When it comes to your small business, trying to be everything to everybody is the perfect plan for failure. If you try to offer everything for the masses, you'll likely attract nobody.
Figure out exactly what you want to do, based around something you enjoy doing, then decide exactly who you want to create this product/service for. Once you know who it's for, then you can go find those people in the world. Then talk to them, talk to as many people as you can in your target audience, and figure out what it is that they really want. It usually ends up being a problem that they need a solution for. Reveal the problem, then develop a cure.
Listen to this episode and see how I try to use that mindset throughout all of the businesses that I run. I mention 2 quotes that I recently came across (posted below) that really explain what this all means. And I also talk about my online course that is 95% finished and I even give you and the rest of the listeners a limited time offer that will save you some cash. So definitely listen all the way through!
The moral of the story, build an audience of raving fans around a specific niche, and care for those people as much as you can. Instead of spending all of your time and money and effort trying to out-market the competition and get as many new customers as you can, focus on building badass relationships with current customers that have already proven they trust you and enjoy what you do.
I hope you loved this episode, and if you did, be sure to subscribe to the podcast here!
OnlineShopCourse.com - Teaching you how to build your own e-commerce website so you can start selling your products online, with no software, even if you have zero web design knowledge!
SAVE $100! From now until 12/31/16 at midnight, you can save $100 by entering the coupon code "RISK100" when checking out. Simply go to OnlineShopCourse.com, add the course to your cart, enter the code, save cash, and jump right into the training videos! Contact me here if you have any questions at all.
You know you can't please everyone, right? But notice that most businesses are trying to be everything to everybody. And they wonder why they can't get people's attention! You need to confidently exclude people, and proudly say what you're not. By doing so, you will win the hearts of the people you want. -Derek Sivers
Tricked into playing the wrong game.
The intelligent writer who dumbs down her work in order to make it more popular.
The successful small businessperson who gives up the edge that made the business work in order to make it bigger.
The entrepreneur who stops leading in order to chase a trend and get funded.
The interesting website that stops caring about content so it can focus on clicks.
The happy kid who abandons good friends in a search to be the cool kid instead.
The beloved brand that walks away from integrity in order to chase mass.
The engaged employee who gives up the craft in order to move up and become an unhappy manager instead...
Bigger isn't better. It's merely bigger. And the mass market might want what the mass market wants, but that doesn't mean that it's your market. -Seth Godin
Anything You Want - 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
Tribes - We Need You to Lead Us
All Marketers Are Liars
Eight Deuce
Shave Trucks Not Beards Tshirt
Online Shop Course
The One Thing
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast here and I can't wait to share the next episode with you soon! And feel free to leave a comment below with your feedback and any questions you have.
(Featured image from Motor Trend.)
On the podcast this week, I have Maj Toure joining us. He's from Philadelphia and is currently on a tour around the country promoting his Black Guns Matter movement. If you haven't heard about it yet, he'll go into all the details in this episode. But the basic idea is to educate as many people about gun safety as well as offer firearm training to anyone that wants to learn.
The organization has been going on for about a year now, but it's been gaining a lot of traction over the past few months. He's been featured on several other podcasts, blogs, as well as some of the biggest news stations out there. So I was honored for him to take time out of his busy day to share his story with the Risk Without Regret audience.
Just like I tell all guests that come on the show, "Be yourself, say whatever you want, curse if you need to, but above all, share stories that will inspire and motivate anyone that hears this." This episode is exactly that. Maj is raw and really gets to the point of how to reach your goals. It's easier than you think, but it's not for the lazy.
Anyways, I'm excited to share this one with you, and if you find value in this episode, definitely check out his GoFundMe page (linked below) to support Maj and the Black Guns Matter movement. Now that I've given you a brief overview, it's time to get to the good part. So sit back, relax, and listen to our conversation. Enjoy!
I hope you loved this episode, and if you did, be sure to subscribe to the podcast here!
Support the BGM Movement: gofundme.com/blackgunsmatter
Personal Facebook: fb.com/100012689356097
BGM Facebook: fb.com/blackgunsmattermajtoure
Twitter: @majtoure Instagram: @majtoure
Rick Ector / LAID: Legally Armed In Detroit
Colin Kaepernick
Surrogates movie
Fear is a choice...
Booker's Bourbon
Dunkin' Donuts coffee
Henrik Fisker / Fisker Karma
Mercedes G-Wagon
Bentley Continental GT V8
Colion Noir
Greg Kinman (Hickok45)
Chris Costa
Black Guns Matter GoFundMe
SHOT Show 2017
Amber Rose
Harriet Tubman on the 20 dollar bill
Glock
Ruger
Heckler & Koch
Smith & Wesson
NRA
Online Shop Master Course - Teaching you how to build your own e-commerce website so you can start selling your products online!
I was just a regular dude that had bad information.
The information is there, but people need a little bit of guidance.
I don't believe in jobs. I believe in passions and work. I believe in hard work. I believe in working smart and being happy.
As far as punching the clock somewhere I don't wanna be, I'm way too strong for that, that's just not for me.
We present a different option, a more productive option.
I respect their right to disagree, that's the beauty of democracy.
I don't complain and I don't explain.
There's no such thing as haters, they're just misguided lovers.
I have a passion for firearms and I'm not a criminal.
I'm on the ground looking. I'm here with the people. I'm not up in the ivory tower.
MEDIA: Most Effective Destroyer In America
People don't want to get outside. They've been conditioned to stay in and just let things happen.
Pick the first thing that you want to do and just start doing it. Fuck up along the way.
Apologize for your mistakes. Then you move forward. Just do the work.
Everybody sees how I'm moving out here. I'm like everywhere. And that's not because I'm this great super person, you just do the work.
The opportunity will never be perfect. Use what you have, where you are, and do what you can.
You're afraid of success or you're afraid of failure. Either way, the root of that is fear. Fuck fear, that shit ain't real.
FEAR: False Evidence Appearing Real
The talents are natural, the skills come from repetition. But you have to do the work to get the skill. The talent is something that you're just naturally good at. But ironically, you won't figure out if you're naturally good at it until you do it.
If you can't be used, you're useless. And in order to be used, you have to do some work.
Stop thinking you're a celebrity. You're just a human with a lot more zeros in your bank account.
When you're in the public, you're a servant.
This shit is gonna take over your life, or you're not doing it right.
The small individual moments are priceless and motivational.
Sleep is the cousin of death.
I'm old enough to get off the porch, but am I brave enough to get off the porch?
There's a difference between what's right, what's morally accurate, and what's legally accepted.
People respect my movement because of how I moved before the movement.
What I do on my social media is, I make little motivational videos. The general public thinks that's for them. It's not. I use it for me at times when I'm down to keep myself motivated. It's like my future self talking to my present self.
Stop talking so much, just do shit.
Motivate yourself by using yourself, because you know your dreams better than anybody.
Everybody thinks they're bigger than the couch, but the couch is undefeated.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast here and I can't wait to share the next episode with you soon! And feel free to leave a comment below with your feedback and any questions you have.
This week's guest is Pete Sisco from Resilient Personal Freedom. In 1996, he decided to invest $300 in himself and start his first online business. Five years later, he monetized that website. 15 years later, it has made him millions, and he still consistently makes an income from it, among other online businesses.
After living the conventional life in Idaho with his wife for many years, and after his 6 kids grew up and moved out, Pete and his wife were ready for a different lifestyle. Knowing that their online income source was portable, they decided to sell everything and live out of their suitcases while traveling the world. 10 years later, they're still at it.
In fact, he did the interview at the place they're currently staying at in Ireland. We talk about how technology is helping people make predictable monthly income online, why minimalism is a smart way to live, why working in a cubicle is actually more of a risk, how you can achieve an insane amount of personal freedom, and so much more.
This is honestly one of the most inspiring conversations that I've had personally. I know you'll find a lot of value in this episode, but for me, Pete really confirmed a lot of things for me that I already knew, but I just needed to hear it from someone like him.
After our call, I was so motivated that I began working harder on my online course. And now, I've actually opened up the pre-order for it! So depending on when you hear this episode, it might still be going on, or the full course might have been launched. Either way, you can check it out by visiting: CreateYourOnlineShop.com/PREORDER. All of the details are there and you can get a sneak peek into the course as well. And if the pre-order is still open, you can get it at a discount as well as some free bonuses. Again, it's CreateYourOnlineShop.com/PREORDER.
Anyways, I'm so glad Pete reached out to me, and I'm stoked for you to hear this one. So without further adieu, here's my conversation with Pete Sisco. Enjoy!
I hope you enjoy this episode and be sure to subscribe to the podcast here!
Website: petesisco.com
Twitter: @petesisco
Facebook: facebook.com/pete.sisco.7
Resilient Personal Freedom
Precision Training
Website: Online Shop Master Course
When you have internet income, it's completely portable.
I've had a lifelong passion for the concept of living in freedom.
The only passive income I know about is inheritance.
You don't have to reinvent wheels, you just have to apply fundamentals in ways that are effective.
We're living in a time now, where people can take risks like this, like being completely independent and having a lot more personal freedom. And the risk is actually hugely mitigated.
There's 10,000 ways to reliably make money online.
When people talk about big dreams, they get discouraged.
Find something where you can make solid, reliable money and then use that money to do the dream life.
There's this explosion of technology that is changing the world and a lot of people are threatened by it.
But at the same time, there is enough technology that any individual can set himself up to make a reliable, durable, predictable income every month that's substantial.
People start to realize that more than half of the stuff they're paying for is related to just having their job.
The guy trapped in the cubicle is getting to be the anomaly.
I like keeping the business the size where I run the business and it doesn't run me and I have maximum personal freedom.
There's never been less risk than there is now.
I can tell ya, when you get it working and you realize how free a person you can be, it's absolutely intoxicating. There's actually an adjustment period to get your head around the fact that you can basically do whatever you want.
You can't do it overnight, but you really can engineer a lifestyle that gives you whatever amount of freedom you want.
Offer something of quality, do what you say you're gonna do, and treat people right.
The things that work online, the fundamentals, are the things that worked 100 years ago. And they'll work 100 years from today.
If you want to sleep well at night, spend time constructing a business that has durable elements to it that will offer honest value and keep offering.
You have to be in the game before you get lucky.
There's just nothing that delivers the independence and the personal freedom that having an online business does.
I've never met anyone who doesn't have a skill, an ability, or at the very least a passion that can't be of service to somebody who would be happy to pay money for it.
If you had all the money that you ever needed, if you were 100% debt-free, and you had money in the bank that was going to last you for the rest of your life, you just didn't have to think about it, what would you do? What would you want to do every day?
Some people climb the ladder of success only to discover you put it against the wrong wall. -Joseph Campbell
That's the thing about the online world, it's a big transparent economy and the answers are right there.
You don't require luck in order to succeed.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast here and I can't wait to share the next episode with you soon! And feel free to leave a comment below with your feedback and any questions you have.
Today's featured guest is Andrea Lake. Back when she was 18, she decided to skip college and just go straight into building a business. Her first business started as small as a business can start, but it still grew pretty quick, especially for someone right out of high school.
A few years later, Andrea decided to give clothing a chance and built her first apparel business. I'll let her explain all the various things she did with the clothing lines, but this was also around the time when she had some stickers printed too.
In the late 90's, she ended up starting a whole business around just stickers. At the time of this recording, she actually started 14 companies!
More recently, she has a new company called Lessons.biz where she teaches others exactly how to build a tshirt empire along side her business partner Dan Caldwell. Dan was a co-founder of the huge clothing brand Tapout, so obviously you know they are more than qualified to be teaching on this topic.
Anyways, we talk about various ways to hyper-accelerate a brand, why stickers are like minting money, when to hire people, why competition is a good thing, and how you can easily prove if your business idea is a viable concept or not.
There are so many great takeaways from this episode and I've been eagerly waiting to get this one out to you. So without further adieu, here's my conversation with Andrea Lake. Enjoy!
I hope you enjoy this episode and be sure to subscribe to the podcast here!
Website: andrealake.com
Twitter: @andrealake101
Instagram: @andrealake101
Lessons.biz: lessons.biz
Sticker Junkie: stickerjunkie.com
Rhythm Styx
Merch by Amazon
Alibaba
Dan Caldwell
Tapout Clothing
Warped Tour
Blink-182
System of a Down
Good Charlotte
Hot Topic
High Times Magazine
Lessons.biz
Mentor Mojo
Yoga Junkie
Sticker Junkie
Emerson Spartz
Travis Steffen
AutoLotto
Matt Griffin
Combat Flip Flops
I will never be poor. I will never be short of money again. I know that I can just make something and go sell it now.
I had very recently quit smoking pot, which made me far more productive.
One night, I got a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada, invited over one of my best friends, and sat down and came up with like 200 slogans. And then I chose 98 of them and launched the line with 98 slogans, which is ridiculous, it's way too many, but it worked out well.
We had a connection with Blink 182, but they saw my stuff at Warped Tour when they were not famous yet, and they were like, "We love your stuff." And I'm like, "Here's a bag full of stuff, just wear it on stage today." And they felt this loyalty to my brand.
Every entrepreneur has this moment where you just feel like your company is gonna fail. And the people that make it in life, and certainly in business, are the people that just keep trying something else and will pivot with it and will not stick really strongly to the concept that they think should work.
It's like the Craigslist model, where you don't have to have the most beautiful thing, but you do have to have something that is very functional.
Stickers are like magic, it's like minting money. People buy them, you print them for them, they get the stickers, they give them away for free, and then they order more.
I created lessons.biz because I was so tired of seeing people on the internet that were making 100% of their money from selling products that just teach people how to make money. Like these people literally don't know how to make money, they know how to con people into giving them money.
There is actually a formula on how to run most companies.
I think that for me, working on one thing solely is ineffective because I will choke it to death, I will worry about it, I'll obsess on it. Whereas, if I have multiple things going, I can work on whatever feels best in whichever company, and I don't worry as much.
I think worrying is a really damaging thing. I think it's underrated because people see it as normal, but I think it's super problematic to spend your time worrying.
In general, when you're starting out, until you have a company that's supporting you, obviously you shouldn't spread yourself too thin.
If somebody isn't competing against you, there's probably a good reason why it's an ineffective space to be in. If you have something that a million people are doing, it means that a million people want whatever that product is. So you just have to do it better than them, or market better than them.
You can pack boxes better than anybody else at your business, but is that how you want to be spending your time today?
Put a dollar figure on your time.
If it's not something that is making my company money, or something that I truly must do, or something that I love, somebody else should be doing it.
If you can't make your business work with a few thousand dollars starting out, it's probably not going to work, and more money isn't the answer.
Make money first. If you can make money first, then you know you have a viable concept.
You have to prove your concept first. And you have to know that your concept is something that people will actually pick up their wallet out of their pocket and take money out of it and hand it to you. Not just tell you that they'll buy something, but actually physically buy something.
I knew nothing when I started out, and I went about it the really hard way.
You will hyper accelerate the growth of any company if you're surrounded by like-minded people that are entrepreneurs, even if they have really diverse business backgrounds compared to you.
I think every entrepreneur should have a really good filter between what they're thinking and what they actually say.
The day that you launch your website is the worst it's ever gonna look, because you're going to improve upon it from there. And then we extended that out and said, the day that you launch any business is the worst that that business is every going to be. So stop waiting until everything is perfect.
Just launch something and start making money and then correct from there.
Don't be good, don't be great, it is your job to be extraordinary and become irreplaceable.
I self-financed all of my companies which is possibly the biggest risk and I ended up severely in debt because of it.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast here and I can't wait to share the next episode with you soon! And feel free to leave a comment below with your feedback and any questions you have.
So it's been a couple months since I posted the last episode. I know. I'm sorry.
I needed a break, and I kept making the break longer and longer. After two months, I said, this is enough, let's dive back into this podcast hardcore.
Episode 40 is all about the things I've learned in my first year of podcasting. I've learned a lot about the process, people, the tech side of things, the world, and myself.
There were 39 episodes posted in the first year, I took a two month break, and from now until the end of July 2017, I hope to publish at least 50 episodes. It's all about consistency, and just putting in the work. Taking action is so simple, but things that are simple aren't always easy. But it just takes that first step.
Anyways, I hope you're glad to have more Risk Without Regret episodes coming through your feed, and I really appreciate you for listening and for following along with me on this exciting journey!
Enjoy this episode and be sure to subscribe to the podcast here!
Podcast Movement
Audio-Technica ATR2100 Microphone
Adobe Audition
Mackie 402VLZ4 Mixer
Zoom H4N Digital Recorder
Andrea Lake
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast here and I can't wait to share the next episode with you soon! And feel free to leave a comment below with your feedback and any questions you have.
When Jake reached out to me, I was instantly intrigued by him. At the young age of 23, he has accomplished a lot of things, and has even inspired me to hustle harder.
He recently launched his new book, Elevate Beyond, and it has already seen instant success. We'll talk about the book, his speaking engagements, and why he left his internship with the Los Angeles Lakers.
I don't want to give away the whole story, so be sure to listen and I promise you'll be motivated to take action after hearing Jake's story.
I hope you enjoy this episode and be sure to subscribe to the podcast here!
USC ZBT Fraternity
Straight Curve Marketing
Fundamental Mindset
Elevate Beyond (Jake's book)
Idea Factory
Jake Kassan
MVMT Watches
Saving Innocence
Jon Gordon
Kobe Bryant's Last Game
Brock Vereen
Jeff Fellenzer
Website: jakekelfer.com
Facebook: facebook.com/jakekelferjourney
Twitter: @jakekelfer
Instagram: @jakekelfer
Email: jakekelferjourney@gmail.com
I asked myself, "What do I know, and how can I help people?"
I'm a big believer in taking the risks and following your heart, as long as you're willing to put in the work.
Take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of you.
One of the things I like to do is listen to those that are more experienced than me, because I'm so young and I have so much to learn.
I have mentors in all different aspects of my life, and I think that's a huge reason for a lot of my success so far.
My first company was just an incredible start to entrepreneurship and really fired me up for my future and what I'm currently working on.
When I was growing up, it was go to school, get good grades, go to college, and then you're probably just gonna end up getting a job and start paying the bills.
Things change and situations come up where you have to adapt and make different decisions.
I'm young, I'm ambitious, and if I fail, and it doesn't work out, oh well, at least I tried. And now I know what doesn't work and I can learn from that. But if I never tried, I didn't want to look back ten years from now and say I wish I would have followed my heart and pursued my passions.
I don't have the knowledge of somebody that has had ten extra years of life experience on me, but what I do have is just an immense hunger and desire to learn and continue to grow and to make an impact.
The only shortcut in life is to start now. -David Kelfer
A lot of people still don't understand why I'm doing what I'm doing, but that doesn't mean they're correct. That just means they don't understand yet.
It's all about achieving your own definition of success, not just what everyone wants you to achieve and what everyone might assume success is.
When you can combine hustle with working hard and working smart, I think that's when you really create something great.
Enjoy the journey and be in the moment. -Sheri Kelfer
Sometimes entrepreneurship scares the shit out of me, but at the same time, that's what excites me.
Fear is important to acknowledge as long as it doesn't control you.
Everytime you meet someone, it is an interview.
When you combine entertainment with education, and to do it in a good organized way, the result and the value can be extraordinary.
One of the biggest risks that I've taken was turning down multiple full-time job offers before graduation and deciding that I was going to pursue my passion.
At the time, a lot of people criticized my decision. But I knew that it's what I wanted to do and it was aligning with my goals and my definition of success. And so I took that risk and I have not regretted it one day since then.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast here and I can't wait to share the next episode with you soon! And feel free to leave a comment below with your feedback and any questions you have.
Back in 2011, I had no idea what a simple domain name purchase would lead to. It initially started as a place to store my truck show photography, but over the years, that grew to all sorts of merchandise.
I started small, just some stickers, koozies, and super basic tshirts. For awhile, I even carried some products like DVDs from other companies in the scene.
In early 2013, I was ready to take this idea to a whole new level. My first vendor booth weekend was a success and I was hooked.
Listen to my story from how this idea became a reality, how my photography led to starting a clothing line, how I was able to finance everything, some simple tips I learned along the way, and so much more.
I hope you enjoy this episode and be sure to subscribe to the podcast here! And of course, leave a comment below if you have any questions or feel free to drop me an email.
Mini Truck Scene
Low Label
Angry Birds
Feast of Flesh
Layd Out at the Park
SoLo Films
Weekend Celebrity Productions
Surface DVD
Layed Out Video
Kyle Griffin
Dropt-N-Destroyed
Mautofied
Hurricane Sandy
Graphic Disorder
Brandt Fuqua RWR Interview
Erik Jones
Lone Star Throwdown
Garage Built Dime
Nick Crouch (Surface Nick)
Koapono Patrick (KP)
10' x 10' E-Z Up Canopy
5' Folding Tables
Website: minitruckscene.com
Shop (Low Label): lowlabel.com/product-tag/mini-truck-scene
Facebook: facebook.com/minitruckscene
Instagram: @minitruckscene
Twitter: @minitruckscene
Website: lowlabel.com
Facebook: facebook.com/lowlabel
Instagram: @lowlabel
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast here and I can't wait to share the next episode with you soon! And feel free to leave a comment below with your feedback and any questions you have.
Bestselling author Tucker Max has changed his image over the years. He's most well-known for writing about getting drunk and hooking up with random girls, but he's since turned his knowledge about book publishing into a massively successful business.
While he doesn't think everyone has a book in them, he believes those that do might never get it published. Whether you hate writing, your intimidated by the traditional publishing process, or you simply don't have the time to do it, his newest company (Book in a Box) solves all of these problems for you.
In about 12 hours of your time, you can go from an idea to a finished book that your target audience will rave about.
Listen to our conversation as we touch on a variety of topics. He explains the transition period between law school and becoming an author, he talks about how the Book in a Box business idea came about, and we also discuss how you can get paid for doing something you love. Enjoy!
I hope you enjoy this episode and be sure to subscribe to the podcast here!
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell (book)
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell (movie)
Book In A Box
Alex Dooley
Andrew Warner / Mixergy interview with Tucker
Zach Obront
Lewis Howes / School of Greatness interview with Tucker
Melissa Gonzalez
The Pop Up Paradigm: How Brands Build Human Connections in a Digital Age
Gary Vaynerchuk
Vayner Media
Jack Dorsey
Daily Burn
Dr. David Kashmer
The Hidden Curriculum: What They Don't Teach You At Medical School
Thrive Market
Deep Eddy Vodka
The Book In A Box Method: The New Way to Quickly and Easily Write Your Book (Even If You're Not a Writer)
Company Website: bookinabox.com
Personal Website: tuckermax.me
Facebook: facebook.com/tuckermax
Twitter: @tuckermax
Instagram: @realtuckermax
Email: tucker@bookinabox.com
The things that are exciting in your 20s aren't usually very exciting in your 30s.
If you're in the entertainment business, you've got to be able to tell a great story.
That was fine for awhile. I made pretty good money, it was fun, it was interesting, but I had no desire to be a marketing guru.
It's hard for me to think of a writer that I've ever met who's a real entrepreneur. It's a totally different mindset.
Everyone wants to be a star, no one wants to put in the work.
I became obsessed with this idea because she called me out on it.
Socrates didn't write a word down. Plato wrote everything down. Jesus never wrote any of his words down. Buddha never wrote any of his words down. None of these people wrote their words down, a scribe did. So why can't I create a modern process for scribes?
I felt so stupid, I felt so dumb. Because there was nothing stopping me from doing this idea like 6 years ago.
I could have had this years ago if I didn't have such limited thinking.
Very few people have big ideas in them.
Most people know something that's valuable to a small group of people.
If you're a professional and you get paid to do something, you're probably getting paid for the knowledge and wisdom in your head. So it's not "How can I sell copies of my book?", the question is, "How can I put my knowledge and wisdom in my book and use the book as an all-purpose marketing tool for me or my company or my career?"
Once you look at a book not as an end goal but as a marketing tool, then it totally changes everything.
The ideas that most people hold in their head about publishing are ideas that publishing companies think are important, not ideas that people think are important.
We're in the business of producing the absolute best books possible for the author.
I would say, at best, 20% of people have genuinely either new or original ideas.
What do you have to say that's interesting and valuable to an audience?
I wish I was one of those people who from an early age was always hustling and selling and creating value.
At Book in a Box, I just fired myself. We just hired a CEO to take over for me.
There's no bigger waste of time than trying to learn how to do something you're bad at. You're way better off hiring someone to do that for you so you can do the things you're really good at.
All the critical mistakes we've made in our business have either come down to being too arrogant about our knowledge & not questioning enough, and hiring the wrong people.
That's the cool thing about business though, it's like baseball. It's even better than baseball. In baseball, if you hit .300, you're a Hall of Famer. In business, you can hit .100 and be a massive success.
If you're going to fail, that's fine. But you need to understand why. If you're taking 9 different ideas and failing 9 different times, I think the problem might be you.
There's so many people trying to teach the wrong things.
Some people want lifestyle businesses and there's nothing wrong with that.
If you want to be a baller entrepreneur and you want to build a massive baller company, you don't want to be selling your time. You don't want to be in the business, you want to be in the business of creating leverage for other people.
There's a limit to how big you can scale an agency. There's no limit to how big you can scale a software-based process.
If you have problems turning what you love into a business, it's probably some psychological issue you have, it's not the process. The process is very simple. It's not easy to do, but it's very simple to understand.
Something you love doing, something people will pay you for, and something that you're good at. Where those three areas intersect, that's where you can build a business.
Most people, when they say "how do I turn my passion into a business," what they are really asking is "how can I get paid to do nothing." That's bullshit. No way to do that.
If you want to start a business, the easiest thing to do is find a problem that is really painful to people. Then create a solution that they will pay for.
Starting a business is really easy if all you do is think about it in terms of other people's problems.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast here and I can't wait to share the next episode with you soon! And feel free to leave a comment below with your feedback and any questions you have.
We all need some amount of money, that's a fact. How we spend that money is vastly different.
I would classify myself as a frugal person: someone that spends money on the things that add value to my life, and saving money on the things that don't matter as much.
In this episode, I'll dig into the difference between being frugal and being a cheapskate. We all love saving money, but there are times when it makes sense to spend. Enjoy!
I hope you enjoy this episode and be sure to subscribe to the podcast here!
Shipstation shipping software
Dymo thermal label printer
Podcast Movement 2016
Mackie 402VLZ4 mixer
Audio-Technica headphones
Zoom H4N audio recorder
Audio-Technica ATR-2100 dynamic microphone
Kayak - great travel deals
Article about frugality
If you need a machine and don't buy it, then you will ultimately find that you have paid for it and you don't have it. -Henry Ford
Cheap and frugal people both love to save money, but frugal people will not do so at the expense of others.
Frugality is about assessing the bigger picture and having the patience to cash in on the simple savings strategies.
Being cheap is about spending less; being frugal is about prioritizing your spending so that you can have more of the things you really care about.
You don't need the best of everything to get started.
Stop being a cheapskate on the things that matter to you.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast here and I can't wait to share the next episode with you soon! And feel free to leave a comment below with your feedback and any questions you have.
On today's episode, I talk with Andrew Norelli. Andrew is a standup comedian and has been doing comedy for the past 18 years.
He talks about working a boring sales job for a few years that eventually helped push him into comedy.
From open mic nights where nobody would show up to several years later performing on all the popular late night shows, we'll go through his whole journey from the beginning. We also talk about what it takes to be a comedian these days, the type of dedication that is needed, and how all of this can relate to you if you're thinking about going down a path that's different than the typical 9-5. Which most of you hopefully are.
I hope you enjoy this episode and be sure to subscribe to the podcast here!
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Bones (Andrew's latest album)
Jim Gaffigan
Jerry Seinfeld
Stryper concert
George Carlin
Tibbits Opera House
Laughs Comedy Club
The Improv at Harrah's
Website: andrewnorelli.com
Facebook: facebook.com/andrew.norelli
Twitter: @andrewnorelli
You gotta be willing to work. You gotta be very self-disciplined when you're self-employed. And when you're carving your own path, that's probably one of the hardest parts.
I think part of success in any alternative career path is to start as early as you can.
The risk part comes when you're basically doing something and you're making no money.
I think that's another mistake people make, they start then stop. They start and they stop like five or six times.
Accept that life happens and don't let things side-track you.
I think you have to have hustle and work hard, I don't care how funny you are. You can't just be funny.
If you don't have fear, then you don't know what you're doing. What's wrong with you if you don't have fear? You should have some fear or you're not paying attention to life or to your career. There has to be some level of fear that's at least driving you and making you better at the very least. Definitely some self-doubt too. That's how you get better.
Nobody's stuff is perfect.
If I feel like I did everything that I could've done and had planned on doing and it didn't work, no, that's perfectly ok. That does not bother me. Not at all. You'll drive yourself crazy if it does.
If you start trying to please everybody all at once, whether it be industry people or crowd-members, then you're probably gonna end up pleasing either no one or you're gonna end up pleasing people and it's not gonna matter.
All art and entertainment needs to have segments that are completely uncensored and totally free. It's proven in every society to be important. An important part for people to express themselves, to challenge conventional thinking, and to fight the establishment & people with power.
People pay a little closer attention to a message in their inbox, as long as it's from someone they know.
Why do we have words when we have cleavage?
I think that's maybe why I kept going in comedy. I've had a lot of little moments where I was so glad that I didn't stop trying and that I never quit. And that keeps me going.
You appreciate it more when it's a long process and you have to learn everything along the way.
If you don't know whether to say yes or no, then just say yes.
It's a balancing act, because there are times when it actually is in your benefit to say no. Hopefully when you say no, you do something else constructive.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast here and I can't wait to share the next episode with you soon! And feel free to leave a comment below with your feedback and any questions you have.