Meet the remarkable Edward Hechter, who has "unretired" multiple times. He was a highly successful exec in tech, another incarnation as an entrepreneur with his wife, a consultant who helps companies overcome challenges and even the CEO of the giant Pickleball Central. "I tend to stay involved helping people that I adore solving business puzzles."​

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Edward grew up in Southern California in a typical middle-class family. "People say I was overly verbose and precocious." In high school he became active in debate, skills he would use for the rest of his working life. It was during his junior year of high school that he became one of the best high school debaters in the country. Midway through his senior year, he transferred schools and the new school didn't give him credit for some of his earned coursework. He decided to leave.​

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Edward began working in 1981 at the age of 17 in a tech consulting firm. He applied for the "girl Friday" position and as the company grew, he advanced. The company built websites for businesses all over the country and when Edward took the helm as the EVP and GM, the company went from $8 million in revenue to $100 million. "I was the right guy in the right chair," he tells us.​

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In his first unretirement, Edward figured he'd focus on becoming a soccer dad, volunteering and skiing on weekends. But he missed the intellectual side of solving complicated business puzzles. So he and his wife went shopping for a "broken" business to rehabilitate. They found a family-friendly, fixer upper in PartyPail, an online party supplies company. Edward says they went from just two orders a day to exploding in volume in just 5 years with $5 million in revenues.​

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In his second unretirement, Edward still wanted to help companies so he became a consultant/investor/mentor to help businesses break through whatever was holding them back. He loves helping countless entrepreneurs solve real world puzzles. "My love language is service," he says. "So I have to do good things for others. And if it turns out to be a good thing for myself too, even better." He was asked to come on board as the CEO of burgeoning Pickleball Central in 2015. And eventually helped the founders sell the business. In 2017, Edward created the Hawaii Open Pickleball Championships, the first sanctioned Hawaiian pro pickleball event.​

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Now in his third unretirement at age 60, (we see a definite pattern here), Edward and his wife live in Hawaii and the state of Washington. Edward still consults as much as he wants to and plays pickleball 3-4x a week. He says he's focusing on pickleball, poke, people and peace.​

Edward Hechter's tips on life and work:​

• ​"Know thyself, and what lights your fire."​

• "It is often hard to tell what lit your fire until it's gone. Then you recognize you want it back."​ (Edward's example is his drive to help companies solve problems. He missed that.)​ 

• "Figure out what your love language is. It's about finding the one thing that brings you a feeling of love. Start from a premise of joy and everything is easier."​

• "Who do you want to share a foxhole with? That to me is the ultimate test."

• More about Edward Hechter

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die

• (Un)Retirement Travel with the Pro Allan Wright, Zephyr Adventures

• I Used to be Somebody World Tours -- Tuscany, Portugal, Pickleball Adventures

Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the "I Used to be Somebody" blog

Tags:    Blog   Unretirement   Edward Hechter   Entrepreneurship   Consulting   Life Lessons   Personal Growth   Mentorship  

Carl interviews Maxine Clark, a true catalyst and inspirator. After a two-decade career as a successful executive in retail, Maxine pivoted at age 48 and founded Build-A-Bear Workshops, which has sold nearly 250 million stuffed animals worldwide. In 2004, Maxine orchestrated the company's highly successful $170 million IPO, the first St. Louis woman to do so. Maxine, a woman of boundless energy and enthusiasm, continues to be a driving force for positive change in the world.

Maxine grew up in Coral Gables, FLA. Her father was an electrician and her mother had quite a remarkable career in the non for profit realm. Maxine tells us her mother graduated high school at 14 and went to work as a secretary for Eleanor Roosevelt. Fun fact: Roosevelt urged the women who worked for her to go out in the world and advocate for positive change. Her mother did so, first as a big fundraiser in the community and then started a school for children with Down's Syndrome. Maxine tells us, "My mother was very creative. No problem can't be solved. I like that."

Although she first thought she wanted to go into law, after college she began an illustrious career in retail, working her way up the ranks of the May Company. She became President of Payless ShoeSource in 1992. In 1996 at the age of 48, she moved to St, Louis and started thinking about a new business. Sparked by the idea of creating personalized teddy bears, she tried to buy a couple companies, which didn't work out. Everyone told her she was crazy.

But you guessed it--only nine months later the first Build-A-Bear Workshop opened in St, Louis. Carl asks Maxine how she could go from creating a concept to opening a store in record time. "I'm pretty good at planning and execution. I had experience and resources. But I also had a vision." As Founder and CEO, Maxine led her Build-A-Bear team to the pinnacle of growth and success just seven years after start up. She was the first woman to bring an IPO to Wall Street, managing critical relationships for the company to be publicly traded on the NYSE.

After 17 years with Build-A-Bear, Maxine wanted to pivot again, but this time in the not for profit world. In 2015, she launched a ground-breaking project to create positive change in her community. The "Delmar Divide" was an area in St. Louis historically known for segregating poor black neighborhoods from white neighborhoods. Maxine's team bought the old St. Luke's Hospital and is developing an innovative hub and collaborative space dedicated to helping not for profit creatives to work together, to improve the lives of children and families in the metropolitan St. Louis area. This once-neglected dividing line in St Louis is now being transformed into The Delmar DivINE. Maxine says, "This is joyful work. Dream the dream-- supreme!"

Maxine Clark's Inspirations:

• "Your experience is so valuable to somebody else. There's always something you can do to strengthen your community."

• "Look around at what interests you, whether its non-profit or volunteering and just meet people around it. Network!"

• "I like to bring experts to the table, and I also sit at the table, to make sure we find solutions and continue to move forward."

• More about Maxine Clark

• Sponsor by Capital Advantage

• Sponsor by Mike Ownbey, COMPASS

• Sponsor by How to Retire and Not Die

Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the “I Used to Be Somebody” blog.

Tags:    Blog   Social   Entrepreneur   Pickleball   Maxine   Clark   Build-A-Bear   CEO   Interview   How To Retire and Not Die   Carl Landau   UnRetirement   I Used To Be Somebody  

Carl interviews Doug Villhard, a former software company president and co-founder, entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, author and now a professor teaching entrepreneurship at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. Doug was only 49 when he and his partner sold their company for $30 million. He had started his side-hustle--teaching--years earlier and is very happy in his new career. He has 400 students each year, full of bright ideas and eager to learn how to create, launch and manage their own companies. "I teach them to continue to be curious and look for problems to solve in life and work. I encourage students to innovate and take risks." Doug is also the author of the recently published Company of Women, a fictional story based on the life of E.G. Lewis.

Doug grew up in a family of five in St. Peters, Mo. His mother was a teacher with very high academic standards and his father was an engineer. "I thought you were supposed to get straight A's and listen to your parents. I didn't know there was any other path!" Doug tells us. "I was a little Eddie Haskell-ish--good with adults and a little mischievous behind the scenes."

After college, in 1995 Doug landed a job with Disney Interactive in their online division. He says he loved that job and learned a lot. Years later, when he was married with a child on the way, took a job with the St. Louis Post Dispatch in St. Louis, working on their website. where he met Matt Coen, his future business partner. Doug ran various software companies and then Doug and Matt co-founded Second Street Media in 2007.

At Second Street, they focused on how to draw big audiences and then create layers of products and services around them. (Hint: Kids and pets are huge!) "Second Street is where I really learned to listen to the customer. It's the whole trick to being successful in business." (Full disclosure: Carl worked with Second Street for about a year and sold his company to them.) Carl talks about how much he admired the company culture at Second Street. Doug says, "I don't know how you can be successful without a great team behind you."

Jawdropper: When their kids were in school, the nearest Catholic high school was 45 minutes away. So with no blueprint (the last school was founded 80 years earlier) Doug and his wife Diane actually founded a Catholic high school in their area. "It was 1400 families--a whole community came together, " Doug adds.

Since Doug had already started teaching entrepreneurship at Washington University before the company was sold, he easily transitioned to his full-time second act "Teachers get summers and holidays and breaks, so for me there is still time to travel with my wife", (you'll have to listen to the podcast to hear about their unique travel strategy), Doug tells us. "And I just wrote a fictional book based on E.G. Lewis, the biggest magazine publisher in the world in 1904. He was a huge proponent of women's right to vote."

Doug Villhard's 7 Tips on Being a Successful Entrepreneur for Your Second Act:

• All businesses solve a problem.

• Keep listening to your customers.

• You have to be selfless for it to work.

• Ask yourself: Are the customers happy? Are your employees happy? Are your loved ones happy?

• Getting involved with younger people is invigorating and broadens your perspective.

• Never before has it been so easy to have a side-hustle. There are so many ways to put your toe in the water!

• Don't sit around trying to make the Second Act perfect. It's impossible. Just run some experiments and try little things until you find what you want.

• More about Doug Villard -- Book Author, Professor, Investor

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage

Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the “I Used to Be Somebody” blog.

Tags:    blog   doug villhard interview   unretirement   (Un)Retirement   entrepreneur  

Carl interviews successful entrepreneur Ted Bahr. This is an engaging interview about what it’s like to be an entrepreneur and then starting a cool second act. Carl met Ted in San Francisco, in the heady 1980’s when the computer age was taking off and magazine publishing was at its zenith. In his career, he launched dozens of new magazines, online properties and events. In 2017 he sold his company, BZ Media, and now owns an art gallery—more about that later.

Ted grew up in Westchester County in New York. He said his family lived the typical suburban life. In his teens, he “….rebelled with enthusiasm!” he tells us. After college he worked for one of the biggest names in publishing, Ziff Davis in NYC. After selling advertising for Car and Driver magazine and then helping with launches of some high-tech magazines, he was transferred to San Francisco.

In his 40’s, Ted had a wife and three kids and was entrenched in a very prestigious position with Miller Freeman in the corporate publishing world. He says he felt like he was losing the ability to be an entrepreneur. “I wanted to be the guy at the top. You know, the guy with his own business.” Ted made the bold move to leave and start up his own company. “It’s the entrepreneur mindset. Intellectually you know you are taking risks but emotionally you are positive you can do it.” (Never mind the 18-hour days and the naysayers!)

Ted and his business partner Alan Zeichick grew BZ Media, a high-tech media company, to 28 employees. The company produced technical conferences and expositions in a variety of fast-growing markets. They published SDTimes, the leading magazine for software development managers and produced SPTechCon, AnDevCon, Big Data TechCon and many more. BZ Media also launched InterDrone, the largest conference and expo for the commercial drone industry in the world in 2015. In 2017, Ted sold all the properties.

Here’s another Ted twist: He had always had a keen interest in the music of the 1960’s since his time in San Francisco, where he saw Big Brother, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Country Joe and the Fish and many others. And he avidly collected psychedelic rock posters from that period. At BZ Media, they had bought a big space and he had the idea to create a gallery to show his art/posters. The response was so enthusiastic that after he sold the company, he opened the Bahr Gallery in Oyster Bay, New York, selling high-end rock artwork and now has an online website as well. (Perfect for Baby Boomers who remember that time well and now have disposable income.) Ted enjoys connecting with lots of interesting people, hearing their stories and holds periodic exhibitions as well as lending his art to museums. Fun fact: Ted sold an Elton John art poster to Bernie Taupin! Ted is an inspiration—still following his passions with great success.

Ted Bahr’s (un)retirement tips:

• “Create a F*@# it List, not a Bucket List. So many voices in our heads saying “You SHOULD do this. If you're not interested in doing whatever it is, don’t do it. That’s OK!

• "Do what you love with people you love for as long as you can. Decide if you want to deal with employees. Decide if you want to work with people—retail or behind the scenes? Do you want to be on the clock or set your own hours?

• More about Ted Bahr

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage

• Sponsored by How to Retire and Not Die

Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the “I Used to Be Somebody” blog.

Tags:    blog   ted bahr interview   unretirement   (Un)Retirement   art gallery   entrepreneur   rock  

Carl talks this month with Corky Logue of Rollingwood, Texas. Corky is a man of incredible energy and focus. As a serial entrepreneur, he has owned 40+ companies. "One of my biggest shortcomings is I'm a little too optimistic about things," he says. A big success came at the age of 47, when he went public with his chain of EZ Pawn stores, leaving the company a few years later with about $30 million in stock. A self-described workaholic, Corky is still as busy as ever at 74. "Everything I do is fun. If it's not fun, I'm not doing it!"

Corky's father was in the Navy, so his family moved some but most of the time they lived in the South Austin area, in a trailer park. Corky has a large family and six children of his own. He says he was a geeky teen, very involved in Explorer then Eagle Scouts. "It taught me leadership,"  he says. After high school his father urged him to join the Marines, but Corky wanted to attend the University of Texas and moved out on his own. He worked 2-3 jobs and put himself through college. Sometimes on the podcast, guests talk about their worst job and how the biggest problem was usually the boss. Corky tells Carl, "Since 1972 (when he was 24), I have never had a boss. I've been the boss!" 

He has owned drywall supply companies, bike stores, travel agencies, software companies and more. From the early 1970's to the mid-1890's he was running 12 companies simultaneously. He also became a pilot. "I like living at 100 miles an hour." Corky says he only needs about 3 hours of sleep each night. "I'm still as busy as I was when I was working. The big difference is back then I had few friends. Now, through tennis and pickleball, I have more friends than the previous 65 years!"

Corky has 2 courts in his backyard, where he schedules 45 people to play pickleball each week, 4 games a day. "When they're through, they come up for a beer. It's so much fun. I've met some great people." In his spare time, he spreads the message of Toastmasters as a 50-year member. "Absolutely, Toastmasters has made me a different person and I want to pay back what it gave me." Corky also spent some time as Mayor of Rollingwood. There's a pattern here with Corky—a high energy lifestyle, leading by example and having fun—all at the same time. "I used to be somebody, and now I'm nobody and I'm damn happy about it!"

Corky Logue's (Un)retirement Advice:

• "Play pickleball! It's one of the few sports you can play 7 days a week. With pickleball, I've made the most friends, had the most fun and it keeps your body happy too. "

• "I have a daily routine that I stick to, I'm still trying to learn to live at 55 miles an hour." (vs 100 mph)

• "Being social helps you live longer. If that's the case, I'm going to live to 150."

• Sponsored by Capital Advantage

Diana Landau is the Content Wrangler for Pickleball Media. After 15 years in corporate marketing, in 2012 she pivoted to write and wrangle content for Niche Media's weekly blog. She now manages the “I Used to Be Somebody” weekly blog.

Tags:    blog   interview   Corky Logue   pickleball   toastmasters   texas   EZ Pawn   serial entrepreneur