The Professional Failure Podcast

Justin Skinner
  • 4.9 (33)
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  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Why do we care about failures? Because each story of failure has a lesson to be learned! Professional Failure is a podcast dedicated to uncovering the upside of failure hidden in the unique stories of our guests. Our goal is to push back hard on the fear of failure and teach others how to overcome it. Join us for real stories and real people sharing sage advice on lessons they've learned and how they've worked through their setbacks. Failures are a gift! Learn to appreciate your gifts!

  1. 04/10/2023

    EP 88: Mitchell Swanson | Growing Up In A Small Business, Royal Rangers, Passive Mentors, Don’t Chase The Dollar, Serving Principles, Everyday Failures, Thriving in Failures, Trying to Solve It First, and The Fun of Watching a Team Succeed

    My story of failure: Not telling a babysitter where I was going. Mitchell graduated from Evangel University with a bachelor's degree in Business Management. He started with AGCU in 2012 and has served many roles inside the mortgage department, including Loan Officer, Processor, and Underwriter. Before moving to AGCU, Mitchell spent his career helping operate his family's businesses, learning a diverse set of skills that would help him in his roles at AGCU. Mitchell and his wife, Heather, have lived and worked in Springfield their entire lives. They have six children, Ella, Bentley, Parker, Thatcher, Juniper, and Adalyn. The Swanson Family enjoys outdoor activities, playing games, going to the lake, and spending time with friends and family. In today’s episode Mitchell talks about: - falling into lending - working for his parents - having someone follow through with him and offer him a position - taking a pay cut to get his foot in the door - focusing on lending now - working for Mitch - growing up in the business with friends - great memories of working - being a part of a small family business - pushing a broom as a kid in the shop - coming to basketball practice smelling like strawberry popcorn - hard work ingrained at a young age - not eating popcorn for 3-4 years after leaving - his dad as a mentor and instilling doing the right thing - taking care of and serving people first, no matter what - “Even if there’s an easier way, you do the right thing no matter what.” - Royal Rangers and pinewood derby - unshaped wood - building his self confidence at a young age - Paul Ebbish as a mentor - Fail forward fast - being strategic as a small business - not enough words - being fortunate to have some direct mentors - passive mentors - lunch with more experienced people - don’t chase the dollars - growing organically over the last decade - sharing different perspectives ten years in - nice to be able to share now - helping set him apart - being an overbooked market - doing the right thing and replicating with others - buying a house is not a short term deal - being the highest of integrity through the process - coming from a family of five kids - taking care of six high energy kids - his wife Heather and him wanting four kids in the beginning - being scared from a physical standpoint to have more kids - going from fostering to adoption - never anticipating six children - the same serving principle translates to home - being entrusted with children - the ultimate goal is to be there for his kids - wild days and making breakfast - his wife being a champion at home - worth the stress and hair loss - the willingness to enter the madness - driving and listening to podcasts - pouring in passively - coming into the industry in 2012 - everyday failures - humbling in the beginning - thriving in failures - seeing rates in the threes - lenders being overwhelmed - “There’s no excuses. You grind and figure it out.” - being forced to look into the process - sharpening himself through the process - wouldn’t have grown without the hard work and failures - some of the sharpest people in the industry - trying to solve it first and then helping - unicycle without training wheels - getting hung up on - a tough and character building time - the exciting thing right now in weird economic times - earning favor and building out a team - the fun of watching a team succeed - hard to imagine where he is now - something he needs to work on - like to look back and see that he hasn’t lost his roots - giving back like he was given - finished building their house - the excitement of a new home - enjoying what God’s created and 1/4 mile walks - continuing the dating pattern and growing together - sparking a love for traveling - a podcast with kids

    43 min

  2. 04/03/2023

    EP 87: Rachel Cooper | Making The Shift to Healthy, Algorithms and Stories, More Videos More Money, Passive Income Is Not So Passive, Chaotically Organized, Truly Giving It To God, Genius Marketing, and What’s The Alternative?

    My story of failure: Getting a hernia from lifting weights in high school. About Rachel Cooper: Sharing all amazon finds that I love and think you would as well. From fitness equipment, to health and wellness items, and all things in between. Follow me to catch my livestreams here on Amazon for interactive demonstrations and live workouts! In today’s episode Rachel talks about: - living an unhealthy lifestyle - making the shift to eating healthy - wanting to expand and change to an online presence - Amazon Live - comparing to QVC - seeing the product being used in real time - starting from sheer vanity - operating her business out of a country club - “When your physical health aligns, you want everything to align.” - the main ways to make money through Amazon Live - water bottle example - shopping from an Amazon carousel - videos and creators - passive income is not so passive - her cousin being a mentor early on and to this day - story of failure about starting a YouTube documentary - working with a filmmaker for future profits - being ghosted by a filmmaker - why it’s good to go for things - getting kicked down and pivoting - being consistent - why it’s about pressing forward - what’s the alternative? - working on her own website - building your business off the back of another platform - renting vs. owning - affiliate marketers and why they’re successful - www.rachelreviewsitnow.com - the flow of website traffic - SEO and email marketing - what she does with free products - not promoting products she doesn’t use - what she hopes for RC Fitness - personal and group training via Zoom and in person - Zoom training sessions - training in an affluent community - the convenience of training online - the limits to training online - multiple categories of Amazon Live - getting into Amazon Live Program - more about engagement than followers - the success of live streaming in China - why we’re intrigued by what other people are doing - a huge audience makes for a big profit - RCfitness.nyc - why she does free live workouts on Amazon Live - genius marketing - buying a dumbbell set and watching previous videos

    38 min

  3. 03/27/2023

    EP 85: Emily K. Louis | An Unlikely Worthiness Coach, Mentored In a Narrow Box, Borrowing Belief, The Roller Coaster To Burnout, Recognizing Patterns Faster, Laying New Foundations, Perfecting What She Already Has, and The Negatives of Comparing Harder

    My story of failure: Backing my parents SUV into our pastor’s truck. Emily K. Louis is a worthiness coach, wife, mother, and host of the Abundance Grace Podcast! Emily helps people confidently be themselves! She wants people to own their worth so they can stop feeling like they need to be strong and have it all together. She offers individual and group coaching. In today’s episode Emily talks about: - an unlikely worthiness coach - being annoyingly rule following - the “good” checklist - growing up under an abusive pastor - not working to prove her worth anymore - stepping into what God calls us into - getting past the pressure - The Pressure is Off - trying to handle the question with grace - grateful for where she is - mentored in a narrow box - a church that thought they were the only ones that had it right - being genuinely afraid of truth - being safe even though she’s wrong - finding mentors after almost wanting to quit - Gretchen H. as a mentor - borrowing belief from mentors until we own it ourselves - seeing what God has for someone before they do - the mental checklist that becomes a task list - not finding our identity in the place that it should be - the roller coaster that will burn us out - Lauren Dangle’s Song - You Say - constantly being aware of turning anything into a checklist - speaking the Gospel over herself daily - words having the power of life and death - recognizing patterns faster - laying new foundations - laying a new foundation takes work - story of mistake setting up childcare - not having the right support - the negative thought that came to her head - owning the mistake but not letting it be a story - not letting failures mean more than it should - making failures lighthearted - complimenting yourself for trying - “If beating yourself up was going to help you succeed, it would have worked already.” - goal to be on a TedX Stage - growing the Abundance Grace podcast - having four littles at home - perfecting what she already has - downplaying your hard and it not being healthy - praying for God to expand our capacity - the trap of comparison - comparing other people’s hard - easily bypassing our emotions - her struggle a couple of weeks ago - texting two people and sharing what was hard - which one do I text? Why not both? - we are worth taking care of - how does Emily recharge? - Sabbath being important and why it’s profound that it’s the tenth commandment - remembering - setting aside time and creating margin - going for long walks, talking to God, and journaling - not liking to be boxed in - The Gift of Being Yourself by David Benner - why she loves connecting with people - the podcast not being her identity

    36 min

  4. 03/20/2023

    EP 85: Clayton Rothschild | Hustles That Didn’t Hit, A Bias Towards Action, Informal Mentorships, Good Leaders Are Always Calibrating, The Conviction of Entrepreneurship and Bring on The Rejection!

    My story of failure: Hitting a tree with a baseball bat and killing it. Clayton Rothschild is an entrepreneur from Springfield, MO. He is very interested in the creative destruction and disruptive effect technology has on everyday life. His favorite topics are those that are perhaps undergoing the most disruption: accessibility, economics, consumer behavior, and regulation. He is passionate about product development. He is also the co-founder and co-owner of CloudPano, the standard in 360º virtual tour software. CloudPano has been seen on Redfin and Zillow, and has clients across the globe. In today’s episode Clayton talks about: - why we failed at the in person interview - Clayton’s back problem in last podcast attempt - training for his first marathon - co-foundng CloudPano - virtual tour software - expanding the CloudPano concept to other industries - working tech consulting - making his first website in 4th grade - serving Fortune 500 companies - hustles that didn’t hit - the story of the Baylor Information project - story of Corpus Cristi Roofing leads - loving that Clayton took a chance and went after a project - why it’s about executing well - building a communications platform for frats and sororities - building a fake honor society - what a 21 year old is expected of early on - a bias toward action - sharpening your axe - a networking only available to college students - why startups are able to succeed - delivering value and innovation faster as a startup - the obvious answer of a mentor - his dad and mom being entrepreneurs and teaching him early on - talking business at the table with his parents - his mother making a rule at home that business can’t be spoken at the dinner table - reading The New Yorker and Wall Street Journal as a teenager - meeting Clayton at a coffee shop - informal mentorships - mentored by a manager - delivering electricity to customers - putting supply on the grid and forecasting - trying to become a professional that creates value - a high degree of responsibility - learning how to lead and operate teams - leadership is a balance - mission first plus discipline - mentors model - his business partner as a mentor - why he can be a little pessimistic - how a sales person and tech guru can form a great partnership - cultivating the foil - why CloudPano’s success is about execution - 100% sales and 100% product - bring on the rejection! - a college student selling Cutco knives during the summer - perfect code doesn’t fully affect revenue - basically married to your business partner - reflecting on failures - “Where has there been an abject failure in my life?” - story of starting his career as an accountant and pivoting - general business literacy of accounting - making a space website in 7th grade - starting his first job and realizing that accounting wasn’t for him - building a transition log - the last of a generation of corporate employees - the conviction of entrepreneurship - having the courage to recognize that your career choice may not be the right thing for you - restarting his career - why he grateful for his time as an accountant - the journey of an entrepreneur - “Suffering is a huge component of entrepreneurship.” - story of waking up early and grinding at Starbucks - “The entrepreneurial journey has many moments of discouragement.” - making assessments at the weekly or monthly level - suspending emotion in the day to day - what does God have in store for me? - why working out teaches entrepreneurship - what is Clayton looking forward to - why he wants acreage and wants to homestead - okra - praying with discipline and physical posture - being ok with the suspense - it can take a year or two to execute your goals and that’s ok - having the discipline to say no to other projects

    51 min

  5. 03/13/2023

    EP 84: Dave Snyder | Being Ahead of the Market, Figuring Out Your Identity, Starting Slow, Throwing It Away, Survival Vs. Confidence, Money Begets Money, The Impossibility of AI

    My story of failure: Not correctly tying my shoes and tripping over them. Dave Snyder is the CEO of CopyPress. His background in SEO, social media, and content marketing led Dave to look for a better way to scale and create content and market it. That search led to the formation of CopyPress. Today CopyPress is one the most trusted content marketplaces online working with brands like Sears, Macy's, Linkedin, Zenefits, and IHG. In today’s episode Dave talks about: - getting a creative writing degree - teaching and starting a website - doing fantasy sports writing - learning SEO - faking it till you make it - tripling revenue in eight months at 28 - starting his first agency - building the original blueprint for Copypress - getting kicked out of Bluegrass - struggling for ten years out of the gate - being ahead of the market - penny a word content - figuring out their niche - needing time to figure out your identity - how AI effects businesses - why AI can’t think of new things - an inherent issue with capital - figuring out what products people want - not letting your eyes fool you - scaling up but having money issues - start slow and perfect as you go - going after the premium market - having enough humility - do it, fail, and then do the next thing - structure chaos and building on what works - the only reason Dave had a partner in business - not being the grind guy - not wanting to let everyone down - confidence vs survival - why Dave developed into a good salesman - being genuine and transparent to a fault - not trying to sell people - not a one size fits all solution - the biggest failure for Dave with cashflow - cashflow problems - merchant credit account loans - predatory loans for businesses - floating loans revolving for five years - being concerned with the interest rates and people taking loans - having to personally guarantee short term loans - figuring out cash forecasting - having to cut expenses and getting profitable - three years to pay down loans - building his own software to forecast cashflow - making sense from a risk perspective - AI not being creative - AI not creating anything wholly new - how AI could potentially replace developers - spammers and AI - kids using ChatGPT to do homework - moving apart socially - some form of this has always existed - outsourcing tweets and social media to Fiverr - capitalism will figure itself out - burst of people doing dumb stuff and then fading out - the end of social media? - an exciting time for business owners - automating tasks - AI sourcing and plagiarism - NFT’s and copyrights - people suing over lack of accessibility - why you have other cryptocurrencies - the stability of Bitcoin - only worth what someone is willing to pay for it - nothing that keeps Bitcoin from going to zero - the lack of utility of Bitcoin - every investment carrying a risk - FTX and the exchange being gone, and being too wild west - regulating Ripple and why it would stabilize the market - why you might as well gamble - why Dave likes building product - how he’s going to help his employees grow and make more money - creating cool product - giving up social media and why

    43 min

  6. 03/06/2023

    EP 83: Dr. Chase Kelly | Drinking Through a Firehose, Don’t Forget to Be Yourself, It’s Always Easier The Second Time, The Importance of Finding a Mentor, Growth Failures, and You Never Make It As A Leader

    Story of failure: Accidentally killing a baby kitten when I was younger. Today’s guest is Dr. Chase Kelly! About Chase: I am proud to serve my hometown community of Springfield, Missouri, by providing an environment where patients feel safe and where they can trust me as their lifetime dentist. I desire for all of my patients to be excited to visit the dentist and understand the long-term benefits of oral health. My team and I focus on the patient as a whole, and want them to feel we are different from the dental experiences they have had in the past by getting to know the patient as individuals we respect and care for. I believe that listening to our patients and understanding their needs, goals and lifestyles helps my team provide better overall care and achieve better results for our patients. I spend hundreds of hours each year learning new techniques for patient care related to orthodontics, dental technology and materials, cosmetics, implant dentistry, and team building. When we meet as a team to work on the patient experience, I really feel it brings our team together so we may continue to work better to streamline and make it easy to become a lifelong patient at Kelly Dental. I achieved my bachelor’s degree from Drury University before attending UMKC School of Dentistry to earn my Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. While in school, and even since graduation, I have spent time teaching other students and dentist techniques related to operative dentistry and dental photography. In today’s episode Chase talks about: - why it’s hard to answer questions seriously with Justin - thought he wanted to be brain surgeon - why someone directed him to dentistry - buying a practice from a retiring dentist - drinking though a firehose - ignorance was bliss early on - having a previous dentist as a mentor - not liking payroll - why teeth only have one response - feeling like a fake Doogie Howser - don’t forget to be yourself - seeing people you grow up with in professional settings - patients aren’t a giant tooth walking in the door - “If people like you, people will keep coming back.” - why Chase wanted to be a brain surgeon - connecting circuitry and wires to solve problems - like the Oscars and Grammys - why his grandpa was such a big mentor for him - his grandpa starting in the cotton fields - trying to keep his grades up - “If your axe is dull, you just gotta swing harder.” - story of organic chemistry as a class - 40% of you won’t be here tomorrow - “It’s always easier the second time.” - Grandpa Kelly - his parents being mentors - seeing a Godly marriage with his parents and how they made it - not sure how to move forward with his practice and why he paid someone to help them - having a coach/mentor - why it’s important to find someone that’s been successful and learn from them - Chase’s Dentist Episode - Chase’s story of failure - the anxiety of dental school - seeking out mentorship from his family - growth failures with his practice - humbling himself down to learn - leadership failures - having that gut feeling - messing up but giving yourself grace and asking for forgiveness - a mindset of thankfulness after a mistake - being able to know when you screw up - “You point the finger, and there’s four fingers pointing back at you.” - why Justin has disconnected with people in the past - why you never make it as a leader - Why President Obama has charisma - identifying where your flaws are - how Chase overcomes the discouragement of failure - giving yourself grace in moments of failure - the mental toughness of improving - not loving delegating but needing help - “When you think you’re a good leader, think about hiring someone that does what you do.” - filling out the space he currently has - doubling in the last two years - why leadership and fear of failure can be intimidating - wanting someone to stick around - what Chase is looking forward to telling himself in five years - getting rid of the golden handcuffs - why he likes to still ride is bike - Justin’s mountain biking failure story - Chase’s favorite places to ride - why he likes Fellow’s Lake - why he likes NW Arkansas to ride - Slaughter Pin trails in Arkansas

    41 min

  7. 02/27/2023

    EP 82: Dr. Rosemarie Downer | Wanting to Die Empty, The Madame of Forgiveness, Failing to Defend, Teaching Vs. Preaching, Inspiration from the Father, and D’s and F’s Won’t Do

    Today’s Story of Failure: Sitting on and breaking my newish pair of sunglasses. Dr. Rosemarie Downer is a dedicated follower of Christ who aspires to having the closest relationship with Christ possible. Her service in the body of Christ primarily involves teaching and preaching. She also spent well over 30 years serving in youth ministries. Other focus areas in her ministry include women and single adults. As well, she often ministers on issues that address emotional healing and well-being. She counts every opportunity to minister an ultimate privilege from God the Father and does not take it lightly. She is the founder and former President of BRYDGES (Building Responsible Youth by Delivering Genuine Enrichment Services), over which she functioned as the President for 15 years − 2001 through 2016. She is a published author of The Self-Scarred Church and several parenting handbooks. Additionally, she is the author of a comprehensive ministry development course – Find and Occupy Your Place and the Continuum of Care Youth Ministry Development Handbook. Dr. Downer served at The U.S. Department of Agriculture as a social science researcher for 20 years and as an adjunct professor at Bowie State University for 24 years. She is now retired from both positions and is currently a private consultant doing grant writing and research and evaluation. In addition, she is doing what she dreamed of doing for years, and that is to write books to edify the body of Christ. Dr. Downer writes inspirational nonfiction books that are based on the Word of God. Her main reason for writing is to make a permanent record of what our heavenly Father has to say to His people through her pen of a ready writer. Her deepest desire is that the readers’ lives will be transformed as, by faith, they apply the words from the pages of her books. In today’s episode Dr. Downer talks about: - first academic book about parenting styles - first non-fiction book being written in 2009 - having to forgive your offenders - the mandate of forgiveness - “Writing is easy, the rest is what’s hard.” - why it’s never worth telling the story - skip the story and tell the victory - her vehicle for healing - hurt getting in the way of her relationship with the Lord - obeying the mandate to forgive - hearing her mother singing at the kitchen sink to God - crying because she loved the Lord - asking for Baptism at age 7 - her mom’s strongest message to her - never being pressured to be married - when her mom was the proudest - Evelyn Marshall as a mentor - Samuel Carson asking her to preach - on the preaching rotation - first woman not ordained - “if you can teach, you can preach.” - a lack of understanding of the scriptures - distinguishing teaching from preaching - being a passionate person - teaching is how deep you go into the concepts - her latest book, D’s and F’s won’t do - doubt, distraction, discouragement, depression - frustration, failure, fear - the sword to put out the fiery darts against us - setting the foundation and getting it right - “We have all failed. Just cut out the pride.” - failure story when she defended her PHD - why her mom said she needed to go back to Jamaica so she could feed her - her pet peeve and why cheapen things - being an overachiever and perfectionist - too much data, not enough findings - not knowing how she drove home that day - waking up in the middle of the night and figured out a way forward - failure is not final - “Failure teaches us lessons…don’t overcomplicate it.” - don’t give in, don’t give up - “In order to overcome failure, we must be resilient.” - failure happens to us, not in us - how do you handle the failure? - the driving scenario - you’re going to hit some potholes, sharp turns, and bad weather - skipping rocks by myself by the lake - “Failure is supposed to make us stronger.” - there are no small failures - failure is failure - “Failure does not devalue us.” - Jesus’ mission - setting her standards really high - mediocre is not in her vocabulary - impact is what we’re aiming at - why are we overcomplicating it? - what Dr. Downer does in her down time - why she loves walking trails - her favorite travel places - why she loves Israel - the deep experience for a believer - doing more conferences and retreats - starting her next book - writing two books a year - topics coming from prayer - making sure what she writes is inspired by the Lord - not wanting to minister out her intellect - wanting to die empty - why she believes whenever the word of God is dispense, something should change - why she wants something supernatural to happen

    40 min

  8. 02/20/2023

    EP 81: Clinton Young | Black Sheep Habits, Failing His Intuition, Follow The Tingles, Thoughts Are Slippery, Unique Natural Flows, Little Kid Confidence, and Pickle What?

    Story of failure: Trying to protect our car from hail damage but getting a bigger dent instead. In today’s episode Clinton talks about: - full time RV’er and pickle ball coach - living in a van down by the river - story of who he is and what his purpose is - having success as an entrepreneur and then 2008 happens - losing his business and credit score within 3 months - seminar leader telling him that he was dead inside - always followed his intuition and where that lead him - buying real estate for all the wrong reasons - thinking that his intuition failed him but what he learned - black sheep habits - a Harry Potter lightning bolt - failing his intuition - walking in nature and rest - getting the tingles and following them - personal growth and development - feeling very deeply - sharing the Black Sheep habits - meditation and closing your eyes - quieting your mind and being present - being in three areas - level of confusion - contemplating and negative ion exchanges - allowing thoughts to emerge - benefits of journaling - patterns in what you’re writing - the concept of natural flow - The Flow Profile - being in alignment with flow - grounding and walking on the beach - visualization and what it does - story of Michael Phelps and visualization - winning in your mind - the most important part of visualization - finding something that lights them up - The Discovery Process formula - story of Clinton being in grad school and cross-cultural studies - being a psychology geek - wanting to study overseas - having a mentor that questioned everything he wanted to do - talking to anyone that could help him - “Who do you know that I should talk to about this?” - “If you want what you want in life, you have to be willing to courageously step into the unknown.” - within three months, living an working overseas - having belief that what he thought was possible - the power of inspiration - interests turn into passions - surrounding yourself with people that are ahead of you - little kid confidence - Napoleon Hill - “The mere thought of a desire is it’s proof that it’s possible for you.” - universal principals - “That thought can turn into that thing as long as you believe it’s possible.” - having to take action - how he found the RV lifestyle and pickle ball - sometimes wise people give the wrong advice - wanting to experience more mobility - renting a 40 foot RV and falling in love with the RV life - traveling around the US playing pickle ball - looking for a way to exercise with his wife and not feel like working out - story of how he found pickle ball in a dentist chair - everyone smiling an laughing - learning to play pickle ball - Major League Pickleball - story of the beginning of Pickle Ball 4 Life - there’s no crying in pickle ball - why he was crying about pickle ball - limiting belief of his life being over competitively - feeling good and helping other people find things that make them feel good - a catalyst for positive change in the world - why we need more things for adults to act like kids - Chicken and Pickle - Dreamland in Austin, TX

    59 min
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About

Why do we care about failures? Because each story of failure has a lesson to be learned! Professional Failure is a podcast dedicated to uncovering the upside of failure hidden in the unique stories of our guests. Our goal is to push back hard on the fear of failure and teach others how to overcome it. Join us for real stories and real people sharing sage advice on lessons they've learned and how they've worked through their setbacks. Failures are a gift! Learn to appreciate your gifts!

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