Entrepreneurs In Motion

It's the beginning of a new year, and you've probably got a lot of motivation to drive your business forward! But don't waste your energy by splitting it a hundred ways - instead, identify the few things that are truly essential, and focus on those. In today's episode I'll tell you how I implement three principles of essentialism in both my work and my lifestyle. Highlights: How "minimum viable product" applies to a lot more than just your products (2:00) Picking only a few things based on your current season (6:40) A strategy to use if you have trouble narrowing things down (12:01) Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/essentialism/

When was the last time you spent some quality time outdoors? Today's guest is Tom Mulliez and he's going to tell you why that's especially important for anyone running their own business. Tom has built a company called iTrekkers to facilitate outdoor experiences, and in this interview he talks about his company's journey, as well as a major change or pivot they're implementing right now - and the long-term vision for its future.

My annual review process is very simple - I ask myself "What went well?" and "What didn't go well?" so that I can reflect on everything and take the lessons I learned into the upcoming year. In today's episode, I'm sharing my answers to those questions for 2017. Highlights: How much my business revenue grew WITHOUT any new product launches - and what I spent most of my time doing instead (1:20) My month of working only an hour a day during a major personal milestone (5:45) The biggest productivity win this year (8:52) What I did to help stop expenses from getting out of hand (13:55) A sale and an advertising experiment that both flopped (16:21) Why I'm not going to do live videos regularly (19:31) Disappointing results from an audience survey (21:16) One personal thing that I'd like to improve (23:50) The central theme of 2017 (26:41) Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/review2017/

Hey entrepreneurs! I'm taking a podcasting break in December, so this month I'm re-publishing some of the "classic" episodes that are still very much relevant today. In fact, if you've only recently become a listener, I'd highly encourage you to go back into the episode archives because there's some good stuff there. I'll be back on the first Wednesday of January with a "Year in review" episode that you definitely won't want to miss.  Hope you enjoy this classic episode! http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/monk

Hey entrepreneurs! I'm taking a podcasting break in December, so this month I'm re-publishing some of the "classic" episodes that are still very much relevant today. In fact, if you've only recently become a listener, I'd highly encourage you to go back into the episode archives because there's some good stuff there. I'll be back on the first Wednesday of January with a "Year in review" episode that you definitely won't want to miss.  Hope you enjoy this classic episode! http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/try

Hey entrepreneurs! I'm taking a podcasting break in December, so this month I'm re-publishing some of the "classic" episodes that are still very much relevant today. In fact, if you've only recently become a listener, I'd highly encourage you to go back into the episode archives because there's some good stuff there. I'll be back on the first Wednesday of January with a "Year in review" episode that you definitely won't want to miss. Hope you enjoy this classic episode! http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/support

Hey entrepreneurs! I'm taking a podcasting break in December, so this month I'm re-publishing some of the "classic" episodes that are still very much relevant today. In fact, if you've only recently become a listener, I'd highly encourage you to go back into the episode archives because there's some good stuff there. I'll be back on the first Wednesday of January with a "Year in review" episode that you definitely won't want to miss. Hope you enjoy this classic episode!

The community of real estate investors and the community of online entrepreneurs don't always overlap - but I like the idea of diversifying and having both an online an offline business. Today I'm talking with Whitney Nicely, who specializes in helping people get started in real estate investing. In this episode she shares tips and strategies, as well as talking about one of her own failures. Highlights: - How can someone get started in real estate with little money? - One of Whitney's mistakes and the lessons she learned - What Whitney's day-to-day work looks like now that she owns 40+ properties Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/whitney

Some people are naturals at marketing, while others have to learn it. There's a big difference between thinking like a marketer and thinking like a teacher, engineer, product developer, coach, or artist. Until your business is big enough to hire someone to do marketing, you have to learn to think like a marketer! Here are three principles that will help you adopt the marketing mindset. Highlights: - The fastest way to spread the word about your business - even if you're introverted or opposed to self-promotion (2:15) - Why your product or service doesn't "stand on its own" (6:58) - How to sell without being sleazy (11:07) - The long game of marketing (12:42) Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/marketer/

Advice from typical copywriting gurus involves writing loooong sales pages, often with detailed personal stories or tugs on the reader's heartstrings... but this isn't appropriate for all audiences (including mine). Today I'll give you 5 specific principles that you can use to create convincing copy for any prospect. Highlights: - A simple and effective 3-step structure for your copy (3:30) - How to choose specific and effective words (5:12) - "Show, don't tell" - different ways to do this (9:19) - The right way to use testimonials (13:35) - A copy challenge you can try today (15:11) Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/copy/

You've probably had to adopt some frugal habits while bootstrapping your business and getting it off the ground - but hopefully you'll be able to upgrade your lifestyle as your venture gets more profitable. When should you level up your lifestyle, and by how much? What should you splurge on, and how can you avoid going overboard in your spending? In today's episode I'll give you three "commandments" to help you make these decisions. Highlights: - The one thing you MUST do in order to make healthy decisions (4:12) - Why "six figures" might not go as far as you think (7:35) - How to be selective about your spending priorities (12:32) Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/upgrade/

Today's episode is jam-packed with important information. I'm talking with Bobby Klinck - a lawyer, entrepreneur, and expert in intellectual property issues. In this conversation, we dive into the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when it comes to intellectual property and how to head off legal problems before they become big, expensive disasters! Highlights: - The #1 legal mistake entrepreneurs tend to make (4:08) - How to avoid infringing intellectual property on social media (8:12) - Can you legally use your business name? (14:55) - What you can do if someone else is stealing or misusing your intellectual property (22:00)

Many people want to tell us or teach us to "Build a business around your passion!" and others say that's a recipe for disaster. I think this topic is more nuanced than just black and white, yes or no - and in today's episode I explore three aspects of the intersection between entrepreneurship and passion. Highlights: - The one criterion every business MUST fulfill (1:18) - Why you might be surprised/disappointed at where you need to spend your time (5:19) - The secret to long-lasting, deeply fulfilling work (11:55) Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/passion/

There's no guaranteed formula that is certain to work in growing your business - and that's why I'm a big fan of doing experiments. Try new things, analyze the results, then adjust your strategy accordingly. Today I'll tell you about six recent experiments I did in my own business, how they turned out, and what you can learn from them. Highlights: - How last week's episode motivated me to make major changes (2:05) - Two very important things to remember when split-testing (5:30) - A simple way to boost e-mail opens and clicks (8:07) - What got the most engagement for me on Facebook (10:18) - The lesson you can learn from my horribly-performing flash sale (14:51) Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/businessexperiments/

Many of us have created our websites from scratch, DIY-style. This is great to get started - but oftentimes when I visit other entrepreneurs' sites, I see a lot of room for improvement. In today's episode I'll tell you the six biggest website design sins. You'll learn a lot of practical tips and tools for making your site - which is the heart of your online business - even better. Highlights: - Why a free theme might not be your best bet (2:54) - Branding problems caused by colors (5:25) - One of the most common website sins, especially in menus & sidebars (7:40) - How your site might confuse your visitors (11:18) - Does your site pass the 5-second test? (15:09) - One simple thing that's a must for website design these days (19:42) Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/baddesign

If you're anything like me, you might be a little shy about using video... especially live video! But it's one of the most powerful tools you can use for marketing and building relationships with your audience and customers. Today I'll describe different ways you can use live video in your business, and the best ways to make sure your live video is a good one. Highlights: - Why is live video so powerful? (1:30) - Can you use it even if you're not selling info products or consulting? (3:35) - Four different approaches you can take to using live video (5:00) - Best practices for producing good live streams (10:58) - But I stink on camera / hate doing it! (18:27) - Isn't video expensive to produce? (20:32) Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/livevideo/

FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out - plagues society in general these days, but there are a couple more specific ways it can affect us as entrepreneurs. In today's episode, I describe two causes of entrepreneurial FOMO and give some suggestions for dealing with it constructively. Highlights: - Is it a blessing or a curse to know how much work is ahead of you? (1:58) - What to do when you're working so hard you don't have much of a life (6:34) - What if you invest years in your business and it doesn't work out? (10:53) - Why the "always hustle harder" mindset is dangerous (13:34) - When other entrepreneurs make you feel jealous of their amazing experiences (16:15) Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/fomo

Customers are the backbone of a business! Of course we want to treat our customers well, but how can we handle the tricky situations that sometimes come up? Today's episode describes six common problems with customers and gives you practical tips for dealing with them successfully. Highlights: - The best ways to handle refunds and chargebacks (2:36) - Establishing boundaries with needy and demanding clients (12:17) - How to repair the relationship when a customer is unhappy or frustrated (15:01) - What if the customer is genuinely unfriendly, rude, or abusive? (17:35) - Cultivating and expressing gratitude for our customers (21:06) Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/difficult/

After nearly six years of growing my business with one main strategy, I'm changing my focus! Why mess with something that's working? Listen to this episode to learn the rationale behind it, and find out where I'm planning to go from here. Highlights: - Two reasons why my former strategy grew the business so well... and why continuing it would be counterproductive (3:06) - Pivot points that you WILL encounter as an entrepreneur (6:25) - Getting back to - and improving - one of my original growth strategies (8:55) - Specific ways I'm trying to improve my conversions (12:35) - How I would do a monthly membership program differently this time (17:11) Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/changing/

"Work 'on' your business, not 'in' your business" is a phrase that gets thrown around as entrepreneurial advice, but what does it actually mean and how should we apply it? How can you take the time to work "on" the business, anyway, if you already have tons of work on your plate? Today's episode dives into this concept and gives you practical ways to be both a productive worker and a strategic CEO. Highlights: - What does this phrase actually mean? (1:42) - Who should (and shouldn't) apply this advice, and how much time should you dedicate? (3:50) - Urgent vs. important - determining what really needs to be done "now" (7:23) - Four different techniques for carving out time to work "on" the business (13:40) - Why sacrificing some of your time will leave you and your business better off (18:18) Links and comments: http://www.entrepreneursinmotion.com/on/