The DOcast: People doing the Unthinkable

A year and half ago when I first sat down with Jay Ducote, he told me his story of how he got started in the blogging world and rose to be a prominent food blogger in the South. He also mentioned a barbecue sauce that he was working on. Well, he’s kept his word because a couple … Continue reading Jay Ducote 2: Bite & Booze &… Barbecue (The DOcast) →

In a world of great gourmet foods and options, Mark Ramadan discovered that ketchup has always been just ketchup. Mark, and friend Scott Norton, had the idea to make a better ketchup than the standard highly processed brand on the market. While still in college the two cooked up a mess in their apartment (photo) and … Continue reading Mark Ramadan: Ketchup with Food Industry, Fast (The DOcast) →

Ido Leffler and his partner Lance Kalish took Yes To Carrots, a small and vibrant natural skin care brand in Israel, from a measly 6 products in 16 stores, to a global brand with 100 products in 28,000 stores in 29 countries — in less than 5 years. They wrote the fantastic book Get Big Fast and Do More Good about … Continue reading Ido Leffler: Yes To Rapid Growth (The DOcast) →

When Jeff Herman went on a trip to Mary Lee Donuts, he realized there was a crucial gap in the doughnut market in Baton Rouge, and he asked himself how hard could it be to build a better doughnut shop? (famous last words) He was 23 years old and fresh out of college, armed with … Continue reading Jeff Herman: Hustling the Deaux (The DOcast) →

In the early dawn of the internet, it wasn’t easy for an independent artist to sell their music online — so Derek, an musician himself, decided to create a system where he could. Then his friends, and friends of friends, wanted to do the same thing — that’s when CD Baby was born. It later … Continue reading Derek Sivers: Systematizing Friendliness (The DOcast) →

Do you want to know what it takes to startup your own restaurant? Well then, meet Bradley Sanchez, he went to school for art, worked on Broadway Street, and started his first restaurant, The Salad Shop, by the age of 25. I had the opportunity to sit down with him at his place, in Baton … Continue reading Bradley Sanchez: Do It, or Watch It Be Done (The DOcast) →

Robbie Vitrano started an ad-agency in New Orleans, Trumpet, that took a major part in the city’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina. He co-founded Naked Pizza, an international pizza chain that uses simple, wholesome, natural ingredients. And Idea Village, the local watering hole for entrepreneurs and like-minded people in New Orleans. I had the pleasure to … Continue reading Robbie Vitrano: Building a Brand (The DOcast) →

Do you know what Twitter, Groupon, and Shopify have in common — Ruby on Rails. It’s a game changer in the way web-base applications are made for developers. It’s also happens to be a by-product when David Heinemeier Hansson was building Basecamp (which is also a by-product). David is a founding partner at 37signals, a best-selling author, … Continue reading David Heinemeier Hansson: Grow Slow & Profitable (The DOcast) →

Patrick Fellows — this guy defines the sport of business. Starting a business is hard. Finishing a triathlon, swimming 32 miles, launching a foundation, a marathon, a food truck, and a restaurant… all while having a day-job — is even harder. When it comes to getting things done, Patrick defines it into 4 words: Talk … Continue reading Patrick Fellows: Talk Less, Do More (The DOcast) →

For college, Holly came down to New Orleans to learn about cooking and absolutely fell in love with Louisiana’s culture and cuisine. She’s dubbed as the “Queen of Quick” with her best selling Trim & Terrific cookbook series selling over 1 million books in the last 20 years. She has written 14 books, worked with … Continue reading Holly Clegg: The Queen of Quick (The DOcast) →

Charles Caldwell, from Natchez MS, headed out west to work in a ranch in Colorado where he was exposed to the rise of local craft beers and fell in love. Over the next few years, Charles and childhood friend, William McGehee, started talking (and drinking) a lot of local craft beers, discussing the possibility of making their own. Now, it's a dream come true and Tin Roof Beer is in over 450 retailers, are set to make over 1 million this year, and their only 3 years old. I had a chance to sit down with him at his brewery in Baton Rouge, LA, to talk about his story, business, and beer. Be sure to get a pen and a pad, his story is jam-packed with ideas and tips to grow your business. Interview with Charles Caldwell Sponsored by: Hanley's Foods — Louisiana-inspired, natural, fresh foods. Just for you, enter "docast" at checkout for $4 off. How hard is it to bring seasonal products to the market? (4:50) Moved out to Coloroado (6:15) "We have to do this, or quit talking about it." How did you come up with the name? (10:55) How do you go from the garage to the brewery? (12:20) The Country Malt Group (link reference) Contract cropping (13:45) How can the guy in the garage get hops? (15:15) Austin Homebrew Supply (link reference) Did you start with one recipe? (15:55) "Our beer is a peice of Baton Rouge" How did you raise the money to get started? (18:25) Tin Roof Brewery's story (video) "We make about 30 barrels in 7 hours, that's 400 cases roughly." How did you pitch to distributors? (21:25) What is the hardest single-thing you've faced so far? (23:15) How do you make your sanitation fool-proof? (24:35) "Sanitation is priority #1 around here." All beer aside, what do you like to do outside the beer life? (26:25) What’s a book, a song, and a quote that you love? (27:05) Book: Boy's Life by Robert McCammon Song: Old Crow Medicine Show — Wagon Wheel & Wait So Long — Trampled by Turtles (video) Quote: “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” — Abraham Lincoln What's next? (29:15) Check out Charles at: Website: TinRoofBeer.com Facebook: /TinRoofBeer Twitter: /TinRoofBeer Play the interview (Please excuse the audio quality, I was experimenting with new equipment that resulted with unwanted echos.) The DOcast is a podcast of interviews from amazing entrepreneurs who are doing the unthinkable. With topics on how they got started, where they’re going, and how you can learn from them. Subscribe at: - iTunes (please support the show by leaving a 5 star review) - YouTube - Stitcher Radio - The blog (in-which you'll get more) DO it big.

Pat Flynn is one of the best internet marketers on the planet. He converted a basic blog into passive income after getting fired from his day job.  He started the Smart Passive Income empire with a phenomenal podcast, blog, online videos; launches niche website for fun, and has a best selling book. Unlike many internet entrepreneurs, he doesn't just teach you about how to make money online, he shows you his monthly income — last month he made $58,412.33 online. He doesn't sleep — this guy is a machine. I talked to him via Skype from his home office in sunny San Diego, CA, about how get got started and where he's going. Be sure to get a pen and a pad, his story is jam-packed with ideas and tips to grow your business. Interview with Pat Flynn Sponsored by: Hanley's Foods — Louisiana-inspired, natural, fresh foods. Audio-Technica ATR2100USB (microphone mention, Pat's affiliate link) Where did you grow up? (3:30) "Meet as many people as you can, it's the connections you make that make you more successful." Climbing the corporate ladder, life is going good (7:00) Got fired (7:20) "Working for someone is like you're a chess piece in someone else's game. You need to create the game yourself." Preparing for the LEED exam (9:25) Internet Business Mastery (podcast reference) Smart Passive Income Podcast (Pat's podcast) Online business growing legs (17:00) Pat's Monthly Income Reports (webpage mention) What was the transition to work on your online business full time? (21:30) "The business is 95% automated." "Don't forget what it is you are working for." What does your schedule look like? (27:25) Crunch time (31:25) "I typically sleep about 6 hours a day." Tim Ferriss — Relax Like A Pro: 5 Steps to Hacking Your Sleep (website mention) GreenExamAcademy.com (website mention) What's next for the Smart Passive Income empire? (35:35) Niche Site Dual 2.0 (webpage mention) What's your formula for taking on a big project? (38:00) "If fear is involved, it's something I feel is worth doing." "Discover what you want to do, find the people who are good at it and learn from them." What do you like to do outside the office? (43:45) "It's all about the kids right now." What’s a book, a song, and a quote that you love? (46:51) Book: Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath & Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely Song: Get Lucky — Daft Punk (video) Quote: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't — you're right.” — Henry Ford What’s next and where can people find you? (50:19) PatFlynn.me/LetGo (his best selling book on Amazon) Check out Pat at: Website: SmartPassiveIncome.com Website: PatFlynn.me Podcast: Smart Passive Income Podcast on iTunes Twitter: @PatFlynn Play the interview The DOcast is a podcast of interviews from amazing entrepreneurs who are doing the unthinkable. With topics on how they got started, where they’re going, and how you can learn from them. Subscribe at: - iTunes (please support the show by leaving a 5 star review) - YouTube - Stitcher Radio - The blog (in-which you'll get more) DO it big.

When Justin was in college, he would make his own organic & natural peanut-butter and store it in the fridge to save up on money. Over time his roommates would eat it all before he got to it, so he simply put his name on the jar to let everyone know who is was for. That just gave them a name to ask for it, then everyone wanted that "Justin's" peanut butter in that was always in the fridge. Now, Justin's is a multi-million dollar business that ships their natural nut-butters worldwide. I had a chance to sit down with him at his office in Boulder, CO, to talk about nuts, his journey, and how he built it. Be sure to get a pen and a pad, his story is jam-packed with ideas and tips to grow your business. Interview with Justin Gold Sponsored by: Hanley's Foods — Louisiana-inspired, natural, fresh foods. Where are you from, where did all this start? (1:44) The Civil Action by Jonathan Harr (book reference) I heard that Boulder, CO had a great environment. (4:46) I was eating a log of peanut/almond butter for protein. (6:40) What would you say to someone who wants to bring their product to the farmer’s market? (8:11) "You're first case is free, if it doesn't sell — give it away." What do I have to do to get in this store? (11:28) "I had no idea what I was doing." I found real-life business plans and wrote my own. (14:38) Started to make our peanut butter at a salsa company. (16:30) I made my labels myself (see photo). I get the idea, wouldn’t it be cool to have a protein pack instead of this sugary gel pack? (18:49) "With adversity comes opportunity." How to raise $120,000 to buy a squeeze pack machine. (21:40) How did you promote your product? (23:25) "It’s really good to get consensus when you’re looking backwards." We appreciate you for sending us the samples, but we are going to decline. (25:00) "What I did was a Hail Mary." It became all of these things I didn’t even dream it could be. (27:40) I found a local food manufacture and asked if they could run my equipment 24/7. (28:45) 4 years into my business. (29:20) "I need to hire people that are smarter than I am." The only way I CAN grow is if I have money. (30:53) I knew I had to find someone to be an inside mentor. (31:49) “I can’t work for peanuts… literally.” How did you find mentors? (33:08) "A mentor has to have two things: 1) Grey hair, 2) Time." 2009 was a really hard year. (34:43) "I raised 1 Million bucks from 50 individual people." For the first 4 years, we didn’t plan to be profitable. (36:20) The only time I went against my board. (37:56) We now have manufacturing facilities across the country. (40:00) "You hire for where you're going, not where you are." What's happening this year. (42:50) What’s one piece of advice for getting your food product out there? (43:15) "What's the glue that separates success from failure?" What else do you like to do? (44:55) Rocky Mountain National Park Digital Detox (46:00) What’s a book, a song, and a quote that you love? (46:51) Book: Fountainhead by Ayn Rand Song: Here Comes the Sun — The Beatles (video) Quote: “When you’re not practicing, someone else is, and when you meet them they will win” – Bob Bradley What’s next and where can people find you? (50:19) Check out Justin at: Stores: Whole Foods, Fresh Market, Target, Safeway, Krogers, or any natural/speciality food stores. Website: Justins.com Twitter: @Justins Facebook: Facebook.com/JustinsNutButter Play the interview The DOcast is a series of interviews from amazing entrepreneurs who are doing the unthinkable. With topics on how they got started, where they’re going, and how you can learn from them. Subscribe at: - iTunes (please leave a 5 star review) - YouTube - Stitcher Radio - The blog (in-which you'll get more) DO it big.

Spotting a trend for an entrepreneur is hard, repeatedly capitalizing on a trend is even harder. Jared Loftus founded Tiger District after LSU's '03 SEC Championship game, brought one of the first food trucks (Taco de Paco & Ninja Snowballs) to the are...

If you where to look up the definition of lifestyle design, you would see the name Dan Andrews, along with "yeah buddy". Like many of us in the beginning, he use to work 60+ unfulfilling hours for someone else. Now, he has built an multi-million dollar business while traveling to exotic locations all over the world. He's the host of the Lifestyle Business Podcast (inspired me to start my own business), Tropical Talk Radio (a conversation on business/travel hacking), started Tropical MBA — a Lifestyle Entrepreneur incubator/house to live in and grow your company — and he makes modern cat furniture. I had the pleasure to have him on the line, from his tropical paradise in southern Vietnam, to talk about his journey and how he started this lifestyle empire. Be sure to get a pen and a pad, his story is jam-packed with ideas and tips to grow your business. Interview with Dan Andrews Sponsored by: Hanley's Foods — Louisiana-inspired, natural, fresh foods. Why in Vietnam (03:15) Where did you grow up? (03:30) What books inspired you when starting out? (04:50) The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss (book reference) What was your first entrepreneur project? (06:35) Intrepreneur: Working for small business entrepreneurs and make their company better. "If you want to become an entrepreneur, go work for an entrepreneur who has less than 15 employees." The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber (book reference) Work on your business, not in it. (10:25) Sam Carpenter's — Work the System (website mention) "Write the software code of your business" How did you get into the cat furniture business? (12:50) Living a life VS having a life. How can one get more of a life? (16:55) "Be confident to what it is that you love about your life." Being obsessed in your industry. (18:15) How to be a location-independent entrepreneur? (20:00) Dave Ramsey (website mention) 1,000 Day Principle (upcoming book) Pat Flynn (website mention) What is the 1,000 Day Principle? (22:53) "Get started yesterday" What's the biggest mistake you see new startups making? (25:18) When is it a good time to hire someone? (27:00) What do you like to do for fun? (28:00) "My goal is to help other people join the party" What is Tropical MBA? (31:25) The Dynamite Circle (website mention) Check out Dan at: Website: LifestyleBusinessPodcast.com Website: TropicalMBA.com iTunes Podcast: Lifestyle Business Podcast Twitter: @TropicalMBA Play the interview The DOcast is a series of interviews from amazing entrepreneurs who are doing the unthinkable. With topics on how they got started, where they’re going, and how you can learn from them. Subscribe at: - iTunes (please leave a 5 star review) - YouTube - Stitcher Radio - The blog (in-which you'll get more) DO it big.