The First 10 Podcast

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Indie makers and marketplace shakers, this episode is a must-listen for you! Joining the podcast today is the prolific innovator and creator Jakob Greenfeld. Over the last two years, Jakob has successfully launched over fifteen software products and is the host of The Business Brainstorms podcast and creator of The Opportunities newsletter. 

In this episode, we learn about Jakob’s journey from becoming a physicist to testing out the road of entrepreneurship with his bootstrapped products. Jakob gives us great insight into the early days of his workings, framework, and product launching tactics. Jakob also shines a light on taking shots on goal, the importance of authenticity, sharing your origin story and how to increase your business visibility. Key points within this episode include: 

• An introduction to Jakob Greenfeld. 
• The importance of hooking customers with your origin story. 
• Preparation and patience in business. 
• Building an online audience. 
• Market response and first product sales. 
• The downfalls of a product launch.
• Why we should never underestimate newsletters.
• The benefits of growing a sustainable community. 
• The power of authenticity and being personable. 
• Increasing your online visibility.    
• Jakob’s advice on obtaining your first 10 customers.

‘’In the long term, it all boils down to just putting your brain out there and hoping that like-minded people find you.’’ – Jakob Greenfeld. 

Connect with Jakob Greenfeld:

https://jakobgreenfeld.com/

https://twitter.com/jakobgreenfeld

https://businessbrainstorms.com/

https://indieopportunities.com/ 

Connect with First 10 Podcast host Conor McCarthy: 

https://www.first10podcast.com

https://twitter.com/TheFirst10Pod

https://www.linkedin.com/in/comccart/

Resources:

Book: How to be a capitalist without any capital by Nathan Latka

https://book.nathanlatka.com/

Book:
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work by Michael E. Gerber
 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses

Book: Superfans by Pat Flynn

https://patflynn.com/book/superfans/

Trends.vc Newsletter 

https://trends.vc/

Andrew Wilkinson – Co-founder of Tiny
https://twitter.com/awilkinson

Harry Dry – The Kanye Story 

https://thekanyestory.com/

Pieter Levels – 12 start ups in 12 months 

https://levels.io/12-startups-12-months/

Produced in partnership with podlad.com

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Check out my podcast partners!

• Buzzsprout
• Otter.ai
• Calendly

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Welcome back to season four of The First 10 podcast. Kicking off this season’s debut episode is special guest Andy Mackin. Andy is the proud CEO of the Mackin group, based in Cork and operating globally. The Mackin group consists of two renowned companies Mackin EHS a health, safety, and environmental service provider, and Mackin Talent, a talent management solutions provider. 

Andy is a wealth of business knowledge and has so many fascinating stories to share, along with valuable advice and tips on succeeding in business. Andy openly shares insights from the beginning of his entrepreneurial voyage, explores the power of discipline and consistency, and reveals the importance of building and nurturing your network. Andy also breaks down the superpower that is relationships and why the value of Relationships Matters is at the core of everything his dynamic global company does. Key points within this episode include: 

• An introduction to Andy Mackin. 
• The voyage from the Irish Navy into entrepreneurship. 
• Trusting business instincts and taking the leap. 
• The key to building clientele. 
• Becoming comfortable with business directing and networking. 
• The vital skills of discipline and consistency in business. 
• The importance of personal connections and business relationship management.  
• Expansion and growth in business. 
• The Mackin Group company culture. 
• The impact of gratitude and business reflection. 
• Andy’s advice on obtaining your first 10 customers.

‘’Time is a valuable commodity, but I don't think it can be shared more positively or impactfully than spending time with people.’’ – Andy Mackin.

Connect with Andy Mackin:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mackinconsultancy

https://twitter.com/andrewmackin  

Connect with First 10 Podcast host Conor McCarthy: 

https://www.first10podcast.com  

https://twitter.com/TheFirst10Pod 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/comccart/ 

Resources:

Business Networking in Ireland 

https://bni.ie  

Book recommendations:

Atomic Habits by James Clear 

https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits 

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shoe-Dog-Phil-Knight

Twelve and a Half by Gary Vaynerchuk 

https://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Half-  

Produced in partnership with podlad.com

Check out my podcast partners!
Buzzsprout

Otter.ai

Calendly

Send a text

Season 4 of The First 10 Podcast will focus on serial entrepreneurs, and this episode is a short message about why. 

I want to shed a light on the people who have chosen the entrepreneurial path, again and again, to see what it was about them that enabled them to pivot their business, or drop a failing or undesirable business and pick up elsewhere, or spot new opportunities in a familiar space and launch products that found traction and fit a customer need. From the outside, the tenacity, drive, and imagination to start again can look like something reserved for the very few, and I hope that this season of the podcast will show you ways you can adopt a serial mindset.

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A recap of some of the incredible wisdom shared by my array of guests this last season.

Show Notes

Work with me - https://www.conormccarthy.me/work-with-me 

Link for review on Apple Podcasts

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Leave a rating for this podcast

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The First 10 things I Wish I Knew are here.

Like anyone who works for themselves, I have a litany of things I learned the hard way.

All of them have taught me things that now are a part of my subconscious judgement when making decisions.

They help me be less wrong in the future.

In speaking with founders on The First 10 Podcast about how they found their first 10 customers, I have discovered that some of these mistakes and failures are universal.

The only way to learn from your mistakes is to reflect on them and the only thing to do with your failures is to juice them for all they are worth.

Don’t let them leave the building without picking their pockets.

Here is a shortlist of 10 (more) things I’ve learned along the way that might help you improve your decision-making process and general judgment.

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It’s easy to look back at our mistakes and wonder how things might have gone differently, if only. There is only so much value to be had in that mode of thinking. The moment has passed, the decisions were made and paths were taken.

Here is a list of 10 things I’ve learned along the way that might help you improve your decision-making process.

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Listeners are in for a treat with this final episode of the season featuring prolific freelancer Tom Hirst. Tom is a WordPress developer, business owner, author, creator, mentor, and Twitter guru. Tom has a passion for helping others get ahead by sharing his experience and learnings with people from all corners of the globe, guiding them to become better freelancers through his newsletter, courses, books, and mentorship programmes.

In this jam-packed episode, Conor and Tom dive into the world of freelancing, discussing how to generate leads, pricing your work, and marketing yourself consistently. Main points covered throughout the episode include:

• Tom’s introduction to becoming a freelancer. 
• Obtaining new clients through your network.
• How a personal website generated new leads. 
• Discovering your unique selling point and standing out from the crowd.
• Becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. 
• Tapping into SEO and the importance of learning the basics. 
• Identifying your ideal customers. 
• Pricing your freelance services & pricing mistakes freelancers can make.
• How to market yourself consistently.
• Healthy competition – your competitor is not your enemy. 
• Embracing social media and overcoming the fear of sharing in public.
• Advice on building your personal brand. 
• Why authenticity matters.
• Tom’s tips for finding your first 10 customers. 

Connect with Tom Hirst:

http://www.tomhirst.com/ 

http://www.tomhirst.com/products/10-steps-to-becoming-a-better-freelancer/

http://www.tomhirst.com/mentorship/ 

http://twitter.com/tom_hirst 
 

Connect with First 10 Podcast host Conor McCarthy: 

http://www.first10podcast.com  

http://twitter.com/TheFirst10Pod 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/comccart/ 

Resources:

Book: Hourly Billing Is Nuts by Jonathan Stark

https://jonathanstark.com/hbin 

Produced in partnership with podlad.com

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If a life coach and a business strategist had a baby, you would get Darrah Brustein. Darrah is a four-time founder, author, connector, and coach at Mind Your Own Business, a community for service-based business owners focused on maximising their profit and impact.  

In this episode, Darrah discusses her steered transition into coaching, how to go above and beyond for clients, and building a business that does not run you. Main points covered throughout the show include:

• An insight into Darrah's entrepreneurial journey. 
• The importance of existing relationships when acquiring new clients. 
• How to build authentic, meaningful, and long-lasting relationships. 
• Nurturing trust with your clients and demonstrating you care.
• Providing value to your contacts. 
• Delivering an outstanding service and fulfilling your client's needs. 
• The power of networking - how to create broader connections through introductions.
• A valuable template for winning e-mail introductions.
• Darrah's transition into coaching and staying true to intent. 
• Identifying work alignment & success.
• Learning to trust your gut intuition. 
• Advice for finding your first ten customers. 

Darrah is a prolific author and Forbes contributor and has interviewed many renowned experts, including Daniel Pink, Shaquille O'Neal, Kat Cole, Bobbi Brown, and Seth Godin, to name but a few. 

Connect with Darrah Brustein:

http://darrah.co/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/darrahbrustein/  

http://www.instagram.com/darrahb/ 

Mind Your Business Community - https://darrah.co/myb 

Diving Deep with Deepak & Darrah - http://darrah.co/divingdeep 

Connect with First 10 Podcast host Conor McCarthy: 

http://www.first10podcast.com  

http://twitter.com/TheFirst10Pod 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/comccart/ 

Resources:

Article – How to make e-mail introductions where everyone wins 

http://darrah.co/blog/email-intros?rq=email 

Book – Super Connector by Ryan Paugh and Scott Gerber. 

http://www.amazon.com/Superconnector-Networking-Building-Business-Relationships-ebook/dp/B071WJVN62 

Book – Give and Take by Adam Grant

http://www.adamgrant.net/book/give-and-take/ 

Produced in partnership with podlad.com

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Matt Olpinski is a successful UI + UX designer and developer who teaches thousands of freelancers how to get more clients, raise their rates, and create a better life for themselves. 

In this episode, Matt discusses in depth how to operate as a freelancer. Matt shares how he accidentally fell into the world of freelancing and how you can find clients through your personal network by letting people know what it is that you do. Matt also reveals how he transitioned from being a full-time freelancer to running his agency and how he built his own lively community – The Freelance Institute. Key points covered throughout the episode include:

• Matt’s leap into full-time freelancing.
• Communicating with clients and delivering value. 
• Learning from conversations and evolving through feedback.
• Useful resources for operating your business. 
• Freelance transformation - the shift from freelancing to running an agency. 
• How to position yourself and scale your business. 
• Finding the right people to work alongside.  
• How to develop and grow a thriving community.
• Advice on finding your first 10 customers.
• Unlocking the power within your personal network.

Matt holds over ten years of industry experience and has worked with renowned world-class brands such as Facebook, Coca-Cola, PayPal, Porsche, and Google, to name but a few. 

Matt’s Freelance Institute is a community for freelancers and remote workers, where you can receive the best freelancing advice by talking directly to experienced freelancers, including Matt in a private community focused on helping you learn the business of freelancing. 

Connect with Matt Olpinski:

http://mattolpinski.com/ 

http://madebymatthews.com/ 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/mattolpinski/ 

The Freelance Institute – A community for freelancers and remote workers. 

http://mattolpinski.com/community/ 
 

Connect with First 10 Podcast host Conor McCarthy: 

http://www.first10podcast.com  

http://twitter.com/TheFirst10Pod 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/comccart/ 

Resources:

The Blueprint by Brendan Dunn 

http://brennandunn.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17607204-the-blueprint  

Useful business tools: 

A proprietary business communication platform: 

http://slack.com/ 

A visual collaboration tool:

http://trello.com/ 

A community platform for creators:

http://circle.so/ 

Produced in partnership with podlad.com

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Robbie Swale is a leadership coach who has built a successful practice of empowering clients to unlock their potential to thrive in their career, work, and life paths. Robbie’s clients include entrepreneurs, investors, theatre directors, and even other coaches.

In this episode, Robbie shares his coaching journey, discusses getting comfortable with talking about money, the importance of honesty, and how we can improve our practices from learning through conversations with others. Key points throughout the episode include:

• Being authentic and not compromising values. 
• Obtaining the first 10 customers.
• Robbie’s professional false starts and his coaching pathway. 
• Learning and experiencing by doing. 
• The benefits of feeling and embracing resistance. 
• An insight into Robbie’s enrolment process. 
• Getting comfortable with money and learning to sell your services from the get-go.
• The practice of looking at the bigger picture and end goal.
• The key approach of honesty and simplicity.
• The value of referrals, the gift of a session, and planting seeds. 
• Tips on how to develop your coaching skills. 
• The Coach’s Journey and creating for your community. 
• Advice for finding your first 10 coaching customers. 

Robbie also hosts The Coach's Journey program and podcast which is dedicated to supporting coaches to take their business to a new level, creating work that supports them to live an extraordinary life, whatever that means for them. 

Connect with Robbie Swale:

http://www.robbieswalecoaching.com/ 

http://www.thecoachsjourney.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/robbieswale 

http://twitter.com/RobbieSwale 
 

Connect with First 10 Podcast host Conor McCarthy: 

http://www.first10podcast.com  

http://twitter.com/TheFirst10Pod 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/comccart/ 

Resources:

War of Art by Steven Pressfield

http://www.amazon.com/War-Art-Winning-Creative-Battle-audio-cd/dp/1501260626 

Coach Training Organisation recommended by Robbie 

http://www.coachesrising.com/ 

The First 10 Podcast is produced in partnership with podlad.com