Leverage for Entrepreneurs

Is a recession already here?! Some people are saying so.   Interest rates are going up.  The stock market is tanking.  The tech market is in meltdown.  And crypto is a total blood bath! 😬   What can you do to survive - or even WIN - when it's all melting down??   The reality is that many of the best businesses in history were started in recessions (my first successful business was started right as the economy tanked!).   Here are three things to do:   1. You MUST stay on offense psychologically!   2. You MUST aggressively manage your 'personal economy'!  3. You SHOULD start or build your own business or side-hustle so you have something that you are in total control of!   I personally believe that EVERYONE should build an information business - selling digital products or doing affiliate marketing - as a side-hustle at a minimum! 💯  Information is one of the best products in the world, and the market for it only continues to grow - even when the economy stinks!    Affiliate marketing allows you to sell and make money without having to create or fulfill your own products - a great way to get started and to add extra income to any business.   If you want to learn more, check out the resources below. 👇🏻   RESOURCES   🟢 To get more information on the best online business and the best side-hustle for 2022 and beyond, and how to start an online business as a full-time business or side-hustle visit: https://lvrg.com/aro  🟢 To register for FREE Q&A calls with Mike Cooch, join our community at: https://labspecial.com/office-hours  STAY IN TOUCH! 🙌   Subscribe to my Youtube Channel! https://www.youtube.com/c/MikeCoochYouTube Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/getlvrg/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcooch Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mike_cooch/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikecooch/ Podcast: https://anchor.fm/lvrg  Visit  https://lvrg.com to discover growth strategies for lifestyle entrepreneurs that want more freedom, more money, and more impact.   WHO IS MIKE COOCH? 🤔   Mike Cooch, is a “serial entrepreneur” that has founded successful, seven-figure businesses in technology services, agency services, publishing, and ecommerce (and flopped on a variety of attempts as well…keepin’ it real!).   His businesses have been named to the INC Magazine List of Fastest-Growing Companies three years in a row, and were also nominated as a Best Place to Work in their respective cities.   He has an MBA from Babson College (the #1 ranked entrepreneurship school in the world 25+ years running – go Beavers!), where he has been a regular guest lecturer on the topic of ‘Managing a Rapidly Growing Business’, and a BS in Finance from Colorado State University.   He has three children, is an avid skier, hiker and traveler, and is loving life in his adopted hometown of San Diego.   His mission is to help other entrepreneurs build businesses that give them more freedom, more money, and more impact. 💯

Today's Quote of the Day is, I believe, the key to success and happiness in life and as an entrepreneur: "Learn to be thankful for what you already have, while you pursue all that you want." - Jim Rohn That's a big claim, I know, but listen to this episode and I think you'll agree! All the best, Mike Cooch LVRG.com

A good quote has the ability to get your attention, move you emotionally, and give you insights, clarity, and leverage that oftentimes get lost when you are dealing with the information overload of reading an entire book or listening to one rambling podcast after another. That's why I love quotes, and I've used a 'Quote of the Day' for decades at my businesses and in my personal life to remind me of the most important lessons. Today's quote of the day is "Hope is not a strategy"...one of my all-time favorites and one that I use very often. I hope it's just as valuable for you! All the best, Mike Cooch LVRG.com

Jeff Bezos says that the higher your role is in the leadership of a company, the more you are just getting paid to make good quality decisions. That's your job - make decisions! In fact, he only expects himself to make three good decisions each day. As an entrepreneur running a smaller business, you have to do both the THINKING (making decisions) and the DOING. It's my experience that way too much emphasis is put on the DOING. Hustle! Work harder! Grind! That's all DOING. But an entrepreneur has to make good quality decisions, or all of the hustle in the world is just keeping you on a treadmill. Do you expand into a new market? Launch a new product? Sell your business? These are all critical decisions. But do you have a FRAMEWORK or PROCESS for making high-quality decisions? My guess is no. That's why I think you'll find the resource discussed in this episode incredibly helpful - I certainly have. They are a summary of the key concepts I learned in a book called 'The Right Decision Every Time' - I HIGHLY recommend that you grab a copy. I've also put together a downloadable template of the key framework from the book that you can download here. All the best, Mike Cooch LVRG.com

The pandemic has rocked our economy, destroyed businesses, and made many people feel helpless. Life got real hard, real fast for a lot of people - including many entrepreneurs! So how do you stay on track to hit your goals, even when you feel out of control and uncertain about the future? In this episode, I share a strategy that has worked for me over the last year: setting 'micro-targets'. This was something I decided to do to make sure I stayed focused and managed my fear of the unknown when I realized how bad the pandemic was going to be...and thankfully the results have been fantastic. I hope it's as valuable for you as it has been for me! All the best, Mike Cooch LVRG.com

The #1 reason why people say they started their business - or want to start a business - is because they believe it will give them more freedom. Freedom to decide what you want to work on, who you work with, where you live, how often you travel, what time you get up in the morning, and how much money you make. And a privately-owned business is still the #1 way in this world to create that freedom, which is why entrepreneurship is more popular than ever. But not every business creates more freedom for the entrepreneur that started it. Some require constant operational attention. Others are fixed to a specific location, making it hard for the founder to travel or live where they'd like. Every business has factors that limit its growth and the freedom it gives the entrepreneur - I call this 'friction'. In this episode, I talk about friction and how to remove it to create more freedom from your business.  All the best, Mike Cooch LVRG.com PS - Let's connect on Instagram | Youtube | Facebook

I think I can safely say that we are all glad to say goodbye to 2020 - what a mess of a year in so many ways. But, as with all challenging situations, there were a lot of good lessons to take from the year. I found ten lessons from 2020 that I thought were particularly valuable for entrepreneurs. I hope they are as valuable for you as they were for me! All the best, Mike Cooch LVRG.com PS - Let's connect on Instagram | Youtube | Facebook

In this episode, I interview Michael Booker, who shares his experience building a side hustle that he's incredibly passionate about, having lots of fun with, and is using to build more opportunities for himself and his family. If you have a passion that you dream of turning into a side hustle, then you are going to love this episode and get a ton of value from it. Visit Michael's site at https://thebourbonculture.com/ All the best, Mike Cooch LVRG.com

In this episode, I share a critical lesson for anyone selling to the small business community. Selling to small businesses can be TOUGH! And it's made much tougher if you are focusing on the wrong things when you feel stuck and aren't getting enough sales. But you may not have a SALES problem at all...here's what it likely REALLY is, and what to do about it. For more content on the topic of building a scalable business when selling to the small business community, please visit my other site: https://digitalmarketinglab.io/ All the best, Mike Cooch LVRG.com

In this episode, I interview Nehal Kazim - one of my favorite entrepreneurs ever! I first met Nehal when he was still in college. He was hustling to provide for his family while still in school and had come to my Sales Bootcamp event in Denver, CO to learn how to build a sales process to grow his business. That kind of drive and willingness to invest in himself is what has always set Nehal apart from other people. Since then, he's gone on to build a very successful Facebook advertising agency - AdPros.com. But it's the WAY that he's accomplished his success that I think is most inspiring. He is a perfect example of what I call a B.O.L.D. Entrepreneur (that stands for Business Ownership + Lifestyle Design - using your business to fuel the life that you want). He has very deliberately designed his dream life and used his business to give him the ability to live it. He's a true 'digital nomad', that is now living in Colombia. He's learned to dance the Salsa, and met the woman of his dreams. And most importantly, he's giving back to people in ways that will give him a huge impact. This interview has SO MANY lessons for today's entrepreneur, and I think his story will inspire anyone with a pulse! Be BOLD, take action, and get it done! All the best, Mike Cooch LVRG.com

Warren Buffet said something that has stuck with me over the years that I try to keep in mind when evaluating business opportunities. And I have to admit...I'm pretty terrible at following his advice in this case. But the 'Automatic Car Wash Lesson' is probably one of the most important lessons for understanding risk vs. reward and how it impacts your ability to create wealth as an entrepreneur. I hope you enjoy it! All the best, Mike Cooch https://lvrg.com/ https://www.instagram.com/getlvrg/

How do you get and keep momentum as an entrepreneur? So much of it is your psychology. In fact, I think the psychology of the entrepreneur is perhaps the single most important factor in the growth of a business. So what about your psychology takes away from your momentum? There is one factor that I see very frequently in small business owners and would-be entrepreneurs that I work with that impacts everything from their ability to pick up the phone to prospect, to their willingness to ship new products. In this episode I share what it is. While you are here...please follow us on Instagram! All the best, Mike Cooch LVRG.com

Entrepreneur's everywhere struggle to sleep - it's a curse! We have so many things going on in our heads at any one time, that shutting down at the end of the day can be hard. I've tried just about everything other than sleeping pills (those freak me out), and some things have definitely helped. But there is one secret that has made the biggest impact by far, and I think it will be true for you as well. All the best, Mike Cooch LVRG.com

If you aren't advertising on the Facebook Ad platform, you're missing out on the most powerful and affordable tool to get more attention, leads, and customers that's ever been created! But many local businesses have struggled with using Facebook Ads at one point or another - spending too much money and not getting the results they are looking for - so they give up. You can't give up! Use my 4 step process to create winning local Facebook Ad campaigns every time! If you want more detailed step-by-step instruction on how to create your campaigns, check out my special offer at https://labspecial.com/localads . All the best, Mike Cooch LVRG.com

If you're selling services to the small business community, you have three different types of potential customers that all get lumped together as 'small businesses', but they are very different in what they want to buy and how much they'll pay. A common mistake - which kills your profitability - is selling the wrong services to the wrong buyers, oftentimes without even knowing that you're doing it To grow your business quickly and profitably, you must know the three different types of customers, be able to identify them in your sales and marketing process, and strategically design your services to meet their needs at the right price points. I hope you enjoy it! Mike Cooch PS – If you're an Agency, consultant, or freelancer that would like to know how to package your services for faster sales, more profit, and greater scalability, check out Services that Scale – my program where I share the lessons I learned building and selling multiple fast-growth, seven-figure service businesses.