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The Impact Entrepreneur

Mike Flynn takes you behind closed doors and invites you into his conversations with game changing entrepreneurs. These conversations go beyond success and failure, beyond product or service or platform, to uncover what is really behind the decisions these entrepreneurs make and what IMPACT they hope to have in the world.
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Apr 11, 2016

“On the other side of fear is success.”

 On this episode of The Impact Entrepreneur Show we have Amy Cosper, vice president and editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine.

 

If you could pick any superpower, what would it be and how would you use it?

Having the ability to fly, and see all kinds of things, and go on all kinds of adventures.

I think that having a superpower that lends itself to adventures is good for the human spirit. The ability to see things from different perspectives is good for the soul.

 

Who is a person whose impacted you as a leader and entrepreneur?

The person who gave me sense of confidence and natural curiosity was my mother.

My mother exposed me to a lot of different things which gave me a different world view and an appreciation for all things adventurous, and just having the ability to be curious.

 

Do you think there’s a critical thinking gap in entrepreneurship today, and what advantages do entrepreneurs that possess the ability to think critically and write well have over those who don’t possess those skills?

I think there are always gaps in critical thinking. The entrepreneurs and business people who are layered up with business degrees and masters of their crafts, but they’re not always the most creative thinkers. I think that it’s a gap that’s largely brought on my academics.

 

What is one trait that you see in entrepreneurs that significantly enhances the probability of success?

Clarity of vision. They can tell you in 3 sentences or less what their idea, company or service is. Their idea keeps them up at night. There’s a passion that comes from a gut level and drives them towards their vision.

 

What are some ways that entrepreneurs can measure their confidence and make sure it’s not flipping into arrogance?

Staying true to your mission, and not doing things because they’re cool. Keeping the silliness in check and keeping true to yourself and your mission without all the bull s**t is how you keep arrogance out of your organization. The minute you introduce it in, it creates toxicity.

 

What are some steps entrepreneurs can do to make sure they stay true to their vision?

Know where you’re going. Focus on the execution and look for opportunities. Know what you want to accomplish.

 

What are some of the trends you see happening as it relates to bootstrapping in the future?

Crowdfunding and the peer-to-peer nature of business is going to increase. It’s going to increase opportunities and ideas and collaboration. The laws of crowdfunding are changing on May 19th where the platforms will be allowed to accept much larger investments.

Hand in hand with that is social media. The impact and reach and power of these free platforms in business is unprecedented. You can launch an entire company on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. You don’t even need a marketing department.

 

What are some ways small companies can break through the noise on social media?

If you want to have a presence, you need to be on social media in some capacity. You need to understand your universe and you need to understand who you are trying to attract. The way to do that is to watch successful brands and how they are engaging their customers and prospects on social media. It’s never a hard sell. It’s always becoming a part of the conversation of your target area. Go out there and pick a big brand and observe. It’s not going to cost you anything. Figure out how to make those successful models work for your model.

 

How will you measure life?

The way I measure the impact my life every day is if I can impact one person’s day with something I’ve created or written and inspire them to greatness, if I can inspire one person every single month to be great that is how I measure my career and my life.

 

Parting words of wisdom:

Don’t let your fear paralyze your creativity. Go forth and conquer. It’s okay to have stage fright. It’s not easy, but if you want want to be an entrepreneur, if you want to succeed, you have to get to the other side of that fear barrier.

 

Show Links:

Read Amy’s Articles via: Entrepreneur.com/author/amy-cosper

Pitch Ideas to Amy via Twitter: @amyccosper

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