As someone that has worked with thousands of entrepreneurs on their outsourcing strategies, one of the biggest stumbling blocks that I’ve come across is simply just getting started.

If you’ve been on the fence about building a virtual team to help you run, support and grow your business, I’m going to share a very simple exercise to show you how to build a virtual team that will help you on your way to becoming a super productive and successful entrepreneur.

The Art of Letting Go

The fact is that getting started on building a team actually doesn’t need to be as painful as a lot of people envision it to be. Once you get over the fear of letting go of certain tasks, you will actually start looking for more tasks to get off your plate, freeing up more of your time that you can spend growing your business.

My homework for you today comes directly from the pages of my book, Virtual Freedom. It’s called the 3 Lists to Freedom exercise and it’s going to change your life forever. To get started, all you need to do is to grab a piece of paper and draw two lines down, creating three columns.

1. Things You Hate Doing

In the first column, list down all the things you hate doing on a day-to-day basis. These are tasks that you might put off all day long but they are essential to your business and quite frankly, your business is demanding that you do them.

2. Things You Can’t Do

In the second column, list down all the tasks you can’t do. As entrepreneurs, it’s tough to admit that someone else out there can do a task better than us. This is the time to be really honest with ourselves and acknowledge that there are plenty of things we struggle.

3. Things You Shouldn’t Be Doing

Finally, the third column. This is by far, is the single most important list because it really gets you thinking. List down all the things as a business owner that you feel you shouldn’t really be doing on a day-to-day basis. Now I want you to think long and hard here – there might be tasks that you enjoy doing, there might be tasks that you are really good at doing but the million dollar question is: as a business owner, should I actually be doing them?

Can my time be better spent on more high-level activities such as strategizing for growth, spending more time with my top 20% clientele, creating and launching new products and services, traveling to conferences, networking… or maybe just playing a little more Lego with the people that you love? 🙂

Now once you’ve created these three lists, you’ll fundamentally have a roadmap where you can go ahead and start grouping these tasks together to create new roles that you can plug into your business to start making everything so much easier.

Did you enjoy this episode of #DuckerZone? Let me know on Twitter and via Facebook – and… be sure to submit your own question by posting it on social, using the hashtag… #DuckerZone

Public speaking scares the living daylights out of something like, oh… 99.999% of the population! So if you are part of that special group of people who are brave enough to pursue or accept a gig in the first place, you’re already ahead of the game, my friends.

But accepting speaking engagements isn’t the same as actually being on stage now is it? Here’s a handful of quick tips that’ll help get this right both before and during your presentation so that you can rock that stage like a pro. Yes. today, we’re talking about how to prepare for a speaking gig!

Pre-Show Rituals

Start off by doing something weird backstage. Not too long ago, there was a lot of buzz about doing the Wonder Woman pose before hitting the stage, in private of course as it infused people with all sorts of confidence and authority, which helped them perform better when they got out on stage.

In fact, almost every successful speaker I know has SOME kind of ritual they do before going onstage. Some have a prayer or mantra they say, others listen to the same song each time. Find something that both energizes you and calms you down, and make it part of your pre-show ritual.

Don’t Forget to Hydrate!

Now the air inside most venues is dry, and if you haven’t done a lot of speaking before, you may not be used to how the air can affect your voice over a long presentation. Bring something right up on stage with you to eliminate any embarrassing coughing fits – a bottle of room temperature water is my jam on this one!

Eyes on the Prize

Next, let’s talk about the audience. Being on stage can be intoxicating. You may want to make incredible statements that apply to everyone in the room, however your talk will be a lot more impactful if you make repeated eye contact with just a few people, and speak directly to them. This will not only make the experience feel more like a conversation than an Official Presentation, but it’ll have the added bonus of making your audience nod along in agreement as you go. Try it… it REALLY works.

Keep the Conversation Going

And lastly, don’t forget to keep the conversation going after your talk. Your audience is there to hear you speak and learn more about you, so do them the favor of making it easy for them to find you after the presentation is over. At the very least, add a finishing slide to your presentation, with your social handles and website. If you want to take it up a notch, add a special bonus offer for anyone who was there to see you live, that focuses on creating even MORE value, and converting them onto your email list at the same time!

When you think about how to prepare for a speaking gig, some of these tips might pop into your head, some might not. Either way, I reckon that, with ’em in hand, you’ll be pretty much ready to take the stage by storm… and take your brand to the next level.

One last tip for you: have fun up there! There’s nothing better than being center stage, with a captivated audience in front of you,  it’s an incredible feeling!

Did you enjoy this episode of #DuckerZone? Let me know on Twitter and via Facebook – and… be sure to submit your own question by posting it on social, using the hashtag… #DuckerZone

So you’ve got a business already. Everything’s been going along fine, but you know it has an expiration date. Maybe it’s a bricks-and-mortar business and you want to spend more time at home. Maybe it’s online and specific to a certain product or service that you happen to be getting tired of. Maybe you’re considering shutting down and starting over.

If this is you, then relax. I’ve got your back. Today we’re going to talk about how a business with an expiration date is actually the perfect opportunity for one of my favorite words in the entrepreneurial world: PIVOT!

Now as I’ve said many many times before, a personal brand business is the last pivot you’ll ever need to make in business. If you’ve ever had to shift the focus of your business before, then you’re pretty much joining the choir right now because we all know how much work it is to shift your entire business.

But that’s what’s so great about THIS shift in particular. Becoming a personal brand entrepreneur is also one of the easiest shifts you’ll ever make because you already have all the tools you need. You’re about to leverage… plain and simple.

So here’s a 5-step process to shift the business you’ve already got into a personal brand business. Fun fact: these are the exact steps I followed when pivoting back in 2012, and the proof is in the pudding, guys. Personal branding works.

1. Start putting more of yourself into your existing content

This is a really easy shift to make. Keep producing the same content you’re already producing for your business, but instead of trying to remove yourself and sound “professional” (whatever that means!), I challenge you to add in a bit of your unique perspective to the next bit of content you create. Use your humor, your personality, and the things that make you YOU.

2.  Share a completely new, unrelated piece of content

This is a tipping point for a LOT of entrepreneurs, trust me. They’ve got a whole library of content that’s specific to their business, but the second they share something totally out of left field, something more personal to them and what they’re all about, their audience goes WILD. A perfect example is when I talked about my burnout, which happened in 2009. I shared all the gory details and my community ate it up.

I challenge you to put yourself out there a little bit. One thing all personal brand entrepreneurs have in common is a willingness to share their own stories generously, and the more comfortable you get with this, the faster your brand will grow.

3. Go one full month sharing only personal brand content

This is where you’ll continue to rebalance your content until it’s 100% personal brand content and 0% old business content. When you do this, a few interesting things will happen. First, you’ll lose some subscribers, viewers, listeners, readers… whatever. That’s OK. You’re finding your new audience. Second, you’ll gain new readers! They’ll discover you and be drawn in by your personal brand, which is GREAT. Third, and most interesting to me personally, is that the vast majority of your existing audience will stick around, and they’ll be grateful for the opportunity to get to know you better. When you’re sharing personal brand content on a consistent basis, the relationship that develops between you and your audience is almost like a new friendship. It’s very, very cool.

4. Evaluate

For me, self-reflection is an important part of being an entrepreneur, and by this stage in the journey, you’ll have been sharing personal brand content with your audience for at least a couple months. So now’s the time to reflect for just a minute. Have you enjoyed the process of beginning to build your personal brand? How’s your audience reacted, grown, and changed as a result? Do you have more to say and more ways to help? If so, congratulations. You’ve officially made the pivot and you can join the ranks of personal brand entrepreneurs, like myself, all around the world!

5. Ask for feedback

Part of community growth is engagement. Now’s the time to check in with your audience about how you can serve them, even more, going forward. Maybe this is a formal survey sent to your list, or maybe it’s just a question asked at the end of a blog post or podcast episode. However you approach it, I want you to prioritize engaging with your community as you grow together. You can rest assured that they’ll be honest because after all, they’re sticking around for your honesty. It’s a two-way street, and you’ll learn a lot about what kind of content to create for them in the future.

So there you have it. An easy, seamless, 5-step process on how to pivot into a personal brand. It’s the process I followed personally, and it’s the process that countless business owners before you have followed. I know it works, and I can’t wait to see how you make it work for your goals in the coming months.

Did you enjoy this episode of #DuckerZone? Let me know on Twitter and via Facebook – and… be sure to submit your own question by posting it on social, using the hashtag… #DuckerZone

FACT: I’ve written and shared a LOT about time management in the past. Why? Because it’s such a constant source of stress in the lives of my fellow entrepreneurs, and I think there’s always more to learn. At the end of the day, we’re all just trying to get better at work/life balance, and I know I’m incredibly grateful for this growing community so we can all help each other figure out what it means and what is required to be a thriving entrepreneur in the 21st century.

Now over the years, I’ve tested so many hacks on how to become more productive, and today I’m gonna share the best of the best of them with you. I really hope a few of these will help you become more of a time management ninja, because let’s face it… time truly is our more valuable commodity. You ready?

1. Track your time automatically.

The sentiment here may not be new, but if you don’t already know, there are apps and tools out there that can track your activity in a day to help you learn where your time goes and help you maximize your productive times. A favorite of mine is RescueTime, which monitors your computer time all day long and then categorizes it for you and gives you a productivity rating score. They have a free and paid version, but if you don’t want to download and learn a whole new program, consider simply recording your screen for one working day using a piece of screen capture software. Just knowing you’re being “watched” all day (even if it’s only by yourself!) can go a long way toward keeping yourself accountable.

2. Give yourself less time than you need.

If you think you need until Thursday at 5 to meet that deadline, give yourself until Thursday at noon. This sounds so simple, but it’s life-changing. In addition… committing publicly to your social media friends that you’ll finish this, or that, by Wednesday at 3 pm can also be a game-changer.

3. Schedule EVERYTHING.

If you looked at my calendar on most days, you might think I never have a moment to breathe. I schedule every minute of every working day with things that need to get done, and maybe on first glance, it looks a little overwhelming. But here’s the interesting part: it’s only since I’ve been scheduling every little thing that I have MORE free time than ever. When I left my calendar open and clear, I worked 17 hours a day and never saw the finish line. Now that I schedule every little thing into its own time block, I work a regular 6-hour day and… I take every Friday off completely. Not only am I more relaxed and productive at work than I’ve ever been in any other time in my life, but I get to spend more time with my family than ever!  Try it for for a few weeks, and I bet you’ll fall in love with what I call #NoWorkFriday

4. Speed up your consumption time.

If you spend a lot of time-consuming podcasts and audio books, this tip is for you. Bump up the speed on that audio player! Most players have a speed function built in, and you can save SO much time by playing your content at 1.25, 1.5, or even 2x the standard speed. And here’s a pro tip: pop in the headphones when listening at an increased speed. They seem to help the brain catch on faster! And for those of you who have a million tabs open with stories and blog posts you’d like to read “when you have time,” consider the NaturalReader app, free in the app store. It automatically converts written text to audio so you can get through your “to-be-read” pile a lot faster than usual.

5. Save email until after lunch.

This one is HUGE for those of you who check email first thing in the morning and then spend the rest of the day reacting to whatever’s in your inbox. Try leaving that inbox closed and unchecked until after lunch, by which time you’ll have had a few hours of focused and uninterrupted work time to brainstorm, work ON your business, and just generally settle into a creative, innovative state of mind.

Did you enjoy this episode of #DuckerZone? Let me know on Twitter and via Facebook – and… be sure to submit your own question by posting it on social, using the hashtag… #DuckerZone

Now, I’ll admit, I’m not always full of ideas myself. I’m sure everyone out there has felt the same from time to time. And it’s stressful, isn’t it? We know that, as personal brand entrepreneurs and content marketers, we need to be putting out valuable content on a regular basis to keep our communities coming back and staying engaged.

We all know the value of quality content, but that doesn’t make it any easier to stare at a blank screen and try to fill it up, week after week. So here’s a little strategy I use that will open the floodgates.

But First – Know Your Audience

But first, a caveat… Before you start churning out ideas, let me be 100% clear that you absolutely MUST know your audience first, before you sit down to brainstorm blog ideas. Know who you’re writing for before you write a word, and everything will go so much more smoothly.

Why do you need to know your audience? Because they’re the ones who are showing up to read it, of course. It’s a waste of time to create things that have no defined readership, but it’s one of the best investments you’ll ever make, to spend time getting to know your audience and what they need.

And for what it’s worth, know that 90% of people searching for solutions online are complete beginners to your topic of expertise. They’re Googling because they don’t know the first thing about the solutions that are available for their problems, so with good content… you’ll be in a prime position to turn them into loyal fans and ultimately… customers for life.

Resource: Content Inc., by Joe Pulizzi

Start with the 5 W’s

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s do an idea-generating experiment. Because I’m in the personal branding space, let’s say I’m trying to come up with new blog post ideas about personal branding. Keeping in mind that my audience is made up of mostly beginners, I’m going to start with the 5 Ws to come up with 5 post ideas instantly:

What is a personal brand? Why do you need a personal brand? Who is your personal brand for? When is the right time to launch your personal brand? Where should you spend your personal brand-building budget?

That was pretty easy, but maybe you can see how… as soon as you frame blog posts as a question, more questions can’t help but crop up as well.

Quite frankly, this is one of the easiest ways to brainstorm blog ideas, and always will be.

What is a personal brand? What does everyone forget about personal brands? What should more entrepreneurs know before launching a personal brand? What are the best-kept secrets of successful personal brand builders?

Why do you need a personal brand? Why do some entrepreneurs fail with their personal brands? Why is this year the BEST year in history to launch your personal brand?

I think you can see where I’m going with this…., but basically, start with one of the 5 Ws to unleash a torrent of questions. This is like releasing your inner toddler who can’t stop asking questions all day long…….

Now – Bring on the ‘How’ Questions!

Here’s a look at what it might look like to start with HOW questions (which, if you haven’t noticed), are the primary focus of most of my content online!!!

How should personal brand entrepreneurs use social media? How to take every Friday off and still grow your business. How should you launch your first book? How can outsourcing help you double your income? How should you gauge success in the first year of business?

Now… some of these are subjects… rather than headlines. These are the questions you’re starting with that can inspire an entire blog post, or podcast episode, or whatever medium you’re working with, but headlines will need their own treatment, and for me… that means using the headline analyzer at CoSchedule (I’ll link to it below!) if you’re looking for a tool that can help you craft brilliant headlines that factor in things like SEO and power words, this is the way to go!

The best part about using the 5 Ws (and the H’s, haha!) to brainstorm blog ideas is that it’s a literally an ever expanding way to come up with ideas. People are curious, we have questions for ourselves and others all day long, and tapping into that is extremely powerful.

Enjoy this episode of #DuckerZone? Let me know on Twitter and via Facebook – and… be sure to submit your own question by posting it on social, using the hashtag… #DuckerZone

Now, you listen to podcasts, right? Of course you do. Pretty much everyone does these days, and there are so many exceptional ones out there that it feels like we could spend all our time consuming them instead of actually working. Don’t do that!

But…what if podcasts could somehow factor into your business strategy? What if you could find a way to build podcasts right into your content marketing efforts to drive community engagement and even…… profit?

Well, Melissa from Toronto asked me this very question recently, and so I thought I’d answer her and at the same time, show you all how to become the podcast guest that EVERYONE wants to have on their show.

Podcast Hosts are Always on the Look Out for Great Guests!

Here’s a secret from me to you: podcast hosts are ALWAYS, I repeat ALWAYS, looking for great guests. Yes, they may have a weekly or daily show that appears to be full of amazing guests all the time, but I promise you, getting all those guests lined up is a huge amount of work. Good guests are hard to come by.

So, if you’re wanting to pitch hosts and get on more shows this year, follow these tips to catch the attention you need. And… honestly, it’s only about 5% of people who do this, so don’t take shortcuts here. Put in the effort, and you will see the results.

1. Be a Fan First

You wouldn’t believe how many pitches podcast hosts get from people who don’t even listen to their podcast. It’s painfully obvious when I’m receiving a form letter or a blanket pitch that also got sent to a dozen other hosts, and I promise you, those are always the first ones to get deleted. Please, don’t even consider pitching a podcast that you haven’t heard at least a handful of episodes of. Good hosts work hard to create valuable content for a specific audience, and if you aren’t part of that audience, in my eyes… you really have no business being on that show in the first place.

If you’re a fan of a show, the host will know it right away in your pitch. They’ll be able to tell from the detail you add and enthusiasm you show… that you’re a genuine listener. It matters, guys. Really.

So, number one way to be a great podcast guest is to be a fan, first!

2. Do your Research

Many hosts have sites or pages dedicated to their podcast, so even if you already listen regularly to the show, check the site first to see if the host has any requirements for potential guests. Again, you’d be surprised how many people don’t do this, and have their pitches immediately deleted as a result. Take a minute to check the site, see if the host requires anything specific, and file that information away for the next step. Which is…. To….

3. Personalize Your Email

When you’re ready to reach out to the host of a show you want to be on, do so in the tone that represents your personal brand. If you’re funny, be funny in your email. If you’re blunt, be blunt. Show your personality, and then… align that with the show’s purpose and the host’s guest requirements. Don’t EVER send a boring form letter pitching your expertise and asking them for the favor of being on their show. You want your appearance on their show to be a no-brainer for everyone, which means you have to go the extra mile to make your email an intriguing first point of contact.

And how do you do that? I’ve got two B’s for you here: Be BRIGHT, and be BRIEF.

Good hosts are busy, so you’ve got 200 words max to sell yourself and what you’re all about. Be respectful of their time, and they’ll be respectful of yours. 

A structure that works particularly well is the following….. a quick greeting and intro to your expertise, a demonstration or proof that you actually do listen to the show (maybe you can indicate how a favorite episode helped you in some way), and finally, AND THIS IS THE BIGGIE… an invitation for the host to check out a piece of content you’ve created that could lend itself to a really interesting on-air discussion. That’s it!

4. Make it About Them

Once you secure the interview and get on the show itself, here’s a cool way to blow your host away: talk about the parallels between your expertise and theirs. This sounds so simple, I know, but far too many guests get on and then just talk about themselves or their niche the whole time!

5. Invite Everyone Back to Your Place

At the end of the interview, your host will typically give you an opportunity to talk about a thing you’re working on or launching. Use this time wisely—state briefly what you’d like more people to know about, and for bonus points all around, invite listeners to check out a specific URL for an exclusive freebie from you. But… just ONE URL, okay – otherwise, they’ll visit none.

6. Follow Up

When the interview is over, write a quick thank-you email within a day or two. Let the host know how much you enjoyed your time together, and offer to promote the show to your platform when it’s ready – that always makes a great podcast guest, trust me!

Did you enjoy this episode of #DuckerZone? Let me know on Twitter and via Facebook – and… be sure to submit your own question by posting it on social, using the hashtag… #DuckerZone

Let’s talk about sales, baby.

It’s a word that so many marketers hate these days, but it’s because we  don’t really know the true MEANING of the word! We think sales, and we think of the vacuum cleaner salesman showing up at the door during dinner.

And then it gets worse, because when we call ourselves marketers, we immediately lump ourselves in with the sleazy salesmen that no one wants to be around.

But friends, today is a very special day because we’re going to turn that entire notion on its head and talk about how to become a master marketer without ever coming close to sleazy selling in any way, shape or form.

Here are five ways on how to sell without being salesy!

1. Get Going with Your Content marketing.

In case you haven’t heard, content marketing is the only kind of marketing that’s even LEFT. It’s also inherently generous because you’re literally sharing your very best stuff for free, on a regular basis, with an attentive audience that needs your solutions. When you do it right, content marketing is the backbone of your entire marketing effort.

2. Consider your email list to be a group of friends.

If you invited everyone on your mailing list over for dinner one night, would you greet them at the door with a sales pitch? Of course not! So consider every email you send to be like opening the door for your friends. Get to know them, share funny stories, and build a trust-based relationship before ever considering trying to sell them something.

3. Introduce people to each other.

This one is a bit counter-intuitive, so hear me out. When someone you know is facing a challenge, try to refrain at times from being the person who solves it. It’s great if you can, but more often, consider introducing that person to someone else in your network who can solve the problem. As an entrepreneur, you’re a connector, and the more people you can introduce to each other, the more you become the person everyone goes to when they need something.

4. Believe in your solutions.

Enthusiasm is contagious, but so is boredom. If you don’t deeply believe in the potential of your idea to help people, then others will simply not be lining up to buy what you sell. Especially as personal brand entrepreneurs, we simply must believe in what we do because it’s so much a part of who we are. So seriously, friends, you must believe in what you want people to buy. That belief will translate naturally and organically into the sales copy your write.

5. Speaking of sales copy…

Invest the time and resources required to write sales copy properly. It is a VERY different form of writing than anything else you’ve written, and if you’ve never done it before, there’s definitely a right way and a wrong way to do it. A friend of mine, Ray Edwards, is the best source I know of for quality copywriting training. His seven-step method will help you get your message across in a way that your audience will feel compelled to take action on afterward!

If there’s one big takeaway here, it’s to remember that people want to do business with other people. Talk to customers like they’re simply guests in your home, and build those lasting relationships. Remember… Relationships should be treasured, not used.

Did you enjoy this episode of #DuckerZone? Let me know on Twitter and via Facebook – and… be sure to submit your own question by posting it on social, using the hashtag… #DuckerZone

One of the things I’ve seen in the past two decades of being in business is that just because you’re working for yourself doesn’t mean you’re not broke. I’ve seen lots of ‘Starving Artist’ entrepreneurs.

Why do I use that term… ‘starving artist’? Well, my friend Jeff Goins (who recently blew up the Tropical Think Tank event stage!) has a new book out called Real Artists Don’t Starve, and it’s not just for artists! Jeff gave me a pre-release copy when we were together for TTT17 and I devoured it. In it, he teaches you that everyone who has a gift to share is an ‘artist’.

And that definitely includes entrepreneurs! And let’s face it, we don’t want to end up broke as an entrepreneur, do we?

Side Note: If you fancy grabbing a copy of the book, to celebrate it’s launch, Jeff is giving away lots of cool bonuses, so just pre-order the book before June 6, which you can get at dontstarve.com.

As I went from page to page, section to section, there were a few things that stood out to me, that I could see directly associated themselves with entrepreneurs and people building personal brands… so, here I am – breaking ’em down for you to learn from quickly!

Don’t try to be Original

Now, I know I always say that originality is a major key to success – if you know me, you know I’m talking about simply being YOU 9as you’re a 100% original version of you, right?!). However… instead of coming up with one great “original” idea, build on what other people have already done. Being original can be expensive. Instead, just take something – an idea, a model, whatever – that somebody has already proven, and do it differently… (not just better!).

Steve Jobs started Apple by borrowing from the ideas of other companies like Xerox and building on them to make them even better. The best, most innovative companies in the world do this.

Own your Work

Often in business, I see entrepreneurs selling off too much of their company to an investor or partner and quickly diluting their stake in exchange for a little bit of money. Don’t do this! The last thing you should give up is ownership of your company.

Sometimes, it makes sense to give away a little bit of equity to someone in exchange for something more valuable, but this should never be the first step. Once you give away parts of your company, you don’t get that back. Money is renewable; equity is not.

This is what John Lasseter learned when he left Disney to help start Pixar and was soon offered a job back at Disney for triple his salary. He turned it down. Why? Because he’d rather take a short-term pay cut to retain more freedom and ownership of his work.

In the end, Pixar ended up selling to Disney for $7.4 billion. Today, John Lasseter is worth $100 million.

It pays to not sell out too soon.

Diversify your Income

You’ve probably heard that the average millionaire has over seven different income streams. The way most successful business owners grow a successful company is not by offering one product or service. Typically, it’s done with multiple offerings. Again, the idea of ending up broke as an entrepreneur isn’t one that you’re likely to want to entertain.

In my case, I run events, speak and write, and sell online products including a membership site. I don’t think you should spread yourself too thin, but having multiple income-generating projects reduces your risk and is a lot more fun than just doing the same thing all day, every day.

And sometimes, the way that you make your money is not how you would expect. Who ever thought Dr. Dre would make a fortune selling headphones? Or that McDonald’s would become one of the largest real estate companies in the world?

In order to succeed, you have to be open to new opportunities, even if those opportunities are unexpected. As Jeff says, “Don’t be a jack of all trades, become a master of some.”

Now, for more insights, be sure to check out Jeff’s new book – I reckon you’re going to love it!

And… as always, if you enjoyed this post, please let me know on my Facebook page or via Twitter. And… if you have some likeminded friends, I’d love for you to share it with them. Thank you!

Many of you are aware that for some time I’ve been planning and working on a new project that’s going to become very close to my heart, moving forward. And that project is simple entitled:

#DUCKERZONE

For quite some time I’ve been wanting to create more video content, and when launched later this year, #DuckerZone will help me achieve that goal – and some! I say ‘later this year’ as a final launch date has yet to be established.

The show will be a mash-up of viewer submitted questions (and my replies), as well as the sharing of my own biggest, deepest and most action-orientated thoughts.

We’ve already got 12 episodes in the can – they’re busy being edited together as I type this.

However, many of you haven’t stopped hitting me up for a preview of what will become a weekly show on YouTube (and republished to this site, obviously), so I’ve decided to give in and serve up a little taste – in the form of Episode 1.

Kicking Off #DuckerZone

And.. right here in episode 1, we’re kicking things off with a question I get a LOT. And I think everyone asks themselves this at some point. They look at their mentors, muses, whatever, and they wonder, “How can I become an influencer in my industry, too?”

How can I get that kind of attention on MY product or service?

Everyone wants to get to that level where they’ve got a raving fanbase and loads of people asking their advice, influencers are at the level they’re at because they’ve worked their behinds off to offer the absolute best resources you can find anywhere.

These are people at the absolute top of their game… Entrepreneurs who took very intentional and strategic steps to get to where they are today.

And the best part is that becoming an influencer isn’t some restricted access old boys’ club. If you’re ready and willing to put in the effort, you too can not only figure out how to become an influencer, but you can do it yourself, too!

And if you’re ready to get started, here are three quick tips you can start using TODAY to become an influencer in your space.

Leverage What You’re All About

Find and leverage your personal brand statement. Your personal brand is the thing you are… that no one else is. So, whatever you do, don’t copy other influencers. Instead, be you… people will want to do business with you. When you’ve figured out your personal brand statement, try and come up with a catchy tagline to explain it. Pat Flynn is “the crash test dummy of online business”.

It’s memorable and different, and yours should be, too.

Serve, Serve, Serve

Any smart personal brand entrepreneur, any New York Times bestselling author, podcaster, blogger, speaker… they’ve all achieved influencer status, And almost all of them have one trait in common with each other.

They simply just kept showing up in service of others. For YEARS, they gave and gave and gave to everyone they met could—sometimes it directly related to their business and their own goals, and sometimes it didn’t.

But the key was they served.

The fact is that there’s countless ways to serve your audience generously and without expectation. Your audience doesn’t need to be big to get started. In fact, it might be as small as a handful of friends and family members on your mailing list. Doesn’t matter. Share with them just as you’d share with an auditorium full of people. Share what you’ve learned on your blog or podcast.

Give talks at community events. Reach out to influencers you admire… ask them how to become an influencer – and offer to help them with a specific thing that you happen to be amazing at. If you keep the goal of service at the forefront of your mind, and then watch what happens, I guarantee that your platform, your community, and YOUR influence will start to grow. There’s no ceiling on your potential when you’re there to serve.

So, serve first… sell later.

Commit to the Goal

Here’s the thing, wanting to become an influencer is like wanting a million downloads on your podcast. Great idea, but without knowing and committing to the steps that go into reaching that goal, it’s just a vanity metric.

Instead of waking up each day trying to figure out how to become an influencer, or with the goal to become an influencer, I want you to see that as a by-product of being really amazing at what you do. Remember that leveraging your personal brand and serving others, you will naturally get better and better, with every passing day.

And let’s face it… at the end of the day, that’s just a much more recognizable and sustainable approach to long-term success.

So, what did you think of the first episode of #DuckerZone? Hit me up on Twitter and via Facebook and let me know. And… be sure to submit your own question by posting it on social, using the hashtag… #DuckerZone

It’s Monday.

The start of a new week.

I put goals in place each and every week. They’re small ones. But, I always hit ’em.

The difference between big goals and small goals is that the small ones are achievable, fast.

Do you have small goals in place for this week? If you don’t, I’d love for you to put one in place.

Right now. Today!

Here are some ideas for you to consider:

• Make a start growing your email list.
• Get a new landing page built to grow your marketing list.
• Stop screwing around in Photoshop and outsource that graphic task.
• Get on the phone with a new customer and find out what they need help with.
• Finally get around to starting your blog, for good!
• Reach out to five members of your community and say ‘thank you’.
• Get a virtual assistant to plan out your weeks social media updates.
• Push yourself a little more – add an additional day of exercise.

These goals all have something in common.

They’re small.

They’re achievable. Each and every one of them – by the end of this week.

Some people might call them a ‘quick win’. I just call ’em a small goal. 

I love hitting my small goals.

You will, too.

Try it, now – and be sure to tweet me what your small goal is. I’d love to hear from you, #SmallGoal