Congratulations, my friends. You’ve made it to the final post in this miniseries!

While the entrepreneurs around you have been kicking back, you’ve been taking action. While the businesses around you have been selling, you’ve been serving your audience. How do I know? Because you’ve been proving it. Over email, social, and in the Youpreneur Community, you’ve been sharing every day about the action you’re taking.

I’m so, so proud of this community!

If you’ve done what you promised at the beginning of this month, you’re ready for Part 3 of the ‘Chase It Down’ miniseries. You’re ready for the ultimate solution for any business that isn’t converting. As always, however, you only get to read it if you’re committed to taking action on it RIGHT AWAY.

Ready? Here we go.

What About Bob?

You’ve heard me say it before: brands will always want to do business with other brands. But people want to do business with other people.

To that end, let’s focus this third post on Bob the Baker—see him?

Bob is a celebrity in your town, known by everyone for his bread and his bakery. You and everyone else you know is somehow willing to travel further and pay more for, even if it’s inconvenient for us. In short, Bob runs the kind of successful business we ALL want to run.

What’s so great about Bob?

Why on earth would we go out of our way, part with more of our money, and seemingly inconvenience ourselves just to buy Bob’s bread? Why do we tell all our friends to go to him, too? What does Bob have on the daily discount loaf of Wonderbread (for my US friends), or Sainsbury’s Sliced White Loaf (for my UK mates!)?

Here’s a secret for all the Youpreneurs out there destined for greatness: it’s not about the bread.

Now, granted, Bob’s bread is good. It’s excellent, in fact. He knows his stuff, and it shows. But the real, psychological, deep-rooted reason you’re loyal to Bob and his bakery … I promise you, it’s not about the carbs.

It’s Bob himself.

You go to Bob’s bakery because he’s already sliding your favourite loaf into a bag as you walk in the door. He made that loaf with fewer poppy seeds than usual since he knows you don’t like them. He asks about your kids, remembers you hurt your ankle, clipped an article from the paper he thought you’d enjoy.

Bob cares about you, and in return, you care about him. You can’t help yourself! It’s the P2P (Person-to-Person) Solution.

In short, Bob knows something that every personal brand-building entrepreneur absolutely must understand: in the new economy, success is all about relationships.

Become Bob the Baker

Don’t take me too seriously here, my friends. I don’t want you to go out and literally copy Bob the Baker’s every move. That would defeat the purpose of building the business of YOU.

What I want you to do is consider your personal brand in every decision you make:

• If it’s better to be different than it is to be better (and it is), what do you do differently than anybody else?

• What’s the thing you can offer that no one else can?

• How can you put more of YOU into every aspect of your business?
• What steps must you take to build a profitable personal brand in the 21st century?

These are tough questions. They can’t be answered in just one minute, but I do have a way you can start to answer them with just one conversation.

A few months ago, Gary Vaynerchuk and I sat down to chat specifically on this topic. We recorded the whole thing in HD video, and I made it available exclusively to the members of my Youpreneur Community. The community is closed right now (sorry!), but if you hop on the waiting list, you’ll get immediate access to this hidden recording. It’s literally one of the highest value conversations I’ve ever had, and that’s saying a lot!

So that’s your final action item in the Chase it Down series: watch my chat with Gary Vaynerchuk. Do it now. I dare you to do it and then NOT to feel ready to tackle your biggest business goals this week, this month, and beyond.

Once you truly understand the P2P Solution, you’ll be unstoppable.

Get access to my chat with Gary Vee before it’s gone!

And that’s a wrap, friends! Let’s meet back here next week to take everything to the next level. It’s going to be awesome.

Welcome back to the Chase It Down 3-part miniseries. Missed the first post? Click here to get yourself caught up.

If you’re chasing it down in business these days, you’re in good company. I heard from so many of you on social and in my Youpreneur Community about what you’re doing every day to get moving, get ahead, and ensure a killer year of success. Here are just a few ways you guys are crushing it:

Awesome, right?!! I love seeing the ways you guys are growing and scaling, even as others around you kick up their feet and put things off “for another time.”

Today, I’m releasing Part 2 of the trilogy, and as promised, it is the #1 secret behind every personal brand success story. This is ‘the big one’, all about what successful entrepreneurs know.

Ready? Let’s go.

7 Secrets About Serving, Not Selling

Building a thriving business isn’t about selling. It never was.

It’s about serving. Here are the 7 things you need to know if you want to succeed as a service-based personal brand entrepreneur:

1. If you’re not serving your customers, you need to catch up. I am not kidding when I say that the most profitable personal brand businesses out there aren’t selling. They’re not in your face pushing you to buy things you don’t need. They’re not overwhelming your inbox with out-of-touch pitches and inflated discounts. They’re not asking for your money without first proving their generosity.

Nope. The most profitable personal brand entrepreneurs are humbly and consistently SERVING their audiences. They’re showing up regularly with high-value content that answers questions, opens doors, and rewards action.

2. You have to know who you’re helping. Everything is easier when you know who you’re creating content for.

If you’re not already super clear on who your ideal customer is, stop everything right now and get 3 pieces of paper. At the top of each, write three names of people who represent your target market. They can be real or invented. Once you’ve got their names, write down several bullet points about each of them. Where are they from? What do they do for work and pleasure? What’s important to them? What are they struggling with?

Once you get going, this is really easy, I promise. It’s even kind of fun to brainstorm the personas of the people you want to serve. Once you’ve got a page about each of them, tape them above your desk. Look at them every day. They are your North Star. They are the inspiration behind every piece of content you’ll create.

Speaking of creating content…

3. Create the right kind of content. What counts as the “right” kind of content? First, let’s talk about the wrong kind. The wrong kind of content is mediocre, inconsistent, poorly expressed, and poorly targeted. It’s the wrong message for the wrong audience. How do you know if you’re creating the wrong kind of content? Trust me, you’ll know. The proof is in the terrible engagement and conversion rates.

The right kind of content is three things: inspirational, entertaining, and educational. It has to be all three! Go through this 3-point checklist for every piece of content you create, and you’ll be amazed at the results. You’ll inspire change in the lives of the people you want to serve, and in turn, they’ll invest generously in the Business of You.

4. Your audience determines what the Business of You actually becomes. Even more good news about being an entrepreneur: once you find your audience, you no longer have to do things all on your own. Listen closely to your customers at every turn. They’ll tell you the problems they’re experiencing, which will give you ideas for the solutions you can offer. The more you listen, the more they’ll talk, and the more they talk, the more opportunity you have to serve.

5. Solve people’s problems. That’s all it takes! You may have a brilliant business idea, but if it doesn’t solve a problem…I hate to break it to you, but you don’t actually have a business. What you have is a hobby, or at best a side hustle. It’ll never become the big-time brand you want it to be. If you want to build a BUSINESS, though? You absolutely must solve a problem.

6. Here are some ways to serve. For online business owners, there are countless opportunities out there to serve the audience that needs you. Here are just 7, with links to learn more and take action on each one:

• Start a blog (in 10 minutes!)
• Start a podcast
• Offer coaching services
• Write a book
• Create info products and courses
• Start a membership community
• Host a live event

7. When you share with them, they share with others. The best part about the inherent generosity of serving your audience is that it encourages payback! That is, when you share freely with your customers, they will want to share you (and your brand) with other people in their network. This is the coveted word-of-mouth marketing that we should all aspire to. And it all comes back to people wanting to do business with other people.

Remember Your Promise!

And that’s what what successful entrepreneurs know.

We’re ⅔ of the way through the Chase It Down miniseries, and I want to hear how it’s helping you. Send me an email today, or use #ChaseItDown on social, to answer this question: How will you serve your audience this month, when everyone else is selling?

Let’s meet back here next week for the grand finale of this trilogy. It’s the big kahuna, guys…THE solution you need if your business isn’t converting the way you know it can.

I can’t wait to share it with you!

You may have seen me use the hashtag #ChaseItDown on social media, and this is what it’s all been leading up to: your free ticket to this exact three-part series. That’s right—we’re going to spend the next three posts talking about how YOU can chase down your goals like a beast this year, and finally build a successful online business.

What is Chase It Down?

It’s a peek at some of my best secrets, summarized from live talks I’ve given all over the world to audiences who paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars to be there. It’s an opportunity to learn and dive deep into the secrets of building a personal brand. And no, I wasn’t kidding up there. It’s free!

But there’s a catch.

You’re only allowed to read this if you promise me, right here and now, that you’re going to take action…

…AS SOON AS YOU FINISH READING.

Yes, I know you’re busy. This is a lot to ask, but let’s consider it a test. I’ve just had one of my busiest years EVER in 12 years, and I’m still trying to recover some days! But if I can keep up a steady, focused pace in the name of growing my own personal brand, so can you. Let’s do it together. Chase It Down will show you how.

So, have you made your promise? Will you take action this month on what you learn in this miniseries? If so, go ahead and keep reading. If not, let’s meet back here when you’re ready.

We’re getting started with some uncomfortable truths that every entrepreneur needs to hear. Four value bombs that have completely changed the way I look at and do business. Read them, remember them, internalize them. You’re going to need them in the next post. 😉

People Want to Do Business with Other People

For so long, we’ve been told to scale our businesses to behemoth status. We’ve aspired to be faceless corporations, and we’ve removed the personality and life from our brands so as to appeal to more customers. This approach is how we’ve ended up with bland brands that we endure rather than evangelize. I bet you can think of a few straight away.

Today, however, we’re learning that a better way to grow is to build a personal brand. Why? Because brands will always want to do business with other brands…but people want to do business with other people. The more of YOU you put into your business, the more loyal your customers and audience will be. That’s all there is to it.

For more: Check out episode #42 of my podcast: Why Building Your Brand Is Paramount to Success!

The Barrier to Entry for Entrepreneurs is at an All-Time Low

Seems like everyone calls themselves an entrepreneur these days. It’s funny that the word used to carry negative connotations—it was almost like telling people you were unemployed!—but now, it’s a status symbol.

The problem, however, is that the lazies have caught on. You heard me. People who’ve never built a business or a personal brand are calling themselves entrepreneurs, and they’re making it harder to stand out when you actually do have a great idea, an audience who needs you, and the drive to make it happen.

The good news is that there IS a way to stand out. (Keep reading!)

For more: Read one of the most important posts I’ve ever written: The Power and Duty of Entrepreneurial Professionalism.

A Business Built on Passion Alone is Destined to Fail

If there’s one thing I can teach you about how to build a successful online business, it’s the following…

And, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the worst reason to go into business is that you’re passionate about something. Why? Because when you do that, you go in blind. You think you’re going to make a bunch of money doing something you love, and you neglect the details that will creep in to take up your working time. I know too many people who’ve closed up shop altogether after realizing that it’s not as easy as it looks to make a living doing something you love. Don’t be one of them.

Go into business because you love business, and because you can solve a problem for people. Without those two ingredients, the passion will fizzle out long before you even get going.

For more: Read about how to frame your passion as a business in Think Like a Business Owner FIRST.

Building a Brand is Easy!

Building a brand is easy IF you create great content consistently. If you promise your audience a 500-word blog post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you had better deliver a 500-word blog post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Your audience will expect it.

Your business will depend on it.

That’s not to say that the above needs to be your publishing schedule. You need to pick something that’s realistic for you. If that’s once a week, fine. If it’s a newsletter instead of a blog, or a YouTube show instead of podcast, fine. Whatever content you’re putting out there, just make it great, and make it consistent. When you prioritize regular, high-value content, you are prioritizing your bottom line.

For more: Read How to Create and Promote a Blog Post Perfectly Every Time and check out episode 9 of my podcast: Developing a Content Marketing Strategy That Converts.

It’s Time to Do What You’ve Promised

Now it’s time to hold up your end of the bargain. You promised me you’d take action this month, but more importantly, you promised yourself.

And not just today, either.

You promised yourself at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey that you’d keep going. That you’d move forward. That you’d chase down your goals.

The next two posts in the Chase it Down series will give you even more resources to get moving this month.

Next week, I will give you the secret behind every personal brand success story.

In two weeks, you’ll get THE solution you’ve been waiting for if your business isn’t converting.

By the time we wrap up, you’ll have taken some giant leaps forward in your business. Your family will love you, your customers will love you, and I’ll love you, too.

And now I’m giving you the floor: share what action you’re taking in your business RIGHT NOW using the hashtag #ChaseItDown.

Brexit.

Yep—we’re going there. Today, for the first time ever, I want to share with you exactly what I think about Brexit, how it’s going to affect UK businesses (online and off), and why you should be paying VERY close attention.

(Hint: It’s probably not what you think.)

British entrepreneurs are full of fear and distrust lately. Even as the business community settles into and tries to understand Brexit, we are afraid to act until someone else does first. No one wants to be the first penguin to jump, which means a whole lot of would-be entrepreneurs are just standing on the edge of the iceberg.

We can’t go back, but few feel ready to move forward.

The US election may have made things worse: as of November 8, there are millions of Americans feeling much the same way we felt back in June. And instead of reassuring our fellow entrepreneurs across the pond, too many have chosen to retreat back into fear and inaction.

This kind of climate can stop an entrepreneur before they even get started, and can derail otherwise successful businesses. They’re even saying so themselves:

“This is bad news for the tech industry,” commented Husayn Kassai, CEO and co-founder of the London-based online background checking firm Onfido.

“The outcome is a disaster for this country,” said Angus Dent, chief executive of the UK-based peer-to-peer business lending firm, Archover. “You can expect foreign businesses, institutions, and other investors to start pulling out of the UK.”

The more I read about what Brexit is doing to our vibrant business community here in the UK, the more frustrated I get. Why?

Because Brexit isn’t the problem—fear is the problem!

I don’t say any of this to diminish the realities of the referendum, the US election, or anything else happening in the world right now. Quite the opposite! My life and businesses are in both countries, as are many of my family and friends. I know how many people are feeling conflicted right now.

But seriously, this reactionary panic has got to stop! There will always be things to be afraid of—remember Y2K? Remember 2008? Yes, those examples are different from Brexit for all kinds of reasons, but every example is different from the ones that came before. That’s how history repeats itself without any of us learning from it.

Here, let me prove it.

Here are 8 reasons why Brexit shouldn’t concern British entrepreneurs, along with alternatives that actually will make a difference for your business, your audience, and YES, even your country—my country.

8 Reasons Brexit Doesn’t Matter for British Entrepreneurs

1. Online business is global. The people you want to serve aren’t limited to one geographical space. That hasn’t been true for decades. In fact, if you’re globally focused, it’s never been true. This blog, for example, reaches an average of 130,000 unique readers every month. Only 10% of you are from the UK! Need another example? In an email to his staff after Brexit, Martin Mills, founder and chairman of the 43-year-old record company Beggars Group, said, “While we digest the consequences, we’d just like to reassure you all that the Beggars family is, always has been, and always will be, international, with no frontiers.” (Sounds a lot more success-minded, doesn’t it?)

2. You can’t change change. My dad used to say there are only three things you can count on: death, taxes, and change. It’s true, and it means there’s no excuse to ignore or stall on your business just because something has changed again. Things will keep changing, and those changes will always scare off the people who weren’t meant to be here in the first place. Will you be among them, or will you step up? If you choose the latter, you’ll be in good company. “We are where we are,” said Debbie Wosskow, CEO and cofounder of Love Home Swap and founding chair of Sharing Economy UK. “And now entrepreneurs need to draw on their ability to embrace change and deal with adversity by tackling these challenges and carving out a new way forward.”

3. Success demands risk. Some of the UK’s most successful businesses were started in times of uncertainty, including the £5-billion Virgin Group. And if we end up in another recession, there’s some proof out there that the business you start in a slump has a greater chance of being profitable. It is an entrepreneur’s #1 job see the same situations that others see and react differently. We don’t run for safety; we advance into uncertainty. And then we win. Like Bronek Masojada, CEO of Hiscox, said, “The dogged entrepreneurs are more likely to say that the economic environment has made them more likely to succeed. This is true grit.”

4. Your only boss is YOU. Government drama doesn’t dictate my success or lack thereof, and the same is true for you. Brexit doesn’t sign your paychecks, refer you for promotion, or sign off on your expenses. Why would you give it, or any random entity, that much power over your business? Who’s the CEO here, anyway?!

5. The stats are irrelevant. 80% of UK startups fail within 5 years. Early on, Brexit had a 72% chance of failing. Until election night, Hillary Clinton had a 99% chance of winning the presidency. What do all those stats have in common? They don’t matter. They make for great headlines the morning after, but all they’re going to do for entrepreneurs is scare you into thinking everyone else knows more than you do. They don’t. But as we learned above, the only one who makes that final decision is you. Especially now, when the pollsters are nearly guaranteed to be wrong.

6. Constraints make you more creative. If few are investing in business because they don’t want to put money out in an uncertain economy, you’ve just learned something very important about them: they’re operating on fear. You can choose to mirror and join in their fear, OR you can see this as an opportunity to either find funding elsewhere, or try to make things happen without outside funding. Constraints require you to think of things in a new way, and make no mistake: the ability to produce with constraints is an essential skill for any entrepreneur to have. The sooner you learn it, the better.

7. Entrepreneur is a verb. (It’s not, really, but stick with me here!) You don’t get to be an entrepreneur if you’re not going to act like one, and it is exactly NOW, when everyone else is too afraid to act, that your bravery and expertise is needed more than ever.

8. This is what we’re here for. If you’re REALLY an entrepreneur, it’s time to prove it—real entrepreneurs live for this stuff. Maybe not Brexit specifically, but what I hope you understand by now is that Brexit was never the thing that mattered, anyway. It doesn’t matter what your personal or political feelings are about it—it’s the climate of fear that Brexit has created that is a problem. Acting in spite of fear is what all the speakers, bloggers, and fellow entrepreneurs you follow have been talking about for ages. It’s what everyone else talks about when they talk about us. And now it’s your turn to live a story worth telling, and build a business worth talking about.

Download for FREE – Now!

Who’s Really Affected by Brexit?

If you’re afraid to start, scale, or act in your business since Brexit, it’s not you who’s most affected, though it can certainly feel that way.

It’s the people you serve, or want to serve.

The community you’ve been thinking about, gathering, and maybe even inspiring until now is still out there. And now more than ever, they’re counting on you to stay focused and keep sharing what you know. If you, as their leader, are acting from and projecting fear, you’re going to create more of that in your community.

If, however, you commit to action, forward momentum, and the “keep calm, carry on” mindset… well, then you’re really made of the good stuff.

British entrepreneurs have what it takes to get through this, and to inspire the rest of the world in the process.

Your ‘Beat Brexit’ Challenge

Brexit doesn’t determine your success (or the lack thereof), but your reaction to it will have a lasting effect on the community that needs you. This post has given you insight from a number of successful UK business owners, and I hope those insights have helped.

But there’s only so much you can do while reading a blog post. Your audience is still waiting for you to speak up, take action, and lead them to achieve their dreams.

This week, I challenge you to be the first penguin to jump. Despite fear, uncertainty, Brexit, buzzwords, blah blah blah. Jump.

Just jump.

I often get asked “If you could go back and start all over again, what would you do differently?”. My answer is always the same… I would’ve started blogging way earlier than I did (I started blogging January 2010).

Blogging has opened more doors for me than any other activity as an entrepreneur.

But, here’s the thing… that’s not the reason why I started blogging. I started doing so as a way to chart my course towards my 2010 goal of becoming a full-time Virtual CEO – a goal that I achieved.

However, I continue blogging today (with way more intent and focus behind it than ever before, I might add!) because of those doors being opened.

10 Reasons Why You Should Start Blogging – TODAY!

1. Blogging helps you position yourself as an authority. Someone with something to say.
2. It gives you your own ‘home’ on the internet, without having to rely on other platforms.
3. Blogging is the perfect way to educate, inspire, entertain and create a community in your niche.
4. Blogging helps you build rapport and gain the trust of your prospective customers online.
5. Blogging regularly is the main ingredient in creating a powerful personal brand.
6. Publishing regular, high quality blog content will help the search engines fall in love with your website.
7. When you blog regularly, you’ll be creating a personal encyclopedia of rich content to link back to for years.
8. It’s the first step in monetizing your experience and offering, as an online entrepreneur.
9. Blogging opens the doors to creating life-long relationships with likeminded peers in your industry.
10. It’s just a lot of fun!!!

(This list could go on and on and on and on..!)

Getting Started on Your Blogging Journey

The first thing I remember about starting my blog is that I said something along the lines of “I have absolutely NO IDEA how to even get started!”. And I didn’t. I knew I needed a website, and that I needed my own domain name, for branding purposes. But, that’s where I froze, to be honest.

Then I discovered Bluehost, a website hosting company that I’ve used for virtually ALL my websites ever since.

They made the process of setting up my website and my blog so insanely easy.

And, the good news is that the process has gotten ever simpler and faster since!

I’m convinced that starting a blog will help you launch, grow and build your business online better than any other single activity. I’m so convinced in fact, that I put together this quick tutorial to help you.

In the video below I show you, step-by-step, how to start your blog with Bluehost.

And get this… it’ll take you no more than 10-minutes.

5 Reasons Why Bluehost is the Perfect Blog Hosting Provider

1. Outstanding Customer Service – 24-hour support via chat, email and the phone.
2. Reliable Beyond Belief – With a 99.9% up-time record, you can’t get any better.
3. Awesome Pricing – You simply won’t find a better ‘bang for your buck’.
4. Free Domain Name – Why pay for anything, if you don’t have to. Save whenever you can!
5. Money Back Guarantee – If you’re not happy, ask for a refund within 30-days and it’s yours.

Note: I am a Bluehost affiliate, which means they’ll pay me a small commission if you signup for their service, using my special link. But, please understand this doesn’t have any reflection on why I’m suggesting them. The fact is that almost all hosting companies offer roughly the same services.

I’m recommending Bluehost to you as your blogging host because I sincerely believe they’re the best choice for people getting started on their blogging journey.

That simple.

Start Blogging with Bluehost and Grab My FREE Bonus!

If you decide it’s time for you to go from thinking about it, to actually starting a blog to help grow your brand and business, and you decide to do so with my recommendation of Bluehost, I’ve got something VERY special for you.

Simply forward me your receipt via email and I will send you something that has helped THOUSANDS. An exclusive process blueprint.

How to Create and Promote a Blog Post (usually available to Youpreneur members only!) to ensure that you know exactly how to get the most out of your blogging. Time and time again!

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Special Note: If after reading this post you decide to start podcasting, I’d strongly suggest you check out my friends at Podcast Websites. They’re the ONLY folks I recommend when it comes to everything you need to create, grow and monetize your podcast – including the actual hosting of your podcast, too… their 24-hour customer service is exceptional, too.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I stand before you today with one goal in mind…

I will demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt, why your audience not only WANTS, but NEEDS you to consider starting a podcast.

But before we address the reasons why your business needs a voice, let’s begin by confronting the three reasons why people typically avoid it and why, if you’ve been doing likewise, they should no longer stand in your way.

AVOIDANCE REASON #1:  I Don’t Have an Audience

I totally get it.  Why start a podcast, if there’s no audience to create it for, right?

This is one of the most common objections for starting a podcast, but the irony is that a podcast is a great way to begin BUILDING an audience.

The rising popularity of podcasts combined with the fact that they’re easily consumed (unlike reading a long article, or ebook) means you’ll have a far greater chance of building a loyal audience that likes, trusts and feels like they know you.

AVOIDANCE REASON #2:  I Don’t Have Room in My House / Business for a Studio

If you have a desk – you have all the room you need for a podcast.

This is where I podcast:

Since podcasting is still relatively new, our mind tends to link the concept of podcasting – to radio broadcasting. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Some of today’s most popular podcasts are being created in a small corner of a room.

And you don’t need that fancy microphone to get started, either. Believe me. I just used my Apple headphones when I started in 2010.

Speaking of equipment…

AVOIDANCE REASON #3:  I Can’t Afford the Equipment

You’ll be surprised with how little you need to begin.

All you need is…

• Computer.
• Microphone.
• Podcasting Software (Mac comes with Garageband already built into its applications).
• A good topic to discuss.

Ok, let’s get to the good stuff.

10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Voice!

#1 People really, really like podcasts nowadays

According to recent study conducted by Edison Research podcasting continues to show strong growth over the past 7 years. In fact, many believe that 2017 will be the break-out year for business podcasting, particularly.

#2 Not everyone has time to read 4550 words

The average blog posts is approximately 700-words, which can can be read in about 5-minutes. However, the average podcast is 35-minutes which translates into 4,550 words, the equivalent of 6.5 blog posts.

Not only does this allow you to deliver more content to your audience, but it’s also delivered in a way that’s easy to consume.

And as a side note, if you’re not taking advantage of listening to podcasts during your drive to and from your place of work, or while taking a walk, or on a plane journey, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to leverage your time. 

#3 It’s easier to produce a consistent podcast, than blog posts

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.” ― Stephen King

Whoa! If the great Stephen King is saying there’s no shortcut to writing, then what does that mean for the rest of us?

The good news however is that podcasting allows you to create an amazing piece of content without having to go through countless revisions of your work. In fact, the more conversational and casual it is, the better it will connect with your audience.

That’s one of the biggest compliments I get about my podcast, Youpreneur FM – that it’s like a couple of friends talking in a pub, or over dinner.

But if you’d still like to clean up your audio after recording you can easily find an inexpensive editor on Upwork and have them take out any pauses or “ums” and “ers”.

#4 Podcasts are sticky

When someone decides to listen to a podcast they’ll usually listen to the entire show, and if they like it, there’s a good chance they may listen to another.

That’s a LOT of content!

What’s great about this is that they’ll either feel closer and resonate with your message, or they’ll decide this isn’t the right place for them, and that’s a good thing. The whole point of getting your voice out there is to attract and build the right audience for YOU and your business.

#5 Your personal brand will benefit

I’m a huge believer in building a personal brand, but having an impressive logo and catchy slogan will only qualify you as being average in today’s digital marketplace. What’s most important is that your business has a personality. And I can think of no better way to give your business a personality than by giving it your VOICE!

#6 Become an instant, welcomed guest

When someone listens to your podcast you’ve suddenly become the “invited guest” within their home or office. No different than sitting across from this listener and having a face to face meeting with their undivided attention. Yeah! That’s pretty powerful stuff.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge fan of email marketing, video marketing, and consistent content marketing (such as blog posts and infographics), but there’s nothing like the level of intimacy podcasting creates.

#7 Align yourself with successful people

If you choose to launch and grow a interview format podcast, all those guests you’ll be chasing down to have come on your show will make a difference to your overall brand, too.

The more successful people you have on your show from your industry, or niche, the closer aligned you’ll be seen to them and their success. Perception is key and is often very, very contagious.

#8 The on-going servicing of your existing audience

No matter how big or small your current audience I can guarantee they’re listening to podcasts.

So if they’re going out of they way to open your emails, read your blog posts and register for your webinars – why not service them with a podcast!

Not only will your podcast help form a deeper relationship, but it can also serve as a platform to spotlight members of your audience who are putting your teaching into practice. Some the best content you can create are case studies, which demonstrate that what you teach actually works. My buddy Pat Flynn does this better than almost everyone else I know.

#9 Develop your speaking skills 

I absolutely love speaking, but like anything else, speaking is a skill that needs to be developed. 

What’s great about podcasting is that it will allows you to continually work on your craft. It also helps you to build confidence in your speaking ability without needing the approving laughter, or applause from a live audience.

It can be a bit strange speaking to an invisible audience, but that same skill will help you deliver engaging and entertaining webinars, which is a skill every digital entrepreneur should be improving.

#10 Opportunity to repurpose content

Each of your podcast episodes can be repurposed into additional pieces of content.

Here’s a few ideas:

• Have your podcast transcribed and distilled into a single blog post with a call to action of listening to the entire show.
• Have the best points of your podcast turned into a 7-point, or 10-point infographic.
• Breakup a single podcast recording into 2 or 3 episodes. I highly recommend this if you have the opportunity to attract a popular guest on your show. Just make sure to communicate in advance to them that you plan on breaking it up into 2 or 3 shows that way the two of you can properly plan what to cover and where to break things up.
• Turn some of your most downloaded podcast episodes into Slide decks to share via social, or even into live presentations.
• The opportunities for repurposing are literally endless!

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Creating something of value takes practice and patience. Remember that when you’re planning on starting a podcast.

Don’t make the mistake of expecting your first few episodes to be perfect, or to attract a lot of downloads.

The goal of your first few episodes should simply be to complete them (aka “ship your product”) and learn as much as you can from the process. With that mindset and approach, your following episodes will continue to improve in both delivery and content.

Trust me. Your audience will thank you for it. Mine does… every week.

And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I rest my case!

“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world!”

Those are the words of Archimedes, a famous Greek mathematician and inventor with an infamous obsession for innovation. And while his words may seem anecdotal, or appear to be written for inspirational intent, Archimedes was referring to a real principle; a principle which has the power to not only move the world, but can also empower a single entrepreneur with the ability to accomplish more than would seem humanly possible.

What Archimedes was referring to is the principle of leverage.

The Most Powerful Human Leveraging Tool

I believe habits are one of the most powerful (and free) tools an entrepreneur can enlist in while building a business, and as you may have already witnessed among friends, family and acquaintances, habits contain the seeds of both success and destruction.

This means…

• Enlist the wrong habits and your business will fail.
• Enlist the right habits, and your business will grow. Freakishly fast.

What I’d like to present you with today are five daily habits to grow your business that can give you enormous leverage within your entrepreneurial journey.

But before we dive in, allow me to give you a word of warning. The power of any habit is the consistency at which it is performed.  It’s not a one time thing, or a flurry of action. They are seemingly subtle actions which begin to build momentum and power over time. And faster than you think.

Here are five habits I suggest implementing – I doubt you’ll be upset at me for suggesting them to you!

Habit #1 – Create a Morning Routine

Benjamin Franklin said “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

But just getting up at the crack of dawn in and of itself will not make you rich or lower your blood pressure. It’s what you DO with those mornings that count.

During an interview on Youpreneur FM with Hal Elrod, author of the best-selling book The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM), Hal detailed his personal transformation that took place while studying and implementing morning rituals.

In case you haven’t read the book, or don’t know about Hal, his personal story takes you on a journey of both tragedy and triumph as he overcame personal death (he literally died for 6 minutes after being struck by a drunk driver) and then business setbacks, resulting in the loss of his home.

So what turned things around for Hal?

Things drastically changed the moment he decided to implement the habit he and countless others now refer to as The Miracle Morning. A set of six practices that sets up your day for success by taking control of the first hour of your morning. 

Hal breaks down these miracle morning practices into the acronym Life S.A.V.E.R.S. 

• Silence
• Affirmations
• Visualizations
• Excercise
• Reading
• Scribing (Writing)

But despite being very easy to begin implementing this list, what’s even more alluring is how FAST miracle morning practitioners are seeing results. Not only is the miracle morning helping entrepreneurs grow their business, but many people are also reporting that it’s completely changing their lives.

As Hal reminds us, a great life is built with great days, and great days begin by taking control of your mornings.

Be sure to listen to that episode with Hal on the podcast, and if you’re a Youpreneur Community member, you can check out his chit-chat on building a business around your book, which is excellent.

Habit #2 – Schedule What Matters Most 

If it doesn’t get scheduled, it doesn’t get done.  That’s an original “Ducker-ism”, which has been a personal secret to moving my business forward over the 10+ years that I’ve been an entrepreneur.

What works for me is using 30-minute chunks of time (sometimes longer), during which I schedule everything that will move my business forward – daily.

But before I give you my short list of items, I’d like to highlight the fact that it’s critical to schedule what matters most FIRST. Your time is extremely valuable and you’ve only got so much to work with each day so make sure it’s being invested in projects and opportunities that will make the biggest impact.

Here are a few of the tasks I schedule (along with tips for maximizing that time) on a regular basis:

• Clear and Concise Delegation: Having a team is one of the best ways to leverage your time. But if you’re unclear with the project and its objectives you’ll end up frustrating your team and dragging it out longer than it should be. Your team cannot read your mind. Put the time in to deliver a clear task with measurable ways for your team to know they’ve accomplished your objective.   

• Responding to emails: One of the best tips I can give is to be selective about which emails you respond to. Not all e-mails should require a reply. Pay attention to the type of emails you’re consistently getting. It may be a sign there’s a process missing in your business.

• Reaching out to people I’ve just met at conferences: I’m a huge believer in networking. But handshakes and business cards are only the first step. It’s what you do with those introductions that matter. Why not make it a goal to reach out and see what value you can offer to your newly acquired contact. This also means you must be selective about who you reach out to – since you’re planning to make a time investment.

• Brainstorming Ideas for podcasts: Creating a podcast and securing great guests doesn’t happen by accident. In fact, the easiest part of podcasting is recording the the thing! If this is a medium you plan on leveraging you’ll need to be deliberate about planning your show, booking your guests and doing your research before pressing record.

• Building Processes: Time spent on process building is one of the best uses of your time when building a business. But it’s not easy. There will always be something else nagging at your conscious that needs to be be done right-now! Just remember that the only way to create control – is to stay in control of your time. So set aside time for process building, it’s really the best way to deal with tomorrow’s emergencies.

Your list will be different depending on the type of business you’re in and the maturity of your business. The most important take away is that you identify the important moving parts and schedule them.

That’s the key to developing your own daily habits to grow your business.

Habit #3 – Focus on What You Can Control

The craziest things will happen while building a business, and since luck is a coin with two sides you’ll discover that both good and bad situations will come knocking. The most important thing, however is to remember that your job is to only focus on what you can control.

This means…

• Identify the tangible steps you can take each day towards achieving your business goals. It’s not enough just to list them.
• Don’t lose sleep over losing a large client. Instead, focus on ways you can consistently cultivate new opportunities.
• Meet setbacks with a “what do we need to do right now” mentality instead of complaining about what happened.
• Make it a habit of over-delivering for your clients. The day may come when a mistake is made and it will be helpful to have a reputation of over-delivery which helps ease any frustration and will cause your clients to give you the benefit of the doubt.

Now, does this mean you’ll be able to prevent anything bad from happening in the future?  No, unfortunately not.  The purpose of this habit is to give you mental relief when the storms of business do strike, and strike they will.  But that’s ok, you’ll soon discover that your biggest breakthroughs and innovations will come as a result of these unforeseen setbacks.  So stay focused on what you can control.

Habit #4 – Learn to Say ‘No’. Often!

This is tough one. As entrepreneurs our minds are built to find ways around obstacles, and to inspire people that anything’s possible. But in order to build a business you must be focused on the actions that will move your business forward. 

This is why learning to say no is important.  Steve Jobs put it this way, “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”

So remember, when you say YES to something – you’re also saying NO to something else – and vice versa. Make sure you’re always saying YES to the right thing. 

Habit #5 – End Each Day with ‘Tomorrow’ on Paper

Along with creating a set of morning rituals (as outlined in Habit #1) I recommend ending each day with a brief planning session of what tomorrow will look like.

This planning session should take no more than 10-minutes and should include the following items:

Morning ritual time: Even if you’ve learned how to get yourself up on auto-pilot I still recommend writing down your protected morning time. This habit will reinforce the importance of this time, while also increasing the likelihood of you sticking to it.

Calendar: Are there any upcoming meetings for which you should start preparing for?

Your #1 priority item: If nothing else get’s done tomorrow except for one thing. What should it be? Once again, this doesn’t mean you should only do one thing tomorrow, but this is the one thing that must get done at all costs. And with that said, why not make that the first thing you work on.

Fires: What “fires” (aka. emergencies) need to be put out? Every business will have its fair share of setbacks to deal with, but if you can use them as an opportunity to improve your procedures & systems they can actually become a blessing. But that only happens if you take the time to identify your “fires,” source how they happened, and then see what could be put in place to prevent them from happening in the future.

Today’s Highlights: Every day should end with gratitude. Even if your entire day felt like a mess there’s always something you can find.  This practice will give you positive closure each day, which then sets up your next day for success. What you may also find is that you’ll start finding your days filled with more things to be thankful for. Coincidence? I think not. 

Learn to Love the Journey, My Friends!

Building a successful business is a journey. The business you have today may end up looking a lot different than what you had envisioned, and that’s okay. It’s fine. This is why it’s important to truly fall in love with the process of putting together you’re own personal daily habits to grow your business.

Be excited about what the future holds, but make sure to love the place you’re at today. Pivots will come and go – get used to ’em!

What did you think about the message in this post? Tweet me, or drop me a note on Facebook quickly – I’d love to know. If you have any entrepreneurial friends that you feel should read this, too, please share it with them. I’d appreciate it.