Beyond 6 Seconds

After working as a corporate marketing executive for over twenty years, Ajay Prasad decided to become his own boss. In 2004, he left the corporate world and started GMR Web Team, a digital marketing agency. After switching the focus of the business to healthcare, Ajay now works with healthcare providers to improve their online presence and increase their base of patients. Since then, Ajay has also become a serial entrepreneur: he has founded RepuGen, an online reputation software for healthcare businesses, and GMR Transcription, a transcription company. On this episode, you will hear from Ajay about how he develops his employees’ careers, what he looks for when he hires people, how he identifies the right clients, and how his experience in the corporate world compares to entrepreneurship. You can find Ajay on LinkedIn, and on Twitter @ajayprasad_. You can also find more information about his companies at www.gmrwebteam.com, www.repugen.com, and www.gmrtranscription.com.

Marsha Guerrier is a bestselling author, speaker, trainer, business analyst and coach, and CEO of Women on the Rise NY, Inc., a small business consulting agency. Marsha also has a full-time career in Financial Technology spanning over 20 years working for Fortune 500 and startup firms, working in areas of Quality Assurance, Business Analysis and Product Management. On this episode, Marsha shares how Women on the Rise NY provides women who work full time jobs with the community and resources to build their own businesses. She talks about how her coaching helps women entrepreneurs develop strategies that improve their Mindset, Money, Marketing and Media – and how they can increase their revenue by applying structure and organization to their businesses. Join Marsha at the 6th Annual Women on the Rise Forum & Expo (October 18-19, 2019 in New York City) for: A mastermind day full of hands-on training for entrepreneurs, including revenue planning and email automation Panel discussions on Mindset, Money, Marke

Forrest Schaffer is a “9-to-5er” at a digital marketing company and the founder of One Strong Herd, a fitness apparel and accessories brand and startup company. Forrest talks about the twists and turns in his career path, which included leaving his 9-5 job to join a startup that recruited him – only to be fired 9 days later – and how he used his time during the aftermath to find his current job and grow his startup. In addition to entrepreneurship, Forrest is passionate about the topics of personal finance and digital marketing. We talk about how he shares simple personal finance tools and advice for millennials on his YouTube channel, and how he uses digital marketing to market One Strong Herd. He even shares some great SEO tips for improving your search ranking on Google that you can apply to your own business! Learn more about Forrest at the One Strong Herd website www.onestrongherd.com and Instagram @onestrongherd and on his personal Instagram @forrestschaffer.   Free gift for Beyond 6 Seconds listeners:

On this episode I talk with Gail Tolstoi-Miller -- an award-winning dual CEO, experienced recruiter, author and global keynote speaker -- about unconscious bias in hiring. Having personally felt the impact of unconscious bias early in her life, she now works with her corporate clients to raise awareness of unconscious bias and helps job seekers combat unconscious bias and even use it to their advantage. Gail also gave a TEDx talk on unconscious bias in hiring and recently launched her online course about this topic on Udemy. Gail shares her thoughts, insights and advice on:   What unconscious bias is, and why everyone has it How unconscious bias shows up in the hiring process The personal experiences that solidified her desire to bust unconscious bias How she challenges her clients’ bias, starting with two simple words: "So What?" The drawbacks of cherry-picking diversity How affinity bias hinders creativity and innovation in an organization, and trickles down to their customers and clients What it was like

Michelle Tillis Lederman, one of Forbes’ Top 25 Networking Experts, is the author of four books including the #1 new release, The Connector’s Advantage. She is also the CEO of Executive Essentials, which provides customized communications and leadership programs for Fortune 500, non-profit, university and government clients. She is well known for helping people connect, work better together and advance their individual impact. On this episode, Michelle shares her career journey and valuable advice about networking, including: How she found her calling for coaching, communications and training while working in finance How she embraced opportunities to practice what she loved on the job, before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship Her experience as the only woman on the trading floor and global venture capital team The six types of relationships you need for a successful career and life How she evolved her work from a practice to a business The importance of having a clear “ask” when you’re networking and b

Jenny Watzka worked at a Big 4 consulting firm for three years before ditching her 9 to 5 (or in her case, 9 am to 10 pm) after the sudden death of her father. Surrounded by doubters and naysayers, she successfully built her own profitable consulting firm while traveling full time. Jenny helps business owners around the world ditch the daily overwhelm and grow their companies through automated workflows, internal system development, effective leadership and communication training. You can reach Jenny by email at hello@jennywatzka.com.

After working for years in the corporate, nonprofit, and public sectors, Rachel Werner founded RBW Strategy, her women-owned consulting firm based in the Washington, DC Metro area. She’s an expert in the full lifecycle of grants activities, and currently provides fundraising, project management and strategic planning support to nonprofit, public sector and for-profit clients. She is also an award-winning business owner who was recently recognized as a SCORE Client of the Year! On this episode, Rachel shares: Why she transitioned from working at a Big 4 management consulting company after having her first child How her experience prepared her to become an entrepreneur, build her client base, and differentiate her business What it was like starting her business while pregnant with her second child The preconceived notions she had to overcome about having a home-based business How she defined her work/life boundaries as an entrepreneur, and found support from other entrepreneurial mothers through an accelerator

Bryan Wempen is a speaker and an author.  His latest book, “Sober Is Better, My Note to Self,” describes Bryan’s journey into daily drinking and finding his way to living a sober lifestyle.   In this episode, Bryan walks us through his story – how early trauma and a feeling of disconnectedness led him to become a high-functioning alcoholic by high school, his experiences with drugs during his college years, what it was like growing his career while struggling with addiction, and what motivated him to go into recovery. He also describes the tremendous support that the recovery community has provided him, as well as the impact his book has had on readers.   You can learn more about Bryan at www.BryanWempen.com and buy his book on Amazon at Sober Is Better: My Note to Self.   Bryan Wempen's full bio: Bryan Wempen was born in Redwood City California, the future world-famous Silicon Valley.  He was adopted at two days old and started a journey across several states with his new parents to live in the mountains of

Jordan Gross is a Northwestern and Kellogg School of Management graduate, a two-time startup founder, a TEDx speaker, and a #1 best-selling author. His upcoming book, “The Journey to Cloud Nine,” provides a new approach to the personal development world by using fictional storytelling to reveal some of life's most meaningful principles. In this episode, Jordan describes his own journey to Cloud Nine – how he lived life “by the book” and worked at a lucrative but uninspiring job, then quit to focus his energy on content creation, coaching and public speaking. Now he is a certified coach who helps people find direction in their lives and careers through his company Cloud Nine Living. He also demonstrates some tips on how to overcome fear, based on the 5-step process from his first book, “Getting COMFY” (Calm, Openness, Movement, Funny, You). Connect with Jordan on LinkedIn and visit his website www.JourneyToCloudNine.com to subscribe to his newsletter.

This week I'm doing a podcast "episode swap" with fellow podcaster Heidi Bennett, the host of the Vibrant Visionaries podcast (and my guest from Episode 68 of Beyond 6 Seconds)! This means that Heidi is publishing my interview episode with her on the Vibrant Visionaries podcast, and I’ve chosen one of her episodes to feature here on Beyond 6 Seconds: her interview with Emily Winston. While living in the San Francisco Bay Area, Emily missed the authentic NY bagels from her youth so much that she decided to make them herself, and dive head (and heart) first into opening a retail bagel bakery called Boichik Bagels in Berkeley, CA! If you’ve ever had a craving for an authentic NY bagel, or ever had to figure out how to make your dream (or your business idea) into reality, you’ll really enjoy this episode from Vibrant Visionaries.  This episode was originally featured on Episode 17 of Heidi's podcast, Vibrant Visionaries. You can hear more episodes of her podcast at vibrantvisionaries.com.  

After graduating college, Matt LeBris spent three years working with Daymond John of ABC’s Shark Tank. Now Matt is the founder of 1B Branding (a branding agency in NY City), the host of the Decoding Success Podcast, and speaks in front of audiences across the U.S. – all of which propel him closer to his goal of positively impacting the lives of one billion individuals. On this episode, Matt shares the successes and challenges that he’s faced in his life, including: How he turned a 5 minute conversation with Daymond John into a job offer His earliest entrepreneurial venture at age 12, when he opened a “restaurant” selling his parents’ groceries on the corner in Queens – until his parents found out about it His struggles in school – getting kicked out of two high schools and failing out of college, but eventually graduating college with honors after 7 years Losing his athletic dream (and all his college scholarships) during his senior year of high school Turning his “18th birthday party” into a revenue-generat

Scott Miller is the EVP of Thought Leadership at FranklinCovey. He is also the author of the #1 hot new release on Amazon, “Management Mess to Leadership Success: 30 Challenges to Become the Leader You Would Follow.” A self-described “management mess,” Scott shares what he has learned from his own leadership mistakes, what characteristics are important for successful leadership, and how his book combines his stories with activities to help readers admit their own messes, apply the lessons he learned and move towards leadership success. Learn about Scott and his work at the links below: Buy Scott’s new book, “Management Mess to Leadership Success”at www.ManagementMess.com Listen to Scott’s podcasts, Great Life, Great Career and On Leadership Connect with Scott on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram Learn more about FranklinCovey at www.FranklinCovey.com

Maria Pesin is a fashion industry consultant and senior apparel industry executive with more than 25 years of field experience. She is the author of the e-book “14 Essential Truths Everyone in the Fashion Business Should Know” and the CEO of Vibe Consulting, where she helps aspiring fashion entrepreneurs build successful businesses. She has built multi-million-dollar brands, and has constructed and implemented business plans for New York apparel giants like Fleet Street and GIII Apparel Group. From a very young age, Maria knew that she wanted to be a businesswoman and make money, despite growing up in a blue collar family in the late 1960s/early 1970s that teased her for her feminist ideals and aspirations. She chose to pursue a career in the fashion industry, where she started working “below rock bottom” until she got jobs where she could learn about the business, and earned promotions all the way to the top. Maria shares her career journey -- including the story behind the incident that led her to leave the

How do you build a life and career that fulfills your passion, if you’re passionate about multiple things?  This is a question that Heidi Bennett helps people answer. Heidi is a business and wellness coach for multi-creative professionals – i.e., people with a multitude of interests who can’t limit themselves to doing one thing only, day in and day out. She helps her clients design their own careers by bringing all their interests and talents together into different projects.  Heidi is also the host of the Vibrant Visionaries podcast, where she has candid conversations with multi-creatives from different fields and industries. On this episode, Heidi shares how she helps multi-creatives overcome mental barriers like negative self-talk, imposter syndrome and fear, while guiding them to practice their strengths, decide what impact they want to have in the world, and find the life and work that aligns with their values and creative processes. Heidi also describes some of her coaching techniques and strategies tha

Justin Nguyen is the 22-year-old CEO of GetChoGrindUp and Co-Host of the Young and D.U.M.B. (Dedicated, Up-and-coming, Motivated, Bold) Podcast. Justin’s mission is to uncover the blueprint to career success for college students, and educate them about traditional jobs (through GetChoGrindUp) and non-traditional jobs (via the Young and D.U.M.B. podcast). On this episode, Justin talks about growing up in the United States as the son of Vietnamese refugees, the pressure he felt from his family to become either a doctor, lawyer or engineer, and how he discovered the worlds of finance, economics and business when he attended college. You’ll find out why he changed his major to Finance, turned down a dream job offer upon graduation, and became an entrepreneur instead – and how he broke the news to his parents! Justin also shares: How he grew his podcast’s reach using social media Advice for making contact with influencers How he taught himself marketing by researching it on the internet and watching videos of mar

Amir Bormand is the Co-founder of Elevano, a candidate-centric technical recruitment company. On this episode, Amir and I talk about how he quit his job to start Elevano right when he got married, and how his wife’s support and belief in his abilities were critical to the success of his business. Most of our conversation, however, focuses on the aftermath of a near death experience that Amir had at the age of 17. This experience had a lasting impact on Amir’s life, as he struggled for many years to deal with the trauma and the meaning of being alive against the odds. He explains how both his wife and a therapist helped him let go of the trauma and shift his mindset away from thinking “what if.” Then, through a strange coincidence, he shares how his trauma and recovery prepared him to support his wife through her own crisis.   You can find out more about Amir at www.elevano.com and find him on LinkedIn, Twitter and via email at ABormand@elevano.com.

Georgie-Ann Getton-Mckoy is an execution strategist, serial entrepreneur, community builder, speaker, author and diversity in tech enthusiast. She loves helping businesses and people become more productive, find creative solutions to their problems, and execute on their ideas, and she’s an expert at turning “dreamers” into “doers.” Her new book, “The Art of Getting Sh*t Done” was published in February 2019. On this episode, Georgie talks about: How, as a child, she became the go-to person for solving problems and getting things done within her family – a skill that she uses successfully as a serial entrepreneur Why flexibility and choice cause so many businesses to procrastinate and lose productivity How she found ways to use technology to become more productive, instead of letting it become a distraction How a simple request to her network led her to create the Get Sh*t Done Summit, an annual conference that provides authentic, practical and actionable guidance for executing on your ideas Why she wrote her

Nikhil Pampati is a high school senior at the Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies in New Jersey. In his free time, he serves as the cofounder and CFO of the national nonprofit Jobscopia, which runs programs that connect students with professionals and provide them with real-life insights into potential careers. On this episode, Nikhil shares the story of what inspired him to start Jobscopia when he was a high school junior, and how he evolved this idea through customer research (which included interviewing strangers on the streets of San Mateo), cold calling companies to get them to participate, and networking with employees at hackathons and conferences. He also talks about how he balances his startup work with going to high school, and his advice for young and aspiring entrepreneurs. You can learn more about Jobscopia at www.jobscopia.com or connect with Nikhil on Facebook.   Nikhil's full bio: Nikhil Pampati is currently a high school senior at the Middlesex Count

Marc Mawhinney is a lifelong entrepreneur who helps coaches get more clients (without paid advertising)! He achieves this with his coaching programs; his two podcasts (Natural Born Coaches and The Marc Mawhinney Minute); his Facebook group The Coaching Jungle, and his exclusive print newsletter – Secret Coach Club.  In this podcast, Marc tells us about his personal experiences with overcoming two big challenges: Bouncing back from adversity: August 11, 2009 was Marc's worst day in business: this was the date that his real estate business collapsed, after 10 years of nonstop success. He talks about how he got through the difficult months and years that followed, the long path that led him to becoming a coach (and why he says coaching “saved his life”), and his advice for struggling entrepreneurs. Dealing with haters: Marc talks about why having haters is actually a good sign. He shares how he turns his experiences with trolls and haters into content and new sales! Learn more about Marc at his website www.Nat

At the end of 2018, New York City stand-up comedian Mike Lemme traveled to London, Paris and Rome to perform in some unusual venues – conference rooms that he rented in local office buildings – while documenting his experience on YouTube. On this podcast, Mike describes his adventures from his European conference room comedy tour (including his encounters with drunk people, newlyweds, protests & riots, and an “overexposed” Couchsurfing host). He also shares how these gigs gave him the confidence and clout to get opportunities to headline comedy shows in larger clubs, grow his fan base, and finally take action to achieve his long-held dream of performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the biggest arts festival in the world. Learn more about Mike and his comedy shows on his website www.mikelemme.com, via email at mike@mikelemme.com, on Instagram @mikelemme and on his Eventbrite page, and watch his YouTube documentary of his conference room tour called “Something New."   Mike’s full bio: Mike Lemme is an