Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business consulting and services but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Carlos Salum, Founder of Salum International Resources, Inc., located in Huntersville, NC, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I'm a Leadership Performance Strategist. I assist senior business leaders and their teams through the design of a Peak Performance Strategy to deliver Breakthrough results. I apply what I've learned in training high achievers in business and professional sports to assist my international clients so they can operate in their Ideal Performance State and go "Beyond Personal Best." I work with corporate clients based on four continents and professional athletes who travel around the world year-round.

Tell us about yourself

As a Leadership Performance Strategist, I'm a Human Performance Architect, a catalyst of Breakthrough Results. I'm a Leader's thinking partner. I focus on analyzing perspectives, exploring new visions, and designing innovative approaches for growth to create powerful contributions.

In essence, I'm an Optimist who sells Optimism, the conviction that you can design a successful outcome and that by seeing the glass as full and a half, you can exceed expectations. I'm in this world to transform what can be into what shall be. Ultimately, what I solve is the connection between desire and achievement. I started this business because I love influencing people to go after their personal moonshot and realize their dreams, so they can inspire others and ignite positive social transformations.

My primary objective is to ensure that Leaders find fulfillment through meaningful achievements and build an inspiring personal legacy. My private clients are Leaders, High Achievers in Sports and Business, and High Net Worth Individuals who constantly seek new ways to improve their lives. They crave meaningful achievements, and they build a legacy. My corporate clients are senior corporate executives, visionary entrepreneurs, philanthropists, TV and Film producers, Swiss private bankers, Grand Slam tennis champions, Formula racecar drivers, artists, technology innovators, medical experts, and social media luminaries. What my Clients have in common is their passion for creating, their desire for fulfillment, to contribute in deep, significant ways, and to leave a path for others to follow.

Since my insertion in the corporate world as a Leadership Performance Strategist, I've honed my ability to act as a "decoder." I can listen to voluminous information and redefine the problem in a methodical manner while simultaneously interpreting the client's value systems. I help my clients unscramble their dreams and aspirations so they can script them as if they are the Hollywood movie in which they want to star, the Grand Slam tennis tournament they want to win, or the "killer invention" that will make a significant contribution to the world.

I design my contributions as a blend of art and science through which I can help clients broaden and deepen their perspectives on leading, performing, and creating a legacy.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is to see the glass as full and a half rather than half-full or half-empty. This worldview impacts everything I do for my clients.

I'm a fortunate man: I'm able to design my future. I'm privileged to be allowed to do so. I could have chosen a life path resembling a straight line, with clear goalposts, milestones, and rewards. If I had done it that way, I would probably judge my life as being half-full or half-empty, depending on my criteria, on what I value most.

I see my life as a full and a half-glass because I choose to be future-focused and driven: my vision of who I want to become guides me to satisfy my curiosity, desires, and passions. Projects are a vehicle to do so, and I select them carefully. My privilege is working with friends. I don't put up with those who are not aligned with my values. I prioritize my projects and activities to keep my life interesting, and I aspire to make it even more so in the future through meaningful contributions.

I challenge myself to expand my horizons by following what fascinates me. Sometimes I lead an initiative; other times, I support it. Frequently, I participate as an expert contributor, and occasionally I'm invited to join as a disruptor. What matters most to me is that the mission is interesting and that I feel fully engaged with the vision, the people, and the tasks.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner is the need to design Breakthrough constantly. The world has suffered a pandemic that changed the course of history and how we live our lives. The depth and degree of its impact on future change are difficult to envision, so I find it imperative for leaders to become better thinkers who can adapt, decide and implement the best solutions possible to sustain life and secure a future that is better than the past.

Being a better thinker translates into knowing how to manage energy rather than time, prioritize our health and protect the health of others, improve our scenario planning and forecasting, and focus on building trust - the most precious capital for an individual, an organization, or a brand.

The ability to design Breakthrough will be an essential Leadership skill for decades to come. When my father was working for U.S. companies in Argentina, I had the opportunity to have interesting conversations with the American executives who visited us regularly. I remember one of them telling me that the American sociopolitical and economic system was resilient, built to bend so it wouldn't break - but that required foresight and a fast reaction time. What we are experiencing through this pandemic is a Failure of Thinking due to narrow perspectives and sectarian policies, leaving us with reactive measures.

The way forward might be inspired by the words of Andrew Zolli, an expert in Resilience: "From climate change to overpopulation to recessions, the threats facing the world are as unpredictable as they are varied" — which is why we need to craft systems that are nimble, that can bend under stress rather than break. If we cannot control the volatile tides of change, we can learn to build better boats, writes Zolli. We can design — and redesign — organizations, institutions, and systems to better absorb disruption, operate under a wider variety of conditions, and shift more fluidly from one circumstance to the next.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. DESIGN YOUR FUTURE: The fundamental idea in my book "The Glass is Full and a Half" is that you can design a life of meaningful achievements and lead others by creating a Breakthrough Blueprint that aligns four key factors: Imagine, Improve, Inspire and Ignite. The four key factors are four lenses to see the glass full and a half and live in Possibility as a full human being. Four capital "Is" - each one representing a development stage, a transformation through Breakthrough. The four "Is" allow you to answer, "How am I a contribution?"
  2. MEASURE YOUR IMPACT: For whom are you building a business and why? What solution do you create that represents New Value for your clients? What does your solution allow them to do better and differently? How do you measure Achievement, and how much fulfillment does it provide for you, your family, and your employees? How is your Achievement meaningful and significant for those around you and the world? As you succeed, how are you building a Legacy, a path for others to follow?
  3. MAKE YOUR LEADERSHIP RESONATE: As you grow and succeed, the World Needs to Hear Your Leadership Message. Share Your Inspiring Vision and Design Your Personal Brand. A Brand is a promise of performance. It's a commitment to deliver client enchantment and satisfaction. It defines Who you are, What you do, and Why it matters. Leaders must tell their story and define a powerful Vision to invite others to join them on their quest (and perhaps create a Movement together). Your Personal Brand defines your promise as a Leader, clarifies the steps toward your Vision, and assures your followers that they will be safe.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.saluminternational.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carlos.salum/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salum.carlos/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlossalum/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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