He’s also a licensed acupuncturist who is currently the Chair of Professional Development at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, who teaches hundreds of acupuncture students how to launch their practices.

In the following interview, I asked him five questions, including “What are success indicators? When you are working with someone new, what tells you that they are most likely going to be successful?”

I loved his answer. I was also surprisingly touched by his answer to my first question. And surprised again at his answer to my fifth question. It’s a little less than ten minutes, and I think you’ll get a lot out of it.

I made this interview to go with the free learning series we’re currently doing. I just sent out the second lesson, but you can still get that, and the first lesson, if you register for the series.

The Second Lesson Wasn’t About Funnel Cakes

Funnel cakes are one thing, product funnels are another. I’ve really liked funnel cakes, at least before we were gluten-free.

I’ve never really liked the idea of a product funnel. If you aren’t familiar, a product funnel is the metaphor meant to communicate using an inexpensive or free first offer to get as many people into the funnel as possible. Then, you hit them with progressively more and more expensive offers.

It feels a little like a meat grinder. The funnel concept has the benefit of helping a business be profitable and more into momentum, but it doesn’t necessarily feel so great to implement it.

There’s a different way to approach this issue. We call it Sequence and Flow, and it’s your second lesson in this free learning series.

To get Sequence and Flow, and the first lesson, just click on the faucet:

June has been teasing us, here in Oregon. We’ve had a few bright blue days in the 70s and 80s (that’s 20s for my celsius friends), but otherwise gray, cloudy, wet, cooler.

The wisdom ’round here is that you can count on sunshine and our famous summer weather starting on July 4, before that it’s hit or miss. So I’ve been taking my vitamin D, getting outside despite cloudy skies, and otherwise just getting ready for summer.

This has included planting squash, cucumbers, greens, beets, cabbages, dill, and parsley. I might or might not get to the tomatoes.

I’m not ordinarily much of a gardener, but in prayer while at my Masters of Divinity retreat a few months ago, I saw that, 1) I needed to get outside more and my promises to start bike riding solo just weren’t happening- mainly because I’m a social person and it’s hard to do that on my own and 2) We’re at a very… full… stage in our twins’ lives: they are 2 1/2. Have you ever lived with two three-foot tall tornadoes? Me neither. But this comes close.

So gardening was a way that I could still be close to home in case of need, and do something that really supports the family, get some exercise and get outside. Win-win-win. Loving it.

However, the biggest surprise for me was the bed where I planted the greens and cabbages and beets. I dug it all up, added compost, extended the size of the bed to make room for a few more plants. Even climbed on a ladder to trim the laurel/blackberry forest so sunlight could reach one corner of the bed.

Then, in between the robust, big kale plants were…. lots and lots of little baby kale plants. “Volunteers” gardeners call them, coming in from last time we planted, which wasn’t last year.

It’s crazy, there’s a lot of them! Gardener wisdom would’ve had me thin them out, but I was delighted by all the greens, I’ve let them grow in. It would be a problem, except we’ve been eating big bunches of fresh greens every day, so they aren’t choking each other off.

Having all of these extra greens from doing a bit of work is a form of garden momentum.

Not Just The Garden

We’re experiencing it in Heart of Business, too, where seeds planted over the past few years are continuing to bear fruit, in terms of opportunities, revenue, relationships, expanding audience.

Some businesses never seem to gain momentum, perpetually starting at zero every month.

Even after years in business, there’s maybe a little bit of momentum, but it perpetually feels like an uphill climb. And when something challenging happens, as it does to all of us (three pediatrician visits in a week, anyone? Don’t worry, everyone’s okay.) can your business handle it without sinking?

Momentum is not just a good idea, it’s what makes business fun. It’s also what makes giving your gift to people easy. Momentum doesn’t necessarily mean aiming for a huge six or seven-figure business, as some people like to propose.

Momentum is just the simple idea, like riding a bike downhill, that your business has enough parts working well together that a little bit of effort is multiplied, and the whole thing starts to move on its own.

Why don’t you join us July through December, and get the practical and spiritual support to move your business towards momentum? Wouldn’t it be nice to coast into 2012 without as much effort as your putting in now?

The early-bird deadline is today. Which means for the Core and Premium programs you need to apply by today to get the early-bird price. And for the DIY version, you need to click the register button and make your first payment.

So, without further ado, here’s my first public attempt at a Heart of Business video. Be gentle. I promise I’ll blink more next time…