The Fizzle Show — Heart & Hustle, Self Employment & Creative Business

http://fizzleshow.co/121 - It’s stupid how simple it should be. If you want a successful business, make something people want enough to pay you money for it. Duh, right? In practice, however, it is dubious and complex, requiring enough art, science and faith that we might as well call it alchemy. Here's a 45m conversation about that very topic. If you listen to it, you'll know how, exactly, you're supposed to make something people want. Enjoy!

http://fizzleshow.co/120 This is a Q&A episode from the Fizzle Team — you ask the questions, Corbett, Chase, Steph and Barrett bring the answers. On the show today we get into a handful of questions, including: - What's the best way to approach growing your traffic through guest posting? - How should you be thinking about the mobile web? Do you need to change the *way* you're writing? - How should you pick a name for your side project? - + a couple more.

http://fizzleshow.co/119 The story on todays episode is especially helpful for those of you who work directly with clients — freelancers, videographers, designers, copywriters, etc. We have a special guest on the show today (*especially* special for those of you who listened to all the early episodes of [The Fizzle Show](http://fizzleshow.co/)) who's recently created a videography business from the ground up, and on the show today we hear his story. Enjoy!

http://fizzleshow.co/118 Paul has a 6 month runway before he has to find another job. He *really* doesn't want to find another job. Instead, he's got a blog and a product — both already out on the market — that he wants to grow to support his family. So the question we get into today is: ***what should he do next?*** Corbett has some *very* strong opinions about it. If you like this business breakdown episode, you may also like the episode where we [break down Mary’s business](https://fizzle.co/sparkline/what-to-do-when-you-have-an-audience-and-product-but-no-sales-fs113). Enjoy!

http://fizzleshow.co/117 - On this week's episode we explore a handful of current events, sharing some news of our own along the way. - Co-working experiences evaluated - Barrett's Elon Musk (+ Peter Thiel) obsession - Ideas for telling others' stories (instead of your own) - A quick lil' mastermind trick. That's a few of the goodies we dive into in this episode. Enjoy!

http://fizzleshow.co/116 - Starting an affiliate program could be a great way to increase revenue if you already have a product for sale. But it's not easy and there's a lot of ways it can go horribly wrong. Not to mention the fact that this industry is notoriously sleazy. In this episode we share how to manage your own affiliate program, helping you think through things we've had both good and bad experiences with, including: - Open vs closed affiliate programs - How affiliate programs go wrong - Corbett's Clickbank story - Barrett's incredible rant about how his heroes let him down through affiliate BS

http://fizzleshow.co/115 - We love side projects. Most of our successful projects started out as side projects during full time employment. But finding the balance between a side project and a day job often feels impossible. Then you try to throw in a little time for yourself outside of the jobs and side projects and the whole thing topples over. So, if so many businesses are started out as side projects, how can we balance both staying employed for as long as necessary *and* finding enough time to build our side project? That's what we get into in the show today, complete with several examples of very successful businesses today that were once started as side projects. Enjoy!

http://fizzleshow.co/114 Do you get that pit in your stomach on Sunday evenings — dreading what Monday brings? Do you feel isolated from your coworkers? You might hate your job. I did. In fact, each of us on the show today have struggled with those exact feelings. And on the show today we break down how to analyze, cope and make liberating decisions about your job. Enjoy!

http://fizzleshow.co/113 - Mary is in a tight spot. After growing her audience, keeping them engaged, and making her product, she's realized sales are not what she thought they would be. In this episode we sort of virtually consult Mary about her business, developing ideas for her and anyone else in a similar situation, handling stuff like: - Doing back of the napkin math to see how much of anything you need to sell to pay your bills. - Lots of candid conversation about how we view traffic and conversion. - How to develop ideas for "what's next" strategies. - How to discover debilitating expectations (and correct them). Have you ever had to go back to the drawing board after you hit a wall of disappointment? If you haven't yet... you will. This episode is an *excellent* guide through that process; how to think about it, how to develop strategies, where to find inspiration. Enjoy!

http://fizzleshow.co/112 If you're thinking about hiring a business coach, if you've ever wondered what to expect from working with a coach or if it's worth the cost, this podcast episode is perfect for you. We discuss our experience with coaching (both working with the coach and being the coach) and share what you need to know before you get started, answering questions like: - What, exactly, will you gain by working with a coach? - How can you find and hire a coach (or a few coaches)? - What mindset should you bring to a coaching relationship and what should you expect? - How can you evaluate if a coach is working for you or not? My personal hope for you on this one is this: if you're thinking about hiring a coach this episode gives you everything you need to get started. Because the clarity and action that comes from coaching can be world changing. Enjoy!

http://fizzleshow.co/111 - In this episode we're joined by a very special guest: the new Director of Member Success here at Fizzle, Steph Crowder. In Steph's inaugural episode we explore the experience and perspectives of women in startups and lifestyle businesses. - Is there discrimination against women in the indie business world? - What has Steph's experience been like? - What steps can all of us take right now to discover where gender bias is limiting our content strategies? - Plus a crap ton more. I mean it, we discuss a lot more, and Steph is *so* awesome. Enjoy!

http://fizzleshow.co/110 This is second and final episode in our series about how to make an engaging course on the cheap. You don't need a bunch of equipment, you need a solid plan. This list walks you through that plan. In this episode we continue walking through 38 tips to help you make something excellent your first time around. (If you haven't listened to it yet, here's [part 1 of this conversation](http://fizzleshow.co/109).) Enjoy!

http://fizzleshow.co/109 At the time of writing, Fizzle has over 400 lessons in 31 courses. That's over 10 courses a year for the past 2.5 years. I've always loved teaching ideas that excite me. And, after the past few years here, we've made a business out of creating courses that change people's lives. In this 2 part conversation we share over 30 tips to help you make *engaging* courses you can sell yourself, covering topics like: - How to develop a course topic that will sell itself instead of burn you out. - What apps and software should you use? - When should you host it yourself (on WordPress or something similar) and when should you jump on a platform like Udemy? - What methods we use for content strategy. - And a whole crap ton more! This is an exciting couple episodes to me because I've lived this course creation stuff for the past few years, figuring out some processes that have been enormously helpful for us (and hopefully will be for you as well). Enjoy!

http://fizzleshow.co/108 - In the [last episode](http://fizzleshow.com/107) we covered 10 growth channels to explore. In this episode we cover 9 more channels you can leverage to attract more people to your business. We're adding our experience and advice to the list of 19 channels mentioned in the great book [Traction](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0976339609/?tag=thintraf-20). Enjoy!

http://fizzleshow.co/107 - In this conversation we present 10 growth channels to grow your small business, adding our honest commentary on each one. We also walk you through a growth model we've adopted that's helped how we brainstorm, plan for and execute our growth strategy for Fizzle. Enjoy!