Honest Leadership - Ami Kassar - The Impactful Leadership Show - Episode # 038

The Impactful Leadership Show

Today’s guest is an entrepreneur, author, podcaster, speaker, and trusted advisor. He has been featured in The New York Times, Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, and Forbes. Ami Kassar is the Founder and CEO of MultiFunding, the host of the weekly “AmiSights” podcast, and the author of The Growth Dilemma. Ami discusses why honesty is essential in leadership, how leaders can start honest conversations, and best practices for entrepreneurs seeking funding.

Takeaways:

• Real leaders are vulnerable, honest, and unafraid to expose their weaknesses. They will tell their team the good and the bad. Leaders don’t have to be perfect and buttoned up all the time because that’s just not realistic.
• When people ask you, “how are you doing?” answer them honestly. You’re not always feeling great and by telling them how you really feel, you are engaging them in an honest conversation.
• There are two types of startups that determine how your day will go. If you have investors, every day has to be a great day because you are selling the dream. When you’re bootstrapping a company, it’s impossible for every day to be a good day.
• Before seeking funding, entrepreneurs need to know what investments they want to make in the next 12 months into their business, what they are realistically going to cost, and what the benefit from them will be.
• In turbulent economic times, entrepreneurs should plow through by focusing on their businesses and the opportunities available to them. No one knows what’s happening in the big picture so shut out the outside noise.
• If your business received financial assistance from the government, it’s important to have a plan for it and make sure to use it in authorized ways. The next lender you approach will want to know exactly what you did with it.
• Never borrow money without a plan and you should never borrow money without understanding what you plan to do with it or why you’re borrowing it.

Quote of the Show:

• “Leadership is about being true to yourself” - Ami Kassar

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amikassar/
• Email: [email protected]
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/amikassar
• Company website: https://www.multifunding.com/
• Daily Blog: https://www.amisights.com/
• The Growth Dilemma: https://www.growthdilemma.com/
• AmiSights Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amisights-financing-the-future-for-small-business/id1551857592

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The Impactful Leadership Show is sponsored by the DC Chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization. Learn more at https://www.eodcnetwork.org/home

The Impactful Leadership Show is produced by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through B2B podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/