Carl Smith

Your Money AND Your life? Designing A
Business That Won’t Kill You.

“Don’t let business kill your life. Live a little and work the way you want your life to be.”

Too often we jump into a new endeavor focusing on making money instead of thinking about the life we want to live. In this hands-on workshop, Carl will help you envision a company that is built around your needs, personality, and lifestyle. From setting realistic business goals to figuring out an exit strategy if you ever decide you’re ready for the next challenge, you’ll leave the workshop with a solid plan to get your business on track!

Learn How To…

• Set goals and define your objectives
• Establish your services
• Find clients you like, firing ones you don’t
• Create a work process that’s right for you
• Hire great people
• Act when it all goes to hell

Ambient Accountability: The Jellyfish Work Model

“A jellyfish is simple. It’s a transparent system designed to get things done. So is this work model.”

Ever wonder how a jellyfish gets things done?

It’s transparent, simple, and isn’t governed by a bossy brain (it doesn’t even have one). All its parts function fluidly in tandem and it is propelled to touch everything in its world. The jellyfish only lives for a short time, but it blooms by the millions in every ocean; in fact, it thrives in broken, compromised environments. You might just say the jellyfish redefines its ocean landscape.

Now imagine the Jellyfish Model of work. A distributed team temporarily connected by a common vision: a group of people who are accountable to each other to get things done. They create their own system, refine their roles, and transform the human landscape by counting on the fact that the whole world is watching. Using practical application and real-world examples, Carl reveals the potential of this revolutionary model and uncovers how it has the ability to change the face of work—and the world—as we know it.

What’s Covered

• Explore the definition of ambient accountability
• Examine the shift towards distributed teams
• Customize this model to make it work for you
• Generate big ideas that make the world a little better

Trust At Work

“Trust is making yourself vulnerable for the promise of something better.”

In business, everything you say or do is a promise for something better. Using real-world examples, Carl explores the fundamentals of how to understand, establish, and maintain trust with your team and your clients. You’ll learn how a system of rules to make people do things can be replaced by a system of people that work to make the world better while trust is busy at work.

Learn How to…

• Define trust
• Establish trust
• Avoid the pitfalls of breaking trust
• Recover trust when you break it

Finding Better Clients

“Before you can find better clients, you need to define what ‘better’ looks like.”

If you want better clients, you have to be ready for them. Carl walks you through the process of establishing your desired identity, choosing clients that are right for you, and creating realistic strategies on how to land them. Using relevant examples and practical advice, Carl shows you that the best way to seek out better clients is to charm them with your true self and be willing to create some serious fun.

What’s Covered

• Identify your dream clients
• Learn how to promote yourself authentically
• Grow your business intelligently

Making Better Mistakes: How To Survive In Spite of Yourself

“Learn from your failures. Or don’t—it’ll just hurt more if you don’t.”

IRS crashed your client meeting? Yep. Everyone quit on your company’s sixth anniversary? Yesiree. Doing it right means having it all go wrong at least once. An experienced business owner who’s been through it all, Carl exposes the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of business with the humor of one who knows that failing is the most rewarding way to learn.

What’s Covered

• Learn the mistakes new businesses make
• Build a plan for resiliency
• Find out how to anticipate and overcome future challenges