TMBA Podcast Episodes
With the TMBA in your ear, you’ll no longer have to grow your business alone. Subscribe to follow along to hear about the ways we help entrepreneurs scale successful businesses.
↓ Never miss an episode or blog post!
We publish a new show every Thursday morning, 8AM EST
TMBA 378: "If at First You Don't Succeed, Try Try Try Again."
On today’s show, Dan and Ian have decided to focus on something that has never been done on this podcast. They have interviewed many entrepreneurs over the years, but they have always wanted to document the story of a business. This episode follows the creation of a SaaS product called Splitly: the people who started it, and those who later became involved in its evolution. You’ll hear firsthand accounts from James Andrews, Greg Mercer and Andy Brown.
TMBA 377: How Does Your Business Feel?
A short while back, Dan and Ian invited Rob Dix and Rob Bence on to the show to share their knowledge about property investment. During that conversation, the Robs spoke to Ian about a lot more than just investing in property. They have managed to build an empire around their podcast, The Property Podcast, and they have a membership community of over 10,000 people strong. They’ve also built a business that sources and manages properties for clients, many of whom find that service through their show.
TMBA 376: Should You Base Yourself in Eastern Europe?
A few weeks ago, Dan and Ian published their first episode of a new series on this podcast, where they decided to seek out the answer to a question that every location-independent entrepreneur has struggled with at one point in time: If I can live anywhere in the world, where should that be? On this week's episode, they will be focusing on two nations in Eastern Europe: Hungary and Georgia. Clayton Cornell runs his own lead-generation business online, as well as one of Dan and Ian's longtime favorite blogs called Spartan Traveler. On this podcast, Clayton shares his story about what led him to the capitol of Hungary, Budapest. You'll also hear from Dana Lindahl. Dana has chosen the nation of Georgia as his home base, as his wife has recently started a business there. You'll hear about what that process was like, as well as the entrepreneurial climate in this former Soviet country.
TMBA 375: How 100s Of Young Entrepreneurs are Making Generational Wealth in Less Than 5 Years
In the past, Dan and Ian have explored what they like to call the "Amazon Gold Rush" on this podcast. Today's show is inspired by someone that Dan recently spent some time with who is knee deep in that movement. Kevin Graham is the founder of Bulk Buy Hosting, but he has also made a considerable amount of money through his own Amazon affiliate business. The Amazon ecosystem is a huge opportunity, and is creating generational wealth for many crafty, young entrepreneurs. Kevin has had this kind of success, and on this episode, we will walk you through every step of how to create one of these businesses and get them ranking in search engines. This is one of the most business-focused episodes we have ever done on this podcast. If you are considering this path in your online business ventures, this is the episode for you.
TMBA 374: Are You An Entrepreneurial Person?
A few weeks ago, Dan and Ian sent out an email to the listeners of this podcast, in an attempt to get to know the audience a little better. They were excited to find out that many of the listeners of this podcast consider themselves to be entrepreneurial, but they don't have their own business yet. They were also excited to meet some young, entrepreneurial minds at a recent Dynamite Circle Junto, and they decided to start exploring what it means to be an entrepreneurial person. This week's episode is for those people. If you haven't started a business yet, but you are ready to find a way to turn your dreams into aspirations, this is the episode for you.
TMBA 373: Should You Base Yourself in Southern Europe?
This episode is the first in a series in which Dan and Ian attempt to answer one of the fundamental questions that all location-independent entrepreneurs eventually ask themselves: If I can live anywhere, where should I live? On this week's show, they will be focusing on two countries in Southern Europe: Spain and Portugal. To learn a bit more about Portugal, Dan reached out to Dr. Shannon Weeks, a Natropathic Doctor and Applied Kinesiologist, to share his experience about establishing residency in Portugal and his home city of Lisbon. You'll also hear Ian speak to Dan about a little bit of his own personal story, as both he and his girlfriend have established residency in Spain. Listen in as Shannon and Dan share their perspectives on visas, taxes, culture and more.
TMBA 372: A Conversation with Wait But Why’s Tim Urban
Today's guest is easily one of Dan and Ian's favorite writers online. Tim Urban is the man behind Wait But Why. He writes long-form, stick figure illustrated blog posts on a variety of topics. Better yet, he has turned his own procrastination into success. As you'll find out during this episode, Tim is more than just a blogger. He is a business owner, and all-around creative persona. His blog has even attracted people like Elon Musk, who enjoyed Tim's blog so much that he reached out to him directly to ask him to write about some of his projects. This week, Tim shares the story behind the creation of his blog, his business partnership, and what the future holds in store for him.
TMBA 371: Should Your Next Employee Be a Mom?
Dan and Ian know that all entrepreneurs struggle with hiring, and specifically hiring remote workers. One thing that they have learned over the years, through listeners of this podcast and members of the Dynamite Circle, is that stay-at-home moms tend to make model team members. On this week's episode, you'll hear the stories of three women. Kiri Masters is the founder of Bobsled Marketing. She shares some of her experiences finding great team members, and why that strategy revolves around stay-at-home parents. Louise Gray is one of Kiri's remote employees. She had a very successful corporate career at Sony, before having a baby and reconsidering how she approaches work. Lesley Pyle is the founder of HireMyMom, a well-established agency that places stay-at-home parents at companies around the world.
TMBA 370: The Saturday Morning Side Hustle
Dan and Ian have always been fascinated by people who can create ways to generate income quickly. Today's guest not only works for one of the most successful startups in San Francisco, but at the same time he has built a successful online side hustle in the form of an SEO training course. Tommy Griffith is the founder of ClickMinded. On this week's episode, you'll hear how he was able to create a successful side business by setting aside his Saturday mornings. Tommy also shares his thoughts about what you need to give up to be an entrepreneur, and why he thinks there could be opportunities for entrepreneurs in the educational space.
TMBA 369: Tropical MBA’s 2016 Year in Review
It’s that time of year again. Our businesses slow down for the holidays, and we naturally get a little reflective about the past 12 months. This week, Dan and Ian have decided to revisit some of their favorite episodes of the Tropical MBA podcast in 2016. You’ll hear highlights from some of the most interesting discussions, and their thoughts on those conversations, as 2016 draws to a close.
TMBA 368: The 12 Days of an Entrepreneur's Christmas
On this very festive edition of the TropicalMBA Podcast, Dan and Ian have decided to put their own spin on one of their all-time favorite holiday songs, The 12 Days of Christmas. Their rendition is all about the 12 things that every entrepreneur is wishing for this year. So kick up your stockings, grab a cup of cocoa and enjoy this entrepreneurial take on a yuletide classic.
TMBA 367: The Business Idea Bonanza with Dan Norris
A few weeks ago, Dan and Ian mentioned that they would be inviting their friend Dan Norris back onto the program. Dan Norris is the author of The 7 Day Startup, and for lack of a better term, he is a business idea generating machine. There have been success stories on this show that came from many of Dan's business ideas. In this conversation, Dan donates a ton of business ideas, as well as sharing how he has been able to create a six-figure side hustle through self-publishing books. If you are looking for your next entrepreneurial adventure, this could be the episode for you.
TMBA 366: A Conversation with Ricardo Semler
On today's show, Dan and Ian are going to be speaking with someone who has inspired them both for a very long time. In fact, he is the author of one of the most cited books on this podcast. Maverick is Ricardo Semler's account of how he was able to transform his family's traditional manufacturing business into an experiment that introduced the world to his innovative business practices. Even though the book is over 20 years old, today's entrepreneurs are still looking to it for inspiration. Ricardo opens up about what his life has looked like since the book was published, and how he has began to spread those innovations to other aspects of society.
TMBA 365: Estonian E-Residency: Is It For You?
On today's show, Dan and Ian are taking a look at one specific country. Estonia is a nation that, until this point, our hosts had very little knowledge of. They are a country that has started behaving like a startup, and has even started offering services specifically designed for location-independent entrepreneurs. In particular, they have developed a solution for our travel woes in the form of something called an "E-Residency". On this episode, you will hear from Estonian E-Resident, Joel Runyon. Joel is the man behind the fitness and mindset blog, The Blog of Impossible Things. You'll also hear from Estonia's Chief Information Officer, Taavi Kotka. The two of them will share their insights on how E-Residency could pave the path to the future of how nations, citizens, and digital nomads interact.
TMBA 364: Sometimes the Best Business Idea is the Most Obvious
Back in 2012, Dan and Ian hosted a two week seminar that was attended by 44 listeners of this show, and Sarah Kornblet was one of those people. Since attending that seminar, Sarah has become a very successful attorney for online entrepreneurs. This week's episode is really the story of what has happened in Sarah's life since that seminar. It is also the story of an idea, because every business starts with an idea. Sometimes we aren't ready for those ideas, or those ideas aren't ready for us.
TMBA 363: The Value of Apprenticeships
On this show, Dan and Ian talk a lot about apprenticeships. In doing research about apprenticeships, Ian recently discovered that in many developed countries all over the world, there is a very robust apprenticeship culture that does not exist in the United States. On this week's episode, we are going to bring you the story of one such apprenticeship told from both sides. Jacob Puhl brought Corey Ames on as an apprentice at a company he founded called Firegang Dental Marketing. You'll hear how their relationship started and how it evolved to where it is today, as Corey is preparing to take over the reigns as CEO.
TMBA 362: You Can Start a Business This Weekend, Here Are Some Ideas
On last week's show, Dan and Ian spoke about how many entrepreneurs are finding success with productized service business. One of the reasons for that success is that these businesses can be started quickly and with little to no capital. On today's episode, they have asked their friend and expert idea generator Tristan King of Blackbelt Commerce to return to the show. The last time Tristan was on this program, listeners of this show took the ideas that were donated and turned them into successful businesses. Listen in to hear even more of Dan and Tristan's ideas for productized service businesses that could be started up this weekend.
TMBA 361: Contemplations On Five Years of DCBKK
Dan and Ian are both recovering from their DC BKK event that they host every year in Bangkok. This year marked the fifth anniversary of that event, which has been a topic of conversation on this show every year since its inception. In this weeks show, they are going to talk about some of the themes of this year's DC BKK, what that they learned from this year's event, and the intimate connection that TropicalMBA listeners have formed with DC BKK over the years.
TMBA 360: Clay Collins and The Unraveling Marketing Stack
Several weeks ago, Dan and Ian spoke with Simon Payne about his experiences as the technical co-founder of LeadPages, the number one landing page software on the web, and his decision to leave that company to pursue a new venture called ConvertPlayer. A few days after that episode aired, we were contacted by one of the other founders of that company, Clay Collins, who wanted to come onto the show and talk about one of his favorite things in life: marketing technology. We jumped at the chance to talk to Clay about his company's growth, why they decided to seek venture capital, and a whole lot more.
TMBA 359: Our Favorite Books and Blogs of 2016
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, when Dan and Ian decided to start a business together, their first serious spending was on books. They knew that, in order to run a successful business, they would first have to read up on how others had done gone about it. This week, Dan has invited good friend of the show and author of “The End of Jobs”, Taylor Pearson back to discuss some of the books they have discovered over the past year, some of the books they have been re-reading as well as some of their favorite blogs.