26 Being a single dad, step dad & entrepreneur with Todd Palmer

“First I was a boy raising a baby. Then I was a man raising a boy on my own while raising and growing a business. Sometimes that overlap was great, sometimes it was quite messy.” Todd Palmer, entrepreneur, single-parent dad and now also step-dad, on dadicateddotcom.  Todd Palmer became a single-parent at the age of 24 in a time where chances for getting custody for fathers was around 1% in his hometown Detroit, Michigan. Having brought up his son as a single dad, today, in his fifties, Todd has become a step-father to a ten year old girl. He filed for personal bankruptcy at the age of 25 as he had spent all his money on the custody court case. He started his business at 28 and went from struggling entrepreneur on the brink of bankruptcy with $600,000 debt to making the INC 5000 as one of America’s fastest-growing companies 6 times.  Todd opens up about his journey as a single parent, a dad and step-dad, male bonding between father and son, his own experiences with divorce, bringing up a child on his own and how he was able to overcome imposter syndrome for himself.  The session is fun and it’s meaningful on many levels. Todd’s shares are powerful and it’s interesting to hear him opening up as a father and businessman.  The most powerful takeaways for me a a dad where:  There’s no perfection in parenting and therefore failure doesn’t exist if we allow failure to be a learning opportunity.  Have self-compassion and kindness for yourself.  “ATV (authenticity, transparency, vulnerability) with spouses and children.”  Show up and be fully present.  Have tenacity and resilience.  Memories over money.  Set aside self-care time every day.  Have genuine, authentic conversations.