Uncover Estonia's best-kept secrets and the power of a simple "sorry" with Indrek Poldvee. Our latest episode takes you through the cobbled streets of innovation, where Indrek, the entrepreneurial wizard behind B2B Growth, reveals how Estonia's history of resilience has cultivated a culture ripe for invention and self-reliance. Feel the spirit of the Baltic Way and understand why for Estonians, entrepreneurship is more than a career—it's a lifeline.
Venture into the world of customer connection with our deep dive into Sorry as a Service, where businesses are turning apologies into art and gratitude into gold. Indrek and I discuss the underestimated impact of acknowledging mistakes and the potency of personalized gestures. Taking it beyond the boardroom, we impart actionable advice on how you can integrate authentic appreciation into your daily life to fortify relationships and leave lasting impressions.
We wrap up with the essential ingredients for a robust LinkedIn presence and the cultivation of mental resilience. From the secrets of strategic self-branding to the art of maintaining positivity amidst challenges, this episode is a treasure trove of insights. Join us as we chart the course for personal fulfillment and professional triumph, proving that sometimes, true growth is about more than just the bottom line.
Indrek's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/indrek-poldvee-sales-marketing-coach/
To Reach Jordan:
Email: Jordan@Edwards.Consulting
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ejFXH1_BjdnxG4J8u93Zw
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordan.edwards.7503
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanfedwards/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanedwards5/
Hope you find value in this. If so please provide a 5-star and drop a review.
Complimentary Edwards Consulting Session: https://calendly.com/jordan-555/intro-call
Uncover Estonia's best-kept secrets and the power of a simple "sorry" with Indrek Poldvee. Our latest episode takes you through the cobbled streets of innovation, where Indrek, the entrepreneurial wizard behind B2B Growth, reveals how Estonia's history of resilience has cultivated a culture ripe for invention and self-reliance. Feel the spirit of the Baltic Way and understand why for Estonians, entrepreneurship is more than a career—it's a lifeline.
Venture into the world of customer connection with our deep dive into Sorry as a Service, where businesses are turning apologies into art and gratitude into gold. Indrek and I discuss the underestimated impact of acknowledging mistakes and the potency of personalized gestures. Taking it beyond the boardroom, we impart actionable advice on how you can integrate authentic appreciation into your daily life to fortify relationships and leave lasting impressions.
We wrap up with the essential ingredients for a robust LinkedIn presence and the cultivation of mental resilience. From the secrets of strategic self-branding to the art of maintaining positivity amidst challenges, this episode is a treasure trove of insights. Join us as we chart the course for personal fulfillment and professional triumph, proving that sometimes, true growth is about more than just the bottom line.
Indrek's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/indrek-poldvee-sales-marketing-coach/
To Reach Jordan:
Email: Jordan@Edwards.Consulting
Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9ejFXH1_BjdnxG4J8u93Zw
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordan.edwards.7503
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordanfedwards/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanedwards5/
Hope you find value in this. If so please provide a 5-star and drop a review.
Complimentary Edwards Consulting Session: https://calendly.com/jordan-555/intro-call
Hey, what's going on guys? I got a special guest here today. He's deeply invested in LinkedIn marketing. It's Indrek Polve. He's the founder of B2B Growth, which focuses on companies and personal brands on LinkedIn. Indrek, I'm so excited to have you on the podcast today, because we're going to learn about Estonia, we're going to learn about entrepreneurship and we're going to learn about LinkedIn, because we're going to learn about Estonia, we're going to learn about entrepreneurship and we're going to learn about LinkedIn. So where did you get started? Why Estonia and what makes Estonia unique?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, first of all, I really appreciate you inviting me, jordan. It's fantastic to be in this podcast and, yeah so Estonia. So I'm pretty sure a lot of people have no clue about this country.
Speaker 1:I traveled. I was traveling for seven weeks in Europe. Estonia never popped on the radar.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's because we are very close to the Soviet border, so we have a borderline with Russia, and then our other neighbors are Finland and Latvia. So, and and again, like most people have never heard about it, I am. I am from the capital, thailand, and the country has the one point, let's say, 1.2 million population and have like close to 600,000 is in the capital. So, oh, wow, it's a small country and and most, most of things happen in capital, and uh, and yeah, so that's uh, uh, that's like a very small, rough introduction to the, to the estonian culture absolutely, and when we did our intro call, what really Absolutely.
Speaker 2:And when we did our intro call, what really cultivated me or interested me was the entrepreneurial culture that Estonia has. So the thing is with, with the, with the Estonian and all the Eastern Europe part, like I think I don't know if a lot of people know but uh, we were under Soviet union from 45 to 91. Uh and uh. So we, we, we have had our freedom like 30 years or so, and and the under Soviet union, the problem was like it was very challenging, to be honest. And the thing is with, like this was in the 80s like you got, you went to store, the store was empty and you can buy stuff only with a coupon, et cetera. Like we had like a hundred people lines waiting for the bread, and when you have a coupon, you get the bread, and if you didn't have, you couldn't get it, and so it was like crazy stuff like this happening. And and in these times also, a lot of people, they, they like what are you going to say? I scratch your back, you scratch my back, and et cetera. So, and when, when Estonia became free, so it was like a wild, wild west, a little bit like because we were just founding our own national currency. There was nothing like we didn't have a government correctly and et cetera, et cetera, but we fought for our freedom. Oh, this is also an interesting fact for listeners Estonia, how we got our freedom.
Speaker 2:That's where we are called in Europe the singing nation. We had our song festival. We had like over a couple of hundred thousand people participate in. We have it in every four years like the Olympics. And then we had in Estonia. We have the neighbors in Latvia and Lithuania. We are called the Baltic States, lithuania, we are called the Baltic States, and we had a human chain, a hand chain, through all three countries in the 90s. So that was also in the news and we got covered. So this was also part of the freedom. So we had like all these three countries full of people were holding hands, like for one day. So it was like a human chain.
Speaker 2:So we had all those things happening and when we got the freedom, so, as I mentioned, it was like the wild, wild west, and then people needed to be entrepreneurial to survive. That was also one of the things that, as I mentioned, in the Russian times, everybody needed to know some things to do. Like, if the car broke down, you couldn't call a repairman you need to fix it yourself. If there's something was happening with the plumbing, you needed to fix it yourself. Like, uh, there were no like, so to say, all the time, handyman, et cetera, people available. So, uh, my parents and et cetera, everybody fixed their own stuff and built their own homes and et cetera. So so that is also. That is like um, um, how can I say? Sometimes it's an advantage as a disadvantage, because disadvantage is people didn't know how to ask for help, so this is the mind a bit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and when you think about that, if people are in the beginning and they're always utilizing everybody else, if they're not utilizing everybody else, they have to do everything on their own, which is what a lot of us did when america was founded. It was the 1700s, late 1800s. Everyone's a farmer, everyone's got to cook their own food, like do their thing. Now, fast forward 200 years. We're all. We go to food stores, we do all these different things and that's. It's funny, because as you do that, then you start to become realizing the skill sets that each of the individuals has. But when you're an entrepreneur, you kind of got to do all of that. So I get where the culture comes from. It's a very interesting proposition there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and again, if there are some Estonians listening, then again I'm, I'm, I'm telling my version of the story. There are a lot of gaps and stuff, that, that that I might not know, and and et cetera. And then, but again, like when we got the freedom, our government was quite active, and and again, like they knew that, um, uh, we couldn't catch up with a lot of companies, countries that we needed to differentiate with, with others before, because before, like, the Soviet Union got us, like we were quite highly developed society, because Estonian had more people who could read and write than, I think, in Finland or Sweden and we had quite a lot of like this manufacturing. So the government issued, like they started the program. It's called the Tiger Jump and what it meant.
Speaker 2:It started to teach children coding in our early, very early case classes and I we had, like these computers called yukus, so so these were like, very like, yeah, basic, basic, basic computers, but but the kids learned, learned Gates, learned the coding and thanks to that, like 2002 or 2004, estonians founded a company called Skype. So that was our biggest, so to say, success stories in the entrepreneurship world and people started to believe that everybody can do it, and that was also like a huge beacon of light for a lot of people that wow, entrepreneurship, startups and all these things that started to grow a lot.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and if you look at the population of Estonia and how many companies there are, how many businesses, it's pretty incredible. And to have a business like Skype, that billions of dollars unicorn like it's a very confidence building thing. So I share that, just through the audience. When a lot of us think about these situations, where we see ourselves or we see someone who struggled even more than us, it's oh, that's possible. And now for estonia, they finally have that beacon of hope, someone who's casual like them, who's done the challenging thing, and now it inspires people to go.
Speaker 2:I can build a business too yeah, yeah, definitely and definitely, and, and and.
Speaker 2:Then I think skype was the incubator of in estonia.
Speaker 2:So thanks to skype, they they got a lot of traction, they got a lot of investments and then they hired the best people to come to Estonia and they teach the Estonians inside Skype, like how to develop, how to manage, and da da, da da. So they got a lot of skills. And the next, like six, seven years, whenever you went to a pitching competition, I think Skype was sold, like in 2010 or 11 or something like that and then the next like four or five years at least. Uh, like I think 90 of the pitches, uh, when, when you, when you listen to them, were like I'm the ex-employee of skype, I'm the ex-employee of skype, so like you've got all the time, like all and and these people were super, super amazing and and and thanks to them, like they, they built another unicorns and today I think we have 11 or maybe 12 unicorns and I know at least two or three companies who will become unicorns in the next one to two years. So unicorns are billion dollar valuation companies and we are number one in the world per people.
Speaker 1:We have the most unicorns per people in the world per people, like we have the most unicorns per people. So that's incredible. It's very, very uncommon, but I want this to kind of be a point for everyone that when you surround yourself with like-minded people, so basically the company, the, the country of estonia is kind of an epicenter for entrepreneurship, so everyone is doing entrepreneurship, they're all sitting around, they're learning from everybody all the time. Seeing these different ways of thinking it causes people to level up. So for you, the audience, when you guys are listening, it's what groups or what communities can I get into? Level up where I want to be at? Because sometimes it's you change your environment will change everything for you.
Speaker 2:Oh, a hundred percent. And again, like it's a, it's not as rosy as everything like is growing and happening here. It just it's, it's a. It's a. Cool things to say about Estonia. These things happen entrepreneurship, and also with.
Speaker 2:What I want to definitely mention is Estonian e-government. They can sign up and become Estonian e-residents. So we are the only country in the world, I think, right now, who offers e-residency. And it doesn't mean that you can get the citizenship of this country, but you get registered yourself. They send you an identification card and you can sign documents with it. You can open a company in Estonia. There are over 30,000 companies that are registered already.
Speaker 2:So and again, like it's the way of thinking, like our population is like growing, or growing very slowly, and it was negative, the growth was like some years ago, and then again you start to think what can we do, how we can increase our growth, and then, hey, let's do an e-residency. Basically, yes, our country is still small, but again, there is a lot of countries where people want to go away and then maybe migrate to Estonia or open a company here, and et cetera, et cetera. So this is our, so to say, worldwide advantage. Let's be extremely digital because, for example, electronic voting has gone. We have been electronically, so to say, done voting from 2003 or 4. And also.
Speaker 2:I think this is also really cool. I can do my taxes in maybe three to four minutes. It will take yeah, because every so to say, everything is digital. So I just log into my tax office account, I select yes, yes, yes, maybe I need to add a couple of things, and then, most of the time, maximum five minutes.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow. And that's a fascinating thing that the entire country thinks in this capacity, because they realize what advantages can we have that we don't have, like, we don't have a lot of space, we don't have that big of a population, but if we start a mark digitally, everyone's on the internet. Like we're talking right now through the computer and it's like we're all on the internet. So why not capitalize on that and promote that in some sort of capacity? Which is fascinating to me, that the government is so forward thinking and that, yeah, it's just really fascinating. So, with your career, how did this kind of open your eyes, like, like, where did you start? And then, how did you get into entrepreneurship for yourself?
Speaker 2:yeah, so. So, yeah, the entrepreneurship it's, it's, it's a long time, uh, so to say, path, you know it's a doesn't happen overnight, because, again, like uh, now that, like, yes, we are talking about entrepreneurship and etc. But, again, like most of the people's depending on the age, uh, their parents are not extremely supportive for their entrepreneurship because, again, like you need to have a safe job, you need to have safe, this like don't start an entrepreneur, and so on. My parents are something similar. So it's become like, uh, they are they, they don't start an entrepreneur, and so on and so on. My parents are something similar.
Speaker 2:So it's become like they don't understand what I do. They know I do something, but still they would be more happier if I had a very soft and cushy job in some office, so to say, because then they can tell people like he works in that office or that building or something like that, because right now everything is quite remote and sometimes traveling, sometimes doing other things. So, and what you said before, like finding the surround yourself with people who are similar to you and smarter and also who are more positive, people Like this has also been a struggle for me because, again, finding the people who will support you and you need sometimes you only need one person who believes in you and then you can start. So I found that person and, thanks to these amazing people, I went into the startup journey in 2015. So we had a company and okay, now it's going to sound the name of the company was Sorry as a Service.
Speaker 1:That's funny.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so and in short, so technical people and founders understand that. So short, it's a SaaS. So it's because normally people say SaaS companies or software as a service. So we had Sorry as a Service, so we had Sory as a service.
Speaker 1:Oh, I get what you're saying. That's funny. That's funny. So software as a service, what is that? Just for the audience to understand, just briefly, if they don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so software as a service are companies that are technical. So basically whatever app or whatever you can imagine like, they are called software as a service. But Sori as a service, what we did, sori as a service we had a company that we sent from the customer to say thank you or sorry if something went wrong. So basically we had our customers in UK and, for example, delivery company was our customer and then when they missed a delivery or something like that, they sent sorry to the customer, et cetera. They closed the account and then they had a small button inside their CRM, the customer service and management system, that I want to say thank you or I want to say sorry. And then they wrote the message and hi, jordan, really sorry that this happened, or Jordan, thank you for your patience with us. And then we sent a handmade cookie or a handmade card or something like that. It went to the customer home. So, and we saw a huge increase of the positive support that the customers had to that company- Wow, no, because it's true.
Speaker 1:It's recognition and people realizing that, hey, if you recognize me, and even when people own up to their mess ups which is huge, if a company is willing to do that and you guys had that sorry as a service you kind of sit there and go here's your cookie or here's your sorry card or your whatever. We really hope that it doesn't affect anything.
Speaker 2:and if it does, and it was, it was. It was really cool to see the people's reactions because people really thought that the bigger companies send them, sending them. And then there were also we found out like, uh, like, saying sorry. It actually it's uh, when you, when you are in the uk, people say sorry about everything, like if they uh, like and it's so elevated. Or or the the UK people say sorry about everything Like if they like and it's so elevated, or the word doesn't mean sorry anymore. It's like people say, whatever you do, like, sorry, but it's saying sorry is actually a huge art to say sorry Because, again, like, if it's not your fault but the people think it's your fault, then I actually don't say sorry and I say thank you for your patience. But if it's my fault and I did it, then I say sorry and like.
Speaker 2:There are different ways to how to say sorry. And also, when you're sending something to people to say sorry about or thank you about, like thank you, jordan, for having me this podcast and et cetera, it doesn't matter the value of what you are sending. It really matters that you did it by hand or your hand. If you send, like, a $500 gift or you send a handwritten note. The handwritten note actually is more emotional the gift. You might go wrong or you might go randomly, and so if you send a gift basket and there is nothing, that's okay. But if you send a handwritten note and no basket, trust me, the handwritten note has bigger emotions than it's handwritten, because people think, wow, jordan really took time, hand wrote it, and etc. And and, then, and, and it's, it's um, how can I say it's still a huge advantage if you do these things in this digital age yeah, because a lot of people are going so above and beyond and they don't.
Speaker 1:They don't even consider it and they're't even consider it, and they're just like you're a customer. What I end up doing is, when I get clients or anything or maybe I have to skip a meeting or something comes up or I'm away I'll send them something just on Amazon, because Amazon can do it in one day and I don't need to hire a whole like sorry, it's a service, but it makes sense. Um, and I would just pick an item out that I, once I get to know them a little bit, I'll pick an item that I think would be valuable. You can get there in one day, and I'm like whoa, and people get their items and they're like whoa, thank you, like that made me feel good and I'm like there we go. That's all I was trying to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it makes a lot of sense but for you, maybe, maybe, tested, uh, why would really recommend, like uh, to buy like 10, 10 cards and then, uh, and also listeners, whoever if you, if you like, see the reactions especially, I think it's especially in us. You guys appreciate these things a lot more. Like, buy 10 cards, write a thank you note for your customers, for your, so to say, people that you work together, or with whoever, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 1:But take 10 cards. I got them yeah exactly you have them.
Speaker 2:So take 10 cards, just write a really nice thank you letter hey, I appreciate that you are in my life, I appreciate that or working with you, just want to say really thank you, Put your name and mail it and see the reactions. I the best thing that I did, especially with this new company that I have. I have a daughter and when she was like three years ago, 10 years old, she likes to paint, so she painted. I told her hey, I hired you. Basically she painted like six, seven cards and then I also, because my handwriting is quite terrible, I asked her can you hand write these things inside the cards? And then we posted to my partners and then they were really, really amazing. They sent thank you videos. They sent thank you videos, they sent stuff back. So it was so, so amazing, because these are emotional things that you do and you say Jay, thank you, you don't need to sell anything, you don't need to do anything, Just say your thank you and trust me that and if it's handwritten, it matters a lot to people, absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 1:And another, easier one that I do usually around the holidays is I'll do video voice messages, so it takes 30 seconds, it's personalized, it's your voice and it just gives them some recognition. I'm not saying I'm selling anything, but just say hey, like jordan, like you're doing amazing, like hope, all is well, like, and I would do that. And the responses were insane because everyone always wants to mirror and match how they, how you made them feel, which is funny and another thing, another thing to just just adding.
Speaker 2:There is something I learned, we learned also uh, I do not recommend the videos are amazing in holiday but I do not recommend to send any gifts or stuff on the holiday stuff. Because the thing is, for example I'm talking about the business to business partnership, For example if you're working with an agency or if you're working with a company, look at how many gifts they are getting in Christmas time. Everybody's sending them. They have like maybe 40, 50 gifts. Whatever you send, they don't see it. But if you send it a month before or two months after, if you send in February hey, Jordan, I just wanted to say thank you for your amazing last year and I just wanted to send you a gift and you're always in my thoughts or whatever your partners, trust me, nobody sends gifts in February or end of middle of January or something like that. And because Christmas time is over and then a surprise comes, trust me, it has much more benefits than you're sending on Christmas time.
Speaker 1:A hundred percent. The surprise component is massive. The other big thing about the surprise component is when you get when people have no idea and the prices are better on everything. Everything's just cheaper. Yeah, cause they. They just blow up the prices. So what is would you end up doing after that? Or how how did that one finish up?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, so with that company, we we didn't have wild success. So 2019, there was a another company, they, they bought us and then, yeah, it was four years. So it was, it was challenging ups and downs, up and down and it like, uh, I start, I, I actually felt the true power of entrepreneurship because, like, uh, you know, like in the beginning you're highly motivated and you just go from the energy because we, we ourselves minimum salary, and then it was I burned out quite, quite heavily in the startup, because the crazy things in the startup scenes I think that's not talked a lot, it's the mental side because a lot of investors and so that they put you a huge, huge pressure. That they don't say that they put the pressure, but you put the pressure on yourself because everybody's expecting you to become a new unicorn or 100 million year revenue company and if you don't become, then it's this pressure that kills you. Like you think you're not performing, you're not giving your best. That's crazy you bring up.
Speaker 1:You bring up these points and it's. It's funny because I was listening to this and I spoke to my group last night and we were kind of talking about this topic of happiness and there was this podcast I listened to, uh, and the guy was uh, the google. Uh, he ran, he was the chief business officer for google x and what he talked about was the happiness formula and it was event minus expectations. So the event there is um, have a wildly success.
Speaker 1:The event is you living your life, building the startup. The expectations are have a hundred million dollar business. You're you're going to be unhappy, like you will be unhappy, if you use that formula, cause the reason I'm sharing the formula is because it was so relevant and when we sit there and really think about it, like happiness equals the event we had minus the expectations we had. So if the event exceeds the expectations, then we always have a great experience. Now, when we get money and a startup and there's investment, the pressure is mounting because the expectations are so high that it's almost to the point where the event cannot oversee the expectations.
Speaker 2:Exactly. And then you're pushing and your and everything happens in your mind and the challenge is again, like I mentioned also in estonia, not a lot of parents or older generation people. They don't know what is a startup, what is a new enterprise. They want to, to work in a new, uh, safe, cushy job like you, have fixed income and etc. You, everybody knows what's happening and you could build a career. But again, entrepreneurs are a little bit differently, differently wired, I think, and again like but. But the challenge is, if you don't have the right people, uh, uh, uh, so to say, surrounding you, you don't, you have nobody to talk to, and if you don't have nobody to talk to all the things in your mind that you keep them and it goes worse and worse and worse and worse. And then I, I, uh, uh. I burned out quite, quite, quite heavily in 2018.
Speaker 1:Like oh wow I know the reason I'm smiling kind of like putting this all together is because, with Edwards Consulting, that's what we did. Like it's literally meetings of entrepreneurs or individuals who are in their business, entrepreneurs or salespeople or whoever like people that want a better life, Because there's so many times where you don't get to have that conversation, like you're saying and so what happened after the burnout in 2018?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, or 2017, or something like that, so, so, yeah. Then then I burned out like quite heavily and and the thing that got me out was gratitude. So there's a journal, there is a really cool gratitude book a five minute, a five minute gratitude or or a five minute journal oh, that was the name Five minute journal. I, I, I listened to a lot of podcasts, like Tim Ferriss is my favorite right now, like a long time so, and he said he's using it, and then I ordered it and after two months, three months, I had the gratitude, so to say, passed that every morning I was grateful about three things what I want to do today, what I want to do well today. So, and then I got out of my head like because a lot of focus, why I burned out was because I focused on other people and other companies, like they are more successful than me, they have blah, blah, blah, blah. So like I think 30, 40% of my brain activity went to that. But with gratitude, I found like I still have legs, I still have arms, I still have eyes, I have functioning brain, a little bit like whatever, how it works, and I can still do a lot of things, and then that helped me and then I started my own podcast about entrepreneurship in Estonia, in Estonian language, and then I started to surround myself with the right, correct people and bond relationships like that and that really, really, really helped me to get over the burnout.
Speaker 2:It took about like two years or two and a half years before I felt like, okay, now you have the energy again. You have like there's still challenges, but again like you face them and the biggest thing that the gratitude did, you didn't have problems anymore. You had just challenges that you needed to overcome. So it's like a different challenges or opportunities. So you started to see like all the people were before also there, but with you thinking negatively, you don't see this opportunity, you don't see these people. But if you start to think positively, you do, you're grateful for what you have, and I want to say I'm not religious or anything, just the gratefulness. I think it's a, it's so powerful and then things work.
Speaker 1:I completely agree with the gratitude, because when you're grateful, you can't be angry, you don't have anxiety, you're not thinking about other people, you're actually supportive. It's like I'm grateful for my existence and if you're doing great, amazing. Because the whole thing about like comparisons, the thief of joy, it's so true. And especially when you're always judging yourself, like, oh, we just started. At the same time I should be further ahead. And it's like further ahead in what? And it's like when money is the only answer. Like the real thing, I think, is really building a lifestyle that you want, that allows you to cultivate a happiness. Because there's so many times where we focus so hard on just I want to do this, I want to do that great. But like, how do you want to build the lifestyle you want? So how did you start taking steps in those directions?
Speaker 2:yeah. So again, like I 100 agree with you and and and uh, again, like it was the gratitude. The thing is like, like you started to do new things and then, uh, you enjoy the journey and not, uh, not the mountain you conquer. And then the thing it doesn't mean you don't have ambitions, it's just if you don't achieve these things that you wanted, it's also okay. You know, you, you say like it's, it's I, I still, and that that. That is that is why I'm mentioning Tim Ferriss.
Speaker 2:I think they have many quotes from there, but I really loved his uh, uh way of thinking of life is, uh, for example, if you start a new project, or if you start a new company, or you invest money in something and, let's say, it goes horribly, you have an amazing story to tell. If it goes, if it goes well, then you have okay story to tell, because all the stories that were a happy ending, these are nice to hear, but all the best stories are when you have failed miserably or when you. And also, the thing is, I really sort of say, remove the word failure or failing from my vocabulary and it's all experimentation, so life is experimenting. So this is the thing I'm uh, it's all experimentation, so life is experimenting. So so this is.
Speaker 2:This is the thing like I'm experimenting a lot and right now, also in in what I do, I try to experiment every day something. So I, in other terms, I try to fail every day a little bit, because that is the fastest way you can learn. If you, if you constantly uh, test and see, the problem, the is you need to learn from those things. With what you experiment, that is the main thing that you always need to learn from them. So this was my path also. So I started learning, I started to do, and then 2019, we sold the startup and then I started this new company, B2B Growth, which focuses on LinkedIn. So that's basically.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's incredible and I think the major thing is just really focusing on how the perspective needs to be in the proper use and how it's not failure but it's learning and it's also skill acquisition. Like a lot of us don't talk about that, but when you think about it, like, say, you went through something and it failed or it didn't work out the way you wanted to, well, I did learn a new skill. And it's like what skill did you learn? And then once we start realizing that everything is just skill acquisition whether it's us on a podcast or it's learning Muay Thai or it's learning LinkedIn, it's all just skills and you only learn by getting reps and once we realize that it's like okay, like that didn't work out, cool, I learned a new skill and now I'm ready to apply that skill somewhere else.
Speaker 1:And it doesn't mean that you're like, every time you have to restart. It's just as you put yourself in that brain of like I need to learn. It forces us to grow and continue to progress, which I think is amazing. So I think that's awesome. So, for you, what was the idea around b2b growth? What were you thinking and like how has it been? And why linkedin? Where's the opportunity there?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah, no, and and the and the points that opportunities that you mentioned. This, uh is so true because, again, like I think a lot of people don't have the mindset of uh, I I see it a lot like people say, oh shit, I failed and I'm not good, and the inner talk that you, you start in the bit in yourself, that that's like like I had it also in that A great indicator, yeah, the way you speak to yourself.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's, it's so crazy how people, people and I totally understand that, because I had the same because, like, uh, if you, if you will approach me, 2016, 2017, uh, talking about gratitude and and all this, I would say, hey, like, go and talk to somebody else Like I don't believe in those things. And again, like, go and talk to somebody else, like I don't believe in those things. And again like, and it is difficult to listen to people who say, oh, be grateful and everything is good and so, yeah, no, it's like challenges happen and shitty times happen, and it doesn't mean that there are no shitty times anymore, it's just you can recover faster from them. And again, like, if you have a positive mindset, and the mindset is not like, oh, how I have failed, but actually how I can see an opportunity, it just opens up new, new possibilities.
Speaker 1:So I just wanted to yeah, no, a hundred percent, I mean. The one other thing I was going to add is I think the biggest flaw that a lot of people have is their definitions. So like we have definitions for a lot of things that are very vague, which cause us to kind of sit there and not know exactly what it takes or what it's required. So like, one of the easiest ones I've been talking about a lot is like the good day versus bad day. So like, when someone gives me their definition of a good day, it's like here you could do it Like what's your definition of a good day?
Speaker 2:For me, oh, just even if I wake up and have a smile in my face and just go, and that's already a good day so that's it.
Speaker 1:That's the answer. There's some people you ask what's your definition of a good day? And I ask the and I share this with the audience because I know this is super valuable like you should go out there and ask them what their definition of a good day is. And if they tell you like, oh, I have to work out, feel accomplished, sell a deal, do all this, then by the end of the day, you're like dude, that's a lot to do and like that qualifies as a good day. And then when you ask someone like what's their definition of a bad day, they'll usually make it like super easy, like I got angry, that's okay. Like, but a bad day should actually be really hard to attain.
Speaker 1:So, like, for me, it's like and tony robbins talks about this it's someone close to me passes away. That's the only time you have a bad day. Because, like, when people come home from work and they're like this person yelled at me this for the I had a bad day. It's like no, you didn't. No, you didn't like, you didn't have a bad day, you had a great day. And there were like no, you didn't. No, you didn't Like, you didn't have a bad day, you had a great day and there were some things that bothered you and you sat in there and didn't do anything. You let them bother you. So the whole point of this is that you have to take control of your life and you, you create how you feel.
Speaker 2:So if you want to be upset, go be upset, but I'm letting you know that you create that, so yeah, 100, but it's easy to say that and because, again, like it's the same, when, uh, when, uh, when you do a training and there are maybe 100 people listening and then 99 say you did an amazing job and one for the feedback and one person said, oh, that gives you, gives one out of 10, and the others are like nine and tens, you focus on the one more, like, yes, 90 percent of it. So the thing is also with the same of the day-to-day life. If you have an amazing day and then there is some, some person, somebody who will disturb all, the, all, the or your day, it doesn't matter how amazing your day is, it's, it's, it's really, really, really difficult to control that and and sometimes it's just letting it go. And because I love the, I think this is the, this is a history, is one of the best, the best songs is I don't know if you know the, disney's, disney's, elsa, the, the, the cartoon, and there she sings let it go, the, the, the song.
Speaker 2:I have my daughter, we watched the movie a hundred times but I think the, the, the, the message for the for of the, of the song is perfect because let it go, like some things you cannot change. Just let it go and let it go, and let it go multiple times in your head and it goes away Like if you can.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. And I think the other thing is realizing that you can only control you. So like I can't control how people react to me If you were reacting to sort of what, but like, once you come to the conclusion of that, it's like like sometimes you say hi to someone and they tell you to kick rocks and you're like OK, man, that's all good, you have your own stuff going on, I'm not going to get in the way of that. Seems like exciting stuff.
Speaker 2:It's fascinating and how you can develop. But again, like it's, it's not as easy as you say. Theoretically it's 10 times easier than practically. You need to put a lot of work on it and I'm sure, with your coaching and everything, there are still like you need to do the gratitude or journaling or whatever the methodology is. You need to do it.
Speaker 1:Well, it's that. But I also think the idea is simple, like you said, but it's the conditioning of your mind. So as you wake up and you start applying this everywhere you go, like you have someone called, like I had some guy call me, I was calling different people. And he calls me and he's like, yeah, man, like why'd you call me? And I was like, oh, to offer you this thing. And he's like, oh well, it was never on your list, I didn't do that.
Speaker 1:He was in a very fast aggravated state. I'm like, okay, man, no worries, like because you just have to realize like there's no point in trying to fight with everyone or fight with anyone, and it's just like if they're not in the right place, they're not in the right place. But you just have to have an understanding that you can only control you and if you want to work on that, fantastic and like that's kind of all I'm offering because, indirect, you're right, it's not just flip a switch, I'm suddenly the happiest guy ever. It's like, no, it takes time. And like, as you build up the skill set of uh, mental resilience, pretty much it like helps build you up. So I know we're winding down, let's get into it what? What's going on with linkedin? What's going on with b2b growth?
Speaker 2:I'm loving the way this conversation is going by the way, no, no, same same here and uh and again, like, as I mentioned, like in 2019, when we sold the, sold the company, I didn't know what to do. I, I had like uh, three months of uh, of uh, so to say savings my bank account oh, so okay yeah, three months.
Speaker 2:So I needed to think what I'm doing. A friend of mine recommended that hey, there is no linkedin expert in Estonia, so, and then I started to check in and then and again, like LinkedIn is the world's biggest business to business sales and recruitment tool and then actually in Estonia not a lot of people use it correctly. And then that's where I saw the opportunity. So so, yeah, so been been focusing on that and I love the remote stuff that we have been available to do, like the COVID was actually, so to say, a positive and negative, but in COVID time we saw that actually you can work wherever you can if you can build that kind of a, and I see the opportunity right now in LinkedIn.
Speaker 2:Also, like a lot of sales and personal branding, and right now we are focusing quite a lot of employer branding, which is really really super important, because Estonian companies they also sort of say, fight for the same employees with the US companies, with Amazon, with Microsoft. They are the same people that you are fighting, basically, and most of the people you're hiring through LinkedIn. So we are there to assist them to how to can stand out and et cetera. So we focus on that and what are?
Speaker 1:what are some of these? Some tricks that the audience could take away. That on linkedin, because I know some people go to it just when it's job time or when they want to change a job like is that the approach, or or is there a better way of doing this?
Speaker 2:oh so, yeah, so you so you don't want me to talk about the LinkedIn stuff I can talk, like then the podcast will go like through three or two days. So but just to give you an example, because we're working with bigger companies and one of the things that I see that a lot of companies they don't know is about company pages. They have very few companies have a strategic approach to company accounts, like who is the target audience, what they want to say, then writing it about topics, about themselves, and then also having a really clear background image. So for the personal pages and also company pages, these background images, they matter a lot. They are like free advertising banners where you can, if you're looking for a job, why not write there hey, I'm looking for a job at this and this, so to say, job, or these are the titles that I want to go for.
Speaker 2:If a recruiter looks at your profile and see, hey, I'm really great at digital marketing or something like that, I'm really great at digital marketing or something like that, and then I also apply to the job, it makes it a little bit easier. And what we see is with the bigger companies, where we're doing we have done over a thousand profile makeovers in the last three years, and the biggest thing is the background image and writing the right about section, because it takes about eight to nine hours to finish one profile, so to say, with the copywriting et cetera. So it's not as easy to just hey, I put a picture and then my profile is ready. So this is something I definitely do not recommend, because it's an extremely strategic place and also what I really really need to think is the CEOs and the owners of the company that they have really well written about sections and all the other things, because this is your online digital business card.
Speaker 2:Like, what is the online story about you? So what is the story that you want that your ideal audience will read about you? So, having these all these small things figured out that I know it's again winded answer, but but, uh, it just takes a little bit time. It's like playing chess with with the people and and having a really really cool, uh, online story absolutely, but it's.
Speaker 1:It's the diving into it and realizing that like I wanted people to listen to that and be like, wait a second, what does that even mean? I felt linkedin. I just post this because the thing is like when you talk to experts, it's like whoa. There's a lot more to this thing. It's not as easy as just let me do this and for you, indrek, I know, when we talked on the intro call, is there anything, anything that you could provide or like give to the audience?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm more than happy. So people who are listening and they see that what I'm talking or the LinkedIn stuff, it's interesting Then I'm more than happy to give a free profile audit to people who want to connect with me, profile audit to the people who want to connect with me, and and then we can take the conversations because, again, like, the reason why I'm I am in this podcast and hopefully bringing enough value is again I'm as you, as you heard, estonia is quite small territory, so I'm I'm trying to expand into the U S and and and getting some trust in the in the U S market also.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. So we'll put a link if you guys want to reach out to Indrek and do that complimentary analysis, because what's going to end up happening is you'll get the insights on what you might be missing or what might make it feel better. And what people don't realize is that when you're looking for jobs or clients or whatever feel better and what people don't realize is that when you're looking for jobs or clients or whatever, if you get one client or you get one new job and you get a $20,000 raise, you're like worth it, like it's these little things that can really promote it. And a lot of people don't understand the little things. So I really appreciate that. Is there anywhere else you want to direct people and where can they learn more about B2B growth and everything going on there?
Speaker 2:Oh, it's. Everything happens into the LinkedIn account, so we will add my LinkedIn profile. Just hit me up there. That is the best way to communicate. All my contacts and details are there, and that's the best way.
Speaker 1:That's the easiest. I love it, I love it, I love it. Well, I super appreciate the time and this has been fascinating and I can't wait for everyone to hear it.
Speaker 2:Thank you yeah, thank you also for your time, really really appreciate it.