Do you ever wonder what it would be like to truly live your dream life?  Chris and Lori Harder wondered the same thing…then went out and actually DID it.

For this edition of The Solopreneur Hour I’m bringing this episode back because I wanted you to hear again the kind of adversity Lori had to fight through, and how their partnership in life and in business has made them excel beyond their wildest dreams.

This best of episode for show 215 is a good one.  Enjoy!

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Today I have a great and candid conversation with Chris and Lori Harder. They are a network marketing power couple that has made over a million dollars over the last couple of years in their company.

I brought them on to talk about their background and how adversity has been such a key to their success.

Lori faced adversity early on. Believe it or not, she was a chubby kid. She says her family bonded over food and they also all believed being overweight was simply in their DNA, it was just part of who they are.

But Lori has always had a fighting spirit and she refused to believe she was stuck. The pivotal point for her came when she was 11 and her crush teased her in front of everyone. She was at the pool with a group of friends and was about to jump off the diving board. He yelled at her not to jump because if she did there would be no water left. Lori was mortified and determined to change her weight.

She did what all great solopreneurs do when they are venturing into new territory: she immersed herself in her new passion, fitness. She read everything she could, she borrowed her sister’s fitness tapes and made her mom buy all the fitness magazines at the grocery store for her.

Though the change didn’t happen overnight, it did happen. Lori soon saw fitness as a way to cope with the stress and anxiety of life; her family went through some difficult times and exercise helped her stay calm and focused.

The finer details of this show include:

* How was Chris “fake employable” and are you?

* What was Lori’s nickname as a child?

* How many times has Lori been featured on the cover of Oxygen magazine?

* Successful people recognize ___ in others – what is it?

* Why doing the scary stuff is so important to being successful.

* And so very much more!

As she became more fit and healthy, she decided to enter fitness competitions. She was not someone who finished things, but she wanted to change that. She knew by signing up for a fitness competition and working with her trainer, she would make herself fulfill on a commitment. It was also the scariest, biggest thing she could and she wanted to go for it; it would be her way of proving she do something with her life. And so she did; after that first competition came many more.

Along the way she met Chris, while working out at the gym, and they dated and eventually married. Initially they moved around for Chris’ work and Lori took odd jobs as they did, working at a myriad of positions that she was not passionate about. Chris called her out on it and challenged her to find something she loved and be great at it.

Lori chose personal training and that led to online training and workouts for her clients and their referrals. They built a web site, a Facebook group and eventually videos. Lori’s brand was taking shape.

When one of Lori’s clients, a woman named Holly, suggested Lori try a nutritional system Holly was using Lori said no thanks. Having been in the fitness world for so long and having been so successful in it, Lori was inundated with new companies and products to try. And her experience was never good; the products always made her feel terrible.

Welcome to our post-CES edition of The Solopreneur Hour! Fresh back from CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) in fabulous Las Vegas, I spend today’s show talking about how to prepare and crush events, what’s going on in 2015, and share some killer gear every solopreneur needs.

Tune in to hear all of that and more on the 214th episode of The Solopreneur Hour.

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Before we get into how to get the most out of attending events I’ve got a quick rundown of events I’ll be speaking at and attending in 2015. If you’re going to be at any of them (and I hope you will) let me know so we can connect.

This coming weekend, Jan 17-19 I’ll be at New Year’s Kick-Off (NYKO) which is the annual Isagenix event to start each new year. If you’re interested in network marketing and want to know more about Isagenix and NYKO reach out to me here.

Later in January I’ll be at NAMM which is the National Association of Music Merchants and will be in Anaheim, California.

And in March I have the honor of doing live, in-depth interviews with some of the key speakers at Social Media Marketing World right here in San Diego. Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner puts on this incredible event every year and this year I have the honor of being on stage.

If you’re going to be in town for this event – and you should – let me know. I’m organizing a meetup for all listeners who will be in attendance and I’d love for you to join us.

There are a few other events I’ve got on my calendar, you’ll have to download the show to hear what they are and where they are!

Now if you’re attending any of these or any other events, I’m going to tell you what you need to know before you go on this episode. These lessons are based on my belief that events are where it’s at for all solopreneurs and wannabe solopreneurs everywhere. Events are so critical they are one of the 8 steps to becoming a successful solopreneur (the other 7 are here).

The first step of preparation for me was to know my outcome. I went in with the intention of creating relationships with certain companies I’d like to have as sponsors of the show.  You should create a goal like that for every event you attend. Whether it’s a local meet up or a week-long conference, determine an outcome you will achieve as a result of being there.

Secondly I had a pitch. I knew who I was talking to and I knew why I wanted to talk to them, all before I went to the show. Do your research before your event and find out who will be in attendance, then know why you want to connect with them and that will help you develop your pitch.

And you’ll refine that pitch as the event goes on and after it is over. You’ll learn new things as you meet new people, all of which will help you refine what you’re saying and who you’re saying it to.

Finally there’s the follow up. Whoever said the fortune is in the follow up was certainly talking about events. Come home with a stack of info whether it’s business cards, phone numbers or names of people in companies you met with and then contact them. Remind them who you are, where you met and something about your conversation so they remember you.

Part of my pitch and follow up steps was to get samples of what everyone was showcasing at CES. Some I’ll need to give back but many things I’m able to keep and will be giving away to all of you!

I did all of those things during my time at CES and brought home some phenomenal contacts,

Hey all you Unemployables! Welcome to another edition of The Solopreneur Hour.

Today I’m in Vegas for the International Consumer Electronics Show.  It’s basically like Christmas for big kids.  Anything that has a power button (or not), is wearable, or connected, is here at the show.

Joining me for this episode is the one and only, Amy Schmittauer from SavvySexySocial.com.  We have a great time talking about how to rock out your video content marketing, then answer your questions from the Proudly Unemployable group.  Have a listen to the 213th episode of The Solopreneur Hour.

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If you missed Amy’s previous appearance on the show check it out here, and get her backstory.

Today Amy and I chat about our highlights from CES, three savvy, sexy and social tips she has for us to improve our videos, and how to make great videos simply and quickly. We geek out on equipment details, all of you techies will love it!

And then last, but certainly not least, we answer your questions. If you want to be included in our next Q&A sess please join us at the Proudly Unemployable Facebook group here and watch for my post requesting your questions.

Speaking of which here are this week’s questions!

Anetra Henry-Hunting

Michael, what would you call someone (or a service) that helps another business create the infrastructure they need to move their business forward? (Something cool and fun….not coach or consultant).

Jonathan Wilson

Thinking of starting a podcast in my niche, day job industry. The industry is fairly small, geographically spread out and not very well connected to each other. Format would be mostly industry-people interviews.

How could I best spread the word about the show? I have a feeling my audience would be mostly composed of “what is a podcast?” type of people. Thanks!

Ellen Reaves 

Thinking of starting a podcast with my brother which will chronicle his journey to get his kids into the college of their choice. We will be interviewing experts but also want to interview other parents who have their own tips about applying for college.

Our target audience is a busy mom, 52 with 2 kids (teen and a tween). How would you launch the podcast and market on social media? Thanks Michael, absolutely love the podcast!

Robert Bone 

Michael, should I cut the blue wire or the red one? There was a green one I cut but now the timer is counting down quickly.

Thanks in advance.

Andrew Slominski 

How can I prevent myself from buying expensive “tools” for my business when these are the toys I would be buying for myself anyway. Computers, cameras, lenses, etc. I’m a photographer and I just made the difficult decision to return an expensive computer that I had been looking forward to.

Robert Bone

Hey Andrew, I’m sure Michael will cover this properly, but I suggest putting together a simple business plan and look at projected turnover and costs, and from there work out your budgets (ie equipment, marketing, etc). Then STICK TO THE BUDGETS!

The biggest killer of small businesses is cash-flow, and as a business every penny you spend comes off your bottom line, and as a solopreneur, your company profit exactly equals how much you personally earn.

It’s easy to think of non-essential tools (toys???) as a tax write-off, but although it gets off-set against your tax, you’re not getting 100% of it back in tax. Don’t fall into this trap of wantonly spending big bucks in o...

Today’s guest has worked for the likes of Marie Forleo and Derek Halpern, to name a few. She is THE go-to legal eagle for the internet marketing A-listers of the world.

And she joins us to answer all of your solopreneur-related legal questions, and give you the lowdown on what you should do and what you shouldn’t do on your own to protect your business, Ms. Jo-na Williams.

On the 212th episode of The Solopreneur Hour Jo-na shares her background as a vocal artist, how it led her to become today’s most in-demand internet marketing attorney and so much more.

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Jo-na’s foray into entertainment law actually began when was a studio singer in Detroit. Her mom was a music promoter in their hometown of Detroit during the Motown days of the 70s and 80s. Jo-na was bitten by the singing bug and was eventually introduced to a producer and engineers. They loved her voice and brought her in to sing and sing various songs, all the while promising her credit.

As happens to many vocalists, she never got credit for her work. Her voice was stolen and used for songs she never agreed to and she wasn’t given credit for her other work. She explains what a mess it was for her.

The silver lining was she found her niche: she loved the entertainment industry and tried on various hats in that field, until she found the law. She was looking for the common thread in that world of entertainment that would uniformly help any and all artists trying to make it. And the law was that common thread, so she went to law school and fell in love with business law.

More About This Show:

How has her art evolved?

What are some of the commonalities between solopreneurs and musicians?

Does she recommend having an online company set up your business for you?

What is ASCAP and why should you care?

What’s the difference between the TM and the copyright R?

And so much more!

Her next big “ah-ha” moment came when she took Marie Forleo’s B School. Taking this course opened up the world of internet marketing for her and she was hooked. She began giving away legal advice to her fellow B Schoolers and she stood out for it. There were only a few other lawyers participating, but she set herself apart by helping as many others as she could.

And people took notice, one of her first big serial entrepreneur clients loved her work so much that she wrote a piece about how great Jo-na’s legal help had been. That piece had a snowball effect on Jo-na’s client list, and she’s been growing ever since.

On today’s episode Jo-na also shares how to pick a lawyer (no matter your budget), some of the common solopreneur pitfalls she sees and how to avoid them and simple steps we can all take right now to cover your business bases.

You’ll have to listen to hear the details on all of these topics, but one glimpse you can have now are her simple steps to take to cover your business’ bases.

First get a consultation with a lawyer (a business lawyer, preferably an online business savvy one) and an accountant. Tell them where you are at with your business and where you want to go. They can recommend the proper business entity for you.

If you’re mainly looking for a lifestyle of time, location and financial freedom Jo-na says you’re okay to start with a sole proprietorship until you’re generating higher revenue and you have a larger reach, your lawyer and accountant will help you figure out what entity is right for you when you do reach that next level.

After that you’ll want to create a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). This will protect you and all of your ideas when you’re building your company and your teams. Everyone who works for you, with you or creates something for your business should sign this (like graphic designers, web developers, etc).

To be PROUDLY unemployable: it’s what you and everyone listening wants, it’s why you’re here. You are standing at the precipice of launching your side gig, the gig that you’re supposed to be doing. How do make the leap?

Today on episode 211 we’re talking about how to make that leap, what you’re afraid of and how to get past it with super successful entrepreneur, Dr. Paul Anderson and budding entrepreneur Jessica Shanaan. Join us for all of that and more on today’s live in-studio edition of The Solopreneur Hour.

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This is a really special, and really insightful episode.  One one hand, we have Jessica Shaanan, who’s been completely bitten by the entrepreneurial bug.  On the other hand, we’ve got the ultra-entrepreneur, Dr. Paul Anderson.

Jessica is where many of you are right now and where every solopreneur has been: she’s getting started. She knows what she loves to do and what she’s good at. Now she’s in the process of narrowing that down and finding her swing. On this episode Dr. Paul and I talk about how to apply her talents and skills to make the leap from a day job to being unemployable.

For those of you who haven’t heard Dr. Paul’s previous visits to the show, find them here. He’s an extremely successful and innovative man who creates natural products for the health and wellness world. He’s also very knowledgable on what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur.

More About This Show:

What’s the ultimate secret?

Do we really only use 10% of our brain?

Dr. Paul shares the two things we need for entrepreneurial success.

What percentage of information in the health and wellness world is accurate?

The reward system to use when working at home.

And SO much more!

The two things Dr. Paul says we all need for solopreneur success are true knowledge and proper marketing/packaging. True and accurate knowledge is rare, most people are wrong about most things (especially in the health industry). Know the basics of what you’re doing and what you are offering to the world and you’ll be miles ahead in your industry.

He also has discovered that finding your mission is of utmost importance. Those who makes the greatest impact in the world, in whatever field they are in, are those who have found their mission. The vehicle they use to share that mission is secondary to the actual mission itself. So if you want to make the world a healthier place, like Jessica does, that is your mission. How that mission reaches the world becomes your vehicle, but it isn’t as important as the actual mission is.

If you’re still finding your mission and finding your way you can also take what you know and start a business. We touched on this in episode 205 with Jill and Josh Stanton, and we revisit it on today’s episode. If you actually like what you do and there’s a need for it in the world take your talents and skills and become a consultant. Find a way to offer your services on your own terms with your own business.

Another important point made in this episode is you’ll never know everything and you’ll never be completely prepared to make the solopreneur leap. At a certain point you simply have to know it isn’t perfect but jump anyway. Be open, ask questions and go for it. You’re going to learn so much along the way so just get started.

We go into greater detail on all of these topics, and much more on this episode.

Hey all,  happy new year to you! Episode 210 of The Solopreneur Hour is our first Facebook Q&A of 2015…hollah! As always you brought the thunder, and I loved answering for you.

On today’s show we get to your questions (of course, it’s what we do most Fridays), we talk about the upcoming CES conference and how YOU can go to an event and why you should. I also send a special thank you to John Gregory for the special holiday gift he put together with so many of you! Thank you all, truly.

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And now here are your questions as asked in the Proudly Unemployable™ Facebook group. Let’s get to ’em!

John Gregory 

Really nailing the difference between avatar and target audience.

Todd Fernandez 

What are your thoughts on the new domain addresses (.guru, .solutions)? Will Google recognize them in the search engines? I’ve heard that they may not rank like the .coms.

Denny Krahe

I’m adding YouTube videos into the mix for 2015. Any tips/ideas for using video to help grow my podcast audience? I’m in the running niche, if that matters. Thanks Michael, have a great weekend! Go Lions and Steelers!

Whitney Presley 

I just moved to a new city and previously worked one-on-one with small business clients providing marketing consulting services. I now need to shift to an online business and would like to rebrand and move to quickly create a stream of income. What do you believe is the most important thing to focus on when starting fresh – creating content, networking or something else?

Thom Singer 

What action in 2014 led to your biggest “win” (this could be money, or a contact, or visibility, etc..)…. and how can others learn from that?

Mihkel Oja

1) What 10 things went great for you in 2014?

2) What are 3 lessons you learned in 2014?

3) What are your goals for 2015?

Dan O’Neil 

Any advice for a full-time college student who wants to get started as an entrepreneur but would also like to still graduate from school? I find it hard to pass classes and pursue entrepreneurship.

 

Episode Resources

Derek Halpern’s evergreen content episode on The Solopreneur Hour

Life After 8 Weeks

Tony Robbin’s Money Master The Game audiobook

The Sexy Six Books

The Solopreneur Hour on Twitter

Proudly Unemployable, the Facebook group

SoloLab: A Unique Mastermind

Leave a review of the show!

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Feedback on the Podcast If you have any suggestions for upcoming shows or a question for an upcoming episode, leave a comment below. If you enjoyed this podcast, I’d be extremely grateful if you would take a second and 

Some people may tell you as a solopreneur you have to push forward and bang on doors until they open, but not our guest for episode 209. Returning to the show is our friend, the super successful solopreneur, tech pundit and online master craftsman, Joel Comm.

On this episode Joel and I talk about a variety of topics, including why timing is so important in success, what the greatest trends of 2014 were and what they will be in 2015. All of that and more on the 209th episode of The Solopreneur Hour.

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If you missed Joel’s previous visit to the show you can have a listen here. To quickly recap: Joel is a multiple best-selling author (New York Times of course), online marketer and humorous creator of the highly-lucrative iPhone app iFart.

He returns to the show to talk about some of the highlights of 2014 and what we both see as emerging themes for next year, 2015. For him 2014 was his first year fully out of hibernation and back in the saddle. He launched a few info products, did a lot of speaking and traveling as well as some book projects.

Looking ahead for 2015 we talk about events and how important they are for all solopreneurs. As we’ve reiterated on this show many times relationships are key to your success (or failure) in your business. And the best way to create lasting connections with people is by meeting and mingling at events. Joel and I are in complete agreement on this one and we discuss a few of the events we will both be speaking at and attending in 2015.

More About This Show:

How does he handle the responsibility of 80k Twitter followers?

To be great is to be ______. Joel fills in the blank.

Who does he put on a pedestal?

What I’ll be doing at Social Media Marketing World in 2015: we let the cat out of the bag!

What gives him the greatest joy?

And SO much more!

 

Dovetailing with that topic is our discussion of an emerging trend for 2015 that we both see on the horizon: writing books. Joel says writing and publishing physical books has been the most powerful leverage he’s ever created for his business. It’s given him access to more speaking engagements, more successful connections, a wider audience, and a ton of credibility.

Joel believes in the power of becoming an author so much that he’s hosting and facilitating an event on the topic in 2015. In the spring his first ever Book Camp will be happening in Los Angeles, and he’ll be teaching people not only how to create a book and market it, leverage it but also why it’s so important to do so. He’s keeping the attendance on the smaller side and is screening all attendees. If you want to go just message him on Facebook and he’ll get back to you with more details on how to apply.

We get into some of the nitty-gritty on actually writing a book in this episode. Joel shares one great tidbit for first-time authors: because you can’t be a New York Times best-selling author as a first-time author find one who will write your foreword. That way it’ll say “New York Times best-selling author” on the cover of your book, even though you aren’t one (yet).

A few more pieces of advise from Joel are to pick a topic you’re knowledgable and passionate about. The days of finding a hot niche and tapping into it are over, choose to write about what you know about and can give a lot of information about and you’ll have a far better book when you’re done.

When you’re first getting started as a solopreneur one of the most powerful things you can do is cultivate relationships with powerful people. In fact, it’s one of the most important things you can do at any point during the life of your business. Relationships are everything.

Here to share with us how to build those relationships in a genuine way is Selena Soo of S2 Groupe. She gives us practical advice on what to do, and what not to do to, to build relationships with powerful influencers. All of that and more on the 208th episode of The Solopreneur Hour.

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One of the things Selena has always loved to do is to connect and help people. Today she’s translated those traits into a thriving business; she calls people like Ramit Sethi, Derek Halpern and others her friends. And because she loves to help others build their own powerful networks like she has done she’s found a way to coach people on how to do this through her mastermind groups and one on one private coaching.

But Selena didn’t always see herself as an entrepreneur or solopreneur. While in business school she organized a conference to empower women and she made lots of great connections in the media by doing so. After she graduated and went into the workforce, she stayed in touch with those contacts and continued to do what she did naturally: bring people together who could help each other.

As her discontent with her career options grew and her social connections did too, she realized she could run her own public relations and publicity firm. At first she tried the traditional route of having clients on retainer, but that wasn’t a natural fit for the way she did business. She felt she was having to put pressure on her media contacts to make things happen for her clients, and she had never done business that way before and didn’t want to start.

More About This Show:

What is re-negotiation and how does it apply to your business?

When did she begin seeing herself as an entrepreneur?

The one thing you must do before making an introduction.

How to identify the key figures at major publications: Selena explains.

Why the shotgun approach is dead.

And SO much more!

 

So she invested a significant amount of money and hired a coach. Her coach helped her create the coaching practice she has today, and to develop and build her mastermind groups. She also hosts events where her clients mingle and create connections with people of influence.

On today’s show she shares with us some of the tips she gives her clients on how to make those initial connections and build on them until they become thriving relationships that help both parties.

One of the most powerful actions you can take according to Selena is to be at events where your contacts are going to be. So get to the conferences, the meet ups, the one-day masterminds and meet the people you admire and want to learn from and be like.

The first step in doing so is to identify your key influences. Just pick a handful of people you most want to get to know. These are generally people who fall into two categories: the first group is people you consider mentors and you want to learn from, and the second category is the super connectors (the people who know everyone and can introduce you to others).

Your next step is to do research on this small list of people you want to meet and build relationships with. Get to know them, both personally and professionally. Find out what’s most important to them so you can add value when you connect with them.

And that’s the third step: connect.

Welcome solopreneurs! We’re here with another awesome Q&A session. Thank you all for sending in your questions. Joining me to answer them is my brother from another mother, Dr. Mark Costes.

On today’s show we chat about setting goals for the new year, how to choose a coach and then we get to your questions. Thanks for being here for episode 207 of The Solopreneur Hour.

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For those of you who haven’t tuned in previously we do a question and answer session on Fridays. Come over to the Facebook group (you can find it here) and look for my post on Thursdays, leave your question in the comments section and I’ll answer it when I record Friday’s show.

And with that, here are the questions you asked this week!

Steven Stromick

Michael you once said you had a great idea for the yoga niche, my wife is a yoga instructor, would love to hear your idea

Steven Crutchfield

Number one thing you wish you had done when you first started your podcast? In other words, is there something you would have done differently from the start.

Callum Rankine

Can you recommend a good guide on how to interview people? Also when is Life After 8 Weeks opening up again? Thank you.

Brad Brown

Hey Michael, Merry Christmas dude. One of my goals for 2015 is to work on my business more than working in my business. In order to do that I need to outsource a lot of what I am currently doing. How would you go about doing that if that were one of your goals. I’m stuck in the ‘no one can do it like I can’ mindset. How would you recommend overcoming that.

Dave @ Fresh Rag

@solohour that’s my question for the next show. What are your updated thoughts on this new territory we are entering?

Jackie Smith

I have a question Michael O’Neal. So many people online get into coaching. I hired a coach years ago over ten, and after 3 phone calls I realized bad investment. I feel that too many online people get into coaching for the money and truly are not qualified to do so? What’s your thought on this, and what are 5 things you would advise to choose the right coach. And before you ask,,,, Yes I’m coachable! LOL

Thom Singer

What is your take on how a solopreneur can upscale a successful business?

Ozeal DeBastos

What’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned in 2014?

Jace Jacobs Wazzzupp Brother? I just wanted to chime in and wish you and the Proudly Unemployable group Happy Holidays. You are very much appreciated and I’m grateful to have you as an influence. Cheers

Rey Brown

You’ve had your “Sexy 6” for a while now. If you were to revamp those what six would take over…. *Product Alert* “Life After The Sexy 6”: You’ve read the books, your landscape has changed, now what!… You’re welcome lol.

Jonathan Wilson

A show suggestion. Bring back JJ collier for another show. I just listened to that one. Very helpful. Any other tips for wardrobe essentials?

Marcus A. Cylar

I’d like to clarify what I asked last week, if I may. I fully understand the importance of list-building to safeguard against potential sudden changes in Facebook’s algorithms or policies.

My question for you specifically is how/where would you rebuild this particular Proudly Unemployable group if Facebook shut down its group functionality tomorrow? What platform would you use? What about for the private group you have for Sololab?

It seems every other community-building platform on the market, except perhaps Google+, which the masses still haven’t adopted,

Whether we solopreneurs realize it or not health is our greatest asset. Our guests for today understand this idea, so much so that they’ve made healthy living and fitness their life’s work.

Joining us live in studio for this edition of The Solopreneur Hour are the three loveliest and most successful bloggers in the fitness industry. Returning for her second visit is Amy Clover of Strong Inside Out, Krista Stryker of 12 Minute Athlete and Jenny Sansousci of Healthy Crush.

Listen in as we talk about how they evolved into their current business models and what it was like along the way. All of that and more on the 206th episode of The Solopreneur Hour.

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One of my favorite things to do for this show is to have people live in the studio. And I was grateful to have these three talented and savvy women join me to talk about how they came up with their respective brands, what it was like getting started in the internet marketing world and where they’re at today.

For those of you who are long-time listeners of the show you may remember Amy Clover visiting us in the past. If you don’t know Amy she’s the force behind Strong Inside Out, a brand that has evolved out of Amy’s struggles with depression and anxiety. We dive into details on her very personal story in previous episodes (which you can find here). And as she joins us today Amy is coming off of a country-wide tour promoting her brand and spreading the word that we can fight depression and anxiety through fitness.

Since her last visit to the show she has created a track-based program that allows people to choose based on where they’re at in terms of physical and mental health fitness. Strong Inside Out now provides this track-based program as well as support through coaching, Facebook groups, accountability, work out programs and much more. One of her favorite aspects of her work is seeing people grow through their work with her brand.

Our second in-studio visitor is Krista Stryker. Krista is the amazing woman behind 12 Minute Athlete. She’s a former copywriter who also wanted to be a journalist. She channeled her experience in writing copy and her love for sharing news into her present day blog at 12 Minute Athlete.

About two years ago she decided to start a blog and in true solopreneur fashion she actually started 5 blogs! She had lots of ideas and interests so the blogs were in various industries from fitness to personal development to travel. If she liked it she wanted to write about it! But soon she realized she had to narrow her focus to find success and create a thriving online platform. So she chose one industry and taught herself how to make a go of running a fitness blog.

She admits to doing something most of us have done: learning way too much before taking action! She created tons of videos for her blog before getting the word out about, but once she put the pedal to the metal it was on.

Krista wanted to get out of the copywriting world, but she went to a copywriting conference where she met Brian Clark of Copyblogger. She introduced herself, told him about her blog and gave him a sticker with her web site. Brian checked it out, liked what he saw and encouraged her to keep going. And then he tweeted about her site, all of which boosted her confidence, told her she was going in the right direction and helping her broaden her audience. It’s been her full-time focus since then and eventually became her full-time income.

More About This Show:

What is HIIT and why does it matter to you?

All three of these women have an audience of who they used to be: true or false?

Why are bikini competitions so unhealthy?