I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn. And I think LI is fantastic.But I see a lot of people’s profiles that totally miss the mark on the message it sends. Too many people still have that old mindset of trying to lift themselves up and put themselves on a pedestal.All the things they’ve accomplished. How many degrees they have. Me, me, me. Look at me and how great I am.Friends, if you’re on LinkedIn or Instagram, or whatever platform you’re using, and you’re using it to try to get clients, you might want to think about how to maximize your profile so it actually works for you instead of against you. So..what does a social media profile have to do with creating a USP? I’ll get there and connect these dots. Just stay with me for a bit.When people have a problem they need to solve, they’re looking for a solution from someone that knows how to help solve the problem and from someone that wants to help.My whole sales approach comes from the ‘I can help you with that’ perspective. The people that get their business are those that have a very different perspective. They give. They serve. They have a natural ability to focus on the needs of others. Not to just put the spotlight on themselves.And I’m speaking from the perspective of being a client here as well. I give my money to those that have proven themselves worthy of my money.They pour out content that helps solve problems. I contact them because they’ve already given me some great advice (for free) and I want to take it further.They get my money because they’ve been able to communicate what they do, the problem they solve and how I need them.This is the foundation of a great USP. The unique selling point.  What is a USP?It’s the distinct and appealing idea that sets you and your business, favorably apart from every other generic competitor.Now, I think a great USP answers the following questions:1.    What’s in it for me?2.    Why do I need you?3.    What makes you unique?4.    Why should I pay you? And in order to answer those questions, you’ll want to:·      Keep it Simple (because attention spans are short)·      Keep it Short (because attention spans are short)·      Show the benefit (how it solves a problem)·      Address an emotion (because even though we’d like to think we look at things from different angles and use our intellect to make decision, we really buy on emotion)·      Make it memorable (say something that stands out..how I end each Podcast episode)Now, in your USP, Is your product or service:·      Easier·      Faster·      More widely available·      Simpler·      Cheaper·      Have a better guarantee·      Prettier·      More efficient·      Smaller·      A better value·      A better design·      Of higher quality·      Cutting-edge·      More time-tested?What’s your message? Have you figured this out yet? Can you sift in a little story in your pitch? Do you have a pitch? If you need help with a pitch, look up Martin Barnes on LinkedIn. He started Pitch Club and he’s been helping people with their pitches for many years now.To answer the question: Why do I need you? This is where you’ll be addressing how you solve a specific problem in the pitch.To answer the question: Why should I pay you? There are a lot of people doing the same thing that you’re doing, but if you’ve proven that you can provide real value for doing that ‘thing you do’, AND if they like you (because personality has a lot to do with getting new business), then they’ll pay you..and gladly pay you.When my business coach sent email offers for products and services he was selling, I gladly pulled out my credit card and bought e-products as well as 6 months of coaching on a specific topic. Why? Because I liked him.And that can be you as well. Be helpful. Be likeable. Be a servant leader.Another way of looking at a what a good USP consists of hinges around: ‘what you have that competitors don't.’ Now, that can be a little tricky because as I said before, there’s a lot of people out there doing what you do and offering the same thing you’re offering. But this is where your uniqueness comes in. This is where your personality shines through.Why do we pick one professional athlete as ‘the best’ when there’s always someone else out there that’s just as good? Because we like them.And that needs to be you. You need to shine through with who you are, even in your USP.What’s my USP?  I help people get their personal brand business launched faster, so they can be more profitable quicker. Why? Because when I started my business 20 years ago, I could have used someone to help me launch in a more efficient way instead of just ‘winging it’.So, I created ‘The 7 Basic Building Blocks to a Successful Online Business’ course that I coach people through. What are the 7 basic building blocks? 1. Vision- where you want to go and how you want to get there2. Website- Open for business. Who you are and what you offer.3. Product/Service- How you can help people solve their problem4. Marketing- Opening the relationship with your target audience5. Email list- Building the relationship further6. Branding- Your verbal, visual and values identity7. Copywriting- The words you use to sell stuffNow, all this is great information to know, but I can make your launch easier and faster by tying all the initial tech together for you. I can either coach you through it, or do it for you. That way, you can just move on to doing ‘that thing you do’ and not have to worry about the foundation of your online business and all the frustrating techie stuff that goes along with it.That’s my USP.But how can someone take this and figure out if I’m their guy? By my content that I post in social media and in over 100 episodes of my Podcast.By being on my email list and getting those emails where I build the relationship a little more each time.And by walking people through that ‘Know/Like/Trust/Try/Buy’ process I keep talking about.So my USP just states the facts of what I do and how. My online content helps people to see who I really am and for them to either like me or not. That’s their decision.So I hope this helps, friends. I hope I could help you think through this topic of what is a USP and how can I use it to my advantage?It’s real important for you to get this figured out. I can tell you this, that your competitors are figuring this out. But as we all know, it’s a big internet world out there. Find out what your edge is and run with it.So, getting back to the social media profile you’re using, put the key point of your USP in your SM profile, or banner image so people just glancing at you will know what you’re about.Friends, if you’d like to talk about this further, I’m here for you at tomclairmont.com/coachingPersonal brand business or Podcast launch coaching: www.tomclairmont.com/coachingDo you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book and view the webinar I have for you www.diypodcastlaunch.comCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn. And I think LI is fantastic.But I see a lot of people’s profiles that totally miss the mark on the message it sends. Too many people still have that old mindset of trying to lift themselves up and put themselves on a pedestal.All the things they’ve accomplished. How many degrees they have. Me, me, me. Look at me and how great I am.Friends, if you’re on LinkedIn or Instagram, or whatever platform you’re using, and you’re using it to try to get clients, you might want to think about how to maximize your profile so it actually works for you instead of against you. So..what does a social media profile have to do with creating a USP? I’ll get there and connect these dots. Just stay with me for a bit.When people have a problem they need to solve, they’re looking for a solution from someone that knows how to help solve the problem and from someone that wants to help.My whole sales approach comes from the ‘I can help you with that’ perspective. The people that get their business are those that have a very different perspective. They give. They serve. They have a natural ability to focus on the needs of others. Not to just put the spotlight on themselves.And I’m speaking from the perspective of being a client here as well. I give my money to those that have proven themselves worthy of my money.They pour out content that helps solve problems. I contact them because they’ve already given me some great advice (for free) and I want to take it further.They get my money because they’ve been able to communicate what they do, the problem they solve and how I need them.This is the foundation of a great USP. The unique selling point.  What is a USP?It’s the distinct and appealing idea that sets you and your business, favorably apart from every other generic competitor.Now, I think a great USP answers the following questions:1.    What’s in it for me?2.    Why do I need you?3.    What makes you unique?4.    Why should I pay you? And in order to answer those questions, you’ll want to:·      Keep it Simple (because attention spans are short)·      Keep it Short (because attention spans are short)·      Show the benefit (how it solves a problem)·      Address an emotion (because even though we’d like to think we look at things from different angles and use our intellect to make decision, we really buy on emotion)·      Make it memorable (say something that stands out..how I end each Podcast episode)Now, in your USP, Is your product or service:·      Easier·      Faster·      More widely available·      Simpler·      Cheaper·      Have a better guarantee·      Prettier·      More efficient·      Smaller·      A better value·      A better design·      Of higher quality·      Cutting-edge·      More time-tested?What’s your message? Have you figured this out yet? Can you sift in a little story in your pitch? Do you have a pitch? If you need help with a pitch, look up Martin Barnes on LinkedIn. He started Pitch Club and he’s been helping people with their pitches for many years now.To answer the question: Why do I need you? This is where you’ll be addressing how you solve a specific problem in the pitch.To answer the question: Why should I pay you? There are a lot of people doing the same thing that you’re doing, but if you’ve proven that you can provide real value for doing that ‘thing you do’, AND if they like you (because personality has a lot to do with getting new business), then they’ll pay you..and gladly pay you.When my business coach sent email offers for products and services he was selling, I gladly pulled out my credit card and bought e-products as well as 6 months of coaching on a specific topic. Why? Because I liked him.And that can be you as well. Be helpful. Be likeable. Be a servant leader.Another way of looking at a what a good USP consists of hinges around: ‘what you have that competitors don't.’ Now, that can be a little tricky because as I said before, there’s a lot of people out there doing what you do and offering the same thing you’re offering. But this is where your uniqueness comes in. This is where your personality shines through.Why do we pick one professional athlete as ‘the best’ when there’s always someone else out there that’s just as good? Because we like them.And that needs to be you. You need to shine through with who you are, even in your USP.What’s my USP?  I help people get their personal brand business launched faster, so they can be more profitable quicker. Why? Because when I started my business 20 years ago, I could have used someone to help me launch in a more efficient way instead of just ‘winging it’.So, I created ‘The 7 Basic Building Blocks to a Successful Online Business’ course that I coach people through. What are the 7 basic building blocks? 1. Vision- where you want to go and how you want to get there2. Website- Open for business. Who you are and what you offer.3. Product/Service- How you can help people solve their problem4. Marketing- Opening the relationship with your target audience5. Email list- Building the relationship further6. Branding- Your verbal, visual and values identity7. Copywriting- The words you use to sell stuffNow, all this is great information to know, but I can make your launch easier and faster by tying all the initial tech together for you. I can either coach you through it, or do it for you. That way, you can just move on to doing ‘that thing you do’ and not have to worry about the foundation of your online business and all the frustrating techie stuff that goes along with it.That’s my USP.But how can someone take this and figure out if I’m their guy? By my content that I post in social media and in over 100 episodes of my Podcast.By being on my email list and getting those emails where I build the relationship a little more each time.And by walking people through that ‘Know/Like/Trust/Try/Buy’ process I keep talking about.So my USP just states the facts of what I do and how. My online content helps people to see who I really am and for them to either like me or not. That’s their decision.So I hope this helps, friends. I hope I could help you think through this topic of what is a USP and how can I use it to my advantage?It’s real important for you to get this figured out. I can tell you this, that your competitors are figuring this out. But as we all know, it’s a big internet world out there. Find out what your edge is and run with it.So, getting back to the social media profile you’re using, put the key point of your USP in your SM profile, or banner image so people just glancing at you will know what you’re about.Friends, if you’d like to talk about this further, I’m here for you at <a href="http://tomclairmont.com/coaching" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">tomclairmont.com/coaching</a>Personal brand business or Podcast launch coaching: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/coaching" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/coaching</a>Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book and view the webinar I have for you <a href="http://www.diypodcastlaunch.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.diypodcastlaunch.com</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 104: What’s Your Unique Selling Point | How Can You Use It to get Clients?

You’re Not AloneIf you’re in the planning stages of starting a solopreneur type business, or maybe you already launched one, you’ll more than likely be having the same thoughts and questions that all the other solopreneurs have.Questions like:·      How do I start?·      What should I focus on?·      How can I possibly get all this stuff done?·      What about all that techie stuff that I’m supposed to know and do?Well, first of all, I’d just like to say, ‘You’re not alone.’ This is the kind of stuff we all think about and dwell on, every day.But I’ve found that having the right mindset of an entrepreneur, or solopreneur will go a long way for you and will help you to focus on the right things at the right time, so that you can manage your time better and increase your chances of success. And this is why I created several mindset e-books that talk about how we should transform our thinking and actions and how to push through challenging circumstances.My mindset E-books cover a wide variety of topics, like:·      How to Turn Failure into Success·      How to Overcome Trying Situations by Changing Your Mindset·      Developing a Present Moment Mindset·      How to Overcome Challenges·      Developing Your Strengths·      Developing the Confidence to Go After Your DreamsAnd, friends, I’ve been through a lot in my day. I’ve had my share of ups and downs, and let me tell you, my low points have been pretty low. So when I talk or write about how to overcome challenges and turning failure into success, it’s from personal experience, the hard way. The ‘mindset reset’ way.So I’d like to take a few minutes to talk about the proper perspective we all should have when running and building a business.First, we need to take control. We really need to know how to say yes to certain tasks and how we spend our time and no to the mountain of distractions and how we shouldn’t spend our time. There are a lot of distractions, every day and we’re not going to get much done if we give into them.Another part of the mindset makeover is being able to push past the things that we assume will limit us. We can accomplish so much more if you have a bigger view of what’s possible.You can have a worldwide business. You can have worldwide influence and impact all around the world. You can be a very successful business person. If you have a book you’d like to write, you can write that book. Or, maybe it’s creating a course to sell. You can create a course that will make you a lot of money. You can learn the things you need to learn. Push past the limiting beliefs and expand your comfort zone. Learn how to have reachable goals and then reach them.How? By just having steady improvement and not expecting huge, immediate results. Now do I want results? Yes I do! And I expect results. I expect to make good money from my business. But at the same time, I can reduce a lot of frustration and discouragement by having realistic expectations for those results. It’s sort of like winning a baseball game with singles and doubles.Now, some, and I know 2 people just recently, said they’d rather try to win the game by hitting home runs and not messing around with singles and doubles. So if that’s the way you want to play ball, then go right ahead.If you have a $500 product or service and a $5,000 product or service, what would you rather sell? The $5,000 product or service, right? I get it. Some may choose to try to ramp up their business by selling a handful of the $500 product and build up a client base, but others may say that they’d rather have one or tow clients a month on the $5,000 product.Either way, just make sure that whatever course of action you’re taking, you have reasonable goals and reasonable results. This will help with your mindset of having success more often instead of always being disappointed and discouraged.Turn your goals into daily habits (what do I have to do every day to make my goals a reality? The short to-do list). Routine = momentum (routine doesn’t have to be boring) The more you can routine-ize your processes, the more momentum you can pick up. Ex: drip email marketing will work for you on auto-pilot once you have the initial work put in, in advance.Another solopreneur mindset reset challenge is to embrace obstacles, instead of trying to find a way around the obstacles. I’ve found that usually the best way to deal with the obstacle is through them (book ‘The Obstacle is the Way’ by Ryan Holiday) In the book, Ryan says “It’s not just: How can I think this is not so bad? No, it is how to will yourself to see that this must be good-an opportunity to gain a new foothold, move forward, or go in a better direction. Not ‘be positive’ but learn to be ceaselessly creative end opportunistic. Not: ‘This is not so bad. But: I can make this good.”The next challenge of the solopreneur, is how to achieve more with less. You see, when you have a job, you have people around you that can do things. You have a structure in place for how to get stuff done. But when you’re alone, you have to have what Ray Edwards calls, a ‘low cost essentialism’ sort of mentality where you can focus on just the essentials of what you need. Typically, you need less than you think you do. You don’t need to buy a lot of software/hardware. You don’t need a team of people, typically, when you’re just starting out. Now getting a virtual assistant, might be a good idea, and maybe start this person part time at first to see how it goes and if there’s enough tasks for this person to do.But I don’t normally recommend building a team of people around you and build up your overhead. The last thing I’d like to touch on in this episode of the challenges of being a solopreneur, is self discipline. Now, when you’re working a job, with someone over you telling you what you need to do and how to do it, and when it needs to be done, you can get a lot of work done during the course of any day.But when it’s just you and you’re the one with the dream of having your own business, and you’re the only one that’s pushing you, how much are you really getting done? You’re now ‘working’ for yourself. It’s not that you don’t know what to do, but you’re not doing what you know.You know you need to be motivated. You know you have this to-do list of your top priority tasks. You know you need to turn off the TV and to not go to the refrigerator every hour on the hour.But because you’re probably working from home, you’re finding that without that external push from others to get things done, that things aren’t getting done as fast as you were expecting.So, in times like this, let your dream be your motivator. How soon do you want that dream life, or the thought of quitting your job, how soon do you want those things to happen?You need to go back to ‘What is your WHY?’ When you lose your ‘why’ you lose your motivation.  So, the challenges of being a solopreneur are many. Did I even scratch the surface with what I was just covering here? No. I had a very long list of things that I originally planned on talking about, but it would take all day.Is it easy being a solopreneur? No. Is there a certain freedom you now have because you’re your own boss? Yes. Absolutely. But in this freedom, comes a certain aspect of self discipline and self motivation that you’ll need to have.If you’re in constant learning mode, and if you can focus on the small wins you have each day and not get caught up in all the negative thinking that comes so easily to us humans, then you’ll be able to press through the challenges and push through the obstacles you’ll be facing.Because they’ll be many. There’s a never ending supply of obstacles. So check out Ryan Holiday’s book ‘The Obstacle is the Way’. It’s available on Amazon. It helped me and I’m sure it’ll help you as well. Personal brand business or Podcast launch coaching: www.tomclairmont.com/coachingDo you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book and view the webinar I have for you www.diypodcastlaunch.comCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

You’re Not AloneIf you’re in the planning stages of starting a solopreneur type business, or maybe you already launched one, you’ll more than likely be having the same thoughts and questions that all the other solopreneurs have.Questions like:·      How do I start?·      What should I focus on?·      How can I possibly get all this stuff done?·      What about all that techie stuff that I’m supposed to know and do?Well, first of all, I’d just like to say, ‘You’re not alone.’ This is the kind of stuff we all think about and dwell on, every day.But I’ve found that having the right mindset of an entrepreneur, or solopreneur will go a long way for you and will help you to focus on the right things at the right time, so that you can manage your time better and increase your chances of success. And this is why I created several mindset e-books that talk about how we should transform our thinking and actions and how to push through challenging circumstances.My mindset E-books cover a wide variety of topics, like:·      How to Turn Failure into Success·      How to Overcome Trying Situations by Changing Your Mindset·      Developing a Present Moment Mindset·      How to Overcome Challenges·      Developing Your Strengths·      Developing the Confidence to Go After Your DreamsAnd, friends, I’ve been through a lot in my day. I’ve had my share of ups and downs, and let me tell you, my low points have been pretty low. So when I talk or write about how to overcome challenges and turning failure into success, it’s from personal experience, the hard way. The ‘mindset reset’ way.So I’d like to take a few minutes to talk about the proper perspective we all should have when running and building a business.First, we need to take control. We really need to know how to say yes to certain tasks and how we spend our time and no to the mountain of distractions and how we shouldn’t spend our time. There are a lot of distractions, every day and we’re not going to get much done if we give into them.Another part of the mindset makeover is being able to push past the things that we assume will limit us. We can accomplish so much more if you have a bigger view of what’s possible.You can have a worldwide business. You can have worldwide influence and impact all around the world. You can be a very successful business person. If you have a book you’d like to write, you can write that book. Or, maybe it’s creating a course to sell. You can create a course that will make you a lot of money. You can learn the things you need to learn. Push past the limiting beliefs and expand your comfort zone. Learn how to have reachable goals and then reach them.How? By just having steady improvement and not expecting huge, immediate results. Now do I want results? Yes I do! And I expect results. I expect to make good money from my business. But at the same time, I can reduce a lot of frustration and discouragement by having realistic expectations for those results. It’s sort of like winning a baseball game with singles and doubles.Now, some, and I know 2 people just recently, said they’d rather try to win the game by hitting home runs and not messing around with singles and doubles. So if that’s the way you want to play ball, then go right ahead.If you have a $500 product or service and a $5,000 product or service, what would you rather sell? The $5,000 product or service, right? I get it. Some may choose to try to ramp up their business by selling a handful of the $500 product and build up a client base, but others may say that they’d rather have one or tow clients a month on the $5,000 product.Either way, just make sure that whatever course of action you’re taking, you have reasonable goals and reasonable results. This will help with your mindset of having success more often instead of always being disappointed and discouraged.Turn your goals into daily habits (what do I have to do every day to make my goals a reality? The short to-do list). Routine = momentum (routine doesn’t have to be boring) The more you can routine-ize your processes, the more momentum you can pick up. Ex: drip email marketing will work for you on auto-pilot once you have the initial work put in, in advance.Another solopreneur mindset reset challenge is to embrace obstacles, instead of trying to find a way around the obstacles. I’ve found that usually the best way to deal with the obstacle is through them (book ‘The Obstacle is the Way’ by Ryan Holiday) In the book, Ryan says “It’s not just: How can I think this is not so bad? No, it is how to will yourself to see that this must be good-an opportunity to gain a new foothold, move forward, or go in a better direction. Not ‘be positive’ but learn to be ceaselessly creative end opportunistic. Not: ‘This is not so bad. But: I can make this good.”The next challenge of the solopreneur, is how to achieve more with less. You see, when you have a job, you have people around you that can do things. You have a structure in place for how to get stuff done. But when you’re alone, you have to have what Ray Edwards calls, a ‘low cost essentialism’ sort of mentality where you can focus on just the essentials of what you need. Typically, you need less than you think you do. You don’t need to buy a lot of software/hardware. You don’t need a team of people, typically, when you’re just starting out. Now getting a virtual assistant, might be a good idea, and maybe start this person part time at first to see how it goes and if there’s enough tasks for this person to do.But I don’t normally recommend building a team of people around you and build up your overhead. The last thing I’d like to touch on in this episode of the challenges of being a solopreneur, is self discipline. Now, when you’re working a job, with someone over you telling you what you need to do and how to do it, and when it needs to be done, you can get a lot of work done during the course of any day.But when it’s just you and you’re the one with the dream of having your own business, and you’re the only one that’s pushing you, how much are you really getting done? You’re now ‘working’ for yourself. It’s not that you don’t know what to do, but you’re not doing what you know.You know you need to be motivated. You know you have this to-do list of your top priority tasks. You know you need to turn off the TV and to not go to the refrigerator every hour on the hour.But because you’re probably working from home, you’re finding that without that external push from others to get things done, that things aren’t getting done as fast as you were expecting.So, in times like this, let your dream be your motivator. How soon do you want that dream life, or the thought of quitting your job, how soon do you want those things to happen?You need to go back to ‘What is your WHY?’ When you lose your ‘why’ you lose your motivation.  So, the challenges of being a solopreneur are many. Did I even scratch the surface with what I was just covering here? No. I had a very long list of things that I originally planned on talking about, but it would take all day.Is it easy being a solopreneur? No. Is there a certain freedom you now have because you’re your own boss? Yes. Absolutely. But in this freedom, comes a certain aspect of self discipline and self motivation that you’ll need to have.If you’re in constant learning mode, and if you can focus on the small wins you have each day and not get caught up in all the negative thinking that comes so easily to us humans, then you’ll be able to press through the challenges and push through the obstacles you’ll be facing.Because they’ll be many. There’s a never ending supply of obstacles. So check out Ryan Holiday’s book ‘The Obstacle is the Way’. It’s available on Amazon. It helped me and I’m sure it’ll help you as well. Personal brand business or Podcast launch coaching: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/coaching" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/coaching</a>Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book and view the webinar I have for you <a href="http://www.diypodcastlaunch.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.diypodcastlaunch.com</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have. Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 103: The Solopreneur Challenge: What should I focus on?

In the last episode, I covered the topic of ‘should you create a webinar for your business’. I did an overview of the process and how much is involved in making a webinar so that you can decide on your own if you have enough time or money to have one done and if you think it’s right for you.But what I didn’t cover was the topic of effectiveness, so I have some stats on webinars today that I think will help you as well so that you can make an informed decision.Now, I know that stats can be boring at times, but I think these are necessary in how they function and the people that they reach, but also when to promote it and when they’re viewed the most so you’ll know when to launch one, if it’s being run live in real time.Are you wondering whether to include Q&amp;As at the end of your webinar? The answer is a resounding yes. So stay with me for just a little bit as I go over some winning statistics you should consider if you want to host a successful webinar.Webinar StatisticsMost marketers see webinars as a vital part of the business plan. Webinars are a treat for marketers, with a total of 95% of respondents seeing them as important for their marketing efforts. On a scale of one to five, marketers rate webinars at 3 points in relation to how important webinars are to their digital communications.Customers rank on-demand viewing as the most valuable addition to webinars. When it comes to making the decisions for configuring the webinar on the back end before it goes live, this is an important one.When I created my webinar, I made sure that the ‘just in time’ scheduling was enabled. This will allow the person that registered for the webinar to see it in the next 15 minutes from whatever time zone they’re in, but it also gives multiple time options as well. Great feature.More than half of marketers rely on webinars for promotion. Research shows that 58% of marketers use webinars as a promotion tool. Studies show that between 2% and 5% of webinar attendees eventually make a purchase at the end of the webinar. Is that a fantastic number, not really, but if you’re doing a pre-recorded webinar that just sits there and runs on its own, then all you need to do is drive traffic to it and let the process run on auto-pilot. 89% of marketers believe webinars outperform other channels in creating qualified leads.Entire industries use webinars for generating leads. The pharmaceutical industry leads the way but education and consulting are in 2nd and 3rd place.93% of webinar participants prefer desktops with only 7% favoring mobiles or tablets.The average cost of webinars ranges from $3,500 to $5,000.There are several key factors impacting the budgeting of webinars, including software, cost of equipment, promotions, and the labor involved. I know from personal experience that it can be a labor intensive experience because there’s a never ending list of things to tweak. In any case, if you are on a tight budget, the least you could do is invest in good webinar software if you’re going to do the DIY method. As I said in the last episode, I compared the top vendors and chose WebinarKit. When is the best day for registrations? 24% of all webinar registrations happen on a Tuesday. It’s not a tremendously high number, so do with this stat what you wish. Lure them in on a Tuesday but don’t even think about bothering them with registration emails on weekends. Saturdays and Sundays, as you can imagine, rank poorly.What’s the best way to promote the webinar? Well, email is rated as the most effective webinar promotion tool. And why wouldn’t it be? Emails are free and are a great way to promote any event, including webinars. Recent surveys show that solicitations through email account for 73% of webinar signups. Webinar attendance stats also show that Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or other social media could get you up to 15% of webinar registrations.But what about same day registrations? 33% of registrations occur on the day of the webinar. If you want to increase attendance, you should definitely send a reminder email on the day of the event. Sounds like a no-brainer, but planning reminder emails on the day of the event can be overlooked.On that note, webinar stats suggest that the best time of the day to send your promotional emails would be between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. If your goal is to score, aim for 9 a.m. which is the “happy hour” of webinar registrations with a 14% success rate. This is where drip email marketing would be a great resource so you can plan a specific time of day to release the promotional email.Just under half of attendees sign up more than a week before the webinar.The best time for webinars to be announced is two weeks before the official date or even earlier. The greater the promotional cycle, the better the results. Webinar effectiveness statistics show that 47% of attendees register at least eight days before the webinar date, while about a quarter (24%) sign up more than two weeks earlier.Thursdays are the best days for webinars. Mondays are generally busy days at work, so that’s probably not the greatest day of the week to host an event. Thursdays are ranked as the most popular days of the week for organizing webinars with 19%. Wednesdays are a good choice since they are ranked lower than Thursdays by only 1%. Basically, webinar attendance statistics suggest that any day between Tuesday and Thursday will potentially get you the traffic you need for your webinar. 2, 3, and 4 p.m. are the prime times for hosting a webinar.What makes webinars amazing is that you can connect to people from coast to coast and even participants from across the globe. Setting the best time to host a webinar, can be tricky, especially if you have participants from different time zones. Afternoons are considered to be the prime time to accommodate viewers from various time zones, webinar stats show. But as I said in the last episode, the ‘just in time’ viewing setting is a no brainer because it’ll let them see it on their terms when it’s most convenient for them.What’s the best length for the webinar? Well, 60-minute webinars attract more attendees than 30-minute webinars. While the general belief points to an hour as the optimal length of the webinar, some reports suggest that the longer the webinar, the bigger the crowd. In essence, 90-minute webinars are more suitable for sharing presentations with attendees who want to broaden their knowledge. That’s going to be more of a training style of webinar.Webinars with videos rated at 7.8 out of 10. Integrating videos in your webinar will make it more compelling and more engaging which will ultimately scale your viewing time. Good, right? Unfortunately, 32% of hosts that don’t use videos in their webinars say they lack the skills to integrate them into their presentation and 27% see this undertaking as too expensive.So how are you supposed to drive webinar attendance the best way? There’s several things that you can do to boost your webinar attendance rate. Webinar statistics show that promoting a live webinar early enough (around two weeks prior to the event) could boost signups, and so does opting for an email to announce the event and sending out timely reminders.Now, let’s get right down to it. Are webinars really effective?Well, the marketers sure seem to think so, with as many as 95% seeing them as important for their marketing efforts. Stats further suggest that more than half of viewers are likely to engage with the company after, by watching extra content, downloading attachments, or even requesting a demo from the sales department.So friends, I think I’ve just about covered all that I need to on this topic. If you were on the fence about whether or not you’re going to do a webinar, then maybe this episode will help you to finally make the decision either way.Again, they’re a lot of work, but if you’re doing a pre-recorded one where people can view them on their terms, then it’ll just sit there working 24/7 for you because it doesn’t matter what time zone they’ll be in. That, I think was one of the top reasons I went with WebinarKit. The price was good, and it was a one time payment, but not all software options have that ‘just in time’ viewing setting.If you’ve got some questions on this topic of webinars and the pros and cons of it all and you’d like to talk about it further, just book a free 30 minute initial coaching call through my website at www.tomclairmont.com1:1 or group coaching at www.tomclairmont.com/coachingDo you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book and view the webinar I have for you www.diypodcastlaunch.comCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Personal brand business or Podcast launch coaching: www.tomclairmont.com/coachingSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In the last episode, I covered the topic of ‘should you create a webinar for your business’. I did an overview of the process and how much is involved in making a webinar so that you can decide on your own if you have enough time or money to have one done and if you think it’s right for you.But what I didn’t cover was the topic of effectiveness, so I have some stats on webinars today that I think will help you as well so that you can make an informed decision.Now, I know that stats can be boring at times, but I think these are necessary in how they function and the people that they reach, but also when to promote it and when they’re viewed the most so you’ll know when to launch one, if it’s being run live in real time.Are you wondering whether to include Q&amp;As at the end of your webinar? The answer is a resounding yes. So stay with me for just a little bit as I go over some winning statistics you should consider if you want to host a successful webinar.Webinar StatisticsMost marketers see webinars as a vital part of the business plan. Webinars are a treat for marketers, with a total of 95% of respondents seeing them as important for their marketing efforts. On a scale of one to five, marketers rate webinars at 3 points in relation to how important webinars are to their digital communications.Customers rank on-demand viewing as the most valuable addition to webinars. When it comes to making the decisions for configuring the webinar on the back end before it goes live, this is an important one.When I created my webinar, I made sure that the ‘just in time’ scheduling was enabled. This will allow the person that registered for the webinar to see it in the next 15 minutes from whatever time zone they’re in, but it also gives multiple time options as well. Great feature.More than half of marketers rely on webinars for promotion. Research shows that 58% of marketers use webinars as a promotion tool. Studies show that between 2% and 5% of webinar attendees eventually make a purchase at the end of the webinar. Is that a fantastic number, not really, but if you’re doing a pre-recorded webinar that just sits there and runs on its own, then all you need to do is drive traffic to it and let the process run on auto-pilot. 89% of marketers believe webinars outperform other channels in creating qualified leads.Entire industries use webinars for generating leads. The pharmaceutical industry leads the way but education and consulting are in 2nd and 3rd place.93% of webinar participants prefer desktops with only 7% favoring mobiles or tablets.The average cost of webinars ranges from $3,500 to $5,000.There are several key factors impacting the budgeting of webinars, including software, cost of equipment, promotions, and the labor involved. I know from personal experience that it can be a labor intensive experience because there’s a never ending list of things to tweak. In any case, if you are on a tight budget, the least you could do is invest in good webinar software if you’re going to do the DIY method. As I said in the last episode, I compared the top vendors and chose <a href="https://tomclairmont--mkeymarketing.thrivecart.com/webinarkit-pro-one-time-pricing/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WebinarKit</a>. When is the best day for registrations? 24% of all webinar registrations happen on a Tuesday. It’s not a tremendously high number, so do with this stat what you wish. Lure them in on a Tuesday but don’t even think about bothering them with registration emails on weekends. Saturdays and Sundays, as you can imagine, rank poorly.What’s the best way to promote the webinar? Well, email is rated as the most effective webinar promotion tool. And why wouldn’t it be? Emails are free and are a great way to promote any event, including webinars. Recent surveys show that solicitations through email account for 73% of webinar signups. Webinar attendance stats also show that Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or other social media could get you up to 15% of webinar registrations.But what about same day registrations? 33% of registrations occur on the day of the webinar. If you want to increase attendance, you should definitely send a reminder email on the day of the event. Sounds like a no-brainer, but planning reminder emails on the day of the event can be overlooked.On that note, webinar stats suggest that the best time of the day to send your promotional emails would be between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. If your goal is to score, aim for 9 a.m. which is the “happy hour” of webinar registrations with a 14% success rate. This is where drip email marketing would be a great resource so you can plan a specific time of day to release the promotional email.Just under half of attendees sign up more than a week before the webinar.The best time for webinars to be announced is two weeks before the official date or even earlier. The greater the promotional cycle, the better the results. Webinar effectiveness statistics show that 47% of attendees register at least eight days before the webinar date, while about a quarter (24%) sign up more than two weeks earlier.Thursdays are the best days for webinars. Mondays are generally busy days at work, so that’s probably not the greatest day of the week to host an event. Thursdays are ranked as the most popular days of the week for organizing webinars with 19%. Wednesdays are a good choice since they are ranked lower than Thursdays by only 1%. Basically, webinar attendance statistics suggest that any day between Tuesday and Thursday will potentially get you the traffic you need for your webinar. 2, 3, and 4 p.m. are the prime times for hosting a webinar.What makes webinars amazing is that you can connect to people from coast to coast and even participants from across the globe. Setting the best time to host a webinar, can be tricky, especially if you have participants from different time zones. Afternoons are considered to be the prime time to accommodate viewers from various time zones, webinar stats show. But as I said in the last episode, the ‘just in time’ viewing setting is a no brainer because it’ll let them see it on their terms when it’s most convenient for them.What’s the best length for the webinar? Well, 60-minute webinars attract more attendees than 30-minute webinars. While the general belief points to an hour as the optimal length of the webinar, some reports suggest that the longer the webinar, the bigger the crowd. In essence, 90-minute webinars are more suitable for sharing presentations with attendees who want to broaden their knowledge. That’s going to be more of a training style of webinar.Webinars with videos rated at 7.8 out of 10. Integrating videos in your webinar will make it more compelling and more engaging which will ultimately scale your viewing time. Good, right? Unfortunately, 32% of hosts that don’t use videos in their webinars say they lack the skills to integrate them into their presentation and 27% see this undertaking as too expensive.So how are you supposed to drive webinar attendance the best way? There’s several things that you can do to boost your webinar attendance rate. Webinar statistics show that promoting a live webinar early enough (around two weeks prior to the event) could boost signups, and so does opting for an email to announce the event and sending out timely reminders.Now, let’s get right down to it. Are webinars really effective?Well, the marketers sure seem to think so, with as many as 95% seeing them as important for their marketing efforts. Stats further suggest that more than half of viewers are likely to engage with the company after, by watching extra content, downloading attachments, or even requesting a demo from the sales department.So friends, I think I’ve just about covered all that I need to on this topic. If you were on the fence about whether or not you’re going to do a webinar, then maybe this episode will help you to finally make the decision either way.Again, they’re a lot of work, but if you’re doing a pre-recorded one where people can view them on their terms, then it’ll just sit there working 24/7 for you because it doesn’t matter what time zone they’ll be in. That, I think was one of the top reasons I went with <a href="https://tomclairmont--mkeymarketing.thrivecart.com/webinarkit-pro-one-time-pricing/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">WebinarKit</a>. The price was good, and it was a one time payment, but not all software options have that ‘just in time’ viewing setting.If you’ve got some questions on this topic of webinars and the pros and cons of it all and you’d like to talk about it further, just book a free 30 minute initial coaching call through my website at <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>1:1 or group coaching at <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/coaching" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/coaching</a>Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book and view the webinar I have for you <a href="http://www.diypodcastlaunch.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.diypodcastlaunch.com</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Personal brand business or Podcast launch coaching: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/coaching" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/coaching</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep.102: Webinars part 2- Are they effective?

Webinars seem to be the new rage lately, right? More and more, we’re seeing them pop up all over as a source of providing information by video for a wide spectrum of industries and businesses.And for good reason, I think. If they’re created with great, informative and compelling content that meets a real need, and done with professionalism…and then add in the on-demand option so you can watch it anytime, and you have yourself a winning webinar.But there are certain aspects of webinars that turn people off as well. Is there a strong sales pitch at either the beginning or the ending?Is the content weak, leaving you scratching your head as to why you just spent the last hour watching this video?Was there an issue with the video or audio quality so that the webinar lacked professionalism?Unfortunately, after we’ve been constantly exposed to high quality webinars, we can now spot a lower quality webinar immediately.But let’s take a little time to think about the purpose of the webinar and the overall goal of putting in all the time and expense in having one created.I just created a free webinar on the topic of ‘Starting a Podcast’, so let me break that down for you on the steps I took to get it done. Someone once said, “Don’t start something before it’s already finished.”Well, what on earth could that mean? Because it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense, does it.You see, when you do a Webinar, and when you think of the purpose of the webinar (to help people, yes, but ultimately to generate sales), then you have to take care of a number of things that will work in the background for you, when the webinar visitor finishes it and sees your CTA..your call to action.So if, in your CTA, you have something like my offer.“Click on this link and download this product for free when you enter in this code. “ or “Go to this website page for more information on what I just talked about.” There are a number of different CTA’s that you could have, but in order to make the best use of the webinar, you’ll have to have all the background structure in place, in advance so that you can maximize the webinars effectiveness.Ok.. let’s break that down a bit. So what I had to do first, was:·       Create a product or service (I have both)·       Price the product and service·       Pick a platform to sell the product or service·       Enter that product into that platform with an image and a compelling description (that’s where my copywriting courses kick in)·       Create a discount code for that product (special gift for watching the whole webinar to the end)·       Create a landing page for the webinar registration·       Configure all the background settings for the webinar platform that you’re using (I use WebinarKit with most of the upgrades offered and friends, there are a lot of available settings that you can turn on or off in WebinarKit) but now is not the time to go over those things·       Link the buyer’s email to an email marketing account that I created in advance·       Create a drip email campaign for anyone that gets put into that specific email marketing account and have it automatically configured to have those emails sent to them over time that will lead them through the ‘Know/Like/Trust/Try/Buy Process’And friends…that’s just the things that I needed to do in advance for just the CTA.Ok..so when I considered doing a webinar, I worked the process backwards. I took care of all the background tasks and functionality first, that way, when it’s time to create the copy text and the video itself, all the structure is in place in advance.So that’s what I mean by the saying “Don’t start something before it’s already finished.” I had the background structure in place before I started the video and created the content.Is it a lot of work? Yes, absolutely. But in my opinion, it’s the best way to have an effective webinar.Things to consider:·       Purpose of the Webinar·       Desired outcome·       Webinar content·       Marketing funnel·       Video creationo  Loomo  Zoomo  Personal computerWebinar style·       You on video·       You in window of screenshare·       Just screenshare·       Video editingo  Loomo  Power Director·       Audio editing·       Text added to video·       Webinar software·       Creating a marketing funnel·       Special offer at the end of the webinar?If yes,·       What will you offer?·       How will you offer it?·       Settings and links to offers·       Call to action·       Time limit to special offer?·       Email drip marketing structure in place, in advance?As you can see, there’s a lot of things to consider for what you want to have and how you want to have it.So..What does a good webinar look like?Unfortunately there isn’t a simple answer. Your success will depend on a few factors:● What does ‘good’ mean to you? And are you shooting for good, or do you want to have a great webinar?Rather than focusing on creating a ‘good webinar’, make your primary goal to create an effectivewebinar campaign for your audience.Creating content to generate leadsOne of the primary goals of webinars is to generate more leads. There’s two types of content that you should create as part of your webinar campaign to attract more leads.1. Content that raises awareness2. Content that convincesContent that raises awareness should introduce your company through storytelling that reflects your company’s values. Focus on educational content that draws attention to the issues or opportunities your audience is facing, and how your product or service can benefit them. Content that convinces focuses on building trust with your audience. Let your audience know that you understand their needs and clearly state how your business offers a solution. Video, infographics, imagery they’re all a great way to grab people’s attention and explain complex concepts in digestible ways.Targeting your audienceNext, a few words on the marketing funnel. The best way to illustrate how webinars can help youeducate and convert leads is by looking at it from a sales and marketing perspective using aMarketing Funnel.The Marketing Funnel consists of three main categories:● Lead Generation● Lead Nurturing● SalesWebinars tend to take place during the Lead Nurturing stage, but can be effective at all stages.The marketing funnel you create should have the webinar helping people through the ‘Know/Like/Trust/Try/Buy’ process. I keep saying this a lot, but only because it’s so important.Now, earlier, I mentioned that there’s a lot of configuration that’s needed for the Webinar and that you need to make a lot of decisions in how it’ll be viewed, when it’ll be viewed and how it’ll function overall:·       Watch times·       Registration page content and settings·       Thank you page content and settings·       Replay page content and settings·       Will you have a poll at the end?·       Will you have any handouts?·       Confirmation email content and settings·       Reminder email content and settings·       Merging with email integrationThese are just the highlights of how to configure the webinar.But, if I don’t talk about how to promote the webinar, I’d be seriously neglecting a very important topic.So..after all the work you put into just the creation of it, how will you promote it? Typically, there are 3 main ways that people promote webinars.·       Website·       Email list·       Social mediaNow, for 2 of the three options here, you’ll need traffic. You put it on the website? Great. Will anyone see it? That’s up to you and how you generate traffic to the webinar page.Post it on SM? Fantastic. Are your SM posts getting views and producing results? All the work you put into the webinar could be for nothing if you don’t get traffic or results.And from what I’ve seen, the average cost of having a webinar created ranges between $3,000 and $5,000.Now, you probably know by now, that I have an IT background and all the techie stuff comes easy for me, so I created and edited the video, I came up with the copy content, I added the video effects to the webinar and other supporting videos, I created the entire background structure to the CTA and the website landing page, I even purchased a dedicated domain name and created a two page website to have a landing page as well. www.diypodcastlaunch.comInitially, it’s just about getting the free, jam packed 50+ page e-book that I created, but then, after you put in your email address to get the e-book (and get added to my email list) it automatically redirects to another page where you can download the e-book but shows that I have the webinar on the same topic as well, if they’re interested.So…should you have a webinar created for your business? Well, that’s for you to decide, but this episode was just all about taking a ‘peak behind the curtain’ so to speak and to help you get a better understanding of all that’s involved in doing a webinar.Do you have a great, compelling topic?Do you have the time to do it? Or..Do you have the money to hire someone else to do it?This is not for the faint of heart friends. Creating a webinar is not like playing softball. It’s definitely a hardball game.Personal brand business or Podcast launch coaching: www.tomclairmont.com/coachingDo you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book and view the webinar I have for you www.diypodcastlaunch.comCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Webinars seem to be the new rage lately, right? More and more, we’re seeing them pop up all over as a source of providing information by video for a wide spectrum of industries and businesses.And for good reason, I think. If they’re created with great, informative and compelling content that meets a real need, and done with professionalism…and then add in the on-demand option so you can watch it anytime, and you have yourself a winning webinar.But there are certain aspects of webinars that turn people off as well. Is there a strong sales pitch at either the beginning or the ending?Is the content weak, leaving you scratching your head as to why you just spent the last hour watching this video?Was there an issue with the video or audio quality so that the webinar lacked professionalism?Unfortunately, after we’ve been constantly exposed to high quality webinars, we can now spot a lower quality webinar immediately.But let’s take a little time to think about the purpose of the webinar and the overall goal of putting in all the time and expense in having one created.I just created a free webinar on the topic of ‘Starting a Podcast’, so let me break that down for you on the steps I took to get it done. Someone once said, “Don’t start something before it’s already finished.”Well, what on earth could that mean? Because it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense, does it.You see, when you do a Webinar, and when you think of the purpose of the webinar (to help people, yes, but ultimately to generate sales), then you have to take care of a number of things that will work in the background for you, when the webinar visitor finishes it and sees your CTA..your call to action.So if, in your CTA, you have something like my offer.“Click on this link and download this product for free when you enter in this code. “ or “Go to this website page for more information on what I just talked about.” There are a number of different CTA’s that you could have, but in order to make the best use of the webinar, you’ll have to have all the background structure in place, in advance so that you can maximize the webinars effectiveness.Ok.. let’s break that down a bit. So what I had to do first, was:·       Create a product or service (I have both)·       Price the product and service·       Pick a platform to sell the product or service·       Enter that product into that platform with an image and a compelling description (that’s where my copywriting courses kick in)·       Create a discount code for that product (special gift for watching the whole webinar to the end)·       Create a landing page for the webinar registration·       Configure all the background settings for the webinar platform that you’re using (I use WebinarKit with most of the upgrades offered and friends, there are a lot of available settings that you can turn on or off in WebinarKit) but now is not the time to go over those things·       Link the buyer’s email to an email marketing account that I created in advance·       Create a drip email campaign for anyone that gets put into that specific email marketing account and have it automatically configured to have those emails sent to them over time that will lead them through the ‘Know/Like/Trust/Try/Buy Process’And friends…that’s just the things that I needed to do in advance for just the CTA.Ok..so when I considered doing a webinar, I worked the process backwards. I took care of all the background tasks and functionality first, that way, when it’s time to create the copy text and the video itself, all the structure is in place in advance.So that’s what I mean by the saying “Don’t start something before it’s already finished.” I had the background structure in place before I started the video and created the content.Is it a lot of work? Yes, absolutely. But in my opinion, it’s the best way to have an effective webinar.Things to consider:·       Purpose of the Webinar·       Desired outcome·       Webinar content·       Marketing funnel·       Video creationo  Loomo  Zoomo  Personal computerWebinar style·       You on video·       You in window of screenshare·       Just screenshare·       Video editingo  Loomo  Power Director·       Audio editing·       Text added to video·       Webinar software·       Creating a marketing funnel·       Special offer at the end of the webinar?If yes,·       What will you offer?·       How will you offer it?·       Settings and links to offers·       Call to action·       Time limit to special offer?·       Email drip marketing structure in place, in advance?As you can see, there’s a lot of things to consider for what you want to have and how you want to have it.So..What does a good webinar look like?Unfortunately there isn’t a simple answer. Your success will depend on a few factors:● What does ‘good’ mean to you? And are you shooting for good, or do you want to have a great webinar?Rather than focusing on creating a ‘good webinar’, make your primary goal to create an effectivewebinar campaign for your audience.Creating content to generate leadsOne of the primary goals of webinars is to generate more leads. There’s two types of content that you should create as part of your webinar campaign to attract more leads.1. Content that raises awareness2. Content that convincesContent that raises awareness should introduce your company through storytelling that reflects your company’s values. Focus on educational content that draws attention to the issues or opportunities your audience is facing, and how your product or service can benefit them. Content that convinces focuses on building trust with your audience. Let your audience know that you understand their needs and clearly state how your business offers a solution. Video, infographics, imagery they’re all a great way to grab people’s attention and explain complex concepts in digestible ways.Targeting your audienceNext, a few words on the marketing funnel. The best way to illustrate how webinars can help youeducate and convert leads is by looking at it from a sales and marketing perspective using aMarketing Funnel.The Marketing Funnel consists of three main categories:● Lead Generation● Lead Nurturing● SalesWebinars tend to take place during the Lead Nurturing stage, but can be effective at all stages.The marketing funnel you create should have the webinar helping people through the ‘Know/Like/Trust/Try/Buy’ process. I keep saying this a lot, but only because it’s so important.Now, earlier, I mentioned that there’s a lot of configuration that’s needed for the Webinar and that you need to make a lot of decisions in how it’ll be viewed, when it’ll be viewed and how it’ll function overall:·       Watch times·       Registration page content and settings·       Thank you page content and settings·       Replay page content and settings·       Will you have a poll at the end?·       Will you have any handouts?·       Confirmation email content and settings·       Reminder email content and settings·       Merging with email integrationThese are just the highlights of how to configure the webinar.But, if I don’t talk about how to promote the webinar, I’d be seriously neglecting a very important topic.So..after all the work you put into just the creation of it, how will you promote it? Typically, there are 3 main ways that people promote webinars.·       Website·       Email list·       Social mediaNow, for 2 of the three options here, you’ll need traffic. You put it on the website? Great. Will anyone see it? That’s up to you and how you generate traffic to the webinar page.Post it on SM? Fantastic. Are your SM posts getting views and producing results? All the work you put into the webinar could be for nothing if you don’t get traffic or results.And from what I’ve seen, the average cost of having a webinar created ranges between $3,000 and $5,000.Now, you probably know by now, that I have an IT background and all the techie stuff comes easy for me, so I created and edited the video, I came up with the copy content, I added the video effects to the webinar and other supporting videos, I created the entire background structure to the CTA and the website landing page, I even purchased a dedicated domain name and created a two page website to have a landing page as well. <a href="http://www.diypodcastlaunch.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.diypodcastlaunch.com</a>Initially, it’s just about getting the free, jam packed 50+ page e-book that I created, but then, after you put in your email address to get the e-book (and get added to my email list) it automatically redirects to another page where you can download the e-book but shows that I have the webinar on the same topic as well, if they’re interested.So…should you have a webinar created for your business? Well, that’s for you to decide, but this episode was just all about taking a ‘peak behind the curtain’ so to speak and to help you get a better understanding of all that’s involved in doing a webinar.Do you have a great, compelling topic?Do you have the time to do it? Or..Do you have the money to hire someone else to do it?This is not for the faint of heart friends. Creating a webinar is not like playing softball. It’s definitely a hardball game.Personal brand business or Podcast launch coaching: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/coaching" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/coaching</a>Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book and view the webinar I have for you <a href="http://www.diypodcastlaunch.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.diypodcastlaunch.com</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have. Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep.101: Should you create a Webinar for your business?

I don’t know about you, but there are times in my life when I think I need to make a serious course correction. Sometimes it’s about personal things. Sometimes it’s about my business and whether or not to keep going in the same direction or to make some course corrections along the way. And when life happens to us…things that we can’t avoid or control, and we need to make these serious changes, it’s good to have a great book in your hands to read that will help you to sort through the mental part of what to do and how to do it. Because making a serious life pivot first starts with our mindset and the decisions we make that are based on the emotions we have. So I’m doing this book report for you on Adam Markel’s book Pivot because when I read it, I was going through this time of ‘life version 2.0’ as I like to call it. And I’m finding that, more and more, I’m coming across people that have gone through either the same sort of situations as I went through, or something very similar. And that’s when life throws you a curve ball. Or, more like a knuckle ball, if you know anything about baseball in the US. In other words, it’s a very hard to hit moving target.And sometimes, this curve ball is voluntary, like me quitting my job 20 years ago because the management after the 4th buyout was terrible, or it’s that the job quit you with staffing cuts for one reason or another. Or maybe you find yourself needing to make a serious shift in your life for other reasons. There are plenty of other reasons, so I’m not even going to try to figure that all out. So are you ready for a serious change in your life? Then you need to get and read this book. This book shows you how to get in touch with your real self and helps you to decide who you are and what you really want. During a time when most people are focused on reality at best or survival at the very worst, Pivot is a game changer with stories of people just like us that changed their lives by making those different choices. So, let’s dive into this book a little bit and I’ll go over some of the highlights that stood out for me. The IntroductionIn the intro, we hear about someone that has those nagging thoughts about wanting a better life, but can’t seem to shake them. Those thoughts go away for a while and they come and go, but there’s that reoccurring theme of ‘something’s not right’. And if you ignore those thoughts, they’ll ‘eventually drown you. You’re tolerating your own, slow, agonizing death.’For Adam, he was forced to reinvent his life because as an Attorney, he found the stress unbearable and almost had a heart attack. But for you, ‘The goal is still the same. To reinvent the parts of your life that aren’t working, so that you can live a life that brings you fulfillment.’Every pivot requires two things:1.	Clarity- changing what you believe (or how you view yourself)2.	Momentum- forward motion without quitting Gaining clarity is the internal change that we need. Momentum is the external change that we need. And in chapter one, he outlines the 6 steps to take to gain clarity:1.	Unbelieve the myths we hold on to that holds us back2.	Release the past and the pain that keeps us in the past so that we can focus on the present and aim for the future3.	Face your fear and get out of your comfort zone4.	Being comfortable with changing your identity5.	Envision your new future and get comfortable with how you want your new life to be6.	The Big D-making that decision to change your life to the point of no returnSo, getting back to number one, he covers a handful of myths that people have a tendency to hold on to. Myth 1 Pivoting is for other people. ‘Those who pivot aren’t extraordinary, they become extraordinary when they decide they will not tolerate the circumstances of their lives for one moment longer.’Myth 2 It’s too riskyIf you’re telling yourself that it’s too risky to pivot your life, be aware of the real risk. Watching your dream life drift away until it’s so far gone that you can no longer see it. ‘The real risk of change isn’t that you might try and fail, it’s that you might not try and you’ll regret it.’Myth 3 You have to burn the shipsPivoting isn’t about sudden, radical change, it’s about:•	Envisioning a realistic way to change your life•	Preserving parts of your life that serve you•	Creating a clear plan and making a sustainable change. Creating a plan B and working on shifting your life to move toward plan B where eventually, plan B becomes plan A. Myth 4 I have to wait for…This is the thought process that keeps you holding back from doing anything. If you want to have your own business someday, do you have to quit your job today and start a business tomorrow? No. ‘Pivoting is a process and you get to control the process. You can pivot in the smallest baby steps over whatever time period you want. But you cannot just wait.’Now, that was just some highlights of chapter one, but I think one of my favorite chapters was number 9, Pivot People that addresses the questions ‘Where am I going and who is coming with me?’ Because no one pivots alone. Change is a team sport. ‘To pivot successfully means to involve others.’ Whether it’s through mentors or peers, chapter 9 helps you to get the help you need so that you’re not trying to do it alone. Friends, you hear me talking a lot about making changes in our lives and getting out of our comfort zone. Taking risks and the fear of failure as well as the fear of success. But there’s something about getting a good book to help you methodically work through the thought process part of making a serious change in your life. And a large part of having a successful personal brand business isn’t in the how-to’s of running the business, it’s in the mindset of the business owner. You can’t reach for the stars if you’re never looking up. And you can’t move your life forward if you’re still living in the past.  These are all mindset issues. And that’s a huge part of small business success. That’s why I have so many E-books on mindset issues beyond the how-to’s of launching a business. So check out the book Pivot by Adam Merkel and let me know what you think. I’m positive you won’t be disappointed. It’s one of my favorite books and I think it’ll be one of yours as well. I’d really like to get your feedback on this type of episode…doing a book report. I’m thinking about doing more of these and hearing if this was helpful to you or not would let me know if I should do more of them. So, feel free to shoot me an email at: tom@tomclairmont.com with your thoughts. I’ll put in a link to the Pivot book in the show notes.  And when you shoot me an email, let me know what some of your favorite books are. I’d like to know. So..as always…stay encouraged, follow your dream and don’t give up!Book: Pivot by Adam Merkel1:1 or group coaching at www.tomclairmont.com/coachingDo you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book and webinar I have for you www.diypodcastlaunch.comCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Personal brand business or Podcast launch coaching: www.tomclairmont.com/coachingSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

I don’t know about you, but there are times in my life when I think I need to make a serious course correction. Sometimes it’s about personal things. Sometimes it’s about my business and whether or not to keep going in the same direction or to make some course corrections along the way. And when life happens to us…things that we can’t avoid or control, and we need to make these serious changes, it’s good to have a great book in your hands to read that will help you to sort through the mental part of what to do and how to do it. Because making a serious life pivot first starts with our mindset and the decisions we make that are based on the emotions we have. So I’m doing this book report for you on Adam Markel’s book Pivot because when I read it, I was going through this time of ‘life version 2.0’ as I like to call it. And I’m finding that, more and more, I’m coming across people that have gone through either the same sort of situations as I went through, or something very similar. And that’s when life throws you a curve ball. Or, more like a knuckle ball, if you know anything about baseball in the US. In other words, it’s a very hard to hit moving target.And sometimes, this curve ball is voluntary, like me quitting my job 20 years ago because the management after the 4th buyout was terrible, or it’s that the job quit you with staffing cuts for one reason or another. Or maybe you find yourself needing to make a serious shift in your life for other reasons. There are plenty of other reasons, so I’m not even going to try to figure that all out. So are you ready for a serious change in your life? Then you need to get and read this book. This book shows you how to get in touch with your real self and helps you to decide who you are and what you really want. During a time when most people are focused on reality at best or survival at the very worst, Pivot is a game changer with stories of people just like us that changed their lives by making those different choices. So, let’s dive into this book a little bit and I’ll go over some of the highlights that stood out for me. The IntroductionIn the intro, we hear about someone that has those nagging thoughts about wanting a better life, but can’t seem to shake them. Those thoughts go away for a while and they come and go, but there’s that reoccurring theme of ‘something’s not right’. And if you ignore those thoughts, they’ll ‘eventually drown you. You’re tolerating your own, slow, agonizing death.’For Adam, he was forced to reinvent his life because as an Attorney, he found the stress unbearable and almost had a heart attack. But for you, ‘The goal is still the same. To reinvent the parts of your life that aren’t working, so that you can live a life that brings you fulfillment.’Every pivot requires two things:1.	Clarity- changing what you believe (or how you view yourself)2.	Momentum- forward motion without quitting Gaining clarity is the internal change that we need. Momentum is the external change that we need. And in chapter one, he outlines the 6 steps to take to gain clarity:1.	Unbelieve the myths we hold on to that holds us back2.	Release the past and the pain that keeps us in the past so that we can focus on the present and aim for the future3.	Face your fear and get out of your comfort zone4.	Being comfortable with changing your identity5.	Envision your new future and get comfortable with how you want your new life to be6.	The Big D-making that decision to change your life to the point of no returnSo, getting back to number one, he covers a handful of myths that people have a tendency to hold on to. Myth 1 Pivoting is for other people. ‘Those who pivot aren’t extraordinary, they become extraordinary when they decide they will not tolerate the circumstances of their lives for one moment longer.’Myth 2 It’s too riskyIf you’re telling yourself that it’s too risky to pivot your life, be aware of the real risk. Watching your dream life drift away until it’s so far gone that you can no longer see it. ‘The real risk of change isn’t that you might try and fail, it’s that you might not try and you’ll regret it.’Myth 3 You have to burn the shipsPivoting isn’t about sudden, radical change, it’s about:•	Envisioning a realistic way to change your life•	Preserving parts of your life that serve you•	Creating a clear plan and making a sustainable change. Creating a plan B and working on shifting your life to move toward plan B where eventually, plan B becomes plan A. Myth 4 I have to wait for…This is the thought process that keeps you holding back from doing anything. If you want to have your own business someday, do you have to quit your job today and start a business tomorrow? No. ‘Pivoting is a process and you get to control the process. You can pivot in the smallest baby steps over whatever time period you want. But you cannot just wait.’Now, that was just some highlights of chapter one, but I think one of my favorite chapters was number 9, Pivot People that addresses the questions ‘Where am I going and who is coming with me?’ Because no one pivots alone. Change is a team sport. ‘To pivot successfully means to involve others.’ Whether it’s through mentors or peers, chapter 9 helps you to get the help you need so that you’re not trying to do it alone. Friends, you hear me talking a lot about making changes in our lives and getting out of our comfort zone. Taking risks and the fear of failure as well as the fear of success. But there’s something about getting a good book to help you methodically work through the thought process part of making a serious change in your life. And a large part of having a successful personal brand business isn’t in the how-to’s of running the business, it’s in the mindset of the business owner. You can’t reach for the stars if you’re never looking up. And you can’t move your life forward if you’re still living in the past.  These are all mindset issues. And that’s a huge part of small business success. That’s why I have so many E-books on mindset issues beyond the how-to’s of launching a business. So check out the book Pivot by Adam Merkel and let me know what you think. I’m positive you won’t be disappointed. It’s one of my favorite books and I think it’ll be one of yours as well. I’d really like to get your feedback on this type of episode…doing a book report. I’m thinking about doing more of these and hearing if this was helpful to you or not would let me know if I should do more of them. So, feel free to shoot me an email at: tom@tomclairmont.com with your thoughts. I’ll put in a link to the Pivot book in the show notes.  And when you shoot me an email, let me know what some of your favorite books are. I’d like to know. So..as always…stay encouraged, follow your dream and don’t give up!Book: <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Pivot-Science-Reinventing-Your-Career/dp/1476779481/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2N2AU4V6C9828&amp;keywords=pivot+adam+markel&amp;qid=1653945768&amp;s=books&amp;sprefix=pivot+adam%2Cstripbooks%2C108&amp;sr=1-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pivot</a> by Adam Merkel1:1 or group coaching at <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/coaching" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/coaching</a>Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book and webinar I have for you <a href="http://www.diypodcastlaunch.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.diypodcastlaunch.com</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Personal brand business or Podcast launch coaching: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/coaching" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/coaching</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 100: Book Report: Pivot, by Adam Merkel | MUST READ

We live in a time where information and influence comes as easy as breathing. Whatever we want to know or learn about, we can pursue it and either read or watch videos on it. No topic seems to be untapped.But because we have all of this information at our fingertips, we can easily get information overload. And with all this information, get lost in the process of what to do with it.Now, I’m a process and procedure sort of guy. I like to have things done in a certain order so that I don’t waste time going backward and fixing things that should have been done the right way the first time.I just recently launched two new Podcasts and find that having the structure of good checklists and supporting tools that I use, really helps to make my time more efficient.But I came up with these tools..these checklists.. because I worked out the processes and procedures in advance. That way, when it comes time to launch a Podcast, I have a certain order of events that I need to work through, not only with what I need to do, but the Podcast owner as well.You see, I worked out a strategy. A plan. A process. And I was able to do this because I’ve launched other Podcasts before. I knew what I was in for.  But when it come to launching an online business, some people, because they’ve never done it before, try to go through the business building process with:·      Little to no strategy·      Little to no planning·      No accountability·      And little to no support And when they go through the process this way, it’s easy for them to be either misled or misdirected.The results:·      Feeling overwhelmed·      Feeling over worked·      Poor decision making·      Poor output·      Wasting money·      Wasting timeAnd just for the record, in my early days, I successfully did all those things that I’m telling you not to do. That’s why my first Podcast episode after the trailer episode is about learning from my mistakes. It was originally called ‘Don’t Do What I Did’, but I changed it to have a more positive tone to it instead of the ‘do as I do and not what I say’ sort of tone.I felt overwhelmed. I felt overworked. I made poor decisions. I wasted money…and time..a lot of time. Why?Because I didn’t have the right plan for me. I didn’t have the right support that I needed, like a business coach.Now, granted, I was able to have a decent business and I certainly made good money, and quite a lot of passive income as well, which I still have, but I made those mistakes because even though I had some information (and a lot of great contacts), I didn’t know what to do with the information that I had.So, I still made money, but I could have made a lot more, if I had a better plan in place, I’m sure.So, I ‘winged it’ as we say in the US. And, because I have a growing listener base outside of the US, if you’re not familiar with this phrase, it just means that I went forward without a plan, even though I had a business plan.You see, it doesn’t do much good to have a business plan if you ignore the business plan. Right?Are you sort of getting a better picture of what ‘winging it’ means now?But I guess, it’s easy to ignore a business plan that was created out of almost 100% speculation anyway.Why take the business plan seriously when it’s just some fantasy plan anyway with a pretend income stream and a made up strategy based on wishful thinking?But I’ve come a long way since then. I’ve learned a few things in the past 20 years that I think now, can help a lot of people. And that’s what I intend to do. Help a lot of people.That’s what this Podcast is all about.In March of 2021, I did a Podcast episode (number 26) called “Starting a Business From Zero- 7 Core Building Blocks You'll Need to Have.” And that particular episode is one of the more popular ones, usually leading the list each month for downloads. And in that episode (I’ll leave a link in the Show notes) I went over, just as an outline, the framework that I created ‘7 Basic Building Blocks for a Personal Brand Business’.Now, this framework does not focus on ‘how to brand yourself’, but provides the platform…the foundation, if you will, for the business.What are the 7 building blocks?1.    Vision- where you want to go and how you’ll get there2.    Website-you’re open for business. Who you are and what you offer.3.    Products and Services-how you can help people solve their problem4.    Marketing plan-opening a relationship with your target audience5.    Copy-the words you’ll use to sell stuff6.    Email list-building the relationship further7.    Branding-your verbal, visual and values identityNow, there’s no right or wrong to the order of the list, although I would say that the first one, vision, should stay first. And it’s not meant to be a timeline for the way they’re numbered either. It’s not like website should be the second thing you work on because it’s number two.These building blocks are all intertwined. They work together.You’ll need good copy for everything you create. The website copy, the promotional material for the product or service, the email list, course material, even the branding. And there is a right and a wrong way for writing copy, as I found out. So that needs to be solid. But having these 7 core building blocks will help you to lay a solid foundation for the business so that you can build up and out from something that’s stable.And I get into more detail with episodes 30-36 later on as I briefly touch on the 7 building blocks, so I recommend downloading those episodes when you can.And these 7 building blocks to your online business are what my 1:1 or group coaching is all about.Now, for some listeners, they haven’t even started yet and they’re just still in the ‘I’m thinking about what I’m going to do’ phase. And for some others, that may have launched a business already but they’re still trying to work out how to make some decent money, they may be missing one or more of these building blocks, as I like to call them, but that can be fixed.It’s not an all or nothing game here. And keep in mind that these 7 building blocks is my specific framework that I developed over the years and you’re probably not going to hear it put this way from anyone else, as far as I can tell.And that’s ok. There’s plenty of other very smart people out there that have their take on what core elements you should have, and I deliberately don’t get into the finances of what you should do, because that should be between you and an Accountant as far as I’m concerned and that’s a completely different topic.But as far as dealing with the chaos of starting a personal brand business, I think that by having these 7 building blocks as soon as possible in your launch, (vision, website, copy, marketing, products and services, email list and branding), it’ll help to keep you focused and on a better trajectory toward a profitable business.It’s worked for me. I’m sure it’ll work for you as well.So, how to avoid chaos in starting a personal brand business? Lay a good foundation. Have a solid plan in place. Have a timeline.This way, you’re not just reacting to whatever the problem is for that day. You’ll be more focused. You’ll have more purpose in the things you’re working on.It worked for me. I’m sure it’ll work for you as well. Book: Pivot by Adam MerkelDo you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Small business launch coaching: www.tomclairmont.com/coachingFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We live in a time where information and influence comes as easy as breathing. Whatever we want to know or learn about, we can pursue it and either read or watch videos on it. No topic seems to be untapped.But because we have all of this information at our fingertips, we can easily get information overload. And with all this information, get lost in the process of what to do with it.Now, I’m a process and procedure sort of guy. I like to have things done in a certain order so that I don’t waste time going backward and fixing things that should have been done the right way the first time.I just recently launched two new Podcasts and find that having the structure of good checklists and supporting tools that I use, really helps to make my time more efficient.But I came up with these tools..these checklists.. because I worked out the processes and procedures in advance. That way, when it comes time to launch a Podcast, I have a certain order of events that I need to work through, not only with what I need to do, but the Podcast owner as well.You see, I worked out a strategy. A plan. A process. And I was able to do this because I’ve launched other Podcasts before. I knew what I was in for.  But when it come to launching an online business, some people, because they’ve never done it before, try to go through the business building process with:·      Little to no strategy·      Little to no planning·      No accountability·      And little to no support And when they go through the process this way, it’s easy for them to be either misled or misdirected.The results:·      Feeling overwhelmed·      Feeling over worked·      Poor decision making·      Poor output·      Wasting money·      Wasting timeAnd just for the record, in my early days, I successfully did all those things that I’m telling you not to do. That’s why my first Podcast episode after the trailer episode is about learning from my mistakes. It was originally called ‘Don’t Do What I Did’, but I changed it to have a more positive tone to it instead of the ‘do as I do and not what I say’ sort of tone.I felt overwhelmed. I felt overworked. I made poor decisions. I wasted money…and time..a lot of time. Why?Because I didn’t have the right plan for me. I didn’t have the right support that I needed, like a business coach.Now, granted, I was able to have a decent business and I certainly made good money, and quite a lot of passive income as well, which I still have, but I made those mistakes because even though I had some information (and a lot of great contacts), I didn’t know what to do with the information that I had.So, I still made money, but I could have made a lot more, if I had a better plan in place, I’m sure.So, I ‘winged it’ as we say in the US. And, because I have a growing listener base outside of the US, if you’re not familiar with this phrase, it just means that I went forward without a plan, even though I had a business plan.You see, it doesn’t do much good to have a business plan if you ignore the business plan. Right?Are you sort of getting a better picture of what ‘winging it’ means now?But I guess, it’s easy to ignore a business plan that was created out of almost 100% speculation anyway.Why take the business plan seriously when it’s just some fantasy plan anyway with a pretend income stream and a made up strategy based on wishful thinking?But I’ve come a long way since then. I’ve learned a few things in the past 20 years that I think now, can help a lot of people. And that’s what I intend to do. Help a lot of people.That’s what this Podcast is all about.In March of 2021, I did a Podcast episode (number 26) called “Starting a Business From Zero- 7 Core Building Blocks You'll Need to Have.” And that particular episode is one of the more popular ones, usually leading the list each month for downloads. And in that episode (I’ll leave a link in the Show notes) I went over, just as an outline, the framework that I created ‘7 Basic Building Blocks for a Personal Brand Business’.Now, this framework does not focus on ‘how to brand yourself’, but provides the platform…the foundation, if you will, for the business.What are the 7 building blocks?1.    Vision- where you want to go and how you’ll get there2.    Website-you’re open for business. Who you are and what you offer.3.    Products and Services-how you can help people solve their problem4.    Marketing plan-opening a relationship with your target audience5.    Copy-the words you’ll use to sell stuff6.    Email list-building the relationship further7.    Branding-your verbal, visual and values identityNow, there’s no right or wrong to the order of the list, although I would say that the first one, vision, should stay first. And it’s not meant to be a timeline for the way they’re numbered either. It’s not like website should be the second thing you work on because it’s number two.These building blocks are all intertwined. They work together.You’ll need good copy for everything you create. The website copy, the promotional material for the product or service, the email list, course material, even the branding. And there is a right and a wrong way for writing copy, as I found out. So that needs to be solid. But having these 7 core building blocks will help you to lay a solid foundation for the business so that you can build up and out from something that’s stable.And I get into more detail with episodes 30-36 later on as I briefly touch on the 7 building blocks, so I recommend downloading those episodes when you can.And these 7 building blocks to your online business are what my 1:1 or group coaching is all about.Now, for some listeners, they haven’t even started yet and they’re just still in the ‘I’m thinking about what I’m going to do’ phase. And for some others, that may have launched a business already but they’re still trying to work out how to make some decent money, they may be missing one or more of these building blocks, as I like to call them, but that can be fixed.It’s not an all or nothing game here. And keep in mind that these 7 building blocks is my specific framework that I developed over the years and you’re probably not going to hear it put this way from anyone else, as far as I can tell.And that’s ok. There’s plenty of other very smart people out there that have their take on what core elements you should have, and I deliberately don’t get into the finances of what you should do, because that should be between you and an Accountant as far as I’m concerned and that’s a completely different topic.But as far as dealing with the chaos of starting a personal brand business, I think that by having these 7 building blocks as soon as possible in your launch, (vision, website, copy, marketing, products and services, email list and branding), it’ll help to keep you focused and on a better trajectory toward a profitable business.It’s worked for me. I’m sure it’ll work for you as well.So, how to avoid chaos in starting a personal brand business? Lay a good foundation. Have a solid plan in place. Have a timeline.This way, you’re not just reacting to whatever the problem is for that day. You’ll be more focused. You’ll have more purpose in the things you’re working on.It worked for me. I’m sure it’ll work for you as well. Book: <a href="https://smile.amazon.com/Pivot-Science-Reinventing-Your-Career/dp/1476779481/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2N2AU4V6C9828&amp;keywords=pivot+adam+markel&amp;qid=1653945768&amp;s=books&amp;sprefix=pivot+adam%2Cstripbooks%2C108&amp;sr=1-1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pivot</a> by Adam MerkelDo you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Small business launch coaching: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/coaching" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/coaching</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 99: How to Avoid Chaos in Starting a Personal Brand Business

What Is a Personal Brand?Well friends, I’m sure that there are a lot of people that already have this personal brand stuff figured out, but there may be some of you listening that need a bit more clarification to what all this ‘personal brand’ stuff is and how they should think of it.Because for me, when I started out, the meaning has sort of shifted a bit over the past 20 years and to be honest, I really like the way the definition evolved over time.And just to be clear, when I started my IT business in 2002, I didn’t start out with a personal brand. I thought it was a good idea to have sort of a corporate identity and had this more corporate name and logo to make it seem like I’m more professional and maybe bigger than I really was.I started out as Net Essentials Inc. and had the domain name and website to match and I really didn’t know too much about the personal brand image and what I should even do with that sort of identity.And when you Google the term now, you’ll get a lot of different perspectives on this but really it all comes down to your personal identity and how you present it.Since it’s a personal brand, it’s all about you. Your:·       Ideas·       Expertise·       Reputation·       PersonalityBut when I say it’s all about you, what I don’t mean is that the messaging for your personal brand needs to be all about you, because that would turn a lot of people…probably everybody off and they’d run away from you as fast as they could.There needs to be a perspective in place with your messaging that takes your ideas and expertise and your reputation and personality but you’re presenting yourself in such a way that you’re showing people how you can help them with the problem they have..through your ideas and expertise and your reputation and personality.Your personal brand is both all about you, but all about them as well. ‘Them’ being your target audience. How you can help them.So let’s talk a little about your personal brand identity and how it can be both all about you and all about them at the same time.There are 3 V’s that I like to use when explaining this ‘identity’ part of the definition. Your:1.     Visual identity2.     Verbal identity3.     Values identitySo let’s talk about this for a bit.Your visual identityThis goes along with how your presenting yourself on your website and social media. How are you being perceived? And I always recommend that you think this through when you’re putting content on the Internet because sometimes some questionable content could come back to haunt you.And the spectrum is very wide for this visual identity. I’m not advocating that every bit of content needs to always be professional and that people shouldn’t see your personal side, and then on the flip side, it you’re too personal and not professional enough that sort of content won’t help to grow your business either.But there needs to be a balance of both personal and professional content that you put on your website and social media accounts.When people first land on your website or social media account, what’s the first impression that they have of you? What’s your visual identity and does it invite more people in to see more?Or is it turning some people off? Verbal IdentityNext comes the verbal identity. Now, when I use the word ‘verbal’ it doesn’t necessarily mean ‘what you say’ exactly, but more about ‘what your message is to the world’.What’s your message and how are you presenting this message? What’s your content and how is it helping people solve a problem? Because remember, a little bit ago, I was saying that there needs to be a ‘I can solve your problem’ perspective in the personal brand image.So when it comes down to your content, you can develop better content by always having your target audience in mind and by presenting your message in a way that makes them feel like you’re talking to one person. Just them.You’re being personal to someone that you don’t even know yet. And that can be a little tricky at times, but if you’re sincerely trying to help people solve a problem, just present it in a way that makes them feel like they’re sitting across the table from you.This will be your verbal identity.Now last in the 3 V’s is ‘Values’.What do you believe and how you weave that into the content. Now, I’m not talking about religious beliefs per se, but if that’s what your personal brand is all about, then yes, go for it. Tim Tebow is a great example of that. His personal brand is all about his faith and how he helps people to make their lives better.But for the most part, your values identity will shine through as you present who you are and how you do business.For example, I posted something on LinkedIn this morning that referred to how I can help someone that wants to have copy written for their website, landing page, lead magnet or email marketing. But when I referred to writing the copy, I put in parenthesis ‘ethical’ copy. Because the copy that some people use, crosses the line of good ethics and either misrepresents or lays a huge guilt trip on you that you don’t need to try to make you buy their ‘thing’ that they’re selling.So when you’re putting content out there in your website or landing page or email marketing…or whatever…you’re always giving people a glimpse of who you are as a person and the values that you have both personally and professionally as well.So those are the 3 V’s. Visual, verbal and values. Do You Need a Personal Brand?But what if you’re still trying to decide if you actually need a personal brand? Am I saying that everyone needs to have one? No.You may be in a situation with your business where you don’t actually need to have that personal brand image.There are plenty of examples where someone started an online business but used a more corporate model. Prudential Insurance, for example. Since it has ‘insurance’ in the name, we know what it’s about and what they offer.‘The Family Foundation’ is a non profit organization, but you can tell by the name, that they’re into solving problems that have to do with the family unit.So if you’re not going to have a personal brand image, then I would recommend that you include the purpose or type of business in the name.·       Richmond Real Estate·       Advanced Auto RepairYou get the picture.What to name your personal brand business?But if you’re thinking about a personal brand, then I usually recommend that you call it after yourself. That’s what makes it personal. Because, really, when I was Net Essentials Inc, I didn’t want people to think of me as ‘the president of Net Essentials Inc.’, but I wanted people to say ‘hey, call Tom’, or ‘we need to get Tom Clairmont over here to help us with this.’ That’s what I wanted. I wanted them to think of me, or to refer me, not ‘you should call Net Essentials Inc. They’ll help you with that.’ Because there was no ‘they’. It was just me anyway.So, if it’s just you in this picture, then use your name. But be aware that the Internet has a memory. A long one. So if you’re using your name, you’re putting yourself out there for everybody to see. Friends, family, potential clients, potential employers…it’s all visible.Now, just as a side note, so you can see a little bit more of where I’m coming from, I, of course, registered the domain name www.tomclairmont.com, but I also bought the domain name www.thomasclairmont.com. Why? Because if there was a Thomas Clairmont out there in the world that wanted to have a website and give the world a totally different message and image as to what I was presenting, then it would totally confuse my target audience. So for a few dollars a year, I own both domain names so that I can control my personal brand image better and protect that image better. OK? So I hope that this helps to clear up some misconceptions that are out there on this topic and that this episode will help you to form your own personal brand…or not. But either way, if you do pick a personal brand or you want to have a more corporate name, you’ll have at least thought it through a little better.Does all this sound good? I recommend you spend some time thinking this through because if you decide to start a personal brand business or if you think it’s time to switch, like I did, you’ll need to make some changes to the business plan and how you’re going to market and promote yourself.Because when you do make the switch, from a corporate brand to a personal brand, you’re now claiming a new identity in a way. Yes, your clients and prospects probably already knew that your business was just yourself, but now, after making the switch official, you have to turn off the corporate image and promotion and turn on the new personal brand you in all your documentation, social media and email marketing. It can be a big deal, depending on how many marketing and promotional tools you already have in place.So think this through. You’ll be glad you did.Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

What Is a Personal Brand?Well friends, I’m sure that there are a lot of people that already have this personal brand stuff figured out, but there may be some of you listening that need a bit more clarification to what all this ‘personal brand’ stuff is and how they should think of it.Because for me, when I started out, the meaning has sort of shifted a bit over the past 20 years and to be honest, I really like the way the definition evolved over time.And just to be clear, when I started my IT business in 2002, I didn’t start out with a personal brand. I thought it was a good idea to have sort of a corporate identity and had this more corporate name and logo to make it seem like I’m more professional and maybe bigger than I really was.I started out as Net Essentials Inc. and had the domain name and website to match and I really didn’t know too much about the personal brand image and what I should even do with that sort of identity.And when you Google the term now, you’ll get a lot of different perspectives on this but really it all comes down to your personal identity and how you present it.Since it’s a personal brand, it’s all about you. Your:·       Ideas·       Expertise·       Reputation·       PersonalityBut when I say it’s all about you, what I don’t mean is that the messaging for your personal brand needs to be all about you, because that would turn a lot of people…probably everybody off and they’d run away from you as fast as they could.There needs to be a perspective in place with your messaging that takes your ideas and expertise and your reputation and personality but you’re presenting yourself in such a way that you’re showing people how you can help them with the problem they have..through your ideas and expertise and your reputation and personality.Your personal brand is both all about you, but all about them as well. ‘Them’ being your target audience. How you can help them.So let’s talk a little about your personal brand identity and how it can be both all about you and all about them at the same time.There are 3 V’s that I like to use when explaining this ‘identity’ part of the definition. Your:1.     Visual identity2.     Verbal identity3.     Values identitySo let’s talk about this for a bit.Your visual identityThis goes along with how your presenting yourself on your website and social media. How are you being perceived? And I always recommend that you think this through when you’re putting content on the Internet because sometimes some questionable content could come back to haunt you.And the spectrum is very wide for this visual identity. I’m not advocating that every bit of content needs to always be professional and that people shouldn’t see your personal side, and then on the flip side, it you’re too personal and not professional enough that sort of content won’t help to grow your business either.But there needs to be a balance of both personal and professional content that you put on your website and social media accounts.When people first land on your website or social media account, what’s the first impression that they have of you? What’s your visual identity and does it invite more people in to see more?Or is it turning some people off? Verbal IdentityNext comes the verbal identity. Now, when I use the word ‘verbal’ it doesn’t necessarily mean ‘what you say’ exactly, but more about ‘what your message is to the world’.What’s your message and how are you presenting this message? What’s your content and how is it helping people solve a problem? Because remember, a little bit ago, I was saying that there needs to be a ‘I can solve your problem’ perspective in the personal brand image.So when it comes down to your content, you can develop better content by always having your target audience in mind and by presenting your message in a way that makes them feel like you’re talking to one person. Just them.You’re being personal to someone that you don’t even know yet. And that can be a little tricky at times, but if you’re sincerely trying to help people solve a problem, just present it in a way that makes them feel like they’re sitting across the table from you.This will be your verbal identity.Now last in the 3 V’s is ‘Values’.What do you believe and how you weave that into the content. Now, I’m not talking about religious beliefs per se, but if that’s what your personal brand is all about, then yes, go for it. Tim Tebow is a great example of that. His personal brand is all about his faith and how he helps people to make their lives better.But for the most part, your values identity will shine through as you present who you are and how you do business.For example, I posted something on LinkedIn this morning that referred to how I can help someone that wants to have copy written for their website, landing page, lead magnet or email marketing. But when I referred to writing the copy, I put in parenthesis ‘ethical’ copy. Because the copy that some people use, crosses the line of good ethics and either misrepresents or lays a huge guilt trip on you that you don’t need to try to make you buy their ‘thing’ that they’re selling.So when you’re putting content out there in your website or landing page or email marketing…or whatever…you’re always giving people a glimpse of who you are as a person and the values that you have both personally and professionally as well.So those are the 3 V’s. Visual, verbal and values. Do You Need a Personal Brand?But what if you’re still trying to decide if you actually need a personal brand? Am I saying that everyone needs to have one? No.You may be in a situation with your business where you don’t actually need to have that personal brand image.There are plenty of examples where someone started an online business but used a more corporate model. Prudential Insurance, for example. Since it has ‘insurance’ in the name, we know what it’s about and what they offer.‘The Family Foundation’ is a non profit organization, but you can tell by the name, that they’re into solving problems that have to do with the family unit.So if you’re not going to have a personal brand image, then I would recommend that you include the purpose or type of business in the name.·       Richmond Real Estate·       Advanced Auto RepairYou get the picture.What to name your personal brand business?But if you’re thinking about a personal brand, then I usually recommend that you call it after yourself. That’s what makes it personal. Because, really, when I was Net Essentials Inc, I didn’t want people to think of me as ‘the president of Net Essentials Inc.’, but I wanted people to say ‘hey, call Tom’, or ‘we need to get Tom Clairmont over here to help us with this.’ That’s what I wanted. I wanted them to think of me, or to refer me, not ‘you should call Net Essentials Inc. They’ll help you with that.’ Because there was no ‘they’. It was just me anyway.So, if it’s just you in this picture, then use your name. But be aware that the Internet has a memory. A long one. So if you’re using your name, you’re putting yourself out there for everybody to see. Friends, family, potential clients, potential employers…it’s all visible.Now, just as a side note, so you can see a little bit more of where I’m coming from, I, of course, registered the domain name <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>, but I also bought the domain name <a href="http://www.thomasclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.thomasclairmont.com</a>. Why? Because if there was a Thomas Clairmont out there in the world that wanted to have a website and give the world a totally different message and image as to what I was presenting, then it would totally confuse my target audience. So for a few dollars a year, I own both domain names so that I can control my personal brand image better and protect that image better. OK? So I hope that this helps to clear up some misconceptions that are out there on this topic and that this episode will help you to form your own personal brand…or not. But either way, if you do pick a personal brand or you want to have a more corporate name, you’ll have at least thought it through a little better.Does all this sound good? I recommend you spend some time thinking this through because if you decide to start a personal brand business or if you think it’s time to switch, like I did, you’ll need to make some changes to the business plan and how you’re going to market and promote yourself.Because when you do make the switch, from a corporate brand to a personal brand, you’re now claiming a new identity in a way. Yes, your clients and prospects probably already knew that your business was just yourself, but now, after making the switch official, you have to turn off the corporate image and promotion and turn on the new personal brand you in all your documentation, social media and email marketing. It can be a big deal, depending on how many marketing and promotional tools you already have in place.So think this through. You’ll be glad you did.Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 98: What is a personal brand business?

Is there a ‘right’ time to start a business?Hello again friends, I have a topic here today that is a very popular one for sure. When should you start a business?Is there a right time, a right opportunity, a right situation, a right…answer?And if you go to Google trends and type in ‘the right time to start a business’, you’ll see that over the past 5 years, the results, in the US, and around the world, shows that this topic has been gaining steam since around May of 2020.Why? Well, starting a business has a lot of advantages. And when people need other options for income because of internal or external forces around them are either failing or just not meeting the need, or if they just want more opportunity in general, then starting a business is a good idea.But there are a lot of details that we need to go through when we start a business, right? There’s a lot to think about. And that’s part of the big picture for me here in this Podcast as a whole, is to help people think through the mountain of topics that there are around having your own full or part time personal brand business.So for today, in this episode, we’ll be talking about the right time and the wrong time to start a business. But keep in mind that this is my perspective on this and my advice for you and that you’ll be getting a lot of different advice from probably everyone you talk to on this issue of ‘when’.So, let’s start off with flipping the coin here and talk about not necessarily the right time, but the wrong time. Because the signals for the ‘right’ time are harder to see than the signals for the ‘wrong’ time.    When is the wrong time to start a business?So, when is the wrong time to start a business? My first answer is…Tomorrow.Well, for starters, tomorrow was the first thing that came to mind. Now, am I literally talking about ‘tomorrow’? No. I’m talking about the ability to put things off…for tomorrow. And then the next day. And the next.You know how it goes, right? I’ll work on it someday. And then someday never comes. Because ‘someday’ (you might have heard me say this) someday is just code for ‘never’.So if you’re saying to yourself that you’ll get to it soon, ask yourself the next question. How long have I been saying ‘soon’?When you can’t get your message straightGetting your message straight is huge. What do you do? What problem do you solve? Why should anyone pay you? Why are you better than someone else?If you don’t have your message straight, then you’ll be wasting a lot of time. Maybe years. So spend time on your message in advance.I’ve said this before in episode 57 of my Podcast that you need to have 3 critical stories for your personal brand business.·       Personal story·       Professional story·       Client storyGet your 3 stories down to as short as it needs to be and at the same time, as long as it needs to be. So listen in on this episode to hear how I explain in more detail how to use those three critical stories to build your business.When you don’t know who your target audience isIf you don’t know who you’re selling to then how will you sell anything? You may have heard it before, but if you’re trying to sell to everybody, then you’re selling to nobody.Work on who your target audience is in advance so you know how to shape all your content around that audience.You can look at your target audience in two different ways.1.     Demographics-the stats about a particular type of person and what the data shows about their particular situation and buying habits so you can sell a product or service to them easier2.     Psychographics- who they are as a person and the knowing the struggles they have so you can meet their needs through a product or serviceI can think of my target audience from the demographics angle by saying ‘Joe is an upper middle class married man, age 48, that is looking to get out of the corporate rat race and start an online business using his current investment or retirement savings as seed money.Or, I can look at my target audience from the psychographics angle like this: Lily is a stressed out teacher that has had enough of all the politics and political correctness of teaching, wants a better work/life balance and would like to gradually supplement her income with online courses and eventually have a full time business through tutoring and online learning so she can be home with her family more and not be stressed out grading papers until 1 am in the morning.    When you’re not doing well emotionallyStarting a business requires a certain amount of mental strength and clarity. You’re playing for the long game, not short term results. You need to be in a good place emotionally and mentally as well. Trust me, I sort of know what I’m talking about. I’ve been doing this for awhile.If you’re not in a good place emotionally, then wait until you are. Otherwise, you’ll be burning yourself out real fast.If you can’t commit to some time each dayThink about the structure of your day right now. Are you exhausted just thinking about it? Are you trying to be that ‘super mom’ or ‘jack of all trades’ guy?Are you really doing this for the right reasons or just trying to impress someone?Hey, I want people to reach after their dream, but I don’t want to see people start something and then fizzle out after a few months because they really didn’t have the time to commit to this venture.You need time each day to focus and get specific things done.You need structure.You’ll need a plan.How much time? That really depends. I can’t answer that. Just know that you can’t get a lot accomplished in an hour a day. It takes time just to wind down and to stop thinking about everything else that’s on your mind.If you can commit a block of time each day, then great. Otherwise, wait until you can stop doing something that’ll open up some extra time for you to focus on this dream of yours.If you’re getting resistance from a close relationshipThis is important because I don’t recommend that you start something that will cause a lot of friction in the relationship. Starting a business isn’t worth a divorce or losing someone important to you. There’s usually a different approach you can have.If you don’t have strong support, you’ll not only be struggling with the normal aspects of starting and growing a business from external forces, but you’ll be struggling with all the internal resistance as well.It’s not worth it. Enjoy what you do. Otherwise, what’s the point?The right time to start a businessSo.. when is the ‘right’ time? How do you know how to interpret all the signals of the economy and society?Well, I recently read something that showed how major, profitable businesses were formed out of the US great depression of the 1930’s BECAUSE of the bad economic times. Business leaders that didn’t know what the future held, just made the best decisions for the present time and were able to reap great financial benefits even though most of the country was struggling financially.And it’s not like people got rich because the poor became poorer, businesses created new products and industries that were in demand.So friends, if you’re waiting for the right time, you’ll be waiting for a long time. The right time is now. Why? Because you’re motivated now. You’ve got the energy now. You’ve got the skill and the will now.So get started now. Create something new now.There’s a lot of people that need your product or service. They just don’t know you yet. So get yourself out there and get started today.You’ll be glad you did. Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Is there a ‘right’ time to start a business?Hello again friends, I have a topic here today that is a very popular one for sure. When should you start a business?Is there a right time, a right opportunity, a right situation, a right…answer?And if you go to Google trends and type in ‘the right time to start a business’, you’ll see that over the past 5 years, the results, in the US, and around the world, shows that this topic has been gaining steam since around May of 2020.Why? Well, starting a business has a lot of advantages. And when people need other options for income because of internal or external forces around them are either failing or just not meeting the need, or if they just want more opportunity in general, then starting a business is a good idea.But there are a lot of details that we need to go through when we start a business, right? There’s a lot to think about. And that’s part of the big picture for me here in this Podcast as a whole, is to help people think through the mountain of topics that there are around having your own full or part time personal brand business.So for today, in this episode, we’ll be talking about the right time and the wrong time to start a business. But keep in mind that this is my perspective on this and my advice for you and that you’ll be getting a lot of different advice from probably everyone you talk to on this issue of ‘when’.So, let’s start off with flipping the coin here and talk about not necessarily the right time, but the wrong time. Because the signals for the ‘right’ time are harder to see than the signals for the ‘wrong’ time.    When is the wrong time to start a business?So, when is the wrong time to start a business? My first answer is…Tomorrow.Well, for starters, tomorrow was the first thing that came to mind. Now, am I literally talking about ‘tomorrow’? No. I’m talking about the ability to put things off…for tomorrow. And then the next day. And the next.You know how it goes, right? I’ll work on it someday. And then someday never comes. Because ‘someday’ (you might have heard me say this) someday is just code for ‘never’.So if you’re saying to yourself that you’ll get to it soon, ask yourself the next question. How long have I been saying ‘soon’?When you can’t get your message straightGetting your message straight is huge. What do you do? What problem do you solve? Why should anyone pay you? Why are you better than someone else?If you don’t have your message straight, then you’ll be wasting a lot of time. Maybe years. So spend time on your message in advance.I’ve said this before in episode 57 of my Podcast that you need to have 3 critical stories for your personal brand business.·       Personal story·       Professional story·       Client storyGet your 3 stories down to as short as it needs to be and at the same time, as long as it needs to be. So listen in on this episode to hear how I explain in more detail how to use those three critical stories to build your business.When you don’t know who your target audience isIf you don’t know who you’re selling to then how will you sell anything? You may have heard it before, but if you’re trying to sell to everybody, then you’re selling to nobody.Work on who your target audience is in advance so you know how to shape all your content around that audience.You can look at your target audience in two different ways.1.     Demographics-the stats about a particular type of person and what the data shows about their particular situation and buying habits so you can sell a product or service to them easier2.     Psychographics- who they are as a person and the knowing the struggles they have so you can meet their needs through a product or serviceI can think of my target audience from the demographics angle by saying ‘Joe is an upper middle class married man, age 48, that is looking to get out of the corporate rat race and start an online business using his current investment or retirement savings as seed money.Or, I can look at my target audience from the psychographics angle like this: Lily is a stressed out teacher that has had enough of all the politics and political correctness of teaching, wants a better work/life balance and would like to gradually supplement her income with online courses and eventually have a full time business through tutoring and online learning so she can be home with her family more and not be stressed out grading papers until 1 am in the morning.    When you’re not doing well emotionallyStarting a business requires a certain amount of mental strength and clarity. You’re playing for the long game, not short term results. You need to be in a good place emotionally and mentally as well. Trust me, I sort of know what I’m talking about. I’ve been doing this for awhile.If you’re not in a good place emotionally, then wait until you are. Otherwise, you’ll be burning yourself out real fast.If you can’t commit to some time each dayThink about the structure of your day right now. Are you exhausted just thinking about it? Are you trying to be that ‘super mom’ or ‘jack of all trades’ guy?Are you really doing this for the right reasons or just trying to impress someone?Hey, I want people to reach after their dream, but I don’t want to see people start something and then fizzle out after a few months because they really didn’t have the time to commit to this venture.You need time each day to focus and get specific things done.You need structure.You’ll need a plan.How much time? That really depends. I can’t answer that. Just know that you can’t get a lot accomplished in an hour a day. It takes time just to wind down and to stop thinking about everything else that’s on your mind.If you can commit a block of time each day, then great. Otherwise, wait until you can stop doing something that’ll open up some extra time for you to focus on this dream of yours.If you’re getting resistance from a close relationshipThis is important because I don’t recommend that you start something that will cause a lot of friction in the relationship. Starting a business isn’t worth a divorce or losing someone important to you. There’s usually a different approach you can have.If you don’t have strong support, you’ll not only be struggling with the normal aspects of starting and growing a business from external forces, but you’ll be struggling with all the internal resistance as well.It’s not worth it. Enjoy what you do. Otherwise, what’s the point?The right time to start a businessSo.. when is the ‘right’ time? How do you know how to interpret all the signals of the economy and society?Well, I recently read something that showed how major, profitable businesses were formed out of the US great depression of the 1930’s BECAUSE of the bad economic times. Business leaders that didn’t know what the future held, just made the best decisions for the present time and were able to reap great financial benefits even though most of the country was struggling financially.And it’s not like people got rich because the poor became poorer, businesses created new products and industries that were in demand.So friends, if you’re waiting for the right time, you’ll be waiting for a long time. The right time is now. Why? Because you’re motivated now. You’ve got the energy now. You’ve got the skill and the will now.So get started now. Create something new now.There’s a lot of people that need your product or service. They just don’t know you yet. So get yourself out there and get started today.You’ll be glad you did. Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 97: When is the right time to start a business?

If you’ve been listening for awhile, you may have heard in episode 58 titled ‘the tools we use’, I briefly went over some of the software tools I use to run my business and why I use them.I even created a free download of a pdf on this very same topic with the links to click on to get them in order for you to save some time. And that’s what this is all about for me here in doing these types of things…saving you time and money and helping you along the way by learning what works for me so that you don’t have to go through the hassle of trying to figure this stuff out.Now, I get it, we all have our personal favorites when it comes to software tools and my favorite tool might not be yours and that’s just fine. But if you’re looking to skip the research part of the process because you’re more interested in launching your business sooner, rather than later, these types of episodes are for you.So, in episode 58, I went over the following tools: • SiteGround• WordPress• Elementor Pro• MailerLite• RedCircle• Fiverr• Audacity• Canva• Headliner• SmartMockups• Zoom• Loom• Gumroad And I think I covered the basics pretty well on these tools, but now, I’d like to get into some other tools…and just assume that when I use the word ‘tools’ I’m talking software tools.So, in this episode of ‘The Tools We Use’ part 2, I’d like to say a few words about these tools (and I’ll have links in the show notes for you as well, if you want to get right to it faster):·      Easyprompter·      Google Trends·      Calendly·      Unsplash·      Udemy·      Mindmeister.com·      Google Drive·      Premiumbeat.com EasyprompterSo, for the first one, EasyPrompter, I picked this tool because I needed a better way to do longer videos and be hands free as well. This tool came recommended to me from another business pro that does a lot of longer videos.With Easyprompter, you can just enter in the text you’ll be using for the video, adjust the font size and speed you want the text to scroll up on your screen and press play.Why do I think I need this? Well, without using this, I have to look at the screen and keep one hand on the keyboard down arrow or mouse and keep scrolling down as needed to the pace I’m going at.With this tool, I can know, in advance, how long it will take to read the script (EasyPrompter tells you) and be totally hands free when I’m doing the video.Why do I need to be totally hands free? Well, when doing videos, part of the way we process information on the receiving side is to look at the hand motions of the people giving the information.And you’ll see this from a lot of other people as well when you’re watching videos. They use both their hands during they’re message. We don’t normally think of this, but subconsciously, we need and expect hand motions when we take in information.And, some people have done research on this topic. I won’t get into the details of all of that, but when it came to people doing TED talks, this is what I found.The least popular TED Talkers used an average of 272 hand gestures during the 18-minute talk.The most popular TED Talkers used an average of 465 hand gestures—that’s almost double!Using your hands when talking helps to increase the effectiveness of the non-verbal form of communicating. So, when I’m making videos and my hands might be in view, I try to use both of them as much as I can. You see, we’re born to talk with our hands. And we learn from a young age to use our hands when talking, so why stop when it comes to presenting important information through our videos.Since I want my videos to be the most effective use of my time, I want people to remember what I’m saying and to be able to process it better as well.Thus, the use of EasyPrompter. There’s a free version that works just fine, or an $8/month version that gives you more options, but I think the free version will work for most of you just fine.Google TrendsNext, is Google Trends. Now I know that a lot of you may already know about this tool, but I’d still like to cover it for those listeners that may not be as familiar with it and why they should use it.Google Trends helps me in a couple of ways. With the use of Google Trends, I can do some quick research, in advance for what topics people are searching for and how important (or trendy) it is in both the US an around the world.In other words, I use it for content ideas. Here are 4 ways you can use Google Trends to create better content as well:·      You can find relevant topics that are trending·      Do better keyword research·      Use it to create a meaningful content calendar·      Improve your branding effortsBut there are other reasons to use Google Trends for your business as well:·      Understanding Keyword Search Volume·      Identifying Seasonal Trends·      Avoiding Temporarily Popular Keywords·      Optimize Your SEO Strategy.·      Enhancing Your Video SEO StrategyOverall, plenty of reasons to use Google Trends. And when I created the ‘Starting a Podcast’ E-book, I included screenshots of how I used it when I created this Podcast.CalendlySo now, the next tool I’d like to talk about, is Calendly. This is a great tool for anyone who has a website and needs a professional-looking booking tool to take appointments. No surprise that there’s a free version and a paid one that, of course offers more options, but for the most part, you’ll probably be ok with the free version.I’ve been using it for awhile and I love it. Plus, when you book on someone else’s Calandly feature, it automatically takes that time slot out of yours so that you don’t get a double booking of your time.You can customize your availability as you choose in advance for a couple of months and you can add the link to a button on your website so that the whole world will see when they can book a time with you.Using this tool helps to avoid the hassles and delay of going back and forth through email on what times work for both parties involved. Check it out. I’m sure you’ll like it as much as I do. UnsplashNow for the next one, Unsplash, I’ve seen first hand the huge problems a website owner can have when they (or the people that build them) don’t take the extra effort to use royalty free images. Legal issue can happen, and I’ve seen it first hand. You could potentially lose thousands of dollars because you just right clicked on an image that you Googled.You see, sometimes people place markers in the images that can be traced. And why would they trace them? For situations just like this. To get easy money.Unsplash has quite a variety of images to use, but keep in mind that others know about Unsplash as well and you just might come across some images that you use on someone else’s website or promotional material. You’re going to have to be ok with that. You can set some search parameters in advance to help you get what you’re looking for quicker, like orientation and topic. Check out Unsplash if you haven’t seen them yet. You’ll be glad you did.UdemyNow, this next one, is a little different. It’s not really a particular tool but a resource. I go to Udemy to learn stuff a lot faster. They have a huge list of topics and you can get full blown courses for not a lot of money. I took a copywriting course with over 11 hours of instruction that was on sale for about $45. A lot of courses go on sale for only $10-15.Now, there are other websites you can go to that’ll offer the same thing as Udemy but this site is my favorite. And I have no affiliation with them. I get nothing out of promoting them, but my goal here is to just let you know what I use so that you can just jump right into launching your business faster. That’s it. So, I hope you get a lot out of Udemy.   Mindmeister.comNow for this next one, Mindmeister.com, I use this to map out a plan that will give me a visual scope of a particular topic. If you want to map out a website plan or a marketing funnel plan, this website is for you.Take your big idea and create a ‘mind map’ as they’re called and put it in a visual format. I like to see a bit plan this way. Some people are more visually oriented than others and like to see the plan all laid out in one of these mind maps.Yes, there is a free and paid version, so you can start using it and save a few maps to get the feel of it.Google DriveNow for the next one, I’m sure that most of the listeners are already familiar with this one, and I won’t spend much time on it, but just in case, I use Google Drive to upload large files and share them with others.And in my ‘Done For You’ podcast launch program, I help others launch their Podcast and actually edit and prep the first bunch of episodes for them, but I need them to record those episodes first and get them to me. Google drive is the way to go.  Premiumbeat.comNow, the last one on the list, is PremiumBeat.com. This is the resource that I use and recommend for quality Podcast background music. If you have a Podcast, or are looking to start one, check out this site for a great selection of audio tracks that you can purchase for $50. You get the rights to use this audio track on one site only but you can slice up the full version of the audio track any way you want for your intros and outros, or if you have a midroll clip in your Podcast as well.For season one, I used a different audio track than season two. Did I have to? No. But I just thought it would be a good way to separate the seasons that way. Well, friends, I hope that this additional list of tools will be helpful to you so that you won’t have to spend so much time figuring all this stuff out. That’s the goal here in the Podcast to help you launch quicker, with a plan, so that you’ll be more profitable quicker.I’m just trying to help you launch whatever it is you’re trying to launch. A personal brand business, a website, a Podcast. Whatever it is, I’m here for you.So check out the show notes for the links because it’ll get you to these tools a lot faster. Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesProducts: www.tomclairmont.com/storeLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

If you’ve been listening for awhile, you may have heard in episode 58 titled ‘the tools we use’, I briefly went over some of the software tools I use to run my business and why I use them.I even created a free download of a pdf on this very same topic with the links to click on to get them in order for you to save some time. And that’s what this is all about for me here in doing these types of things…saving you time and money and helping you along the way by learning what works for me so that you don’t have to go through the hassle of trying to figure this stuff out.Now, I get it, we all have our personal favorites when it comes to software tools and my favorite tool might not be yours and that’s just fine. But if you’re looking to skip the research part of the process because you’re more interested in launching your business sooner, rather than later, these types of episodes are for you.So, in episode 58, I went over the following tools: • SiteGround• WordPress• Elementor Pro• MailerLite• RedCircle• Fiverr• Audacity• Canva• Headliner• SmartMockups• Zoom• Loom• Gumroad And I think I covered the basics pretty well on these tools, but now, I’d like to get into some other tools…and just assume that when I use the word ‘tools’ I’m talking software tools.So, in this episode of ‘The Tools We Use’ part 2, I’d like to say a few words about these tools (and I’ll have links in the show notes for you as well, if you want to get right to it faster):·      Easyprompter·      Google Trends·      Calendly·      Unsplash·      Udemy·      <a href="http://Mindmeister.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mindmeister.com</a>·      Google Drive·      <a href="http://Premiumbeat.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Premiumbeat.com</a> EasyprompterSo, for the first one, <a href="https://www.easyprompter.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">EasyPrompter</a>, I picked this tool because I needed a better way to do longer videos and be hands free as well. This tool came recommended to me from another business pro that does a lot of longer videos.With Easyprompter, you can just enter in the text you’ll be using for the video, adjust the font size and speed you want the text to scroll up on your screen and press play.Why do I think I need this? Well, without using this, I have to look at the screen and keep one hand on the keyboard down arrow or mouse and keep scrolling down as needed to the pace I’m going at.With this tool, I can know, in advance, how long it will take to read the script (EasyPrompter tells you) and be totally hands free when I’m doing the video.Why do I need to be totally hands free? Well, when doing videos, part of the way we process information on the receiving side is to look at the hand motions of the people giving the information.And you’ll see this from a lot of other people as well when you’re watching videos. They use both their hands during they’re message. We don’t normally think of this, but subconsciously, we need and expect hand motions when we take in information.And, some people have done research on this topic. I won’t get into the details of all of that, but when it came to people doing TED talks, this is what I found.The least popular TED Talkers used an average of 272 hand gestures during the 18-minute talk.The most popular TED Talkers used an average of 465 hand gestures—that’s almost double!Using your hands when talking helps to increase the effectiveness of the non-verbal form of communicating. So, when I’m making videos and my hands might be in view, I try to use both of them as much as I can. You see, we’re born to talk with our hands. And we learn from a young age to use our hands when talking, so why stop when it comes to presenting important information through our videos.Since I want my videos to be the most effective use of my time, I want people to remember what I’m saying and to be able to process it better as well.Thus, the use of EasyPrompter. There’s a free version that works just fine, or an $8/month version that gives you more options, but I think the free version will work for most of you just fine.Google TrendsNext, is <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/?geo=US" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Trends</a>. Now I know that a lot of you may already know about this tool, but I’d still like to cover it for those listeners that may not be as familiar with it and why they should use it.Google Trends helps me in a couple of ways. With the use of Google Trends, I can do some quick research, in advance for what topics people are searching for and how important (or trendy) it is in both the US an around the world.In other words, I use it for content ideas. Here are 4 ways you can use Google Trends to create better content as well:·      You can find relevant topics that are trending·      Do better keyword research·      Use it to create a meaningful content calendar·      Improve your branding effortsBut there are other reasons to use Google Trends for your business as well:·      Understanding Keyword Search Volume·      Identifying Seasonal Trends·      Avoiding Temporarily Popular Keywords·      Optimize Your SEO Strategy.·      Enhancing Your Video SEO StrategyOverall, plenty of reasons to use Google Trends. And when I created the ‘Starting a Podcast’ E-book, I included screenshots of how I used it when I created this Podcast.CalendlySo now, the next tool I’d like to talk about, is <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Calendly</a>. This is a great tool for anyone who has a website and needs a professional-looking booking tool to take appointments. No surprise that there’s a free version and a paid one that, of course offers more options, but for the most part, you’ll probably be ok with the free version.I’ve been using it for awhile and I love it. Plus, when you book on someone else’s Calandly feature, it automatically takes that time slot out of yours so that you don’t get a double booking of your time.You can customize your availability as you choose in advance for a couple of months and you can add the link to a button on your website so that the whole world will see when they can book a time with you.Using this tool helps to avoid the hassles and delay of going back and forth through email on what times work for both parties involved. Check it out. I’m sure you’ll like it as much as I do. UnsplashNow for the next one, <a href="https://unsplash.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Unsplash</a>, I’ve seen first hand the huge problems a website owner can have when they (or the people that build them) don’t take the extra effort to use royalty free images. Legal issue can happen, and I’ve seen it first hand. You could potentially lose thousands of dollars because you just right clicked on an image that you Googled.You see, sometimes people place markers in the images that can be traced. And why would they trace them? For situations just like this. To get easy money.Unsplash has quite a variety of images to use, but keep in mind that others know about Unsplash as well and you just might come across some images that you use on someone else’s website or promotional material. You’re going to have to be ok with that. You can set some search parameters in advance to help you get what you’re looking for quicker, like orientation and topic. Check out Unsplash if you haven’t seen them yet. You’ll be glad you did.UdemyNow, this next one, is a little different. It’s not really a particular tool but a resource. I go to <a href="https://www.udemy.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Udemy</a> to learn stuff a lot faster. They have a huge list of topics and you can get full blown courses for not a lot of money. I took a copywriting course with over 11 hours of instruction that was on sale for about $45. A lot of courses go on sale for only $10-15.Now, there are other websites you can go to that’ll offer the same thing as Udemy but this site is my favorite. And I have no affiliation with them. I get nothing out of promoting them, but my goal here is to just let you know what I use so that you can just jump right into launching your business faster. That’s it. So, I hope you get a lot out of Udemy.   <a href="http://Mindmeister.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mindmeister.com</a>Now for this next one, <a href="https://www.mindmeister.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mindmeister.com</a>, I use this to map out a plan that will give me a visual scope of a particular topic. If you want to map out a website plan or a marketing funnel plan, this website is for you.Take your big idea and create a ‘mind map’ as they’re called and put it in a visual format. I like to see a bit plan this way. Some people are more visually oriented than others and like to see the plan all laid out in one of these mind maps.Yes, there is a free and paid version, so you can start using it and save a few maps to get the feel of it.Google DriveNow for the next one, I’m sure that most of the listeners are already familiar with this one, and I won’t spend much time on it, but just in case, I use Google Drive to upload large files and share them with others.And in my ‘Done For You’ podcast launch program, I help others launch their Podcast and actually edit and prep the first bunch of episodes for them, but I need them to record those episodes first and get them to me. Google drive is the way to go.  <a href="http://Premiumbeat.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Premiumbeat.com</a>Now, the last one on the list, is <a href="https://www.premiumbeat.com/home" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PremiumBeat.com</a>. This is the resource that I use and recommend for quality Podcast background music. If you have a Podcast, or are looking to start one, check out this site for a great selection of audio tracks that you can purchase for $50. You get the rights to use this audio track on one site only but you can slice up the full version of the audio track any way you want for your intros and outros, or if you have a midroll clip in your Podcast as well.For season one, I used a different audio track than season two. Did I have to? No. But I just thought it would be a good way to separate the seasons that way. Well, friends, I hope that this additional list of tools will be helpful to you so that you won’t have to spend so much time figuring all this stuff out. That’s the goal here in the Podcast to help you launch quicker, with a plan, so that you’ll be more profitable quicker.I’m just trying to help you launch whatever it is you’re trying to launch. A personal brand business, a website, a Podcast. Whatever it is, I’m here for you.So check out the show notes for the links because it’ll get you to these tools a lot faster. Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>Products: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/store" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/store</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 96: My Favorite Tools Part 2

Imposter syndrome. It can be very real. And it keeps coming up in conversations that I have with people. Feeling like a phony. Feeling like you shouldn’t be doing what you’re doing. Feeling like you’re not the person that you say you are.You see, when you’re just getting started, and you don’t have clients or customers yet, and you’re just spending time tweaking your website and poking around on social media, it can feel like you’re just going through the motions.You’re telling people you’re an expert in ‘that thing you do’, but you’re looking for others to verify your claims. You’re looking to others to provide your own confidence in yourself.For some, it can be hard to believe in yourself and to take what you already know and make money from that through your own business. There can be a lot of self doubt or negative thinking…‘I don’t have enough degrees.’ Or ‘Who am I to get paid for this, when others know so much more?’Or you may be in the beginning stages of reinventing yourself. I’ve talked about that from time to time. And that’s a valid concern. You’ve been doing something else for a couple of decades and you’re taking a new path with a new dream.This is the new you. You’re not being dishonest. You’re not deceiving anyone. It’s just that you’re starting something totally different.And you’re having a hard time convincing yourself that this is the new you.Really, the negative thoughts can go on and on. We’re wired, for some reason to think negatively first, not positively.Why is that?Why is it so easy to think negative thoughts about ourselves first and to put ourselves down?Is anyone LITERALLY calling you an imposter, or a phony, or in any way putting you down?Is anyone LITTERALLY stopping you from doing what you want to do, or saying that you CAN’T do what you want?I’ll bet all day long, that the answer is no. because I’ve never seen that happen yet. Now, will everyone understand what you want to do? Will everyone support you in what you want to do? No.There will be some that don’t support you, but will they stop you? Probably not.But the fear of imposter syndrome can stop you in your tracks. The fear of ‘what will others think’ could prevent you from a brand new future that’s just waiting for you out there.Now, there are some that struggle with not having credibility, because they don’t have credibility. They haven’t proven themselves yet to anyone.They may be just making stuff up about who they are and what they claim they can do. Not everyone is honest out there in the land of the Internet.Some people may not be who they say they are. But I’m not going to address that in this episode, I’m going to focus more on those that are who they say they are, but they’re just in the very beginning stages of their business.They’re a great speaker, or trainer, or teacher, or author, but they’re trying to figure out how to make money doing what they love to do.They’re trying to get past their own insecurities. But friends, if, or when we feel insecure, people can pick up on that. It will be noticeable in one way or another. And it’ll be those little insecurities that will hold you back. It’ll be those insecurities that keep you thinking you’re an imposter.But we both know that that’s not true, right? We both know that you’re great at what you do, but you’re just trying to get your business off the ground.We all have to start somewhere. We all have to start sometime.  Should I care about how others see me or what they think of me?Will my friends and family ever really understand what I do and why I do it? Some may, but the rest, probably not. I don’t need them to understand and give me their approval.I’m going to do what God has put in my heart and go with that. That’s the approval I need.What will the future bring? Who really knows? You can plan it all out if you want, but the goal is not to reach the end. The journey is the goal.Learning. Growing. Forming new relationships.Helping people solve their problems.This is the journey. This is the goal.  So the first step in getting past imposter syndrome is believing in yourself. Really believe that this new path you’re taking is valid and true.This new you that you’re telling the world about will accept you for who you are as long as you can prove that you can do what you’re telling people you can do.You can solve a problem they have.You can offer a product or service that they need to make their lives easier or to help them make money somehow.Really, only you and some others around you know you’re on a new journey. 99.9% of the world will not know that this is something new for you. So believe in yourself. Believe that you can make an impact and have influence in people’s lives.If you can’t believe in yourself, don’t expect others to believe in you either.You are who you say you are. Now move on. Move forward. Do what you need to do to get the word out. Put the effort in to having a product or service that people are looking for and the clients will come. Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: Episode RatingSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Imposter syndrome. It can be very real. And it keeps coming up in conversations that I have with people. Feeling like a phony. Feeling like you shouldn’t be doing what you’re doing. Feeling like you’re not the person that you say you are.You see, when you’re just getting started, and you don’t have clients or customers yet, and you’re just spending time tweaking your website and poking around on social media, it can feel like you’re just going through the motions.You’re telling people you’re an expert in ‘that thing you do’, but you’re looking for others to verify your claims. You’re looking to others to provide your own confidence in yourself.For some, it can be hard to believe in yourself and to take what you already know and make money from that through your own business. There can be a lot of self doubt or negative thinking…‘I don’t have enough degrees.’ Or ‘Who am I to get paid for this, when others know so much more?’Or you may be in the beginning stages of reinventing yourself. I’ve talked about that from time to time. And that’s a valid concern. You’ve been doing something else for a couple of decades and you’re taking a new path with a new dream.This is the new you. You’re not being dishonest. You’re not deceiving anyone. It’s just that you’re starting something totally different.And you’re having a hard time convincing yourself that this is the new you.Really, the negative thoughts can go on and on. We’re wired, for some reason to think negatively first, not positively.Why is that?Why is it so easy to think negative thoughts about ourselves first and to put ourselves down?Is anyone LITERALLY calling you an imposter, or a phony, or in any way putting you down?Is anyone LITTERALLY stopping you from doing what you want to do, or saying that you CAN’T do what you want?I’ll bet all day long, that the answer is no. because I’ve never seen that happen yet. Now, will everyone understand what you want to do? Will everyone support you in what you want to do? No.There will be some that don’t support you, but will they stop you? Probably not.But the fear of imposter syndrome can stop you in your tracks. The fear of ‘what will others think’ could prevent you from a brand new future that’s just waiting for you out there.Now, there are some that struggle with not having credibility, because they don’t have credibility. They haven’t proven themselves yet to anyone.They may be just making stuff up about who they are and what they claim they can do. Not everyone is honest out there in the land of the Internet.Some people may not be who they say they are. But I’m not going to address that in this episode, I’m going to focus more on those that are who they say they are, but they’re just in the very beginning stages of their business.They’re a great speaker, or trainer, or teacher, or author, but they’re trying to figure out how to make money doing what they love to do.They’re trying to get past their own insecurities. But friends, if, or when we feel insecure, people can pick up on that. It will be noticeable in one way or another. And it’ll be those little insecurities that will hold you back. It’ll be those insecurities that keep you thinking you’re an imposter.But we both know that that’s not true, right? We both know that you’re great at what you do, but you’re just trying to get your business off the ground.We all have to start somewhere. We all have to start sometime.  Should I care about how others see me or what they think of me?Will my friends and family ever really understand what I do and why I do it? Some may, but the rest, probably not. I don’t need them to understand and give me their approval.I’m going to do what God has put in my heart and go with that. That’s the approval I need.What will the future bring? Who really knows? You can plan it all out if you want, but the goal is not to reach the end. The journey is the goal.Learning. Growing. Forming new relationships.Helping people solve their problems.This is the journey. This is the goal.  So the first step in getting past imposter syndrome is believing in yourself. Really believe that this new path you’re taking is valid and true.This new you that you’re telling the world about will accept you for who you are as long as you can prove that you can do what you’re telling people you can do.You can solve a problem they have.You can offer a product or service that they need to make their lives easier or to help them make money somehow.Really, only you and some others around you know you’re on a new journey. 99.9% of the world will not know that this is something new for you. So believe in yourself. Believe that you can make an impact and have influence in people’s lives.If you can’t believe in yourself, don’t expect others to believe in you either.You are who you say you are. Now move on. Move forward. Do what you need to do to get the word out. Put the effort in to having a product or service that people are looking for and the clients will come.  Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/</a>We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast/podcast-episode-feedback/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode Rating</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 95: Getting past imposter syndrome

Starting a business with a solid plan is essential for success in today's competitive world. With so many options for everyone to choose from, how will you stand out above the crowd and rise above the noise?What will be your plan for success?Listen for a fresh perspective from someone that knows what the struggles are and how to overcome them.Listen for some motivation and a 'mindset reset' to help you keep moving forward and to have a perspective of expecting success.Who Is This Podcast For?If you are thinking about starting, planning or launching a business, but either don't know where to start, need some encouragement or help with the startup process, then you will enjoy this podcast.Are you planning a second act for your life because of retirement or pending retirement? The small business world is very different than it used to be.Are you in the middle of a later in life pivot and you need to save a lot of time with your new business launch? Well, listen in and pick the episodes that will help you the most.What Will You Hear?We will go over the essential tips and tools you will need to pivot through what are defined as the Dream / Plan / Launch process, which will help you launch your personal brand business from the ground up.We'll go over topics relating to the '7 Basic Building Blocks of An Online Personal Brand Business':VisionWebsiteProduct/ServiceMarketingEmail ListBrandingCopywritingMindset ResetI also added content on how you can start your own Podcast and offer a free E-book for you if you want to do it yourself (link below).Listen in to the inspiring stories from others that took a bold step out of their comfort zone to pursue their dream of having their own business.About the HostPodcast host, Tom Clairmont has been a small business owner for the past 20 years in the United States and has a special focus on providing step by step personal brand, small business startup coaching, for those that are looking to become a full time or part time entrepreneur. Especially to those making that later in life shift.Personal Brand Business Startup e-BooksNeed to really speed up the startup process? You can download some e-Books as well that cover a variety of relevant and helpful small business startup topics.Join the growing and very popular 'e-Book of the Month Club' to get FREE small business-related, jam-packed e-Books, all from Tom's personal library. You can only get these free by joining the Club! You'll save hundreds of dollars, overall.Want to Start a Podcast?Do you like this Podcast and want to start your own? Download the FREE 'Podcast Startup Mini-Course'. Some of the topics include:• Picking a Niche Market• Logo Details• Platform Preferences• Distribution Tactics• Music Selection• Content Creation• Guests and Interviews• Necessary Equipment• Intro/Midroll/Outro Messages• Audio: Recording/Editing• Show Notes• Webpage• Promotion• Time CommitmentThis mini-course will certainly speed up the Podcast launch process for you by at least 6 months as opposed to relying on self help videos on social media.This Podcast is heard all around the world, and is popular in the Americas/Europe/Asia and Australia. Can you have a successful Podcast as well? Of course you can.If I can do it, then so can you!If you'd like some 1:1 or group coaching on how to start your own personal brand business or Podcast more efficiently and faster, you can sign up for an open time slot (or get on the waiting list) at www.tomclairmont.com/coaching

So, you want to finally go forward with starting a business. This is something you’re sure about and you’ve got the confidence and determination to work through the problems and find a way to succeed. But you’re finding that there’s a lot more to learn than you originally thought. A lot. And it seems that with every step forward, you’re getting the impression that you’re taking two learning steps back. You have all these ideas but you’re not sure how to put them into action and piece this puzzle together. So you hit YouTube. And Google search. And Udemy. And maybe you pay for a few courses thinking that it’ll help you to launch sooner. But weeks and maybe months are going by and guess what? You’re still no further along now then where you were awhile ago. Did you launch? No.Are you getting clients? No. And it’s a double edged sword having all this access to information, isn’t it? We can get addicted to learning, right? Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s great to be learning all these things that people tell you to learn. We should all be in learning mode for the rest of our lives. But we need to have a balance here with both learning and actually doing those things that we say we really want to do. And it’s never been easier to learn things with all the information that’s on the Internet. You can get it anytime and anywhere. Whatever you want. There’s no limitations anymore. Not too long ago, you had to have a desktop computer in order to do most of the things you wanted to do. Now, you can do a lot of things on your phone or tablet as well. And getting stuck in learning mode can be a sign of fear as well. We use learning something as an excuse to not actually do something. It’s not a bad thing to want to learn about how to launch and grow your business. But in order to do those things, you’ve got to launch. Then, you’ve got to get clients. Friends, this episode is going to be more direct with my perspective today. I’m probably going to ruffle some feathers here, but sometimes, people need to hear the truth about something and sugarcoating the issue isn’t going to get anyone to take action and accomplish the harder things. Every once in a while, I need someone to give it to me straight and get me to really think about what I’m doing. That’s the kind of coaching I get for my business and that’s what I’m going to do for you as well. Because we all want to have profitable businesses, don’t we? We all want to make some serious money, right? Well, having a hobby, an expensive hobby that keeps us busy and keeps us looking like we have a business, but really don’t, all this time and effort, is just for nothing. Hey, it’s easy to live in fantasy land and talk about having a business. It’s easy to just sit there watching videos or buying courses giving the impression that you’re actually doing something. But at some point, you have to just stop. At some point, you have to take a step back and look at what’s really happening. What have you really accomplished in the past month? Put the things you’ve already learned into action. Catch up with your actions to the things you’ve learned before you go searching for more videos on the subject. Take a deep breath and just let it out. Now take a step in the right direction. Commit. Commit to something. Launch a website. Start a Podcast. Create a course. Write a book. Start a consulting business. Whatever your dream is…do it. But have a plan for success. Because friends, this is what I’ve always been saying. Launch, but with a plan. Step out and start something, but with a plan. Because success has to be part of the plan. It’s not just you that wants to see you succeed, it’s the rest of us as well. We all want to see you start and grow your dream. You’ve got a fan club out there that you haven’t met yet. Because when you do succeed, the people will respond. The world will respond. And you can take your plan A and build on it. I see people taking their businesses into new areas that they never thought of two years ago. Authors are becoming speakers. Speakers are becoming investors. One on one Coaches are excelling in starting Mastermind groups. Friends, you don’t know yet what the future holds, but you have to be in the game to win it. You can’t win by being on the sidelines.  You have more control of your future that you think. You don’t have to be limited to one path. My path has changed over the years as well. Because part of the plan is to let the plan change and flow. Part of success is to take what you’ve learned and make something better. So prove to the world that you’re an expert in something. Prove it to those that don’t believe in you. Pick a date. Start with something. Because starting with something is better than nothing, isn’t it? Learn but launch. Try, test and measure. Then tweak it. Make it better. But you need clients. You need sales. You need some measure of success to build upon. You can’t just keep tweaking something to make you feel busy. You need to confirm that you’ve got something that people want to buy. So, are you stuck in learning mode? Be a lifetime learner. I’m all for it. I’m doing it myself. But commit to starting something. Get help. It’s ok to get help. It’s better to get help. I get help from time to time from people that know what they’re talking about. I get help from people that have already done what I want to do and learn from their mistakes. That’s why I write the E-books. That’s why I have the mini course on how to start a Podcast. So you can take what I’ve learned in a year and compress it down to a couple of weeks. So if you’re feeling overwhelmed. If you’re feeling like you don’t know which direction to go in. Or, if you’re just looking to bounce some ideas off of someone else, find that person you can trust. Find someone that knows what they’re talking about. Find someone that will encourage you to go for it. There’s plenty of people out there that are willing to help you, including me. You’re not alone. We can do this together. I need some of you to succeed, and some of you need me as well. So, are you feeling stuck? Let’s talk. Let’s work out a plan for you to move forward. You’ll never know if you don’t try. Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: Episode RatingSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

So, you want to finally go forward with starting a business. This is something you’re sure about and you’ve got the confidence and determination to work through the problems and find a way to succeed. But you’re finding that there’s a lot more to learn than you originally thought. A lot. And it seems that with every step forward, you’re getting the impression that you’re taking two learning steps back. You have all these ideas but you’re not sure how to put them into action and piece this puzzle together. So you hit YouTube. And Google search. And Udemy. And maybe you pay for a few courses thinking that it’ll help you to launch sooner. But weeks and maybe months are going by and guess what? You’re still no further along now then where you were awhile ago. Did you launch? No.Are you getting clients? No. And it’s a double edged sword having all this access to information, isn’t it? We can get addicted to learning, right? Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s great to be learning all these things that people tell you to learn. We should all be in learning mode for the rest of our lives. But we need to have a balance here with both learning and actually doing those things that we say we really want to do. And it’s never been easier to learn things with all the information that’s on the Internet. You can get it anytime and anywhere. Whatever you want. There’s no limitations anymore. Not too long ago, you had to have a desktop computer in order to do most of the things you wanted to do. Now, you can do a lot of things on your phone or tablet as well. And getting stuck in learning mode can be a sign of fear as well. We use learning something as an excuse to not actually do something. It’s not a bad thing to want to learn about how to launch and grow your business. But in order to do those things, you’ve got to launch. Then, you’ve got to get clients. Friends, this episode is going to be more direct with my perspective today. I’m probably going to ruffle some feathers here, but sometimes, people need to hear the truth about something and sugarcoating the issue isn’t going to get anyone to take action and accomplish the harder things. Every once in a while, I need someone to give it to me straight and get me to really think about what I’m doing. That’s the kind of coaching I get for my business and that’s what I’m going to do for you as well. Because we all want to have profitable businesses, don’t we? We all want to make some serious money, right? Well, having a hobby, an expensive hobby that keeps us busy and keeps us looking like we have a business, but really don’t, all this time and effort, is just for nothing. Hey, it’s easy to live in fantasy land and talk about having a business. It’s easy to just sit there watching videos or buying courses giving the impression that you’re actually doing something. But at some point, you have to just stop. At some point, you have to take a step back and look at what’s really happening. What have you really accomplished in the past month? Put the things you’ve already learned into action. Catch up with your actions to the things you’ve learned before you go searching for more videos on the subject. Take a deep breath and just let it out. Now take a step in the right direction. Commit. Commit to something. Launch a website. Start a Podcast. Create a course. Write a book. Start a consulting business. Whatever your dream is…do it. But have a plan for success. Because friends, this is what I’ve always been saying. Launch, but with a plan. Step out and start something, but with a plan. Because success has to be part of the plan. It’s not just you that wants to see you succeed, it’s the rest of us as well. We all want to see you start and grow your dream. You’ve got a fan club out there that you haven’t met yet. Because when you do succeed, the people will respond. The world will respond. And you can take your plan A and build on it. I see people taking their businesses into new areas that they never thought of two years ago. Authors are becoming speakers. Speakers are becoming investors. One on one Coaches are excelling in starting Mastermind groups. Friends, you don’t know yet what the future holds, but you have to be in the game to win it. You can’t win by being on the sidelines.  You have more control of your future that you think. You don’t have to be limited to one path. My path has changed over the years as well. Because part of the plan is to let the plan change and flow. Part of success is to take what you’ve learned and make something better. So prove to the world that you’re an expert in something. Prove it to those that don’t believe in you. Pick a date. Start with something. Because starting with something is better than nothing, isn’t it? Learn but launch. Try, test and measure. Then tweak it. Make it better. But you need clients. You need sales. You need some measure of success to build upon. You can’t just keep tweaking something to make you feel busy. You need to confirm that you’ve got something that people want to buy. So, are you stuck in learning mode? Be a lifetime learner. I’m all for it. I’m doing it myself. But commit to starting something. Get help. It’s ok to get help. It’s better to get help. I get help from time to time from people that know what they’re talking about. I get help from people that have already done what I want to do and learn from their mistakes. That’s why I write the E-books. That’s why I have the mini course on how to start a Podcast. So you can take what I’ve learned in a year and compress it down to a couple of weeks. So if you’re feeling overwhelmed. If you’re feeling like you don’t know which direction to go in. Or, if you’re just looking to bounce some ideas off of someone else, find that person you can trust. Find someone that knows what they’re talking about. Find someone that will encourage you to go for it. There’s plenty of people out there that are willing to help you, including me. You’re not alone. We can do this together. I need some of you to succeed, and some of you need me as well. So, are you feeling stuck? Let’s talk. Let’s work out a plan for you to move forward. You’ll never know if you don’t try. Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/</a>We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast/podcast-episode-feedback/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode Rating</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 94: Are you stuck in learning mode?

Hey friends and loyal listeners. I’ll be taking a 2 week break from the Podcast while I’m on vacation. After almost 100 episodes, I’m still far from finished talking about one of my favorite subjects…helping people get their online business launched and helping them with both the how to’s and all the tech involved.Some of the topics I’ve been working on for future episodes are·       Getting past imposter syndrome·       Do something now!·       Confidence beats formal education·       My favorite tools part 2·       Is your dream becoming a nightmare?·       Can an introvert become a successful entrepreneur?So stay tuned for some of these future episodes and keep the episode ratings and questions coming because I really like to hear from you directly about the content that you’re looking for. Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: Episode RatingSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Hey friends and loyal listeners. I’ll be taking a 2 week break from the Podcast while I’m on vacation. After almost 100 episodes, I’m still far from finished talking about one of my favorite subjects…helping people get their online business launched and helping them with both the how to’s and all the tech involved.Some of the topics I’ve been working on for future episodes are·       Getting past imposter syndrome·       Do something now!·       Confidence beats formal education·       My favorite tools part 2·       Is your dream becoming a nightmare?·       Can an introvert become a successful entrepreneur?So stay tuned for some of these future episodes and keep the episode ratings and questions coming because I really like to hear from you directly about the content that you’re looking for. Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/</a>We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast/podcast-episode-feedback/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode Rating</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Taking a little break for vacation

Alexis Kingsbury

In this episode we hear about how Alexis started his entrepreneurial journey and how he initially started as a consultant in a large firm, but becoming more aware of the needs of both big and small businesses.He saw others around him that were considered successful, but weren’t able to spend time with their family and friends.He created his first company called Spidergap, which creates and runs 360° Feedback assessments that help your employees to take action on personal development. But he found that the products and services weren’t meeting the needs of the market as much as he expected and the company was not able to scale up and grow.Taking what he learned thus far, he created another company called AirManual which helps companies to document processes and procedures to make management more effective and easier.He was determined to figure out a way to have more personal time for his family by having a business that runs more effectively.Alexis then explains how he built a team and the problems he had initially because he didn’t have the onboarding processes and procedures in place to help train new employees and make them feel supported.After the onboading process was created, he was able to have great retention for the new hires. Next, we learn about how he was told that he would never be a good manager by someone before he became an entrepreneur, and how he proved them wrong by developing his staff to become great managers themselves.We end the conversation hearing about how the startup business changed since he launched his first company.Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: Episode RatingSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

In this episode we hear about how Alexis started his entrepreneurial journey and how he initially started as a consultant in a large firm, but becoming more aware of the needs of both big and small businesses.He saw others around him that were considered successful, but weren’t able to spend time with their family and friends.He created his first company called Spidergap, which creates and runs 360° Feedback assessments that help your employees to take action on personal development. But he found that the products and services weren’t meeting the needs of the market as much as he expected and the company was not able to scale up and grow.Taking what he learned thus far, he created another company called AirManual which helps companies to document processes and procedures to make management more effective and easier.He was determined to figure out a way to have more personal time for his family by having a business that runs more effectively.Alexis then explains how he built a team and the problems he had initially because he didn’t have the onboarding processes and procedures in place to help train new employees and make them feel supported.After the onboading process was created, he was able to have great retention for the new hires. Next, we learn about how he was told that he would never be a good manager by someone before he became an entrepreneur, and how he proved them wrong by developing his staff to become great managers themselves.We end the conversation hearing about how the startup business changed since he launched his first company. Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/</a>We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast/podcast-episode-feedback/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode Rating</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 92: Interview with UK entrepreneur Alexis Kingsbury

Gina started out as a Financial Advisor in 2014 and wondering if she really wanted to do this long term even though she was successful in this role. She had a desire for a different future and wanted to change and grow her skills and take a new path into another career, her vision for how she wanted to live and have a growing business with more control over her time and life.She learned how to do freelance writing and was able to take on few clients and started her side business as a Virtual Assistant. She dispels the notion that VA’s are mostly overseas and work for a very low rate, and found that there are a lot of VA’s in the US that have thriving businesses with US clients.She explains how she got her first clients through job boards and cold pitches to companies that were hiring and her original pitch techniques and how she recommends pitching now.Gina tells how to price your services and how to pitch yourself as the solution and also how she shifted from an hourly rate to a weekly rate.She continues with how she was able to increase her side business rate and eventually quit her day job.Gina now helps people to become self employed with control over who they work with and what they charge.Taking things to the next level with professional business coaching and how she created her own course ‘Fully Booked VA’ that includes freelance writing, project management, customer service, tech services and a lot more. Even job leads for the graduates of the course.You can get more information about Gina Horkey at: www.horkeyhandbook.com and www.fullybookedva.comDo you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: Episode RatingSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Gina started out as a Financial Advisor in 2014 and wondering if she really wanted to do this long term even though she was successful in this role. She had a desire for a different future and wanted to change and grow her skills and take a new path into another career, her vision for how she wanted to live and have a growing business with more control over her time and life.She learned how to do freelance writing and was able to take on few clients and started her side business as a Virtual Assistant. She dispels the notion that VA’s are mostly overseas and work for a very low rate, and found that there are a lot of VA’s in the US that have thriving businesses with US clients.She explains how she got her first clients through job boards and cold pitches to companies that were hiring and her original pitch techniques and how she recommends pitching now.Gina tells how to price your services and how to pitch yourself as the solution and also how she shifted from an hourly rate to a weekly rate.She continues with how she was able to increase her side business rate and eventually quit her day job.Gina now helps people to become self employed with control over who they work with and what they charge.Taking things to the next level with professional business coaching and how she created her own course ‘Fully Booked VA’ that includes freelance writing, project management, customer service, tech services and a lot more. Even job leads for the graduates of the course.You can get more information about Gina Horkey at: <a href="http://www.horkeyhandbook.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.horkeyhandbook.com</a> and <a href="http://www.fullybookedva.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.fullybookedva.com</a>Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Podcast Launch Webinar <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call with Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/</a>We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast/podcast-episode-feedback/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode Rating</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 91: Interview with Gina Horkey-Creator of 'The Fully Booked Virtual Assistant' course

Friends, I just had a thought about competition lately and I was reminded of a conversation I had with a professionally trained and educated photographer a few years ago. She wasn’t practicing her trade, even part time and I asked why?She said that there’s already a number of other photographers around and why would anyone else want one more in the mix?I used an example that I frequently use in these types of conversations, (because it wasn’t the first time I’ve heard this sort of example). I said ‘look at all the burger joints around. Look at all the grocery stores around. Look at all the pizza ‘mom and pop’ businesses around. Why did they start their business when there were already so many others of the same type already up and running?Life in the USALife in the United States lives and breathes competition. We see it all over the place. Wherever you go, there are multiple, and sometimes, many multiple, same type businesses. Whether it’s on the Internet or off the Internet, it doesn’t matter. The more the merrierWe really have this ‘the more the merrier’ view of business and competition. And we can see that all the way to the top with Elon Musk. Now, I don’t normally like to talk about Elon, because he’s more of an exception to success, than the rule, but he doesn’t mind other businesses copying his work and ideas, because it will just crank out more quality products for the world.Why do we have favorites?And when we have that choice of products and services, we’ll still, somehow choose one over the other, and why? Why do we make those choices? How do we make those choices?We make those choices based on personal preference and needs. Take, my business coach Mike Kim. He’s hitting it big in the personal brand space lately and that’s fantastic. But I remember, about 5 years ago, he just started his blog and then the next year, his Podcast.But he became my favorite personal brand ‘go to’ guy because of all the free information he just gave away. All the ways he helped people and answered questions for free. And it wasn’t just that, the quality of information was like I was getting a gold nugget every time. And so I signed up for one of his coaching programs and paid some decent money because I knew that I was going to get quality content. Quality coaching from him, and I did.But to have him as my favorite went one step further. You see, it wasn’t just that he gave away a lot of information for free and it wasn’t just that it was quality content. The fact that I liked him as a person was the deciding factor in him being my favorite.He poured out a lot of content in video and with video, we can see more of his personality and behavior. We can see this in anyone that pours out content. And that’s how we ultimately make our own decisions on who our favorite ‘anybody’ will be.  So, how is Mike Kim beating his competitors? How is he hitting it big while others in the same space are floundering? By just offering content, quality content, and just being himself. Mike Kim being Mike Kim. His personality. And his genuine desire to help people.Is there a limit?“But (you may be thinking), is there a limit? Could there really be too many photographers around for the community? Could there be too many burger or pizza joints to go to?” Well, yes, there could be, but let’s let the market volume decide that, and see. Let’s at least try and then determine by the lack of business or volume that there are, in fact, too many of something. But if the business fails, if the business doesn’t thrive, you’ll at least know by trying.Don’t just assume and by default, think that there are too many of a certain type of business in your niche and you give up before you even try. If there’s a limit, let’s see for ourselves.When is enough, enough?But I’ve found that that is rarely the case. I’ve found that no matter how many of a certain type of business there is, usually, there’s space for one more.Now, of course we’ve seen businesses in our community go under from time to time, but I’m not talking about physical brick and mortar businesses, I’m helping people in the online personal brand space. So, because it’s a big Internet and the online population keeps growing, there’s always space for one more online business.Can there be too much of something?So, if there’s a thousand online speakers, coaches and consultants, there’s space for one more. Why?Can there be too much of you?Because there can never be too much of you. As long as your contributing good, helpful, quality content, you will always be in demand.So get the word out. Get your business out. Get your content out. Be heard. Be seen. Be a force for change in the world.The world needs you. People need you. There are many people out there that will be wishing they knew of you earlier.Hey, maybe I need you too.Inspiration and motivationFriends, in the business world, if you're a true warrior, competition doesn't scare you. It makes you better.So get your product or service out there. Don’t hold back.People need you. They need your product or service. And there’s plenty of people out there waiting to pay for it. Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Webinar video series: Starting a PodcastNeed help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call through Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: Episode RatingSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Friends, I just had a thought about competition lately and I was reminded of a conversation I had with a professionally trained and educated photographer a few years ago. She wasn’t practicing her trade, even part time and I asked why?She said that there’s already a number of other photographers around and why would anyone else want one more in the mix?I used an example that I frequently use in these types of conversations, (because it wasn’t the first time I’ve heard this sort of example). I said ‘look at all the burger joints around. Look at all the grocery stores around. Look at all the pizza ‘mom and pop’ businesses around. Why did they start their business when there were already so many others of the same type already up and running?Life in the USALife in the United States lives and breathes competition. We see it all over the place. Wherever you go, there are multiple, and sometimes, many multiple, same type businesses. Whether it’s on the Internet or off the Internet, it doesn’t matter. The more the merrierWe really have this ‘the more the merrier’ view of business and competition. And we can see that all the way to the top with Elon Musk. Now, I don’t normally like to talk about Elon, because he’s more of an exception to success, than the rule, but he doesn’t mind other businesses copying his work and ideas, because it will just crank out more quality products for the world.Why do we have favorites?And when we have that choice of products and services, we’ll still, somehow choose one over the other, and why? Why do we make those choices? How do we make those choices?We make those choices based on personal preference and needs. Take, my business coach Mike Kim. He’s hitting it big in the personal brand space lately and that’s fantastic. But I remember, about 5 years ago, he just started his blog and then the next year, his Podcast.But he became my favorite personal brand ‘go to’ guy because of all the free information he just gave away. All the ways he helped people and answered questions for free. And it wasn’t just that, the quality of information was like I was getting a gold nugget every time. And so I signed up for one of his coaching programs and paid some decent money because I knew that I was going to get quality content. Quality coaching from him, and I did.But to have him as my favorite went one step further. You see, it wasn’t just that he gave away a lot of information for free and it wasn’t just that it was quality content. The fact that I liked him as a person was the deciding factor in him being my favorite.He poured out a lot of content in video and with video, we can see more of his personality and behavior. We can see this in anyone that pours out content. And that’s how we ultimately make our own decisions on who our favorite ‘anybody’ will be.  So, how is Mike Kim beating his competitors? How is he hitting it big while others in the same space are floundering? By just offering content, quality content, and just being himself. Mike Kim being Mike Kim. His personality. And his genuine desire to help people.Is there a limit?“But (you may be thinking), is there a limit? Could there really be too many photographers around for the community? Could there be too many burger or pizza joints to go to?” Well, yes, there could be, but let’s let the market volume decide that, and see. Let’s at least try and then determine by the lack of business or volume that there are, in fact, too many of something. But if the business fails, if the business doesn’t thrive, you’ll at least know by trying.Don’t just assume and by default, think that there are too many of a certain type of business in your niche and you give up before you even try. If there’s a limit, let’s see for ourselves.When is enough, enough?But I’ve found that that is rarely the case. I’ve found that no matter how many of a certain type of business there is, usually, there’s space for one more.Now, of course we’ve seen businesses in our community go under from time to time, but I’m not talking about physical brick and mortar businesses, I’m helping people in the online personal brand space. So, because it’s a big Internet and the online population keeps growing, there’s always space for one more online business.Can there be too much of something?So, if there’s a thousand online speakers, coaches and consultants, there’s space for one more. Why?Can there be too much of you?Because there can never be too much of you. As long as your contributing good, helpful, quality content, you will always be in demand.So get the word out. Get your business out. Get your content out. Be heard. Be seen. Be a force for change in the world.The world needs you. People need you. There are many people out there that will be wishing they knew of you earlier.Hey, maybe I need you too.Inspiration and motivationFriends, in the business world, if you're a true warrior, competition doesn't scare you. It makes you better.So get your product or service out there. Don’t hold back.People need you. They need your product or service. And there’s plenty of people out there waiting to pay for it.  Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Webinar video series: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call through Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/</a>We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast/podcast-episode-feedback/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode Rating</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 90: Why a lot of existing competition should inspire you to compete

Having the dreamIt’s great to have a dream. Right? I think we all have some sort of dream that we’d like to accomplish someday. And having that dream of a better life is always a good thing. Because not everyone can have those positive thoughts and ambitions. Not everyone even knows how to dream big…or even dream at all about a better life.I know I wasn’t brought up to think that way. It never even came up. I’m certain of it. My dad didn’t graduate high school and my mom never went to college, but somehow, I really don’t know how, she learned how to take shorthand and become a secretary at the Towns City Hall.But for some, dreaming can come harder than others. For some, it can be something that maybe exists in the back of their head, but if it seeps up toward the surface, it can quickly get squashed down to where it came from…the depths of the inner conscience.And that’s really a shame, isn’t it? Because I think we’re made to have those dreams of a better life someday. That’s how the US was founded, on a dream of a better life. Better than being oppressed.And so…when we’re working that job…that J.O.B. where we grind out every day, just waiting for the weekend to come…when we’re hoping for a better job, or a better life, and maybe, just maybe, someday, I could have my own business…doing…whatever. It doesn’t matter sometimes, does it?You keep seeing others with their businesses and how they, somehow, made it work, and you think to yourself, ‘could that EVER be me?’ And you’re thinking ‘I see this guy on LinkedIn or on some Internet ad and he’s talking about how much he makes and that I could make that too.’ Getting the courage to actAnd then…it happens. Something finally clicks or snaps in your head and you just can’t take it any longer. You have to have a way out of whatever situation you’re in. You can’t go on like this. You have to change something because if you don’t then everything stays the same. And that’s just not acceptable anymore.And it isn’t about the money for some people. It’s beyond that. I know for me, when I quit my job, back in 2001, it wasn’t about the money, it was about my personal happiness. It was about the situation I was in and how terrible it was.And that’s what you’re looking for as well. Your personal well being. Your sanity.So…you get the courage to act. You get a book, or you sign up for a course, you may even start talking to someone about what to do next. But you take the first step.And then, after some time goes by, maybe a few weeks or a few months…you take another step toward the dream. You start to shape the dream and feed the dream. The dream shifts from being a dream to something that you really believe is now possible someday.So, you create some time by giving up some things..whether it’s TV or some other time consuming thing that you were into (for me it was the long bike rides). But now, with this extra time, you’re starting to put some pieces together in this big puzzle called self employment.Making the leapAnd then…there comes the day, when you’re convinced it’s time to go in a different direction. You’ve got the confidence now and you believe in yourself now and you’ve had enough of the old and you’re all on board with bringing in the new life you’ve always wanted.So…you quit.What do I do now?And for awhile, you’re riding on adrenaline and the excitement of new beginnings and things are great. For awhile.And don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of things being great. I’m not even hinting that I don’t want people to have a great new path.But I’ve been doing this for awhile now, myself and I have some inside information here about being self employed. I’ve also talked to a lot of people along the way that are in the same realm as I am and believe me, usually the same thought hits them all at some point or another.They’ve make the commitment to have their own business and then it hits them. ‘What do I do now?’And for some, they may have a business plan or they don’t, that part really doesn’t matter. It hits them all the same. Because the business plan…even though it’s supposed to lay out The Plan, it still focuses more on strategy than the actual tactics you’ll be using to fulfill the strategy.  So when it finally comes time to fill the day with the most meaningful tasks…like, oh I don’t know..selling something, there can be a lot of distractions along the way.Now that you don’t have the commitment of having to go to work every day and be totally accountable for your time, now that you don’t have a boss, and you’re your own boss, you keep finding that the days can just fly away one after another and that being self employed isn’t really what you thought it was going to be.Too much free timeWhy? Because in the structure of a job, you have to do certain things at certain times and there’s no other option. It’s just the way it is. You may have had a schedule or something else that planned and controlled your time. But you didn’t have a choice. But now…things are different.Now you not only have a choice, you have 1000 choices every day. YOU now decide how you’re going to spend your time and what you want to do.And that’s a problem.You see, if you’re working from home already, then you know first hand what I’m about to say.But once you’re in that self employment role, and you don’t have the discipline or focus, your days…even weeks can fly by without really accomplishing much. Certainly no sales happened.And this is what I see happening over and over again.The fridge is too closeThings that aren’t normally distractions are now distractions. And I’m not talking about just cell phones, even though that’s got to be the number one distraction. There are some others as well.No matter how far away it is, even if it’s on a different floor that where you’re deciding to work from, some things are just too close for you to remain focused in your business.Take that refrigerator. How many times do you find yourself just looking inside…for…who knows what?And then…there’s the TV. The one thing you gave up to get yourself more time to learn about having a business…and now it’s back in focus for all those shows you want to catch up on, now that you’re not working a job. Or maybe it’s not the fridge or the TV, but that you just get caught up in being busy? And that’s easy to do, right? Because there’s a lot of things we can fill our day with that keeps us feeling and looking like we’re building a business.But if you’re just busy being busy, and you’re not closing sales, then there will come a time when you’re just going to have to pay those bills that keep rolling in and you may find yourself wondering if you need to go back to that J.O.B. scenario again.How do I focus?So how do you deal with all this freedom that you’re now bestowed with? How do you find the self discipline you’ll need in order to focus and actually build a business?It’s easy to make a to do list every day. It’s easy to put a plan in place and have a strategy. But what about the focus to do all that?And what do you focus on anyway? Sales? Marketing? Networking? Social media? These are just a few of the mountain of topics that you can focus on.What works for me? Having hard deadlines to get things done by a certain day. I pick a day for podcasting, writing, finances, social media. These days have a hard deadline. I must get these things done before a certain day, not ON that day.Getting helpNow, I’ve said many times that you’re not alone on this journey, and I’ll say it again. You’re not alone. You can get help. Whether you get an intern or a VA or a coach, or even hire someone to be part of your staff. You don’t have to do everything yourself.I offer my online tech services to other small business owners and non profit organizations to be an ‘on call advisor and tech guru’ when they have a need. It’s harder for me to plan the finances that way, but another service that I offer is to be on a stipend each month (typically $500 a month) to do specific tasks:·      Email marketing·      Copywriting·      Website updates·      Website security·      Podcast productionSo you see, you don’t have to do everything yourself. You can get others to help you do the things you either don’t like to do or don’t want to do.If you feel overwhelmed, you don’t have to.I like to put it this way.If you want to take a trip…go on a journey…to…let’s just say the west coast of the United States (I live on the east coast). You can get there a number of ways.You can take the low budget way and:·      walk·      ride a bikeYou can pay a little bit more and:·      drive·      take a trainOr you can get there the fastest by getting on a plane and arriving the same day. You’re paying more, but you’re getting there faster and now, you can jump to the next goal of the journey because you’ve got that first one out of the way.This is why I offer the ‘Done With You’ and the ‘Done For You’ option for launching your new Podcast. They have different price points, but they both get you to your destination faster than the walking pace.And that’s why options like these work. If you want to move at the walking pace, I have the DIY ‘Starting a Podcast’ E-book mini course I created for you. Over 50 pages that cover all the basics you’ll need to know to get started. But…you’re at the walking pace.So, when you’re finding that reality is setting in and having a business wasn’t what you thought it was going to be, just keep in mind that you can outsource some tasks to take the most burdensome things off your shoulders.Then, you can focus on just a few tasks that only you should do. In episode 6 of the Podcast, I talked a bit about staying in your ‘zone of genius’. Check out that episode to hear more about what you should focus on and not focus on.But be encouraged friends. As time goes on in your new small business journey, you’ll improve many skills. And one of them will be how to focus. It will get better. Your small business survival depends on it. Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Webinar video series: Starting a PodcastNeed help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call through Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: Episode RatingSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Having the dreamIt’s great to have a dream. Right? I think we all have some sort of dream that we’d like to accomplish someday. And having that dream of a better life is always a good thing. Because not everyone can have those positive thoughts and ambitions. Not everyone even knows how to dream big…or even dream at all about a better life.I know I wasn’t brought up to think that way. It never even came up. I’m certain of it. My dad didn’t graduate high school and my mom never went to college, but somehow, I really don’t know how, she learned how to take shorthand and become a secretary at the Towns City Hall.But for some, dreaming can come harder than others. For some, it can be something that maybe exists in the back of their head, but if it seeps up toward the surface, it can quickly get squashed down to where it came from…the depths of the inner conscience.And that’s really a shame, isn’t it? Because I think we’re made to have those dreams of a better life someday. That’s how the US was founded, on a dream of a better life. Better than being oppressed.And so…when we’re working that job…that J.O.B. where we grind out every day, just waiting for the weekend to come…when we’re hoping for a better job, or a better life, and maybe, just maybe, someday, I could have my own business…doing…whatever. It doesn’t matter sometimes, does it?You keep seeing others with their businesses and how they, somehow, made it work, and you think to yourself, ‘could that EVER be me?’ And you’re thinking ‘I see this guy on LinkedIn or on some Internet ad and he’s talking about how much he makes and that I could make that too.’ Getting the courage to actAnd then…it happens. Something finally clicks or snaps in your head and you just can’t take it any longer. You have to have a way out of whatever situation you’re in. You can’t go on like this. You have to change something because if you don’t then everything stays the same. And that’s just not acceptable anymore.And it isn’t about the money for some people. It’s beyond that. I know for me, when I quit my job, back in 2001, it wasn’t about the money, it was about my personal happiness. It was about the situation I was in and how terrible it was.And that’s what you’re looking for as well. Your personal well being. Your sanity.So…you get the courage to act. You get a book, or you sign up for a course, you may even start talking to someone about what to do next. But you take the first step.And then, after some time goes by, maybe a few weeks or a few months…you take another step toward the dream. You start to shape the dream and feed the dream. The dream shifts from being a dream to something that you really believe is now possible someday.So, you create some time by giving up some things..whether it’s TV or some other time consuming thing that you were into (for me it was the long bike rides). But now, with this extra time, you’re starting to put some pieces together in this big puzzle called self employment.Making the leapAnd then…there comes the day, when you’re convinced it’s time to go in a different direction. You’ve got the confidence now and you believe in yourself now and you’ve had enough of the old and you’re all on board with bringing in the new life you’ve always wanted.So…you quit.What do I do now?And for awhile, you’re riding on adrenaline and the excitement of new beginnings and things are great. For awhile.And don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of things being great. I’m not even hinting that I don’t want people to have a great new path.But I’ve been doing this for awhile now, myself and I have some inside information here about being self employed. I’ve also talked to a lot of people along the way that are in the same realm as I am and believe me, usually the same thought hits them all at some point or another.They’ve make the commitment to have their own business and then it hits them. ‘What do I do now?’And for some, they may have a business plan or they don’t, that part really doesn’t matter. It hits them all the same. Because the business plan…even though it’s supposed to lay out The Plan, it still focuses more on strategy than the actual tactics you’ll be using to fulfill the strategy.  So when it finally comes time to fill the day with the most meaningful tasks…like, oh I don’t know..selling something, there can be a lot of distractions along the way.Now that you don’t have the commitment of having to go to work every day and be totally accountable for your time, now that you don’t have a boss, and you’re your own boss, you keep finding that the days can just fly away one after another and that being self employed isn’t really what you thought it was going to be.Too much free timeWhy? Because in the structure of a job, you have to do certain things at certain times and there’s no other option. It’s just the way it is. You may have had a schedule or something else that planned and controlled your time. But you didn’t have a choice. But now…things are different.Now you not only have a choice, you have 1000 choices every day. YOU now decide how you’re going to spend your time and what you want to do.And that’s a problem.You see, if you’re working from home already, then you know first hand what I’m about to say.But once you’re in that self employment role, and you don’t have the discipline or focus, your days…even weeks can fly by without really accomplishing much. Certainly no sales happened.And this is what I see happening over and over again.The fridge is too closeThings that aren’t normally distractions are now distractions. And I’m not talking about just cell phones, even though that’s got to be the number one distraction. There are some others as well.No matter how far away it is, even if it’s on a different floor that where you’re deciding to work from, some things are just too close for you to remain focused in your business.Take that refrigerator. How many times do you find yourself just looking inside…for…who knows what?And then…there’s the TV. The one thing you gave up to get yourself more time to learn about having a business…and now it’s back in focus for all those shows you want to catch up on, now that you’re not working a job. Or maybe it’s not the fridge or the TV, but that you just get caught up in being busy? And that’s easy to do, right? Because there’s a lot of things we can fill our day with that keeps us feeling and looking like we’re building a business.But if you’re just busy being busy, and you’re not closing sales, then there will come a time when you’re just going to have to pay those bills that keep rolling in and you may find yourself wondering if you need to go back to that J.O.B. scenario again.How do I focus?So how do you deal with all this freedom that you’re now bestowed with? How do you find the self discipline you’ll need in order to focus and actually build a business?It’s easy to make a to do list every day. It’s easy to put a plan in place and have a strategy. But what about the focus to do all that?And what do you focus on anyway? Sales? Marketing? Networking? Social media? These are just a few of the mountain of topics that you can focus on.What works for me? Having hard deadlines to get things done by a certain day. I pick a day for podcasting, writing, finances, social media. These days have a hard deadline. I must get these things done before a certain day, not ON that day.Getting helpNow, I’ve said many times that you’re not alone on this journey, and I’ll say it again. You’re not alone. You can get help. Whether you get an intern or a VA or a coach, or even hire someone to be part of your staff. You don’t have to do everything yourself.I offer my online tech services to other small business owners and non profit organizations to be an ‘on call advisor and tech guru’ when they have a need. It’s harder for me to plan the finances that way, but another service that I offer is to be on a stipend each month (typically $500 a month) to do specific tasks:·      Email marketing·      Copywriting·      Website updates·      Website security·      Podcast productionSo you see, you don’t have to do everything yourself. You can get others to help you do the things you either don’t like to do or don’t want to do.If you feel overwhelmed, you don’t have to.I like to put it this way.If you want to take a trip…go on a journey…to…let’s just say the west coast of the United States (I live on the east coast). You can get there a number of ways.You can take the low budget way and:·      walk·      ride a bikeYou can pay a little bit more and:·      drive·      take a trainOr you can get there the fastest by getting on a plane and arriving the same day. You’re paying more, but you’re getting there faster and now, you can jump to the next goal of the journey because you’ve got that first one out of the way.This is why I offer the ‘Done With You’ and the ‘Done For You’ option for launching your new Podcast. They have different price points, but they both get you to your destination faster than the walking pace.And that’s why options like these work. If you want to move at the walking pace, I have the DIY ‘Starting a Podcast’ E-book mini course I created for you. Over 50 pages that cover all the basics you’ll need to know to get started. But…you’re at the walking pace.So, when you’re finding that reality is setting in and having a business wasn’t what you thought it was going to be, just keep in mind that you can outsource some tasks to take the most burdensome things off your shoulders.Then, you can focus on just a few tasks that only you should do. In episode 6 of the Podcast, I talked a bit about staying in your ‘zone of genius’. Check out that episode to hear more about what you should focus on and not focus on.But be encouraged friends. As time goes on in your new small business journey, you’ll improve many skills. And one of them will be how to focus. It will get better. Your small business survival depends on it.  Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Webinar video series: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call through Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/</a>We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast/podcast-episode-feedback/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode Rating</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 89: When Reality Sets In

Welcome back to part 2 of the 7 P’s to profitability. In the first part of this 2 part session, we coveredPersonal story, Platform and then positioning. Next, we’ll be going over1.    Product2.    Packaging3.    Pitch and4.    Partners So remember, each step compliments the one before it and is in this particular order for a reason.No one step can be independent without all the others in place.So.. let’s dive in.Product /(Service) To profit from your personal brand, you (obviously) need something to sell. In my business, I primarily ‘sell’ labor and services in small business startup coaching as well as digital downloads of documents. Ideally, when I have coaching clients, I’m selling what I know and get paid to speak and help people through issues and situations to either move forward and do something, or to see if they need to stop doing something in order to move forward. Either way, I’m getting paid to speak. In years past, with my old business model, I had to go and perform a service in the real of IT, information technology, and get paid for my time. But for you, what will you be selling? A product or a service? Or both? You might have a book or a service to sell so it’s just a matter of positioning your products or services to the right market and at the right price point, but we’ll be covering some of that in a bit. I don’t want to get ahead of myself here. Product or ServiceThere are 4 types of products that I can promote:1.        Affiliate income-promote the tools I currently use and have others sign up for them also2.        E-books, Document/Swipe files- documents/forms and templates that you could use to help you start or plan the launch of your business3.        Mini-Training-short videos that teach helpful strategies and tactics4.        Online Coaching program-simple way to generate both content and revenueYour business plan will have the details of how you will be marketing and promoting these services. Each one should have a completely different approach. Some will be promoted through your blog. Some products will be more appropriate through a webinar.Whatever it is that you’re promoting, you’ll need an individual marketing plan for that product or service only.  Now, Marketing strategies come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have the common goal of attracting and building relationships with customers. The style is up to you, but it should include these basic elements.1.    Marketing Goals and Objectives2.    Define Your Target Audience3.    Research Marketing Tactics4.    Plan Your Marketing Tactics1. Marketing Goals and Objectives You will need to develop some realistic but measurable marketing goals. Create a plan that cover a full calendar year. and make sure it still fits your business plan. Your strategy will help you achieve your goals through the tactics you use. Think about the type of products or services you are selling, and how and where you plan to sell them.2. Define Your Target AudienceFully describe the characteristics of your potential customers, as well as their media viewing habits. Take the time to define your audience and customers for your products or services, along with their unique demographic characteristics, such as age range, marital status, gender, income level, or education. This will also help you lay out your plan for distinguishing yourself from your competition. 3. Research Marketing TacticsThere are more marketing tactics available today than ever before and trying to determine which one is best for your business can be overwhelming. Take the time to do some research but don’t take too much time. Getting caught up in the analysis paralysis will get you nowhere. A good understanding of these tactics will make you more comfortable in selecting which ones are best for your business. 4. Plan Your Marketing TacticsOnce you have completed the research, it’s time to pick the tactics and channels you will use to accomplish your goals and reach your target audience. Packaging (Pricing) So, there’s a lot of information to go through on this topic. The do’s and don’ts of pricing. And if you really want to dig deep into the psychology of why people buy the way they do and how people respond to different price points, I recommend that you check out Nick Kolenda. He’s an expert on the topic and he presents his research in a very readable way.But for now, in this episode, I’ll just be covering some surface level information on all of this in the hopes that it’ll get you started on your path here when you create your own products or services.So, I’ll give you 3 different ways you can price products and services. This is not an exhaustive list of course, but as I said, it’ll get you started:1.        Product-digital or physical products, course created2.        Value- fees can be set in 3 different ways3.        HourlySome people will set pricing based on what the market will bear; what is the highest price point they can set it at so people will still buy it. Typically, the first tier will fall under $100 (Ex. $29, $49, $97) and will usually be some sort of document or easy download.The second tier will be under $500 (Ex. $197, $297, $497) For these products, they might come with a little support behind it.The third tier of products will be of higher value that may come with bonus products or even a live event included into the price like giving a seminar or workshop.Hourly pricing isn’t normally recommended because both sides end up watching the clock instead of concentrating on the coaching session, which will be counterproductive.Value Pricing: How do you set fees?1.        Create pricing options (I did the DIY, DWY and DFY option)2.        Groups of time or items (3 coaching sessions for $XXX, minimum)3.        Set a single fixed price4.        Set payment termsWhen thinking about your pricing options and price points, consideration should be placed on how much time and effort you will need to spend on each product/price point. Some products being sold may bring a lower level of return for the client and some product (or service) may bring a higher level of return for them (thus, a higher price point).If I’m going to sell some small business document templates that helps a client save time by not having to create these things themselves, yes, they save time, but the value isn’t as high as if I spent 3-4 hours of my time in proofreading material for a course someone is putting on where they make many thousands of dollars. That would justify having a higher price point. When it’s time for the client to see the proposal, don’t send it to them, present it to them. If they’re having a bad day and they’re opening it up after they’ve been in an argument or they’re stuck in traffic, this will give your proposal a bad taste in their mouth and hurt your chances for success. Present the proposal to them by using a video call and share your screen, revealing one page at a time while you talk them through it.Setting Payment Terms1.        100% up front2.        50% up front, 50% when the project is almost completed (most common for me)3.        Payment terms (monthly payments, install payments etc.) PitchIt’s very important to pay close attention to the quality of the copy you’re using and that the message that’s being conveyed is clear and concise. Whenever a title or heading is being used, the message needs to grab their attention.If you are creating content, or have a blog, use titles that draw people in, in a way that they WANT to click on the post and read it.Pictures being used need to be of high quality and match the text of the heading and blog post. This also rings true for other situations as well when pictures are being used with copy text. Every page of your website, product or services information etc. You can refer to my blog to see what I’m referring to at: www.tomclairmont.com/blogIf you’d like to dive deeper into the topic of pitch and how to refine yours, I’d like to recommend you to Martin Barnes, the Pitch Coach out of the UK. He created ‘The Pitch Club’ that meets online once a week as a group so you can practice your pitch (along with others) and get some feedback. You can find Martin on LinkedIn daily and also through his website at https://eightsecondstoconnect.com/. PartnersNormally, when the topic of ‘Partners’ comes up, people naturally think about someone that will be a partial owner of the business and share the expenses or risk involved. This isn’t the intent for what we mean here, in this document.Establishing a team of people that you can rely on and collaborate with to reach your business goals is crucial to your success. It’s not possible for you to know how to accomplish every function necessary for your business and you’ll need to rely on others to handle critical tasks. This team of professionals you’ll need goes beyond the concept of having others do things that you cannot do. It deals with the concept of having others do the tasks that you should NOT do.Knowing your ‘zone of genius’ through a personal evaluation (one of the tools I use) is important here because some tasks could be done by you, but some tasks could ONLY be done by you. These specific tasks are what separates you from others in your business space and makes your business unique. If you’re able to focus on your ‘zone of genius’ and delegate the tasks that an office administrator could do (either in person or virtually), then you won’t be bogged down with the host of menial tasks that you should NOT be doing.There will also be others in your realm that you could recommend clients to, if you’re not able to produce the products or services that they’re looking for. Recommending someone else and passing business along will build your reputation and trust in the business world and may bring repeat business back to you in the future.  If you have questions, or just want to talk about your situation for a bit, you can set up a free 30 minute discovery call by clicking on the calendar link on the website at www.tomclairmont.comDo you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Webinar video series: Starting a PodcastNeed help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call through Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: Episode RatingSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Welcome back to part 2 of the 7 P’s to profitability. In the first part of this 2 part session, we coveredPersonal story, Platform and then positioning. Next, we’ll be going over1.    Product2.    Packaging3.    Pitch and4.    Partners So remember, each step compliments the one before it and is in this particular order for a reason.No one step can be independent without all the others in place.So.. let’s dive in.Product /(Service) To profit from your personal brand, you (obviously) need something to sell. In my business, I primarily ‘sell’ labor and services in small business startup coaching as well as digital downloads of documents. Ideally, when I have coaching clients, I’m selling what I know and get paid to speak and help people through issues and situations to either move forward and do something, or to see if they need to stop doing something in order to move forward. Either way, I’m getting paid to speak. In years past, with my old business model, I had to go and perform a service in the real of IT, information technology, and get paid for my time. But for you, what will you be selling? A product or a service? Or both? You might have a book or a service to sell so it’s just a matter of positioning your products or services to the right market and at the right price point, but we’ll be covering some of that in a bit. I don’t want to get ahead of myself here. Product or ServiceThere are 4 types of products that I can promote:1.        Affiliate income-promote the tools I currently use and have others sign up for them also2.        E-books, Document/Swipe files- documents/forms and templates that you could use to help you start or plan the launch of your business3.        Mini-Training-short videos that teach helpful strategies and tactics4.        Online Coaching program-simple way to generate both content and revenueYour business plan will have the details of how you will be marketing and promoting these services. Each one should have a completely different approach. Some will be promoted through your blog. Some products will be more appropriate through a webinar.Whatever it is that you’re promoting, you’ll need an individual marketing plan for that product or service only.  Now, Marketing strategies come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have the common goal of attracting and building relationships with customers. The style is up to you, but it should include these basic elements.1.    Marketing Goals and Objectives2.    Define Your Target Audience3.    Research Marketing Tactics4.    Plan Your Marketing Tactics1. Marketing Goals and Objectives You will need to develop some realistic but measurable marketing goals. Create a plan that cover a full calendar year. and make sure it still fits your business plan. Your strategy will help you achieve your goals through the tactics you use. Think about the type of products or services you are selling, and how and where you plan to sell them.2. Define Your Target AudienceFully describe the characteristics of your potential customers, as well as their media viewing habits. Take the time to define your audience and customers for your products or services, along with their unique demographic characteristics, such as age range, marital status, gender, income level, or education. This will also help you lay out your plan for distinguishing yourself from your competition. 3. Research Marketing TacticsThere are more marketing tactics available today than ever before and trying to determine which one is best for your business can be overwhelming. Take the time to do some research but don’t take too much time. Getting caught up in the analysis paralysis will get you nowhere. A good understanding of these tactics will make you more comfortable in selecting which ones are best for your business. 4. Plan Your Marketing TacticsOnce you have completed the research, it’s time to pick the tactics and channels you will use to accomplish your goals and reach your target audience. Packaging (Pricing) So, there’s a lot of information to go through on this topic. The do’s and don’ts of pricing. And if you really want to dig deep into the psychology of why people buy the way they do and how people respond to different price points, I recommend that you check out Nick Kolenda. He’s an expert on the topic and he presents his research in a very readable way.But for now, in this episode, I’ll just be covering some surface level information on all of this in the hopes that it’ll get you started on your path here when you create your own products or services.So, I’ll give you 3 different ways you can price products and services. This is not an exhaustive list of course, but as I said, it’ll get you started:1.        Product-digital or physical products, course created2.        Value- fees can be set in 3 different ways3.        HourlySome people will set pricing based on what the market will bear; what is the highest price point they can set it at so people will still buy it. Typically, the first tier will fall under $100 (Ex. $29, $49, $97) and will usually be some sort of document or easy download.The second tier will be under $500 (Ex. $197, $297, $497) For these products, they might come with a little support behind it.The third tier of products will be of higher value that may come with bonus products or even a live event included into the price like giving a seminar or workshop.Hourly pricing isn’t normally recommended because both sides end up watching the clock instead of concentrating on the coaching session, which will be counterproductive.Value Pricing: How do you set fees?1.        Create pricing options (I did the DIY, DWY and DFY option)2.        Groups of time or items (3 coaching sessions for $XXX, minimum)3.        Set a single fixed price4.        Set payment termsWhen thinking about your pricing options and price points, consideration should be placed on how much time and effort you will need to spend on each product/price point. Some products being sold may bring a lower level of return for the client and some product (or service) may bring a higher level of return for them (thus, a higher price point).If I’m going to sell some small business document templates that helps a client save time by not having to create these things themselves, yes, they save time, but the value isn’t as high as if I spent 3-4 hours of my time in proofreading material for a course someone is putting on where they make many thousands of dollars. That would justify having a higher price point. When it’s time for the client to see the proposal, don’t send it to them, present it to them. If they’re having a bad day and they’re opening it up after they’ve been in an argument or they’re stuck in traffic, this will give your proposal a bad taste in their mouth and hurt your chances for success. Present the proposal to them by using a video call and share your screen, revealing one page at a time while you talk them through it.Setting Payment Terms1.        100% up front2.        50% up front, 50% when the project is almost completed (most common for me)3.        Payment terms (monthly payments, install payments etc.) PitchIt’s very important to pay close attention to the quality of the copy you’re using and that the message that’s being conveyed is clear and concise. Whenever a title or heading is being used, the message needs to grab their attention.If you are creating content, or have a blog, use titles that draw people in, in a way that they WANT to click on the post and read it.Pictures being used need to be of high quality and match the text of the heading and blog post. This also rings true for other situations as well when pictures are being used with copy text. Every page of your website, product or services information etc. You can refer to my blog to see what I’m referring to at: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/blog" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/blog</a>If you’d like to dive deeper into the topic of pitch and how to refine yours, I’d like to recommend you to Martin Barnes, the Pitch Coach out of the UK. He created ‘The Pitch Club’ that meets online once a week as a group so you can practice your pitch (along with others) and get some feedback. You can find Martin on LinkedIn daily and also through his website at <a href="https://eightsecondstoconnect.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://eightsecondstoconnect.com/</a>. PartnersNormally, when the topic of ‘Partners’ comes up, people naturally think about someone that will be a partial owner of the business and share the expenses or risk involved. This isn’t the intent for what we mean here, in this document.Establishing a team of people that you can rely on and collaborate with to reach your business goals is crucial to your success. It’s not possible for you to know how to accomplish every function necessary for your business and you’ll need to rely on others to handle critical tasks. This team of professionals you’ll need goes beyond the concept of having others do things that you cannot do. It deals with the concept of having others do the tasks that you should NOT do.Knowing your ‘zone of genius’ through a personal evaluation (one of the tools I use) is important here because some tasks could be done by you, but some tasks could ONLY be done by you. These specific tasks are what separates you from others in your business space and makes your business unique. If you’re able to focus on your ‘zone of genius’ and delegate the tasks that an office administrator could do (either in person or virtually), then you won’t be bogged down with the host of menial tasks that you should NOT be doing.There will also be others in your realm that you could recommend clients to, if you’re not able to produce the products or services that they’re looking for. Recommending someone else and passing business along will build your reputation and trust in the business world and may bring repeat business back to you in the future.  If you have questions, or just want to talk about your situation for a bit, you can set up a free 30 minute discovery call by clicking on the calendar link on the website at <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Webinar video series: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call through Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/</a>We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast/podcast-episode-feedback/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode Rating</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 88: The 7 P's to Profitability (part2)

You want to start an online personal brand business. That’s great! I converted my business from offering on site services to other businesses to an online business and I must say, that it’s a lot better to make money without having to leave the house, than it is to having to go to another business and be onsite, driving around all over the place and putting up with all the gas, car and toll expenses. Not to mention eating out all the time. It gets real expensive, real fast. The key to building a PROFITABLE personal brand business is to use the stair-step approach. And a quick shout out to Mike Kim for this concept. I heard this through his coaching program and I’d like to pass it along to you as well. It helped me to understand, first, what’s necessary, and then in what order to do them in. The idea is that even if you have the correct elements, it’s better to build them in this logical order. Otherwise it’s like having the correct digits for a phone number, but having them in the wrong order.So, what are the 7 P’s to a personal brand business?1.    Personal story2.    Platform3.    Positioning4.    Product5.    Packaging6.    Pitch7.    Partners We’ll go over each step one by one, and get into more details about how each step compliments the one before it and is in this particular order for a reason.No one step can be independent without all the others in place.Personal StoryThe first step, Personal Story, is the foundation of your personal brand business. It all starts with having the right kind of story to tell instead of a sales pitch. Storytelling has become the new way of selling that is much more effective approach than ‘Here is my thing that I want you to buy. Isn’t it great?”And I mentioned in episode 57 ‘The Three Critical Stories You’ll Need for Your Small Business’ and about how storytelling is critical for your sales in your business.People don’t really care about a story about your business and why it exists. People care about THEIR story and if you can or can’t help them. In the book ‘Building a Story Brand’, Donald Miller says “Your customer should be the hero of the story, not your brand. This is the secret every profoundly successful business understands.”Pretty websites don’t sell things. Words sell things.So what’s your message? Can you say it easily? Is it simple, relevant and repeatable? How many offers are you missing because potential customers can’t figure out what your offer is within 5 seconds of visiting your website?PlatformIf you don’t have a website and a blog in today’s online world, you don’t exist. Using WordPress, these two things can be easily set up in short order if you have the textual content and images to use in advance. If you need help with that, email me at tom@tomclairmont.com and we can talk about what you need and who I can connect you with to help you through that part of the process. Remember to use the story part of the message that we just went through above. Two Big MistakesA lot of websites make two mistakes with the content that’s being used.1.        The first mistake that brands make is that they fail to focus on the aspects of their offer that will help people survive and thrive. All great stories are about survival-either physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual. A story about anything else won’t work to captivate an audience.If we position our products and services as anything but an aid in helping people survive and thrive, good luck selling anything to anybody.2.        The second mistake brands make with their message is that they cause their customers to burn too many mental calories in an effort to understand their offer. It’s just not simple enough. It’s like they have to run a mental treadmill to figure it all out. This is how you lose customers.The most powerful tool we can use to organize information so people don’t have to burn too many mental calories is a story. But the key here, is clarity. Your customers will have questions. If you aren’t answering those questions, they’ll move on to someone else. If the story isn’t clear, the message just becomes noise. What we think we are saying to our customers and what they are hearing can be two different things.A good story can hold someone’s attention for hours. Why do I have attention problems and daydream far too often, but then when a good movie is on, don’t have attention problems at all? Because the story of the movie is meeting the criteria for giving my mind and emotions what it wants. The story of the movie (or book) is doing the daydreaming for us. Here is the structure of nearly every story you see or hear in movies and the most popular books, in a nutshell. A character who wants something, encounters a problem before they can get it. At the peak of their despair, a guide steps into action, helps them avoid failure and ends in a success. Your personal story is the foundation for you, marketing your business in a voice that is unmistakably yours.What point of view will you tell the story?•         Bird’s eye- giving the overview of your story in general terms•         Eye to eye- giving the details from a more personal perspective PlatformIn this day and age, far too many people are relying on just Facebook or a couple of social media platforms as the sole basis for their business. Social media has its place, but should not be a substitute for a traditional, but necessary website.All the content that’s placed on the social media platform is owned by them. You don’t own it, and they can block you or take you down if they decide to do that.With a website, you own the domain name, the account, the content, and you control the uptime and visibility (if you keep paying for the account). You control who has access to the information you’re putting on the website as well.When you have your own website with an internal blog or a Podcast, you control the content and don’t have to worry about another service forcing your hand with how your information is managed.You’ve probably heard me talk many times about the advantages of having a Podcast and I’ll keep it brief this time, but if my Podcast hosting provider goes out of business, I still have all the episodes on my computer to upload to another hosting service. They’re still my episode recordings. It’s still my Show. Nobody can take that away from me. There are some pretty generic elements that need to be in place to having a solid platform for your startup business. This next step will go over these elements from a high level perspective only.  Positioning Yourself The purpose of this step is to provide you with a clearer understanding where you stand relative to the competition. What do you give that your competitors can’t provide? What is yourunique selling point (USP)?What do I give that my competitors can’t provide? •         personal experience with online tech•         more affordable pricing•         numerous free online tools•         over a dozen e-books on various small business topics•         tech support on a number of online personal brand issues•         mindset coaching What I can’t give that my competitors can:•         Large number of blog or podcast postings•         large supply of videos on the same topics•         One new E-book per week There are two things necessary for positioning:•         Strategies (master plan, grand design) a ‘how’ and not a ‘what’•         Tactics (plans, procedure) “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” What are the differences? My goal is to ‘position myself as a sought after small business launch coach’. The strategy is the ‘how’ the goal will be accomplished.•         Website•         Social media marketing•         Blog•         Podcast•         Videos•         Speaking Tactic:•         Create content for the blog and podcast and social media•         Play one type of ‘music’-one continuous message that stays on the same theme•         Connect with leaders in the same space as where I want to go in the industry•         Post to social media on a regular basis with a consistent message•         Create one Podcast episode each week on a useful, relevant topic on the theme of starting an online business or Podcast Goal: Increase passive income stream1.        Strategy: Create digital downloads of content that is both relevant and provides value in either the process of starting a business or to help improve the motivation or mindset of the person desiring to start a business 2.        Tactic: a.        Promote value of the digital download content to prospective or active clients through the website, blog, podcast and social mediab.       Communicate on a regular basis with email listDo you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Webinar video series: Starting a PodcastNeed help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call through Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: Episode RatingSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

You want to start an online personal brand business. That’s great! I converted my business from offering on site services to other businesses to an online business and I must say, that it’s a lot better to make money without having to leave the house, than it is to having to go to another business and be onsite, driving around all over the place and putting up with all the gas, car and toll expenses. Not to mention eating out all the time. It gets real expensive, real fast. The key to building a PROFITABLE personal brand business is to use the stair-step approach. And a quick shout out to Mike Kim for this concept. I heard this through his coaching program and I’d like to pass it along to you as well. It helped me to understand, first, what’s necessary, and then in what order to do them in. The idea is that even if you have the correct elements, it’s better to build them in this logical order. Otherwise it’s like having the correct digits for a phone number, but having them in the wrong order.So, what are the 7 P’s to a personal brand business?1.    Personal story2.    Platform3.    Positioning4.    Product5.    Packaging6.    Pitch7.    Partners We’ll go over each step one by one, and get into more details about how each step compliments the one before it and is in this particular order for a reason.No one step can be independent without all the others in place.Personal StoryThe first step, Personal Story, is the foundation of your personal brand business. It all starts with having the right kind of story to tell instead of a sales pitch. Storytelling has become the new way of selling that is much more effective approach than ‘Here is my thing that I want you to buy. Isn’t it great?”And I mentioned in episode 57 ‘The Three Critical Stories You’ll Need for Your Small Business’ and about how storytelling is critical for your sales in your business.People don’t really care about a story about your business and why it exists. People care about THEIR story and if you can or can’t help them. In the book ‘Building a Story Brand’, Donald Miller says “Your customer should be the hero of the story, not your brand. This is the secret every profoundly successful business understands.”Pretty websites don’t sell things. Words sell things.So what’s your message? Can you say it easily? Is it simple, relevant and repeatable? How many offers are you missing because potential customers can’t figure out what your offer is within 5 seconds of visiting your website?PlatformIf you don’t have a website and a blog in today’s online world, you don’t exist. Using WordPress, these two things can be easily set up in short order if you have the textual content and images to use in advance. If you need help with that, email me at tom@tomclairmont.com and we can talk about what you need and who I can connect you with to help you through that part of the process. Remember to use the story part of the message that we just went through above. Two Big MistakesA lot of websites make two mistakes with the content that’s being used.1.        The first mistake that brands make is that they fail to focus on the aspects of their offer that will help people survive and thrive. All great stories are about survival-either physical, emotional, relational, or spiritual. A story about anything else won’t work to captivate an audience.If we position our products and services as anything but an aid in helping people survive and thrive, good luck selling anything to anybody.2.        The second mistake brands make with their message is that they cause their customers to burn too many mental calories in an effort to understand their offer. It’s just not simple enough. It’s like they have to run a mental treadmill to figure it all out. This is how you lose customers.The most powerful tool we can use to organize information so people don’t have to burn too many mental calories is a story. But the key here, is clarity. Your customers will have questions. If you aren’t answering those questions, they’ll move on to someone else. If the story isn’t clear, the message just becomes noise. What we think we are saying to our customers and what they are hearing can be two different things.A good story can hold someone’s attention for hours. Why do I have attention problems and daydream far too often, but then when a good movie is on, don’t have attention problems at all? Because the story of the movie is meeting the criteria for giving my mind and emotions what it wants. The story of the movie (or book) is doing the daydreaming for us. Here is the structure of nearly every story you see or hear in movies and the most popular books, in a nutshell. A character who wants something, encounters a problem before they can get it. At the peak of their despair, a guide steps into action, helps them avoid failure and ends in a success. Your personal story is the foundation for you, marketing your business in a voice that is unmistakably yours.What point of view will you tell the story?•         Bird’s eye- giving the overview of your story in general terms•         Eye to eye- giving the details from a more personal perspective PlatformIn this day and age, far too many people are relying on just Facebook or a couple of social media platforms as the sole basis for their business. Social media has its place, but should not be a substitute for a traditional, but necessary website.All the content that’s placed on the social media platform is owned by them. You don’t own it, and they can block you or take you down if they decide to do that.With a website, you own the domain name, the account, the content, and you control the uptime and visibility (if you keep paying for the account). You control who has access to the information you’re putting on the website as well.When you have your own website with an internal blog or a Podcast, you control the content and don’t have to worry about another service forcing your hand with how your information is managed.You’ve probably heard me talk many times about the advantages of having a Podcast and I’ll keep it brief this time, but if my Podcast hosting provider goes out of business, I still have all the episodes on my computer to upload to another hosting service. They’re still my episode recordings. It’s still my Show. Nobody can take that away from me. There are some pretty generic elements that need to be in place to having a solid platform for your startup business. This next step will go over these elements from a high level perspective only.  Positioning Yourself The purpose of this step is to provide you with a clearer understanding where you stand relative to the competition. What do you give that your competitors can’t provide? What is yourunique selling point (USP)?What do I give that my competitors can’t provide? •         personal experience with online tech•         more affordable pricing•         numerous free online tools•         over a dozen e-books on various small business topics•         tech support on a number of online personal brand issues•         mindset coaching What I can’t give that my competitors can:•         Large number of blog or podcast postings•         large supply of videos on the same topics•         One new E-book per week There are two things necessary for positioning:•         Strategies (master plan, grand design) a ‘how’ and not a ‘what’•         Tactics (plans, procedure) “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” What are the differences? My goal is to ‘position myself as a sought after small business launch coach’. The strategy is the ‘how’ the goal will be accomplished.•         Website•         Social media marketing•         Blog•         Podcast•         Videos•         Speaking Tactic:•         Create content for the blog and podcast and social media•         Play one type of ‘music’-one continuous message that stays on the same theme•         Connect with leaders in the same space as where I want to go in the industry•         Post to social media on a regular basis with a consistent message•         Create one Podcast episode each week on a useful, relevant topic on the theme of starting an online business or Podcast Goal: Increase passive income stream1.        Strategy: Create digital downloads of content that is both relevant and provides value in either the process of starting a business or to help improve the motivation or mindset of the person desiring to start a business 2.        Tactic: a.        Promote value of the digital download content to prospective or active clients through the website, blog, podcast and social mediab.       Communicate on a regular basis with email list Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Webinar video series: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call through Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/</a>We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast/podcast-episode-feedback/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode Rating</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 87: The 7 P's to Profitability (part1)

We go through the workforce doing so many things, right? I mean after a few decades of having different roles we can sort of be really good at a handful of things.  And we can start to lose a little bit of our identity of who we are when the lines get blurred. Maybe you’re working a bit to narrow down that one things that you’re really good at? Maybe you’re REALLY good at a few things and that’s great. Some people spend decades doing pretty much one or two things but some people spend the same amount of time having many different roles. I know I have. Project management, operations management, general manager of a family fun center. Shipping, receiving, purchasing manager, creating SOP’s. and the list goes on. But also, as we get on in years and start to think about retirement and all the things we know and can do…we can start to wonder about what’s coming. We can start to think about those later years and what place we can have in the world. We know so much and can do so many different things, but how can we put it all together? How can we connect those dots and use what we know to make a difference in the world? But at the same time, (I know I’ve been through this), we can have a never ending list of negative thoughts that don’t propel us outward, but keep us cringing inside.What if, those dots we’re trying to connect keep on moving? So..here come those negative thoughts. “Is it too late? Is the opportunity lost? Should I just give in and give up? After all, it’s a young person’s world out there. I’m really good at what I do and love to speak on the topic but how do I get all that I know out of my head and into people’s hearts and minds? Am I just going to retire and let all that I have to say retire with me? And there’s so many things I don’t know how to do, so it just doesn’t seem worth it.” Friend, if you’re thinking this, let me just say, most definitely, there IS a way. You can have 100% certainty that whatever it is you know and love to talk about, can get out and into the world…the WHOLE world. You can have an online personal brand business or a Podcast.  Now, don’t just dismiss this and zip on to the next LI post. Stick with me on this. Whatever it is that you’re talking yourself out of, needs to stop. Right now. But YOU have to be the one to stop it. Only you. Take that broken record, negative speaking soundtrack that keeps playing in your head and turn it off. It’s time to start playing another song with a better message. Did you write a book but find that it didn’t get into enough hands and you’d like to get your message out into the world in a different way? Or maybe you didn’t have time to write that book, but you know enough to write it in an E-book instead. Whatever it is that you don’t know, you can either learn some things or have someone else do it for you. Whoever told you that you can’t learn what you need to learn, or do what you want to do, is probably not accomplishing much themselves. Am I right? So what is that one things that you’re great at? What is that one thing that defines you? What is that one thing that you keep thinking about even when you have the opportunity to think about so many other things? Does something in the world really bother you and you’d like to help make a change? Are you looking around and telling yourself that the book you wrote didn’t get into enough hands and you’d like so many more people to hear it? Friend, many, many people are starting their one personal brand business or Podcast and getting their message heard or seen around the world. Every day. Every day! And if you’re looking for encouragement from family and friends, you might get it, but in talking to a bunch of people about this, I’ve found that your biggest supporters are strangers and the biggest critics you’ll have are the people closest to you.Now, don’t get me wrong, my wife loves me and doesn’t criticize me but when it comes to family and friends in general, there will be many people that just don’t understand you or believe in you. So…if you have a dream. If you have a hope of doing something or starting something or building a business…whatever it is, don’t give up on yourself.  It’s not too late. It never is. So…what’s that one thing that you’re good at? Why am I asking about just one thing? Because if you do step out and start something…whether it’s a business or a Podcast, when people want to know what you’re about, they’ll want to know that whatever you’re talking about…whatever it is…that you’re an expert in that one thing. And when you decide on that one thing, it doesn’t mean that you’re stuck in that rut of being a Johnny one note for the rest of your life. It just means that for now, you have an identity with that one thing and when you’ve built that up to the point of getting business and recognition, you can expand your identity and reputation into other areas that you’ve already been doing for quite some time anyway. Look, take my business coach, Mike Kim. He’s a personal brand expert. And he wrote a best selling book ‘You Are the Brand’. And he’s also an expert in a bunch of other things. But he wants to be known for just one thing. He can throw in the other things like writing copy or marketing, things like that when he wants to, but his image…his ‘brand’ is in the personal brand space. And now, he has mastermind groups and courses that he sells. His book is a best seller, he has high ticket speaking gigs that he does. But he didn’t start out that way. He started when he had a job in NYC and created a blog. And just wrote for a year. Then he started a Podcast and started talking about starting an online business. Then he started to talk about branding and the other things that he knows about. And eventually, the niche that he found…the demand that he saw the need for and what people were most interested in, was the personal branding. The ‘how to create an image for yourself that makes an impact’. That’s what personal branding is all about. What’s that ONE thing that you do?If you spend any time on LinkedIn, you’ll see that in the majority of the profiles you’ll see one, maybe two things that they want to be known for. Now, can these people do more than one or two things? I’m sure they can. But what do you want to be known for? What do you want people to introduce you as?A speaker? An author? A political expert? A marketing expert? A copywriter? A non profit builder?The choice is yours. The future identity that you choose is waiting for you.What do you need to do to have it?Do you need to learn some other things so you’ll get to have that expert identity that you want? Do you need some coaching from someone that can help you through this journey to have an online business or Podcast?There’s plenty of people out there willing to help you through this.I am. If you’d like to talk about this, I’ll set aside some free time for us to talk.You can book a time slot on my online calendar if you’d like. Just go to tomclairmont.com.Don’t think that there’s not enough time. Don’t think that you don’t have the opportunity. You do.Let’s get started.  Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Webinar video series: Starting a PodcastNeed help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call through Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: Episode RatingSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

We go through the workforce doing so many things, right? I mean after a few decades of having different roles we can sort of be really good at a handful of things.  And we can start to lose a little bit of our identity of who we are when the lines get blurred. Maybe you’re working a bit to narrow down that one things that you’re really good at? Maybe you’re REALLY good at a few things and that’s great. Some people spend decades doing pretty much one or two things but some people spend the same amount of time having many different roles. I know I have. Project management, operations management, general manager of a family fun center. Shipping, receiving, purchasing manager, creating SOP’s. and the list goes on. But also, as we get on in years and start to think about retirement and all the things we know and can do…we can start to wonder about what’s coming. We can start to think about those later years and what place we can have in the world. We know so much and can do so many different things, but how can we put it all together? How can we connect those dots and use what we know to make a difference in the world? But at the same time, (I know I’ve been through this), we can have a never ending list of negative thoughts that don’t propel us outward, but keep us cringing inside.What if, those dots we’re trying to connect keep on moving? So..here come those negative thoughts. “Is it too late? Is the opportunity lost? Should I just give in and give up? After all, it’s a young person’s world out there. I’m really good at what I do and love to speak on the topic but how do I get all that I know out of my head and into people’s hearts and minds? Am I just going to retire and let all that I have to say retire with me? And there’s so many things I don’t know how to do, so it just doesn’t seem worth it.” Friend, if you’re thinking this, let me just say, most definitely, there IS a way. You can have 100% certainty that whatever it is you know and love to talk about, can get out and into the world…the WHOLE world. You can have an online personal brand business or a Podcast.  Now, don’t just dismiss this and zip on to the next LI post. Stick with me on this. Whatever it is that you’re talking yourself out of, needs to stop. Right now. But YOU have to be the one to stop it. Only you. Take that broken record, negative speaking soundtrack that keeps playing in your head and turn it off. It’s time to start playing another song with a better message. Did you write a book but find that it didn’t get into enough hands and you’d like to get your message out into the world in a different way? Or maybe you didn’t have time to write that book, but you know enough to write it in an E-book instead. Whatever it is that you don’t know, you can either learn some things or have someone else do it for you. Whoever told you that you can’t learn what you need to learn, or do what you want to do, is probably not accomplishing much themselves. Am I right? So what is that one things that you’re great at? What is that one thing that defines you? What is that one thing that you keep thinking about even when you have the opportunity to think about so many other things? Does something in the world really bother you and you’d like to help make a change? Are you looking around and telling yourself that the book you wrote didn’t get into enough hands and you’d like so many more people to hear it? Friend, many, many people are starting their one personal brand business or Podcast and getting their message heard or seen around the world. Every day. Every day! And if you’re looking for encouragement from family and friends, you might get it, but in talking to a bunch of people about this, I’ve found that your biggest supporters are strangers and the biggest critics you’ll have are the people closest to you.Now, don’t get me wrong, my wife loves me and doesn’t criticize me but when it comes to family and friends in general, there will be many people that just don’t understand you or believe in you. So…if you have a dream. If you have a hope of doing something or starting something or building a business…whatever it is, don’t give up on yourself.  It’s not too late. It never is. So…what’s that one thing that you’re good at? Why am I asking about just one thing? Because if you do step out and start something…whether it’s a business or a Podcast, when people want to know what you’re about, they’ll want to know that whatever you’re talking about…whatever it is…that you’re an expert in that one thing. And when you decide on that one thing, it doesn’t mean that you’re stuck in that rut of being a Johnny one note for the rest of your life. It just means that for now, you have an identity with that one thing and when you’ve built that up to the point of getting business and recognition, you can expand your identity and reputation into other areas that you’ve already been doing for quite some time anyway. Look, take my business coach, Mike Kim. He’s a personal brand expert. And he wrote a best selling book ‘You Are the Brand’. And he’s also an expert in a bunch of other things. But he wants to be known for just one thing. He can throw in the other things like writing copy or marketing, things like that when he wants to, but his image…his ‘brand’ is in the personal brand space. And now, he has mastermind groups and courses that he sells. His book is a best seller, he has high ticket speaking gigs that he does. But he didn’t start out that way. He started when he had a job in NYC and created a blog. And just wrote for a year. Then he started a Podcast and started talking about starting an online business. Then he started to talk about branding and the other things that he knows about. And eventually, the niche that he found…the demand that he saw the need for and what people were most interested in, was the personal branding. The ‘how to create an image for yourself that makes an impact’. That’s what personal branding is all about. What’s that ONE thing that you do?If you spend any time on LinkedIn, you’ll see that in the majority of the profiles you’ll see one, maybe two things that they want to be known for. Now, can these people do more than one or two things? I’m sure they can. But what do you want to be known for? What do you want people to introduce you as?A speaker? An author? A political expert? A marketing expert? A copywriter? A non profit builder?The choice is yours. The future identity that you choose is waiting for you.What do you need to do to have it?Do you need to learn some other things so you’ll get to have that expert identity that you want? Do you need some coaching from someone that can help you through this journey to have an online business or Podcast?There’s plenty of people out there willing to help you through this.I am. If you’d like to talk about this, I’ll set aside some free time for us to talk.You can book a time slot on my online calendar if you’d like. Just go to <a href="http://tomclairmont.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">tomclairmont.com</a>.Don’t think that there’s not enough time. Don’t think that you don’t have the opportunity. You do.Let’s get started.   Do you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Webinar video series: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call through Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/</a>We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast/podcast-episode-feedback/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode Rating</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 86: What's the one thing you do well?

Podcasts seem to be everywhere. Right? They’re being played in the subway, in cafes, in the gym, wherever you go. And you can listen to them everywhere, whenever you want.I’ve been listening to them for about 15 years… back when they just started. Back when they weren’t even called podcasts but ‘audioblogs’. There was a small business show out of the UK that I would download to the computer and transfer to my mp3 player so I could listen as I walk around.So I go way back with listening to a lot of different type shows. Educational, entertainment, small business, corporate management, non profit management shows… the list goes on and on.And I’ve seen a lot of them come and go over the years. But recently, it seems that more of them are coming and going. A lot of people are starting podcasts and a lot of people are abandoning them as well.So, before you do start your own show and invest your valuable time and resources in, perhaps the wrong medium for you, think about why maybe you shouldn’t start a podcast.According to survey findings shared by Edison Research, as many as 50% of US households are fans of podcasts. They’re listening to podcasts of different genres, with comedy, education, and news being the most popular ones.Podcasting has a certain glamour to it, and many people think about starting a show so they can be part of a smaller, elite group. Or maybe they just want to call themselves a Podcast host because they like the sound of it.But with 50% of US households listening to Podcasts, those numbers make podcasting very attractive, but if you are someone who is toying with the idea of starting a podcast just because of such numbers, you need to sit down and think through things.While the huge number of listeners make podcasts look very attractive, let me tell you that many shows don’t grab the attention of listeners.Worse, there are many dead podcasts too – as podcasters abandoned them in between.Less than 50% of podcasts are active, meaning only half of shows had a new episode published this year.And that’s why you just shouldn’t start a podcast if you are not sure about certain things that I will discuss in this episode.So if podcasting is your plans, make sure you aren’t doing it for any of these wrong reasons, or otherwise, your podcast would die a quick death and you’d be wasting a lot of time and effort, for nothing.All about youFriends, people like to listen to podcasts for 3 reasons.·      Education·      Entertainment·      InspirationThey don’t want to listen to you going on and on about you. Podcasting shouldn’t be to stroke your ego or just be a way of having an audio resume.You’re not uniqueThe best shows are the ones that stand out. They’re interesting. They’re engaging. They’re worth the time you’re going to spend listening.If you can’t figure out a way to stand out, then this isn’t for you. If your personality is bland, think twice…maybe three times about doing a podcast. You thought it would be easyLook, I get it. You’re confident and that’s great. You can learn a lot of things and I’m sure you can learn how to create a good podcast. But don’t think that just because a lot of other people are doing it that automatically, it makes it easy. Coming up with content that’s engaging every week after doing 5- or 60 episodes gets more and more challenging each week.Creating the time to come up with this content is just as challenging. So if you thought it was going to be easy, then think again.You have no plans on promoting the ShowIf you barely have time to come up with the topics for each episode and create the content, and you don’t set aside time to promote the show or the guests, then you’re going to run out of steam very quickly. If you’re going to do this podcast thing, then do it right.Do you want to have more than 10 downloads every day? Do you want to grow the show and have others recommending it and promoting it because you’ve promoted it? Then it’ll take some time on social media every week, multiple times each week. You don’t personally listen to podcastsIf you’re personally not listening to other podcasts and you’re not a fan of podcasts, then it’ll eventually come out in your personality, your content and in your promotion..or lack of it.Hey, if you’re into sports, and you have a favorite team, then how much do you watch their games? How much do you get into the stats and the nitty gritty details of the sport? You’re a huge fan of the team, so you’re investing your time and energy into being excited about them.Well, if you’re not personally invested in learning and growing in the podcast community, then don’t bother.You’re not able to be consistentOne episode every now and then will throw off the rhythm that the listeners are used to. Not having a schedule that you follow or to have them expect won’t draw serious fans of your show.Coming out with a new episode once a month, once a week, twice a week, every day… pick one. And stick to it. People need to know that you’re serious about the show before they’ll be serious about it.You love to hear yourself speakI know a couple of guys that love to hear themselves talk. They just keep going and it’s hard to even make a little comment or inject something. If this is you, and podcasting is just a way to feed your appetite to hear your own voice, then try something else. Don’t bore any potential listeners with rambling on and on about…well, it doesn’t matter what. If this is again, all about you, then it’s not for you.You’re expecting too muchNow, it’s reasonable to have expectations about doing a podcast and the benefits of having a quality show, but  ·      Fame·      Fortune·      Recognition·      Downloads·      FunThese things happen with very successful Shows that can generate a lot of income through sponsorship and affiliate sales. Yes, it can happen, but don’t get your hopes up within the first 5 years or so.You didn’t think it throughSo…you started doing a few episodes and you found that it wasn’t really what you expected. You told a bunch of people that you were going to do it, you invested quite a bit of money in equipment or coaching…or even production of the show.And now that you’re in the middle of it all, and have made this commitment, you’re wondering if you really should have started this in the first place.All that time. All that money. All the hype you’ve done. Now you’re committed and doing it out of obligation, not for the love of doing it.You don’t have the timeHey, busy people are the ones that get the most done, right? You figured out a way to squeeze in other things and doing a podcast is something that’s in the business plan so now you need to just ‘figure it out’ and get it done.Well, we all know that when you say yes to something, you’re saying no to something else, right? Or are you just saying yes to one more thing and not saying no to something?If you really don’t have the time, then you’re going to realize very quickly that your show will suffer in one way or another.Friends, this takes time. Quality time. Coming up with original content and putting in the effort to be engaging, educational, inspirational or entertaining, takes time.You don’t know why you’re doing it. Everybody else is.Hey, are you the type of person that does TikTok videos because everyone else is? Or are you on YouTube for the same reason? Are you looking back and finding that you’re just in this pattern of trying to keep up with everyone else and do what they do?Because if that’s the case, then it’ll show in the type of content that you come up with. It’ll show in your voice when you’re recording each episode.If you’re doing a podcast and you don’t know what the plan is and why you’re doing it, then rethink this whole endeavor.You don’t have a clear messageIf your Show doesn’t have a clear way of communicating a specific message..a narrow niche about…anything, then you’ll be taking your listeners down a wandering path to nowhere. If one day your episode is about parenting and then the next one is about how you like to repair your car, you won’t be able to establish a listener base that will be engaged with your content.As John Nemo, a content marketing expert says…’The riches are in the niches.’Have your message be clear and narrow. Have your content be about one main topic that you can break down into a lot of different sub topics.Give the listener, in advance, a clear understanding of what the show is about, even before they listen.This is what I did in this Shows description on the hosting provider, RedCircle.These are the topics I cover in the Show description:·      Starting a business with a solid plan·      Who is this Podcast for?·      What will you hear?·      About the Host·      Resources to help you succeed With this detailed Show description, the potential listener will know, in advance, what they can expect to hear and who they’re hearing it from.You don’t have a target audiencePart of the basic requirements for having a successful Podcast is knowing what you’re going to say, how you’re going to say it and who you’re going to say it to.Remember what I said before when I quoted the content marketing expert, John Nemo? The riches are in the niches.You must know who you’re talking to. You can’t speak to everyone and think that your message to the world will sink in and resonate with everyone.Different people groups have different needs and expectations. Sports enthusiasts are looking for specific content. Business owners are looking for specific content. Coaches and Consultants are looking for content to help them in their realm. Even men and women have different needs and expectations.But don’t forget the age groups and how that affects your message as well.The 30-40 age group will have different perspectives than the +40 audience.This needs to be figured out in advance. If you don’t… or can’t, then don’t do a Podcast until you do have this ironed out.You don’t have a quality micI understand small budgets. I really do. I run my business on a small budget. But some things you just can’t skimp on and think that you’ll just record your audio from you computer mic.If you expect people to plug your message into their ears and pay attention and be engaged, then you’ll need to have a certain level of audio quality that keeps them engaged.A room with an echo, tinny audio or not being able to hear you clearly will be distracting and give people a reason to not tune in. Don’t give people a reason. Do this the right way. If you can’t afford to buy a $130 mic just yet, then wait to do this until you can afford it.Quality audio is a must.Well, friends, I normally spend a lot of time talking about how to help you start your own Podcast, but I thought it was necessary to help you understand all that’s involved with taking on this venture.When I have people reaching out to me for a coaching call on IF they should start their own Show, I go over these things so they’re better informed. I just don’t want to take their money, help them get their Show up and running and leave them stunned a few weeks into it, wondering why they did this in the first place.It’s just not fair to them, the audience or the Podcast community to have one more failed Podcast hanging out in the search results, taking up valuable search space for people that are genuinely looking for a good Podcast to listen to. So I hope this helps. Again, I normally like to encourage people to take action toward these types of things…and again, starting a Podcast is a great way to grow your business, or even have the Podcast AS the business…but you have to do it right.There is a right and a wrong way to do this.If, after listening to me taking a full episode to talk you out of it, you still want to have your own Show, I’d be glad to help. You can book a free discovery call or shoot me an email at tom@tomclairmont.comDo you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you 'Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'.FREE Webinar video series: Starting a PodcastNeed help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call through Tom's Online CalendarCheck out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: www.tomclairmont.comFree Resources: www.tomclairmont.com/resourcesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: Episode RatingSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Podcasts seem to be everywhere. Right? They’re being played in the subway, in cafes, in the gym, wherever you go. And you can listen to them everywhere, whenever you want.I’ve been listening to them for about 15 years… back when they just started. Back when they weren’t even called podcasts but ‘audioblogs’. There was a small business show out of the UK that I would download to the computer and transfer to my mp3 player so I could listen as I walk around.So I go way back with listening to a lot of different type shows. Educational, entertainment, small business, corporate management, non profit management shows… the list goes on and on.And I’ve seen a lot of them come and go over the years. But recently, it seems that more of them are coming and going. A lot of people are starting podcasts and a lot of people are abandoning them as well.So, before you do start your own show and invest your valuable time and resources in, perhaps the wrong medium for you, think about why maybe you shouldn’t start a podcast.According to survey findings shared by Edison Research, as many as 50% of US households are fans of podcasts. They’re listening to podcasts of different genres, with comedy, education, and news being the most popular ones.Podcasting has a certain glamour to it, and many people think about starting a show so they can be part of a smaller, elite group. Or maybe they just want to call themselves a Podcast host because they like the sound of it.But with 50% of US households listening to Podcasts, those numbers make podcasting very attractive, but if you are someone who is toying with the idea of starting a podcast just because of such numbers, you need to sit down and think through things.While the huge number of listeners make podcasts look very attractive, let me tell you that many shows don’t grab the attention of listeners.Worse, there are many dead podcasts too – as podcasters abandoned them in between.Less than 50% of podcasts are active, meaning only half of shows had a new episode published this year.And that’s why you just shouldn’t start a podcast if you are not sure about certain things that I will discuss in this episode.So if podcasting is your plans, make sure you aren’t doing it for any of these wrong reasons, or otherwise, your podcast would die a quick death and you’d be wasting a lot of time and effort, for nothing.All about youFriends, people like to listen to podcasts for 3 reasons.·      Education·      Entertainment·      InspirationThey don’t want to listen to you going on and on about you. Podcasting shouldn’t be to stroke your ego or just be a way of having an audio resume.You’re not uniqueThe best shows are the ones that stand out. They’re interesting. They’re engaging. They’re worth the time you’re going to spend listening.If you can’t figure out a way to stand out, then this isn’t for you. If your personality is bland, think twice…maybe three times about doing a podcast. You thought it would be easyLook, I get it. You’re confident and that’s great. You can learn a lot of things and I’m sure you can learn how to create a good podcast. But don’t think that just because a lot of other people are doing it that automatically, it makes it easy. Coming up with content that’s engaging every week after doing 5- or 60 episodes gets more and more challenging each week.Creating the time to come up with this content is just as challenging. So if you thought it was going to be easy, then think again.You have no plans on promoting the ShowIf you barely have time to come up with the topics for each episode and create the content, and you don’t set aside time to promote the show or the guests, then you’re going to run out of steam very quickly. If you’re going to do this podcast thing, then do it right.Do you want to have more than 10 downloads every day? Do you want to grow the show and have others recommending it and promoting it because you’ve promoted it? Then it’ll take some time on social media every week, multiple times each week. You don’t personally listen to podcastsIf you’re personally not listening to other podcasts and you’re not a fan of podcasts, then it’ll eventually come out in your personality, your content and in your promotion..or lack of it.Hey, if you’re into sports, and you have a favorite team, then how much do you watch their games? How much do you get into the stats and the nitty gritty details of the sport? You’re a huge fan of the team, so you’re investing your time and energy into being excited about them.Well, if you’re not personally invested in learning and growing in the podcast community, then don’t bother.You’re not able to be consistentOne episode every now and then will throw off the rhythm that the listeners are used to. Not having a schedule that you follow or to have them expect won’t draw serious fans of your show.Coming out with a new episode once a month, once a week, twice a week, every day… pick one. And stick to it. People need to know that you’re serious about the show before they’ll be serious about it.You love to hear yourself speakI know a couple of guys that love to hear themselves talk. They just keep going and it’s hard to even make a little comment or inject something. If this is you, and podcasting is just a way to feed your appetite to hear your own voice, then try something else. Don’t bore any potential listeners with rambling on and on about…well, it doesn’t matter what. If this is again, all about you, then it’s not for you.You’re expecting too muchNow, it’s reasonable to have expectations about doing a podcast and the benefits of having a quality show, but ·      Fame·      Fortune·      Recognition·      Downloads·      FunThese things happen with very successful Shows that can generate a lot of income through sponsorship and affiliate sales. Yes, it can happen, but don’t get your hopes up within the first 5 years or so.You didn’t think it throughSo…you started doing a few episodes and you found that it wasn’t really what you expected. You told a bunch of people that you were going to do it, you invested quite a bit of money in equipment or coaching…or even production of the show.And now that you’re in the middle of it all, and have made this commitment, you’re wondering if you really should have started this in the first place.All that time. All that money. All the hype you’ve done. Now you’re committed and doing it out of obligation, not for the love of doing it.You don’t have the timeHey, busy people are the ones that get the most done, right? You figured out a way to squeeze in other things and doing a podcast is something that’s in the business plan so now you need to just ‘figure it out’ and get it done.Well, we all know that when you say yes to something, you’re saying no to something else, right? Or are you just saying yes to one more thing and not saying no to something?If you really don’t have the time, then you’re going to realize very quickly that your show will suffer in one way or another.Friends, this takes time. Quality time. Coming up with original content and putting in the effort to be engaging, educational, inspirational or entertaining, takes time.You don’t know why you’re doing it. Everybody else is.Hey, are you the type of person that does TikTok videos because everyone else is? Or are you on YouTube for the same reason? Are you looking back and finding that you’re just in this pattern of trying to keep up with everyone else and do what they do?Because if that’s the case, then it’ll show in the type of content that you come up with. It’ll show in your voice when you’re recording each episode.If you’re doing a podcast and you don’t know what the plan is and why you’re doing it, then rethink this whole endeavor.You don’t have a clear messageIf your Show doesn’t have a clear way of communicating a specific message..a narrow niche about…anything, then you’ll be taking your listeners down a wandering path to nowhere. If one day your episode is about parenting and then the next one is about how you like to repair your car, you won’t be able to establish a listener base that will be engaged with your content.As John Nemo, a content marketing expert says…’The riches are in the niches.’Have your message be clear and narrow. Have your content be about one main topic that you can break down into a lot of different sub topics.Give the listener, in advance, a clear understanding of what the show is about, even before they listen.This is what I did in this Shows description on the hosting provider, RedCircle.These are the topics I cover in the Show description:·      Starting a business with a solid plan·      Who is this Podcast for?·      What will you hear?·      About the Host·      Resources to help you succeed With this detailed Show description, the potential listener will know, in advance, what they can expect to hear and who they’re hearing it from.You don’t have a target audiencePart of the basic requirements for having a successful Podcast is knowing what you’re going to say, how you’re going to say it and who you’re going to say it to.Remember what I said before when I quoted the content marketing expert, John Nemo? The riches are in the niches.You must know who you’re talking to. You can’t speak to everyone and think that your message to the world will sink in and resonate with everyone.Different people groups have different needs and expectations. Sports enthusiasts are looking for specific content. Business owners are looking for specific content. Coaches and Consultants are looking for content to help them in their realm. Even men and women have different needs and expectations.But don’t forget the age groups and how that affects your message as well.The 30-40 age group will have different perspectives than the +40 audience.This needs to be figured out in advance. If you don’t… or can’t, then don’t do a Podcast until you do have this ironed out.You don’t have a quality micI understand small budgets. I really do. I run my business on a small budget. But some things you just can’t skimp on and think that you’ll just record your audio from you computer mic.If you expect people to plug your message into their ears and pay attention and be engaged, then you’ll need to have a certain level of audio quality that keeps them engaged.A room with an echo, tinny audio or not being able to hear you clearly will be distracting and give people a reason to not tune in. Don’t give people a reason. Do this the right way. If you can’t afford to buy a $130 mic just yet, then wait to do this until you can afford it.Quality audio is a must.Well, friends, I normally spend a lot of time talking about how to help you start your own Podcast, but I thought it was necessary to help you understand all that’s involved with taking on this venture.When I have people reaching out to me for a coaching call on IF they should start their own Show, I go over these things so they’re better informed. I just don’t want to take their money, help them get their Show up and running and leave them stunned a few weeks into it, wondering why they did this in the first place.It’s just not fair to them, the audience or the Podcast community to have one more failed Podcast hanging out in the search results, taking up valuable search space for people that are genuinely looking for a good Podcast to listen to. So I hope this helps. Again, I normally like to encourage people to take action toward these types of things…and again, starting a Podcast is a great way to grow your business, or even have the Podcast AS the business…but you have to do it right.There is a right and a wrong way to do this.If, after listening to me taking a full episode to talk you out of it, you still want to have your own Show, I’d be glad to help. You can book a free discovery call or shoot me an email at tom@tomclairmont.comDo you want to start your own Podcast? Download the FREE E-book I have for you '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/how-to-start-a-podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast Mini-Course'</a>.FREE Webinar video series: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast-launch-webinar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Starting a Podcast</a>Need help getting your online business or Podcast started? Book a call through Tom's <a href="https://calendly.com/tomclairmont/30min" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Online Calendar</a>Check out my FREE, <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">E-book of the Month Club</a> that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.Website: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com</a>Free Resources: <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/resources" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/resources</a>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasclairmont/</a>We'd love to hear from you about this episode! Click on this link to rate the episode or leave a comment and get a free gift: <a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/podcast/podcast-episode-feedback/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode Rating</a>Support this podcast at — <a href="https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content" rel="payment nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/small-biz-essentials/exclusive-content</a> Advertising Inquiries: <a href="https://redcircle.com/brands" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://redcircle.com/brands</a>

Ep. 85: Why You Shouldn’t Start a Podcast

Starting a business with a solid plan is essential for success in today's competitive world. With so many options for everyone to choose from, how will you stand out above the crowd and rise above the noise?<h3>What will be your plan for success?</h3>Listen for a fresh perspective from someone that knows what the struggles are and how to overcome them.Listen for some motivation and a 'mindset reset' to help you keep moving forward and to have a perspective of expecting success.<h3>Who Is This Podcast For?</h3>If you are thinking about starting, planning or launching a business, but either don't know where to start, need some encouragement or help with the startup process, then you will enjoy this podcast.Are you planning a second act for your life because of retirement or pending retirement? The small business world is very different than it used to be.Are you in the middle of a later in life pivot and you need to save a lot of time with your new business launch? Well, listen in and pick the episodes that will help you the most.<h3>What Will You Hear?</h3>We will go over the essential tips and tools you will need to pivot through what are defined as the Dream / Plan / Launch process, which will help you launch your personal brand business from the ground up.We'll go over topics relating to the '7 Basic Building Blocks of An Online Personal Brand Business':<ol><li>Vision</li><li>Website</li><li>Product/Service</li><li>Marketing</li><li>Email List</li><li>Branding</li><li>Copywriting</li><li>Mindset Reset</li></ol> I also added content on how you can start your own Podcast and offer a free E-book for you if you want to do it yourself (link below).Listen in to the inspiring stories from others that took a bold step out of their comfort zone to pursue their dream of having their own business.<h3>About the Host</h3>Podcast host, Tom Clairmont has been a small business owner for the past 20 years in the United States and has a special focus on providing step by step personal brand, small business startup coaching, for those that are looking to become a full time or part time entrepreneur. Especially to those making that later in life shift.<h3> </h3><h3>Personal Brand Business Startup e-Books</h3> Need to really speed up the startup process? You can download some <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/store" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">e-Books</a> as well that cover a variety of relevant and helpful small business startup topics. Join the growing and very popular '<a href="https://www.tomclairmont.com/e-book-of-the-month-club/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">e-Book of the Month Club</a>' to get FREE small business-related, jam-packed e-Books, all from Tom's personal library. You can only get these free by joining the Club! You'll save hundreds of dollars, overall.<h3> </h3><h3>Want to Start a Podcast?</h3> Do you like this Podcast and want to start your own? Download the FREE '<a href="https://www.diypodcastlaunch.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Podcast Startup Mini-Course</a>'. Some of the topics include:• Picking a Niche Market• Logo Details• Platform Preferences• Distribution Tactics• Music Selection• Content Creation• Guests and Interviews• Necessary Equipment• Intro/Midroll/Outro Messages• Audio: Recording/Editing• Show Notes• Webpage• Promotion• Time Commitment This mini-course will certainly speed up the Podcast launch process for you by at least 6 months as opposed to relying on self help videos on social media. This Podcast is heard all around the world, and is popular in the Americas/Europe/Asia and Australia. Can you have a successful Podcast as well? Of course you can. If I can do it, then so can you!If you'd like some 1:1 or group coaching on how to start your own personal brand business or Podcast more efficiently and faster, you can sign up for an open time slot (or get on the waiting list) at <a href="http://www.tomclairmont.com/coaching" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.tomclairmont.com/coaching</a>

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