The Foolish Adventure Show | Internet Business Radio

Tim Shares His Approach To Coaching, Consulting & Life Balance… In this week’s show we’ve got a bit of a role-reversal, as regular co-host Lain Ehmann sits down to grill our host Tim Conley on how he does what he does, and what brought him here in the first place. With a little help from Lain, Tim is going to run us through how exactly he structures his work-life balance, as well as his key philosophies as a business consultant and coach. There’s a huge amount to take away from this one and hearing Tim’s approach to business should prove hugely valuable for any entrepreneur. You’ll learn why it’s so critical to focus on the ‘why’ rather than the ‘how’ in entrepreneurship, how you can benefit from coaching (or not!), and most of all how to maximize your T.I.M. The T.I.M. Equilibrium… How Tim incorporates the T.I.M. framework into his own life. Why focusing on money isn’t always the answer. What makes a company attractive to work with. Differences in dealing with solo entrepreneurs vs. a company. Coaching and consulting. What’s the difference? Why Tim is making it hard for you to give him money.

You Only Need To Know One More Thing Than The Next Person… This week on Foolish Adventure, we’re getting an inside look in to how a kindergarten music teacher (with a bit of technical know-how) pulled off a complete career 180 and took control of his time, income and mobility. Meet Brian Lewis, long time Foolish listener, forum member and a fellow podcaster. Brian didn’t start off with your typical inspirational entrepreneurial story. After studying music performance in college and reluctantly falling in to teaching, he eventually got that familiar urge to start thinking outside of his career and explore his entrepreneurial ideas. From humble beginnings with a couple of tutorial videos, Brian has built a real online career in an impressively short amount of time. This week you’ll learn how giving out free information can lead to money in your pocket, how to increase your exposure via web content, as well as some handy SEO hints. The Best Way To Learn Is To Teach… Transitioning from full time work to full time online business. Effective video opt-in strategies. Using new media to build your authority. How to monetize your free information. Current SEO tips to increase traffic.

Solid Steps To Get Your Online Business Off The Ground… We’ve all heard the story of the suit-and-tie guy ditching his career to pursue a life-long dream, right? Well here’s one with a twist ending… selling CB radios? Andrew Youderian, formally a successful investment banker, had carefully planned his shift to entrepreneurship for some time. He’d weighed up his options, explored some ideas that grabbed him and built a solid runway and foundation to reach his goals. Finding inspiration from the 4-Hour Work Week, he set out on an e-commerce journey which has taken him to running two hugely successful online stores taking well over seven figures. Andrew’s success story is one filled with great examples of how proper planning and execution can bring anyone up the ranks in the e-commerce world, even on a shoestring budget. If you’ve been trying to find the perfect e-commerce niche or are struggling with increasing your existing customers, this episode is sure to get you inspired. Finding Your Niche… Why we should decompress between projects. Dropshipping or stocking ourselves? How to build an experience for your customer. Selling consumables to skyrocket your profits. Patience and persistence while building momentum.

Make The Switch From Hourly To Freedom… It can be really tough as a freelancer to break away from working as the ‘hourly guy’. But by productizing our services, we can start to better position ourselves to build authority, focus on the big picture and free ourselves from the hourly trap. To give us a clearer picture of the path from freelance consultant to consultant with freedom is Brennan Dunn, founder of Planscope.io. A software developer by trade, Brennan has been involved as a freelancer for over 7 years and has picked up some really solid tips along the way. Starting his journey as a consultant by the hour, he eventually saw the benefits of productizing his service and finally moved on to building his own standalone products with great success. Listen in to this week’s episode as Tim and Brennan share their advice on how best to package and deliver a quality service which is sure to keep both you and your clients happy. If you ever feel like you’re stuck in the hourly rut and are ready to get serious about your service then you’re sure to get some great value out of this one. The Road Map To Success… Dropping the technical side for problem solving. How to position yourself as an authority in your field. Using new outlets to extend your reach. Actionable steps for generating and closing leads. Packaging, delivery and billing.

A Guide To Brand Response Marketing… Building strong brand awareness can sometimes fall by the wayside of direct response marketing, with the ultimate aim of a more bankable marketing strategy. However the long term benefits of building a brand image can be enormous for any startup or small business. Surely there’s a way we can get these two strategies working together? This week Tim sits down with guest co-host and co-founder of Goodsie.com, Jack Zerby. Together they’re laying down a bit of a how-to on integrated lead generation systems and how they can be implemented in to your startup. The sad truth is we all suck at following up leads. By embracing both online and offline strategies, capitalising on great PR and learning how to effectively follow up, it’s time to turn that around and take some actionable steps. Why ‘No’ Doesn’t Always Mean ‘No’… How following up will increase conversions. Why offline isn’t dead. Building a trusted brand. The cost of not following up your leads. Retargeting and how not to overdo it.

The Never-Ending Path To Mastering Social Media… Staying ahead of the game in the ever-changing landscape of social media can be a seemingly impossible task. So how can we as small business owners figure out what’s working now, what will work tomorrow, or if it’s even worth doing in the first place? To work us through this super important subject is a fellow podcaster, Rick Mulready, host of the Inside Social Media podcast. Dismissive of the ‘guru’ tag and a proud student of the evolving social media world, Rick has been interviewing the brains behind some of the world’s biggest and widest reaching social media campaigns. From Nickelodeon to GE and all the way up to NASA, he has learnt what makes social media marketing work for the big players, and how to apply these same strategies to small businesses. If you find yourself uncertain when it comes to pushing your brand in to the crowded world of social media, or are unsure of how to make yourself heard through all the noise, then be sure to listen in to this week’s episode. It’s All About Building Relationships… Overcoming social apprehensiveness. How to ensure you’re not wasting your time. Picking the right platforms for your desired result. How to effectively convey your story. Old vs. new school techniques for building brand recognition.

Your Company Is Only As Good As Your People… In today’s episode, Tim sits down with Rob Rawson, a proven expert in outsourcing and virtual team building. Rob is the creator of Staff.com and TimeDoctor.com, sites which are focused on allowing you to build long lasting and trusting relationships with your virtual employees, increasing your time, income and mobility. After using just about every outsourcing option available on the market, Rob, as many others have before him, quickly realised that it can be almost impossible to build a strong and dependable online team. From his extensive knowledge of the market, his own personal need and an obvious understanding of domain name acquisition, Staff.com was born. Listen in as Rob shares his real-world tips on building an online business, how you can get the most from your freelancers and the dangers of information products. Hyping It Up With Rob’s Secret Strategies… Testing a broad range to narrow down your options. Getting and retaining the right people. Ins and outs of the domain name marketplace. Selling a service vs. information products. ‘Moving the free-line’.

It’s A Long Way To The Top… Setting and reaching our financial and personal targets is a huge and frequently discussed topic on the show. But once we get there, how can we motivate ourselves to push on further than we initially thought possible? To round off our women entrepreneur series is an interview with the hugely successful startup wiz, Erica Douglass. At 26 she had already sold one of her online businesses for over $1 million, and has recently been accepted in to the number one startup accelerator program in the world. Through sheer determination and persistence, Erica has put herself in an amazing position and is showing no signs of slowing down — turbocharging her growth and success with the Techstars startup accelerator. In this episode, Tim and Erica walk us through the benefits of challenging yourself, tackling your uncertainty and what it is to be a successful female in the startup world. Persistence Is The Key To Success… Pros and cons of a startup accelerator. How to utilise your peers and get things moving. Finding your sense of urgency and accountability. The importance of good female role models. Being the right kind of bossy.

Do What You Love and Love What You Do… For the penultimate show of our women in entrepreneurship series, regular guest Lain Ehmann returns to the Foolish Adventure Show to give us a little more about who she is and her incredible journey. Lain is a former journalist who left her career behind to pursue something which she loved. Within three years she has transformed her life and turned her passion of scrapbooking in to a six-figure business. What’s more, she’s managed to pull it all off while raising three kids and releasing several books. From this episode, you’ll get some amazing tips on how to make a solid income from something that you truly love doing. Listen in as Lain shares her secrets on business preparation, execution and how to avoid turning your favorite hobby in to your worst nightmare. Ignite Your Passion… Finding your unfair advantage. Domain expertise and getting a leg up. Finding and utilising your ‘secret sauce’. Doing what your competitors won’t do. Getting the most out of a partnership.

Start With A Solid Foundation… In the third part of our women in entrepreneurship series, Tim talks with Amy Hoy of UnicornFree.com. Amy is a proud high school and college dropout who combines her technological savvy with marketing brilliance to incredible effect. After quitting her job at Limewire in 2007, Amy has gone from strength to strength working at her true passion of building web-based products from the ground up. Her story is an inspirational one of going against the status quo, throwing away the script and taking control of one’s future. Listen in as Tim and Amy give up some valuable advice on community, education, structure and success which can be applied to your life and business. Going Against The Grain… Taking the initial plunge and how to transition. Being around a like-minded community – does the internet count? Credentials and how to build a portfolio. How important is support? Getting off the rails.

Women’s Entrepreneurship Series Continues… Balancing parenthood, entrepreneurship and all of life’s hurdles can be a challenging task. How can we keep up the juggling act while remaining balanced and grounded? To give us a woman’s perspective on it all is Jamie Tardy, host of the Eventual Millionaire podcast. Jamie is an entrepreneurial coach who is all about keeping it real when it comes to personal and financial success. After interviewing dozens of millionaires, Jaime is here to share her wisdom on being a well-rounded individual while carving your own entrepreneurial path. Whether you’re thinking of ditching the day job or struggling with your current situation, listen in to today’s episode as Tim and Jaime break it all down. Bringing Success Back To Reality… Making money simply, but not so easily. Self-belief and accomplishing your goals. Nurturing the flame within us all. How to properly learn from our mistakes. The importance of a strong support structure.

The First Installment Of Women’s Entrepreneurship Series… Kicking off our five-part series on women entrepreneurs is an interview with mastermind member and founder of HipUndies.com and ZaraWigs.com, Miracle Wanzo. With a formal business background and a reluctance to enter the corporate world, Miracle set her sights on a life of entrepreneurship. From humble beginnings selling apparel on eBay, she has carved a successful e-commerce niche which continues to grow and expand. In this episode, Miracle shares her experience and wisdom in starting an e-commerce business from the ground up. You’ll get some amazing tips on how to start, maintain and expand the online business you’ve always dreamed of. Start Small, Think Big… Choosing the right product and how to source it. Logistical solutions in e-commerce. How to transition from your day job to self-employment. Making the shift into manufacturing. The importance of being technologically independent.

Because Being Yourself Isn’t Always Easy… We’re all guilty of putting on different masks for different social situations. But when it comes to our lives and businesses, how can we act and feel truly authentic? Meet Andy Gray, host of A Congruent Life, a show which is all about living authentically and the richness of life which that can bring. Andy has been fascinated by the stories of others who have lived through the common struggle of finding what we really want from life, and how best to achieve it. This week’s show is all about how you perceive yourself and how you want the world to perceive you. How can you put yourself in the right mindset to make your own, authentic choices to benefit your life and ultimately your business? What Is Authenticity, Anyway? Determining who we want to be. Escaping the ‘trap’ of past decisions and taking control of your future. Lifestyle design. Applying authenticity to our business lives. How real do we have to be?

Making The Best Of A Bad Situation… This week’s topic is one that every entrepreneur dreads. What do you do when a product launch doesn’t live up to expectations, or straight-up fails? To delve in to the dark side of small business, Tim is joined by guest co-host and Foolish regular Lain Ehmann. Lain had been surprised by a poor turn out to an otherwise well-organized event with lots of initial interest, which got her thinking. How can we prevent, or best react to our products bombing? Listen in to this week’s episode as Tim and Lain dissect the nature of failure and how you can best overcome it. Failure Teaches Success… Determining the problem – the marketing or the product? Receiving and dealing with valuable feedback. Avoiding the wrong customers. Price anchoring and the perception of cost. Failure is relative…

Be sure to leave Tim feedback as he puts Dan’s method to the test for his own Foolish event! Want to know what it takes to make your own dream event a reality? Listen in to this week’s podcast as Tim finds inspiration from a guest with a wealth of knowledge in running engaging events and conferences. Dan Taylor, of AppsEvents.com, stumbled upon an unlikely passion in running events while utilising them for his own promotion. Within 9 months he has found himself in charge of 20 global annual events, from Vietnam to Spain and with further expansion on the horizon. By the end of the episode you’ll have an insider’s perspective on how to plan, set up, budget, execute and follow through for your very own live event. Build It And They Will Come… Thinking outside the box to pick your perfect venue. How to convert your following in to bums on seats. Negotiation strategies to get bang for your buck. Landing the big names. Creating an amazing experience to ensure your guests aren’t one-offs.