Successes of 2015 and How We’re Going to Crush Next Year

January 5/by JC

Learn what you can from 2015. Embrace the good ideas. Let go of the bad ones. Clean your mental hard drive for some new code to enter.

As a creator, we have minds that want to naturally do anything they come up with. Many times we stick with those ideas until we can see them through. However, that doesn’t translate so well to making what we do as hobbies into a livelihood.

That was exactly my problem as I started New Inceptions. I’d been tinkering with the idea of making New Inceptions a business since 2010… right after Pat Flynn started his podcast. In fact, I registered the domain before the end of the month – July 30th, 2010. Just when I got home from listening to that first podcast and reading Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk.

I knew I had to pursue my passion of helping others establish or start their new beginning. That particular definition gave me a place to start, but it wasn’t until later (this year) that I realized how vague it was.

After picking up my first teaching gig in October of 2010 and then losing my mom suddenly that December, life changed fairly quickly. I taught for another 2 years (in which time I met Maria) and then in 2013, started working at AMS. I wanted to get some marketing experience under my belt – and that’s how I did it.

Something I learned that I wasn’t planning on while I was at AMS, is that it doesn’t take special or lucky people to get a business of the ground. Just determination.

And when I realized it was already 2015, well… I knew it was time to go at this thing full force. I wanted to work with determined people who wanted to have a new beginning. I wanted to work with people like myself. So the first tagline that came to mind was Helping Millennials Go from Good to Great.

What did that mean? Well, too much, apparently. So after a few tries, I was able to come with the current focus of New Inceptions: Connecting Creators to their Full Potential.

So that’s where we’re at.

That said, it’s been an amazing year. Learned plenty of other things as well. Here’s a few of them.

Successes and Takeaways

Rebooting New Inceptions is something I’m super proud of being able to say I did. There were a couple of major things that have made this reboot successful.

Getting involved with Fizzle. Not only by being a student of theirs for the entire duration of “the Reboot”, but also by actively promoting the brand. It’s opened up a couple doors for me.
Getting the site to look similar to some of the big names out there. Was mainly going for Pat’s site (as of 2015) that Chase Reeves made for Pat in 2014. However, he says he’s going to be changing things up in 2016. So we’ll see where that leaves the New Inceptions site.
Starting a podcast! Ever since Pat got brave and started doing regular podcasts in 2010, this was something I’ve wanted to do as well. Finally started mine in September. You can check out the full listing of the shows here. As life has been going on, Jon and Brian have had to step away from being on the show regularly, I plan on continuing with the co-host format. I especially like the idea of incorporating past guests as co-hosts. 🙂

Now, while these were successes as a whole, both the blog and the podcast have had their own successes in the little time they’ve been going on a consistent basis.

Top 3 Podcast Episodes:

So, obviously, these are all going to be new pieces from 2015. While I’m still trying to find my voice when it comes to doing these, I feel that I have at least gotten used to it enough while I’m editing. Scripts are useful… but don’t use them too much. 🙂

Also, I feel that I’m getting more comfortable with each one I’m a part of. Truth of the matter, I just had to start. In fact, just between the first one I recorded vs the first one I published was a major difference. They were completely different!

Here are the top 3 podcast episodes (through session 16)

Living a Life of Adventure with Marianne Jennings: This podcast session is a little different than most of the other ones. Besides it being my first solo session as a host, it was with someone that doesn’t fit the mold of those that we typically interview. It is true that Marianne is a fellow Foundation member of mine, but her creative side isn’t focused on building a business (at least at the time of the recording). Instead it’s focused on building a lifestyle that involves plenty of traveling and adventure. Traveling is always something I’ve wanted to do, but I always had excuses in why I didn’t go. In retrospect, I should have. I think many of us could be like Marianne if we chose to be.
From Video Game Addict to Life Changer with Cam Adair: This interview with Cam was the first that I did with someone that I felt a huge connection with when we interviewed him. Just as there are alcohol, sex, and shopping addicts, there are gamer addicts. While I might still call myself a gamer, I know there are gamers who play tons more than I could ever imagine. Luckily for me I have ADHD which makes sure that I simply get bored after doing the same thing after awhile. But there are some that can keep playing and playing. In fact, they play so much that it interferes with other parts of their life. These are the true addicts.While I’m glad to say that gaming doesn’t have the affect on me that it once did, not everyone can decline they’re use like I have. Sometimes, you just have to go cold turkey. And that’s how Cam helps people change their lives for the better.
Don’t Let Your Past Dictate Your Future With Trin A’Marti: If you’ve only been recently listening to the show, you know Trin. She’s stepped in as my cohost as Jon and Brian have had to do other things in their lives. (Jon with his last semester at Ball State – and Brian with his third kid.) As mentioned above, I think Trin has a great message in this piece. Just because your background labels you as something, doesn’t mean that that’s what you have to be known for the rest of your life. In books, there are things called chapters. In plays, there are acts. Your past life can simply be a past chapter or act in your life. It doesn’t have to dictate your future. Only if you let it. Check out this post if you need help getting psyched for this upcoming year. It doesn’t have to be the same as the one’s before it!

Crushing Next Year (2016)

As we gear up for this year, we need to start thinking about the things we want to do and the lives that we want to touch. To this effectively, we need to focus. How you focus is up to you. Some split up their plans for 30 day sprints, others shoot for 90 day marathons. Most often than not, calendars help with this focusing. So learn how to use one. It doesn’t have to be exactly like me. But you need to know how to plan your time.

Also, make sure that you’re focusing on building only one thing at a time. I really think the key to a day is focusing on one thing you have to do. Do that thing until you get it done. If you have time for another project, and then another after that. That’s great. But get at least one thing done a day. Know what your priorities are. For example, my priorities that I have are making sure that my blog posts are done for Tuesdays and podcasts are ready to publish for Thursdays. Then, on Thursdays and Fridays I focus on creating other things. However, as Pat says below, you want to focus on ONE thing.

That’s great information Pat gives us there. While I haven’t read the book as of yet, I think it’d be a good one to read if you struggle with focus. Hell, just like he says, it might even be useful to just have it on your desk to remind you that you should focus on one thing.

For me, the one thing I’m going to be developing in the next 90 days is another community page similar to the Facebook Masterminder group. However, instead of putting it on Facebook, I’m going to be focusing on developing it on LinkedIn. One of our upcoming guests on the podcast, Mirna Bacun, is a LinkedIn genius and will be helping us build this group. In return, I’m helping her build her online presence.

I’m absolutely thrilled with all the opportunities that 2016 has in store, and I hope that you chime in and say hi to us so we can help you finally start your New Inception. 🙂

Homework

What? You didn’t think there was going to be something for you to do after that long of a post?

Ha. In the comments below, let us know how one of the following:

If it’s just starting the new year (even if it’s not 2016 anymore), let us know what you want to accomplish this year.
If it’s the middle of year… say, in the summer when I Rebooted New Inceptions… let us know what you’ve learned from this year so far and how you want (and are going) to change it.
If it’s the end of the year, let us know what you’ve learned about yourself this year and what you want to do to make a difference next year. Start off by saying “In <insert year>, I want to do <whatever it is that you want to start creating>. The reason I want to start doing this is <whatever that reason is>. 🙂

I look forward to hearing your future responses.

Allie McAdam: Secrets of Being a Young Successful Mompreneur (AoL 016)

December 30/by JC

Creators are generally a different breed than most. Many times, we find ourselves trying to fit into a world that is so focused on consumerism, that we Creators are kinda looked at funny when we tell people what we do.

Even this past Christmas, I found myself having to explain to multiple family members what it was that I was doing. They still live in a world where they get up before the crack of dawn and are in bed early in the evening to do it all again the next day.

As a night owl, that was never going to work for me. Let alone the fact that, in the long run, I don’t take orders very well. It’s never been in my personality. (The longest I ever held a job was for 2 years!) In the end, I have no choice other to be an entrepreneur.

Our next guest, is no different. In fact, as a young Millennial, Allie McAdam found herself kicking authority as well. In fact, like many of us entrepreneurial creators, she calls herself happily unemployable. She knew this as she was going through high school and when she graduated in 2013, she knew that she wasn’t going to be going to college.

However, the story doesn’t end there. In 2014 she also had her first child. So that makes her a Mompreneur! So she had to grow things quickly to be able to support her kid.

How was she able to be a new mom and a new business owner? That’s what we talk with her in this session about.

So, if you’re a young business owner who’s thinking about having kids (like me!) or you’re a young parent and thinking about starting a business, then you won’t want to miss this discussion between Trin, myself, and Allie.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

How she got into web development.
Why gaming can be a good thing
What has helped her succeed in life as a young mom.
What her definition of happiness is.
Does she resonate more with the “younger” or “older” Millennial
Her thoughts of being an independent thinker and how that’s gotten her into trouble in the past.
The importance of mentorship.
What she thinks is trending in the expert space and the importance of being genuine
How mompreneurs can foster a work-life balance
Why she loves Blab so much and her perception of Twitter and Instagram.
How to pick a tattoo you can live with
…and MUCH more.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Allie’s Site (Podcast on iTunes)
1st Session of Aol Podcast
Pattern Workshop Makerspace (Indy Mass Ave – Your Town Friday -3rd video)
Pat Flynn @ Smart Passive Income
Periscope and Blab
Ryan Rhoten’s Twitter Tips Podcast Session (Also on AoL session 7)
Ask by Ryan Levesque (Amazon – Paperback)
AoL Podcast Session 9 with Jim Vaughan
Audible.com– If you don’t have time to read all your books, this is a great alternative! 30 Day Free Trial + 1 Free Audio book Download
Fizzle – Our go to community for building online businesses. First month is free!

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

In this episode’s show note extras, here are some items that relate directly to the family and entrepreneurship.

First up is Jill Salzman’s Founding Moms. It’s a collective of offline meetups and online resources where mom entrepreneurs can exchange, connect and learn from one another. You can see Jill discussing how Mom’s make great Entrepreneurs here:

Next are two links for entrepreneurial dads.

First up is Startup Dad HQ with Joel Lewis.

It is a great resource for Dad’s who want to or have started a business. Started in 2014, Joel says that he wants to use Startup Dad HQ to “help Dads be fully engaged in every aspect of their child(ren) life and at the same time pursue their dreams of building a business that will not only afford them the lifestyle they want for their family but also leave a MARK on this world and a LEGACY behind.”

Next is ‘trep Life Dad with James Oliver, Jr.

On treplifedad, James shares the joys and pains of running a tech startup (wemontage.com) and raising a family.

And last, I have a great video of Cameron Herold who talks about how teaching kids to entrepreneurs can actually be a good thing.

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, and/or Podbean. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

3 Step Process to Being a Successful Beginner Solopreneur

December 29/by JC

“Do or Do Not. There is No Try.” – Yoda

Often times, as creators who are stepping out to make an income doing our own thing, we wonder if what we’re doing is right. Just like Luke, in the Empire Strikes Back, we have all of these different emotions running through us, we want to make sure that we’re not spinning our wheels. Also like Luke, we must listen to our inner Yoda and not let those emotions keep us from being successful.

For me, personally, having the background in engineering that I do, I just don’t have the personality to simply experiment. I can’t afford to just play. I have to know the actions I’m taking are going to yield some sort of results. I need to know what my constraints are so I can be creative.

Like me, you’ve probably scoured the web looking for any tutorial or eBook you can get your hands on. How many newsletters do you have coming into your inbox because it promised that one extra piece that you thought you needed? Five? Ten?

Me? I’ve strategically signed up for at least 20 newsletters. Each one goes to it’s separate mailbox so that I can keep track of their author’s marketing efforts. That’s on top of the ones which I’ve signed up for just a freebie info piece.

Which leads to the next question: When you entered your email, why did you? Was it truly to get something you thought would make you better at your craft? Was it something that you guessed you would need in the future? Or was it something that you wanted because it was free and you didn’t know the answer to the clickbait copy that was before the form?

For me, it’s been all of the above.

With all of this information out there, how can we put it to use and make ourselves better at our business?

Here’s the 3 top things I’ve realized that have helped me be a better solopreneur.

Find Where You’re Stuck

In a recent survey by Pat Flynn back in July of 2015, he asked what his audience’s biggest struggles were. Yesterday he shared the results with what he was looking to do about it in 2016. Below is one of the graphics he used in this awesome write up. (I look forward to him accomplishing some of the things he said he’d do.)

Pat Flynn’s Beginner Audience Struggles

And here were the top responses from his audience members who already had a business:

Top Response’s of Pat Flynn’s audience who already had a business.

I can so relate to all of these issues. I’ve had every single one of these struggles myself. I still have sleepless nights because I question whether or not what I’m doing is real. (I think even Pat has that question from time to time.)

As a true beginner back in March, I had no idea where to start. I had too many ideas going through my head in what I wanted to do. And, as I mentioned above, I wanted to make sure that what I was going to do would leave me feeling successful.

The first part in making yourself a better solopreneur, I believe, is to figure out what is holding you in the position that you find yourself in.

Essentially I want you to just simply realize the issue that you’re having the most. Out of Pat’s responses above, which one (or two or even three) resonates with you the most?

Get Help

Once you realize where you’re stuck (whether you already have a business or not), you need to get help.

Just like with being sick, yes you can possibly get better if you tough it out, but there are ways to expedite the agony you’re going through. Either make the symptoms go away or to cure the illness itself.

So going down the list of Pat’s real quick, here are places where I’d look for answers. (FYI – each one of these problems could warrant a blog post, but I want to help you get going as soon as possible for 2016.)

I don’t know where to start / I can’t pick a business idea / Feel like my ideas aren’t good enough – Honestly, there’s a reason why the pack over at Fizzle have Finding Clarity as a step all by itself in their roadmap. It’s the foundation of your future success. If you don’t start on the right foot, then you’re going to have to come back to fix fundamental issues. Just simply by going through their process of finding a niche to work in will help immensely in finding your starting point. I believe Corbett has come up with a great test to do just that.If you go through Fizzle’s Finding a Topic and Defining Your Audience courses and still don’t know where to start, then perhaps you need to start Asking via what Ryan Levesque teaches or going to Dane Maxwell and his group at The Foundation.Truth be told, the secret to both is simply asking a group of people what they’d be interested in buying to fix a particular problem (that you’ve drilled for through questions) and then coming up with a solution for said problem. If the solution fixes a very big pain for that group of people or businesses (I’d suggest B2B solutions myself – you can make them members of a site), then they might even prepay you for it.
Information Overload (Information Constipation) / Confused about the next step – Once you have an idea for your topic, it’s time to actually start. So looking at this grouping, I’d think that the best place to get help with this is to find a Mastermind (online or offline), find some supportive social media groups (LinkedIn or Facebook have a ton), and/or start going to nearby Meetups to network.The idea behind all of these is that you want to get feedback from as many people as possible. You want to have a group to bounce ideas off of. Once you have that in place, you can ask them what they believe is the most important part of your business AND how you might be able to improve on those parts. Remember, you can make your strengths better and better, but you can only make your weaknesses so good.If you’re interested in finding a group but you don’t know where to find one, come on over to the New Inceptions Masterminder Group on Facebook (and soon to be LinkedIn… I’ll let you guys know) and we’ll gladly help you bounce ideas. In fact, I run two masterminds a week with members of this group.
Fizzle might be a good solution here as well, as they have a thriving forum to bounce ideas off of. In fact, the initial members for my masterminds I found through Fizzle. And let’s not forget that roadmap that I mentioned earlier. So that’s a choice as well.
Trying to do too many things at once / I don’t have enough time – Ok, so this was the problem that Pat saw himself having in 2013 and 2014 before he hired people to help him step up his game for 2015. In fact, he had a talk where he and his guest talked about Superman Syndrome and how it can kill your business. I really think that chat made him think quite a bit.If you don’t have the capabilities to hire people (staff members or part timers) outright to do tasks (repeating or not) then perhaps you can get some help from those in your mastermind groups or other groups that you’re a part of. One of the things that I learned in getting America Multi-Sport off the ground yearly was that sometimes our sponsors didn’t give us money. Instead, they offered services and their time to support our events.Likewise, see if you can partner with those that are in your immediate circle of influence once you have a few decent connections. If they don’t stick, don’t be afraid to replace them.
I fear failure / Struggle with Perfectionism – I’ve talked about both of these before. But just in case you haven’t heard it, here’s what you need to know: Failure can really only happen if you quit. Unless it’s in school or in Corporate America, life would tell us that just because something turned out a way that you didn’t expect, doesn’t mean it was a failure. Life is all about learning, and nature has made it so that the best way for us to learn is through things not going as planned. All you can do is pick yourself up, adjust, and try again. No big deal. It’s how we learn how to ride bikes and do anything else in life, right?As far as perfectionism goes, on one hand it’s an extension of the Superman Syndrome mentioned above. On the other hand, it’s an excuse. One that can debilitate you from getting anything done. If you feel that you struggle with being perfect, check out this post to help yourself get over it.

Take Productive Action

Just get started and keep it simple.

One of the things that has held me up for so long in getting New Inceptions started was that as I searched the web, I kept coming up with more and more things that I needed to be doing. The question is not whether or not I needed to do them. The question was in which order? The more I heard or listened to, the more I had on that list and the more confused I got.

While learning is a great thing, Just in time Learning is even better. Just in time learning is when we do a little bit of work, get stuck, find an answer, and then move on with a little bit more work.

When you’re taking action, make sure you’re doing so by utilizing your strengths first. If you don’t see yourself as a great writer, for example, don’t write. If you’re creativity relies on something that you must perform or do, then use another means to get it to others… such as video. And while you might be able to share it on YouTube, you might actually make a little income on using a platform like Udemy.com. Monetize on your actions any way you can from the get go – but be smart about it.

Homework:

Ok gang, that’s the last post of 2015. I hope it gives you some motivation to make some strides in 2016. If you haven’t gotten started on making your hobbies or passions into a business, I’d recommend heading on over to Fizzle right now and get started on the Roadmap. When you go through any of the links on this page, you’ll be using my affiliate link. This is a win-win as you get your first month free (saving you $35 your first month). I don’t care if that’s as long as you stay. I just want you to set off 2016 on the right foot.

Let me know below if you’ve made it over there. I’d love to connect with you over there and possibly even get to know you more so we can do some awesome things together in 2016.

Cheers!

AoL 014: From NASA to Fitness Coach – Knowing When It’s Time to Move On with Laila Rahmatian

December 17/by JC

Many people who think about being a creator full time have to struggle with a particular decision. That decision is whether or not it’s viable. I mean, it’s a very big deal. Sometimes this struggle is amplified from financial instability or from a questioning of who they are. And yet, sometimes it’s a combination of both.

For me personally, I knew that I’ve always been a creator. As you might recall, back in high school I had the opportunity to go into art or science as my focus. I chose to go the science route because I believed it would have a larger payout in the end. Things changed and I soon found out that I didn’t want to be a traditional engineer. I then went to grad school for organizational leadership.

Today, I find myself using both my artistic side as well as my technical/engineering side to do the work I’m doing today.

In today’s session, I’m talking with Laila Rahmatian about her recent career change. Like myself, she identifies with the term multipotentialite and still doesn’t quite know if her current career choice is where she’ll always be. (That’s alright, by the way. Multipotentialites are often labeled as Jack and Jills of All Trades.)

While the talk focuses on various things around her career path from NASA to being a fitness coach, she also has other talents that we didn’t discuss. Including being a great photographer.

So, if you’re having issues choosing how to make an income doing something you love, maybe it isn’t so much about picking just one thing forever. Maybe it’s simply time to realize that it’s time to move on to the next chapter. Then you can worry about what you’re going to do during that chapter. It’s my hope that this discussion will help you determine if it’s that time. Enjoy!

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

How early in her life she had her sights set on NASA.
How she eventually got to NASA after being at Purdue as a Civil Engineering Student
How Having to go the extra mile for good grades in school actually paid off later in life.
When she knew that it was time to leave NASA and pursue her passions elsewhere.
What she learned from going to grad school.
How to realize when it’s the next chapter in your life.
How she believes engineering is still part of her future.
…and MUCH more.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Laila’s Facebook Page
Laila’s Instagram
Laila’s Beachbody Site (Hire her on a coach off or online!)
Disney College Program
NASA Internship
99Designs – Great option to get help with graphic work.
Fizzle – Our go to community for building online businesses. First month is free!

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

This session’s show note extras are pure personality. Below are a few links that I believe also illustrate Laila’s multiple interests. If you listened to session 8 and session 12, you heard about two travelers: Cam Adair and Marianne Jennings. Laila mentioned to me after the recording that she related pretty well with Marianne.

If you think you might want to become more of a traveler or even have a traveling lifestyle, then I believe that this site is for you:

Traveler’s Mindset

Also, Laila and I both went to Purdue as engineers. As engineers there, it’s kind of running jokes that

1. Engineers have a very hardcore studious life.

2. Engineers, in general, are a strange bunch. Especially guys from a female engineer’s perspective.

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, and/or Podbean. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

AoL 013: Unseen Motivators That Keep Entrepreneurs Going With Dennis And Claudia Haddix

December 10/by JC

For many of us, it’s hard to tell whether we’re a creative or just pretending to be. Whether we’ve had to become one out of necessity or rather we’re one naturally, many times it might be a struggle to carry on – especially if you’re just starting out. You might even sometimes wonder, “Why am I doing this?”.

For me, personally, I can’t see myself doing anything else. Ever since I was in LTD and later heard Pat Flynn, I realized that my calling was to be an entrepreneur. More specifically to help people with their online business – in what ever form that might be.

I think it could go earlier than that, however.

Being someone that has always excelled at technology, it occurred to me that I’ve always been useful to others when it came to teaching them how to use many forms of it. On top of that, I’ve had a knack for connecting with people online and, furthermore, those people with other people and ideas. (Who said gaming wasn’t useful?)

In today’s chat with Dennis and Claudia Haddix, Brian and I chat with them about business. Not the metrics and how-tos of what they do. (Even that’s what I was prepared to do!) Instead, we talk about what makes them tick as entrepreneurs. Why they do what they do.

Dennis and Claudia are experienced eCommerce entrepreneurs and have been running the Makarios Group since 2008. How I met them is through their meetup where they help others do what they do. Free of charge.

So it’s obvious, to me, they have a passion. And I think that those of us who have this natural calling to create and add value to others is something that if we neglect, we’ll always wonder what could have been.

If you currently own a business or (maybe thinking of starting one) and wonder what might keep you going over the long haul, I think it might be worth your time to see things from a veteran’s perspective. It’s an awesome conversation, and I can’t wait for you guys to hear it. Enjoy!

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

How they started doing eCommerce
What they did before starting the Makarios Group.
What all our various reasons are for being entrepreneurs.
Why the impossible isn’t actually impossible.
What a day in the life of Dennis and Claudia looks like.
What it’s like when a hobby becomes a business (and what they believe the hardest part is about that transformation).
What it’s important to understand what a couple’s roles are when starting a business.
Why Dennis and Claudia feel people “hire” them.
…and MUCH more.

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

The Makarios Group
eCommerce Indy Meetup Group
99Designs – Great option to get help with graphic work.
Fizzle – Our go to community for building online businesses. First month is free!

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

This session’s show note extras are all eCommerce related. We didn’t really get too much into this during the conversation like I hoped, so I thought I’d drop some other’s reviews on you here.

First off, here is what got me interested in eCommerce. Pat Flynn has interviewed several people about their experiences with Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA). Going from what is called Retail Arbitrage to Private Labeling. Both can bring in a good income. Just depends on how much you want to hustle vs planning ahead and executing.

Personally, I’d check out Retail Arbitrage first as it will show you what Amazon is like. You might even try something similar on eBay as well. See if you like that better. One big difference between the two is that with eBay, you actually get a chance of getting your customers emails for future marketing. Amazon, not so much. (This will be discussed further in the later videos after the SPI section.)

Smart Passive Income Podcasts on FBA:

SPI 099: Buying Stuff and Selling it on Amazon (For 6-Figures a Year!) with Jessica and Cliff Larrew (Retail Arbitrage)

SPI 127: Building a Successful E-Commerce Business and Private Labeling with Ryan and Daniel

SPI 144: Building a Million Dollar Business in 12 Months – with Ryan Moran

Amazon is not perfect and in some cases might not be the right choice for you to pick for your business. So below you’ll find a review on Amazon to sell products as well as a review on Shopify (which is one of the largest “competitors” of Amazon).

Pros and Cons of Using Amazon

Pros and Cons of Using Shopify

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

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Good to Great: Learning How to Generate Greatness

December 8/by JC

What is greatness? Lewis Howes in his new book, School of Greatness, suggests that

“Greatness is the result of visionaries who persevere, focus, believe, and prepare. It is a habit, not a birthright.“

As creators, a lot of us wonder what the difference is between people like Lewis and ourselves. We say things like, “Oh, it’s his good looks.” or maybe “It’s because he’s well connected as an athlete”. However, I think these are more of excuses of why we aren’t doing better ourselves vs why he’s doing so well. Yes, he has those things working for him. However, that isn’t the whole story.

The truth is that he’s gone from good to great… and he continues to do that daily.

When I first wanted to strike out on my own, I wondered about how Bill Gates and Steve Jobs got to where they’re at. Mind you, this is back in high school and early college before I became too influenced by formal education. I seriously thought that they were capable of doing this because of their elite tech making powers. However, as I later would come to find out, this simply is just a part of the recipe.

The truth of the matter is, we all have this greatness in us. It’s simply the fact that many don’t know how to tap into this greatness. And it’s really not as simple as just saying “Oh, you need to try something out of your comfort zone.” Again, that’s only part of the recipe too.

At the end of this post, I think you’ll get a good grasp on what it entails to be a successful big name creator.

It’s All About Leadership

When we think about the differences between success stories like Pat Flynn, Lewis Howes, Tim Ferriss, and Gary Vaynerchuk, we might have various thoughts about why they’ve all been able to get to the various levels of success that they have. Perhaps we simply say they were lucky. Or perhaps we realize that they’ve been able to follow a plan (knowingly or unknowingly) that has taken them to where they are.

When you think about these individuals, we realize that they have something in common besides simply being successful. It’s that when called to step up, they all have. Pat Flynn got over his speaking issues and has become not only a podcaster, but a successful conference speaker. Lewis literally got off the couch and started doing webinars. Tim didn’t end with just his one book, he did three. And Gary didn’t stop at doing liquor related projects, he’s actually grown Vaynermedia.

All of these acts could simply be described as them Stepping Up. They could have easily backed up and just done what they were comfortable with, but instead they’ve risen to the challenge again and again.

They have gone from Good to Great.

And, unfortunately or fortunately (depending on whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert), doing that is going to take a little bit of Leadership.

How Do You Compare?

To become someone that’s great, we need to realize that there are 5 levels of leadership. Here’s a brief description of each:

Level 1: A highly capable person who is able to give to others through their knowledge, skills, and other good work habits.

Level 2: A contributing team member who uses their talents for the success of the group.

Level 3: A competent manager who understands basic organization of people and resources and is able to meet objectives and goals.

Level 4: An effective leader that is able to stimulate his followers to achieving a particular vision. However, they tend to do so for personal gains.

Level 5: An effective leader who not only gets his followers to achieve, but does so through humility and professional will. They care about the team and their followers.

Now that we’ve sorted that out, let’s think about our examples again: Pat, Lewis, Tim, and Gary.

They all have been able to achieve themselves. They’ve all helped thousands of other people achieve. And, I would say that most of them honestly care about their fan base. So… yeah, they’re all Level 5 Leaders.

Furthermore, I’d say that the following could describe them even more:

They talk about their team, their company, their fan base more than they talk about themselves.
Not only do they set high standards for themselves, they set high standards for everyone around them.
They all would rather stretch themselves and those around them when it comes to challenges vs complaining about challenges.
They have ambition for their company and fan base. They want their fans and friends to help contribute to what they’ve started. (However, they’re not completely upset if they don’t want to come for the ride.)

How to go from Good to Great

Well, first off, we should remember that we’re not automatically Great. Again, it’s something that takes dedication and work to achieve. However, if you are wanting to have mass affect on your followers and get to a Level 5 Leader, here are some tactics to help you get there:

People are first, strategy is second. If we’re talking about customers and fans, it’s important to deliver what they want. Don’t produce something that isn’t wanted. You’d simply be wasting your own time. Once you have a viable product and have some people interested in your work, think about how you can promote some of your biggest fans to help work the machine. As you give off jobs that you once had to do yourself (based on your help’s strengths, of course) then you can add more products and/or ways of reaching more potential fans.

Facts and Faith. Simply be aware that as creators, we naturally have great imaginations. We’re always wondering “what if?”. However, that doesn’t lend us much to be a leader. I mean, it could help us be great motivational speakers, and if that’s all we’re wanting to be, that’s fine. However, true Level 5 Leaders have followers that have the same results and to help those people get results, we need to feet on the ground as well as our heads in the sky. (I think Pat does a great job of this one by showing his Monthly Income Report.)

Build Up to Break Through. It’s important to know that as a creator, the beginning is always going to be difficult and labor intensive on our parts. But, as we continue to meet the needs of our small team, customers, and our fans, then we’re building momentum. (If you have an online presence, traffic is a good indicator of this momentum.) Other momentum makers are improving ourselves (so we can stay on the cutting edge of our industry), and actually succeeding. When we have these things and show how well we’re doing, we create more belief with our followers.

Choose Simple Over Complex. Find out what you do well and play to those strengths. If you can’t do something, don’t try to do it until you find or hire help for it. If you’re jack of many trades like myself, then only focus on things that you really enjoy doing. Stay to your strengths, as we can work on our weaknesses but we’ll never get much with them. It’s all about eliminating what you don’t do well and concentrating on what you do. (If we use Gary Vee as an example, we know that he could be doing all of his social media stuff like a champ – but he’s hired people to do that stuff so he can focus on business development.)

An easy way to remember how to keep things simple is to focus on on three things:

Is it what I’m good at.
Does it make economical sense to do this?
Will it excite my followers? Will it stir their passion?

If you’re able to answer yes for all three things, then it’s something you should consider doing.

Strategically Use Technology. As a creator, we want to limit ourselves as consumers. We all know how technology gives us the opportunity to consume information at a faster and faster rate every day. However, we need to learn how to leverage that same technology to get our message out there. It’s ok to be a first user if you think a technology is going to be widely used. (In fact, Gary Vee does exactly this. He believes that the sooner you get on a new technology, the less noise you have to deal with.) However, on the other hand, you can’t go from tech to tech to tech and expect your followers to be able to do the same. Pick something, stick with it, and test new technology out before you commit to it.

Develop a Culture of Discipline. Finally, a Level 5 leader wants to develop a culture of discipline simply because he or she doesn’t want to have to baby sit their fans and/or team. If you’re teaching people to do something, you want them to be able to do things and have their own results. If you have a team that is self disciplined, then you won’t have to redo their work over.

On top of having disciplined people around us, we also want to make sure that we have disciplined thought. Meaning, we need to be thinking continually about the right things. Once we have a product(s), customers, and perhaps a team, we want to make sure that our thoughts are based on helping them be the best that they can be in what they’re doing. On top of that, we also need to be thinking about other ways of building our influence.

Only when we have disciplined thought can we have disciplined action. Do things that help you and your business grow. Don’t do things that don’t.

Homework:

Hopefully this will help you focus on what you need to do to get to a higher level with your work. Remember, it wasn’t luck that got the big names where they were. It was focusing on the big picture and making sure that what they did positively affected those around them.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about any strategies you’ve used to be more influential with your fans, customers, and/or team members. Do you see this strategy as being part of a Level 5 Leader? If it isn’t, can you think of anything you could do with that strategy to make it more impactful? (If you don’t know, feel free to ask.) Chime in below!

AoL 011: Embracing Your True Self with Kate Chaplin

November 25/by JC

Kate Chaplin, this week’s guest, is a great definition of someone that has not only found what their natural creative state is in (aka their passion) but she has actually made great strides in making it her career. Being not only a podcaster, but an author, and film maker, she has had a lot of experience creating. I thought it would be great for her to come on the show and share how she’s gotten to where she is in life, and possibly drop a couple of nuggets of wisdom.

There many types of creators. Some build software and some make videos. Others make art while others help share other’s messages. In one way or another, we’re all creators. However, many of us create in a way that might not be our natural creative state. How do you find that state? I think it differs from person to person.

If you’re on the hunt for a new beginning in your work, maybe Kate’s story will help you get started in the right direction. She explains how she determines what kind of work she does, what lessons she would share with her 10 year old self, and what the inspiration is behind her business.