Blog

Jana Kleitsch is the CEO and Founder of Wanderlust.co a tech startup focused on designing the next big tool for trip planning and discovery headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Jana is also one of our 2016 Awesome Coaching Scholarship recipients.

Last week, a colleague called and left me a weird formal message on my voicemail to call him back as soon as possible. This was pretty out of character for him, so I started to worry. Was he upset about something? Was our recent conversation not sitting well with him? My imagination took off. (I’m not a big worrier, but my imagination can get out of hand. #VisionaryProblems) I decided to call him the next day, and I told myself that it was because it was getting late.

With the heat of summer settling in, most people are busy contemplating vacation plans and time with families and friends. They’re having fun and recharging. Meanwhile, many entrepreneurs struggle to enjoy time off, even when they manage to squeeze it in. Wanting a fresh perspective, I asked Greg, an entrepreneur who owns an IT company, about his former struggle with vacations. When Greg started his company, he was working so hard that he couldn’t even IMAGINE the idea of taking time off.  

Avital Ungar is the CEO and Founder of Avital Tours, a culinary exploration company in San Francisco and Los Angeles that offers progressive dining experiences. She's also our 2015 Awesome Coaching Scholarship recipient.

She recently sat down with us to share a bit about her Awesome experience with our 2016 scholarship applicants.

This is the second article in our Saying No series. Click here to read the first article.

When it comes to saying ‘No’ or ‘Not Now’ the best place to start is to get clear on your priorities. Once you understand those, you’ll know why saying no or not now is the best choice for you or your business.

The next step is to write down how you plan to say no. If you’re responding via email, this might be a given, but it is important to practice - not only to feel more comfortable, but to do it in a way that strengthens the relationship, rather than pissing someone off. (We’ve all shot off the quick response that ended up not going over like we hoped.) So if you’re planning on saying no or not now in person or over the phone, write down what you plan to say in advance! And keep it short. You might choose to include a reason for saying no or not now, but don’t bog others down in your guilt—let them save their time for pursuing people who are interested in the opportunity! 

“Should I say yes or no?!” my entrepreneur client asked me.

Transitions are hard. They are especially hard for entrepreneurs because we don’t move in and out of jobs like typical employees. Plus, structure usually isn’t our thing. We’re pretty comfortable with ambiguity and, having grown companies from the ground up, we’re used to roles evolving organically.

When we do face a change that demands a transition — adding a board position, selling our company, or hiring a C-level executive to take over some of our responsibilities — it can be unfamiliar and challenging.

What is it that compels tens of thousands of people from around the world to build a city in the middle of the hot, empty desert?

Most people dread meetings. Stuffy conference rooms, bored people, and they usually seem to drag on forever. Over the years I have learned that walking meetings are a great format for one-on-one meetings, and are great for groups of three people as well. Not only are they far more engaging and fun, they also offer clear benefits related to physical health, relationship building, efficiency and creativity.

One of Awesome’s values is Apply Curiosity. Being curious is a powerful antidote to those times that you are frustrated or just don’t feel like being an understanding, connected leader. Here’s how to get into a curious mindset -- and it’s easier than you might think.

There are times when I’m sure I am right, when I’m sure the other person is wrong, when I’m angry or frustrated, or when I just don’t care. You may have felt like this at some point too. Those are the times that curiosity is the most valuable.

Here are some of the reasons curiosity helps most when it feels most wrong: