The mindset of an entrepreneur is their strongest asset. It’s their imagination that dreams up the idea, their strategic thinking and planning that allows the plan to unfold, and their determination and will power that gets them through the uncharted waters. It’s patience and persistence that keeps them going.

However, in this fast-paced world in which we live, we don’t always allow ourselves down time, we can forget to slow down and recharge our batteries. So, how do we, as entrepreneurs, keep ourselves moving forward at the speed of light, while also taking care of ourselves and get balanced?

That’s where mindfulness steps in. John Edmonson, Director of Wellness and Life Coach at Healing Springs Ranch, has a fascinating approach to mindfulness and it’s end goal. In today’s episode, John will answer these questions and more.

Have you ever had a bad customer experience? Odds are you have. Fact is, a lot of us tend to run into some rough customer service from time to time. And usually it’s understandable, but it’s never acceptable. And when it comes to poor customer service, the problems don’t start with your customers – they start with your employees. Just ask Chris-James Cognetta. He’s a consumer experience expert, and today on a brand new episode of Coffee with Claire, he’s sitting down with Claire to talk about how customer service can be tailored at a management level, what that can mean for your employees, and how you can shift your thinking to have a customer-focused business at every level!

According to Marco Jacober, CEO of Life Hacks, the freelance workforce work force is growing three times faster than the traditional workforce, and the majority of work will be contracted by 2027.  Couple this with technology bridging the gap between states and countries, and the accessibility of products and services 24/7, and you’ve got a real opportunity to make a side business work for you..and at some point, if you love it enough, make it your full time “side gig” career.

One of the side gigs I have run across lately is in the wine industry.  According to Forbes, US wine consumption  has grown from a volume consumption of 370 million gallons in 1993 to a current level of over 770 million gallons.  In 2017, $40 BILLION dollars was spent in wine sales.  That’s a lot of wine!

Like everything else, the wine industry has been impacted by changes in demographics, technology, and budgets.  It’s not necessary to travel to France anymore to get high quality French wines.  The challenge is, how to get the wines in the hands of the consumers to maximize the quality, minimize the time, and fit into their budget?

The wine world is changing from wholesale to direct sales.  The rapid consolidation of grocery, retail and wholesalers is creating a narrower path to market, especially for small wineries and limited production wines.  The future opportunity for fine wine producers is to sell direct from the wineries to the consumers.  But how do they find those distribution points?

Join me and my next guest, Rashmi Malhotra, as she explains how one of the world’s leading family-owned luxury fine wine companies has  taken their 56 years of winery experience, leveraged education, technology and their vision for the future, to create a side opportunity like no other.  Stay tuned and learn about Boisset wineries, and how they are bringing their quality wines to a home near you!

What is it that drives entrepreneurs?  Why would anyone subject themselves to the crazy, unpredictable entrepreneurial lifestyle?

Entrepreneurs are an interesting breed.  They are tenacious, passionate people who really do march to the beat of a different drum.  They are visionaries, their strongest advocate, and although they have immense self confidence in themselves and their vision, they are humble enough to know when to pivot and say ”this isn’t working.”  Lastly, entrepreneurs believe that rules are made to be broken.  The status quo is boring. They are always thinking of ten different ways to solve a problem, and by putting all of these traits to work, develop products and services that their competition says, “Why didn’t we think of that?”  It’s the amazing combination of using both sides of their brains to achieve what others may never have thought possible.

Here at Coffee with Claire, we celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit.  And today, our guests demonstrate how collaboration and the bringing together two totally opposite ends of the business spectrum is the perfect combination to help newly formed companies or re-designed businesses create a strong professional footprint, while staying true to their individual entrepreneurial spirits.

Stay tuned and learn how bringing two very different worlds together has found the crossroads of the soft skills of creativity and the “hard” skills of programming have created the perfect combination for success!

This episode features Sungwoo Chun of Adpop and Jonathan Kim of TechMillenial discussing their businesses and their place in a variety of communities.