Archive 4: 2020-2023

839: GreenPal: Create Apps, Solve Problems, Start and Grow Tech Startups with Bryan Clayton

January 25, 2022

Is it too late to start your business? Are you afraid of being a failure? It's common to have self-doubt when you first start as an entrepreneur, especially if your business is your primary source of income. Keeping your goals short and reachable prevents you from becoming overwhelmed by the larger picture and instead helps you maintain your faith by celebrating tiny victories.

Bryan Clayton is the CEO and founder of GreenPal, an online marketplace that connects homeowners with local lawn care professionals. Prior to starting GreenPal, he owned a landscaping company for 15 years. Today, Brian talks about the journey of bootstrapping GreenPal from the ground up, sharing insights on building a successful business without outside funding and the importance of focusing on customer needs and revenue growth.

Quotes

“Revenue is the best form of financing. It keeps you focused on what really matters - the customer and keeping people using your product.” - Bryan Clayton

“Once you understand that you can build something that people use, you never see the world the same way again.” - Bryan Clayton

“Necessity is the mother of invention. Bootstrapping forces you to come up with creative ways to grow and market the business.” - Bryan Clayton

Takeaways

03:32 Bootstrapping a business by funding it through its own revenue can keep the founder focused on customer needs and sustainable growth.

05:31 Starting small and celebrating incremental wins is crucial when building a business from scratch, as it allows you to see the potential for exponential growth.

07:54 Providing a "business in a box" solution for service providers can empower them to grow their income while reducing administrative hassle.

12:19 Using data and technology to provide detailed property information can enable service providers to give accurate quotes more efficiently, benefiting both the homeowner and the service provider.

18:51 Identifying and solving real pain points in an industry, rather than just adding convenience, is key to building a successful Uber-like marketplace.

20:35 Implementing quality control measures, such as vetting providers and monitoring performance metrics, is essential for maintaining a high-quality user experience.

Resources

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:52 — 24.8MB) | Embed

838: Tactics vs. Strategies: Boost Your Social Engagement and Develop Consistent Traffic with Paid Ads, Funnels, and Tracking with Oliver Feakins

January 20, 2022

Do you consider hiring a digital marketing agency for your business? Let's face it: even the savviest marketing teams don't always have the resources to devote to digital marketing. Businesses benefit from digital marketing agencies by developing complete online strategies and optimizing their digital presence.

Oliver Feakins is the founder of Trusted Search Marketing (now TrackFive), a digital marketing agency that offers best-in-class SEO, paid search, and social media services, as well as recruitment marketing. With over 15 years of experience in the industry, Oliver has established himself as an expert in the field of digital marketing. Today, Oliver discusses the challenges faced by marketers in the current digital landscape, particularly the impact of changes in platforms like Facebook and Google. He emphasizes the importance of adaptability, continuous testing, and a multi-platform approach to ensure consistent traffic and engagement for businesses.

Quotes

“It's a different world now, and it's really been flushed out. There are still digital marketing agencies that don't realize anything has changed.” - Oliver Feakins

“As marketers, we rely on keyword research, seasonality, and trend data. COVID-19 disrupted that. Previously, you could look back four or five years to find seasonality and keywords, but now, COVID has changed everything around over the past year.” - Oliver Feakins

“There's so much need to test widely at this point to find out what's working. Everyone is just on everything.” - Oliver Feakins

Takeaways

01:00 Adaptability is crucial in the ever-changing digital marketing landscape, as platforms like Facebook and Google constantly update their algorithms and policies.

06:44 Continuous testing and a multi-platform approach are essential to finding the "golden goose" of marketing strategies that consistently drive traffic and engagement.

11:49 Focusing on the fundamentals, such as having a well-designed landing page and utilizing video content, can significantly improve the performance of digital marketing campaigns.

19:42 Understanding the nuances of your target audience and their search behavior is key to optimizing content and ad campaigns for maximum impact.

26:03 Maintaining a strategic mindset, rather than just implementing tactics, is crucial for long-term success in digital marketing.

Resources

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:38 — 30.1MB) | Embed

837: Remote Work From Home Masterplan: Implement the Entrepreneur Lifestyle with Mike Arnold

January 18, 2022

Have you ever considered working from home? What are the challenges you might face, and what can you do to make the most of them? Many individuals simply go through their days attempting to be the best they can be in dealing with everything that comes their way.

Mike Arnold is a work-from-home entrepreneur with expertise in business management, business development, time management, strategy, efficiency, and coaching. He is the author of the book "Slacking Off," which aims to help people be happier and more efficient while working from home. Today, Mike talks about the challenges of working from home, including the need to have a plan and set boundaries to avoid distractions and maintain productivity. He emphasizes the importance of prioritizing self-care and being present during work tasks to ensure optimal performance.

Quotes

“Ultimately, it really comes down to being there comfortably and being able to fully focus on who's in front of you.” - Mike Arnold

“The better you are, the more efficient you are, the harder it is to be efficient. It's not the other way around.” - Mike Arnold

“If you create your own plan and structure, and have an emergency plan for handling obstacles, you'll be better off than someone who doesn't.” - Mike Arnold

Takeaways

02:26 The challenges of working from home can evolve over time, requiring adaptability and new strategies to maintain productivity and work-life balance.

07:57 Maintaining camaraderie and social connections while working remotely can be a significant challenge, but finding creative solutions is important.

15:38 Prioritizing self-care and being fully present during work tasks can lead to improved performance and efficiency.

18:34 Committing to and following through on tasks, even when one doesn't feel like it, can be a key factor in success when working from home.

19:28 The more efficient one becomes, the more challenging it can be to maintain that level of efficiency, requiring constant vigilance and adjustment.

20:28 Having a plan and structure is crucial for working from home effectively, as it helps avoid distractions and maintain productivity.

23:45 Finding meaningful work that positively impacts others can provide a strong sense of purpose and motivation when working remotely.

Resources

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:13 — 31.5MB) | Embed

836: PodMatch: Network with Podcast Guests and Hosts to Build Your Reach, Influence, and Traffic with Alex Sanfilippo

January 13, 2022

Ever wondered who can be the perfect guest to your podcast? Or are you struggling to keep your podcast in shape? Alex Sanfilippo created the solution to the problems most podcasters have, he created the powerful tools for podcasters to use and a system that can make your podcast into a great shape! Let’s tune in to this episode to learn more about these websites!

Alex Sanfilippo is the host of the top-rated entrepreneurship podcast "Creating a Brand" now Podcasting Made Simple and the founder of PodMatch, a free service that connects podcast guests and hosts for interviews. Today, Alex discusses the importance of podcasting for building relationships and trust with listeners, as well as the challenges of finding guests and being a guest on other shows. He also shares insights on his new platform, Podcast SOP, which helps podcasters streamline their episode release process.

Quotes

“People do business with those they know, like, and trust. To develop that know, like, and trust, they need to feel like they get to know you, which is hard to achieve with just a website or an advertisement.” - Alex Sanfilippo

“If your motives are wrong, it might be for money. But the main reason has to be that you want to add value to someone's life—you want to help.” - Alex Sanfilippo

“Podcasting has been around for about 20 years, but it's still relatively young when you consider the technology involved.” - Alex Sanfilippo

Takeaways

02:33 Podcasting is a powerful tool for building relationships and trust with listeners by allowing them to get to know the host.

08:47 Finding the right guests and being a guest on other shows can be challenging, but using platforms like Pod Match can help streamline the process.

13:32 Podcasters need to be intentional about their outreach and make it easy for potential guests to say no, which can lead to better responses.

21:34 Podcast SOP can help podcasters stay organized and reduce stress by providing a streamlined workflow for episode release.

30:25 Podcasters should focus on adding value and serving their audience, rather than being motivated solely by money or ego.

Resources

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:40 — 30.1MB) | Embed

835: Leading Teams Effectively to Grow your Business with Amy Anderson

January 11, 2022

Want to build an effective team that delivers compelling, results-driven marketing plans and programs that work? If you are struggling to manage your team and clients, then Amy Anderson can help you with just that. She has the exceptional ability to advise business owners and management teams and lead cross-functional teams to develop and achieve strategic and revenue goals.

Amy Anderson is the Co-Founder of Wild Coffee Marketing, a widely respected and creative industry leader. She sees the unique opportunity to leverage creativity to transform both brands and entire organizations across multiple sectors. With her extensive experience as a marketing executive, Amy brings a strategic and client-centric approach to her work. Today, Amy talks about building a strong marketing team and developing a clear strategy before diving into implementation.

Quotes

“We have to make people stop and think, tie it into core business objectives, and participate in executive meetings with clients who truly understand how marketing impacts everything.” - Amy Anderson

“If an executive team has been successful without dedicating a significant amount of time and budget to marketing, it can be challenging to convince them that they can accelerate their business even further by investing in it.” - Amy Anderson

“Don't let "great" get in the way of "good." You can overthink and strive for perfection, believing you need to deploy all tactics simultaneously. Ultimately, "good" means it is done, right, and out in the market.” - Amy Anderson

Takeaways

03:47 Augmenting an existing in-house marketing team with specialized expertise can help companies overcome the limitations of a single-person marketing function.

11:41 Developing a clear marketing strategy before jumping into implementation is crucial for business growth.

17:48 Outsourcing fractional marketing services can provide companies with access to high-level expertise and resources without the full-time commitment.

24:41 Embracing a "good is done" mindset can help businesses overcome the paralysis of trying to achieve perfection and get their marketing efforts off the ground.

29:50 Focusing on simple, high-impact marketing tactics like email outreach can be more effective than trying to deploy complex, multi-faceted campaigns.

33:25 Maintaining empathy and compassion when leading teams is important, especially during times of market uncertainty and chaos.

Resources

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:55 — 32.2MB) | Embed

How to Build a Successful Internet Marketing Business in 2022

January 7, 2022

I've been really consistent with the podcast lately, showing up to all my scheduled interviews -- 6 this week.

The real secret to creating a successful podcast that doesn't simply fail, is to interview other people. You create a Calendly account (free), to setup a special link with your "office hours" -- your future guest submits their bio to you and it adds the meeting to your Google Calendar. When the meeting times rolls around, you click the one button to open your Zoom room, have a discussion with your guest for 20 minutes, and that's an episode. We explain this inside our Podcast Crusher system and we have a monthly service called DFY Podcast where we do all the tasks for your podcast like editing, production, publishing to all the channels, marketing like writing your promotional emails, social graphics, etc.

When most people think about a "podcast" they think about sitting alone in a room for hundreds of episodes on end, or maybe with the same host every time. Instead, network with other people in your industry or even a little bit outside your industry... they give you content, traffic, and "networking"... and you even pick up all kinds of cool ideas for yourself.

For example, yesterday I interviewed Smooth Sailing Captain Lyndsay Phillips (the "other" Capt. Phillips) who delivered this juicy morsel: create the occasional blog post or promo email that's a "round up" or "curation" of some of your recent podcast episodes. We haven't premiered the episode yet, but that's what I'm doing now!

What's interesting about this idea for YOU and your podcast is that you can "string" together a little bit of an action plan. For example:

Website Rental Local Lead Generation Side Hustle

I was really impressed with guest Luke Van Der Veer's "Website Rental" idea. Click here to listen to the episode. His concept works like this:

choose a service-based industry located in your local area, like "garage door opener repair."
create a landing page to collect leads, optimize that page for Google ranking, use your internet marketing skills to start sending traffic
while you're waiting for those steps to pay off, monitor social media -- I'm talking about Facebook groups focused on your geographical area, NextDoor, places like that -- proactively looking for people seeking garage door repair

When that "local" lead seeking garage door repair comes in, perhaps someone you found on social media, you now call around your local area to locate that garage door repairman, and land them that new business for free.

Repeat this process until you are consistently finding garage door repair leads and hooking them up with a solution that same day. By this point, you ideally get some consistent traffic, and perhaps you rank highly in Google for "[city name] garage door repair" at which point, you can charge that garage door repair client a monthly fee in exchange for the leads your landing page is bringing in. It's a cool "side hustle" of an idea that could grow into a larger business for you.

Charge What You're Worth By Working Less

Mike Killen, author of Five Figure Funnels, was also an extremely impressive guest you should check out. His idea: you're working too hard. Instead of scrambling for low-ticket clients, Mike says you should work backwards...

Let's say you want to earn $100k per year...
Cut this up into landing four $25k clients
Spend each quarter marketing your $25k package with the goal of landing one sale

It's an interesting way for you to stop "scrambling" so much and to simplify what you do.

Make Sure It All Leads to Something

Finally, another guest that completely blew me away was John Warrillow, from "Built to Sell." The usual paradox with selling a business is: in order to find an excited buyer, the business has to be on its way up (instead of something you're tired of), and consistently making money.

John's answer to this is: you should make the steps to sell your business anyway, so that you'll have more freedom. If someone buys your business, you can use that money to retire OR buy a new business and repeat the process.

The overall strategy with selling your business is sort of like "e-myth on crack." The point of The E-Myth is that you're probably doing all the work in your business, so you should systematize what you do into a repeatable checklist, and then act as the "Manager" who tells the "Workers" what tasks to complete. Then, hire a "Manager" (or many managers) to tell the workers what to do, making you the "Boss."

John says that you should continue this process until you pay a "Boss" to run your company, making the hierarchy Owner -> Boss -> Managers -> Workers.

Your sole job as the "Owner" is no longer to run the company, but spend all your time finding a buyer.

I am more than willing to introduce you to any of the guests from my podcast as guests for your show, if you're in need of content, connections, and traffic. The secret to you creating a podcast is just getting started (our DFY Podcast team will setup your podcast for free) and the secret to continuing your successful podcast is to delegate the "hard" technical work. Just show up to your interviews so it's not a time suck or a "beast" that requires you to learn -- and perform -- a ton of tasks. Just show up to your podcast as the "talent" and let our team do everything else.

834: Built to Sell: Create a Business That Thrives On Its Own with John Warrillow

January 6, 2022

Do you want to build a valuable business that can thrive without you even laying a finger? If you are a parent, your goal for your children is to make them an independent and thriving member of society. And this is the same for business owners. If you are an entrepreneur, your goal is not to sell the product but to sell the company. The goal is to build a business that thrives and creates profit without you.

John Warrillow is an expert on helping business owners build, accelerate, and harvest the value of their businesses. He is the author of several books, including "Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You," "The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry," and "The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies and Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top." Today, John discusses his recent focus on launching a new product that aims to help entrepreneurs document their standard operating procedures, a crucial step in building a business that can run without the founder's constant involvement.

Quotes

“Effectively, we're trying to solve an issue that many entrepreneurs face: documenting standard operating procedures.” - John Warrillow

“A lot of entrepreneurs are good at starting things but are not necessarily process-oriented individuals.” - John Warrillow

“If you're selling the wrong product, you need to hire salespeople to sell it. You also have to apply the same sales, marketing, and influencing skills to sell your company.” - John Warrillow

Takeaways

02:55 Entrepreneurs often struggle with systematizing their businesses, as they tend to be better at starting ideas than following through with processes.

12:35 Building a business that can succeed without the founder's constant involvement is crucial for creating flexibility, freedom, and options for the entrepreneur.

16:17 Focusing on one unique, differentiated offering can make a business more valuable and attractive to potential acquirers, rather than cross-selling a mix of products.

19:58 Avoiding the temptation to chase revenue through cross-selling and instead staying disciplined to a single, differentiated offering can lead to a more valuable and desirable business.

23:37 Entrepreneurs should think of their business as a child they are raising, with the goal of creating an independent, self-sustaining entity.

Resources

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:15 — 26.1MB) | Embed

833: Have Meaningful Customer Surveys and Conversations to Create Meaningful Ideas with Darshan Mehta

January 4, 2022

How are great ideas created? Many times, ideas come from the thought of two people or even multiple people just having a conversation over a cup of coffee. As entrepreneurs, these are the conversations that we should look for. Engaging in conversations with other people can give you that “Aha!” moment. But how exactly can we engage in those types of conversations?

Darshan Mehta is the founder of iRESEARCH, an insights platform to quickly and affordably extract insights from consumers worldwide. He also runs ConnectQuick.com, an app for instant connections and engaging interactions. Darshan has over 25 years of experience in branding, marketing, insights, strategy, and technology. Today, Darshan talks about tapping into consumer conversations to uncover valuable insights that can help businesses make informed decisions. He emphasizes the power of using humor and observations to understand consumer behavior and shares a case study of how a retailer improved their sales by adjusting their store hours based on customer insights.

Quotes

“Insights are different from a fact or an observation; they are the combination of various elements put together.” - Darshan Mehta

“In today's digital world, you will hear from your customers, whether you like it or not.” - Darshan Mehta

“Perfection is a moving target. What might be perfect today may not be tomorrow.” - Darshan Mehta

Takeaways

01:11 Using humor and observations can make presentations more engaging and help people understand consumer behavior.

03:43 Tapping into consumer conversations can uncover valuable insights that help businesses make informed decisions.

06:11 Focus groups can provide deeper, more nuanced insights by allowing participants to build on each other's ideas and refine their thoughts.

13:07 Considering the entire customer experience, from product discovery to post-purchase, is crucial for creating a positive and memorable brand interaction.

17:42 Consistent, meaningful conversations with customers can help alleviate any hesitation or dissonance they may have after making a purchase.

20:05 Engaging in meaningful conversations that promote creativity and thought-provoking ideas is key to gaining valuable business insights.

Resources

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:45 — 23.8MB) | Embed

832: Brand Strategy 101: Market and Product Research, Product Design, and Brand Awareness with Michael Keplinger

December 30, 2021

How do well-known products become well-known? Did they succeed ‘coincidentally’ and became viral or have they employed a brand strategy to make things happen? A LOT of things goes into the process of creating a product. From conducting market research, designing and formulating the product, to its packaging, time and effort are heavily invested to craft such “art.”

Michael Keplinger is the founder of SmashBrand, an agile brand strategy agency that specializes in market research, product design, and testing for consumer-packaged goods. Today, Michael shares his expertise in building successful CPG brands, highlighting the importance of leveraging partnerships, conducting thorough consumer research, and taking a strategic approach to branding and packaging to differentiate products in crowded marketplaces.

Quotes

“Usually, when you do well and serve an underserved need, other people will come and do the same thing.” - Michael Keplinger

“The hard part, which will be difficult to find anyone to do well for you, is the other pieces: the branding and the consumer perception.” - Michael Keplinger

“The key is to be reactive and quick in trying to correct things. Of course, trying to avoid them in the first place is also quite important.” - Michael Keplinger

Takeaways

06:31 Testing and validating brand concepts and packaging designs with consumers is an essential step to reduce risk and ensure the final product resonates in the market.

07:21 Leveraging partnerships and expertise can help startups streamline product development and focus on the critical branding and marketing elements to drive success.

09:27 Launching a new product on Amazon comes with unique challenges and being proactive and responsive to the platform's rules and regulations is crucial to avoid costly mistakes.

13:40 Crafting a successful CPG brand requires a deep understanding of the target consumer and strategically differentiating the product through branding and packaging.

21:29 Established mid-range CPG brands need to make bold changes to stay relevant and fend off competition from nimble challenger brands.

Resources

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:28 — 21.7MB) | Embed

831: Grow, Build and Generate Leads for Your Business Using Video Editing Tools with Augie Johnston

December 28, 2021

Have you always wished you could create high-quality videos? Aspiring to become the next internet sensation? Or are you just starting your company and want to increase your consumer base by running ads on social media platforms but feel ill-equipped and have little to no funding to do so? VidChops, as a video editing program, enables customers to expand their businesses by quickly creating high-quality films. Users can upload their raw video footage to this platform, and expert editors will edit it within two business days.

Augie Johnston is an entrepreneur and former professional basketball player who is making waves in the video editing industry with his startup, VidChops. After growing a successful YouTube channel with over 20 million views, Augie realized the pain point of video editing and decided to create a solution for other YouTubers and content creators. Today, Augie discusses the power of online video and how it can be used to grow a business, sharing his insights on video marketing fundamentals, equipment, and strategies for YouTube video creation and monetization.

Quotes

“YouTube will reward you. If you release a video on how to carve a wave and people watch a good majority of it, it will most likely rank for that search term.” - Augie Johnston

“The best way to monetize on YouTube is to build an audience there. Then, like I said before, get people to click a link.” - Augie Johnston

“Have a growth mindset know you're gonna get better, you know, actually publish those videos, a lot of people record them, they edit them, they're ready to publish, they get nervous, they never even publish them. You have to get past that part.” - Augie Johnston

Takeaways

01:44 Focusing on video content and quality is crucial for growing an online business, as it can be used to build a billion-dollar company.

08:08 Optimizing YouTube videos for watch time and binge-watching can help creators get rewarded by the platform's algorithm through increased visibility and promotion.

11:01 Directing viewers from YouTube to a lead capture page or sales offer is an effective monetization strategy, as YouTube viewers tend to be more likely to convert compared to other traffic sources.

22:15 Outsourcing video editing can be a wise investment for businesses, as it frees up time to focus on other important tasks while ensuring high-quality, engaging content.

26:46 Adopting a growth mindset and consistently publishing videos, even if they're not perfect, is key to improving one's on-camera delivery and video production skills over time.

Resources

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:03 — 30.5MB) | Embed

Archive 4: 2020-2023

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Website Rental Local Lead Generation Side Hustle

Charge What You're Worth By Working Less

Make Sure It All Leads to Something

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