The Solopreneur Hour Podcast with Michael O'Neal

Do you think inventors are born or can any solopreneur come up with a new idea? Our guest on today’s show says anyone can do it. And he would know, his name is Stephen Key and he’s been the force behind such smash hits as Teddy Ruxpin and Laser-tag, among many other inventions and creations you probably use every day. Stephen is also a best-selling author and a regular columnist with Inc. Magazine and Entrepreneur. Today we talk about his background, how to patent your idea and whether or not companies really will steal your concept. All of that and much more on episode 652 of The Solopreneur Hour. More About This Show Stephen Key first got into his line of work when he left college early. He believed he wasn’t hirable and no company would want him so he started making things and selling them on street corners and fairs. It took a little while before he had any success at it, but that didn’t matter nearly as much to him as the fun he had in the process. He pursued that path until the age of 27. At that time he was living out of his car, until he met a woman who took him in in exchange for childcare for her daughter. She saw Stephen’s talent for making things and asked him to make her daughter a teddy bear. With some cajoling, he did. She was so impressed by his creation she encouraged him to go to San Francisco and work with a company called Dakin Toys. He found them, discovered their stuffed animal maker had left so he asked to take her spot. They gave him material and said come back with a golden retriever stuffed animal prototype. Two weeks later he did and they paid him for it, then said they wanted 25 more. Stephen countered, agreeing to take on the project but only at double their original agreement. They agreed and he was in business! More About This Show: How many Teddy Ruxpins were sold? Did he lie to get his first job? What is the Mix and Match game, and how does it apply to your business? What is a PPA and why should you care? His most profitable idea wasn’t even his idea: true or false? And SO much more! Not long after he saw a prototype for Teddy Ruxpin in the newspaper and saw what a disaster it was. He found the company, and told them they needed to hire him to fix it. They agreed and offered him a full-time job. Though he debated about working for someone else on a full-time basis, he eventually agreed and became a part of Worlds of Wonder. He went on to be a part of the team that brought the world Teddy Ruxpin and Laser-tag. He also met his wife while working there. Eventually they left the company and moved to a small town in California. She took a job as the Vice-President of Marketing for Gallo Wines, and he wasn’t working. She encouraged him to start his company. Soon one of his ideas was a hit, and he was off to the races! Today Stephen holds over 30 patents and has learned a tremendous amount in his time both working with Worlds of Wonder and on his own. With Worlds of Wonder he discovered you don’t have to play by anyone’s rules, you can make your own as long as you want something bad enough. And he has certainly wanted many things badly enough along the way. For all of those patents and successes he’s had, he’s also had ample rejections. He says he can wallpaper his home office with rejection letters! But that doesn’t deter him. In fact, it spurs him on. He admits to taking them all personally, but each rejection drives him to find out why his idea wasn’t accepted, and to start again. He knows he’s only as good as the products he’s got out there and he wants to continue to prove himself. All of those are valuable lessons for us as solopreneurs: make your own rules, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever wonder how those people speaking on movie trailers, audio books and commercials get their work? Here to tell us the secrets of the voiceover world is the lovely and talented, Anna Vocino. Anna’s making her second appearance on the show, you can listen to her maiden voyage here. In episode 121, our chit-chat covers how to’s on everything from the best recording equipment to setting up an at-home studio. If you’re a podcaster, an interviewee or have an interest in the finer points of audio creation, this is YOUR show! More About This Show Anna has a long history in the performance world and today is a highly sought after voiceover artist who also co-hosts The Angriest Trainer podcast with Vinnie Tortorich. And if all that wasn’t enough to keep her super busy, she’s also writing a book about a nutritional lifestyle with no sugars and no grains. Whether she has her voiceover or podcast cap on, Anna is the queen of audio. She knows the ins and outs of podcasting and voiceovers on everything from proper set up and gear to creating the ideal recording booth at home. You’ll also discover things like: * What are the four sections of my Life After Eight Weeks (Now the Art of The Interview) podcasting/livestreaming course? * Her tips on how to get into professional voiceovers. * To co-host or not to co-host? How to choose for yourself and your podcast. * When and how to get an agent? * How to double or triple your reading speed. Whether working for the United States Postal Service or The Young & The Restless, Anna has learned valuable lessons along the way. She has found how to recognize your best supporters and your strongest advocates and how to work with people who get you & what you’re out to accomplish, no matter what business you are in. These are all lessons you can benefit from, whatever your field. Because we’re both in the podcasting world and have such a strong commitment to the technical side of good audio, we go into great detail on the best audio equipment to use and how to use it so you sound as professional in your home studio as any other professional broadcaster out there today. Anna was generous enough to share her wisdom in this show; I hope you walk away knowing the nitty-gritty on the voiceover world and the finer points of audio equipment. After you listen, thank Anna for being on the show! Share in the comments below and send a shout out on Twitter. Episode Resources Anna’s personal site Anna’s voiceover site Solopreneur Hour Complete Podcast package Solopreneur Hour Deluxe Podcast package Vocal Booth To Go The Cerrone Show In A World Spritz Inc SoloLab: A Unique Mastermind Darren Roebuck Voicebank Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ever notice how the most successful people also DO the most with their days? Hugh Culver is no exception. (2017 Note: Be sure to check out Hugh’s new brand which is “Business of Speaking” on https://hughculver.com) He spent 18 years growing a successful coaching, speaking and consulting business, Hugh is also a seminar leader and author. While he was racking up those achievements, he has also competed in 4 Ironmans, 10 marathons and won the world’s longest river race. Clearly he has a competitor’s blood in his veins. Now he has created yet another successful endeavor out of helping people become successful coaches, speakers, consultants, leaders and authors – only he helps them do it better and faster than he did. As one of nine children, Hugh became an entrepreneur from the age of 15. He has made millions and has made every mistake anyone could make along the way. In episode 647 he shares golden nuggets from his journey: * Micro-outsourcing: what is it, how do you do it and how will it help you be more successful? * His lessons from Ironman competitions * The trick to relaxing your busy solopreneur mind * The one question to ask yourself every day as a solopreneur that will move you forward. * Hugh offers his thoughts on how to make the best decisions with your money. * The key to starting a viable business, whatever your skill set and whatever your industry. There were so many great nuggets of gold on being productive, creative and how to get the most out of each day as a solopreneur. When you listen to this show, it’s easy to hear how and why Hugh has achieved so much in his lifetime. Listen in to hear his passion, conviction and lifelong wisdom. There’s plenty of great takeaways in the Evernote Moment and throughout the show, so enjoy! And after you’ve listened and loved what you heard, let Hugh know on Twitter and Facebook! Twitter – Click to Tweet Hugh! Facebook Evernote moment: Hugh’s suggestions for the top 4 ways to really getting things done: * Take advantage of the mornings. * Time boundaries. Make yourself strategically unavailable for a portion of your day. * Blocking. Block off sections of your day for various tasks and use multiple Google calendars to do so. * Friday 15: Take 15 minutes on Friday and look at your list of what you’re doing and check your progress. Find out what worked, what didn’t work and what is holding you back. Look for opportunities to micro-outsource and then do it. Finally, review and revise for next week.  Resources from this episode: Experts Enterprise Eric Fisher from Beyond the To Do List Bufferapp.com Buffer blog focusatwill.com asana.com teespring.com/solohourshirt SoloLab: A Unique Kind of Mastermind Advanced Speaker Academy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Free Coaching (Saturday, kinda)  from The Solopreneur Hour! If you’re new and don’t know how this works here goes: once a week I ask you to send me your questions and I answer them on Friday. If you want to be part of the fun for next week’s Q&A show join us in the Facebook group here or grab my free course called CONFERENCETOPIA.  Look for my post on Thursdays, write your question in the comments or respond to my weekly email, then listen in to the show on Friday! Thanks to every one of you for tuning in on a regular basis. Get your OWN ad on The Solopreneur Hour! See how to get your OWN Solopreneur Hour ad right here: https://solohouradvertising.com   Episode Resources The Art of The Interview Course Social Media Ninja Tactics The Solopreneur Hour on Facebook Want coaching with me? I Want SoloLab! The Solopreneur Hour on Twitter Proudly Unemployable, the Facebook group Leave a review of the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sitting on a rooftop deck in Brisbane Australia, Foundr Founder (I couldn’t resist) Nathan Chan and I sit down for a chat about listening to your customers, providing “value”, transitioning Foundr from digital to hard copy, and of course, what’s working RIGHT NOW to grow your Instagram account.  (btw…he has over a million followers on IG) https://foundr.com/freemagazine Foundr on Instagram Hostgator.com “solo50” at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Free Coaching Friday from The Solopreneur Hour! If you’re new and don’t know how this works here goes: once a week I ask you to send me your questions and I answer them on Friday. If you want to be part of the fun for next week’s Q&A show join us in the Facebook group here or grab my free course called CONFERENCETOPIA.  Look for my post on Thursdays, write your question in the comments or respond to my weekly email, then listen in to the show on Friday! Thanks to every one of you for tuning in on a regular basis. Get your OWN ad on The Solopreneur Hour! See how to get your OWN Solopreneur Hour ad right here: https://solohouradvertising.com   Episode Resources The Art of The Interview Course Social Media Ninja Tactics The Solopreneur Hour on Facebook Want coaching with me? I Want SoloLab! The Solopreneur Hour on Twitter Proudly Unemployable, the Facebook group Leave a review of the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I met James Schramko when we both spoke at Tropical Think Tank (Chris Ducker’s Event) in May of 2015.  James is a quiet dude, but has an almost childlike optimism about him.  He loves to surf, he loves his family, and he loves his time freedom.  Today we get to explore not only his journey to superfastbusiness.com, but we really lay down some groundwork for all of us to follow in his footsteps. Mike and James Discuss: * 10:05 Making time * 15:34 Patience and discipline * 25:05 Removing the jokers * 32:20 Post-it note system – Task transfer * 40:59 The Lunatic Millionaire * 47:50 My contrarian friend * 55:06 Full Tonk – Tulip Mania * 59:35 Speaking and Binary decision-making  “Doing the right things is more important than doing things right” – Peter Drucker James Schramko is the founder of the SuperFastBusiness.com a community for online business owners that offer support from other experienced business owners that have been through the same struggles as you. James discovered a lot of business strategies from his twenty-year career mastering small, medium and large ‘real’ business working for companies including Mercedes-Benz, Vodafone, and General Motors. Also in debt collection, Managing the sales, handling customer service. He got involved with different things where he realized that all of these have one thing in common. That is, building repeat referral customers are easier than looking for new clients. During the recession in the early 90’s, James landed a job in debt collection. Debt collection involves talking to people over the phone and requesting them to settle their bills. Compared to reverse sales, where they already have the products and services, and now, they are obliged to pay. That said, it’s harder to get the money because of this, and he has to work double time and discover ways on how to deal with these people even under pressure. This gave him the idea that he should be trying to help these people as well. In this kind of job, James learned that he has to partner with these people and make preparations in a way where he’d build trust to avoid the issue from getting worse, because if they fail to make payments, bad things will happen. So, it’s critical to ensure that you’re on the identical side with your customers and work with each other to be able to fix the problem. You would be a problem-solving machine in this industry. Eventually, James realized that there’re some issues with having that kind of job, especially for those who has to support a family; just like him. He didn’t like the idea of earning from one person, the idea of selling only a single product. He was running out of enthusiasm, and his earnings felt capped because, despite the fact that he was proficient at this and the largest paid person in his team. Benchmarking became one of his favorite techniques, and this inspired him to step out of his comfort zone. He started trying a little business before he moved to SFB. He tried everything from trading vanity license plates and marketing. When he started with his online gig, he was also the general manager of Mercedes-Benz during the day and an online marketer by night. His work involves commanding a large team of employees and it was a little difficult for him to focus on his “Internet” job. So, he had to spend several hours doing research and compiling every information that could help him. After discovering what worked, he began to succeed rapidly. At the start of his online career, he was making around $300,000 annually in his day job, and with his online business, he noticed that his income kept on adding within a couple of years. It went up to $400,000 and $450,000. After fully quitting his day job, he generated more than $100, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Free Coaching Friday from The Solopreneur Hour! If you’re new and don’t know how this works here goes: once a week I ask you to send me your questions and I answer them on Friday. If you want to be part of the fun for next week’s Q&A show join us in the Facebook group here or grab my free course called CONFERENCETOPIA.  Look for my post on Thursdays, write your question in the comments or respond to my weekly email, then listen in to the show on Friday! Thanks to every one of you for tuning in on a regular basis. Get your OWN ad on The Solopreneur Hour! See how to get your OWN Solopreneur Hour ad right here: https://solohouradvertising.com   Episode Resources The Art of The Interview Course Social Media Ninja Tactics The Solopreneur Hour on Facebook Want coaching with me? I Want SoloLab! The Solopreneur Hour on Twitter Proudly Unemployable, the Facebook group Leave a review of the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I had a chance to sit down in Temecula CA with “The King of The Skateparks” himself, Eddie Fiola.  BMX champion turned Hollywood Stuntman, Eddie took his talent for riding (and falling) to the big screen on such movies as The Hangover, Independence Day, The Italian Job, Indiana Jones, and more. In this episode, not only does Eddie talk about the beginning days of BMX, but what his transition was like to Hollywood, the origin of the EF Proformer Project (and maybe a special announcement….) and one of my favorite points:  Working on new tricks, or doing tricks you can do 100% of the time. I speak to that point at the beginning of the episode. Support Your Fellow Solopreneurs Get a KILLER website for your Solopreneur or Small Biz from Derek Steinmetz at Small Biz Website Pro.  Visit https://smallbizwebsitepro.com/solohour for “The Web Design Guide for Solopreneurs” and to connect with Derek. IT Consulting and growth strategies for your solopreneur or small biz.  If you’re not a “techie”, and you want your computers, networks, and security to run safely and smoothly, check out Terry Rossi’s podcast and info at https://itprovidernetwork.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brooklyn native Pia Silva (https://worstofalldesign.com/) stops by the show today to talk about your brand…and how she loves it.  Her new book, Badass Your Brand: The Impatient Entrepreneur’s Guide to Turning Expertise into Profit helps us create a unique brand out of your unique skillsets (kinda like we do around these parts). We dig into all kinds of cool stuff on this show, including a recurring theme you’ve heard many times before. Get Yourself Some HostGator 50% off your entire web hosting package by using the promo code “Solo50” at checkout. https://hostgator.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices