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Dave Ramsey Answers Your Questions

02 Aug

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67 Comments">67 Comments

Leadership

Dave Ramsey Answers Your Questions

August 2, 2012 | By | 67 Comments">67 Comments

Soon, I will be heading into the studio to record our next EntreLeadership Podcast, and I’m super excited about our guest. It’s someone you might be a bit familiar with. OK, a lot familiar with.

We’re welcoming Dave Ramsey. And here’s the even cooler part. He’s going to take time during the show to answer your business and leadership questions. If you would like me to ask Dave a question, include it in the comment section below.

The incredible Becky Powell and I will pick a bunch of them for both the podcast  and the extended interview for ChrisLoCurto.com readers. It’s as simple as that, so get commenting! We can’t wait to hear from you.

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  • http://www.SevenPillarsOfSuccess.Net Louise Thaxton

    Too late for questions – but I’m excited to listen to the interview. Dave and Chris – a cool pair for sure!

  • http://www.livebeyondawesome.com/ JenMcDonough

    1. In cashflowing a new solo small business when paying off debt while working a full-time job with a family, how long do you “give yourself” to be patient before expecting to make a profit and then moving into it as a full-time income? (keeping in mind that I realize time and money are finite – therefore I am very intentional with both).2. How did you find others that you could mentor to and be mentored by in your Eagle’s  group? Is it important if you are wanting to be a full-time solo business owner to only find other people looking for the same goals business-wise (being a small business owner) or is it okay to mix in others that collaborate with (people that enjoy corporations, etc.)?3. Is a mentor group important enough to carve out that 90 minutes to meet each week (which looks like 2-2.5 hours with travel, etc) each week when you are stretched for time in the transition phase of working my J.O.B. to working my passion?( I am VERY intentional with my time and not sure how to “rank” a mentor group right now. I want to, but I am careful to follow my list of priorities and goals – this is how I came to be able to do a Ironman Triathlon after not being able to run 2 blocks).Lastly, wow…thank you for being one of my AWESOME LIFE TRANSFORMATION MENTORS TO MY FAMILY. I am asking these questions today ONLY because of the inspiration, hope, and plan you and your team have given to my family and me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you Dave Ramsey and team!  You,  your team (Chris, you are included on this team), and Dan Miller have been such a blessing to my family these past 3+ years. We went from being a at-risk community resource drainer to a community  giver that shares hope and inspiration – your ripple affect is amazing and fun to watch as it has started our ripple affect that is touching others today. MANY, MANY THANKS and BLESSINGS!Live Beyond awesome!JenTwitter: TheJenMcDonough 

    • http://epicenterlanguages.com.mx/our-blog Aaron Nelson

      JenMcDonough Wow Jen, you question was inspiring as is. I hope your question gets tackled – it rocks. :)  

      • http://www.livebeyondawesome.com/ JenMcDonough

        Aaron Nelson oh my gosh, thanks for the kind note Aaron! This “transition” time in life is so exciting, yet patience is so hard! How cool is it that we have the chance to get to listen to people like Chris LoCurto, Dan Miller, and Dave Ramsey mentor those of us that are trying to get to where they are. All are so incredibly sharing, inspiring, and are people full of integrity and passion – VERY cool stuff (as you know).  Thanks again Aaron – you made me grin with your note!Jen

  • http://uma-maheswaran.blogspot.com/ uma_maheswaran

    I am part of the internal audit department which has highest attrition  in my organization. I am in the mid level position and I find it difficult to motivate the team and keep them going. I sense that their morale is low due to constant travel requirements. I feel helpless and lost at times. How to do I turn the wheel in the given situation?

  • http://specializingintheimpossible.wordpress.com/ Laura Johnson

    Here’s a question for ya…..I know integrity is…huge. I’m in the middle of reading through Entreleadership. In the chapter “Business Is Easy…Until People Get Involved” you mention integrity problems under “Releasing Someone Immediately”. You use affairs, drug use, and other addictions as examples. Obviously, if it’s something they’re currently involved with, there’s no question–it’s an immediate release. What about those who have something like that in their past? I know it would be unheard of for a person to admit to their darkest times in an interview. But what if somehow you knew, or found out after hire? Is that person an automatic no-hire/termination? Not every business values integrity, but many (among your readers and listeners) do. Also, some people I know who have established a reputation for high integrity, have horrible pasts. So what are some main factors a leader should consider?I ask these questions because you wrote about it in your book and you obviously like to keep your company filled with people of integrity….do you see hiring someone with a past as potentially damaging to your company’s reputation? Some people might. Are you willing to take that risk?Thanks!!

  • Kevin Edwards

    I’m the newbie in the office.  I was hired to potentially take a leadership role, but nothing is for sure.  Outside of work I do lead in other aspects of my life, but this is a little different since I lack experience in industry and I’m working on gaining the respect of those I work with.My question is how to navigate addressing gossip on the peer level (complaining about the boss to everyone). Like I said I’m the new kid on the block so I’m trying to navigate it delicately.

    • jcatfishn

      Awesome? Kevin. I hope they put it on the show. I know Dave hates gossip, and it is a huge problem in the workforce today.

    • http://www.extdec.com/ KevinSchumm

      Kevin Edwards Your the new kid, they will like you or hate you and that should not affect what you want to do.  You are there to make a difference and lead, so show them the things you will not tolerate from day one, this will take tiiimmmee but it will work.  Plus I bet more people than less will respect you for having a backbone and the ones that don’t, do you want them on your team?   When I got back from Entreleadership, I instantly implemented this at the perfect time.  Text:  To Kevin from Jim – “Ciro just said your a pain in the ass and this is bullshit work and he is going to just cut the sidewalk out instead of going under it, lol c u at shop man.”  I did not reply.  The next am, I called both in to my office, Jim started freaking out and I said it is ok Jim, I am here to address this and explain what how we handle this but Ciro listen, is this true?  Si’, lociento.  (Yes, I am sorry in spanish.)  Ciro the door is right there if you so choose to bring a team i have been trying to build for 12 years and after all the time I have given to try and help you, is this fair?  No.  Okay so next time one person does this you tell them you don’t want to be involved in it  and bring both people to me so we can walk through it together.  Since then I have one duck I am trying to get in line but Monday very well could be his last day.  

  • jcatfishn

    Just wanted to know how you determine whether to suggest TMM or FPU to someone asking your advice. Considering how similar they are I was curious.Thanks, Joe D. Wyoming, Illinois

  • Dentist Daughter

    I am second generation business.  I have bought the business and my father is retiring at the end of the month.  How do we arrange his  presence at the office after his “official” retirement? 

  • http://www.smirknewmedia.com/ mkokc

    Chris,This is a great opportunity for us to ask Dave questions. Thanks.A couple of nagging ones that I still can’t get a handle on.1. How much time should your team, if at all, be thinking about and/or studying the competition? This seems to be as big a problem as gossip sometimes.2. How should you approach going into a new market. Are there best practices you have found when you launch on a new station, for instance, that can bring customers up to speed and get them interested in your product where you have never been before?

  • http://www.smirknewmedia.com/ mkokc

    Chris,This is a great opportunity for us to ask Dave questions. Thanks.A couple of nagging ones that I still can’t get a handle on.1. How much time should your team, if at all, be thinking about and/or studying the competition. This seems to be 

  • http://twitter.com/ErikJFisher ErikJFisher

    A Dave Ramsey affiliated podcast, with Dave Ramsey on it?! What are the odds! :) I’d like to ask this: How do you balance between ‘Hustle’ and Burnout, as well as train your team members to excel with this?

  • http://caroldublin.com/ CarolDublin

    Thanks for such an exciting opportunity! Can’t wait to hear the podcast. My question is about hiring. I know there’s a lengthy processing, including multiple interviews, DISC profile, etc. It’s so important to get the right person on the right seat on the bus, but what criteria do you use to balance competency, experience and personality to make sure it’s the best match?

  • http://epicenterlanguages.com.mx/our-blog Aaron Nelson

    Now I remember the other question I wanted to ask:Recruiting: Thanks to listening to the Entreleadership podcast, we have completely redesigned our hiring process. How in the world do you keep a candidate on the line for your 3-6 month process? Do you tend to hunt for folks who are already working, but who want to switch? Just wondering how you keep ‘hungry job seekers’ following you down that intense process of yours? 

  • http://www.t60productions.com T60Productions

    Chris… love your insights on each and every podcast, but I’m REALLY looking forward to hearing from Dave.  He’s Yoda to your Obi-Wan. :-) –Tony Gnau

    • http://epicenterlanguages.com.mx/our-blog Aaron Nelson

      T60Productions That rocks! Yoda to your Obi-Wan. Totally. :)  

  • Ed S

    This
    fall I will be leading our company in revisiting our vision and goals. 
    Currently these, as written, takes us through 2017, only five years out! Like Wayne Gretzky said, “I skate
    to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”  My ultimate
    goal is to make sure we are all in alignment and skating to where the
    puck is going to be.  I also want to do a better job of
    telling/broadcasting our story, where we’ve come from, and casting our
    future vision to the masses.  Any suggestions on getting this kicked off in a superb manner, and then delivering this into the field.  We have employees scattered on job sites throughout two states. 

  • http://www.ricardoequips.com RicardoEquips

    My question that I would like to ask Dave is: Could he go a bit further in detail on the funnel approach. He mentions it in the book by offering free stuff like a report, then a another product for maybe $10, then increasing it. I would just like to know how long between each sections of the funnel would you bring out the next service or good? One new project a month or every 3 months? How would you know when it is time to up the price on the next step in the funnel?Thanks!

    • http://epicenterlanguages.com.mx/our-blog Aaron Nelson

      RicardoEquips I like your question Ricardo. Hope we get some insight on it! 

      • http://www.ricardoequips.com RicardoEquips

        Aaron Nelson Thanks! I heard another website talking about this sells funnel and he had a chart on how much you should charge, which is great, but when would you do each of these steps? What determines when you move from free stuff to a 30 day trial, etc? Is it by dollar amount/profit made on the previous step? Do you build all the steps at one time leaving options for people to choose? That’s what I want to know!

  • http://epicenterlanguages.com.mx/our-blog Aaron Nelson

    I have wanted to ask Dave a question since I heard the podcast about ‘Integrity in Decision Making’ – that was the Michael Hyatt podcast, right? Question: In the podcast you mentioned that when you dropped that major Christian radio station, you were forced to get out there and sell. I heard a focused effort of about 6 months – in that 6 month hustle, did you ever have to cold call or knock on doors you had never approached before? I wonder if you could expand a bit more on that experience and what it was like? Setbacks, obstacles, and how you overcame it with your team?Thanks for all you do! 

  • Todd Craft

    Question Please:
    Dave talks about his budget for team moral items such as free football tickets given to team members, etc.  The IRS considers this compensation and a potential taxable event.  How do you guys handle the tax implications of tickets, gift certificates, etc with your CPA?
    Thank you

  • http://specializingintheimpossible.wordpress.com/ Laura Johnson

    THE D-man himself!? :) I’m so flabbergasted I can’t think of a question ;) …I’ll have to think on this one a bit…

  • BainterJr

    I think it is awesome that Dave hired the uber-kewl Jon Acuff.  I have not heard from Dave’s POV how that came about. I would love to hear the story and the motivation for bringing Jon on board.  

  • https://twitter.com/mattmcwilliams2 MattMcWilliams2

    Question: Dave, what are some of the most effective ways you have used to collect money owed to you? And how did you deal with late payers early on? I know you can relate to the feeling of frustration when people are consistently late but you need their business. How specifically have you gone about addressing that?

    • http://epicenterlanguages.com.mx/our-blog Aaron Nelson

      MattMcWilliams2 Boy that will be a bowlful of awesome if we can get an answer to your question!! I have the same problem!

      • https://twitter.com/mattmcwilliams2 MattMcWilliams2

        Aaron Nelson Yeah I have one client that is perpetually late. They make up about 15% of my time and otherwise only about 5-10% of my problems, and about 30% of my revenue. So the payment issue is touchy. I can’t give up the income right now and don’t want to. Be interested to see what Dave says if he can answer.

        • http://epicenterlanguages.com.mx/our-blog Aaron Nelson

          MattMcWilliams2 We have a client who has been delaying on us since 2012 started. They represent about 30% of our income too. Worst: they’re slashing their training budget – so aside from dealing with late payments, we get to charge em less. It’s time to hunt some new business. 

        • https://twitter.com/mattmcwilliams2 MattMcWilliams2

          Aaron Nelson What I did was get my assistant to chase them down so I didn’t have to be the bad guy. That worked better for two reasons. 1. She could hound them and I stay away a bit. 2. I saved 5 minutes a month. We are getting paid net 30 instead of net 50 now. Contract says net 20. I’ll take what I can get.

  • manspaugh

     QUESTION: Dave, what made you choose financial counseling over, say, another real estate position or even any other career? Did you see the potential that it has become before you even jumped in?

  • http://www.lilykreitinger.com/ lilykreitinger

    My question for Dave:  I am part of a great team in a good organization. We are all fairly new to the job but there are very experienced and talented people on board. We have great leaders, good communication channels and it seems like we have great things going for us.  My supervisor is reading EntreLeadership, some of our team members will attend the simulcast for the one-day in September and I’m signing up for the Performance Series soon.  How do we know what we need to do to get to a level of excellence that blows our client away? We are very good, what do we need to become out-of-this world peformers?

    • http://www.extdec.com/ KevinSchumm

      lilykreitinger Talk more about the Momentum theorem and perhaps what is most important to have in place prior to the momentum

    • JoshuaWRivers

      lilykreitinger And Lily emerges from her cocoon…

      • http://www.lilykreitinger.com/ lilykreitinger

        JoshuaWRivers Shhh.  I’m not here.

        • JoshuaWRivers

          lilykreitinger HA! Made ya look!

        • http://epicenterlanguages.com.mx/our-blog Aaron Nelson

          lilykreitinger LOL funny. :)

      • https://twitter.com/mattmcwilliams2 MattMcWilliams2

        JoshuaWRivers Who’s Lily? Must be a newbie. (says the newbie)

    • http://hardandsimple.blogspot.com/ Skropp

      CHEATER!! FAST BREAKER!! AWESOME QUESTION ASKER!!!

      • JoshuaWRivers

        Skropp such name-calling. And to someone who’s not even here :)

        • http://hardandsimple.blogspot.com/ Skropp

          Very true. Sorry, very little sleep, I must be seeing things–err people–that aren’t there!

        • http://epicenterlanguages.com.mx/our-blog Aaron Nelson

          Skropp lilykreitinger JoshuaWRivers  @MattMcWilliams2 It’s hologram Lily. Not THE Lily Lily. :)

        • http://specializingintheimpossible.wordpress.com/ Laura Johnson

          JoshuaWRivers You can tell how much Skropp likes someone by how many names he calls them…. ;)

        • http://hardandsimple.blogspot.com/ Skropp

          That’s right Laura, you *%*#*%+#+#*?^?£,¥|¥+<*<£<¥>%*<£#£~ :) just kidding. But now that you let out my secrets the people I’m really polite to are gonna think I hate them ;) hahaha

    • http://www.indueseason.net skottydog

      lilykreitinger  I taught I taw a puddy tat.  Or, rather…I lawt I law a Lilly lat.   Whatever.  You get it.  Okay, this is what happens when I go a few hours without coffee.   Good thing I stockpiled on a few bags of Dillano’s last week.  Looks like you won’t be “donating” your coffee to me after all.   sigh.  :^}

    • http://caroldublin.com/ CarolDublin

      lilykreitinger Love that question. There’s some burnt rice!

  • http://www.extdec.com/ KevinSchumm

    Backbone – Last one.  I have been listening a lot to Chris and I think it was Mark or Michael Hyatt  the other day that said, you have to fire someone immediately so you don’t sanction incompetence who is bringing the team down.  If that person is a driver and you know as well as the other drivers / members that they cannot pick up his slack and clients will be affected, as well as we would loose income.  Would you talk to the team, and him, then tell the lead members that you are giving him 2 weeks to change and meanwhile train someone?  Does this have the same affect as immediate termination or do they think they will be able to slide as well?  I have just converted 2 members and am working really really hard with them but the other member doesn’t care.  WHOOYA!

    • JoshuaWRivers

      KevinSchumm Sounds like a good plan, but would be nice to hear Dave’s view on this. I’ve had to put up with sanctioned incompetence and it is terrible!

    • http://www.seomanipulator.com/ Seo Manipulator

      KevinSchumm This is something we had to deal with within our company.  We held onto people who were not carrying their own weight.  It brought a lot of stress to the other employees who had to pick up their slack.  Some actually had to monitor what they were doing daily just to gather reasons as to why they were fired.  Even when we let them know they were walking a thin line they still didn’t pick up the slack.  How do you let your boss know its time to ditch the slacker and not come across as you are telling them how to run their business.?

      • http://www.extdec.com/ KevinSchumm

        Seo Manipulator All of the above is common practice so you can document it, so funny.  In this case I am the boss and I don’t want to stress out the others by firing yet or by not.  They are doing good and right and I am giving them special cash rewards right now to encourage but I just don’t know what to do.  I am working on hiring office staff as well as field, and creating KRA’s, Job des, compensation, marketing, separating a partnership, starting a new company and I am just getting tired.  Thanks to Chris I am also trying to go home at 5-6 ever night b/c family is important.  I do believe God has my back and has had it but some stuff does just have to get done…I need a city of angels for one week to come in and get me…ewee BD Idea!

  • http://www.extdec.com/ KevinSchumm

    How do you hire a rockstar when you are out of money?  I went from 5 office staff last year to just me and 2 part time office girls, and 2 crews.  I need to hire someone, I am thinking a GM who can put bodies in place and guide our “Subs” but how can I do this when I am barely getting paid?  What sort of incentives besides profit share? It costs me 15-20,000 a month to stay open, I don’t get paid on time, but I pay my staff, and other vendors on time.  I am trying to gage where the money is getting lost and if I can’t plug that hole do I just not feed it anymore?  The hole could be a department?  

  • http://www.indueseason.net skottydog

    By the time you finish reading this question, there will be a new form of social media that we must master!  How do you determine when you should try to learn things yourself as opposed to hiring a professional web designer and/or social media expert?   As a person still in the “card table” phase,  all cash allocation each month seems to be going towards social media instead of the product itself.

  • http://www.softskillsforhardjobs.com/ Jim Ryan

    Hi Dave, What is your process for creating KRA’s across your organization? How do you hold people accountable to them and measure success?

    • Kathleen

      Jim Ryan Building on that- specifically- are they a supplement to the job description, in lieu of, do they contain specific line items of items needed to be done each day, or just the general tenor of when what is needed to be done, done well , ideally?

      • http://www.extdec.com/ KevinSchumm

        Jim Ryan  Kathleen On that note…What is the best way to lead, not boss but be human and get frustrated with them not doing there job? I am really torn right now since I returned from Entreleadership about just not doing my list, smiling all the time and helping my team.  I don’t know how to correct someone the proper way, can you and Chris do a role play about getting the employee back on track, asking the right questions instead of potentially insulting them or being condensending?

        • Kathleen

          KevinSchumm Or even how it looks to different personality types- what  a D needs to hear isn’t what a C wants them to say…how do you leap to speaking in their language and be sincere?

        • http://www.extdec.com/ KevinSchumm

          Kathleen Chris touches on that a lot in Entreleadership, obviously I have not mastered it yet!

  • http://www.lifitnessbootcamp.com/ Billy Hofacker

    Oh yeah, I don’t have a smart phone to try and keep costs down. haha

  • http://www.lifitnessbootcamp.com/ Billy Hofacker

    Dear Dave, My small team and I are making efforts to increase our online
    and social media presence. We are actually going through Michael
    Hyatt’s Platform together. We set some goals and are creating action
    steps for each person to do. My question is twofold. Is there a more
    systematic approach to take on a campaign or project like this? Also, I
    get a bit overwhelmed with having to do all the social media updates,
    blog writing, etc. Should I suck it up and do it anyway or delegate
    things like twitter? Thanks so much for all the AWESOME advice!

    • http://specializingintheimpossible.wordpress.com/ Laura Johnson

      @Billy Hofacker Awesome that you’re all going through Platform together! :)

  • http://hardandsimple.blogspot.com/ Skropp

    “Dave, can you describe the process you and your team go through when developing and testing a new product or service?”Totally looking forward to Dave being back on the podcast live!! Sure to produce burnt rice!!

  • Jwb4bb

    My question:I work at the family business and will eventually inherit it with my other brother in laws once my father in law retires.  Problem is, he has some strange accounting practices.  He doesn’t want the business to pay any taxes at all.  So when the end of the year comes he allocates all of our profits to profit sharing, which sounds all warm and fuzzy. But its not, we have until september of the next year to fund it without penalty from the KGB, so he creates this huge burden for us next year that puts another cash flow constraint on us.  Meanwhile we can barely pay vendors and buy inventory, but are putting hundreds of thousands into profit sharing.  How can we convince him to pay some taxes and keep cash in the business?  What would you do if you were running our company?  Thanks!

  • Kathleen

    Do you have key concepts to help someone with the transition to a different culture? How do you ease the “growing pains” into the new way of thinking,( speaking to the people above and below you in the organizational pyramid- helping the ones instituting it when they get frustrated as they have a hard time with the depth of  T in the momentum theory?  In other words, how do you fix the mentality that change will occur overnight, and that the process is succeeding as long as each day you put on foot in front of the other to bring aspects of the philosophy into play? 

  • http://mackrillmedia.com/ JudMackrill

    My question for Dave: What tips do you have on how you can best encourage creativity while still maximizing productivity?

  • http://www.jmlalonde.com/ Joseph Lalonde

    Looking forward to the interview. It should be great. My question for Dave:As a leader, I’ve seen those under me floundering with debt. They’re much too willing to pull out the credit card when they have no money. How could I encourage them to put the plastic away and live a debt free life?

    • http://specializingintheimpossible.wordpress.com/ Laura Johnson

      My slightly educated input… :) Be an example and if they approach you with questions, have the answers/suggestions ready. No one changes their habits based on uninvited/volunteered advice. For some reason many people prefer to destroy themselves and their families financially, over facing change. Now, if this person under you happens to operate your business’s books (I don’t know what you do), that’s a whole different thing. A person is not going to manage a company’s finances well if they can’t manage their own. Hope you don’t mind my uninvited/volunteered advice ;)

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