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I recently read a theory that going for 50 coffees with people you've never met is the entrepreneurs equivalent to the theory that doing anything for 10,000 hours will make you an expert on it. While I get the idea, 50 coffees is far easier than practicing something for ten years, and while I'm far from lazy I've decided to set out on a fairly simple mission: over the next 50 weeks I'm going to invite 50 interesting Vancouverites, most of whom I have never met before, to go for coffee. I'm going to use this as an exercise in networking for myself and for V.I.A. while also using it as a platform to introduce you to some people who are doing really cool stuff in the city you live in. |
Meet Cameron Herold. Entrepreneur, public speaker, CEO coach and author, he's the guy that has the answers many in business didn't know they were looking for. Cameron's generosity could perhaps explain some of the ten full pages of testimonials and praise that preface his new business book, Double Double, but in reality people are backing it because it's packed full of great ideas and actionable advice on how to grow your business. Not simply a genius with an MBA (in fact I'm not even sure if he was traditionally schooled in business at all), he's got real-life successes to draw from, crowned by his own work as a COO where he helped grow a company from $2 million to $105 million in six years with no debt and no outside shareholders. Going back to the theme of generosity, Cameron was actually the first person I invited for a "50 Coffees" meeting, and he didn't hesitate to accept. I expected to meet with him and get his story but instead he asked me for mine and then proceeded to give me free business advice on how to run V.I.A. for over an hour. To put the value of that into perspective, the clients that he usually coaches are CEOs of $3 - $240 million a year companies. Having coffee with Cameron proved to me that what he really loves to do is help other entrepreneurs, and he's damned good at it. Along with his book he also has a series of DVDs that do just that, perfect for those who aren't leading multi-million dollar companies... yet!
Poolside coffee at The Vancouver Lawn Tennis & Badminton Club
