Jason Hartman talks with Travis Lee, co-founder of 3D Mail Results, about whether direct mailing is still an effective marketing strategy in today's environment. Jason and Travis explore ways that people can make sure their marketing products actually get seen by their intended targets and some of the unique items that Travis has seen used by companies to promote their business. Key Takeaways: [0:59] There's been nothing but talk about e-mail marketing for years now that it's hard to remember that direct mail is nowhere near dead [5:23] Some of the unique pieces Travis' company has mailed for advertising clients [7:47] How you separate self-mailers and packaged mailers [11:30] 3D Mail nearly guarantees that your mail will at least be opened, not tossed out like most other mailers [12:45] The 3 components of direct mail Website: www.3DMailResults.com www.3DMailSuccess.com
Jason Hartman talks with Mitch Russo, CEO of Mindful Guidance and author of The Invisible Organization and the new book Power Tribes: How Certification Can Explode Your Business, about how to install corporate culture, how to create a tribe of people who will make you money, and how to avoid franchise laws with one simple maneuver. Key Takeaways: [2:15] What is a Power Tribe? [4:8] If you don't create, install, and define a culture it will grow on its own [9:19] Does Mitch's concept work in every business? [13:35] You need to create videos for people so they understand you're offering them a new profession [17:22] How do you get started? [21:09] You need to steer clear of franchise laws, and Mitch has your solution Website: www.PowerTribesBook.com
Starting a company can create quite a headache when you start trying to figure out how much equity everyone deserves, and what to do when someone leaves the company. The solution to this, however, might be as simple as Slicing Pie. Mike Moyer has a method that he's written about that he believes can provide the solution for ANY business startup. Jason Hartman and Fernando Aires get Mike to break his method down so that you too can create a successful company with happy employees. Key Takeaways: [1:11] How Mike went about simplifying equity splits [5:09] Figuring out what an idea is worth when splitting the pie [10:22] The players in the equation for Slicing Pie [13:54] How to use the spreadsheet on SlicingPie.com and what software Mike uses for his company, and how helpful the board game for Slicing Pie is [17:29] Mike's process of writing books, and why some of them have a massive amount of typos and aren't edited much [19:39] The evolution of Slicing Pie into Mike's Fair & Square book [23:42] Using Slicing Pie in real estate deals Website: www.SlicingPie.com www.MikeMoyer.com
Kevin Ring is Vice President for Families Against Mandatory Minimums, former lobbyist and associate to Jack Abramoff. He began his career in Washington, DC as a legislative aide on Capitol Hill. During his tenure, he served as counsel to the Senate Judiciary’s Constitution, Federalism, and Property Rights Subcommittee under the leadership of future US Attorney General John Ashcroft. He also served as executive director for the Republican Study Committee, the largest member organization in the US House of Representatives. Kevin became a lobbyist in 1999 and was twice named one of K Street’s Top Lobbyists. He is the author of Scalia’s Court: A Legacy of Landmark Opinions and Dissents (Regnery). Kevin is a graduate of Syracuse University and The Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Key Takeaways: [2:48] Hear about the kind of money a lobbyist can make [11:23] The amount of money he spent as a lobbyist that got him sent to prison on bribery charges. [15:03] The United States incarceration rate and the government’s ability to find a crime you committed [22:21] How much money Kevin had to spend, while cooperating with the government, to defend himself in court [27:17] The dangers of privatized prisons [32:40] What people can do to change the system Website Mentioned: www.famm.org
Mary Spio is Chief Visionary & Product Architect at CEEK VR. She started her career as a Deep Space Engineer working with companies such as Boeing Digital Cinema, Intelsat and Aerospace Corp developing technologies that have changed media and communications. Through her ventures she's provided technical guidance and content solutions for over 200 radio stations, Microsoft XBOX, Tribune News Company, Coca Cola, Toyota and much more. Every once in a while something comes along with the potential to shift the way we do things, as a Digital Cinema pioneer at Boeing, she had the rare opportunity to help create the technology that changed the entire movie distribution paradigm working with Lucas Films, 20th Century Fox and other major studios. From there she pioneered an online video distribution platform that became the defacto standard for many media companies and brands to distribute their content digitally. And now…here she is again building what she believes will be the standard for mixed reality content creation and distribution CEEK. Mary talks with Jason about where virtual reality is now, where it's going and what it all means for the individual. Key Takeaways: [2:28] How quickly technology in the virtual reality world is changing [4:57] The best VR technology on the market today [6:31] The difference between virtual and augmented reality [9:34] Mary describes a virtual reality experience [12:17] How CEEK has had to meld their new technology with existing file types [15:35] The consumer readiness of VR technology and how phones might be the first things targeted [18:05] How Mary got into the VR world [20:56] The entry cost for VR technology Website: www.ceek.com
John Bowen is the founder of AESNATION.com, an online community of entrepreneurs balancing success with making a difference in the world. There, he hosts the recurring podcast, "Accelerating Entrepreneurial Success." Bowen is also founder of Financial Advisor Select, an organization that matches customers with vetted financial advisors in their communities. He is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post.Key Takeaways:[1:30] AES' 60 million household survey on the importance of being a business owner[4:13] The 6 key drivers for entrepreneurial success[8:04] Identifying the key concerns[12:58] Creating family office type environments for people without 100 million dollars[15:17] Realizing how much wealth the government takes over your life and why it's so important to minimizeWebsites Mentioned: www.aesnation.com
Keith J. Cunningham has more than thirty years of experience in business and investments. He has started several companies, negotiated about deals of millions of dollars, and has brought in and used for his business companies hundreds of millions.He has made little deals, but also completed several big Wall Street transactions. He has acquaintance with business and investments from all possible points of view – from getting money to start a company, to big operations, to evaluations of companies, to investments in companies and markets.He's also an entrepreneur, international speaker and published author oftwo successful business books. He teaches life-changing business skills to thousands of top executives, small business owners and entrepreneurs across the world.Key Takeaways:[1:53] Today's business environment requires you to have to embrace change[4:23] How to figure out what's going to be the difference that makes the difference in your company and the 4 jobs of a CEO[5:51] Some examples of problems versus symptoms[9:17] The impact of a lower barrier to entry in creating companies and if raising capital is still needed for the most part[12:07] How to raise capital, what investors are looking for when you take your idea or product to them[15:34] Trying to find the most effective structure for your business[18:53] The dumb tax[21:03] The 3 part question you should always be asking yourselfWebsite Mentioned:www.keystothevault.com
Jim Beach is the founder of School for Startups and former Professor at Georgia State University. He was the co-founder and CEO of American Computer Experience of Atlanta, which became the world's largest technology training company for children. He talks with Jason about the entrepreneurial bet with his students, how creativity is overrated in entrepreneurship and how he recommends getting started.[5:15] "I walked into class one day with a prototype ottoman, and we cut it in half to see what it looked like on the inside."[10:17] Find out Jim's definition of entrepreneur that frees you[14:45] Learn what you actually have to have passion for to be a successful entrepreneur.[19:45] Hear how Jim's friend started a successful used car business with just $12,000 Mentioned in this episode: www.schoolforstartups.comSlicing Pie
Kevin Jans is the President and Founder of Skyway Acquisition Solutions (“Skyway”). After 16 years as a Department of Defense contracting officer, he founded Skyway to help companies navigate the increasingly complex process of competing for Federal contracts. Kevin built the company on the premise that no one knows the Federal acquisition system better than contracting officers who managed it from the inside. Following this idea, he built a team of experts with actual contracting officer experience. What separates this podcast is the insight that Kevin and Paul bring from having been Contracting Officers (COs).Kevin has held contracting officer warrants with unlimited signing authority in multiple Department of Defense agencies. He has written and reviewed over 1,000 contracts valued from $7,700 to $882 Million. In addition, Kevin has personally led or managed 143 competitive government source selections. This experience has made him a veritable expert in a series of acquisition regulations including the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the Defense FAR Supplement (DFARS), the Air Force FAR Supplement (AFFARS), and the Special Operations Command FAR Supplement (SOFARS). He has competed, awarded and administered contracts in a wide variety of industries, from aircraft and space systems to facilities and tactical vehicles. His collaborative style allowed him to communicate across a disparate customer base (Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, Air Force and Marine Corps SOF) to create rapid, effective acquisition strategies.In addition to his hands on experience, Kevin has extensive credentials in the contracting and source selection field. He is an active member of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), Suncoast Chapter. Kevin also has elite training and development experience in the Federal contract market. He was competitively selected for both the US Air Force’s Copper Cap Training Program and the Career Broadener Programs. Both of these targeted Department of Defense training programs are designed to accelerate the experience and knowledge of high-performing professionals in the DOD contracting and acquisition field. He is a Certified Federal Contracts Manager (through NCMA), DOD-Certified in both Contracting and Program Management (through Defense Acquisition University) and he holds a Yellow Belt Certification in Six Sigma.Key Takeaways:[4:27] Kevin's new 80/20 rule[6:21] A few places you can go to find government contracts out there and if you might be a fit[9:02] Getting started and learning the basics of learning to get government contracts[11:04] How to compete for government contracts with small businesses and minority owned businesses[14:07] Comparing the government contract market to the stock market[17:05] How long it takes to get a government contract going[21:09] Exploring the all important topic of how much it costs to get help submitting your government contract proposal[23:54] Looking at what the government's going to look at when they're onsidering if you'll win the contractWebsites Mentioned:www.usaspending.govwww.federalbusinessopporunities.govwww.skywayacquisition.comwww.contractingofficerpodcast.com
Victor Prince is author of "Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results" and is the Managing Director of DiscoveredLOGIC. He has 20+ years of experience in corporate and government leadership positions using and teaching advanced problem-solving techniques. Victor was a consultant and case team leader for Bain & Company, a leading management consulting firm. He worked on and led strategy engagements with clients in the US, UK, France and Spain in a variety of industries. While at Bain, he was also a trainer in the Associate Consulting Training program, a two-week intensive session held annually to train new college hires from across all of Bain's global offices in all aspects of Bain's consulting methodology.Most recently, Victor was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).Key Takeaways:[5:01] How to try and hire only the best and how to evaluate your current team to maximize results[9:38] How you can tailor your job posting and interviewing to figure out what kind of worker you're dealing with.[14:01] Whether a team can survive if you have nothing but exemplars and how to deal with it if you don'tWebsites Mentioned:www.victorprince.comwww.leadinsidethebox.com
In 1985, Mitch co-founded Timeslips Corp, which grew to become the largest time tracking software company in the world. In 1994, Timeslips Corp was sold to Sage, plc. While at Sage, Mitch went on to run all of Sage U.S. as Chief Operating Officer, a division with over 300 people. Later, Mitch joined Chet Holmes as President of Chet Holmes, Int’l. Soon thereafter Mitch and Chet, along with Tony Robbins, created Business Breakthroughs, Int’l, a company serving thousands of businesses a year with coaching, consulting and training services. Mitch was the President and CEO for 4 years. After the untimely death of Chet, Mitch left Business Breakthroughs to help CEOs build their own Invisible Organization using the principles outlined in his book The Invisible Organization.Key Takeaways:[5:10] How he got into creating virtual companies[9:30] The real issue you HAVE to understand in order to be prepared to take your company virtual[15:22] Dealing with staff output and hours with a virtual company[20:15] How to screen all the available technologies and which ones he likes[26:17] When creating virtual companies hit an inflection pointWebsites Mentioned:www.invisibleorganization.com
Christian Fioravanti is the founder and creator of Attractionology, co-founder and co-creator of 20 Minute Video Payday and founder and publisher of Project Catapult. He has been a small business owner since 2007. He owns and operates several web-based businesses and has authored several books and other pieces of literature related to business.Key Takeaways:[4:45] A good reason for dealing with physical products[9:12] The secret sauce for giveaways[14:56] The sweet spot to make free offers really work[20:31] The Jason Hartman bumper sticker tag[27:58] The funnel process that's 3 years ahead of everyone else[31:08] If there's a barrier to what size companies can use funnelsWebsites Mentioned:www.mouseflow.comwww.clickfunnelscomp.comwww.stripe.comwww.christianfioravanti.com
A serial entrepreneur turned investor, Matt is driven by the idea that you don't have to put your family or your future in jeopardy to start and run a successful business. A graduate of the #1-ranked undergraduate entrepreneurship program in the United States, the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Houston, Matt graduated summa cum laude with a double-major in finance and entrepreneurship.After a stint in corporate finance, he founded his first business at the age of 22 and grew that business into a multi-million dollar, industry-leading enterprise with thousands of products. Over the next four years, he launched and grew three more multi-million dollar businesses focused on bottom line profitability. Matt is now hyper-focused on practical things that business owners can do to drive growth and profitability, which he considers the true measure of any business. Learning and teaching these practices has become Matt's personal passion and the mission of Amazing.com. He has authored numerous articles for some of the world's most respected business publications, including Forbes, Business.com, and Under 30 CEO. Matt is determined to teach would-be entrepreneurs all over the world how to start and run a business without making the same catastrophic mistakes as nearly eighty percent of those who try.Key Takeaways:[4:47] How people have gone from government assistance to making a business selling tens of millions in sales and paying for a house with cash[10:06] Starting up your business on Amazon[14:01] The importance of making your own brand on Amazon[17:53] How Amazing.com is helping people start their business[24:41] What ONE THING you need to do to be on your way to having your own successful businessWebsites Mentioned: www.amazing.comwww.alibaba.com
John Sculley is an American businessman, entrepreneur and investor in high-tech startups. Sculley was vice-president (1970–1977) and president of Pepsi-Cola (1977–1983), until he became chief executive officer of Apple Inc. on April 8, 1983, a position he held until leaving in 1993. He is recognized worldwide as an expert in marketing, in part because of his early successes at PepsiCo, notably his introduction of the Pepsi Challenge, which allowed the company to gain market share from primary rival Coca Cola. He used similar marketing strategies throughout the 1980s and 1990s at Apple to mass-market Macintosh personal computers, and today he continues to speak and write about disruptive marketing strategies. Key Takeaways: [4:52] What an entrepreneur needs to do to keep up with the changing work environment [7:51] How the Pepsi Challenge was the turning point in consumer driven marketing [12:46] The process through which we connect the rest of the world technologically [15:13] How you can find your noble cause [18:49] How the business plan has been usurped by the customer plan Websites Mentioned: www.johnsculley.com www.sculleyspeaks.com
Eric Lofholm is a Master Sales Trainer who has taught his proven sales systems to thousands of professionals around the world. He is President and CEO of Eric Lofholm International, Inc., an organization he founded to professionally train people on the art and science of selling. Eric began his career as a sales failure. At his first sales job he was put on quota probation after failing to meeting the minimum quota two months in a row. It was at this point that Eric met his sales mentor. After being professionally trained Eric achieved his quota and eventually become the top producer at that company. Eric went on to become the top producer at 2 more companies prior to starting Eric Lofholm International. For over 14 years Eric has been sharing his proven sales increasing ideas with people all over the world. He believes that selling equals service. He also believes in working towards mastery of the fundamentals of lead generation, appointment setting, and delivering a high quality presentation. Eric is the author of How to Sell in the New Economy, How to Master the Science of Goal Setting, and 21 Ways to Close more Sales.Key Takeaways:[3:45] How you need to look at your sales pitch to truly improve it[6:35] How to properly use storytelling in your sales pitch and why it's important[11:48] What to do if you need to break through your final resistance to sales[17:07] The first (and most crucial) step if you're trying to sell anyone anythingWebsites Mentioned: www.saleschampion.comwww.youtube.com/saleschampion1www.facebook.com/EricLofholmInternational/
Jason Hartman talks with Jenny Q. Ta, CEO of Sqeeqee, about monetizing social networking. Key Takeaways: [4:25] How the user can profit from social networking on her site [10:43] The viral growth of Sqeeqee [15:23] If we’re in another technology bubble Website Mentioned: www.sqeeqee.com
Dane Maxwell is the Founder of Zannee and The Foundation. He is a successful entrepreneur who started a software company without any experience in software. He talks to Jason on how he created his first product, why you should always ask a potential customer what they want first, hiring the right people, and much more on today's episode. Key Takeaways: [1:40] How did Dane discover his first product? [4:10] Don't be afraid to ask people what they want and what kind of pains they have. [9:40] The key to Dane's success to passive income is hiring the right people. [13:25] Sometimes being a software developer can actually hurt your software business. [16:35] Where do you find good talent? Dane recommends oDesk. [18:15] Dane recommends listeners to visit The Foundation or do a general Google search on how to realistically manage developer budgets. Mentioned In This Episode: LaraJobs.com Foundation.com https://thefoundation.com/
Jason Hartman invites Zach Swinehart to talk about his company, Online in a Day. Online in a Day is a service that helps entrepreneurs and business owners launch their website in one day. Zach explains his services, his work flow, and more on today's show. Key Takeaways: 5:05 – Zach breaksdown what the Online in a Day work schedule looks like. 9:50 – The Wordpress Genesis theme is really great for podcast websites. 16:30 – Zach talks about some of the common mistakes he sees in sales pages. 19:15 – Zach explains how to split test your website. 22:20 – How much does Online in a Day cost? Mentioned In This Episode: 99designs Entrepreneur On Fire onlineinaday.com zachswinehart.com
Jason Hartman introduces Joseph Bushnell to the show to talk about the five key steps needed to create a successful marketing funnel. Joseph Bushnell specializes in online marketing and provides consulting services to his clients. Joseph sits down to talk to Jason about some of the key differences between products like OptimizePress, LeadPages, and ClickFunnels, common marketing mistakes, and much more on today's episode. Key Takeaways: 2:05 – Joey gives a quick run down of the five things he looks for when building a successful marketing funnel. 7:50 – Joey explains the difference between OptimizePress, LeadPages, and ClickFunnels 14:50 – Whatever product or service you provide, make sure its focused around people's problems. 19:50 – Working for free is generally a bad idea, so do trades or exchanges instead. 21:15 – Joey explains how he builds a successful marketing funnel step by step. Mentioned in this episode: ClickFunnels LeadPages OptimizePress Rainmaker Platform http://www.josephbushnell.com/greatest-copywriters-copywriting-resources/ www.josephbushnell.com
Jason invites Ryan Moran of Freedom Fast Lane to share some of his entrepreneur experiences in the internet marketing world. Ryan shares some important tips about how to market your product successfully on Amazon, mistakes he's learned along the way, and he also shares incredibly helpful strategies for the inspiring internet marketer. You can learn more about Ryan and his company at FreedomFastLane.com. Key Takeaways: 1:40 – Ryan shares a little bit about his life story. 5:20 – You can start a business without having a face in front of it and still be successful. 10:20 – Approach a business with the mentality of how much value you want to create versus how much money you want to make. 17:45 – Ryan decided to gave massive discounts on his product on Amazon to get more reviews and increase sales that way. 20:50 – Try to avoid trendy topics or markets and stick to markets that you believe will be around 5 years from now. 24:10 – It's not impossible to sell a business that already has your face on it, but there will be some uphill battles. 30:30 – Don't forget to check out Ryan's Freedom Fast Lane podcast in the iTunes store. Mentioned In This Episode: www.FreedomFastLane.com