Episode 45: Persistence

Business is not all ups, but without the downs, you won't have the ups. In this long overdue episode Russ gets you caught up on what he's been doing these last six months: a short sabbatical from the show, a book launch, some direct mail marketing efforts and how he's been dealing with them. It takes a lot of persistence to even stay in the game in business - it's not for the lighthearted. Now, you can see from a bird's eye view some of the types of trials and tribulations you need to be prepared for to make your first million. Welcome back, Russ!

After taking some time off, Russ is right back at it. In this episode he shares some of what he does with his Free Time with you, and then goes on to review one of the books he read during that free time, The Average Joe's Marketing Book. (Whoops! You're not supposed to read business books on your free time!) This is Joe's “how to” manual on marketing, and it's well worth reading. He covers Automating your business, free recorded messages, his own customer conversion system, referrals, consumer awareness guides, testimonials, and pricing. Whew! That's a lot for one little book.

Links:

The I Love Marketing Podcast (start here...)

Piranha Marketing (consumer guide template)

Documenting procedures in “operations manuals” is at the core of Michael Gerber's E-Myth. Detailed instructions on how each job is carried out help highlight inefficiencies, and provide an extra layer of protection when the inevitable turnover comes. Russ discovered “Google into QB” this week because he was documenting his invoicing procedures. Rethinking what really needed to happen, Google into QB simplified the entire process. Run your business like a franchise chain, says Michael Gerber, and operations manuals are how franchises get that consistency.

One of the best ways to establish yourself as an authority in your field is to publish a book, and one of the best ways to accomplish this affordably is Dean Jackson's 90-Minute Books. Russ' latest book, Harnessing You 7 Senses is out, and Russ shares all about his incredible world-class experience working with Dean's team at 90-Minute books. He takes you through the entire process from start to finish and details some of the amazing things Dean's team did to to really make this one of the best experiences he's ever had with a vendor!

The links are here in the show notes. Go checkout Russ' book right now! And you can even see the unpacking video he made for Dean and his team.

Links:

Harnessing Your 7 Senses, by Russ Hanush

Russ' unpacking video

This week Russ went to a downtown Art & Wine Walk. The wine was good, but he didn't see a lot of art... go figure! What he did see though, was opportunity! While wandering through the shops participating in the walk, he began channeling Jay Abraham: Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got. After striking up conversations with a couple of local business owners, Russ walked away with two new Joint Venture partners; a win-win for everybody, Russ, the other business owners, and specially everybody's clients! Listen in to see how you can do it to.

Dan Kennedy always says “One is the worst number.” In this episode Russ talks about what that means and how he is applying that concept in his business. It's been a rough week for Russ, and he's here to share the good, the bad, and the ugly of working towards your first million with you. He also gives you a nice preview of Dan Kennedy and his Dan Kennedy library. Dan is a prolific writer and Russ claims to have more books by Dan Kennedy than any other author – he swears it wasn't intentional, Dan just writes about a lot of relevant stuff if you're trying to make your first million. You'll get some recommendations for great books, and even a word of caution here, and you'll even get the inside scoop on how Russ stumbled onto the road to his first million.

If you want to make that first million faster, Russ has something for you – The Wealth Factory. Garrett Gunderson, a Genius Network Member, has formed a very special company whose sole purpose in life is to manage your wealth. Of course, you say, those are a dime a dozen, and they're all out for themselves. Well, Garrett has a different approach. He is making the concept of a “family office” something that almost anyone can afford. Typically, only the ultra wealthy could possibly afford such an elite team to run their finances, but Garrett has found a way around that. The result is a team whose bias is towards you and your money, rather than their commissions and fees.

Links:

I Love Marketing, episode #287 – Garrett Gunderson

The Wealth Factory

Ok, seriously folks, Russ is talking about miracles? Not the kind you see at a Grateful Dead show where somebody gets a free ticket, but a real, honest to God, medical miracle. Once he finally starts getting down to brass tacks, Russ does a novel review of Breakthrough Advertising by giving a quick overview of the principles he learned in Brian Kurtz's Breakthrough Advertising bootcamp he recently attended. Russ applies the principles of mass desire, levels of awareness, and levels of sophistication that Eugene Schwartz writes about in his groundbreaking classic, Breakthrough Advertising, and then discusses the possibility of a bootcamp to cover the second half of the book.

Links:

Breakthrough Advertising, by Eugene Schwartz

Russ has a new sleep routine he's trying out. Why is he telling you this? If you want to do big things, you have to think of yourself as a racehorse: everything is about performance. One key component of that performance for an entrepreneur is sleep. So this episode, you get to hear about sleep: good sleep and bad sleep, things you can do about bad sleep (Don't mess with good sleep folks!), and a new routine that's working wonders for Russ. According to Russ “Between quarterly planning and my new sleep routine, I come at each day with more energy, and such a highly honed sense of what needs to be done, that I find myself moving forward faster, and with less difficulty.” Trivia: Russ wakes up around 715 every morning without an alarm! One of his success criteria.