My guest today, on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots free podcast interview is an man who has quite a journey to where he is today. Many moons ago, he purchased a website that sold various popcorn goods. During this venture, he found a need to automate parts of his business and that need inspired him to create Spark Shipping, a business that helps eCommerce retailers self-operate their connections with their vendors Currently he automates millions of orders for eCommerce and retail entrepreneurs every month, which is enough orders to fill every seat in Fenway Park hundreds of times. Or, as as our guest would say, Fenway “Pahhk.” Or as me and most people from the UK would say....nope, never heard of Fenway Park Anyway what Spark Shipping does is to automate the communications between e-Commerce sites and vendors (warehouses, distributors, manufacturers, etc). The communications that are automated are: getting inventory quantities from vendors, sending orders to vendors and getting tracking/shipment data back from vendors. Spark Shipping sits between the shopping cart and vendors to get the data back and forth between them. So its alright having these ideas of "Wouldn't it be good if we could do xyz" but how do you get this off the ground? And was it plain sailing or a rollercoaster that gradually hit its stride? Well let's find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Mr Charles Palleschi Show Highlights During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Charles Palleschi such as: Why he feels its so important to understand all aspects of a business when you are the leader, to ensure consistency and productivity throughout. How he manages to balance home life and work life, especially now he has young children who want to see their Dad before bedtime each day. What he does to manage the difficult times in his business, when decisions need to be made that will lead into unchartered territories. and lastly…. The first steps he took to became the entrepreneur he is today, and what he would advise anyone of our listeners wanting to do the same.