The Foolish Adventure Podcast Notes

FA015: How to Focus on What is Important in Your Online Business

Date: 2010-09-23

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/set-priorities-and-avoid-pitfalls-in-internet-business/

Focus on the things that actually turn into results.

The most important thing is to get your customer.

The only thing you need to be in business is a customer.

Find your passions and the things you like and then go look for the market. Because if you like them there probably are other people that like them also.

Commercial intent.

The traffic you want is people who want to purchase something.

Team up with mentors.

Twitter is a great place to communicate with your tribe quickly.

You need to build a community within your niche.

You ask your community what they want but it still has to fit with what you want for your life.

If you’re doing things right you’re going to upset people because you can’t make everybody happy.

The existence of a tribe depends on the other people in the tribe.

You need to stand for something. When you stand for something you will alienate some people.

A big part of being successful is picking a direction and going that way.

Don’t add to the learning curve.

You have to make something really awesome.

Focus on the thing that is going to get you to the making of the money.

FA019: Online Success Starts with Mindset

Date: 2010-10-21

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/online-business-success-begins-with-mindset-fa019/

As an entrepreneur what you gets paid is based on the value you provide.

We all have setbacks.

You didn’t get to where you’re at in your life because of someone else. You got you to where you are.

The magic bullet is a myth.

FA021: The First Foolish Success

Date: 2010-11-04

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/the-first-foolish-success-fa021/

Getting to completion is the part that makes you money.

Try to have as much stuff happen in one day as possible (for your launch).

Build anticipation.

Most people when buying things online will abandon the cart. Most people drop out of the sales process.

Don’t use initials (for people’s names) in testimonials.

There is only one kind of information that is worse than bad information. That is not knowing it is bad information.

FA025: Nuts and Bolts of Making a Digital Information Product

Date: 2010-11-19

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/nuts-and-bolts-of-making-a-digital-information-product-fa025/

People usually don’t want to more than 50 or 60 pages on an ebook.

You have to have a good relationship with the people you’re using on eLance.

When you hire somebody to write you need to negotiate whether they are a ghostwriter or if their name goes on it.

If people don’t consume your products (ones they have bought) then they typically don’t come back for more products.

You can sell ebooks for a lot more than you could sell a physical book in the book store.

As a business owner you should understand how everything in your business works.

FA026: Nuts and Bolts of Making a Digital Information Product, Part 2

Date: 2010-11-22

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/nuts-and-bolts-of-making-a-digital-information-product-pt-2-fa026/

If you want to have a solid business you should have strong prospects (for your product or service).

Have somebody transcribe and edit transcripts and turn that into a course.

You need to have rapid creation of a variety of products.

Practice being authentic.

You can build products that are just screencasts.

FA028: Manifesto Marketing: The Power of Declaring Your Story

Date: 2010-12-02

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/manifesto-marketing-the-power-of-declaring-your-story-fa028/

People are conditioned to respond to an author as somebody who knows what they’re doing.

A few seconds is not enough to get somebody to really connect to you.

50-60 page manifesto.

A manifesto is very inspirational.

It is not easy to pass along an audio or video file. It should be a PDF to make it easy for people to pass it around.

FA040: How to Create a Breakthrough in Your Online Business

Date: 2011-02-24

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/how-to-create-a-breakthrough-in-your-online-business-fa40/

Don’t get hooked on product launches.

You need to build a foundation so you can support your customers, so you can make sure your product is good, so you can have a successful business.

Even if you give somebody for free it is still a pitch.

Things that expand your mind are some of the best things to spend money on.

Every business takes work.

Every life takes work if you want something great out of it.

Book: The Dip by Seth Godin.

Sometime the smartest thing to do is to quit.

A hurdle to getting a breakthrough is that you’re so busy doing busywork.

Go to a live event.

Book: The Art of the Deal by Donald Trump

Your mastermind group is not going to last forever.

FA048: Freedom Changes Everything, and It’s Online

Date: 2011-04-21

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/freedom-changes-everything-and-its-online-fa048/

Money is able to buy you freedom if you earn it under certain conditions.

When working for a paycheck it is somebody else’s decision to keep you.

Most news is entertainment.

Business never stays the same. The markets change. Rules change. The software you’re basing your business on changes.

To keep your freedom in a business you have to be prepared for changes.

It is impossible to be comfortable and free at the same time.

Everything you want in life is just outside of your comfort zone.

Sometimes you need to cut something that is profitable because it is going to open up resources for something even greater.

FA051: The Art of Time, Income, and Mobility

Date: 2011-05-12

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/art-of-time-income-mobility/

If you’re not happy with your business change it.

Time freedom is the ability to choose what you want to do and when you want do it.

Book: The Cashflow Quadrant

Figuring out what you really want out of life is going to be they key factor before you even get started.

A magazine is an offline version of an online info product business.

FA063: The Break Up Episode

Date: 2011-08-18

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/the-break-up-episode/

The difference between you now and you ten years from now will be the people that you meet and the books that you read.

FA066: Stop Being Normal. Be Entrepreneurial

Date: 2011-09-15

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/stop-being-normal-with-dan-andrews-fa066/

Dave Ramsey: “Live like nobody else so you can live like nobody else.”

Focus on if you spend a dollar having it bring back two.

Being an entrepreneur starts with your personal finances.

It is so much easier to save money than to generate money.

You have to set yourself up for success. You need to have discipline in your life.

The things that are going to distract you from starting your own business aren’t going to be as big as you make them out in your mind.

FA071: How To Run A Million Dollar Online Business

Date: 2011-10-20

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/how-to-run-a-million-dollar-online-business-fa071/

Figure out what core values you stand for in your business and your personal life.

When you’re working on a launch everybody has to work together to get something done.

You can only execute on a certain level of ideas on your own.

Get a job so you can learn and make mistakes on somebody else’s dime.

FA084 – How to Create Wealth Fast, Pull Onto The Millionaire Fastlane With MJ DeMarco

Date: 2012-01-26

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/the-millionaire-fastlane-with-mj-demarco-fa084/

Book: The Millionaire Fastlane

Building true wealth–building a business–takes time.

Most gurus are raging hypocrites.

Create an income where savings is natural.

You have to attack the market based on what it needs.

FA100 – How To Thrive On Change With Izzy Hyman

Date: 2012-05-24

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/how-to-thrive-on-change-in-your-online-business-fa100/

A lot of people can miscalculate the amount of change that can happen.

Things change naturally so you need to be the driving force in your life of the change.

It is either under your control or no control.

If you’re inspired change isn’t scary. If you’re inspired it doesn’t feel like change.

FA113 – Online Business For The Rest Of Us With Rob Walling

Date: 2012-08-30

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/online-business-for-the-rest-of-us-rob-walling/

No amount of marketing will make up for bad economics (pricing, margins, etc.).

Hire somebody on oDesk for a thirty minute conversation for ideas on developing your product.

The future of online business and software is small teams.

FA126 – Work From Anywhere, Be Your Own Boss And Make A Lot Of Money

Date: 2012-12-14

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/work-from-anywhere-by-building-a-lifestyle-design-business-with-mark-manson-fa126/

With globalization you have limitless labor markets.

Domain knowledge is a great thing to have before starting something new.

Blogging has become a legitimate way to build a business. Be transparent with your knowledge building process.

FA128 – How To Market Software With Rob Walling

Date: 2013-01-23

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/how-to-market-your-software-with-rob-walling-fa128/

Mobile apps are less predictable.

Downloadable software is going away in favor of mobile and web-based software.

The WordPress store (for plugins) is a nice valuable source of traffic.

Use testimonials. Use mentions in the press.

Find flywheels of traffic that don’t depend on you.

Early on it is awesome to do the things that don’t scale such as going on podcasts and doing guest posts.

There is a big difference between selling software and selling information: support costs.

Selling software B2C is not a good market. Consumers tend to buy based on price. Businesses buy based on value.

Doing the research to create an infographic is incredibly time consuming.

It is very valuable to know how much you can pay for a trial.

Do measurable marketing with everything.

It shouldn’t take more than a year to cover the cost of a trial.

You want to be certain that someone wants your service before you get them to sign up.

Partnerships don’t scale.

Start small and get an early win.

FA151 – Designing Startups With Jack Zerby

Date: 2013-06-13

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/designing-startups-with-jack-zerby-fa151/

Until you own a business you really don’t have the control you think you do

There is no such thing as a safe, secure job anymore.

Define, learn, and do.

Marketers will kill an ecosystem.

If V.C.’s have nothing to offer you but money then they will probably be a big pain.

If you can go from idea to execution quickly there is no limit to the things you can do.

FA152 – How I Work With Dan & Ian Of The Lifestyle Business Podcast

Date: 2013-06-20

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/dan-ian-lifestyle-business-podcast/

Systems help empower (employees).

(In SE Asia) you can really accelerate relationships.

Being an expat accelerates friendships.

Sometimes you have to give up stuff to make big changes.

It is an amazing time to be alive.

What is going to get you leverage and freedom is hiring people.

Creating and connecting are the two things you do as an entrepreneur.

Writing systems is like writing a constitution for your business.

FA153 – How To Create Successful Business Ideas (And Automate Them)

Date: 2013-06-27

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/create-successful-business-ideas/

There is a lot of value in income diversification.

Have the right people help you.

Find other people that have the same goals.

Take inventory of what you’re good at and what you’re not good at.

Have a repeatable marketing process.

Your first business idea doesn’t have to be your best business idea.

Do something that is going to make you money.

FA154 – How a Non-Technical Founder Built a 6 Figure Saas App

Date: 2013-07-04

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/how-a-non-technical-founder-built-a-6-figure-saas-app-fa154/

Go out and identify a need.

Necessity makes you act.

Content marketing doesn’t directly lead to sales. It eventually does.

If you have something that actually solves a problem advertising is one of the quickest ways to build the business.

Do more testing sooner.

You don’t really know what is going to happen until you test it.

Testing takes time.

Take action right now.

FA156 – Building A Lifestyle With An Infoproducts Business

Date: 2013-07-18

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/building-a-lifestyle-with-infoproducts-fa156/

When working out do something you enjoy and that gives you energy instead of taking it away.

Fitness is something that has an ability to impact people profoundly.

The customer has a legitimate opinion.

It is the what and the why that is critical to your success. It is the how that you will figure out.

Use tools (on your website) as a way to initiate human contact.

Getting interaction can be the lifeblood of a growing business.

To become successful you don’t have to become a different person.

FA157 – How To Break Free Of Your Comfort Zone To Supercharge Your Business

Date: 2013-07-25

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/how-to-break-free-of-your-comfort-zone-to-supercharge-your-business-fa157/

Business advice is contradictory.

Life advice is contradictory.

There isn’t a one path or one solution to anything (except for lower level math).

First make money where you’re already making money.

What you truly want out of life is what matters.

If you’re not dreaming about your business you’re probably in the wrong one.

To grow as a business you have to grow as a person.

You should understand the critical elements of your business whether you are the one doing them or not.

Do the things that your competitors aren’t will to do.

The thing you should be most concerned about as a business owner is the vision of the company.

Step out of your comfort zone.

FA158 – Family Matters In The Online Startup World

Date: 2013-08-01

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/family-matters-in-startup-world-fa158/

Build a runaway because you don’t know how long it is going to take to get your business off of the ground.

You need money in the bank.

That first year you’re probably going to struggle. That second year you’re hopefully going to have learned the systems and started making money.

Look at the life goals and risk profile of potential partners (for starting a business).

Have the same trajectory as your partner.

Write content and educate customers.

FA161 – Softening The Blow When Your Product Bombs

Date: 2013-08-22

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/softening-the-blow-when-products-bomb-fa161/

You need to figure out whether the product bombed or the marketing bombed?

Sell them what they want. Give them what they need.

There are two reasons somebody says something is too expensive. One is that they are not the right customer. The second is you didn’t communicate the value properly.

Price anchoring is important especially when you’re talking about information products.

One way we determine a good product is if it looks good.

People are not fools.

Putting the effort in to create a great product is crucial to succeeding.

Failure is simply what you compare things to.

FA162 – Achieving Authenticity With Andy Gray

Date: 2013-08-29

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/achieving-authenticity-with-andy-gray-fa162/

Being able to do what you want doesn’t necessarily mean you’re living your life authentically.

Figuring out who we want to be is not an easy task. It is a lifetime task.

It is a lot easier to start living someone else’s story.

We feel trapped by our past decisions.

You don’t have mobility if you don’t have the ability to choose to go somewhere.

The sum of your life is made up of your choices.

Ultimately you have to feel good about how you’re spending your time.

There is risk when things are ambiguous.

There are so many choices you can make. They all can be right choices.

When you feel that things aren’t just quite right it is worth it to take a look at why that is.

Don’t look for a guru when it comes to authenticity because when it comes to that you’re your own authority.

FA164 – A Mother’s Entrepreneurship Journey To Eventual Millionaire

Date: 2014-09-03

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/a-mothers-entrepreneurship-journey-fa-164/

Some things are very simple but it doesn’t mean it is easy.

The biggest key to succeeding as an entrepreneur is believing that you can actually accomplish it.

If we end up making the world better for ourselves we will end up making it better for a lot of people.

An eventual millionaire is someone who wants to be a millionaire eventually and wants to do it on their own terms.

We make things a lot harder than they are.

You only need to be successful part of the time to actually succeed in business.

All it takes is one success.

FA165 – Building An Infoproduct And Software Empire With Amy Hoy

Date: 2014-09-04

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/building-an-infoproduct-software-empire-with-amy-hoy-fa-165/

Don’t let the people around you stop you from doing what you want to do.

It is stupid to do anything where the outcome is the same whether or not you do it.

A script leads to mediocre. It it designed for anybody to follow it.

Book: Radical Careering

It is important to read and to expose yourself to people you have (the way of looking at things that you need).

Getting off of the rails and seeing where your life is actually going is critically important.

FA166: From Laid Off To Six Figure Supermom With Lain Ehmann

Date: 2013-09-05

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/supermom-and-successful-entrepreneur-lain-ehmann-fa166/

What tool do you have would be very difficult for your competitors to replicate?

Having domain expertise has been critical for the success of most businesses.

FA167 – Using Techstars To Accelerate Success With Erica Douglass

Date: 2013-09-06

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/perseverance-and-building-on-your-success-with-erica-douglass-fa167/

You can’t set vague, ill-defined goals.

Bossy is almost always used to describe women. Never men.

It is who you are not how old you are.

It is a long road to success.

Surround yourself with as many smart people as possible who are invested in your business’ success.

FA168 – Outsourcing A Virtual Team Empire

Date: 2013-09-12

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/outsourcing-a-virtual-team-empire-with-rob-rawson-fa168/

You’re looking for the best person. Sometimes you should use more than one service to get the best person.

Answer questions at helpareporterout.com and quora.com to get mentions.

You don’t want to be in a situation where you are constantly massaging (your staff) all day.

You need to have the drive to overcome any obstacle.

Be incredibly persistent.

FA169 – Harness The Power Of The Social Media Marketing Machine With Rick Mulready

Date: 2013-09-19

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/social-media-marketing-machine-rick-mulready-fa169/

It is hard to truly measure the effectiveness of social media.

Social media is all about your brand and connecting with your target audience.

Choose one or two platforms and go deep on it.

You don’t need to be on nine different platforms.

Social media does not sit in a silo. It is part of your overall business strategy.

Start with a goal and work backwards from there.

Think about how you can add value to your customers.

FA170 – How To Boost Your Brand With Integrated Lead Generation Systems

Date: 2013-09-26

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/how-to-boost-your-brand-with-integrated-lead-generation-systems-fa170/

People want to read a compelling story.

With SaaS you’re going to get people to stick around longer if they actually use your software.

Don’t put your money into something (where) you have no idea what you’re doing.

All human beings suck at follow up.

FA171 – Building A Blueprint For Six-Figure Consulting With Brennan Dunn

Date: 2014-10-03

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/building-blueprint-six-figure-consulting-brennan-dunn-fa171/

Nobody really wants a website.

Focus on what the customer’s goal is.

Don’t call yourself a freelance web developer.

Stop selling a commodity.

Host a workshop for local business owners.. Get the business owners to walk away knowing something they didn’t know.

Business owners love to talk about themselves and their business.

Bill by the week rather than by the hour.

Clients want to pay for value received.

Focus on solving the problem and not just building software.

Attach a price to value.

FA172 – Leaving A High Paying, Prestigious Job To Sell CB Radios: A Success Story

Date: 2013-10-10

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/one-investment-bankers-journey-e-commerce-success-fa172/

Be less concerned about selling a product and more concerned about building a profitable business.

For drop shipping you don’t need a lot of capital and you can run a business from anywhere.

Four ways to make money in e-commerce these days:

1. Selling at a low price

2. Manufacturing your own product

3. Having a lot of informational value

4. Building a brand

Find a niche where you can really focus on adding value through information or experience.

Accessory riche niches are a great place to be.

FA173 – From Kindergarten Music Teacher To Web Content Authority

Date: 2013-10-17

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/kindergarten-music-teach-web-content-authority-brian-lewis-fa173/

Test the products that you’re giving away.

Preselling really lets you know there are people out there (that want your product).

The worst case scenario is a good way to put things in perspective.

The world truly is a meritocracy.

FA174 – Foolish Guide To Getting The Most Out Of Your Time, Income & Mobility

Date: 20134-10-24

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/foolish-guide-getting-time-income-mobility-fa174/

Income needed to be non-geographically derived.

Time, income, and mobility are always in flux.

Time is much more valuable than anything else.

Going from zero to sixty is hard. Going from sixty to three-hundred is easier. You already have momentum. You’ve already built the habit of taking action.

Write down why you want to be an entrepreneur. If your list is mostly material items you might not succeed.

To truly deliver value to a marketplace you have to think in terms of your market–what they care about. You need to put their needs first.

FA175 – The Foolish Story Of Tim Conley

Date: 2014-10-31

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/foolish-story-tim-conley-fa175/

How to get customers is to sell.

If you want to be a good copywriter write sales letters by hand over and over again in a notebook.

You want somebody who has failed and now knows how to succeed.

Every business has hard times.

You want to do what you can do and only you can do.

Success is singular.

Somebody else’s success will never be your success. Somebody else’s failure will never by your failure.

Business isn’t hard. You find something people want and sell it to them.

Nurture that flame you have inside of you. Even in your darkest moments don’t let the flame go out.

FA176 – Secrets To Steady Growth Of An Online Infoproduct Business

Date: 2013-11-21

Link: http://foolishadventure.com/audio/secrets-steady-growth-online-infoproduct-business/

Success is individual. You’re going to get your own success in your own time.

Products first.

Don’t bring somebody onto your list and not email them.

Repurpose content.

Sell courses before you create them. In real life people pay for a course up front and then attend them later.

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