What separates a healthy marriage from a miserable one? In this book review, Graham Cochrane discusses 'The Four Habits of Joy-Filled Marriages' by Marcus Warner and Chris Coursey. The book explores how brain science can be used to improve marriages and create a stronger emotional, spiritual, and physical connection. Cochrane highlights the concept of joy as the most powerful motivator in life and emphasizes the importance of shrinking the 'joy gap' in a marriage. The book provides four habits to build joy in a marriage, including playing together and listening for emotion. Cochrane concludes by recommending the book as a quick and actionable read for anyone looking to improve their marriage. Takeaways - Joy and joyful attachment are the most powerful motivators in life. - Love is attachment, and the more joy you build into your marriage, the stronger and more connected your love will be. - The 'joy gap' between moments of joy in a marriage can lead to pessimism, distance, and a vicious cycle of negativity. - The four habits to build joy in a marriage are: playing together, listening for emotion, appreciating daily, and nurturing rhythm. The 52 Book Challenge: https://youtu.be/h3Fo9P4-su0?si=7wjaNzIhPdwNQmEh

I became a net worth millionaire at age 35. I'm a pretty average guy with pretty average investment knowledge, but I've put it to work and I think that's the good news. In today's episode, what I want to do is share with you the three places you must be investing. I'm going to give you specific details and then open the door wide for you to pick and choose from the sub investments within these three, as you'll see. Once you understand the three places you should be investing your money and the order in which you should invest them, things will continue to snowball for you in the right direction. If you're not already a millionaire, you will be soon. And if you already are, your next million will come faster than imagined. So let's unpack the three places you should invest your money and in which order.

Money and personal finance is usually thought of as a numbers thing, a math thing, no behavior required. In fact, you should keep your emotions out of it and just follow the numbers. That sounds nice, but in reality, if you've had money and dealt with money, you've realized that success with money is predicated more on your behavior, more on your psychology. And so today's book in the 52 book challenge is the Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. Here is my biggest takeaway. Book 4 of 52 in my 52 Book Challenge. Find out more here: https://youtu.be/h3Fo9P4-su0?si=1t5AbzpX3xWlACQD

In this conversation, Graham Cochrane interviews Amanda Han, a tax advisor and expert on tax advice for business owners and real estate. They discuss Amanda's journey from working for other firms to starting her own business, the challenges and rewards of working with her husband, and the importance of involving children in business and financial education. They also talk about Amanda's collaboration with Brandon Turner and BiggerPockets, the dangers of misleading tax advice on social media, the tax benefits of running your own business, and the advantages of investing in real estate from a tax savings perspective. In this conversation, Amanda Han discusses the benefits of real estate investing, including passive cash flow and tax advantages. She also explains the pros and cons of syndicated real estate and the tax implications of syndicated real estate profits. Amanda emphasizes the importance of diversifying investments and highlights the tax benefits of charitable planning. The conversation concludes with Amanda sharing her golden rule of imparting confidence to her children. Listeners are directed to visit Amanda's website for more tax resources and to connect with her on Instagram. Takeaways - Consider starting your own business to take advantage of tax benefits and build additional sources of income. - Involve your children in your business and financial education to teach them valuable skills and create quality time together. - Be cautious of misleading tax advice on social media and seek advice from qualified professionals. - Explore the tax benefits of running your own business, such as deducting business expenses and investing in retirement accounts. - Consider incorporating real estate into your investment strategy to benefit from tax advantages like depreciation and tax-deferred appreciation. Real estate investing offers passive cash flow and tax benefits. - Syndicated real estate can be a good option for those who don't have time to manage their own properties. - Syndicated real estate provides tax benefits similar to owning a property directly. - Investing in other asset classes, such as stocks or businesses, can help diversify income and reduce risk. - Charitable planning can provide significant tax write-offs and benefits. Imparting confidence in oneself is a valuable piece of advice for success. Visit Amanda Han's website https://www.keystonecpa.com/ for tax resources and connect with her on Instagram @AmandaHanCPA

My golden nugget takeaway from The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. Book 3 of 52 in my 52 Book Challenge. Find out more here: https://youtu.be/h3Fo9P4-su0?si=9tV6UJi9Hobw5dpr

Do you actually even need a weekend? Well, according to one of the most successful and popular business owners and content creators today, Alex Hormozi, weekends are for the mediocre masses. Oh, you knew we had to discuss this. Let's unpack it.

My golden nugget takeaway from Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl. Book 2 of 52 in my 52 Book Challenge. Find out more here.

If you want to grow your business, you need to be on YouTube. So to help I wanted to bring on one of the all-time YouTube experts to the show to help you unpack it even more. It's my friend Sean Cannell from Think Media who has one of the best YouTube channels out there on online video, both in how to get started and what kind of content to create, and then the tools and the ways to make your videos look and sound good, he's got it all. In this episode - Sean unpacks what you need to consider with YouTube going into 2024, - Why subscribers no longer matter, consumption does - And the most important things you should focus on when getting started on YouTube to get traction Check out the free web class - "The One YouTube Strategy That Generates 122,490+ Views Per Day" http://GrahamCochrane.com/sean Sean's Channels: https://www.youtube.com/@ThinkMediaTV https://www.youtube.com/@UCKegeYEy0lJxpkjWRthaRMw My episode on Sean's Think Media Podcast: https://youtu.be/-TP64C6pWPM?si=2cM-fvNRyE70K6uz

My golden nugget takeaway from The Dip by Seth Godin. Book 1 of 52 in my 52 Book Challenge. Find out more here.

Have you ever heard the phrase, "new year, new you?" This is the year that I'm gonna be the financially smart version of me or the healthy version of me or the kinder husband version of me. Friend, can I just encourage you, this year don't try to find the new you when you don't even know who the real you is. Takeaways - Don't focus on being a 'new you' in the new year, focus on discovering the real you. - Living out of alignment with your true self can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction. - Being the real you brings more satisfaction in life, more success in business, and allows for greater service to others. - To discover the real you, explore your dreams, create a vision for your life, and identify your values. Also, join me this year in my 52 Book Challenge where I'm reading a book a week. Check out my reading list here: https://www.grahamcochrane.com/52books

Can you read a book a week? In today's episode I'm introducing you to the 52 Book Challenge, where I aim to read 52 books in a year. Want to join me? Here is my current reading list (updates coming): https://www.grahamcochrane.com/52books

I’ve always believed generosity was supremely underrated. There’s something about givers that makes them attractive. There’s something about giving that is magnetic. If you’re a giver, people are just drawn to you. Think about it. The most generous person in your world, what do you think about when they come to mind? It’s probably someone you really admire and want to emulate. This isn’t just a great way to live your life. It’s also a great way to build your business. The truth is, being more generous is a great way to get more clients, increase retention and cut through the noise. In an effort to bring a bit more generosity this holiday season, I decided to bring John Ruhlin onto the podcast. John is the author of the book “Giftology”, and he’s an expert on how we can use generosity to maximize what we get out of our business. So if you’re looking for a strategy that will not only put more money in you pocket, but make you feel good in the process, make sure to give this episode a listen. In this episode you’ll learn: -How John gives gifts strategically. -How to deepen relationships with giving. -The best methodology for gift giving. -And much, much more.

The end of the year is right around the corner. Some people will take this time to celebrate and enjoy the holiday festivities. And while enjoying holiday time with your family is a great thing, you also must do other things if you want to start the new year on the right track. One of the most profound things I do every year is a year-end review. It's a time where I get away from all distractions, go to a beautiful place where I'm inspired, and reflect on the past year. This is a great time to lean into gratitude and reflect on the wins of the past year (we all have them, even if this year was tough). This is also a time where you can see what changes you need to make to make sure next year is even better. So if you want to make sure you start 2024 on the right foot, make sure to give this episode a listen. In this episode you'll learn: -How to do an end-year review. -The 3 things to focus on to make 2024 great. -The questions I ask myself to focus my review. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

More people are afraid of public speaking than dying... Did you know that's actually true? It's like most people have this primal fear of getting up in front of people, talking, and things not going well. But the thing is, even if you're terrified of speaking in public, it's one of the best skills you can learn on your entrepreneurial journey. Being able to communicate effectively, whether on stage, online, or in person, impacts your business more than almost any other activity. Those who do this well almost play the business game on easy mode. While people who struggle with this aspect routinely find themselves hitting roadblocks. That's why I decided to bring on Christy Wright for today's episode. Christy is a master public speaker and helps entrepreneurs communicate their message more effectively. So if you want to learn the most important skill of entrepreneurship, make sure to give this episode a watch. In this episode you'll learn: -Christy's secrets for mastering communication. -How to improve you communication on any platform. -The biggest mistakes speakers make. -And much, much more!

Being able to sell is the most important skill in business. If you’re not confident in your ability to persuade people, it’s paramount that you learn to develop the skill fast. Because being sub par at sales is the fastest way to lose people who would otherwise be great customers. However, if you’re someone who does have the ability to persuade. You have a powerful skill that almost allows you to print money. And any product or service you sell will be much easier to move considering you know exactly how to position it to people. I used to struggle with this skill. Earlier in my career when I started my first business, I had no idea what I was doing when it came to selling. That’s why I decided to record this episode. Because in it, I have 3 questions you can ask yourself that will help you sell anything. So if you’re ready to finally get a grip on the sales process, you should definitel give this episode a watch. In this episode you’ll learn: -3 questions you should ask yourself to sell more. -The big mistakes people make when selling. -How to get clear on what problem you solve. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

A lot of people don't really understand generosity. It's looked at as something you do exclusively for others without gaining much benefit yourself. With this understanding of generosity, it's not surprising why many people don't find themselves being generous often. However, when you truly understand the power of generosity, you'll never look at life the same way again. Being generous has profound impacts on both the giver and receiver. And those who behave more generously often live more successful lives. Obviously, I'm big on generosity (I did a whole TedX talk on the subject). But I wanted to dive deep on the science of the subject so I decided to bring Dr. Nicole Roberts on today's episode. Dr. Roberts is the author of the new book "Generosity Wins". Her book covers every aspect of generosity and why if you want to have a satisfying life, it's a trait you need to cultivate. I'm really excited for this episode so make sure you give it a listen and take notes. In today's episode you'll learn: -Why generosity is a superpower. -How to be generous to yourself. -How the benefits of generosity compound over time. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

Most people never reach the level of success they want. There are many reasons for this. A lack of work ethic. Skill deficits. Not having technical know how. The list goes on and on. But in my years of experience building a business, I've found the most common reason why success avoids most people is simply because... They don't know success has levels. 4 levels to be exact. And if you fail to understand the 4 levels of success and what changes you have to make to get to the next level, you'll continue to hit that dreaded glass ceiling. Never knowing why you can't make it past that point. That's why in today's episode, I'm going to go over each level of success and tell you exactly how to make it through each level. After this episode you should be able to identify which level you're at and what you can do today to start making progress toward the next level. So if you're ready to finally reach a level of success you've only dreamed of, definitely make sure to take notes on this episode. Because we're going to dive deep. In today's episode you'll learn: -Why you have to change your approach if you want bigger wins. -Why focusing on tactics will hold you back in the long run. -The price you'll pay for copy and pasting someone else's strategy. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

Building your small business will come with many challenges. And unfortunately, many small business owners crumble under the pressure. Economic conditions, external factors, and market changes are all things that can threaten your business at any time. If you're not prepared to weather these storms, they can ruin your business before it even gets off the ground. It doesn't have to be this way. In fact, many small business owners have built their business in a way that protects them from these types of issues. Some even thrive during trying times. The question is, how can you build a business like the ones that seem to grow even with all odds agains them? That's exactly why I decided to bring Donald Miller onto today's episode. Donald is the author of many popular books like "Building a Storybrand" and his recent book "How to Grow Your Small Business". In today's episode, he shares his 6 steps for building a thriving business in today's time. That's episode is chocked full of value. So if you're a business owner, or plan to start your own business one day, this conversation with Donald will do more for you than getting an MBA. In today's episode you'll learn: - Why Donald decided to write his new book on small business now. - His 6 steps to build a thriving small business. - How Donald applies the 6 steps to his own thriving businesses. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

There are plenty of online courses nowadays. This may lead some people to believe that getting into the online courses space is a bad idea. The assumption being that the space is too saturated to really make a profit. But nothing could be further from the truth. I truly believe that we're still early in the online course wave. And there's plenty of opportunity for people who have something valuable to teach to their audience. That's why in today's episode, I'll unpack my 5 reasons for why I believe online courses are here to stay. So if you're on the fence about whether or not you should launch your own course, you should definitely give this episode a watch. In this episode you'll learn: -Why I believe we're still early in the online course game. -Why free information cannot compete with courses. -What your course needs to be able to sell in today's time. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

We're all going to have to deal with challenging people in our life. Whether it's a business partner, co-worker, or neighbor, these people exist. And if you don't know how to engage with them in a way that leaves you unscathed, you're going to be in for a rough time. No one knows this better than Rebecca Zung. Rebecca is the worlds foremost expert on negotiating with narcissist and she's helped many people see the light with her book "SLAY the bully". I invited Rebecca on today's podcast not only to talk about her process for dealing with narcissist. But also to talk a bit about how she's been able to successfully pivot so many times in her career. So if you want to learn how to deal with difficult people (or want to know how you can model Rebecca and pivot yourself), you should definitely give this episode a listen. In today's episode you'll learn: -Rebecca's entire SLAY process for high-stakes negotiation. -Why Rebecca decided to leave her successful law career and start a YouTube channel -The mindset to adopt to successful pivot in business. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

Too many coaches are afraid to raise their prices. Listen, I get it. Raising your rates can be scary and a guaranteed trigger for imposter syndrome. But failing to charge what you’re really worth will put you in a worse position over time. The truth is, by not raising your coaching prices you’re leaving a lot of money on the table and making it harder to reach your revenue goals. Trust me friend, charging high ticket prices for your coaching offer is not as difficult as you think. I’ve taught many students how to do just that. And if you have a simple process to follow you’ll quickly learn that raising your prices is something you should’ve done ages ago. That’s why in this episode, I explain exactly how to raise your coaching prices the right way. So if you want to learn how you can dramatically increase your income, I highly recommend giving this episode a watch. In this episode you’ll learn: -How to raise your prices (the right way). -Why many coaches fail to raise their prices. -Why now is the perfect time to raise your rates. -And much, much more! Enjoy!

Are you happy in your business? It might be surprising to hear, but many entrepreneurs would answer “no” to the above question. Which can be baffling considering how much time we spend working endlessly to become successful. But once we achieve what we set out to achieve, we can easily be left feeling empty. Trust me friend, this is not an emotion you want to experience. And it’s not even the only negative emotion that can be tied to success. There’s burnout, overwhelm, anxiety, and a long list filled with emotional experiences that even the most successful among us have to contend with. The question is, how do we avoid it? Well, that’s the reason why I invited Cary Jack onto today’s episode. Cary is the host of the “Happy Hustle” podcast where he reminds listeners to enjoy the journey of building their business instead of focusing on the destination. In my conversation with Cary I go deep on just how he’s been able to avoid the above emotions and instead live a life of joy and fulfillment. So if you want to experience the same, I highly recommend giving this episode a listen. In this episode you’ll learn: How Cary avoids burnout (and how you can too). How to use the 10 alignments to get your life back on track. Why Cary thinks being in nature is a hack to experiencing more joy. And much, much more. Enjoy!

There’s a common misconception circulating about solopreneurs... The idea that solopreneurs can go it alone without any assistance or resources is entirely untrue. Take it from me. I've had to shift this perspective for many of my students. While embarking on the solopreneur journey can be an incredible experience, there are certain essentials needed to excel in this game. With a solid foundation as a solopreneur, scaling becomes much more achievable, and you can finally reach those revenue goals you've always aspired to achieve. You might even find yourself working just 5 hours a week, like me (if that's your choice), and crafting a fulfilling life. However, without building this foundation, you'll remain one step away from that breakthrough, unsure of why you haven't reached it yet. That's why I've dedicated today's podcast episode to the three crucial elements every solopreneur requires. Trust me, mastering these three aspects will revolutionize your entrepreneurial journey. So, if you're determined to navigate your solopreneurial path the right way, be sure to tune in to this episode. In today’s episode you’ll learn: -Why having a community is a great way to stay motivated. -How to use digital tools to save you time, energy and money. -My A.C.E formula for supercharging your business. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

There’s a huge problem with most business advice…   It’s something you won’t hear a lot of success gurus talk about. But most business advice nowadays seems to be all the same. Going down YouTube rabbit business rabbit holes may expose you to different personalities, but you’d be hard pressed to find a novel idea among them.    Now this isn’t  necessarily a bad thing. You often hear cliches because there’s truth to them. However, the problem here is that not everyone in business has the same goals or wants the same outcome. So there definitely should be some diversity of thought.    Which is why I brought Codie Sanchez on today’s podcast episode. Codie has an amazing newsletter called “Contrarian Thinking”. And on it she does exactly what the name suggests – teaches you how to think differently from the masses. One way she does this is by exposing just how profitable it is to start what she calls a “boring business”.    Codie owns multiple businesses such as car washes, laundromats, ice dispensers, etc. And by doing this, she’s created a nice living for herself. So if you want to learn how you can leverage boring businesses to create wealth for you and your family, make sure to give this episode a watch.    In this episode you’ll learn:  Why Codie believes a boring business can free you from the rat race. Easy ways for you to make a boring business profitable.  Her exact process for finding these businesses and turning them around quickly.  And much, much more.    Enjoy!

I do the complete opposite of most other business coaches. Many of them focus on hustling. The idea is if you want more money and success, you should sacrifice sleep and passions until you achieve that goal. But I completely reject that idea, and have ever since the beginning of my business. And if you’ve been following me for some time, you know that I do things completely differently. In fact, I only spend 5 hours per week on my business. Yet I’ve still been able to grow it to 7-figures per year. This is a fact that surprises most people. Which is why, when they learn this about me, they are incredibly curious to know how I pull it off. That’s why I decided to focus today’s episode on exactly how I structure my time to get the most productivity out of a few hours per week. This episode will help you figure out how you can reduce your own work hours (without sacrificing productivity). So if you want to learn how you can finally take control of your time and live a life by your design, definitely give this episode a listen. I promise, once you start to view your business through this lens, you won’t want to go back to doing things the usual way. In this episode you’ll learn: -Why I decided to only spend 5 hours a week on my business. -My exact system for taking my time back. -Questions that will help clarify how to get back more of your time. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

Social media absolutely overwhelms me. If you’ve been following me for some time, you know that I’m mostly hands-off with all things social media. Personally, I’ve found the whole space to be confusing. It’s tough to keep up with what algorithm does what, which platform is hot (and which one has cooled off), and the nuances of how to grow on one platform compared to the other. However, that doesn’t mean that I’m unaware of the power of social media. I have friends who have huge followings, and their business has grown tenfold because of it. That said, I absolutely don’t advise any of my students to shy away from the land of Zuckerberg. What I do advise them to do is to learn how to execute from experts. And when I think of social media experts, the main one that comes to mind is Brock Johnson. Brock has amassed over 600k followers on platforms like Instagram. He’s also helped many other creators learn how to make content that’s engaging and gets people to follow. So if you’ve been wanting to learn how to grow on social media, today’s podcast episode is the answer to your prayers. Because my conversation with Brock will reveal exactly how to grow across platforms in a sustainable way (regardless of what updates the platform makes). In this episode you’ll also learn: How Brock taught middle-aged mothers to master social media. What to do if you think you’re shadowbanned. How frequently you should post. And much, much more. Enjoy!

The Bible has been the most important book in my entrepreneurial journey. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I’m a devout Christian. And my faith has a presence in every area of my life, including my business. In fact, my faith is the sole reason why I’m as successful as I am today. The Bible has a lot of wisdom to offer regarding prosperity. However, one of the problems many people have found, including myself, is just how often various verses are misquoted. These errors can cause people to completely miss the beauty of what God is trying to teach us. And when it comes to being successful, if you take one of these misquotes to heart, it can lead you off your path. That’s why I decided to speak on one of the most misquoted Bible verses in today’s episode. After watching it, you’ll discover what the Bible really says about prosperity and hopefully will be inspired to start making more strides in your business. In today’s episode you’ll learn: -What the Bible really says about prosperity. -How misquotes of the Bible happen. -How to apply these lessons from the Bible to become more successful. -And much, much more Enjoy!

A lot of people underestimate what it takes to be in business. This is one of the main things that holds them back. Because the reality is, for you to become successful in any venture, you have to do things you’ve never done. In other words, you have to break free from your comfort zone and become a more capable person. I’ve had to do so many times in the past. And in each phase of my career, I find that this process of shedding one's skin has to be repeated. The problem is, this is much easier said than done (and most people fail to do so entirely). That’s why I brought in Leila Hormozi on today's episode. Leila is the CEO of Acquisition.com and someone who’s had to completely reinvent herself at each stage of her career. Leila has mastered this process of getting out of her comfort zone and it’s one of the biggest contributors to her success. Through her story, you’ll see just how possible it is to achieve your goals if armed with the right mindset. So if you’re looking to finally become the person you’re meant to become, I highly recommend giving this episode a watch. In this episode we cover: -Leila’s recommendation for making great content. -Her view on skills (and why you need more than you think). -Why business owners fail to build teams. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

I could be a lot more successful than I am today. Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely blessed. I’ve been able to grow multiple businesses to over 7-figures in revenue. Not to mention help many people start the business of their dreams, all while only working a few hours per work. But on this success journey I’ve made many mistakes. Some of which have cost me a lot of time (and money). Every entrepreneur can attest to this. Mistakes are unavoidable. And if you’re in business long enough, you definitely will have your fair share. However, there is a silver lining to me making these mistakes. I now know exactly what I would’ve done differently to make my ascent more smooth. And this knowledge can be passed onto you in order to help you better navigate this entrepreneurial path with fewer hiccups. So if you want to hear exactly what I would do differently if I had to start over from scratch, definitely give this episode a listen. In this episode you’ll learn: -How I got started in online business (I was pretty much forced into it smh). -The exact things I would’ve done differently if I could start from scratch. -How you can learn from my mistakes and shave years off your success timeline. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

So, you want to make money fast? Normally I’m completely opposed to this way of thinking. And that’s because I truly believe that when you build a business that can consistently feed you and your family for years to come, that’s the ideal strategy to follow. That said, sometimes you may not have the luxury to default to a long term strategy. When life happens, you might need to find a way to pay bills quickly without spending a ton of time building a strong foundation that’s required for a robust business. That’s why in today’s podcast, I’ll teach you my best strategy for making money fast. You’ll learn my very simple approach to getting your business up and running and monetizing very quickly. No matter what your background is, you’ll for sure be able to put this lesson into practice. So if you want to learn how to make money fast, today’s lesson is definitely worth sticking around for. In today’s episode you’ll also learn: The way I would make money fast if I absolutely had to. Why starting a service-based business is the best way to make money quickly. How to start getting clients overnight. And much, much more. Enjoy!

Have you ever felt like it’s impossible to have a balanced life as an entrepreneur? If you’re like most business owners, you likely give a ton of time to your business. And while that has provided for you financially, it’s also created a situation where you have neglected other areas of your life. But here’s the thing. Not having the rest of your life in order will definitely take a toll sooner or later. And if you want to avoid living a life of regret, it’s best you figure out how to juggle all of your priorities effectively. I know, easier said than done. That’s why I brought Nicholas Bayerle onto my podcast. Nicholas is one of the rare business owners to have mastered the art of having a balanced life. And it’s something he talks a lot about in his bestselling book “The Modern Day Businessman” and in his mastermind group “The King’s Brotherhood”. Nicholas gives a ton of advice on how you can become what he calls a 4D Businessman in today’s podcast episode. So if you you want to learn how to have a higher quality of life while also taking your business to new heights, make sure to give this episode a listen. In this episode you’ll also learn: -Why Nicholas believe’s all business people are like Joseph from the Bible. -How he finally figured out his purpose after his first business failed. -How he’s able to have a strong family life while running multiple businesses. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

How do you know you have the right business idea? This is something that many entrepreneurs haven’t thought a lot about. In fact, when you ask people this type of question they normally default to answers like “it’s what I’m passionate about”. Let me tell you something, friend. Making a major life decision like starting a business just based on a feeling is the quickest way to falling flat on your face. And it’s likely why so many small businesses fail year after year. But if you’re not supposed to just default to whatever your current obsession is, what are some other signs you’re in the right business? I’m glad you asked. Because that’s exactly what I cover in today’s podcast episode. In this episode I’ll share with you the 5 signs that you’re in the right business. And when you cross reference your business idea with these 5 signs, you’ll be that much closer to not only starting a business you love, but one that will make you prosperous for years to come. And this episode will also cover: How to avoid being trapped in your business. The exact tools I use to automate my business. An exercise that will help you drastically improve your business. And much, much more. Enjoy! -Graham

When’s the last time you actually played? Yes, this is a serious question. I know as business owners we spend so much time being productive and striving to reach our goals that we can forget to actually enjoy ourselves from time to time. Believe it or not, making time to “play” is more important than most realize. It’s been shown to actually help people be more productive and cultivate more life satisfaction (as well as lowering anxiety). That’s why I decided to bring in Charlie Hoehn on today’s podcast. Charlie is a very successful business owner who at one point in his life battled depression and crippling anxiety. That’s when he re-discovered how to play and learned all the benefits associated with it. Now Charlie travels the world and teaches other high achievers how to increase their quality of life by adding more play to it. So if you want to learn how you can start enjoying yourself more, make sure to give this episode a listen. In this episode you’ll learn: -The long list of benefits that come with playing more. -How to actually start playing if you don’t know where to start. -Charlie’s story on how he re-discovered playing and the impact it had on him. Enjoy!

Have you ever wondered how word-class speakers got so good? I certainly used to. And considering that last year I gave my first TedX talk (that you can watch on the TedX YouTube channel), I spent a long time learning the secrets of the best speakers. One of the most important lessons I learned during this time was that the techniques that work well on stage also work for all types of content. Whether you’re writing an email, doing a webinar, or making a TikTok video, these public speaking tips will take your content to the next level. In this podcast episode, I’ll share the top 3 lessons I learned during the preparation period for my TedX Talk. And if you apply these lessons to your own content, no matter what it is, you’ll quickly see that you can make almost any piece of content irresistible. So if you’re ready to learn the presentation secrets of a TedX speaker, make sure to give this episode a listen. In this episode you’ll learn: -Why every piece of content should be a performance. -The mistake most public speakers make. -How to make your content irresistible. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

Have you ever used Facebook ads for your business? If you’ve been in business for a while, you know there was a time when Facebook ads were looked at as the magic solution for getting more customers. Literally everyone wanted to figure out how to run these ads and get in on the gold rush. But now? Things are a bit different. Facebook is nowhere near as magical of a solution as it was during its earlier days. But even with that being the case, Facebook ads are still a great way to get people to your offer. You just have to be a bit more skilled at execution. Which is why I decided to bring today’s guest, Adrienne Richardson, onto the podcast. Adrienne is a Facebook ad expert who’s helped some really big names like x and y run successful campaigns on Facebook. And today, she’s spilling some of her best secrets. So if you want to figure out how a Facebook ad pro uses the platform to print money for her clients, I highly recommend checking this episode out. In this episode you’ll learn: -Why Adrienne hates organic. -How she’s able to get more clients by word of mouth. -Exactly how she thinks through tackling Facebook ads. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

Are AI tools good or bad for solopreneurs? That’s the millionaire dollar question. Everywhere you turn on the internet these days you’ll see people talking about AI. A lot of people seem to see it as a blessing while just as many believe it’s the beginning of the end for their livelihood. But with all of these dramatically different opinions coming from intelligent people, how do you know who to listen to? Will AI help you finally create the business of your dreams, or will it destroy that dream before it’s had a chance to materialize? That’s exactly the question I explore in today’s episode. I’ll share my take on AI and how I belive that most other people talking about tools like ChatGPT are dead wrong (and I’ll back up my opinions with some solid evidence). So if you want to finally have your answer on how AI should fit into your business, I would definitely give this episode a try. And for all of you reading this email thinking that AI wrote it, you’re wrong haha (or are you???) In this episode you’ll also learn: Why I believe the fears around AI or overblown. How I plan to use AI to make my workload easier (and how you can do the same). Why being a human is your greatest gift. And much, much more. Enjoy!

Your brain is A LOT more powerful than you realize. The problem is that most people don’t believe it. Or rather, they fail to understand how to unlock their hidden potential. And the sad thing is, failing to do so leads to many to leave this Earth with their potential unrealized. But for those of us who understand how to properly leverage our genius, the world becomes full of possibilities. We’re able to create the life and do things that few people experience. This alone makes uncovering your hidden genius a worthwhile pursuit. That’s why I decided to bring Polina Pompliano on today’s episode. Polina is the creator of an amazing newsletter called The Profile. In it, she unpacks exactly how the world's most successful people achieve the unimaginable. And in today’s episode, she’ll show you exactly how to unlock your hidden genius. So if you want to learn how to think like your heroes, and unlock your dormant potential, make sure to pay close attention to what Polina shares in this conversation. I’m sure you’ll have a few breakthroughs that will help you tackle your goals like never before. In this episode you’ll also learn: How Polina was able to transform her weaknesses into strengths. How Polina’s new book will help you 10x your results. Why you can make a business out of anything. And much, much more. Enjoy! -Graham

Is your business more suited for the Launch or Evergreen model? If you’ve been in the online business game for as long as I have, you know a thing or two about both approaches. And while some people may lead you to believe that one approach trumps the other, the truth is a lot more complicated. You see, both of these models are great. And both can make you a ton of money. However, both also come with their unique downsides. The trick is to see which downside you can tolerate and which one seems a bit too risky. That's why I decided to make this video to teach you everything I’ve learned about launches and evergreen models so you can make your own decision. I’ve experimented with both over the past 14 years in two different niches, so I definitely have a more in-depth perspective than a lot of people. So if you want to decide once and for all which of these two models is best for your business, make sure to give this episode a watch. I promise you’ll leave it with a bit more clarity. In this episode you’ll learn: -The difference between Launch and Evergreen. -The downside is to both approaches. -What type of person fits both models. -And much, much more. Enjoy! -Graham

Do you have a plan for what to do with your money? If you’re like most people, you’ve probably thought about that question briefly (unless if you’re a personal finance nerd like me). As entrepreneurs, we often spend a ton of time figuring out how to become financially successful, but we don’t put that same effort into financial planning. But if you want to truly master your financial life, then you must put that same degree of effort into setting up a system for your wealth to grow. This is easier said than done. Personal finance advice is a dime a dozen these days and it can be hard to know how to trust with your financial future. That’s why I invited Jim Dew on today’s podcast. Jim is the author of the book “Beyond a Million: The Entrepreneurs Playbook for Expanding Wealth, Freedom and Time”. And in our conversation, Jim shares some of the secrets he’s learned from some of his billionaire clients and how you can make those same strategies work for you (no matter your financial situation). Jim also shares a bit about his story and how he has applied these same practices to his own financial planning strategy. So if you want an easy to follow approach that will protect your money for generations to come, make sure to give this episode a listen! In this episode you’ll also learn: Jim’s secret for avoiding burnout in business. Why being promiscuous with your money is a big problem. The best way you can lower your financial risk.  Enjoy! -Graham

How do you know whether or not you’re on the wrong path? This is a very important question and one that not many people consider before they embark on the road to success. But not taking a second to be thoughtful about the direction you’re heading in can cause you to travel miles in the wrong direction. And ultimately be unfulfilled in life. Believe it or not, you can easily find yourself in this situation if you’re not careful. The world we live in is designed to make you conform instead of encouraging you to find your own path. Parents, friends, and relatives will absolutely try to influence you to take the safe route (even if you have to sacrifice your dreams to do so). That’s why I decided to talk about finding the right path for you on today’s podcast episode. Because I know all too well how hard it is to go against what everyone is telling you to do. When I started my business, I was in this exact situation. And I learned a ton of lessons that can help someone currently going through this save a lot of time and mental anguish. I share a lot about my own personal story in this episode. And I reveal what questions to ask yourself to know whether or not you’re on the right path. This is definitely a must listen for anyone who needs some words of encouragement. In today’s episode you’ll also learn: -Why the world wants you to conform. -How to find the hidden “why” behind your dreams. -What to do if you don’t know what you want. -And much, much more. Enjoy!

If you want to grow your business, the #1 skill you must learn is copywriting. Having the ability to persuade your audience like a pro is truly a game changer. And it’s one area you definitely should be taking seriously if you’re serious about growing your business. Because once you've mastered the art of using words to create desire in your readers, you'll find that you’re able to make money pretty much at will. But considering that a lot of bad information about copywriting has been put out into the world as of late, it can be hard to find a trustworthy source to listen to. That’s why I decided to have copywriting master Neville Medhora on today’s podcast episode. Neville has been the wordsmith behind brands such as AppSumo and his own copywriting training company CopywritingCourse.com. And today he’s going to share his secrets to writing persuasive and attention-grabbing copy every time. Neville doesn’t hold anything back in this episode. So whether you’re looking to improve your own copywriting skills, or you just want to know how to find a good copywriter to write for you, make sure you give this episode a listen. In today’s episode you’ll also learn: -Why Neville believes copywriting is not about writing at all. -How Neville’s Rave company blew up overnight by sending emails. -How to bring out your authentic personality in your writing. -And much, much more. Enjoy! -Graham

Have you ever considered when your pursuit of “more” will end? Whether it's more money, more freedom, or more opportunities, many entrepreneurs find themselves driven by an insatiable ambition. But if you’re not careful, this relentless pursuit of abundance can ultimately lead to your downfall. You see, the problem with constantly chasing after more is that there will always be something else to gain, leaving you stuck on an endless hamster wheel. I don't want that for you. That’s why in today's episode, I delve into the meaning of never having enough and provide actionable steps to help you step off the hamster wheel once and for all. By clearly defining your ultimate goal, you can finally experience the satisfaction of having "enough." I get a bit personal in this episode and share details on my own battle of constantly striving for more (and what I do now to avoid that trap). So make sure you pay close attention to this entire episode so you can avoid the pitfalls of endless ambition. In this episode you’ll also learn: -The sneaky reason why we feel like we never have enough. -How the pursuit of “more” can stop newbie entrepreneurs from getting started. -What it means to have enough. -And much, much more. Hope you enjoy! -Graham

Making the wrong decision on important matters can cost you dearly in life. Let’s be honest, most of us don’t have a framework to help us navigate life’s big decisions. But relying on just your head or your heart when the pressure is on can be a recipe for disaster. However, if you apply the wisdom from today’s episode, you’ll learn how to make these decisions without feeling lost or anxious. In this podcast episode, we're joined by Abby Davisson, the brilliant author of "Money and Love: An Intelligent Roadmap for Life's Biggest Decisions." Abby advocates for a more balanced approach to decision-making by combining logic and emotions. She spills the beans on how to make intentional choices that align with your values, and you'll also learn some cool tips on how to communicate better with your partner to avoid misunderstandings. And that's not all - Abby's 5C Framework for consistent good decision-making is a game-changer! She even shares some personal examples of how she uses it in her own life. So, if you're tired of making rash decisions that you regret later, tune in to this engaging podcast episode with Abby Davisson. In this episode you’ll learn: -How to make big decisions without dealing with regret. -How Abby makes life changing decisions with her husband. -Why being one dimensional in your decision making leads to unwanted outcomes. -Abby’s 5C Framework for consistently making good decisions. -And much, much more! Hope you enjoy! -Graham

One of the biggest myths about entrepreneurs is that we’re all the same. It’s assumed that we all have the same skill set, focus, and even the same motivations. But the problem with this mentality is that it can lead you down the path of copying others to be successful. Doing this can easily end in disaster. Because not knowing what kind of entrepreneur you are robs you of one of the biggest contributors to success – knowledge of self. You see, when you have a clear understanding of what kind of entrepreneur you are, you can tap deeper into your hidden genius (and avoid hard-to-see pitfalls). I’ve come to learn that there are actually 4 different archetypes of entrepreneurs. And they all are drastically different from one another. Once you’re able to find out what type you are, you’ll be armed with immense clarity as to what motivates you and how you should go about reaching your goals. That’s why in today’s episode, I do a deep dive on each of the 4 entrepreneur types and the strengths and weaknesses of each. But in this episode you’ll also learn: How to determine your entrepreneurial type. How to avoid the dark side of each type. If it’s possible to change types. And much more! Hope you enjoy! -Graham

Creating an online course is one of the most powerful things you could do for your business to create passive scalable income. You do the work once, you build an audience and a lead generation machine and then that course can sell automatically to your students day in and day out, which is amazing. It's what set me free financially years ago and I love it. Except for the fact that most courses out there suck. Let’s be honest, they're bland, they're mundane, they're just cobbled together and they're generally not what people paid for and that's not what we want to do. We want to create a powerful experience for them that not only are they happy that they paid for, but really more importantly than their happiness, is that they actually get results. So to talk about this very subject, I brought on my friend Jasmine Jonte to break down how to create a killer course. We’ll break down exactly what makes a good course. What mistakes course creators can make, newbie mistakes and even mistakes that I realized I was making as I was listening to this episode. This is super practical. I think you're going to love Jasmine and enjoy this conversation! In this episode you'll learn: What mistakes most people make when creating an online course Why online courses are so powerful for business growth How Jasmine finally found her success after many years of experimenting with her business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

What business can I start this year? How do I come up with my business idea? Is it possible for me to start a business this year? These are the questions I get all the time and here's the good news. There's never been a better time to create, launch and start a business. It's only getting easier. The tools are getting more accessible. Everything's becoming more democratized because of the internet. This is a whole new world. What I want to do in today's episode is give you three businesses that you can start this year with literally zero dollars. You can start these on the side while you're still working your day job or if you’re busy mom or dad or even you are still full time in school. I'm going to give you three business models and give you real examples of my students so you can see just how crazy and possible this is. We'll get super practical today. Let’s build the business of your dreams! Why you don't need any money to start a business What business models are ultra profitable to start with How to work on your starting your business, even if you literally have NO time to spend Hope you enjoy!- Graham

If you plan on being an entrepreneur for the long haul, you're going to have to pivot at some point in some way. Pivoting doesn't have to be something to be feared. A lot of times there's an identity crisis and maybe you’re thinking, well I was known for this one thing or I had success in this one thing - how could I completely pivot or even evolve slightly into this other thing? There are so many fears related to pivoting and to talk about those fears, I've brought on my friend and former coach Cliff Ravenscraft. Cliff is a master business coach, mentor and speaker and his focus is to help you break free from any beliefs and or behaviors that are holding you back from living the life of your dreams and doing the work you feel most called to do in this world. You're going to hear about how he went from being known as a podcasting coach and podcasting expert to becoming a mindset expert and replaced his income in just 90 days. In this episode we also dove into a lot of the mental scripts, thought patterns, behaviors and mindsets that entrepreneurs get stuck around. Sit back and relax and enjoy my conversation with Cliff Ravenscraft! In this episode you'll learn: Why its so hard to break free from limiting beliefs in entrepreneurship, and how to do so successfully without ever looking back How Cliff replaced his whole income in a new niche, in just 90 days How to deal with and navigate through an identity crisis in your business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Are you in your business for the right reasons? Do you have overarching principles that guide your every decision and every task you embark on in your business? If not, it's okay. I didn't have those when I started, but it's very easy to be overwhelmed and quickly say yes to everything in your business and then find out that you've built a business unintentionally, that's devouring and stealing everything from you. What I want to do for you today is to give you my four lens framework. These are four lenses through which I look at business and make every business decision and analyze every business task that I'm a part of. My hope is that these lenses will help you not just build a profitable business, but a life giving business as well. So let's dive in and let's optimize your business today. In this episode you'll learn: How I look at life and business to achieve the biggest fulfillment When you should start eliminating something inside your business Why you should optimize your business every single year, to achieve optimal growth Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Today, I want to make a confession, actually a few confessions.I want to do another episode taking you behind the scenes into my journey as a business owner and share a little bit of the realities of my accomplishments in business. If you're not as successful as you want to be be yet, don't worry, you will be. But the problem is once you reach new levels of success, you're going to come up against new problems. And so today, I want to prepare you so that you don't run into the same challenges I did mentally. I want to break down some confessions of being a seven figure business owner. And I really want to talk about what happens when you reach all your goals. What happens when you reach the mountain top, that you never thought you would reach anyway?And what if you’re so focused on climbing it that you never asked yourself, what will I do when I reach the top? I'm going to break down the four levels of ambition that I've walked through and share those with you in hopes that this will be helpful to you as you see yourself scale and you see yourself go through this success journey. So if you're ready, buckle up and here are my confessions of being a seven figure business owner. In this episode you'll learn: What mindset you should have in place, once you've reached all your goals The four levels of ambition and what they mean for your business How my personal journey changed after I accomplished everything I set out to do Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Building a business is actually a lot of fun when you're starting out and you're just doing all the things that you like. But as you continue to grow, there comes a time when you realize there are things in your business that you don't like to do, or don’t need to do yourself in order to take your business to the next level. And yes, we're coming to the dreaded H word: hiring or help. Both are H words and they're both curse words in my book because I am a narcissist (probably 😂), and I am a self-reliant person and I don't trust people easily. But even I know just how important hiring is. And in every inflection point in my business, there's been a critical hire that has helped me not only scale, but have more impact and have more personal fulfillment and enjoyment in my business. So to help you out so that you can grow your business and truly love the work you're doing I brought on my good friend Jordan Raynor, who has had massive success scaling big companies and hiring talent. Jordan is not only a great friend, but he is a leading voice in the faith and work movement.He's written multiple bestselling books, including the Creator in You, Redeeming Your Time, Master of One, and Called to Create. And let me just tell you, Jordan is the real deal. Not only a brilliant thinker and educator, but a brilliant leader and entrepreneur and a brilliant marketer. In this episode, we break down how to make your first hire, who that should be, what to avoid, how to do the interview process, pitfalls and mindsets to get in the way of hiring good people and keeping good talent. So sit back, relax, and enjoy my conversation with Jordan Raynor!In this episode you'll learn: How to make your first hire a huge success Jordan's hiring process for finding the right talent for your business How to scale your business by creating the best team possible Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So at the end of last year, I did something kind of crazy.I killed off a high ticket mastermind product that was printing $180,000 a year in recurring revenue.It was one of my most favorite products. It was giving my students incredible results and I was having fun and obviously making great money doing it - and yet I killed it. In today's episode I'm going to walk you through why I killed that product, and then help you understand what is happening behind the scenes in making that type of decision. This will be a CEO mindset episode, and I've got three important lessons for you to help you make the big decisions in your business and make sure those decisions end up serving you the right way moving forward. Let’s discuss! In this episode you'll learn: How to navigate tough decisions in your business Why money can't be the sole guiding factor in your business How to set up your business for success, even when ending a profitable product Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Your website is your business store front. It says a lot more about you and your brand than you can say for yourself. So therefore it's critical that we get our website right, not perfect, but we get it right. So to help us out today, I brought on the show my good friend Jen Olmstead, who is a brilliant marketer and website designer.Jenn is the lead designer and co-founder of Tonic Site Shop, where she and her team make the world's greatest templates for the modern entrepreneur. And if you've been around the internet, you've probably seen tonics websites and designs for leading entrepreneurs like Jenna Kutcher, Amy Porterfield, Bossbabe, Chris loves Julia and a whole lot more. And in this episode, what we talked about was actually what should we be focusing on when it comes to your website? What should our websites include? And also, maybe more importantly, what doesn't matter when it comes to website building? And finally we broke down how you can present yourself and your online business to the world in the best way possible. In this episode you'll learn: What really should be the purpose of your website The smart hack to write your website copy Why your website headline is TURNING AWAY customers Hope you enjoy!- Graham ________________________________________________ Show notes:The Attract & Repel Guide:https://tonicsiteshop.com/attract-repel-guide

I'm a huge believer of not just building a business that you're proud of, that makes a lot of money and allows you to do the work you believe in, but also a business that allows you to own your time so that you are able to do the things you actually like and also have time to make an impact outside of your business with your family, in your community and doing things that give you life and energy. So when I come across anyone who's preaching that message, I want to scoop up that resource and apply it to my life and business to help me improve that concept even further. And a book that I just read is called ”Buy Back Your Time” by Dan Martell. I was able to get Dan on the show and we had an incredible conversation that you're about to enjoy.  Dan is an entrepreneur, multi eight figure entrepreneur, multiple times angel investor, he's become a highly sought after coach in the SAS industry after exiting three technology companies within a 10 year period. He's also an Ironman athlete, philanthropist, husband, and father of two incredible boys. I really enjoyed this conversation because the book is not only phenomenal, but it's very tangible. I know that after listenting to this, you will walk away with new nuggets of wisdom on time, life and business. So sit back, relax, and enjoy my conversation with Dan Martell! In this episode you'll learn: Why relationships are essential to business and how to build powerful networks How Dan's time and energy audit works and how you can apply it to your business  How to actually calculate when the time is right to hire a team member Hope you enjoy!- Graham

I'm hearing about a lot of uncertainty in the world. It's 2023. Either we are in a recession in the US or we will be one soon.People are tightening up their spending. You’ve seen all the headlines. There’s a lot of uncertainty coming from the public and the government as well. And so as business owners, the question we ask is how do we succeed and thrive in this context? Every year is different. There's some principles that are always true in business but others require fine tuning to fit the current season we’re in. But there’s one foundational truth that always stands its ground no matter the circumstance: uncertainty and business always go together. And so we need to figure out how to create certainty (in the areas we actually have control over) in uncertain times. Looking specifically at 2023, how can you and I, as content creators, coaches and online business owners - thrive this year in the middle of uncertainty? Here are three things that I am certain of will help you thrive and grow your business - even in uncertain times. In this episode you'll learn: Why uncertainty and business always go together How to create certainty in the areas that you can control How to kickstart this new year and create advantage for yourself and your business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

I want you to be successful beyond your wildest dreams. Not just in business, of course, but in life, in your relationships, in your accomplishments, in the things you're passionate about and the impact you wanna see in the world. Nobody wants to be unsuccessful, right? The question is, what is the best way then to become successful at whatever you set out to do? And while there are a lot of strategies we could talk about, and we could even start realistically by defining what success really is - I think there is one word, one strategy, that is the strategy to end all strategies.  There's one key that unlocks every door that we would ever hope to open up that leads to success. And I believe that key is humility. So get ready for an episode that might seem counter intuitive, but I believe this one concept will unlock so much for you and your business as we move into new year. Let’s jump in! In this episode you'll learn: Why we're constantly focusing on the wrong things as business owners What humility really is and how to make it your superpower How humility allowed me to scale my business beyond my wildest dreams Hope you enjoy!- Graham

This is the last episode of the Graham Cochrane Show for the year 2022, and so naturally I’m in a sort of ”end of the year" headspace. What I like to do at the end of the year is look back at the previous year, ask a few important questions, and look ahead to the next year, as most people do. But that kind of endeavour all boils down to which questions you ask. What I want to give you today are a set of five foundational questions to help you reflect on the past year. Five questions to end your year well, and to start your new year in the best way possible. This is a great time to reset your business and think about what you've done and accomplished, where your head's been at and what's coming up next. Depending on how you answer these questions might tell you a little bit less about how this year went and more about what you want to do or should be doing in the year ahead.The whole purpose of these five simple questions is to get you to see what really matters when it comes to your business. You can go through these questions in less than an hour, but I want you to ask them, I want you to answer them, and then I want you to take the right course of action - for yourself and for your business. In this episode you'll learn: Why it's so important to reflect on past events How to figure out how you can move forward in your business What has been holding you back this year, and how to remedy that for the coming year Hope you enjoy!- Graham

If you don't mind, I'll love to ask you a personal question. Are you working to build wealth or are you looking and working to build a life? What is it you're ACTUALLY working on? Anybody can go make money. Anybody can learn how to make a living online. It might take some work, but it's not that complicated, and we talk about it here all the time. But are you building a real life? Are you building true wealth? And wealth, if you think about it, isn't just money. There's something that I call the wealth triangle and it's nothing new, but it's this optimization of the three important currencies that determine how our lives go. The currency of money, the currency of time, and the currency of health. Money, time, and health. You don't wanna build a life around just one of those three things, or you won't have much of a life at all. So what I wanna do in today's episode is break down something very thought provoking around this concept of the wealth triangle and give you a refreshing take on all the work you're doing. As we wrap up this year and move into the new year, now is a great time to pause and ask yourself, am I building wealth, making money, or am I actually building a life that I love? In this episode you'll learn: What steps you need to take to build the life you want to live Why most people only fixate on the money side of things How add longevity and avoid burnout by focusing on the time and health aspects of this framework Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Today I wanna share with you one of the most helpful exercises you could ever do in your business to get super clear on who you're serving, what you're helping them accomplish, how to speak to them in language that it will be vivid and powerful for them to get them to take action - meaning buying your products, join your programs, come to your events - this exercise unlocks ALL of that! I stumbled across this while writing my book, ”How to Get Paid For What You know” and realized this process should be applied to everyone's online business, especially when you’re starting out!It's something that I call the Mentor Map and you’re going to get the step by step outline here today. This will be a great end of the year/ start of the year framework for you to implement that will give you clarity, confidence and move you to make a real impact with your business. Let’s dive in! In this episode you'll learn: How this framework allowed me to make an impact with my first book What you need to create the best customer journey inside your business The big questions most people skip, that will end up hurting their growth later on Hope you enjoy!- Graham

How should you measure success? When you have so many successful people, entrepreneurs, celebrities, actors, politicians who are miserable - what is success really? I have achieved more success than I ever thought would be possible for someone like me. And I still find myself discontent, frustrated, irritated, disappointed, and at worst, miserable. What is wrong with people like me and other ”successful people” that we look up to? Maybe you felt this yourself. Maybe you reached a goal that you thought would satisfy you and it didn't, and you wonder why.Maybe you haven't struggled with this and you're at the very beginning of your journey and you cannot wait to reach some goal of success because you know it's gonna fulfill you. And you're wondering, wait, am I missing something? Is there something I should be looking out for, before I chase my dreams? Today's episode's gonna help you out as we break down why successful people are so miserable so often, and how you can avoid that trap. Let’s dive into a real practical way to look at your success and make sure that you are measuring your success in the right way so that you'll be satisfied, you'll be happy, and you'll be able to continue to do great things in the world. In this episode you'll learn: What the best definition of success actually is How I've struggled with being satisfied with success, and what became the turning point for me Why it is critical to measure your success if you hope to build a business that thrives and survives Hope you enjoy!- Graham

As an online business owner, you're creating content, you're educating, teaching and in a way you're coaching, even if it's through a YouTube video or a podcast or a blog post. Direct, one on one coaching is actually one of the most powerful services or products you could offer your customers online.It's not the most scalable because it's limited to your time, but it's powerful in that the return of investment for your student is immensly high, because what could be more powerful and valuable to give than your undivided attention to that one person? Whatever role coaching has in your online business, you need to know how to coach. And I gotta tell you, coaching is a lot more than just giving advice. There's so much more that goes into powerful life changing coaching, no matter what your niche is. And so what I want to do in today's episode is share with you five specific traits that are so critical to making a deep impact with your clients through your coaching.  In this episode you'll learn: What the real difference is between good advice and life changing coaching How my views on coaching has changed over the years and why I continue to seek coaching myself How to know when you're making an impact with your clients through your coaching Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Starting a business has never been easier or more affordable than it is today. And I should know, I've started and built two seven figure a year businesses with just a laptop and less than $50. Over the last five years in coaching over 3000 clients in their entrepreneurial journey, I've seen firsthand how overwhelmed people can get. There are so many things they feel like they're supposed to do in the early days, weeks, and months and so they get caught up the non-essential things that ultimately doesn’t propel your business forward. And I should know this too, because this was exactly where I was when I started my first business. Your first 30 days of business are really important in the sense that this is where you lay your business foundation and prove to yourself that this is possible. Today I want to help you start your journey off in the right way and make sure you hit the ground running with your business during your 30 first days. In this episode you'll learn: What foundational components you need to have in place for your online business to thrive How to create momentum in your business during your first 30 days How you can avoid the pitfalls and mistakes most business owners make during their first 30 days Hope you enjoy!- Graham

I honestly believe that 80% of what is standing between where your business is today and where you want it to be revenue wise, impact wise and achievement wise - is the way you think.The marketing tactics, the products, the numbers, how the economy's doing, the team that you develop, all of that fancy stuff  likely only accounts for a mere 20% of your results. The biggest thing standing between what you want and where you are is your brain and your mindset. I've been coaching entrepreneurs for years now and there's always a mindset problem. I can basically tell whether they're gonna be successful or not, based off of whether they have a scarcity mindset or an abundance mindset. Now, these words might mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people, today I’m going to unpack it all for you.  By making this one flip, just one little change in your thinking, it’s going to unlock so much potential for you that's gonna allow you to then achieve all the goals that you have for your business. Let’s dive in! In this episode you'll learn: What negative effects you will experience by having a scarcity mindset How easy it is to tap into an abundance mindset and what amazing changes it will bring to your business Why your mindset is the foundation of you business success, and how to nourish and cultivate your mind for business moving forward  Hope you enjoy!- Graham

If you've built your online business the way I teach and you’re building it around content, lead magnets, an email list and you follow up with an email funnel - then you already have a system in place with new people joining your list every single day. If that's the case, why not try to maximize the revenue in that email funnel so that you can increase your income without having to go out and do a bunch of new crazy things?  There's a lot of money being left on the table in people's email funnels. And today I want to share five of the simplest things you can do starting today, to maximize the revenue in your already existing email funnel. Let’s dive in and maximize your funnel revenue! In this episode you'll learn: Why maximizing funnel revenue doesn't need to be a giant project The few things you're probably missing, that lead you to leave money on the table What you absolutely need to have in place for your funnel revenue to reach its peak Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So every year I play this game with myself and my business. I try to cut down on the number of hours that I spend in the business while keeping revenue the same - or better yet, growing it. Now, why do I do this? Am I a crazy person? No. I just want to know that I'm only doing what matters in my business and that I’m doing the work that truly matters, making sure I'm doing fulfilling meaningful work and above else, not wasting my time. Otherwise, why not be at home with my family instead of in the office working on random things? Today I want to give you the recipe. I want to start your journey of working less and earning more. And not only is it possible, it is actually easier than you think. Let me take you back and show you how I've gone from 30 to 40+ hours a week and barely making enough money to survive, to getting it down to around 5 hours a week and doing seven figures, almost multiple seven figures. If you could follow these steps and cut out one day of your work week or shave off 10 hours or 20 hours of your work week while maintaining or growing your revenue, would you be interested? If so, stick around and let’s start the your journey towards working less and earning more! In this episode you'll learn:  The key components to working less and how you can start your journey today  How working less can actually increase revenue by freeing up your time  How I was able to go from a 40 hour work week to working only 5 hours a week Hope you enjoy!- Graham   

When it comes to wealth building, we all have different approaches, different tactics, different strategies, and we're all in different seasons of life with different circumstances. You can get really into the weeds on the how and the what and all of the mechanism. But underneath all of that, I think you’ll find that no matter who you are, where you live, or what you're doing with your money - there are some foundational beliefs about money that are universal, that help shape successful people, who build wealth. And so what I wanna do in today's episode is share with you four of these foundational beliefs about money that I subscribe to, that I truly believe lead to greater wealth. My hope is that in today's episode, you'll latch on to at least one of them as a focus point for you to work towards. Let’s build some wealth! In this episode you'll learn: Why your beliefs about money are critical to building wealth How you can take simple measures to build wealth starting TODAY The no.1 thing that sabotages your wealth building - that we're all are doing! Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Morning routines. You either love 'em or you hate 'em. They have become super trendy over the years and I get asked a lot: Graham, what's your morning routine?Well today, I'm finally going to answer that questions. Up until now, I pretty much skipped over that question, I just haven't been interested in talking about it, partially because I don't think they're a magic bullet straight out the gate. But as a business owner going on his 13th year I've come to realize how critical morning routines are to how your day turns out.Morning routines may not be a magic bullet, but if you're looking to become more intentional, more productive and happy during your day - the morning routines are a great place to start (literally).I have tried everything under the sun when it comes to morning routines, but I think what you're gonna see in today's episode is something that's actually super practical and my hope is that it'll inspire you to figure out what helps you become the best version of yourself day in and day out. In this episode you'll learn: Why I avoided talking about morning routines for a long time How to tap into the power of a great morning routine What my morning routine is and how it has changed the way I run my business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Subscribers. Followers. Likes. Dislikes - whether we like it or not my friend, whether we admit it or not, these are the numbers. These are the metrics that we clinging to, that we long for to give us credibility as business owners and as content creators. It's how we ascribe credibility subconsciously or consciously to other people. And these are what I would call vanity metrics.These numbers, in my opinion, do not represent credibility and have little to do with the credibility or the success of a person or a business owner. And so in today's episode, we're going to challenge this notion. We're going to challenge these metrics, since the reality is that they have no bearing on whether you are successful or not, and they should not be a marker that you look to for your credibility or success. And then also, they should have no bearing on whether someone else is successful or credible. And so we're going to encourage each other, to stop looking at these vanity metrics, for yourself and for other people to know whether you should follow them or like them or trust what they're saying. I'm gonna walk you through what really matters when it comes to your business success and your credibility.And I'm gonna share an interesting story that I think will tie all this together, and my hope is that you will leave this episode with a little more clarity on what to chase after and what to look for in your business and in others. In this episode you'll learn: Why we're drawn to vanity metrics and how they can harm us psychologically My personal interactions with vanity metrics and how I handle them nowadays 3 crucial things to look for when assessing someones success and credibility (and new's flash, it isn't vanity metrics!) Hope you enjoy!- Graham

I think one of the reasons we get into business in the first place is to have freedom, to be able to own our own schedule, own our time and to have flexibility. But sometimes, things don't really go as planned. There's that age old saying of trading your nine to five for a twenty four seven - which is the opposite of what we're actually after. And I get it, it's the hard reality of being responsible for all of it. A business doesn't turn off, just because you left the office. You can't clock in and clock out. This open door, can definitely become a slippery slope. I think we all want something that we're unfortunately not gonna get by default. We tend to overwork, we tend to just keep going at a pace, that if you're honest with yourself, you cannot keep up with. With the Graham Cochrane show, I'm trying to unpack what's behind all of this so that we can actually live the life we wanna live. In this episode, we're gonna talk about some of the hard things about why we have trouble putting a hard stop on our work. I'm gonna share the struggles Shay and I have had with this, and we're going to identify the four things, the four hidden driving forces, that tend to secretly drive us to hustle, to push, to grind, to not stop when we probably should stop. Let's discuss!In this episode you'll learn: Where the hustle mentality comes from and why it is so dangerous How we've struggled with stopping work in the past, and what led us to find new healthy habits and routines How working less and putting hard stops on work, can actually lead you to do better work and be way more strategic Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So my wife, Shay and I are both business owners and we have two daughters. And combining those two big categories of your life is a constant juggling act. Both categories of our life seem to demand a lot of our tension, time and intentionality. So one of the questions that we get a lot, is how do you balance the two as a couple and as a family? How do you try to both be high performers, have big goals and chase your dreams, and at the same time try to raise a family and have a thriving marriage? The short answer is we don't do it perfectly and we're in counseling, so we're working on this stuff. But what we thought we would do in today's episode is actually share with you, four commitments that we have made to each other and to our family that help us allow our businesses and family to flourish. They're not perfect, but they're things we've really held tightly to and have allowed our two categories to flourish. So in today's episode, we're gonna share those four commitments, and bring you behind the curtain in terms of how we think about family and business. We hope that maybe one or two of these might inspire you or give you some ideas of what you can do, whether you're married or single or have a family, to make sure that both your home life and your business life are flourishing. Let's dive in!In this episode you'll learn: Why family and business needs to coexists and how what kind of mindsets we have developed Our most challenging aspects of running a business while raising a family How we use each others strengths to continue to move forward, even when the going gets tough Hope you enjoy!- Graham

As far as I know, there are only three things that every human being on planet earth has to interact with on a regular basis, or at least at some point in their life.  Number one: other people, number two: your own health and number three: money. Money is one of those pervasive topics that we all have to deal with and especially business owners. And here's the problem. If you are applying everything that I'm teaching here, week in and week out and doing it, you will build wealth. You will make more income. You will have more money to manage, and that won't help you, if you don't know what to do with that money. Now I've covered a lot of the what to do's before, but today I want to cover the five biggest money mistakes that I see business owners making. Let's unpack these mistakes, not to shame you, but to just clean up a little bit of a mess so that you can have a healthier financial base so that you can actually go out and live that life you wanna live and enjoy the money that you have. In this episode you'll learn: What mindset shift you need to make in order to see financial wealth long term Why these 5 mistakes will cripple your wealth growth and always have you working up hill How you can make tiny adjustments to your money management that will set you up for wealth building big time Hope you enjoy!- Graham

►► Grab Jason Feifer's Book - Build For Tomorrow → https://www.grahamcochrane.com/jasonfeifer What do you do when everything in the world seems to be changing at a crazy rapid pace?How do we know that the career we've decided to follow or the business we've built is the right business and it can sustain all the change that's coming down the pike?This is a real problem that we face, especially when you put on the pressure of being a business owner and running your own company, it feels like it is on you to predict what's gonna happen down the pike.And we're all freaking out - but I'm here to help you out. 've brought on an amazing guest this week to break this concept down: Jason Pfeiffer.He's the editor in chief of 'Entrepreneur Magazine', who has a great perspective on this because he gets to interview the best of the best in all areas of life. People who are literally successful at business building, creating and making impact in the world. And I brought him on to discuss his new book that just dropped: Build for tomorrow: An action plan for embracing change, adapting fast and future proofing your career.I love this conversation with Jason as we break down what he calls the four phases of change and much much more!Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So honestly, I don't wanna talk about the recession anymore.It's all over the place and everyone's freaking out. I don't want to freak you out - I want to HELP you out. So today I'm going to do just that, by bringing on a special guest.  When it comes to the recession, I hear all the whispers, all the doubts, all the fears. And where most people talk about holding on to every cent you have - I'm going to go in the complete opposite direction. I'm going to bring on my wife Shay Cochrane, and talk to her in front of you about our recession plan - which centers around giving more away. Shay is a multi six figure business owner in her own right, and know's a ton about this subject as we've navigated through times like these together before - while always keeping a focus on giving (even when we literally had zero to give!). We have these conversations around the dinner table. So what we wanted to do was bring you basically into our dinnertime conversation, as we break down what we're doing in light of the coming economic turmoil and how giving relates to all of that - so that you can build a business focused on giving as well. All the details on why are in this episode. Let's dive in! In this episode you'll learn: Why me and my wife think giving is the best mentality to have during trying economic times What financial strategies we are putting in place in order to give more How we think about giving from a business and spiritual perspective Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Earlier this year when I launched my book “How to Get Paid for What You Know”, I met Stephanie Lee (out of serendipity!) and hired her to help me with my book launch. Stephanie is a media strategist and founder of Clout Monster, where she teaches creators how to get press and use it to grow their authority and business. We’ve been working together since, and she’s been so pivotal in helping me land these media features and explore new areas of growth. So for the first time ever, I’ve invited her on the podcast to chat with me about media, how we approached media strategy for myself, and how media could help your business (yes, even if you’re just starting out and have no idea what you’re doing). Stephanie is one of the rare people who lives in both the world of media and online businesses, and knows exactly what you need to make a huge impact. Here’s what we talk about on the podcast. Why even bother with media? We break down how focusing on media can actually help you grow your biz (and it's not for the reason most people think) A key related business lesson from a tiny ramen shop in Japan  3 ways to come up with a media-worthy story that will catch an editor’s attention You might think, “Oh, I’m not ready for press and being ‘out there!’” Trust me, you're probably more ready than you think. When I first worked with Stephanie, I knew I had to challenge myself to get uncomfortable and push beyond what I already knew. Luckily, Stephanie made it all seem so simple and straightforward, so even if you don’t feel ready NOW, what you’ll learn from her will change the way you look at your business.  I am so excited for you to dig into this episode! Hope you enjoy!- Graham P.S. Also, I recommend checking out Stephanie’s newsletter, where she gives expert tips and insights on getting featured in top-tier media and generally helpful advice that applies to biz and entrepreneurship. I don’t save a lot of emails in my inbox, but I definitely have some of her emails saved because they’re THAT good!   Try out her newsletter!   (If you listen to the end of the episode, she has a special bonus for listeners too.) 

So summer's over and it is time to get back to work, my friend. I always say that September is like January junior. It is a great time to get back and get focused. But maybe you are still suffering from the summer slump, and you’re asking yourself questions like: do I really have to work on my content? Do I really have to put out another piece of content for people that's free? Do I really have to interact with my customers? Do I really have to open my inbox and answer emails?  I feel you, I’ve been there. But friend, if you're asking these questions, it is a major red flag. Not that there's something bad, broken or wrong about you, but it’s a signal that you need to grow in the area of mental toughness. That is what allows you as a business owner to stay in the game long enough to see the rewards that you so desperately want to see. Today I want to walk through five ways to become more mentally tough. And my goal for you real simple: pick one, find one of these areas that you realize, this is what I got to work on this week and I think it'll be game changing for you. Let's dive in! In this episode you'll learn: What mental toughness really is and why it so important for you as a business owner How mental toughness impacted my business in a huge way Five simple and easy ways you can improve your mental toughness TODAY  Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Do you feel icky about selling? Like, do you just cringe when you realize you have to write some sales copy or ask for the sale on a sales call? Ever done a webinar and then you'd get to the sales pitch part and you're like: uh oh... Here we go. I get it. We all have some baggage when it comes to selling. Some of you have a leg up on me in terms of having a sales background, but either way selling is just a part of life. It's a part of everything we do. Selling touches everything we do, whether money is being exchanged or not. We're always selling, selling our ideas, selling our philosophy, selling something that's free etc. We have to convince people it can help them. For an online business owner, sales is real and you gotta be good at sales. But what I want to do today is to introduce you six psychological selling hacks. And here's the great news: you're already familiar with these! You have already experienced these in some way, shape or form in the real world. So these will actually be not new, they will be familiar to you. And these are proven, and these are things you can start to massage into your sales process. These are going to help you sell more in an authentic way because you're just using human psychology and it's not even something that you have never heard of.  Let's unpack these six psychological sales hacks that you can use when you sell your product! In this episode you'll learn: What the psychological aspect is to all these 6 selling hacks Why tapping into your customers psychology is a genius move for selling How you can sell more by using powerful everyday examples Hope you enjoy!- Graham

I've been in business for 13 plus years now. I've run two online businesses over that decade and a half and boy, have I learned a lot. I have made a lot of mistakes. I've seen trends come and trends go. But the great thing about time is that it gives you an opportunity to form your beliefs, form your opinions on what really is true. And so I have come to find out that there are a few things that I believe about online business that are not very popular. In fact, they are so unpopular that I get made fun of. I get criticized for, or people just give me that glazed over look in their eyes. They're just totally confused. And as I have been compared to other online business gurus, I'm realizing we have totally different worldviews, totally different ways of going about things. What I thought I would do in today's episode is share the three most unpopular opinions in the hopes that you will at least hear them out and engage with them. My hope is not that you would believe me, but that you would choose to either agree with me or disagree and have your own reasons why let's discuss. In this episode you'll learn: What my unpopular opinions are and why they come across as such How these opinions came about and how they change my business for the better Why these are important issues for you to think about to grow your business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So all my students want a successful business, whatever successful means to them. Whether that's six figures a year, seven figures a year, or if that just means having raving fans or products that you feel really good about that sell really well. Whatever you define as success, that's what we're working towards every single day. And that's what I'm trying to help you with every single week on this show. But there is a critical key to success. Something that most business owners don’t even think about and fail to see as the most important cogwheel in your business. This is so important. I don't want you to miss it. We're going to unpack it and break down five ways to apply this key principle to your business, because I don't want you to show up and work hard and not get results. So let's unpack what the key to success is that most people aren't talking about. In this episode you'll learn: Why most business owners fail to acknowledge this crucial component for business growth How this key principle will make all the difference for your business What you need to get started with this key principle today! Hope you enjoy!- Graham

The very first email was allegedly sent in 1971. And today, so many business owners think that in a few years, email is going to be a thing of the past. Like we will literally not be using email any more. And so naturally, if you adopt this way of thinking, you would question why I talk about email and email marketing all the time. If this is a passing fad that will eventually transition away into something like just social media or whatever the next platform is, then why is Graham going on and on about email? But the reality is that email not only is going to stick around for the long haul, but it will become the preferred communication channel even more than it is today, as it advances and creates more powerful ways to connect with your ideal customer. After this episode you’ll know the full power of email and why email is king, not only now, but in the future, let’s dive in! In this episode you'll learn: What the fundamental dials of email are, that make it the best communications tool online What email advancements we're likely to see in the coming years, and why they will be a game changer What the main difference is between social media platforms and email, and why email is way more profitable for your online business   Hope you enjoy!- Graham

One of the biggest goals people have with their online business is making $100,000 a year or more, wanting to hit that six figure a year income threshold. It's a great goal to have and it opens up a lot of dream like lifestyle opportunities. But for many, the $100,000 a year goal is just that - a dream. I think one of the problems people have with visualizing and actualizing such a goal, is that many people think there's only one way to reach a hundred thousand dollars a year in your business and for the online business space. Usually we think that the and only way to reach that goal is selling digital products. I'm a huge fan of digital products, but they're actually multiple path to reach six figures - and these paths are simple to follow!In today's episode, I want to break down the three most proven paths to reaching that six figure a year income, break down the math and inspire you with some tips and tricks for each one of those.My hope is that you'll view this as a choose your own adventure book! Choose the path that seems most likely, most probable, most exciting to you because there isn't just one way to reach your income goals.There are multiple ways and we'll break down the three most powerful ones today! In this episode you'll learn: The three most proven ways to reach six figures a year in business income How a simple path to six figures can be immensely powerful and effective How you can scale and double down on the things that are working in your business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Your first launch of a product, meaning the first time you bring it to market, is NOT the end all be all of that product. It is just that: the first launch. It will either be launched again and again and again or you'll make it an evergreen product, always having it for sale inside your email funnel. The point is that long-term, you want to make money off this product. And with that mindset, comes the realization that you don't have to make a ton of money off of THIS one launch. Most of the big bucks can actually be made, by fine tuning the launch you just did - with a launch review formula. When you present a product to your audience, you want to make sure that you are squeezing a bit more juice and getting a little more mileage, every single time. And with my must have launch review formula - you’re going to do just that. After diving into this episode, you’ll know exactly what to focus your attention on, to make sure that you are not leaving a single cent on the table with your promotions. So sit back, relax and enjoy this breakdown of my must have launch review formula! In this episode you'll learn: How my launch review formula can make you more money, by just asking the right questions The 3 key areas that you need to dial in to keep making profitable launches How to eliminate failed launches completely when using this formula Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Affiliate marketing is a great tool to scale your online business. It can be a great addition to your current product suite and it as easily scalable product, since the product research, development and distribution has already been taken care of. I've personally made over $2 million selling other people's stuff, which is basically what affiliate marketing is. And so in today's episode, what I want to do is pull back the curtain on the things I have promoted for affiliate marketing, that got me to $2 million. We're going to talk about how affiliate marketing works and my recommendations for creating the best affiliate marketing plan that is guaranteed to put money in your pocket. I'll also share some of my favorite tips and tricks when it comes to affiliate marketing, as well as things that I regret doing and mistakes I've made, so that you can avoid them and keeps things ultra profitable. After watching this episode you'll know how to integrate affiliate marketing into your overall online business strategy to not only scale your income, but help you get more passive income. Let's do this! In this episode you'll learn: What affiliate marketing is, how it works and how to setup your affiliate marketing the best way possible How I've made over $2 million dollars in passive income using affiliate marketing  My personal recommendations for speeding up your success with affiliate marketing and scaling your income the best way possible Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Everybody online is talking about whether we are entering into a recession here in the US and globally. It's been the talk of the town for months, if not a couple of years now. And we might already be in a recession as of the time you're diving into this episode. Let's get to the obvious question first. Do I know when or where it's coming or how long it'll last? No, I don't know the future, but what matters more to me is understanding how do we conduct ourselves and how do we run our businesses in light of a potential recession. You need to be prepare for dark days of business. You need to have the financial and decision making prowess to navigate through the periods when your business isn't booming, and also through a global recession, when that day comes. And that's what I want to share with you today. Let's talk about what you and I can control instead of all the scary gloom and doom out there that we can't control. And I'll share my own story of how I made it out of the previous recession with a prospering online business. In this episode you'll learn: What essential steps you need to take to navigate through a recession and keeping your business prosperous How the previous recession of 2008-2009, changed my way of thinking and made me a better business owner Why recessions can actually be a good thing for your business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

When you're running an online business, there are generally only two levers to pull. When it comes to selling your products, you're either a launching products or you have products selling in an evergreen fashion around the clock.  The launch model is the sexy model. It's the one that gets talked about a lot and taught a lot when it comes to online business. But it also comes with a lot of bagage and downsides which you never hear anyone teaching online business mention or acknowledge. I'm here to tell you the truth. Even if that truth is ugly. And today we’re going to do just that.  In today’s episode I’m going to unpack how you can make more money longterm, if you build out an evergreen style product business and actually move away from launching new products all the time. It is the evergreen model, that's been responsible for the bulk of my revenue and both of my seven figure online businesses. So let’s talk about these six ugly truths about launching your products and hopefully I'll steer you into the evergreen product lifestyle! In this episode you'll learn: Why launching new products all the time actually might hurt your business What the evergreen model is and how to it can revolutionize your business My formula for using the evergreen model that allowed me to build two seven figure businesses Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So in about a week, I'm going to step away from my business for an entire month. That's right. I'm leaving my business, taking a month long sabbatical for the month of July. And today I thought I'd bring you in on this process, because it really ties into what I teach, what I preach and what I believe. I could have just kept this private, but I decided to be a little more public about it and use it as an opportunity to encourage you. I think there's a stigma around taking long breaks and taking periods of rest. Vacations last, maybe a week or two for most Americans, and turns out that business owners are actually the worst at taking breaks and not working for longer periods of time. I am the antithesis of the hashtag hustle culture. It is a badge I wear proudly. And so today, we're going to dive in head first into this mindset. In this episode I'm going to explain to you why I'm taking a month long sabbatical, what benefits I think will accrue to me in taking that month off, how I've experienced sabbaticals in the past, (both good and bad), what some of my mental scripts are that actually almost prevented me from taking the sabbatical this year and then I got a little challenge for you at the end that you don't want to miss! Let's dive in!   In this episode you'll learn: Why I'm taking a month long sabbatical and how I believe that will benefit my business What the stigma is around taking breaks for business owners, and how you can start to come out of the mental scripts that are holding you back How to tap into a creative superpower for your business - by actually not doing anything business related Hope you enjoy!- Graham

How can you grow your small online business fast? Everybody asks me: Graham, how can I grow this thing faster?Usually try to break it to them slowly that, hey that’s not really how this thing works. I get that there's pressure. I get that you want this to grow quickly, I can totally relate. When I started my online business, I was on food stamps. I needed to make money as fast as possible.There is no shortcut to making this happen in the way you're expecting it, BUT there are five counterintuitive ways to grow your online business faster. These are the things that you must be doing to actually turbocharge your efforts and move across the board game a little faster than someone else. So brace yourself, because this might not go where you think it's going to go, but I promise you, this is what it takes to take your small online business and turbocharge it and grow it fast! In this episode you’ll learn: The counterintuitive ways you can turbocharge your business growth Why most online business owners focus on the wrong things, when trying to achieve fast business growth How growing your business fast could potentially harm your business and how you can avoid it Hope you enjoy!- Graham

We're living in an attention economy. You and I need to get attention on the things that we're doing in order to get our ideas out there in the world, to get people to buy our products or hire us for our service. Whatever it is that we are selling or offering, whether free or paid in the world - you need eyeballs. You need people to pay attention to what you're doing. And that's why this conversation today with Alan Henry is going to be so instrumental for you as you think about creating content and finding your unique voice in the marketplace. Alan Henry is the service editor at Wired. He was previously the Smarter Living editor at The New York Times, and before that the editor in chief of the productivity and lifestyle blog Life Hacker. He's got a brand new book out that just dropped this week called Seen, Heard and Paid: The New Work Rules For The Marginalized. It's on sale now anywhere books are sold. It's a fantastic read, and I sat down with Alan to talk about the book and his thoughts on finding your unique voice in your market.Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Newsflash friend! You don't have to do every single business strategy that you see other people doing. In fact, there are a ton of strategies that I see people doing that are popular, flashy and trendy - that I just choose not to do. And there are some business strategies, that I have done in the past but have moved away from. And so in today's episode, what I want to do as always is bring you behind the curtain, show you some decision-making that I've done in my strategies for growing my business, show you the strategies that I've stopped doing or don't do at all - in hopes that it might give you a little bit of freedom to make some decisions for yourself. You get to decide what strategies make sense for you and your goals, and even the way you want to show up in your business. I want to give you a little bit of that insight today, because it's not just what you see people doing - it's WHY they are doing it or not doing it. That is the really insightful part for all of us. And I want to share that insight with you today, from my vantage point as a seven figure business owner. In this episode you'll learn: What flashy and trendy business strategies I stopped using, because of their inability to grow and scale my business What my ultimate big goals are as a seven figure business owner, that lead me to cut ties with some of these strategies How you can evaluate your business and make sure that you are hitting your goals and not wasting time on strategies that don't benefit you in any way Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Many people believe that online business success is simply derived from using the right tactics and the right strategies. But I believe that is a false perception. There might be some truth to using strategies that work (because the online business model is essentially a system to follow) but what I think it really comes down to is your own behavior.  Have you had this rude awakening? You've started your online business, and then suddenly you realize that you are your own boss. Nobody is going to tell you what to do. Nobody is coming to the rescue. Your online business success, is solely dependent on the amount of discipline and fruitful habits that you have. But it is very rare, that we stop and really think about our habits and what type of results they brings us closer to, or pulls us away from. That's what we're going to look at today. I want to share 7 bad habits that will destroy your business. If you resonate with any of these, it is time to step your game up and turn your bad habits into good ones - all for the sake of your business success. In this episode you'll learn: Why so many business owners never see real business success because of their habits How to turn your bad habits around and explode your business success What the seven bad habits will do to your business if left unchecked Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So you just lost your job. What do you do? How should you move forward? And how does online business connect to a scenario like this? If you're reading this right now, then you're obviously interested in online business, but maybe you just weren't expecting to have to start one this soon. As someone who's lost many jobs in the past, two in the same year back in 2009 during the global recession, I can empathize with your pain. And in today's episode, what I want to do is address literally the five things you should be doing the moment you lose your job and how to transition into something better and take this potential curse and turn it into a blessing!In this episode you'll learn: How to navigate safely and securely through a job loss and what role online business plays in this scenario Why losing two jobs in the same year, was actually the best thing that ever happened to me How to make sure you never loose a job again Hope you enjoy!- Graham

For a lot of people, online business is regarded as like the ultimate dream, right? You get to do work you love, you get to have scalable income, flexibility, work from home and all those great things. And every single week, I'm trying to help you get closer to all of that. It is a dream in a lot of ways, but as I've said multiple times over, this dream is actually doable! But as with all great things, there's also some dark sides, and online business definitely has a few of those that I don't think people talk about enough. Today I want to play devil's advocate for a moment literally pull back the curtain on some of the darkest secrets about online business that maybe you haven't considered. Just so that you are fully prepared and have a realistic view when you're out there building the dream that is online business. In this episode you'll learn: What the darkest secrets are to online business and why people aren't talking about them How learning about these dark secrets can actually make you a better business owner How understanding the dark side of online business can actually be a superpower that fuels your motivation Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Does online business actually work or is it just one big giant fantasy? Can the average man or woman actually find success with this business model or is it reserved only for a select few people who can afford to fail at first? Well today, what I thought I would do is bring it on. I thought I would curate all the common criticisms, skepticisms or doubts that I hear in emails, social media comments, people tell me about what I teach and what other online business gurus teach - does this model actually work? Let's just tackle all of this head on today. I think this will be a really helpful episode. And my hope for you is that there'll be at least one of these doubts that you've had that I can tackle in front of you, that might bring you a little closer to believing that you could actually pull this off. Because here’s the secret - you actually can! Let's dive in.In this episode you'll learn: The top objections to the online business model, and how I usually respond to them Why I believe online business isn't a lie and that ANYONE can succeed, following a set of core guidelines and principles What to do if you're stuck with your online business endeavor and don't know where to go next Hope you enjoy!- Graham

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away... Well, it actually happened in this galaxy, but it was indeed a long time ago since I started my first online business The Recording Revolution. As time progressed that business grew into a seven figure business and I then launched my second brand Graham Cochrane, which now also is a seven figure plus business.  I only bring up these numbers to give you some sense of the amount of work that went into growing these two businesses. Over the years I’ve had many different sources of inspiration, coaching and feedback that helped me to get where I wanted to go. And a big source of motivation has been (you guessed it) Star Wars. Because when we get past the nerdiness of lightsabers and ewoks, aliens, spaceships and the force - inside of all of that wrapping is really a bunch of stories of people. And when we understand how human nature works and how we tick on the inside and how our customers tick, we can actually apply those principles to create a successful business.  In this episode you'll learn: The four big ways Star Wars can help you take your business to the next level Why these stories resonate so much with us, and how that helps us to connect with our customers How these 4 powerful lessons accelerated my progress with creating two seven figure businesses Happy Star Wars day my friend. May the fourth be with you!- Graham

Creating content is the bedrock of a profitable growing, scalable and sustainable online business, I know I preach it to you all the time. And so today I want to help you out by bringing on an expert content creator on the show, someone who is running one of the biggest content machines on the internet right now, to help you crush it with your content, no matter where you at in whatever stage you are in your online business journey. My guest today is Jordan Calhoun, who is the editor in chief at Lifehacker. And hopefully you're taking advantage of all the juicy content Lifehacker has to offer. They're an amazing resource. Jordan is editor in chief at Lifehacker. He's also the host of the award-winning podcast: The upgrade. He's a renaissance man, returned peace corps volunteer, he holds a BA in sociology and criminal justice, a BS in psychology and an MPA in public policy. He's also a pop culture connoisseur, he and I both grew up in the eighties and nineties and so we have a shared love of movies, video games, TV books, comic books, all of the above. Also he has a brand new book: Piccolo is black that just dropped  available in all book stores. And in this conversation, Jordan I sat down and we talked about how to become a prolific content creator, even when you run out of ideas. Where the line is between creating content for clicks or for yourself and then we discussed the drive to want to be someone that matters in the world and not be a minor character. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with Jordan and I know you will too. So sit back, relax and enjoy my conversation with Jordan Calhoun.

Today I want to share the story of when I left my first business The Recording Revolution. I stopped being the main content creator for that business in 2021 and there were a lot of events, thoughts and reflections that led up to making that decision. But at the heart of it, there was one realization that tipped the scale. One thing that made me finally sit down, get honest with myself and start the process of transitioning out of the business that changed my life forever. It wasn't easy. In fact it was one of the hardest decisions I had ever made. As business owners you are bound to face hard decisions and with today's episode, I hope I can give you some clarity and some practical strategies to face those decisions and make the right move going forward. Because as it turns out, my realization brought me to an even better place, and I'm certain you can do the same! In the episode you'll learn: What kind of hard decisions you are bound to deal with as a business owner, and how you can navigate through them and continue to move forward What my big realization was that led me to leave my $1 million business, and how that changed everything How to tap into your intuition, build up your grit and learn how to cultivate and develop decision making superpowers for your business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So many people are turned off by the idea of an online business because of the amount of work they think they have to put in to see success. But is that premise really true? Does it take huge amounts to generate say $1000 online? I believe the answer is simply no. It doesn't take huge amounts of work to see success online. Now we can't eliminate work entirely, but what we can do is effectivize it to the point where just about anyone could pull this thing off. And that's exactly what we're going to do today. I'm going to pretend for a second, that you're a lazy person (I know you aren't, but hear me out). And because you're a lazy person, I'm going to lay out step by step, what actions you need to take to generate your first $1000 online. I call this 'The Lazy Person’s Guide to $1000 Online' - let's dive in! In this episode you'll learn:  What simple and important steps you need to take to generate $1000 online - the lazy way Why most people fail in taking this lazy approach to online business and what you can do to make sure you succeed The best mindset to make sure that you keep moving forward, don't fall off the wagon and actually put money in your pocket Hope you enjoy!- Graham

We are 25% of the way into 2022. And the question is, are you on track to hit all your goals?If you're like most people, you started off this year with a handful of goals in mind. Now it is time to assess how it's going. Are you heading in the right direction? If you answered no to either of these questions, then this is the episode for you. This is going to be the kick in the pants that you need to actually go accomplish, realize and achieve those goals that you set out to achieve at the beginning of the year. I'm going to break down the seven must have components that anyone needs to actually achieve goals. So this is going to be real practical and you are going to walk away with a renewed feeling of motivation and a set of hands on strategies that will turn you into a productivity genius. And don't worry. There's still plenty of time. That's why we're talking about goal setting now and not just at the beginning of the year, I'm here to help, and this episode is how we get it done. Let's go crush those goals together! In this episode you'll learn: The seven must have components to achieving ANY goal you set your mind to Why most people fail in their goal setting and how you can make sure that never happens to you The best goal setting mindset you can have, that will make 2022 your biggest year of accomplishments Hope you enjoy!- Graham

We all have our own story to tell. Starting your online business usually involves moving away from a traditional 9 to 5 job. And personally I don't have very fond memories, when I look back at that period of my life. I had Sunday anxiety, because Monday was creeping closer. I felt uninspired, unmotivated and was longing for a change, even though I didn't have any clue what that change would be. I've now come to realize that these were all huge warning signs, that were telling me to start my own business. Today we're going to look at 10 of these important warning signs. If you identify with any of these, you NEED to start a business. I can promise you that the consequences of not listening to yourself and changing this downward spiral situation, are much much worse than any initial challenges you might experience when starting your online business. Starting is what stopping most people. Your start doesn't have to be that successful, but you have to actually start to see real success. In this episode you'll learn: The 10 warning signs that should propel you to start a business, and what will happen if you ignore them My own personal experiences with these warnings signs and how I've used them to maintain my business success The absolute best way to start your business and turn your life around in a matter of weeks Hope you enjoy!- Graham  

Do you have trouble staying creative in your business? If you've been making content for a while, you might be in a season of no ideas, lack of creativity. How do you keep coming up with content ideas, product ideas, marketing ideas. How do you not become stale?  How do you keep the spark going and how do you even motivate yourself when you're bored with your own stuff? Is it even possible to create an unending flow of ideas? Well, today I want to share with you a simple but powerful thing that has completely revolutionized the way I think about content business.  Staying creative in your business is all about finding new ways to trigger and bring out your best ideas. And today, I’m going to share what I believe is the best strategy to unleash your creativity, and it’s both simple and fun. Ready to get creative? Say hello to the creativity switch! In this episode you'll learn: How the creativity switch works and why it is so powerful in bringing you new fresh ideas Why most business owners get stuck and fail to generate new inspiring ideas How you can make sure you always stay creative in your business, no matter how close you are to a deadline Hope you enjoy!- Graham

If you've followed along the last couple of weeks, we've talked about how to find your most profitable idea, how to grow your audience and how to capitalize on that audience to be able to sell a product online.  And now we come to one of the core components of online business: your online product. What do you actually sell? How do you actually make money online? And what should your product look like?All those questions and more - will be answered in today's podcast! There are many ways to monetize your audience online and it all comes back to how you want to run your business. Today I'm going to share the most profitable ways you can monetize your audience as well as give an extra push for online courses, since they are the backbone of my two seven figure businesses. In this episode you'll learn: All the different ways you can monetize an audience, including some counter intuitive ways that you don't want to miss! Why online courses are so powerful to grow an income online and the must have components of an online course Why many business owners struggle to make an income online and how you can make sure that doesn't happen to you! Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So, what do you do once you've been creating content? How do you turn all those views and those followers into a targeted lead who might buy your eventual product? That's what we're going to talk about today.  We're in part three of this mini series, based on my book: ’How to get paid for what you know’ which drops next week, March 22nd - I’m so excited about this!  We've been unpacking some core concepts of building your own income stream based off of the book and today we have to talk about one of the most important things you will do in your online journey, which is not just create content, but funnel those people into your email list so that you can eventually offer them a paid offer, product service, whatever it's going to be. This is a missing link for people. So pay attention today. As we dive into one of the most critical parts of making money online: your lead magnet. In this episode you'll learn: What the anatomy of a great lead magnet is and how it puts money in your pocket Why most people go about creating their lead magnet the wrong way, and end up capping their customer acquisition potential How to build out a solid suite of lead magnets and maximize your lead generation effortlessly Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Growing your audience is an integral part of running your online business. It is one of the most straight forward ways to scale your income and earn more while doing the same (or less) amount of work.  But so many business owners are scratching their heads when it comes to growing your audience. How do I get discovered? How do I get the word out and make people aware of my business? And maybe most importantly, how do I find the right kind of people that are looking for what I have to sell? I'm going to dive into all of that and more in today's episode. After jumping on this episode you'll know exactly how can grow your audience over time what you need to focus on next to make that happen! In this episode you'll learn: Why so many online business owners struggle to grow an audience (hint: they have it completely backwards) My best slam dunk audience growing marketing strategy, that is both simple, effective and will work 100% of the time How you can find the gems in your marketing strategy, so you can cut your audience growth time in half! Hope you enjoy!- Graham  

Whether you realize it or not, you already have the knowledge, passion, and skills to create an automated income stream that requires no college degree, zero employees, and less than fifty dollars to get started. But in the sea of great ideas that we all might have, how do we find the one that is actually profitable? And what do we do once we have that idea? How do we turn on the profit generating machine?Today I want to guide you through one of the first chapters of my upcoming book 'How To Get Paid For What You Know' (drops March 22nd). This chapter is all about finding your profitable idea using what I call  'The Three-Part Profitability Framework'. After this episode, you'll know what your profitable idea really is and what the next step is for your business to ensure it becomes a success.In this episode you'll learn: The step by step process to finding and validating your profitable idea Why following your passion, could actually be the wrong way to go How the three part profitability framework can help you maximize your revenue for your business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Reaching six figures is quite the achievement.  Many people say that the first $100k is the hardest and in my experience there is definitely truth to that statement. But I would say that the push towards reaching seven figures is a lot harder, at least at face value.  When you’re earning six figures and you’ve set your sights on seven figures (which happens to almost all six figure earners by the way) your mind starts telling you a bunch of weird things and you are led to believe that everything has to fundamentally change for seven figures to even be a possibility.  And that’s exactly where the problem is. The real obstacle of reaching seven figures is on mental level, not on a practical level. And today I’m going to unpack what that looks like and unchain you from any mental scripts you might have, that could be holding you back from earning a seven figure income.  Let’s get you unstuck from six figures. Let’s open up the door to seven figures, because that doors opens a lot easier than you might think. In this episode you’ll learn: What mental scripts are holding you back from reaching seven figures Why reaching seven figures is a lot easier than you might think What practical steps you need to have in place to open the doors for a seven figure income Hope you enjoy! - Graham

What does it take to create a successful and profitable business that doesn’t require a huge team? And what is the main driver behind reaching the seven figure mark with such a business? If you knew the answer to these questions and had access to the data and the research of how small and no team businesses can grow to seven figures - would that be valuable information for you to have? I’m sure it would. And that’s exactly what I’m going to share with you today. My friend and author colleague Elaine Pofeldt has written a new book about this very subject called: ”Tiny business, big money”. Elaine Pofeldt is an independent journalist specializing in entrepreneurship. Her work has appeared on CNBC and in Fortune, Money, Forbes, and many other publications. Recently I sat down with Elaine and talked about her findings when writing ’Tiny business, big money’ and we also covered a lot of interesting topics for small business owners - or as Elaine likes to call them, micro businesses. What’s inside this episode: The surprising statistics of how long it takes for a micro business to reach the seven figure mark The importance of automation in your business and how that can be the secret sauce of scaling The counter intuitive things you should focus on to grow your micro business, while also protecting your personal time and avoiding burn out.   Make sure to pick up Elaine's new book!Hope you enjoy!- Graham

If there’s one thing online business owners are insecure about it is pricing. What should I price my products at? How do I know I have the right price? What prices are my competitors using? Will my launch fail because of the price I’ve set? The list of insecurities goes on and on.  Well today all that is about to change. In this video I want to guide you through one of my favorite strategies to remove any and all pricing insecurities. This wonderful strategy is called: Price elasticity.  No more uncertainty. No more pricing insecurities. No more second guessing. After this video, you’ll have everything you need to run your business with a solid pricing strategy. Relax, sit back and take in the wonderful resourcefulness that is Pricing elasticity. In the episode you’ll learn: Why there is no such thing as ”the right price” and what the better alternative is How price elasticity can help you increase your revenue effortlessly How to remove all pricing insecurities once and for all Hope you enjoy! - Graham

Today I want to do something a little different.  As business owners, we are constantly bombarded with the latest flashy trends on why online courses are the answer to most of our problems. Don’t get me wrong, I love online courses. They have been the backbone of both of my two seven figure businesses, but very rarely do you hear the real truth about online courses. I am in this space because I want to give you the truth. It might not be flashy, it might not be what you always want to hear - but I believe the truth is going keep you in the space the longest and lead you to success. So today we’re going to cover the truth about online courses. We’re going to touch on the big realizations that nobody really talks about. Why? Because I want to prepare you for what’s to come and to ultimately ensure that your online courses become the success that you want them to be. In this episode you'll learn: What most online business owners completely miss about online courses The real stats and secret metrics of online courses that most online business guru's never tell you! The must-have mindset you need to have, in order to make sure your online courses have a fighting chance of becoming best sellers Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Is there a science to online business? Is there a repeatable process that you can follow, that will allow you to reproduce success as an online business owner? The answer is: 100% yes! And it is because of this reason, that I show up every single week, teaching you all that I know about running an online business. We need to do away with this notion that running an online business is something special. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but if we were to boil down the components that make up my success - the results would be very simple. YOU are special, not the way you run your business. If you're looking for the straight and simple approach to how and why the online business model works - then this episode is for you. I hope and believe that this is an episode that can take procrastination out of the equation, help you punch fear in the face and ultimately get things off the ground - whether if you're looking to start or scale. Once you know the science of online business, you are well on your way to charting your own path to success.  In this episode you'll learn: What the most important components to online business are and why they work Why many online business owners fail, when they start to deviate from the science of online business How the science of online business can help you start or scale your business using very simple approaches Hope you enjoy!- Graham

As with most things in the online business world, growing a membership takes time. When you first start your membership, your main focus is usally to infuse it with valuable content and get people in. But if you want a healthy, best selling and long living membership - you have to think a little bit differently. Bringing in new members to your membership, is actually only one of the five things you can do to scale and grow your membership. If you target these five things in your membership, you will ensure that it is healthy and as profitable as possible.  If you’re looking to take things to the next level with your membership in 2022, then this is the video for you. Let’s crank these five levers in your membership and scale it using these proven strategies!In this episode you’ll learn: Why running a membership is so much more than bringing people in How you can scale your membership and turn it into a perennial best seller, by just applying a few strategic moves! 5 counter intuitive levers that you can pull to make sure your membership stays healthy and profitable Hope you enjoy!

Way back in 2010, I launched my very first online course. It didn't make me much money, but it changed the course, (no pun intended) of my life forever. I'm a humongous fan of online courses as are many people. And it seems like everyone and their mom is looking into launching an online course, but the reality is that everyone and their mom will actually not launch an online course. Even the most active people snooping around on the internet, maybe that's you looking into how to launch an online course, will not actually launch. There's four big reasons why most people, even the ones who are most researched and most interested and most likely to launch - won't actually launch. In today’s episode I want to break down these four reasons of why most people won't launch and help you actually launch your course this year. My goal is to give you that swift kick in the pants to take action in 2022 and beyond, because launching that first online course could definitely change the course of your life forever. In this episode you’ll learn: Why launching a course is so much more than just putting in the work What limiting beliefs you probably have (because I have them too) that are keeping you from actually launching What you need to do in 2022, to finally launch and change the course of your life! Hope you enjoy!

For many online business owners, selling can be viewed as a hard thing to pull off.But when we break it down into its core components - selling is a really simple concept to wrap your head around. Selling in the online business world can often be presented as this complex and advanced activity, leading people to shy away from it and consequently a lot of money is left on the table. But today I’m hoping to offer another perspective. One that is more simple to wrap your head around and will definitely set you up for success with selling. Whether it is courses, coaching or other products - after this episode you will know the core concepts of how to sell anything to anyone. In this episode you’ll learn: Why selling is misunderstood and turned into an overcomplicated process  What the two most important selling components are and how they can help you become a master seller What you do need to focus on right now to increase your revenue with whatever you’re selling Hope you enjoy!

I've said it a million times, and I'll say it a million times more: reaching six figures is not hard. You need the right components in place coupled with discipline and a whole lot of patience. Although reaching six figures can take a lot of time, it doesn't make the work you need to put in any harder. One who understands all this on an expert level is my student Antoine Michaud, who is in my Six figure coaching community (6FC). He recently reached six figures in his business and is doing 12k months on a consistent basis. To commemorate this massive achievement and to help others in our community to do the same, he posted a brilliant list of 13 steps he took that helped him reached these phenomenal numbers. Here's what Antoine says: "When I first joined 6FC, I was averaging 2k-3k/months, but I was confident that I could take it to the next level by applying what Graham was teaching in the masterclasses. But mostly, I knew I could achieve a lot just by staying the course with my content marketing strategy. None of these 13 steps alone have made an incredible impact to reach six figure. It's rather the added benefits of a little bit of all of them that made a big difference for me! 4 years ago, I was just another guy playing guitar on YouTube with way too much reverb :-) who knew this could lead to a highly profitable and highly fulfilling business?"  So in today's episode, I wanted to dive into these 13 steps and dissect the thoughts behind each one. Here's to six figures and beyond! In this episode you’ll learn: The power of small incremental adjustments made over a long period of time 3 counter intuitive ideas that makes all the difference in reaching six figures Why simplification actually is the secret sauce in scaling your business  Hope you enjoy!

It might be hard to believe, but 2021 is coming to an end. Hopefully you've had an interesting year with a lot of wins to celebrate. Or maybe, this year wasn't at all what you'd hoped it would be but you are taking those insights and coming up with a new strategy for 2022. I have so much to be grateful for this year. I've seen a lot of growth, both on a personal level and on the business side as well. Many of my wins were calculated and expected, which was really amazing to see. But some things came as a total surprise to me and made me change my strategy in certain areas. Today I wanted to share all my insights and take you behind the scenes, looking at both my personal and business wins and challenges. I also want to share some knowledge nuggets that played a big part in making 2021 the great year it was for me. In this episode you’ll learn: My personal best and worst moments and how they affected my business activities What surprised me about 2021 for my business and how that lead to an amazing experience My three knowledge nuggets for the year and why you should implement these for 2022 Happy new year, let's make 2022 the best year for your business yet! - Graham

Selling is an integral part of running an online business. If you don't sell, you don't make many - a simple equation that everyone understands. So, if we want to make more money, we should be selling more right? Well, it is actually a little more complicated than that. When it comes to selling online, most online business owners are actually selling too early, and end up leaving a lot of money on the table. Your audience isn't standing around waiting to buy any offer that comes their way, no matter how good that offer is. They actually have to be made ready to buy from you - a small change that makes all the difference. Today I want to make sure you're not leaving any money on the table. I want you to first investigate if you are indeed selling too early, and if that's the case I'm going to offer you a better system that will hands down put more money in your pocket. In this episode you’ll learn: How to know if you're selling too early and what to do about it The simple formula I use to make sure I'm selling at the right time to maximize revenue 4 simple steps that will change the way you view selling and how to convert your leads  Hope you enjoy!- Graham

The Internet can be a scary place. Especially if you are a content creator. If you've been putting out content for any length of time, then chances are you have dealt with some haters. People who hold nothing back in their comments, letting you know exactly where they think you've gone wrong and how you've made their lives miserable (Which of course isn't true!) It's no wonder that many online business owners are dragging on publishing content, they're probably scared to death of the haters that might be lurking out there! A long time ago, I made a promise to myself to not let fear dictate my actions inside my business. And that promise eventually allowed me to form a solid strategy for dealing with haters online. So today, I want to share that strategy with you, so you can move past hateful feedback in any shape or form so that it doesn't affect you or your business in any way. With this video I'm going to get you to publish your content, serve your email list and create your amazing products - all without a single hater standing in the way. In this episode you’ll learn: How to know exactly how to respond to any hateful comment, based on my three levels of haters The 3 things you absolutely SHOULD AVOID when interacting with haters on any platform How haters can actually serve you and eventually put money in your pocket  Hope you enjoy!- Graham

When you're trying to run and grow your online business, oftentimes we're in the process of adding things. We're constantly adding new products, new strategies, collaborations, and new moving parts to our businesses, while also wanting to incorporate new routines, books, and side projects to realize the visions we have for our lives and businesses. With the new year waiting around the corner, I think a lot of business owners feel drawn to the adding mentality because it is so heavily associated with newness. But today I want to turn things upside down. I believe it is equally important to take things out, to stop doing the things that aren't contributing to your life and business. We don't have to add things all the time, in fact, I think we probably add more things to our lives than we have margin for. If you want to add clarity, a sense of calm, mental bandwidth, and intentionality to your life and business - then this episode is for you. Here are 3 things I'm quitting next year. In this episode you’ll learn: Why adding more to your life and business could actually be hurting your progress The three things I'm going to quit to bring more clarity and intentionality to my life and business Why small adjustments are the most powerful for your business and how you can stay in your comfort zone while still achieving massive change in 2022  Hope you enjoy!

We've all been there. You spend hours and hours on a Youtube video, but then when its finally published and out there for the world to see, it gets little to no engagement. What happened? There are about a million different reasons why a video on Youtube gets a mediocre response, but often times we end up looking at the wrong things. We can become frustrated with not knowing what to do, so we end up questioning everything and we enter into paralysis by over analysis. Well today, I want to provide you with a simple approach to increase your engagement with your videos on Youtube, by looking at three different areas that you can improve today. You won't be overwhelmed, you won't over analyze and most importantly you'll be able to focus on what's actually important! Let's give your Youtube videos a boost! In this video you’ll learn: The 3 most important areas to look at, if your Youtube video isn't performing How to draw your audience attention towards your videos and keep them watching The No.1 thing you should avoid when creating your videos, to increase your engagement potential Hope you enjoy!

I've been doing online business for 12 years. I am immensely proud of the two seven-figure businesses that I have been fortunate (by God's grace) to build. Where time, patience, and discipline has been my main ingredients. But one thing is for sure: building a business is no easy ride. Even though most of us realize that the above statement is a fact, there are still some people that say otherwise. "Graham, you just got lucky!". "Graham, you just started at the right time!" "Graham, I don't have all the resources you had!" The truth is I started my first business with absolutely nothing, worked my way towards success - and you can do the same. That's why in this video, I wanted to talk you through step by step what I would do if I had to start all over, in hopes to inspire you and show you that starting a business isn't a fluke. When done right, it can be a reality waiting to happen... In this episode you’ll learn: The 8 steps I would take to get my business off the ground and start attracting an audience What to avoid when starting from zero, to make the most impact with your audience The fastest way to make great money online - even if you're just starting out  Hope you enjoy!

There are two types of business owners in this world. The ones who think email marketing died long ago and the ones who know that email marketing is the lifeblood of their online business. Hopefully if you're reading this, you've joined the latter alternative. Like with any tool used to move your business forward, there are a lot of insecurities about using email, which has led many online business owners to lower their growth potential, trying to play things safe. And no, Walmarts regular email sale spree, does not dictate what email marketing actually is. Email marketing is a wonderful value interaction and I believe at the heart of it, good email marketing is made up of 4 essential types of emails. If you're not sending these to your audience, you are missing out big time. Let's make sure your email marketing is where it needs to be! In this episode you’ll learn: The 4 essential types of email that has been the main driver for my email list growth for both of my brands Why most online business owners fail in growing their email list How to implement and use these emails to speed up your own email list growth Hope you enjoy!- Graham

If you've been a follower of mine for just about any length of time, you know that 'The 4 Hour Work Week' is a favorite book of mine. It is one of two books that I re-read every single year. This book holds a special place in my heart since it played such a huge role in getting my first online business started and introduced me to the wonderful concept of working less. Even though this book generated a lot of hype when it first came out and has established itself as a go-to resource for business, we need to address the elephant in the room. It has been 14 long years since this book came out and the world has changed dramatically from the way it was in 2007. Is the 4-hour workweek outdated? Is it still worth reading and can it still actually help you in your online business journey? Or is it speaking to a narrative that no longer exists and therefore should be left on the shelf? Well, that's the question we'll be answering today... In this episode you’ll learn: Why I think the 4-hour workweek is even more relevant today than 14 years ago The 4 best highlights of the book that you can actually implement today How this book impacted me and my business and why I re-read it every single year  Hope you enjoy!

What does it take to scale your online business? Many people believe that the end all be all is to sell more of your product to more people. And while that is true to a large degree, most business owners are actually leaving money on the table without even knowing about it. When it comes to scaling your business, we have to understand that our current pool of customers are the ones most likely to buy from us. Meaning that if we offer them something else that's really valuable and a good fit, they'll probably do business with us again. And to make things even more interesting, some of our customers are willing to spend way more with us, than most of our audience. When we put these two factors together, the strategy becomes super clear. We need to offer more products at different price points. We need to have a product suite. And today I'm going to show you how to do exactly that... In this episode you’ll learn: What a product suite is and why you need one The six different types of products you can create to scale your business How to think about the future of your business and create a plan that will put more money in your pocket Hope you enjoy!

When it comes to online business, I am a huge advocate of working less (which you probably know by now I've you've been paying attention). At one point in time, I was very protective of the tasks and routines I had that made up my business, but nowadays I make an effort to scale down the work I do each year. Many of the things I eliminate or delegate are things that I don't need to do or things I don't really want to do. But with each year that this refining process takes place, there is always one thing that stays the same. One thing that I've always done and will continue to do, probably till the end of my days. What is that thing? Content. Content is the main driver of your business. If you and I stop making content, our businesses will eventually cease to make money. So in today's episode, I want to give you a straight answer (and maybe a kick in the pants) when it comes to creating content. (Hint: You can't stop making it! EVER!) In this episode you’ll learn: What the number one rule of running an online business is The two hats or roles you take on every single day in your business and what they mean for your content creation How I was able to create one of my best pieces of content, even though I just came off an intense disagreement with my wife - and what you can learn from that story Hope you enjoy!

It's not that often I share personal stories of my own business journey. I can share examples from my own experience here and there in my teaching, but it's rare that I dive deep into just the personal stories in one whole episode. Part of that relates to fear. Fear of not providing value and helping you move forward with your business. I want this podcast to be didactic and actionable, which can be hard to incorporate into a personal story. But I today I'm going to go against my usual approach and share a tough personal story of the day I almost quit everything. My business, making content, selling products - EVERYTHING. This is going to be a story that has some dark elements to it, but in the end it all took a turn for the better (thank God!). I hope this can inspire you and give you that push to keep going in dark times. In this episode you’ll learn What actually happened that made me want to quit everything in my business Why I ended up not quitting, and what changed to turn things around The 4 components you need to have in place in your business, to make sure you don't quit and always keep going Hope you enjoy!

As business owners, we sometimes forget that we spend the majority of our time being customers. When we go to the grocery store, when we pick up new clothes or when we're waiting in line outside the Apple store to get the latest iPhone 20X ultra supreme edition. When you think back on all these kinds of interactions, is there a particular memory that stands out to you? One specific experience that cemented the idea for you that this is a fantastic brand that I'm going to tell my friend about and come back to again and again? Most likely, you were dealing with a magnetic brand. One that has a specific set of values in place that creates an attractive environment, which in turn will generate superfans. What are those values you ask? Well, I believe there are three values in particular that you should know about and implement into your own business, to create experiences that makes people seek YOU out, rather than the other way around. In this video you’ll learn: 3 powerful values that you MUST have in place if you hope to create a magnetic brand that draws people in Why people think about the values the wrong way and how you can escape these mental scripts How to generate a genuine and long-lasting following with your audience Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Marketing is something we all have a relationship with, whether we know it or not. We can all remember that warm and fuzzy feeling we got making a special purchase or interacting with a brand that went above and beyond for us. But most people don't associate that kind of interaction with marketing. In fact, marketing for them is something completely different. Something that leaves a bad taste in your mouth and something you don't want to associate with, especially when you're running an online business. This friction about what marketing is, calls for some myth-busting, which is exactly what we're going to look at today. I'm here to tell you that all those past warm and fuzzy interactions you've had with different brands, is exactly what marketing is and what it should be. Let's look at what these myths are and come back to the heart of great marketing for our businesses. In this episode you’ll learn The five biggest myths of marketing and why you probably believe them How these myths might have caused you to think and do things a bit differently in your business and how to break these mental scripts The better and more truthful alternative to all these myths, that you can implement in your own business right now Hope you enjoy!

An email funnel is the backbone of your business. It allows you to add value, sell products automatically and most importantly work less since you don't need to be physically present for your email funnel to do its magic. But what makes an email funnel great? What are the essentials of a great email funnel? Is it something you actually can control or is just a matter of finding the right audience? The answer might come as a surprise to you, because this works in two different ways. I believe there are three essential elements that you must have in place for your email funnel to thrive and push your business forward, both in terms of revenue and brand awareness. So if you're just getting ready to setup your first ever email funnel, then this video is for you. But you can also use this video as a quality checker, to see if your current email funnel has all of these three elements in place. Because if you don't, then you are missing out on report, revenue and relationship. In this epsiode you’ll learn: The three essential email funnel elements that you MUST have in place for your email funnel to perform its very best Why most business owners fail in constructing an email funnel that actually performs and what you can do to avoid that scenario How my email funnel strategy evolved over time and what trends I saw with my audience, that you can pick up on and take advantage of as well Hope you enjoy!

We all have different roads to retirement. Some follow a traditional model and are aiming for retirement at 65, while others have gone about following the F.I.R.E model (Financial Independence Retire Early) and are looking at retirement in their 30's or 40's. Whatever your idea of retirement is and however you plan to get there, I want to challenge our thoughts and ideas about retirement today. These two models both have huge flaws that you need to know about. And ultimately I believe that there is a better way to reap all the rewards of retirement, without being stuck with either of these two models. Today I hope to change your mind about retirement. In this podcast I'm going to intentionally shake things up a bit and challenge ideas that we as a society has held for many years. And then I want to offer you a way better alternative towards retirement and hopefully guide and start you on a new path towards financial freedom and independence. In this podcast you’ll learn: Three major flaws about our traditional model of retirement and why you need to jump off it as soon as possible Why the FIRE movement, demands too much of you and will have you severely decrease your quality of life What the better alternative is towards retirement and how you can start implementing it TODAY. Hope you enjoy! - Graham

Sometimes when people ask me what I do, I go for the quick answer and tell them that I make videos on YouTube. The response to that is usually a surprised expression, followed by this question wrapped in over-the-top excitement: "Oh! So you're a YouTuber?" Today I want to set the record straight. I am not a YouTuber, and I don't think I ever will be. I believe there is a clear distinction between making videos on YouTube to generate leads for your online business, and being a YouTuber. As an online business owner, I don't play by the YouTuber rules. I would even go so far as to say I break some of them on a regular basis. But what I get instead, has literally changed the face of my business... In this video you’ll learn: 3 things that YouTubers constantly do, that I go out of my way to avoid to keep feeding leads into my business Why you shouldn't play by the YouTuber rulebook to keep your business moving forward How I leverage YouTube as a platform and get high quality leads to my business by simple changing the purpose of my videos. Hope you enjoy!

If you been a follower of mine for any length of time, you know that I don't sing the praises of Facebook ads. Ever since this brand started I've tried to get you to jump on content marketing as a strategy for growing and building your audience. In plain words, it is just a better strategy. But now, it seems like there might be an even bigger reason to make the switch (if you still haven't joined the content marketing team yet). Facebook ads are up against some major privacy changes that are likely to hit us soon. Great news for just about everyone, but bad news for the ones who are relying on Facebook ads to run their business. In this podcast you’ll learn: - What privacy changes are happening and what it means for online business owners.- How content marketing outshines Facebook ads in just about every area of marketing.- What you should be doing with your marketing and your business moving into the future. Hope you enjoy!

Is your online course really life-changing? Anyone can make an online course, but real transformation and results do not come that easy. You really have to put in the work and go the extra mile to make sure your course has a lasting impression and continues to add value for many years to come.  The sad fact is that most online business owners don’t care about this and don’t see past the sale. They slap something together, sell the dream and jump around the core subject.  Today I wanted to break down the three most important things you need to be doing, to make sure your online course brings life-changing results to your customers.  In this podcast you’ll learn: - My student interaction formula, that I use for all my online courses to enable life-changing results- Why most online courses fail in bringing transformation and real results to their students- How you can add life-changing transformation to your online courses TODAY, with a simple strategy that’s often overlooked Hope you enjoy!

Should you offer lifetime access for your online courses? Online courses usually sit in one of two camps. Either you offer lifetime access to your courses or you offer limited access. Vanessa Lau, a really talented online business owner, recently did a video on why she no longer offers lifetime access and why she switched to a limited access model. Since I 100% believe in the lifetime access model for all of my courses, I wanted to dive in with a response. In this episode you'll learn: Vanessa's reasons for a limited access model, my comments on the limited access model and why I stand by the lifetime access model and why I believe it's the best decision for your business as well. Hope you enjoy!

This past summer I did something crazy. I only worked on Wednesdays. That's right, I pulled off a one day work week for the past 3 months and today I want to break it all down for you. Specifically I want to share with you WHY I did it and the all important HOW I pulled it off. But maybe even more interesting was the WHAT happened (both good and bad) as a result. In this case study (of myself) I breakdown: - The three most important words that lead to working less - The unavoidable fall out of working so few hours - How my business did financially while only working 7 hours a week during a traditionally sluggish season

Most online business owners mistakenly believe the only way to grow their income is get more traffic to their website or sales page. This leads them to dumping money on Facebook ads and self promoting all day on social media. No thank you. What if I told you there was a way to increase your revenue without needing to add a single ounce of traffic to your site? What if I told you there six ways to do that? What you be interested?! In today's episode I break down 6 powerful levers you can use to increase you income anytime you like - all with the exact same amount of traffic you currently have. Hope you enjoy!

If you are a content creator looking to monetize your audience and create some monthly recurring revenue you might have considered these two platforms: Kajabi and Patreon. Both offer you a way to collect payment, monetize your content, and build a community around you and your online presence. But which is the better fit? Full disclosure: I have used both platforms and made money on both as well. And they are VERY DIFFERENT animals entirely. In today's episode I'm going show you the differences between the two and point you in the right direction. Specifically we cover: -Who Patreon is a great fit for -Who Kajabi is a great fit for -And how to build a paid community or "fan club" using both platforms

If you make video content of any kind (YouTube, social media) you might have felt like your personality isn't charismatic enough for people to notice you or care. You might have felt that other big personalities online hog all the limelight and have become a model for what people expect from video content creators. And where does that leave you if you are a more subdued, quiet type of personality? Today I'm answering that question and more as I show you what it truly takes to grow an audience online with video content, no matter your personality. In this episode I share: -The three E's of content (i.e. what really matters) -An example of massive YouTube growth without a "big" personality -Three strategies for seeming more charismatic on camera

If you've launched your online course and you're wondering whether it's best to open and close access to it throughout the year or keep it for sale all the time in an evergreen email funnel or on your website, then you're asking a good question. Like most things in life there's a sweet spot in between. Today I want to share with you how I approach selling my online courses and memberships in two different businesses and give you a framework to apply to your own products. In this episode I'll reveal: -My "Goldilocks" approach to selling online courses -How to approach selling your first online course -The pros and cons of both the launch model and evergreen model

Email deliverability is huge when it comes email marketing There's nothing I hate more than sending a powerful email to my list of subscribers only to have it end up in their junk folder. How can I expect someone to click on my offer link let alone open the email and even SEE that I'm offering something if that email never lands in their inbox in the first place?! In today's episode I'm going to help you out. There are 4 simple things you can be doing right now to increase your email deliverability and thereby increase your chances of making a sale. Inside I cover: Your ideal open rates for a healthy email list Why open rates only tell half the story My favorite tool for ensuring my emails don't go to spam

Most people assume that the only way to build a business from the ground up is to grind it out with 60, 70, or even 80 hour work weeks. Especially at the beginning. In fact, many think that's how I started my business. Sure these days it only takes me 5 or so hours a week to run it but they assume I was hustling hard in the early days. Not true. The max I've ever put into my business is 32 hours a week. And it's all because of a challenge. Years ago, someone older, and wiser than me presented me with the No Fridays challenge - and it changed my life. Today I want to share that story with you and then help you take the challenge yourself. In this episode I'll reveal: The 3 reasons you MUST take Fridays off How to easily free up 8 hours a week, without needing to hire someone Other creative ways to apply the No Fridays challenge in your business

Email marketing is still the best way to sell your digital products and grow your online business, but when it comes to writing promo emails and sending them to our email list most of us get stressed out. We don't want to feel pushy or "salesy", and yet we still need the emails to work! (i.e. sell) Did you know that you could sum up all promo emails into two categories? The hard sell and the soft sell. But which one is best for your business? That's what I want to discuss in today's episode, including: When exactly in your promo to use hard sell and soft sell emails How to write marketing emails that feel genuine and non pushy A simple "test" to know whether your email is going to be effective or not before you send it.

Most entrepreneurs I know say they don't have enough time to work on the important stuff in their business. But the reality is, that's not how time works. We don't "have" time we "make" time. And the only way to "make" more time is to stop wasting time on things that truly don't move the business forward. Today I want to share with you what I've discovered to be the 5 biggest time wasters that most entrepreneurs struggle with...myself included. After listening, your homework is simple: figure which of these 5 is your #1 time waster and take one step to eliminating it from your daily and weekly rhythm. Let's dive in!

If you've launched your online course and are trying to find out how to turn it into an automated income stream then today's episode is for you. Evergreen online course sales are the backbone of a healthy online business. Why? Two reasons: They create dependable, predictable income They allow you to work less and earn more But HOW you turn an online course into a perennial seller as an evergreen course is critical. Today I want to share with you the three components you need in place to create evergreen income from your course, including: How to time your sales pitch to be most effective What to cover in your email funnel And how to maximize your evergreen course revenue without lifting a finger Evergreen course sales are so foundational to the lifestyle I'm able to live and I bet they will be the same for you if you implement this material!

If you want your online business to grow you need people to actually open your emails and click on your stuff. Brilliant insight, I know. But here's the thing, too many people spend all their effort crafting a (hopefully) powerful email that converts only to whip up a subject line at the last minute with little to thought or careful consideration. What you end up with is email subject lines like this one: "Better Body Bootcamp Announcement 1" Whaaaaaaa??!! 😱 Yeah, that was an actual subject line I saw (product name has been changed). Would you open that email?! At best it's a "maybe". And that my friend isn't good enough. Today I want to share with you 3 rules for writing email subject lines that actually get people to want to open your emails. In this episode I reveal: The two core types of email subject lines that work every time What tone of subject line that will separate you from every other person promoting in people's inbox How to promote your products without having to "promote" your products Here's to writing better subject lines that actually make people click!

I want to ask you an important question: Why do you work? Why do you do what you do each and every day? Why are you working so hard to build and grow your online business? This is bigger than just what your specific goals are. I'm curious as to the motivation behind those goals - the why (or whys) behind your effort. Let me put it a different way. If you had made millions of dollars in your business, would you keep working? If yes, then why? That's what I want to share with you today as I unpack the 6 reasons why I still show up to work each week even though I don't have to financially. In this episode I break down: How getting clear on your "why" helps you deal with both adversity and success Why I most certainly will never truly "retire" What specific Bible verses inform my 6 "whys"

Most people are leaving money on the table when they launch their online course. I don't want that to happen to you. I'll be honest with you though. The three things that will affect how much money you make with your course launch the most are likely set in stone at this point. Those factors are: the size of your email list, price of your product, and relevancy of your offer. However there are still a few things you can do during launch week that will increase your revenue. I call these launch revenue multipliers, and in today's video I'm going to share with you: Why most people won't buy during your launch (and what you can do about it) How to instantly increase your average order value without making more sales How to identify your super fans during launch week and offer them even more value (so you make more money) Happy Launching!

One of the beautiful things about having a membership site is recurring revenue. People sign up once and then their credit card is billed every month until the end of time - or at least that's the dream. But if you own a membership site of your own then you know the reality is much different. People churn (or cancel) every month and it has a huge affect on your bottom line. The key to making money with memberships is to not only sign up new members but to keep your existing members from cancelling. So in today's episode I want to share with you 5 specific ways you can keep people from cancelling your membership site. In this episode you will learn: Two pricing tricks to keep people around longer How to make your community more "sticky" The biggest thing I learned from the membership master Stu McLaren Enjoy!

The most important thing you could be doing for your online business is growing your email list. But Graham! How can I grow my list faster? I don't have enough people on my email list? Today I have you covered. In this episode I share four simple ways to increase your email opt ins, grow your list, so you can ultimately grow your income and serve more people. Specifically I break down how you can: Know exactly what lead magnet to offer your audience Leverage every piece of content you make so it's growing your business automatically Hijack other people's audiences and email lists to grow your own! Enjoy!

Just because have an online course doesn't mean you're ready to sell. Unless you have a killer sales page, no one is going to buy it! So what I thought I would do today is walk you through a simple process you can follow to write your next sales page in just 60 minutes. This framework won't be overwhelming, confusing, or long. All it takes is one hour! In this episode I walk you through the most important questions you need to answer about your product before you write a single word of sales copy. Questions that will help you: Grab your prospects attention and curiosity instantly Create empathy with your potential customers so they trust you more and want to buy from you Get to the heart of what makes people pull out their credit card and buy - even with a short sales page! I hope you not only enjoy this episode but also take massive action on it by setting aside 60 minutes this week to write your next sales page using this framework! Enjoy!

What would your life look like if you took a year off of social media? How would you feel? Would your business continue to thrive? These were all questions I had 12 months ago when I set off on a one year social media fast. No Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, Clubhouse. None of it. And now that my 365 day break has come to a close it's time for an update! In this episode I cover these big questions: Did I miss it? Did I feel out of the loop? Did not engaging with people affect my business? What was the best thing about taking the break? Am I going back? Whether or not you join me on a social media fast of your own or if you love these platforms, I hope you find this episode insightful and encouraging!

So you have an online course (or two) and you're wondering whether you'd sell more copies and make more money if you offered a payment plan option. But you have questions, like: How many payments should you offer? What are the downsides to offering a payment plan? When is the best time in the sales process to mention a payment plan? Have no fear! Today I'm going to break down the pros and cons of offering payment plans for your online courses and then give you my personal stance on them so you can decide if payment plans are for you.

As your online business starts growing and you begin making more profit you need to decide what to do with that money to build your wealth. The last thing you want to happen is that you make a lot of money, live it up for a few years, and then have nothing left to show for it in your later years. Business is about more than lifestyle, it's about wealth building and changing your family tree. So today I want to share with you what I think are the 4 best investments you can make with your business profit each month so you can not only make money but keep (and grow) it for the future!

Not everyone running an online business has the same goals. Sure some people want to "escape" their 9-5 and go "full time" with their passive income business. But not everybody. Today I want to share with you the 3 different levels of online business so you can decide which one aligns with your goals and your dreams so you can stop feeling the pressure to model your business off of someone else with an entirely different set of goals.

One of the most common struggles I see online business owners making is with promoting to their email list. They just don't know how or how often to sell. These are some of the questions I get: "What if I bug my list too much?" "What if they unsubscribe?" "What's the right ratio of sales emails to content emails?" Today I'm going to give you the simple back of the envelope answer to the "how often" question so you can feel confident promoting and selling to your list. Plus I'm going to give you a simple tool that you should 100% be using to keep your selling and promoting balanced.

If I could encourage you with anything as you build your online business it would be this: you can break the rules. There is no one "right" way to build an online income stream that serves a ton of people and takes care of you and your family. You have way more freedom thank you think to ignore the gurus (myself included) and chart your own path. To drive this point home, today I'm going to share with you 3 classic online business "rules" or best practices that I intentionally break, explain why I break them, and show you how my business has only skyrocketed in revenue and reach in spite of it all. Here's to the freedom to build your business and life your way!

Pop quiz: Would you like to make more money in your business while working less? The answer should be YES! Well today I want reveal three normal everyday tasks I gave up that not only gave me my time back but actually allowed my business to skyrocket at the same time. And yes they are related! Full disclosure: one of these tasks is super controversial to quit, and another is so sneaky you don't even know you're doing it! Are you ready for permission to quit some stuff and make more money in the process? I thought so!

Membership sites are like the holy grail of passive income businesses. But they are also incredibly misunderstood. From all the students I've coached who have membership sites or want to build a membership site I've come learn there are a few huge myths out there that many online business owners are falling for. Today I want to break down the 3 big ones so you are in the know and can get the most out of your membership. Once you know the truth about what goes into a successful membership site I think you'll have a lot more fun and make a lot more money!

Do you know where your money goes the moment you make it? Do you have a plan for that money before it even hits your account? Are you keeping your money in the right place? If you're like most small business owners you are likely focused on just one side of the money equation - the making of the money. Rarely are we thinking about where to put that money once it's been made. Today I want to share with you the 5 types of bank accounts you should be putting your money in each and every month so that you can avoid tax issues, build wealth, and have peace of mind.

No, you don't need more customers, email subscribers, or money pumped into ads to increase your income. You likely are leaving money on the table with your current offerings. If you have only one tier/option for your product at one price you’re making a mistake. Some people will be glad to spend more with you if you only offered more value. Give people the option to give you more money! And when done right, tiered pricing can easily increase your average order value by 25-50% - all without lifting a finger! Let me show you how.

If you do any kind of email marketing then you likely pay close attention to an important stat called "open rate". And if your list is anything like mine (and everyone else's on planet earth) then you might be a bit disappointed to see that not everyone opens your emails. What the heck?! How could they not care about your awesome emails as much as you?!? I feel your pain. Here's the thing though - unopened emails aren't a waste. In fact there are 3 huge reasons why they are anything BUT a waste. In fact, they can be powerful tools for your business. Let's discuss.

Are you as productive as you'd like to be when working on your business? Or are you scrambling each week trying to get as much done as you can, stuffing as much into each work day as you possibly can? Been there done that. After running an online business for nearly 12 years now, I've tried just about every kind of work schedule you can imagine. Here's what I've learned: time blocking is the key. In that decade plus I've developed 4 simple time blocking strategies I use to stay productive without feeling rushed or stressed.

When it comes to online courses, you might be wondering: How much is too much to charge for your online course? How cheap is too cheap? The short answer is: it depends. I have a simple pricing framework I use to determine what I should be charging for my online courses and today I want to share it with you. Also at the end of this episode I give you a few other things to consider when it comes to online course pricing and finding that sweet spot.

What can a book published in 1926 based on an ancient civilization teach us about how to handle our money, grow our businesses, and see success in our lives today? If it's The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason - it can teach us a lot! Today I'm bringing back the book reviews, starting with one of my favorite little books of all time, The Richest Man In Babylon. In this episode I break down the 3 golden nuggets from the book and how you can apply them to your life and business right now, including: How to build true wealth The secret to goal setting And why some people seem to have more "luck" than others

Do you struggle to know how to sell to your email list when it's time to launch or promote a product? Have you ever stared at a blank email screen completely at a loss for what to say that won't sound too salesy, pushy, or generic? Today I want to help you out by giving you not one, not two, but FIVE email templates you can use to sell your products to your list. These email types work great for online courses, membership sites, or even online coaching.

If you're thinking about launching a membership site this year, that's awesome! Membership sites have been a huge source of income, growth, and fun for me and my business over the years. However HOW you launch and WHEN you launch a membership site is critical to its success. Today I want to break down some practical dos and don'ts of membership site launches so you can not only make as much money as possible but help as many people as possible over a long period of time.

Every year I play a little game. I try and maintain or grow my business while working fewer and fewer hours in it. Working less is a huge part of my business model (so I can live more fully and give myself to those around me) and today I want to share with you how to do it. Specifically I want to share 3 powerful rules you should follow if you want to work less while at the same time increase your income, impact, and enjoyment of your business!

If you build and sell online courses then I have some good news for you. 2021 will likely be a good year for you. If 2020 was any indication, online courses and membership sites are only growing in popularity and demand. There are a few global trends at play here that lead me to believe this will only surge in 2021. Today I break down my prediction for digital course creators like us and the two implications for you and your business!

Every year I get away for two nights and do some focused work ON my business (as opposed to just working IN my business). I look back at the previous year and look ahead to the next, planning out specific elements of my business, schedule, and goals. This year I decided to show you my process so you can get some ideas of how to implement your own year end planning retreat. Keep in mind that you can do this retreat ANY time you like. End of the year, beginning of the year, the middle of the year. It doesn't matter. Also, feel free to adopt some of what I'm doing and tweak it to fit your goals and needs.

Making money in your online business is one thing. Knowing what to DO with it is something entirely different! I've seen so many talented people who learn how to generate a good income online, lose it just as quickly because they make one or all of these 3 critical money mistakes. I don't want that to happen to you. So I'm going to get super practical today as I expose the biggest things to watch out for as you start growing your online business.

In 2015 I was hitting a plateau in my business. I had grown my income further than I could have ever dreamed, but I was at a ceiling. On top of that, I felt alone and burned out. But then I joined my first mastermind group changed all of that for me. I got new insights, was challenged in fresh ways, and was encouraged to dream bigger and try new things. And my business grew!  Instead of looking for new knowledge, I looked for like minded entrepreneurs who were committed to my success and held me accountable. I found these in one off friendships, people I met at conferences, and multiple paid mastermind groups. Today I want to explain to you what a mastermind is (and is not), what it can do for you and your business.

Do you struggle to complete tasks in your business or stay on top of your goals? Have you felt overwhelmed by #AllTheThings and feel like you put in the work but have little income to show for it? If so, then you might be in need of a system that helps you stay productive in your online business. And by system I don't mean paying for some fancy app. I mean having a process for getting stuff done. Personally I use a stupidly simple 4 part process that helps me achieve my business and income goals, while keeping my work hours manageable and free of stress.

Let's be honest, most of the gurus and "experts" in the online business space make you feel yucky inside. Just me?! With so much garbage out there it can be hard to discern what resources are really worth your time and which experts are truly for your success. Today I thought I would make that search a little easier for you. I want to share with you 3 of my favorite online business experts and specifically 6 things I've learned from their collective wisdom. After listening to this episode, do yourself a favor and go check out their content yourself!

I don't know much about the future but one thing is certain - 2021 is going to continue to see some economic challenges world wide. Now, I'm an optimist (and history would back me up on this) so I believe that things will get better. We've been through worse. But it might be rocky for a while. If that is the case, how will your business hold up? Will you make it through the fire so to speak and live to fight another day? Today I want to give you 4 ways to pandemic proof your online business for 2021 so that you can not only survive hard times, but thrive and position yourself for long term success!

What does it take to grow your YouTube channel and get more views? Well, short of taking your clothes off or doing something incredibly shocking, it seems that gaining traction on YouTube is all up to chance. Except it's not. There is a tried and true method for getting more views, watch time, and subscribers on YouTube. In fact there are 3 powerful types of videos that perform really well on YouTube and I'd like to share them with you today.

Do you want to know the secret to wealth and prosperity? Here you go: stop focusing on yourself! Instead focus on influencing others, inspiring change in their lives, and then my friend you can't help but prosper. It really is that simple. And today I want to speak from the heart. No notes. No script. Just what I truly believe will both help you reach your income goals and make the world a better place at the same time!

Tell me if you've ever had one of these thoughts: "Who am I to teach this?" "I’m not an expert." "I don’t have any credentials." Welcome to the club my friend. According to the Journal of Behavioral Science 70% of us struggle with this thing called Imposter Syndrome, no matter how successful we are. Part of being an expert is going to be a battle with your own fears and insecurities. No way around it. However, you can become an expert in your field. In fact it's a relatively straightforward process. So clear in fact that I've outlined it all in an easy to digest and follow 7 step formula. And today I'd like to teach you that formula.

Fun fact: I'm not the only online business owner in my house. My wife (a multi six figure CEO) has been running a version of her photography business ever since we got married 15 years ago this week. And I've learned a lot about business just by observing her. So to celebrate 15 years of marriage to this amazing woman I decided to share 15 powerful and practical lessons on business that I've picked up from her over the years in the hopes that even just one of them will encourage and inspire you today in your business!

Let's play a little game of True or False when it comes to online courses. TRUE: Anyone can build and launch an online course today. FALSE: Everyone who launches an online course will make hundreds of thousands of dollars. So what is the difference maker between just launching and actually making good money with online courses? Turns out there a FEW difference makers and today I want to share them with you. I want to unpack the 3 biggest online course myths I see floating around on the Internet so you can avoid them and get to making money!

I recently surveyed over 10,000 of my students asking what their biggest goal was this year. Do you know what most people said?   To launch their first online course.   And do you know how much money most of them wanted to earn from their course specifically? $1000 per month.   Seems like a reasonable goal to me. But they haven't achieved it yet.   I then asked in the survey what is their biggest frustration, holding them back from achieving that goal. And what stood out to me was a clear thread of 4 distinct reasons why my students hadn't launched yet.   Today I want to share those 4 reasons with you in the hopes that we can break down those obstacles and help you launch an online course this year!

If you're trying to make money on YouTube or become a YouTuber then I'm here to tell you "Stop!"   If you actually want to reach your financial goals there is a much better vehicle than trying to make money on YouTube - selling online courses!   Today I'm going to break down the pros and cons of running a YouTube based business and an online course based business, give you some real numbers, and help you figure out which business model makes sense for you!

Which is better for your online business, a membership site or a Facebook group?   Are they basically the same thing? If not, how different are they? And should they be free or paid?   Today I'm going to break down the pros and cons of both a membership site and a Facebook group (including a hybrid of both) and share with you what I think is the BEST route for you to actually make more money in your online business.

I launched my first membership site way back in 2012.   And while that became a multi-six figure a year product for many years, I made a ton of newbie mistakes along the way that held it back in the early years.   In fact there are 3 critical mistakes I made that I don't want YOU to make with your first (or 5th) membership site. If you can avoid these, you can not only grow bigger but grow faster.   I've since launched two more six figure membership sites and you better believe I do things a bit differently today.   Let's jump in and make sure you are launching (or growing) your membership site the right way.

What would an extra $500 to $1,000 a month do for your world?   For most of us, that is game changing money.   You could pay off debt faster, save for your kids’ college, give more to your church, or even replace a car with cash within a year!   Or maybe you’ve got all those financial goals covered but you’d just love to LIVE a bit more in the here and now. Maybe take a much needed vacation or have money for a regular date night (babysitters ain’t cheap these days!)   Whatever the reason - having a side business that could generate extra income like that might be a dream for you.   But for many of us it remains only that, a dream.   That’s because in order to have a business that makes $500, $1000, or even $4000 a month requires time - and that is unfortunately in short supply for the majority of us!   Work, school, kids, marriage, church, friends, community, exercise, eating, sleeping - it all takes time!   So today I want to break down the task of starting an online business into 3 simple steps you can follow - even if you only have 30 minutes a day!

For the first four years of my business I did absolutely everything myself. And it worked.   That was the problem. It worked a little too well.   While my income grew so did my audience and my customer base. It got harder and harder to keep up with all of the email inquiries (both good and bad) that I found myself spending 3+ hours a day in my inbox.   After a frustrating moment on vacation (laptop in hand) I broke down and made my first hire. Today I want to share the details of that story AND give you a step by step plan to make your first hire so that you can get out of your own way and grow your business.

A couple of years ago a team conducted the largest study of millionaires ever.   They surveyed over 10,000 millionaires (people who have a net worth of at least $1M) to see what the hard data showed these successful people had in common. Or IF they had anything in common.   The survey results, put together in the book Everyday Millionaires by Chris Hogan, are fascinating. And encouraging!   What I found most intriguing were 6 habits that the majority of millionaires have that are so insanely simple that you can I can copy them right now - and today I want to share those with you!

It used to be that the wealthy would flaunt their status by spending copious amounts of money on things like fancy purses, expensive cars, and massive mansions.   But have we as a culture become so sick and twisted that we now try and flaunt how hard we work as the new status symbol of choice?   Today I'm pulling back the curtain on a pervasive shift in what we take pride in as Americans, starting with three of the world's top CEOs - and then bringing it all the way down to you and me.

Have you ever felt stuck in your online business journey, unable to reach a consistent amount of income every month?   That's what one of my students, Stephen, told me in my Six Figure Coaching Community just the other day. He's been teaching guitar for 10 years and creating content online for a long time - and yet he's unable to reach $1000 a month in revenue.   He expressed discouragement that some people seem to make money easily online while others (like himself) struggle.   My response to him was straightforward. Making $1000 a month (or any amount) consistently and reliably comes down to two simple things. Today I want to break them down for you and do a case study on how Stephen (and you) can pull it off.

Oh Internet Marketers, what are we going to do with you guys?!   Today I've gotta rant about what I'm seeing as the worst Internet Marketing strategy right now and why you should do the opposite of what they tell you.   And it's not just the sleaze bags in this industry - some of the good guys and gals do this and it just drives me bonkers!   After I share what the strategy is and why I don't like (or use) it, I'll give you four reasons why doing the opposite of what they preach actually will help you grow your business faster!

I know I'm the guy always telling you to start an online business, build passive income, and launch a digital product, but I honestly don't want you to start down that path until you've heard what I'm about to say.   As much as everyone makes running an online business look glamorous, it has a dark side.   Actually, it has three dark sides. And today I want to share with you those three biggest negatives to online business. But that's not all.   I want to share with you three ways you can redeem those negatives and turn them into positives so you can start or run an online business that thrives!

Why would someone buy your course if there is so much information available for free?   This is probably the number one question I get from students. And it’s a logical one given how much amazingly helpful information is out there for free with just a single Google search.   It’s an even bigger question when you start to regularly give away a ton of your own great content for free. It’s almost as if your own free stuff is competing with your paid stuff.   But that’s simply not true.   Today I'm breaking down the 3 key reasons why people will happily pay for your premium online course or membership, even with the proliferation of solid free content.

If you are slowly building an audience through a blog, podcast, or YouTube channel but have yet to make good money from it, you might not be monetizing the right way (or at all).   While there are a lot of ways to make a living online, I find that most bloggers, podcasters, and YouTubers who make a full time living use one (or all) of 6 core monetization models.   That's right - there are 6 ways to make money with your online audience and today I want to break down all them so you can decide which one(s) is right for you!

I believe the single most underutilized piece of real estate on your website is the "thank you" page that your people see when they opt in to your email list.   If you think about it, that page is the only thing 100% of your email subscribers see.   I hope a lightbulb just went off.   Because if it did, then you my friend are waking up to possible one of the simplest and easiest ways to increase revenue in your business right now.   It's something I call the Thank You Page Strategy and today I'd like to show you a few ways to make it work in your favor.

Have you ever felt icky about selling?   Has it been hard for you to form your thoughts clearly and have it come across as genuine and not too much like marketing speak?   Or maybe you're asking yourself these questions:   Does long form sales copy still work?   Do you need to be using it in your sales pages?   Today I'm going to give you my answer and speak to the 3 critical truths about sales copy - no matter what you're selling.

I always thought there was one defining quality of a successful entrepreneur - a high risk tolerance. To me, every successful business owner I had known or read about did something risky and seemingly was unafraid the whole time. So a scaredy-cat like me wasn't going to make it in business. I didn't like the unstable nature of freelance work when I tried it early on so I figured entrepreneurship wasn't for me. I couldn't have been more wrong. Turns out a high risk tolerance isn't necessary for being successful. And in fact, there are OTHER more important qualities that DO lead to success. Three to be exact. Today I'd like to share all three with you. And the good news? You can learn these qualities even if they don't come naturally.

In an ever growing ocean of content online, what is going to make yours stand out?   How can you ensure people not only checkout your videos, articles, or podcasts but also love them, engage with them, and more importantly take the next step of diving deeper in the relationship with you and your brand?   Well it's all in how you structure things.   Today I'm sharing with you my 5 part formula for crafting the piece of content that has served me well for over a decade.

It’s been almost 90 days since the official designation of this global pandemic.   Back in early March I had NO CLUE what was going to happen to my businesses in light of COVID-19. Now I do.   Specifically I see 4 key takeaways from this situation that have proven true in my businesses and I think can apply to yours.   My hope is that this episode will encourage you and give you wisdom as to how to navigate your business in the wake of our current economic climate.

It's been an intense week here in the US.   In the wake of the brutal killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis there has been a nationwide outpouring of anger and desperation in the form of protests. Including in my city, Tampa Florida.   I had some content pre-recorded for today but I felt the need to pause and address this horrific situation - and really the systemic racism that has been a part of my country for over 400 years.   Specifically I have 3 thoughts on the situation and I hope you'll take a few minutes to listen in.

I'm sick and tired of all the "gurus" online talking about passive income in front of a Ferrari. It just makes me feel icky and uncomfortable.   And I teach people how to build passive income too!   Today I want to cut through the hype and just give it to you straight. Passive income is a beautiful reality and there are 3 core ways to create it online.   I'm going to give you the truth about all 3 ways including pros and cons for each and I'll start by sharing two huge prefaces about passive income that you have to understand.   I hope you enjoy!

I'm a huge fan of passive income. Virtually 90% of my businesses are automated.   So you can imagine how I felt when a troll on YouTube recently left me this comment: "Living on passive income is immoral and does nothing to advance society."   Is he right?   Not by a long shot! Time to bust some myths and faulty assumptions !

So many online business owners are obsessed with getting that magical "k" at the end of their Instagram follower count.   Or hitting 10k and getting the all elusive "swipe up" feature!   The reason? They want to grow their business.   But does having a larger following/presence on Instagram really help you make more money?   Not really.   What most entrepreneurs should be focused on is putting out strategic YouTube videos instead. And in today's video I break down not only WHY YouTube is a better platform than Instagram if you actually want to make more money but HOW to do it right.

One of the best things you can do in life is to commit to creating more than you consume.   I know the economists want to label all of us humans as "consumers" and in some senses it's true - consuming doesn't have to define us.   But in reality it does.   Most people consume TV, video games, YouTube videos, and social media content FAR more than they create anything.   If you want to have a successful business, heck if you just want to have a happier and more fulfilling LIFE than you need to create MORE than you consume.   Today I breakdown four reasons why.

If it seems like a lot of work to build an online business, you're right.   But that doesn't mean that you HAVE to wait until you've built up a big list and finished a massive flagship online course or membership to be able to sell something.   In fact you could build, launch, and sell a simple mini course in the next few weeks pretty effortlessly if need money quickly.   In today's video I break down what the difference is between a mini course and a full fledged online course, and step by step how to build, price, and sell your own!

Have you ever been scared to put yourself out there and start sharing content with the world?   Scared that people will criticize what you say or question your credibility?   Afraid that you'll make a mistake and say something foolish?   Afraid that none of what you do will actually work and create the income you really need?   Welcome to the club.   I've been scared since Day 1 of my business, and today I'm here to tell you that's OK.   In fact I want to walk you down memory lane and open up about every moment I've been scared to death in my business, including recently.   I hope you find this encouraging.

Now is the time to be creating as much content for your brand as possible.   And while that can seem like a daunting task, I personally can attest to the fact that live video is practically the easiest and fastest way to do that.   Not only is it easy, it can help you grow your audience (and business) faster than just about any other method!   In today's video I reveal the 3 ways live video can help you grow fast + I break down how to best structure your live videos so maximize growth and minimize awkwardness :-)

Right now it's looking like we are heading for some kind of global recession. And what's fascinating to me is some of the world's most profitable companies were started in the throws of a recession (think Apple, Microsoft, and Disney) In facts recessions and economic downturns create more millionaires than almost any other time. So my question for you is: why shouldn't YOU become one? Today I want to break down 3 things you should be doing right now to benefit from this down season and position yourself to build wealth long term.

How come so many businesses are being forced to shut down during this economic crisis when they just finished a decade of incredible prosperity?! Where did all that money go? And more importantly what should YOU being doing right now to ensure your future prosperity? Today I break down three critical lessons that this crisis just taught us.

I don't know where you stand on social media use - whether you love it, hate it, or fall somewhere in between.   But I am about to quit social media (Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter) for a full year.   And in this video I'm going to share with you the 5 reasons why.

Do you struggle with that tension of wanting to promote your online course or membership to your audience but without feeling sleazy, pushy, or like your constantly selling?   We all know that guru, or business you follow that seems to be launching something new every single week and flooding our inboxes with promotional emails.   We definitely don't want to be THAT guy (or girl).   Well today I want to share with you my framework for how I sell, on the regular, without burning out my audience.

Have you ever launched a product that got zero sales?   Or sold so few that you feel like giving up?   Welcome to the club.   But the question in your mind might be "Is there something that I'm missing?"   Or, "Am I just not cut out for this online business thing?!"   Today I want to share with you my method for creating products that are virtually guaranteed to sell.

Did you know there are two primary ways business owners see the world?   You either have an abundance mentality or mindset OR you have a scarcity mindset.   The difference between the two can be life or death for your business, no matter what your current circumstances are.   In today's episode I break down the difference between these two opposing mindsets and then share with you what I call The Abundance Formula!   (And yes I made that up - but it's still game changing!)

Sometimes I think we make marketing and selling way too complicated.   I was reminded of this just the other day when my 10 year old daughter Chloe explained to me how she sold a bunch of product in this business simulation event she participated in.   She went from selling hardly anything all morning, to clearing out her entire store inventory in the afternoon - all by making two simple changes to her approach!   Let's break them down today...

There's a reason why I make fun of Facebook Ads so much in my content.   Simply put, there is a MUCH better way to grow your business than running ads.   There is a marketing strategy that no one seems to want to talk about, and yet it works day and night for me and my businesses.   Today I want to share that strategy with you and give you 5 reasons why it is truly the best and most effective way to market your products!

Everybody wants to be "the best" at what they do in career and business.   Instead, I believe you should focus on simply being good enough.   When you focus on trying to be the best there are 4 key consequences that people fail to realize.   But when you focus instead on just being good enough to make a living there are 3 key benefits that follow.   Sound crazy? Let's discuss!

Are you afraid to start a business because you feel that the topic or niche you're serving is an oversaturated market?   Are you stuck in a business that you've already started and think it's because of market saturation?   What if I told you that market saturation is actually a good thing?   That might sound a bit crazy but trust me it's true.   Today I want to help change your mindset on market saturation plus give you three tips to start (or grow) your business even if the market is saturated!

There’s this “motivational” video on YouTube that’s a compilation of Elon Musk interviews (billionaire founder of Tesla and Space X) called WORK EVERY WAKING HOUR.   In it Musk actually shares some fascinating thoughts that I found very inspiring indeed - but I was intrigued to hear what this “work every waking hour” thing was really about.   About half way through the video it cuts to an interview where Musk says the following:    “When my brother and I were starting our first company, instead of renting an apartment we rented a small office and slept on the couch and we showered at the YMCA.   We had one computer, so the website was up during the day and I was coding at night. 7 days a week. All the time. I briefly had a girlfriend at that time and in order to be with me she had to sleep at the office.   Work hard. Every waking hour. That’s the thing I would say, particularly if you’re starting a company”   Wow! We have a lot to discuss...

In a world of powerful data and analytics tools at our fingertips, could looking at the numbers actually be hurting our business and growth potential?   I mean, the quote goes: "What gets measured, gets managed" right?! Maybe.   Today I want to uncover the darker side of our insatiable appetite for analytics and make the case that there's a better way to grow your business than looking at the numbers.

I’ve always heard the average millionaire has 7 or more streams of income. Meaning they earn income from 7 different sources.   As compared to say the average worker in America which has exactly one stream of income - their job.   Over the years I've slowly built up to 10 streams of income myself (not including my wife's business) and in today's episode I break down exactly what they are and give you 6 ways you can begin adding some more streams of income to your life!

Things ain't what they used to be when it comes to online business.   If you are running or building your business and presence online in 2020 like many of us did in the past 5 years you probably won't hit your income goals this year.   Or worse, you'll have to shut your online business down entirely.   Today I want to kick off the new year by sharing with you 3 huge mistakes I see online business owners making in today's landscape that will hold your business back in 2020.   Let's discuss!

As the New Year rolls in and everyone is excited about making resolutions and becoming a better person, I feel like there is a huge missed opportunity.   Instead of announcing bold new goals to the world for 2020 that have no basis in reality, there is something more strategic you and I can do.   In fact it's a simple question that you should ask yourself (and your spouse if you're married).   It's a question my wife and I ask each year as we wind down and look ahead to the next 12 months.   And it's a question that has so much potential to change your life.

We all are in the business of selling something and a transaction must take place in order to pay our bills - but are you too focused on selling your thing that you get the order of things backwards?   Instead of selling and then giving our customers the thing they bought (and hopefully good service) what if we gave BEFORE we ever sold anything?   Today I want to share with you not only WHY this is so powerful for your business (i.e. it will help you sell more) but 6 practical ways to actually implement this giving strategy in real life.  

Which would you rather have: a $1 Million product or a $1 Million launch?   It's kind of a trick question as million dollar launches are virtually impossible for most people to pull off and can create a TON of stress and pressure if the revenue is necessary for your survival.   Plus, even if you DO someone hit a $1M launch there's no guarantee you can repeat yourself.   Having a product sell $1M over a few years time nice and consistently with virtually no work is much more appealing - and realistic!   I'm a big fan of slow and reliable growth. It’s the tortoise vs the hare approach.   What does this look like practically? Building an evergreen model of online business verses a launch model. Let's break down the differences.

How often do we get tripped up in business (and life) because we are trying to run someone else's race and not our own?   How often does comparison and jealousy lead down the path of wasted time and discontentment?   What would it look like in 2020 if you simply ran your OWN race in business?   How much more joy and freedom would you have? How much more could you get DONE?!   The question becomes then: what does it take to practice "selective ignorance" and run your own race?   Today I have three things for you that will help you do just that!

In a sea of ever growing content and media it’s getting harder and harder to stand out. Safe, predictable, expected content won’t cut it. And I’d argue it never did. One of your power tools to growing your audience and consequently your income is to create polarizing content - content that divides. Sound scary? Welcome to the club. But you know what is scarier? Having nobody listen to what you have to say.

Can I go on a rant for a minute? If you're looking to start a business, you will never have everything lined up or figured out perfectly before you launch. Never. And this is true for one simple reason: things change. Constantly! The secret then to creating a lasting profitable brand is to two fold: start now and evolve later. Both verbs (start and evolve) are crucial. Let me give you some examples that will drive this home.

Want some "low hanging fruit" type easy ways to increase revenue in your business? Then it's time to realize an important truth in business: there is no “one price fits all” scenario. If you have only one tier/option for your product at one price you’re making a mistake. Some people will be glad to spend more with you if you only offered more value.  Your job is simple: give people the option to give you more money! That's what tiered pricing is all about and exactly what we're talking about in today's episode!

There's nothing really special about me or my business that allows me to run it in under 5 hours a week.   I've simply followed a 4 step process over the past 10 years that have allowed me to reduce my work hours little by little, each year.   And the good news is you can follow that same 4 step process.   Maybe your goal isn't 5 hours like me. Maybe it's just 20 hours a week but with a six figure business. That would be sweet.   Let me show you how!

Here's a secret to have a successful business: you don’t need to innovate, just add value. That's right - you don't need some once in a lifetime, original idea to make a good living. And you certainly don't need to be in front of the "wave" in order to make a profit. You simply need to find ways to add value to people day in and day out. Today I'm going to give you 7 different ways you can do just that.

One of my students recently grew her email list by 25X in just one week! What's her secret? That's what I'll be discussing in today's episode. The fastest way to get more subscribers on your email list so you can sell more product and grow your business.

Every good story or movie follows the same 7 element pattern. Without one of these 7 elements, audiences rarely connect with the story and it has no impact. Ironically the best way to sell your product to the world is to use the exact same 7 elements in your sales copy, positioning, and branding. Author turned marketing coach, Donald Miller, wrote an incredible book called Building A StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen and in today's episode I want to break down each of these 7 elements so you can apply them to YOUR business.

People over profit sounds like a nice idea. But is it really a wise business philosophy? Granted, profit over people sounds like a recipe for disaster but is the idea of focusing on people and letting the profitability of our businesses take care of itself a smart move? The answer might surprise you!

If you need to dramatically increase revenue in your business then you need to charge more.   It's that simple.   But by charge more I don't simply mean just increase your prices (although that might be in order).   I mean you need to create and offer some premium products or services that cost a lot more than your base line stuff.   But what if you are racking your brain and wondering: "What will my people actually pay me more for?"   You're in the right place my friend.   In most businesses around the world we see time and time again that there are 3 things people will almost certainly pay more for.

Email is taking over our lives as business owners.   We spend hours and hours inside our inboxes many of us trying to “manage” our email and achieve what’s called “Inbox Zero” where we clear out our email inbox each day.   What a giant waste of time!   Today I want to break down the 3 biggest mistakes we are making with email each day and then I want to show you a better way.   Specifically I'm going to show you my 4 steps to handling email like a boss - so you can ACTUALLY make money and grow your business!

I recently got an email from Hannah and she asked a great question:   "Should I sign up for Kajabi now even though I'm not making any money or should I use cheap alternatives until I'm making enough to switch to Kajabi?"   Now - as an unapologetic Kajabi evangelist you know where I stand on Kajabi. It's the absolute best platform to run your entire online business on.   I use it to run a million dollar a year business.   But it's not the cheapest game in town.   If you're starting out and don't have a lot of money (or any money) coming in, does it still make sense for you to build your business on Kajabi?   I answer that question today.   Also - you can grab your 28 day free trial of Kajabi + the 28 day challenge training videos here: http://GrahamCochrane.com/Kajabi

Some days I just feel like I'm one giant phony.   If you've ever asked the questions: "Who am I to create this business/content/product?"   or   "I'm not an expert, why should people listen to me?" then welcome to the club.   What club is that?   Club Imposter Syndrome. And yes - it's a real problem.   Today I want to be candid about how I've struggled with feeling like an imposter in both of my businesses over the years and share the 3 steps you can take to beat it.

I used to scramble for content ideas for my business. I’d sit at my computer staring at a blank screen waiting for a good video or blog post idea to come. Basically I was "winging" my content strategy (if you can call that a strategy) and I hated every minute of it. I've since changed my ways. These days I actually map out a year's worth of content in advance. That's right - 12 months of content - all pre planned out before the year begins. And the best part? I do this all in one day. Today I want to show you how you can do the same.

As a business owner you should always be investing in your future and building wealth. Last episode we talked about cash flow management for your business (bank accounts, taxes, paying yourself a salary, setting aside profit).  We then talked about there being 3 things you should do with your business profit (after reinvesting in your business) and the first one was build cash reserves. Today let's talk about the other 2 things - and they both revolve around investing.

How you handle the money and finances in your business will make or break you.   If you don't have a strategy and system to manage the cash flow each and every month - even when the numbers are small - you are headed for stress and trouble when both the good and the bad times come.   Over the next two weeks I'm going to dive deep into how I handle the money in my business and give you some frameworks you can follow in yours.   Today we're going to talk about the foundations of a healthy business: cash flow, paying yourself, and handling expenses, taxes, and profit.

What does it take to earn six figures a year? Well it depends on who you ask. Personally I believe there are a few myths floating out there about the subject and I want to bust them right here and right now. Today I'm tackling 3 myths in particular when it comes to earning $100,000 a year or more in your business so you know the truth and better achieve your goals!

Selling via a webinar can be a powerful strategy when launching or promoting one of your online courses or memberships (or heck, even coaching spots!) But HOW you run your webinar can be the difference between a fun live training and a profitable one. Today I want to share with you 4 keys to running profitable webinar, one in which your attendees get massive up front value and you convert more of them into buyers!

Overwhelm is the problem of our day. Too much information is overwhelming. Too much conflicting information is overwhelming. On top of that, our lives are too busy to take the time to comb through and make sense of it all even if we could! In every niche there is overwhelm and that means smart people (like you) can create a business opportunity by simplifying the topic and helping people get results faster. You don’t have to be the “expert” on the subject - you just need to help simplify things for the beginner and give them clarity and a path forward. In today's episode I want to give you a 3 step process you can start TODAY to help turn your audience's overwhelm into an opportunity to start or grow your business!

Should you use YouTube or Facebook as the primary tool to grow your business? I say, why not use both?! They are each totally different animals with different strengths and weaknesses - but when harnessed together you can create an audience building, business growing machine! Today I'm giving you a simple 4 step strategy you can use to leverage both of these powerful tools to grow your business and put more money in your pocket!

My first course launched back in 2010 to the sad tune of about $170. My most recent course launch did over $170,000. It's safe to say I've gotten a lot better at this thing. But in thinking back to that original online course that started it all for me I can identify three critical mistakes I made that seriously hampered my revenue. Granted I had a much smaller audience back then, but even so I could have easily made more money had I avoided these three mistakes - and so can you with you first (or tenth!) online course. Let's take a time machine back almost 10 years ago and learn from Graham's stupidity and ignorance

Today I’m going to give you a path way to earning different (and better) types of income. This pathway will help you not only earn more money but work less as well. One of my favorite books of all time is Robert Kiyosaki’s follow up to Rich Dad Poor Dad - a book called The Cashflow Quadrant. The Cashflow Quadrant shows how there are really only 4 ways we can make money. Two of them are taxed at the highest rates and require the most effort. The other two ways are taxed the least and require far less effort. These are the two ways I try to make a living and I would encourage you to do the same as well.

Smartphones are like fire: when controlled they can provide heat and help you cook a meal - but when they get out of control they can burn your entire life to the ground. We used to leave our work at the office or at our place of business. Now it not only follows us home, but it follows in the bathroom, on our lunch break, and in our car while we commute. This “always on” mode is slowly but surely burning us out as we are never truly free from our work. Today I want to share with you: - 4 ways that your phone is keeping you chained to your work - 3 steps to free yourself from your phone - and finally 3 benefits from being off your phone more. Let's dive in!

When it comes to selling your stuff, the words you use matter. And while there are a million ways to write effective sales copy, I've found that underneath every effective sales pitch (or page or email or Instagram post) are three key steps. Today I'm going to walk you through each of these 3 steps so you can begin incorporating them into your sales messaging and start generating more revenue!

When you run a business, whether you know it or not or verbalize it or not, you are putting something and someone first. There is a pecking order or a list of priorities. It could be the shareholders, you as the CEO, or just generally profit at any cost. This leads to underpaying employees, making cheaper goods that don’t last, and a whole host of other awful things. But what would businesses look like if they were more selfless? I've discovered that if you become others focused instead of self focused in your business, you gain four tremendous benefits.

Is it better to launch your business without a product or to build the product first and then launch? I have two friends who have approached their online businesses two different ways and in today’s video I break down which one is more strategic and why. If you’ve ever been unsure about the best way to start your business (product or content first) this will help!

What if I told you that your refund policy could determine how many sales you get and how your brand is perceived in the marketplace? Today I want to address the concept of "risk transfer" and how it is a powerful tool you can use to increase revenue, delight customers, and give you a competitive edge in your niche.

One of the things I get asked about more than anything else is the fact that I don’t work on Fridays. Ever. I’m such a fan of 3 day weekends that I not only tell people about it, but I think YOU should be taking Fridays off as well First let’s talk to the business owner - then we’ll address the employee who is starting a business on the side.

There are two ways to look at other businesses or brands in your niche who do virtually the same thing you do: They are your competitors They are your collaborators You get to decide which one they are.

What if you could make a few simple adjustments to your business workflow and give yourself a nice 30% raise this year? Well you can, and today I'm going to share with you three powerful income boosting levers you can dial up to give yourself that much needed raise in your business.

One of the smartest things you could do to grow your business online is to give away your best content for free. What?! Then how can you still sell courses and memberships if you give away your best stuff? I break all of that down in today's episode!

Is it really risky to start a business? I submit to you it's actually riskier NOT to! Today we're going to talk about the power of multiple streams of income and how it's actually safer (and smarter) to start your own online business, even on the side.

There are 4 key elements (or pillars) to creating any type of passive income. No matter what you sell these 4 pillars must exist in some way shape or form in order for you to be able to create sustainable, hands free, automatic income in your life. Today I break down each of these pillars in depth so that you can begin to create your own passive income stream!

Are you harnessing the simple power of authenticity to grow your brand? Perhaps, like me, at times you've been caught up in trying to run your business the way you think you are "supposed" to run it and presenting yourself as you think you "should" present. Today I want to share with you the power of what Bob Burg and John David Mann call The Law of Authenticity and how it can help you and your business thrive.