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6 Surprising Parallels Between Entrepreneurship and Crisis PR

8 November, 2022

Contributed to EO by Eden Gillott, who is president of Gillott Communications, a strategic communications and crisis PR firm. She’s the author of A Business Owner’s Guide to Crisis PR: Protecting You & Your Business’ Reputation, an EO Los Angeles member, and that chapter’s Accelerator co-chair.

We asked Eden about the similarities between entrepreneurship and crisis public relations. Here’s what she shared:

1. You’re a small percentage of the population.

As an EO member and entrepreneur, it’s easy to forget that most people don’t own businesses. According to Verne Harnish in Scaling Up, “There are roughly 28 million firms in the US, of which only 4 percent ever reach more than US$1 million in revenue.” It’s why the EO Accelerator programme trainers always remind EO members and Accelerator participants in the room that we’re breathing rare air. Similarly, Crisis PR is highly specialized in the world of public relations.

Recently, I went to a going-away party for a Fortune 10 company employee. The group was complaining about their various bosses, an upcoming reorg they felt was handled poorly, and the breakdown in how company expectations for their departments were being communicated. 

The discussions at that going-away party are the type of things that I, as a crisis manager, strive never to have happen in the first place. I work to minimize brand damage when disgruntled employees stir the pot. It’s all about managing perceptions. If employees are unhappy about how things are handled or communicated, it’s on us as company leaders and crisis managers to fix it.

2. You don’t shy away from risk.

As an entrepreneur, you step up to do things most people won’t.

And sometimes, running your business can feel like you’re managing a new crisis daily. Or, like many entrepreneurs in EO, you own multiple companies, which means your life feels like organized chaos.

Crisis PR isn’t about playing it safe. It’s about doing the things most people are uncomfortable doing. Crisis managers live for the adrenaline rush of charging full speed ahead into a crisis.

3. You’re a team player.

We didn’t get our businesses to where they are by working alone. Our team sizes vary from a few employees and partners in the same city to thousands spread across the globe. We know we’re better together.

Even the statements you see during a crisis are a team effort. The communications that come out are not created in a vacuum. Paragraphs are blended, quotes and commentary are incorporated, and legal is always consulted before anything is uttered or published.

4. You’re great at spotting trends.

While you’re excellent at spotting trends, you also know that what worked in one situation may not necessarily work in another.

Each situation is unique, which is why you’ll hear me say, “This sounds very similar to other clients we’ve worked with.” But I’ll never describe it as “exactly,” “identical,” or “just like” anything I’ve handled in the past. You learn from experience, but only so much.

5. You fight to guard your time.

“Hold on. I need to go handle something.”

You slip out of your seat at dinner to take an important phone call. You peel away from a party to send an email (even if it’s to delegate the crisis to someone else).

Crises are no respecters of time. They don’t care if it’s a weekend or if you’re at a special event.  For both entrepreneurs and Crisis PR managers, time boundaries are often blurred or nonexistent.

6. You take knowledge and apply it.

As entrepreneurs, we’re constantly learning and figuratively downloading into our brains the new trends and principles to apply to our businesses. We know there’s a difference between the iconic scene in The Matrix when Neo confidently says, “I know kung fu,” and applying what he learned to win against Morpheus. Neo still needed the hands-on experience (no pun intended).

Similarly, seasoned crisis managers have what feels like a terabyte of scenarios and playbooks stored in their heads. The compounding effects from the never-ending parade of possible variables empower us to tackle a crisis head-on and make it look easy.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

Categories: Crisis Entrepreneurial Journey LEADERSHIP PR/MARKETING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Tags: Accelerator Los Angeles Crisis PR Eden Gillott entrepreneurs' organization EO Accelerator eo los angeles Gillott Communications

How GSEA Social Impact Prize Winner Joe Knopp Started Something That Matters

4 November, 2022

The EO Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) is the premier global competition for students who own and operate a business. Nominees compete against their peers from around the world in a series of local and national competitions in hopes to qualify for the GSEA Global Finals. GSEA delivers on its vision to empower student entrepreneurs to become the world’s most influential change-makers by supporting them with mentorship, recognition and connections to take their businesses to the next level of success.

In the 2022 GSEA Global Finals competition, Joe Knopp represented the United States. He won the GSEA Social Impact Prize for his work in helping to solve the global water crisis with his company, Ripple.

At its core, Ripple is dedicated to serving others by leveraging high-quality product lines to solve real-world problems. The problem at hand: Access to clean water.

Joe started the company in November 2020 from his dorm room at Walsh University in Ohio. Inspired by the book Start Something That Matters by Toms founder Blake Mycoskie, Joe decided to tackle the world water crisis.

Investing every bit of his savings from summer internships —about US$14,000 — Joe purchased 2,000 high-quality water bottles. He then sold them at a cost that included $6.50 from each bottle to go toward building a modern freshwater well in Uganda. Selling 2,000 bottles pays for one well. In essence, each bottle sold provides 2.5 people with clean water for the rest of their lives.

“It took six months to sell our first 2,000 bottles and make the US$13,000 to build our first well. That journey included nights of packing bottles to the point of exhaustion as well as cross-country trips to deliver bottles to businesses,” he said.

Fast-forward just two years to today, and Joe’s growing team has financed and built 21 modern, solar-powered water wells in Uganda. The business is thriving, but he isn’t stopping there.

Joe sees Ripple as an ongoing journey to bettering the world. If he took a pebble and tossed it into still water, ripples would appear. His first “ripple” is the company, Ripple.

The second ring of the ripple is already in progress. Joe is collaborating on an entrepreneurial enrichment program available to university entrepreneur centers across the country.

“I learned so much about how to run a business from starting Ripple,” Joe said. “With this entrepreneurial enrichment program, we can add so much more value to the world.”

We asked Joe about his GSEA experience:

What challenges have you overcome during your entrepreneurial journey?

I lost my father at an early age. At one point, after graduating high school, I was homeless. I moved out of an abusive household, had barely enough money to buy a used car, and slept in that car. I had to figure it out; there was no safety net. I bounced around from couch to couch. When I got to college, there was a deep exhale because I finally had a dorm room to live in.

Tell us about your trip to Uganda to dig that first well.

After selling our first 2,000 water bottles, Ripple had US$13,000—enough to dig the first well. I connected with a university alumnus, Michael Balumba, who was teaching Ugandans to uplift themselves from poverty. Using Ripple’s funds, Michael and his team built the first-ever modern solar-powered water well in Uganda.

We chose solar because traditional hand pump borehole wells typically only last 20 years, which is why Africa as a continent is plagued with thousands of dead wells. In order to mitigate the wear and tear on the well, we utilized clean solar energy to bring the water from the aquifer into a water tower for distribution. 

Solar has another benefit. We can use solar power to pump water into a water tower, and distribute it across the community. That way, local elementary schools can have access to water for the first time.

During the height of the pandemic in 2020, our first well was nearly completed. I flew 26 hours to Uganda. I got off the plane, met Michael Balumba in person for the first time, and spent time with the people in the village.

I’ll never forget our first launch day in the rural village of Katiiti. There was a little girl who just stood in front of the well, gazing at it in wonder. I gave out water bottles, and she chose a pink one. Then we filled up our bottles with fresh water from the well, and we clinked them together in celebration!

In two years, we have funded 22 clean water solutions of which 16 are completed and in use. The other 6 will be completed before the end of this calendar year. Overall, more than 50,000 people are seeing a better quality of life from the impact of the wells. 

How did you discover the GSEA competition? Tell us about your journey.

My fellow competitor, Blake Faulkner, from Miami University of Ohio, told me I should enter—the week before our local GSEA competition! I scrambled to get my application done and worked on my pitch. It was enough to capture the hearts and attention of the judges. After that round, EO members mentored and helped me hone my pitch before competing in the US Nationals.

I had never been in a pitch competition larger than the one at my own university! After US nationals, I won the Social Impact Award and US$5,000 at GSEA Global Finals.

I used part of the cash prize to go to Uganda in September and used US$1,000 to run a Menstrual Equity Workshop at two schools we’re supporting there. We distribute menstrual supplies for those who can’t afford them. Instead of one-time use, we bought reusable pads that can be washed over and over again.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m working on the We Build a Well Program in universities across the country. The program will give entrepreneurial students the tools and support they need to ideate and build their own businesses. In the next three years, we aim to be in 50 universities.

Participants will sell 200 water bottles each. For every 10 participants, we’ll have enough to build one more well. The top student will go to Uganda for the experience of launching that well.

What would you tell other student entrepreneurs about the GSEA competition?

Apply! Do it now! The worst you’ll get is a no. If you’re lucky, the competition will teach you to fail faster. And if you do fail, build out your idea some more, and come back. Don’t be afraid to share what you’re passionate about.

When you really love something, you’re excited to do it daily. That’s when life starts to get good, in my eyes. I get the most joy in taking an idea from nothing to something.

Everyone creates their own ripple in the world. You get to choose whether or not your ripple is going to be a positive ripple.

The 2022-23 GSEA competition season is now open. If you are a university student running a business, apply today!

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

Categories: GSEA

Tags: Blake Faulkner entrepreneurs' organization gsea GSEA Global Finals GSEA Social Impact Joe Knopp Menstrual equity Michael Balumba Ripple student entrepreneur Walsh University We are the Ripple

4 EO Members Share Lessons From Early Entrepreneurial Projects

2 November, 2022

Contributed by Kym Huynh, an EO Melbourne member, EO Global Communications Committee member, and co-founder of WeTeachMe. Kym is fascinated by entrepreneurs and their journeys, so he asked EO members from various chapters to share their experiences. Read his earlier posts on how EO members define success, the impact of core values, lessons learned from their best and worst partnerships and the best advice they’ve ever received and nine lessons learned from entrepreneurial projects.

When asked, “What was your first entrepreneurial project? What did you learn?” Here’s what EO members shared.

See differences as opportunity and not a challenge

My first entrepreneurial project was becoming a tour guide in Italy —a country that was not my own. I was taking exams in a new language, there was non-stop paperwork, complex protocols, and never-ending answers that were not set in stone or black or white.

Back then, I wanted everyone to work in a way that was aligned with my brain and work methodologies. Experience in the field taught me that accepting other people’s way of work can bring the same, if not better, results.

I learned to accept and work with differences in thought and methodology, reset my brain to embrace diversity, and to see the differences as opportunity and not a challenge.

— Andrea Grisdale, EO Italy, founder and CEO at IC Bellagio 

You don’t know what you don’t know

I was unaware that my first entrepreneurial project would take me on a 23-year journey.

I, and my business partner, saw an opportunity to secure a distribution agreement for a product and service that we are passionate about. We pursued the international headquarters located in the United States for five months before receiving the horrible fax message (yes, a fax!) that we were not going to become a distributor.

We were devastated because we had a clear plan to make this venture work. At 11:30pm one evening, I went to a 24-hour printing business, wrote my first business plan, printed it, bound it, and by 11 am that same morning my sister (who was travelling to the US) had it in her hand to present to headquarters.

My sister—naturally, we did not present her as my sister—presented the case on our behalf, and said that “we would not take no for an answer”. Headquarters agreed to a face-to-face meeting and subsequent training but with no promises. For the next six weeks while we prepared, we borrowed AUD$120,000 (this was 23 years ago) against my parents’ house to make the launch in Australia as big as possible.

In that six weeks, we honed the business plan, hired staff and invested in resources. Our preparedness, enthusiasm and passion enabled us to pull the entire thing off.

After our training in the US, we executed on the AUD$120,000 launch. We spent it all in seven days with not one guaranteed account. We had media, PR, celebrities—and within 18 months we opened 118 accounts with a three‑staff business.

Fast forward 23 years: We now have 300 high-functioning accounts, a team of 40, and are a leader in our industry. One lesson learned is that you don’t know what you don’t know. Had I known the enormity of the task ahead, I may have been too frightened to go for what was in both by my heart and my gut. However, our knowledge and passion fueled the creation of a team, a following, an amazing client base, and a business.

The saying “fake it till you make it” has more relevance than people give it (with a caveat). Our moves were well-calculated, we knew our numbers, and we threw our inhibitions to the air and recruited like-minded, passionate people.

— Daniel Dickson, EO Sydney, managing director of Amarco Enterprises

Don’t sign any agreement in a hurry

Maybe not my first entrepreneurial project, but certainly my first entrepreneurial real business.

I was working for Polaroid as a Finance Manager, and was amazed at the cost an agency charged for placing employees. I decided to start a personnel agency, but stay at Polaroid until the new business took off.

I hired two mature salespeople who had the attitude I was looking for, and I called the business “Vogue Personelle”. I’m quite proud of the branding; I utilized the French tricolour in my logo, and placed Vogue magazines at reception.

We had been in operation for two months, and I thought I would soon leave Polaroid. Then, I got offered the job as General Manager— effectively making me the youngest GM in the Polaroid empire.

I decided to sell the business fast, and I got screwed by another larger agency. They not only got the business for virtually nothing, but also took the incoming fees from the placements my team had made.

My lesson: Even under time pressure, don’t sign any agreement without reviewing it carefully and preferably with legal advice.

— Tony Falkenstein, EO New Zealand, founder and CEO of Just Life Group and CEO of Just Water

Greatness requires passion

I left school at age 15 to run my own small business. I created custom PCs for consumers, built networks for small businesses, and developed websites.

I learned two key things in those early years. First: Focus is essential. Spreading myself too thin meant a lack of specialization and a lack of ability to effectively market myself as a credible expert, given the breadth of services being offered.

Second, a reinforcement of the need to shed offerings that I didn’t love. While you may be good at something without loving it, you’ll never be truly great at it. Greatness requires passion not just for the monetary ends, but for the means that gets you there.

—Jamie Skella, chief operating and product officer at Mogul

This post originally appeared on Kym Huynh’s Leadership Toolkit blog and is edited and reposted here with permission.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

Categories: Entrepreneurial Journey Lessons Learned members

Tags: Andrea Grisdale Daniel Dickson entrepreneurs' organization eo melbourne eo new zealand eo sydney jamie skella kym huynh lessons learned Tony Falkenstein

How to Break Free of The Enhanced Silos Remote Work Creates

28 October, 2022

Over the last few years, we have learned first-hand the many benefits of working remotely. But there are downsides as well: Namely, the way we communicate between departments and teams in remote and hybrid environments has built bigger silos.

In an office, the opportunity for collaborative communication is far greater. With everyone working in the same place, there are more chances for employees to interact organically and communicate with coworkers outside of their teams. Those same opportunities just aren’t present for workers who telecommute—unless we go out of our way to keep connections with people outside our direct team.

I, for one, lost regular points of contact with coworkers who were outside of my everyday circle when I first started working remotely. I gradually lost touch with people I might have run into on my way to a meeting or met at their desks throughout the workday. After all, when most of your meetings happen via videoconference, your interactions become siloed to your direct team or the people you most often meet with.

This disconnect is not only a problem for small businesses or entrepreneurs but also for larger tech companies. Microsoft, for example, experienced a decrease in interconnectivity between business groups when the company shifted to remote work.

So, when it comes to cross-departmental collaboration and communication, is a remote work environment sustainable?

Creating a More Connected Organization

Microsoft found that from February 2020 to February 2021, time spent in meetings on its Teams platform more than doubled, and the average length of meetings rose from 35 to 45 minutes. That’s unsurprising, as when you’re going through a major change, you tend to over-communicate with the people around you. Because of this, the relationship with my direct team strengthened in many ways over the course of the pandemic. The uncertainty put us in survival mode. That, in turn, led to greater awareness and passion for the work we were doing, ultimately bringing us closer together.

This doesn’t happen as easily between departments, however, which can lead to losses in productivity due to miscommunication. Before the pandemic, you could walk around the office, go to a member of a different department, and have a conversation about issues with a project. But it’s not possible to “run into” someone over Zoom. So, unless they’re invited to a meeting, you probably don’t communicate with people outside your direct team effectively.

Remote and hybrid work aren’t going away any time soon, and it’s important to find more intentional ways to communicate cross-departmentally. Here are two key strategies that can help you and your teams break out of the silos you’ve been stuck in:

1. Maintain a location-agnostic culture.

In a remote or hybrid environment, you have to be conscious about spending time with people physically and digitally. While in the office, it’s easy to say, “Hey, let’s have a meeting,” and only invite those who are physically present, leaving out the remote workers.

Be cognizant of how you can keep everyone included in the workplace culture—regardless of department or location. For example, schedule a monthly in-person lunch with remote and in-person workers across functions to model cross-departmental bonding for your team.

2. Promote enhanced communication.

The ability to build deeper, more emotional connections is often missing in a remote work environment. Encourage employees who work remotely to make more time to check in and connect with people on other teams.

As I’ve mentioned, there are simply fewer opportunities for casual conversations in remote and hybrid teams. Your employees must be intentional about connecting, following up, and asking for updates about projects or issues that need to be addressed outside of scheduled meetings.

The pandemic forced us all to learn a lot about ourselves and our teams—and to rethink what it means to be connected and productive at work. We shifted, adapted, and as a result, gained a new perspective on how to work effectively. As leaders, it’s our job to implement those insights throughout our team to break down silos and create more connected, collaborative companies.

Contributed to EO by Bob Marsh, a keynote speaker and Chief Revenue Officer of Bluewater, a design-forward technology company that helps craft moments that connect and inspire. Specializing in retail technology, displays and fixtures, as well as AV integration and event tech services, Bluewater works with top brands, including Bridgestone, Rocket Mortgage and Forbes.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

Categories: Best Practices Company Culture

Tags: Bluewater Bob Marsh entrepreneurs' organization hybrid work microsoft Microsoft Teams remote work Zoom

3 Lessons Learned from Living in Adventure Mode

26 October, 2022

I spent 14 years building and scaling my business, International Nomads. We launched in 2006 as the first full-service digital agency in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Middle East region. We crafted digital strategies for brands and built apps, games, marketing campaigns, and story-driven experiences long before it was popular in the region. We were explorers and adventurers, like many startups: Following our passion, trusting our gut, and building something we loved.

In 2019, I exited the business and relocated to Canada. Suddenly, I found myself in a period of my life that so many entrepreneurs know all too well after an exit: I felt unsure of my “place.”

My company was a grounding force in my life. Aside from my wonderful family and faith, my company was part of my identity—and it was my most significant driver of purpose. 

I remember asking myself questions like:

  • Am I still an entrepreneur?
  • What should I be doing next?

I had two choices: Feel aimlessly lost or embrace the adventure of exploration.

It has been three years since the beginning of that moment in my life. I have learned a few things throughout the entrepreneurial lifecycle (build, grow, exit, restart) that might be helpful to entrepreneurs going through that same journey.

Be an Underdog

Like most entrepreneurs, I started as an underdog, and it remained a key part of company culture as we grew. I had studied fine arts in university instead of business, marketing or computer science. I was not the “obvious” choice to build and scale a company—but I did it anyway.

As a firm, we pitched campaign ideas and strategies to huge, internationally recognized brands, going up against big network agencies. We had no venture capital and weren’t part of a global agency network. We were resilient, creative, driven—and each time we were snubbed, it made us more determined to win the account. We did win those huge accounts, and we relished the moments.

The experience of being the underdog was a good reminder that I needed these last three years as my entrepreneurial life underwent a transition. Whenever I started to feel lost, confused or doubtful of my abilities, I remembered: When challenged, I was always the underdog who found a way to come out on top. Sometimes, an underdog mindset can be the best motivator for growth.

Live and Think Nomad

After exiting the company, I felt like I had no “home base”. Suddenly, I was a nomad wandering the world.

Shifting perspective, I realized that the nomadic lifestyle and mindset are incredibly powerful. I had always believed in it—so much so that I named the company “International Nomads.”

Nomads are not bogged down by traditional limitations. They embody freedom—and suddenly, I was free. I traveled, collected experiences and explored new cultures, places and people. My perspective grew like never before. Instead of being singularly focused on the daily “9 to 5 grind,” I was able to see a more holistic view of the world in a way I had not seen before. I put more time into building deeper relationships with my family and others in my life, both old connections and new ones. My ideas, energy and vision became clearer than ever.

Even though I’m now firmly based in a new city, the nomad spirit is rekindled within me. It reminds me that sometimes exploration without a clear destination is freeing, empowering and transformative. Take chances, say yes, and try things. When we are uncomfortable, we realize how much we take things for granted. Sometimes discomfort is a good thing. Whether in business or life, think like a nomad.

Embrace an Exploration Mindset

After my exit, people would ask: “So, what are you doing nowadays?” It was a question I did not like because I had no clear answer. Conventional wisdom tells us that life is linear and our paths, both educational and professional, should be linear, too.

I was living in entrepreneurial adventure mode: I was doing freelance consulting and advisory to a business here, investing in a web3 gaming startup there. From AR to social media trends to real estate, I was exploring. It didn’t make for a great answer to the question I was asked (repeatedly).

Then I realized: My first business was an agency. At any given time, we had 10 to 15 projects, all different in scope and shape and size, running at once—a portfolio of projects, clients, industries and contacts. I could have numerous ventures, projects and experiences happening simultaneously, too.

Suddenly, I became eager to dabble in different things—the more diverse, the better. I learned a ton in the process, had a lot of fun, made connections in various industries, and began slowly carving out my next path. A portfolio mentality can be a mighty tool to find singularity of focus.

At first, exiting the company I ran for 14 years challenged my sense of identity. Today, I realize that there is power in the exploratory process. Had I stayed in my business, my life would have been stable—but I would have missed out on the incredible adventure that will lead to my next venture (ask me about it in six months).

Entrepreneurs, make sure your journey of exploration never ends. Embrace the unknown of living in adventure mode—it might be the best decision you ever make.

One other thing I have learned: The beauty of all adventures are the experiences and stories we collect along the way. I have plenty of them now—and what is more powerful than the stories we live, tell and share with others?

Samer Hamze, an EO Toronto member, is an entrepreneur, investor, advisor and explorer of digital and real-life communities serving startups, agencies and SMBs with creative, marketing and technology strategy. He has worked with leading brands across the globe. Samer is an entrepreneur in adventure mode, helping companies explore new technologies, communities and stories.

Categories: Entrepreneurial Journey international Lessons Learned members

Tags: entrepreneurs' organization EO Canada eo toronto International Nomads Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Middle East region Samer Hamze

6 Ways a Retreat from Globalization Could Impact Entrepreneurs (For the Better)

21 October, 2022

One stark reality exposed by the pandemic is “the fragility that 50 years of purposeful globalization has brought to various countries and markets,” writes Rana Foroohar, Financial Times global business columnist, in her new book, Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World.

Remember how scarce personal protection equipment was in the early months of the pandemic? The world’s one-track focus on corporate efficiency and profit through the tenets of globalization was a primary factor in that problem. According to Foroohar, the pandemic signaled the beginning of the end of globalization.

What does that mean for entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on the changes this new reality will bring?

Foroohar provides a thorough review and uncovers valuable lessons for entrepreneurs as she makes the case that a new age of economic localization will reunite place and prosperity, putting an end to the last half-century of globalization.  

Homecoming explores both the challenges and the possibilities of the rise of local, regional and homegrown businesses, and how this new era can usher in a more equitable and prosperous future.

Foroohar argues that the neoliberal economic philosophy (the hallmark of globalization) prioritizes efficiency and profit over resilience and local prosperity. In the past five decades, it led to tremendous inequality and economic insecurity—and an overall distrust in institutions that influence the way the world runs. However, Foroohar sees a change on the horizon: The pendulum will swing back, ushering in a wave of local, regional and homegrown businesses where local prosperity trumps profit as businesses become more stakeholder-focused with an eye toward equity.

Here are six ways we see that a retreat from globalization could impact entrepreneurs.

1. Place matters more than ever

More companies are near-shoring production and localizing or regionalizing operations because, as Foroohar explains, “rising wages in emerging markets and increasing energy inflation have made it more costly and less productive to ship products all over the world.”

“It’s impossible to know yet how this arbitrage for jobs, place and labor will play out,” Foroohar writes. “But when it comes to prosperity, place matters—a lot.”

Entrepreneurs can take advantage of a renewed focus on stakeholders and regionalization in their businesses by building relationships with and serving the people who are nearby.  

She continued: “Are we serving all of society? Are we serving the communities we exist within? Or are we just serving ourselves? It’s a question that many industries and institutions, particularly in the most globalized area, technology, will soon be asking themselves.”

2. Go green, and make it local

Foroohar noted a shift “to more locally made products and services, particularly those that are part of the green-energy transition.”

In the U.S., “localnomics” appeals to voters both on the left and the right side of the political and economic spectrums for different reasons. On the left, it supports Green New Deal thinking, and on the right, it appeals to “security-conscious conservatives worried about sharing technological secrets with geopolitical nemeses. Both groups are interested in connecting the dots among sustainable energy, jobs, and economic and geopolitical security.”

3. Self-sufficiency and manufacturing matter

Half a century ago, offshoring industries such as furniture and textiles that could be made far more cheaply in another country made economic sense (at least for the companies doing it). But now that wages have risen along with domestic demand in many of those formerly lower-wage countries, it no longer makes sense.

Foroohar describes this production shift as nothing short of an “industrial renaissance,” and she notes that it “has been brewing for more than a decade.”

Millennials and Gen Zers are seeking more sustainable, locally produced goods. Additive manufacturing (think 3-D printing) is a way that regions without access to specific products might access some of the necessary parts that aren’t readily available.

“Manufacturing matters not as some kind of silver-bullet solution to middle-class employment, because robots will do more and more factory jobs—but because owning key parts of the industrial commons is crucial for innovation,” Foroohar noted.

4. Care jobs will be key

While manufacturing jobs were once a significant slice of place-based employment, in the future, care jobs may step into their role. Care jobs involve high-touch careers—think nurses, teachers and in-home care for growing populations of seniors, the differently-abled and the very young.

“Care jobs could be a key part of connecting wealth and employment in forgotten communities,” Foroohar writes. “What’s more, some experts estimate that these jobs could become an even bigger driver of wealth than old-line manufacturing jobs were, producing as much as double the wealth for local communities.”

5. Training may overtake education

“There is a growing revival of the secondary school vocational programs [in the U.S.] that liberals unwisely threw away in the seventies. Getting rid of such programs was a huge mistake, given that about two-thirds of the jobs created in the U.S. don’t require a four-year degree,” Foroohar explained. “And yet so many young people are taking on crippling debt to try to obtain one.”

She continued, “As secondary and higher education continues to evolve, I suspect the common thread will be to graduate students with practical skills but also with the core liberal arts math and science background that takes them beyond a particular vocation into a larger world of enlightenment values. That’s key, given that we don’t really know what the future jobs will be. We simply know that they’ll require both technological skills and emotional intelligence.”

6. Crucial industries will be re-shored

The pandemic made it clear that “seemingly disparate issues (climate change, supply chain disruption, inflation, financial instability, inequality, and nationalism) are, in fact, intricately related.”

Foroohar thinks the fact that 92% of global semiconductor chip fabrication capacity is concentrated in Taiwan, one of the world’s most contentious geopolitical regions, isn’t just bad politics —it’s bad economics.

“It’s not an overstatement to say that making U.S. supply chains resilient in the face of risks, be they climate-related, geopolitical, or simply unpredicted, is now the Biden administration’s number one economic priority,” Foroohar wrote. “This will inevitably lead to more reshoring of crucial industries.”

Overall, Foroohar is optimistic about the potential changes brewing in this move away from globalized economies:

“If the last 40 years were about unfettered commerce economic ‘efficiency,’ and no holds barred globalization, the next 40 years will be about bolstering community resilience and finding a new way to think about what economic success really means—and how it should be measured,” she wrote.

“While paradigm shifts can be scary, they also bring opportunity. Supply chain disruption … isn’t a blip, but rather the new normal. Business is looking to produce more products and services locally as a way to smooth such disruptions and the inflationary pressures that result.”

“Pandemics always change things, profoundly reshaping cities, countries and the world—and this time will be no different,” Foroohar stated. “If we’re lucky, the result may be a world that is fairer, stabler, more varied, and a lot more interesting than what came before.”

And that’s a world where small to mid-sized entrepreneurs and business owners, like the kind who make up the international EO community, will prosper, along with their customers, partners, employees and local communities.

Contributed by Anne-Wallis Droter, a writer and editor for the Entrepreneurs’ Organization. EO has no relationship with the book publisher or author and received no compensation for this book review.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

Categories: BUSINESS GROWTH FINANCES

Tags: Anne-Wallis Droter entrepreneurs' organization Financial Times Homecoming Rana Foroohar

Aurora Australis

How an EO New Zealand member showcases the Southern Lights By Flight 

19 October, 2022

Is seeing the world-famous Southern Lights phenomenon on your bucket list? The Aurora Australis—also called the Southern Lights—is the southern cousin of the Northern Lights. To witness this breathtaking spectacle, you would need to go as far south as Tasmania—but even then, the chance of seeing the Southern Lights is spotty at best, with only a 1-2% chance on any given night.

For those who want to ensure that they’ll see the Aurora’s spectacular light show, Rachel Williams of EO New Zealand has the solution. Rachel and her company, Viva Expeditions, created a service called Southern Lights by Flight. It flies guests from Christchurch, New Zealand down toward Antarctica and through the Auroral zone and back—all in one unforgettable night!

We asked Rachel about Southern Lights by Flight. Here’s what she shared:

Is it true that Southern Lights by Flight was your Covid pivot?

Yes. Pre-Covid, we specialised exclusively in travel to Latin America and Antarctica. The pandemic was a terrible time as all business ceased, followed by repatriation, refunds, redundancies and pretty much every cost-cutting thing we could do other than complete hibernation. We needed to do something to generate revenue until international travel resumed and Southern Lights by Flight was our solution. Not only have we filled the gap, we have also created a quality sustainable product that will continue into the future.

Is your company the only one offering this unique opportunity?

We created the service and are the only ones running it in New Zealand. I reached out to an astronomer who I knew had organised a similar experience for his friends and followers but it had never been commercialised. I asked him to help me, and he agreed. So we went to the airline, chartered the plane, and brought our own astronomy team onboard to assist the pilots with navigation.

Our business partners in Australia subsequently launched similar flights. However ours is different in that:

  1. New Zealand is further south than Australia, so it takes us less time to reach the active Auroral zone, and we can stay there much longer. We have an exclusive contract with Air New Zealand, so replication is not possible at this time.
  2. The International Antarctic Centre is located next to the airport in Christchurch. We have enhanced our guests’ experience by including an inspiring pre-flight mission where people learn from astronomers and NASA educators about the Aurora and can join photography sessions prior to the flight. (See our guests’ in-flight photos in our Facebook Group.)

What challenges did you overcome around organizing flights to see the Aurora?

  • We coordinated with Greenpeace—they worried about unnecessary burning of carbon—so we have a thorough carbon offsetting programme in place.
  • We had some upset families of the Erabus disaster (when a plane full of New Zealanders crashed into Mt. Erabus in Antarctica 43 years ago). We don’t go to Antarctica but there was still a lot of push back.
  • We have dealt with aircraft availability restrictions, rescheduling flights due to Covid lockdowns, and navigating constantly changing rules about gathering sizes, vaccination status, etc.
  • We had to reschedule eight flights due to Covid lockdowns and have managed to get three away, with lots of people still waiting for upcoming flights.
  • We have done it all with a team of four (we were 14 pre-Covid)

Though there are no safety issues around flying through the Aurora, we also manage things like:

  • All cabin lights are turned off when in the Auroral zone, so we provide everyone with a red light torch that allows them to see without impacting their night vision.
  • We have special permission to turn off the plane’s outside safety lights (wingtips and roof lights), but this is done on the basis that there are no other planes within 3,000km of us at the time of flying. 

How are you increasing environmental awareness?

At our pre-flight mission at the Antarctic Centre, we do a great presentation about the environment and how important Antarctica is in environmental protection and the work being done by aerospace experts in the field. We find that people who have a passion for Antarctica are more likely to help protect it, so we aim to transform our guests into Antarctic ambassadors.

What does the total experience entail?

The flights itself is 10 hours, departing Christchurch at 7pm and returning to Christchurch at 5am. So basically it’s:

  • 3pm – International Antarctic Centre pre-flight mission experience
  • 5pm – Check-in and welcome drinks
  • 7pm – Boarding
  • Dinner on the plane before all lights are turned off and Aurora viewing begins
  • Lots of fun throughout the night, approximately 6 hours of Aurora viewing
  • 3am – The lights come on for breakfast
  • 5am – The plane lands and everyone disembarks feeling tired but completely thrilled

What entrepreneurial lessons have you learned from this experience?

  • To think outside the box.
  • How to market with a zero dollar marketing budget.
  • How important it is to look after yourself in order to run a successful business.
  • How important relationships are, and why working collaboratively is often a better approach than straight out competition.

What’s next for you?

I’m going to Antarctica in November, so I released a MyEO trip to see who wanted to join me. I now have 66 EO members coming onboard—which is fabulous.

We have just launched a 2023 Epic Antarctica MyEO Event and will have two very special guests joining us: Professor Mike Stroud OBE, the first man to walk unsupported across Antarctica and the Right Honourable Sir John Key, former New Zealand prime minister and businessman. 

Categories: BUSINESS GROWTH Entrepreneurial Journey Member Spotlight WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Tags: Aurora Australis entrepreneurs' organization eo new zealand International Antarctic Centre Rachel Williams Southern Lights by Flight Viva Expeditions

EO members share 9 lessons learned from childhood entrepreneurship

14 October, 2022

Contributed by Kym Huynh, an EO Melbourne member, EO Global Communications Committee member, and co-founder of WeTeachMe. Kym is fascinated by entrepreneurs and their journeys, so he asked EO members from various chapters to share their experiences. Read his earlier posts on what EO members wish non-entrepreneurs knew about entrepreneurs, how EO members define success, the impact of core values, lessons learned from their best and worst partnerships and the best advice they’ve ever received.

A different perspective can uncover value and opportunity

My first entrepreneurial venture happened during childhood when my mom used to take us skiing in the United States. On these trips, I purchased baseball caps to bring back to Canada. I learned that I could sell them for the same price that I bought them, but thanks to the US/Canadian exchange rate at the time, I would make a 30% profit. That was my first lesson in arbitrage.

On reflection, the key lessons I learned from that venture are:

  • Sometimes, one needs to look at opportunities from different perspectives to uncover value and opportunity.
  • There are advantages in providing products to people that they cannot normally find for themselves.
  • Store your inventory in a safe place—a hard lesson I learned when my dog stumbled upon my baseball hat collection and bit the tops off all of them.

— Ron Lovett, EO Atlantic Canada, founder of Connolly Owens and VIDA, author of Outrageous Empowerment

Success doesn’t come by choice—it comes when we have NO choice

I was 14 years old, and my first entrepreneurial project involved selling cookies, that my mum baked, at school. Years earlier, my parents had separated, and the income that dad supported us with was never enough. So I told my mum that I wanted to help.

Selling cookies in school wasn’t easy. My friends didn’t have enough money to buy an entire box, so my teachers bought the cookies in support. Knowing that I couldn’t rely on just my teachers’ support, I floated the idea that my friends could buy an entire box—if they pooled their funds.

Unfortunately, soliciting sales at school was frowned upon, and I was called up to the Headmaster’s office a total of five times. I consider myself blessed to have been let off the proverbial hook with only warnings. I can only assume that the Headmaster understood my intent behind this venture.

There were three key lessons here:

  • Acceleration of success doesn’t come by choice, but rather, it comes when we have no choice. It’s during times of crisis that we are pushed to move. And so we move.
  • If you find a way for people to get what they want and make it easier for people to get what they want, they will buy. My friends could not afford an entire box of cookies, and if I had fixated on my go-to-market strategy, I would never have sold any boxes of cookies. It was when I educated my potential customers that they could pool their funds, the deal was done.
  • Finally, if you ever get caught selling cookies at school, a good story will help.

— Raymond Chou, EO Malaysia, founder and CEO of Infront Consulting 

Market your products in interesting, unique ways.

When I was 8 years old, there was a girl in school who always had extra pocket money to buy treats at the canteen for herself and all her friends. The treats included Sunnyboys—a gift from heaven on a hot day, frozen oranges cut in half that felt like the first taste of water after a long day exposed to the desert sun and heat; salt and vinegar crisps that we would squash into crumbs so that they would last longer as our fingers grew tainted with salt and grease; Red Skins that would glue your teeth shut and colour your tongue a velvet red; and irresistible sherbet lolly bags known as Wizz Fizz that would send you to the highest peaks of happiness known to children ages 6 to 8.

Oh, how I envied the power she wielded every time she walked around the schoolyard with those golden $1 and $2 coins!

I decided then and there that I, too, wanted to be drunk with power.

At home, I discovered towers of paper—white, beige, granulated and patterned—and spent my recesses and lunchtimes selling these sheets of paper to my classmates at 50c — $1 a pop, depending on the perceived “rarity” of the paper in question. My first entrepreneurial venture lasted just under one week, and I had secured enough funds to make me king of the playground indefinitely until I was called into the principal’s office— promptly putting an end to “Kym & Associates Paper Co.”.

I learned a few things:

  • Your world changes when you have resources at your disposal, and sometimes, the resource is a lot closer within reach than we think it is.
  • People purchase based on relationships and whether or not they like you, even if the product is widely available.
  • A sale depends on your ability to market the product in a way that makes it interesting and unique.
  • Business longevity is a concern when the business is built on foundations that are contrary to rules and regulations #outlawlogic.

— Kym Huynh, EO Melbourne, founder of WeTeachMe and Executive Assistant Institute

This post originally appeared on Kym Huynh’s Leadership Toolkit blog and is edited and reposted here with permission.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

Categories: Entrepreneurial Journey Lessons Learned members

Tags: Connolly Owens entrepreneurs' organization EO Atlantic Canada eo malaysia eo melbourne Executive Assistant Institute Infront Consulting kym huynh Outrageous Empowerment Raymond Chou Ron Lovett VIDA weteachme

In-person vs. virtual onboarding: Which is best for your team?

12 October, 2022

When the world largely shifted to remote work as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, almost no one could anticipate all of the changes the shift would bring. One of the biggest changes occurred in onboarding. Now that a growing number of companies across the globe are fully remote and businesses are hoping to increase new hire productivity, it’s critical to have an established onboarding process for new employees. 

Whether in-person or virtual, entrepreneurs at all levels must think holistically through the new-hire experience. No matter what, the path we take must be easy for the new employee to understand. The last thing we want is to leave our new hires guessing “what’s next” — especially in this new frontier of remote work.

To build that level of trust and transparency, it’s important to create a comprehensive onboarding plan and know which type of onboarding experience maximizes productivity, furthers cross-communication, and helps to reduce the risk of turnover. After all, you wouldn’t want to bring on a new hire only to lose them in onboarding. 

Remote onboarding vs. in-person onboarding: A comparison 

There are several benefits of virtual onboarding for new employees:

  • Convenience
  • Quick and efficient training
  • Structured training schedules
  • Opportunities to record training calls for easy access
  • Provides a high-quality experience that is scalable for the organization

Meanwhile, the benefits of in-person onboarding are also notable: 

  • Employees gain a better sense of company culture from the start 
  • More opportunities to bond with coworkers
  • The ability to ask additional questions by simply walking over to a colleague
  • The company being able to physically see how the onboarding process is going

While both remote and in-person onboarding have distinct benefits, they also have distinct challenges. The challenges of a virtual onboarding program can include the following:

  • The possibility of feeling distanced from company culture
  • Risk of lower engagement
  • Fewer opportunities to make connections 
  • Difficulty for remote hires to pay attention in every meeting
  • Managers may not be prepared to onboard virtually in this relatively new landscape

In-person onboarding also brings a number of challenges, including but not limited to: 

  • A potentially less-structured training schedule
  • The potential to go off-topic
  • Frequent interruptions
  • An interactive work environment that may also hamper productivity

Regardless of the type of onboarding your company has in place, here are three best practices that ensure new hires feel at home more quickly:

  • Provide documents to help new hires understand their roles and expectations; all members of the onboarding process should have access to these documents to aid knowledge sharing
  • Equip new hires with an onboarding schedule; 30-, 60-, and 90-day goals; an organization chart; and a list of vendors and tools they will use
  • Schedule regular meetings to check on the status of goals and to see how you can help employees get up-to-speed and answer any questions

How to determine which type of onboarding is right for your business? 

By understanding some of the benefits and drawbacks of remote and in-person onboarding, you can figure out which type of onboarding works best for your organization. Here are three ways to choose the right type of onboarding experience: 

1. Review on a case-by-case basis. 

Deciding which type of onboarding process to use largely depends on the role and what’s best for the organization. For example, the onboarding plans for a salesperson and a customer service representative may differ significantly. It’s important that the plan adequately supports the new hire and aligns with the company’s goals. 

2. Create an onboarding process that is training-based. 

Every onboarding plan must address what the new hire needs to learn and detail specifically how they should function in their role. Which tools and programs will best support a new hire’s training? Are there ways for the new employee to provide feedback to improve their experience during the training itself? These questions should be answered prior to the new hire’s first day. 

3. Clarify what will be needed from the new hire. 

A successful in-person or remote onboarding process requires managers and company leaders to set expectations at the beginning of training. More often than not, we hire someone whose skills we need immediately. As a result, we detail what other employees may need from the new hire right away. This helps to manage expectations and avoid overwhelming the new hire upfront. 

Contributed to EO by Jim Hardwick, a chief community officer at Sales Xceleration, a firm specializing in assessing and implementing sales strategy, sales processes, and sales execution to drive growth. For over two decades Jim’s leadership expertise has helped sales teams from small organizations to Fortune 100 companies maximize revenue goals.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

Categories: Best Practices Company Culture PEOPLE/STAFF

Tags: entrepreneurs' organization in-person onboarding Jim Hefty onboarding remote onboarding Sales Xceleration virtual onboarding

EO Australia Members Give a Helping Hand

7 October, 2022

Contributed to EO by Peta Strachan, Operations Manager at Free 3D Hands, a mission-based charity in Australia that designs and 3D-prints prosthetic hands and assistive devices for free.

Earlier this year, EO members from all around Australia attended EO Ignite – Reignite Your Passion, a regional event at stunning Hamilton Island, located in the heart of the Great Barrier Reef. Mat Bowtell, the founder and CEO of Free 3D Hands, was invited to deliver the keynote presentation at EO Ignite.

At Free 3D Hands, we design, manufacture and provide quality hands and assistive devices to people all around the world for free—we even pay the postage! We use 3D printing technology and advanced CAD design software to produce quality, functional designs for children and adults who often have no commercially available option. We freely share our designs under an open-source license, so that others can make their own devices and as a way to encourage further innovation in the field.

Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that over 35 million people require prosthetics or orthotics, but only 10 percent of people can access or afford these life-changing products. The goal of Free 3D Hands is to significantly bring down the cost of assistive technology to help those who currently cannot access or afford it. We are developing a low-cost, multi-grip Bionic Arm, and we are making exciting progress with the latest prototype. Our goal is to make the equivalent of an AUD $60,000 Bionic Arm—for under $60 in parts!

Mat Bowtell was honoured to deliver the first keynote presentation of the EO Ignite event and received an absolutely overwhelming response from EO members after his talk. Mat, a former senior engineer at Toyota, was made redundant during the closure of the automotive industry in Australia in 2017. He turned down lucrative consulting jobs and international offers to pursue his passion for making hands for kids, and he wanted to do it for free. Using his redundancy payout, he worked for two years as a volunteer before formally establishing Free 3D Hands as a charity supported by public speaking, donations and corporate sponsorship.

We were incredibly moved by the emotion and support from EO members, many of whom were in tears after hearing Mat speak about his journey to help others. A number of EO members got together and, after consulting with the group, got on stage to announce that collectively, the EO members in attendance were able to pledge nearly AUS$50,000 to our charity! Every cent has been received and will help support our global design hub to continue to release free designs and collaborate with volunteer groups in developing countries to establish 3D printing clinics and make low-cost assistive devices available to those truly in need.

Shivani Gupta, an EO Queensland member and Engagement Expert for APAC, shared her response to Mat’s presentation:

“Mat’s presentation on his WHY and dedicating his work and love to a greater good had me in tears. The stories he shares and the passion he exudes are what every entrepreneur needs to hear.

I was moved by his presentation and got up to ask anyone else who was moved whether they would like to join me and make a tax-deductible donation—over 50 people said YES. That made the conference for me!

I would encourage other EO chapters and members to hire Mat as a speaker, be inspired by him, implement his ways into your business, and if you can donate or link him to others who can—do it!”

Shivani Gupta, EO Queensland

Mat and I stayed on for the next few days, and we were wholeheartedly embraced by the EO community during our visit. We absolutely loved getting to know everyone, hearing about their individual business journeys, and discovering what EO is all about. Since our talk, we have had members from around Australia come and visit our Design Centre and continue to offer support.

We just want to say a huge “Thank You” to the EO members who welcomed us, cared and truly understood the ethos of Free 3D Hands and will continue to help us grow and support others. We hope to have the opportunity to meet some international EO members in the future!

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

Categories: Entrepreneurial Journey Inspirational Make a Mark members

Tags: entrepreneurs' organization EO Australia EO Ignite EO Queensland Free 3D Hands Mat Bowtell Peta Strachan Shivani Gupta

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