Inside Strategic Coach: Connecting Entrepreneurs With What Really Matters (Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller)

What is an entrepreneur, anyway? There might be more to the answer than you think. Discover what it means to be an entrepreneur, the two decisions all business owners must make, the contribution they make to society, and more.

There are many problems unique to entrepreneurs that can wear you down and cost your business time and money. But how you approach these setbacks is what will set you apart. In Episode #2, Dan and Shannon discuss these common entrepreneurial struggles while providing listeners with recommended tools, resources, and mindset shifts that can transform their thinking and help get them un-stuck.

Most entrepreneurs are self-proclaimed “workaholics.” It’s almost a point of pride. They feel accomplished by long hours, late nights, and the amount of time and effort they’ve put in. But with that often come burnout, boredom, frustration, fatigue, and a lack of enjoyment. This isn’t a good way for anyone to achieve results, especially an entrepreneur whose business and its success ultimately depend on them. In this episode, Dan and Shannon discuss the importance of taking time off, why it’s actually the first step in achieving bigger results, and how Dan uses his free time (22 weeks a year) to be even more productive.

Entrepreneurs’ pasts can overwhelm their futures. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain why and how entrepreneurs must maximize the value of their pasts and create big futures that are more exciting and productive than anything they’ve done before.

When building your entrepreneurial company, it's important to base your business, not on one-off transactions, but on processes that continually produce bigger results. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how you can create these processes that provide a safe, familiar structure, and how to use them to achieve entrepreneurial success.

Busyness can be bad for business. Busy entrepreneurs can experience frustration, complications, and countless missed opportunities — but it doesn’t have to be that way. As a successful business owner, coach, and entrepreneur, Dan Sullivan has developed an approach that allows him to run and grow his business while also living a fulfilling life. In episode #6, Dan shares seven strategies he’s adopted to make each day continually simple, productive, and satisfying.

It can be lonely at the top, even for entrepreneurs. They started their career path because they felt differently about work, freedom, and success than most others. But in removing themselves from the business "norm," they can easily feel isolated and alienated, and find it difficult to talk to people that don’t share their experience. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the benefits for entrepreneurs of engaging and collaborating with a community of like-minded business owners.

Procrastination is a common source of guilt for many entrepreneurs. But the truth is that everybody does it — and sometimes for good reasons. In episode #8, find out how entrepreneurs can use procrastination as a strategic tool to turn anxiety about what they haven't done into clarity about what to do next.

Intelligence, smarts, and IQ are only part of the success formula for entrepreneurs. Learn the difference between mind and brain, and how to use them both.

Don't work harder—work smarter. In this episode, Dan Sullivan interviews his long-time client John Fickewirth, a financial advisor from California. After almost 20 years in The Strategic Coach® Program, John explains the impact the Program has had on him, his path to 10x growth, and the strategies he's employed to dramatically change his life and business, increasing his focus and fun at work while decreasing the time he spends in the office.

If we can’t be good at everything, why do we spend so much time focusing on our weaknesses? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss why entrepreneurs should spend their time focused only on activities they’re good at and love to do, and how to eliminate the rest.

It takes a certain type of person to run a business, but it takes a different set of skills and mindsets altogether to be a game changer in the marketplace. In this episode, Dan Sullivan is joined by Gino Wickman and Mike Paton from Entrepreneurial Operating System who discuss how they grew their company by helping other businesses reduce frustrations, regain their passion, and achieve their vision.

Strategic Coach specializes in turning entrepreneurs into game changers. In this episode, Dan and Shannon discuss the jumps Strategic Coach has made over the years and how they’ve led to breakthrough concepts and tools that help other entrepreneurs to take jumps in their own businesses.

It can be tempting for entrepreneurs to compete with other businesses in the marketplace, but it's not always the most fruitful approach. In this episode, Dan and Shannon explain that by focusing on what has set you and your business apart, your uniqueness will shine and you'll stand out from the crowd. Instead of focusing on competition, you can then use collaborative relationships to grow.

Can money actually buy happiness? Yes, if it’s used in a particular way. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how entrepreneurs will be happiest if they use their money to buy back their time from activities they don’t like doing.

People often live as if a payoff is going to come in the future, but what if you already have what you’re seeking and don’t realize it yet? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about expanding your happiness rather than pursuing it.

Many entrepreneurs feel like they should be working all the time, but that philosophy doesn’t always work. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how taking time off can actually benefit you, your company, and your team members.

Your next biggest "aha moment" or great idea might come from somewhere you least expect it. In this episode, we hear from two successful business owners with a specialty in financial services, Ali Nasser and Tish Gray. They open up about their journey to success, their hurdles, their failures, their biggest wins, what they're doing to revolutionize their businesses, and their big projections for the future.

Capitalism will always be a contentious issue, but it’s capability that sparked capitalism’s creation. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how all growth comes from human capability.

Game Changers represent the highest level of entrepreneurism. They're the Industry Transformers™ who are leading their businesses, disrupting their marketplaces, and changing the world. But this often isn't where they begin. In this episode, Shannon Waller and Dan Sullivan discuss the growth path of game-changing entrepreneurs, along with the requirements, support networks, and mindsets needed each step of the way.

Often when entrepreneurs have an exciting new idea, they get bogged down with procrastination because they’re asking the wrong question. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how asking “Who?” instead of “How?” will set you off and running toward achieving your goal.

When entrepreneurs make it their goal to grow 10x, the first thing to do is realize the limits of their own capabilities and see a future outside of what they can do personally. In this episode, Dan and Shannon discuss how teamwork is crucial for 10x growth and how a teamwork mindset can change the whole game for entrepreneurs and their businesses.

Entrepreneurs are always thinking, but have you been taking the time to think about your thinking? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how doing so can lead to making better decisions and having a bigger future.

A lot of entrepreneurs have big ideas and grand ambitions that ultimately run them into a wall. The wall is that they don't actually have the capability in their organization to carry out their vision. In this episode, Dan Sullivan interviews Less Doing creator, Ari Meisel, who has built a remarkable productivity system to help entrepreneurs (and everyone) manage and hack every aspect of their business and personal lives so they can be freed up to live more by doing less.

While the majority of entrepreneurs have freed themselves up from what they don’t like doing, many still haven’t progressed to the next step. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how to gain the freedom to do what you love and have a bigger future.

How committed are you to the growth of your ideas? Could they be the next big thing? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss what needs to happen to really make your ideas thrive: persistence, recognition of value and uniqueness, overcoming opposition, and a commitment to the difference they'll make in the marketplace.

The secret to selling might just be in the types of questions you’re asking. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how you can be of the most value to your prospects and clients by asking the right questions that lead to conversation.

Your next biggest “aha moment” or great idea might come from somewhere you least expect it. In this episode, we hear from two successful entrepreneurs with a specialty in dentistry, Nikki Green and Chris Phelps. They open up about their greatest struggles, failures, and successes, share how much they’ve grown as entrepreneurs and in their practice, and talk about how they plan to revolutionize not only their own business, but the very field of dentistry.

Your clients want to feel special, and they’ll remember the people and organizations that make it happen. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller reveal how to create a first-class experience for your clients every step of the way, from your first phone call to your last meeting — without ever having to tell them you’re doing it.

In this episode, Dan Sullivan interviews a game-changing entrepreneur, Nick Cosentino, who has a very different vision for and approach to the financial services industry. Listen in as Nick explains his "Ideal Business Model" that has enabled him to multiply his growth by amplifying his client experience, constantly innovating, and adapting and adjusting to an uncertain and ever-changing industry landscape.

When you chose to become an entrepreneur, you accepted that you’d need to pull up your bootstraps and get down to work. If you didn’t do it, no one else would. But eventually, this mindset that worked so well in the beginning starts to hold you back.

Collaboration is the key to a successful business. It’s also the only way to free yourself from falling into the most common entrepreneurial traps: working too hard, resting too little, and wasting energy on draining tasks. But if you do only those things you’re good at and enjoy, then team up with other people doing the same, you all grow together. The best part is, this model works no matter how you multiply it. This means that if collaboration within your business can lead to 10x growth, collaboration with another business can do even more—100x more, in fact. Because when you combine capabilities, everyone wins.

Dan Sullivan doesn’t believe in being a disruptive business. That’s because being a disruptor means taking the easy route. It’s choosing profit over people, and that’s no way to stay ahead in the marketplace, or in people’s minds. Being a transformative business, on the other hand, takes real effort and vision, both of which get rewarded by happy, loyal customers. So, which would you prefer?

At age seventy, Dan Sullivan made a public commitment to write 100 books over 25 years — that’s one every quarter. Four years and 15 books later, he’s right on target, with a dream team of talented individuals all working together to make it happen. And the books just keep getting better. So if you’ve ever wondered how to transform a great idea into great content, or just how far teamwork can take you, this episode is for you. Listen now to hear how Dan goes from idea to published book … in just 30 hours.

One of the biggest frustrations for team members is not knowing what’s expected of them. But with this tool, you can take the guesswork out of job performance and build a team of confident, happy people willing to manage themselves (rather than relying on you for constant direction).

We all think differently, but so few of us take the time to experience and consciously observe how we, personally, think. Discover why taking ownership over how your brain operates is both freeing and increasingly valuable to other people. In the words of Dan Sullivan, “Play to win with the cards you have, not the cards you wish you had.”

You might think the biggest threat to your career is a bad idea or failed venture, but it’s actually something much closer to home. In this episode, you’ll learn why entrepreneurial boredom is a greater threat, not only to your business, but to your health, happiness, and overall well-being.

We all know that as we age, it becomes harder and harder to maintain our top physical health—so how do you get around that? Join Shannon Waller and Dan Sullivan for a discussion about the habit Dan believes is most important for staying creative and physically energetic regardless of your age.

If you feel more anxious than excited for new tech developments, you’re not alone. It can often seem like products become yesterday’s news before they’re even out of the packaging. Fortunately, we’ve got a failsafe solution for staying ahead of the technology curve: being grateful.

Every time Dan Sullivan meets someone new, he considers himself “Number 21”—acknowledging that there are at least 20 other more important relationships in the person’s life. This is a mindset he cultivates to ensure he’s useful and valuable to every person he encounters. In this episode of Inside Strategic Coach, discover how making a lasting, meaningful impression is the way to leverage your relationships and opportunities.

You became an entrepreneur because you knew you had something great to offer the world. But convincing other people it’s great isn’t always easy. It might seem counterintuitive, but if you want to ensure the continued growth of your business, you’ve got to think like a coach, not a salesperson.

When you’re the buyer of your own experiences, your whole life simplifies. It’s a mindset that puts you in charge instead of the world. Join Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller for their discussion about intentional entrepreneurship, and discover why being the buyer is always more valuable than being the seller.

Most entrepreneurs are self-proclaimed “workaholics.” It’s almost a point of pride. They feel accomplished by long hours, late nights, and the amount of time and effort they’ve put in. But with that often come burnout, boredom, frustration, fatigue, and a lack of enjoyment. This isn’t a good way for anyone to achieve results, especially an entrepreneur whose business and its success ultimately depend on them. In this episode, Dan and Shannon discuss the importance of taking time off, why it’s actually the first step in achieving bigger results, and how Dan uses his free time (22 weeks a year) to be even more productive.

On what occasions do you feel most irritated? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explore the things we give ourselves permission to be bothered by and why it limits our success. Discover the question that will challenge your perspective on how you handle things beyond your control.

Some people seem to thrive no matter what life throws at them, while others seem only to complain, even when things are going their way. The difference between them? One has a consumer mindset, and the other, a creator’s. Listen now to learn why creators make the best entrepreneurs—and the happiest people.

How would your life change if you were given the gift of more time? How would you use it? Tune in to Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller’s conversation about embracing procrastination and why it’s key to freeing up your time. Join them in the “1,000 'Who’d-Up' Hours” challenge.

Putting your trust in someone involves taking a risk, but entrepreneurs have to do it, and there are ways you can tell if someone is worth that risk. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller share the five signs that someone is trustworthy.

There are no guarantees when it comes to finding success. But according to Dan Sullivan, if you put these three principles into practice, it’s hard to go wrong. Join Dan and Shannon Waller in an in-depth conversation to learn strategies for navigating pricing, profit, and the protection of your personal property.

It’s not your imagination—entrepreneurs really do think differently! Listen now to learn the 3 things that make you most unique, and how to use them to achieve even greater growth, happiness, and success.

The greatest teacher is your own experience, says Dan Sullivan—paying attention to the entrepreneurial lesson from what worked and what didn’t in each situation. Here, Dan shares more on this favorite success strategy: “thinking about your thinking.”

It can be hard to know what feedback you should take to heart and what you should ignore, but if it's the right audience, the audience is always right. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about why and how to use your clients as creative partners.

As Strategic Coach® enters its 30th year, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss the tool that started it all — The Strategy Circle. Entrepreneurs can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the obstacles between them and their vision for the future. The Strategy Circle helps them think through a difficult situation and how to view opposition as an important part of the process.

If you have big goals, you might feel correspondingly big pressure, but there's a way to think of your time that can free you up and get you focused. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about the positive effects of adopting a 25-year framework.

No systems were designed with your needs or wants in mind, but creating your own world by designing an environment that's totally right for you is in your power. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss accepting reality and making your own place in it.

A successful life belongs to those who can take their thoughts and turn them into action. But too many of an entrepreneur’s ideas never lead anywhere. What’s the solution? Grab a pen and paper. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how you can clarify your thinking and turn a thought into an achievement by writing it down.

Bureaucracies are necessary for much of society to function, but they’re not a good fit for those who value unpredictability and positive recognition for being a hero. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how the values that are unappreciated in bureaucracies are rewarded in the creative field of entrepreneurship.

Has it ever seemed impossible to make a lot of money off your new idea before competition swarms in? There are ways around this problem. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how you can stay competition-proof while making as much profit as possible from your idea.

Managing is about being given answers, while coaching is about being asked good questions so you can come up with your own answers. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain why coaching is what’s needed for entrepreneurs to keep growing.

Highly-charged emotional reactions are normal. Especially when you’re dealing with unexpected wins and big upsets. It’s what you learn from those experiences, however, that can have the biggest impact on your future success. In this episode, Dan Sullivan shares some personal life experiences that he transformed into big breakthroughs as well as a process you can use to take the good and bad from every situation and learn from it.

A lot of entrepreneurs are motivated to introduce an idea that will disrupt an industry, but there will be negative reactions and consequences to taking that approach. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how it’s better to focus on creating something new than to attack something that already exists.

Female entrepreneurs face obstacles that male entrepreneurs don’t because of expectations of both men and women. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how, if they stick with it and become successful, female entrepreneurs will eventually have advantages over their male peers.

Even if you know that you need an entrepreneurial coach, how do you know the differences and benefits of one-on-one vs. group coaching? Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller share insights on how to make the right decision, and how the community you'll discover in a Strategic Coach workshop is part of what keeps entrepreneurs with us for life.

Most people are held back by how much time and effort they think is needed to get big results. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about a way of thinking that allows you to go against gravity.

Most entrepreneurs charge according to what their competition is charging, but that isn’t the way to get what you’re worth. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about why setting your price should be determined by what customers will be willing to pay.

Intelligence, smarts, and IQ are only part of the success formula for entrepreneurs. You can be the smartest person in the room, but if you're not in the habit of taking action and recognizing opportunity, you have no advantage over anyone else. Dan and Shannon share the difference between your mind and your brain, and how to use them both for a rich and fulfilling life.

For a lot of entrepreneurs, the only options seem to be to tackle the activities they don’t like doing or else manage someone else as they do them. But in this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how you can instead link up with people so that everyone’s doing what they want to do while working toward your company’s goals.

It’s a common myth that all entrepreneurs have to deal with competition, so many entrepreneurs convince themselves that they enjoy competing. But the truth is that there’s a way to operate completely competition-free and to be able to price your product or service without paying attention to what anyone else is charging. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain how focusing on doing what you’re unique at means nobody can compete with you.

Strategic Coach® has been making dreams come true for entrepreneurs for 30 years and counting. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how they’ve found lasting success by sticking to their coaching model in a changing world.

Once an entrepreneur has achieved some degree of growth, it’s easier to take the next steps and grow exponentially bigger. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how to continue growing, building on what you’ve already begun.

Strategic Coach® is celebrating 30 years of coaching entrepreneurs to be bigger and better! In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller look back at how the company name and some of its core concepts came about.

Many people think that it’s impossible to be a hero in the world today, but they’re thinking of the wrong kind of hero. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how entrepreneurs can go about becoming heroes to their customers by helping them change their lives.

Thinking about doing something you don’t like can be more unpleasant, and take longer, than actually doing it. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller share how delegating tasks and changing deadlines can eliminate “dread time.”

It can be hard to succinctly convey ideas using words, but one diagram can communicate as much as ten written pages. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss how using graphics can be the best way to get your ideas across clearly.

What does an entrepreneur do once their company has grown 100x from where they started? In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about growing 1,000x with their clients over the next 25 years.

If you’re like a lot of entrepreneurs, part of your mind is still on work when you’re away from the office. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about how to get real rejuvenation out of your days off.

Unique Ability is one of our core concepts at Strategic Coach. In this special episode, associate coach Teresa Easler discusses the true value of Unique Ability and why understanding and utilizing your Unique Ability is so important as an entrepreneur. Among other invaluable lessons, Teresa tells the story of why she walked away from a $500K proposal because it didn’t utilize her Unique Ability and refutes the number-one complaint that prevents most entrepreneurs from fully utilizing their own Unique Ability.

Entrepreneurs often reach a point where they’re still making money but the work is no longer exciting or stimulating, leading to boredom and ultimately to poor decisions. In this episode, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about what you can focus on and the ways you can take on new activities so that you’ll expand your world, love the work, and the money will just come in.

What happens when the marketplace shuts down or people aren’t buying what you have to sell? What do you do when fear and anxiety have taken over? In this first of two installments of Inside Strategic Coach, Dan and Shannon share proven strategies entrepreneurs can use to not only maintain their businesses during periods of instability and change, but provide leadership and value at the same time.

What happens when you can’t plan for the future? What do you when your old ways of running your business, connecting with clients, and providing value are no longer relevant? In this second of two installments of Inside Strategic Coach, Dan and Shannon share proven strategies entrepreneurs can use to not only maintain their businesses during periods of instability and change, but grow their capabilities (and usefulness!) too.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 1 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller break down why it’s best to focus on others, and how best to do it.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 2 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about turning your focus toward bringing value to your most important relationships.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 3 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about the dangers of trying to make sales as if these were normal times.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 4 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller discuss forgetting about the opportunities that have been lost because of the current situation, and focusing on the ones that have been created.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 5 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller explain what you need to do to forget about your difficulties and instead focus on the progress you can make.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 6 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller advise forgetting about the future you had envisioned and focusing on the only place you can take action: the present.

When events happen that disrupt our lives, it can be scary—but there are ways to be positive even now. In part 7 of this ten-part mini-series, Dan Sullivan and Shannon Waller talk about giving up who you used to be and focusing on who you can be in this “new normal.”