The Solopreneur Hour Podcast with Michael O'Neal

On today’s show I grab a few questions from the archives which are still quite relevant today.  We talk about staying on brand, keeping your mindset straight, how to save more time, when to automate and outsource, and a lot more! Have a listen on your fave podcast player!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As solopeneurs one of the keys to our success is our health. We’ve talked about this subject a few times because without health and vitality solopreneurship is an even more difficult path. Joining us to share her expertise is Melissa Ramos of Sexy Food Therapy. She’s a certified nutritionist with a background in Chinese medicine and is a regular on The Social, Canadian television’s version of The View. On today’s show she shares the story of how she made the leap from an ad exec to a nutritionist, her 10 tips for staying healthy during a launch and plenty more on episode 763 of The Solopreneur Hour. More About Sexy Food Therapy Melissa’s career began in advertising, but a part of her always knew she should be doing her own thing. Her father is an entrepreneur and she inherited his spirit. It became crystal clear to her one day while sitting in a meeting talking about a mascot’s foot for two hours. She wondered why she was doing what she was doing, it felt meaningless and unfulfilling. She wanted to help people, and do something to make a difference. So she started taking nutrition classes part-time and eventually went full-time til she completed her certification as a nutritionist. Next she wanted to study Chinese medicine. Melissa took the proceeds from the recent sale of her home and paid for the schooling; it was incredibly expensive, but worth every penny for her. She loved both paths of healing and wanted to make them accessible, engaging and still fun for people. From that love and that intention she formed Sexy Food Therapy. At the beginning she was doing it all herself as most solopreneurs do! But it was a kick in the proverbial pants from Chris Ducker that helped her outsource her video editing, and eventually she hired a general VA and then a second VA. Today she’s able to focus on helping more people through programs and memberships, and having her team support her in those efforts. On This Show You’ll Also Hear: * What did she know about online marketing from her time in advertising? * Why did she opt to use a private Facebook group as part of her membership program? * How she set her price point for her latest program. * Who gave her the kick in the pants she needed to start outsourcing? * What is ashwaganda and why should you care? * And so much more! On this show we talk about her latest launch, Sexy Lady Balls, and what she did when things went wrong during that launch as well as who she has been influenced by and how she started from ground zero in online marketing. One of the greatest lessons she’s learned during all of her solopreneur trials has been how to take care of herself, and this is especially true during a launch. Her 10 tips are listed below: 1. Outsource. You are not superwoman or superman! Get Chris Ducker’s book if you need elp on figuring out what to outsource but be sure to get help. You can start small. She started with a video editor, gave him a template to follow for editing and it made a big difference. 2. Drink energizing chocolate milk. Things like coffee and Red Bull and other energy drinks will drain your adrenal glands. And without adrenal glands your health drastically suffers. So instead of those drinks try Melissa’s chocolate milk recipe: Take an unsweetened nut milk like almond milk or coconut milk (no soy milk). Then add cacao powder and maca powder. Throw in a dash of cayenne pepper and some cinnamon. Next add 2 teaspoons of coconut oil Add sweetener and pinch of sea salt. Mix it all together in a blender and you have healthy chocolate milk that is delicious and energizing. 3. Go easy on the alcohol. Melissa is not against alcohol by any stretch but she does recommend not using it as a stress-relieving crutc... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mr. Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income (https://smartpassiveincome.com) stopped by to talk about his new invention, The Switchpod. (Available on Kickstarter right now at https://switchpod.co)  We talked about the entire process of how to get something manufactured, how to go from an idea to a prototype, and how much all of that costs.  We also chatted about his new conference coming up from July 26-28th, FlynnCon. Tickets available here.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s show, I run down some questions featured on the Proudly Unemployable Facebook Group and answer them on the show.  Note:  This episode is straight FIRE…so don’t burn your ears!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s in Studio Guest is (former) Dietitian Cassie Bjork.  (Cassie.net) We thought “Hey, it’s noon during holiday season, we might as well have a margarita or two and record a podcast”.  So, here’s that.  🙂 Get Cassie’s Rulebreakers Weight Loss Coaching Program – Cassie.net/rulebreakers Get the book: Why Am I Still Fat?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to our weekly Q&A edition of The Solopreneur Hour. If you haven’t been here before on Fridays we publish an episode devoted to answering YOUR questions dear listeners! To submit a question join the mailing list, contact me via the Contact page on the site or join our Proudly Unemployable Facebook group. You can ask your own question by popping on the mailing list or grabbing my free Conferencetopia course.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a solopreneur we all start somewhere. Sometimes we start with a topic we know a lot about, sometimes we see an opening and we go for it, learning along the way. Our guest for today saw an opening to serve his audience in a simpler, more effective way than email: a membership site. Chris Farrell of Help My Business joins us for episode 383 of The Solopreneur Hour, live from Traffic and Conversion in San Diego. On this show we chat about why he chose to build a membership site, how he got into online marketing in the first place and whether or not he’s always been unemployable. More About Chris Farrell As you’ll hear on this episode Chris is a Londoner. He was born and raised in East London – hence the cockney accent! Until his early 30s he worked in radio and wasn’t the least bit entrepreneurial. He had always had a good job and was working for “the man”. By 32 he was the mid-morning DJ on the #1 radio station in London. But there was always something he couldn’t wrap his mind around: how did people make money online, travel the world and run successful businesses? Was it actually legitimate or was it smoke and mirrors? So in 2008 he got started in the online marketing world to see for himself. He knew nothing about that world, and knew no one! So initially he tried to do it all himself, and learned everything he could. You’ll Also Hear: * Was Chris always unemployable? * Why it’s important to say yes. * The power of gratitude in shifting your mindset. * How do you know if you truly understand something? * What is his take on the level of professionalism in podcasting today? * And so much more! Since then of course he’s realized people can and do make good money online through legitimate businesses, his being one of them. Even though it is fairly simple to do so, it isn’t easy. His advice to get started making money online boils down to three simple steps: 1. Find a profitable niche. Figure out where people are already spending money and then choose one area to focus on. 2. Build a list of people interested in that area. Simple: find people who are interested in what you are selling, and get them on your email list. 3. Market to them with products related to their interests. Contact them with offers and opportunities about products they are interested in, or related to their interests. Those are the steps Chris took to get started. He created his own products because he couldn’t find many products he was passionate about. While doing so he built his list, and then marketed to them with offers on those products. But he also realized it would be more valuable to people if he built a membership site where he could continue to create products and add content, rather than emailing them constantly. So that’s what he did. He built a membership site all about internet marketing. He shared with his members what he was learning firsthand, what he loved and what he was passionate about. His success has continued to grow from there. On today’s episode we cover many other topics from men’s fashion to music to podcasting. In particular Chris shares his view on the state of professionalism in podcasting today. He explains more on the show, including why just having the equipment doesn’t make you a professional podcaster any more than having a bicycle makes you an Olympic cyclist. He is a definitive source on what it takes to succeed behind the mic and in the online world. Listen in to hear his wit and wisdom on the 383rd edition of The Solopreneur Hour! QUESTION OF THE DAY: What could you build a membership site about? Let us know in the comments below! Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, could you please  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Travis Chappell (https://www.buildyournetwork.co) and @travischappell stops by the show today to talk about some core fundamentals of successful “network explosion”, and building your online business. We talk about * The secret to great sales * the power of masterminds and learning groups * the ultimate power of networking * how to “show up” for friends in need * relationship fundamentals, and more! Travis has an email course that you can access here: freemmcourse.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today’s FCF, I answer all these awesome questions: * Not a question but some feedback. Your latest episode about Rennch EXPLODED over the airwaves. That was the sound of passion, goals, doer, fun, creativity – the very essence of sloopreneur life – I raise a cup of tea in your name.  OK – Here’s 1 quick question then…….Does a sense of urgency bring the best out of YOU? * How do you deal with overwhelm? That time when you think you have everything under control and then clients change things last minute and it’s out of your control and you have to just get on with the work but there’s not enough time to get it all done in the time that’s available. How do you deal with or avoid that? * Do you use a local (to you) vendor for the gear in your website store? How does the backend infrastructure work with a site like Storenvy? I don’t want to be handling the orders – at all. Let the technology do the work! Have an awesome weekend, and the “Jack Bag” is brilliant! * What are your thoughts on the THINKIFIC platform for building and hosting your online educational content, programs, etc?  If you haven’t played with it, what else on this subject would you suggest for building that level of content for loyal followers to invest in themselves with? * How do I go from dreamer with tons of ideas, currently crushing it for someone else, to an entrepreneur with ONE idea crushing it for myself?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode I document the craziness of going from concept to finished product with an absurd timeline.  Proof positive that you don’t have to know what you’re doing to make something happen.  You just have to do it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices