What if the secret to success isn’t just about what you do—but how you think? In this episode, we sit down with Margot Machol Bisnow, author of Raising an Entrepreneur, to unpack the mindset that fuels solopreneurs and self-starters alike.
We’re diving into the grit, resilience, risk-taking, curiosity, and compassion that define entrepreneurial success—whether you're raising a future business owner or stepping into solopreneurship yourself. Margot shares wisdom from 99 entrepreneurs and their families, revealing the common threads that shaped their paths.
- Do you need to be fearless?
- What role does failure really play in success?
- Can you raise an entrepreneur, or is it just in the DNA?
And, of course, we tackle one of the biggest myths in entrepreneurship—the idea that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. (Spoiler: That’s not exactly how it works!)
This is a must-listen for anyone carving their own path in business—don’t miss it!
Listen now on The Aspiring Solopreneur and be sure to subscribe for more game-changing insights!
Being a solopreneur is awesome but it’s not easy. It's hard to get noticed. Most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone...until now. LifeStarr Intro gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one-person business. So, if you are lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, or are having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even just lonely running a company of one, be sure to check out LifeStarr Intro!
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Episode Transcript
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Carly Ries (00:00):
What if the secret to raising a successful
(00:02):
solopreneur starts at childhood?In this episode, we sit down
with Margot Machol Bisnow,author of Raising an
Entrepreneur, to uncover the keytraits that shape
entrepreneurial success,including grit, curiosity,
resilience, and even compassion.So whether you're a solopreneur
looking to strengthen yourmindset or parent hoping to
nurture an entrepreneurialspirit in your child, this
(00:24):
conversation is packed withinsights you won't wanna miss.
You're listening to The AspiringSolopreneur, the podcast for
those just taking the bold stepor even just thinking about
taking that step into the worldof solo entrepreneurship. My
name is Carly Ries, and mycohost, Joe Rando, and I are
your guides to navigating thiscrazy but awesome journey as a
(00:45):
company of one.
We take pride in being part ofLifeStarr, a digital hub
dedicated to all aspects ofsolopreneurship that has
empowered and educated countlesssolopreneurs looking to build a
business that resonates withtheir life's ambitions. We help
people work to live, not live towork. And if you're looking for
a get rich quick scheme, this isnot the show for you. So if
(01:07):
you're eager to gain valuableinsights from industry experts
on running a business the rightway the first time around or
want to learn from the misstepsof solopreneurs who've paved the
way before you, then stickaround. We've got your back
because flying solo in businessdoesn't mean you're alone.
Oh, Margot, we are so thrilledto have you on the show today. I
(01:27):
feel like there's so much thatwe can talk about, but you
recently wrote a book calledRaising an Entrepreneur, How to
Help Your Children Achieve TheirDreams, 99 Stories from families
who did. And you interviewedcountless entrepreneurs about
this, and I wanna be clearbefore we kick off some of our
questions. we always targetsolopreneurs, but solopreneurs
(01:49):
are also entrepreneurs just notwith the intention of scaling
with employees. What is, for thesake of this conversation, how
do you define entrepreneur?
Margot Machol Bisnow (01:58):
Oh, thank you because I love that
question. For me an entrepreneuris anyone who starts anything. I
consider artists, actors,musicians, people like that
entrepreneurs. I consider peoplewho start non profits
entrepreneurs. I consider peoplewho are activists,
(02:22):
entrepreneurs.
I consider people who aresolopreneurs to be
entrepreneurs. And of course,people who go on and do the
whole Silicon Valley thing wherethey end up having thousands of
employees, they are too. Butentrepreneurship is an attitude
and it's a path.
Carly Ries (02:38):
Absolutely. And you wrote this book for parents
basically to help their kidsbecome entrepreneurs if that's
the path that they want. Buteverything that we're talking
about today could alsotheoretically apply to aspiring
solopreneurs because they needthat direction. They need to
know, where to go. So let'sstart at the beginning.
How did you get interested inthis topic and where did it
(03:02):
develop and how did it turn intothis?
Margot Machol Bisnow (03:04):
So before I answer that, the point of the
book is not to tell parents toraise their children to become
entrepreneurs. The point of thebook is for parents to raise
their children to becomeentrepreneurial and to have that
mindset that you guys talk aboutall the time because whatever
you do in life, it will helpyou. And we can go into all the
(03:29):
different aspects of it later.Meaning having grit and
resilience and fearlessness andall this kind of stuff. Even if
you don't become anentrepreneur, I don't think
parents can make their child anentrepreneur.
Parents can just raiseentrepreneurial children and as
you said, like all of thoseskills and traits are gonna help
you in whatever you do in yourlife. And they're all the skills
(03:53):
and traits that you want ifyou're going to be successful,
whether you're running your ownbusiness or whether you have
lots of employees or whetheryou're working for someone else
but you just have anentrepreneurial, creative, risk
taking mindset. I just thinkthat's so important. An answer
to your question or did youwanna comment before I answer
your question?
Carly Ries (04:14):
No, no, that makes perfect sense. Thank you so much
for the clarification there.
Margot Machol Bisnow (04:19):
So my older son, Elliot started an
organization called Summit orSummit Series in 2008 which is
get togethers and conferences ofyoung entrepreneurs. And I
started going I guess in 2010and have been going once a year,
at least once a year ever sincethen. I just had never met a lot
(04:41):
of young entrepreneurs backthen, people who like the kind
of people you work with all thetime who just throw themselves
into this thing they'rebuilding. And I was just so
curious how they turned out theway they did and I asked all of
them. And they all said I hadsomeone who believed in me,
someone who told me I could doanything I put my mind to and
(05:04):
that they'd be there for me evenif through inevitable setbacks
because they knew eventually I'dbe successful.
And usually it was a parent, notalways. Sometimes it was
somebody else along the way. Iwas just so struck by this and I
just kept talking about it Andthe kids said, you have to write
a book. I'm like, I can't writea book. And they're like, no,
no, you have to write a book.
(05:24):
So they wore me down, I wrote abook and then I looked up five
years later and they were alldoing something else.
Joe Rando (05:34):
That's being entrepreneurial, right?
what's the next thing I'm gonnado?
Margot Machol Bisnow (05:38):
So I decided to do a second edition
and kind of focus in more onwhat they were doing today and
why they decided to change andeverything.
Carly Ries (05:46):
Well, so let me ask, you said that they all had
somebody cheering them on andthey had some support. Were
there any other commonalitiesbetween all the entrepreneurs? I
always have trouble saying thatword for whatever reason.
Joe Rando (05:58):
Because you wanna say solopreneur.
Carly Ries (06:00):
Well, it's all hard. Were there any other
commonalities between them thatyou discovered after
interviewing all these people?
Margot Machol Bisnow (06:07):
I mean, all entrepreneurs basically,
they all have the samequalities, right? I mean, if
they're gonna be successful,they all have grit, they all
have resilience, they all havedetermination, they're all risk
taking, I mean, we can gothrough all these different
traits, they all have curiosity,they're all raised to look
(06:29):
around and say, what can I dodifferently? How can I improve
something? How can I changesomething? I'm sure this is how
most of your solopreneurs starttheir business.
They're doing something, they'reknowledgeable about something,
they're experiencing somethingand they're like, wait a minute,
there's this one thing about itthat's not, I could make that
better and then they start
Joe Rando (06:51):
I wanna clarify though because I love that, I
love that description, but itmakes me wonder, what about
somebody that, I don't know,opens a paint store. Right? So
they sell house paint. Is thatreally I mean, you know, you say
do something differently if youlook at, you know, it's not
really. I mean, there's otherpaint stores. are you saying do
(07:14):
something differently in theirlife or do something differently
in the world?
Margot Machol Bisnow (07:18):
I mean, in the world because why else would
somebody go to their paintstore?
Like why open a new paint storewhen there are 10 paint stores
in your town?
Joe Rando (07:27):
Well maybe there isn't, maybe they have to go to
the next town to go to the paintstore
Margot Machol Bisnow (07:30):
So it's a geographic My town needs a paint
store but maybe there'ssomething I can do to make my
paint store different from everyother paint store. Maybe I can
have a place in the front wherekids can take sample paints and
do stuff or you know, something.
Joe Rando (07:45):
Paint stores are so boring.
Carly Ries (07:49):
Painting class, you could offer a painting class.
Margot Machol Bisnow (07:51):
Right, right. Painting class while mom
is shopping for paint, you know,the kids can be painting them on
the walls or something.
Carly Ries (08:00):
That's actually a really good idea.
I was like, let's jot this down.Well, you were saying we could
dive into those qualities. Let'sdo that. So grit was one of
them. Why is that important?
And how do you even get it?
Joe Rando (08:15):
And what is it? Define it.
Margot Machol Bisnow (08:17):
Grit is working really, really hard
towards your goal and realizingthat life is a marathon, not a
sprint. Every entrepreneur I'vetalked to had a passion outside
of school while they weregrowing up. And in every case
eventually their parentssupported that passion. And
(08:38):
because the future entrepreneurchose the passion, they started
working really hard at it. Andbecause they worked really hard
at it, they got really good atit and because they got really
good at it, they developed theconfidence that if they worked
hard they could succeed.
And they developed grit becausethey began to realize that when
they worked hard they weresuccessful and when they weren't
(09:00):
working hard they weren't assuccessful. And so, I mean, I'm
sure you see this with all thepeople you talk to that it's
every single entrepreneur I'veinterviewed says, I work harder
than anyone else I know. Theyall say, and because I love what
I do I feel like I'm neverworking a day in my life. They
(09:21):
all love what they do, they allwork hard at it, they all have
that sort of that grit and thatfocus and that determination And
I think that's why they'resuccessful.
Carly Ries (09:31):
Yeah, so I think another one you're talking about
curiosity, which I feel likethose can kind of tie in hand in
hand. But why is curiosity key?
Joe Rando (09:41):
Can we pause for a sec? I want to back up because
you know, I've been anentrepreneur since 1990. I've
done solopreneurship. I'vestarted enterprise software
companies that we sold. I reallytake issue with the idea that
you never work a day in yourlife if you love what you're
doing.
Because I've never had thatexperience. Never. And I've been
(10:02):
very successful. I developed amillion square feet of retail
real estate. I, co founded asoftware company that ended up
selling to companies like, youknow, the biggest companies in
the Fortune 500.
And there were many days thatfelt like work in all of those
things. And I just don't wannamislead people to say, you know,
(10:24):
it isn't all fun. I hatedleasing. I loved having shopping
centers and developing shoppingcenters, but negotiating leases
was the low point of my life,and I had to do it all the time
if I wanted to be in thatbusiness. And I couldn't hand it
off because it was tooimportant.
Because you live with thesethings for twenty five, thirty
years. I just want to clarifythat I can't abide by you never
(10:49):
work a day in your life. Atleast I never had that
experience.
Margot Machol Bisnow (10:52):
And, but how about today? Aren't you
having fun?
Joe Rando (10:55):
I'm having fun right now. Absolutely.
Margot Machol Bisnow: You finally found the right (10:58):
undefined
career.
Joe Rando (11:01):
Oh, but believe me, there's tomorrow. There is
tomorrow. No, I do stuff herethat I don't love. and that's
just the nature of business tome. So again, it's one of those
things where I don't wannamislead people to think that if
you have bad days where it feelslike work, you're doing it
wrong, because I don't believethat.
Margot Machol Bisnow (11:21):
No, of course. I agree with you, but I
mean, my husband was a lawyer,we know lots of lawyers. I don't
know almost any lawyers who liketheir job.
Joe Rando (11:34):
I am with you, I've worked with tons of lawyers over
the year and every one of themwould seem like they wanted to
be doing something else exceptfor one.
Margot Machol Bisnow (11:42):
Yeah, think I know one also. So maybe
you've made me clarify like,unlike being a liar where you
just don't like your job, ifyou're an entrepreneur doing
something you've chosen that youlike, you'll like it the
majority of the time.
Joe Rando (12:02):
yes, yes, yes, absolutely. Okay, deal.
Carly Ries (12:05):
And then you'll up with the stuff you don't like
because you like it so much,
Joe Rando (12:11):
Exactly. And if you don't like it and I've been
there. You gotta leave. Yougotta do something.
Margot Machol Bisnow (12:17):
Move on.
Joe Rando (12:18):
If it comes like being the lawyer and I'm sorry,
lawyers. I know there are someof you out there that are
passionate about your jobs andwonderful, and we're not trying
to diss you. But it is a trueexperience for both Margot and
myself that we haven't knownmany that really wanted to
continue doing it for a longtime. Anyway, disclaimer over.
Carly Ries (12:34):
Fair enough. Okay, well I'm circling back,
curiosity, why is that key?
Margot Machol Bisnow (12:42):
I think people are successful, first of
all, in starting theirorganization or their company
because they've looked aroundand they've seen what can I do
about this that's better? Whatcould I do about this to make it
that's different? How could Iimprove what's already being
(13:02):
done? I mean, there's alreadysomething in every category.
What is it you can bring to itto make it better, to improve
it?
You have to be curious, you haveto be thinking about that even
to get started with yourcompany. And then once you have
your company, you can't justkeep making the same product and
selling it in the same way yearafter year after year. I'm sure
(13:23):
all the people you talk to findthis. You're constantly having
to reinvent yourself, right? Andadapt and change and do new
things and new aspects and sellit in different ways and market
it in different ways and packageit in different ways and promote
it in different ways.
And how are you gonna do this ifyou're not always thinking about
(13:45):
what's going on in the world andasking questions?
Carly Ries (13:49):
I mean, even if they wanna do like a social media
strategy, they have to evolvethat thinking every week. Oh my
gosh, of course. That's alwayschanging, and we all love it so
much.
So okay. So you talked aboutgrit, curiosity. You said it
earlier that risk taking is alsoone of them. So how does that
(14:10):
plan, how does the fear offailure play in? What are your
thoughts there?
Margot Machol Bisnow (14:14):
Yeah, so every entrepreneur that I've
talked to, when they wereraised, they weren't punished
for failure. Their parents said,What did you learn from this?
What will you do differentlynext time? How would you do it
(14:35):
differently if you could go backand do it differently? But they
never scolded them, They nevercriticized them for failing.
And as a consequence, they'renot afraid to take risks. And if
you're afraid to take risks,you're not gonna become an
entrepreneur.
Joe Rando (14:55):
Nor should you?
Margot Machol Bisnow (14:56):
No, you shouldn't.
Right, you have to be willing totake risks and you have to be
not afraid to fail. RogerFederer gave the commencement
address at Dartmouth last June,I don't know if you've listened
to it or read it, it'sphenomenal. And here's the
greatest tennis player of ourlifetimes pretty much. And he
(15:20):
said, even though he won 80 ofhis matches, he lost 50% of the
points he played in the matches.He said, if you're constantly
focused on what you did wrong onyour failures, if you're
constantly looking back on howyou screwed up, you're never
gonna be successful.
You take it, you learn from itand you move on.
Carly Ries (15:40):
Yeah, no, I mean, true. favorites.
Joe Rando (15:44):
Yeah. Because you will wallow in all the failures
if you let yourself do it for alittle while and then look
ahead.
Look out the horizon.
Carly Ries (15:54):
I forget, Joe, we were talking to somebody where
they're like, I give myself anhour to throw a pity party and
then I move on.
Joe Rando (16:00):
Yeah. I can't remember who that was, but that
was good advice. pity party,then what what did I learn?
And then, okay, let's move on.
Carly Ries (16:07):
Let's do this.
Yeah, absolutely. Okay. So risktaking. So will fail at some
things as a solopreneur, as anentrepreneur, which means you
need resilience. So let's talkabout that factor.
Margot Machol Bisnow (16:23):
I mean, nobody's gonna have it easy,
right? Nothing's ever smooth,nothing's ever just straight up.
And people who are discouragedby failure, they're not gonna be
willing to take this path. And Ithink if you're a solopreneur,
(16:46):
it's probably even tougherbecause you don't have anyone
else to blame.
Carly Ries (16:54):
Which can be so easy. It can be so easy to do
when you're working with others.And even if it's not warranted
in your brain, it's easier topass it off.
Margot Machol Bisnow (17:05):
Right, and so I just think it's really
important. And back to sort ofthe whole upbringing thing, I
mean, these people were notcriticized for failure and these
people all said to me when they
went off to start whatever itwas they were gonna start, I
knew if I failed I could gohome. And having that confidence
(17:29):
of something to fall back ongave me the courage to take
risks, gave me the ability to beresilient. I didn't actually
have to go home but I knew I hadit there as a backstop. And
every single person I've talkedto nobody had it. Nobody said,
Oh I've got this really greatidea, good I'm gonna start it
(17:50):
and then it's just gonna be easyand successful and it's just
gonna be perfect all the way.
I mean, it's just not how lifeworks. Right?
Joe Rando (17:57):
That's what we all think.
We all think that. It's gonna beeasy.
Carly Ries (18:03):
Have you also found that, if you have that you can
go home, it makes you not wantto go home even more because you
want to make this business foryourself? I don't know. I feel
like if you have that safetynet, you wanna be like, okay.
But I don't need that. I wannatell myself I have it, but let's
prove that I don't need it. Haveyou found that?
Margot Machol Bisnow (18:25):
I mean for some, some actually did go home,
for a year, you know, theyturned down, an opportunity to
go to Wall Street or whateverand said to their parents, I'm
moving home for a couple yearsto save money and start this
idea I have in my head. Youknow, even though my friends are
(18:45):
laughing at me for turning thisdown because I think I can do
this thing. And other peoplesaid to me like, I mean John
Chu, the movie director who didWicked, he said to me, I always
knew if I failed I could go homeand that gave me the courage to
take risks. And he said he neverhad to go home but he said
(19:07):
having that gave him courage.So, I think it's different with
different people.
Sometimes you need to go homeand sometimes you just need to
know you can go home.
Carly Ries (19:17):
Joe, I didn't even tell her that she should mention
Wicked in this episode. So thatwas even coming to me. I have a
weird obsession right now thatJoe has had to put up with, with
Wicked.
Margot Machol Bisnow (19:27):
Oh really?
Joe Rando (19:29):
I still haven't seen it so.
Carly Ries (19:31):
I know. Okay. So let's get to the last quality.
And I love this one. And I thinkit's one that people don't
really consider it as a qualitythat all solopreneurs,
entrepreneurs share, or shouldhave, but compassion.
So what does that mean as itrelates to the entrepreneurial
mindset?
Margot Machol Bisnow (19:50):
I think it's one of the common
misperceptions by people whoaren't entrepreneurs that people
become entrepreneurs to makemoney. And I don't think that's
true. I think most people becomeentrepreneurs because they have
this idea.
Joe Rando (20:06):
That needs to be in the world, right? The idea that
needs to be in the world, yep.
Margot Machol Bisnow (20:10):
Yes, yes. They have this idea and they
wanna do it. They wanna bring itto people. They think people's
lives will be better if theyhave this product or this
service or something that theythink they can provide. And I
don't think you have that unlessyou're raised with compassion to
care about other people, whatother people think and how your
(20:31):
actions affect other people.
It's more than just being kind.I mean, kindness is so important
But it's more than that. It'sjust being raised to think you
know, how can you make the worlda better place? How can you do
something to improve people'slives?
Carly Ries (20:47):
Absolutely. Margot, I just love this conversation.
Joe and I actually have a quizthat we're about to put out that
like, are you cut out to be asolopreneur? And it goes through
all these questions. And I feellike everything we've covered
today kind of walks through, doyou have these qualities?
Do you have what it takes tohave that entrepreneurial
mindset as a solopreneur? And Ijust think it's gonna be so
(21:09):
helpful helpful for so manypeople. So one, I just wanna
thank you for coming on thisshow. But two,
Joe Rando (21:17):
And I wanna say, one of the things that makes me
crazy are these people that arebasically encouraging people
that they should start abusiness and kind of implying
that if you don't, you're kindof a loser employee and I'm
saying, dear god, no. There areso many people, number one, that
are gonna be happier being anemployee than being in their own
(21:39):
business. And you know, it justdepends on what your feed looks
like on LinkedIn, right? Butthis is kind of things that I
see a lot. And I'm like, that isnot true.
number one, if we were allstarting our own businesses,
we'd probably all be eithersolopreneurs or small
businesses, and we wouldn't havecars and cell phones and all
these things we kinda like. Butit's just that there are people
(22:00):
that are built to work incompanies and be employees and
be part of a process you know,so thank you for making that
very clear in what you're doing.Your work is basically outlining
why some people are better offnot doing this and that's great.
Margot Machol Bisnow (22:15):
So I don't think you can make someone an
entrepreneur. Of all the peopleI interviewed, five of them have
a sibling who's an entrepreneurout of 75 and all of those who
have a sibling who is anentrepreneur also have a sibling
who's not an entrepreneur. Asyou say, you're taking on a lot
(22:35):
of risk and you're workingreally hard and there's a lot of
uncertainty and not everyone iscut out for it. But I would say
to everyone who wants toconsider it, go for it because
whatever you were gonna dootherwise, it'll be there in a
few years if this doesn't workout and the skills you had,
you've gained and the experienceyou've gained will be invaluable
(22:56):
and whatever else you wanna do.Nobody today gets a job and
keeps it for forty years And ifthey do, they're probably
miserable.
So try it, go for it. And if itdoesn't work, go do something
else.
Joe Rando (23:09):
I'm really glad you didn't say thirty years because
I have a property managementcompany with somebody that's
been there for thirty years andI think she's happy.
Carly Ries (23:18):
Yeah. She cannot go anywhere. Well, that's great.
Margot Machol Bisnow (23:22):
that's great. But how many people do
you know are who are in the samejob thirty years later?
Joe Rando (23:26):
None. It's weird. It's great.
Carly Ries (23:29):
It's also a generational thing. I think
that's just the trend. I mean,my dad was in the same career
for forty years. And when Ifirst left my first job after
college, he was so concerned.he's like, you don't wanna be a
career jumper,
Margot Machol Bisnow (23:59):
let your child do what gives them joy,
let them pursue this path. Somany parents and I talk to them
and they're like, well, what ifthey can't make a living? And
I'm like, okay your goal foryour child is they should spend
forty years doing something tomake a living that they don't
enjoy? That's what you thinkwould be a good outcome for your
(24:22):
child to spend forty years beingunhappy eight hours a day? No,
let them go, let them try it andit's gonna be fine and if after
a few years it doesn't work andthey wanna go work for a
company, that's great, they cando that.
They'll have all this knowledgeand experience and wisdom that
(24:43):
they can apply in their new job.
Carly Ries (24:45):
Have you guys seen that interview with the little
kid where the reporter goes,what do you wanna be when you
grow up? But the little boygoes, happy. But it's just like,
oh, yes.
Margot Machol Bisnow (24:57):
Apparently that's John Lennon also said
that in school. Maybe he quotedit. They said, what do you wanna
be when you grow up? And he saidhappy and they said, you didn't
understand the assignment and hesaid you don't understand life.
Carly Ries (25:09):
Oh, have never heard that. So maybe this kid was just
quoting his parents orsomething, but it was cute in
the interview. Well, Margot, weask all of our guests this
question. What is your favoritequote about success? Of your
many.
Margot Machol Bisnow (25:23):
Yeah, I was trying to think of all my
favorite quotes so that I'd comeup with something clever. And I
have so many that I would loveto share, but I think the one
I'm gonna leave you with isHenry Ford who said, If you
think you can, you can. And ifyou think you can't, you can't.
Carly Ries (25:44):
Love it. One of my favorite quotes too.
Margot Machol Bisnow (25:46):
I would encourage everyone that you talk
to, every one of these people tothink they can and to go for it.
Carly Ries (25:54):
I love it. That is a great way to end the episode. If
people want to learn more aboutyou, find the book, where can
they find you?
Margot Machol Bisnow (26:01):
Yeah, so it's Raising an Entrepreneur,
second edition on Amazon. I alsohave a website
raisinganentrepreneur.com andI'm on Margotbisnow, I'm on
Instagram and I'm LinkedIn andyou name it, all the stuff.
Carly Ries (26:19):
All the things. So we will include all of that in
the show notes but thank you somuch for working on the show
today. Oh, it's my pleasure. Andlisteners as always, we love
that five star review. We wouldlove it if you'd subscribe on
your favorite podcast platform,and we will see you next time on
The Aspiring Solopreneur.
You may be going solo inbusiness, but that doesn't mean
you're alone. In fact, millionsof people are in your shoes,
(26:42):
running a one person businessand figuring it out as they go.
So why not connect with them andlearn from each other's
successes and failures? AtLifeStarr, we're creating a one
person business community whereyou can go to meet and get
advice from other solopreneurs.Be sure to join in on the
conversations atcommunity.lifestarr.com.
What if the secret to raising a successful
(00:02):
solopreneur starts at childhood?In this episode, we sit down
with Margot Machol Bisnow,author of Raising an
Entrepreneur, to uncover the keytraits that shape
entrepreneurial success,including grit, curiosity,
resilience, and even compassion.So whether you're a solopreneur
looking to strengthen yourmindset or parent hoping to
nurture an entrepreneurialspirit in your child, this
(00:24):
conversation is packed withinsights you won't wanna miss.
You're listening to The AspiringSolopreneur, the podcast for
those just taking the bold stepor even just thinking about
taking that step into the worldof solo entrepreneurship. My
name is Carly Ries, and mycohost, Joe Rando, and I are
your guides to navigating thiscrazy but awesome journey as a
(00:45):
company of one.
We take pride in being part ofLifeStarr, a digital hub
dedicated to all aspects ofsolopreneurship that has
empowered and educated countlesssolopreneurs looking to build a
business that resonates withtheir life's ambitions. We help
people work to live, not live towork. And if you're looking for
a get rich quick scheme, this isnot the show for you. So if
(01:07):
you're eager to gain valuableinsights from industry experts
on running a business the rightway the first time around or
want to learn from the misstepsof solopreneurs who've paved the
way before you, then stickaround. We've got your back
because flying solo in businessdoesn't mean you're alone.
Oh, Margot, we are so thrilledto have you on the show today. I
(01:27):
feel like there's so much thatwe can talk about, but you
recently wrote a book calledRaising an Entrepreneur, How to
Help Your Children Achieve TheirDreams, 99 Stories from families
who did. And you interviewedcountless entrepreneurs about
this, and I wanna be clearbefore we kick off some of our
questions. we always targetsolopreneurs, but solopreneurs
(01:49):
are also entrepreneurs just notwith the intention of scaling
with employees. What is, for thesake of this conversation, how
do you define entrepreneur?
Margot Machol Bisnow (01:58):
Oh, thank you because I love that
question. For me an entrepreneuris anyone who starts anything. I
consider artists, actors,musicians, people like that
entrepreneurs. I consider peoplewho start non profits
entrepreneurs. I consider peoplewho are activists,
(02:22):
entrepreneurs.
I consider people who aresolopreneurs to be
entrepreneurs. And of course,people who go on and do the
whole Silicon Valley thing wherethey end up having thousands of
employees, they are too. Butentrepreneurship is an attitude
and it's a path.
Carly Ries (02:38):
Absolutely. And you wrote this book for parents
basically to help their kidsbecome entrepreneurs if that's
the path that they want. Buteverything that we're talking
about today could alsotheoretically apply to aspiring
solopreneurs because they needthat direction. They need to
know, where to go. So let'sstart at the beginning.
How did you get interested inthis topic and where did it
(03:02):
develop and how did it turn intothis?
Margot Machol Bisnow (03:04):
So before I answer that, the point of the
book is not to tell parents toraise their children to become
entrepreneurs. The point of thebook is for parents to raise
their children to becomeentrepreneurial and to have that
mindset that you guys talk aboutall the time because whatever
you do in life, it will helpyou. And we can go into all the
(03:29):
different aspects of it later.Meaning having grit and
resilience and fearlessness andall this kind of stuff. Even if
you don't become anentrepreneur, I don't think
parents can make their child anentrepreneur.
Parents can just raiseentrepreneurial children and as
you said, like all of thoseskills and traits are gonna help
you in whatever you do in yourlife. And they're all the skills
(03:53):
and traits that you want ifyou're going to be successful,
whether you're running your ownbusiness or whether you have
lots of employees or whetheryou're working for someone else
but you just have anentrepreneurial, creative, risk
taking mindset. I just thinkthat's so important. An answer
to your question or did youwanna comment before I answer
your question?
Carly Ries (04:14):
No, no, that makes perfect sense. Thank you so much
for the clarification there.
Margot Machol Bisnow (04:19):
So my older son, Elliot started an
organization called Summit orSummit Series in 2008 which is
get togethers and conferences ofyoung entrepreneurs. And I
started going I guess in 2010and have been going once a year,
at least once a year ever sincethen. I just had never met a lot
(04:41):
of young entrepreneurs backthen, people who like the kind
of people you work with all thetime who just throw themselves
into this thing they'rebuilding. And I was just so
curious how they turned out theway they did and I asked all of
them. And they all said I hadsomeone who believed in me,
someone who told me I could doanything I put my mind to and
(05:04):
that they'd be there for me evenif through inevitable setbacks
because they knew eventually I'dbe successful.
And usually it was a parent, notalways. Sometimes it was
somebody else along the way. Iwas just so struck by this and I
just kept talking about it Andthe kids said, you have to write
a book. I'm like, I can't writea book. And they're like, no,
no, you have to write a book.
(05:24):
So they wore me down, I wrote abook and then I looked up five
years later and they were alldoing something else.
Joe Rando (05:34):
That's being entrepreneurial, right?
what's the next thing I'm gonnado?
Margot Machol Bisnow (05:38):
So I decided to do a second edition
and kind of focus in more onwhat they were doing today and
why they decided to change andeverything.
Carly Ries (05:46):
Well, so let me ask, you said that they all had
somebody cheering them on andthey had some support. Were
there any other commonalitiesbetween all the entrepreneurs? I
always have trouble saying thatword for whatever reason.
Joe Rando (05:58):
Because you wanna say solopreneur.
Carly Ries (06:00):
Well, it's all hard. Were there any other
commonalities between them thatyou discovered after
interviewing all these people?
Margot Machol Bisnow (06:07):
I mean, all entrepreneurs basically,
they all have the samequalities, right? I mean, if
they're gonna be successful,they all have grit, they all
have resilience, they all havedetermination, they're all risk
taking, I mean, we can gothrough all these different
traits, they all have curiosity,they're all raised to look
(06:29):
around and say, what can I dodifferently? How can I improve
something? How can I changesomething? I'm sure this is how
most of your solopreneurs starttheir business.
They're doing something, they'reknowledgeable about something,
they're experiencing somethingand they're like, wait a minute,
there's this one thing about itthat's not, I could make that
better and then they start
Joe Rando (06:51):
I wanna clarify though because I love that, I
love that description, but itmakes me wonder, what about
somebody that, I don't know,opens a paint store. Right? So
they sell house paint. Is thatreally I mean, you know, you say
do something differently if youlook at, you know, it's not
really. I mean, there's otherpaint stores. are you saying do
(07:14):
something differently in theirlife or do something differently
in the world?
Margot Machol Bisnow (07:18):
I mean, in the world because why else would
somebody go to their paintstore?
Like why open a new paint storewhen there are 10 paint stores
in your town?
Joe Rando (07:27):
Well maybe there isn't, maybe they have to go to
the next town to go to the paintstore
Margot Machol Bisnow (07:30):
So it's a geographic My town needs a paint
store but maybe there'ssomething I can do to make my
paint store different from everyother paint store. Maybe I can
have a place in the front wherekids can take sample paints and
do stuff or you know, something.
Joe Rando (07:45):
Paint stores are so boring.
Carly Ries (07:49):
Painting class, you could offer a painting class.
Margot Machol Bisnow (07:51):
Right, right. Painting class while mom
is shopping for paint, you know,the kids can be painting them on
the walls or something.
Carly Ries (08:00):
That's actually a really good idea.
I was like, let's jot this down.Well, you were saying we could
dive into those qualities. Let'sdo that. So grit was one of
them. Why is that important?
And how do you even get it?
Joe Rando (08:15):
And what is it? Define it.
Margot Machol Bisnow (08:17):
Grit is working really, really hard
towards your goal and realizingthat life is a marathon, not a
sprint. Every entrepreneur I'vetalked to had a passion outside
of school while they weregrowing up. And in every case
eventually their parentssupported that passion. And
(08:38):
because the future entrepreneurchose the passion, they started
working really hard at it. Andbecause they worked really hard
at it, they got really good atit and because they got really
good at it, they developed theconfidence that if they worked
hard they could succeed.
And they developed grit becausethey began to realize that when
they worked hard they weresuccessful and when they weren't
(09:00):
working hard they weren't assuccessful. And so, I mean, I'm
sure you see this with all thepeople you talk to that it's
every single entrepreneur I'veinterviewed says, I work harder
than anyone else I know. Theyall say, and because I love what
I do I feel like I'm neverworking a day in my life. They
(09:21):
all love what they do, they allwork hard at it, they all have
that sort of that grit and thatfocus and that determination And
I think that's why they'resuccessful.
Carly Ries (09:31):
Yeah, so I think another one you're talking about
curiosity, which I feel likethose can kind of tie in hand in
hand. But why is curiosity key?
Joe Rando (09:41):
Can we pause for a sec? I want to back up because
you know, I've been anentrepreneur since 1990. I've
done solopreneurship. I'vestarted enterprise software
companies that we sold. I reallytake issue with the idea that
you never work a day in yourlife if you love what you're
doing.
Because I've never had thatexperience. Never. And I've been
(10:02):
very successful. I developed amillion square feet of retail
real estate. I, co founded asoftware company that ended up
selling to companies like, youknow, the biggest companies in
the Fortune 500.
And there were many days thatfelt like work in all of those
things. And I just don't wannamislead people to say, you know,
(10:24):
it isn't all fun. I hatedleasing. I loved having shopping
centers and developing shoppingcenters, but negotiating leases
was the low point of my life,and I had to do it all the time
if I wanted to be in thatbusiness. And I couldn't hand it
off because it was tooimportant.
Because you live with thesethings for twenty five, thirty
years. I just want to clarifythat I can't abide by you never
(10:49):
work a day in your life. Atleast I never had that
experience.
Margot Machol Bisnow (10:52):
And, but how about today? Aren't you
having fun?
Joe Rando (10:55):
I'm having fun right now. Absolutely.
Margot Machol Bisnow: You finally found the right (10:58):
undefined
career.
Joe Rando (11:01):
Oh, but believe me, there's tomorrow. There is
tomorrow. No, I do stuff herethat I don't love. and that's
just the nature of business tome. So again, it's one of those
things where I don't wannamislead people to think that if
you have bad days where it feelslike work, you're doing it
wrong, because I don't believethat.
Margot Machol Bisnow (11:21):
No, of course. I agree with you, but I
mean, my husband was a lawyer,we know lots of lawyers. I don't
know almost any lawyers who liketheir job.
Joe Rando (11:34):
I am with you, I've worked with tons of lawyers over
the year and every one of themwould seem like they wanted to
be doing something else exceptfor one.
Margot Machol Bisnow (11:42):
Yeah, think I know one also. So maybe
you've made me clarify like,unlike being a liar where you
just don't like your job, ifyou're an entrepreneur doing
something you've chosen that youlike, you'll like it the
majority of the time.
Joe Rando (12:02):
yes, yes, yes, absolutely. Okay, deal.
Carly Ries (12:05):
And then you'll up with the stuff you don't like
because you like it so much,
Joe Rando (12:11):
Exactly. And if you don't like it and I've been
there. You gotta leave. Yougotta do something.
Margot Machol Bisnow (12:17):
Move on.
Joe Rando (12:18):
If it comes like being the lawyer and I'm sorry,
lawyers. I know there are someof you out there that are
passionate about your jobs andwonderful, and we're not trying
to diss you. But it is a trueexperience for both Margot and
myself that we haven't knownmany that really wanted to
continue doing it for a longtime. Anyway, disclaimer over.
Carly Ries (12:34):
Fair enough. Okay, well I'm circling back,
curiosity, why is that key?
Margot Machol Bisnow (12:42):
I think people are successful, first of
all, in starting theirorganization or their company
because they've looked aroundand they've seen what can I do
about this that's better? Whatcould I do about this to make it
that's different? How could Iimprove what's already being
(13:02):
done? I mean, there's alreadysomething in every category.
What is it you can bring to itto make it better, to improve
it?
You have to be curious, you haveto be thinking about that even
to get started with yourcompany. And then once you have
your company, you can't justkeep making the same product and
selling it in the same way yearafter year after year. I'm sure
(13:23):
all the people you talk to findthis. You're constantly having
to reinvent yourself, right? Andadapt and change and do new
things and new aspects and sellit in different ways and market
it in different ways and packageit in different ways and promote
it in different ways.
And how are you gonna do this ifyou're not always thinking about
(13:45):
what's going on in the world andasking questions?
Carly Ries (13:49):
I mean, even if they wanna do like a social media
strategy, they have to evolvethat thinking every week. Oh my
gosh, of course. That's alwayschanging, and we all love it so
much.
So okay. So you talked aboutgrit, curiosity. You said it
earlier that risk taking is alsoone of them. So how does that
(14:10):
plan, how does the fear offailure play in? What are your
thoughts there?
Margot Machol Bisnow (14:14):
Yeah, so every entrepreneur that I've
talked to, when they wereraised, they weren't punished
for failure. Their parents said,What did you learn from this?
What will you do differentlynext time? How would you do it
(14:35):
differently if you could go backand do it differently? But they
never scolded them, They nevercriticized them for failing.
And as a consequence, they'renot afraid to take risks. And if
you're afraid to take risks,you're not gonna become an
entrepreneur.
Joe Rando (14:55):
Nor should you?
Margot Machol Bisnow (14:56):
No, you shouldn't.
Right, you have to be willing totake risks and you have to be
not afraid to fail. RogerFederer gave the commencement
address at Dartmouth last June,I don't know if you've listened
to it or read it, it'sphenomenal. And here's the
greatest tennis player of ourlifetimes pretty much. And he
(15:20):
said, even though he won 80 ofhis matches, he lost 50% of the
points he played in the matches.He said, if you're constantly
focused on what you did wrong onyour failures, if you're
constantly looking back on howyou screwed up, you're never
gonna be successful.
You take it, you learn from itand you move on.
Carly Ries (15:40):
Yeah, no, I mean, true. favorites.
Joe Rando (15:44):
Yeah. Because you will wallow in all the failures
if you let yourself do it for alittle while and then look
ahead.
Look out the horizon.
Carly Ries (15:54):
I forget, Joe, we were talking to somebody where
they're like, I give myself anhour to throw a pity party and
then I move on.
Joe Rando (16:00):
Yeah. I can't remember who that was, but that
was good advice. pity party,then what what did I learn?
And then, okay, let's move on.
Carly Ries (16:07):
Let's do this.
Yeah, absolutely. Okay. So risktaking. So will fail at some
things as a solopreneur, as anentrepreneur, which means you
need resilience. So let's talkabout that factor.
Margot Machol Bisnow (16:23):
I mean, nobody's gonna have it easy,
right? Nothing's ever smooth,nothing's ever just straight up.
And people who are discouragedby failure, they're not gonna be
willing to take this path. And Ithink if you're a solopreneur,
(16:46):
it's probably even tougherbecause you don't have anyone
else to blame.
Carly Ries (16:54):
Which can be so easy. It can be so easy to do
when you're working with others.And even if it's not warranted
in your brain, it's easier topass it off.
Margot Machol Bisnow (17:05):
Right, and so I just think it's really
important. And back to sort ofthe whole upbringing thing, I
mean, these people were notcriticized for failure and these
people all said to me when they
went off to start whatever itwas they were gonna start, I
knew if I failed I could gohome. And having that confidence
(17:29):
of something to fall back ongave me the courage to take
risks, gave me the ability to beresilient. I didn't actually
have to go home but I knew I hadit there as a backstop. And
every single person I've talkedto nobody had it. Nobody said,
Oh I've got this really greatidea, good I'm gonna start it
(17:50):
and then it's just gonna be easyand successful and it's just
gonna be perfect all the way.
I mean, it's just not how lifeworks. Right?
Joe Rando (17:57):
That's what we all think.
We all think that. It's gonna beeasy.
Carly Ries (18:03):
Have you also found that, if you have that you can
go home, it makes you not wantto go home even more because you
want to make this business foryourself? I don't know. I feel
like if you have that safetynet, you wanna be like, okay.
But I don't need that. I wannatell myself I have it, but let's
prove that I don't need it. Haveyou found that?
Margot Machol Bisnow (18:25):
I mean for some, some actually did go home,
for a year, you know, theyturned down, an opportunity to
go to Wall Street or whateverand said to their parents, I'm
moving home for a couple yearsto save money and start this
idea I have in my head. Youknow, even though my friends are
(18:45):
laughing at me for turning thisdown because I think I can do
this thing. And other peoplesaid to me like, I mean John
Chu, the movie director who didWicked, he said to me, I always
knew if I failed I could go homeand that gave me the courage to
take risks. And he said he neverhad to go home but he said
(19:07):
having that gave him courage.So, I think it's different with
different people.
Sometimes you need to go homeand sometimes you just need to
know you can go home.
Carly Ries (19:17):
Joe, I didn't even tell her that she should mention
Wicked in this episode. So thatwas even coming to me. I have a
weird obsession right now thatJoe has had to put up with, with
Wicked.
Margot Machol Bisnow (19:27):
Oh really?
Joe Rando (19:29):
I still haven't seen it so.
Carly Ries (19:31):
I know. Okay. So let's get to the last quality.
And I love this one. And I thinkit's one that people don't
really consider it as a qualitythat all solopreneurs,
entrepreneurs share, or shouldhave, but compassion.
So what does that mean as itrelates to the entrepreneurial
mindset?
Margot Machol Bisnow (19:50):
I think it's one of the common
misperceptions by people whoaren't entrepreneurs that people
become entrepreneurs to makemoney. And I don't think that's
true. I think most people becomeentrepreneurs because they have
this idea.
Joe Rando (20:06):
That needs to be in the world, right? The idea that
needs to be in the world, yep.
Margot Machol Bisnow (20:10):
Yes, yes. They have this idea and they
wanna do it. They wanna bring itto people. They think people's
lives will be better if theyhave this product or this
service or something that theythink they can provide. And I
don't think you have that unlessyou're raised with compassion to
care about other people, whatother people think and how your
(20:31):
actions affect other people.
It's more than just being kind.I mean, kindness is so important
But it's more than that. It'sjust being raised to think you
know, how can you make the worlda better place? How can you do
something to improve people'slives?
Carly Ries (20:47):
Absolutely. Margot, I just love this conversation.
Joe and I actually have a quizthat we're about to put out that
like, are you cut out to be asolopreneur? And it goes through
all these questions. And I feellike everything we've covered
today kind of walks through, doyou have these qualities?
Do you have what it takes tohave that entrepreneurial
mindset as a solopreneur? And Ijust think it's gonna be so
(21:09):
helpful helpful for so manypeople. So one, I just wanna
thank you for coming on thisshow. But two,
Joe Rando (21:17):
And I wanna say, one of the things that makes me
crazy are these people that arebasically encouraging people
that they should start abusiness and kind of implying
that if you don't, you're kindof a loser employee and I'm
saying, dear god, no. There areso many people, number one, that
are gonna be happier being anemployee than being in their own
(21:39):
business. And you know, it justdepends on what your feed looks
like on LinkedIn, right? Butthis is kind of things that I
see a lot. And I'm like, that isnot true.
number one, if we were allstarting our own businesses,
we'd probably all be eithersolopreneurs or small
businesses, and we wouldn't havecars and cell phones and all
these things we kinda like. Butit's just that there are people
(22:00):
that are built to work incompanies and be employees and
be part of a process you know,so thank you for making that
very clear in what you're doing.Your work is basically outlining
why some people are better offnot doing this and that's great.
Margot Machol Bisnow (22:15):
So I don't think you can make someone an
entrepreneur. Of all the peopleI interviewed, five of them have
a sibling who's an entrepreneurout of 75 and all of those who
have a sibling who is anentrepreneur also have a sibling
who's not an entrepreneur. Asyou say, you're taking on a lot
(22:35):
of risk and you're workingreally hard and there's a lot of
uncertainty and not everyone iscut out for it. But I would say
to everyone who wants toconsider it, go for it because
whatever you were gonna dootherwise, it'll be there in a
few years if this doesn't workout and the skills you had,
you've gained and the experienceyou've gained will be invaluable
(22:56):
and whatever else you wanna do.Nobody today gets a job and
keeps it for forty years And ifthey do, they're probably
miserable.
So try it, go for it. And if itdoesn't work, go do something
else.
Joe Rando (23:09):
I'm really glad you didn't say thirty years because
I have a property managementcompany with somebody that's
been there for thirty years andI think she's happy.
Carly Ries (23:18):
Yeah. She cannot go anywhere. Well, that's great.
Margot Machol Bisnow (23:22):
that's great. But how many people do
you know are who are in the samejob thirty years later?
Joe Rando (23:26):
None. It's weird. It's great.
Carly Ries (23:29):
It's also a generational thing. I think
that's just the trend. I mean,my dad was in the same career
for forty years. And when Ifirst left my first job after
college, he was so concerned.he's like, you don't wanna be a
career jumper,
Margot Machol Bisnow (23:59):
let your child do what gives them joy,
let them pursue this path. Somany parents and I talk to them
and they're like, well, what ifthey can't make a living? And
I'm like, okay your goal foryour child is they should spend
forty years doing something tomake a living that they don't
enjoy? That's what you thinkwould be a good outcome for your
(24:22):
child to spend forty years beingunhappy eight hours a day? No,
let them go, let them try it andit's gonna be fine and if after
a few years it doesn't work andthey wanna go work for a
company, that's great, they cando that.
They'll have all this knowledgeand experience and wisdom that
(24:43):
they can apply in their new job.
Carly Ries (24:45):
Have you guys seen that interview with the little
kid where the reporter goes,what do you wanna be when you
grow up? But the little boygoes, happy. But it's just like,
oh, yes.
Margot Machol Bisnow (24:57):
Apparently that's John Lennon also said
that in school. Maybe he quotedit. They said, what do you wanna
be when you grow up? And he saidhappy and they said, you didn't
understand the assignment and hesaid you don't understand life.
Carly Ries (25:09):
Oh, have never heard that. So maybe this kid was just
quoting his parents orsomething, but it was cute in
the interview. Well, Margot, weask all of our guests this
question. What is your favoritequote about success? Of your
many.
Margot Machol Bisnow (25:23):
Yeah, I was trying to think of all my
favorite quotes so that I'd comeup with something clever. And I
have so many that I would loveto share, but I think the one
I'm gonna leave you with isHenry Ford who said, If you
think you can, you can. And ifyou think you can't, you can't.
Carly Ries (25:44):
Love it. One of my favorite quotes too.
Margot Machol Bisnow (25:46):
I would encourage everyone that you talk
to, every one of these people tothink they can and to go for it.
Carly Ries (25:54):
I love it. That is a great way to end the episode. If
people want to learn more aboutyou, find the book, where can
they find you?
Margot Machol Bisnow (26:01):
Yeah, so it's Raising an Entrepreneur,
second edition on Amazon. I alsohave a website
raisinganentrepreneur.com andI'm on Margotbisnow, I'm on
Instagram and I'm LinkedIn andyou name it, all the stuff.
Carly Ries (26:19):
All the things. So we will include all of that in
the show notes but thank you somuch for working on the show
today. Oh, it's my pleasure. Andlisteners as always, we love
that five star review. We wouldlove it if you'd subscribe on
your favorite podcast platform,and we will see you next time on
The Aspiring Solopreneur.
You may be going solo inbusiness, but that doesn't mean
you're alone. In fact, millionsof people are in your shoes,
(26:42):
running a one person businessand figuring it out as they go.
So why not connect with them andlearn from each other's
successes and failures? AtLifeStarr, we're creating a one
person business community whereyou can go to meet and get
advice from other solopreneurs.Be sure to join in on the
conversations atcommunity.lifestarr.com.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com