The dream is not working any longer.  Sales are down.  Customers are leaving.  You can’t find good people.  You are no longer getting along with your partners.  You have lost that fire.  Sound familiar?

Countless small business owners started their business with the expectation of fame and fortune.  The dreams so clearly depicted on the covers of magazines, with the likes of Donald Trump and Bill Gates, don’t come true for most entrepreneurs.  Waking up from the illusion of overnight success can be debilitating for many entrepreneurs, and many stall before ever achieving the first major success.

So how do you get unstuck?  We consult Carol Roth, Business Strategist and Mike Michalowicz, the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.

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Countless entrepreneurs started their business with the expectation of fame and fortune. The dreams so clearly depicted on the covers of magazines or in “5 Easy Steps to Success” books with the likes of Donald Trump and Bill Gates on the covers, unfortunately don’t come true for most entrepreneurs. Waking up from the illusion of overnight success or that perfectly planned business strategy that did not work can be debilitating. It can even stall them before ever achieving their first major success. I talk about how to wake up to the dream…again, and replace the panic of today with the next steps of tomorrow.

Interview with Barry Moltz from Obsidian on Vimeo.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Elizabeth Marshall

Elizabeth Marshall @lizmarshall If you are author, want to be an author or like learn from authors, you need to tune Liz in. I just starting working with Liz and I saw immediate financial results.

Mike Michalowicz (pronounced mi-CAL-o-witz) @tpentrepreneur  This guy has it together. Who would have thought that a guy that wrote a book called Toilet Paper Entrepreneur could be so successful? Want small biz help online? Call Mike. Want to know how make killer videos online? Call Mike. I will be calling Mike alot this year.

Tim Sanders @sanderssays I can’t but be be disappointed when I meet most biz celebrities. Tim Sanders is the exception. I have read all his books and when I interviewed him on the radio, everything coming out of his mouth was insighful and actionable. Listen up!

Chris Brogan @chrisbrogan You may be the one person in the world not following him at this point. Chris’ blog is the only blog I read everyday religiously. If you want to use social media in business, you need to read Chris.

Scott Stratten @unmarketing I met Scott at BlogWorld when he was wearing a shirt that said “What happens in Vegas, Stays on Twitter”. If you want to learn how to engage on the web, talk to Scott. He knows “web”.

Becky McCray @BeckyMcCray Take it from an urban business guy; you can learn a heck of alot from small town entrepreneurs like Becky. They have been creating communities for many years before all of us tried to do it.

Anita Campbell @smallbiztrends The best small business content anywhere on the planet. Period. Get educated by Anita.

Cassie Phillips @webwallflower This is one sharp and connected Gen-Yer. She is a Social Web event planner, attender, and promoter.

Shashi Bellamkonda @shashib He is the social media swami at Network Solutions and speaker on how business uses all types o social media to connect with customers. Want to see the future? Talk to Shashi.

Penelope Trunk @penelopetrunk She is the kind of writer that incites a riot in your soul. Penelope is never boring and like a good writer, she forces you to choose sides.

Rieva Lesonsky, @rieva Now that she has “escaped” from Entrepreneur Magazine, you can read Rieva UnPlugged. Now one understands the trends in small business better than Rieva.

Who are you following into 2010?

Shiny Happy Geek TV Star, Cali Lewis

Most of you know that I am a huge movie buff- the ideal Saturday night for me is to go to a movie, have dinner and then go to the movie again. One of my favorite movies of all time is The Graduate- especially where Mr. McGuire says to young Ben Braddock, “I want to say one word to you, just one word- PLASTICS”... That one word today on the internet would be Video, just one word, Video.

Regardless of the business we are involved in, we must have video on the web…either demoing a product, showing a service, testimonials for prospects, interviews with your employees. The gadgets are all around to shoot these videos on our phones or other cameras and we can easily upload them to Youtube, Viddler or Facebook- but how do you do it well in terms of content, quality and to get people to actually watch it!
We address those questions with to incredible guest.

I am thrilled to have our first guest on the show, I have been a big fan of Cali Lewis, of GeekBriefTV for along time. Or a as Cali calls it “Shiny, Happy Tech News”- Since she and her husband Neal quit their day jobs in 2006, the show now has over a million downloads a month. Listen to Cali when she talks about:

1. Video taks alot of time: Her 3 to 5 minute video takes 7 to 12 hours to provide.

2. You need to be both entertaining and informative. You need to get people involved with your show because this is a two way medium.

3. Success does not rely on one things: Ugh, here too, there are sadly no magic rules.

4. Learn from what is popular on the web.

Also, look at Cali’s Gadget Guides for the holiday season!

My second guest, was Mike Michalowicz has a driving passion for entrepreneurialism. Michalowicz wrote The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur with the sole purpose of giving first time entrepreneurs the information they need to grow their concepts into industry leaders.

Mike has successfully launched three multimillion-dollar companies and a reoccurring guest on CNBC’s nationally syndicated entrepreneurial television program, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. He has been highlighted on entrepreneurial topics on National Public Radio (NPR), in Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, and Smart CEO Magazine.

Listen to Mike talk about:

1. Why most people HURT their brand with video.
2. The balance between the 3 E’s (entertaining, educating, and enacting).
3. The viralness of it all (why would people want to talk about it).
4. Why being an expert isn’t as powerful as being the advocate.
5. Next level video tricks (big sponsor references, live video broadcasts, and beyond the flip video).

What tips do you have to produce smashing viral videos?

I had my first repeat guest on the show after 43 episodes. I was proud to have back Gail Blanke, CEO of of Lifedesigns, LLC, a company whose vision is to empower men and women worldwide to live truly exceptional lives. Considered one of the finest motivational speakers in the country, a renowned executive coach and presentation skills trainer, Gail has advised CEO’s, stand up comics, presidential candidates, college presidents – and even a jazz musician. She has appeared on Oprah Winfrey.

Considered one of the finest motivational speakers in the country, she has delivered keynote addresses for scores of corporations. She has appeared on CNN, FNN, CNBC and FOX TV. Articles about Gail and her company have appeared in Newsweek, Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook and Self.

Gail told us to forget about wanting to cover yourself with leaves during these tough times. We are afraid to make descisions. Gail says that making decsions brings optimism. In order to move forward we need to let go of the past and as her new book says, Throw Out 50 Things. We talked about “how you can’t grow if you do not let go!” We also need to throw out “how right you are about how wrong it is that business is bad”. We also talked about:

1. How do you think we can  get unstuck in our lives?

2. Is there a difference between mental and physical clutter?

3. How does this apply physically in business- people’s offices and workspaces?

Listen Now!

My next guest was the former president of Starbucks, Howard Behar.  He joined Starbucks in 1989 as vice president of sales and operations, and grew the retail business from 28 stores to more than 400, by the time he was named president of Starbucks Coffee International in 1995.   Since his retirement he has written a book “It’s Not About the Coffee” that describe his leadership principles. Behar serves on several boards, including Anna’s Linens, Washington State Budget and Policy Center and Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. We talked about:

1. Finding your hat and wearing in life and business.

2.  Why should your people choose their own broom.

3.  Caring is a business term.

4.  Only the truth sounds like the truth.

5.  In tough times, you need to double down on what brought you to the party.

Listen Now!

My surprise third guest was Mike Michalowicz , the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur himself! We talked about:

1. What the heck is a Toilet Paper Entrepreneur?

2.  What is the dumbest decision an entrepreneur can make?

3. What are the most common excuses people use to avoid launching a business?

4. What are some “out of the box” TPE strategies someone listening in could do right now?

Listen Now!

Mike Michalowicz is a hoot. He has just written a book that can only be characterized as outrageous and blunt and I really love it. He sums up his wisdom in The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur as “I get it done”. He believes that most entrepreneurs are not destined to be famous or billionaire wunderkinds. Most entrepreneurs are destined to be like you and me- “Steadfast innovators who make miracles on three sheets or less.” He believes that the success of the entrepreneur relies on the following things which I agree with:

1. A foundation of beliefs that you can do it. If you don’t believe, you have nothing.

2. Passion, Passion, Passion- start with passion, finish with the money

3. “Premature” Action- as I say, when it doubt, choose action instead of waiting and thinking about it some more.

4. Focuses on what he is good at- and outsources the rest.

5. Ingenuity over money- as I say, sometimes we just throw money at a problem- which is a losing strategy

6. Dominates a niche. I agree- we need to focus on being great at one thing.