Business Owner's Freedom Formula | Actionable Advice for Small Business Owners

After 4 years of the podcast, today is a bittersweet episode. Although the show will be ending (for now), I am excited to share with you a new venture. And if you ever need help with your business or are interested in joining my exclusive mastermind for Home Service Business Owners, email me: paul@paulmaskill.com

Andrea Waltz is the co-founder of Courage Crafters, Inc. and co-author of the best-selling book, Go for No! Yes is the Destination, No is How You Get There. Andrea teaches sellers in virtually every business and industry how to completely change the Andrea they think about failure, rejection and the word, no.

I have yet to come across a small business where the books are clean and detailed enough to allow the business owner to make educated business decisions. The mentality of "I'm not a numbers person, my bookkeeper handles that" is costing many business owners $1000's and putting many business owners out of business. It's your business. You need to own every part of it - including the financials.

How many people can say they’ve never worked for anyone else? Selling eggs door-to-door at 14 years old began a lifetime of self-employment. As a speaker and small business consultant, Jeffrey Shaw helps self-employed and small business owners gain control of their business in what seems like otherwise uncontrollable circumstances.

When it comes time to start systematizing and scaling your business, you're going to have to start doing A LOT of things differently. This means changing the way your team does a lot of things. Humans don't like change. They'll resist. In today's episode, I share with you how to start successfully implementing changes in your business and how to get your team on board.

Lewis Vandervalk is passionate about helping the construction industry and service business owners level up their online presence. Not only does he want to help you look professional online, Lewis brings tips to help you turn that digital presence into dollars. Don't be stuck knocking doors, cold-calling, or being the person at the party who always has to be selling. Let the people who are ALREADY interested in your services find you, call you, and become customers.

Many business owners have the "I don't know, I have a marketing company for that" mentality when it comes to knowing what the results are...and if they actually have a positive ROI. In today's episode I share with you an EASY way to calculate your ROI on marketing...and if it's worth it.

Ryan Cote is the Founder of Morning Upgrade, a blog and podcast with a mission to inspire as many people as possible to create a morning routine habit and take their personal development to new levels.

In today's episode, I walk you through the exact steps we have taken in every one of our businesses in order to delegate successfully with confidence. Before we even get started, we need to know where we are going and what does success look like. Once we have the goal, we can start to put the systems, processes and people in place to build a business that can truly run without the owner. I also share with you the most common mistakes I see business owners make when it comes to delegating.

Jennifer Dawn is a Whole-Life Business Coach, founder of Best Planner Ever and Best Journal Ever, and author of The Joy Guide: Finding Your Joy In A World of Crap. She began her entrepreneurial career selling apples off her grandfather’s tree because a lemonade stand was so “yesterday”. She’s a serial entrepreneur who has grown several multi-million dollar businesses, is a successful speaker, and author. She helps motivated entrepreneurs master their goals, achieve a mindset for success, and build remarkable businesses and lives through whole-life productivity and coaching.

Costs are rising but have you re-priced? Labor is going up quickly - you can go to Target with ZERO skills and make $15 / hour. It's time to take a look at your pricing model and ensure your pricing is correct. In today's episode I share with you how we just re-priced all of our clients, lost 14 clients and still come out ahead.

99.99% of the business owners that I speak with in the home service industry says their #1 hurdle in achieving their goals and reaching their full potential is: "I just can't find good help" In today's podcast, I share with you our proven, automated strategy that recruits for us 24/7/365 even when we don't need to hire. If you treat your recruiting for employees like you treat your marketing for customers, you'll never have another issue again in finding good help.

In today's episode we dive into some of the most important KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) that you need to be tracking every single week. Without you hitting your targets with these KPI's, it will be very difficult to operate and make decisions in your home service business.

In today's podcast, I share the four ingredients that are required in order to be successful. Once you remove your ego and realize that every successful entrepreneur has these four ingredients in place, you will succeed.

2020 was an unpredictable year for every business owner I know, especially in the home service industries. In today's episode, I share with you the top 5 business lessons that we learned in 2020...and how we can build a stronger business on the other side of these lessons.

After 439 episodes of The Business Owner's Freedom Formula Show we are switching it up and niching down! In today's episode I share with you what to expect with the new show and a little bit about my story and why we are niching down as we head into 2021. Going forward, this show will focus on helping business owners in the Home Service industries systematize & scale their business so it doesn't need them 24/7. Let's go!

Alex Castro is CEO and co-founder of M Corp, founder of ReM Score, and author of the book Measure, Execute, Win. He’s helped hundreds of clients (from small businesses to S&P 500 giants), navigate digital transformation without spending a ton of money and time on failed projects. Pressure is high for digital transformation initiatives to deliver value. Pre-COVID plans won’t work anymore, and innovation leaders need to pivot quickly to address obstacles presented by the “new normal.".

Stacy Tuschl has made a name for herself as an expert in growing small businesses. Put it this way, Stacy started her own business at the age of 18 in her parents' backyard and turned that company into a multi-million dollar business she still runs today (The Academy of Performing Arts has two locations in her home state of Wisconsin). In addition to being a Small Business Growth Coach, Stacy is a bestselling author, and founder of the Foot Traffic Formula - helping small businesses around the world get more customers in the door, more profit in their pocket and more happiness in their homes..

Chuck Downs is the founder of Downs Consulting, creator of the course Epic Life Secrets, and a Peak Performance Coach for successful entrepreneurs and top financial advisors. For the first 25 years of his career, Chuck worked in financial services as a Certified Financial Planner™. Twelve years into that career he opened an office in downtown Miami for a Fortune 150 company. Although he liked financial planning, he loves helping people find their purpose and fulfill their potential. In 2017 he retired from financial services to live his dream of helping people create an Epic Life.

Wayne Mullins is the Founder of Ugly Mug Marketing which he started 10 years ago out of a coffee shop. He is passionate about building a team at Ugly Mug Marketing that isn’t focused on checking off items on to-do lists, or winning design awards, but instead, on getting results for their clients. Today, thanks to his amazing team, is not uncommon for prospective clients to have to wait weeks - or even months - to become an official Ugly Mug Marketing client.

Jaime Jay is the founder and managing director of Bottleneck Distant Assistants, LLC. Jaime has been sourcing VA's from the Philippines since 2006. Bottleneck is a team of remote-based professionals dedicated to assisting ambitious leaders to identify, hire and cultivate remote-team members. Bottleneck supports entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, C-level executives, founders, business advisors, consultants, legal professionals, real estate executives, professional Speakers, podcasters, physicians, counsellors and many more. As the need for distant assistants continues to rise, Jaime enjoys sharing his industry expertise with a service dedicated to business growth, systems, processes, and company culture development.

Darrell Amy is a growth architect, helping companies develop strategies and plans to accelerate revenue growth. He’s the author of the best-seller, Revenue Growth Engine. Having worked with hundreds of companies from the Fortune 500 to great family run businesses, when it comes to sales and marketing Darrell knows what works and what doesn’t. He is a Forbes Business Council member and also serves as a C-Suite Network Advisor.

Jack Tompkins is the owner of Pineapple Consulting Firm based out of Charlotte, NC. He helps you analyze and visualize your financial and marketing data in interactive charts, graphs, and dashboards so you don’t have to deal with the annoying data gathering or manipulating of it! His goal is to help you grow profitably and efficiently by helping you not just know your numbers through and through, but also visualize them to quickly get the full picture.

Tom Connally, is an experienced leader, strategist, and change agent with proven performance leading, building, and fixing organizations by creating a culture of performance. In over 30 years of Marine leadership, he led organizations from 50-3500 personnel, with budgets up to $2.8B. Tom served as a Director for two defense companies, before founding Connally Consulting where he helps leaders improve their performance and success professionally, personally, spiritually, and physically.

Judy is the founder and CEO of JADDE Financial Solutions. She started the company in 2005, after spending more than 20 years garnering valuable experience in the corporate financial sector. Judy served as Vice President at Goldman Sachs in New York for over 15 years in their Global Treasury Division She’s an expert at providing forecasting solutions, in order to clarify a clients’ financial vision and goals. As an Advanced Certified QuickBooks® ProAdvisor, Judy is passionate about cloud accounting and the freedom it gives companies to manage their accounts differently—with access from anywhere, on any device, anytime.

Thanh is the Founder and Managing Director of Asian Efficiency. He is considered to be one of the top thought leaders in the productivity industry and he has been featured in Fast Company, Inc.com, Forbes, Huffington Post, and The Globe & Mail. On a day-to-day basis, he is responsible for executing the company’s mission and helping people become more Asian Efficient. When he’s not sharing his newest productivity wisdom, he likes to drink lots of green tea, eat eggs benedict at hotels, make video blogs and read non-fiction books.

Cory Lee is an entrepreneur, business builder, and leader developer. He was trained and mentored by the world-renowned leadership expert John Maxwell. Cory is an accomplished speaker and is often invited to speak and train employees at companies looking to develop a culture of leadership. He also provides individual leaders with opportunities to maximize their own growth through one-on-one coaching and mastermind groups.

If you’re like most high-performing leaders, you’re tired of being pulled in multiple directions with zero time left for yourself. As a Certified Proctor Gallagher Coach and 27-year military leader, Laura Noel, helps high-performers live empowered, fulfilling lives all while achieving their highest potential. She helps leaders focus on what really matters, so they can stop feeling out-of-control, become more effective with their time, and spend more time discovering doing what they love. 

Chris Prefontaine is a 3 time best-selling author of Real Estate on Your Terms, The New Rules of Real Estate Investing  and Moneeka Sawyer's Real Estate Investing for Women. He is the Founder and CEO of Smart Real Estate Coach and host of the Smart Real Estate Coach Podcast. 

As the founder of Business Builder Camp, Wayne Herring has helped men across the country grow their businesses into successful and thriving enterprises. However, there is so much more to his story than simply “founder” or “coach.” Wayne has worked as a specialty drilling and blasting contractor and built an organic farm. He exponentially grew the company his father started, and then helped sell it to an industry giant. He has run ultra marathons, gone on epic road trips, and is a 1997 Montana state arm wrestling champion. Wayne is a father and a recovered alcoholic. He loves to hunt and farm, but he also enjoys yoga and meditation.

Richard Lau has generated millions of dollars in revenue in the internet industry. NamesCon, his in-person conference focused on domain names, began as an idea in the fall of 2013 and is now part of the GoDaddy family. Resume.com is an online resume builder for millions of job seekers and is another of Richard’s recent successful exits, this time to Indeed.com. His current project is Logo.com - an AI-powered logo maker that has the ability to design a unique logo for your company in just a few minutes.

Paul Harvey is a podcast host and digital marketer. Knowledge professionals and entrepreneurs hire him to build their brand and authority in their marketplace using digital media and virtual events. Born in London, he relocated to the family Scotland 15 years ago. He will tell you it was about looking for something different, a life with more meaning and community. Since that move, he has been a stay at home father and explored his passions of running, cooking, gardening and public speaking. Following the death of his Father in 2017 he started a podcast. Life Passion and Business was initially a therapy; It was his mission to interview people that look like they had life sorted.

Heather is the host of Unconventional Leaders, a top-ranked podcast which interviews leaders from all over the world who use their unique gifts to make an impact in this world. She has had the honor of interviewing names like Seth Godin and Jack Canfield, as well as leaders you may have never heard of. There is always one common theme...action in the midst of fear.

Eleven years ago, Tommy started his business with 50K in debt and no employees. Today, A1Garage is about to cross the $40 million dollar mark in revenue, and it has over 140 employees in 7 states. As he grows his business, he has done everything from sales to marketing to hiring. Tommy is passionate about sharing his knowledge with other entrepreneurs, so that they can grow their businesses just like he did. His experience running one of the top Garage Door Companies in his State provided him with many of the answers that up and coming business owners need to help them succeed.

Today’s guest is Dr. Richard Smith, the Founder of RiskSmith. With his background in mathematical theories of uncertainty combined with his own personal investing and trading experience, Richard has an acute sense of the critical role that risk and money management play in successfully navigating the financial markets. Richard is leveling the playing field for the individual investor. He is here today to discuss risk and leveraging data to build long term wealth.

Known as the “Left-Brain Entrepreneur and host of Work From Your Happy Place, Belinda Ellsworth has been called “a trailblazer in the industry of coaching and speaking. Having built three successful companies, she has helped thousands of entrepreneurs make better decisions, create successful systems, and build business strategies using her "Four Pillars of Success" system.   Her iconic messages of good solid business practices will stay with you forever.  

Jerome Myers leads The Myers Development Group, LLC, which focuses on buying broken apartment building businesses and using innovative thinking and solid execution strategies to optimize the operational efficiency of the business. Currently, Mr. Myers is asset manager for approximately 90 units and 90,000 square feet of workforce housing across Virginia and North Carolina and on a mission to hold 1,000 doors by the end of 2028. When not actively working on his personal portfolio he coaches other real estate investors on the Myers Methods of Multifamily Investing. Outside of real estate Jerome hosts the DreamCatchers and Myers Methods presents Multifamily Missteps Podcast, volunteers on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) boards and enjoys traveling internationally.

Josh Elledge is U.S. Navy veteran and launched UpMyInfluence.com to help entrepreneurs attract the perfect audiences and grow their brands without the crazy costs associated with traditional PR companies. UpMyInfluence’s purpose is to DEMOCRATIZE access to influence. Josh is a weekly TV consumer expert in Orlando, writes a syndicated newspaper column to 1.1 million readers, and regularly appears on more than 75 TV stations across the country. Josh loves living in Orlando, FL with his wife and three children.

Parker Kane is an American beatboxer, musician, speaker, and podcast host. He is best known for his viral videos beatboxing with a McDonald’s cup, his cover videos on YouTube, and his podcast UPBEAT with Parker Kane. One of his videos was cleverly titled, “McDubstep" by the commenting viewers. This video is now over 1 billion views on Facebook. Parker has since appeared on many different TV shows, including Outrageous Acts of Science, America’s Got Talent, Ridiculousness, and the Steve Harvey Show. He’s also been featured in many articles on MTV, Huffington Post, and DailyMail. Parker has delivered powerful speeches and performances across the country and for high-end people and organizations like: Shark Tank’s Daymond John, TEDx, and McDonald’s. He continues to bring his message to stages and podcasts throughout the country.

Peter is the Chief Investment Officer at Plancorp, overseeing more than $4 billion in assets for clients in 44 states. In addition, Peter writes for the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. In his new book, Making Money Simple, Peter outlines a easy-to-use framework for turning career success into financial success.

Billy left a promising career in the renewable energy industry to go full-time on a side project he had been quietly working on -- an online home beer brewing school. Other course creators started asking Billy for help, and he’s now sold online courses in over 50 different niches, generating millions of dollars in revenue for his clients. He is passionate about online education and enjoys growing businesses while making a positive impact.

Time is our most valuable asset. It's our most precious commodity. And we always need to be testing and evaluating what type of return we are getting with the time we are spending on everything. In today's episode I share with you why the Quick Tip Episodes will be on hiatus...along with some new opportunities that I'm fired up about!

Today’s guest is Peter Lehrman, CEO and founder of Axial, an online platform used by thousands of business owners and their advisors to raise growth capital, explore acquisitions, and exit their business. Peter started Axial 11 years ago after seeing firsthand how much opportunity there was to improve how entrepreneurs execute the most important business transactions of their careers. When he isn’t working on Axial, he is spending time with his wife Eve and their four children.

If you're a small business owner don't do this! All too often I hear small business owners complaining about the big national chains and the franchises that are hard to compete with. In fact, they are easy to compete with if you just do a few things and stop worrying about price. Side note: If you compete on price, that's a race you don't want to win anyway...it's a race to the bottom. Put yourself in your customer's shoes and serve them better than anyone...and be there for them. And if you don't want to work on certain days, at least have some employees in place so you can still remain open.

Bestselling author and speaker, Luana Ribeira has appeared on networks including FOX TV, ITV, BBC and Channel 5, she was featured in FORBES as ‘One of the Top 21 Emerging Females to Watch in 2018’, and is a regular contributor for publications such as Huffington Post, Thrive Global and Addicted2Success. Her next book, ‘Game of Phones- Build an Empire From Your Mobile’ is the first in a 3 part series that will help you to rise in power and influence online.

Blaming 2x4's when your house crumbles is like blaming your employees when your business crumbles. Yet so many business owners constantly say "I can't find anyone I can trust." or "I just can't find good help." or "Nobody wants to work anymore." All of these are simply excuses. The real reason your employees rarely work out is because of YOU, the owner. You don't have a blueprint to follow. You don't have a mentor to guide you. And you don't have a solid foundation.

Over fifteen years, Josh Dick transformed a small family business into a global market leader in the coffee industry with customers in over 70 countries and distribution facilities on three continents. In the process, sales grew more than 25 times while earnings multiplied over 275 times. After the sale of the business, Josh moved to Florence, Italy where he now lives with his wife and three daughters. He has now dedicated himself to helping others who seek to build extraordinary businesses based on what they truly love to do.

We as business owners sacrifice everything to keep our business afloat...and at the end of the day, it turns into a business that we hate. We sacrifice our personal health, our physical health, our mental health, our friends & family, all to keep the business going. When in reality, it's my belief that our business should be the #1 vehicle to IMPROVE all of these things. I share with you why it's so important to invest in yourself first.

John Bates’ Why is to bring out what is awesome inside of you, so it can live in the world and make a real difference. Hilarious, entertaining and actionable, his large and small group trainings, keynotes and 1:1 coaching are famous the globe over. His offerings thrill audiences, meeting planners and HR, alike. He is one of the most prolific and successful TED format trainers in the world. After getting his start by absolutely blowing his first talk on the TED stage, John has gone on to train hundreds of TED/TEDx speakers in countries from the US to Yemen in what he learned, the hard way. He also works with thousands of C-level executives at top global corporations to make their communications "TED-Worthy."

Most customers won't complain, they'll simply go elsewhere the next time. If you aren't proactively reaching out for feedback from your customers, you're leaving $10,000's on the table. Think about most bad experiences that you have with a business. You don't call or email the owner. You simply go to someone else the next time. In today's podcast I share with you four reasons negative feedback is great and HOW you can implement an automated process today.

After working to support his family as a struggling artist, Derek Stone chose to reevaluate his life and his way of thinking, and in three short years grew a small one-man show into a million-dollar company. This amazing transformation came about through a decision to forgive his father. Derek left the path of blame and began traveling down a path of forgiveness which led him to start living his best life. He is now on a mission to help empower others to make the same transformation by helping them take charge of their own lives.