Lockdown Livelihood

Sam has just successfully crowdfunded his first product using Kickstarter.  We get the inside scoop on the reality of what it takes to do something like this. We also discuss the current state of crowdfunding and the sometimes weird psychology of customers. We talk about what actually goes on behind the scenes of those explosive Kickstarter campaigns. We also talk real about the mental health struggles of starting your own business. Great chat, lots of laughs and some deep bro bonding. 

We've been busy. Luke has been busy on another level. He put it as "the most stressful period of his entire working life"He explains how he launched an NFT, and the results were, to put it simply, bonkers. The livelihood is a podcast that follows two entrepreneurs, Luke Emery and Alex Peet, as they run and launch businesses online.  It's an inconsistent, real and unfiltered look into what it's really like running businesses and being financially independent. 

In this episode we talk about copywriting and get some tips from a pro who has written copy for one of the world's most popular brands.We read from The Masked Guru, which is a business book Luke was gifted by the greatest living entrepreneur you wish you knew about (this isn't true, it's terrible and funny to listen to)Alex teaches Luke (in 5 minutes) how the founder of TikTok Zhang Yiming turned his apartment into a 40 person office app-making machine; creating tons of apps including TikTok.---The Livelihood Podcast is a not so serious look at business, and we think that it might be the first-ever funny "make money online" series.We talk about all aspects of starting a business, and what it really takes to turn your ideas into money-printing machines.We are not gurus or fake gurus and we don't sell you any get rich quick schemes. This is an honest look at our approach to business and the things that we have implemented that have worked (or not worked)If you have been watching videos on Amazon FBA, dropshipping, social media marketing, SEO, crypto or any of the other popular ways to make money online then why not listen to some honest chat?

We're back with a brand new season! You can now watch us too on youtube via https://youtu.be/f7JAocn3KCsThe Livelihood Podcast with Luke Emery & Alex Peet (we dropped Lockdown since we're all sick of the idea). In this episode we go through out MMM (Monday Morning Meeting) at 9am and recap what's been happening in our different businesses. This way you can follow along and see what it's really like to grow online businesses from scratch. The next section is we read from the "Masked Guru", an ancient tablet that Luke managed to get his hands on. Also known as a strange self claimed business genius who intends to sell $15M worth of these books and the advice in it is pure comedy gold. Finally Luke teaches me something. In this episode he reveals how Mark Cuban became a billionaire, and it's not what Alex expected at all. 

In this episode we talk through some of the strategies that Alex has been advised to execute over his new product launch via Etsy. How is he going to use his social channels to drive traffic through to his site and get sales leading up to Father's day. Luke talks through his new UI design that's been done for his new tool, Etzilla, which sets out to improve the products out there for helping people decide what to sell via Etsy. 

Alex has been in ketosis for the past few days to try and improve his focus to get some important tasks done for his business, and we explain why we think the keto diet can be beneficial for enhanced brain function.Luke doesn't drink alcohol, which he believes has been a key factor in his ability to run his businesses for the last 4 years. Alex often uses not drinking as a tool to go through extended periods of productivity. We talk about why alcohol could be hindering your work and give some tips to remove alcohol from your life for short periods of time.Cold calling, cold emails and Linkedin reach out to potential customers/clients are a cheap way to get started with any B2B business, but it isn't necessarily the best use of your time. We discuss if we think it is an effective approach to soliciting business and some talk about some alternatives.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

(Well... maybe a sprinkle of bullshit).In this episode we discuss some techniques on how you can quit your job and become financially independent. We also discuss why some people have this as their ambition and some don't, it's not for everyone and shouldn't need to be.  We talk though how Luke and I eventually started clawing back a bit of freedom and a few years of trying.We talk through how the sprint method should be used to get successful, attacking objectives rather than grinding out the years is the way to achieve better results and feel way happier and content with your achievements.  We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode we explore how you can use Etsy to sell your products. We'll be looking at the different marketing strategies and exploring the best tactics for selling on Etsy.The advice in this episode is universal, we just love Etsy as a platform, and Alex is implementing these strategies over the next 3-6 months with his 11 product launches.Luke is not sure if it's true or not, but he does have a theory that the Amazon and Etsy algorithms probably take external backlinks and affiliate links into account when ranking products.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Naval Ravikant is a enormously clever individual that's thought for hours upon hours about creating value and how to profitably grow businesses. We're both huge fans of his, so in this episode we review some of our favourite quotes from him. If you want to know how to get rich, this is a great episode to start off your journey. Link to Joe Rogan Ep with NavalWe're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode we look at how to start an online business online in 2021. We go over the core concepts everyone should know before they start a business, and discuss how and when you should implement those.We ask the question - Should you start a business by creating content first or creating a product first?We explain conversion rates for Instagram and why it might not be that important having 10,000 followers when you are trying to sellWe talk about why SEO is such an important aspect of any modern business.We talk about the real value of creating content marketing for your website.We explain the value of traffic, and use an example of how you could sell a website for 6 figures that has never made a sale before.Brought to you by https://www.onthejobmarketing.com/We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode we discuss budgeting, we reflect on how we both used to be massively in debt and waiting for the next pay slip. What changed so we were able to invest into businesses? Alex discusses how his strategy allowed him to set clearer objectives in his business and divide his attention to win. Finally Alex discusses his latest experiments with social media on his page @madebyparallel.Follow Alex on IG - @alexdpeetFollow Luke on IG - @thelukeemeryWe're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Alex has recently made the move from Cornwall to Spain as the digital nomad lifestyle consumes him. After strolling round a quaint marketplace looking at the strange bric and brac wears of old men that no one wants to buy; he questions whether he is taking a similar approach to them and being product lead rather than market lead.Alex and Luke debate either side, as Luke takes a business approach of being market lead and Alex takes the approach of being product lead.Luke tells the story of Doja, a scared 4-7 month old puppy he saw living on the street with a dislocated hip. Luke rescued her off the street, took her to the vet to have surgery on the hip and now she lives happily with Luke!Luke tries to convince Alex to sell custom weed grinders, but Alex explains why it doesn't fit in with his brand.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this 1 year anniversary episode we laugh at all the business ideas we've come up with on the show, including selling trousers to the Police. We discuss whether Alex should move his Amazon business to the US and go over our theory on how to run a successful social media page. This is a theory since we've not done it ourselves because social is f*cking hard.  We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Big News - Luke sold Van Woof! If you don't follow the show, here is a brief summary - Van Woof was started as a 2 week competition between Luke and Alex to see who could make the most money selling products on Etsy. Luke went on to be featured on the BBC, The Side Hustle Show and sell nearly $400k of pet portraits in 10 months!Luke decided to sell the business, and we discuss why and what Luke's future plans are.We briefly go into some small investing strategies that we use, and companies both of us are invested in.Alex has spent the last couple of months designing some new products. We discuss what Alex should do to market those products.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Alex is getting an apprentice for his business. We discuss the programme in the UK he used to get one, paid for by the government and what training he's going to put in place for them. We talk about feeling nervous about being "the boss" in a situation where no-one really knows what to do. We discuss questions like are they they future of employment? Are Universities History? Embarrassing stories from both Luke and Alex. We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Luke is already thinking about his next business ideas...He wants to build something big, but he doesn't know what he's talking about or doing, so he approaches Alex (who acts as his business creation consultant).Enjoy while Luke pitches his 2 big ideas to you.Also, Alex had 2 £1,000+ revenue days this week, which is a huge milestone when you are running a small business and we did a whole episode on it when Luke breached that number! So, congratulations Alex.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode we discuss how we've both had some of the most stressful weeks of our lives, trying to orchestrate house moves and business moves whilst keeping everything running.Luke has just moved to Vietnam and is recording the podcast from hotel quarantine; Alex has moved to Cornwall with his mobile factory (explained in the episode). Both the guys have managed to embody some digital nomad lifestyle during covid-19.Luke decides to keep his little dog woody.  We debate the best way of marketing services through social media. How do you involve yourself in the social media side of your business, whilst making it seem natural with your own life and the life of the business.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode Luke talks Alex through his new software concept for sharing audio. We discuss how difficult it can be to get an app off the ground. We also cover the key reasons why so many people are starting software businesses and not doing things like Amazon FBA or physical product based businesses. Alex, of course, defends these approaches and explains why this is a good thing for people who want to make and sell physical products. We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode we talk about the 3 business ideas that we think are great to start in 2021 and most importantly why we think they are important in such a strange year.B2B service based businesses - As businesses have had to pivot throughout 2020 and going forward into 2021, it has created opportunities for entrepreneurs to service those companies having to make significant changes.Personalized products - We both sell personalized products and believe that the individuality it creates for the customer is going to get more popularSelling courses - In the discussion we have about online courses we dig deep into the morality of selling courses, and try to decide whether it is a good thing to sellWe also talk about the 300km running challenge we are going to attempt in March and discuss our thoughts on UFO sightings.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this bumper episode we cover the latest story about how one reddit thread drove the share price of the GameStop sky high. We talk about value investing and why it's important to put your money into businesses that consciously push to grow and improve rather than investing in commodities like gold and crypto currencies. We finally talk about our actual opinions on national lockdowns, spoiler, we think the government is exercising too much power over the people and killing countless businesses in the process. We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

This episode we look back at the stereotypical businessman of the 80s and 90s and see if those skills are still relevant today. We also talk about Luke's new favourite website bubble.io, a drag and drop web app creator that could have you creating the next Facebook!We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

This episode we discuss why customer experience suddenly becomes a gigantic task when running an online business. With so many orders to process, how can you keep on top of every little adjustment or requirement each customer has. When a business grows beyond doing ten or so orders a day, there's a shift to being able to treat each customer individually and give them the attention they need to being able to do the exact same thing at scale. When you grow quickly this is very difficult to achieve, so we talk about some strategies you can use to try and grow sustainably without those killer mess ups that can effect your brand and people's perception of your business.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode we listen to Luke's BBC The One Show appearance for vanwoof.com, the company he started as a challenge on the show.Alex discusses how he is feeling after his first week as a full time entrepreneur.We review David Goggins book Can't Hurt Me, and why its great for anyone listening to the showWe're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

2020 was undoubtedly an incredibly difficult time for everyone on earth, but the honest truth is that it was the best year for both of us.  We've been very lucky not to have the virus effect us and our families, in light of this, join us as we review how the podcast changed our lives in 2020.We started the podcast with the intention of learning something and getting better at talking about business.Fast forward to now and the podcast has not been a success, but what we have both managed to achieve because of the podcast has been amazing.The biggest highlight was the Etsy challenge, where both of us launched successful businesses. Luke's pet portraits business Van Woof which sold over $300k+ in 6 months; and Alex's personalized bar ends which did over $8,000 at Christmas and have been designed and built by him.Listen to find out what we plan for 2021We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode we discuss the effects of discounting on your business. Does it impact the value that you can offer the customer over the long term or turn them into deal seeking missiles? Is black Friday a good thing for ecommerce brands across the board? If you've ever wondered the same, then this is a good ep for you. We're also testing out video for the first time, which you can find on youtube here. We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode Luke and Alex discuss the issues Luke is having with his rapidly expanding pet portrait business that currently has over 25 people working, and doing $4k+ a day in revenue.They deep dive into the scaling issues Luke is having, as well as the anxieties of running an ecommerce business in Q4.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode we talk about some brands that have reached global recognition but can still be considered technically terrible. We're not professional graphic designers, but we are opinionated about brand so I guess that's something. We watch the best video ever made on brand, which is a sketch on SNL - it's epic. We also discuss the personal brands of Kanye West and Donald Trump and debate how they've managed to maintain theirs through tough times. We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

If you listen to this podcast you almost definitely watch similar videos on Youtube and follow similar accounts on Instagram. So you probably get served a LOT of ads by internet marketers trying to sell you courses in dropshipping, Amazon FBA and any other way to make money online.In this episode we give our opinions on what we think of these courses, and some general advice on what you should be doing with your money and time.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

This episode is all about brand, and how it's changed over the years to being something that has morphed into something everyone's not as familiar with. What the hell is a brand anyway, is it just a reputation, is it a feeling, is it a nice little logo?We try to answer these questions, as well as discuss why high fashion brands burn millions of dollars worth of clothes, rather than selling them and diluting their brand.Enjoy.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Doing focused work is really hard, especially if you are an entrepreneur with distractions being thrown at you all day.We are definitely no experts in doing focused work, but we talk about a few things that might be able to help you on the journey to getting a few more things done each day.Top tips -Turn off distractionsUnplug. Working on planes without wifi can be the most effective way to get things done. Out of your list pick Get 3-5 things that you need to get done today done.Work in 35-60 minute blocks.Take 5 minute breaks.Exercise breaks / naps recharge. Try the physical object method - ticking off a to do list, or moving something like paper clips from one jar to another when you complete a repetitive task gives you a visual representation of your accomplishments.Try to focus on action based activities with outputs. We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

We break down the 10 forms of value and how you can use it to get ahead.There are loads of different types of value out there, most business owners don't really know what business they're in. Is it important? Will it make the difference between a successful brand and a failure? Maybe. Think of this like you're rapid fire MBA into value. We also discuss all sorts of abstract topics like intangible value, can you make a toothbrush more expensive by the way it's sold? 10 Types of ValueProductTangible form of value, create tangible item people wantServiceEmployee capable of a skill that people can't won't or don't do themselvesShared ResourceA durable asset that can be used by many people - you must create an asset people want asset to, serve as many people as you can. I.e gyms, fitness clubsTheme parks and museums also fit hereSubscriptionProvides predefined benefits on a recurring fee. Tangible or intangible. 1. Provide significant value to each subscriber on a regular basis. 2. Build a subscriber base and continue to grow to account for attrition. Bill customers on a recurring basis, retain each customer for as long as possible.Keep customer attrition as low as possibleResaleAcquisition at wholesale, resell at a higher price (most of retail)LeaseInvolves acquiring an asset following by letting another person use the asset for a fee. DVD, cars etc - allowing other people to use and return. Protect yourself against loss or damage.AgencyInvolves marketing and sale of an asset you don't own. Instead of producing value by yourself you team up with someone else you earn a commission for sale. Provide value - find a seller who has a saleable asset, build a relationship with buyers.Audience AggregationCollects the attention of people with similar characteristics. Since attention is limitedBlogs, instagram, mailing lists, youtubers, influencersOptionOption is take a predefined action, coupon, retainer, movie tickets,. User has the option to take an action. Identify some action people might want to take in the future. Offer potential buyers to take that action before a specified deadline.Loan, Insurance and CapitalWe're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Follow your passion - but sometimes I think fuck it and do that anyway. Write a lengthy business plan - the longer you spend in theory the more bogged down with the details you will become - focus on the product first. What is it and why is it good.Raise investmentTake a courseJoin an acceleratorMake sure your business name is perfectCreate the perfect brand - invest in a big graphic design agency to create your brand logo and brand guidelines.Spend a lot of money building a websiteCreate a mission statement and a company vision statementPeople will/won't buy what you are trying to sellStart a community around an idea MVP you should be embarrassed of your first version of your product Talk to everyone who's in your network that's relatively similar - should be focussed on action. Try to get PR for your business launchGood bits of adviceTry to make a sale as soon as possible with a small group Figure out who your target audience/customer is and where they can be advertised to or contactedOutsource the work you can't do yourself - but shop around for itWe're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

We discuss how Luke used the Stepping Stone Method™ to appear in his local newspaper, then used that to potentially bag a massive spot on a nationwide tv show, The One Show. We talk about all the things that you should consider when trying to get good PR for your business since it's a great way to getting exposure, almost for free. We also discuss the guerrilla marketing techniques used by Mous, Brewdog and Richard Branson to launch their new products. Enjoy! Also Ep 50! We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode we discuss everything you need to know about hiring virtual assistants. Luke has just gone through the process of hiring his first salaried employee, and he goes through the process, as well as what you should expect.First of all, they're more than just VAs. You can hire incredibly talented people from Marketers to Design Engineers, Architects to Data Scientists; at a fraction of the cost in comparison with the USA or UK.We answer the following questions in our podcast episode -What sort of work can you ask them to support you with? Where can you find them?How much should you pay them?How do you manage their workload?What's the time difference?How do you pay them? Bank transfer, PAYE?How do you write a job description?Will they replace UK workers now everyone works remotely?We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Did you know people are buying and selling leads online every day and no-one is really talking about this? In this episode we break down what leads are and cover the following topics with our inhouse digital marketing expert Jyles Kerr-Smith. What are leads and how are they bought and sold?When should a business consider buying leads?How can you get started in this?How will this effect our Fast Bucks Challenge?How is the future of the internet changing with online shopping in General?and as always we have a good laugh at ourselves in taking on this crazy new fast bucks challenge :)Thanks again to Jyles for coming on the show,  find him at Jyles.co.ukWe're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Tune in as we discuss our latest harebrained scheme to spin a profit with a new business idea in less than a month. This time we're talking about a service based business utilising QR codes to encourage people to book in services near their houses, and when we say services, we mean car washing. Yep that's right, the adventure capitalists are starting a car washing business. Well actually, it's a pilot for a business model, but we will probably end up cleaning a few cars down the way. Join us as we brainstorm how we could structure the business to be scalable, and how we could grow this passively, beyond our own involvement or fall flat on our faces for all to see :)We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode we debate the latest documentary called Social Dilemma on Netflix. @JennnRavenna - Twitter"The Social Dilemma on Netflix is maybe the most important documentary of the year. We know we're being manipulated by social media & having our psychology used against us. This exposes truths about big data, manipulation, & warnings from the people who designed social media."We explore this new era of surveillance capitalism and try to work out where we stand on the morality of using these platforms to advertise products. In order for us to know where our businesses stand in the modern age of the internet it's important to understand these issues thoroughly to make the right choice. We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode we meet Earl, first name Derek, and talk about how he's managed to sustain himself for over 20 years as he travels from place to place. This was one of our favourite episodes and felt the advice Derek offered on the show was some of the most powerful. He's a lovely guy and has a great perspective on life, business and friendships. We cover how he's been able to set up multiple successful revenue streams and how his friends have been very successful in the ventures that they do. This guy is great - you can find him at wanderingearl.comSend more feedback and questions to adcapspodcast@gmail.com - we answer every email we get (just like wandering earl)thanks again to Derek for joining us, this is what being an Adventure Capitalist is all about. We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

It's official, Alex has left his full time job in pursuit of setting up his own business.  Find out why he did it and what his thought processes were before considering doing the same yourself. Burn the ships! We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Join us as we talk with inventor Arnold Du Toit who's story starts off pretty ordinarily until  his product gets so popular it spirals out of control in a flurry of huge order lists investment rounds and eventually legal disputes. He won a Britain's Best Young Entrepreneur Award and gained a lot of attention for his venture.  Arnold shows a brilliant level of resilience during this time and wouldn't change his experience. Now he advises and invests for a fund, where he can use his incredible inexperience to help would be founders as they experience whirlwind success like he did. Arnold is now a Senior Associate with True Altitude who invests and supports businesses as they grow.If you're interested in knowing what it takes to take a fairly complex product to market - this shows for you. If you're interested in hearing the highs and lows of a proper adventure capitalist, you're in the right place - this one's a gooden'. We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Social Media Marketing - Where We've Gone Wrong & The Right Way to Drive Organic EngagementTreat social media like a tv channel - go there for the social media and put up with the ads - intersect this valuable content with ads. Means that the customers that you've built up actually might want to buy your products.Gretta Van Riel - The guru of social media marketing who built 5 six figure businesses is now out of date and wrong!?Create a page that reflects a lifestyle - people want to follow things that resonate with their world view. Organic reach is important, later down the line you don't want to heavily rely on paid acquisition of customers.Pinterest - visual marketing and how to do it properly, it has the highest authority for images.Content is like real estate and engagement/visitors is like footfall past your shop.With Fameswap.com you can actually buy existing social media channels with an existing level of engagement! We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode Luke and I discuss our favourite entrepreneurial books from the last ten years of educating ourselves each in the space. We heavily caveat this episode to say that if you really want to start a business, don't bother reading all or any of these books - better to start actually doing business and get better at that rather than reading the rule book inside and out before getting started. If you are interested in finding out our favourite picks and a summary of what makes them great then this is a good episode for you. If you're too busy and just want the list now, then here it is: 1. Shoe Dog - Phil Knight - The best solo entrepreneur book and a bit of the inspiration behind the title of this podcast, as Phil Knight pretty much embodies the best aspects of an Adventure Capitalist. Top book, more like a movie than an educational book. 2. The Snowball - Warren Buffet. Biography of Warren Buffets journey from selling coke and pepsi tops to buying out companies and stripping out their assets and making the last few bucks having fired the entire workforce. That little guy has got some pretty ruthless stories in the vault, but also tells you how you could see business as a functional capital creating machine rather than people's livelihoods. He's currently the 4th richest person on earth so it's packed with value, he's also very straightforward in his advice in general. If you want to learn the fundamentals of value investing this is a good read. 3. The Personal MBA - Josh Kaufman. This is like a cheat sheet for an entire MBA course, good set of theory and principals for business. Very academic and a little bit dry but Alex read this back to back and got a lot of value from it. 4. Atomic Habits - James Clear. How can you build new productive habits and break bad ones. Worth a read and could spell the difference between building a future you want and shrugging off elements of your personality you'd rather not live with. 5. Critical Business Skills for Success: the Great Courses. (Audible) This is a 36 hour long lecture series and covers everything from Marketing, Strategy, Operations, Finance and Accounting for people wanting to learn the full suite of what it takes to run a business. Honestly, Alex listened to most of this as he was driving to and from work, in hindsight he should have been taking action at this point and not just theorising all day long. (his words)6. 4 Hour Work Week - Tim Ferris. It's a classic, if you haven't read this it's worth a quick read. All about how outsourcing can build the fundamentals for a life without work. He's the ultimate work-life balance guru and it's inspiring stuff. 7. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. An old one with some still very relevant and good advice. Enjoy. We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

This episode is a rant about the problems with using Amazon FBA as your business model. Alex and Luke have both been selling on Amazon for a few years, and like any seasoned Amazon sellers they have encountered the countless issues that Amazon sellers face.If you ask any Amazon seller (who's not selling a course), they could tell you a handful of times using Amazon FBA has been a frustrating experience. Alex and Luke breakdown the worst things that have happened to then over the years.At the end they talk about why they do sell on Amazon....The reasons why you shouldn't sell on Amazon FBA -They charge you higher fees than any other platform and aren't that clear with when you get charged.Organic Ranking - You are at the mercy of the algorithm. You are competing with hundreds of other sellers for the top 10 positions, and the competition is fierce.It's sold as a get rich quick scheme and not a proper business model. In reality you have to invest thousands or tens of thousands into stock before even knowing if a product will be successfulExpectations vs reality of creating products and packaging is difficult. Alex is a seasoned product designer with over 10 years experience, and even he still encounters issues.You can't necessarily control the review or sentiment created by customers. The review average seems arbitrary that's set by amazon. A bad review can destroy a products sales.The competition can change very quickly and your brand positioning is unstable.Your listing can get hijacked by fraudsters.Amazon customer service for sellers is one of the worst customer services for businesses.Amazon has a number of programs for sellers, and not all of them work how you expect them to, and it's hard to have a direct conversation with anyone working in those departments We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Side hustles are an important element of becoming more financially independent. Since we believe business is a skill that takes practice, it's also important to familiarise yourself with making transactions with customers. The more customers you serve, the more confident you'll be with your other ventures that may be slightly bigger.  An important element of this episode is that we give our honest opinion on whether we would undertake any of these and the reasons why. Usually this boils down to the type of work that's involved, how competitive the particular service is and most importantly, how scalable the side hustle is. Basically, if you can't outsource it, it's not very scalable and will always boil down to exchanging your time for money. The seven side hustles we discuss are: FreelancingTeaching English OnlineCustomer InterviewsSelling on Etsy.Car Wash and Detailing / Carpet cleaningAirbnb ServicesSmall business marketing - take good photos and help list business and images. I also think there's still money in making better websites for small businesses.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode Luke talks about his Etsy store that he created from the first Fast Bucks Challenge in episode 14 from nothing to doing his first $1,000 day.The store generated $4,700 in sales in the last 30 days, and Luke discusses the profit margins on the product later on in the show.He also discusses how he used Etsy ads to drive traffic, but how Etsy rewarded the spending by driving more free traffic; and how that has really propelled his sales in the last 30 days.The store is a customised portrait store, which requires a lot of customer service, 30 mins to 1 hour of design per order as well as logistics and ordering. Luke talks about how he automated this, so he has a small team in the Philippines who manage those tasks; and uses print on demand services in USA and UK to fulfill the canvases and posters.Later on in the episode Luke and Alex talk about Alex's successful Etsy store, as well as some useful marketing tips for Amazon and Etsy.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Join us as we talk with Jim Rhodes, who along with Barney Mason, designed, crowdfunded and manufactured their product. We discuss the highs and the lows of running a hugely successful product launch and then the realities of getting the product manufactured. Jim reflects on the 3 year journey that him and co-founder Barney have been though, and how he's a completely different person from when the crowdfund originally launched. We learn that from the outside, it may seem like a business is booming, but when you look behind the curtain, it's often being driven by just a few very determined individuals. It's an inspiring, and maybe a little bit intimidating look at the realities of getting something manufactured. The adventure was a long and difficult one, but ultimately taught both the founders so much that they wouldn't change a thing, well maybe one thing... Thanks to Jim for coming on the show & hope you guys enjoy.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

If you are a small business owner you have probably felt the feelings of being stuck in a rut or that your business is stagnating. It often creates an overwhelming stress in your life that can have a negative impact on your own mental health and relationships with those around you. So, How do you deal with a bad spells in business? In this episode we try and tackle the problem head on, using our own experience and a real world example of exercises we completed to try and get the podcast out of a stagnation period.We go over these 9 tips for getting your business back on track -Start with you, do an audit on life and health, including mental health. Running/meditation helps clear the mind.Be very analytical of your original objectives.Be smart about it. Celebrate your wins - try to remember your original goals and calibrate your perspective.Don't make things worse by doing nothing. Create a list of actionable steps that are measurableWrite about it and talk through the problems and be very analytical of the current situationTime to try harder or give up - sometimes things aren't worth the effort.Attempt a root cause analysis of the problems.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode Alex takes us through how he's gone from a nervous / petrified public speaker to feeling a lot more relaxed and feeling confident. You get to hear the most embarrassing stories from when Alex fell apart on stage and how he's used some simple tips to train his brain to feel more relaxed. Here are the points we discuss:Treat your brain like a muscle, continually exposing it to the stress of public speaking will improve itUse a mind map instead of making notes: research. Focus on the other person's facial expression takes the pressure away from youThe worst thing that can happen isn't really that bad. Use changes in tonality in order to keep the audience engaged.Beta blockers - definitely advise against itEach slide needs one single pointAbility to record yourself for a webinar, host a skype call, sales call with a group of people, pitching for investment etc.Drinking and drugs makes it worse so avoid these if you have a public speaking event coming up in the week ahead.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode we argue that capitalism is a force for the good of society, by driving innovation which has given us an incredible quality of life compared with our ancestors.WARNING: This is an opinion piece. We are not experts on the subject of economics or politics, we just think it's important and fun to discuss subjects like this, and we hope that we give a good argument to why capitalism is good for everyone.The main points we go over in this episode -Fosters innovation and continuous incremental improvementAllows at the higher end of the spectrum, the ability to gain financial freedomActually creates a vacuum where arts and creativity are appreciated, outside of a financial reward incentive.Capitalism is pretty much dog eat dog. Generates huge income for governments to be able to pay for services.It can help people from lower economic backgrounds to change their situations. You are inevitably going to see extremes - the very rich and the very poor - what do we do about homeless, people who aren't able to compete etc. Capitalism doesn't mean right wing - the government takes a cut and it can operate in a way that is supportive of societal goals.Some definitions -CAPITALISM - An economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.SOCIALISM - a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.COMMUNISM - a theory or system of social organization in which all property is owned by the community and each person contributes and receives according to their ability and needs. We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

In this episode Luke and Alex discuss the ways that world is changing, how businesses shifting to working remotely more and more, and how this will eventually effect how you get paid. Without location holding people back, they're free to roam the world and capitalise on countries with much lower living costs. We cover the following questions:1. If cities are no longer the place to find work, what happens to cities property prices?2. What happens when there is much more competition for remote jobs online?3. How will you stand out in a more competitive job market?4. What skills should you be learning now to make sure you stay ahead?Talking Points:Work will shift to remote working - Corona virus forced companies to make people work from home. The experiment in working from home has proved there is no need for office based working 5 days per week - this means it's worth investing in lower economic, beautiful countries as they will become richer and more sought after locations.Property prices will drop in cities and go up in more rural, more scenic locations. Commercial lets and office space will drop in value. Career changes will happen more frequentlyAutomation will destroy a lot of jobs - truckers, delivery drivers, checkout workers, but also create a lot more jobs. Opened up the service based work globally like the manufacturing industry. Lower level jobs will become higher in competition, higher level strategic roles will be difficult to fill.Innovation hubs will no longer be localised - goodbye silicon valley, it will be based on the cloud. This means your cv, personal brand, website needs to be easily accessible from these companies. Google encouraging working remotely, as is Yahoo. This may mean slightly higher competition for roles as you're now competing worldwide. How does this affect wages? This means that more countries around the world's gdp will become more equalised.Higher education will be online only, less and less people will be educated in physical university buildings and more people will opt to take accredited online coursesWe're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.

Matched betting is a way to turn bookmaker sign up offers into risk free profit.Matched betting is a completely risk-free method, where you place a bet at a bookmaker to trigger a free bet. You then bet against that outcome at a betting exchange, meaning that you don't lose any money.The bookmaker then gives you a free bet, and you repeat the process, but this time you keep about 80% of the free bet value as profit! £20 Free Bet = £16+ Profit!In matched betting you cover every outcome of a sporting event by placing a “back” bet on an outcome at a bookmaker's site; then placing a “lay” bet on a betting exchange (a bet against that outcome happening)Go to adcaps.co/matchedbetting for the full guide on Matched Betting, plus loads of downloadable content, as well as links to other free content sites; which will help you make up to £1,000 in your first month.Do your research on how to do matched betting, it can be quite overwhelming at first. Use the free website teamprofit and the free guides provided at adcaps.co/matchedbetting.Use calculators to calculate how much you need to lay when you make a bet.Track your profits, there is a free sheet at adcaps.co/matchedbetting to download it.Make sure the odds off the bet and the lay are as close as possible, you can use websites like profitaccumulator that will actually match the bets for you.Work through all of the sign up offers first. Bookmakers offer weekly and special event offers, keep an eye out for these.When you have finished all the sports book offers, and you are feeling like you want to continue - start doing casino sign up offers. These are more advanced and use websites like teamcasino to help you through them.We're brought to you by onthejobmarketing.comIf you're a tradesperson, you need a website and marketing to get more customers. Speak to the people that know your trade and can help with all your marketing needs.