Growth Mindset: Thinking Like An Entrepreneur with Mike Kehoe

Brought to you by Salim Omar and the Straight Talk About Small Business Success podcast.

Who is Mike Kehoe?

Backstory

Growing up, Kehoe did not do well in school. Despite his academic challenges he graduated college. After college Kehoe went through a series of sales jobs." I was miserable. I was moderately successful at some of them and terrible at others, but I've always had ideas in the back of my mind, trying to figure out how to go out on my own, trying different things out on the side. I had a friend who was incredibly successful out of college and in college- On the eBay business that he had, the same business he was running was running when we were in college. It was about $3 million in revenue a year already. This inspired me to think of a business that I could start with him as my partner and mentor," says Kehoe.

Kehoe landed on the idea of credit card processing because it produces monthly residual income. 

That was my start. Kehoe has since sold a couple of businesses since then. "We had a lot of failures, but a lot of success as well," says Kehoe.

You can catch Mike Kehoe via email mike@venture-stack.com or through his linkedin page. 

How Do You View Failure?

"I don't see failure as a loss. You have to learn from your failures. Take time to reflect on it after it happens, as painful as it may be and what you can do better next time. Failures are learning opportunities. I learned more from failing than I do from success," says Kehoe.

Rising Above Failure



• Be a lifelong learner 

"I'm always learning by listening to podcasts, reading books and inspirational stories. "I hear inspirational stories from other people and use their experiences to help me push through an experience that I might be in at the moment. As an entrepreneur, if you're not failing you're not trying hard enough," says Kehoe.

What Do You Attribute Your Success To?

Kehoe sees himself as a visionary and as a talent agent. "I get out, I network, and I meet people. When I meet talented people who I think are underutilised, I hold a vision for their success. Some of those people, I turn into my partners, others I turn into my employees, or I try to grow the relationship with and leverage the talent they have in a way that grows their talent."

"I would be nothing as a solo entrepreneur. I'm not a good solopreneur. I'm really good at starting things. I'm really good at coming up with great ideas. But I don't get any further than that. I don't get any further than a landing page and a name."



This is why Kehoe integrates talented people into his business. He advises all entrepreneurs to do the same in order to strengthen their businesses.

What Tools Do You Use to Help You in Business?

Kehoe uses a top selling book written by Gino Wickman called Traction and EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems network), a website designed to help you get a 'grip of your business'. 

"This is like our Bible. We are using it to a T. 

• We have level 10 meetings.
• My partner and I meet on an annual basis, an annual basis, a quarterly basis, and a weekly basis.

We set goals pretty much in every single meeting we track those goals. We do this with our team as well. Everybody within the traction system has a scorecard. Everyone in the organization has a number, whether it's our transaction coordinator or our salesperson. This allows us to measure our progress. We build with intent," says Kehoe.

How Long Have You Been Using EOS?

Kehoe has been using EOS for the past year.

"The business is only a year and a half old, but our revenues are a lot higher than you would see in a business that is as young as ours. We attribute a lot of that to the EOS system," says Kehoe.



Having this type of structure is important for entrepreneurial success. Structure is definitely necessary. I believe that discipline is freedom."

Having the Right Partner and Team

Kehoe currently has an amazing business partner who fits well with his entrepreneurial style. "As your business grows in the beginning,  you have to do everything, but as you grow and revenues grow and you can afford it you can begin to hire specialists who can do the job for you.



They are better than you at that. It is  incredibly important to bring those people on your team, hire those people to fill those positions. As a leader, this leaves you with time to  think and reflect about strategy," says Kehoe.

Final Words Of Wisdom from Mike Kehoe

Knowledge is important to Kehoe. He encourages entrepreneurs to read inspirational books and listen to informative podcasts.



"I feel like I can do anything after reading inspirational books. It helps me push harder in my workouts, push harder in my business, knowing that I always have that extra 10%, 20% that I can give."

Closing Statement

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