Lessons & Ideas

One concept I like to think about and how it applies to my life both personally and professionally is “legalism”.I define legalism as “doing the rule, but missing the point”.Rules are great guide rails to many things both personally and professionally.But every rule needs context.And with context, you can break rules where they need to be broken.I explain this in detail in today's podcast right here.Have a listen and let me know your thoughts on this.

We just got off an awesome interview with a client of ours who's leveraging Fiverr to get tons of high - paying ($5k+) coaching clients.His strategy is actually really interesting.Tanner is one of my favorite clients, and I LOVE the unconventional strategy he's using

What's the number one problem in your business?If you don't know what it is, take a moment to think about it.Then apply this strategy to solve the problem.This has worked remarkably well for both me and my team.Try it, and let me know how it goes.

Today I'm taking you inside of one of my coaching calls.On the call, I'm walking through scaling a specific marketing channel with our client.It's a super meaty and tactical conversation that I think you'll get a lot out of.

One of my favorite leadership quotes is “confident people perform well”.In my experience as a company leader, this always holds true.So today I want to share with you three ways that you can create unshakable confidence in someone so that they perform at their peak.

Within our company, all of our coaches follow what we call “The Coaches Code” - it's essentially the guide we follow for coaching our clients - especially with regards to difficult situations.Coaching Code #2 is “process the emotion before the logistic”.I recently did a training with our coaches on exactly how we do this.It's super important for us, and if you're a coach, I think you'll find this useful as well.

This week I did a training with our coaches on “how do you win as a coach”?If you're a coach, run a coaching company, and/or are trying to scale your coaching business, I think this could be super helpful.This is a distillation of 10 years of figuring out how to scale 1:1 coaching.

Today I want to share with you one of my favorite hiring moves.It's super easy when someone new gets hired to have a super slow onboarding period.But we've totally tried to flip this on its head.Today on the podcast, I break down our strategy and share a specific strategy with someone we just hired.Hope this helps!

I find a lot of comfort and guidance in my religion. Now I fully get each and every person has an individual relationship with God, but I frequently find a lot of inspiration in scripture.  And the beauty of scripture is that you don't need to even be religious to be inspired by the words.Today I want to share with you a particular passage that inspired me. One that reassured me that I am doing the right thing, and that I am indeed on the right path.Have a listen right hereI hope this inspires you today and settles your heart.

There are days when I'm super dialed in and focused, and there are days when every sound, bird, and squirrel grabs my attention.But I've got a new productivity and focus hack that is sooooo good…and it's simple!I break down my new process hereGive it a try for a few days and let me know how it works for you.

I have a new business idea…Ok it's not necessarily a business idea (yet), but I think it could be something really popular.Something that you could probably use.I haven't done it yet. But I'm curious what you think about it.Click here to listen to today's podcast where I share the complete idea.Reply back to this email and let me know what you think - yay or nay?

What are your daily / weekly habits?It seems like every big entrepreneur has their set of habits that they claim make them successful.Today, I want to share with you 3 habits that are critical not for my business, but for my life.I find that when my life outside of business is balanced, then work is actually easy.Have a listen and let me know what you think.Maybe you can borrow some of these. 

When you receive interesting feedback/advice from a trusted source, how do you react?Over the years, I've learned that the way I react is critical to whether or not I grow from that feedback.I go over my strategy for this in today's podcastHope this helps!

We all have to start somewhere.There used to be a Bryan who had never made a dollar as a coach or consultant…never sold a thing online…and was far less capable than you are right at this very moment at building a coaching business.Yet somehow I managed to build an 8-figure business.Today on the podcast, I want to share with you the story of where it all started for me.Have a listen and reply back to this email and let me know where you are RIGHT NOW in your business.Undoubtedly you're further along than I was :) 

I love taking lessons from stories, leaders, and history, and seeing how I can apply them to my life.Recently I was reading through the Book of Samuel, specifically the story of David.And one of the most interesting takeaways for me is that there is a critical action that David took which led to his defeating Goliath, which Adam didn't do, and led to his failure. Today I talk about the critical lesson you can take away from these two stories and apply to your life.Hope this resonates with you,Bryan

One of my favorite leadership quotes is “attitude reflects leadership”.I've noticed this is nearly ALWAYS true when I'm working with coaching clients - the attitude of the team is aligned with the attitude of the leader.And while it may be easy to notice in others, the tough exercise is noticing it in myself.What is my attitude? How is it transferring to my team?In today's podcast, I dive into this both in general and specifically to what I'm observing with my attitude and how it may be affecting my team.After you listen, think about your own attitude. Where is it transferring to others (both positively and negatively)?

After 10 years of 1:1 coaching, one of my biggest “aha's” happened about a month ago.And it has everything to do with the way in which you coach.I think this mindset helps me be a great coach.And the opposite mindset actually hurts a lot of coaches because they coach from a posture that actually isn't as good for the client (but on the surface it “feels” good for the coach).Have a listen to today's podcast which could totally change your approach to coaching.

What is your personal definition of “financial freedom”?Interestingly it tends to be different for each person.But the reality is that what most of think it takes to be “financially free” may not actually be true freedom.In today's podcast I share some thoughts on true financial freedomHave a listen and let me know what you think financial freedom really is. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Yes it's true.If you have a coaching or consulting business, you can indeed scale it to 8-figures in just 4-steps.However, these aren't easy steps.And they take time and effort.But if you're methodical, and complete each step precisely and with intention, it's almost impossible to fail.I break down the 4-steps in today's podcast episode.What step are you on right now? Email me back and let me know. Depending on where you are, I may have a free resource to help you.

One thing I recently noticed a lot of people doing (including myself) is that when we see someone do or achieve something great, we immediately elevate that person's status in our mind.But that frequently sets us up for failure.Why? Because that act of success is typically a result of a focused set of actions…yet we tend to elevate ALL actions of the individual and try to model those - even ones that have nothing to do with their success.In this way, we make people “heroes” who really should be heroes.I go into depth about a better way to think about this in today's podcast episode.

One thing I recently noticed a lot of people doing (including myself) is that when we see someone do or achieve something great, we immediately elevate that person's status in our mind.But that frequently sets us up for failure.Why? Because that act of success is typically a result of a focused set of actions…yet we tend to elevate ALL actions of the individual and try to model those - even ones that have nothing to do with their success.In this way, we make people “heroes” who really should be heroes.I go into depth about a better way to think about this in today's podcast episode.

One of the most demoralizing things in a hiring process is to get on an hour long interview call and know within the first 5 minutes that the candidate is not a good fit.The way we've prevented this is by creating a deep dive assessment.I go through everything we put into our deep dive assessment in today's podcast episode.This should help you save countless hours, and make your interviews extremely productive.

Probably the biggest reason I've been able to have success in both business and life is that I've created habits that I literally do every single day.When I practice these habits, success simply happens.I'm happier, healthier, and my life feels abundant.And when I get off track in an area of life, it's usually because I've lost one of my key habits.Today on the podcast, I want to share with you my specific habits.These may not all be things you can specifically implement, but the act of creating habits for yourself that can directly influence your success and happiness is 100% something I believe in.And maybe you can even borrow a couple of mine if they sound useful to you.

There's something I do for my wife every morning that makes not only a big difference for me, but a difference for her.It's one of those things that practically takes very little effort, but has a lot of intention, and she loves.And quite honestly, it's something you can do for anyone. But it really sets both my wife and I up for spiritually winning the day.Try it out and let me know what you think

Ok time for the last in my hiring tips series.Today, I'm going over my strategy of WHO to call, WHEN to call, and WHAT specifically to ask which will streamline your entire hiring process.

Adding someone to your team can be an incredibly time consuming process.When you hire someone great, it can truly transform your company for the better.…but when you make a mistake, it can bring with it a MAJOR cost.So today, I want to share with you my third big hiring tip - using a benchmark candidate.I break it down in today's podcast episode right here.

Today I want to share another rule that is super important and something that you should use for every single application.It gives you a ton of information with just ONE question.Have a listen to today's podcast where I break down the critical question you need to include in your application.

One of my favorite things to do is hiring amazing superstars for our team here at Growth Tools.Growing your team is always exciting, but the possibilities that come with bringing in an expert for a specific role really get my hyped.But hiring “A-players” isn't easy either. It's easy to find C-players…but true A-players are tough.That's why I have a couple of really important hiring rules that have helped us bring in some real superstars.On today's podcast, I breakdown my first hiring rule.I have another which I'll share with you on the next episode as well.But for now, have a quick listen, as I think this will help you as you grow your coaching or consulting business.

Good personal finance hygiene is something that on the surface may seem basic, but creating a system around can actually be tricky.And when you're a solopreneur or entrepreneur, it's especially difficult because your income and expenses can be variable as you're building your business to consistency.But when you have a system in place around your personal finance, everything becomes easier.You consistently save money.You spend on things that are meaningful to you.You accumulate wealth.And even your marriage becomes easier.Have a listen to today's podcast where I break down the system I've created that has worked for me and my family year after year.

Welp, it's that time of year again.We're freshly here in 2024, so it's time to set goals. It's my favorite time of the year to reset going forward and review the last year.This year I'm doing something different.I'm separating my goals into three categories.And I think these three categories work in harmony to actually make my goals more likely to be achieved.Have a listen to today's short podcast where I break them down.Maybe you can borrow this structure to help ensure your 2024 goals become a reality.

There's a major pitfall that coaches and consultants (including myself) often fall into that stifles growth and can set you up for failure if you're not careful.I reveal it on today's podcast right hereIt's probably not what you think…but it's something that you need to consider pretty much every day.

How many marketing channels do you currently have for getting new clients, not counting referrals?If the answer is more than one, then there's a good chance you might be doing something wrong.In today's podcast episode, I break down exactly how you should go about growing your client acquisition channels to maximize your growth, and scale into 7-figures.

One of the more helpful things that we try to articulate in everything we do, are our core USPs (Unique Selling Propositions).Basically - how are we different than anybody else in our space.Take a quick listen to today's podcast where I articulate our 4 USPs here at Growth Tools.After you listen, shoot me an email (team@growthtools.com)  and let me know what your USP(s) are. This exercise is more important than you think. There's a chance that your USP is either not as unique as you think OR that it's so unique that your target clients can't see the value right away.

One of the biggest reasons for potential coaching clients to be disappointed in your offering or program is expectations misalignment between sales and onboarding.On today's podcast, I walk you through exactly what we do to ensure all new Growth University Clients have their expectations in alignment with the program, keeping satisfaction high.Expectation alignment is surprisingly difficult to get right, but once you do, it'll ensure that not only your coaching clients are happy, and you'll avoid future unsavory situations as far as refund requests or upset clients.

One of my favorite questions is what's the most important thing in……my business right now.…my marriage right now.…my faith right now.…in my health right now.…in being a parent right now.Having an answer to this question is surprisingly orienting no matter where in your life you apply it.In today's podcast, I share a couple of different areas where I've applied it recently - one persona and one in our business, where it's offered a surprising amount of clarity.And in the business, it was a point of clarity that we hadn't actually articulated until we did this exercise as a group.

I ran across a story today that I love.It's a story about attrition, survival, and Harrison Ford.And as a coach, consultant or CEO of a company, there's just so much you can learn and borrow from this.I share the story in today's podcast episode which you can catch right here.

I ran across a tweet today from Brent Beshore on some sales advice that he found a few years ago but remains some of the most valuable advice he's ever seen. After checking it out, I would agree.As Brent said, “If I were a business school professor, I'd have my students memorize it.”In today's podcast, I'm sharing these tips directly with you.Click here to check them out.These should help you not only refine your coaching offer, but sell it better.Hope these help.

As the CEO of our company, Growth Tools, I'm constantly focused on what we can do as a company to continually improve our product and remain the best coaching program for coaches and consultants looking to scale their business.I often look to inspiration from others I admire or respect to motivate some of our decision making.So today I'm excited to share in today's podcast episode, 7 of my favorite quotes for building an amazing product.I hope these quotes inspire you to find ways to make your coaching program or product even better.They certainly help me.

One of my favorite teachings by Jim Collins is that of the Stockdale Paradox.It's really counterintuitive, but I reread it fairly regularly because it helps ground me, especially when I feel like I'm struggling a bit. It's a story that comes from Vietnam veteran, Admiral Jim Stockdale.I go through the paradox from Jim Stockdale in today's podcast episode.If you're coach or consultant, you know the journey to the top is not linear…it's full of bumps and barriers.This will help have some clarity when you hit those challenges that lie ahead.

One challenge that coaches frequently face is setting and matching expectations. It's a challenge that we've encountered many times through the evolution of our company.Despite our best efforts up front, we always get a few coaches joining our program with misaligned expectations. It's honestly baffling!As a coach, you may have encountered a client (or clients) who are totally on board with your offering, and then once you get started, their expectations are totally out of whack with the thing that you offer, despite the fact that you feel like you've been clear the whole time.I'm on a mission to completely eliminate misaligned expectations.So on today's podcast I'm giving you the exact video (well the audio from the video) of what every Growth University Member now receives as soon as they join our program.I recorded it recently with the goal of 100% aligning expectations before they start the program so that new coaches know exactly what to expect, and what the journey will look like.Have a listen and let me know what you think.

Sometimes we need something to shake up our lives.For my director of sales, he's training for a marathon.For a friend of mine, it's making a new youtube video every day for the next 100 days.Recently, I decided I wanted a new “shake up”.  So borrowed the “100 day” idea, and added my own twist.In today's podcast, I break down my personal 100 day challenge that I'm currently in the middle of, to end the year.And although the challenge is 100 days, I'm hoping it's something I can continue indefinitely. This challenge not only is helping me personally, but professionally as well.It's cliche' to wait to the 1st of January and set yourself a resolution…But why not end the year with a challenge to yourself?  Start 2024 having just accomplished something important.

Can you be a better coach?As entrepreneurs and business owners, it's easy to get caught up in the sales & marketing part of your business at the expense of actually fulfilling the thing that people hire you for - your expertise.But coaching and consulting goes further than just the special knowledge that you have.Coaching also involves dealing with your clients and the different emotions they may have, especially when they bring an elevated emotional state towards you.Today I want to share the training that I did internally with our coaches here at Growth Tools which involves using the SOAP method (listen to this podcast first if you haven't already), when dealing with clients who are in an elevated emotional state.Click here to listen to today's training.As a coach, I would almost consider this required listening because as your business grows, elevated emotions are unavoidable.

I've got a (very) short little knowledge nugget I want to share with you today on my number 1 hiring rule. It's something we do before hiring ANYONE (with one small exception).I've shared it in my short 1 min podcast today.Have a quick listen and let me know if you think implementing this rule when hiring more coaches, assistants, or contractors for your business work would work for you?

One of the most uncomfortable things that comes with running a business and managing a team, is addressing when sometime is underperforming either operationally or relationally.Maybe they're not hitting the numbers they own, they're late to meetings, not behaving transparently etc.The best mechanism I've found to either A) get that person performing back above expectations and further engrained into the company or B) get that person to eject from the company is:An Improvement Plan.There's four critical parts of this improvement plan which I map out for you in today's podcast episode.Now you may not be in a place with your coaching business where you are running a team…so can this still be useful to you?Absolutely.Look at your business critically. As your own boss, honestly evaluate where you feel you are underperforming. What numbers are you not hitting? Where are you not showing up the way that you should be?Create your own improvement plan based on the four parts I outlined, and hold yourself to the timeline.You'll either see incredible results, or you'll see that there is a deep misalignment in your current life or processes that need drastic change in order for your coaching business to succeed.

One defining characteristic of ultra successful coaches is that they are always looking for ways to improve: How can I improve my offer? How can I improve my marketing? How can I improve my sales? How can I serve my clients better? How can I be a better leader to my team? But there's a fine balance between being ambitious and celebrating wins.  I often find this balance a bit tricky to navigate.Finding that balance can be tricky, but here's what I do that has worked fairly well.With our GU clients, we work really hard to navigate this productively.  We definitely hold each person accountable. Your coach will get tough with you when they have to, to make sure that you're hitting the numbers and goals you're capable of. We also celebrate wins in a huge way! We love our GU community and every win you get, is celebrated, and your coach may brag about you a bit :)  It's all about balance - and finding it with ambition vs celebration is a formula for success.

One of the exciting growth points we reach with GU clients is when they hit a revenue mark whereby they need to start hiring a team.Whether it's an assistant, another coach, sales person, etc, growing your revenue to the point of being able to add a team member is exciting!But it also has challenges.  One big question we get is “how much do I pay them?”Determining salary can be pretty tricky.Where should I pay them in comparison to other companies? How much of the pay should be base salary vs variable (incentive) pay?  How often should I re-evaluate my employees' pay structure.I've outlined exactly what we do at Growth Tools in today's podcast episode.

Is there anything more draining / disappointing / upsetting than investing a ton of time and effort into something, and then it NOT coming to fruition because of something you missed?Our hiring process at Growth Tools is fairly involved.It involves several interviews as well as a paid project.And recently, one specific candidate blew me away with both his interviews as well as his paid project.I was excited for him to join the team……only for the rug to be pulled out from under me, and he declined the offer.But if I had asked this ONE question, I could have avoided this surprise.And I ask it with every potential hire now.Check out today's podcast in which I explain the situation, as well as the “key interview question”.And let me know what you think.  Are there any key interview questions you use that you think I absolutely need to include as well?

In case you haven't guessed yet, I'm really into habit forming :) In my experience, powerful results come from consistency, and consistency is built with habits.A concept that's really important to me is to “happen to my day rather than my day happening to me”.A simpler form of that is simply being proactive vs reactive.In order to do this I have a weekly 5x5 that I've put into habit.It's 5 minutes a day, 5 days a week.I go over exactly what that is in today's short podcast episodeIt's been enormously successful in creating highly productive days for me, and hopefully it can be for you too.

A concept we strongly believe in at Growth Tools is “radical FIO (Figure. It. Out.).We recently changed our strategy on the sales side of the business which left one of our business advisors, Alex in a bit of a limbo.So what did he do? He created a completely new funnel that in its first month of being live has generated a 3x ROAS (return on ad spend).I'm excited to share the conversation we had around that funnel today where I interviewed Alex on the funnel, how it works, and the results it's generating.I'm a big believer in the “flywheel” concept - namely that we test stuff out, and we share what works with you.Hopefully you find this valuable.

One of the things I've been thinking about recently is a concept from Gary Keller's book “The One Thing” (which is one of my favorite books BTW).“The One Thing” is literally when faced with some uncertainty or issue, what is the one thing you can focus on in your life that will make everything easier.I unintentionally borrowed that concept and have started applying it a bit more specifically.And it has become the “lead domino” for everything that I'm focused on in life.Right now, I have three different lead dominos that I focus on every morning that make all the dominos in their respective lines follow suit.Every morning I tip over each of these lead dominos. And by doing so every day, it has set me on a path of success in each of those areas of my life.I outline them all in today's podcast episode here.Have a listen, then let me know what you think. What are your lead dominos? Reply back and let me know.

Do you ever have genius ideas but then you're not sure what to do with that idea?Either you go to execute it and things just to really flow.Or maybe it's just not the right timing.I pride myself in being an “execute fast” kind of person - and for the most part I am.But sometimes I actually need to do the opposite when I feel like I've received a divinely inspired idea.Because I need divinely inspired action to really make it work.Checkout today's podcast where I go into exactly when I do when divine inspiration hits, but I'm not quite sure what to do next.Hope this helps guide you through some of your action plans as well.