The $100 MBA Show

Content business vs. software business: which is right for you?

Today’s episode is a good place to start answering that question. It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’re helping one listener understand the biggest, most fundamental difference between the two business models.

That difference is critical.

Content businesses (like The $100 MBA) require different skill sets, resources, and personnel to pull off than software business (like our webinar platform company, WebinarNinja). As you can see, we do both, so we’re intimately familiar with the differences — including the big one.

Hint: it’s about what customers expect from you in return for their money.

We’ll discuss how this difference affects your role as founder, the relationships you’ll have with customers, and your decision to choose one model or the other. Both have their challenges — which one suits your skills and talents? 

There’s one way to find out: Click Play!

To submit your questions, visit 100mba.net/q.

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To get more wins, study the ones you have.

The “buyer’s journey” is a much-studied topic that CRM (Customer Relationship Management) experts have spilled thousands of gallons of digital ink on. What is the process by which people go from awareness of your brand to a final purchase?

What gets them to that final decision? What triggers them to pull the trigger?

The short answer is that it’s different for every business. That’s why you have to do the work and find out why your customers bought from you. Then, you double down. Today, we discuss how to take a deep dive into your sales funnel, and come out with the information you need to optimize your approach.

This is Lead Nurturing 101.

We’re doing some research into our own business, and preparing to experiment with some new adjustments to our own process. On this episode, we’ll share exactly how we gather the information and data we need to construct those experiments and measure the results.

Don’t “trust the process.” Study it. Improve it. Start with today’s lesson — Click Play!

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Thank you.

Was that so hard?

Actually, effective gratitude is more than just stringing two words together. It’s something today’s special guest teacher, Dr. Cindy McGovern calls a “lost art” — the ability to thank employees in a way that values, motivates, and inspires them. 

Thanking isn’t just a social reflex. For real leaders, it’s a strategy.

Genuine appreciation is a massive motivator, right up there with pay! Seriously; research shows that employees generally don’t quit “bad” jobs. They quit “bad” managers and employers. If you’re not making your team feel vital, you’re not giving talent a reason to stick around.

Fortunately, Dr. Cindy can help with that.

As she explains today, gratitude isn’t just an act. It’s a skill. And it’s not just politeness; it has a substantive impact on team performance. Dr. Cindy has a 5-step formula that any business owner can use to hone their gratitude game, and get the best from everyone on the team.

Don’t let your business’s culture be an afterthought. Take Dr. Cindy’s advice, and prioritize your thanking skills. You might be surprised at the results. Click Play!

Every Job Is a Sales Job by Dr. Cindy McGovern

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What do your employees really think?

It can be hard to find out. People are naturally more reserved in meetings, and can feel “evaluated” or cornered if asked too much in front of others. That’s why we decided to do individual, one-on-one sit-downs with each of our employees to get their feedback.

In other words, we had the employees evaluate the employers.

By having a private, intimate, low-stakes conversation, you can get the truth from the people you trust to run your business. You can discover hidden problems, and reveal assets you never considered. You can resolve issues you never knew existed, and strengthen your business overall.

Sometimes, just being heard is the greatest motivator.

Today, we discuss how to execute these 1:1 conversations — what to ask, how to ask, and how to act on the information you get. How well you know your team may determine how far they’re willing to go for you, and how invested they feel in the company’s success. Click Play!

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You and your team: are you in it together?

Recently, we made a significant decision. We decided to share our biggest, longest-term, most ambitious goals with our entire team — every single employee. While we used to reserve our Grand Plans for ourselves and a few managers, we decided it was time to put our cards on the table.

Why did we do that? Should you?

Today, we discuss the reasons for sharing everything with everyone, and the effect that doing so can have on your business. While it can be nerve-wracking to put it all out there, we believe it increases personal investment from our team, and makes our goals more likely to be achieved.

We unveiled a 10-year plan, with specific benchmarks and SMART goals that are more than just hopes and dreams. In this episode, we’ll help you determine what to include in your plan, how to format it, and how to present it to the people who will help you make it a reality. 

Start envisioning the future together, as a team. Click Play!

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Prepare for launch! Actually, scratch that. We need to start even further ahead, with a pre-launch strategy.

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and one listener is wondering how to maximize their launch by marketing well in advance. This doesn’t just apply to the debut of your whole business; product launches, updates, and other milestones all require the same planning to get maximum results.

A launch is an opportunity — one that’s wasted if you don’t seed the ground.

Today, we’ll discuss how to build buzz, grow and stoke the audience, and tee yourself up to capitalize on Launch Day. While we often think of launches as a beginning, smart entrepreneurs treat launches as the culmination of something as well. 

This episode is your pre-launch guide. Before you announce anything new in your business, make sure the news hits the right people in the right way. Otherwise, you miss the chance to leverage a rare and special event for growth. Click Play!

To submit your questions, visit 100mba.net/q.

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Is hustling effective? Does more work mean more results?

Maybe not. Today, we’re discussing the math on work hours. While it might seem logical to assume that more work = more success, that approach forgets a key principle of productivity: working smart, not just hard.

Which brings us to the “standard” work week of 40 hours.

Is independent success really possible within that limit? Do entrepreneurs need to put in more hours than everyone else to make it? It’s time to get brutally honest, and explore the relationship between the quality of our work and its quantity. 

The truth is this: every sacrifice of your time has diminishing returns. You can accomplish more in a few focused hours than an entire day of burnt-out, bedraggled slogging. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to put in the hours — especially at the beginning — but it does mean you have to keep a careful eye on the cost/benefit ratio of your time investment.

Finding a balance between time and effort is the key to real productivity. Tune in, and let’s figure out how much you should really be working. Click Play!

Deep Work by Cal Newport

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Sometimes, abandoning logic is the most logical decision.

That’s the (somewhat controversial) premise of this week’s Must-Read book, Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. While it’s tempting to think that fact-based, rational reasons are the most persuasive, the reality of business says otherwise. 

In other words, appeals to emotion are more effective than appeals to reason.

In business, this principle works for everything from your marketing copy to your sales pitches to your negotiations with potential partners. According to Voss — a former hostage negotiator — logical arguments are vastly over-valued. 

This flies in the face of a lot of business advice, and of common sense. But sometimes, it’s the uncommon advice that really works.

Today, we’ll discuss some of the key takeaways of Never Split the Difference, and how it can help you cultivate the skill of emotion-based persuasion. We are not rational animals — and the entrepreneurs who recognize this have the advantage. Click Play!

Discover all our must-read book reviews at https://100mba.net/bookreviews.

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What kind of growth can you get for $300? The answer might surprise you, but only if you’re willing to experiment. 

If your marketing budget isn’t exactly…flush, but you need a nice boost, it’s time to think outside that proverbial box. This is the beauty of entrepreneurship: how a little creativity can give you exactly the spike you need.

And boy, do we have some bang for your marketing buck.

These ideas occupy a funny space: they’re unusual, and unexpected. But they’re so effective it’s difficult to understand why more people don’t use them. They don’t require anything special, other than the willingness to stake a few hundred dollars on something different.

Are these ideas typical? No. But can they work? One way to find out.

This is what being “lean” is all about. Taking roads less traveled to produce more results from fewer resources is what startups do. With a little hustle, a little creativity, and — yes — a little independent-sized budget, you can move the needle. Click Play!

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This is your year…unless it isn’t.

We all hit January wide-eyed and full of big plans. But why do some entrepreneurs hit the goals they set, while others don’t? Why do some businesses actually make the progress their founders envision, while the rest of us keep dreaming? 

What’s stopping us?

Today, we’re discussing a few things that get entrepreneurs off track. Year after year, a few common pitfalls derail all the would-be could-be independent business people, leaving them right where they started come December. 

The good news? You can neutralize these notorious derailers pretty easily.

We’ve got some almost shockingly simple steps you can take to preempt interference from these business-killers. With some basic mental adjustments, you can get on course, stay on course, and end 2020 with milestones reached — not wished for.

Don’t wait ‘till February to make these adjustments. Start 2020 on track, and keep it that way. Click Play!

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Your co-founder wants in. You need them out.

This is awkward.

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a doozy. One listener co-founded a business a while back, but the co-founder in question took a back seat — only just maintaining their involvement while they pursued other things. Now, said co-founder wants to commit full-time to the business, and expects a full-time salary.

The problem? The company can’t afford it.

Business has no shortage of uncomfortable situations with conflicting wants and needs. Navigating such situations fairly, professionally, and productively takes finesse. Today, we’ll help our listener work it out with their co-founder in way that considers everyone’s needs — and those of the business. 

It’s easy to work with your team when things are going great, and there’s enough to go around. It’s the difficult situations that make or break an entrepreneur. 

Tune in, and learn how to talk openly and fearlessly about that ugly necessity of business: money. Learn how to prepare for a conversation with multiple possible outcomes, and find the sweet spot between personal interests that don’t align. Click Play!

To submit your questions, visit 100mba.net/q.

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To rebrand or not to rebrand? That is the question. Today, anyway.

If you feel like you chose the wrong name for your business, or something about your business name is holding you back, it might be time to rechristen. But you can’t do so without considering the costs — and not just in terms of dollars and cents.

Sometimes, it can be better to keep a…less-than-ideal name, especially if you’ve already sunk a certain amount of time and resources into it. It all comes down to a simple cost/benefit analysis of how a name change would affect your budget, your online presence, your overall marketing, and more.

Spoiler alert: rebranding involves more than a redirect from your website URL.

Today, we’ll discuss all the arguments for and against rebranding. There are several examples of rebranded businesses out there, some more successful than others. There’s even one that turned back, un-re-branding itself when they realized the price was too high.

If you’re considering a fresh handle, do the research first. Make sure that whatever you decide, your business can move forward no matter what you call it. Click Play!

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Skills don’t matter, without the right mindset.

There’s a ton of advice out there about what to do if you want to start and run a business. But there’s not enough about how to be, mentally and emotionally. If your frame of mind isn’t optimized, it doesn’t matter how great your product idea, marketing strategy, or SEO is. 

Call it woo-woo if you will-will. But there’s no substitute for an entrepreneurial mindset.

Kenneth Aldrich has built multiple companies, and financed dozens more. Some have succeeded — wildly. Others, not so much. You might think his decades of experience are his single greatest asset, but he might argue otherwise. 

He might argue that his mindset is what made all of it possible. Today, he’ll explain exactly where your head needs to be, and how to get it there.

There’s a million ways to be successful, but all successful entrepreneurs have the mindset in common. It’s one of the fundamental differences between entrepreneurs and people with normal jobs — and it’s the foundation of any independent business’s success.

Of course, you don’t just stumble onto the right mindset. You cultivate it. Mental conditioning for business is like physical conditioning for athletes. It’s something you choose to do every day. On today’s episode, Aldrich offers some “exercises” to get you there.

It might sound philosophical, practicing the right mindset is as necessary to entrepreneurship as building an email list. Tune in, and learn how. Click Play!

The Dream Toolbox by Kenneth Aldrich

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SaaStock rocked — and we brought back some lessons for you.

This annual convention for SaaS (Software as a Service) businesses is a magnet for startups, freelancers, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs from around the globe. This year, our intrepid host Omar was invited to speak at the Sydney version of this multi-city international get-together. 

The “Disneyland for SaaS professionals” did not disappoint.

As a speaker and attendee, Omar found loads of valuable lessons for any kind of business, of any size. Most of them had to do with the incredible value and potential of well-run professional conferences, and why every entrepreneur should try to be a part of them.

SaaStock proved beyond a doubt what many independent business owners already suspect: a great conference is filled with the kind of personal, face-to-face opportunities that no other networking forum has. Whether you speak, or just buy a ticket, conferences like SaaStock are a must.

Hear what we learned, and what you can expect if you plan on making SaaStock in 2020. Click Play!

EasyCourse

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SWOTing: it’s not something you do to flies. It’s a simple but powerful exercise anyone can use to refocus their business and plan for whatever comes next.

A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis lets you look around the bend to the future of your business. It’s an easy way to assess exactly what your business has going for it, what it lacks, and how you can improve. 

In other words, a SWOT analysis is the first step in crafting (or re-crafting) your business strategy.

Today, we’ll explain exactly how to conduct a SWOT analysis, and what to do with the information you get from it. We’ll help you take a moment, look up from your laptop, and plot your course for the medium-to-long-term future. 

With nothing but a piece of paper, a pen, and an hour or so, you and your team can position your business for growth, not just continued existence.

We recommend conducting a SWOT analysis once every quarter. Learn how — Click Play!

WebinarNinja Blog

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Business draining you? Feeling exhausted?

You’re not alone. But you have to fix it.

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and one listener is simply out of gas. The freedom of entrepreneurship has a cost, and that cost is a workload and mental burden that few of the conventionally employed ever experience. How can we cope? How can we maintain our energy?

We’ve been there.

Our intrepid host Omar knows what it means to live in a state of near-constant burnout. Until he decided to prioritize his health and well-being, he was on the fast track to nowhere good. By neglecting his health, Omar wasn’t helping his business. A fatigued entrepreneur can’t reach their full potential. 

Exhaustion is not a sign of dedication. It’s a liability.

Today, we’ll discuss some specific things you can do to make sure you have the energy to stay at the top of your game. Some are very simple, some require a little work and investment. But all of them will help your business by helping you perform. Click Play!

To submit your questions, visit 100mba.net/q.

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You’re missing a huge marketing opportunity.

That’s the case for most entrepreneurs with a business website, at least. Statistically, the “About” page is one of the most visited pages on a given website — second or third behind the home page, usually. And yet…so few people take advantage of this.

“About” pages are almost never optimized for marketing. And that’s a gosh-darn tragedy.

So often, we think of the “About” page as something fun and personal. It’s a place to share our story and a little bit of ourselves. But what we forget is that our story — our selves — are the heart of our brand. The “About” page is an honest-to-goodness conversion tool that we’re just not using. 

Our story isn’t just a story. It’s a lead magnet!

In today’s marketplace, consumers want to know about you. That means traffic. It means SEO. It means an opportunity to grow your email list and leverage the fun, personal stuff into sales. Today, we’ll discuss how we’re changing our own “About” page to reflect that, and how you can, too.

Don’t be afraid to shine. Learn how to optimize your “About” page, and actually utilize this hidden asset. Click Play!

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What is company culture, why does it matter, and how can you build it?

The answers to that and more come from one of Omar’s favorite business books ever: What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz. Horowitz is a venture capital legend whose wisdom and experience is grounded in a street-level, practical approach.

 But for all the actionable nuts and bolts, this book puts it all in a big huge-picture context.

With tested strategies and philosophy from history, business, and beyond, this company culture manifesto is deep, yet straightforward. It’s thoughtful, but focused on action. Horowitz seamlessly weaves broader business philosophy into the book’s central argument: that every one of your actions sets the tone for your business.

Omar loved this book so much that he actually included it in his “Best of 2019” list before he finished reading it. Now that he’s gotten to the end, we can take a closer look.

“Culture” can be hard to define for a small business. We don’t all have to take the Google approach with napping pods and on-site masseuses. But we do have to purposefully, intentionally foster a culture that fits our brand and mission. 

That starts and ends with you.

Learn how to envision, embody, promote, and instill the right culture for you business, no matter how many people that includes. Hear the key takeaways from this gem of a book, and see if you might just need a copy. Click Play!

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz 

What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz

Free Book on Audible

Top 5 Books of 2019

Discover all our must-read book reviews at https://100mba.net/bookreviews.

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Online courses: more popular than ever. A great source of revenue. A perfect way to monetize your expertise or passion.

And yet…

So many courses bomb. For every course that thrills its students and grows the business, there’s a ton that go nowhere. Our intrepid host Omar has created many, many courses over the years, and there’s a reason his usually succeed.

It’s because of his background in education.

Before Omar struck out into the world of entrepreneurship, he spent years honing his craft as an educator at the high school and university level. That experience is exactly what led him to the $100 MBA Show: the desire and ability to teach. 

Courses were a logical extension of that. 

As more entrepreneurs get into the course game without an understanding of teaching and learning, though, common mistakes were revealed. Today, we want to shine a light on those mistakes, so you don’t make them. We’ll help you improve results for your students, and for you. 

There are so many ways to build courses incorrectly. Know what they are, and design courses that’ll set you apart as a reliable online “educator,” even if you’ve never even held a piece of chalk. Click Play!

EasyCourse

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2020 starts now.

I know the ball hasn’t dropped yet, but if you want certain things to happen next year, it’s already time to take the first step. It’s time to plan out your entire year, right now, today. All of it. The best part? It won’t even take that long.

For an hour or two of your time, you can reduce stress all (next) year long.

There’s nothing like going into the year completely confident that high-priority goals will be met. That doesn’t just include business goals; it’s equally important to carve out time for your personal goals as well. This way, every priority gets its due.

Why let the busy catch up to you? Get ahead of everything, by filling in that calendar with all the “big rocks,” the absolute must-dos that will have the biggest impact on your life and business. Why not manage your most valuable asset — your time — as strategically as you manage your money?

Today, we share the exact steps you can take to plot your whole year out. With a roadmap in place, you won’t just hope to accomplish certain things — you’ll know you will. Click Play!

Dan Martell

EasyCourse

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It’s that time of year. We don’t all celebrate the same way — or at all — but “the holidays” are a reality of business.

Crucially, the holidays mean that your team will have personal and family obligations. Part of your job as a leader is to balance the needs of your business with the needs of your employees. You may even think about closing up shop temporarily.

But should you?

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’re helping one listener decide whether to hang the “Closed” sign up to give the team some holiday R&R. We discuss what factors to consider, including potential effects on the other group of people you need to keep happy: the customers.

We also share our own approach to the holiday season, explaining how we manage the expectations of our team, our customers, and our audience. The right answer will vary from business to business, but the goal is the same: do what’s best for the company without alienating anyone. 

Start putting your holiday strategy together now. Click Play!

To submit your questions, visit 100mba.net/q.

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Ever seen a win that — at first — looks like a fail?

Elon Musk is the king of confounding expectations. When he unveiled Tesla’s take on the good ol’ ‘Merican truck, he did what he does best: surprised everyone, for better or worse. Even a demonstration of the Cybertuck’s, em… impact-resistant windows famously didn’t go according to script.

And that’s perfectly on-brand for the guy who wants to colonize Mars.

Whatever you think of him, Elon Musk is undeniably successful. Occasionally overshadowed by his public persona are achievements in tech and business that everyone can learn from — even small businesses.

Today, we’ll discuss how the Cybertruck is a fantastic lesson in bold business strategy. Musk crashed headfirst into an incredibly tough-to-crack industry with an audacious out-of-left-field product. He invited controversy and criticism. He put on a show.

And the pre-orders came flooding in.

Sometimes, the marketing power of utter uniqueness is worth exploring. And sometimes, taking risks is less risky than it seems. Hear how you can apply the Tesla philosophy to your next launch. Click Play!

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What’s your business worth?

Even if you’re nowhere near selling your business, it’s important to know. And thanks to today’s special guest teacher, it doesn’t take long to find out.

Ashley Micciche is the CEO of True North, a retirement advising firm. This means she takes the long view — helping business owners keep their eye on the endgame. Like any long-term goal, selling your business isn’t something you only start thinking about when the time comes.

Today, Micciche is here to help you pinpoint exactly where you are in the journey — quickly.

A simple valuation can take half an hour, with Micciche’s 8 key metrics and a very valuable online tool she’s giving our listeners access to. Hear the lesson, and get an accurate picture of your business. 

You can’t get where you’re going if you don’t know where you are — Click Play!

True North Retirement Advisors

Business Valuation Checklist

True North Retirement on YouTube

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Let’s start here: a retreat is not a frivolous expense.

For teams of all sizes, a retreat can have an incredible, valuable effect on motivation, cohesion, and productivity. It’s the definition of the term “investment:” something you spend money on because it will be worth it in the long run. 

But you don’t have to spend too much.

Today, we’ll discuss how you can put together a retreat on the most meager of budgets, if you’re willing to get creative. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. It can even be local. Whatever gets your team out of their normal working context and into a new adventure together can have the desired effect. 

And the effect is very, very, desirable.

We’ve got alternative retreat options for every budget, plus tips on how to get your team involved in the planning and decisions around your retreat. Especially for (increasingly popular) remote teams, getting everyone together for a little out-of-workplace experience can make a huge difference in how everyone works together.

You know you have to nurture leads. Don’t forget to nurture your team. Click Play!

EasyCourse

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There’s apps — and then there’s Chrome extensions.

It’s a fantastic, emerging niche-among-niches. As Chrome becomes an ever more popular browser, the need for the Chromified version of this or that software become ever more important. Halfway between a cloud-based solution and a full-on app, Chrome extensions meet a need that’s more needed every day. 

It’s Google’s world. We’re just living in it.

For anyone who wants to get into the software business, a great Chrome extension could be the hidden avenue you haven’t considered. Today, we’ll discuss some incredible examples of Chrome extensions that — while less famous than some popular apps — are models of entrepreneurial success. 

We’ll explore what characteristics your Chrome extension needs to be successful, how to build it, and how to find the help you need. This could be the business you never knew you needed to get into. Click Play!

Honey

Udemy

Coursera

SkillShare

Freelancer.com

UpWork

EasyCourse

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The first sign that you’re really serious about moving your business forward? You’re ready to hire a coach.

A successful entrepreneur is two things: brave enough to try on their own, and smart enough to know their limits. The ones who make it know when to get help, when to invest in the experience and skills of others rather than trying to do everything themselves. 

Whether it’s an employee or a coach, no entrepreneur is an island. 

When you hit a plateau, it’s time to find someone to learn from. But who can you trust? It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’re helping one listener learn the difference between real, qualified coaches, and the army of “gurus” out there whose only real skill is convincing fellow entrepreneurs to hand over their hard-earned profits. 

We’ll discuss how to sift through the grifters, evaluate qualifications, and find the coach that’s right for you. We’ll also explain how to make sure you get what you want out of your coaching experience, since teaching and learning is a two-way street.

A coach is a great investment — if it’s also a wise one. Click Play!

Dan Martell

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Yes, we all want our startups to be lean. Profit first, we always say. But like any fundamental truth, there’s an equal and opposite consideration you should never forget:

You get what you pay for.

Today, we’re discussing a few things you should never seek the lowest price on. Like a great pair of boots or the roof over your head, some necessities are better invested in for the long term, rather than found cheaply. The lowest price can end up costing your business, if the asset in question doesn’t do what you need.

Sometimes, the ROI is worth more than even the biggest price tag.

Some of these items may seem obvious (but not to everyone). Some may surprise you. But for any and all business types, these are the bits of overhead you should build your budget around. Spend as much as possible on these things, and your business will be rewarded. It’s always important for small businesses to save money where they can. It’s equally important to know when not to skimp. Make sure your money is well spent — Click Play!

WP Engine

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The 90’s gave us a few classics: Nevermind, Clueless, flannel in general. But for entrepreneurs, one classic work defined a new approach to business and echoed into the next century — even as the Internet changed everything.

That classic was Jim Collins’ Built to Last.

This genre-defining tome was a deep, extended study of 18 companies (think Sony, Amex, etc.) that absolutely murdered it in their industries. It identified common threads, characteristics that any company of any size can leverage to limitless success. 

Years of research preceded — and followed — this landmark look at what makes companies endure.

The best part? The fundamental principles that fueled these companies’ growth can work for anyone. Too often, independent entrepreneurs think that big business strategies don’t apply to small business. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The same ideas that made Sony a household name can give your business a long-term, even generational, impact. Don’t be afraid to dream big and swing for the fences. With the right principles in mind, the sky is truly your limit. Click Play!

Built to Last by Jim Collins

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You’ve made the hires. You’ve got a great team ready to rock.

So why are you still overworked?

One of the trickier aspects of leading a growing business is handing off responsibility to new team members. For some of us, it’s hard because we don’t want to surrender control. But sometimes, we’re so eager to get things off our plate that we hand things off without making sure our new hire can take them on.

And yes, this is one of those “we’ve made this mistake ourselves” episodes.

We manage a remote team of dozens. As the team has grown, Omar has finally gotten used to passing the reins to others — even to feel liberated by it. But every so often, we find that a new hire can’t complete tasks because we haven’t prepared them adequately. 

It can be difficult to see your day-to-day operations from the perspective of a newcomer.

Today, we’ll share the 3 things every new employee needs to truly take ownership of their goals, and be truly autonomous. By empowering your team to fly free, you don’t just relieve yourself of extra work: you make your employees happier, more motivated, and more productive. 

All that, and it’s FREE RIDE FRIDAY!!! Click Play!

EasyCourse

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Everyone needs a break: especially entrepreneurs.

This isn’t an episode that tells you where to go. This all about the types of vacations that are most restful, useful, and valuable for independent business people. These entrepreneur-friendly trip types will recharge your batteries, and accomplish the one goal of a true, proper vacation: sending you back to work fresh and motivated.

And of course, they’re fun!

Don’t worry; these aren’t “working vacations,” unless you want them to be. While professional development can be a feature, the only rule of vacationing is to attain maximum enjoyment, whatever form that takes. We’ll discuss the benefits of 3 different trip types, and how they can work best for you.

These trip types range: from the chillest to the thrillest, from the most relaxed to the most dynamic. Pick the one that suits you best, because you deserve it. 

Sometimes, independent business people need to remember that as much thought and planning should go into our rest as into our work. Let us help — Click Play!

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We’ve all had the sensation: Inbox Dread. The knowledge that you’re so behind on emails, the list of black, bolded “unreads” will just be too much to bear. 

How can you dig out of email overwhelm, and still get things done?

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’re helping a listener who’s got 10 pounds of To-Dos on a 5-pound plate. Trudging through hundreds of emails — most of which are of little to no value — doesn’t exactly sound appealing. But we don’t want to miss anything important or useful. 

There has to be a way forward.

Today, we’ll show you how to get that inbox under control, with a few quick and dirty tricks that cut your pile down to size. Email-induced stress is a real and painful thing that can detract from your health and productivity; but you’re done playing catch-up.

Learn these few adjustments you can make to your system for tackling email, and get ready to breathe easier. Click Play!

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If you know our intrepid host Omar, you know he’s a reader.

Omar plows through over 50 books each year, searching for those golden lessons that resonate and have a real impact. That’s because he believes a book has the greatest ROI in terms of professional development. For usually less than $20, you can learn things that change you as a business person forever.

Of course, not every book he reads is great.

Some of them, though, are standouts, usually the subjects of our Must-Read episodes. Now, he’s chosen the top of the top, the absolute best reads on business, personal growth, and marketing he read in all of 2019. These are the MUST-Must-Reads for anyone looking to improve their entrepreneurial game.

As the year draws to a close and the holidays approach, take some of that downtime to enjoy one. Or two. Or five!

Some are long, some are short. Some are dense, some are super accessible. All of them will help you and your business grow, if you take their lessons to heart. One is so incredible, it made the list despite the fact that Omar hasn’t finished it yet! 

Find out what they are, and get reading. Click Play!

The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene

Product Led Growth by Wes Bush

Product-Led Institute

Extreme Revenue Growth by Victor Cheng

Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Shmidt

What You Do Is Who You Are by Ben Horowitz

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The market is a crowded place. One of the first hurdles new entrepreneurs struggle with is the old classic: how the heck do you stand out?

Fortunately, we’ve got an expert in just that.

Suzanne Chadwick has turned standing out into a full-time occupation. She’s mastered the art of being memorable for the purpose of branding and marketing. Author, speaker, and consultant, Chadwick knows how to get your business lodged in people’s heads, so that you are front of mind when they decide to make a purchase.

And she’s here today.

Suzanne has 5 specific things you can do to get the brand position that drives growth. By creating unique emotional connections with your audience, you can take away some of the blockers that prevent conversion. By putting in just a few extra miles, you can make the connections that make your brand pop.

These are tips you can put to work immediately, and see the difference in your reach. Click Play!

Survey Monkey

Typeform

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You know you want to start a business. But that’s about all you know.

You’re not alone! So many people think that entrepreneurs start by having some grand product idea, but that’s rarely the case. More often, entrepreneurship starts with nothing more than the desire to be independent, and the chutzpah to go for it.

So you’re off to a good start, even though you have no idea what’s next.

Successful independent business is way more about execution than product ideas. As we discuss in this podcast, some of the most wildly successful entrepreneurs didn’t actually come up with anything new; they just improved the form, deliverability, or accessibility of something that was already out there.

The key was: they met a need.

Maybe we need to flip the notion of “creating a business idea” around. Instead, let’s try to  find your business idea, by putting our ear to the ground and figuring out what market need you can meet. 

Take the time. Find an audience. Talk to it, but listen to it. Your big idea is out there somewhere, and if you’re patient and strategic, your idea will come — and it’ll seem like the most obvious thing in the world. Click Play!

EasyCourse

Fizzle

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Ready to start a software company? These are the most important things we learned from building ours!

It took time to learn them. It took a lot of trial, and no small amount of error. Software as a product type has exploded, especially the SaaS (Software as a Service) model. For anyone looking to start a business, software is quickly becoming the first, best option. 

We’ve seen a zillion software companies rise and fall, so what can we say that’s true for all of them?

Today, we share 3 specific facts about the software game that are immutable, irrefutable, and unchanging — no matter what kind of software you want to sell. Whether you want a lifetime revenue stream, or simply want to build an app and sell it, these are the universal rules.

We learned most of this on the way to building WebinarNinja, our webinar software. The key, in our experience, is to make decisions based on external realities and not just your own ideas. In other words, humility is the first ingredient.

Check out these 3 rules, and keep them in mind as you plan your incredible software business. Click Play!

WebinarNinja

The Fizzle Show Podcast

Strong App

Profitwell

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Entrepreneurs are in a tough spot. 

We take on tremendous responsibility to improve our lives, but sometimes it comes at the expense of our lives. We know that a happy, healthy entrepreneur is more successful than an overworked one, but business doesn’t care when you need a break. We want freedom, but we chain ourselves to our computers.

How we can have lives and businesses at the same time?

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and one listener is doing great, business-wise, but life is passing him by. He’s got no social life, a messy home, and no idea what to do about it. It begs the question: if your success isn’t making you happy, is it really success? 

Sometimes, we entrepreneurs forget that high priorities aren’t the only priorities. Business, however much we enjoy it, is a means to an end. Moreover, actually enjoying your life as an entrepreneur is your greatest chance to be any good at it! 

If there’s no balance, you’re going to sink — personally and professionally. 

Fortunately, we’ve got some strategies that can help. It doesn’t necessarily mean doing less; it mostly means doing things more efficiently, more effectively, and sometimes letting others share the load. There’s no “one size fits all” solution, and no prescription work/life balance that’s perfect for everyone — but we can help you adjust the scales.

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Bad days will happen. What matters is how you respond.

Our intrepid host, Omar, is no stranger to rough days at work. He’s learned how to feel it coming; the insurmountable To-Do list, the shift in mood, the feeling that nothing can go right while this particular sun is up.

We’ve all been there. And we know that finding a healthy way to manage the emotions that come with a bad day is crucial to running a business effectively.

Today, we discuss specific, actionable strategies you can use to cope with, navigate, and ultimately triumph over your godawful day. Whether it’s angry customers, uncooperative team members, depressing metrics, or something else, there is always a way forward. 

You just need the tools.

A successful entrepreneur has to develop one skill that’s sometimes overlooked: the ability to keep yourself in the right headspace in the face of frustration. Your decision-making abilities as a leader have to stay consistent — even when your luck isn’t. 

By utilizing these few simple strategies, you can avoid compounding your bad day with bad decisions, and make tomorrow better. Click Play!

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It starts with posture. 

Jordan Peterson is a controversial figure, ever since he left academia and touched many a nerve with his hugely successful self-help career. His landmark book, 12 Rules for Life, lays out a philosophy guided by deceptively simple advice — like standing up straight — rooted deeply in his interpretation of history, philosophy, and religion.

There’s plenty to argue about — and there’s plenty of value to extract. 

Today, we’ll discuss how Peterson’s rules apply to business and the entrepreneurial journey. We won’t cover all 12, but a few of the rules are super relevant to building your own independent business, and could be surprisingly helpful to you.

Sometimes, the simplicity of advice is part of its effectiveness. 

Standing up straight may not seem like a game-changer, but the effects on your mind, body, and the way others perceive you goes way beyond posture. It’s a perfect example of what you and your business can get from a “self-help” book like Peterson’s. 

Tune in, and see what else you can learn from this polarizing but important figure. Click Play!

12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson

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Social media is a fickle thing. One year it’s the key to your business, the next year all your “likes” don’t translate to a dime in sales.

The social media Powers That Be (that’s Facebook, Insta, and the like) are constantly updating their algorithms and tweaking the way they determine how much of your content actually reaches the people you’re speaking to. It can seem a fool’s errand to try to keep up, but keep up we must.

Case in point: how much are your business’s social media accounts really driving your growth?

It can be tough to decide just how much time, money, and energy you’re willing to throw at the social media game. For some businesses, it’s undeniably crucial. For others, the ROI just isn’t there. Today, we’ll help you determine which category your business falls into — and what to do about it.

In simpler times (when more presence automatically meant more business), we over-valued social media. After that, we under-valued it. Now, we’re searching for that “Goldilocks” level of social media investment: just enough.

Tune in, and see where your business falls on the Social Media Importance Spectrum, and how to optimize your own business pages for the best results. Click Play!

EasyCourse

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So you’re ready to speak in public.

Kudos. Public speaking — especially at industry conferences — can be a massive brand-builder. It can turbo-charge your networking. It’s not for everyone, but the effects on a small business are undeniable. Somewhat surprisingly, it can also be the perfect way for introverted entrepreneurs to connect with people.

But how do you book a gig?

We’ve been there: before our intrepid host Omar became a successful regular public speaker, he had to find a way in. The goal was never to be a high-powered semi-celebrity making his living off speeches, but simply to showcase expertise, build his personal brand, and make connections. But getting in the door was…a challenge.

Today, we’ll share what Omar learned over time, so you can get to your first speaking engagement sooner.

There is a way to get on stage, even if you’ve never delivered a talk in your life. Find out how — Click Play!

EasyCourse

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It’s an SEO emergency!

It’s the first big, scary challenge that many entrepreneurs face: how the heck to get people to your website. There are literally hundreds of millions of websites out there, many of which are filled with advice on how to get traffic. 

But what can you do, right now, today, that’ll give you a chance to be heard?

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and one of our listeners has hit a plateau. Despite regular blogging over several months, the traffic isn’t exactly stellar. Are there any quick fixes?

There sure are. 

While the art of building an audience is something that takes time, patience, and effort, sometimes it’s the little tricks and tips that make all the difference. Today’s episode is all about things you can do immediately to improve your site traffic, mostly to do with those three magic letters: S.E.O.

Hear what relatively simple changes can unleash your website’s true potential. Some of them are so simple and small, they’re often overlooked. But each of them represents a potential “traffic jam” that you can easily clear up, if you know how. Click Play!

WebinarNinja

Ahrefs

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“You should write a book.”

“I could write a book.”

“One day I’ll write a book.”

We’ve all had the thought, the suggestion, even the plan. But as a marketing strategy, is it smart? Are books still relevant in a digital economy? Does the (considerable) time, effort, and money required to produce a book pay off? What’s the ROI?

Today, we answer those questions.

We’ll discuss what makes writing a book worthwhile, and how so much of a book’s value rests on a simple question: “Why?” Before you write a single word, the purpose of the book — and the effects you’re trying to produce — have to be established. 

What you write, how you write it, and what you do with it all depend on the “why.”

There are different endgames for different books. We’ll explain how to choose your endgame, and how to actually execute the writing and marketing of your book. Launching a book now is much different from the days of Barnes & Noble. You may find that your idea for a book, however good, needs some tweaking.

Your book might be a game-changer for your business — but only if you start with a plan. Click Play!

Elizabeth Marshall

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What do personal finance, entrepreneurship, “money dials,” and the importance of fitness have in common?

Answer: Ramit Sethi.

If you’re a regular listener, you know our intrepid host, Omar, reads a ton of books. Perhaps the most impactful one for him was I Will Teach You to Be Rich by personal finance expert and course-selling mastermind Ramit Sethi. 

Seriously, he still gives it to people as birthday presents.

So today is a special treat for Omar and our listeners: we’ve got an extended interview with Sethi, covering a multitude of important topics for entrepreneurs. From their shared immigrant-family experience, to their stances on credibility in marketing, to the powerful impact nutrition and exercise have had on their performance as business people, Omar and Ramit have lots to talk about — and lots to teach us. 

It’s rare that we get a chance to learn directly from the public figures that influenced us the most. Tune in as Omar picks Sethi’s brain, and see what you can learn about managing your finances, building your business, and getting it all together. 

Click Play!

I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

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The best part about failing? It’s an opportunity to try something bold.

If your business isn’t making it, you shouldn’t give up too soon. But you also shouldn’t keep trying the same strategies that got you into trouble in the first place. If you’re stuck in a ditch, it’s time to try something you wouldn’t normally try. It’s time to go big, before you go home.

It’s time to get radical.

Like a defibrillator to the chest, a drastic move can seem scary, but rescue your business. Today, we’ve got 4 power moves to try when things aren’t going your way. If business was good, you’d probably never consider these things. But business isn’t good, and a Hail Mary play might be the smartest thing you can do.

These tactics involve major changes; huge shifts in how you do business that will blow your original business model apart. But if your business model isn’t working, that’s no problem at all. Listen to these 4 ideas, and see if one or more of them can get your business back on track.

Who knows? Failing might be exactly what your business needed in order to change for the better. Click Play!

EasyCourse

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What’s your NPS? If you don’t know, you need to find out.

Your “Net Promoter Score,” or NPS, is a simple but super-powerful metric for measuring…well, love. Based on a single-question survey, it gives you a snapshot of how much your current customers love your business. That’s all there is to it, but don’t let the simplicity of the equation fool you.

You need to know which of your customers can help your business, and which can hurt it.

To fight churn, protect your brand, and give your business long-term sustainability, keeping track of your NPS is a huge must. By categorizing your customers on a scale from “Loves you so much they’ll actually do your marketing for you” to “hates you so much they feel compelled to tell anyone who will listen,” you can figure out what you need to do to increase satisfaction and ensure loyalty.

It’s a consumer’s world now. Ratings and perception can make or break your business faster than you can say “No Stars.” 

Listen to your customers, and let them show you the way forward with one simple question. By conducting NPS surveys and taking action, you can do more for the life of your business than any amount of advertising. Click Play!

Survicate

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Zapier

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Don’t just look at growth. Look at churn.

If the latter outpaces the former, you have a huge problem. Churn destroys businesses, even ones that grow at a decent pace.

 If you don’t already know, churn is the rate at which a business loses recurring customers, like monthly subscribers. For these kinds of businesses, keeping existing customers is just as important (if not more important) than finding new ones.

It’s Q&A Wednesday, and we’ve got a listener whose churn is cancelling out every bit of progress made. We’ll discuss how to invest in retention as effectively as you invest in acquisition, so you’re not bringing money in one end only to lose it out the other. 

The key is to establish a system for retaining recurring customers. Get the intel you need to keep customer loyalty high, then act on it to increase long-term satisfaction. As the founders of a SaaS company, we’ll share our own strategies for keeping churn low, as well as some of the resources we use to keep an eye out for trouble.

If your business uses a recurring model, churn protection is Priority One. Hear how it’s done. Click Play!

Profitwell

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Sometimes, we forget to focus on the customers we already have.

Your “buyer’s journey,” the steps your customers took from stranger to lead to revenue source, is crucial to keeping your business alive and thriving. Knowing exactly how you got people interested — and how you converted that interest into a sale — is the key to repeating the process, and to finding customers that will stick around for the long term.

In other words, your best current customers can help you find more like them.

Today, we discuss how to analyze your sales and marketing efforts, mining the information for clues to what works best. Instead of hoping your marketing works, look at when it already worked, and figure out why. Find out how you produced the greatest CLTV (Customer Lifetime Value) and double down.

Your customers aren’t just a source of revenue. Their journey is a source of information that’s more valuable than the price of any single sale. Dig in, take a long look at your data, and figure out what gets people in — and keeps them coming back. Click Play!

Segment

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A recession is coming. That’s a fact.

How do we know? Because a recession is always coming. Business is cyclical, and smart entrepreneurs don’t hope against economic downturns — they prepare for them.

Jonathan Slain was hit hard by the Great Recession of 2008. After he got back on his feet, he realized that recession-proofing is an absolute must for any business. Now, as the founder of Recession.com, Slain helps other businesses survive and even prosper during those inevitable low points.

Today, Slain is here to help us prepare while the current economy still looks good.

Recessions come in many forms, besides the usual dips in GDP and stock market troubles. Slain’s strategies can also help your business through “personal recessions” like the loss of a major client or partner, or anything else beyond your control that can derail your business.

The key is to see it as natural and inevitable. And to be ready.

Tune in, and hear how your business can stay agile during a recession: speeding up, slowing down, or stopping short to avoid the worst — and still shoot for the best. Click Play!

Recession.com

50% off Recession Workbook (use coupon code MBA)

Recession Readiness Assessment

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Catastrophic success is real — and dangerous.

Unchecked growth has the same effect on a business as it does on a body: it overloads the systems and puts you at risk for collapse. Yes, growth is necessary for a business to survive. But if that growth isn’t sustainable, your business won’t survive it! That’s why it’s important to have a vision for the pace of your growth.

Today, we discuss how to plan intentionally for growth, and how to spot the red flags that signal an imminent growth-based catastrophe.

By making sure your business is equipped for more and more customers, you guarantee that you’ll never be a victim of your own success. Part of the excitement of growth is planning for it, moderating it, and making sure it’s a net benefit rather than a careless risk. 

Don’t be caught off guard!

Tune in, and hear how you can get ready to grow in a way that’ll keep you in business for the long term. Click Play!

EasyCourse

Watch the episodes on YouTube: https://lm.fm/GgRPPHi

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Sometimes, you’ve gotta sweeten the deal. But like literal sweeteners, bonuses have to be applied strategically.

Today, we discuss how free swag, extra content, and other bonuses can move the needle on conversions. When a relatively small investment can motivate the right action and move people down the sales funnel, there’s no point in being stingy. But you have to make sure that your investment gets the right returns.

Full disclosure: we’ve offered some terrible bonuses — the kind that cost us money without really promoting growth.

Now, we’ve seen what kinds of bonuses really convert. Join us as we explain how to craft a bonus offer that’s smart, valuable to the customer, and worth it for your business. Plus, we’ll discuss how to source and fulfill physical bonuses like branded clothing and other accessories. 

We’ve given away a lot to learn these lessons, so let our experience help you to bonus wisely. Click Play!

Teespring

Watch the episodes on YouTube: https://lm.fm/GgRPPHi

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Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.