"Entrepreneurship in Kansas City Will Drive Growth in the Future"

Think Big Partners’ Q&A with TBKC speaker and CEO of Axcelerate Worldwide, Bob Smith. 


TBP (Think Big Partners): What made you interested in presenting at Think Big Kansas City?

Bob Smith of
Axcelerate Worldwide.

Bob: I’m an entrepreneur at heart.  I’m on my fourth business and I’ve consulted in over 200 industries all over the world.  The makeup of the Think Big Kansas City attendees really matched with the type of businesses that I play with.  I love interacting with entrepreneurs at that level.  And it looks like such a strong conference with attendees that are coming with purpose…with commitment and are looking for ways to increase and grow their businesses. It also is a great place to meet new people and discover new ideas in marketing.

TBP: What are you looking forward to most at Think Big Kansas City 2011?

Bob: Two things.  First, the networking.  Second, helping business owners and CEOs become more successful!  One of my policies in life is that I show up and give away everything that I can possibly give away.  I live out of a prosperity mindset.  I meet a lot of people who are trying to solve business growth problems.  I help people solve these problems and because we have a network from Brisbane, Australia to the UK and all across the United States.  I can help people create new solutions and new business connections from our private client rolodex.

TBP: What are you planning to present at Think Big Kansas City 2011? 

Bob: It’s all about metric marketing!  Marketing, business development and sales.  The whole idea is to show our attendees a proven formula that will translate all of the things they know about integrated marketing—online, offline, social media, pay-per-click campaigns, mobile marketing, just to name a few.  When I’m finished, attendees will walk away with a formula to plug into their business in order to translate their marketing into actual true dollars for bottom line growth.  In addition, I will be presenting extraordinary examples from our private client files that created millions of dollars in new sales from their marketing!

TBP: What makes you a good speaker for an entrepreneurship event like Think Big Kansas City? 

Bob: I’ve been there, done that.  I know how to create success from an idea!  I’ve built four multi-million dollar businesses and I’ve had one business that exceeded $100 million in revenues in less than 2 years. I have also had one failed business.  I have the “miles” and the experience to be able to share and relate to business people that are growing their business or are in need of growth.  I’m not just a speaker that talks about theory—I am an entrepreneur.  I live and breathe business growth and unique marketing strategies and ideas every day with my clients! I am going share this experience and real life examples with my audience.

TBP: What three things will people leave your presentation with?

Bob: They’ll leave with a proven formula for 30% growth in their hands.  They will get outrageous examples of great new marketing ideas that we have been incorporating with different clients around the country that are getting huge lift rates.  I will also show attendees what the future holds for growing businesses.

TBP: Why is entrepreneurship so important to bring to Kansas City or to the Midwest?   

Bob: The Midwest is one of the core assets of our country. The work ethic is amazing and entrepreneurship is what drives the economy.  People can talk about the big banks in the world, but they are not loaning enough money.  Entrepreneurship will be the driving force towards our recovery.  It’s interesting because I believe that entrepreneurship in Kansas City and its surrounding states is what is going to drive growth into the future because it’s not going to be done by big business—it’s going to be done by us! Our larger small business and mid-tier companies are driving the recovery now and I want to show them how to increase that activity!  

TBP: What’s the one piece of advice that you hope TBKC attendees leave with?

Bob: I want people to leave with ‘take action!’ mentality.  Whatever the attendees learn, I just hope they put it into place.  Test it, play with it, adjust it...and then just go market and grow.  If you try to think yourself into better actions, many times it does not work. Act yourself into better thinking and the results will follow.

TBP: How do you Think Big?

Bob: Prosperity.  Prosperity for everyone.  I just launched Axelerate Worldwide in the middle of a recession and it’s going like a rocket ship.  People wonder why I launched it.  But I have partners from all over the country that allow me to get Big.  It’s all about prosperity.  When we’re successful, the people around us will be successful too.

Interview conducted by Allison Way.
@AllisonThinkBig

Of the 182 Million Websites, How Will Yours Be Found?

Is your website being ignored?

In May of 2011, the Internet will run out of IP addresses.

Why, you ask?  There are simply too many Internet users.  And of the millions of Internet users in this world, a large majority of them are not using it correctly.

But, seriously, is there a wrong way to use the Internet?  For entrepreneurs and small business owners, of course there is.

Many entrepreneurs and small business owners find themselves developing great websites for their businesses, expecting traffic to their site to explode as soon as it is up and running.  But the truth of the matter is, of the 182 million webpages on the world wide web, it will be nearly impossible for potential customers to find your site…unless you implement a few key ingredients.  In all honesty, they are not just key ingredients—they are ingredients that can make or break your business.  They are the chocolate chips to the cookie, the dressing to the salad.  These small nuggets are what can make your business’s website searchable, impactful, and beneficial.

Join Think Big Partners for a Launch and Learn presentation made for any entrepreneur at any stage of business.  Herb Sih, co-founder of Think Big Partners and marketing, lead-generation expert, will present The Art and Science of Integrated Marketing (AKA Getting Thousands of Visitors to Your Site) on Thursday, February 17, from 11:30AM until 1:00PM.  This Launch And Learn will take place at bizperc, 1800 Baltimore, Kansas City, Missouri, on the 6^th floor.

Sih's 10 years of experience in the lead generation space has led him to co-found and develop an Inc. 500 company and launch many other successful companies throughout the Kansas City area.  With his vast experience in internet marketing, Sih has made the Think Big Kansas City Twitter account (@ThinkBigKC) one of the most-followed accounts in Kansas City today!

So if you’ve ever wondered why your website isn’t being visited by anybody but you and your close friends, why no one is reading your blog, or why no one seems to be searching for your company on Google, now is your chance to learn why.  But more importantly, this is your chance to improve your site, and therefore, build a stronger business.

So if you have an interest in…

• Learning how to drive more traffic to your website
• Creating online and offline revenue opportunities while serving your customer base
• Developing an integrated marketing strategy to connect to the right audience
• AND learning the five things you must NOT do online

…then this is the class for you!  Learn all about email, search engine marketing, content, pay-per-click advertising, the importance of social media, database marketing and strategic PR at this event!  Sih will walk you through how to engage your audience, get your site ranked higher on search engines and create an online business development process.

Sound good to you?  Register today and help your page become one of the 182 million websites that people are talking about!

Written by Allison Way.  Allison is a writer for Think Big Partners, Kansas City’s mentorship-based business incubator and startup accelerator.  To read more of Allison’s work, check out the Kansas City Entrepreneurship Examiner as well as her articles on Helium, eZine and BrooWaha.