We are BACK! and with a BANG!

If you are part of the Salesforce ecosystem, it’s highly unlikely that you have not come across Gemma. She is an MVP, founder of LadiesBeArchitect and currently the CEO of The Architect Club: a new kind-of Salesforce service.

In this (bold) episode, we discuss what was it like for her to put all her savings into starting a company and then being hit by the pandemic 6 months into it.

We also talked about hard it is to acquire projects for a newly minted Salesforce consulting shop without “schmoozing” with the responsible folks.

Every founder should do the Business Value proposition exercise to identify what exactly are they selling to the customer.

Gemma is a fighter, both in professional as well as in personal life. She is very open about her battle with cancer and it was very inspiring to listen to how she tries to find positivity in each obstacle.

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I have just launched my freelancing course in SalesforceBen's new platform. Check it out: https://courses.salesforceben.com/start-a-salesforce-freelancing-business/

A discount code is hidden inside the episode.

Microsoft self-admittedly missed the Search and Mobile wave. Ford / Volkswagen did not believe in the e-auto revolution until recently. Banks are slowly warming up to digital currencies. What do we learn from this?

If you are an organization and you want to be successful for a longer period of time; You need to be dynamic and keep reinventing yourself according to the changing needs of the market. This is what Garry calls Dynamism and is the theme of this episode.

A lot of Salesforce folks come from different background(s) and have carved an area for them. Garry is no different: He learned woodwork at university and currently is the CEO of Red Argyle, a Salesforce consulting and development company in Upstate New York.

Listen to this episode to learn more about how you can keep yourself relevant for extended periods of time if you keep the “Never stop learning attitude”.

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If you wish to advertise with us or are interested in learning how you can promote your product/ service with us head on over to https://forcepreneur.com/sponsor/ to learn more, or email me directly at [email protected]

Travelling is a wonderful activity that always broadens your horizons and exposes you to the endless possibilities that this life can offer. On this episode of the Forcepreneur podcast, we make a special visit to Dubai and get a glimpse into the flourishing Salesforce ecosystem in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) Region.

Our guest on this episode is Mr.Ghassan Chkaiban - Founder and Managing Director of Changi Consulting. Founded in 2010, Changi Consulting is the biggest Salesforce gold partner in the GCC region. Changi builds and delivers Salesforce solutions focused on helping businesses accelerate, automate, and optimize their operations.

If you’ve only thought of Dubai as tall buildings, exquisite chandeliers, fast cars and sand dunes then prepare to be surprised. Yes! All of this does exist; But there are also hard working people who have regular 9 to 5 jobs.

In this episode, Ghassan talks to us about the GCC Salesforce market, the local community, the kinds of customers he has, Salesforce’s growing presence in the region and life in Dubai in general.

One key takeaway from this episode: 'Don’t give up; It's all about persistence.'

Have fun!

Episode Resources -

If you think you have the skillset and mindset to join Changi, send in your CV at [email protected]

Books mentioned -

Die Empty - https://amzn.to/2XUBQyR

What Got You Here Won't Get You There - https://amzn.to/3u5a1Q5

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Hey Listener! If you are reading this I just want to take a moment to say Thank you for your constant support.

If you wish to advertise with us or are interested in learning how you can promote your product/ service with us head on over to https://forcepreneur.com/sponsor/ to learn more, or email me directly at [email protected]

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Twitter allows people to share their thoughts with a big audience,

Slack transforms the way that organisations communicate,

Spotify gives you access to millions of songs from creators all over the world -

These are all one sentence statements that define very clearly what exactly these organizations are doing. Your story is defined by how a customer uses your product to solve the problems that they have in their life. How you add value to society is the most important narrative that one has to build on.

For the second installment of our PDO series, we had the honour to host Brian Walsh, the CEO of Codescience. Founded in 2008, CodeScience was one of the first PDOs (Product Development Organization) for Salesforce focusing on building apps on the Salesforce platform.

Brian shares how as an entrepreneur you have to question and ask yourself - what is the story you want to write, what is it you want to be known for solving and what is the legacy that you are building. Answering such questions at an early stage helps you define your vision and purpose in a simplistic yet holistic manner.

I must also mention two small things that really impressed me whilst interacting with Brian -

1. The speed at which Brian and his team moves. From the initial introductory mail to booking the recording. It was all done in less than 2 hours.
2. Secondly, he has one of the most amazing video backgrounds which inspired me to fix my lighting (As you will see in upcoming episodes).

There's a lot of great advice hidden in here for people from all walks of life, be it about how to lead a team, how to leverage your values to ensure constant growth and much more. Listen on!

Episode resources -

www.codescience.com/careers

Brian's Twitter - @thepartycow

Books mentioned -

The Hard Thing about Hard Thing

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Hey Listener! If you are reading this I just want to take a moment to say Thank you for your constant support.

If you wish to advertise with us or are interested in learning how you can promote your product/ service with us head on over to https://forcepreneur.com/sponsor/ to learn more, or email me directly at [email protected]

Salesforce Product Development Outsourcers (PDOs) - Who are they? What do they do? Why do they exist?

Now, I don’t mean to make them sound strange; PDO’s have been around for quite a while. It’s just that not a lot of people are aware of what exactly they do (including myself).

In a nutshell: They help companies launch their apps on the Salesforce AppExchange.

But this is just scratching the surface. In order to understand them in detail, I decided to do a series on PDO’s and I could not have had a better guest to kick things off.

George Kenessey is the CEO at Appiphony: A leading design and engineering boutique that specializes in building products on the Salesforce platform for Salesforce ISV partners since 2008.

In this episode, George shares with us the many experiences he’s had helping folks bring ideas to life in the Salesforce ecosystem. He shares a lot of sage advice for all those who wish to do the same. One of the biggest takeaways for all entrepreneurs who don’t know where to start: Find problems that excite you, problems that you’re willing to lose your sleep over.

From ideation to release, these Product Development Outsourcers are experts in Salesforce product development and will help you get your product into the Salesforce AppExchange in the quickest and most cost effective manner.

How, you might ask? Well click the play button and listen on to find out.

George's Linkedin

George's Twitter

[email protected]

https://appiphony.com/

Books Mentioned -

Creativity.Inc 

Extreme Ownership

The Ride of a Lifetime

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Hey Listener! If you are reading this I just want to take a moment to say Thank you for your constant support.

If you wish to advertise with us or are interested in learning how you can promote your product/ service with us head on over to https://forcepreneur.com/sponsor/ to learn more, or email me directly at [email protected]

June / July is celebrated as the ‘Gay Pride Month’ in many parts of the world. It is dedicated to celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community and their struggle against discrimination and social ostracisation. Standing in solidarity and reaffirming our commitment to representing voices from all communities - we at Forcepreneur have a very special episode for you.

Our guest Ashley Allen is the founder & CEO of ITequality. Launched in 2017 ITequality has a long history of employing underprivileged people and training them to become Salesforce professionals. She is one of the first to start a certified LGBT-Business Enterprise that is a federally recognized diversity supplier.

Ashley shares with us how she came up with the idea of starting ITequality, the tough decisions she had to make like coming out as a LGBT-Business enterprise, downsizing the team because of COVID and rebuilding her business. She remarks on how important a role the people around her played in helping her overcome her anxieties and empowered her to be where she is today.

When you face your fears, you discover that they were not as big of a threat as you thought them to be. All we need is a well rooted powerful motivator that helps us overcome our fears and reveal our true strength and capabilities.

Pride Month may look different this year, but we must remember to do all that we can to support and celebrate this diverse and vibrant community. Here’s wishing you a Happy Pride 🌈

Ashley’s Socials -

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/iteqashley/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/anerrdgirrl

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/anerrdgirrl/

https://itequality.com/

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Hey Listener! If you are reading this I just want to take a moment to say Thank you for your constant support.

If you wish to advertise with us or are interested in learning how you can promote your product/ service with us head on over to https://forcepreneur.com/sponsor/ to learn more, or email me directly at [email protected]

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If you wish to deliver high value to your customers, the first thing you need to do is to solve their problems. Selling is about solving a problem that a customer may face now, or in the not so distant future that is shaped by the constantly evolving marketplace.

On this extraordinary episode of the Forcepreneur Podcast, I had the pleasure to host Mike Kreaden, who is the Managing Director of the Salesforce Accelerate program. Mike and I discussed the in’s and out’s of this program to help us understand what it’s all about. Mike sums it up to say ‘We're trying to promote customer centricity by attracting entrepreneurs who are working with solving customer problems in mind, in order to be able to bring a solution to the market.’

As given on their website -

Salesforce Accelerate is a virtual program designed to provide the insights and support companies need to strategically align with Salesforce and grow with AppExchange.

There are two programs under the Salesforce Accelerate umbrella:

• Salesforce Accelerate Build supports companies from idea to app, fast-tracking their journey to AppExchange.
• Salesforce Accelerate Grow helps existing partners accelerate their growth in the marketplace.

So, should you apply for the Salesforce Accelerate program? What is the duration of the program? What are the eligibility criteria? What does one get out of being a part of the program? Listen to the episode and find out the answer’s to these questions and much more straight from the boss.

For those interested in learning more and applying for the program, head over to https://www.salesforce.com/accelerate/

Mike’s LinkedIn

Mike’s Twitter

Books mentioned :

Influence

Salesforce Lightning Platform Enterprise Architecture

Mastering Salesforce DevOps

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

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Hey Listener! If you are reading this I just want to take a moment to say Thank you for your constant support.

If you wish to advertise with us or are interested in learning how you can promote your product/ service with us head on over to https://forcepreneur.com/sponsor/ to learn more, or email me directly at [email protected]

Ever seen a car drive on a road without a steering wheel? That’s what it may feel like to work in an organization that does not take time to define its core values. They are important because values bind the whole organisation together as a collective and ensure everyone is on the right path. Plus, it gives a higher purpose to the work we do. When we lose touch with them, we lose direction.

Luca Benini is the Co-founder and COO of NativeVideo - A Salesforce AppExchange Partner. Luca got his start working with data, analytics and consumer research for marketing and product development at Yahoo. It was in 2012 that he was acquainted with Salesforce when they acquired Buddy Media (a SaaS platform that provided social CMS and CRM solutions), where he was helping manage the marketing operations.

According to Luca: ‘In this day and age, dealing with the younger generation, especially with a remote team can be quite difficult. In order to keep them motivated at work and align their actions behind the bigger values, one has to learn to say no to certain things to help focus on the more impactful. Prioritizing what works and what does not, helps create a north star to guide not only employees, but leaders as well.’

So, how does Luca actually manage people remotely? How does he scout and hire new talent? What advice does he have for individuals working in the B2B industry? Does he prefer pasta or pizza? Listen to find out!

Luca's LinkedIn

Luca's Twitter

Books mentioned :

Born to Run

I'm Here to Win

Play Bigger

From Impossible To Inevitable

The 4-Hour Body

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The episode is PART 4 of the COO series sponsored by SharinPix. (https://www.sharinpix.com/)

SharinPix gets all the features, components, tools and integrations you need when you have image requirements in your Salesforce implementation.

The shift one has to make from ‘doing’ to ‘leading’ is one of the most difficult transitions. As admirable as it may be to get down to the brass tacks and do things yourself, there will come a time when the work becomes just too complex to be managed alone. That’s when it’s necessary to make that shift from being a rockstar contributor to an effective leader. By delegating people to do their best and help achieve your shared goal, your presence is felt in a work space through the action of others. That’s what makes a manager a good leader. According to Archana - You should delegate until it becomes uncomfortable!

Archana Subramanian is the Chief Operating Officer, ANZ & ASEAN at Salesforce. She has been a part of the sales strategy team at Salesforce for almost a decade now, A good part of which she held the title of Chief Operating Officer. So who really is a COO and what do they do? According to Archana every COO has a different definition, in her case her role is largely related to sales. Streamlining everything involved in the process of generating a sale from the start to the end, and removing all obstacles that come up, is her job.

Archana herself dislikes the idea of working in a job where one can just cruise through the work, she prefers a challenging job that pushes her to her limits. Her advice for all those hoping to grow in this business is exactly this  - Go out there and seek new challenges and experiences. The more experiences one goes through, the broader you expand your horizons. There really is no playbook, it is quite literally what you make it.

On this episode of the Forcepreneur Podcast, Archana shares some of the challenges she faced when taking up the role of a manager, what exactly it is she does in sales strategy, her relationship with her seniors and juniors, making the shift from San Francisco to Sydney and much more! 

Archana's LinkedIn

Books mentioned :

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

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The episode is PART 3 of the COO series sponsored by SharinPix. (https://www.sharinpix.com)

SharinPix gets all the features, components, tools and integrations you need when you have images requirements in your Salesforce implementation.

"Your most important work is always ahead of you, never behind you."

–Dr. Stephen R. Covey

One may not realize how easily one can get caught up living life in the fast lane. You won't even realize how time passes by, and even though you may be actively working everyday, you don't quite end up going anywhere. That's why it's important to always Start with the end in mind

Paul shares that this philosophy has really guided him in being efficient when making decisions as a COO at Cloud Galacticos. What happens in the middle doesn’t matter as much; Just start with the end in mind and have the important process’ and procedures in place. Regularly asking: Where do you see yourself in 3 / 6 / 12 months from now, etc, is a great way to set small (but achievable) goals, assess your progress and course correct if need be. If your business has not changed the way you wanted it to in 3/6 months then it's time to make some changes.

When you understand where you want to end up, you’ll gain tremendous clarity in many areas of your life. It invariably also makes you more efficient and gives your work a strong sense of purpose.

Mr. Battisson started his career going down 'the typical route' - he went from developer, to senior developer, to technical architect, to platform strategy lead. It wasn’t until he decided himself that he would like to broaden his horizons and do something more that he took up the role of COO at Cloud Galacticos.

In this episode, Paul points out that the reason why selling in the highest paying job is because it's an awkward job. Especially for developers. If you wish to do more than just writing code then developing your communication skills and having a constant curiosity for other departments is very important. This is where your local ohana and the Dreamin events come into play. They help break that barrier of being able to just strike up a conversation with a stranger without any necessary motive, but to just talk and be open. Funnily enough that was how Paul met Phil Walton (CEO of Cloud Galacticos), who went on to hire him at Cloud Galacticos.

We also discuss and answer many more questions like -  What work does Paul do on a day to day basis as a COO? How does he ensure that while the company is being set up for growth, so are the personal careers of his team members - Listen on to find out!

Paul's LinkedIn 

Paul's Twitter 

Paul's Blog 

Books mentioned :

Yes, And 

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The episode is PART 2 of the COO series sponsored by SharinPix. (https://www.sharinpix.com/)

SharinPix gets all the features, components, tools and integrations you need when you have image requirements in your Salesforce implementation.

Jocelyn Fennewald's 'winding path' of a career began in school where her passion for science led her to wanting to pursue a PhD in Science. She made a few jumps between science and finance before her current co-founder Machell Enke invited her to Chicago where she joined an IT company as a Financial Analyst.

She spent about three years working with Salesforce, and helping build the back end operations process gave her a great sense of accomplishment. It wasn’t until she attended a Dreamforce event in 2013 and heard the question - "What would you do if you weren’t afraid?" - which led her and Machell to think 'What would they do?' - and they decided to start their own Salesforce company - OpMentors.

Jocelyn highlights the importance of how big a barrier the 'fear of failure' can be when deciding to start your own company, and how the whole Trailhead ecosystem allows for a greater sense of stability whilst learning, hence reducing the risk drastically as compared to other work sectors.

She describes how a COO can really become the person that hold's the whole organization together. How by simply learning to listen, more than talking and reacting is an integral trait of a leader. How by making time and space to just ideate and discuss with your colleagues and work staff can make you the 'think tank' of an organisation. Whatever the agenda, simply providing a safe space where people can come talk, and be heard can help nurture the growth of an organisation in more than one ways.

Being a woman in this ecosystem, Jocelyn shares her experiences and reflects on the importance of the local ohana. It is in this ecosystem where she first learnt that these local communities were much more than just networking opportunities. They are not just seminars to help you get jobs or sell your product, they are platforms to make genuine connections.

What exactly is the role of a 'Chief Operating Officer' and what exactly fall under the purview of 'Operations' in a tech startup. Listen to find out as we learn from our guest on this episode - Jocelyn Fennewald.

Books mentioned -

Extreme Ownership

Jocelyn's LinkedIn

Jocelyn's Twitter

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The episode is PART I of the COO series sponsored by SharinPix. (https://www.sharinpix.com/)

SharinPix gets all the features, components, tools and integrations you need when you have images requirements in your Salesforce implementation.