A specialist in professional relationships and networking for over 20 years, Andy Lopata was called ‘one of Europe’s leading business networking strategists’ by the Financial Times and ‘a true master of networking’ by the Independent and Forbes.com. A very experienced international speaker and podcast host, Andy is the author of five books, has been quoted in a number of other business books and regularly quoted in the international press. Andy is President of the Fellows Community and a two-time Board Member of the Professional Speaking Association UK & Ireland (PSA) and a Fellow of the Learning and Performance Institute as well as a Master of the Institute for Sales Management. He is also one of just 26 recipients of the PSA’s top honour, the ‘Award of Excellence’.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
Peers
When business started difficulties overcame:
“It wasn’t so simple for me because it wasn’t one big step it was a gradual change. I quit my job in 1999 and I decided I was going to become a freelance writer and my dad had just set up and co-founded a networking group and he asked me to come and join them and help them get off the ground and that is where I discovered networking… I took to it like a duck to water and I ended up as joint MD and that really became the starting point ”…[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
- The Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help Book by Amanda Palmer
- Made to Stick: Why some ideas take hold and others come unstuck Book by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Favourite Quote:
“Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.” Elizabeth Bibesco
Recommended Online Resources:
Follow Up Then – Free and Easy Email Reminders. The simplest way to schedule an email reminder
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“Start with the end in mind. Know what your business is going to look like in five, 10 years’ time and build from that point. The other piece of advice is there is nothing that you must do. We are surrounded by experts who tell us we must do this, we must do that, we must do the other. There is nothing you must do. There is advice. It’s your business you determine which advice you want to take, which advice is relevant to you and your business. Which advice is going to work in your circumstances in the context in which you’re operating and then you decide what to do. Just because something has been successful the one person it doesn’t mean it’s going to be successful for you ”…[Listen for More]
More About Andy Lopata:
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“When Plan “A” doesn’t work, don’t worry, you still have 25 more letters to go through.” Unknown
Other Quotes From the Chat with Andy Lopata:
- “I’m a great believer that the biggest thing I’ve learned in running a business is you start with the end in mind. And even if you never envisage yourself selling that business create a business that you can sell. And it is a lot harder to great processes and the structure in a business that you can sell when you are out there chasing the business and when you are out there delivering business particularly if you are a solopreneur…”
- “People, people you have around you… I don’t believe you do it all on your own… And I think we undervalue the value of different perspectives, getting ideas from elsewhere, benchmarking and testing our ideas, getting people to act as a sounding board for us, insights and information that others can give us, referrals and recommendations, feedback. All of these things are key and they are the fuel that really make businesses fly”
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