595: Anne Mahlum [Founder of solidcore] - How To Bet on Yourself, Build Confidence, Smash Your Goals, Scale a Business, and Earn $100m

The Learning Leader Show With Ryan Hawk

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Full show notes at www.LearningLeader.com

This episode is supported by Insight Global. Insight Global is a staffing company dedicated to empowering people. Please CLICK HERE for premier staffing and talent.

• “I looked at these guys (homeless) and demanded nothing but pure excellence from them. And it was almost as if they were waiting for someone to do that.” Set high expectations for people. Believe in them. Care for them. Support them. Love them. And watch what happens. This is leadership.
• Nobody runs by themselves. What a great life motto. We all need people. Anne believes in the importance of community and doing hard things together.
• Her mindset was fostered, in sometimes complicated ways, by her childhood home life, she says. At age 16, her parents divorced after her father gambled away their family savings. To cope, Mahlum started running and became hyper-focused on the idea of controlling her own life.
• When others are playing defense, go on offense. When others are scared, get aggressive (easier said than done). Anne did it.
• "Running is the vehicle we're using to create community and positive reinforcement."
• "If you want to make change, you have to help others see that they can do it. You can't force it on them."
• How to build a great non-profit:
  • Identity - Each group had team names
  • Need team leaders, people to map out logistics, and volunteer coordinators
  • Need to make day 1 incredible. Launch BIG.
  • Target the right people - In Anne's case, it was executives who were runners... Decision makers who appreciated running.
• Goals - Work backwards. Set a date and then do whatever it takes to hit that launch date.
• solidcore -- Anne thought big from the beginning. She was opening her second location almost the same time her first location went live. She always wanted to scale it and thought about it from Day 1.
• Important to hire great coaches. They needed a great personality and had to make every member feel welcome. Learn everyone's name. Say their name.
  • Anne learned from How to Win Friends and Influence People
• Risk-Taker - Step into uncertainty. That's how you build confidence.
  • "I always bet on myself."
• Action builds confidence. Push past the uncertainty. Create evidence for yourself. Make the things that were previously uncomfortable for you more comfortable now by taking action. When others are playing defense, go on offense. That creates your edge…
• Anne's plan was always to sell Solidcore... Her strength is in bringing concepts to life and building communities, rather than sustaining them over time. The same month she exited the company, she opened her next venture, a New York-based fitness studio chain called Ambition.