Akalp, founder and CEO of CorpNet, shares her jaw-dropping story of finding an untreated pain in the market, answering it in an innovative way, and making millions in the process, while changing the lives of her customers.

Back in 1997, Nellie and her husband Phil noticed the hardship entrepreneurs were facing from the legal point of view when starting a business: The cost, effort, knowledge and time required for incorporating and protecting their personal assets and lives was exponential. So Nellie and Phil started an online business to help entrepreneurs with their legal filing.

It was just a single-page website at the time, but soon the business went through the roof. Fast forward to 2005, the business empire ‘Intuit’ bought their business for 20 million dollars. Not a bad return on the initial investment of $100 — their first domain!

Nellie Akalp - Co-Founder and CEO of CorpNet
Nellie Akalp – Co-Founder and CEO of CorpNet

Signing a non-compete agreement, the Akalps retired and focused on their family. But the long experience with the filing industry, combined with Nellie’s passion to helping entrepreneurs, had drawn her back into business and by 2009, with a similar concept as their first company, they created CorpNet.

What is CorpNet?

It’s an online legal document filing service that assists entrepreneurs in starting their own business (or managing their existing one) by getting through all the paperwork – from choosing a business name to establishing a business structure, incorporating or starting an LLC, etc.

Known for it’s customer-centric philosophy, CorpNet offers a range of free, value-added tools (such as their Free Business Structure Wizard)  to help new and existing business owners with their planning and filing, as well as cost-effective services to start, protect and manage a business, as low as $49 + state fees. That’s pennies compared to how much attorneys charge over here! 🙂

Work-Life Balance

Through CorpNet, Nellie helped form a whopping 100,000 companies and LLCs across the United States. She’s a hard worker, no doubts about that. Naturally, we talked a bit about what it takes to be a mom and have a successful career at the same time.

Is it possible to really make family a priority? Is it possible to create a balance between family life, love life, and career?

As a mother of four, Nellie had many insights to share, including handling the possibility of her own kids becoming entrepreneurs someday. But what will she do if they choose to become junior entrepreneurs instead of completing their formal education? You’ll have to tune in to find out!

Episode Highlights

  • Nellie’s amazing entrepreneurial story.
  • WHY do entrepreneurs need to care about incorporating or starting LLC’s.
  • The real cost of starting an LLC in the US – it’s not what you think it is!
  • How to protect yourself and your family from any lawsuits or debt accumulated by your business.
  • How to handle competition in a saturated market.
  • How to differentiate yourself – when competing against your old company!
  • Nellie’s 6-steps process to starting a business.
  • Tips for starting a business with your significant other, and tips for work-life balance.
  • Nellie’s views on educating young entrepreneurs, and the importance of formal education.

Items mentioned:

Don’t Miss an Episode! Subscribe Below:

Click Here to Subscribe via iTunes
Click Here to Subscribe via Stitcher Radio
  • Subscribe in podnova
  • Subscribe with Feedly
  • Add to netvibes
  • addtomyyahoo4
  • Subscribe with SubToMe
Using something else? Copy this address:
––– http://www.meronbareket.com/feed/podcast/ –––

I Need Your Help!

If you haven’t already, I would love if you could be awesome and take a minute to leave a quick rating and review of the podcast on iTunes by clicking on the link below! It’s the most amazing way to help the show grow and reach more people!

Leave a review for Meron’s podcast!

Thank you again for your ongoing support.

Stay awesome,
Meron

 

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links. There is no additional cost to you, and I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.

Transcript

Continue reading IIP043: Solving a Pain And Turning a $100 Investment Into $20,000,000

IIP042: Full-Time Mother of 3 Becomes Entrepreneur

Inspiring Innovation Podcast
Inspiring Innovation Podcast episode 42  Get it on iTunes

“Since I was a teenager, I always wanted to change the world. I wanted to make it a better place. And I’m doing that, in a very concrete and real way for the families that are benefiting from our work. And that is the most incredible feeling in the world.” –Elaine Taylor-Klaus

In episode 42 of Inspiring Innovation Podcast, we are joined by Elaine Taylor-Klaus, co-founder of ImpactADHD, a professional certified coach, parent coach, a writer, speaker, educator and above all – a mom.

In this honest and eye-opening interview, Elaine shares how she went through the first ten years of raising children with undiagnosed ADHD, and the pain and stress that it created – the hardships in school and social contact and how it bled into the family’s daily life. How it affected everyone’s happiness inside the Taylor-Klaus home, and the helplessness that she felt, going from doctor to doctor, therapist to therapist, trying to find an answer that will balance her home.

How did her passion for understanding ADHD get started?

Elaine Taylor-Klaus
Elaine Taylor-Klaus

Once her children have been diagnosed with ADHD, Elaine was determined to become a therapist:

“As god is my witness, no parent should ever have to go through alone what I went through in those first ten years” —Elaine Taylor-Klaus

Being a full-time mother of 3, she couldn’t find any program that fit her schedule. Then, she discovered coaching, and in that – her life’s calling.

Together with her co-founder, Diane Dempster, they founded ImpactADHD, where they focus on training and coaching parents on how to raise kids with ADHD or other behavioral problems the right, and empowering way.

Discover. Learn. Be inspired.

Take away tons of golden entrepreneurship lessons from today’s episode, including:

  • When should you say no to customers and niche down?
  • How to start charging money and feel GOOD about it?
  • How to handle failure and the fear of it?
  • How to make a huge change in your life and profession to follow your inner calling?

Items mentioned:

Don’t Miss an Episode! Subscribe Below:

Click Here to Subscribe via iTunes
Click Here to Subscribe via Stitcher Radio
  • Subscribe in podnova
  • Subscribe with Feedly
  • Add to netvibes
  • addtomyyahoo4
  • Subscribe with SubToMe
Using something else? Copy this address:
––– http://www.meronbareket.com/feed/podcast/ –––

I Need Your Help!

If you haven’t already, I would love if you could be awesome and take a minute to leave a quick rating and review of the podcast on iTunes by clicking on the link below! It’s the most amazing way to help the show grow and reach more people!

Leave a review for Meron’s podcast!

Thank you again for your ongoing support.

Stay awesome,
Meron

 

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links. There is no additional cost to you, and I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.

Transcript

Continue reading IIP042: Full-Time Mother of 3 Becomes Entrepreneur

IIP041: From Idea To Reality – An eCommerce Blueprint

Inspiring Innovation Podcast
Inspiring Innovation Podcast episode 41  Get it on iTunes

“If you don’t take that step, you’re never going to be able to do it.”

In the 42nd episode of the Inspiring Innovation Podcast, we are joined by Cahill Puil, an entrepreneur and a fitness buff, who shares with us his eCommerce success story — from the initial idea, to making it a life changing reality that’s making an approximate $250,000 in annual revenue.

But before anything else, what’s the product?

LapDawg is a mini laptop table that is adjustable and can be used on a couch, on your bed or when you are lying down somewhere. It is designed to keep your laptop in a specific angle that will help you use it even when you’re forced to lie down while you’re sick and have to check your emails or even watch a movie.

“We came up with an idea from a situation. I think that’s the way most ideas happen.”

Cahill Puil
Cahill Puil

Cahill talks about how they did the research online through various websites, looking for a product similar to what they had in mind, finding none with all the specifics they wanted and eventually going to the Canton Fair in China, the biggest trade fair in the world, to find a manufacturer that can make their idea for LapDawg into a reality.

During the interview, he shares the process of creating a product from the ground up. He talks about how long LapDawg had been running, how long it took from an idea to become a tangible product, and the meticulous process it goes through before the product is ready to hit the market.

He also went on to share what he learned regarding manufacturing and how finally putting the product out in the market actually scared him.

“It’s okay to not know. It’s okay to be a little bit scared and nervous about it”

Just like most entrepreneurs that are beset with fears, Cahill shares his experience in overcoming his fears in launching a new product into the market, as well as the pains and efforts he took in making sure the product is as he and his partners thought it would be.

He pointed out the importance of knowing your product from the inside out and testing it, which will help market it with confidence. He also added that it’s alright to diversify and not to limit yourself to just one niche once you’ve already figured out the process of going from idea to manufacturing it.

Overestimate. Diversify. Reassess. Test.

By travelling numerous times to China and the South East, outsourcing and importing products for his e-commerce project and small businesses, Cahill and his partners have accumulated quite an extensive knowledge in manufacturing and project management. They learned how to create safe and realistic expectations — expecting 4-12 months in order to break-even before profiting — and having a very conservative estimate to alleviate disappointments and frustrations.

Listen to today’s episode for the full story – only on Inspiring Innovation; your backstage pass to success.

Items mentioned in this episode include

4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

1 FREE Audiobook Credit RISK-FREE from Audible.com

Don’t Miss an Episode! Subscribe Below:

Click Here to Subscribe via iTunes
Click Here to Subscribe via Stitcher Radio
  • Subscribe in podnova
  • Subscribe with Feedly
  • Add to netvibes
  • addtomyyahoo4
  • Subscribe with SubToMe
Using something else? Copy this address:
––– http://www.meronbareket.com/feed/podcast/ –––

I Need Your Help!

If you haven’t already, I would love if you could be awesome and take a minute to leave a quick rating and review of the podcast on iTunes by clicking on the link below! It’s the most amazing way to help the show grow and reach more people!

Leave a review for Meron’s podcast!

Thank you again for your ongoing support.

Stay awesome,
Meron

 

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links. There is no additional cost to you, and I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.

Transcript

Continue reading IIP041: From Idea To Reality – An eCommerce Blueprint