EPISODE 30 - BYOB SOCIAL CLUB, MORE SOCIAL, LESS MEDIA. HOW TO BUILD NATURAL REFERRALS IN 2019

In this solo episode of the Build Your Own Business Podcast, Andrew talks about his plans for the launch of the BYOB Social Club where aspiring business owners can get involved, catch up with peers and like-minded people to form a community to help each other build their own business. One of the goals of the club is to address issues and the challenges that new corporate escapees face when starting out and provide overall support from social events, advice, to serious business talks. He gives us an overview of how the group will be formed, how it will work and how you can be involved.

Links:

BYOB Social Club Facebook

EPISODE 29 - HOW MUCH DOES AN MBA HELP YOU BECOME A CORPORATE ESCAPEE?

Elliott works on a different flavor of project management. He drives positive organisational change through the delivery of fit for purpose services & solutions for companies. He has worked with well-known companies to transform their finance, IT and design practices. In this episode, he joins us to share his journey from being a corporate employee to building his own consulting business.

What is covered in this episode:

• Elliott's business services and who he works with.

• The project outcome differences of construction and IT projects.

• Reasons why IT projects fail.

• Elliots work background and how he transitioned into what he is doing today.

• The best way to get jobs or clients and how this relates to the importance of building your network and brand.

• What’s next for Elliot.

• Tips for people who want to start a consulting business

• Elliott's advice for people who are still working full time and want to jump into business.

Links Mentioned:

Elliott O’Dea-Joyce Website

Elliott O’Dea-Joyce LinkedIn

EPISODE 27 - FROM BUSINESS OWNER TO COACH: FIND OUT HOW LYNN ENDED UP DOING WHAT SHE REALLY LOVES

Lynn Garbers, President of Eagle Achievements, shares her story from being an enterprising kid at the age of 8 to having a business and becoming a successful coach. She has educated herself through the process and has gone through several career switches before ending up doing what she really loved. And in this episode, she shares with us her interesting journey that led her to where she is today.

What is covered in this episode:

• Lynn’s background and the services she offers.

• Her interesting job and entrepreneurial history.

• Her turning point to having her own business and the story of how she became a coach.

• The strategies she uses in her services.

• A background on her clients.

• Lynn’s advice for people who want to develop their career.

Links Mentioned:

Eagle Achievements

lynn@eagleachievements.com

EPISODE 26 - LEVERAGING YOUR DIGITAL PROFILE STEP 2: PRODUCING REMARKABLE CONTENT

In this solo episode, we cover the step 2 of leveraging your digital profile by producing content that is helpful, valuable and creates traction. We discuss the importance of what, where and why we need to post your content.

What is covered in this episode:

• Things you need to know about the business and business owner before creating their content

• Kinds of content that businesses can make and recommendations for creating video, blogs and posts.

• Starting and posting blogs to help your SEO.

• How to choose which social media platform to use when posting your content.

• The importance of having your target audience understand what you do.

• Ideas to help you attract and gravitate people towards your business.

• Framing content in the sales process.

• The benefits of podcasting for your business.

• Sneak peek on the next episode: Pitching

EPISODE 25 - IS THERE EVER A RIGHT TIME TO START A BUSINESS? MANDY NOLTON, SHARES HER JOURNEY AND THE EXPERIENCES WHICH HELPED HER CONTINUE TO PURSUE HER DREAMS

Mandy Nolton, Founder of Rec Relief and Managing Director at Rec People, shares her story in this episode and talks about her journey from university to building her own business and the experiences she went through getting to where she is today. Mandy is very passionate about her work with local government in the recreation and leisure space. She is currently in the process of building her new business Rec People.

In this episode I cover:

• Mandy’s business and services.

• The story of her first job and how she was led to work in recreation.

• The benefits of loving and enjoying what you do.

• Business as a merged lifestyle with clients becoming friends.

• Her journey to starting her own business.

• Getting a business coach to help run her business.

• How to know the right time to start a business.

• The experience that taught Mandy to just push on and carry on despite challenges in her business and life.

• Advice for people who want to start a business.

Links:

Rec Relief

Mandy Nolton LinkedIn

Darren Bourke Website

EPISODE 24 - LEVERAGING YOUR DIGITAL PROFILE STEP 1: BUILD YOUR CONNECTIONS

In this solo episode, we will continue talking about the 12-step process of building your own business, becoming a corporate escapee and building the lifestyle you want. We will focus on the first stage of leveraging your digital profile and what we need to do in this part of the process.

What is covered in this episode:

• What is the Leverage stage and how does it relate to the first stage of the process?

• The reasons why businesses fail.

• A discussion on the first stage of leveraging your digital profile - Connections.

• Understanding and identifying your target market.

• The importance of building connections.

• 4 steps of the sales process.

Links mentioned in the show:

e-ttraction Templates

#BYOB EPISODE 23 - Jordan D'Urbano - HOW DO YOU LEARN TO LOVE SALES: A LESSON IN MINDSET AND RESILIENCE FROM THE COLD CALL KING

Jordan D’Urbano, Director of Independent Closers Agency, joins us in this episode as we talk about his journey from starting as a coach, discovering his love for sales and then building his own business.

What is covered in this episode:

• Jordan’s story of taking on his first paid job to building his own coaching business at 16 years old.

• Andrew and Jordan share their personal experiences that encouraged them to build their own businesses.

• The challenge he went through when he closed his first business, how this started his shift to sales and the experiences that led him to put up the Independent Closers agency.

• The power of visualisation and how he applied this to his sales jobs and business.

• The importance of choosing a business that fuels you.

• Jordan’s tips for new business start-ups to help them succeed.

Links mentioned in the show:

Jordan D’Urbano Website

Jordan D’Urbano LinkedIn

Game of Sales Podcast

# BYOB Episode 22 - Tracey Rojko - A TRUE CORPORATE ESCAPEE, HEAR TRACEY'S VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF HER CAREER DUE TO A REMARKABLE FAMILY STORY

In this episode, Tracey Rojko, owner of The Philosopher’s Stone, joins me as we talk about her journey and business. We discuss how she helps people open their minds to alternative ways in managing their emotions and gives them the advice and tools they need.

What is covered in this episode:

• Tracey shares her personal experience on her son’s night terrors and how this started her search for alternatives to manage his emotions

• What is Reiki Healing and what you get from a healing session

• The story and outcome of her son’s Reiki Healing session

• Tracey’s life story from childhood, getting married, having children, working and escaping the corporate life to build her business

• Andrew shares his story and how he relates to Tracey’s story and experiences

• The future for her business and how she wants to help people

Links mentioned in the show:

The Philosopher’s Stones Website

Tracey Rojko LinkedIn

The Philosopher’s Stones Email - customercare@thephilosophersstone.co

#BYOB Episode 21 - Andrew Ford - Understanding Google and SEO is vital to your business a beginners guide

In this episode, we’re going to talk about the very important topic of SEO or Search Engine Optimization. I will also touch on the topic of the Google universe at is it such an important part of the way you set up your business and the way people find you, particularly in Australia.

In this episode I cover:

• The importance of winning the SEO search for your name specifically and how to do it

• The difference between branding and digital marketing

• How to have a strong presence for your name by having a personal website

• The effect of SEO being geographically based when searching on search engines like Google

• Discussion of the 5 main traits or primary source of SEO: URL, length of time, regular addition of content, having great and useful content for customers, number of site visitors

• What Google looks at and why front page SEO is what counts nowadays

• Sources for SEO tips

• How having a Google+ profile, creating a Google business profile based on your Google+ profile and making sure you are on the map helps your business

Links:

MOZ

Ebook from Social Star - SEO Myths You Should Know

#BYOB Episode 20 - Connor Gillivan: From his parents house to Freeup.com

Welcome to episode 20! Today I talk to Connor Gillivan who is the CMO of Freeeup.com. He is a young entrepreneur who has been successful in the internet space.

In this episode I cover:

• Connor’s introduction about himself and the services of Freeup.com

• His first entrepreneurial journey, what he studied in college and how he got into the digital space

• The business partnership and agreement of FreeeUp’s owners and how they make it work

• The transition from their Amazon business to opening Freeeup.com

• Entrepreneurship as an assembly of quality assets and the different types of assets

• Connor’s Book - Free Up Your Business: 50 Secrets to Bootstrap Million Dollar Companies

• What his parents think about his career

• Connor’s opinion on how education affects future careers

• Andrew’s story of wanting to work in business since he was young and his thoughts about the drive and challenges to succeed in business

• Where Connor sees himself in the next 5 years

• Examples of how the lack of building blocks and passion can dissolve or affect opportunities for businesses

• Model of Andrew’s and Connor’s businesses and their staff members

• The importance of time freedom

• Connor’s advice to people who want to start an entrepreneurial journey

Links mentioned in the show:

Connor Gillivan LinkedIn

Connor Gillivan Website

Connor Gillivan Book - Free Up Your Business: 50 Secrets to Bootstrap Million Dollar Companies

FreeeUp.com Website

FreeeUp Facebook Page

FreeeUp LinkedIn

FreeeUp Twitter

FreeeUp YouTube

#BYOB Episode 019 - BUILDING YOUR DIGITAL ASSETS, WHAT ABOUT FACEBOOK AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA?

In episode 19 I talk about all personal social media - Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, etc. I exclude LinkedIn which is our primary business tool while everything else is optional.

In this episode I cover:

• Why Facebook is a very attractive proposition and why it is the new world TV system

• Advertising in Facebook based on analytics

• 3 Types of Facebooks and the information you need to put in each of these

• Using Instagram for specific businesses and the need for amazing content to cut through

• Twitter as an amazing mechanism but is only good for certain things

• Why Snapchat is not relevant to the daily person and for a regular business

• Making YouTube an important repository of your videos and how it contributes to SEO

• How Pinterest helps drive traffic to your website and lead people to find your products

Links mentioned in the show:

Facebook

The E-ttractionist Facebook

Social Star Facebook

YouTube

#BYOB Episode 018 - Ben Carvosso: Taking pivots in your career and life and doing your life’s work.

Today on the podcast I talk to Ben Carvosso, a coach for business owners, about his coaching business, taking pivots in your career and life and doing your life’s work. 

In this episode I cover:

• Work-Life Balance and why he doesn’t believe in it

• Ben’s work and business journey and stories of his ups and downs

• How he got clients in his chiropractic and radiology businesses by differentiating his businesses and services

• How his personality and mindset drove the team in his chiropractic practice and vice versa

• What drives Ben now that he doesn’t work with a team anymore

• The importance of getting connected with purpose and mission

• The interesting story of the start of his coaching business

• Why we need to be attractive to others

• How Ben came to do what he is doing now

• Being Busy-less and getting your life’s worth

• Helping clients with direction, purpose, and challenges

• The process of working with people to navigate the turn they want

• Andrew shares a story of his experience with taking a big turn in his life

• The methodology of being a great CEO

• The length and process of clients working with Ben

• Ben’s thoughts on changing relationships

• Making choices, taking responsibility and an amazing story about Ben impacting a client’s life

• Excuses as a symptom of fear

• Where is Ben now and his advice for people to do something different today

Listen to this episode and others here.

Links mentioned in the show:

Dr. Ben Carvosso Website

Andrew Ford LinkedIn Profile

Social Star Website

#BYOB Episode 017 - BUILDING YOUR DIGITAL ASSETS, START WITH LINKEDIN

On episode 17 I talk about my favorite social media, LinkedIn. We will talk about why LinkedIn is the best social media for aspiring entrepreneurs’ personal branding, how to use it and how to use it in conjunction with your other social media.

In this episode I cover:

• How I discovered LinkedIn and realised its potential

• What is LinkedIn and what it is not?

• LinkedIn in the business context

• How to build a great profile that represents your brand

• First things that people look at in your profile and why

• Three things to put in your banner

• Engage and form trust using your biography

• Talk about your business, products and services in the experience section

• How and why all the parts of your profile should form a story about why you’re awesome at what you do today

• Philosophical difference between branding and digital marketing

• The people and clients you want to attract to your branded LinkedIn profiles

• Two things you need to do to create engagement in LinkedIn

Links mentioned in the show:

My LinkedIn Profile

Social Star

#BYOB Episode 016 - Setting clear intentions for your career and business

On this episode I talk about Intentions - why they are a super important part of our process of setting our direction and achieving our goals. I also share information about how to set intentions, its impacts and what part of the 12-week process we use it for.

In this episode I cover:

• Intentions, its difference from goals, and where it is used in the 12-step process

• Documenting your intentions

• How intentions work when you’ve set them

• Example of how intentions work

• Why you need to set intentions of what you want and where you want to be

• Intentions are thoughts that should be acted upon

• The 4 steps for intentions that you should follow

• The state of flow and building from there

• The consequence of not doing the fundamentals correctly

 Listen here.

#BYOB Episode 015 - Darren Taylor: The difference between a personal brand and a business brand

On this #BYOB episode we chat with Darren Taylor: author, speaker and CEO of Taylor and Grace, a medium sized agency that invents or re-invents brands for small and medium sized businesses.

Darren shares his story from being a regular employee and taking a marketing apprenticeship to building his own branding business. He highlights the importance of branding for a company, whether big or small, and how it can make a business successful.

What is covered in this episode:

• Services of Taylor and Grace

• The story of Darren’s previous jobs and education

• How Darren took the path less traveled, made a career shift in marketing and eventually started his own business

• His apprenticeship before starting Taylor and Grace

• Why Darren started his own business instead of getting another job

• His thoughts before he plunged into his entrepreneurship journey and how he prepared for it

• Andrew’s story of how he left his job to start his own business

• Darren’s business partner and how they decided to work on branding

• The reason why a company’s message is more important than the mode or medium it is delivered in

• How successful business branding for small and medium enterprises start

• Philosophy of Taylor and Grace

• Why a brand is important and why it is the first thing needed in building a company

• Examples of how Taylor and Grace helped 2 clients improve and build their brands

• The similarities and differences between company and personal branding

• Darren’s Book “Rebranding Branding”, the awards he won for it, and why he wrote it

• Advice to people starting a business

• 4 ways a brand can touch customers

Links mentioned in the show:

Website - Taylor and Grace

Linked In - Taylor and Grace

Linked In - Darren Taylor

Book Website - Rebranding Branding

#BYOB Episode 014 - Darren Bourke: Create the lifestyle you most want

Today on the podcast we chat with Darren Bourke, a business coach, mentor and consultant to small and medium business owners for 15 years and author of The Fourth Moon.

Darren shares his story from his humble beginnings as a regular employee to building and owning his successful business. He specialises in coaching business owners to replicate his lifestyle design using his tried and tested methodology in achieving sustainable business success.

What is covered in this episode:

• Who is Darren Bourke?

• Darren’s methodology in making money, time and lifestyle work together

• The lifestyle Darren lives, how he lives it and why it’s something people should emulate

• Book: The Fourth Moon by Darren Bourke

• The idea of the busy fool and how to change and overcome it to open yourself up to more time and opportunities

• Darren’s work and family history and the story of following his dream of building and running his own business

• How a sabbatical helped him re-calibrate and discover what he really wanted to do

• Helping businesses by changing their format without changing their goals

• Darren’s rituals and activities to keep him going and retain his focus

• The story of launching his own brand and business

• His new venture, Coachtopia, and how he wants to help start-up coaches to build their businesses

• Business models and how it helps

• One piece of advice from Darren to improve your business

Links mentioned in the show:

Website - Darren K. Bourke

Book: The Fourth Moon by Darren Bourke

Ebook: The Success Algorithm

LinkedIn - Darren K. Bourke

#BYOB Episode 013 - Andrew Ford - Understanding what resources you need to start your own business

Today on the podcast I talk about the fourth stage in the Attract process – Resources.  

There are three areas we focus on in the resources section - time, money and connections.

In this episode I cover:

• The importance of focusing on those activities that you enjoy doing and get you into a state of flow

• The daily routine of writing out your intentions each day

• How to map out your time allocation

• Writing down the ten things you love and hate doing in your business to understand where you need to focus your time on and where you need to delegate.

• Knowing the value of your time to understand the amount you can spend to outsource

• Understanding that you don't know what you don't know and why it is important to get the right help when starting out

• Knowing how much to invest when starting out

• How to use your connections and network at the beginning of your service based business

• What is your ultimate destination - what do you want to do and when

Links mentioned in the show:

Tim Dwyer podcast

Run Well marathon training

#BYOB Episode 012 - Morry Morgan: How to transition between different businesses at different stages of life

Today on the podcast we have a laugh with Morry Morgan as we explore his entrepreneurial story and what led him to cofound a comedy school having never been a comedian himself.

He shares his learnings from living and owning a business in China and how his teaching background and an on-stage technical failure lead him to create The School of Hard Knock Knocks.

What is covered in this episode:

• How his entrepreneurial journey has led him to create a business around teaching comedy and being a 'bucket list ticker'.

• The impact going to China and leaving Australia had on his business journey.

• The challenges of running and owning a business in China.

• How you recover from storms can define you as an entrepreneur.

• Testing your product in a market where you are unknown.

• How an 'onstage fail' inspired him to learn the act of comedy.

• How experiencing a poor customer journey led him to start the School of Hard Knock Knocks.

• Understanding the impact that Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) can have on the growth of your business.

• How podcasting helped Morry to reach KOLs in the comedy industry.

• The future focus of scaling up his business to different locations.

• How he is re-purposing his content across SHKKs social media.

• The importance of looking after his past students and how that helps with new referrals and word of mouth.

Links mentioned in the show:

The School of Hard Knock Knocks

#BYOB Episode 011 - Understanding how your lifestage impacts your start-up business

Over the last few weeks we have looked at values and personality as important aspects of creating a business that attracts people to you.  Today we look at the third component - Life Stages.

If you don't know where you are and where you want to go, how can you plan for the future?

You need to know what you want in order to set your business intentions. 

What age are you is the first thing to look at in Life Stages.  Age can often determine your current values and life priorities and these need to be understood when building and designing a business on your terms.  

Life stages is all about timing and what capacity you currently have in your life. Entrepreneurship is about understanding where we are and planning for what is coming up.

When do you want to retire? What do you want to do when you retire? Retirement is about being able to choose what you want to do. 

Once you know what you want retirement to look like, map out how long it is going to take you and what you need to do to get there.  Intention, time and lifestyle are all key factors.

It can take 5 to 10 years to make a remarkable business.  Five years to get a business that can create a lifestyle income and another 5 years to make an asset to sell.

What are your intentions for the next 5 to 10 years, map out what it is going to take to get there and then consider what you will need to get there. 

We will dig deeper next time into Resources, what you will need to have to get you to where you want to go.

Take action this week by visiting the Life Stage module at Social Star University.