Learn What John & Tom Think About Choosing A Business Partner...
Tom Teaches Us Something He Learned In Hippy Land About Being An Assholes As John Shows Us How To Offend Tom By Being A Male Chauvinist haha!!
Dominate Your Market With These Tactical Business Strategy Secrets....
Matt is a proud graduate of the Air Force Academy,
and spent nearly a decade as a pilot for the Air Force.
As much as he loved flying and the work he was doing,
he was sick of being a pen pal with his wife,
and decided to leave the military, and enter the private sector.
Matt's early career, and the jobs he took after leaving the service,
are not the standard background for the successful business owner he's become.
But there's one really important trait he shares with
the most successful people in the world:
Humility.
After graduating from one of the most prestigious universities in the country, flying some of the military's largest aircraft,
and financial success in the corporate world, Matt found himself in a tough spot.
His finances were not keeping up with the cost of raising three children.
Sound familiar?
Well, Matt didn't sit around and moan, or blame anyone else for his predicament.
On the contrary.
And the example he set for his wife and children, is one that all of us can learn from.
He collected aluminum cans and sold them back. He sold used books on Amazon.
He delivered pizza for 18 months.
He did anything he could to feed his family.
All the while, he was inspired by the book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki,
and was determined to find enough passive income to allow him to leave his J.O.B.
It all started with a gumball machine.
He started with a used machine he bought for $36, and used the quarters from that machine to buy the next one, and the next one...
Eventually, he had 130 machines around the Houston area.
Things were going great, until the recession hit, and sales began to tank.
But, fortune shines on those of us who are paying attention.
And Matt is always paying attention.
After a couple neighborhood kids came to his door raising money for a school fundraiser,
Matt came up with an idea for schools to raise money
without having to send kids out in to neighborhoods...
Vending machines selling stickers in schools.
And the rest is history.
Matt is a conservative guy, and didn't quit his job until he was making
four times as much money from the vending machine business,
as he was making at his "real job."
As the demand for his machines grew, Matt didn't rest on his laurels. Not hardly.
He now has over 70 franchisees in states across the country.
And a comic book with super hero characters that is about to go nationwide.
Matt also offered an excellent reminder that
financial success is not necessarily the end of the journey.
His success lead him to get kinda lazy.
Fortunately for him, and for the many families he has impacted,
Matt ran into a coach that changed his life.
Aaron Walker.
Aaron's coaching continues to mentor and guide Matt as he continues to grow his business, and not settle for less than he is capable of achieving.
Matt is an excellent reminder that we can all benefit from the wisdom of a mentor...
If we remain humble enough to accept that we don't know it all.
And just in case you think there can't be much money in vending machines,
Matt's machines have raised over $4 million for education in only ten years.
Fifty cents at a time.
Think about that. Those quarters really do add up!
Matt's book suggestions are:
Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki
How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
Tom added another book, by Matt's coach, View From the Top, by Aaron Walker
Check out School Spirit Vending at ssvbusiness.com
You can find Matt's ebook at ssvbusiness.com/360
Hybrid episode…answering a question from Lucas,
and digging deeper into marketing strategies.
How do you get started bringing your product or idea to market?
First of all, be clear on your intent for your release.
Frequently, the goal is not immediately apparent to your audience.
You may spend far more money than you receive,
because your goal may not be monetary.
For example, your goal may be list building.
Building a list from scratch, can be very expensive.
On the other hand, giving a product away for free,
plus the cost of shipping, can generate an instantly valuable list.
If you have a new product, like John’s hammer,
send it out to industry experts for honest feedback.
Their suggestions may be a huge help
in determining what your audience really needs,
and, if your product fills that need.
Constructive criticism…If you can’t handle it, you’re toast!
If your feelings are so fragile
that you can’t handle the gold your testers give you,
how can you expect to make the subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle adjustments
all business make as the result of customer feedback?
Words of wisdom from John:
Surround yourself with friends who will remind you when you are being a dipshit.
Words of wisdom from Tom:
The person who has the big brilliant idea is not the person who should refine the idea.
Specific recommendation from John:
Shipstation. Check it out if you are sending out physical products.
John's dedication to his audience is legendary, and we began by talking about the origin of his latest publication, The Mastery Journal.
The common thread among John's guests is that they are hard working and productive.
They are skilled at setting and accomplishing goals, while his listeners were struggling with that very thing.
So...John spent over a year researching goals and the achievement of them.
That lead to the Freedom Journal.
The success of the Freedom Journal lead John to dig deeper into the study of productivity, discipline, and focus.
After another year of research and exploration, The Mastery Journal was born.
Mastery starts with how you structure your day, and the Mastery Journal helps you become a peak performer.
A key to JLD's productivity is the Pomodoro technique.
Put simply, this involves breaking work down into intervals, with a brief break to recharge.
If you are struggling with productivity, The Mastery Journal is a great tool to get you producing like a peak performer.
Check it out!
For someone as accomplished as JLD, it might surprise you to learn what success looks like for him.
The answer has nothing to do with money, podcast downloads, or book sales.
It's all about the ripple effect.
That he has inspired someone to change and then that they have in turn inspired someone else.
Humility. JLD has that in spades.
Sometimes, it can appear that starting out in whatever your chosen field is, can be a daunting task.
In podcasting, JLD has a suggestion for you.
If you are starting tomorrow with no following at all,
Dig deep and find a very specific niche that is not being served.
JLD says that he would, "niche my face off," in that situation.
You can then use that niche as your "fullback" as you grow your audience and your impact.
Everything in life is the beginning of a funnel.
Whether you are starting a business, or moving to a new town with no connections.
JLD has a great suggestion for getting started...Listen up!
John's book recommendation: Relentless, by Tim Grover.
Oh yeah...One more thing...
We'll be giving away TWO FREE SIGNED COPIES OF THE MASTERY JOURNAL.
The guys finally turn the microphones on!
Sometimes we get together with the intention to tape a podcast, but get so wrapped up in conversation that we never get around to recording!
That almost happened again today, but we got it done.
That's a good thing, because today's episode is destined for our greatest hits album!
What makes you stand out?
What is your story beneath the story?
How are you positioned in the market?
Regardless of the quality of your product or service, if you don't pay attention to these questions and answer them effectively, success and a mass audience are likely to elude you.
Tap into the depth of your story in a way that engages your audience.
Start with your "attractive character," and the challenge he/she faces.
Once your audience identifies with your "attractive character," you've begun to build your business.
As you begin to own your story, your tribe will begin to grow. They are magnetized by your character and his or her journey.
We all want to create a story that is bigger than our product or service.
Your audience will want to be part of that story.
A story that is bigger than your product or service.
Your most loyal customers are the ones who feel that using your product or service was their idea, rather than the result of being "sold" by you.
John goes into how he ended up with a brand new truck by using this strategy on his wife.
Hopefully, Angela won't be listening to this episode...otherwise, John's cover will be completely blown, and he may have some serious explaining to do.
Marketing infuses the desired story into the hearts and minds of your intended consumer.
People purchase because of status. Status is not necessarily about cost or finances.
Status is frequently attached to making an intelligent buying decision.
Make sure that purchasing your product or service is considered to be an intelligent buying decision.
Status. Story. Attractive character.
Make them part of your marketing message.
Straight from the North Pole….well, from North Pole, Alaska.
Shaneh actually grew up a snowball’s throw from a statue of the Big Red Reindeer Driver.
At 19, she purchased her first business.
With absolutely no experience and no mentor, the lessons she learned were painful and expensive.
Sound familiar?
When she started giving herself credit for her skills and abilities, her business began to thrive.
She had to become a person who believed in herself, before she could really own her power.
It also took her a quite a while to move past her limiting beliefs about coaches and coaching.
She learned from mentors such as John Maxwell, Zig Ziglar, and Brendon Burchard, among others.
After two separate clients asked her to help them implement Mike Michalowicz’s Profit First accounting system,
Shaneh reached out to Mike and is now a certified Profit First Professional.
John pointed out the similarities between Profit First and the message from the classic story, The Richest Man in Babylon.
And then, as only John can, he moved from there to Napoleon Hill, and on to Biggie Smalls.
“Stack them chips!”
Learn to equate pleasure to savings, and then to the power that comes from having enough to protect your future.
Of course, John wrapped things up with a reference to a cartoon. This time it was Duck Tales.
Check out Shaneh’s website: www.E-3services.com
You can reach her directly via email at: Shaneh@E-3services.com
Ginsu knives, Billy Mays, and Ron Popiel were groundbreakers that changed the way we sell products today.
Their infomercials were the butt of jokes for a generation,
but now the strategies they used are at the cutting edge of how we sell products online.
They offer insight into how
breaking even can be the foundation of a multi-million dollar business.
Whatever product or service you are selling, you need to know the genius behind their pitch.
Selling has changed…while staying the same.
Amazon is putting Sears (and others) out of business,
and their true innovation is the way they understand the importance of the “back end.”
Brendon Burchard, one of the best internet marketers in the world,
has 2 years of auto-respond email sequences in his pipeline.
2 YEARS!!! Think about that.
He not only has quality, evergreen products,
But he has enough emails, already written and targeted,
To keep you in the loop for two years.
That is astounding.
Tom is about to lose his shit, and John talks him off the ledge!!
Yep, even respected coaches have moments when they've reached their limit.
If you've ever felt the pressure of deadlines and been the victim of your own poor planning, drop everything and listen to this. NOW!
John and Tom were in a Miracle Morning group about two years ago, when Tom committed to write a book.
He had no idea what he was in for!
Writing is a different process for different writers, but for Tom, he knew he was going to write a book of stories, but he had no idea what the theme would be.
In the beginning, he looked back on some of the blogs and magazine articles he'd written, just looking for a hook, to get started.
It wasn't until he was about a third of the way through the book, before he had an idea of the direction he had in mind.
When he thought it was finished, he consulted with a writing coach, who challenged him to dig deeper, be move vulnerable, and find the best book he had inside him.
The journey from idea to book, is very similar to the entrepreneurial journey.
To get his book from idea to reality, Tom had to assemble a team. Just like we all have to do as entrepreneurs.
AJ Harper helped him refine the words. Amber Vilhauer helped him launch the marketing campaign.
Do you have your team in place? Who is helping you on your Hero's Journey? Have you assembled your Voltron?
Prepare to tell the story of your journey. Your story has value for those who aspire to reaching the success you have achieved.
Every journey has its challenges. Joseph Campbell wrote extensively about The Hero's Journey.
Guess what? Your journey, our journey, everyone's journey is a heroic journey.
Drop Tom a line at tom@tomrubens.com to get the heads up on all the free stuff you'll get when you order his new book, <em>Lifeness</em> on April 4th.
Key Teachers we mentioned today:
AJ Harper, book shepherd/author's mentor extraordinaire www.ajharper.com
Amber Vilhauer book launch guru www.insightfuldevelopment.com
Books mentioned today:
Joseph Campbell, <em>The Hero's Journey</em>
Hal Elrod, <em>Miracle Morning</em>
Tom Rubens, <em>Lifeness</em>
This is a show filled with questions. Here are a few of them.
What do we mean by the "science" of success...
...and the "art" of fulfillment?
Can you have one without the other?
What does the process look like?
Which comes first for you, success or fulfillment?
Who sets the standard for your success? For your fulfillment? Are you sure?
We are on our journey to the top of the mountain, and we'd love to have you join us.
Why?
Because no one gets there alone. We need to build each other up to get to the top.
Consider the gap between where you are, and where you'd like to be.
Your definition of success and fulfillment offers the GPS for your journey.
Books and references this week:
Tony Robbins
This episode is a breakdown of one of John's favorite childhood cartoons: Voltron.
Tom had never heard of Voltron, but John and Tom take this mythical robot creature and turn it into an important business lesson!
We talk about how to leverage your time and farm out activities that aren't "dollar productive," while you focus on the tasks where your best skills have the highest return on time invested.
John makes it clear that he values his time, and isn't likely to take your calls...unless you're his wife!
John and Tom discuss the cost/benefit analysis of time spent on various activities during the business day.
Bottom line: No surprise here. John is pretty cut and dried. If you can't dance to his music, he'll cut you off pretty quickly.
Tom's more the touchy feely type. Guess what? Both styles work, but John is currently the more productive of this duo.
Looks like Tom's going to need to do some self assessment, and he'd better tweak his style a bit if he wants to ramp up his productivity!
What do you need to do to create your Voltron?
Are you prepared to cut and move on from people, habits, beliefs that aren't serving to help you grow?
John circled back to a conversation we had in episode 15, when he and Tom disagreed on the purpose and value of a coach. The cool thing here is that he showed how you can be open enough to actually listen without an agenda. In today's crazy political landscape, wouldn't it be refreshing to seek harmony within a disagreement rather than focus on proving each other wrong? Winning in life doesn't mean someone else must lose.
How about developing your listening skills? The better we become at listening, the easier it will be to reach the state of True Wealth, True Health, and True Life.
Do you approach life from an abundance perspective, or a scarcity perspective?
Do you allow resistance to disable you, or do you use it to propel yourself to even greater heights?
Does your competition slow you down or inspire you?
Resistance comes in many forms, and is frequently self-inflicted.
As entrepreneurs, we are creative individuals, and that creativity can be challenged by what we perceive as roadblocks.
The trick is to learn to use that resistance, those perceived roadblocks, as fuel for our journey.
In the same way that a plane uses the power of the headwind to achieve "wheels up" faster than it would with a tailwind, we can use our
competition to elevate us and accelerate our growth.
Used constructively, even anger can be a tool for growth.
This week we talk about how you can avoid letting the haters, the naysayers, the competition get the best of you.
You can welcome that energy and use it to power yourself and your business to the top.
As usual, our references are all over the place.
When was the last time you heard a podcast that managed to seamlessly go from Andy Warhol to Henry Ford, to the unfortunate reality of life for a
zebra in the jungle? Thats's right. John and Tom 360! Well, maybe not the seamless part.
Hey, if you haven't read it yet, check out The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.
We're gonna keep on talking about it, so you might as well break down and buy it now.
Hear John & Tom's prospective on hiring a business coach, learn how to pick and understand your personal needs.
By his 35th birthday MIKE MICHALOWICZ (pronounced mi-‘kal-o-wits) had founded and sold two multi-million dollar companies. Confident that he had the formula to success, he became an angel investor…and proceeded to lose his entire fortune.
Then he started all over again, driven to find better ways to grow healthy, strong companies. Among other innovative strategies, Mike created the “Profit First Formula”, a way for businesses to ensure profitability from their very next deposit forward.
Mike is now running his third million dollar venture, is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal; is the former MSNBC business make-over expert; is a popular keynote speaker on innovative entrepreneurial topics; and is the author of Profit First, Surge, The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, which BusinessWeek deemed “the entrepreneur’s cult classic.”
In this episode John & Tom talk about how to transition from job to business owner.
Hold on everybody. This is not a bedtime story. John and Tom bring the energy, so grab some coffee and try to keep up. This show is pure gold.
Our friend Vince got us started yesterday by saying he was experiencing some "down time."
Hopefully, this show will change his perspective--and yours--on that subject.
There's no such thing as "down time," guys. There's "go time," "create time," "list time," "build time," and "kick it into gear time," but no way is there ever "down time."
Those times when you might be feeling sorry for yourself because there are no cars in the shop, no customers at the door, are the perfect times to be building your business!
Create a list of projects that need your attention, and when there is no "business" coming in the door, chip away at them.
Focus on marketing, sales, promotion, long term growth, creating content--the things that will have the greatest impact on your business over the long term.</p>
<p>"Down time" is a choice, and it's not a choice you have to make. Make another choice.
Talking about downtime, lead us into a conversation about vulnerability.
John got pretty real about some childhood challenges, and how he could have gone down the "wrong" road.
You're gonna have to listen to the show to find out what those challenges were, but we busted another myth along the way.
If you think vulnerability equals weakness, you couldn't be more wrong, my friend.
As usual, we dropped some reading suggestions on you.
Before you do another thing, buy The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield. Just buy it. You can thank us later.
We also mentioned The One Thing, by Gary Keller, and The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. Might as well buy them at the same time.
In this episode we explore how to live a life of harmony with true wealth, true health, & True life principles. We explore how to separate work and life while becoming more productive. If you want to make more money with less stress and live a healthier life, this episode is for you!
This Question Was Asked By Zan, So We Delivered!! I hope this will help all of you out there in the quest of finding a business partner, or not!
Ask John & Tom 360 Part 2: Linda is re entering the real estate market and wants to know how to keep a regular schedule and stay focused. In a business that seems to be a moving target how can this be achieved?
Tune in to see how John & Tom respond to Linda's question.
This week, we met with entrepreneurial legend, Greg McAfee.
After getting fired from his first job as a HVAC technician, Greg's boss told him to get into another field, because he'd never make it in HVAC.
He got a job with another HVAC company, but was laid off after a few months.
At this point, many people would have just given up, and tried something else. Not Greg. He was either too stupid to know better, too stubborn to care, or confident enough to know that his previous employers had massively underestimated him.
So, armed with $274 and a used pick-up truck, Greg started McAfee Heating and Air, which is now one of the largest and most successful HVAC companies in southwest Ohio.
Greg's story is one of perseverance, determination, and unwavering self-confidence.
Like John, Greg has grown from being a field technician to one of the leading educators in his field. Owners of HVAC companies from around the country come to Dayton to learn how to successfully grow and operate their businesses at Greg's boot camps. The systems and processes he developed are now industry standards for excellence and innovation.
This show is full of nuggets that you can use to transform you own business and your life. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed recording it for you.
Visit Greg’s website at gregmcafee.com, and learn more about the Greg, his company, and McAfee Foundation, which is just one of the ways Greg gives back to his community.
Ask John & Tom 360 Episode 1: Ryan loves doing his job but he hates the administration required to run a business.
Check out how John & Tom respond to Ryan’s question.