On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Nellie Akalp, who is a small business advocate and CEO of CorpNet.com. Nellie has formed more than 100K corporations and LLCs across the US, and has been building companies for more than 18 years. In 2008, Nellie sold her first company to Intuit for $20M, and got straight back in the entrepreneur game. During this episode, Jessica and Nellie discuss trademarks, common law rights, how to get started, working as a couple, and managing a successful team.

 

Main Questions Asked:

• How did your law school education impact what you are doing in business?
• When is the best time to trademark a business name?
• What is the investment for securing a trademark?
• What are common law trademark rights?
• What are your tips for younger married women with kids in the early years of their business?
• Talk about managing and growing a successful team.
• What is an example of one thing you have done that contributed to upleveling your business?
• What percentage of million dollar businesses are owned by women?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

About CorpNet

• CorpNet provides legal document preparation services to small business owners and entrepreneurs who want to start a business.

 

Trademarks

• Businesses need to protect their name, brand, logo, and tagline, as well as completing trademark and copyright registration and searches.
• Trademarks are about protecting your brand from anyone else using it, diluting it, and creating confusion in the marketplace.
• Trademark protection is about preventing others from using your name, tag line, brand, and logo.
• If the business is making money, is profitable, and you are planning on building out the business, you should consider trademarking.
• Having a trademark is one more step to giving you brand recognition and loyalty.

 

Getting Started with a Trademark

• Prices start from $149 for the application preparation (in addition to the fees paid to the United States Patent and Trademark Office).
• Do a free trademark search at the federal level.
• A nationwide trademark search is $199. If you are doing name and logo, it is $299.
• The United States Patent and Trademark Office fees range from $325 per class to $375 per class.

 

Common Law Trademark Rights

• Common law rights are based on first use of the name.
• Just by using a name in the marketplace, you are applying rights to that name under the First-use doctrine.

 

Family & Relationship Tips for Entrepreneurs

• In running a business with your partner, you have to be linear rather than a hierarchy.
• You always have to be unified as a couple in front of your team.
• Mandate date night, and keep it intimate rather than simply just business.

 

Managing a Successful Team

• When working with remote team members, their mindset has to be one of an entrepreneurial nature. Whereby everyone is working toward a common goal.
• A big company is a result of the sum of its parts.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

CorpNet

USPTO

info@corpnet.com

1-888-281-7111

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Rick Martinez, who is a veteran, registered nurse, writer, and successful entrepreneur. Rick sold his company, MedTrust for seven figures, and during this episode, discusses BizAcademy Online, money mindset, winner’s mindset, masterminds, and the 4 business fundamentals you won’t learn in business school. 

 

Main Questions Asked:

• Why are people, passion, and profit the keys to greater impact and more reward?
• What are your thoughts around money mindset?
• How do you define and develop a winner’s mindset?
• How can people strengthen the winner’s mindset?
• What are the 4 business fundamentals you need to know about, and why won’t you learn them in business school?
• Talk about entrepreneurs and follow through.

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Money Mindset

• Work less, make more, live with passion, and make money.
• We need to have a different internal conversation about money, because it’s okay to make money. It’s not about the money, but rather what you do with it.
• Being happy for people who have more will put you in an abundance mindset.

 

Winner’s Mindset

• Whether you own your business or are an employee, you need to get your mind ready to attack the day.
• This mindset starts with how you approach the day, starting from waking up to perception.
• When you know ‘why’ you are going to do what you do, it makes things easier.
• Rick starts his day with a ‘power hour,’ which includes reading something inspirational, clearing out his inbox, and reading his mantras.
• Our minds can quickly go to negative places, so it works to have positive mantras actually written down.

 

Tips for Winner’s Mindset

• It’s often difficult to keep energy flowing on our own and the power of accountability.
• Masterminds don’t always have to be for business owners. There are local Meetup groups.
• If you don’t have a mastermind group, then either seek one out or create one. Be the change you want to see.

 

Challenging Days

• Wondering what you are doing, what your purpose is, and if you are on the right path happens to everyone.
• We all have days where the mindset goes off the deep end and negative mind chatter creeps in.
• Have an accountability partner you can call when you need a ‘mindset check.’

 

The 5 People

• We are the average of the 5 people we surround ourselves with. These don’t have to be people we aspire to be, but can be people we lead.
• Regardless of whether you are a business owner, you need to have mentors and trusted advisors in your life.
• Think of your advisors as a board of directors, as not everyone can give advise on every challenge.
• It’s not just about business; it’s about the balance of life.

 

The 4 Business Fundamentals

1. People

• Understanding vendors and clients.

2. Strategy

• What is the long-term 3-5-year plan?

3. Execution

• How are you putting what you know about people and your business into action?

4. Cash Flow

• Cash is king.
• Gross revenue is for vanity, and net revenue is for sanity.

 

Entrepreneurs & Follow Through

• Fail fast, fail cheap, and ask, “Is what I’m going to do a benefit in the long run, or am I doing this to satisfy my entrepreneur ego?”

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

The Hustle Blueprint

Biz Academy Online

Rick Martinez

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Matt Miller, who is an Air Force veteran that bought one gumball machine and turned it into a franchise business. School Spirit Vending provides hassle-free, year-round fundraising for schools, and during this episode Jessica and Matt discuss business for families, the vending business model, adding value, and long-term commitment in podcasting.

 

Main Questions Asked:

• How has being an Air Force veteran helped you in business?
• Do you think that everyone should have to go through the military at some point?
• Talk about multi-generations in business.
• Walk us through the School Spirit Vending business model.
• How has using podcasting helped to grow your business?
• What would it take for someone to get started in School Spirit Vending?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Business for Families

• Matt spends time fostering an environment where families can build their business together and kids can learn by helping parents.
• This is not only a way to make money but also a responsibility to teach and help foster growth and inspiration in the kids.

 

School Spirit Vending Business Model                                                            

• The business is based on hassle-free, year-round fundraising for schools by placing sticker machines in the school.
• Spirit stickers are custom designed with school colors and mascots.
• The goal is to reinvent school fundraising and let professional companies do all the work rather than kids going door-to-door.
• This is a passive fundraiser for the school.
• This business takes a couple of days per month to get started as a vendor, but over time it will be a passive income.
• Each vending machine is a building block of income.

 

Marlin & Percy

• Comic book series developed to start inspiring kids through the sticker machines.
• This increases the value of the service that is offered.

 

Adding Value

• Look at what you are already providing your clients and ask yourself how you can make it better.
• This doesn’t mean adding more products and services, but rather making what people are getting more valuable.
• If you create a win/win scenario, your ‘churn rate’ and the need to create more business constantly will be smaller.
• Provide more value than people expect and continue to innovate, surprise, and amaze clients.

 

Podcasting

• Having someone pitch you as a ‘celebrity’ and having ‘your people’ contact ‘their people’ is big.
• The main investment in podcasting is in time.
• Matt has found that the people reaching out to him with interest in franchising are pre-qualified, as they have already heard his story.
• By the time someone contacts Matt, they have already listened to multiple interviews he has done and are 75% of the way there.
• Matt has found the upper-middle class to be in the podcasting space as listeners.
• A lot of people don’t know about podcasting yet, which means, if you get in now, you will be ahead of the game.
• Podcasting is a vehicle to create evergreen content.
• The ROI of a podcast episode isn’t necessarily realized as soon as it goes live.

 

Podcast for Backlinks

• Backlinks from show notes are directing people to Matt’s site, the SEO is rising, and people have been contacting Matt through online searches.
• The more backlinks you have the better. Google likes it and boosts your site in searches.

 

Long-Term Commitment

• Podcasting is a long-term marketing strategy, and people will discover your podcast over months and years.
• Matt’s goal for the next several years is to be a guest expert on a show at least once a week.
• There are always new audiences, shows, and people looking for new content and solid interviews.
• In the process, there is plenty of opportunity, but you have to commit and, overtime, it will pay huge dividends.
• Most people will do their interview or podcast a few times and think that it's a failure and give up before there was enough time to gain traction.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Live Your Dreams

School Spirit Vending

Marlin & Percy

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Caitlin Pyle, who is a former freelance proofreader turned entrepreneur. Caitlin is a millennial who used to earn $3-5K a month doing part-time work, but tapped into the power of the internet and built her online business from zero to over $500K in 12 months. During this episode, Jessica and Caitlin discuss making mistakes and entrepreneur traps, the transition from the trenches to entrepreneur, taking stock of success, and dealing with online business and haters.

 

Main Questions Asked:

• Tell us about your big failure.
• What were your next steps after the big failure?
• What do you think about ‘follow the passion’ versus ‘follow the money?’
• What was the transition from proofreader to entrepreneur like?
• Who inspired you when you first started your online business?
• Talk about your businesses and how you are helping people.

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Making Mistakes & Entrepreneur Traps

• Everyone teaches you how to get a job, but no one teaches you how to quit a job
• Sometimes you think and work as an entrepreneur before you are one.
• Weigh up whether you want to get paid for the value you offer or paid by the hour.
• When people want to become an entrepreneur, some fall into the trap of asking ‘what looks sexy?’
• Many budding entrepreneurs look at what they think they want to do and their passion rather than where the money is.
• Follow the money, figure out how to make it work for your life, and enjoy it.

 

Transitioning from the Trenches

• When you become a successful entrepreneur, most likely you are not still doing the thing your business does.
• Ensure the level of service to your clients is like none they have ever received before and remain active within your client community.

 

Look How Far You’ve Come

• Entrepreneurs often only think of what’s next and do not look at the progress.
• Take a moment to reflect on what you have achieved in the past week, month, and year.
• If you’re not embarrassed by the first e-book, video, or podcast, then you waited too long to release it.

 

Online Business & Haters

• Prepare yourself for haters. This is magnified when you do business online.
• Be careful how you treat your staff, clients, and customer relationships online.
• People that leave reviews are those who love it or had a horrible experience, but not those who just had a good experience.
• Avoid the ripple effect with clients and manage the issue quickly to avoid them spreading negative opinions.

 

Proofread Anywhere

• Online course: Transcript Proofreading Theory and Practice.
• Multimedia course with downloads and worksheets.
• The full course takes 2-4 months with more than 50 practice transcripts and 3,000 pages.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Proofread Anywhere

The Work Anywhere Life

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Jeremy Montoya, who is a self-proclaimed internet scientist and serial, lifelong entrepreneur. Jeremy found a pain-point podcasters have and built his business around it. During this episode, Jeremy will school us on how building an email list is the key to a successful business and podcast. There is much actionable content in this podcast!

 

Main Questions Asked:

• Talk about newsletter open rates.
• What are your tips for building an email list?
• How often should people mail their list?
• What are copywriting tactics for subject lines?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

• When there is a pain point, you can build a list around it and make money off it. The money is in the list.

 

Open Rates

• These are lower than ever before, and on average is 20-30%.
• The way to increase the open rate is to focus on the experience of signing up.
• If you do have your list sign-up set the right way, users will be busting to open the email from day one.

 

Unsubscribers

• Don't’ be discouraged when you get unsubscribes.
• People who unsubscribe aren’t your target audience, as they don’t see your value.
• If people unsubscribe, this will mean your open rate will skyrocket, as the disinterested people have taken themselves out of the pool.

 

Personalizing

• People love the sound of their own name.
• Have users opt-in with their first name, then use that in the emails.
• Embed a name code in the middle of emails to reference users by their first name. This will catch their eye.
• Use the email to give subscribers a shout out.

 

Tips for Building a List

• Begin with the end in mind.
• Find other places where your audience hangs out and build the relationship with the community leaders.
• People won’t hear you on a podcast and immediately become your client. You have to get them on your list to keep talking to them.
• Make sure you ‘ask’ and don’t assume the audience will know what you want them to do.
• If you don’t have your audiences’ contact details, then you can’t stay in contact with them directly regardless of what you have on social media.

 

Give Value Beyond the Episode

• Tell your audience you have an email list and give them a reason to get on it during the podcast.
• Make something custom for each episode such as an e-book or video series.
• When you interview people on your podcast, ask if the guest has something to offer and make a deal to share the list.

 

How Often to Mail Your List

• There is no set number or best practice on the frequency of sending emails to your list.
• Most people resort to a weekly newsletter.
• Be sure you are cultivating the relationship, even if it’s biweekly, monthly, or quarterly.
• Keep an eye on the stats and open rate.

 

Content Strategy

• Think about the content you like receiving.
• Test your tone, style, intro, sign off, and imagery.
• Use a story to lead into the point you are trying to make.
• Making emails look like they are from you (using your name) and making them personal is a great strategy.
• If you operate as a business, you might like to use a header.

 

Who is the Email From?

• Who the email is coming from is more important than the subject line.
• People open emails based on who it is from.
• If people don't respect or feel comfortable with you, they won’t even give your email a chance and won’t open it.
• Think about your legacy with the end in mind. This is what will make people a fan of you.

 

Subject Line

• Play around with the subject line in order to get people to open.
• Write your message and pull a subject out of that.
• Being straight to the point gets the job done.
• Being abstract and fun allows the audience to not get in the same pattern.

 

Example Subject Lines

• I felt like a fraud… (Good)
• My secret to getting it all done. (Too general)
• What are you doing this weekend? (Sounds like it wants to sell)
• AHHHH!!!!!! (Useful trick but not too often)

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Jeremy Montoya

Jeremy on Periscope

The Suitcase Entrepreneur

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Maura Sweeney, who considers herself an ‘accidental entrepreneur.’ Maura is an author, podcaster, international speaker, and Huffington Post contributor. She guides others on the path of living happy inside out.  During this episode, we discuss homeschooling, involving children in business, giving and not getting, following your passion and living happy.

 

Main Questions Asked:

• Talk about your experience homeschooling.
• Talk about how you involved your daughter in your business and how that affected your family.
• What do you say to people who follow their passion but make no money?
• Where did you get your business savvy and marketing expertise?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Homeschooling

• Do what works well for you from the inside out.
• Do what you love, follow your passions, and your career path will follow.
• Some children aren’t suited to homeschooling, as they aren’t self-directed and need the teacher to assist.
• Homeschooling doesn’t have to be a permanent decision; you can take it year by year and see what works for you and your child.

 

Follow Your Passion

• This is about living from the inside out.
• Instead of trying to fit yourself into institutions that may not have a place for you, make your own path.

 

Give, Don’t Get

• Give out as much as you can.
• Get as much influence as you can.
• Eventually, the money will follow.

 

Don’t Give Up

• Most people don’t succeed because they give up too quickly.
• Things that are important to you are worth learning, pursuing, and honing.
• Take everything from your background and group it together in your own unique way to share and inspire.

 

Maura’s Story

• She left law school because she wasn’t happy and had a background in sales, management, and writing.
• Maura walked away from her business in order to have a mid-life career that allowed her to travel, use skills, and positively impact people.

 

Branding

• Don't just ‘work it’ from one angle; work it from many!
• Become synonymous with your brand and passion.

 

Humility

• Recognize what you don’t know and don’t be afraid to ask people to show you.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Maura4U

Living Happy Inside Out (Podcast) 

Maura Sweeney (Huffington Post)

Tampa Bay Business Owners

Florida Podfest 

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Greg Smith, who talks about launching an online course so you have an additional stream of revenue in your business. Greg’s company, Thinkific, is a software platform that makes it easy to create, market, and sell online courses. If you are tech challenged, or if you always wanted to create an online course but get overwhelmed, then this is an episode you can’t afford to miss! 

 

Main Questions Asked:

• How much work goes into making a course?
• What do successful courses look like?
• What are the biggest mistakes you’ve seen people make with online courses?
• What are the price points for courses?
• How do you market a course?
• How do you decrease the rate at which people request refunds?
• What is Thinkific, who is it for, and how do you use it?
• What is the difference between Thinkific and Udemy?
• What is the first step to creating an online course?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Getting Started

• If you have just one stream of revenue, and that stream goes away, then you are in trouble.
• Avoid the mistake of, ‘If I build it they will come.’
• Everything is colored by how you will market, distribute, and who you will share your course with.
• The bulk in the online course space is on-demand.

 

Successful Courses

• It comes down to the value you provide people and showing your customers how you will make their life different once they have completed the course.
• The delivery method of your course can be via a number of ways, including PowerPoint with voice over, live, or pre-recorded video.

 

Biggest Mistakes

• Obsessing over content but not thinking about how best to distribute the content.
• Don't focus on perfection, or you’ll never launch. Just dive in and experiment.

 

Price Points   

• Price on trust.
• Avoid pricing content based on hours of content or size of course.
• Price based on the value you are giving the customer and the change you are making in their life.

 

Marketing   

• Find leads via PPC, Facebook, AdWords, and niche groups.
• Present a webinar and sell the course at the end.

 

Refunds

• The rate of refunds is low when it comes to online courses.
• Refunds can be avoided by having customer service to deal with any issues.

 

Thinkific

• The platform is for people who have a course or knowledge to share but don’t have the technical expertise to enact it.
• Thinkific offers hosting, delivers videos, makes everything mobile, is easy to set up, includes the ecommerce aspect, and enables customers to brand their course as part of their own website.
• Thinkific takes a 10% commission when customers use the free plan.
• The $50 flat fee option on Thinkific allows unlimited students and courses with no commission.

 

Create the Webinar First

• Get the audience to enroll before you create the webinar.
• Once you have the audience, then customize based on buyers.

 

First Steps

• Start with your chosen topic.
• If you don't’ have a chosen topic, then survey your potential audience and find out what they most want to learn from you.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Thinkific

Yammer

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Dr. Joanie Connell, an author, organizational consultant, and leadership coach who helps people achieve their highest potential. Joanie works with companies to develop and retain top talent and improve their success and happiness in their careers. She is also the author of Flying Without a Helicopter: How to Prepare Young People for Work and Life.   During the show, Jessica and Joanie discuss helicopter parenting, generational differences in the workplace, what makes a great leader, how to help employees be resilient, and how to find a career that excites you.

 

Main Questions Asked:

• What are the pros and cons of helicopter parenting?
• Talk about millennial and generational challenges in the work place.
• Comment on how different generations figure out how to be happy in their career.
• Do you think the transition from employee to contractor jobs help people find a work/life balance?
• What does it take to be a successful leader?
• How do you teach employees to take on leadership roles?
• What can we do to help our employees be more resilient?
• How can people find a career that excites them?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Helicopter Parents

• The choices you make as a parent are both good and bad, and it’s a matter of weighing up the pros and cons of different methods.
• Helicopter parenting is ‘hovering’ over the kids, watching everything they do, and doing things for them.
• The Lawnmower approach is paving the path ahead of the kids so they don’t make mistakes or fall down.
• The consequence of helicopter parenting is that the kids never learn how to do things on their own and make their own mistakes.

 

Generational Differences in the Work Place

• Millennials have different expectations and have been brought up where they have been protected and their self-esteem has been boosted.
• Baby boomers have a harder time working a flexible schedule and have the 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, 40 hour workweek ingrained in their belief system.

 

What Makes a Great Leader

• Being a good leader is all about being flexible and thinking about the individual needs of each worker.
• Leadership comes down to having a vision and bringing followers along.
• If you don’t have followers, then you’re not a leader.
• A great leader has people skills to interact, motivate, and inspire.

 

Helping Employees be Resilient

• When things go wrong, are you able to stay strong, positive, and bounce back?
• As managers, in order to help people build resilience, you have to let them fail. This is essentially the opposite of being a helicopter parent.

 

Finding a Career that Excites You

• Figuring out what makes you happy takes a lot of self-awareness.
• Ask yourself if it’s the content of the job, the environment, the company, having challenges, or helping people that makes you happy.
• Figure out what energizes you and lifts you up.
• What makes you happy doesn’t necessarily have to be in a different job; it can be in your current job.
• The question shouldn’t be, ‘what should I be doing?’ but rather, ‘what makes me happy?’

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Slack

Flexible Work Solutions

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Heather Havenwood, who is known as ‘Sexy Boss’ and is an expert in marketing, entrepreneurship, sales, and dating. In 2006, Heather started, developed, and grew an online information marketing publishing company from ground zero to over a million in sales in less than 12 months. During the show, Jessica and Heather discuss sales, rapport, the psychology of the sales funnel, and contractors in the on-demand economy.

 

Main Questions Asked:

• What contributed to you reaching a million in sales?
• How do you get over the fear of asking for what you want in sales?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Choosing Business Models

• Choose an evergreen niche that will never go away and is adaptable to business environments.
• Make sure you’re building a business that isn’t reliant on other platforms or subject to regulations.
• If you are an entrepreneur, you’re in sales. You have to be confident asking for what you want.

 

Creating Multiple Products and Services

• Don’t just sell one thing to your current clients. Create multiple things and sell to the same person multiple times.
• Who are your current customers and clients, and what more can you sell to them?
• Sell more to people who know, like, and trust you.
• Good sales people love to be sold to.
• The best sales conversations are when clients come ‘pre-sold.’

 

Rapport & Connections

• Sales is all about rapport and building connections.
• Part of the connection is:

1. A) Showing the client that the product of service will help them get the desired result.
2. B) You are trustworthy enough, that you are the person who is going to fulfill that need.

 

The Psychology of the Sales Funnel

• There is the self-selection process where the client has either seen an advert, e-mail, or been referred.
• The client has self-selected themselves for the conversation and from there will choose to buy or not.
• Just because people self-select doesn’t mean they are closed.
• People need to be exposed to your brand on average 7 times before deciding to buy.

 

Women in Business

• Women are the number one underutilized resource on the planet.
• Females are taught to ask ‘around the corners’ and hit rather than ask directly.

 

Contractors and the On-Demand Economy

• The on-demand economy and contractors are promoting entrepreneurial mindset, as people now have multiple streams of income.
• Being an independent contractor can be a path to entrepreneurship for a lot of people.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Heather Havenwood

Sexy Boss Inc

The Soul of Money 

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Erin Smith, who is a serial entrepreneur and has built and sold multiple businesses. She is the woman behind The Starters Club podcast and the author of Master the Start. During the show, we discuss motherhood and business, building business to sell, investing in real estate, delegating and getting out of your own way, and lessons learned from writing a book.

 

Main Questions Asked:

• Talk about your perspective on motherhood and business.
• How do you prepare yourself mentally and logistically to sell?
• How did you finance your real estate investing?
• How much time is spent managing property investments?
• What is your advice on how to brand your business?
• Share your wisdom around hiring people.
• Tell us about your experience in writing your book.

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Working Yourself Out of a Job

• As an entrepreneur, your goal is to ‘work yourself out of a job.’
• Get yourself to the point mentally where you can build your business so you get out of it.
• Trust and hire the right people so your business can continue to grow without you.
• In order to set up your business so it will run without you, a good test is to go on a vacation and see what happens.
• There is a difference between having a ‘business’ and a ‘service.’ If you are away and nothing happens, then it’s a service.

 

Real Estate Investing

• Erin uses property management companies for her out-of-state properties.
• The best things Erin ever did were manage her own properties and having a handy man on her team whom her tenants can contact for repairs.

 

Branding a Business

• Deciding on whether to go with a business or personal brand is a balance and a decision as to where to put your marketing dollars.
• If you are promoting your business and your brand, then sometimes it’s best to separate the two as a person and as a brand.
• If you want your business to be sellable, it’s best to go with the brand and not the personal name.

 

Hiring and Outsourcing

• When hiring, go with your gut.
• Any employee should be bringing a return on investment, which should be reflected in their paycheck.
• Make sure employees are qualified and make them do some kind of test before hiring them.
• In the job description, write very specific instructions to test that the applicants are reading the directions.
• Take your time in hiring, otherwise it will cost you far too much to train someone who leaves after a few months.
• If your trust is broken with an employee, then get rid of them.

 

Lessons from Writing a Book

• Writing a book is such an ‘inner game.’
• Just because someone else has had the idea for a business doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. It just means the business model has already been proven. You have to find an ‘in’ and do it better.
• We limit ourselves by the notion on what we grew up with and our own mindset of what we are capable of.
• Everything is a matter of ‘how bad do you want it?’

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

The Starters Club

Master the Start (book)  

The No B.S. Management of People and Profits (book)

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Carri Drzyzga, who is known internationally as the functional medicine doc and go-to expert on finding the root causes of health problems so you can feel normal again. Carri is a chiropractor, naturopathic doctor, host of The Functional Medicine Radio Show, and author of the hit book Reclaim Your Energy and Feel Normal Again. She is the creator of Entrepreneurial Fatigue: How to fuel your brain and body for entrepreneurial success. During the show, we discuss sleep, entrepreneurial fatigue, food and fatigue prevention, Carri’s Ultimate Smoothie recipe, and office strategies to get moving.

 

Main Questions Asked:

• Talk about the importance of sleep environment.
• What is entrepreneurial fatigue, and how do you know if you have it?
• What are some of the causes of entrepreneurial fatigue?
• What can we do to prevent entrepreneurial fatigue?
• Why is eating at our desk so problematic?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

The Importance of Sleep

• Even if you don’t have insomnia, you can still have sleep problems.
• It’s important to have your bedroom as dark as you can get it (as dark as a cave).
• The light in your bedroom stops your brain from producing the maximum amount of melatonin.
• If you can’t darken your room, then try using a sleep mask. You may not get more sleep, but the quality will be better.

 

Entrepreneurial Fatigue

• If you feel that you or your brain aren’t on point, then you are probably suffering with entrepreneurial fatigue.
• Rate your average energy from 0-10. If you aren’t at 8 or higher, then you are suffering from entrepreneurial fatigue.

 

Food and Fatigue Prevention

• Pay attention to taking care of the number one business asset, which is you. This means taking care of your health.
• Small things will have long-term impacts such as business, health, relationships.

 

Carri’s Ultimate Smoothie Recipe:

• Organic spinach
• ½ cup blueberries
• 1-2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1-2 Tbsp clarified butter
• 1-2 Tbsp nut or seed butter
• 1-2 Tbsp raw cacao powder
• 3 raw organic eggs (or 20-30g of whey isolate protein powder)
• Coconut water or milk

 

Exercise Get Moving

• Sitting for prolonged periods of time is worse than sitting.
• Interval training, which is short busts of exercise to get your heart rate up, move the body’s lymphatics, and get oxygen to your brain.
• Booking-in appointment times to perform 5-10 minutes of exercise during breaks is a great strategy.
• Great office exercise breaks include running in place, squats or lunges, commando crawls, and planking.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Dr Carri

The Functional Medicine Radio Show

Reclaim Your Energy and Feel Normal Again (book)

Functional Medicine Ontario 

The Slight Edge

How to make Ghee (Video)

 

Far too often, marriages and families suffer in the pursuit of business, profit, and growth. On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Susie Miller, who is the better relationship coach, author, speaker, and dedicated to helping create better relationships in 30 days or less. Susie equips high-potential entrepreneurs and executives with ways to reduce stress, improve communication, and not bankrupt relationships in the pursuit of profit and success. Susie is also the bestselling author of Listen, Learn, Love, and during this episode discusses the concept of the entrespouse, relationships and business, the 5 Love Languages, and the Profit Method.

 

Main Questions Asked:

• What is an ‘entrespouse’?
• What unique challenges do entrepreneurs face in their relationships?
• Talk about The Profit Method.

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Entrespouse

• This is someone who is married and also has a business.
• As an entrepreneur, you have two loves: the husband or wife and the business.
• We tell our spouses to ‘wait’ and that we will get to them, which puts them on the backburner and wrecks marriages.
• When you spend time investing in anything other than your business, your business will suffer because it doesn’t have you 24/7.
• If you are working to grow a strong marriage, you can’t be 24/7 in your business.

 

Relationships & Business

• The biggest key is to invest in your marriage before the crisis hits.
• When we are having relationship issues at home, we are distracted, burdened, and aren’t firing on all cylinders.
• If the marriage ends, the business will be impacted by the separation of assets.
• Having a better relationship frees up energy and creativity, so you have more of yourself present in your business.
• Susie is on a crusade to have relationships talked about at business conferences because better relationships increase a businesses bottom line.

 

Entrespouse Communication

 

• The level of unpredictability for entrepreneurs wreaks havoc on relationships.
• We get so busy trying to stay on top of things that we forget to have discussions about it with our spouse.
• If you don’t have conversations, then far too much gets assumed, which is where the problems start.
• Entrepreneurs have a different mindset, so it’s important to develop a common language to enable spousal discussion with your non-entrepreneur mate.

 

The 5 Love Languages

• If you want to know your spouse’s love language, just watch how they give you love.

1. Words of affirmation
2. Physical touch
3. Acts of service
4. Quality time
5. Gifts

 

The Profit Method

• Priorities - Make time in your schedule.
• Rekindle - Don’t live like roommates.
• Open Up - Don’t let things build up.
• Focus - When you are with your spouse or family be 100% with them.
• Intentional Interactions - This isn’t quantity time. This is developing a strategy for engagement and interaction.
  • This could be putting in a reminder to pick up flowers or send a text.
  • In the midst of life, it’s the touch points of communication that keep us going.
• Tactical - Strategic and preemptive things to help your relationship grown.

 

Mindset

 

• As an entrepreneur, it’s easy to get wrapped up in what other people think, do, and say.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Susie Miller (First interview)

Susie Miller

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Joe Naab, who is the founder and president of Vocal Nebula, which is a learning community online for those who love to sing. Joe has been an entrepreneur for more than twelve years, and during this episode explains why we should focus on our voices, talks about how to use your voice as an instrument, and teaches you vocal warm up exercises.  

 

Main Questions Asked:

• What makes the voice an instrument?
• Why should we warm up and focus on our voice?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Podcasting and Your Voice

• As a podcaster or public speaker, it is important to take your voice seriously.
• Treat podcasting as a craft and not simply a marketing tool.
• When people are listening to your voice through headphones for prolonged periods of time, you want it to be an enjoyable experience.
• Warm up your voice.
• Remember to save this podcast and go back to the vocal exercises!

 

The Voice as an Instrument

• The voice is an instrument because it makes music, but we tend not to think of it as an instrument.
• When you see the voice as an instrument, it helps accelerate your progress as a singer, speaker, podcaster, or voice actor.
• People are both the ‘player’ and the ‘instrument.’

 

The Three Parts:

1. Aerator

• This is everything below the vocal chords.
• Lungs, diaphragm, abdominal muscles.
• The aerator provides air pressure to the intonator.
• This is where we make sound that is projected into the resonator, where we shape the sounds.

2. Intonator

• The voice box and everything it contains.
• Larynx and vocal folds.

3. Resonator

• The top of your neck and your head.

 

Focusing on the Voice

• When we focus on the voice, we replace inhibitory behavior with exhibitory behavior.
• Since early childhood, we are always taught to dampen the sound and lower the volume of our voice.
• When you are about to podcast or do a speech, you need to warm up your voice to ensure you aren’t pushing too hard.

 

Benefits of Vocal Exercises

• When you do these exercises, you are driving sonic energy into your brain.
• While you sing, your brain produces dopamine and other feel good neurotransmitters.
• Focus on a kinesthetic awareness of the feeling of the instrument. This is the secret to fast vocal development.
• The student that learns how to do vocal exercises correctly will develop much faster than a student who just does them.

 

Four Vocal Exercises

1. Lip trill or lip bubbles
2. Closed Mouth Vowels (CMV): humming
3. Fricatives: Th, Z, S, (consonants with vowels behind them)
4. Articulators: The scale where you have a sound for each note of the scales.

• Joe recommends: 1x lip trill, 2x closed mouth vowels, 2x fricatives, and 2x articulators.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Vocal Nebula

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Gene Hammett, who proves no failure is big enough to keep you from success, even a failure that costs you millions of dollars! Gene is a business strategist who brings with him the experience of running two multimillion dollar businesses. He is fiercely committed to working with high-achieving leaders who want to lead with confidence and achieve financial freedom. Gene is the host of the Leaders in the Trenches podcast and, during this episode, talks podcasts as marketing tools, downloads and frequency, guest pitches, discovering your most profitable customers, niching down, and getting out behind the curtain.

 

Main Questions Asked:

• What kept you going, and what has kept you from ‘podfading?’
• How did you come to figure out who your audience is, and how do you bring them what they want?
• How has the podcast been a successful marketing tool for your coaching business?
• How important are podcast downloads to you when you know the podcast is producing results in your business?
• Talk about the decision to go from three episodes a week to a weekly show.
• Why is knowing the most profitable segment of your business so important?
• Can you niche down too much and exclude people?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Leaders in the Trenches Podcast

• Prior to launching his podcast, Gene put together an executive roundtable of people he thought would be great coaching clients and spoke to them about what they wanted in a podcast.
• After his research, Gene was confident on what he was here to do, who he was going to interview, the show’s structure, and how long episodes should be.
• When things got tough, having the research prevented Gene from ‘podfading.’

 

Podcasts as Marketing Tools

• The podcast has been a successful marketing tool to grow Gene’s business and extend it to people who aren’t reading the content or seeing him speak.
• The podcast was designed to bring clients into the business, and Gene had his first client within 3 months.
• The turning moment was speaking at Podcast Movement.
• Podcasting has raised Gene’s authority level, as he is seen as a peer and not just a fanboy.
• You can absolutely start a podcast for business purposes.

 

Downloads & Frequency

• Gene was falling into the trap of more content is better.
• More content isn’t better. Better content is better.
• When Gene’s podcast moved from a three episode a week show to two, his download numbers didn’t change much. However, there was a shift when he downsized to one episode per week.
• Download numbers only mean as much as you put into it.
• It’s hard to maintain a high-quality of show when you are churning out so many podcasts.

 

Guest Pitches

• When you get to the point where your podcast is more than a year old, you will get 1-2 email pitches per day requesting to be a guest on the show.
• A lot of pitches are going out to podcasters where there isn’t a good fit between the guest and the host.
• As a podcaster, if you don’t feel curious about someone’s story or expertise, then it’s best to say no to them as a guest.
• If you record an interview that you don’t feel good about, then it’s best not to release them.

 

Who are Your Most Profitable Customers?

• Most people only aim at the people they ‘can serve.’
• If all of those people want to do business with you, then who do you want to do business with? Who inspires you? That becomes your niche!
• John Lee Dumas says if you’re going to have a niche, you have to have it three levels deep.
• The profitable niche is the people who get the highest value from what you offer.

 

Authority Approach

• This involves getting out from behind the curtain, niching down, and becoming an authority figure.
• Speaking gigs can be lucrative in building your business, as people are attracted to leaders.
• Position yourself as the expert and speak in rooms, and create content that is directly in alignment with your most profitable customers.

 

Can You Niche Down Too Much?

• This is a mindset issues of FOMO (fear of missing out) and not wanting to exclude people.
• Uber did not start in every major city in the world. It started in San Francisco; Facebook started in Boston.
• We only pay attention to what is specific to us and directed to us. If you aren’t willing to create the content that speaks directly to the heart of where someone is and connect, then they will ignore what you have.
• Is your goal to reach millions with generic content or build a platform and transform the lives of those that get the highest value of what you offer?
• A powerful way to niche down is to have people apply to your service so you can review them before they pay you.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Leaders in the Trenches Podcast

Leaders in the trenches (Jessica’s episode)

7 Steps to Getting More Speaking Gigs (Video)

Interview Connections

Podcast Movement

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Julie Gray, who is a holistic time coach. Julie goes beyond traditional time management to guide time-stressed executives and entrepreneurs through a powerful process that results in more guilt-free time, focused productivity, and the rejuvenation of your mind, body, and spirit. She is the author of Digital True For You Time Management Workbook and co-creator of the 21-Day Time Makeover Program with Self Magazine, as well as a featured time expert in the Washington Post’s Time Hacks section. During this episode, we discuss to-do lists, work hours anxiety, finding your anchors, email management, productivity tools, and external triggers.

 

Main Questions Asked:

• What is holistic time management, and how is that different from a time management expert?
• What are your thoughts on to-do lists?
• What are your tips for entrepreneurs who work from home?
• What are your email management tips?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Holistic Time Management

• Includes a traditional approach.
• In order for systems to ‘stick,’ it is necessary to look at the whole person.
• Time management is not just how you manage your time. It is also how you manage your energy, emotions, relationships, and communication.
• There is no such thing as a cookie cutter time management system.
• Every person behaves differently and has a different preferred work style, flow, and rhythm to his or her life.

 

To-Do Lists

• There are a lot of different ways that are helpful, successful, efficient, and effective to use to-do lists.
• Drill down to 1, 2, or 3 things you can do today.
• Feeling overwhelmed is an indicator that you need to get stuff out of your head and onto a list, as you have too much backlog.
• Make sure to separate your to-do list from a reminder list.
• People will do a ‘brain dump’ and feel overwhelmed, but this is often a list of things you don’t want to forget rather than a to-do list.
• What makes a to-do list is that you actually know you have the time to do those items.

 

To-Do List Tips

• Draw a horizontal line across your to-do list.
• Everything above the line is what you have to get done and you have the time to complete it. This forces you to prioritize at a high level.
• Everything below the line are things you’d love to do but don’t have to be done within your time frame.
• Think of this as have to/want, now/later, or to-do/reminders.

 

Work Hours Anxiety

• What are the activities you need to do that make it feel okay to work less?
• You are going to be more productive when you take breaks.
• Schedule your work hours when you know you are at your best for client calls, interviews, and writing. This is an element of mindfulness that will inform your schedule over time.

 

Find Your Anchors

• Anchors are the activities and times in your schedule you consistently adhere to.
• Let your anchors inform your schedule as a framework and arrange your work around the anchors.
• Everyone falls somewhere along the continuum between spaciousness and structure.
• If you are not fitting something in, then it’s not a high enough priority in your to-do list.

 

E-Mail Management

• Cut the cord when it comes to notifications. This is really distracting and energy draining.
• It can take your brain 15-20 minutes to get back to the level of concentration it was at prior to interruption.
• Any time we can an email or text, we get a boost of dopamine and the pleasure of someone communicating with us.

 

Batching

• When you are on email less, you get less email.
• Processing and checking email is not the same thing.
• The managing of email takes less time.
• Examples: Check email at 9, 12, 5, or check email once an hour for 15 minutes.

 

Manage ‘Off’ Email:

• Shut down the notifications and sounds in order to be ‘offline.’
• This naturally pushes email to where you can process it in batches.

 

Productivity Tools

• We are at the saturation point of productivity tools.
• The system behind the tool is what is more important than the tool itself.
• People get caught up in the ‘perfect tool’ trap.

 

External Triggers

• A compelling external trigger is when other people are dependent on the fact you get certain things done.
• It’s possible to bookend high-priority tasks with external triggers.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Profound Impact

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Jamie Turner, who is the Less Stress business coach and leadership consultant. Jamie worked in education for more than twenty years, of which the last twelve were as a school principal. During the show, we discuss providing and giving and receiving feedback from your team, coaching versus compliance leadership, how the 80/20 rule applies to feedback, and the five words you need to know when it comes to providing feedback. 

 

Main Questions Asked: 

§  Why is feedback the lifeblood of a healthy business?

§  How do you help business owners receive feedback and not get defensive?

§  Talk about what a coaching style leadership is and how that is different to compliance leadership?

§  What are your tips on how to structure one-on-one check-in calls?

§  Talk about providing feedback to your employees and having difficult conversations.

§  Why is it important to focus more on the positive feedback than the negative?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Feedback

-          Without feedback a business can’t be healthy and grow.

-          Feedback allows change to happen and new ideas to surface.

-          If leaders can create a safe place where the team can tell them what they truly think, those ideas can improve the business in ways that haven’t been imagined.

-          Feedback has to be two-way and not just the leader giving feedback to the employees

-          The leader of the team has to be the person to invite and encourage feedback.

 

Accepting Feedback

-          The natural inclination when receiving feedback is to defend your point of view. If you do this, people will stop providing feedback.

-          Often, leaders invite feedback but do nothing with it. If nothing happens as a result, people will stop providing feedback.

-          Learn how to be less defensive and let the feedback in.

-          “Thank you so much for that feedback.” This shifts the brain into gratitude mode.

-          Stay curious. Try and understand what the feedback is about.

-          It’s okay to not respond in the moment and offer to reconnect the following day.

-          Learn to recognize the signs of emotions and hit the pause button and give yourself time to process.

 

Coaching Vs. Compliance Leadership

-          Coaching is about helping the employee solve the problem rather than providing the solution.

-          It’s a mix of asking great powerful questions and providing information.

 

One-on-one Check-in Calls

-          80% of the conversation should come from what your team member needs to talk about.

-          “What is most important for us to talk about today,” and take the lead from the employee. This will uncover the challenges they are facing.

-          The aim of the conversation is to help the employee do the best job that they can.

-          We want to create a safe place where our employee can let us know when things aren’t going well.

-          Make it clear what the purpose of the time is, as well as the expected outcome.

-          It’s important to end the call with a plan and next steps.

 

Providing Feedback to the Team

-          Don’t let too much time go by before you have the difficult conversation.

-          Make sure you have at least two concrete examples and are clear on exactly what the issue is.

-          Have the conversation when you aren’t feeling emotional about the issue.

 

The Five Words

1. When
2. You
3. I
4. Feel
5. Because

-          Example: “Jessica, when you come in late a few times a week, I feel really frustrated and upset because we’ve talked about how important it is to be on time for work and how our customers are here…”

 

Positive Feedback

-          Many employees need to hear positive feedback and really benefit from knowing they are on the right path.

-          Often, leaders don’t need positive feedback as they are self-driven.  

-          Positive feedback needs to be specific and letting the employee know what they did well. This enables the employee to repeat that behavior.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Less Stress Business

Top 3 Pitfalls When Leading Virtual Employees

 

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Ronsley Vaz, who is the chief food sharer at Bond Appetit, a company that unites people over food. He is the host of Australia’s number one food podcast on iTunes and the author of the upcoming book Fuel: Uniting Peak Performers Over Food. During the show, we discuss sharing meals, entrepreneurs and gratitude, essentialism, podcasting, and ‘soapboxisodes.’

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       Talk about sharing food and the impact that has on families and relationships.

-       How did you come to take Bond Appetit and niche it to entrepreneurs?

-       What bad habits and traits do you see with the entrepreneurs you cook for that are holding them back?

-       Talk about podcasting, what it has done for your business, and how you’re leveraging it.

-       Tell us about Podcast Revolution.

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Meet Ronsley

-          Ronsley cooks for entrepreneurs and provides them food, but sees it more as a service to provide time.

-          He has been cooking professionally for more than nineteen years and started to run his own fresh food restaurants specializing in uniquely flavored food.

-          Ronsley focuses on entrepreneurs and people who are high achievers but don’t have the time, mental space, or energy to focus on cooking and eating well.

 

Sharing Meals

-       The importance of sharing can be seen with the move toward the sharing economy. E.g. Uber, AirBnB.

-       We forget the connection made around the table when sharing a meal with someone.

-       When sharing a meal, it is important to keeping the distractions away and keeping the conversation focused on each other.

-       When we stop to eat, our body gets ready to digest.

-       Based on a study of families that ate together at least once per week, there was no sign of depression with teenage kids in the family.

 

Entrepreneurs and Gratitude

-       High achieving entrepreneurs often write daily in a gratitude journal.

-       Exercise: make a list of 100 things you are grateful for.

 

Essentialism

-       This is the discipline pursuit of less and doing the things we are good at and love to do, while not doing the other things and pretending to be busy.

-       We are always taught to look at our weaknesses and make them better, but not taught to recognize our strengths and focus on them.

-       Focus on your strengths and delegate the rest.

-       Figure out what you don’t like to do and takes up your time so you can outsource and use that time to either work on revenue generating business activities or spend time with your family.

 

Making Change With The Auditory

-       The auditory sense is the first sense we develop in our mother’s womb and is how we communicate with our parents.

-       All change in human history points back to a point in time when a speech was made that changed a group of people’s minds.

-       Today, we have the ability to create our own personal movements on passions and have the hardware to create change in our pocket.

 

Podcasting

-       As a PR tool, Ronsley finds podcasting to be more effective than spending thousands of dollars on a PR campaign.

-       It’s important for businesses to go to where people are looking at your message.

-       Create a podcast, get guests to talk about things you’re interested in, become the center point where the information is gathered.

-       Podcasts are great for analytics, as you can trace how many people have been on your show and how many people listen to it.

-       Podcasting is speaking to a niched audience and can be done with very little financial investment.

-       Relationships formed through podcasting with guests and listeners are extremely powerful.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Bond Appetit

Travel Shoot    

Essentialism

Strengths 2.0

Ronsley Vaz

Podcast Revolution

We Are Podcast

 

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Dr. Ken Nedd, who is a medical doctor and internationally renowned keynote speaker. Dr. Nedd specializes in behavioral sciences and stress management and serves as the president of the International Stress Control Center. During the show, we discuss awareness, focusing inward, trimming the stress, and happiness.

 

Main Questions Asked 

-       What impact does doing something that doesn’t make one happy have on them?

-       Do entrepreneurs have a bigger ability to be happier due to the flexible lifestyle?

-       What can we do when we get past the point of stress prevention?

-       Can different personalities be affected by these activities in different ways?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

How to Beat Stress

1. Awareness

2. Focus inward

3. Learn to listen for deregulation

 

Awareness

-       The 50 trillion cells in the body have to be in a state of harmony.

-       Build up levels of internal awareness and assess how you are feeling, thinking, and what you are doing.

-       Awareness can be practiced.

-       The greatest obstacle to health is not knowing and feeling where you are.

 

Focus Inward

-       One way to enhance happiness is to prevent disease. The greatest source for the prevention of disease is awareness and focusing inward.

-       Remember, too much fire means you’ll end up burning out.

-       As an entrepreneur, you can adjust your schedule and work in a way that makes you happy.

-       Institute a physical and mental health preventative program.

 

Trim the Stress

T - Tense your body and breathe

R - Relax

I - Inwardly sweep tension out with awareness

M - Mantra (Ex. “My arms and legs and legs are heavy and warm.”)

 

What is Stress?

-       Deal with stress by using happiness.

-       Stress is not an event or being tired; it is your response to an event.

-       Raise your perception by saying, “I can handle that.”

-       Use the stress to do certain things such as TRIM.

 

Happiness

-       When you are happy, you have the secretion of certain chemicals in your body.

-       By changing the outer action of your body, you can change the inner singles of the mind.

-       Decide to be happy.

-       Sleep for 7-8 hours per night.

-       When you are angry at someone, write down 5 things you like about them, and the stress will dissipate.

 

Women who live long have three things:

1) Exercise

2) Passion

3) Mastery of emotion (happiness)

 

GREAT

G- Give

R- Relax

E- Empathize

A- Act as if you are happy

T- Thankful

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Dr. Nedd

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Cathi Hargaden, who is an internationally acclaimed expert in the ancient art of Feng Shui. Cathi has over twenty years experience in consulting and teaching Feng Shui and has worked with more than one thousand clients around the world. She is the host of the Feng Shui Mastery podcast and has helped clients increase revenue, reduce stress, resolve conflicts, and build health. During this episode, we discuss the five elements, the importance of balance, how to Feng Shui your office for wealth and success, and the importance of color.

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       What is Feng Shui, and what does it mean?

-       What is the tangible application of fire in our environment?

-       Is there an assessment or quiz people can take to figure out their elements?

-       How can we Feng Shui our offices to make us wealthy and successful?

-       What are your thoughts on the color of the walls?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

What is Feng Shui?

-       Feng Shui is a 4,000-year-old Chinese spiritual philosophy for Taoism that has been a secret form of knowledge not available to the masses.

-       It is all about what to change in your life and when to change it.

-       This has to do predominantly with your environment and involves the understanding of movement, change, and the five elements. 

-       Feng Shui is symbolic. Through the use of color, aroma, or shape changes can be brought.

 

The Five Elements

-       Fire: Dynamic and taking action.

-       Water: Deep and emotional.

-       Wood: Austere and rigid or adaptable.

-       Metal: Discipline and clarity.

-       Earth: Still and calm. 

-       Each element has extremes to them, which are Yin and Yang.

-       Yin and Yang are opposites such as male/female, up/down, and black/white.

 

Fire

-       This is an element needed for those in the area of entrepreneurship and business.

-       One way to bring this element in to an environment is by using images of action.

 

Earth

-       This is epitomized by ceramic pots, which are about receptivity.

-       If you have so much going on inside of you, then how is it possible for anything new to come into your life?

 

Wood

-       This element can be represented through the use of plants or in images such as a picture of a tree.

 

Water

-       Water is synonymous with money and wealth.

-       The flow can be brought into a room with fish tanks or fountains.

 

Metal

-       We have an overuse in the west, as it has a lot to do with the mind and intellect.

-       Our heads are activated but don’t know when to shut off.

 

Having Balance

-       Your environment can mean the difference between aspiration and failure.

-       Feng Shui is all about balance, so if people have too much action (fire), then they will burn out.

-       Having too much earth means that people will be fixed and not able to move forward.

 

How to Feng Shui Your Office

-       If you are the director off the company, then you need to sit diagonally opposite of where the door is. This is called the power point of the room.

-       Ensure you have a wall behind you (not a window). On the wall, have a picture that is strong and has a supporting energy.

-       On the wall in front of you add an inspirational picture that feeds subliminal images of why you are doing what you do (ex. nature, people, or a vacation destination). It can also be a feeling of harmony or health.

 

Choosing A Wall Color

-       There needs to be a sense of space and neutrality, but you also have the ability to put color on the wall in the form of pictures.

-       The colors in the Google logo are of the elements: Yellow- earth, Blue- water, Red - fire, Green - wood. 

-       Red and orange of fire get people going; yellow calms people; blue helps people move and flow.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Feng Shui Mastery Podcast

Feng Shui Mastery

 

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Dr. Tracey Marks, who is the author of Master Your Sleep: Proven Methods Simplified. She is a psychiatrist with eighteen years experience and helps women jump off the hamster wheel and manage life so it can actually be enjoyed. Dr. Tracey is the creator of Beyond Burnout: A Resource for Working Moms website and the Beyond Burnout Working Moms podcast. During this episode, we discuss how to quiet your mind, nurture your body, revitalize relationships, and enrich your soul.

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       Talk about Beyond Burnout and how you help working moms.

-       Is meditation something you have to do when you are alone?

-       How do you help moms compartmentalize?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

-       Lifestyle management are the things you are doing and things you can change about the way you think, eat, sleep that make a huge difference in how you feel, perform, and function.

-       The point is that the answer can’t be ‘just quit your job;’ it is ‘how do you do all the things you have to do better?’

-       Tracey’s focus is helping working moms perform better by addressing four main areas.

 

Mind, Body, & Soul

1. Quiet Your Mind

-       This is about being in the moment and blocking out your ‘to do list’ and all the other things you have to do.

-       When your mind is trying to manage everything, it creates more stress and angst.

-       There are many types of meditation. It’s about thinking intently about something specific.

-       Compartmentalize your thinking and focus on what is happening in the moment.

-       You often can’t see the result until you do it.

-       Take one day where you ‘chunk out’ your tasks and thoughts, and see what you get done.

 

 

2. How to Nurture Your Body

-       Sleep and diet are the two biggest nuances that can make a difference.

-       You have to have a routine when it comes to sleep, so ensure to set a regular bedtime.

-       Tracey suggests that our day should be conceptualized with everything leading to bedtime, so you should start with the end in mind.

-       What you do in the daytime matters as to what you do in the nighttime.

-       When it comes to food, if you put in junk, your body won’t treat you well.

-       Strive to have most of your meals in line with a diet that works for your body.

-       To get a clean diet, start with eliminating sugar and hydrogenated oils.

 

3. Revitalizing Relationships (Interacting With Others)

-       Relationships are the currency of today. This is the only thing that really matters.

-       Your life is all about the people, so it’s about the modulation of what you are doing and nurturing the relationships.

 

4. Enriching Your Soul

-       This is about how you feel towards yourself and ways to enhance those feelings.

-       Losing the victim mindset and not wallowing in failures.

-       The way you think is affected by what you say and the things you hear other people say.

-       It is possible to get rid of negative thinking by infusing positivity.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Master Your Sleep

Beyond Burnout: A Resource for Working Moms

Beyond Burnout Working Moms Podcast

Batched Inbox

Preventing Entrepreneurial Fatigue (previous podcast)

Marks Psychiatry

 

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Todd Tresidder, who has been a serial entrepreneur since childhood. He went on to build his own wealth as a hedge fund investment manager before retiring at age 35 to teach others. Today Todd provides advanced investment retirement planning education at Financial Mentor.com, showing you what works and what doesn’t based on a depth of proven experience. He is the author of five financial planning books, including How Much Money Do I Need to Retire?, Don’t Hire a Financial Coach, and Variable Annuity Pros and Cons. During the show, we discuss unconventional insights into wealth building.

 

“Happiness is connected to goal-oriented activity that is grounded in your personal values.”

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       Talk about your website and all the content and resources you provide.

-       Share your experience of getting interviewed and how that has impacted your business.

-       Explain what is unconventional about your coaching and viewpoints.

-       What is financial freedom?

-       What do you recommend to people in their 20s and 30s for getting their financial house in order?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

-       Todd’s business started with him wondering if he could help ordinary people achieve extraordinary financial results.

-       Coaching is a ‘trust sale,’ as people will establish trust via your content such as podcasting and blogs.  

 

Podcast Guest Interviews

-       The podcast interview is like a guest post on steroids.

-       The relationship as a podcast guest is deep, as you are an implied expert.

-       There is a relationship with the host, and the audience is listening to your voice for 30 minutes as opposed to scanning a post for 30 seconds.

 

Being Unconventional

-       If you want a path of personal growth, there is no better one than building wealth. The development you have to go through to achieve the goal is huge.

-       When you pursue wealth and financial independence, it is reflecting your value on freedom.

 

Financial Freedom

-       Freedom isn’t about having more stuff. The more stuff you have, the more it ties you down.

-       Most people are vague around their definition of financial freedom.

-       Todd’s definition of financial freedom is when cash flow exceeds expenses.

-       The millionaire myth is: “When I have a million dollars, I’ll be financially independent.”

-       If you want to never work again, it takes a lot more than a million dollars.

-       Happiness is connected to goal-oriented activity that is grounded in your personal values.

-       It’s not about having enough cash flow to last you the rest of your life; it’s about having enough to bridge you to your next achievement.

-       Generally, everything costs twice as much and takes twice as long as planned.

-       Most entrepreneurs are people who don’t picture themselves stopping working.

 

Birth – School – Work – Fulfillment – Death

-       In the fulfillment phase, you don’t have to make a lot of money. You just have to make enough to pay your bills and allow your wealth to compound in the background over time.

-       You don’t need a lot of money if it doesn’t have to support you over a long period of time.

-       Rather than building a life you want to retire from, why not build a life so meaningful and satisfying that you never want to retire from it.

 

Three Paths to Wealth

-       Paper assets – Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.

-       Real estate – Direct ownership.

-       Business entrepreneurship – Owning your own business. 

 

Getting Your Financial House in Order

-       Base savings.

-       Owning home.

-       Pay down the debt.

-       Basic acquisitions for a comfortable life.

-       Monthly expenses in a structure.

-       Figure out how to leverage what you bring in and what you pay out so it’s not all your time that go into it.

-       Plot your residual income against expenses until the business carries it.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Financial Mentor

Eventual Millionaire

HARO

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Dave Sanderson, who is an inspirational survivor, author, and nationally sought out speaker. When US Airways Flight 1549, or ‘The Miracle on the Hudson,’ ditched into the Hudson River in January 2009, Dave Sanderson knew he was exactly where he was supposed to be; the last passenger off the back of the plane on that fateful day. He was largely responsible for the wellbeing and safety of others. During the show, Dave and I discuss leadership and communication.

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       Who was Dave Sanderson before The Miracle on the Hudson?

-       Share about how you connected with Tony Robbins.

-       What did you like about sales?

-       How has your view of leadership changed since the day when you were the last person off the plane?

-       How did you build this new business for yourself?

-       What are some of your communication tips?

-       Talk about how you help people and your upcoming webinar.

 

Key Lessons Learned:

-       Put yourself around a peer group of people you want to be like, and it will elevate you and raise your standards.

-       Immediate gratification is a pipe dream. You have to put the time in to get your outcome.

-       The most successful people are those who started with nothing and had to grow.

 

Leadership

-       When you are in a crisis situation, you realize that the people who you didn’t think were leaders all of a sudden are those who step up.

-       People who step up and focus on the outcome are the ones that become leaders.

-       Leadership is about people taking direction and/or giving action so people can survive or thrive.

-       When leaders stand up, they give certainty and direction.

-       When leadership steps up, you have to use skills you’ve learned, employ them, and give direction.

-       The people with the most uncertainty will go to the people with the most certainty in any situation.

 

Building A New Business

-       First it was about the story, and then it translated into the lessons from that day.

-       Dave started speaking for free at churches and started working his way up. He has now spoken more than 650 times.

 

Communication Tips

-       Sensory accuracy is being able to use all the different modalities you have including auditory, kinesthetic, visual, and factory.

-       It is important to understand your own communication as well as how someone communicates back to you.

-       Everyone has a story that will impact someone else’s life.

-       To the right person, you are exactly what they need to hear.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Dave Sanderson

Webinar Link

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Rick Martinez, who is a veteran registered nurse, writer, and successful entrepreneur. Rick has been named by San Antonio Business Journal as one of the city’s 40 under 40. His first company was named as one of the US Small Business Administration’s top 100 companies.  During the show, we discuss purpose hacking, the ‘bink’ moment, life pivots, and what Rick learned from his recent book launch. 

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       How did you come to decide you wanted to help people discover their purpose in life?

-       Do people find their purpose in life through the work that they do?

-       What do you mean by the ‘bink’ moment?

-       How is Project Bink structured, and what does the business look like?

-       What is a purpose hack?

-       Tell us about the marketing for Project Bink, Purpose Hack, and Life Pivot.

-       What were some of the successes and lessons learned from your book launch?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Have you found your purpose in life? Do you recognize those moments that steer you towards it?

 

Purpose

-       Finding one’s purposes is often perceived as finding the meaning of life. Purpose is simply living the life of deeper meaning.

-       Rather than going through imposter syndrome and thinking ‘Who am I?’ instead make the choice of thinking ‘Why not me!’ and change the action to ‘I’m going to do these things.’

-       Purpose isn’t a thing we have to go and find; it is something that is within and grows within us.

-       We shouldn’t go chasing after our purpose, but rather chase the things that mean the most to us. 

-       Purpose doesn’t have an age limitation. There are younger people with their lives together, and older people who don’t.

-       You don’t have to be a monk or climb mountains to find meaning in your life.

-       Purpose isn’t about one thing, but about taking many things that fulfill us and make us whole.

 

The Bink Moment

-       This is essentially an “ah-ha” moment when you discover the purpose and reason for wholeness in life and the things that fulfill you. 

-       Involves asking the question ‘What does this mean’ during critical and pivotal life moments.

-       Rick offers a simple systematic way for people to find their ‘bink moment’ and purpose quicker.

 

Purpose Hacking

-       Hacking is a way to do the things in your life that matter the most to you.

-       This is about a bigger picture and a way to create more meaning and value in your life.

-       People are into the ‘hacking’ lifestyle because they want to serve something bigger and greater than they are.

 

Marketing & the Book Launch

-       Rick approached his marketing efforts from a startup perspective and built a website, established a presence, and added an opt-ins, and pop-ups to capture leads to build the list.

-       The biggest mistake in his book launch was taking too long to get the book out, which was two years.

-       The book is self-published straight to Amazon and had a release that was pushed out to friends and people within the circle of influence for a free launch copy.

-       It’s important to decide on the goal of your book. Is it about being a bestseller or promoting the message?

-       The strategy was to allow people to get the book for free by using landing pages in order to promote the message. 

-       Being a bestseller is an ego boost, but if your book is a marketing tool for your business, then it’s about getting into the hands of potential clients.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Project Bink

The Power of Bink (Free book)

 

She Podcasts  (Episode)

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Joan Sotkin, who is an author, coach, and business woman, and has helped thousands of people understand why they do what they do with their money and how to alter their financial behavior. Joan is the founder of Prosperity Place and author of the award-winning book Build Your Money Muscles. Her passion is helping people improve their relationship with their money and themselves. During the show, Jessica and Joan discuss business and bookkeeping, why we do what we do, money, and shame.

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       What brought you into working on money issues with people?

-       Should everyone learn how to do his or her own bookkeeping and manage cash flow?

-       What are the characteristics or personality traits that cause some people to have better relationships with money?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Business & Bookkeeping

-       It’s possible to have someone in the bookkeeping role, but you have to know what the numbers mean.

-       The first step is to make a decision to take care of your business.

-       Business isn’t something you go into where you love everything you do every minute.

-       Taking care of your finances isn’t about knowing numbers; it’s about data entry.

-       Managing cash flow isn’t what a bookkeeper does. They just keep the books.

-       Mental math is a useful way to turn the left part of your brain on.

-       Your business is an extension of you, and if you’re still in financial fear, you won’t look at your numbers if you feel shame.

 

Why We Do What We Do

-       In the beginning stages it’s important to understand why you do what you do with your money now and how you can get to a point of being more functional.

-       Recognize the kinesthetic experience in your body when you talk about money.

-       Count your money and spend less than you earn.

 

Money, Shame, & Feelings

-       If you feel shame about your finances, it is never about money. It is about relationships and how you feel about yourself and your relationship with others.

-       Don’t stress and worry about the past; take action for what you want to happen in the future.

-       When you love, accept, acknowledge, and appreciate yourself, the world will mirror that back to you.

-       Our need for touch determines so much of our business and financial outcomes. We weren’t meant to ‘go it alone.’

-       The longing for money is the same feeling as longing for touch.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Prosperity Place

Freedom From Struggle

 

Build Your Money Muscles (book)

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Robert Mallon & Bill Watkins, who are the co-founders of the Rusty Lion Academy. Bill is a WestPoint graduate, army officer, and world-class athlete. Meanwhile, over the past 25-years, Robert has worked for several nationally known corporations as a leader and manager. During the show, Robert, Bill, and Jessica discuss training and developing virtual teams, how to have productive team meetings, leadership, on-boarding, and team building.

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       Talk about training and developing virtual teams.

-       What are examples of the behavioral questions you asked?

-       Talk about ‘Slack’ and how you’re using the platform in your team.

-       What are your tips for having productive team meetings?

-       What are your recommendations on motivating teams?

-       Talk about the difference between training somebody and coaching and motivating them.

 

Key Lessons Learned:

 

Interviewing & Core Competencies  

-       In any organization, the process is recruit, hire, develop, and retain.

-       When developing a team, go to the place where people with the expertise you are looking for hang out.

-       Determine what the core competencies you are looking for.

-       Behavioral competency questions identify skills and expertise.

-       Robert and Bill narrow down core competencies to 8 per role and give each a score of 1-5. At the end of the interview, calculations are made, and whoever scores the highest gets the job.

 

Behavioral Questions

-       An example of a behavioral question is, “Everybody breaks the rules sometimes. Tell me about a rule that you broke recently and the company you last worked with.”

-       Behavioral based interview questions are, “Tell me about a time when you ______.”

-       Make your interview questions open-ended and ask the interviewee to tell you a story.

-       It is encouraged to have two interviewers, as they will each interpret differently.

-       Robert and Bill developed value-based questions that unpack the interviewee’s values without them knowing.

-       It is critical to understand the ‘shared values’ that the company revolves around.

 

Slack

-       Slack is a tool to anchor your team in the identity of the organization. 

-       Having multiple communication channels mean that getting clarity quickly can be problematic.

-       Use Slack for communication, values, vision, and what the team is doing on an ongoing basis.

-       Slack is an effective tool for 7-minute daily standup meetings saying what you will achieve in that day. E.g. Daily and weekly goals, how I’m contributing, issues, and share relevant revenue metrics.

 

Productive Team Meetings

-       Meetings allow team members to have input and ownership.

-       Plan weekly meetings but don’t make them hour-long.

-       Be respectful of people’s time and always end the meeting on time.

-       Robert & Bill use Trello and have a standard meeting with a to-be-discussed checklist. Any team member can add talking points to the list prior to the meeting.

 

On-Boarding Process & Motivation

-       Have an on-boarding checklist, information folder, and communication channel such as Slack so new team members feel important when they start working.

-       Map out your expectations for the team members and ensure they are trained so they can do the job.

-       Feedback and motivation are incorporating LBs & NTs, which are ‘liked best’ and ‘next times.’

-       Business owners need to set an example and not simply engage in a one-way conversation.

 

Training Vs. Coaching & Motivating                                                                           

-       After a team member has been in the company for a 90-day period, Robert and Bill ask the following questions:

 

1) What should we continue doing that you think is valuable?

2) What do you think we should stop doing and that you don’t think is valuable[LN1] ?

3) What should we start doing that you know is valuable?

4) Are you satisfied now that the honeymoon is over, that you said yes to us?

 

-       The above shows the person that you value their opinion as well as you’re not assuming that everything that is going on is the way it needs to be.

-       Allowing someone to work out a problem on their own makes them a better leader and own the process.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Rusty Lion Academy

Rusty Lion Academy (Free gifts)

Copy Blogger

TopGrading   

Trello

Slack

EA Help

Fascination Advantage

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I explore the art and business of podcasting with Corey Coates, the co-founder of PodFly Productions. During the show, Corey and I have a conversation about the Podcast Producer series. We’ll discuss how and why we created the series, the topics covered, and what we came to learn about podcasting.

 

Key Lessons Learned:

 

Origin of Podcast Producers

-       The aim was for a chaptered approach and covering the bigger topics on podcasting.

-       Rather than interviewing a person on their opinion on a single topic, Corey wanted to have a topic and interview multiple people on it.

-       There are so many opinions and approaches to podcasting that there is no right or wrong way to podcast and use podcasting.

-       Corey was looking for a way to ‘soften’ the information, especially for rookies entering as new podcasters.

-       The long form of the series is a reminder to people of what podcasting is.

 

10 Hours of Podcast in 2 Months

-       Corey sent Jessica a one-sheet proposal of the show of what he wanted it to sound like along with a sample pilot.

-       The goal was to have open ended conversations about the industry as a whole, what people are doing within the space, brainstorm topics and ideas, then start arranging them in a story.

-       The constraint was set around the project before work started.

-       When parameters are decided, then a timeline can be built around that.

-       When you are overwhelmed by a project, it is easy to shut down, but if you have a timeline, it is much easier to trust in the system.

 

Establishing A Launch Date

-       Establish your launch date fast and stick to it.

-       Having a pre-determined launch date helped with the Podcast Producers workflow.

-       There was a chart that laid out the workflow so it was clear on when activities such as brainstorming, recording, and editing were going to happen.

-       A launch date is critical for being accountable to yourself, your team, and your listeners.

-       Knowing you have an end date is motivation for you to finish.

 

Passion & Power of No

-       The overarching theme has to be an enjoyment of the process.

-       If the process itself isn’t a reward, you might want to consider not launching a podcast.

-       It’s so easy to say yes to opportunities, but there is a lot of power in saying no.

-       Ask yourself what the ROI is and how making a podcast will improve your business.

-       Podcasts are evergreen and will continue to be discovered on a daily basis by new people.

-       The more interviews you do, the more you improve as an interviewer and host.

 

The Podcast Producers’ Ten Topics

 

1. Is anybody out there?

-       This episode is about podcasting from the perspective of the listener.

-       Who is actually out there listening to these shows?

 

2. Hobby or Business?

-       John Lee Dumas sparked a surge of entrepreneurs in podcasting.

 

3. The Podcasting Community

-       How open and friendly the community is in sharing information.

 

4. The Psychology of Podcasting

-       Why are we doing this in the first place?

-       What happens psychologically with the audience when people listen to a podcast?

-       Should people stop listening to experts?

-       If you become an expert, should you worry about the imposter syndrome?

 

5. Stats

-       Experts explain the facts about stats.

 

6. Isolation

 

7. DIY or Outsource

-       More people are entering the space and providing services to podcasters.

 

8. Podcast Networks 

-       What goes into being in a network?

 

9. Monetization

-       The Dumas affect.

-       Do you understand what it means to make money in a podcast?

-       Knowing the expectation of advertisers.

-       Is it a viable source of income for you?

-       The CPM model.

 

10. Radio Migration

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Corey’s previous episode

The Podcast Producers

PodFly Productions

Interview Connections

This American Life

On this episode of Rhodes to Success In interview Tom Schwab who has discovered a marketing strategy that converts traffic to leads at a rate of thirty percent. During the show Jessica and Tom discuss podcast guest best practices, how being interviewed as a podcast guest leads to results in business and why landing pages and making an offers are so important.

 

Main Questions Asked

-       What made you decide to invest your time and services in getting booked as a podcast guest?

-       Talk about the process of getting a listener to visit your site.

-       When you are being interviewed as a guest on a podcast, what do you have to think about and say to actually get someone to want to go to your website?

-       How should a landing page be set up to easily convert people onto a list?

-       How long does it take before you start seeing results?

-       What are your thoughts on getting someone’s first name during a list opt-in?

-       What is the appropriate way to make an offer in a podcast?

 

Key Lessons Learned

Content

-       Content is king but context is God. You are what you publish.

-       Content is what drives the modern marketing engine online.

-       On average it takes 6-9 months to get traffic traction with a blog.

-       All content is aimed at getting the audience to know, like, and trust you.

-       Ensure you get the most out of your guest interview by creating a show transcript and repurposing it as multiple sources of content.

 

Podcast Interviews 

-       Podcasts are a long term strategy and compounding effect

-       During a podcast people get 30 minutes or more to hear you. They either love you and go to your site to learn more or they move on.

-       The quality and quantity of context comes from listeners turning into visitors.

-       Continually promoting the podcast on a consistent basis helps keep you top of mind with the host.

-       Maintaining a good relationship with the host is the beginning of a long-term professional relationship and improves your chances of getting booked again.

-       After the interview consistently share the podcast on socials and keep it in mind as a resource to share with others.

 

Conversion

-       When listeners visit your site looking for the offer you made on the podcast and average of 25-50% convert.

-       The system needs to involve finding the right podcast, giving a clear message, providing an offer that drives the listener to your website then having a system that converts a visitor to a lead.

 

Landing Pages

-       During your podcast interview offer listeners something that gives them value, has context and is directly tied to what you are talking about.

-       Direct listeners to a specific landing page and provide a specific giveaway in addition to an opt-in list.

-       Ensure you include the logo from the podcast you were interviewed on to show the listeners that they are in the right place.

-       Focus on getting ideal customers not just growing and email list.

 

Metrics & Results

-       Results depend on the metrics used such as number of listeners, website visitors, emails received, and conversions.

-       If you are getting heard on good quality podcasts and listeners are not coming to your site then you have to figure out where the ‘leaks’ in your system are.

-       The reason listeners may not visit your site is that they don’t find value in visiting.

-       If listeners are coming to your site but not opting-in then your landing page could be confusing.

-       If people come to your site and opt-in but don’t become a customer then the problem may be in your nurturing sequence.

-       Every day customers are voting with their dollars, time, and actions. If you are not getting the results you want then you have to figure out why.

-       You don’t necessarily need a lot of traffic but rather the right traffic (target clients.)

 

The List

-       If you want to funnel down and segment customers from the beginning.

-       Ask for feedback via open ended or optional questions e.g ‘what is your biggest frustration about the product or service?’

 

Making An Offer

-       An offer shouldn’t feel like a pitch at the end.

-       Reference the offer during the podcast so it doesn’t feel like a surprise.

-       Make sure you offer two things and explain to the listeners where the offer is and what it is. 

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Tom Schwab – Inbound Marketing (previous podcast)

Tom’s Landing Page

Interview Connections

Adam Hommey (previous podcast)

Help My Website Sell

Decide - The Ultimate Success Trigger

 

tom@inboundforecommerce.com

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Doug Foresta, who first got into podcasting five years ago and has since interviewed eight hundred people. Doug is the producer of Creating Change, The CoachZing Show, and coaches entrepreneurs on how to podcast and be a great podcast guest. He also helps service professionals expand their reach and attract their ideal clients.  During the show, we discuss how to get celebrity interviews, why podcasting isn’t all about downloads, and how to be a great interviewer.

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       How did you learn how to start interviewing people?

-       How did you land interviews with big guests when you were so new to podcasting?

-       Talk about your philosophy of ‘It’s not all about the download numbers.’

-       What are your recommendations and do’s and don’ts for being a great interviewer?

-       Talk about your philosophy and how you approach coaching entrepreneurs.

-       How do you bring in the marketing and business side when working with entrepreneurs?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Podcasting

-       Podcasting is still in its infancy as a form. Radio is mass market, and podcasting is a niche.

-       Podcasting is about ‘tribe building’ and pushing the form.

-       You don’t have to have a classic broadcasting voice; you just have to be ‘you.’

 

Getting Celebrity Interviews

-       Don’t approach interviews with a ‘what can I get’ attitude but rather ‘how can I serve and help people.’

-       Don’t think about ‘getting’ a guest, but think about ‘having a conversation.’

-       If you give a famous person a platform to talk about something they can’t talk about anywhere else, they are more likely to accept your invitation to be on your podcast.

 

It’s Not All About Download Numbers

-       Podcasting is not just about the download numbers but about the experience you create.

-       An affective way to have a really good show with longevity is to serve your listeners by finding out what they like, make more of it, and turn them into raving fans.

-       Rather than focusing on downloads, look at how good your podcast is. Do your listeners e-mail you? Are they joining your e-mail list? Are they part of your tribe and community?

-       If you don’t create a good podcast, then people won’t come back to listen again anyway.

-       Podcasting is about the quality of relationships you build with people that can’t be measured in downloads.

 

Interview Tips

-       Take improv. classes and get skills in ‘being in the moment.’

-       Don’t always worry about the next question, but dig deeper with who, what, why, when, where, and how questions.

-       Being a great interviewer is a great networking skill and means making the guest shine rather than yourself.

 

Entrepreneur Podcast Coaching

-       Find what you most need to say in your voice.

-       Discover your point of view and what is unique in your voice.

-       Monetizing your community is about creating raving fans, building an email list, then making offers.

-       The brand that starts around your podcast often becomes a new brand for your business.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Doug Foresta

Creating Change

 

The Coachzing Show

On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Lee Caraher who is an entrepreneur and CEO with more than twenty years experience building great high producing intergenerational work teams that get a lot done and have fun at the same time. Lee is an acclaimed communications strategist known for her practical solutions to big problems. She is the founder of Double Forte and has figured out the secret to working well with millennial clients and staffers. Lee is the author of Millennials and Management: The Essential Guide to Making it Work at Work. During the podcast Jessica and Lee discuss the profile of millennials, negativity surrounding the term, and the secret to working with millennials and teams.

 

Main Questions Asked

-       How do you define and what are the characteristics of millennials?

-       Talk about your struggle with hiring millennials.

-       What was the point where you figured out how to work with millennial clients and staffers?

-       What is the secret to working with a different generation?

 

Key Lessons Learned 

-       Everyone wants his or her process to be better but no one wants to have it discounted.

 

Profile of Millennials

-       Millennials are the 15-35 year old age group also known as GenY.

-       The midway point for this generation was the year 2000, which is why they are called millennials.

-       Even though your age can be in a different generation your mindset can be that of a millennial.

 

Negativity of the Term Millennial

-       The term millennial is often seen negatively and a lot of millennials don’t even want to be known as such.

-       Millennials can be seen as entitled, job hoppers, expecting rewards just for showing up, and lazy.

-       Lee believes that millennials are conditioned by the way they grew up.

 

Working With Millennials

-       If you don’t have millennials in your business your business doesn’t have a future.

-       Lee went back to the basics of leadership management by reading a number of management books.

-       Things that work for other generations don’t work for millennials.

-       If you do things to help millennials get engaged and stick with you, everyone benefits.

-       Boomers are the ‘wait my turn’ generation but millennials have never had to wait as they’ve always had instant access.

-       Millennials have grown up with amazing access to information and people, the ability to make a change, expectations of access and no hierarchy.

-       Millennials require a lot of context and ‘just do it because I said so’ won’t work. The more you provide context the better.

 

Two Key Tips for Working With Millennials

-       1. Bring the context of your project to the forefront of the conversation and ask for people’s input.

-       2. Do a project the established way first and then improve it.

 

Teams & Strengths

-       Know what personality types are within your team and don’t be afraid to conduct MBTI and Strengths Finders tests.

-       Figure out the dynamics within your team so you can accommodate them.

-       Regardless of age, discover how people optimize their engagement and how they will work with others.

-       WOO is the ability to keep talking until someone comes to your side and believes in you.

-       Often when you are young on a team you don’t get the creditability for having strategic ability. Strategy isn’t earned it is a strength.

-       It takes 30-60 days to get used to new processes.

-       If you’re not easy to work with then you don’t have a business in the client service economy.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Lee Caraher

Double Forte

Millennials and Management (book)

The Art of Conversation (book)

Stephen Covey

Daniel Goleman

Pat Lencioni

Strength Finders

MBTI

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Kelly Glover, who is an Aussie gal living large in Hollywood, California. She is a plus size blogger, podcaster, and virtual assistant. Kelly has recently taken her personal blog, Big Curvy Love, and launched a podcast. During the show, Jessica and Kelly discuss how to come up with a good brand name, what it takes to start a blog, the art of personal content creation, and tips for podcast interviewers and guests.

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       Talk about choosing a good blog, website, and podcasting name.

-       How long did it take to get an episode live on iTunes?

-       What’s it been like building out a blog?

-       Where did you find a designer to do your logo?

-       Is the blog something that generates revenue or a personal passion project?

-       What do you do with the Facebook page, and how do you use it to engage with your community?

-       Talk about your themed days on the blog.

-       Are you incorporating 50 Fat Dates into your podcast?

-       Do you think more podcasters and bloggers need to be doing more creative things like this to make their content more interesting?

-       Do you prepare questions ahead of time, or do you bring people on who you really like?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Branding

-       When choosing a brand name, select something that is niche, has keywords, and explains what the brand is.

-       Create a list of brand names, search the internet to see if the domains are available, and see what names competitors in your field are using.

-       If your brand name isn’t searchable in iTunes as the actual podcast show name, change it in Libsyn to incorporate keywords.

-       Choosing your brand’s logo is the gateway to your color palette and branding across all media.

-       Decide on the domain name, create the logo, lock in the color palette, then select a WordPress template for the website.

 

Blogging

-       Template Monster and Theme Forrest are good sources for WordPress templates that are customizable on self-hosted WordPress sites. These are usually up to around $75.

-       The Hex code is the color code that designers use for exact colors e.g. #000000 is black. These can be used when you design on Canva and other platforms to ensure you are matching the exact color.

-       Blogs can earn revenue a number of ways, such as through pay per click ads, advertising, affiliates, speaking engagements, and sponsored posts. 

 

Personal Content Creation

-       People tend to get caught in boxes where they only create content around what their podcast is about and keep the business and personal life separate.

-       When you decide on what part of your personal life to share, you need to be able to ask yourself, “If an employer or client saw my content, would I be happy with that?”

-       These days there is no ‘business life’ and ‘personal life;’ it is just ‘life.’

 

Being Yourself & Communication

-       Readers and listeners want to know about the person.

-       If your audience trusts you and likes you, then they are more likely to do business with you if they believe in you.

-       Improvisation classes help develop quick thinking and decrease self-doubt.

 

Podcasting

-       Record a fake show, listen back to yourself, and transcribe your script to hear what your crutch words are.

-       Learning to speak slower will improve your communication.

-       If someone can answer ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ then that is a bad question. Also, if that is their only answer, they are bad guest.

-       There is an art to being a good interviewer and also to being a good guest.

-       Learning not to talk over others and cut people off during an interview is another great skill to learn. 

-       Have at least three questions prepared for your interview.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

 

Big Curvy Love

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Dr. Carri Drzyzga who is known as ‘The Functional Medicine Doc’ and the go-to expert on finding the root causes of health problems. She is a chiropractor, a naturopathic doctor, the host of the Functional Medicine Radio show, and the author of Reclaim Your Energy and Feel Normal Again.During the show, we discuss entrepreneurial fatigue, the affects of coffee, how much water you should drink, and what the best diet is.

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       Talk about marketing and what you are doing to grow your business.

-       What inspired and motivated you to take your marketing online and work to reach people internationally?

-       What are the things that entrepreneurs do that cause fatigue?

-       How much water do people need to be drinking? Why? How does that affect our energy levels?

-       Is there one kind of diet people should strive for, or does it depend on your body?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

-       The medical profession doesn’t take fatigue that seriously.

-       Dr. Carri has noticed that over the past decade, people are really looking for answers and getting much more involved in natural medicine.

-       Within the traditional medical systems there are a lot of limitations, and people are discovering online health summits where people can learn and get answers quickly.

-       Your number one business asset is your health.

 

Marketing Online

-       Get your story on paper and include it in your business.

-       Being an author means you have a huge amount of creditability.

-       There are only so many people you can help in your local community. So by taking your business and brand online, you’re able to reach a global market instantly.

-       When your brand exists online, you never really know how far reaching your words will go.

-       When you provide value, you attract more business.

-       The top 1% is the top 1% because they are willing to do work that others aren’t.

 

Entrepreneurial Fatigue

-       This is the brain-based fatigue that business owners and entrepreneurs suffer.

-       Entrepreneurs end up at the point of fatigue through stress, working long hours, and not getting enough sleep, water, or eating properly.

-       When you feel as though your brain is starting to slow down or your thoughts are getting fuzzy, that is when you should drink a large glass of water.

-       Coffee is a short-term energy boost that in the long run drains the body of cortisol, which is the body’s main stress hormone.

-       If you are draining cortisol, you will be less able to deal with stress.

 

How Much Water Should We Drink?

-       To figure out how much water you should drink on a daily basis calculate your body weight in pounds and halve it. That is the amount of ounces of water you should drink every day. 

-        A typical glass of water is 8oz., and most people need around 10 glasses of water per day.

 

Paleo Diet

-       A broad-based generic diet such as the paleo diet, aka the caveman diet, is the best.

-       This is high in healthy fats and protein, low in carbs, and has lots of fiber.

-       On the paleo diet, you aren’t eating grains, dairy, or legumes.

-       This diet has removed the foods that are known to be the most allergenic, inflammatory, and bad for our health.

-       People who often don’t do well on the paleo diet have a difficult time metabolizing the sulfur.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Dr Carri

The Functional Medicine Radio Show

Reclaim Your Energy and Feel Normal Again! (book) 

Interview Connections 

Entrepreneur Support Services

 

 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, Jessica Rhodes interviews Rachel Olsen, who is the founder of Best Mom Products, a media strategist for mom entrepreneurs and number one bestselling author of Shark Tank Mompreneurs. Rachel is also the co-founder of Getapplr.com, a social network to discover your friends’ favorite apps and share yours too. During the show, Jessica and Rachel discuss branding, messaging, mompreneurs, and what it takes to get on Shark Tank.

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       How did you get started in entrepreneurship, and how did you become an expert in your field?

-       How do you help mom entrepreneurs do their own PR, and what do you teach them?

-       Tell us what your book is all about and where we can grab a copy.

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Messaging

-       Messaging is made up of branding, marketing, and public relations.

-       Your message will change depending on the audience you talk to.

-       An investor talk will be different to speaking with the media.

 

The Problem with Messaging in Social Media Age 

-       A lot of entrepreneurs struggle with messaging because it’s so transparent in the social media age.

-       How do we talk to all people at once?

-       What do we put out there from a media perspective?

-       How do we tailor the message for multiple audiences at once?

 

Your Brand

-       Everyone has a personal brand.

-       Others tend to think about the person and then what they do, rather than the brand first.

-       Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not around.

-       Start listening to what people say about you, and curate photos that capture that personality.

-       Ensure your branding photos communicate your personality.

-       Mastermind with people who see you from the outside and can provide feedback.

-       If you have brands and sub-brands, you have to figure out the overarching message.

 

Branding

-       This is how you communicate yourself, your business, and your message online.

-       You need to know what message you are communication through your design.

-       It is better to outsource your personal branding, as you are too close to it.

 

Doing Your Own PR

-       Anyone can do their own PR, but it takes a while and you need to be educated about the process.

-       It is common to pay a PR firm $2K per month for them to just pitch you to outlets.

-       Look at what is trending and think about where you fit with that.

-       When it comes to PR and media, there is only so much in your control.

-       The best pitch is only good if the other party is interested.

-       It is beneficial to do a full website audit and assess where your messaging and branding is on each page.

 

Shark Tank  

-       The sharks don’t have profiles on the entrepreneurs prior to on-air recording.

-       Each 7 minute segment can take more than an hour of filming in order to ‘wear down’ the entrepreneurs and get the best reality TV content.

-       People rarely say anything negative about Shark Tank, as they fear no longer being a ‘friend of the show’ and getting a second chance.

-       None of the women in the Shark Tank Mompreneur book said going on the show was the best thing they did in their business.

-       A lot of people want to go on the show just to get the Shark’s advice over the hour period.

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Best Mom Products

Shark Tank Mompreneurs (book)

Getapplr.com

The Podcast Producers

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, Jessica Rhodes interviews Josh Turner who is the founder of Linked Selling, a B2B marketing firm specializing in fully outsourced LinkedIn lead generation campaigns. Josh’s company represents clients, such as Neil Patel and Microsoft, and also operates Linked University, which is an online training program for LinkedIn marketing. During the show, Jessica and Josh discuss how to get the most out of your LinkedIn profile, how frequently you should update your feed, and the do’s and don’ts of connecting.

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       How did LinkedIn become your main platform and area of expertise?

-       Tell me about LinkedIn ads.

-       How is LinkedIn different to Facebook, and how should you be interacting with people?

-       In order to send someone an Inbox message on LinkedIn, do you have to have a mutual connection?

-       Is there a feature on LinkedIn that shows you mutual contacts?

-       What types of things should you post on LinkedIn updates, how often, and is it a running feed?

-       What are the do’s and don’ts on setting up and maintaining a LinkedIn profile?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

-       It depends on your business as to whether LinkedIn ads are great or not.

-       LinkedIn ads or a sponsored update will see a higher cost per click.

-       Click cost isn’t what matters. It is about the cost for a lead and cost for a sale.

-       For a campaign that is working well on LinkedIn, you can expect to see $6-10 per lead for a webinar opt-in or free report.

 

LinkedIn vs. Facebook

-       LinkedIn is more professional and used for business.

-       It’s the template stock scripts inbox emails that give LinkedIn a bad name.

-       If you take the time to develop the relationship first, then the success increases.

-       People spend more time on Facebook than they do on LinkedIn.

-       LinkedIn’s data says that 40% of its users check in at least once a day.

 

What Works on LinkedIn

-       Make messages personal and informal so that the receiver feels as though you only sent the message to them.

-       Be personal and avoid talking in marketing speak.

-       Before you earn to right to send someone a message you have to get his or her attention first.

-       Stay top of mind in a way that provides value, and position yourself as a resource and authority in the market.

 

Connecting on LinkedIn

-       Free LinkedIn accounts grant you access to people within a certain degree of you.

-       Higher-level premium accounts allow you to find anyone on LinkedIn and message them.

-       Another way to message someone is to contact them through a common group.

-       A frequent mistake people make is not including a personal message when sending a connection request.

-       If you include a personal message when asking someone to connect with you, then 50-75% will say yes.

-       Using ‘shared connections’ is a great way to prospect, as you can leverage common connections you have.

 

LinkedIn Updates

-       This is a running feed, so you should post content daily in order to stand out.

-       People will get quickly turned off if your content focuses on your own business, so be sure to also include curated content.

-       Share a balanced mix of resources in order to become a trusted authority.

 

LinkedIn Profile

-       Focus on making a solid profile so that when you get views it entices people to take the next step.

-       Structure your profile headline or summary section with a call to action.

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Linked Selling

Linked University

Josh’s LinkedIn

Connect (book) 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, Jessica Rhodes interviews Susie Miller who is an author, speaker, and known internationally as the Better Relationship Coach. Susie’s goal is to help you create better relationships in thirty days or less, even if you are the only one making the effort. For more than twenty years Susie has helped people reduce stress, improve communication, increase intimacy, and have better relationships with each other, themselves, and God. Susie believes relationships are the currency of today and is the author of Listen, Learn, Love. During the show Susie discusses communication in relationships, business, and as an entrepreneur.

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       What are the ‘how-to’ steps of being open in your communication with staff?

-       Why did you decide to write your book, Listen, Learn and Love? 

-       Why are you focusing on people in business when you are talking about relationships?

-       Talk about the Listen, Learn, Love skills.

 

Key Lessons Learned:

You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home is in shambles- Zig Ziglar.

 

Inner Circle Communication

-       Everyone needs an inner circle who they can be their raw, real selves with. This will give you a sense of security.

-       Different people will always fulfill communication needs roles.

-       Your spouse isn’t necessary the person you tell everything to.

-       Your husband is not your best girlfriend.

 

Staff Communication

-       Set up expectations from the beginning of how management communication will be delivered.

-       Be willing to be uncomfortable and give people permission to ask the hard questions and give feedback.

-       Employees often don’t feel free to give feedback on communication when there is an issue. A great question to ask your staff is, “What are you not telling me?”

-       Communication is difficult as it’s not just the words but also the tone and non- verbal expression.

 

Relationships

-       Every relationship can get better quickly.

-       Relationships are what cause us to get up in the morning.

-       Our schedule is based around the people in our lives, so if those relationships are going well, then most of our lives go better.

-       When relationships are successful, every aspect of your life gets better.

 

 Entrepreneurs

-       You can be in massive action or start up mode and think of your relationships as a ‘drip’ campaign.

-       Set up an intentional action plan to foster relationships that will produce great rewards.

-       Entrepreneurs often feel they are in massive action with their business and don’t have any time for their relationships.

-       There aren’t a lot of people talking about how to be successful in relationships while you are growing a business. It’s either business advice or relationship advice but not both.

 

Listen, Learn, Love

 

Listen

-       We don’t often listen but are actually busy thinking about our response or hoping that the other person will finish sharing.

-       When you listen to people, make sure you clarify and validate what they are saying.

 

Learn

-       Know people and go on a treasure hunt to discover their dreams, struggles, and quirks. This will help you connect more deeply.

 

Love

-       What does it mean to love well?

-       It’s more about the short-term sacrifice for the long-term game.

-       To love well is to put the other person first.

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Listen, Learn, Love (book)

 

Susie Miller

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, Jessica Rhodes interviews Paul Colligan who is a YouTube expert, the Director of Content Marketing for InstantCustomer.com, and CEO of Colligan.com. Paul hosts The Podcast Report, and on today’s show discusses twitter bombing, the importance of getting listed on New and Noteworthy, and how the podcasting conversation is moving away from tech and toward content.

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       What do mean when you say, “It’s not a massive play but it’s a deep one?”

-       Talk about ‘Twitter bombing.’

-       Do new podcasters need to worry about New and Noteworthy?

-       What are the best things you see podcasters doing?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

-       Podcasting is new media, so you don’t have to try and fit it into an old media format.

-       The conversation is moving away from tech to content.

-       A lot of people’s main goal is to be all over iTunes; however, there is also Stitcher, and TuneIn, so your goal should be to be everywhere.

 

“It’s not a massive play but it’s a deep one”

-       People think that the revenue in podcasting is downloads x CPM, but chasing downloads is not as smart as going niche.

-       The more niche your audience is, the better you are going to be able to serve them. If you are doing it right, you will be able to make more money simply via downloads.

-       As a podcaster, you want to bring your audience products and services they are looking for.

-       When you have a deeper audience, they are more likely to act on the hosts’ recommendations in purchasing products.

-       It is better to be on someone’s weekly ‘must listen’ list than on someone’s top 100 podcast list.

 

Twitter Bombing

-       Because the only metric people care about is downloads, people are cheating the download game by Twitter bombing.

-       Twitter bombers register hundreds of Twitter accounts and use popular and trending hashtags to trick people into clicking and downloading a podcast.

-       An example of a Twitter bomb is “New song by Justin Bieber, click here! [link] ” The link goes to a podcast, which when clicked will count as a download.

 

New and Noteworthy

-       Getting listed on New and Noteworthy will defiantly drive traffic to your show, but you need to ask yourself, “Where is New and Noteworthy on the list of things I should do?”

-       If you have a show and get more than a dozen downloads, you will probably hit New and Noteworthy. That exposure might bring you some downloads, but there are things you can do that will bring you more.

-       New and Noteworthy is not the normal path for normal people when finding podcasts.

-       Most podcast listeners hear about shows from recommendations rather than searching New and Noteworthy listing.

-       Do people listening to your show care about what you have to say, or do they care that you are listed on New and Noteworthy?

-       When it comes to the New and Noteworthy algorithm, ‘subscribers over the last 24 hours’ seems to make the most impact on getting listed.

 

Do you need 3-4 podcasts to launch?

-       No. You don’t need to have 3-4 shows before you go public.

-       People tend to listen to the most recent episode, so any content loaded prior to that will have significantly less downloads. Therefore, you are more likely to get more downloads if you release episodes individually.

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

The podcast Report

How to Podcast (book)

Instant Customer

Paul Colligan

 

Podfly  

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, Jessica Rhodes interviews Joel Boggess & Dr. Pei Kang Boggess,who are the hosts of The Relaunch Show. Joel is also the number one bestselling author of Finding Your Voice, and Dr. Pei has the experience of successfully running both online and brick and mortar businesses. During the show you’ll find out one of the biggest mistakes podcasters make, how to get podcast guests to open up, and why content is no longer king.      

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       Did you record Chris Brogan at a conference?

-       How do you work together successfully as a couple?

-       How do you divide the roles on the show?

-       Share your thoughts on high quality interviews and great content.

-       Talk about podcasters thinking star guests will save their show.

-       If star guests aren’t the ticket to a huge audience, what is?

-       How can a guest help build your show?

-       How do you decide what interviews get released on your show?

-       What do you do in your show to get guests to be comfortable opening up and keeping the conversation flowing?

-       Talk about what’s next for Relaunch.

 

Key Lessons Learned:

-       Relaunch is Joel and Pei’s fifth podcast, which shows that sometimes you have to go through trial and error before you find success.

-       You become a better podcaster when you take the art and craft of interviewing seriously.

-       Every touch point matters, so it’s important to check in with your guest and keep them updated on what’s going on and where they are in the process.

-       As a podcaster, you need to position yourself directly to who matters.

-       Content is no longer king; it is a commodity. This means that no one person owns the market.

-       Podcasting is all about connection, relationships, and showing your personality.

-       Always place the listeners time as a priority.

 

Podcasting Guests

-       Your guest does not drive your show, you drive your show.

-       Often, guests can be heard on a variety of shows, but only you can be heard on your show. 

-       The big mistake podcasters make is thinking that the star guest is a ticket to a huge audience and will save their show.

-       Remember, it is the podcaster who is the difference maker, not the guest.

-       When you bring a guest on your show think of them as a co-host rather than a high and mighty expert.

-       Your guest needs to understand who your audience is, what their greatest challenges are, and how the guest can offer the most value.

-       When your guests feel like they have a strong relationship with you they are more likely to share the show and recommend people listen to it.

 

How to Get Guests To Open Up

-       Create a safe space very quickly and do a pre-show chat before taking the guest live.

-       Even if guests have listened to your show, it’s a good idea to give them a 30 second ‘crash course’ explaining how it works and your expectations. This will put them at ease.

-       If a show isn’t going well, sometimes it’s not you as the host, it could be that the guest isn’t the best conversationalist.

-       As a guest, it’s better to share a story than a theory as stories are much more entertaining.

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

The Relaunch Show

 

Finding Your Voice

Networking is not collecting contacts; networking is about planting relations. On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Mike Bruny who is a speaker, author, certified life coach, and an alum of the Boston-based Leaders of Color Development Program Inc. Mike believes we are all ambassadors and stand for ‘something,’ so he is on a mission for individuals to discover and live their ‘something.’ Mike’s runs The New Art of Conference Networking, which helps conference organizers create the kind of environment that fosters people to make great connections. If you want to know how to make meaningful connections at your next conference or event, then this podcast has some awesome tips for you.

 

Main Questions Asked:

-       How did you come up with the idea of becoming a networking ambassador and helping people make connections at conferences?  

-       What is the ‘pivot’?

-       Talk about how to deal with collecting business cards at a conference.

-       Should we be strategic in who we take a business card from?

-       What are your tips of the best kind of business card to have and what information to include?

-       What are the ways people can be memorable at conferences?

-       Where do you recommend people fall in the spectrum of how to dress for conferences?

-       Share your tips for entrepreneurs who are running their own events and what they should do for networking and relationship building. 

-       What do you think about setting up a group for people who will be attending a specific conference?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

-       If you put in the work before you go to the conference there is a greater chance that you will connect with people.

 

Alone At the Conference

-       When you are at a conference and you aren’t taking to anyone, don’t panic. Be happy to have a moment to yourself. 

-       When you look confident and make eye contact, people will approach you.

-       If you are alone and focused on your phone or laptop, people will avoid you as they will think you don’t want to talk or be interrupted.

 

The Pivot

-       When you are at a conference and find yourself in a conversation clique, make sure to keep your eyes open for people who also want to join the conversation.

-       The way to let people into a conversation clique is to let them know there is an open space for them to join the conversation.

-       If you are on the outside and are looking to insert yourself into an existing conversation, take in what is going on and look for an opportunity to make a point to add to the conversation.

 

Business Cards

-       Having an idea of your personal goals at the conference makes collecting business cards a different process.

-       Before you decide to ask for a card, get a good idea about the person, what they are working on, what’s their biggest challenge, and if can you be of assistance to them.

-       Ideally the best strategy is to take other people’s cards because it gives you the power to take action and contact the other person.

-       When you get a card, make sure to write a note on it to remind you of who the person is and why you want to stay connected.

-       Receiving a business card is also an opportunity to think of whom within your network you can help other than yourself.

 

Tips For Your Business Card

-       Mike says stay away from glossy business cards as they are difficult to write on.

-       Use high-quality heavy stock and use a professional printing service.

-       Having a photo on your card is great for after the event, as the person receiving it will have a better chance of remembering who you are.  

 

Dressing for Conferences

-       Dress for your comfort level as well as what you are going after.

-       Women have the advantage when it comes to accessorizing as our eyes are drawn to the color contrasts.

-       For men, you can have a strong pocket square game and forgo the tie.

 

How to Handle Networking At Your Own Event or Conference

-       Get information on the people who will attend your event and find out what they want to get out of it.

-       Ask attendees who they would most like to connect with.

-       It used to be that attendees wanted to connect with people in their physical geographic location, but now people prefer to connect with others in the same industry.

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

The New Art of Conference Networking

Mike Bruny

Brand Inside a Brand

Move the Crowd: 30 Days of Hip Hop Affirmations to Change Your Life  (book)

Entrepreneur Support Services

On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Katie Krimitsos, who runs The Tampa Bay Business Owners group and is the host of Biz Women Rock, which is an amazing podcast that features business and entrepreneurial women. Katie’s team did everything right in launching her podcast and today we talk about leveraging the power of a Facebook group for fans. In this podcast find out how Facebook groups can help you engage with your listeners.

 

Main Questions Asked

Tell us about the Biz Women Rock podcast and why you’re passionate about it. 

Talk about your Facebook marketing efforts.

What was the investment in your Facebook ad campaign?

Talk about your Facebook group and how you’ve grown it. 

Talk about building your list by having people opt in so they could join the Facebook group. 

What is the purpose of your group and how do you make sure people know and understand what is and isn’t appropriate to post?

Talk about how you used the group to promote the podcast. 

 

Key Lessons Learned

Biz Women Rock Podcast 

Facebook pages allow your listeners to interact with you. Groups allow your listeners to interact with each other. 

The Biz Women Rock podcast is an opportunity for savvy businesswomen to share their journey. This isn’t topic specific show but rather is story related. 

Katie wanted to build a solid community rather than a high number of listeners. 

 

Facebook Marketing 

Katie paid for adverts and started a page before the podcast launched. 

Within two weeks of advertising she had 2,000 likes on the Biz Women Rock page. 

Katie was spending $300-$500 per month. 

You need to spend money on Facebook ads so you can get your page in front of the right people but you need to be active in order for this to work 

If you have 100,00 people on your page but no one is engaging then the high number doesn’t mean anything. 

Katie’s Facebook content strategy was to post 3-5 times per day. 

Quotes with a photo of person’s face get a lot of engagement than just the text on its own.  

The majority of what Katie posts is curation and not just her own podcast content. 

 

Facebook Groups 

This is an opportunity to talk to the whole group and the members get to talk back and forth to each other. 

Katie marketed the group to the page, and created a specific graphic for the group. 

Katie personally reached out to 10-15 people on the Biz Women Rock Facebook page and invited them to brand ambassadors within the group. 

The ambassador role was to ask questions, respond to posts, making their own posts.  

There was a general Facebook ad for the group as well one that specifically targeted people who already like the page. 

Always provide different content or messages to the group than you would provide on the page. 

Anytime an individual in a group feels like you are talking to them directly, your group will multiply and engage more because they will feel like you really care about them. 

If you can make 2,500 people feel like they are the most important person in the group then you have done your job well.  

 

Facebook Online Group Culture 

The more structure you give the group better behaved people will be and the better the outcome you want to create will happen. 

The guidelines (rules) of the BWR group were posted in the group description as well as in the form of a graphic.  

The idea of the rules is the keep the group spam free as a way to retain members. 

In the beginning the rules graphic was posted weekly or kept as a pinned post.  

If someone goes against the rules Katie will contact them personally and if they continue with rogue posts Katie will delete from the group. 

 

Building Your List Via Facebook Groups 

Instead of the opt-in on the website, Katie changed it to ‘join our private community,’ which takes them to a button to join the group.

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Biz Women Rock 

BWR Connect (Facebook group)

Tampa Bay Business Owners 

Entrepreneur Support Services 

Interview Connections TV

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I’m pleased to share an interview I did as a guest on Jason Hartman’s podcast. On the show we discuss how to book great podcast guests, what it takes to be an awesome guest, and how to pitch yourself and get interviewed on podcasts. 

 

Main Questions Asked:

Tell us about getting good guests for a podcast? 

Elaborate on getting famous guests who have a lot of interview experience versus booking guests who are new. 

How do we get interviews, especially with famous people who get a lot of requests? 

Do you have a ratio you think is ideal of how much someone should be a guest on podcasts versus interview guests?

What does it take to be a good guest?

What does it take to put yourself out there and be granted interviews? How hard is it to get chosen?

How do you pitch yourself?

How does a podcaster define their market and show? 

 

Key Lessons Learned:

 

Getting Guests

Know the goal of your podcast and what kinds of guests you want to feature.

Look for someone who has experience behind a microphone and has been interviewed before.

A good way to check if someone has been interviewed is to search iTunes, then listen to interviews in order to hear how your potential guest sounds. 

Check that the guests social media and web presence are active online and will add value in the form of sharing. 

People who have been interviewed a lot are great guests because they have experience, but there is a risk of them sounding rehearsed and scripted. 

When reaching out to prospective guests, you need to personalize your request and be specific as to why you are interested in interviewing that particular guest.

Remember, unless you get a ‘no,’ it’s not a ‘no.’

A lot of guests want to be booked on shows with a track record so they are confident that if they record the interview it will be published. 

 

Being a Guest 

If you have your own podcast, then you are a much more appealing guest because you have credibility as somebody who produces their own show and knows what it takes to produce a podcast. 

Focus on your verbal communication skills and work on getting rid of your ‘crutch words.’

The more you know what you are talking about, the less you will use ‘crutch words.’

Have a one sheet, speaker kit, or press kit that shows the host your bio and suggested speaking topics, as well as interview questions. Then know what you will say if asked those questions. 

Make sure your answers aren’t too long or too short. 

End your answer in a way that creates a follow up question in the mind of the host.

If you like the interview you did, there is potential to run that interview on your own show. 

 

Getting Interviewed on Shows 

In order to get yourself booked as a guest on other shows, it is helpful to use a service, broker, or virtual assistant to pitch you. 

There will be a point where people start requesting you to be on their show; however, in the beginning you will need to pitch yourself. 

There are so many podcasters who want to get pitched, so you just start doing it. 

 

How to Pitch Yourself 

It is vital to have a one sheet or media kit that summarizes you as a guest.

Know what makes you different to all the other guests in your niche. 

Narrow your expertise down and be specific to the podcast you are pitching. 

Make sure you read the show description and understand how they explain their show. 

When a podcaster is being pitched they will be thinking, “Is this of value to my audience, will they want to listen to this interview, and is this something they will like?”

When you pitch a show, it should read something along the lines of: “This guest would be a great person to interview because your listeners will get x value from it.”

Follow and connect with podcasters on social media so you can get a lot of value. 

 

Define Your Market and Show 

You must have a target market and be really clear. 

Don’t be afraid to leave people out, otherwise you are in danger of your show and content being broad ‘general’ area.

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Jason Hartman Podcast

Conversion Cast 

Interview Connections  

Entrepreneur Support Services 

Interview Connections TV

On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Lyndsey Anderson who is a web strategy expert and works with business owners to help them grow their businesses. Lyndsey is the founder and CEO of two companies and knows how to utilize web technologies to help business owners find their dreams. If you’ve ever wondered what backlinks are and why they are so important, then this is a must listen episode.

 

Main Questions Asked

-       What are backlinks?

-       What are other ways to earn links back to your website?

-       How do you leave a comment and link on a website and not look spammy?

-       What is the best way to find new places to find high quality backlinks?

-       Is there a difference to creating a hyperlink in a blog post and a backlink?

-       What is PageRank and what does that have to do with link earning?

-       How does PageRank work if the source is a podcast host or app?

-       What does effect your PageRank if web traffic doesn’t effect it?

-       Can you talk about website conversions?

 

Key Lessons Learned

-       A backlink is a link from another website to your website. The purpose of which is to increase your website in search engine rankings.

-       Backlinks are now known as ‘link earning’ (this is the new approach of building links back to your website.)

-       Google takes into account more than 200 factors when you type in a keyword to search. One of the main factors is how many links you have back to your website.

-       If you are a guest on a podcast the podcaster links to your site in their show notes then that is considered link earning as you provided value to the audience.  

-       People used to buy links, use link farms, and comment on blogs, however, Google started recognizing these tactics and made changes.

 

Earning Links

-       Make relevant comments on industry specific blogs with a link back to your website.

-       Don’t just provide a link back to your website, you need to provide excellent information and answer a question. If you can expound on that information then link back to your website with a specific tool or resource.

-       The best way is to build an audience and get other people linking back to your website.

 

Finding New Backlinks

-       The best way is to spy on your competitors by going to Google and typing in your keywords and see what first few websites come up.

-       There is a way to search what backlinks your competitors have such as moz.com or majestic.com.

-       Take the competitor backlinks list and see where you can offer content or help and reach out to the owner of the website and see if you can also get a linkback.

How Google Views Backlinks

-       Google no longer wants links on a resource page or amongst hundreds of others in the footer but now prefers links surrounded by content.

-       Google is smart enough to recognize legitimate link backs and see natural links in the middle of a post with your name highlighted and a link.

 

PageRank

-       Google has an algorithm that will grade a page based on how many incoming backlinks there are ranging from a scale of N/A to 10.

-        If you are getting a lot of backlinks from websites with a page rank of 1 then Google will think you are spamming as pages with low numbers are easy targets, and don’t have quality content.

-       Go to Google and type in ‘what is my page rank’ and Google will show you PageRanks.

-       Before you go on a link earning campaign, you need to investigate and not go for all 7s. In the natural realm you will get links from 2s and 3s too.

-       PageRank doesn’t necessarily have to do with traffic but is more of a general way of checking if a website is legit or spammy. If it is a 1 or a 2 then don’t aim to put your link on there.

 

Website Conversions

-       Remember that a huge percentage of people will visit your site on a mobile device.

-       From April 21, 2015 Google is incorporating whether a website is mobile friendly or not into the algorithm.

-       Use the Google mobile friendly test to check if your site is mobile friendly.

-       Make sure you have a call to action to get on the list and let visitors know what they will get for opting in on your list.

-       Go to an outside source and have them do a full review your site.

-       Always know where you are driving people once they open your site.

-       Ensure you spend money on professional images and well-written content to make sure they are kept up to date.  

-       Visitors want to get to know you and see you speaking, which is why video is an essential element. It doesn’t have to be a huge production and can be 30 seconds or less.

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

 Lindsey’s Webb

Google Mobile Friendly Test

Moz

Majestic

Interview Connections 

 

Entrepreneur Support Services

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Bree Noble, who is an entrepreneur, musician, and speaker. Bree is the founder of Women of Substance Radio, an online radio station that promotes quality female artists in all genres. She also launched the Women of Substance Podcast that ranked number four overall on iTunes New and Noteworthy. Bree draws on her extensive experience running her own music business, both as a solo musician and industry professional, to train and mentor other female musicians.   

 

Main Questions Asked:

What do you do 9 to 5, and what is your business made up of? 

Is consulting, coaching, and creating courses how you generate revenue in your business?

Tell us more about your life as a musician.

Is that what you help musicians with most? Finding their voice, what to tell, and how to tell it?

How does someone create a bio that is going to stand out? 

How is marketing a musician different from marketing a business, product, or service that is not the identity of the person selling it? 

Why is marketing hard for musicians, and why don’t they like it?

Tell us more about the Women of Substance radio station. 

How did you grow your audience and what marketing was involved in building the community? 

Talk about the relationships lifecycle that you build with the musicians. 

Are you mainly focusing on musicians who don’t have a record deal or manager? Is it strategic to build your consulting and courses?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

Bree does five podcasts a week, and tries to fit it all in one 8-hour ‘podcasting’ day.

If you don’t figure out how to make money in the music industry, then you are not going to have a career. 

 

Writing a Non-Generic Bio

There are hundreds of thousands of independent female artists, so don’t be generic! You need to find a unique angle. 

When writing your bio, start with your super fans, even if they are your family members, and find out what resonates with them and stands out in your story. 

Most people think that their life isn’t that special, so work with an outsider to write your bio, as they can draw things out that you can’t see. 

 

Marketing and Musicians

Nowadays businesses are becoming more about the identity of the person that sells it. 

Musicians have the mindset that if their music is good, people will listen to it. 

Regardless of how good your music is, the truth is that people aren’t always going to find it. That’s why record labels exist, as they will do all the promotion for you. 

You need to be like a record label and become a promoter for yourself. This often involves building a team around you. 

A lot of musicians feel that the ‘business stuff’ dulls their creativity. If it does, get a team. 

 

Women of Substance Radio Station 

The mission is to make well known and indie artists equal. 

The thing that helps most with marketing is that every artist has their own set of fans. 

Bree leverages the artist’s fans, and has a mailing list of around 4,400.

 

Relationship Lifecycle 

Bree uses platforms that are built for radio, such as Noise Trade and Airplay Direct.

The Woman of Substance shows are planned a few weeks in advance. 

Bree then contacts the artist two weeks before the podcast goes live.

On the day of the show, the artist receives an email telling them they are live, and Bree publicizes the artists on social media and is very specific with hashtags. 

The target market finds Bree so she no longer worries about building it. 

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Women of Substance Radio  

Women of Substance Podcast  

Female Entrepreneur Musician  

Interview Connections  

Entrepreneur Support Services 

On this episode of Rhodes to Success, I interview Aaron T. Walker, who is a businessman and life coach who has inspired many through his leadership, mentorship, and consistent pursuit of excellence. After 35 years of entrepreneurship and marriage, Aaron believes experience is a great teacher and has examined and grown from them. In this podcast, Jessica and Aaron discuss winning at home, as well as winning in the office. 

 

Main Questions Asked:

Why did you decide to put 35 years of marriage in your bio?

Talk about coaching a male only mastermind group.

What are some of the most common things that hold men back from growing their businesses and growing personally? 

What do you mean when you say you help men to discover their identity?

 

Key Lessons Learned:

If we make money at the expense of our families, then we have failed. 

When your relationships are strong, your business grows. 

Most men are ‘sprinters’ in business, but Aaron teaches them to be ‘marathon’ runners to stay in the game longer. 

Motivation is an exhaustible resource, but what really works is a well thought out plan. 

 

Fear and Failing 

Fear is what holds men back, as they just don’t want to fail. 

Aaron’s life mantra is that he fears missing an opportunity more than he fears failure. 

Failing is in “not trying” and not necessarily in “not succeeding.” 

 

Identity & Personal Assessment 

Aaron has created a ‘personal assessment’ form where he discovers a person’s identity, including skill sets and abilities. 

Don’t tie your identity into your career, as one day it will be gone and your identity will be as well. 

If you have no relationships, then you have no business. 

When men introduce themselves, the first thing they generally ask is, “What do you do?” Whereas, women often ask if someone is married and if they have children.

You must identify your ideals and things in life you want to accomplish. This includes goals and personal ideals.  

We all have physical, emotional, and financial needs so Aaron offers a detailed plan to find out your needs. 

Work is a tool to provide income but it is not your life. Family and friends are your life.

 

What Do You Want?

Most people don’t actually know what they want and live every day reactively rather than proactively. 

You can’t live on purpose; you need to live intentionally so there is a need to establish goals and dreams. 

Aaron’s discovery questions seem elementary until you try and answer questions such as, “If you were to wake up tomorrow morning and there were no limitations geographically or financially, what would you do with your life?”

A dream is something we think about but a goal has metrics and is measurable. 

A lot of the time we miss opportunities in teaching children to participate in activities that have meaning for our lives. 

 

Steps to a Productive Day 

The third of Aaron’s documents that gives you a chance to practically apply the lessons learned.

This has 30 line items, and is a ‘to do list on steroids’ that maps out your entire day. 

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

View From the Top (Free documents)

Iron Sharpens Iron

Interview Connections  

Entrepreneur Support Services 

 

This is a special episode of Rhodes to Success as I interview Jim Palmer on his podcast Stick Like Glue Radio about the launch of his new book, DECIDE- The Ultimate Success Trigger. We cover many of the mindset challenges and hurdles that entrepreneurs face and how to overcome them. 

 

Jim Palmer is a marketing and business-building expert, host of Newsletter Guru TV and is the founder and CEO of multiple six-figure businesses including the Dream Business Academy. Jim is known internationally as the Newsletter Guru and Dream Business Coach.

 

Main Questions Asked

-       Why did you decide to write this book?

-       Talk about the experiences you went through early on and the lessons learned.

-       What are people going to learn in this book that they can apply to their journey now?

-       Talk about ‘head trash,’ what it is, and how it holds entrepreneurs back.

-       When and why should we raise our prices?

-       Talk about delegating or staying small.

-       Expand on the lesson ‘good is good enough.’

-       Why do you need to be immune to criticism?

-       How does wealth reward risk and speed?

 

Key Lessons Learned

-       Inspiration is as important as information and education.

-       It’s not just about knowing how to do something but also what the person went through to get where they are.

-       Growth happens when you take action and do things outside your comfort zone.

-       Don’t do what the pros do now. Do what they did when they were where you are now.

 

What Is Covered in ‘DECIDE – The Ultimate Success Trigger’?

-       Head trash.

-       Deciding to survive.

-       How to be authentic.

-       How to invest in yourself.

-       The difference between an entrepreneur and a small business owner.

-       Imposter syndrome.

-       Unwillingness to delegate and get help.

-       The need to be perfect.

 

Head Trash

-       Everybody has head trash. This is all the thoughts, feelings, and how you think. This is often made up of self-limiting beliefs.

-       Head trash affects how people make decisions to invest, go forward and start a business.

-       When we have a fear issue, we tend to make up excuses.

-       At some point you have to stop being an impediment to your own growth and take care of business and do things that successful people do.

 

What Successful People Do

-       Become a speaker, author, create videos, work with a coach, join a mastermind, and do your own live events.

-       Instead of growing your business 1:1 becoming a speaker gives you a chance to grow your business 1:many.

 

Raising Prices

-       This is featured in the ‘Decide To Be Profitable’ chapter.

-       A lot of people struggle with charging fees that they are actually worth.

-       You must be appropriately rewarded for the value that you are deliver to customers and clients.

-       Fees should be based on the value you are delivering rather than on an hourly rate.

-       It’s also not the immediate hourly value but rather the years of learning, training, and experience leading up to that point that you are charging for.

 

Outsourcing

-       There is a point in every business where you start gaining momentum and doing more of what your core services are. At that point it should translate into your high revenue generating activities.

-       Most entrepreneurs think they can do it cheaper, faster, and better than anybody.

 

Good is Good Enough 

-       Perfection is the enemy of progress.

-       If you strive to get everything done to perfection then nothing will get done.

-       Good is good enough doesn’t mean you put out crappy work. It just means you push the ‘go’ button sooner and ‘get it done.’

-       Wealth rewards risk and speed. You just have to start and get better as you go.

 

Criticism

-       Criticism can also be a business crippler as everyone has an opinion and people aren’t shy about sharing theirs (especially on social media.)

-       The only people who aren’t criticized are people who aren’t doing anything.

-       The filter Jim uses is by asking himself, “Do I know this person, trust them and do I value their opinion?” as well as “Is this someone who has earned the right to share this opinion?”

-       There will always be people who don’t resonate with who you are and what you offer. You are not meant to do business with everyone.

 

Wealth Rewards Risk and Speed                           

-       Your business loves speed. When things happen fast there is associated growth.

-        The faster you get things done and put out content the more able you are able to attract people to your business.

 

Three Types of Risk

-       i) Savings account entrepreneur   

-       ii) Stock Market entrepreneur 

-       iii) Casino entrepreneur 

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Decide for Success (book)

Dream Biz Academy

Interview Connections 

 

Entrepreneur Support Services

On this episode of Rhodes to Success I interview Tom Schwab who is the leader of the e-commerce Hub Spot user group and knows how to build and online business with an inbound strategy. Tom led the growth of Goodbye Crutches, a direct to patient private pay e-commerce business from a regional player to national leader in fewer than three years.    

 

Main Questions Asked

-       How did Goodbye Crutches come to be?

-       What was the journey from Goodbye Crutches to inbound marketing?

-       What is inbound marketing?

-       What do you have to say about the relationship that inbound marketing has with content marketing?

-       Why is it so important that your marketing focus on the customers pain points?

-       What do you say to a business owner who is not taking care of a pain point but is offering something that makes life more pleasurable?

-       Talk about your strategy to boost the lifetime value of a customer.

-       How is your company helping e-commerce do more customer nurturing?

-       How do you go from being self-employed to having a salable business?

 

Key Lessons Learned

 

Inbound Marketing

-       Inbound marketing is permission-based marketing. You are basically asking, “How can I be helpful to people who have a question and make it so I’m the thought leader there to answer?” 

-       The difference between permission-based marketing and content marketing is life, “Fishing for Sharks and only using Chum.”  Sure, it will attract them but how do you get them on the hook?

-       Inbound marketing is about listening to the customer and figuring out the tests to improve so you can give the customer more content.

 

The Decision Process

-       70% of the buying decision is made before you contact the company (research via asking friends, referrals, Google etc.)

-       A person will go through the entire sales process and be attracted by great content and offers.

 

Inbound Marketing vs Content Marketing

-       Inbound marketing is a strategy and content marketing is a piece of that strategy.

-       You need content in order to communicate with people (blog, videos, podcast) but still need the engine behind it.

-       Social media is there to amplify your blogs, testimonials, responding to Tweets and LinkedIn.

-       The ‘real’ customer feedback not found in a survey or comment but via looking through your analytics and seeing what people actually do on your site. They may say they love your e-mails but are they actually opening them and driving sales?

 

Podcast Guests

-       When you are a guest on a podcast that is the content.

-       Every piece of content should have a purpose so you need to always have a call to action at the end.

-       If you are on a podcast just to be there then that is content marketing. However, if you drive the audience to a sale then that is an inbound strategy.

 

Focusing on Pain Points

-       Nobody wants your product or service they just want the relief or solution.

-       If you only focus on the product you won’t connect with the customer.

-       You need to identify the ideal buyer persona (the person you want to serve) including the demographics, psychographics. Basically you want to know who they are and what they need from you.

-       Even a pleasure point is a pain point (how can I spend more quality time etc.)

-       Always focus on the reasons not the product.

-       The challenge is making the customer feel the pain point so their urgency to buy.

 

The Lifetime Value of a Customer and Boosting Sales

-       It has never been easier to make a dollar online but it has also never been harder to make a profit.

-       The profit of any company comes with the lifetime value and the brand.

-       Starbucks sells coffee for $4 a cup but the lifetime value of the average customer is around $40K.

-       Getting a customer is just the first step. What can you do to nurture the relationship so they continue to buy and become brand advocates?

-       You need to focus on the lifetime value.

-       It’s much easier to keep a customer and raise the value of them than it is to get a new customer.

 

From Self-employment to Salable Business

-       Put systems in place to allow you to do things without trading dollars for time.

-       Remember, content is king and context is God.

-       Ask, “What could I take that I currently do that I can package together and put a price on and give as an easy download?”

-       Figure out how you can monetize long term and offer things like downloads, courses, and checklists.

-       Making these changes will take you from a self-employed hourly worker to running a business.

 

Subscribe to the show in iTunes or Stitcher Radio!

 

The music in today's episode was written by The Danger Os and produced by Nick Palmer. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/thedangerosmakemusic 

 

Links to Resources Mentioned

Inbound for E Commerce

tom@inboundforecommerce.com

Inbound Movement (Interview Connections offer)

Hub Spot

Goodbye Crutches  

Interview Connections 

Entrepreneur Support Services