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Unique Personal Promotion Ideas for the Solopreneur

July 2, 2019 Ben Mattice Leave a comment

You’re at a fancy dinner and you strike up a conversation at the bar. You realize the person you’re talking to is a potential client and they’re asking how you can help them. You fumble into your pocket and pull out a crumpled business card. “Sorry. It’s my last one.” You say. They promise to get back to you. You later find out it was an empty promise. Have you been there? Do you hate self-promotion? There’s got to be a way to make it easier, right? Well, today we’re going to look at a few ways to make self-promotion a breeze. Check it out. 1. Unusual Business Cards I once got a business card that was a Starbucks gift card. The guy’s name was embossed in gold and I can tell you I wasn’t going to throw that puppy away. Most people don’t take a business cards 101 course […]

Turn That Frown Upside Down: How to Fail Up as an Entrepreneur

June 29, 2019 Ben Mattice Leave a comment

There’s this statistic going around the internet that’s false. It says that 90% of small businesses fail. But stats collected over a five year period show this to be false. The number is closer to 50%. But still, that means that starting a business is like flipping a coin. That’s some pretty high odds. Well, like Han Solo likes to say, “don’t tell me the odds.” Because the payoff for sticking to your guns as entrepreneur is huge. Starting a business and expecting it to automatically succeed is like flipping a coin and expecting it to automatically land on “heads”. How do you get heads when you flip a coin? By continuing to flip the coin. That metaphor is a little weak for entrepreneurialism. There are some things you can do that ensure you’ll fail up instead of down. Follow these things and you’re likely to succeed the second time […]

Be Like Porsche: Invent Something New

June 12, 2019 Ben Mattice Leave a comment

“There is nothing new under the sun.” In a sense, King Solomon was right. Everything “new” we create is merely combination of existing materials. But not every combination of existing matter has been created. And inventions crop up all the time that inspire a new generation of tech. Today we’re going to look at one inspiring story. Porsche. How did Porsche become known as the premier luxury brand they are today? Was it merely the iconic Porsche Panamera? Print off your spreadsheets cause we’re going to look at how they’ve changed the business of luxury items forever. Form and Function I just learned a new word today. “Horological.” It means the study of the measurement of time. Luxury car companies like to contract with watchmakers to make car inspired watches. But few have gotten into the business of horology like Porsche. In fact, they changed the wristwatch industry entirely. How? […]

Take the Fork in the Road: Come Up With Awesome Business Ideas

May 24, 2019 Ben Mattice Leave a comment

Most people choose left or right when they come to a fork in the road. And you could just follow everyone else. Or you could just take the fork and do something with it. This is what business building is like. It’s looking at what other people aren’t doing and doing that. But how do you get from, no clue to successful idea? Do you pull a rabbit out of a hat? Shuffle a deck of cards? Today we’re going to give you a small map you can follow to getting to your best business ideas. 1. Take Note Like the illustration above, you can easily find out where people have gone in the past. With the advent of the internet, this has become even easier. You can easily find case studies online. Look at the niche you’re interested in and find out what startups other Entrepreneurs have done. Take […]

Why People Really Hate Us Online

May 22, 2019 Pat Flynn Leave a comment

Pat Flynn: Stop talking, because nobody cares. You are a complete idiot— Speaker 2: You are a complete idiot from head to toe. Speaker 3: Go do something that actually matters. Speaker 4: Why were you even born? Pat: . . . I hate you. Speaker 2: I hate you. Pat: These are some powerful words that I’ve read online about myself. Now, nobody has ever said any of these things to me in person, but it doesn’t really matter because when I read these things online, it hurts. I don’t know if you’ve ever been targeted for hate online. Whether it’s a comment on a YouTube video, or your blog, or a reply on social media, or something that you read in a forum somewhere, it doesn’t matter. It never feels good no matter how much people tell you that those are things you should just ignore. I’ve been […]

Top 5 Major Business Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make

May 1, 2019 Pat Flynn Leave a comment

Pat Flynn: Look, we all make mistakes, and making mistakes is a part of being an entrepreneur, but the problem is when we make the same mistakes over and over again, and we see other peoples make those mistakes, and we do them anyway. This particular episode, I’m going to teach you five major mistakes that new entrepreneurs make, no guests in this episode, just you and me having a conversation, and listen to the intro, here we go. Announcer: Welcome to the Smart Passive Income Podcast, where it’s all about working hard now, so you can sit back and reap the benefits later. And now your host, when he wants to learn something, he hires a mentor to save him time, Pat Flynn. Pat: What’s up and welcome to session 390 . . . no 369 of the Smart Passive Income Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me […]

Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing with Paul Jarvis

April 3, 2019 Pat Flynn Leave a comment

Paul Jarvis: For me, it’s always, I want a business that supports my life, not a life that supports my business. So I don’t want to Elon Musk things and work eighty hours a week and sleep on a couch in my office. I want to work thirty-ish hours a week and enjoy the rest of my time. As long as I make enough money to cover that, put money into savings and all of that, I feel good. I don’t need to . . . Working awards ten times more than that wouldn’t serve me, wouldn’t serve my life in any way. I don’t think it would serve my customers, even. Pat Flynn: I recently read a really interesting book, it was called Company of One, Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business. When I was initially going to read it, I was thinking about the […]

Innovations in the Video Game Industry Entrepreneurs Need to Know About

March 7, 2019 Ben Mattice Leave a comment

Video games are for kids and neckbeards who stream on Twitch, right? $18.4 billion says otherwise. Today, the video game industry is where innovation is happening. It’s where millions of tech enthusiasts gather in offices and garages and tinker with code, machines, parts, etc. These guys push computing technology to its limit. What’s the benefit to entrepreneurs and business owners? Tools. Productivity tools, advertising, etc. Today we’re going to talk about the video game innovations that could change the way you run your business. Let’s side-scroll onward. 1. Artificial Intelligence I remember when the cutting-edge game Deus Ex came out in 2000. I read a review of the game. It claimed the AI was so advanced that if you used a silenced weapon while standing over a ledge, the guards below would react to the shells falling from your gun. This was utter B.S. Not artificial intelligence in the slightest. […]

Invitations in the Video Game Industry Entrepreneurs Need to Know About

February 15, 2019 Ben Mattice Leave a comment

How to Become an Inventor Entrepreneur with Ryan Gorman

October 26, 2018 Pat Flynn Leave a comment

Ryan Gorman: So basically, if you create a product that gets used more than someone’s toothbrush, that’s a good way of figuring out if it’s going to be a viable product or if it’s something that will just be a trinket that somebody will buy and sit on the shelf and never touch or maybe not even buy at all. And that doesn’t necessarily mean that everybody has to use it twice a day, period . . . Pat Flynn: You’re listening to Ryan Gorman, who is an entrepreneur, an inventor, and somebody who has made a business out of selling his ideas and actually creating physical products, and I wanted to invite him on to share with us a little bit more insight with how he’s done what he’s been able to do, to hopefully inspire some of you who, whether you have an audience already or not, whether […]

A Young College Student’s Plan to Change His Life

October 3, 2018 Ben Mattice Leave a comment

You can do a thousand and one things to make money. Most of the time, people just don’t know how to start out. They’ll just “come up with an idea” and run with it. And they have no clue if their business idea will actually work. Of course, there is always some uncertainty when starting a new business. This is why a majority of startups fail. But you can mitigate that risk by doing a few wise things. Pulling a business idea out of your derriere is the last thing you want to do. It takes observation and research. I’m going to tell you about a student I recently met who plans to do just that. 1. Find a Niche Nobody Has Filled This can backfire, of course. You could have found a niche nobody has filled and no customer would ever respond to. Then you really are wasting your […]

Five Coffee Facts to Impress Everyone With on Coffee Day

September 29, 2018 Ben Mattice Leave a comment

Did you know that more than 1/3 of all Americans drink coffee. And they spend more money on coffee each year than they do on investments. I personally could take a lesson from that last stat. Imagine how much money you might have if you put your coffee money into investments each year. Suffice it to say, coffee is a booming industry. Over the past ten years, coffee culture has gone from mere fru-fru Starbucks lattes to single-origin obsession. If you’re investing in the coffee industry or write a blog about coffee, you might note that tomorrow is Coffee Day. So, in honor of Coffee Day, we bring you five fascinating facts about coffee. 1. Instant Coffee is Old Instant coffee appeared in 1771. The problem was, it would go bad pretty fast. Most likely due to the fact it was merely dried coffee. But about 100 years later, David Strang […]

Education Matters: Interesting Courses for the Entrepreneur

August 28, 2018 Ben Mattice Leave a comment

When I left university, I thought I was done with school. I’d learned the basics of reading, writing, and ‘rithmatic. I could get a job and make a living now. The more I talk to people with higher ed degrees, the more I realize how much education really matters. It’s not about knowing facts but improving your own emotional intelligence. Some of us might not be able to take the time to go get a Master’s degree. This doesn’t mean we can’t continue in our education. Entrepreneurs love to read books. And they love to give courses. But one thing many of us neglect is real coursework. If you’d like to continue in your education, here are some of the most interesting courses any entrepreneur could take right now. 1. Digital Marketing with Udacity Digital marketing is such a broad topic. And when you don’t know where to start, you might just […]

It Might Be Cliche, But You Can Turn Your Passion Into a Business

August 24, 2018 Ben Mattice Leave a comment

You’re sitting your cubicle staring at a blinking cursor. It dances there mocking you. You’re supposed to be typing up that yearly report for the boss. But you’d rather be out in the mountains or on a lake somewhere fishing. Someone comes and taps on your shoulder. It’s the FedEx guy with a large envelope. You rip it open and out slides a flip phone. You open the phone and it rings. You answer, “Hello?” “What if I told you that you don’t have to sit in a cubicle forever.” “Yeah, well, I’m heading home here in an hour…” “What if I told you that you could turn your passion into a business? That it might take a lot of work, but you could be on the river fishing and making money at the same time.” Would you believe the man on the phone? Or would be like Neo and […]

13 Unique Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs

August 16, 2018 Ben Mattice Leave a comment

Children can start learning about money as early as age three. One of the best ways to do this is by not always buying something when you go into a store. If your kid wants something, you tell them “there isn’t enough money right now for that, but if we wait patiently, we will eventually be able to buy it.” Children are better at reasoning through these things than we give them credit for. They will make the connection between the waiting and the money and the eventuality of buying even if they can’t see or understand actual numbers yet. Now, your kid may not have an entrepreneurial bent as early as 3 years of age. At some point, they will want a “lemonade stand” in their life. You should be ready to help them achieve their little entrepreneurial dreams. It’s entirely possible for your little one to learn about […]

How to Deal With Entrepreneurial Debt

August 15, 2018 Ben Mattice Leave a comment

According to everyone around you, debt is normal. The average American household owns $139.5 thousand in debt. School and housing loans make up a large chunk of that number for each person. Even if you’re not among the highly indebted, as an entrepreneur, you’re told to spend. Even if you don’t have the money, you’re supposed to miraculously attract customers with outbound marketing, SEO services, and expensive video production equipment. At every turn is the temptation to go into even more debt. While some debt might be unavoidable, there are ways to handle your debts in such a way as not to drown. 1. Destroy Any Other Previous Debt If you’re already drowning in debt, it may not be the time to invest money in a business. If you’re hoping for a business loan, you need to have good credit. Most people are only in the “fair” range (on average, […]

One of the Most Important Business Conversations You Need to Have with Yourself—with Dan Andrews

August 1, 2018 Pat Flynn Leave a comment

Dan Andrews: In the online business space, Pat, this happens all the time. What happens is someone comes in and says, “Look, jobs are an inefficient way to make a living.” We all nod our heads. That’s true. They’re a horrible time and money investment, so let’s start a business. You keep going down the path. The problem is, is that jobs do so much more for us, and let’s use the word career, than just give us money. Pat Flynn: That’s Dan Andrews from TropicalMBA.com, a friend of mine for over a decade now actually, somebody who had recently done something in his business that he kind of regretted. We’re going to talk all about that today. Hopefully you’ll be able to have these important conversations with yourself now so you don’t have these similar feelings and thoughts later. Before we get to that, let’s cue the music. Announcer: […]

What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Shakespeare

July 18, 2018 Ben Mattice Leave a comment

William Shakespeare — king-killer, gender-bender, master of pun — ran one of the most lucrative businesses in the British Isles. Playcraft. It is a miracle that he (or she if you believe certain theories) did not wind up hung by the neck for roasting the king on multiple occasions. But he made a pretty penny doing so. To understand Shakespeare’s attitude toward business, you merely have to look into his plays. He wasn’t big on the leadership at the time and he said much about ambition. Yet the overall themes prove quite useful in guiding a young entrepreneur in his path toward success. 1. Don’t Assume You Know All the Facts Before Making a Decision When you’re young and in love and the world seems to be against you, you’re stupid. You may not realize there is a Friar meddling in the affairs of your family. You may not see […]

SPI 319: How to Work Less & Make More with James Schramko

May 28, 2018 Pat Flynn Leave a comment

James Schramko is as passionate about surfing as he is about working less, earning more, and helping people learn how to do exactly that. If you’ve ever wanted to design a truly fulfilling lifestyle, you’re going to want to take notes, because that’s what James is all about. James has been rocking it in online business for ten years now, and quite literally surfing the world at the same time. He’s been able to design the lifestyle he always wanted, but that didn’t happen overnight, and James strives to share what he’s learned. Whenever I hear him speak I’m at peak attention—his methods and mindsets are so powerful and inspirational. James is also the author of the new book Work Less, Make More, and that title pretty much sums up what he’s all about. James has shaped the lives of thousands of people by helping them build the lifestyles that […]

SPI 317: Make Money with Your Skills—Creating Awesome with Roberto Blake

May 9, 2018 Pat Flynn Leave a comment

Let’s go back in time to the day after I lost my architecture job. What would you say to me? That’s the thought experiment we’re running today with Roberto Blake, creative entrepreneur and founder of Awesome Creator Academy and Create Awesome Media. In my challenge to Roberto, he walks me through exactly what he’d suggest I do to get started building a personal brand (if it was the day after I got let go). He identifies the strategies, tactics, and mindset that any new entrepreneur should embrace, and highlights the shifting culture of modern business. Roberto has a reputation for building brands from the ground up and helping entrepreneurs make money with their creativity, and his game plans are spot-on. This episode is powerful listening, especially if you’re at the beginning of your journey. Even if you’re not, you’re going to gain some major insight from Roberto. Put that phone […]