Build a Better Startup Interviews Mark Asquith

Hey, Mark here with a quick update about this evergreen interview series and my other podcast, The Podcast Accelerator (https://www.markasquith.com/listen).

Welcome to Excellence Expected.



Episode 1 is my opportunity to thank you for picking up the show and beginning this journey with me.



During the episode I talk about how I bounced back from a business catastrophe to become founder of a rapidly growing design & digital agency, whilst also discussing how that rapid growth and the challenges it brought, caused me to burn out only two years ago.



I take this opportunity to talk about what you can expect from each episode of Excellence Expected and the value that you, as a business owner or entrepreneur, can draw from the podcast.



I also introduce my free eBook "The Essential 14 Day Guide to Cutting Your Working Hours and Increasing Your Impact", which is my blueprint and work-through template that will show you how to create more time every single day, become instantly more effective in your business and create the time to enjoy the things that matter to you.



Excellence Expected is a podcast for business owners, by business owners, with each and every episode adding value to your busy business life.



Let's learn, share and grow together; don't forget: the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

Working on a new product or service and coming up against physical, mental or developmental obstacles at every turn? Unsure when to launch? Afraid of negative feedback? Worried your software or app isn't good enough?



Adriano Ferrari from Gingko shares his wildly inspirational experiences with you to allow you to overcome these obstacles and get your product or service to market quickly and effectively.



Adriano talks us through how the idea for Gingko formed as he went through his PhD, the challenges in raising a young family whilst bringing a product to market and delivers 3 exceptional pieces of advice that you can implement into your workflow to ensure your product reaches market readiness, confidently.



Episode Links:



* @AdrianoFerrari

* Gingko - The better, faster word processor

* John Cleese on Creativity

* “The Rules for Customer Interviews”

* “Conducting Customer Discovery Interviews”

* “Techniques for Getting Customer Stories”







A powerful, powerful episode for anyone developing new products or services!



Don't forget: the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

Thinking about leaving the rat race behind and pursuing a passion?



This week's guest, Simon Hickton, did just that. Since then his business, Cornerstones Education, has grown from 3 founding directors to a team of over 35 people with a customer base that grows daily.



Simon's inspirational story begins as he discusses leaving a stable and enjoyable career as a head-teacher and journeys through the creation of Cornerstones Education, through the challenges faced when experiencing rapid business growth and the challenges, both personally and professionally, that face Simon and his team every single day.



Simon shares his own advice on making the jump from full time employment into following a dream along with offering actionable tips on how to prepare for that jump and making the transition as enjoyable as possible.



Links:



* Cornerstones Education



This is a fun one guys, enjoy it and please let me know if you have any other inspirational advice for the Excellence Expected community by getting involved in the comments section.



Don't forget: the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

Doug Richard is amongst the world's most successful entrepreneurs: an award winning entrepreneurial mentor, former Dragons' Den dragon and highly commended philanthropist.



In 2008 Doug set up his first socially focussed business, School for Startups, a programme that has gone on to provide accelerated mentoring & financial support to over 15,000 business and over 30,000 people.



I had the privilege of talking to Doug about the path that led him to creating School for Startups, exactly how the programme helps entrepreneurs of all ages and how the inner entrepreneur is a product of nurture, not nature.



Packed full of superb anecdotes, entrepreneurial insights and a look behind the curtains at what makes Doug so successful, Doug closes the episode by sharing his 3 most valuable pieces of advice for any business.



This really is a must-listen for any business owner, entrepreneur, startup or driven individual looking for actionable inspiration.



Please let me know what you think of Doug's thoughts in the comments and don't forget, the more you expect from yourself, the more you will excel.

Kate Erickson recently fulfilled a decade long ambition - to author and self-publish a book. "The Fire Path” was a labour of love for Kate and was borne from her role as partner at Entrepreneur on Fire, the highly successful podcast and digital business created by John Lee Dumas in 2012.



Kate held the desire to write a book even before she knew HOW to write a book. But, through patience, active and planning “The Fire Path” is en route to becoming a huge success!



In this episode, Kate shares her own personal background before diving into how “The Fire Path” took shape, including sharing her own actionable tips on:



* How to follow a dream and a passion to create a product that SELLS

* How to leverage multiple mediums to target every corner of your market

* Overcoming the challenges of self-publishing

* The 3 Ps of a powerful product launch:



* Patience

* Practice

* Planning







Links mentioned in this episode:



* The Fire Path by Kate Erickson

* Entrepreneur on Fire



Kate’s journey is one of dedication and it is a journey that is full of inspiration and ACTION. Follow your passion, never let up and keep on moving - you will achieve your goals!

“Resources & Reflections” – Even More Value, Even More Action From Kate Erickson's Episode…

“Resources & Reflections” is my follow up episode to help you take action and EXCEL!



Publishing after each topical, expert interview, I share my own actionable advice along with resources & recommendations to galvanise your thoughts into the will to take action.

Listen to This Week’s “Resources & Reflections”

Each episode of “Resources & Reflections” focusses solely on the topic in hand on the previous episode and is only available via your subscriptions feed – iTunes, Stitcher et al – or the player within each individual episode like this one:







The week's resources are:



* First resource



* Kate’s Take podcast.





* Second resource



* GingkoApp.com - the finest writing tool on the web, hear founder Adriano Ferrari discuss overcoming launch paralysis on episode 8.







What is YOUR action plan this week?



Don’t forget, the more you expect from yourself, the more you WILL excel.