Tropical MBA: Entrepreneurship & Founder Lifestyle

2021 has been a landmark year for this show, and for entrepreneurs all around the globe. Though the Covid pandemic has lingered on, we have seen borders slowly start to open up and digital nomads finally start to become nomadic once more. We even closed out the year by connecting with listeners of this show at our Dynamite Circle Holiday Party in Austin last week, the first event of its kind in the United States in more than two years. Through it all, we have been fortunate to talk to some incredibly captivating entrepreneurs on this podcast in 2021 and to hear their stories of resilience, innovation, turmoil, and triumph. In today's episode, we are revisiting some of our favorite moments on the podcast this year. You'll hear about how you can write better content for the internet, insights into the future of finance and money, the unique mental health challenges that entrepreneurs face, and so much more

This week's guest has done something that so many entrepreneurs aspire to do: they have turned a bespoke creative shop into a truly successful internet business. Lisa Norman is the co-founder of Authentic Leather Patch Co. Together with her partner Ian, they have been manufacturing custom leather patches for clients around the US, which they stitch onto a variety of products. We personally love their hats, which are consistently the most sought-after swag at our Dynamite Circle events. Their story is not your typical "4-Hour Workweek" startup tale. What started in a small shop in California, has turned into a business that generated over 2 million in revenue last year. Lisa joins us this week to share the origins of Authentic Leather Patch Co., how they were able to grow their company to the heights it has reached today, how they have navigated the supply chain issues and uncertainty of Covid, and a whole lot more.

Today's episode is all about building, scaling, and ultimately selling an agency. We know agencies don't usually get a lot of love on the show but they can be a great way to get started, and an incredible stepping stone in your career. Jodie Cook describes herself as an "athlete, writer, and entrepreneur", and when she says athlete, she means it. She has represented the UK internationally, and she built her agency as a lifestyle business with the intention of complimenting her career as a competitive powerlifter. When the time came to sell that business, a social media consultancy that was founded around her name, not only did she have a very successful exit, she was able to walk away without any type of earnout period. Jodie joins us on this week's podcast to share her story. You'll hear about her strategies for landing different types of clients, how she was able to remove herself from "The Jodie Show" that she had created in her business, and a whole lot more.

We've been receiving a lot of requests from our listeners lately for an old-school "talking shop" type of episode. This week, we're doing just that, and in typical Tropical MBA fashion, we are focusing on three specific topics that are top of mind as the year comes to a close. We start the episode off with a discussion about whether we believe we are on the correct path to achieve our goal of building an 8-figure business in the near future. The second segment is an in-depth look at the dreaded "I word" that we've been hearing so much about lately: Inflation, and the ramifications that it is having on entrepreneurs everywhere. Finally, we'll be wrapping up the episode with some lighter conversation, as we talk about some of our favorite locations for digital nomads and open up about our event schedule for 2022.

There is nothing we love more than an entrepreneur who operates outside of convention, and this week's guest is no exception. Tynan is a bestselling author and the creator of CruiseSheet, a website that helps travelers find great deals on cruises. He is also a former Pickup Artist or "PUA", and at one point was a professional gambler. We've been following his terrific blog at Tynan.com for many years, and we're fascinated by his ability to remain ahead of the curve when it comes to social trends on the internet. Tynan joins us this week to discuss his history in the controversial Pickup Artist subculture, his unique philosophies on wealth and personal finance, and what it truly means to live outside of your comfort zone.

Today's episode is all about an emotional journey that was born out of this very podcast, and the unique mental health challenges that entrepreneurs face. Bunty SomRoy took a huge risk back in 2015 when he decided to volunteer at one of our Dynamite Circle events in Bangkok. Since then, he has gone through many stages of the entrepreneurial journey; hustling as a freelancer, taking a job at a startup, and finally running a successful business of his own. It wasn't all wine and roses, though. Bunty encountered some harrowing mental health struggles along the way, and he joins us on the podcast this week to share his very personal story. This conversation touches on many of our favorite topics as well, including why it's important to put yourself in the room with seasoned entrepreneurs, how getting a job can be an excellent way to uplevel your business chops, and much more.

When today's guest spoke at our recent event in Mexico City, we were taken by his story because it presented a captivating alternative to the traditional bootstrap business partnerships that we've encountered over the years. Tommy Griffith is the founder of ClickMinded, an online SEO training course, and he has joined us many times over the years to share the story of that business. His story took an unexpected turn when he decided to take on a co-founder, after he had already been operating his business for five years. Tommy joins us on today's show to explain how his feelings of being "cornered and surrounded" led to the decision to seek out a late-stage co-founder, what he was looking for in a business partner, how they negotiated equity, and a whole lot more.

We are once again reaching into the mailbag this week to answer questions from the Tropical MBA audience. We'll be answering questions that our listeners have submitted on a broad range of topics, including how to stay motivated after your business has met your goals, and how you can better your chances of being selected as a speaker at a conference or a podcast guest. You'll also hear some news updates about our own businesses, our crypto portfolio, and a whole lot more.

It was such a breath of fresh air to see so many entrepreneurs in Mexico City last week at DC MEX, our first in-person event since 2019. We had so much fun catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, exchanging stories, and working together to move forward with our businesses. One of our favorite parts about these events is that we get an up-close-and-personal look as all kinds of exciting trends start to emerge in the community. In today's episode, we are highlighting 10 new trends that we've identified in the location-independent community. You'll hear about business models that becoming popular, how entrepreneurs are moving forward in the wake of the pandemic, and hot locations for digital nomads in 2022.

Today's podcast is all about a business model that sometimes gets a bad rap on this show: "the agency". We recently bumped into our friend Johnathan Solorzano at MicroConf in Austin, and he had quite a bit to say about the subject. Johnathan is the founder of Solo Media Group, a remote agency of web developers that focuses primarily on Shopify and WooCommerce projects. We've invited Johnathan onto the show this week to share his thoughts about the upside of running an agency, specifically how it can provide you with unique insights into your market, improve your professional network, and help you start earning revenue fast.