In the Trenches with Michael King

This is a CRITICAL episode that every business owner should listen to. I talk with Andrea Sager about the three types of legal protection every business owner needs.

We break it all down for you so you can understand exactly what you need and why.

We talk about business entities, intellectual property, and contracts.... and I realized that I have a huge liability in one of my contracts that I've got to tighten up IMMEDIATELY.

We've also got a GREAT giveaway at the end of the episode so make sure you check that out as well!!!

As entrepreneurs, we all want to serve our clients well and create raving fans that feed us referrals.

We also want to love the work we do so we can come to work energized every day.

The top reason I've seen those two goals get missed is a poor scope of work.

The scope of work lays out the entire relationship: who does what, when they'll do it, how much people get paid.

It sounds simple enough, but if the scope of work is neglected and mismanaged it can result in chaos for you and your client.

In this episode, I talk with Kris Jones of Red Door Designs. Kris is going to give us three amazing tips to really level up your scope of work and create an amazing experience for you AND your client.

In this episode I talk with Scott Aaron. Scott and I talk about some of the tremendous lessons he's learned in business over the past 20 years including:

1. Two lessons you must learn in business if you want to be successful.

2. The power of getting organized in business.

3. The cure all for life and business? Taking action.

A little over a year ago, I was burnt out and debating if I should close down my company or not.

I realized that I needed to get some boundaries in place ASAP if I was going to make it.

In this episode, I talk about three distinct boundaries you can put in place to help you avoid burning out and how establish and maintain healthy relationships with your clients.

In this episode, Michael talks about how to get maximum commitment from your people. If you're not committing to your team, don't expect them to commit to you.

The leaders that do it right make these 3 commitments (and actually follow through with them!):

1. They commit to financial responsibility both BEFORE you hire someone and AFTER you hire them.

2. They commit to regular performance feedback.

3. They commit to honest and transparent communication.

In this episode I talk with Mike Ayala about organizational financial health and how mismanagement of growth can have catastrophic consequences for employees.

In this episode I talk with my friend Jillian Ryan. Jillian is the CEO and founder of Marie Mae.

Jillian shares the story of how her pricing strategy - which was leading to amazing revenues - was absolutely crushing her profitability - which was leading to cash bleeding dry.

Scared and frustrated, Jillian knew she had to make a change if Marie Mae was going to survive another 60 days.

In this episode we talk about:

1. Understanding your financial model and profitability

2. The importance of understanding your customers and what they're willing to pay for

3. The importance of business coaches

4. How people that take the Enneagram make me laugh sometimes

Skot Waldron comes from a family of entrepreneurs.

Over the course of four years, Skot started a built a branding agency in Atlanta and took it to high-six figures in revenue.

Things were going well until he found himself frustrated, unfulfilled, and hitting a financial ceiling.

He realized that his leadership style and communication style needed an overhaul before his business could reach its full potential.

Skot shares key lessons about how our internal health, as people and as organizations, impacts our external health and how well we serve our employees and our clients.

After blowing through nearly $1MM of investor capital, Gaurav found his new company on the verge of bankruptcy. He realized he'd have to dig in and actually sell something if his company would survive the next few months.

In this week's episode, we'll hear the story of how Gaurav turned around his failing startup and eventually sold it for multiple 8 figures.

We discuss:

The pitfalls of taking startup capital from friends and family

How Gaurav stole Elon Musk's email address and used it to get a contract from SpaceX

How to increase your confidence as an entrepreneur

Imagine: You've spent years curating an audience of highly dedicated followers. You spend tens of thousands of dollars creating an app so you can monetize your audience. 36 hours after launch, you receive a cease and desist letter from a competitor that you didn't even know existed. You're done. It's over. All of it.

Today I'm talking with Samantha Kozuch about how her dream became a nightmare when she was notified that her brand new app was infringing on a trademark.

This episode is a must-listen for any entrepreneur.