Rob Mathews is the Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise at Ball State University, USA. and co-author of the book: Entrepreneurship the Disney Way.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
When business started difficulties overcame:
“I think it’s that initial decision of risk, to step away from the comfortable job or career, to take that chance of jumping in, believing in yourself and your concept, your business model, your idea, to actually do that… There’s always tension, it depends on your stage of life, if you have a family, there is always this tension of how much risk do you take. We can certainly mitigate risk but it is still there. So I would say taking that leap of faith that it is time to do something different ” …[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
- Born to Build: How to Build a Thriving Startup, a Winning Team, New Customers and Your Best Life Imaginable Book by Jim Clifton and Sangeeta Badal
- The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Book by Rick Warren
- Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action Book by Simon Sinek
Favourite Quote:
“I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It’s permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable” Martha Graham
Recommended Online Resources:
Entrepreneur Magazine is the a source for everything small business. Get the latest small business information
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“number one know who you are, know what you’re good at and like to do, know what you are passionate about, follow what you are passionate about and do it using your talents and your skills, and do it in a way that you enjoy it. And fill your blind spots around you with people who can do things that you can’t do, you can’t do very well, that they do really well”…[Listen for More]
More About Rob Mathews:
Institute for Entrepreneurship & Free Enterprise
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“Strength shows not only in the ability to persist, but in the ability to start over.” F. Scott Fitzgerald, American fiction writer
Other Quotes From the Chat with Rob Mathews:
- “we just see this all the time managers and leaders are lacking in soft skills and that’s where most of the problems come from”
- “if you think about it people are your greatest asset in any organisation”
- “training, awareness, self-awareness, other’s awareness are critical in successful business for sure”
- “lean start-up methodology is very popular nowadays, and I think for good reason, it makes sense to limit your investments, learn as you go. Having said that learn as much as you can upfront because what you are doing is you are advancing your start point, you are advancing what you have to learn as you go. The more you know upfront the easier it is to it and to move with what happens in the early stages of the business”
- “the number one secret for me is just work ethic, hard work. Having said that you have to work smart. So, you have to be informed and I really believe you have to do things that you are passionate about, that you like to do in the ways that you like to do them”
- “for me I am pretty clear on my best skills related to business ventures, to training, to teaching people. And it all comes from the lens of strategy and strategic thinking and kind of a sense of purpose and calling”
Leave a Reply