Ever feel like you need a compass to navigate all the marketing and business tools on the market today? Our guest for episode 135 is your answer. He is the best-selling author of numerous books, and a top-ranked speaker who takes complex subjects like marketing and sales promotion and distills them down into easy-to-use information.

Before today's guest was a boat-loving, best-selling author and speaker, he landed acting gigs on shows and movies you've probably watched like "Law and Order", "Sex and The City", "Third Watch" and "The Pelican Brief" among others. Why he left acting, how he became unemployable and how he's used adverse situations like his own dyslexia to propel his success are all topics we touch on - and much more of course - on this edition of The Solopreneur Hour.

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Despite his early guest roles on numerous famous TV shows and movies, Michael was unhappy with how long it was taking him to "make it" as an actor. So he moved into the corporate world with a job in business management in the fitness industry.

After five years in that role and doing quite well, he ventured back into the entertainment industry with a film company. But the moment he stepped foot in the studio, he was planning his exit strategy. The environment was simply unpleasant and he wasn't willing to subject himself to that. It was while working at this company that he realized he was "unemployable".

For his next gig, he knew he would need a position where he was in control, and the most obvious answer was to be his own boss. That was the point when he started his 1 on 1 coaching business. Even though he had no idea what it meant to have a coaching business, he jumped in. For the first few years he treated it like a "job" before he realized he could create any life he dreamt of.

To break out of that mold, he took the knowledge he had gained in his various roles and how he "tweaked" things a bit along the way, and he chose to share those lessons with the public through speaking gigs. His professional training as an actor allowed him to make the transition with ease.

You'll also discover things like:

* The strategy to use for travel write-offs.

* What is The Red Velvet Rope Strategy and how does it apply to your business?

* Does marketing get you clients? Michael weighs in.

* Why it's a mistake to look too far ahead.

* How to avoid your customers having buyers' remorse.

* And so very much more!

But, as he had done so often in the past, he "tweaked" one aspect of his public speaking gig. He knew he didn't want to be on the road all the time so he used public speaking as a promotional tool, not as the sole foundation of his business. In fact, now when he does his annual projections he doesn't include revenue from speaking. Anything he generates from that area is simply a bonus; he doesn't have to rely on it and he created his business that way from the start. That's a great lesson all of us can use: you can take a strategy and tweak it to fit your needs and desires.

In his role as business owner and solopreneur, he had to learn to switch his mindset to creating life on his own terms and avoiding a lot of travel while speaking was one of his first steps.

Another topic we touch on is the concept of maximizers vs. satisfyers. Barry Schwartz's book The Paradox of Choice: Why Less Is More talks about this idea in depth.

But as it relates to successful solopreneurship, a satisfyer is who you want to become. Here's an example that illustrates the differences between the two: a maximizer will spend 2 hours picking out a pair of sunglasses while a satisfyer will be fine with a pair of glasses that fit properly and look good. They'll spend as little time as possible on everyday choices and decisions. It's a concept worth exploring as solopreneurs.

Another similar thread Michael and I discuss is your t...

Welcome back to our most frequent and beloved co-hosts, DawnMarrs.com! Dawn joins us live in the studio to answer listeners' questions in this episode of Find Your Swing. This is the tenth edition of Find Your Swing and we're excited to share insights, suggestions and guidance with those of you who asked questions about your personal solopreneur journey.

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Since it's been a minute (more like 3 months!) since we chatted with Dawn, we had a quick catch up to start the show. She filled us in on what's been going on in her life, including how the California wildfires impacted her and her family. Almost everything they owned was ruined either by fire, smoke or soot. We're so grateful she and her loved ones are safe and sound. And to officially thank her and welcome her back, we brought her to Studio 86 today to answer your questions.

So let's jump right in and hear what's going on with all of you!

Our first question came from Dave Tooney, a member of SoloLab. Dave wanted to know how to connect with and network with folks using online methods. He lives in a not-so-entrepreneurial region and needed some ideas on how to find people, build relationships and grow his business in an online way. And we told him the Gary V approach works great in his situation: find Facebook groups and become the go-to person in them by providing value in that group. You can build a reputation and a true, trusting connection with your audience this way.

The next question was from Taylor and he wants to know how to scratch his solopreneur itch. He's got a great job with a marketing firm that pays him well and he enjoys it but he's always wanted to build his own thing. He has many interests so we suggest two things: Choose the interest that you can imagine talking about, thinking about and being involved in for the next 5 years. Once you've picked that thing, remember you are good enough and you do know enough! Then listen to episode 133 for the 8 steps and follow them...you'll be on your way.

Our third write-in is from Dreama. She is a registered nurse who has an interest in alternative health for chronic conditions. She wants to start a podcast but thinks she needs to narrow down a topic. Both Dawn and I agree, she needs to niche down into a specific focus. Once she's done that, she can play up her nursing background to show her expertise and work on building a community of followers. She - and every solopreneur - really only needs about 100 people to make a six-figure income and we explain how.

You'll also discover things like:

* Can podcasts and other subject material be considered "one of the five people you surround yourself with"?

* How to create a connection by courting your mentors.

* Why you only need 100 people in your tribe to make a six-figure income.

* How to connect and engage an audience that isn't on social media.

* Why creating a repeat customer is easier than acquiring a new one: Dawn explains.

* And so very much more!

 

The fourth question comes from Michael. He has created a passive income from a previous endeavor and is now building  a business based on helping large companies with their AdWords campaigns. But he is often approached by smaller companies; he cannot work with them because his fee structure is based on a percentage of the ad spend. Smaller companies don't spend enough to make it feasible for him but he wants to offer a course or something to help those companies and to create an additional income source for himself. This is Dawn's area of expertise so she gives Michael some sound advice on how to move forward with a course and/or a membership site.

In this special episode, celebrating 1,000,000 downloads, it's just you and me.

I talk about where I was when I launched the show, go over the 8 steps to becoming a successful solopreneur, and play a bunch of listener clips.

Here's a link to the movie of me waiting for the millionth:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10100861990191786

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In this show when I talk about the different phases and the different turning points in the journey of The Solopreneur Hour, I want you to listen for where you might be. Are you in that just getting started phase? Or are you in a place where you’re focused on specific growth for your solo journey? Or do you even know what your solo venture is going to be?

Wherever you are, it’s perfect. And you’ll hear how I went through all of these stages with this podcast to garner the success it has today. These stages are laid out in detail through the 8 steps it takes to becoming a successful solopreneur.

The 8 Steps To Becoming A Successful Solopreneur:

* Find your passion. What's that thing that you can talk me off my stool about it? What did you do as a kid? Find it and figure out how to connect it to something that will make you money.

* Immerse yourself in the culture: Facebook groups, forums, message boards, conventions, read blogs, magazines, events. Get there!

* Seek knowledge. Take online courses, join a mastermind like SoloLab. Also write very specific questions to your mentors.

* Make a decision to take action. There will always be reasons not to - do it anyway!

* Surround yourself with the leaders. You need to be at ALL the events - get there and get connected with the people doing what you want to do!

* Take more action.

* Show gratitude.

* Give back. Pay it forward. Whether it’s sharing your knowledge with others or simply buying a coffee for the person behind you at Starbucks, pay it forward.

Podcasting is a medium I’ve always been a fan of and I learned the ropes by producing a show called “The Kick-Ass Life” with David Wood. And one day, while connecting with one of our favorite podcasting leaders Mr. Pat Flynn and seeking knowledge from him, I had the idea for The Solopreneur Hour.

And then I took action (number 4); I created this podcast and decided I would have 12 in the can (so to speak) before I launched. Shortly after I had recorded four episodes, I was on my bike and was side-swiped by a car. My injuries were pretty extensive: broken collarbone, concussion and severe road rash over much of my body.

But my launch date was looming and even though I could barely sit up straight because I was in so much pain, I pulled the trigger and the show went live.

And that was just the beginning. From there, it was a series of download milestones that I used as a barometer. From my experience with David Wood, I knew I wanted to monetize the show so getting a certain amount of downloads was critical to that.

First it was the 100 download day. Then it was 1,000. Then it was 10,000.

Those numbers progressed because I was following steps 5, 6 and 7 of successful solopreneurship. I went to more events like NMX. I took more action through leveraging my social media outlets. And I was - and still AM - incredibly grateful for every download, every listener and every person who shares this show.

And I’m always looking for and finding ways to pay it forward.

To that end, I’d like to share the shout outs from a few listeners and SoloLab members now. These guys all left messages about what this show has meant for them, both personally and professionally.

Matt

Matt called in to say thanks for helping him double his income, and start two new solo ventures. He’s now a card-carrying member of the Unemployables!

Rey Brown from Smart Phones Made Easy

One of the biggest hurdles solopreneurs face is how much to pay themselves, how much to keep in profits and how much to spend to keep our businesses running.

Far too many people are foregoing paying themselves in the hopes of a payout someday in the future. And Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First and co-host part deux, tells us why this is a pipe dream for 99% of all businesses and how we should pay ourselves today so we can profit first.

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A lot of people building small businesses and start-ups dream of the day when they’ll be bought out by the Googles and Apples of the world. And they often sacrifice everything til that magical day arrives. The reality is less than 1% of start-ups actualize this fantasy. So what do you do if you’re not in that 1%? How do make sure you’re paid properly and you run a healthy, thriving business?

There is the old-fashioned route of sales minus expenses = profits? Or do go the new path and pay ourselves first before doing anything else with our money?

Mike says to pay ourselves first, then take out expenses and set aside those profits to pay ourselves later! He believes solopreneurs should be only spending about 10-20% on operating expenses (staff, advertising, other overhead). And we should be taking up to 60% for income and for profits!

The finer details of this show include:

* Mnemonics: what is it and how does he use it?

* The Porsche branding lesson and how to be memorable.

* What does he do to compete against his internal Imposter?

*  What will make his new book a success in his eyes?

* The audiobook double dip lesson: what it will teach you about your business.

* And so very much more!

Mike’s reasoning for doing it this way is two-fold: 1. You are an employee of your business so you need to be paid as such. 2. You are an owner and a shareholder in your business, therefore you deserve to receive profits.

Mike says we need to focus on making profit a DAILY habit! We should create small successes daily as well as making small sacrifices (instead of not paying ourselves for 10 years while we wait for Google to notice us). And when we do that, we’ll string together a very healthy lifestyle, financially and personally.

And his newest book, Profit First, is all about how to do this.

But why is he someone we should listen to? As we discussed on his first visit to the show, he has successfully built and sold previous businesses. And then he lost it all. As Mike will tell you, he has seen both sides of the coin: the highs of financial highs and the lowest of financial lows.

We chat about the content of his book, of course, but also what it’s like for him to write and market it. This is his third book and he’s got the rhythm down! He says it takes him about 2 years to write a book and then he leans heavily on the influencers in his network to help him promote it, including speaking publicly which is another of his passions.

Mike was a terrific second-time visitor to the show; he’s always so much fun and full of awesome knowledge. Enjoy and pick up a copy of his Profit First book any day after July 7th!

 

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Resources from this episode:

Mike’s web site

Mike on Twitter

Profit First, his latest book

As solopreneurs we want the freedom to do what we want, when we want and with whomever we want. And money is the tool that gives us that freedom.

So says Andrew Fiebert of the Money Matters podcast and he joins us for episode 131 to talk about how to be smart about our money and the basics of finance for solopreneurs.

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As is so often the case, Andrew didn’t start out in his current industry. Back in 2008, he was working for an investment brokerage firm called Lehman Brothers. Some of you may know what happened to that firm, but for those of you, the firm made some bad investment decisions and eventually went out of business. Naturally, all of their employees lost their jobs and Andrew was one of them.

Even though he was completely removed from the numbers/investment side of the company as a tech person, he was still impacted. He realized that unless he was personally in control of his income, his livelihood would always be at risk.

He set out to educate himself and one day while ranting online about the lack of financial education in our society, he realized he could do something about the very thing he was ranting about and so his podcast was born.

The finer details of this show include:

* What's the monetary amount proven to provide peak happiness?

* The difference between being rich and being wealthy.

* The myth of "passive income”, according to Andrew.

* To LLC or not LLC? He shares his personal strategy.

* What’s the 4% rule and why should you use it?

* And so very much more!

Andrew’s financial interest seems to pre-date his time on Wall Street though. His father opted to go into the finance industry when Andrew was born and his parents lived quite frugally, even after they had a comfortable income.

When his financial interest resurfaced after being released from Lehman Brothers, he began researching and finding useful tools like Mint.com and Betterment.com. In this show, he tells us why he uses each and what they do for his bottom line.

We also discuss money-saving tips for you at home like dropping that expensive cable package and opting for things like Apple TV or Googlecast. You can also replace your light bulbs through your local energy company, many of whom will sell you energy-efficient bulbs at a steep discount.

And what about car payments? Did you know the average American spends over $400 a month on their car payment alone? If you’re looking for a way to lower your overhead, that would be a good place to start.

There are a few main points Andrew wants to get across to you in terms of your finances: you have to know where you are spending your money (Mint.com is perfect for this), how much you are investing (Betterment.com can help) and what your process & strategy are for getting that money out (this is where you apply the 4% rule).

If you want to be well on your way to financial independence, Andrew and I have your back. This show gives you tips and techniques to take control of your money and better manage it, both of which are incredibly important to live the life of freedom you are aiming for!

As an added bonus, Andrew gives us some really awesome schwag here!

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Resources from this episode:

Andrew’s web site

Andrew on Twitter

Mint.com

Betterment

The Sexy Six

As solopreneurs we tend to be the type of person who does it all on their own. Why would we take the time to hire and show someone else how to do it when we can get it done faster ourselves?

Here to answer that question and a host of others on the topic of outsourcing and how to find virtual freedom is the one and only, Mr. Chris Ducker.

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This is Chris’ third appearance on the show and I was pleased as punch to have him live in Studio 86. We gathered to talk about his latest book, Virtual Freedom, as well as the topic he’s known around the globe for: outsourcing.

Chris has built an empire based on his knowledge and experience of working with virtual assistants. Not so long ago, he was a micro-managing boss working 15+ hours a day. As you can imagine, he was nearly burnt out. So he decided it was time to replace himself and become a virtual CEO.

It was through that experience of replacing himself that he became an expert and built three thriving companies focused on outsourcing. Today he travels the globe helping others do the same through speaking engagements, live mastermind events and his latest book.

You'll also discover things like:

* The pros and cons of traditional publishing and self-publishing

* Why did Chris choose not to read his book for the audio version?

* How fast did his first in-person mastermind event sell out?

* 3 lists to freedom: what are the three?

* When do you know it's time to outsource?

* And so very much more!

Chris and I chat about his book, what it was like to write it, edit it and now market it. He has some terrific insights on how the publishing world has changed in recent years and what it takes to actually land a publishing deal today - it’s quite a bit different than it was just a decade ago! He also shares what prompted the book and why it was so important to him to get his message out now.

And then we talk about the nitty-gritty on outsourcing, we get into the meat and potatoes of it! As a self-professed micromanager, Chris understands it can be difficult to let go and he has some suggestions on how you can choose which tasks to give to someone else, how to find the right person to work with and when to hire them. He also says it’s never too early to start thinking of what you can outsource; you will know when it’s the right time to offload some of your work, because your body will tell you!

And since we never stay on just one topic on this show, Chris and I also talk about his love of all things Bruce Lee and martial arts as well as why podcasting is in its infancy and what that means for current and future podcasters.

Whether you're an up and coming podcaster, a solopreneur suffocating under mounds of tasks and an ever-growing workload you can't do on your own anymore or you're simply intrigued by the idea of being your own virtual CEO, this show with Chris will have loads and loads of information for you.

I always know Chris will bring the goods and this show was no different! As a special bonus, any of our listeners who buy his Virtual Freedom book can get a free companion workbook when they email a copy of their receipt to his VA, Jam (jam @ chrisducker.com). Isn't that an awesome gift?!

Let Chris know you appreciate his generous gesture and you enjoyed the show by leaving a comment below or sending him a Tweet.

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The old stereotype of the starving artist is getting kicked to the curb by our guest for episode 129! Sean Dietrich, master artist in residence at Industriacide.com, has taken the starving out of starving artist; and he’s doing it by scaling his artwork and by showcasing his artistic creations at live events.

And for that reason I wanted to have him on the show: he's doing things in the art world that not many others are doing like making a healthy income! I'm really excited he could join us to share his secrets.

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As long as he’s been able to hold a crayon to paper, Sean has wanted to be an artist. But there was no great push from his parents to attend 20 art classes by age 8 or anything like that. His mom was given some sage advice early on to just allow him to enjoy art and when he asked for classes, then sign him up but not before.

As a result, Sean made art a part of who is he and not just what he does. In school, he was always looking for a way to angle art into whatever he was doing. Eventually through a friend he got into comic books and the art within that genre.

Never one to be slowed down by his youth, Sean had published his first book by the 10th grade he had published his first book and was doing comic book signings at a local store on Wednesday nights. As we say on The Solopreneur Hour, he was quite “savanty”.

But as he made the rounds to comic book conventions, one of the things that struck him was how miserable and underpaid so many comic book artists were. He refused to be one of them and was committed to bucking that trend. And buck it he did!

You'll also discover things like:

* What came first for Sean: business savvy or the tour concept?

* Why you should make everything as easy as possible for your customers.

* Why he draws a line when he monetizes his art.

* The Van Halen brown M&Ms story and why it matters to your business.

* Why his artistic collaborations are outselling his original pieces.

* And so very much more!

 

One of the things that shifted his perspective on the business side of art, was making his art live and in person at various events. He saw too many artists struggling to get into art galleries - and then giving those galleries 50% of their commissions in return for very little from the galleries. He didn't want to go that route.

Instead he decided to take his art on the road and create it live at different events, in every possible industry! And that's when Sean’s business really started to take off. One of the reasons this strategy works so well for him is because making art live for people is a performance piece and because of the "sneak peek" vibe it creates. Everyone wants a beyond-the-scenes look at how art comes into being. Not many of us can create beautiful art so we’re fascinated by how the artist produces their pieces.

Sean has used this strategy for the last 15 years and he's worked extensively to build his audience and his name through live events. At one point in his career, he was creating live art 6 nights a week, at one event or another.

Happily, he is now at a point where he chooses when and where he takes his art on the road.

And when he’s at his event, he is ON. He knows that he’ll make more sales by being engaged and connected with his audience. And that’s a valuable lesson every solopreneur needs to know: authentic connection is the key to sales and future sales, whether you're an artist or in any other profession.

Another valuable lesson Sean passes on in this episode is how he scaled his business.

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One of my favorite shows to bring to you is today’s format: you and me and your questions. You’re the reason this show exists so it’s always a pleasure to spend an hour hearing from you, what you’re up to, what you’re facing and giving you my advice on how to move forward on your solopreneur path.

I start the show with a rant about "actionable content", talk about my newfound abs, and then get to the questions.  You asked about nearly every facet of an Unemployable’s life: fashion, avatars vs. target markets, the sexy six, whether or not sex still sells, how to book speaking gigs, becoming an expert, choosing your niche, mindset shifts and taxes!

Let's get straight to the questions, here they are:

Jason Hartman Who's the swankiest podcaster?

Jim Hrbek I am about to start a podcast. Thinking three days a week. Niche = cosplay. 2 days a week I will interview cosplayers, the other day I want to interview experts in other fields that can help level up a "cospreneur". My problem lays that this brings in two different avatars. The fans of the famous cosplayers arent really my target audience. Im trying to reach cosplayers that only have a Facebook presence and no other platform. One who wants to earn an income or other benefit. Is this two different podcasts? If not what would you do

Max Mac Phail Video blogging, how long is too long? What do you think of mixed content, sometimes blog, others a video or a video accompanying a small amount of text. Love the Q&A shows!

Jeff Anderson How about one tip for building an audience after the 8 weeks? Oh, I know you're creating a program for that, so this would be a perfect setup!

Brent Danis when marketing a physical product, does "sex" still sell or is it the easy way out? Im torn on what avenue to go down. Yoga, Nike, yachts and other big marketers still use beautiful women and men in there ads. what to do?

Tysen Webb How's the 6 pack coming?

Dreama Henry McFadden Which should come first: blog or podcast? Would I be better off to get a blog following before launching a podcast? I am way better at talking than writing...

Jason Hartman Who are the best people to write and voice podcast intros?

Kirsty Bartholomew How is the best way to get yourself booked for more speaking events when you haven't got much experience speaking.

Craig Morrison How do you define yourself as an expert to your audience without any huge successes under your belt, only years of experience in your niche?

Jonny Keeley How do you deal with relinquishing control of your business? When you get to a point when you can't fly solo anymore and have to delegate different parts of your business. How to step away from, I can do it better and faster - why don't I just do it?

Taylor Howe How do you decide on a niche and stick to it/focus on it long enough to know if it's worth sticking it out?

Joel Tetzner It seems that more and more people are offering courses as part of their online / internet marketing businesses. So many, in fact, that it's hard to decide who is reputable and what courses are worth the money. What is your top 3 "yes get that course" choices and what courses would you recommend staying away from (or just not worth the money).

Simon Knapp Have you heard any more from Garyv?

How do you deal with imposter syndrome?

Do you ever have doubts in what you are doing?

Shelby Kifer I cringe at the word... Taxes?

All of those questions get answered in this episode - I can’t believe we did it an hour (ok an hour and 6 minutes but close enough)!

One of the most common hurdles we solopreneurs face, especially those of us in the service industry, is making the shift from being self-employed in our businesses to becoming business owners.

Joining us for episode 127 is a dentalpreneur who has this locked down. Mark Costes is an entrepreneur turned dentist turned multi-millionaire and he’s sharing his secrets on this edition of The Solopreneur Hour.

One of the real keys to his business (besides the fact that he's pretty much "The E-Myth Revisited" in living color, is that he pays SO MUCH ATTENTION to small, minute details that make a HUGE difference for his clients.

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The fact that Mark Costes is an entrepreneur isn’t a big surprise. Just take a look at his family lineage and you’d guess he’d end up working for himself.

His dad’s story is similar to many immigrants: he had a great career in his home country of the Phillippines as a professor, which he left to live in the United States. Coming over with not much more than a hundred dollars and a suitcase, Mark’s dad rebuilt his life with a lot of hustle and willpower.

And if that wasn’t enough, Mark’s mother’s side also boasts several successful entrepreneurs. His grandma was a loan shark who sent his mom out to collect payments! She, Mark’s grandma, also had a prawn business (that’s shrimp if you’re from the States), a fleet of rental cars among other businesses.

To say entrepreneurism is in his blood might be an understatement; it’s more like his blood IS entrepreneurism.

So it’s no surprise that by the age of 23, Mark ran a lucrative food truck business and was also pursuing his MBA.

But while he was doing all of that, he was still dreaming of becoming a dentist. So much so that he applied to dentist school 20 times before he was accepted! Clearly Mark was not going to be deterred from his dream, no matter what.

You'll also discover things like:

* How he builds rapport and a connection while seeing 40 patients a day.

* The Yellow Sheet: what is it and how does it pertain to your business?

* How his mindset is different from other dentists, and why it matters.

* The day he became a millionaire - and why he sold 4 of his 6 practices the very next day.

* How he lost almost 7 figures in the process - in one year.

* And so very much more!

 

After he completed his dentist school, he did something hardly any other dentists do: for the next year he worked as an associate in a friend’s practice and spent his off-hours learning the ropes of the business. He learned the systems and learned how the office actually made money.

Being the solopreneur he is, he took that knowledge and applied it to his own practice; he didn’t build just one, he built six! And one day his accountant told him to check his financial statements. When Mark did, he realized he had earned his first million dollars that year.

The only problem? He was working 80 hours a week and had a wife, a child and another child on the way. It was time for a shift.

And shift he did. He began investing in different businesses, none of which took off. But he eventually created a curriculum to train dentistry assistants, he also trains other dentists on how to create passive income in their practices and has a mastermind group.

Mark is truly a shining example of turning a traditional service-based profession into a business with passive income streams. And in this episode, he talks us through the steps he has taken (and the missteps), to be where he is today.

Leave a comment below for Mark and let him know you learned from him about your business.

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Did you have that one kid in your class who always had a little business in the works - whether it was lemonade stands or selling candy? Our guest for episode 126 was that kid.

Ryan Coisson is the consummate solopreneur. Whether it’s been selling candy at school, selling advertising in college or selling products online via e-commerce sites today, Ryan has always had a knack for finding opportunity and he's learned along the way, that small steps today lead to big goals achieved down the road.

And he joins us today to talk about creating businesses, playing blackjack and rock climbing - and what all three have in common.

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Ryan Coisson has been building businesses almost as long as he’s been able to walk! Ok maybe he didn't start quite that young, but one of his first gigs was selling candy at school. He convinced his parents to buy him candy at CostCo and then he turned around and sold it to his classmates for a mark up while pocketing the profits.

Ever since those school days, Ryan has been looking for, creating and hustling his entrepreneurial endeavors; and it is plural because he’s usually working a few at any given time! Today his primary focus is selling quality products online from other vendors through drop-shipping. He chooses niches he knows something about (like yoga), finds the best quality products that are already selling in the marketplace and then sells them through his own web site.

The vendor handles the product, the shipping and the customer service. He simply finds the best quality merchandise and promotes til he pockets the profits.

You'll also discover things like:

* What's a blackjack discount?

* How he successfully chooses what to sell online.

* If someone gave him $1,000 how much could he turn it into in 30 days?

* What is “holy hour” for Ryan?

* How many days does it take to instill a new habit?

* And loads more!

 

In this episode, we discuss the experiences he’s had that have shaped him, what his hobbies like rock climbing and yoga have taught him about the basic tenants of business and how he shapes his future with a few simple habits every single day. He even talks us through every step of the e-commerce process that has made him so successful today.

It’s taken a lot of learning lessons for Ryan to get to where he is today, it didn’t happen overnight. In fact, he went through several setbacks in a few of his businesses before finding his swing today.

Ryan and I cover a lot of ground in this show, all of it valuable wherever you are in your solopreneur process!

Send him a Tweet on the Twitter or drop him a note in the comments below and let us know the small steps you’re taking today that are leading you to big things tomorrow.

Episode Resources

GoDaddy 28% Off

GoDaddy $1.99 Domain Name

Ryan's personal site

eFormula Evolution

Ryan on Twitter

MerchantWords

Shopify

Alibaba

Block Fitness

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