One of Dan and Ian's favorite topics to discuss on this show is business ideas.In particular, they love brainstorming new business ideas with the listeners of this podcast. Coming up with a great business idea doesn't come naturally for all of us, though we believe it really is a skill that you can learn and get better at. Today, we are talking about the science behind a great business idea. In particular, we are sharing five techniques that you can use to develop your own business idea. We'll also be revisiting some of the business ideas that we came up with on an earlier episode of this show from 2015.

Every week, for over 450 episodes, Dan and Ian talk on this podcast about business, entrepreneurship, and location independence. They do so because they love creating and consuming audio content. It's no wonder then that when Dan finally wrote his first book, Before the Exit, he was naturally very passionate about creating a narrated audiobook version. On today's podcast, we are talking about audiobooks. In particular, we'll be talking about how we recorded our first audiobook, as well as sharing some of the most popular highlighted passages in that book. You'll also hear how audiobooks have made an impression on us, and why we think audiobooks are becoming so popular in 2018. As a special bonus, listen in to find out how you could be the recipient of a very unique gift. 

Dan and Ian have spent many hours on this show talking about location and in particular the cities that location-independent entrepreneurs choose to live in. A little while ago, Dan read an article called Cities and Ambition by Paul Graham which theorizes that the cities we visit actually send signals to us in a variety of unspoken ways. Afterward, he felt compelled to write a blog post about the ways that certain cities "whisper" to us. On today's episode, you will hear that blog post, as well as some thoughts and reflections on some of our favorite cities. We'll be sharing what we love about those cities, why we can't stop visiting them, and what each of those cities has been "whispering" to us.

Today's guests are proof positive that these communities actually have quite a bit in common, and that they might even exist as two sides of the same coin. Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung are bloggers at Millennial-Revolution.com, and they both retired in their thirties. As their blog name suggests, they are millennials and quite a lot younger than other prominent figures the FIRE space.

Ryan Heneise is the founder of Booster Stage, an agency that does web app development for startups. Ryan was a guest at our recent event in Austin, Texas and took part in his first official mastermind. On this week's episode, you'll hear from Ryan about how that event unfolded, and the benefits that he has seen from attending that mastermind. You'll also hear tips on how to get the most out of a mastermind, and how to create a successful mastermind yourself.

Analysis Paralysis is the state of over-analyzing rather than doing. Many would-be entrepreneurs will often spend too long reading and learning about business without ever taking action. Today we will be dissecting what Analysis Paralysis is, how it affects us, and some of the ways that we can battle it for the better.

Neel Parekh is the founder of a cleaning services company called MaidThis, which operates all over Southern California. What makes Neel's business special is that, even though it is a local company, he runs it completely remotely. In today's episode, you will hear Neel's insights into why he stumbled upon the idea for his company, how he managed to create a "Remote Local" business, and how to seize opportunities that entrepreneurs often overlook in the digital space.

On this week's episode, Dan and Ian are going to explore one of the philosophical concepts that they have been talking about increasingly on this show. The Peter Principle was originally published by Laurence J. Peter in 1969. The basic premise is that every employee or member of an organizational hierarchy will tend to rise to their own "level of incompetence". On today's podcast, we are talking about what this concept means for entrepreneurs, how it applies to us, how it applies to our businesses, and what we can learn from it. We'll also share some strategies for what to do if you believe that you've reached your own capacity for growth.

Dan and Ian share stories of financial freedom every week on this podcast.On this week's episode, they wanted to explore what that freedom actually means. To some, living a life of frugality can allow yourself to retire early, but does it really bring you freedom?One year ago, Dan wrote an article called The Cult of Early Retirement Meets (Or Strangely, Doesn't Meet) The Cult of Entrepreneurship. This article turned out to be fairly controversial, with many readers of our blog sharing their thoughts on early retirement, financial freedom, and more.Today, we are going to present an audio version of that article, followed by some opinions and reflections on the discussions that arose from it. You'll also hear our thoughts on why the writings of early retirement bloggers don't entirely click with entrepreneurs, why we believe our time is more valuable than money, and a whole lot more.

Dan and Ian return this week with another unique entrepreneurial origin story. In fact, today's guest has built a business in the last four years that has revenues in the low seven figures and he now employs five employees. Part of the reason we like to share these origin stories on the show is that there's a moment for every one of us when we really truly did not believe that we could achieve this sort of thing. Allen Walton knows that feeling all too well. Allen is the founder of SpyGuy.com, an eCommerce business which sells covert surveillance technology. Allen grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas, and he still lives there today. On today's podcast, you'll hear Allen share the story of how he grew SpyGuy.com to a seven-figure business, what happened when he cold-emailed Mark Cuban, and a whole lot more.

As many of you know, Dan and Ian love hearing from the listeners of this show. A listener named Tom Hannon recently wrote in with a question that we really hadn't addressed on this show before. We've talked a lot about selling businesses on this podcast lately, but what happens when you don't have a choice? What happens when you are forced to sell? As we started talking with Tom, we discovered that he has actually sold twelve businesses of his own, and the circumstances of each of those sales were entirely unique. We invited Tom onto today's podcast to share the stories of those exits, as well as the lessons that he has learned along the way.

Today's show is all about seizing opportunities. Last year, Dan and Ian invited Greg Gerber, who is a member of our community The Dynamite Circle, on to the show to talk about how he gifted an up-and-coming entrepreneur an all-expenses-paid trip to our annual event in Barcelona. This idea of "paying it forward" has really taken off in the community since then. At our recent event in Austin, TX, Meryl Johnston offered two free tickets on behalf of her company, Bean Ninjas. Dan and Ian contributed a few free tickets of their own, with others offering free airfare, coaching, and more. On today's podcast, you'll hear from one of the recipients of that gift. Jen Anderson is the founder of Mai-Tie, a company that makes unique, fashionable bowties out of vintage Hawaiian shirts. While her business is still in its infancy, she has a huge amount of experience in the startup world, and some interesting insights into that as well. This is the story of what it takes to find your people.

Dan and Ian are back this week to respond to another listener-submitted question. Chris Cage from GreenbellyBar.com recently reached out to us with a problem that many listeners of this show have been struggling with: when is it the right time to hire somebody? This is a moment in the entrepreneurial journey that every entrepreneur will eventually reach, and it isn't always easy to make the right decision. Hiring can be expensive, from both a financial perspective and an emotional one. Fortunately, Dan and Ian have a rich history of hiring experiences, both good and bad. On today's show, they will be opening up about the mistakes that they have made, as well as the successes they have had when bringing people on to their team.

A few weeks ago, Dan and Ian published an episode called The Knowledge Gap vs. The Efficiency Gap. In that episode, they tried to make a distinction between businesses that solve "Knowledge Gaps" for their customers and businesses that solve "Efficiency Gaps"."Knowledge Gap" businesses focus on educating their customers on how their business can solve new problems, whereas the businesses that solve "Efficiency gaps" for their customers are intent on providing more efficient solutions to their preexisting needs. A few of our listeners wrote in with some comments about that show. Nate Smith is the founder of AdmitScout, which specialized in paid traffic lead generation for addiction treatment facilities. Eagan Heath is the founder of a digital marketing agency called Get Found Madison, which is mostly aimed at businesses in Madison, Wisconsin. In this week's podcast, we've invited both Nate and Eagan on to the show to share their responses to that episode and to talk about how Knowledge Gaps and Efficiency Gaps have played a role in their own businesses.

Dan and Ian love receiving messages and questions from listeners of this show. A few weeks back, one listener reached out to them about what the ownership structure of a business partnership should look like. This is a critically important issue for many entrepreneurs, and it's an incredibly complicated one to boot. Dan and Ian are business partners themselves, but they have seen many other partnerships evolve and dissolve over the years. On today's show, we are talking about five partnership styles that we've personally witnessed over the years, how those types of partnerships can affect your business, and how you can find the right business partner.

Dan Taylor, the founder of AppsEvents, started his entrepreneurial journey roughly 14 years ago and went through some tough times with his earlier businesses. In this episode, you'll hear about many of those struggles, why he left those businesses, and how long it took Dan to replace his income from his previous job. If you are struggling with your own entrepreneurial journey, we hope this episode can serve as an inspiration for you.

Dan and Ian know that today's episode is about a rather sensitive subject. Not many people in American society feel comfortable talking about money. It's quite taboo in some social circles to share how much money you are making or to open up about your financial position. It's part of the reason so many entrepreneurs don't open up about selling their businesses. They think that nobody wants to hear them complain about how they made a lot of money. We've found that the types of people that are able to speak freely about these topics are often the ones who are the most successful with their money. In this week's podcast, we aren't holding back. Dan and Ian are sharing how they feel about money, how much money they want, and what actual financial freedom looks like.

On today's show, Dan and Ian are going to be sharing some of their thoughts about the event that they recently hosted in Austin, Texas. Approximately 100 internet entrepreneurs got together in Austin last week to attend DC Austin. There, they took part in workshops and mastermind groups with other entrepreneurs and ultimately made the effort to take the next steps forward in their entrepreneurial journey. On this week's episode, Dan and Ian are going to talk about what they learned from that event, what the current entrepreneurial climate looks like, what is changing about it, and what kinds of opportunities exist for listeners of this show.

Today we are talking about the "Knowledge Gap" and the "Efficiency Gap". Too often, entrepreneurs are selling their product or service by trying to solve a "Knowledge Gap" for their customer. Nearly every entrepreneur does this. We try to be the expert in our line of work and teach people why they need to work with us. In this episode, we'll be sharing reasons why people get caught up in this differential and what we, as entrepreneurs, can do to ensure that our businesses are successful.

Dan and Ian are all too familiar with the difficulties of completing projects. A few weeks ago, they spoke at length about how "resistance" can get in the way of achieving success in your entrepreneurial endeavors. Imagine if the solution to your productivity and creative woes could come in the form of two juicy, red pieces of fruit. On today's episode, we are going to be talking about the "Two Tomatoes Strategy" for getting the projects done that are going to make a difference in your career. For those who are just getting started on their entrepreneurial journey, those who are starting a new project, or anyone who is at war with the resistance in their own lives, this strategy is a great way to overcome your distractions and ultimately move forward in a successful and productive way in both your business and your life.