Scott Allen, The Virtual Handshake

Anyone who follows social networking may well have come across Scott Allen’s name. Scott Allen is one of the top experts in the field, and the author of The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online and The Emergence of the Relationship Economy.

Scott started his first software company while still in college, he’s run a retail CD store, several online ventures, and has been both an executive and a senior manager with a number of start-ups. Now he’s drawing from those business experiences as the About.com guide for entrepreneurs, where he helps 100,000 visitors a month pursue their dream of starting their own business.

Scott and I talk about:

• How it’s become more acceptable to have a “portfolio career” with your finger in many pies (or “high level ADD” as Scott calls it)
• Why hyper-specialization, where you spend 80 hours a week doing one job, doesn’t work for everyone
• Being a hunter in a farmer’s world
• Those times you look for great work and don’t find it
• How to figure out what you’re passionate about and choose a business to start

Visit www.thevirtualhandshake.com (where you can download Scott’s book for free), and www.ScottSocialMediaAllen.com to connect with Scott Allen.

Listen to my interview with Scott Allen

0:16   Michael introduces Scott Allen
0:45   Scott’s book The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors And Closing Deals Online and The Emergence of The Relationship Economy
1:54    How it’s become more acceptable to have a “portfolio career” with your finger in many pies (or “high level ADD” as Scott calls it)
3:52    Why hyper-specialization, where you spend 80 hours a week doing one job, doesn’t work for everyone
6:35    Being a hunter in a farmer’s world
10:32  Those times you look for great work and don’t find it
15:31   How to figure out what you’re passionate about and choose a business to start
26:01   Networking and releasing control
30:38   How to find out more about Scott Allen
32:06   Michael closes the interview with Scott Allen