POPULARITY
Networking is still one of the most powerful ways to grow your business, yet a lot of people go about it the wrong way, or try to skip it altogether. The problem with that is, one person, when it’s the right person, is all it takes to explode your business to the next level. This week’s guest, Jake Kelfer, has made a wildly successful career working with major brands like Adidas and the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s also helped his clients use networking to achieve the results they want, whether it’s to get booked on more podcasts, bring in experts for a summit, or create partnerships to grow their business to the next level. In today’s Internet-based world, it’s easier than ever to connect with people. Jake will show you how to use that to your advantage in a way other people appreciate instead of run from. Tune into this episode to discover exactly why your next level may be less about what’s next, and more about who’s next. Plus get Jake’s framework for successfully networking with the right people for you and your business. I Want The Slow Path (Said No One Ever) Without other people, you cannot have a business. People are who buy your products and services. People are who tell their family, friends, and peers about you. People are also who you learn from. It’s true, you can slowly and tediously make all your own mistakes; or, you can learn from people who’ve already made them, and get where you want to be faster. Networking is another way to avoid the slow path and get where you want to be sooner rather than later. Turn Your Style Into Opportunity Successful networking is about connecting with the right people for YOU. Doing that means combining your style with the right intention for reaching out to a specific person. No matter what, you’ll face rejection, but when you combine your style and personality with intention, it saves you a ton of time and energy reaching out to the wrong people. You’ll also dramatically increase the likelihood of connecting with people who are a good fit for you. Don’t Be Spammy No one appreciates a total stranger getting in touch only to say, “Hey, here’s what you can do for me!” When reaching out to people for the first time, don’t lead with offers and requests. Instead, play the long game by building the relationship. Care enough to get their name right. Study their profiles and content to find commonalities you can use to relate to them. Everyone wants to feel like they matter, and you can inspire that feeling by taking time to learn about them. Always Follow Up Just because someone doesn’t respond to your first contact attempt doesn’t mean they don’t want to connect. It could be they’re busy and they forgot. It could be they aren’t sure if you’re just another spammy drive-by, or if you’re someone who’s actually worth their time and energy. It could be a million other things. Instead of jumping ship if they don’t instantly reply, give them a little time, then follow up. Remember that the point isn’t to be a pest. It’s to open the door so they can take a step through it. Sometimes it takes more than one attempt before they’ll take that first step. Focus on Quality, Not Quantity You don’t need a million followers to make a million dollars. You just need the right number of quality followers. It’s the same with networking. You don’t need to connect with everyone on the planet. You just need the right people. One right person will get you further than one hundred people who aren’t right. Sometimes it can take one hundred attempts to find the right people, so it’s important to keep reaching out. Just don’t get hung up on the numbers. Go for quality. Outline of This Episode One new connection can change your world [3:05] The reason for our success [8:55] Meeting the right people’s not about luck, it’s about this [14:30] How to reach out (and how not to) [18:15] Once you build the relationship, maintain it [32:45] You don’t need quantity when you’ve got quality [38:30] You can reach ANYBODY [44:00] Resources & People Mentioned Visit Jake Kelfer’s website: www.JakeKelfer.com Connect with Jake Kelfer on Instagram: @jakekelfer Jake Kelfer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakekelfer Jake Kelfer on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jakekelferjourney Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ JTT Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/justthetipsshow/
This has been a pretty ugly year for most people, and the temptation to write this year off and start fresh in January is stronger than usual. Curling up and riding it out is certainly one option, but another one is to put your foot on the gas and crush the fourth quarter. James and Dean have been on both sides of this mindset. They’ve had years where they slowed things down, and years where they dug in and made December their best month of the year. If this year hasn’t been your best year, and you’re thinking of curling up and hiding out, tune into this episode for James and Dean’s best tips on making the most of your fourth quarter, no matter what’s happened in your business this year. Be The Shepherd, Not The Dictator When Dean and his wife started their cosmetics e-commerce business, they held tight to the idea that they had to do what other cosmetics companies did. As a result, they struggled to even get a foothold, much less a profit. It was only after they stopped trying to dictate their idea to the market, so they could see what they were missing and fix it, that the business took off. Forcing your idea on the market NEVER works. You’ve got to be the shepherd of your idea, steering it where it needs to be based on market feedback. Instead Of Guessing, Ask The better you know your market, the better you get at reading between the lines and creating offers they want. But sometimes the fastest way to a profitable offer is just to ask your market. Remember to keep in mind that what people say they want, and what they’ll actually buy, are not always one and the same. But even if that’s the case sometimes, asking still provides invaluable intel on how you can serve your market. It could be that a significant percentage of your customers want help with the same thing, and aren’t sure how to articulate it to you. If you have no idea where to start amping up 4th quarter sales, start by asking your customers what they need. Develop Relentless Solution Focus Recently James took a vacation on Lake Powell with a big group of family and friends. Everyone was on a big houseboat with no cell service. During the trip, James received an invitation to extend his trip by a week. The problem was, everyone had carpooled to the lake with some friends who lived hours away, and would not be extending their trip. That meant the only way James and his family could stay an extra week was if they found a rental car, so they could drive themselves to their friends’ house after the second week. James’ first several attempts at procuring a rental car fell through, but James remained relentlessly focused on finding a solution until he found it. Thanks to that relentless focus, he and his family enjoyed an extra week on the lake. Finding the right offer takes the same relentless focus, and so will dominating the 4th quarter. Stop Predicting Your Own Failure “I’m just going to write this year off and start fresh in January.” That’s what several people have told James and Dean. That mindset is a symptom of mistaking yourself for a fortune teller, by predicting your own failure before you’ve even tried. It’s worth noting that the people who struggle most are masters at predicting their own failure, and it’s not because they try something and it doesn’t work. It’s because they assume it won’t work, so they don’t even try. Don’t fall into the fortune teller trap. Make your success inevitable by getting your ideas into the world and adopting relentless solution focus. Be Mindful Of “Reality” Everyone wants to start with tactics and strategies. They’re important, yes. But even the best tactics and strategies the world has ever known won’t help you if you don’t have the mindset to properly implement them. Mindset is the foundation of your success, and one of the best things you can do for your mindset is to be mindful of what you allow to shape your reality. Those private jet photos you see on Instagram are probably staged in a warehouse. Those supposed loner entrepreneurs with no supportive family in their life don’t have to become YOUR success reality. Be careful what you allow to shape your beliefs about what’s possible. Outline of This Episode December, The Biggest Month Of The Year [3:46] Why You Have To Experiment [8:38] Avoiding A Race To The Bottom [16:30] Ask Your Customers What They Want [24:21] Have Relentless Focus On Finding A Solution [28:40] You’re Not A Fortune Teller [38:12] Mindset Before Skillset, Always [43:15] Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ JTT Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/justthetipsshow/
Success in business comes to those who can identify and follow through on profitable opportunities. The people who struggle most are both the ones who wouldn’t know an opportunity if it punched them in the face, and the ones who see opportunities everywhere, but struggle to identify and act on the profitable ones. Either they freeze, or they go down so many rabbit holes, they never get traction. Jeremy Parker, CEO and Co-Founder of promotional product website Swag.com, has been identifying and capitalizing on profitable opportunities for over a decade, including during the Great Recession back in 2007. Even with the pandemic happening, and companies cutting back on promotional product purchases, Swag.com had its best three months EVER. And it’s all because Jeremy understands how to identify and follow through on profitable opportunities. Tune into this episode to learn from Jeremy how you can do the same, because this is a skill that can ensure you succeed no matter how bad things seem. The rise of Swag.com Originally Jeremy wanted to be a filmmaker. But after realizing how difficult it was to make a living doing that, and discovering he wasn’t all that passionate about it, Jeremy started a t-shirt business. It seemed like an easy way to begin. Turns out it wasn’t as easy as he thought, but still, Jeremy was enjoying some success. Then the Great Recession hit, and stores he’d built relationships with stopped buying what he was offering. Instead of folding, Jeremy asked, where’s the opportunity with this? One of his ideas--which he describes “as gimmicky” got noticed by Mark Cuban, which paved the way for the rise of swag.com. Success during the pandemic The promotional industry is in shambles right now. Companies are letting people go instead of bringing them on, which means there’s far less need for branded company products. Yet Swag.com just enjoyed its best three months EVER. That is the power of identifying and following through with profitable opportunities. There are always problems that need solving, including some that are still coming down the pipeline. That is and always will be the case, no matter what’s going on in the world. Beware idea attachment Marrying your ideas is one of the worst mistakes you can make. Remove your ego from the situation, because it’s not about you. It’s about what the market needs. You cannot make them need or want something they don’t need or want. Get your minimum viable product together and get it into the world quickly. See how the market responds, and adjust accordingly. If the minimum viable product doesn’t get traction, you’ve just saved yourself vast sums of time, money, and energy. You’ve just got to start Where you start is rarely where you end up, which is why the most successful entrepreneurs in the world start fast. Another of the worst things you can do is drag out getting started. Whether you succeed or fail, you’ll learn from it. Very often, failing has more to teach us than success. No matter how good you are at identifying opportunities, you will not strike gold every single time. Get your ideas into the world quickly, get feedback, and learn and adapt. It may take several attempts to find your next (or first) big winner. But the only way you’ll ever find it is to just start. The right way to network Networking is a proven way to connect with the people and resources you need to grow your business. It’s also something people tend to overthink. Jeremy’s best advice to get the most out of your networking efforts is pretty simple: Put yourself out there. Get your lines in the water and see who bites. The first few people you meet may not be who you need, but they may be connected to the right people for you. Since you can’t know for sure, get as many lines in the water as you can. The more lines you have, the better your chances of getting the right bites. Remember the mission (and remind your team) A motivated, effective team can not only help you bring opportunities to life, they can help you identify more. And a team that believes in your company’s mission and vision is proven to perform better at even their day to day role. Reminding your team of your company’s mission is key to strong motivation, especially in tough times. Remember to stoke that fire. Outline of This Episode Successful, but not excited about it [5:50] What not to do when opportunity punches you in the face [10:45] Why adaptation is key to success [14:02] Your best shot at avoiding the duds [17:05] What to do if you struggle to see opportunities [24:30] Stop waiting for “that one big idea” [27:56] How to create relationships that create success [31:10] Motivating your team AND yourself [40:40] Resources & People Mentioned Swag.com Connect with Jeremy Parker on LinkedIn Connect with Jeremy Parker on Twitter Guest on YouTube Check out his Podcast Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ JTT Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/justthetipsshow/
In just a few short years, Brandon and Kaelin Poulin took LadyBoss Weight Loss from a startup to a company with 350,000 customers. In 2019, LadyBoss, which helps women lose weight, transform their health, and love themselves, was named number 4 on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing privately-held companies in the United States. Tune into this episode for a behind-the-scenes, comprehensive look at what it takes to grow and scale a successful company like LadyBoss - the strategies, the mindsets, the vision, the customer relationships, all of it - in a few years instead of a few decades. Network marketing’s most valuable lessons Before they ever met, Brandon and Kaelin started in network marketing, and found their way into weight loss, health, and fitness. They learned succeeding in network marketing requires developing and maintaining relationships. It requires listening to people, and finding out what they really want. And it requires facing rejection, over and over and over. Network marketing also taught them about personal development, something they know is critical to both their early success and their ongoing success. Everything you do starts with you, and if you’re tripping over the same issues within yourself, it’ll trip up everything you try to do. Dig in and make something happen After five years with another company, Brandon and Kaelin were ready to start their own company. They were two months behind on rent, on their car payment - basically everything, and in danger of sinking even further. With their backs against the wall, they locked themselves away from the outside world for two months and worked around the clock to launch their company. It didn’t take fairy dust or unicorns - just the commitment to dig in and do it. Get off the shiny penny highway With the abundance of tools, trainings and strategies out there, Brandon and Kaelin often found themselves tempted by the shiny penny highway. Oh, another cool software! Oh, another marketing strategy to try! The barrage of things to try was constant. To avoid getting trapped on the shiny penny highway, Brandon and Kaelin always brought it back to what their customers and their company needed at that time. If what they were looking at didn’t fit with their vision, it wasn’t right for their business. It meant saying no to a lot of things. It also allowed them to simplify, while simultaneously (and quickly) growing their company and better serving their customers. Don’t shut out your customers A lot of companies think being aloof with and too cool for their customers is the right way to be. Brandon and Kaelin see it differently. They know, from years of experience, how crucial the customer relationship is to their success. Rather than shut their customers out, they welcome communication with their customers. They’ll take customers by the hand, so to speak, and help them walk to that next level. It’s a powerful reminder that your customers are your best asset. Without them, you don’t have a business. Don’t shut them out. You always have the power Brandon and Kaelin point out something a lot of successful people come to realize: That once you get to a certain level, your success is all other people see. But they’ve been kicked in the teeth, made mistakes, and had to find different ways of doing things. And they know it’s likely to continue on that way, because that’s just the nature of business. The reason Brandon and Kaelin have been so successful isn’t because they haven’t faced challenges, it’s because they know they have the power, always, to overcome them. Believing and accepting that no matter what comes your way, you have the power to deal with it and find another way forward, is a must-have mindset for all business owners. Outline of This Episode Backs against the wall [05:29] Trial by fire [12:40] Get off the shiny penny highway [20:56] Remember who you’re serving [29:36] Stop pushing your customers aside [34:01] The secret to aligning as a team [38:48] What to do when the hits keep coming [46:15] Resources & People Mentioned LadyBoss Weight Loss: https://ladyboss.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ladyboss/ https://www.facebook.com/LadyBossKaelin https://www.youtube.com/c/LadyBossWeightLoss Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ JTT Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/justthetipsshow/
How to consistently create offers your ideal customers find irresistible is a part of business that challenges even the most seasoned, successful entrepreneurs. And once you’ve got them in the door, how do you continue serving them, so they stick around, keep buying, and keep benefiting? The one, the only, Bearded Wonder of the United Kingdom (aka Dean) discovered a powerful, profitable way to create an offer his customers bought, LOVED, and profited from, even after insisting they “didn’t have the money” to buy it! It was that irresistible! Join James and The Bearded Wonder himself (aka Dean) for this week’s episode to get the inside scoop on Dean’s crazy-amazing and crazy-profitable offer creation strategy. Outline of This Episode Start with these basics [2:29] How Dean got the sign-ups [15:55] You must over-deliver [26:15] Everyone is a buyer [35:00] Talk to your customers [46:30] 3 major points discussed Read between the lines. Your list of BUYERS is a massive gold mine when it comes to creating offers. Dean shares how he surveyed his buyers, and that they told him they’ve invested all they could, and didn’t have more money to put into yet another offer. Instead of assuming that was the real problem, Dean used this information to tailor his offers in a way that could truly help them. He also followed up with them to figure out exactly where they were stuck. WHY did they feel they didn’t have enough money for more offers that could help them? The right mix of reading between the lines and engaging with your customers allows you to serve them in the best possible way. Create the offer. Once you’ve discovered your customers’ real problems, get that solution created. It may be a training course, but there may also be a faster, more involved, more valuable way for you to serve them. After identifying his market’s need, Dean devised a fast AND powerful way to get his offer up and running and helping. Money loves speed, and so do your customers. Sometimes the best and most profitable way to help them is also the fastest way. Play the long game. We see it time and time again - businesses who value the long-term relationship with their customers over everything else are the ones that last. Most of your profits will come from your most loyal, long-term customers. Customers come and go, so new customers are essential, but neglecting your loyal, long-term customers is a guaranteed way to lose them, and miss out on staggering amounts of profit, both directly and from referrals. Tune in to hear how Dean served the people who took him up on his powerful offer, and used it to build a long-term, profitable relationship with them. Resources & People Mentioned Guest’s Website Guest on Instagram Guest on Facebook Guest on YouTube Check out his Podcast Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ JTT Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/justthetipsshow/
The ability to make decisions, and make them fast, is critical for any entrepreneur, because very often it’s the decisions you don’t make that will stall, or even destroy, your business. Uncomfortable, intimidating decisions are the ones most likely to trip you up. It seems easier to kick the can down the road than to make a decision that might be wrong, or may hurt someone’s feelings. But James and Dean will tell you, from difficult personal experience, that the cost of indecision is a LOT higher than you think. Tune in to hear their personal examples of when NOT making a decision cost them money and time, and even handicapped their businesses. Plus they’ll reveal how even a decision that turns out to be wrong is better for your business than indecision. If you find yourself avoiding or procrastinating decisions because the cost of making them seems too high, too nerve-wracking, or too uncomfortable, this episode is exactly what you need to stop spinning your wheels and make those business-building decisions, no matter how intimidating or difficult they seem. Outline of This Episode What NOT making a decision costs you [6:00] When the gift of problem-solving backfires [12:30] The “perfect decision” myth [26:00] How other people factor into your indecision [30:10] The gift of wrong decisions [38:00] 3 major points discussed How to tell when it’s decision time. This one seems VERY counterintuitive. But if you’re 90% or more sure of your decision, it usually means you waited too long to make it. Surprising, right? But when it comes to your confidence in your own decisions, there’s a sweet spot to shoot for. While no guarantee your decision is “right,” this sweet spot will ensure you’ve given a decision enough thought, but not more than it needs for you to make it. Tune in to discover exactly how to tell when it’s time to pull the trigger. Not all decisions are created equal. Some decisions aren’t worth the bandwidth we give them. For example, what to eat for lunch should be a much faster decision than whether to sell your company. Quickly identifying which decisions are worth the extra time and thought, and which ones are not, will skyrocket your decision-making speed. Tune in to get James and Dean’s tips for quickly discerning whether a decision is worth the extra consideration. You’ll NEVER please everyone. Avoiding hurt feelings is one of the top reasons we avoid making decisions. But the reality is, it’s not possible to make everyone happy every time. Case in point: James shares a horror story about a meeting he attended where dozens of people weighed in on a design project. It really got out of hand, and made arriving at a decision impossible. Tune in to hear exactly what happened, and discover the critical decision-making lesson James took away from the project. If a desire to please others impedes your ability to make decisions, just wait until you hear this! Resources & People Mentioned Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ JTT Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/justthetipsshow/
Most entrepreneurs salivate at the thought of high-ticket offers. Make more money working with fewer clients. A dream come true, right? But what does it REALLY take to create a high-ticket offer people want enough to pay a high-ticket price? That’s what Tyler Kemp, this week’s guest, is going to reveal. Tyler’s helped build multiple 7-figure companies, and he brings years of experience with both low-ticket and high-ticket offers. He figured out pretty quickly that low-ticket and high-ticket are two different animals that bring in two different types of customers, and require two different sets of systems to build and scale. So, if you’d love to create a high-ticket offer for your business, but you: 1) Don’t know what to offer 2) Are uncomfortable at the thought of charging more money 3) Believe your customers won’t want it ...Then tune in to get the tactics and mindset you need to create and sell your high-ticket offer. If you already have a high-ticket offer, you’ll want to hear Tyler’s secrets to making that offer even more desirable, so you can charge more AND sell more, while getting your clients the epic results they need from you. Lead gen and high ticket sales. Acquiring more customers, one of the easiest ways is to raise the value of what you’re offering. Outline of This Episode The #1 barrier to making high ticket sales [8:25] Solve more problems to charge more money [16:00] Once isn’t enough [27:00] The perfect product-market fit takes time [33:00] What to do after creating your offer [39:15] 3 major points discussed It starts with your mindset. If your mind’s already made up that your customers would never go for a high-ticket offer, or you’re uncomfortable charging more money, you’ve shot yourself in the foot before even starting. With rare exception, most businesses have the makings of a high-ticket offer. But in order to see the possibilities, you’ve got to be open to them. Beware the low-ticket value trap. We all want to give our customers as much value as possible, including in our low-ticket offers. The problem is, there’s a limit to how much value you can realistically bring to that many people at once before it becomes unsustainable money-wise, and time-wise. High ticket offers set you free from those constraints. Your clients pay more, making it cost-effective and time-effective for you to provide them with more AND remain profitable. Solve more problems. A lot of offers solve only one or two problems around the same topic, but most people have way more than one or two. That means, the more solutions you can provide to these additional problems, the more money the right clients will pay you to get those problems taken care of. Becoming someone’s all-in-one solution is your highway to profitable high-ticket offers. Resources & People Mentioned https://www.leadroll.co/ LinkedIn: linkedin.com/tjkemp Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ JTT Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/justthetipsshow/
A lot of businesses had to close their doors in the year 2020, and for some, those doors will never re-open. Even outside of this year’s events, plenty of companies close up shop because things go south, and they have no idea how to fix it. Sometimes throwing in the towel is the answer, but most of the time, a solution is out there, if only the business owner was aware of it. Most of the time, your problem isn’t a lack of resources, it’s a lack of resourcefulness (even in times like these). To help you see for yourself that closing up shop isn’t your only option, James and Dean welcome Greg Spillane, aka The Turnaround Guy. As his nickname suggests, Greg specializes in helping companies on the brink turn things around. Greg will show you exactly where to start if your business is on the rocks, how to identify and use the resources you DO have, and ways you can think outside the box and keep the doors open. Even if your company’s thriving right now, make sure you tune in for what Greg has to say. You may need these strategies at some point in your business journey. Plus, several of them apply even if your company’s not on the rocks. Apply them and watch your profits get even higher. Outline of This Episode Where to start turning things around [5:15] Why you need to be a survivor (and what that means) [11:00] Lack of company culture = death of your company [19:00] The characteristics to look for in people you hire [27:00] How and where to get capital [31:00] 3 major points discussed Identify your assets. If you were stranded on a desert island, the first thing to do is focus on what you DO have. What’s available to you? What do you have to work with? Turning your business around works the same way. Look at the assets you do have, like a raving fanbase, your product, your employees--anything you can use. A lot of people want to focus on what they can create, and that’s important, but what you already have is equally important. Create and clarify your company culture. Company culture may sound like foo-foo, but if so, it’s because you’ve got the wrong idea about it. True company culture gets everybody aligned with the company vision, mission, and values. When your team isn’t aligned in those areas, when they don’t believe in the same things, and aren’t working toward the same goals, it leads to drama, dysfunction, backstabbing, and poor productivity. Having a team who’s only there for the paycheck, and doesn’t care about your mission, makes it VERY difficult to be successful. Investment opportunities are everywhere. The right investor(s) can help plug the leaks in your sinking ship. And investing in other businesses can create additional revenue and take some pressure off. If either of those options leave you feeling squeamish, don’t rule it out without listening to Greg’s take on this. There’s a lot of opportunities to acquire capital now that there didn’t used to be. Greg will share several of his favorites, including what he’s used to help his clients turn their companies around. Resources & People Mentioned Fancy.com Twitter: @greg_spillane LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spillane/ Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ JTT Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/justthetipsshow/
When it comes to new ideas, entrepreneurs are like machine guns. We can spit them out as rapidly as a machine gun sprays bullets. But when we get so excited about an idea that we don’t properly put it through its paces, we end up wasting exorbitant amounts of time and money trying to fulfill an idea that’s never going to happen. Then we blame our customers for not seeing the value, leap to the next “sure thing,” and repeat the process again. This exact cycle is one of the top reasons 90% of startups fail, and why even established businesses can waste hundreds of thousands of dollars on “sure thing” business ideas. Instead of letting idea excitement run the show, tune into this episode of Just The Tips with guest Dr. Adam J. Bock to learn what to do (and what NOT to do) once you’ve got a new business or product idea. Adam is a serial entrepreneur and academic researcher who’s mastered the ability to structure sustainable business models that give you a competitive advantage. Adam’s not only started multiple companies, he’s also sold multiple companies, in the venture capital space, for eight figures. When it comes to profitable, sustainable business models, he knows what he’s doing! Adam will reveal the most costly mistakes entrepreneurs the world over make with their business ideas; plus show you how to identify when you actually DO have a winner. Outline of This Episode What is a business model, REALLY? [10:20] Cool ideas are the start, not the finish [16:50] Avoid this expensive problem-solution blunder [23:00] Choosing who to ask (and who not to ask) about your idea [39:30] Don’t confuse valuable with profitable [48:02] 3 major points discussed When lighting strikes, give it space. Yes, entrepreneurs have to take risks in order to get anywhere. But there’s a big difference between taking a risk and allowing idea excitement to blind you. When your latest big idea strikes, document it, but give yourself space to get beyond that initial burst of excitement. That way you can evaluate your idea with a level head (and potentially save yourself years of wasted time and money). It’s not your customers’ fault. When you test the waters with your product and don’t get the response you’re hoping for, it’s all too easy to decide you don’t have the right customers. Or that they’re clueless for not seeing the value in what you offer. Educating people who don’t yet understand the value in your idea is possible, but it works a LOT less frequently than most people think. If your solution isn’t a solution in their minds, no amount of educating them will change that. Keep it lean when you test the waters. Instead of cannonballing into the water with your new idea, dip your toe in, especially when you’re gauging customer interest. Just because someone says they want it, doesn’t always make it so. It depends on who you’re asking, and whether you’re actually solving their problem, or just solving a problem you think they have. Keeping this phase lean is critical to stopping new idea excitement from running away with your time and money. Resources & People Mentioned https://www.bizmodelbook.com/ The Business Model Book: Design, Build and Adapt Business Ideas That Drive Business Growth, by Adam J. Bock and Gerard George (available on Amazon) Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ JTT Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/justthetipsshow/
Three action-packed years ago, James P. Friel and Dean Holland set out on a mission with one objective: Launch a fun, value-packed podcast full of cutting edge advice to help entrepreneurs take their business to the next level. The first few episodes of Just The Tips were rocky, as James and Dean, both podcast newbies, worked through the ins and outs and ups and downs of launching and growing a successful podcast. With three years of successful podcasting under their belts, you’d expect the guys’ podcasting experience to be smooth as silk. It’s definitely more efficient than it used to be, but technical fails and other issues still pop up, and do so for one unavoidable reason: Challenges are a part of life. If you want to get anywhere with anything, such as launch a product or grow your business, the ability to roll with the punches and find a way forward is a must. Yet an unfortunate number of people give up on their dreams when adversity swoops in. In this third anniversary episode, James and Dean reveal their top tips to keep going when your commitment to your dreams and goals is tested. Make no mistake: It will be tested. Not once, not twice, but over and over again. And each time, you’ll find yourself at a crossroads: Give up, or dig in your heels and keep going. If you want to be the person who digs in their heels and keeps going, check out this episode. Outline of This Episode What stops people from achieving their dreams [5:05] It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what you’re doing [12:01] Accidental selfishness is holding you back [13:30] How to move beyond imposter syndrome [17:50] When to zip your and lip and listen [24:03] 3 major points discussed Don’t know what you’re doing? You’ll learn! When James and Dean launched Just The Tips three years ago, they had no idea how to launch and grow a successful podcast. But they went for it anyway. Due diligence ahead of time is always a great idea, but some things you can only learn as you go. Waiting to move forward until everything is “perfect,” or until you finally feel qualified, means you’ll never move forward. You’re never going to feel fully qualified, and nothing will ever be “perfect.” It’s not about you. There are people you can help NOW. By procrastinating, or even giving up on, your dreams, you’re depriving them of your help. Imagine if you called an ambulance because you were in excruciating pain, and when the EMTs arrived, they just stood outside and stared at you through your living room window. When you allow your own limiting beliefs to derail you, you’re doing to the people you could be helping what the EMTs did in this example scenario. Your message is too important for you to keep sitting on it! What matters more than great products? Concern that your product’s no good is a giant roadblock for a lot of entrepreneurs. Yes, product quality is important, but there are ways you can ensure it’s a great product, and still get it into the world before hell freezes over. James and Dean share one must-do and one must-have for creating profitable products that get people results. Tune in to hear all the details. Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ JTT Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/justthetipsshow/
Due to social distancing measures, businesses the world over have unexpectedly found themselves forced to conduct virtual team meetings. What many quickly discovered is that virtual team meetings, like in-person meetings, can drag on and end up extremely unproductive - except even more so! Instead of getting to business and lining out next steps, virtual team meetings often turn into time-sucking social hours, feel pointless, or take three times longer than necessary, all because there’s no meeting framework in place. A recent study revealed that unproductive team meetings waste nearly $40 billion a year; and that regardless of company size, employees spent 15% of their time in meetings. That’s a lot of time and money down the drain! In this week’s new episode, James and Dean share simple, streamlined strategies to eliminate team meeting tedium, so you can get to business, get a plan in place, and get on with your day. Outline of This Episode Why virtual team meetings take way longer than they need to [5:35] What to have in place even before the meeting structure [10:40] Know your definition of success [25:30] What to do once everyone’s on the same page [37:27] James’ three-step approach to team meetings [41:41] 3 major points discussed Why do team meetings often feel pointless? Because most team meetings consist of these two elements: Catching up, and checking in, neither of which move your company forward. Without a clear, focused structure based around a clear, focused goal, team meetings can easily get and stay off track. It doesn’t mean you have to be a drill sergeant, but no consistent structure and clear goal, your meeting will end up unproductive and feel pointless. Setting your team meeting agenda. Before you even head into your team meeting, everyone’s got to be on the same page. For example, what are the big projects your company is focused on right now? What needs to happen in order for your team to complete those projects on time, and in a way that leads to the results you want? Once everyone understands what the focus of the meeting’s going to be, and the role each team member plays in creating that project outcome, it’s easy to get crystal clarity on your team meeting’s goal and agenda. On-point, productive meetings don’t happen without a framework. James uses a three-step approach to team meetings. Step one is about solidifying company culture. This isn’t a free-for-all social hour, but rather, an opportunity for you and your team to check in with why you’re all doing what you’re doing. After that’s done, steps two and three are about getting down to business: Where are we, and where do we go from here? All the details for exactly how to follow James’ three-step team meeting approach are in this week’s episode! Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ JTT Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/justthetipsshow/
This year’s events have inspired more people than ever to seek out creative ways to earn more income. Whether it’s growing a side hustle, pivoting or expanding their existing business, or creating a business from scratch, online info products are a fantastic way to create a revenue stream, and do so without a lot of overhead costs. Doesn’t matter if you’re online-only or brick and mortar, established or brand new - you have something to offer. For example, there’s something you do well that other people don’t do well, and would love to get better at. There’s something you know that can help people solve a problem, challenge, or pain in their lives. And if you sell physical products, you can offer digital products to improve your customers’ experience with your physical product(s). You don’t have to know everything there is to know in order to have an info product. You just have to know more than someone else, and show them how to get a result they want. “Anybody can build a business around any knowledge they have.” - James P. Friel Outline of This Episode Who can make money with info products [4:01] What stops most people from having an info product [11:25] There’s never been a better time to create an info product [17:20] How to choose your product topic [21:15] Validating and launching your info product [29:30] 3 major points discussed Don’t get ahead of yourself. Trying to micromanage every step of your info product from idea conception to launch will send you straight into paralysis by overanalysis. Whether or not your product is created is irrelevant if you don’t even have your idea nailed down. The software you use to create your info product is irrelevant until you’ve actually created it. Focus your time and energy on the step you’re currently on. THEN figure out the next step. Even crazy ideas help with topic selection. Before you can launch, or even create an info product, you’ve got to choose a topic. That’s where a “Knowledge Inventory” comes in. James and Dean use and recommend this simple brainstorming method to help you see what you have to offer. While taking a Knowledge Inventory, it’s CRITICAL you do not judge your ideas. Even if the idea sounds iffy, or just plain nuts, write it down. Ideas lead to more ideas. The point of a Knowledge Inventory isn’t to come up with a million winners (because it only takes one). It’s to fully unleash your creativity and brainstorming, which won’t happen if you’re in judgment mode. If an idea pops into your head, write it down. Only once you’ve got that unedited list of ideas will you sort them based on factors like how much you know about them, whether there’s people looking to learn them, and whether those people will pay you for your knowledge. Think you’ve got a winner? Then it’s time to validate it. Is there demand? Is that demand coming from freebie seekers, or from people who’ll spend money to get what you’re offering? Is your idea developed enough to help people? Your product doesn’t need to be “as good as it’ll ever possibly be” straight out of the gate, but it does need to be developed enough to help people get a result. There are a ton of ways to validate your idea, and James and Dean will share the best ones with you in this episode. Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: BulletProof Business Program: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ JTT Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/justthetipsshow/
Reflecting on the past is one of the best ways to plan for the future. Dean and I always take the time after Christmas to reflect on the previous year and set goals for the next. There are four questions we use to reflect, that drive the upcoming week, month, quarter, and year. To learn our strategy (and how we feel 2019 fared) listen to this episode of Just the Tips! Outline of This Episode [2:20] Starting the new year off right [4:00] Planning for an entire year is unrealistic [7:15] Focus on what went right and celebrate [9:30] Double-down on your strengths [12:30] How to structure your team meetings [17:50] Strategic planning activities [19:15] What James did right in 2019 [22:15] What Dean is proud of from 2019 [25:50] 4 Questions to guide the process [26:20] What could’ve been better for James? [28:50] What could’ve been better for Dean? [31:00] Planning, reflection, and course-correction Why an annual plan is unrealistic I’ll be honest, there needs to be a little give and take when you try and make a plan for the upcoming year. Time is complex and there is no way to truly foresee what could happen. Things will be thrown your way that you can’t prepare for. So make sure as you’re planning your expectations aren’t too rigid. Incorporate a measure of dynamic flexibility in your planning. Control what you can, but plan for the unexpected. Dean spent a chunk of his year working on his book—that he’s FINALLY completed—but didn’t expect the level of disasters that were thrown his way. What came up shifted his timeline, but he still accomplished what he set out to do. A strengths-based approach is always the right move I firmly believe that you need to stop focusing on improving your weaknesses. You will make the biggest strides in your life and business when you focus on your strengths and double down on what is working. You can go from being great at something to being the best. Wouldn’t you rather accomplish greatness instead of only becoming slightly less-than-mediocre at your weakness? We all have a superpower. Something that we excel at and do like no one else. So mitigate your weakness and stay in your zone of genius. Identify the strengths in others and build a team that leverages their strengths to make up for your weaknesses. How to structure reflective team meetings First of all, there is power in recognizing the fact that you cannot always be the smartest person in the room. It is beneficial to get input from 100% of your staff so you can hear everyone’s perspective about your year. I typically structure it by making a list of the questions I want my team to think over before the meeting. It gives them time to reflect and not put them on the spot. This allows for a more conversational—and less stressful—meeting. Above all, it’s important that everyone feels like they have a voice and that they’re contributing to the ongoing vision of the business. The meeting is extremely valuable for team-building and goal-setting. Keep listening to hear what our big wins were this year, and where we missed the mark and want to improve in 2020. The 4 questions that help you reflect on the past year There are 4 questions that we use to help guide the process both personally and in our businesses: What went really well? What am I proud of? What could’ve been better? What do we need to do more of? What do we need to do less of? If you continue to ask yourself these questions consistently, you’ll start to catch issues before they go too far. You’ll limit your risk. If you’re not constantly course-correcting as you are carrying out your plan for the year, you won’t reach your destination. The planning and reflection cycle can make a world of difference. Listen to the whole episode as Dean and I walk through the process. Resources & People Mentioned Hiring Like a Boss Managing Like a Boss The Iceberg Effect: coming soon! Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
What’s your superpower? What makes you tick as an entrepreneur and a human being? Entrepreneur’s in the early stages of building a business reach a “no man’s land” where they struggle to move forward and gain traction. Joe Trodden joins us in this episode of Just the Tips to talk about changing your mindset—and finding your superpower. After following a traditional path and getting a degree in Law, Joe Trodden changed his life and studied Psychology. Joe is now the CEO of Mindset Experts and specializes in helping entrepreneurs change their mindset and find their superpower. If you’re ready to level-up and scale-up your business, listen to this episode! Outline of This Episode [2:30] Joe Trodden guest stars! [3:50] You must focus inward [7:15] You’re shaped by your beliefs [10:45] What is mindset? [14:15] Why is Dean Ebenezer Scrooge? [17:55] Core strategies that help guide you [22:40] Set an alarm to practice mindfulness [25:55] It’s about knowing yourself [27:10] Cognitive diversity: multiple valid perspectives [30:35] Connect with Joe What’s your superpower? What is your unique ability? What sets you apart? What gets you in a state of flow? Joe spent years working with entrepreneurs working to launch their businesses. He found that it’s so much easier to identify strengths in other people, but hard to figure out your own. To create a strategy that will propel your business forward, you must leverage your superpowers. To do that, you need to know what they are. You need to focus on a couple of things that you do best—and build a team around you to handle the rest. Keep listening to hear some of Joe’s strategies for determining your superpower. Change your entrepreneurial mindset According to Joe, “Mindset is every cognitive function that goes on inside your head that is shaping your entire perception and lens on the world”. It is everything that makes you who you are. Joe points out that there are 100 trillion potential (neural) connections in your brain. You are actively shaping your perception of the world and how it works. I love the mantra “The world you live in is shaped by the beliefs you have. Change your beliefs and you’ll change your world”. What belief is holding you back? Is it motivated by fear? Are you afraid that if you step back from doing everything in your business that it will collapse? Or that you’ll never find qualified people to join your team? It’s not just a thought experiment. You need to shift the way you see the world and change your mindset to see progress in your leadership abilities and your business. Core strategies that help change your mindset I believe that multiple perspectives can be had in any given situation. Knowing your superpower gives you a deeper appreciation of what others see. So how do you begin to learn your superpower? And how to change your mindset? Here are a few tips from Joe: What puts you in a state of flow? Joe points out when you’re in a state of flow you feel energized, focused, and lose track of time. You’re at the height of your ‘superpower’. Take the Myers-Briggs test. Learn how you tick and what drives you. Be hypervigilant. When emotions kick in, learn to take a step back and evaluate what is causing those emotions. Getting to know yourself on a deeper level is key to change your mindset and worldview. It allows you to focus on what you do best. Then you can focus on building a team and scaling your business. Learn how to counteract your triggers Joe points out that to become an effective leader you need to be mindful of your emotions. Do you feel yourself getting defensive? Take a moment to step back and identify what’s triggering you, and change the course of the conversation. Take progressive action to become more consciously aware of what’s going on. Joe knows himself well. He knows his triggers and has learned to take moments throughout the day to check his emotions, figure out what’s triggering those emotions, and move forward. In the end, a business is a group of people working together to reach the same goal. If you know yourself and know your superpowers, you are better equipped to help others find theirs. You’ll be primed and ready to become a better leader. Joe talks in detail about mindset, flow, cognitive diversity, and so much more. Be sure to listen to the whole episode of Just the Tips! Resources & People Mentioned Joe Trodden’s Website Joe’s LinkedIn Rebel Ideas by Matthew Syed MBTI Personality Assessment Steven Kotler on the basics of Flow Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Are you trying to launch a business or sell a product, and need some tips to help you launch successfully? Are you wondering if you should engage in email marketing? What about offering subscriptions? Kurt Elster joins us to cover how to launch a business successfully and how to engage with and grow your customer base. Don’t miss this great episode of Just the Tips! Kurt is known in the industry as “The Shopify Guy”. Before he became the preeminent Shopify expert he spent years building websites. In 2011 he started working with Shopify and found success—and a passion. So he doubled down, made Shopify his primary focus, and branded himself. Alongside being a successful Shopify consultant, he is the host of the ‘Unofficial Shopify Podcast’ (with over a million downloads). Outline of This Episode [0:45] Ecommerce Pro Kurt Elster joins us [3:00] How to sell a product online [5:20] Stop operating in stealth mode [9:25] How Kurt became a Shopify consultant [13:35] Successful Facebook advertising [18:30] Should you offer subscriptions for your product? [23:50] Strategies for gaining return customers [27:30] Outsource when you’re doing well [31:35] The process of building a brand [33:10] Connect with Kurt How to launch a business successfully Kurt points out that the biggest mistake people make when launching an online business is doing it in “stealth mode”. They keep the product and website “hush-hush” and when they launch, nothing happens. The cornerstone of a successful launch is building an audience for your product. Share on social media the product you’re developing. Get them to sign up for emails on your website. See if they’re interested in pre-ordering! Kurt shares that the goal is to get a feel for who your customer is. Connect with them as a business owner and a person by sharing everything you’re doing. Only then should you build out a brand and your Shopify store. Are subscriptions effective or do they miss the mark? Dean and I have noticed that many subscriptions for products tend to completely miss the mark. Or they were a fad (i.e. box of the month) that are dying out. So we asked Kurt point-blank how to package subscriptions effectively. He has ONE rule: anyone who has a consumable good needs to do a subscription. Kurt also believes you shouldn’t try to sell a subscription to a new customer. However, once they’ve purchased a product enroll them in an email follow-up sequence. You could send them educational content or recipe ideas. Then, in the email sequence, you can offer a subscription for the item(s). Once they’ve gotten a chance to try your product, and your emails are timed correctly, they may very well become a return customer. Keep listening to find out why Kurt believes it’s hard to push subscriptions in other niches. A better way to run ads When big brands started taking Facebook ads seriously, they began dumping money into the ad medium. When Facebook tightened up ad placement, this drove ad costs up so big brands could easily still afford the cost, but it pushed small businesses out. You don’t want to waste ad budget and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to make hundreds of thousands in revenue, only to have little to no profit margin. Kurt recommends tracking your ad spend and making sure you’re getting a 1.5x return on your investment. Instead of throwing money away in generic advertising, he notes that you must get to know your customers and increase the quality of your traffic to increase conversion rate. The immutable truth of digital marketing Instead of spending your marketing budget on cold traffic, Kurt recommends retargeting warm/hot audiences. If people have interacted with your posts or ads on Facebook or Instagram, target your ongoing ads to them. It’s far less expensive and a better return on your investment Kurt calls this concept the immutable truth of digital marketing: repetition builds trust. 10 touchpoints or interactions with a brand—or more—builds trust and makes the person more likely to become a customer. Another way to get them in your email funnel is by implementing a pop-up when they leave your site to subscribe to your emails. If your ads on Instagram and Facebook are targeting them AND they’re receiving emails from you, you can gain a new customer in as little as 6 days. Keep listening as Kurt, Dean, and myself chat about what to do when the business is thriving, the lifetime value of customers, and much more! Resources & People Mentioned Kurt Elster’s Website Kurt on LinkedIn Kurt on Twitter Kurt’s business: Ethercycle Set up a Shopify store The Unofficial Shopify Podcast Gorgias app for Shopify Klaviyo Growth Marketing Platform Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Creating an online community sounds easy in theory—but what does it take to build a thriving community? How do you interact with your group? What are some of the best ways to add value? If you’re struggling to answer these questions, Lori Kennedy is here to answer them. Lori is the founder of the Wellness Business Hub, a business consultant, and host of ‘The Business of Becoming’ podcast. She’s been in the health and wellness industry since 1999 and is passionate about helping entrepreneurs in alternative medicine learn how to run successful online businesses. Outline of This Episode [0:40] How to build a community [1:55] I introduce our guest, Lori Kennedy [2:40] Lori’s background as an entrepreneur [5:55] Why Lori created her first online community [9:40] How do you cultivate a thriving community? [18:40] Mistakes people make in FB groups [20:25] You get to be the leader and the expert [25:50] Where should you be most active? [30:30] What holds people back? What is the ‘why’ behind your online community? Lori was completely honest in this episode: she launched her first online community because she felt alone. Her friends were school teachers or worked in an office. No one truly understood her entrepreneurial journey when she launched her nutrition practice in 2007. It was just her, diving into the unknown. When your path is so different from everyone around you, it’s important to find somewhere you belong. Her mission was to create a community where she could collaborate with clients as a leader and a peer. She wanted to help others in her industry not feel so alone. Of course, being able to learn from each other was an added bonus. You must be intentional about your community’s structure Lori pointed out to us that you must be intentional about your community. If you have your why in place, how do you want it carried out? She didn’t create her first group to make money or be a lead gen pool—even though it does do those things. But she wanted a judgment-free zone for colleagues and peers to come together. That’s pretty powerful stuff. So she recommends writing a vision statement. At the time, hers was to “Create a community of alternative health practitioners that are 100% supportive of each other (where they can) be totally and completely honest and vulnerable”. What vision do you have for your community? What is its purpose? Do human beings lack the ability to be real? Honesty and vulnerability are the cornerstones of what makes Lori’s Facebook community so successful. If you desire to have a community where people are real—then YOU have to be real. People see through false bravado, sales techniques, and know when you’re being fake. So Lori shares silly photos and embarrassing stories to create an atmosphere of playfulness and comfort. Whatever you do, be sure you’re being real with your group, even with ‘touchy’ subjects. Speaking of, Lori’s mission is to change the stigma around making money. She wants her group members to celebrate their milestones. To share their wins and show new members what is possible. You should be proud that your business is succeeding and making money. Be sure to listen as Lori chats with us about mistakes to avoid making! The balance between connecting and selling Even if the primary goal of your Facebook group is to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs in your space, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for selling. It IS your business after all. You get to be the leader and the expert—so share your expertise. Lori publishes high-quality teaching content and tutorials. She does Facebook Live rapid-fire coaching sessions. She always prefaces the ‘selling’ with a disclaimer but follows it with powerful content that compels you to work with her. It goes to show, if you are consistently offering value in a community that shares its successes and failures, you’re doing something right. If your job hinges on helping your community find success, do it! Everyone needs a little accountability and support. Don’t be afraid to dive in and give it a shot. To hear how Lori is active in her community and her tips for success, listen to the whole episode! Resources & People Mentioned Lori Kennedy on Instagram Lori’s LinkedIn The Wellness Business Hub Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Are you interested in professional coaching, but worried you don’t have the necessary experience? Is it something you are passionate about, but you just don’t know how to market yourself? Lucas Rubix, a coach to the coaches, joins us to talk about coaching, how to get started, and mistakes to avoid. Lucas Rubix started his career working on oil rigs. After a dangerous bout of depression and self-medication, he hit a breaking point that almost led to suicide. But he stopped himself, and the next morning he woke happy to be alive. He hadn’t felt like that in ages. So he began to focus on his health and fitness, started reading personal development books, and began studying philosophy. He wanted to find his purpose. He developed a passion for marketing and coaching, which led him to where he is today—running a business to help coaches launch their careers. Outline of This Episode [2:40] Why did Lucas Rubix choose to become a coach? [7:50] What is Lucas’s coaching philosophy? [12:25] Mistakes to avoid when growing your coaching business [17:50] How to develop your skillset and market yourself [25:05] Get in Touch with Lucas You don’t need years of experience to be a coach Lucas’s philosophy on coaching is this: just get started. If you’re passionate about it and believe that you can make an impact, do it. Lucas wasn’t certified when he started but was committed to answering any question his clients asked—even if it meant staying up all night doing research. You don’t have to represent yourself as having years of experience, but simply be honest and passionate. Everyone knows something that can help someone else. It’s a mistake to have the ability and drive to coach others, but not do it. If you know you’re the type of person who will find the answer no matter the time it costs you, you can learn and grow as you go. Mistakes to avoid when growing your professional coaching business If you’re diving into coaching because you think it will be a short-term “get rich quick” path, it’s time to reevaluate. Lucas points out that if you don’t see yourself coaching in 10 years, question why you’re doing it in the first place. The road will be full of obstacles and challenges and it is far from easy. You need to love and be passionate about what you’re doing. Secondly, Lucas notes that many coaches let their ego get in the way. You need to make what the client needs and wants the priority—not what you think they need or want. You also need to make sure that you’re not detached and that you’re focused on your clients. What do you need to create for them so that they’re 100% on board with the program? How to use social media marketing properly Stop making your marketing all about you. It comes naturally for Instagram or Facebook posts to be about yourself, what you’re doing, where you’re going, etc. That’s fine, but Lucas recommends taking every post you put online and flipping it: turn an event in your life into a lesson or a story that provides value. Your content can’t be so blatantly focused on you. It’s not about getting people to look at you and touting your success. An easy fix Lucas points out is to start removing “I” from your copy. Your social media will develop into a relationship-building tool. It can be a great way to connect with potential clients. How do you begin to market yourself? Lucas established that social media can be a great tool to boost your presence and connect with people. But how do you drive traffic to your website? The first thing Lucas has his coaching clients do is create videos. One video a day for 30 days. It allows you to develop how you deliver your message and pushes you out of your comfort zone. He also has his clients create 9 blog posts immediately. Not only do these practices allow you to develop your voice, but it begins to build content to gain organic traffic. Lucas also advocates for paid advertising as a great driver of traffic. Above all else, he wants you to create content, speak your truth, and in doing so it will speak to your ideal client. If you have the passion and drive necessary, the skills can be developed. Put yourself in uncomfortable circumstances that will help you grow—because comfort kills progress. Resources & People Mentioned Lucas Rubix’s Website Lucas on Instagram Lucas on Facebook Lucas on YouTube Check out his Podcast! Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Mental toughness is something that can benefit every entrepreneur, but how do you develop it? Why is it important? Having the right mindset can be the difference between success and failure. To develop mental toughness, you must be prepared to focus on personal development. You have to remember that the foundation that your business is built on is you. Outline of This Episode [2:05] The importance of mental toughness [4:00] It’s not easy being an entrepreneur [5:30] Business is an exchange of value [7:00] Without stress it’s impossible to grow [14:35] Where do you start? [20:00] Nothing will beat practice [23:20] Your mental diet is critical to mental toughness [25:15] Top 3 strategies to develop mental toughness The life of an entrepreneur is not easy When you run your own business, everything begins and ends with you. You are the fixer of all things. What we want to point out is that you’ll be in no position to help others if you don’t help yourself first. We all hit points where we just want to run away from our problems instead of facing them head-on. The first principle we want to touch on is this: no one has it easy. We all have different challenges that we face, no matter who you’re looking at. The keys comes down to a quote by an unknown author that I love, “Don’t wish that it were easier, wish that you were stronger”. So how do you become stronger? Make like a lobster and break out of your shell Stress. Nobody loves stress, yet we are faced with it day in and day out. But Dean and I believe that without it, it’s impossible to grow. Without being faced with pressure and challenges, you stagnate. You coast. Running away from stress robs you of the opportunity to become stronger. Did you know in order to grow, lobsters must first break out of their shell? They can’t physically grow without going through pain. It’s the same for individuals. Going through tragedies, challenges, and difficult situations allow you to achieve a new level of growth. Stop backing down from challenges and become comfortable with being uncomfortable! Bring the struggle into conscious awareness If you’re struggling with dealing with stress and challenges being thrown at you, the best thing you can do is acknowledge it. Bring it to conscious awareness. If what you’re doing isn’t pushing you towards your intended result, it’s time for a change, right? Identify and confront what you’re facing. Secondly, you need to mitigate your stress levels. Stop taking on more than you can handle. A weight-lifter can’t start with heavy weights—they must condition themselves to withstand heavier and heavier weight. In the same way, you need to condition yourself to handle challenges. Start small and build your resistance. To hear more about our strategies for handling difficult situations and becoming mentally tough, be sure to listen! Top 3 Strategies to develop mental toughness It’s time for some tips! These are the top 3 strategies we recommend to build mental toughness: Practice meditation: It strengthens your mind and it builds mental resilience. We hope to cover this more in an upcoming episode! Focus on mental “nutrition”: Limit the “mind rot” that you consume. Focus on listening, watching, and reading things that lead to personal development and aren’t wasting your time. Who do you spend your time with? You become the average of the 5 people you surround yourself with. Are you spending time with people you want to be like? Implement these three things into your life immediately, and you will begin to see results. To hear all of the details about building mental toughness, listen to the whole episode! Resources & People Mentioned Les Brown Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
A collaborative culture in the workplace is becoming a foreign concept. We all strive for innovation and creation, right? But we forget that building relationships with coworkers is an essential piece of a business's success. Jason Treu joins us to discuss the importance of building relationships within your team—and how to do it efficiently. Jason Treu has worked with some of the biggest names in business, from Mark Cuban to Steve Jobs. He has been a coach for over a decade, helping 30,0000+ people reach significant change and breakthroughs in their business. If you’re ready to build a more cohesive and thriving team, listen to this episode of Just the Tips! Outline of This Episode [2:00] Jason Treu and the importance of relationships [6:00] Every successful venture involves a team [8:25] Building a relationship begins with trust [10:35] Reliability, sincerity, competency, and caring [16:35] Develop personal “manuals” to share [19:15] Cards against Mundanity [22:10] Why don’t people connect? [23:40] How do you weave this into an organization? [28:10] How do you introduce this to your team? [32:00] Meaningful work and meaningful relationships [32:30] Connect with Jason Any successful venture begins with a team “Team-building” is a phrase and practice that is thrown around but seldom understood. Many just roll their eyes, or shudder at the thought of team-building. Or it evokes a desire to call in sick to work that day. What people don’t understand is how important building relationships with your team truly is. You want to get the most out of your team to give your business a competitive advantage, right? To do that, you must cultivate a team of people that aren’t just indifferent coworkers—they need to care about each other. The reality is that you need your team working efficiently and effectively, which means working through disagreements and differences of opinion quickly. Jason talks about the importance of building teams who care about each other and shares some personal stories. Keep listening! What is the number one thing you must prioritize? Dean and I agree with Jason here—you need to build trust with your team. You have to build rapport and feel safe with each other. If you don’t completely trust someone, you can’t take a leap of faith together! Trust doesn’t happen accidentally. To build trust you must be sincere, reliable, competent, and caring. Jason believes that of all those qualities, caring is the most important. If you’re reliable and do your job well, but show no outward signs of caring about your coworkers, they won’t trust you. Building trust requires something that very few of us equate with the workplace: being vulnerable. We don’t know how to cultivate that in the workplace, don’t do it consistently, or don’t do it in groups. So how do you change that? Keep listening for some of Jason’s tips! Applying Arthur Aron’s research to build a collaborative culture Arthur Aron conducted some pioneering research in the field of intimacy and interpersonal relationships. He found that 36 questions discussed between two people in a 45 minute time period could accelerate intimacy—the type of intimacy usually developed over time in deep friendships. Jason took this research and began implementing it in his coaching process. What ensued was like watching a reality tv show. People began to open up in ways that he never expected. The experiment served to break down barriers and open up lines of communication. People discussed deeply personal issues and over a short period of time, built relationships that usually take years to develop. Jason pointed out that 66% of start-ups fail because of people-problems. So what if you could erase those problems by building teams that care about each other? How to introduce the concept into your company culture Many successful people have an innate ability to easily build relationships with other people. But they struggle with teaching others how to emulate their process. So what’s the secret sauce? What are some practical ways we can implement this in our own businesses? “How to work with me” manuals: instead of trying to predict and analyze new additions to a team, who don’t we just ask questions? How do they communicate? What is the best way to approach them with hard conversations? What helps them get out of a bad mood? Develop 10-question “manuals” that help people get to know the basics about each other. Cards against Mundanity: A fun play off of Cards Against Humanity that Jason developed utilizing Arthur Aron’s research. Get your team together, and ask some questions to foster a deeper understanding and connection with each other. Stop looking at your coworkers in a transactional way. If your teams are struggling to work together, perhaps they need to find some common ground. Implementing relationship-building activities is one of the best ways to build a collaborative culture. Resources & People Mentioned Jason’s Website Jason’s Book: Social Wealth Cards Against Mundanity Arthur Aron’s Research Study Principles by Ray Dalio Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
What is a content experience? How does it apply to entrepreneurs? Customer engagement is a driving force that leads to sales and our marketing needs to be on-point to remain competitive. So how do we focus on customer engagement through the content we create? Randy Frisch joins us in this episode of Just the Tips to educate us on creating customer experiences through content. Randy is the CMO and Co-Founder of Uberflip and a best-selling author. He is an expert in content experience and using content to connect with customers, drive demand, and increase your revenue. His focus is on how to deliver content targeted to a specific audience to generate results. Don’t miss this evocative episode! Outline of This Episode [2:30] I introduce our guest, Randy Frisch. [3:30] Creating a Content Experience [7:10] How did Randy get into this field? [10:40] How to deliver personalized content [14:30] Marketing is a balance between art and science [16:35] Randy’s Content Experience framework [24:30] Where do you focus your content? [27:00] The best approach to curated content Great content doesn’t necessarily equate to great sales Great content is important, but it isn’t always a driving factor for sales. Everyone knows that valuable content is essential. Because of that, everyone and their mother are producing great content. The ‘If you build it they will come’ mentality is outdated and no longer a viable option to lean on. Customers expect that you will deliver content curated for them. Randy uses the example of Netflix—when you login, they propose suggestions just for you (based on your history). Spotify delivers the same user experience with playlist suggestions. Randy’s premise is that we need to stop creating content without a strategy. It needs to be hand-picked for a specific audience. We need to create an experience that feels like it’s just for them. Organize content based on how your audience is searching The needs and interests of your audience need to be taken into consideration. How do you answer their questions? What is their intent behind a Google search? We need to stop producing content and start producing stellar content based on what our audience desires. Randy points out that devices—such as Alexa—answer questions by pulling answers from the #1 search result. If all of these devices are excluding all results other than the #1 slot, it’s a huge problem. #2 is no longer good enough. So you need to begin to analyze buyer intent, what questions they’re asking, and how you can best answer those questions to rank #1 and sell your product. Randy’s Content Experience Framework Randy has a 5-step framework that he believes will help you narrow down your focus and deliver a quality content experience: Centralization: Blog posts, videos, infographics, etc. need to be able to be found in one location—your website. Not just scattered across social media platforms. Organization: Tag your content so that it can easily be found in a search, internally by your team and externally by users. Personalization: Build a user experience by creating collections of your content, with personalized messaging, images, and more. Build a customer journey. Distribution: How do you get in front of your audience? Email, ads, social media must link back to your binge-worthy content. Generate Results: If you’re distributing content that is valuable to your customer base, and you’ve engaged them, you should generate sales results. We talk about Randy’s framework in detail in this episode, be sure to listen to the whole thing! Further resources are linked below. Stop driving traffic away from your channels Obviously, you want to be on the channels where your audience is (Facebook, Instagram—you get the drift). Randy insists that you stop entertaining your customers on channels that you don’t own. For example, YouTube is designed to keep the user on their platform. Not only do they suggest videos to keep you watching, but they may even market the content of a competitor! What if you directed that traffic directly to your site and retained the audience? Do not direct traffic away from your website to a different platform. The customer will get lost in the social media funnel and in most cases, forget that they navigated to your site. If you utilize social media—you need to—have a strong call-to-action to drive customers to a content experience designed just for them. Randy, Dean and I continue to discuss where to focus your content, the best approach for content creation, and the difficulty of podcasts. Resources & People Mentioned Randy’s Content Experience Framework Randy’s Website Randy on Twitter Randy on LinkedIn F#ck Content Marketing by Randy Frisch Sirius Decisions Salesforce CRM Snowflake Data Warehouse Content Marketing Institute Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Data-driven decision-making is something many entrepreneurs struggle with. Many of us aren’t adequately tracking and analyzing data. But If Shark Tank has taught us anything, it’s that you need to know your numbers. In this episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I discuss tracking the steps in your process, analyzing data, and taking action steps to solve problems. Don’t miss this solution-packed episode! Outline of This Episode [2:15] Pugging holes in your sales process [5:45] Dean’s experience tracking data [11:30] Advertising to strangers is a different game [14:00] Where is the customer finding you in their life cycle? [16:20] James framework for data-driven decision making [24:40] Tracking data over time becomes more significant [28:05] Steps to take from here [34:35] Don’t make it overcomplicated Why do you need to start tracking? Dean has operated for the last ten years simply on word-of-mouth and referrals for his business. Recently, he started spending time learning the ins and outs of Facebook advertising. He began spending 5 figures a month in ad budget and it has been a profitable move. So for the last 3 months, he’s been tracking whatever he can in the sales process: impressions, clicks, items added to the card, book purchases, and more. Tracking the data for this length of time allowed him to begin noticing trends. The metric that stuck out to Dean the most in this process was that of the people that purchased his book, only 11% filled out the application to work with Dean. That 11% did so within 12 days or less of ordering his book. No one started the application process after day 12. Tracking the data allowed him to pinpoint where their system was lacking and where changes needed to be made. You have to build a relationship to make sales Dean learned that it takes time to build relationships with strangers. His team would reach out in the first 7-10 days after a purchase was made—but they were lacking in systems and processes for 10 days and beyond. Fostering relationships and building trust needs to be done over time. You can’t expect to convert sales well when a customer knows nothing about your brand. He decided to focus on the 89% of people who didn’t show interest in his program by continuing to market, advertise, and follow-up with them. You have to build a bridge. Dean and I talk about the different factors that affect the process, so keep listening. My framework for data-driven decision-making I love creating and building out frameworks. It helps me make sense of the world in a meaningful and analytical way. I developed a pyramid for making decisions that helps you take actionable steps to optimize your business. The base of the pyramid is data. Put a tracking mechanism in place to track data that can put it into graphs, show trends, etc. Take that information in the form of graphs or reports and arrange it in a way that you can interpret the data. Take the data and your interpretation and turn it into actionable steps. The longer you track and the more things you track, the more will be revealed to you. You’ll begin to see where your process is thriving. Perhaps you’ll narrow down even more holes that you can go in and fix. But you’d never have known any of it if you hadn’t simply started tracking where your money is being spent. Where do you go from here? This episode is packed with information and we don’t want to overwhelm you with details. If you take away anything, we want it to be what is summarized below. Figure out the most important things you want to start tracking. Start with the one thing that drives the most sales or is a higher-ticket purchase and follow the sales process. Become familiar with the numbers. Analyze the data you’ve tracked. Are the trends that you’re seeing normal? Get a clear and complete picture of what needs to be done. Take actionable steps to rectify gaps or mistakes. Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be. The goal is to work smarter, not harder. Tracking your data can be one of the easiest things you can do. It will give you a clear indicator of steps you can take to propel your business forward. Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Site: www.jamespfriel.com/hiring Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
When you think of creative design, what comes to mind? Something visual? A design show on HGTV? What people don’t often realize is the depth of psychology and science that’s behind every aspect of design. Our guest today, Ross Johnson, turns everything you think you know about design upside down. Ross is the owner and CEO of 3.7 Designs, a full-service digital marketing company. His goal is to provide innovative solutions that incorporate his 6 layers of design. He’s an expert on web design, web development, SEO, and much more. Listen to this episode of Just the Tips for his utilization of psychology in design. Outline of This Episode [2:00] We introduce Ross Johnson [3:30] His background in design [6:00] Why did he get into web-design? [7:15] Does design matter and why? [10:30] The 6 layers of design [20:00] Applications in everyday life [25:00] Everything you do needs to be by design Everything is by design, even if it’s not by design I’m not trying to be cryptic here, I promise. Ross pointed out that every decision you make—or don’t make—is the process of design. Waking up, brushing your teeth, scheduling appointments and doing your job is part of the process of designing your life. Ross defines design as intentionally taking steps towards a desired outcome. The process of design, then, is defining the steps you need to take to reach the desired outcome. If you’re building a website—what is the purpose of it? What do you want to get out of it? As you ask yourself defining questions it helps you reach your goal. The 6 Layers of creative design Most often, people think of creative design as just that—a creative process. Design is certainly the process of creation, but there is a science to it. Design isn’t just what something looks like. In fact, according to Ross, design mirrors the scientific process. You define a hypothesis, test it, and make changes to achieve your desired result. Ross defines 6 layers of design, which he refers to as the “design hierarchy of needs”. It’s based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Functionality: Does it function as it’s supposed to? Reliability: Does it produce the outcome I want? Usability: Is it easy to use? Proficiency: Does it provide something useful? Communication: Is it communicating what I need it to? Emotion: Does it evoke the emotion desired? Ross, Dean and I talk about his concept in-depth, so keep listening. What emotions do you want to evoke? The emotional layer of the hierarchy can be further broken down into three layers: Visceral, Behavioral, and Reflective. When designing a website, Ross breaks every piece of the process down by the 6 layers and dives deep into the emotional layer. Visceral: This is a “gut” response that you immediately have when you experience something. It’s a central nervous system response, such as fear, disgust, joy, etc. Behavioral: The emotional response when actively doing something—the sense of satisfaction you get when being productive. Reflective: This is a conscious reaction. How does your website create a sense of identity, prestige, nostalgia, etc.? Knowing what emotions you want to evoke as you’re creating your website affects every layer of the design process and what it looks like visually. This includes layout, color, wording and more. What do Fireball and Swedish Meatballs have in common? We chat about IKEA, and how they are a great example of using design to differentiate themselves in the industry. Their showroom is unique and one of a kind. But they could certainly benefit from applying the design hierarchy of needs to their business model. The instructions to build a piece of furniture leaves you wishing they sold Fireball with their furniture. But they’ve sure nailed their design process with their Swedish Meatballs! But if IKEA took their process and adjusted it ever so slightly to create detailed and understandable instructions it would positively impact their business. Everything you do has to be designed with the user experience in mind. There is always something you can do to tweak your designs to better meet people's needs. Resources & People Mentioned 3.7 Designs 3.7 Designs Blog Project Panorama Abraham Maslow Ross on LinkedIn 6 Layers of Design Kayak ADT Floyd IKEA The Power of Design by Richard Farson Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Dean and I are strong advocates of attending events for entrepreneurs. It could be a mastermind group, a yearly conference, or any sort of entrepreneurial live event. You need to get out and mingle with some of the greatest minds in the business world—and learn from those who are next level businessmen and women. This episode of Just the Tips is dedicated to what we learned from the event we recently attended. Outline of This Episode [2:00] Attend Events for Entrepreneurs [5:30] Deans #1 takeaway from the week [7:25] The benefits of social media [14:30] Deliver an experience to remember [18:45] Customer journey mapping [21:10] Celebrate your accomplishments [23:45] Sales funnel order bump tip [27:30] Service as a service [30:10] Choose key events to be a part of Why attending events for entrepreneurs can be so powerful Attending events with other like-minded individuals allows you to be around people who truly understand you. They’re on the same entrepreneurial journey as you are. You’re able to learn from the best of the best. You get a break from the day-to-day of your business, be creative, and focus time on thinking strategically. It could lead to some of your biggest breakthroughs. Dean struggled when he was building his business. It was an event he attended that helped him break through that struggle. Being surrounded by people on the same level as you and learning from each other—it’s powerful. We are putting on an event coming up in 2020, check out the link in our show notes! The importance of social media cannot be emphasized enough I’ll admit that I haven’t been on board with the social media craze. I’ve been hesitant to let it take over my life. I realized this week that I can create systems to leverage my time and find ways to serve my tribe—social media doesn’t have to consume all of it. The more visible you are the more you can help people come together to solve a common problem. Dean—amazingly—pointed out that you are doing a disservice to your market by not allowing them to find you and consume the content that you provide. Dean delivers a stunning example that demonstrates this concept well. Keep listening to find out what that is, and some examples of what you can do. Deliver the best experience possible Russell Brunson talked about how they go about planning their events, and how they delve into every minute detail in the process. Down to the mindset attendees are in when they arrive at their conference. Was their flight delayed? Did they leave a sick child at home? Did they take time off from work? What can you do—from the moment they arrive—to deliver the best experience they could possibly have? You want them to believe attending your event was the right move. This doesn’t just have to apply to an event—how can you deliver the best experience on your website? On social media? Keep listening as Dean and I chat about customer journey mapping and real-life examples of the strategy in play. Is it time for a Hustle Detox? We got to hear Stacy Martino speak on the topic of celebration. As entrepreneurs, we forget that we need to celebrate our accomplishments. We can’t just set them aside and continue hustling. Take time to detox from the hustle and truly celebrate reaching your goals. Also, you need to remember why you started your business in the first place. You probably didn’t become an entrepreneur to spend all of your time working. Maybe you wanted more time with your family. Or you wanted more time to focus on things you are passionate about. Think about what your goals were (and are) and make sure you’re still in alignment. This episode is packed with some of the best tips we gather. Listen to the whole episode for the full spectrum of stellar advice. Resources & People Mentioned Russell Brunson Stacey Martino Dr. Anissa Holmes Poop 911 Hustle Detox Live Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
To offer people something of value that solves a problem, you must know your audience. You can’t market correctly, offer the right solution, or adequately gauge how customers will react if you don’t know them. So what does that learning process look like? Listen in as Dean and I chat with Spencer Lum—The Big Vision Guy at ExtraBold—all about your audience. After years of being unable to hold down a steady job, Spencer found himself building websites. This morphed into helping people with branding. Eventually, Spencer realized he could help others best by solving their very specific problems. He understands how to create and market addictive content. Listen to this episode of Just the Tps for insight into his mind! Outline of This Episode [0:45] We introduce our guest of the day, Spencer Lum. [3:05] How he learned business the hard way [6:00] Becoming his own boss [10:20] Launching his first business [12:20] Developing a framework [15:40] Look at the symptoms to narrow down the problem [20:20] What is the solution to the problem? [24:00] Understanding practical and emotional pain [26:30] How to build your unique mechanism [29:40] Back to the basics: know your audience [31:50] The part psychology plays [36:30] Spencer’s special Just the Tips offer! There’s always a “but”... When Spencer was a teenager, his Dad told him “You can achieve anything you want...BUT I really don’t know if you’re going to”. It was meant to be a pep-talk and it fell miserably short (but luckily he can look back on it in a humorous light). After years of starting and quitting jobs and becoming a lawyer (it didn’t stick), he finally realized his dad was right. So what was the logical next step? Spencer became a serial entrepreneur. While he was working in an HR position, he started building a website for himself. He soon realized that there was a market for that kind of work, and his first business was born (and he subsequently quit his HR job). Keep listening as we chat about his transition from job-to-job and finally landing on something that stuck. Develop a framework that meets people’s needs We know if we offer something to the market that nobody needs, it’s not going to succeed. It’s simple: what you offer has to be something that is needed. Spencer lays it out like this: Offer what people need. Find the right way to convey your message. Make sure you’re speaking to the right audience. He fully embraces Gary Bencivenga’s “persuasion equation”. The equation, in its simplest form, looks a little like this: Problem + Promise + Proof + Proposition = Persuasion There is a problem only you can solve that you promise to solve for your audience. You show proof that you can solve it (data and case studies) and propose how you shall do it. The simplest means of persuasion. Know your audience better than they know themselves To sell an idea and appropriately pitch to your audience, you need to understand who they are and what problems they need solved. Spencer points out that most audiences don’t actually know what their problem is. Your job, then, is to figure out their problems based on the “symptoms” and provide a solution. You need to be able to get in your audience’s head and offer to solve their very specific problem. Are their pages not ranking in google? Do they have low conversion rates? Do they have enough cash-flow from their conversions? Take their measurable problems and find a way to give voice to a solution. Once you’ve identified the symptoms of their problem, narrowed down the issue, and marketed the solution—then you develop the system to solve their problem. You must 100% understand your market before creating anything. Develop your own secret sauce You have to take everything that you’ve learned about your audience and their problems and develop your own unique and oh-so-special mechanism for solving that problem. You cannot attempt to solve “all the problems” for “all the people”. Spencer advises finding your niche—an audience that you connect with better than anyone else. Solve the problem in a way only you can accomplish. Everyone has something particular that works for them. Your vernacular won’t reach or speak to everyone and that’s okay. Every word you choose and every bit of what you do needs to match with your audience and how they want things done. Everything you do MUST align with who your audience is. Resources & People Mentioned Special offer for Just the Tips Listeners: Free 8-day course! Spencer’s website: https://goextrabold.com/ Spencer’s Twitter Spencer’s LinkedIn Spencer’s Photography site Make sure this “music” paragraph is intended in the Libsyn post Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
You know you need to protect your brand as you’re building a business—but where do you start? As an entrepreneur you need to protect your intellectual property and what you’re working so hard to build. It begins with choosing a brandable name and getting it trademarked. The process is lengthy and daunting, but Andrei Mincov is here to make it easier. In this episode of Just the Tips, we interview Andrei Mincov, founder of the Trademark Factory®. He began his career in Russia and had the opportunity to work with big names such as Apple and Microsoft. When he relocated to Canada he had to start from scratch and go through law school again. So he decided he wasn’t going to go the route of working for a major corporation. Instead, he took his love for trademark law and entrepreneurial spirit and started his own business. Outline of This Episode [0:42] Protect the brand you’re working to build [2:30] Andre’s journey in trademark law [6:20] The journey from Russia to Canada [7:10] Why he started his own business [9:00] How do you protect your intellectual property? [10:50] How to know you have a trademarkable brand [14:50] When do you start the trademark process? [19:40] Your trademark is your insurance policy [22:50] Typical costs associated with the trademark process [26:00] Dean’s personal story of having to re-brand [30:40] Check out Andrei’s business: trademarkfactory.com/tips 3 simple tips to make your business brandable The only way to compete in the industry is to have a brandable name that you strive to protect. Your business name is your intellectual property and you need to protect your ideas. To do so you need to build a protectable brand. So what does that look like? Your brand needs to be unique. Your name needs to be innovative and what you offer needs to be different than (or a better process than) everyone else. Your brand needs to be memorable among your target market. Getting a trademark for a brand that makes no impact is useless, right? Your brand needs to be well-protected. This is where trademark law comes into play. A small business doesn’t have the money to dispute a trademark issue. It’s far better to spend the money on the front end, then lose thousands of dollars in legal fees—or your business. Don’t DIY your trademark research: Hire a trademark attorney Look, there are ways that you can research a brand name and find out if you can claim it. You can find a domain name and snag it. Great. You can do a trademark search or pay a 3rd party website to help you through the process. Inevitably, they will let you down. You can search the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) but the results tend to be pretty overwhelming. The bottom line is—it is not wise to do the legwork yourself. Even if you deem that the brand name is available, the back and forth process of getting your trademark registered is exhausting. So what does Andrei recommend? Hire a trademark attorney—or consider working with his company, The Trademark Factory®. Don’t wait for a sign from above—start the process now People often ask Andrei when to start the trademark process. His answer? Immediately. You can’t build a business and choose an arbitrary number and say “When the business is making (insert dollar amount here) then I will invest in the trademark”. There will be no good external validation. Uber filed a trademark application 2 months before launching the business. Now it’s worth over 50 billion. Jeff Bezos registered ‘Amazon’ and ‘Amazon books’ at the very beginning—he built an empire. Andrei said Coca-Cola started as a “lemonade stand with a dream”. Now it’s a soft-drink know world-wide. All of these brands started small but understood the importance of protecting what they knew they could build. A trademark is your insurance policy—you hope to never have to use it, but it’s there when you need it. Is it going to cost me an arm and a leg to hire a trademark attorney? If you’re doing the work yourself, it can cost a few hundred dollars (for specific numbers, check out USPTO.gov) but it will cost you a lot of time. It’s typically a 14-month process in the US and even longer in Canada—sometimes over 2 years! It’s worth your time to invest in a trademark lawyer. Andrei’s business gives you a unique alternative to working with a traditional trademark attorney. They charge a flat fee that is 100% refundable if they do not get you your trademark. If your desired name is taken and they cannot complete the process, there is no charge to you. Listen to the whole episode of Just the Tips as we chat about Andrei’s experience, how Dean had to rebrand his business, a unique mechanism system and so much more! Go to TrademarkFactory.com/tips to book a call with a strategy advisor and start the conversation about your business, brand, and trademark process. Resources & People Mentioned Andrei Mincov on LinkedIn Andrei Mincov on Facebook The Trademark Factory® TrademarkFactory.com/tips Trademark Factory® on YouTube United States Patent and Trademark Office Todd Brown and the concept of a Unique Mechanism Jeff Bezos Amazon Office Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Are you ready to start hiring like a boss? Are you ready to grow your business but unsure what the process should look like? In this episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I unpack the hiring process. We cover what not to do, clarifying the position you’re hiring for, and asking the right kind of questions. This is one you don’t want to miss! Outline of This Episode [2:40] Launching ‘Hiring Like a Boss’ [3:35] Transitioning to growing a team [9:00] The wrong way to start [13:50] Clarify the job description [18:20] People don’t just know what needs to be done [22:45] What next steps to take [26:00] A resume paints an incomplete picture [29:30] Craft an application that asks the right questions [34:30] Does your vision of success line up? [37:40] Create a magnetic hiring funnel [39:15] Hire Like a Boss course Don’t wait until you’re desperate to start hiring How much will it cost you to hire the wrong person? Too often, entrepreneurs get to a place where they are desperate for help and ready to hire the first person they come across. Take it from me—I literally recruited a cashier from Bed Bath & Beyond—as I was checking out—to come work for me. Shocker, she didn’t work out in the long-term. On the flip-side, one of James’ first hires was a friend. Mid-conversation he was all “Hey, it would be fun if you came to work with me!”. While hiring friends can work out, it’s the easy way out—and it’ll either work really well or destroy your friendship. When you’re under pressure and hiring out of desperation you make the worst decisions. You can’t wait to hire until you’re hurting. Do not find yourself trapped in the ‘anyone will do’ mindset. Keep listening as we strategize what you should be doing instead. Hiring like a boss starts with clarifying the role It may seem like the logical approach but is surprisingly overlooked quite often. You need to take a few minutes and clarify the role you’re hiring for. What does it look like now and what will the role look like in the future? What type of person would be the best fit for the role? What type of company culture are you building? Clarify the exact job description and day-to-day tasks for the role because—guess what—you can’t expect someone to just know what they’re supposed to do. If you clarify someone’s job description well before hiring you’re setting yourself up for success. Want to hear more? You know what to do. A resume is only a snapshot of what you need to know So what does the next step look like? This one is easy! Take your job description that's properly laced with your clear expectations and send it out into the world. Let it be known on social media that you’re hiring. Post on sites like Indeed, Monster, or ZipRecruiter. Wait for those resumes to pour in! But realize you’re going to need so much more. Because a resume is an incomplete picture of what you need to know—you’re only seeing what the candidate wants you to see. A large number of people have admitted to lying (or stretching the truth) on their resume. So what do you do to better whittle down the pool of candidates? Create an application that asks the right questions So you’ve got your job description hashed out and the world knows you’re hiring. Now what? Your next very critical step is crafting an application that asks the right questions—to weed out the wrong people. Build non-negotiables into it. Choose questions where you know the answer you’re looking for. If the question is answered incorrectly—or below your standards—immediately discard that resume. This significantly speeds up the process of wading through hundreds of applications. Cover the questions you’d want to ask in a preliminary interview. What companies have they worked for? Does it fit your niche? Can they give you samples of their work? How do they handle project management? For more hiring tips, listen to the rest of the episode now! For some of my hiring secrets, check out my brand new course—Hiring Like a Boss! Resources & People Mentioned Hiring Like a Boss course ZipRecruiter Indeed Monster Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Are you wanting to launch a podcast but have ZERO clue where to start with podcast production? Do you know what your primary focus should be as you’re getting started? Admittedly, when we started our podcast we had no idea what we were doing—we just knew it would be fun. In this episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I chat with Ginni Saraswati of Ginna Media. Ginni is not only a witty and personable award-winning journalist but also runs a podcast production company. She specializes in getting your voice heard and has worked with celebrities and influential organizations worldwide. She knows what it takes to create and market great content—listen to this episode for her top tips. Outline of This Episode [2:20] How to create great content with Ginny Saraswati [5:30] The Secret Sauce to creating great content [11:20] Quality of Content trumps quality of audio [15:45] Set a realistic schedule for episodes [21:20] Why are you doing your podcast? [25:20] Promoting your podcast [30:00] Give people a way to search your podcast content [33:15] How to connect with Ginni Podcast Production begins with being unapologetically yourself The key to great content? According to Ginni, it’s authenticity. Authenticity is the backbone of great content. Maybe you’ve heard it a million times and the word doesn’t hold the same meaning it used to—but it’s important. Podcasting is an intimate space, and people gravitate to podcasters who are unapologetically themselves. Share your message and be true to your means of communicating it. You don’t need to change yourself to get more followers or listeners. This could potentially be a way to lose listeners! Gary V is a great example of someone who is unapologetically himself—with no desire to change—and delivers great content. So Ginni’s #1 tip: Focus on being yourself and delivering quality content. Create a realistic schedule you can adhere to When you’re getting started you need to be realistic of what sort of schedule you can adhere to. From day one of podcast production, you set the bar for what your listeners expect. Will you produce content once a month? Bi-weekly? Every week? Make sure you set a realistic goal you can keep up with. As you’re growing your audience, they begin to expect content from you. Honestly, they incorporate you into their daily lives. Every time you miss your release date you begin to lose credibility in their eyes. Humans are quick to judge and quick to lose trust—so the promises you make mean everything. So deliver what you agree to deliver. Why are you doing a podcast? I’ll admit, Dean and I started this podcast because we thought it would be fun. Dean had never listened to a podcast before. But we know so many amazing people and knew we could create content that would resonate with people. Just the Tips was born with no real intention in mind. We are just now beginning to dive into our ‘why’ and really develop our marketing. Some things you want to consider: Are you trying to build an audience? Are you trying to build brand awareness? Do you want to leverage yourself as a brand expert? Are you concerned with download numbers? Do you want to entertain people or build relationships? What are you hoping to achieve with your podcast? When you narrow down and define your ‘why’ it helps give you a clear direction on how to move forward promoting your show. Promote your podcast by repurposing your content Ginni tells us one of the easiest ways to promote your podcast is by repurposing your content. This can be accomplished in many different ways. She suggests recording video as well as audio—so your content can go on YouTube and be split up into video clips. Another easy way to repurpose content? Transcribe your podcast and make it available as part of your show notes. Source key quotes from the transcript and use them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Take business quotes and use them on LinkedIn. You can take your content and create audiograms. The possibilities are endless! There are so many ways to leverage social media to market your content. What can you implement as part of your podcast production process? Resources & People Mentioned The GaryVee Audio Experience Ginni’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ginnisaraswati Ginni’s Twitter: @theginnishow Ginni’s Facebook: www.facebook.com/theginnishow Ginni’s Instagram: @theginnishow Business Website: http://www.ginnimedia.com Ginni’s Blog: http://www.theginnishow.com Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Creating a successful business in the beauty space can be intimidating. With many powerful brands to contend with, how do you set yourself apart in the niche? Where do you even begin? Our guest star today happens to be none other than Dean’s better-half, Robyn Holland. She’s here to walk us through her greatest challenges and successes—and living proof that a small business can succeed against powerhouse brands. Robyn originally attended beauty school intent on being a makeup artist. She realized that there wasn’t a lot of money in her field of choice and veered into telecommunications sales. After 10 years in sales as a top-performer, she quit and started her own business in the beauty industry, which is now exploding onto the scene. This episode of Just the Tips walks through her winding entrepreneurial journey, so don’t miss it! Outline of This Episode [1:40] Robyn Holland guest stars! [3:50] Where her focus is right now [6:25] Running an e-commerce business in the beauty space [17:00] Lessons she has learned along the way [22:40] Challenges to overcome to scale your business [27:10] Your business will never be problem-free [30:40] Don’t be afraid to change and adapt Push beyond unrealistic expectations When Robyn finally had enough of her poor treatment at her sales job, she decided it was time to move on. Dean, being the husband that he is, encouraged her to consider starting her own business. Because of her experience in the beauty industry it was a natural choice to settle on that niche. So she dove in and began building her business. Everything she originally tried flopped completely. Selling her product on eBay didn’t succeed. Marketing on Facebook was a dud. She even hired models for her product, and their videos never gained traction. But her first paid ad exploded. With over 600,000 views and climbing, it catapulted her sales. But she could never get her continuing ads to reach the same success. Keep listening as we talk about what she was doing wrong, how her expectations needed to change, and what she did. Be the raw and real YOU Dean had helped Robyn build out this amazing studio with a green screen and all of the bells and whistles they could need for shooting ads. He even hired a videographer to help her produce high-quality videos. No matter what she did, the videos never found success. But they learned something important through this process. People want a human connection that is real and raw and lets them see who you are. After years of testing, their highest converting videos were of Robyn sitting at her vanity demonstrating the products—filming on her cell phone. The expensive highly produced ads made customers feel as if they were being sold to. Humans see through the fakeness. They desire connection. As an entrepreneur it is our job to recognize that! Scaling your business quickly Robyn’s product has taken off quickly in the last 6-8 weeks—so much so that they are completely out-of-stock. They’ve currently switched tactics from selling an in-stock product to allowing customers the option to pre-order. Here are a few tips she has to help you scale quickly (and avoid running out of stock): 1. Her product takes a while to produce, package, and ship to their warehouse. She recommends having at least a couple of different production channels so that running out-of-stock never happens. 2. To scale your business, you need to have a customer service and fulfillment team in place that doesn’t consist of just you. Your home can’t be a warehouse and distribution center forever! 3. Build a relationship with your customers. Create content that they’ll love. Offer them something of value that only you and your product can give. Interact with them on social media platforms. While Robyn didn’t predict her spike in sales in the last few weeks, she now has a better idea of how to be prepared. Listen in as we chat about her experience. Just keep moving forward—solve problems as they come Something that entrepreneurs don’t necessarily realize in the beginning is that your business will never be easy. Ideas will fail. Sales vary. Every problem creates a new challenge to overcome. Problems can be a good thing—especially when it’s because your product is selling so well that your stock plummeted overnight. Just keep pushing forward. Don’t be afraid to change and adapt as the market is changing. Robyn learned that you cannot be overly attached to anything, especially if it isn’t working. Sometimes, you will need to rebrand and start over—and that’s okay. Overcome worrying about people will think, ask for help when needed, and keep moving forward. Resources & People Mentioned Trey Lewellen Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Are you aware of the importance that content creation has in digital marketing? Though creating organic content takes time and doesn’t get the instant gratification that ad spend does, it’s one of the best ways to deliver value to your customers. Here to chat with us today about digital marketing is Aaron Agius of Louder.Online. 12 years ago, Aaron was on an extended vacation in Thailand with his girlfriend (now wife). They realized they wanted to be able to travel and work remotely—for life. Neither were happy in the industries they worked in, so they did some research and scouted out options. shortly thereafter, they dove into the world of affiliate and digital marketing. Now they consult for other businesses, helping them reach the same success they found. Outline of This Episode [1:45] I introduce Aaron Agius of Louder.Online [3:45] How Aaron started in the digital marketing world [6:30] SEO and affiliate marketing [8:40] Understanding what people actually want [10:20] How to craft great content [14:50] Insight behind people taking action [17:00] Email marketing is NOT dead! [21:40] Meticulously plan out your content strategy Affiliate marketing is a great starting point Aaron started in the digital marketing world with affiliate marketing (Dean agrees, if you’re just getting started, affiliate marketing is the way to go). After 4 months of hard work and dedication, they made their first sale: a whopping 4 cents. But the next day, they made $400. For years, they traveled the world and continued to do affiliate marketing. Then, people took note of their success and started reaching out, asking them to consult and help scale their businesses. So Aaron and his partner made the shift into consulting for clients around the world. They specialize in content and social marketing—truly embracing search engine optimization (SEO). The great thing about SEO is that if you have ZERO money for marketing, you just need to invest your time and craft great content. How to craft really valuable content The best way to write content that gets readers on your site is to understand what they’re searching for. Put yourself in the mind of your customer. What questions are they asking? What answers are they looking for? You need to provide content that speaks to the problems people are trying to solve. Above all, become consistent at providing value. With this in mind, also remember that you need a clear content strategy. If you’re answering a particular question, decide what the goal of your piece is. Is it cornerstone content that will link to another article? Will there be a call to action in it? OR is the goal to have the reader opt-in to an email subscription? Be clear about your goals while providing the answers people search for. Want more insight into content strategy and getting customers to take action? Keep listening! Email marketing is NOT dead! Email marketing is a channel that gives you one of the highest returns on your investment. Many digital outlets claim that email marketing is a dying strategy—but don’t believe everything you read online. Aaron has access to analytics for all of his clients, so he sees its success on a daily basis. Email marketing ranks even higher than organic search. Aaron notes that while they do not specifically offer the service, they help their clients tie it into their content and guide their approach. Most people who are part of the email subscription database are loyal customers. They read the emails, click on the links and call to actions, and make purchases. Why not take advantage of the valuable tool it is? Content creation remains a core strategy for success In the digital marketing world, we are often asked if there’s anything shiny and new being offered. What is the most popular platform or new toy that can be tested? The simple answer—that people may not want to hear—is that the same things we’ve always done are still working. The same fundamental platforms are still the best route to take. Channels and platforms come and go: providing value to humans will always remain. The conversation always comes back to what are you doing to provide ongoing value to your tribe? Aaron points out that it’s important to meticulously plan out the content strategy for your website. You need to give yourselves a structure and know where things will fit. Want to hear more about content strategy? Listen to the whole episode of Just the Tips now! Resources & People Mentioned Book: Faster, Smarder, Louder by Aaron Agius and Gián Clancey Aaron’s website: Louder.Online Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Many people don’t realize the impact having a company vision will have on the success of the business. A clear vision helps dictate what clients you take on board, influences the company culture, and impacts the morale of your team. If you want to steer your company in the right direction—and have some fun along the way—listen to today’s tips from our guest Chris Yoko. Chris’s Grandma taught him how to use a computer as a child. Throughout the years he learned how to code and how to build websites. Fresh outta high school—after reading Rich Dad Poor Dad—he decided to get his real estate license. He built a website for his business and soon learned he preferred that over Real Estate—and Yoko Co. was born. Outline of This Episode [0:42] What drives your vision of success? [2:10] How Chris Yoko got started in web design [5:00] Getting started building websites [7:00] How an advisory board can influence your vision [14:35] Be intentional about who you work with and why [19:45] The importance of company culture [23:00] Have criteria in place for choosing clients [29:20] Connect with Chris Yoko! How an advisory board can help shape your business Chris started his company because he enjoyed the creativity and flexibility the business allowed. He looked forward to meetings with most of his clients. A few bad apples started to derail company morale and they were dangerously close to shutting down and moving on. So he created an advisory board to help change the direction of the company. And in 2015, they fired about 25% of their clients. Why, you might ask? Because their advisory board asked a couple of simple questions: What do you want to accomplish with your life on a personal level? How can your business reflect that? These simple questions helped Chris and his team form a unified vision for their company that allowed them to forge ahead. In order to do that the right way, they needed to let go of the wrong clients. Allow your company vision to be fluid As you are starting out as an entrepreneur sometimes you just have to take whatever work will bring in a paycheck. It’s not ideal but we all have bills to pay, right? You want your company to grow and continue to flourish—but you don’t want to end up rich and completely and utterly miserable. You must learn that it is okay for your company to shift and change as it grows. After they cut the clients who didn’t align with their ongoing vision, the business performed better. Not only did their business perform better but so did their clients! They were only working with organizations who had a passion and purpose beyond making a profit. This, in turn, impacted their morale and allowed them to personally connect with their projects. Be intentional about WHO you work with and WHY So how did his team make this instrumental shift? With the influence of the advisory board and input from the entire team, they decided to be intentional. They all wanted to invest their time into something that was meaningful. So they set out ground rules for what exactly this meant to them and made sure they were all on the same page. Their goal was to be able to amplify the impact their clients were making. As they onboard new clients they talk about who they are, what their impact is, and what their aspirations are. The clients they work with MUST be working to make a positive impact and be willing to take direction as they’re building their brand. Chris has learned throughout the last ten years in business that learning how to say ‘no’ to the wrong clients can have a positive impact. The Importance of defining your company culture You need to care about the people you’re working with and about cultivating a culture where this is clear. Chris and his partner strive to create a working environment that they would want to be immersed in if they weren’t the ones controlling it. You need to have clear expectations for your team but create an environment where they feel motivated and passionate. Your team needs to know that you trust them implicitly. Much of their team works remotely with the option to come into an office if they choose. In allowing this flexibility, Yoko Co. treats their company like the adults that they are. They are completely trusted to do their jobs. They still have feedback mechanisms in place to keep projects on track and know things are being completed but have cultivated a level of trust. To hear more about Chris’s story and building a vision for his company listen to the entire episode of Just the Tips now! Resources & People Mentioned Yoko Co. Chris Yoko Chris on Twitter Chris on Facebook Chris on LinkedIn Principles by Ray Dalio Built to Scale by Marissa Levin Beartown by Fredrik Backman Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki Learning in Action Technologies - Alison Whitmire Tim Ferriss Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Finding a niche can be one of the most difficult tasks you take on when you’re building a business. If you want to be in a space where you’re competing with billion-dollar companies, how do you set yourself apart? Dean and I talk about the cosmetics business that he and his wife started—and how they found success when they finally zoned in on a particular niche. If you are ready to take your business to the next level this episode of Just the Tips will be right up your alley. Outline of This Episode [2:35] e-commerce lessons in cosmetics, with Dean. [4:22] The story behind their start in cosmetics [9:30] From the ground up: Alibaba and eBay [14:15] How the proper mentorship is a kickstarter [18:00] The importance of choosing a specific niche [25:00] Don’t be afraid to embrace change [26:45] How Facebook advertising catapulted their sales [31:20] Every problem solved creates a new problem to overcome The evolution from internet sales to cosmetics Dean’s wife, Robyn, worked in internet sales and was killing it with her commissions. But as she became more successful her bosses took notice—and ended up funneling away profits she was supposed to get. She would call Dean daily over lunch in tears because of what they were doing to her. He repeatedly encouraged her to quit. One day when she came home he handed her an envelope and told her to hand it to her bosses. He had written her a letter of resignation. She mustered up some courage and the next day handed in that letter. She finished the month out at her company, and that was that. She was free to do whatever she wanted. After a conversation with Dean, she decided to take her experience with cosmetics and build an e-commerce business. Keep listening as we walk through their experience with Alibaba, selling on eBay, and the struggle of a start-up. Trying to compete with a billion-dollar brand? Start by finding a niche. Purchasing a product from Alibaba and selling it on Amazon wasn’t proving to be as successful as they hoped. When they first launched, they were only making 1-2 sales a day—definitely not enough to earn a profit. Robyn joined a mentorship program and began learning the ins and outs of selling a physical product. She built a website, created sales funnels, and began developing unique products. People loved the products and she was getting stellar reviews. But they had only progressed to making a couple thousand dollars a month. They weren’t truly competing with other successful brands and something needed to change. They took a step back and realized their niche was too broad. The business was selling something everyone else sold! So they shifted from being a cosmetics brand to a brand that only sold the greatest product for any skin conditions. As an entrepreneur you have to realize you aren’t just selling a product—your product is the pathway for someone to get their desired result. In their case, they realized they were selling confidence. Overcome discomfort and embrace ‘Ch-ch-changes’ David Bowie anyone? You can’t be afraid to embrace needed changes. They may just be the turning point your brand needs! Robyn was hesitant to stop selling products that were getting good reviews and I don’t blame her. But Dean knew she would find more success narrowing down to a very specific niche. Being comfortable is the biggest reason you aren’t creating something spectacular. You have to be willing to abandon what is working just okay and constantly strive for excellence. There is never a finish line as an entrepreneur—every problem you solve creates a new challenge to overcome. This is the never-ending growth cycle that is business! And you know what? Once they chose their niche, things shifted for the better quickly. This year's success is ALL about the ads Robyn and Dean took her product line and began advertising on Facebook—the only ad medium they’re using right now—and watched product sales skyrocket. They had been averaging 30-50 customers a day and their peak sales day was approximately $600. Now? They’re averaging 200-300 customers a day. They spend $400 daily on advertising and are making a return upwards of $2,500 daily! They can barely keep up with the demand for their product! Robyn is making more in two days then she was during a good sales month at her previous job. They started at the bottom of the barrel but with three years of hard work and challenges to overcome they own a successful e-commerce business. So the thought we want to leave with you today is this: Figure out who you want to sell to and why. Then, find the ultimate solution for them, and find a way to get your product in front of them. Resources & People Mentioned Trey Lewellen Alibaba eBay Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com
Business taxes. Do you feel the same feeling of dread that most people do when they hear those words? Taxes are one of those things most of us find difficult - and the guest we’ve invited to be with us on this episode wants to give us reason to think differently about the issue. He actually believes that a tax return is a thing of beauty, something to be used for assessment and planning. He also believes it's when accompanied by the counsel of a professional who can help you understand what your tax return means. How’s that for a new way of thinking? Join us for this episode, where we speak with Anthony Mauriello, a tax accountant who specializes in business returns, leads a team of 11 people, and processes around 4000 tax returns every tax season. And he loves it. You’ll want to hear this one - Anthony is a guy who is excited about taxes, and he just might get you excited about your taxes too (Dean was). Why do most entrepreneurs get lazy when it comes to their business taxes? We have to admit there’s a stigma about business taxes, a strange way of thinking that convinces us that it’s not fun and that we should avoid dealing with the issue. Anthony says there is lots of psychological baggage - guilt, fear, etc. - associated with money and taxes, but that most of it is inaccurate and none of it has to control the way we handle our finances. Listen to this episode and you’ll be amazed at how Anthony can not only make your taxes sound like something you don’t have to dread, he’s also got a seemingly magical ability to make your business tax return into a thing of beauty that helps you more than it scares you. His advice is golden, so be sure you listen. Why your business tax return is a beautiful piece of art Anthony loves business tax returns because they are like a snapshot, a by-product of what’s happened in the past so you can plan in the present to make a better future. Not only do you want to understand and know your net profit or loss, your tax return will also enable you to pinpoint the categories where mistakes and choices were made that have impacted whether you were profitable or not. Using your tax return, you can chart a course for the future where you don’t have to be afraid of what’s going to happen financially. You and your accountant can co-create a path to a better future (the next year). By assessing your business tax return together, you have the opportunity to be proactive, considerate, and act with integrity to legally minimize your tax liability going forward. That’s something ALL of us want, but can only be accomplished by seeing your tax return as the amazing tool and opportunity that it is. What should a business owner do to be more in touch with her taxes? OK, if you’re convinced that you need to pay more attention to your tax situation, what should you do? Anthony wisely points out that a one-time change to the path of a boat can bring it back on course. He applies that analogy to the reality that you need to be speaking with the people who handle your finances regularly. It doesn’t take much to ensure you know where your financial ship is headed, and if you maintain the discipline of quarterly conversations, the changes you’ll need to make will be minimal. Anthony says that the worst clients he works with (though he loves them all) are those who come in after the year ends looking for ways to minimize their tax liability - and more times than not they receive a huge shock when they learn what they owe. There’s nothing proactive about that - and Anthony loves helping business owners make the changes needed to BE proactive and avoid that sticker shock at the end of the year. What should you ask your accountant to understand your tax situation? It’s not uncommon for CPAs or other accounting professionals to be a bit challenged when it comes to explaining the various approaches to taxes. Anthony says that you should make a point to interview the people helping with your taxes. You want to discover their experience working on taxes related to your industry and take the time to get acquainted on a more personal level. The better you know and trust each other, the better you’ll work together in proactive ways... and the more likely you'll be to get the right people on your team. You can even do this with someone you’ve worked with for a long time. If you tell them that you’re taking a greater interest in your tax situation, they’ll honestly be very glad to help you. As you have those conversations, be sure you understand what the various figures mean and how you can modify your financial habits to minimize your tax liability. Join us for this episode. You’ll not only be amazed at how helpful your business tax return can be, but you'll also be surprised at how giddy with excitement Anthony is about helping you use it to its fullest potential. Outline of This Episode [2:15] Anthony Mauriello - the tax-excited accountant [7:47] The first entrepreneurial venture: a paper route that he carried through college [11:03] Into accounting right out of college, becoming a CPA, then an enrolled agent [15:23] What the average entrepreneur should be thinking when it comes to taxes [24:50] Questions business owners should ask their CPA or Bookkeeper [27:58] How Anthony helped a woman in dire need address her tax issues Resources & People Mentioned Get in touch with Anthony - www.MyTaxFella.com Email Anthony at TheOldSchoolTaxFella@aol.com On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyTaxFella/ Cy Simms Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ Audio Production and Show notes byPODCAST FAST TRACKhttps://www.podcastfasttrack.com
On today’s episode of Just the Tips, Colin Hogan, the managing director of Demo Duck, joins us to talk all things video production. Video is one of those things that every company wants to have, but few know how to make. On this week’s episode, we talk with Colin about what sorts of video a company should use for different purposes, how a production company works with a business to tell their story, and whether we’ll ever see the commercials Colin shot as a kid. What types of video should you do? Business owners know they should do video, they know they want to do video, but they’re not quite sure what video they should make. There are a billion types of videos you can do, so which one should you choose? Colin says businesses typically go for explainer videos first. Those videos do a great job of establishing your authority on a subject, and because it’s in your area of expertise, you’re not stretching too far to come up with a topic for the video. But there are loads of other types you can consider, and that companies like Demo Duck can help you make. So what makes a great explainer video? You’ve probably seen some great explainer videos you’ve learned a lot from, and you’ve definitely seen ones with roughly zero information. Colin says the key to a good explainer video is to be concise. Know what you want to say, present it directly, and avoid any sort of jargon or insider language. Know what your ideal viewer might be interested in, what problem you’re solving for them, and then go from there. When to make a video yourself You can hire a company to help you produce a video, or you can even just turn on your phone and go live on Facebook. But when should you do the latter, and when should you do the former? There’s no quick-and-easy answer, but a lot of times it has to do with your revenue. If you’re just starting out, you may want to do it yourself. But if you have a little bit of a marketing budget and you have a message you know you want to get out there, Colin says it’s worth the investment to have a professional production company make that video for you. How to get the most out of your explainer video So you make an explainer video. Now what? Colin actually recommends making several videos out of the one that you’ve written. In other words, say you make a 90-second explainer video. Then you want to share that on Twitter or Instagram. It’s best to budget in shorter clip versions of that video for your various social media platforms. That means you may have to re-script some things, but it’s worth it to make sure the video you’ve made aligns with the correct platform. Outline of This Episode [3:28] How Colin got into video [4:30] Why sales is actually great [8:02] What sorts of video work for what [10:00] What makes a great explainer video? [12:40] Stay jargon-free [17:04] You shouldn’t have to convince someone to buy [18:30] Is there a bottom threshold in terms of production value [23:32] Where do explainer videos live? [25:46] Managing creative professionals Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
On today’s episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I field a listener request, and dive into the world of sales. Now sales gets a bad rap. Sometimes people view it as icky or something you just have to do. But that’s wrong! In fact, if you’re in business, you have to sell something, and when you’re selling something, you’re actually helping people with whatever problem they have. So you shouldn’t see sales as something you have to get through, you should see it as the reason you’re in business. How do you sell without being salesy? Everyone has had the experience of either being sold to by some lousy salesman, or having to sell something you don’t believe in. But if you believe in what you’re doing and what you’re selling, there’s no reason for you to be “salesy.” In fact, sales is a service. If you believe in what you’re doing, then you are doing a service to other people by selling them your product, which will help them with their problem. If you can reframe how you think of selling, then there’s no reason to put on your plaid blazer and try to work the sale. You’re actually doing people a service. Sales is not about you A lot of people go into a sales meeting and think about themselves. What do I have to say? How do I get this sale? But if you go into it thinking about the other person, it’s a completely different conversation. Now, instead of working to get the sale, what you’re doing is talking to them to figure out what they need and whether what you’re offering is right for them. And once you understand that, you can change how you have a conversation with prospects, and sales becomes a lot less about trying to convince someone of something. The best and worst sale I ever made When I used to sell for a water treatment company, I got sent to a house in rural Florida. This guy had kicked two salesmen from my company out of his house before, and now I had to go down there and try to sell him the same thing. And when I got there, I was not welcomed. But I did manage to close the sale, because I listened to him. I listened to what he was angry about, why he’d kicked out my colleagues, and what he needed. And once I was able to connect what I was selling to what he needed, he became a customer. People buy from you, you don’t sell to them If you adopt this mindset, then you aren’t selling to people, but people are buying from you. And what that means is that you listen to the person, and if your product is the right fit, then helping them see how it can work for them. Closing is not hammering someone into submission. The truth is that if you do that, if you apply that pressure, then they will almost always go back on that sale once the pressure is off. If you’re hitting a wall with sales, you need to listen to this week’s episode of Just the Tips. Outline of This Episode [2:45] Selling without being salesy [4:00] Why sales is actually great [7:15] Sales is not about you [9:00] A great sales story [14:00] You don’t have to close every sale [18:51] You shouldn’t have to convince someone to buy [22:00] Closing is not hammering into submission [26:12] Set expectations early on Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
On today’s episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I welcome Ryan Cote, a man who has done something truly unique in this day and age, and that’s combining digital marketing with old-school direct mail to create a marketing powerhouse. Ryan is the Director of Digital Services and Partner at Ballantine, a third-generation, family-owned direct mail and digital marketing company based out of Fairfield, NJ. Ballantine has been serving small-business clients since 1966, when it was founded by Ryan’s great-uncle. Ryan has been with his family’s agency since 2003, and today he manages the growing digital marketing division. Entering the family business Most of the entrepreneurs Dean and I speak with on Just the Tips have their entrepreneurial origin story. But Ryan didn’t start his first business as a kid: He worked in the family one. He started doing data entry and any other small jobs the business needed to get done when he was very young. And for a long time, he didn’t think he would land there permanently. But then he created Ballantine’s digital division, and really got things off the ground. Two heads are better than one For about two years, Ryan was the only member of the digital marketing department Ballantine. And while he was picking up clients here and there, he wasn’t making a big difference in the company in terms of revenue. It wasn’t until his brother joined his department and he had someone to bounce ideas off of that he started landing larger clients. This led Dean to share a story from his early days, in which he would pretend to be different people from his company, calling potential clients. You have to hear it to believe it. How to get started with direct mail As Dean says on this week’s episode, he’s always collected addresses of clients, but has never done anything with that information. Ryan says the minimum you want to do for direct mail is 10,000, because that’s enough to gauge the success of a campaign. But you can still start relatively small, sending out postcards where the printing and the postage won’t break the bank. And you can connect your direct mail to your email campaigns, so your message resonates with your customers or potential customers. Direct mail retargeting One of the things Ryan discusses on this week’s episode is a mind-blowing new marketing technology that Ballantine has, where they can actually capture a person’s mailing address when they visit your website. Creepy? A big. Effective? Definitely. It’s a whole new way to use your website to grow your mailing list. Ryan and Ballantine are total pros who have bridged the gap from the heyday of direct mail, to the current world of digital marketing and back again. Outline of This Episode [2:30] How Ryan got into the family business [6:00] Dean’s disgrace (this week) [7:04] Ballantine’s famous clients [8:42] Getting started with direct mail [15:38] The benefits of direct mail [19:30] Direct mail response rates [23:20] Retargeting direct mail [30:00] Ballantine’s offer Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Resources Mentioned Ballantine Ballantine’s offer for Just the Tips listeners Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program:https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site:www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
On today’s episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I welcome Prady Tewarie, a young entrepreneur who has really figured out a system for starting a business with very little capital, bootstrapping it, and then scaling it like crazy. On this episode we dive into Prady’s history as an entrepreneur, his method for determining whether a business is going to work, and how he’s found such success growing his companies. Prady’s first business Every entrepreneur has their “first business” story, but Prady’s is a memorable one. When he was a freshman in college, he began working out a lot and saw that his friends would carpool to GNC to pick up supplements. So he thought, “Why not get the supplements directly to them?” He called up a distributor, negotiated a deal, and filled his dorm room with supplements. Anytime anyone wanted to buy some, he hopped on his bike and brought them over. He ended up doing so well that as a sophomore he hired freshmen to ride their bikes while he went to class. Product-to-market poll One of the things Prady says on this week’s episode that may surprise some people is: “New businesses shouldn’t exist.” And what he means is that established businesses have the capital and the infrastructure to launch new products. A new business will always struggle. So if you’re going to start a new business, you need to know that your product is needed in the market. It can’t just be because you’re tired of your job and you want to do something different. You need a product-to-market poll, meaning you need to test the idea that the market is there for your product. Never compete Entrepreneurs are told all the time that they need to compete. They need to identify their competition, see what they’re doing and try to get the better of them. Prady says it’s the opposite. You should be looking for no competition. You should identify a problem that no one else is serving, and then serve that niche the best that you can. If you’re competing, then there’s always going to be someone who is out-fundraising you or out-spending you, etc. But if you have a monopoly in your market, then you just have to serve that need. Scaling isn’t just about adding people When we talk about scaling companies, a lot of times we have a very basic understanding of what that means.Usually that’s adding people. But what Prady says on this week’s episode is so great: Scaling is about implementing systems. So that means not just adding people, but instating systems that will allow anyone who comes in to pick up where the last person left off. And what that means is that you, as the founder or CEO, can focus on strategy while the system takes care of itself. This is a really enlightening episode of Just the Tips that you have to hear. Outline of This Episode [4:30] How Prady scales [6:04] Prady’s first business [11:02] What is a product to market poll? [13:50] How to tune into a market [17:55] Prady’s nootropic business [26:00] What does scaling really mean? [30:05] Stop doing tasks [38:29] How to connect to Prady Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Resources Mentioned Get Azoth newsletter The Enlightened Millennial Podcast AZOTH 2.0 Nootropic Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program:https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site:www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
On today’s episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I sit down to discuss a very important topic, how to not burn out and throw everything into the river. Many entrepreneurs are very good at the one thing they do, or have a great idea and suddenly find themselves growing faster than they thought possible. But then, what do you do? How do you expand? Whom do you hire to help you expand? Today, we dive deep into the topic, because it’s an important one for a lot of business owners who are just getting started. Dean owes everything to James When Dean’s business was first starting to grow, he did what a lot of new entrepreneurs do, he hired his friends. But that’s not actually the best HR policy. And as Dean says, it was after we met at an event that we got to talking about how Dean needed to systematize the way he hires. And if you want to be a solopreneur, that’s totally fine, but remember that having people on your team frees up your time massively. And so many people go into business for themselves because they want that freedom, but then they devote all their time to their business, giving away all the freedom they had. How to begin looking for help I told Dean a story about how at one point, I was so desperate to hire someone, that I actually recruited a cashier at Bed, Bath & Beyond, because she seemed very professional. But before you get into the dire straits, you need to ask yourself what you’re doing. You need to identify what you don’t want to do, and what role you need to fill. If you can be crystal clear about everything you’re doing, then you can be crystal clear about what you need someone to do. Identify your big five Once you’ve identified what you need to do, and what you’re best at, that doesn’t mean you have to suddenly stop doing everything else. What I recommend to clients is to identify your “big five”: The top five things that you should be doing in order for your business to succeed and continue to grow. Then, below the big five, you write down everything you do in addition to those five things. And once you’ve done that, you look for the low-hanging fruit, what tasks you can peel off and give to someone else easily without much disruption. Time is your most precious commodity One thing you have to be most cognizant of as a CEO is time. Your time is incredibly valuable, and so is the time of the people who work for you. And so you can’t look at short-term gains in terms of money made. If you spend 10 hours chasing $100, that’s still money you could have lost in the grand scheme of things. This is just the first part of this topic that we’re going to dive into, and the big five is just the beginning of the framework that Dean and I are going to lay out for you in future episodes of Just the Tips. Outline of This Episode [3:05] James and Dean are the best of frenemies [6:00] Realizing you need help [7:35] How to get started [13:54] Success creates the problem [16:15] You can’t just flip a switch [20:04] Time is your most critical resource [27:05] This is just the beginning Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program:https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site:www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
On today’s episode of Just the Tips, we continue our deep, questionable dive into the life of Dean Holland. If you listened to episode 101, you know we peeled back the stinky onion of Dean’s life to reveal that he’s actually something of an affiliate marketing genius. If you’re interested in affiliate marketing, or Dean piqued your curiosity a couple weeks back, you’re going to want to listen to this week’s episode. Starting affiliate marketing from scratch When it comes to affiliate marketing, relationships matter. But what if you’re just starting to dip your toe into it, and you don’t have those relationships from years of selling online? Well, either Dean is going to break it down for you, or this is a very short episode. The trouble is people think they need to connect with high-profile people, or join expensive programs that connect them with influencers. But Dean has actually never done any of those things, and if he hasn’t had to buy friends, you should be good, too. Prove your offer before trying to get affiliates The very first thing you need to do, before you go out and try to get people to market a product for you, you have to prove that the product will sell. If you haven’t already proved the offer, and you ask this affiliate army to market your offer for you and it flops? It’s going to be really difficult to convince them to market your next offer. Take your proven products to your affiliates so that the relationship is mutually beneficial. Harvest your data If you have done a lot of paid traffic, and you’ve already proven your offer, you’re in good shape. But you need to collect that data, show all of that traffic, show your conversions, and take that to affiliates. Affiliates want to know what their earnings per click is going to be, and if you can already show them that the offer is working and selling, then they are going to be more likely to join up. Turning customers into affiliates It’s so simple, yet many companies don’t do it. If your customers have gotten results with you, then it makes total sense to go to them and ask if they’re interested in being affiliates. Chances are they have people in their network who could be helped by what you’re offering. All you have to do is make it as easy as possible for them to become an affiliate. Dean even has a way to automatically sign up his customers as affiliates. This is a no-brainer, and just one of the great tips Dean supplies on this week’s episode of Just the Tips. Outline of This Episode [4:09] Starting from scratch with affiliate marketing [6:30] You don’t have to do anything expensive [09:29] How to prove the offer [13:00] Make a test valuable for an affiliate [15:45] What if you’ve been doing a lot of paid traffic? [21:04] Turning customers into affiliates [27:05] How to decide the commission Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program: https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
Today on Just the Tips we have someone who has an amazing story to tell. Most people in marketing have figured out how to pitch themselves as having an amazing story, but Alex Membrillo is the real deal. Going from being on welfare to owning a booming marketing business and being named to a Top 40 Under 40 list by Georgia State University, Alex’s story is incredible. He’s a humble guy, but we got it out of him on this week’s episode. Building a strong culture Alex has created an amazing culture at his marketing company, Cardinal, by doing something some entrepreneurs feel uncomfortable doing: trusting people. As he says, their team is pretty small, so they have to trust that everyone is comfortable working autonomously. So he gives people a long rope and allows them the space to work, and as he says, if that’s not what they’re comfortable with, “they walk themselves out of here.” And because he can trust those people, he can be much more forthcoming about how the company works and what the financials look like. Working with millennials While many business owners complain that millennials are “lazy,” Alex says he’s found that working with younger employees just means understanding their values. And millennials want to be a part of something, they want to feel like they’re making a change, and they want to know that their work is meaningful. So if you understand that mindset, says Alex, then you don’t have to write off an entire generation. Also, you may need to be ready to have a flexible workspace, where employees can work remotely. Millennials are just more outspoken A lot of what Alex discusses on this episode about working with a younger workforce isn’t new. The things millennials want in a job: meaning, flexibility, respect; are things that nearly every worker wants but has never wanted to ask for. Millennials are just asking for it. Alex talks about how he met someone at a coffee coop and learned about their org structure and how that informed the creation of his own unique organizational structure at his company. You’re going to want to hear about how he set up his company on this week’s Just the Tips. Upending the org chart Alex has completely eschewed the standard org chart that most CEOs create, with a top-down structure. Instead, he says, he considers himself there to help and listen to the employees of his company. Of course, he has to make final decisions, but really he’s there to serve his employees. So how do you do that if you’re coming from a more typical structure? Alex says it’s all about slowing things down, and letting your employees know that you’re going to start listening more. You need to hear this episode of Just the Tips to hear how different Alex’s approach truly is. Outline of This Episode [3:01] Alex’s incredible story [5:03] Building a strong culture [6:35] Working with millennials [10:25] Alex’s unique approach to an org chart [14:35] First steps to upending your org chart [17:21] How the tribe self-selects [19:00] Being transparent about the financials [22:16] Dean asks an all-star question Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Resources Mentioned Cardinal Digital Marketing Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program: https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site:www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
On today’s episode of Just the Tips, we peel back the layers on the mystery, wrapped in an enigma, that is Dean Holland. I’ve known Dean for years and if you asked me what it is that Dean does, I couldn’t tell you. But over a recent visit, I realized what Dean’s superpower is: Creating affiliate programs so businesses don’t have to rely on paid traffic. That’s a bona fide superpower, and on today’s episode we dive into how Dean does it. Dean Holland: An Origin Story Dean has sold over $10 million in products online, and only just recently began using paid traffic. I think that if Facebook went away tomorrow, Dean would be perfectly fine (although he’d be a little angry, because he just learned how to use Facebook ads). But how Dean got into entrepreneurship and business more generally was through affiliate marketing. And so he looked at his history as an affiliate marketer, and he said, “Okay, what do the vendors do that make it easier for me as an affiliate marketer?” And he just started building from there. Affiliate marketing brings you the traffic The very basis of having an affiliate program is to have an army of people out there, trying to drive traffic to your business. Affiliates don’t get paid unless a customer buys something, so it’s like having a sales army out there that’s only paid by commission. As Dean says, it’s almost the perfect traffic source. The only trouble is: You don’t own that traffic. You can’t control it. So how do you get the most out of it? The Bearded Wonder provides the answers. Build the highest-earning affiliate program you can The big lesson that Dean took away from being an affiliate marketer is that you have to create the best-paying sales process that you possibly can. Affiliates will go where the money is. If I’m an affiliate thing, and I have 10 different offers that all fit my audience, which one am I going to choose? It’s the one that makes me the most money. Often, affiliates measure their performance by earnings per click. And so an affiliate is going to choose your product every time, if you offer them greater earnings per click. How to keep someone as an affiliate When Dean first started creating affiliate programs, they would be based around a product launch. So there would be a large push for, say, seven days, and then the program would be done. Since then, he’s switched it up so that he has an affiliate platform, where he’s trying to build long-term relationships with his affiliates. And there are a variety of ways to do that, because no one is going to push your products every day to the same audience. But luckily, Dean has lived and breathed the affiliate life, so he knows how to make it work. Outline of This Episode [2:45] Dean’s superpower [4:47] Dean’s beginning as an affiliate marketer [8:52] What Dean learned and applied to his own business [12:56] Get your baseline before you approach affiliates [14:37] What are the affiliate models? [17:51] How Dean creates his affiliate program [22:00] Treating an affiliate like an exclusive partner Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program: https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
This episode is a very special episode of Just the Tips. Despite not really enjoying each other’s company very much, Dean and I have made it through 100 episodes. And at a rate of one listener gained per episode, we have hit triple-digit listeners. In all seriousness, though, Dean and I have had a blast making this show, or else we wouldn’t do it. So today we’re taking a look at what decisions we’ve made and what we’ve learned on this long, strange trip. Podcasts let you build relationships The first thing we’ve learned in our time making this show is that you’re not going to become famous overnight making a podcast. You will, however, get to know people, and that’s really the amazing thing about a podcast. You can truly gain access and build relationship with people you want in your circle by putting together a professional podcast (or even one like this one). It’s amazing how the doors open if you have something you can invite someone to, like a podcast. If you want to be a good podcast guest, be prepared to give value So every now and then you get a guest who comes onto a podcast strictly to pitch their thing. And that’s fine, everyone is pitching something, but if you’re not there to add value, to help or teach people, then your guest spot is going to ring very hollow. And that’s what happened with an infamous episode of Just the Tips: The unaired “episode 101” that Dean and I killed because the guest only wanted to brag about themselves. Build the right team around you A big lesson in making a podcast: You’ll never do anything alone. Dean and I show up, we hit record, and then we have a small team of people who manage the podcast. I don’t think we would have hit 100 episodes if we didn’t have that team. If you’re not very interested in editing a podcast and producing everything around it, it’s going to become laborious for you. So like a lot of things we talk about on this show, you need to find what you love about it, and then get someone to do anything else. You need persistence Things never quite work the way you want them to. And sometimes it takes a long time for things to hit their stride, and if you don’t have the persistence to learn from your mistakes and adjust and test, you’re never going to make it. That advice goes beyond podcasts, of course, but you have to be ready to stick with it and persevere at the beginning until you figure out the best way to do it for you. Outline of This Episode [5:15] What we’ve tried and tested [8:15] Building relationships [12:30] The notorious killed episode [15:00] Build your team [21:20] Persistence is key [27:00] How we found our voice [28:45] What’s next for the show? Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program: https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
Today on Just the Tips, Dean and I have a special treat for listeners. Our guest is Anton Kraly, a man who has started a ton of businesses, who knows the world of e-commerce better than just about anyone, and a man who literally has an award-winning course on e-commerce. Just one of his many talents is finding the maximum potential of drop-shipping. If you’re in the world of e-commerce, you need to listen to this episode. Why Anton is always thinking bigger When Anton got started in e-commerce, he started selling boxes of cookies for $20. But then he thought: If you can sell something for $20, why not go bigger? And so he looked on eBay to see what the highest-selling items were, and began to form a plan to sell high-ticket items. And as he said, he didn’t try to create a market. He figured out what people already wanted to buy, and sold those items to them. It may seem like common sense, but it’s a critical piece of e-commerce that a lot of entrepreneurs miss when starting out. Mistakes Anton made When Anton started, there wasn’t a lot of competition for what he was doing. And so he was able to make mistakes and recover quickly because his competition wasn’t jumping all over him. One of the things he did early on was not pay enough attention to tracking. Part of that was the tools that were available, but part of it was his naivete about how important it is to know where your traffic is coming from. He also says he should have bought more ads early on, so he could grow much faster. But at the time, he didn’t know that was necessary. Dealing with inventory issues One of the biggest problems with e-commerce can be inventory. How do you deal with all of the issues that come up with inventory. Maybe the problem is storing the items in your house, maybe the problem is keeping the items in stock at all. Anton recommends looking as far ahead as possible and keeping tabs on what you’re selling. So if something is selling well and the holidays are coming up, work with your suppliers to get more product. If a product is sold out, communicate that to your customers and let them know you will notify them as soon as it’s available. Anton has seen it all, and he shares his great insights on this week’s Just the Tips. How to gain an edge on your competition How do you compete with all of the different people and companies selling stuff online? Anton says he doesn’t even get into a market unless there are fewer than 10 sellers offering a particular brand online. And then from there it’s all about marketing and traffic, trying to dominate the category and brand in Google and Google Ads. And because customer service is practically absent online, Anton is able to distinguish his companies by offering solid service. Outline of This Episode [3:07] How Anton got started into entrepreneurship [6:00] How Anton started thinking big in e-commerce [8:40] Mistakes Anton made [10:12] Analytics first steps [11:35] How do you handle inventory? [16:10] Different e-commerce business models [20:43] Customer service makes a huge difference [23:50] How to offer service even if you’re not an expert [30:05] How to get in touch with Anton Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Resources Mentioned Drop Ship Lifestyle E-Commerce Lifestyle Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program: https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
Today on Just the Tips, Dean and I welcome Derek Gallimore, a serial entrepreneur who has really carved a niche helping businesses find savings via outsourcing. Derek came to outsourcing because he realized he couldn’t properly scale his business in London because of the salary costs. So he began looking around and found that he could save enormous amounts of money by sending work to the Philippines without seeing a dip in quality. Now he helps businesses do the same. This is a really fascinating episode of Just the Tips. When the bubble burst, Derek turned to outsourcing We started out hot, asking Derek, who’s been a serial entrepreneur for 20 years, about his highest high starting businesses. And he actually dipped into his roots buying and selling properties, and told us about selling one of his biggest properties, valued at $3 million, which now is a bit bittersweet. Soon after he sold that property, the financial crisis of 2008 hit, and suddenly it wasn’t as fun being in real estate anymore. But obviously Derek has bounced back and found a new path. How Derek got into outsourcing Juggling so many properties, Derek realized he needed to outsource his customer service. He ended up heading to the Philippines, and hiring one person there to help with customer service. But pretty soon his team was growing and growing, doing everything from customer service to web design to sales. He eventually built a team of 70 in the Philippines, and never looked back. And since then he’s discovered just how amazing outsourcing can be to scale your business, and has become passionate about helping others do the same. Busting myths about outsourcing Derek said that people often have a “polarized” view of outsourcing. One is that the people you’re outsourcing to are going to steal your ideas, or that it’s cheap labor that you can pay $2 an hour with no training. It’s either one or the other. But of course there are ways to protect yourself against the former and if you’re serious about outsourcing then you should have a plan for training to avoid the latter. As Derek says, if you do it right, you can save something like 70 to 80% of your salary costs by outsourcing. What sorts of jobs can you outsource? It used to be that entrepreneurs thought they could only outsource one function to another country: data entry. Maybe some customer service. But as Derek says, there are actually dozens of functions you can build a team around in the Philippines or elsewhere, and that many businesses have outsourced everything from graphic design to animation to artificial intelligence. The key is communication, and defining the role. And how do you find the right people? Derek has tons of advice and, dare we say, tips for how to get it done right. Outline of This Episode [2:24] Derek’s highest high as an entrepreneur [5:40] How Derek got into outsourcing [7:12] Common pitfalls of outsourcing [10:05] What sorts of jobs can you outsource? [14:48] How do you find people? [19:28] What about timezones? [22:15] How to secure your information and intellectual property [27:26] Derek built the TripAdvisor of outsourcing Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Resources Mentioned Outsource Accelerator Ultimate Group Coaching Launch Checklist Coaching for Impact Facebook group Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program: https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
Fans all the way down from the cheap seats to the front row have been asking Dean and I for a solo episode of Just the Tips for a while now, and finally we’re giving the people what they want. Unfortunately, that does mean that Dean is also here, but we have a great topic we’re diving into this week. Even though both of us have built successful e-commerce businesses, we never actually talk about e-commerce! So today we’re dipping into our personal experience to provide just tips for listeners of Just the Tips. Entrepreneurs should marry Dean Dean told me about the e-commerce business he’s been building with his wife. She was working a job that she hated, and so he wrote her a resignation letter and told her she should turn it in the next day. And she did! Then they started building a business online around makeup tutorials, eventually offering products and informational products. And as Dean says, it has taken a while for it to grow, but in the last four or five months it’s really taken off. His story is a great case study for Just the Tips listeners. Narrow the scope of your market When Dean and his wife started her business, they just thought their clientele would be women. Women who use makeup. And the business did okay, but it never really took off. And then they decided to look at it and say “Who are we truly serving here? Is it every woman, or is there a slice of the market we could target?” And they discovered that if they changed all of their messaging and marketing to women with skin conditions, they could really hone in on a specific target market. And so that’s what they did eight weeks ago, and it’s really taken off since. The mechanics of e-commerce The profit margins on a lot of what you’re going to sell in e-commerce are going to be slim. And so it can be difficult to scale, because you want to do everything yourself in order to not outsource-away those profits. Dean and his wife faced that problem specifically, until fulfillment got to be so much work that it had to be outsourced. And a lot of times when people build e-commerce sites they may build a great front end but not a great back end. And it’s so important to have both in place. You need to be able to get your customer cost down low, so the profit margins are manageable. Go deeper to figure out what you’re selling As Dean says, you’re not selling a product, you’re selling a solution. So Dean and his wife aren’t selling makeup brushes, they’re selling confidence. In Dean’s information products, he’s not selling a way to make money, he’s selling financial freedom. That doesn’t mean you tell your customer that, but you need to know your why, so the person you’re selling to feels why they need what you’re selling. Outline of This Episode [4:50] What has Dean been building? [8:21] How they lost money early on [11:00] Dean segments the market [18:08] What is the reticular activating system? [21:04] E-Commerce mechanics [25:00] How the membership program fits in Dean’s business [29:56] The big tip [39:30] If you haven’t nailed it, it may not be the product Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program: https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
Today on Just the Tips, Dean and I try to mend fences after the earth-shattering news that Dean has not seen Star Wars. But we get off to a rocky start when it’s revealed that our guest, Mariana Ruiz, also hasn’t seen the most important movies of our time! Luckily, Mariana (if not Dean) is still a true asset to the show, as she is an enormously successful business coach who actually coaches other coaches on how to scale her business. If helping entrepreneurs is your passion, this is a can’t-miss episode of Just the Tips. Connecting neurology to business Mariana came to marketing and to business coaching from a completely different path. She became fascinated with neurology at a very young age, and started reading about it. And then she went to nursing school and worked in an ICU, helping stroke victims recover. She then moved on to hospital administration and became fascinated with how not just the brain works, but how a business works. So she started a side hustle helping business owners in the healthcare industry and eventually made it her full-time gig. What mindset breakthroughs do you need to have as an entrepreneur? Because Mariana knows so much about the brain and psychology, I had to ask her what the major mental or mindset breakthroughs entrepreneurs need to have in order to be successful. And right off the bat, she said: You need to be okay selling. You need to know that you’re always going to be selling something, whether it’s goods or services, and you need to be comfortable having that conversation about money with potential clients or business partners. And, she says, a lot of people have trouble talking about money because they think about the money coming to them, rather than the value they’re providing to the customer. One of the really interesting things Mariana said about the money mental barrier is that entrepreneurs often want to undercharge, because they think more people may buy what they’re selling. But the truth is that when you undercharge, the customer actually suffers, because then they won’t value what you’re offering. How to scale a coaching business The biggest problem people have when they try to start a coaching business is that they don’t do the research. That could be pricing or competition research, but the big one is whether you’re solving a problem for people. When you’re selling to one person, you can customize your coaching services. But as Mariana says, when you’re pitching to a group, you have to be very dialed-into the problem you’re solving in order to scale it. You need to be very specific. You can’t say, “You’re going to love yourself.” Instead, you should say, “You’re going to learn how to survive the first three months as a parent,” etc. How to run a group coaching program Mariana is a total pro when it comes to running group coaching sessions. Her programs vary in number of participants and length of program, but the one thing she says you need to do is lay out the infrastructure. Figure out how you’re formatting your program (pre-recorded sessions, live sessions, etc.), and what solution you’re offering. If you do that, a lot of the other concerns fall into place. As she says, often when she does live sessions, by the time she gets to the fourth person to check in with them, she’s already answered their question, because she has clearly communicated what they’re all there to do. This is expert advice from one of the best. Outline of This Episode [4:32] Is Mariana the biggest geek? [7:04] How Dallin got into video and storytelling [9:27] What are the mental breakthroughs you need to have? [12:00] Why undercharging hurts customers [15:10] How Mariana built her coaching business [20:28] Running a group program [23:34] Setting proper boundaries [27:06] Can the main entrepreneur remove him or herself from the deliverables [28:50] Who would use this sort of coaching program? Musicfor “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Resources Mentioned Impact Driven Entrepreneur Ultimate Group Coaching Launch Checklist Coaching for Impact Facebook group Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program: https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
Today on Just the Tips, Dean and I welcome a friend of mine who knows a thing or two about the one thing that every online business wants to use more of, but remains elusive: video. You hear constantly that you need to have more video on your website, on your Instagram, on a YouTube channel. But how do you cut through all the noise to make your videos stand out and connect with your audience? Dallin talks about how he created a story framework that helps business owners tell their stories to their audience in an authentic way. He’s traveled the globe working with entrepreneurs to make amazing videos, and we’re lucky to have him with us today. Why video is so important to businesses As Dallin says, the Internet today is lousy with video. Anyone with a smartphone and a Facebook account can go live at any moment. But there’s a big difference between throwaway or immediate video and what Dallin calls intent-based video. And being able to tell a story that compels an audience is a difficult but worthwhile venture for businesses. Using video to connect with an audience happens when there is the emotional connection between you and your audience. You want to create videos where your audience can see themselves in your video. And that, Dallin says, is where connection happens. What’s the number-one stumbling block for people with video? A lot of times people make excuses for why they’re not putting out more video. They may not have the right equipment, the right space or the time to put into it. But really, Dallin says, what holds people back most of the time is fear of judgment. Being willing to have open, honest conversations is a very difficult thing. But if you’re able to pinpoint what your story is, and you get comfortable telling your story, then taking that to video will be that much easier. As Dallin says, start small. Turn on your phone and go live, and you’ll soon get used to being on video. How to start making videos As Dallin says, making a video does not have to be a major production when you’re starting out. If you’re having trouble figuring out what to talk about, he says that every good video is some variation of hook, story, offer. So a lot of times all you have to do is talk about what you’re up to. And as he says, get away from the high points. People want you to be authentic, and if all you’re doing is getting on video and talking about how awesome everything is, you’re going to fail that test. So get on, talk about what you’re doing, what’s happening with your family, or if you’re like Dean, the fact that you haven’t seen Star Wars and you’re a heathen. Your video has to have a purpose When Dallin says to start recording in order to shake the jitters out, he’s not talking about doing it just to do it. As he says, you need to have a hook. You need to have a sense of what you’re going to talk about. So it might be as simple as declaring what the video is going to be about. Or it could be where you are geographically, and how that ties into your entrepreneurial journey. It doesn’t have to be scripted, but you should know where you want to go by the end of the video. Dallin is full of great advice for anyone who is interested in dipping their toes into video, and this is a can’t-miss episode of Just the Tips. Outline of This Episode [3:24] James comes on a little strong [5:17] How Dallin got into video and storytelling [9:34] Fear of judgment holds people back [13:25] How to break the ice [16:40] Starting out with video [20:19] The hero’s journey [22:24] Identify the purpose of your video [25:20] Story therapy [30:30] Be okay to be at the beginning Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Resources Mentioned Content Supply Storyselling Challenge Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program: https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
On today’s episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I get schooled completely in how to make social media work for small businesses. That’s because we have as a guest Elise Darma, an Instagram Jedi who runs the Canupy agency that has grown numerous 250,000-follower Instagram accounts, has brokered hundreds of deals between Instagram influencers and brands, and runs an Instagram Masterclass. Dean is still in Instagram pre-k, so this episode is full of amazing advice and counterintuitive insights that will help you get your social media on the right track. Quality over quantity on Instagram Sometimes social media can feel like a numbers game. You just want to get the most followers or the most likes on a post, etc. But as Elise tells us, those are just vanity metrics. And really what you want is even as low as 1,000 follower who really want your content, who are engaged with what you’re posting, and who share you content with others. When people buy followers or likes, you’re really just being “fake popular,” and you’re not growing your customer base. The number becomes meaningless. You’re not an influencer if you’re not actually influencing anyone Elise points out that for a lot of business owners, it’s an ego thing. They want to be seen as an influencer, so they buy a million followers and they can proclaim themselves an influencer. But really, if you’re not speaking to people who care about your content, are you really influencing anyone? Instead of trying to prove to the world how awesome you are, Elise says you should be using your Instagram to connect with your audience, to offer sneak peeks, and behind-the-scenes content, things that are fun for your audience to see and are relatable. Think of Instagram as another funnel I have a couple thousand followers on Instagram and if I’m being honest, I don’t know how they found me and I don’t post all that often. Dean has never even downloaded the app before. So we asked Elise how she would help someone who is unfamiliar with Insta use it for their business. And she started speaking our language, showing us how we should treat Instagram like a funnel. She broke down what each line of the bio should say. You want to give people a reason to care, and a reason to click the link in your bio. So what sort of content you should post? Elias laid it all out. What should you post on Instagram? Elise says you should identify five themes for the type of content you publish on your Instagram that will appeal to your target audience. Now that doesn’t mean that those themes are all related exactly to what you’re selling, but they should at least attract your audience. So even though Instagram should be somewhat personal to connect with an audience, that doesn’t mean you should go off the deep end and go into your marriage trouble. Elise is a total pro about using Instagram, and she lays it all out in clear terms. If you’re looking to jumpstart your social media, this is the episode for you. Outline of This Episode [3:03] When did Elias know she was going to do something different? [5:45] Elise explains what Contiki is [11:04] Elise’s focus on Instagram [13:25] Are you really an influencer? [17:20] Sneak peeks are the way to go [19:45] Instagram is a funnel [22:15] What sort of content you should focus on [29:15] Dean has to get over his Instagram fears [35:20] Connecting with Elise Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Resources Mentioned Elise Darma Elise’s Masterclass Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program: https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
On today’s episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I get started on the right foot when he serenades me about how excited he is to be my co-host. And then, we have an absolutely amazing guest in Patrick McKenna. Patrick is the Founder and CEO of Strike Social, a global, technology-enabled digital advertising company. He has more than 30 years of experience in business development and technology consulting for major corporations. He literally helped build Microsoft into the juggernaut it is today, and with his new company, Strike Social, he’s worked with little mom-and-pop shops like Honda, Mattel and Lionsgate. How sales influenced Patrick’s approach to entrepreneurship Patrick told us that when he was in college, he was pre-law. And then junior year came around and he realized he didn’t want to be a lawyer anymore. So instead he dipped his toe into business, and got started selling phone service to businesses door to door. And as brutal a job as that was, it taught him a really valuable skill early on: You have to do your research. In order to sell, he had to understand what a business did, what their day-to-day looked like, etc. And that skill of learning about customers and what problems they have that need solving has served Patrick well as he’s advanced through his career. How to build a business out of an idea Patrick built an entire, successful division of Microsoft before going on to found Strike Social, one of the fastest growing companies in the country. So I asked him how his work at Microsoft helped him get to where he is today, and he said that what’s really helped him is that he can sell. And that doesn’t just mean selling to a customer, it also means selling something internally as well. And then by taking the feedback from those pitches and really learning to build something, Patrick has done something that not many entrepreneurs can claim as their own. How did Patrick build a company so quickly? One of the key tips Patrick picked up at Microsoft is the need to do high-quality market analysis. Before you even enter a market, you need to know who your competitors are, what their strengths are and what their weaknesses are. And you have to be able to build a case for why it would be a good idea to enter that market, and why you will be successful. And so the “homework” that Microsoft required him to do has ensured that when he started Strike Social, he did the homework, too. And that has allowed Strike Social to grow rapidly. What is Strike Social? When he was at Microsoft, Patrick was part of a leading-edge technology team, and that’s no different with Strike Social. The company works with huge businesses to grow their digital advertising using artificial intelligence. And Patrick was very candid about the company’s early days, which had the company hitting the ground running because of the sales team they had in place, but also hitting speed bumps because they didn’t have a strong technical team in place. If you’re just starting a business and wondering how the best get it done, you need to listen to this week’s Just the Tips. Outline of This Episode [3:24] How Patrick got into business [6:00] What Patrick learned from selling door to door [11:09] Patrick’s history with Microsoft [13:15] How to build a business out of an idea [16:53] Strike Social [19:19] How Strike Social hit the ground running [22:27] How to hire a CTO [26:44] Dean’s partnership issues [31:45] Advice for starting a business Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Resources Mentioned Strike Social Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program: https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
On today’s episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I bury the hatchet and actually compliment each other at the start of the show. Maybe we’re on our best behavior because we have Cathy Olson on the show. Cathy is a pro at making funnels look pretty, rather than simply functional. Her company name, Funnel Gorgeous, says it all. And on today’s show, she talks with us about why marketing so often clashes with design, why focusing on design can really make your funnels stand out, and how good design does sell. You don’t want to miss this episode. Bridging design and marketing Cathy came from the design world to the marketing world, and has found that the two sides don’t always get along. In fact, as she says, there’s this idea out there that ugly things sell, and that if you’re creating a funnel the only thing that matters is whether it gets your lead to conversion as quickly as possible. But with her company Funnel Gorgeous, Cathy has been able to merge design and marketing to make funnels that convert because they are so beautiful, which allows them to really stand out. Design matters There’s an idea out there that “ugly sells.” If you look at a lot of top performing funnels, they’ll often put form way over function, and their creators may even tell you that the funnel performs better with an ugly design. But what Cathy has found is that the story you’re telling and the offer you’re presenting, it doesn’t have to trump design. In fact, if you work with a good designer, they will be able to highlight what makes your story sing, and you’ll get even better results. What makes a great design? I had to ask Cathy, what makes a good design? And she had a great, quick answer for me: A good design is something that reflects the quality of the person or product you’re designing for, and which appeals to the audience you’re attempting to reach. And she differentiates art and design by pointing out that design is really a solution-based art. It’s in service to the copy and to your offer, says Cathy, but it’s also the first thing a potential customer is going to notice. Principles of good design Cathy rejected out of hand my question to list off some good design principles. Something about her having to distill years of design school into two minutes on a podcast, but nevertheless she did offer up some great advice for listeners. The first rule, she said, is that the offer has to be immediately understandable and readable for the audience. They can’t wonder for half a second what they’re looking at or what your message is. You also have to think through the “cadence” of your content, how your potential customer is going to experience it and make sure it’s organized in a way that makes sense. Outline of This Episode [2:16] Cathy cautiously wades into the podcast [3:51] Bridging marketing and design [5:17] How Cathy reconciles all sides [10:47] Proper design principles [13:27] A multi-million dollar case study [16:10] How Cathy got into design [20:05] What is Funnel Gorgeous? [26:22] How much does color matter? Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Resources Mentioned Funnel Gorgeous The Inspired Pro Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart Program: https://jamespfriel.clickfunnels.com/about-ceo-quickstart-program?utm_campaign=learnmore&utm_medium=aep&utm_source=homepage Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
On today’s episode of Just the Tips, Dean and I pull your head out of the sand and make you think about the one thing no entrepreneur likes to consider: Money. And to do that, we have Brie Sodano on the show. Brie is a financial adviser and founder of From Sheep to Shark. Her goal is to help a million women manage their money and offer real-life advice that doesn’t come from a handbook. Brie has a great story and great advice. If you’re still struggling with money even if your income is rising, you need to listen to this week’s episode. Learning money management “on the job” Brie and her husband had a kid young, and by 23 she found herself a mom and a homeowner, with a husband who was an EMT. So managing the household budget became a matter of necessity. She then got into work at a nonprofit and realized that while she loved the work, she wasn’t making any money. So she taught herself how to trade stock options as a side hustle. And when it came time for the next thing, she realized that financial planning was the way to go. Her story will resonate with a lot of listeners, and if you listen to this episode, you can hear Brie’s advice for how life is really lived. How to get out of your financial comfort zone As Brie says on this week’s episode of Just the Tips, sometimes more income doesn’t actually change how we handle our money. Whether it’s habits you learned growing up or when you were struggling, it’s sometimes difficult to break out of our mindset around money. For instance, if you’re able to balance your income with your expenses, sometimes if your income goes up, your expenses do, too, because you’re not used to having the “extra” money. Brie works with clients all the time to get them out of those old habits, and walks listeners through one of the exercises she conducts to break you out of that mindset. Why budgets don’t work Brie works with clients for six months to tackle their financial problems, and the first thing she does is help them wrangle their cash flow. The first thing she does is get people out of thinking about “budgets.” It’s very difficult to think about your budget written on a piece of paper at home when you’re at Target buying toilet paper. So Brie came up with something called the “invisible method” to help people manage their cash flow without having to think about it at every step. And the first step is to create five bank accounts. Five. Why? Listen to this week’s Just the Tips to find out. Entrepreneurs: Keep it clean Brie works with a wide variety of clients, but she specifically works with entrepreneurs, too, on straightening out their finances. And as she says on this episode of Just the Tips: You have to keep it clean. You have to keep your personal finances separate from your business finances. That can be a very difficult thing to do, but Brie has been doing this a long time, and has great ideas for how entrepreneurs can achieve financial “cleanliness.” Sound like something you could use help with? Listen to this week’s Just the Tips. Outline of This Episode [3:45] How Brie got into helping people with money [5:44] What Brie learned as a financial planner [6:55] Why people get into financial troubles [8:46] How to break out of old habits [12:12] Why budgets don’t work [19:14] What about credit cards [24:05] Entrepreneurs who need help with money [26:08] Brie’s Sheep to Shark system Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Resources Mentioned Sheep to Shark Sign up for the Invisible System Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: AutoPilot Entrepreneur Program: www.jamespfriel.com/autopilot Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/autopilotentrepreneur Site: www.jamespfriel.com Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/
© 2020-2025 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
