Tropical MBA – Location Independent Entrepreneurship

Dan and Ian have always been fascinated by people who can create ways to generate income quickly. Today's guest not only works for one of the most successful startups in San Francisco, but at the same time he has built a successful online side hustle in the form of an SEO training course. Tommy Griffith is the founder of ClickMinded. On this week's episode, you'll hear how he was able to create a successful side business by setting aside his Saturday mornings. Tommy also shares his thoughts about what you need to give up to be an entrepreneur, and why he thinks there could be opportunities for entrepreneurs in the educational space.

Podcast 29:28 | Download | Stitcher | iTunes | Comment It's that time of year again. Our businesses slow down for the holidays, and we naturally get a little reflective about the past 12 months. This week, Dan and Ian have decided to revisit some of their favorite episodes of the Tropical MBA podcast in 2016. You'll hear highlights from some of the most interesting discussions, and their thoughts on those conversations, as 2016 draws to a close. Transcript Listen to this week's show and learn: A story we shared about how some governments don't yet know how to handle digital nomads. (3:38) Some of our favorite philosophical discussions from 2016. (9:00) Which interview we thought was the most unique and special of the year. (17:10) Our longtime listeners' favorite podcast that we produced this year. (28:00) One quote that we felt encapsulated our feelings about podcasting in 2016. (31:25) Mentioned in the episode: The Dynamite Circle The DC Podcast Ricardo Semler TMBA 366: A Conversation with Ricardo Semler Esther Jacobs TMBA 345: You're a Resident of Where? Mr. Money Mustache TMBA 332: A Conversation with Mr. Money Mustache RibbonFarm.com TMBA 325: A Conversation With Ribbonfarm's Venkat Rao David Heinemeier Hansson Ruby on Rails Basecamp TMBA 326: To VC or Not to VC, That is the Question Matt Farah TMBA 336: Matt Farah on Breaking Through Regular Car Reviews TMBA 354: Who is Mr. Regular? The Story Behind the Hit YouTube Channel Regular Car Reviews Red Kite Prayer TMBA 353: On the Bike with Patrick Brady TMBA 351: An interview with "CEO Sally." Find Out Who Bought Our Business Gimlet Media TMBA 341: Alex Blumberg on the Power of Podcasting Clickminded AirBNB

Podcast 19:28 | Download | Stitcher | iTunes | Comment On this very festive edition of the TropicalMBA Podcast, Dan and Ian have decided to put their own spin on one of their all-time favorite holiday songs, The 12 Days of Christmas. Their rendition is all about the 12 things that every entrepreneur is wishing for this year. So kick up your stockings, grab a cup of cocoa and enjoy this entrepreneurial take on a yuletide classic. Make sure you stick around for the end though, as we have included a very special gift for the TropicalMBA listeners. Transcript Listen to this week's show and learn: Why we are wishing for a good accountant this year. (2:45) Why we haven't been listening to many business podcasts lately. (6:25) What makes us think that 2017 could be the year of the E-residency. (11:40) Dan's big adventure that he has planned for 2017. (13:03) A special holiday gift for the TropicalMBA listeners. (17:09) Mentioned in the episode: The Dynamite Circle The DC Podcast Porsche GT3 AppSumo SumoCon eCommerceFuel Arison Cain Enjoyed this podcast? Check out these: TMBA 317: How to Embrace Changing Priorities TMBA 347: Levelling Up Your Podcast TMBA 365: Estonian E-Residency: Is It For You? Listening options: Subscribe via iTunes. Listen on Stitcher Radio. Android users can grab our RSS feed here. Right-click and "save file as" for direct download. Or click here to get sent to the top of the page where the on-site player is. Have comments about the show, or ideas for things you'd like Dan and Ian to discuss on future episodes? Our producer Jane would love to hear from you at jane@tropicalmba.com. Thanks for listening to our show! We'll be back next Thursday morning 8AM EST. Cheers, Dan & Ian

A few weeks ago, Dan and Ian mentioned that they would be inviting their friend Dan Norris back onto the program. Dan Norris is the author of The 7 Day Startup, and for lack of a better term, he is a business idea generating machine. There have been success stories on this show that came from many of Dan's business ideas. In this conversation, Dan donates a ton of business ideas, as well as sharing how he has been able to create a six-figure side hustle through self-publishing books. If you are looking for your next entrepreneurial adventure, this could be the episode for you.

On today's show, Dan and Ian are going to be speaking with someone who has inspired them both for a very long time. In fact, he is the author of one of the most cited books on this podcast. Maverick is Ricardo Semler's account of how he was able to transform his family's traditional manufacturing business into an experiment that introduced the world to his innovative business practices. Even though the book is over 20 years old, today's entrepreneurs are still looking to it for inspiration. Ricardo opens up about what his life has looked like since the book was published, and how he has began to spread those innovations to other aspects of society. Transcript

On today's show, Dan and Ian are taking a look at one specific country. Estonia is a nation that, until this point, our hosts had very little knowledge of. They are a country that has started behaving like a startup, and has even started offering services specifically designed for location-independent entrepreneurs. In particular, they have developed a solution for our travel woes in the form of something called an "E-Residency". On this episode, you will hear from Estonian E-Resident, Joel Runyon. Joel is the man behind the fitness and mindset blog, The Blog of Impossible Things. You'll also hear from Estonia's Chief Information Officer, Taavi Kotka. The two of them will share their insights on how E-Residency could pave the path to the future of how nations, citizens, and digital nomads interact.

Back in 2012, Dan and Ian hosted a two week seminar that was attended by 44 listeners of this show, and Sarah Kornblet was one of those people. Since attending that seminar, Sarah has become a very successful attorney for online entrepreneurs. This week's episode is really the story of what has happened in Sarah's life since that seminar. It is also the story of an idea, because every business starts with an idea. Sometimes we aren't ready for those ideas, or those ideas aren't ready for us.

On this show, Dan and Ian talk a lot about apprenticeships. In doing research about apprenticeships, Ian recently discovered that in many developed countries all over the world, there is a very robust apprenticeship culture that does not exist in the United States. On this week's episode, we are going to bring you the story of one such apprenticeship told from both sides. Jacob Puhl brought Corey Ames on as an apprentice at a company he founded called Firegang Dental Marketing. You'll hear how their relationship started and how it evolved to where it is today, as Corey is preparing to take over the reigns as CEO.

On last week's show, Dan and Ian spoke about how many entrepreneurs are finding success with productized service business. One of the reasons for that success is that these businesses can be started quickly and with little to no capital. On today's episode, they have asked their friend and expert idea generator Tristan King of Blackbelt Commerce to return to the show. The last time Tristan was on this program, listeners of this show took the ideas that were donated and turned them into successful businesses. Listen in to hear even more of Dan and Tristan's ideas for productized service businesses that could be started up this weekend.

Dan and Ian are both recovering from their DC BKK event that they host every year in Bangkok. This year marked the fifth anniversary of that event, which has been a topic of conversation on this show every year since its inception. In this weeks show, they are going to talk about some of the themes of this year's DC BKK, what that they learned from this year's event, and the intimate connection that TropicalMBA listeners have formed with DC BKK over the years.

Several weeks ago, Dan and Ian spoke with Simon Payne about his experiences as the technical co-founder of LeadPages, the number one landing page software on the web, and his decision to leave that company to pursue a new venture called ConvertPlayer. A few days after that episode aired, we were contacted by one of the other founders of that company, Clay Collins, who wanted to come onto the show and talk about one of his favorite things in life: marketing technology. We jumped at the chance to talk to Clay about his company's growth, why they decided to seek venture capital, and a whole lot more.

Podcast 37:39 | Download | Stitcher | iTunes | Comment A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, when Dan and Ian decided to start a business together, their first serious spending was on books. They knew that, in order to run a successful business, they would first have to read up on how others had done gone about it. This week, Dan has invited good friend of the show and author of "The End of Jobs", Taylor Pearson back to discuss some of the books they have discovered over the past year, some of the books they have been re-reading as well as some of their favorite blogs. If you're searching for some great reading material, this is the episode for you. Transcript Listen to this week's show and learn: One of Taylor's favorite books about the future of the economy. (2:01) Two of Dan and Taylor's favorite biographies about important people in the world of business and finance. (12:02) Some of the books that Dan and Taylor have re-read over the last six months. (20:34) A list of Dan and Taylor's favorite blogs they have been following in 2016. (25:59) How Taylor feels about his book a year after it was released. (33:06) Mentioned in the episode: The Dynamite Circle The DC Podcast TaylorPearson.me The End of Jobs by Taylor Pearson The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly 1,000 True Fans by Kevin Kelly New Rules for the New Economy by Kevin Kelly How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan Food Rules by Michael Pollan Just Kids by Patti Smith Petty: The Biography by Warren Zanes Shoe Dog by Phil Knight Hatching Twitter by Nick Bilton Masters of Doom by David Kushner

Recently, Dan and Ian have been exploring the subject of investing in properties, and the many reasons and motivations that different investors have. It has been a few months since Ian purchased his home in Austin, Texas, and he is still trying to wrap his head around what it means to be a homeowner. This week, he decided to reach out to Rob Dix and Rob Bence, who have both been investing in properties in the UK for almost a decade. They also run a business finding and managing properties for others, as well as hosting a podcast about property investments called The Property Podcast. On this episode, the "Robs" share with Ian why people might want to invest in property, some of the archetypes of people who do invest in property, and their general feelings on the future of housing market.

Recently, Dan and Ian have decided to research someone who is a legend in the world of business. For a very long time, Warren Buffett was the richest person in the world. Dan and Ian both recently read Alice Schroeder's fantastic biography of Warren Buffett titled "The Snowball". They decided they wanted to dedicate an episode to that story of Mr. Buffett's life, and the unique business choices that he has made throughout his career.

Podcast 35:24 | Download | Stitcher | iTunes | Comment Hola! Like many of us, Dan and Ian spend a lot of time in foreign countries. As regular listeners know, Dan has recently moved to Barcelona and he's starting to get more than a little embarrassed by his limited range lack of Spanish. But he also has a lot of questions and concerns about the kind of a time investment it's going to take him to learn a new language. So, in today's episode, he reaches out to two people who have built successful businesses in the language learning field, and who both speak many different languages themselves: Benny Lewis of FluentIn3Months.com and Idahosa Ness, the founder of The Mimic Method. They share some high-quality tips and strategies about how to become fluent in a foreign language - and in a way that fits your lifestyle. Transcript Listen to this week's show and learn: How much confidence plays into the process of learning a language. (4:54) What Benny's first six months in Spain were like and why he was struggling to learn Spanish. (8:15) The difference between learning a language and living a language. (11:00) The two key stages to learning a language on a conversational level. (24:47) How learning a language is similar to learning how to play an instrument. (26:05) Mentioned in the episode: The Dynamite Circle The DC Podcast Benny Lewis  FluentIn3Months.com Idahosa Ness The Mimic Method Teach Yourself Erasmus Mundus - Events iTalki.com Skype Learn to Play the Guitar in 10 Hours – No Musical Talent Required Upwork Enjoyed this podcast? Check out these: TMBA 253: A Bootstrapper’s Thoughts on Intellectual Property TMBA 272: Is It Getting Harder to Grow a Successful Business Selling Info Products? TMBA 330: Getting the Most Out of YouTube Listening options: Subscribe via i...