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Health & Fitness

Biz Tripping Part 1: 20 Questions to Ask the CEO

Learn how to make traveling the world a business trip.

Last year was a big trip year for our family as we traveled more in 2010 than in many other years combined.  That wasn't the big part though.  The big part was in how we did it.  We turned most of our trips into "business trips" interviewing young entrepreneurs, CEOs and executive teams on both U.S. coasts and in Utah, Nevada and Idaho.

In this two-part series (one for members only), I will be sharing:

  • 20 questions to ask the CEO and executive team
  • Where to go for your "Biz Trip" vacation
  • How to get invited as the special guests

This special edition is a list of 20 questions to ask the CEO on your next "Biz Trip" vacation:

  1. How did you get started in business and what did it take to get to where you are today?
  2. Do you have a history of business and entrepreneurship in your family?
  3. Are you an entrepreneur or do you work for a corporation?
  4. What do you love most about your job/business?
  5. What keeps you (and your team) motivated?
  6. What do you think are the most important personal skills someone must have to be successful in business?
  7. What are you doing to make the world better?
  8. What will your company look like in five years and 10 years?
  9. So how do companies make money in these markets and why do so many startups fail?
  10. What are some of the obstacles you encountered in your business journey and how did you overcome them?
  11. What was the biggest risk you've taken?
  12. How would you describe your leadership style?
  13. Why you chose this service/product and when did you know it was it?
  14. Who is their favorite speaker/author and why?
  15. What is the best way that you have found to market your product?
  16. What do you think about college? Should kids go to college now or is there a better way to be educated?
  17. What do or how do you feel about joint venturing?
  18. Who was the most influential person or mentor in your life?
  19. How and where do you find the best people to be part of your team?
  20. What would be the most important piece of advice you could give a young entrepreneur like me?

Where to go:

The world is full of places to take your kids so that the entire family can not only have fun but also learn about business in real life and not just from text books at school.

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In 2010 we took the kids on trips from coast to coast for a total of about six weeks!

It was phenomenal and after our book, "The Parents' Guide to Raising CEO Kids" is published we will be doing it again!

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We started out in our home state of California heading south to Disneyland, Pencil Bugs, and Wonderland Bakery!

A few months later I flew with the kids to the East Coast for two weeks where we really packed it in touring all of the following places:

We took a bit of time off from travel as a family after that extensive trip and wrapped up the year with a trip to South Lake Tahoe just before Christmas.  My daughter, however, enjoys travel so much that she spent three weeks in Utah over the summer. She funded the trip herself and learned so much about life and business before, during and after the trip.  When she returned home she began working on her first charity bake sale and and finished the summer by writing her first cookbook!

Now it is your turn to start Biz Tripping! Start by making a list of all the things your kids love to do. Then pick a business or entrepreneur that you would like to visit.  Plan your vacation around that one tour and add other attractions form the surrounding areas.

For example: we wanted to go to Disneyland and we had met one of the staff on Twitter who invited us to interview him at Disneyland.  We then began searching for other entrepreneurs or businesses we could visit on the same trip.  We ended up having dinner with Jason O’Neill, Founder of Pencil Bugs and his family. We also took a jaunt over to Newport Beach to visit Wonderland Bakery and meet Allyson Ames!

Enjoy your trip and be sure to help spread the word about Raising CEO Kids by sharing this article on Facebook, Twitter, your blog or families you know!

Together we can make a difference in the lives of families and future CEO Kids!

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