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Episode number 931, Navigating Through Fear.
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You're listening to the official BI podcast.
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With BNI founder and chief visionary officer Dr. Ivan Meisner.
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Stay tuned for networking and referral marketing tips from the man who's been called the father of modern networking, along with.
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Suggestions and insights into getting the most.
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From your membership in the world's largest networking organization, bni.
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Hello everybody and welcome back to the official BNI Podcast. I'm Priscilla Rice and I'm coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. And I'm joined on the phone today by the founder and the Chief Visionary Officer of B and I, Dr. Ivan Meisner. Hello Ivan, how are you and where are you?
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C
I am doing great, Priscilla, and I'm actually home in Austin, Texas this week, which is always nice to spend time at home. I have a guest today and he's going to be talking about navigating through fear. His name is Eric Holmberg and Eric, Eric is an entrepreneur and international best selling author, Transatlantic Sailor. That sounds like an interesting story in and of itself. And he's built and sold the same business twice, which also sounds like an interesting story. Eric's presently a member of the BNI raise N23 in Boulder, Colorado. And as a business coach, he helps grow small businesses using proven techniques and tactics. He's the father of two young adults and is an avid adventurist and working towards his instructor rating in freediving, which sounds pretty crazy to me. Eric, welcome to BNI podcast.
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Thank you. Good to be here.
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So you're going to talk about navigating through fear. So you've got several talking points. So share the several things that you've got about what's really important to navigate through. Because I see BNI members oftentimes struggling with problems in business or problems with their chapter and they've got to navigate through that. What are some of your recommendations?
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Sure. So I mean, let's start with the fact that fear is really here to stay. You know, fear is something that's a natural human emotion and it's really here to tell us and give us a particular message, which in my mind is to be prepared. And in terms of being an entrepreneur, there's all sorts of pitfalls and as we all know, the stats are really against us in terms of being small business owners. But the thing is, if we could just slow down and listen to what the message is that it's telling us instead of being swept up in it, which is easier said than done, of course, then by listening to the message, we can allow at least the emotional aspect to pass and then maybe write down some action steps to take in order to alleviate it. And honestly, once we pay attention to it and allow for the message to come clear, oftentimes it'll quiet and allow us to move forward.
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C
You know what I like to say about this? First of all, I agree with what you're saying. The people either get frozen by fear or focused by fear. And oftentimes they first get frozen by fear. And if they're able to pull out of that, as you're suggesting, and get focused by that fear, that they can in fact be very successful. I mean, BNI itself is an example of being frozen by fear 40 years ago and then trying to get focused by that fear by creating a referral group that would help me drum a business for myself and my friends. So I agree with what you're saying. Any other thoughts on that topic?
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B
Well, sure. So a lot of people, unfortunately, who are business leaders build sort of a cage with their fear. You know, we say is listen to fear, but don't let it drive. And it's kind of this insidious thing that kind of creeps in on us. And before we know it, we start to limit our outcomes, we start to limit our possibilities. And, you know, when I work with business owners that are really trying to grow their businesses, there's this fear of, well, what if I fail? You know, what if I. What if I fall? What if I run out of money? Which is a very real thing. And so what I often recommend to people is to build up an emergency fund or a safety net. So if you fall, or when you fall, because we all do, you have a foundation to fall into. And it's not just on the financial side. I would also highly recommend to have support from your other leaders. And BNI is a really great resource for that. You know, having other business leaders that are there that have maybe faced similar things, because, let's be honest, we can't talk to our employees about it. That only works against us. We can't talk to our customers about it. And that original cowboy attitude that started us on this path also can make us feel a bit alone, right?
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C
Yeah. And that's one of the beautiful things about BNI is that you can talk to some BNI members, not necessarily everybody, about a situation, but you can talk to some BNI members and help you through problems.
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B
Yeah, without a doubt. There's so much wealth and experience and information, and it's the richness of the entrepreneur journey. I mean, I really enjoy that about every chapter I've been in. And really this is kind of my third round of bni and really there's nothing quite like it to have a room full of other members and other leaders who not only willing to support you but but may have faced some of the challenges you have faced and honestly might benefit from what you have to say as well. It's just, it's an outstanding community.
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C
Yeah, thank you. Talk about trust, but verify, that's an important aspect of fear and what you're talking about with fear.
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B
Sure, absolutely. So in order to really attain big goals, it's really difficult to do it ourselves. And as we develop our businesses, we need to have employees and people on our team in order to do that. The best way to do that is to empower them to kind of reach outside of themselves. You know, if you, you want somebody, if you want to set the bar high, people are going to be over their head. Right. And what I found to be a really good, solid foundational approach is to kind of allow them some rope, pay out some rope to allow them to really str, but also have some checks and balances on the side. You know, are they, you know, what is the feedback we're getting from the customers that they're servicing? What is the, you know, that the invoices look like? What is, you know, I used to run a service based business and I would, I would cruise by the job sites and look at how organized the van was. Right. Because all of this shows the organization and oftentimes I like to empower people to just say, hey, what's in your way? What do you need right now? There's other times where you might get a bad egg. You're going to get that in any group. You're going to find somebody that doesn't fit and that's going to happen. But the trick is to figure that out sooner rather than later so that you can mitigate somebody potentially going off course.
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C
Yeah. I talk a little bit about the delegation, effective delegation. For those of you listening in an episode 640 where I talk about the importance of delegating responsibility and authority. You delegate authority over time, but if you don't delegate, if you don't empower people as you're suggesting, you're never going to have a team that can replicate your work well.
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Absolutely. And then you end up retracting or becoming a solopreneur. And honestly, the people that you really want on your team are the people who are ready to step into Their development and their greatness. Those are the people we all want. Right. So it can be a very symbiotic relationship. You know, to talk about the fear based mentality. Some people look at that and say, hey, aren't you just training your competition? Aren't they just going to go out and start a business themselves? And the answer to that is probably not because they see probably what you're going through and how much it might take to really shoulder all of responsibility. But that's really a fear based mentality.
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C
That is a fear based mentality. And maybe, you know, they will go out and start their own business. But being an employee and being an entrepreneur are significantly different than if anyone doesn't believe that, read the book the E. Myth by Michael Gerber and you'll see very clearly that they're very different.
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B
Yes. One of my favorites. Big here on my bookshelf.
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So basically, empower, test but verify, empower Your employees have checks and balances. Talk about calculated risks.
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B
Right. So when I was building my business, oh gosh, the second time, I really had my understanding of finances dialed in. Now, I wasn't controlling the books or whatnot. In fact, financial accounting was one of the only top marks I received in college. And I hate doing it. Right. So I would outsource that out. And what I learned to do was to do some financial projections and work with someone who's a trusted advisor on how to do some projections and when it's okay to take a risk and build and purchase another asset.
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C
Right.
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And I was able to do that without debt.
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So, yeah, whenever you're able to do that, that's. That's the way to do it.
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Yeah, without a doubt.
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C
No question. All right, so just in wrapping up what's. What do you think is the most vital, I think, to focus on in building a successful enterprise?
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B
Sure. So for me, the most vital focus is to really anchor into your. Why. Why are you really doing this instead of working for somebody else?
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C
Right.
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What, what is your real potential? Why did you start this to begin with? Because when the chips are down, when it gets difficult, when you find yourself in a situation where you're paying to work or you're making no more than a burger flipper, you're going to have those days and you need to sit back and say, hey, well, let's zoom out, look at the big picture. This is really why I'm doing this. And to move in yourself.
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Right.
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Because there's so many things. Sometimes it feels like things are just stacked against us as an entrepreneur and business leader, but just to anchor into that, why are we really doing this? What is the end game? To me, that's really the critical anchor.
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C
The one thing I'd add to that is that. And I've talked about this in podcasts, and I. I came up with this phrase during COVID and that is that hope is more powerful than fear. Yes. Hope is more powerful than fear. Hope and a plan will lead you into success, the implementation of that plan. So I love your comments. Any. Any last thought before we wrap up?
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B
Well, you know, I would say on. On the note of how easy it is to feel alone, I would say reach out. You know, don't be vulnerable and reach out, because vulnerability is strength. When I say reach out, reach out to other business owners. You know, tell other people what you're going through. And if you need to hire a coach or a consultant or whatever for to get through, whatever you're getting through, then by all means do that. You know, I was successful by doing that myself, so.
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And I've seen BNI members reach out to other fellow BNI members all the time. And it's like having a whole group of advisors and consultants there with you, in addition to coaches. I love the concept of life coaches and business coaches, so. I agree. All right. Your website, would you like to share that with everyone? It's an unusual name.
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Yes. It's a new name like Google. It's Navatis N A U V A.
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T I S.com Nevadis.com Listen. Thank you so much, Eric. I really appreciate having you on BNI podcast. It was good information that you shared with us. Over to you, Priscilla.
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B
Perfect. Thanks so much for the opportunity.
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Okay, great. That's it for this week. Thank you so much for the great information. This podcast is sponsored by MeisnerAudioPrograms.com these audio programs will provide you with the tools and inspiration to powerfully enhance your BNI experience. So check out the great material that's available to you@meisneraudioprograms.com and use the promo code IVAN5O for 50% off of everything. All of the proceeds go to the BNI Foundation. Thank you so much for listening. This is Priscilla Rice, and we look forward to having you join us again next week for another exciting episode of the official B and I podcast.
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Sam.