The broadCAST™ is a monthly weigh in by members of The CAST™ of Epic Engage™.  Independent experts in their own right, members of The CAST™  are asked to answer a question of simple but possibly profound nature. We wholeheartedly encourage you to connect with these experts.  They each bring great value in service to their work.  That being said, and for September 2016, we ask The CAST™:

For those considering or actually going into business or an enterprise of any nature for the first time, what is one piece of advice you might have for them to keep top of mind?

RAY HOLLISTER SAYS…

I’d like to answer this with a small shift – instead of ‘business’, I am tackling those going to college for the first time. Since “Back to School” fever is underway, I’d like to share advice with anyone going to college or university for the first time that I believe is critical to keep ‘top of mind’ as they maneuver their way through their first semester. Keep in mind that every Professor, Instructor, or Teacher is there to HELP YOU! It is an inevitable fact of school life that students tend to believe that the instructors have personal vendettas against them. This usually manifests right after the first exam – 😉  But the TRUTH is that they are there to HELP YOU! So my advice is simple, yet tragically challenging for most students. Treat your instructors like you’d treat your favorite grandmother or grandfather. As bizarre as that sounds, this simple shift in how YOU treat your instructor will have a profound impact on your success as a student going forward. Don’t buy into the hype and fears of other students. Don’t believe the conspiracy theories about the ‘difficult teachers’. Believe in yourself and believe in their universal desire to see you succeed. Do this, and you will.

Ray Hollister is all about resilience and potential. He works with organizations to reveal extraordinary resilience and unlimited potential in everyone.   His powerful presentations will not only energize and inspire you, but also reveal how YOU can make radical, immediate changes to how you perceive, handle, and experience adversity resulting in experiencing life in a new and thrilling way.  www.rayhollister.net

JAMIE McCABE SAYS…

A one-word piece of advise for those entering into entrepreneurship: PASSION. I believe the one thing you need when becoming an entrepreneur is passion in and for what you do. I think this is what puts you on top of the game and drives you. Your enthusiasm is contagious and people can feel that passion and excitement when you engage them. When you enjoy it as much as I do, it radiates and it pulls your customers in to learn more about what you do and they can’t help but love it too. The old saying “choose a job that you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life”… it’s true! What’s your passion?

Jamie McCabe is all about creativity and connection. She is on a mission to bring people together through art and exploring their creative side at Clay Café Avalon. Jamie became an entrepreneur and opened the paint-your-own pottery studio in 2008 and has seen many memories painted there since then. She works with children and schools where she provides after school art programs. She believes we should color outside the lines more and embrace our inner artist. At Clay Café, it’s not about painting the perfect piece, it’s about painting the perfect memory.  www.claycafeavalon.ca

JOEL SWEENEY SAYS….

Joel Sweeney is all about effective communications. He has been speaking, training, coaching and writing about it for over 20 years. He is the author of The Wedding MC Handbook and Little Helpings of Food for Thought. His third book, The Speaker’s Tool Box – Perfecting the Craft of Speaking, was released in the 2015. He is the owner of Professionally Speaking (established in 1995). Joel helps entrepreneurs and business professional become effective, engaging and confident speakers. www.JoelSweeney.com

MAJEED MOGHARREBAN SAYS…

My advice for startups: focus on sales by talking to customers. Look at your calendar. How much time each day or week is spent actually speaking with a human being who has bought from you, can buy from you, or can refer someone to buy from you. Let those people tell you what to create (product/service) and how to describe it (marketing) and who else needs help with the same problem (referrals and sales). Talk to at least one customer every single day and watch your business grow.

Majeed Mogharreban is all about entrepreneurship.  He owned and sold five successful businesses and traveled to 24 countries before he was 21 years old.  After early success in business, now his mission is to support the next generation of entrepreneurs to make a difference doing what they love. With clients ranging from the United Nations, to start-up businesses, to an Olympic gold medalist, Majeed helps you discover your strengths and your passions so that work is meaningful and fun. His book, Winning At Life, is a guide for young people to make a plan and win at life.  www.majeedm.com

LAURIE PINHORN SAYS…

TRENT LANGDON SAYS…

As a full-time educator and counselor, I have regularly contemplated and developed pseudo-business plans… and completed significant research on ‘hanging out my shingle’ and delving into private work on a part time basis. It is still a passion of mine to take this next step but I have yet to do so. The reason being… my family, work, professional affiliations, and personal time are healthily filling my schedule.  So, my advice? I am not a fan of those stories whereby people have lost much to make their businesses successful. Though most entrepreneurial  moves require a certain degree of risk, ensure that your social-emotional and physical needs are not compromised beyond that which is manageable. It is quite difficult to put that cat back into the bag…with much more to be lost than just your business.  Here’s to personal happiness and business success!

Trent Langdon is all about building legacy through character education and development. He is a junior high school counselor for 650+ adolescents and is dedicated to serving his students, their families, and communities.  Trent works on behalf of his colleagues to build identity, protect professional roles, and to give teachers ‘a voice’; currently completing his 2nd term as a member of the Provincial Executive Council of the Newfoundland & Labrador Teachers Association (NLTA) and now as a passionate candidate for NLTA Vice-President for the 2017-2019 term of office. Trent is also a Canadian Certified Counselor with the Canadian Counseling & Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) and serves as a member of the CCPA Ethics Committee (Complaints Division).  And last but certainly not least, Trent is a proud contributor to the Epic Engage team. www.epicengage.com

SHEENA GROBB SAYS…

For those going into business for the first time?  There are so many things that could be said… so many helpful and encouraging tidbits of knowledge to pass on… “This worked for me, this didn’t work for me”.  But, one tiny piece of wisdom that seems to speak louder than all the others:  Let your business become an expression of your highest service.  Whether it’s in the type of business you run, or the way you run it, your contribution to the world will be unique to you.  So listen to your inner guidance and instincts as you take in and integrate important guidance from others who have gone before you.  Fall, learn, try again, grow.  Just make it your own, because you are your greatest resource… the world needs more of us to show up like that.

Sheena Grobb Singer/Songwriter and Speaker… is humbly amazing. “It is without a doubt a masterpiece of songwriting and soundscape. Really incredible, soulful music. She will definitely get a huge audience in time, trust me.” Alex Wharton, Abbey Road Studios. A songbird from the age of two, songwriter at ten, with 3 albums under her belt, a nomination for the Western Canadian Music Awards, and over 500 tour dates across Canada, the US, and the UK, Sheena Grobb (one of Canada’s best kept secrets) is spilling over. With the release of her newest album, The Breakless Heart, mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London, and a life changing music video created by Lindsey Nelko (past choreographer with So You Think You Can Dance), Sheena is embarking on her most meaningful project yet – The Living Compassion Project™ – inviting others to “unlock their lives” through sharing their stories… as she begins to share hers. www.sheenagrobb.com

BARRY LEWIS GREEN SAYS…

In the words of Joe Calloway, keep it simple.  The books Essentialism by Greg McKeown and Keep It Simple by Joe Calloway both speak to this; and are personal faves for me these days.  Uncluttered, uncomplicated and unfettered is best.  I am quickly getting there.  Focus on what you do best and for whom you do it best… and keep your eyes on the prize.  Your marketing, production, operations, research and development, information tech, human resource management and more… they must support what you do best and for whom you do it.  So start by asking yourself:

• what do I/we do best?
• for whom do I/we do it best?
• where are these clients for whom I/we serve?
• how do I/we best get to them in order to serve?
• how can I/we do it in such a way that is sustainable?

Get the books referenced above.  Simplicity is a Virtue; and a powerful one in business.  Keep your eyes on the prize.  Excellence in service and consistency in delivery demands simplicity and fierce focus.

Barry Lewis Green is an educator.  He is a dynamic motivator.  Yes, he is a motivational speaker of substance.  He is an expert who speaks.  Barry is The Unity Guy™. EPIC Engage™ is an extension of The Unity Guy™. It is a team with a mission born of Barry’s work.  He is about epic and noble leadership and wholehearted communities at work, school and everywhere; advancing together in thought, will and action. He is about uniting diverse talent to create cultures of growth. www.epicengage.com

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