Hi, I'm Sol. AMA

[confused2082]

@lisaan Thank you for the response!

Taking a rifle > shotgun approach to make connections, provide value, and build relationships is a great suggestion. Thank you.

As for building social enterprise programs that are profitable and accessible, hiring those you support is one option. I’m thinking about funding though.

Like I said, I’m a disability advocate. If I only provide advocacy to those who can afford it, that’s not accessible to most who need it.

I’m wondering if social cause funding is a sustainable solution. Do you mind going into more detail about your fundraising for local causes? Why cookies? And how did you raise $100k with them?

 

[lisaan]

@confused2082

Like I said, I’m a disability advocate. If I only provide advocacy to those who can afford it, that’s not accessible to most who need it.

In this situation, the advocacy is making the skills of the people you are advocating it more easily accessible to those who can use it.

It's like when people come to me (which happens a lot) - all the time people will say "how can I help?"

Maybe one out of a hundred is like "hey I saw this, and I think you should do X"

And maybe one out of 10 of THOSE goes "so here's me having done it."

Too many people think the "I can help!" is it, some of the smarter think that having a potential solution is it, but the smartest create the damn solution.

Now - I'm not advocating for doing free work - most often you can be helpful in < 15 minutes of work.

But it's the same here - your "job" in this case is making it easy for others to go "yes I want to help". In my case I gave help in the situation of hiring, but it's everything - for example (and this ties into your other question) - cookies.

The truth about the cookie offs - few TRULY cared about the cookies. And few REALLY gave a shit about the charities (guess how many people asked me for info on the charities? Z E R O). What they cared was that I have a fantastic network and I curated smart people from around the world and gave them access. Everything else was extra.

So the same is for your advocacy - few REALLY give a shit about those who are disabled (and often only because they have someone who is disabled so they have the personal experience). But why don't they help?

Lack of time. Lack of money. Lack of ability to figure out how to help. Etc etc. So you need to solve some of THAT.

In terms of more specifics - here: https://sjo.com/cookielife

 

[confused2082]

@lisaan That’s perfect. Thanks.

Paraphrasing, ‘Either find the people that care or find something your audience cares about.’

There’s options there for targeted ads or joint ventures/private-public partnerships.

That’s incredibly helpful. Thank you. I’ll take a look at Cookielife.

Bit depressing no one asked about the charities though.

 

[lisaan]

@confused2082

find something your audience cares about

100%. I am BIG on pushing your levers: https://www.sjo.com/leverage/

Bit depressing

Yes and no. It's also a testament to the power of reputation - a lot of people have inextricably linked me with public good/advocation for the under-resourced. I think in many ways people didn't ask because 1) it was Toronto-based non-profits (~75% flew in outside) and 2) there was so much trust that finding out about them was a low low priority.

 

[confused2082]

@lisaan I can see that. Your donors trusted you to vet the charities. That makes sense in a sweet kind of way actually.

Making a slight pivot, any suggestions on approaching those with a larger audience about supporting your cause? From your earlier comments, I’d assume starting with mid-size influencers and work up from there. I’m wondering more about the ask? Is there other value I can provide other than the chance to impact my community?

 

[lisaan]

@confused2082 Yeah it's always a ladder - you meet X who introduces you to Y to Z.

I gotta be honest - I get to cheat because I have experience and Examine. Being verified and Wikipedia and all that shit gives me a leg up. So relative to most, I'm on a mountaintop.

With that said - I'll say that the best networking has always been on a personal level. People want to help those they like, and you'll ned a champion in any larger org/influencer to make shit happen.

Sorry can't be of much help with this one.

 

[confused2082]

@lisaan You know what? Just affirming that the process is the same for someone with your reputation & credentials as it is for someone just starting is reassuring. You might/likely have an easier time of it at this point with your network and connections, but the process is the same: Connect with others. Build the relationships. Do the work. Scale the ladder.

Though I’d imagine that the larger a project, the challenges you face become more similar to a beginner as you’re forced outside of your network to find resources.

Thank you for this. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. You’ve been incredibly helpful as were the articles on SJO.com. I’ll be digging further into SJO next.

Oh, speaking of...in Leverage you mention 27 lessons learned and an 8 page book on creating food offs and other events. Did you ever make that available?

 

[lisaan]

@confused2082 Awesome

Leverage you mention 27 lessons learned and an 8 page book on creating food offs and other events. Did you ever make that available?

I did not - it's still 95% done. DM me your email and I'll at least send you how I did my cookie offs.

 

[anon5678]

@lisaan Regarding getting started as an entrepreneur (and despite the fact that you don’t like advice ), I understood from your writing that one probably should start working on solving one’s own problem, and focus before expanding.

What other advice would you give to that person?

 

[lisaan]

@anon5678 People look at a problem too superficially.

I'm a huge huge fan of Bob Moesta and his Jobs to be Done (JTBD) approach/framework.

The idea is that demographics don't matter... you just need to solve the damn job someone is truly looking for.

The famous example is the milkshake "job" at McDonalds: https://uxdesign.cc/job-to-be-done-to-understand-customer-personas-better-3963eff273f8

I'll give you a personal one - Precision Nutrition [PN] (one of their services is nutrition coaching to help you lose weight).

So some woman asked on some forum for opinions on PN. Another woman replied effectively saying that she would not recommend them because she felt they did not care. She also added that she never actually tried to contact them, AND that she did lose 20lb.

So if I own PN I look at this and I'm like what the fuck? YOU LOST WEIGHT WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT!!

But the reality is that while people want to lose weight, there's usually a deeper reason. For many older people, it can be regaining the glory of youth and/or playing with your (grand)kids. For others it can be that they feel ugly, so they want to feel like they belong.

And PN figured out that was their job - to make you feel comfortable with who you are. So they focused much harder on the coaching part - frequent checkins, updates, etc.

(And they sold for $205 million...)

 

[anon5678]

@lisaan Thank you Sol! PS: Found this AMA through your Quick Thoughts email newsletter, and European Examine customer... Big fan, keepup the good work

 

[lisaan]

@anon5678 Thank you!

 

[613jono]

@lisaan If you could master one skill to build a million-dollar business, what skill would you suggest for ambitious people to learn?

 

[lisaan]

@613jono I generally loathe overly reductionist questions, but there's a general truth about humans: we generally are lazy and want to work with people we get along with.

If there's one skill I'd recommend to my niece or nephew (so real world) - it would be learn how to talk and work with people. If you are easygoing, people remember.

Overall it's actually pretty simple (simple != easy) - don't take shit personally, make light of situations, have self awareness, have many interests (so you can connect on many levels), and never be a jerk.

I'm a big big believer that reputations matter.

 

[613jono]

@lisaan Thanks for sharing. yes, Reputation matter a lot

 

[lisaan]

@613jono It's incredibly powerful when you meet someone and they are like "oh yeah xxx told me you're amazing" - in many ways, the social barriers we erect go down and things are a bit more casual/relaxed/honest.

 

[613jono]

@lisaan True

 

[songbirdagil]

@lisaan How do you go from idea to execution? Anything you've learned about your ability to take action, or have you always just been good at turning your ideas into reality?

 

[lisaan]

@songbirdagil I gotta be honest - I cannot answer this one well.

I've always had an engineering mind, so I immediately start breaking down the process.

I will say - the idea is often times grand, and the goal should be something little.

I said this earlier - Examine was originally bodybuilding supps. Then fitness. Then general health. Then nutrition. Etc.

We have some insanely grand plans for Examine, but that execution will take 5+ years. So in the meantime we chip away at it, both satisfied with what we are building but also not

 

[breathofdivinity]

@lisaan Created this throwaway to ask questions ;P

1st, have u ever had coregasm?

2nd, if you could be someone of the opposite sex for a day, what would be the first thing u do?

3rd, if u were to be stranded on a deserted island with one other person, who would it be?