Twelve years ago Dan Kuschell was in the hospital, suffering a sudden health crisis. That’s when he encountered the 3 questions that made him restructure both his business and his life.
Sure, hundreds of employees sound great, but is it what you really want? Dan realized there is a simpler way to maintain success and now, after founding eleven companies of his own, that’s what he does for his clients. He helps businesses connect the dots, see their blind-spots, and get unstuck by implementing unique sales & marketing systems.
Learn some of Dan Kuschell’s many strategies to both simplify and grow your business as he lets Matt and Joe in on the 3 questions he always asks himself, the 8 values that he and his business live by, and how to choose which opportunities to follow. When you’re done listening, get some more marketing strategies from Billy Gene Shaw and Curt Maly.
“When you get clear on your values then what’s most important is not what you do… it’s what you say no to.”- Dan Kuschell
He used to be a creative kid, even headlined the local heavy-metal club when he was older, but somehow Steve Glaveski ended up in corporate banking, staring at the vacant office spaces in the corner. That’s when the business idea that would get him work and lifestyle freedom finally hit.
Steve founded Hotdesk, one of the first office sharing companies in Australia, which brought in the revenue he needed to transition from corporate life to spending his time pursuing what he loves. Now he’s teaching people how to make entrepreneurship part of their lives too, not only adults but also kids young as 8. Kids who are already raking in thousands a month from websites started in his classes.
Listen in as Steve Glaveski tells the guys how to get your mind and business in shape to jump out of your day job, the right tests to find out if you have a viable business, and how a cold shower maximizes your productivity. When you’re done, get more advice about how to free yourself from the rat race with Corona Brady and David Allen.
“A lot of the time we hold ourselves back... because we’re scared of how it might make us feel if we fail, but if you’re cool with that it just opens you up to so much more.”- Steve Glaveski
When his real estate business tanked in 2007, Travis Houston had to move back to his mom’s house in dreary Oregon. Then he spent six months readying to launch his first online product, which ended up a total failure. But he also learned exactly what content he needed to make his next launch a success.
Travis has refined his methods over the years and distilled them into simple, actionable steps to make content that sends products soaring. He has helped launch many profitable health and nutrition businesses and put three of his clients’ books on the New York Times Bestseller List.
Listen in as Travis Houston lets Matt and Joe in on his foolproof formulas to make your launch A.W.E.S.O.M.E., the best metrics to analyze your data, and the new tools he uses to get ahead of the competition. When you’re done, check out our interviews with Curt Maly and Chris Mercer to learn about more tools and strategies that will simplify your business.
“It’s not only about math… We are entrepreneurs because we have really good business intuition. If I combine the math with my business intuition, that’s when the magic happens.”- Travis Houston
After building one of the biggest renovation businesses in Canada, Moe Abbas was still in his twenties and wondering what to do next. He had always thought traditional education was, at best, a dubious deal. Plus, his favorite part about his job had been training interns into full-time employees.
Two years ago Moe co-founded GenM, which is already changing both the way students find jobs and businesses get the talent they need. Not only offering a new, affordable path to gaining expertise but a business that is reviving the old concept of apprenticeship for the digital age.
Listen in as Moe Abbas shares with the guys how invaluable apprentices can be for small businesses, why you always speak directly to every client, and the fast-approaching future of education. When you’re done, check out our talks with Mike Matuz and Roland Frasier to find more opportunities for your business.
"We started on this mission to build a free education system that’s accessible to anyone and leads to jobs, that was the birth of GenM.” - Moe Abbas
The first successful business Justin Malik and Lee Rankinen started was reskinning pinball games for the iPhone, back in the old Wild West of the app world. Eventually, Apple moseyed over and kicked them out for being too spammy. They had lost their business, but they still had their idea.
Lee and Justin turned to their love of optimal and minimalist living and asked their favorite writers for permission to make a daily, highly polished podcast from their work. That podcast was such a hit they started 4 more. Now The Optimal Living Daily podcast network is often ranked #1 on iTunes for health, with over 77 million downloads and counting.
Listen in as Lee Rankinen and Justin Malik compare notes with Matt and Joe about how to monetize your podcast, overcome your anxieties to get on stage, and their many tips and tricks to automate your content production. After you’re done, check out our talks with Nick Loper and Tim Francis to learn more about automating your business to free up your life.
“If the content is really good I don’t care who wrote it. If someone has a blog with 1 follower but their content is gold, I would much rather have that.” - Lee Rankinen
A thriving law firm and a 90+ unit rental business were keeping Dana Robinson busy day and night, but he had started those businesses so his life wouldn’t feel like a hamster wheel! In exasperation, he suggested to his wife they sell everything and move to Bali. She had already been seriously thinking the same thing, so they did.
To Dana’s surprise, his law partners wanted to keep the business going in his absence. On a tropical beach, working only a few hours a week, he was ending up with more even money in his pocket than before. That’s when he realized you can get off the wheel and find the work/life balance you’re craving. You just have to opt out.
On this episode, the guys get practical (and legal) advice from Dana Robinson about how to keep your internet business above board, getting rid of the tasks and guilt that’s cramping your work, and why long vacations make your business more efficient. After this episode, get more advice about how to find lifestyle freedom with James Schramko and David Allen.
"No one needs this story of the $40,000,000 exit… It creates false expectations and false hopes. It means everyone is trying to win this lottery and I just don’t buy it.” - Dana Robinson
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