The Founder of HARO

Peter Shankman - Bestselling Author and the Founder of Help A Reporter Out (HARO) On the Value of ADHD in Business: "Faster Than Normal has sort of become the bible for ADHD and the concept that ADHD is a gift, not a curse." The data on entrepreneurs, even C-Suite executives is clear.  We happen to lean towards having ADD or ADHD or some form of attention deficit.  I'd argue it isn't a deficit, it is more short term focus as an advantage, as it allows for thinking fast, moving fast, making faster decisions and overall, accomplishing more. Peter Shankman, author of Faster Than Normal and founder of HARO (Help a Reporter Out) talks with us today about the limitations of ADHD, as well as the value of owning the diagnosis. He takes us through his entrepreneurial journey that includes many startups, some exits and a few great books. Listen as Peter explains all that he has done and how he has been able to do it, despite his label of having ADHD. Enjoy! Visit Peter at: https://sourceofsources.com/   Podcast Overview: 00:00 From AOL to Dot-com PR 04:36 Startup's Fall and Rebirth 07:29 Backlink Spam and Subscriber Cull 11:56 "ADHD as a Gift: Life-Changing Impact" 14:29 Massive Exposure and Bold Stunts 17:32 Chaotic Printer Smashing Event 21:20 Harrow's Origin: Networking Made Easy 23:58 Email Ads: High Open Rate Value 28:47 Tree Insurance Confusion 32:09 Private Equity's Destructive Impact 33:46 "Entrepreneur's Transition Challenges" 38:02 Unexpected Breakfast Encounter 40:17 Harnessing Your Brain's Potential 42:59 "Early Riser: Avoiding Traffic" Podcast Transcription: Person [00:00:00]: And I think that too many companies sort of forget that they initially started to solve a problem. Right. And maybe, look, maybe I'm just, you know, naive, but I kind of feel that if you work on something to solve a problem, you'll have much better success than you would if you work on something just to make money from it. Agreed. Money will come if you're doing it for the right reasons, I think is the best way to put it right. And so if you're doing it for the right reasons, the money will come. Person [00:00:44]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link funded drawincustomers.com we are locally underwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie Calls and Call Extraordinary Answering Service as well as the Bold Business Book. And today we are welcoming Slash, preparing to learn from Peter Shankman. Peter, I got to read this. You got a lot going on. We got six time best selling author, serial entrepreneur and the founder. This is the most important part that I've found at least of help a reporter out also dubbed the world's most authentic marketing expert. So that's not something you get dubbed a lot or every day. Person [00:01:26]: So Peter, how's it going today? Person [00:01:28]: It's going well. I'd love to know who said that. Person [00:01:30]: Yeah, who did say that? I don't know. It was in your bio. So I just figured somebody important did or somebody observant will call him. Person [00:01:38]: There you go. Person [00:01:39]: Let's. We got a lot of ground to cover and I think we both have a little bit of adhd. So let's roll with it here. Let's start out with the first business you started because it mentioned in your bio that you had sold a couple businesses. Yeah, I don't know how far back you want to go. Person [00:01:56]: So first company I started in the late 90s when the mid-90s I started my career with I had one full time job. I worked in America Online and I helped start and launch the AOL newsroom back when AOL was the Internet. The I left AOL in the late 90s and launched a PR firm that focused on the dot com world because dot coms were blowing up at that point with clients rangi...