TMBA Podcast Episodes
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TMBA 131 (TTR17) - How We Increased Email Subscribers 257% By Making it Harder to Opt-in
How does a lazy blogger increase their email subscription rate by 257% and in the process get an automatic sales machine working for them and generating sales in their sleep? Well– you could hire John McIntyre— but for those of you who have teams or willing to do it yourself, we invited John on the show to get the details on how he did it. It’s also time for us to offer another Tropical MBA internship here at Badladz resort in Puerto Galera, Mindoro (sorry, so much for the “no more interns” thing), so it’s good timing to ask John about his experience here in the Philippines plus the business and skills he’s been building over the past year.
TMBA 130 (TTR16) - Becoming a Mini-Mogul
Today Ian and I are joining you from Puerto Galera, Philippines. We found a few minutes away from the events here at the Tropical MBA to discuss a topic that’s been on our minds lately: How do we frame up this new style of multi-national small business entrepreneurship, and what are some related business opportunities? A lot of people have been talking about this trend lately, we dug up this article to serve as the basic structure for this episode. We believe the opportunities to create services and products for people just like us– global-thinking lifestyle entrepreneurs– is massive.
TMBA 129 (LBP114) - Sometimes We Are The Champions, Sometimes We Are Awful
It’s been a really rough week for Dan and Ian. This is mostly due to the fact that they arrived in the Philippines to meet with 14 bright eyed participants of our August TMBA Session and it was a bit of a challenge. Not because of the participants. Instead they encountered a slight typhoon wreaking havoc on Manila, Batangas City & Pier, Mindoro, Puerto Galera, and Badladz Resort. In other words, they were surrounded by the storm. What should have been a fun 3-hour tour of the Philippines to get to the resort turned in to an adventure of epic proportions. But everyone arrived safe and sound, amped up on the adrenaline of their adventure, with huge grins on their faces and dates with their beds. Which is to say, in true internet meme fashion, sometimes owning a business isn’t all double rainbows and Tiger Blood. Sometimes, you are killin’ it and sometimes you are struggling to get it all done, through some pretty adverse situations and circumstances.
TMBA 128 (TTR15) - Is Starting a Personal Blog Hazardous to Your Entrepreneurial Health?
We are back with our weekend podcast with the hopes of giving you a little fuel for your projects over the next few days. Today I discuss with the CEOh-yeah and issue we’ve brought up a few times before. One of the biggest questions we get asked is: should I start a personal blog for networking purposes? I don’t think these are benign decisions and I take this question very seriously. When you are just getting started and need to find strategic levers to get as much energy channeled into your business as possible, and your decision on when and how to blog or otherwise put content onto the interwebs can have a big impact on your future.
TMBA 127 (LBP113) - 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Lifestyle Business Owners
It was a bit of a somber moment earlier this week when we learned that Dr. Stephen Covey, the author of 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, had passed away. This week, as a tribute to one of the first business theory books the guys got their hot little hands on, they are putting a bit of a spin on Covey's original 7 Habits. Since Dan & Ian have developed (or haphazardly (accidentally sometimes) created) their own vocabulary around the sites, they decided to see how some of the most popular and important principles of the LBP mindset align.
TMBA 126 (TTR14) - 5 Ways to Produce Expert Level Content (Even If You Aren't an Expert)
This week’s happy hour drink sponsor is Orangina, a beverage with a special place in the heart of @AnythingIan. Today we are going to talk about high level content strategy. First, it’s worth taking a look at Karol’s notes from reading Turning Pro. Many of you know I’m a huge War of Art fan, and I just got started with Turning Pro today based on Karol’s suggestion. “The amateur allows his worth and identity to be defined by others. The amateur craves third-party validation.” Ouch that’s harsh! In this episode we’ll explore strategies content marketers can employ to avoid the amateur trap.
TMBA 125 (LBP112) - The Importance Of Niche Flexibility And Finding The Real Reasons People Are Successful
Dan is all about the public peer pressure on Ian. Getting him to sign up for email lists. Getting him to go to NYC with him in September. Getting him to divulge his espionage trade secrets in a future episode. What else is this podcast gonna get Ian into?! This week the guys are slowly making their way to meeting up with each other in Saigon for a couple weeks before the next Tropical MBA session in the Philippines in August. As they work on getting back in the same space, they discuss the various niches and products they have pursued over the years (they edited out the 30 minutes of feisty heated discussion in circles) and how they decided to pursue them.
TMBA 124 (TTR13) - The "Never Launch Strategy" - A Profitable Approach to Information Products
This week I’m joining you from from Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi. Tiger beer (via nearby Singapore) is my unofficial sponsor. If a brand manager is reading this post, why not send me a tank top or something?! In this episode I’ll get on my soapbox and offer an alterative to the militaristic “launches” happening around the web. I’ll also share one of my favorite interviews from the recent Tropical MBA event. My new friend JP recently confirmed he’ll be quitting his job and traveling after having solidly proved his business concept over the past few months. Congrats JP!
TMBA 123 (LBP111) - South East Asia's Top 6 Business Travel Destinations
Dan and Ian have been busy hopscotching across SE Asia the past couple weeks (Bali, Philippines, China, Vietnam) and have plans to continue the journey later in July with a motorbike excursion in Cambodia. All this travel got the guys thinking about the places they go and the things they love/hate about each place. More importantly, how a location independent entrepreneur can live and work from these locations and still be straight hustlin’.
TMBA 122 (LBP110) - Tropical MBA And The Power Of Conditioning Content
Dan and Ian are jet-setting around Asia for the next month between Tropical MBA sessions, currently doing some money biznass in Hong Kong. After the first Tropical MBA was so much fun and so successful, not only did they decide to host yet another session in October 2012, but the effectiveness of the program caused them to stop and re-evaluate their online priorities. All good businesses grow and change, and Tropical MBA is doing that as well.
TMBA 121 (LBP109) - The 7 Types Of Entrepreneurs And Johnny Arbitrage
This week Dan and Ian were reminded of a great project that you have all helped us to grow in the Lifestyle Business Podcast community. To date you guys have raised over $5000 on Kiva micro-funding businesses and entrepreneurs in developing countries. That’s pretty baller. Check out our Kiva page to pay it forward cause that’s what entrepreneurs do. What else do entrepreneurs do? Well, what an entrepreneur does depends a lot on what type of entrepreneur they are.
TMBA 120 (TTR12) - Our Mindset Manifesto : Lessons From 5 Years of Running a Business
I managed to sneak away from the start-ups here at the first Tropical MBA in Puerto Galera Philippines for a few minutes in order to share some of the lessons we’ve been learning together. Today we ask the question: what mindsets are critical to developing to ensuring your business success? You might be surprised by some of the answers we’ve developed.
TMBA 119 (LBP108) - Solving The Problem Of Startups
We’re a few days in to the first Tropical MBA Startup Session here in Puerto Galera and the entire team is buzzing with excitement and motivation working with these guys. Basically Dan and Ian just wander around with huge grins on their faces helping the guys with their startups. Entrepreneurs hustle hard. Which means they need to party hard too. And last night the folks at Badladz Resort did it up right and threw a party, complete with amazing live band and Filipino delicacies like balut & fried chicken heads. Which left some folks a little fuzzy headed this morning. This Tropical MBA thing seems to work. The participants are working, learning, growing, building, and spending some time escaping all that with people who are going through the exact same thing. Talk about a cure for entrepreneurial loneliness!
TMBA 118 (LBP107) - How To Compete With Free And Not Fight Downhill
Dan and Ian are together again at the infamous Badladz Resort in Puerto Galera, Philippines. This week they are joined by special guest Tim Conley from Foolish Adventure who will be working with the first group of folks here for the TMBA Start-up Summer project. Stay tuned in the next couple weeks for updates about these guys, their projects, and our Start-up Summer. This week they got a question from Shayna at EspressoEnglish.net: I run a website that teaches English as a Second Language, and I feel like I’m competing with the zillions of pages all over the internet. I’m having trouble pricing my products for a global audience and trying to compete with all the free sites out there.
TMBA 117 (LBP106) - Private Label Secrets Of Full-Time Income Bloggers
We’re not giving up the compound dream, though. In fact, it’s getting bigger. And Dan & Ian are on the lookout for a resort or 10+ private room compound to turn into TMBA HQ 2.0 for the upcoming year. If you have any leads let us know! This week, after yet another 5-Star iTunes review showers the LBP with love, Dan & Ian decided it was high time to start sharing some of the secrets that has enabled them to become six-figure full-time income bloggers (much to Ian’s mixed elation and dismay). None of this is new stuff – but it will help you to be more effective with content. What’s the most important private label secret? It’s about Social Media and SEO.
TMBA 116 (LBP105) - The Entrepreneur's DNA Checklist
In this episode Dan & Ian once again get such a humdinger of a question that it’s a full serving of meat & potatoes to chat about! Dave (who is dreaming big in Japan) asks: I’ve toyed with “make money online” stuff for a while, but now I realise that I haven’t been serious. I want to get serious. So: given resources of basically zero dollars, and 25 hours a week to spare, what ideas would you suggest to start earning $500-1000 a month asap and go from there. I’m not looking for a blueprint or a sure thing, but some lateral thinking or just your perspective. Well Dave, better than a blueprint we’ll give you and our listeners a full checklist for lateral thinking.
TMBA 115 (LBP104) - The Right Side Of History and the Secrets of Offshore Corporations
This week Dan and Ian are acting like expatriot snitches, unleashing an Offshoring 101 course onto the listeners of the LBP community. Blasting through conversation ranging from why you should and shouldn’t incorporate your business in the US to Earned Income Exclusions & FBAR’s and all the juicy details in between, including some important things they’ve learned along the way, the guys are getting into some serious business discussion. What Are The Top 3 Reasons To Offshore Your Corporation? Being on The Right Side Of History - Asset & Legal Diversification - Less Red Tape & Logistic OverheadIn the future people will do business with the countries that meet their needs. Stay tuned to the end to hear their picks for the Top 3 Jurisdictions for Offshoring your Corporation.
TMBA 114 (LBP103) - The Hero Skillset and Why No One Likes A Sell Out
This week the guys got an email from an eager and ambitious listener, Skyler: I’m extremely passionate about entrepreneurship, however, I’ve found that it can be hard to find the right opportunities. So while I have the passion, I don’t think I have the necessary skills or experience at this point. One of my goals is to work for you guys at some point, so I just wanted to find out if there’s any one skill that I should try to develop over the next year or two? The guys chewed on the question for a couple days. What are they looking for in employees and contractors? What skill is any entrepreneur looking for in employees and contractors? At the end of all that thinking (and a bit of a Vietnamese food coma) they found 5 skillsets that will be vital to anyone looking to hustle their way to a life of freedom and opportunity.
TMBA 113 (LBP102) - The Drama Denominator: Finding The Cause Of Your Biggest Business Problems
Another week and another chance to talk biznass is always a good combo. Once again Ian and Dan are talking marriage in business, discussing partnerships and what matters and what doesn’t in the listener questions. Thankfully Dan doesn’t nag Ian on his greasy oil change habits. Much. With all the questions coming in and advice going out here at LBP, Ian and Dan realized that may of the questions fall into 4 general categories.
TMBA 112 (LBP101) - The Insider's Guide To Thinking Outside The Index
Is an angel investment accelerator worth the time, resource, and money effort or should they just stop pansying around and make some real investments? In the Meat & Potatoes, Dan takes to the interview seat to chat with Matt Paulson, who has saved the LBP from a fate worse than death – Site Server Error. When Matt isn’t swooping in like a boss to save Dan and Ian, he’s running a web content company that focuses on various consumer and financial websites and newsletters. Matt has managed to build a devoted following that constantly increases with new readers and customers by NOT focusing on his SERP and SEO strategies.