The “Official Bio”
Lisa Robbin Young
Lisa Robbin Young is a performing artist, author, business coach and mentor, founding multiple businesses in her years as an entrepreneur. Lisa brings a sharp, analytical mind to being an entrepreneur in today’s multi-tasking world. Her ability to brainstorm and break problems into their smallest parts earned her a prestigious position in The Governor’s Problem Solving Institute before she started high school. According to her mother, Lisa’s been asking tough questions for over 30 years.
A National Merit and National Achievement Scholar, Lisa prides herself on both book smarts and common sense. An award winning writer, speaker, graphic artist and composer, Lisa has recorded two full-length albums, and published numerous articles, poems and literary works. She blends logic and creativity in her approach to life and business. She’s both directed and performed in numerous local theater productions and is currently working on an edu-tainment television series for the web. She also built one of the first ever e-commerce websites in the early 1990′s. And her kitchen sink is still full of dishes from time to time.
Lisa is known for her direct, no-nonsense approach to helping entrepreneurs pin-point the obstacles that keep them from being successful. She pulls no punches and isn’t afraid to tell it like it is – a refreshing, disruptive approach to our common thought patterns. Her breakthrough book “Home Party Solution” and the correlating web project, Direct Sales Classroom, provides specific hands-on training for direct sales consultants that want to build a profitable business, instead of an expensive hobby. Her coaching project, Business Action Hero, helps entrepreneurs find elegantly simple solutions to be more profitable in life and business. Lisa’s new book, The Secret Watch, is expected to be released early 2012.
In My Own Words…
I’m not your average Midwest girl.
Born to a low-income, bi-racial, blended family in fabulous Flint, Michigan (yeah, THAT Flint, Michigan), I grew up among some of the community’s poorest folks. Mom didn’t graduate college until I graduated high school. Dad was 56 when I was born and never finished junior high school. I learned that poor is a mindset that you can (and must) change if you want to succeed.
My schooling was in one of those now-defunct, “gifted and talented” programs. Translation: Book smart, socially awkward.
Graduating near the top of my class – with all the distinctions of the nerdiest of students – I earned both the National Merit and National Achievement Scholar designations. I served as part of the Governor’s Problem Solving Institute (GPSI) – a think tank for kids that are “too smart for their own good”, as Mom would say. I was accepted at several distiguished institutions of higher learning, and chucked college (the first time) to pursue one, singular goal: Become a rock star.
I studied music composition, theory, and music history. Learned all the “scholarly” aspects of being a performer. I also studied marketing, graphic design and all the other stuff I was “too poor” to hire someone else to handle. I figured I’d need to know how to promote myself, get paid, and get invited back. As luck would have it, over time I did manage to tour a bit, as well as record and release two independent, full-length albums. But while my heart and my degree (eventually) were in music, the money (at the time) was not.
Little did I know that during this time I started my training for my next evolution: Becoming “The Dread Pirate Roberts”
I bounced around for years, much like Westley’s tale of adventure as he learned “everything anyone would teach me” before he finally became The Dread Pirate Roberts in William Goldman’s novel “The Princess Bride”. I worked in construction, law, retail, graphic design, real estate, financial planning, insurance, marketing, event planning, office administration, teaching, choral conducting, and even theater. During this time, I also got my first taste of entrepreneurialism when I launched one of the first-ever e-commerce sites on the Internet. This was just as the World Wide Web was becoming user friendly, and animated GIF’s were a high-tech marvel. That was 1994.
Being a “jack-of-all-trades” for a while was a blessing, because it meant I could hold my own in a conversation about almost anything. It took about a year as a “real” entrepreneur to realize that being a jack of all trades meant being a master of none. Clients want to work with someone that is an expert in their field. It’s hard to become great at everything, and in “the new economy” people want to work with a specialist, not a generalist.
What do you do after 15 years of bouncing around?
Become MacGyver.
I don’t believe in pigeon-holing myself. Limits are for political terms, not for entrepreneurs. My goal was to build a life that allowed me to serve my Perfect-Fit Clients by helping them find success on their terms. My “message” is that impossible doesn’t exist, and until you change your brain, you’ll keep seeing limits instead of limitlessness. Ask better questions to get better results.
How I work…
Businesses come to me when they’re trying to make the next step, but can’t see how to make it. I take their existing tools, resources, assets, and show them how to start where they are and make that next (profitable) step a reality. I bring in the (figurative) duct tape and swiss army knife, and before you know it, they’re off and running. Because of my diverse background, my clients span a variety of industries. My favorites, are authors, speakers and people with big “ideas worth spreading” as Seth Godin would say.
For my next trick…
I’m turning my attention back to the entertainment industry – but with a twist. I want to educate as well as entertain. My book project, The Secret Watch, is a business parable designed to capture the hearts of harried entrepreneurs, while giving them tools they can use to build a more profitable business (and have a life at the same time). I have interviewed hundreds of brilliantly gifted people, and my new podcast series features many of those conversations about business, life, and the how-to’s of success. And of course, my return to entertainment wouldn’t be complete without the pilot episode for a new, interactive, web-based television program scheduled to begin filming in 2012. With a focus on entrepreneurs, this serial show will actually involve the viewers in creating the story. How? Well, you’ll just have to keep watching!
Business Action Hero is just one of my passions. I own multiple businesses, and love each one as a mother loves her children. They’re all unique and they’re all a part of who I am in the world. This site is dedicated to helping action-oriented entrepreneurs discover and follow their path to become the hero of their business.
