Tropical MBA: Entrepreneurship & Founder Lifestyle

A lot of our listeners have been reaching out to us lately to ask about Dan and Ian's newest business venture, Dynamite Jobs. They have been running the business for the past six months, and it is still very much in the early stages. As the business has grown and changed over that time, they've learned a lot of things that they didn't expect. On today's podcast, we're sharing five things that we have learned in the last six months of running a new productized services business. Later on in the episode, we'll be discussing some specific numbers, goals, and takeaways from the first six months of Dynamite Jobs. You'll also hear three reasons why we think the remote hiring process isn't working for a lot of entrepreneurs.

Longtime listeners of this show know that Dan and Ian spent the early part of their entrepreneurial career building product businesses online. What you might not know is that Search Engine Optimization, commonly referred to as SEO, was one of the first skillsets that they learned when building those businesses. A lot has changed in the last decade when it comes to SEO, and this week's guest seems to be at the forefront of that progress. Tim Soulo is the Chief Marketing Officer and Product Adviser for Ahrefs. Ahrefs is a Software-as-a-Service company that provides a suite of incredibly useful SEO research tools. Their website is also host to one of the best SEO blogs on the internet. On this week's episode, Tim shares some keen insight on the evolution of SEO and how you can make SEO work for your business. We'll also be exploring some of the darker sides of SEO and content marketing.

Dan and Ian have shared many stories on this podcast of people who have escaped from the cubicle in search of location-independence. This week's episode is a little different, as today's guest left his 9-to-5 job in pursuit of entrepreneurial freedom, only to find that it wasn't what it was cracked up to be. Coran Woodmass left his job in Australia and moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand. He started building, buying and selling small web properties, but ultimately realized that it didn't make him happy. These days, Coran has moved into a field he is incredibly passionate about, advising and brokering quality deals for Amazon FBA owners through his new business, TheFBABroker.com. This conversation is about buying and selling Amazon businesses, but it's about a lot more than that too, specifically, what makes you feel satisfied and fulfilled.

On this week's episode, we are continuing one of Dan and Ian's favorite traditions on the podcast. Today we are talking about books, and in particular our favorite books that we have read in the past year. Last year, we invited our good friend and talented author Kyla Gardner to the show to talk about books with us. We had so much fun with that episode that we asked her to return this week. On today's podcast, Dan and Kyla are sharing their five favorite reads of 2019. This conversation also details how some of our reading habits have changed since last year, why Kyla has started writing fiction, and much more.

A few weeks ago, Dan and Ian had a conversation on this podcast where they shared some of their feelings about venture capital. This is an important topic to a lot of entrepreneurs, and it's one that we plan to cover a lot more throughout 2019. Some of the opinions we shared in that episode were rather controversial. Several of our listeners actually called us out on being a little bit vague about our thoughts, and we thought it was a good chance to revisit the topic. One of the people that reached out to us about that episode was Rob Walling. Rob is someone who should be very familiar to the listeners of this show. He hosts one of our favorite podcasts, Startups for the Rest of Us, organizes his own annual conference called MicroConf, and has previously owned and sold several startups, including a Software-as-a-Service company called Drip. Rob has also recently started his own startup accelerator fund called TinySeed, which is specifically designed to help bootstrappers grow their businesses. On today's show, Rob has joined us to share his thoughts about venture capital, bootstrapping, and what he hopes to accomplish with TinySeed.

On today's episode, Dan and Ian are delighted to welcome one of their favorite authors back to the show. Cal Newport is a Computer Science professor, who has spent his career writing about the intersection of technology and culture in the contemporary digital age. Cal joins us this week to talk about his new book, Digital Minimalism, which is all about the dangers and distractions of social media. This interview covers a broad range of topics, including the psychology behind the "Walled Gardens" of social media, why Cal invited 1,600 people to go on a month-long "Digital Declutter", how we can develop a philosophy to improve the way that we interact with technology in our lives, and much, much more.

"Success" isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Dan and Ian know this feeling all too well, as they have dealt with some of their own internal struggles after selling their product business. On today's episode, we are talking about five specific downsides to success. These aren't necessarily strategic elements, as much as they are about the mindset of success. You'll hear about some of the common traps that successful entrepreneurs often find themselves in, and how success itself can actually become a competitive disadvantage.

One of Dan and Ian's goals heading into 2019 was to feature more stories about China on the podcast this year. China is the primary location where many of the products that entrepreneurs sell are traditionally manufactured, and it has become a fulcrum for a lot of the stuff that online product-based businesses do. On today's show, we are excited to bring you some insights from someone who has been living and working on the ground in China for the better part of a decade. Brian Miller lives in Shenzhen, China, where he operates a third-party logistics company called EasyChinaWarehouse.com. He also runs a mid-six-figure Amazon FBA business, as well as a small China sourcing agency, so he is pretty diversified in the sourcing and fulfillment model that we have discussed so often on this podcast. What makes Brian's story unusual is that he actually started his working life within a Chinese state-owned enterprise or SOE, which is something that very few westerners have done. This isn't just a conversation about manufacturing in China, though. Brian also shares his experience living in the country, what it's like to interact with the Chinese people, and much, much more.

http://www.tropicalmba.com/plansfor2019/ Dan and Ian have decided to be a little bit self-indulgent with this week's podcast. On today's show, they are talking about their goals for 2019. In particular, they wanted to talk about what they have planned for their newest venture, Dynamite Jobs. On this episode, they will be sharing the single goal that they are working towards for Dynamite Jobs this year. You'll also hear what went into the decision to choose that goal, as well as some of our biggest business takeaways heading into the new year.

http://www.tropicalmba.com/brentbeshore2/ One of the things that Dan and Ian love about creating this podcast is that they not only get to talk to some pretty interesting people, but they also get to follow their stories as they build and scale their businesses. About two years ago, we spoke with Brent Beshore, the Founder and CEO of Adventur.es. Since we last talked, Brent's team has more or less doubled. They've made a decision to raise capital, bought a headquarters in Columbia, Missouri and Brent has written a book about buying businesses called "The Messy Marketplace". On today's episode, we are revisiting Brent's story and hearing how Adventur.es has grown since we last spoke. We'll also hear how things have changed since they have raised over 50 million dollars in investment capital, and why he decided to share the story of his business in his new book.