Reflections of a CEO

People ask me all the time: How do you get new business?

And I wish I could tell you there’s some magic trick or a super awesome FB Ads formula…

But it’s actually really simple: referrals and partnerships.

In today’s podcast,

I dive into the strategic approach for channel partnerships we used at Jakt to funnel new business,

and the steps you should take to build your social capital.

I’ll touch on:

- How I got new business when I started Jakt with no money (2:14)

- Why time and cost constraints lead to creativity in finding new customers (3:35)

- How we applied channel partnerships as a software agency to funnel new business (4:55)

- How referrals allow you to draft trust from the beginning and increase close rates (8:18)

- The different types of people that you can partner up with (9:09)

- The downsides to referrals (12:11)

- One of the best ways to form a partnership with someone (15:05)

Some people don’t understand how lonely and difficult it can be when you’re the head of the company.

If you’re a business owner, you might know what I’m talking about.

No matter if they are friends, family, or employees...

...a lot of them might struggle to grasp the difficult challenges you’re facing:

How you’re feeling, the risks you are going through, the stress...

In this episode, I dive deep into discussing how lonely it can get when you’re the CEO.

I’ll touch on…

- Why don’t most people understand how it feels to run a business (2:05)

- The need for empathy between you and others for not understanding it. (2:40)

- How inherent risks leverage the rewards for CEOs disproportionately to employees. (3:17)

As a business owner, it can be hard to decide how much you should be paying yourself.

All the profits? Just a set amount every month?...

In this episode,

I’ll share with you what I’ve been doing for the last 7+ years. I truly believe that this is something that has helped me grow Jakt from 0 to a $4M/year agency.

Here’s what I’ll touch on:

- Why taking only the bare minimum is the best decision to make from a financial standpoint (3:01)

- The best possible investment you can make when you’re starting (3:22)

- The big “mistake” people make when taking profits out (6:34)

- [Funny story] The longest I’ve gone without taking money (11:21)

Over the last 7 years, I started Jakt from scratch and grew it to a $4M/year business.

Now, I’m also following one of my passions for a long time: real estate.

In this episode,

I talk about real estate and passive income, the steps I’m taking to educate myself, and why I think business owners can find value in it.

I’ll touch on:

- My definition of passive income and how Real Estate relates to it (3:26) - Part 1

- Where I’m personally looking to invest in the near future (9:51) - Part 1

- How I’m studying and learning about it (5:18) - Part 2

- Why is wealth concentrated at the top circles, and how you can gain access to them (7:14)

Something that I get asked quite often is how we’ve grown Jakt from 0 to a $4M/year business.

If they’re expecting me to uncover a quick and easy strategy, they leave disappointed.

In this episode, I am sharing with you the exact way I use to bring in leads and new business to my companies.

The truth is, it takes work. And effort. And patience. But it has worked really well for me.

If you want to learn how you can apply this and how that can make a big difference to your business, make sure to listen to this podcast.

Here’s what I’ll cover:

- The interesting conversation I had where we uncovered why people don’t like this strategy 0:42

- The exact process I use to develop New Business (all steps) 3:55

- The value of compounding and the need for patience 5:25

- Why you should constantly be telling your story to the world 6:00

Get the book Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Success by Adam Grant here: https://amzn.to/2Egjg6x

In this episode, I want to answer a question I received on how I decide to fire someone and how to do it. 

It’s an extremely complicated thing that doesn’t necessarily get easier.

Funny thing: it took me 6 months to build up the courage to fire someone for the first time. 

But there are certain things that I’ve picked up along the way that can help you make this type of decisions. 

In this segment, I’m sharing with you the real-life tactics and I hope you can take advantage of them and use them in your business. 

Here’s what I’ll touch on:

A story on the first time I fired someone 1:20

The one question you need to ask yourself before you pull the trigger 5:30

Culture vs. Performance-related reasons 6:20

How to legally protect yourself as a small business owner 11:15

Is there a “best” day to do it? 18:20

The emotional component to firing people 21:20

We are moving things and reinventing ourselves at Jakt!

In order to continue evolving, we believe that it’s important that we narrow our focus as a business. Really exciting times are coming.

In this episode, I talk about how to pivot your company and steer a moving ship, what it means to the current executive team, and how important your people and culture are during times of transition.

- The one challenge we are facing at Jakt that’s making us go even more narrow 3:00

- Applying the lessons I preach to other business owners 5:20

- Why E-commerce customers are extremely attractive for us 10:00

- Auditing our team before future changes 13:02

In this episode:

This episode is NOT for do-as-I-say, not-as-I-do fakers. I am sharing exactly how I am applying in my own businesses everything I put out on my content. In a completely transparent way, I will show you all that happens behind the scenes while taking a step forward against this trend that has appearance over reality.

- How I share what I’ve learned over the years 1:37

- How I share what I wish what I would’ve known when I was starting out 2:42

- Retracing my steps in getting a business off the ground 5:52

- Offering your product to the market 7:03

- Why you only need to focus on what you’re offering 11:25

- When you should say “no” 13:02

- The ambiguity in pricing 15:30

In this episode: 

What happens after you sign a new client? How do you manage all the little details throughout the entire relationship? In this episode of Reflections of a CEO, I’m walking you step-by-step on how our sales process works, what you’re really selling, how to sell through your service, and much more!

- Summing up sales 1:07 

- Selling through your service 2:23

- Defining “onboarding” 3:49

- Acknowledging a transition 7:33

- Sell them on the company, not on you 8:47

In this episode: 

What makes people stay at your company? Is it the mission? Your vision, maybe? What made them join in the first place? In this episode, I talk about what makes a company appealing to current and future employees, the importance of fostering a positive culture, and what keeps me at my company! Check it out!

- Diagnosing the divide between management and everyone else 1:23

- Why is it that people stay at a company? 4:36

- What makes me stay? 10:10

- What importance does the mission have in a company? 11:15