In The Trenches

Caspar Craven is a conference and corporate event speaker, adventurer who sailed around the world with his wife and three children, and the best selling author of the book Where the Magic Happens. In today’s episode, Caspar and I talk about his experience sailing around the world with his wife and three children, who are all under the age of 10, and how he was able to manage his family and his business at the same time. We discuss what he learned about entrepreneurship, productivity, success and overall happiness in general. My big takeaway from today’s conversation is that everyone should have a goal and an aim for their family. This goal and aim should pull your family into the future so that they are inspired collectively. In this broadcast, Caspar and I talk about: What it was like to sail around the world with his family in tow How Caspar was able to manage his expenses while traveling How his travels led to developing new business ventures What were the challenges surrounding time spent working on

Dov Gordon is a coach who helps consultants, coaches and experts get ideal clients. He is the founder and head coach of The Alchemist Entrepreneur, which works on the core concepts of your marketing message and systematic implementation.   On today’s episode, I sit down with Dov Gordon, a coach who helps consultants, coaches and experts land their ideal clients. We dive into precisely how you should be crafting your tagline or hooks that will allow you to get more clients. My big takeaway from today’s conversation is Dov’s three step process that he walks through with clients when he’s helping them develop their taglines and hooks.   In this broadcast, Dov and I talk about:   What led Dov to enter the consultant space How did Dov use the “live it to learn it” mentality In what ways did Dov use experiential learning without a college education What is the “path of mastery” and how it applies to a marketing funnel How to lead a customer through an experience  The importance of connecting with a master

Eric Bandholz is the founder of Beardbrand and the first urban beardsman. He is passionate about changing the way society views beardsmen. Eric wants to help men find ways to keep on growing and become better men. He currently resides in Austin, Texas with his wife, daughter and dog.   Today, I’m sitting down with Eric Bandholz. You may know him from Shark Tank, though he did not walk away from the Sharks with an investment… And that is something I wanted to talk to Eric about today. He is such a stunning example of someone who bootstrapped something from scratch simply because he believed in it. His hard work and dedication showed that slow and consistent growth can be a huge game-changer for entrepreneurs. Even though Eric has grown his brand to a thriving, successful multimillion dollar business, he is still able to live a life that he loves to live.    In this broadcast, Eric and I talk about:   How did Eric’s entrepreneurial journey begin In what ways did Eric prepare for his time on Shark Tank Wh

Mani Vaya is the founder of 2000 Books. He is a Physicist and Electrical and Computer Engineer. Mani spent 13 years in the tech industry rising up the ranks to manage billion dollar cellphone projects at a Fortune 500 company. However, he realized that ambitious entrepreneurs must read often and constantly feed their minds with great ideas. Thus, 2000 Books was founded.   Today, I’m sitting down with Mani Vaya who bootstrapped his company after leaving the corporate sector. He has been able to grow 2000 Books into a profitable and cash flowing business. In today’s conversation, we talk about how he took his simple concept and executed it very well. My biggest takeaway is why we must focus more on reading and reading comprehension in the sense of understanding the value of reading books and how to read books more effectively. So give this episode a listen, take some notes, and then try out the methods we discuss.   In this broadcast, Mani and I talk about:   What inspired Mani’s business 2000 Books How d

Taylor Lou Dixon helps women create amazing businesses/passion projects/and side hustles as an integral part of their higher purpose. Prior to coaching, Taylor managed to create a profitable and growing social media agency. She worked with clients like Chick-Fil-A and other big-name restaurant chains; however, she learned it was important to her to facilitate a true inner joy and confidence for women who are deciding to take those first steps towards creating their own dream life.   Taylor is a lifestyle design coach for millennial women. She helps these women design lifestyles that they love and really enjoy. I brought Taylor onto the podcast today to talk about how she approaches branding her own business and how she approaches her target market. I’m excited to explore how she approaches these two things because I think when it comes to branding and target audiences, most business owners need help in figuring out what content actually resonates and converts. My big takeaway from today’s conversation is th

Meny Hoffman is the Chief Executive Officer of Ptex Group, a marketing agency located in Brooklyn, NY, and a published business author. He is a lifelong entrepreneur who is passionate about collaborating with growing businesses to create winning strategies that yield hard-hitting results. More recently, Meny has fused his business development experience into the role of an angel investor. By investing in promising startups and walking them through the challenging journey of growth, Meny knows he’s fulfilling his entrepreneurial calling, while helping his fellow business people succeed.   In today’s conversation, I sit down with Meny Hoffman to talk about what it was like for him to build his agency from scratch and to be in business for close to a decade now in New York and still thriving. We dive into what it’s really like to bootstrap an agency, how he approaches hiring, his processes and systems for that, and how he gets the right employees on board in the right way. This is a particular interesting conv

Abdo Riani is the founder of StartupCircle where aspiring and rising entrepreneurs can connect with and learn from successful founders over daily live Q&A sessions. He also mentors and guides entrepreneurs to their first paying customers and beyond. Abdo helps entrepreneurs design a plan to market under the condition of the unavailability of the product and by doing things that don't scale.   During today’s conversation, I talk with Abdo Riani about his Bootstrapping Summit. We discuss how he came up with the idea, what he did to implement it, what this idea did for his business, and the ins and outs of what worked really well and what didn’t. We explore what Abdo would improve and where he would double down next time. This conversation is great for those of you who are interested in running a virtual summit to get a feel for what it takes to execute a successful summit. My big takeaway from this conversation is to get out there and follow your virtual summit ideas because they don’t have to be a huge t

Liam Austin is the Co-Founder of Entrepreneurs HQ. He hosts marketing summits and sends a daily marketing tactic via EHQ Daily to help small business owners and entrepreneurs grow their business. Liam’s passion for entrepreneurship began whilst at Macquarie University when he was tasked with growing strategic partnerships for one of the top tech startups in Sydney, Soulmates Technology. This foray into tech led Liam to begin building and running his own businesses online to varying degrees of success.   In today’s conversation, Liam and I discuss virtual summits. What are they? How do they work? And why could they be so profitable? Liam is someone who is an expert in this space, and I’m eager to learn more about where he focuses his time and attention when planning these summits and what are some things that you should be considering if you want to run a virtual summit someday. My hope is that this conversation will give you the foundation and the fundamentals you need to run a successful virtual summit. My

Steve Glaveski's mission is to unlock the latent potential of organisations and people to create more impact for humanity and lead more fulfilling lives. He is CEO and Co-Founder of Collective Campus, a corporate innovation and startup accelerator based in Melbourne, Australia with clients across the world. Steve is also the author of the current Wiley book, Employee to Entrepreneur, which is available in bookstores around the world, and previously self-published two books, including an Amazon bestseller. Steve co-founded Lemonade Stand - a children's entrepreneurship program, hosts the Apple Podcast charting Future Squared, is a founding investor in Konkrete, a blockchain-enabled share registry and is a contributor to Harvard Business Review.   Today I’m chatting with Steve Glaveski to talk about entrepreneurship and doing work that matters. My big takeaway from this conversation is that there is no cure all. There is no technique, no strategy, tactic, hack or trick that will make you a successful entrepr

Abby Walker is the CEO of Vivian Lou Inc., a single-product company with multi-million dollar annual sales dedicated to helping women look and feel better in high heels. She started her company as a “hobby” business (while being a full-time working mom) after picking up the phone and asking one simple question. Abby has also written her book Strap On a Pair to inspire fellow middle-aged, middle-management, middle-class moms to take the first step—or the next step—toward finding their something more.   Today, I’m sitting down with Abby Walker, who is the founder of Vivian Lou. Vivian Lou is a shoe company that focuses on creating insoles for high heels so that high heels are more comfortable to wear. During our conversation, Abby shares some of the fortuitous events that took place in order for her to get her business idea off the ground. The crazy part about Abby’s story is that she started off as a blogger and she didn’t create the actual insoles herself. She found them through a recommendation on a forum,

Shawn Askinosie left a successful career as a criminal defense lawyer to start a bean to bar chocolate factory and never looked back. Askinosie Chocolate is a small batch, award winning chocolate factory located in Springfield, Missouri, sourcing 100% of their beans directly from farmers around the world. Recently named by Forbes "One of the 25 Best Small Companies in America", Askinosie Chocolate has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, on Bloomberg, MSNBC and numerous other national and international media outlets.   During today’s conversation, Shawn gives us a look behind the scenes of his business, how he started it from trial lawyer to chocolatier, and the ups and downs of what that process was like. We also discuss meaningful work and what Shawn the drive and passion to continue to do what he does even though it can be really really difficult. One of my major takeaways from today’s conversation is Shawn’s approach to business and his idea of reverse scale. We explore whe

Max Kolysh is a serial entrepreneur and investor. After graduating early from MIT with a degree in Computer Science, Max co-founded Zinc.io, a 15 person startup in San Francisco, California, which now powers tens of thousands of e-commerce companies around the world.   During today’s conversation with Max, we zoom in on his entrepreneurial journey and how he grew his startup to $6 million in revenue. We also dive into what being a part of a startup incubator environment is really like. My big takeaway from today’s conversation is specifically on the aspect of user acquisition and customer acquisition. We discuss how Max thinks about acquiring new customers by leveraging their existing customer base to grow their platform through influencer marketing.   In this broadcast, Max and I talk about:   What is Max’s founder story How did Max learn about Y Combinator and what was that process like Did Max’s startup idea change while going through Y Combinator How did Max define the metrics their team wanted

Tina van Leuven helps soulpreneurs align their energy and mindset with the intentions, desires, and vision they have for their business and their life. She does this by helping to clear their money blocks and energetically release lifelong limiting programming that have been sabotaging entrepreneurs from creating the results they know deep within their hearts are possible, yet haven’t been able to achieve. Tina helps entrepreneurs reconnect with their own source of joy and abundance while discovering ways to express that in their business so that they may begin monetising their unique gifts.   Today we’re talking about what abundance is, why it’s important, and some interesting archetypes that go along with the idea of abundance. We’ll also dive into a short discussion about her recent launch that we worked on together. My biggest takeaway from this conversation is that we all have an archetype, but it’s how we use and embrace this archetype that will see us reaping the benefits.   In this broadcast, Tina

Kyle Gray is an entrepreneur, the founder of ConversionCake, and a bestselling author who helps startups and small businesses grow their businesses with content marketing. He has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs create scalable content marketing strategies while also creating step-by-step processes and templates to automate and delegate tasks. Kyle’s book The Story Engine outlines his process for making content marketing and brand storytelling easy and effective.   In today’s conversation with Kyle, we’re talking about how to use storytelling to become an authority in your niche while boosting sales and winning the hearts and minds of your audience. In other words, we’re exploring how you can start selling with story. My biggest takeaway from this conversation is that using story in your marketing really does sell and it is what cuts through the noise and nonstop interruption based marketing techniques that you see all over social media.   In this broadcast, Kyle and I talk about:   What was Kyle’s jour

Anne Janzer is an award-winning author on a mission to help writers communicate more effectively. She has worked with over a hundred technology businesses, from industry giants to innovative start-ups, helping them articulate positioning and messaging in crowded markets. Anne also coaches business leaders on communicating their ideas with impact, clarity and marketing teams on telling brand stories that strengthen customer relationships.   During this podcast, I explore why so many businesses are moving to subscription based business models with Anne. We also dive into the how’s and why’s behind whether or not you should consider integrating a subscription model into your business.   In this broadcast, Anne and I talk about:   How did Anne get started in subscription marketing How is software enhancing subscription businesses Why have so many businesses moved to offering subscriptions How are subscriptions more like renting things rather than owning In what ways do subscriptions eliminate risk How c

Mojca Zove is a Facebook Ads expert, author of the Facebook Ads Manual, and international speaker. Her work focuses on helping businesses generate more leads and increase profits with a professionally-made Facebook Advertising Strategy so that they can devote their time to other aspects in their business. Mojca works with multimillion-dollar businesses from all over the globe. In her work, she focuses on implementing previously tested and already successful strategies for generating the best results.   I brought Mojca onto the podcast to discuss what’s working in the space of Facebook advertising, how she’s setting up campaigns that are lucrative, and what Facebook Ads funnel structure will actually convert. My biggest takeaway from today’s conversation is that even though we’ve heard a lot about how Facebook Ads are becoming more and more expensive and results are decreasing, I have a better understanding that these negatives are really because of the level of competition and not Facebook itself. So if you

Adam Anderson is CEO of Hook-Security. He is also a long-time small business owner who happens to be one of the leading authorities on small business cybersecurity. This serial entrepreneur is an author, who has written several books on cyber security and cyber crime to help other business owners understand and navigate the digital world. Adam is on a mission to help fellow business owners find the answer to the question, “Should I even care about cybersecurity?”   I brought Adam onto the podcast today to talk about what small business owners and online entrepreneurs can do to stay safe online as we leverage online portals and platforms. We’re also going to be discussing what we can do to protect our online assets, websites, and our products from intellectual theft in the online space. My biggest takeaway from this chat is that security and protecting our online businesses from the start is one of the most important and crucial elements of what we do online.   In this broadcast, Adam and I talk about:  

Joshua Zloof is the CEO of Sudden Coffee, a premium instant coffee brand. He has 10 years of combined experience in Mobile App Product Management, Lean Operations, Supply Chain, and Logistics.   I brought Joshua onto In The Trenches to discuss his startup journey and what it was really like for him to develop his idea and actually launch it. To many, Joshua’s idea of founding a premium instant coffee company might sound bizarre, because we equate “instant coffee” with “cheap”. However, during today’s episode you will learn that the two are not mutually exclusive. I think what Joshua has done to build his business with various marketing techniques and experiments is really quite fascinating, and so my biggest takeaway is just that... It’s okay to do something different and to go against what everyone else is doing because it might just pay off - in real life and online.   In this broadcast, Joshua and I talk about:   How Joshua founded his coffee brand and his journey as an entrepreneur What is the diffe

Gregory Diehl has always understood the importance of universal ideals. Though he was raised in California, he soon embarked on a journey of global quest for learning, self-discovery, entrepreneurship, and inquiry. Since then, Gregory has lived and worked in 48 countries and continues to use his experiences to help others along the path of self-fulfillment through exploration. Gregory is the author of two Amazon bestsellers: Brand Identity Breakthrough and Travel as Transformation. His podcast, Uncomfortable Conversations with Gregory, taps into the core of people’s conceptions of self. He helps entrepreneurs prepare complex value messages across many mediums, and offers unconventional lifestyle coaching and brand identity consultancy for impassioned individuals.   I brought Gregory on today because he’s working on two new books, both of which I thought would be interesting to touch on. During this episode, we talk about writing and publishing and how to create meaningful books with meaningful ideas. Our co

Chelsea Clark is a blog and marketing strategist. She also helps aspiring bloggers to start money-making blogs over at HerPaperRoute.com.   In today's call, we talk about how Chelsea Clark started blogging and started monetizing her blog and manage to do it numerous times now by figuring out exactly what's working in 2019.   My big takeaway from today's conversation is that blogging still works, and affiliate marketing is still an effective way to monetize a blog. You'll have to play the long game but it works.   In this broadcast, Chelsea and I talk about:   How Chelsea got started blogging Why Chelsea uses Pinterest to drive traffic to her blog How to integrate affiliate marketing into your blog The importance of having multiple sources of income for your blog What type of content produces the best results for your blog How to use social media and email marketing to grow your blog And more    How to Connect with Chelsea:   herpaperroute.com   Get the Latest Broadcasts of In The Trenches