Leadership
Business Mentoring Series – Building a Team That Wins Together
Santo Stephens, former NFL player with the Chiefs, Bengals, and Jaguars, joins Fran on the Business Mentoring Show this month to talk about the importance of building a team. A team is able to accomplish much more together than the individual pieces can accomplish alone. On a good team 1+1=3…or maybe even 5! As a…
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Business Mentoring Series – Finding Funding to Launch a Startup
Last week, on the Business Mentoring Show, Jesse Maddox talked with Fran how persistence and determination led him to the “lucky” breaks that helped him launch his company. This week, he walks Fran through TripLingo’s first year of existence. Getting a check for $100,000 in seed money might sound like a lot—but it doesn’t go…
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Buried in Buzzwords- A Business Lesson from Weird Al
A co-worker of mine alerted me to Weird Al Yankovic’s latest music video release saying: “Saw this and immediately thought of you.” Operationalize, world-class, core competencies, holistically, administrates, brand trajectory, market share, proven methodology, viability, client-centric solutions, monetize, value-added experience, bringing to the table, capitalized reputation, deliverables, cross-platform innovation, seamless integration, robust and scalable, bleeding-edge,…
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Business Mentoring Series – Setting Yourself Up for Success
By the time Jesse Maddox quit his corporate job he had the idea for what would eventually become TripLingo close to finalized, but success wasn’t a foregone conclusion. Now, the question was how would he fund it? Jesse says, “I had about $200 to my name.” His friends set him up with a potential investor…
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The Best Way to Bounce Back from Crushing Defeat
I was watching the tail-end of the 2014 World Cup and happened to catch Germany’s route of the host nation Brazil. I believe I have a special take on the benefits of defeat, and the lessons you can take from a crushing loss. You may already know this, but I led the Minnesota Vikings to…
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Business Mentoring Series – From Corporate Job to Small Business Ownership
On this week’s Business Mentoring Show, Jesse Maddox talks with Fran Tarkenton about the transition from a big company job to the ownership of a small business. For Jesse Maddox, CEO of TripLingo, entrepreneurship is not just an approach to business; it’s an approach to life. “I didn’t want to just start a business to…
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Paul Bunyan and the Round River
It’s here! Do you know what day it is? Probably not unless you’re a lumberjack. It’s Paul Bunyan Day. You may remember Paul and his big blue ox, Babe, from childhood stories. The 7 foot tall lumberjack (who apparently had a stride of 7 feet as well – must have skipped a lot), wandered the woods…
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Business Mentoring Series – Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help with Lara Hodgson
Last week, on the Business Mentoring Show, Lara and Fran discussed following your passion in business and whether or not it is more important to be passionate about what you do or why you do it. See more from last week here. This week, Lara and Fran discuss whether or not you should seek help for your new idea.…
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Business Mentoring Series – Focus on the “Why” with Lara Hodgson
On last week’s Business Mentoring Show, Lara and Fran talked about proper cash flow management and the importance of spending the right dollar at the right time. See more from our series with Lara here. This week, Lara talks with Fran about finding and keeping your passion front and center in a growing business —…
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It’s the Little Things That Count
I have always considered myself to be a lone wolf, marching to my own strange and sometimes awkward drum beat. Having grown up in the era of video games, texting and social media, big crowds and face-to-face interaction intimidate me. Whenever possible, I use self-service tools or online chat. If I can’t figure something out…
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