Conversations With A Genius- Fun Small Business Talk

Today’s genius is Cole Hatter. Cole is an entrepreneur, investor, author and award-winning speaker. He invests in real estate, start-ups, and several funds exceeding $100 million. Cole is the founder of Thrive: Make Money Matter, an annual conference designed to teach entrepreneurs how to dominate in business and in life, while making the world a better place. Cole is a husband, father and philanthropist that strives to give back. Coles' greatest passion is working to encourage, educate and empower people to live their lives in a way that makes a measurable difference in the world. You can connect with Cole at www.ThriveLasVegas.com.

Today’s genius is Chris Cooper. Seen on ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX, Lifestyle & Procrastination Expert Chris is one of the most dynamic, engaging and accomplished authors, coaches, trainers and speakers in America. He attracts passion seekers, career changers and everyone in between and helps them to push the limits, execute their passion and get stuff done so they can achieve their dreams! You can connect with Chris at www.chriscooperlive.com and @cjcoop.  

Today’s genius is Dave Schneider. In 2012 Dave quit his corporate job to travel the world with his girlfriend. Together, they visited over 40 countries across Asia, Europe, and Australia, and have been earning a living entirely online. Currently, Dave is the cofounder of NinjaOutreach, an innovative new Blogger Outreach software for marketers. You can also find him on Twitter @ninjaoutreach or dave@ninjaoutreach.com.

Today’s genius is Jesse Moskel. Jesse got caught selling ecstasy and was buried alive with a prison sentence of nearly three decades in a third world country. Using the powers of positive thinking and a determination harder than the steel bars that held him in, he turned his life around, and "escaped" after just 5 years by walking out the front door. Now he makes a very comfortable living as a direct response copywriter and motivational speaker. Today he's here to share exactly how he transformed his life from negative to the extremely positive. You can connect with Jesse at www.moskel.com.

Today’s genius is Scott Beebe. Scott’s big, hairy, audacious goal is to help small business owners and organizational leaders uncover the things they cannot see, and to build actionable strategies that allow themselves and their team to live out their narrow brilliance, and ultimately their business with purpose. Scott and his wife Ashley planted two Churches, pastored one of them, and have been working in rural Nigeria since 2005 building a platform for sustainable partnership with Nigerians through a variety of sectors including business, finance, and agriculture. Scott is also the host of The Business On Purpose podcast; a weekly podcast where Scott interviews small business owners to get their insight as to how they are living out their business on purpose. You can connect with Scott at mybusinessonpurpose.com.

Today’s genius is Julia Kelley. Julia draws goofy faces for fun and profit. Julia got her start working at Legoland California and has been caricaturing ever since. Over the years she’s assembled a dream team of amazing artists; together, they’ve drawn caricatures all over San Diego, Los Angeles and Las Vegas at school and corporate events, fundraisers, proms, grad nights, and conventions. You can connect with Julia at julia@jkexpressions.com.  

Todays guest is Chandler Bolt. He was bitten by the entrepreneur bug at an early age when he saw he could make a lot more money working for himself. While his friends were searching for jobs he started his own business. Chandler began at age 11 by selling personal snacks at scout camp and by age 17 he graduated to hiring his friends to help him operate his landscaping business that earned him 10,000 bucks for college. All and all by age 20 he started and ran over 320,000 dollars worth of business’s. During this time he taught other college students how to run their own successful businesses and received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Young Entrepreneurs Across America. Chandler now speaks to students across the country teaching them the lessons he's learned as a young entrepreneur and encourages them to take the entrepreneur leap. You can connect with Chandler at www.self-publishingschool.com.

Todays guest is Darryl Lyons. Darryl brings a faith based approach to the ambitious entrepreneur as well as being a best selling author. Dave Ramsey calls Darryl a rock star. He’s the CEO and cofounder of Pax Financial Group as well as a life long Texan. Darryl began his career in the financial sector just one day removed from getting his bachelors degree in corporate financial management and accounting at St. Mary's University. Throughout his career he has won awards for recruiting and development from fortune one hundred companies. In January 2007 he chose to begin and develop his independent practice. He also serves as the chairman for Brooks Development Authority. Shortly after Mayor Julian Castro named the park the Darryl  W. Lyons park in honor of his service. Darryl was also named the 2010 San Antonio Business Journals 40 under 40 rising stars. If and when you want to connect with Darryl you can do so at www.smallbusinessbigpressure.com 

Today's guest is Bud Hennekes, a 23 year old student of life and citizen of the world. He enjoys good conversation, technology, and traveling the globe. Bud has traveled to over 30 countries so far and intends to visit every country in the world. Bud is a travel hacker and the host of the A Boundless World podcast. You can connect with Bud at www.aboundlessworld.com or reach out to him at @aboundlessworld.

Today’s genius is Jonathan Cottrell he serves entrepreneurs and their communities in love as a citywide connector, marriage advocate (Love & Startups), and co-founder of several startups, some public and some stealth, some successful and some not, but all interesting. With extensive experience in digital marketing, product management and user experience with a little company called GoDaddy, Jonathan brings a unique perspective on what it takes to build all types of businesses, products, teams, and communities, while staying focused on what matters most in life. You can connect with John at www.hopscratch.com.

Today’s genius is Michael Stelzner. Michael is the Founder and CEO of Social Media Examiner, author of the books, Launch and Writing White Papers and the man behind large events, such as Social Media Marketing World and Social Media Success Summit. He is also host of the Social Media Marketing podcast and founder of the Social Media Marketing Society. You can connect with Michael at www.socialmediaexaminer.com.

After 25 years as both a small business lawyer and a 7-time serial entrepreneur (including a multimillion dollar tech business), everything Michael Wieser experienced lead him to creating a unique law practice to work with innovative entrepreneurs helping them launch, reach their goals and achieve their full potential. Michael helps companies convert their project-based, transactional approach into a growth-oriented, scalable business approach incorporating recurring revenue.

Today’s genius is Jason Treu. Jason is a top business coach. He's a leading expert on influence, persuasion, networking and leadership. At the heart of his strategy is the understanding that people and your relationships are your true "wealth." He works with experts, entrepreneurs and executives helping them build powerful & memorable brands and connecting them to influencers, media and strategic partners who can help move their business forward and impact the bottom line. His bestselling book, Social Wealth, the how-to-guide on building personal and professional relationships, has sold more than 30,000 copies, has been #1 in four business and self-help categories, and has more than 120+ five reviews.… you can connect with Jason at BeExtrodinary.tv or email Jason at jason@beextraordinary.tv

Today’s genius is Dane Maxwell, at age 22 Dane was scammed for $12,000 by buying a business online, it was a sham. Broke, humiliated, and totally lost, he moved back into his parents basement. Propelled by desperation... and starting with just $123 to his name, he built his first six figure web based business without any idea, any money, and any expert knowledge. Since then, he's built 4, 6 figure web based products and has taught 1,000's of others how to repeat his process. He believes anyone can start a business if they understand this framework.

Today’s genius is Donald Thompson. Donald develops competitive and sustainable advantages for global companies, entrepreneurs and emerging leaders. As the CEO of a technology company, Donald dramatically grew his organization with no outside capital at an amazing trajectory until the company was acquired in 2014. Donald now heads the acquiring firm's PLM business for North America and serves on several Boards for universities, businesses and upstart companies. Donald is authoring his first book entitled, 'The Unlikely CEO,' due out in 2016.

Today’s genius is JV Crum III, JV is a business coach who helps entrepreneurs grow six and seven figure businesses. He’s a speaker, marketing expert, Huffington Post Columnist, best-selling author and host of the top-ranking Conscious Millionaire family of podcasts. JV is Founder of ConsciousMillionaire.com, a global coaching and wealth product business and has built and sold successful companies. He is also the Founder/Director of the non-profit Conscious World Foundation which provides training to youth aged 18-25 to become the next generation of conscious leaders worldwide. 

Today’s genius is Greg Gibas. Greg has been fascinated with business and entrepreneurship his entire life. Originally born in Poland but grew up in Chicago. After he finished his Bachelor’s degree in management he traveled to Australia where he got his master’s degree in Marketing from Macquarie University in Sydney. After coming back home, he went on to start Office Goblins, an outsourcing company in the Philippines focused on B2B telemarketing. Over the last 5 years, his company has completed over 2 million phone calls on behalf of their clients. He’s also been a guest speaker at business events in his community, and occasionally teaches business classes as an adjunct professor at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. He has a no none-sense approach to business and in his spare time enjoys stand up comedy, live theater, and sushi. 

  Today’s genius is Justin McGill. Justin is the founder of LeadFuze, a B2B lead generation solution that finds leads and emails them on your behalf. He got his start in entrepreneurship in 2008 when he started a digital marketing agency that grew to 7 figures before stepping away in 2014. He now serves as an advisor to his team in place at the agency. He is nearly finished with his book, Self Made Marketer that teaches people how to build an agency and remove themselves from the work.

Today’s genius is Greg Hickman. Greg is the Founder of Mobile Marketing Engine, a mobile marketing agency and education company for small-to-medium sized businesses. He’s a blogger, podcaster and speaker and his work has been featured on Mobile Marketer, Mobile Marketing Watch, Target Marketing Magazine, Copyblogger and Social Media Examiner. His interest in mobile marketing led him to create a weekly podcast, Mobile Friendly which is featured on iTunes. He is also the author of The SMS Marketing Handbook and writes about entrepreneurship on his blog.  

Today’s genius is Laura Roeder. Laura is the founder of Edgar, a new social media automation tool designed to prevent updates from going to waste. Since 2009, she's been teaching entrepreneurs how to harness the power of social media marketing and create their own fame at LKR Social Media.     In today's conversation we discuss: Find out how twitter can bring you more customers How to be strategic with your social media Don’t give up too early on social media Decide what you're going to do before you sit down at the computer Try to fill in your social media by linking to interesting content