In The Trenches

ITT 239: From Steel Mill to Capitol Hill with Robert Ordway

Robert Ordway grew up in a small mill town on the fringe of Gary, Indiana. He had a typical blue-collar upbringing, but all that changed when he turned 13 and his dad was diagnosed with ALS. Robert learned that adversity can come unannounced, and often, we need to prepare to handle those challenges. His worldview has been shaped by lessons from his dad, who stressed the importance of developing personal agency and possessing skin in the game in all aspects of life. 

He has over 15 years of experience in public policy, civil service, and private sector work. In his free time, Robert designs custom clothing, competes in powerlifting, enjoys cycling/bikepacking, and studies the history of Northwest Indiana as it relates to Big Steel, labor unions, race relations, organized crime, prohibition, Christianity, and southern migration. He is currently writing his first book, “Millrat: A Memoir About ALS, Adversity, and the American Dream”.

In today’s episode, we dive deep into the inspiring journey of Robert Ordway, a senior policy advisor for a US senator, and owner of the image consulting company, Rusted Oak. Join us as we explore Robert's multifaceted career in Washington, DC, his advocacy for Northwest Indiana, and the long-term efforts behind his upcoming book.

[00:00:00] Introduction to Robert Ordway - his backstory and overcoming adversity

[00:08:14] How discoveries in his personal life led Robert to jump into entrepreneurial waters

[00:10:46] Finding clarity through dealing with family history

[00:19:13] Topics that drove Robert to start writing his memoir 

[00:28:26] Robert’s path into the field of politics 

[00:32:05] From menswear to DC

[00:40:25] Future endeavors - writing, fundraising and more 

[00:46:26] Where to get in touch with Robert Ordway and sign up for updates on his book

Relevant Links:

• robertordway.com
• Robert's LinkedIn

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ITT 238: Thinking Big and Building Success with Ridgely Goldsborough

Ridgely Goldsboro is an author, personal growth expert and a prolific founder who has initiated 45 companies. He is also a sought-after speaker and trainer who conducts fifty-plus seminars annually, as well as the creator of TSTN's Modest to Millions series, which chronicles the principles of prosperity and wealth creation according to highly successful self-made individuals.

In this episode, Ridgely discusses his experiences with navigating the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, pushing the boundaries of innovation and partnership, and leveraging AI as a game changer in today's digital landscape.

[00:00:00] Introduction to Ridgely Goldsborough - starting 45 companies

[00:08:12] How he finds the right partners to build up his business ideas 

[00:12:58] What are some of Ridgely’s biggest wins

[00:19:57] How Ridgely managed to write 20 books and his writing process looks like

[00:22:41] What are some ways to get the best possible output out of AI

[00:26:30] Which AI software is Ridgely’s partner developing and how they use it in their business

[00:28:36] Thoughts on different AI developments happening currently and their potential benefits

[00:32:59] How Ridgely chooses his clients

[00:35:17] What does he primarily use AI for when working with his clients

[00:36:18] Where to get in touch with Ridgely Goldsborough and receive a free marketing tool

Relevant Link:

• ridgelyspeaks.com
• partnerattractionblueprint.com
• Ridgely Goldsborough's LinkedIn

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ITT 237: The Future of Blogging in the Era of AI with Ryan Robinson

Ryan Robinson is a veteran blogger and the brains behind the innovative AI-driven content creation tool, RightBlogger. Twelve years ago, Ryan started his blogging journey with a college assignment and has since evolved into a trusted expert in the realms of freelancing and content marketing, teaching 500,000+ monthly readers of his blog how to start their own and grow a profitable side business. 

Today, Ryan will share insights into his creative process, the transition from freelancing to creating valuable tools for other creators, and the challenges and triumphs of building a business around his passion. Plus, he'll delve into the evolving landscape of AI in content creation and how he's adapting to maintain a personal touch through technology.

[00:00:00] Introduction to Ryan Robinson and the start and evolution of his blogging journey 

[00:11:03] How he started his business “RightBlogger” while diving into the world of AI tools

[00:15:27] From inception to a successful business - how Ryan developed, marketed, and grew RightBlogger

[00:20:32] Why he offers free tools on his website instead of putting them behind a paywall

[00:22:36] What are some ways Ryan brings traffic to his website and how he generates revenue

[00:27:46] Thoughts on YouTube, reinventing yourself, and starting new creative projects

[00:36:39] How to make the most out of using AI in content creation 

[00:41:35] What sets RightBlogger apart from other AI content generation tools

[00:42:53] Ryan’s thoughts on the future and advancement of AI

[00:45:17] Who can benefit from using RightBlogger

[00:48:30] Where to find and connect with Ryan Robinson

• ryrob.com
• rightblogger.com
• 25+ Forever Free Blogging Tools
• Ryan Robinson's LinkedIn

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ITT 236: Building a Multi-Million Dollar SEO Agency with Damon Burton

Damon Burton is a remarkable figure who, nearly two decades ago, outsmarted a billion-dollar company by outranking their website on Google. This victory was just the beginning for Damon, who went on to author a best-selling SEO book and establish “SEO National”, an international search engine marketing firm that boasts clients like NBA teams and businesses featured on Inc 5000 and Shark Tank.

In today's episode, we talk about dealing with the challenges of rapid growth and evolving team dynamics, as Damon unveils how to maintain quality and intentionality in an age where AI threatens to over-simplify the complexities of SEO.

[00:00:00] Introduction to Damon Burton, the start of his entrepreneurial journey 

[00:07:08] Benefits and risks with Damon’s slow and steady approach to building and growing his business 

[00:11:20] How detailed documentation and SOPs can simplify the hiring process, and what questions Damon uses in the hiring process

[00:14:30] What the transition from design to SEO looked like, and an interesting story that helped prompt that change

[00:20:13] What Damon’s day-to-day with his agency looks like now, and how he hired people for critical roles to be able to lessen his own workload

[00:28:36] How to maintain quality control while giving more autonomy to employees 

[00:32:30] Damon’s thoughts on the role of AI and where it can be integrated in regards to SEO

[00:39:49] Damon’s plans for the future with even more freedom and quality family time 

[00:43:32] Where to get in touch with Damon Burton and how to get his free book about SEO

• damonburton.com
• Free SEO Book
• Damon Burton's LinkedIn

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ITT 235: AI Growth Hacking and Lifestyle Design with Danny Flood

Danny Flood is a vibrant individual whose life experience spans a range of diverse chapters, all encapsulating an adventurous spirit and a penchant for non-traditional living. About eight years ago, you would have found him in the bustling city of Bangkok, living a life many only dream of. A pioneer in the realm of location independence, Flood was immersing himself in the digital nomad lifestyle, long before it gained mainstream recognition.

As a young man, Danny was no stranger to structure and discipline, having served in the military – an experience that shaped him in many ways. Following his service, he sought to expand his horizons and attended the Art Institute, where he earned a degree in advertising. This conventional path, which typically leads to a corporate career, didn’t quite align with Danny's ambitions.

Facing what he called a quarter-life depression, Flood was confronted with the daunting prospect of 40 years tethered to an office desk, a future that seemed an ill fit for his free spirit. It was this period of introspection that propelled him to break free from the expected and carve a path outside the constraints of a 9-to-5 job. In the time since our last conversation with Danny, his unwavering zeal for living on his own terms is still apparent. Danny Flood remains a true embodiment of the adventurous soul, an inspiration to those looking to live life unconstrained by geographical or societal expectations.

In this episode, we will unpack the toolkit of modern entrepreneurs. Today's conversation spans the gamut from automating social media engagement to validating business ideas using organic methods. Plus, if you're quick, there might just be a discount code waiting for those eager to sign up for Danny's membership—reach out, and you might snag that opportunity!

[00:00:00] Introduction to Danny Flood, his beginnings, and how he got into growth hacking

[00:04:19] Danny’s experience with growth hacking on Appsumo 

[00:08:40] How he launched a co-living space for remote workers and entrepreneurs in Greece

[00:12:00] What tools he used to recreate a similar retreat in Nepal and market it to reach as many people as possible 

[00:15:12] How he uses Facebook groups as free marketing for efficient lead generation

[00:18:10] Benefits of traveling and working remotely 

[00:24:09] Danny’s tips for travel hacking and saving money while traveling 

[00:27:35] How he used AI to build out a site for digital nomads

[00:32:01] How to use AI to create more freedom in work and life

[00:39:32] Danny’s recommendations playing with AI and building useful knowledge and skill

[00:42:39] Where to get in touch with Danny Flood and his gift for listeners of In the Trenches

• The School Of Growth Hacking
• 23 The Coolest Free AI Tools for Content Creation 
• AppSumo

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ITT 234: Million Dollar Weekend with Noah Kagan

Noah Kagan is the founder of AppSumo, dubbed the premier software deal site for solopreneurs, and 8 other million-dollar businesses. He is an entrepreneur with a keen eye for unique business angles and the innate ability to transform the ordinary into extraordinary revenue streams. In his book “Million Dollar Weekend”, Kagan brought to light the company's behind-the-scenes strategies. 

These insightful revelations cemented Kagan's reputation as an innovative storyteller in the digital marketplace. His approach is laced with a no-nonsense attitude, challenging others to look within and extract their unique selling points. 

Noah's story exemplifies how, with the right perspective, even the commonplace elements of a business can be repackaged into bestsellers, encouraging entrepreneurs to reexamine the overlooked facets of their operations for hidden gems of opportunity.

[00:00:00] Introduction to Noah Kagan and his book “Million Dollar Weekend”

[00:03:37] Thoughts on dealing with self-doubt and finding pride in your work.

[00:06:20] How he has implemented his “Now not How” approach in his own company, as well as used it to help others find success in their business ventures. 

[00:10:42] Noah’s advice to entrepreneurs who are unsure where to focus their energy.

[00:16:50] How to create excitement in your business by making boring tasks interesting.

[00:18:31] Advice on not letting incomplete projects weigh you down and living the life you want to live.

[00:20:17] How small and achievable goals lead to successful outcomes.

• Noah Kagan's Website
• Noah Kagan's LinkedIn

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ITT 233: The Journey from $0 to $50,000/mo with Robbie Samuels

Robbie Samuels is an accomplished networking expert who has dedicated over a decade to teaching people the art of networking at conferences and events. After years of balancing his day job with speaking engagements, Robbie took the bold step of quitting his job to focus on networking full-time. This led him to create his own podcast, "On the Schmooze," which he has been hosting since its launch in 2016.

In 2017, Robbie released his first book, which focused on networking events and became a valuable resource for professionals seeking to build meaningful connections. His expertise and contributions didn't stop there - Robbie ran a successful group coaching program, authored articles for Harvard Business Review, and was even invited to give a TEDx talk.

Everything seemed to be falling into place for Robbie, however, just two months after his TEDx talk was published in January 2020, the pandemic struck, and the world shifted. Suddenly, networking became a challenge as everyone found themselves confined to their homes.

Despite the unforeseen circumstances, Robbie's passion for networking remained unwavering. He adapted to the new virtual landscape and continued to share his insights and strategies online, helping individuals navigate the world of remote networking. Robbie's story is a testament to his resilience and determination to empower others, proving that even in the face of adversity, networking remains a crucial skill for personal and professional growth.

[00:00:00] Introduction to Robbie Samuels 

[00:02:33] How he got to the belief that 10k a month is easy to earn, and how he is helping other people to achieve the same.

[00:08:29] Benefits of learning new things and teaching others while being only a few steps ahead.

[00:13:05] How to quickly adapt and experiment through unpredictable situations to align with the needs of clients.

[00:17:22] Discussing AI tools and their potential for value.

[00:19:47] How to generate interest and convert it into sustained following and deeper connections.

[00:29:01] Why embracing online engagement in small niches can lead to new ideas and opportunities.

[00:32:45] Robbie’s tips for leading Zoom calls and increasing engagement.

[00:37:09] Discussing online and in-person event planning - what are some mistakes people make and how Robbie helps solve them. 

[00:46:33] Where to get in touch with Robbie Samuels.

• Robbie Samuels's Website
• Robbie's Podcast ''On the Schmooze''
• LinkedIn

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ITT 232: Book to 6-Figure Business With Jane Duncan Rodgers

Jane Duncan Rogers is an accomplished author, entrepreneur, and award-winning Life and Death coach. She is passionate about creating a world where dying, death, and grief are considered a natural, normal, and nourishing part of the conversation, with end-of-life plans becoming as commonplace as birth plans. 

In today's conversation, we dive into Jane's journey from a self-published book to a thriving 6-figure business. We explore her experiences in the longevity space, her personal memoir, "Gifted by Grief," and the birth of her company, Before I Go Solutions. Jane shares her insights on end of life planning, the importance of leaving a legacy, and the training she offers for individuals interested in becoming end of life plan facilitators.

I hope you enjoy today's conversation, and if you do, please share this interview with others, and leave a review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you're listening to this.

[00:00:00] Introduction to Jane Duncan Rogers and the story of how she wrote and published her book “Gifted by Grief”.

[00:03:58] How her passion project educating people on end of life planning became her company “Before I Go Solutions”.

[00:08:04] On developing her legacy through courses, facilitator training, workbooks etc.

[00:11:12] Who is Jane’s clientele and how she defined the market for her business?

[00:16:03] Jane talks about what the End of Life Program is like and some of the unexpected planning and decision-making people might not know about.

[00:21:21] Jane talks about the future of the end of life market, as well as her plans for the future, both in business and writing.

[00:25:57] Where to get in touch with Jane Duncan Rogers - to learn more, get her books or work with her.

• beforeigosolutions.com

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Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 231: Inside the Mind of an Underground Comedian, Actor, and Film Producer with NT Bullock of Sequential Pictures

Nicholas Todd Bullock (NT Bullock) is the founder of Sequential Pictures. He is a filmmaker who discovered his passion for creating videos long before the advent of YouTube. In the mid-90s, he got hold of his father's camcorder and fell in love with capturing moments on camera. Despite the limitations of the time, like the absence of editing software like Final Cut Pro or access to free training and tutorials (again -- this was pre-YouTube), Bullock persevered. He worked multiple jobs to save up for a computer and a video capture card, recorded tons of skits and short films with his friends, and eventually published his work online -- and went viral with one of his first parodies published on youtube: "STAR WARS: A Lost Hope".

Since then, he's filmed and produced dozens of short films, parodies, and skits, as well as feature films.

In today's conversation, Todd shares his 'origin story', how he got started in film, what inspired him to create and publish these skits and parodies, what the reception has been, including the ups and downs of being a creator in a world that tends to hammer those who are inventive (including, in my words, YouTube's crazy and unfair copyright "standards", shadowbanning, and more).

We also talk about Todd's recent near-death experience (including multiple trips to the ER, 17 days in the hospital, and losing weight till he weighed only 89 pounds), how this has impacted his career, and how he's rebounding (including what's coming next from him).

As an aside, if you feel compelled to support Todd, you can find a gofundme for his health challenges here, and hopefully, I've inspired him to set up a Patreon account, which may be live in the near future. 

I hope you enjoy today's conversation, and if you do, please share this interview with others, and leave a review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you're listening to this.

[00:00:00] Intro to the filmmaker NT Bullock 

[00:08:39] NT Bullock's journey, early online success, and learning process.

[00:17:17] How learning and adapting online facilitates the creative process.

[00:20:57] The challenges with measuring or projecting the time to complete a project (and why NT Bullock focuses on "getting the job done" instead of hitting specific 'metrics')

[00:27:35] The early days, the struggle to monetize content, and how he found success.

[00:39:33] How NT Bullock got started with paid film gigs (including car commercials), how he financed his movies, and why he prefers making shorts over feature length films.

[00:46:32] Why NT Bullock doesn't use Pateon (but should!) 

[00:53:06] YouTube's unfair copyright policies and why they limit revenue and visibility.

[00:57:58] The challenges of making and selling creative projects (or the pain of commercializing art)

[01:11:41] Redubs, the Dune film, and what inspires NT Bullock's art.

[01:15:43] Health struggles, his near-death experience, business setbacks, and the uncertain future. 

[01:24:03] Wrap up and what's coming next

ITT 230: Pay What you Want Pricing with Justin Brooke

Justin Brooks is the founder of Adskills.com, the world's largest online school for digital advertising. His company teaches advertisers how to install proven campaign frameworks and training the next generation of media buyers and connecting them with great clients or jobs.

Today, we’re gonna dive into his experiments and forays into “pay what you want” pricing, what he loves about it, what has worked well, and also what hasn’t.

• Justin’s company AdSkills and how long he’s been in the business of selling courses
• What payment model he prefers to use when delivering his services
• Justin’s foray into “pay what you want” pricing
• How the “pay what you want” pricing model surpassed “free plus shipping” in a split test and what happened when he introduced “bump selling”
• Some of his other findings from the split test experiments
• How he utilized “pay what you want” to boost sales and draw in customers at a coffee shop meetup
• What is Justin’s philosophy behind which product to offer as “pay what you want”
• “Pay what you want” as a way to acquire great testimonials and happy customers
• Ways to incentivize a higher contribution when using a “pay what you want” model
• How “pay what you want” changed Justin’s life and business 
• Some things he wishes he knew before he started using this pricing model and the biggest surprises he encountered while using it

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• YouTube

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Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

 Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 229: Behind the Scenes of the Founding of Comedy Central with Art Bell

Art Bell is the former TV executive who founded The Comedy Channel, which became Comedy Central. He continued his television career as President of CourtTV. After Art left the TV business, he took some writing courses and found he loved writing. Constant Comedy: How I Started Comedy Central and Lost My Sense of Humour is his first book, not counting a humor book he wrote with a couple other guys while at Comedy Central.

Today, Art and I are going to talk about creative processes, the business of comedy, and the up and down journey that entrepreneurs and creatives go through.

• Art’s journey to finding what he actually wanted to do for his career
• The inspiration behind his book Constant Comedy: How I Started Comedy Central and Lost My Sense of Humour
• Why you need to use every skill in your toolkit, no matter the job
• How Art managed the leaps between professions
• The importance of knowing and believing that your idea is inevitable and how to use that knowledge to make it happen
• The various ways Art bootstrapped his idea for Comedy Central
• The single thing people are looking for when you pitch an idea
• Art’s best tips for divvying up roles after a merger or acquisition
• Some of Art’s most creative ideas when it comes to marketing
• Art’s best advice for creatives wanting to make a name for themselves

• www.artbellwriter.com
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• Facebook

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Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

 Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 228: Inside SYSTEMology with David Jenyns

David Jenyns is the author of SYSTEMology, host of the Business Systems Simplified podcast and a serial business owner. Recognised as a high achieving businessman, you will find many of his keynotes on YouTube.

In today’s episode, David and I discuss his proprietary 7-step process for systemizing your business. We break down the method for those looking to turn an early startup success into a repeatable process that can scale with you and your business. Because if you don’t have systems, you don’t have a business. Period.  

• How the renowned Michael Gerber changed David’s business adventure
• The benefits of applying a systematic approach to starting a business
• Why you need to consider working on projects for free 
• Linearity of business growth and why is it important
• Identifying and understanding the values of being a system thinker
• Embracing systems and processes to systemize your business (even if you’re not tech savvy)
• David’s go-to process for evaluating businesses and their systems
• 10-15 must-have systems that move the needle in your business
• David’s 7 steps to system optimization (have a pen and paper ready)
• Changing the direction of your business with a 3-step 1-page outline
• Hiring a systems process professional so that you can finally step out of your business
• David’s best tip for increasing the value of your business

• system hub
• systemology.com
• Twitter: @davidjenyns

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Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

 Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 227: How to Invest in Real Estate Without Cash, Loans, or Debt with Chris Prefontaine

Chris Prefontaine 3- time best-selling author, founder and CEO of SmartRealEstateCoach.com and host of the Smart Real Estate Coach Podcast. Chris founded Smart Real Estate Coach in 2014, bringing in his son Nick, daughter Kayla, and son-in-law Zachary to help grow the company. Chris and his team coach investors on how to properly scale and automate their real estate investing businesses throughout North America, without using their own cash, credit, or taking out bank loans to buy a property. Chris and his family buy and sell homes in their own market every month and then mentor, coach, and consult students and associates all around North America to do the exact same thing.

I brought Chris onto the podcast today to talk about how to invest in real estate with no capital. Not only that, but Chris shares pretty much everything you need to know about real estate in 2020 and beyond.

• The low-down on how Chris broke into a saturated industry
• Effective real estate investing during the pandemic 
• The do’s and don’ts when buying property
• Chris’ best tips on purchasing property with no credit or money down
• How to capitalize on the economic forces during the next 6 months
• What the outlook for the real estate industry is in 2020 and beyond 
• Tips on making deals outside of the conventional loan system
• The best way to find a niche that interests you
• How to approach experts in your field of interest to mentor you
• Why you need to learn about economic trends in your desired niche

• SmartRealEstateCoach.com
• Check out Chris’ book: Real Estate On Your Terms: Create Continuous Cash Flow Now, Without Using Your Cash Or Credit

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Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

 Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 226: How to Start and Grow a Podcast in 2020 with Michael Neeley

Michael Neeley is an authority strategist, business mentor and podcasting veteran. Along with hosting many podcasts, Michael is a writer, a motivational speaker, a personal development coach, and the creator of the transformational program The Art of Forgetting. 

In today’s conversation, Michael and I discuss the ins and outs of starting a podcast in 2020 from tax write offs to gaining tremendous traction relatively quickly. If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, then grab a pen and paper and take some notes.

• How have podcasts changed from 2003-2020
• Why 2020 is the perfect year to start a podcast
• Clever ways to set the initial focus of your podcast
• The best way to plan your podcast episodes in advance
• Michael’s top recommendations regarding podcast sponsorships and advertising
• How to make money from your podcast
• The low down on tax write offs for podcasters
• Embracing evergreen content rather than hot button content
• Michael’s traction boosting podcast “growth hacks”
• Talking Tech - What you need to know about production, software, hardware, and hosting platforms

• www.michaelneeley.com
• THE SIMPLE 5-STEP PROCESS TO LAUNCH A ROCKIN’ PODCAST
• Facebook: @ArtOfForgetting
• Twitter: @michaelkneeley

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Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

 Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 225: Leading with Style with David McKnight

David McKnight is the founder of McKnight Image Lab and the author of The Zen Executive Presence. He is an image consultant and professional coach who specializes in helping ambitious and busy professionals craft and leverage their personal image and brand to generate wealth, success and confidence.

In today’s broadcast, David and I discuss where style and leadership intersect and how to leverage your appearance and presence to get promotions, grow your business, and be more confident in social settings.

• David’s incredible journey from stylist to consultant
• Using your appearance to differentiate yourself from the competition
• The importance of using your image and style intentionally to signal confidence, credibility and capability
• The four aspects of your clothing that you need to be aware of
• What is the most powerful item you can have in your wardrobe
• Understanding and implementing David’s “Triangle of Power”
• David’s explanation of the four pillars of Executive Presence
• Why you need to be aware of others perceptions of you
• David’s best tips on how to exude confidence while on video or audio calls
• The one item you should invest in for high-quality video calls
• What is the fastest and easiest way to establish a personal brand

• www.mcknightimagelab.com
• The Zen Executive Presence
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Get David’s free book Leading With Style

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 Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 224: The Intersection of Design, Entrepreneurship, and Hustle with Daniel Scrivner

Daniel Scrivner is the CEO of Flow, which is a project management software. Previously he was the Head of Design at Digit and Square. He's worked for some of the most respected brands in the world including Apple, Nike, Disney, and Target.

In today’s broadcast, Daniel and I discuss how someone who worked at Apple and Square was able to take his accrued knowledge into different spaces and into his own company. We dive into many topics ranging from design to creative thinking in general.  

• The thing that sparked Daniel’s love for design
• Daniel’s take on the idea of a “silver bullet” to success
• Why you need to put in reps to establish soft skills of business and design
• How Daniel navigated unexpected career paths and the fear of failure
• The simple reason why Daniel feels uncomfortable when comfortable
• How Daniel still uses insights he gained from working at Apple and Square in his business
• Daniel’s creative process of “wide-open exploration” when starting a project
• The importance of separating user feedback from the creative process

• getflow.com
• [email protected]

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 Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 223: How to Grow and Sell an Online Company with Nathan Hirsch

Nathan Hirsch is a serial entrepreneur and expert in remote hiring and e-commerce. He is the founder and CEO of FreeeUp.com and the co-founder and COO of Portlight. Nathan is an expert at building efficient systems and processes, sales strategies, and business management. 

In today’s broadcast, Nathan Hirsch takes us behind-the-scenes of his acquisition and investment journey and he shares his bootstrap strategies to grow his business into a multimillion-dollar business in a little less than 4 years. 

• How Nathan began his entrepreneurial journey using the Amazon Marketplace
• Behind the scenes of Nathan’s acquisition journey
• How Nathan figured out what to prioritize in his business
• Where did Nathan know to put his effort when it came to software
• Nathan’s strategies to get his business “sales” ready
• The best rules of thumb when it comes to hiring developers
• How you can make your business a business that someone wants to buy
• The top 2 things Nathan had to invest in prior to the sale of his business
• How Nathan made the decision to sell his business to the person who bought it

• freeeup.com
• outsourceschool.com
• facebook.com/freeeupmarketplace
• linkedin.com/in/nathanhirsch

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 Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 222: How to Level Up Your Life and Business with Jovana Miljanovic

Jovana Miljanovic was born and raised in Serbia. She built a brick and mortar style business where she ran in-person workshops from scratch and then pivoted to helping people around the world through her virtual education platform. Now Jovana helps women start and scale their businesses online, and she hosts her own podcast, the Jovana Miljanovic Podcast on YouTube.

In this broadcast, Jovana Miljanovic walks us through how to build your business in 2020 from scratch, regardless of the constantly shifting economic and social landscape that we’re all in. She also shares why you need to prioritize doing things that make you uncomfortable (in business and life) and how to stick to your goals for an extended period of time.

• Behind the scenes of Jovana’s entrepreneurial journey
• The positives of bartering your services during the start-up phase to kick start your business
• How Jovana realized she needed to support women in business
• The reason why Jovana shifted to a predominantly online business
• Why Jovana feels like everything is an experiment when it comes to business and life
• How you can stop relying on your past success and start getting uncomfortable
• Jovana’s go-to structure for getting uncomfortable
• The best length of time for goal setting
• Why Jovana loves failing fast and making mistakes in her business
• How Jovana recommends remaining authentic on social media

• jovanamiljanovic.us
• Jovana Miljanovic Podcast
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Facebook

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 Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 221: How to Make Money with eCourses in 2020 with Danny Iny

Danny Iny is the founder and CEO of Mirasee and best-selling author of nine published books, including Leveraged Learning, Teach and Grow Rich, The Audience Revolution, and Engagement from Scratch!. He is the host of the Business Reimagined Podcast and is also the creator of the acclaimed Course Builder’s Laboratory training program, which provides all the instruction, coaching, and support that entrepreneurs need to build and launch a profitable online course.

I’ve had Danny on the podcast before where he shared how to grow a 7-figure business. If you want to hear his backstory, go ahead and give episode 44 a listen.

In today’s broadcast, Danny Iny walks us through the ins and outs of e-learning (what it is, how it works, how the e-learning industry is growing and changing, and how to take advantage of it by creating and selling courses online).

• The low-down on eCourses from 2015 to 2020
• Danny’s top 2 tips so you can start making a meaningful amount of passive income
• How to figure out what you can spend to acquire a customer
• Understanding the difference between “edutainment” and “education”
• Why Danny believes you need to start with the transformation your eCourse provides before anything else
• How to offer community and support as an add-on to your eCourse
• Danny’s strategy behind choosing your ideal topic for your eCourse
• The 3 must know ingredients to a business that works well with online courses

• mirasee.com
• @DannyIny
• Teach Your Gift 

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 Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 220: Ramping Up Remote Work with David Hassell

David Hassel is a serial entrepreneur and the co-founder and CEO of 15Five, which is what he views as his opportunity to help organizations and individuals reach their potential and become ‘organizationally-actualized’. He and his team have developed industry leading people management software to drive high performance for over 2000 customers via a suite of features, including weekly check ins.

I brought David onto the podcast today to talk about how to transition into remote work and optimize the online working space. This conversation is geared towards leaders, managers and owners who now find themselves being thrust into managing a remote team. We also talk about ways that you can optimize your remote work, even if your team is distributed across the world.

• How did David get to into the entrepreneurial lifestyle
• Was David’s company always focused on remote work
• What should you implement to make remote work effective
• How can you provide a sense of connection and belonging while working remotely
• What tools can you use to keep your team in contact
• What are the upsides when you apply remote work correctly
• Can remote work make your business more scalable
• Why you need a schedule with your remote workers
• The importance of doing emotional checking on your team calls
• Does David have set hours for his remote team
• How to care about high performance and culture simultaneously in your business
• What is 15Five and how can it help your business

• 15five.com
• @dhassell

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Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 219: How To Stop Trading Time For Money with Edward Kay

Edward Kay works with associations who are frustrated by the inability to get digital and web technology working for them. Clients come to him who are struggling with terrible website-to-membership-database integration, lack of member self-service and important data isolated in unconnected systems. Edward is passionate about making tech deliver for membership organisations and associations.

On this week’s episode, I sit down with Edward Kay, a membership technology specialist and the founder of Tall Projects, which provides digital services for membership organizations and associations. I brought Edward on the call to talk about his journey into freelancing; specifically how he keeps his operation lean, how he moved away from trading time for money to a recurring revenue subscription model, and why it’s so important to niche down and then maybe niche down some more.

My big takeaway from this episode is that the crux of success is discipline work. And that it’s completely possible to land great clients and organize your business and lifestyle so that it serves you and not the other way around.

• What is Edward’s business journey
• How did Edward find his niche
• Why you need to keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities
• How did Edward move to a recurring revenue model
• Why you need to experiment with your pricing on different clients
• How can you ensure a project isn’t taking more time than you first quoted
• Why is it important to niche down
• The importance of expectations around retainers
• Is a retainer based system the best option for freelancers
• How can you be more disciplined in your business to make the most of your time
• What are Edward’s best practices to keep clients for the long haul
• Why you need to invest in a team for the long-term

• www.tallprojects.co.uk

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Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 218: How to Survive Financial Chaos with Samir Patel

Samir Patel is the founder and managing partner of Trophy Point Investment Group. He bought his first hotel when he was a junior in college. Samir has successfully served as an officer in the US Army serving as the chief operations officer of a 1,000 person organization. He has engaged in real estate transactions/investments, acquisition of businesses and creating businesses for 10 years.

In today’s episode, Samir and I discuss how to mitigate downside risk by spotting financial liabilities and closing them up and more broadly, handling the chaos. 

• How does Samir turn companies around
• Where did Samir’s entrepreneurship journey begin
• How did Westpoint shape Samir’s business mindset
• How was Samir able to handle his side hustles while on active duty
• What caused Samir to pursue business ventures full-time
• What it’s like to turn around after bankruptcy
• The importance of honesty and knowing when to let people go
• The importance of communication and asking questions regarding loans
• What does Samir look for in terms of chaos and uncertainty
• What should brick and mortar stores prioritize 
• How the complexities of loans can be managed effectively 

• Email - [email protected]
• LinkedIn
• Call - (470) 236-2489

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 Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 217: Why You Need a Referral Marketing System (with the founder of EarlyParrot) Gaetano Caruana

Gaetano Caruana is the founder of EarlyParrot, which is a referral marketing software that has helped hundreds of businesses generate high-quality leads through referrals. EarlyParrot was built out of a need and soon evolved into a flexible platform that can be plugged into any sales firm.

Today, I sit down with Gaetano Caruana to discuss how to grow your email list and scale your revenue with an automated referral marketing system. I know that sounds like a lot, but it’s truly not that complex. We’ll also dive into how easy it is, how profitable it can be, how a referral program can increase your brand awareness and customer loyalty, why referrals are typically higher quality leads and why that matters to you and your business. Gaetano will also share how referral programs lower the cost of acquisition and so much more.

My big takeaway for this episode is for you to listen to the part where we talk about exclusivity. Now, I’m just going to leave it at that. You’ll have to listen to the rest of the episode to know what I’m talking about!

• What led Gaetano to founding EarlyParrot
• What are the steps it takes to incentivize word of mouth marketing
• Which incentives should you use when it comes to list building v.s. e-commerce
• Why you need to be smart and clear with the rewards you’re giving away
• What is a double-sided campaign and is it hard to implement
• How much does EarlyParrot usually charge to ensure everything is integrated properly
• Why you don’t have to give something expensive to get someone engaged
• Is there anything someone should be cognizant of when choosing your incentives
• How to promote your referral program for the best results
• What are some ways to lower the cost of acquisition
• In what ways is affiliate marketing different than referral marketing
• How difficult is it to integrate a referral marketing campaign into specific software
• How does having a referral program in place allow you to keep growing bigger and bigger
• What content can you use to promote your referral program
• How to plan for negativity or backlash
• What ways can you market your referral program without being spammy

• earlyparrot.com
• LinkedIn 

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 Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 216: How to Grow a Profitable Membership Site with Jen Lehner

Jennifer Lehner is a Digital Marketing Strategist and Adjunct Professor of Digital Marketing at Cleveland State University. She shows entrepreneurs how to build an audience and monetize their expertise online using social media and digital tools. She creates online courses and trainings, while also speaking at businesses and universities about the fast-changing world of digital media and how important it is to know exactly how to use these new tools to differentiate yourself, to tell your story and take control of your future.

On this week’s episode, I’m sitting down with Jennifer Lerner to discuss how to start and grow a profitable recurring revenue membership site. But that’s not all we discuss! We also dive deep into membership sites, including why membership sites are all about the experience, how to grow a membership site that requires minimal content creation, what content to restrict and what to share, how to use events to reward existing members while generating new paid membership signups and so much more.

Typically I would highlight one of my biggest takeaways for the episode, but it’s kind of hard to do today because the whole episode is very solid! So if you want to launch, grow or run a recurring revenue membership site, then I think all the different components of what you’ll hear today will be worthwhile to you.

• What led Jen to creating her first membership site
• What was Jen’s original strategy when deciding what content to put together for her membership
• When did Jen start blogging and creating content
• How did Jen spin her lack of content into a positive
• How to know if you should have a monthly or yearly membership
• Should entrepreneurs gravitate towards creating experience and if so, how can they do this
• How can you generate new leads for your membership
• Why does Jen never do free trials
• Could someone run a membership site as a side hustle
• How can you ensure your other products aren’t being cannibalized by your membership
• Why you need to make sure your membership is promoted everywhere

• jenlehner.com
• LinkedIn 
• Twitter 
• Instagram 
• YouTube

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 Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 215: Why You Don’t Have To Be Ruthless To Win with Jonathan Keyser

Jonathan Keyser is the founder and CEO of Keyser. By using his own selfless service model, Jonathan was able to turn Keyser into the largest tenant rep commercial real estate firm in Arizona in just six years. 

The rapid growth and continued success of Keyser inspired Jonathan to share, teach and train the next generation of selfless leaders using his model, hence the Keyser Institute was born. To top it all off, Jonathan is also a Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Author of You Don’t Have to Be Ruthless to Win, a book that chronicles Jonathan’s journey from self-described ruthlessness to selfless service, including why and how he did it and how you can do the same.

In today’s conversation, we talk about why you don’t have to be ruthless to win a business, or life, and that there’s another way to do things. We also talk about why you must align your business model with your values and how to inculcate this in your team.

• How did Jonathan’s journey begin 
• What does the term “ruthlessness” mean to Jonathan
• How did Jonathan transform himself from being ruthless to more selfless
• In what way does Jonathan approach selfless service
• How to implement selfless service into your business
• The importance of self-reinvention to grow your business
• What are the three levels of self-reinvention 
• How to structure a culture of selfless service around reinvention
• How to incorporate Jonathan’s culture of service model in a team setting
• In what ways does Jonathan’s service model require a business model shift

• ruthlessbook.com
• keyserinstitute.com
• jonathankeyser.com

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Podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off your podcast production for life.

ITT 214: The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur with John Jantsch

John Jantsch is a marketing consultant, speaker, and author of Duct Tape Marketing, The Referral Engine, Duct Tape Selling, The Commitment Engine, and SEO for Growth. His newest work, The Self-reliant Entrepreneur 366 Daily Meditations to Feed Your Soul and Grow Your Business, taps into the wisdom of 19th-century transcendentalist literature and the author’s own 30 year entrepreneurial journey to challenge today’s entrepreneurs to remain fiercely self-reliant while chasing their own version of success.

My big takeaway from today’s conversation is that there are two major challenges that every entrepreneur will run into - two major roadblocks. The first challenge is distraction, losing time, not making useful gains because you’re getting sidetracked. It’s the result of a lack of focus, but ultimately, distraction is really crippling because there’s only so many days in a row that you can not make progress before you have to throw in the towel for anything you’re doing. So remember, that distraction will keep you from making those daily gains. The second thing that John shares is one of the biggest challenges or failure points for entrepreneurs and creatives is comparison, and that’s getting caught up in what other people are doing. So the reason comparison is so deadly is because at best, it’s a distraction.

• How did John enter the marketing space
• What are the greatest frustrations in marketing
• Why did John decide to write his first book
• What caused John to shift to self-reliant entrepreneurship marketing
• Why did John choose a workbook style format for his book
• How-to books and the lack of “why”
• How did mid-19th century writings influence John’s book
• In what ways did John approach his book in a “morning routine” fashion
• What is the most appropriate level of entrepreneurship is John’s book most helpful
• What are the common challenges that entrepreneurs face
• How can you use mindfulness to increase productivity
• What are John’s thoughts on goals and setting your aim as an entrepreneur
• What are some examples of hacks or tricks to stay focused 
• What are John’s closing thoughts for 2020

• Check out John’s book at selfreliantentrepreneur.com
• ducttapemarketing.com

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This podcast and show note production by Nives Kurjak. Click here to get 10% off (for life)

ITT 213: Make More Money as a Freelancer with Jonathan Stark

Jonathan Stark is a former software developer who is on a mission to rid the world of hourly billing. He is the author of Hourly Billing is Nuts, the host of Ditching Hourly and writes a daily newsletter on pricing for independent professionals.

During today’s conversation, Jonathan breaks down the idea of ditching hourly rates and why you should think about shifting more towards the less limiting avenue of value pricing. My big takeaway from today’s conversation was that if you are selling services professionally, hourly billing is probably not the way to go. It limits your upside profit potential and it can also harm relationships with longer term clients.

• How did Jonathan venture into this space
• What are the issues with hourly billing
• In what ways could hourly billing seem like a trap
• How does switching from hourly billing increase efficiency
• What are the benefits of selling outcomes vs selling time/hours
• What are the issues of trust with buyer and seller in relation to time and cost
• What is the importance of discussing desired outcomes with buyer to minimize wasted time
• What are the negatives of a buyer hiring someone on a project basis 
• The benefits of offering a guarantee
• How does value pricing work
• What is the difference between value pricing and tiered pricing 
• How to create incremental options
• What is the process when booking a client
• Why does Jonathan call the meetings an “interview”

• valuepricingbootcamp.com

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ITT 212: How to Become Indistractable with Nir Eyal

Nir Eyal is the bestselling author of "Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products" and "Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life." He has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. His writing on technology, psychology, and business, appears in the Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, TechCrunch, and Psychology Today.

During this conversation, we talk about Nir’s most recent book Indistractable. We also focus on a few of the major areas of the book, like internal and external triggers that cause distractions. My big takeaway from this conversation is that there will always be distractions. The only thing we can do is be aware of our distractions because they will happen. They will occur. You can never rid yourself entirely of distractions, but there are ways that you can organize your environment so that you can be more effective in life.

• Why did Nir write Indistractable
• How did Nir research his book and the techniques he mention
• Why is tech not the problem
• What are the fundamental principles of distraction
• What is the opposite of distraction
• How is time management also pain management
• Why do we get distracted by something
• What can you do to master your internal triggers
• What is the difference between “blamers” and “shamers”
• How can you get curious about your distractions and discomfort
• Why does Nir give himself the time to satisfy his distractions
• How is flow not the answer to everything
• What technique should you use for the tasks you don’t want to do
• What are the four big strategies to becoming indistractable
• What is the antidote to impulsiveness
• Why you need to plan your time using time boxing

• nirandfar.com
• Twitter 
• Book
• Schedule Maker 
• Distraction Guide
• Habits VS Routines

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ITT 211: Behind The Scenes of Building a 4-Hour Workweek Business with Jake Jorgovan

Jake Jorgovan is the founder of Lead Cookie, Outbound Creative, and Content Allies. Prior to starting Outbound Creative, Jake ran business development for a video production agency and won the business of multiple Fortune 500 clients and A-List touring artists. Since leaving that agency, he has been working with other companies to help them win their dream clients. Jake doesn’t have an office and he doesn’t meet his clients in person. Instead, he works remotely and travels all over the world.

Today I sit down with Jake to talk about his 4-hour workweek. We took this angle because of how interesting it is to be able to organize your business and your work into your life in only four hours. My big takeaway from this chat is that no matter where you’re at, no matter how tough it's been, no matter how many hits you've taken, no matter if you're in the trenches and you're still slogging it out, or if you're trying to hustle through it - whatever your goal is, you can definitely achieve it.

• What is Lead Cookie, how does it work and what is it’s genesis
• What were the critical things Jake did when getting his business started
• How did Jake try and fail for thirteen years before achieving success
• Why is it helpful to have someone level you up and steer you in the right direction
• When and who did Jake first hire to help within his business
• What did Jake pull the trigger on too soon when starting his business
• What was the before and after process of handing off his sales department
• Why you need to prepare for mistakes along the entrepreneurial journey
• How did Jake know it was okay to step away from his business to only work 4 hours a week
• What are some of the other avenues of growth he can see with his business
• Why does Jake want to diversify his risk
• Where is Jake at with his newest venture Content Allies
• Is there someone that runs everything in Jake’s business where he only works 4 hours per week
• Who manages Jake’s sales process and where is their time and energy focused

• jake-jorgovan.com
• Facebook
• LinkedIn

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ITT 210: Billion Dollar Infomercial Marketing Secrets with Rick Cesari

Rick Cesari has been a pioneer in the Direct Response advertising industry since the early 90s, and his Brand Response strategies have helped build many iconic brands that you have probably heard of (like Sonicare, The George Foreman Grill, and OxiClean). He is the author of "Buy Now, Creative Marketing that gets Customers to Respond to You”, “Video Persuasion”. 

Rick continues to be on the cutting edge of new Brand Response advertising campaigns, creating and implementing innovative cross-platform strategies with digital and mobile ventures for his clients and is currently focusing on video marketing as a leading media direct response platform for increasing product sales.

During today’s episode Rick and I talk about video marketing infomercials and video persuasion. More specifically, we dive into how you can use video persuasion among your social media channels in order to boost your marketing. 

My big takeaway from this episode is that you need to start getting more video testimonials from your customers and clients.

• How did Rick get into the career that he’s doing today
• Why did Rick write his book “Video Persuasion”
• What was Rick’s process when he did his first infomercial
• Where did Rick’s inspiration come from when he started these videos
• What is the secret formula Rick uses in videos to make them more compelling
• What are “factoids” and how do they create interest
• What is “social proof” and why is it important
• Do videos translate into other marketing channels
• Is storytelling a big part of video persuasion
• What can you look forward to in Rick’s latest book “Video Persuasion”
• What information does Rick need to know before he writes an infomercial
• Why your customers are the best source of information you can have
• How to get a great testimonial from your customers
• The importance of an origin story for your business
• Why you need a call to action in every video
• How to create good video from a technical standpoint
• Why you should use video in your email marketing

• rickcesari.com
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube

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ITT 209: Small Business Mistakes to Avoid with Rob Braiman

Rob Braiman is personally responsible for the development and growth of three directly owned and successful start-ups, he brings a passion for the small to mid-market segment of business. He has spent 15 years working directly with business owners to improve strategic planning, operations, growth, and business development. 

During today’s conversation, I sit down with Rob Braiman, who’s the Principal and Managing Member at Cogent Analytics. I brought Rob on the call today to talk about the typical problems that small business owners and entrepreneurs face today and how to get through them. This conversation does get somewhat analytical and academia focused, but it will still be incredibly useful for small business owners. 

You’ll leave this conversation thinking about how you can improve some of your bottom line metrics and numbers that you don’t necessarily think about when bootstrapping. My big takeaway from this episode is that the world of KPI metrics can be quite interesting when you know what you’re tracking and how to pay yourself first.

• Where did Rob’s entrepreneurial journey begin
• What was Rob’s time like with the fifth group
• How did Rob go from the military to working with analytics
• What background do small business owners typically come from
• What are the four pillars that analyzes your current state of business
• What are the types and sizes of small businesses Rob typically works with
• How does Rob take a holistic view to his clients
• Does Rob typically see the same mistakes made by small business owners
• Why you need to look at your financials
• Where should you start when looking at KPIs
• How can you monitor your business development
• What is a good break even strategy
• Why most business owners do not come from an academic background
• In what way does under-performing give away your money
• Why you need to feel comfortable talking about your profits without concerning yourself with “greed”
• How is Cogent Analytics an information first business

• cogentanalytics.com
• Take Cogent Analytics Entrepreneur Quiz to learn what opportunities you have for better profits
• LinkedIn
• Twitter

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ITT 208: How to Outsource Your Book and Become a Wall Street Journal Bestseller with Alinka Rutkowska

Alinka Rutkowska is a USA Today best-selling author, a Wall Street Journal best-selling author and a top 100 Amazon best-selling author in business and money. She’s sold more than 100,000 copies of her books and her book creation process has been showcased in Entrepreneur magazine. She’s also the CEO of Leaders Press, where she turns entrepreneurs' book ideas into best-selling books. She has launched all its titles to best-seller status.

On today’s episode, I sit down with Alinka Rutkowska to talk about two things. The first is how to outsource your book and what that process looks like. The second is Alinka’s best tips on how to hit the Wall Street Journal bestseller list.

During this conversation, we kind of break down her strategy for those two things with what worked and what didn’t. She will be sharing some practical and hopefully pragmatic tips on what you could do to implement for your own launch, regardless if you are shooting for a best seller list.

• When and how did Alinka enter the self-publishing space
• What inspired Alinka to publish her first book
• What are the potential benefits of self-publishing a book
• What are the opportunities available for those aiming to self-publish
• How have the self-publishing obstacles changed since 2010
• What are the pros and cons of using books as a business tool versus earning royalties 
• What do people need to be weary of when outsourcing a book to another writer
• How can you avoid issues with the writing not sounding authentic (if ghostwritten)
• How to maintain quality writing if outsourced to a ghostwriter
• What is the secret to earning a place on the New York Times Bestseller list (if self-publishing)
• What is the importance of pre-orders and partnerships to boost overall sales
• Where does Alinka view the future of self-publishing heading 

• leaderspress.com

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ITT 207: Better Manage Your Projects with Hussain Bandukwala

Hussain Bandukwala is the Chief PMO Coach and Adviser at Parwaaz Consulting, which provides consulting, coaching, support and resources to facilitate the success of Project Management Office (PMO) leaders. He is a seasoned program/project manager who has worked with C-level executives and garnered recognition for being a versatile leader with a focus on getting things done. Hussain speaks at PMI events and has authored several PMO relevant publications.

Today, I sit down with Hussain to talk about project management. Specifically, how do we get things done quickly and efficiently and do it in as organized a fashion as possible so that we can chip on time and profitably. This episode is going to discuss how you can get things done better, faster and ultimately reclaim more of your time. My biggest takeaway from this episode is that what we are doing is worth our time and energy only when we’re getting things done efficiently and effectively.

• What led Hussain to what he’s doing today
• What exactly is project management
• How should we think of project management as an overview
• Why is project management not an administrative task
• Is it true that some people do not need a framework to get something done
• How do you know if you need project management as a solopreneur or small business
• What are the phases included in project management
• What is the key to project management success
• What are some examples of project management software
• How to use a Gantt Chart for project management at a glance
• What you definitely need if you’re trying to run a business or grow an operation
• Why is consistency key when it comes to project management
• How you can work backwards to see results faster

• parwaazcc.com
• LinkedIn

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ITT 206: How To Effectively Incorporate Humor Into The Workplace with Andrew Tarvin

Andrew Tarvin is the creator of Humor That Works. Humor That Works has helped over 25,000 people, from all around the world and within more than 250 different organizations, use humor to achieve success and happiness in the workplace.

As an entrepreneur, and as a marketer, I like to use humor to capture attention, get people entertained, and to have more fun with the content I am producing. In today’s conversation, Andrew and I dive into the engineering of humor. We spent some time discussing whether or not there is a scientific or mathematical model that we can follow and what constitutes as good humor or bad humor in the workplace.

My big takeaway from this episode is that humor is something that can actually be engineered. There are some good techniques and tactics, and some pragmatic approaches to thinking about how to be humorous in a productive capacity, both in the workplace and on your own.

• How did Andrew venture into his current career
• Why did Andrew start performing stand-up comedy
• How did Andrew mitigate the risk of leaving his corporate position to start his own business
• What is the importance of communicating in a language that potential consumers will understand
• What does it mean to be a Humor Engineer
• How is humor the 6th missing skill of work
• In what ways can humor be used strategically to re-energize those that are suffering burnout
• How can we adjust humor to fit in with today’s standards
• How to engineer humor in a positive, inclusive way
• What is the impact of improvisation on starting a conversation with your audience
• What is the importance of integrating humor into the workplace
• How you can incorporate the use of memes and gifs in the workplace
• Why you should aim to make people laugh on occasion
• What is the value behind creating a framework for humor
• How to deal with people that bring political humor or offensive humor into the workplace

• www.humorthatworks.com 
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• LinkedIn

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ITT 205: 6-Figure Affiliate Marketing Strategies with Jill Stanton

Jill Stanton is the co-creator of Screw the Nine to Five with her husband, Josh Stanton. Jill and her husband are obsessive world travellers (with their little guy, Kai), say-it-like-it-is podcast hosts, lovers of quality of red wine and hell-bent on helping transform unsatisfied employees into dangerously-successful entrepreneurs!

In today’s conversation, we discuss how Jill has grown her blog to multiple six figures by selling affiliate products. We also dive into what makes a successful affiliate marketing program, how to niche down effectively and what is working and what’s not working in the digital marketing space right now.

My big takeaway from this episode is that affiliate income can be simple, easy and fun to earn, and it’s particularly suited for those people who want to focus on content creation and teaching first. If you’re already creating content and teaching and sharing great information, then you should also be leveraging affiliate or affiliate products. Because if you’re not, then you’re leaving money on the table. 

Take some notes and consider how you might be able to implement or integrate affiliate marketing into what you’re already doing.

• How did Jill and her husband begin their blog
• Why should you stick to what you know first when blogging
• What were some of the obstacles Jill and her husband faced while establishing their platform
• How important are free Facebook Groups to grow your audience
• What is the importance of receiving feedback from your audience
• What are the benefits of niching down versus creating a broad platform
• How and why did Jill and her husband shut down their membership site
• What are the best strategies for those entering the affiliate marketing space
• Why you are leaving money on the table if you are not incorporating affiliate marketing in your business
• Why attention and trust are critical for those pursuing affiliate marketing
• How to niche down and offer services to the right audience
• Where does Jill view the future of Screw the Nine to Five going

• screwtheninetofive.com/the-screw-show/
• screwtheninetofive.com

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ITT 204: How to Start a Side Hustle and Quit Your Job with Steve Chou

Steve Chou is the founder of My Wife Quit Her Job. When Steve’s wife became pregnant with their first child, she decided to quit her job to stay at home with the kids. But instead of cutting back on their lifestyle, they started an online store and made over $100K in only 12 months to replace her salary. 

On today’s episode, Steve and I talk about that website, how he founded it, and how they were able to replace her income with a side hustle project within about one to two years of starting their business. Steve created a foundation in niche businesses, through traffic, lead generation, marketing and sales for his physical and digital products.

My big takeaway from today’s episode was that great results can occur by working with a chatbot through Facebook messenger. I can’t wait for you to hear Steve’s statistics to share about his experience with that feature!

• How did Steve enter the blogging space
• What factors attributed to the significant increases in growth for My Wife Quit Her Job
• How effective are affiliate offers for growth
• Why you should use a product or be familiar with a product before adding an affiliate to a post
• How did Steve’s e-commerce conference turn into a Shark Tank-style event
• What is working and what is not working for generating sales and traffic online
• The importance of using push notifications and chatbots 
• How to lead potential customers to opt in for your chatbot
• What is on the horizon for Steve’s e-commerce and blogging spaces 
• The importance of balancing business life and family life

• mywifequitherjob.com
• bumblebeelinens.com
• kidincharge.com

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ITT 203: Using Ads on Amazon To Boost Your Book Sales with Brian Berni

Brian Berni is a former Vatican secret archives employee and a best selling author under multiple pen names. He blogs for writers and self publishers at Authorstech and is the co-founder of BookAds, an agency that helps authors advertise their books through Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) and book club ads in 2018. Brian also hosted the first ever virtual summit for fiction writers. 

I brought Brian onto the podcast today to talk about book marketing, book advertising, what’s working, what’s not, and how to make a mess work for you. In today’s conversation, I wanted Brian to share his experience from hosting his first ever virtual summit, Indie Novelist Summit for fiction writers in 2018, which helped him go from practically zero to thousands of engaged readers. Due to the success of the summit, several thousand more subscribers joined his email list and generated multiple five figures just from ticket sales of his virtual summit alone. During the campaign, I worked with Brian, which was a lot of fun because he had such a commitment to quality. And so I have kind of two big takeaways. 

From today’s conversation, I had two big takeaways. The first is on the marketing front which is that Amazon is moving to a pay-to-play model, which seems to be the future of Amazon book sales. The second big takeaway is on the virtual summit front, which is that they work. If you want to know more about virtual summits, you can go to my blog.

• How did Brian venture into an online space 
• Why did Brian choose to engage other authors to network
• In what ways did Brian hone his niche around self-publishing
• The importance of being acquainted with Facebook, Google and Amazon ads
• How Brian became specialized in book ads marketing
• Why you should always continue experimenting and testing with ads
• The importance of realizing that each book marketing ad will not work for all books
• What are the critical components of running a paid ad campaign
• What were Brian’s expectations for his first virtual summit
• How successful was the Indie Novelist Summit in terms of growth
• The importance of using a survey to engage the interests of your community
• Where does Brian view his business ventures going in the future

• authorstech 
• bookads

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ITT 202: How to Scale an Agency with Chad Pytel

Chad Pytel is a developer, founder and CEO of thoughtbot, a product design development consultancy with six studios across the U.S. and U.K. For over 15 years, thoughtbot has produced top quality web and mobile apps with hundreds of clients from one person startups to Fortune 500 enterprises, universities and nonprofits. Chad co-authored two books, Rails AntiPatterns and Pro Active Record, has spoken at conferences around the world and is the host of the podcast Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots.

On today’s episode, I sit down with Chad to talk about how thoughtbot went from an idea to a small five person Web agency. From there it grew to over a 100 person consultancy. During this conversation, we also discuss how Chad has been able to grow this company over the last decade and what that’s been like to expand and grow across multiple geographic locations.

My big takeaway from today’s conversation is that there are a lot of ways to build the type of business you want to build. But the one thing that’s critical is the vision, what you care about, how you do work, who you want to work with, and the things that will separate you from others because there’s always going to be competition. The thing that’s going to separate you from the competition are your values, your goals and how you organize the work you do and why you do it.

• How Chad founded thoughtbot
• In what ways Chad measured success versus unsuccess during the first few years of his business
• How to build the type of business you want to build
• The importance of minimizing what your company offers to find a niche
• Why establishing clear specializations for your business attracts ideal customers
• How value driven decisions create positive customer relations
• What are the benefits of a team working in the same physical space 
• What are the pros and cons of a team working on a project remotely 
• How to measure the trade-offs of having a full staff of W-2 workers 
• Where does Chad see his business going in the future 

• Chad's Twitter 
• thoughtbot Twitter

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ITT 201: How to Feast as a Freelancer with Jason Resnick

On today’s episode, I am having a conversation with Jason Resnick who is a web developer, host of the podcast, Live in the Feast and creator of the online community for freelancers, Feast. Inside Feast and through his blog and podcast, Jason helps freelancers discover their niche, plan out and market themselves, build recurring revenue and stay in the feast. Jason helps his clients reach their goals, connect with their why and live the life that they’ve always wanted to live.

My big takeaway from this episode is something that’s a recurring theme with the entrepreneurs,authors and creators - you need to niche down at the very least to get any sort of traction from your marketing. The reason is simple. There’s just so much competition out there now that to be generic is kind of a death knell but a great resume and track record can help. If you’re showcasing your work and knowledge online via blogs or podcasts, that can all help, but unless you can target a specific subset of the market, your marketing dollars and bandwidth will vanish before you get any real traction. To stand out, you need to speak directly to your target market. Without further ado, let’s get to today’s interview.

• How did Jason enter the world of freelancing
• What sparked Jason’s passion for helping other freelancers
• In what ways has the nature of freelancing changed over the years
• The importance of learning basic marketing and sales skills at a young age
• How to build a platform and establish yourself as a freelancer
• Why a freelancer should measure value VS price
• Why a freelancer should focus on smaller, less time consuming projects
• The importance of specializing in a service and finding a niche 
• How can a new freelancer discover a niche and build a track record
• In what ways can an established freelancer focus on a specific type of client 
• How can a third party can help a freelancer discover their ideal client and niche

• rezzz.com
• rezzz.com/feast/

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ITT 200: How to Think Like an Entrepreneur with Patrick Vlaskovits, Megan Reamer and Bret Boyd

Today’s panelists are Megan Reamer is the co-founder and CEO of Jackson’s Honest, a healthy foods company. Jackson’s Honest makes potato chips, tortilla chips and grain free puffs all cooked in organic coconut oil. Patrick Vlaskovits is an entrepreneur and 2 time New York Times bestselling author. His writing has been featured in the Harvard Business Review and the Wall Street Journal, and he speaks at technology conferences worldwide. And our third panelist is Bret Boyd is the CEO of Knoema, a software platform for data access and discovery. At Knoema, Bret and his team build tools to help public and private-sector organizations make better decisions with data.

During today’s episode, I’m interviewing not one, but three exceptional CEOs. This episode is a bit different than my other podcasts, as it’s a live podcast where I’m extracting the panelist’s best insights on business, marketing, creativity, and leadership.

• How did Megan differentiate her product in a saturated marketplace
• Why a successful product usually stems from need
• How did Patrick perceive and evaluate pockets of opportunity for his business
• Where in the value chain should you focus your efforts
• In what ways did Brett implement business cycles as a founder and founder
• How do the panelists incorporate partnerships into their business
• How to conduct market research?
• What would keep someone from rolling out a new product? 
• In what ways should you organize your business to profit from extreme growth
• How to think and act like an entrepreneur as a member of an organization
• When hiring, how can you find and hire employees who can drive a business and organization forward
• How do you properly measure employee performance so you know if someone is genuinely not pulling their weight

The audience Q&A is from 42:40 - 57:00.

• How does Megan think about new extremes in her business
• What has Megan done to get her business story out to consumers
• When is the right time to say yes this is a successful investment
• How can you handle personal risk and stick with your decisions
• Has Megan ever felt like she had to compromise her values as a mother or woman

• Megan Reamer
• Patrick Vlaskovits
• Bret Boyd 

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ITT 199: Authority Positioning with Podcasts with Michael Greenberg

Michael Greenberg is a serial entrepreneur, strategist, founder of Gentleman of Technology and the CEO of Call for Content, a white label podcasting agency. In a nutshell, Call for Content helps agency owners book podcasts for their clients. Instead of going the typical straight to client approach, they sell their services to agencies who then resell the service to their existing clients. 

In today’s conversation, I sit down with Michael Greenberg to discuss all things podcasting. My big takeaway from today’s conversation is that if you already do client based work, you really should consider what a white label, B2B type structure would look like for you. This is especially helpful, if you are somebody who really likes the implementation side, but you struggle with the sales side. During this conversation, we really dive deep into how you can make money podcasting without dealing with the administrative side of things. Without further ado, let’s dive into the conversation!

• How Michael entered the business-to-business space
• In what ways can clients take advantage of podcasts
• Why Michael decided to productize podcasting for his clients
• What agencies are ideal targets for his services
• How to maintain relationships with agencies in the white label space
• How Michael plans to scale in the podcasting community
• In what ways you can apply authority marketing in podcasting
• The shotgun approach v.s. Michael’s preferred laser focus type of marketing
• The importance of recent and consistent appearances on podcasts for return of investment
• Why you should shift your view of a podcast to a speaking engagement v.s. an audio blog
• How engaging your podcast audience in an open ended conversation leads to growth by word of mouth
• How to increase your amount of podcast downloads
• Where Michael views the future of podcasting is heading
• When to decide if moving to a paid subscription for a podcast would be beneficial for you

• callforcontent.com
• Twitter

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ITT 198: Creating Your Family Story with Caspar Craven

Caspar Craven is a conference and corporate event speaker, adventurer who sailed around the world with his wife and three children, and the best selling author of the book Where the Magic Happens.

In today’s episode, Caspar and I talk about his experience sailing around the world with his wife and three children, who are all under the age of 10, and how he was able to manage his family and his business at the same time. We discuss what he learned about entrepreneurship, productivity, success and overall happiness in general. My big takeaway from today’s conversation is that everyone should have a goal and an aim for their family. This goal and aim should pull your family into the future so that they are inspired collectively.

• What it was like to sail around the world with his family in tow
• How Caspar was able to manage his expenses while traveling
• How his travels led to developing new business ventures
• What were the challenges surrounding time spent working on his businesses versus time he was able to spend with family
• How to create a strong narrative at home to positively impact your business
• What is a family story and why is it important
• The importance of clarity and excitement in a family story
• How critical it is to carry out your vision and your family story
• Why focusing on your values is a core way to engage teamwork
• Ways to establish a timeline that fits in with your goals and your current situation
• Why you need joint engagement regarding the creation of a family story
• What are rituals and how do they shape your lifestyle

• Caspar Craven
• The Brave You

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ITT 197: Attract and Close More Clients

Dov Gordon is a coach who helps consultants, coaches and experts get ideal clients. He is the founder and head coach of The Alchemist Entrepreneur, which works on the core concepts of your marketing message and systematic implementation.

On today’s episode, I sit down with Dov Gordon, a coach who helps consultants, coaches and experts land their ideal clients. We dive into precisely how you should be crafting your tagline or hooks that will allow you to get more clients. My big takeaway from today’s conversation is Dov’s three step process that he walks through with clients when he’s helping them develop their taglines and hooks.

• What led Dov to enter the consultant space
• How did Dov use the “live it to learn it” mentality
• In what ways did Dov use experiential learning without a college education
• What is the “path of mastery” and how it applies to a marketing funnel
• How to lead a customer through an experience 
• The importance of connecting with a master/mentor to save yourself time
• What is considered interesting content for an ideal customer/client
• How the ideal client is concerned with a problem that they have and don’t want, and a result they want and don’t have
• Why starting simple, such as assessing a general problem, engages further interest in the consultation
• In what ways can a consultant shift positions to attract higher end clients
• Why a consultant should ask themselves what problems they help solve and what results they can enable
• When you gain the trust of an ideal client, how do you effectively close

• dovgordon.net
• Dov’s gift for In The Trenches listeners

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ITT 196: Lifestyle Design with Beard Brand Founder Eric Bandholz

Eric Bandholz is the founder of Beardbrand and the first urban beardsman. He is passionate about changing the way society views beardsmen. Eric wants to help men find ways to keep on growing and become better men. He currently resides in Austin, Texas with his wife, daughter and dog.

Today, I’m sitting down with Eric Bandholz. You may know him from Shark Tank, though he did not walk away from the Sharks with an investment… And that is something I wanted to talk to Eric about today. He is such a stunning example of someone who bootstrapped something from scratch simply because he believed in it. His hard work and dedication showed that slow and consistent growth can be a huge game-changer for entrepreneurs. Even though Eric has grown his brand to a thriving, successful multimillion dollar business, he is still able to live a life that he loves to live. 

• How did Eric’s entrepreneurial journey begin
• In what ways did Eric prepare for his time on Shark Tank
• What was Eric’s experience as a contestant on Shark Tank
• What prompted Eric to apply to be a contestant on Shark Tank
• Did Eric’s appearance on Shark Tank lead to investors
• Why did Beardbrand choose to stop selling on Amazon
• What were the reasons behind why Beardbrand moved away from the European market
• How does Eric set priorities for his business and his personal life 
• Why you should focus on your health and wellness
• In what ways does Eric maintain his health while being an entrepreneur
• How does Eric build his own spiritualism
• What is Eric’s Triangle of Success
• Why does Eric rank his wife as the highest priority in his personal life
• How setting priorities helped Eric finance his business 
• Why the long-term vision of your business is one of the most important visions to have
• Why maintaining focus on your goals for your brand is important

• beardbrand.com
• Twitter
• Instagram

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ITT 195: Ramp Up Your Reading Comprehension

Mani Vaya is the founder of 2000 Books. He is a Physicist and Electrical and Computer Engineer. Mani spent 13 years in the tech industry rising up the ranks to manage billion dollar cellphone projects at a Fortune 500 company. However, he realized that ambitious entrepreneurs must read often and constantly feed their minds with great ideas. Thus, 2000 Books was founded.

Today, I’m sitting down with Mani Vaya who bootstrapped his company after leaving the corporate sector. He has been able to grow 2000 Books into a profitable and cash flowing business. In today’s conversation, we talk about how he took his simple concept and executed it very well. My biggest takeaway is why we must focus more on reading and reading comprehension in the sense of understanding the value of reading books and how to read books more effectively. So give this episode a listen, take some notes, and then try out the methods we discuss.

• What inspired Mani’s business 2000 Books
• How did Mani’s business vision pivot in the early stages
• Does Mani run into any legal issues when selling summaries of their books
• What is Mani’s process in getting permission to use an author’s work
• In what ways does Mani choose which books he offers through his company
• How does Mani summarize a book and what is his investment personally
• How can someone get the most value out of a book for maximum learning
• Roughly how much time does it take to get a good understanding of what a book is about
• What is the different between speed reading and actually comprehending what you’re reading
• What triggers can you look for when reading paragraphs
• Why reading thoroughly helps you understand and remember ideas more clearly
• Can you still get value from a book if you do a speed read of it
• Why you should only speed read some parts of a book, not all of it
• What are the different levels or phases of reading
• Why you must think about what you’re trying to extract from the book you’re reading
• How can you make the most of audio books
• What note-taking software does Mani use to take notes while reading
• Are summaries useful

• 10-best-books
• YouTube
• Podcast

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ITT 194: How to Create a Personal Brand

Taylor Lou Dixon helps women create amazing businesses/passion projects/and side hustles as an integral part of their higher purpose. Prior to coaching, Taylor managed to create a profitable and growing social media agency. She worked with clients like Chick-Fil-A and other big-name restaurant chains; however, she learned it was important to her to facilitate a true inner joy and confidence for women who are deciding to take those first steps towards creating their own dream life.

Taylor is a lifestyle design coach for millennial women. She helps these women design lifestyles that they love and really enjoy. I brought Taylor onto the podcast today to talk about how she approaches branding her own business and how she approaches her target market. I’m excited to explore how she approaches these two things because I think when it comes to branding and target audiences, most business owners need help in figuring out what content actually resonates and converts. My big takeaway from today’s conversation is that it’s so important to share authentic stories that will help people and allow them to trust you enough to buy from you.

• What is Taylor’s origin story and how did she start her brand
• When Taylor started her business she felt multi-passionate
• How did Taylor feel very disconnected from her social media agency
• Why did Taylor need to do a self-exploration to truly know what she wanted to be doing with her life
• How to decide what content to include in your branding
• Why you do not need to feel generic by sharing your mission statement in your content
• How building a community around your content can make you more unique
• In what ways is the influencer movement moving towards storytelling and vulnerability
• Why you need to be able to mix the business and the lifestyle because it’s all one in the same
• How you can show up intentionally in your brand
• What you need to do to create a brand voice persona
• Why personal development is an important piece of Taylor’s process
• Does sharing your personal life in your content vary on the niche
• What does Taylor recommend you share and not share in your messaging
• Why does the subconscious mind understand metaphors easier

• Instagram
• Taylor’s Facebook Group
• Website

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ITT 193: Growth Through Culture

Meny Hoffman is the Chief Executive Officer of Ptex Group, a marketing agency located in Brooklyn, NY, and a published business author. He is a lifelong entrepreneur who is passionate about collaborating with growing businesses to create winning strategies that yield hard-hitting results. More recently, Meny has fused his business development experience into the role of an angel investor. By investing in promising startups and walking them through the challenging journey of growth, Meny knows he’s fulfilling his entrepreneurial calling, while helping his fellow business people succeed.

In today’s conversation, I sit down with Meny Hoffman to talk about what it was like for him to build his agency from scratch and to be in business for close to a decade now in New York and still thriving. We dive into what it’s really like to bootstrap an agency, how he approaches hiring, his processes and systems for that, and how he gets the right employees on board in the right way. This is a particular interesting conversation for anybody who’s hiring, has staff or is thinking about going through the hiring process. My big takeaway from today’s conversation is that it’s hard work to grow any kind of successful organization, but hiring the right people may be a critical component to your success.

• Why is it important to start a business you are passionate about
• How did Meny land his first client
• What did Meny do when he found himself struggling to wear all the hats in his business
• What positions were the first two that Meny filled
• Why does it not matter what you’re selling to be successful
• What is the most important asset that can make or break your business
• What is the order of importance when it comes to a successful business
• Why every person you hire should bring value to the company
• Has Meny ever used a personality test for his employees
• What are the three steps to Meny’s interview process
• What is one of the mistakes that most companies make when conducting interviews
• Why are KPI with metrics one dimensional
• How you can develop a great company culture
• Why you should have quarterly Q&As with your employees

• menyhoffman.com
• linkedin.com/in/menyhoffman/
• ptexgroup.com

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ITT 192: How to Bootstrap a Summit with Abdo Riani

Abdo Riani is the founder of StartupCircle where aspiring and rising entrepreneurs can connect with and learn from successful founders over daily live Q&A sessions. He also mentors and guides entrepreneurs to their first paying customers and beyond. Abdo helps entrepreneurs design a plan to market under the condition of the unavailability of the product and by doing things that don't scale.

During today’s conversation, I talk with Abdo Riani about his Bootstrapping Summit. We discuss how he came up with the idea, what he did to implement it, what this idea did for his business, and the ins and outs of what worked really well and what didn’t. We explore what Abdo would improve and where he would double down next time. This conversation is great for those of you who are interested in running a virtual summit to get a feel for what it takes to execute a successful summit. My big takeaway from this conversation is to get out there and follow your virtual summit ideas because they don’t have to be a huge time investment or cost a lot of money.

• What led Abdo to what he is doing today
• What were the results of Abdo’s initial launch
• How are virtual summits one of the fastest ways to meet your business goals
• Why is it important to leverage other people’s audiences to grow your own audience
• What are the short-term outcomes of knowing your audience
• What is Abdo’s launch process
• How long does it take to launch a successful summit
• Why you should be willing to invest time into organizing your virtual summit
• What were the strategies or tactics Abdo implemented that worked really well
• In what ways can you pitch speakers
• Why are people usually hesitant to commit to speaking at a summit
• How to leverage relationships to book in speakers
• What impact did the virtual summit have on Abdo’s business
• Why should you start with the end result when you’re planning a virtual summit
• How has RightMessage increased Abdo’s conversions
• What did Abdo personalize in RightMessage to drive his increase in subscribers

• abdoriani.com
• StartupCircle.co
• bootstrappingsummit.abdoriani.com

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ITT 191: How to Grow Your Audience with a Virtual Summit with Liam Austin

Liam Austin is the Co-Founder of Entrepreneurs HQ. He hosts marketing summits and sends a daily marketing tactic via EHQ Daily to help small business owners and entrepreneurs grow their business. Liam’s passion for entrepreneurship began whilst at Macquarie University when he was tasked with growing strategic partnerships for one of the top tech startups in Sydney, Soulmates Technology. This foray into tech led Liam to begin building and running his own businesses online to varying degrees of success.

In today’s conversation, Liam and I discuss virtual summits. What are they? How do they work? And why could they be so profitable? Liam is someone who is an expert in this space, and I’m eager to learn more about where he focuses his time and attention when planning these summits and what are some things that you should be considering if you want to run a virtual summit someday. My hope is that this conversation will give you the foundation and the fundamentals you need to run a successful virtual summit. My biggest takeaway from this conversation is that virtual summits are definitely worth considering no matter what space you’re operating in because they absolutely work!

• How did Liam use LinkedIn to get started in the virtual summit space
• What is the referral software that Liam uses
• What are ambassadors for your product
• What is the difference between ambassadors and affiliates
• How hard is it to integrate referrals
• How many people who are referred actually buy
• What’s working now with virtual summits
• What are the five foundation pieces of virtual summits
• What is something that your solving for your audience
• Why you should build your network with influencers
• What should you lead people to after a summit
• When should someone consider doing something other than a virtual summit
• What is the perfect length of a virtual summit 

• entrepreneurshq.com/mentors/liam-austin/

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ITT 190: From Employee to Entrepreneur with Steve Glaveski

Steve Glaveski's mission is to unlock the latent potential of organisations and people to create more impact for humanity and lead more fulfilling lives. He is CEO and Co-Founder of Collective Campus, a corporate innovation and startup accelerator based in Melbourne, Australia with clients across the world. Steve is also the author of the current Wiley book, Employee to Entrepreneur, which is available in bookstores around the world, and previously self-published two books, including an Amazon bestseller. Steve co-founded Lemonade Stand - a children's entrepreneurship program, hosts the Apple Podcast charting Future Squared, is a founding investor in Konkrete, a blockchain-enabled share registry and is a contributor to Harvard Business Review.

Today I’m chatting with Steve Glaveski to talk about entrepreneurship and doing work that matters. My big takeaway from this conversation is that there is no cure all. There is no technique, no strategy, tactic, hack or trick that will make you a successful entrepreneur. The only path to success is hard work and doing that work each and every day. In today’s conversation you’re going to hear things that maybe you’ve heard before, but my hope is that this conversation will help cement this mindset and further cultivate the critical aspects of entrepreneurship within your mind and heart.

• What has been Steve’s entrepreneurial journey
• How are freelance techniques helping the corporate world
• What are the challenges that Steve faced with his first business
• Why you need to believe in what you’re doing as an entrepreneur
• What does Steve’s book Employee to Entrepreneur cover
• What is the number one reason why startups fail
• How do you ensure you’re building a business that will work
• Why it’s important to do your market research
• How can you determine if your idea is a scalable opportunity
• What are intelligence factors and why should you look for them
• Why should you set a keyword tracker to respond to market signals
• What did Steve do to have a successful launch of his book
• Why you should not downplay the importance of luck
• Where does Steve’s book fit within his brand
• Why you should look for more ways to create impact

• steveglaveski.com
• employeetoentrepreneur.io

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ITT 189: How to Build a 7-Figure Lifestyle Business with No Employees with Abby Walker

Abby Walker is the CEO of Vivian Lou Inc., a single-product company with multi-million dollar annual sales dedicated to helping women look and feel better in high heels. She started her company as a “hobby” business (while being a full-time working mom) after picking up the phone and asking one simple question. Abby has also written her book Strap On a Pair to inspire fellow middle-aged, middle-management, middle-class moms to take the first step—or the next step—toward finding their something more.

Today, I’m sitting down with Abby Walker, who is the founder of Vivian Lou. Vivian Lou is a shoe company that focuses on creating insoles for high heels so that high heels are more comfortable to wear. During our conversation, Abby shares some of the fortuitous events that took place in order for her to get her business idea off the ground. The crazy part about Abby’s story is that she started off as a blogger and she didn’t create the actual insoles herself. She found them through a recommendation on a forum, but then connected with the creator of the insoles to strike a deal. Leading her to being an exclusive seller for the product worldwide and growing her business to over four million dollars in roughly four years without any employees.

My biggest takeaway from this conversation is that there are a lot of ways to think about a problem and solve a problem. Problem solving is not binary and we explore Abby’s decision making process so that she can grow and scale her business.

• What is the origin story of Vivian Lou
• How did Abby approach her business idea as just a hobby
• Why Abby had to separate herself from the product and company
• What were the first few months like when Abby became the exclusive seller of these insoles
• What steps did Abby take to make her first sale
• How did Abby start using Facebook Ads to generate revenue
• What advice does Abby have for people who want to start their business
• How has Abby structured using contractors rather than employees
• In what ways do contractors give you more flexibility
• What does Abby think about scale
• Why is Abby hesitant to work with retailers
• What goes into making the right decisions
• Why you need to learn how to trust your gut
• What are Abby’s words of wisdom for startups
• What is the importance of keeping notes during your journey

• abbylouwalker.com
• instagram.com/abbylouwalker
• facebook.com/abbylouwalker

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ITT 188: Meaningful Work, Vocations, and Chocolate with Shawn Askinosie

Shawn Askinosie left a successful career as a criminal defense lawyer to start a bean to bar chocolate factory and never looked back. Askinosie Chocolate is a small batch, award winning chocolate factory located in Springfield, Missouri, sourcing 100% of their beans directly from farmers around the world. Recently named by Forbes "One of the 25 Best Small Companies in America", Askinosie Chocolate has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, on Bloomberg, MSNBC and numerous other national and international media outlets.

During today’s conversation, Shawn gives us a look behind the scenes of his business, how he started it from trial lawyer to chocolatier, and the ups and downs of what that process was like. We also discuss meaningful work and what Shawn the drive and passion to continue to do what he does even though it can be really really difficult. One of my major takeaways from today’s conversation is Shawn’s approach to business and his idea of reverse scale. We explore whether or not we can build a profitable business that aligns with our ethics and our morals and if that can be profitable for you.

• How did Shawn pivot in his career choice
• What did Shawn do in the beginning stages of his business
• What were some of the biggest challenges Shawn faced
• How did Shawn use his skills from being a lawyer in his chocolate business
• Why does Shawn like being in a place of need
• How does faith play a role in Shawn’s entrepreneurial journey
• Why should entrepreneurs focus on kindness
• How important is silence for your mindset
• What does Shawn think of Social Entrepreneurship
• What is scale and reverse scale
• How does scale not necessarily equal value
• What is Shawn’s exit plan

• Shawn’s Book
• askinosie.com
• shawnaskinosie.com

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ITT 187: How to Launch and Scale a Startup with Max Kolysh

Max Kolysh is a serial entrepreneur and investor. After graduating early from MIT with a degree in Computer Science, Max co-founded Zinc.io, a 15 person startup in San Francisco, California, which now powers tens of thousands of e-commerce companies around the world.

During today’s conversation with Max, we zoom in on his entrepreneurial journey and how he grew his startup to $6 million in revenue. We also dive into what being a part of a startup incubator environment is really like. My big takeaway from today’s conversation is specifically on the aspect of user acquisition and customer acquisition. We discuss how Max thinks about acquiring new customers by leveraging their existing customer base to grow their platform through influencer marketing.

• What is Max’s founder story
• How did Max learn about Y Combinator and what was that process like
• Did Max’s startup idea change while going through Y Combinator
• How did Max define the metrics their team wanted to focus on
• What constitutes as metrics for a successful startup
• Why you should be using non-revenue metrics
• How is Max’s business at a point of organic sustainability
• What was it like for Max as he was bootstrapping his business
• Why you should look into pre-selling first
• How do you decide what is worth your time and energy
• In what ways has Max grown his business
• Why are referrals a good way to increase exposure
• What is Max looking at now in terms of improving his business

• zinc.io

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ITT 186: Sacred Money Archetypes with Tina van Leuven

Tina van Leuven helps soulpreneurs align their energy and mindset with the intentions, desires, and vision they have for their business and their life. She does this by helping to clear their money blocks and energetically release lifelong limiting programming that have been sabotaging entrepreneurs from creating the results they know deep within their hearts are possible, yet haven’t been able to achieve. Tina helps entrepreneurs reconnect with their own source of joy and abundance while discovering ways to express that in their business so that they may begin monetising their unique gifts.

Today we’re talking about what abundance is, why it’s important, and some interesting archetypes that go along with the idea of abundance. We’ll also dive into a short discussion about her recent launch that we worked on together. My biggest takeaway from this conversation is that we all have an archetype, but it’s how we use and embrace this archetype that will see us reaping the benefits.

• What is Tina’s entrepreneurial journey
• What are the Sacred Money Archetypes
• How can you use the Sacred Money Archetypes to reach your money goals
• In what ways can you approach the strengths and weaknesses of the archetypes
• How can you strengthen the “Celebrity” archetype
• What are the steps to embrace rational awareness
• What is Tina’s energy clearing process
• Why you have to be open to doing deep work to change yourself on the inside so that you may be successful
• How you can run a successful launch
• What are the pros and cons of hosting challenges leading up to a launch
• How did the challenge set the foundation in place for Tina’s launch
• What did Tina focus on after the launch
• Is Tina going to explore influencer marketing to drive more traffic to her launches
• What was Tina’s engagement like with a live launch

• tinavanleuven.com

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ITT 185: How to Sell with Story with Kyle Gray

Kyle Gray is an entrepreneur, the founder of ConversionCake, and a bestselling author who helps startups and small businesses grow their businesses with content marketing. He has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs create scalable content marketing strategies while also creating step-by-step processes and templates to automate and delegate tasks. Kyle’s book The Story Engine outlines his process for making content marketing and brand storytelling easy and effective.

In today’s conversation with Kyle, we’re talking about how to use storytelling to become an authority in your niche while boosting sales and winning the hearts and minds of your audience. In other words, we’re exploring how you can start selling with story. My biggest takeaway from this conversation is that using story in your marketing really does sell and it is what cuts through the noise and nonstop interruption based marketing techniques that you see all over social media.

• What was Kyle’s journey when it came to writing The Story Engine
• Who is The Story Engine best suited for
• What is a proprietary process
• How can you approach the proprietary process
• What is a good outcome versus a bad outcome
• Why having a clear outcome helps you set yourself apart
• How you can make naming your offerings easier by knowing the outcome you’re offering
• What is a success path and what does it include
• What are Kyle’s top five story elements
• When should you use Kyle’s recommend story elements
• How can you use these story elements to teach
• What is The Buyer’s Journey framework
• How can you implement know-like-trust into your stories
• What is The Hero's Journey and how is it different than The Buyer’s Journey
• What is The Crossroads Formula

• thestoryengine.co/selling-with-story
• The Book
• Twitter
• Kyle Gray Process Builder Template

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ITT 184: How to Create Recurring Revenue in Your Business with a Subscription Offer

Anne Janzer is an award-winning author on a mission to help writers communicate more effectively. She has worked with over a hundred technology businesses, from industry giants to innovative start-ups, helping them articulate positioning and messaging in crowded markets. Anne also coaches business leaders on communicating their ideas with impact, clarity and marketing teams on telling brand stories that strengthen customer relationships.

During this podcast, I explore why so many businesses are moving to subscription based business models with Anne. We also dive into the how’s and why’s behind whether or not you should consider integrating a subscription model into your business.

• How did Anne get started in subscription marketing
• How is software enhancing subscription businesses
• Why have so many businesses moved to offering subscriptions
• How are subscriptions more like renting things rather than owning
• In what ways do subscriptions eliminate risk
• How can you create a framework around selling subscriptions
• Why do subscriptions have to make sense from a business marketing perspective
• What do you need to look for if you’re integrating a subscription model into your business
• How can you think of your offering as an experience
• Do subscription based business have more marketing power or virality built into them
• What is the power behind honest reviews rather than reward recommendations/referrals
• Is it possible for only a component of your business to be subscription based
• How can you turn content focused products into a subscription model
• Why is having a community and building a community important
• Are there any pitfalls when it comes to subscription based businesses
• Why niching down is one of the most lucrative things you can do

• annejanzer.com

• Subscription Marketing: Strategies for Nurturing Customers in a World of Churn
• The Writer’s Process: Getting Your Brain in Gear
• The Workplace Writer’s Process
• Writing to Be Understood: What Works and Why

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ITT 183: Facebook Advertising: What’s Working Right Now with Mojca Zove

Mojca Zove is a Facebook Ads expert, author of the Facebook Ads Manual, and international speaker. Her work focuses on helping businesses generate more leads and increase profits with a professionally-made Facebook Advertising Strategy so that they can devote their time to other aspects in their business. Mojca works with multimillion-dollar businesses from all over the globe. In her work, she focuses on implementing previously tested and already successful strategies for generating the best results.

I brought Mojca onto the podcast to discuss what’s working in the space of Facebook advertising, how she’s setting up campaigns that are lucrative, and what Facebook Ads funnel structure will actually convert. My biggest takeaway from today’s conversation is that even though we’ve heard a lot about how Facebook Ads are becoming more and more expensive and results are decreasing, I have a better understanding that these negatives are really because of the level of competition and not Facebook itself. So if you’re truly hoping to see results from your Facebook Ads, then this is one podcast you do not want to miss.

• What is the current landscape of Facebook Ads
• How does Facebook Ads compare to other social media platform ads
• Are Facebook Ads effective no matter what you’re selling or is their a certain market that Facebook is better suited for
• How do you approach Facebook Ads for the first time
• What should you look for when it comes to organizing Facebook Ads
• What is Mojca’s Facebook Ads structure
• What is a traffic campaign on Facebook Ads
• Why should you do research on your target market before running ads
• How do you know if your Facebook Ads are working
• How are Facebook Ads an investment
• Why you shouldn’t move directly from traffic to paid product, but rather have a lead magnet in between
• What should you be looking to spend in ads for the first piece of your campaign to the second piece
• Why you should have a tripwire product
• What is retargeting and why is it important
• Why should you invest in brand awareness
• How are ads different for B2B and B2C
• What kinds of items should you create for ads
• Why you should do some proper A/B testing for your ads

• [email protected]
• superspicymedia.com
• thescienceoffacebookads.com
• Twitter

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ITT 182: How to Protect Your Online Business From Hackers with Adam Anderson

Adam Anderson is CEO of Hook-Security. He is also a long-time small business owner who happens to be one of the leading authorities on small business cybersecurity. This serial entrepreneur is an author, who has written several books on cyber security and cyber crime to help other business owners understand and navigate the digital world. Adam is on a mission to help fellow business owners find the answer to the question, “Should I even care about cybersecurity?”

I brought Adam onto the podcast today to talk about what small business owners and online entrepreneurs can do to stay safe online as we leverage online portals and platforms. We’re also going to be discussing what we can do to protect our online assets, websites, and our products from intellectual theft in the online space. My biggest takeaway from this chat is that security and protecting our online businesses from the start is one of the most important and crucial elements of what we do online.

• How Adam began his cybersecurity journey
• What is Adam’s focus in his business now
• Why it’s easy to be a target for hackers
• How to keep your site safe from a cyber attack
• What you should have in your business security policy
• Does everyone need to be aware of cyber phishing
• What is Adam’s rule when it comes to two-factor authentication
• What specific type of people are more prone to be targeted
• When does having too many employees get dangerous for your online security
• What to do if you’re a heavy browser user or working in coffee shops
• Is it typical that larger companies are already working with cybersecurity businesses
• What are the most common problems with cybersecurity and businesses
• Why you should be spending money on backups from ransomware
• What is the purpose of a ransomware attack
• Why is important to have a rock solid cybersecurity insurance policy
• What is the importance of automatically pathing your machines
• What is the basic antivirus software you should have

• Hook-Security
• elementsecurity.com/trenches
• YouTube

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ITT 181: Starting a Premium Instant Coffee Brand with Joshua Zloof, co-founder of Sudden Coffee

Joshua Zloof is the CEO of Sudden Coffee, a premium instant coffee brand. He has 10 years of combined experience in Mobile App Product Management, Lean Operations, Supply Chain, and Logistics.

I brought Joshua onto In The Trenches to discuss his startup journey and what it was really like for him to develop his idea and actually launch it. To many, Joshua’s idea of founding a premium instant coffee company might sound bizarre, because we equate “instant coffee” with “cheap”. However, during today’s episode you will learn that the two are not mutually exclusive. I think what Joshua has done to build his business with various marketing techniques and experiments is really quite fascinating, and so my biggest takeaway is just that... It’s okay to do something different and to go against what everyone else is doing because it might just pay off - in real life and online.

• How Joshua founded his coffee brand and his journey as an entrepreneur
• What is the difference between Sudden Coffee versus other instant coffee brands that are currently on the market
• Who does Sudden Coffee target with their brand messaging and marketing
• How to increase sales during the beginning stages of your business
• How to turn your business plan into a subscription-based business plan
• What are some things Joshua thought was working but failed in his business
• When is using influencers in your marketing strategy a good idea
• What are a few strategies to use for Facebook marketing
• How to prioritize spending money during the startup phase
• What are the critical roles to begin hiring in order to gain traction
• The pros and cons of a venture-backed startup
• What is the plan for the future and expansion of a brand
• How to start and develop your idea for a product or business (what’s the most important factor that contributes to a successful launch of a product)
• Is there more space for potential growth online

• Sudden Coffee
• Linkedin

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ITT 180: Meaningful Writing, Meaningful Work, and Living a Meaningful Life with Gregory Diehl

Gregory Diehl has always understood the importance of universal ideals. Though he was raised in California, he soon embarked on a journey of global quest for learning, self-discovery, entrepreneurship, and inquiry. Since then, Gregory has lived and worked in 48 countries and continues to use his experiences to help others along the path of self-fulfillment through exploration. Gregory is the author of two Amazon bestsellers: Brand Identity Breakthrough and Travel as Transformation. His podcast, Uncomfortable Conversations with Gregory, taps into the core of people’s conceptions of self. He helps entrepreneurs prepare complex value messages across many mediums, and offers unconventional lifestyle coaching and brand identity consultancy for impassioned individuals.

I brought Gregory on today because he’s working on two new books, both of which I thought would be interesting to touch on. During this episode, we talk about writing and publishing and how to create meaningful books with meaningful ideas. Our conversation ends up going in the direction of meaning and how to live a meaningful life. My big takeaway from today’s conversation is that we all need principles and values to live by. We cannot navigate this world without a set of principles that guide us in the direction we want to go.

• Gregory’s origin story (what he’s done leading up to what he’s doing today)
• How are targeted meaningful conversations defined
• Why you should focus on getting your work in front of the right people
• How to approach controversial topics in the public eye
• The complexity of story typical hero archetypes
• How does the hero journey in stories directly relate to how we feel in real life
• In what ways does society act against individuals sharing their ideas or core principles
• What are the critical principles that guide us unconsciously
• What does a heroic exceptional person do
• Why you should think before you give something a sense of importance in your life
• The importance of getting to the bottom of all of the little things that you do

• The Influential Author
• Gregory’s other books on Amazon
• gregorydiehl.net
• identitypublications.com

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ITT 179: How to Make 5-figures Per Month Blogging in 2019 with Chelsea Clarke

Chelsea Clark is a blog and marketing strategist. She also helps aspiring bloggers to start money-making blogs over at HerPaperRoute.com.

In today's call, we talk about how Chelsea Clark started blogging and started monetizing her blog and manage to do it numerous times now by figuring out exactly what's working in 2019.

My big takeaway from today's conversation is that blogging still works, and affiliate marketing is still an effective way to monetize a blog. You'll have to play the long game but it works.

• How Chelsea got started blogging
• Why Chelsea uses Pinterest to drive traffic to her blog
• How to integrate affiliate marketing into your blog
• The importance of having multiple sources of income for your blog
• What type of content produces the best results for your blog
• How to use social media and email marketing to grow your blog
• And more

• herpaperroute.com

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ITT 178: Million Dollar Launches Like a Boss with Roland Frasier

Roland Frasier is co-founder and principal of three current Inc. Magazine fastest growing companies. He has founded, scaled or sold 24 different 7 to 9 figure businesses ranging from consumer products to industrial machine manufacturing companies with adjusted sales ranging from $3 million to $337 million. He is currently growing DigitalMarketer, RivalBrands, and Plattr while advising over 150 other companies on digitally-centric customer acquisition, activation, referral, retention, and revenue strategies and plan implementation.

I brought Roland onto the show today to talk about strategy and thought process; specifically, how he thinks about business and the problem he's had to solve, at various levels of resolution. My big takeaway from this call is that each of us probably has all the information, facts, and "data" we need to make big things happen. We just have to get out there and get our hands dirty. Stop searching for the latest "hack" and instead implement (and really get after it when you do). 

• Roland’s origin story (how he got started doing what he's doing today)
• How to get amazing results by making the right deals
• The best ways to get traffic and sales without an audience
• Over a half-dozen strategies Roland used, including blog networks and link-building tactics, to generate over $1 million in sales for an affiliate product (even if you don't do affiliate marketing, you'll want to listen to this part)
• The importance of SEO for product launches
• How to leverage brands and businesses that already have traffic for your own launch
• Why leaving your phone number for customer support inquiries gives you a huge advantage in sales
• Why your network and the relationships you've built are the foundation of good marketing 
• How to create a relationship with a prospects and potential customers, quickly
• A system you can use to prioritize your strategies
• How to know which opportunity to pursue (and which to ditch)
• How to prevent burnout and why you shouldn't do everything alone

• rolandfrasier.com
• mastermind.com
• digitalmarketer.com
• Linkedin
• Facebook
• Instagram

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ITT 177: Leveraging Meetup for Your Business with Connie Ward

Connie Ward is career coach and counselor.

As an ex-broker working in financial services, after crashing and burning she decided to help people differently, which lead to creating Passion And Purpose Mastermind for people who are confused about their career path, wanting to start a business or those who are in business and want to help more people. She is using Meetup as a way to leverage her business.

In today’s call, we zoom in on Connie's ten-step strategy for client generation and precisely how leveraging meetup to get clients consistently. I think this is a particularly interesting conversation because I didn’t hear a lot of people talking about MeetUp.

We go through Connie’s exact situation where she was. Where she lives, there aren’t a lot of people, and she was able to get a room full of people and then close over nine thousand dollars worth of coaching clients from that one event and continue to run Meetup groups and leverage this strategy. So it seems to be highly effective.

• Connie’s entry about her background story stepping into what she is doing today
• What are the ten steps in a meetup strategy
• How to monetize on Meetup.com
• What to say in one on one conversations
• How is Meetup your partner in creating your group
• What thing’s you have to know about the platform and what things you need to do in order to implement Connie's strategy
• How to use the right strategy in building your group by following the rules of Meetup
• What are the subtle ways to get contact information from your new group
• When is the optimal time to run your first event
• How to successfully organize physical events after connecting with people from Meetup
• Why getting people to work with you one on one is crucial for your income and business?
• How to approach people in your new group
• What are the differences between Meetup group and Facebook group

• getclientsfrommeetup.com

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ITT 176: Conversational Copywriting with Nick Usborne

Nick Usborne is an online copywriter and site optimization expert with over 20 years of experience online. During a career spanning 40 years in the marketing industry – offline and then online – he has worked with dozens of major companies. Since 1997, he has been working exclusively on marketing online and internationally recognized as a leading expert on the subject of writing for the Web.

He attributes his success to “conversational copywriting,”.

In today's conversation, we talk about, why is conversational copywriting the future of not just copywriting in general, but also for all interactions online? How do we write to engage with our customers and clients? Because if you can engage the readers, and if you write copy that gets responses, that gets people replying, sharing, and taking action, that's the purpose of copywriting right?!

You are probably implementing this idea of conversational copywriting into your email sequences, your social media strategy or your sales page strategy, even if you don't know it. I think the most effective operators are already writing this way and the chances are that your favorite newsletter or something like that, is written in a very conversational style.

• Nick's entry about entering the world of copywriting
• What differs conversational copywriting from ''standard'' one
• What types of engagement are available to use with your clients
• How to sell with conversational copywriting
• Why selling through conversation in a better way to do it
• How to choose the right platform for better engagement with your audience
• Ways to encourage dialogue with your audience
• Is storytelling fits into this type of copywriting

• conversationalcopywriting.com/trenches/
• Nick on Twitter
• Nick on Linkedin

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ITT 175: The 80/20 of Video Presentation with Michele Moreno

Michele Moreno is a camera coach who works with entrepreneurs, creators and anyone who wants to get in front of the camera. She helps them show up, present and crush their video presentations. As an actress, singer, business writer, confidence expert, Michele helps people become a better versions of themselves, and turn their viewers into clients.

My big takeaway from today's call is that the 20% of effort that creates the 80% of your results from video presentations is all stuff that's under your control. It has nothing to do with big budget editing, expensive cameras, snazzy lighting, or anything like that. The critical pieces are the things that you do when you're on camera and how you show up, speak, look, and engage. That is what we cover in today's conversation.

• How Michele stepped into the world of acting
• Why Michele made the switch from actor to coach
• Where to begin with video presentation
• How to overcome the fear of the camera and crush your video presentations
• What types of video you should produce based on your niche and professional skills
• Presentation strategies for Youtube and Facebook live
• How to use a video to generate new clients for your business
• Why tribal rituals are critical for attracting a group of followers
• The biggest mistakes that people make when they film themselves

1. Look at the lens
2. Good lighting (stand in front of the window)
3. Get your hands free / put a video on a stand, so it doesn't shake
4. Make sure your face is large in the frame. Top of head to top of the frame - close the gap.

• https://www.michelemoreno.co/

• PromptSmart App
• Teleprompter for iPads, Androids, and Phones
• Teleprompter Pro -Script & Lyrics Prompter Cue

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ITT 174: Bootstrapping a LinkedIn Agency with AJ Wilcox

AJ Wilcox is an online marketer since 2007 and founder of B2Linked  which is a LinkedIn Ads performance agency.

Extremely active in the online marketing community, he is a LinkedIn Certified Ads Partner, and he manages the official LinkedIn Ads group forum, and he is a board member of SLC | SEM among other things. An exotic car nut and a triathlete. He lives in Utah with his wife and four kids.

In today's call, AJ and I discuss: How he got his start growing this agency? How he was leaving from his company as an employee and then decided to start this company from scratch and what that process was like, and also how quickly he got it up and running to a point where it replaced his day job income, and then somebody has grown substantially since then?

All right. Let's go ahead and dive into today's conversation.

• AJ's entry about how he got into LinkedIn advertising and growing the B2Linked
• How to go all in on your business after you'd been laid off?
• How to get your first clients in your new business?
• Ways to quickly grow your business.
• Why focusing on a niche is the right thing to do?
• How to get the right employees in at the right time?
• Where should you be focused to get the best ROI?
• What type of companies benefits from LinkedIn?
• Is LinkedIn Ads something that's overlooked for future business?

• B2Linked
• AJ on Twitter

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ITT 173: Generate Traffic, Leads, and Sales by Hosting a Contest with Travis Ketchum

Travis Ketchum, founder & CEO of the contest-optimizing service Contest Domination, joins the show today. Since 2012, Travis’s software has allowed him to give businesses the tools to expand their email lists and create new customers through contest engagement.

Travis speaks about his entry into the world of contest marketing and the struggles of creating and promoting new software. He delves into advice for getting maximum engagement in contests and converting those contest participants into customers.

• Travis’s entry into the world of technology and business
• How Travis conceived a way to encourage contest engagement
• The investment necessary to get into software
• How Travis launched and initially promoted the contest software
• The pros and cons of working with affiliates
• The importance of designing contests with specific goals in mind
• Why choosing appropriate prizes for the contest audience is key
• How to bring in customers with activation offers
• Driving contest sign-ups and getting maximum engagement
• How to convert contest participants into customers
• Harnessing the intrigue of the winner announcement to create more participants and customers
• Other opportunities to leverage the winner announcement process

• contestdomination.com
• ultimatecontestfunnel.com
• twitter.com/travisketchum

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ITT 172: Why You Need Someone Else to Manage Your Inbox

Yaro Starak, a self-made millionaire, started his internet business model in 1998. Since then, he has owned several businesses and made millions of dollars with his simple model. He has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur Magazine, and HuffPost where he is known for explicitly sharing his entrepreneurial journey.

Today, Yaro talks about his most recent business Inbox Done. He shares his personal experience with his email inbox, why he created the business, and how it is helping others. On the business side, he delves into how to scale a services business, why systemization is key, and how he is able to create several different businesses from one model. For anyone who is thinking about starting a business or has one of their own, this episode is for you. Now, it is your turn to make millions.

• Managing your inbox and why someone else should be managing it for you
• How Yaro pivoted from creating content to owning his own company
• The amount of time we spend on email and why it isn’t an efficient use of time
• Scaling a service company comes down to systemization
• Why the onboarding process is key
• Trust is a big part of any business
• How Yaro approaches his business margin
• Why partnerships and collaboration are key in business
• The inbox is where a lot of stuff begins and ends
• Why a collaborative approach to business allows more freedom
• AI will not completely take over our inboxes - why we all need a human manager
• The number of use cases for having someone else manage your inbox
• How to stay on the pulse while someone else is managing your inbox

• inboxdone.com
• https://yaro.blog

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ITT 171: Starting a Member-Owned Cooperative Online with Barth Getto

In this episode, I discuss e-commerce cooperatives with Barth Getto, Owner of Empowery. Barth has an extensive background in marketing, and decided to put his skillset to use helping small businesses via Empowery. Empowery is a member-owned e-commerce cooperative that is focused on giving cooperative members a broad range of insight into the e-commerce industry, daily support, and key data that helps make pivotal e-commerce decisions. When you are a part of a cooperative, you have the knowledge of the cooperative at your fingertips.

Barth gives us an in-depth look at cooperatives with a focus on his e-commerce cooperative. Barth highlights why being a part of a cooperative is a powerful tool especially when you are developing your own e-commerce business.

• How cooperatives play a specific role in a segmented market
• Why Barth chose a cooperative model in this company
• How Barth´s company helps people selling products online
• How can you join Barth's network
• Why being in a cooperative provides you with key data that you can leverage
• How the cooperative solves members day to day problems
• In what scenario you would be a good fit for the cooperative
• How the cooperative supports its members
• Why the cooperative is a non-profit
• How you can join the cooperative and the costs to join
• How Barth drives growth in the cooperative
• What makes starting a cooperative difficult
• Why entry costs are barring competition from entering this unique space

• You can connect with Barth via email at [email protected]

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ITT 170: Grow Your Business Faster by Leveraging Friends of Friends with David Burkus

David Burkus is a best-selling author, and a sought after speaker and associate professor of leadership and innovation at Oral Roberts University. David’s innovative views on leadership have earned him invitations to speak to leaders from a variety of organizations. His TED talk has viewed over 1.9 million times, and he is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review.

Today, David speaks about his newest book, Friend of a Friend, which offers readers a new perspective on how to grow your networks and build key connections, based on the science of human behavior, not rote networking advice. It offers a strategic way to approach this idea of relationship building in the context of business.

We don't just talk, we get into the weeds but how to connect to people how to follow up and more. So even if you're the most socially awkward kid on the block, this will still work for you.

All right. Let's go ahead and dive into today's conversation.

• David’s entry about the inception of an idea for his book.
• Why your network does matter
• How to start and stay up to date and keep in touch with people especially if you're introvert
• Why you should be doing everything in your power to build relationships
• The importance of being authentic and understanding the network that you're already in.
• What is the most profitable way to build your business through effective networking
• What are actually your strong and weak ties in your network
• Become a ''super connector.''
• How to connect in the right way in digital space
• Ways to do effective connecting

• davidburkus.com
• twitter.com/davidburkus

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ITT 169: Behind the Scenes of a Million Dollar YouTube Business

Antonio Centeno, originally a US marine, worked for Google writing over 100 men’s style and fashion articles that have over 800,000 views. Today, with over 11 years of experience in men’s style, Antonio is CEO of Real Men Real Style where he creates videos, podcasts, and articles on Men’s Style. With a focus on dressing men to impact others and make more money, Antonio has turned his content platform into a million dollar business.

Today, I sit down with Antonio to better understand what it takes to monetize content (to the tune of 7-figures), reframe failure, and create meaningful relationships.

• How to start creating content and monetizing it fast
• How to bounce back from failure
• Why creating content to sell information rather than products is an important differentiation
• How creating content for larger profit items is a more streamlined approach to make money
• Why three types of people are attracted to content
• Why Antonio chooses to host events and why he does it even with little to no profit
• How limiting the number of people who can attend events is beneficial for a business
• The pros and cons of an in-person event versus an online event
• The importance of true relationships in business and how events can nurture them
• Why it is important to plan events and content with the end in mind
• How to fill events without a website sales page

• https://www.realmenrealstyle.com

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ITT 168: How to Live Big with Ajit Nawalkha

Ajit Nawalkha is the Co-founder of Mindvalley Teach, Evercoach, and Global Grit Institute. He is also the author of Live Big: A Guide to Passion, Practicality and Purpose. Starting as an intern in Mindvalley Ajit quickly moved up the ranks to become CEO of the company. He has a unique perspective on business and shows us how we, too, can have it all - Passion, practicality and purpose.

In today’s conversation, we talk about how we can reframe business to make it work for us and our life. We look at how creating and scaling a business can be a simple mindset switch. Ajit highlights the major stumbling points of entrepreneurs and how we can avoid them. If you are an entrepreneur creating your own business, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

• How Ajit´s childhood created the mindset he has today
• What makes us a product of the people who have impacted us
• Why we need to take off of our blinders when we are chasing a dream
• What it means to live big
• A business cannot be a copy of a business. It is created to move the needle.
• How disjointed learning is a way to grow as a person
• If you want to grow, you must learn from sources that are contradictory
• Why you should always start with the outcome
• Why having choices is living big
• When creating a business, you can´t be one side focused. No one person has all the insights
• There are no rules or extremes in business
• How ¨having it all¨ is possible by reframing business
• Why perspective is more important than a step-by-step ¨how to be successful¨
• Why the Matrix of Practicality is the cornerstone of businesses
• Everybody has a process but only a few people document it
• When you are a solopreneur, having a support system to keep you on track is critical
• How to tackle scaling a business

And much more.

• Website
• Live Big book

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ITT 167: How to Close More Clients with Michael Zipursky

Michael Zipursky is the CEO of Consulting Success, and is a coach, consultant and author. Michael´s list of clients include organizations like Panasonic, Dow Jones, Financial Times, Royal Bank and many others. He has written 5 books including “Profitable Relations: How to Dramatically Increase Your Profits By Giving Customers What They Really Want,” and “The Consulting Success System: How to Become a Successful Consultant.”

In today’s conversation, we talk about how to grow a successful coaching or consulting business. Michael imparts the four pillars of consulting success that are proven to add value for a client and create a sustainable consulting business that does not rely on its network. He also shares how to convert client consultations into long-term (and high-paying) clients, and how to handle initial intake / consultation calls, to get someone to make a decision on whether to hire you now, rather than waiting in limbo for a reply.

If you are a coach or consultant, this is going to be one of those interviews you’ll want to come back to again and again. Enjoy!

• How Michael started several consultancies
• Why he switched from "doing" to "sharing" his experience via a blog
• How to approach a conversation with a client
• Advice for someone who wants to start a consultancy
• How Michael organizes marketing funnels for his clients to realize continual flow of clients
• Why client clarity, magnetic messaging, and ROI positioning creates the business you want
• The four pillars of creating a sustainable consulting business model
• How to differentiate yourself from everyone else in the market
• Why clients want to know what the "output" would be and how you can add value for them
• Why knowing your ideal client is important
• A critical message: people are not buying the deliverable; they are buying the results.
• How to conquer the client consultation calls

And much more.

• consultingsuccess.com
• Michael on LinkedIn
• Michael on Twitter

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ITT 166: How to Start and Grow a Profitable Podcast with Jordan Harbinger

Jordan Harbinger is the host of a top 50 iTunes podcast (The Jordan Harbinger Show) with over 4 million downloads per month. This makes Jordan's show one of the most popular shows in the world. Today, I sit down with Jordan to discuss how he grew his podcast from scratch in such a short amount of time, how he was able to recover from a challenging business breakup, how he was able to reframe "starting over" as a positive, and tips and tricks you can use to grow your reach and influencer through a podcast.

• How Jordan was able to get 1 MM downloads on his new podcast
• What it was like to start a business over from scratch
• Why it is important to reframe ¨starting over from scratch¨ to ¨moving forward with new experience¨and the role this played for Jordan
• How a personal brand allows a podcaster to have a wider array of guests and topics
• Why strong brand alignment doesn't need an explanation
• How pivoting a business can give you the opportunity to better server your clients (even if you're serving the same market)
• Growth strategies that accelerate the reach and downloads of a podcast show
• Why it is important to share your success and struggles with your audience

• Jordan Harbinger show
• Instagram
• Twitter

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ITT 165: This is Marketing with Seth Godin

Today, Seth Godin, a 19 time bestselling author and long-time marketer, joins me on In the Trenches. Seth Godin has been featured in the Guerrilla Marketing Hall of Fame, the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame, the Marketing Hall of Fame, and was recently quoted on the TV show "Billions" (which is braggable, so I had to add that). A self- proclaimed teacher, Seth inspires and teaches others how to level-up their life and business. 

In today's conversation, we talk about the state of marketing, what is working and what's not, and this critical idea of "the smallest viable audience." Seth and I also dive into some more contentious marketing topics like growth hacking (good or bad), how we can do meaningful work while avoiding the race to the bottom, how to be an agent of change, and more.

Oh, and if you enjoyed today's interview, please do me a favor and share! This podcast spreads through word of mouth alone (I don't advertise). So thank you in advance for your support.

• Why a Marketer is a change agent
• The difference between self-publishing books and going through a publisher
• How Seth shifted from blog writing to book writing
• Why Seth doesn't market his writing to people but with people
• The two key characteristics that are important in growing your new business
• Why growth hacking isn't about shortcuts but something much more important
• How and why systems thinking and network effects are key in growing your business
• There are no shortcuts in marketing
• Why there is power in shifting from writing to grow an audience to writing for an audience
• Why marketing for the smallest viable audience is a new way to think about succeeding at marketing
• How to focus on your smallest viable audience and succeed doing it

And much more...

• Seth Godin
• This is Marketing by Seth Godin

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ITT 164: How to Make $30,000 per Month Publishing Kindle Books with Steve Scott

Today, I delve into Kindle publishing with Steve Scott, who is the author of over 70 self-published books. Steve Scott pivoted from being a blogger to a self-publishing machine, and that change enabled him to start making $30,000 every month from his writing.

Steve and I take an in-depth look at the digital publishing realm. Steve highlights why he started self-publishing and the tricks of the trade that allowed him to get to where he is today. From self publishing process details to larger digital realm logistics, Steve gives us a peek into the life of a writer in the age of e-commerce and the internet.

• How Steve got into the digital realm
• How Steve pivoted from blogging to self publishing and the lucrative results
• How Steve leverages his subscription and email lists to sell his books
• Why Steve chooses to use paid advertising
• How changing online regulations can hurt profits
• Why it is important to diversify income streams
• How the release of the audiobook can complement the release of your ebook
• Why the title of your book is important
• Why Steve slowed down his creation process from 3 weeks to 3 months
• Why collaborating with other authors can be a powerful approach to your books
• How Steve chooses the topics he writes about
• Why evergreen topics sell more over the long-term
• Why Steve stopped selling courses
• How you can succeed in self-publishing

And much more...

• You can email Steve at [email protected]

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ITT 163: How to Scale by Solving Bigger Problems with Jeff Cohen

Today, I am joined by Jeff Cohen, a Senior Executive from Seller Labs. Jeff specializes in helping sellers win at Amazon every day with his wide array of software tools. Seller Labs was featured on INC 500 Fastest growing companies, and it continues to grow each day which means Jeff is continuously finding ways to adapt and scale Seller Labs.

In this episode, Jeff and I talk about the intricacies of scaling a business and how to invest your time so that it adds value for the business. As the business grows and evolves, the business faces different problems which require new solutions. Jeff shares how he has adapted and scaled Seller Labs business while imparting with us some of his best practices.

• Why Seller Labs was recognized on INC´s 500 list
• How businesses qualify for INC´s list
• How Seller Labs has evolved from 2012 to 2018
• How Seller Labs uses the market to test the popularity of their new software apps
• Why time and place were important factors when developing Seller Labs
• How Seller Labs monetizes four tools currently in the amazon ecosystem
• Why pivoting your product is more important than launching it
• Why using principles is important in decision making
• How you can focus your time to make the biggest impact in your business
• Why you must adapt your metrics as your company grows
• Why looking at your ROI is an important metric to decide where you should invest your time as your business evolves and grows
• Why your strategy as a big company is not going to be the same when you were once a small company
• Why change has to occur for the business to grow
• Why we have to be ok with great employees finding jobs at other companies
• Why building a company that is attached to another company's success can be intimidating
• Why it is important to focus your time in areas that will add value for your company
• How new problems have new solutions
• How attacking the problem in a different way can allow you to scale

And much more...

• Jeff Cohen on LinkedIn
• www.sellerlabs.com

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ITT 162: Experiencifying Your Online Courses with Marisa Murgatroyd

Today, I sit down with the founder and creator of Live your Message, Marisa Murgatroyd. According to Marisa, At 4’11 and a quarter, she’s called the shortest woman in marketing, but that doesn’t stop her from having huge ideas. She’s the “go to” brand builder for industry luminaries and heavyweights such as Justin Livingston, Callan Rush, and Danny Iny.

Marisa helps entrepreneurs create a business that is authentic and aligned with who they are, to empower them to turn up the dial on their “inner superhero,” so they can be the superhero to their tribe, as well as in their own lives.

In today's conversation, Marisa shares how she pivoted her career from documentary film-making to creating and selling digital products. She reveals how to engage a community successfully and create content that makes a difference.

• How a career in NGO film-making led Marisa to creating digital content and courses online
• How Marisa was able to gain initial traction in an industry
• How Marisa structures her service-based business offer
• How transitioning from Agency to digital products helped Marisa rebalance her life
• The challenges that come with engaging students in elearning.
• Integrating psychological studies to keep students engaged at a record-setting rate
• Why results are invaluable and the power of winning fast
• How to help your clients get better results faster
• Why less is more in digital content despite popular belief
• How to use guarantees in your marketing approach to get more sales (and increase your profit)
• Why you should get your students and clients to win fast
• How to setup the back-end of your program so you can empower your students and clients
• How integrating constant small wins throughout a program can make creators and students successful.
• Why ¨Earn while you learn¨ is the new approach to learning

And much more...

• www.liveyourmessage.com/inthetrenches

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ITT 161: From Employed to Entrepreneur with Kayla Hollatz

In today's broadcast of In The Trenches, I sit down with author, content creator, brand strategist, and copywriter, Kayla Hollatz. Kayla, a professional copywriter, shares her journey from day job to self-employed. She shares the unavoidable struggles and enthralling successes that make her business what it is today, and shares her journeyfrom employee to entrepreneur.

• How to get started with copywriting
• What does taking the leap from employment to entrepreneurship look like
• The power of copywriting
• How to stand out from the crowd in Copywriting
• Get focused on selling your personal brand
• Do what you do for your clients for yourself
• The wonders of word-of-mouth referrals
• Defining brand voice
• The area where people don`t spend enough time when defining their personal brand
• How to understand your current brand voice
• The area where we have the biggest opportunities
• The website pages with the most traffic
• How to make sure your copy fits with your overall strategy
• How to stay in your ¨zone of genius¨ and why it is important
• Balancing life with business
• Leveraging the power of a calendar
• Fast growth and sustainability of business
• Redefining your business and renewing areas of focus
• Journaling as a tool for personal and business reflection
• Internal before external: Looking within yourself to bring the business together
• Structuring your business model to work for you
• Redefine what work looks like for you

And much more...

• www.kaylahollatz.com

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ITT 160: $75,000 in 7 Days (Launch Case Study) with Cary Richards

Cary Richards is the founder of infostack.io. Infostack is a company that curates collections of premium tools and resources, and makes them available for limited periods of time at extreme discounts. Cary produces these "stacks" in a number of niches and industries, from self-publishing to entrepreneurship to software development to health, fitness, and beyond.

Cary had a rocky start when it came to entrepreneurship. For years, he hustled to make an extra income on the side - something that would let him quit his job and work full time on his creative and entrepreneurial pursuits - but with limited success. He stumbled into self-publishing as a potential avenue for this type of career, but after years of struggling to get noticed, he realized his breakthrough wasn't going to be from writing. That's when he came across the idea of selling other peoples products instead of his own. And not just as a basic affiliate, but as someone who curates high quality, premium resources and tools, and then sells them together as a collection.

Not long after this epiphany, Cary found my blog, and soon thereafter purchased my course "Influencer Marketing Method," which is all about how to find, connect with, and turn influencers into promotional partners. Cary needed contributors and affiliates for his new business, so he knew instantly this was the solution to his problem.

By following the step-by-step video tutorials inside the course, Cary built up a contributor list of over 30 influencers (authors, course creators, software developers, experts, and more), and another dozen or more affilaites.

In spite of his success in recruiting affiliates and contributors, Cary still felt stuck on the business side of things. How should he pay affiliates? How should he structure the launch window? How should he deliver the digital products? And a dozen more questions...

That's when Cary decided to join $100k Academy, my premiere training program for online entrepreneurs growing 6 and 7-figure businesses. For the next 3 months, we worked together (along with 9 other top class entrepreneurs) to launch his business effectively from scratch.

What ensued blew all of Cary's expectations out of the water:

In the first day, he did about $25,000 in sales. By the end of the week, he had generated just shy of $80,000 in sales. In the end, he did, on average, more than $10,000 in sales per day for his one week launch. Shortly thereafter, Cary quit his job and is now growing Infostack.io full-time.

It took years for Cary to become an overnight success, and I'm excited to share his story with you today.

• How Cary got started online
• Why writing and self-publishing is not the key to financial freedom
• Why selling other people's products is sometimes a better idea than creating your own
• What made Cary's first launch such a blowup success
• How to think past your launch to the broader business (and why that's so important)
• How to decide whether to continue to 'side hustle' or to quit your job and go 'all in'

And much more...

• The Infostack website

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ITT 159: Digital Book Burning with Roosh V

Roosh Valizadeh is a contreversial men's dating advice writer. Recently, Amazon has banned and removed nine of his books from their bookstore. Immediately after Amazon banned his books, many other platforms (though much, much smaller than Amazon) like Kobo did the same. It's important to note that many of these books have been selling for years, with thousands of sales and dozens of reviews. Amazon did not give Roosh a reason for the removal of his books, including his new release (and Amazon bestseller before it was banned and removed) "Game," which you can purchase directly from his website (see links below).

For years, I've been telling my readers and listeners to start their own business or creative pursuit on their own platform, and not to 'rent' the space of a platform like Facebook, or Amazon, or Google - because they can decide on a whim how they operate, which could crush your business. Now, the threat is greater because it's not just a change in the algorithm of a platform that could tank your business. Instead, it's what this small group of private companies decide is acceptable or unacceptable to allow you to view or buy - and you as a consumer or content creator have effectively no recourse.

Roosh was banned from Amazon, and de-platformed across several channels. And that's why I wanted to speak with him - because I believe other creators can learn from his experience, including how to avoid having your business completely wiped out if or when you get banned.

This interview is in no way an endorsement of Roosh's dating advice, books, ideas, etc. It's a conversation about censorship - online censorship in particular - and how you can protect yourself as an independent creator. And even if you think you're the most lukewarm writer, with no ideas that could ever rock the boat - you still want to listen to this interview, because you, in fact, could be next.

• How Roosh was banned from Amazon and had 8 of his books removed from the platform in one day.
• How Amazon has responded to the banning of Roosh's books (their reason for banning him)
• How Roosh has been able to survive the de-platforming by building a business on his own platform (where he continues to sell his books)
• Whether we should allow a private cartel of companies to control what we see and don't see online
• The future of digital book burning (and why some people are cheering it on)

And much more...

• Roosh V's website
• @rooshv

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ITT 158: Grow Your YouTube Channel to 1 Million Subscribers with Charlie Houpert

Charlie Houpert is the co-founder of Charisma on Command, an educational platform where he teaches people how to grow their confidence and charisma. His YouTube channel of the same name has over 1 million subscribers, and his videos routinely generate hundreds of thousands of views.

Charlie got his start online by building an education business focused on parkour. However, Charlie didn't get the traction he was looking for, so he shifted gears to a new interest: confidence. Charlie is a self-proclaimed introvert who struggled in social situations. He decided he would scratch his own itch, and began blogging on the topic of confidence, dating, leadership, and more. But it wasn't until Charlie started his YouTube channel that things really took off. In less than a year, Charisma on Command generated tens of thousands of subscribers and hundreds of thousand of views on some of his most watched videos. He has since scaled that to 1.5 million subscribers in less than 3 years.

My big takeaway from today's conversation: FORMAT is just as important as the content you want to share. This is specifically in reference to YouTube, but I think it applies to any sort of content creation or teaching. It applies to blogs, to podcasts, to video creation, and more. In a nutshell, if you want to break into a competitive market, it's not just about the content you create, or the value you add to someone's life - it's HOW you go about delivering the content that will determine whether people sit up and listen, or ignore you. So if you're looking to tap into a platform like YouTube, or you're just trying to figure out ways your podcast or blog or whatever can stand out, you need to listen to Charlie's advise on format.

• How Charlie got his start online 
• The 'systems' process Charlie uses to generate growth in any marketing channel he dives into
• Why Charlie decided to experiment with YouTube, and how he got early viewers and subscriber
• How Charlie was able to make money from building an audience before he ever had products to sell
• How to determine if a marketing channel will work (and when to pull the plug)
• Why Charlie rebranded to Charisma on Command (and how branding impacts your growth potential)
• 3 things you MUST get right if you want to start a successful YouTube channel
• A simple technique anyone can use to capitalize on mainstream trends (I love this idea and it's something I'm trying to figure out how to implement in my own business)
• Why Charlie fired all his clients (and how he transitioned to selling infoproducts full-time)
• How Charlie developed and launched his most profitable course ever (hint: if you don't do this, you're making a mistake)
• What Charlie is doing now to expand his brand and grow sales, revenue, and profit via his YouTube channel

And much more...

"YouTube is a recommendation engine before it's a search engine. So when you're thinking about what sort of content to make, it must be something that is eminently clickable and should follow a trend...when you're just starting out, focus on trends."

• CharismaOnCommand.com
• Charisma On Command YouTube Channel
• @CharismaOn

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ITT 157: Sell More With Extreme Transparency with Regina Anaejionu

Regina Anaejionu is the creator of ByRegina.com. She has been writing, growing online communities, and selling products and services online since 2008. She's done everything from full time writing, to design work, to Wordpress website creation, to publishing her own courses and ebooks.

In today's conversation, we talk about 'sensative sales.' In a nutshell, it's a way to market and sell your products and services by being fully transparent. Instead of hiding your offer behind a webinar, you share the offer right away, and give the potential customer everything he or she needs to make a purchase. That way they have the time to think it over and won't be blindsided by the offer when you share it on a webinar (or however else you might share it).

We talk about this and much more on today's broadcast.

• Transparent and ethical scarcity and urgency (if you find this subject ineresting, definitely check out my interview with Jack Born of Deadlinefunnel)
• How transparent selling can increase sales
• How to implement transparency into your sales funnel
• Why 'sensitive sales' are the future of online sales (at least for those who have built a brand based on trust)
• When and where 'sensitive sales' don't work as well as the traditional 'hard sell' technique

And much more.

• byRegina.com
• @byReginaTV

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ITT 156: From Zero to $10 Million Healthy Food Company with Megan Reamer

Megan Reamer is the co-founder and CEO of Jackson's Honest, a healthy foods company. Megan and her husband Scott started Jackson's Honest as a way to share their son Jackson's story and the delicious snack foods they made for him. Jackson's Honest makes potato chips, tortilla chips and grain free puffs all cooked in organic coconut oil. Their son's autoimmune disease defined the types of foods he could eat and when they started addressing his disease through diet and nutrition in 2003, specifically a paleo and ketogenic diet, they couldn't find the foods they needed so they made them all from scratch. These delicious products were some of those foods.

My main takeaway from my conversation with Megan was this idea of "Product-Channel Fit."

It’s not something we talk about directly during the interview, but it’s something that is present in the way Megan has gone about marketing and selling her healthy snack food products.

What I mean by Product-Channel Fit is that specific consumers want to purchase or buy from specific venders in specific ways. The environment and the ritual someone goes through to make a purchase has an impact on how the customer feels about said product - and it may be just as important, if not more important, to choose the right CHANNEL for your product as it is to ensure your story and branding and pricing are on point.

For example, there are many food companies in the world. There are fewer, but still many, healthy food companies in the world. There are even fewer healthy SNACK food companies in the world. And those with their products on the shelves of Whole Foods can be counted in the dozens. So there’s less competition once you get onto the shelves of Whole Foods, and that's a big plus, but even more importantly: the type of people who shop at Whole Foods have channel-specific expectation of the products they purchase. The healthly, organic, anti-inflamatory message of Jackson’s Honest snack foods is a perfect match for this group of customers.

In a nutshell, it would be hard to imagine what Jackson’s Honest would look like if Megan hadn’t adroitly positioned her products on the shelves of Whole Foods when they first got started. Now, of course, they have the positioning to expand into a broader range of stores, without losing that consistent, congruent brand and story - and that's exactly what Megan is planning for the future of her company.

• The painful yet inspirational true story of Megan's son, and how he inspired her to start Jackson's Honest.
• Why mission, purpose, and story are so important for a startup, and how Megan leveraged these to get a foothold in the food industry.
• How Megan bootstrapped Jackson's Honest from a small mountain town in Colorado.
• How Megan landed her products on the shelves of Whole Foods
• What it was like to be on Shark Tank and what that has meant for Jackson's Honest.
• How Megan is growing Jackson's Honest by focusing on customer demand and feedback.

And much more.

• Jacksonshonest.com
• @JacksonsHonest

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ITT 155: Breaking Through Your Upper Limits with Akira The Don

Akira The Don is a British musician, DJ, and producer. Akira has produced and co-written 3 UK top 40 hits and makes music for movies, video games, ad soundtracks, and more. More recently, Akira has developed a new series of lofi music remixes featuring audio clips from lectures and podcasts of people like Jocko Willink, Dr. Jordan Peterson, and Alan Watts among many others. In fact, Akira produced one of these lofi remixes based on my interview with Dr. Jordan Peterson. You can listen to this special production below in the show notes.

My greatest take away from my interview with Akira the Don is his attitude on continued education and self improvement. I found this a consistent theme throughout the interview; how he embraces this idea of always learning; at mastering whatever it is that he’s working on. Whether it’s mastering the art of rap when he first started out as a rapper, or how he’s now working on these lofi remixes - he’s constantly trying to improve and level up his own skillset.

His focus on personal growth and becoming a better person than the guy he was the day before I found to be a remarkable attitude and something that any of us could embrace and live.

• How Akira got his start in music as a rapper, and how he's ended up one of LA's most popular DJs
• What spurred Akira's "Meaning Wave" lofi remixes and how he knew it was a winning idea
• How Akira developed an artistic vision that gives him the framework to decide which projects to work on and what to avoid
• Why Akira has never thought about quitting the music industry, and how he's managed to navigate and succeed in a hyper-competitive landscape
• What Akira is doing now to grow his audience and fanbase, and how he's growing his record label

And much more.

• Dr. Jordan Peterson on In The Trenches
• The Call to Adventure (a lofi remix of my interview with Jordan Peterson)

• AkiratheDon.com
• @akirathedon
• Akira the Don on YouTube

You can't save the world if you yourself are a mess. 

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ITT 154: Getting Your First Freelance Client with Eric Bakey

Eric Bakey is a direct response copywriter and conversion copywriter who uses visuals in cartoons to communicate direct response marketing strategies for small business owners. He helps bridge the gap between strategy and results. In today's conversation we talk a little bit about direct response copywriting, but where we really dig in is how Eric made the transition from being an Army veteran to the world of self employment business owner.

Among the many things I found interesting in today’s conversation was how Eric generated his first few high paying clients. The first thing he did was create a list of his top 100 potential best clients. Next, he sent each of them a handwritten letter explaining what he loved about the work they were doing, and how he could be of value to them. He ended up booking out his entire calendar with new clients.

So we dig into that and so much more into today’s conversation.

• The secret to effective direct response copywriting
• How to use direct response copywriting to gain new clients in any industry
• The 5 step process Eric used to get his first paying gig as a freelancer
• Eric’s transition from the Army to full-time entrepreneur
• How Eric is scaling his business by moving into strategic advisory services
• What you can do to move from implementation work to high level consulting
• How to develop scalable systems and processes for your small business

And much more.

• How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling
• Scientific Advertising

• EricBakey.com

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ITT 153: Archetypes and Copywriting with Bnonn Tennant

Bnonn Tennant is the founder of InformationHighwayman.com. He's a copywriting expert who uses archetypal narratives to create captivating content that sells.

• Vicarious transcendence (a term Bnonn coined that will help you write better copy)
• How to use movies and tv shows to write better email newsletters
• How to implement archetypal themes and narratives to grow your audience and sell more products and services152

And much more.

• • informationhighwayman.com
  • copywritinglaunchcode.com/epic

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ITT 152: Growing True Wealth with Damion Lupo

Damion Lupo is the founder of Total Control Financial, a company with a mission to empower people to transform their financial future by taking control of their retirement funds. Many people treat their saving and investing as a side thought, storing their money in traditional 401k and IRA accounts. According to Damion, this is not the best way to save nor to grow your wealth. Instead, he recommends entrepreneurs in the United States who are serious about growing their wealth consider using a QRP. QRP stands for qualified retirement plan. A QRP is eligible to receive certain tax benefits that you can't get with a 401k or IRA, and allows you to invest your savings into everything from gold and silver, real estate, and more. In today's conversation, not only do we talk about this subject, but wealth in general. One item that really stood out to me is how Damion is able to evaluate what someone values by looking at the 3 "C's":

• Cash: what you're spending your money on - addictions, habits, etc.
• Credit card: how you're trading away your future for stimulus today.
• Calendar: how you're using (or squandering) your time.

We discuss this and much more.

• The difference between wealth and money
• The blank slate principle
• A single question to ask yourself to help you determine where you should invest your time and money
• Why the 5 people you spend the most time with impact more than your wealth
• How to improve your life (hint: it has nothing to do with doing more things...)
• The 3 "C's" (cash, credit card, and calendar)
• Why you should schedule 'untouchable days' on your calendar

And much more.

• totalcontrolfinancial.com
• damionlupo.com
• theqrpbook.com

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ITT 151: Bootstrapping a Software Company as a Non-Technical Founder with Chris Badgett

Chris Badgett is the co-founder of LifterLMS, learning management software that allows you to create and sell online courses. Chris is a veteran of In The Trenches, making an appearance on episode 95. On that episode, we broke down what it takes to ensure student success. This topic is so important because most course creators think they can simply create and sell their course, and that's that. But the data tells a different story: course creators who emphasize student success (and all the things that lead to student success, like engagement, support, the structure and flow of your course, etc.) are responsible for the most lucrative ecourses across time (e.g. these courses are usually the top perennial sellers). So if you haven't listened to that episode, and you're a course creator, go listen to that now. In today's conversation, we go into the backstory behind LifterLMS - how Chris got his start, how he bootstrapped the software, how he got his first 42 customers, and what he's done to grow it to thousands of paying customers in a few short years.

• How Chris bootstrapped LifterLMS (even living out a car just to get by at one point)
• How LifterLMS landed their first 42 paying customers
• Why Chris moved from agency to software
• Chris' best strategies for generating consistent, increasing recurring revenue (he uses an amazing pre-order strategy that I outline as one of my top hacks in my book "Launch Hacks")
• A simple strategy for creating things your audience and customers want
• Why you should do this one thing to get amazing feedback from customers (this is something I rarely see entrepreneurs do, which is wild...)

And much more.

• lifterlms.com
• @chrisbadgett

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ITT 150: Copyright, Trademark, and Patents for Online Entrepreneurs with Vincent LoTempio

Vincent LoTempio is a registered patent attorney. He helps entrepreneurs, artists, writers, and creators understand, create, and file patents, trademarks, and copyright. In today’s conversation, we discuss the differences between patents, trademarks, and copyright, including what they are, how they’re distinct from one another, and what they actually do for you. We also discuss common misconceptions around copyright, what you need to consider if you’re starting a business around a brand or product, the truth behind satire, derivatives, and fair use, and more. Whether you’ve already filed patents, trademarks, or copyright, or you’re just getting started and trying to figure out what you need to do to protect your intellectual property online, today’s conversation is going to be a game-changer for you.

• A simple way to understand the difference between a patent, trademark, and copyright
• When you need to file a patent, trademark, or copyright
• Common misconceptions around copyright (this is critical if you're an author)
• The difference between 'SM' and 'TM' and when and how to use each
• How to protect your intellectual property from theft
• What these forms of legal registration can and CANNOT do (lots of confusion on this one and Vincent clears it up for us)
• The Sword and Shield framework: a simple approach protecting yourself and your ideas online
• How much it costs to file a trademark, to register a copyright or to register a patent

• US Trademark and Patents
• US Copyright Office

• lotempiolaw.com/trenches
• @lotempio

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ITT 149: The Secret to Effective Guest Podcasting with Tom Schwab

Tom Schwab is the founder of Interview Valet, a podcast booking service. So if you’ve ever wanted to get interviewed on a podcast, Tom and Interview Valet can help. In today’s conversation, Tom and I talk about the art and science of podcast - specifically in terms of how we can use podcasting to market and sell our products and services.

First, we begin with the state of podcasting. This includes what's happening in the podcasting space right now, from the types of podcasts people are listening to, to how people are consuming podcast content, and more. Personally, I view podcasting as a subset of content marketing. Content marketing, as the name implies, is using content to get traffic, leads, and sales. For instance, if you're an author, you'd want to use content marketing to build an email list so you can grow your exposure and book sales. There are big changes happening in the content marketing landscape, including a big shift toward audio and video content in the form of podcasts and video consumption on YouTube (thanks, in large part, to the increasing speed of connectivity and proliferation of cheap technology). So we discuss these macro trends and how they’re impacting the value of podcasting from the perspective of being a podcast host, as well as being a guest or interviewee on another person's podcast.

Second, we talk about how podcasting can be used as a lead generation tool. Specifically, if you want to generate traffic, leads and sales, what do you need to do to make that happen? Tom Schwab walks us through his process, including types of landing pages you need to create to turn traffic into optins, why we need to think about mobile optimization, and much more. The best part of this conversation: Tom brings a bunch of interesting statistics and analytics to support (and challenge) common opinions about podcasting and it's value as a marketing medium.

• The state of podcasting (what's happening in the market place as of 2018)
• What the future of podcasting looks like (and trends you'll want to take advantage of if you want to grow your platform)
• The power of small 'yeses'
• How to find the right podcasts for your message
• How to turn podcast listeners into sales (warning: it has nothing to do with selling!)
• Why podcasting can be such a powerful tool to grow your email list (just make sure you don't screw up this one very important thing...)

And much more.

• Secrets to get on your first podcast

• interviewvalet.com
• @tmschwab

Subscribe to In The Trenches on iTunes

Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 148: The S Curve and How to Hire Amazing Employees with Whitney Johnson

Whitney Johnson is a speaker, podcast, and author of "Build an A Team," published by Harvard Business Press. In "Build an A Team," Whitney explains her "S curve" framework - a methodology for understanding competence and mastery in the context of personal and professional development. Whitney Johnson developed her "S curve" framework and methodology when she co-founded the Disruptive Innovation Fund, along with Clayton Christensen (author of the one of my top 11 books for entrepreneurs). Using the "S curve," you can better facilitate the development of employees (and yourself) - and it's even a great tool for identifying and hiring amazing employees. The following are four recommendations from Whitney on organizing yourself and your team to reach a state of optimal challenge:

1. Are you taking on market risk or competitive risk? Be willing to play in the spaces where others aren't playing. Taking on market risk is good; taking on competitive risk is bad.
2. Are you playing to your strengths? Discover what you do great and focus on what you do well.
3. Is the work you do hard but not debilitating? If you're scaling the 'S' curve and it's hard, but you love it - you're in the right spot. If you dread the work you do, or have anxiety around the next day or next week's work, perhaps you need to shift roles or responsibilities.
4. Are you gaining momentum? Is your rate of growth increasing? If not, you need to shift your frame and your focus, otherwise it's a matter of time before you burn out. Momentum is critical.

I brought Whitney Johnson onto In The Trenches to share her process for hiring, firing, and developing an organization that keeps employees improving and growing.

• How the 'S' curve impacts your business, whether you know it or not
• Why you should hire for general competency, not mastery of a particular subject matter
• Before you hire your next employee, do this (starts at 10:30)
• How to use the 'S' curve to evaluate your own drive, passion, and motivation
• The most fundamental unit of disruption (hint: it's not an idea)
• 4 questions to determine where you or your team members exist on the 'S' curve

And much more.

• Diagnostic Tool - to see where you are on the S curve
• Build an A Team

• Whitney Johnson's Diagnostic Tool
• @johnsonwhitney

Subscribe to In The Trenches on iTunes

Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 147: How to Grow (and Monetize) Your Facebook Fan Page with Kim Walsh Phillips

Kim Walsh Phillips is the CEO of Elite Digital Group, a direct-response social media agency. Kim has helped her clients bring in more than a billion dollars through direct-response marketing. She is author of “No B.S. Guide to Direct Response Social Media Marketing: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Guide to Producing Measurable, Monetizable Results with Social Media Marketing” with Dan Kennedy. I met Kim at an event we both attended last year. At that time, she shared a way to rapidly grow your Facebook Page to more than 10,000+ 'likes.' Normally, I'd ignore this advice because I'm not a big proponent of social media (I think it's fleeting and doesn't produce ROI near what you can get with email marketing or content marketing, but I digress). However, Kim showed me how she then turns these new fans into customers. And she backed it up with numbers. That piqued my interest, and I decided to dig deeper. What I found was that Kim has a system for building an audience on Facebook and then generating sales from that audience. So while this is a more 'tactical' broadcast than is typical, I wanted to share it because I figured some of my readers and listeners could find value in this process.

• Kim's step by step process to grow your Facebook audience
• How to get Facebook likes for pennies
• How to turn your Facebook Page 'likes' into customers and clients
• When and why you should use this strategy (and when you shouldn't)
• Big changes happening to FB and how to take advantage of this tactic today
• Why Facebook is not dead (Kim will explain why)
• One thing you're probably doing right now that is killing your organic reach on Facebook (and a very simple solution that doesn't require you to pay for exposure)
• A simple way to find topics to talk about Why you need to use the 'open loop' framework

And much more.

• Sumorank.com - how to find what content is being shared
• Answerthepublic.com - how to discover questions people are asking in your industry

• www.elitedigitalgroup.com/kim-walsh-phillips
• Kim's Facebook Page
• @kwalshphillips

Subscribe to In The Trenches on iTunes

Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 146: How to Increase Sales By Using Urgency with Jack Born

Hey everyone, welcome back to another broadcast of in the trenches. I'm excited to have on the call today Jack born who's the CEO and founder of Deadline Funnel. Deadline Funnel is automation software that lets you add urgency to your marketing funnel so you can sell more in less time. In today's call, we talk a about Jack's origin story (how he got into software in the first place as a non-technical founder) and how Deadline Funnel software works. However, the majority of our conversation is focused around this idea of adding urgency to your marketing funnel, and how you can do so in an ethical and honest way. I've written a lot about urgency and scarcity on this blog and via my newsletter, often in the context of launches. I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that you need to leverage these psychological principles if you want get the most out of your launch or any marketing campaign you run. However, one of the questions that always comes up is how can we introduce things like urgency and scarcity, especially when dealing with digital products or productizes services that are not, by their nature, limited. So this gets into the realm of business ethics. How can you and I use urgency and scarcity in an authentic and transparent way, and still reap the big rewards? Well, in today's conversation we get into that and much more.

• How Jack got his start in software
• How Jack made $20,000 in one week using the elements of urgency and scarcity in his launch
• Why email marketing works, and specific techniques to get a lot more out of your email list than you're getting right now
• Why deadlines are critical if you want people to buy now, and not later (and how to implement deadlines in the most effective way possible)
• How to create urgency outside of the last day of your launch or open cart sequence
• How to structure a sales funnel to get the most out of any launch or campaign you intend to run
• How to ethically deploy urgency and scarcity, even when offering digital products

And much more.

• www.deadlinefunnel.com
• @deadlinefunnel

Subscribe to In The Trenches on iTunes

Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 145: Behind the Scenes of a 5-Figure Virtual Summit with Alexa Bigwarfe

Alexa Bigwarfe is the founder of WritePublishSell.co, Kat Biggie Press, a book publishing imprint, and creator of the "Women in Publishing Summit." Alexa began her professional career in counter terrorism and Homeland Security, but due to the demanding nature of the job, she decided to stay at home with her two children. Shortly thereafter, she found out she was pregnant with two twins, who were diagnosed with a rare disease. She lost one of her children shortly after birth, which prompted her to write and share her experience to help other grieving mothers who suffered from the loss of loved ones. Through her blogging, she connected with a community of other writers, and she published her first book "Sunshine After the Storm: A Survival Guide for the Grieving Mother." From this collaborative effort, she received many inquiries from aspiring authors who wanted to publish a book. So Alexa started a book publishing company, Kat Biggie Press, and began to offer book production and marketing services. As things picked up, Alexa decided to run a virtual summit to generate new business. Unfortunately, it flopped financially, only making back 10% of her investment in the entire campaign. So she tried again, with her second summit. This was, in her words, another disaster. But Alexa didn't quit - she knew there was great upside potential if she could get a virtual summit off the ground the right way. So she started to prepare for a third and final shot at growing her business, and that's when we connected. In Alexa's own words: "And then Tom came into my life right as I was getting ready to do number 3 and the results were quite different..." In fact, not only was this summit profitable, unlike the first two campaigns she ran, but she generated 207 sales (and counting, as sales are still rolling in) of her All Access Pass, and launched a group coaching program, all of which led to just shy of $20,000 (which doesn't include additional client work she's received as a direct result of her successful summit). In today's discussion, we dig into her story and go behind-the-scenes of her campaign, including what worked and what didn't...

• How Alexa got her start in publishing
• Why Alexa decided to run her first virtual summit
• How her first two virtual summits were "disasters"...and what she did different for her third summit that changed everything for her business
• How to get people to buy an "All Access Pass" to your virtual summit (hint: it doesn't happy naturally)
• One tip I gave Alexa that helped her generate over 200 sales from her summit
• Why a "content / partnership" strategy is so important (and how this strategy helped her make just shy of $20,000 from her most recent virtual summit)
• How to deal with trolls and haters (and why they are inevitable when you start reaching any level of success)

And much more.

• www.writepublishsell.co
• @katbiggie

Subscribe to In The Trenches on iTunes

Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 144: How to Grow a 7-Figure Online Education Business with Charlie Wallace

Charlie Wallace is the founder of guitarmasterymethod.com, an online guitar lesson company that supplies online lessons to guitarists all over the world. Through GuitarMasteryMethod.com, Charlie has helped tens of thousands of guitarist around the globe improve their guitar skills.

• How Charlie got started playing guitar, and his transition into the business space of teaching guitar
• Why Charlie focuses on value and member success first, before anything else
• Why he doesn't use the word customer (member instead)
• How Charlie creates free resources that are so valuable he could charge for them, but doesn't, and why
• How Charlie runs more than 6-figures / month in paid ads to grow his business to multiple 7-figures a year

And much more.

• www.guitarmasterymethod.com
• @Guitar_Method

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 143: Turning Chaos into Order with Jordan Peterson

Dr. Jordan Peterson is a professor at the University of Toronto, a clinical psychologist and the author of 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief, and many scientific papers which have been cited literally thousands of times (according to Google Scholar Citations). As a Harvard professor, he was nominated for the prestigious Levinson Teaching Prize, and his classroom lectures on mythology and psychology, based on his book Maps of Meaning, were turned into a popular 13-part TV series on TVO. I first stumbled across Dr. Peterson's work via his Maps of Meaning lecture series on YouTube. Within minutes I was hooked, and proceeded to binge watched more than 24 hours of these lectures, which use the story of Pinocchio to articulate the way in which you and I act in the world, the deeply biological origin of "meaning" and "sacrifice," and how we can better navigate the world through understanding stories, meta-stories, and archetypes. If you had told me two years ago that my favorite videos on YouTube would be a professor's university lecture series on YouTube, I would have called you crazy. But that's a testament to Dr. Peterson; how he can take topics that could be seen as otherwise mundane or cliche, and turn it into a compelling narrative that gives the best Hollywood films a run for their money. Unsurprisingly, Dr. Peterson’s YouTube channel, Jordan Peterson Videos, which features his university and public lectures (including his recent 15-part biblical series), has over 1 million subscribers, with 10s of millions of views.

• Dr. Peterson's morning routine
• How Dr. Peterson creates time to write (and why it's so important to develop a practice of writing)
• How Dr. Peterson uses Twitter to develop content for his blog
• What Dr. Peterson means when he says "Don't let bullies get away with it" (from a Quora response that's generated over 326,000 views and more than 5,000 upvotes)
• The difference between meaning and suffering (and why you should strengthen the former and reduce the latter to lead the best life you possibly can)
• What Dr. Peterson thinks of Nassim Taleb (including how several of their ideas align, including the concept of "skin in the game," and his interest in having a conversation with Taleb)
• Why the hard-right / hard-left dichotomy is an imperfect, if practical way to navigate the complexity of our modern political environment
• How to raise your kids traditionally, without sheltering them (this is an answer to a reader question)

And much more.

• Jordanbpeterson.com
• The Self Authoring Suite
• 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaose
• The Psychological Significance of the Biblical Stories (on YouTube)
• Maps of Meaning lecture series (on YouTube)

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 142: How to Build a Digital Marketing Agency with Travis Phipps

Travis Phipps is the CEO of Battle Bridge Labs; a digital marketing agency who works with several large-scale companies. In this episode, Travis dives into how he built his agency, the various business models he’s tried, some Facebook features he thinks are game-changers, and lots more.

• What led Travis to his current business
• How Travis landed his first digital marketing client
• How Travis grew his business from a one-man shop to a full agency
• Travis’ thoughts on how to best price agency work
• Why Travis suggests every entrepreneur has an assistant
• How Travis prices and sells his more labor-intensive services
• The importance of choosing the right clients
• The various business models Travis has tried for his agency
• Why Travis has increased his Facebook ad spend for his client from 15% to 50% in the past two years
• Why your ads and calls-to-action need to be optimized for mobile devices
• The Facebook feature Travis thinks is going to change the way we create leads in the future

And so much more.

• Battle Bridge Labs
• Email Travis: [email protected]
• @LabsBattle

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 141: How to Embrace Your Curiosity with David Kadavy

David Kadavy is the bestselling author of The Heart to Start and Design for Hackers. He is also the host of the Love Your Work podcast. In this episode, David and I talk dig into how his curiosity has led him down some unexpected paths and opened the door to knew opportunities.

• Why David felt compelled to write his book, The Heart to Start
• Can we cultivate an action mindset in those around us?
• The importance of creating something of your own even if you don’t want to be an entrepreneur
• Why we need to embrace curiosity and never stop learning
• Why the cliched advice of following your passion isn’t always the best idea
• How David’s curiosity has shown up in his writing and various projects over the years

And so much more.

• David Kadavy's Website
• David Kadavy's Book: The Heart to Start
• David Kadavy's Podcast: Love Your Work
• @kadavy

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 140: How to Take Control of Your Finances with an App with Warren Hogarth

Warren Hogarth is the Co-Founder and CEO of Empower Finance; which includes the Empower app. In this episode, we talk about Warren's time at Sequoia Capital, the criteria he uses when determining what companies to invest in, and how his new app can save people thousands of dollars each year by allowing them to take control of their finances.

• What led Warren to work at Sequoia Capital
• What the environment was like at Sequoia Capital and what Warren learned from it
• The criteria Warren uses to determine if a company is worth investing in
• Why Warren focuses only on tech companies (or companies that are technology-enabled)
• What is the Empower app and how does it meet Warren’s criteria?
• How Warren is growing his customer base in a market with big-name players
• How entrepreneurs and small business owners can benefit from using the Empower app

And so much more.

• Warren Hogarth's Empower Website
• The Empower Podcast
• Empower App for iOS
• Empower App for Android
• @empowermeapp

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 139: How to Achieve Self-Mastery with Johnny Helleland

Johnny Helleland is the creator of The MotionEffect and his story is a pretty interesting one. Johnny was able to overcome a rough childhood, including moving around 32 times and even living out of a tent, to become the number one Shopify expert in all of Norway. In today's conversation, Johnny and I are going to talk about how he got to where he is today and we're also digging into his 7 Steps to Self-Mastery.In this broadcast, Johnny Helleland and I talk about:

• The story of how Johnny got to where he is today
• How Johnny’s rough background provided him with skills he utilizes in his business
• Johnny’s 7 Steps to Self-Mastery
• Why are thoughts our so incredibly powerful
• How we have the power to choose who we are, what we do, and what happens to us
• Johnny’s thoughts on how to determine what your path should be
• Why you need to trust in both the universe and yourself
• The step most of Johnny’s clients struggle with

And so much more.

• Johnny Helleland's Website
• Johnny Helleland's Book: 7 Steps to Self-Mastery
• Johnny Helleland on Instagram
• Johnny Helleland on YouTube
• Johnny Helleland on Facebook
• @MrJohnnySir

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 138: How to Dominate the Self-Publishing Space with Derek Doepker

Derek Doepker is an author, speaker, trainer, coach, and dominator in the self-publishing space. In this episode, we mostly focus on how he stumbled into self-publishing, why he continues to work on new projects even though he could live off his earnings from self-publishing, why it’s so important to be clear in your writing rather than clever, and much more!

• How Derek first got into writing and self-publishing
• Why Derek considers his first few books a success even though they didn’t sell well at first
• How to determine whether the market is ready for the book you want to write
• Derek’s advice for becoming an innovator in your niche
• How Derek diversifies his income streams without spreading himself too thin
• The importance of using templates and processes to expedite the work you do
• Why you should create courses instead of standard operating procedures
• Why you need to embrace the fact that most businesses fail

And so much more.

• Derek Doepker's Website
• Derek Doepker's Free Book: Why You're Stuck
• @ExcuseProof

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 137: How to Create an Irresistible Offer with Dan Kuschell

Dan Kuschell is a father, thought leader, humanitarian, angel investor, and serial entrepreneur. He currently coaches other entrepreneurs and business owners to help them grow and scale their companies. In today's episode, we talk about how Dan first excelled in direct response marketing, how can we use those same tactics today to create an irresistible offer, how Dan actually structured his pricing for leads to make it a win win for him and the companies that were buying those leads, and why being good has nothing to do with how you get paid but messaging is key.

• How Dan got into direct response marketing in the 1980’s
• Why Dan feels it’s more important to focus on your messaging than it is to focus on being good at what you do
• The main reason some of Dan’s businesses failed while others flourished
• The criteria Dan used when deciding which clients to take on
• Why you need a unique and irresistible offer
• How Dan conducts market research for business
• The importance of knowing the skills of those in your genius network and utilizing them

And so much more.

• Dan Kuschell's Website
• Dan Kuschell's Growth to Freedom Podcast
• @dan_kuschell

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 136: How to Peacefully Run Your Business with Paul Jarvis

Paul Jarvis is a professional designer who’s been working for himself since the 90’s. His clients have included Microsoft, Mercedes, and Warner Music. In addition to being a designer, he’s also a prolific writer whose blog has been shared by influencers such as Ashton Kutcher and Ariana Huffington. In this episode, Paul and I discuss a wide variety of topics including things like whether or business growth is a actually a good thing, why you should personalize your marketing, why you need to delete the comments sections from your blog, and much more!

• Paul’s unusual perspective on business growth and why it’s not always a good thing
• The reason loving the idea of something isn’t enough to pursue it
• Why growth is the easy solution but not always the right one
• The difference between working with team of people and having a team that works for you
• The purpose Paul’s blog and newsletter serves in his business
• Why you need to choose your audience just as they choose you
• Why Paul says comments are “the worst thing to happen to the internet”
• Paul’s tactics for using his newsletter to general almost all of his revenue
• Does Paul prefer to sell evergreen products or use timed launches and closed cart tactics
• Why you need to keep things as frictionless as possible

And so much more.

• Paul Jarvis' Website
• Paul Jarvis' Newsletter
• @pjrvs

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 135: How to Set and Achieve Goals with Gregg Swanson

Gregg Swanson is a physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental strength coach and he is also author of Develop the Mental Strength of a Warrior. In this episode, we cover topics like how to get clarity around your vision for the future so you can set optimal goals, why and how to set milestones on the path to achieving your goals, and how to set yourself up to accomplish the most important goals of the year by establishing rules and taking responsibility for your daily actions and behavior.

• The importance of being very clear when it comes to the goals you set
• The exercise Gregg uses to help his clients gain clarity for their goals
• How Gregg handles clients who know they want to be an entrepreneur but have no clarity about what their business will be
• Why using pre-determined milestones is a critical part of accomplishing goals
• How effectiveness and efficiency specifically factor into accomplishing your goals
• The main roadblock entrepreneurs create when trying to accomplish their goals
• Why you need to track your actions and not just the results
• Why Gregg thinks you should have someone else, like a coach, hold you responsible for your actions and results
• The difference between accountability and responsibility in terms of achieving goals

And so much more.

• Gregg Swanson's Website
• Gregg Swanson's Book: Develop The Mental Strength of a Warrior
• Gregg Swanson's Warrior Mindset Podcast
• Gregg Swanson's Udemy Courses
• @mindcoach

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 134: How to Maximize Your Virtual Summit Sales with Bailey Richert

Bailey Richert is the founder of the Infopreneur Summit and she also coaches other entrepreneurs on how to host their own profitable virtual summits. The topic of virtual summits is particularly fascinating to me and, after listening to Bailey, I think you'll understand why.

• Bailey’s breaks down the results of her strategies using her most recent virtual summit as an example
• What Bailey will be changing in the campaign for her next virtual summit based off the data from her previous one
• The various products Bailey sells before, during, and after her virtual summits
• Why you should not sell on-going services as the main product of your virtual summit
• The number one tactic that brings in the majority of sales during a virtual summit
• What Bailey thinks about obtaining sponsors for virtual summits
• Does Bailey do giveaways during her virtual summits to help build her list?
• The most common mistake people make when hosting a virtual summit

And so much more.

• Bailey Richert's Website
• Infopreneur Summit
• Bailey Richert on Facebook
• @baileyrichert

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 133: How to Have Difficult Conversations with Marcia Reynolds

Marcia Reynolds is the author of The Discomfort Zone: How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations Into Breakthroughs and, in this episode, we do a deep dive into exactly how to have these kinds of conversations and why this is so important to master if you're a leader or coach.

• Way Marcia feels her book is so important for the leadership and coaching industries
• The most common examples of difficult conversations an employer might have
• Three strategies for creating psychological safety in a difficult conversation
• The importance of setting intentions before having a difficult conversation
• Why you need to believe in the potential of the person you’re speaking with
• What to do if you don’t believe in the potential of the person you’re speaking with
• Are there certain words or emotions that create a physiological result in the body?
• Why having an attitude of curiosity can sometime be the best approach

And so much more.

• Marcia Reynolds' Website
• The Discomfort Zone: How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations Into Breakthroughs
• Marcia Reynolds on Facebook
• @MarciaReynolds

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 132: How to Master Your Lifestyle Design with Tomas Laurinavicius

Tomas Laurinavicius is a lifestyle designer, entrepreneur, and professional blogger who travels full-time and, today, we're talking about how Tomas organizes his days to get stuff done while he travels, what lifestyle design is and the merits and drawbacks of it, the difference between travel and vacation, the importance of starting from a place of principles, and why you must have non-negotiables in life.

• Tomas’ transformational evolution that led him to become a traveling lifestyle design entrepreneur and blogger
• How Tomas finds a balance between traveling and working
• Why Tomas loves to travel but doesn’t like taking vacations
• Why it’s okay to be an entrepreneur and not want to become the next Mark Zuckerburg
• The difference between bragging about your lifestyle and using it gain visibility for your business
• Why you can have anything you want in life, but you can’t have everything
• Why you need to push the edge and make some people hate you
• The importance of having non-negotiable habits and principles

And so much more.

• Tomas Laurinavicius' Website
• Tomas Laurinavicius on Facebook
• Tomas Laurinavicius on Instagram
• @tomaslau

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 131: How to Build a Digital Product Empire with Amy Porterfield

Amy Porterfield went from working for Tony Robbins to now being the host of the Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast and the uber-successful creator of numerous courses on online marketing, list growth, and business development.

In this episode, Amy breaks down just how she built her very own digital product empire.

• How Harley Davidson and Tony Robbins got Amy started down the path of becoming a social media marketing expert
• The specific steps Amy took to completely shift her business from being a social media consultant to a full-time creator of digital products
• What would Amy do differently if she could go back and start her business all over again?
• What it takes on a daily basis for Amy to maintain her high level of sales
• What two roles does Amy feel it’s important to hire someone for in the earlier stages of a business?
• The role live workshops and videos should play in your online course creation process

And so much more.

• Amy Porterfield's Website
• Amy's Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast
• Amy Porterfield on Facebook
• Amy Porterfield on Instagram
• @AmyPorterfield

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 130: How to Become an Authority in Your Space with Ian Brodie

Ian Brodie is an expert at helping  consultants and coaches become seen as authorities in their fields. Today, we're diving into this exact topic and Ian is really bringing some top-notch advice and tips so you definitely don't want to miss this one.

• What does it mean to be an authority in your space?
• What’s better: more clients at a lower rate or fewer clients at a higher rate?
• If water can be branded, why can’t you?
• The two paths to becoming an authority in your space
• The importance of having a different methodology, a hook, and evidence
• Why most people don’t accurately estimate their own level of expertise
• Ian’s Five-Day Authority Challenge

And so much more.

• Ian Brodie's Website
• Ian Brodie on Facebook
• @ianbrodie

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 129: How to Utilize the Three P's of Profit with Tema Frank

Tema Frank is the author of PeopleShock: The Path to Profits When Customers Rule and, today, we're talking about how we should treat our customers, how we should allow them to influence our products/services, and how it all works together to generate more revenue.

• The background of PeopleShock and why customers should rule
• The difference between customer service and customer experience
• Tema’s Three P’s of Profit
• How you should communicate your promise to your customers
• When you should get your customer involved in your decision-making process
• How to determine your customers’ needs when you don't already have existing customers
• Should you get feedback from your existing customers or your prospects?
• The biggest customer experience mistake businesses make
• Why you’re probably not as good at customer service as you think you are
• How can a small business know when they’re doing something wrong?

And so much more.

• Tema Frank's Website
• Frank Reactions Podcast
• Tema Frank on Facebook
• Tema Frank on Linkedin
• @temafrank

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 128: How to Become a Professional Podcaster with David Ralph

David Ralph is the creator and host of the Join Up Dots business podcast; which has seen nearly 500,000 downloads in a single month. Today, we're discussing how David left the corporate world behind (with a little push from yours truly) to become a full-time professional podcaster.

• Why download numbers don’t really matter
• The benefits of batching your interviews
• Why David still does all the post-production work himself instead of outsourcing it
• They story of how I gave David Dumbo’s magic feather
• David’s tactics for using iTunes, and not social media, to grow his audience
• How Pat Flynn and John Lee Dumas influenced David
• How a niche website about the Florida Keys allows David to podcast full-time
• David’s experiences with burn out while building passive income
• How David’s dreams and goals have changed since he first started his podcast

And so much more.

• David Ralph's Website
• Join Up Dots Business Podcast
• Podcast Mastery
• @joinupdot

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 127: How to Live a Creative Life with Melissa Dinwiddie

Melissa Dinwiddie is the author of The Creative Sandbox Way and is on the show today to discuss how we're all creative, even if we don't believe we are, and how our creativity can actually help us in our professional lives.

• Why Melissa wrote The Creative Sandbox Way
• Why one of the rules in Melissa’s book is quantity over quality
• How to know when a project is ready to be released
• The benefits of sharing your work before you’re ready
• The importance of finding a balance between work and play
• How adding creativity breaks during your workday can improve your focus and performance
• What to do if you don’t believe you’re a creative person

And so much more.

• Melissa Dinwiddie's Website
• The Creative Sandbox Way
• Live Creative Now! Podcast
• @a_creative_life

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 126: How to Create a Sales Framework with Jim Brown

Jim Brown is the creator of SalesTuner and the host of the SalesTuner podcast. If you couldn't tell by the name of his business, he focuses on all things sales and helps his clients rethink the sales process so they can close the deals that bring the big bucks.

• Jim’s framework for helping entrepreneurs get better at sales
• Why you need to get an upfront agreement within the first few minutes of the first call with a potential clients
• They typical reasons people aren’t willing to give an upfront agreement and how Jim counters them
• The importance of actively looking for the red flags at the beginning of a discovery call
• How to frame your upfront agreement so you’re more likely to get a "yes"
• The typical buyer’s process of lying, stealing, and hiding
• How to get clients to pay you for a proposal
• The topics you should avoid during your discovery calls with potential clients

• Jim's Website
• SalesTuners Podcast
• @jim_brown

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 125: How to Grow Your Own Coaching Business with Jessica Sweet

Jessica Sweet loved her job as a social worker but, after having her first child and realizing how expensive daycare is, she decided to make a change.

With no direct coaching experience, she started her own coaching business in 2008 so she could be home with her kids and, in this episode, we talk about that journey and how she continues to grow her coaching business to this day.

• Why Jessica left a job she loved
• How Jessica entered the coaching space with no previous coaching experience
• The first steps Jessica took when she started her coaching business
• How Jessica grew her coaching business with two young children at home
• The strategies and techniques Jessica uses to grow her coaching business today
• The importance of networking, collaboration, and referrals
• The different between being a consultant and being a coach
• How Jessica sells her coaching services to people who are leery of coaches in general
• How Jessica prioritizes and manages all aspects of her business as a solopreneur

• Jessica's Website
• Jessica's Career Change Guide
• @WishingwellGift

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 124: How to Build an App from Scratch with RJ McCollam

RJ McCollam has been a freelancer for years and, after unsuccessfully searching for project management software that was specially designed for teams, he created the app, Hector, as a side project.

In this episode, we talk about how he built and launched the app in 30 days, why he's rebuilding the app now, and the unexpected challenges he's encountered along the way.

• What RJ does to earn money now
• Where did the idea for RJ’s software, Hector, come from?
• How RJ’s software evolved from an idea to what it is today
• The unexpected challenges of building software
• The guilt that comes with working on a non-revenue generating side project
• The basic costs associated with building an app
• How to take you app from idea to revenue generator
• The software RJ looks to for guidance and/or inspiration
• Why RJ decided to have a free version of Hector

• RJ McCollam's Website
• RJ McCollam's Podcast: The Freelance Podcast
• Hector App
• @RJMcCollam

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 123: How to Use the Power of Storytelling with Jose Rosado

Jose Rosado has a story you might relate to: bouncing from job to job and industry to industry; often times with long nerve-wracking periods of unemployment. However, during those experiences, Jose learned the power of storytelling and he used that knowledge on his successful podcast, The Angry Millennial. Currently, Jose is focusing on his latest project, Creatives Aga;nst Depression.

• How Jose became a photographer and then an instructor
• The power of podcasting
• How Jose made his first sales as a photographer
• The power of person-to-person connection over social media
• The tactics Jose used for getting his podcast guests to really open up
• Why Jose started his podcast and chose to call it The Angry Millennial
• How Jose manages and prioritizes his various projects
• Why Jose doesn’t pick just one project and focus solely on that

• Jose Rosado's Website
• The Angry Millennial Podcast
• Creative Aga;nst Depression
• @joserosadophoto
• Jose Rosado on Facebook
• Jose Rosado on Instagram

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 122: How to Scale a Business Like a Ziglar with Tom Ziglar

Tom Ziglar is the son of Zig Ziglar; one of the most influential motivational speakers and business thought leaders of our time. He's also the CEO of Ziglar, Inc. and is carrying on his father's legacy by using the company to help people and businesses achieve their personal and professional goals.

• What it was like growing up with Zig Ziglar
• How Tom’s golf habit led to him taking over the family business
• The story of Tom’s first sale and the major lesson he learned from it
• Why building trust is so incredibly important when scaling a business
• The simple way to build trust in the sales industry
• Why you should strive to be different from your competition instead of trying to beat them at their own game
• What is a “turn-key” business and why should yours be one?
• The number one reason most business don’t do as well as they could
• Why you need to tweak your prices to generate profitable revenue
• Tom’s advice for when your business and sales become stagnate
• The powerful reason for being very clear about your “why”
• What is a “minimum viable customer”?

• Zinglar Inc.'s Website
• @tomziglar
• Ziglar Inc. on Facebook
• Ziglar Inc.'s YouTube Channel

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 121: How to Start a Side Hustle with Ryan Robinson

Ryan Robinson is a writer and freelance content marketer who's been featured on platforms such as Inc., Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Business Insider. Today, we're talking about how to write for major platforms and how to start a side hustle while doing so.

• What was Ryan’s first side hustle?
• Should you quit your “day job” before your side hustle is replacing that income?
• How Ryan became such a prolific writer
• Ryan’s strategies for consistently creating content
• Ryan’s advice for people who want to be a regular contributor for sites like Entrepreneur and Forbes
• How to write great content for major media outlets that will keep them wanting more
• Is it worth your time to write for media outlets like Forbes and Entrepreneur?
• How to come up with an idea for a side hustle
• How to know when you should narrow your side hustle

• Ryan's Website
• @theryanrobinson
• Ryan on Facebook
• Ryan on Linkedin
• Ryan's Podcast: The Side Hustle Project
• Ryan's Article: 5 Steps to Write a Cold Email That Converts New Clients
• Ryan's Article: 101 Best Side Hustle Business Ideas to Start While Working Full-Time

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 120: How to Choose What's Next After Graduating Freelancing with Kai Davis

Kai Davis is a world leader is marketing education for freelancers and consultants and, today, we're talking about the paths one can take when they find they've outgrown their business and graduated from freelancing.

• The three options for when your business outgrows you
• Why Kai choose to go the path of creating education products for his clients
• Is there a fourth path of becoming a full-time employee?
• Kai’s experience running to micro-agencies
• The main thing to consider when deciding whether or not to create an agency
• The difference in business models between freelancing and selling education products
• How to know when you can stop focusing on the growth of your business
• How your hobbies can make or break your business
• Is it obligatory that you take your freelance business to the next level?
• Why maxing your retirement accounts is more sexy than buying new a car

• Kai's Website
• Kai's Freelance Marketing Podcast
• Kai's Make Money Online Podcast
• @kaisdavis

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 119: How to Find the Place Where You Belong with Jeffrey Shaw

Jeffrey Shaw is a business coach, public speaker, and the host of the Creative Warriors podcast. In his early twenties, Jeffrey realized just how important it is to find the place where you belong in order to succeed as a freelancer or entrepreneur and he explains why that is in today's episode.

• What it means to “find the place where you belong” and why it matters
• Can your purpose by invalidated by the people around you?
• The importance of identifying what you value the most and finding others that value the same things
• What it means to own who you are
• Should companies align themselves with a political or social view?

• Jeffrey's Website
• The 12 Must-Have Mindsets for Uncommon Entrepreneurs
• @jeffreyshaw1
• Jeffrey on Facebook
• Jeffrey on Linkedin

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 118: How to Grow Your Business Through Public Speaking with Gene Hammett

Gene Hammett is an author, podcast host, business coach, leadership strategist, and a very experienced public speaker who's used his speaking engagements to grow his business into the success it is today.

• Why Gene started out speaking for free
• How Gene averages over $18,000 in revenue from each speech
• The most common mistake people make with their speech titles and descriptions
• Why your speech needs to emotionally resonate with your audience
• Why you should absolutely not pitch yourself for speaking engagements
• The two main factors in landing a speaking engagement
• Gene’s system for building relationships with event planners
• About Gene's new book, The Trap of Success

• Gene's Website
• Gene's Podcast, Leaders in the Trenches
• @genehammett
• Gene on Facebook
• Gene on Linkedin
• Gene on YouTube

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 117: How to Train Your Brain with Dana Wilde

Dana Wilde is an author, brain trainer, and the CEO of The Mind Aware. I've spoken to Dana a few times and I am always blown away by the knowledge and perspective she brings to the conversation of the power of our mindset. This interview was no exception.

• Why it’s not action that builds your business
• What mindset will give your business quick growth?
• How you can grow intentionally instead of accidentally by shifting your mindset
• How understand your spectrum of emotions can help you adapt
• The importance of positive rants
• How you’re using the word “but” incorrectly

• Dana's Website
• @Dana_Wilde
• Dana on Facebook
• Dana on Linkedin
• Dana on YouTube

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 116: How to Be a Great Leader with Kevin Waldron

Kevin Waldron is the Founder of Waldron Leadership and is also responsible for growing a brick and mortar business to over 200 employees and $24 million in sales. I've been fortunate enough to spend some time with Kevin in person and can say that he's changed my perception of what a great leader is.

• How most people view the term “leader”
• Why business advice today is like a quiz is Cosmopolitan magazine
• The importance of being able to effectively communicate with the people you’re leading
• Why entrepreneurs need to be able to lead themselves
• Finding the balance between planning and taking action
• How knowing your limitations and weaknesses will make you a better entrepreneur
• Why you should ignore anyone who’s selling effortless results
• Why you need to be actively moving towards discomfort
• How multitasking is actually hurting you

• Kevin's Website

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 115: How to Create and Sell Paid Content with Maya Elious

Maya Elious is the Founder of Built to Impact and she helps people establish curriculum based content for their brand. In today’s show, we’re going to be discussing how to find your niche, create paid content without experiencing burnout, and how to effectively sell your paid content.

• The first thing you should do to become a thought leader in your niche
• Maya's main technique for finding your niche
• How to use your personal experiences to create content
• Why you need to make your audience feel insecure
• A breakdown of what content should be free versus paid
• Why you must have a community in place before creating paid content
• The importance of collaboration and knowing it’s going to take time to build your audience
• How to avoid burnout while creating paid content
• Why you should use your audience’s language for their pain points in your sales copy
• How to scale your content and sales after you’ve established yourself in your niche

• Maya's Website
• Maya's Blogging for Business Starter Pack
• Maya's Facebook Group
• Maya's Facebook Page
• @mayaelious

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 114: How to Become a Successful Solo Consultant with Jake Jorgovan

Jake Jorgovan, the Founder of Outbound Creative and Agency Scout, is on the show to talk about his entrepreneurial journey that almost saw him get evicted from his apartment to now being a successful solo consultant who's running multiple businesses.

• How a downside to entrepreneurship almost got Jake evicted from his apartment
• Why entrepreneurs need to constantly market themselves
• The marketing platform that’s been the most beneficial for Jake
• How Jake uses his podcast to generate leads
• What is Outbound Creative?
• How Jake utilizes mind mapping in his business
• Jake’s tips for effectively charging clients for discovery calls
• The pros and cons of being a solo consultant rather than running an agency
• How Jake sees his business evolving in the future
• What is Agency Scout and how does it factor into Jake’s future business plans?

• Jake's Blog
• Working Without Pants Podcast
• Outbound Creative
• Agency Scout
• @JakeJorgovan

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 113: How to Become Better at Managing Your Time with Jordan Baker

Jordan Baker is the Founder of Focuster, a software and app solution to help you better manage your time and organize your day. I personally use this software and it's made a big difference in my productivity so I'm really excited for you to learn more about how to better manage your time.

• What is Focuster and why did Jordan create it?
• Jordan’s tips for managing your time the most effectively
• Jordan’s advice for reclaiming your focus
• Why properly prioritizing your tasks is critical
• Why multitasking actually does more harm than good
• How Jordan utilizes the Pomodoro Technique

• Focuster
• @hexsprite

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 112: How to Run a Successful Travel Blog with Caz Makepeace

Caz Makepeace is one-half of the successful y Travel Blog and she's here to explain how her blog has helped her family travel all over the world. We also discuss how she manages to balance a successful business with a full-time travel lifestyle.

• What led Caz’s Australian family to the United States?
• How Caz’s travel blog helps her family travel the world
• Finding the balance between travel and business
• The monetization strategy Caz regrets not doing earlier
• How Caz maintains her audience’s trust while doing affiliate marketing
• The largest source of Caz's current traffic
• How competitive is the travel niche?
• The story of how Caz’s travels earned her an invitation to the White House

• Caz's Website
• @yTravelBlog

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

ITT 111: How to Succeed in Business While Others Fail with Michael Kawula

Michael Kawula is the CEO of Social Quant and has built several million dollar businesses over the course of his entrepreneurial career. Today, we’re discussing why 90% of businesses fail within the first five years and how you can make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

• Why 90% of companies fail in the first five years
• Michael s four ways to move your business forward
• The #1 downfall for entrepreneurs
• Should different types of businesses have different methods of growth?
• Why you should be utilizing other peoples audiences
• How to network properly on Twitter
• How to connect with major influencers

• Michael’s Website
• @MikeKawula
• Michael on Facebook
• Michael on Linkedin

• The Eisenhower Matrix
• The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
• Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
• Right Relevance
• Brand24

I m a big believer in imperfect action beats perfect inaction. – @MikeKawula

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 111: How to Succeed in Business While Others Fail with Michael Kawula appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 110: How to Create Evergreen Sales Funnels with Summer Tannhauser

Summer Tannhauser is the founder of Lady Boss League and Evergreen Sales School. It’s the dream of every entrepreneur to obtain the elusive passive income. One way to do this is by creating digital content and evergreen sales funnels to continuously market the product with little effort beyond the initial set-up. This episode is jam-packed with action advice straight from Summer herself.

• The #1 reason most evergreen sales funnels aren t successful
• The importance of sharing personal stories in your content
• How to determine the amount of free content you should provide
• Summer s ideal mini-course sales funnel structure
• Why you should include a guaranteed result from your mini-course sales funnel
• The main things to consider when crafting your sales pitch inside your mini-course
• The ideal product price point for email mini-course sales funnels
• Why you should have a downsell option
• The main tripwire mistake entrepreneurs make
• How much time and effort should go into your mini-course landing page

• Summer’s Website
• @SummerKTann

They re not just buying a course on a topic, they re buying from you. – @SummerKTann

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 110: How to Create Evergreen Sales Funnels with Summer Tannhauser appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 109: How to Create Friction Free Sales with Matt Fox

Matt Fox is the founder of Friction Free Sales, the author of Friction Free Sales and Marketing, and the host of the Fail to Learn podcast. He’s spent the past 20 years studying strategies and skills in persuasion and neurolinguistics, hypnosis, direct marketing, and much more. This conversation was so interesting that I’m determined to get Matt back on the show so we can dive even deeper!

• How small shopping cart changes helped Matt s client increase his conversions by 27%
• Why a poor bump offer can sometimes cost you the entire sale
• Do different audiences require different types and lengths of sales copy?
• The core elements of an effective sales page
• The three types of psychological resistance and how to overcome them
• Are daily emails to your list really necessary?
• Why scarcity isn t always the best sales tactic
• The importance of communication during the sales process

• Matt’s Website
• @Matthew03

You ve got to give at least a $10-12,000 presentation to get a $3,000 check. – @Matthew03

• My Interview with Ben Settle
• My Interview with Charlie Hoehn
• Your Free Downloads from Matt

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 109: How to Create Friction Free Sales with Matt Fox appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 108: How to Get More Work from Your Existing Clients with Christopher Hawkins

Christopher Hawkins is the host of the $100K Freelancing podcast and he’s helping service providers realize the power of selling to your existing and previous clients instead of focus on bringing in cold leads. He’s written multiple books and will be launching a course around this topic later this year.

I loved this information packed interview so much, I actually had to stop and take notes in the middle of it because I knew I wanted to start implementing Christopher’s advice immediately after our call.

• Why service providers should focus on getting more work from their existing clients
• Christopher s process for creating new opportunities with existing clients
• The importance of human interaction in business
• The best approach to get your previous clients on the phone
• Christopher s tactics for check-in calls with his previous clients
• What is soft discovery and how can you utilize it

• Christopher’s Website
• 100K Freelancing Podcast
• @chris_hawk
• Get Your Free Copy of Conquering Client Conflict

If you people who are already sold on you, sell to those people first. – @chris_hawk

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 108: How to Get More Work from Your Existing Clients with Christopher Hawkins appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 107: How to Build Multiple Businesses at Once with Anthony Tran

Anthony Tran noticed a gap in the market when his WordPress design clients constantly asked if he knew anyone who could help provide ongoing WordPress support and website management. So, he filled that gap by creating his latest business, Access WP. He continues to successfully grow both businesses at the same time and that’s why I can’t wait for you to check out this episode.

He continues to successfully grow both businesses at the same time and, in this episode, we’re going to find out how.

• The types of services Access WP offers
• Why Anthony only utilizes U.S. based developers
• How Anthony s able to keep his rates low
• The challenges Anthony experienced while building Access WP
• Anthony s biggest avenues for growth
• How The E-Myth by Michael Gerber influenced Anthony s business decisions
• Anthony’s staff structure
• Why Anthony s able to grow two businesses at once
• How Anthony built the systems for his business

• Access WP
• Marketing Access Pass
• @AnthonyTranMAP

I know if we want to grow, I can t be working in the business. I need to be working on the business. – @AnthonyTranMAP

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 107: How to Build Multiple Businesses at Once with Anthony Tran appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 106: How to Build A Business Beyond Being An Author with Matt Stone

Matt Stone is the Founder of Buck Books and multiple other businesses. Several years ago, Matt realized the importance of building a business around his expertise and expanding his products beyond just books and this is what we’re diving into today.

• How Matt first started making money online using Clickbank
• How Matt stands out in a competitive market
• Why Matt feels it s never been easier to make money online
• Embracing a collaboration mindset instead of a competitive one
• Matt s ideal business model
• The foundation of what it takes to start a business
• The story behind the format of Matt s new book

• Matt’s Website
• Buck Books
• Matt’s Books
• @BuckBooksTweets

I still think sound business models still work better than just putting something up on somebody else s platform and hoping it sells. – @BuckBooksTweets

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 106: How to Build A Business Beyond Being An Author with Matt Stone appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 105: How to Use Quizzes for Lead Generation with Josh Haynam

Josh Haynam is the Co-founder of Interact which is a quiz building and lead generation platform. I found myself taking a lot of notes during this interview because Josh had some incredible information and really got me fired up to start using quizzes as a lead generation tool in my own business.

• The psychology behind quizzes
• The key to creating a quiz that works for your business
• The #1 way to promote quizzes
• Are quizzes good for segmenting your leads and/or audience?
• What types of questions should be in your quiz?
• The outline of every great quiz
• The ideal number of questions for your quiz
• How to determine the outcomes of your quiz
• The best ways to leverage your quiz leads
• Do you have to create a customized backend system for each outcome?

• Josh’s Website
• @JHaynam
• Email Matt

What quizzes allow you to do, is create content that lets people express themselves. – @JHaynam

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 105: How to Use Quizzes for Lead Generation with Josh Haynam appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 104: How to Become a Six-Figure Social Media Marketer with Matt Astifan

Matt Astifan is a self-proclaimed “failed Realtor” who turned into an internet marketing expert. He’s been in the business for nearly ten years and is on the show today to talk about the model he used, and now teaches, to become a six-figure freelance social media marketer.

• How Matt went from being a failed realtor to an internet marketer
• Why Matt’s first clients were business coaches
• How Matt made a month s salary in one weekend
• Should beginners use a performance-based pricing model?
• The best niches for performance-based pricing models
• How to scale your freelance social media marketing business to six figures
• How your rate influences your potential clients opinions of you
• Can Matt s model apply to any freelance business?

• Matt’s Website
• @MattsMedia
• Matt on Facebook

I have this rule where I ll only work with people that are far richer than I am. – @MattsMedia

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 104: How to Become a Six-Figure Social Media Marketer with Matt Astifan appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 103: How to Succeed by Working for Free with Charlie Hoehn

Charlie Hoehn, in my opinion, is one of the smartest online marketers in the world so I’m incredibly honored to have him on the show. Charlie’s worked with people like Ramit Sethi, Seth Godin, and Tim Ferriss. He’s recently launched a new book, Play for a Living, and he’s got a ton of incredible information for us today.

• Charlie s take on the Fyre Festival debacle
• How Charlie sourced free work from 75 international artists for his book
• How Charlie started working with Tim Ferriss
• The benefits of working for free
• The right way to work for free
• Charlie s approach to connecting with VIP s
• The line between under and over delivering your free work
• How to transition from free to paid work
• The tactic Charlie used to raise $10,000 in 35 hours for his book

• Charlie’s Website
• Charlie’s Book, Play for a Living
• Charlie’s Book, Recession Proof Graduate
• @CharlieHoehn
• Charlie on Facebook
• Charlie on LinkedIn

• Amazon Mechanical Turk
• 12 Lessons Learned While Marketing the 4-Hour Body
• Pre-Suasion by Robert Cialdini
• Influence by Robert Cialdini

There s all sorts of scenarios that prevent people from purchasing right away, so you ve got to follow up. – @CharlieHoehn

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 103: How to Succeed by Working for Free with Charlie Hoehn appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 102: How to Develop a Killer Content Marketing Strategy with Kyle Gray

Kyle Gray and I first met on a random island in Thailand several years ago and I’m thrilled to have him on the show today to talk about content marketing and, more specifically, how to develop a killer content marketing strategy.

Kyle has so much experience and knowledge about this subject that he’ll soon be releasing his own book; The Story Engine. I was incredibly honored to write the forward for the book and can speak from my personal experience when I say it will change the way you look at your own content marketing efforts.

• How Kyle got started with content marketing
• Understanding the true purpose of content marketing
• How to develop a content marketing strategy
• The importance of having a mission for your content
• Should you include personal stories in your content?
• Why targeting core problems is crucial in content marketing
• Is it possible to niche down too much or go too broad with your content?
• How to utilize your customers when making decisions about your content
• Why creating a style guide is critical

• Kyle’s Book
• Kyle on LinkedIn
• @kylethegray

You shouldn t just see content marketing, or a blog post that you create, as a landing page. – @kylethegray

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 102: How to Develop a Killer Content Marketing Strategy with Kyle Gray appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 101 How to Manage and Monetize a Popular Blog with Bryce Bladon

Bryce Bladon is a freelancer, consultant and one of the people currently behind one of the most popular Tumblr blogs in the entire world, Clients From Hell.

• How Bryce started managing Clients from Hell
• Some examples of how Clients from Hell has grown to what it is today
• The importance of cyclical content
• How the Clients From Hell platform is monetized
• The balance between having sponsors and maintaining brand integrity
• How Bryce decides what new projects to work on
• The metrics Bryce uses to analyze the performance of the website
• How time-consuming is managing Clients From Hell?
• The future of Clients From Hell
• Bryce’s aversion to social media platforms

• Bryce’s Website
• Clients From Hell Website
• Clients From Hell Podcast
• @BryceBladon
• Hell to Pay 2 (Get $10 OFF when you use the discount code “inthetrenches”!)

If there isn t a product out there that I would ve wanted, and needed, and found valuable that s what I m going to do next.” – @BryceBladon

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 101: How to Manage and Monetize a Popular Blog with Bryce Bladon appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 100: How to Implement the Fundamentals of Business Growth with Chris Goegan

Chris Goegan helps entrepreneurs grow their business by utilizing the three fundamentals of business growth. He also hows them how to take advantage of the areas of highest opportunity within their business using easy-to-replicate systems to ensure they bring in as many clients and customers as they can handle.

• How Chris works with clients
• What is an entrepreneurial seizure?
• The three fundamentals of business growth
• How to convert leads into clients with one phone call
• How to orchestrate the sales conversation
• Utilizing your areas of highest opportunities
• How you can double your sales with half the effort

• Chris’ Website
• Chris on LinkedIn
• Chris on Facebook
• @ChrisGoegan

Most people don’t orchestrate the sales conversation – @ChrisGoegan

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 100: How to Implement the Fundamentals of Business Growth with Chris Goegan appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 099: How to Embrace Connections and Vulnerability with Amber Hawken

Amber Hawken is a qualified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner and a Deep State Re-Patterning Therapist who uses these qualifications to help her clients with emotional, mental, and spiritual self-mastery. She’s continuing this work with her recently launched book, The Unfu*kwithable Life.

• Why Amber chose such a unique and explicit title for her book
• What led Amber to write her book
• The seven F s of short-term stimulations and addictions
• Our struggle with false identity
• The three steps to overcoming our short-term addictions
•  Why you need to own who you are and practice vulnerability

• Amber’s Website
• Amber’s Book
• Amber’s Podcast
• Amber’s YouTube Channel
• @amber_hawken

Money expands what you already are. – @amber_hawken

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 099: How to Embrace Connections and Vulnerability with Amber Hawken appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 098: How to Discover Your Leadership Gap with Lolly Daskal

Lolly Daskal is a top Executive Coach, the Founder and CEO of Lead From Within, was named the most inspiring woman in the world by The Huffington Post, and was named a top 50 leadership and management expert by INC.

While Lolly could talk about a variety of topics, the main subject of our interview today are the principles mentioned in her upcoming book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness.

• What led Lolly to become a top executive coach
• Lolly s definition of leadership
• What is a leadership gap and how can we close it?
• How to know what type of leader you are
• How to practically use the knowledge of knowing your leadership archetype
• How to be an Empowering Navigator instead of an Arrogant Fixer
• The 7 leadership archetypes
• The $97 pre-order bonus for The Leadership Gap

• Lolly’s Website
• @LollyDaskal
• Lolly on LinkedIn
• Lolly on Facebook
• Lolly on INC.com

Confidence is believing you re able but competence is knowing you re able. – @LollyDaskal

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 098: How to Discover Your Leadership Gap with Lolly Daskal appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 097: How to Write Daily Emails That Will Boost Revenue with Ben Settle

Ben Settle is one of my personal favorite copywriters and I read his newsletter every single day. He’s also the author of a series of novels about a zombie cop and is on the show today to explain how, and why, you should start a daily email newsletter to help boost your revenue.

• How Ben started copywriting and email marketing
• The fundamentals of starting a daily email newsletter
• How to determine whether to place content in a blog post or an email
• Should you place a minimum word count on your writing?
• Why you should write daily emails even if you have zero subscribers
• How to master storytelling in your emails

• Ben’s Website
• @BenSettle

• The Seven Lost Secrets of Success by Joe Vitale
• SuperBeing.com

I like to give people the principles and then I like to sell them the tactics. – @BenSettle

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 097: How to Write Daily Emails That Will Boost Revenue with Ben Settle appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 096: How to Overcome Destroyers of Wealth with Garrett Gunderson

Garrett Gunderson is the Chief Wealth Architect at Wealth Factory and the author of the NY Times best-seller, Killing Sacred Cows. Wealth Factory helps entrepreneurs optimize cash flow, streamline their finances and keep more of their hard-earned money so they can make more powerful investments in their best wealth creator: their business.

• Garrett s four types of expenses
• The true definition of debt
• The importance of mental and relationship capital
• How budgeting destroys wealth
• How Garrett uses his multiple business entities to his advantage
• Why Garrett charges $1,000 for his book and how you can get a free copy

• Wealth Factory
• Wealth Factory on Facebook
• @wealthfactory_
• Wealth Factory on LinkedIn
• Wealth Factory on YouTube

• Text “WWRD” to 801-396-7211 to receive a FREE copy of Garrett’s book, What Would the Rockefellers Do?
• Wealth Factory Resources
• Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

The rule is, you pay cash for lifestyle expenses. Never borrow to consume. – @wealthfactory_

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 096: How to Overcome Destroyers of Wealth with Garrett Gunderson appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 095: How to Improve Your Customers' Course Completion Rates with Chris Badgett

Chris Badgett went from managing a dog sled tour company in Alaska to creating LifterLMS; a software company that allows users to have complete control over the creation of their online courses. He’s also the host of the LMSCast podcast and is dedicated to empowering people to generate more impact, and income, with online education.

• What led Chris to build LifterLMS?
• The first steps Chris took with his company
• The dirty little secret of membership sites
• How can you improve completion rates for your courses?
• How does Chris make his business stand out from his competition?
• How Chris approaches the growth of his business

• LifterLMS
• LMSCast
• @ChrisBadgett
• Chris Badgett on LinkedIn

• Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore

We re constantly innovating and improving but our primary focus is always on the end user. – @ChrisBadgett

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 095: How to Improve Your Customers’ Course Completion Rates with Chris Badgett appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 094: How to Minimize Risks When Scaling Your Business with Dave Bayless

Dave Bayless is a business midwife who works with technology startups and small consumer product firms. He helps them determine the best financing options for their businesses, as well as, helps them build scalable operations.

Dave walks business owners through what it looks like to go from six to seven figures, the concept of a cash flow cycle, and what happens when they start scaling their businesses.

• What is the valley effect and how does it relate to cash flow?
• How profitable growth can kill a business
• What to remember when you’re planning to scale your business
• The value of understanding financial and accounting concepts
• The #1 financial mistake entrepreneurs make

• HumanScaleBusiness.org
• Human Scale Business Podcast
• @wdbayless
• Dave Bayless on LinkedIn

• Reaching Break Even Cash Flow Course
• Understanding the Cash Cycle Course

The cash cycle really impacts how quickly revenue and profit turn into cash. – @wdbayless

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 094: How to Minimize Risks When Scaling Your Business with Dave Bayless appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 093: How to Get Massive Visibility at Virtually No Cost with Steve Olsher

Steve Olsher is the Chairman and Founder of Liquor.com, a New York Times Bestselling Author for his book What is Your What?, the host of Reinvention Radio, and someone I’ve admired for a very long time.

His topic of influence is helping people determine their “what” and then showing them how to utilize that information to achieve success in their business and life.

• What is the first step in gaining visibility for your business?
• How to determine your topic of influence
• How to create content that guides people to your desired result
• When should you start expanding your topic of influence?
• The importance of building your business for the right reasons
• How to utilize new media to gain more visibility and better leads

• SteveOlsher.com
• @steveolsher
• @reinventionrad

• Free Copy of Steve’s Book: What is Your What?
• Steve’s Radio Show: Reinvention Radio
• Blastermind

You can choose your why. I don t believe that you can choose your what. It s in your DNA. – @steveolsher

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 093: How to Get Massive Visibility at Virtually No Cost with Steve Olsher appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 092: How to Be Globally Competitive with Ben Green

Ben Green has spoken to thousands of people about how to seek job and internship opportunities both at home and abroad. He speaks from experience, having held more than twenty jobs, traveled to twenty-four countries, and done business with people from more than thirty countries. He s worked in Japan, Spain, and Brazil, and served as the vice president of a British software company with offices in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan.

Using his global experience, Ben wrote a book to help students gain an edge in the new global marketplace, aptly named The Global Superstar: How Your Students Can Develop an Advantage over Global Competition.

• What inspired Ben to write his book: The Global Superstar
• Why we should care about global competition
• How can we prepare children for the future of a global marketplace?
• The fundamentals of being competitive globally
• Do our schools put our children at a disadvantage?
• How artificial intelligence and outsourcing will affect the future

• TheGlobalSuperstar.com
• @GlobalJobOpps

• Ben’s Book: The Global Superstar: How Your Students Can Develop an Advantage over Global Competition
• Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future by Martin Ford

The closer you are to the money, the better off you ll be as a stable employee. – @GlobalJobOpps

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 092: How to Be Globally Competitive with Ben Green appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 091: How to Become a Better Freelancer with Carrie Dils

Carrie Dils is a WordPress Developer and Consultant who is currently using her expertise to write a book for freelancers. Real World Freelancing: A No Bullsh*t Survival Guide, will walk freelancers through client management, business strategies, processes & tools, marketing, mental health, and more. Click here to get on the waitlist and be the first to be notified once it’s been published.

• What inspired Carrie to write her upcoming book, The Real World of Freelancing
• What most freelancers get wrong and how to correct it
• Should you try to productize your services?
• The four factors of raising your freelance rates

• CarrieDils.com
• OFFICEHOURS.FM Podcast
• @cdils
• Her Upcoming Book: Real World Freelancing

• The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

If nobody tells you you re too expensive right now, then you re too cheap. – @cdils

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 091: How to Become a Better Freelancer with Carrie Dils appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 090: How to Use the SSF Method to Create a High-Converting Sales Funnel with Scott Oldford

In June 2013, Scott Oldford was $726,000 in debt due to a failed business venture. For many people, that may have signaled the end of their entrepreneurial passions. The only way for Scott to get out of this situation was to find a working business model and leverage it. That’s exactly what Scott did, and three years later, not only did he pay off all the debt and but he generated multiple millions in revenue using the SSF Method (which we discuss in today’s broadcast).

• Scott’s background and how he got started in business (and got to $700k in debt)
• How Scott worked his way out of debt and into a surplus of millions
• The SSF Method and why it’s one of the most important developments in online marketing today
• Why traditional online sales funnels target only a very small group of people (and leave a TON of money on the table)
• How to set up the SSF Method for YOUR business
• Why most people need to see a webinar or workshop multiple times before they buy
• and much more

1. create your personalized funnel map with this tool

2. calculate the cost of your current online marketing (and how much you may be losing doing it wrong)

fantastic interview w/ @scottoldford and @tmorkes – http://bit.ly/2e78u3Q – create your custom funnel here bit.ly/2e79xAP

The post ITT 090: How to Use the SSF Method to Create a High-Converting Sales Funnel with Scott Oldford appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 089: How to Take Your Freelancing Business to the Next Level with Ryan Waggoner

Ryan Waggoner is a freelance developer, and the creator of letsmakeapps.io. Ryan created LetsMakeApps as a way to generate more leads for his development business, and is dedicated to helping his audience do the same.

In this broadcast, Ryan Waggoner and I talk about:

• 2:23 – How Ryan got into freelance development work, and grew that into a million dollar business
• 3:22 – How Ryan chooses to position himself in a specific niche, and why it s important
• 11:12 – Why freelancers should never charge hourly (and the alternative value based pricing)
• 16:24 – The luxury of having enough leads to be able to charge more, and say no
• 18:37 – How Ryan used Craigslist to find a $107,000 piece of business
• 20:40 – How to find, vet, and close freelance development leads (and how to make it easy with letsmakeapps.io)
• 25:45 – Why the best work is repeat business
• 26:51 – The importance of managing your time and mental work load as a freelancer
• 29:02 – How many projects Ryan has on at a time, and how he structures his week

How to find Ryan Waggoner online:

• Website: ryanwaggoner.com
• Ryan s service: letsmakeapps.io
• Check out letsmakeapps.io/itt to get some great giveaways from Ryan, including 30% off a letsmakeapps.io pro plan, and a guide to how Ryan made his first million dollars from freelancing.

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 089: How to Take Your Freelancing Business to the Next Level with Ryan Waggoner appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 088: How to Drive Innovation in Your Startup with Scott Bales

A technology & innovation guru, Scott Bales is a global leader in the cutting edge arena known as The Digital Shift, encompassing innovation, culture, design, and mobility in a world gone digital. As thought leader, Scott thrives on the intersection between cultural and behavioural changes in the face of technology advancement.

Scott is also the author of the upcoming “Innovation Wars” – a book that will show you how to drive innovation in your company, big or small.

The book is currently being crowdfunded on Publishizer – order your advance copy here.

In this broadcast, Scott Bales and I talk about:

• What drives innovation (and why it matters)
• How to create innovation in your company
• How Scott is driving innovation in the publishing sector
• Why “Bridge Publishing” could be the latest innovation in publishing

How to find Scott Bales online:

• Website: scottebales.com
• Scott Bales’ latest book: Innovation Wars
• Twitter: @scottebales

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 088: How to Drive Innovation in Your Startup with Scott Bales appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 087: How to Create a Platform with Marshall Van Alstyne

Marshall Van Alstyne is the Chair of the Information Systems Department at Boston University, Research Associate at MIT s Initiative on the Digital Economy, Co-Author of the book Platform Revolution , writer for Harvard Business Review as well as other articles including Strategies for Two-sided Markets .

In this broadcast, Marshall Van Alstyne and I talk about:

• How his experience of coming up through the Dot.Com boom helped him to understand platforms.
• The four times that giving things away for free works in platform creation.
• Examples of how companies fail to understand the nature of platforms.
• The differences between Network Effect and Virality.
• The Anatomy of the Sneeze and how it helps us to understand Virality.
  • Host: who is infected already
  • Target: who are you trying to reach
  • Germ: idea you want to spread
  • Medium the way that idea is spread
• The problems associated with launching a platform.
• Six different launch strategies and how they work.
• The importance of testing your market to see which launch strategy is a good fit for your company.
• The relationship between monetization and launch strategies.
• How competition may affect your launch.

How to find Marshall Van Alstyne online:

• Website: platforms.bu.edu
• Marshall s book Platform Revolution .
• Twitter: @InfoEcon

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 087: How to Create a Platform with Marshall Van Alstyne appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 086: How to build a Business as a Millennial with Mojca Mars

Mojca Mars is the creator of Super Spicy Media, an advertising firm that focuses on helping clients with their online presence through social media. Mojca began her career as a journalist before founding her ad agency at the age of twenty-one.

In this broadcast, Mojca Mars and I talk about:

• The joys of being your own boss
• The challenges that come with dealing with clients as a millennial.
• Her mindset of using hurdles in business as a way to prove yourself.
• The process of setting goals continually to measure where you are in your business.
• Positioning her company in the international, English speaking market instead of a local business.
• Transitioning from a purely service based business into the informational product market.
• How products can help provide passive income.
• Finding the time to work on your business and not simply in the business.
• Building authority with potential clients through social media.

How to find Mojca Mars online:

• Website: http://superspicymedia.com/
• Twitter: @mojcamars

Check out SuperSpicyMedia.com/ITT to learn more about Mojca and her company, find many resources, and a 50% discount for our listeners on her book Facebook Ads Manual: Everything you need to know to get started .

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 086: How to Build a Business as a Millennial with Mojca Mars appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 085: How to Position Your Company for Rapid Growth with Philip Morgan

Philip Morgan is the founder of Philip Morgan Consulting which helps firms generate and close more leads.  They focus on education based content marketing and marketing automation as well as helping their clients with positioning their company in a way that helps them grow market share.

In this broadcast, Philip Morgan and I talk about:

• Philip’s background in technology and how he started his own business
• The mistakes he says he made in transitioning from an employee to business owner, including:
  • Not building a strong professional network
  • Not marketing the business well (and relying on people coming to him)
• His advice for building your network, such as:
  • Thinking about how other people will remember you
  • Finding communities where people gather and providing them with value
• The misconception that some people are just lucky to have good connections
• Using the Internet Archive Way Back Machine found at archive.org/web to learn about how different web sites have grown and changed over time
• How positioning your company well can help you increase the number of quality leads for your business
• Why it is that marketing works better when you have a strong, narrow focus
• Why the first step of being focused is to decide what to stop doing and why that focus will help people perceive you as an expert
• How having a narrow focus will help you gain experience faster by understanding what creates value for your specific customer base
• Why value ought to be the foundation for determining your prices
• Philip’s experience using online channels to get more clients.
• Some of the pitfalls of using content marketing alone to drive traffic to your site
• The benefits of building trust with your leads through teaching

How to find Philip Morgan online:

• philipmorganconsulting.com/
• @philip_morgan

Other Resources Mentioned:

• If you are interested in learning more about positioning Philip recommends you start at PositioningCrashCourse.com

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 085: How to Position Your Company for Rapid Growth with Philip Morgan appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 084: How To Become an Effective Leader with Jonathan Raymond

Jonathan Raymond is the founder of Refound.com and the author of a new book called Good Authority .  Jonathan has worked in many businesses, including, in the wind energy sector, as a lawyer, and as a yoga instructor. He began his work as a business consultant when he became the CEO of EMyth in 2011.

In this broadcast, Jonathan Raymond and I talk about:

• How becoming the CEO of EMyth helped him begin to find his balance in life.
• Why it is that Refound.com has the goal of helping the helper .
• Some of the common challenges to holding people accountable in business and organizations.
• How to hold people accountable while keeping an open heart.  How to be a boss who is not too tough or too soft.
• Identifying some of the symptoms of being a boss who is not great at accountability with his team, including:
  • Constantly finding yourself mediating disputes between people.
  • Having the sense that there are sloppy mistakes being made by your team.
  • Having people continually check in with you on tasks they should be able to complete themselves.
  • Finding that every meeting ends with a call for better communication.
  • Frequently seeing that something is off with your team but not doing anything about it.
• How to take proactive steps to avoid these accountability and communication problems by naming the problem and setting up a culture of communication within your organization.
• The problems that happen when bosses forget that they do have power, which can cause a barrier to honest communication.
• His theory of the Trickle-Down-Transformation , how it happens and why it does not work.
• How the alternative to Trickle-Down-Transformation is real time feed back, a culture of communication within the organization, and consistent outside feedback from those who are structurally outside of the day-to-day operations of the organization.

How to find Jonathan Raymond online:

• Websites: Refound.com
• Book: Good Authority: How to Become the Leader Your Team Is Waiting For
• Course: The Culture Course
• Twitter: @jonathanraymond

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 084: How To Become an Effective Leader with Jonathan Raymond appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 083: How to Build a 6-Figure Sales Funnel with Keith Perhac

Keith Perhac is the founder of DelfiNet, the co-founder of SegMetrics, and the co-founder of Summit Evergreen.  Keith had done work as a developer and designer before starting his first company, DelfiNet. He helps companies automate, measure, and drastically improve your sales and marketing funnels that drive their business.

In this broadcast, Keith Perhac and I talk about:

• How he got his first client and what he learned through that experience.
• How his love for analytics drove him to start SegMetrics.
• Summit Evergreen filling the void of course-ware that provided customers custom integration, full customization, was hosted, and could be fully integrated into an already existing sales platform.
• The process for his team to develop software.
• The difference in thinking between a product launch and an evergreen sales funnel.

How to find Keith Perhac online:

• Websites: summitevergreen.com, segmetrics.io, keithperhac.com
• Twitter: @harisenbon79

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 083: How to Build a 6-Figure Sales Funnel with Keith Perhac appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 082: Building a Location-Independent Business with Danny Flood

Danny Flood is the founder of Open World Magazine and the author of multiple books, including Buy Your Own Island . He is also the host of the OpenWorld podcast. Danny has started three separate location-independent businesses that he successfully ran remotely from various corners of the globe.

In this broadcast, Danny Flood and I talk about:

• His life as a nomadic minimalist.
• His travels around the world and how he came to live in Bangkok.
• How Danny went from running his own successful digital advertising agency to starting Open World Magazine.
• How his book Buy Your Own Island helps people face their fears and set their dream goals.
• Danny tells us how he knew he needed world experience to be a successful writer and how he has gotten that experience.
• He explains how being on multiple platforms has helped him find his 1000 True Fans .
• Danny talks about his choice to use a subscription based model to fund the magazine.
• He discusses with us his goals for the year and how he plans to achieve those goals while traveling and living abroad.

How to find Danny Flood online:

• Website: openworldmag.com
• E-mail: [email protected]
• Audiobook of Buy Your Own Island
• Twitter: @dandanflood

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 082: Building a Location-Independent Business with Danny Flood appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 081: How to Rapidly Qualify Lucrative Clients with Kurt Elster

Kurt Elster is the founder of Ethercycle. He has an MBA as a Senior E-commerce Consultant who helps Shopify owners uncover hidden profits in their website.  Kurt got his start in business as a product manager for a company that drop shipped car parts, however he knew he wanted to be in business for himself.  He started his own agency that offered a broad range of services before niching down and driving his income up.

In this broadcast, Kurt Elster and I talk about:

• How he made the decision to niche down and only work on Shopify websites.
• Why it is it that The smaller the niche, the smaller the audience, the easier it is to sell, the more you look like an expert .
• How niching down can radically increase the effectiveness of your marketing.
• His choice to do the work that gives joy.
• The value of word of mouth and getting the most out of that by, first, giving people the best possible experience, and second, doing everything you can to keep yourself top of mind.
• Remembering that everything comes down to relationships. Your website should reflect that.
• How he qualifies clients based on the size of their team.
• How Kurt uses tools like Clarity Calls to decide which clients would be a good fit.

How to find Kurt Elster online:

• Website: www.kurtelster.com
• Podcast: www.unofficialshopifypodcast.com
• Video Course: www.ecommerce-bootcamp.com (use the code TRENCHES for  a 25% discount)
• Twitter: @kurtinc

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 081: How to Rapidly Qualify Lucrative Clients with Kurt Elster appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 080: How to Put Your Audience First with Jane Portman

Jane Portman is the founder of uibreakfast.com. She is the author of The UI Audit and has developed a course with the same name for SaaS Founders, developers and UI/UX designers and consultants.  She started doing design work in high school, came up through the agency system, and then after having children, started doing consulting.

In this broadcast, Jane Portman and I talk about:

• What makes good user interface
• The best ways to choose colors and fonts, as well as the benefits of templates
• The advantages of creating products based on audience research
• How she has been able to reach her target consumers
• The process of setting prices and knowing whether to offer a book or a course
• The process of moving from consultation to information product production
• The importance of focusing on your audience, coming up with simple solutions to one of their problems

How to find Jane Portman online:

• Website: uibreakfast.com
• Twitter: @uibreakfast

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 080: How to Put Your Audience First with Jane Portman appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 079: How to Scale Your Agency with Brian Cristiano

Brian Cristiano is the founder of BOLD Worldwide . His love of video and production helped moved him into advertising. Through BOLD, he has been able to help brands or teams connect with fitness, sports, and outdoor consumers.

In this broadcast, Brian Cristiano and I talk about:

• How he has been able to leverage content to create engagement.
• How he has been able to pitch to big name companies using old school business development techniques.
• Growing a team, using freelancers to remain flexible, how to know when to transition work from contractors to full time staff members, as well as how to determine who your early key hires should be.
• The benefits of moving away from a project based revenue model toward a consistently repeating revenue model.
• The importance of asking potential clients pre-qualifying questions about budgets and expectations.
• Brian s weekly podcast called Out of Scope where he talks about sports, business, and marketing.

How to find Brian Cristiano online:

• Website: Boldworldwide.com, BrianCristiano.com
• Twitter: @brian_cristiano

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 079: How to Scale Your Agency with Brian Cristiano appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 078: How to Create Your Content Strategy with Rob Wormley

Rob Wormley is a content marketer and author. Over the past seven years, he has developed digital marketing strategies and content for best-selling authors, Hall of Fame speakers, and businesses all across the country. He currently works as the Head of Content Marketing for When I Work.

In this broadcast, Rob Wormley and I talk about:

• How Rob s background in journalism has helped him become a successful content marketer.
• What WhenIWork.com is and how Rob creates content for small businesses.
• Why Rob only develops online content strategies quarterly.
• How Rob uses content creation as a tool to test strategies in real time.
• How Rob measures the success of the content that is created.
• How to develop high quality, actionable content and why it is the most effective marketing strategy.
• Why he does not create content that he can not promote.
• Why he thinks email out-reach is still effective.
• Rob s advice for being authentic, generating leads, and scaling over time.

How to find Rob Wormley online:

• Website: http://robwormley.com/
• Twitter: @RobWormley

Resources:

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 078: How to Create Your Content Strategy with Rob Wormley appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 077: How to Get Paid to Speak with Grant Baldwin

Grant Baldwin is a professional speaker, the founder of The Speaker Lab, and creator of Booked and Paid to Speak. Grant started his speaking career as a youth pastor, but eventually moved on because he felt compelled to try something else. After several months trying to figure out his next steps, Grant decided to try his hand as a professional speaker. He’s since spoken at hundreds of events and to tens of thousands of attendees. He now also helps others with their speaking careers through The Speaker Lab.

In this broadcast, Grant Baldwin and I talk about:

• Grant’s background in youth ministry and his love of speaking.
• The differences between talking in front of large audiences vs. small audiences.
• How to find the balance between what you want to speak about and what people will pay you to speak about.
• Multiple ways to earn an income from speaking.
• Several ways to find speaking engagements even if you’re just starting out.
• How speaking can lead to more book sales (for the authors in the audience).
• Grant s advice to potential speakers help become an excellent speaker.

How to find Grant Baldwin online:

• Website: www.thespeakerlab.com
• Twitter: @grantbaldwin

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 077: How to Get Paid to Speak with Grant Baldwin appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 076: How to Build a 6-Figure Magazine with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan is the founder and CEO of Foundr digital magazine. Wanting to personally discover the answers to all his questions about the daily struggles of starting a successful business, Nathan began to interview world-changing entrepreneurs in the hope that he could learn from them. He started Foundr while working a full time job, but the rapid success of the digital magazine led Nathan to quit his day job and double down on Foundr.

In this broadcast, Nathan Chan and I talk about:

• His background before beginning the magazine.
• Why he choose to create a digital magazine.
• The 3 ways he knew it was time to give up his day joy to work on the magazine full time.
• How he was able to find his feet after transitioning from part time to full time in the magazine.
• How he realized the importance of building the Foundr brand.
• The Goal Pyramid process to decide what to focus on at any given time.
• How Nathan built the Foundr  team and his insight in hiring people that are a good fit.
• His advice for those who want to be successful in publishing.
• How Foundr has been able to secure so many top name interviews.

How to find Nathan Chan online:

• Website: http://foundrmag.com
• Twitter: @NathanHChan

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 076: How to Build a 6-Figure Magazine with Nathan Chan appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 075: How to Use Exposure to Build Your E-mail List with Cloris Kylie

Cloris Kylie is a performance coach and branding expert. She always had the heart of an entrepreneur, but didn t always follow that. With a background in engineering, marketing and management, Cloris has developed coaching and training programs in lead generation, personal branding, communications, public speaking, social media platforms, digital marketing, and career development.

In this broadcast, Cloris and I talk about:

• How she began a business helping students with preparing for the ACT and SAT
• How she began expanding her business to include helping those in graduate school; then to help people in a job search; and then to help authors, coaches, and entrepreneurs
• How she finds fulfillment by helping people one-on-one
• How she persevered to line up opportunities to be on various TV and radio shows
• How to leverage another person s platform to grow your list
• Major takeaways from pitching to TV and radio shows:
  • Don t just approach as pitching your book/product
  • Connect your message with current events
  • Match your findings to the shows and their audiences
  • Provide talking points for show producers
• How to use your exposure on TV to build your list
• How to utilize a free-mium offer to build your list
• How to use an “indoctrination series” and “engagement series”
• How to use the right questions to figure out what to create and sell
• How to avoid spending time and energy on things that people don’t want
• The “3 Ps” (plus a bonus “p”)
  • Partners
  • Produce
  • Promote
  • Patience

Cloris Kylie on the best way to differentiate yourself:

“Just by being you, you’re being different…I’m doing with my own story and experience.”

How to find Cloris Kylie online:

• Website: http://www.cloriskylie.com/
• Twitter: @cloriskylie

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 075: How to Use Exposure to Build Your E-mail List with Cloris Kylie appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 074: How to Build a Platform-based Business with Sangeet Paul Chaudary

Sangeet Paul Choudary is the Founder and CEO of Platform Thinking Labs, and the author the the number 1 bestseller “Platform Scale.” Sangeet is also the co-chair of the MIT Platform Strategy Group at MIT Media Labs, Boston, a Global Fellow at the Centre for Global Enterprisein New York, a speaker at the G20 Summit 2014 in Brisbane and an advisor at 500Startups in Silicon Valley. At the G20 World Summit 2014, Sangeet was hailed as a forefront researcher into how businesses can better use metadata and current technology. He has advised C-level executives globally on platform and network strategies, has been featured on leading media globally and has lectured at the world s leading universities.

In this broadcast, Sangeet and I talk about:

• Traditional business models vs. supply based business models vs. the modern business model
• Which part of a new business should work traditionally and which part should work like a platform?
• Two ways to think about about platform building, whether you’re starting from scratch or already have a customer base]
• Why platforms are important and how to approach creating them
• How to build it
  1. by yourself
  2. leverage another platform (the downside: the core value of a platform is data, and if you leverage another platform, you don’t get the core value)

Sangeet on building a portfolio business:

“Moonshots always work in a portfolio business model – try 10 things and 1 will work out.”

How to find Sangeet Paul Choudary online:

• Platform Scale on Amazon
• Platform Tinking

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 074: How to Build a Platform-based Business with Sangeet Paul Chaudary appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 073: How to Grow a Successful Business on the Side with Brennan Dunn

Brennan Dunn is the author of “Double Your Freelancing Rate.” He’s a freelancer, author, blogger, podcaster and software developer. He’s been in and around the world of freelancing for around 7 years, starting with a side business and growing it into a successful agency.

In this broadcast, Brennan Dunn and I talk about:

• How he was able to build a successful high-revenue agency
• How he would do things differently now if he were to build an agency including:
  1. Moving away from a one-and-out project model toward a recurring projectized model
  2. Streamlining products and projects
  3. Not trying to build a brick and mortar company
• Brennan explains how high end freelance work can be projectized when you have multiple clients who need the same service (revenues can be gained through licensing and offering clients on-going value)
• We discuss some of Brennan s tips for pricing and contract creation, such as:
  1. Remembering that clients spend money on solutions not your technical functions
  2. They are not paying you for what you do, rather they are paying you for what you do for them
  3. Helping clients find solutions to their actual problems helps you become a partner with them (and allows you to build a platform to sell high-end solutions)
• Brennan gives us his insights on how and why we should work on generating leads with people who may not actually be our clients by:
  1. Increasing the number of people who receive value from us
  2. Keeping those people close
  3. Asking for introductions and consistently following-up
  4. Continuing to add value to those people who are likely to give a referral
• We hear Brennan s tips for growing an agency team including:
  1. Don t hire around big projects, rather hire based on the companies profitability
  2. Start by working with subcontractors
  3. Hiring should always be strategic

How to find Brennan online:

• Websites: doubleyourfreelancing.com and freepricingcourse.com
• brennandunn

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 073: How to Raise Your Freelancing Rates with Brennan Dunn appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 072: How to Scale an Agency with Mark Hayes

Mark Hayes is the founder of Rocketshp, a digital marketing agency in Auckland, New Zealand, and co-author of The Growth Hackers Guide to the Galaxy (Insurgent Publishing). Mark began his career as a successful business development manager at a large corporation in New Zealand, a more traditional suit job at which he was good but wasn’t passionate.  Because of this, Mark shifted his focus, deciding instead to pursue a career in the marketing industry, working as a brand manager and content strategist for digital marketing companies.  After gaining knowledge and experience in the digital marketing industry, Mark discovered the concept of growth hacking and decided to move in that direction.

Mark developed a web presence and began blogging to build an audience, and eventually started his own agency.   Not long after its successful launch, the agency was acquired by another digital marking agency, providing Mark with another opportunity to build a new business Tiger, Tiger which was later rebranded as Rocketshp.  Mark has been mentioned in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Wired UK, among many other outlets.

In this broadcast, Mark Hayes and I talk about:

• His early career and what motivated him to change career paths
• How he transitioned into digital marketing and growth hacking
• How Mark created his first successful growth hacking agency
• The acquisition of his first agency
• Strategies, principals, and considerations for creating and growing a new business,
• How Mark developed the mission statement for his agency
• How he selected the name (and why he rebranded to Rocketshp)
• How Mark goes about pricing his agencies services: cost-based vs. value-based
• How he built his client base from scratch
• How Mark built his agency, including adding new staff and how that affects his overall business
• Balancing between work and private life
• How he uses Trello to organize, delegate, and monitor work for internal and external projects
• The Ultimate Growth Hacking Sourcebook – the book that inspired “The Growth Hacker’s Guide to the Galaxy”

How to find Mark online:

• http://rocketshp.com
• @rocketshp

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 072: How to Scale an Agency with Mark Hayes appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 071: How to Create 6-Figure Courses with Breanne Dyck

Breanne Dyck is an author, learning strategist, and operations consultant. She helps microbusinesses (and their owners) make more money and have a bigger impact by applying the principles of adult learning in their digital course design.

In this broadcast, Breanne Dyck and I talk about:

• How her experience taking courses as an entrepreneur led her to help other small business create amazing courses
• Breanne explains how your core promise to customers is at the intersection of what they think they want and what you, as the expert, know they need
• Why she recommends changing your perspective away from What do I want to teach? toward What do they want to do?
• Why Breanne thinks it is so important to listen and understand what your client thinks they want, even when we know better, and how to use that same language to talk to your client about what they need
• Two of the difficulties that content creators have that hold them back from being successful, including:
  1. Trying to create courses too early in their careers. Why people who skip the step of working with people one-on-one or in small groups miss out on the learning opportunities that come with that…
  2. People who assume the next step in their business is course creation because they are now busy.  Neglecting the important step of reflecting on the question of Is creating this course a good fit for me and my business model?
• Breanne talks to us about transition points or benchmarks in business.  Recommended reading:
  • mynameisbreanne.com/evolution
  • mynameisbreanne.com/growth
• How Breanne came to a point where she knew she was most fulfilled by working one-on-one or in small groups rather that in large groups, and how she was been successful at doing that
• We hear about Breanne s hard analysis of her marketing strategies and why she now prefers introductions over referrals
• Breanne recommends two article for those who are beginning their content creation journey and for those who are trying to improve their content
  • mynameisbreanne.com/ppg
  • mynameisbreanne.com/utag

How to find Breanne online:

• website
• @mnibreanne

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 071: How to Create 6-Figure Courses with Breanne Dyck appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 070: How to Prosper as a Writer with Honoree Corder

Honoree Corder is the author of “Prosperity for Writers.” She has been a successful entrepreneur for almost twenty years, earning her first fortune and developing a lot of her skills with Shaklee Corporation, then as a business coach, and now as a successful author, executive coach, keynote speaker and corporate trainer.

In this broadcast, Honoree and I talk about:

• Why Honoree wrote her first book
• How Honoree received a traditional publishing deal for her first book but turned the deal down
• Her process to become a successful self-published author, including hiring a professional editor and graphic designer
• How her first book gained traction slowly
• How she has successfully used white labeling to sell books in bulk
• Honoree’s favorite marketing strategies including:
  • Thinking of a book as ever-green marketing
  • Asking the important question: “Who would benefit by sharing the content that I have created?”
• Strategies and techniques that she has used  to sell books
• Why developing strategic partnerships with other professionals who can refer clients to you is so important
• The process she went through to write her latest book, what the reception to that book has been, and how she determined how to price that book

Honoree Corder’s advice to people who want to succeed as a self-publisher:

“Be in it for the long game, there are no overnight successes.”

“Keep writing every day.”

“Be willing to put in the time it takes to be successful.”

How to find Honoree online:

• honoreecorder.com
• @Honoree

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 070: How to Prosper as a Writer with Honoree Corder appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 069: How to Self-Publish with Matt Gartland

Matt Gartland is the founder of WinningEdits.com, a creative agency that helps authors with the development of their books, podcast and other products. Matt specializes in digital content development at the nexus of web technologies, business thinking, editorial strategy, storytelling, and modern publishing.

What Matt Gartland and I talk about in this broadcast:

• How he created Winning Edits to be an intersection of good story telling and the digital experience
• How one of his biggest challenges has been clearly communicating the value of professional editing
• Matt talks about how the limits of his own time and the great demand for the work he was providing drove him to partner with other editors, who share his work ethic, to create Winning Edits
• He gives us a helpful explanation of the three editing phases
  • Developmental Editing
  • Line Editing
  • Copy Editing
• Matt discusses how referrals are the primary way in which he brings in new business
• We talk about the hybrid nature of the publishing business, with the different aspects of self publishing and traditional publishing
• Lastly, Matt gives some advice to self-publishers to think about
  • What will the structure of your book be?
  • How will your book flow?
  • Why are you writing this book?

Contact Matt Gartland online:

• WinningEdits.com
• @mattgartland

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 069: How to Self-Publish with Matt Gartland appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 068: How to Build a Media Platform with Greg Rollett

Greg Rollett is the founder of Ambitious.com. Greg started Ambitious.com to inspire millennials to do great things.

What Greg Rollett and I talk about in this broadcast:

• How he used his experience in the music industry, especially being an opening act to help him with his writing career with Mashable.com
• How people often fail because they do not aim high and they do not share their best work when writing for others
• Greg gives us his advice for people who want to build their own media platforms
  1. Define who you want your audience to be
  2. Collect data about that audience
  3. Define what your goal for the consumer is after they get your product
  4. Create content to match the goals you have set
• Greg reminds us that media is consumed for two reasons: to be entertained or to solve a problem; the best media combines the two.
• Greg explains why the fastest way for people to make money is to niche down to solve a particular problem for a particular group of people
• What the strategies Greg used to create Ambitious.com where and how other people could apply those same strategies
• Greg tells us how his best leverage activity has been involving more people in his projects
• Greg leaves us his best piece of advice: Start! And gives us his insights on where to begin

Greg Rollett on how to avoid distraction and nay-sayers:

I only want to be known by the people who are cutting my check

Contact Greg Rollett online:

• ambitious.com/
• @gregrollett

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 068: How to Build a Media Platform with Greg Rollett appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 067: How to Automate E-mails to Grow Your Business with Paul Minors

Paul Minors is a productivity writer. Paul started his platform by creating book summaries of popular non-fiction books. This helped him build a small, passionate audience organically through Google SEO. He has since turned his platform into a productivity resource – helping people do, be, and have more. According to Paul, productivity is the best way to get the best out of life.

What Paul Minors and I talk about in this broadcast:

• How Paul s book summaries came about
• Why Paul built PaulMinors.com and his strategy behind what he s doing
• Paul s idea of getting more out of life through productivity
• How Paul used Google Analytics to grow his business
• Paul s automation workflow for emails and the pros and cons of automation
• Personal engagement how Paul develops relationships with his list
• How to add credibility to your message
• Challenges of converting email list to paying customers
• How to get Paul s products, including the Personal Productivity Toolkit
• Paul s advice for beginners

Contact Paul Minors online:

• PaulMinors.com
• @paulminors

Paul Minors on choosing your path:

  Follow your passion. Find your own style and use that to kind of differentiate yourself.

 Paul Minors on persistence:

Work really hard. It is a lot of work.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 067: How to Automate E-mails to Grow Your Business with Paul Minors appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 066: How to Write for Movies and Video Games with Justin Sloan

Justin Sloan is a professional video game writer, with credits including Game of Thrones and the Walking Dead. Justin is also a novelist and screenwriter, with dozens of books to his name, including “Falls of Redemption” and “Military Veterans in Creative Careers” among many others. Justin studied writing at the John Hopkins University and at the UCLA School of Theatre. Justin is also the co-host of the Self-Publishing Answers Podcast.

Justin was also in the Marines for five years, living in Japan, Korea, and Italy. He currently lives in the Bay area with his wife and kids.

What Justin Sloan and I talk about in this broadcast:

• How Justin began his writing career
• How Justin met Ashley Miller and got inspired to pursue his passion
• The techniques Justin used to connect with people in his industry to accelerate his career
• How Justin learned to connect with the right people
• The importance managers and agents in these creative careers
• The advantages of self-publishing
• How Justin learned to outline his work before sitting down to write, accelerating his turn around
• The strategy behind Justin starting his podcast, Self-Publishing Answers Podcast
• The goals Justin has set for the next several years and how he is positioning himself to make those happen
• The difference between writing for video games, screenplays, and books

Contact Justin Sloan online:

• JustinMSloan.com
• Podcast: Self-Publishing Answers Podcast
• IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1733364/
• @justinmsloan

Other Resources mentioned in this broadcast:

• Smashwords
• Draft2Digital
• NookPress

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 066: How to Write for Movies and Video Games with Justin Sloan appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 065: How to Hack Sales with Max Altschuler

Max Altschuler is the founder of Sales Hacker Inc. and the author of Hacking Sales one of my personal favorite books on selling. He was the second business hire at Udemy.com, setting up their customer onboarding process. He pioneered some advanced growth hacks including technical web-scraping and figuring out how to access data to build massive lists of leads (which we talk about in today’s interview).

What Max Altschuler and I talk about in this broadcast:

• How to define your ideal customer
• How to gather relevant information about your ideal customer
• How to find your ideal customer
• Why it s important to discover (or create) hacks to help grow your business
• How business development can work alongside sales hacking
• How to develop the right mindset for sales
• Following up and marketing to your ideal customer

Core message from Max s book:

Build, test, measure, and optimize the more you can do that in your sales process, the better you ll be. – Max Altschuler

Contact Max online:

• Hacking Sales on Amazon
• SalesHacker.com
• @MaxAlts
• Linkedin Group: The Sales Hacker Community

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 065: How to Hack Sales with Max Altschuler appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 064: How to Break into Hollywood with Scott Levy

Scott Levy, is a retired US Marine, who transitioned into the creative field of film, acting in both videos and movies (full length motion pictures). Over his 18 year acting career he has also performed in a plethora of TV and video games. In one of his favorite roles to look back on, he co-starred next to Vanilla Ice in The Helix: Reloaded.

What Scott Levy and I talk about in this broadcast:

• What is was like to work with Vanilla Ice on the set of The Helix (and what it was like to hang out with Vanilla Ice in Las Vegas at the daytime Emmy s)
• Why his time with the Marines unknowingly prepared him for a career in the film industry
• Why it s important to recognize defining points in your life and in your generation
• How he broke into the film industry after his military career (with no prior connections)
• The road he traveled down to land an interview with George Lucas and Skywalker Sound
• How socializing with other actors on The Lost World set gave him the confidence to move forward in his acting career
• The inside scoop on his interactions with James Cameron and George Lucas
• The story of how his career finally took off
• Why you always hear the overnight success before you realize the years of hard work that paved the way
• How his status as a military veteran gave him a competitive advantage to work for Electronic Arts
• Why he is so passionate about his work with Operation Supply Drop
• Scott’s personal recommendations on how to break into the film industry
• Why everyone should read Military Veterans in Creative Careers: Interviews with Our Nations Heroes by Justin Sloan

Find Scott Levy online:

@realscottlevy

On IMDB

Other Resources:

• IMDB
• Full Sail University
• Medal of Honor- War Fighter
• Army of Two
• Battlefield 4
• Operation Supply Drop
• Young Marines
• The Submarine Kid
• Devil s Third

On breaking into the industry you want:

You have to immerse yourself in that world

Just do it. Get in there and meet as many people as you can find

If you enjoyed today s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 064: How to Break into Hollywood with Scott Levy appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 063: Philanthropic Entrepreneurship with Tyson Adams

Tyson Adams is the co-founder of Zuddha Organic and the founder of Jhai Coffeehouse. In his businesses, he is combining his passions for philanthropy and entrepreneurship. As a result, he has started several clean water projects in Laos, where Jhai Coffeehouse is located.

Tyson went to the University of Washington and left on a one-way ticket to South East Asia. He stayed for four months and came back with the idea to start these coffee shops.

What Tyson Adams and I talk about in this broadcast:

• Why Tyson started the business of importing coffee to the US from Laos
• How Tyson organized and promoted coffee fundraisers through US high schools to raise money for philanthropic initiatives in Laos
• Why Tyson decided to transition from providing books for the communities to clean water projects
• How Tyson was able to position his non-profit to provide clean water in the local community
• How Tyson started Jhai Coffeehouse and how it helps to give back to the community
• How Tyson used crowdfunding to start a non-profit overseas
• How Tyson learned to overcome the change in culture from starting two international businesses based in foreign countries
• The importance of vulnerability
• How Tyson leaned how to create passive income to support his philantrhopic work
• The steps Tyson is taking to launch an Amazon fulfillment business
• How Tyson s Amazon business fits together with Jhai Coffeehouse and Zhudda Organic

Find Tyson Adams online:

• www.zuddha.organic (external link)
• jhaicoffeehouse.com (external link)

Other Resources:

• AJ Leon and Misfit Inc
• Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income (external link)

A quote that Tyson lives by:

One is not afraid of the unknown; one is afraid of the known coming to an end.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.

The post ITT 063: Philanthropic Entrepreneurship with Tyson Adams appeared first on Tom Morkes.

ITT 062: Finding the Perfect Mentors with Geoff Woods

Geoff Woods is the founder and host of The Mentee Podcast. His weekly podcast provides a platform to deliver valuable information and profound wisdom for those looking to make the transition from employee to entrepreneur. On his podcast, Geoff shares what he has learned from his mentors and uses it to help others who are looking to do the same. In today’s broadcast, Geoff delves into the way you can quickly find high level mentors for yourself, as well as how he personally has connected with dozens of business leaders in a very short period of time.

What Geoff Woods and I talk about in this broadcast:

• Why he decided to launch his podcast
• The road that led him to where he is now and where he hopes to do in the future
• Hear him tell us about the event in 2013 the changed his way of thinking
• His reaction to his income being immediately cut by 40%
• Why amazing friends only are not enough
• How to build an army of mentors for yourself to help you get where you want to go
• The importance in having conversations with those smarter than yourself
• What you need to do in order to begin to meet great people
• Why you first must get clarity on the one thing you need the most help with (in 2 sentences or less)
• How to envision the ideal mentor for yourself
• Why you must leverage your relationships correctly in order to find mentors
• The method to practice in order to subconsciously meet and introduce yourself to future mentors
• What he did to be in the same room with big name mentors and how he introduced himself to them.
• Why you have to be genuine when introducing yourself to others
• The importance of being vulnerable and honest
• How to make an impact on someone in 15 seconds when meeting them to garner their help
• The way to get over approach anxiety when meeting people by showing up to add value to them
• How you should execute follow up steps and foster a great relationship with a possible mentor after meeting them.

Geoff on meeting big name mentors for the first time:

You have to be more interested than interesting