Podcast: Episode 1 – Fear of Failure


For our Series Premiere episode, we discuss:

  • Getting to know Craig & David – Since this is our first episode, we introduce ourselves and give a bit about our background.
  • Trivia Round – David and producer Brian answer trivia questions related to business owners with a fear of failure.
  • Deep Dive – We discuss the fear of failure most new business owners have, things Craig and I failed at when we first started, how your idea can gain traction, and give you some actionable items to help you.

If you’re just launching your business or at a point where your business is kicking your butt, no worries! Learn from our experience; get some ideas to take your business to the next level.
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Don’t want to listen to a podcast? In a doctor’s office and you left your headphones in your other purse? No worries. We transcribed the whole thing right here:
 

Episode Transcript

 
Craig: Welcome to IWantBusiness, the small business podcast. This is our inaugural episode, my name is Craig Brooks. I am joined by my partner in crime, some would say my work wife, David Forman.
David: I am honored, Craig. I would love to be your work wife and I enjoy it every day, I’ll have you know.
Craig: We share a very small space. (laughs) And it definitely makes it easier to build our relationship.
Now, the IWantBusiness Small Business Podcast is new to you, but something we’ve been working on, trying to put together. What you’re gonna experience on this first episode is a little bit about us. We’re gonna have some fun with a trivia segment, and then we’re gonna take our Deep Dive of the episode. Our Deep Dive this particular episode is The Fear of Failing, something to kind of get you kicked off when you’re thinking about small business.
But before we get into that, let’s talk a little bit about who the hell we are. You only know our names at this point, but a little bit of background, we’re gonna start by David telling us a little bit about himself.
David: I would consider my background to be very tech-focused. I love me some computers. I love code. I am a huge fan of getting deep into web problems or whatever they might be. I have always been that type of problem solver and working with what I do right now, it allows me to do it every day. I look at numbers, I look at code, I look at graphics, it just allows me to be unique.
Starting this as a small business and really diving in has been absolutely the best experience of my life and I’m so excited. And I guess being on this podcast really allows me to give some advice and be able to give tips, as I know I’ve failed many times and hoping to chat about that with Craig. Just proud to be here and proud to be across from Craig who can tell us a little bit about him.
Craig: Well, first and foremost, David and I have known each other 20 years at this point, so we definitely have that personal relationship that makes the business relationship even stronger. We are business partners and we’ll get deeper into some of that through the episodes, as you follow along with IWantBusiness.
I want to add a little bit more to David, because he only gave you, I think, a scratch of the surface. He mentioned how much he likes computers, he mentioned the technology aspect, and I think you said problem solver. But taking it to another level, from personal and from business, this is an individual who, really creatively, attacks problems. And I don’t think everybody’s like that. I know a lot of people in my life, we’ll get a little bit into how I interact with humans and you guys will hear that. But David’s a unique individual in that, when something comes up that is something that needs to get solved, he attacks it from different levels. He comes in and finds solutions in alternative ways. And when it comes to our business, there’s web solutions, solutions online; there’s tools that you may need to save time. Time is money in business, and it’s always interesting to me that he can find ways to get to the same finish line, but faster and more efficiently.
And for me, that’s the thing that gets my lights going, because I always come on the side of it where I’m thinking numbers, I’m thinking sales, and David finds ways that we can a) save money, and b) do a better job at everything we’re doing.
A little bit about me: I do the talking. That’s where I come from. The business aspect of this, talking is what business is founded on. You have to make relationships, you have to build with people. I got my start with the hospitality business, everything from a busboy to a bartender to a shift leader in various restaurants. I currently do live entertainment at restaurants and all around Central Florida, more on that as we get deeper into these episodes. But David might have something to add about me that I don’t even know.
David: Well, I do, Craig. I’m glad that you asked. Knowing you 20 years, we could go down probably a whole episode where-
Craig: A deep, dark hole.
David: …where all we do is share deep, intimate stories that we’ve promised not to tell the world, but-
Craig: It’s a budding bromance. It’s a bromance.
David: It could happen. But this one is more about who Craig is and I’ll say being able to work with somebody that’s as detailed as him, is so great ans so helpful. He’s an amazing writer, amazing speaker. And a lot of times, I might not be as eloquent because I’m kind of a “Point A to Point B” type of guy, but when I express myself, Craig will add a layer on top of me and it’s what keeps me sane sometimes in the business world. He just does a great job.
If you look at our podcast logo, there’ll either be a graphic of us of some sort, and you’ll see Craig’s absolutely amazing beard, which I only strive every day to grow to be just like his.
Craig: It fills in nicely along the lips, and that’s really the key to a beard. I know we’re getting off-topic, but for those of you listening that are wondering, “God, how do I get better facial hair?” It’s genetic. You can’t fix where it goes in, other than doing a little LeBron James hairplug kinda thing. You cannot fix it growing in nicely.
This felt like a very puffy, build me up segment, so I want you guys to know, anyone who’s listening–and that would be my mother, my wife, David’s wife, and that’s about it–that we look at ourselves as the yin and yang, the two sides of the coin. I call it the form and the function. And it’s a marriage, it’s not just that we share a business and we’re growing that, but even in this podcast, there’s two sides that you’re gonna get to see about small business. And this entire project for us is about small businesses. We want to help small businesses grow as we grow our own.
And now that you know a little bit about us, we’re gonna switch gears. Every episode, kicking off from here into Episode 2 that you’ll hopefully get on after this one, you’re gonna learn a new tool that you can use to help your business. That’ll be our opening segment.
But now we’re gonna have a little bit of fun with some trivia, brought to you by Tasty Trivia. Check them out online, www.TastyTriviaOrlando.com, they’ve got events all around Central Florida. We’re gonna have some fun here and actually give away prizes to potential listeners, let me tell you how that’s gonna work.
We’re gonna have 5 questions. Our producer extraordinaire, Brian Fritz of Podcasting Done Right, is in the building with us, making sure this all happens the way it needs to. He is gonna play trivia against David in this first episode, then he’s gonna battle me later on, then David will battle Brian, I’ll battle David, we’re gonna keep tabs on this. And the way you can win prizes, our first prize up for grabs is a $25 Apple gift card, is we’re gonna post this on our social media.
I know, somehow, I didn’t plug our business’s yet, but we are Clarity Creative Group. You can check us out at www.IWantClarity.com. We do online marketing, online business development, branding, you name it. And again, this is not about plugging the business, this is about growing small business, so you won’t hear me talk too much about that. But on our social media, as well as iTunes and I believe we’re gonna try to do Stitcher, is where you can listen to this. But on our Facebook page, which is Clarity Creative Group, when we put the post up, in the comments is where you can comment to win this $25 Apple gift card. Like, a legitimate gift card that exists. Now, if you’re far away, because I know that the podcast world can go to forever, we will mail it to you at your expense. No, I’m just kidding; we will take on that.
So, will go as this: each of us will have a specific sound, as in a buzzer, if you will. David, what is your choice for a sound that I will know that you have buzzed in, Jeopardy-style? What would you like to choose?
David: This is tough, because I have to use this each and every time.
Craig: That’s right, it’s a commitment.
David: Uh….I don’t like-
Craig: I already know mine.
David: Uh…um…um…um…Farvergnugen!
Craig: Farvergnugen. So, for you guys, if you hear “farvergnugen,” you’ll know that David is ready to answer a question. Me, as the moderator of this first one, I know that “farvergnugen” means David is ready to answer. Brian Fritz, what would you like to choose?
Brian: See, that’s the tough thing, because I thought you had to make a sound.
Craig: You could do that as well.
Brian: I didn’t realize we were actually going for code words as well.
Craig: I chose a word, but sounds are better.
Brian: I will go with “blitzkreig.”
Craig: Blitzkrieg. I’m gonna go with “boom shakalaka.” A little NBA Jam nod to my father playing Sega Genesis with me when I was a child, so there you go. Bringing it full circle.
So there’s 5 questions of this and again, in order to be able to give an answer, you must say your code word first, as in, you are buzzing in. I’ll be keeping tabs on winning and losing, of course, and if there is a tie, we do have a closest to the pin.
So, this being our “Fear of Failure” episode, we’re gonna talk about things like that, relating to business. Question #1, for Brian v. David: Too Big to Fail, an HBO movie starring Paul Giamatti, William Hurt, and others was about the financial meltdown that happened during what year?
David: …Farvergnugen!
Craig: That would be David. And your answer, sir?
David: 2008.
Craig: That is correct. David, with a score on the board, plus one point. We’re going to the second question. What is the name of the 2015 Oscar-winning film about the housing market crash starring Christian Bale-
Brian: Blitzkreig!
Craig: Oh, yes. This might get evened up, let’s see if he knows it.
Brian: The Big Short.
Craig: That is correct. Brian on the board, we are 1-1 in our early trivia segment here on IWantBusiness. Number 3, which well-known company had an option to buy Netflix in the early 2000’s for a rumored $50 million, instead opting to lose 100% of their market share and now out of business?
Brian: Blitzkreig.
Craig: Oh, that’s a Brian.
Brian: Blockbuster.
Craig: One hundred percent correct, Brian, early lead. It is 2-1 at this point. Number 4-
David: Can we find a new producer?
Craig: Wow.
Brian: (laughing)
Craig: Dropping bombs on David, here. Number 4, a man named Harland, born in 1890, grew up to become an icon, not letting failure stop him, building one of the most well-known companies in the world. What is it?
…You’ve got 5 seconds before it goes down.
David: What was the year?
Craig: I gave 1890, when he was born. His name is Harland and he built a company, one of the most well-known in the world…
David: Farvergnugen!
Craig: We’ve got a “farvergnugen.”
David: I’m gonna guess Coca-Cola.
Craig: That is a guess; it is incorrect. Brian, you do have an opportunity to make a free guess here for the steal.
Brian: I have no idea.
Craig: Very tough one. I chose not to say his last name: Sanders. Harland Sanders, Colonel Sanders. KFC, the answer on that one. The score is currently 2-1, this is a big one for David. Number 5, name the business icon who started Traf-O-Data, a company designed to give railway data to engineers. It failed horribly, after which he dropped out of Harvard and went on to become one of the most successful businessmen and philanthropists in the world. Who am I talking about-
David: Farvergnugen!
Craig: That would be David.
David: Bill Gates?
Craig: One hundred percent correct. We go to our Closest to the Pin tiebreaker. Both of you will get a chance to answer. Because Brian went out into an early lead, he will get first dibs on this. Closest to the Pin, according to Forbes.com, how rich is Bill Gates, the richest man in the world? How much money do he have, Brian?
Brian: (sigh)
Craig: In dollars.
Brian: Right.
Craig: Or sterling pound, whatever your comfortable with. I’ll do the conversion.
Brian: (laughs) Maybe in bitcoin. Uh…
Craig: (laughs)
Brian: I’m gonna say 50 billion?
Craig: Fifty billion is the guess. A position of power for David. Closest to the Pin, what’s the number?
David: I think I heard it. I wish I remembered it; I should have listened better…
Craig: Probably.
David: I’m going with 86 billion.
Craig: Eighty-six billion. Correct answer: 75 billion. Closest to the Pin and the first victory: David…
Brian: (groans in frustration)
David: Woo!
Craig: …dropping it on Brian, first one, episode one.
David: That was tough, Brian.
Craig: Very nicely done.
Brian: …I was setting you up with that first one. I let you have it. Which, honestly, I didn’t know it.
Craig: His money has fluctuated greatly. Earlier in 2016, last year, he was all the way down in 60 billion. How dare he lose that much. But he is back on top.
Now, the reason we talked about guys like that is we’re going to be talking more about business. But first, I mentioned that Apple gift card and you’re like, “Well, he didn’t say how I could win that.” What we’re gonna do is put that up on our Facebook page, Clarity Creative Group. When you have the audio file there, you can comment on it, and all you have to do is be the first one to comment who won this episode’s trivia. It was a score of 2-2 and the tiebreaker went to David. So, again, the first person to comment on our first episode here on IWantBusiness will get that $25 Apple gift card.
Coming up next, we’re gonna jump into our Deep Dive.
This episode is brought to you by Clarity Creative Group, www.IWantClarity.com. It is produced by Podcasting Done Right, your source for getting your podcast done exactly the way you want it.
Welcome back to IWantBusiness, the small business podcast. We are taking our Deep Dive; our subject of the episode, “The Fear of Failing.” Now, let me say that: fear of failing. Failure is that thing that hovers over, I would be comfortable in saying, all of us. Nobody wants to fail however, I think the argument you’re gonna hear us make over the next couple of minutes is that failure is an important piece of succeeding.
I’m gonna give you a little quote here: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost more than 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” David, who do you think that is?
David: Sadly, I know him very well because I think his 26 winning shots were against my New York Knicks. That would be the great and wonderful Michael Jordan.
Craig: Michael Jordan, the first athlete, this is true, over a billion dollars in net worth. And he himself is saying, right there, had he not failed, he would not be able to succeed. And that’s something I think we need to discuss here.
Failure is that scary entity, that ghost, that monster under your bed, and it’s very tough to embrace it. I’m gonna give you a little background on me. I started a local business here in Central Florida, we do live entertainment at different bars, and it’s scary to take that jump. It’s scary to go from a known income, from something that you’re doing every single day, whether you’re making hourly income, salary, what have you, to saying, “You know what? I can do this.”
Even in those moments of thinking, “Can I do this?” which is the reality of what happens, you gotta break through and think, “What can I do to get to that next level? What am I good at?” And the fear of failing, for me, that was the moment to break through is to find something you like doing.
David, give me an example of what you’re talking about, where building Clarity Creative Group was a labor of love initially. And what was the moment for you, when you realized, “I love doing this. I love doing web development, web design, what have you…” Where was that brain movement for you, that wheel turning that said, “I have to make a change?”
David: Yeah, it’s like…when you’re doing it every day, or in the evening, and you’re just like, “Wow.” I looked forward to going home and doing this. I looked forward to doing it in my free time. I looked forward to meeting new clients and exploring code and programs and opportunities. And I realized, “Wow, I am not doing this in my regular, full-time job doing Business Management.” It is what it is, it was fun, it paid the bills at the time. But you know what? It’s all about doing something that you love, wanting to get up for. When I took the dive and I put that corporate job to the ground, it was almost like I became a new person. And I really felt like I just learned to wake up in the morning and look forward to life.
Craig: You mentioned something that strikes me and I think it’s gonna strike anyone that listens: “paying the bills.” And I think the fear of failure, the biggest thing that comes up for people is money. I hear a lot about people out in the world, whether it’s at bars, restaurants, or even just meeting new friends, “I wanna do something; I have an idea. I want to start a business.” And the biggest step is money. How am I going to pay for anything? How am I gonna pay my rent? How am I gonna pay for groceries?
And I think what has to happen is a transitionary period. I don’t recommend putting your feet in cement and jumping right in the lake. I think that there’s a slow build there, and you gotta work your way up and build the boat around so you don’t sink. Because if you jump all the way in, I think that that failure monster has a better chance of eating you and your feet would be tied there in my terrible analogy of a mafia hit. It was pretty rough.
Paying the bills is a priority, but if you can plan out something that gets everything taken care of in your personal life, and that may mean stripping budgets. I know that David and I have talked about that before. What can get us to that next level? And maybe it doesn’t mean that I’m getting my Netflix this month or my HBO Now or whatever it is that you’ve got in your life.
When there’s something, a drive in you to do something on your own, it’s important that you let that push forward. Because a see a lot of people, and hopefully some of the people that are listening to this, that allow that moment to stop them. And yes, you do need money in life. But I can tell you from my own personal experience, I had to move back in with my parents to get my business off the ground. Now, that doesn’t have to be the same for everyone. I don’t think that everyone experiences that the same. But there’s a sacrifice element, wouldn’t you say?
David: Oh, yeah. I definitely think that you have to take a step back and assess everything. And it’s gotta be at the right time for you. Maybe it’s not now that’s the right time, but planning. I think if you plan ahead and take it slow, do it in parts, see how it goes and see how that plan of yours- So you’re not diving into the lake already struggling.
Craig: Exactly.
David: You’re gonna get in there with opportunity.
Craig: Breaking it down into its pieces can help you out so much because think about something that you like doing. Maybe it’s lifting heavy things and you think, “Wow, I’m good. I work out all the time. I’m so strong.” I wonder if maybe a moving company is something for you, lifting things every day.
Maybe you’re amazing with websites, as this was the case with David, and it came to building more websites for people. Or when it came to, for me, it was I like talking and I don’t know how to make money doing that. But then I saw that there was an opportunity that people were willing, these people being general managers and owners of bars and restaurants, were willing to pay someone to talk to entertain people. So it got my head going on that.
For you it might be something different. Maybe you’re good at cleaning houses, maybe you’re good at producing podcasts, as an example of who we’re using here to get this podcast off the ground, which is Podcasting Done Right. There’s gotta be something in your life, if you have that drive, that you do in a way that’s either unique or simply better than others.
Now, I’m not saying that every single person listening to this or even us here in the room are the best at doing any one thing. I’m not saying that. I’m only saying that there’s opportunity out there for anything. One idea that really strikes me was I knew someone, a friend of his, and they had some babies. It happens in life and people have babies. And his wife wanted to use, I believe it was cloth diapers. And David, you’ll have to back me up on this, I do not have any children, but he does.
So she wanted to start a little business providing these cloth diapers to other people. And getting it off the ground was keeping it in the home. For her, it wasn’t that she wanted to start a franchise down the road and be Cloth Diapers For Everyone. It was something that she was passionate about and something that she felt could add value to other mothers in her community. And she ended up making a couple of bucks doing it.
Again, it didn’t do and pay all of her bills, but it was the power bill for the month. And that’s how things like that can start. And I want everyone listening to know that it doesn’t always get you all the way where you want to be. Maybe your dream is to make a quarter million dollars a year. Starting your own thing doesn’t necessarily mean you can do that tomorrow. But the difference between being your own boss or being under the thumb, so to speak, is a world of difference. I think this is something David can comment on even better than me, that corporate world can sometimes be a little crushing.
David: Oh, yeah, yeah, absolutely. It’s a very different lifestyle. It’s a lifestyle where you’re always working underneath somebody, so it’s really tough. But one thing that you brought up, Craig, was that idea of “Where do I go? How do I go from here? Maybe I know how to lift things, what do I do?” That’s a great question. I think where maybe having a friend or a mentor that’s really oriented in that small business. Or even I know that there’s SCORE, a small business association here in the Central Florida area is really big, and they help small businesses grow. And it’s great to have around because you can bounce off ideas, I mean, how important is that?
Craig: Absolutely. For me, finding people that had done some things in business and could help me along the way was integral in getting my mindset where it needed to be because I still had to bartend while kicking things off. I still had to do odd jobs and do whatever I could to get money coming in before I could get to the point where my own businesses were sustaining my personal lifestyle and income.
And I think that’s what I’m saying here and what we’re saying here in this episode: that it doesn’t have to be a complete jump. You need to break it down into its easily digestible parts. You can’t eat the whole pizza in one bite, you gotta take slice by slice.
Find out what you’re passionate about. Look to what you love and just take that moment and say, “Wow. Would it make me happy if I’m doing this every day?” And that was the big one for us. Would it make us happy if we were doing the things we like doing versus-
And I’m not saying I didn’t like making drinks. It’s all fine. I love having a drink, and I still do. But it’s different when you’re the one working it or you’re the one enjoying the beverage. And I think what we’re saying here is, there’s a path for you to enjoy your beverages by building something, if that’s a dream of yours. And here at IWantBusiness, the Small Business Podcast, we wanna help you do that.
David: Absolutely! That’s our goal. That’s what I want to be, is that support to help walk them through the processes that we were fortunate to do that’s given us that knowledge to help other businesses grow just like us. The more small businesses out there, I can only think, the better.
Craig: Upcoming in our next episode of IWantBusiness, we’re gonna help you with everything you need to know about setting up a business, from start to get you kicked off and making some money. We’re gonna get into that in Episode 2. But make sure that you get on and review us on iTunes, we’re gonna be putting this on iTunes. Give us a review, we love reviews. We need your help because we wanna know if you even wanna hear more of this. That’s what helps us know to take this to the next level.
David: Yeah, and as well, send us any feedback or questions that you might have. Maybe we left something out of this podcast. And you can email us at Podcast@IWantClarity.com and just drop us a line. We’re human, that’s gonna go straight to us, we’re gonna answer it, we’re gonna talk and see what’s going on.
Craig: We’ll see you next time on IWantBusiness, the Small Business Podcast.

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