NinjaOutreach Traction Podcast of 2016
- Episode 17 : Online and Offline Entrepreneurship – Mikael Dia
- Episode 18 : Advantage of Sales Background – Patrick Batty
- Episode 19 : How To Avoid Succumbing To Offers – Alex Goodall
- Episode 20 : Internet Marketing Essential – Ian Lurie
- Episode 21 : SEO and Marketing Tips – Michael Fleischner
- Episode 22 : Mobile Technology to Drive Business – Kevin Z
- Episode 23 : How the Web Changes Everything – Yaro Starak
- Episode 24 : Key Steps to Building a Brand Online – Ann Smarty
- Episode 25 : Brings Ideas to Life Through Daily Action – Corbett Barr
- Episode 26 : How to Build a Successful Online Company – John Rampton
- Episode 27 : Business from the Ground Up – Josh Anderson
- Episode 28 : Business and Funding – Peter Longo
- Episode 29 : Neil Patel Aims For 100 Million Dollar Company
- Episode 30 : Mobile Software Development and Marketing – Joshua Alner
- Episode 31 : No More Excuses, Just Do It – Francisco Perez
- Episode 32 : 99% of Bloggers Problems – Dino Dogan
- Episode 33 : A Successful Content Marketing Business – Anthony Chatfield
- Episode 34 : A Netflix Inspired Startup – Billy Canu
- Episode 35 : Journey To Highest Paid Copy Writer – Bret Thomson
- Episode 36 : Glen Ledwell Aims To Change The World
- Episode 37 : Grow Your Business – Dave Lavinsky
- Episode 38 : Igor Kheifets As The Go To Guy For Solo Ads
- Episode 39 : Graphics Designer To Top Travel Blogger – Gray Padmore
- Episode 40 : Jim Belosic Makes Facebook Apps and Websites
Episode 17 : Online and Offline Entrepreneurship – Mikael Dia
Mikael Dia is not known for being a prolific internet marketer like many of NinjaOutreachs interviewees. He is however a passionate entrepreneur who relishes the challenges of setting up new businesses and watching them grow. He already has several successful offline businesses and is now branching out into the internet marketing world. Mark Samms managed to catch up with him on one of his trips back to Canada from the UK.
Self-confessed serial entrepreneur, Mikael Dia, first developed a taste for business when he and some close friends decided to design some t-shirts and then see what would happen if they tried to sell them. This developed into a successful clothing business, but Mikael Dia admits that this first business was not without its flaws. When he first started out, Mikael says that he did not have a real business brain. He had a passion for designing some t-shirts, but did not really think about the bigger picture of business such as marketing and supply. As with most successful entrepreneurs however this did not stop him from pursuing his business idea and he eventually ironed out the teething problems and developed his passion into a thriving business.
Now Mikael is preparing to re-launch his clothing business in a new and improved format having learned and implemented what is needed to make it grow to the next level. In addition to that he has spotted another businesses opportunity and launched his own language school dedicated to teaching Mandarin in the UK. Spotting opportunities is trait held by many of the top entrepreneurs and Mikael spoke to Mark about the fact the China is an increasingly large influence in the business world. According to Mikael this means that the Chinese language will become a more important factor in business in the coming years and more and more people will need to learn it if they want to be successful in business. He is positioning his business at a central point in this process and early on.
In true entrepreneur spirit Mikael has also looked at other opportunities. This search has led him into the online marketing world where he has taken much of the knowledge gained in developing his offline businesses and transferred into creating a successful business online. He has managed to master the art of building lists, setting up sales funnels and networking online. Mikael highlighted some of the key things he has learnt with regards to becoming successful online and his methods include making videos, sending quick snappy emails, and utilizing his blog.
Mikael Dia is a special type of entrepreneur that juggles running several offline businesses with an online business. While the two types do bear a lot of similarities there are many significant differences between them. Mikael has managed to overcome these challenges and operate successfully online and offline.
Mikael Dia on Online and Offline Entrepreneurship
Episode 18 : Advantage of Sales Background – Patrick Batty
There are many reasons why an individual decides to make the transition from the corporate world to internet marketing. For Patrick Batty it was the thought of having to look for another job in his senior years after he was let go from his latest job. Having carved out a successful career in the software industry over 30 years, Patrick found himself without a job at age 50. Speaking to Mark Samms from NinjaOutreach, Patrick discussed the many different challenges that he was faced with as he made the transition from corporate to internet.
Patrick Batty has managed to set himself up with a successful internet marketing business at the age of 50. As he says himself he is “an old guy” and has been involved in the software world for over 30 years. Initially working in a technical capacity, Patrick became attracted to the sales side of things after observing a few successful people coming and going from his company. He then managed to make the transition from his technical role into a sales role and he thrived in this environment and made a good success out if. Patrick developed a lot of valuable skills during his years in sales, but after being laid off from one sales job after six months he decided it was time for him to look at other options to make money.
The Warrior Forum and the Chris Farrell training program where two things that helped to set Patrick on his journey into internet marketing. He started out pretty basic by building Adsense sites which did make a little money for him but was not very satisfying and not something he wanted to do every day. Shortly after that Patrick began offering his services in a technical capacity to a number of local businesses. After studying various aspects of SEO he was able to advice businesses how to rank highly on Google places. This developed into a nice business with regular reoccurring work but after around one year of operating this business Patrick realized that he should be trying to build a list.
As most internet marketers are already aware, the money is in the list, and Patrick soon realized that this was the way to go. He then set about building his list using a variety of tried and tested methods such as adswaps, solo ads, and lead magnets. He has now built up a sizeable list of subscribers which help to drive his internet marketing business and Patrick is now flexing his entrepreneurial muscles with yet another internet based business due to be launched sometime in the near future. Patrick was a little reluctant to divulge the details of his latest venture during his interview, but he did hint that it was going to be a premium membership site.
Patrick Batty’s late entry into the internet marketing world is testament to the fact that age is no barrier to success in business. Patrick spent a lot of time educating himself on things to do with internet marketing and also utilized his extensive sales background to develop a successful internet marketing business that he can be proud of.
Interview Links
Episode 19 : How To Avoid Succumbing To Offers – Alex Goodall
How to Become Successful At Running An Online Business
The internet is a very fruitful place where a smart and dedicated entrepreneur can become very successful, that much is true. What is also true is that if you don’t possess a strong ability to stay focused on one business at a time you can easily become distracted and never truly realize any success. As internet marketers we are completely immersed in the world of tempting sales letters and the latest breakthrough software that claims to be able to make our lives ten times easier and our wallets twenty times fatter. This environment has a positive and a negative side and unfortunately many budding entrepreneurs succumb to the negative side very easily.
Don’t Succumb To Every New Offer
It’s a common story that many budding Internet marketers tell. They decide to start a business online, spend a little time researching, finding something that they would like to pursue, and begin taking steps towards the goal. Then as they pursue this goal they stumble upon another great offer, and the sales page says this is the one they need, so they abandon the current project and embark on this new project, until someone launches another must have venture the entrepreneurs just have to try out. This is a sure fire way to go many years without ever making a dime online. In fact you are more likely to spend more money than you ever make online if you are not careful.
Create A Solid And Focused Plan Of Action
If you are just taking your first tender steps into online ventures then an important step is the research stage. You should obviously spend a lot of time on this stage, researching a range of opportunities until you find a venture that is most suited to you and one you feel you can pursue. You should be aware that there is an almost limitless amount of opportunities online, and while there is no law that says you can’t get involved in more than one, it is a good idea to stick at one until it becomes successful before starting something new. Once you have decided which venture you want to pursue you should really spend an equal amount of time creating good plan of action and a blueprint that will guide you through a successful path.
Lessons From Alex Goodall
Alex Goodall can claim to be a successful internet marketer these days, but for over six years, when he first started out, he did not make any money online. He stumbled from one new offer to another without ever really seeing anything through until he finally realized where he was going wrong. He needed a sound plan of action and a clear path to his goals. Once he came to this realization he really began his online internet marketing career and these days he actually offers valuable consulting to other internet marketers in need of guidance. His path is one that all internet marketers can avoid by not succumbing to every shiny new object the come across. Unless of course it will be of benefit to your overall goals.
Interview Links
Episode 20 : Internet Marketing Essential – Ian Lurie
One of the most sought after internet marketing talents is the ability to create and maintain a following for your product promotions.
In a recent interview with Ian Lurie, he gives workable insight based on his years of experience as a SEO and internet marketing business professional.
The processes he describes gives essential guidelines and tips to successfully navigate the tactics, which when put into action, will assist you to accomplish your goals.
Mr. Ian Lurie fielded questions about how to become a dynamic business owner as a successful SEO professional. The bits of information he shared are the pearls of internet marketing success.
If you have the time to sit back and take a look, his pearls will prove to be better than tons of internet guides.
This creative and analytical thinker, Ian Lurie, came from the old school background working through the processes of online advertising and marketing via the dinosaurs AOL and CompuServe.
By sifting through the various mediums of the early stages of internet marketing, he found the value of marketing through forums and chat rooms.
Through this vast experience you will be able to walk away with some valuable information as learning tools.
The lesson learned, while assisting other companies to save money, and get larger product exposure online, is that information promotes a gathering of a large audience of loyal followers.
That set of loyal followers can and will promote your business or product via word of mouth. Each of us has heard that word of mouth is the best form of advertising around.
That is the essence of internet marketing, according to Ian Lurie.
The new technology has transcended the days of old. What was once only chat rooms and forums is now filled with multiple tools to gain a large customer base and potential customer base.
Now, with SEO approaches to business your internet marketing approaches promote growth globally.
Ultimately your mission is to shift your online presence from a mere website into a preferred portal for followers to find useful information in a one stop shopping environment.
In his interview Ian puts the essentials in your hands, unlocking a new door to success.
One valuable tool is understanding that each industry needs to have a different approach online. New companies should never outsource.
They should talk to experts of internet marketing and use social media to gain popularity.
He found that communication is another essential element to succeed online. Your site should answer people’s questions, in a manner that is sustainable, allowing them to see your subject knowledge.
If done properly with guidance, people will pass around your tips and you will become known for your expertise by simply answering subject or product questions.
The short cut is very enticing when you first begin promoting yourself and your business online. The quick fix, simply putting up a website hoping for the best will not achieve the goal.
Remember the goal is to achieve loyal followers who see you as the best. The steps to achieve that goal will take a longer more well grounded and tactical course.
That leads to another process that Ian found is important to know.
It is better to take six months to a year and groom your online marketing approaches than to seek out the quick fix. Ian says with strong conviction, that building a list of followers is one of the main elements to establishing a successful internet marketing approach.
With social media approaches you can easily achieve this task. Facebook is one of the many that appears on the social media list.
That medium of choice allows you to have a page for visibility right away. Now simply work the magic by providing useful tips about what you promote, have a passion for marketing your product, and know your product very well.
The first few people will start following your content if it is lively and informative. A useful big hint is to provide a unique tip and some unique answers about the info they seek.
Your followers who now trust you will recommend and refer their friends to your site. Word of mouth about your new site will gain popularity as others seek more of your insight.
The list building has become important to achieve your goal of marketing your passion, which is your product, among the many others that are similar.
Similar to Ian Lurie, you will find that there are more followers wanting much more insight and answers to questions.
Each anticipating the unique approach others do not have. The ingredient that Ian shared was simply that reading, educating oneself, and learning internet marketing tactics should never stop.
He made it very clear that studying and reading and learning as much as you teach is the way forward to produce consistently great content for your followers to see.
The list building is the essence of your success, Ian said, “Read David Ogilvy … if you want to learn how to nurture a list”. By reading and learning more each day, there is no need or value in copying other works or buying loads of links to build a solid list of followers who promote you and your product loyally each day.
Taking his experiences and advice, can jump start your approach to a successful online presence. The basic elements of success, Ian presents, will allow you to achieve if you believe in your product.
He is certain that people will stick with you and your site if you give a lot of information that is consistent and fits the good features of your product.
At the same time remembering you cannot deliver, via the internet, instant success. A sound business, a great product, and a passion to make the product succeed will entice people to stick with your site and bring other followers who also will be pleased.
Make the goal less about money, and spend time to constantly learn and read to nurture your understanding of what you and your followers truly need.
The last essential to internet marketing for Ian Lurie has been to constantly be on the grind. That was summed up perfectly by the interviewer, Mark Samms who said, “When you get information it is about taking action.
Without taking action you will not get results.” Be action oriented and nurture your followers, know your product well, and display your passion, successful internet marketing is the eventual reward.
Interview Links
Episode 21 : SEO and Marketing Tips – Michael Fleischner
Marketing Online – Advice from an Expert
Michael Fleischner is known as an internet expert and an author of several books relating to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Marketing. He has been in the internet marketing game for well over ten years now and there is very little that this guy does not know about what it takes to build a successful business online. Michael was able to pass on some of his knowledge about SEO and marketing in general that everyone could find useful in combating the day to day challenges building a successful business online.
On Goal Setting
Setting goals is an important factor when running a business and Michael was keen to stress this, especially to anyone just starting out. It is important to set yourself small achievable goals rather than large overwhelming ones. Small goals will enable you to better monitor your progress and get a sense of achievement which will in turn give you the motivation needed to keep pushing on to the next goal. Michael also stated that it is much better if you have a clear idea about what it is you want to achieve from your efforts online right from the outset.
On Mentality and Motivation
In business it is important to develop and maintain a strong mentality as well as keep yourself motivated. Michael Fleischner suggests that you work on ways to develop a positive mindset. You need to tell yourself that you can make money online and believe what you are saying or you will never realize your full potential. One of the best ways to develop this mindset is to build relationships with other good people in the industry. By doing this you will get the benefits of having other peoples positive mentally rub off on you as well as other things such as any knowledge they may have.
On Learning the Ropes
Michael believes that no one should be reluctant to invest in themselves. This does not only mean paying for and undertaking relevant courses, but also taking advantage of other forms of learning and gaining experience out there. These days there is a wealth of information available on the internet and it is useful to take a little time out each day to read some of this information and keep on top of what is going on in your industry and the internet in general.
On Conducting Business Online
The internet environment and people’s expectations are always changing. A recent rise in social media means that marketers have to take a fresh look at their marketing methods. Michael says that it is best to test out various methods to see which ones work for your particular market. He likes the “none selling, selling approach” which is where he sends out information to people on his list just to build relationship with people on his list rather than hard sell to them. These days conducting business online requires you to build up a trust between your target market and your business. The ones who do that best are the ones that people are likely to purchase from.
Interview Links
Michael Fleischner
Episode 22 : Mobile Technology to Drive Business – Kevin Z
Tap Your Business into the Mobile Revolution
Technology is an increasingly important feature in the day to day life of many people these days. The internet is at the center of this technological revolution and everything from socializing to running a business can be conducted via this medium. As an entrepreneur you will already be aware of how important it is to have a website. A website serves as your shop-front, brochure, and sales person. Many of us will focus a great deal of effort on ensuring that our websites are fully optimized for search engines, and that people browsing from regular devices such as laptops and Personal Computers can get the best experience. However the technology revolution has led to more and more people using mobile devices to access the internet and this is a potential problem for your business.
Consider How Your Customers Access the Internet
The times are ever changing and technology evolves at an immense pace. As an internet entrepreneur it is more important than ever to keep on top of these fast changes. One recent change to note is people’s uptake of smartphones and how they are being used today. Of the 4 billion or so mobile users in the world, more than 1 billion of them are using smartphones. These smartphones allow the users to interact with the internet just as they would from a laptop or similar device. However, unless your website is optimized to be displayed on such a mobile device people are unlikely to get a good experience when they visit your site from their smartphone.
Kevin Zicherman is the founder of brickandmobile.com , a new service dedicated to helping businesses to get there websites fully optimized for mobile devices. In a recent interview he highlighted the fact that all manner of business owners did not realize that this was an issue from restaurant owners to affiliate marketers. Kevin himself would visit these businesses and show them what their website looked like when he called it up on his iPhone. Many of these websites where not able to be displayed on his mobile device while others just didn’t look like they were supposed to.
Mobile manufacturers and technology companies are putting a lot of effort into ensuring that smartphones become even smarter. Up and coming features include Near Field Technology (NFC), which will open a whole range of possibilities for your business, is a good reason to take steps towards ensuring that your online presence is optimized for mobile. NFC will primarily enable mobile payments but will also open a whole new marketing avenue for you to consider for your business.
Regardless of what type of business you run there are benefits to be had from taking those crucial steps to mobile optimization. As Kevin himself mentioned in his recent interview, going mobile will stretch your businesses reach even further. These days a website that is not optimized for mobile could be harmful for your business, not least because this is a website ranking factor with Google. It also means you get to keep your business current and constantly in connection with your customers.
Interview Links
Episode 23 : How the Web Changes Everything – Yaro Starak
A Brief Lesson in How the Web Changes Everything in Business
First there was the internet, then there was the World Wide Web and then came the Dot.Com boom. As the internet exploded into all our lives there were many individuals who jumped at this opportunity to make some money and this led to the so called Dot.Com boom. While there are many tales of business failure shortly after this boom, there are some people who came through that period, not thinking about the failure that they experienced, but how they can learn from it and move on. That is all part of being an entrepreneur, rolling with the punches and being adaptable and open to change.
Queue Yaro Starak, a man who has been in the online entrepreneur game for many years now and has gone from strength to strength. In fact Yaro has literally been in the game since the beginning because his first online venture was a card game website devoted to the game called Magic the Gathering. Yaro recently had an interview with Mark Samms where he described his business journey, which started out in 1998. During this time there have been many changes to the internet including major improvements to the search engines, easier ways to get a website up and running, and the concept of blogs.
One advantage of having a long a varied online business background such as the one that Yaro Starak has is that you become more adaptable to change, and the World Wide Web is constantly changing. There was a time when setting up a website would require a lot of technical know-how, and there were not many places where you could go to get that website set up. There was a time when a blog was just a small website probably detailing the accounts of one man and his trip through some remote parts of the world. You can of course still find blogs with accounts of peoples trips around the world if that is your thing, but the use of blogs have now become powerful business tools and the ability to set up a blog or a website is now easier than finding a payphone.
The World Wide Web has now become an essential tool for business, and many entrepreneurs are finding lots of success there. It is of course a different ball game to how it was all those years ago when Yaro Starak started out but one thing that should be taken on board from Yaro’s story is that as businesses men you should always be prepared to roll with the changes. The internet is your playground but the environment is ever changing. If you are not capable of staying on top of these changes then you could but your business at a disadvantage.
Yaro’s entrepreneurial journey has taken him from a small card game based website, to buying and selling websites to running a successful blog. Just as the Web has evolved over the years, so has Yaro’s approach to his online ventures. This is just what all entrepreneurs need to be prepared to do because any changes with the Web environment will affect your business ventures.
Interview Links
Episode 24 : Key Steps to Building a Brand Online – Ann Smarty
When the company that Ann Smarty worked for went bankrupt and she found herself out of job and expecting her first child she did not despair. Instead, this self-confessed workaholic decided to take matters into her own hands and simply create her own job. Within six years she had established herself as the go-to person for all things SEO, blogging and branding related, all thanks to her amazing work ethic and a few discoveries she made along the way.
Here we highlight 3 of the key things, as mentioned in Ann Smarty’s interview with Mark Samms, which you need to pay attention to in order to be the recognized brand within your niche.
Work for Free
Many people will recoil at the mere thought of doing any work for no pay in return. After all doesn’t that defeat the whole point of being in business? Not according to Ann Smart. In the early days Ann’s philosophy of “be everywhere” meant that she would often do free work for clients. While the initial work would be completed for no pay in return, she would be more than compensated when that client recommended her services to other contacts.
Working for free is one of the quickest ways to build up awareness of your brand, which may of course, be you personally. Happy clients will go singing your praises to everyone else they know and before you know it there will be a cue of clients at your door waiting with their wallets in hand. Ann confesses that she did no personal marketing in the beginning and her rise in popularity was all due to word-of-mouth from her free services.
It’s All About The Content
The phrase “content is king” has most certainly been overdone now, but anyone who is still not taking this seriously will certainly find it difficult to build their online brand. Whatever niche your business serves you need to ensure that you are producing content that will make people respect your authority within the niche, become curious enough to want to find out more about you, and excited enough to want to rush out and tell others about you.
Ann also suggests that building a brand requires lots of different types of content. This is part of the “be everywhere” philosophy and includes making sure your brand has a presence in all forms of media such video, blogs and audio. Guest-posting is still a powerful form of brand building and one of the keys to Ann’s own success.
The Virtue of Patience
Building a brand takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and Ann Smarty’s success story is testament to that fact. It also takes a lot of patience because it can take some time for you to realize in real results from your efforts. It is important to go into this with a positive mentality, but to be prepared for it to take a little while.
Having a real strong trust and belief in what you are doing will certainly help to give you the motivation you need to see it through to success.
Episode 25 : Brings Ideas to Life Through Daily Action – Corbett Barr
Man of Action Corbett Barr Bring Ideas to Life Through Consistent Daily Action
Anyone doing research into setting up an internet business, blogging or building traffic will inevitably bump into Corbett Bar. The man is a one-stop resource for all things internet business related and has positioned himself as the go-to person for anyone just starting out.
He certainly has the credentials to position himself this way too, with several popular blogs to his name, a valuable online blog training resource, and a membership site dedicated to helping entrepreneurs build a strong internet business.
Corbett has done an incredible job of driving large amounts of traffic to his sites and enjoys showing other people how to do the same. In addition to that, his knowledge and passion for great content is evident as he shows others how to write “epic” blog content, drive traffic to their site, utilise keywords wisely and keep track of progress.
Despite what appears to be an extremely hectic work schedule, Corbett still manages to take up to six months off per year to spend time with his family and travel the world, something which he believes to be the most important aspect of life, and what has been made possible by building a great lifestyle business on the internet.
Interview Links
Episode 26 : How to Build a Successful Online Company – John Rampton
Do you think you have what it takes to create a successful online company? Take a few pointers from John Rampton, who had started out making sales calls for real estate before he went on to become the founder of JohnRampton.com.
Don’t Settle with Being Good; Always Aim to Be Better
John Rampton is just like any ordinary guy who likes pepperoni pizza and spends most of his day working. But Rampton also aims to get more in just about every venture he can put his mind into. When he was in college, he took a regular job calling people to make sales and became the company’s top sales rep with around 8 to 15 sales a day. This would be good enough for some people, but Rampton immediately thought he could do better and decided to start a side business to make more sales.
Affiliates will help your Company Grow
John Rampton’s first side business is a great example of how affiliates are the key to your success. To make more sales for the real estate company he was working for, he started the business that scraped websites for phone numbers to call. This is already a brilliant idea itself, but Rampton does even better by posting jobs on Craiglist. He hired affiliates who can help him make even more sales and ended up making over 600 sales a day. Remember that he was only making 8 sales a day on his own, but with affiliates, the sales had grown 75 times over. Rampton has admitted that he “learned about the power of affiliates online.”
Build Strong Relationships
In addition to working with affiliates, it is also important to strengthen your relationships with them and other people who can help with your company’s growth. John Rampton himself builds strong relationships with people he meets in the many seminars he attends. Take one instance when he met a writer who worked for Forbes, who had written an article about him for her website. As soon as he noticed SEO problems with her site, he sent her an email detailing how this could be fixed. The grateful writer then turned him onto another associate who could use his help, hence passing him on to another possible affiliate. Know who to connect with, treat your affiliates fairly, and they will continue to aid in your success in the future.
Great Content VS Great Relationships
Many people may argue that content is king and that it is the best way to get quality traffic to your website. That is true indeed, but John Rampton points out that great content on its own can generate a single one-time conversion while great relationships can convert several leads from returning visitors. Great relationships can also make it easy for you to invite guest posts that will bring in fresh traffic from the guest writer’s own affiliates and followers.
Know your customer
A company cannot be completely successful unless the customer is fully satisfied with what you have to offer. Focus on understanding your customer; find out what he is looking for and what he needs. Once you know what it is, give it to him right away. It pays to gain their confidence so they will help you convert and possibly share your company with their friends for even more conversions.
Being an online entrepreneur takes time and a lot of hard work, but as long as you know the secrets to success, you will be like John Rampton and go from 8 to 600 sales (or conversions) a day.
Interview Links
Episode 27 : Business from the Ground Up – Josh Anderson
Josh Anderson started from nothing. He was homeless and on the street when he started his own art business. It wasn’t until he went back to school and lost a lot of money online that he realized he could make money on the internet.
Over the next few years, Josh learned how to be a good salesman and learned how to present himself to business owners, which gave him an insight into the mind of his customers. A big part of starting his affiliate program was reaching out to some big-time internet marketing gurus, which helped his business take off spectacularly.
Josh knows that his experience was incredibly important. He even hired two programmers to take over the same role. He looked over the results to find which one did a better job and continued working with them for around four years until a product which he was happy with was released. The point is innovation, which can allow anyone to compete with the giants as long as what you do creates an opportunity or solves a problem that no other products do.
An important part of his program was going to people that did not have the tools to market certain programs that had a lot of potential. Working with programmers allowed him to sell their products and network with people that had wonderful projects in the pipeline that they were not able to get out and market.
Even when things started to go sour for Josh and he had some legal troubles, he managed to scale up his production with a new development team that allowed the company to understand its challenges and develop the back-platform thoroughly. Josh Anderson’s company adheres to all current safety and security standards. Even after the legal problems, his company is stronger than ever because of how closely they have looked at the platform and the technology that they are producing.
Josh’s battle and rise to economic success is an inspirational story, certainly not only because he runs a self-funded start-up but also because of the many struggles that he had to get there. Josh Anderson is no stranger to failure, but that has only contributed to his success. His competitors make a lot of money, but he is getting there. The beginning of the business was nerve-wracking and worrying but even when things seemed to go sour, they slowly got better through work and dedication.
This transition from on the streets to technology start-up CEO was certainly a long process, but Josh is not shy about how rewarding it is and how important it is to have one-to-one contact with his clients. His skills allow him to make people money while making a nice living himself, all while providing a product which solves problems. His small company helps other companies to be successful. This helps them make more money and grows his business in the meantime. A lot of the important things is simply grafting and working.
Interview Links
Episode 28 : Business and Funding – Peter Longo
As the president and executive director of Connecticut Innovations, Peter Manages a wide array of the company’s initiatives. These includes its support service initiatives, laboratory infrastructure funds, and its venture capital investments.
Connecticut Innovation’s Pre-Seed Support Service program called Connecticut Clean Tech Fund and CTech, is a successful entrepreneurial assistance initiative introduced under Peter’s leadership.
Peter has acted upon more than 20 early-stage investment opportunities that span a variety of technology sectors, and lead countless delicate investments for Connecticut Innovations including CYA Technologies, Nufern, Post-N-Track, and Achillion Pharmaceuticals. The man certainly has a head for figures, a love of finance, and a keen eye for investing in promising companies.
Prior to being named president and executive director of Connecticut Innovations, Peter served as a controller, then as a member of the company’s investment team, before moving on to become the chief investment officer.
With a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Connecticut, a master’s degree in the same subject from the University of Hartford and more than 18 years of investment expertise gained from his impressive work at Connecticut Innovations, there is very little that this man does not know about business and funding.
It will come as no surprise to learn that he currently serves on the boards of several companies including Post-N-Track, Optiwind and ExeCue.
Interview Links
Episode 29 : Neil Patel Aims For 100 Million Dollar Company
Neil Patel has had entrepreneurship flowing through his blood since birth. As a child, he absorbed his parent’s work-hard ethic while picking up valuable entrepreneurial skills from his uncles. His parents provided a life that was comfortable for the family, but Neil always knew that he wanted a life that was more than just comfortable.
During his early years, however, ideas that would take him to the life he dreamed of were not really forthcoming.
Taking cues from his older cousin in college, Neil first started selling CDs to the students in his freshman class, before upgrading his stock to cable boxes and expanding his market to reach the students’ parents. This gave him his first taste of real entrepreneurship, but he decided to get out of that business because of the potential legal issues.
His next venture selling automotive parts was much more on the right side of the law, but it was not very stable so Neil decided to enter the corporate world. His brief time working for other people only stirred up more ideas for business ventures he wanted to tackle.
These days Neil spends most of his time running his most recent online venture, Kissmetrics, but there is no doubt that he has many more ideas in the pipeline. One of his main goals is to take a company to 100 million dollars a year, and he seems to be well on his way to achieving this.
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Episode 30 : Mobile Software Development and Marketing – Joshua Alner
Back in 2001 Josh set up Upper Hand Software LLC, a small mobile software development company that began life in a small apartment at Wilsonville’s Village. At the time Josh was traveling the country for his corporate training job with the Colorado-based company, Red Robin. Here he was teaching new bartenders the techniques needed to carry out their jobs effectively so that they not end up making costly mistakes behind the bar. The first successful project for Upper Hand Software LLC was BarSim, an interactive bartending training simulation aimed at bartending schools, restaurants and marketers.
From there Josh went on start Killer Mobile Software, a software development house that specializes in applications for Windows Mobile, Android and Blackberry. The company was the first to develop a working answer machine app for smartphones several years ago, and it went on to pioneer many of the top mobile apps that many people take for granted these days.
There some really cool things happening in the software development industry at the moment and Josh certainly seems to know a thing or two when it comes to software development, mobile technology and how to make money in this fascinating field.
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Episode 31 : No More Excuses, Just Do It – Francisco Perez
Thousands of people harbor ideas of starting their own meaningful business, one that is going to transform their lives and bring them all the riches they always dreamed of. For many people that is just where those ideas remain, in their heads. A plethora of excuses often fuel an inert fear in some individuals that lead to them never taking any action and potentially missing out on what could be a very rewarding career path.
Excuses such as “I am not really a marketer”, “I am not very technical”, and “I don’t have the time” are frequently heard from individuals who want the entrepreneur lifestyle, but have not yet adopted the mindset. Francisco Perez’s interview with Mark Samms has once again highlighted how important it is to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset, part of which is a “just do it” philosophy.
Francisco is one of many successful entrepreneurs to make the transition from the corporate work environment over to entrepreneurship, and as he made this transition, there where many new things that he had to adapt to. There were a million and one excuses he could have found that would have certainly been a barrier to the successes that he is now realizing. He did not know anything about HTML, web design or blogging, but demonstrating true entrepreneurial drive he persisted in finding ways around these barriers.
It is true that working in a corporate environment is very different to that of being an entrepreneur. Some might say the corporate environment is a more secure one and this is one reason that some people may find themselves coming up with a ton of excuses rather than solutions. Francisco himself worked with and for some of the largest corporations in the world including Price Water House Coopers, AEGON, and AIG, but when it came time for him to go do it alone, he understood that a complete mindset shift was required.
Here are some of the things that you don’t need in order to start your entrepreneurial journey:
• Prior experience
• Expert technical knowledge
• Money
• Contacts
• Lots of time
• A great idea
Francisco started out online with no money. He said he did have some money to invest in his business early on, but he made a decision not to spend money simply because it was not necessary. In the early days, he used one of the free blogging platforms and concentrated on putting out great content, building relationships with other bloggers, and establishing his brand online.
Along the way, he learned new skills that helped to take his business to the next level and rather than rely on money, a great idea or highly established contacts, Francisco concentrated on making sure he was seen in many different places all over the web. This helped to get him established as an authority in the SEO, blogging and social media space, something he knew very little about to start with.
Excuses delay progress and that means you might never get the chance to see if your idea actually works. In the end, it is better to ignore the excuses formulating in your mind and just start doing the work needed to get you to where you want to be.
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Episode 32 : 99% of Bloggers Problems – Dino Dogan
Dino Dogan is a man of many talents. Apart from being a “recovering engineer” and a “lousy martial artists, he writes songs, trains dogs and dominates the blogging world. He is also a self-confessed “force for badassery”, and very few people could argue with that. Dino has a lot of in-depth knowledge of online business and is frequently featured on sites such as ReadWriteWeb as an expert commentator.
His commentaries on new technologies and social media developments are always well received and have certainly contributed to the interest that he regularly receives from well-known media companies like Forbes, Huffington Post and Technorati. One of his most recent start-up, named Triberr, has been heavily featured in many top online publications including the ones mentioned above.
Triberr is a powerful solution to help bloggers solve the biggest problem of all, increasing reach and getting more eyeballs on their blog content. The basic premise of Triberr is that it allows bloggers from all different niches to band together and share each other’s audience.
Dino has a strong passion for blogging and the powerful force behind bloggers in general. The ever growing community of avid bloggers that he has helped to create on Triberr is a culmination of his hard work, dedication, and appreciation for bloggers.
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Episode 33 : A Successful Content Marketing Business – Anthony Chatfield
Anthony Chatfield (now runs a content marketing business) spent his years at university studying for a degree in Creative Writing only to discover that his accomplishments were not worth much to employers. This discovery forced him to look at creating his own job and so he set about starting his own writing business. More than six years later and Anthony is the proud CEO of Great Leap Studios, a thriving content marketing business that currently boasts 100s of satisfied customers and growing.
Back in 2006 Anthony decided that freelancing was his best option as no one wanted to take him on, despite his shiny new degree. The following four years saw him become prolific in providing high-quality website content, blog posts, social media content, and eBooks for many different clients. These experiences then led to him start his inbound marketing company, Great leap Studios.
Anthony has a long list of specialties that clients can take advantage of including website consultation, viral marketing, and new media planning. But he also writes regular content that other freelance writers can benefit from because he is passionate about helping others to grow their fledgling business in whatever way he can.
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Episode 34 : A Netflix Inspired Startup – Billy Canu
Billy Canu is a successful 30-year-old entrepreneur with an aptitude for building smooth running and cost-effective businesses. He started his first business during his senior years at college, back in 2002, while he and a friend were in a coffee shop supposedly studying. Instead of focusing on the task of studying Billy’s mind became preoccupied with Netflix, the popular provider of on-demand streaming media.
Perhaps from spending too much time on Netflix himself and spotting certain flaws, Billy tried to figure out a way that he could make some improvements to the Netflix platform. At this time he did not envisage that just a few months later he would be spearheading the launch of his very first business.
That was the first of many successful ventures that Billy would go on to be part of, and nowadays there is no denying his unbelievable talent as an entrepreneur. SEOhaus is just one on the long list of businesses that he has been a part of and it currently boasts a significant amount of revenue per year. But this guy does only weave his entrepreneurial magic online, as has been demonstrated by the Fox and Jane Salons he co-founded.
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Episode 35 : Journey To Highest Paid Copy Writer – Bret Thomson
Flunking English in high school, and the highest paid copy writer in the adulthood sounds contradictory. right? No, through his passion, perseverance and motivation, Bret becomes to be what others would think is the impossible.
Back in the early days, Bret was selling nuts and bolts to support his social life. Eventually, he became bored of the business and got hooked on reading personal development books. This new found interest led him to attend many events and seminars, in which, one particular event introduced him to the world of copywriting, and the rest becomes history.
Aside from being one of Australia’s highest paid/in demand copywriters & conversion strategists, Bret is also a bestselling author, speaker, coach and mentor to thousands. He is responsible for the marketing behind bringing Sir Richard Branson out to Australia and the creator of one of the most popular copywriting products in Australia, “The 7 Hour Sales Letter”. He is also known as the “Mr. BIG IDEA” guy because of his ability to nail the big idea which caused him to be admired by even the most seasoned marketing experts.
Bret has indeed come a long way from flunking English and selling nuts and bolts to consistently creating successful multi-million dollar marketing campaigns for his clients. His story is certainly an inspiration to everyone interested in entrepreneurship.
Interview Links
Episode 36 : Glen Ledwell Aims To Change The World
Glen Ledwell has had a very diverse professional upbringing and claims to be a born and bred serial entrepreneur. At 17 years old, while most other kids his age would have been passing the time with computer games or socialising, Glen was busy starting his first business. It would come as no surprise that he has only ever had one boss his entire life.
Glen’s long standing relationship with entrepreneurship has seen him get involved in many different areas of business. This includes running an events company, a nightclub, and directing a property development company. In addition to that he was also the proud owner of several coffee shop franchises.
Nowadays Glen spends much of his time on his latest project, Mind Movies. This is one of several projects which he runs alongside his wife and the philosophy of Mind Movies is to “change the world one person at a time”. This innovative concept is designed to help people easier identify their goals in life and then create their very own “digital vision board” which they can follow to success.
Glen is an entrepreneur through and through, and he certainly has a good eye for what works in business and what doesn’t, and like many successful entrepreneurs he is very generous with useful advice.
Interview Links
Episode 37 : Grow Your Business – Dave Lavinsky
Dave Lavinsky is a successful entrepreneur and an expert on business planning, capital raising and new venture development. His skills have been honed by the professional management consulting, marketing consulting and market research experiences he gained over the years. He knows exactly how you can grow your business. Here we’ve gathered some information on Dave Lavinsky. We hope that you enjoy listening to this episode of NinjaOutreach Traction Podcast.
After earning the MBA titles from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, Dave with his now business partner Jay Turo, founded Growthink. Growthink aims to help entrepreneurs become more successful by providing consulting services and training products. Since then, Dave has managed more than 150 client engagements across all of Growthink’s practice areas. He particularly enjoys helping early stage companies prepare for significant growth. His passion to help inspired him to launch and run Growthink University, which is the leading community for entrepreneurs and business owners to learn how to raise capital. Members of Growthink University have access to all the insider capital raising secrets that Dave has developed over the past decade.
Dave also has published several articles and has been interviewed by nearly 50 regional and national business reporters including Business Week and the Wall Street Journal’s publication for entrepreneurs. You can read some of Dave’s articles on his blog and in Growthink’s Business Plan Writing Help Center.
There is no doubt Dave is destined to succeed. With his knowledge, experience and passion for helping others, Dave is someone you can call a true inspiration to entrepreneurs.
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Episode 38 : Igor Kheifets As The Go To Guy For Solo Ads
Igor is a proficient internet marketer with a passion for developing products and services that serve to help other marketers reach their entrepreneurial goals. After experiencing a fairly ordinary childhood in Ukraine, he and his family moved to Israel in 2000. Consequently, Igor was forced to get accustomed to life in a foreign country with no understanding of the language. Then came a series of misfortunes for Igor’s family which saw them struggling to survive financially.
Seeing his parents struggle day in day out something just snapped inside Igor. Igor became qualified as a Junior Engineer with a specialty in Electronics and Computers. With a strong will and the determination to rescue his parents from their struggles, he ventured online to look for opportunities. After stumbling upon the 2006 movie, The Secret, Igor became set on the idea that he could take control of his own destiny.
Cut forward to the present day and Igor has managed to establish himself as one of the top go-to-guys for solo ads. He is the proud creator of several excellent internet marketing products including the more recent Fast Cash Case Study. Igor does not like to sit around without doing something productive. He also spends a lot of time on his own personal growth as well as that of others. He is a truly inspirational individual that we can all learn something from.
Interview Links
Igor Kheifets
@igorkheifets
Episode 39 : Graphics Designer To Top Travel Blogger – Gray Padmore
Gray Padmore is the owner GlobalGrasshopper.com a top travel site with huge success attracting tons of visitors. Gray is a professional graphic and web designer with a passion for traveling. When he decided to combine these two passions GlobalGrasshopper.com was born, but neither Gray nor his Wife Becky, who he runs the site with him, expected this site to rise to the heights of success that it is currently experiencing.
Gray utilized his skills in web design to put the site together. His wife’s love of writing came in very handy at attracting a growing number of independent travelers keen to learn about the tips and travel advice that was being shared on the site. GlobalGrasshopper.com is now recognized as one of the top travel blogs on the web, attracting more than 125,000 unique visitors per month and growing.
The success of Global Grasshoppers has not gone unnoticed by some of the bigger players in the industry and the site has been mentioned by several other popular sites such as The Huffington Post, National Geographic and the Travel Channel. In addition to that they have been recommended as a must read travel blog by a number of high profile magazines including Wanderlust.
In amongst all the traveling and operating the fast growing GlobalGrasshopper site, Gray still finds time for his graphics design business which he operates through DesignGrasshopper.com
Interview Links
Gray Padmore
Episode 40 : Jim Belosic Makes Facebook Apps and Websites
Jim is a successful entrepreneur who has a passion for design, user experience, Facebook development and problem solving. He gets to use those skills every day at work, as the CEO of ShortStack which he also co-founded. ShortStack is a DIY software to create apps for Facebook Pages, websites & mobile devices. ShortStack users can create contests and sweepstakes, newsletter sign-up forms and integrations with the most popular social networks even if you don’t have any coding knowledge at all.
The idea for ShortStack was conceived while Jim was running a web design company. His team was actually developing a toolset to make some of their backend work on design quicker. They later realized they could offer it as a DIY software as a service to business owners. Thus, ShortStack was created.
Today the product is used in over 168 countries worldwide and serves more than 450 million fans on Facebook. Not only has Jim grown ShortStack to become one of the most popular app tools on the market today, he has also successfully establishes himself as one of the most sought after expert on the Facebook marketing space.
