Episodes

  • 143. How to Embrace Adversity and Say, “Come What May”

    143. How to Embrace Adversity and Say, “Come What May”
    Jun 27 2021
    This is Entrepreneurs of Faith, a Sunday episode of Monetization Nation. I’m Nathan Gwilliam, your host. In today’s episode, we’re going to discuss ways we can embrace adversity and have the attitude of, “Come what may.” Come What May In 2008, Joseph Wirthlin, an American businessman, and the religious leader gave a sermon titled, “Come What May, and Love It.” In his sermon, he shared a simple, yet powerful message he learned from his mother. When Wirthlin was a young boy, he loved to play sports. After a tough loss during a football game, he came home feeling discouraged. His mother listened to his story and said, “Joseph, come what may, and love it.” When we experience hardships and disappointments we have to learn how to pick ourselves back up and move on. While we can’t control what trials we encounter, we can control how to react to them. “[E]very life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring,” Wirthlin said. “Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result.” As entrepreneurs, we need to learn how to continue on after failures and adversity. There will be times when we lose an investment, a partner betrays us, or a client falls through. Yet despite these setbacks, we can find ways to smile and move forward. How to Embrace Adversity As we experience adversity in our businesses, we can find ways to embrace it. Learn to Laugh Wirthlin said the first thing we can do is learn to laugh. He asked, “Have you ever seen an angry driver who, when someone else makes a mistake, reacts as though that person has insulted his honor, his family, his dog, and his ancestors all the way back to Adam?” Instead of cursing at the world, we need to learn to laugh at these small hardships. Laughter can help reduce stress hormones, release tension in our muscles, increase endorphins to boost happiness levels and reset the brain to be more positive (Source: University of St. Augustine). As we laugh in our companies and stressful careers, we will actually improve our state of mind and enter into a better mindset to continue on despite adversity. “The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead,” Wirthlink said. “It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable.” Having a sense of humor is a trait many great entrepreneurs have. For example, Elon Musk has a sense of humor about failure. When SpaceX finally reached one of their goals, they posted a blooper reel showcasing all the mistakes they made along the way, including failed engine sensors and a collapsed landing leg (Source: Entrepreneur). They even posted a video titled, “How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster.” When we have a sense of humor and learn to laugh, we will be encouraged to try again even after the most devastating failures. Keep the Big Picture in Mind Whenever we experience adversity, we should keep the big picture in mind. We may be stuck in a rut on the road to a much greater destination. Wirthlin calls this seeking for the eternal. “You may feel singled out when adversity enters your life,” Wirthlin said. “You shake your head and wonder, ‘Why me?’ But the dial on the wheel of sorrow eventually points to each of us. At one time or another, everyone must experience sorrow. No one is exempt.” We need to understand that no one on earth has lived or will live a life without any pain, disappointment, or struggle. If we can remember this, it won’t feel like the end of the world when we hit a roadblock. Instead, it will feel like another hurdle we can jump over to continue on our journey. “Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorrow is part of our on-the-job training,” Wirthlin said. “These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.” As we keep the bigger picture in mind, we will recognize that adversity is only temporary. Trust in the Lord Having faith and trust in the Lord will help us learn to accept and embrace adversity. We can know that the Lord would never give us a trial He knew we couldn’t handle. Each hardship in our lives has been given to us for a reason. Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV) says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” As we trust in God, he will help direct our paths and bless us. Kenton Lee is the founder and inventor of the “shoe that grows.” He created a shoe that expands five sizes so that it can grow with an impoverished child for over five years. He has helped send more than 100,000...
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    9 mins
  • 142. How to Manage Business Relationships

    142. How to Manage Business Relationships
    Jun 26 2021
    In the last episode with Evan Stewart, we discussed how to build a successful business by focusing on quality before we focus on monetization. In today’s episode, we’re going to discuss how we can build better relationships with ourselves, our customers, and our partners. Relationship with Ourselves To turn our business goals into a reality, we need to build a strong relationship with ourselves. Evan shared five areas that complete a whole person: personal, financial, spiritual, relational, and professional. As we focus our time, resources, and energy on improving ourselves in these five areas, we will begin to get into the right headspace for success. Personal: How do we feel about ourselves when the door closes and we’re alone? Our personal headspace and attitude about ourselves have a huge impact on the success of our businesses. If we aren’t confident and competent in who we are, our customers and employees won’t believe our value either. Financial: Inc. completed a study in 2016 that found people are willing to take as much as a 32% pay cut to be happier in their workplace (Source: Inc). “I believe that what you earn and how you earn it is just as important. You want to earn a million dollars, great, but how you get that money is just as important as the money that you actually receive,” Evan said. We need to focus on financial security while balancing our personal happiness. Where do we find fulfillment? How can we balance fulfillment with our financial needs? Spiritual: We need to know what we believe in, what our morals are, and what we value. As we understand this, we should align our business values with our personal values. Otherwise, we can experience internal conflict that can have a large negative impact on our business. Relational: The relationships we build with those around us are key to the success of our businesses. We need the support of others in our lives for encouragement, strength, and motivation. “Relationships are some of the most important things that you can focus on at any stage of the business because the people close to you will be the reason you succeed,” Evan said. Professional: In our businesses, we should maintain a professional attitude with our business associates. We should also be professional in the way we set goals and use our resources to maximize profit in our businesses. “Your workplace needs to inspire, fascinate, and motivate,” Evan said. As we do this, our life should significantly improve because of the time and work we put in. Evan said, “Clarity doesn't come unless you look at those five areas and know how you're dividing your time.” He continued, “At a high level, I believe that these five areas, in particular, provide a fundamental framework for you to look at how you're spending your time. I recommend touching them on a weekly basis and saying, ‘Okay, I need to make sure that I'm spending time, that I'm investing energy and resources, in these five areas every single week to make sure that my life stays in a good flow of balance.’” Relationships with Our Customers We need to focus on building relationships with our customers so they feel valued and appreciated. With Obsessed Academy, Evan focuses on helping his clients establish those customer relationships so they can find success in their businesses. A fundamental principle Evan believes and teaches is, “a transaction is a byproduct of a vested relationship and not the goal of a relationship.” Instead of focusing on a transaction, we should focus on connecting with our customers. As we build referral-rich relationships, our company will have greater success in scaling and becoming profitable. Our sales and goals are achieved by having a conversation without a motive. One of the mistakes professionals often make is focusing on their motives and forgetting to have a conversation. If we want to create a repeat customer, we need to focus on the relationship and the conversation. The relationship will not be built on transactional goals. “When you can just have a conversation, at some point a solution will arise, and at some point, there's an opportunity to dive deep into what you really need. And we can position our products or services as the solution. Then there's an opportunity to do business there,” Evan said. Relationships with Our Partners We need to be cautious with the relationships we choose to build in our partnerships. Evan’s biggest setback stemmed from bad partnerships. “I thought that I needed help. I thought I needed a partnership. It really stemmed from an insecurity, actually,” Evan said. “I wasn't confident so I got into these business partnerships with people where I would work very, very hard, and there would be disparagement in labor and results versus my partner who didn't share the same moral or work ethic.” Sometimes we may enter into a partnership ...
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    26 mins
  • 141. How to Make a Profit By Losing Money

    141. How to Make a Profit By Losing Money
    Jun 25 2021
    Most of the time we have to lose money before we can make a profit in our businesses. Evan Stewart is the founder and chief evangelist for the Obsessed Academy and helps others build a life they can be obsessed with through private events, his Obsessed Conference, and his Obsessed Podcast. He has become a world-renowned life and business strategist who builds success by first losing money. In today’s episode, we’re going to discuss how we can build a successful business by focusing on quality before we focus on monetization. Evan’s Entrepreneurial Journey Evan came from a family of entrepreneurs. When he was growing up, instead of wondering what type of job he would pursue a living, he thought about what service he could provide to others. In college, he jumped into real estate, had the opportunity to scale his business, and became the top 1% of realtors in Texas. His real estate company became his first step in learning and growing on his entrepreneurial journey. With so much success, he discovered a new passion: a passion to help others achieve that same success he did. He began to meet great people, build relationships, and eventually started Obsessed Academy where he helps consult entrepreneurs in building a successful business. “The core of everything I do comes down to this ideology that individuals deserve to be inspired, fascinated, and motivated by where they live, where they work, who they live and work with, and how they live and work,” Evan said. “We can all be the best version of ourselves. . . . People have so much potential in them to do incredible things to impact the world and make money around what they're doing.” From the examples of his parents, Evan learned that entrepreneurship is all about relationships and service. His parents helped teach him to recognize a healthy relationship with great communication and systems in place so that issues in one area don’t affect another area. Evan’s relationship with his parents helped him identify healthy relationships not just in his marriage but also with employees, partners, and customers. One of the greatest lessons he has learned throughout his journey is to focus on people. We shouldn’t be focused on money but on the relationships, we can build and the people we can serve. Don’t Focus on Monetization Evan’s best monetization strategy is to not focus on monetization. “Don't focus on monetization,” Evan said. “I'm not saying don't be profitable. I'm not saying don't focus on sales or money, but I'm speaking specifically to those that are looking at building as much profit as possible in the early stages. [Instead] focus on quality first, and monetization second, and after your product becomes the market standard, switch.” Instead of only focusing on making a profit, we should focus on providing as much value as we can to our target audience and customers so we can build relationships and build our credibility. This strategy will help us achieve the greatest lifetime value out of our customers. If we try to be profitable right off the bat, we likely won’t. Starting a business often requires risks and investments. We may have to spend three years building our business without any profit, but if we are focusing on quality, we will eventually see a great return on investment in the long run. Evan’s Obsessed Conference is not a profitable event. Yet. He mapped out a 10-year plan for his event to lose money in the beginning while they focus on the quality of the experience and relationships. They currently have an 85% audience retention rate because they are providing so much value to their customers with little cost. He does this with the long-term game in mind. Because he is building strong relationships with his customers now, later, when thousands of people attend his event, they will be more willing to spend money on an event they already know provides value. We can make a profit by losing money in the short term first. If we're in the business of positively impacting lives, we will be much more likely to monetize in the long run. “The best data [to look at] are . . . the businesses that have grown significantly because of your relationships together,” Evan said. Are we here for the short run or the long run? While some businesses can find success in the short-term run, most businesses find more success by making long-term goals. If we are aiming to be successful in the long run, Evan encourages us to ask ourselves, “How can we minimize profit right now to focus all our needs on the quality of our services and relationships with our customers?” Most companies make a goal to earn as much money as possible right off the bat, even before they have validity, history, credibility, following, and a customer base. Instead, we want to focus on building credibility, relationships, and quality first, before we focus on making a ...
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    28 mins
  • 140. 10 Content Marketing Strategies to Up Our Content Game

    140. 10 Content Marketing Strategies to Up Our Content Game
    Jun 24 2021
    Welcome back to another episode with Ali Schwanke. In the last episode, we talked about taking the path of the most resistance along with Ali’s entrepreneurial journey, B2B vs B2C content marketing, and quick wins. In today’s episode, we’ll discuss why content marketing is so powerful and Ali’s tips for successful content marketing. Why is content marketing so powerful? Content marketing equips customers with the power to make what they feel is their own buying decision. Ali gave an example through real estate and buying a car. She said, “I was never a home buyer in the days when you didn't have access to the MLS listings. I was never a home buyer where I had to go to the office and have someone sit down and put house offerings in front of me. I've always been in the age where I go online, and I look at the neighborhood that I want, and the realtor to me just feels like a person that I have to go through to get to the house.” “Content marketing is the same way. Every industry now feels like that. I can go buy a car, but how much do I know what I'm doing when I buy that car? That's where content comes in. So if I feel like you've educated me to the point where I feel like I know enough that . . . I'm not being tricked or duped in the sales process, then I'm [going to] have a good buying experience, and that's what content facilitates.” Top Content Marketing Strategies Here are some of Ali’s top content marketing strategies. Focus on Thought Leadership or Search-Driven Blogging Ali was working with a company that was doing strategic planning. They were writing articles that were very interesting to their audience, but they weren't getting much traffic from a search engine perspective. Ali said, “The tip that I often tell people is there are two different types of blogging. Most companies don't know that they're actually doing one or the other, and they don't really know what camp they're in and why.” Ali explained that a search-driven or SEO-driven headline for a blog might say, “5 Ways to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile.” To find this blog post, someone might type in “how do I optimize my LinkedIn profile” and that blog would come up as an answer. In contrast, Ali said the thought leadership version of that title might be “5 Ways You Bombed Your Last Interview Because Your LinkedIn Profile Sucks.” She explained, “No one's gonna search for why your LinkedIn profile sucks, but they might stumble upon that on social or if that's in an email newsletter.” When they do, they’re going to ask, “Did I really bomb that interview because my LinkedIn profile is so awful?” and then read the article. “When it comes to deploying written content you have to understand which camp you're in because each one of those has different strategies.” Ali told the company she was working with that “the only way they're going to get more traffic with sexy thought leadership-driven content is to find other audiences to leverage.” Be Consistent To get into the baseball Hall of Fame, a player’s average needs to be about .300, which is three out of 10 bats. If you think about it, that’s not very high. But it is the consistency of showing up to play the game that matters. “I think a lot of times,” Ali said, “companies or marketing directors will look for the home run type of content, saying, ‘The last few blogs that we wrote didn't go over really well,’ but some of the success of what you're going to see is simply by showing up every single week.” In addition, she said, “When you stop publishing content, people start asking questions. And when people ask questions and you're not there to answer the questions, they make up their own stories.” Focus on the Customer In order for us to have content success, we need to use the words our customers use and write about the things they face—not the things we want to talk about. “There's this Venn diagram of . . . the things the customer cares about and . . . the things that your product or service can solve for them.” “Where those two meet together is where your content should be, because if it's not if you write just about what they're having problems with, you'll get a lot of traffic and not a lot of conversions. If you just write about what your product is you [won’t get] a lot of traffic.” “Those two together are the hard part because sometimes the CEO or the product team will say we should write about this, and the marketing team has to be able to say, this is where we stay if you want content marketing to actually pay off.” Promote, Promote, Promote Ali said, “It is equally important to promote as it is to create.” She explained, “If you were going to err on the side of consistency and you can't keep up with every week, I would much rather see you publish a one really great piece of content a month and ...
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    21 mins
  • 139. How Taking the Path of More Resistance Led to More Than 6 Figures in Revenue

    139. How Taking the Path of More Resistance Led to More Than 6 Figures in Revenue
    Jun 23 2021
    “Two roads diverged in a wood and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” - Robert Frost Sometimes in our business, we might be tempted to take the well-traveled road, the road everyone else is taking. We may not want to put in the effort that taking the harder path requires. In today’s episode, Ali Schwanke and I will discuss how doing video may be harder but worth it. We’ll also discuss Ali’s entrepreneurial journey, content marketing, and quick wins. Ali Schwanke is the CEO and founder of Simple Strat, a boutique agency that simplifies content marketing for B2B technology companies worldwide. She has more than 15 years of marketing experience ranging from an in-house marketing agency to sales and entrepreneurship. She brings a practical and data-driven perspective to the practice of content marketing. She's also the co-host of the popular YouTube series HubSpot Hacks. The Path of Most Resistance When I asked Ali what the greatest home run of her career is she said the most recent one is the YouTube series Hubspot Hacks. This series has generated over 3 million impressions on YouTube. The channel has almost 9,000 subscribers, and it has generated over 500 different top-of-funnel leads. Hubspot Hacks has also made well over six figures in revenue. “The reason that it's a home run is,” she explained, “it's one of those projects that came out of an inclination from a customer experience.” Ali explained how Hubspot is a marketing technology platform that was originally created to help people automate their marketing activity, but it’s grown into more than that now. “It's so big now that people don't really know what to do,” Ali said. “They end up looking for how to do these very tiny things.” “HubSpot has a lot of different knowledge center articles: ‘here's how to set up your users,’ ‘here's how to use video,’ [etc.]. But people were saying, ‘Show me, show me, I still don't get it.’ [We knew] that people were using platforms like TikTok and . . . Instagram videos were really hot, and so people just wanted to see it.” “We recorded some screencast videos,” Ali said. “It was literally: I record my screen. My face is on the lower left-hand side, I'm wearing a t-shirt, and we're just walking through this screen share. We did it for a couple of things like ‘how do I do a workflow,’ ‘how do I do a landing page,’ and discovered that those got thousands and thousands of hits. People started asking us additional questions, and we thought, ‘Whoa, what's going on here? Why isn't this content anywhere else?’” “So we decided to spin that off into a separate series and use that as a lead generator for our agency. We did that, and about six months into it, re-optimized based on what we knew about YouTube SEO at that time. It just took off, and then the pandemic happened and it really took off.” “Even if there's a type of content right now from your competition that already exists, people learn in different forms. Video is still one of the hottest places to get some traction because it's hard [to do]. [But first] you have to be okay with being on video. Yes, you look like that, and yes, you sound like that, so stop freaking out about it. Secondly, you can't edit a video the way you edit a blog . . . because you have to be a lot more thoughtful when you record it. That scares a lot of people away.” Hubspot Hacks has been so successful because they gave value away for free to their target audience, and as a result of giving it away for free, they gained credibility and reach. Revenue came as a natural result of that, but it all came from providing value first. Another reason they’ve been successful is because of the bigger barrier for entry. Video is harder for competitors, so there's not as much competition there. Sometimes, as water looks for the downhill path and follows the path of least resistance, businesses look for the path of least resistance too. Often, we should be heading in the opposite direction of the water because most of our competitors are going down the path of least resistance; they're going to do the easiest thing. If we want to differentiate ourselves, set ourselves apart, and provide something unique, one of the easiest ways to do that is to take the harder path. Video is harder to do; not as many people are doing it, but it presents a great opportunity to position ourselves in the number two search engine in the world, YouTube. “People forget that YouTube is a place,” Ali said. “It is home to a lot of people who [create] content: Red Bull videos, skateboard videos, cooking videos. But there's an equal amount of people that are looking for business-to-business how-tos. I know I've used YouTube when it comes to ‘how do I do something in Evernote?’ ‘How do I set up something in QuickBooks?’ I've ended up on YouTube, and most of the time ...
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    21 mins
  • 138. Membership Sites, Courses, and Coaching

    138. Membership Sites, Courses, and Coaching
    Jun 22 2021
    Monica Bijoux is the founder and CEO of Decide To Move. She's also a licensed psychotherapist and business strategist. She's an international best-selling author of books such as Teach Your Expertise. She speaks at events around the world and hosts the Decide To Move podcast. She uses her decades of experience to help high achievers, aspiring entrepreneurs, and veterans to have financial freedom and live a life of purpose. In today’s episode, Monica and I are going to walk through the details of her membership site, courses, and coaching. We’ll also discuss her passion, journey to entrepreneurship, and more. Monica’s Membership Site, Courses, and Coaching Monica’s membership site is called Decide To Move Academy. Every month they release a new course, product, service, or training. Members have access to their own private Facebook group. Monica does one coaching session with the members as well. “It's really just about being a value. . . . I'm just one that I like a lot of times to over-deliver because I know what it's like to have people under deliver.” Monica has about 50 members in her community. “I try to keep them kind of small so I can give them a lot more support, compared to me being so big that [I can’t keep up]. I still work in the service, and so I want to make sure that I'm not overwhelming myself.” Monica also has a lot of different courses. Her courses are taught outside the membership portal, but clients can upgrade to include group coaching in the course. “Because I'm a therapist, I'm able to really help people with their mindset. I'm also certified as a hypnotherapist, so there are [things] like meditation, and going from a deeper level than just surface-level stuff. I also do visualizations. So, I have different modalities that people can go in, based on what's comfortable for them. We also do stuff around confidence levels . . . from a social standpoint. So, I have courses that address those issues and concerns as well.” To power her online courses, Monica uses LearnDash, which she highly recommends. “It's so easy to use, and they're constantly updating their . . . plugins, and their plugins are free. . . . It's easy for me to even update it. Sometimes I don't even wait for my VA. I just do it myself because I'm a techie person too. . . . It allows you to just click a button to determine what assets people have whether it's a course or . . . membership. So, it's great. I absolutely love it.” Her coaching offers two packages: one for six months or one for a year. “We both know for a fact that a person doing one-on-one coaching for a month is not going to get what they need,” she said. “The leverage is not going to be the same.” With her one-on-one coaching, her clients have access to the whole membership and are also able to select one of her big-ticket courses. If they want to start their own podcast, they have access to the podcast course. If they want to start their own online program, they have that course in there as well. Monica will be adding media publication training to her coaching next year. She also plans to add a SaaS product in the future. Monica’s Passion: Life Monica is passionate about life. She said, “Just based on my own experiences, I came from a life filled with abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, homelessness, teen [motherhood], etc. I've had people that know who I am now [say] ‘What? You actually went through all that?’ and I'm like ‘Yeah, that's what makes me who I am because I know what a rough start looks like.’” “I spend a lot of time making sure people understand that your past doesn't have to be your future. It doesn't have to be what defines you. You make that decision yourself,” she said. “[So] I'm truly passionate about life and helping people grow.” Monica’s Journey Monica had never thought about being an entrepreneur. She had a difficult childhood, moving around about 20 times before she was 18 years old. “I just knew that I had a passion and a heart to help other people, [but] I didn't know what that looked like.” She thought maybe she could be a counselor or a therapist. Monica started dispatching for 911, working in the emergency department. She saw people come in and have different stories. “People would just gravitate to me without realizing why and so I ended up going to school, getting my degree as a therapist.” She found out about business coaching and learned it was another way to help people. “I went to school, got certified as a master level coach, and I started my own business. I loved it because I was like, ‘Wow, I can actually help people and also work for myself at the same time.’” Monica had to put her business on hold when the Lord told her she needed to go into the military. “I literally had an argument with the Lord . . . [but] I finally said okay, let me just do what I'm supposed to do.” “I ...
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    23 mins
  • 137. Benefits of Running a Podcast

    137. Benefits of Running a Podcast
    Jun 21 2021
    Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular. 37% of the US population (104 million) listen to podcasts at least every month (Source: PodcastHosting.org). That’s millions of people we can reach every month. In today’s episode, Jeff Mendelson and I will discuss the benefits of running a podcast, along with tips for working with virtual assistants and communicating value in pricing. Jeff Mendelson is the host of the One Big Tip podcast. He runs a full-service digital marketing agency where he works with developing comprehensive digital marketing campaigns for startups to establish businesses. He focuses on lead generation and ROI-based initiatives. Jeff is based in Miami, Florida but works worldwide. He helps entrepreneurs conceptualize, develop, and then execute all-encompassing digital marketing strategies, sales funnels, paid campaigns, and getting the right people and disciplines in place. With over 15 years of continuous digital marketing experience in all formats, Jeff has a wealth of information on what works and what doesn't in the digital marketing space. How Jeff’s Podcast Changed His Life Jeff started his podcast in December 2019, taking the advice of Steve Larson to publish every day for a year and then see the change. “That's what I've been doing, and it's just been taking me in all kinds of great directions, [and I’ve had] all kinds of new revelations. I guess the biggest thing is that I'm just mad I didn't do this like five or 10 years ago, but I was just like, ‘Why do I need a podcast?’ . . . Now I'm all about it, and I'm ready to kill it and really help other people to do it as well.” Benefits of a Podcast Jeff explained that having a podcast is a great way to network. “There is no better networking tool, COVID-19 or not COVID-19,” Jeff said. With the many communication tools we have—Zoom, Microsoft teams, WhatsApp—the world is so small, and having a podcast is one way to find and connect with people all over the world using those communication tools. Jeff said he was interviewed by a British guy located in Doha, Qatar, and they had a great interview. “I never would have met these people without [my podcast],” Jeff said. A podcast can be a great way for people to thrive in a situation they can control. “I'm an introvert already,” Jeff explained. “I'm a wallflower at conventions. . . . but once I get in front of [the camera] . . . [I] can talk about this all day.” Jeff also said podcasting is a great way to establish and control the conversation. It becomes a no-pressure invitation to speak with really interesting people we might not have spoken with otherwise. If we see someone at a shopping mall and try to talk to them, they might just ignore us, but most of the time people are a lot more willing to have a conversation with us if it is in a setting like a podcast. When we invite someone to our show, we provide them with value. They get positive exposure to our audience with good reciprocity. We can also have fun conversations. Jeff used the example of his video background, which has a lightsaber and some Star Wars figures on a shelf. He doesn’t mention it, but people often bring it up and they get to talk about Star Wars for a few minutes. “It's just a great connection tool,” Jeff said. We need to find ways to build connections with our guests and listeners. Personally, I wear shirts for some of my favorite movies and shows, some of my favorite sports teams, and some companies I have worked for in the past to help build connections. Podcasts can also help you make higher connections. “Being a guest and also hosting people, you have a direct connection to the top. You interview the CEO of the company. You bypass all the gatekeepers, you bypass all the VPs, or directors, or whoever it is. You talk to the source of the information, and now you're connected with that person who knows you on a first-name basis. And that for me is mind-blowing.” Tips for Effectively Working with a Virtual Assistant A virtual assistant (VA) is an independent contractor who provides administrative services to clients while operating outside of the client's office. They typically operate from a home office but can access necessary files and documents remotely (Source: Investopedia). I've been working with a team in India for more than 20 years and I love it. It's nice to be able to leave for the day and they work on it during the night. We usually overlap for an hour or two in the morning, and it's very effective. I love the work ethic, and I find that I can keep people on the team longer. These are just some of the benefits of having those remote teams. Jeff has also worked with VAs for most of his career. “It's a little bit of a mindset shift,” Jeff said. “[But] it's really quite simple. I don't care whether you're across the street or halfway around the world, you are remote to me.” He views everyone as ...
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    22 mins
  • 136. Business Lessons From the Parable of the 10 Virgins: How to Prepare for Future Challenges and Eliminate Potential Threats

    136. Business Lessons From the Parable of the 10 Virgins: How to Prepare for Future Challenges and Eliminate Potential Threats
    Jun 20 2021
    This is Entrepreneurs of Faith, a Sunday episode of Monetization Nation. I’m Nathan Gwilliam, your host. In today’s episode, we’re going to discuss three business lessons we can learn from the parable of the 10 virgins and five ways to recognize and eliminate threats. The Parable of the 10 Virgins In Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus Christ shares the parable of the 10 virgins. In the story, 10 virgins prepare to meet the bridegroom before the wedding. During this time, it was custom for the bridegroom to come to the bride’s house at night, typically at dusk. He would get his bride from her house and bring her back to his house where he had prepared a place for her. Once the groom’s approach was announced, the 10 bridesmaids went out with lamps to light their way (Source: Bible.org). The young women would follow the groom with their lamps and if they were with the crowd, they could slip into the party. If they weren’t, the doors would close and they would be turned away because they didn’t have an invitation (Source: Bible.org). In Matthew 25, the 10 virgins prepared for the bridegroom by lighting their lamps at dusk. However, the bridegroom “tarried” and didn’t come until midnight. When the young women were called to meet him, some realized their lamps had already burned out. In verses 2-4, it says, “And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.” As they prepared to meet the bridegroom, “the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.” (KJV Matthew 25:8-9) While the five foolish went to buy more oil, the bridegroom came and the five wise virgins went with him to the wedding. After the five foolish women bought their oil, they rushed to the house, but the door had already closed. They cried, “Lord, Lord, open to us.” But he answered, “Verily I say unto you, I know you not.” (KJV Matthew 25:11-12) The Importance of Preparation Because the five young virgins did not bring extra oil with their lamps, they missed the wedding. They did not come prepared for the unexpected delay of the groom. As entrepreneurs, we need to strive to be prepared for unexpected trials and challenges that may happen. We should also strive to prepare for changes and business tectonic shifts that may happen in the market. Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” But how can we do this? How can we continually add oil to our lamps? While we may not be able to see what will happen in the future, it is possible to plan and prepare for many of the unexpected challenges. Be Flexible One way we can prepare for unexpected trials is simply by recognizing they will happen. We have to be open to change and willing to adjust if necessary. Brian Tracey, a motivational speaker, and self-development author, said, “Be clear about your goal but be flexible about the process of achieving it.” If one strategy fails, we need to be willing to try something new. Strong business leaders should develop a flexible mindset in order to adapt to the changes in their customers or the marketplace. When we are flexible about processes, we won’t fear change so much. We will have the ability to evaluate our challenges and find a way to work around or through them. With COVID-19, we have seen hundreds of changes. The only businesses that stayed open were ones that were flexible. According to Fortune, 100,000 businesses that temporarily closed due to COVID-19 were out of business within seven months. Not only did small businesses close, but many iconic retailers filed for bankruptcy. Chuck E. Cheese had a 600-plus restaurant chain and was hit extremely hard by the pandemic. They didn’t find a way to adapt and so their company’s revenue plummeted by 90%. In June 2020, they filed for bankruptcy (Source: AARP). While they were able to recover, they took a huge hit. On the other hand, there were businesses that kept their revenue streams despite the pandemic. Belva Anakwenze kept her small business, Abacus Financial Business Management, open with four employees. When offices closed, they created their own space with kitchen tables, bedroom nightstands, and back porches. They continued to have client meetings in the driveway so they could socially distance themselves (Source: Los Angeles Times). In my small town, there was a restaurant named Gator Jacks that had to stop their dine-in services during COVID-19. However, grocery stores were allowed to stay open, and the grocery stores were facing shortages. Furthermore, Gator Jacks had bulk food suppliers who had food because so many restaurants were closed down. So...
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    16 mins