Tom Corson-Knowles is a serial entrepreneur, author and teacher. He has built his life and company around helping people publish eBooks. If you are considering writing a book but not sure where to start or want to know more about how the eBook industry works, Tom is the industry expert that people turn to. He personally has published dozens of books on all different topics and now shares his secrets on how to build a monthly residual business around ebook publishing.

I catch up to Tom from his home in Hawaii where he has lived for the last 5 years after moving from the Midwest U.S. We go from concept and idea of writing a book all of the way through to publishing and marketing.

“You can achieve all of your dreams through publishing ebooks if you’re willing to master the three key areas of authorship: writing, publishing and marketing.” – Tom Corson-Knowles

In this episode we discuss…

How he built an MLM business in food nutrition supplements while going to college at Indiana University.
Him skipping his college graduation to continue to build his growing business.
Where a person starts when they want to write a book.
Brainstorming to come up with the most relevant topic for you to write about.
Researching other books already written on different topics.
Writing, rewriting and going through the editing process.
How to choose the right editor for your book.
Researching the cover art and choosing the right message for the cover design.
Page design and formatting.
Publishing and marketing around Amazon’s analytics designed to teach their system what your book is about.
How much can you make!

If you ever considered writing a book but you aren’t sure how to get started, Tom has built his business on helping people get from idea to executing on that ideas and being a published author. Tom goes through every step in the process.

Get ready to start writing because your journey to published author starts right here!

Show Notes

Website: tckpublishing.com
Facebook: @tckpublishing
Podcast: The Publishing Profits Podcast
Twitter: @JuiceTom

eBookPublishingSchool

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Go Hunt Life on iTunes

Matt and Jessica Johnson, Ripcorders and life hunters from Grand Rapids Michigan, had normal lives, with normal jobs living the normal life. They dated, then they got married, they bought a house, they went to work, Matt a sales manager at a Toyota dealership and Jessica was a customer service rep. They came home from work, they shoveled snow in the winter, a lot of snow in the winter, and then something changed.

They learned how to sail a boat in the few summer months on Lake Michigan. The inspiration took hold, they sold everything they owned and got on their sailboat with $100K in savings to hit the Caribbean islands for a year of sailing and self-discovery. That was 4 years ago and they are still going.

They’ve hit 16 countries throughout the Caribbean islands, Central America and even crossed the Atlantic in a 34 foot sailboat stopping in Bermuda and then on to Portugal. While in Portugal, they bought a 37 foot sailboat online back in Florida so they had to cross back over the Atlantic to get to the next step on their journey.

I catch up to Jessica from Indian Town, Florida where they are completely rehabbing a 37 foot sailboat that was built in 1983 and had been in storage for the last 8 years.

In this podcast episode we cover…

What their normal lives were and what they were in search of.
How they were, and are, making $100K last.
How they learned to sail from Michigan and on the fly down the east coast of the US.
Crossing the Atlantic in 46 days and back in 28.
Being featured on the Today Show and what’s changed since then.
Starting a YouTube channel that’s quickly gained over 7,000 subscribers.
How they are monetizing their journey.

Their story is one of self-discovery love. Love of the journey and the love of sharing it with each other.

Enjoy their story and buy them a beer. Link below. Come on! Buy them a freaking beer. These two are badasses and deserve it.

Show Notes

Website: http://mjsailing.com 

Matt and Jessica on Facebook @MattandJessicaSailing

Twitter: @jjohnson1049

YouTube: @MJSailing

Today I have a conversation with entrepreneur Bryan Thomas. A few years ago he and his wife Amelia had an idea to create a mobile app that would allow kids to design their own indoor playhouse. Design a castle or a gingerbread house all on an iPad mobile app. The child could choose to put a window next to the door, a drawbridge on both sides of the castle or a chimney right in the middle. The playhouse would then be built to their exact specifications and delivered to their doorstep for them to assemble and play in right there in the living room 4 days later.

The idea was their lightbulb, ripcord moment over 2 years ago. Since then Bryan and his wife and Co-Founder Amelia Cosgrove have both quit their real jobs, raised venture capital and are building the startup, PopupPlay that is empowering kids to build their own toys from as early as age three.

“Hustle is my friend.” – Bryan Thomas, Co-Founder of PopUp Play

So if as a kid, you built a playhouse out of cardboard boxes in your living room or as an adult, you had an incredible business idea but thought, somebody has to be doing this already, this is your episode.

We discuss…

The exact moment when him and Amelia came up with the idea of kids building their own playhouses.
The emotional responses from their friends about building this mobile app and kid’s experience.
Building a startup based on the principle of being a good person and a caring company first.
Going through the Techstars 3 month incubator program in Austin.
Scaling the entire process from the mobile app features to production and distribution.
How they are teaching and inspiring the next generation of architects and engineers.
The next steps of partnering up with vehicle companies.

Genius huh? Yep, why didn’t we think of that? Well, you will learn by the end of this conversation that that phrase means nothing.

Show Notes

Website: PopUpPlayToy

@PopUpPlayToy on Facebook and Twitter

@PopUpPlay on Pinterest and Instagram

Sponsor

Dr. Alexis Shields was practicing Naturopathic Medicine in Portland and had built a successful practice and career but the book Four Hour Work Week motivated her and her husband to close the practice and take it virtual. This meant that they could travel the world and live anywhere. We catch up to her from her apartment in Lisbon Portugal 3 years after leaving the US to build her virtual company and virtual lifestyle.

What is the definition of a Naturopathic Doctor? In the US, NDs are trained as primary care physicians that focus on a patient's functional issues. Through a weird series of events in her life she learned the value and power behind treating diseases through diet and lifestyle choices as opposed to prescription medications.

The Naturopathic path also coincided with her passion for traveling but it's taken a lot of work to get her virtual business and her virtual lifestyle in sync. This path has taken her to Thiland, Vietnam, Nepal, Berlin, Croatia and now Lisbon Portugal.

In this episode we discuss...

What steps lead her to close her successful practice to follow a non-traditional path.
How the perception of natural medicine in the US differs from other countries.
Ending her traditional trajectory and the risks associated with this decision.
How she was inspired by 'virtual nomads' and virtual entrepreneurs that figured out a way to live anywhere and still earn income.
The licenses that are required for her to practice natural medicine.
The system that she's built that allows her to treat patients from all over the world.
The laws that govern her industry.
How her virtual lifestyle has evolved over the 3 years since leaving her traditional career path.
If you've ever dreamed of living abroad and living the nomadic, expat lifestyle then this episode will definitely inspire you and maybe motivate you to quit that 9 to 5 job to follow your own entrepreneurial path.

Show Notes

Website: dralexisshields.com

Dr Alexis Shields on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Youtube 

Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris

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Scott Calame, Founder of TexAgave, has made a career out of reinventing his career. He has been an attorney, an Adjunct Professor, an ad agency executive and a freelance copy writer but he has just ripcorded out to not only start a new company but he’s actually starting an entirely new industry.

Scott is now Distiller. TexAgave is a blue agave spirit that is similar tequila but is made in Texas, not in Jalisco Mexico, so it can’t be called tequila.

We get a behind the scenes tour of what it takes to found a company where the first step in selling the product is educating the consumer, one consumer at a time. Luckily, he’s made a living with words as a writer so his tag line which speaks volumes is, ‘make your margarita with a liquor made in Texas.’

He’s certainly aware of the risks but he’s following his passion no matter what and what’s interesting that even though he’s only been in business for less than a year, he’s already introduced a new product and actually introducing a 3rd product a few weeks after we spoke.

We discuss...

How a home brewing passion exploded into a new career.
Seeing his product on the shelf for the first time.
The difference between a blue agave spirit and tequila.
Self-funding his startup.
What it takes to be approved as a distilled spirit company.
Filing 115 forms a year with the State and Federal agencies to get approved.
Looking at problems differently since this is a chosen career move.

Show Notes

Website: TexAgave

Facebook @TexAgave

Sponsor
Check out clickplacement.com to ignite your pay-per-click and social marketing strategies.

Go Hunt Life on iTunes

We started the Go Hunt Life movement to uncover inspirational stories untold about normal people making seemingly impossible decision to leave their comfortable career and embark down an unknown path of personal and professional reinvention.

After 17 published podcast episodes, we’ve had the privilege to look behind the scenes of life altering decisions. Our guest have shared their fears, hopes and dreams with us and we will be forever grateful for their honesty and openness.

This ‘look back’ is for the Go Hunt Life audience and it’s a thank you to our guests that have shared their most difficult decisions with us.

Here is what we’ve learned and I’ve broken it into 11 inspirational Go Points:

Go Point #1 Fear

Go Point #2 Kids

Go Point #3 Safety

Go Point #4 Health

Go Point #5 Money

Go Point #6 Saying Goodbye

Go Point #7 Personal Identity

Go Point #8 Obstacles

Go Point #9 Planning

Go Point #10 Unknown

Go Point #11 Age

We are 17 episodes of inspiration and reinvention in. Thank you again to my guests for taking the time out of their lives to share their unique journeys.

My commitment to listeners is that I will continue to search out the inspirational stories that inspire me and proudly present them to you.

Thanks for tuning in.

Sponsor
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Scott Willis, Entrepreneur and Founder of Tequila 512, was working a normal job and raising his family all while trying to startup the impossible. Scott was working for a technology company in sales and every waking hour outside of work, he was tackling the infinite amount of red tape that it took to create a liquor company in Texas.

The balancing act was taking a toll on his life and reached a breaking point at the Austin airport. Scott was boarding a flight to Mexico to work on his company when his wife pressed him to quit his job and go all in...at that exact moment.

As they are calling his name over the speaker to get on the plane, he called his boss and officially quit his job. He stepped on that flight a full-time entrepreneur in an industry that is completely set up to not help the little guy. He was battling the giants in the liquor industry.

Starting a tequila company is so much harder than you can ever imagine. There are hurdles in every aspect of it. - Scott Willis

Since his ripcord moment at the airport, Scott has landed $1.1 million in venture capital, expanded the Tequila 512 team and completely re-branded the company.

In this episode we discuss...

His life raising a family and balancing a full-time job and a full-time startup.
How he learned the process of creating a great tequila.
How the liquor industry is not set up to help the small guy. It's set up to propel the big guy.
His bottle company in Mexico literally exploding right before his first shipment to the US.
The moment in the Austin airport when his wife said, quit your job.
Selling their rental house to buy him 1 year to make it or break it.
The mentors and local businesses that have helped him along the way.
What has changed since landing his first big round of venture capital.
The steps of re-branding a growing company brand.

Show Notes

Website: tequila512.com

Tequila 512 on Facebook Instagram and Twitter

South Lamar Wine & Spirits

Maudie's TexMex

Tito's Vodka

Deep Eddy Vodka

The Butler Brothers

Sponsor

Check out clickplacement.com to ignite your pay-per-click and social marketing strategies.

Go Hunt Life on iTunes

Kathleen Byars had raced up the corporate ladder and was the VP of International Marketing for Mary Kay at the age of 34. She was living the American Dream traveling internationally, managing a team, opening up new markets for her company and making great money. She was in her element and thriving, so she exploded her comfort bubble.

You know those cool people that you meet when you are on vacation somewhere and their actual job is a white water rafting guide in the Rockies or a scuba instructor on a Caribbean island? Kathleen is one of those people.

At the age of 34 she quit her corporate career, sold or gave away all of her possessions except for a really expensive chair, and moved to the British Virgin Islands to manage a dive shop and be a full-time SCUBA instructor. The first two months were a dream. She was on an island not worrying about email or corporate meetings and thought that she had figured out the perfect life.

"We thought we were going to die."

Then the honeymoon of her new life ended and reality started. That's when things got tough.

In this episode we discuss...

The high-powered life of an International Marketing Executive at Mary Kay.
Getting paid to travel the world, open up new markets and managing a team in her early 30s.
How quickly things changed in the corporate world.
How a conversation at Starbucks with her girlfriends completely altered her life.
The one thing that she couldn't get rid of, the rest of her possessions she sold or gave away.
The first 2 months of living the life she had always dreamed of.
Why she was in tears everyday once reality set in.
The near death experience in the middle of a storm.
The journey from Caribbean diving instructor to cave diving instructor.
Once a Marketer always a Marketer.

We get to look at the other side of living and see if it's a life that you could lead.

Show Notes

Kathleen Byars on LinkedIn

Why I Traded in My Lipstick and Pinstripe Suit to Live on an Island - Kathleen Byars

Website: BlazersInc.com

Kathleen on Facebook and Google+ @KathleenByars

Twitter: @Kathleen_Byars

Sponsor
Check out clickplacement.com to ignite your pay-per-click and social marketing strategies.

Go Hunt Life on iTunes

Helene Godin traded in the life of business suits and a career as an Intellectual Property Attorney to be an entrepreneur and start By The Way Bakery, a gluten-free and dairy-free bakery in New York.

She loved being an attorney but after 22 years, she called her husband early one morning while standing in front of the company fax machine and said, "I think I'm done." She quit and didn't have any idea what she was going to do next.

"I think I'm done"

She recognized in the grocery store that the gluten-free section kept getting bigger and bigger. She enrolled in a 5 day baking bootcamp and came out determined that she would open up a bakery in her community of Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.

One year almost to the day of ending her career as an attorney, she opened her first store. 5 years later and she's opened 2 more, been featured on Martha Stewart Living, The Huffington Post, The New York Times and Fortune and opening a new commercial kitchen to feed her growing business.

"Fear is the thing that gets in your way the most." - Helene Godin

In this episode we discuss...

A 22 year career as an Intellectual Property Attorney
Working for large corporations andher first step into being an entrepreneur by founding her own law firm
The "I think I'm done" early one morning while standing in front of the fax machine
5 day gluten-free baking bootcamp
Learning how to bake gluten-free and dairy-free treats
Founding a retail business in New York City
Expanding a multi-location company by developing systems
Being an attorney and baker but her real role as a Problem Solver

Show Notes:

Website: btwBakery.com

By The Way Bakery Instagram Facebook Pinterest and Twitter

Locations: Westchester, 574 Warburton Ave, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY  |  Upper West Side, 2442 Broadway  |  Upper East Side, 1236 Lexington Ave

Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosenstratch

Sponsor
Check out clickplacement.com to ignite your pay-per-click and social marketing strategies.

Go Hunt Life on iTunes

This Arkansas Attorney quit his law career and became an International Travel Writer. Michael Hodson was a Lawyer in Fayetteville Arkansas for 10 years and at the age of 41, quit to circumnavigate the globe in 12 months...without getting on a plane. The 12 months turned into 16 months and then turned into 7 years.

What is it like to be a full-time traveler with no home to come back to and all of your possessions in a backpack? How do you get into this? How do you pay for it?

Michael started on his 12 month journey and began travel blogging when the 'travel blogging' industry was just beginning. He built a solid following on his website Go See Write and then migrated into the video industry by shooting promotional videos for hotels in exchange for a place to stay.

Being a full-time travel blogger looks glamorous when you follow their social channels but Michael paints a much different picture. He explains exactly how he did it and the emotional struggle and the toll that constantly moving and the constant disruption takes on your emotional well-being.

In the end, the emotional side of constantly traveling brought him off of the road and now he's taking what he learned in his travels to start a virtual reality video company.

A massive ripcord from arguing with judges in Fayetteville to strapping on a backpack and hitting the road for 7 straight years.

In this episode we cover...

Walking out of a 10 year law career to get on a 24 hour bus trip to Mexico City.
Crossing the globe in 12 months without getting on a plane.
Packing WAY too much and spending WAY too much.
Getting robbed in Costa Rica.
Traveling cheap tips.
Travel blogging reality.
What professions work the best for a 'location independent' life.
How long it took to finally break even on travel expenses.
Advice for aspiring Travel Bloggers.
The emotional toll of constantly moving.
Virtual Reality video production.

Show Notes:

Websites: Go See Write and OnlyinVR

Go See Write on Twitter and Facebook

OnlyinVR on Twitter and Youtube

Michael Hodson on Instagram and LinkedIn

Sponsor
Check out clickplacement.com to ignite your pay-per-click and social marketing strategies.

Go Hunt Life on iTunes