Josh and I give my friend, Denise, some feedback on her recently launched website, Jacmel Bay.

• Don’t tell people your site is a work in progress. It will always be a work in progress.
• Make sure fonts are easy to read.
• Is there a call to action on every page?
• Especially on an ecommerce site, be sure to tell the story through pictures.

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Show Topics:

• Self-employed, but fed up with the job
• Selling 20,000+ eBooks
• Leveraging book deal to become a speaker

A few years ago Kimanzi Constable hated his job. It made him miserable and he didn’t know how to get out.

Kimanzi was an independent contractor as a delivery person. He says it’s awesome to be self-employed, but it grew to having five guys below him and $300,000 in revenue. He didn’t have a mentor so it was frustrating to figure out taxes and everything that comes with a business.

Kimanzi got fed up in 2011 and decided too take action, so he followed his passion and self-published an ebook. Tales of the Everyday Working Man and Woman has sold over 20,000 copies to date! This year Kimanazi landed a four book deal.

“People have to have a reason to buy your book. You need to connect with them.”
- Kimanzi Constable

In 2012, Kimanzi started speaking, which scares him. He’s pursued the engagements by leveraging his publishing deal.

Connect with Kimanzi Constable on twitter and facebook.

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Show Topics:

• Multiple or single computer for podcasting
• The best computer setup for podcasting
• The Shark Tank podcast

Andy Traub joins me to talk about computers and podcasting. We’re covering these questions on the show.

Check out Shark Tank Fan Podcast.

Butch: Do you recommend a separate computer for nothing but podcasting if possible? Thanks for your input!

Tony: I am in the process of building out my office in the garage, and I want to simplify my computer life. I want to sell three computers that all serve different functions. The lowest price Mac is the Macbook Air. While it is more than enough for my technical specs, the small screen is a concern. I will be doing screen video tutorials and podcasting as well. Given your experience, and the fact that you own the Macbook Air, do you think you could do well with that laptop only? I know you have the Thunderbolt Display, but would that slow you down much if you didn’t have it? I would plan to add that later.

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Show Topics:

• Come to BlogWorld
• Create a speaking and coaching brand
• Help with a new travel tips website

Are you going to BlogWorld?

Jason: I want to become a speaker, leader, helper, and coach, but I find myself looking at these goals in a few different areas. I need to figure how to make my ideas concise enough that I can be effective, however I am unable to find what one or two of these should go together or should I just find one and go all in? Am I able to be effective if I match up a few of the ideas together?

I feel like I lack the technological know how of where to begin and how to create my brand and start to make my presence known. Could you give me some advice and ideas?

Piotr: I want to create a website as a guide for people that want to visit Poland. I was born and lived there during the early years of my life.

My unique selling proposition will be to stay somewhere in the country. The visitors, instead of getting a room in one of the hotels, will stay on a farm or horse ranch, or other places with some kind of recreational offer. This will make the vacation even more worthwhile and more interesting than just sightseeing.

I’m currently writing about the most popular places to visit. This is what most of the sites have. After that I don’t know if I should add more content with other less popular places or I should start a blog talking about the life in the country. About the benefits, disadvantages, comparing and showing the differences in lifestyle in the country verses the big city.

###

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Show Topics:

• Justin’s European trip and other summer travels
• 3 big mistakes in dealing with large contracts

I talked about speaking at BlogWorld (affiliate link and gets you 10% off with code: PodCoach10). Come to New York City and meet me in June.

Josh and I talked about traveling and then the three big mistakes he’s made lately while working on a big marketing contract. I learned a lot from talking to Josh about these mistakes.

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Show Topics:

• Dental insurance for self-employed
• Marketing a business that may harm a pet

Justin: I provide veterinary surgical procedures for veterinary clinics that are unable to provide these types of surgeries for their clients. I perform surgeries they normally have to refer out to specialty hospitals for lack of skills, equipment or the willingness to do them.

The benefit for the veterinary practice using our services are two fold:

1. Value added service for their clients
2. Additional revenue source they didn’t previously have available to them

The business has done very well since its inception 3 years ago with the aide of my business coach. One problem I face is keeping the clients on board longterm. Most veterinary clinics who begin using our services are very excited initially and use us a lot. With any surgery performed there is always risk for complications or failures. Occasionally we run into a postop complication that causes the clinic to shy away from using our services. We tackle these complications head on but despite doing so, the occasional clinic becomes gun shy and will turn to referring those cases out for surgery. 

Thoughts on how to address this issue a little better to insure continued working relationships?

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Show Topics:

• The best video camera for video blogging (I bet you already have one)
• Just ship it
• Guest appearance by Jon Dale

Josh and I had some surprises in today’s show, including a guest appearance by Jon Dale. After discussing domain names, we all gave our advice on the best video camera, and ironically landing on the same one.

Keith: I am in the market for a video camera for a blog that uses mini-documentaries as a platform. I’m not very tech savvy, but have some friends that can help. In your opinion, what would be a solid, economical camera? Where would you purchase it?

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Show Topics:

• Marketing for free by using forums
• How to market using social media
• Coming up with a business idea

Joshua Gordon joins me again to answer your questions. Email them or call (919) 355-8275.

Jean: Do you know what kind of forums I could visit / participate in where people would be looking to have websites made? I have tried a few marketing ones but didn’t feel that they were worth continuing to pursue.

Joseph: I recently joined a national academic life coaching program and recently completed the training. As I explored the approach I wanted to take to gaining clients, I found that I love online social networking as a means to reach the greatest audience. In three months I have created two Twitter accounts, a Facebook page, a Pinterest business profile, a Youtube Channel, and my blog. It feels productive yet it is starting to feel like I am missing a crucial piece.

I am not converting many people into dedicated followers, and have zero coaching clients. I am nearly at a loss about what to do next because while it’s all over the news about changing the education paradigm, there has not been much inquiry into what I have to offer in that respect. Also, I have always wanted to write about empowering others but I am struggling to find a consistent voice….especially one that really clicks with an online audience.

This week I am nearly feeling frozen with ideas for next steps to improve the online presence. All of the advice and options as far as writing and marketing have my head spinning. And, what I’ve done thus far feels so scattered. I could definitely use some coaching of my own!

Steve: My biggest problem is coming up with the actual idea for my business. When I joined FAA, my thought was to help worship bands develop techniques for playing as a band. Many worship bands know their band does not sound like a “band,” but don’t know how to get beyond it (or perhaps even have a desire to).

I made a start at a web site just to have a place to work at writing. When it came to the place that my posts were more thoughts and not things I could see as being helpful to others, I put the writing on hold. I now have several posts in the beginning stages (using Need a Topic” ideas), with great pictures, but still find myself struggling with the “how-to” writing of useful information.

I feel like I’m stuck in the phase of constantly needing to know more, get new content (of my own) and don’t know how to move forward with the getting on to making a business of it.

I think the bottom line for me, at the moment anyway, is: Is there something I can and should be doing right now to actually be starting my business, even while I am working through classes and trying to decide what “it” will be? (Because, I feel like that whole process could take a long time…) Thanks for all your help!

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Show Topics:

• Metric / English measurements (not sure how that got in here)
• How to market a product when you hate marketing
• Building an online community

Joshua Gordon joins me again to answer your questions. Email them or call (919) 355-8275.

Scott: OK Justin, you know me really well. And, you’re also a customer! People who’ve seen my apps love them. When I can get them to leave a review in iTunes, they use phrases like “great”, “awesome”, “wonderful”, “elegantly designed,” “delightful”, “really useful”, etc. My brick wall is this: I cannot get the word out. And my reason is this: I dread (and perhaps even despise) the process of getting the word out. If I had the proverbial $5 million in the bank and could do what I wanted to do all day, I would be creating the apps and throwing them OVER the brick wall to somebody else to go and market them for me. I have ZERO interest in the marketing research and selling aspects of the business, and try as I might, I can’t get myself truly interested or motivated to do so. I know the mantra that you must be able to sell, and I can give mental assent to it, but I just can’t make it happen. I get drained just thinking about it.

How to get powerful testimonials.

Erik: For the past 15 years, I have been coaching on-air radio talent to improve their content. I am now launching a business to coach podcast talent with their content and material. There are so many moving parts to creating an online community, I’m not really sure which to tackle first.

Michael: If you have time, I would like to know who I might go about SAFELY allow others to guest blog at my site. I think it is a good idea, but don’t know what precautions I would need to take to allow them access.

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I’ll help you turn your ideas into a business that changes the world (and your bank account). Here’s how.

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Show Topics:

• Blogging for two years but no community or audience, and few clients
• Get unstuck and find clients

Joshua Gordon joins me for the next few weeks to talk through a lot of questions that were recently submitted. It was great to get Josh’s take on the questions that have rolled in

Jon White: Justin/Josh I work with individuals and couples on improving their personal economy by giving them a new a perspective on their money. After blogging and podcasting for almost two years, I have created a lot of content but have not been able to build the community or gotten as many clients as I would have liked. In the past few months I have been questioning why I am continuing to do what I have been doing when it really has not worked out too well. I want to create content and products that will help people change their lives and allow them to live the life they want to, but I am having trouble determining what my target market wants and how to market it to them. Thanks for doing this and I am looking to the upcoming podcast. Should be a fun one!

Brian: I’ve owned and operated a music facility for the past 15 years. We make recordings, teach private music lessons, offer instrument repairs, and run clinics and workshops. I have about 3 teachers that work at the studio and I am trying to increase my student enrollment, but to no avail. I’ve been posting in social media sites, doing business to business advertising, running some advertising and of course, word of mouth. I want to take my business to the next level, but I feel like I’m stuck. Any advice would help. Thanks!

###

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Show Topics:

• Stop spamming people in forums
• Automating social media
• It’s not about the skills but in how you market them
• Speakers get paid to market their business

I mentioned how I make money as a blogger.

Getting your message across by spamming is not the way to go. I’ve seen a lot of this as I’ve sat on the advisory board of 48days. I talk about it in this show and what to do instead.

Keith: Thank you for answering my question last week. My blog is released every Sunday. Once I do that, I would post a link to it on my Facebook business page which would automatically post it on Twitter & LinkedIn. Should I stop all of that and start some kind of newsletter so that the people who like to read it can still get it and all the others who don’t want it, won’t? Thanks again! I love the show & listen to it all the time. It has helped me out a LOT!

I’ve seen a lot of people asking the viability of certain skills like graphic or website design lately. It’s not about the particular skills but rather, in how you market them.

Growing your business through speaking. It’s something I’ve used a lot over the years and continue to do so. When you get paid to speak, you’re being paid to market your business in a sense.

###

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Show Topics:

• Do things outside your business for inspiration
• How to use google+ without pushing your stuff
• How to print your own workbooks
• The ideal length of a blogpost

It’s important to do things outside the realm of your business, whether you’re just starting or have been doing it a while. I spent three days learning about avalanches and ski touring the backcountry of northern Colorado. I came back with a list of ideas and blog posts.

Jessica: I listen to Coach Radio in the car to and from my full-time job as I aspire to start my own business. I loved hearing you use Evernote to write down blog ideas, as I use a similar app (Note Everything) to record, type, or draw ideas when necessary.

I haven’t touched my blog in a year, but I’m in the wee young days of starting an online business. Your podcasts have proved to be motivating and informative. Thank you for that!

Keith: I want to use Google+ more. I thought it would be a good idea to post links to past blogs fairly often until I’m caught up to date. I feel like by doing that, I might be ramming my blog down people’s throats. What do you think?

Mike: Hi Justin. I need to get some stuff printed for a class participant workbook. I would need something similar to your Past Due binders. So, I would actually need the binders, the cover printed in color, the spine printed in color, and the content for the middle printed in black and white. Do you have a suggestion on who to use? Thanks!

Resources I mentioned:

• Minuteman Press
• UPS Store
• Alpha Graphics
• Search for local printers
• Price shop for online printers
• Search around online for binders

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Show Topics:

• Growing a company from $300k to $2.5 million
• Launching from a basement with no team
• When to bring investors onto your team

Zak Normandin started an organic baby food company a few years back and grew to $300,000 in revenue in 2011. Little Duck Organics is now on track for $2,500,000 in sales for 2012.

In 2009, Zak started with an idea and launched the business in 2010. He pursued funding and received an investment in June, 2011. shortly after he hired an amazing team to take the company to where it is now.

Zak’s background is in the Coast Guard. When he got out, he worked for an avionics company while also honing his design skills. He started a design consulting firm which lead him to design food packaging.

Little Duck Organics is sold in 3,000 stores nation wide. They have a personal relationship with every farmer that supplies them.

You’ll be amazed to hear how Zak and his team have grown Little Duck Organics so quickly in a short amount of time.

Connect with Zak Normandin on twitter and facebook.

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Show Topics:

• Create a viral video
• The best conferences
• Finding blogging traction
• Keeping your spouse on board
• Backup business plan

Last week I had the pleasure of launching a video for, Story Company, a startup I’ve been working with for the past few months. While it didn’t get millions of views in the first few hours, it did spread rapidly to many people I’ve not met or even heard of.

The amazing thing was that we launched the video at 11pm ET, when few people are online.

The best conferences to attend:

• Storyline - The catalyst for my family’s move to Colorado
• Speak it Forward – I’ve had the pleasure to speak at many of Kent’s Boot Camps for speakers and I always leave with great info (affiliate link)
• SXSW - I haven’t been, but if you can’t find something cool here, you shouldn’t go to conferences

What are your favorite events? Leave a comment below.

Sam: I’ve been blogging for six weeks but haven’t been able to find traction yet. I’m not getting much traffic, comments, or subscribers. What am I doing wrong?

Don’t write off blogging and connecting with people until you’ve been hard at it (almost a full time job) for at least six months. Create great content. If you need good blog ideas, join Need a Topic.

Don’t just write to write, instead, create remarkable content that people want to share. We spent about 25 hours creating the Story Company video. That could be one blog post. I prefer fewer quality posts than more average posts.

Share your posts socially, but before you spam people, build relationships on those networks. Comment on author’s posts if you want them to do the same and share your stuff. Be careful with asking people to share your content, but do be sure you are asking every so often.

Ted: My wife was on board with my business ideas 12 months ago, but I’m not getting as much support any more. Any ideas to keep her engaged and supporting me?

One word, Ted: results. You need to show her results or she has little reason to buy into your plans an support you, especially if you’ve been after it for 12 months or more. Also, help her dream. Show her what your future looks like with your business doing well.

Brenda: Justin, what was your backup plan when you started your business? What were you going to do if it failed?

I had no plan B, Brenda. My only choice was to make my business work, which may have lent to the results.

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Show Topics:

• My current blogging creation strategy
• How to run and stream a live podcast
• Should you add a compressor to your podcasting setup?
• Grassroots marketing for a startup

I started the show with an updated on my blog creation strategy. Ultimately I’d like to create 1.5 – 2 months of written posts and have them queued to publish. I use an editorial calendar to graphically see what’s running, so the day before a post will run, I’ll review it and ask myself if it’s the best piece I could release that day.

You’ll run bad posts if you try to write every day, under a deadline. Don’t do it.

Kyle: Hey, Justin thanks for answering my previous question about sound mixers. The option you gave me looks like it would work and I don’t use a compressor/limiter/gate. My question is what cables do I need to do a mix/minus for Skype to be able to play audio to my guests on the show while recording what they are saying and to stream the show live. I have a USB mic but don’t think it would work because you can’t plug it into the mixer. Do I need an XLR microphone? My overall goal is to have the ability to mix it all into one stream to play anything I need to over Ustream.

Yes, you’ll need an XLR mic to run everything live without post editing, Kyle. It’s more money, but you’ll save a lot of time and headache on the backend trying to pull everything together.

Phillip: Loved your video and tour of your studio. Looks Great. I have a question on mixers. I see you use the Mackie 1202-VLZ3. I also came across the Mackie ProFx12 which has an option for USB. I think I might not need a compressor cause it might be built in, but not 100% sure. I am limited in funds and space. What do you think?

You certainly don’t need a compressor, Phillip, so get started with your current setup. Most of your listeners won’t be able to tell the difference.

I also spent some time giving an update on a marketing campaign for Story Company. We began mailing gifts to people who refer their friends to a landing page we easily created. We used Kickoff Labs to create the site and collect the signups.

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Show Topics:

• Where Network Marketers go wrong
• Your about page picture
• Displaying pricing on website
• Podcast hosting

This morning I met with a new “friend” who ultimately made me watch a video on the next big network marketing company. It’ll be a household name in five years. Trust me. That’s what I was told, at least.

In the position I’m in with access to a lot of people (followers, subscribers, online and offline friends) I’m an easy target for these guys, so I’ve sat through quite a few pitches. They’re almost always the same: lots of hype, but marketed to everyone, in hopes they’ll get a small percentage of the right people. I don’t take what I do lightly and know I have a responsibility to you not to get caught up in something that won’t work, so I’ve never  bought into any of these companies and never will.

What are MLMers doing wrong? There are many, but here are two.

1. Pitching everyone with easy money. You simply can’t work 2-3 hours per week and make hundreds of thousands of dollars. I’ve been told this by many network marketers. I know a few who are making that kind of money, but it’s a full time business just like most people work. If you’re not passionate about your business, your ideas have little chance of working. That’s why most network marketers fail.
2. Not listening. We had coffee before the pitch and I got to talk, but during the pitch, I didn’t talk. It was 98% him and a video. He didn’t ask if I had questions, he wouldn’t stop telling me how good the company is. Seek first to understand. That’s one of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective people.

“Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
- Theodore Roosevelt

Jimmy: Thanks for all that your do for us coaches. I’m wondering if I should have a picture of myself on my website’s about page? If so, how professional should it be? I don’t know whether to go with a suit and tie or something more casual like you have on the Lukas Coaching website. Also, should my picture be on other pages or places of my website?

Michael: Would you put your pricing online for a service like I’m offering at soundboardmusicschool.com? The service is music lessons in your home. I’m not selling on price but a great service that will save you time and your kids will love. Is displaying pricing different for a local service like this?

Mark: If I’m using feedburner for my podcasts, and currently hosting the files on my server, but decide to move to a host like libsysn/podomatic, do I have to move all my old shows, or will itunes understand that old episodes are on my hosting provider while the new shows are hosted?

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Show Topics:

• Leaving a non-profit to start a for-profit
• Sharing pictures without tasteless advertising on twitter
• The best podcast mixer
• How to create consistently good content

Sam: I work at a non profit and do web design and consulting on the side. Its taking a huge toll on me and my family while I put in 14 hour days and still not able to get everything done. Even though the real work Im supposed to be doing at the nonprofit is my passion, I’m considering calling it quits and doing the same kind of work on my own as a profitable social enterprise. Any advice?

Also, is it realistic to think that one can manage a small sized (40 person) company 100% via email? I’m thinking this would not be a best practice for a CEO considering having to interact with so many people, would it?

I appreciate your thoughts and as always thank you for all the great work you do. I listen to your shows during commutes and I love your book.

P.S. you’ve inspired me to start podcasting .. my next questions will come through via new audio equipment I get next week.

Michael: Wants to create a website similar to what I have at justinlukasavige.com.

Here are two tutorials that show exactly how I’m creating content through my tumblr page and sharing it on facebook and twitter.

Kyle: Hey Justin! I was watching your podcast studio tour video and was wondering about the sound mixer you use. I do some podcasting and was looking into getting a sound mixer, but didn’t need all the extras that came on the Mackie 1202, so is there is a smaller/cheaper version that gives me the same features you use?

There’s not  a cheaper one that I’m aware of that gives you insert jacks, but if you’re looking for cheaper, you’re probably not going to be using a compressor/limiter/gate. The Behringer 802 will likely fit your need well at a much cheaper price.

Scott: How to create consistently good content every day of the week.

I’m blogging every day of the week at Coach Radio as well as creating topics, tips, and techniques posts at Need a Topic for premium members.

First, I use an editorial calendar to capture my thoughts. I’m a visual guy and I need to see what’s going out when since I rarely send a post out on the day I write it.

I come up with ideas at random times like when I’m in the shower. I need to be able to capture those ideas so I can create content when it needs to go out. I never miss a schedule day of writing or recording. Never.

Because I do this so religiously, I’m never at a loss for idea when I need them. Right now I have a file of at least 50 ideas, many I’ll never write about. That’s one of the reasons I created Need a Topic, so I could help others create content consistently on their own.

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I’ll help you turn your ideas into a business that changes the world (and your bank account). Here’s how.

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Show Topics:

• Make money from your blog
• Better to start a newsletter or a podcast
• Creating fictional characters for a podcast network
• Multiple twitter IDs for projects or one for everything

Jason: I was asking about affiliate income from blog or podcast. From what I’m learning, a blog in and of itself is not normally a huge income producer. Usually, you need to have a product or service to drive income from the blog it seems. So, thinking this through, if I wanted a blog / podcast on Entrepreneurship for children, I really need to have a DVD / curriculum or something to sell.  Or have an affiliate connection where I’m getting 50% of the price of an e-book and getting huge amounts of traffic.

Alan: Should I start a newsletter or a podcast?

Sam: I’m thinking about creating a site with some concepts similar to Mignon’s (Grammar Girl) and really like her idea of creating fictional characters so that if authors change, subscribers are not put off by the change. I also like the caricatures she has for each of her subject matters areas as well. If I do something similar, would there be any legal (or moral) violation in doing so?  For instance, if I had a Grammar Guy, Money Lad, or Adventure Queen (I don’t have any of these – they are just examples), etc. would that be too much of a rip-off of her idea?  Any quick ideas on how I could implement something like this without ripping that off?  If not, would it be legally problematic if I did use that model (as long as I didn’t use any of her existing names)?  Do you see any unforeseen consequences in doing so? 

Tony: Do you think I should use one twitter ID for everything, or separate for different endeavors like my job?

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Show Topics:

• Google docs
• Where do you listen to podcasts?
• Tell your story
• Speech to text software

I’m finally launching a t-shirt give-a-way promotion when you join Need a Topic. All current members are receiving them now and new members are next in line.

Dustin: I submitted a question on your website, and noticed that you’re using google documents to power this form. How does that work? I have a contact form on my website that I’m not super happy with, plus it’s another WP plug-in, so I was curious; How is this form working for you? Do you get notifications when the spreadsheet is updated, and do you find it’s easier to sit down and reply when you have a list of sorts? I’m a big database/spreadsheet nut, so I’m thinking this might fit me well.

Abigail: Calling to tell me where she listens to Coach Radio.

Marta: I listened to your interview on the Better at Marketing Podcast and something you said caught my attention. I’ve heard you say it before but this time it hit me straight on. You said that a lot of people think they don’t have a story to tell, let alone an interesting one. That is me! Especially since the Storyline conference it has been on my mind and what I’ve come to realize that it seems ordinary and boring to me but that it might be interesting to others. How do you take what is boring to you and write it and share it with any enthusiasm. How did you start sharing yours and know what parts to share?

Speak publicly whenever you can. When people ask you about your story, tell them and watch to see what they find interesting.

Randell: Hey Justin, I tend to express myself better verbally, and I hate to type. Do you recommend a particular speech to text software? I know there are several out there, but I value your opinion so I would love to know your thoughts on this.

Dragon Naturally Speaking Home Edition (affiliate link) is the best I know of and won’t break the bank.

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Show Topics:

• Saving lives by washing hands (and doing business)
• Partnering to create a global business

5,000 children die every day by diseases that can be prevented by washing their hands. Bridget Hilton and Ben Richardson are out to change that with their company, Jack’s Soap.

Their soap is organic certified and PETA approved. When you buy a bar, they also buy a bar in a foreign country (to help the local economy) and donate the soap. They also partner to teach disease prevention instead of just donating soap and walking away.

Ben and Bridget started small just a few months ago with a big idea. They went to 99designs for packaging ideas, then went to work to partner with small retail shops, along with selling on their website.

Ben and Bridget have a goal of donating 10,000 bars during their first trip overseas.

Connect with the team at Jack’s Soap on twitter and facebook.

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Show Topics:

• Growing a business by podcasting

Derek Sisterhen joins me to talk about growing a business by starting a podcast. Congrats to his wife, Elisa, and him for the birth of their first boy, Owen.

During this show we talk about our experiences in growing my business through a podcast. We started a show on AM radio in 2008 and have grown from there.

Check out How to podcast for a tutorial on getting started.

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Show Topics:

• Worldwide business business from North Dakota
• Partnering to make a business stronger
• Content marketing for a web design firm

Garrett Moon and Justin Walsh have partnered together to build a web design firm in…Bismarck, ND.

Garrett is a designer and Justin is a developer so they compliment each other well. They met in the old school world of advertising and decided to start a business.

They began working together on a side project before jumping head first into a business.

Content marketing is a big draw for clients around the world. From their blog to a great podcast, they put out content that people find helpful, which also keeps them coming back from more.

Connect with Garrett Moon and Justin Walsh on twitter and facebook.

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Show Topics:

• Should I display pricing on my website?
• The definition of real community

Free Agent event this weekend.

Jimmy: I have been going back and forth on whether to put the price of my coaching package on my website. I currently have my price on my services page on my website, but I don’t know if that is preventing people from contacting me after they look at my website. I’m starting to get more and more traffic from my blog posts and Google adwords is optimized and bringing quality traffic in my area, but no phone calls or emails for the free 30 minute consult after they view my services page. My gut feeling tells me to take it off so I can explain the value of coaching before I tell them the price, but I figured you would be the best person to ask and other coaches may have this same question.

Community post. Have you had it since college? Where?

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After 205 shows at Coach Radio, almost half of them being interviews with world changers, I’ve decided to change the schedule up a bit.

In this short audio clip, I talk about the reasoning behind the change and what you can expect from here forward.

I haven’t gotten tired of talking to amazing people in the least. In fact, I’ve taken my own advice about getting fired up, inspired, and motivated from these interviews, and I’m doing something with it.

As you can imagine, staying abreast of people and stories is fun and it’s something I’ll never give up. It keeps me going every day. Tracking people down, researching, and scheduling interviews, on the other hand, takes a great deal of work each week. Not only am I busy with projects, but the folks I talk to are sometimes much busier.

My priority at Coach Radio has always been to provide resources to build businesses. Interviews, blog posts, helpful products, etc. That won’t change, and neither will my desire to keep 95% of what I do here free. For now, though, the schedule of Your Story episodes will be reduced somewhat. I’m not doing away with them, but you’ll likely notice the reduced schedule.

Thanks for allowing me to pull back, if only slightly. Focusing on my projects will allow me to bring you even more lessons that I hope you can use in your own business.

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Show Topics:

• Unsupportive parents
• Social media and time zones
• What I’ve learned in 6 years of business
• Staying disciplined after success

Todd: Were your parents supportive of your decision to leave the airlines, and did you care? It seems a lot of people still seek approval to be a free agent from people like family, even if they are able to dismiss others.
Rob: I like to think that I understand the basic concepts around interaction through social media and building a community, but I am having trouble implementing them lately.  Almost exactly a year ago, I moved from Illinois to Kathmandu, Nepal.  

Unfortunately, when I first moved to Nepal, I was unable to keep up with the podcast because of tech issues like power outages and intermittent internet, etc. Now that most of the tech issues are solved and I’m back at it, I have found another problem. Most of the listeners and fans of my podcast live in the US. Before the move, it was easy for me to check the social media outlets and respond to questions and answers from fans at several scheduled points throughout the day. Here in Nepal, most of my time online is when my fans and followers are sleeping. Right now, the time difference from my previous location is almost exactly 12hrs. Email is fine, and I interact with a number of friends/fans that way on a weekly basis, but I’m getting very little love on facebook, especially compared to before. According to my stats, my listenership has increased, but interaction has decreased.

Can you give me any advice for dealing with this situation?  Are there better times to schedule posts or questions? 

Michael: How do you find the balance as you go along and share the journey? 6 Things I Wish I Knew 6 Years Ago

Todd: How do you remain disciplined as a free agent, despite your success. It seems like a lot of people can get sloppy once they have found success.

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Show Topics:

• Building a community that shares
• Quitting a job to build a business that hasn’t made any money
• Creating a list of epic quests

Steve Kamb created a community for nerds, desk jockeys, and weekend warriors to level up their lives.

Out of college, Steve got a corporate job that was unfulfilling. He connected with the 4 Hour Workweek, which blew his mind with possibilities.

Steve didn’t know where to start, so he just wrote. After 20 articles a month for five months, he had 90 subscribers to his blog.

Even though Steve enjoyed his job, he quit after 18 months. Amazingly, he still hadn’t made a single dollar in his business.

As Steve expands on his concepts, check out his list of epic quests.

His income stream now includes eBooks, clothing, and affiliate sales. A big thing he’s expanding on is his speaking business. He’s spoken at Google and has an engagement coming up at Facebook.

Connect with Steve Kamb on twitter and facebook.

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Show Topics:

• Reselling products on eBay
• Twitter ID’s
• Which metrics to track for business

Dan: (writing back in with an update on setting his speaking fees) Interesting how it worked out. It is a fairly small gig speaking to 30-40 interns for a company. I asked for $150 and they came back and said their budget was $120. I said this was fine, but I really like your idea of having a few products available. I don’t have any completed products yet but I’m hopeful that I can by the time I speak. I’ll definitely have business cards/flyers to hand out. I also plan on video taping everything to use as a marketing tool.

Michael: When I first set up my twitter account I was just goofing around to see if it was something I’d want to keep using. Now that I’ve decided to keep using it and my followers are starting to build a bit, I’m interested in a better user name to brand myself. I’d like to just use my name but the trouble is, every variation on my name and initials has been taken (last name first is the only thing I can find available). Even the old business names I’ve used in that past are all taken. Any thoughts on what I should do? Of course they suggest just tossing a random number behind my name but it means nothing and looks a bit weird.

I’m looking for feedback on the same thing.

Ryan asks about the key metrics I track in my business.

In addition to standard financial reports like balance sheets and profit and loss statements, I track other things that are helpful to judge growth. Social media is one of the biggest things I track.

Coach should track how many people request consultations, how many consultations you do, and how many convert to clients.

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Show Topics:

• Turning abandoned shipping containers into medial offices
• Creating a global company while still in college
• Finding people and resources to launch and grow a company

G3Box team members Gabby Palmero, Susanna Young, and Clay Tyler join me to talk about their new business: turning abandoned shipping containers into medical offices.

The team began working together at Arizona State University and the project was kicked off in the Spring of 2012. They’ve had many ups and downs since then, but have surrounded themselves with many people who have helped them launch their ideas into the world.

They’re all still college students and their backgrounds are in engineering, though Billy Walters is getting his minor in business. Susanna is the CEO, Gabby is the COO, and Clay is the technical officer. Billy will handles finances and administration.

They’re started a for-profit LLC and a non-profit. Initially their market will be hospitals in the US, disaster response units, FEMA, the Red Cross, mining, oil and gas companies, and then focusing on improving maternal mortality rates in developing countries.

“Doing it ourselves wasted a lot of time, so we hired local companies who knew what they were doing to build them out.” – Gabby Palermo

Connect with the crew at G3Box on twitter and facebook.

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Show Topics:

• A $12,000 client
• How to blog/podcast consistently
• How to price myself as a speaker

Rendezvous member is signing a $12,000 contract today. Wow!

If you want your own group, you can submit an application.

Jake: Thanks for your Need a Topic service, it’s brilliant. Currently I’m in a rut with my online activity. Working two jobs plus going on vacation recently with no online access means my site has no fresh post or podcast in probably two months. I hate the feeling of not being reliable and regular the way my favorite blogs and podcasts are.

I know the importance of consistency in blogging, but I haven’t developed any kind of schedule for my writing. How did you discipline yourself to stay consistent back in the early days?

Also, should I apologize to my audience for the break in communication? How do I lead back in? Thanks, and love your work.

Dan: I am in the process of landing my first speaking gig sometime in February and was asked to provide my fee that I charge.  Since this is my first speaking gig, I was hoping you could provide some insight as to how to go about finding the correct rate to charge.

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Show Topics:

• A challenge to do impossible things
• How to stop living a normal life
• The importance of professional photos for your website

Joel Runyon is challenging you to do impossible things, and join him as he travels and does the same.

Joel was tired of living the “normal life” so he decided to do something about it. He create the impossible list, then set out to do it.

Joel graduated, couldn’t find a job, then settled for working at UPS. Fast forward to today, he recently quit his job and has no idea what he’s going to do next. Sound fun?

A few links from this show:

• Spyr Media – the web firm that Joel recommends
• Six4Eleven – the team who provided the great photographs you see on Joel’s website – be sure to check out the promo video they put together

Connect with Joel Runyon on twitter and facebook.

Photo copyright joelrunyon

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Show Topics:

• Colorado move update
• Getting the support of your wife when going full time

My wife, Christine, joins me to talk about doing business spouseless. As always, she tells the truth, maybe even on the dirty side. You’ve got to respect that though.

We talk about our updates after moving from North Carolina to Colorado. Christine really didn’t want to move, but now is glad we did. I asked her how to had the guts to do something she wasn’t crazy about.

Our advice to getting your spouse on board:

• Ask for a chance
• Prove it
• Forecast
• Dream together

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Show Topics:

• Adding humor and yourself to a professional website
• Putting it on the line and hosting a big conference
• Creating a membership site for revenue
• Creating a business while continuing to work full time

Bryan Allain is a blog coach who ads a splash of humor. Not afraid to add a bit of his true self into his work, he does it all from from his home in Lancaster county, PA.

Bryan starting blogging in 2001, when it was much harder to update a site like today’s current blogs. His blog started with personal, family stuff, and has grown into a side business.

I first ran into Bryan when he released a book called 31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo at the end of 2011. Since then, he’s been working on building and launching things like Killer Tribes, a site for his 1-on-1 and group coaching, and My Killer Tribe, a community of people learning how to blog and relying on each other for help.

Getting paralyzed by fear isn’t something Bryan allows to happen. He’s hosting a big conference in March with a big lineup and a great price.

Listen to the interview to hear how he’s doing it all on the side while continuing to work a full time job.

Connect with Bryan Allain on twitter.

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Show Topics:

• Self publishing printers
• Tracking eBook downloads
• Using Google Adsense
• The best Mac setup for a new business

JD: I read your book over the weekend, and it was very helpful. I have put the final touches on a rough draft for my book, and I was wondering who printed your book. I also enjoy your show, and thanks for the help.

Michael: Hi Justin, I’ve been listening to your podcasts and find them very informative. I would like to know how best to track an ebook in pdf on my site with Google analytics. I have read over track event view and track page view but am still unsure set this up. Any suggestions? My knowledge of coding is sparse.

I don’t use google analytics to track downloads. Instead, I use Libsyn.

George: Justin I have been seeing a lot of information about google adsense, especially linking it to your blog. Do you recommend this when trying to get more traffic to your blog and also making a smaller residual income. Also can you even link adsense to a wordpress blog.

Anna: I listened to your show about podcasting equipment and the information was very helpful. Your recommendations are the direction I’ve been leaning toward because it sounds like the set-up I have at my job. I have a Canon video camera (hard disc, not tape), but I got it specifically because of the ability to plug in a mic and then I have an iMac with iMovie…which I love!

However, as I look at launching my personal blog and consulting business which will include producing videos and podcasts down the road, I need to purchase equipment. I have a PC, but I want to get a Mac for the reasons you stated. I just don’t know whether to invest in a MacBook or the iMac. I’m kind of leaning to an iMac and an iPad. The iMac would be for production purposes (and cheaper than a MacBook, and then an iPad would be portable for meeting with clients and showing videos, etc.)

Do you think that’s the way to go? Thanks for all you do!

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Show Topics:

• Idea to funding
• Teams in different cities (and other parts of the world)
• Designing and manufacturing a new clothing line
• Kickstarter success

Kristin Glen (Denver, CO) and Shannon Whitehead (Austin, TX) created Revolution Apparel a few years ago in Sydney, Australia. They wanted to create a business that combined adventure, passion, and purpose. The outcome was a women’s clothing line that’s eco-friendly.

Kristin and Shannon went through a process of designing a new piece of clothing called The Versalette.

Instead of raising capital through venture capitalists or traditional loans, (Kristin and Shannon both hate debt) they decided to raise capital and test the market by using Kickstarter. Their initial goal was to raise $20,000, but they’ve long since surpassed that mark.

Connect with Kristin, Shannon, and Revolution Apparel on Facebook and twitter.

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Show Topics:

• Pricing for workshops and coaching
• Brand or business name for Facebook page
• Avoid non-paying clients
• Video podcast microphone

Steve: I plan on holding weekly workshops in 2012 to build my coaching business. I haven’t taken any type of coaching training program, but have 20 years of experience in encouraging, giving advice, counseling, motivating, inspiring, and teaching. How should I go about monetizing and charging for the workshops and seminars? How should I offer coaching? How do I charge: hourly, weekly, or monthly? What should I charge? Am I allowed to gather material from the web and sell them to my clients? What about giving them away for free?

Darrin: Business name or blog name for Facebook?

Eric: I had a consultation with a self employed couple who are having trouble with their finances. 

I quoted them a fee and he said he needed to break the fee up into 2 payments. No problem of course. I told him it be $250 to start the coaching and the balance could be paid in 30 days. I told him I’d send him an electronic invoice and a budget spreadsheet. I didn’t hear anything from them for about a week, so I sent a reminder that I was waiting on the spreadsheet. I got an answer that she was “Working on it” and that it might take an additional week. I thought this odd, nobody takes that long for this assignment. As the appointment date got closer, I sent another reminder and also asked if they had received the invoice and could take care of the payment before our meeting. He said he had not, so I said I’d re-send it. 

The check arrived and I expected it to be for $250 as we had agreed. It was for $100. There was a note written on my $250 invoice that said “Here’s a check for $100 as retainer, the rest to be paid after the coaching call.”

So, I was a bit non-plused. They cancelled their first meeting because they were not ready despite many offers I made to help her get prepared including filling out the spreadsheet for her. I expected a check for $250 and get one for $100 with a note telling me he’s changing the agreement. Without asking me if this is OK first. They reserved a new date after the cancellation and I have had other clients that wanted that time. Clients that have paid in full and had to take another time further out.

I am getting more than a little uncomfortable with these clients. I don’t need these clients, and part of me would be happy not to deal with them. My instinct is to tell him no, he has to pay the $250 prior to the meeting due to the fact that he has a time reserved and we do require the $250 up front unless other arrangements are made.

Part of me does not want to go through with coaching these guys because of my experience with them up to this point. It has not been a “match made in heaven”. My worry is that my personal feelings are involved here. I want to do what is right and do everything for the right reasons.. Based on my interactions with these guys so far, I don’t see them as being a “fun” client. It will be sweaty work, so I know part of me may be looking for an excuse to move on.. That’s why I wanted to take some time to try to figure this one out before I do something that’s not right from a moral or ethical standpoint.

Dominic: I saw that you use a Heil PR-40 microphone and I just bought one. However, I hadn’t really thought things through, I just read that it was a good mic.  Now, I know I’ll need a mixer and other equipment to get the audio into the computer.  My question is, when video podcasting, how do you get the video from a video camera, and the audio from an external, into the same file?  I mean, I can see that you could make two separate files and then chuck out the audio from the camera, and import the recorded audio from the mic.  However, I had just imagined that there was an easier, more direct route than this!  What’s the best thing for me to do.  I have a fairly good budget (aprox $5,000), so you can play with whatever ideas you want.

Also, I saw that you have a compressor.  I’m not entirely sure how to use one, but I have heard the difference in audio quality that one can make.  Considering I don’t know really how to use one, do you think it is advisable to get one or not?

Another thing.  At the moment I have a really basic windows laptop: Intel core2 duo 1.8GHz, 4GB Ram, Basic sound and graphics card.   Do I need to upgrade to a better laptop?  Do I NEED a Mac, or are PCs okay?

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Show Topics:

• From lawyer to world traveling foodie
• Traveling the world on savings and freelancing
• Following through on dreams

Jodi Ettenberg is a former lawyer from Montreal and New York, now traveling and eating her way around the world.

After becoming a lawyer Jodi worked in New York, all the while paying off her college debt and preparing to travel. She started a blog with a friend, then took it on as her own.

Everyone has a dream, but I asked Jodi if she could pinpoint what lead her to follow through with hers. First two years she lived on savings. Now she freelances as a writer to fund her travel. Listen to hear why she doesn’t directly monetize her website.

Connect with Jodi Ettenberg on Facebook and twitter.

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Show Topics:

• First speaking engagements
• Creating a life plan for clients
• Business idea for website themes
• How to find customers in 30 days

Jimmy: I purchased and read your book “Become a Coach”. Great book. I launched my financial coaching business a few months ago and I’m searching for my first client. I am doing everything I can to get clients. I write weekly articles, pass out business cards, and tell everyone I know, even strangers. The good news is I landed the opportunity to talk in front of the Financial Peace University class at my church on Dec 11^th. The only issue is I’m kind of nervous and don’t know exactly what to say. Can you give me a few pointers on what I should and should not say to the group. The instructor told me there are 10 couples in the class. I Love the advice you give and the blog, thanks in advance for any help.

Pick a few points and don’t try to pack too much information in. They want hope, inspiration, and motivation more than anything. They already know what to do, so don’t teach, just lead. Open your talk up to Q&A.

George: I am sitting here writing out my my coaching model and I notice on your coaching process form you mention something called a life plan. Is the life plan something you developed or is it something you picked up from somewhere? Could you share some more information on this life plan? I am also in the process of putting together my entrepreneurship/success academy for middle and high school students. I am also thinking about putting together a financial summer camp for ages 7-18. Any advice on how I should structure this program.

I use the free Mind Meister to create life plans.

Aaron: I own licenses for Standard Theme, Thesis, Headway, Genesis, and Platform Pro. What would you think of a service that allowed you to pay a nominal fee ($5-$10) to test out a WordPress installation that had all 5 themes installed? Kind of a try-before-you-buy system for premium WordPress themes. A user pays the fee and within a few minutes receives a URL, username, and password. They have 48-hour access. I’d expect to make something off the fee, but I’d also send emails at 24 and 48 hours into the trial that included affiliate links for each of the themes (and for hosting). I’m about 99% sure I’ve got the technical knowledge to script this all on the backend. I would lock down each site so that you needed the username/password not only to log in but to view the site at all. That would prevent people from posting inappropriate content and making it public.

You can play with some of the themes already, but not usually the backend.

If the theme allows it, I think it’d be a great idea to let people do it for free, then giving them a lot of info that breaks down the difference between them, to help them make a buying decision. Sounds like that’s where the money is.

Michael: Differences in WordPress themes. If I only had 30 days to find customers.

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Show Topics:

• Traveling the world as a photographer
• Documentaries through photos
• Freelancing and not settling

Suzette Munson created Love 41 as an online retail business with a mission to give 100% of profits to orphans, widows, and street kids in Africa.

After traveling to Rwanda about one year ago, Suzette couldn’t sleep at night thinking about the people she met. It was so overwhelming that she had to do something abou it.

Instead of creating another non-profit, Suzette created a business that would give not 1% or 10%, but a full 100% of profits back to people who could benefit from the money.

Love 41 sources and sells apparel and jewelry from around the world. Suzette spends her day working with designers and creating her own unique lines.

Africa New Life Ministries is their partner in Africa. They’re a great organization that is changing the world in a big way. Suzette’s intention is not to keep it in Africa, but to expand beyond to other parts world that need help.

Connect with Suzette Munson on Facebook and twitter.

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Show Topics:

• How to Become a Storywriter
• Create a membership website
• Computer business for 55+ year olds

Need gift suggestions? Check out 26 gifts for the self-employed spouse.

Michael: You’ve no doubt been asked many times why you use the word ‘storywriter’ as a kind of tag line. But why do you use that? Is there a blog or podcast where you cover that question? I have a pretty good idea why but I’d be interested in hearing how you articulate that.

Anna: I am really enjoying listening to your podcasts!  I have been pondering starting a membership site like you’ve had with the success of needatopic.com.

I have been blogging at classycareergirl.com for almost two years.  I am really enjoying it and the growth has been amazing!  I am ready to take it to the next level and actually make more of an income from it.  I already have a draft membership site designed (academy.classycareergirl.com) but I am overwhelmed with creating the content to start it.  I don’t want to get in over my head and want it to be easy for me to do every month (while I still have my full time job). Do you have any advice on starting a membership site and any tips you have learned with the success of your site?

First, make sure you put it on your calendar, Anna, or you’ll never find the time. Also, since you’re on WordPress, try the free editorial calendar plugin. I use it on all my sites and love it.

Lou asked a question on last week’s show about coaching for Seniors. To clarify, he was talking about a market of 55+. With that market increasingly on a fixed income, he’s wondering if his business, helping seniors with computer issues, could be lucrative as a full time business.

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Show Topics:

• Traveling the world as a photographer
• Documentaries through photos
• Freelancing and not settling

Charlie Grosso is a world-traveling photographer and has been a commercial photographer for over 10 years. She grew up in Taipei which inspired a current project called Wok the Dog. It’s lead her to 22 countries and she has 19 left before she finishes the project.

Charlie used to be advertising focused and now focuses more on documentaries.

At 18 years old, Charlie got herself into photography and hasn’t settled for doing anything she doesn’t love.

“Freelancing is not the thing for you if you’re not ok with uncertainty.” – Charlie Grosso

To make it as a photographer you need to be fascinated with business, Charlie told me. She’s educated herself on marketing, sales, and growing her business, which has lead to much of her success.

Believe it or not, Charlie travels the world with old-fashioned film. Listen to hear why, and how she gets it all through security without being x-rayed.

Among other things, Charlie’s future hold a few books: Wok the Dog will be a book, another book (Catch me if You Can – travel stories mixed with travel tips); an art gallery with a business partner (just wrapped up Fall season and looking at next); and working with non-profits, NGO’s, and UN for advocacy relationships.

Connect with Charlie Grosso on Facebook and twitter.

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Show Topics:

• Get your own board of directors
• Converting readers to subscriber to customers
• Creating your own seminar
• Working with seniors
• Create a separate website for speaking
• Best auto responder service

I’m officially launching a Board of Directors group. As soon as I did, five of the eight spots were immediately taken. There may or may not be a spot open, but complete the application if you’re interested in joining a future group.

Randy: I know I’m getting a fair number of readers to my website, but I can’t figure out how to convert those readers to subscribers, and even more importantly to me, convert subscribers to commenters/participants. I get very few comments, but I really want it to be more interactive and engaging. Do you have any suggestions on how I can do that? I believe that the more engaged people are, the more it will benefit them, and the more likely they are to spread the word. While we’re at it, do you have any other thoughts about the content, layout, readability, or anything else you might be able to share? Thank you! Keep up the great podcasts!

Brad wants to develop his own financial seminar that he leads.

Lou: I found a niche coaching opportunity for senior citizens that I’m very interested in pursuing. But am wondering if you may be able to share any best practices and/or profitability challenges when working with this population?

Rob wants to know if he should have a separate page on his website for speaking opportunities. He also asks if his call to action on the site is good.

Jason: Justin, I was wondering if you could help me sort out a great mystery. I am in the process of setting up a shopping cart and an auto responder service for my coaching website. I noticed from this article that you recommend aweber auto responder service. I also noticed that you use 1shoppingcart for your shopping cart service and that it has it’s own autoresponder service.

Is there a reason that you don’t use the 1 shopping cart auto responder service? It seems like it would be nice to have it all in one. Also, how do you like the 1 shopping cart service? I have some concerns with the ongoing fees. My website guy quoted me a flat rate of $1,500 to set up a shopping cart. Any feedback or thoughts would be much appreciated.

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Show Topics:

• Creating a podcast network with 2 million page views per month
• Landing promo on Oprah, CNN, and more
• Partnering to grow a business

Mignon Fogarty created the Quick and Dirty Tips network and hosts an online show called Grammar Girl since starting in 2006. It was early in the podcasting world but Mignon still thought she missed her golden window of opportunity.

Mignon started the Grammar Girl podcast because it was her hobby. It was so popular that she expanded the network and brought on other experts to create their own quick and dirty tips shows.

Macmillan became a partner to help provide money, resources, and people to manage the Quick and Dirty Tips network. The monetize through advertising, an add-free app, paid speaking, books, audiobooks, and more.

Mignon’s show hosts script every show. I asked her how they do it and manage to still sound normal.

You may have seen Mignon on on Oprah, CNN, and more, all based around the topic of grammar. That’s turned into 2,000,000 page views per month across the network and 1,000,000 million downloads of Grammar Girl every month. Again, all based on grammar.

If you’re stuck giving your idea legs, this show will help motivate you to take some action.

Connect with Mignon Fogarty on Facebook and twitter.

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Show Topics:

• Update on my Board of Directors groups
• Working nights and weekends
• How to create a financial forecast
• Get interviewed on a podcast
• Shortening a URL and QR codes

A friend and client recently went full time and asked me what to do about someone who wanted to work with him on Mondays. He usually reserves those days for family and other projects. I told him he needs to rearrange his schedule to meet with the guy.

Jason: It’s hard to pin down a good financial estimate for non-traditional businesses.  Even your coaching model, it’s almost like speculation or panning for Gold.  But Free Agent Academy HAD to have had a financial model in order to recruit good talent, so there must be a way of estimating these kinds of endeavors.  How to go about it?  Customer surveys? Experience?  Demand?

Yes to all. Part of a financial forecast (which we include in the Free Agent Academy and my personal coaching) helps you understand what marketing you need to do in order to drive the results you want. If you’re not happy with the numbers, change them.

Alana: I was asked to be a guest on a podcast, recently. Prior to the recording, I asked if I could get a few bullet points on topics/thoughts the radio host would like to cover but he said he prefers not to send topics so the show is more like a conversation than a scripted event. There were a few things he brought up that threw me for a loop, so I tripped over my words and at times sounded like I did not remember details of the event.

He offered to let me record it again but I wasn’t up for it. Then I received another e-mail asking if we could re-record the show. He was not happy with how he sounded. I believe I wrote him a week ago and have not heard back. SO, I am wondering if I screwed up because I did not know proper radio show guest etiquette and asked for too much? (plugging my own blog and requesting talking points). 

Alan: I have really enjoyed your podcasts and blogs. I started at 1 and am at around 65 right now. Great stuff. I am in the process of planning my own (very small) podcast and have been trying to glean as much info as I can from your stuff. Truly a great resource.

I am in the process of starting my own business. I have gone through FAA all the way through graduating from Jimi Gibson’s Brand class (but have not started the Roadmap class yet). Anyway, I have a pretty good idea of what I am going to do with a URL and website but I have been thinking about setting up a custom URL shortening setup. I became interested in QR barcodes (the square ones) a year ago and it works better if the URL is short. I have used bit.ly but have a few concerns about people not wanting to go to those links and services suggesting you be very careful since you really can’t see the end site.

I wanted to get your thoughts on the usefulness of having a short URL associated with a “normal” business URL. For example, http://chrdo.tv as a shortened version of http://Coachradio.tv. Thanks

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Show Topics:

• Walking 3,400 miles across America
• Following a dream
• Name your own price for Nate’s book

Nate Damm seems like a normal guy, until you learn he just walked 3,400 miles across the United States. The Atlantic to the Pacific. Delaware to California.

Why?  Well, Nate wanted to see America and do it in a slow way. He also wanted to inspire people to pursue big dreams of their own.

Before the trip, Nate had a girlfriend, a job, pets, and an apartment. Listen to hear how how he planned his trip and just went for it.

Nate went through three pairs of shoes in his seven and a half month walk and met some interesting folks along the way. The biggest frustration in his walk may have come after returning home to Maine. He was pulled over by police for walking in his own neighborhood.

Nate plans to write a book about his travels. He won’t be naming a price, but instead, allow buyers to name their own.

Connect with Nate Damm on Facebook and twitter.

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Show Topics:

• Podcasting for those who can’t monologue
• What should my website call-to-action be
• Why my vision keeps changing
• Blogging on a music school website

Clint: The podcast is intimidating to me for some reason. I’ve ran through a couple of trial recordings of just doing a straight forward podcast. I think I might switch to more of a Q&A format.

Ivan: What should website calls-to-action be?

Marta: I was listening to your interview with Josh Gordon for his 1 Month to $1k Challenge and something really caught my attention this time. You were talking about vision and how that if the vision changes – change it. So how do you know when to change or how do you know the vision is not a fly-by-night or trendy vision that has caught your attention for a brief time (something I am prone to do) and does not pass the longevity test. 

I’ve been struggling with vision for a long time now and in the past couple of months started to come to a better understanding through journaling, praying, reading, listening etc. In all of that I keep hearing/reading, even in FAA, that the vision doesn’t change but the mission does. I was hoping you might explain your take on vision a bit more and expand what you said in that interview. 

This is such an important step and one that I have not ever really thought through and has been a stumbling block for me for a long time – even back when I was working with you, I think I had an inkling but I did not let myself dream big enough or look to God enough to allow him to show me his vision for me. I’m taking my time this time to get very clear.

Michael: Should I have a blog incorporated into my music school website?

How to Make Your WordPress Homepage Static

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Show Topics:

• Selling wool clothing in the summer
• Overcoming marketing challenges
• Getting out of the commodity market

John Fernsell is founder of Ibex Outdoor Clothing, a company he launched with a co-founder in 1997 in White River, Vermont. Ibex makes natural, wool clothing for year-round use. I’ve been a fan for the past decade and routinely wear their clothes in harsh mountain environments around the world.

John worked as a stock broker for 12 years before getting serious about his own thing. He felt more comfortable in wool in the 70′s even though it was more scratchy.

Wool is still known to be scratchy and uncomfortable, so I asked John how Ibex overcomes those marketing challenges. They also do a great job competing with high-tech man-made polyesters.

At $100 for a light-weight hooded sweater, Ibex clothing certainly isn’t a commodity. I asked John what story he’s telling through Ibex in order to build an engaged community.

“We make the best product we can make for the price.” – John Fernsell

Connect with John Fernsell and Ibex on Facebook and twitter.

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Show Topics:

• Idea development
• 4 problem solving questions
• Solve problems with pictures

Derek Sisterhen and I talk about idea development.

I mentioned the AirPort Express Base Station. I’m using it to create a separate WiFi network in my studio, which is 45′ from my home and our router.

4 questions to ask when problem solving:

1. What is working?
2. What is stuck?
3. What is your biggest opportunity?
4. What’s your biggest outstanding question?

For picture drawing, check out The Back of the Napkin.

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Show Topics:

• One picture every day of America’s mountain
• A project so good people spread it without his help
• Marketing a five pound book which retails for $99
• Working with traditional media

The Pikes Peak Guy stops by my studio for an entertaining and very informative behind-the-scenes look at a project that started with taking hundreds of pictures every day of America’s mountain: Pikes Peak.

His real name is Shaun, but he explains why he didn’t bring his real name into the project. He knew that, if the project was a good one, it would stand on its own. People would spread the word based on the merit of what he was doing and not because of who he is.

You’ll find the Pikes Peak guy to be just like you and I. In his words, he’s “an ordinary guy trying to do something extraordinary.”

Shaun works for a company but is a business guy by heart. He has the flexibility to do projects like this on the side, but you’ll come to find out, he’s really working two full time jobs.

At the end of the project, The Pikes Peak Guy fans were begging him to put together a book. More like a souvenir than a book, Shaun did nearly all the work on the book himself and even had it self-published.

His initial order of 1,000 books arrived, and at five pounds per book, was no easy task to unload. Amazon sold out of the book on the first day of sales and they’ve been moving fast every since then.

In this interview you’ll hear how he got media outlets to pick up on the story and even follow him along. Shaun explains why he didn’t watermark his photos and allowed many outlets to run the photos for free.

“Go out there and do something extraordinary and people will pay attention to you.”
- The Pikes Peak Guy

Connect with The Pikes Peak Guy on Facebook and twitter.

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Show Topics:

• Announcing the end of Past Due Radio
• Yearly subscription to Need a Topic
• Leaving services off your website
• Send auto responder to RSS subscribers
• Launch a campaign with no followers

Today I announced the end of the Past Due Radio show. It’s been a fun ride and I wouldn’t be here at Coach Radio had I not started Past Due Radio on AM 1030 in Raleigh, NC in 2008.

By popular demand, I’ve added a yearly subscription option (at a discount) to Need a Topic (at a nice discount, too). It may not be around long so take advantage of it now.

Matt: My job found my consulting website! I hadn’t yet put up a services page that would be geared toward my target market so I didn’t get in trouble. However, now I feel like I can’t market myself through my website as my employer will see that I’m working on the side. If they knew I was trying to start a consulting business on the side they certainly wouldn’t be interested in keeping me as an employee. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions? Should I leave my services off the website?

Mike: Justin, Yours and the Podcast Answer Man are about the only podcasts I listen to now. You guys just seem to have the answers in an understandable way. I appreciate that. I’ve contacted you a couple times before and you’ve given me some good advice which I have followed. I don’t seem to be getting followers on my site, nor subscribers. I have just started offering two free gifts for people that sign up for my email list, I’d like to do the same for people that sign up for my RSS feed. How can I put these products up in BlueHost/Wordpress so that I can just send a link to a responder. I use Mailchimp, and will actually set up an auto responder when I figure out how to post my files for customer download. One product is a screen saver with jpeg files and the other is Dan Millers ebook. Also, if you would critique my site and give your impressions for good and bad I’d appreciate it. Thanks, Mike.

You can provide a link in a confirmation email through Feedburner, but I wouldn’t suggest making them sign up to another list with an auto responder. Mike’s website is off to a good start, but lacks a call-to-action.

Jason wants to launch a campaign but doesn’t have any followers.

I would like to “Encourage Christian Parents to ‘Dump the Junk’ in their house”, i.e. remove stuff that might be detrimental to their families and children. (bad movies, inappropriate music, etc.) Basically take a month, each week spend some time and go through a different area of the house. I’m still working on the outline, and what it would take to make it effective and something that people would want to participate in. (.pdf flyer handout, website pages with materials / references / encouragement, related mp3 file or video file, etc.) Make it a community event where it’s like a Dave Ramsey success story at the end “We dumped our junk! Whoo-hoo!” I was thinking of interviews, materials, newsletter or mini-mags, great partners, and a give-away. (book) I’d like to be ready by December, but we’ll see.

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Show Topics:

• Gang member to multimillionaire entrepreneur
• How to become CEO when you start from the bottom (and do it by the time you’re 32)
• How to find something to invest over 10,000 in (you have to love it)

Ryan Blair went from gang member to multimillionaire entrepreneur and is currently the CEO of ViSalus Sciences. At twenty-one years old he established his first company and has since created and invested in multiple start-ups.

In just over a year, Ryan took ViSalus from $600,000 to $10 million per month. Just two years after doing $600,000 per month, the company is now doing $40 million per month!

You have a love for entrepreneurship. Is that why you wrote Nothing to Lose? How do you keep going when things don’t go well?

Someone sent me a tweet and said combing what you love to do, what you’re good at, and what the world needs, is impossible. Ryan and I discussed how to find that one thing if you truly set your mind on it long enough.

“You are who your network is.” – Ryan Blair

Oh, if you’re lost on twitter, I ask Ryan how he’s able to keep up with nearly 13,000 people there. Great tips

We’re giving away five copies of Nothing to Lose. Through the end of October, leave a comment here and tell me why you’d like a copy. I’ll randomly pick five winners and announce the results on November 1.

Connect with Ryan Blair on Facebook and twitter.

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I’ll help you turn your ideas into a business that changes the world (and your bank account). Here’s how.

Right-click to download the show | Leave a review on iTunes | Submit a question or call (919) 355-8275.

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Show Topics:

• The future of the email newsletter
• Pricing a handmade craft
• Be a coach with no experience

Ryan: What is the future of the email newsletter? I think for some businesses they’re great as folks are still using email, but I’m wondering about them for a younger crowd like I’m trying to attract. We had discussed that the generation I’m going for maybe doesn’t even use email anymore. Some universities aren’t even mandating everybody have one, for example.

If you’re marketing to a generation that doesn’t use email (or any form of marketing you’d like to use), you need to figure out where they are spending their time and be there.

Michael: Is there any methods for determining a price for a hand made card? I just wonder if there is a way to actually make this into a viable income stream.

I think it’d be a tough business model, but possible. The thing with art is that it’s so easy to duplicate. What you need to look for is the scarcity. Musicians, for instance; music is easy to copy and share. It’s even free on sites like grooveshark. I haven’t bought music in at least eight years. But I have gone to concerts. That’s the scarcity.

Your cards could be the same. It’s easy to copy and mass produce them. If you can find the scarcity, you’ll really be on to something.

Bryan: Can you realistically be a small business coach if you have not even run your own small business before? I have a lot of general business experience from my current job and have done a wealth of reading and studying for internet-based small business over the last couple of years and have done a couple very minor things on the side, but do I have any credibility helping someone get a business off the ground if I have not done it myself? I have had a couple people ask for advice or thoughts on starting a small internet based business and I love discussing the possibilities and technicalities of it, but with my full time job I have frankly been all learning and talk at this point and very little concrete action. Did you start successful small business before you began coaching others or was the coaching business your experience in and of itself?

You can begin helping people without having done it yourself, but it’s not how I got my start. At the same time, will people want to hire you without the experience of helping other people first?

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I’ll help you turn your ideas into a business that changes the world (and your bank account). Here’s how.

Right-click to download the show | Leave a review on iTunes | Submit a question or call (919) 355-8275.

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Show Topics:

• Working with a team in other parts of the world
• Making business more human
• A system for generating ideas

Rob Hatch has been working with humans for over 20 years. He’s the COO of Human Business works which serves businesses around the world. It’s awfully easy to become lonely when you’re running your own business, especially if you don’t have employees. Rob’s team is helping combat that feeling.

Ten years ago, Rob was building childcare centers in fitness clubs when he reconnected with a childhood friend, Chris Brogan. Chris persuaded Rob to join his team and help run a few of his companies.

Kitchen Table Companies is an online small business advisory board.

501 Mission Place is where nonprofits can get together and help each other.

Rob and his team come up with ideas through reading books and observing other people’s ideas. He turned the tables on me and asked about my process for generating and filtering ideas. You’ll love the last part of this show and I can see how he and the people around him have become so successful.

Connect with Rob Hatch on twitter.

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I’ll help you turn your ideas into a business that changes the world (and your bank account). Here’s how.

Right-click to download the show | Leave a review on iTunes | Submit a question or call (919) 355-8275.

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Show Topics:

• Subscriptions to your blog: free vs paid
• What social media growth to track
• How to find inbound links to your blog
• Pricing a new service

Darrin has a question about email subscriptions. Should he stick with the free feedburner or pay for a service like Aweber (affiliate link)?

I got into a discussion about what to track in social media and I gave this to search for at yahoo.

www.coachradio.tv -domain:www.coachradio.tv

Craig sent me an email a few months ago about becoming a social media consultant. Since then he’s been working starting a blog and working with a holistic doctor on setting up a site with an online store, a blog, and an auto-responder.

The work I’m doing for the holistic doctor so far has been in trade. I’ve also done work for my stepfather and we worked out a  price for it. My question: as I get new clients how do I price my jobs?

I talked to a mechanic who specializes in 4X4 restoration and repair. Right now he just wants help sprucing up his site (I want to redo it completely) but I’m going to try to sell him on Google Places (he doesn’t show up in any searches) and I’m going to explain the benefits of social media. But I’m stuck on trying to figure out where to price my services.  Suggestions?

You can price hourly, for a package, or based off the new work that comes in as a result. For instance, if anyone mentions google places as the place they heard about the business, you get 10% of that customer’s revenue over the next 12 months.

Here’s the article I mentioned about knowing when to outsource, along with the handy formula.

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I’ll help you turn your ideas into a business that changes the world (and your bank account). Here’s how.

Right-click to download the show | Leave a review on iTunes | Submit a question or call (919) 355-8275.

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Show Topics:

• $150 guitar straps in a $30 world
• Learning the hard way
• Paying for help when no money is coming in

Brian Griffith got an idea about three years ago to design and manufacture instrument straps and gear bags. It took him nine months to get his ideas off the ground and launch his business.

While the economy is suffering and people are out of work, Brian is selling $150+ guitar straps in a world where the average strap sells for just $20 – $30. You need to listen to Brian’s insight on how he’s making this work.

Brian is a former musician with a bachelor’s degree in film. He also studied design and got a job in the advertising world.

Content is king, so they say, so Brian is in the beginning stages of creating film with musicians and other artists. It’s a marketing strategy that has Brian telling stories and highlighting musicians, without actually talking about or selling he gear.

“You’re going to learn one way or the other, and it’s usually going to be the hard way.” – Brian Griffith

I asked Brian what he did during the nine months it took to get his business off the ground. He didn’t have money coming in, but he took a chance and hired people to help him build his business.

Brian’s a creative guy with a perfectionist problem (I suffer from the same one) and we discussed how to let go and give work to other people.

Here’s an example of Brian’s work. What guitar player wouldn’t want one of these?

Connect with Brian Griffith on Facebook and twitter.

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I’ll help you turn your ideas into a business that changes the world (and your bank account). Here’s how.

Right-click to download the show | Leave a review on iTunes | Submit a question or call (919) 355-8275.

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Show Topics:

• What determines a successful blog post
• Podcast RSS feeds – how to create categories
• Getting people to love you or hate you
• Reinventing yourself in business

This morning I met with a small group of people and had a discussion about what makes a blog post successful. Is it number of comments? Amount of money made from the post? Personal emails referencing it? Pageviews?

Jason had a question about RSS feeds for his podcast. You do need to create a category specifically for your show.

Here’s a helpful article to install feedburner and another to get your podcast up and running.

On another note, do people love you or hate you? You have to know and give more details on it in today’s show.

Reinventing yourself. Can you change the focus of your business?

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I’ll help you turn your ideas into a business that changes the world (and your bank account). Here’s how.

Right-click to download the show | Leave a review on iTunes | Submit a question or call (919) 355-8275.

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Show Topics:

• Accidental success
• Message vs. design to capture readers
• Becoming a magazine columnist
• How to generate revenue from a blog

J.D. Roth is an accidental personal finance expert, and a successful one at that. In the fall of 2004, J.D. and his wife had $35,000 in consumer debt. He’d been blogging personally since 1997 and, since he had an interest in comic books, thought of creating a website around them; then he realized he couldn’t compete with the bigger websites.

J.D. started Get Rich Slowly in April, 2006 and was named best blog of 2011 by Time magazine and most inspiring money blog byMoney magazine. The website currently gets over 1,000,000 visits per day with nearly 100,000 subscribers.

J.D. started on this path somewhat by accident. I asked him how he competes with big website and other financial bloggers. He told me, ”We’re all on the same team.”

J.D.’s thoughts on how to monetize a blog:

• Advertising (google adsense, display ads)
• Affiliate programs (products related to your category)
• Products
• Services

I asked J.D. to share his story of becoming Entrepreneur Magazine’s personal finance column. You’ll lear a lot from his answer.

J.D. referred often to his friend Chris Guillebeau, who is also an influential blogger in his own right.

Curious, I asked J.D. to share his tips for new bloggers. I think you’ll love them.

Connect with J.D. Roth on twitter.

Photo by J.D. Roth

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I’ll help you turn your ideas into a business that changes the world (and your bank account). Here’s how.

Right-click to download the show | Leave a review on iTunes | Submit a question or call (919) 355-8275.

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Show Topics:

• Giving away free stuff won’t grow your business
• How to price a service
• Should you be certified as a trainer or facilitator?
• What to do When Quitting Your Job

Eric emailed a link to someone who made a great case for free stuff not helping your business grow. I agree with that statement if your give-a-way looks like crap. That’s the biggest reason I hired Charlie to update the design of the Six Figure Coaching Model for me.

Examples of great give-a-ways.

• Chris Guillebeau’s 279 Days to Overnight Success (378 comments on the post where he launched it)
• Seth Godin’s Unleashing the Idea Virus (the most downloaded eBook of all time)
• Hubspot consistently creates free content and uses it to generate leads (over 5,000 customers)

Dave emailed this week to ask about pricing his coaching program. “My coaching program is $1,490 per month for 3 months. It’s one-on-one coaching, meeting every other week, two training evenings, monthly meetings with the pastor, monthly meetings with the pastor and worship leader. Is that similar to what a coaching program at $650 would contain?”

I told Dave that it’s completely irrelevant how many times you’ll meet with your clients. You can’t compare two coaching programs to each other solely on how often you meet. For instance, I’d prefer to work with a coach to meet with me once per month at $700 / month and get results, than I would a coaching who meets four times per month, only charges $250 per month, but doesn’t get me results.

Ivan: Should I become certified or become a trainer?

The benefits would be referrals or the ability to lead (and sell) a class.

Quite a few of my clients have recently quit their jobs to run their businesses full time. I talk about my suggestions to make it work for you.

• Make sure you have an emergency fund in place
• Create a strategic plan for your business
• Calculate your run rate
• Have a plan B (though I didn’t)
• Stay focused on your vision

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I’ll help you turn your ideas into a business that changes the world (and your bank account). Here’s how.

Right-click to download the show | Leave a review on iTunes | Submit a question or call (919) 355-8275.

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Show Topics:

• Moving around the world on a whim
• Stepping up, with no experience
• Doing what’s right, regardless of money
• Speaking to elementary and middle school students

Matt Langdon is an Australian living in Michigan and constructing heroes. He began a computer science degree in Australia and detested it.

Matt stumbled on an article about a guy who just came back from a summer camp in America and he thought it sounded fun. During the first summer, Matt was a general counselor and did many things, none of which he had experience with; including kids.

Matt created the Hero Construction Company to help turn kids into heroes; real heroes, not the kind you see in the movies with capes. Real people who step up

“The opposite of a hero isn’t a villain; it’s a bystander.” – Matt Langdon

Matt specializes in working with grades four through eight and, as you can tell from the interview, is obviously passionate about what he does. He doesn’t do assemblies because it’s too easy for kids to zone out, rather, he impacts one classroom at a time.

Matt also discussed some exciting developments in his business along the way and some products he’s desgined to help kids and schools who are tight budgets and may not be able to bring him in to speak.

Connect with Matt Langdon on twitter and Facebook and thank him for the work he’s doing to impact the world.

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I’ll help you turn your ideas into a business that changes the world (and your bank account). Here’s how.

Right-click to download the show | Leave a review on iTunes | Submit a question or call (919) 355-8275.

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Show Topics:

• How to handle two related websites
• Hiring an SEO company
• How to improve Ken’s website for a new product

Tony called in with a question about how to handle two websites along with some follow up thoughts on hate mail.

Ken: I’ve been a landscaper for over 30 years and recently had my website redesigned. Once it was redesigned I hired a company to help with SEO. They work mostly in my industry and one of the things they do is to create blogs a few times per month. They tell me the content and the wording of the blog is less important than making sure the keywords are placed correctly in them – for example Christmas Light Installation Dallas – What a Hassle. My concern is when I use particular cities in the title or body I am excluding the other half dozen or so citied in the metroplex from being interested in that blog.

They say it’s not important because the average person going to the website isn’t going to read the blog anyway. They’re recommending, that if I want to do an article that’s actually read, to place it in Facebook instead. This seems contrary to what you do. Does your method work for a local market instead of a national one? I don’t mind writing the articles and I have enough experience to keep up them up weekly but if they’re not going to be read there’s really not much point in spending much time on them.

I posed this question on Facebook and got many answers.

Ken goes on to ask: Since my goal of getting someone from Plano or Richardson, TX to contact me is different from your goal of getting anyone in the world to subscribe to your coaching, should I have a different strategy than you? Second, the SEO company tells me the keywords in my area are, among others, “Plano Lawn Service” and “Frisco Sprinkler Repair”, do I need to make a point of including those along with links the SEO company’s links to? I have to admit to being underwhelmed with the page the link goes to but they tell me the important thing is for us to end up on the first page of the search engines because otherwise no-one will see the site.

Homer created a product and developed a new site for it at thebungeeboard.com. He wants feedback from me on getting the word out.

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I’ll help you turn your ideas into a business that changes the world (and your bank account). Here’s how.

Right-click to download the show | Leave a review on iTunes | Submit a question or call (919) 355-8275.

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Show Topics:

• Changing fields of study midstream
• Finding partners to launch businesses
• Self-learning and launching a business

Stephen Denton is a local web designer and has become a great friend. He has a great story about studying music, then seminary, and finally transitioning into web design.

Stephen works for Moolala, a daily deals website. He partners with another designer to design websites for online tee times for private clubs. To say he has his hands in many things is an understatement.

Stephen’s dad encouraged him to study math but he wanted to do music. Music won out, but he didn’t stick with it for long. He became interested in web design and taught himself how to do it though online tutorials; a big undertaking since this was the days before google.

Stephen started out charging $25 / hour in his web business and has come a long way since.

It takes a while to get connected with like-minded people. Stephen has been in web design for 10 years. He only started making really good connections in the past 2-3 years.

You’ll hear his trick for finding great freelance work in Craigslist.

Connect with Stephen Denton on twitter.

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I’ll help you turn your ideas into a business that changes the world (and your bank account). Here’s how.

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