7-Figure Small

Latest Episodes:

Case Study: The SaaS Path to Personal Enterprise Apr 21, 2021

Show notes

You are probably starting to notice a theme here on 7-Figure Small.
Two weeks ago, Brian introduced the concept of the personal enterprise here on this podcast, having written about it several times over at Further.
Then last week, Brian Gardner joined us to trace his history from side hustle design to sustainable, scalable enterprise.
And this week, our guest Laura Roeder gives us another opportunity to experience a personal enterprise case study straight from the trenches.
Her journey from social media consultant to founder of multiple SaaS success stories is an inspiring one, and she’s here to share it with us -- the good and the bad -- so we can learn from her example and put the lessons into action as we pursue our own personal enterprises.
We also discuss headlines about so-called "outrage marketing," Prince Harry's new job (and why it's relevant to an audience of unemployables), and ambassador marketing for email newsletters. Plus a few listener questions at the end.
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To access the show notes for this episode, including all links mentioned, visit: http://unemployable.com/podcast/personal-enterprise-laura-roeder

The Personal Enterprise in Practice Apr 14, 2021

Show notes

Last week, Brian and I discussed the personal enterprise in theory. This week, it's time to discuss the personal enterprise in practice.
And who better to lead such a discussion than two people who have each built mature personal enterprises of their own?
Brian Clark and Brian Gardner. (Also known as BC an BG to anyone who worked at Copyblogger.)
They started out as competitors, eventually became successful partners at Copyblogger Media, and now have moved into that sweetest of entrepreneurial spots where they are letting their passion and enthusiasm guide their choices for what to work on next.
What’s it take to get there? Find out this week in the return of 7-Figure Small Live -- which means in addition to our main topic you always get headlines and some Q&A at the end.
Headlines:
• I’m Stepping Down as Copyblogger CEO (href="https://copyblogger.com/stepping-down/)
• Wix Takes On WordPress by Bringing to Life the Frustrations of Website Management (https://www.adweek.com/creativity/wix-takes-on-wordpress-with-ads-that-bring-the-frustrations-of-website-management-to-life/)
• Wix Ad: Conflicting Plugin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tffn1sW1VSg)
• Will Gen X Women Rule the World? (https://further.net/gen-x-women/")
To access the full show notes, visit: https://unemployable.com/podcast/brian-gardner/

The Rise of the Personal Enterprise Apr 07, 2021

Show notes

When you start a business, you don't have to know exactly what it will end up looking like. You also don't need to try to hit a home run right away. It's far better to be patient and methodical.
In fact, many people who end up developing their own personal business empire start out as freelancers, or in some other client services role. This is includes Brian Clark.
This week on 7-Figure Small, we take a one-week break from the new 7-Figure Small Live format to dig deep on the idea of the personal enterprise. Brian reflects on his journey from starting small to developing his own successful personal enterprise.
He defines what a personal enterprise is, outlines the forces converging to make now the right time to get started, and describes what your revenue and audience building mindsets should be to get you started off in a way that can you support you now and scale later.
Brian also introduces and describes the Personal Enterprise Pyramid, and tells you what your next step(s) should be.
Step one: make sure you've taken the free Next Level 7 email training course! (https://unemployable.com/next-level-7/)
Access the show notes, including all links mentioned, here: https://unemployable.com/podcast/personal-enterprise/

How to Double Down on Your MVA with SEO Mar 31, 2021

Show notes

This week, we talk about SEO. But it’s a bit of a different SEO conversation than you may be used to.
Because often when we talk about SEO within the context of building an audience, we focus on it from the beginning. What better way to get to your minimum viable audience than with organic search traffic ... right?
Well, maybe not.
As we’ve discussed in bits and pieces on previous episodes, you aren’t really ready to execute a smart SEO strategy until you have your minimum viable audience already built. At that point, you actually know something about your audience beyond the hypothesis that you start out with.
Once you’re there, then you can take what you know, craft an astute SEO plan, and drive the kind of targeted organic traffic that you can actually convert into subscribers -- the kinds of subscribers who may even be on the fast track to becoming customers.
And Jonny Nastor knows plenty about how to do this, because he’s been doing it successfully for clients for years. And he shares his expertise with us in this episode.
In addition to this week's main topic, we take another trip inside Brian's mind, answer some mailbag questions, and discuss headlines about a new way startups are raising money, the secret to business and artistic success, and why internal links really matter.
Headlines:
1. The SEC and New Breed of Startups Fuel the Equity Crowdfunding Flame (https://www.inc.com/amrita-khalid/the-sec-new-breed-of-startups-fuel-equity-crowdfunding-flame.html)
2. This Is the Secret to Business and Artistic Success (https://ryanholiday.net/secret-to-success)
3. 10 Easy But Powerful SEO Tips to Boost Traffic to Your Website (https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/easy-but-powerful-seo-tips-to-boost-traffic-to-your-website)

How to Achieve Sustained Success as an Independent Creator Mar 24, 2021

Show notes

Back in November of 2020, this week's guest tweeted, “It’s hard to overstate how monumental and empowering the digital revolution has been for independent creators.”
His name is Corbett Barr, he's one of the founders of Fizzle, and for the past decade-plus he's been at the forefront of this revolution, creating successful content and products while helping other creators do the same.
This week, Corbett and fellow digital pioneer Brian Clark discuss some of the lessons they’ve each learned that will help us all succeed as independent creators in 2021 and beyond.
In addition to this week's main topic, we take another trip inside Brian's mind, answer some mailbag questions, and discuss headlines about community becoming a competitive advantage, the latest trends in podcast listenership, and an update on the PRO Act.
Headlines:
• When Community Becomes Your Competitive Advantage (https://hbr.org/2020/01/when-community-becomes-your-competitive-advantage)
• Yes, Podcast Listenership is Still on the Rise (https://www.vulture.com/2021/03/podcast-listenership-download-data-on-the-rise.html)
• No, The PRO Act Wouldn't Kill Freelancing (https://brandonmagner.substack.com/p/no-the-pro-act-wouldnt-kill-freelancing)

How to Build an Audience From Scratch in 2021 Mar 17, 2021

Show notes

This week, we discuss a topic that gets asked about nearly every time we do a Q&A for Unemployable Initiative members: how to build an audience. Specifically, how do you start from scratch, or close to scratch, and build a minimum viable audience?
As you know from the definition of minimum viable audience, once you have an MVA the audience starts to build itself. That doesn’t mean the work of filling the top of your funnel is done, but it does mean that you have some momentum and a head of steam to help keep you growing.
But how do you get that momentum going in the first place? Especially when there is so much content out there already, which can it feel like such an immense challenge just to get noticed?
To be clear: there are no silver bullet in this episode. There is no secret we reveal that will allow you to supersede a couple of fundamental truths of audience building: 1) you have to create high quality content for a specific audience, and 2) you’re going to have to invest time or money, or both, to get that content in front of the right people.
If either of those two truths scare you off, this conversation may not be of much use. But if they don’t, then join us and our special guest Sonia Simone to talk about what’s working for building a minimum viable audiences in 2021.
In addition to this week's main topic, we take another trip inside Brian's mind, answer a bevy of listener questions, and discuss headlines about how the pandemic is messing with our brains, whether the PRO Act should worry freelancers, and how marketing will (or won't) change after the pandemic.
This week's headlines:
1. How the Pandemic is Messing with Our Brains (https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/03/what-pandemic-doing-our-brains/618221/)
2. Does the PRO Act Threaten Freelance Careers?
(https://www.jennifergregorywriter.com/2021/03/01/guest-post-deborah-abrams-kaplan-explains-why-the-pro-act-threatens-freelance-careers/)
3. 10 Truths About Marketing After the Pandemic (https://hbr.org/2021/03/10-truths-about-marketing-after-the-pandemic)

Your Financial Success is His Business Mar 10, 2021

Show notes

Todd Tresidder has built his successful two-stage career by walking the walk.
First, he became a self-made millionaire by learning how wealth is really created and spotting the contradictions in what is often taught. Then, he helped others do the same at Financial Mentor by creating frameworks and guides that help people ignore the noise and focus their financial decision making and what will actually help them build wealth.
And along the way, he’s proven to be a believer in a concept Brian discussed most recently in the first lesson of Community Commerce Essentials -- two of the seven questions Brian outlined for finding your winning difference: who does your audience want to become and who do you want your audience to become?
That latter part is what really sets Todd apart, because he wants his financial mentees to view their path to financial freedom as a path toward personal growth as well. In fact, he views them as one and the same.
We talk about all of this with Todd on this week's edition of 7-Figure Small.
In addition, we discuss a few headlines around NFTs, the future of work, and email. Then we end by answering some questions from Unemployable Initiative members and folks who were there for the live broadcast of this week's episode.

The Art of Selling Your Business Mar 05, 2021

Show notes

After two episodes of the new format of the show, fate intervened. First, the winter fiasco in Texas knocked Jerod’s power out, and then the next week his wife gave birth to their second child. So, congratulations to Jerod and Heather!
I decided to carry on with a return to the old interview format for one week only.
In this episode, I have a great chat with John Warrilow about some of the key concepts from his new book, The Art of Selling Your Business. I’ve interviewed John before about designing your business to be an attractive acquisition target with a recurring revenue model, and this time we’re exploring how to prepare for an actual exit.
We begin with a question that many don’t really spend time considering: Why do you want to sell? Getting a little philosophical about the reasons for selling your business can spare you a lot of second-guessing later.
After that, we discuss the danger of timing your exit, the “5-20” rule for potential businesses that will want to acquire your business, how to deal with earnouts and attempts to “retrade” the deal, how to nudge the purchase price up, and much more.
John shares a lot of value in this interview, and answers some common questions that everyone who sells a business needs to understand. Let’s jump right in.

The Classic Internet Is Back In Style Feb 17, 2021

Show notes

With podcasting still going strong, newsletters having their moment, and blogging still right there in the thick of it all, it sure feels like the internet is returning to its roots in a good way.
As Justin Jackson put it in a tweet: "The classic internet is back in style: mindful, slow pace. Less frenzy. Feels good."
We sure agree.
So this week on 7-Figure Small, we rounded up Chris Brogan and Darren Rowse, a couple of pioneers of the early internet, to join Brian Clark for a chat about what’s new, what’s different, and what’s the same as it ever was.
As always, we begin by kicking around some headlines and end by answering listener questions.
In between, during our main topic, Brian, Chris, and Darren go deep on:
• Their experience launching Third Tribe
• The power of virtual communities
• Why email remains so important
• Where podcasts fit within an overall content marketing strategy
• How curation has evolved
And much more.

The Smart Way to Think About Scaling Your Business Feb 10, 2021

Show notes

As all freelancers and solopreneurs know, or eventually learn, starting a successful small business is a challenge -- a challenge worth accepting because of the rewards that come with it.
But what about the steps beyond that first level of success? What if you decide that you want to take your six- or seven-figure small business and scale it up?
It's doable, and there are well-worn paths you can follow. But it's not the right path for everyone. Is it the right path for you?
That's the subject of this week's edition of 7-Figure Small with Brian Clark, who has made the decision to scale several times in the past and experienced the challenges and rewards that come with it.
Ryan Deiss has too. Like Brian, he's a serial entrepreneur. He founded Digital Marketer and is currently helping small businesses scale successfully at Scalabale.co.
This week, Ryan is our guest for an in-depth discussion about how to weigh the benefits and challenges of scaling your business so you can make the right decision for your situation.
This week's episode also marks the debut of our new format: 7-Figure Small Live.
So in addition to the discussion on scaling your business, we begin by kicking around a few headlines (about Robinhood, Clubhouse, and Substack) and then finish up by answering questions from our live Zoom audience of Unemployable Initiative community members.

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