Did you know that not everyone is an intentional entrepreneur? Not everyone chooses it. Sometimes it chooses you. Whether you want it to or not. Brian D. Evans refers to himself as an accidental entrepreneur. He started tinkering around with making money online at the age of 17, but never thought his was building businesses.
- A couple of his so-called money-making experiments include:
- Selling aftermarket car parts on eBay. Making as much as $10K a month.
- In the early days of Google AdSense he figured out how to make thousands of dollars on a daily basis.
He dropped out of college three times before he fully accepted his path in life was that of an entrepreneur.
Now he runs BDE Ventures, an advertising and PR firm in LA, which is on the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing private companies in the U.S. Pretty impressive!
A couple of lessons embedded in our conversation include:
- How to cultivate your self-confidence. It starts with your mindset, your tone and your posture.
- Be present. Learn why Brian doesn’t like to overschedule himself.
- Conquering your fears. Learn how Brian overcome his fear of being seen.
About a year ago he started his most ambitious business yet, Influencive, a collective of 200 writers sharing unconventional wisdom.
He believes this is the business he’s been working toward all along. He calls it his “15-year overnight success”.
(BTW, I was recently accepted as a contributor by Influencive and I couldn’t be more honored!)
Life Skills That Matter In This Episode
- Self-directed learning.
- Tell your story.
- Explore your purpose.
- Become an accidental entrepreneur.
How Brian Works and Thinks
- Wake up time: Between and 6am and 7:3oam.
- Core work characteristics: Action, strategy and surrounding himself with the right people.
- Self-reflection practice: Meditates by observing his thoughts from a third party perspective.
- Superpower: Balanced mindset.
- Book recommendation: A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.
- Ideal work environment: Prefers working at home or in a coffeeshop. Doesn’t like having a strict schedule, so he can keep himself present and in the moment.
- Wants to meet: Oprah or Eckhart Tolle.
- Favorite productivity tool: Notepad and a pen.
- Unproductive habit: Would like more of a schedule, but that would infringe on his desire to remain present.
- 90-day goal: Wants to finalize a funding round for Influencive.
Inspirational Quotes
“When you have a strong purpose behind what you are doing, you’ll push harder than the next person.”
“You are limiting yourself if you don’t explore your curiosities.”
“Life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you.” Jim Carey
Coaching Advice
Have an idea? Now start experimenting with it! Here are some suggestions from Brian:
1) Start. Do something. Take one step.
2) Push past your fears. Use resources available to you. Reframe your excuses. Try to be positive for one day. Excuses promote negative thoughts and prevent you from starting.
3) Find something you want to do even if you wouldn’t get paid for it.
Resources + Bonus Materials
How This Millennial Turned His Fear Into a Business
Here’s what the power pose we discussed in our conversation looks like . . .
