Tropical MBA: Entrepreneurship & Founder Lifestyle

Latest Episodes:

Episode 108: TMBA 108 (LBP98) – 8 Lesser Recognized Forms Of The Resistance Apr 12, 2012

Show notes

All this thinking has led to a higher-than-average consumption of wine and Bintang, a lot of power naps, Ian taking up hot yoga, and some epic brainstorming.
Why are some ridiculous people successful? Why do otherwise brilliant ideas fail? Can you really source an entire business set-up buying gigs on Fiverr?
The key, as outlined by Steven Pressfield in The Art of War, is resistance. Resistance is rarely obvious in it’s inception and even harder to identify once you are fully entrenched.
That’s why it’s so important to keep an eye out for these 8 Lesser Recognized Forms Of The Resistance:

Anything that prevents you from having the best product
Being smart
Rationalizing your job
Doing SEO, tech, specialization that you aren’t specialized in
Having people sign NDA’s
Going to conferences to learn critical information
Getting your friends to partner up
Hiring interns, VA’s, and other employees without knowing what’s what?

Episode 107: TMBA 107 (LBP97) – Entrepreneurial ADD and Free Content For Hustlers Apr 06, 2012

Show notes

Who knew portable bars could be such a successful pursuit?
Dan and Ian did, of course. And that’s where their time has been lately.
Freestyling their content a bit this week, they take to their inboxes to answer some listener questions and discuss business strategy.
Dishing out the free content for all the hustlers out there, ’cause it ain’t where you’ve been but where you’re about to go.
Like a boss.

Episode 106: TMBA 106 (LBP96) – A Proposition : Start-Up August Mar 29, 2012

Show notes

Things are exciting in the TMBA / LBP world as Ian and Dan work to put together a unique experience for 10 aspiring entrepreneurs.
Start-Up August isn’t just some make money quick conference – if they wanted to do that there’d be a lot more hugging and Dan would bring his guitar to strum out some Kum-Ba-Yah ditties.
Instead, this will be an intense three month mastermind process culminating in a two-week all expense paid experience at a resort in the Philippines. You know, that place that Dan and Ian have been gallivanting around for the past month playing in mud-carts and sipping wine on the deck overlooking the ocean. (They’re so classy…)
Start-Up August will hit on 4 Key Points To Getting Your Biz Off The Ground:
 Don’t Unnecessarily Spend Money (Philippines is one of the top baselining spots in the world)
 Have an Amazing Support Network. (DC, in-person, 10 start-ups take on the world)
 Clear Action Plan (Something you can excel at– we can help you, hold your feet to the fire)
 Work Your Ass Off (The 2-week experience offers a controlled environment, teamwork, healthy food, exercise, etc)
Still in the planning stages, the guys are looking for input and feedback on the program.

Episode 105: TMBA 105 (LBP95) – Hiring Interns Right From The Start Mar 22, 2012

Show notes

With Ian back stateside and Dan back in Bali, the guys have said goodbye (for now) to their time in the Philippines and are back to biznass.
This week, they are chatting about the re-launch of their lifestyle business site, Tropical Work Force. During their time chatting up colleagues and friends in the Philippines, they learned that many entrepreneurs were interested in hiring “interns” of their own to grow their businesses and share their knowledge with.
Having been through this process ten times now, Dan & Ian have quite a bit of experience helping people become location independent while working to grow their companies. Some of the experience is great and some…well…let’s just say they learned a lot.
Overall, they came up with 5 Tips To A Successful Internship

Paid Vs. Unpaid – Put your money where your intern is
Get a commitment – Make the gig full-time
Give them space – Create opportunities for them to network and meet your peers (Apartment, Join you in your house, Dynamite Circle forums)
Ride ’em hard – These folks aren’t your average employee, challenge them and believe you have something to offer
Touch base – No one likes to be micromanaged, but you need to have open communication with your interns

Episode 104: TMBA 104 (LBP94) – 6 Financial Secrets of Lifestyle Business Ballers Mar 15, 2012

Show notes

Even though Dan & Ian’s travel adventures in the Philippines are winding down for now, they’ll be back.
The folks they’ve been able to hang out with the past few weeks are straight ballin’, entrepreneurs and business owners with at least six figures kicking around in an account or five. Whether they’re hobnobbing with the Vice President of the Philippines or dirt biking through the jungle, they’ve been absorbing all the advice these guys have to offer.
It isn’t all yachts and big payout investments though.
In this episode learn the 6 Financial Secrets that Dan & Ian have gathered from their conversations and observations. Things like:
 How To Handle Your Mindset Like a Poker Player
 Avoiding Itchy Feet and “I Finally Have Money” Euphoria
 Having a Solid Fall Back Position
 Supply, Demand, and Running Out of Stock
 What Should You Borrow Against?
 Dinari, Florida Swampland, and Other “No-Fail” Investments

Episode 103: TMBA 103 (LBP93) – The Single Most Important Entrepreneurial Skillset Mar 08, 2012

Show notes

What good is a location independent lifestyle business if you can’t enjoy it?
Dan & Ian join us from the beach at Badladz Resort in Puerto Galera where they have been adventuring around the shooting range, playing with go-carts on the back roads, cutting deals and hustlin’ connections like a boss, and relaxing/karaokeing with friends in various cities across the Philippines.
Taking a break from pounding the pavement, this week they’re talking about the most important entrepreneurial skillset one can possess. It isn’t a degree or marketing plan or venture capitalist in your back pocket.
It’s all in your head.
We’re talking mindset.
Set against the lull of ocean waves and sea breeze, Dan & Ian break the entrepreneurial mindset down into 4 Basic Points:

Don’t work with assholes
How to handle “free work”
Success time frames
Johnny vs. Jeffie – A tale of two approaches to entrepreneurship and advice

Episode 102: TMBA 102 (LBP92) – Listener Questions: Manufacturing Advice, Biznass Models & Hacking Airport Lounges Mar 01, 2012

Show notes

Like the ballers that they are, Dan and Ian recorded this week’s podcast from the ballroom of the hotel they are staying at in Cebu City as they travel around SE Asia visiting with LBP listeners and members of the Dynamite Circle.
With the popularity of their recent podcast which answered listener questions (and their overflowing in-boxes asking more questions) they decided to hunker down and discuss some answers.
This was all after they nommed a killer gourmet cheese plate in the business lounge at the airport!

Episode 101: TMBA 101 (LBP91) – Are You a Hustler or an Entrepreneur? Feb 16, 2012

Show notes

Ian landed in Bali last Saturday and it’s been all-biznass-all-the-time as we make the most out of his time here. No one should be surprised that they were able to do all their prep at Starbucks before. Good Chai, Ian? ;)
This week Dan and Ian discuss two of the most misunderstood words in business:Hustler and Entrepreneur
Listen to this episode and learn about:

Entrepreneurs Writing Scripts, Hustlers Executing Scripts.
Self Confidence vs.Product Confidence.
Ego / Money Focus vs. Product / Customer Focus.
Self Employed vs. Building Something Bigger.
Short Term vs. Long Term Thinking. Some of Dan & Ian’s upcoming Dreamlines?  Pay for personal assistants– sports massage therapist, business coach, nutritionist, personal assistnat. doctors and dentists.  Get a book contract.  Summit about hyper-internationalization and micro-multinationals with some of the world’s premier location independent entrepreneurs.  Lead investments in disruptive platform style companies in our industries. 150+ spare, IE angel investor.  Concretely help 100 people make the lifestyle transition and a significant portion of the DC make 10K.  Business class on every flight. (how can we hack this???)

Episode 100: TMBA 100 (LBP90) – Rip, Pivot, and Jam: The Strategy That Launched Our Newest Product Line Feb 09, 2012

Show notes

Ian managed to pick himself up from a nasty spin-out on the racetrack this week to join Dan as they reveal their most recent product launch and discuss the strategy that they used to find the niche and then dominate it.
Additionally, with listener questions pouring in they take the time to chat about some real problems people have experienced and how they might be able to get back on track.
Listen to this episode and learn about:
 Picking up some contract work to bankroll savings and pay down debt – is it a good path to entrepreneurship?
 Avoiding self-sabotage, inaction, and disbelief while building your lifestyle business.
 How to use online email marketing services and which are best for some slightly shady deals
Also in this episode, Dan and Ian disclose for the FIRST time on Lifestyle Business Podcast one of their product businesses: Portable Bar Company.
Using the Rip, Pivot, and Jam method they were able to find a niche, apply known business practices, and rock out a successful product line.
 Rip – Identify if others in the niche are making money from it
 Pivot – Bring it to a new market / new approach
 Jam – Crash the boards with 100% energy
This is also how they have built the private blog network that will be available for a limited number of subscribers starting next week (email Dan for more information and pricing)

Episode 99: TMBA 99 (LBP89) – The Institutions of Marriage and Business Partnerships Feb 02, 2012

Show notes

Dan and Ian invited the guys from AdSense Flippers on the show to chat entrepreneur to entrepreneur (to entrepreneur to entrepreneur!) about what it’s like to start a podcast, hire employees, and provide constructive criticism or feedback.

Then they get into it and talk about the realities of business partnerships and what it’s like to build a life together.

Listen to this episode and learn about:

The high caliber of aspiring location independent interns and freelancers
Why a business partnership can be so similar to a marriage
Planning out your financial and life goals when you have someone else to consider
Letting certain ships sail and still maintaining fundamental respect
The critical junctures when your workflow should and should not overlap
Why it is important to imagine the eventual successes as well as evaluating the day-to-day of your operation
Have fun. Leave a comment. Give us a ring. 888-554-8428. Go make it happen! :)

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