Your First Thousand Clients with Mitch Russo

Latest Episodes:

023: Kevin Harrington Inventing the Infomercial and Shark Tank Aug 28, 2017

Show notes

Kevin Harrington is best known as one of the original sharks from the Emmy winning TV show “Shark Tank” and has been a successful entrepreneur over the last 40 years.

Kevin has launched over 20 businesses that have grown to over $100 million in sales each. Kevin has been involved in more than a dozen public companies, and has launched over 500 products generating more than $5 billion in sales worldwide. As the inventor of the Infomercial, he created the most powerful Info marketing company called: As Seen On TV and his products are in big box stores all over the world.

In this episode, we will be discussing:

Stories from old days and how Kevin got started as an entrepreneur
How people often get what they believe
Getting started with infomercials and how they were a gold mine
The principle of “Sell First, Build Later” mentality
The Shark Tank experience
Contracting Out - lessons on getting others to do some of the important work
Quality vs. quantity - getting the right mix of clients
Building key relationships
What Kevin is passionate about today
The “Change the world” question

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

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022: Jason Friedman on Selling a Company For 8-figures and Identity Crisis Around It Aug 25, 2017

Show notes

Jason Friedman started Creative Realities and sold it in 2008 for mid 8-figures. Over the years he has started 4 other businesses. Today, he mostly helps fast fast-growing, entrepreneurial companies gain an unfair advantage over their competition through the art and science of designing their “customer experience journey” - a step by step process for delighting customers in a way that turns them into raving fans for life. Jason has worked with Fortune 100' to solopreneurs in diverse industries, so I really believe you'll enjoy this conversation.

In this episode, we'll discuss:

Going from Rock & Roll Rodio to starting a business in 1997
What Jason's learned from his grandfather
Stories from high-school and key lesson on dedication
Importance of selling people what they want not what they need
Understanding your customers better than they understand themselves
Trade show strategies - how education can work better than direct selling sometimes
How nobody wanted to hire me as a dotcom CEO after a successful exit
Suffering and not knowing who you are after selling a company
Who in all space and time would Jason spend one hour with?
What Jason is doing that has the potential to change the world?

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

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21: Brian Basilico Cracks The Code: Marketing Magic Aug 21, 2017

Show notes

Brian Basilico has a gift. He knows how to tell a story, communicate from a perspective of success and help you do the same for your business. His own company creates marketing campaigns and social media content for his clients. His wealth of experience and powerful stories entertain and instruct us all on how to really be seen and noticed in the noisy world of Internet Marketing!

In this episode, Brian and I discuss:

Marketing your business while keeping the eye on measurable results
How are constantly reinventing ourselves while sticking to the old principles
Importance of communicating with your customers
Why YOU always need to keep learning
Having the confidence to start over
Is marketing easier online or offline?
Mastering relationships
Cold calling versus emails
Importance of analytics and a bulletproof website
Content marketing
The “Change the world” question

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Podcast Sponsor:

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20: Gary Sirak on Mastering the Art of Family Businesses Aug 18, 2017

Show notes

Gary Sirak has been helping other people achieve their American Dream for the last 30 years of his life. He does this with the tools of his trade; insurance and proper planning. But not just an insurance agent, Gary is the alchemist of success and prosperity for family businesses where psychology, finance and good humor makes everything else work.

He is the CEO of Sirak Financial Services in Canton, Ohio. For the last 60 years his business, started by his father, Stan Sirak; taught Gary the most important lesson of his career: “My job isn’t to make as much money as I can. It’s to help my clients accomplish their goals.”

In this episode, Gary and I discuss:

Filling in the gaps and how he got into family business
Challenges with firing family members
How thinking a bit more about solving problems and less about money
Being the sole problem solver
What is the imposter syndrome?
Helping people to learn how to retire
Mastering sales and getting clients
Importance of relationships
Practical lessons on becoming a great networker
Building your reserves slowly
The “Change the world” question

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

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019: Sally Hogshead On Fascination, Marketing, and Personal Challenges Aug 14, 2017

Show notes

Sally Hogshead is a branding expert and pioneer of the groundbreaking Fascination Advantage® system. Sally skyrocketed to the top of the advertising profession in her early 20s. By age 24, she was the most award-winning advertising copywriter in the U.S. Her campaigns for brands such as MINI Cooper, Nike, Godiva and Coca-Cola have fascinated millions of consumers. At the age of 27, she opened her first ad agency and her work still hangs in the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

A master communicator, Sally has conducted extensive research into the most common personality traits and has discovered how people and well-known brands can use their strengths to provide value and set themselves apart from their competition.

In this episode, Sally and I discuss:

How your most fascinating traits are your most valuable traits
The Fascination Advantage Assessment
Starting her own agency at 27 and the lessons she had to learn the hard way
Being impacted by September 11 attacks
Understanding your role in the world - if you are a founder, you need to take action even if it feels uncomfortable
Importance of showing up
The story of how she got into writing
Gaining a competitive advantage in whatever you do
How putting out quality content is more important than ever
“Dinner Bell” - lessons learned from completely changing the assessment pricing model
Who she would spend one hour with
The “Change the world” question

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Sally’s Book
Sally’s Website
Gift to listeners - Fascination Advantage Assessment to Listeners (use code 1000clients)

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018: Anmol Singh on Growing a Marketing Blog Aug 11, 2017

Show notes

Anmol Singh is a hard core technical trader, trading stocks and futures with a focus on the morning sessions or swing trading. His simple setups and exit strategies leave us with plenty to ponder about how we may be approaching the markets.

Anmol currently runs LiveTraders.com where he reveals everything in his live trading room along with several other professional traders with specialties in everything from Forex to Options.

In this episode, Anmol Singh and I discuss:

Early days of trading
The mindset of never giving up
Important patterns that YOU need to understand
Goal setting the right way
Passion - the thing that keeps everyone going
The birth of his company
Finding mentors and coaches
Perfecting a marketing strategy
Common mistakes people make in business
Future plans for his company
The “Change the world” question
Final thoughts

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Podcast Sponsor:

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017: Mike Wolf is The Homeless Millionaire Aug 07, 2017

Show notes

Mike Wolf is a serial entrepreneur best known for his real estate investing. He’s been investing for 25 years and now teaches others how to create a lifestyle of freedom through passive income both from real estate and also in their businesses.

In this episode, Mike Wolf and I discuss:

Life before he became a millionaire
How got into in real estate
Quitting his job
Lessons learned from buying properties
The "long term" approach
On being the homeless millionaire
Importance of having the right mindset
Surrounding yourself with people who want to see you succeed
Betting on your strengths
How he is changing the world

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Mike's Site
Mike's Email

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016: Mike Ayalon on Following His Passion Aug 04, 2017

Show notes

Mike Ayalon is the CEO of Greek University, an educational platform that has inspired countless institutions across North America in identifying, understanding and resolving current social issues.

As a successful motivational speaker and entrepreneur, Mike has headlined over 300 presentations across 100 college campuses such as Sexual Assault Prevention, Hazing Prevention and Campus Safety, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Strategies for Managerial Excellence, and Diversity in Student Organizations.

Mike's strong technological background and varied professional experience in building companies from startup to over $25 Million in annual sales gives him a profound understanding of the ways these issues penetrate educational structures today. Mike is a TIPS-certified trainer and the former Executive Director of Sigma Pi Fraternity with 125 chapters and over 100,000 members nationwide.

In this episode, Mike and I discuss:

Filling in the gaps and the start of his entrepreneurial journey
Lessons learned from building websites and doing SEO
Growing client base from the scratch
Importance of getting niche specific
Changing roles and going after his own dreams
Building systems so the business can run without you
College years, hazing and misconceptions about it
Dealing with the pain from the past
His journey to 1000 clients
What he is doing that is changing the world

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

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015: Mitch Stephen on Overcoming Hopelessness & Making a Fortune Jul 31, 2017

Show notes

Mitch Stephen has been a self-employed RE investor for 20+ years. His real estate investing career started at the age of 23 when he made his first investment. Mitch, together with his wife, Tommi, and his daughter, Shannon purchased their fair share of local houses.

Their company, Independence Day, Inc., has bought and sold over 1,500 properties in and about San Antonio, Tx since 1996. This company specializes in buying distressed properties with OPM and selling those properties with Owner Financing.

In this episode, Mitch Stephen and I discuss:

Starting with nothing and having to hustle to survive
On books that inspired him
How he bought more than 1000 properties over the years
The business model that he followed
Turning the tables on property acquisition
Biggest lessons and takeaways along the way
Importance of making a change even when it's hard
What is his passion today
What he is doing to change the world

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

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014: Mella Barnes on Breaking into the Music Scene Jul 28, 2017

Show notes

Mella is a session singer, songwriter and voiceover actor living in Nashville, Tennessee. Also an animal lover, she has three dogs, a rabbit, and any number of foster animals in various shapes and sizes. She is the author of Way Less Cowbell, a book on communicating with session musicians.

In this episode, Mella and I discuss: