I don't know much about developing apps - but I do know about developing human potential. And on that note it's never too late to dive into anything new in your life. NEVER!

In these types of situations I find that people are either dissatisfied with their job or they are simply bored or unchallenged. Either way it would be wise as the other folks also shared with you - to find out really what is going on. Otherwise you are in the dark and have no strategy! If this person was not out looking for a job and the other company found him and made him an offer - it obviously got him thinking about what his current job is lacking - so why don't you just ask him - what IS the job lacking? But in general - such a person has already left and has no real loyalty to your organization. And because of that, I usually prefer that person leaves. To me it's kind of like trying to stay in a relationship that really needs to break up and you're only hanging on because it's convenient to have someone to sleep with at night and go out to dinner with and you're too lazy to go through the dating process all over again. :)

Webinars are a fantastic way to get your message out and connect with your target audience. So for me - that connection is key and doing my webinar live it important. Of course once you've done it live a few times and you have a webinar that you know COVERTS really well - you can automate it. But I would definitely start live and build up fans and followers. Once you have a reputations it's easy to sell from an automated webinar because folks know you already. The conversions are still going to be lower - but that's okay! Some conversions are better than no conversions! I use GoToWebinar using a beautiful PowerPoint and answer questions live and make the experience fun for folks. That works best for me. I offer several live webinars and use the best one for the replay. Always remember you are here to serve. If that is first and foremost in what you are doing you will always do well. If I can assist in any way let me know!

My feeling is if you are going to give something let it be something that a person would not throw out and really brands you in a way that makes you stand out and be special. A tee-shirt to me is common and if it's branded it's not likely I would put it on my body. However if you gave me a water bottle from S'well with your logo on it - that puppy would be with me everyday and I'd be thinking about the fact that you were someone who cared enough to give away something really special. Just my thoughts....

Such good answers from everyone! As a ex-doctor myself I would say that you have to really understand what they need and what they are suffering from. And then have a solution that is appropriate for them. Then you have to know how to reach them. Do you think a doctor is going to listen to a webinar or read your blog? Not likely in my mind. However if you sponsored a dinner at your local medical county or hospital meeting and gave a live talk - that's a different story. Growing a practice is a business like any other - yet you have to know HOW to build a practice to be able to help others. Do you? There are issues that are specific to the profession - things that you can and cannot do. If not I would start with learning what makes the most successful practices successful! Knowing the top 10 strategies that great practices employ would be awesome and building a program around those aspects would be great. I moved partway through my career to open a practice from scratch right next door to a guy who was going bankrupt and around the corner from one of the biggest practices in town. In 6 years I was able to sell my practice to finance my dreams. I used a combination of tactics that were a bit out of the box and it paid off. If you are creative and have good ideas that will be a help. One thing about doctors - if you don't know what you are doing they will smell you out. So I would make sure you know your stuff before approaching anyone. :) If I can help let me know. Good luck! Sheri

By the time we are over 40 most of us have amassed a huge amount of knowledge - the kind that there is no degree for! There is no reason why you can't leverage that wisdom and life experience into a career. The important thing to understand is that coaching is a business and you need to understand how to create a business structure that is going to monetize and be successful. Just because you can give good advice doesn't mean you are equipped to run a coaching practice. Based on that - I would suggest getting coaching for yourself - both in life and business coaching so you know what the heck you are getting yourself into. And make sure you build your business while you have a job so that you don't put stress on yourself because that will suck the joy right out of you if you have to be worried about finances. :)

The eternal question! How to live while boot-strapping a business. The most important piece of advice I give to clients is to build their business while they still have a job. Why? Beyond the obvious answer of taking the stress off of you - I can tell you that clients know when you are seeing them as desperately needed money rather than a fabulous client you are excited to serve. When you are coming from neediness it is all about you. When you are coming from the desire to serve and you are feeling good about yourself - it is about the client. I am sure if you are an adult that you have multiple skills that you can use in the short term and monetize. There are so many things I could do if I had to and I know I will never go hungry. So focus on how you can make money doing on what you already know and built your business slowly but with great integrity and you won't regret it. :)

Like most skills in life, focus is something we must develop and practice especially in this ADD world of ours where there's always some new shiny object trying to hook our attention. If you know it's a challenge for you - then the best way to start is to create an environment for yourself that is conducive to focus. For example, creating a time-block calendar where you work in blocks of time where nothing is present to distract you from the task at hand. So if you want to write - start first thing in the morning and set one hour aside for that creative stream to flow BEFORE engaging your email or any other "left brain" type activities. Shut the phone, close the door, and just write whatever no matter what it is. Keep doing that at the designated time on a regular basis and you will train your brain to respond accordingly. Obviously apply this to whatever you want to focus on. Using a time-block calendar is a great habit to put into practice. It cuts down on overwhelm, confusion, and all the other crap that prevents entrepreneurs from being as successful as they could be.