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 164 (LBP141) - Rocking the Rockefeller Processes : “H” is for Hire
Dan and Ian are coming together again this week from across the seas. Ian graces us with his presence while still on his Tokyo trip with Dan getting his hands dirty down in Davao, Philippines. The fellas pull together this episode as the next chapter in the breakdown of the 1,000 Day Principle using the Rockefeller Process. This week’s discussion focuses on the next and perhaps most difficult step of growing your business through hiring employees. You’ll hear why the race to hire your first full time employee is often a crucial step in building a business instead of a job. Dan and Ian will open your eyes to the growth possibilities through hiring talent instead of ‘doing your own thing’.
TMBA 163 (LBP140) – The Location Independence Imperative
Dan and Ian are dividing and conquering for the next few weeks but don’t shed a tear, the separation is only temporary. Ian’s off to Tokyo for sushi while Dan’s swinging through the Philippines to check up on some business and meet up with entrepreneurs. This shows the beauty of operating location independent businesses which is the main topic of this week’s episode. They boys delve into an interesting conversation on the location independent movement and why it’s not just a fad. You’ll hear some pretty powerful stuff this week from getting inspired by strangeness to cities losing their value in the modern world. Plug in, sit back and grab yourself a cup of coffee since this week will no doubt leave you reflecting on the merits of location independence.
TMBA 162 (LBP139) - "P" is for Product
Entrepreneurial integrity and the true drive of a hustler shine through in this week’s episode of the Lifestyle Business Podcast. With a dose of that familiar Dan and Ian banter and a sprinkle of delightful puns, they break it down in a longer than usual episode to bring you the valuable marketing mojo you’re looking for. They pick apart the rip, pivot and jam formula to make sure you’re honing in on the proper pivot and jam methods while telling you why many people get a little off track at this point. You’ll also get Dan and Ian’s riverside hut metaphor to guide you in your quest of setting up shop and getting your first customers.
TMBA 161 (LBP138) - How The Pros Generate Winning Business Ideas
During this week’s installment of the Lifestyle Business Podcast, Dan and Ian hook up from Jakarta and Bali to provide the weekly dose you crave. When discussions range from medical examinations in South East Asia to announcements for the DC Berlin meetup, you know there’s a little something for everybody in here. The boys share some of the lowest points of their 1,000 day business journey, how they ‘stumbled’ across some of their most profitable products and why the products themselves are only half of the battle. While fielding listener questions, you’ll hear again and again about the top method of building a skillset and launching a business to solve problems in the market. Listen in to hear what this concept of success is and how you can tap into it.
TMBA 160 (LBP137) – The Kamikaze Sample and 5 Other Online Marketing Stunts
It’s Dan and Ian coming to you from Bali once again this week. They’ve been working on some hot projects coming down the pipeline and getting everything ramped up for the DC Berlin meetup. If you think that’s exciting, wait until you hear what they’ve got in store for you during this week’s episode. Dan and Ian go kamikaze this week with six marketing stunts designed to get you and you’re product or service some eyeballs. They share their first hand accounts of how these tactics have worked for them, and how you can rip, pivot and jam your way to a bump in website traffic.
TMBA 159 (LBP136) – A is for Apprentice
While spending a ruckus New Years in Bali with Brendan Tully and Tommy Schultz, Dan and Ian are ringing in the new year with a few beers, yoga and bike rides; though not all at once. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not all fun and games. They’ve also been working on putting together some Tropical MBA resources for the community, polishing off a book and simply taking care of business. This week’s discussion is centered around moving you forward in your business and social settings. Dan and Ian share their number one method to getting ahead, and show how they’re still using this process to further not only their businesses, but their friendships as well. You’ll also hear their approach to handling nay-sayers when a listener shares his experience of unsupportive parents.
TMBA 158 (LBP135) - 8 New Year's Resolutions
Dan and Ian are now back in Bali just in time for the New Year’s festivities. Between celebrations, they’ll be putting together their game plan for 2013 and setting some lofty goals for 2013. The turn of the new year marks Dan and Ian’s fifth year in business which sparks a discussion on goal setting and identifying keystone habits. These help form their New Year’s resolutions where they’ll push past just talking revenue and business growth. You’ll hear about Dan’s professional aspirations, Ian’s plan to step up his business relationships and the pairs’ health focus that will inspire you to set some New Year’s resolutions of your own.
TMBA 157 (LBP134) - If It Makes You Money, You Shouldn't Be Doing It (The SOP Episode)
Almost back in Bali! Ian’s heading to join Dan in Bali in just a few days for the end of the year. They’re going to take a look back at their businesses in 2012 and look forward at how to grow their businesses in 2013. They’ve realized that in order to continue to scale, they need to get even more focused on creating documentation and standards of procedure. They took a look at the literature and brought their experience from their e-commerce company together to bring you a step-by-step guide to start creating SOPs that let you save your profits right out of the gate.
TMBA 156 (LBP133) - Deferred Life Plans and the Action Jackson Strategy
Dan and Ian are making plans to rendevous in Bali again. Dan is still there working on his book, while Ian is in Orlando avoiding the M3 service industry guys and spending time with his family. Ian’s recent trip to a race prompted a discussion between the guys about deferred life plans. There’s a built in assumption that retirement is worth 30 years of investment, but is that true?
TMBA 155 (TTR24) - "If You Cannot Exercise This Kind of Control in Adult Life, You'll Be Totally Hosed"
It’s time for another Tropical Talk Radio podcast, which gets published every Friday afternoon (Hong Kong time). Here’s the link to subscribe in Itunes if you haven’t already done so. In this week’s episode Dan hands off the mic to a recording of David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech given in 2005 to Kenyon College in Ohio. It’s inspiring and thought-provoking.
TMBA 154 (LBP132) - "The Imagination Economy" and Other Predictions for 2013
Dan’s set a Sunday deadline for finishing his first book and getting it to a group of Beta readers. Ian and Dan have laid out the upcoming meetups for DCers with definite meetups in April (Europe) and October (Bangkok – #DCBKK) and a potential get together in the Phillipines in March. In today’s episode Dan and Ian make some predictions for 2013 and beyond. Turns out, they think Seth Godin is a pretty smart guy.
TMBA 153 (TTR23) - The Rule of 6 (Plus 5 Sociopathic Tactics)
It’s time for another Tropical Talk Radio podcast, which gets published every Friday afternoon (Hong Kong time). Here’s the link to subscribe in Itunes if you haven’t already done so. In this week’s episode I respond to a few reader emails I received this week.
TMBA 152 (LBP131) - The Rule of 6 - And the 10 Commandments of Content Marketing
It’s getting late in the year and we all know what that means: Buck season. While Ian is stalking the big bucks back in San Diego, Dan’s writing binge in Bali continues. Content Marketing is a hot topic in the internet marketing world right now, but what does content marketing really mean? Dan and Ian define what great content really is and show how you can use the Rule of 6 to spring load your content marketing efforts.
TMBA 151 (TTR22) - 4th Dimension Copywriting (and Why You Shouldn't Bother with Keyword Research)
It’s time for another Tropical Talk Radio podcast, which gets published every Friday afternoon (Hong Kong time). Here’s the link to subscribe in Itunes if you haven’t already done so. In this week’s episode I respond to a few reader emails I received this week.
TMBA 150 (LBP130) - How to Be a Happy Sociopath
Dan has adopted the Tim Ferriss book writing method and isolated himself from everything except Evernote. Ian on the other hand is tearing it up in San Diego and prepping for a motorcycle race. In this week’s episode, Dan and Ian explore the benefits of being a “sociopath” (it’s not what it sounds like). Inspired by a Ribbonfarm post from Venkat, they discuss the relationship between sociopaths, the clueless, and the losers.
TMBA 149 (TTR21) - Spotlight Marketing (+ Have We Found the Community Marketer's Secret Weapon?)
It’s time for another Tropical Talk Radio podcast, which gets published every Friday afternoon (Asia time). Here’s the link to subscribe in Itunes if you haven’t already done so. In this week’s episode I respond to a few reader emails I received this week.
TMBA 148 (LBP129) - ROUND 1 - Business Idea Smackdown - Dan “Coconut Crusher” Andrews vs. Ian “Benjamins by Birth” Schoen
Dan’s bean bag sitting in Bali, intermittently nuking himself off the internet to make sure he gets his book taken care of on time while Ian’s in San Diego taking care of business like a boss. After getting some inspiration from the Adsense Flippers, Dan and Ian decided to go for a knock down drag out four-rounder this week. They asked Taylor, the new guy on the team, to put together 4 unique business premises. Dan and Ian come up with unique solutions to each premise and it’s up to you guys to decide who came out on top.
TMBA 147 (TTR20) - What Is the Best Place in Southeast Asia for Internet Entrepreneurs?
This week I totally geek out on one of my favorite topics: how do various locations in Southeast Asia stack up to each other for internet entrepreneurs? During the conversation I share a lot of anecdotes from my last 5 months on the road, along with a few new pieces of information I’ve picked up along the way. Hope you enjoy and curious to hear your thoughts as always.
TMBA 146 (LBP128) - Manipulating the Success Script
Dan’s still in Bali grinding out his first book while Ian’s back in San Diego working on taking the product business to the next level. Inspired by a talk Cal Newport gave, Dan and Ian reveal that the script to success, however you define it. While success is something each person decides on, there is a script that everyone can follow to get themselves there. With all the talk in the blogosphere about “passion,” the true story about achieving success and happiness seems to be a little more complex.
TMBA 145 (TTR19) - The 2% Fallacy and 10 Business Red Flags
I’m back in Bali hoping to take advantage of the inspiring scenery and lifestyle to get a ton of work done. I was excited to hop on the mic solo-style this week and address those of you who plan to spend the weekend hustling away. In this week’s show I talk about some digital nomad hot spots as well as 10 business red flags that prevent you and your business from achieving maximum velocity.