Launch Youniversity

Turning Good Intentions into Reality in Your Career, Business and Life

entrepreneur

033: Break Into Business: Monica Lage on Launching Your Passion From The Ground Floor

by Leave a Comment

Break Into Business: Monica Lage on Launching Your Passion From The Ground Floor
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
033: Break Into Business: Monica Lage on Launching Your Passion From The Ground Floor
Loading
/

Summary:

In this week’s episode, Launch Youniversity is joined by Monica Lage—Founder and Executive Director of Break Into Business. Break into business is a summer camp for entrepreneurs, ages 9-14, who work toward launching their own real small business.

They brainstorm a product idea, perform market research, design a logo, manage a budget, make a website, style an Instagram post, make t-shirts, distribute flyers, film a commercial, and enter the Shark Tank before making their first (real) sale.

Not only does Monica help young launchers, but she’s a launcher herself. We’re so happy to have her share her wisdom and advice with us today.

Welcome to episode 33 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

Break Into Business

Break Into Business 2017 Summer Camps

Plywood People

Jeff Shinabrger of Plywood People on Episode 13 + Episode 14

Three Takeaways:

1. It’s okay to be risk-adverse (as long as you push yourself to take risks).
It’s easy to look at other successful entrepreneurs and think that they’re just wired to take risks and you aren’t. But you don’t have to be a hardwired risk-taker to be an entrepreneur. Monica describes herself as being risk-adverse at times, but when the right risks seemed smart – she pushed herself through it.

2. Find people a few steps ahead of you.
Monica found a group of peers through Plywood People who provide her with encouragement and advice (and the fact that they’ve been where she is now is immeasurably helpful). She could spend months researching the right payroll software, or, she can reach out to her trusted network for recommendations.

3. Keep going back to your raving fans.
As a form of market research, Monica frequently reaches out to her network of customers who have continued to support her business. When she’s thinking about a new idea or project, she asks for their feedback. Not only does it help her keep a pulse on the customer’s needs, but it makes her most loyal customers feel valued.

Thanks for listening to another episode of the Launch Youniversity Podcast! Let us know how we’re doing and what you’d like to hear next by leaving a review on iTunes!

027: Channeling Your Passion to Change the Word: Justin Miller of CARE for AIDS

by Leave a Comment

Channeling Your Passion to Change the Word: Justin Miller of CARE for AIDS
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
027: Channeling Your Passion to Change the Word: Justin Miller of CARE for AIDS
Loading
/

Summary:

At 18 years old, Justin Miller sat in a room listening to Bono talk about the AIDS crisis and knew that he had to be part of the solution. What started as an idea for a documentary has, 10 years later, grown into the incredible and impactful organization that is CARE for AIDS.

In David’s conversation with Justin, they talk about channeling passion, staying focused on your mission, how to scale your business and how to protect your time.

Welcome to episode 27 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

CARE for AIDS website

CARE for AIDS on Twitter

CARE for AIDS on Instagram

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeowen

Three Takeaways:

1. You don’t need to have it all figured out before you launch.
Justin was only 18 when he developed his passion for the AIDS crisis. He didn’t have the connections, time, experience or resources to launch an AIDS prevention organization, but he knew that he was meant to do something. So he did. Because sometimes you just have to take the first step.

2. Focus gets your further.
One of the keys to CARE for AIDS success has been their ability to focus on their mission: Preventing children from becoming orphans due to AIDS. It doesn’t mean that Justin or his team don’t see the many other needs in the communities they serve, but they know that staying focused—and saying yes and no to the right things—will allow them to have the most impact.

3. Even passion needs to take a back seat to personal care.
If you’re a passionate launcher, then you can absolutely relate to this. Passion is a special gift and a driving force, and one that some entrepreneurs can temporarily get swept away with. But the passion that fuels you can burn you if you stop caring for yourself in the process. For Justin, this means setting boundaries with his schedule. It means time blocking parts of his day to pour into his team. It means acknowledging that even though he is saving lives in Africa, his wife and child always come first. Passion is an incredible thing, but we need to steward it correctly to be successful with it.

026: How to Launch When You Have a Full Time Job: Justin Dean and Van Baird Part 2

by Leave a Comment

How to Launch When You Have a Full Time Job: Justin Dean and Van Baird
The Launch Youniversity Podcast
026: How to Launch When You Have a Full Time Job: Justin Dean and Van Baird Part 2
Loading
/

Summary:

Welcome back to the Launch Youniversity podcast and our second conversation with Van Baird and Justin Dean. Last week, Justin and Van talked to us about finding your niche and getting started. But this week, they’re here to tell us about the how.

Justin and Van launched and run a popular event, That Church Conference, while having full-time jobs and families. From how they manage their time, who helps them, and how they engage with people online… we know you’ll leave this conversation with Justin and Van feeling as inspired as we did.

Welcome to episode 26 of the Launch Youniversity Podcast.

Links + Resources:

That Church Conference

That Church Conference on Twitter  Facebook

Amazima Ministries

So Worth Loving

Charity:Water

Three Takeaways:

1. Master Your Schedule.
Justin and Van both walked us through their daily schedules, and something that we quickly realized was just how incredibly different they are. Van is most effective when his schedule is intentionally open and flexible to meet with people and have spontaneous conversations. On the other hand, Justin is most effective when he has a highly-structured, time-blocked schedule. Both Justin and Van have mastered their schedules and found what works best for them as individuals. If they tried to adapt their schedules to match the other, they would probably both be frustrated and burned out.

How do you master your schedule? Ask yourself:

  • Are you a morning person, or a night owl?
  • Does a detailed, hourly schedule overwhelm you, or give you peace of mind?
  • Do large open blocks of time overwhelm you, or give you freedom to be creative?

Test different scheduling methods out and find what works best for you. Once you’re operating on your most-effective schedule, you’ll be unstoppable.

2. Who is your “who”?
Van and Justin have people in their life who can see their vision and take it to the finish line. Every visionary needs someone who can take their desired destination and build the map (and hold you accountable for getting there). If you don’t know who your who is, find them.

3. Be intentional—not random—with social media.
If you’re a launcher, you probably already know that it’s important to be on social media… but what’s the right formula? Justin and Van broke it down:

  • 60% of time talk about other people
  • 20% of the time post “a day in the life” content about what you’re up to
  • 20% of the time make an ask. An ask can be a sales referral, event sign up, etc.

Along with those posting percentages, the other key is consistency. Create a content calendar, find the best times to post, and follow through on the commitment.