The Three Month Vacation Podcast
Sean D'Souza
Sean D'Souza made two vows when he started up Psychotactics back in 2002. The first was that he'd always get paid in advance and the second was that work wouldn't control his life. He decided to take three months off every year. But how do you take three months off, without affecting your business and profits? Do you buy into the myth of "outsourcing everything and working just a few hours a week?" Not really. Instead, you structure your business in a way that enables you to work hard and then take three months off every single year. And Sean walks his talk. Since 2004, he's taken three months off every year (except in 2005, when there was a medical emergency). This podcast isn't about the easy life. It's not some magic trick about working less. Instead with this podcast you learn how to really enjoy your work, enjoy your vacation time and yes, get paid in advance.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 27, 2020 • 24min
Why we enter fields with less competition (and why that's a dangerous strategy)
If you were to ask someone to pick a field where there's more vs less competition, they're likely to pick one with less. And that would be a mistake, possibly a fatal one. Competition isn't bad for you—it's good. If it makes no sense, here's a podcast that shows you exactly why competition helps you determine if you're going to make it or not. And how to go about using the power of competition to your advantage.
Nov 20, 2020 • 19min
April Fools Day: The Mad Genius of Renuka
You think you know Renuka, but maybe there's a bit you don't know quite yet. She looks mischievous, but her real mission comes alive on April 1. Enjoy this slightly unusual episode of April Fool when Renuka's maniacal genius comes to life.
Nov 13, 2020 • 29min
How to publish fixed prices on your website (even if you run a service).
The problem with a service-based-business is that you can't always publish a fixed price. The pricing always seems to depend on what needs to be done for the client. This results in a lot of wasted time and effort. Often, both the client and the vendor (that's us) get so bogged down in the process of quotes that the job gets postponed or falls through. How do we avoid this back and forth? And is it really possible to make your service like a product? Let's find out in this episode.
Nov 6, 2020 • 17min
Dread writing your newsletter? How to overcome that frustration in four easy steps
I used to hate writing a newsletter. It would be the task I'd keep postponing until the very last minute. Of course, that would make my entire week miserable. Until, I found what could be called a "rough formula". And it's an easy formula too. Try it and you'll see that your newsletter isn't as tedious as it used to be. In fact it's fun—well, almost.
Oct 30, 2020 • 26min
Why Success Benchmarks are Misleading (And How We Set Benchmarks for Success)
If you look around you, the obvious success benchmarks are usually money first, and then, at least a huge dollop of fame. But are our benchmarks of success skewed by Fortune Magazine or Inc or Fast Company? Are those blogs we read driving us down a path we didn't originally set for ourselves. We had to muddle around a fair bit because we too were confused. However, here are our benchmarks for success. Maybe it will get you to set your own, as well.
Oct 23, 2020 • 16min
Planning on starting a membership site? How to decide which one is for you (Part 2)
When we think of membership sites we tend to think just about "information" based sites. However, there are many ways of looking at membership sites. In this second episode we dig into the "limited membership site" (yes, one that lasts for a fixed time and then stops). And we also look at membership sites that are not membership sites at all. Yes, it's a weird trip. Come join us and see how your business model might find these types of sites quite suited to your way of life.
Oct 16, 2020 • 30min
Planning on starting a membership site? How to decide which one is for you (Part 1)
A membership site isn't just another site. Instead, it's almost like an inner circle where you draw your closest clients to you. Yet, which kind of membership site would suit you best? Should you hand hold your clients? Or should it be a membership site with content they can pick and choose—and with no input on your part? In this two part series, we look at the power of the hand held membership site and compare it with the content-only membership site. Which one is for us? Let's find out.
Oct 9, 2020 • 27min
Why sales and self-promotion seems yucky (and how to quickly overcome it)
Clients may love our work. They may refer us on to others. And yet, when it comes to sales, we shrivel back almost in horror. We find sales techniques to be a bit over the top and often bordering on yucky. Is there a way to quickly get over this terrible feeling? How do we promote ourselves without feeling icky?
Oct 2, 2020 • 26min
How to recalibrate your life's priorities (despite the unending torrent of work)
Do you find yourself loving your work, but knowing that you're getting a bit one-dimensional? You work, then work, then work some more. And when others around you protest that you're working, you say, "But I love my work" or "I'm not working that much". You find yourself justifying the importance of the work, both from a monetary point of view as well as something you want to do. And yet, you know that setting needs a slight recalibration. That there are these things called hobbies. Things that you do for no reason at all, but for the pure joy. Where there's no financial benefit at all, and yet it somehow seems magical. If you want to keep working endlessly, that's a call to make. But if you'd like to re-calibrate your life to include something more, here's how you go about it.
Sep 26, 2020 • 27min
How to avoid duds and time-wasters when hiring or outsourcing staff
Which is the most frequently used method of evaluating someone you want to hire?Usually, the method used is quite bizarre. You tend to ask for references, probably some sort of resume and you're expected to make a decision based on those parameters. However, almost everyone will make sure they have a polished resume, which means you don't know if the person is really a good fit for the job. At Psychotactics, we've hired duds before. And in order to avoid the frustration of hiring and then having to let go of staff/outsourcers, we've devised a method that is surprisingly easy—and effective. And in this episode you'll find the three steps we take to get very precise hiring results. Listen away!
