Big Break Software Podcast

Steve Pockross is the CEO of Verblio.com, a multimedia content creation platform that focuses on SEO and quality writing. Steve has more than 20 years of experience in startups and nonprofit organizations. He was part of the initial management team at LiveOps and has led five marketing and SaaS businesses previously. He shares his journey with Geordie Wardman in this engaging podcast.

• What problem does Steve and his team solve for their customers?
• Understanding market 2.0
• Key pain points of getting the ideal content creator
• How does Verblio.com operate?
• Challenges that Steve experienced when he first joined Verblio.com
• Strategies that Steve used to achieve his goals for the company
• Importance of organic traffic for businesses
• What services does Verblio.com offer?
• Other marketing initiatives and channels that Steve and his team use
• How Steve and his team handled challenges brought about by the ongoing global challenge

Content creation is fast becoming essential, especially now that the world is struggling with a global pandemic. Businesses have had to change the way they operate to stay afloat. If you are an entrepreneur, then this podcast will help you understand the importance of content and how you can use it to drive sales. 

Steve says that his target customers are digital marketers who specialize in inbound content marketing. If you are struggling to create quality content that gets to your audience at different inbound funnel levels, then you will highly benefit from this podcast. While creating content consistently can be a problem, Steve mentions that maintaining quality is what many of their customers struggle with.

If you are wondering why people create content, then Steve gives a comprehensive explanation in this podcast. He also explains the crowdsourcing model and how it has evolved over the years to incorporate Saas technology. Listen to this podcast and understand how you can adopt the same model within your establishment.

Steve believes in defying common knowledge to come up with unique ideas that deliver quality. This fact is evident in his explanation of the market 2.0 model. Listen to Steve as he shares his views with Geordie. He says there are tremendous opportunities that companies can leverage to come up with models that work best for their needs.

Steve talks about some of these strategies in the podcast, and you cannot afford to miss his insightful details. How does Verblio.com work? Steve as he breaks down how the platform works. He also points out notable differences between the platform and other similar platforms in the market today. 

At some point, Steve looks back at the events that followed his appointment at Verblio.com. Listen to his narration on this podcast and gather some valuable lessons. Steve says he was tasked with taking over the company and growing it. Seeing that he had no prior experience with a bootstrap company, he experienced a few challenges. He lays them bare in this podcast, and you can only understand them by listening. Steve and his team came up with a robust strategy to facilitate growth in the company.

What strategies were these? Listen in to find out. Steve gives numerous practical examples within the podcast that make it worth listening to. You will have an easy time identifying with both the theory and practical sessions of this podcast. How did Steve find ways to scale? He says that he first thought about improving the quality of the product the company was offering.

Apart from quality content, Steve says their clients measure them depending on the flexibility, scalability, and user experience of their platform. He discusses other things he thought of doing to improve their services in detail. You will get all this information from listening to the podcast.

Steve talks about the tremendous marketing strategies they had in place before the ongoing global pandemic brought them to a halt. He says, at some point, they had no marketing strategy at all, and they had to go back to the drawing board. Listen in to find out how he managed to come up with even more robust strategies to scale the company.

Steve reiterates that content is today a more effective marketing channel than was the case a few years ago. He lists down some of the benefits that entrepreneurs can gain from using content as a marketing strategy. Steve also talks about the crucial content trends that you should know. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, Steve advises you to work with experts and focus on what you are good at. He concludes by highlighting some powerful SEO tools every content creator should consider.

Verblio.com website 

Steve Pockross LinkedIn Profile

Peter Valley decided to never work for anybody other than himself from an early age. He has authored many books about selling on Amazon and recently launched Zen arbitrage. This simple tool scans through Amazon to identify profit-making books. With this tool, you neither require an inventory, nor experience to make profits. Listen to Peter as he shares his journey with Geordie. 

• Peter’s intriguing history
• The unlikely formula that Peter used in his pursuit for success
• Why doing something that everyone says cannot be done changes your perception towards things
• Why you should always try things regardless of what the society says
• The different entrepreneurial mindsets
• Peter’s initial idea for his tool
• How Peter succeeded on Amazon and finally ventured into software
• About Zen arbitrage
• How did Peter find and pay his developer?
• How did Peter generate his startup capital?
• Why you should not limit your expectations
• Why Testimonials are critical for the success of your business
• How Peter moved from 30,000 to 150,000

Evolution is inevitable, especially in today’s world, where technology is advancing rapidly. Peter Valley has been selling used books on Amazon for many years with no software experience. However, he has evolved with the changing times in his quest to find solutions for problems he faces in his field.

Peter gives Geordie an intriguing story about his background that you should not miss. You will be amazed to learn that Peter had zero entrepreneurial history. He even did everything to avoid working. How then did he venture into the entrepreneurship world? Listen on to understand.

Peter says while he lived his life in a destitute manner, he learned some of the best lessons then. He describes one of the critical things he achieved from his traveling escapades as learning how to identify loopholes that no one else has. Peter tells Geordie that being able to identify unique problems is what has helped him to becoming successful in SaaS.

Peter’s story is one of resilience, courage, and determination. Do not miss his interesting narration on how he broke into a house and lived there. Figure out how he dodged landscapers and the police to live in the abandoned house for two years. You will also find out the lessons that Peter learned from that experience.

According to Peter, the experience of living in an abandoned house was the best he has ever had. It created in him the value extraction mindset he had when he finally ventured into entrepreneurship. To achieve success as an entrepreneur, Peter says you should strive to add value to people.

For his initial idea, Peter hired a developer to write a program. While the program did not work out, it was a great learning experience. He shares the entire experience in the podcast, and every entrepreneur should listen and learn. Peter attributes part of his success to listening to professionals in the field and researching extensively on the internet.

At some point, Peter mentions how he accidentally bumped into a party that later became one of his life changing opportunities. Peter explains how he attended an event, discovered the SaaS model, and fell in love with it. He launched his product right after completing the SaaS model training.

How does Zen arbitrage operate? Peter gives a detailed explanation in the podcast. Getting your first customer can be an uphill task. How did Peter navigate challenges to get his first customer? He says he had a lead magnet that you can find out from listening to the podcast. At some point, Peter held a webinar where he demonstrated how his SaaS product automates manual tasks.

So successful was his webinars that they generated tremendous amounts of money. He says while everything was happening very fast, he always wanted to hit the 30,000 mark. There is another reason why Peter was obsessed with 30,000. Listen to the podcast to find out. While Peter finally hit 30,000 within a short period, he would stagnate for some time. He attributes his stagnation to the fact that he did not understand customer retention.

Dealing with customers is not easy, and sometimes you will encounter some who keep on canceling their orders. While you want to make it easy for them to cancel, it is critical to establish why they are canceling. Peter mentions that entrepreneurs should be ready to offer solutions that encourage customers to stay.

For Peter, the future is bright, and with numerous plans in the pipeline, he believes he will soon overshadow his flagship product. Listen to the final part of this podcast where Peter narrates his plans for the future. He also talks about writing a memoir soon, and you can find all the details from the podcast.

FBA mastery.com

The Zen arbitrage

Peter Valley Twitter

Peter Valley Amazon

Nina, a business mindset coach specializes in assisting entrepreneurs to release their deep inner blocks to enhance continued growth. She also strives to help businesses reduce downtime. During her career, Nina has not only hosted the entrepreneur’s inner game podcast, but she has also been featured on BBC Radio and Forbes. Listen to Nina as she narrates her journey to Geordie. 

• Why your mindset can help you strike their big breakthrough
• Why entrepreneurs should appreciate both success and failure
• Nina’s career history
• Leveraging the internet to start a business in the comfort of your home
• Nina’s personal development journey
• Importance of confidence in business
• Why coaches require continued training
• Why every entrepreneur should avoid blaming other people and take full responsibility for their decisions instead
• Facing and countering your Limiting beliefs
• Why you should not rely on someone to validate, or make you feel better or worthy
• You are the only one that is responsible for changing your thoughts and mindset
• To succeed, you need to eliminate every negative thoughts from your mind
• As an entrepreneur, you need to approach your prospects and let them understand why they should choose you over your competitors
• An example of a tangible framework that Nina uses
• Understanding the shortest method an entrepreneur can use to reach their goals
• Why you should avoid taking things personally
• Why entrepreneurs should enjoy the present moment
• Why writing things down increases your chances of achieving it

Entrepreneurship can be an interesting journey but it comes with lots of challenges. It is these challenges that convinced Nina to start working with entrepreneurs. Nina says she realized that many entrepreneurs get in their own way and end up tripping themselves up. She notes that what stops many entrepreneurs from succeeding is the way they think. With this approach at her fingertips, Nina decided to work with entrepreneurs. She aimed to help them understand that their mindset is all that mattered.

Nina says entrepreneurs should develop a courageous and resilient mind that can quit the comfort zone and take up risks. Listen to Nina as she gives Geordie exclusive details of her career history. Nina says while her concepts are intangible, it has to generate tangible and practical results. She reiterates that her approach must create an impact and increase income while making life easy.

Having a free mind is crucial when it comes to making sound decisions, according to Nina, and that is what her concept does. Her training helps entrepreneurs to develop better problem-solving skills. Even then, Nina says that the intangible factors are what she values most.

The idea of knowing that you are prepared to handle any challenges you face in your journey and remaining optimistic regardless of the situation. These are the concepts that make Nina want to keep on doing what she does.

Nina tells Geordie that relying on someone else to make you feel worthy would be futile. After all, everybody is busy with their wellbeing. Nina mentions that no two people share the same thoughts. She says everybody is a unique thinker, and everyone is entitled to their opinions. Nina discusses more details about this idea that you can listen to in the podcast.

Nina tells her clients that their power surpasses their beliefs. Listen to her as she expounds on this matter in the podcast. She also discusses her understanding of tangible frameworks and takes Geordie through what she does to help her clients eliminate limiting beliefs. You cannot miss this part of the podcast. Nina says her concept is like therapy that helps clients eliminate inner blocks and develop new and empowering thinking about themselves.

Nina reiterates that many times, entrepreneurs judge the reaction of an audience before starting their projects. Nina’s mantra is; if you do not ask, you will not get. She says she has evolved over the years and no longer takes things personally. Nina is always prepared to take feedback.

According to Nina, how you respond to feedback is more critical than what other people say. She is happy to know that her clients can knock down every barrier of resistance. Once you eliminate these barriers, you begin doing things they love doing and those that grow their businesses.

Nina discusses the different types of blocks in this podcast. She says, clearing your mind off these blocks helps free your thinking. Her strategy, she says, works. However, she is quick to mention that it works differently for different clients. Nina concludes the podcast by reiterating the importance of living at the present moment. 

Nina Cooke

Nina Cooke LinkedIn

Nina Cooke Podcast

From an early age, Mitch Bowler already knew that he wanted to become a video game artist. While his vision is no longer the same, Mitch is still enthusiastic about art. He strives to inspire all artists to be better versions of themselves. Mitch shares his journey with Geordie Wardman in this informative podcast that you do not want to miss it. 

• How Mitch became a video game artist
• Understanding realism and how to learn it within a virtual setting
• What problem do Mitch and his team solve for their clients?
• How did Mitch know the problem his clients were facing?
• How Mitch build his first MVP
• Why Mitch and his team wanted a custom software solution for their operations so badly
• The amount of time Mitch took to switch from the Frankenstein to the Bubble app version
• Why entrepreneurs should invest in a coach
• Why understanding where your strengths lie is critical in the entrepreneurship world
• Understanding the concept of time tracking
• How Mitch incorporated his time tracking spreadsheet into the Bubble app
• How Mitch and Geordie changed the time tracking spreadsheet into SaaS
• How to successfully build a SaaS program within 30 days

Having a vision from an early age can be all you need to carve your own career path. Mitch understands this well, seeing that he started his journey as an artist from the age of seven years. He spent lots of time on the farm with his grandfather, from where he learned how to make money from doing a few chores.

Mitch narrates the impact a rumor about a video game that would help artists create their own video games had on him. Listen to the podcast for details on what happened next and Mitch’s journey to being a video game artist.

During his stint in the art industry, Mitch made a decision that saw him quit his corporate job to become a digital nomad. Then, he spent a lot of his time with entrepreneurs trying to understand their journey.

In his quest to discover new things, Mitch struggled to figure out how to develop a guaranteed art program. After around three years of trying, Mitch was unsuccessful. He even tried collaborating with a professional, and still, they could not do it. According to Mitch, the art industry can be challenging.

Mitch says he now understands why parents are hesitant when it comes to sending their kids to art school. Listen in to know his reasons. After years of struggling, Mitch finally found a qualified person who was recruiting 12-year-old children to engage in realistic paintings. He gives a detailed explanation of this concept in this podcast.

Mitch realized that while realism is essential, there was a shortage of teachers. He wanted to devise a system where interested learners could access lessons anywhere just as they would with physical learning. It is at this point that Mitch began assessing technological solutions in the search for a system that would help him actualize his dreams.

His search yielded nothing, and while he had the option of using chat rooms and forums, he knew that was not going to work. Mitch started considering custom solutions that would help him make online learning smooth for everyone.

To succeed in the entrepreneurship world, you should identify your customer’s problems and come up with viable solutions. Mitch already understands what his customers want, and he shares all this information with Geordie in this candid conversation. Listen in and grab a few lessons.

Mitch launched his first MVP on Evolve Artist, his first tool, but later moved it to Bubble. By this time, they had around 100 users and four blocks of curriculum, each of which he charged $300. Mitch says that art students who sign up for his program pay a more affordable price than they would for a physical art college.

Listen to the conversation for more details. Mitch says that building Bubble was a learning process for him, and it took him some time to be comfortable with it. After years of managing the Bubble app, Mitch tells Geordie that he has since become self-sufficient and hardly runs into problems. Geordie and Mitch discuss a SaaS idea that they developed together in less than 30 days. Here, Mitch tells Geordie how he came up with the concept of time tracking.

The discussion at this point is long and engaging, and you do not want to miss it. According to Mitch, knowing how you spend your time changes your relationship with both money and time. It also transforms you into a better decision-maker. Listen to the podcast and understand why a time management tool makes you more efficient. 

Mitch Bowler LinkedIn

Mitch Bowler Twitter

Evolveartist.com

Tick Tock Lab.com

Joe defines himself as an accidental entrepreneur whose parents were school system workers. He grew up knowing that he had to work hard at school to get excellent grades to get a good job. However, Joe was committed to taking a different route, as we shall learn from this podcast.

• What problems does Joe solve for his customers?
• How Joe started his podcast
• What is the core of Joe’s business?
• Why searching for curiosity, ideas, and information outside your field is critical for the success of your business
• Importance of professional branding
• About the Family Medical Leave Act. What does it entail, and how does it operate?
• How Joe generated leads
• Joe’s strategy for content production and SEO
• How does Joe leverage content from his podcast to create different materials for a wide range of platforms?
• Who is the Ideal Joe Sanok’s client?
• What is Joe's definition of the big idea?
• Importance of outsourcing
• What you should do before 
• Long term habits you need to succeed
• Joe’s lead magnet course
• Importance of life blocking

Joe started his career working at nonprofit organizations and a local community college. He would later launch private practice as a side job, where together with his team they helped people solve different issues. Some of these issues were depression, marital problems, and anxiety.

Along the way, Joe discovered that he had zero experience in entrepreneurship. Armed with the desire to learn and enhance his knowledge, Joe started researching and learning. The thought of starting a podcast crossed his mind during that time. What method did Joe use when starting his podcast? Listen in and find out.

After operating the podcast for some time, Joe decided to quit his fulltime job gradually while paying more time to the podcast. Joe explains that many people do not know how to use their time well and only operate through the society’s manual.

According to Joe, this is not always the best method of doing things. Listen to Joe as he gives further details about this concept. He also discusses the timeframes within which he transitioned from his fulltime job to podcasting.

When Joe finally decided that podcasting was what he wanted to do he had to do things differently. He hired a professional to redesign his website and also had his logo professionally made to give his brand an authentic look. Joe also discusses how he catered for the medical requirements of his pregnant wife. Listen in to get comprehensive information.

At some point, Joe had to quit his fulltime job entirely, and he explains how he did it in the podcast. When it comes to SEO, Joe says they have a team that has excellent copywriting skills and experience. He tells Geordie about the strategy he uses when interviewing his guests to get as comprehensive information as possible.

Joe says that he only works three days a week and explains why. He mentions that before adopting any big idea, it is critical to have sufficient space to ensure employees can work comfortably and with minimal distractions. He talks about a saying that they use as their guiding principle and a course he defines as their lead magnet. Listen to the podcast to figure it out. You will also get comprehensive details on how Joe developed his MVP.

At some point, Geordie seeks to figure out how he (Joe) managed to convince his clients to pay colossal amounts of money. To this, Joe says that people will be willing to pay more for implementation as opposed to information only. Joe says that entrepreneurs should invest in the implementation process to charge more.

How does Joe assist clients who want software as a service models? He admits that he has no experience in matters technology but he always refers clients to techno-savvy experts. Joe says he is happy with outsourcing his client’s technology-based needs and tells Geordie why he chooses that path. Listen keenly to find out why.

According to Joe, entrepreneurs should only focus on only what they can do and not tasks they can easily outsource. Find out his explanation for this from the podcast. Joe reiterates the importance of meetings, especially if a company has a new assistant. He says, not only do they create an opportunity to receive feedback, but they also help people communicate with one another effectively. “Assess how you are using your time” is Joe’s message to anyone who is looking forward to launching their big idea.

Podcast Launch School

Joe Sanok LinkedIn

Adam Hergenrother is an entrepreneur and CEO of a billion-dollar organization that started building businesses while in college. He strives to ensure that his clients become the business leaders they need to be. Hallie Warner, on the other hand, is Adam’s chief of staff. Hallie has also co-authored the book The Founder and The Force Multiplier that illustrates how executive assistants and entrepreneurs can achieve more together. Adam and Hallie share their journey with Geordie Wardman. 

• Why entrepreneurs should enroll for a training
• Why entrepreneurs should invest in the right people
• How did Adam find Hallie?
• Why entrepreneurs should discover employee talents and place them in positions where they perform best
• How to find the best executive assistant 
• What factors should you consider when searching for an executive assistant?
• Leveraging social media and staffing agencies to identify great talent
• What do executive assistants expect?
• Importance of matching a candidate’s behavior to their position
• The importance of working towards the same goal as partners
• Why organizations should use the right language when advertising for jobs
• Importance of employee retention

Adam established his companies in the real estate industry, where he opines, he had to work 1517 hour days. Along the way, he discovered what he could achieve with the right team of talented people around him.

Today, Adam has more than 60 local control stations (LCS) and five main operating companies. All of these companies deal with training real estate developers. Adam tells Geordie that success is not simultaneous but sequential. Listen to Adam as he shares more details about his companies.

Hallie joins in to mention that they recently started podcasting with Adam confirming that they had launched the service in more than 75 countries. Adam tells Geordie how he believed that to prosper, he had to spend long hours working hard when he started. While he is sure the strategy works, there are alternative approaches entrepreneurs can adopt.

Adam is quick to mention that sometimes entrepreneurs have to put in the work to get enough money. At some point, Adam realized he needed leverage in his life. How did he achieve this? Adam says he easily delegates duties that someone else can do. Listen as he gives Geordie all the details.

At some point, Adam was redeploying employees in his office, and that is how Hallie was appointed. He would later realize that some of his employees were in the wrong positions, and this is how Hallie became the Executive Assistant. Adam talks about how he tackled the matter without hurting any of his employees. You can only get the details from listening.

Geordie turns to Hallie for her take. Hallie confirms that before securing the job, she had just moved to the area, and all she wanted was a job. Having been an executive assistant before, Hallie knew she was fit for the task. Listen as she tells Geordie the vision she had for the job. She describes skills that the ultimate executive assistant should have, where she mentions various factors. Listen in to understand these factors. She also has tips for entrepreneurs who are looking to hire an executive assistant.

Hallie recommends places where entrepreneurs can find the ideal executive assistants. Listen to the conversation and benefit from the information she shares. Different companies have varying interviewing procedures. Adam discusses the interview strategy they use before identifying the right candidate. Listen to what they do, and you may want to replicate it for your organization.

Geordie mentions how important having employees who challenge you is, and Adam agrees. Listen to his sentiments in detail. Adam also talks about hiring a force multiplier. He also mentions how letting things you are holding on go allows people to force multiply your life. How do Adam and his team attract the right person that is aligned with his companies?

Adam says they have an approach that promotes culture before profit. He explains that their culture is all about models and execution. Adam explains this concept further, and you should listen in to understand it. Hallie says they recently started working on establishing a SaaS company to track their progress. Listen to both Adam and Hallie as they speak on this matter in depth. Adam says entrepreneurs should discover what they do not have and realize you can leverage a force multiplier. Doing so helps them fill the divide, which makes everything easier and more aligned. 

Adam Hergenrother

Hallie Warner

Hallie Warner LinkedIn

The Founder and Force Multiplier

Adam Hergenrother LinkedIn

Scott Desgrosseilliers is the CEO and founder of Wicked Reports. He established the company to facilitate optimization and acceleration of the digital marketing ROI for small and medium-sized businesses. The ideal Wicked Reports customers are people who sell products online. Scott opines that companies should strive to track lifetime customer value. Wicked Reports strives to help SaaS businesses have a clear picture of their paid advertising progress. Listen to Scott as he discusses his story with Geordie Wardman.

• How Scott started his journey
• Why entrepreneurs should spend money on a campaign and the impact of the same on long-term ROI
• How Scott and his friend leveraged Facebook campaigns to attract leads
• Importance of Email when it comes to closing leads
• Why entrepreneurs should read widely
• What Scott does best
• How did Scott gain customers while still consulting for his friend?
• How Scott came up with his pricing
• What challenges did Scott face during his journey?
• How companies can leverage offers to increase awareness and make more money
• Where does Scott source his developers?
• Why you should pay your employees well
• Which of Scott’s marketing methods is the most effective for his business?

Marketing attribution is the value or credit that you allocate to a particular marketing touchpoint. Experts define it as the science of establishing the ideal marketing drive or media that drives revenue. Scott says the idea behind market attribution is that you spent where your money is making money to increase your earnings.

Again, you desist from wasting money where you do not make money. Before starting his SaaS journey, Scott was running databases amid other tasks like being a technical architect and project management. He was getting tired of these tasks and wanted to leave. When Scott shared his feelings with his seniors, they requested him to work for a year. Scott shares some detailed information with Geordie on what happened next.

Listen in to find out what he said. Scott would later collaborate with his friend, who had a lobster business and lots of work to handle. However, he (Scott's friend) was struggling to keep his business afloat amid a competitive space. At some point, Scott's friend sought his help in a bid to convert leads.

Scott explains how he leveraged this opportunity to demonstrate his capabilities. He ended up becoming his friend’s consultant, and within a short period, he helped him close many deals. Listen to Scott as he shares all the details with Geordie. Scott says that he established Wicked Reports out of passion but reiterates that the company happened by chance.

After launching his SaaS Company, Scott and his team printed T-shirts with the company name ingrained in them. The team wore the T-shirts and walked around, asking people what they were doing to track their ROI. They interviewed different business owners to find out whether their emails were earning them money.

Scott and his team were surprised that no one they interviewed had a definitive answer. That is how Scott identified a pain point and decided to work on it. He says the demand for a SaaS product was so high that his company hit the first MRR within the first year after launching. Surprisingly, they achieved all this by relying on word of mouth. Listen to Scott as he explains how he and his team worked tirelessly to achieve this tremendous success.

Even with this success, Scott says they were using an ugly product. Listen as he explains his sentiments. At some point, Scott and his team organized a show to promote the business. He talks about how they made colossal amounts of money from the show and numerous leads. You will need to hear the story in his words to understand.

While Scott has no problem hiring from any part of the world, he prefers working with people within the same time zone. He also opts to work with people who speak English. According to him, doing so enhances convenience. Scott says he has both full time employees and others who work under full-time contracts.

All of his employees work remotely. Scott reiterates that content marketing is critical not only for his business but for many others. He says has a content team that leverages his thoughts to come up with the right content for his business. He believes that great content is crucial for the success of any business. 

Scott Desgrosseilliers

Wicked Reports Blog

Wicked Reports

Scott Desgrosseilliers

April Dunford was a repeat vice president of marketing at various tech start-up companies before she finally transitioned into consulting. She focuses on positioning, where she helps customers understand their competition and target market. Listen as she tells Geordie Wardman what she does. 

• How did April reposition her first product?
• How April and her team discovered the impact of repositioning
• Does your product influence the market? Importance of doing a market study
• The importance of understanding your competition 
• April’s journey into understanding positioning. How did she approach it?
• What is April’s advice to start-up companies that do not have enough customers?
• Why small businesses should begin with a thesis before creating a product
• Why companies should identify their target market
• Why you should know who your customer is and who is not
• Importance of copywriting in marketing
• Common mistakes that small businesses make before consulting a professional SaaS company
• Investor expectations vs. customer expectations

Many successful entrepreneurs today never achieved success overnight. It took them many years to understand their product, learn and master their competitors, and know their target market. April says her first job was a startup company. As a junior, together with her team they did product repositioning from where she learned two things.

Listen to this conversation to find out these two things. One critical thing that April walked away with was that positioning was crucial for the success of products in the market. At some point, April began teaching about positioning at a local University before transitioning into teaching small businesses.

Today, she is a professional consultant. April gives Geordie a detailed story of her experience with repositioning her first product. This story is interesting, and you need to listen to it to get the concept behind it. While working for the startup, April's role was to conduct a market study to find out how the company’s product was doing in the market. The task involved calling 200 customers.

From her survey, many of their customers were not interested in that product. Rather than focusing on how poorly the product was doing in the market, April and her team brainstormed transformation ideas. Their efforts paid handsomely, and the product received tremendous support and success. She says many customers still use the product to date. According to April, if she were to do it again today, she would pursue a different approach.

Listen as she shares her sentiments with Geordie. How did April come up with the positioning strategy? She tells Geordie how she imagined someone could have done or even documented it (positioning) before. April embarked on research and enrolled in marketing classes. She would later discover a great book about positioning. Listen in to find out which book that is. She says the book was impactful, and many trainers still use it in master classes.

This book explains the importance of positioning in detail, and April believes every marketer should read it. However, she is fast to note that this book will not tell you how to execute positioning. April furthered her studies in marketing school, where she learned more about positioning. Listen to her conversation with Geordie to find out what she gained from the lessons.

In her quest to understand and execute positioning, April broke it down into various component pieces before establishing the best answer for each item. April says figuring the components out was not a difficult task. Listen to understand how she did it. She gives details on the relationship between products, unique features, and a competitive alternative. Listen to understand her explanation precisely.

April opines that many companies only put products on the web, believing that willing customers will use the product. However, companies need to do more to ensure the target audience knows about your brand. She says a SaaS company can help improve the visibility of your product. April reiterates that for every product there is in a crowded market companies should establish who loves the brand and why they do.

Companies should figure out what makes their products unique among their competitors. April speaks about this matter in detail. Listen in to capture everything that she says. She explains that people have numerous reasons for not buying a particular brand. However, your focus should be on the people that love your brand, which she calls a rare event, especially in the current competitive arena.

Remember, people have many choices and can buy anything from anywhere. Understand why they would pick you over the others, to understand what you should change, or improve to meet their expectations. April says selling anything today amid the crowded market is a miracle that businesses should appreciate. 

April Dunford

Net promoter

April Dunford Twitter

Obviously Awesome

Dane Maxwell is an enthusiastic entrepreneur who strives to help others navigate challenges in the business industry to achieve success. Dane started establishing companies from a young age. While many of them failed, that did not deter him from pursuing his desire to establish a multi-million dollar company. Some of his companies still exist. Listen as he shares his exciting journey with Geordie Wardman.

• What to look out for in a contract crew
• The book Dane launched. Was it a business model or a passion project?
• Why entrepreneurs should hire experts to help solve their customer’s painful problems
• Demonstrating customer results is a critical part of success in business. Find out why.
• Why entrepreneurs should be intentional about the goals they want to achieve
• What happened when Dane realized his talent
• What triggered Dane into writing a book?
• How did Dane go about writing his book, Start from Zero?
• When can an entrepreneur hire without struggling with trust issues?
• Importance of reading books
• How to make friends with the mind
• What freedom is
• Pricing your products

Being passionate about something means going beyond limits to achieve what you desire. This approach is the case of Dane Maxwell, who started out working as a hotel tech support. Dane would later learn business and sales, and marketing before venturing into SaaS development with no tech skills at all.

Dane tells Geordie that many times the brain of an entrepreneur battle to identify that magic point. It is this confusion that deters you from identifying opportunities at the right time. Many times, another brand may crop up and do something differently that transforms the industry, and overtakes your product. According to Dane, as much as what you do matters, how you do it is more crucial. Dane talks about the launch and progress of his book project. Listen in to know everything about it.

Dane ventured into the business world at 22 years old. He believes that had he started earlier, he would probably be worth much more than he is worth today. Listen to his conversation with Geordie as he explains this concept in depth. According to Dane, your consciousness as an entrepreneur can make or break your business. He goes ahead to give a personal example that you need to hear first-hand.

Did you know that you are likely to become what you believe you are? Dane tells Geordie how being bullied from a younger age made him believe he was garbage. Little did he know how talented he was. What happened when he finally understood himself, confronted his fears, and took the initiative to change his belief? Listen to his sentiments and learn from the same.

Dane opines that one of the highest return on investment (ROI) he has ever achieved was from hiring therapists for business matters. You do not want to miss the part where he explains the importance of hiring a reliable, trustworthy therapist. However, he is also quick to mention that finding a good therapist can be a difficult task.

When is the best time to hire, and how do you identify the right person? Dane believes that companies can hire when they have the most leverage. They can also hire when customers come to them in search of solutions. Dane has more to say on this topic that you can only understand by listening to the podcast.

Listen to find out his sentiments on finding the right person to hire. Dane discusses his book, Start from Zero, and explains that it is all about mindset. Listen to the podcast and learn more about this book and why every entrepreneur should read it. Dane explains about identity and how working with it can become poisonous at some point. He opines that identity never makes you happy.

Often, Dane says, many people suffer in pursuit of an end to their current suffering. What happens if you focus your entire mind on this search? Listen to Dane’s answer to this question. Do you want to grow wealth? If you do, you need to listen to Dane as he explains the four brains to grow wealth. Dane says making money is neither mystery nor magic. He says, making money may be the easy part but keeping it can be a difficult task. He tells Geordie how to grow, and keep money.

Marketing is a critical part of business success. Find out how Dane markets his business. Dane and his team have a specific structure for their blogs. You will need to listen to find this out. He also shares about how he finds employees for his SaaS Company. Dane has a free excerpt for his book that you can read before committing yourself to the entrepreneurship world. 

The Foundation

Paperless Pipeline

Dane Maxwell

Start from Zero

Rand Fishkin has founded many platforms like moz.com, Whiteboard, inbound.org, and Whiteboard Friday before his latest platform, SparkToro. Listen as he shares his journey with Geordie Wardman. He also gives extensive details about SparkToro, an audience intelligence platform that allows marketers to understand websites that an audience reads. Marketers can use this platform to know who their target audience follows on various social media platforms. 

• How Rand dropped out of college and the events that followed 
• How Moz was established
• How Moz evolved and achieved success in revenue generation
• Hy did Rand leave Moz?
• How is Moz different from SparkToro?
• How Rand and his co-founder started SparkToro
• Alternative content marketing strategies that companies can use
• How the audience intelligence product works
• How did the SparkToro launch go?
• What are Rand’s marketing plans?

Education is critical, but sometimes it takes dropping out of college to become one of the most successful SaaS or SEO gurus available. Rand, for example, dropped from college in 2001 to join his mom at a marketing consulting company. This company would later become Moz. Then, the company was a struggling web design venture, forcing Rand to launch an SEO blog. This blog attracted lots of consulting customers who were interested in SEO services.

Rand and his team would later launch some software, nascent tools that interested parties could subscribe to. To their amazement, demand for the subscription product skyrocketed, and that is how they raised part of their venture capital. The success of Moz did not stop here, and you can get all the details from the podcast.

Listen to figure out how Rand became CEO, and how the company experienced exponential growth before Rand finally left to establish SparkToro. Rand discusses the venture model in detail. If you are an entrepreneur looking to launch a company, you need to listen to Rand’s wise words. Rand says he and his co-founder own SparkToro entirely. Listen as he shares more details on SparkToro with Geordie. For years, Rand has been a passionate marketer, and many people sought him for assistance on SEO matters. However, Rand made a critical discovery about SEO and search. Listen as he shares the discovery with Geordie.

Rand discusses the frustrations entrepreneurs have to deal with when it comes to identifying potential customers from different parts of the world. He tells Geordie that together with his co-founder, they decided that no one should go through these troubles. Listen to find out what they did to achieve that milestone.

Rand mentions that while he works with his co-founder, they have hired some experts to help them during their journey. Listen to Rand explain how the audience intelligence works, how it helps collect data, and how they use the data to develop a validation system. Rand explains that he believes in a marketing flywheel model.

Currently, Rand says he is excited because they have a diverse market and extensive applications. One of the strategies online marketers use to attract traffic is through guest posts and links. However, Rand says that this method hardly works unless your platform is SEO based. According to him, many of the links you use for SEO hardly send back traffic.

The SparkToro system is different because it sends you high-quality traffic. In this case, you would not need a link because your objective is to get coverage and awareness. Rand says that email list building has been one of their most successful marketing strategies. Still, he is quick to mention that, together with his co-founder, they are hesitant about sending people too many emails. They only strive to send emails that will be beneficial to you.

According to Rand, SEO, or SEM (search engine marketing) are not a terrible strategy, but they are risky. He explains this concept in detail and concludes by saying that some businesses have come tumbling down for relying on search exclusively.

Rand opines that investing in social media and content marketing that does not depend on SEO, but the quality of content is a great idea. Marketers should invest in content that leaves an impact on people so much so that they would miss it if it were unavailable. Rand has some sentiments about podcasting as well. Listen as he shares what he thinks and how you can use them to your benefit. 

Rand Fishkin

Moz.com

Rand Fishkin LinkedIn

SparkToro

SparkToro Product

Rand Fishkin Twitter