On Friday I went to the key person of influence entrepreneurial event. I enjoyed it. In my honest opinion this is the first entrepreneur coaching program that I have wanted to join for two reason:

• I could not only see the value added from the many live case studies, that is, people that KPI/Entrevo helped coming out to explain how it helped but 
  
• Also because the program managers weren't ramming the program down our throats.
  

It was all very, very credible. Cherie Blair opened the day with key note speech on her charity, Foundation For Women.

These were the key discussion areas, I won't go into detail:

• Perfecting your pitch. This included a mention of Pitch Fest.
  
• Publishing books, articles and blogs to raise your profile
  
• Creating quality products for your audience to add value beyond your books
  
• Raising your profile
  
• Forging mutually beneficial partnerships
  

Interesting stats: Of the 4.8 million businesses in the UK, 96% are small; 80% of the revenue made in an industry is typically made by the top 10% - the key people of influence, you want to be in that top 10%.

Speakers/case studies:

• Daniel Priestley is a co-founder and talked about pushing through the dip when you are in a J-curve business. 
  
• Mike Harris, Founder of First Direct and Egg talked about pitching and building your confidence to pitch by practicing on anyone that will listen

~ You can see we're dealing with pretty high-profile movers and shakers here ~

• Nic Rixon talked about how Valuation = profit x multiple; whilst most businesses focus on increasing profits because they believe the multiple is static he teaches businesses how to increase the multiple by extracting and separately valuing the intellectual property of a business.
  

Other case studies included (but are not limited to):

• Snippets on Herman Stewart (he was not in attendance but I noted him down immediately because he's also black!); 
• Asif Syed a former dentist who created a niche in something related; 
• Mindy Gibbons-Klein who talked about publishing books; 
• Marcela Flores talked about her line of Mexican doritos and sauces that can now be found in Whole Foods; 
• Penny Power talked about raising your profile and 
• Julia Langkraehr talked about the power of JVs and partnerships.
  

On products EntRevo discussed having core products and complimentary products that support the core products.

All-in-all, I think this is a worthwhile coaching/mentor program and if you want to take your business or idea to the next level attend one of their talks. They are currently already operating the UK, US, Singapore and Aussie.

Ultimately, I decided that I want to join the next round of KPI coaching in March 2014 because my business will gain much more at that stage.

To watch the vlog, subscribe to our YouTube channel; producing it now. Some of our craziness will be revealed for the first time:

Our first week in the US was spent working our asses off (well, at least I was) to get stock ready for Christmas. After that three nights were spent at a wedding in San Jose, California. This is the place where I started developing a taste for beef. We enjoyed Cali thoroughly but Chicago...

...I could live in Chicago - that was my opinion when I first visited in May-2012 on a two-day trip; after over a week there this time around my position stands. There aren't many places I can say that about.

We went to a few museums but we loved the food most. Below are my ratings; they are all cheap, cheerful and very tasty. Ina's and Over Easy are my top picks. If you want to try Ina's get there fast because they are closing soon.

Irazu on N. Milwaukee - 4/5
Good Costa Rican food, lively vibe.

Cafe Ba Ba Reba on N. Halsted - 4/5 
Lively, youthful vibe. Has an English country feel to it. I didn't like their bread at all though, it was hard and didn't taste too fresh. Other than that, I enjoyed it.

Nookies on N. Wells - 4/5
This was a trip down memory lane. During our May-2012 trip we ate all three meals at Nookies - breafast, lunch and dinner. What can I say, we're creatures of habit, we had been eating lots of junk in Indiana before we got to Chicago so when we found Nookies we knew we were on to a good thing.

Demera on N. Broadway - 5/5 
I love Ethiopian food

Trattoria Sapori on N. Halsted - 4.5/5
Good food for sure.

Deleece on N Southport- 3/5
We only ate here because we were watching The Color Purple next door. It was okay; I don't remember much about this food experience to be honest. We'd just had to walk through lots of rain so I wasn't in a good mood to start with and Deleece didn't change that!

Toast on Webster - 5/5
We went to Toast twice because it had a fab atmosphere and was conveniently located for where we were hanging out.

The Cheesecake Factory on Michigan Ave - 4/5
Portions are way too large but the food is good.

Ina's on Randolphe - 5/5
Ina's is closing in Dec-13 (proprietor retiring) which is sad because it is awesome and has great traditions. E.g. cellphones are completely banned. I hear they have even asked a senator to get off his phone before! Ina has written a recipe book so that her great food can live on after Ina's.

Fork on N. Lincoln - 4.5/5
Another delicious breakfast.

Lou Malnati's on N. Lincoln in Lincolnwood (the original shop) - 3.5/5
I liked the history of the place but I personally didn't like their pizza dough, Harry did though - said it reminded him of school. I prefer Domino's pizza above all pizza joints, they've just got it like that.

Over Easy on Damen - 5*/5
Believe the hype on yelp. After my meal I wanted to call the chef out to discuss opening a franchise in London - I didn't want it to be the end.

Jamba Juice on Michigan Ave - I enjoy their juices. Healthy, fresh and refreshing.

Chipotle (somewhere downtown) - I love Chipotle. On our way to the airport we saw a Chipotle and knew the trip would not be complete without it so we made a quick detour.

The Museums we visited.

Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) - okay but not much art;
DuSable Museum of African American History - lots of good quality art. I especially like the section on Harold Lee Washington;
National Museum of Mexican Art - there isn't much art but it was good that they even have a museum of Mexican art imho.

Other culture
We watched and LOVED The Color Purple, it's currently my favorite musical.