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Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com Human Behavior Consultant, Leadership & Teamwork

Portland, Oregon

Former CEO, COO, CTO & President with many "learning experiences" and a number of nice successes to draw upon. Co-founded and developed the 13th largest Century 21 franchise in the United States. Conceived and developed the first automated website builder for real estate prior to realtor.com's arrival to the market. Founded a private dot com business and sold it to a publicly held company. Pioneered several divisions for client companies. Trained thousands of leaders and small teams throughout North America and abroad. Certified coaches and trainers to do the same.

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32

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Entrepreneurship

Executive Coaching

Public Speaking

Team Building

Strategic Planning

Management Consulting

Personal Development

Leadership Development

SaaS - Enterprise & SMB B2B

Change Management

Member since December 2013

Areas of Expertise

Reviews 32
Answers 46

Entrepreneurship

Executive Coaching

Public Speaking

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Strategic Planning

Management Consulting

Personal Development

Leadership Development

SaaS - Enterprise & SMB B2B

Change Management

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Clarity

Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com

Portland, Oregon

Former CEO, COO, CTO & President with many "learning experiences" and a number of nice successes to draw upon. Co-founded and developed the 13th largest Century 21 franchise in the United States. Conceived and developed the first automated website builder for real estate prior to realtor.com's arrival to the market. Founded a private dot com business and sold it to a publicly held company. Pioneered several divisions for client companies. Trained thousands of leaders and small teams throughout North America and abroad. Certified coaches and trainers to do the same.

$4.17/min

34

34 Calls

32

32 Reviews

44 minutes
Avg. call

Entrepreneurship Executive Coaching Public Speaking Team Building Strategic Planning Management Consulting Personal Development Leadership Development SaaS - Enterprise & SMB B2B Change Management

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Leadership and Team Development

You want your team to do what you ask because, well, let’s face it, you’re the boss and you “said so.” Right? Maybe there is a better way.

If you desire to lead an effective, productive, and cohesive team, then being the boss is simply not enough—what you need is "earned leadership".

Leveraging your title or position to get things done is a result of "positional leadership"; John Maxwell describes this as the lowest level of leadership. "True leadership", in other words, "earned leadership", doesn’t require a position or title. In fact, there are many earned leaders that do not even have a title, yet their influence far surpasses that of most positional leaders.

As an earned leader, you will be better equipped to develop and lead more cohesive teams that yield higher productivity and profitability for your cause, not because of your position or because you "said so" but because of who you are and what you represent.

Do you need ideas on how to increase your influence? Need help dealing with difficult people? Are you wondering how to create more cohesion with your team? Give me a call.

Being a Successful Entrepreneur

I've been an entrepreneur for more than 30 years. I've had plenty of "learning" experiences and a number of nice successes. I'll help you avoid some of the same pitfalls as well as design strategies to get your business off the ground or increase revenues for your existing business.

I've also traveled the world giving lectures, presenting seminars and facilitating workshops. I've helped others do the same.

Let me know how I can serve you best.

Personal and Executive Coaching

Aside from my skills in entrepreneurship, technology and marketing, my core strength is helping executives identify and mitigate blind spots.

If you feel there is something that is holding you back personally or professionally from reaching your peak performance. Or, if you are looking to vet your business ideas with an unbiased, discreet third party, I can help.

I am also an international keynote speaker and workshop facilitator. If you have a presentation to give and need a fresh set of eyes to uncover any potential blind spots, I can help.

Business Strategy

Whether you are just starting out or you have been in business for a while, having a fresh perspective from a neutral third party is paramount to your success.

One of the biggest downfalls in entrepreneurship is what I call "smokin' your own dope". We often get married to our own ideas or get intoxicated by our own numbers/spreadsheets.

I won't tell you anything based on what you want to hear. I'll give you my 30 plus years of experience as an entrepreneur and speak the truth. If you can handle it, give me a call.

I've been an entrepreneur for more than 30 years. I've had plenty of "learning" experiences and a number of nice successes. I'll help you avoid some of the same pitfalls as well as design strategies to get your business off the ground or increase revenues for your existing business.

Let me know how I can serve you best.

Answers 46
Reviews 32

Answers

Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com answered

Where do you go for outsourcing website development and what do you look for when selecting the right one?

The other advice is spot-on.

I have been partnered with an offshore development center in India for four years on behalf of a couple clients. I have also used elance and managed development projects with developers from Pakistan, Guatemala, Romania, and China. I would not use any of them again except the ODC in India.

They provide outsource, offshore developers that work directly with you or your onshore team leader while you work directly with me to make the arrangements and make sure the relationship and work runs smoothly.

If you are looking for development on a budget, give me a free call using the link below.

https://clarity.fm/kevinmccarthy/FreeConsult

Best regards,

Kevin McCarthy
www.KevinMcCarthy.com

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Website Development

Outsourcing

Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com answered

What is the best ERP system or any other system for managing a business?

OpenERP and Zoho are both fragmented modular systems that can be very confusing. Without knowing your industry and complete set of needs, have you considered NetSuite, Sage, MS Dynamics, Aptean or Epicor?

Aside from feature sets, implementation and ongoing support and training are critical elements to consider. The other big challenge is getting buy-in from the users.

Have you considered starting with an open source or semi-custom, previously developed product and having it customized to your needs?

If you would like more information, let's have a phone call so I can better understanding your specific needs and point you in the right direction.

Best regards,

Kevin McCarthy
www.KevinMcCarthy.com

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Management Consulting

CEOs

Business Advice

Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com answered

I want to grow my blog readership to 1k readers a day. What strategies can I implement to make this happen?

Do you have a marketing budget? If so, try Facebook's power editor to create very targeted newsfeed ads to educators. Don't push a traditional ad. Rather, push great tips and other relevant information. If you write a great short piece, it will lead to click-through's to your blog. Do a similar thing with LinkedIn.

On the organic side, join LinkedIn groups where educators gather. Participate in the discussions. Become a known collaborator.

Post your blog URL any chance you get. There are a lot of free directories. Most are worthless as a directory, but the link-backs do add a little SEO value.

Find out what your educators are using for search terms. Make sure your articles are relevant to those searches.

Create a YouTube video blog - something I am getting ready to do.

Bottom line: Do not "advertise" or self-promote per se. Become known as a content expert and community collaborator and people will start following your blog.

There are lots of ways to get readership. Give me a call if you would like to discuss the options further.

Best regards,

Kevin McCarthy

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Blogging

Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com answered

What are some effective new strategies or tactics for marketing to small businesses?

Are you targeting new businesses? Try acquiring a list of all new business license applicants. Do you have a budget for radio? Try news talk radio stations in your markets.

Also try targeted news feed ads with Facebook and LinkedIn if that isn't already part of our PPC plan.

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Small Business Marketing

Growth Hacking

Growth Strategies

Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com answered

Is Open Cart comparable to Shopify and Magento?

Developing the website is the least of your concerns.

If you are operating an online store, building trust and confidence with your customer base is critical. So, when choosing a shopping cart to run your store, performance and availability are key.

When you use a quality, paid service like Magento or Shopify (or the myriad of others), you are paying for the solid infrastructure, the ongoing development and support.

With an open source cart, as you said you will have I do it yourself. You may not have the monthly subscription fee. But, you will have maintenance and development fees. You will also have infrastructure fees - if you plan to do it right.

If you would like to discuss this more, schedule a free call using my free consultation code below. I provide up to 30 minute calls at no charge for first time callers.

https://clarity.fm/kevinmccarthy/FreeConsult

Kevin McCarthy
www.kevinmccarthy.com

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eCommerce

Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com answered

Which is the best hosted free bug tracking tool for a team size of up to 10 members?

David hit the nail on the head. I have managed software teams on several occasions. I've been exposed to a good number of systems. The one I personally enjoyed is redmine. As a manager, it gave me quick and thorough information and visibility into daily production.

This answer is more of a testimonial. If you want more specific advice, I would definitely call David. He sounds like he can really help you.

Best regards,

Kevin McCarthy
www.kevinmccarthy.com

P.s. Atlassian also offers hosted and self-hosted products with support. We started with them but once we hit the limit of 10 users, the price jumps significantly. That is when we switched to self-hosted Redmine. FYI

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Software Development

Bug Tracking

Scrum

Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com answered

Are there standard ratios that are used to calculate first level support staff needed for a SAAS product that is a non-technical product?

I have been involved in several saas projects. I still work with one of them. I have not found any standard ratios. It really depends on several factors including how intuitive is the product? How mission critical is the product to the subscribers daily workflow? What is the learning curve? What is the adoption rate? What is the average customer aptitude for your product, etc?

I can tell you that one client manages about 150 subscribers with one part time support person. I also have a contact that provides web hosting and manages about 800 hosted clients with one full time support person. But, te variables really skew these numbers.

If you would like to discuss this further at no charge, I offer a free 30 minute call to first time callers. Use this link.

https://clarity.fm/kevinmccarthy/FreeConsult

Best regards,

Kevin McCarthy
www.kevinmccarthy.com

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SaaS - Enterprise & SMB B2B

Customer Support

Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com answered

What would you do differently today if you were starting over with your business?

Ah, as the ancient proverb says, "When the student is ready, the teacher appears."

You ask the insightful questions that most entrepreneurs, myself included, neglect to ask, in advance.

I started a cellular retail store in 1989 with a partner. This was when the first Motorola flip phone hit the market. It cost us $3100 wholesale. Yikes.

We were friends. Unfortunately, even though the business recorded taxable profits in such a short time, we shut it down after about 6 months due to irreconcilable differences between us. We were both too stubborn, me maybe more than him. Lesson: being friends is not enough. 1. Partners need to be completely in sync philosophically. 2. I have had partners since, but will never do 50/50 again. There needs to be a leader/decision maker. If both or all the partners think they are the leaders, you are just heading for a crash. That is not to say that the leader is independent. But, ultimately, someone needs to break the tie and make the decision.

As for outsourcing, when you are bootstrapping you end up doing more tasks than you would otherwise. If you have the funds, outsource everything that keeps you from your core competences. But, never put the destiny of your company entirely in someone else's hands. Keep controls in place and keep close tabs on the money. Don't abdicate growing the business for running the business.

As for learning things the hard way, is there any other way? Seriously though, I have learned to listen to my wife. Had I listened to her "discernment" when I was younger, I would not have made as many poor decisions as I did. As for another lesson, I purchased a full service hair salon many years ago. No, I am not in that profession. It was purely an economic decision. I sold it one year later for more than double my investment. However, I could have done significantly better and had less aggregations had I fired the salon manager. She had convinced me that she could run the place better than the previous owner. Unfortunately, she also rallied all the employees making it difficult for me to turn the ship around. I did it in spite of her. And, the next owner did replace her. Now I understand why top level people are often, not always, replaced in acquisitions. It is a soft skill, but I am more keenly aware of company culture and the influence of leadership now than I was 25 years ago.

Hope that sheds some light. If you woul like to chat further, give me a call using the free call link below.

https://clarity.fm/kevinmccarthy/FreeConsult

Best regards,

Kevin McCarthy
www.kevinmccarthy.com

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Startups

Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship

Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com answered

How to generate a revenue from a membership website that provides users with access to usable information?

Are you asking about the technology or the concepts? Chris asked about the technology. You need to develop great content that people are willing to pay for. Provide some of the best of your content for free to show people what you offer. Then, provide the balance of your content behind the veil of a membership.

You can also become an affiliate marketer and simply promote other people's content. Join JVZoo or CommissionJunction or others and start promoting. Let's schedule a call if you have any follow up questions. Wishing you all the best!

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Generating Revenue

Start-ups

Website Monetization

Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com answered

What advice would you give me when I take over a new department with a weak team?

You are correct to not make any drastic changes at first. Meet with each team member to get to know them. Try to identify their individual strengths and weaknesses. Find out where they are at in comparison to the mission and vision of the company & unit. Consider using an assessment tool such as EverythingDiSC to provide a basis for how they can best work and communicate within the team. Look for any potential cancerous members - someone who might have a bad attitude to the point they will be a detriment to your leadership and the mission. If they can't be reprogrammed, replace them.

I always look for employee's strengths and desires and try to move them into positions that align with both. Attitude, aptitude and loyalty are more important than current skills in many cases. Skills can be trained.

Devise a plan after all your meetings and evaluations. Assuming you need to make changes, do so methodically and on a timeline that meets company objectives but is not abrupt - if possible. Sometimes a drastic shift is needed to shock teams into new paradigms. But, that would be the exception if you are a people leader. Lead people, manage systems.

If you would like to chat further, I provide free 30 minute consultations to first time callers. Use the link below.

https://clarity.fm/kevinmccarthy/FreeConsult

Best regards,

Kevin McCarthy
www.KevinMcCarthy.com

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Management

Change Management

Organizational Change

Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.com answered

If I have a business idea for a large company, how can I give it to them and mutually profit, without them just taking the idea and squashing me?

That's a tough one. Although you may be presenting your idea to an honest executive, most likely there will be a team of people that would get involved in the decision process. It is more likely than not the company would execute the idea without you, assuming, of course, your idea has merit and would pencil out. Not all companies are self-serving, however. Maybe you'll find the right one to speak with?

Ideas/concepts are not worth as much as a proven model.

Now, if your idea is such that you are the rare talent or have the secure connections required to execute, that's a bit different. Yet, even that is not a guarantee.

Is your idea able to be patented? Is it a widget, formula, etc?

I would consult a corporate attorney with your idea to see if he or she is able to help.

Best regards,

Kevin McCarthy
www.kevinmccarthy.com

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Business Strategy

Entrepreneurship

Reviews

I had a very good call with Kevin! He went through our website before the call, asked very precise questions to understand who we are, what we're trying to achieve, and the context of what we're trying to do, and then proceeded to share some very specific answers and insights that were super helpful for our way forward. I'll happily take another call with Kevin as soon as we implement and test the insights that he shared with us.

Dusan Jankovic Source: Clarity

My call with Kevin was valuable and insightful. He gave me excellent feedback on my idea.

Clint Salter Source: Clarity

Excellent call! I got a lot out of it, and Kevin answered all of my questions.

Kevin Day Source: Clarity

What an excellent conversation. Kevin offered great advice on how to deal with what could potentially be a deal of a life time. Great insight!

Arseniy Tomkevich Source: Clarity

Kevin has been a great resource. Well worth the investment.

Fernando Arroyo Source: Clarity

Kevin was great! He really listened to my problem and clearly layed out an action plan for me. His advice was fair and sound. He was very nice and approachable. I highly recommend him!!

Rene Perez Source: Clarity

Kevin was very helpful and informative. He answered all the questions I had, and dealt with many concerns I had. I would definitely recommend calling him.

Robert Hamilton Source: Clarity

Kevin gave me some great insights into how to sell directly...

Steve Shepherd Source: Clarity

Great guy! very helpful...calm approach to amazing ideas

Daniel Floreancig Source: Clarity

Another enlightening call with Kevin :)

Source: Clarity

Such great insight and wisdom! Kevin listened to me very closely and understood exactly what my vision is. He was able to analyze where I am in the life cycle of my startup and offered valuable unbiased opinion of our site and gave me his suggestions for some immediate actions. Also offered practical advice and encouragement for my current delay in monetization. Thanks, Kevin!

Gerri Chambers Source: Clarity

Member since December 2013