Working From Home

Nelson is joined by the CEO of Shortlist, David Schneider. David has been working remotely his whole life and has started several remote companies, including Shortlist and Ninja Outreach.

Topics Include:
Traveling as a remote worker
Software development and remote teams
Ethical considerations when hiring remote employees
Tracking key indicators
Personal habits–lifestyle considerations
And other topics...

[1:45] - David shares his background with the audience, and discusses his work as the CEO of Shortlist.

[8:23] - How traveling the world inspired David’s career trajectory.

[11:46] - Why the nature of software development lends itself to building remote teams.

[19:10] - Remote work and the freedom to travel.

[24:42] - Thinking about and providing benefits for remote employees.

[27:43] - Ethical considerations when hiring remote workers. Engaging employees about work satisfaction.

[32:07] - Measuring growth, tracking key indicators. If you are not going to do anything with the data, why bother tracking it?

[36:03] - Personal habits, lifestyle curation as a remote worker.

[45:22] - Closing remarks. How you can connect with David.

…

Resources Mentioned:
https://shortlist.io/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-schneider-8a693115/
https://nelson-jordan.com/newsletter
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsontjordan/

Nelson is joined by Myrna Schommer to discuss marketing for small business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs.

Topics Include:
- The importance of email systems
- Diversifying your skillset
- Fear based marketing strategies
- Dumping bad clients
- The relationship between marketing and business management
- And other topics...

...

[1:33] - Why should business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs be interested in working with a marketing consultant?

[12:43] - Is it possible to scale an eCommerce business without having a strong email marketing system in place?

[22:27] - What is the typical relationship between a marketer and a small business. Monthly retainers, commission, pay per deliverable, etc?

[34:24] - Taking on challenges and diversifying your skillset.

[38:55] - Addressing fear based marketing strategies. Why do we use them, and are they ethical?

[48:06] - Dumping bad clients.

[50:55] - Do people usually hire a marketer because they want a problem solved, or because they can’t figure out what their problem is?

[56:08] - How marketing fits within the broader skillset of business management.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/myrnabegnelschommer
https://www.artessamarketing.com/
nelson-jordan.com/newsletter
linkedin.com/in/nelsontjordan

Nelson is joined by Marco Robert, a management consultant for management consultants, to discuss the four keys to success every “outlier” entrepreneur must cultivate.

Topics Include:
- Why systems make or break businesses
- The four keys to success every entrepreneur needs to cultivate
- Confronting false beliefs
- Modernity versus post-modernism
- Knowing thyself
- And other topics…

RESOURCES MENTIONED:
MeetMarcoRobert.com
MarcoRobert.com
Linkedin.com/in/MarcoRobert
YouTube.com/MarcoRobert
Instagram.com/MarcojRobert
Facebook.com/campionese
https://nelson-jordan.com/newsletter
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsontjordan

…

[0:58] - The difference between businesses that thrive and businesses that fail is their processes and systems.

[3:02] - Building systems in creative disciplines. Borrowing systems from related and unrelated fields.

[8:10] - First steps a business owner can take to understand the systems they have in place, and the systems they’ll need in the future.

[13:20] - The four keys to success that every outlier entrepreneur has.

[16:20] - Are people born outlier entrepreneurs, or do they learn to become one?

[29:01] - Know thyself, and understand the world.

[37:38] - When your beliefs don’t map onto reality, and the modern versus post-modern conflict.

[45:02] - Why becoming an outlier entrepreneur is step one in building a successful business. Developing the four keys to success concurrently.

[51:27] - Marco discusses his current projects and forthcoming book.

[53:21] - Closing remarks from Marco and Nelson.

Nelson is joined by David Angel, the Sales Angel, to discuss how freelancers and business owners can take their businesses to the next level by honing their sales skills.

Topics Include:
- Sales as a skillset that anyone can learn
- Why you need to track your sales numbers
- Work life balance
- Setting clear expectations and boundaries
- David's sales course
- And other topics.

...

[02:34] - David shares his background, how he got started in sales, and why sales is a skillset that anyone can learn.

[13:48] - How freelancers can sharpen their sales skills, tame their inner critic, and land more clients.

[20:13] - Why you need to track your sales numbers, and how to use these numbers to build a system of accountability.

[23:30] - How to deal with the lack of barriers between work and personal life when working from home.

[30:58] - How to set and communicate clear boundaries with people in your life when working from home.

[39:54] - David discusses his online course that will teach you the sales skills you need to take your business to the next level.

[47:58] - Closing thoughts from Nelson and David.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:
https://shor.by/TheSalesAngel
www.nelson-jordan.com/newsletter
www.linkedin.com/in/nelsontjordan

Nelson is joined by Lavinia Losub of Liv.it to discuss how we can refine our offerings and find great team members.

Topics Include:
- Transitioning to the digital nomad lifestyle
- Growing a remote business
- Refining your offerings
- What to focus on when hiring
- Vetting potential job candidates
- And other topics

...

[3:28] - Lavinia discusses how she transitioned to the digital nomad lifestyle

[7:48] - Living and working in countries that aren’t on the typical digital nomads list.

[11:22] - Lavinia dives into her business background and the services her company offers.

[17:07] - How to grow a remote business.

[22:25] - How to decide what services you should and shouldn’t offer as a freelancer. Are you a swissarmy knife, or a hyper specialist?

[32:23] - Adapting during COVID.

[38:18] - Things to focus on when adding members to your team. Attitude and behavior vs hard skills.

[45:21] - How do you find out if your job candidates have the attitude and behaviors you are looking for before hiring them?

[55:08] - What options are available to us when vetting candidates that go beyond the traditional interview style hiring processes.

[01:01:08] - Closing thoughts from Nelson and Lavinia

RESOURCES MENTIONED:
www.liv.it
https://www.instagram.com/liv.it
https://www.facebook.com/welivit
http://projectgetaway.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laviniaiosub/
http://www.nelson-jordan.com/newsletter http://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsontjordan

Nelson is joined by fitness coach and nutrition expert Max Cathcart to discuss how we can level up our physical fitness and stick with our health goals.

Topics include: building a health and fitness routine when working from home, common pitfalls to avoid when addressing your physical health, creating a schedule that you can stick to, developing self-discipline, prioritizing nutrition, and other topics.
…

[00:32] - Nelson introduces today’s guest, Max Cathcart, who shares how hockey led him to dive deep into the world of fitness and nutrition.

[06:47] - How to stay on top of your health and fitness as a sedentary freelancer or entrepreneur who spends most of their time at home.

[10:14] - Start with nutrition. This will always be the biggest game-changer.

[16:38] - Max breaks down his approach to working with new clients, and how they approach fitness and nutrition together.

[18:11] - Common problems people face when trying to make lifestyle changes to improve their physical health.

[27:13] - There are no shortcuts to self-discipline. It has to come from within, no one can give it to you.

[30:22] - Tips for building up self-discipline, and habits that can support us along the way.

[34:31] - Observations Max has made about his most successful clients.

[39:02] - Why an accountability partner or coach will elevate your game to the next level in any discipline.

[47:25] - What is the number one thing people living a sedentary lifestyle can do if they have a specific health goal like losing weight?

[51:56] - Diversify your interests to avoid burnout and maintain energy while living a high-intensity lifestyle.

...

Resources Mentioned:
https://www.instagram.com/maxcathcart/
https://www.maxcathcart.com/
www.nelson-jordan.com/newsletter
www.linkedin.com/in/nelsontjordan

In this episode of Working From Home, Nelson connects with Liam Carnahan from Inkwell Content. Liam is a content strategist and SEO specialist who had just decided to go travelling when the COVID crisis struck.

Topics of conversation include: initial struggles in transitioning to the freelancer workflow, benefits businesses gain by collaborating with freelancers, the divide between white-collar and blue-collar remote work opportunities, finding community as a freelancer, and other topics.

Resources Mentioned:
http://inkwellcontent.com/
nelson-jordan.com/newsletter

[5:15] - Liam’s early ambitions to embrace the freelance lifestyle and the struggles he faced.

[7:57] - What inspired Liam to attempt working from home for a second time later in his career.

[9:56] - Hiring a business adviser to support the transition. “This is the number one resource that freelancers don’t talk about enough, but that everyone should use.”

[13:58] - Traveling through Asia as the business starts to take off in early 2020. The arrival of COVID, and the crisis that ensued.

[22:13] - Nelson’s experience of being quarantine with family during COVID.

[27:59] - The benefits of business owners receive when collaborating with freelancers.

[32:10] - The divide between white-collar and blue-collar jobs and the ability to work from home.

[33:43] - Finding community as a freelancer. The willingness to be outgoing and to seek out people that may want to connect. Joining online communities.

[39:26] - Transitioning from landing clients at in-person events and through public speaking to finding clients digitally.

Nelson connects with author and comedian Ralph Jones. Ralph has written for publications such as The New Yorker, The Guardian, GQ, Vice, The Observer, The Telegraph, New Statesman, Jezebel, and Esquire.

Topics include: how to make your own luck, framing stories when pitching to publishers, Ralph’s writings on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, differences in writing feedback for different mediums, thoughts on ego, and other topics.

...

[4:54] - Balancing different interests when working in diverse fields. Finding common threads.

[11:35] - The role of luck in achieving success. Maximizing your luck by producing a large volume of work.

[14:53] - Balancing the production of short-form and long-form content creation, and the value of both.

[19:53] - Avenues for comedians to receive quick feedback on content.

[24:27] - The difference between writing for an audience when someone else is presenting your content (e.g. copywrite for a website) and writing for an audience when your name is attached.

[29:55] - Being honest about what drives us. Recognizing the positives that can come from ego.

[32:14] - The importance of framing when pitching your stories to publishers.

[38:00] - Ralph’s interactions with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

[44:08] - Ralph’s book How to Skim a Stone.

[57:28] - Closing remarks. How to connect with Ralph.

Resources Mentioned:
https://twitter.com/OhHiRalphJones
https://mrralphjones.co.uk/
www.nelson-jordan.com/newsletter
www.linkedin.com/in/nelsontjordan

Nelson is joined by Brenden Kumarasamy, host of the MasterTalk YouTube channel. Brenden works with individuals from CEO’s to schoolchildren to help people live more fulfilling lives by mastering the art of communication.

Topics include: differences between online and offline communication, why public speaking is the keystone skill in all of your relationships, where to focus your energy when building a presentation, the mindset of world-class speakers, tactics for becoming a better speaker, and other topics.

[0:47] - Breden discusses his YouTube channel MasterTalk, differences in online and offline communication, and how to think about communication as an art form in an increasingly online world.

[6:06] - Why mastering the delivery of your guest introductions is key when interviewing guests for an audience.

[10:24] - Start with the beginning and endpoints of your presentation and build inward from there. Practice your introduction and conclusion 100 times!

[15:01] - How would your world be different if you were a world-class speaker? How would your relationships, both personal and professional, change?

[17:17] - Tactics for becoming a better speaker, and the random word exercise.

[22:30] - Tools freelancers can utilize to improve their pitches to potential clients. Doing the work that most people won’t do to earn the results most people won’t achieve.

[25:29] - Mindset tricks you can employ to become a better speaker.

[31:17] - How to create more conversations even in the midst of COVID.

[40:16] - Modern education, and the possibility of offering a curriculum that focuses on communication skills.

[45:00] - Differences in teaching school-aged kids versus C-suite executives.

Resources Mentioned:
www.nelson-jordan.com/newsletter
www.linkedin.com/in/nelsontjordan
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendenkumarasamy/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBYFP4mZLQovr7W6Si6sueA
https://www.mastertalk.ca/

Nelson is joined by Rachel Liu to discuss how to design services for clients that balance the complex needs of individuals and institutions.

Topics of conversation include: principles of service design, considering consequences both up and downstream from the specific feature you are crafting, cultural difference in work expectations around the globe, the challenges of engaging an audience in the age of distraction, strategies for retaining new skills, and other topics.

...

[1:53] - The principles of service design and the type of work Rachel does.

[5:44] - Types of problems people bring Rachel and how she employees service design principles to solve them.

[11:15] - Thinking in terms of first, second, and third-order consequences when designing systems for clients.

[15:47] - How COVID is impacting our education systems. Creating services that meet the needs of institutions, teachers, and students.

[22:10] - Cultural differences and expectations when collaborating with remote teams from around the world.

[27:10] - “It’s not about duplicating your experience at the office. It’s about rethinking what you are trying to accomplish and how digital work can support you in doing that.”

[32:31] - The danger of increased productivity leading to more hours worked, rather than an increased quality of life in the context of working from home.

[39:34] - Difficulties sustaining engagement in the age of social and digital media.

[46:35] - Learning how to learn. Educating students to become learners. What could an education system deliver that is of higher value than this?

[50:17] - Strategies for learning new skills. Spaced repetition, sensory engagement.

Resources Mentioned:
www.nelson-jordan.com/newsletter
www.linkedin.com/in/nelsontjordan
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelsliu/
https://rachelliu.co.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/designerjourneys/