The Ambition Show Podcast

Don’t Go to College | The Ambition Show | Episode 15

Angle/Opinion: In-order to be a successful entrepreneur, having a college degree is not a requirement. In fact, to be an entrepreneur in general a college degree is not needed, yet the trend and lure of becoming the next Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk has fueled institutes of higher learning to create programs designed to “teach entrepreneurship”.
Schools such as MIT, Wharton, and UIC are offering degree programs.  I argue that unlike medicine and law, entrepreneurship is not an industry or practice, it is a lifestyle, degrees in entrepreneurship are a waste of time and money and the only degree needed is one in a specific discipline such as medicine, accounting, computer science, etc.
 
Data directly supporting angle
Research:  Increasingly, education research emphasizes the importance of students being provided authentic experiences, focusing on action and behavior as well as theory and concepts 
 Inviting practicing entrepreneurs from a local community to the classroom or engaging entrepreneurs-in-residence are some common approaches (Mwasalwiba, 2010). Such examples are used to make the role of entrepreneur more tacit and to energize the classroom with stories from real-life experiences (Ramani et al., 2018). 
Author
Stephanie E Raible and Karen Williams-Middleton
Name of publication
The relatable entrepreneur: Combating Stereotypes in entrepreneurship education
Link
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09504222211017436 
 
 
Data directly supporting angle
Research: A previous study conducted [37] to assess the performance of business incubators concluded that they provide business support services to clients, which may include training, mentoring, access to funding, etc.
Author
Cai Li,Naveed Ahmed, Sikandar Ali Qalati ,Asadullah Khan, and Shumaila Naz 
Name of publication
Role of Business Incubators as a Tool for Entrepreneurship Development: The Mediating and Moderating Role of Business Start-Up and Government Regulations
Link
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/5/1822/htm
Data directly supporting angle
Research: A review of early randomised evaluations of entrepreneurship training programmes found the evidence for their effectiveness to be underwhelming (McKenzie and Woodruff 2013). Most of these evaluations found that training leads to some improvement in business practices, failed to find statistically significant effects on business profits or sales
Author
Senior Editors: David McKenzie and Christopher Woodruff 
Co-Editors: Kjetil Bjorvatn, Miriam Bruhn, Jing Cai, Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe, Simon Quinn, Tetsushi Sonobe, Martin Valdivia
Name of publication
Training Entrepreneurs
Link
https://voxdev.org/sites/default/files/Training_Entrepreneurs_Issue_2.pdf
Data directly supporting angle
Research:  Chang, J., & Rieple, A. (2013) examined the objective of this paper is to offer an exploratory study that analyzed the development of student’s entrepreneurial abilities with time within real-time tasks. In this research, students functioned along with real‐life entrepreneurs as well as financiers. Students' perceptions of their skills were analyzed making use of both quantitative and qualitative data, which were gathered throughout weeks 1, 6, and 12 of the program. The outcomes revealed considerable adjustments in students' understanding of their skills in time. Initially, students were certain regarding their capacities across the 17 classifications of entrepreneurial abilities developed by Lichtenstein and also Lyons and also Lyons and Lyons. In the future in the jobs, their confidence in specific abilities declined significantly; what these were varied according to the moment of data collection. The qualitative data supplied extra in-depth accounts of trainees' understandings of their abilities and also why they had actually changed in time. This study makes a contribution in giving understandings right into nature as well as the practice of an experiential learning approach. The results indicate that the development of business skills can be improved by offering a learning environment in which students connect with real organization people in live tasks.
Author
Dr. J. Jose Prabhu
Name of publication
A Study and Analysis of Entrepreneurial Skills and Entrepreneurship Education: Recommendation for Arts and Science College Students
Link
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340350373
Data directly supporting angle
Research: Many of the generic skills that HEIs emphasize in their curricula (see Voogt and Roblin, 2012) are similar to entrepreneurial competences—for example, creativity and problem-solving (Bacigalupo et al., 2016; Kozlinska, 2016).
Although non-entrepreneurship teachers’ course content and learning objectives align with the business school’s objectives, our findings clearly indicate that the respondents unintentionally expose their students to various entrepreneurial competences. To a varying degree, non-entrepreneurship teachers use teaching methods and formulate learning outcomes that may enhance students’ entrepreneurial competences when learning about non-entrepreneurship subjects. This implies that the embeddedness of EE in non-entrepreneurship education is not only possible but is already taking place. However, we identify that non-entrepreneurship teachers do not cover all the entrepreneurial competences defined by the EntreComp framework (Bacigalupo et al., 2016). For instance, there were no clear examples of the competences of opportunity recognition or mobilizing others and resources embedded in non-entrepreneurship teaching. Accordingly, it seems that, at least in the business school context of this study, (intentional) EE is needed to support the development of these competences.
Author
Pekka Stenholm, Joachim Ramström, Riikka Franzén, and Lenita Nieminen
Name of publication
Unintentional teaching of entrepreneurial competences
Link
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09504222211018068
Data countering angle or argument
Research : Some studies have found that the support provided by universities is crucial to the success of both students and graduates who are starting businesses (Morris et al., 2013). Few enterprises achieve initial success without external support, including from colleges (Schleinkofer and Schmude, 2013).
Although a consensus has not been reached on whether entrepreneurship can be encouraged through education, a significant amount of literature on this issue [1–5] acknowledges the positive contribution of entrepreneurship education on the development of people’s know-how, skills, as well as on the enhancement of entrepreneurial attitude and intention.
As for the integration of entrepreneurship education into higher education, studies [6,7] stress its importance, so that 21st century universities can become important engines of technological development and economic growth
Author
Gabriela Boldureanu, Alina Măriuca Ionescu, Ana-Maria Bercu, Maria Viorica Bedrule-Grigorut,  1 and Daniel Boldureanu 
Name of publication
Entrepreneurship Education through Successful Entrepreneurial Models in Higher Education Institutions
Link
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e38b/ab56c772a742b97e5d8f6272a57c14c3121e.pdf 
 
 
Potential Guest(s)
People that would be great to interview and speak on this topic
Name
Website
Contact Method
Erica Douglass
https://www.erica.biz/
erica@erica.biz
 
 
Authorities on Topic / Subject Matter Experts
People that are recognized, notable experts on the topic and have been published either producing articles, books, vlogs, and any other form of media that we can discuss in the episode.
Name
Website
Contact Method
Jeet Banerjee
http://www.jeetbanerjee.com/
http://www.jeetbanerjee.com/contact/
 
 
Ideal Sponsors for the Episode
These are potential show or segment sponsors, advertisers, or affiliates.
Name
Affiliate Detail Link
Why?
MentorCruise
https://mentorcruise.com/filter/entrepreneurship/
 
Build
https://build.org/
 
 
 
Resources for the target audience
These are ideal resources that would bring the most value to listeners of this particular episode. Think of tools the listeners can actually use. Either downloadable resources that we can directly sell from our website or our products and services that listeners can purchase.
 
 
Best book to recommend on this subject
https://www.amazon.com/Education-Millionaires-Everything-College-Successful-ebook/dp/B0052RDJFE
 
 
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Promote Your Brand + Publish Your Value | The Ambition Show | Episode 14

One of the best ways to make a profitable brand is to establish yourself as an authority; but how do you do this exactly? Today on The Ambition Show, we identify the best platforms to establish your brand as an authority.
 
This episode we cover:
What is Brand Authority
Why is Brand Authority Important
Best Platforms to Establish Brand Authority
The Step-by-Step to Create an Authoritative Brand
 
Book of the Episode
“Content Mapping: Unlocking the Power of Content to Increase Engagement, Leads and Sales” by Henry Adaso
How to purchase the book: https://amzn.to/3A5n8E2
His new book: https://www.henryadaso.com/
TAKE-A-WAYS = TAKE ACTION
Canva sign-up offer
 
Cover image photo credit
Photo by Karolina Grabowska: Link to Photo at Pexels
 
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Your Business Needs Business Development | The Ambition Show | Episode 13

Without Business Development, Your Business Will Fail to Grow. 
No relationships. No growth. No sales. No business. Today we go into how you use business development to put your business on a path to success.
Revenue, specifically sales, is the lifeblood of your business. Business Development is a group of business activities that makes the sales process more effective.
What is not Business Development
Marketing
Business Development vs. Marketing
Sales
Business Development vs. Sales
How Business Development, Marketing, and Sales work together
Best business development practices by industry
Music and Entertainment industries
E-Commerce retail
Consulting/Advisory (coaching or independent agents)
Freelancers
WHAT TO READ “What, Exactly, Is Business Development?: A Primer on Getting Deals Done” by Scott Pollack
 
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How to Sale Anything Without Selling | The Ambition Show | Episode 12

The struggle is real!
If you don’t know how to sell an idea then you will struggle to get anything accomplished. In this episode we will highlight the best methods to build a steady stream of leads, get consistent sales, and run a profitable business without going the typical sales route. 
Marketing Channels to Generate Sales
For physical products, there are four basic types of marketing channels to use:
Direct selling
Selling through third-parties
Dual distribution
Reverse marketing
Online marketing channels online, aka Digital or Internet Marketing, the typical channels include:
Direct Selling - your website
Retail - Selling on Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Groupon, etc
Affiliate marketing - working through other connections with your target audience
Use Valuable Content to Sale
Learn how to sale your skills, train others while you sleep, and share your opinions and expertise for profit!
What to “WATCH”
My fist recommendation is one of the best Ted Talks ever. I know you have YouTube, so log on and watch
“HOW TO SELL WITHOUT SELLING YOUR SOUL” TEDTalk by Steve Harrison
As co-creator alongside Jack Canfield of Bestseller Blueprint and the co-founder of the Quantum Leap Publicity and Marketing Program, Steve Harrison has dedicated the last 25 years to helping more than 15,000 people, including more than 12,000 authors, promote themselves and find bookings on TV, radio, and in front of live audiences. Steve Harrison and his company have helped launch bestselling books such as Chicken Soup for the Soul, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, and many others.
What to Read
“HOW TO SELL WITHOUT SELLING: STEP-BY-STEP MARKETING FORMULA TO ATTRACT READY-TO-BUY CLIENTS...CREATE PASSIVE INCOME AND MAKE MORE MONEY WHILE MAKING A DIFFERENCE” by Terry Dean
Terry Dean started his online business from scratch in 1996. He went from delivering pizzas for a living to building a million dollar Internet business promoted primarily through the Internet. Within a few years he was also consulting with home based businesses, local companies, and multi-million dollar corporations. Terry has developed a reputation for delivering high level content in an easy-to-understand and follow manner. His products include step-by-step directions for getting started along with simple checklists to keep you focused.
TAKE-A-WAYS = FREE OFFER(S)
List of Affiliate Marketing Programs
List of Podcast Hosting services
Referral Link to Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/emproltdoffer
 
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How to Build a Powerful Network | The Ambition Show | Episode 11

As the old saying goes, "It's not what you know, it's who you know."
For centuries interest groups, fraternities, sororities, social clubs, professional organizations and more have focused on the importance of building relationships with people as early as possible in order to foster long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. 
In this episode we will cover from top to bottom how to develop a successful professional network to get you where you want to go and build the career, the community, or even the Empire that you may want to create one day. The key here is all you have to do is follow through and be you.
For instance, have you ever heard of the PayPal Mafia? Well you should, and we discuss how to create your own
(Source: http://www.thelowdownblog.com/2014/07/how-paypal-mafia-redefined-silicon.html)
 
BOOK OF THE EPISODE
“HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE” by DALE CARNEGIE
Dale Carnegie’s four-part book contains advice on how to create success in business and personal lives, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” ranks as the 11th highest selling non-fiction book on Amazon of all time.
How to purchase the book. Right on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3pvWbWg
The book is a tool used in Dale Carnegie Training and includes the following four parts:
Fundamental Techniques in Handling People
Six Ways to Make People Like You
How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking
Be a Leader – How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment
Dale Carnegie’s fundamental techniques for influencing people include:
Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain: Never criticize, condemn, or complain because it will never result in the behavior we desire.
Give honest and sincere appreciation: Appreciation is one of the most powerful tools. Recognition, though, is not pure flattery. It must be genuine, meaningful, and with love.
Arouse in the other person an eager want: To get what we want from another person, we must forget our own perspective and begin to see things from the point of view of others.
Dale Carnegie’s Six ways to make people like you include:
Become genuinely interested in other people: The primary way to make quality, lasting friendships is to learn to be genuinely interested in them and their interests.
Smile: Smiles have a fantastic ability to make others feel wonderful.
Remember that a person’s name: We can make people feel extremely valued and important by remembering their names.
Be a good listener: Many times, people don’t want an entertaining conversation partner; they want someone who will listen to them.
Talk in terms of the other person’s interest: If we talk to people about what they are interested in, they will feel valued and value us in return.
Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely. The golden rule is to treat other people how we would like to be treated. Make people feel important, genuinely, and appreciatively.
TAKE-A-WAYS
List to the top LinkedIn and Facebook Groups by industry [CLICK HERE]
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Your Friends Are Not Customers | The Ambition Show | Episode 10

Stop asking your family and friends to buy all your products!
You may have thousands of friends on Facebook and followers on Instagram or Twitter, but that doesn’t mean all of them will be your customers. The truth of the matter is that not all of your friends or family will be your customers and they shouldn’t be. 
Let's take a deep dive into how to identify your ideal customers and stop pestering your friends and family for business.
How to identify your Target Audience and Connect with Them
The pool of consumers that you bring value to and are more likely to purchase from you are your Target Audience. The more you know about them, the more opportunities you will have to grow your business, have long term success, and most importantly build stronger relationships with your customers to generate more revenue that you can count on.  But do you know who they are? 
We will cover that in this episode!
Basics of Building a Network
The more professionals you know in your industry the better position you will be in to learn about new products, changes in customer demands, and any trends impacting your industry. Most importantly you will have more opportunities to get a fresh dose of the life blood of most successful businesses, especially those in the service industries:
Referrals
Professional recommendations
The Importance of Getting the Word Out Consistently
Share with your immediate contacts the value proposition that you offer based on the needs of the market
Use what you learned from the market to present your value proposition
Not assumptions and not opinions but facts 
They will be able to connect your VALUE and who they know that could use your products or services
BOOK OF THE EPISODE
“SUPER FANS” by PAT FLYNN
Pat has been featured in The New York Times and Forbes Magazine for his accomplishments, and has recently been enjoying talking about his story and business strategies in front of large crowds at various conferences and events all around the world. His top-ranked business podcast, The Smart Passive Income Podcast, has earned over 25 million downloads and continues to inspire people as they work through their online business journey today. And Pat is a long time producer and champion of podcasting. 
It is extremely important to remember that there are people behind all that data, on the other side of the screens and apps. People who are looking to us to be informed, to give advice, and to care. They are looking for trustworthy tools and resources, and for someone to help them to achieve their goals. In this dog-eat-dog world, these are the people who are looking for someone who they can trust, and who they know have their best interests in mind. Pat’s book delves into how to develop relationships based on trust with a target audience.
How to purchase the book
Use this link https://amzn.to/3kzPHme to purchase Pat Flynn’s book on Amazon
TAKE-A-WAYS - LEARN & ACT
An easy and effective way to create a value proposition is to use Value Proposition Canvas
A detailed visual that will help you craft the right marketing messages and sales materials from the very beginning.
Free to download right here https://bit.ly/3qACWKp and use immediately
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Be Your Own Investor | The Ambition Show | Episode 9

Do you have a rich uncle that will blindly give you $20,000 to invest in your first business endeavor? Oh no! Really!
Well you’re not alone, in today’s episode we will go into the different methods of financing your dreams and what is needed to secure the capital needed to start, develop, and even grow your business.
Visit The Ambition Show on YouTube to see this plan step-by-step:
Side hustles and gigs with a purpose
Your initial investments will be based on what you are trying to achieve
Save and Invest in yourself like it is a bill
Use the "Save the Week" savings plan to start
BOOK OF THE EPISODE
"Why aren't I as wealthy as I should be?" Many people ask this question of themselves all the time. Often they are hard-working, well educated middle- to high-income people. Why, then, are so few affluent. For nearly two decades the answer has been found in the bestselling The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy, reissued with a new foreword for the twenty-first century by Dr. Thomas J. Stanley. The Millionaire Next Door identifies seven common traits that show up again and again among those who have accumulated wealth. You will learn, for example, that millionaires bargain shop for used cars, pay a tiny fraction of their wealth in income tax, raise children who are often unaware of their family's wealth until they are adults, and, above all, reject the big-spending lifestyles most of us associate with rich people.
 
How to purchase the book: https://amzn.to/3w4m5UC
 
TAKE-A-WAYS - LEARN & ACT
Don't know where to find trusted mentors that know what they are talking about? Go to score.org you'll be matched with experienced business professionals that can help you save time and money. Go here: https://www.score.org/find-mentor
As for your budget, so you don't get hung up on where to start I'm giving you the budget templates that I have used for my entrepreneurial ventures, my work as a freelancer and for some clients. Use this link and you can download these helpful templates to get you started. Go here: https://www.template.net/editable/search/Financial%20statement
Premium Business Plan templates and software at BPlans: https://articles.bplans.com/estimating-realistic-start-up-costs/
Calculate your Start Up costs using SBA.gov: https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/calculate-your-startup-costs
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Skills are Worth More than Talent | The Ambition Show | Episode 8

Skills are more marketable than talent, facts.
In this episode we examine how you should never rely entirely on your talents, and which skills are the most in-demand and can help you in your entrepreneurial journey. Increasing your marketability and potential to generate revenue.
Your skills present more options to monetization, and create more active and passive income opportunities:
Create a course (record it and sale it)
Host trainings or workshops 
Work as a freelance
Become a contract consultant
EPISODE TAKE-A-WAYS - LEARN & ACT
Free StrengthsFinder online test
StrengthsFinder 2.0
https://high5test.com/strengthsfinder-free/
Strengthen your current skills or develop a new set of skills to take your entrepreneurship to the next level
Udemy
https://www.udemy.com/
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