Adam Cohen

No entrepreneur achieves success without lots of help; make sure to invest in the people you surround yourself with.

 

Adam Cohen is the chief executive officer of The Bellesoma Method, a medical technology company based out of the Greater Chicago Area. Mr. Cohen brings over 25 years of experience as an executive and entrepreneur, and over the course of his lengthy and successful career he has earned a reputation as an innovator and a visionary in his field.

A longtime resident of the Midwest — and the Chicago area in particular — Mr. Cohen holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and an undergraduate degree in business administration and management from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In his current role as CEO of The Bellesoma Method, Mr. Cohen draws on a diverse skill set that includes strategic planning, product management and development, marketing, and e-commerce, along with a host of other skills the longtime executive has acquired and sharpened over the course of a 25-year entrepreneurial career.

Where did the idea for The Bellesoma Method come from?

The original concept is based on the work of Dr. Gary Horndeski, a plastic surgeon who saw the benefits in combining computer-aided design with innovative surgical techniques to provide patients with an alternative procedure — a procedure that features a far superior outcome for the patient.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

Productivity is very important to my team and I, and since we work together on so many different projects we need to make sure we are on the same page at all times. We use a few different tools to communicate with one another and to make sure our schedules are organized in a way that ensures we use our time in the most productive way possible.

How do you bring ideas to life?

For me, it’s all about communication. The origin of most of our ideas can usually be traced back to one of our Slack threads, which in turn allows our entire team to contribute to the idea or otherwise shape it as it develops into something worth bringing to life.

What’s one trend that excites you?

It’s not so much any one trend that excites me, but rather the speed with which these trends are now developing. Change is happening so fast that just about anything seems possible, which is a wonderful thing.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

I’ve always had a healthy sense of self-confidence, but never so much that it crossed over to the point of hubris. I understand that no one succeeds without the help of others, which is why I invest so much in the people I surround myself with.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Don’t be so hesitant to take some time away from work every once in a while; we all need to recharge from time to time.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

Whenever I travel to one of the coastal cities, nobody agrees with me when I say that Chicago is not only the best city in the United States, but the world at large. Of course, everyone in Chicago agrees with me on this point, and maybe that’s why I tend to place greater trust in the opinions of those with first-hand experience.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

I wish I could do it more often, but I travel as much as possible. There is something about a change in scenery that stimulates my creativity — or maybe it’s the opportunity to meet new people or experience new things. I guess it’s probably just a combination of those factors.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

For us, it’s all about exposure. We just need to get the information out there and into the hands of the right people, and after that it’s just a matter of time.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

I wish I could point to just one failure, because over 25 years of entrepreneurship you are going to experience your fair share of setbacks. The key is to develop a plan that accounts for every possible outcome so that nothing, even the worst possible outcome, will prevent you from achieving your entrepreneurial goals.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I’ve got lots of ideas, but none that I’m willing to just give away. Ideas are precious things, and I think your readers would be better served by working on developing their own ideas rather than someone else’s.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

Cubs tickets. An afternoon at Wrigley is always time well spent.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

I’m really fond of Slack as a tool for communication and collaboration.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich is a good one.

What is your favorite quote?

It’s one I repeat on a regular basis, from Napoleon Hill: “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

Key Learnings:

• Setbacks are bound to occur, so think about this quote during hard times: “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
• No entrepreneur achieves success without lots of help; make sure to invest in the people you surround yourself with.
• Don’t forget about the Law of Diminishing Returns; sometimes taking time away from work is the best way to improve your productivity.

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