Make Your First Million

Episode 45: Persistence   Business is not all ups, but without the downs, you won't have the ups. In this long overdue episode Russ gets you caught up on what he's been doing these last six months: a short sabbatical from the show, a book launch, some direct mail marketing efforts and how he's been dealing with them. It takes a lot of persistence to even stay in the game in business - it's not for the lighthearted. Now, you can see from a bird's eye view some of the types of trials and tribulations you need to be prepared for to make your first million. Welcome back, Russ!

After taking some time off, Russ is right back at it. In this episode he shares some of what he does with his Free Time with you, and then goes on to review one of the books he read during that free time, The Average Joe's Marketing Book. (Whoops! You're not supposed to read business books on your free time!) This is Joe's “how to” manual on marketing, and it's well worth reading. He covers Automating your business, free recorded messages, his own customer conversion system, referrals, consumer awareness guides, testimonials, and pricing. Whew! That's a lot for one little book. Links: The I Love Marketing Podcast (start here...) Piranha Marketing (consumer guide template)  

Documenting procedures in “operations manuals” is at the core of Michael Gerber's E-Myth. Detailed instructions on how each job is carried out help highlight inefficiencies, and provide an extra layer of protection when the inevitable turnover comes. Russ discovered “Google into QB” this week because he was documenting his invoicing procedures. Rethinking what really needed to happen, Google into QB simplified the entire process. Run your business like a franchise chain, says Michael Gerber, and operations manuals are how franchises get that consistency.

One of the best ways to establish yourself as an authority in your field is to publish a book, and one of the best ways to accomplish this affordably is Dean Jackson's 90-Minute Books. Russ' latest book, Harnessing You 7 Senses is out, and Russ shares all about his incredible world-class experience working with Dean's team at 90-Minute books. He takes you through the entire process from start to finish and details some of the amazing things Dean's team did to to really make this one of the best experiences he's ever had with a vendor!   The links are here in the show notes. Go checkout Russ' book right now! And you can even see the unpacking video he made for Dean and his team.   Links: Harnessing Your 7 Senses, by Russ Hanush Russ' unpacking video  

This week Russ went to a downtown Art & Wine Walk. The wine was good, but he didn't see a lot of art... go figure! What he did see though, was opportunity! While wandering through the shops participating in the walk, he began channeling Jay Abraham: Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got. After striking up conversations with a couple of local business owners, Russ walked away with two new Joint Venture partners; a win-win for everybody, Russ, the other business owners, and specially everybody's clients! Listen in to see how you can do it to.  

Dan Kennedy always says “One is the worst number.” In this episode Russ talks about what that means and how he is applying that concept in his business. It's been a rough week for Russ, and he's here to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of working towards your first million with you. He also gives you a nice preview of Dan Kennedy and his Dan Kennedy library. Dan is a prolific writer and Russ claims to have more books by Dan Kennedy than any other author – he swears it wasn't intentional, Dan just writes about a lot of relevant stuff if you're trying to make your first million. You'll get some recommendations for great books, and even a word of caution here, and you'll even get the inside scoop on how Russ stumbled onto the road to his first million.

If you want to make that first million faster, Russ has something for you – The Wealth Factory. Garrett Gunderson, a Genius Network Member, has formed a very special company whose sole purpose in life is to manage your wealth. Of course, you say, those are a dime a dozen, and they're all out for themselves. Well, Garrett has a different approach. He is making the concept of a “family office” something that almost anyone can afford. Typically, only the ultra wealthy could possibly afford such an elite team to run their finances, but Garrett has found a way around that. The result is a team whose bias is towards you and your money, rather than their commissions and fees. Links: I Love Marketing, episode #287 – Garrett Gunderson The Wealth Factory

Ok, seriously folks, Russ is talking about miracles? Not the kind you see at a Grateful Dead show where somebody gets a free ticket, but a real, honest to God, medical miracle. Once he finally starts getting down to brass tacks, Russ does a novel review of Breakthrough Advertising by giving a quick overview of the principles he learned in Brian Kurtz's Breakthrough Advertising bootcamp he recently attended. Russ applies the principles of mass desire, levels of awareness, and levels of sophistication that Eugene Schwartz writes about in his groundbreaking classic, Breakthrough Advertising, and then discusses the possibility of a bootcamp to cover the second half of the book. Links: Breakthrough Advertising, by Eugene Schwartz

Russ has a new sleep routine he's trying out. Why is he telling you this? If you want to do big things, you have to think of yourself as a racehorse: everything is about performance. One key component of that performance for an entrepreneur is sleep. So this episode, you get to hear about sleep: good sleep and bad sleep, things you can do about bad sleep (Don't mess with good sleep folks!), and a new routine that's working wonders for Russ. According to Russ “Between quarterly planning and my new sleep routine, I come at each day with more energy, and such a highly honed sense of what needs to be done, that I find myself moving forward faster, and with less difficulty.” Trivia: Russ wakes up around 715 every morning without an alarm! One of his success criteria.

Ok, this one is just Russ bragging a lot about his team. Go team! I mean raises... and now a promotion!? But somewhere in there he manages to go over his quarterly operational planning process – blow-by-blow. It's Russ' “in the weeds” version of what happens when you take Dan Sullivan's 25-year planning idea and the Genius Network Implementation Card and put them both together. Russ collected a list of all of his projects (that's a lot of projects!), sorted and prioritized them, and then started breaking each one down into “micro-tasks” that take less than a couple hours each. Not only that, but remember Who Not How? It's baaaack! The micro-tasks, and also some macro-tasks, are being delegated, leading to massive wins! There's so much delegation that somebody got promoted... and it's not Russ!

Did you know that Russ used to barefoot water ski? A lot? And before that he was a body builder. Go figure! And now he just might get to go up Mt. Whitney, CA, but he needs some new boots. He's also doing a reboot in his business, reboot 2.0: new name, logo, newsletter design, website... The abundance resulting from that reboot has earned his entire team raises! Russ talks about how he, grudgingly, came to be an employer, and how he now feels his team is his top level concern – yes, they help him that much! How he developed his team, and how he's trying to turn the “performance review” upside down. This “upside down” review process has resulted in referral, Google review, and new-employee recommendation reward programs being implemented, a mileage reimbursement, and raises for the entire team. And that's how we got a new I.T. Guy! If you'd like a copy of Russ' Employer Review Sheet, send him an email at russ@stem-academics.com.

I Love Marketing! And if it wasn't for Joe Polish and Dean Jackson's I Love Marketing podcast Russ probably wouldn't be here to tell you about it and how it figures into your first million. Joe and Dean have some incredible ideas, like their Eight Profit Activators, offer the cookies, the marketing vending machine, cheese and whiskers, the self-milking cow, the 50-minute focus finder... Oh, wait, those are all Dean's ideas. Did Russ just dis' Joe? No worries, he covers, Joe's Magic Rapport Building Formula, consumer awareness guides, and free recorded messages as well. These two are a class act, and you've GOT to listen to the I Love Marketing podcast – It's easy, it's fun, it's how you'll make your first million. Correction: Russ mentions Joe and “Dean's” 10xTalk podcast... that's just WRONG! The 10xTalk podcast is Joe Polish and Dan Sullivan. Sorry, Dan!   Links: I Love Marketing episode 1 The Genius Network 90-Minute Books Breakthrough DNA: The Eight Profit Activators The Magic Rapport Building Formula episode The Magic Rapport Building Formula worksheet The 50-Minute Focus Finder

One of the most important things you can do as an entrepreneur is to get a coach. The number 1 best entrepreneurial coach in the world is Dan Sullivan at Strategic Coach. After going on a long rant about economic factors beyond his control, Russ gives you a quick rundown on some of the amazing value you can get from Strategic Coach. If you aren't yet ready to join Strategic Coach, then this is where you start. The following links will get you some of the most valuable resources you could ever wish for as an entrepreneur. If you think you might be ready to join Strategic Coach, give Elizabeth Fox a call at 1-800-387-3206, and be sure to tell her Russ Hanush sent you!   Strategic Coach resources: The Four C's The Gap and The Gain Who Not How Entrepreneurial Time Management System Impact Filters Strategic Coach Discovery Call  

After geeking on stats, Russ found that his business name was confusing prospective clients (and current clients too, lol!), but a confused prospect usually doesn't buy. So, in order to clear up the confusion, Russ decided to try a new name for his tutoring business. He walks you through his entire process from start to implementation – implementation is ongoing. You'll get to hear what consultants and marketers had to say on the subject, and what the number one priority should be in choosing a name in the internet age. He wraps it up with a run down on the implementation to give you the big picture of what's in a name. Steve Tobak: Real Leaders Don't Follow

Have you ever thought about starting your own podcast? How about a podcast episode on podcasting? In an episode reeking of Seinfeld's Kramer and his coffee table book about coffee tables, Russ explores his favorite podcasts and provides some commentary on what he finds compelling in a podcast. He then gets into a discussion of his strategy and the moving parts behind this podcast. Finally, Russ closes with your wish list for starting your own podcast: the recording studio that you already own, free editing software, a (super) low cost publishing platform that does all the work for you, and a quick run-down on how to put it all together. Whew! What value!   Links: Dean Jackson: I'll know I'm successful when... Paul Colligan Audacity Libsyn

Too many projects? What do you do when you start feeling overwhelmed? Time to take an inventory and make a project list. A project list can help you put it all in perspective: prioritize and compartmentalize. It can help us identify opportunities for delegation and consolidation (Russ' latest project is set to save him at least $4K a year – guaranteed... money in the bank!). Dan Sullivan, Ben Hardy, and Mary Ellen Tribby all get shout outs in this episode. Dan and Ben for Who, Not How... on multiple occasions; Mary Ellen Tribby for... well, you ought to listen to the podcast. It's only 20 minutes. You'll love it!

Live to 970!? Are you kidding!? This time, Russ talks about his plan for living to 970. A key part of that plan is Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy's Who, Not How. Russ talks about how he's narrowing his “to do” list down to only the things he loves to do. We expect only doing things he likes should help him live to 970. Then, Russ goes into more detail about his plan to live to 970 in his second ELF Coaching Ten-Minute Talk, and we've got the exclusive here for you! That's right, you'll get to hear Russ' live Ten-Minute Talk on The Seventh Sense right here. Imagine what that could be like! Oh wait, you don't have to imagine..., just listen to the show!

Timothy Paulson and Joe Polish literally wrote the book on consumer awareness guides: Piranha Marketing, available at Nightingale-Conant (see link below). This time, Russ talks about the thought process behind why a consumer awareness guide is a good idea, also known as The Eight Profit Activators by Joe Polish and Dean Jackson (see link below). The consumer awareness guide is meant to educate and motivate prospects to meet you - profit activator number three. We also get the inside scoop on Russ' process for writing his own consumer awareness guide: how he got his started, what he's done to improve his first version, and what his plans are for it in the future. Links: Piranha Marketing Breakthrough DNA The Parent's Guide To Choosing The Right Tutor

This episode starts with a serious discussion of business planning styles, and slowly degrades to a review of the (positive) effects brain surgery can have on your life. Ok, but really, Russ discusses his business planning style, and the more formal “business plan” process. How to avoid paralysis by analysis, and when it might just be time to get your act together. He also reviews a great tool for the avid business planner, LivePlan. There's some hints at a big change coming up in his business as well. Growth is Good!   Links: LivePlan  

If you want to grow it really helps if you have a plan. Linear growth will not keep you ahead of inflation. Your growth NEEDS to be exponential! In this episode, Russ introduces his Exponential Growth Formula. The Exponential Growth Formula will give you a path to the growth you want... custom tailored to you and your business. And Russ is not just talking about it here. He's offering to do YOUR Exponential Growth Formula for free to the first ten people who email him at Russ@makeyourfirstmillionpodcast.com. Listen in, and drop him a line if you like what you hear!

How to win friends and influence people. That's right! Good ol' Dale Carnegie gets a shout out in this episode. Russ talks about using networking to increase your referrals, and improve your business. We discuss Joe Polish's Magic Rapport Building FormulaTM, Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends and Influence People, and Robert Cialdini's Influence, and how you can use those ideas to increase your revenue and make your first million. Oh, and in this episode you also get to find out what Russ' Kolbe Index is!   Links: Joe Polish's Magic Rapport Building FormulaTM Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends and Influence People Robert Cialdini's Influence

In part two of our interview with Brian Kurtz, author of Overdeliver, we discuss list segmentation, RFM, and romancing your clients. Brian also talks about list selection and his 41/39/20 concept for list, offer, and copy, as well as the importance of multichannel marketing. (Here's a hint: “In business, one is the worst number.” -Dan Kennedy) Brian leaves us with a great tool he picked up from Perry Marshall called the MAVE 2.0 which will help you maximize your media presence in the most efficient manner.   Get Overdeliver AND the extras!

Brian Kurtz, author of Overdeliver, pays us a visit. This interview went so long that we had to break it up into two episodes! In part one, Brian shares stories from his time at Boardroom Inc. as one of the top direct marketers in the country, and what he's he's up to now at Titans Marketing. He ponders the fastest way to make your first million, and we discuss how he overdelivers with his book Overdeliver and all its amazing extras. Get Overdeliver AND the extras!

Want to learn how to make the same kind of offers that made Joe Polish his first million? Russ reviews his own consumer guide, crafted by following Joe Polish and Timothy Paulson's Consumer Guide Template. He shares his process, his resources, and some pretty cool tips and tricks to make writing your own consumer guide a lot easier for you.   Links: Piranha Marketing Dean Jackson's Breakthrough DNA The Parent's Guide To Choosing The Right Tutor  

Brian Kurtz really Overdelivers in Overdeliver. Russ reviews Brian Kurtz's book Overdeliver, and how it can be applied to your small business. He discusses Brian's take on customer Lifetime Value (LTV), his 41/39/20 perspective on how list/offer/copy should be prioritized, and tracking Recency, Frequency, and Monetary value (RFM). Russ also begins a discussion on testing marketing pieces for small businesses – to sample, or not to sample. And, after a short discussion of all the extras Brian includes with Overdeliver (over 50 hours of bonus material: videos, and print!), a very special announcement of a special guest who will be visiting us soon, and the special 50% off book deal we've arranged for you (see *below), Russ closes with a short thought on how each of us can Overdeliver. *For 50% off a copy of Overdeliver, by Brian Kurtz, just send an email to Carla@titansmarketing.com with the subject line “Overdeliver – Make Your First Million” and tell her you heard it on the Make Your First Million podcast! Include your best mailing address, and you'll receive a copy of Overdeliver for $10 (plus $15 for shipping in the U.S., $30 international) – payment by PayPal.   Links: Joe Polish's Magic Rapport Building Formula

It's been 20 episodes since we started this journey, so Russ does a check-in to share how he's applied some of the principles he talks about here. He begins with a review of Michael Gerber's advice from The E-Myth, then shares his latest org-chart with you. After the org-charts, we need position contracts and operations manuals. Russ makes a frank admission about his position contracts... How writing an operations manual led to scripting, a wealth of statistics, and a documented customer journey. And how those statistics led to an idea for an email fix (and a sneak peek into his latest email sequence!).

...What was I saying? Oh yeah, too many distractions! In this episode Russ Hanush reviews some of his favorite tools for dealing with distractions... Proactively! Russ revisits Dan Sullivan's Entrepreneurial Time Management SystemTM with its free days, focus days, and buffer days, and a flashback to episode 12 “Time to Think.” Some more review, this time from episode 11 “Goal Setting,” with a shout out to Brian Tracy and a discussion about using our goals to help eliminate the downside of the distractions. And finally, Russ reveals the European origin of his journaling habit, and some of the things he likes to put in his journals.   Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach resources Keith Cunningham at The Genius Network Dean Jackson's Fifty-Minute Focus Finder Brian Tracy on goal setting

This time Russ Hanush gets to geek out on statistics. He covers a recent project he's been working on and how he turned it into a data goldmine. Russ also covers what statistics he likes to monitor in his business, and a whole slew of possible metrics we can use to monitor our growth on our way to our first million.

This episode is really about gratitude. Russ Hanush shares some of the benefits of finding great mentors. He talks about two of his key mentors Timothy Paulson of the E.L.F. Coaching group from Joe Polish's Genius Network, and Brian Kurtz of the Titans Xcelerator group, and how grateful he is for them. He also shares about his experience as a mentor, and makes a special offer for anyone interested in mentoring.   Russ' email: Russ@STEM-Academics.com

How to write great copy: hire an expert! That is the long and short of it, but in order to hire an expert, you still need to know what good, and bad, copywriting looks like. In part 2 of “Copywriting,” Russ Hanush continues digging through his journals for the best of the best advice on copywriting.   Links: Robert Collier – The Robert Collier Letter Book, 1931 Gary Halbert – The Boron Letters, 2013 Gary Halbert – Tova Ad  

How to write great copy: hire an expert! That is the long and short of it, but in order to hire an expert, you still need to know what good, and bad, copywriting looks like. Russ Hanush digs through his journals for those jewels of wisdom that will help you hire the best, by recognizing great copy. You'll get a sneak peek into his must-read list on copywriting, and get a bird's-eye view of what it takes to write good copy.   The List: Claude Hopkins – Scientific Advertising, 1923 Robert Collier – The Robert Collier Letter Book, 1931 Gary Halbert – The Boron Letters, 2013   On my list, but haven't read: Claude Hopkins – My Life in Advertising Eugene Schwartz – Breakthrough Advertising David Ogilvey – Ogilvey on Advertising

In this episode Russ Hanush reviews Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy's latest book The GAP and The GAIN. The GAP and The GAIN is one of our favorite short books from Dan Sullivan, now Dr. Hardy has added his unique take on it too. This book will help you become a habitually happy, successful entrepreneur. From why we shouldn't measure ourselves against ideals, or others' standards, to why we should “always measure backwards,” and some very good exercises for applying it all, Dan's wisdom never disappoints. And yes, you can get your copy at Amazon: hard back, e-book, or audio book right now! Links: The GAP and The GAIN, by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy

In this episode Russ Hanush talks about marketing your business. He Covers his own definition of marketing as well as Joe Polish's definition. Then he covers the many different marketing systems he has studied: Magnetic Marketing, Inbound Marketing from Hubspot, Life Cycle Marketing from Infusionsoft, Marketing Kama Sutra from eLaunchers, and The 8 Profit Activators from Dean Jackson and Joe Polish. He'll let you know which one(s) he prefers, and give you a run down on how he applies them in his business. Links: Dean Jackson's Breakthrough DNA

In episode twelve, Russ Hanush gets into how to think. No, not what to think, but how to think. He explores some thinking tools from his days at the national laboratories, how to prepare yourself to think, and some of the ways multi-millionaire entrepreneurs do their thinking. Then he'll walk you through his own thinking process. This episode brings back some of the core concepts brought up in earlier episodes, like SMART goals, and our Seventh Sense.   Links: Keith Cunningham at The Genius Network Dean Jackson's fifty-minute focus finder

In this episode Russ Hanush revisits Michael Gerber's E-Myth. We've talked about your primary aim, and now it's time to start putting the pieces that will form your business together. For that we're going to use an organizational chart. Michael Gerber recommends designing your business as a franchise prototype. This starts with your org chart. Learn about why you want an org chart right now, and how to put it together in this episode of Make Your First Million.

In this episode Russ Hanush talks about our seven senses and how we can use them to improve our learning, our planning, and our lives. You already know about your sense of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, but have you ever thought about balance as a sense? After all, we call it a sense of balance. So why don't they mention that in school? Then, there's that mysterious Seventh SenseTM that Russ forgot to mention in Episode 1 (or did he?). Here's your chance to learn about that seventh sense and how it can help you make your first million.

In this episode Russ Hanush discusses the difference between success and failure, and how to turn the perception of failure into a winning/learning experience. Dan Sullivan, Dean Jackson, and Arianna Huffington all get a shout out for their takes and experiences with success and failure. Links: Dan Sullivan: The Gap and The Gain Dean Jackson: I know I'm being successful when... Arianna Huffington: Thrive

In this episode you'll learn about the nitty gritty details for administering your business. From licensing, to bank accounts, bookkeeping, and planning, You'll be walked through what it's like to put all of these pieces of your business in place from a layman's perspective (no lawyers here!).

In this episode Russ Hanush brings it all together for you: your Primary Aim (from Michael Gerber), the things you love to do (your awesome sauce), your personality (the career affinities worksheet), and Ryan Levesque's Choose. He'll show you how to put it all together to help you focus in on your best options for creating a business you will love, so you never have to work another day in your life.

In this episode Russ Hanush presents a compilation of his entrepreneurial ventures. This show lays out some of the very diverse businesses that he's started on his way to where he is today.

In this episode Russ Hanush brings together your favorite people, places, and things - your favorite things to do... your awesome sauce, and begins to place them in context with your personality traits to help you decide what kind of business you might like to have. He also introduces Ryan Levesque's book Choose and the great deal Ryan is offering on it.   Links - Ryan Levesque's Choose: https://choosethebook.com/secure/jps3-7d/ Career affinities worksheet: Email Russ@stem-academics.com

In This episode Russ Hanush continues covering Michael Gerber's concept of your Primary Aim (yep, it's definitely worth two episodes). Russ introduces a worksheet you can use to sort your primary aim out of your primary aim story, and begins sifting through your likes and dislikes looking for your Awesome Sauce - the things you most like to do. Because, if you love what you're doing, you'll never work a day in your life. Links - Primary Aim worksheet: Email Russ@stem-academics.com Daily/Weekly/Monthly worksheet: Email Russ@stem-academics.com

In this episode you'll learn about Michael Gerber's concept of a Primary Aim, and why it's so important for you to know what your Primary Aim is. Russ Hanush will teach you a little trick he developed for teasing your Primary Aim out called the Primary Aim Story. You'll also find that a copy of Michael Gerber's E-Myth is the perfect companion to this episode.   Link to E-Myth picture/purchase: The E-Myth, by Michael Gerber Link to Primary Aim story: My Primary Aim story  

The saga begins. In this introductory episode, Russ Hanush explains the purpose of the Make Your First Million podcast. He'll introduce you to some of the most influential players who have helped him begin his rise to his first million, some of the free and low-cost resources available to aspiring entrepreneurs, and give you the gist of how this podcast can help you make your first million. Show notes: You might notice that Russ incorrectly defines STEM here. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. He also goes off on a little tangent and forgets to mention what the seventh sense is, but we're going to leave you hanging on that one for a future episode. Links mentioned - Red Bull skydive from space