The Get Paid Podcast: The Stark Reality of Entrepreneurship and Being Your Own Boss

This online business world is full of coaches and consultants whose expenses are limited to team members, software and maybe some extra coaching. But what do you do if the thing you want to sell requires a mold that costs $10,000 just to get started? Lots of industrial designers will turn to Kickstarter when they want to validate a product idea before investing tons of money in making it. The Glif, created by Tom and Dan from Studio Neat, was among the earliest campaigns to really blow up in the physical product space, and since then they’ve continued to use the crowd-funding platform to launch new products.

In all the feedback I’ve gotten about the Get paid Podcast, the most common request was to hear from business owners who are outside of the B2B, teaching-people-to-build-businesses arena. So when I was introduced to Kim Greco and heard about her business, I JUMPED at the chance to interview her. Kim is the owner of Paws and Possibilities, a dog-training business that’s expanded into multiple locations (and states!) and is starting to introduce less traditional revenue streams in order to continue its massive growth. Kim was so much fun to talk to, both about business and animal training, and her advice on hiring should NOT be missed. In this episode you’ll hear: -- Kim’s long and surprising history of training animals, and how she transitioned from working with some more exotic species to training dogs. -- How Kim figured out her own secret to “having it all.” -- The key questions she uses when interviewing potential dog trainers (which made me REALLY uncomfortable). -- The one thing that allowed Kim to transition away from building a business that was based entirely around herself and her years of experience. -- The details of Paws and Possibilities’ first online course, how it’s priced, and why Kim is shying away from a membership model. -- Why she’s not all that interested in licensing her very unique dog training methodology. -- The progression of Kim’s revenue numbers since before she brought on help until the present.

If you haven't heard of the "Being Boss" podcast then you've been living under a rock because this show has exploded over the last 9 months. My guests today are Kathleen Shannon and Emily Thompson the hosts of "Being Boss". Both Kathleen and Emily run their own separate businesses but an online friendship turned into a collaboration and then into a joint podcast called "Being Boss". Their show has been generating revenue since the very early episodes and I am excited to bring their story to you in this episode. In This Episode You'll Hear: All about the inception of being boss. The struggles of trying to produce more than one episode per week. The breakdown of who does what to get the show created. Why they are not planning on taking a break anytime soon. How they took their podcast from 0 to 7000 downloads per episode in just 9 months.

Having trouble keeping track of your business finances? Make sure you know exactly how to use your revenue projections in order to stimulate business growth rather than set you up for failure. Mark was mentioned a few episodes ago when I interviewed Rachel Cook because he is the CFO that she mentioned as a part of her team. That is what Mark does for a living; he will be your CFO and help you manage the money. In this episode you’ll hear: -- Exactly how Mark helps his clients manage their money, and make smarter spending decisions. -- Why you should never use projections to make big spending decisions and what you should use them for instead. -- Why he is virtually “unfireable” and what exactly that means. -- Why his previous business, a membership site, shriveled up and died (and what you can do to avoid it). -- Why Mark is not a big fan of high end mastermind programs.

Thinking about hiring a developer to build an app for your business? Make sure you know exactly what you DON’T need before you start shelling out piles of money. Ernesto Tagwerker is the owner of OmbuLabs, a software boutique that uses the Lean Startup methodology to create web apps for their clients. Just because you have an idea for an app doesn’t mean that’s where you should start. Listen to Ernesto share the biggest things people get wrong when they hire a development team and why you should apply some Lean Startup practices to your business even if it has nothing to do with software. In this episode you’ll hear: -- Why OmbuLabs probably won’t build your website. -- The difference between a web app, a website, a desktop app, and a mobile app. -- All about MVPs, and why they’re a must-have in your project (whether or not you’re building software). -- Why you need to “get out of the building” more. -- One of Ernesto’s biggest challenges in closing clients. -- How he combats burnout in himself and his team. -- Why Ernesto went from bootstrapping his business to looking for funding, and back to bootstrapping over the course of 3 years. -- Why OmbuLabs charges by the hour and not on a per-project basis. -- The unique challenges in hiring software developers.

Since everyone and their mother wants to make passive income selling courses, it’s no wonder Janet is rolling in clients with her course creation and design done-for-you services. But it wasn’t always so easy. How do you figure out the right online business to create? What if you spend money on courses and coaches that aren’t any help at all? Janet’s story is one of trial and error and finally landing on a service that’s bringing in some serious cash. In this episode you’ll hear: -- What you MUST have before you can hire Janet to review your course. -- The one thing that’s been KILLING Janet’s profits recently. -- What it took for Janet to finally figure out where her “place” is in the online business world. -- What to keep in mind when hiring a coach (unless you want to throw thousands of dollars away). -- Which of Janet’s Done-For-You packages has been the most attractive to her clients, and why. -- Janet’s surprising marketing strategy for landing higher level business owners as clients. -- What kept me from pitching my own services to big name entrepreneurs (and why I’m still kicking myself).

It’s considered one of the sleaziest corners of the online marketing world, and yet Nick and Gen are pulling in $20,000-$25,000 per month by promoting other people’s products to their list of 20,000 people. There’s a whole lot of money that they’re leaving on the table by not creating their own products, but it suits their lifestyle and other professional aspirations by creating their own startup capital for a new business. In this episode you’ll hear: -- The average open rates of their daily emails sent out to a list of 20,000 people. -- Why affiliate marketers are so often perceived as scammers, and what Gen and Nick do differently. -- How they grow their list without going the traditional free-optin-content list building route. -- Whether or not it’s actually easy to make money with affiliate marketing. -- What you can do to ensure people view your marketing as scammy and/or spammy. -- An example affiliate marketing funnel that uses Facebook ads to promote someone else’s product. -- How and why Nick and Gen are leaving $300K on the table every year. -- A breakdown of their monthly expenses. -- Details on the new business they’re starting. -- How they’re able to live a nomadic lifestyle despite their mortgage.

How do you (nearly) crack the 6-figure mark with one-one-one coaching WITHOUT burning yourself out? Ellen Ercolini, money making expert, has done it by offering just one service and very little marketing. (Full disclosure: she also has an evergreen online course, but it makes up a really small percent of her revenue right now.) In this episode you’ll hear: -- That I’m hosting a meetup in NYC on August 1! It’s last minute, I know, but you can RSVP for free here: clairepells.com/meetup -- Why a poppin’ paypal account may not be enough to rent an apartment as an entrepreneur. -- Details about the one service Ellen has landed on that’s perfect for both her and her clients. -- What gives Ellen the “right” to charge $497 for her evergreen course. -- The unfortunate truth about the lifespan of a life coaching business. -- Ellen’s take on pricing your services high right off the bat. - Ideas for testing out products before you launch them, and my fears about losing potential revenue.

If you thought the travel writing industry was all resorts, fine dining and freebies galore, think again. Nell McShane Wulfhart is an established freelance travel writing with bylines in The New York Times, Travel and Leisure, The Wall Street Journal, and countless other big-name publications. In this episode of the Get Paid Podcast, Nell shares her path to landing the “aspirational gigs,” why she’d love to accept free travel for reviews but doesn’t, and why she’s still not convinced that travel writing is a sustainable career. In this episode you’ll hear: -- The average “lead time” in the travel writing industry from pitching an article to getting paid. -- Why in-flight magazines so often play a role in a beginner travel writer’s career. -- How Nell manages the balancing act of thinking about her career in the long term and putting food on the table now (or soon). -- How much the prestigious gigs pay (if you’re really lucky) versus the low hanging fruit. -- 3 things you must, must, must have if you want to be a travel writer. -- The ins and outs of pitching articles and ideas to travel publications. -- Exactly what Nell did to land her first piece with The New York Times. -- Ann Friedman’s advice for anyone thinking about going full time with their freelance writing job. -- What happens if a publication decides not to run an article you’ve been commissioned for, and what you can expect to get paid.

Once I (stupidly) tried to convince a potential client NOT to launch a membership site. I was really out of line, especially since I didn’t know her business very well, but fortunately she forgave me after I worked hard to pull my foot out of my mouth. Here’s what I was thinking at the time: membership sites where you have a monthly charge on your credit card are a really hard sell. And just because someone signs up for the first month doesn’t mean they’re going to stick around very long. Before I completely crush your dreams, however, check out this interview with Barrett Brooks, the Director of Growth at Fizzle, possibly the best membership site I’ve seen so far. They’ve tried out different pricing strategies, free vs. paid trial offers, and have tweaked their onboarding sequence to help reduce churn, or the number of people who cancel their membership each month. A membership site can work as a business model, but make sure you know what you’re getting into and don’t expect it to be smooth sailing just because you’ve launched. In this episode you’ll hear: -- Why the pricing model that the Fizzle guys started out with didn’t last very long. -- The one thing that will keep a company from being profitable, even if you’ve built a strong brand and a significant audience. -- Seth Godin’s 2 lines of advice to Barrett on how much he should sell his pre-Fizzle startup for. -- The one thing that got me hooked on Fizzle, and why I expect to keep paying them for a long, long time. -- The change the Fizzle team is looking at making to the free trial they currently offer to new members. -- How much revenue Fizzle has brought in since launching (plus a little reverse-engineering to get to their annual gross revenue numbers). -- The #1 thing people report as the reason they cancel their Fizzle membership. -- Something that’s been missing from Fizzle for a long time that they’re just starting to roll out. -- Ballpark figures of how much the members of the Fizzle team get paid. -- Why Barrett was arrested (twice) despite his brainiac background.