Twelve years ago, Ralph Burns was working an admittedly slimy corporate job. He had a great salary, but he was absolutely miserable. As a side gig, he started blogging about sales management to see if he make a better career happen.
When a scandal broke at work, Ralph got pinned as the fall guy. He was out of a job and had to make his side gig bring in some real money. He decided to try advertising a client on Facebook. An hour later, traffic was pouring in and he knew he’d found the career he was looking for.
Now Ralph is the CEO of Tier 11, an agency that specializes in Facebook and Instagram advertising. He manages a portfolio with an annual spend in excess of $50 million. Oh, he also happens to be the co-host of the wildly successful Perpetual Traffic Podcast too.
Listen in as Matt and Joe pick Ralph Burns’s brain about ad strategies for Facebook and Instagram, what Facebook is working on to make targeting super easy, and why chatbot advertising is getting unbelievable response rates. When you’re done, check out our talks with Dennis Yu and Curt Maly to round out your Facebook ad knowledge.
Never try to sell something that you have no idea if the market actually wants it.” - Ralph Burns
Sure, it had been well over fifteen years since Steven Sashen had practiced sprinting, but he wanted to give the sport another try. Within weeks his legs were so sore he was going to give up. A friend told him to give it another go, this time without his shoes.
Steven’s pain disappeared as soon as he started running barefoot. He felt sure there must be other people suffering as he had. A day of research and building a simple website was all the proof he needed that minimalist shoes were much more than a viable business.
Xero Shoes, the company Steven co-founded with his wife, Lena Phoenix, has gone on to create a revolution in athletic footwear that has left every major shoe company scrambling to catch up. And Steven knew from the start what his idea was worth, so much so that when he appeared on Shark Tank, he confidently turned down a $400,000 offer from Kevin O'Leary.
Listen up as Steven Sashen lets Matt and Joe in on what it’s really like on the set of Shark Tank, how to know if you’re wearing the wrong shoes, and why you have to have the courage to analyze the data in order to know the real value of your business. When you’re done listening, you can learn more about how to analyze data from our talks with Chris Mercer and Scott Desgrosseilliers.
“The extent to which they don’t think I’m a threat... is directly correlated to the size of the gaping hole in the market we can fill before anyone pays attention.” - Steven Sashen
After years in corporate jobs, both Flori Pyke & Anna Jonak were realizing their workweeks didn’t leave much room for raising kids. They decided to take the leap of starting their own business, though hadn’t even met each other yet, not until a mutual client pushed them into a meeting.
Less than a month later, Anna & Flori already had six students signed for a life coaching program they hadn’t even finished writing yet. Fast forward three years and their business has grown beyond what they imagined possible – especially considering they have six (make that seven!) little ones between them. The best part? They have a 3-day work week that leaves plenty of time for family.
Listen in as Matt & Joe hear from Flori Pyke & Anna Jonak about how every mum and/or dad can start their own business while home with kids, what you need to discover to overcome fear and mental blocks, and the many ways business owners can increase productivity by actually reducing their workload. After you’re done, check out our talks with James Schramko and Corona Brady to learn more strategies to find freedom in work and life.
When shit hits the fan for one of us the other one steps up… that’s really been a weapon of us in being able to build such a successful business.” - Flori Pyke
Just eight months into his first job as a mechanical engineer, Joel Erway realized he was not doing the kind of analytical work he was born to do. He quit being an engineer and moved into sales, taking a job that was 100% commission.
For three years Joel puttered along, doing the same old lunch and learn sessions. Both he and his clients were yawning through the meetings. There just had to be a better way. He read everything there was on how to do a presentation, then rewrote the script.
Immediately, Joel’s presentations were raking in millions of dollars in business. It wasn’t long before he jumped right into online entrepreneurship. Now, after years analyzing what makes webinars tick, he is here to share how to make a great presentation and what the future of webinars is going to look like.
Get ready to take notes as Joel Erway gives the guys his tactics to make a webinar that has an impact, gets your audience to stick to the end, and convert. When you’re done listening check out our episodes with Mike Filsaime and Casey Zeman for more lessons on how to give a perfect presentation.
"You have to be able to make the greatest offer in the world. That takes a lot of study and a lot of time, but people think it’s super easy.” - Joel Erway
In 2006, after nine years in corporate sales, Wes Schaeffer started his first company. He had five kids to feed, plus another on the way, so he knew couldn’t dabble. He had to commit. He started cold calling companies, offering to train their sales teams.
His business was starting to grow, but Wes wanted to know how to really improve. He made his first website and taught himself SEO and copywriting. He embraced social media, video, podcasting, you name it. Suddenly, he was the one getting the cold calls.
Now Wes is also known as The Sales Whisperer. While speaking to companies about how to plan their finances and set their sales goals, he also helps thousands of entrepreneurs learn how to automate their marketing and sales.
On this episode Wes Schaeffer tells the guys his 5 step process for sales teams to get lasting results, the right way to do cold calling, and why businesses need to embrace complexity. When you’re done listening, go get some more sales advice from Kevin Rogers and Alan McKenna
"Magnets attract to the same degree they repel… So are you willing to repel as well? Most people are not.”- Wes Schaeffer
Still in college, Nick Loper had already started his first side hustle painting houses. Then, while working his first corporate job, he decided to make his own online shoe store. Before long that shoe store was bringing in enough money for him to quit day jobs for good.
Nick needed another side hustle, so he tried podcasting. He soon had a following of listeners that also wanted free themselves from their corporate jobs and turn their passions into their main gig. Yet again, Nick’s hustle became his new career. His show is now one of the Top 20 business podcasts on iTunes.
Listen in as the guys talk with Nick Loper about the countless ways you can side hustle your way to financial freedom, what platforms offer the best revenue, and how to make cash off those Bird Scooters littering the street. After your done, find out ways to automate your hustles with Mike Michalowicz and Aaron Fletcher.
The way word of mouth happens is by making something too good not to share.”- Nick Loper
After moving to Australia and landing the corporate banking job she had worked all her adult life to attain Corona Brady had a sudden calling. The stress of climbing the ladder had taken its toll and she was constantly fatigued, depressed, and an anxious mess. A doctor told her she had liver damage and would soon be diabetic. Then a voice told her it was time to take a new path.
Corona left her job and began searching for a different way to live. She studied meditation, breathe work, and Kundalini Yoga. And after exploring the many ways a person can transform themselves she founded The Energy For Life Academy to teach women how to reclaim their innate power and self worth.
Listen in as Corona Brady tells the guys how ignoring your purpose can make you ill, the best daily habits to manage stress, and how to find your Breath Of Fire. If you’re seeking even more habits to heal your mind and body check out our episodes with Dr. Steve Ruden and Brian Bradley
"Stress is always going to be in your life… It’s learning how to cope with the stress, it’s having tools, and routines, and beautiful rituals in your life.”- Corona Brady
Curt Maly’s ad agency was spending millions promoting celebrity clients on Facebook, but customer service still wouldn’t return his calls. So he did what he’s good at and networked his way to someone with answers. For that, Facebook banned both his business and personal account.
Now on the sidelines, Curt did the opposite of what everyone told him to do. He sold his business and went into consulting. He decided to represent clients he knew were changing the world and show them how they can make money while doing it too. Now he’s a Facebook Ad guru, teaching businesses how to target their audience with just $1/day.
This episode runs at Curt Maly’s speed, so stay sharp as Matt and Joe find out how to avoid that mid-funnel dead space, where to stack your content, and using a scooter to find barbeque in Austin, TX. After you listen, get some more Facebook tips with David Schloss and Dennis Yu.
"You can sell hand cream or whatever you want. I’m really passionate about stuff that can change the world.”- Curt Maly
Looking to make a video for his psychology practice’s website, Tom Breeze borrowed his parent’s camcorder. Over a hundred takes later he nailed it.
Tom started out helping his clients manage their nerves while public speaking, then they were also asking him to produce their videos. He decided to form his own ad agency to promote clients with his videos. That quickly turned into his full-time career.
Six years ago SEO changed and Tom started to see all his client’s revenue drop, so he went back to what he knew. He turned his videos into video ads on YouTube and salvaged his business. Now he’s CEO of Viewability, the highest spending for performance ad agency on YouTube.
Join the guys as Tom gives them a crash course in how to make the perfect video ad for your audience, getting YouTube’s AI to work for you, and which ad strategy is best for your video. Round out this week’s episode by listening to more YouTube strategy with John Belcher and the power of video ads with Dennis Yu.
You have to build a whole campaign around one video, not build a campaign and see what video fits.”- Tom Breeze
Building a work day around when he gets to surf is the only hard and fast rule James Schramko follows in business. Making a comfortable seven figures a year working 25 hours a week is all the proof he needs that he’s doing it right.
It wasn’t always so streamlined though. Ten years ago James left his full-time day job by day, full-time night time building his business hustle at night for good. He made the leap into full-time entrepreneurship with the intent of building a better engine.
Fast forward to spending the last few years semi-retired, James allows his five core dream team members to run the business for him, and he’s got just the exercise to show you exactly how you can do this for your business too.
In this dual podcast episode which will also be featured on the Superfast Business podcast, listen in on what it takes to have your business run without you in it, how to leverage a podcast as its own targeted traffic funnel and deciding which business models and systems are best for your goals.
If you want more actionable advice about stepping away from your business to let it run itself, have a listen to the Mike Michalowicz and previous James Schramko episodes.
"You are the vehicle and the operating system for all the results you’re getting. You can change that more easily than any external factor.”- James Schramko
Connect with James on his website
Raking leaves and shoveling snow were the first on roads Steve Olsher took into entrepreneurial bliss when he was a young kid growing up in Chicago. Since then, he’s launched four multi-million dollar businesses.
And he did it all following the process of reinventing himself time and time again.
While the on-ramp for his next big idea wasn’t always easy to take, Steve’s desire for leading a lifestyle he defined was the one thing that kept him in the game of taking the risks to grow.
In this episode, listen in as Steve reveals his powerful yet simple way to earn north of 7 figures a year, how to earn $1,000 almost every time you appear as a guest on a podcast, and understanding why podcasts are the medium of choice to finding the most targeted traffic.
If effective podcasting is the next link in your entrepreneurial chain, be sure to check out what Tom Schwab and Jonathan Rivera have to say about the process.
"We have the number of downloads I need to support the lifestyle that I want.”- Steve Olsher
From stealing time due to her efficiency at a J-O-B to a multi-million dollar online teaching business six years later, Caitlin Pyle proves hands down that other people’s problems can become a business opportunity.
It all starts with honing the right skills. After Caitlin unexpectedly lost her job as a court reporter proofreader, she jumped into expanding the freelance work she dabbled in while working her regular job. Within a year or so she was making about $40,000/year and feeling pretty good.
Taking a 6-month leap into starting a blog she created an eBook with a live training component to teach others how to work from home as a proofreader. The feedback from this very small group of beta students helped her “go big” and launch a full-fledged eCourse a few short months later which grossed over $100,000 within the first 90 days. From then on, she was hooked on being an entrepreneur.
Listen in as Caitlin shares her top secrets about how she made the quantum leaps forward in her business, money as a limitless resource, the role of generosity in your core business values, and using cannabis as a life-changing tool.
If getting ahead in business is a strategy that speaks to you, look up this Christy Whitman episode on abundance and this Matt & Joe episode about giving away all your best stuff.
“I’m playing the long game. I’m not just trying to save my money and keep as much of it as I can, I’m giving away as much as I can because it’s always going to come back to me.”- Caitlin Pyle
Where do high achieving business owners go to connect, learn and grow? With September Dohrmann at the helm, top performing entrepreneurs elect to gather at the CEO Space events she orchestrates.
Interestingly enough, September does the week-long event orchestrating with a small team and a large side of business systems and checklists, even when it comes down to volunteers lending a hand.
With her background in flipping real estate and running a salon, September was no stranger to clear communication and building systems that worked. So when the opportunity presented itself for her to become a coach with CEO Space 12 years ago after speaking to the owner, she jumped at the chance to be part of something bigger and give back.
Listen in as September shares the nuts and bolts of growing a business using networking events, what it means to be a successful leader and how to properly systemize your business so it can run efficiently and effectively. If this episode has you itching for more organization and growth in your business life, be sure to check out what Samantha Riley and Paul Lemberg have to add to the discussion.
"If you want to be a master of anything, you stick to the basics.”- September Dohrmann
Today, Matt and Joe cross the milestone of producing 100 episodes for the Hustle & Flowchart show. In this episode, they reminisce about the past 100 episodes, their favorite moments, the audiences favorite moments, what they’ve learned along the way, how they’ve grown the show, and even talk about what’s coming next for the business to make an even bigger impact on even more people.
When unveiling a new healing method to the public, it generally takes 17 years or more to be accepted by the mainstream. The fact that Dr. Steve Ruden and his brother Ronald have organically grown the practice of havening in 22 countries in eight languages in three years is nothing short of incredible.
Flashback to 2004 when Dr. Ruden’s brother discovered the practice of TFT while in residency. He used it to cure a phobia of a staff member and was so inspired, he spent the next couple of hours working through perceived “traumas” or blocks of everyone on staff.
For the next five years, the brothers worked on the neuroscience behind why a method such as TFT worked and developed havening, the method as it is known today. Havening is an alternative healing method to reframe the brain’s recollection of a traumatic or red flag event so that it can no longer negatively affect the behavior, health or emotional state of the patient when they are triggered by a current event that subconsciously recalls said trauma.
In today’s episode, we team up with Marx Acosta Rubio to discover what the havening practice is, how to shift out of limiting beliefs and into desired behaviors, and why this particular method of healing the brain works from a scientific perspective.
If this episode has you into ways you can shift your own mindset, be sure to check into Marx Acosta-Rubio’s episode on framing your mindset for success as well as David Allen’s episode about prioritizing the importance of what you choose to do on the daily.
"People need to come to believe that change is possible. You can actually change the circumstances if you so desire to.”- Dr. Steven Ruden
If Mike Michalowicz could show you the way out of the “hustle” and promised that in the process he could help you end your entrepreneurial poverty, would you step outside your comfort zone long enough to listen?
Naturally, if you haven’t read one of this best selling author’s many entertaining and educational books on how to do just that, you’d ask why you’d listen to Mike in the first place.
By the time he was 35, he’d founded and sold two multi-million dollar businesses, turned angel investor, lost all his profits, and has since launched a third million dollar business, so he’s got the CV to back up his advice.
Listen in as Mike teaches us all about the queen bee role, the 4 D’s, and how to take a four week vacation from your business. If this episode shook loose some action steps that need tending to, follow up with Tim Francis on hiring the right key players and Paul Lemberg on setting business goals.
"I think people are thinking we’ve got to work harder and harder and that is a fallacy. We need to think smarter and smarter. That’s the goal.”- Mike Michalowicz
What happens to your show when you have the “uber” connected, highly successful serial entrepreneur and host of the podcast Bacon Wrapped Business stop in as a guest? Since Brad Costanzo had something to say about it, lots of laughs mixed in with useful snippets of solid marketing and business acquisition advice.
Brad has a pretty long track record of success when it comes to marketing and helping businesses surpass millions in annual revenue, so if you’re in the game of entrepreneurship (or wanting to be), this episode is for you.
Listen in (or watch if you want, link for the video coming soon) as we dish about buying a business versus building one from scratch, defining your zone of genius, getting things done, and expert tips that are working in business right now.
If today’s episode gets you in the zone, be sure to check out the “getting things done” show with the creator himself, David Allen. While you’re at it, Paul Clifford’s latest episode about Designrr’s cool new features to help you save time and make more money is worth a listen too.
“If you use access and if you use influence, there’s not too many problems you can’t solve. You don’t have to know everything if you know the people who do.”- Brad Costanzo
Round two with this SaaS creator was in order now that Paul Clifford and his team just released a major time and money saving option to his already highly successful Designrr software. And they call it AI.
Paul made the decision to tap into existing AI frameworks in place with companies like Google and Amazon in order to use the technology to help content marketers recycle content more quickly using transcription. An unexpected benefit were some larger corporations choosing to use the software to create training manuals and first time online course creators jumping onboard to develop their lessons.
Other topics the guys took on include the battle of coffee over tea, how to create a good lead magnet and using Amazon as both a source of traffic and as a tool to create good eBook titles. If you just can’t get enough of Paul and the guys (no, not The Beatles), be sure to check out the Round 1 episode as well as Matt’s post on the many creative ways to use Designrr to grow a list and make more sales.
"It comes down to an old thing called modalitites...People consume content in different ways.”- Paul Clifford
What does performing stand up comedy and writing profitable sales copy have in common? Surprisingly, much more than you might think...And thanks to Kevin Rogers stand up career, to timeshare copywriter, to chief copywriting and course creator evolution, you too can be in the know.
Kevin waved goodbye to high school before getting his diploma. As the “funny” and awkward guy all through school who could always get a laugh, he ditched sacking groceries and detailing cars to go on the road as a comedian. For the next 12 years, he got to work alongside some greats including Chris Rock, Louis CK, and Billy Gardell to name a few. The only problem was, he saw so many who’d been beating the pavement for too long be unsuccessful at making it big who became bitter, and he knew he didn’t want that.
Naturally, Kevin left to find jobs that didn’t require much of a resume because of his lack of education and his extended stint in stand-up. At that time, a good friend decided to take him under his wing and brought him into copywriting for timeshares where Kevin found his natural storytelling ability was put to great use. Soon after, Kevin created his own course and become one of the most prolific connectors of solid copywriters with the business owners who need them.
Speaking of stories, some of the topics on the mic in this episode include how to write a good hook, the three zones of audience awareness, and how to find the best copywriter to fulfill your needs. If you’re looking for more advice on copywriting, check out what Connor Gallagher and Matt have to say on the topic.
“The truth...It can be just as sexy if you’re good at what you do.”- Kevin Rogers
When the prospect of spending eight more years in college to become a doctor after earning the undergrad degree at a competitive private college seems like too much, what’s the next logical career choice? Thankfully for John Belcher it was sales.
It wasn’t just any sales career to start for John. He chose to work as a medical equipment sales rep in facial trauma and spinal injury surgical equipment that taught him the importance of being able to express your value clearly. He naturally gravitated to the teaching and training of medical staff on the use of the equipment he sold.
After a few years, John made the leap over to the digital world as a sales consultant for Google’s ad network. While he enjoyed the “techie” aspect of it all, he longed to be able to dive deeper with his clients to help them understand the process of utilizing paid traffic to its fullest.
Figuring out his true path was teaching, John decided it was time to do ad consulting on his own in an environment where he could provide what he considered to be real value to his clients, time. He found Justin and Chaunna Brooke, bought a course on managing traffic from them and knew he was listening to the right people. Not long after becoming a customer, John reached out to become an instructor for them on Google ads. An easy merger into partnership followed soon afterwards and AdSkills was born.
In today’s episode, listen in as John reveals the seven pitfalls of paid traffic, where you should start when considering running YouTube ads, and the importance of waterfalls in your retargeting campaigns. If this episode helps you make headway in paid traffic, tune in to Billy Gene Shaw’s episode to learn how he structures his YouTube ads and Dennis Yu’s episode to understand more about the power of video ads at the top of your sales funnel.
If you just come in every day and put in your efforts, any goal that you set you should be able to smash.”- John Belcher
Have you ever been a witness to “the moment?” It’s that moment of clarity in life when your state of health or misalignment with your business methods as a solopreneur takes you from broke to brilliant. Tim Francis and his journey are living testimony to the colossal impact of lucid thinking.
Tim’s story began like many other entrepreneurs. He grew his business beyond his ability to get things done and took on an assistant to help him scale. He searched all the greatest places for “inexpensive” virtual help, from India to Russia, and most places in between. The problem was the time it didn’t save him and the quality control he couldn’t have.
So, one after another, Tim got frustrated with his hired help and ended up taking back over “task” work and the grind went from 70 hour work weeks to 90 or more hours. Soon after entered the loss of clients’ capital in the stock market and real estate crash of 2008, hiring the wrong and extremely expensive “entrepreneurial” mentor, and a seriously painful illness that landed him back in his parents’ home recuperating. This was exactly what he needed to get to his own “moment.”
Listen in to hear more about Tim’s mindset shift from consumer to producer, advice on how to hire the right people at the right time to grow and scale your business, and how to think of your newfound assistant as a revenue stream instead of a business expense. If the takeaways in this episode resonate with your current state of systems or team building, be sure to check out tips from Samantha Riley and Josh Bartlett too.
There’s no leverage here. If there’s no return on my time, energy and money, why would I even bother…?”- Tim Francis
One simple question took a 9-year-old boy from wanting to be President of the United States to a completely different path of enlightening millions. Thankfully, David Allen took that question to heart and the Getting Things Done (GTD) method was allowed to be born.
After years of field research on productivity, David scored a position with his own productivity mentor, Dean, by handing over a referral to his newfound teacher. Partnering up to experience Dean’s “personal information management” system first hand gave David all the inspiration he needed to create GTD.
In this episode, special guest host Marx Acosta Rubio joins in to uncover David’s five-step GTD method, advice on discovering your true life’s purpose, definition of productivity, and beliefs about the link between productivity and spiritual discovery. If a productive and focused mind is what you crave, be sure to check out this podcast with Marx Acosta Rubio and this episode with Brad Spencer.
“I haven’t had anybody give me any reason that halfway in between works.”- David Allen
What do you do when you discover you’re the newest of seven new chiropractors in a town that only has the capacity to support three comfortably? If you’re Ben Adkins, in just six months you become number one of course!
Ben decided he wanted to pursue a chiropractic career because he had a great one himself who helped him relieve recurring headaches back in 3rd grade. What he didn’t realize when he made this choice was building a practice didn’t automatically mean “they” would come.
With more time on his hands than patients to tend to (or money to market with), Ben focused on learning online marketing strategies to build his local practice. In the process, magic happened. He built a recurring source of mostly passive income helping other local businesses market themselves and discovered the importance of building his own brand while doing it.
Listen in as the guys get the goods on Ben’s four-day product launch process, three-legged traffic strategy, and two monetization models that convinced Ben to shift from spinal adjustments to online teaching as the highest and best use of his time. If brand-building or local business marketing are areas where you could use an assist, check out this chat with Marshall Wayne and this episode with Christine McDannel.
"What you fail to realize when you’re young and starry-eyed is that once you get out and open your doors is that not everybody’s just gonna rush through the door.”- Ben Adkins
It all started out at the horse track. Take one young boy hanging out with his father, add the “need to know” how a horse’s odds of winning a particular race are calculated, to equal Scott Desgrosseilliers recipe for online business success today.
Scott’s love of building databases from the age of 11, coupled with his analytical approach to data he collected moved him from corporate giants Motorola to Apartments.com and onto Infusionsoft (just for fun because he got bored just managing data online). At his last post, he quickly discovered the need for online marketers to collect reliable data about their marketing efforts in order to make better choices with their budget.
Enter Wicked Reports, the company Scott founded a couple years ago that he calls a marketer’s playbook to grow their business faster. Tune in as and get the scoop on the most common misconceptions business owners have about attribution, common tracking errors companies make about their customers, and Scott’s take on the two most important key metrics every online business should be tracking.
And, if data’s your thing, you’ll definitely want to listen in on Chris Mercer’s Google Analytics episode, plus Tina Marie’s take on what data is important to small business owners.
"Once you get one thing, you kinda get all of them. Until you get one thing, you don’t get any of it.”- Scott Desgrosseilliers
Entertainment pays, no matter what your niche. And in this day and age, no matter how big or successful you believe you are in your online business unless you’re willing to entertain first, you’ll go the way of the dinosaur (before the Jurassic Park storyline brought them back to life anyway). At least, that’s Billy Gene Shaw’s motto.
From the looks of things, Billy Gene’s onto something. He’s the man that missed out on a college degree by not completing one course to go to Cabo with an ex. He moved on to fail at a mobile oil changing business next. After that came learning the most marketable of all skills at of his next jobs with an agency-marketing of course.
While getting paid to learn how to help businesses grow, Billy Gene saw the real money was in growing an online business, so he jumped in and learned how to market his first online course in quitting smoking and drinking. What he learned there and at his day job helped him to build the online mecca known today by many entrepreneurs as THE GUY of YouTube video ads.
Tune in as the conversation gets deep, not wide about the three-step process to kill it with online video ad campaigns, running traffic to the right place on YouTube, and three things to include in every video you shoot to build your brand and sell more stuff. Once you’re all set and get Billy Gene’s tips into action, be sure to parallel park Dennis Yu’s Facebook video strategy alongside it to get more bang for your branding buck. And, if you really want to be seen everywhere by your prospect, check into our qualified traffic episode to nail it down the rest of the way.
“That’s what people don’t understand. It doesn’t take a lot of money, and here’s the thing. If you’re making more money than you spend, you’re actually getting paid to build your brand.”- Billy Gene Shaw
Are you about ready to dive in and let paid traffic work for you yet? Check out the how-to here if you’re finally ready to slay it online.