Screw The Nine To Five

I'm not gonna lie, if there is one thing I love it's shining a spotlight on tenacious (and creative) entrepreneurs who never give up no matter how hard the journey may get. I mean, let's keep it real: This world of entrepreneurship can be challenging (to say the least) and I always find it encouraging and inspiring to hear how other entrepreneurs have persevered through the ups and downs. And today is no exception. Because in this episode we're bringing our homie (and fellow Screw U member), Michael Kilpatrick onto the show to talk about how he transitioned his sustainable farming business into a lucrative online brand. Wanna know what his journey has looked like and what he's learned along the way? Scroll on up and hit play!

Pop quiz time: What do you think is the ONE thing every single online entrepreneur needs to grow and scale their business? Go ahead and guess. I'll wait. *taps foot and waits* Spoiler alert: It's traffic. And not just "fork over the cash for FB ads" kinda traffic. This kind of traffic is free and sustainable. Best of all, we're giving you 3 easy-to-execute strategies you can implement into your business...like, yesterday! Need that? Scroll up, pop in some earphones and hit play!

Okay, I’mma just come out and say it: I was a tiiiinnny bit unsure of what to expect when going to record this episode. After all, Derek Halpern is known as one hell of an outspoken entrepreneur who ain’t afraid to say how he really feels. And yet, he’s a wildly-successful and whip-smart entrepreneur full of stories and insights that will keep you entertained for hours! What’s more is he’s joining me on the podcast this week and sharing 5 of his biggest life lessons for success. I’m not gonna lie, this is easily one of my favourite conversations I’ve had in a while as it’s packed with valuable takeaways, entertaining stories and of course, some signature Halpern sassiness. Curious to know what those 5 life lessons are? Click play!

Well, it happened, Scroupies... Our little guy, Kai officially made his debut 6-ish weeks ago and we’ve been soaking up all the baby sounds, snuggles and sweet, sweet sleep we possibly can! I’m not gonna lie, this guy has flipped our lives upside down in the best possible way! What’s more is he’s inspired some pretty big shifts in our business in such a short amount of time. Shifts that were kinda unexpected, and yet at the same time, oh-so-welcomed. So we thought we would pull back the curtain and share ‘em with you guys to see if you can relate to any of them. Ready to dive in? Hit play!

Imagine this: You have a passion for creating healthy food and products for your friends, family and loved ones…and when they try it, they actually like it! So much so, you decide to see if others feel the same and you start hitting local markets… And much to your surprise a company like WHOLE FOODS starts to notice what you've created. I mean, it sounds like every creative's, baker's and maker's dream, doesn't it? Until the sexy Whole Foods deal doesn't really turn out to be what you expected and you're sitting there scratching your head, wondering what is next. Do you make something new? Do you power through and chalk it all up to the entrepreneurial journey? Do you *gasp* go back to a J.O.B? That's exactly the situation Kirsty found herself in a few years back. So, what does her business and life look like now…even without the Whole Foods deal? Dive into this episode and see if you can relate to what Kirsty went through!

So by now you've likely heard us rave and rave (and rave!) about the power of Facebook Groups for your business and how to use them strategically to propel yours forward. I mean, we've talked about it here, here, here, here, here annnnnnnnd here! So yeah, we're kinda big believers in the power of free communities and what it can do for a brand. (In case you couldn't tell. *wink*) But, what if you're the kinda Scroupie who doesn't want to run your own group…but still want to use them to grow your business? If that sounds more like your entrepreneurial jam then I think you're gonna dig this episode. Why?

There comes a time in your business (probably sooner than later) where you're going to realize that you can't do it all by yourself. I mean, let's keep it real: As your business starts to grow, there is going to be a bigger demand on your time. And, well, it's damn near impossible to do it all on your own. Hell, you shouldn't even think of doing it all on your own. But when should you really start building a team, what roles should you be hiring for and how do you go about finding the right people? In today's episode we're dishing on our experience building a team (which btw has been the most challenging thing we've ever done in our business) and making recommendations on who to hire for your team and WHEN to hire them. From under $100k to over $500k we're covering the key positions we believe are necessary for most personality driven businesses. Wanna know what that looks like?  

You've done it. You've decided to go all in and make the transition from reluctant 9-to-5'er to an ambitious entrepreneur ready to take on the world and make your dreams a reality. *high five* Have you stopped to think about what that transition will look like though? What I mean is, now that you've made the decision to go all in, what does your daily routine look like? What measures should you put in place to ensure things don't go down hill? How can you start bringing in some cash asap? And who do you need to BE in order to build a sustainable business online? That's exactly what we're jamming on in today's episode. Itching to make the leap into full-time entrepreneurship? You know what to do.

Imagine this, Scroupies... You've been grinding it out in your business for what feels like eons, but you're not really getting anywhere. There's barely any traffic coming in... Your list isn't growing... And worst of all, that bank balance of yours feels like it's dwindling. Hello, stressful! And so you make the tough call so many of us dread making: You decide you need to go back to the 9-to-5 to make ends meet. Cue the feelings of defeat. The thoughts of "who did I think I was anyways?".

This is it, Scroupies! The third and final part to our organic visibility episode series...and we're rounding it out with the uber sexy topic of SEO. Show Notes: http://screwtheninetofive.com/seo/ Ohhh ahhhh! I know. It may not sound like the sexiest of topics, but you know what it is? Powerful AF. Why? Because people. search. Google. A lot. And if you know how to show up on Page 1, you can claim a huge chunk of free search traffic that is targeted and use it to fuel your business. But how the eff do you do that and is SEO really "dying" like some people claim?