Maureen Berkner Boyt is a 5x business launcher and Founder of The Moxie Exchange, an organization for companies who want to create inclusive workplaces, be innovative and make more money. She has lived her life as a doer and risk-taker, following Eleanor Roosevelt’s words, “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

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Resources Mentioned:

• Your Big Idea: Successful Entrepreneurs have One Big Idea. Follow JLD’s FREE training & you’ll discover Your Big Idea in less than an hour!
• Audible – Get a FREE Audiobook & 30 day trial if you’re not currently a member!
• BombBomb Email – Maureen’s small business resource.
• The Breakthrough Company – Maureen’s Top Business Book.
• Moxie Exchange – Maureen’s website.

3 Key Points:

1. Entrepreneurs should not trust their biased brains – recognize the bias and consider what else is to be true.
2. Always consider having a Plan B in place, it might just be your savior.
3. Smart strategy and incredible people is what builds a company — pay attention to who is on your team as a starting point to success.

Sponsors

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• Allstate: Be more than just an agent. Be an Allstate Agency Owner and earn equity in the business you build. Visit AllstateAgent.com to learn more about owning an Allstate Agency today! Subject to the terms of the agency agreements.

Time Stamped Show Notes

(click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.)

• [01:13] – Maureen grew up in the Midwest as the youngest of four kids
• [01:19] – Her first job out of college was with an amazing entrepreneur
• [01:32] – She decided she wanted to be like her boss and spent her career launching and growing businesses
• [01:40] – She has a fabulous husband and 2 exceptional children
• [02:10] – One BIG and Unique Value Bomb: What really helps a company is a combination of smart strategy with incredible people. Entrepreneurs do not understand that they cannot trust the biased brain
• [03:07] – We have to stay curious and ask ourselves three questions: What’s the bias here? What else could be true? And where is the diverse talent or what’s the diverse perspective?
• [03:55] – Worst Entrepreneurial Moment: In 2008, when the crash happened, Maureen and her husband had just started their print business, Leap and Lizard Labels. Maureen thought why not start a new business? So they opened Moxie. She was signing her 3rd mortgage on their house to finance the building, and then she received a cease and desist letter from a woman in New York who thought she had a trademark on the word Moxie. Her tech person was suffering from a mental illness Maureen didn’t know about at that time and held all their data hostage. A friend asked her what she’d do now that Moxie had failed
• [05:15] – Maureen never considered a backup plan in case of failure
• [06:03] – When Maureen got the cease and desist letter, she called her lawyer and did research
• [06:21] – She chose to be silent and didn’t respond – the woman just went away
• [07:25] – Tenacious optimism and optimistic tenacity is an unbeatable combination
• [08:23] – Entrepreneurial AH-HA Moment: Maureen was serving on the board of a company in the crossroads. They had a week-long meeting and at the end of it, she was feeling exhausted – realizing she was the only woman in the room. She thought, “what would happen if there was a diverse group of people inside of that room?” Maureen also attended a meeting with one of her female clients which led her to wonder why there wasn’t an organization that helped women launch into leadership
• [11:43] – If you want to win, you really have to pay attention to who’s on your team
• [12:13] – What is the one thing you are most FIRED up about today? “There is so much neuroscience that is happening around conscious bias and how we can interrupt it with process”
• [13:13] – The Lightning Round
  • What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur? – “I didn’t realize it was an option”
  • What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? – “To laugh at yourself like this whole thing is ridiculous”
  • What’s a personal habit that contributes to your success? – “My husband and I are kind of geeks this way…we write a five year letter as if it’s five years from today and we are living our ideal life”
  • Share an internet resource, like Evernote, with Fire Nation – BombBomb Email
  • If you could recommend one book to our listeners, what would it be and why? – The Breakthrough Company – “he did the same research that Jim Collins did for Good to Great, but he did it on startups that broke through”
• [17:11] – “Hack your biased brain”
• [17:32] – Maureen created a FREE toolkit for Fire Nation – get it by sending an email here with the Subject: Send Me The Goods

Killer Resources!

1) The Common Path to Uncommon Success: JLD’s 1st traditionally published book! Over 3000 interviews with the world’s most successful Entrepreneurs compiled into a 17-step roadmap to financial freedom and fulfillment!

2) Free Podcast Course: Learn from JLD how to create and launch your podcast!

3) Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 podcasting community in the world!

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