Juliette Stapleton is a born entrepreneur. It's evident in every word she says and every thought she expresses. Her journey towards entrepreneurship and rise to online visibility royalty was quite a ride, but she gained a wealth of experience and knowledge she now shares with others. Her successful track record working with entrepreneurs/individuals at all stages of their own journey speaks for itself, too.

Juliette had something of an epiphany in 2017 when she recognized she had abandoned her dreams and wasn't pursuing the life she wanted. She read a testimonial article from an online coach that proved to be her wake up call. She decided that instead of working for others, she was going to work for herself.

Through personal and professional difficulties, she learned that striking out on your own as an entrepreneur means finding a comfortable, pragmatic way to figure yourself out. You will know best what that is.  Once you've got you squared away, then it's time to start looking for ways to help others and build strong relationships. From those relationships, your visibility and your brand will grow.

We talk a lot about the importance of self-development, and how one-on-one coaching is vital to your continuing journey and developing inspired content that grabs attention. Juliette also puts special emphasis on what she calls "Finding The Flow", which is all about closely observing how people and concepts interact in the world around them. Look for what works and what doesn't, and record your findings and reflections.

Finally, we wrap up our discussion by talking about the importance of facing fear, delegation, and realistic expectations. Juliette very emphatically states that to achieve great things and greater visibility, sometimes you just have to say "F*ck it! I can do this. I want this."

Pushing past your fear takes a lot out of you, so Juliette insists  you must learn to delegate draining tasks to others so you can focus on maintaining your determination and give it your all. She also reminds all of us that plans and dreams have their own time table. Things don't happen overnight. We need to trust that we are moving in the right direction and be patient while our hard work bears fruit.

I had a great time talking with Juliette, and I hope you get a lot out of listening to this episode today. Please be sure to like, share and comment, and you can find out more about how to reach Juliette in the links below. See you next time!

You can connect with Juliette via her website, email, her personal Facebook, Social Media Visibility That Gets Clients Facebook Group, Queen of Visibility Facebook Group, or LinkedIn. Find out more about the solutions available from Business Marketing Engine. Learn more actionable advice from leading entrepreneurs by listening to more installments of Today's Business Leaders.

 

In this episode of Today's Business Leaders, Frank Mendoza shares some of his success secrets for running your own business. Frank is the owner and founder of Catalytics Consulting. After working on several startups at Dell, he got his mini MBA and formed his own company.

The Basics of a Startup

Before he could launch his business, Frank had to identify what you need from a consulting practice. He came up with four basic things:

- Leads

- A way to close leads

- An execution strategy

- Referrals

Frank needed to identify what his biggest risk was so he could mitigate it. He thought it would be closing sales at first since that was his area of least experience. However, a little more reflection revealed that leads was actually the biggest risk. Without leads, there was no opportunity to close a sale.

He had to figure out a way to create a pipeline that would always produce fresh leads. That led him to Hourly Nerd, a marketplace for independent consultants and cooperations. He was able to create a profile showcasing his skills and talents. This led him to land his first major contract.

Risk Aversion and the Entrepreneur

Frank has a significant risk aversion. He thought that it would hinder his ability to grow his business. Over time, though, he realized aversion to risk doesn't have to be a negative thing. In fact, it can help you to be smarter about the risks you take.

"De-risk as much until you feel comfortable and don't compare yourself to anyone else ultimately. Because what works for you may not work for other people," Frank says. You need to identify the people who matter to you most and learn from them. This will help mitigate unnecessary risk and will also help you keep moving forward. "Figure out your core people that you trust and resonate with, and keep them close."

What it's All About

At Catalytics, Frank helps organizations break down and digest big data to make better decisions. He works with AI to show how data can help improve society and individuals. He's also working on a new startup, Detecting Talent. This company focuses on helping organizations identify their top level talent employees. Then they figure out proactive ways to retain them. 

Frank warns that we should always be mindful of our ego. "Being a good consultant does not mean you know how to run a good consulting firm." Don't be overconfident. You're going to need help, so be willing to ask for it. Connect with Frank at his website, on Linkedin, on Instagram or by email. You can also find him at fxmendoza.com and fxmendoza.tv.

 

Many of our guests on this podcast are passionate about what they do, but Pam's passion for helping people find their fire and create the authentic life they want to live is unique. We get right down to business from the start, and Pam outlines why she does what she does while telling us a bit about her life's work.

As a spiritual life coach, Pam focuses on keeping herself and her clients balanced physically, intellectually and spiritually. Many entrepreneurs are all about the first two areas of personal wellbeing, but too often they neglect their spiritual life. You can't have an authentic life without all three. Rather than advocating a specific spiritual path though, Pam focuses on helping clients find the path that they are most passionate about.

She started Live Authentically as a way to reach a wider audience, and to create a platform for the most important aspects of a healthy spiritual life: nothing forced is meant to be, the universe will always have your back, and do not ignore how you feel when you are going about your work and personal life. Her preferred clients are those interested in improving their health and wellness, those looking for a healthy and balanced mind/body/spirit life, and anyone struggling to put their lives back together after a setback or disappointment. For Pam, it's all about approaching your life balance from a heart center and not just a head center.

Our conversation gets more specific at this point, especially regarding how you start the process of determining where to go with your life and where the universe is trying to take you. I like how she emphasizes the point that all of us already have the answers inside of us, and that reflection and introspection are key to building a healthy spiritual life. Pam talks about how you shouldn't ignore intuition, and the importance of removing distractions from your life so you can connect with your intuition and go with that flow.

Pam also makes the key point that much of our lives can become consumed with distractions rather than paying attention to how we spend our time. The primary problem here for most of her clients is discovering for themselves what is recreation and what is a distraction. Losing ourselves in distractions that don't help us connect with our intuition.  Pam's solution to this is to unplug from your life, get outside for a walk or a run, or find something else that relaxes you and frees you from the distractions that crowd your life.

We wrap up our talk for the episode with the three fundamentals that direct Pam's mission with Live Authentically:

1. Bring awareness to trust your intuition
2. Trust that the universe will take care of you if you are following your intuition
3. Everything turns out better than anticipated

If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to check out Pam's website below. She also has a book coming out in a few months, so if you're interested in learning more, I'd encourage you to give it a read. Hope you enjoy today's podcast, and we'll see you again soon.

You can connect with Pam via her website, email, or her podcast. Find out more about the solutions available from Business Marketing Engine. Learn more actionable advice from leading entrepreneurs by listening to more installments of Today's Business Leaders.

It was great talking to Lisa Mallis again on the show. She brings a lifetime of experience, practical knowledge and strategies to help everyone get more life (not just work) out of each day. Our conversation begins with reviewing Lisa's unique background, and it's an interesting story.

Originally, Lisa was a classroom math teacher who loved students and teaching. Eventually, she moved on to become a school administrator and eventually an athletic director. During this time, she started Impactive Strategies as a side business and quickly realized she was an entrepreneur at heart. Lisa was and always has been an exceptional educator, but she came to the realization that "Just because you're good at something doesn't mean that's what you're meant to do."

Lisa began tutoring college students, a job that led her to become an organizer and develop many of the strategies she still uses today. It was during this time she began to realize that she wanted to be a professional organizer, not of physical space but an organizer of time. Inspired by her experiences, Lisa then began to apply what she had discovered through experience to expand and improve Impactive Strategies.

Our conversation moved on from her story to the structure of what she teaches now through capacity coaching. We discussed techniques like the 168-Hour Exercise (examining your hours in a week and how you spend them), how you want to spend your time, and setting a date to accomplish what you need to do. From there, we move on to Biological Primetime (with ideas from When by Daniel Pink) and how to leverage your mind-body connections to get more done each day.

We wrapped up with a profile of Lisa's ideal client (Maybe you?), and discussed how Impactive Strategies evaluates the effectiveness of your plan for your time and your life.

If you enjoyed today's episode and would like the opportunity to hear her in person, Lisa Mallis is scheduled to speak at the NAWBO conference hosted by Mike Michalowicz in Cleveland, September 2020. Give this episode a listen to learn more about maximizing the potential of each day and making the most of every moment.

You can connect with Lisa via her website, email, her personal Facebook, business Facebook or LinkedIn. Find out more about the solutions available from Business Marketing Engine. Learn more actionable advice from leading entrepreneurs by listening to more installments of Today's Business Leaders.

 

I start out asking Dave about how the One Funnel Away Challenge got started and why ClickFunnels has spearheaded this process. We talk about Dave's process for creating the ideal customer to shape your client and corporate culture, and about the testing process involved. Dave recommends looking at what works in other niches and industries and emulating the best of what you find. A good idea is a good idea, and expecting to develop the best ideas in your industry on your own isn't realistic.

At this point, we get more detail about the One Funnel Away Challenge specifically. Dave lays it out in simple language (one of the characteristics I like best about talking with him), and he gives specifics for entrepreneurs to follow for their own business. Your challenge begins with a 30-day commitment from ClickFunnels for a concentrated, focused effort to get your first funnel started. They will ensure you get at least one funnel working in that time, and they have daily accountability check-ins to help clients stay on target.

Your first week is all about establishing or discarding beliefs and overcoming the obstacles that exist in your own mind. The remaining weeks of your 30 day challenge are devoted to taking incremental actions daily. As you take action, you start to see success from your efforts as the funnel builds and feeds. Dave also shares some tips for multi-dimensional marketing, front end/back end returns, and how to understand your audience when composing marketing for SMS, email and social media. He also details the critical components of maintaining a vision of where you're going, how to leverage network marketing, and his own secrets of ecommerce success.

I hope you enjoy this episode of our podcast, and that you benefit from Dave Woodward's advice and tips for getting 2020 off to a successful start. Check out Dave's website and feel free to contact him about your own One Funnel Away Challenge. See you next time! You can connect with Dave via email, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Find out more about the solutions available from Business Marketing Engine. Learn more actionable advice from leading entrepreneurs by listening to more installments of Today's Business Leaders.

On today's episode, AmpMyContent founder Daniel Daines-Hutt discusses web traffic and conversion. Daniel is an industry expert who has discovered how to drive tons of traffic to his posts time and again. He enjoys the highest ROIs and opt-in rates in the industry, making a lot of money in the process. He not only knows what he's talking about, but he also practices what he preaches.

Getting Back to Content Marketing Basics

There are a variety of ways to drive traffic to your website. Yet, it's important not to neglect the foundation of online marketing: great content. "Google is always trying to get people back to the fundamentals because they have a core system that they use," Daniel says. "They want good content."

With an 83% opt-in rate, Daniel seems to be onto something. Add more keywords, insert definitive calls to action and consistently promote valuable posts. Magical things start happening when you do.

The Future of Content Marketing and SEO

While quality content is crucial, you shouldn't ignore other channels of promotion altogether. Invest in Google Ads and build links to get the most out of your asset. Daniel relates, "A really easy way to get a backlink is on a resource page. So if someone says, 'here's the best articles about paid ads.' Then you have an article about that and you tell them...it's a good article and they check it out, there's a really high chance that they'll put it on there."

Video's Effect on Content Marketing

Daniel acknowledges that video has become a huge venue, and it can be worth utilizing. Even so, it's not something everyone should feel pressured to master. If you can create quality videos to complement your content, then great. Put it in your content and be sure you are doing good video SEO. But don't get so pressured to produce video that your content begins to suffer. "If you're trying to do too many things, then you won't go deep enough in any of them," he warns.

Perfect Your Craft and Your Strategy

Daniel is a believer in working smart. "Going out and promoting content that doesn't convert doesn't make sense. So improve the content first." Once you've perfected the content, start using all the different channels together to increase traffic. After that, patience is a virtue.

Daniel offers this advice: "You have to treat content marketing like farming. Like, you won't see a result right away, but you're going to take the time to put in the effort because eventually, it will pay off." You can connect with Daniel via email, his website, or on Twitter. Find out more about the solutions available from Business Marketing Engine. Learn more actionable advice from leading entrepreneurs by listening to more installments of Today's Business Leaders.

Today's podcast episode presents a conversation between Gabe Arnold and Wally Carmichael. Carmichael is a shot-from-the hip entrepreneur who can help your business see fantastic results. Keep listening to learn about all the helpful information Mr. Carmichael provides. Mr. Carmichael provides.

The Mindset of Abundance

Of course, anyone who sets out down the entrepreneurial trail wants to be successful. The first key to attaining that goal is to start with the mindset of abundance. This idea is similar to the military outlook of always improving your foxhole. Since you are going to be spending a lot of time in one place, you need to be active and productive by continually fortifying it and improving it. You can accomplish this by continuing to do things that add value to other people as well as yourself.

Moving From Struggling to Abundance

To move from a place where you are struggling to a place where you have abundance, you need to start with mindset and perspective. First, put yourself into the mindset that abundance is not about money, it's about resources, which include your connections, relationships, spiritual connections, health and anything else important to you as well as paying all of that forward. Then, you need to be brave enough to break out of the mold that everyone else is working from. You can't just be good at offering the product or service you have. You need to be good at the business end, too. Plus, always keep in mind that your business not only provides a service for your customers, you are also providing a service to yourself.

Changing the Scarcity Mindset

It is easy to adopt an attitude of holding onto things and not wanting to squander anything. With this mindset also comes the attitude that if you give something then something is expected in return. This mindset can be inborn from a culture or learned from a family situation. But, if you have that mindset from any origin, you need to break out of it. The first step in changing that way of thinking is by changing the language you use. Keep in mind that this change cannot happen overnight. It takes time and effort. Try journaling, making a conscious effort to correct your word choices and incorporate your new vocabulary into your vernacular and writing the words you should be using on sticky notes so you can access them at all times. Consistently employing these tricks will help you change the words you use and ultimately your mindset.

Coaching

Working with a coach is a great way to forge forward in your entrepreneurial life. A coach can help you see things from a different perspective and help you grow. But, you need to be careful about who you choose for a coach. Although on the surface, someone may seem to be the ideal mentor, there is a chance that you only want part of what that person has and not the whole picture. When you seek out a mentor or coach, make sure you do your due diligence and get to know someone before you invest yourself in that person.

What's New With Wally?

Even though Wally has reduced his workload, he's still busy helping entrepreneurs be successful. His new venture is a group program where we will work with 10 people at a time via a weekly Zoom call. His goal is to help participants see the necessity for different levels of entry by working with partners in different industries.

If you want to learn more about Wally or if you are interested in learning how to go from earning revenue that feeds your ego to earning profits that feed your family, click here or send him an email. Find out more about the solutions available from Business Marketing Engine. Learn more actionable advice from leading entrepreneurs by listening to more installments of Today's Business Leaders.

Hayk Tadevosyan returns to Today's Business Leaders to offer invaluable insight on what it takes to start and run a successful business. He came to the US with his father in 2001 in search of the American Dream. At the age of 18, Hayk seized the opportunity to break into the insurance industry. Today, he is the top producing agent out of six states in the Pacific Northwest. He has also written a powerful book: The Power of Mindset.

Hard Work and Tenacity go a Long Way

Hayk's father often stated, "nothing substitutes good old fashioned hard work." This principal fueled a grueling nine-month internship as an insurance agent. It would also lay the foundation for a successful business a short time later.

Gaining 2,000 prospects in that short amount of time seemed near impossible, but Hayk had sheer determination. He learned the two most powerful words in marketing: free and save. He started to implement that language during his calls. As some people rejected his proposal, he began looking forward to 10 "no's." He knew that there eventually would be 10 "yes's" as well.

Embracing the Seasons of Business

Hayk understood businesses take hard work at first, but he also knew that intensity shouldn't last forever. "First you work for your business, right? And then your business starts working for you," Hayk says. He found that a certain amount of effort yields a certain amount of results. You figure out what level that is and then do it.

You don't want to be running everything sunup till sundown the rest of your life, though. In the first 1-2 year season of business you have to. But when the season changes, you begin training your team on how to do what you do. In essence, you replicate yourself. This season lasts for years 2-4, and then after that, you should be able to step away without worrying.

Looking to the Future

Hayk plans to stay involved in his now successful business. He is enjoying more free time to be with his family and write more books. You can contact Hayk by email, through his website or via social media at Instagram or Facebook. His book, The Power of Mindset, is now available on Amazon. Find out more about the solutions available from Business Marketing Engine. Learn more actionable advice from leading entrepreneurs by listening to more installments of Today's Business Leaders.

When Nathaniel Fraser was a teenager, he had a bit of an epiphany. He had dropped out of high school and was working at a steam cleaning company, and he was selling weed on the side. It didn't take long for him to realize that making money through marijuana was a lot more engaging and fulfilling than his job.

Fortunately, Nathan didn't immediately turn into a drug kingpin - instead, he decided to start a business. However, being a teenager without a lot of formal education meant that he went to the school of hard knocks instead of an accredited university.

Nathan's first venture was a record label at 19. Producing music was fun, but it wasn't the kind of work that vibed with his entrepreneurial spirit He ran it into the ground. Next was a t-shirt company. He ran that into the ground.

After that, Nathan's third business was a software program where people could put graffiti on a cake. This idea had initial success, but he soon found himself with a product that he couldn't sell. Again, he had an "aha" moment; selling is the key to being a successful entrepreneur.

Once Nathan recognized where his path was going to lead, he got into sales copywriting, and now he's in a much better place than his initial failures would necessarily dictate.

Copywriting and the Sales Process

During his experience in shifting towards a sales mentality, Nathaniel realized that there were some vital questions he wasn't asking himself before, such as:

• What about this product or service will make people want to buy it?
• If people aren't buying something, why is that the case?
• Why am I trying to sell something that no one wants to buy?
• Who else is selling this, and what kind of experiences or issues is that business having?

As an entrepreneur, it's often too easy to get excited about your new idea, but the fact is that you need to prove it's sellable before you should invest any money into it. After all, it doesn't matter how cool or slick your ad campaign is - what matters is whether anyone will buy the product.

Other Highlights From Nathaniel

Being an entrepreneur and failing forward is a much better teacher than most sales or business classes. Here are some gems that Nathan offered during our discussion.

• Education is more than a classroom. The modern education system isn't built to teach students; it's to create a receptive and domesticated workforce.
• You control your life. Other people may try to tell you how to live, but in the end, you're the one who has to live with your decisions, so don't let anyone else make them for you.
• Work for yourself and your interests. When you let clients or customers dictate the terms of your business, you are doomed to fail.

That last part also influences how Nathaniel works. As a copywriter, he writes for his own companies and other clients. However, he'd much rather develop and produce for himself than his clients. Currently, he writes a lot of sales and landing pages, and he's always refining his writing process to make it as captivating as possible.

You can check out the rest of the podcast here, and be sure to read more about Nathan and his successes from his new book, "How to Write the Perfect Sales Page." The book illustrates the 12-step method for writing modern sales pages that work, including how to use psychology and stories to get your message across.

Find out more about Nathan on his website, buy his book, and follow him on social media.

Janis Pettit makes her second visit to Today's Business Leaders to talk about how CEOs can both help and sabotage their businesses. During her 30 years of being an entrepreneur, Janis has run four successful companies. She has employed a whole lot of trial and error, but she has always come out on top and learned so much actionable advice along the way.

You Can't Get Away from Yourself

Janis shares a common adage about how business problems are always well disguised personal problems. A lot of the problem's entrepreneurs face are really just personal issues. "I think all entrepreneurs have a certain amount of fear that steers them in the wrong direction one time or another," Janis explains. "Once you develop a certain level of self-awareness, and you see that for what it is, it's just fear that's holding you back, everything changes and you're able to push through that and make the right decisions for your business."

Attachment Issues

Janis has seen plenty of entrepreneurs who fall in love with a bad idea. They become too emotionally attached to this idea, and they fail to realize or acknowledge that maybe their idea isn't that great. Simple research would indicate there isn't a need or demand for their idea, and there are actually other business plans and ideas that would be a better fit, but they make up their mind and go for it.

This is self-sabotage. A certain level of detachment is necessary, so entrepreneurs are able to be free to new possibilities in their business. Through personal growth and focus, entrepreneurs can connect with who they are in their heart, and they can stop putting on a show for other people.

Enjoying the Freedom of Entrepreneurship

Janis goes on to explain more about working from the inside out to build relationships, the value of self-reflection and how this all relates back to growing your business. Get in touch with Janis through email, visit her site, connect on LinkedIn, Facebook or YouTube. Hear more interviews with leading entrepreneurs by listening to other episodes of Today's Business Leaders and find out more about Business Marketing Engine, Gabe's company, and the available solutions.

Donnie Boivin spent 20 years in sales, and an offhand comment made him realize it was time for a change. It turns out he was not at all prepared for that change, but he figured out what worked and continued to learn and is now running a successful coaching business and is at the helm of a top podcast. Donnie visits Today's Business Leaders to share his story, lots of actionable advice and his plans to launch a new podcast.

Being His Own Boss

Donnie worked in sales, and he was good at it, but he realized he worked his entire career enabling someone else to retire. This pushed Donnie to become an entrepreneur, and one of the first things he learned on this journey was that everything he thought he knew about being an entrepreneur was wrong.

"When I made the jump, I kept trying to create a job for myself versus a business," explains Donnie. He was always an employee and reporting to someone else, so while he had leadership skills, it was still an adjustment to being his own boss. At a certain point, Donnie was all in personally and professionally and was on the verge of losing it all.

The Role of Podcasting

After a motivational pep talk from his wife, Donnie knew he had to turn things around. He agreed to be a guest on a podcast, and this single event altered his path going forward. After appearing on that podcast, he landed a client, so he managed to get himself on every podcast he possibly could. Donnie appeared on 67 podcasts over a 30-day period. It was intense and a grind, but he did it.

This led to Donnie creating his own podcast, Donnie Success Champions. The entire experience has been complete trial and error. He started out with very basic equipment, and over time, Donnie has upgraded his gear and fine-tuned the process to create a top 200 podcast. He is now speaking about podcasting and is able to grow his business. "[Podcasting] got me to where I wanted to go, it just wasn't the path I was choosing," says Donnie.

Stay Connected

Get in touch with Donnie via email or visit his website. Connect on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or Twitter. Find out more about the solutions available from Business Marketing Engine. Learn more actionable advice from leading entrepreneurs by listening to more installments of Today's Business Leaders.