Podcasts about hey steve

Good morning and welcome to the ride! "Hey Steve, John Walker. How you doing man have a great day today it's gonna be a great day (click)." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

I'm a guy who really needs to follow recipes. I've proven it in all areas of my life, ha ha. That's not to say I don't add little 'personal touches' here and there for flavor...but I am at my best when i take what other people have already created (with proven results) and using that as my foundation. How about YOU? In today's episode, I talk about why it is so important that I do *not* make Coconut Hockey Pucks! Want to have a conversation about how YOU can find your Best Recipes? "Hey Steve, Lets's Get On a Call!!

Steve Pockross has been the CEO of Verblio for nearly five years. As CEO, he applies leading marketplace and SaaS principles to create an industry-leading content creation platform with 3,000 U.S.-based writers supporting the creation of premium content at scale in every niche. Verblio has grown over 400% in the last four years. So, Steve is sharing his insight on why it's important to lead by putting people first and how that contributes to your agency's growth as a whole. 3 Golden Nuggets Exhibit your agency's values. Don't just say what your values are but actually exhibit them. Lead by example and personify the company culture you wish to set. The key to finding great talent is marketing to them. Treat your recruitment like you would a client. Write a unique job description that appeals to the right person and then market to them. Attract agency talent the way you would attract customers for your clients. Three keys to putting people first: (1) willingness to sacrifice other areas, (2) constantly seek feedback, (3) reward people who identify holes in the culture.   [smart_track_player url="https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/jasonswenk/How_to_Lead_Your_Agency_Team_By_Putting_People_First.mp3" ] Sponsors and Resources Verblio: Today's episode of the Smart Agency Masterclass is sponsored by Verblio. Check out Verblio.com/smartagency and get 50% off your first month of content creation. Our team loves using Verblio because of the ease in their process and their large pool of crowd-sourced writers. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM Leading Your Agency Team By Putting People First Jason: [00:00:00] What's up beautiful agency owners! I'm excited. I have another amazing podcast guest who actually has been back several times. I don't know why we keep inviting you back. No, I'm just kidding. He's a good friend of mine and, uh, we'll provide lots of value. And we're going to talk about leading with people first for your agency. Now, before we jump into the show, I want you to do something. I want you to take a screenshot off your phone, listening to the podcast, upload it to Instagram, tag us. And give us a shout-out on Instagram. And then I can shout you back and say, Hey, thanks for listening to the show. So let's go ahead and get an episode. Hey Steve, welcome to the show. Steve:: [00:00:40] Hey Jason. Good to be back. Jason: [00:00:42] Yeah. I don't know. Like I said, I keep inviting you back, I guess you do well each time. So now we'll welcome back for the people that have not checked out the other episodes and we'll link those. Into the show notes of the episodes to make sure you guys go to JasonSwenk.com and check those out. Tell us who you are and what do you do? Steve:: [00:00:58] So I'm Steve. I am the CEO of Verblio. Oh, we are a Denver-based marketplace, content creation platform. So we have a network of highly curated, fantastic writers that we put together with our unique business model and put it on our platform so that we can do high quality content at scale for any niche. And we work primarily for agencies. Jason: [00:01:19] Awesome. Well, welcome back. And let's kind of jump into it, right? So, Let's talk about what does it mean to lead with people first and a growing company? I mean, you guys are, I think, 30 plus employees on your team. And I think a lot of agencies will relate to this. Steve:: [00:01:37] We've been fortunate to have some really high power growth in the last. So I took over as CEO four and a half years ago, and we were talking about what are some of the lessons that we could really pass on to agencies to help them with their growth as well, that can relate between the type of business that we do and the type of work that agencies do. And so one of those big strategies is putting people first. And that might sound like the most cliche strategy of all time. Going back to "Good to Great." Put the right people on the bus first. I think we took a really, well, we think about it and brought it to every aspect of our business. And so I think bringing it to life is really interesting. And hopefully, some of these nuggets that helped us can really help others. And has helped us grow 400% over four and a half years as a bootstrap startup. So with no investment in order to fund that growth, all being organic growth. And it's also helped us grow when I first started, we were 11 people for the first three years. And over the last two years, we've gone from 11 to 30. So how do you accelerate that growth with the right people strategy? And then also, how do you ensure that it continues to build, even as you're expanding rapidly? Jason: [00:02:38] Yeah. A lot of times I see kind of people, they get to certain stages of climbing the mountain, and they kind of backtrack. Right? And like, I'm looking at growing any business or really growing an agency. And it kind of like six phases, right? Like you got staging base camp, the climb, the crux, the crest, and then obviously the summit. And each one of them you're focused on different things. Like at the very beginning, you're focused on how do I build this company and then like, what do I need to focus on? How do I get further ahead, all that kind of stuff. So when you came in and you guys were 11 people, what was the main thing that you were focused on? And what was the big challenge that you were trying to overcome? Steve:: [00:03:18] Well, it's hard to boil it down to just one, considering anybody who's ever taken over a company or a division knows that you're kind of moving into somebody else's house. It's kind of like this: I'm very grateful to have this house. It's really beautiful. I'm excited to live here. And then you question every single choice made about that house. Why are the carpets on the floor? Why are their sconces all over the place? And so I think a lot of those decisions are really frequent to that. So number one is to keep an keep in mind that a lot of people put in a big deal in order for you to get there. And the second is to question everything. So the first thing that was most important to me was instilling my values in the company and then making them not like imposing them, but creating an, "our values." So I knew that whatever I started with, there are things that are just deal breakers for me, like follow up on what you say. If you commit to it, you're going to do it, or you're going to create a natural distrust throughout your organization. And so the very first thing I said at the meeting when people ask me: What would new leadership be like? We started creating those values. And the most important thing was less to say what they were, but really to exhibit them. That I follow up on everything that I'm standing for. That I bring enthusiasm and excitement to my meetings and my projects. That I plan them out. And my very first hire was Paul, who, you know, very well. Whereas partially 'cause I knew he was an amazing marketer, but we really invested very little in marketing at the beginning because we wanted to focus too much on the product. And the most important piece was that Paul exhibited all the values to every other new member of the team. This is what good looks like. The CEO can be there all the time and having members of your team that just emulate those values for you and can start bringing them to life is critical. So that was my first big investment. Jason: [00:04:55] Well, I think you just brought him on because he looked like Will Ferrell. Well, you said a couple of really cool things and a lot of us, I think, you said question everything. And this was for you coming in from an outsider with no emotion coming into it. Now, most people that are listening to the show, they've created it from the ground up. And a lot of times, kind of, what I want you guys to unpack is: you should question everything that you've made the decision to get here. And question everybody on your team as well on an ongoing basis. I mean, I almost think it's kind of quarterly. Like, I live and die by 90 days rather than the year. Sure. We have yearly goals, but I'd rather be able to adjust quicker and, you know, I try to question everything as well. I think that's really good. And then the other thing I love that you mentioned was, you know, marketing. That's one of the first things I tell people is like, you gotta bring in marketing, you know, in the early stages, in order to really build that pipeline. And then, you know, marketing should break sales and sales should break operations and blah, blah, blah, and so on and so on. So I love it. What are some surprising things that happened to you about, you know, building this culture? Steve:: [00:06:13] I think one of the most surprising things was that the values that I, that I set out to create took their own form. They really bonded with the people that we brought on board. So I always talk about my management style as being, I want to run my company like  run my ultimate Frisbee team, so I want it to be incredibly, it's funny cause the ultimate Frisbee teams are the maximum size of 30 people and I just hit 30. So I don't know what I'm going to say now. But it's being super collaborative. It's rooting on for people. It's focusing when you're in your huddles and you're down 12 to 2, you get into the huddle and you talk about how much fun we're going to have and how much enjoyable this is gonna be. And cheer for each other. As opposed to going around and talking about all of the different processes you're going to create  to win the game. It just brings everybody down. And so I really wanted to call it the spirit of the game value and the rest of my team. Uh, there are almost no athletes and they all refer to it these sports is "sports ball," so they captured it. And they basically said that even we, we played like can ultimate Frisbee team, even though 73% of our company doesn't know what a sport is. And then kind of wrote it up in our own really distinct way. It's really interesting how culture is not you. Culture is how all of you make it together. And then when, before we leave the 90 day feedback thing, I think you said something really important. One of my favorite, most important concepts to me of 90 days is every new person, especially if you're an agency owner. You started this place, you're going to have a very distorted view of your reality, because this is yours. This is your baby. And so 90 days is such a great time. Every new hire that comes onto your company, to ask them a really explicit. What happened to the company that wasn't what you expected to happen? How was the setup for you ahead of time? How are we not living up to the things we talk about? Cause I can't see these things. So the question that I asked my teammates and every one on one. And I talked to, I have a one-on-one with everyone in the company, at least quarterly is what are the things that you're seeing that you think I would want to know? Jason: [00:07:59] I love that. Well, you know, I talk with someone recently and we talked about everyone says they have an open door policy. But most of your team members are not going to step through that door. You actually have to go out after them and ask those direct questions like you just did. Be like, what are you seeing that I'm not? Because they're going to see things differently than management and leadership. Talk a little bit about, you know, especially coming in from the outside and having a team of 30. Are you more the mentality now, like when you came in, were you focused on kind of like the what and the, how? Or were you focused on the who? Like, who do I bring in? I know you mentioned bringing in, you know, Will Ferrell. Literally. I wish I had a little overlay right now. I could pop side by side. Like everyone would like, yeah. He's Will Ferrell. I really don't think he looks that much like Will Ferrell, but.. Steve:: [00:08:52] I know you're the only one that doesn't. Jason: [00:08:54] Could we do a vote on your podcast to have people write in. We should, we should. We we'd literally. What we'll do is we'll put a picture of a, him and Will on the very bottom. And then, uh, or maybe we'll put it on Facebook when we post it up. I think that's what we'll do. Steve:: [00:09:12] So back to your actual question. Yes. So you get the what, the how. A lot of people refer to that in another business framework for the exact same question is, do you focus first on the people, the product or the processes? Because these are the three ways you can address all problems. To me, you have to focus on the people first because they decide the processes. They decide the product. They're the ones who are going to be taking your vision 10 levels down and making every decision to bring it to life. And so hiring became our absolute priority of making sure we were bringing on the right people and not making mistakes. And then our second became making sure we kept these people. So our churn levels are just ridiculously low. We waste very few cycles. They say that every person churned might be worth double the amount of their salary in lost time. And the third benefit of having a great culture is you get incredible amounts of productivity and excitement out of it. So we definitely focused on the who first. Jason: [00:10:04] Very cool. Which leads me to kind of the next question is, how do you find really good people? And how do you know when you find really good people? I think that's what a lot of people, you know, in the agency, world struggle. Steve:: [00:10:19] So our hiring strategy and a couple of the things that have that I think have been keys to access. And a lot of these were learning and iterative as we went along. Uh, one of the things that's really important to me that I think everybody can do. And it's all in your power, is to write the most unique killer job description that just attracts the type of people you're looking for. Our job descriptions are fun. I want to read them. I want to laugh at least three times is what I tell my people as they're running them. But I also really want to feel what the job is. So we write killer job descriptions and they'll stand out. How many people actually put that in. That's a big part of your marketing. You are marketing to talent. Most people only market to the roles and responsibilities and the experience. That's a huge way to stand out. The second is to create the criteria of what you're looking for. And if you can be very specific on it and also make it different from what others are looking for. So the hardest way to get talent is to hire, been there, done that. Those are the most expensive, they're most of the competitive. You're going to be fighting in a red ocean for the exact same people. All the other agencies are looking for. Are there qualities that you like in people? For us it's curiosity, creativity, and passionate about something that is not their work. So my number one question in an interview is, if you're ever interviewing with me is what's a class that you took an undergrad that you didn't think you'd be excited about, that you became unbelievably passionate about and why? And somebody who can be passionate about something that's not the job function to me shows distinct curiosity. And I think that's particularly important to marketers out there. So there was a study like most of the skills in marketing in the last three years are different than they were the five years before. Which means you need people who are going to constantly looking for how to improve their skillset. And to me, curiosity is that way to get there. How do you find somebody who just wants to do it and be passionate? So find your unique skill set that other people looking for, make yourself unique, market to them, and then have those as your criteria when you're interviewing. Jason: [00:12:14] Yeah, I would have failed that question. I'd been like, Steve, I hated every class I ever had. Steve:: [00:12:20] That's not true. I refuse to believe Jason: [00:12:23] it's pretty true. But then again, I tell people, I still want to get this shirt going "I'm retired because I'm unemployable." I'm retiredfrom working for someone else. So that would be a good t-shirt. Now that Verblio is 30 plus people. What are some things that you're doing to maintain? You know, the environment, maintain the culture? Because it starts to get out of control. Steve:: [00:12:49] It gets completely out of control. So it's interesting there. Um, so startups like agencies, I mean,  we're all kind of at the same ilk, which is that we start at a certain size and we go through these growth phases, which you coach a lot of your agencies on. So there's the right amount of process for each phase. And someone told me that when you're, uh, when you're a startup, it's like wearing the wrong size clothing all over your body all the time. You either have too much or too little at all times. And so we're working on our people in culture processes really diligently. We brought in a couple of much more process driven people who are much better at this than I am to focus on how do we bring it to life? And we're focused on a few areas. One is we just had to have a platform it's all consolidated in one area. We found an ingenious, one called Leapsome. If anybody's looking for one that brings together so many of these disparate HR platforms. As everybody only seems to be able to do one thing on an HR platform, which I don't know why. One of the most critical factors was be really clear about reviews. What we're looking for are. Creating a much better goal setting platform. So everything rolls up in our OKR style, to very top five goals of the company. So everyone knows what their role is. They update them quarterly basis. It's really process driven and it's way outside my sweet spot. It's not what I like to do. And the last is it has cultural surveys. Every month we send out 10 questions that takes less than 10 minutes to get the feedback from our team. We started this there was no one more than two levels below me. And now there are people five levels below me. How am I going to get that information? How are we going to make rational decisions about what we think is our culture? What we think our communicating, conveying versus what people are actually feeling at different levels of the company. And the last for me is those one-on-one meetings, which is I meet with everyone at least quarterly. But we do probably more one-on-ones at Verblio than anywhere I've ever been. It's a huge investment in time. It means that you're putting people first. This is really key to how we bring this to life. We could be spending that time doing more sales calls. We could be spending that time doing more platform, but we're making sure that we're empathizing with our team or understanding where they're at and we're really communicating. So we're, so we're all working more coherently together. And I think that's an investment that pays off. Jason: [00:14:55] Yeah. You know, it's kind of like when you start having a bigger team or as you start to grow that team, you're all thinking about like, how do I build the right team? And then once you build that right team, you're kind of like, how do I become that leader to them? And then, you know, the next is, is like, how can I actually grow the leaders? Especially when you have that many different layers of going well, I need to make the decision-making spread out. So it's not all flowing to us, you know, and then I'm the toll booth or even my leaders. It's like, how do I create many layers of decision-making power and freedom? And, you know, I was chatting with one agency, and, uh, he was the biggest bottleneck on the operations for a while. And he said, for many years, it was a big struggle on it because on himself, on his family, even on the agency. And then finally, he just got to a point where it was like, I'm going to document 50% of what I know. And then the team could use that as a foundation to build upon and then innovate from that. And it changed everything for him. Uh, and now they're well in the eight-figure mark and just flying to wherever they actually want to go. So, love it. What are some three tips for the listeners who want to make a decision to focus on culture and really kind of catapult them to the next level? Steve:: [00:16:21] I'll see if, I'm going to start talking and see if it ends up being three. So the first tip is what are you sacrificing when you say you want to put culture first? You're going to have to deprioritize something. We invested in an executive coach. When I'm investing in people. And I'm basically trying to find junior talent that has never done it before. What's the one area they're not, they're going to lack is that level of executive coaching. So I sacrificed the salesperson. We didn't bring on a professional salesperson until last year, after growing 300% before we did. So then we focused on an executive coach first. Cause I thought that was more important. That's a big call. That's a hard thing to tell, if you're the owner, then it's a hard thing to tell yourself. And if you have a board like I do, it's a hard thing to argue to them. So how much time is it going to take and work backwards? It's really easy to say, this is my number one priority. It's not easy to say this is my number one priority, and I'm not going to do these three things because of it. So that's my number one. My number two is to get constant feedback. It's really similar to your 90 days, like check in, do surveys. How do you keep yourself honest so you don't believe it? Come up with the right set of questions of celebration. And then number three is every opportunity you can. One of my favorite podcast guests recently, he was telling me about the hardest thing to be a CEO is to not just say one thing once. You have to say it a hundred times and keep repeating yourself until you're bored, is to keep repeating your values. This is an example of why this reflects my values, reward the people publicly. If somebody comes to you with criticism about your culture, where you're not living up to your own values. And you worked really hard to ask people, to give you a feedback, call out that person at the all hands, give them a reward and say, thank you. You are right. You're going to get a better culture, a more curious and critical thinking culture. And you're going to get less yes-people in your company. Jason: [00:18:10] Yeah. I mean, you said it. You got to kind of stand by your values. You know, just literally a little while ago, I was chatting with one of our team members and we, unfortunately, had to ask one of the mastermind members to leave. A new member over two months, there's just too many red flags, just didn't mesh. And we just didn't want it to pollute the rest of the culture. And so it hurts to say no to reoccurring revenue, but at the end of the day, you gotta know you're gonna stand on your values and not sacrifice that. And be kind of a whore for sacrificing it, which a lot of people, you know, do. Steve:: [00:18:53] There could be very few things that are more powerful to a company than fire a client that's been abusive to your people. I think one of the things I've gotten the most positive feedback on is when there was a client that was kvetching about my, uh, some of my people while they were in the room. And I just told him that was absolutely unacceptable on the call. And I think it really, like everyone on the team felt supported. Like they could do whatever they wanted and I'd have their back. But it's hard. I feel that in the moment, especially when somebody is paying your bills and you really need them. Jason: [00:19:21] Oh, yeah. But you know, you get to the kind of the next stage where you're like, I'm not going to sacrifice us. We'll figure it out. And it's just going to be that much better because yeah. Your people are everything. And if you don't have their backs, well, then they're not going to have yours. Like literally they'll hang on until they find the BBD, right? The bigger and better deal. Steve:: [00:19:46] So we've talked about kind of hiring as a people strategy, investing in people and bringing culture to life. And I think the last piece is thinking of, uh, thinking of all of the people related to your company, as your stakeholders, as your clients. For me, it's my writers. We need to treat them special. And like, I want them to have the best writing gigs in the industry so that they feel like this is the place they want to be.. Cause the more excited they are about their job, better the writing and the product will be for our clients. And all around. And so if you it's a virtuous cycle, you bring on the good people who are empathetic and excited and creative and passionate. And they start feeling all the other stakeholders in your business the same way. Jason: [00:20:22] Love it. I love it, steve. Where can people check out more about Verblio? Especially if, uh, if they need some help around content writing, which I highly recommend you guys. You guys rock and are awesome and use you guys for so many years. Steve:: [00:20:36] Cool. Thank you so much. So you can find us at Verblio.com. And you can find my podcast, the Yes and Marketing Podcast, about 54 episodes, which is a broader marketing leadership and people who bring creativity into marketing. And then we have a special offer for jason Swenk listeners out there: get 50% off your first month at Verblio.com/smartagency telling me you heard about this on the Jason's Swenk show, and we'll give you two months of free onboarding as well to help you out. And which we hope is an easy process, but we know that's a big lift for some of you. Jason: [00:21:09] Awesome. Well, thanks so much, Steve. And thanks for coming on the show. And if you guys enjoyed this episode, make sure you comment below. Make sure you subscribe, so you don't miss out a new episode and make sure you actually take Verblio up on that offer. I mean, that's killer, they're giving you 50% off the first couple of months, so it's amazing. Thanks so much for doing that. And if you guys want to leave a comment or review, that will help us out to reach more people, especially if you listen to the whole way through. And until next time have a Swenk day.

Welcome to our show Unsealed: Life Beyond the Bolts! Each week, Kate Dillon from Crate Insider and Steve Hendren from Hendren Racing Engines go live on the Crate Insider Facebook page to chat about world events, random things, and to answer tech questions. This Week Kate has had a productive week getting things done "around the house", which means she has been in full video mode. Steve has been enjoying the lap of luxury driving around in his new 2021 Dodge Charger! Both have been struggling with finding parts due to the lack of production caused by the pandemic. Take care of your parts folks, certain replacements are scarce. Questions Asked On The Show Flat bottom (Velstac) air cleaner base. Any advantage on a 1/4-3/8 track? Antioch/ Ocean Considering running the Duel in the Desert in November. Is there a good way to figure out what rear gear I need without blowing up my motor? Any idea on the wait time on the 602 matched valve springs? I guess the question is open header vs. Muffler on those size tracks? Hey Steve and Kate any news on getting new 604’s? Steve, mufflers on 3/8 mile 604 or 1/2 mile track 604? Walker base or dave's base on 602? Whats the future of Crate racing look like with GM stating they are going to phase out gas powered cars? Any bypass regulators in stock yet?

Welcome to our show Unsealed: Life Beyond the Bolts! Each week, Kate Dillon from Crate Insider and Steve Hendren from Hendren Racing Engines go live on the Crate Insider Facebook page to chat about world events, random things, and to answer tech questions. This Week This week is a very special week for everyone! Crateinsider.com celebrated its 7 year anniversary, and the Unsealed-Life Beyond the Bolts show has been in production for a full year! We celebrated with a couple of margaritas and of course Steve's (basic) Ultra.  Questions Asked On The Show 602 carb is loading up in corners and blowing gas out of breather. Changed carb and did same thing. Not loosing fuel pressure. Got 9 pounds of pressure. Never had this problem before. To much fuel pressure? Is it worth indexing the plugs in a 602? Steve question about 602 crate 650 vdl built for VP CHP fuel torque of engine real good but peak at 3800 seams to run better at 5600 than 6000 6000 chip rule what do you think? I have the flat base air cleaner from Kate question is how high off the carb should it be? Yes asphalt b mod 2500lb just wondering about torque 410 at 3800 thin drops off 390 he power at 5000 thin drops off how does the torque work better when it's falling off? Does the 602 have a 1 or 2 piece balancer? Hey guys. With running E85 would timing be about the same as running 93 octane? Do I need to get regulator and get pressure down? What does it cost to rebuild a 602? How accurate are the timing marks on the 604 balancers? Hey Steve i have a 525 that keeps burning up a cam sensor. Can you recommend a fix? On a 602 imca Northern sport mod. What is the best bolt on part cost vs performance gain? Steve thoughts on a 650 braswell carb on a 602 your engine 1 season old? What is the best pulleys and fan to run on a 602 I am running reverse mount power steering?

Winter can take its toll on your mind. The walls close in. The sky is grey and the snow piles up. Every morning you bundle up, scrape the windshield, crank the heat, and trudge to work. Then the call comes, “Hey Steve, wanna play poker Saturday night? Give me a call if you can make it.” WPR’s Steve Gotcher takes us to a night of backyard poker inside a tent. This story is airing as part of “Wisconsin Life’s” 10th anniversary. Producer Steve Gotcher chose to share this story as part of the celebration because he’s proud of the production. Plus, the time with his friends puts a smile on his face.

Welcome to our show Unsealed: Life Beyond the Bolts! Each week, Kate Dillon from Crate Insider and Steve Hendren from Hendren Racing Engines go live on the Crate Insider Facebook page to chat about world events, random things, and to answer tech questions. This Week Kate just arrived back from Nebraska where she finished her Racelogic Chassis School tour. That means her week will be once again filled with editing the class for the online version. Steve has had his typical week of catching up on awesome engine work, and hanging out at his favorite bar.   To get access to the online version of the Racelogic Chassis School, click here. Questions Asked On The Show Where can people find some more horsepower on the 602 motors without cheating? Header style/brand? Distributors? Carb brand? On a 604 do you prefer to run a motor first like 5 nights then blue print it or blue print it right out of the box? Spark plug heat range on e85? Is the Super Bowl still the recommended carb for 604 on E85? How much of a blend can be made before it changes specific gravity? Hi question about oil changes. Should I change my oil more often running CHP? Steve, what all do you do to your 604 engines, what kind of packages do you offer? On 604 what’s the best fuel? If you could run any carb spacer 1" and under on a crate what would it be? My track ban CHP so I'm going to run a basic 96-100 fuel. What air fuel ratio makes the best power for 602? What is the optimum engine temp for the 602? Muffler or no muffler? Hey Steve what’s wait time on ordering a new 604 from you? Kate and Steve 602 dual or single exhaust? Best dirt late model 604 header?

Welcome to our show Unsealed: Life Beyond the Bolts! Each week, Kate Dillon from Crate Insider and Steve Hendren from Hendren Racing Engines go live on the Crate Insider Facebook page to chat about world events, random things, and to answer tech questions. This Week Kate has had a busy birthday week finishing up the Racelogic Chassis School Street Stock Class! Which was just in time, because she heads out to Nebraska later this week for the next class. Steve's week has been more than the typical week of building engines. He had his work cut out for him picking out the perfect birthday present for Kate. We think he nailed it.  To get access to the online version of the Street Stock Chassis School, click here. Questions Asked On The Show 602 and 180 headers...any benefit? What is the best exhaust size to run with a 602? Mufflers or not for back pressure? would you agree with Tim McCreadie that more and more drivers have less respect for other drivers due to the lack of consequences for driving through people? Hey Steve, Have you done anymore testing with the e85 plugs, distributor, that you working on last summer? Have you dyno'd multi-fire sparkplug wires? Supposed to be 15ohms or less. What is the proper color seals for Crate Racing USA not what I call the coke bottle cap seals for 604 crates?

Drew and Steve select an hour of great songs from 2020 without repeating any songs played last year!  Artists this week are Dream Wife, Gum Country, Fontaines DC, The Smashing Pumpkins, Hey Steve, The Rentals, Hazel English, Freezepop, The Killers, Shopping, Public Practice, The Struts, Wyldlife, Sweeping Promises.  Originally airing January 1, 2021.

Welcome to our show Unsealed: Life Beyond the Bolts! Each week, Kate Dillon from Crate Insider and Steve Hendren from Hendren Racing Engines go live on the Crate Insider Facebook page to chat about world events, random things, and to answer tech questions. This Week We have had a great week promoting the CARS Racing show happening this week! Were going to have awesome items for sale in our booth, as well as all the other exhibitors. New products are also going to be unveiled. If you haven't registered for your free tickets, check out the website!  Want To Join The Racing Show? To get your FREE tickets click here. Questions Asked On The Show Best x85 carb? On a 604. What fuel is better? E85 or chp? Hey Steve what are your thoughts on VDL carbies?  Will you guys have Spring Smashers at the show? You can check out this episode on our YouTube channel here.  

The Pitch List Season 3 Finale, featuring the iconic Luke Dick, is here! From writing hit country songs like “Velvet Elvis” (Kacey Musgraves) to creating quirky, edgy indie rock tracks for his band Hey Steve, to the new soundtrack from his documentary “Red Dog” (chronicling his unique upbringing in a strip club), Luke is genuinely one of a kind. In this episode, Luke and Chris talk about his background in philosophy, chasing down what you’re passionate about, bringing authenticity to your work, + more. Thanks for listening this season, and don’t forget to visit us on social media to enter our holiday giveaway! See you in 2021.

This week check out our set of songs about the inner planets of our solar system.  We not only play great music but educate as well. Artists this week are Hey Steve with Patrick Carney, Public Practice, The Undertones, Freezepop, No Vacation, Chromatics, Graham Parker & The Rumour, Jason Faulkner, The Fools, Kaiser Chiefs, Billy Bragg, Julia Jacklin, Pixies, Sleeping In The Aviary, The Spell, Tenacious D.  Originally aired November, 13 2020. Twitter: @SUBedford1051Facebook: SuburbanUndergroundRadioInstagram: SuburbanUnderground And available on demand on your favorite podcast app!

This Oklahoma born, Nashville-based songwriter and artist has written songs for the likes of Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Dierks Bentley, The Brothers Osborne, The Highwomen, Eli Young Band, and more. This year, he is nominated for Song of the Year at the 54th CMA Awards for co-writing Miranda Lambert’s #1 single, “Bluebird” from her album ‘Wild Card’ for which he wrote 5 songs. He also notably co-wrote Dierks Bentley’s hit single “Burning Man,” Kacey Musgraves’ “Velvet Elvis” for her GRAMMY-winning Album of the Year, ‘Golden Hour,’ and Eric Church’s single “Kill A Word.” As an artist, he fronts the new wave punk band called Hey Steve. The band delivers its rebellious message in a way that only they could conjure. Rolling Stone Country calling our guest and his band “something of an anomaly in the Nashville songwriting community.” Last year he premiered his first feature-length documentary, ‘Red Dog,’ at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival. The film which he co-directed, co-produced, and scored, explores his childhood experiences living at The Red Dog, an Oklahoma strip club where his teenage mother worked as a dancer. He just released a new song as a solo artist called "Polyester" featuring Miranda Lambert. And The Writer Is… Luke Dick!This episode is sponsored by BMI.Art: Michael Richey White See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Land Academy Continuing Education Explained (LA 1357) Transcript: Steven Jack Butala: Steve and Jill here. Jill DeWit: Hello. Steven Jack Butala: Welcome to The Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I'm Steven Jack Butala. Jill DeWit: And I'm Jill DeWit, broadcasting from gorgeous Park City, Utah. Steven Jack Butala: Today Jill and I talk about The Land Academy Continuing Education Program Explained. Jill DeWit: What? What did you say? Steven Jack Butala: We spent six months asking Land Academy members, and just everybody, what more they want. How can they be more successful? We know a substantial number of you are doing great, what can we do better? Do you need to be more educated? Do you need another program? What do you need? They all said, or the vast majority of people said, "We need some form of continuing education in the form of we need to stay motivated." Jill DeWit: Keeping us on track. Steven Jack Butala: "We need to know how to utilize the MLS better," and on and on and on. Jill DeWit: Where I should be right now today. Steven Jack Butala: Yeah, we need a consistent, long-term module after module. "Hey Steve, you're always talking about these new ways to look at data. Can we have a class on it? Or can we get together in a small group, ask questions and get your attention. Maybe six or eight of us or 10 of us?" So, Jill and I will talk about that in a second. I can't wait, because I didn't realize it, but I'd like to teach. Jill DeWit: I know you do. Steven Jack Butala: Before we get into it, let's take a question posted by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community, it's free. Jill DeWit: And you're great at it. Steven Jack Butala: Thank you, Jill. Jill DeWit: Kathy wrote- Steven Jack Butala: Jill's in vacation mode. Jill DeWit: I am. Steven Jack Butala: She's happy. Jill DeWit: This is fun. Kathy wrote, "Hi. We are considering buying a nine acre property that has a narrow frontage on a curve. Because of the curve, there's a guardrail." I hope that's not right in front of the property, this is interesting. "Not sure how this would be addressed for road access." That answers my question. "Will the County take down some of the guardrail or would we have to request access from a neighbor? The County office is hard to get ahold of, but wondering if anyone else has had this issue. Thanks, Kathy." Steven Jack Butala: May I? Jill DeWit: Go right ahead. Steven Jack Butala: What? Jill DeWit: I'm sorry. Guardrail, curve, slope. Uh oh, that's my train of thought there. Steven Jack Butala: Jill and I late last year purchased a commercial piece of property in Ohio for 10% of what it was listed. It was listed for a while. It came off the market, we gave them an outrageous offer. It was a [inaudible 00:02:38] deal that came in from another member. They accepted our offer because of life circumstances, it had every single thing you're talking about. We made $250,000 on it, here's why. We checked with, and it was a commercial piece of real estate that was zoned for- Jill DeWit: Hotel. Steven Jack Butala: Hotel. Hotel, motel hospitality. So it had all these things and I had the same exact concerns, almost in this order that you have. We found out through talking to the right people and talking to the person who eventually bought it from us that that's how they've gotten over it in the past. So none of this scares me, none of it. Jill DeWit: Can I share? Steven Jack Butala: Yeah. Jill DeWit: One of the things that we did that was really perfect for you, Kathy, right now, you do want to find out for sure from the County what the end result is. Then call number two and three and four are to three different brokers getting opinions, because that's what helped us in that transaction too. Once we figured out what was possible, then we had to talk to a couple of brokers and go, "Do you have people for this type of a thing?" We all know now what they need to do while they do...

This week on Suburban Underground, Steve picked a set of songs about unrest in the streets, continuing with week 2 of our 2020-fest.  Drew went another direction and chose a set of songs about other artists Artists this week are The Dollyrots, Savages, A Flock Of Seagulls, New American Shame, Better Than Ezra, Metro Trinity, The Organ Beats, Blue Oyster Cult, David Bowie, La Femme, Laura Marling, Candace, No Vacation, U2, Badmouth, Hey Steve and Girl In Red. Originally aired October 9, 2020.  Twitter: @SUBedford1051Facebook: SuburbanUndergroundRadioInstagram: SuburbanUnderground And available on demand on your favorite podcast app!

Talking Points: I'm Ryan Stiles, Watermelon Mahogadunkaroos, Gamecube Run, Outdated Discs, That Guy, #ChipDam, Snack of All Trades, Raw Surl, Hey Steve, Back it up Terry, Ash to Ash, Diglett is People, Disc Lonely If you'd like to watch the show live, join us on the first Tuesday of every month over at Twitch.tv/ProtonJon at 9pm EST.

This week on Suburban Underground, Steve picked a couple of long new wave songs.  Don't worry, they are so good they go by so fast, without even realizing how long they are. Artists this week are Hey Steve, Green Day, Otoboke Beaver, Kula Shaker, The Suicide Machines, Ivy, Public Practice, Wolf Alice, Men I Trust, Soul Coughing, The Kills, The The, Japan, Roxy Music. Originally aired September, 18, 2020.  Twitter: @SUBedford1051Facebook: SuburbanUndergroundRadioInstagram: SuburbanUnderground And available on demand on your favorite podcast app!

In this week’s instalment of the Future Tribe podcast, we chat with CMO of Thycotic and best-selling author, Steve Kahan. Steve has worked in the start-up scene for over 30 years and in that time has been able to help companies such as Thycotic go public or be sold, resulting in a total value of more than $3 billion. As you can imagine, Germaine and Steve spend a great deal of this episode talking about the benefits of starting your career off at a start-up as opposed to a large corporation. Our guest also gives some solid advice on how to differentiate a good start-up from a bad one and how to find positions in these companies, as they can often be hard to find. The episode concludes with Steve talking about how he was able to find a good work-life balance despite his busy schedule.   What we talk aboutWorking at a start-up vs. working at a large corporationAlternative employment routesContent marketing and value creationFinding a work-life balanceLinks from this episodehttps://beastartupsuperstar.com/ (Steve’s Website)https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevekahan (Steve’s Linkedin)https://www.amazon.com/Be-Startup-Superstar-Ignite-Working/dp/1119660408 (Steve’s Best Selling Book)Find us elsewherehttps://futuretri.be/ (Future Tribe Website)https://www.instagram.com/futuretri.be/ (Future Tribe on Instagram)https://www.linkedin.com/in/germainemuller/ (Germaine on LinkedIn)https://www.instagram.com/germa_ne/ (Germaine on Instagram)https://futuretheory.com.au/ (Futuretheory Website)Transcript Disclaimer: This transcript was generated automatically and as such, may contain various spelling and syntax errors Germaine: [00:00:00] . [00:00:00] Hello, future tribe. Welcome to another episode of the podcast on this week's episode, we've got Steve Kahan from Thycotic. How are you, Steve?[00:00:08] Steve: [00:00:08] I'm doing great. Thank you for having me.[00:00:10] Germaine: [00:00:10] No worries at all. Um, let's get the ball rolling. What's what's Thycotic all about to start off with and what do you do there?[00:00:17] Steve: [00:00:17] So Thycotic is a cybersecurity company focused on protecting, what's known as privileged passwords that exists throughout any organization's infrastructure. And I'm the chief marketing officer.[00:00:31] Germaine: [00:00:31] Okay. So is it sort of like a last pass, but you know, were way more advanced for sort of enterprise? Is that, is that how we can think of you?[00:00:41] Steve: [00:00:41] In a way, right? So  last pass a good product, and it sort of works for, personal users, some, sometimes small businesses and really where Thycotic  focuses in on is nonhuman passwords as well as human as well. So if you think about [00:01:00] it, Every operating system, database application, et cetera, has a password associated with them.[00:01:06] And big companies have no idea how many passwords they have. And so they go unmanaged and as a result, they're not secured and we help to secure them and reduce their risks.[00:01:19] Germaine: [00:01:19] Right? So API keys, things like that as well, I assume.[00:01:23] Steve: [00:01:23] Yes.[00:01:24] Germaine: [00:01:24] Okay. And how big Thycotic to get, give an idea of, the, the team behind you?[00:01:30] Steve: [00:01:30] Sure. So actually when I started at Thycotic a little over four years ago, we were 6 million in revenue. And now , four years later we'll be 106 million. So we've been on a rapid growth, Trajectory. And it's really the result of the market that we play in. And I think working with some amazingly talented people and just really great solutions,[00:01:56]Germaine: [00:01:56] let's, um, let's sort of rewind a little bit.[00:02:00] [00:01:59] How did you find yourself at Thycotic? You give us an idea of sort of your journey to get there. Yeah. And, let's start with, what you sort of did out of school. and you know, Give us a bit of a timeline.[00:02:12] Steve: [00:02:12] Sure. So, uh, now, as you might be able to see if you, if you happen to be able to see the video that I've got a few lines in my face and some gray hair.[00:02:22] And so I've actually been in the technology space and mostly in cyber security for 30 years. And so, when I graduated university, I  went to school and would hear very often from my father when I would grow up, he'd say, Steve, get your degree, go to work for a large corporation. You work hard. They'll take care of you and you'll have a great career.[00:02:47] And of course he would say your mother and I would much prefer that you become a doctor or a lawyer. But short of that, getting a job at a large corporation will do. So that was the path I took. And so I [00:03:00] graduated university. I went to work at a. A large, organization processing claims. And I remember staring at my bank statement and the pile of claims.[00:03:11] I had a process that day. Wondering how on earth will I ever get ahead? And I work long hours, the student loans would take a hold of my paychecks before they ever get a chance to hit my bank account. So about a year or so into that role, I asked myself an important question and that was how could I earn a great living and love the work I do.[00:03:36] And that led me into the startup world. And now I am, at my seventh startup, in a 30 year span. all six prior have either sold or have gone public, generating over $3.5 Billion in shareholder value.[00:03:53] Germaine: [00:03:53] Wow. That is a, that's some big numbers right there. so how's the Thycotic. So cause you know, one of a [00:04:00] 106 million, quite a solid sort of traction for, for a startup, how old's Thycotic to start off with.[00:04:07] Steve: [00:04:07] So Thycotic. When, when I joined, I joined along with our CEO. He and I had worked together in the past when a venture capital company invested in the company. And, and Thycotic was a few years old when we joined and now, we've are about eight years, uh, in the making. And so the, the first few years, it sort of struggled the around, around it was bootstrapped company.[00:04:35] It had a good product, uh, but really the founder, uh, needed some help and capital to grow the company. And it's when the. Insight venture partners actually bought into the company and brought in people like myself and the CEO. When we. Really took a great start and a great foundation that the company had also a tremendous culture [00:05:00] and, uh, built on it and did sort of the things that, that experienced, technology executives would do too.[00:05:07] help, the company, get on that growth path that we have been fortunate enough to achieve.[00:05:13] Germaine: [00:05:13] Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. And, we're jumping around a little bit, but now you said this is your, this was his seventh startup you worked at, is that correct?[00:05:21] Steve: [00:05:21] That's correct.[00:05:21] Germaine: [00:05:21] Yeah. So let's rewind. I'm actually, how old are you now, if you don't mind me asking, just to sort of pull things on an actual year, year sort of timeline.[00:05:30] Steve: [00:05:30] For sure. So I'm actually 58 years old, so, I'm old and over the Hill.[00:05:37] Germaine: [00:05:37] Hey, Hey, you, you don't know how science is going for, for all we know we've got a, you know, another hundred years left in ya. ,So let's go back 30 years. So that'll put you at say 28. Um, is that when you started your first startup job?[00:05:51] Steve: [00:05:51] Yeah, actually a few years before that. Right. So I, I started, at first startup, I kinda made all the mistakes in the world just in terms of [00:06:00] joining that company. But,  the company that I joined, it was pretty cool. It was a, I was the first person hired into marketing. And, it was, hired into a company with a small team of crazies hell bent on changing the world and changing the way applications were being developed.[00:06:18] And so it was pretty cool. I mean, uh, when I joined, uh, interestingly in the first week, I remember looking at the office next to mine and there were people. Rolling out the copy machine. They unplug, plugged it, put it on a Dolly, roll that right out. And I came to find out a few days later. It was because of the company couldn't afford to pay for that copy machine.[00:06:43] Germaine: [00:06:43] Wow.[00:06:44] Steve: [00:06:44] And, uh, it was, you know, pretty interesting, but I was blind to it. I was so pumped and excited to work on this venture with this team that just was so passionate, had this just a total commitment and belief that somehow we would figure it out. And just a [00:07:00] few years later, that company that couldn't afford to pay.[00:07:03] For the copy machine, it went public and I got the bug and never left the startup world.[00:07:08] Germaine: [00:07:08] Wow. , what year was that? When you joined?,[00:07:11] Steve: [00:07:11] Oh my goodness.[00:07:11] Many, many years ago. I mean, it was probably 25 years ago.[00:07:16] Germaine: [00:07:16] Yeah. Yep, yep. Yep. So you were the first person going into marketing or into that? Sort of the marketing roles at that, that organization.[00:07:23] How did you manage to actually nailed that one down? Like, did you have marketing experience before? Did you study marketing? how did, how did you manage that?[00:07:32] Steve: [00:07:32] I really didn't. Right. And so, I was just super aggressive just in terms of, being persistent with the company's executives. Uh, they probably couldn't afford a, an experienced marketer either.[00:07:44] So circumstances were such that it worked on both ends and they knew that I'd stop at no ends to,  do what it would take to really learn the ropes. That it was cool because, you know, if you think about, if you're hired [00:08:00] into a large corporation, you're oftentimes hired into a smaller pigeonholed role where your sphere of influence is quite small.[00:08:09] And so, being hired into that startup, if the work was going to get done, I was going to be the one to do it from a marketing perspective. And so what that gave me the opportunity to do was to try everything right. And it was just so cool that get that opportunity to try things that I had never before.[00:08:28] And I took the opportunity if I would read articles or read about some cool marketing that organizations were doing. I would contact the people that were referenced in those articles at that time. And oftentimes those people, um, they realized that there were others that helped them to achieve the success that they had achieved.[00:08:50] Yeah. And we're happy to talk about themselves and. share some of the lessons that they learned to help me to, navigate around some of the [00:09:00] trial and error approach to helping a small company, um, learn how to market effectively. And so it was really cool. I was working, you know, sort of, very closely with some amazingly talented, executives.[00:09:13] Again, if I. Was working at a large corporation, for example, even right now at Facebook, I mean, you couldn't even get it around Mark Zuckerberg, security ever rub elbows with him. Right. And so I wasn't working with people of the Mark Zuckerberg type, but also very talented people, very smart. And so, I took the opportunity to learn everything I could to go to, to just take control of my own training.[00:09:42] To,  really focus on doing and learning and failing forward sometimes. And, and as I mentioned, we were more successful than, I had ever dreamed when I joined. and it was why the company just a few years after I joined, was able to grow to the point that we're able to go [00:10:00] public,[00:10:00] Germaine: [00:10:00] go public.[00:10:01] Yeah. I mean, this, this story, your story really hits home because, It's sort of similar to how I sort of did things, you know, going my first real job, was at a not for profit who couldn't afford to be honest, you know, couldn't afford a hot shot marketing guy. ,In fact, they could only afford me two days a week, or three days a week.[00:10:20] I think it was, and the beauty of it and why I can see why you fell, fell for startups is that you go into this. A organization who's just essentially created this role and, you know, yes, there's, there's individuals in there who can have the foresight to see that marketing is important and that marketing sort of something that they've got to focus on, but there's, there's not the rigidity around it that you're for forced to sort of go in and you're boxed in and there's people saying, no, this is what I want you to do.[00:10:51]especially when you're starting off, it gives you that. Freedom to experiment freedom to, you know, look into things and say, okay, let me try all this. And, [00:11:00] and yes, Hey, the budgets might not be there and you might not know be making, you know, a hundred thousand dollar ad purchases and things like that.[00:11:07] But what you get instead is. This very, I mean, this bootstrapped, you know,  everything that you do you have to test yourself, you have to understand the parameters within which to work.[00:11:19] You have to report,[00:11:20] and it's almost like you just get a whole bunch of training. It's like the real life  training that you can't necessarily get from school and college.[00:11:30] Steve: [00:11:30] Yeah, no doubt. And I learned a very important lesson early on in my career from getting that opportunity. And essentially it was, this is that at least, uh, from a marketing perspective is you can talk to all sorts of marketers. And, you know, the world of marketing certainly has changed. It's changed for the last couple of years, but I can assure you, it has changed dramatically from, from that time.[00:11:57] But the important lesson that I learned [00:12:00] was that, that marketing needs to contribute to revenue. And it might sound like, well, of course it does. I mean, that's a simple statement, but you be surprised how often you will talk to those who happen to have a marketing expertise and like the last thing that they'll focus in on, or.[00:12:24]that they'll talk about is the stuff that they're doing and how they're actually contributing to the revenue growth story of the company. And it was that very simple concept that I have always kept in the back of my mind, no matter what the challenge, no matter what the industry or the, the stage of the company.[00:12:44] And it is that perspective and lesson learned has served me well, in 30 years.[00:12:51] Germaine: [00:12:51] Yeah. Yeah. I mean, at the end of the day, you know, it can be, revenue can be valued, but market marketing has to generate something. I think, [00:13:00] um, especially nowadays I'd know, I'd know what you, what your thoughts are out there.[00:13:04] But marketing is one of those, you know, everyone seems to have their own marketing agency or their own digital agency. they build a websites and chatbots and it seems to be this thing that. Anyone and everyone sort of does, because you know, relatively low barrier to entry, saying that, you know, we both know that, you know, the difference between someone who really knows what they're doing in marketing and has no idea is just huge.[00:13:29] Like, there's, there's just no comparison between the two, but, but the lay person doesn't see that. which makes marketing, I think one of those spaces aware. People see it as a black hole. Sometimes, you know, people just say, you can spend a whole bunch of money on marketing, but all you're doing is giving Facebook money or giving Google money.[00:13:48] What are your thoughts on, on that sort of perspective on marketing?[00:13:52] Steve: [00:13:52] Yeah. I mean, I see that all the time and I, of course work with Thycotic, but I meet with, uh, companies and entrepreneurs [00:14:00] that sort of ask for advice. And essentially when you look at sort of a strategy that I found that works, it's, it's essentially this.[00:14:09] First of all, if you want to be successful from a marketing perspective is that you, you have got to know your customers as well as you know yourself. And so it really starts with that understanding the customer, implicitly and oftentimes. What you'll find, is not what you think. So, take Thycotic, for example, we're in cybersecurity.[00:14:31] However, the users of our technology actually, oftentimes aren't security people, they're, IT admins, right? And these are people who are very busy, have diverse roles. Security is one of them. And so they want technology. That's super easy to use. It's customizable. It works away. They want to work. It doesn't get in the way.[00:14:53] Right. It's fast and simple. And so, you know, you would say, well, gee, you're in [00:15:00] cybersecurity. You're, you're supposed to be all about, you know, value proposition. That includes security. And of course we have that. But, but we focus in on our customer. We realize who's who's influencing. So it's really first and foremost understanding the customer.[00:15:14] And then I think once you do that, I have learned that I spend a great deal of my time. even right now on I'm making sure that we are creating a. amazing value proposition. That is a differentiated vis-a-vis our competition on the basis of that understanding  , I focus personally a good deal of my time on our company's content.[00:15:39] Uh, and when I say content, I'm saying things like free tools or trials or educational materials or surveys that they could take to find out how they, and relative to their peer group where they'll get immediate feedback. And so, and it's that content that has to be so great that it [00:16:00] causes. Those target buyers to actually respond.[00:16:04] Right. And so, and the response is a lead, right? And so most people. if you're like me, you almost never give away your contact information online.  And so, , when you come to our website, what you would see as a 6% visitor to a, to a lead conversion rate, which is world-class. Wow. Well, I focus on the content because I know it's gotta be so good.[00:16:31] That the people that come to our site, actually give up that information and enable us to get that a visitor to website conversion rate in. And if you're able to then drive that conversion rate, those are leads. Then you're tracking that ultimately, too. Pipeline and then, and then revenue, right? Yeah.[00:16:50] And it's some of those very basic points , that may sound quite funny or simple, but you'd be surprised how few [00:17:00] companies actually get that overall mix. Right.[00:17:04] Germaine: [00:17:04] Yeah. I mean, and it sounds like what you're talking about is, yeah, you guys do a lot of content marketing and content marketing has been big for a long time.[00:17:11] I've been going on about it. And you know, , when we start talking to clients who are just starting off and, you know, Let's say they don't have a huge budget. What I generally tell them to do is start writing blog posts that are very insightful, very, very niche are very specific to what they do. and it sounds like you guys have sort of grown past that, which is no surprise, because you would have, you know, run out of the run out of content, right.[00:17:36] About or running out of people who just want to read about that stuff. And you've. Kicked content marketing up another level. And that is to create surveys, create tools, basically put in more investment into what is content, but content that is providing, more value to the, to the end user as well. And therefore, like you've been able to do, get [00:18:00] them into sending you their contact details because.[00:18:03] You've shown them that you've got the expertise and you've essentially helped them for free because, I mean, all these tools, I'm going to guess these tools take once. You've set it up. Yes. There's maintenance, but there's no, there's no manpower needed, you know, a tool that just scales up, completely sort of hands free.[00:18:21] And is that, is that right in terms of what I'm thinking, how, how that the, the reason that you've been able to sort of really leverage those tools.[00:18:31] Steve: [00:18:31] Absolutely. Right. And you said a key word and that is value, right? And so a lot of times people create content that is more self serving in a way, rather than serving the customer and the contents got, gotta be hugely valuable.[00:18:46] I'll give you a couple of examples. So, you know, one example is we do, what's known as a privilege. Password, risk assessment. Right? And so in this case, it's, it's like very, the [00:19:00] methodology is sound and basically someone could come in, take, answer some questions and then they will get a grade, like university a through F how they're doing.[00:19:12] It's,  really solid for them to, to understand where they stand relative to their maturity within, and what's known as a privileged access management. And so they will not only get a grade. They will find out where they're doing well, where they're not doing well. And then, they will also find out, yeah.[00:19:35] Where are they stand for each of the, questions that they responded to relative to their peer group, which is companies in the same industry and, of a similar size, around the globe. And so people love that stuff. Like they want the immediate feedback. They want a grade, they want to understand where they stand.[00:19:53] And then what's cool is because it's integrated then with our Salesforce, the sales people could then be [00:20:00] very consultative and say, gee, tell me a little bit about the results that you. That you achieved and let's talk about how we might be able, we'll help you, you know, that is real value. Or we have retool that discovers these, passwords that you might not know that exists and we do it for free.[00:20:20] Right. So, you know, people have no idea. Yeah. Just given the complexity and the size of. Of of their infrastructure, what they have. And so this is functionality that is actually, or paid for product that we decided to give away for free. Right. And so,  it's offering real value. And when you do that, you create a great first impression, of the company.[00:20:46]it's a win, win, and then you have positioned yourself to earn the right to do business with  the people that requested that,  content.[00:20:57] Germaine: [00:20:57] Yeah. That's something that I've found. naturally [00:21:00] as, these channels get inundated, the quality has to increase. And again, that's what you're talking about as well.[00:21:07] It's it's. Increasing quality. And that, that, that takes just more investments. So it's no longer, you know, getting someone to spend two, three hours writing a blog post it's, spending hours and hours and testing it all out. But what you're able to do is get, get some of that proprietary information that you've been able to collect and understand why working with all your clients and then, boxing that up in a way that, gives value, provides value, not the complete value, but enough to sort of.[00:21:34] Show them what life can be with what you guys are doing and, you know, becoming a customer. so that you're sort of raising that bar where in the past, I mean, there was a time where, you know, all you needed to do to, you know, ask someone to give you, give you the email address was just put a box and say, enter your email address.[00:21:54] And nowadays I think people are much more hesitant to do that sort of thing. I mean,  I sure am. So [00:22:00] you're, you're. Sort of it's, it's becoming more competitive. Right. and you just gotta, you just gotta beat it, beat out your competition cause, I'm actually not sure. Who, who, who are your competitors?[00:22:10]you know, Thycotic is competitors. Are there some really big players in the,[00:22:14] Steve: [00:22:14] Yeah there's a larger competitor public company by the name of CyberArk. Right. And so, you know, it's key that, they're a good company, a good people, that products. Right. And so, you know, we think we've, we have some, , competitive differentiation that actually a lot of customers desire.[00:22:33] Right. And so, you know, for us, what we try to do is we try to focus on how we can, offer value in ways that they cannot. And, and obviously, the, the growth that we have achieved is, is pretty fantastic. It's, it's, three times the growth of the industry. Right. And so, clearly we're, we're doing something right.[00:22:55] And, and probably, , doing a good job of being a worthy competitor to [00:23:00] CyberArk.[00:23:01] Germaine: [00:23:01] Yeah. That's, that's a, that's a very politically correct way of saying you guys have a better product.[00:23:07] Steve: [00:23:07] Well,[00:23:07] I think so. I, you know, I think we do, but, you know, it's, I, that ultimately is judged by a share of wallet, right.[00:23:15] We definitely were customers or potential customers. They buy technology and they want it to work and meet their needs. Right. And so they want to be good stewards of their company's money. And, you know, we have focused on , some areas just in terms of differentiation of, for example, ease of use, simplicity of the product.[00:23:37]just being, being one area that, that we think we shine. And we think that a lot of people, they, they, you know, they want to move away from complexity, now more than ever. And, and that has been a big focus, uh, namely usability of our[00:23:54] Germaine: [00:23:54] technology. Yeah, just making things simple. Um, I mean, again, um, when I'm looking, looking for a [00:24:00] particular type of software, what I do is I sign up for trials around with it and if I can't work it out, um, within the first five or 10 minutes, I just, that they get.[00:24:11] Crossed off, straight away, because it doesn't matter how powerful it is, but, you know, if the onboarding process, especially nowadays with so much knowledge around that area, I mean, there's, there's just, I'm sure there's millions of articles around just optimizing the onboarding process and make it easier for people.[00:24:28]and my thought processes that if that first five minutes is difficult, Oh boy, you know, I would hate to think how that the next five minutes and so on and so forth and let alone, you know, if it's a program that I have to train someone else to use or that I need other people to use, that's just not a road that I want to travel down.[00:24:46] So usability is a huge thing these days. cause again, the, the usability, just in general, I would say that usability has, has improved across the[00:24:55] board.[00:24:56] Steve: [00:24:56] Yeah. I mean, and certainly, It worked for Apple. So if [00:25:00] it's good enough for Apple, I think it will be good enough for Thycotic.[00:25:04] Germaine: [00:25:04] Definitely, definitely.[00:25:05] Hey, I know you've released a book recently as well. Tell me a bit more about that.[00:25:10] Steve: [00:25:10] Yeah. So, I wrote a book, called be a startup superstar. And so, it's really geared towards, young professionals or those who feel stuck in their corporate career. And so it focuses in on why someone should choose.[00:25:26] A startup over a large corporation, how to find and land a job at a good startup and how to select a good startup. Uh, and then what I call under seven keys to the C suite 35 actions, attitudes and behaviors. One would have. to achieve success at a startup, it's very much, a quick read it's written in a, how to, format and, it actually has become an Amazon bestseller.[00:25:55] Germaine: [00:25:55] Oh, wow. Congratulations. it, do you have an audio book company that as well?[00:26:00] [00:26:00] Steve: [00:26:00] Yeah. Yeah. So it's a, it was published by Wiley as well as Audible.[00:26:05] Germaine: [00:26:05] Okay. Awesome. I've got an audible subscription. I'm a big audio book fan. It sort of, it's just a good way to digest content while I'm still getting things done. I find so, we'll, we'll link to that in the description as well for, for you to check out, but could you give us, could you distill some, some of the, some of the messages you pass on in that, in the book.[00:26:24] Steve: [00:26:24] Yeah. I mean, I think that, uh, one of the key messages is some of the things that I, I look for when I select a startup, right? So there's lots of startups, , the CEOs of which have, great stories. But, but for example, how do you. Differentiate a startup, that has a good story versus a startup that has both a good story as well as a good chance to succeed.[00:26:48] So I talk a little bit about some of them, the criteria that I look for when I joined a startup. so for example, one of the things that I look for is [00:27:00] quality. People who share the same values that I have. And so people reflect a company's culture. And so, you know, if you're meeting with the you're interviewing with the company, if you, if you are meeting with the management team and, you know, look for a team that really rocks your world, and if you sort of.[00:27:20]see that there could be some disconnect in terms of values. I oftentimes say move on. And one of the questions that you could ask to determine those values, if you're in the interview process that I often ask is if you weren't building your startup, tell me what you would be doing. Right. And so that really gets at a question that, um, Highlight some of the values that that person has, for example, are they potentially going into the direction where they're a micromanaging workaholic?[00:27:55] Do they have other hobbies or things that perhaps you may share in common, [00:28:00] in which you might, start to build a little bit of a deeper relationship? Does the person, for example, talk a little bit about their family. as well. Right. And so, you really could uncover some gems. another question that I'll ask, to understand the values, uh, is tell me what you love about your team and why are you the ones to solve that problem?[00:28:24] And so there again, you're is a very insightful question where you'll oftentimes be able to find out if, if this is an organization that is team-oriented. Are they, I, people where they're taking all the credit or are they, we people where they're sharing the credit. Right. So I go into a number of, items that I look for, uh, as well as the very specific questions that I would ask underneath those items, such as the ones that I've, that I've outlined.[00:28:57] And these are sort of. [00:29:00] Some of the lessons that I've learned in being fortunate enough to having selected now seven amazing startups that, that achieved a great growth.[00:29:11] Germaine: [00:29:11] I mean, it sounds like those, those tips can be used for almost any sort of job interview or, I guess even, even just other interviews, I could imagine asking some of those similar questions on a first date.[00:29:23] So maybe, maybe we've uncovered sort of a whole new market. Maybe you can change around the title and, look at selling into, you know, maybe, maybe the dating and relationships space as well.[00:29:34] Steve: [00:29:34] Yeah, well, actually my wife who is listening to me right now probably will ask me to shy away from that. but, yeah, I mean, that's a, that's not a bad idea.[00:29:46] Once the book sales start to trail off.[00:29:49] Germaine: [00:29:49] Exactly. You can, you can diversify swap out the cover. Um, I guess it's just my way of saying that, you know, it's, especially nowadays. You know, I think it's, it's a big thing. [00:30:00] Everyone's sort of saying you should start your own business status, get into a startup.[00:30:04]but you know, there are a lot of people out there who, who, wouldn't do well starting their own business. but then the next best thing is to join,  an organization that is doing that is in line with what they want to do that shares their values. and arguably, you know, there's more power now for someone to do that, then.[00:30:21] Than ever before in history,[00:30:23] Steve: [00:30:23] with that. And I, you know, I could give even your listeners a couple of tips of how to find them, right? So for example, in most, every , major city throughout the world, there's a, what's known as accelerators and these, accelerators particularly in technology. But what they do is they provide capital, expertise.[00:30:46]to the, companies that they, uh, that they perhaps might fund. And you'll often find if you Google the startup accelerators, within your given city or city that you might want to [00:31:00] live a lot of the portfolio companies or the ones that are, involved with that accelerator, they are listed and a lot of times they will be posting their jobs.[00:31:11] Online right there and think of it like that. Startups. These are not the companies that like are they're going, they're not going to career fairs. They're not doing some of the things that the large companies have, the benefit and the resources to do to go find talent, but they'll put their jobs. , on these websites.[00:31:31] Right. And a lot of times they're, they're, they're unknown. And so I encourage people to take a look at those accelerators in the Google then. And another is. That if you start, , following some, some companies and in particular, some of the executives at those companies that you might consider that you might want to join and take a look, what they say online and, uh, with, uh, technologies like LinkedIn.[00:31:58]so long as you try to [00:32:00] do an outreach in a non salesy way in a sincere. In a heartfelt manner to the executives at those companies, if you're following what they're saying and, oftentimes, talk about how you would like to be able to learn from them to get some advice for your career. what you'll find is that, as I'd mentioned earlier, that a lot of executives, they realize there are people that help them throughout.[00:32:28] Uh, their career. And, now don't be dissuaded. If not, you don't get a response from everyone cause they're busy people. But what you'll find is you'll get more response than you actually imagined. And, and so long as you take the approach that I mentioned, and then typically you're able to bridge the conversation to you and then start to talk about, uh, yourself and what your aspirations are in terms of your career.[00:32:53] Which then opens you up directly to jobs that may exist within [00:33:00] that organization or within that executives network. And so people do not go to the executives often enough directly. They oftentimes sort of apply in the same old way as everyone else, which is the standard HR route, which isn't to say that that's a bad way that you shouldn't do that.[00:33:19] But I've had a number of people, for example, outreach to me over the years. And,  they, have. Created a strong relationships with myself, some of which, uh, I've hired or have referred on to others and many others just like me do the exact same thing.[00:33:35] Germaine: [00:33:35] Yeah. It's just, you know, that advice of, um, talking to people like, like they're people, not like the, you know, big job opportunities or, you know, Opportunities to earn money or also on and so forth.[00:33:48] It's something that bugs me on LinkedIn. For example, I, I get these opening like four or five paragraphs about, you know, um, and it's a classic format of, you know, this is what we do. this is how cheap we are. [00:34:00] These are, there's some examples of some work that we've done. Hey, why don't you work with us?[00:34:04]there are no other, I I'm looking for someone like them. 100% of the time. I'm not. And second, if someone did that to me in person, I wouldn't even, I wouldn't even know what to say. I mean, how would you like that? If I can just sit you and said, you know, Hey Steve, you know, there's a description of who I am.[00:34:21] I am. I am very cheap. I any 25 bucks an hour, You know, I want to say someone while work, here's my iPad. Just go through some of my work. How about we work together like that? It just wouldn't happen. And, and you know, you're talking really just about bill, just treating them like people and having that conversation.[00:34:37] And I think even I'm putting it out there, And just, it's not about sort of, you're not owed anything, but if you approach it like, like a sincere individual who would love a helping hand, most people will look at that in that way. that they, that yes, they're time poor and yes, they're busy, but, they're much more likely to look at it in a favorable way, [00:35:00] if you would approach it correctly versus just spamming people and asking for things.[00:35:05] Steve: [00:35:05] Absolutely. and as you mentioned, you sort of are talking about people, selling you. I mean, probably a lot, like you, I get tons of, emails or even calls to my cell phone on a regular basis. In exactly the same approach and manner and style that you outlined. And I respond to none of them. Yeah. I mean, because at the end of the day, I mean, whether, you know, in the case that I mentioned, it's, it's really about people helping people.[00:35:40] And, and again, not everybody will be willing to do that, but what you'll find is, more often than not is that good people will. If they were approached in the right way, try and help others. , I certainly do. And I believe many others do. And so, I encourage people to, to try that.[00:35:59] Right. And in [00:36:00] particular, if you're thinking about, uh, changing jobs or thinking about taking your career forward,[00:36:06] Germaine: [00:36:06] Yeah, and, and it won't hurt. I just can't think of any situation way. If you do it correctly, that there's any sort of damage. The worst thing that can happen is that they won't respond to you or they'll just respond saying, sorry, you know, very time.[00:36:19] Poor. Appreciate it. But, but can't chat right now. Hey, have you, um, you you've told me so fondly about startups. Have you ever thought about getting into starting your own business yourself?[00:36:30] Steve: [00:36:30] Yeah, I actually did. I did start , a technology company that,  grew rapidly. It was ultimately sold to Novell and, there was a lot of fun.[00:36:42] Uh, I like, uh, typically, getting in with a company that's a little, a bit bigger. Right. And so there's a couple of stages of startups. You know, one is starting it from the absolute ground floor. you know, in that case, you know, writing a business plan over a weekend and [00:37:00] seeing it through finding the funding and all of that, , I, I tend to prefer, I think that there's a lot of amazingly great small startups, much like Thycotic was.[00:37:11] And so I, I really enjoy those types of companies because they've gotten through the initial sort of. Prove it a phase and then it really, is all about can the company scale and grow. And it's really that stage of startup that I, I in particular, enjoy it. Okay. And a lot of people are concerned about, starting a startup from scratch.[00:37:34] I mean, you know, sort of. Well mentioning the name, Mark Zuckerberg. There's not a lot of them. You can find the phase two, you know, maybe you're like me and you're not Mark Zuckerberg. Right. But yet you can still have a amazingly great career , professionally and, and personally, and financially.[00:37:56] Germaine: [00:37:56] Yeah.[00:37:56] Yeah. I mean, it, it is, it's sort of funny because I [00:38:00] got in, I started my own business so that I can do more of what you were talking about and going, obviously we go in more as a, as a partner, as a, as a service provider, but, you know, just being able to jump in and, almost just like propel things forward, feel that fire.[00:38:15] So you're not, you're not trying to help someone just even work out if there's a market for what they're, what they're trying to do. They've already got past that stage. and it's just a matter of then really, looking for exponential growth or, or looking at sort of triggers of exponential growth versus just trying to get traction.[00:38:31] And, that's, that's definitely a really fun, Hey. In your last 30 years, you know, in, in your career, what are, what are some mistakes that you've made, whether it's sort of specifically marketing related or if it's just career related, would love to sort of look into some sort of a teachable learnable moments.[00:38:49] Steve: [00:38:49] Sure. So I think one of the biggest. Concerns people have of startups in particular that I hear is that you're going to have to work 24 [00:39:00] by seven. Right. And so that it is just all work all the time. You're never off right hand. So, um, a lot of people just simply. I don't want to, be out of balance from a work life perspective.[00:39:15] And so I, am without question a workaholic, but what I learned early on, and it was such an important lesson was. how to actually, achieve more of a balance. And actually, I really don't like the phrase work life balance because it suggests that there's a right answer. I think that, there was a phrase I heard called work life harmony, and I really liked that because I think things ebb and flows.[00:39:42] But what I learned specifically was this. Yeah, any of your listeners are like me. They live a lot of their life through their calendar, right? So you're scheduling meetings, you're scheduling your appointments. And that really guides a lot of what you might do during [00:40:00] the day. And so, um, What I would say that you can do to kind of have better work life harmony essentially is this is you've got to learn how to protect your calendar.[00:40:13] And so, if you're listening right now, what I would challenge you to do is to open up your calendar and take a look at it right now and see how many meetings that you have scheduled with yourself. And I'll bet if you're like most people, the way I was as well, many years ago that you probably have too few.[00:40:35] And think about what that means. What that means is, is that people will. A scheduled time into another, you know, soul sucking meeting or you're you're missing time with, with your family or a kid's game or not having a meal, a dinner, or maybe even a breakfast occasionally at home with your, with your family.[00:40:57] You're not, perhaps [00:41:00] working out at lunch. If that's something that you like to do. Maybe you're not blocking out time to think strategically, or maybe even to learn something new and focusing on your own education. And so what I learned was, was how to make myself the most important priority on my calendar and go schedule those meetings and I'll do so in advance.[00:41:24] And that really helped me too. just gain a, a better sort of harmony from, you know, both the work side of things, as well as. my family and, it is a lesson that has served me very well over the course of the years.[00:41:42] Germaine: [00:41:42] Yeah. I never heard anyone sort of put it the way that you've put it, but you know, it makes a lot of sense.[00:41:46] You, you book in meetings with other people or, or clients, but why what's stopping you from booking in, in our meetings with your family meetings, with yourself. whether it, whether it is like you said, working out or even just going for a walk [00:42:00] at lunchtime, it doesn't have to always revolve around just work.[00:42:05] And I think, when you're sort of in that hustle mentality, you, you, you probably falsely think that just. Every hour in front of a computer or every hour doing work , is how you maximize your time and maximize the productivity. But, , I've found again, you know, there, there are nights or there are there even days where yeah.[00:42:23] I have more or less checked out, you know, I know I'm not as productive, but it's just, it's what I need because you know, maybe I worked for six, seven days straight. maybe I just, I'm, I'm a bit more tired than I usually am. And I just need to sort of check in with myself and sort of go, okay. You know, today is a day that I spend, Doing more of the working on the business, more of the fun stuff, you know, let's work a bit on branding or work a bit on signage and you know, it's not stuff that, , is essential.[00:42:50] Um, but it's stuff that sort of reminds you of why you, why you're doing this in the first place, because let's be honest, life is full of things that you have to do just, just absolutely have to. [00:43:00] And then, , all the other things that you can do or, or optional. So it's a matter of balancing  that as well.[00:43:06] Steve: [00:43:06] Yeah, absolutely. And I would say right along with that, , one of the things that I had so learned is, uh, everything can't be a high priority. Right? And so when you, you are someone that tends to work their tail off, and that's a, it's a attribute that I respect in people is that you tend to take on massive workloads, but, What is, very much true, is that not every thing that you're focused in on, uh, can yield the same results.[00:43:38] I actually liked the way, Sheryl Sandberg referred to sort of ruthless prioritization. And so, what I try to, also realize is not only am I sort of protecting my calendar, but I try to put as much focus as I can on the. Actions and the activities that will actually move the [00:44:00] needle. And so oftentimes you'll see people kind of major in the minors.[00:44:05] Right. They're getting a lot of things done that really just don't move the needle. Right. And so I think if you're protecting your calendar, you're the most important. A priority and you are making sure that you are focused on the right priorities with the time that you have available. Sounds simple, but it's amazing how, uh, you know, many people don't do it or they do it and then they sort of slip out of it.[00:44:34] And it's not about perfection. It's not about sometimes you want to do the smaller things and maybe it gets you going or. , it's just a day that you feel like focusing on it. Okay. Right. And so, or if, for example, there was a, a business got in the way of something, uh, family side or vice versa. It's like not getting freaked out about it.[00:44:54] Like you've got to be perfect. Right. It's. It's realizing that you're, you're striving to [00:45:00] get as good as you can be. And good enough oftentimes is, is what I strive for on, on both of those fronts.[00:45:07] Germaine: [00:45:07] Love it, love it. And that's, you know, putting in that effort is probably more important than trying to keep a close eye on, on everything and making sure that, I mean, we're not robots.[00:45:16] There's no reason that we have to fit in, you know, the exact hours and exactly. Blocks that we've, we've sort of outlined because we're humans and sometimes our minds and our bodies are much better at telling us what we need then our calendar is as well. So, no, I love it. Hey, where can people find out more about you?[00:45:34] Steve: [00:45:34] So you can find about me at the book's website, which is be a startup superstar.com. And I have a number of people who've read the book who have reached out to me and I try my very best to respond to each and every outreach that people make.[00:45:51] Germaine: [00:45:51] Awesome. Thanks for that. We'll include the link in the description as well.[00:45:55] Um, so you can connect with Steve on there. are you ready for the top 12? I surprised you a little [00:46:00] bit with it, but you ready?[00:46:02] Steve: [00:46:02] I'll try my best.[00:46:04] Germaine: [00:46:04] Awesome. Let's get the ball rolling. So top three books or podcasts that you recommend that are not your own.[00:46:10] Steve: [00:46:10] So, , I, I'm going to give up a couple of books for you that I really love.[00:46:15] So one is an oldie, but a goodie, which is winning by Jack Welch. Jack Welch recently passed away. He was the former CEO of general electric, and he has some absolute gems in that book. And, uh, to me, , it's a book I've re-read many times. I also like a book, a little bit on newer cars, zero to one, which is by Peter Thiel.[00:46:38] Peter is one of them, world's most successful venture capitalists. And he also has some just amazing, advice in terms of, startups and really building a successful future in your career. No matter where you're at.[00:46:56] Germaine: [00:46:56] Love it love it. Peter Theil is from PayPal. Is that right? Or [00:47:00] PayPal fame.[00:47:00] Steve: [00:47:00] Yeah. Yeah.[00:47:01] Germaine: [00:47:01] Awesome. Knew that name was familiar. So, top three software tools that you can't live without.[00:47:08] Steve: [00:47:08] So I'm gonna, give, uh, two again, since I'm, stuck on that. So, for me, salesforce.com is a, is a technology I can't live without. but then also Tablo, that is a, sort of a BI, dashboard that is, uh, able to distill the nuggets that we've actually built on top of salesforce.com, where I can see everything that I need to see in exactly the format.[00:47:34] I need to see it. I love it.[00:47:36] Germaine: [00:47:36] Yeah. And what do you use for your calendar app? Is it just the built in sort of iPhone or Google calendar or,[00:47:44] Steve: [00:47:44] yeah, use the calendar app right in aisle.[00:47:48] Germaine: [00:47:48] Sorry, I lost you there. Are we back?[00:47:50] Steve: [00:47:50] Yes, you did. I am at my beach house in Galveston, Texas, and I, my internet, all of a sudden became unstable.[00:47:58] Germaine: [00:47:58] That's all good. Um, I [00:48:00] missed your response. So you just use the built in Google app. Use the built in calendar solution[00:48:05] Steve: [00:48:05] from outlook.[00:48:07] Germaine: [00:48:07] Oh, yep. Yep. Awesome. I mean, why not?[00:48:10] Right. I think, even for myself, just the built in calendar apps are really awesome. I know some people like to go down the road of getting their own apps subscription, but often, it does what you need and, and I think people sometimes get a bit too complex with things that just need to be simple. So love it.[00:48:26] Um, top three mantras, you try and live by.[00:48:30]Steve: [00:48:30] I try to live by, , nothing matters more to winning than surrounding yourself with a plus people. I found that, , A-plus talent, , wins. , I also, , live by a mantra that is call out the elephant in the room. Right. And so oftentimes there are, , elephants that are there.[00:48:51] That is the big sort of issue that people sort of dance around and, , And just basically, uh, never really focus in [00:49:00] on, and then I think I'm built to last. Right. And so what I try to focus in on is making sure that, then I'm always creating, focusing on creating longterm value, and being in it for the long haul.[00:49:15] Germaine: [00:49:15] Yeah, definitely. I think too many people again, um, are too shortsighted and talk about, you know, just making his money, my mass much money upfront as possible. Just, you know, let it out. And that, that, that way, I think you also make sure that you're in it for the passion of what you're doing versus the, the money.[00:49:35] Steve: [00:49:35] Totally agree. And what happens is, is that oftentimes if you are in it for the long haul and you know, good things happen along the way, but if you're in it for the short, quick, uh, and easy, it, it rarely is.[00:49:49] Germaine: [00:49:49] Yeah, definitely love it. Ah top three people you follow or study and why?[00:49:55] Steve: [00:49:55] Uh, these are, I would say the people that are my, [00:50:00] my mentors, honestly, so I'll, I'll give one.[00:50:02] So. one, in particular is, um, is Doug Erwin. Doug Erwin is not known to your listeners, but, he is a serial entrepreneur. he runs a venture capital company and is. one of the best, managers I've ever known. and so, Doug Erwin is someone that I, I, without question, follow and, and, and, and if folks could Google him, I suggest that they follow him as well.[00:50:31] Germaine: [00:50:31] Awesome.[00:50:32] Awesome. Yeah. I never heard his name, but, I'm definitely gonna look him up as well. Awesome. Um, so that's wrapped up the top 12. thanks for your time, Steve. and yeah, hope to keep in touch and connect in the future.[00:50:44] Steve: [00:50:44] Yeah, it was a lot of fun. And, uh, I appreciate you having, thank you.[00:50:49] Germaine: [00:50:49] No worries.  

This week's episode was all about diving into why I went on Steve Harvey's new Facebook Watch Series, asking a question, during the infamous “Hey Steve” segment, about marriage. During my time on set, Mr. Harvey interviewed Quality Control executives Pee Thomas and Coach K. These serial entrepreneurs are linked to music moguls such as The Migos, Lil Yatchy, The City Girls, and their company now manages Cardi B. I say this to say, I was surrounded by excellence and fully embraced this opportunity to learn as much as I could. I recorded this episode via my Instagram Live, due to the CO VID-19 virus, and honestly, this was a conversation much overdue. You will hear a little background music, so bare with me lol. Courtney Kyles, mother, wife, and entrepreneur, joined me for this conversation, and she definitely drops gems that every woman can benefit from. Her transparency and confidence radiated through the conversation and I am more than positive that YOU will be able to take something away from her perspective, even if marriage is not for you. Whether you believe in marriage or not, I simply want anyone listening to this episode to define your own version of marriage, while making sure you are happy, no matter what! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

This week Frankie Tortora and Steve Folland have a chat in response to a question from graphic designer and illustrator Ami-Lou Harrison. She says:“Hey Steve and Frankie!My question is about co-mentoring. I've heard you mention a couple of times that you mentor each other. It sounds like such a brilliant idea and something I feel I could benefit from myself, so I'm wondering if you could talk more about how it came about, how you go about co-mentoring someone and also how it has benefitted your freelance businesses?Thanks so much. Love and biscuits, Ami-Lou”What would your advice be? Let us know your thoughts using #DIFTKpodcast on Twitter and Instagram, and join in the conversation via the DIFTK Community on Facebook.•••This episode is supported by Nutmeg.Nutmeg launched in September 2012 as the first online wealth manager in the UK with a promise to open up the previously exclusive world of wealth management. Nutmeg offers customers a high-quality investment service at a reduced cost, whether they have £500 or £5 million to invest. Nutmeg now manages over £2bn on behalf of over 80,000 customers, making Nutmeg one of the UK’s fastest growing wealth managers and the fifth largest wealth manager in the UK by customer numbers (Source: PAM Asset Management, January 2019). www.nutmeg.com[Risk warning: Capital at risk. JISA rules apply]•••Ami-Lou Harrison's websiteFrankie Tortora's websiteSteve Folland's websiteSteve's podcast - Being FreelanceDoing It For The Kids websiteDIFTK Facebook CommunityDIFTK InstagramDIFTK TwitterSupport DIFTK on Ko-Fi

Find out what happens when Chris blames it on the drain, why someone once asked “Hey Steve, can you take care of this guy for me?” and who it is that’s just like one of our hosts, only not funny.

In today's episode, we'll fill you in on a music video that we think PERFECTLY shows what it must be like to be in a band with a sibling. We'll also get up close and personal with a lead singer who holds the record for douchiest looking lead singers ever in history. Live from the Hive, Cover and Guilty pleasure features to keep your ears guessing! Playlist: https://spoti.fi/35lwpqQ He's a Douchebag - (16:40) TWO CHRISTMASES!! - (33:00) Sibling Rivalries - (46:29) Tragedy Guy - (59:36) Hey Steve! - (74:31)

On this episode of the Healthy, Wealthy and Smart Podcast, I welcome Steve Anderson on the show to discuss leadership coaching. Steve is an Executive Coach with Orange Dot Coaching and the host of the Podcast, Profiles in Leadership.  He is a former Board of Trustee for The Foundation for Physical Therapy and was the President of The Private Practice Section of APTA for 6 years between 2002-2008.  In this episode, we discuss: -Why you should invest in a coach -The importance of outside perspective when you’re pursuing excellence -How to be open-minded and gracefully accept constructive criticism -Redefining your daily operations with purpose and vision -And so much more! Resources: Steve Anderson Twitter Steve Anderson Facebook Steve Anderson LinkedIn Orange Dot Coaching Website Episode 197: The Graham Sessions with Steve Anderson Profiles in Leadership Podcast Optima: A New Health Company   A big thank you to Net Health for sponsoring this episode!    For more information on Steve: Steve Anderson is the ex-CEO of Therapeutic Associates which is a physical therapy company that consists of 90 outpatient clinics in Washington, Oregon and Idaho and a major hospital contract in Southern California.  He currently is an Executive Coach with Orange Dot Coaching and the host of the Podcast, Profiles in Leadership.  He is a former Board of Trustee for The Foundation for Physical Therapy and was the President of The Private Practice Section of APTA for 6 years between 2002-2008.  He was awarded the most prestigious award the Section gives out annually to a physical therapist, the Robert G. Dicus Service Award in 2010.   Steve received the APTA Leadership Advocacy Award in 2006 for his efforts in Washington D.C. and Washington State in the legislative arena.  In 2012 Steve received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Northwestern University Physical Therapy School.   In 2016 Steve was awarded Physical Therapist of the Year by PTWA, APTA’s Washington State Chapter.   Currently Dr. Anderson works with business executives and their teams to improve their leadership skills and coaches them to improve communication skills and working together better as a team.  He lives on Hood Canal in Washington state near Seattle with his wife Sharon. Read the full transcript below: Karen Litzy:                   00:00                Hey Steve, welcome back to the podcast. I am happy to have you on. So thanks for joining me today. Steve Anderson:            00:07                Well, thank you Karen. I'm very happy to be on and I'm looking forward to our discussion. Karen Litzy:                   00:13                Yeah. So last time you were on, we talked about Graham sessions and we'll have a link to that in the show notes to this podcast so people can kind of go back and learn more about that. But today we're going to be talking about the importance of having a coach. And first I'll swing it over to you if you want to kind of describe what you do as a coach and maybe what is your definition of a coach because there's a lot of coaches out there. Steve Anderson:            00:45                Okay. So what I am is I'm an executive coach and so that means that I deal mostly with leadership training and communication skills and things like that. So what I do specifically is I work with people that are running companies, CEO types, and executives that are in leadership roles. And so helping them develop their leadership and communication skills. But then I also like to work with teams. And so I have clients that I work with, the CEO and their executive staff on how they can communicate together and how they can work better as a team when they're trying to run their business and grow their business and so on. So that's pretty much what I do. You know, but the definition of a coach is just somebody to help you, you know, figure out. Steve Anderson:            01:40                I think what happens is we are in a very complex world and in our businesses and so on that they get very complex. I think a coach can help you simplify, look at things and simplified a little bit, help you kind of get out of your overwhelming rut, so to speak, and how you can start to look at things that are the smaller pieces and put that together and then just learn how to communicate with others and grow your business. And in a sense that doesn't seem so overwhelming or overpowering. I see a lot of my clients in that mode of, they're just, they're just overwhelmed and they've just got so much to do and so many things to look at that they don't really know what the next step is. Karen Litzy:                   02:27                Yeah, I hear you there. I definitely feel like that on almost a daily basis. Now before we kind of go into a little bit more about coaching, just so the audience gets to kind of understand where you're coming from. So you are a physical therapist and you owned a multisite practice, but let me ask you this. You could have retired and just kind of spent the rest of your retirement hanging out and you know, relaxing. So why make that shift to being a coach? Steve Anderson:            03:04                Sure. So I was a physical therapist and came up through a company called therapeutic associates where I started out as a staff therapist and then I became a clinic director and eventually became the CEO of that company. And it had a very unique ownership structure in the sense that every director of every clinic in that company is an owner in the company. So I was certainly not the only owner in the company. I was one of many owners in the company. And so when I retired, you know, I retired fairly young, I guess when you look at what age people retire these days. And so I thought, well, you know, what do I want to do from here? I don't feel like I'm ready to just do nothing. And so I kinda did the soul search and say, what are things that I really like to do? Steve Anderson:            03:54                And when it comes right down to it, what I really liked to do is I just really liked to grow leaders and work with people as they're going through their journey. And so, I went and got certified in a program called insights discovery, which is a communication system or style and started reaching out to people and I've got some clients and worked with them and learned, you know, how to improve and get better at what I was doing. And so now I do it on, you know, certainly a part time basis. I'm not doing this full time by any means, but it brings me joy. It feels like I have a purpose and it's something that I just really look forward to doing. Karen Litzy:                   04:39                I think that's such a great transition from the work you were doing as a physical therapist to the work that you're now doing as a coach. And for me, it gives a lot to think about because oftentimes, especially as a physical therapist, I know I felt this way when I graduated from college was, okay, I'm going to start working for a company and then I'm going to work there until I retire. And then that's it. So oftentimes, you know, it's hard for us to think far ahead, but being able to hear stories like yours I think can inspire a lot of people to say, Hey, wait a second. Like there's more to retirement or there's more to when, maybe whenever it is, you feel like your clinical work as a physical therapist is maybe run its course that you can use your physical therapy degree and you can use information, you can seek out new information in order to start a whole new career, but you're still firmly rooted in the physical therapy world. Steve Anderson:            05:43                Right. I think you bring up a really great point in the sense that, you know, you don't, when you come out of school and you start your profession, start your career, you know, you can't see often that thing that you want to do. In other words, it's hard to visualize what exactly I want to do and what exactly I want to be. And I see new professionals coming out kind of tortured with that a little bit. Like they wanted to do something but they can't see it other than just the day to day. You know, we're working with the patient. So I can just share my journey a little bit in the sense that, you know, I was an orthopedic physical therapist and I worked hard at being good at that skill and then I became a director and I realized that I really liked working with the team and working with people and people don't always, they think I'm just messing with them when I say this, but I was kind of a reluctant leader. I didn't go in thinking that this is what I want to do, this is how it's going to look. And, I just kind of evolved into that leadership role. And then as I took steps going through my career, all of a sudden I was voted to the CEO of a very large company at 41 years old. And to be honest with you, I was scared shitless. Karen Litzy:                   07:03                I mean, I would be. Steve Anderson:            07:06                Yeah, I was excited to be in this position, but I'm like, Oh my gosh, I mean, you talk about imposter syndrome and I was like, what do I do now? Everyone thinks I'm going to have the answers. So at that point I didn't really know what coaching was or what coaching services wasn't. As a matter of fact, it was fairly a new concept to have a coach. And so I didn't have an opportunity to reach out to one and I didn't really know what to do. And so when I look back on that time, gosh, I could've really used a good coach. And so what I did was I looked for other ways to try and improve my position or my skills. And so I took a few college level or I mean graduate level MBA courses and they were okay, but they weren't really, you know, just resonating with me too much. Steve Anderson:            08:01                And so then I eventually found this group called Vistage and you may have heard of that, but that's an international group where they have CEOs that work together usually 12 to 15 in a group. They meet on a monthly basis and they basically just learn from each other and help solve each other's problems. And so it's like a group coaching, so set up and I was in that for seven and a half years and really, really learned a lot from that because I had, you know, peers to bounce things off or like could get vulnerable with you. Got to know him really well. And, I think when you can trust somebody and work with someone to get to that level of vulnerability, I think that's where the learning really takes place. Karen Litzy:                   08:50                And that group that was multidisciplinary group, that wasn't just specifically for therapists or even just for health care, is that correct? Steve Anderson:            08:58                Exactly. In fact, I was the only CEO in that group from healthcare. And then they make sure that there's no competitors or you're not competing with anybody in that group. And so you start out kind of with people you don't know. And over a period of time you start to know and trust each other. And, and over a longer period of time you can really, you know, really get down to things that you have a tough time talking to most people about because you've really gotten to know these people. So I look at that as kind of a coaching relationship and the fact that my clients that I work with now, once they get to know me and once they trust me, you know, they can tell me the thing that they're afraid of or they can tell me the things that they don't know, without looking weak to the people they lead or without, you know, being their fear of, you know, people thinking maybe they don't really know what they're doing, but they can share that with the coach. And then we can get down to the real nitty gritty of that and what that means and how to work through that. Karen Litzy:                   10:08                And it sounds like you were able to take what you learned there and combine it with what you learned through your career and then the extra courses taken after retirement to kind of hone your individual coaching skills in order to better grow your clients. Steve Anderson:            10:30                Right. And I think the emphasis on that scenario you just discussed was the experience. I think the experience you can't buy experience, you can't, you know, like when I look back on mistakes I made when I had less experience, you know, I wish I could go back and do those again cause I think I would do them a lot better. But yet that's how you learn. So hopefully a coach has the experience to help you, say this happened to me and this is how I went through it. And, and this is how I can see you maybe, you know, getting there. I do question or scratch my head sometimes when I see, cause I do see business coaches that have never run a business. Steve Anderson:            11:18                So that always kind of makes me feel like, well, you know, I want somebody who's been in the trenches. I want somebody who has worked through this before and can help me see some ways through it as opposed to someone who's just read a lot of books and knows all the catch phrases and the authors and so on. But I think the experience is the key there. And if we look at it from the clinical side, you know, if on the clinical side as a physical therapist, we probably refer to it more as a mentor, maybe then a coach. But same thing there. You want somebody who has experience and who has seen, you know, tens of thousands of patients and has that experience that you don't have that can help you maybe see through some things from their experience. And to me that's what makes it a really good mentor and a really good coach. Karen Litzy:                   12:12                Yeah, I would agree with that. 100%. And you're right, there's nothing worse than seeing coaches advertise their services and they've had a business for less than a year. So, let's talk about pros and cons of having a coach. Let's get practical here. So what are the pros? So if someone's out there looking for a coach and they're on the fence, what are some pros to having a coach? Steve Anderson:            12:43                Well, again, I think I said a little bit earlier, but I think a good coach can help you simplify what you're trying to accomplish. You know, I think a good coach can look at a complex situation and help you make it simpler. You know, coaches can be your external eyes and ears and provide a more accurate picture of your reality and recognize fundamentals that you have and that you can improve on. And then just breaking down some actions that you do to make them more practical. To me, one of the things that I work a lot with my clients with is it seems so simple, but communicating with others is so powerful. And if you really know how you communicate yourself or what motivates you and how you come across, and then you really get to know the people that you're communicating with and what resonates with them, then you construct your language and you construct your behavior in a way that connects with them. Steve Anderson:            13:51                Because I can think that maybe my approach is I totally get it and I totally understand what I'm saying and I can look at the person across from me and they're looking at me like, you know, so I'm not connecting with them. So I have to know how to communicate that. And, you know, as we talk about it here, it seems simple, but I think there's a real skill to that. And I think there's a real ability to kind of craft your message in a way that connects with people. Karen Litzy:                   14:26                Yeah. And I think whenever you talk about relationships, whether it be a personal relationship, a business relationship, the thing that tends to break it down more than anything else is lack of clear communication. Right? Steve Anderson:            14:47                I was just going to say, and it's like if you look at your family or you look at your people in your business, I've always believed that you don't treat everybody the same. I mean, you have to be fair, but when we're talking about communication, in other words, the way that I would approach one employee could be very different than another depending on who they are, and you know, how they communicate. And so I think a really good leader is able to go in and out of these different styles, I guess, of communication that resonate with that person. And it's not the same for everybody. Karen Litzy:                   15:29                Yeah. And it's funny, I was just about to bring that up because I was going to ask you a question of, let's say we'll take a scenario here. You're the CEO of your physical therapy business and you've got two people working in your front desk and you've got four physical therapists, and let's say you, I don't know, you notice that you have an unusually high cancellation rate with your patients unusually high. And so you kind of want to get to the bottom of it. So how you would speak perhaps to the people working at your front desk may be a little different than how you would speak to the therapist because they have different roles in your business, right? Steve Anderson:            16:18                Absolutely. You have a different message for them. And, even when you look at your four physical therapists, let's say, out of those four physical therapists, you have an analytical person who thinks in very analytical terms. Well then the way to approach that would be to talk about the cancellations and no shows from a data perspective. You know, here's the numbers. Here's what it used to be. Here's what we want it to be here. You know, so you talk in very analytical ways. You may have someone else that has a real, you know, that they have more, they have a real caring about people in their feelings approach. And so you might talk to them about that situation and don't talk about analytics, but you might talk about, look at what our patients are missing. Look what we're not, we're not reaching their potential. We're not, you know, touching their hearts, you know, or whatever. So you talk more in those terms and then, other people, you will have different approaches. So I think that you have to know your people well enough to know that sitting in a meeting with six people, I'm giving the exact same message and expecting all of them to embrace it and have it resonate with them all at the same time is probably unlikely. Karen Litzy:                   17:35                Gosh, it's so much more complicated than it seems at the surface, isn't it? Steve Anderson:            17:40                Well, it is, but I think that that's what most of us feel. And that's where I think a coach can come in and say, okay, it’s complicated, but we can make it simple. It's a step by step, day by day thing that we can break down. And then it's just like anything else, once you understand kind of the process, then it's practice and you just practice and you practice and you get better and you make some mistakes and yet you do some gaps. And yet, you know, you put your foot in your mouth. Sometimes you learn from that. And over time that's where experience starts to build and improve. Karen Litzy:                   18:17                Yeah, I guess it is. Once you have that framework, can it become sort of a plug and play kind of practice thing? Steve Anderson:            18:28                It's good to break it down as simple as possible, but you're also dealing with humans. So just when you think that you just wouldn't, you'd think you've got it figured out. Someone will throw you a curve ball that you didn't see coming and so then you're going to have to, you know, readjust. But, it can be done much better than I think most people do it as just a general statement. You know, there's a great if I can put a plug in for this, a great Ted talk by Gawande, who most of us know who to go on deals and the title of the Ted talk is want to get good at something, get a coach. And he goes through the scenario of how, you know, he is a surgeon was thinking that he was doing pretty well and he improved and he improved. Steve Anderson:            19:20                And then he got to a point where he just couldn't, he felt like he'd hit his limit. He just wasn't improving much after that. So his question was, well, is this as good as it gets? Is this how I'm going to be? And I'm pretty happy with that, but you know, does that mean this is where I'm at? And then he decided to go back to Harvard medical school and hire a retired professor who was a surgeon and had him come in and watch one of his surgeries. And as he's doing the surgery, he says, Oh man, I'm killing this. This is going so well and I probably just wasted the guy's time and the guys and my money. Cause what's he going to tell me? This was going great. And then the guy came back with a whole two full pages of things that he could work on. Steve Anderson:            20:09                And he was kind of taken aback from it at first. But then he started doing that and he said, and I broke through that limit. I mean, he said, I'm a way better surgeon now. My infection rates are down, my outcomes are better. You know, and that just proved to him that anyone has a coach. And then he looks at the sports world and says, why is it that the number one tennis player in the world and the number one golfer in the world, they still have coaches. If they're the best, why would they have a coach? Well, because they need that extra eyes and that extra set of ears and so on to kind of help them break through the next level and the patients. And so I do think that that all of us could benefit from a coach or on the clinical side, a mentor. And I just think it's a really good way to spend your time and money to get to the next level. Karen Litzy:                   21:01                Yeah. And, I love that you brought up that Ted talk. I'm familiar with that Ted talk. And you're right, it just shows that even when you think you're at the top of your game, to have that external eyes and ears on you because you don't know what you don't know. And so to have someone there to point that out in a constructive way and in a way that is going to make you improve, I think is the key. I think opposite, but as the person. So if I'm looking for a coach, I need to be mentally prepared for that person to maybe tell me things that are going to make me feel uncomfortable or that might hurt my feelings. I say that in quotes. But I think you have to be mentally prepared for change. Would you agree with that? As far as the people that you have coached in the past. Steve Anderson:            21:55                So, yes, you're exactly right. You know, as people that educate and all different ways, we know that the person who's going to learn something has to be in a position that they're ready to learn. In other words, they have to be open to the fact that they have to look at themselves and be willing to realize that there's things to learn and they need to be open to suggestion. And so, yes, I have had some clients where, you know, they kind of thought they were just doing really great and, you know, our discussions were more like them reaffirming, you know, that they did it right and that this is how it should be and whatever. And you're kinda on the other end of the lines, like, I'm okay, so then why am I on this call? Steve Anderson:            22:49                You know, so it's almost like they're using you to reaffirm to themselves how great they are. That has happened. But, it's rare. It doesn't usually happen. Usually the people that I work with are people that want to work with me because they want to get to the next level. They know that they and I don't really have any clients that are horrible at this. You know, it's kinda like Gawande said is it's people that are really functioning at very high levels but just want to get to the next level. And so, I think the people that are really bad at it are so bad that they don't even recognize that they need a coach or they can improve. I think the people that are the best clients are the ones that are functioning at a very high level. But no, they could maybe just get a little bit further, a little bit higher, if they had a boost or if they had somebody that could help them get there. Karen Litzy:                   23:48                Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. And now we spoke about the pros. Let's talk about the cons. So I think maybe we might've just said one con that if you're not ready for a coach, then it might not work out so well for you. And that's coming from the person who's seeking. Right. So, yeah, I think you have to be really ready for it. And if you're not, then maybe it's not the right time, but are there any other potential cons that you can see? Steve Anderson:            24:19                Well, I think that, you know, the, the obvious one is it costs money, you know, and it takes time. You know, so, the way that I would answer that is yes. But then also, you know, look at how much money PT’s spend on con ed and going to conferences and things like that. That takes a lot of money and a lot of time too. So it is just a priority. And, you know, I believe that the return on investment, so to speak, is very high in coaching. Because you really are getting that one-on-one approach. So, and then the other mistake that I see people make sometimes is, you know, I work with a client for awhile and then they kind of say, Oh, okay, this is great. Let's stop now and I'm going to go work on this stuff and then I'll get back to you when I've had time to work on it, practice it. Steve Anderson:            25:15                And, I think that that's okay. But I do think that sometimes, just having a person continually working with you, even if it’s a lesser frequent time interval, I think it is good to reinforce that because it's hard to just take all this information and then drop everything and then just work on that without step-by-step approaches along the way. You know, it's kinda like I would make a reference to working with a patient that if you gave them a whole bunch of exercises and then say, okay, when you get all these exercises perfected, then come back and we'll go to the next one. Well, you can imagine what those exercises look like without some coaching along the way. If you returned in three months and said, okay, let's look at the exercises, you likely wouldn't even be able to recognize cause they changed them or they haven't done them. Right. And then they kind of, you know, one thing leads to another. Karen Litzy:                   26:12                Right. Or because they don't have the accountability, they don't do them at all. Steve Anderson:            26:17                Yeah, that's true. Karen Litzy:                   26:18                Right. So I think that's the other part of the coach. Steve Anderson:            26:22                Coaches will help you, you know, be responsible to help you, or be accountable is probably a better word. Karen Litzy:                   26:32                Yeah, absolutely. Cause I know like I have certainly done continuing education courses and things like that and you learn so much and you're all gung ho. Then a couple of weeks later you're like, what? I haven't been doing everything that I learned at that course or I haven't been as diligent let's say. Steve Anderson:            26:58                Yeah, exactly. Right. And, I think the other thing that's kind of scary when you start any new thing is that you've probably heard of the J curve. You know, whenever we change behaviors or we try and improve on something, we kind of go in this J curve, which is, if you can imagine what a J looks like, a capital J,  you start at a certain level and you dip down into the bottom of the J because you often sometimes get worse before you get better. And so it's that struggling time and that fumbling time and you just can't quite, you know, get it then, then you kind of come up on the other side of the right side of the J and then you reach a higher level. And so some people are unwilling or don't want to get into the bottom, bottom end of the J because it's frustrating. Sometimes you struggle and so, I mean some people would just rather, you know, go with the mediocrity and just keep going solid without the struggle. But sometimes you need to jump off the cliff and then get down into that lower J curve a little bit before you can really improve. Karen Litzy:                   28:09                And I think it's also sometimes if you've had this level of success, let's say the, you know, high level executives or entrepreneurs who have multiple six figure businesses, you know, they have this certain level of success and I think you can get a little complacent and you can think to yourself, well, I am doing well, I'm already successful. What do I need a coach to help me get more? Like I'm there already. I've made it. So what do you say to that kind of comment? Steve Anderson:            28:41                Well, it just depends on what you want to do. You know, earlier in my career there was this Harvard business review article that was kinda, I used it as my management Bible cause it was, it just resonated with me so much. And the story was about the owner of Johnsonville sausage. This was in the day of Johnsonville sausage was only a Wisconsin company. And people who's constantly knew about it, but no one else knew about it. And he described how he was making ridiculous amount of money. He was really successful. He was just, you know, kinda on the top of everything, but he couldn't leave the factory without people calling them all the time. He was working horrendous hours, you know, all these things were happening. And so on the outside you would look at him and say, wow, he's so successful. Steve Anderson:            29:37                And then he went through this whole series of changing how he did things. Then in the title of the article is how I let my employees lead. And he grew leaders within the company and they took on the security responsibility and accountability. And so, you know, the end of the story is, is that now Johnsonville sausages, there across the country and probably international, he works less hours, makes more money and is happier and he's ever been. So, you know, I sometimes, as you said earlier, we can't always see what the other side looks like, but we just have to realize that there could be a better way. And then there could be a bigger prize at the end if you’re just willing to go down that road. Karen Litzy:                   30:22                And I don't know many people who would argue against that. I think it's right. I mean that seems like it makes a lot of sense why to have working a little bit smarter, maybe still working hard but at least working smarter and making a better impact on the world, making a better impact with your patients. You know, being able to grow your business or your practice and seeing more patients help more people. So I think that another misconception when it comes to I really need a coach is that the coach is just for you and that no one else is going to benefit from it. Right. But that's not true, is it? And on that note, we're going to take a quick break to hear from our sponsor and be right back. Karen Litzy:                   31:13                Are you interested in a free opportunity to check in with the latest thoughts of other rehab leaders? Well, I've got one for you. There's a new online rehab therapy community designed for the intersection of the clinical and business sides of rehab. It's the rehab therapy operational best practices forum, catchy name, right? It's all about habits and initiatives that juice up your attendance, revenue, workflows, documentation, compliance, efficiency and engagement while allowing your provider teams to keep their eye on the prize. There are patients and outcomes. I personally believe that a better connected rehab therapy profession has the power to help more people jump in, subscribe and join the conversation. Today. You can find the rehab therapy operational best practices forum @ www.nethealth.com/healthy. Steve Anderson:            32:06                It's certainly not true that your influence and who you work with and who you touch on a daily basis will greatly, you know, benefit from you being better at your job. And a lot of times it comes down to just helping you see, helping you find ways to resonate with what you're doing. I'll give you another personal example. So do you know who Seth Goden is? He's kind of a marketing guru guy. And, so, you know, I was in my CEO position and I'm overwhelmed like everybody else and there's so much to do and whatever. And so people used to always ask me, well, what do you do as a CEO? And I would always hesitate because it was like a kind of, what do I do? I answer emails, I talk on the phone, I go to meetings, I go, boy, is that, how boring does that sound? Steve Anderson:            33:04                You know? And so I happened to be hearing Seth godin and going at this lecture and he said that you have to find a way to even identify within yourself, what do I do and why do I do it? And he gave out some, some ideas and it really resonated with me and I got excited about. So I went home and I worked at it. And so now people say, when I was a CEO, they'd say, well, what do you do as CEO. And I go, I'm an ambassador for my company. I'm a storyteller and I grow leaders and that sounds a lot better. Karen Litzy:                   33:42                That sounds so much better than I go to meetings and answer emails. Steve Anderson:            33:48                Exactly. And so you know, so now when I'm doing, I'm sitting there trying to get through my emails. I say, okay, what am I doing? Oh, okay, this email was because I'm being an ambassador for my company. Or this email was cause I'm helping this leader grow. This phone call was for this. And so now those things seem to have more meaning and more purpose. And it just changes my mindset. And so I think that's what a good coach can help you see sometimes. Karen Litzy:                   34:18                Yeah. What a wonderful example. And I often wonder that I would even say to my patients sometimes who are like executives and CEOs, I was like, well, what do you do all day? And they're like, what do you mean? I'm like, you get into work. And then what happens? And it's amazing how many people are like, I dunno, I mean I go to meetings and I answer emails and I'm on the phone quite a bit, like telling me what they're physically doing at their job versus what is the meaning behind the job. And I think that's the distinction that you just made there very well. Steve Anderson:            34:56                Yeah. And I'll give you another example. On the other end of the spectrum, I talked at a PT school once, gave a lecture and a young man came up to me and said, God, I was really impressed with what you were saying and it was a talk on leadership and I was really impressed with it and it seems like you really know what you're doing. And he goes, could I come and just shadow you for a couple of days? And I said, you mean just my CEO job? And he goes, he goes, yeah, I'd love to just follow you and see what you're doing. Whatever. I said, Oh yeah, you're going to be bored to death. I mean, what am I going to be able to show you? I mean, you know, I'm sitting at a desk, I'm doing that. He says, why? And he wouldn't drop it. Steve Anderson:            35:37                So I thought, well, what the heck? So here, this a PT student came and shadowed me for a day and a half and he went to meetings with me and he sat there when I was on the phone and he watched me get caught up. I mean, it was just, you know, he just hung out with me. And when he left he said, Oh, this was really great. I'm kind of thinking, God, I hope I didn't bore him to death. And I got an email from him about six years later and he said, Hey, you remember me, I followed you in whatever. And he says, I just wanted you to know that that day and a half set me on my course roots and my career and now I'm doing this and now I'm doing that. And so it had a huge impact on him. It was very gratifying and it made me feel really good, but I had no idea. So through his eyes, he saw things that I, you know, thought was mundane and day to day, but he saw things that he remembered and helped him, you know, find the career position that he wants. So that was a good story. Karen Litzy:                   36:38                Yeah. That's great. Yeah. And again, like you said, it's that external eyes and ears, you know, we often don't see what others see and you never know who's looking. You never know who's listening and you never know who's watching. Steve Anderson:            36:50                Right. Karen Litzy:                   36:51                So what great examples. Steve Anderson:            36:56                Yeah. And that's another great point is when you are in a leadership role, people are looking and watching and everything you do and everything you say, matter. And, you shouldn't take it lightly. You shouldn't be afraid of it, but you should realize that you probably have a lot more influence than you realize. And so recognizing that and being aware of that and trying to make that message better, benefits everyone in life. Karen Litzy:                   37:26                Yeah, totally. And now before we kind of wrap things up here, I have a question that I ask everyone and that's knowing where you are now in your life and in your career. What advice would you give to yourself as a new grad right out of physical therapy school? So pretend you're coaching yourself back in the day. Steve Anderson:            37:52                You know, I told this story earlier because I remember it like it was yesterday and I came out of school. I wanted to be, this good, you know, manual physical therapist as I could possibly be. And so I was doing a lot of extra study and study group work and so on. And I can remember driving home from one of those sessions, I was probably about two or probably two years out of school. And I remember almost becoming overwhelmed with how can I possibly be as good as I want to be, an understand all this information and hone my skills and see the diagnosis and so on, how I was just overwhelmed with it. And, so I look back and I got through it somehow, but I would have loved to have had a coach then or a mentor that said, no, you're doing exactly what you should do. Steve Anderson:            38:52                You're working on your craft, you're putting in the time and effort and then you just have to go step by step, day by day. As I said earlier, because I would never imagined I would someday be the CEO of a large private practice physical therapy company. It just had never entered my mind at that stage in my career. So instead of being overwhelmed with, you know, this knowledge I have to get in whatever, I just need to start my journey, keep going and keep, keep moving and putting in the time and effort and where I end up in or I evolve into, I may not be able to predict, but I just know, I just know it's going to be something exciting and fun. And as long as I make the right decisions along that journey, I can reach a level I would have never imagined I could reach. And I do see that in new professionals today and they're struggling with that, you know, a few years out of school. And so my advice to them as it would have been to myself is just keep moving forward, step by step. Take some risks, find some things that resonate and excites you and don't be afraid to try them and see where it leads. Karen Litzy:                   40:15                Great advice. And now before we go, let's first talk about your podcast and then where people can find you. So talk about the podcast. Steve Anderson:            40:27                Okay. Well, I just want to say on this podcast, how inspirational and how helpful you were to me. Because as you probably remember, I thought, well, maybe I should do a podcast and I believe I called you and asked you some questions and I had not a clue how to start it and what to do. And, I really, I commend you and thank you very much for helping me answer some of those early questions and so on. So my podcast is called profiles in leadership and I just try and focus on leaders and then how they lead and just learn something from discussions with each one of them. I've been doing it about a year and a half now, a little bit longer. It's great. I mean, I've gotten some really fun, fun interviews, some inside the professional physical therapy profession and some are outside. I'm doing more outside the profession lately, which is fun. And, again, people ask me, why do you do the podcast? And, I say, because I learned something every time I do one, you know, every time I talk to somebody, I've been around a long time and with my experience, I still learn something every time. So it's like that, that gets me in the jazz and I'm inspired by that. So that's why I keep doing. Karen Litzy:                   41:58                Yeah. And I also heard you say several times that it's fun, so why wouldn't you want to do something that's fun? Steve Anderson:            42:04                Exactly. And, and you improve. I mean, I heard somebody might've been Joe Rogan who said, you know, if you think I have a good podcast, you should listen to my first few. Karen Litzy:                   42:15                Oh my God. Steve Anderson:            42:16                I think we all start at a certain level and if you're not improving, then you probably need to get out. Karen Litzy:                   42:23                Yeah, probably Steve Anderson:            42:26                I'm doing it. I think mine are much better than my first ones were. So, you know, that keeps me going too in the sense that I, you know, we all like to get better. We all like self-mastery. If we're not improving, we're probably not not having fun. Karen Litzy:                   42:42                Yeah. I mean, like I look back at like the first couple of interviews that I did and it was like a straight up boring interview for a job that was not good. It was like, I was not showing my personality. It was very much like, so Steve, tell me about your job and what you do. And it was so, Oh my gosh. Yeah, it was not good. But you know, you got to start, like you said, you got to start somewhere. And I just took courses on public speaking and improv courses in order to help me improve because I knew where my limitations were and what needed to be done. But yeah, I can totally relate to that. The first couple are no good, not good, and it's not because the guests weren't great. It was because of me. Steve Anderson:            43:33                Well, but look at the risk you took. I mean, to me that's how you reach a higher level of excellence is you're willing to take the risk. You are vulnerable. You were willing to be on camera and on audio and stick your neck out there and, you know, struggle through it a little bit and you improved. And then now you're, you know, you should be very happy with where you're at now because you do a wonderful job. So that's to me what it takes. And if we relate it back to coaching, it's the same thing. It's yeah, I need to take a risk. You need to be vulnerable. You need to realize that, you know, with work time and effort and practice, you're going to get better. And that's what it's all about. Karen Litzy:                   44:19                Absolutely. Very well said. And where can people find you, find more about you and find more about your coaching business? Steve Anderson:            44:27                Sure. So, my podcast it's on all of the podcast platforms, but, probably the easiest way to find it is through iTunes. You just search for profiles with leadership, with Steve Anderson. I did some as I did with you early on. I was doing the videos. And so, I do have the video gallery. You can search YouTube for profiles in leadership with Steve Anderson and then also all my podcasts and all the videos that I've done are on my coaching website, which is orangedotcoaching.com and that's orange, the word dot coaching.com. And you can see my services there for coaching. And then if you go to click on the media center, that's where the podcast and the videos are stored. Karen Litzy:                   45:18                Perfect. And just so everyone knows, we will have all of that information on the show notes at podcasts.Healthywealthysmart.com. So one click, we'll get to all of Steve's information. So Steve, thanks so much for taking the time out today and coming on the podcast. I appreciate it. I appreciate you. So thanks so much. Steve Anderson:            45:37                Well, thank you Karen. And again, I just thank you for your early mentorship to me when I was trying to figure this all out and I haven’t forgotten that and I'm very appreciative that you're willing to help me. Karen Litzy:                   45:50                Anytime, anytime. You are quite welcome and everyone else, thanks so much for tuning in. Have a great couple of days and stay healthy, wealthy, and smart.   Thanks for listening and subscribing to the podcast! Make sure to connect with me on twitter, instagram  and facebook to stay updated on all of the latest!  Show your support for the show by leaving a rating and review on iTunes!

Welcome Back!   We are going to discuss how you can tell if Lithium-ion batteries are about to catch fire. For more tech tips, news, and updates visit - CraigPeterson.com --- Related Articles: They Look Cool but How Safe Are They? --- Automated Machine-Generated Transcript:   Craig Peterson Hello, welcome back. Craig Peterson here, you're listening to me on WGAN. And of course online as well at Craig Peterson dot com. We're going to get into these electric vehicles right now. And I can remember when they first came out, and what Lou, you know, rumors and things. And I was very involved with emergency services back then. And what I thought was just fascinating. When we started delving into some of this stuff was that wait a minute, we've got a lot of batteries in the car, which means we have a whole lot of electric potential electricity sitting there, right. And then we have to route that power to the electric motors that are either one on every wheel or maybe there's a central motor with some form of a transmission that takes it out to all of the other wheels. That is a true hazard to first responders. Because we would get on the scene many times you'd have to cut people out of a vehicle, which is obviously a bit of a problem if you're cutting into the vehicle, and there is a power cord there. And then, of course, cars in an accident, sometimes they will kind of break apart and then you have exposed wires that could cause electric shocks and burns to the occupants of the vehicles. It was very concerning and so a lot of the electric vehicle manufacturers came out with guides that they would give to the emergency medical responders to police departments, fire departments, you know, the people who are likely to kind of be first ish on the scene. And we would have to know Okay, wait a minute. Now this manufacturer that model so we have to Worry about the power is right over here. And if I want to disconnect it for this particular car, we're gonna have to disconnect there. Because time was batteries were always under the hood of the car in a pretty specific place either the right or the left who could just pop the hood and then cut the wires one of the very first things you do on this scene, you just pop the hood cut the wires on the battery tena, guess what you're not going to get a shock because the battery is completely disconnected. And now in some cars, as you looked at some of the BMW where they were trying to do and even weight distribution, they would have the battery in the under the backseat or sometimes in the trunk. But we knew which cars were which because there just weren't that many of them out there that you had to worry about how you know, lots of different things started getting very confusing and then now you've got all these electric cars with different types of batteries and different ways to route the power. Well, now we have all kinds of These cars out there, including Tesla. And what Tesla is doing for their battery power is basically they're using laptop batteries. They're using lithium ion batteries, which are phenomenal batteries. And they don't get the memory that all of the previous generations used to get. In fact, did you see the guy that invented lithium ion batteries, he just got the Nobel Prize this year and the guy is pretty old. We talked about him last year too because he came up with the new technology. He called it lithium glass and it got rid of almost all of the problems that lithium-ion has. But we're still using lithium ion battery. So let's get into the problems. You probably know that I had a laptop because I've talked about it on my show before but my laptop, I would put it on the table. And have you noticed that all four corners sit nicely, right and if they don't, it's usually because of You've got a foot missing. So you find okay the feet fell off so you find another foot that fits and you put it on and hopefully the laptop balances on the table. Well, I had all four feet on my laptop and I looked at it I said wait a minute now and I called over my son I said, Hey Steve, come over here. Have a look at this. And we put it on another flat surface and we got down low and we looked and sure enough, there was a bulge pretty much in the middle of the bottom of my laptop. Well, that was a very big sign to me that it's ball Jean because the battery is swollen. That is one of the problems of the lithium-ion batteries. Now this has been true with nickel-metal hydride and I kept before it but when that battery swells in the lithium-ion battery, it gets very, very, very dangerous. This is where you start seeing fires. Where the lithium ion batteries Because they're swelling up, and they have layers inside, that when some of these layers come in contact with each other, you now have a short inside the battery. Now think how long your device last, my laptop can last seven hours on a chart, depending on what I'm doing right if I'm doing video editing, I'm down to about an hour. But if I'm doing some writing a little bit of research online and stuff at six or seven hours pretty consistently, that is a lot of power, even only for the one hour words running eight cores, and a GPU trying to do the video editing and if you're watching online, you can see some of my video stuff on this computer behind me This is an iMac five k that I use for some of my video editing and recording of the show so you can see this if you're watching me on YouTube or on Facebook. But this becomes a bit of an issue for people. Frankly, because all of that power that's going to charge, or excuse me, run my computer for the next six or seven hours is now shorted out. Now have you ever been working on a car and you're under the hood, and you've got a wrench in your hand or a spanner for those of you from the UK in your hand, and you get near the battery, maybe you're trying to disconnect the battery and you accidentally short circuit between the positive terminal on the battery and the ground. Almost all cars worldwide use a negative ground nowadays. didn't use to be that way. So you accidentally shorted out to ground. Have you seen what happens? It goes zap there are sparks flying everywhere. And there's now a chunk missing out of your wrench. Right? Maybe Maybe not a huge trunk depends on the battery. But you have melted that part of the wrench. That is a lot of power that's in there. Well, it's a different amount of power in one of these lithium-ion batteries that we have, but it is still a lot of power. And so when it shorts out, it starts fires. Now we've seen that with Samsung phones have been famous for that, certain models of their phones. And that wasn't really the model of the phone that was as much of a problem as a manufacturer, the battery sometimes it is the model of the phone because it's putting pressure on the battery and sponsors shouldn't put the pressure on. Again, if you're watching on video, you can see me doing this what happens if you put pressure on the wrong spot as part of the battery. It'll show that again. Okay, so there are real potential problems here. So I knew that my laptop because that battery was swollen That I could have serious problems, I could have a fire on my laptop. Now I took it back to the manufacturer, which was Apple because of course, that's who I use mostly and then actually wasn't even made by Apple was made by contract, right. And they come they replaced it entirely and they fix the swelling and everything. And then they eventually ended up recalling all of those laptops. And it was a 15 inch MacBook Pro from one was I think it was a 2017 model. And that, that I think was a good thing because they thought Well, they've seen a few of these. And you've seen pictures of these phones beyond people's nightstand. So you have your phone and your phone is, of course, a device running off a battery and most likely a lithium-ion battery. So that lithium-ion battery is there in the phone. If it starts to fail, usually the phone will swell. So if you have any devices that are starting to swell, any battery power devices starting to swell, it's time to get very concerned and take it back to the place you bought it from or take it back to the manufacturer. Because when it swells, it can easily start a very smoky, nasty fire. And we've all probably seen videos of this happening in airplanes. So when we get back we're going to talk about this poor man who died this 48-year-old and the news that came out of California, just this week about his Tesla, and the batteries. You're listening to course to Craig Peterson, right here on WGAN. And also online, Craig peterson.com. Stick around, because we'll be right back Transcribed by https://otter.ai --- More stories and tech updates at: www.craigpeterson.com Don't miss an episode from Craig. Subscribe and give us a rating: www.craigpeterson.com/itunes Follow me on Twitter for the latest in tech at: www.twitter.com/craigpeterson For questions, call or text: 855-385-5553

Property management is hard enough. As your business becomes successful, don’t always say “yes” or “no” to everything. Owners are coming to you to solve a problem. Step into potential opportunities without being pulled in multiple directions. Today, I am talking to Marc Cunningham, President of Grace Property Management, who identifies five characteristics that define successful property management companies.  You’ll Learn... [02:42] Entrepreneurial Footsteps: Marc grew up in real estate property management world working for his dad, who founded Grace Property Management in 1978.  [04:02] Doors in Denver: Grow slow and steady; from 110 to 1,000 doors.  [04:32] Mantra: Follow the opportunity. [07:15] However you define success, companies follow some of these five standards.  [07:56] #1. Filter and Qualify Owners: Don’t take every owner that comes along.  [20:04] #2. Know your numbers to know how well your business is doing.  [31:43] #3. Focus on profit, not door count. People are willing to pay for additional value. [37:20] #4. Have systems and processes in place, and follow them.  [43:50] #5. Recruit, develop, and retain talent.  [52:28] Marc’s Extra: #6. Hold weekly one-on-one meetings with each team member.  [53:15] DoorGrow Extra: #7. Invest consistently in your own development.  [56:27] DoorGrow Extra: #8. Get coaching to help grow your business.  Tweetables The more successful you get, the more opportunities come your way. Cycle of Suck: Taking on bad owners, you get bad properties, tenants, and reputation. You won’t regret firing difficult clients, despite emotional and operational costs. Track metrics regularly because numbers make a difference. Resources Grace Property Management Marc Cunningham's Email Business Health Check-up Form QuickBooks Steve Jobs FilterEasy PetScreening Process Street Basecamp Voxer Google Sheets AppFolio Help Scout Drift Intercom Traction LeadSimple DGS 25: Why Every Property Manager Should Implement Profit First DGS 80: Automating Your Business with Process Street with Vinay Patankar DoorGrown Cold Leads Calculator DoorGrowClub Facebook Group DoorGrowLive DoorGrow on YouTube DoorGrow Website Score Quiz Transcript Jason: Welcome DoorGrow hackers to the DoorGrow Show. If you are a property management entrepreneur that wants to add doors, make a difference, increase revenue, help others, impact lives, and you are interested in growing your business and life, and you are open to doing things a bit differently, then you are a DoorGrow hacker. DoorGrow hackers love the opportunities, daily variety, unique challenges, and freedom that property management brings. Many in real estate think you're crazy for doing it, you think they're crazy for not, because you realize that property management is the ultimate high trust gateway to real estate deals, relationships, and residual income. At DoorGrow, we are on a mission to transform property management businesses and their owners. We want to transform the industry, eliminate the BS, build awareness, change perception, expand the market, and help the best property management entrepreneurs win. I'm your host, property management growth expert Jason Hull, the founder and CEO of DoorGrow. Now, let's get into the show. This guest that we have today is a fantastic gentleman named Marc Cunningham. Marc, you're not a stranger to most people probably listening to the show. Welcome to the show. Marc: Thank you for having me, Jason. Jason: I'm really excited to have you here. It's strange that you haven’t been on here yet. At the beginning of the show, I was like, “Have you been on here? You're like, “No.” I said, “It's long overdue.” Marc: I’ve just been waiting for the invitation. Jason: Okay, well I'm glad we finally got you invited. I’m glad you're here and today's topic is going to be the five characteristics of successful PM companies. Before we get into that, I want you to share a little bit of your background to qualify yourself to the audience, help them understand how you got into property management and what your connection is to these five characteristics of a successful company. Marc: Absolutely. Let me start by asking you a question. What were you doing in 1978 Jason? Jason: 1978? Marc: Yeah. Jason: I was probably pooping in a diaper and drinking breast milk. Marc: Okay. That image there. Jason: I was born in 1977. Marc: Okay, so you’re one. I wasn't much older than that, but in 1978 my dad decided that he was going to quit teaching—he was a middle school teacher—and he was going to follow his entrepreneurial real estate dream. We opened up a real estate property management company Grace Property Management 1978 in Denver. I was employee number one because I was pre child labor, so my dad would have me doing all the things that kids probably shouldn’t do. He would have me showing properties, mowing lawns, collecting rents, and filling out lease, just anything that needed to be done. I grew up in that world, so it really gave me a unique view into real estate, into property management, and just in the business because that's all I knew. That’s all we did. As I got older, I’d take my summers, I’d worked for him in the summers, and again just doing whatever needed done. If I get really lucky, if it gets too hot out, I’d work in the office. When it got over 110 degrees, the deal is I get to come into the office, otherwise I’m mowing lawns. I did that for many, many years. I went to Colorado State University, I studied finance and real estate there, and I was working in Cheyenne, Wyoming doing accounting work there. My dad called me one day and he said, “Hey, I need to hire a property manager, are you interested?” Well Cheyenne Wyoming, with all due respect, isn't the most fun place to live, so I jumped to that opportunity and that was about 20 years ago, 20 some odd years ago. I joined the firm permanently at that point in time. At that time, we were relatively small, I think we had 110–120 doors and we have grown slowly and steadily over the years. Today, we do both residential and commercial. We've got just under a thousand doors that we manage. We do real estate sales, we do property management, we’re investors ourselves—I own some stuff—we flip. Our mantra is follow the opportunity. If there's an opportunity to real estate, we want to look at that, whatever that is. So, that's how we've gotten to where we are today. Jason: I was just down in Vegas speaking to a group of property managers and they were bringing up like, “How do I avoid all this distraction and move the business forward?” What I said to them is opportunity is I've noticed is what kills entrepreneurs. How do you keep following the opportunity at all times but also keeping your focus narrow enough that you're actually moving forward. Marc: That's a great question. That's a really good question and that's hard. It is really hard because we found that the bigger we get, the more successful we get, the more opportunities that are out there. At this point, we're of the belief that you've got to say no to almost everything. I think it was Steve Jobs that said, “The difference between successful people and really successful people are the really successful people say no to just about everything.” Jason: Following the opportunity as a mantra doesn't mean saying yes to every opportunity. Marc: It does not mean saying yes to everything. You need to consider everything. What I don’t like is people say, “No, we don't do that.” For many, many years, for example, we didn't do real estate sales. “Hey, will you help me sell my house?” “No, we don’t do that. We only do property management.” We didn't consider. Well then, one day we thought, “Maybe we should consider it,” and as we considered it, we realized, this is a really good opportunity that we should capitalize on. Where when an owner says, “Gosh, I want to sell my house. Would you guys be interested in buying it?” “No, we don't do that.” Well, stop saying, “No, we don't do that.” At least think about it, consider it, and I think that's the way to step into some potential opportunities. But yes, you have to be cautious or else it will get you pulled to many directions. Jason: Relevant to that, how many of these units are now in your own portfolio, are yours or your company's? Marc: I don't have a real big portfolio. I'm a pretty conservative guy, so I'm a buy-it-pay-it-off kind of guy. I've got 10–12 rental properties in my portfolio. Jason: Let's get into these five characteristics that you feel define a successful company, and you're obviously a successful company. You've helped keep it successful, right? Second generation, so let's get in number one. Marc: Yeah. I don't pretend to be a guru. I can't stand the guys that stand there, beat their chest, and say, “Do it like me, I know what I’m doing.” This is just from our perspective. We worked with a lot of companies and I didn't get this, but I do a lot of PM coaching in business stuff on the side with PM companies helping them get better, basically. We know a lot of PM companies, we've worked a lot of PM companies and there seem to be some standards, some things companies that are successful, however you define success, are going to follow some of these aspects. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list by any means, but it's the way that we gauge ourselves. Jason: This will be cool because I probably come from a very different perspective. You're in the industry, you do this in Denver and I don't have any rental properties. I don't manage. I'm not a property manager. I have largely been this nerdy fly on the wall that's been able to see inside of hundreds of companies. My perspective might be a little bit different, but I'm sure there's some alignment. Let's get into number one. Marc: Number one is successful companies don't take every owner. They don't take every owner that comes along. So you agree with that one? Jason: Totally. If anyone's heard my show, they've heard me talk about the cycle of suck, which is it starts with filtering owners. Like if take in bad owners, you have bad properties. It doesn't matter how amazing they are. If you have bad properties, you have bad tenants. It doesn't matter how much tenant screening you do. If you have bad tenants, you have a bad reputation because you have bad owners and bad tenants. Nobody's happy and this is where I think the entire industry as a whole in aggregate sits right now. It has a bad reputation because they're taking on any owner. Marc: Yeah, I would agree. The concept is this. Any PM company knows that if a tenant, a prospective tenant walks in the door, an applicant comes in and says, “Hey, I want to rent your property,” every property manager is a little bit skeptical. They raise their eyebrow. They say, “Okay, well maybe. I’m going to qualify you.” We know industry-wide that whatever the number is, call it 25%-30%, depending on the market you're in, the 25%-30% of the applicants are not going to make good tenants. Everybody would agree upon that. Well, we really believe that probably that same percentage 25%, 30%, 35% of prospective owner-clients are not going to make good owner-clients. The challenge comes, how do we filter them? Because if it's an applicant to rent a property, we have them fill out a rental application. We go in deep. That's the hardest part of the business is qualifying those folks. So, how do you qualify an owner? That’s where the challenge lies. If you called our office today as a prospective owner-client and you are talking to our new account specialist or one of our PM's, they would have a dock in front of them, a piece of paper, and a lot of this is just basic questionnaires—what's your email address, what’s the property address, tell me about the property—but at the end of that questionnaire, they have four questions. Yes or no questions that they have to check the box on yes or no. They have to discern this information during the conversation with you because it helps us qualify these owners. For example, the first one says, “Is the owner financially stable?” If during this conversation you as my prospective owner say to me, “Hey Marc, if you can’t get this property rented next week, I can’t make my mortgage payment. I've got to get this thing ready quickly.” Well, you're not financially stable, right? That's going to be a no on that box, that's the first question. Jason: “So, are you current on all your house payments?” One of my clients said that was a favorite question they would ask. If they say no, it's instant disqualification. Marc: Absolutely. Then the second question we have to ask ourselves is, is the client emotionally stable? That can be a hard one to discern. I always tell people, “Don't ask them the question verbatim, okay?” It will get you in trouble. Jason: “Are you sane?” Yeah. Marc: Exactly, but we need to be able to discern that information from the conversation. Is this somebody who's going to be stable when things go bad because at some point in time it will. Jason: Right. Sometimes, people will reveal their emotional instability pretty quickly, right? Marc: Yes. I tell my PMs, “Look. Two quick keys. If they cry on the first conversation or if they own more than two cats, they are not emotionally stable. Run away from them.” Jason: Might be a little biased against cat owners. What’s cat owners like? Marc: I know. You just lost half of your audience because of my personal bias. Jason: No, they’re cool. Marc: I am as well. Then the third question we ask is, “Can I control the situation and the client? Are they willing to give me control?” Not in a puppet master, I'm going to be the mean guy, but they have to give me control. They have to be willing to do so. Then question number four is, are they realistic in expectations? Do they think that we should be able to get $2000 a month for property that's only going for $1000? Or do they think that we should call them before we ever spend a dime on maintenance? That's just not realistic. That’s not going to happen. If we can't check the yes box on all four of those, then my PM does not have permission to work with that client. Jason: I love the idea of figuring out if they're willing to relinquish control. That's such a big thing because they're coming to you to solve a problem. I've noticed with clients that they're not willing to be strong enough of a fence for people to push against to elicit trust enough for people to relinquish that control. I think a lot of people will push. They might look like bad owners, they're trying to test the fence, and it's like in dating how girls will crap test the guy. They just want to see if they can handle them or if they're willing to be strong enough. I think a lot of times property managers will try to be nice and maybe don't have enough bite or drive and they’re really looking for somebody they can feel safe with, so they test us. I think clients will test us and then they're willing to relinquish control at times. It’s just something I've noticed during the sales process because I deal with entrepreneurs. They’re driven people and I need the same thing. They need to be willing to relinquish a certain amount of control because I'm asking to do crazy stuff, like fire doors or change your business name. I love that idea, and then are they realistic in their expectations. If somebody says, “Hey, I want to add 500 doors in the next quarter,'' then that's probably not going to be realistic. I want to make sure they're in touch with a reality that I feel I can give them or lead them towards and it's the same with our property management clients. Marc: Yup, and if we set those filters on the front-end, that's just going to make things so much easier on bringing good clients on because our business is hard enough without having difficult owner-clients. I think there’s the second aspect of that is, “Well, gosh. That's great. I wish I would have heard that before I took on Mr. Crazy,” so, what do you do then? I think the other part of that—you alluded to this—is sometimes you do need to let those clients go, and sometimes that's the best thing, because we're talking about what successful companies do. Successful companies realize that, “Hey, if we made a mistake, we brought on a bad client, we need to let that client go, whatever that looks like.” Jason: There's always going to be those mistakes. We cannot always know and perceive every person coming in and know that they are emotionally stable, or that you can control them, or that they will be realistic, but when they start to reveal those colors, we have to be willing to let them go. I've made bad decisions in bringing people in as clients and I have had to let them go. Some of them were just really like verbally abusive to my team. You’d be really amazed at some of the types of people that that can somehow leak through even if you have pretty good qualifications at the beginning. I love what you're getting at here because really anybody that studies sales in any capacity knows that qualifying a prospect is at the outset. It's really mind boggling that people would not qualify their prospects in any regard. Marc: I’m curious. You said you had to let clients go. How have you overcome the internal thought of, “Ooh, but that's money. That's a big chunk.” When do you decide? How do you decide? Is that an internal struggle for you? Jason: Sometimes. There's always a negotiation and it's a balance. It's a balance between the money aspect and the cost with the team. Ultimately, my team I want to keep forever. I want to keep them long-term. If I keep that client on, I’m saying to my team, your feelings don't matter. I don't care about you. That sends a really painful message and I've noticed this in property management companies. People wonder why there's so much turnover with their staff and I think one key reason is because you're allowing your staff, you're forcing your staff to tolerate too much. There are some of these owners that should be let go, and I've said many times to clients, “The hallmark of a seasoned property manager is that they fired some clients.” Some businesses have hundreds of doors and they've never fired a client. I know if they've never fired a client, they have some bad things in their portfolio. There's some pain in there and that's a difficult place to work. They’re not willing to let go of painful situations and there's always going to be painful situations. Marc: Yeah, and I've never talk to a PM who did let a client go who regretted it. Jason: Never. Marc: It's hard, it's scary. We face that. I remember very vividly when we were small and we had 125 doors, maybe. We had a client and had like 12 properties. I remember the guy, could see the guys face. He wasn't a bad guy, but he was just difficult and it had to be his way. He would contact us all the time. He just drove us crazy. We finally decided we needed to let the guy go. Well that was like 10% of our portfolio. That was hard. We thought about it, we don’t know what to do, and even after we did it we thought, “Oh, is that the right decision or not?” But we quickly realized it's like a load that’s been lifted. When you get rid of those people that sucked that time and energy and life out of you, it is a positive thing. Jason: The operational costs, the emotional cost when all of that falls by the wayside. I've never had a client fire something. I had one person fire half their portfolios like one big property. I had one person do that and they were terrified, but they did it. Two things happen almost every time. One, they replace the income really quickly. It always, it creates some vacuum in the universe, I don't know what you want to call it, but they always seem to replace the income really quickly with better doors. That always seems to happen. They just need to trust that's going to happen. The other thing is, is they always say to me, “I can't believe I didn’t do it sooner,” like they wished they had done it sooner. They were so afraid of doing it and then once they do it, they realize it wasn't so bad and they wish they were like, “Why didn't I do this sooner?” Marc: If one of your clients is talking to you and you're saying, “Hey, you need to fire this owner,” how do you recommend they do that like? What should they say? Should they say, “You’re fired”? Jason: You’re interviewing me now. Marc: Yeah. Jason: There's a few ways you can let them go. There are some creative ways. One of the best is just raise the fees. If [...] make it worth, just make it more expensive. Say, “Hey this property is difficult. You're a bit more challenging person to deal with, to be honest. We are willing to keep doing it, but it's going to cost X.” So, you just raise the rate, and if they keep being annoying and you feel like it's still not worth it, you keep raising the rate until they self-select themselves out. That's one easy way. Another way is to just refer them to somebody else, and if you're going to refer you might as well get a nice referral fee out of it. Go to one of your buddies and one man's junk is another man's treasure. I mean they might know how to deal with this type of person. They might be a better personality fit for this type of person than you. Don't just instantly assume that because you can't tolerate them or their difficult for you, that everybody else will. Give them to somebody else and let somebody else have a shot. Marc: I like it. We will rarely fire an owner, but we will as you just suggested bump fees up and up until they decide to fire us. I’d much rather have them fire us and leave on their terms. Jason: Right, they’ll self-select out. Are we complete on number one? Marc: I think so. Number two is successful companies know their numbers. I see this so often with PM companies. We get really good at the logistical side of we know how to lease, we know how to talk to owners, know how to collect rents, but when it comes to the numbers, the financials, we just don't know what we’re doing often times. I really am a big believer in that concept that if you don't know your numbers, you don't know your business. You don't know how well your business is doing. One question I’ll often ask of coaching clients that I work with on that side of things is also, “Okay. Now, if you, Jason own a PM company, at what point in time do you close the books for your company? Let’s say the month of June ends, right? We’re here almost until the end of June. When June closes for you, how quickly will you have your June books closed so that you know how much money your company made in the month of June?” The answers always surprise me. They're all over the board. “Well, I'm currently 90 days behind. I’m trying to catch up,” or, “I'm not much further behind in that,” or, “I might get it towards the end of the following month.” Jason: Yeah, how can they make business decisions if they’re 90 days in the rear-view mirror? Imagine trying to drive a car like that. Marc: Like I said, I've been doing this for many, many years. While we were small. like anybody else, I was everything. I was the janitor, I was the accountant, and I was everything. My favorite day of the month was always the first. Not because we collect rents, but because on the first day of the month, I go online and print out our company bank statements for the last month. I get our paper checkbook out and I’d reconcile. I’d get our ending balance and I enter it all into QuickBooks. I can look at that piece of paper and say, “Hey, how much money did we make last month?” I love that. I would wake up early to do that. I'm weird, I know, but that's how you know how well you're doing, I wouldn’t wait until the second, the third, the fourth, the twentieth, that's crazy. You can do it on the first. So, I'm a big believer in as soon as possible, which in this day and age it can be pretty much immediate. You get your books balanced, you run some numbers, you see how your company is doing it, and you’ve tracked some metrics, some internal metrics for your company to know how you're doing. Jason: I think the challenge is when property managers are holding on to something that's not in their particular wheelhouse or area of genius, but if this isn't your thing, if you're not like Marc and you don't love doing this and this isn’t like what makes you thrilled and excited is to get in your bank statements and numbers, have somebody else get everything ready for you. I've got a profit-first coach and accountant. She meets with me and goes over everything with me. I get not only my perspective, but she says, “This is what it looks like to me, Jason,” so yeah, I think it's usually helpful to do a review every month and look at your numbers. Marc: Yup, and like you just said, most folks aren’t as weird as I am as it comes to that stuff, and that's fine. But you need to find someone weird like me. You need to find someone who can go get excited about running your numbers, make sure they do it, and then you review those and you track a couple key metrics. For example, some of the metrics that we always track, are door counts proportional to owner count? Because that’s a sign of a healthy business. So for example, if your company has 100 doors, if you’ve got 100 owners for those 100 doors, that is the sign of a very healthy business because it means that you don't have any one owner with too much control versus the guy the guy called me a couple of weeks ago and he wanted to know if I was interested in buying his business. I go, “Tell me a little bit about it.” I think he had like 75 doors, “I’ve got 75 doors, I’m here in Denver and interested in selling.” One of the first questions I always ask is how many owner-clients do you have? He had 75 doors and 4. I was like, “You know what? I don’t need to know anything else. I'm not interested.” Why? Because if we took those doors on, that's four owners. That’s a lot of control. Jason: If it’s two of them, then what are you getting? Marc: It's something that you can't control, but you need to track it, that's one of the things you want to track on a regular basis. Another metric we really like to track is the percentage of our overall income that we spend on employees. Because in our industry, that again can just be all over the map on companies. Do you have a number on that that you recommend to your folks on what that number should be? Jason: It varies so wildly especially by market, but I know an owner that has 65% profit margin in his business. Marc: Wow. Jason: I know it's ridiculous. Marc: It’s a good thing I’m sitting down. Jason: I know. He has a couple of hundred doors. It varies so wildly and it depends largely on the type of owners they're taking on, the type of property, because—I’m talking about this in the cycle of suck idea very often—if you take one bad owner or one bad door property, can have 10 times, maybe even 100 times the operational cost as a good door. So, that can vary so wildly. I've had a company come to me that had 500–600 units under management and wasn't making a dime. I said, “How is this possible?” They’re like, “Well, we're doing $3 million a month in real estate,” so there was a brokerage with a cancerous tumor on the side called property management. He had twice as much staff as he needed, no technology in place. Fast forward, he fired half his team, he fired about 200 doors, maybe 300 doors, and it's now a very profitable company. So, it's not all about doors and staffing is always going to be the highest cost. If you can replace even a fraction of that or create some leverage for your team using technology, outsourcing, whatever, those are some big wins financially. A lot of times everyone's looking at, I got to get more revenue in and they're not looking at their expenses. That's why I'm a big fan of the profit-first system which says, “You take out a portion for profit and then what's left over is your expenses.” Most people are like expenses. You’re just revenue minus expenses and then whatever's left over, there's nothing left over typically in that situation. Marc: Absolutely. We have that profit is almost like an expense item that we know we’re going to take out every month and put into a savings account. We've been doing that for a long, long time from that aspect. But yes, I agree 100% with that aspect of what you're saying there. The number that we coach folks around is you don't want to go over 50% of your total revenue to staffing costs regardless of your size. The bigger you get, the more that number's going to probably creep towards that, just because you get more overhead, you get more managers, and you have more red tape, so that's a natural part of that. But if you go over 50%, that's a red alert. Something's wrong from that standpoint, so that an important to track for every company. Jason: Yeah, as a company scale, they're able to create a bit more leverage, but yeah, I could see how when you're really small and you're doing everything, your employee costs are a bit less per door because assuming your free labor or maybe if you work for your dad. Or sometimes it’s a spouse. They’ll have their spouse as their business partner, and you'll see them get to maybe 70-80 units, they’re tapped out, and they can't afford to hire their first person. Nobody's getting paid. That makes sense. All right, I like it. Anything else on number two, knowing the numbers? Marc: The other things I would just add that's worth tracking that I often find companies don't track this well enough is how many doors they’re adding and how many doors they’re losing. It’s always a surprise to me is when you ask them that, they'll say, “Well, I can dig it up, but I don't know.” A lot of the software don't track that. If we’re old school, we’ve got the spreadsheet. Every time we lose a door, we go to our spreadsheet for the year, we put it in, and it's going to keep that auto tracking. Every time we sign a new one up, put those on the spreadsheet so we can pull that up and instantly see, “Okay. As of right now, we've lost X number of doors per year and we've added X number of doors.” So, track that. Don't make that something that you've got to go dig in your software and try to pull a report. That needs to be one of those metrics that you're tracking at least on a monthly basis. Jason: Yeah. It's a pretty difficult situation and it’s a common one where you’ll see somebody adding a door and losing a door just as often. They wonder why they're not getting growth. Sometimes, the problem aren’t getting enough [...], it’s obtaining doors. They could be the type of target audience that they're going after, it could be that they are lacking some awareness around how to retain these clients or whatever it might be, but yeah, that's an important thing I think to pay attention to. Marc: Yeah, and to track the percentage of doors lost. That's all over the map as well. If you can keep your losses on an annual basis in the single digits from a percentage standpoint, that's pretty good. If you can keep it 10% or below on doors that are leaving you every year, you're in the pretty rare group of PMs. Jason: I created something for property managers called our cold leads calculator. One of the things I noticed with a lot of companies—this is more relevant to what I do—a lot of property managers are not paying attention to the amount of money that they're spending on cold lead marketing—pay per click, SCO, APM leads—all these different places at social media marketing, content marketing, that they're paying to generate business. A bulk of where most people get their deals and leads from I find in the industry is often word-of-mouth, so they just group everything together. All their warm leads from word-of-mouth, referrals, other cold lead marketing, and they're not paying attention. When you look at the numbers alone of the cold lead marketing, which everyone can check it out by going to doorgrow.com/coldleads, they can take this little questionnaire and go through it, but it'll help you calculate your cost for cold lead marketing. It also calculates and factors in the time. Time is worth money and it calculates and ask what that time is worth, like what's your hourly wage or whoever is following up on these, how much time does it take to follow up on these, to create a real aggregate or at least close aggregate cost of what one cold lead is costing you. I’ve seen numbers. I just had one come through the other day. One cold lead was costing them $5000. I've seen $11,000, I've seen a $1700 per lead or per acquisition per deal and what I love to ask them when I get them on the phone, I say, “Hey, I saw you fill out this cold lead thing. How long does it take you to recoup $5000 on a contract?” and they’re like, “Well, that's probably three years of free management or two years whatever.” Then their perspective starts to shift and we have to uncouple that. The transparency in numbers helps you make decisions as a business owner. Marc: Yup, and then review them regularly. Don't just leave it your accounts. If you're a successful PM company, you're looking at those numbers because those numbers make a difference. Jason: All right. We’re on to number three. Marc: Number three is a good lead-in as you were just talking about there. Number three will be successful companies focus on profit, not door count. You've already talked about this. This comes up so often in our industry, what's the first question any PM ask another PM? How many doors do you have? What’s your door count? How many doors are you managing? That's the measuring stick and it’s the wrong measuring stick because I know companies that are smaller, they're very profitable, and I know companies that are very large that are not profitable at all. Door count is irrelevant. The profit is what matters. What that means is practically speaking, if you've got 50 doors, I would say, “Before you say I another 50—that's fine—but you know what? Let's maximize the profit of the existing group you have.” That doesn't mean just go out and nickel-and-dime everybody, but it means what other services can you provide? What other things can you put in place to make sure that you're maximizing that income and that’ll have a dual impact in that you're going to increase your income on that 50? Then when you pick up your next 50, now you've already got some structures in place to ensure that they are profitable as well. You've got to focus on the profits, on the revenue streams to be successful. Jason: Absolutely, I don't think there's ever been a property management company that I’ve seen that is not leaving some money on the table. There's always additional services that you can offer, even if it's something little like filter easier petscreening.com. There's always some additional value that you can offer and there's always a way that you can monetize that. People are willing to pay for additional value. Marc: On the flip side of that as well, I think we need to pay attention to those expenses because what the industry right now is more difficult than it has been a long time and folks that have not been in the industry for too long, they’ll recognize this because this is normal to them, but it's a tough industry. This is a tough market to be running a property management company. When things get tough, you've got to be tight on expenses, and it’s too easy not to get tough on expenses. That's one thing we encourage folks, is to go through that profit of loss, line by line, and if there are expense items on there that are not directly relational to income coming in, you have to figure out how to cut them. You have to get rid of those wasteful expenses. That is such a good exercise to sit down and start going through that stuff and say, “Well, gosh, I’ve just been paying for the subscription service every month and I don't even know what it does. I signed up for it two years ago. All right, let's get that cancelled.” Jason: Yeah, and you’re like, “Why am I still on this?” Marc: Exactly. This is beneficial as getting on a new door, is cutting those expenses. Jason: This is why I love having a profit-first coach, because this really is built into the system. Every month is like, “Hey, what about these services you said you're going to cancel and you said you don't need this anymore?” Yes, so I think it's helpful. If you’re not like accounting-minded, I highly recommend you go back and watch my episode with Mike Michalowicz, who is the author of Profit First and check out that episode. I think it was a fantastic episode. Really cool guy, came and spoke at our conference. It covers that system like cutting down expenses, putting profit first, making sure that expenses are fitting within your existing budget and you're still getting a profit. Yeah, makes sense. Marc: What I had to do, I realized that the biggest expense item, the biggest overhead we had was my ego. The thing is that, that I wanted for me, the big desk, the big office, the nice car, and that's something everyone needs to start there because if you drive, especially in the real estate sale side, you go to any real estate sales event and what is the parking lot filled with? A lot of very expensed leased vehicles. I'm not against nice vehicles, but that’s just a suck on the income side of things. Jason: I think there's always this ratio between the amount of money that you’re going to take out of the business, and the amount of money that you're going to leave in to fund towards the growth. If we take out too much too quickly, the business growth is stagnated. I've seen some really aggressive companies put almost all of their money. I’ve seen owners try not to even take a paycheck. They’re really minimizing their take out of the business so that they could fund the growth, because they're delaying gratification for the future. They’re funding and creating a business that is growing and they’re putting their funds and their money towards that.  Sometimes, you have to double down as a business owner and to be willing to take a short-term hit because you want a long-term growth goal. And we can put too much towards growth to where it feels shaky, it feels unsafe. We're not holding anything back. There's no padding there. It really is this balance of how much I’m going to put towards growth be aggressive, how safe am I going to play it, and how stable and slow am I going to be at doing this. There's a balance there. Marc: It is a balance, it’s an absolute balance because you need to leave some in, and you need to be pulling some out every month and putting it into that savings account so that you have opportunities. We’ve purchased several companies over the years and every one of those deals worked because we were able to in essence say, “We can write a check. We’ll write a check today. We’ll get this deal done.” Why? Because we have money put away. That savings account isn't just comforting, it's an opportunity fund for things when they come up in the future. Jason: I like it. All right, is that three? Marc: That's three. Jason: All right, number four. Marc: Number four is successful companies have systems and follow them. They have systems in place and they follow. In a word, system means different things to different people. Some people think, “Well, that's just so I need a good software. What’s the system?” I really believe that probably 75%-80% of what we do on a day-to-day basis in our industry can be systematized, meaning, simply documenting your process, documenting your routine, because it plays out in so many ways. We learned this early on when we were growing and first there were two of us. My dad and I, we both did it all and we hired a third person, and then we all three did it all. Then we hired a fourth person, and by the time we hired that fourth person, we realized that, we can't all do it all. This isn't scalable, we can't all do everything. It works great at two people, it works great at three people, but when we had that number person and Mr. Tenant calls and says, “Hey, I called in with a maintenance request last week and I haven’t heard from anybody.” And I say, “Well do you know who you talked to?” “No, I don't remember.” “Well hold on, let me see if I can figure it out.” “Hey dad, did they talk to you?” “Hey, Bill did they talk to you?” “Sue did they talk to you?” “No.” “Well they talked to one of us, right?” That’s very ineffective. You've got to start specializing in your processes. We realized at that point in time that if we're going to hire someone to be our leasing person, for example, we better have a documented process for them to follow. I mean specific detailed documented. Here's what time you get to the property before showing. You open the door, you turn on the lights. Here's where you stand when they come in. Here's how you greet them, here’s what you say, here’s what you don't say, here's how you process an application. If we do that into our entire business and we break the business down into the smallest components, it simplifies things like nothing else because we’re in a complex business. If you think of a continuum in your mind, a long line going on both directions. On one side of the continuum, you have the words consistency and simplicity. On the other side, the far extreme opposite, you've got the words variation and complexity. You have to ask yourself, where am I on that continuum? We're all different places, but we hopefully will always be moving forward towards consistency and simplicity. I don't think there's a better way of doing that than through documenting your process, your system and then following it, training on it, improving it, upgrading it. It's got to be written, it's got to be documented, and it is a process. Jason: That needs to be used. People document it, they’ll give it to the team member, the team member will look at it at the first few times they do it, and then they're done. I have Process Street on as a guest once. We used Process Street internally, but it forces them to actually use the process on going. It's a checklist that has to be verified and completed. Marc: Yes, checklists are huge. We couldn’t exist without the checklist. Its old school, but it works. We still have paper checklists on some things in our office here that people say, “That wouldn’t work.” I guess just too old school. I say, “Well , we’re pretty successful. It worked for a thousand doors; I can tell you that. Will it work beyond that? I don't know, but it works to get you to a thousand.” Jason: There you go. I've noticed in businesses, I think there’s, at a minimum, probably seven systems that every business eventually has to have in a business. One, they have to have an internal communication system. For me and my team, it’s virtual, so we're using things like Basecamp, Voxer, stuff like that. But there needs to be an internal communication system that isn't just, “Hey Steve, did you do this?” So, internal communication. There needs to be process documentation system. That could just be Google Sheets, Docs, and whatever, or it could be something more complicated or cooler like Process Street or whatever, but there needs to be a process documentation system. There needs to be a billing system, of course. Property managers use maybe AppFolio or Rentec Direct, Buildium, but there needs to be some billing, accounting system. Then there needs to be a support system. A lot of property managers are starting to gravitate towards setting up Help Scout, Intercom, Drift, or one of these, but internally we use Intercom. There needs to be a support system in the business so that you can track tickets and track things. Sometimes, you'll do that through your property management software a bit. I find one system most property management businesses are lacking or missing is a planning system. You're hearing people move towards traction in some of this which I think has some fundamental flaws to be blunt, but it's a great system. It’s better than no system and there's a lot of systems out there for planning, but there needs to be a planning system in the business. Another system that's necessary is a sales CRM. This is different than your existing customer database. This is for prospects. There needs to be a sales CRM in place. A lot of property managers use LeadSimple, for example. If there were one other system you can throw in there probably be a phone system. We need some way to manage this big influx of calls or outbound calls with team members being able to be reached. These are some of the systems that I've paid attention to, that businesses need. Most businesses will have maybe two or three. Marc: Yup, and we preach what we practice as well as preach to make on the systems for individual team members to make them position-specific. We have 20-some odd people our office and every role has a position-specific system manual, so our director of accounting has a director of accounting system manual. I'm the president of the organization. I have a president system manual. Why? Because I need to be replaceable. That's one of the benefits of it. That idea that now we become less dependent upon individuals and no individual can hold us hostage to be like, “They’ve got everything in their head. What are we going to do they leave? We can't lose them.” It's a terrible place to be. We don’t have to worry about that. You're going to lose everybody at some point in time. You’ll either lose them for a good reason or a bad reason, but they need to be replaceable. Now if you have a document, if you have documented their process, then they become replaceable. I'm replaceable. If I get hit by the truck today, it’s alright. Hopefully, the company will take a little hit, hopefully they’ll need me a little bit, but we got a system manual, somebody can step in that role, and already says, “Hey, this is what Marc does.” Just do it and you'll be successful. Jason: I like it. All right, so are we on to five? Marc: Number five, the last one, successful companies recruit and develop talent. We just talked about systems and the concept that systems can make your people replaceable to some extent and they should. However, at the end of the day, the team with the best players usually wins. If you can go out there and if you can figure out how to recruit the best talent and then retain them, that is going to do more for your company than almost anything else out there. If I'm going to brag about something about our company, I’ll brag about that. We get the best people around. We've gotten good at that. It makes it so much easier to do business. I don't work harder than my competitors, I'm not smarter than my competitors, I'm not technologically savvy more than my competitors, but what we do better than a lot of our competitors is we get really good people  Now that’s hard, and it’s hard to get really good people and that's why you got to recruit. It doesn't mean you put an ad on Craig's list and read a bunch of resumes of people that can't get jobs. I mean you go out and you find people that are really good at what they do and you got to get them, you have to recruit them. That's hard because successful people aren’t looking for jobs. They are already successful. If you want to be successful, you got to go out there. I’ll tell a story and I'll give that the short version. We had to hire a leasing person not too long ago. Wwe were hiring, meaning we were just reviewing resumes and I thought this is ridiculous. We can't find anybody good. I better do what I tell myself what I should be doing. I got my car one day and I drove around to a lot of the multi-family class A properties in Denver, and I walked in as a prospect. “Hey, I’m Marc, I’m here. I just want to see what you have available. I’m looking for a buddy of mine to rent a property.” And I was usually met with the, “Okay, well here's a piece of paper. Tell your buddy to give us a call.” I say, “Okay” and left. About the fourth place I came to, I came in and met a gal there behind the front and I said, “Hi, I’m Marc. I’m just looking for a place for a buddy of mine.” She said, “Well, me about your buddy. He’s looking for one bedroom. He’s tall dark and handsome, got a cat, probably crazy,” and she's like, “You know what? I know the perfect unit for your buddy. Do you have a couple minutes? I'd love to just have you tour this property.” “Yeah, sure. Okay.” She tours me through and she's pointing out the feature benefits to offer. She was sharp. Her name is Lindsay. I said, “Lindsay, you are really good at your job. She goes, “I love leasing. I just love it. I love helping people. I love real estate. I love what I do.” I said, “That's great. Coincidently, I happen to run a property management company and we're actually looking to hire a director of leasing for residential real estate. Have you thought about doing residential?” because she’s a multifamily. She was like, “Oh no. I could never leave. I'm not a job hopper. I'm really stable. Stability is a big deal for me once I get somewhere I like to stay.” Now I'm drooling. I got to have her. I said, “Well is there anything you don't like about your job Lindsay? Well we work weekends.” I said, “Oh. That’s too bad. We don’t work weekends.” I said, “Tell you what. Why don't you come into my office sometime? Here’s my card. I'd love to just sit down and have a conversation with you. Who knows? Maybe something comes out of it, maybe something don’t, but I’d love to just connect and see if there's something there for the future.” Well long story short, we got her. We got Lindsay. And we had to go after her, we had to get her because she didn't want to leave. She's been a rock star. She's been amazing. The things that she's helped our company to do, but we would not have found her if we were just hiring. We had to go recruit her, we had to go get her. That's what you have to do in every position in your company. You have to go find stuff. I'm not saying go steal people away from your competitors, but you have to find those people out there that are successful and get them. Once you get them, you have to retain them. You have to train them well, you got to pay them well, which is one of the reasons you need to have good profit because good people aren’t cheap, but that's what's going to lead to a long-term success, and unless you take a step back out of the day-to-day stuff at the end of the day. Jason: Yeah. I think it's important to point out what you're saying is not that people are easily replaceable, that you can pop somebody else in. You're not saying that at all, and I think every business owner knows that if you have a seasoned team member that you've invested in, that you've trained, that you've developed, there's nothing as good as that, like having somebody that's been with you for years. I have team members that has been on my team for maybe six years and he's a rock star. I have a competitive advantage over most companies in that our teams are virtual, so I can source the best talent from anywhere pretty much in the world. But yeah, this can be challenging for property managers that are looking for somebody locally, they're looking for somebody nearby, they’re looking for a particular set of skills may be. But ultimately, if you find somebody good, you want to make sure you retain them and that you keep them happy. You can compare it to a wine, you can compare it to anything, but over time they just get better. If they’re good they get better, if they're not good, they get worse. Marc: That's the other side of the coin. That's where just like we talked about earlier with owners. This is what we started this whole conversation with you get a bad owner, what do you do? You need to let them go. Well if you made a hiring mistake, you need to fix that and correct that as well and let that person go, because we're going to make hirings. We are very good at this, but we make a lot of hiring mistakes. We just do, it drives me crazy. But when we do that, we correct it quickly. We're going to move that person on very quickly when we make that mistake. Why? Because the longer they're sitting there, the longer the right person isn't there. You've got to make that correction when you made a hiring mistake. Jason: I think it's amazing when you bring in a new team member, it changes the entire team. It either changes the entire team for the better or for the worse, especially if that team member that you just brought on is taking off of your plate everything. It changes your role as CEO. It changes your role as an entrepreneur, and it affects everything from you. It's pretty significant and it's important to make sure that they’re the right fit. We we're all going to make hiring mistakes. You have to kiss a few frogs and you have to suck a little bit at hiring in order to find the good people. Marc: It's an art, and a skill set to hire someone in no way translates over to property management. It's not like, “I'm a good property manager. I’ll obviously be good at hiring.” No, there's no correlation there. It's completely different. The other unfortunate thing is, the smaller your company is, the more important it is to make that first good hire. Now we've got 20 people. If we make a bad hire, we got one in 20 then who's bad. They can fly under the radar a little bit, they're not going to stick to the company. If we've got two people and then we make a bad hire for number three, so we never got 33% of our workforce that's a low performer. The smaller you are, the more important it is that you take the time to get the right person in. A lot of it is just time. You've got to slow down the hiring process. These ideas of we had a phone conversation and we interviewed him, it's not enough? Are you kidding me? No, you want to do multiple interviews. Anybody can come across as a positive person on that first interview. You want to have multiple interviews with multiple people. You have to dig, dig, dig on that before you make that job offer. Jason: I think where I've made a lot of mistakes personally in the hiring process is I love to delegate and its delegating too quickly. Some people will micromanage, they’ll control too much, and I think some people will do the opposite. They'll bring somebody on and they won't give them all the training, all the tools, all the support they need to really be the rock star they could have been. I've made both of those mistakes to be transparent. I think onboarding is a really important process to make sure you’re meeting with your new hires on a regular basis daily initially, then backing it up to weekly and so on, so that every day like where are you stuck? What do you need? What are you confused about? Often, they're not going to just volunteer all that information to you. But when you're meeting with them daily, they're going to feel supported, they're going to feel like they're invested in the team. I think onboarding is a really big deal. That's where I made mistakes. Marc: We still do one-on-one meetings every single week with every one of our team members. It doesn't matter how long they've been. I'm a huge believer in that, I guess if you wanted number six, there is number six, right? Have one-on-ones every single week, sitting down with them, even if it’s for 5 or 10 minutes, touch base, see what issues are going. Those have been critical for our people in their success. Jason: We have a bonus, number six. Marc: You got a bonus, number six, because you’re so good. What did I leave out? I’m curious. You talk to a lot of PM companies. What do you think are characteristics of success may be that we didn’t hit on? Jason: I wasn’t even thinking this, I was so into yours. I think all these things are really fantastic. I think if I were to add a seventh here that I think is absolutely critical, so imagine you have an orchard, you’re at the top, and this is like a reservoir of hopefully money and or water or whatever you want to call it. There's outflow, you're paying your team, you're spending money, things like this, and investing your team. I think where most companies are flawed is there's no inflow at the top of the orchard. There's nothing above the entrepreneur feeding into them. I think this is why it's critical. I probably spent at least six figures annually just on coaches and mentors. I have three coaches right now affecting different areas of my business. I think it's that inflow that I'm able to get that allows me to consistently have value to offer to the marketplace and to benefit my clients. It comes out in ways that I don't even expect, like a client will ask me a question or be stuck on something mindset-wise or be challenged with something, and I'm like, “I had that issue and I worked that through with my coach,” or, “I have done that in that training that I had done,” or whatever it might be. I think as entrepreneurs, we need to invest in ourselves if we're expecting other people to invest in us. When you go to prospects or clients and you say, “Hey, invest in me, spend money with my company,” and you aren't willing to invest in yourself or in your company in a similar fashion, I think there's a little lack of integrity. Energetically, something's off. If there were a seventh, I would say that's a big one is make sure that you're investing consistently in your own development, not just your team so that you have something to give. I think that's the inflow. You don't want to be a dead sea, there needs to be in flow and there needs to be outflow and that's where there's life. That's where it’s a healthy business. Marc: For the person that would say, “Hey, that sounds great, but I'm working 70 hours a week. I don't have time to invest in me. I'm just give, give, give.” What would you say to them? Jason: I would say they’re ineffective, they’re inefficient because if we're doing, doing, doing we moved out of the mode of being affected. That means most of our time is tactical instead of strategic. Any business that lacks, the business owner lacks strategic time, the business isn’t growing. There's a direct relationship between the amount of strategic time, planning, looking towards the future, coming up with ideas, or getting trained or learning new things, versus their growth. If all their time is tactical, they're dealing with maintenance, fires, leases, managing their team, emails, phone calls, if all their time is tactical, their business can’t grow. It will stay basically where it is. I think what I do with clients is I start them with a time study and we create time. Everybody is spending time doing stuff that's unnecessary, or low dollar an hour work, or silly, and it's pretty simple to start getting clarity on that first and then that helps them see what they need next. My entire foundation, my company really has been built on time studies. That's where I think fundamentally there's a huge difference between how I would coach operationally a business to run versus something like traction or a rocket fuel or these other systems where they’re saying, “Here's the magic org chart and here's the roles that you have to have.” Ultimately, a business should be built around the entrepreneur and what they actually need. The only way to really see that is to know where your time is going. Marc: Good stuff. Jason: That's my two cents. Marc: I like it. Jason: All right, so that's number eight maybe. I don't know. Marc: It’s number eight. Jason: We’d better stop before we add anymore. Marc: We’d better. I know. You’re making me think of too many things. Jason: Marc, it was really awesome hanging out here with you. This is really fun. You're welcome back anytime. Before we go, how can people get in touch with you if they're curious about some stuff that you offer for property managers or they want to learn more about your business or whatever? Marc: The best way to reach me is through our website which is propertymanagementsystem.org and we got a handful things on there, a lot of video resource things. We've got our system manuals, we talked a little bit about that, our actual system manuals, we offer those. You can download samples of those and we got packages on those. We do ancillary business training, some coaching stuff from that aspect. One thing I'm pretty excited about, we're just putting in place, we actually just put in place and I'm happy to share with any of your folks if they're interested, they can drop me an email. We put a business health checkup form where you answer some questions and it spits out a number to let you do that business health checkup. If anybody is interested in that, drop me an email, go on the website, reach out to me from there, will be happy to send it to them. Jason: Cool. All right, Marc, thanks so much for coming on the DoorGrow Show and excited to see what you do in the future. Marc: Jason, thank you, it was fun. Jason: All right ,so if you are property management entrepreneur and you are struggling, you are feeling challenged in growth, be sure to connect with us over Door Grow. I would be honored to help you out. As I said during this call, I'm a firm believer in getting coached, getting coaches, and even if it's not me, somebody like Marc, there's lots of other [...] there that can coach you. Get somebody that can give you some value, help you grow your business, help you achieve your goals, and figure things out. Until next time, everybody, to our mutual growth. Bye everyone.  

 Learn how business owners can make a leap to their lifetime best income through Steve's simple, but pivotal, insights and how to apply them Discover how to fix every business owner's struggle of having 'not enough time' Discover how to pivot your business from 'doing ok' to truly optimizing it’s potential serving you in having a kick-ass life Resources/Links: The AchievementBridge™ 7 Tiggers To 7 Figures Strategy: Visit: slingshotsession.com Summary Steve Dailey is a great and exceptional coach. He has been guiding small business owner into the Lifetime Best success for over 30 years since the way before "Coach"--a title on every business card from attorneys to babysitters. He's also the author of the inspirational Laser Minute Audio Class, contributed to 6 mini selling books on business success, and the founder of the Entrepreneur Excellence Alliance and growing community of inspired and aspiring business owners, challenging each other to new levels of success. In this episode, Steve shares how he helps business owners to organize their business so that it's doing better than it's ever done while they have time to enjoy the great things about life. Check out these episode highlights: 01:46 – Steve's ideal client: seasoned and established business owner that is typically selling their knowledge as a service to the marketplace. 02:16 – Problem he helps solve: helping business owners to organize their business so that it's doing better than it's ever done but also they have time to enjoy the great things about life. 03:03 – Typical symptoms that clients do before reaching out to Steve: they are working all the time. They've got people in their lives that are wanting more of them that they're not able to give their time to. 03:46 – Common mistakes people make when trying to solve that problem: They reach for almost always to fix things. 04:41 – Steve’s Valuable Free Action(VFA):"...focus on return on everything." 06:20 – Steve’s Valuable Free Resource(VFR): slingshotsession.com 07:23 – Q: Why do my clients feel like that they've made the best decision in their life to work with me? A:Absolutely every time my clients tell me that they have a big breath of fresh air to work with somebody that is as committed to their success as they are. And I make sure that they accomplish their goals and that's what I wake up every day to do. Tweetable Takeaways from this Episode: “Business owners don't like what they see in the mirror, they can't let themselves go physically because they work so much for so many years. And they feel like that there's a clock ticking in their head.” -@KumuKupunaClick To Tweet “I like to teach my clients right out of the gate, every business understands the term ROI, return on investment but I teach them right away to start looking at ROE, return on everything.” -@KumuKupunaClick To Tweet Info about our correspondent host:Jigar Poojar is Leadsology's man on the ground in India. Just like CNN has reporters worldwide, Leadsology is developing a small but selective network of hosts to interview guest so our reach is deeper and wider than ever before. Transcript (Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast) Jigar Poojara: Hello everyone. A very warm welcome to another Marketing The Invisible podcast. My name is Jigar. Joined today by Steve Dailey. Hey Steve, where you hanging out by the way? Steve Dailey: I'm hanging out in Boise Idaho in the United States. Jigar Poojara: Oh great. And what time is it? Steve Dailey: It's a little past eight-thirty in the morning here. Beautiful sunny day and spring are in full swing so it's quite gorgeous here. Jigar Poojara: Oh perfect. So, we are going to have a quick podcast here.

Salespeople are now teaching because the buyers already have done research. A salesperson needs to add value. Otherwise, they are relegated to being walking catalogs, and who needs another one of those? What does my sales process look like? Do you need more leads? Stop asking the dumb questions. Wouldn't it be better if you opened with, "Hey Steve, I've spoken to a hundred people just like you in your same position, and some of the challenges I've heard people are this, this and this. Do any of these resonate with you?"  take it further, "These are some of the solutions people have come to in order to try to solve some of those challenges." Suddenly you are someone of interest to that prospect. This is only a taste of what is covered in this episode. Tune in to hear all the ideas and solutions. About our guest: Experienced Member Of The Board Of Advisors with a demonstrated history of working in the computer software industry. Skilled in Enterprise Software, Sales, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Go-to-market Strategy, and Sales Management. Strong entrepreneurship professional with an MBA focused on Finance / Entrepreneurship from the University of Cape Town.

Happy Mother’s Day Tanner/Gibbler/Fuller Fans, Angela Bowen here, the host of Oh Mylanta Holy Chalupas: An Unofficial Full House Fuller House Podcast. In honor of today, I’m covering the Season 4 Finale S4E13: Opening Night. She-Wolf Pack Sees Hamilton. $8 Bottled Water (Get Outta Here) Front Row Water Breaking Max, Jimmy and Fernando Sandwich Adventure Vest Wearing 10 Year Offers Sage Fatherly Advice Baby Birth + Proposal = Watching Grey’s Anatomy Makes Max Qualified To Deliver Kimmy’s Baby According To Him. Steve hides licorice in his shoes ( Hey Steve, TMI dude) $9 for a box of Raisinets (You Gotta Be Kidding Me ) Have a great week everyone!

Happy Mother’s Day Tanner/Gibbler/Fuller Fans, Angela Bowen here, the host of Oh Mylanta Holy Chalupas: An Unofficial Full House Fuller House Podcast. In honor of today, I’m covering the Season 4 Finale S4E13: Opening Night. She-Wolf Pack Sees Hamilton. $8 Bottled Water (Get Outta Here) Front Row Water Breaking Max, Jimmy and Fernando Sandwich Adventure Vest Wearing 10 Year Offers Sage Fatherly Advice Baby Birth + Proposal = Watching Grey’s Anatomy Makes Max Qualified To Deliver Kimmy’s Baby According To Him. Steve hides licorice in his shoes (Hey Steve, TMI dude) $9 for a box of Raisinets (You Gotta Be Kidding Me ) Have a great week everyone!

Happy Mother’s Day Tanner/Gibbler/Fuller Fans, Angela Bowen here, the host of Oh Mylanta Holy Chalupas: An Unofficial Full House Fuller House Podcast. In honor of today, I’m covering the Season 4 Finale S4E13: Opening Night. She-Wolf Pack Sees Hamilton. $8 Bottled Water (Get Outta Here) Front Row Water Breaking Max, Jimmy and Fernando Sandwich Adventure Vest Wearing 10 Year Offers Sage Fatherly Advice Baby Birth + Proposal = Watching Grey’s Anatomy Makes Max Qualified To Deliver Kimmy’s Baby According To Him. Steve hides licorice in his shoes ( Hey Steve, TMI dude) $9 for a box of Raisinets (You Gotta Be Kidding Me ) Have a great week everyone!

It is. We need to look inside ourself this week. Like deep inside, to the parts ourselves that we never show to the light. Where the cobwebs are. Where my little spider friend Steve lives, killing any flies that make their way in. Hey Steve, hope you’ve been having a good time in there. NiceContinue reading →

In this episode, Stan and Mike talk to Steve Moses about the decisions we make as concealed carriers.  The three talk about everything from carrying a firearm, to the decisions we make while carrying, including complex decisions regarding self defense.   The full transcription of this podcast is below.  Speaker 1: 00:01 Welcome to the Inside CCW Safe Podcast, with founders Stan Campbell and Mike Darter. If you're forced to fight the battle for your life, CCW Safe will fight the battle for your future. Mike: 00:11 Alright, welcome back to the Inside CCW Safe Podcast, I'm Mike Darter in Oklahoma City. Stan: 00:26 Stan Campbell, I'm in Los Angeles today and the weather is fair, Michael. Mike: 00:31 It's fair? Stan: 00:33 It's fair. Mike: 00:34 It's still cold here, man. Think we're gonna get snow here this weekend maybe. Or ice [crosstalk 00:00:39] somethin' somethin' somethin'. Mike: 00:40 How's mama Mona doin'? Stan: 00:43 You know, we haven't talked about mama Mona in a while. Mike: 00:44 I know! Stan: 00:46 She's still in the Dallas area, metro area. She relocated and she's doin' well, you know. I put that app on her phone so that I can keep track of where she is, so, you know it's really helpful especially if she ever has any emergencies and such, but she laughs, she gets tickled when I just call her out of the blue and say, "Oh, so you washin' your car now?", "Oh, so you at the Subway? Better be havin' something healthy!", so she loves the fact that I can follow her around and stalk her, so yeah. It's fun, but it's safe. If you guys have not seen the app, it's 360, right Mike? Mike: 01:27 Yeah, Life360. Stan: 01:28 Yeah, Life360 is a great app if you wanna really keep track of your family members and they can hit a panic-type button and let everybody know where they are, so it's awesome. I love it. Mike: 01:44 Yeah, it's what I use with the girls in the past. So I have officially made a proposal to stay in, to add a mama Mona moment to our podcast where we call mama Mona, we present her with either situational awareness things or questions from our members. Mike: 02:16 That's in the works, man. We're gonna have [inaudible 00:02:19] for mama Mona moments. Stan: 02:21 Yeah, she's so sweet, but she really hasn't still just common sense. Mike: 02:26 Oh man, yeah, she's got the common sense. Stan: 02:29 She really does, I mean a lot of these questions and not all of them from members, some of them are from customers and some of them can get really outrageous just with the scenarios and we gonna allow mama Mona to answer the questions, "What if I see a baby with an AK47 pointing it at a grandmother?" Mike: 02:46 "What if somebody chasin' me, tryin' to beat me with a dead squirrel?" Stan: 02:51 Yes. We'll let mama Mona answer those. Mike: 02:55 Well speaking of common sense, we have Steve Moses is on today, from Texas. Steve: 03:01 Hey guys. Mike: 03:01 And Steve's got some awesome articles recently. How you doin' Steve? Steve: 03:06 Oh, I'm doin' well. I'm doin' well. It's good to be back talkin' to you guys. Mike: 03:10 How's the weather in Texas? East Texas? Steve: 03:13 Nasty. Mike: 03:14 Is it? Steve: 03:15 Nasty. Cold, damp, wet, you know, so, it's kind of a almost a sub-tropic environment here. It's very beautiful and everything, but the humidity is pretty high and when these cold fronts that come through Oklahoma and [inaudible 00:03:29] you guys get down here, we're not frigid, we're just miserable. Mike: 03:34 Yeah, that's what it is here. Steve: 03:38 Just miserable. Mike: 03:40 So what are we talking about today Stan? Stan: 03:43 Well today, I decided to ... we're having Steve Moses, he submitted a piece of writing that we were gonna look at as a article, but I thought that be so much better as a topic of discussion for the podcast, especially on the cuffs of having David Darter here, you don't know [crosstalk 00:04:06] last week we had Dave Darter talking about different things that comes up during customer service and question and stuff that we get a lot Steve. So we were kinda answering some of those scenario type questions and when I saw your submission I said, "Oh no. That's perfect for our topic of discussion today." Stan: 04:31 Steve if you can kinda introduce what that is and why you even chose that topic. Steve: 04:41 The title of the article I wrote was Boring Article, Serious Subject. It is kinda come to my mind where I've seen people carrying handguns in areas and locations where they probably shouldn't. Citing that old Maxim, "I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6." I kinda got, "I really don't want to put myself in to a position where I am a D judged by 12 and perhaps I might lose my rights to possess a concealed handgun. Or worse, end up in prison." This is something that I've seen quite frequently and while I'm very much a believer that we should be armed to the extent that we can, it needs to be done lawfully and it needs to be done with some common sense. Steve: 05:41 There are areas where it's basic, like in Texas, where concealed carry is banned, but by the same token, it's a criminal trespass issue primarily if you are accosted or that is discovered and then you're asked to vacate the premises and you do not do so. The penalty for that I don't consider to be something significant, we can always go back and leave. We can choose not to go to those kind of places. But on occasion there are places where all of us, I don't care who you are, need to go where being able to have a concealed handgun on your person is a bad idea, perhaps for a variety of reasons. Mike: 06:31 And you know, we talked about that a little bit on the podcast, the last podcast with David, but there's also one other thing that I think we, everybody really needs to be honest with themselves about and this is Pat McNamara actually put it on his Instagram one day. Just because you have a gun does not mean you are armed. [crosstalk 00:06:58] And I think everybody needs to be, I mean including me, I mean everybody needs to be realistic and honest with themselves on if you're, just because you have a firearm does not mean you're armed. Steve: 07:17 That's right. Stan: 07:20 I love how he put that because you can take that in a couple of different ways because you can talk about mindset, that being relevant to mindset, that being relevant to your physical abilities to even defend your weapon or pull it out without somebody taking it from you, or the fact that you don't train at all. Mike: 07:40 Right. Stan: 07:41 There are so many different ways you can look at that so. Qaeda is on it there. Thanks for bringing that up Mike. Hey before we get too far, also 'cause I know Steve is gonna keep talking, I wanted to remind everybody Steve talked about that. As far as CCW Safe members, please understand this is a reminder. I think I did it last week, but I'm a do it again. As far as no gun zones, you will be outside of the scope of coverage if you are in a place where it is a felony or misdemeanor in itself to possess a firearm on the premises, okay. You will also be out of coverage if you challenge someone on private property, you know what I mean as a business owner or representative and you refuse to leave that property, standing up for second amendment rights, but deciding to take on that misdemeanor charge or trespassing. Those are the areas that you will not be covered. Stan: 08:49 Now, if you are walking out after someone told you to leave and Isis comes in or Al-Qaeda, and you save the day we will cover you. If you're on the premises where you accidentally bypass a sign or they didn't have one up, and they didn't tell you to leave and someone comes in and robs the place and such, then you will be covered for that incident, defending yourself or another. I had to get that in because everybody calls in on that and they really want to know. Not to say, I know it seems like it happens a lot nationally, and we're not gonna say it not on the rise, but it doesn't happen as much and there's nothing wrong with people calling and having concerns about, "will you cover me if?", please understand that like Mike said, be armed. In those three areas, training, have your mindset right, and the physical ability to sustain that fight and protect your weapon. Go ahead Steve. Steve: 10:00 Those are all excellent points. Those are very good points. One of the other things that occurred to me when I was thinking about writing this article is that in many instances there's places where it's just a bad idea to have your handgun on your person. If you're someone who's gonna go to a Superbowl party or go out to a bar and basically "Okay I don't have my handgun on my person while I'm actually in that place, but on the way back to wherever I came from, I do have my handgun on my place and I'm under the influence of alcohol," and if you're stopped that is a serious incident in and of itself and if you're forced to use any kind of force in order to defend yourself and it's later determined that "wow. You were under the influence of alcohol," that can be a big problem. To that end, I just thought we really need to exercise some good judgment when we go about our life. Life is not without risk. Every time we drive to a grocery store or we get on an airplane or anything else, there's always the risk that something can happen, but it many instances we can to some effect mitigate that risk by having good judgment, making good decisions, and following through. Steve: 11:33 One of the things that I do know that a lot of concealed carriers do, actually I should say concealed carriers, I'll just say people do is they store their handguns in their vehicles. I believe there I read, let me see there, I think it was the guardian said, I can't recall the year, might have been like 2015 or so, that between 300,000 and 600,000 firearms reported as stolen. As people now have the right to carry guns on their person, what we're seeing is we're seeing a lot more guns in vehicles. Steve: 12:16 People go to a place they go, "Well, I can't carry my gun in there. I'm just gonna stick it under here, under the car seat in the console, in the glove compartment and leave it. Then they're somewhat horrified when they come back and they see typically a window broken out, snatch and grab took place, and now that gun is missing. Stan: 12:40 Yeah. That's terrible. Steve: 12:43 It is bad. It is bad. Mike: 12:46 That's one thing I looked at early on when we first started CCW Safe was different. At one time we had a little video on there, kinda some different products but, yeah you think about people just putting it in between the seat and the column or whatever. If you get in a wreck, that thing could be a flying object through that car. Stan: 13:14 Projectile. Mike: 13:15 I've gotten to where I've gotten the console vault in both my trucks now. Steve I don't know if you've heard of Gold Star Holsters? Stan: 13:28 No I have not. Mike: 13:29 They have a really cool deal that they sent one out. I'm actually ordering one for my P365, but they have a under the steering wheel where column now holstered that is actually like a Kydex holster. It's pretty cool. Those are the two that I would strongly recommend, vault or whatever for the console vaults and then this one is really cool. Actually I have, they sent me one for a Glock 19, Steve, I'm gonna send it down. Actually when you come up next week I'll get it to you. Stan: 14:09 Okay. That sounds good, why don't you take a look at it. I'll take a look it at it. Mike: 14:12 Yeah it's awesome. It's awesome. So is that what you, what do you use, Steve? Steve: 14:18 Well actually when I'm in my car I keep my handgun on my person. I keep it in a holster. If something happens, I know where that handgun is going to be. I don't feel like "Okay. Oh where's that handgun?" So I'm trying to find it under bad circumstances. To that end, I keep my handgun on my person. I typically carry appendix which is very easy to drive with. If you get a good holster and you actually put the bottom of the seatbelt over the holster, blouse your shirt over it and then if for some reason you're forced to use your handgun while you're still in your car, it's there. Steve: 15:05 However, when I go to leave my car I want that handgun completely out of sight. There's some really inexpensive options for doing this. I mean some of them start at less than $30. They're just super lock boxes. They're made of metal. They're padded. They have a three digit combination lock and they come with a cable that allows you to loop the cable around the frame of your automobile seat so that you can then store the handgun in there, lock it, and put it underneath your car seat. Some of these are relatively inexpensive under $30. They go up in price and probably robustness. Probably the more robust they are, the more they're going to defy any attempt to open 'em. Steve: 16:05 For the most part, people that break into and enter into cars, burglarize cars, they're moving pretty fast. They don't have the tools it would take to free that storage safe from it. I don't wanna say you can't break in to it, but it's gonna be pretty difficult. Most of you know, burglars don't carry around a set of bolt cutters, those are hard to explain in the event that you run into a police officer, especially if you have a background. But something just as small as that can go a long ways towards securing a handgun inside of a vehicle. Steve: 16:46 Yeah, that's awesome. Mike: 16:48 I've had those that have the cable that wrap around like seat post lock into it ... Yep, yep. Steve: 16:56 Yes sir. One of the things I might add is that it requires discipline in order to always do this. Having good intentions and then failing to following through, that's not gonna get you what you want. It may take a little bit of time in order to get that handgun safely out of the holster or however you carry it. Basically, something I've really encouraged all of our listeners to do is to make sure that you have taken some formal training from a qualified instructor so you know how to get handguns in and back into the holster safely. Stan: 17:37 That's right. Steve: 17:38 You have to do it the same way every single time. It needs to be done so that trigger finger is straight, you're concentrating on what you're doing, you're not multi-tasking. And when you withdraw that handgun and you insert that handgun back into the holster, you don't wanna be muzzling any of your own body parts. Stan: 17:57 That's right. You know we had a member just recently send a email, I think I shared it with you Steve, in which he listened to you the last time you were on the podcast and he signed up for one of your classes 'cause I think he was just within 30 miles of you. Steve: 18:15 That's correct. Stan: 18:16 It got just like Steve said and I'll have him again share a list of qualified instructors, firearms instructors, that he would use or that he has gone to their classes and actually verified that they are legit or significant in the industry. Make sure we'll share that stuff with you, as well. Stan: 18:41 But like Steve said, it's absolutely important to get that training. I train police officer 15 years and even they don't have as much time as they should on protecting their firearm, getting it in and out of the holster, establishing that "muscle memory" and preparing for someone that is intentional about hurting you. That doesn't happen to often in your lifetime, but a traumatic attack when someone that is really, they have that thing, either some liquid courage I call alcohol, or some type of drug that takes them to a place where they're not thinking sensibly or they're just have decided that you are the target and they're gonna execute an attack ... It doesn't happen often, but when it does you have to be ready to go beyond just verbal commands. Something you might have to be prepared to do, especially for a surprise attack or ambush type situation, you have to be prepared to respond to these things. Stan: 20:00 Seek out a lot of training on the range. Go ahead and invest into a training firearm, I'm talkin' maybe a little rubber gun or something like that that's similar to what you carry and then you and your buddies get together in a safe manner just wrestle around. Get out the house and put it some time where somebody's trying to get your weapon so you can figure out what am I gonna do? Stan: 20:29 In case and point, I was really hard on the officers. If there's any listening, they really, you'll vouch for this. I was hard on the officers and I would literally, this is no joke, some of the other instructors look at me like I was crazy, but I would slap them so hard when I get on their gun and they wouldn't knock my hand off of it. Just something as simple as that. So I would hit 'em and give them some physical encouragement so that they know that this is serious. There's a couple of training recruits that I made cry, boys and girls. I made 'em cry, but it's so that you train in a sterile environment and as much as you can try to make it so that this is real. Stan: 21:14 You need to practice the fight for your life so that you know when you actually do, you can handle a three minute fight or protect your weapon, or even while you on the ground, try to figure out how would I pull it out of my holster if someone is on top of me. How do I adjust my body? These are really really important things that we spend really not enough time. You still need to spend a lot of time on the range and in target shooting, but no one spends time trying to figure out, what would actually happen if? What would I do? Same thing with the training weapon, I keep saying training weapon because I don't want nobody accidentally shooting their friend. What would I do if I just parked somewhere in my garage and someone opened up my door and came inside my drivers side door and pinned me to my passenger side door where I couldn't get my firearm out and I still got my seatbelt on. These are those things that don't happen often, but when they do, if you have a plan you got a better chance of surviving attack like that. Steve: 22:18 That's actually awesome, awesome advice. I'm glad you said that. That's something that should probably be discussed in a future article or podcast. Having the experience and the skills and the ability what Stan is referring to, not only does it better prepare you for such an incident, it also puts you in a position where if you have those skills and you know how you would probably properly respond, it makes one less likely to prematurely go to the handgun when they think "Wow, this person is about to unleash some violence on me. My only response is gonna be I go to my handgun, and then it turns out I was wrong. There was video I did it prematurely. Now I'm facing a brandishment issue." Stan: 23:14 Oh we've had several of those. Really, these people, they were lucky Steve, that we had the resources to handle their mistake. You guys gotta be careful out there because those mistakes cost 10,000 to start with and then it goes up from there. If you dip too far away from us and go outside of coverage, then you're on your own and that sucks. We want to do everything in our power to take care of you and that's why we give you guys these articles and podcasts and different things so you can learn from the mistakes of others. Learn from the challenges of others. Don't make you that guy because that guy, it hurts when somebody says "Will the defendant please stand." Nobody wants to hear that. Nobody. Stan: 24:09 Be mindful of those things and before Steve steps back in, I passed up a few things that they said something significant, he and Mike. I'm one when I'm in the car I like to carry on hip as well, but I too, I carry secondary weapons. I have a real nice seven, eight inch, I think it's an eight inch knife that my door, right inside my drivers side door, I have an additional one over on my passenger side and some other thing I hold up in different areas of my car so that if I do get pushed down somewhere and Michael calls it, what did you say? I ball up into a fetal position? I'm a pretty tough guy but, if I get caught slippin', I know that if I got pushed into a fetal position, which is not my go to position, but if I got pushed into a fetal position because someone got the jump on me at the gas station or whatever, I fall into a position and a space where there's another weapon that I'm gonna do some major damage so that I can get to my gun. So those are things you guys to think about- Steve: 25:29 That's awesome. Stan: 25:29 Plus, Steve talked about carrying a gun in places where you cannot, or not carrying because you know you can't carry a firearm. But don't forget those who are CCW Safe members, we cover you for any legal weapon. If you can't carry a firearm and you have another legal weapon or weapon of opportunity or even physical force to defend the life of yourself or another, we got you covered. That's one of the reasons why when Mike and I designed these models and the police union model, we made sure that we said "Okay. We need to cover these guys like we had coverage when we were in the police department." There were times we couldn't use, like at the state fair, there's so many people that you wouldn't dare pull your gun out and start shooting in that direction where there's a suspect, plus 50 people behind 'em depending on your distance. Stan: 26:27 There's other things that we have to have or weapons of opportunity have been used to take a life on the police department with like flashlights and such. A lot of officers had to feel people flashlights. These two of the things that we would if there was cement screw you had to pick up and defend your life, we got you. We got you covered. Anyway, that's what I kinda wanted to talk about coverage. The people, they really like to know how deep that goes, Steve. So go ahead and continue sir. Steve: 26:56 Excellent. Well one of the things I kinda wanted to touch on is that the inexpensive safes that I'm referring to. While they should secure a firearm in most instances, they're not quick access. If you want something that's quick access and also secure, then you're probably looking at additional funds and I have zero issue with that. One of the things that I do kinda like about these more inexpensive lock boxes with the cable is that if you are staying in a place other than your home, let's say for instance it's a travel trailer, it's a hotel room, and you want to be able to secure our handgun from reasonable efforts to have it stolen or to keep children from accessing it, this same lock box can be used to secure the handgun, loop the cable around the doorframe. I'm sure that listeners can find other ways to do that, but that also affords you another means of keeping that handgun secure when it's not on your person. Steve: 28:13 Something that's really important is whether you store a handgun in a vehicle or not. I try to avoid stickers and decals that say things such as "I don't call 911", "Driver only carries $20 worth of ammunition", I try to keep those kinda decals off my vehicle because I think that's just kind of a advertisement that says burglarize me first. I think that's probably a good way to go and also it just makes common sense. Don't leave other items out there that either have decals on your vehicle, but you have like uh you left your cell phone out there. You left the obvious charging cord for maybe a garment or a TomTom or a purse. Or anything that looks like it might hold something of value because it doesn't take any time at all for an experienced criminal to break into your car, grab that particular item, and they're gone. I mean, car alarms are such that we hear 'em going off all the time and what happens when we hear a car alarm going off in a parking lot most of the time? We ignore it. Stan: 29:32 We disregard it, yeah. Steve: 29:33 Somebody was looking for their vehicle. The thing is, anything you can kinda do to keep your vehicle sort of under the radar, be kind of the gray man if you will, I think that helps. The other thing too is think about where you're gonna park your car. Think about it in advance. Are there locations where your car is more likely to be broken into than others? Give that some thought. The closer I can get to a store entrance when I park, that's a good thing. I like parking under lights. I just try to take all those things into consideration that is just not a good idea to put your handgun in a position where others can get it. The numbers, a matter of fact, I believe it was in Memphis that I think the number is over a thousand handguns possibly, or firearms are stolen from vehicles every year. Stan: 30:35 Oh my god. Steve: 30:35 That is, people are losing a lot of guns. In some instances from what I understand, people are leaving handguns in cars and the cars are unlocked. Stan: 30:48 That's right. Steve: 30:48 Just take all this in to consideration. These gun safes are not that expensive and a little bit of foresight can really save you a lot of trouble later. Stan: 30:59 That's right. Mike: 31:00 Hey Steve, can those boxes also the safes, the small safes, can those also be used to transport on planes? Do you know what the policy of that by chance? Steve: 31:15 I'm gonna say that the small ones probably can. I probably need to verify that. I believe that I read that that is the case. But that's also a very, very good way to secure a hand gun, I think the main thing is TSA need to be able to access it. And I'm not sure exactly how that would work with the three digit combinations. By the same token, when I fly I use a three digit combination padlock. I know TSA can access those, but I'm not sure if that's the case on this. We probably just need to check that out before answering. Stan: 31:54 Yeah, make sure you check the rules and regulations associated with each airline that you fly 'cause all of them a little bit different. Also, to piggyback what Steve was just making reference to, I've said this in other podcasts as well, have a plan when you leave your house. There's two things that you shouldn't do at night. Plan to do them during the day. That is to get gas and go to the ATM so that you have a better chance of not being targeted. Stan: 32:26 The other thing, even if you have these boxes and stuff like that, I always say you stopping at the mall, you stop somewhere, if it's a planned stop, stop about two blocks away. Pull over to the side, put your gun in your box, put your purses in your trunk so that people don't see you do these things when you pull up to the mall, and different stuff like that because the greatest point of vulnerability is when you're trying to concentrate on how to store your firearm. Now you've got your head down and doin' different things like that. When you get to the store, you should be ready just to pop out, look around, like Steve said, find a great spot to park, look around make sure there's no strange looking people out, or people out of place. Then get out and go in to the store, making sure your stuff is locked up and there's nothing visible to be stolen. Thanks Steve for all that. Steve: 33:26 Excellent point. Excellent, excellent point. Stan: 33:28 Well Steve I have a million of 'em. Thank you. Steve: 33:40 I don't doubt. And anyway, a big part of it is kinda look at the overall picture. Life in many ways in kind of a strategy. It's like okay, my ultimate plan here is I want to be as trained as I can. I want my practice to have been current. I want to be familiar with the laws regarding the use of force, regardless of where I am. When I'm out in the public, to the extent that I can, I want to be armed. When I can't do that, I want my guns secured. I want to minimize the time that I'm at at-risk locations. Sometimes I realize that cannot be avoided. But, the main thing is just kinda try to use common sense and then in addition to common sense, this is one of the things I really try to drive home with my students, is then you've got to use discipline. When you're tired, or it's raining, or you're cold, or you wanna get something done, saying "You know what? I'm just not gonna do what I know is smart this time," I think that's a slippery slope that you're going down to. Steve: 34:53 I just really encourage all the listeners, I would encourage this to anybody, is just use good judgment, but then always, always, always, follow through if you can. Stan: 35:05 That's right. Michael you're up. Mike: 35:11 I'm just listening, man. Stan: 35:16 Listen, you know you got a million things to say. Steve: 35:20 Stan, I have something to say. Stan: 35:22 Uh oh. Steve: 35:24 This is going back to the comment you made about the use of a defensive knife. Stan: 35:30 Yes, sir. Steve: 35:31 I absolutely subscribe to that. I keep a knife on my person any time I'm not in the hospital doin' somethin' related to being a nose guy. I keep a knife on my person. The ability to use that as a force multiplier, especially for females who in many ways a lot of them are assaulted way different than males are. A lot of times with females, and this is maybe even true for smaller males, is that the other person is more prone to just using physical force in order to force their will and get what they want, as opposed to the threat of using a handgun in order to accomplish that. Having that knife on your person, close access, and having it in a position where I can access it or it can be accessed relatively quickly, and knowing how to use it when you're in an entangled situation, man those are awesome skills. If you have that ability in order to do that and you have nothing in your hands more than a really robust stainless steel ink pen, you're well armed. Stan: 37:01 Absolutely. Steve: 37:01 You can do a lot of damage with that ink pen in terms of putting the other person in a situation where they're forced to break contact or they can't continue doing whatever it was when they were attempting to injure you, sexually assault you, or kill you for that matter. Stan: 37:22 That's right. Hey Mike what is the name of the ... The name just escapes me. What's the name of the bracelet that you and I wear? Mike: 37:35 Oh, the underarm, I mean the Leatherman Tread? Stan: 37:36 Yes, that's right. The Leatherman Tread, if you don't know what that is, pick one up because it's a very, very cool looking piece and it has a lot of tools and stuff on it, but I wear it a lot because it too, I've learned how to adjust it to make it a impromptu weapon. It's one of my favorite ones to wear on the planes. I open it open and drop it down to almost cover my knuckles if I had to deal with something like that. There's a different way you can carry it with the tools that you can use as almost a cutting type device to defend yourself if somebody got you wrapped up and they tryin' to go for your gun and you take it and you just kinda rip a portion of skin across the top of their forehead and make 'em bleed into their eye. Poke and do anything you need to do. You really have to have the mindset to say, "if you're going for my gun, I am going to bite pieces of your cheek out. I'm gonna pull your eyeball out." You gotta be ready to do all those things. Stan: 38:45 When I talked about the training and the academy, I'm really not playing about that. One of those individuals who could not get me off of his gun, five years later, he answered a call here in Oklahoma City in which he was attacked. It was a robbery call and they said the guy only had a knife so he got out, he wasn't prepared. The guy ended up physically attacking him, taking his gun from him, standing over top of the officer, and shooting at him while he was on the ground. While he twisted and turned, only the hand of God saved that officer from being injured 'cause that guy was right above him and he wasn't shot. The bottom line to the story is it's very serious. You are carrying around a tool of death and destruction and you need to act like it. You need to be able to protect it. Think about these different things. Pick up the pens, the things that can be used as impromptu weapons to protect yourself in the secondary. Steve: 40:09 You know Stan, there was actually a tactical pen that I saw at the shot show this year called the Impromptu. Stan: 40:17 Really? Pull that out. Steve: 40:19 Yes, it's made by Gerber. It's actually a decent writing instrument. It actually is one of the click pens so it's not one of the ones you have to take it in two pieces and everything. Something like that in your hand, especially if you know how to use it and your target is forehead and eyes, that's a pretty awesome tool for doing that. If you don't have anything else, especially recommend this to people that are having to walk to their cars at nighttime after dark. Just simply having that pen in your hand and an understanding of few very, very basic moves can go a long ways towards making sure that you're less likely to be injured or worse. Stan: 41:14 I love that. I think I'm a get that one. I just saw a picture of it on the internet. Mike: 41:19 Yeah, I pulled it up. I pulled it up too while [crosstalk 00:41:22] Stan: 41:22 Impromptu technical pen. Steve: 41:24 Yes, sir. Stan: 41:25 I like those. Steve: 41:25 Yeah, you're timing is awesome. Stan: 41:28 Yeah I actually keep something similar to that on my visor, but I like that one. I'm a get that. Stan: 41:37 Oh, thank you sir. Yeah, you know what you're right. That's one of those things, what can I carry on the airplane? Stan: 41:42 You guys, it's really important to do all these things and to prepare. Always remember, Steve talked about it before in one of his last podcast about training with jiu jitsu and some type of martial arts and keeping yourself physically ready to defend yourself. No matter how old you get, you have to figure it out for your body type and what you do to be able to defend yourself. Don't just walk around and grow old into a victim. Get yourself ready and do what you can to survive. Just really important to seek out these instructors. Physical martial arts type training should go side by side with firearms training. It's a close cousin and it too will save your life. You have to do these things. Mike: 42:38 Yeah and I would just tell people too, look back over some of our articles, especially from Steve. In the podcast we had Steve on not too long ago, we talked one about gear. But also Bob O'Connor, his series. If you just search Bob O'Connor you'll pull up some of his articles as well. You have one on the principles of concealed carry and one being mindset. So we definitely have things on our side that can kind of point you in the right direction. Ultimately it's going to come down to you as a concealed carrier, taking it upon yourself to do some of these things that we're recommending because I do strongly believe everything we've said here today, I totally believe in. When I saw that post by Mac it was like, it's so true that just because- Stan: 43:46 [crosstalk 00:43:46] Mac's social media, he'd be great to follow because- Mike: 43:50 Yeah, he would. Stan: 43:50 We're talking about a hero in training. I don't know anybody that goes as hard as Mac. Mike: 43:57 I think it is ... let me look it up right quick. TMA on Instagram, he does a lot of stuff on Instagram and it is TMACSINC. That's Pat McNamara. He's got some really good drills and for law enforcement he's got some great shooting drills with sandbags and doing things along with the shooting. I haven't seen much of those on there lately. He had a lot of those in the past. Stan: 44:42 Yeah he's mixing up, but you definitely need to follow him. He's the real deal and you talk about extreme training, you just take what he does and kinda dumb it down for your body type and level. You can really, really increase your abilities just by getting a lot of that stuff done. It's really hard to not train static, but it really is important to raise your heart rate because if somebody surprise attacks you, everything is gonna shut down and your body is gonna prepare for trauma. So your body prepares for war, but in doing so there's things happening in your body that you're not gonna be able to control, so you gotta try to recreate that or get it as close as you can to that and see how you respond when you shoot a firearm at that time. Those are really, really important to do so find people. Stan: 45:41 You know Pat and you know of course Vicars and all the rest of our guys. Jeff Gonzalez and Spalding and some of the others that we subscribe to and that are associated with CCW Safe as well. Just find these trainers and put in the work. Put in the work so that when you get attacked, you don't have to. Mike: 46:02 And speaking of, we're actually having Larry on next week, I believe. Stan: 46:07 That's right. [crosstalk 00:46:09] Mike: 46:10 I'll reach out to Pat too and probably get him on. Stan: 46:13 That would be awesome. Mike: 46:15 He's got a really good deal talking about personal protection detail, controlling your own personal protection detail. And he's got some really good- Stan: 46:30 Be your own body guard. Mike: 46:31 Short videos on those. What was that? Steve: 46:38 I think you said being your own body guard. Stan: 46:40 Yeah, be your own body guard. But it derives from the sentinel, correct Mike? Mike: 46:46 Yeah, he has a book called the Sentinel that I would say if you haven't read that, get it. You can get it on Amazon. I think you can get a digital format, it's just a short read. It's a very short read, but it's just on being your own sentinel for you and your family. Developing personal protection details, plans, and it's just a great blueprint for your own personal safety plans. Stan: 47:20 Absolutely. Mike: 47:22 Lets talk about, are there any other social media that you follow, Steve, that you would recommend for people? Steve: 47:36 I'll tell you what, I like Greg Ellifritz. A lot of the information he puts out I find very sound. There's another instructor that actually did a interview with him and submitted an article, named Cecil Burch. Cecil Burch, he has a company called Immediate Action Combatives and he is very much dialed into just the short range, a realistic approach to dealing with a situation in where your near contact distance or contact distance in such a manner that regardless of your age and almost your physical condition, you can do things that lessen the chances that you're going to be taken out of the fight immediately. Basically, you can pick your skills and use them as a speed bump in order to gain some time and then turn the odds back into your favor. So I follow him, anything by Craig Douglas. Another guy named Paul Sharp. These guys, they blog, they post on Facebook and I pretty much read everything that they do very carefully. Tom Gibbons, y'all have heard me talk about him multiple times. With range master, he has a monthly newsletter. Always got some good articles in that. Another person that I follow is Carl Wren KR training. He is a retired college professor, grand master IPSC shooter and a basically a full time trainer. Just very, very, very bright. Very articulate. Very analytical. I just kinda listen to what these guys have to say and they're not all guys. Steve: 49:36 Melody is someone whenever she posts something, she especially kind of tuned in to the perhaps a female perspective on self defense. She's a relatively small female and what she has done and can do, she's very- Mike: 49:53 Who's that? Steve: 49:54 In to Melody Lauer. Mike: 50:00 Lauer? Steve: 50:02 Lauer. LAUER I believe. Mike: 50:05 And then what was Cecil Burch's training program called? Steve: 50:11 Immediate Action Combatives. Mike: 50:15 Okay. Steve: 50:15 Yeah, very, very, very articulate. Very articulate, I mean everything he says is very insightful and it's doable. There's no cool ninja commando stuff in his program. It's largely based upon common sense. He's got outstanding martial arts background in addition to his firearms background. He's a ... Golly, he's a ... I'm not sure how many stripes he has, but he's a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under Megaton. And so- Mike: 50:52 Where is he at? Missouri? Steve: 50:54 Out of Phoenix, Arizona. Mike: 50:57 Oh Phoenix, okay. Steve: 50:59 Phoenix, Arizona. Matter of fact, he's not too far from Ernest Langdon. He and Ernest are acquainted. I try to read that stuff all the time. I'd rather kinda learn a lot of that material through their experience as opposed to my experience, 'cause you know what, a lot of experience I've gained is a kind of specific to me and some of it has been kind a painful acquiring so, I'd rather, I like to read that kinda stuff and say "oh wow, this guy found himself in that situation. This is how he dealt with it, or this is how he or she believed they could have dealt with it better. Okay." I filed that away in my mental Rolodex which means that okay, I've seen this. This is something that I can use to benefit myself if I find myself in what appears to be a like scenario. Mike: 51:52 You know that's some good stuff. I was pulling a lot of these up as you were talking about 'em. This is something that we should start doing, Stan. Start recommending some of these, some of the people that we follow, and some of the other companies that we're dealing with now. Stan: 52:16 Yeah, I love that. Steve: 52:17 There's a lot of good instructors out there and one of the things that I've noticed a trend towards is that we're seeing more of the, how should I say this, works for practical self defense scenarios. When I first started training which was in 1993, the premise was that the guy was always gonna have a revolver held at belly level and he's gonna be wearing a ski mask. Okay so that's how we always trained and everything that we ever shot was a guy like that. And then we got in to the whole tactical side of that, which was cool. Tactical carbines, shotguns, team tactics, high risk entry, vehicle defense, did a bunch of that. And that was cool too. But, I always kind of saw myself when I did this, I think I'm kind of like a grownup kid here. I'm having a great time and I'm sure some of these skills could be useful to me at some point, but I'm not sure exactly when. Steve: 53:24 Now we're seeing a trend where we have so much video out there, John Corriea has done a wonderful job of a, and hopefully I pronounced his name correctly, of getting out a lot of video on situations where people had to defend themselves against perhaps a beat down, a stabbing, a robbing, a kidnapping. Now we can kinda see what's happening in these real life situations. And so our training now has become more specific to dealing with those kind of situations which I think this is probably one of the best times ever for a concealed carrier to be investing in training. Stan: 54:07 That's right. Steve: 54:14 [crosstalk 00:54:14] There's a lot of good stuff out there, a lot of good stuff out there. Sorry I interrupted. Mike: 54:18 That's all right. Just Stan wanted to, you had sent a text saying you wanted to cover, you wanted to address some email or something? Stan: 54:26 Yeah, just real quick. Mike and I, we always suggest you guys call in and give us some feedback on the podcast and all the stuff that we're doing to help you become your own risk manager. So real quick, want to give a shout out to a few people starting off with Clip Beasley, he's a supportive one, his quote was "Today I unlocked my phone and the start of your podcast, it began playing." He was really excited, he listened to it. He says he really appreciates the things that we're doing and it's very positive, our association. He kinda gave us a big shout out for what we doing with the podcast and said kudos. Then we have Michael W. From North Carolina. He's a former law enforcement officer. He retired from North Carolina state LEO and he says that "I gained a lot of insight from your messages. I recently switched from," I'm not gonna name the company, "and have gained more from CCW Safe in a month than I did from them in almost two years. Please continue to podcast." Stan: 55:43 And then finally, from J Ralsh in Virginia, it's a pretty long one, I'm not gonna read all of it, but he said, "Gentlemen, I want to let you know I'm enjoying the new podcast. Informative, interesting, and continue drill down the critical factors of self defense. Same goes for the articles, videos, and online training you provide." He had a story where, following listening to the podcast, he actually had a incident, a road rage incident and a guy jumped out who had, getting in front of him. He jumped out and started coming back toward his car. He had positioned himself tactically already and he put it in reverse and backed away. And then he did 20 feet first and then kept coming 20 more feet until the guy got frustrated and got back in his car. He said, then is quote states, "I want to let you know your hard work and dedication has paid off. Education is key for CCW Safe carriers and most don't have nearly enough as they should. Keep up the good work and thank you for what you do for the community." Stan: 56:45 So I want to let you guys know we appreciate that. Keep sending in your stories. We love to hear that you know you're using your head to avoid these incidents. You're planning ahead so not to be in these situations and you're not launching yourself into deadly force situations when you have the power to remove yourself. So thanks a lot for those who are listening and having successful outcomes and not changing their lives with a deadly force incident. Mike: 57:16 Yeah, that's awesome to hear. We love hearing those stories because it's just awesome to hear that people are, they're getting something out of the articles, out of the podcast, so forth. So yeah, keep those coming in. Mike: 57:32 All right, well we're right at about an hour. Anybody have anything to add? Steve: 57:38 I tell you what, I thought this was a good topic. I know it is not real sexy in terms of, okay you just need to be able to secure your gun and everything, but think it's really important and I hope this is of some benefit to our listeners. Mike: 57:59 And I think it's something, it's just not, it's something that a lot of people don't think about and a lot of people may not want to think about it, but like you said, it is very important. You have to think about all these things we've talked about today. Mike: 58:19 Steve, thanks for coming on again. I'm sure we'll, well I'll see you next, I'll see you Monday, right? Steve: 58:25 Yes, sir. Mike: 58:27 And Stan, I will see you next week. Stan: 58:31 Yes, sir. [crosstalk 00:58:34] Mike: 58:35 All right. You guys take care. Steve: 58:35 Okay guys. Be safe out there. Stan: 58:35 Thank you. Mike: 58:35 Bye, take care.

Tipping Point   "Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed." - Mohandas K. Gandhi    Several years ago, I was the classic example of a wealthy American who was always worried about getting more and keeping what I had. I had devoted my life to being a successful businessman, and I made a lot of money, but I felt strangely empty. One summer, I went with my son Brandon and our church on a mission trip to Haiti to build a church there. One morning I was on the roof of that little church cleaning the worksite with some friends and a few Haitian boys who had joined us. One of the boys came up to me and quietly said something in Creole. I couldn’t understand him, but he kept saying the same thing and pointing to my fanny pack. I yelled to a friend, “Hey Steve, what’s this boy saying to me?” Steve walked over and knelt down with his face to the little fella so he could hear him, then he turned to me with a pained expression and said, “He’s hungry, Jim. He wants you to give him the crackers in your pack.” That moment on the roof that morning was a tipping point for me. I had made plenty of money, but my life was empty. Here was a human being with desperate needs that I could meet with ease. I had lived my life with me in the center, on the throne, and in neon lights, but now I saw that God had given me resources that I could use to touch people’s lives. It was only a pack of crackers, but it was something I had that could make a difference. As I handed crackers to a hungry little boy that day, I knew my life would never be the same.  The size of my portfolio can easily be measured and I was happy to brag about it. A couple weeks in Haiti made me realize that no amount of money could fill the spiritual void in my life. Years later, as I type these words, I’m impacted with the same deep sense of urgency and tension as that day when my thinking changed.

Let Them Teach You! Integrated Skills Civil Rights Unit for ELL Middle Schoolers with Nancy Nies Last spring, when I was unexpectedly teaching a mixed class of middle schoolers from China whose Toefls ranged from 25 to 50, I was running out of ideas how to bridge the gaps in their abilities. “Hey Steve,” I shouted out to my colleague in the hallway. “What am I going to do for the next six weeks?”  He replied, “have them teach you!” This podcast covers the development of a surprisingly successful unit on integrated skill building for international middle schoolers that grew out of that snatched conversation with my friend. In it, I’ll discuss how to build a unit that evenly develops the four foundational skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening in a way that is developmentally sound for a mixed-level group, that repeats the lessons with incremental increases in difficulty to increase mastery, and is content rich. Over a six-week time span, focusing on the topic of the Civil Rights movement, my students each read and researched three separate topics, wrote and revised three short essays, and gave three presentations all of which were practiced then presented formally where they taught the class what they had learned. Given the wide range in ability level, from early beginner to low intermediate, my goal was to help each student advance from where he or she was starting. Also, since the class was on American Studies, I hoped to give the entire class a basic working familiarity with the Civil Rights Movement with exposure to its key players, places, and events and with an ability to discuss those events using their newly learned and shared vocabulary. While the focus of the unit was researching, reading, digesting and presenting material, writing clear simple explanations for the topics, and learning to speak clearly to convey that information, I found many other useful skills were practiced in the process. First, they developed their rudimentary research skills, learning how to find websites beyond Wikipedia that defined their topics; second, they learned how to create a slide presentation, receiving basic instruction in layout, content, and design; third, they learned how to create a works cited entry for the websites they used since I required it on both their researched paragraphs and on their slides, and fourth, they learned how to separate definitional content--the What of their topics--from the more challenging significance of their content--the answer to the question of Why this matters. The other significant success for me as a teacher was how much I learned about how to create an effective assignment for both beginning and low intermediate learners. Since I was inventing this assignment where they taught their classmates as I taught it and since I was repeating the assignment three times, each time I could refine what I was asking for by seeing what pitfalls stymied their progress. And the pitfalls varied depending on the fluency level of the student. Learning how to better design a more effective and carefully structured assignment was a definite fruit of this reiterative labor. I divided the topics into three sections:      Definitions      Causes & Effects      People & Solutions Each section lasted two weeks and consisted of four separate tasks focusing on building different skills:      A reading component which consisted of Research into the student’s topic seeking answers to three overarching questions each student proposed.        A Writing component where the students answered the three questions and wrote short 1-paragraph answers using full sentences and explanations. This ran about a page.      A Speaking component where the students created slide shows which required editing the material on their essays into bullet points as well as designing slides that communicated clearly.      A vocabulary component where the students created a li...

Interview with Steve Durie Hugh Ballou: Greetings, it's Hugh Ballou. Another episode of The Nonprofit Exchange live, it's Hugh Ballou and Russell Dennis. Russell, how are you doing today out there in beautiful Colorado? Russell Dennis: After a snowfall last night, the sun has come back out. Everything is beautiful out here in Colorado. Hugh: Love it. People on the podcast can't see it, but you've got a shiny head. Is that part of the sign, or is that just the light over your head? Russell: All of this glare helps keep the focus off of the shadow here with all of the gray hair in it, so there is a method to my madness shining the light here. Hugh: I see that. Russell, the real person. We have a guest who is also a resident of Colorado, but he is a new resident of Florida. We are going to hear from him in just a minute. Today's topic is protecting your culture by doing effective vetting of the people you're bringing in, be it volunteers or paid staff. Steve Durie, welcome to The Nonprofit Exchange. Steve Durie: Thank you, Hugh. It's good to be here. Hugh: So good to have you. Tell us a little bit about yourself, some background, and how did you arrive at what you're doing now? Why is it important to you? Steve: I have been doing this for 15 years. Where it started was when I was actually volunteering in youth organizations with my kids. My question was: Aren't you going to run a background check on me? They're like, No, we don't do that. We trust everyone. Previous to that, I had a lot of database experience in a consulting company in consulting on justice projects, that is, how to share criminal data. I took that knowledge about sharing criminal data and my passion for keeping my own kids safe and know that I was going to be working as a volunteer and turned it into a business 15 years ago. My kids are a little older now, and my wife Laura and I have a special needs son. He is an adult; he is 31. But he is also extremely vulnerable and needs protection. He doesn't live at home anymore. And that is a constant worry about Tommy, whether the people who are working alongside him are safe. It does transcend not just our children in their youth, but into any vulnerable population. That is a broad brushstroke is anybody who is vulnerable, and we can look at each group individually as to how to best screen someone and check them out if we are working with children, youth, or vulnerable adults, or elderly, or single people. There are a lot of different. Vulnerable populations who may need our work. Hugh: Absolutely. It's really good to know about people. In the work that Russell and I do through SynerVision, we help people build their strategy out. Part of that is competencies. We have created a new paradigm that replaces the position description, and the first of four colors is the competency. When you look at somebody's competency, you also want to do a background check so that you can validate what is on their resume, that they actually do that. Are there some hidden things in there? Finding out about the people. What is their performance going to be? Role and responsibility? If it's financial, there is another level of compliance. I used to live in a town of 30,000, and one year, there were two nonprofits that had treasurers make away with $750,000, trusted friends and community members. They didn't do an adequate background check or have safeguards in place. The third color is the culture fit. If somebody has a history of conflict or abuse, you don't really want them spoiling your culture. The fourth color is expectations, but the vetting the person, competency, not only are they clean, but they also fit the culture. There are lots of reasons in any kind of enterprise to do the background check. I think it's especially important when we are dealing with people who are compromised, like your son, like children, like older adults. There are lots of opportunities for people to abuse the system. You have worked with nonprofits so far, have you? Steve: Our focus of the company SecureSearch is with the nonprofit community. It's been over 15 years; we have served over 10,000 nonprofits as their partner for screening their staff, their volunteers, and their board of directors. We are a full-service company. We can do anything, from resume verification to child awareness for those who work with children. Hugh: Resume verification. I heard a guy one time, and his resume said he went to Yale and studied finance. I found out later he didn't graduate. People make up things on their resume. That's a new piece of data. Are nonprofits any more vulnerable than for-profits? Is there an attitude of difference there? You told a story about you being a volunteer, and you ask about the background check. They said we trust people. Do you find that to be more common than not? Steve: I find that to be pretty common in the nonprofit culture where they are really hungry for people to serve and to help. With that, sometimes they actually push aside the fact that these people may have a nefarious past. They are looking to quickly onboard them, get them into a position. They are happy to have a warm body. They are happy to have the skillset the individual brings to the table. Referred by a close friend or family member, so they are not even thinking about screening them, especially if they are not working directly with a child. When they are working with a child, it's more in our consciousness that we should put the best people with these kids to keep in faith. But what about people who are just working alongside one another? The workplace violence conflict. We need to focus on making all of our communities and all of the workplaces as safe as possible. It's the responsibility of the organization to do so. But nonprofits, because of their compromised budgets in some cases, they are spending their money elsewhere to maybe grow their projects and they are not really thinking about the people, if they are safe in the environment they are working in. In corporate America, it is common, and in the nonprofit arena, it is not as common. We are here as a voice to raise the awareness that everybody should be doing this, whether you have one employee or thousands. Hugh: You and I met at a conference last week, CEO Space. Had I met you—I came in late in the week because I had conflicts—and said, “Hey Steve, what is it that you do?” and you say, “I do background searches,” and I say, “I have a nonprofit. Why is it important for me to do that?” How would you respond to me? Steve: As a nonprofit? Hugh: If I say, “I have a nonprofit. Why is it important for me to do that?” Steve: You touched on this. It's about reducing risk and reducing liability. Liability is big. It all ties into the overall image in the community they're serving. It's protecting their image. It doesn't have to be their first priority. The first priority is protecting those who are part of their organization. You have to look at the entire hierarchy of your staff from your board of directors down to your volunteers. Oftentimes, there are people in between the upper board and the volunteers who are just coming on who get missed. They didn't think it was important to screen them. Really it's about lowering your liability and lowering your risk, or at least managing your risk. You can't be a risk-free organization; that doesn't exist. It's about, how do you take steps and utilize your budget dollars to minimize your risk as much as you possibly can? Hugh: Russell, you and I interface with a lot of nonprofit leaders and boards. I find there is a lot of boards that aren't up to speed on how to be the board. They think about being in charge of governance sometimes. They sometimes realize they are responsible for financial oversight. I don't think boards realize they have a liability whatever happens. Do you find, Russell, in your work that boards are blind to this element as well? Russell: I have talked to people who really don't have a core grasp of the notion of having liability insurance for the board of directors officers as they are putting these things together. They don't understand how critical that is and what risks are involved. A large part of the problem is people don't know what they don't know. Nonprofit leaders, these are people centered in the idea of making the world a better place and service to others. They are more prone to take people at their word as opposed to doing any sort of digging. They may not think there is a big risk associated with bringing a person on. It's nice to be able to take people at their word, but it depends on what kind of work you're doing, who you're serving, the assets of your organization you're protecting. It never occurs to people there may be a scurvy elephant roaming around the zoo. You have to have a look at who you're dealing with. People aren't always who they say they are. That is just the reality of it. It's important to look at these things up front because if you don't have a person who is not in integrity in there in the first place, you don't have to figure out how to get rid of them later on when you could have problems. The reputation of your organization could be at stake. You just have these horror stories. There was a veterans' organization a few years ago that saw their reputation fall apart because the CEO was playing games with the books. Always you have to think in terms of protecting yourself with your regulations, with internal controls, with the way money and other assets are handled. More important, how you deal with the people you serve. You can really get in a lot of trouble easily and quickly without in the least bit intending to. Hugh: Steve, did that shake loose any thoughts for you? Steve: Yeah, it actually did. I do believe that nonprofits feel that the people they bring in have the heart for what they do. If they have a heart for what they do, then they are probably good people. I really think that is a mistake a lot of them make. Taking that assumption because they say they believe in what you believe in, they have the passion for what you have a passion for, that doesn't mean they have the same background you have. A lot of people are trying to use their influence they currently have in the community, it could be a leader in the community, to find their way into a vulnerable group. That is the MO of a pedophile is to build up trust in everybody around them, including building themselves up to be leaders in the community so that everybody seems to trust them, and that is when they can get to the vulnerable children and build relationships without anybody thinking twice about it. Screening is not going to catch everybody, only if they have been arrested or convicted of something in the past. It's only one part of the puzzle for keeping not only your organization safe, but those that you serve. It goes much more beyond the background check. I don't think anyone can feel that they have that warm fuzzy feeling now that I have implemented background checks. I'm good, I got a green check mark for that person, I can just let them go. That is a wrong approach. You really need to have a conscious community around that everybody is the eyes and ears of the organization. We all have to keep our eyes on who we're working alongside. If they are doing something we believe is incorrect or harmful to the organization or to those who serve, to make sure we all feel empowered to report those things, especially for physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, whatever you might see. It's up to us to report it. Hugh: There is another realm that Russell talked about with having your policies and procedures up to date. You just pointed out, we have to pay attention. That is part of our responsibility as a leader to see what is in front of us. I never realized people who are—and it makes sense if you talk about it—a pedophile positions themselves in a place of trust and then continues to validate that, so they throw people off guard. No, it couldn't possibly be true. I have known people in that position before, and they were busted. Eventually you got caught. How long does it take and how many people do you hurt in the process? At least do your background check, which also helps relieve your liability. I'm sure some of the companies that Russell talked about that issue board insurance require a background check so they have less liability. I didn't warn you: When Russell comes in, he asks you the hard questions. I'll ask you easier ones first while he formulates the hard ones. Give us an example where people were trusting, and it really created damage. Then you came in and maybe you helped them get a process in place to prevent it in the future. Without naming names, what are the kinds of things that people should be alert to?   Steve: There are so many stories. Some have been recently in the news that everybody is aware of. One is USA Gymnastics with Dr. Nassau. Building trust, not only from the organization, but with the parents of these young children in the gymnastics program, and then going on to abuse them for years without ever getting caught. Sandusky at Penn State, same thing. He was able to testify with his peers that showering with young boys was just about cleanliness. They are always going to try to lie about who they are and have somebody believe it. They are masters at it. They never take any responsibility for their actions. It's that narcissistic behavior on the pedophile side. Another story has nothing to do with a criminal record. This was a nonprofit organization that had drivers and they were doing deliveries. One of the individuals when we met with them, and we were on site for this one, he was in the state of Colorado, but he had a Tennessee drivers' license. He said he had been here for four years. I asked him why didn't he have a Colorado license. He said that he lost his license in Colorado from too many speeding tickets, so he had to go to my parent's house in Tennessee to get a license. He is volunteering for an organization that drives one of their vehicles. People can get around from their past and get away from their past, whether it's criminal behavior or not. It could be resume fudging. That happens more than you know, especially for certain positions, for executive director positions, finance positions, COO type positions, where they can say they have a Master's degree in finance. They really just have a Bachelor's, or they never finished college. They put it on their resume for years, and nobody questioned it. There are stories where the CEO of RadioShack, and RadioShack is falling from grace, but the CEO never had his Master's degree in business, never had his MBA. It was a reporter who figured it out and started reporting on it. Then he resigned or got let go. Same thing with the president of the business school of Harvard. She had miscommunicated on her resume that she had a Ph. D, and she never did. Organizations that we all know about and have heard about, down to around the corner with businesses in your neighborhood or possibly even your organization. It's important to vet the higher-end positions in your organization. It's not just about the volunteers. I can go on forever about why it's important for the volunteers, but anybody working in your office, making sure you are looking at embezzlement or money laundering or anything that deals with your budget, your finances, your books, make sure those are always intact and that you are bringing on the best people. Background checks don't always catch everybody. They may never have been arrested before. I am going to go back to what Hugh was talking about with the pedophile. Eventually they get caught. That's not true. They never get caught, and they die with their secrets. The average pedophile molests 137 children in their lifetime without ever getting arrested for it. That is where the training is more important than the background check and being aware and keeping their eyes open. Hugh: Wow. I guess there is some people who will be polite and they think it's not polite to do a background check. Have you come across that? How do you respond to that? Steve: For the last 15 years, we have dealt with that. I don't know exactly where that really stems from other than they feel like it's unkind to ask someone to sign a consent form to do a background check. They are giving of their time, and I feel like I am invading their privacy if I ask them for this information. But you have to think about your organization and its reputation and why you have that organization set up in the first place. Then you have to make sure you bring on the best people. You just need to frame it differently: we are a culture of safety instead of just being haphazard about who we bring on. I think that everybody who comes on board would feel more confident with the person sitting next to them, with the person they are running an errand with to Office Depot if they are going in the same vehicle together. You will have a higher level of confidence that the organization did the right thing before you came. Hugh: Where is the person who said, “Oh, I don't want to be impolite to them,” so they back down from not realizing they are being impolite to everyone else in the culture. I don't want to make trouble, but if they don't do that, they will make trouble for everybody else. What about the person who says, “I don't have time for that?” That sounds like too much trouble. Steve: The one issue with nonprofits is wearing so many hats and being so busy. I think that sometimes the background check seems like a daunting task, especially if they have never done them. First, I have to vet a company. I don't know where to go to trust somebody. I don't want to do all the paperwork. I have enough things going on. I don't even understand background checks. How am I going to do this? I don't have a Human Resources background, nor do I have a HR director on staff. That is where SecureSearch makes it a little unique. We can come in understanding that that is one of your pain points on not having enough people to do all of the tasks you have to do. We made everything paperless. Not only are the consent forms, but also the entire process of signing up is paperless. Everything is the click of a button. The applicants, whether they be your board of directors, staff, or volunteers, they do all of the data entry. All you're doing is sending an email invitation. Simple as that. Hugh: Wow. If I came to you and said I have ten volunteers and I need to take them through a background check, then you'd give me a consent form for them to sign, with permission to do that. Steve: The way you phrased that is interesting, that you give them a consent form. It's actually against the law for us to provide a template consent form. We provide samples. All consent forms are the organization's form. It's not my form. We provide a sample, but it is really up to each organization to go through legal counsel and make sure everything is in there that needs to be in there and that it meets their federal and state laws. We try to do our best with our samples to make sure they are good, but you should only use that as a framework. Hugh: Before you can do the background check, I have to have them sign a form though. Steve: Yes. That form can be in paper, or it can be through our paperless volunteer and applicant portal that is called Search My Background that we have. If everything is in the portal electronically, and they sign a signature box either with their finger on a mobile device or the mouse of their computer. That signature will map to all the documents in the system so that everything is signed and everything is provided to the applicant. Hugh: Where I was headed with that, and I thank you for the clarification on the language, where I was headed with that is I would say I have my ten volunteers and I need to run them through the process. Would you suggest to me that I do it on myself as well? Steve: Well, somebody should run one on you. But if you want to at least have something in the “file,” whether it be a digital file or a file folder in a lockable filing cabinet, having your own in there is a good idea, especially to report to the board that if you are the executive director, it started with you. Sometimes you can be surprised on what you might see on your own. We had an executive director in Minnesota who had a small nonprofit. I think it was five or ten volunteers based on what he told me over the phone. This was quite a few years ago. When I was small enough and able to see the background checks coming in on a regular basis, I pulled it open and said, “Oh, I talked to that gentleman on the phone.” He signed up and ran his background check; he had three pages of felonies on his own. He never ran another background check with us. I think he was curious as to if his own background check would come up and expose him as a customer. There was nothing I could do to share it with the greater group of that organization. There is a lot of risk out there. It can start with that executive director. I don't think the executive director should be the one running the background check; it should be pushed by the board that the executive director have a background check. Hugh: Absolutely. Nobody should be exempt from it. Everybody should go through it. The founder, the executive director. Steve: Everybody. Hugh: Great. We are almost halfway through this interview. Russell, I'm sure that you have formulated a great question for our guest. Russell: As I was saying earlier, a lot of people don't know what they don't know. I think it starts with going from a place of what do I know, what have I been told, what don't I know, and where did the information I get come from? How do I know what I know? I think my first question would be all quality information. How can you get quality information to make sure that what you're hearing can be verified? Steve: That is a really good question. There are a lot of background screening companies in the U.S, thousands really. Everybody approaches business differently. Some are very small, that concept of working out of your garage, and they might not have a website. They might be in it just for the profit. There are lots of different data points to put together a good background check. The problem I see with the nonprofit side is they are learning on these database products to be the be-all end-all product because it's fast and it's inexpensive. They think because somebody might be calling it a national search that it truly is. But it isn't. I like to think of the database searches as a net. If you can picture the map of the United States and now you're casting this net across the United States, what is the net made up of? Holes strung together is the way I'd like to put it. I want you to remember that while it might be national—we call it multi-state—there are going to be holes. In some areas of this net there will be tears and huge holes versus tightly knit holes in other areas. You have this product that a lot of the nonprofits like to order because they think it's national, they think it's an easy, inexpensive way to launch into the background checks, and they don't realize the risks that are still going to be there. They are not conducting what we call a best-in-class background check. Nonprofits have to be careful. To answer your question about data, we take three different aggregation data points from the database and merge them together, eliminating the duplicate points. Other companies will buy data from these aggregate groups of data, and they will hang it on their own internal servers and ping against that data for months before they refresh it. That's how you get the $2 background checks for some of these large nonprofits. I'm not saying everybody does it, but in order to reduce the cost to meet what an expectation might be for a nonprofit, which is cheap, these organizations are going to give you bad and old data. We refresh our data every week, in some cases like the sex offender registries, for some every two weeks. But the oldest refresh we have is 30 days for our entire database. Again, it's a merge of three different data points coming together. We didn't get into this business primarily to make a profit; we got into this business to protect those who need to be protected. Russell: That's it. It's setting that intention right up front. When you talk to people, you have to set an intention up front about what it is you're doing. When you talk to people who might be new that we need to help, but understand we are going to be looking into some things, asking you questions for the sake of transparency, and direct about it. Who, what, when, where, why, and how? We keep our questions as open in that way as we can so that we get some meaningful information. I think that people who have things to hide may balk a little bit at this directness. Somebody is fidgeting, and they are talking about how much time this is taking, why you need to know that. In my head, that will be a red flag. What say you? Steve: A hidden benefit of the background check implementation is the bad ones kind of leave in the guise of night. They don't come back tomorrow. You actually said, “Hey, we take it seriously, we are going to have a consent form for you to sign. We will call your references. We will check in on who you say you are.” That's another thing, references. If you are not calling references, whether you outsource it to an organization, I recommend doing it internally so you can hear the nuance of the phone, the pregnant pauses of someone being asked, “Is this somebody you would bring back into your organization if you could?” and they go, “Hmm, well, I don't know about that.” If you outsource that, it's hard for somebody to put that into words on a report. I recommend if you have the time to do it yourself. If you have the money, you can outsource it. References are just as important as the background check. The background checks of course can be criminal. They can also verify your resume, education, employment. It's not always just looking at their criminal records, but making sure they are who they say they are. Hugh: While you are on that track, what kinds of background checks are there? Go over that again. Steve: There are lots of different types of background checks. We want to get nonprofit organizations to stop thinking about using the database just for looking for a criminal or a sex offender. Because of the analogy I used with the net with all the larger holes and tears, you need to look at each applicant holistically. Instead of where your organization is serving or based and the geography and how that might look in a database search, you need to look at the applicant. John could be a resident of one place for his whole life, and Mary has lived in seven different places in seven years. Mary, you are going to have to do more on because there are possibilities that the database has missed where Mary lives, they weren't up to date, and you are going to add a county courthouse search or a statewide repository search if it exists, like it does in Colorado. Other states have that, too. You are going to need to start with a foundation and then lay additional due diligence on top of that to get a good profile for each applicant instead of one size fits all. The criminal side, you break out into two different things. We have state and local crimes that you find in a database. You have the sex offender crimes that are in the sex offender registry. Then you will have crimes against the federal government or federal-related crimes. A lot of people think of these as the white-collar crimes, the Bernie Madoffs or the Martha Stewart crime where she got involved in the stocks. Yes, but inter-state kidnapping is also a federal crime. Money laundering and profiteering is a federal crime. Any building on federal lands. A lot of organizations and companies lately neglect ordering a federal criminal search. That can come back to bite them if they don't search it. There are a lot of other things, too. Motor vehicle searches, I mentioned. Credit reports we can do. You can do the education verification. International criminal and credit. Motor vehicles. We have 165 different services available to any organization, and most organizations look at about five. Russell:What are some of the training opportunities? Part of the challenge is training nonprofit leaders or other people about what the benefits are and the dangers of neglecting to do due diligence. In other words, what are the things that you're doing to assist people to understand the value of it so that they actually have this awareness? It's one thing to bring somebody in. Somebody could slide under the radar after you have done your search. Maybe something changes. People need to have an idea of what sort of things they need to look out for to make sure that everything is good. What training do you folks give nonprofits an opportunity to take advantage of so that they have a better sense of when they may need some help digging into something? Steve: We actually have a very specific training program that I actually founded. It's called Safeguard from Abuse. With a focus on the vulnerable populations that a lot of nonprofits focus their energy into those communities, it is a 75-minute online and also on a DVD training program with a certificate of understanding for those that pass the test on all of the different types of abuse, not just the sexual abuse, but neglect, physical, and emotional abuse, diving deep into what they are, diving deep into how to recognize when a child is being abused. So many organizations have that fear of having a sexual predator in their midst, so we do focus more time and attention in their personality traits, their grooming behaviors, understanding the personality of that pedophile. The most important thing is raising the awareness overall through the training, but empowering each person who goes through the video to be a mandated reporter and to understand that they can't help if they put their head in the sand. They have to be empowered to report, and they have to understand how to do so is very important. The awareness training is important. My example that I like to use is Russell, you want to buy a new car. You have a brand of car in mind, and you're getting in that car and heading down the road. All of a sudden, you start to see that car everywhere. It's now in your awareness. It's always been there, just like the characteristics of people who harm kids. They're still doing it in front of us; we're just not aware of it. We didn't raise our awareness level high enough to see what's always been there but invisible to the eye. It's really what we focus on is what we see. What we focus on we become as well. We want to make sure that we can train enough people to end child abuse, or at least if we can save one child, it's all worth it. Russell: Every time you buy a new car, everybody buys the same make, model, and color that very same day. I was thinking about all of these things. There are people who are listening to this, and they may be leaning back in their chairs thinking, No, I never did any of this stuff up front. Now I have 60 people. How do I know that I don't have somebody like this in my midst right now? Is there some type of organizational audit or assessment that you can do? Steve: We can definitely help. What you're saying is I gotta go retro. I have to go back to day one, and anybody who is still with me, screen them. That seems like an invasion maybe, or a daunting task, or maybe you're just thinking, I'll start with the next person. Now you will set yourself up for some difficulties being fair and equitable. If it's just Susan who just walked in the door but you did not go back five years ago and do this, once you implement the strategy, you have to implement it at any level and go back and do everybody. Starting top down is a good approach. Start at the top, and push down through the hierarchy of individuals in your organization. It's about resetting the reason for why you're doing it. You are resetting the fact that you have this new program that you're implementing. Our insurance company wants us to do it. Most insurance companies want you to do it anyway. If you have to put it on something else, you can just say it's a new requirement. It could be just your organization's requirement. Once it's a new requirement, it's a requirement. Everybody has to do it. Russell: Having everybody do it ensures that you don't have somebody out there who wants to take you to court saying they're being singled out because I'm a woman or I'm black or I'm over 50, or just anything they can pull out to say why it doesn't apply. We talked about that comfort level that people have. I don't want to offend or put anybody out. How do you help people who decide to do something like that do it in the face of the apprehension that they may have and the fear of offending somebody, implementing it seamlessly? What are some of the things you do to help people through that? Steve: That's a good question. We help organizations put together a background screening policy. It's all about policies. Sometimes you might have a policy- With those who work with kids, you might have a child protection policy, for example. But even in that child protection policy, they don't talk about background checks. So we need to weave in another layer of policy, and that is who do we screen, why do we screen them, how often do we screen them, and what do we order? Really it comes down to being comfortable enough with your organization and communicating that you do have policies. It's part of your mission and vision, wherever it is that it fits in, to make it that important. You can make it unimportant and be at risk and have everyone at risk, or you can make it important and be an advocate for safety and make your organization. It's all about preserving that organization. Amp up your image; it will help you and the community. Hugh: Both of you are talking about people not knowing what they don't know. There is a side that people are so close to it, you're so involved in it, that you're so blind to it because you are focusing on the day-to-day and the relationships. You're blind to all of the liabilities. Having someone like you that is skilled to discuss policy procedure with I think is really a high benefit. Is that part of your service that you offer? Steve: We offer that at no charge. Phone call conversations, any time someone wants to talk to me. It's very individual. Each organization is very individual, and I can't just say, Here is a template. We like to discuss what your organization looks like, the different roles and responsibilities you might have, the silos you may have, the offshoots of your organization you may have, and drill down. Like I mentioned, it's not a one-size-fits-all. Based on roles and responsibilities, you will be ordering different types of services. You may order motor vehicle for one, you may need to look at a credit report for one, but it won't be for all. We want to make sure that you understand that as an organization, what's available first of all, why you should order it, and then implement it. Now it's part of your policy manual, and now it can be handed off if you were to leave the organization. If you are in charge of this role, and now you are leaving or retiring to go do something else, you can now hand it off to someone else and they won't have to reinvent the wheel. It's important to do it on the front end, but we'll help. Hugh: Your link for people to find you is SecureSearch.com? Steve: It's actually not. I wish I had that. It's SecureSearchPro.com. Hugh: That's better. Steve: We have SafeguardfromAbuse.com. Hugh: You have been talking about databases, and people can do a database search. Say more about that for people who don't know what you mean by “database.” I think of a database as where I keep my CRM, where I keep my contacts. Say more about that and why it doesn't really cut the mustard. Steve: Okay. A lot of people think that there is one central place to go to do a background check in the United States. Just go to the FBI. They think there is something in some place to go. That is a fallacy. We are a disparate country. Our systems do not communicate with each other. What you have in Colorado doesn't communicate with what's in Virginia with what's in Florida, even though we think that's the case. Another fallacy is that a social security number is all you need to find a criminal record. We don't find any criminal records using a social security number. That's a myth. We use the social security number to find out what the person might be: what names they have used, what addresses they may have used, information sources. The databases, because we have this disparate system where counties don't communicate with states sometimes and counties don't even communicate with each other, all of these groups work in silos. Their information or their data is also stuck in that silo. You have to search that silo to find that information. In some cases, these silos of information raise their hands and say they will share. There are companies called data aggregators to say, I will pull from this county, I will pull from that county, and this department of corrections wants to give me that information. They compile it all together. They go out to my industry and say, “Do you want to buy my information?” I was talking about having three of these aggregators that I purchase information from and weave it all together because they will miss some in one and miss some in another and I am hoping I can fill in some of the gaps. This is not 100%. Again, it's that net with holes. It's as good as it gets. We search over a billion records, but there are so many holes and gaps in this data. That is where the database comes in; it's a base of data. There will be holes that you can't rely on as your only search. We can consult on the best approach. The best approach is you have to look at three different things. First, your due diligence, why you do what you do, why you want to screen in the first place. Do you want to protect the vulnerable? Is it because your insurance company made you do it? I don't care what it is. We have to understand what the impetus of your diligence is. Then we need to look at your organizational budget and say what budget dollars do you have to work with. Do you need to go find more budget dollars from another bucket in order to cover something like this? You want to implement it as soon as possible. The third is your comfort for risk, or your risk tolerance. That is already comfortable with your organization name being in a newspaper because you didn't do a background check, and now you brought in a pedophile into your organization. Or does that make you cringe and keep you awake at night? What does your legal counsel say? What does your insurance company say? We need to bring those three things together and create a unique, sustainable program for your organization. That may be very different from the organization I talk to tomorrow. That's okay. It's unique to you and sustainable and something you're comfortable with and can move forward with in your organization. A long answer for a simple question. Hugh: It's a complex question, a complex situation. I have met people who think they can just Google somebody's name and find out all kinds of things. What's the fallacy in that strategy? Steve: Did you have consent to do it, first of all? Every applicant has their legal rights. They have to provide you consent to really do a background check on them, especially if you want to use it. If you just want to be the armchair neighbor and check in on a neighbor, you have the legal right to do so. If you are going to bring this individual on board and have them fill out paperwork to be a volunteer or member of the staff, you have to get their consent. You can't just go to Google. The data out there is only as good as the data out there. If you're not buying it and it's free, there is a reason it's free. If you're spending $59.99 to get the rest of the report, they gave you a little bit, and the rest of it is behind the scenes, that is just database information, and that is way more than you ever need to pay. You need to do a database search for only $15. It's something you need, and something you need to build on, so you want to make sure you make it affordable on the database side so you can grow it and add the county courthouse searches as necessary. Russell: There are some things out there that are robust. I have probably used some of the things as a revenue agent for IRS. It's not off the shelf, and it's not cheap by any means, but it's good stuff. It's important to do that. You get what you pay for. A lot of these databases that you describe pop up if you do an online directory search for the Yellow Pages, or something like that. These things get offered to you all the time. Steve: It's the free data available to everyone that they compile. Not everything is going to be in there as I mentioned. It will be fraught with holes. They make it look good. They put a shiny website together, and you see moving parts. It's like they are searching as deep as they can go, and I will get every tidbit of information I need in seconds on one of these companies. You have to be careful with what you do. Everything needs to be validated at the local level. Anything from the database, any red flag, has to be validated at the court or the point of origin of the information to be accurate; otherwise, you are not supposed to see it anyway. That is why you want to work with a consumer reporting agency. SecureSearch is a consumer reporting agency. We are a member of concern consuming reporter agency, making sure we do it the right way and making sure we do validate everything at the local level before you as the customer gets to see that information. Hugh: We are coming to the last part of our interview, Steve. SecureSearchPro.com is where people can find out more. What is the differentiator? What makes this business different? You mentioned there are lots of others out there. Why are you different from them? Steve: That's a good question. The first thing is the information we have to share with you is through years of experience. We have veterans in the industry on staff who run our customer service department, who run our operations, and who run the executive office. That's number one, lots of experience. Two is we have a heart for the nonprofit sector because we understand you are wearing many hats. You don't have time, and you may not have the skillsets. You can feel comfortable with us. We are going to answer the phone. We will talk to you. You won't be alone in this process. We will be there to answer any questions you may have throughout the process, and you will have someone you can work with, whether it be me, you can always work with me directly, or anyone on my staff. We also don't have a single salesperson on staff, so you will never be “sold” anything. We only have consultants, so we will be asking you questions and making you recommendations for best practices. You won't hear from us five million times; we won't pound you until you buy. We wait to hear from you again if you'd like to do this with us. That is what makes us different. We have a heart for the nonprofit, the integrity of our data we are purchasing, and the integrity of the system we have and the compliance of our system and processes is what set us apart. Hugh: That's strong. It sounds like this service is incredibly expensive, thousands of dollars, to do a background check. Is that true? Steve: No, that's actually very far from true. Depends on the organization you're working with. Our pricing model is geared toward the nonprofit sector, so we are extremely affordable. We actually have scalable pricing for those who have high volume discount programs. A background check, I would say that a good budget, if you want to do it right, for the criminal and sex offender and fill in all the gaps, is budget for $50 a person. It doesn't mean it will always cost $50 a person; it may cost $15 for some, $22 for another, or $85 for another. It could be all over the board. But I would budget that to make sure you have enough allocated funds for a good solid program. A lot of people are going to ask if they need to do background checks through the fingerprint process, too. No, you don't. You can get good information that is disposition-based. Disposition is what happened in court, information from a secure search without ever having to do fingerprints. If you are getting government funding or state funding, they may make it mandatory, so you have to do it. But we can still make sure that the fingerprint arrest record—and that's all it is, an arrest information source with biometrics, and not everybody gets fingerprinted when they get arrested—that the courts dismissed it or said it was a guilty verdict and enhance the arrest record database you search. Hugh: Good. Thank you for that complete answer. This has been a very informative interview, and I'm sitting here thinking about all the organizations that I know about that have fallen short. We are going to make sure we will put a recommendation in our work that they do this early on. I think it's that important. As we are tying up this really good interview—Steve, thank you for the time today. It's been exceptional—what impression, what challenge, what thought do you want to leave in people's minds? Steve: I guess my question is: What image do you have of your own organization? How do you look at your own organization? Do your process and your people align with it? If you are worried about that and you want to lower your risk and your liabilities as an organization and maintain the image you want to have of your own organization, it doesn't cost a lot of money, it doesn't take a lot of time, you don't have to learn how to do it. We do everything for you. Just reach out to us. There is no charge to sign up or for a free consultation. Talk to one of our advocates. We're here to help; we're not here to sell. We hope to hear from you. It's something you should definitely take a look at. If you're doing the background checks now, we can talk about if you are doing them the right way. If you're not doing them, we can help you along the path. Hugh: Russell, thanks again for being here and being by my side. Steve, thank you for a wonderful interview. Thanks everyone for listening. Steve: Thank you very much. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, how you guys doing? I am super excited for today. I apologize. I didn't really publish in the last little bit here, and the reason is because I flew down to Vegas actually this last week and I spoke at two events back to back which was kind of crazy, and went through and I had an awesome product forum, and I literally created two pitches from scratch back to back which if you've never done that before is extremely challenging, and slept just a couple hours each of those times. But I have a mastermind of my own that went and we did, which was fantastic. I did that on Tuesday. We did a four hour session with a gentleman who wanted some of my time on Monday. That was on Monday, then Tuesday was the mastermind. Then Wednesday I spoke at another event which was awesome. Thursday spoke at, it was kind of like a private mastermind, which was a ton of fun. It's been a lot of fun. Anyway, I'm very, very excited for everything that's been going on here and I just want to give a little bit of an update first of all. We just barely opened the doors on Secret MLM Hacks. It's only been open for just over two weeks. Two weeks, and we've had about almost 60 people, I think about 60 actually, join this program and start going through it, and it's been amazing. It's been really, really fun. We've had people do some amazing things with it and dive on in, and really, really enjoyed getting these people some success with it and it's been cool to see them out starting their own ... The business is for real, you know what I mean? The way an actual business would handle it. And it's been a lot of fun. Anyway, what I wanted to do though real quick is I wanted to give a little bit of an update on, a lot of you guys know that one of the reasons why my downline is so unique and why my downline recruits like crazy is because of the application that I make people go through when they join my downline. And I know a lot of you guys listening right now have applied and I appreciate that. And so there was a big influx recently which has been a ton of fun and certainly enjoyed that, and what we've done though is when people come through and apply to join the downline, what we were doing previously is we would have people, we'd call them on the phone and we'd do an hour and a half chat with them going through the presentation. Well it's the same presentation that we give every single time, so I thought what if we ... This is like part two of my application process, so I was like, what if we just had them watch the presentation and then we had a call with them to be able to go and actually answer any followup questions? And it's been cool to see how that's been working out. This last week what we did, on top of everything else, it was kind of cool. I got a cool interview in Europe and got asked to go on a bunch of other podcast shows which has been a whole lot of fun. I'm not beating my chest you guys. I'm just letting you know what's been going on and stuff like that. Anyway, what's been super cool about that is what we did was my buddy and I, we took some recordings from the presentation that we give people, so they know what the dealio is. Look, here's how the MLM works. And think about this for your own MLM too. Start thinking about the way you can ... You give the same presentation over and over and over and over again, so I thought why not automate the parts that we do over and over and over again, and I don't want to take the human out of this business. I don't want to take the human element out of it. I want to stay personal. I want to stay in touch with people. And so what we did is we took each one of those things and then we made the presentation so they can watch, so it's the same every time for every person, because that's what we were doing is the same thing every time. Then what we did though is we set it up in this cool way that if you still love it, if you go through and you're like, "Oh, that's what Steve Larsen does. That's what MLM he's in." If you're like, "Oh my gosh, that's amazing," then you can progress on from there, so the presentation goes through the MLM. It goes through the product. Start thinking that what's obviously for your MLM, but the one that I just put up, it goes through the presentation. It goes through the product. It goes through all the things that you would normally ask. Comp plan. Events. All the stuff that it goes through, but then what it does is it goes through, and I talk about why my downline is unique. Why you should join me over the other guy. You know what I mean? You got to answer that question for people. Think through what that answer is for you. And so what I do though is I go through and I talk about how like, look, when you join my downline you get these funnels. You get these pieces of automation. You get, I understand that our product sells really well on the Internet using this piece of automation. And you get all that for free when you join my downline. That way I'm handing them things that are pre-made and pre-packaged so that they're able to actually go off and implement quickly, and so what I've been doing is vetting the system so that after they watch the video what ends up happening is at the bottom it says, "Look, hey. Did you watch the video?" And if they click yes, it said, "Awesome, you have two options now. The options are right down below the video." And what they do is it says option number one. It says, "Hey, Steve. I'm in. Let me just join now." And they can click and they can join the downline immediately. Or option number two, "Hey Steve, this is awesome. I just have a few final questions before I dive on in." And they can literally click a button and select a time on my calendar in the next day or whatever so that we can chat face-to-face, which is awesome, and I make it so that multiple people can join the call at the same time so I'm talking to a bunch of people at once so that they can grab the systems and ask any final questions before they dive on in. So that's it. Anyway, I just wanted to give you guys a bit of an update. I know it's a fast episode, but as I've been sitting back and looking through, man, there's so many people who are applying. Number one, how do I make it so it's still personal? That they understand that they're also getting me, but that it's also duplicating me? That it's also making it so that I'm not the bottleneck of my own organization? And so I've been going through and that's actually what we've been doing. It's been a whole lot of fun, so I thought I'd ... A lot of this podcast is about me documenting my journey on the way for this whole thing, so that's what I've been doing and it's been working. It's been great, and we've had awesome, stellar people come through, watch the video and what's fun about it, I think the funnest thing about this is that it attracts an individual who ... Really there's two kinds of people that it's been attracting. Number one it's the kind of individual who is a rockstar already and they've already got a downline somewhere else and they want to bring them all under me. You know what I mean? It attracts those kinds of people. Or they're amazing at marketing. You know what I mean? People with experience. Or, it attracts an individual who is basically brand new but they're willing to learn and they're coachable. For some reason, and I haven't quite figured out why, this whole system keeps people out who are not otherwise coachable, which has been nice because it's increased the culture of the downline. You know what I mean? I'm a respecter of everybody, but we all know not everyone's going to be an equal recruit. It's not the nicest way to say that. Not everyone is going to be the funnest to work with sometimes, and so it's been fun because people who are new, they come in and they're like, "Oh my gosh, look at these rockstars I get to surround myself with." And then people who are experienced get to come in and they're like, "Oh my gosh, look at these cool systems Steven has." It's cool because I feel like for the first time it's been this awesome win-win-win-win-win for everybody all around. Obviously it helps me, but it helps them because I'm helping them and I'm solving up their followup problems once I hand them the opportunity, and then it's helping new people who've never done this before either. I've had people who have been joining simply because they're like, "Oh, it's Steve Larsen. I know he's awesome." But they know nothing about MLM. They know nothing, and it's been cool to get both sides of the spectrum without as much drama. It's been cool to do that, and it's been exciting because of the kind of person that it's been attracting. You know what I mean? Very, very fun. It's been exciting for that whole reason. Anyways, I've been loving it. It's been awesome, and I know there's been a few people who've been like, "Steven, why do you make me go through this entire process? How come I can't just call you directly?" And I know that's one of the things that people will be struggling with sometimes when they go through that, and I know that. The reason why though is because the process is also the filter, and sometimes part of the reason why you may not like the person who's joining your downline or joining your MLM or whatever it is is because there's not enough of a filter. You know what I mean? I've got some amazing crap for the people who join my downline. Insane stuff, and it's really easy to be unique in a blue ocean in the MLM space right now because there's not that ... I believe all the other tactics and strategies are stuck in the '90s, and since I do stuff that's cutting-edge and new, it's really easy to make a splash and that's one of the reasons my downline has been so much. Anyway, that felt really braggy. I'm sorry, but I'm just trying to show you guys and understand what this all is and the power of it and why it's such a huge deal, and even though I know there's been some people that have complained or whatever. Also, that system is part of the filter. The people who want to work with me, they prove to me they want to work with me by going through that process. I was speaking. It was the second place I was speaking at this last week, and this guy walked up afterwards and he was like, "That was amazing. Oh my gosh. We have this list of 12 million followers. I really want you to get on my podcast." And I was like, "Hey, that would be awesome. Just click on this button." I told him. I was like, "Go to SteveJLarsen.com and click on Interview Steve." He was like, "I don't want to do anything like that. I just want to give you a link." And I was like, "Well for me and my VA and my current process there's so many people that want to interview me, that's what helps me. Just go click there and I've got no problem getting on." And he was like, "Ah, don't send me through a process," and he walked away all mad, and I was like, "Sir, then I can't get on your show. You understand? The process is also what protects me." I didn't say that, but I did tell him, I was like, "Then I can't get on your show." That's why though, is because if you don't have a process it's half the reason why you haven't been enjoying your MLM. It's half the process why you've been getting people that aren't doing anything. If you don't have a process down, if there's no consistency, how on Earth can you measure progress? You can't, and so you don't know what the levers are in your business to be turning and focusing on and the other ones to leave alone because they don't matter. You don't know what the time suck and emotionally draining activities are because everything is different every single day. There's no consistency. And I understand that I might actually not get as many people into my downline because there's a process, but ... We're getting a ton of people. I mean, that's not what I'm saying. It's also the process though that vets out the amazing people who want to work with me and it's really been awesome because it not only elevates everyone else, also it culturally protects the downline because there's a process in place. Then I can sit back and be like, "Oh my gosh, look. I'm saying the same thing over and over again." Or, "Look, I can identify this little spot over here that's not been good. I can identify that spot over there that's not been good. Because there's a system I can keep tweaking the system until it's better and better and better, an awesome oiled machine, and then when something works I just hand it off to everybody in the downline so they can do it too. You know what I mean? Anyway, that's all I was trying to say. That the system is your friend that you go create, and if you don't have a system it's the reason why you're feeling a little bit all over the place, and I understand that there might be a few cons to having ... It's like a two-step process I ask people to go through. Number one, apply to join my downline. Number two, watch this presentation that I give to everyone every time, and then we'll jump on the phone and you can ask any final questions you have before you join. You know what I mean? That's the process that I have people go through, and that's it, and it's to help me understand who's serious just as much as it is to help me understand who would be poisonous in my downline as well. It's also been funny. There's been a few people who have been a little bit frustrated like, "I don't want to watch it. Come on. I just want to talk to you directly." I was like, "Come on, understand what I'm doing. Watch ..." It's like when you're at a magic show and you watch the magician's hands and you're trying to catch the trick. That's all I was trying to say. Watch the magician's hands. Understand what I'm doing. Look at the process that I'm taking you through if ... I'm not pitching you right now on joining, but that's why I do it, and I want to tell those people that and be like, "Look, that's the reason why is because I want to hand you the same thing I'm asking you to go through because it elevates the quality of the runner. It elevates the quality of the producer that you're essentially hiring into your downline. Anyway, it's been awesome. It's been a fun, fun, awesome experience. We just got a bunch more people into the Secret MLM Hacks course. If you're interested in that at all go to SecretMLMHacks.com. You can watch it. If you go to ... I don't know if I want to tell you where to go to join my downline because I don't want people to think I'm pitching, and I also don't want you to start applying without the actual intent to join because there's some really cool automations that happen in there, you know what I mean? Anyway, I think there's a previous episode that I talk about where you can go to check this out if you want to, but anyways, it's been awesome and fantastic. I've been improving the process. Been improving the things we're going through, and it's cool. It's like step two of people applying to join my downline, and we sent it out to another 57 people or something two days ago. It's been awesome. So it's working guys, I want you to know that. I'm not just teaching MLM. I actually do it also, which should be a source of comfort for you to know that I'm not just blowing smoke around and theory. This is the actual stuff that's working. Anyways guys, been awesome. Have a great one, and go kill it. Hey, thanks for listening. Please remember to subscribe and leave feedback. Would you like me to teach your own downline five simple MLM recruiting tips for free? If so, go download your free MLM Masters Pack by subscribing to this podcast at SecretMLMHacksRadio.com.

  Got a great question from a listener about how to test that a product could do well before you enter the market… What's going on everyone? This is Steve Larsen and you're listening to a special episode of "Sales Funnel Radio." Welcome to "Sales Funnel Radio" where you'll learn marketing strategies to grow your online business using today's best internet sales funnels. Now, here's your host Steve Larsen. All right, guys. Hey, I am stoked about today, so, periodically ... wasn't as frequently as of late but recently I actually have been going through and I listen to a lot of the questions people are submitting on salesfunnelradio.com. If you don't know what I'm talking about, if you go to salesfunnelradio.com and scroll down kind of at the bottom right there, there's a green button, and if you click that you can record a question to me straight off of your browser, an actual audio file. It emails that over to me and I go and I kind of vet through them to see which ones would apply most kind of the group. Then, I can toss them out here. So, anyways, we've got one of those today though. This is to a guy named Matt who has a special skill at the Rubik's Cube. So, anyways, I'm gonna play the question here because there's a lot of elements to this and I wanna make sure that everybody understands clearly how awesome of a position Matt is actually in this. But, I don't think he knows that. Hey Steve, it's Matt here, hope you're well, dude. I've got a question I was hoping you could help me with. I've got an idea for a product or a company, which is teaching people how to solve the Rubik's Cube, but I don't want to be known as the Rubik's Cube guy or the puzzle guy. Is it silly to think like that? Also, how do I know if it's a product that people actually want before I finally pull the trigger and get something out there? It's yours, dude. Hey, Matt, thanks so much for the question. When I heard that, I think my eyes rolled back in my head and I was like, oh, yeah, this is the question. I love this question. Great, great question. First off, just know that you guys can make a course off of anything. No joke. And it doesn't need to be ... if you got a special skill, whatever it is ... it's funny, because reading the book, like Expert Secrets, I think sometimes people might think that you've gotta be some highfalutin suit and tie-wearing briefcase-carrying expert and that's actually not true at all. I don't know if you've seen funnelhackinglive.com. Yeah, "Funnel Hacking Live 2016" there was a guy, I cannot remember his name, but he's known as the Jump Guy, and he literally teaches people how to jump, no joke. They travel the world. He and his wife, his kids, at the time had not had a home in like five years or something like that, huge amount. Because they liked to go travel around and they live like kings and he literally teaches people how to jump. That's what he does. And he's taken that on, he's like yeah, he's the Jump Guy. So, basketball players, athletes, whoever, if they want to learn how to jump higher he teaches them how to do that. There's a little course that he sells on it. I'm trying to tease as many names, hopefully they're okay with me sharing these stories ... there's a lady at one of the first FAT events we ever did, the "Funnel Hackathon Event," and she was there. She was sitting kind of in the back left. I remember where she was sitting, as we were teaching, and I was on stage there and we're sharing those different strategies and stuff, she goes off and she makes like $1.3 million on like a $27 product. It hasn't even been a year. It's been like eight months, six months, something like that. I'm not good with months. I always, always have to say the months in order by name to figure out what they are. Anyway, so that's the whole point, though. It doesn't necessarily need to be expensive, although you certainly will ... how many $27 products do you need to sell to make a dent in your wallet? Quite a few, which is why I usually tell people to start with a thousand-dollar product. But, it doesn't need to be something ... if you see a spot where you're like, hey, I've got an expertise here. Don't feel like it's discredited because it's the Rubik's Cube guy, right? I will tell you I still cannot solve mine. I'm holding it right now. In fact, when he first sent that first message to me I was walking home in the snow. I like that's where I was. So, I was walking home in the snow, and I was like, "Man, I would pay for your course right now. I don't know how to finish solving this thing. I can get like three-fourths of the way through and I cannot get the last, like, layer." I don't know, my head doesn't naturally work like that. I've always wanted to learn how to do it. So, I was laughing when he said that, like, "Do you think people would pay for that? Do you think X, Y, and Z, whatever?" And Matt had reached out to me previously, so everyone knows, so I said, "Hey, would you ask that for the podcast because I think people would benefit from it?" The answer is 100%. You asked several questions there, you said I don't wanna be known as the Cube guy, Rubik's Cube guy or the puzzle guy. I get that. That's fine. In order to create a mass movement you certainly would probably need to take on that persona just a little bit, but if you're just trying to toss something out there for some extra cash flow coming in that's totally fine, that's 100% fine. I don't know that you necessarily need to take on, hey I'm the Cube guy, I'm the Rubik's Cube guy, the puzzle guy, but it certainly will help you the more you're wiling to do that. There are tons of YouTube videos of people trying to figure out how to do it. It's honestly one of the easiest ways to figure out if it's gonna sell really well, right. People are on YouTube for like, two reasons. One, to be entertained and distracted and the second is like for how-to stuff, how to do this, how to fix that, it's like tutorial-based things. When I actually first started launching the product that allowed me to quit my job, that's actually one of the ways that I knew that it was actually gonna sell so well, is because there's tons of YouTube tutorials. And, since it's such a hot, hot, hot, hot market that YouTube basically told me it was, I knew it was a safe place for me to go launch my thing in, as long as it was a new opportunity and I was following the Expert Secrets model, I would actually be able to be successful with it. So, that's one of the easiest, fastest ways for you to actually make sure that you could actually sell with it. It's probably big enough, though. You can check out semrush.com and type in "Other Rubik's Cube people who are seeling that," I mean, there's gotta be people making several grand a month at least selling Rubik's Cube education courses. I'm sure that there are. So, I actually don't think the question is, "Is it big enough," I think the biggest question you should ask yourself is, How will I defer myself from everybody else? How will I be different? How can I create a new opportunity out of somebody else who's teaching how to do Rubik's Cube stuff?/ somebody else who's teaching how to do something that's similar? How can I make myself different and differentiate enough so that it feels like a brand new opportunity? And part of that is you can just have a cooler offer than everybody else. It's not necessarily one of the strongest forms of creating a new opportunity, but by just changing up the delivery of stuff that already exists, you actually can get yourself into a new opportunity enough that you actually can create good cash flow from it. Here's what I mean. So, I would use the Stack Slide from Expert Secrets, and the Stack Slide if you guys don't know what it is, it's kind of a model and a map for how to create new opportunities. So, what I would do is use that, and the very first step on the Stack Slide is, it's your main thing. So, it can be an info product, right? Let's say you've adapted this course for beginners and kind of intermediary and advanced people. So, they can get in, they can do their own, wherever they are. If they know how to and they want it faster, or if they have no idea what they're doing like me, they want to get in, just kind of learn, you have a place for each one of them. So, that's kind of the first thing, is the main product. Then, it's like a tool. What tool could you hand out to them to accelerate how they use your main masterclass? The first thing on the info product? Man, I would ship out Rubik's Cubes. Ship out a Trainer's Cube, and then also like a Speed Cube or something like that, so that people can go through and do your whole thing with them. Then, think through, like, hey, well, what are the other beliefs someone's gonna have about this that they think that are real but that aren't? What are those things? It's pretty awesome when you start thinking through that way. First, let's think through a vehicle, okay? So, what are all the other gurus who teach Rubik's Cube stuff missing that you could go out and throw rocks at? That's like the first question for bonus number one on the Stack Slide. You're throwing it at the vehicle that currently exists in the marketplace. What's the current vehicle? If everyone else is trying to get better at the Rubik's Cube, if everyone was trying to get out there and say, "Hey, yeah, this is the thing," what is it that you can throw rocks at to help people realize, wait a second, all these other gurus out there ... I'm shaking the cube like you can see it ... all these other gurus out there are missing this one step, these things right here. That lets you throw a rock at the current vehicles inside the market, right? And create some product, whether it's info product or whatever, something you ship out to, maybe a workbook, or something, I don't know that lets you differentiate yourself from everything else that's available out there. It's part of the first way that you create a new opportunity. Then he has to say, okay, internal beliefs. What are some of the internal beliefs someone has? "Oh, it's gonna take forever, oh, this is for someone who's mechanically minded, I'm not mechanically minded." You start thinking through, and if you don't know what those things are, you can either ask the market, which I certainly invite you to do, but you also probably have an idea of what the internal false beliefs are of people who want to get faster at the Rubik's Cube. The third thing though are the external beliefs. So, external beliefs, what are the things that others would blame for reasons for not being successful? It usually has something to do with time, money, and resources. They're pointing away from themselves, "I can't do this because of that, because of that, because of that." It's no longer about themselves as much, it's I don't have the time, I don't have the money, I don't have the resources. Usually somewhere around those three. Start thinking through what those are and that's how you put together an offer that makes you different from everybody else that's inside the marketplace and then one of the easiest ways to start testing it? Man, I would record some super cool tutorials and I would just put them on YouTube for free, and I would see what the response is, and in the description on YouTube ... this is literally how I launched my course, by the way ... in the description I would say, "Hey, if you want more of this kind of thing, or if you want to figure out phase two," you could show them here's the fastest way to solve the first row of a Rubik's Cube, heard from a Rubik's Cube master himself, or something like that. You go through and say, hey, look, if you want more of this go to, I don't know, solvemyrubikscube.com or I don't know, whatever your URL is, and in there, now you've captured their email address, you've qualified someone who's interested, you've qualified an opt-in, now it's time to qualify a buyer. So, you go through and you teach them this stuff and you're teaching them for free on YouTube, then you teach them a little bit more at the beginning of a funnel, and then you say, hey, do you want this thing for, I don't know, 10 bucks, 15 bucks, and it's the full course, or whatever. But then there's an upsell, and there's a bump, and there's a downsell, and you could have this really cool tripwire funnel on the front, and quite literally be able to ... anyway. The answer is absolutely. Absolutely. That's what I would do is I would go through and I would create it that way, and I would somehow figure how to split between ... maybe you don't have a thousand-dollar course on Rubik's Cubes but maybe it is $99. Maybe it's even $500. I'm known to say no on price points, or to say that it won't work, or whatever, but figure out how much you do want to get paid per course, and maybe it's something like, as part of the value added, whatever, they get on with you once a week and it's a live Q&A section, group Q&A, not one-on-one, charge higher price for one-on-one, but if there's a group Q&A for like a mid-tier, mid-value ladder area that would be awesome. That would be super cool. Because, I would love to have asked the three questions for how I was trying to solve this thing at the beginning. I kind of gave up after, like, a week. It was awesome, though. When I saw your thing, like, totally man, I would have paid for that. And you could target ads at people who are buying things at like Toys-R-Us or whatever. That certainly in my opinion, in my opinion, could totally be a viable source of cash flow, and I think could be awesome. That's the whole point for everyone else who is listening in this. Please understand that it doesn't matter what you're an expert at. Okay? What matter is how well you market it. I know I've brought this up before but it's a quote from Joe Polish, and Joe Polish says, "There is no relationship between being good and getting paid." There's no relationship between being good and getting paid. How many of you out there think and believe and know that you are better than most of your market at what you do? If you're listening to this podcast I fight that probably all of you guys are better than most of the market at what you do. So, why are you or aren't you getting paid how much you think you are worth? Because of Joe Polish, he said, "There is no relationship between being good and getting paid." You can be the best coder, the best programmer, the best whatever, but that does not mean you're gonna get paid at all. So, I love the second part of the quote. The second part of the quote is, "There is, however, a huge relationship between being good at marketing and getting paid." Go learn how to package and sell and market the thing you're good at. It doesn't matter what it is. There is most likely a market for it. What's funny is, I'm sure you guys heard the term, "The riches are in the niches." Funny enough, like, it's true. Like, what? Rubik's Cube training? Are you serious? Yeah, I'm telling you, you could make a ton of money with this stuff. It's funny to see some of the things people come through and make a whole bunch of money on using click funnels, that come through those doors, and it's like, man, are you serious? I'm overthinking this. That guy made that kind of money with this kind of thing? That's awesome, fascinating! Absolutely. So, think through whatever it is. Don't think your thing is too big or too small or whatever. Let the market tell you. Take your own opinions out of it, and know that you're not the one that's gonna fill your own wallet. Doesn't work that way. So, you have no idea, you have no idea. I don't care what I sell as long as it's moral and it sells. It doesn't matter to me. I'd totally start Rubik's Cube training if I knew how to do that. I have no idea how to do it, though, so tons of power to you, Matt. Anyway, that's what I would do, though. So, gosh, 100%. Anyone else who's listening to this figure out whatever your thing is, if you're like, I still haven't started, or whatever, if you're having a hard time pinning down what that thing is, start asking people what it is that they think that you're good at. I did that for a while, literally. I was like, what am I good at? What am I good at? I did that, like, three or four years ago, and then when I finally dropped anchor, it was like, I'm gonna try to be the best funnel builder in the world. Am I? Probably not. Of course not. But, I know I'm probably one of them, and I've worked super, super, super hard to get to that spot and develop that expertise, and there's times when I look around, I'm like, crap, I could go sell Rubik's Cube training. Did I overthink that? You can make ample money. Oh, darn it, it didn't quite put you in to a club but you made 700 grand, darn! You know what I mean? So, don't be afraid to marry your thing. Don't be afraid of exposing what it is, and understand that there's probably people out there who are already looking for your expertise. There's probably people out there who are wanting what you do. Then figure out how to market it. It's not good enough to be good at it. You'll never get paid that way. Funny enough, it's the reason why you can buy something on Amazon, or somewhere else and it shows up and it's pure crap. It's because they got good at marketing rather than the actual thing, which is a sad reality. That's the sad flip side of it, but that's also where the power of it lies in, what I'm trying to put across. Figure out how to market the thing. How do you package it up? How do you sell in a way that's different than everyone else in the market that makes you unique? Blue ocean, new opportunity, something that is not ever seen that's out there before, and it's one of the easiest ways to make a lot of money quickly, marketing a new opportunity from a submarket that you're taking one step out of. Such small risk. Just that little tiny step out, it's huge. The reason I knew I could be fine with my stuff, I did the exact same things I'm telling you to do. All right, guys, I'll talk to you later. Hopefully, that helped and Matt, thank you so much for the question, and if you do choose to go do the Rubik's Cube thing, please let me know. I will buy it. Thanks for listening to "Sales Funnel Radio." Please remember to subscribe and leave feedback. Want to get one of today's best internet sales funnel for free? Go to salesfunnelbroker.com/freefunnels to download your prebuild sales funnel today.

When is the best time to raise prices? Today I’m going to talk about what most contractors are afraid to do raise prices. We talk about all the time and acknowledge it. I need to raise my price, but most are afraid to raise their prices. So when is the pest time to raise prices and how do I do it  And I want to tell you all the time whenever you can but tell us about this systematically. Ok, so I'm a firm believer that most of the time our prices are too low. Now there are some guys out there that just rip people off and jack people up. And so, we're not going to go there. We're going to talk about delivery of value. Getting your best price that you can get and to continually raise your prices until you hit a resistance point. I want to talk about Disney World. You know they have a tendency to raise their prices. They're continually raising systematically until there's a resistance and when there's a resistance they stop and then your ticket sales will start rising again and then once they get them to where they want them then you'll start raising prices again. So that's really want to talk about your value to raise your prices because most times every contractor I see is cheap for the most part. I mean you’re talking about the majority. And I want to get you out of that room with that thinking of how but I want you to be able to raise your prices. I'm a firm believer that if you wait until tomorrow. Raise your prices by 10%. None of your customers would ever notice that difference. So, rule number one tomorrow is the day to raise your prices to raise them by 10%. So, I know a lot of you guys are saying right now we're going to complain again complaining. Listen, if they complain they don't understand that you're in terms of maybe gas has gone up. And a lot of other things have gone up systematically supplies have gone up. Then they really don't understand what it takes to run a business. And listen they've been here for a long time and they don't understand this. Guess what. You don't need them as a customer because you’re supposed to be doing this for profit, not for fun. Listen, let's take this, for example, the other day I go running through McDonald’s and I go to pick up a cup coffee and I think it was a sausage burrito. Now when they came out, sausage burritos , You know I do the dollar menu. I didn't get coffee. And so, the other day not too long ago in and it’s like a dollar thirty-nine dollar for dollar forty-nine out for you what it was but it was like it jumped 50%. And guess what. Nobody complained. And everyone's still buying sausage burritos. So, my thoughts to you or my question to you are, what's it going to take for you to raise your prices so that you can be profitable. And that's really what it comes down to being profitable in the marketplace. So, let's go over a couple of things and we'll just talk about them briefly. OK so here's something that would really scare the crap scare the crap out of you. Dan Kennedy is one of my mentors. I read all of this stuff and women was thinking my business and he says, what you need to do is raise your prices by 5%. That's a great philosophy but it will scare the crap out of most of us because we'd be afraid of losing half of our business. Now, what would really happen if we lost half of our business and we raised our prices we'd be making the same amount of money with fewer clients. And wouldn't that be a cool thing? But we're all afraid to do that. So just do it in small increments. OK, just small increments. Going back to the McDonald's scenario where they ran up 49 or 50 percent in their pricing. Do you think they made more profit? Well absolutely. Do you think they slowed down on their burrito so they may have but if they slow down 2%? They're still making more profit if they so than 10%. They're still making more profit. But for the most part, you know it's not going to happen. So, another great time to raise prices is really when you're busy. So why would you want to do that while you're busy? You've got things scheduled out you don't really care so much depends on who you are about you know filling in that gap because the gaps are already filled. Your pipelines are already filled with work so you can raise your prices to raise it for elasticity to see how far you can go before you know they'll say no. And if they say no then the next one brings it down a little you get to play with it when you're busy. But here's the exciting thing is here's what I want you to think about if you're afraid if you're really afraid to raise your prices I want you to think about this I want you to think about how important it is for you to be profitable in your business to pay for the things that you've always wanted to pay for your family. And so, if I'm just going to put this in a perspective and maybe you like it maybe you don't. And I really don't care. Is it more important for you to supply the necessary needs for your family? Or are you going to try to make your customers happy by giving them cheap prices? You have to. You have to answer that but I'm going to say listen you don't want to be a commodity and that's really what this is all about raising your prices so you are no longer a commodity. So, if you're if you're doing proposals if you're doing estimates by price only stop it. You've got to give value. So how do we give value in this whole context? Well if someone says I want a price for paying so a lot of guys will I've seen guys write painting proposal on a lot of cars or they'll just say well we're going to pay the interior house this room this room this room for X amount of dollars or even pressure Clinton to do this-this this and this. But I want you to think about it and here's where the real value comes in. I think this is personal. This is one of the things that I do and it helps me become more professional and less of the commodity because I give them a complete breakdown of what I'm doing of how it's going to get done. The process is going to go through. And you know most one guy's proposals are one page. Mine can be 10 or 12 pages depending on what we're doing because I put so many so much stuff in there that I sort of kill them with professionalism knowing honestly, I know you're saying well they're not going to read all this stuff. I know they're not going to read all that stuff but here's the important thing because you have all that stuff. They're not going to say wow this guy has a lot of stuff and the who gets one page say this guy is not very professional. So here let's go into the process of the proposal and the pricing. I'm a firm believer in giving you know three-part proposal. Good better best or high medium and low and it due to an hour or you to do high medium and low not low medium high. And for the most part, most people will go towards the middle. But when you do an I'm going to I'm going to pick out myself for the most part for paying proposal so let's just say that I have someone who wants the interior painted on their house. And so we're going to go through and we're going to line item everything we're going to put to paint for the ceiling the painting for the trim work that broken out towards doors and casings and then another one for baseboard and then another one for crown molding and then another one for miscellaneous. If they have additional work and then I have one for walls only. And then you know closets and then I'd do a breakdown of the prep work that we're going to do to go through the covering of the furniture taking off of the switch plates of the work that needs to be done to have this make a complete project so it's not just painting. A lot of guys think about they are going to  paint. No, you're not going to the paint you're going in to create and it's not really an illusion you're going to create the facade and then run not even a facade you're going to create this system .Step one step two three fourths of five steps 6 7. And why are you going to do that. Because this is where the value is the value is putting together the process so that when the customer looks at this painting of walls throughout the house well if some you guys don't know this the wall space is about two and a half times that of the square footage space. So just for the fun of it just say have a thousand-square foot house. You're going to paint two thousand five hundred square foot of wall space two times not two coats of paint do you see where I'm going. You're going to the extremes so they're going to look at it and say wow I don't want to do this amount of work and I'll do it myself. This is worth the real value is. And if they don't want to pay the price that's fine. But you've created value there and the profits in the profits.   You know I was looking at here is the funny thing the other day I was looking at a proposal of a guy for putting in a floor they put in a proposal and in a proposal, they put in ripping up the old floor. But not only did they put in as a square foot price of covering everything with plastic. Who would have thought that floor guy going to charge you to cover it because you think well he's going to just install a floor? Well no because they had to do leveling. So there was so much for the leveling and that you know so he did this in the same. So the customer's going to say man I couldn't I couldn't do that. So I would be willing to pay someone to come in and do that. And this is where the customer sees the value of the price because a lot of times it's not just the price. Granted there are some people that shop by price but really when you're dealing with most a lot. I'm going to say a lot I'm going to say most people they’re looking at price number four or five. The main reason they look at the price is to see if they're getting the value for the price that you're charging. So that's why I always go into infinite detail when I'm doing proposal I put in you know repairs would repairs replacement all kinds of things so that they know that when I'm doing it that I'm going to be professional about it I'm going to cover the furniture and take the switch plates off and then I'm going to actually I can even give him a price for not moving the furniture. If they want to then when they come and say, geez this is a lot more than I expected I can look and say OK what don't you want taking care of seeing that takes out of their mind. The thing about discounts because you're saying why don't you want to be done in this proposal. And you're thinking why if I say I was higher than I expected. They're thinking oh he's going for the discount. No, I don't do discounts because I don't like giving money away. I would rather not do something, we could cut out. I had one customer once who just said Oh I never thought about that and I said well this is something that you don't need to be done but you asked to have done should we take that out. Yes. Oh, I can live with that price. So, it's defining what the customer wants giving them the value of what they want. And now you can get the price by doing that because you've raised your price to be profitable. Well how. Here's one thing that I see consistently with a lot of guys is they really don't know what it takes for them to be profitable. They don't know what their bottom line is they don't know what their expenses are they don't know what the payroll is they don't know what they are. All other ancillary expenses are like their insurance or gas or truck or truck rental and car rental but there their truck payment. And so, you've got to take all these into consideration and then figure out what you're based on 40 hours. Break it down into what your per our cost of business is doing. And now add profit to that and depending on what your cost per hour is then you add your profit. Now I know lots of guys that will go. Yeah well, I can do 20 I can do 30. I'm going to be real honest with you. If you can't run a 45 to 50 percent profit margin on your stuff then it's going to cost you to do business because there's going to be things that are going to be hidden like mistakes and errors and broken stuff and reduce and so there's got to be room in there. For all the stuff that you are might not consider. And then there's enough profit for you to fix it instead of getting mad insane or getting mad and walking off the job because I've seen a lot of guys do that. So, this is where you basically want to be in this area so that you can raise your prices so that you become more profitable. Ok, so I'm going to tell you a little story about Steve a guy that I used to do a lot of business with and work on the same line. When I did a lot of new construction Steve was a carpenter and an excellent carpenter for a matter of fact he was a homebuilder. And then he moved to Florida and he just did trim carpentry for his first trade. And he was very good at that. Got a lot of business. One guy and sometimes he had to helper but most of it was by himself and like I said sometimes he did have a helper. But here's what happened. One-day Steve was working on this really huge house big house and he was there for a couple of months. And every once in a while, a contractor or one of the other guys in the trades would come by and take Steve for a walk out back and say, Steve, you need to raise your prices. You're too cheap you're just too cheap. And basically, what's happening is you're given the rest of us bad names. You need to be up with us. Not that we're they were super expensive but they needed to be needed to be up with the rest of the crop. He didn't need to be cheap because he really wasn't. His work was that good that he could raise his prices and not worry about it. But he was looking at fear mode. Which a lot of you guys do. And then this went on for a couple of months. Every once in a while, one of the guys would come in and say Hey Steve take him out back. They didn't beat him but they came up back and talked him and say hey listen you really need to raise your prices. You are too cheap. I don't even know how that you can live the way you live and pay the prices. Of course, I knew he lived in a mobile home so he didn't have any expenses. But still, it doesn't matter. You need to be able to put money aside for days when you're slow. Come on you're not going to be busy all your life and no matter how good your funnel is every once in a while, you're going to slow down a little. So, I guess it's the end of the project. The homeowner is sitting down making out Steve a check for his invoicing and Homer looks at Steve squirty eyes says, Steve, I got to tell you, you do excellent work but you're too cheap Steve goes what. He says you're too cheap goes can I raise my prices. He goes on the next job. So, I want you to know that you know doesn't matter happens to everyone. The fear of raising prices but really the customer knows when you're too cheap. And listen to this guy and all of our customers will take advantage of us as long as we're cheap they're not going to say you're too cheap. This guy was nice but most people are not going to say oh you're too cheap we don't want to do business with you because you're too cheap. But if you raise your prices they're still going to continue to do business with you. Why. Because they're not dealing with you on a price basis. They’re dealing with you on a relationship basis and you need to keep that relationship going and the relationship needs to make a profit. You need to make that profit. OK so here's another thing I want you to consider in your pricing and all the time. And, here I am stuttering because it really does make me stutter some of these things that some of the guys I come across off. Go into price wars over their services. But here's what I want you to know. Throughout the country, don't matter where you are. There is a shortage of legitimate licensed contractors in your trade. Granted there are people coming up through the weeds that are cheap and inexperienced unlicensed but licensed contractors for the most part. There is a shortage throughout the country and but yet even the licensed contractors have a tendency, for the most part, to fight amongst themselves all over the price because there we go. They're afraid of raising the price, they're afraid of not getting new work. And you cannot grow a significant viable business living in fear. It's just not going to happen. So just a quick overview. You're going to have to raise your prices. Well in order for you to raise your prices so that you know what it's going to take for you to be profitable. Because a lot of times we will lower our prices to compete on something. And when we get through, it actually costs us business, cost us money to do business with that person. I want you to sit down. I want you to go through and figure out what are your overall expenses. Line item everything. It's really simple. Just take a piece of note paper write down your expenses your truck. You know what they are you are you should know what they are. Write them down. Figure it out per hour basis then add 45-50% too it. And I want you to think about adding profit to your products that you are using. So, if you're a carpentry you upsell you up the price. You got to go pick it up. So, you either charge for picking it up by the hour or you charge the profit for the product, same thing what do you guys that are doing paint. You charge retail plus you don't charge retail because you're buying at 20% discount. You need to charge retail plus a percentage of profit or do your wholesale plus 45 I don't care. But there needs to be profit in everything you do because that's the way business runs. Every other business runs that way. So, raise your prices to become profitable. That's the only way that you're going to continue to survive but you want to do more than survive in business. You want to grow. You want to exponentially grow. You want to grow your business. You may want to grow it into more employees or more service trucks or whatever the case may be. But in order to do that, you have to start at a point of where that's what does it take for me to be profitable from day one from the very beginning. And where do I move out from there and don't play with those numbers? Because always remember the prices, the prices, the price. And when you cut your price, you cut your profit and then you have to figure out the numbers. I don't know what is it going to take to overcome that. So, if you actually cut your price and I'm going to cut it off with this if you cut your price by 10% you have to sell 50% more to make up for that difference. Think about that. Just think about that next time you want to give a discount. It's not the discount today is what is it going to cost me to make up that profit tomorrow. So, hey thanks for listening. I know that this is an item that a lot of you guys are afraid of doing. Just do it implement it and get it over with. And because like I said you need to profit in your bank account today. So, go grow your business and build it the way you want to don't have it run you-you run your business.   There are so many ways to do almost free marketing you just have to think about it or you could just go to the web site and pick up the free download.     4 Hot Marketing Strategies That Can Flood Your Business with Customers     If you have a story to tell and would like to be a guest on this podcast email my assistant Shell at Shell@contractorssecretweapon.com   and she will send you our guest sheet.       Our sponsors   Would you like your phone to ring more with qualified buyers people looking to buy now? Then let’s make that happen. Best Home Services Leads is dedicated to making your phone ring with qualified buyers wanting to buy now. Go to and fill out the form to get more information.       http://contractorssecretweapon.com/money   How about 100 free postcards sent out to your best prospective customers. Radius Bomb sends out hyper targeted, laser focused postcards using a map while sitting in your under ware at your kitchen table then go to http://contractorssecretweapon.com/radiusbomb  Painting Contractors, get up to a 24% better response rate just for having the right memorable telephone number 1-800-PRO-PAINTER.Check out your area before someone beats you to it and it’s not available. https://www.1800propainter.com/  

Click above to listen in iTunes... Little did I know (or notice), but very subtle moves by my awesome parents helped to cultivate an entrepreneurial environment… Welcome to the first episode of me totally on my own not working for anybody else. I'm very excited to be here. Man, I've been dreaming about this for six years. My name is Steve Larsen and you're listening to Sales Funnel Radio. Welcome to Sales Funnel Radio, where you'll learn marketing strategies to grow your online business using today's best internet sales funnels. Now, here's your host Steve Larsen. What's up everyone? Holy crap. I woke up this morning and I thought to myself, "Self, holy smokes. You really did this." Oh my gosh. Then I got up and I lifted and got ready for the day and I'm here. I'm ready to rock. This is going to be fun stuff. What do you do when you have that clean of a slate? It's been a lot of fun though already. I'm excited for this though, I've been dreaming about being on my own, owning my own business, being my own entrepreneur, I've been dreaming about this for probably six years. Really though it's been since like the middle of high school, so I don't know like 15 or 20 years, something like that. So, I'm excited for what this means. I'm excited for what it's going to require me to do and grow as an individual. I understand that I know that there's things I just don't know. There's stuff that I don't even know that I don't know and I'm excited to go find those things out. I know it'll cause some bruises and cuts and tears, every once in a while I'll get a bloody eye. You know what I mean? I know that. I understand that. It's so funny how many people have reached out and been like, "You're an idiot. Oh my gosh!" There's tons of people who are like, "You can do it. Oh my gosh!" It's been cool to have both sides of it, 'cause to me it means that I'm doing the right thing. So, when there's that much polarity with it, it's kind of like, you know, if you've offended nobody by noon you're not marketing hard enough. I feel like it's the same thing for you as an individual. If nobody's nay saying what you're doing, you're probably not pushing yourself hard enough. You know what I mean? Anyway. So, I'm excited. I've got my first product launch, well, it's not my first one. I've done a lot of them but it's my first one solo on Thursday, and excited for it and I've been planning this product for a long time. I've tested it and it's been working like crazy and I've got honestly really two beta groups that I've been doing it with for the last while and it's been killing it. So, I'm finally ready to go public with it, which I'm very excited about. A lot of people have asked, you know, "How do you feel like you're ready? How do you feel like you're set to do this?" I know there's a lot of people, you guys are listening and you A, might either be hoping to one day get out there and do something on your own, you're dreaming about it and there's something keeping you back or you feel like you're not ready or whatever it is. Then the other side is I know a lot of guys who listen are actually by yourself and you actually have been by yourself for a while and that's awesome, I'm pleased to have you as well as a listener. I understand we got both sides of the coin here and both sides of the coin as far as how people feel. It's funny that people like reach out and tell you their opinion about what you're about to do with your own life, you know what I mean? Just expect that. Just expect that especially as you start publishing. Like if nobody has been doing that to you, you probably haven't been telling enough people and there's something weird that happens when you get really clear about what you want and you start moving forward. People start reaching out all over the place. Number one to say yay or nay, but then number two when you get that clear and you start going out saying, "Hey, this is what I want or don't want" it's funny how stuff kind of just starts to fall in place if you're actually serious about it and you're actually moving on it and you're not waiting for other peoples' blessing to move forward. You know what I mean? Stuff just will move forward with you, if you are. So, anyway. That's the deepness of this one. But I was thinking about just how I got raised and things like that and there's a great question that I got from a listener that I'm actually going to toss in right now. I thought it was the perfect question for what it was that's actually been on my mind, 'cause there are a few things that I did as an early kid that I can look back now and be like, "Oh my gosh, there's a few things that look, this helped me be prepared. This helped me get in the correct mindset where I could go do this." I understand, guys I'm only 29 years old and I understand there's other people who have been far more successful than me by this age and a lot of people who have been far less successful by this age. I think one of the keys is just to quit watching other people. Who freaking cares! I don't care. It's my life, it's where I am in my spot and I'm in competition with myself. Over and over and over again in Two Comma Club Coaching or any coaching in general that I do, side clients, you know, all over the place, one of the biggest things I see over and over and over again where get fumbled up, is it's good to look at other people, right? We tell people, we teach people, look go funnel hack this guy. Go funnel hack this person, this business, this over here. Copy them, model them, go through figure out what is it they actually did, how did they prove that that offer worked? How do they prove that they're attractive character works to that kind of audience, right? But also, please understand that your actual progress in this, right, should not be compared to another individual. Your actual value as an individual cannot be compared. "Oh well they did this by the time they were this age. They did this by the time they were this age." If you're doing that as far as competition, okay that's great but understand that I've seen a lot of people get crippled by it. Because what they do is they get out there and they start saying things like, "Oh, I must be doing it wrong. I'm never going to make it because I was never Russel's right hand funnel builder." You know what I mean? That's kind of what they do and they come out and they said, I've heard that a lot lately, it's like, oh my gosh, I wasn't planning to be, I wasn't even trying to be in that role for a while. I was just already in motion, they saw that, and they picked me up. You know what I mean? So, go get in motion. Go do stuff. Be in motion. Don't wait for approval from anybody else. You'll never get anything done. You'll get things done at a very slow rate 'cause you got to get second opinions on all this stuff. It doesn't work that way. Okay? You got to be willing to frankly give people the finger a little bit, which is something I don't do. Just move on. Like whatever, this is what I'm doing. Get out of my way. This is what I'm going to go do, and then you go do it. I don't know. Maybe I want to SoapBox right now but I'm certainly feeling excited and a little bit euphoric about this whole thing. Obviously there will be rough spots and everyone tries to remind me of that, duh. I get it. But there's also going to be a lot of freaking kick-butt stuff and I've got six mega selling opportunities this next month alone that I've pre-set up to help the jump as I leave. I mean, my goals are huge. I know that. It's going to be great. Do the same thing though in your life. Whatever it is that you're doing, the funnel that you're trying to put together right now. I was looking at a post the other day and the post was saying, "How many funnels are you going to build this next year in 2018?" I was like, "That is a rough question. Ouch. Who cares how many?" Focus on just one. Just do one. If you do one really good it'll change your whole life. It doesn't matter how many. I have no idea how many funnels I've actually built. I always tell people that it's like 300 but it's way beyond that. There was a single project that was 86 funnels two times. Okay? 86 funnels in two different times on a single project. I did it in like three or four days. Another one where it was supposed to be 330, I only ended up getting like 90 of them done but that was in two days. There was another one, like when we built Anthony DiClementi's that was 12 funnels. That was over the span of not that much time. So, it's in reality way past 300. I have no idea. But you know what's funny, is I can look back at the 12 that are killing it. Don't worry about the number of funnels. I know there's a strategy out there where you try and build a funnel a week, that's okay but you end up getting micro focused or hyper focused I should say, hyper focused on just the funnel that you're trying to get done and not actually making sure the thing converts and you're making money from it. There is so much mental capacity that is required just to get one kick-butt funnel out the door. Who cares about number two til you get number one done. You know what I mean? It doesn't matter. Stop caring how many funnel it is. Stop caring about, "I'm going to go get this done, this done, this done, this done." Well, then you're not going to get any of them done well. Okay? Do less better. Do less better. That's one of my favorite... I don't think he actually said that but it's a lesson that I got from him and I wrote it down. Do less better. It's all about saying no to more things than yes to a bunch of stuff. Say no to like everything. Okay? I do. It's the reason I don't funnel build for other people anymore. The kinds of people I want to funnel build for are like massive companies, huge companies. I would love to build funnels for huge, huge companies because I know with complete confidence that in a few tweaks I can totally change the revenue coming in to them. I could either take away their cost to acquire customers or we could go expand how much each one of them is giving them. I want to go build for massive, massive companies. So, I say no to like everybody else. I got tons more asks this last week and I get it. That's awesome, that's exciting, and quite honestly I'll probably do you know, some kind of event in the future where people can come in and I'll help them get their funnels out the door that they've been sitting on for a while. I would love to do that kind of stuff. I want to be involved with that kind of stuff, but the amount of mental mojo that it takes to get one of them, one awesome one out the door is huge. So, don't worry about number two, number three, number fifteen. Don't worry about number 12 til you have number 11 done. Number two, don't give a crap about number two until number one is kicking butt. You know what I mean? Anyway. So, as you think through the goals, whatever you're trying to do in 2018 whether or not you set goals and new years resolutions all that stuff, I'm off my high and mighty horse now. Let's get to the question from our listener, which I'm super excited about. Steph Brown: Hey Steve! This is Steph Brown. On your podcast you have given a few stories about how some events in your life growing up helped you on your journey to become an entrepreneur. I'm a mom of three young kids so far, and my question for you is how can my husband and I help to build a solid foundation for our kids so they would be ready to start their own businesses? What are some things your parents did well, what do you wish they would have done? What do you plan on doing with your own kids to help jump start their journey if they decide to become entrepreneurs? Thank you. Steve Larsen: Hey Steph Brown, fantastic question. Absolutely love the question. I have a four year old and a two year old right now and my wife is pregnant and expecting in June. I've had those same questions, the same kinds of things and it's made me very be introspective lately as I kind of look back and I think through oh my gosh, what are the three things that my wife and I should be doing? What are the things that my parents did? What are the things that I liked, what are the things I didn't like? Which is what each generation does building on the next. You know? You should look back and figure out what you liked that your parents did or didn't do and go build from it. Say I'm going to do this but not that. So, I totally get it. I'm not telling you how to parent but I totally get it though. In my mind that's how progress happens anyway. One of things my parents did is my dad grew up on a farm and he knew how to work and he wanted me to know how to work. So, he taught me how. I remember literally every single Saturday as a kid we would go do yard work. It pissed me off. I was so mad about it just week, after week, after week. People would be like, "Yay it's the weekend!" I'd be like, "Crap, I'm going to be picking weeds in the garden for six hours tomorrow." Which is not a joke. We would do that. We'd sit down and be like, "Oh my gosh." By the time I was eight years old I was mowing our lawn and I was mowing neighbors lawns and had my own little business. So, I was eight years old and I was going around. I think I was eight when I started doing it for other people, I was really young though. I learned how to ask people for money. I learned how to talk to people, 'cause it's not like they walked over with me to the neighbors and asked with me. It was like, okay, let me know what they say. I would walk over there by myself, scared out of my mind and I would go talk for myself, negotiate for myself as a very young kid. That was invaluable. I had no idea how much that would add to my life, later on down the line. As we continued to grow up though, we would do things like paper routes. My parents were not like ... We were far from poor. We were not wealthy though either. We had more than enough, we were middle class, very taken care of. It was awesome. My dad was an executive at IBM. He ran his own couple businesses for a while. He's a rockstar. He taught me how to learn. He taught me how to work. What I noticed they would do is they would set up these little scenarios for me to learn, these scenarios for me to own the projects. I think they understood, 'cause I'm the oldest of six kids, and they understood that my personality requires that I have ownership in stuff and it's been that way my whole life. So, when someone else would stand up and tell me what to do it took me a long time to be willing to understand that they're not trying to boss me around, sometimes they are my boss or sometimes they ... You know what I mean, so from a young age they understood quickly that I needed to have ownership in things. So, I'm excited to do that for my kids 'cause I've been thinking through what kind of cool projects I could give them where it's like, "Hey, children I want this outcome" and I give no instruction on how to get it done. Right? I love the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People when he's talking about his kids taking care of their lawn and their grass was brown 'cause the kids were still learning how to do stuff. There was trash all over. It was disgusting. People were like, "Why don't you just do it on your own and make it look nice?" His response was, "Because I'm raising kids not growing grass." Right? This is not meant to be a parenting show or anything like that but I'm looking back though, identifying the things that it was. There was a summer where ... My dad worked from home actually. He had a home office. I grew up in Littleton, Colorado, which is a suburb of Denver. Skied like crazy growing up and very outdoorsy. I backpacked my face off all over the mountains. Anyway, really enjoyed it. Lots of fun. There was a summer though that my dad was like, "Hey, children" and I was the oldest so mostly he was talking at me. He said, "Stephen come on in." I went and I sat down in his office and a lot of times it was almost like an interview when I was sitting with him, and I sat down with him and he's like, "I want to make you the yard manager." I was like, "Okay, what does that mean?" I had been mowing lawns and doing the trimming and weeding and all that stuff for some time but he's like, "I want to make you the yard manager." What he did, and this was one of the best lessons I ever had in my entire childhood ever, okay? I can't wait to do it with my kids. It's one of the reasons we bought the house that we did so that there's a yard, so that there's projects that need to be done. I am not trying to hire a maid. I am not trying to hire a yard guy. I have two little yard people right now that are in training, my two little kids. A third one on the way. That's how I'm looking at it because I expect them to work. I don't care how much money I make, they will have no idea that ... Anyway, I'm very firm on that. I know people who are like, "Let's give you a better life than I had." Yeah, okay, but I'm trying to teach you how to fish. I'm not trying to give you fish. So, what my dad did though is he sat down and he goes, "I want to make you the yard manager." What he did was he's like, "Here you go Stephen, I'm going to give you a budget. Every single week I'll give you a certain amount of money and you will go hire out your siblings for specific tasks and at the end of the week send me an invoice and I'll pay you and then you take whatever was over on the top." Now, that might sound funny to you but it was one of the coolest things I ever did. He gave me no other instruction. Right? He gave me nothing else and I was like, "Well how much money?" He's like, "Well you come up with the amount. Let me know how much it is." I was like, "Crap." That was one of the things that he was very, very good at is whenever I had a question this was one of the best things he ever did with me, he always asked me what I thought before he ever told me what he thought. I would have to go come up with the answer on my own. Do a Google search or ask friends, talk to people. Try and figure out what's the answer that I think it is and then I would take it to him and check it with him. He did that for tons of stuff. Totally pissed me off for a lot of my childhood but was one of the best ways that I learned how to solve problems on my own or at least take a stab at them. Then I'd go check them with now, the market. You know? Or now, a guru or a mentor or a friend or something like that. You know what I mean? So, what I did though is my dad said, "Okay, go figure out the amount." So. What I did is I literally wrote a contract. I sat down with my siblings and I interviewed them and I hired them to like okay, I'm hiring you younger brother of mine to mow the lawn. They would be applying for the position because it paid $11 a week, something like that. Trimming was $6 a week and weeding around the garden, weeding around the sides of the house it depends where you were 'cause the weeds were different depending on what part of the yard you were in and how crappy of an experience it was. Fertilizing was twice a season and aerating was this amount and I foresee these expenses and I foresee this. I had to come up with a plan. I think I was like 14 when I did that, 15, something like that. I can't remember how old but I was in my middle teens and I had already been running kind of a side business doing this stuff for other neighbors. I had a paper route. I was extremely active. I was actively trying to make money as often as I could as a kid. I was that kid that was like, "What can we sell to the other kids on the street in the neighborhood so that we can make money?" They'd go buy cases of soda and we'd sneak onto a gold course and we'd go sell it for a little bit more. We would take backpacks, we'd put backpacks on, put our swimsuits on and we'd go dive, which is totally disgusting. We'd go dive into the ponds at the golf course and get all the golf balls off the bottom. We'd clean them up and go sell them back to golfers. That's the kind of kid I was. I was always trying to sell stuff. I never realized that business was the thing that I was doing. I always thought entrepreneurship was like this nasty thing where you try and make as much money as you want. You know what I mean? I was totally wrong. It was totally false belief. I don't really know where I picked that up but I had to break that eventually. But anyway, so that's what I did though. So, my siblings would go out and I ran it like a business. That's what my dad was trying to get me to do. He's like, "Look, it's your thing. How do you want to run it?" He's like, "It's not on me anymore." He transferred all the ownership to me and he said, "Do it how you want to but here's the outcome I want. I want the grass looking good." That was it. So, I had to learn how to do sprinkler monitoring, you know, the systems. I had to learn how to do all this stuff and hire people out and at the end of the week my siblings were going be like, "Okay. Pay up." I'd be like, "Crap. I don't have the money." So, I'd go ask my dad and be like, "Dad can I get the money?" He'd be like, "Yeah, just write up an invoice." I didn't know what an invoice freaking was. He didn't tell me. He's like go look it up. So, I went and I looked it up and I made up what I thought was an invoice and I sent it over to him and he was like, "Okay sounds good." Before we even started with this I would send over an estimation of what I thought the weekly cost would be and be like, "Okay, think you could pull it off for that amount?" If an employee of mine, a sibling of mine, if an employee of mine didn't do their task that week I had to pick up the slack. I had to go do the job and I wouldn't pay them, I'd keep the portion for my own. So, I'd keep a management fee for myself to keep it all going and then my siblings would do all this other work on the side. Interesting experience. I mean, absolutely amazing. I totally took to it. I had full ownership over it. I took full ownership of it and I loved it. It was a great experience and it taught me management. It taught me delegation. It taught me that no job was below me. You know what I mean? I learned how to work my face off through that thing alone, and later on I was like hand digging trenches for sprinkler lines and putting up ... Like, I later on was insulating on my own and dry walling, patching and painting our whole garage on my own. You know what I mean? It taught me how to learn and work and solve the problem directly in front of me so that I didn't lean on another person to get it done. "That sounds hard". It's like, "No, what would you do first? What would be the first step?" "Well I'd probably do this. Then I'd do this, then I'd do that." Then I'd go check it, the whole system I was thinking of with another person but I didn't wait to start. It wasn't contingent on somebody else. It's totally this problem solving mentality that my parents instilled in me and that's kind of what I'm doing also. It might be weird to do it for a four and two year old but sometimes my little kid, like yesterday I can't remember what she asked me but she asked me something, I said, "I don't know, what do you think?" Obviously I had an opinion but that's not why I did it. That super helped me like crazy. Yeah, that yard manager thing was killer. That was absolutely amazing and obviously if you don't have a yard or whatever, or you have yard people, you can fire them or I'm sure there's other ways you can instill that or do that. That was amazing and that experience taught me a ton. I had side businesses my entire childhood growing up. For me to say, "This is the first time I've ever launched a business on my own" that's not true at all. I'm 29, I've been doing this for probably 21 years now. Have they all been very successful? No. Most of them haven't but I know what doesn't work and I know more of what does, and I know how to launch stuff. I know how to put plans together and I know how to manage and orchestrate people and put them all together and things like that. That's really what that taught me how to do, was how to orchestrate. How to delegate. How to not be the only person. My dad just, hey, here's the outcome I want and here's maybe a few pointers but after, I'd go try and find out the answer on my own. You know what I mean? That was ridiculously valuable. The other thing they did with me is they always fed me, clothed me, paid for school field trips, all that kind of stuff but any entertainment on my own, I mean, I paid for my own car insurance as soon as I started driving. My own gas, any movies I wanted to go to. You know, we'd get clothes at the beginning of each semester or before school would start again but after that though if I wanted anything extra I was really on my own. I'd go figure out how to do it. That was awesome. That was awesome to do it that way, because I got out of the mentality at a very early age, "Oh, I can't afford that" and I started getting into the mentality at a very early age, "Man I really want that cool cork gun" I remember thinking that and I totally saved up and I got one and I figured out how to get creative. I sold all sorts of crap to make money in order to go get toys. I did that a lot, tons growing up. Tons of times. Anyway. It taught me how to problem solve like crazy and keep me in good stress. Anyway. I am a huge advocate of good stress. Obviously there's distress and if i can tell that my little ones are entering a state of distress it's time to cut it out and time to intervene for me. I'm not telling anyone how to parent, please know I'm not a parenting expert, but that's when I would intervene though. That's when I do intervene, when I can tell they're entering a state of distress where the stress is no longer a growing and enabling style stress. You know? Like going to the gym. It's a bad kind of stress. It's the stress that's destructive. It's going to kill confidence. I don't want to kill confidence. I want them to have confidence to be problem solvers on their own, that they'll be self sufficient adults and they know how to do things on their own. I think particularly my mom wishes that I wasn't such an individual so that we would chat more and maybe ask more questions to her and stuff like that but they raised me to be a very self sustaining individual and to solve my own problems. It's not that they won't help, it's not that I can't chat, it's not that ... But it is primarily squarely, all of life, everything that I am, everything that I'm doing, everything that I'm being is on my shoulders and that was instilled in me at a very young age. I appreciate that. There were times where it sucked and there were times were it was not ... Oh man, but I carried that. While I wasn't very book smart in school at first I did learn how to learn and ended up getting almost straight A's throughout the remainder of college afterward because of the confidence they helped instill inside of me. Does that make sense? Anyway. It's interesting, as I'll hire people out or VA's or whatever, it's not that I can sit back and be like, "Oh, that's the kind of childhood you had" but I can sit back and go like, "Wow, you have very little confidence in your abilities." Sometimes I'm a little bit withdrawn on what I am able to do also for fear of looking like I'm being giddy, and I hate that in the internet marketing world. It drives me crazy. I'm not about to go take pictures of me laying across cars and crap. It's just not my personality. I would rather ... Anyway. It's funny 'cause I can tell though, there was a time when I was trying to hire ... You guys will meet her here soon 'cause I want to interview her, she's a rockstar of an ads driver, Facebook ads driver. I don't want to learn how to do Facebook ads. It's not a peak I'm going for. So, what I've been doing is finding these rockstar people and I went, and I've talked about this before, but just to recap I went and I created this cool contest and whoever was able to drive the most converting traffic to one of my pages, that's who I hired to be my Facebook ads person forever. Just because it was a competition, one person backed out. I was like, "Cool." So, then there was only two left. This is after I vetted out a huge list of lots of people. Then I went and I talked to the remaining two and I was like, "Okay, person A and person B this is the competition. Okay, I'm going to give you guys each $500. Whoever can drive the most converting traffic, you now have a job." I put a little pressure and there's nothing wrong with that, and it was awesome. Viva la Capitalism okay? That's what I'm all about. They were both pumped that it was a competition but the second I could tell was not going to be self sustaining. The kinds of questions that were coming from person B were questions that I didn't know the answer to, I don't know Facebook ads. I'm like wait a second, "You tell me what's best. I'm hiring you." It's the same thing that my dad would do with me. That's exactly what I said. It was interesting. I was like, "Huh, I can tell this person's going to be more of a liability on my time." I was like, "I don't know. You go do it. That's your job. That's why I'm hiring you." It's not on my shoulders, it's on yours. I'm paying you to figure that out. "Well what about this, this, this, this, this?" I was like, "I have no idea what even half of you just said 'cause I'm not trying to learn Facebook ads. I'm trying to be the best at funnel building, what you do with a customer afterwards. Offer creation. That's what I'm trying to be the best in the world at." You know? So, I got rid of person B because person A was just executing. Person B was asking a billion followup questions before they even got started. I was like, "Ugh." But anyway, that's part of it. So, anyways. This has been a long episode. I hope that's okay. They've all kind of been a little bit long lately. It's funny though how much ... It ticked me off like crazy that a lot of times it wouldn't be like, "Well here's the answer" and sometimes it would be. But a lot of times it was, "What do you think Stephen?" I'd be like, "Just tell me the answer! I don't want to go think! Don't do that. Don't make me think." But it taught me how to problem solve at a very young age, how to take responsibility. Anyway. So, you asked the question what I wished they would have done, which is a great question. While all those other things were awesome, I have incredible immense respect for my parents. I have absolutely zero bad feelings about the way I was raised. I'm completely thankful for both the good and the bad, the hard and the good. Everything that happened, both amazing and rough, for the way I was raised and I feel like that's powerful for each adult to eventually come to terms with. If you're okay with that. Man, this is like deep crap. This is not like a normal funnel episode. I am excited to make this change though. I had a very, and this is probably going to shock a lot of people, I was extremely shy as a kid. I'm not just saying that. Out of the 600 people in my senior graduating high school class, 600 people, I was rated and voted as the nicest kid. You know when they're giving like the most likely to do this, the most likely to do that, I was voted the nicest kid award out of 600 people. Nicest kid. It shocked the crap out of me, because in my head I was not that way. I was a little rage machine I just didn't know how to deal with it. But I had a huge fear of other people, I had a massive fear of adults. I was very shy. I'm excited to help instill greater confidence in my children. You'll notice that I love Setema Gali, I think that is his last name. He says something all the time, he's like, "Confidence is for kids." As an adult, especially as an attractive character you have to mean and exude absolute certainty, absolute certainty the evolved version of confidence. Okay? Again, no regrets. Nothing else. But I am looking forward to helping my kids have more confidence and help them be able to make ... I'm trying to figure out how to say that. But yeah, I think that'd be it. I just don't want my kids to be shy, and if they are that's fine. I'm not trying to change them or whatever, you know, but that would have been very nice. I had a fear of speaking, which is funny 'cause that's what I do all the time now. Stage, podcast, all over the place. But I had a huge fear of speaking and so eventually I had to face that fear on my own and I started doing things like door-to-door sales, musicals, stage presentations, things like that in high school at a very young age so I could get around that 'cause I started learning that about myself. But anyway. That's it. Long episode answering that question. Thank you very much Steph Brown for that. Shout out to you and thanks for ... If anyone else wants to get a question on here I do love hearing what it is that you guys have questions on and they often bring up kind of cool topics kind of like this one. Anyway. If you wanted to go to SalesFunnelRadio.com and there's a green button down on the bottom right and if you click that button you can record a voicemail to me straight off your browser. It won't take you anywhere else or anything and it automatically emails that over to me, the voice file and everything so I can toss it right in the episode. Obviously I kind of vet through them. Start with the phrase, "Hey Steve" and then ask your question in 30 seconds or less and that's how we do it. Alright guys. Hope you guys are doing great. That was some serious massive introspection. It was kind of a long one, I apologize. But great question though. There was a lot in my childhood that had to do with what I'm doing now and thanks for bringing that up and making me realize all that. That was helpful. Thanks Steph. Guys, thanks everyone else for listening. Go crush your 2018. I had a special episode coming out next, which I'm very, very pumped about. The next few are going to be really awesome. Alright guys, talk to you later. Bye! Thanks for listening to Sales funnel Radio. Please remember to subscribe and leave feedback. Want to get one of today's best internet sales funnel for free? Go to SalesFunnelBroker.com/freefunnels to download your pre-built sales funnel today.

"Steve, what mic and setup do you use?" Well, here that is too! Hey, what's going on everyone, this is Steve Larsen and you're listening to Sales Funnel Radio. Now, this is the Power of Publishing, How to Create a Podcast, Part 2. The reason I did it this way is because, at the beginning, the first episode, part number 1 of this was really me diving into how I come up with my podcast content. It's something that I get asked frequently, how can you generate that kind of content over and over and over and repeatedly? Week after week? So, part number 1 was all about that, if you've not heard it I encourage you to go back and listen to it. So, this episode though, what I want to dive into is more about a few more of the rules of podcasting, there are some rules if you actually want to be successful with it that I've noticed as I've not followed them and a lot of it's been haphazard, if I've not followed these rules then I've not been successful with that episode, if I have then they go great. So, I want to share with you what those things are and then I'm going to share with you, how do I actually get this thing recorded now? I want to tell you real quick what the software is that I use, the kind of mic as well as how do I actually publish to fifteen different platforms with a single click? I make this thing as super turnkey as possible, which I have to, because I have a full time job working at Click Funnels and so it's kind of a trick and I'm a true believer that stress creates fantastic systems and this has been no different. I'm really excited to share with you guys how I've actually finished this. So, with that I'm going to jump right into this next episode. Welcome to Sales Funnel Radio where you'll learn marketing strategies to grow your online business using today's best internet sales funnels and now, here's your host, Steve Larsen. All right you guys, so let me dive a little bit more into this, only because I think the tech side and, what kind of mic do you use and all that stuff, I don't think it really matters that much, I'll dive into that in a second but I just want to run through some rules of podcasting. Number 1, you cannot be boring. Everybody, I don't care where you are, what you're doing, unless you're in the gym, jack up your shoulder, raise your arm right now and say "I, state your name, will not be boring". What's funny is, most people are so afraid of messing up that they don't do anything anyway, ever, it keeps them from taking action and so by merely taking action you will set yourself apart from so many people because you're seriously just moving. Since you're moving, you might as well not be boring and you do that by telling stories, you do that by getting excited about your own message. I love music, you guys, I love it. I love going to live concerts, it is one of my favorite things on the planet and I don't know if you guys ever heard the band Incubus? I saw them live at Redrocks Amphitheater, 20,000 people, I was on the 4th row, anyway, I've seen a lot of concerts, total concert junkie in my day growing up and I love an artist that loves his own music and you can see it and you can tell it and I believe that's true for marketing in your message and how you interact with your community and the culture that you create. People will love you if you love what you're doing, it's contagious. It's not something that you can hide behind and so when you're creating these pieces of content, you can't be boring. Get excited about your own thing, get passionate about it, act like somebody's threatening it, get really intense about it. Sometimes I do that, I will literally do push-ups here on the side of the desk before I get started. Stay controlled, get really, really intense about it, grrr freaking funnels, who's gonna tell me they're wrong? You know what I mean and I get pumped about it and have courage to publish that stuff and that leads to the second thing. Publishing is cool but you gotta publish with a purpose. As you publish with purpose, meaning, I don't just put a podcast out there merely to just fill your air with my thoughts, I'm not doing for my own health, I want you to go to salesfunnelradio.com and subscribe and rate. I want you to go to salesfunnelradio.com and download the free website that I created out of click funnels for you. I want you to go do those things, when you go out and you start thinking through your messaging, you've got to put together the reason why you're actually doing it, which is really, really important. Just know that your publishing is a means to and end and while it's good to continually give tips, but what's the purpose for you? After a while you'll experience burnout if there's not a purpose and a theme that you're shooting towards. I'm exhausted right now, I've only slept a few hours the last few nights and there seems to be this constant theme in the past and I would not have the wherewithal and the energy and the gusto do this if I did not believe that it's actually helping people who've been asking me this question. So, what I'm saying is to put call to action at every one of your episodes or whatever it is that you're publishing and putting out there. Number 2, sorry, 1, 2, 3, whatever number this is. You guys need to practice inflections. Don't speak monotone, don't just sit there and say that funnels are fantastic, wow, I'm really exciting everyone follow me, I'm clearly a leader. You know what I mean? You just can't do that... Notice at the end of every one of my sentences, did you hear that? If I was to speak a sentence without word it would sound uuuhhhuuhhhuuuhh and it's really weird for me to do that on a podcast, you get the point? Okay? You can't speak monotone and so at the end of every one of your sentences, you either go up or you go down or you do a little uuuhhhh in the middle of a sentence. Does that make sense? You guys are gonna hear it and you're gonna be really, really conscious of it now for the rest of this episode and the rest of the things that I do. Feel free to laugh like I just did... The reason that I'm doing that is because there are so many people that I've been listening to lately who come from the corporate world or who are afraid that people are going to judge them and they are scared to death to just be vulnerable, that's the last rule here. You have got to be vulnerable, I just told you I'm religious, I just told you stories of me failing, I told you I was scared to launch this podcast, I told you I was scared to get out there and do stuff and I made it up. There's a lot of thought behind it, I'm not saying I just winged it but do you guys get what I'm saying? You have to be vulnerable. Anyway, that could start a whole other tangent but if you're not vulnerable, no one is gonna want to listen to you because you're gonna seem fake. Fair? Okay, check the box on that one, I'm going on to number 4 now. Okay, let me get into the more of the strategy of how you actually set up the podcast itself and this is super important and it's very, very powerful... Back in February, we were running what Russell and I were calling, the FAT event, the Funnel Hackathon Event, and for 3 days people come and we help them set up their businesses to make a million bucks, it's really, really cool. Great programs, absolutely fantastic and he asked me to MC, well, we introduced him each day and I was like oh, my gosh, how do you introduce a guy like Russell Bronson? He's Russell Bronson, you know what I mean? How do you do that and thoughts going right through my head and I was like how do I do this? How do I do this? How do I do this? It was really cool, he could tell that I was excited to do it, my answer is almost always yes for everything when it comes to scary things. I just almost always try and say yes to scary stuff because I know it's going to push me. So, I was yes absolutely, I'm totally going to do that and in that back of my head, he's starting in 5 minutes, I don't even know what I'm going to say and I've got to MC? I've got to introduce him and he could see that I was running through a whole bunch of stuff in my head trying to figure out what to say and he goes "good MC's, the whole point of MC's is to increase the state of the audience before I get on stage". He's like, if you can increase the state of the audience before I get on stage, increase the energy level, increase their anticipation, just get them to a higher state, it's way easier for me because I don't have to spend a lot of time doing that, all I have to do is start teaching because they're already at a fast, high paced state because I'm going to be and if they're not it's weird and then I've got to spend all this time getting them to a state and it makes me look weird and not position correctly. So, all you gotta do is go get them to a high state... So, I told this awesome story and we got everyone laughing and jumping around and they were in a really high peak state to receive Russell. Guys, your podcast intro is the exact same thing. Any intro is the exact same thing. All right, when you go out and you create a podcast intro or video intro or any kind of introduction, it's all about state control. It's not so much about saying, look what I did and here are my credentials, this is gonna teach you about x, y and z. I choose music very specifically for my podcasts or for the things that I put out there so that it gets people jazzed up and in a higher state, if I can get people in a state where they're like whoa, yeah oh my gosh, this is Sales Funnel freakin Radio, oh my gosh whoa! If they can get in that state, then whatever I'm going to say they're going to receive a lot better. If I don't do that, if I just jump straight into it, it's going to sound awkward, it's going to sound weird. It becomes culture building for you to have that intro, people expect it, they like getting in state. People like to be happy, people like to go into a higher level of energy and oh my gosh I'm excited, whatever it is, I'm pumped about it now. Which makes me want to switch to my podcast intro now because I like it but we're like 64 episodes in now and getting a little bit old, I kind of what to rinse and repeat a little bit. So, anyways, when you create your intro, state control. What I did is I went to the top podcasts in the business area, you can do this for videos on You Tube or whatever, Vlogging or whatever. All I did was I went to the very top people in the business area, in the marketing area and I listened to all their intros and I transcribed every one of them by hand, I looked at all the commonalities and I was like, cool and I wrote my script from that and that's literally how I made my podcast script. Then what I did, because I went to premiumb.com and audiojungle.com, and in there you can buy royalty free songs and they've got all these sweet jingles, a lot of the music that happens in b-roll and movies and stuff like that, you can buy those soundtracks and some of them are fifty bucks but it's fully worth it. You get your own and it's super awesome. So, what's super cool about that though, is that you can sort by 30 second little segments and so I know, that I don't really want my podcast intro to be longer than 30 seconds, so I have this script now and I go find the sweet song with this cool, upbeat fast thing, I always look for songs that are 120 bpm or faster so that it makes the person feel like, oh yeah, what, yeah, yeah, yeah, let's get started, super cool, yeah, you know what I mean? It's almost like you're at a dance, you know, like they went to some club or whatever. Then what I do, is I go and find someone to do a voice over and I've done this several times now and I go back to the same guy, he's fantastic, took me a long time to find him and in fact, you know what, you know what I'm going to do? If you guys go to blog.salesfunnelbroker.com, if you find this episode here, I'm going to call the Power of Publishing or How to Start a Podcast, it'll be one of those 2 and I'm going to put in there the link for my guy who does the voiceover intro because he's just so, so amazing. Really enjoyed working with him, I've used him many times now but all I do is, I hit him with the script, I send him the song so that he knows the feel and he knows how he's mashing it and I say, cool, it's 30 seconds long, you have like 25 seconds so there's a little time at the front and the back, and boom, done. Now, that's the really easy way to do it, to be honest, I love sound editing and I've been mixing music since I was in middle school, so I like to mix it all myself and put it all together myself and I've got a lot of sound editing stuff and things like that and I've created Russell's new podcast intro, marketingsecrets.com, I created the sound for that. Same for the Drop Mic Show that he's got, that's super cool, I made that audio thing too and it's been really, really fun and I love to mix it by hand but if you aren't that kind of person, the easiest way to do it, is to go to premiumb.com or audiojungle.com, sort by 30 second clips and 120 bpm or faster, figure out something that's kind of cool, get your script, hand it over to my voiceover guy and tell him, hey, you've got this many seconds and he'll even lay it over for you, hey lay your voice over this, cool, done. He'll send it back to you and boom, done, podcast intro. It doesn't need to be as crazy as people think it is. Boom mics and all this stuff and sound equipment, no that's crap. Like half the time I've used my phone to create my podcast, I doesn't matter if you've got great content and I'm just obsessed with sound quality so, let me jump into that part of it. For my intro and and my outtro. My outtro, what I do is use a call to action, hey, go get a free funnel that I built for you, took 200 hours to build, then go to salesfunnelbroker.com and you can download it straight off the front page there, took 200 hours to build, there you go, merry Christmas. So, that's insane value, you've got to give something away that they should have paid for, that's the secret and so that's what I do for my call to actions on my outtros. Or, hey, ask Steven a question... My Hey Steve show, if you go to salesfunnelradio.com, click on the green button in the bottom right, I've got a ton of questions pouring in the last few days, it's been a lot of fun and I'll do these segments where I just answer people's questions and I actually love it and it creates engagement. So, long as I haven't run out, I'll send you a Hey Steve tshirt, you know what I mean? That's really cool, it's awesome. People go wear it, they take a picture of themselves, they put it on Facebook, it spreads my brand, it spreads them and they get their question answered, it's really, really fun. So the outtro is super key as well. You guys might notice that I'm pretty energetic on my mic, I'm pretty energetic on my podcasts and there's a lot of reasons for it. One of the reasons why, is because I know that if I'm excited, you probably will be too, you know. If I'm super low key, there are times for either and so I use energy as a tool to my advantage. One of my buddies just reached out to me, he's launching his own podcast, I'm excited for him, he's really, really pumped about it, he's going to do great, he's got a good voice for it, he's got good content, I've know him for a long time, we actually started in this world together and he's actually one of my first interviews on my podcasts, but I'm excited for him. He's like, dude how do you set up your mic? So, I'll tell you guys. I have an Audio Technica AT2020 mic, it's on a boom arm, which has only been there for the last 15 episodes, because we've just moved to a house and I've got a spit screen, I call it a spit screen, it's a windscreen. If I take it away it sounds like this and it's really loud and you can hear all my little huh hee huh, my umms and aahs but if I put it back over across like this, it's a lot cleaner sound. That's the reason I do that. So, what's cool about this mic, and I'm going to go fast on this stuff because I'm assuming you guys don't care, and it's true, that you don't need to care that much about it, just put good stuff out there okay? Sound is not going to make you a million dollars, sound quality you know? I guess unless you're selling sound quality equipment or something. It doesn't matter as much as people think it does. What you're going to do, if you want the AT2020 mic, I really, really like it, Ive got a boom arm on it that attaches to my desk, the reason I like it is because it's retractable, I can put it in front of my face and then push it away from my face when I don't need to be doing anything, so I still work on my computer and it runs off, what's called Phantom Power, Phantom Power is 48 volts and I have a Phantom Power convertor that plugs straight into my computer, each was like a hundred bucks with the boom arm, I bet this whole thing was 400 dollars set up, that way it plugged USB straight into my computer with my boom mic. That's basically it. Then all I do is I turn the levels down enough so that I have to yell into the mic for it to pick up all the things that I'm saying to you. Steven, why do you do that? Because it keeps my energy higher and it keeps your energy higher as you listen to me. I literally yell into the mic, by the time my podcasts are over, my voice always hurts, my stomach hurts because I've been forcing through my diaphragm as much as I can, guys I am trying to spit into the mic, I'm trying to yell into it and I try and do that a lot and it's for the reason of keeping energy. So, that's more of how I do my podcast, then what I do is, after this is over, I always stop, I put my intro and my outtro, front and back, I export it, I use a tool right now this is all recording on a Adobe Edition but you could use [inaudible 00:17:10] if you needed to, Russell just uses the voice memos app on his phone, like it doesn't matter as much as people think it does. Do you guys remember that episode I did recently called The Tools I Hate? The tools I hate are the ones that distract you from doing the thing right? Some people get so distracted on the tools, they look for tools to distract themselves with and they won't ever launch, the won't ever do anything because they keep getting distracted with tools and they keep getting distracted with tricks and gadgets and little shiny things. It doesn't really matter that much, just start and eventually you get to it. I bootstrapped this whole thing, it wasn't only until recently when I started putting all this stuff up together. So,  what I do after I actually I go and have the podcast done, I always export is as mp3, but what I do is take it to rev.com. That's REV as in Romeo, EV, does that make sense? Romeo, echo, I can't remember, envelope. That's a classic example of being vulnerable right there, I'm tired and I can't remember the phonetic alphabet okay? So, it's REV, rev, like you're revving and engine, rev.com. It's cool because you can transcribe a dollar per minute. So, I go send it over to them and I get a transcription that I send over to my assistant, who actually is my sister, and she goes and she reads the whole transcript, make sure they did it okay. She throws pictures in there, she actually puts the podcast straight on the blog, then she publishes it to Libsyn and the Libsyn blast it out to like fifteen different platforms in one button. I don't like Twitter, I hate Twitter but it publishes there and I have a following there. I don't hate Linkedin, I just don't really know what their unique proposition is, I don't know what their blue ocean is really, that much but a lot of people listen to my podcast on Linkedin, I mean a lot of people do, I'm actually shocked by the number of people that listen on Linkedin. It automatically publishes there, it automatically publishes to You Tube, it publishes all over the place and you can do it for 5 dollars a month to Lip Sync, it's amazing. So, it basically shotgun publishes to tones of platforms. Google player, I just figured out I can put it on Spotify, and all these different places, I'm going to go do it on Stitcher, so it blasts all over the place in one button and it pushes it out on iTunes and then what I do is I take a little stock. I wait a few days, I see if the headline that I wrote, and usually what I do is I write some kind of intriguing headline that's highly curiosity based, sometimes the how to statement. Regardless, it's like the subject line of an email, it's got to be so intriguing that it gets you to open the actual podcast, you know what I mean? So sometimes I'm documenting stuff, sometimes it's how to stuff and then when I see that people have been listening to it, I go boost it on Facebook for about fifty or a hundred bucks behind it and I just go blast it all over the place so the podcast will keep growing. Guys, that's a little of how I do my podcasts, I got nothing else to say about it, I've been going for 45 minutes, I will probably split this into 2 different episodes because of that but that's it. It sounds crazy but to be quite honest, half of that's just techo babble crap that you can just kind of wing and figure out while you need to figure it out, you don't need to see the whole road, you know what I mean? Just figure it out when you're there and you need to figure it out, not before you get it all done. Anyway, that's how I publish my podcasts and I love my podcasts and I'm so glad that there are so many people that have been joining it and loving it and all the awesome messages, I just really appreciate all the shoutouts on Facebook, it's been really, really awesome and I just want to thank you guys for helping me as much as the cool things I've been able to share with you about building sales funnels and putting things together. I just finished another sales funnel today and I should be finishing 3 more tomorrow and it's awesome. So, anyways, guys if you like this stuff, please, please go to iTunes and leave a review, that helps me like crazy, helps other people find this podcast, if you leave review and share it and rate, that would be awesome. I would love it if you shared it, share it on Facebook, share it wherever. A lot of people on You Tube listen, love to have you as a subscriber and if you've got any questions or whatever go to salesfunnelradio.com, ask me a question, there's going to be a green button, you can literally record your voice straight over the browser and it will email a copy of it to me and I put it on the podcasts, it's really fun. Or, if you want to go get a sales funnel, I've got a whole slew of free ones, whether it's email, or membership sites or webinars or whatever it is, there's a whole bunch of them you can go download for free with your Click funnels account. If you don't have Click funnels, I don't know why, but my funnels come with a free trial so anyways, super excited for this episode, I'm really glad I go to do this with you guys, thanks for the question. I've been getting enough, I just thought I should do kind of an exclusive big episode about it, so you guys are all awesome and I appreciate you and looking forward to the next episode as well, I'm really stoked about it, it's been on my mind a lot so, anyways, stay tuned for the next one and love to have you as big time subscriber here, talk to you guys later, go crush it, literally go crush something. Bye. Thanks for listening to Sales Funnel Radio. Please remember to subscribe and leave feedback. Have a question you want answered on the show? Get your free tshirt when your question gets answered on the live Hey Steve Show. Visit salesfunnelbroker.com now to submit your question.

Hey Steve and Shirley I’m so hurt right now and it's my own fault. My boyfriend and I came back to the house last night and my friend told him how I went out with this other dude the other night. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

Ha, well there was so many questions (which I LOVE) that I needed to break up the episodes. Here's round two! Hey, hey, hey, what's going on everyone? This is Steve Larsen, you're listening to Sales Funnel Radio. Welcome to Sales Funnel Radio, where you'll learn marketing strategies to grow your online business, using today's best internet sales funnels. And now, here's your host, Steve Larsen. Hey, what's going on, this is the second part of my mass Q&A kind of segment. This is a segment of the show I called "Hey Steve". I haven't done one in a long time, so I'm doing part two right now because there were so many questions stacked up, I want to make sure that I get to a lot of the questions that are out there. I had to break it up into two different sections and even then I'm still leaving a lot of questions behind just 'cause they didn't fit for the broad listener, you know what I mean? I want to get into details, but at the same time we get a lot of people listening now. I was laughing because so we just moved into this house about six weeks ago and it was right before spring started and there's a whole bunch of stuff we want to do in the backyard. I did sprinkler systems for a while. It was one of my summer jobs growing up and we didn't have a trencher so I'd had to hand dig massive trenches for sprinklers. Anyways, it was a lot of fun, which a lot of people might be confused when I say that, but it is. I like working with my hands. I like working outside so one of the things I was excited about owning a house for was the fact that we were gonna get to do yard work, which again I know a lot of guys might be like, dude, your weird, but I don't care, man. It's fun. There's a therapeutic aspect to work yard for me. I was excited about it and it's summer now. It's been raining a lot, but that's slowed down. It's gotten really hot. It's time for me to turn the sprinklers on, getting the sprinkler system up and going. I went and I was like, cool, I've done this before and for some reason, I could not figure out how to turn on our dumb sprinkler system and get it running. I was like, I did this for a while. I hand dug these. Why am I not figuring this thing out? Luckily, at the same time, there was this company at our neighbor's house here who had lawn guys there and they were doing sprinkler stuff. I walked over I was like, hey, how do I? Where is? Is this a special kind of? The normal places that I look on houses that turn water on things like that, it's not there. I don't know where it is. He's like okay, you know, well, give me a little bit and I'll come help. After a little while, they ring on the door bell and they come over and I was like, sweet, awesome. We went to the backyard and like three seconds they found it. I was like, oh, sweet, well. I'm totally willing to pay. I'm not here to just freeload on anybody. I paid him and he was awesome. They did a walk through, the entire sprinkler system. Well, there's this whole section that we want to go resod and I have been pulling out tons of weeds that were as high as me. You couldn't even see the fence. There were so many of 'em. I've been de-shrubbing, de-weeding, you know what I mean? Doing a whole bunch of stuff. When I saw that they were literally sodding the neighbor's ground. I had to ask. I was like hey, how much is it to, for you guys to come sod, just so I just know. I had to ask the dude. Like, oh, my gosh. I ask the guy probably six or seven times. I was like, hey, how much is it to do this? He's like, "Oh, it's really, really expensive right now." I was like, okay. I'm asking how much. How much is it? He's like, "Oh, well, it's like $140 per pallet of sod." I was like, oh, it's not bad at all. It's more of a time thing. I don't want to go spend the time to do it. I'd rather spend time with my family or building a product or what. You know something. I like doing yard work, but I don't. That would be. That would talk me two or three Saturdays and I am moving way to fast right now to spend the kind of time to do that. I had to ask this guy. There were. That was not the first time I asked him to please sell me your thing. I asked him several times. Hey, how does this work? How much is that? How much is that? We walk in the backyard and there's all these blank spots. Why did you not put two and two together and try and freaking close me. I'm walking around holding a checkbook. I didn't know how else to pay him. So, I was like, ah. Anyway. It drives me nuts. When people are asking you buying questions, you have to know the difference between a normal question and then there's buying questions, right? Questions are questions. There's just questions. Hey, how are you guys doing? That's just a normal question... There's a whole bunch of different questions out there, but the buying questions are questions that turn into. The questions where they start to put themselves in a scenario mentally where they see themselves owning or doing or being the thing that you have. Hopefully, that made sense what I just said, but the moment they switch into this mode of like I could see myself doing that or gosh, I really wish that we could do that. How does that not throw red flags up going like, well, hey, shoot, if you want. I mean, we do this for you. Is this something that you're wanting done? Here why don't you just show me. What do you got going on in the backyard? You know what I mean? I don't. Anyway. I love being sold and so I critique the process like crazy, especially since I was a door to door sales guy for a bit and I did telemarketing and I did you know. I like sales. I don't necessarily like it that much face to face. I'd rather automate it through marketing onlines now, but it at least taught me the principles of what to look for and what to do online. Anyway. Sorry for the little side rant, it just, it made me laugh so hard 'cause finally he was like, well, it costed maybe 15, $1600 for us to do this and put these things in. I was like, great, cool. Just tell me. Like what. Anyway. I seriously. I asked him. He didn't say anything. He just kind of started walking away. I was like hello and I didn't know that he was looking at what we have. He just kind of just. I don't even know how to describe it. He just kind of came back and was like, well, maybe the. I mean, I blatantly had to ask the guy at least four times how much money is it to do this? I don't know if it's, anyway. Whatever. But don't do that, okay? If someone's asking you questions and you can tell they've switched into buying questions, man, just start closing 'em. They're asking you to sell them. They may not even know it, but what they want is they want you to answer their problem, which is your product. Just, anyway. Anyway, let me get back to this. This is part two. This episode is part two of the mass Q&A I've been doing. I got another three or four questions lined up for you guys in this one. They're great questions and anyway, I'm gonna dive right in here and go person by person. I'm gonna play your message and then I'll give you my response on how I would do that or ... please know, I don't know. I feel like I should put a disclaimer in this sometimes like please know that is, I'm not a lawyer and this is not legal advice and please, you know what I mean? But, this is. I'm gonna answer right now as to how I would do it or how I am doing it or how we have done the thing that you're asking about. Anyways. Hopefully that helps. Let me jump right here. All right, here the next question here is coming from T.J. "Hey, Steve, just wanted to follow up with you and ask you about a funnel that you mentioned that you did for a school that automates fundraising. I was wondering if you've ever covered that in any of your podcasts or if you're willing to, to basically just set you on a funnel for a non-profit or school to automate fundraising. This is Tamar, also known as T.J. We met at Ad Con 2017. It was a pleasure meeting you and I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks." Hey, man, great question here. Yep. There's a funnels that I've done that for. One of the funnels that I wanted to prove myself with. It was a few years ago actually. Was a funnel for, it was a mud run that we were doing. It's ... I'm in the army and we were trying to do some fundraising for this, it's called the Fisher House Foundation. The Fisher House Foundation is, it's a foundation that collects money that so when a soldier gets wounded, they can fly the family of the soldier to whatever hospital the soldier was taken to and take care of them and lodging and food and stuff like that. It was really, really cool. Anyway, that was an awesome one. What we did is we're like, hey, what ... we had a commander at the time and he's like, hey, why don't you do x, y and z. Let's put this stuff together and I started to telling him like, sir, I got this skill that I've been developing and I'm getting quite good at it. Why don't we do a little fundraising thing and you know what you could do is ... basically have upsales and things like that, you know what I mean? Anyway, it was basically an event funnel and the first page of the funnel was a page that basically said, hey, we're gonna do a 5K Mud Run. It was really fun. We had a fire pit people jumped over. It was a mud run. Army crawled through this massive vat of mud. We clothed them in all this body armor and they ran through thick forest with all these smoke bombs and massive artillery sim rounds going off around 'em. It was really fun. It was awesome, but we ended up raising seven grand... We had 650 people come. We had the news come several times. It was awesome. Got interviewed, anyway, it was great. It was a great experience, so anyways, it's cool because we first found something that was cool and attractive. It was a mud run near campus so a lot of people were already like, hey, already excited. The next thing we did though is we tied more meaning to it by telling them the story of what the money was going towards. That got it shared like crazy and that's what got us on the news and the next thing we did is we went and we started doing a raffle, as well. That was really. We raffled off AR-15's and other various stuff. It was really cool. Then we started going to these local businesses and we're like hey, we're about to do this event do you want to come and just be there and you know. Just as far as value for the person who's there. We don't care that you're there. We don't care that you self-promote ... just heck, come have a good time. It was really fun. We got other recruiters there. We got all these big blow up things. It looked like a fair. It was a huge production. It was amazing and it went so, so well. Anyway, it's just great. It was really a great experience. It was just an event funnel. It was two pages. I wish I could tell you it was more complicated than it was. All I did was when somebody came in. It told 'em about it. What it was. It was a sweet video that we shot. In fact, I might have the. I don't know if the page is still up or I still own the URL, but I still have the funnel and the video and all that stuff. That was really, really cool. Then we just said hey, buy your ticket now. Ticket prices go up in x amount of time. We did a count down clock and we said, hey, there's early bird pricing. Then the pricing went up. Then I went and got into the school newspaper and website and all this other stuff and I got us name dropped all over the place and the word got spread. That's really all we did. It really wasn't that much work. There was more work on actually setting up the course itself and all the things that we had to do. It was super fun. All these hail bails you had to jump over and all these massive towers to go climb. It was just a cool experience and we did that. It was great. The other one. I think I know the one you're referencing, though. I've built for several fundraising style companies. One was Flex Watches that got on that TV show, "The Profit." I built 11 funnels for that. The day of the show that it was going nationals, a long story behind that, but it was crazy. They turned out so well and that was honestly just a normal trip wire funnel with some upsales and down sales. What's funny is it's still a funnel. Don't think that because ... what's the fundraising funnel style. Well, it's the same thing as any other kind of funnel. You just change the message to let people know hey, this is for fundraising. The thing that I was teaching on stage to all those DECA kids. DECA asked me to come. I don't know if it was DECA directly or a contractor, but anyway, I ended up speaking on DECA. There was 3,000 kids at an event. They asked me to come teach on stage and teach 'em how to automate the fundraising for their school and their DECA programs. All I did is, there was a company that said hey, we would like to donate all of the water bottles, all of the materials, all the whatever it is that you're gonna put inside that funnel, we're gonna donate 'em and we'll just put our logo on 'em and there'll be a portion of the profits that gets sent over back to the DECA. I was like sweet. You guys realize that you're gonna automate your fundraising. Who likes going door to door? Not that many people. I was like so here. Here's how you can do it. How many guys been going to door? What's the strategy you guys been collecting money? Oh, door to door. Okay. Well, you should probably listen then. I went through and I showed 'em. Basically, it was a trip wire funnel. It was a free plus shipping water bottle that they got with a cool logo on there. That had a cool story behind it. Then the next thing was a upsale for two of 'em. The next thing was a upsale for something else. The next thing was a upsale and there was two or three up sales, like a normal trip wire funnel and all it was a normal product. It looked like a normal product funnel. Then, we just changed the messaging so people knew, hey, here is a super cool product, but at the same time, there's a cool message and meaning behind these things that we're doing. Anyway... Hopefully that helps. Don't overthink it. It's just a normal funnel. You just change the messaging and tell people why you're doing what you're doing. That was it. Super cool. I mean, they work well. All right, here the next question here comes from Micen Jones. "Hey, Steve. It's Micen Jones here and a quick question about contracting. On page 46 of "DotCom Secrets," Russell talks about the entrepreneur's role and how he should be or she should be a contractor, not a person putting up the sheet rock or framing the house.... My question for you is have you hired from freelancer.com on more than a project basis? For me personally, I can build the majority of my funnels except for the graphics portion, some little minuet details and custom portions. I want to move a lot faster like I said and have help with that, but instead of waiting for a week and a contest, I'm feeling on freelancer.com, I would like to have a day or two days turnaround time. Do you have any suggestions. Would you suggest Upwork and if so, what kind of language would you use in the job description to make sure that I attract the right kind of person to help build these funnels faster? Thanks for your answer, man and be blessed." Hey, dude, so yeah. I got a few. I definitely have some (sharply inhales), anyway. I've got some opinions on this. All right, so when you're first starting out, I understand the need to do things on your own because you have no cash flow or very little cash flow. The thing that we always stand by, what I always tell people to do is hire when it hurts. Don't just jump out and start grabbing people just because other people are saying to. It's like when people say diversify your portfolio. It's like you don't do it for the sake of doing it. Focus on one thing. You do want to make sense. You know I mean? I know you know I mean, but anyway so as far as freelancer tactics, hire one at Hertz. I know you said you don't like the seven day contest thing, but my gosh, it is one of the coolest strategies and if you take the time to do it, you'll find some of the rock stars who are the V.A's that just are amazing. I recommend Freelancer. I've used Upwork a little bit. I've used Fiver a lot. I've used Freelancer a lot. Those are the main ones that I've used and that I still use. I gotta a surprise here soon for all you guys. I'll have to show you guys here soon, but I had guy in Lebanon code something for me that is so cool. Anyway, in a future episode here, I'll tell you guys to go get it and it's awesome, but anyway, it totally makes fun of our competitors. Russell's dying. You guys 'ill see it on his vlog here soon. Hopefully, you guys have been following his vlog on YouTube. Anyway, side tangent. Over. All right, with freelancer tactics just for those of you guys who don't know, the thing that I like to do and the thing that I like to recommend is to create a contest and it doesn't have to be seven days. You can do it in three days, but then inside Freelancer what you do is you make the contest boosted. You can boost it and it will stay in front of all the freelancers more like it'll invite the good ones. It'll stay on top of all their feed so all the freelancers are seeing your thing. I always do that. I always press yes on those options, not all of 'em otherwise you spend an extra $100 bucks, but I go through and I choose the ones that highlight, feature, ping the very top freelancers, stuff like that. Then what I do is I sit back and I create that contest and I wait usually two or three days and I wait and to see. There's always like, please be aware that I'm trying to be sensitive right here, but there's always a huge number of people that will spam back to you tons of responses and try and get you to hire them all the time. You gotta be aware of that, okay? The moment that you and you can always tell when it happens because the moment you submit some contest or the moment you submit a job out there, you're gonna get a lot of people who just immediately respond to you and you're like okay, there's no way you even read the details or saw the video that I shot to tell you how to do it or what I need done. There's no way and you're already begging me. It's like okay. Those are spam.com comments so I always wait two or three days to wait for all of those to leave and I see who the really hungry people are. I go through and I read carefully each one of 'em and I try to view and measure intentions. I try and measure what they want and what they're trying to do. Anyway, it works. It works really, really well when I do that... Then the next thing I do is I will go, delete out all the ones that I know that are the immediate no's ... and again trying to be sensitive here, but I only speak English and so if they don't ... if I can't understand 'em how am I gonna go the project, you know I mean? So I go out and I delete out all the ones that I know that I won't be able to work with regardless if they could get it done really well. I can't talk to them so it's gonna be a hard thing. So anyway, then I create the contest and I go launch the contest and then I publicly criticize the comments and you can set your comments to public. I'm actually pretty harsh and I go through and I publicly criticize every single submission as I do the contest. For a second there I was talking about contests and also for a second I was talking about hiring specific people for one task, one person for one task so I go through and I vet out all the individuals that are like, okay, I'm not, I just know I can't work with you, but if it's a contest, then what I do is I make sure the things featured and I put it out there and I'll go and I publicly criticize the comments because all the other people who are submitting can see them ... I will take a $100. I just did this and I was like, okay, I got a cool idea for a logo, but I want to see what other people can come up with also. How I did it is I went out to freelancer.com and I was like, hey, here's $100 bucks whoever wins can get it. I got 323 submissions over seven days. I was very active. All I do is just once per day during that week I just log in real quick, I publicly criticize what I like and don't like on each one of them, and then I come back ... just piece by piece by piece and basically, the submissions start to improve. The quality goes up by about day three, four or five. Then you will start to see who is immediately following you and I'm like, hey, I really want this though ... an hour later, there's all these other submissions with the exact thing that you asked for and you're like, okay, I'm starting to see who the rock stars are so I know it kind of stinks a little bit to go, gosh, that takes a week to do it, but honestly my speed is increased like crazy as I do that. I now know who exactly to go for great voiceovers and I use 'em over and over now with the same tactics. I know several people who are very, very good at graphics. People who are very good with some video stuff. People who are very good, You know I mean? Then the parts that need to be creative that I'm not personally creative at ... I mean, I will make up projects just to find who those people are and find the rock stars. Anyway, I still would do that and just know that that seven days is gonna do great things for you in the future. Just make a list of 'em. Keep a list of 'em and let 'em know, hey, you know what I do also to increase all submissions is I say inside the project details for the contest, hey, you know what? If this works out, I would love to think about doing some future stuff with you 'cause I have more projects that need to be done, I just want to see who really wants this. It's like (explosion sound) these people go crazy. They get out there. They go oh, my gosh, I want this so bad. It's really, really fun when that happens 'cause there's some veracity and you can tell that they want it and they get out there and they really start crushing it. Okay, so what do you do though if you need to hire somebody internally as well. I just got a guy whose doing amazing with support. What I do is I find the people would work for me for free. I find the people who want to be in doing things with my brand so strongly that they're willing to do things for me for free. It's not that I'm not gonna pay them. I just need to know that they believe in the message, that they believe in my mission. They believe exactly what I'm trying to do and accomplish before money because I've gone a long time without getting paid before just to get this going. It's not true anymore at all, but you know I mean? I got know do you really want to get in this because I move at a crazy pace and I need you to do the same and you know I mean. What I do is I wait. There's always people who will reach out and go, hey, what can I help you with? The people who do that and don't ask for money who ... I can tell they're genuine, I say, hey, that's so nice of you, I appreciate it and I say nothing back to 'em. Well, the ones who reach back out and say, "Hey, I'm being serious. I really want to work with you." Then I go, "Okay, hey, there's really, really awesome, what kind of thing do you see yourself doing? I don't want to take you out from something if you know that you're really good a certain tag, a certain thing. Tell me what your super power is." If they keep coming back at me, well, I'm this. Like cool ... take what I'm about to say also with a grain of salt. I don't give them something crappy on purpose, but I give them a task that is not easy, that is challenging because I need to see how they'll react to it. It's a test. It's totally a test. I'm doing this with one guy right now and he is killing it. I'm absolutely loving working with him. He's so, so cool, but he's done, I mean, he's done this. He's grabbed my attention by giving value first and I can tell you, I can't wait till the time for my next project to come up 'cause ... I wanna hire the guy. I'm gonna do it so long as everything keeps going awesome with him. I'm actually the weak link in this relationship now. He's dancing circles around me, getting all this stuff done that I didn't even know that I should be doing, like that kind of guy. Anyway, let me jump to the next question here, all right? "Hey, Steve. This is Matt Kaple. I have a question for you. I wanted to see if you could teach us all how to do a ninja way to do a favicon icon so we could import that and use that into our funnels and clip funnels. I figured you're the guy that could teach us how to do that. Thank so much." Hey, what's up, Matt. Thanks so much for the question. I'm laughing because Russell always makes fun of me for how much I love favicons. I just hate it when there's at the top of the page in the tab there, there's just like. There's either nothing up there and then just a whole bunch of words or there's like that blank piece of paper little icon. It's funny. He'll send me some funnels some times, be like, dude, what do you thinks wrong with this funnel? I'll write back. Dude, there's no favicon that's why the whole page isn't converting well and he'll be like whatever, that's not it. Anyway. They do nothing for conversions. I don't think so. Well, they might little bit. I feel like they do for authority when you actually see a favicon, you see something up there. You see a logos. Well, like again, logos, they do nothing for conversion. They're just for our own egos, but I like it as far as keeping the same branding for the page. Honestly, they don't matter that much, but for me what I do is I will go into Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop and all I do is I create a 40 pixel by 40 pixel so it's wicked tiny. 40 pixel by 40 pixel and what I do is favicons are something to make after logos so I'll go grab whatever icon or something like that is inside of the actual logo. I'll grab the logo and put it inside of the 40 pixel by 40 pixels. The name of the game on favicons is simplicity. Just, you gotta be so simple with them. Don't try and have more than one letter or a couple of letters if you are doing letters and if you do they gotta be really, really simple. Second thing is that make 'em transparent backgrounds so that it doesn't export. You gotta export 'em as a png and then upload them. If you click on settings up in the top right inside your click funnels account, and then you'll click on digital assets. If you upload it as a digital asset and then right click on the download button, copy the link address and you can actually go paste it inside of a favicon area underneath the funnel settings. Hopefully, that makes sense. I usually don't get to technical inside a podcast because some of you guys who have never used click funnels are like what the heck is he talking about? He just totally lost me. Anyways, that's what I do though. Keep 'em very simple, transparent background, 40 pixels by 40 pixels and I usually just make it out of the logo, a smaller version of it or something like that. When you do it to a funnel inside of click funnels, it does it to every page. You don't have to do it to each page individually. It'll globally do it the pages inside of that funnel so anyways, great question, man. Next one. "Hey, Steve, this is Grant Tanner. Question is for the podcast that I started listening to. Good work. Question is I have a client who is trying to drive traffic to her website and get people to sign up for her digital magazine. It's actually a print magazine as well, but the whole point of her website is to drive subscriptions to a magazine so it's kind of a model that I'm having a hard time figuring out a good sales model to try to drive people to a certain landing page. What sales funnel do I use to get people interested in signing up for a magazine subscription essentially. Wanted to get your thoughts. Thanks. Bye." Hey, what's up, Grant. Hey, great question. Honestly, I get that question more frequently that you would expect. Not so much on magazines themselves, but on selling continuity right out of the gate. That's not an easy thing to do and it's actually something that I usually don't suggest, not that you can't do it, but personally I don't do that. The reason is because when you. It is easier to sell a $5,000 one thing than it is to sell a monthly continuity $60 a month thing, you know what I mean? You're just. I don't know. How should I say this? The mind is so funny because if we just ask for five grand one time on a high ticket thing a lot of times, people are gonna be like, yeah, sure, I'll go ahead and do that because I have five grand right now, but if I start to say, hey, it's gonna be a couple $100 every month, indefinitely. Immediately there's this long because it's associated with time, work immediately becomes this secondary emotion that comes in the side of it. I don't typically suggest that you go and sell magazines subscriptions right off the bat, but if you are, which you are and that's great so this is what I would do. If you've ever seen Funnel University, model how we do that. It's very strategic. Every single time we offer anything continuity based ever, it is always with something else. Like this okay? Magazines. Who does this? Sports Illustrated does. Have you ever seen this TV infomercials or whatever, they're talking about Sports Illustrated Magazine. You don't just get the magazine when you actually get a subscription set up, do you? What you do is you actually get a clock, a football clock. You actually get an actual football with someone's fake signature on it and then you get this. You get a blanket. Then you'll get a foam finger. Then you get, you know what I mean? They make an offer out of it. If you're selling straight just subscription, it's very, very challenging. It's hard to do it. Watch how Frank Kern sells his memberships. Watch how Russell sells click funnels. Watch how. It's always bundled with something else. What's funny about that especially when the subscription based product is actually digital, they always ship something physical. That's the pattern. That's the model. That's how we do it and so when you go back and you start looking at. How is that whole thing actually works, don't think in terms of how can I just sell magazines? Turn the thing into an offer and be like how can turn this physical that they get in the mail when they get a magazine subscription, right? The magazine subscription also we don't sell it. We don't sell subscription as the main thing. We give it away as a bonus. When you get click funnels or when you get the funnel acts course, I'm gonna give you funnel acts, but I'm also just as a thank you, I'm gonna give you six months free of click funnels, right? That's how Russell does it... When you go and get this clock and football and foam finger or whatever, then we're gonna give you three months free on your subscription to Sports Illustrated Magazine, right? They give away the physical thing. Sorry. When you get the physical thing, they give you as a bonus, the continuity thing, which is really what they want you to buy. Does that make sense? That's how I would do it. That is how we do it. Funnel University usually would cost us $120 out of the gate, typically, in ad spend just to get somebody to join. That's the numbers when I saw it a long time ago so I don't know what they are now, but there's a lot of money just to get one person just to. You don't even know if they're gonna stay that long and so how do you actually recoup that cost? Well, first, we have 'em get. We actually sell the package of the other stuff. We sell the offer not the subscription. Does that make sense? When you do it that way, you're profitable off the bat far faster so anyway, hopefully that helps. Guys, this has been a long podcast. I had to break this into two different episodes because there's so many questions and I still didn't get to about 10 of 'em. If you want to keep asking questions, go for it. I just make sure that the ones I put on here are not so particular to your business so that they'll be advantageous for everyone to hear. If you don't hear your question on there, please don't get offended just know that sometimes the question may not be advantageous for the whole group. Anyway, thanks so much guys. Thanks so much for listening to Sales Funnel Radio and anyway, super excited for all of the great things go. There's so many awesome things going on here. Go get the free website funnel that I created if you want at salesfunnelbroker.com. Also, I have a whole bunch of free funnels there you can go download and a whole bunch of the little helps as well. That's literally the entire reason I built that entire thing. I do broker funnels, but not that often anymore. I should probably change the name of that place to sometime, but anyways, guys, thanks so much and I will talk to you later. Thanks for listening to Sales Funnel Radio. Please remember to subscribe and leave feedback. Wanna get one of today's best internet sales funnel for free? Go to salesfunnelbroker.com/freefunnels to download your pre-built sales funnel today.  

It's been awhile since I've done any Q&A on "HeySteve"... I'm kinda already in the Q&A zone this week so I just kept on goin'. Woo! What's up, everyone, good morning. My name's Steve Larsen and you're listening to Sales Funnel Radio. Welcome to Sales Funnel Radio where you'll learn marketing strategies to grow your online business using today's best internet sales funnels. Now here's your host, Steve Larsen. All right, all right, all right. Man, I'm kind of just a happy, excited individual in general but particularly this last week has just been such a personal win, it's just been so awesome. Many of you guys know I went and I got to speak on Russell's stage for three days, it was crazy. Oh my gosh, it was so much fun, I had a lot of fun with it. It was ... A lot of guys know we just launched the Two Comma Club Coaching Program and it's been awesome, it's been a lot of fun. We had hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds of people join in and ask for Two Comma Club Coaching training, all the material. Those people who also purchased it they came for ... The last time we opened it, just this last week they came for three days. We went through their messaging, we went through their webinars, we built a funnel out, we built the sales portion, we indexed stores, it's really intense. The first day we went from I think was about 8:30 in the morning and then we'd leave at about six. Not bad, right? There's no breaks, we don't take breaks the entire day. We let everyone out for lunch once just to grab some food but besides that there's no breaks, there's nothing else. The second day what happens is we get up and at 8:30 everyone's back in there and then it was me. I went from 9 am to midnight. It was crazy. Russell came in and he taught a segment of it but man, we were on there for 17 hours. That's a ton of energy. I've always thought, "Oh my gosh, this is going to be such a ... I'm going to be exhausted," but I didn't realize how much. At the end of the day I was like ... The whole day is built around just us trying to help you get your slides done so you can do a webinar. It's very intensive and we stop slide by slide, by slide by slide... We walk around the room, we're like, "Hey, that doesn't look right or switch this or change the messaging to this or switch this word around or okay now pitch it to that guy over there," you know what I mean? It's like, it's intense and it was a whole lot of fun. What I wasn't expecting is how incredibly sore my body would be just being on stage keeping high energy, keeping big, loud, and proud, and keeping my hands all over the place. You know what I mean?... I didn't expect that part of it. I remember I laid that night at about 1:30 in the morning by Russell and I did a little strategy session for the next day. I laid down to go to sleep and my feet just started throbbing, not like, "Oh, they're sore," they actually hurt. I said, "Oh my gosh, I truly am an indoor animal now because I'm not used to ... that would not phase me in the past." Anyway, it was great. The next day I got and we went again from about 9 am to about six, five or 6 pm. It was great. We went through and people had all their stuff done. Anyway, last time we did this the people who actually implemented it and got out there, they'd make 19 grand on their first webinar. Another lady, she already did 700 grand, $700,000 in the last two months since she launched it, when we did this event last time. Anyway, this was a great event... When Russell invited me to come teach part of it, it was really honoring. I was shocked he asked. I was like, "Are you talking to me?" He's like, "Yeah dude, you know this stuff so well come teach it with me side-by-side." I was like, "Okay, cool." It was a lot of fun, just super honoring, very, very honoring... Anyways, that's what's been going on... My dad flew out and we had him over and he was doing that also for his webinar. Anyways, it was just a really, really good experience but I feel like I've been in recovery mode. It's Saturday right now and this all just happened just this last week. Then Friday we had all these people who joined the Two Comma Club Program. There's a two week program that we put you through before that you can even come to Boise so that you can be prepared for it. I had my first Q&A session over the phone, it was over Instant Tele-seminar. These guys went in, they got ... It was about 70 people on the phone with me and I was on for three hours straight. It was crazy. It was so funny because at the end of the day I walked back into the room where Russell was and I sat down at my desk there. Russell was like, I think he started laughing, he goes, "Hey, how you doing?" I was like, "It's going really, really well." I didn't expect ... I was like, "I have so much more empathy for how you feel after your events, that was really intense." A solid 17 hour day, another eight hours after it, I only slept ... I went to bed at 5:30 in the morning a few days before the event started just because I was preparing, I was trying to get ready.  I got a pretty big home office here, at least floor space-wise. Man, I was walking around and I was teaching as if people were in the room. I was getting really intense, really animated. I got whiteboards all over the place, I was drawing stuff out, doing all the things that I would to help concepts sink in deeply for when I was going to actually be on stage and teach. One thing to note, it's another totally different thing to teach it... Anyway, so that's what's been going on with me. I'm so sorry, I feel like I haven't been, I guess I have launched a few podcasts lately but I realized after I was doing the Q&A session I was like, "Wait, I have a Q&A session of my podcast and I haven't done that in probably ..." I don't know, it's been probably 30 episodes at least. I went and I looked at the app that I use for people to ask questions to me. Now, if you guys don't know what I'm talking about go to salesfunnelbroker ... Sorry, salesfunnelradio ... salesfunnelradio.com. Scroll down a little bit, there's going to be a green button on the right that says record voicemail. You can record a voicemail question and it'll be straight across your browser, it's really awesome. It'll email the copy to me and what I do is I kind of vet the questions to see which questions could apply to everybody. Those are the ones that I place inside the podcast. I'm going to do that. I lined up about one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. I lined up about seven questions so I'm going to play the questions so you guys all hear it and then I'm going to answer them real fast, does that sound good? This podcast might go a little bit longer than normal but it's only because I have not done a hasty segment of this podcast for a very long time and I'm so sorry. It just hit me while ... I got so tired in the middle of my three hour Q&A session yesterday I actually sat on the floor for a while with my laptop answering questions. Russell came in and Melanie came in and they were handing me snacks and treats because I was just going, and going, and going. It was really fun. We had people from all across the world on there, it was so fun. Anyway, so let me play this first question here. I'm just going to kind of shotgun fire over several of these questions, that sound good? Cool. Al right, that's the plan. Let me put the first question here. "Hey Steve, how's it going, it's Adam here, 20-year-old college student out of U Mass. I just had a quick question for you. You had mentioned before how you started off by providing a free service where you would build sales funnels for companies that were already established. I kind of want to take that same approach as I have a pretty in depth knowledge of how to use ClickFunnels. I've been using it for a while now, I know all the tools inside of ClickFunnels. I use actionetics setting up email sequences, all that fun stuff. I kind of want to take the same approach where I provide a free service to go into a company and build a sales funnel for them. I was just wondering if you can give me some insights on what approach I should take. I feel like that would be really beneficial for a lot of others out there. Thanks for your time, I really appreciate it." Hey Adam, that's a great question. There's a lot of ways to do it. If you don't have any ... Okay, let's start with this. It's all about results. If you've never built for anybody ever then you need to do it for free. You got to get out there and you have to do it for free. That kind of sucks a little bit but that's how it's going to work. Do it for free because this is now very much a results based economy. What you 100 other people can do in their immediate area. They may not know it but the moment they realize it, it's like, "Oh my gosh, why are you different?" The way I actually got started was I just started ... I was like, "Okay, what industries do I want to work in?" There's a little bit of a checklist I used to actually get started with the stuff. The thing that I started doing was I said, "Okay, number one. I want to work in an industry where there's a lot of money that flows into it and it's a normal thing to do so." You think real estate or cars, people expect to spend a lot of money in those areas. I wanted to spend ... What's nice is if I was to get them an extra two or three sales a month that would change their whole business. Rather than going for something worth really low ticket eCommerce drop-ship style where there's hardly any margin in it. If I was going to go choose and try and prove myself to a market like that I'd really have to increase volume to show massive improvement. Does that make sense? It's the power of the high ticket. That was the first criteria that I was looking for. The second criteria that I was looking for was that they already needed to be in business with a customer base. I did not ... I did the startup game for so long just going person to person, startup to startup. Great, super, awesome to do that but you know what? It was really, really hard because if for some reason the sales funnel didn't work the first time we launched, and half the time Russell and I launch a funnel it doesn't work the first time. We have to see what happens and we make tweaks and then launch it again. Usually that's when it starts to really make money. Does that make sense? These guys would come back and be like, "Oh my gosh, you must not know how to build funnels." I'm like, "Actually no, you're a startup and you haven't proven your market, you haven't proven your model, you haven't proven your product, your business isn't proven. You don't even know what you're doing." They thought the funnel was the business and that's not true at all. Anyways, if you're going to go do that, what I did is I just started making a list of the industries I wanted to go do that stuff in to fit those criteria. Then all I did is I ... Go to Google, search locally different businesses with those industries. I literally started shotgunning this email out or I'd go find them on Facebook. I'd be like, "Hey, I know this is weird ..." If you say that then people for some reason put their walls down. If you don't say that then they're going to be like, "This is weird," so you just call it out. "I know this is weird but I build these things online called sales funnels and I just wanted to know if I could do it for you. I know it's totally out of left field but I love the industry, I love ..." You can talk about their business specifically so they know that it's not spam. This works really well on Facebook Messenger by the way also... "Hey, I really, really want to be able to show the market that I know what I'm doing in this area. Let me build what I call an internet sales funnel for you for free, it'll come out of my pocket. I'm literally just trying to get results as big as possible for anybody right now. Could I do it for you? It will be completely free to you. The only thing I ask is that when it works, only pay me if it works. If so, I would love to get a video testimonial." That's how I did it and I shotgun blasted that style of message to tons of people and I started getting a response. It's funny, any time I wanted to get into a new industry, I still do that. I did that probably a couple months ago. It was before I moved to our new office but I was thinking about going into the real estate area. I was like, "Okay, who can I go build for for free?" I just started blasting the same message across so many platforms that I think Facebook thought I was spamming people, which I kind of was because I was trying to get my message out there and ask who I could build for for free. That was basically it. I got back great people. A few days later I was building for free for a lady who was a realtor to prove myself in the real estate niche. Anyways, that's how I would do it. Hopefully I answered your question, Adam... All right, and there's the next question. "Hey Steve! I just wanted to know do you do your own graphics or do you outsource it? If you outsource it what's your process, how do you do it? Thanks, have a great one. Love your podcast." That question was coming from Greg Grimsley and that is a great question. Graphics-wise, if you've been in any kind of funnel building you know that graphics is a heavy part of it, graphics, and video, and copy, which is pretty much all web pages in general. Yeah, you got to solve that problem. I do my own graphics. I 'm pretty sure you're talking about those little funnel box graphics that I made. Yeah, I made those, I used the Adobe Illustrator for that. One of the things that I learned from Russell sitting next to him is he is so good at taking complex things and turning it into a simple picture. When you can do that your ability to teach is going to go through the roof. Sometimes what I'll do is .. I still do it. I got whiteboards up here over on the side and if there's something that I need to explain better I will draw a picture. It's one of the major reasons why half of his ... He's got a lot of pictures in his books and that's why he does it. It's on purpose, it's not just because ... It's so that we can explain things that otherwise would be very hard to see without a visual. A lot of times what I'll do is I'll sit down and I'll draw the picture. If you're not personally a graphics guy, man you can go on Fiver or Freelance.com or whatever and go and pay someone to make a little graphic out of it. If they charge you more than 50 bucks they're probably charging too much money for you. Anyway, that's how I do it though and that's how I do it. I use Adobe Illustrator. I was a layout head editor and designer in high school and I've kind of always just liked layout and design so I do it myself. If you don't have that skill that's fine, that should not stop your progress. All right, this next question comes from Art Boyd. "Hey Steve, Art Boyd here! I do have a question for you. First off I want to say you're amazing, I listen to all your podcasts. You bring tremendous value to the marketplace and I just appreciate all that you share with us. My question is this, how come you give away your free click funnels website that you spend over 200 hours on? Why are you giving that away for free and not charging for it? What's the real marketing ninja tactic that you're using that pays you on the back end? Let me know, I appreciate it man. Talk to you soon, thanks." Hey, that's a huge, huge ... Thanks for bringing that up. The reason I do it is because of, well really two different things. Okay, how many times do you go to a ... Have you ever been to a used car salesman? You go to a used car place or a new car place or any place where there's supposed to be sale happening. You walk up and the biggest thing you know that you're going to run into is the moment you pull up somebody is going to be there as you open the car door and just hounding you. They're going to be hounding you, that sucks. I hate that. Anyway, I love to be sold but I do not like to be bullied. That makes me feel bullied. I feel like I'm being backed into a corner like, "So do you want it? You gonna get it? Okay, we could buy this." People who will jump out and immediately show you how your objections are worth nothing rather than actually valuing the objection and dealing with it. The reason I do that is because I read ... Anyway, the free thing ... A lot of you guys get hung up on the free thing. "Well, I got to have a free thing in the front." Not always but it really helps to have something free on the front end to start building your list. I haven't been doing this podcast that long, I've barely spent any kind of advertising dollars behind it but because I do that I gained like 2,000 people on my list in the last little bit. It gets shared. The reason I do it is because it gets shared and it's something that I should be charging for. When you guys are starting to come up with the free thing, the bait to pull people into funnels or pull people into your world or whatever it is, the thing that you're doing do it for free for somebody else. Also do, maybe if you can, depends on the industry, depends on to make sense what you're doing but man, I would take something that should be paid for, especially for branding yourself. Especially if this is a coaching, author, speaker, consultant, whatever it is. Myself, man take something that's free or something that people should pay a lot of money for, help them feel that they should be paying for it, which is the reason I reference the fact I spent 200 hours on it. I'll charge 20 grand for funnels now, however I don't usually take any kind of funnel ... build products anymore. Got my own stuff going on which is awesome... Anyway, take something that should be paid for, something that's crazy so that when people like, "Oh my gosh, this is crazy. I get it for free? Oh my gosh." That reaction right there, that's what I'm trying to cause inside of them, inside of their psyche because they'll go share it. If they go share it, it means I won. How do I grow a business almost completely organically while working on the side for one of the most intense entrepreneurs that is even out there? Like that, that's how I do it. What happens is I know that if there's ever a product in the future I have delivered so much freakin' value. Personally I just know. I have delivered so much value. My goal is to deliver so much value. If I can deliver so, so much value and turn around and say, "Hey, you know what? For months I have helped answer questions, I have helped give things away that you should have paid a lot of money for. The next that I do come out with a product ..." I say, "You know what? This product, I actually can stand behind it. It took me a long time to make it but it's going to help you do this. Here you go." There's going to be a lot of people who are fine paying me money for that. It's completely the law of reciprocity. The book "Launch" by Jeff Walker, I really like that book. There's a section or chapter in there that talks about the nine ... There's nine principles of persuasion or something like that. Nine principles ... Gosh, I can't remember the name of it. Anyways, it's any of those categories. One of them is reciprocity. If I give you something for free or ... This happens all the time. Oh, here's a good example. This happens all the time during Christmas or holidays or whenever. If you're in a spot where there's all these neighbors and you walk up to someone ... Someone rings your doorbell, let's say in the middle of dinner time. You're like, "Who's at the door?" You walk up to the door and there's a neighbor there and they've got a plate of cookies for you and a card. They walk in they're like, "Hey, Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or whatever." What's your immediate gut reaction? "Oh my gosh, thank you so much. I wish I had something for you. I wish there was something I could give you back. Stay right there, stay right there." How many guys would turn around, run back into the kitchen and you grab a can of beans or something to give them to try and show appreciation back. You feel the need to reciprocate, that's literally the reason why I do it. I want to pump value in the marketplace and it also sets me apart like crazy. I get tagged all over the internet for being a resource for people to go get things they need to in order to be successful with funnels. "Well shoot, if you just want to get started right off the bat I got a really great funnel for you and it's free. It took me a long time to build it. Well there you go, you can have it, it's yours. It's a template, I took it out of my content, you can go grab it." Anyway, that's why I do it. That's why I'm a little bit bossy about it. I have an exit pop. If you go to salesfunnelbroker.com it's at the bottom but there's also an exit pop. Some people feel like exit pops are a little bit aggressive but I know that what I'm asking for in the exit pop is such ridiculous value for the funnel and what it gives you that I don't feel bad. I feel like it's totally fine. I don't feel like it taints my image at all by being annoying one more time before somebody leaves the site. Anyway, that's the answer to that one, that's why I do it. I thought about it a lot, there's a lot of strategy behind that and there's a lot more that I'm about to put into that as well. Great question man. Right now what I'm going to do is I'm actually going to break this into a second podcast because there are so many questions. I don't want this to go, it's going to go like 40 or 50 minutes if I keep going here. Let me break this into another episode here. I want to thank you guys. Go ahead and tune into the next one, I'll make a part two on this. Anyways, if you guys got a question though please go ahead and ask me. If you go to salesfunnelradio.com, scroll down to the bottom, green button on the right, you can go and ask one. Just make sure the question is something that can be advantageous for the entire group and no so specific to your business that I can't answer it in a broad way. You want to be detailed as possible but also ... I've had 8,000 downloads in the last ... This podcast has taken off guys and I really want to thank you all for being avid listeners and for being supportive with it. That being said, I've got to make it still applicable for everybody and funnels in general. All right guys, thanks so much and I'll see you in the next episode. Bye.

Click above to listen in iTunes... Steve Larsen: What's up everybody? My name is Steve Larsen. Thank you for listening to Sales Funnel radio. This is a special, "HeySteve!" segment. Announcer: Welcome to Sales Funnel radio where you'll learn marketing strategies to grow your online business using today's best internet sales funnels. Now, here's your host, Steve Larsen. Steve Larsen: All right, all right, all right. Hey, I'm going to get right into the question again on this one. I really really like this question. This is, this goes a little bit beyond building funnels and is more about how to manage building funnels. If you're doing it for others, or kind of just in general. Anyways, I'm going to go ahead and play the question here from my man Keith. Keith: Hey Steve, it's Keith Mosely. Wanted to ask you, what do you use to log your hours that you spend on your funnels? How do you send out invoices and generate quotes for customers? Thanks man. Steve Larsen: Keith, okay. Great, I just love this. I smiled like crazy when you said this because obviously there's the skill behind building, but then, how do you build a business around that? That's obviously what I've done... Okay, so when I was 17 years old, no no, I was 18, just barely 18, just barely graduated high school. Had no idea what I wanted to do with my life still. I'm still figuring that out. I plan on being a kid forever. I went to get a job at Discount Tire and I was a tire buster. I got over there and there's a bunch of rough guys. They, at least for the store that I was in, I mean, they would like, they'd push my buddy and I all over the place. There was this thing called tire tongues. It's like these big steel pieces of, well, they're big pieces of steel. That's basically what it is. It helps you pry tires off of cars and stuff. I mean, they like, pushed my friend around and stuff. Anyway, they were some tough dudes. I was trying to be all cool, whatever. I'm trying to be really fast at my job so that they liked me. I ended up being really really fast. I would go work and work and work. We'd work from, and it was during the winter season so there's hardly any heaters in there. We would get crazy sick. There's no breaks, there was no lunch breaks or anything like that just because we knew we were good and we knew we were fast. We wanted to be that way... I worked day after day after day. We'd work 12 hours a day, pretty much every day. Oh my gosh, it's so crazy. I ended up being really good at the job. After 12 hours, I think only got paid like $10 an hour, not much. I would come home with $120 right, for my time. I was like, this is cool. Up until that time, I had been working at different places. It was probably the highest paying job I'd ever had that time... Anyways, I was like, "Cool. I'm going to try and get really really good." I went and I started getting faster and I started getting faster, started getting faster. What was interesting is my pay got less and it sucked. I was better, but I was getting paid less for it, right? I would be able to get all the cars done 10 minutes faster than everyone else, even faster even faster. I was like, "Man, this is dumb." I didn't think about it much. Time went on, time went on. You know, 4 years went by. I was in college. I was doing lots of stuff and I started working at this pool repair company. We would build swimming pools. Residential swimming pools for celebrities and stuff. I got to go hang out and meet a lot of the Denver Broncos team. Colorado Rockies. A lot of really famous baseball players, golf players. Actually, the singer from ... This is totally a... sorry guys ... Singer from, I think it was One Republic, I used to clean his pool. The guy's got a sick house man, it's awesome. His pool's underneath his house. Anyway, what was frustrating for me though is I got fast. I got good. I got better than everyone else but I got paid less for it because I finished my route faster. I was like, "This is retarded. I can't." Anyway, I remember there was one day. I had just really started getting into, kind of, side entrepreneurship. I wasn't full fledged into this, like I am now obviously. I remember there was, kind of the last day, I was going to go back to the school. The summer was over, whatever. I picked up this little piece of broken tile on the ground. I remember looking at it. I had worked construction jobs like crazy. A lot of my teenage years, even into my very early twenties, in college and things like that. I picked up this piece of tile, for whatever reason, it's very nostalgic for me. I was like, I'm never going to work a construction job again in my life. There's nothing against that, I was just trying to get out of the time and effort economy and trying to get more into the results based economy. There's an episode, podcast episode, that I kind of ranted about that a little bit. It was very important to me... Keith, to get back to your question, when you say, "How do I log my hours?" I don't. I don't. What I do is I log my projects. I log how good they're performing. I know I can build a totally kick butt funnel. I have done over, just in the last 6 months alone, over 100 funnels... They're good and they work. I have busted my butt to get very good at them. I don't charge by the hour, I charge by the project because you're not just paying for my time, you're paying for my expertise. All the times I've sacrificed... I would hid in our college campus, when I was in college, I would hide in the campus, really late into night, hiding from security so I could keep studying. No joke, funnels and building funnels. I am so obsessed with this topic that I've given up a lot for it. There's no reason at all why I should get paid by the hour. I say that to all of you who are listening right now. Understand that you guys are too good at your specialties to get paid by the hour. Pay by the project... That means I can go build a funnel that's totally awesome, in about a week, sometimes two. It's going to be an amazing funnel. I charge 10 grand for the funnels that I build. They're awesome. I just finished one and it's amazing. They love it, the client loves it. I'm off to another supplement funnel right now. They just, I know they're going to love it. They're not just paying for my time, they're paying for expertise. I would dare say that if you take a crap load of time on something as specialized as a funnel or whatever it is you're specialized in, maybe people would like it if you're actually faster. They might actually like it if you don't charge by the hour, charge by the project right? No matter how fast you get it done, you'll still get paid, which keeps you motivated and keeps them to their word. It's awesome. That's the first thing I do. The second thing that I do is, you talked about invoices, how do I send invoices? I actually don't either. I'm maybe kind of a different kind of business guy than you would think. I take half of my money up front. Then I take the other half when it's over. I give a discount though if you pay or it all up front. For example, one of the last guys I just billed for, I said, "Hey" ... He needed a lot of extra custom stuff and it was going to take me some extra time. His actually took 2 weeks. I think I had to go out of town, or something like that. Anyway, I was like, "Hey look, I'll do ... I need to charge like 12 grand for this because this is intense. I can pull it off, I know I can do it, it'll just take me a little extra time." Right? I was like, "So, I'll charge you 12 grand, so it'll be the first payment is 6, and obviously the second one's going to be 6 as well. Or, you can pay the full 10 up front and I'll take off the extra 2." That's a good way to structure it as well. Some people like that as well. The only reason why I spend so much time teaching you about this stuff is that I have been burned so many freaking times by people who want to take advantage of the things that I've worked hard to be good at. For example, when I was doing ... I think I've told you guys this story, at least on a podcast before, that I was a traffic generator for Paul Mitchell for a little while. The Paul Mitchell, the hair school. It was awesome. It was super cool. I was in the middle of college and we were driving traffic for these guys, we're helping them get more clients, more people coming in. One person coming in is worth like 20 grand, so they had a lot of lee way to spend money and still be profitable. We were driving traffic, it was awesome. We start building these sites for some of their rising celebrities. I'm totally saying the name Paul Mitchell right now because I'm still pissed off about this. They came to us and said, "Hey look, we got to build the site in 36 hours. This guy's going to get on TV in 36 hours and we need him to be able to say, 'Hey, go to such and such URL.' and say on TV what website to go to." We said, "Holy crap! 36 hours? Do you guys know what you're asking us? You're pretty much asking us to stop everything else we're doing." My buddy and I, we sat in his living room for the next 36 hours. We didn't sleep. We barely slept, we barely ate. Just bloodshot, bleeding eyes. We got it done though, in just an hour or two to spare before he got on TV. It was a screaming success, it was totally awesome. They never paid us... They still owe us a ton of money. Anyway, it was very very frustrating for all of us. That's the reason why. Unless you are dead sure that it is a successful company, do not take on people who are start ups and do not take your money solely in the back. Do half up front... When you guys are these specialized people in whatever industries you're in, I would say to do that every time for everything. Anyway, I guess that's the second question. The third one, you're talking about, "How do I give quotes?" It's built in. It's kind of a secondary part to the invoice question. The way I do it, like I said, I charge a base of 10. The a lot of times I'll even charge, you know, even 15 or 20. The reason is it depends on what kind of funnel. It depends on how serious of a funnel do they need. Do they need custom code? Do I need to build a whole membership site? Am I writing all of your copy? Which is huge... If someone needs that, that adds a tone of time and a ton of brainpower. I go into hibernation mode for a week. My family does not see me. It's not like I just toss these things up, just so you know. It's stressful for me too. I go into hibernation mode. I don't see my family for like a week or two when I'm doing these custom ones for people. Especially when you add something like copy in. Do I need to write the scripts for your videos? Do you need to shoot the videos? Do I need to edit them? I do basically the whole Adobe suite. Photoshop, video, audio, I mix my own podcast and that's the reason why. Anyway, that's why though. I go and it very much depends on also, are they a brand new start up? Which I'm very hesitant to take startups on because people think that the funnel is their business, and that's not true. Their product or their service is the business. If something goes wrong with the funnel or they don't like something, sometimes they think that it's the funnel's fault, when in reality, 90% of the time, it's actually the fact that their business model is not proven. Anyways, I have probably given way too much on this, but man, like, serve your customers like crazy, but have another backbone for when you need to put your phone down and say, "Look, I've worked my tail off to get good at this. It's my unique ability. You got to pay me. I want to get paid half up front." That's what I do Keith. That's a bit of a rant. I don't log hours. I don't really do invoices. I just do it. There's a quote, I went through the certification program with ClickFunnels. I did it in two weeks. It's a 3 month course. I actually got in trouble for it which is kind of funny. Anyway, I did the certification in 2 weeks and then they help you with some different, really cool formats for contracts you sign with people for getting funnels and stuff like that. That was really nice to use... It's kind of a starter place. Anyway, hey, that's, I'm kind of ranting now. I just want you to know, that's what I do. Thank you so much for the question Keith. You and I will chat and I'll send you over your T-shirt. Anyone else, if you want your free, "Hey Steve!" T-shirt, please go to salesfunnelradio.com and scroll down just a little bit. There'll be a button, a green button on the right that says, "Ask the question" or "Start recording". It will be highlighted. You can ask a question straight off the browser. It forwards right to my inbox. Then if it makes it on the show here, I send you over a T-shirt. Anyway, hey guys, thank you so much. You guys are awesome. I really appreciate you. Announcer: Thanks for listening to Sales Funnel radio. Please remember to subscribe and leave feedback. Have a question you want answered on the show? Get your free t-shirt when your question gets answered on the Live, "HeySteve!" show. Visit salesfunnelbroker.com now to submit your question.  

Click Above To Listen Or Listen In iTunes... You can practically skip the "Mission Statement and Business Plan" bull crap with a good Value Ladder and Funnel Hack... What's going on everybody? Welcome to Sales Funnel Radio.  Welcome to Sales Funnel Radio, where you'll learn marketing strategies to grow your online business using today's best internet sales bundles. Now here's your host, Steve Larsen. Hey what's going on? I'm excited for today, this is a fantastic ... Anyways, I love this. I have another business that I have, it's called Secret MLM Hacks. I'm not pitching it, I'm just saying. This is context. Anyways, in there I have a product. If they take advantage of it they can send me their value ladders and I can critique them.  Anyways, someone just sent me one, and I thought, hey, it'd be kind of cool. What if I critique one of these things that I'm getting on Sales Funnel Radio. I have it here in front of me and I guess on the blog I'll put up pictures of it so you guys can see what I'm talking about. Hey I  got permission from the owner, which is awesome. Thank you very much Chris Gordon, you're the man doing some awesome stuff here for letting me do this.  Anyways, I'm going to go through the value ladders. He sent over two value ladders here, which is good. On this very first thing, and for those of you who are just learning about value ladders or this is your first time on the podcast, or whatever it is, a value ladder is simply a map. It basically models the entire business that you are going for...  It's like a graph, and on one axis you have value, and on the other one you have price, the amount of money you can get. The farther ... On the bottom, those are your free things. You've got your E books, free courses, PDF downloads. You see those things all over the internet. "Hey, where should I send this? Hey take this quiz and I'll send the results through e-mail." Those are just clever ways to get your e-mail address so that they can start marketing to you.  The very next thing will be a page with something cheap on it. The next page will be a page with something a little more pricey on it, and then another one with a little more money. You get the idea, that's a value ladder, you move up rungs, or however you say that. Ladder rungs, right? Anyways, you move up ladder rungs in value. How much you give a person and how much you are going to charge them.  The higher someone goes, we can anticipate that person was really in pain. Someone only purchases for two reasons, pain or pleasure, they are both emotional. Pleasure, whether it's a biz op thing, or for pain. Hey I've got to solve this problem. The whole job of marketing is to educate people on the pain that they don't know they have, or they do. Or the pleasure that they don't know they have. I cannot speak right now, I was up super late last night. Or the pleasure, whether or not they know they have it or could have it. That's the only job of marketing is education. That's from Jay Abraham.  Anyways, this value ladder, so you sent me a value ladder, thank you very much Chris again. I'm going to go through your value ladder. It literally just looks like he drew, just so everyone knows, you draw what stairs would look like looking at them from the side. At the very bottom you've got your free thing and then there is a next step of the stair, and then the next step up, the next step up. As you move along you add more value but you also charge more money.  The first time I ever learned of this concept was from Russell Bronson. It's cool because once I got it I was like holy crap, he could model a whole business in just this little graph. Not only what you are going to give but how you are going to deliver it, the price points that you are going to bring with it, continuity, which we know that if you don't have continuity then you are not going to succeed, you are actually going to fail most of the time.  It's been said that unless you have continuity you don't have a business... If you guys don't know what that means, continuity is like, "Hey get on our monthly shipping program." It's the things that you can charge for over and over and over again. Like commodities. I bet 90% of you out there are on continuity for eggs. Eggs, milk and bread, as America we are on that continuity program. We can guarantee everyone is going to buy eggs and milk. Or tires, consumables, things that expire. If you can get something like that in your business, where they pay for a membership over and over again like a gym membership, that's continuity. Unless you have that, it's said that you don't have a business. You are just selling one time things, these little instances of business, not a full one. Anyways, let's go through this with that backdrop.  This reminds me of so many stories, it's awesome. When I was first learning about this stuff, I'm a little bit of a mischievous guy. I don't know if you guys have noticed that, you probably have since listening to the things that I say and stuff like that. Mischievous is not the right word, I just don't think that a lot of rules matter, which I guess is probably the definition of mischievous. I remember there was this time when I was learning these things. I'm in the Army if you guys didn't know that. I had my uniform on, we had just finished something, and I was in college. We had just finished ... Anyways, I had kept my whole rucksack. If you don't know what a rucksack is it's like those huge backpacks you see soldiers wearing with all their stuff in it. It's not like you carry extra things in it, that thing is jam packed with only the essentials because that's the only thing that's going to be with you for several days. Five days, ten days, that's it.  I'm really sorry if someone is listening to this and you get offended, but I don't really care, this is not the podcast for you if you get offended. Anyways, I don't know if this is trespassing or whatever, but there was a gym at the college I was going to, like a basketball gym. It's a stadium and there were these box seats and these box seats had windows on them but they were always unlocked.  I would watch. I'd turn around and I'd act like I was on my phone. Just standing up there, put my phone up, I was just looking around. Then when no one was looking or the room was empty I would throw my stuff through the front window and I would jump through the window. I'd climb up, lift myself up through the window, and then close the window if there was a window on there. If not, then it was just open. But that's where I would study. I did that for 10 months and then no one caught me. Then janitors got up there and they started cleaning stuff, and then it started getting tricky. That's when it was starting getting fun because I memorized all the times they would come and get out of there. Watch them come, and then go back up. Because it was quiet, no one would go up there. Especially when I was wearing a uniform, people stare at you. Anyways, that's when I first started learning the concept of the value ladder... I started building out sales funnels and had crazy deep study sessions learning this stuff. I always try to tell a story because I feel like if I go right into tactics, it's just going to be crazy boring for everyone. I would get bored.  Anyways, that's the story. I ended up getting caught a couple times. I would peak over and see the closing ... Because I would stay up there until like 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning many, many, many times. I'd put in four, five, six hours a day at least studying this stuff on the side of school. I got straight A's for most semesters so I did quite well, but I was crushing it. I was barely sleeping and learning about these things. It's funny because every once and a while I'd look over the edge and the janitors or building security would be right there and they'd look up and go, "I think someone is in there." I heard them and I'd be like, "Oh crap." I'd start stuffing all my stuff back into my backpack, run through the back way and just start booking it down the hall. Because you are not supposed to be there past ... I guess they close the building at midnight or something. Plus you are not supposed to be in the box seats anyways.  They ended up catching me three or four times. You'd think that after I get caught. Not just caught like I stopped and I ran, caught as in face to face caught. They are like, "What are you doing?" I'm like, "Just homework. Just thought I'd check it out." "How'd you get up here?" "The door was open."  Oh man, you'd think normal people would just stop and say, "Oh I'm not going to do that again." I mean I kept that going for like a year and a half. Anyways, that story was way longer than I thought now. The value ladder. Chris, it looks like this is an MLM, which is awesome, you should check out Secretmlmhacks.com. There is some good courses that I give in there for free. Anyways, the very first thing you have on here is a free E book. The one mistake I've seen with people's value ladders because I've seen these over and over again is that they are too vague. You know what you are talking about, which is awesome, but as you go and write out all the details to each one of these steps, things will get hashed out in your mind that you didn't know needed to be fixed or worked out.  It says free E book, that's great. Obviously we know the price of that... But I would just come through and say who it's for, why are you making it, what's the sexy thing about it. Because what's funny is that you'll find that you'll spend more time on the first rung of the value ladder than you do any other step in the funnel. That part, that first hook has to be sexy, very. The easiest way to think of it is take the thing that's at the top of the value ladder, and make that free. That's really counter intuitive. Salesfunnelbroker.com, I have free sales funnels in there. That's shocking for people. You can download my entire website. That's my free end thing. That's pretty big... I get nervous about that still, that's hard, that's a big, big deal. I spent 200 hours on this and I just give it to you guys, and it's a sexy offer. I get so many opt ins every day off that thing, that's the reason why. Take something that's crazy sexy and make that a front end offer. Next rung up, green nutrition. I don't know what that is. You have the word basics under it. Again, I would say add a price point in there. This needs to be so clear that you can hand it to someone else and they can figure it out.  I don't know what green nutrition is, I'm assuming that this is a supplement MLM. It looks like that because the next one is protein supplement. The next rung up is skin care and essential oils. Maybe this is essential oils, I don't know. The top one you have is become a distributor.  You have on here also continuity and things like that... That's great, you focused mainly on the selling of the product, not becoming a distributor for the MLM, which is fine. I know several people personally who are the top earners in many MLMs and they build a value ladder for the product. But then they'll go build a value ladder also for recruiting. Secretmlmhacks.com, that one is for recruiting.  Anyways, you have another one here. Another value ladder. I think ... Wholesale distributor. Let's see. This is your second value ladder that you sent and it looks similar to the other one, but the biggest thing that I'm seeing in here that's missing is price points. If you think about price points it's been proven that the number three, the number seven, the number nine. Those are the numbers that you need to use a lot of times. That's why you see 3.99, you never see 4 bucks. It's stupid but it does things in the brain. 3.99 is a great price point, or 3.97, great price point. Or 3.79, you even see that one.  You hardly ever see 3.92. Anyways, you need to add price points on every step of the value ladder. Free E book, that's obvious. But the next step that you have is retail customer... You are doing that with a sales page. Next one is repeat order customer with an auto ship page. You'll need to clarify that on how you are going to pull that off inside of Click Funnels. If you are not using Click Funnels by the way you are insane. I used to build all this stuff inside of Word Press, that is hell. My friends, use Click Funnels, it is so much easier. Anytime you download one of my funnels from salesfunnelbroker.com you get a trial membership, which is awesome. You'll still get to use the funnel and make money with it before you ... Anyways, I kind of lost my train of thought. Then the very top one you have wholesale distributor... I know no one else can see this on the actual podcast, but this is what I would caution you on is that you have auto ship and continuity marked for the entire value ladder. I'll tell you, that's incorrect. First what you need to have is ... Okay this is also something that I learned from Russell while I was studying like crazy about this. Amateurs focus on the front end of the funnel. You are not trying to make money on these first few items, you are just trying to break even with ad cost, because then you get free customers...  Your cost to acquire customer is zero. It's even positive if you make money with it. You are not trying to make money, you are building a funnel just to get customers... Free E book, that's a good hook, but how are you going to break even on the ad cost? The very next product has got to be something, $47, $49, with another one after that at $97. If you get on industry standards on that you'll be able to break even on ad cost and get customers for free.  If you listen to, there is a great story I heard. Russel told this story. I know I've mentioned him three times on here, yeah, I listen to a lot of his stuff. I listen to a lot of people's stuff, but I guess since I learned the value ladder from Russel. I'm just mentioning him a lot.  But I heard this crazy story, he's like, "Look, we had VCs come and try and purchase us and they asked us what our cost to acquire a customer is, and we told them we actually make money every time we acquire a customer." They laughed and were like, "Oh that's very funny." Russel is like, "I'm actually serious. We don't pay anything to acquire a customer, we actually make $40." They are like, "What the heck, how do you do that?" The reason is because of these value ladders, it's because of a sales funnel... These front end offers, these front end things, I'm looking at E book. The very next thing, retail customer on a sales page, you need ... That has got to be very sexy right. That, in my mind, don't try and sell retail customers immediately. You need to have something that is a one ... There is only one option for it. Almost like a one time offer. They only can purchase one item and it's $47, and on average, what, 10% of people will actually purchase it. But that will help you break even on ad cost so you can acquire customers for free the rest of your business life... Don't jump straight into retail with, "Here is an E commerce store with tons of things you can go purchase." Those items, high ticket items, continuity items, and random items, those don't come in the value ladder until a little bit later on. You need to first focus on just acquiring a customer and breaking even on the ads...  Then, once they are a customer, then through e-mail, through Facebook, through whatever medium you are choosing, then you pitch to them your high ticket thing. It's pretty high ticket to have somebody come in and be a wholesale distributor and join your MLM. That's pretty big. Not necessarily that it's a lot of money but it's a high ticket commitment. Continuity, getting someone on a continuity thing, that's great, but that's a different style of a sales funnel for that... You're not going to have that as the front end offer. "Hey why don't you join my business and spend $60 a month?" It's like, "What, I don't even know you." That first front end value ladder has got to be get in and join my cult, join my culture, get to know me, break even on ad costs, get a relationship. Now that we're jiving and now that we're moving along, okay, now I'm going to send you the introductory page for my high ticket funnel. We'll see if you get on that... No you didn't? Okay now I'm going to send you my funnel that just sells you my continuity product. All right cool, now I'm just going to send an e-mail out that sells the random bonuses and things like that. This value ladder, it's not bad, it's the concept of a value ladder for sure. But you should definitely add a few more things in there. You have continuity labelled across the whole bottom. You are not getting continuity from a free E book over and over again. I know you have it labelled as auto ship, but those things, you got to push them back. That's not how to works... Anyways, I got to figure another way to do this, because I know you guys are on the podcast, and maybe that didn't make sense, but that is what I would do. That was a long critique. You got the concept down for sure but this whole thing about auto ship, if that's your one sole thing with business ... Here is what I'd do... If you've ever heard of Trey Lowell and he's got a company that he's making $0.5M a month with selling free ... Which is funny, think about what I'm saying here. He is selling free gun targets...  Meaning he comes in and he gives people, "Hey here is 10 free gun targets, just pay for the shipping and it's yours, we'll eat the cost ourselves." Their cost to acquire a customer is whatever the cost is just for the targets they get, which are probably in bulk and probably cheap because the other guy is paying the shipping.  Well the very next thing that they offer is more gun targets... You say, "Well hey, here is 10 free gun targets. You know what, we are sending this out, if you just pay 10 more dollars we'll send you out 20 more gun targets. That 20 extra bucks is going to cover his costs and he might actually make a dollar or two. He is not going to make a lot of money but that's not the point, he is just acquiring a customer. The very next page after he offers more is a $1 trial into a continuity program... He said, "After you join, I just want you to test it out for $1 just so I can weed out people who are freebie seekers. Just for a buck, test it out for a month, and in 30 days it jumps to $15 a month, or whatever it is. If you don't want it, that's fine, just let me know and we'll cancel it, no issues." It's a really soft close, right? Doing that is a fantastic way to bump people into a continuity thing...  If you can do that, say "Hey, I know you guys do that with ..." MLMs love to give away samples, right. Do that with a sample man. You give away something free, free E book, that's all right. If you can, try and get something that's even more sexy. They very next thing, give more of the same thing, but then for the continuity just say, "Hey for a dollar ... " Or, it could be free plus shipping offer. "I'll send this out to you for free, here is a sample of the product, just cover the shipping." Then the very next page says, "You know what, if you want to try an actual bottle at cost this is what it ... " It depends how you pitch it, it could be cost it could not, I don't know.  Anyways, there is a lot of different strategies for getting people in continuity... You cannot just come out and say, "Hey why don't you commit to giving me money every month?" Use some other mechanism or tool to dump them into that. Anyways, guys I'm sorry, this podcast was way longer than I thought it was going to be, but Chris, thank you so much for sending that to me, guys if you want me to critique yours, just e-mail, steve@salesfunnelbroker.com. Send me your value ladders and I can critique them.  I'll put this up on the blog, I'll also put the images up also so you can see. Or if you don't want me to, I don't have to either, I will still critique it. But then also, if you guys have any question that you want answered, I just started this thing. I think it's kind of cool. I call it the "Hey Steve!" show. I got these sweet T Shirts made. If you want, go over to salesfunnelbroker.com and click on podcasts at the top and you can record, in the "Hey Steve!" section, you can record a voice mail to me right off that browser, right off that page, and it will e-mail me whatever you say and ask the question too. I got to vet the question of course, but if the question gets on, I'll send you the free T Shirt. Anyways, guys, I'll talk to you later, thanks so much, and I hope you have a good one. Remember to go create value with your value ladder. All right guys, see you. Thanks for listening to Sales Funnel Radio, please remember to subscribe and leave feedback. Have a question you want answered on the show? Get your free T Shirt when your question gets answered on the live "Hey Steve!" show. Visit salesfunnelbroker.com now to submit your question.      

Not that I won't, but so far, anyone with a "mission statement" actually written and printed out hasn't truly done anything cool yet... So those must not be that helpful... Good, good morning everybody. How you doing? Welcome to Sales Funnel Radio. Welcome to Sales Funnel Radio where you'll learn marketing strategies to grow your online business using today's best internet sales funnels. Now here's you host, Steve Larsen. Hey what's going on? Actually it's morning time for me. It's about 6:18 in the morning. I actually got here a little bit late. Usually I'm here a little bit early but my mom and sister dropped in from Arizona and we were just talking this morning. Love my mama. She said something that was really interesting to me though. She goes, "Hey don't kill yourself." She said, "Hey please don't kill yourself." She got up, my little girls were crying so I got up and got them some milk and got up and got going. I get out here to the office early, about three hours before I need to so that I can work for you guys and record and get some sweet stuff out and make you sweet sales funnels. As I was leaving she stops and she goes, "Hey make sure you don't kill yourself." I was like, "I appreciate what you're saying and I understand what you're saying but I've been living at this pace for three or four years now." She goes, "I know, I know, I know, you've been doing it for a while, that's fine. She goes, "But still make sure you do things for you, make sure you take a break." I said, "Well I want you to know that I really want to make a lot of money in this life." She goes, "That would be nice." I said, "It would be nice but I'm purposeful about it." I mean it. I want that to happen and I'm doing everything in my life for it to happen. I've sold a lot of sales funnels and I've make good money right, but I want to really crank it up. She goes, "That would be so nice to make that much and I would like a lot of money too," and I was like, "No you don't get it, unless you say I want to make a lot of money you're not going to, right." Because everyone that I've talked to and everybody that I've coached and all the people that come to me for help. The people that say, "It would be cool to make that much money one day, ha, ha, ha," and nothing about their pattern changes. They're not going to make a lot of money. They're not. You won't. You have to actually be willing to tell people, "Yeah I'm doing this and working my butt off so that I can make a lot of money," and I want to do it so I can keep serving people. That sounds oh really Peter Panny of me or really Robin Hood style right there. Really I just want to be able to go invest in people's businesses and help it grow and help the American economy and stuff like that. I see the Shark Tank guys and I'm like, "Yeah that's totally me, I'm totally going to do that one day." That's all I really want to say. Unless you are serious about it. Unless you're big about it and you say, "Yes I want to go do this and yes I want to make a lot of money and yes I'm going to change my behavior, change what I'm doing," you're not going to make a lot of money. You're not, right. Right now one of the main reasons I started doing this also is because I have a normal job, and so I wanted you to know that you can still make a crap ton of money on the side, right, that's why I'm three hours before my actual job starts. I'm here early kicking it. Working hard, right, I've been doing this for a long time and it works. All I do is set a clear goal knowing I only have three hours before work starts and I got to go crush it and turn a dollar. The other thing I wanted you do know is you can do it too but you have to be serious about it. There is a guy ... It stuck out to me a lot. I graduated from BYU Idaho, I got a marketing degree. I remember as one of my last classes this kid, it was a business strategy class and I remember it so clearly and I remember his face because what he said just make me want to spit. I wanted to barf when he said it just ugh. The guy was sitting near me and he raised his hand and I can't remember what the professor said or whatever. He said ... He raised his hand and he goes, "Yeah, one of the main problems I have, I just have ... Like I know I should probably be an entrepreneur because I just have so many ideas and there's so many things I feel like I should go do and there's all this stuff that I want to get out there and crank out and I just can't stop the ideas from coming." In my mind I'm like, "Oh my gosh, shut up. Shut up. No one cares about your ideas. I don't care about your ideas. You barely care about your ideas because you're not doing anything about it." Oh man, was it Benjamin Franklin that said, "The value in the idea lies in the using of it." Oh man, I don't care that you have a sweet idea. Nobody cares that you have a good idea. I don't care if you have a good idea if you're listening to this. Because it's not a good idea unless you've made a dollar with it, right? I share my ideas with everybody, and the whole reason for it is because when you share the idea it becomes more polished and 99.9% of the time no one ever does anything with you idea ever. I think I've had maybe one guy actually go out and do ... Someone who's not already in this game. Someone who's not already working hard and trying to do things in their life. I think I've only ever had one guy who's in that kind of scenario who actually went out and actually tried to do some cool stuff and do some things I was trying. The other people I have begged. I've sent books to literally. I went back to some of my teachers who are teaching marketing stuff. I don't know if this is a jerk move or whatever, but I sent them some marketing books that told them ... It was a little bit ... It was pretty forward, but I did tell them like look, "I learned more from this book than I did from a lot of the marketing things that you were teaching, just know that, and know that that's the reason why I was hustling like crazy when I was in the middle of your class, and I know you noticed that, right, and ..." The whole point is you got to hustle. You got to be willing to say, "Yes I want to make a lot of money," and you got to be able to say that to everyone you meet. You have to be able to learn to share your ideas. Your ideas don't mean a thing unless you actually go and do something with them. Share them with everybody. Get people's reactions. That's where the value of it is, right. It's like when you launch a product. You don't just put a product out there without seeing people ... You know if people are going to buy it. That's suicide right? I learned that the hard way and I'm sure a lot of you guys have also. Years ago I started making these different ebooks and products and things like that and I just put them out there and no one had heard of it or seen of it ever. Well go figure, no one purchased it for a long time. I had to drive ads hard and things like that. Anyways, all I'm really saying is you got to be purposeful. I know I've said that several times but it's just such a clear lesson to me. Holy crap, nothing happened in my life until I actually went out and started being purposeful about it and raising my hand to the sky and to the universe and to God and saying, "Look I want it, give it to me please." I am doing everything that would require me to make that kind of money. Sales guys are selling. I'm working and producing. People are fulfilling. I got a business running, right, and I am in the spot where I am most likely to make a ton of money. I'm already making good money but I want to make a lot more. That's all you got to do. That's all you got to do. It makes me laugh when people say, "Hey you got to write a business plan." Man I hate business plans. I hate resumes. Resumes are crap. Okay, show me what you can do. Go do something. Stop planning dumb documents like, "Here's my business plan and here's my business model and this is our mission." It's like, "Cool, who is actually giving you a dollar, I don't give a crap." That's how I feel, and that's true and I hate those. Any job I've ever had that has been worth anything has never asked for a resume. The best sales jobs I ever had, the best jobs where I was building for people, they didn't ask for a freaking resume. All I gave them was, "Hey this is what I've done in the past. Go to these URL's, I built that." "Go to this, I did that." "Go to this, I did that." That was my resume. That's all people care about. They don't want to read some piece of paper garbage that tells them, "Yeah in college I had a 3.81 GPA," which is true, but I don't care. Now that I graduated I got my diploma in the mail an it was a little bit more of a disheartening feeling than I thought it would be. Because I got my diploma and I remember looking at it and just thinking like, "Huh that's interesting." I was expecting to feel like this huge amount of, "Whoo this is nuts." I didn't feel any of that. I was like, "Huh, well college taught me that I can do hard things and it taught me how to problem solve, that's it." It's mostly because I was hustling on my own. I don't really know what else I learned in college. I'm not saying you shouldn't go to college. Especially if you're a doctor or a lawyer, please go to college. I don't want anyone to be a brain surgeon and have an encyclopedia with doctor terms sitting on the side while they're in the operating room. I looked at my resume and I was like, "Hmmm, that's kind of cool," and it's just sitting in the same envelope it came in in my dresser. I didn't frame it or anything. I'm sure I will one day or whatever because it was a big thing for me to get it, but I'm just in such a different mentality. I don't really care. I'm kind of rambling and ranting now, but all I'm telling you is you've got to say and make the choice, "I want money." You're not being prideful when you say that. You're not being greedy when you say that right. There's a really good book called, The Science of Getting Rich. Some of it's a little bit strange and out there. Like everything is energy and money and it's a little bit woo-woo, and I'm not really into that stuff, but there's some really good parts in there though where it talks about how it is the ... How does it say it ... It's the duty of every man who ... Gosh how does it go ... It's the duty of every man to make more money because of the betterment that it will bring him, or something like that. I read that and I'm like, "Yeah I should not be so ashamed that secretly deep down I have a secret to make a crap ton of money." I've always had that desire and it's been funny because a lot of times when people ask it I feel like I have to coat it with something. "Yeah I'm going to go make a lot of money and reason is I got to ... Like I'm going to go serve like crazy." Which is true. I do want to go serve like crazy and I want to invest in other businesses and I do want to make the economy better and I do want to go to build schools in Africa and I do want to go do all that stuff. I also want to make a lot of money just because the game is really freaking fun. I get addicted to it. It's just fun to go turn a dollar and deliver a value to someone who gets really stoked about it and who's like, "This is awesome, I really, really want to make this, or I really love your product." That's fun, and I've done that several times now and I enjoy it. That's the whole reason I built salesfunnelbroker.com, is so that you can go and see a lot of sales funnels that will make you money. I've personally made money with probably about 90% of those funnels. If you go to the free funnel section that's where I keep a lot of obviously free funnels, but those funnel types are the ones I use to make money. I've used just about every one of them. One of them in there we pulled like sixty grand and it was about two months, but it was all from an email campaign. You know that's not a ton of money but it's a lot and we pulled twenty grand in two days from one. Anyways, go to the free funnel section in salesfunnelbroker.com, you guys can see that. Be purposeful about trying to make money. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm extremely religious. Money is not the root of all evil. Right, the love of it is. I do love the game and I like to be able to have the means to help others, but I have to tell you though that I'd give it up. This is just ... I was talking to Russell Brunson once and he said ... It was really interesting, he looked at me and he said ... You guys are all going to ask why I was talking and sitting next to him, but that will be for another day. I was talking with him and he was like, "You know this game is really fun but it's really just something that we use to distract ourselves until we die, right? What really matters is your relationship with your family, with your kids, with God." I am religious and if you're not okay with that just know that I talk about God on this podcast and I don't really care if I offend you. It's similar to the whole be purposeful about making money and don't care what other people think when you say that. The same thing about God and offending. I don't care if I offend you. Some point you got to stand where you are and say, "This is where I am and I don't care if you don't like it." I'll say things on this podcast. I'll say my opinions. I don't care if it offends you. That's your own choice to be offended. I'm going to tell you and tell the listeners and tell everyone in the world because you're going to hear this podcast soon and the transcriptions will be on the blog and it will be blasted all over Facebook and I'll put two hundred dollars behind this article so more people can read it and I can increase my reach. Well everybody who's listening to this, know that I don't care if I offend you when I say I'm trying to make a lot of money and I'm religious and I'm a family man and I get up early and I bust my butt every day. That's where I stand. If you identify with any of that, right, welcome to the podcast. Welcome to Sales Funnel Radio. This is not my first episode, but I'm just saying welcome, thank you for being here and we'll have fun on this journey together so let's go crush it. Anyways, it's a little bit of a rant, this podcast, but I just wanted to put out there. Write it on a piece of paper. I actually have a white board on the top that says, "World domination." I'm not trying to take over the world, I just think it's funny when I call it that. It's my business plan though. I just said I don't write a business plan but my business plan is one graph. That's it. It's the value ladder. That's it. At the bottom I have the free thing that I'm going to give and then as I move up the next thing I'm going to give that I'll charge for and the next thing I'll give that I'm going to charge for. Then next to each one of those things on the value ladder is how I'm going to market it. That's it. I guess that's my business plan. I don't have like some cheesy crap that's like, "Here's at Sales Funnel Radio, we will do our best to provide value to every customer, and we'll make ... Every customer will feel great. Customer satisfaction is our number one priority." It's like I hate that crap. Makes me ugh, makes me want to barf. I hate that. My gosh, corporate crap suck. Hey guys, I'll talk to you later. I know I've ended this three times already but thank you so much. Please go to the free funnel section on salesfunnelbroker.com. Download any of those sales funnels you want. It does require that you have click funnels but you can get it under a trial, so you can still get on there and make money with it. Then also if you guys have questions about sales funnels. I have been building them hard core. I don't even know how many hours. Thousands. Thousands and thousands and thousands of hours have been spent in click funnels for me. If you guys have any questions, go to salesfunnelbroker.com, and up in the top you'll see a button. It's either podcast or Hey Steve. Anyway, go to Hey Steve and you can click a button right on the website and it will record ... Just start talking and it will record a voice mail to me of your question. I listen through those questions and I kind of vet them and if your question gets on the show I send you out a Hey Steve tee shirt. They look super cool. You'll see a picture of it on the actual website there. Anyways, send your questions over and I would love to get you on the show. I'll give you credit for it. Obviously say your name, where you're from and I'd like to start answering your questions. I get a lot of questions on Facebook anyways. I figured I might as well make them public and possibly answer other people's questions that are out there also. Anyways, guys I'll talk to you later. Have a good one. Go make money. Thanks for listening to Sales Funnel Radio. Please remember to subscribe and leave feedback. Want to get one of today's best internet sales funnel for free? Go to salesfunnelbroker.com/freefunnels, to download your pre-built sales funnel today.

Hey guys, what's going on. I'm super excited because today is number ONE of the "HeySteve!" Show. Sales funnel Radio encompasses all the stuff that I do. However, there's lots of different things like, I'm going to have some interviews here soon for you guys. Obviously I post my own thoughts on what I'm doing for marketing that's working and my own sales funnels. What I wanted to share though is a show that I'm calling "HeySteve!". Here's how it works, you guys get on Sales Funnel Radio, go to salesfunnelradio.com or you go to salesfunnelbroker.com. Up the top it says podcast. You can look for"HeySteve!". What's cool is right on the website, there's a little widget that I found, I think it's called SpeakPipe, really, really cool software. Simple, but amazing. What's neat about it is that you can click right in the browser, it says start recording. You can ask a question to me. That little widget or whatever will record whatever you ask and send an email copy over to me, which is awesome. I get a copy of your question. Anyway, just got the first question in. This is from Todd. Todd is from Littleton, Colorado. He said, "Hey Steve, my background is on online marketing for e-commerce businesses. Each have 20 to 50,000 products ..." Holy crap, "first place I worked was for a ski and snowboards place and now I work for a place that sells restaurant equipment." In this scenario he said, "Where do funnels come into play?" Do you start with top selling products, do you build the ladder from there, do you build maybe from a group of brands, where do you think the best place to start is or is it better to just find a business that just sells a handful of things where you can find your value ladder?" Hey, that's a great question. E-commerce is the question on this one. I've had people ask me this before. How should I say this? Sales funnels are not supposed to give the person who is going through a lot of options. That's like totally the opposite of what an e-commerce business does. E-commerce is 20 to 50,000 in options, that's a lot of products man. A sales funnel, what it's supposed to do is, it's supposed to give them only like one or two options the whole way through. That's why we call them upsells. It's literally one time offers. They literally can only get it right then and right there. It creates urgency and it creates scarcity. The person wants to go through a purchase, because it's the only time they are going to see it. You get those feelings, "Oh man." That's what a sales funnel is. That's what it's meant to do. How can you use it in e-commerce setting? Now, you certainly can. If you use something like Shopify, I use ClickFunnels, you guys know that. I love ClickFunnels. If you guys want a ClickFunnels trial you can go to the resource section of salesfunnelbroker.com. There's a free trial on thee you can use or just download any of the sales funnels that I have on the free funnels section. You will get those also. What's cool is for e-commerce, here's what I would do. I would still use some kind of bait. You want something to get people over to you. If you are using restaurant equipment, that's what you are selling, you can still put something out there that's for free. That's one of the biggest aspects of marketing when it comes to the funnel. You've got to give something for free off the bat. That's how you get a relationship with people. That's how you create a feeling of reciprocity. If I give you something for free over and over again, that's going to make you feel really indebted to me, whether or not I wanted to. It's the whole reason we do it, is that if I give you something for free ... Think about my free funnel section for example. That free funnel section represents months and months and months of work. I'm just giving it to you for free. There's probably all the stuff that I've built in there and just decided to just give away, probably represents like a year of my life. Now, I've made some money from those things. They are great. A lot of them, I just decided to give you for free because I know it would be a lot of value, why, why did I do that? It's because of how I know it makes you feel. I wanted to solve a lot of problems for you. I love building funnels. A lot of people don't like building funnels. I'm just going to solve one of your problems, give you a crap load of value and you are going to be more apt to listen to things that I say. That's the whole reason I do it. It's to give value and to help you guys. Same thing with e-commerce. The rules of this don't change. That's the whole point of what I'm trying to make here. The rules don't change. You've got to find something. If you are selling restaurant equipment or you said that you used to work for skis and snowboard place selling lots of e-commerce stuff too, think about that market. Think about like if it's a restaurant equipment ... I used to ski like crazy growing up. That's like all we wanted for Christmas was a ski pass. We would go like 30 times in a season and it's so fun. Anyway skiing and snowboard, let's take that for example. What do those people want? If they are coming to an e-commerce place, they obviously like skiing and snowboarding. What can you give to that person for free? The rule is that you take the most valuable thing that you have. You take the thing that is the coolest thing and you give it for free, which is really hard for people to do. It's hard for business owners to do that, which is understandable. You take the biggest thing that you've got, give it for free. Hand it off to those people and say, "Hey, look, here you go" and that's your bait. Now it's irresistible. Now you are someone who has given away tons of value. Now you are someone who has given so much value that they feel the need to purchase something from you in the future. That's the feeling you want to create. Everybody can give a discount. Everybody can give coupons. That's overdone. I don't care about that stuff anymore. That's not a very good bait, "Order now and get you get 50% off," that's a terrible bait, don't do that in your own business. Oh man, unless you've got like a countdown time or anything, where you can tie it to like an event like there's a holiday going on. Don't use a discount. That's my own opinion. If you've got data that says otherwise, by all means go for it. Have something that is even more sexy on there. I give away free funnels. You could give something away equipment-wise, it's free, "Hey, we want to give you guys these sweet ski poles or something like that." Something that's low cost to you that is perceived high value. That's how you can use an e-commerce setting. If you sell equipment to restaurants, you can say, "Hey, look, here's latest tips on how to get more people into your restaurant." PDFs or e-books would be great for this, "Here's a guide on how to get your restaurant equipment cleaner using half of the manpower. The guy that's using your dish washing, here's how to still pay him well, but how to get all the jobs and the cleaning done in half the time." If you are a restaurant owner, you've got to want to know that stuff, "You are right, yeah, they go straight to my bottom-line, why would I know, I want to figure that out." Solve the problem of the conversation that's goring on in their head. If it's a restaurant equipment, there's just a few examples I just gave there. If it's a ski and snowboard place, "Hey, here's the best places for powder," "Here are the best places if you are into stunts, this is an awesome place to go. These are the resorts you need to go to," "If you are really into moguls and downhill skiing, things like that, here's the best places to go." If someone is going to go buy something in a ski or snowboard place, they are buying it because they want to be entertained. It's the hope for entertainment in the future. Getting on the mountain, feeling the snow. Help them have that feeling before they get on the mountain. That's what you are trying to do. In any of your businesses, in any of your funnels or products, you are trying to help them have those feelings as if what they are buying is already happening. Does that make sense, you guys getting this? I Hope that I am explaining this correctly. For example, I keep going back to the free funnel section I have in salesfunnelbroker.com, but that's the reason why I do it. I'm giving you a free funnel. The reason why I do it is to help you have the feelings of having a funnel before you have a funnel. It's a future pace. It's called future pacing in sales. I future pace your brain to have the feelings I want you to have before they are even happening. It's like when you are going on in a vacation. My dad took us to Hawaii once growing up. It's really cool. We didn't start talking about Hawaii the day we got on the plane. We planned months in advance. The anticipation is often just as powerful as the actual experience. That's exactly what you want your bait to do. I can't believe I haven't got to the upsells yet, I'm talking to you guys to hit you off on talk. That's exactly what you want your bait to do. You've got to help them have those experiences mentally and emotionally before they are even happening. It's the anticipation that things are going to be better. That things are going to be the way they want them to. The reason that they are hiring, "Ski equipment" or hiring or buying snowboard equipment is because they are hiring those things to help them have a good time later on. That's the job that the customers are hiring those products for. Help them have that. It plays straight into that, "Here's the best places for restaurant equipment," "Here's the best suppliers we found for food for restaurants." If you can do that, those are great baits. You can totally use them in e-commerce businesses to drive them to your e-commerce store in general. Look at this, you've got your bait, I'm going to be drawing this on a yellow legal pad. You've got your free bait in the front. Like I said, it hits all those things, it helps someone with what they are wanting. Not what they need, with what they are wanting, the feelings and emotions. We need to drive them over to an e-commerce store. You've clearly got a crap load of products, 20 to 50,000 products is a tone. I would choose your top selling products. Anytime anyone clicks on them and says, "Yes, I want to buy this," the very next thing is a one time offer. You can still use upsells inside of an e-commerce business. Most places don't do it, but you've seen Amazon is actually doing that now. Remember when you go when you click through Amazon ... If you don't know this, just go do it right now, you don't need to purchase it. Go through and act like you are going to buy something, what does Amazon do, it says, "Hey, most customers also purchase this." That's totally an upsell. It doesn't necessarily need to be on a one time upsell page. That's totally what's going on there. They are upselling because you are purchasing this one product, "Most people who buy this also buy this or they also buy this." They say, "Do you really just want one of those or do you want two." Those are the different ways that you can do a funnel-like structure inside of e-commerce. The other thing you can do is that, after someone purchases a product, drip them onto an email sequence that says ... In five or six days we are going to ask them how much they liked it. We are going to offer them something else to get them back into my e-commerce store or push them over to another funnel that was related to whatever they purchased. If they purchased skis, your bait was, "There's something really, really cool," let's say you partnered with someone and you are giving them tickets to a mountain or a certain resort and that's your bait. They go through and they buy skis, that's it. You offer them something else, but they don't purchase it. Five or six days later you say, "Hey, do you like the skis, are they awesome?" It comes over an email or a Facebook ad that re-targets them that says, "Why don't you get the wax that goes with it." Think about complementary things, salt and pepper. Whatever things go together. Here's the rule with one time offers, Todd from Colorado, this is probably way more than you are asking. There's two more things I want to show you. In upsells, you cannot solve the same problem that they were trying to solve in upsell. For example, if someone is going through and saying, "Hey, I need new skis." Your upsell later on cannot solve the same problem as, "Hey, I need new skis." It's got to be complementary. Anyways, I won't go more into that. If you want to pull this off, the way to do it, I would still use ClickFunnels. If you use a place like Shopify, Shopify have got some embeddable widgets for their checkout. I would still use something like ClickFunnels. Anytime anyone clicks on something in e-commerce, you can steal the funnel structure inside of ClickFunnels, but embedded with it one of their HTML elements from Shopify over into ClickFunnels. I hope that makes sense. If you have any questions about that just ask the ClickFunnels support team. They will help you with that. I just want you to know that it's totally possible. When people do it, they often will make a lot more money. For guys who know Marcus Lemonis, he does the show, The Profit on CNBC, I can't remember what other stations he's on. He's got a really cool show where he goes and invests in people's businesses and help them turnaround the company if he sees potential in them. He's doing that kind of thing, also he's currently, as far as I know, building sales funnels out of e-commerce stores that he has purchased and helped turnaround before. Anyways, guys, I hope that helped. Todd, please let me know if that helped. If you guys fiend that that was helpful at all please let me know. I would really appreciate that. Actually go to our Facebook page and comment down below. Pleaser rate, review, subscribe and guys I'll talk to you later, thanks so much for tuning in to the "HeySteve!" Show Sales Funnel Radio. Thanks for listening to Sales Funnel Radio. Please remember to subscribe and leave feedback. Have a question you need answered on the show? Take your free t-shirt when your question gets answered on the live Hey Steve Show. Visit salesfunnelbroker.com now to submit your question.

Welcome to Sales Funnel Radio where you'll learn marketing strategies to grow your online business using today's best internet sales funnels. And now, here's your host, Steve Larsen. Hey you guys. I'm actually super excited for this. I can't believe I'm recording the first episode of this podcast. I mean this is awesome. I love podcasts. I think they're awesome. I've learned a lot from them. I've made money because of things I learn off podcasts. I've gained a lot of respect for a lot of people. Anyways, so I'm excited to be doing this podcast and I remember the idea first came up, and I was like, "I don't want to get podcasting. I don't want to go out and start, I don't know, going around and trying to interview all these people and stuff like that." What I want you to know is what you can expect from this, though, because I'm excited that I decided to. I used to do a lot more parascoping than I used to. I got 600 parascope followers, and something interesting happened when I started publishing. The moment I started publishing, I started getting a ton of interaction with people. Way more than my ad spend, right? It's super fun. It was just, so, I've got to tell you, it's as much for me to be doing this podcast as it might be for the things that you learn in this. Selfishly, I just enjoy it. It's super fun. I feel a connection whenever I do that, and then I get feedback from people and they say, "Hey, I used that tactic and I made money with it." It blows me away. Super fun. Anyway, I enjoy that a lot. What you can expect from this podcast is to learn specific sales funnel strategies, whether that's for webinars, trip wire funnels, product launch funnels, automated webinar funnels, anyways. If those don't mean anything to you, no worries. It's okay. I'll go crazy deep on some things, but other things not. I promise to keep it interesting as well. I hate monotone speaking podcasts. Oh my gosh, they're so boring. Those are the ones I always play at 2 time speed. If you didn't know you could do that, it's on your iPhone, but you can play things at 2 time speed, really fast. I kind of tend to talk quickly, so that might sound weird, but what I'm going to do is talk about sales funnels, things I'm building right now for clients. I've been building sales funnels for the last, about 4 years and the first one I even built was for this guy named, actually I can't even remember his name, but he was an artist and we were selling his art. It wasn't quite like gif art, but it was ... Anyways it was cool. It was cool stuff. I remember I built the sales funnel, cool, and no one came to it. I was like, "what the heck?" I was like, "I've got to go learn how to send traffic." But I didn't, and time went on, time went on, and I was like, "Hey, I'm going to go learn door to door sales, just because I want to learn how to sell in really hard environments." That's why I did it. I went and I was like the number 2 sales guy for a while. I mean I was like crushing it. It was awesome. I was selling pest control and there were bugs everywhere so it was great. I remember while we were driving out to one of our areas one morning. I was looking and we were on the highway and it was a great day out. I remember it was blue skies, you know, just fantastic out. It was hot, crazy hot. I remember looking around and seeing all these billboards as we were driving down the highway and thinking, this is crazy. I get up every morning and I convince people who were not planning on spending money that they should spend money, and I'm not doing bad at it, which is awesome. That's a skill. But everyone who's seeing these billboards is planning on spending on something when they call that number. It completely switches the psychology of the sale. I'm like, oh my gosh, that's incredible. I was in college at the time. I was like, I've got to learn how to do that. What I did is I got online that night and I started putting out all these ads, just free classified ads, all over the place selling our pest control. "Hey, if you got this issue, call." "If you got this issue, call." "Hey we're doing a sale. Call." My phone started blowing up. I couldn't believe it. My boss called, he's like "How are you getting all these sales?" I was like, "They're calling me." He goes, "Are you kidding? What the heck?" I said, "I'm kind of shocked it's working." I remember I pulled like 10 phone sales in a very short period of time. It's funny because for a door to door salesman, there's different ratios right? Hey, I know that if I pitch 50 to 60 people one of them on average will say yes. That's a crap ton of work and a lot of talking, right? When I was doing this it flipped it and I closed 90% of the people who were calling, always. I think there was only 1 or 2 who didn't purchase, because they called because they had a problem and they knew I had a solution. I was like, "this is nuts. This whole thing is crazy. Why am I selling this way?" It was a great way to learn how to sell, and it's a fantastic skill to have. I've used that many other places, but the interesting thing though, I was hooked after that. My sales numbers started sucking because I started thinking like, "How else can I blow this up?" I started thinking about ... Anyways, I kind of quit door knocking and I went home that summer. We made money. It was a good experience. I came home and that just always stuck with me. I was like, that's nuts. People are clicking ... It's not clicking. That's where I'm going. They were calling. I was like, how can I get them to click on things that I want them to online? So I started getting obsessed with this stuff. Just like, okay, I've got to go make a product and then I'm going to get ads and then I'm going to drive it to that product. Wow, revolutionary Steve. It's not that crazy, but what's is that to me that was a huge deal. I went and I built this product and no one came and it never sold and no one came and it was tumbleweed after tumbleweed. I was like, crap! That's when I was like, I need to learn how to send traffic. I started going and I started learning all these traffic techniques and it's super cool. At that time I was, this is just the story of how I got into this so you guys know. I thought it'd be good to tell as the first podcast. At the time I was in my internet marketing, it was called Intro to Internet Marketing. It was one of my classes in college. It was bad, man, it was so bad. For the last couple months I had been studying traffic, right, because none of my ebooks had sold. Still on Amazon, by the way. Anyway, so I started learning all these traffic techniques but by the time that internet marketing class came up in college, I had been studying enough stuff and practicing enough and had made enough money that I knew everything he was already talking about, and I knew that what the teacher was saying was old and was wrong and wasn't going to work for what he was teaching. I told the teacher that. That's not always the wisest thing to do to a professor, but that's what I did. I drew up this plan, and it was hey I'm going to have this squeeze page. People will come in. They'll opt in and I'll get their email address and then after that I'm going to push them over to the sales page of like someone else's product. I was practicing affiliate marketing. I would get a commission when I would send a buyer to someone and someone else would make the product. That's called affiliate marketing if you're not familiar with that. It worked. I put 50 bucks in to some ads. I woke up and there was 50 bucks in my account. I was like, "Oh my gosh! Are you kidding me?" I went and I called my buddy. I was like, "Dude, get over here! It worked!" He comes flying over. I was like, "We didn't really make anything, but we gained 17 subscribers and we broke even. We got 17 people that we know are basically buyers and 2 or 3 of them specifically and now I can go market those people because we know that they want this stuff." It was like, "Oh my gosh, this is crazy." I was like, "We're got to figure out how to make money with it though." Anyways we told that teacher, hey we don't want to do this. We don't want to come to your class anymore and I want to go do this stuff. He's like, okay. We got out of that class the rest of the semester and our deliverables was that we had to teach the rest of the class what we were doing at the end. It's funny because it sounded like ninja stuff. Thinking back, though, it really wasn't that crazy. We were just doing what works. What was nuts is we ended up getting so good at sending just a crap ton of traffic. I mean, like 53,000 people in 2 days type of traffic. We sent so much traffic to different places. It's crazy. Our professors and teachers started obviously noticing that, because we would talk about it in classes before they'd start and we were just excited about it, and sometimes we'd go ask their advice. Well there was a Paul Mitchell, you know like the hair school, that needed help with their traffic and they said, "Hey we got 2 kids that are doing pretty good with it." So we started working with some of the owners of different Paul Mitchells around the nation. There was one in Idaho, no there's 2 in Idaho, and then 8 more ... I can't remember. No, there's just one. One in Idaho and then 8 more down through California. We were on the phone with all these business owners making millions of dollar every year, telling them how to send traffic and stuff. We're like, you got to do this, got to do this, got to do this. They're like, "We don't want to do it. We want to hire you to do it." Okay. They started paying us 1,000 bucks here and there, and they'd give us an ad budget and we'd go send traffic to the different Paul Mitchell sites, and we were good at it though. A normal ad word was like $50 on Google and we were getting it for like $5 or 5 cents even at these different places, and it was awesome. People were loving it. Here's the thing though. As we were driving all this traffic and we started building some sites for some of their uprising celebrities and things like that ... That's a different story though, but it's crazy cool. They started asking us this question. They're like, "Why when the traffic comes, why isn't is actually doing anything?" They were like, "We're spending thousands of dollars in ads but why is it that we aren't actually getting more people?" We're like, "Oh you know, the next ones are coming along. We're just ... It's all about the numbers." Pretty standard stuff you hear in door to door sales. "Just a numbers game." Complete bull crap, in my opinion. That question just never left me, and I was like, how the heck do you do that? We ended up moving on and I helped start a cell phone insurance business for iPhones called Fixd Insurance. It's still up. F-I-X-D Insurance. Fixdinsurance.com. That was the first sales funnel that I ever built. It was because of that question, what do I do with traffic when it hits my site and how do I get it so that they buy stuff? That's what a sales funnel is and answers. Anyways, classic sales funnel. Here's a story too for you to for that. Ads have gotten really expensive to send to just a flat website, right? If I'm buying ads and it's going to, I don't know, WebMD.com, just because everyone will probably know that site. If I'm buying ads to that site, it's very expensive because 90% of it is going to leave without purchasing anything. I don't know if Web MD actually sells anything, but let's say they did. 90% of that traffic is going to leave without ever doing anything. It's very very pricey for these people to send traffic. Us internet marketers, we had to come up with a different way, right? We had to come up with a way to make it cheaper and to get back our ad costs while still getting a customer, and that's what a sales funnel does, right? You come in, you give them something that's free or discounted that a lot more people will take. 20, 30% of people will purchase or opt into. Something free at the front end. Now you got their contact information so then you can put them on different email campaigns and cell phone campaigns and follow ups and direct mail campaigns or whatever it is. You got their information and over the long tail, as they purchase, you're going to make back your money. That's just a one page funnel. We were like, well that's all right. It's not amazing though. What we did is, us internet marketing industry, we started going and saying hey, why don't we add a product that's slightly higher priced to the next one. Less people will take it but we'll make back more of our ad spend money, right? You got this free thing and then one more thing that's hey, like 20 to 50 bucks. Then we do that again, but we hiked it another time so now it's 97 to like $150. That's the typical price range for the next one, depending on what industry you're in. Anyways, it's kind of cool. My cost, like I have a site called secretmlmhacks.com. I've built a ton of sales funnels in the last, especially the last year. Probably close to 20 of them custom. It's not like I'm selling the same one over and over again. I'll tell you guys more about those as I go along. Just so you know, the stories I'm telling here are from case studies and things I'm learning personally. I will reference other people in this podcast and I will give them credit, but I will also use just the things that I'm using that are working. That way you guys know. Anyways, we started going and we started driving this traffic to these different sales funnels and they started working. For secretmlmhacks.com, that's one that is mine. It cost me like $1.30 to get someone into the door, typically, and then my average cart value at the end after it's all said and done across everything is like $2.80. You can make a business off of that. McDonald's, McDonald's, McDonald's. They spend about $1.81 just to get you to their drive through. That's their ad spend. On average, per customer is $1.81. If they sell you a $2.08 hamburger they've made 20 cents. You can't make a business off that, so what is their "up sale"? They ask you, would you like to biggie size that? Would you like fries and a drink with that? Now that they've done that, they've recouped their ad cost and their average cart value jumps up to I guess like 5, 6, $7. You can make a business with that now. Now they're making 4, $5 after their ad spend in every single thing they go. That's how it works though. Know what your ... It's all about what's your cost to acquire a customer and what's your average cart value. If your average cart value is higher than your cost to acquire a customer, you have a business. The simplest way to do it is to have a sales funnel that helps you recoup your ad cost. You don't try and make money first, just recoup your ad cost, and then you sell them the other things in the back end. Amateurs focus on the front end. The pros focus on the back end. Anyways, that's maybe getting a little too technical for this, but that's how I got into it. It's just me asking all these questions, like how do I do this? How do I do this? Why isn't this selling? Why isn't this selling? Then it suddenly clicked after like 2 years of trying in the internet space. My purpose of this podcast is to cut down the time it takes for you to learn these things. I'm just going to tell you some sweet nuggets. I'll tell stories in every one of them, usually, just because I hate podcasts that don't have stories. Stories are amazing. Stories engage us. I have to tell stories, so I'll tell lots of different stories and different scenarios and things that I'm working for right now. I love sales funnels. I am a full time builder and I use a tool called click funnels. If you want a trial of that, go to salesfunnelbroker.com and click on resources and there's a trial for click funnels there. I used to build everything in Word Press and that was not a fun experience. Click funnels is awesome because you can build literally anything, and I'm not a coder or programmer. I'm not a "tech guy." I might be now considered more of a tech guy because I've self taught some code things, but I would never consider myself a coder or a programmer. I use click funnels because I don't have to be a coder or programmer, and I have completely say in what I build and do. It's not like you're getting a template. You can use the templates, but I always blank them out anyways and delete everything and just start over and build what I want. Anyways, guy thank you so much. I am super excited for this podcast. This is actually a dream come true for me. It's as much for me as it is for the things you'll learn here. Anyways, please subscribe and let me know what you think about this. If you think the idea's cool, or if it's stupid, either or, I just want to know. Feedback would be awesome. Please comment, rate this podcast, subscribe. I would love to send out more of my stuff to you, and my whole purpose is just to help you make money online or offline. Sales funnels work offline, like McDonald's. But make more money using sales funnels because ads and competition have really increased, especially because of the internet. All right guys. Thank you so much again. Please let me know what you think about this. Bye. Thanks for listening to Sales Funnel Radio. Please remember to subscribe and leave feedback. Have a question you want answered on the show? Get your free t-shirt when your question gets answered on the live Hey Steve show. Visit salesfunnelbroker.com now to submit your question.