How To Have Your Business And Enjoy It, Too: The One Year Podcast Anniversary Episode

Happy Anniversary!

To you, Fred. And to us on the one year mark since our first podcast episode aired. One year and 150 episodes later, we’re both thrilled and exhausted.

A year ago we set out with this mission: to challenge the status quo of marketing and encourage you to think differently about what you see, hear and are told – seemingly ad nauseum – in blogs and podcasts and webinars everywhere.

And we think we’ve accomplished that mission.

Now as we look ahead to another year, we’re shifting our mission ever so slightly toward business and entrepreneurship and challenging that status quo.

We want to talk more about how to start a business, sustain a business, manage a business, make money with a business – and yes, market a business – but with a focus on a holistic approach. And that means talking about all the things that go into running a healthy, successful business that you probably don’t think about – like your passions, your health, your family and your life.

Business Is About Money

It sounds mercenary but the fact is that you need money. You have bills to pay. You probably want to do some fun things, whether it’s putting puzzles together (we just finished our cupcake puzzle!) or traveling.

A lot of the “advice” you get is about tactics with no real end in mind. How many posts can you read about “list building”? Or any tactic? But there’s no point to building a list if you don’t know what to do with the people on it.

So we want to talk about the “what’s next” of business and marketing so you can build, run and sustain a business that supports you, your family and your lifestyle.

And “money” isn’t the goal. Money is the thing that can help you reach your goals – like spending quality time with your family and kids and not being chained to your desk.

Our “Unfair Advantage”

In entrepreneurial lingo, our unfair advantage is that we’re in the interesting place of being 16 years into running a business but also at the very beginning of starting a new business – both at the same time.

So we have years of experience (and mistakes) behind us and we can speak from that. But we’re also in a very real way starting over, and we want to share that journey with you as we grow and explore, make more mistakes and even more money!

How Do You Define Yourself?

There’s a lot of lingo thrown around when it comes to talking about “business”. There’s the ever-present and overused “entrepreneur” that seems to mean “anyone with a computer and no job.”

There are “freelancers”, “business owners”, “solopreneurs” and more.

What are you?

Don’t answer so fast – this matters.

To a large extent, being successful is about mindset and if you don’t take yourself seriously and don’t speak about your business legitimately then nobody else will take you seriously, either.

Often the word freelancer is thrown around to mean “self employed”. But it can also be associated with “job on the side.”

If you walk into a prospecting meeting and introduce yourself as a freelancer, do you think that confers more or less legitimacy on you?

Think carefully about the vocabulary you use because how you define yourself is how others will define you.

Be serious about running your business.

What Is A Business?

If you’re working day in, day out, chained to your desk, you’re not really running a business. If the business would fall apart without you, you’re not running a business. What you’re doing is working a job – just one that you’ve given yourself.

If you want to run a business then you need systems and processes in place so that the business can keep running without you. It has to be profitable so you can pay yourself and your staff and have money left over to live your life. You have to be able to provide products and services that your audience needs without constantly chasing the next big thing.

We’re not saying it’s easy. But it can be done. And we’ll be here along the way to talk about the ups and downs and to talk with guests about their ups and downs so you can learn and be inspired, too.

Ready?

We’re looking forward to another 150 episodes… and another… and another… and then maybe a vacation…

And we’re glad you’ll be there for the journey. We’re excited to talk about the good, the bad, the ugly and the ants.

We also look forward to continuing to hear your stories, your successes, your failures, frustrations, joys and challenges. Onward!

Your (Marketing?) Action Item

Now that we’ve shifted our focus a bit, we’re not sure that we should be calling this a “marketing” action item, but we aren’t quite ready to give it up as a show segment.

So your action item today is to decide what we should call it instead! Plunk your thoughts in the comments or hit us up online.

Links & Resources

• Check out the Nuclear Chowder Marketing Method book written by none other than the Handsome & Delicious Mike Brooks.
• Find the book on Goodreads and enter to win one in the giveaway
• Pre order The Relationship Manifesto from Wade Harman, a man who knows how it’s done and proves it every day
• Follow our SuperFreds of the week on Twitter
  • Nadia Bracken @ClinOpsTK
  • Keri Jaehning @kerijaehnig
  • Kelly McCormick @KellyMcCormick_
  • Wade Harman @wadeharman
• If you missed it, catch the ant eating story on episode 149

Where To Listen

iTunes

Stitcher

Libsyn

Podcast RSS

Subscribe below to be notified whenever we publish new content and to stay in the loop on new podcasts and resources.