Unleashing Inspiration: Standout Advice From Season 8

In this special episode of the Class E Podcast, we're revisiting the most impactful insights from our incredible guests this season. From the wisdom of Jennifer Jones on turning pain into power, to Chad Price's reminder that in entrepreneurship, you set the rules of the game, and Fred Cary's inspiring mantra to be comfortable with the discomfort of chasing your dreams. And don't miss Jason Richards' profound question: 'How do you want to spend your day?' Whether you're seeking motivation or guidance, join us as we uncover these remarkable nuggets of wisdom that have resonated deeply with us. Tune in and let these voices ignite your entrepreneurial spirit!

Guests: Jennifer Jones, Chad Price, Fred Carey, and Jason Richards

Host: Mary Sturgill

Producer: Isabella Martinez

Links to full episodes:

 

Jennifer Jones – “Empowering Voices: From Pain to Power with Jennifer Jones of Beauty Marks for Girls”

https://class-epodcast.libsyn.com/disrupting-the-system

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2wS4pppAkQKn3pxCfiUlH6?si=7196df8ae48b485f

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empowering-voices-from-pain-to-power-with-jennifer/id1499156754?i=1000635686015

Chad Price – “Why Entrepreneurs in Any Industry Need to Prepare for Battle”

 https://class-epodcast.libsyn.com/why-entrepreneurs-in-any-industry-need-to-prepare-for-battle

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7oIKMOhRPUonb3oof0FnRx?si=e9beaa04bef04722

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-entrepreneurs-in-any-industry-need-to-prepare-for/id1499156754?i=1000634172515

 Fred Cary – “Competition and Failure: Two Things Every Entrepreneur Shouldn’t Fear” 

https://class-epodcast.libsyn.com/competition-and-failure-two-things-every-entrepreneur-shouldnt-fear

https://open.spotify.com/episode/25ZNxmiMTenGdCAzFhwwJf?si=7843e933816548dc

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/competition-and-failure-two-things-every-entrepreneur/id1499156754?i=1000627878496

Jason Richards – “One Question: How Do You Want To Spend Your Day?”

https://class-epodcast.libsyn.com/one-question-how-do-you-want-to-spend-your-day

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2yP1L2w7gm6ZXLMgMbMYaY?si=867651920d6f49fa

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/one-question-how-do-you-want-to-spend-your-day/id1499156754?i=1000626184884

TRANSCRIPT

MARY: Hi there everyone and welcome to the Class E Podcast. I am your host Mary Sturgill. This podcast is brought to you through a partnership between the Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Communication Studies department at Furman University. 

Today we have a special episode where we are taking a look back at some of the best conversations we’ve had with our guests this season…and we’ve sure had some impressive motivational guests. 

If you’re in need of some advice or even some inspiration, take a listen to some of these amazing nuggets of wisdom that this season’s guests have shared with us. 

MARY: First, let’s look back at our episode titled, “Empowering Voices: Turning Pain to Power,” with guest Jennifer Jones, the founder of the nonprofit mentoring program, Beauty Marks for Girls. 

JENNIFER JONES: Every scar tells a story and we don't look at those scars as shame, but they're now badges of honor where I can tell my stories to the ladies and it was relatability, like wow, this young lady has taken time out of her day and she's going through something very similar as I am but we turn pain into power those young ladies.

JENNIFER JONES: Discipline is freedom. You have to be disciplined as an entrepreneur. And I like to also say because I come from corporate America, the same type of motivation and hard work and discipline that you put within someone else's company, it needs to be to a second level for your own.

MARY: Our own personal experiences inform how we move through the world… and how we work as entrepreneurs and innovative things… sometimes we need to look at entrepreneurship like we are going into battle.. we are fighting to make our ideas.. our ventures… a reality…  in the episode titled, “Why Entrepreneurs in Any Industry Need to Prepare for Battle,” with guest Chad Price, an international business consultant and well experienced entrepreneur…He outlines exactly what he means. 

CHAD PRICE: And I think in business you have to, you have to create that for yourself. So that doesn't exist. There's no real game. And if you're, you know, when you're first starting, you get to kind of stall and say, well, we'll just play next week. We'll just play next week. And it's like, no, you have to be the one to say the game is on Friday. So we're starting on Friday and that type of mindset I think is what is most important in entrepreneurs so that you're the person that pushes things forward if no one is there to build your dream for you. Like no one is there to build a brand. It's a multimillion dollar or a billion dollar global brand for you. It's like you're going to be the driving force or at least the starting point where the energy comes from.

CHAD PRICE: Understanding that you need to go into it with the mindset of this is going to be a battle. I need to learn on the fly. I need to be a lifelong learner, you know, the person that kind of leads my team as an expert in my industry and expert in whatever field that I'm trying to get in. I think that's more important than, you know, trying to gorge yourself on information before you get there

CHAD PRICE: I think having that self-awareness not only about who you are as an individual, but who your team is, these types of things. For me, it comes easy because I've been on so many teams. I didn't, you know, I don't, I didn't like everybody I played with. I was the kid that I knew the coach would get on some people and baby other people because that's what it took to motivate them. There was a, you know, there was a method to the madness sometimes and I'm one of those people that can see and I like that kind of psychological strategy to things and so I really try to come in and say, you know, where are you? Where do you think you are? Let's see, you know, how close to my objective, a perception of things is your perception of things and then if we can agree on common points then I think you can kinda coach any team to the direction you want them to go. And that's just a matter of kind of putting the plan in place and executing on it.

CHAD PRICE: I think having the correct mindset going in that you're gonna do whatever it takes to work is more important than, you know, trying to make sure that you've gotten the exact product line up right or you've gotten the exact advertising, the exact logo even. You know, I think there's situations in which action trumps, you know, kind of just sitting there being stale. So, if you have a way to create cash flow, to create revenue, to reach customers, I would say that's where you should start. You know, you should start with whatever can kind of create that initial cash flow. Even if it's not high profit margins, you can, you know, you can work on the margins, especially if you're not doing high volume and you're still able to create cash flow and bring in new customers and generate leads, bring in some type of let's say proof of concept that will allow you to do a lot of different things because as

you're doing that you can work with individuals you can, you know, you can mentor or you find yourself. I'm sorry, not mentor. You could find yourself a mentor to help you in these situations.  But if you don't really have any real world item to analyze.It's kind of hard for anyone to help. You kind of talk about a figment of everyone's imagination.

MARY: Many of us have an innate fear of failure.. we don’t want to lose the battle as it were… but we don’t need to fear anything… as a matter of fact… if we can change that fear… or worry … into fearlessness… that mindset will propel us further… serial entrepreneur and thought leader… Fred Cary shares some excellent advice in the episode we titled, “Competition and Failure: Two Things Every Entrepreneur Shouldn’t Fear.” 

FRED CARY: For me, the kind of mantra for entrepreneurship is be comfortable with pain. Because you know that in the end, you can help a whole lot of people. Whatever it is that you're doing, if you're doing it for the right reason, with the right purpose, the right determination that you're a potentially a world changer, and you can't change the world without hurting yourself.

FRED CARY: Don't chase the money, chase your dreams. Make it a reality and as long as you have your dream and be really strategic about how you take that dream and actualize it. When you can actualize your dream, the money will follow. It's as simple as that because doing it the right way, doing the research, understanding what the real need is, and being able to deliver on that need results in capital coming your way.

MARY: Once we overcome that fear of failure.. There is one question we should ask ourselves…. how do you want to spend your day…. in our episode titled, “One Question: How do you want to spend your day?” with guest Jason Richards, the global business director and shareholder of the commercial real estate property management firm, NAI Earle Furman, he posed this question… it was so profound.. that we titled the whole show around it. 

JASON RICHARDS: You have to be open minded. But you also have to listen. And I think, you know, certainly, depending on what field you're in, you know, there can be a lot of alpha personalities that like to talk a lot. And, you know, that was something certainly when I was in my 20s I wanted to be noticed, you know, I always felt like I had to be in the meeting. I had to speak up so that people knew that I was there and that kind of thing. But I think, you know, one of the things that the founder of our company, Earle Furman, that I've always taken away from him… Earle does not talk a lot and has the superpower of being able to just sit there quietly, and he takes everything in and he doesn't miss a thing. And I think listening is a really underrated skill in this day and age, for any business, but certainly for entrepreneurialism, because if you're an entrepreneur, you have to learn from others. And not just asking people about their successes, but you have to listen for people's stumbling blocks and their mistakes.

JASON RICHARDS: You know, I do a lot of the meetings with Furman students here through the mentioning office, and I'll meet often with people who were maybe a year or two out of college trying to find their way and the question that I have sort of really decided is maybe the ultimate question, you know, certainly when you're trying to start your career, but also something to reflect on along the way is how do you want to spend your day? You know, people think about what industry do I want to work in or what job do I want? But it's you know, how do I want to spend my day? You know, do I want to work in an office? If I want to work in an office, do I want to be with a big office or a small nonprofit type place where it's an intimate, more interpersonal environment? You know, people don't reflect on those questions and if you know the answer to how do I want to spend my day, it makes answering all the other questions a lot easier. And I think for entrepreneurs, especially, you know, you may have the best idea in the world, but ask yourself how you want to spend your day.

MARY: Alright listeners…i hope you gained some inspiration from today’s special episode…i am a firm believer that sometimes we need to be reminded of things.. that help us grow… either as a way to push us to the next step.. or remind us of the motivation we put on the back burner when life got busy… in upcoming episodes… we talk with an expert in live video about how to make the most out of your digital space…. and we talk to a woman who… as robin roberts say.. has made her mess her message… she’s created a non profit… aimed at helping kids and parents in the upstate… make sure their family doesn’t fall prey to the addiction epidemic our country faces… those episodes are coming up next month. 

That does it for this episode of the Class E Podcast. I am your host Mary Sturgill. Remember this podcast is brought to you through a partnership between the Hill Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Communication Studies department at Furman University. It is produced by student producer Isabella Martinez. Thank you for tuning in. Until next time everybody, dream big.