GFY022 – Interview with Jeet Banerjee I’m excited to be chatting with Jeet Banerjee on the podcast today. Jeet quit his job as a project manager for a software development company in 2009 to start his own business. Since then, he’s launched numerous successful startups, apps and other projects. PLUS, he’s written two books and is a consultant and speaker. Currently, he’s involved with at least 4 different project, including one called StatFuse which is a virtual platform that helps students and parents conquer college admissions through a variety of interactive tools and resources. But here’s the kicker—Jeet is only 20 years old.  Impressive, right? Check out the interview with Jeet to get his valuable insights on how he’s become so successful at such a young age and be sure to connect with him on Twitter at @thejeetbanerjee. Items mentioned in this podcast include: www.jeetbanerjee.com How to Build a Startup (Udemy course) Profitable SEO Strategies Pursuit of Passion   Did you like the podcast? Please leave a review on iTunes: www.gofireyourself.com/review (Click on “View in iTunes” on the left side and then write a review under “ratings and reviews”)

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021: How to Escape the Entrepreneur Comparison Trap Thirty years ago, you couldn’t go online and compare your business, your life and your dreams to someone else’s. Back then, when starting a business, you couldn’t always see that many of your competitors were perhaps more talented than you, more established, had celebrity clients, or had all day long to work on their business (while you’re still stuck at your day job). On top of that, we now have social media. The tricky part about social media is that it looks like everyone is winning–all the time. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can be if you measure the height your success against it. These days, because of the Internet and social media, it’s really easy to to get sucked into a constant comparison trap with other people and businesses. It’s easier than ever to feel bad about yourself and your achievements as you grow your business merely based on what other people are doing. The problem is when you start a comparison cycle, you can lose momentum with your business and start second-guessing every decision you make. It’s time to escape this trap! This podcast is all about how to escape the entrepreneur comparison trap and answers the questions: How do you avoid the comparison trap? How do you go forward with your business and your dream despite all the noise and competition around you? How do you stop feeling bad when your competitors seem to be flourishing and you’re still stuck in a job? How do you stay focused on your goal when there’s a nagging voice of doubt in the back of your head?   Hope you enjoy it! Will you take a moment to leave me a review on iTunes? Click here and select “View in iTunes” and “Ratings and Reviews” and leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!! Thanks!  

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9 Tips for Creating Multiple Online Income Streams for your Business Earlier this summer, I wrote a blog post about how to create multiple streams of income for your business and I decided to expand on that idea and turn it into a podcast episode. When you set up multiple income streams in your own business then… (1) you no longer have to rely on just one aspect of your business to pull in all the revenue you need (2) you can mix passive and active income streams so that you’re not working dollars-for-hours all the time. Also, as you’ve probably noticed with your clients/customers/audience—some of them like to read a physical book, others like to take a course online, and there are always those who want to interact with you directly. When you can reach all of these people by creating various services and products, your audience and your business has the potential to start growing like a weed. Listen to this podcast to get 9 great tips for expanding your business, re-purposing your content and increasing the number of revenue streams into your pocket!

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Episode 019: The Fool-Proof Marketing Strategy for Service-Based Businesses When you run a service based business–consulting, copywriting, therapist, coach (relationship, business, health, etc), motivational speaker, or anything along those lines—you are what I would call an “expert”. As an expert, there is a specific way that you have to market yourself in order to be effective–the GIVE GIVE GIVE SELL method. The idea is that as an expert, you give tons of incredible, valuable and useful information FOR FREE to your audience and then (and only then) you sell to them.  So you give and give and give and then sell. In other words, you don’t reach out to your audience/email list ONLY when you want to sell something to them. This is kind of sleezy and it can be annoying to people. Additionally, it is not going to help you create a strong following. Instead, you want to keep the communication open with your audience by giving them your best content for free. This turns you into a “giver” instead of a “taker”, which is how you want to be seen as an expert. What will learn in this podcast episode is… Why you needed to start an email list yesterday (if you haven’t already) How giving away your best content for free will help increase your sales What to do to funnel tons of people to sign up for your email list Tried and true ways to grow your audience and reach more people Hope you enjoy! Will you take a moment to review this podcast in iTunes? https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/go-fire-yourself/id697118705 Thank you!!!  

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9 Tips for Creating Share-Worthy Content How many times to you feel like you create a brilliant (dare I say, life-changing) piece of content for your business—a blog post, article, podcast episode—and hardly anyone seems to notice? This especially rings true when you’re starting a new business, blog or online platform. You’re trying to churn out content, make an impact, share your priceless expertise for FREE–and sometimes all you hear is crickets for a while. There’s kind of a Catch 22–You need to produce great content to build a strong readership, but you want a large readership to feel like you’re being productive spending all your time creating content. The solution is to produce share-worthy content. In other words, produce content in a way that compels other people to share it and basically do the work for you to get your content out to the world. When more people share your content… You build your readership/fans/followers You make a broader impact You build your reputation as an expert You gain more potential clients or customers You  can add more value and share your knowledge with a wider audience Now you can justify all that time you take creating content   Your content can be one of your biggest business assets, BUT people have to see it. This podcast gives you simple 9 tips for maximizing the “share-ibility” of your content so that others can do the work for you to grow your business. Check out the awesome notes that my friend Nick Navatta took when listening to the podcast…

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Podcast 017: How to Use Google+ to Promote Your Business (with Chris Turner) Welcome to the very first episode of Go Fire Yourself. If you’ve been following my blog, you know that GFY was previously called The Day I Quit. But even though I’ve changed it up, I’m still dedicated to bringing you great stories and helpful advice from other great entrepreneurs, leaders and specialist. I’m excited today because I’m kicking off the new GFY podcast with Chris Turner—an SEO specialist and founder of ChocolateSEO. I met Chris at Podcamp in Nashville when he was giving a workshop on Google + and since I learned a lot from him in only 20 minutes that day, I thought he would be great to have on the podcast. Since most of us are new to Google+ (because it’s only been around for a short while), I asked him if he would share about how to use simple SEO strategies and Google+ to boost the online marketing strategies for local small business owners. SEO is an essential part of any good business marketing strategy. It’s like putting up business signs or billboards, but in the virtual world. Chris says, “It’s the digital version of traditional marketing”. So if you’re a local business owner, listen up to get some great tips and a step-by-step strategy for using Google+ to build your brand and get more customers through your door! Also, take a moment to connect with Chris or get more info on working with him by visiting his website: ChocolateSEO

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Podcast 016 “Entrepreneurship is a little bit of a sickness and a disease,” says Mitch Gordon, founder of GoOverseas, “but it’s one that I’m happy to have.” When Mitch said this on the podcast, I couldn’t help but laugh because that’s exactly how I feel most of the time. Plus, I know that many of my fellow entrepreneurial friends can relate. When you have that innate entrepreneurial “bug” or “disease”, you KNOW it. And there’s no doubt that Mitch Gordon knows it and has truly embraced it. Mitch is one of those really cool entrepreneurs with a “pay it forward” attitude. Even with his super busy schedule and successful business with 20 employees, he’ll still genuinely ask you, “What can I do for you?” and find a way to help you out. After quitting his corporate job in consulting and auditing for PwC in 2005, Mitch moved across the world to Taiwan to start his first full-time entrepreneurial venture—Reach to Teach. When funds started running low and credit card bills began piling up, Mitch didn’t throw in the towel. Instead, he’s propelled his life forward and has taken his business ideas to the next level. Today, Mitch is the founder of GoOverseas which is a website dedicated to providing resources for meaningful travel abroad—including teaching, studying, volunteering, and interning. The site connects all types of students, travelers and volunteers to reputable programs all over the world and also have built an incredible online community of travelers as well. Mitch is also the Entrepreneur in Residence at Berkeley and works with anyone in the student body who wants to start a business or entrepreneurial venture. It’s great to have him on the show because he shares what he’s learned from his own experiences quitting his secure job and launching two “lean” startup businesses and also relates some of the great advice that he gives to Berkeley students every day. If you like the show, don’t forget to share it on FB and Twitter using the links below! In this episode of The Day I Quit, you’ll discover… Why Mitch says “My soul died a little bit every day when I was working a job” How an entrepreneur who designed cat furniture helped him gain the confidence he needed to quit his job What made Mitch feel like it was the right time to take the plunge, quit his job and move halfway across the world to start his first full-time business Why Mitch claims it was “really really hard” and “stressful” to make his first business work How he used the stress of credit card debt to motivate him to make his business successful instead of scaring him into surrender What he did to break even with his business in the first year and start making a substantial income in his 3rd year How his 1st business became the largest education recruitment company in Asia The importance of figuring out what customers actually need vs. what you think that they need How focusing on long-term goals (instead of short-term money makers) helped ensure the longevity of Mitch’s business Why having the confidence in yourself and your business is truly critical Mitch’s top tips and advice for entrepreneurs who want to take their businesses to the next level Why it’s vital to the success of your business to consider ALL feedback, even if it’s negative and it hurts The #1 criteria that any good business idea has to fit if it’s going to be successful   Items mentioned in this podcast include: GoOverseas.com Reach to Teach The Refined Feline The Lean Startup by Eric Ries Optimizely [email protected] @mitchgordongo  

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DIQ 015: Maximize Your Time in Your Current Job Today, the topic of the show is 5 ways maximize your time while you’re still working at your current job. In the last week  or so on the Day I Quit blog, I’ve talked a lot about this. When I interviewed Angela Proffitt for the last podcast, it struck me that she was using so much of the knowledge she gained during the 10 years she was working a job as a therapist to set herself apart and excel at her wedding planning business that she’s doing now. The fact is, she probably wouldn’t have grown her business so quickly if she hadn’t learned everything she learned working a job. This is the same with many of the other people who I’ve interviewed like Trevor Page, a java programmer, Jeff Quinn, a magician and Amber Campion, a yoga instructor. They’ve all used the time they spent in their 9-5 jobs wisely to increase their chances of being successful when they make the switch to being self-employed. Wouldn’t it make a huge difference if you maximized the time you’re spending at your current job instead of being miserable every day? Wouldn’t it be awesome if you didn’t feel like you’re wasting away your life before that magical day comes when you finally hand in your resignation? How much more successful would you be if you utilized the time you have RIGHT NOW? Check out this podcast episode to learn what you can start doing right now that will excel you towards your goal of quitting your job and working for yourself.  

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DIQ 014: Interview with Angela Proffitt (angelaproffitt.com)map :: {skin:’orange’, animate:true, width:’200′, volume:0.2, autoplay:false, loop:false, showVolumeLevel:true, showTime:true, showRew:true, downloadable:true, downloadablesecurity:false, id3: false} Angela Proffitt had her whole life planned out after college—she was going to work as a therapist, get married, buy a big house, have two kids and drive a Range Rover. Everything in her traditional upbringing suggested that she was on the right track with her life. But for Angela, she realized that this kind of dream wasn’t going to cut it for her. When Angela left her job as a therapist in a mental unit and moved back to Nashville, TN in 2003, she got a job working at a local hospital. Soon afterward, she took on her first wedding planning client “just for fun”. This lead to the next client and the next wedding, and pretty soon, she had a full-time job AND a full-time wedding planning business. By 2009, she was working 21 hour days, seven days a week. Then in 2011, she got a phone call that ended up changing her entire life and making her choose between her wedding planning business or her hospital job. With only 24 hours to think about it, she decided to take the plunge and hand in her resignation. She quit her job, jumped on the self-employment bandwagon and left her “traditional” life behind her. Today, Angela is a successful (and extremely busy) wedding and event planner. She also teaches classes for other businesses owners on how to integrate technology into their businesses to become more proficient and profitable and she is working to come out with her own products later this year. Listen to Angela’s story about making the switch into self-employment and what she’s learned along the way. So sit back, relax and enjoy the show… In this episode of The Day I Quit, you’ll discover… What made Angela feel like she was in a helpless rat race at her job How she got started in the wedding planning business and how she knew that this type of business was the right fit for her personality How she uses technology to save time, manage her employees and streamline her business What she does to increase her word-of-mouth referrals Angela’s #1 piece of advice for other people who want to quit their job What happened in her wedding planning business that left her with 24 hours to quit her job The encouragement her boss gave her the day she quit (while she was in tears) Why Angela didn’t charge for her services the first two years of being “in business” The knowledge and skills that Angela learned in her 9-to-5 job that set her apart from other wedding planners in the industry What she’s learned through trial and error about managing her employees and interns How mastering the “follow thru” in her business has made her the go-to person for events Why she makes all her employees take a personality test before she’ll consider hiring them The mindset that keeps her on track when fears and doubts crop up How she uses Pinterest to make her a better wedding planner The importance of knowing your value and charging what you’re worth as a small business owner How the Catalyst program at the EO has helped her grow as an entrepreneur   Items mentioned in this podcast include: AngelaProffitt.com Score mentoring iCloud Dropbox Google drive EO (Entrepreneurs’ Organization) Catalyst Program  

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