To experience the freedom that entrepreneurship can provide, you need to learn how to let go of certain responsibilities and let others lead.    In this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I provide some tips on how to let team members take ownership of more responsibility and what that process looks like.    In many cases, people confuse delegation with letting others lead. Delegating new tasks can be a step toward moving someone into a different role, but you’re still overly involved in the process. The goal is to have others take complete ownership over their role without your daily guidance.    When moving someone into a manager-type role, it's best to set a hard deadline for when they are expected to fully take charge. It's okay to provide occasional support but you want them to be able to problem-solve on their own.   During this process, you should provide a detailed job description, clearly define a team member’s new expectations, and outline what success looks like. If problems do come up, try to avoid immediately jumping back in. If you are always there to come to the rescue, your new leader will stay reliant on you. Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching.   This episode is brought to you by Zapier   My companies could not do what they do without Zapier. We use Zapier to automate tasks and connect all of our various web applications together. It could be connecting Airtable to Slack, our invoicing software to Airtable, our Project Management tool to Payroll… the integrations we use it for are endless. If you aren’t using Zapier, get on the bandwagon and try it out at Zapier.com

There are many shifts you go through as an entrepreneur. And there most definitely will be a time when the tactics and mindsets that worked for you previously will need to be updated in order to level up.   In this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I discuss the importance of continuing to evolve as an entrepreneur and why there are always new challenges awaiting you throughout your entrepreneurial journey.   Many entrepreneurs think things will get easier as they reach certain milestones, however, new problems show up at each level of entrepreneurship. Just when you think you have a skill set mastered, things get challenging again when more money and business scale are involved. If you try to rely on the skills and attitudes that got you to this point without further growth, you’ll not only halt progress but actually shrink when faced with new market and business conditions.   For these reasons, I highly recommend working with an advisor or coach who has been through the different stages of entrepreneurship. They will help uncover your blind spots so that you’re able to evolve and tackle the next stage of your journey.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching.

Digital agencies are very different from traditional businesses, thus buyers and sellers of these agencies need to approach M&A in a particular way.   In this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I sit down with Amanda Dixon, co-founder of Barney, to discuss how agency owners should be thinking about M&A to maximize their exit. We also talk about what buyers are looking for when acquiring digital agencies. Amanda shares that M&A for digital agencies requires a different approach because the focus is on the human capital of an agency versus tangible assets, which is the case with many traditional businesses. She also notes that sellers of agencies are typically younger with long careers ahead of them. This creates unique deal structures. To minimize their risk, Amanda says buyers prefer agencies with a lot of recurring retainer revenue and a more robust management team. Smaller freelance teams with project-based revenue are inherently riskier for buyers. For agency owners looking to sell, Amanda says not to be scared of scaling up before your exit. Reaching a few more key financial milestones can go a long way for increasing your multiple on the sale. Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching. Resources: https://www.vidyard.com/podcast/nopants/ https://contentallies.com/ https://www.wearebarney.com/

Though making money is a key goal of any business, many business owners aren’t very financially savvy. If you’re a business owner that simply hands off your finances to a bookkeeper without involving yourself at all, you’ll likely have a finance problem at some point in time.   In this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I discuss the importance of understanding your business’s finances and provide some useful tips to start becoming more financially literate.   Many entrepreneurs don’t consider themselves “finance people,” but that line of thinking will negatively impact their business at some point or another. Though bookkeeping may not be your strong suit, it’s important to educate yourself to make informed business decisions based on your books.   Gaining a better understanding of your books and finances will allow you to set a realistic and predictable salary month after month. It will also allow you to maintain clean and actionable books, which is vital if you ever want to sell your business. Furthermore, taking control of your finances will reduce a lot of stress and chaos for you and your business.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching. Resources:  https://www.vidyard.com/podcast/nopants/ https://contentallies.com/ https://www.smokymountaintax.com/ https://www.financeforagencies.com/ Profit First Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits

When building a business or starting a new entrepreneurial pursuit, we tend to handle many of the day-to-day tasks ourselves. And though working this way is fine for a while, at some point you need to turn that chaos into an orderly system.   In this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I explore the importance of building systems and why they are needed in order to scale your business in an organized and predictable way.    If you’re new to building systems within your business, it can seem daunting. The key to remember, though, is that you don’t have to be an expert at building systems — you simply need to understand them enough to be able to eventually hire a master to optimize your basic frameworks. If a system has decent bones, a specialist will be able to come in and take that system to the next level of efficiency.   I always recommend starting your system-building efforts by focusing on lower-value work that you want off your plate and then moving on to higher-level work. This will bring you more immediate freedom, allow you to refine your system-building skills, and ultimately help you understand what it will take to systematize higher-level roles or tasks down the line.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching.   Resources: https://www.vidyard.com/podcast/nopants/ https://contentallies.com/ https://add1zero.co/ https://www.process.st/ https://www.amazon.com/Built-Sell-Creating-Business-Without/dp/1591845823 https://www.amazon.com/Work-System-Fourth-Mechanics-Working/dp/1626347697 https://www.amazon.com/Clockwork-Design-Your-Business-Itself/dp/0525534016     - - -  This episode is brought to you by Lead Cookie Lead Cookie is a B2B lead generation agency that focuses on quality above all else. Tired of getting burned by low-quality spammy agencies who over-promise and fail to deliver results. Then reach out to us to experience the difference at LeadCookie.com

One of the most common mistakes I see business owners and marketers make is spreading their marketing efforts across too many channels. The focus needs to be on the scalability of a few channels instead of getting caught up in launching as many campaigns as possible.   In this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I share my insight on how you should be thinking about marketing in order to produce real results for your business.    To see which marketing channels will work best for your business, some testing is required. Typically, you should be able to see if a channel is working within about three months. Once you find a channel that works, I recommend doubling down on that channel and scaling it up. You can repeat this process with any other channel you think might work.   By focusing on a few channels that produce predictable results, you will not only have consistent leads coming in but will reduce the time and energy you need to spend on marketing. With a repeatable process in place, you can easily delegate those marketing efforts to someone other than yourself.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching.   Resources https://www.vidyard.com/podcast/nopants/ https://contentallies.com/

Many people expect quick wins from outbound and if they don’t see results in a few months, they drop it altogether. This is unfortunate because the real power of outbound comes from your ability to build outbound as a long-term growth channel for your business.   In the new episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, Isaac Marsh, Partner at Lead Cookie, joins me to discuss how people should be thinking about outbound and why it's such a sustainable growth channel.   We kick off the show by discussing the fact that more people are realizing that quality beats quantity when it comes to outbound leads. If you’re selling high-ticket packages, one client can pay for all your future outbound efforts. Though an outbound agency may guarantee you a set amount of leads, none of those deals will close if the quality isn't there.    We also highlight how outbound gives you long-term brand exposure and helps you stay top of mind for when prospects are ready to buy. Though you might not close a deal today, you can gauge where a prospect is in their buying cycle. This gives you the ammo you need to nurture that lead and form a strategy for when that lead is ready. Want to learn how Lead Cookie can help with your outbound efforts? Feel free to reach out to us today.   Resources: https://www.vidyard.com/podcast/nopants/ https://www.leadcookie.com/   This episode is brought to you by Lead Cookie Lead Cookie is a B2B lead generation agency that focuses on quality above all else. Tired of getting burned by low-quality spammy agencies who over-promise and fail to deliver results. Then reach out to us to experience the difference at LeadCookie.com

Traveling or engaging in other activities outside of work is always great. But trying to fit in a full week of work in a three- to four-day period to accommodate these activities can be stressful if not approached correctly. Instead of feeling anxious about getting everything done, I’ve found it’s best to re-prioritize work and focus on the essentials.   In this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I share my journey of how I’ve come to love a three- to four-day workweek while still being able to accomplish everything I need to.    My first tip if you’re feeling overwhelmed while trying to manage work with play is to take a step back and ask yourself, “What happens if I don’t get XYZ tasks done this week?” What you’ll find is that many of the things you’re stressing about can be pushed back without any consequences. Making this paradigm shift isn’t about making an excuse to be lazy, but rather it’s about supporting your mental health while being fully engaged on the days you are working.    Minimizing your workweek can actually bring about more productivity on the tasks that really matter and allow you more freedom to pursue your interests outside of work.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching Resources: https://www.vidyard.com/podcast/nopants/ https://contentallies.com/ https://www.leadcookie.com/

In this special episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, Isaac Marsh joins me to discuss our new business venture, CustomData.ai. At a high level, Custom Data scrapes the internet looking for prospects with your specific intent signals to buy. We gather this intent data and deliver you and your sales team hand qualified leads every single week. Not only is this data immediately actionable, but it gives you all the details you need to confidently approach your outbound efforts. We discuss the key things our research team looks for, including companies that are hiring for roles relevant to your business, decision-makers changing positions, funding or expansion news, and RFPs (request for proposals). Furthermore, you receive the exact contact information for the stakeholders you need to talk to in order to gain new business. We also talk about how Custom Data is able to help you build out a custom CRM of prospects that fit your buyer criteria. Instead of wasting time searching through mediocre databases, you’ll have a pipeline of pre-qualified leads your sales team can contact right away. If you’re interested in learning more about how Custom Data can help you get more deals, feel free to reach out to us at https://www.customdata.ai/.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching Resources: https://www.vidyard.com/podcast/nopants/ https://www.customdata.ai/ isaac@customdata.ai

Many outbound agencies focus on delivering high quantities of leads but leave much to be desired in regards to the quality of those leads.  Though playing the numbers game can work to an extent, we believe there are better outbound strategies that reduce the risk of damaging your agency’s reputation and at the same time bring qualified leads to your clients. In the new episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, Isaac Marsh, Partner at Leader Cookie, joins me to explore how we have seen the outbound industry evolve and how agencies should be thinking about outbound. We discuss the issue of misaligned expectations between agencies and their clients regarding the results clients want to achieve. These agencies promise a certain amount of leads, but this number is really just a vanity metric. To serve clients best, you need to understand their true needs and develop a campaign that puts them in front of their ideal clients. We also describe why outbound has more benefits than just closing deals in a short amount of time. These benefits include getting precise on your ideal clients, expanding your network of influence, and creating a long-term pipeline of potential clients.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching   Resources: https://www.vidyard.com/podcast/nopants/ isaac@leadcookie.com https://contentallies.com/

If you’ve been a user of LinkedIn over the years, you’ve probably witnessed the shift from it being a very relationship-focused platform, to one where your inbox is filled with spammy messages and connection requests. For these reasons, LinkedIn has reduced the number of connection requests you can send from 2,500 per month to 100 per week. This is bad news for those that spray-and-pray connection requests, but it's extremely beneficial for those that already focus on quality outbound efforts. In this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I sit down with Isaac Marsh, Partner at Lead Cookie, to discuss these changes and explore why hand-qualifying leads and boosting the quality of your outbound efforts is necessary for success when prospecting on LinkedIn. We describe why these changes force you to respect your prospects’ time and how the reduction in “noise” is creating better engagement with outreach efforts. We also talk about how focusing on quality with outbound ultimately saves you time, generates leads that you can actually close, and disqualifies bad leads before you waste time hopping on a call with them. For the sustainability of the platform, we think this is the right move for LinkedIn and look forward to the benefits it will bring.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching   Resources: https://www.vidyard.com/podcast/nopants/ https://www.leadcookie.com/ https://contentallies.com/

When productizing services, it can be a challenge to figure out how to package and price those services. Additionally, having the discipline to stick to a productized framework is often more difficult than people realize. In this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I share a methodology that has helped me productize services successfully, and the benefits it can bring to your business. In essence, I recommend building three core packages to align with different tiers of service, as well as offering à la carte options you can use to customize packages as needed.  This will streamline your sales process, reducing the time spent negotiating with clients. It also helps keep your operations team organized and able to scale more efficiently and quickly. It’s also important to have your packaging and pricing information organized on a simple rate card that you can easily share with clients. There may be cases where you alter pricing for specific clients, but the line items stay the same. If you can be diligent about following a productized framework like the one above, you’ll minimize your team’s workload and have less confusion about your services.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching   Resources: https://www.vidyard.com/podcast/nopants/ https://contentallies.com/

Work-life balance is crucial for the sustainability of any entrepreneur.  Most of us have some method, activity, or way to find this balance, but sometimes this balance can only be found through the prioritization of your tasks at hand. In this episode of the Working Without Pants Podcast, I share an effective framework of prioritization I have been using to find more work-life balance. The framework is quite simple. You start by organizing your work tasks and projects into three categories: 1) needs, 2) shoulds, 3) wants. Needs are those tasks that absolutely need to get done in order for your business to continue functioning without anything negative happening. Shoulds are those tasks that don’t need to get done immediately but should get done in the near future to help grow your business. Finally, wants are those things that could potentially help your business, but there’s really no downside to not doing them. If you’re in need of a recharge, simply focus on your needs for a week and then see where you’re at. You would be surprised how freeing it can be to prioritize your work in this way.  Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching. Resources:  https://www.vidyard.com/podcast/nopants/ https://contentallies.com/

Building and implementing robust processes and systems for your business is a must when trying to create more efficiency and scalability within your business. In this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I sit down with Corey Northcutt, Founder and CEO at Northcutt, to discuss the processes he has built for his SEO enterprise agency, and why using a credit-based pricing model was the right fit for his business. Corey notes that when offering technical services with many steps such as with SEO auditing, a credit-based pricing model allows you to stay more agile and helps with upfront planning of deliverables. Another benefit of using a credit-based pricing model, according to Corey, is that it eliminates the need for time tracking. When everyone knows what needs to be done and can deliver on schedule, day-to-day tracking isn’t all that important. He says it can initially be a challenge for clients to understand a credit-based system, but as long as you’re delivering high quality work and have your value specs properly documented, it doesn’t cause much fuss. Corey closes the show by sharing his insight around system development lifecycles and some of the tools his team uses to streamline their workflow. Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching Resources: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreynorthcutt/ https://northcutt.com/ https://twitter.com/corey_northcutt

On this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I sit down with Kane Jamison, Founder of Content Harmony, to discuss his journey of transforming his content marketing agency into a SaaS business. Kane shares that though his content marketing agency was successful in many respects, it wasn’t going to reach the level of self-sufficiency that he desired. He wanted to narrow his focus on an offering that could scale better and help content marketers everywhere. Thus, Kane decided to take the comprehensive workflows Content Harmony developed for creating content briefs and turn them into a SaaS offering. According to Kane, this shift to a SaaS model of business was a product of understanding what processes his agency excelled at, working with the right talent to build the software properly, and doing the proper market research to understand the needs of their customers. For agencies considering developing a SaaS product, Kane encourages you to get crystal clear on the objective with the product. He advises doing whatever work you can yourself to reduce costs, and looking for opportunities to launch micro-products while building out the product’s grand vision. Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching Resources: https://www.contentharmony.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanejamison/

On this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, Dan Morris, Managing Partner at Mindracer Consulting, sits down with me to share his experience of growing, training, and managing world-class sales teams. Dan discusses his journey in sales and why cultivating internal motivation and curiosity are key factors for the success of any salesperson. This curiosity paired with the right training and market research are what bring down the walls for clients and can position you to close more deals. Dan talks about finding the right outbound/inbound sales ratio in order to meet your clients where they’re at. If you’re not gathering data on this ratio, you’re shooting in the dark and won’t know what to expect from increasing outbound or inbound efforts. He also shares the importance of assessing who your best customers are and why they are closing. This allows you to refine who your company wants to work with, how to best serve them, and repeat the process with future clients.  Dan closes the show by describing some of the strategies he uses when coaching sales teams, noting the benefits of talking through deals out-loud to figure out where a deal is stuck. Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching Resources: Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions  Mindracerconsulting.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/danmorrisprofile/

To get your podcast out to the world, proper hosting and promotion are a must. In this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I’ll cover the essential details you need to consider when hosting, syndicating, and promoting your B2B podcast. I walk through some of the available hosting platforms and recommend using Anchor because it’s easy to use, budget-friendly, and utilizes up-to-date technologies. Anchor also makes syndicating your podcast to iTunes, Spotify, or other channels a breeze. I discuss the different tactics you can use to promote your podcast including:  QUUPromote.com Social Media paid promotion Word of mouth Repurposing podcast content I also outline which materials you need to be sending your guests so that they can easily promote the podcast through their social channels. This will enhance your credibility and reach far more than just promoting your podcast yourself. If you’re ready to get started on your podcasting journey, visit https://contentallies.com/ to learn more about our full-service podcast production services. Resources:  Anchor QUU Promote

Though hosting your podcast and interviewing guests may seem a little intimidating when you’re just starting out, it’s much easier than you think. As a host, you’ll actually only be speaking a small portion of the time. It’s your guests and their insight that fills most of the conversation. On this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I’ll cover the tips and strategies you can use to conduct engaging interviews with world-class guests. I discuss the importance of researching your guests in advance and taking this information to brainstorm questions about your guest’s background and experience that you want to explore deeper. I highlight why you should let your curiosity drive the flow of your interviews and the crucial role that active listening plays in keeping your conversations engaging.  You’ll also learn why great podcasters always have a set of fallback questions to rely on if their initial questions don’t take up as much time as they thought. With these tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to conducting great interviews that bring true value to your audience. If you’re ready to get started on your podcasting journey, visit https://contentallies.com/ to learn more about our full-service podcast production services.  

In between the ideation phase of your podcast and your first guest interview, there are important details you need to get in order. On this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I’ll dive into everything you need to accomplish to be well prepared for your B2B podcast launch. Beginning with podcast artwork, I discuss how to find a graphic designer and what details you need to communicate to them. I provide suggestions for which podcast microphones will suit your purposes and outline how to easily record audio using tools such as Zoom and Zencastr. With the right equipment in hand, you can record your intro podcast episode(s), which play an important role in familiarizing your audience with what they can expect from your show. I also direct you to platforms you can use to find your podcast music and describe the tools we like to use to create your own podcast website.  With these items checked off your to-do list, you’ll be more than prepared to launch your podcast. If you’re ready to get started on your podcasting journey, visit https://contentallies.com/ to learn more about our full-service podcast production services. Resources: Pond5 Envato Elements https://www.upwork.com/ https://www.fiverr.com/ Squarespace PodcastPage.

All great podcasts start with an idea to share valuable information. But, the idea alone isn’t enough.  You need to refine this idea into a functional strategy for targeting a specific audience with a distinct message. In this episode of the Working Without Pants Podcast, I’ll explore some of the things you need to consider before ever hitting record on your first podcast episode. I discuss why when deciding on your podcast’s subject matter, it’s important to appeal to prospects and partners instead of peers in order to generate new business.  I also dive into the different ways you can go about selecting a name and why there’s no perfect formula you have to follow. It really comes down to what name would attract your ideal prospects and audience, and this differs from industry to industry. I talk about why interview-based podcasts are best for the B2B sector and why the length of your show isn’t as important as being able to deliver value throughout the entirety of your show.  If you’re ready to get started on your podcasting journey, visit https://contentallies.com/ to learn more about our full-service podcast production services.

Any great podcast is backed by a full podcast production team. From conceptualizing your strategy all the way through publishing and promoting a finished product, there are many moving parts that need to be organized. Typically, you either outsource this work to a full service podcast production agency, or you can choose to hire individuals to build an in-house team. Though it may be more cost effective to try and tackle this in-house, it takes a tremendous amount of time and project management skills. In this episode of the Working Without Pants Podcast, I outline all the moving parts and people you’ll need to successfully launch and maintain a podcast. I walk through the processes, the talent, and time commitments that go into each episode and highlight why in most cases you’ll be better off working with an outsourced team of podcast production experts. As a leader, you only have so much time. And this time is best spent focussing on hosting great interviews instead of worrying about all the details that go into consistently delivering valuable content to your audience. If you missed the first episode in this podcast series, be sure to go check it out and then revisit this episode. If you’re ready to get started on your podcasting journey, visit https://contentallies.com/ to learn more about our full service podcast production services.

The biggest myth around starting a podcast is that you need to build a large following in order to be successful. Building an audience is part of the equation, but it is far from the greatest value driver of starting a podcast. In this episode of the Working Without Pants Podcast, I describe why the number one value driver from podcasting is how it amplifies your ability to network with strategic partners, prospects, and influencers. I discuss why it’s easier than you think to get high level guests on your podcast, and how these engagements lead to lasting relationships built on trust. I also walk through the other reasons why starting a podcast is valuable, including how it positions you as an authority, leads to speaking opportunities, allows you to repurpose your material into other social content, and generates inbound leads. If starting a podcast has ever been on your mind, this episode and the following episodes in this series are for you.   This episode is brought to you by Content Allies Content Allies helps B2B companies launch revenue-generating podcasts. We set you up with weekly interviews with your ideal prospects and strategic partners. You show up and have engaging conversations, we handle EVERYTHING else.  From show strategy and guest outreach, to audio production and podcast syndication. We do it all. With packages starting at $3k per month, we make podcasting an ideal growth channel for you.  Learn more and say hello at ContentAllies.com

A multitude of startup founders who take the plunge into entrepreneurship do so with the goal of financial freedom and independence. But when faced with the prospect of an investment, an acquisition, or a merger, most entrepreneurs don’t realize what needs to be done. This can lead to a shattered realization of a broken dream as the vision of that financial gain from all your hard work begins to fade into obscurity. Today’s episode of Work Without Pants features Ryan Tansom. Ryan is the Co-Founder of Arkona and is an online educator who aims to impart the ability to plan, grow, and prepare your business for that lucrative exit several years before it happens.  Ryan talks about the 5 Key Principles of Intentional Growth. This guides businesses in establishing their identity as early as their foundation and growth stage. These principles touch cover everything from what you are trying to solve to your financial targets and the value of your business. Watch this episode to gain insight on how to prepare your business properly so you can grow it and gain financial freedom from it in the future.  Gain and learn more essential business knowledge at the following resources to complement this episode: Arkona.io - Gain access to digital courses on Intentional Growth and Mastering Your Cash Flow with Ryan Tamson. ContentAllies.com - In today’s tight world of marketing and brand identity, providing content for people to learn differentiates you from the competition. Content Allies works with you on creating podcasts that result in revenue generation for your business.  Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

This week's episode compliments last week's chat with Dave Schneider. David Henzel is the CEO of Upcoach and co-owner of an impressive amount of businesses he runs with Dave Schneider. David has been a huge inspiration to me and my businesses. We often hear people preaching the mindset of doing 1 thing really well, but David inspired me to act differently and take action on my natural penchant towards working on a variety of projects... ever since I took his advice, I've quadrupled my income! Tons of value in this episode, tune in to hear how David has built core businesses with side projects that leverage the core companies. Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

On today's show, I sit down with Dave Schneider of Ninja Outreach. We discuss what it's like to sell a company, and Dave shares how his journey with Ninja Outreach led him to create Shortlist, a marketing agency. If you're interested in building and selling a software company, this episode is for you! Be sure to tune into next week's episode with David Henzel to hear how Dave and David partnered together to start a bunch of different companies... and ended up running 9 companies at the same time! Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

11 days… no email… no calls… no business. Recently I returned from a vacation where I stepped completely away from my businesses. It was a powerful milestone to hit, and one that many entrepreneurs fear of committing to. In this podcast episode, I dive into why entrepreneurs should take more vacations… and how taking time off can accelerate your growth as an entrepreneur. Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

Today I chat with Sarah Weise of BIXA Research, a marketing research firm with clients like Google and other prominent Fortune 500 companies. I came across Sarah while I was doing my own research into... marketing research. Sarah teaches the LinkedIn Learning course on Market Research. There are tons of marketers and agencies out there, it was fascinating to learn what big companies will pay for and how much money is spent on researching how to do better marketing. Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

On this week's episode, I have a chat with performance-based Amazon expert Adam Weiler of Sunken Stone. Sunken Stone is an Amazon consulting partner doing brand management services that help companies selling Amazon products to optimize their business and gain more presence. What's interesting about Adam's business is that it runs on a performance model, which means they charge on increased new revenue. This model is quite different from cash paying marketing services, which you can hear more about in the episode 'Why selling marketing services is stupid'. Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

On this show I have a chat with Doug Holladay, the CEO of PathNorth and author of Rethinking Success. We're super lucky to have Doug on the show today, he's highly successful and has a fascinating story that sees him surrounded by affluent people (think Warren Buffet level affluent) and, you guessed it, lots of success stories. If you're interested in finding meaning in work and life, that's what Doug is all about, you'll love what we dive into on this episode. Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

In this episode, I sit down with Jeroen Corthout of Salesflare, a CRM SaaS product. Jeroen has great insights to share about his journey in building a sustainable software company. In light of starting my first software company (Passaroo.com - in beta), I will be reaching out to connect with more people in the software game to learn from their experiences. I'm sure you'll find tons of value in this episode! Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

On this episode of the Working Without Pants podcast, I have a chat with my friend Jason Bay of Blissful Prospecting. Outbound Prospecting SER world. Jason and I have been working in the space outbound prospecting, SER space for some time now. His company started off providing services and eventually moved into training for larger companies. While we both started in similar places, our journeys have taken us down very different paths. Tune in to hear the story of how two people navigated different approaches and offers to build unique outbound companies. Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

On this episode, I sit down with Elyse Archer of Brand Builders Group. Since recording this episode, I became a customer of theirs because this discussion sold me on how awesome their service is. In this episode, we dive into how they grew to a team of 50 (!) over only 2 years. We also chat about what makes for a strong personal brand and how to think through the process of building a brand. Tons of value here, don't miss out! Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching    

Yes… as a person who runs two marketing agencies, I am calling this business model stupid.   In this episode, I go into why.   I also share the opportunity that most service companies have to 10x their client value…   And examples on how I have done this myself.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

Hiring… this is something that most entrepreneurs struggle with.   And messing it up is an expensive mistake to make.   In this episode, I go through my framework that I have used 30+ times to make successful hires.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

In today's episode, I sit down with Pia Silva of Badass Your Branding. Pia took the branding agency model and flipped it on its head - instead of doing huge branding engagements, the kind that often take tens of thousands of dollars and many months to produce, she started offering 2 day intensives with her customers. Tune in to hear how Pia scaled up, expanded beyond just branding and built up a successful training business. Here's what's even more interesting - she did it all this with zero employees! She and her partner have pulled all this off by creating niche offers and by working with the right mix of partners and vendors. Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

Scarcity mindset… this is something that has been on my mind a lot lately.   I’ve seen this in myself. I’ve seen this in the people I advise. And I’ve seen this in millionaires who never need to work again…   What has become apparent is that scarcity mindset never goes away.   That is what I dive into and unpack in this episode.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

Chaos and order… this is possibly one of my favorite frameworks for life and business.   Feeling stressed and overwhelmed... this episode is for you.  Feeling content and wanting more… this episode is for you.   This episode gets into another high-level mindset of how I think about my life and business.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

As your business grows, you inevitably become a bottleneck within your own companies' growth.   The hard thing is to identify when this happens.   We find all sorts of reasons to justify to ourselves to stay in a role that we know we should hand-off… yet there is a time and place to recognize when you are a bottleneck to your own growth.   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

This simple question is a powerful one.    In this solo episode, I dive into this question and share some exercises for you to get clear on what you want. 

Overwhelmed… That is a good way to summarize how I felt the past few weeks.   Too many projects. Too many opportunities.  Too many tasks.  Too many calls.    As entrepreneurs, we often hit this level of “overwhelm” when we are working too hard…    I’ve hit it many times, and many of my advising clients have experienced this also.   In this episode, I talk through how I deal with overwhelming situations.

There is a famous story from Charlie Munger where he talks about his early days as a lawyer.   He talks about how his focus at any given time is on doing the best job possible at the work in front of you today.   So many entrepreneurs are focused on themselves and growing their business...   Their head is in the sky instead of focusing on doing the best they can for the customers they have today.   In this solo episode of the Working Without Pants Podcast, I dive deep into this idea of "Investing in your customers".

Here is another solo podcast episode where I talk about money, mindsets, and how my mindset has evolved with money over the course of my entrepreneurial career. 

Yep. I have fully embraced the title of serial entrepreneur.   Currently ramping up a total of 5 new companies in partnership with others... (and more coming soon).   Want to work with me as an advisor? Visit jake-jorgovan.com/coaching

This week I have a chat with Dani Bell of Scribly.io, a productized content marketing agency that does everything from planning through to production and ongoing guidance to help clients consistently boost traffic and attract leads.   Scribly is 18 months old and after a pivotal shift, they've seen a great growth. We talk about the challenges that come with big pivots and Dani shares everything she's learned along the way. With everything that's happening in the world, it seems there is a changing perception of the value of content.   Tune in to hear our thoughts on whether it's worthwhile to put your pricing on your site or not (Scribly does). Tons of value in this episode, don't miss out.

Today's episode sees me chatting with Jay Baer of Convince and Convert. Jay has been working in digital since 1993 - tune in to hear a story about the sweet deal he made with Anheuser-Busch over ownership of Budweiser.com.   Jay's agency is built up of 3 parts: a content strategy firm, a media & sponsorship company, and a paid public speaking business. It's not your typical agency as it focuses on strategy only, as opposed to execution.   Did I mention Jay is a Hall of Fame speaker? Super interesting guy, tons of value in this episode. Especially for agencies wanting to go upmarket to do higher-level strategy work as opposed to just execution.

This week I had the pleasure of chatting with Brian Burns, host of a network of podcasts, including The Brutal Truth About Sales & Selling podcast and the B2B Revenue Leadership podcast.   Brian worked in software enterprise sales for 25 years before going out on his own. Today, he's built up such a stellar podcast following that he's able to work full-time on creating value through podcast content.   In this episode, we discuss the complex sale and how to sell to bigger companies. If you're stuck in your comfort zone and only selling to SMBs, tune in to hear Brian's advice on how to level up and what to expect when selling to bigger companies.

This week I had a chat with Kean Graham of MonetizeMore, a large ad tech company with over 140 remote workers living all over the world.   MonetizeMore serves a really unique niche in the publishing industry. They help publishers with ad monetization through the use of tech and proprietary manual optimization techniques. Tune in to hear the story of how the company grew and how they successfully niched-down. I think you'll find a ton of value in this episode.

On today's episode I chat with Alyssa Patzius, COO of Influencer & Co., a content marketing agency based in Columbia, Missouri (near where I grew up!) Influencer & Co. connects the dots between earned media PR and your on-site content so you can build an entire cohesive inbound funnel with tangible ROI.   This is a great episode for anyone interested in learning more about scaling from a small local business to a large global agency with team members all over the world. Tune in to hear how Influencer and Co. structures their content and sales procedures. I got tons of value from our conversation and I'm sure you will too!

On this episode, I sit down with Jason Bay of Blissful Prospecting. Jason and I are in the same Outbound industry, but we took different paths. His business helps sales teams to bring in more leads through cold outreach. Sales reps are great at taking demos and doing sales calls, but the struggle is often that the marketing team isn't filling their pipeline with leads - Blissful Prospecting provides training for sales teams so they can fill their pipeline with more organic leads (and depend less on the marketing team).   If you're interested in the outbound industry, you'll enjoy being a fly on the wall as we discuss the different paths you can take within 'outbound'. We also dive into topics like the dynamics of being a business partner with your wife and the psychological and mental challenges of being an entrepreneur.   We're all navigating our businesses through tough times right now, there's tons of food for thought on that topic this conversation.

Today I sit down with Tristan Pelligrino of Motion, a content marketing agency that helps B2B tech companies generate demand with genuine conversations. They do this through the creation of thought leadership programs that revolve around podcasts, video series and other shareable formats.   Tristan has 15 years of experience working with agencies, which means he has tons of great advice to share when it comes to building and running agencies. We both run our companies off of the EOS model, if you're not familiar with this framework for developing your business' vision, learning about this alone will be a game changer for you!

On this week's episode I sit down with John Logar, founder of ConsultingUnleashed.com. John isn't just a coach, he has tons of experience building and scaling a variety of different businesses, and also runs a huge successful agency. He is a great example of someone who practices what he preaches, while he's learning at the same time.   Through Consulting Unleashed, John is known for building companies quickly using a consistent methodology (Attract, Convert, Leverage) that teaches people to scale successfully. He helps to get his clients their first 6 figures and has a wealth of ideas on both scaling and developing your offer.   John believes 'If you offer often, people are going to buy'. Don't miss out on this episode, John gives away a lot of his expert ideas for free, including advice on things you can do today to go out and start making new sales.

In this episode, I sit down with Dvorah Graeser, founder of KISSpatent, a productized patent service. Dvorah took what used to be an expensive, oft lengthy legal service mostly used by corporations and turned the model on its head by offering it as a fixed-price product that puts the power of patents in the hands of innovators.   This is a great episode for anyone wondering how they might able to apply a patent to their business. Tune in to us discuss a number of different forms of idea protection for innovators and startups. Access to idea protection is on the rise, thanks to great endeavors like this one.  

This week I speak with Geoff Atkinson of Huckabuy. Geoff was previously employed in the corporate world at Overstock.com as the Senior VP of Marketing and successfully transitioned to running his own business at Huckabuy, which is now generating over 1M MRR.   Geoff's first entrepreneurial endeavor started as a B2C affiliate website and eventually pivoted to a performance-based SEO software company. It took at least 2-3 years to find their footing, but they eventually found a way to respond to market needs.   Don't miss out on this episode, Geoff has great advice for first-time entrepreneurs trying to build a strong revenue-driven business. Whatever your brilliant idea is, be open to the fact that it might not be what the market wants and you may need to take the time to create change so you can pivot and respond to what the market wants.

Listen to this week’s episode if you’re feeling stressed, overworked, or battling with finding a balance between your entrepreneurial life and your personal life. Sherry Walling has a PhD in clinical psychology and specializes in entrepreneurial health. Sherry also owns ZenFounder along with her podcast and is the author of “The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together: How to Run Your Business Without Letting it Run You”.   Now, while this particular interview actually took place before the current health events happening around the world, this couldn’t be better timing for someone that needs to hear this message. Some of us are forced to either step back and break from business or ride the waves and put added effort into our companies. Sherry dives into lots of practical tips regarding burnout, family life, depression, and the loneliness that entrepreneurship can entail.   Learn here why it’s important to our brain health, the livelihood of our businesses, and our personal lives to ‘unplug’ sometimes. You may be struggling with your sense of value and identity intertwining with your business. But where do you draw the line between your time freedom, money, and weighing what you value most out of life? Sherry will share some insightful advice that will hit home with all of us, both literally and figuratively. And don’t forget to check her out on her websites at SherryWalling.com or ZenFounder.com. Also, Sherry mentions her Guide to Founder Retreats that you can check out here.

This week, I speak with Tyler Gillespie, the “Thinking Time Chief” of Applause Lab, a company that creates great customer video testimonials and other social proof. Before Applause Lab, Tyler sold his content writing service company, and here we discuss details on what his journey of building Applause Lab was like after selling. This is super informative and a great place to be to learn about the process of starting your own company.   Tyler describes his experience with the content writing business, which remains nameless during our interview, and how he was able to continually help clients get value from his service. Sometimes, it takes a simple prompt idea or two to be proactive when preventing client churn. That was all before Tyler went through the process of acquisition. Then, as we shift into a conversation about Applause Lab, his current business venture, we’ll walk you through his experience with how the launching and execution went rather quickly.    This episode is so worth checking out! Get some advice on how you can decipher what business you may want to get into and what questions to ask when doing so. Find out more information on Applause Lab by visiting ApplauseLab.com or join the Facebook group called Productized Startups to follow Tyler on his journey with his company. 

Matthew Kimberley pours out some amazing insights in this week’s episode that you won’t want to miss! With a background in sales and as an author himself, Matthew has also taken over the entire program called Book Yourself Solid, which was originally created and written by Michael Port.   With Book Yourself Solid, Matthew helps business owners figure out what path is right for them. The book offers frameworks for you to think through this and what fundamental principles and mindset you can apply to reach your business goals. If you need to convert or generate leads, Michael can help you, so long as you are actively doing these things somehow.  It’s about strategies verse the tactics- this is truly an interesting outlook on how you should question your motives.    If people pay you for your time and your expertise, this book and this episode are for you! There are so many great pieces of advice that Matthew dives into here that are both exciting and thoughtful. I realized there are different ways to think about growth for your business… and it’s not always about more money.

For those that have been reading my blog posts, you know by now that I’ve successfully handed off my sales role to a friend-turned-team member. That team member is Isaac Marsh. Isaac is not only head of sales with Lead Cookie, but he helps test new offer strategies we put on the table as well. With a passion for writing, his natural ability to talk with others, and starting his own agency with his business partner, it was a no-brainer to reach out for him to take on this position.    The stars aligned when I approached Isaac and his business partner and asked if they could come on board with Lead Cookie a while back. That was the beginning of handing off my sales role successfully. I made mistakes trying to hand this off before, which did not work out, so I took Isaac through a different and more specific process when he came on board.    Give this episode a listen if you’re looking to get the sales role off your plate. We share what worked and what mistakes were made as well. Isaac has some great insights into what helped him take on sales and how he adjusted the frameworks to feel more natural to him for the sales calls. Isaac is essentially our “gatekeeper” at Lead Cookie and you, as an owner, can learn why relinquishing that control will allow your business to have one as well.

Why is it so important to start thinking about what acquisition looks like for your business? You’ll want to find out here in this episode with John Warrillow. John is the Founder and President of The Value Builder System and author of the books "The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business In Any Industry" and "Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You.”    Knowing what your intentions are for your business is of the utmost importance. If you want your company to be valuable, or transferable, it has to be able to run without you. Even if you are not planning to sell, this may trigger some lightbulbs for your business and help steer you on the right path for long-term mentality.   I’ve received a ton of value from reading John’s books that caused a huge mindset shift for me, and so I was honored to have the chance of interviewing him. This episode is recommended for anyone going down a productized service path and, I promise, this will change your perspective on your business. We discuss what “Deal Momentum” is and you’ll want to hear this! And don’t forget to check out ValueBuilder.com to learn more.

Wherever “Ledge” goes, sales go up! Join this week’s episode to hear what I mean by this and get some great insight into taking leads and rocking a sales execution to help grow your revenue. David Ledgerwood, Managing Partner at Add1Zero, is someone I’ve known for years and I refer to as “Ledge” here. He and his team use a proven process for a 6 to 7-digit annual growth by providing sales strategy, execution, and ops to their clients.    Learn about the “secret sauce” Ledge speaks of here! It’s great. In fact, I just took a lot of notes while interviewing him and have action items I am excited to try.  I have already quadrupled my own sales by working with Ledge before. This is truly insightful and I think you will get tons from this episode, so hurry now and give it a listen. 

Listen in on this week’s episode to hear about a softer, yet super powerful skill to learn for your business: Storytelling. Kyle Gray joins us from TheStoryEngine.co and walks us through how he went from working for WP Curve to becoming a bestselling author who helps startups and small businesses grow with content marketing.    Kyle specializes in helping clients of all different levels tell better stories to not only earn their audience’s trust but for the audience to trust themselves with investing in his clients’ businesses. There are specific tactics you can use to get better at storytelling and that is where Kyle came up with 3 simple steps for combining information into an outline for a great story or speech.    If you’re an expert in your field but have difficulty in expressing your value and how you’re different, this episode is for you. You can learn the simple framework here that will help you get your message across without sounding too “salesy.” Or if you want to jump right in and read Kyle’s book, you can find it at SellingWithStory.co or on Amazon.  

In this “best selling” episode, Kevin Anderson joins us from Kevin Anderson & Associates. With offices in New York City, Nashville, and Los Angeles, Kevin’s firm is made up of a team of New York Times bestselling writers, editors, and publishing consultants- offering all three of these top-notch services and producing high-quality content for their clients.    Kevin Anderson & Associates buckle down with dedication to each client to help formulate the content to ghostwrite their books-- whether it is starting from scratch from a few ideas or helping someone edit and rewrite a book they’ve already written. Kevin’s firm is also well connected to some of the industry’s best literary agents, marketers, publicists, and more to help make a book successful once it’s written. Many clients come to Kevin’s team specifically because of connections Kevin has to a variety of people in the industry and the marketing strategies they use.    If you are thinking about writing your own book but not sure where to start, or if you are looking into hiring ghostwriters, be sure and join us here for some great insights with Kevin!  

If you are charging hourly and have a hit ceiling, this episode is definitely for you! This week, Jonathan Stark joins me once again as we dive into his “mission to rid the world of hourly billing.” He’s a former software developer and is now the author of Hourly Billing Is Nuts, the host of a podcast called Ditching Hourly, cohost of Business of Authority, and writes a daily newsletter about pricing for independent professionals.    Join us here to learn some awesome techniques and avenues to become an authority figure, broaden your network, connect more intimately with your audience, and command higher rates. This includes something as simple, yet huge, with daily emailing. Jonathan is determined to help consultants become authorities in their field so they can break out of that rut of trading time for money.    This interview was truly relevant to me and has sparked some ideas for my own business. I know you’ll want to take notes on this one. Dive in here and then go check out Jonathan’s website at ValuePricingBootCamp.com.

Philip Morgan is a good friend of mine and joins us this week for the second time on here because he’s got some great insights to share! For good reason, his LinkedIn description says, “I'm a pusherman. I get paid to push people beyond their comfort zone so they can become the self-made experts they aspire to be.”  Philip helps small business owners build a point of view and to take a stance for what they believe in, which helps set them apart from others and propels their business forward just by creating this. He challenges people to do things that take their current level of expertise and amplify it in order to monetize their expertise.  Find out here what Philip means when he says that you need to pick a group of people you “feel love” for. Philip goes into detail on how you can specialize and narrow your focus to be in better control with your marketing and how you can build your credibility after declaring your specialty on your website. Don’t miss out on Philip’s great advice and opinions that will have you chuckling!

In this week’s episode, learn how to release the vicious cycle of selling that only leaves you feeling frustrated and fake. Join us as Reuben Swartz, head of the Sales for Nerds podcast and Founder of Mimiran- a CRM for people who hate “selling,” talks through all of the failed approaches he’s attempted at sales and what has finally brought him to his success with customers. Reuben is not a “natural-born” salesperson, but he thought he was prepared for what would make him successful at sales. He quickly learned this was not the case and, for a long time, felt like he was insecure and pretending with his clients. In fact, it took him years to figure out that proposals to his clients were not about him… it was about the client. Fast forward to today, he has created Mimiran and now on a mission to help others avoid what he went through when approaching sales. Join us here to get some value you will appreciate and take the pressure off yourself by being authentic and honest with your customers. Reuben created a mad lib that he wants to share with you that will benefit you and your clients when it comes to creating a proposal. His headline on LinkedIn is Get more clients by “teaching,” not “marketing” and “helping,” not “selling.” Find out all the details here!

Peter Levitan joins us in this week’s episode to discuss how he went about selling his agency and some words of advice for those who are thinking about selling theirs. Currently living in Mexico, Peter is a Business Development Consultant for advertising agencies around the world. Before that, he bought, and then eventually sold, his advertising agency in Oregon by managing the process himself.    Ask yourself the critical question, “Would you buy your agency?” If it’s not a solid “yes,” you may want to rethink selling. Also, very few agencies have a solid business plan, and this is key.   If you don’t have a business plan in place, you need one. How else will you stand out? We use the term “un-ignorable” many times in this episode while focusing on what that means for your business.    Listen in to Peter’s story and what you should be thinking about if selling your agency is crossing your mind. Find out why some businesses are not ready to be sold, what others look for when seeking to buy an agency, and dive into some business tactics to set your agency up to be “un-ignorable.” You can find out more by visiting PeterLevitan.com as well.  

In this week’s episode, Steve Gordan joins us who also happens to host podcasts of his own. In fact, we dive specifically into how podcasts can be a great tool to use to help grow your business. Steve is the Founder of Unstoppable CEO and specializes in helping agencies get great clients who are ready to hire you.   With all the noise out there between marketing strategies, business funnels, and complex sales training programs, you need a unique way to develop trust with people. You need to strategically build relationships with other people and approach them in a different way. In fact, one of the things we touch on in this episode is how you can simplify your business just simply by aligning with human behavior.    This episode should have you asking yourself how you think of using podcasts for your business. An audience is great, but the relationships that you build from the podcast interviews are the ones that you can nurture and expand on to grow your business.    Listen in and get some great tips on why committing to your podcast long-term is the way to go. When you’re done, visit UnstoppableCEO.net/nopants to get a copy of the last book Steve wrote called “The Exponential Network Strategy.”  

If you’ve been thinking about speaking as an avenue to grow your business, join me In this week’s episode with Carol Cox, Founder and CEO of Speaking Your Brand. Carol is an expert at coaching entrepreneurs and executives on how to launch and build their speaking career for short-term, and long-term, results.   Carol reminds us just how valuable speaking engagements and being around people truly are these days. With all of the social media, content creation, and all the “followers” people obtain, we all forget just how impactful it can be when you meet and learn from someone in person. We discuss in detail how narrowing down your focus of topic to a very specific niche can really make you stand out from everyone else. Carol dives into some great tips on how to market yourself as a speaker and how people can inquire about you so that you can get premium and paid engagements.    Listen in to find out how you can get a free guide if you’d like more information on how speaking can help grow your business. You can also listen in to Carol’s podcast where she talks about all things related to speaking- from content to lead generation, and from sales to monetizing your speeches. Enjoy!

In this week’s episode, join me in hearing tons of advice from Alan Weiss, author of a phenomenal book called “Million Dollar Consulting,” or as I like to call it, The “Bible” of Consulting, which is one of numerous books and articles he’s written. Alan is also the owner of Summit Consulting Group that provides management consulting services to clients across the globe.    During Alan’s professional journey, he quickly learned he could charge for the value of his consulting services, to which he’s pioneered value-based fees. Alan is also all about simplifying everything to place more speed on doing business and getting results. Overcomplicating processes won’t grow your business. Alan hones in on his core values of focusing on what’s important and why you should “carve away everything that doesn’t look like a career.”   The “Million Dollar Consulting” book is at the heart of everything I learned to start my businesses- my mindset, the tactics, the concepts behind charging for value, and more. Listen here to get more insight and tons of value out of this. And don’t forget to check out Alan Weiss.com, where you can find his blog and free articles, videos, audios, and locations for his next attendance.

What is the future of LinkedIn? This question comes up a lot in conversations with friends, podcast hosts, prospects, and peers.   LinkedIn, as a platform, is becoming the epicenter of business communication. B2B marketers and sales teams are flocking to the platform, and in a post-GDPR world, it has become one of the most reliable and powerful sales channels.   But what is to come? As the founder of one of the top LinkedIn lead generation companies, I am very close to the platform. Our team has seen the platform evolve and grow. I have spoken to individuals on LinkedIn's advisory board and I have heard many rumors of discussions from others in the industry.   What I am predicting here is not fact or am I 100% certain of this. But I have a decent level of confidence in these predictions and so I am sharing them in hopes they bring you value. Join me in today's solo episode as I dive into my 8 predictions for the future of LinkedIn!

Catch this week’s episode with John Jantsch, President at Duct Tape Marketing and author of his newest book I’m already loving called “The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur.” John has appeared on here before, and with his years and expertise in small business marketing, it’s a no-brainer to bring him back on the podcast now that he has published his sixth book. This book is a bit different than his first five that are all about how-to-do marketing. But “The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur” is structured more as a daily-read with a new meditational message for each day you turn a new page. Each entry shares a message or excerpt that comes from entrepreneurial writings from the 19th Century time period when “thinking for yourself” became more prominent during a time of political and cultural differences in the U.S. John gets his reader to take a bit of a more philosophical look at themselves, adds his own thoughts, and then follows that up with a question to challenge someone for that day. The “Self-Reliant Entrepreneur” was just released this week, and I highly recommend everyone take a read. I am already applying this to my life and my business and can see I’ll be getting value from this for years to come as well. I know you will too. You can find your copy online or in any of your local bookstores. But first, listen here for some insight from John himself and get a sneak peek into the Jan 1st entry as John narrates straight out of the book. You’re going to like this one!

If you’re thinking about hiring a salesperson for your business, you NEED to give this episode a listen. Damian Thompson and I discuss the reasons behind why we cringe when someone says, “I’ve got a sales problem- so I’m going to hire a salesperson.” This is the wrong mindset!    Damian is the Founder & Chief Training Officer of Salesability. He’s been involved in software services and consultative selling since the mid-to-late 90s, so he knows a thing or two when it comes to when, or why, you should be hiring a salesperson. He’s always been “that” guy who was sent off to start selling and building a team in different locations around the world. He’s helped countless amounts of people who were small business owners who didn’t see themselves as a salesperson but needed to utilize sales to grow their business.   Trust me when I say this episode is extremely important to listen to and will change your perspective when thinking about sales for your business. There’s a robust amount of information here- everything from “why” you want to hire a salesperson, the misunderstandings people have about a salesperson’s role in your business, to the processes you should have in place when hiring one.  This is a subject I feel passionate about and hope you will find this truly useful for your business.

In this episode, I listen to the Founder and CEO of Campfire Labs, Michael Thomas, describe his entrepreneurial journey and I am blown away at his generosity and his frame of mind when it comes to giving back.    Michael had a successful company that he decided to sell back in 2017, and because it was during a political turning point, he felt the need to help others so he pledged 25% of the proceeds to charitable causes. He then spent half a year volunteering with refugees in Greece, where he came to learn the lifestyle of people with difficult circumstances.   About a year after returning from his volunteer work, Michael started his new company, Campfire Labs, a journalistic-style content agency. But he wanted to continue helping others, so Michael and his partner give 50% of Campfire’s equity and profits to charitable causes.    Tune into this episode to get some inspiring details about Michael’s passion for giving to charity and how he did so. This interview won’t let you down...

In this week’s eye-opening episode, I dive into a great interview with Michael Zipursky, coach and CEO of Consulting Success.  With a background in building and consulting businesses in North America and with multibillion-dollar businesses in Japan, he’s developed a coaching program that began as a blog and then morphed into what is now helping hundreds of consultants build successful businesses by adding six to seven figures to their annual revenues.    You may notice a familiar face here because I’ve interviewed Michael before. I’ve brought him back because recently his company conducted a Marketing for Consultants Study that I find fascinating and is full of valuable information and which marketing techniques can help build a successful business.   In this detailed study, 34,000 consultants were surveyed to find out what is actually working in their marketing techniques- what tactics they’re using and getting results from. The survey identifies and compares what high-performing consultants are doing vs low-performing consultants. Learn what the best practices are that we can all benefit from. For instance, what type of marketing works best and how much should you invest in marketing? Michael and I discuss in detail how you can shift your mindset for marketing costs from an expense to an investment. We’ll dive into some data from the survey to help give you a better understanding of what others are “investing.”    We also explore network effects, the simplicity of a phone call, and other marketing tactics that you may or may not already be using. Where should you be putting your money in when it comes to marketing? Listen here to find out and explore more on the survey at https://www.consultingsuccess.com/marketing-for-consultants-study.

In this episode, I talk with Mary Ellen Slayter , CEO and team leader at Rep Cap, which is a content marketing agency that specializes in creating thought leadership, strategies, and plans for B2B industries. She is also the Publisher and Founder of ManagingEditor.com.   Mary Ellen pursues most of her work in Insurance and HR Tech, but worked her way through her journalism career by writing for things like B2B newsletters, career advice columns, and as a finance editor. She has an understanding of large technical and financial terms and has a multitude of knowledge pulled from her professional experience and from her studies in college to get her degree.     Mary Ellen has an edge that makes her stand out from others- she is comfortable writing content for her clients that most other writers want to stay away from. And after taking her own ideas and organizing them into processes through a project management tool, she’s created a team of writers that have similar values on the quality of their writing. Each member of her team has a background in the field of expertise their clients are in, so being able to understand the jargon their clients use helps her team produce top notch content. No “content sludge” here!    Join me here for some insight into how Mary Ellen helps sell the incredible ideas her clients come up with- and just how she is able to pull information from her smart, reserved clients. If you are looking for more information, please visit ManagingEditor.com.

In this week’s episode, I sit down and have a very honest conversation with Franco Cabral , who is the CEO of inMark Media Group and owner of his personal brand at FrancoCabral.com. InMark Media Group helps small to medium sized businesses with their brand and advertising inside almost 700 supermarkets across the nation.     In just three and a half years, Franco rapidly grew his sales team for inMark Media Group, but it took a lot more time and energy with his personal growth for him to get to where he is today.  Franco had it all- or at least it would seem that way on paper, or looking from the outside in. However, it was only when he reached a pivotal moment that he realized how unhappy and unfulfilling life really was. In this episode, Franco shares his amazing story of how he went from studying to become a doctor, to working in sales and becoming a National Sales Director, and then building his own business by using his credibility and reputation within the field.    Franco is someone I look up to and am always learning something from. I feel like I can relate to some of his story with personal growth and I hope this hits home for many of you. Join me in this open and honest episode that describes the process Franco entailed to get to his success today- success with his business and in his personal life.   For anyone looking to hear more from Franco Cabral’s podcast, please visit inMarkMG.com and click on the link to his podcast or you can find it as The Honest Liar Podcast.

In this noteworthy episode, I sit down with Devin Bramhall , Director of Marketing with Animalz, a content marketing agency that works with huge name customers. It was founded as a co-located company in NYC by a man named Walter Chen. Because the best talent isn’t all in one location, the team has expanded to more than 35 people spread across the world who wanted both structure and freedom in their lives. Walter brought Devin and her team on to run this company, and by providing the space these leaders need along with a solid infrastructure in place, the business took off and major growth happened just within the last year.   Quality work is so important in this business, so Animalz takes several approaches to be sure this can happen. They invest heavily in their people, within the company, and with their clients. For Animalz, it was important to create a repeatable structure to follow.  And with training, a lot of investment into the clients, and digging into each subject matter, quality is then built into the process. Animalz will model their work as if they are embedded in each company, as a content marketer working there. They also do everything possible to align with the customer throughout the entire process.   For anyone building up their agency, this is a great episode to listen to! Devin dives into the importance of having a repeatable process in place, keeping the creatives within your company motivated to produce high-quality work, and how to keep your clients engaged throughout the process. Hear how she ensures a relationship is built with the client and how to get them to commit to the process before even starting on content.  Here we go…

On this episode, I speak with Jessica Mehring, CEO and Senior Copywriter at Horizon Peak Consulting, a content marketing agency that produces very technical and difficult work for companies focused on enterprise sales.   Jessica started her copywriting career in the corporate world, and though she was good at what she did, she eventually hit a plateau, so she took the necessary steps to discovering exactly what her niche was. She is now an expert at what she does and has very high standards for her team and for the work her business provides to huge-brand clients.   Horizon Peak Consulting offers each client a high level of trust and very high-quality work. Right off the bat, companies can see measurable results on her website, and with Jessica focusing on the end-customer, putting in the research needed and above-and-beyond efforts needed to be able to write superior quality content, she can help her clients hit their targeted goals and KPIs.   Listen to this week’s episode to hear how far Jessica has come in her career, as well as the specifics on Jessica’s detailed onboarding process and how she sets expectations from the get-go. 

In this week's episode, I talk with Nat Eliason, CEO & Founder of Growth Machine. Using a “systems-first” approach and by producing great content, he quickly grew this business from zero to 2 million ARR in less than 2 years and now has a 10-person team working around the U.S.   Growth Machine is an SEO-focused content marketing agency that mostly works with eCommerce and tech companies by managing their blog content production.    With ad costs increasing, more businesses are looking for someone who can create, optimize, and promote content, while also giving them the best chance of ranking high in Google searches. With high-quality writers that consistently meet deadlines and by following a very structured system, Growth Machine delivers great results for their clients.    Listen in to hear a robust episode full of valuable information. Nat also wraps up with two important suggestions for anyone in the early stages of starting their own content business. Break out your notepad and pen for this one, folks!

On this week’s episode, I speak with Jason Van Orden who calls himself a “thought leader business strategist”- essentially taking someone who is an expert in their field and turning them into a thought leader within that industry.   Whether someone is already a thought leader and wants to grow what they have or someone who is just learning how to become a thought leader, Jason helps guide them by providing valuable marketing strategies to turn their stuff into digital assets.   It’s not about the latest, greatest tactic to get the attention of your target audience. It’s about using a strategy to get you onto the correct platforms and using your unique voice within all of it, especially when there is so much noise on the internet. What will make you stand out and how do you make it clear who you are online? Jason shares here what the 3 R’s are when trying to reach your goal audience and why they’re so important.   Tune in to listen to some great tips from Jason and what his thoughts and recommendations on how to market yourself using the right content and the right channels are.  You can learn more about what Jason does through JasonVanOrden.com. 

In this episode, I speak with Lacy Boggs , director of The Content Direction Agency -writing high quality content and creating bespoke content marketing strategies for online entrepreneurs. Determined to stay home with her baby about 8 years ago, Lacy quit her regular job as a journalist, started writing a food blog and eventually started ghostwriting for some big authors. She has an amazing talent of being able to write content from each client’s own tone of voice, so this led her to starting her own agency. She started as a solo freelance writer to growing into a team of 10 while only working 20 hours per week. Listen here to learn all about how Lacy grew The Content Direction Agency, how her incredible team is able to produce content that is used to its full potential, and why the agency model was the better decision for her to scale her business.

In this episode, I talk with Kieran Flanagan, the VP of Marketing with Hubspot- an inbound marketing, sales, and service software company. After helping many Saas businesses grow their traffic, users, and revenue, Kieran joined HubSpot because he was a believer in the “inbound movement.”   For anyone who is a HubSpot agency partner, this is a must listen to. Even if you’re not, learn how you can build a relationship and partner with a larger tech company like HubSpot and build the dynamic to grow on the back of a partner program.   Tune in to learn why some agencies have done really well versus ones that have struggled. One thing we speak about is being fully committed and focus on becoming a partner rather than dabbling in other platforms. In addition, Kieran speaks about the 3 stages in customer experience, what makes you more authentic in the way you do business, and what can differentiate you from the competition when it comes to content creation and publishing as well. You don't want to miss the valuable information in this episode.

On this week's episode I sit down with Meryl Johnston of Bean Ninjas, a productized service focused on bookkeeping i.e. tracking day-to-day transactions in Xero.   Meryl came from a background in accounting where she worked on a lot of custom projects that took a lot of time to scope and scale. From this experience, she was able to look back on all the flaws and backtrack to create processes solving those problems.   There are some great tidbits on systemized scaling in this episode. Meryl and I agree, it's all about going to market and then figuring out how to deliver. Generating leads and making sales isn't so much the problem - it's working out how to deliver the service and having the right teams members and processes in place to deliver well.   Tune in to hear about the evolution Bean Ninja, from the early stages of figuring out what types of customers to market to, through to delivering great experiences for people they enjoy working with.

In this episode I talk with David Sherry about how to build a tribe and community around your brand when building a business. David came up with a premise and after failing at asking others to hire/pay him to make it happen, he finally decided to give himself permission to make it happen himself.   He built the premise behind Death to Stock to a bootstrapped company now generating 1.5 million in revenue with a team of only 3 people. He has spent no money on advertising and built his community organically through word of mouth. Incredible!   There are some powerful insights in this podcast - the episode isn't about tactics, it's about mindset shifts. Mindset shifts are where the breakthroughs happen. David's success came through making people feel like they're part of something unique and special. People become excited about what's coming next, they care about what you're putting out and they want to be involved (or give you their money). Tune in to get inspired by his mindset tips and branding insights.

On this episode I sit down with my coach and mentor Alex McClafferty. Alex is one of the co-founders of WPCurve, a monthly recurring subscription and productized service focused on supporting Wordpress sites for a small monthly fee. WPCurve is an awesome service that Alex and his co-founder grew and sold to GoDaddy.   While his startup success has become legend in this space, Alex has a lot to share when it comes to the unpretty parts of the whole journey. From starting off small, to growing, to the emotional turmoil of selling, to what it's like to going through the process of being bought by a huge company.   Don't miss this episode to learn from Alex' acquisition journey and for tips on leadership and building strong teams to launch a successful productized service with.

In this episode I chat with personal branding expert Chris Ducker, founder of Youpreneur. Chris has built call centres employing hundreds of people and built up Virtual Staff Finder which now runs without his involvement.   People often ask me how I've gotten to where I am now and one of the secrets behind my success is thanks to building my personal brand. I've been working on and building my personal brand for 5 years now. Having a brand like this is fire! It's a strong foundation and baseline to build businesses on top of.   Don't miss this podcast if you want to learn how to use your personal brand as a means of growing personally and professionally, and as a strategy for building a businesses on top of.

Over the last 16 months, I have built and refined a sales call framework that I use over, and over again. I read books, learned from others, and refined until I had a rock solid sales call flow. I never wing it, I have a refined flow that I take every customer through which can get me to a closed deal in 30 minutes. In this podcast, I share with you my sales call script & framework.   Blog: The Lead Cookie Sales Playbook: Our Sales Call Script

Part 2: Frameworks 4-7 At Lead Cookie, we have run over 150 Linkedin outreach campaigns. Each one for has different value propositions for different types of businesses. Through these campaigns, we have come across 7 core frameworks that we use over and over again to generate results for our clients. In this podcast, I am going to share each of these frameworks in more detail and provide you with some examples.   Blog: 7 Linkedin Outreach Frameworks that Generate Results

Part 1: Frameworks 1-3 At Lead Cookie, we have run over 150 Linkedin outreach campaigns. Each one for has different value propositions for different types of businesses. Through these campaigns, we have come across 7 core frameworks that we use over and over again to generate results for our clients. In this podcast, I am going to share each of these frameworks in more detail and provide you with some examples. Blog: 7 Linkedin Outreach Frameworks that Generate Results

This week's podcast is a special solo episode which I'm also recording for my Youtube channel. After 18 months of building a productized Linkedin Lead Generation service up to ~$60k in MRR, I've decided that it's time to start a second business. In this podcast I am going to talk about my new venture and my 90 day plan to go from zero to $60k in collected revenue. And over the next 90 days, I am going to be sharing the journey and updates along the way as we strive toward and hit this $60k collected goal in Q1 of 2019. 

In this episode, I speak with Say Gabriel of Anansi Content Solutions. Anansi helps businesses or organizations connect with the people who want to throw money at them! This is done through effective communication and content. Say's work revolves around being the bridge between the creative empathic space of understanding the people served and what they need and value by creating positioning statements and messaging around a company's brand so that people can reach them and connect with them. Just hearing this description, which essentially defines Content Marketing, gives you an idea of the power of choose the right words to convey meaning. Communication skills sit at the core of a good business, tune in to hear about Say's work, including how she creates content and acquires customers.

In today's podcast I sit down with Josh Elledge of UpMyInfluence.com. Josh got his start with a business called SavingsAngel - despite having no money to get the business off the ground, he managed to generate over 6 million in revenue by landing free media coverage because he was convinced 'exposure is everything'. He was right and he learned so much about the power of exposure that his whole career took a shift and he became a consultant to help others harness the power of good exposure. Nowadays Josh is all about giving back and empowering people to apply everything he learned. Through Up My Influence he teaches people how to do their own PR and has built a service based platform and productized offering agency that is disrupting the public relations industry. The old way of doing PR just doesn't work any more and now Josh is using social media to help thoughtful entrepreneurs turn into media celebrities. In this podcast you will gain insights into how to increase influence, authority and revenue. It's all about creating wins for others who are more influential than you and building meaningful connections by being genuinely helpful.

David is the author of The Irresistible Consultant's The Guide to Winning Clientsand The Executive Guide To Consulting. He joins us on the podcast today to discuss how to get better at the sales part of consulting. David's background was on the corporate side of marketing research and sales. He then became a consultant with a boutique firm and worked his way up to partner and then branched off with a colleague to start his own consulting practice of their own. His partner departed after only a matter of weeks, leaving him without a rainmaker to bring in clients. Tune in to hear the story of what steps he took to turn himself into a rainmaker and learn about the consortium model that made him a successful expert writing guides on how to make sales in consulting. This episode will have you rethinking how you write emails to clients and you'll learn to avoid common pitfalls by anticipating client's responses and getting everything on the table while negotiating.

Madeleine is the CEO of Content Refined, a content marketing agency built to scale offering productized content marketing packages. The agency is made of up herself, her business partner and a business manager working in tandem with a remote production team and project managers. Together they they bring in over 50K a month in recurring revenue! Tune in to hear Madeleine share about how a life experience brought on the opportunity for her to suddenly get everything off her plate and hire other people to run her business... so she go could on pregnancy leave. There are great takeaways in this episode, including insights on how Madeleine and her team acquire new customers, how they review and consistently update SOPs and how they handle churn.

On this week's podcast we have Mike Michalowicz, the author of Clockwork. Profit First, The Pumpkin Plan, Surge, and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. Mike's book Profit First helped me to pay down 15K of credit card debt all while paying myself a better salary. He's gone from being an entrepreneur to becoming a full time researcher and writer. He touches on behavioural psychology and breaks down real applicable strategies that can help you to live a wealthy lifestyle. All too often the reality is that entrepreneurs often work their tails off without getting paid and Mike's aim is to change that. Tune in to hear us dive into 3 of his books: The Pumpkin Plan is all about niching down and figuring out your ideal customer, Profit First shares a system for paying off credit card debt, and Clockwork is all about getting your business to run more efficiently without you. Bigger is not necessarily better, you just need to have the right strategies.

Today's guest on the podcast is sales nerd Chris Ortolano of Outbound Edge. Not only does Chris do sales consulting for companies, he's also the creator of a community I always recommend to people: Sales Stack Slack. On this episode we learn a bit about his sales process and the buyer journey at Outbound Edge, but what you really don't want to miss out on are the tidbits about how his Slack community came together and how it brings value to over 1,500 sales professionals. Through this Slack channel the pros connect and share their knowledge, discuss tools of the trade, converse about hiring processes, leadership and more. The biggest takeaway here is learning how to build something similar to this community so you that people gravitate towards you and seek you out as a thought leader.

Alex Pirouz is the founder of Linkfluencer, Australia's Leading LinkedIn Training Company. Through Linkfluencer, Alex is on a mission to transform social selling on Linkedin and build the next generation of influencers. What influencer marketing breaks down to is essentially becoming an expert in your space. People want to deal with experts. They want to work with people who are featured in the media and who are recognized for what they know. In this episode Alex shares his thoughts on why he believes influence is the key to business here and now. In 2018-2019 it is more important than ever to be an influencer in your field and if you don't have influence in the next few years, you're simply not going to exist. Influence is all about making a positive impact on other people's lives at a grand scale. As an entrepreneur building a startup, you have a responsibility to have an impact. Don't miss Alex's insights on what's coming down the Linkedin pipeline and how you can get started now.

This week on the podcast I speak with Mandi Ellefson the author of Hands Off CEO. Mandi's business is all about helping entrepreneurs and agency owners to live the dream by building a company that can run without them. Here on the podcast we're all about location independent businesses based on freedom and in this episode Mandi shares her 5 step process on how to free up 10 extra hours per week and use that time to make your company run without you. One of the challenges stopping owners from stepping away is that the foundation of the business itself is the owner and the owner's knowledge. As the business owner, you're always at the center of everything, constantly catching things to make sure everything goes forward. The business is so dependent on the owner that it's hard to sell and be confident that the team can grow without them being around to keep things from falling apart. Sounds familiar? Tune in to hear Mandi's process, so you too can work towards becoming more of a hands off CEO. It's all about structure and she's broken it down in the roadmap she shares with us.

This week I speak with Mike McDerment, author of Breaking the Time Barrier and CEO of Freshbooks, the hugely popular invoicing and accounting software built for owners, not accountants. Mike left business school in his 4th year and started an agency building websites in the early 2000s. He started off building basic websites for his clients and quickly learned the importance of going beyond creative pages to validating the conversion science behind each site using SEO, Pay Per Click and conversion consulting. Tune in to hear the story behind the 'ah-ha!' moment that pushed Mike to get his agency to a point to where it could run without him so that he could move into his parents basement to build the software now known as Freshbooks. Don't miss Mike's advice on the importance of customer proximity and hear his book recommendations for learning through the startup building journey.

On this week's podcast I speak with Michael Zipursky, CEO, author of The Elite Consulting Mind and coach to elite consultants. Michael is in the business of helping consultants to scale and grow, to attract more clients, to increase fees and win more proposals. But mainly, his intent is to create what he has coined as 'meaningful success', which refers to not only generating more revenue but also aims to create the right business structures that allow consultants to have more freedom and flexibility so that they can do the things that bring them joy in life. His website ConsultingSuccess.com was born out of a desire to create a place and a community where consultants can share stories of lessons learned and mistakes made while growing their business. Today there are over 900 articles, resources and videos on these topics, with aims to help consultants connect and learn from one another on how to grow their business. Don't miss this episode to hear all about how Michael's unique experience building a successful consulting shop in Osaka, Japan taught him new ways to create and build relationships, and also showed him that being open to doing things differently can lead to more meaningful success.

Are you familiar with The Seven Day Startup by Dan Norris? Stop Thinking Like a Freelancer by Liam Vitch? The Sober Entrepreneur by Russ Perry? All of these past guests of the podcast launched their books with Tom Morkes' help, through his business Insurgent Publishing. Insurgent Publishing is in the business of running online event based marketing campaigns for brands and businesses. Whether it's a book launch, a course launch, a summit, a challenge or a product/service being sold over a specific time period, Tom can help your launch through by facilitating large scale campaigns with partnership and influencer promotions. At the same time, Tom creates and launches his own books, content and products through his personal website TomMorkes.com. Quite clearly, Tom is at the top of the game when it comes to marketing and building thought leaders online. Tune in to the podcast to hear Tom's unique journey that started off with a military background. if you're interested in becoming a best seller, growing your audience and becoming a thought leader... don't miss this episode!