What You’ll Learn About Building an Entrepreneurial Mindset
In this actionable conversation with elite athlete turned entrepreneur Adam Strong, host Sheree Knowles explores the entrepreneurial journey and strategies for business success. Adam shares his unique perspective on entrepreneurship, having started his first business at just 11 years old collecting and selling golf balls on golf courses. This episode delivers practical insights on building a sustainable business while maintaining focus on your core purpose.
If you’ve ever wondered what’s holding your business back, Adam’s candid assessment might surprise you: “I can guarantee you the biggest bottleneck in your business, in your life is you. You are the problem.” This episode unpacks how to overcome self-imposed limitations and build a thriving business with purpose.
How Adam Strong Built His Business Strategist Brand
The Early Entrepreneurial Journey
Adam’s entrepreneurial journey began at age 11 when he started his first business collecting lost golf balls and selling them on golf courses. This early venture taught him valuable life lessons about negotiation, determining good versus bad deals, sales techniques, and approaching people without fear. These foundational skills continue to serve his business strategy approach today.
As both an entrepreneur and a podcaster, Adam has successfully built “The Business Strategist” podcast to over 307 episodes across four years. His success stems from understanding the purpose behind content creation rather than getting lost in technical details. “What’s really important when it came to podcast, Sri was understanding the purpose of the reason why it exists in terms of the message,” Adam explains.
The Mastermind Approach to Business Strategy
Adam has been running masterminds for about six years, beginning in Stockholm, Sweden. His approach centers on creating an environment where “it’s difficult to fail.” He carefully curates these groups, keeping numbers intentionally low with an application process and waitlist to maintain the right culture.
The mastermind programs specifically target established business owners in professional services – typically highly educated technicians who excel in their fields but “lack business acumen” and “lack the skillset as well as the mindset to be able to scale and exit”.
Essential Entrepreneurial Strategies from a Business Strategist
Find Models for Success
When asked what he would do differently in his business journey, Adam emphasized: “Figure out who is it that has already achieved what I want to achieve… Follow them on social media… learn from their techniques, learn about their leadership practices… there’s no point in reinventing the wheel”.
Create a Growth-Focused Inner Circle
Adam strongly advocates for creating a support network of peers and mentors: “Running a company, I don’t care who you are, it’s a lonely game.” He recommends putting together “really good groups of people that you can use as a sounding board to gain insight from, which enhances collaboration, enhances personal growth, enhances a growth mindset”.
Focus on Business Exit Strategy
One of Adam’s driving missions addresses a critical problem for entrepreneurs: “Less than 18 percent of all business owners exit from their business, as in sell and exit.” His goal is to increase that number so entrepreneurs can eventually “walk away, you’ve got some money in your pocket… And you can say, do you know what? I did a damn good job”.
Key Entrepreneurial Insights for Business Success
Children demonstrate remarkable persistence in learning to walk – “how many times did they fall down to try and get back up to try and walk again? More than I can count.” This natural persistence exemplifies the entrepreneurial mindset before doubt and fear creep in. Successful entrepreneurs maintain this childlike persistence despite setbacks.
Adam emphasizes understanding the source of entrepreneurial fears: “Where do these challenges come from? Do they stem from my childhood? So it’s about self awareness more than anything else”.
On building your business, Adam recommends getting the right support: Looking at fractional professionals like CMOs, CFOs, and CIOs can provide essential expertise without the full-time commitment. This approach ensures “the highest return for the value of your time”.
About Our Expert: Adam Strong, The Business Strategist
Adam Strong is a business strategist, entrepreneur, and podcast host who transitioned from elite athletics to business strategy. As the host of “The Business Strategist” podcast, he’s interviewed over a thousand industry leaders and influencers. Adam trained with Olympic athletes, including Sir Mo Farah, and applies the same high-performance principles to business success.
His core mission centers on helping business owners build sustainable companies they can successfully exit – addressing a critical gap where less than 18% of business owners successfully sell their businesses. Through his Game Changers Inner Circle mastermind, Adam helps established business owners in professional services develop both the skills and mindset needed for business growth.
Essential Resources for Business Growth Strategy
Looking to overcome entrepreneurial bottlenecks? Adam recommends:
- Return to Core Foundations: Understand your purpose – why you do what you do
- Study Success Models: Find someone who has achieved what you want and learn from their journey
- Build Strategic Support: Create or join mastermind groups where you can receive honest feedback
Key Takeaways: Business Strategy Mastery
- Identify Your Bottlenecks: Recognize when you are the limiting factor in your business growth
- Create Environment for Success: Build systems and teams that make it “difficult to fail”
- Plan Your Exit: Even early-stage entrepreneurs should build with an eventual exit strategy in mind
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