Those of you who have been following my work for awhile know that I have been heavily influenced by my coach mentor Dr. Martha Beck. Her book Finding Your Own North Star changed the course of my life when I read it nearly a decade ago, and eventually led to my Escape from Cubicle Nation work.

Martha is a Harvard-trained sociologist and bestselling author. She is Oprah's life coach in residence, and writes a monthly column for O Magazine.

In this interview, I talk with Martha about her brand new book Finding Your Way in a Wild New World. Building on the research she started at Harvard many years ago, she explains how an encounter with an angry rhinoceros in Africa triggered an entirely new direction in her life, and led to this book. Rather than thinking your way to your right work, why not track your right life? We discuss:

• How to find a path in life that will make you happy
• Why the most "fancy" (wealthy, successful) people in the world are often unhappy
• What elders from around the world agree on about creating happiness and magic in your life

Find Martha at http://www.marthabeck.com

Those of you who have read my blog for a long time or have heard me speak know that I often reference a key moment in Escape from Cubicle Nation's history, when one incoming link from venture capitalist and blogger Guy Kawasaki turned my tiny audience into a massive wave of new subscribers.

It certainly was a moment of enchantment for me, as I watched the power of connecting with a ripe market of my ideal clients.

Today, Guy's brand new book, Enchantment, hits the stores.

It is based on his decades-long experience as a venture capitalist, and deep understanding of business evangelism and customer relationships.

A couple of weeks ago, I talked with Guy about the key concepts and stories in the book. In this 30-minute interview, we talk about both the light and dark side of enchantment. When someone is skilled in the art of customer seduction, you can fall prey to unscrupulous tactics. We also talked about how being enchanting does not mean that everyone will like you. To the contrary, when you take a strong stand on doing something a particular way, you will polarize your market.

Great conversation aside, the most enchanting part of the interview for me was hearing Guy describe the scene in front of him as he was trying to talk with me. Two of his kids decided to come in his office and bring the dog. Having experienced the same scene numerous times myself, his humor and ease with parenting made me appreciate him as a father.

I really, really enjoyed the book, and think you will too. Although you can glean the highlights from the infographic below, it is worth reading in depth. Whether you sell shoes or high-end software services, learning how to create deep, real connections with your market is the skill that will set you apart in the  21st century.

Buy the book here.

 

"Didn't you ever want to get up from your desk one day and just walk away, not to go get a latte, but I mean walk away and not come back?"

So asks Margaret Roach in her powerful book trailer, and powerful new book, And I Shall Have Some Peace There: Trading the Fast Lane for My Own Dirt Road.

Margaret left her mega-powerful job as editorial director of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and had been a New York Times editor.

She set out on a long journey to get to know herself -- in her farmhouse in rural New York.

Her book trailer tells the story better than I ever could with words. (YouTube link here)

Margaret's purpose in writing the book was to tell her own story, but to also encourage others to stop and make time for things they love.

"Just remember, we are finite creatures," she says.

If you never make time for things you love, time may run out. 

Her book is out this week, and is a delightful read. Buy it here

.

Note the rather uncharacteristic post title from my recent blog hack. The humor of the particular spam title and my post image was not lost on me. Call me the poster child for the need for a structured, secure data security plan:

• In 2008, the hard drive on my brand new iMac failed four months after purchase and I almost lost all my data (I was in the middle of working on my book).
• Earlier this year, my web host had a series of technical glitches and I lost all my sites for almost a week. It wasn't until it happened that I realized the backup widgets I thought were installed were not. Only by the grace of a dedicated team (@naominiles , @matthewrayscott @va4hire @pmurrah and Scott Rivers) did I get all the data back (it takes a village to restore your online business).
• In November, my web host was hit by a hacker, and my blog was infiltrated by viagra spam. The quick acting of @timgrahl and @williejackson scrubbed my site of unscrupulous code, but not before suffering embarrassment.

These experiences have made me an advocate for "scaring straight" new entrepreneurs about the need for data security protection.

Willie Jackson, Photo by Robert Bromfield

I had the good fortune to interview freelance technology consultant Willie Jackson on this topic today, and invite you to listen to our 25-minute podcast about data security. Willie is a former technology consultant for Accenture, and one of the six "accomplices" recently chosen by Seth Godin to work on The Domino Project. Willie was also featured in my side hustle and flow series earlier this year. Common data security mistakes discussed in the podcast:

1. Not having a backup service for your website/blog
2. Thinking that FTP backup of Wordpress saves all your content (hint: it does not)
3. Creating weak passwords
4. Securing only your business data and forgetting priceless personal data like family photos
5. Shopping for web hosts purely on price, not thinking about security and support

Services discusses on the podcast:

WP-db Manager

WP-db Backup

Automatic Wordpress Backup

AVG Free (for Windows)

Backupify Vault Press (extra special support, but requires "golden ticket" invitation. I am pretty sure the service is run by Willie Wonka)

Web Host Page.ly

If you are too overwhelmed to get backups set up yourself, holler at Willie:

@williejackson willie (at) williejackson (dot) com

May your backups be secure and all your data bright and clean in 2011!

Scott Gerber, twenty-six year old columnist for Entrepreneur and author of the new book Never Get a Real Job: How to dump your boss, build a business and not go broke, does not mince his words.

He believes that many of the entrepreneur evangelists out there are selling snake oil when they encourage people to "do what you love and let the business model follow."

In our 30-minute conversation, we talk (and sometimes agree to disagree) about what every young person needs to be considering in the new world of work.

Scott is passionate for no-frills, practical nuts-and-bolts businesses which help young entrepreneurs develop the skills, experience and finances to take charge of their career. He does not think that corporate life is a viable alternative for many of our 20-somethings fresh out of college with bulging student loan debt and a poor chance of landing a job that will utilize their true talents.

I really enjoy his enthusiasm and conviction, and support his premise that Generation Y will be the driver of the entrepreneurial economy.

I will arm wrestle him about the importance of passion, but that is what makes for a healthy web of opinions. :)

I have always been an advocate of having young mentors, and Scott is too. He formed the Young Mentor Council, comprised of 80 successful, and young, entrepreneurs. They share advice through a large number of media channels including Entrepreneur.com and the Wall Street Journal.  Find out about the council at Scott's website here.

We need to have more straight talk about the reality of today's world of work, and I am very glad Scott is leading the charge for amplifying the voice of the next generation.

Bring it on!

 

 

In his newest book Black Faces in White Places: 10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness, (co-authored with long-time business partner Jeffrey Robinson) author Randal Pinkett discusses some unique challenges and opportunities facing African-American professionals who operate in environments where they are clearly the minority.

Randal was the winner of Season 4 of The Apprentice, and faced what he called a classic "black faces in white places" moment when he was the first winner of color, and the only one (before or since) asked to share his title with the runner up, an Anglo woman who had fared much worse in all of the competitions.

In this interview, Randal talks about that moment, and what prepared him to confidently look Mr. Trump in the eye and refuse to give up a place he had rightfully earned. The book lays out a strong, positive, practical path to success and satisfaction for African Americans. It is also applicable to anyone who has felt like an outsider in a dominant culture.

Randal has used his own sense of identity, purpose and passion to obtain five degrees, start five successful businesses, write three books and mentor countless youth and young adults.

Find out more about Randal, Jeffrey and the people interviewed in the book at www.redefinethegame.com

I hope you enjoy the 30 minute conversation as much as I did!

One of the unspoken stressors for new entrepreneurs is convincing a partner or spouse that starting a business is a smart idea.

The rigors of start-up life require a whole new set of communication skills to ensure that you keep your relationship strong while you build your business.

In this 30 minute interview, relationship expert and coach Lisa Merlo-Booth gives very specific suggestions for:

• Breaking the news to your spouse that you want to start a business
• Talking about money and cash flow so financial concerns don't stress your relationship
• Creating "what if" contracts with each other to prevent stressful conversations
• How to talk to a spouse who is unsupportive of your business idea
• How men and women can break unhelpful gender-based patterns of communication
• How to set firm boundaries around work hours so you are present for your family

You can find Lisa at RelationalCoaching.com.

The blog post I referenced in the conversation is Is Your Time on the Computer Impacting Your Children? Powerful Ways to Find Out and What To Do

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

 

To round out the pricing series, I talked to my fellow business coach Sherry Garrity from Corporate Fugitive who illuminates some of the specific pricing challenges faced by corporate employees transitioning to entrepreneurship.

The three main challenges she talks about in our interview are:

• Under-dreaming: thinking too small about the vision of what your business could be, and simply trying to match your salary as an employee
• Under-pricing: not valuing all your experience, and using ineffective measures like billing by the hour
• Under-billing: underestimating all the time and effort it takes to effectively deliver your products or services, or not charging the client for all the work you are doing

You can find Sherri at CorporateFugitive.com

---

I hope you have enjoyed this series!  I have never done anything like this on my blog before (long-time readers are probably shocked to get six new posts in one week since I have been slacking on my writing lately!). If you enjoyed it and want to see more intensive discussions on particular topics, please let me know what you want to learn about.

Thanks for following along, and thanks to all my wonderful guest experts (links go to their interview in this series):

John Jantsch from Duct Tape Marketing
Mark Silver from Heart of Business
Ramit Sethi from I Will Teach You to Be Rich
Andrea J. Lee from Thought Partners International LLC
Alexis Neely from Family Wealth Institute

"There are a lot of business owners out there who are giving their stuff away for free because they don't know enough about pricing. That was my story," says Alexis Martin Neely, our next guest in The Price is Right Interview Series.

Alexis is a lawyer and founder of two million dollar businesses.  She is also the author of Wear Clean Underwear: A fast, fun, friendly and essential guide to legal planning for busy parents.

After quitting her job as an employee in a prestigious law firm to set out on her own, Alexis learned the hard way how not to run her solo practice. From these good lessons, she developed a very effective way to price and structure services, which parlayed into a whole new business line teaching and coaching lawyers.  Her current business, Family Wealth Institute serves both lawyers and small business owners.

In this interview, Alexis walks through some specific pricing structures for independent service professionals, as well as discusses her passionate views on charging what you are worth.

You can find Alexis at www.alexisneely.com.

Andrea J. Lee, CEO of Thought Partners International LLC has been a huge influence on my approach to business since I read her book Multiple Streams of Coaching Income in 2006.

She is one of those rare individuals who combine clear business intelligence with wit and humor. Her coaching is said to be a combination of tenderness and bite. I could not agree more.

In this edition of the pricing series, Andrea will talk about Guerrilla Pricing Tactics including:

1. The concept of free, which she terms a "pink spoon marketing." This is creating a business on the concept of generosity (much like you get with free tastes of ice cream from pink spoons at the ice cream shop).
2. What too much free looks like in business, which can involve going to long at free and getting kickback when you start to charge for services.
3. What too little free looks like in business, i.e. too little blog content and a quick sale of products.
   
4. What is a product funnel and how do you use it to design your product offerings? The pros and cons of starting at the top or the bottom of the funnel.
5. The why and how of market comparison in pricing.
   
6. What are your values and brand in business and how does that impact the price points you choose?

 I hope you enjoy the conversation!

And if you get inspired to learn a lot more from Andrea, check out the live event she is hosting in Vancouver, Canada in March, 2010 called The Wealthy Thought Leader. (I will be there, and would love to see you!)

So much of what you learn about pricing focuses on the external market.

But in the daily practice of being an entrepreneur, much of the confusion and angst about pricing comes from an inner feeling.

Mark Silver, co-founder of Heart of Business, has a very unique perspective on the inner game of pricing which is specifically tied to the spiritual side of business. In addition to being a long-time business coach, he is also a Sufi teacher and healer.

Listen to our 40 minute conversation here.

Mark covers a very interesting exercise which he terms "resonant pricing." My good buddy Havi Brooks wrote a wonderful post about this exercise where she gives a specific example of how she applied it to a particular program she was launching with Naomi Dunford from Ittybiz. Read her example here.

Even if you pride yourself on having an extremely well-formed left-brain muscle, I invite you experiment with some of Mark's wonderful teaching.

Mark explains resonant pricing in a detailed post called The Wackiness of Resonant Pricing which includes a PDF with instructions. I used in on a group coaching call for KickAss Mentoring the other night and we got a lot out the exercise.

Find Mark at HeartofBusiness.com.

---

Up tomorrow for the pricing series: Ramit Sethi from I Will Teach You to be Rich who will share all kinds of juicy lessons for moving from totally free blog content to well-priced products and services.

I am thrilled to kick off a week-long series about pricing in small business with an interview with John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing.  John is a well-known authority on small business marketing who has a very popular blog and speaking platform.

Despite his solid business background and decades of experience, the thing I like best about John is that he absolutely walks his talk. He is extremely grounded, kind and generous with his knowledge.

Listen to the 30-minute interview here.

Some of my favorite parts of the conversation:

• "Price is a terrible place to compete. There will always be someone willing to go out of business faster than you."
• There can be a backlash if you price your services too low, because your customers might think there is something wrong with you if you charge below the market, or that you cannot deliver the value promised in your offer.
• "If people keep saying 'gosh, you are too expensive!' all that means is that you are not doing a good enough job educating them on why you are different."
• Measure the results of your efforts by following up with your clients to see what value you produced by working with them. This can give you fantastic data, case studies, testimonials and a strong foundation for referrals.

You can find John at www.ducttapemarketing.com.  Also, check out his new course on Social Media Marketing at www.ducttapeu.com

---

Tomorrow's guest expert on pricing will be Mark Silver from Heart of Business.

The biggest obstacle to business success is not lack of a great idea, but poor execution.

New entrepreneurs, lacking expertise or perspective, often struggle alone with starting or growing their business.

It doesn't have to be this way!

In my latest podcast (listen here), seasoned business coach and long-time small business expert Karyn Greenstreet describes the power of mastermind groups, which are small groups of 6-8 people with similar values and interests who help each other set and achieve really big goals.

Karyn attributes much of her current business success to her mastermind group, which she has been meeting with for 90 minutes each month for the past eight years.

In this 30-minute interview, Karyn explains:

1. What a mastermind group is, and isn't
2. Why they are critically important for entrepreneurs
3. Who to select for your own group
4. How to get a group started
5. Where to go for more information

She has a free e-book which you can download at her site specializing in mastermind groups, www.thesuccessalliance.com

Her advice is to learn about mastermind by starting your own. I plan to do so myself to get 2010 to a great start!

P.S. I gush about Karyn quite a bit in this interview, and that is because A) I have been getting solid, practical free content from her for years and B) many of my clients and blog readers tell me how great she is. Marketing lesson: When you share great information freely and serve your clients well, business and partnerships come to you.

While there are many core business practices shared among any type of startup, web-based companies have a unique set of opportunities and challenges.

Perhaps no one has studied these unique challenges more than Bob Walsh, author of 5 books, the most recent being The Web Startup Success Guide.

Bob has learned his field from the inside-out, creating and marketing his own "Micro ISV," (Micro Independent Software Vendor) business for many years, and advising many others on theirs in his consulting service 47hats.com.  He is also one of the moderators of the popular Business of Software forum on the Joel on Software blog.

In this interview, I talk with Bob about:

1. Some of the unique challenges faced by web-based entrepreneurs
2. Tools and approaches to making the start-up process easier
3. Recommendations for those worried about colleagues stealing their great idea if they share it
4. How to define the right problem to solve with your product so people are compelled to buy it
5. How to use social media to connect with your community and promote your product
6. Which tools you can use to get things done in your business
   

My love of books goes back to when I was about three years old.

As soon as I could form the sentence "I want to go to the library," my Mom or Dad would take me every week to get a new stack of books.  I remember the smell as I entered the San Anselmo library and strolled through the aisles.  My senses tingled as I saw new stories, and I would have to negotiate with my Mom and Dad about how many I could carry home in a given week.

This love stayed with me my entire life.  Picture books turned into Miss Piggle-Wiggle, then the Chronicles of Narnia, then books about world mythology, then school books, then a phase of intellectual books to convince myself that I was smart like The Archeology of Knowledge by Michel Foucault.

About fifteen years ago, I fell in love with business books and have never looked back.  I never tire of reading new ideas and insights for how to start and run a business.

But the volume is overwhelming.

Todd Sattersten, President of 800CEORead, co-authored a book with Jack Covert called The 100 Best Business Books of All Time.

I jumped on the chance to talk with him about the book, since I was really fascinated to understand the process by which they selected the very best business books.

As an author, I was excited to learn the criteria they developed to select one hundred books from the hundreds of thousands in the business category. The criteria were:

1. Accessibility: Is the book understandable, easy to read, engaging?
2. Applicability: Does it apply to today's business environment?
3. Quality of Idea: Would we do this in our own business?
   

Favorite quotes from the podcast:

Listen and learn!

And buy the book here.  This one's a keeper!

I think it was fate that Michael Port released his new book The Think Big Manifesto within a few days of the release of mine.

Becoming comfortable with thinking big and gathering the courage to leave a "safe" life in a cube behind walk hand in hand.

So I interviewed Michael about his book in this 20-minute conversation, where we talk about:

1. Why you need to unhook from the "gurus"
   
2. How your kids can push you to do your best work
3. Why it is important to think big about what you do and how you operate in the world
4. The benefits of collaboration vs. competition
   
5. Our shared passion for martial arts, and the connection with thinking big
   

I will never forget reading Tom Peter's article The Brand Called You in Fast Company Magazine in August 1997.  Growth in Silicon Valley was sizzling hot, and the fresh perspective on personal marketing was totally new and exciting.

25-year old Dan Schwabel felt the same thing when he read the article, although it was many years later, when he stumbled upon it on the internet.  According to Dan, it summed up what he had been doing in his own education and career since Junior High.  So he made the decision to become the personal branding expert for the new generation.

Today, Dan releases his first book on the topic, called Me 2.0:  Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success.

I interviewed him in a 23-minute podcast where we discuss:

1. How to build your own personal brand
2. Can you still build a strong personal brand if you are no longer a young whipper-snapper?
3. How to maintain focus on brand building in a busy life
   
4. How to start small and grow your visibility in national and global markets

We can all learn from Dan's focus, drive and determination.  He is, like my other young mentors Ramit Sethi, Ben Casnocha and Shama Hyder, showing that experience is not the only thing that builds a great brand.

Enjoy the interview and grab the book! 

I spent many years speaking to groups across the country, and even teaching presentation skills to hundreds of salespeople and engineers.

It was always fascinating to me since it combined so many favorite subjects:  motivation, communication, fear, physical movement, design and creativity.

In today's conversation with Nick Morgan, I took my learning to a whole new level.  His new book, Trust Me:  Four Steps to Authenticity and Charisma integrates a lot of new research about the brain to help speakers become truly masterful.  We talk about:

1. Why you do need to practice to appear spontaneous
2. How your brain drives your body language which can make you lose credibility (or gain it) before you even open your mouth
   
3. The specific steps to build great trust and credibility with your audience
4. Why the "Tell em what you are going to tell em, tell em, tell em what you told em" presentation structure that has been the standard for years is totally wrong.  (I gulped a bit on that one, since I used to teach this)
5. How to structure the content of your presentation for maximum impact
6. Where to start if you are considering professional speaking as part of your business model or marketing strategy
   

Just about an hour ago, Daniel Kehrer asked me (on Twitter of course!):  Are you finding lots more folks going freelance because of the economy?

Glad you asked Daniel!

In today's podcast, I talk with Michelle Goodman, author of the new book My So-Called Freelance Life.  It is chock-full of information for people who are considering freelancing on the side, or as a full-time pursuit. 

Michelle and I talk about all kinds of nuts and bolts questions about freelancing including:

• How in the world do you get your first client when you work full-time in a "real" job?
• Should you ever work for free to get started?
• How to you contract for work appropriately to avoid scope creep?
• Should you bother to list your services on the "bidding" sites like Elance or Guru?
• When can "competitors" be a great source of referrals for your business?

I think one of the best ways to test the waters of entrepreneurship, even if you are not ready to leave your job for a few years, is to do a freelance project.  Enjoy the conversation, and the book!

I may have set a new record for the shortest time from concept to production for a podcast:  20 minutes ago, I shared on Twitter that my best friend, Desiree Adaway, set up a personal board of directors last year and just sent me her annual report.

Desiree is the Senior Director of Volunteer Mobilization for Habitat for Humanity, and felt the need to get expert advice and insight from people she trusted and admired.

Many people were interested in hearing her story, so I called her up and recorded a podcast on the spot.  I hope you enjoy our conversation in which we cover:

1. What is a personal board of directors
   
2. How to choose good members
3. How to make sure the relationship is mutually beneficial
4. How to get the most out of the mentoring relationship

Desiree and I learned of the concept from Jim Collins in Good to Great.  Here are a few articles which expand on the topic:

BusinessWeek:  Good to Great Expectations
In Jim's own words from the Fast Company Design Conference in Phoenix, 2000:  Why have a personal board of directors?

Who doesn't love the film Rocky or hearing about how J.K. Rowling lived near destitute while her Harry Potter manuscript got rejected by scores of publishers right before hitting it richer than the Queen of England?

A lot of our view of failure in popular American culture is romanticized.  The fact is, while you are failing, it feels really awful and does not become the enlightened lesson that you share until you have ten years perspective between you and the excruciating experience.

Author and speaker Barry Moltz addresses this topic in his most recent book called Bounce:  Failure, Resiliency, and Confidence to Achieve Your Next Great Success.

He shares a lot of great insight into things like:

• How to view failure not as a deep lesson from above, but as an integral part of starting a business
• How to not stay stuck in emotional wallowing right after blowing it big
• How to make sure you are connected with why you are trying new things that sometimes lead to failure
• How to bounce quickly from failures so that you maintain a positive forward momentum and are able to accomplish your goals

In the podcast, I referenced the tremendous new e-book by my friend Jonathan Fields called The Firefly Manifesto.  This gives some great insight and tools for those folks who may have just been laid off, or who are working in unstable industries (which would be just about everyone these days!).

My original and only business plan for my company was based on a Dr. Suess book.  I wish I were kidding.

Owning up to my liberal arts major and rebellious roots, I didn't think I needed a "real" plan.  And, for the most part, I did fine for a decade, securing lots of clients and making a good living.

But honestly, I think that I was just not thinking about business planning the right way.  I imagined reams of paper, onerous spreadsheets and carefully crafted mission statements.  Yuck.

Now, Tim Berry, founder of Palo Alto Software and prolific blogger about all things startup, has come out with a new book called the Plan as You Go Business Plan.  Even though his company makes business planning software, Tim felt a bit frustrated by the perceived hurdle new entrepreneurs attributed to business plans.  When I asked him why most people didn't write them, he said:

"What people normally give me, Pam, is “Yes, I’m going to tomorrow,” or “next month,” or “six months from now.”  And then there’s the variant on that: “Yes, I really agree it’s stupid that we don’t have a plan in this business and so-and-so has been promising to write it for years.”  So they the pass the buck.  It’s funny because the drag, what we’re fighting is they have in their mind this huge marathon-like PhD thesis-like thing. I don’t blame them sometimes for thinking, “No, I’m too busy.  I don’t have time for that. I’ve got to run my business.” 

Instead of this perspective, Tim encourages you to think of business planning as a fun and critical part of your entrepreneurial journey.  He says:

“Planning isn’t about writing some ponderous homework assignment or dull business memo; it’s about envisioning the business that you want to create.  It should be fascinating to you.  What do people want, how are you going to get it to them, how are you different and what do you do better than anyone else?”

I interviewed Tim on this topic for my book, but he was generous enough to let me share the conversation as a podcast.  It is about 37 minutes long.

I truly am motivated to finally create a plan after twelve years in business.  I hope you are too!

Find Part 1 of this interview here.

I get a lot of questions about blogging from people who are considering starting a business and are new to the social media world. 

So does my friend Nathan Bowers, who is a web developer by trade, and also an artist/musician and all-around renaissance guy. 

Nathan and I connected on Twitter recently and started a whole series of offline conversations which resulted in this 2-part podcast interview.  We wanted to reduce anxiety for new bloggers, and also draw the connection between the importance of good technology crossed with good content.  As we both noted, there are plenty of popular blogs with crappy designs, mine included.

Part 2 of this interview covers:

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
2. Creating compelling content

Interview notes:

Wordpress All-in-one SEO plugin
Art and Fear Anecdote from the book Art and Fear

I get a lot of questions about blogging from people who are considering starting a business and are new to the social media world. 

So does my friend Nathan Bowers, who is a web developer by trade, and also an artist/musician and all-around renaissance guy. 

Nathan and I connected on Twitter recently and started a whole series of offline conversations which resulted in this 2-part podcast interview.  We wanted to reduce anxiety for new bloggers, and also draw the connection between the importance of good technology crossed with good content.  As we both noted, there are plenty of popular blogs with crappy designs, mine included.

Part 1 of this interview covers:

1. Defining a goal for your blog
2. Securing an effective domain name
3. Choosing a blogging platform
4. Choosing a blog host
5. Measuring the success of your blog
6. Design basics

Interview notes:

Seth Godin's advice on naming
Neutron LLC naming case studies

As a side note, Nathan walks his talk and recently redesigned Fred Wilson's popular blog avc.com.  He made the connection with Fred by commenting on his blog frequently, and suggesting improvements.  Fred was so intrigued that he hired Nathan, proof that valuable business connections come from social networking done with integrity.

I have a pile of books to read and review next to my bathtub.  The Go-Giver:  A little story about a powerful business idea sat there for awhile, until I finally picked it up the other evening and started reading it.  I was drawn in by the simple story, and got more and more encouraged by the premise as the pages went on.

A review of the book by Science of Mind sets it up well:


In my interview with the co-author, Bob Burg, we discuss five key principles covered in the book:

1. The Law of Value
   Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment
   
2. The Law of Compensation
   Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them
   
3. The Law of Influence
   Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first
   
4. The Law of Authenticity
   The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself
   
5. The Law of Receptivity
   The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving
   

The book is a nice, easy summer read with a great message.  You may intuitively know these things, but the real question is are you doing them?

Enjoy the conversation.

I was really excited to do this interview with Andy Wibbels of www.andywibbels.com after I heard that he took a "day job" as Marketing Manager at Six Apart.

I have known Andy for a long time and have always admired his candor, sass and brand, as well as his business sense.  Since he has done almost everything right to create an effective business, like:

1. Create a successful blog
2. Define and own a particular niche
3. Develop a huge mailing list of devoted followers
4. Team up with great partners like Darren Rowse and Michael Port
5. Write a successful book (Blogwild)
6. Get mainstream press like the Wall St. Journal and USA Today

I wondered what would make him decide to become an employee.

I think his answers will interest you, if not challenge some of your long-held beliefs about entrepreneurship.

My conclusion at the end of the conversation is that there is no work configuration that is inherently evil.  It is all about what you are looking for, what is important to you, what you are willing to trade off, and how likely you are to be successful on the "outside."

As for me, I think I am, as Jim Collins once said about entrepreneurs, "constitutionally unemployable," but that doesn't mean I don't respect someone's decision to take a day job.

What do you think?

For this week's podcast, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gary Schoeniger, founder of the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative. 

Gary has a really interesting story -- from dead broke desperate handyman to successful entrepreneur.

Over the last 15 years, he has interviewed hundreds of successful entrepreneurs to discover which skills are critical for starting and running a business.  Many are not what you think.

My favorite advice from the interview:  

"Find a problem.  Figure out how to solve the problem.  Find more people with the same problem and you have a business."

I like that Gary's views make me think.  I have been in "do what you love (and work and work and work and work) and the money will follow" mode for so long that the "problem/solution" model was very intriguing.

My friend Alexandra Levit just wrote a book called "How'd You Score That Gig? A Guide to the Coolest Jobs- and How to Get Them."   Her book bubbled up from lots of conversations with friends at social gatherings where inevitably one person would describe a cool job that no one had heard of.

Despite what you may think of my opinion based on my blog's name, there are certainly times and places for a "job," rather than striking out on your own.  If you have to be your own venture capitalist for awhile, you might as well do it in an interesting profession!  The more time that goes on, the more I see that feelings of liberation erupt from your own positive thoughts and beliefs, no matter your work configuration.

I interviewed Alexandra for my podcast where we discussed not just the contents of her new book, but also what it is like to be a successful self-employed writer.  She gives some tips for choosing book topics that are not just interesting to write, but that may pique the interest of publishers.

Sometimes I feel a bit schizophrenic, on one hand encouraging people to not stress so much about leaving their corporate job to start a business, and on the other hand feeling extremely uncomfortable about all the "start a business in 30 days in your bathrobe" nonsense that permeates the internet.

Sparked by a blog post my good friend and fellow entrepreneur coach Philippa Kennealy wrote called Can you maintain your income as an entrepreneurial physician? , I invited Philippa as a guest for this week's podcast on realistic expectations for making money in your startup business.

Like anything in life, you will have people at every end of the spectrum, some who get lucky making tons on money in their first year, and others who take a decade to make serious cash.

In this 38-minute interview, I talk to Philippa about:

1. Her own experience building both a coaching practice and a coaching business (there is a difference, which she explains!)
2. What she learned by launching The Entrepreneurial MD, a coaching business focused on helping physicians learn business skills, enhance their medical practices and start new businesses
3. They key questions to ask before launching a business
4. Realistic timeframes for getting your income flowing after launching your business
   

Our advice may seem a bit conservative to some of you who have big plans to make a huge sum of money your first year in business.  My response is threefold:

1. If you can make a  huge sum of money your first year in business, do it.  Don't let us or anyone else stop you.
2. Faster is not always better.  There are really great things that result from taking the time to plan and launch a business.  For people that have a lower tolerance for risk (financial and otherwise), slow and steady growth, sometimes on the side of a gig as an employee, can be a lot less scary and more rewarding than an all-or-nothing sprint for the finish line.  You learn a lot by doing and testing a lot of things.
   
3. If you think it is easy to make huge piles of money, you may want to test your assumptions.  Real world testing is the best ... launch a small product, do a consulting gig or two, try to get some new clients on the side of your day job.  I hope I am wrong and response #1 applies to you.  But I would rather you temper your optimism with realism than fall on your face and lose more than you need to.
   

I am curious what you think of the conversation.  Please tell me at the blog!  www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

If you want to grow as a human being, you could climb really tall mountains.  Or run marathons.  Or study the great written works.  Or study yoga in an ashram.

Or ... you could put your entire livelihood at risk and become an entrepreneur.

I don't think running a business is for everyone.  But I do think that it is the best way on the planet to learn about yourself.

In this episode, I list 5 reasons why I feel so strongly about this.

Listen in to see if you agree or disagree, then share your opinion with me at the blog!  www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

You may notice that the closer you get to your right life and business, the more frequently coincidence, synchronicity and serendipity occur. Once thought the purvey of mystics and dreamers, more and more business people are embracing insight and intuition as a critical business skill. In this episode, I share:

1. My own frequent experiences with synchronicity
   
2. Some "rational" reasons why it may occur
   
3. Resounding encouragement to stop being so stuffy and embrace the benevolent forces of the universe on your way to creating a great business.
   

Don't worry - you won't have to buy a Grateful Dead album in order to enjoy the concepts, just have a listen and tell me what you think at the blog: www.escapefromcubiclenation.com.

Technical note: This is the first podcast I am recording with my new iMac, and I saved the audio file in a different format than usual. Let me know if you have problems listening by leaving a comment here, and I will make sure to address it. Thanks!

Even the most optimistic and motivated aspiring entrepreneur will reach a point where frustration or anxiety grinds progress to a halt.  This is otherwise known as "hitting the wall."

It can happen when doing things you hate such as:

1. Making sales and marketing calls
2. Trying to crank out a first draft of a book or product
3. Filling out government or legal forms
4. Creating a business plan
   

What can you do to not let frustration derail your dreams?  My five recommendations include:

1. Scream, whine, wail, swear and complain
2. Step away
3. Find a source of immediate beauty or calm
4. Reconnect with the reason behind your entrepreneurial endeavor
5. Make a very clear and specific goal to complete one task

Let me know your ways of dealing with "The Wall" at www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

It is often tricky to know when it is safe to call yourself an expert in your field.  If you have done any research in marketing and PR, you know the benefits of an "expert" designation:  free press and the trust and credibility of potential customers, leading to more sales.

But it can feel a bit presumptuous to call yourself an expert, right?

This episode provides questions you can ask yourself to test your expertise, which go beyond the traditional formula of years of experience + number of academic degrees + number of books written = level of expertise.

Please share your thoughts about when it is safe to call yourself an expert on the blog at www.escapefromcubiclenation.com.

I was stunned and awed this weekend when I read a great book on creative blocks called The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.  Best known as a novelist of books such as The Legend of Bagger Vance, Gates of Fire, Tides of War, and The Last of the Amazons, Pressfield writes a short but exquisite analysis of the source, purpose and solution to creative blocks.  It was published in 2002, but is a timeless classic for anyone who feels blocked from starting anything.

I chose a few key concepts to explore, including:

1. What is resistance?
2. What is its aim?
3. What is a quick way to overcome it?

I share some juicy passages from the book, which REALLY got me fired up to stop procrasinating and get moving on long-stalled creative projects.  Here is a little taste:


I am very curious what your experience has been with creative blocks, and what you have done to move past them.  Please share at the blog! www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

P.S.  Yes, you heard a little bit of 2-year old screaming in the back of this episode ... I didn't have the time to re-do or edit the recording, so forgive my imperfection as a sign of DO-ING to slay the dragon.  :)

People are drawn to entrepreneurship for a variety of reasons including work/life flexibility, the opportunity to contribute something meaningful to the world, the chance to make a lot of money or the platform to get known as an expert in your field.

Regardless of your intentions, chances are you want to make money at what you do, and use the benefits of press and publicity to market your efforts.  In my shorthand, I call this getting rich and famous, even if in your humble definition this means being able to pay your light bill on time and getting a one-line mention in your local paper.

Many first-time entrepreneurs struggle to balance the effort it takes to get rich with the effort it takes to get famous.  So in this podcast, I share 5 tips including:

1. Spend time defining your niche
   So that you know exactly who you are trying to target, and which problems they have.
   
2. Create a product road map
   So that you define what you are going to develop in what order and focus your efforts.
3. Create the infrastructure to support your product from first contact to product delivery and follow up
   So you don't alienate your hard-won customers with crappy service.
   
4. Tie your fame-garnering efforts to your niche
   So that you don't become known as the boring, generic person who knows a little about a lot of stuff.
5. Always direct people to your product page
   So that you leverage media exposure to make sales AND get famous.

Please share your getting rich and famous stories at the blog -- www.escapefromcubiclenation.com.

A blog reader recently wrote an email and shared his frustration at being stuck in a corporate job and hating it, but not knowing how to begin a new business in a new field.

To answer this question, I outlined a number of steps you can take to go from vague and fuzzy idea to concrete business concept, highlighted here:

1. Step 1:  Wrap your arms around the field. Learn as much as you can about all the ways this field is expressed in business, so that you know which area to focus on.
2. Step 2:  Choose a small "neighborhood" to explore.  Once you see all the different possibilities in the field, choose a particular area of interest.
   
3. Step 3:  Identify the hotshots that are doing the work successfully.  These should be people who not only have technical expertise that you admire, but also complimentary values and thriving businesses.
4. Step 4:  Carve a niche.  Choose a particular area to work in that represents your best work, and a particular group of people to work with that would energize and engage you (and would pay you -- we are talking about a viable business!)
   
5. Step 5:  Shake a tree.  Get moving with a marketing plan, selling services and meeting with potential customers.

If you break things into steps and deal with one at a time, the prospect of entering a new field won't be so overwhelming.

Please share your thoughts on this topic, and what has worked, or not worked, in your own businesses at www.escapefromcubiclenation.com.

Most small business owners have big plans to develop new services, re-invigorate marketing efforts or enhance online offerings.  But if you are working alone, sometimes the tasks seem overwhelming.

Participating in a group class or workshop can be a great way to:

1. Develop a supportive network of peers that can provide insight, encouragement and motivation for your project
2. Get expert advice from your instructor which can ensure you don't make costly misakes and do things right the first time
3. Build in some accountability to get things done, since you have specific assignments and deadlines

Personally, I am hopeless without a deadline, so the final point is of particular importance.

Some resources mentioned in the podcast:

1. Google your topic of interest, + teleclass or workshop
2. Coachville's www.teleclass.com
3. Classes at www.passionforbusiness.com

If you want to share your own experiences as a participant or know of good classes or directories of classes for small business owners, let me know at www.escapefromcubiclenation.com.

 

If you were raised in a conflict-averse household like I was, you may find that your early training seeps into your business and you are afraid to upset anyone with a controversial product or service.

Big mistake!

The most successful (and interesting!) businesses take a stand and create something different, unique and meaningful for their target market.  You should be no different.  In this 6-minute episode, I outline why I think it is so important to take a stand and do the following things when designing your business:

1. Create from the heart and soul
2. Speak clearly and speak the truth
3. Know your niche
4. Embrace your detractors
5. Don't backpeddle

Share your thoughts, or passionate counter-arguments, at the blog - www.escapefromcubiclenation.com.

For all of you who have just made your first sale, congratulations!  You should jump up and down and dance a jig at your accomplishment.

Very soon, however, you will discover that a closed sale does not equal money in your bank account.  Based on personal experience and that which I have learned from smart friends, I share some guidelines for making sure that you plan and contract for a stable cash flow in your new business.  They include things like:

1. Carefully study your client's financial terms, conditions and processes 
2. Plan contracts carefully, with payment milestones clearly identified and contingency plans developed if the scope changes
3. Treat your accounts payable contact with ultimate deference and respect, lest you reap the wrath of an accountant scorned

Please share your horror stories, best practices and tips at the blog:  www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

We all get comfortable using email to introduce ourselves to people we find compelling or share common business interests with.  It is a quick and painless way to connect with people all over the world.

But with the influx of email in everyone's inbox these days, as an alternative, why don't you try picking up the phone?

In this episode, I cover some tips for phone networking so that you:

1. Know how to professionally and quickly get to the point of the call
2. Respect the other person's time
3. Make sure it is a mutually beneficial conversation

Share your thoughts about this at the blog:  www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

If you are anything like me, you sweat the details of your business, wanting to make sure that everything is flawless and of the highest standards.  The problem is, in a rapidly moving world and life, it is impossible to be perfect at everything you do.  In fact, you will most likely stress yourself out and get little done if your standards are so high that you get paralyzed.

In this episode, I invite you to redefine your relationship with perfectionism and invite "good enough" as a new standard for releasing work and getting things done.  In order to do this, you will have to:

1. Define different standards for your work
   
2. Prioritize your tasks
3. Make tough choices

By doing so, you will not only get more done, you will have more fun doing it.  And learn more!

If you have struggled with perfectionism and have some insights, please share them at the blog at www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

Intrigued by questions from many of my blog readers about small business marketing, I thought I would get answers from John Jantsch, one of the most well-respected small business marketing experts in the world.

Do any of these questions ring true for you?

1. If I have never marketed myself before, where do I begin?
2. What are the pieces of a total marketing system?
3. Why is it so important to define a specific target audience or niche for my services?  Won't this narrow my opportunities?
4. What if I loathe marketing?
5. Should I launch my brand name if I am not 100% sure I love it?
6. Should I start a blog or podcast to market my new business?

John answers these questions and more, as well as some more specific ones like ideas for independent software developers who want to market their products, or how to promote a book.

Please share your thoughts on your interview here or at the blog!  www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

John's website:  www.ducttapemarketing.com
John's blog:  www.ducttapemarketing.com/weblog.php

All aspiring entrepreneurs have fears about starting a business.  Such as:

1. No one will ever buy my product or service
2. I do not have enough experience to start a business
3. All my competitors have superior products (besides which, they are smarter and/or better looking)

Some people stay paralyzed and never move forward, while others find ways to overcome their fears and experience success.

In this episode, I walk you through a specific exercise that you can use to diagnose and alleviate your fears. 

You may want to listen to it when you are sitting at a desk where you can scribble notes, or in front of your computer where you can create a simple table.

Enjoy and let me know your own results by dropping me a line at pcs@ganas.com or leaving a comment on the blog at www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

Departing from the regular, brief bursts of information in this podcast, this interview is a 40 minute conversation with Martha Beck, author of the New York Times bestselling book Finding Your Own North Star:  Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live and monthly columnist for Oprah's O Magazine.

Martha provides lively and insighful information about how to figure out the work you are meant to do, a critical step in deciding which business to start as a new entrepreneur.  Her approach may surprise you, and I guarantee it will make you think.

If you have comments or observations about this podcast, please leave them at the blog, www.escapefromcubiclenation.com.  Or send me an email at pcs@ganas.com.

You can find Martha at www.marthabeck.com.

From this point forward, I will be publishing longer interviews like this one once a month.  I welcome your feedback about this format change.

It is easy to get in the habit of being the "person behind the curtain," creating fame and glory for charismatic clients, executives and spouses.  But when we choose to play small, we limit our lives to "next best" and miss the opportunity for great contribution to the world and personal joy and satisfaction.

In this episode, I share some of my own experiences with playing small and the tremendous surge of energy and abundance I experienced when I decided to play bigger.

Why not decide to play big this year?

If you are just starting to market your business, you might feel a little exasperated when trying to choose a perfect brand name.  It may feel like until you do this, you can't move forward with any marketing plans and you feel stuck and frustrated.

In this episode, I cover:

1. What a good branding process should look like
2. Which marketing activities you can undertake before your brand is fully baked
3. Which marketing activities you should hold off on until you are 80% or more satisfied with your brand

I also mention a few resources:

My second podcast First plan your life, then plan your business
Great brand naming resource:  namedevelopment.com
Example of a great brand:  Legal Sanity
Guy Kawasaki's book Art of the Start
Marketing/branding resources for coaches:
Andrea Lee's book Multiple Streams of Coaching Income
Suzanne Falter-Barns' site getknownnow.com

Please let me know what you think about this topic on the blog!  escapefromcubiclenation.com
(I know at least a few of you will really disagree with my approach - let's hash it out!)

Do you often feel like the oddball in your family, your job or your profession?

Drawing on inspiration from the "Island of the Misfit Toys" from the 1964 classic movie Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer, I outline ways to:

1. Celebrate your unique quirks, differences and personal history
2. Tie them in with needs in your market
3. Be proud of the misfit you are and reflect it in an authentic and kickass brand!

For those that are fans of the movie, I found a really fun link with some of the back story of the characters and how it was made:  Rudolf:  Behind the Scenes

Knowing what business to start is a huge question for many aspiring entrepreneurs.  Aside from examining your own passions and interests, you can gain great insight into this question by thinking about your ideal customer in the following dimensions:

1. Who would I genuinely like to work with?  What characteristics do they share?
2. What impact would my product or service have on their life?  How does it feel to know I am having a positive impact?
   
3. How would I feel talking about my business with these customers? 
   

See how the "customer likeability factor" impacts your decisions about what business to start.  Please share your thoughts on the blog!  www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

Do you do something very well, get recognition and rewards for it but feel very burned out and dead when you practice it?  You may suffer the curse of competence, a deadly trap for aspiring entrepreneurs. 

This episode discusses how to avoid starting a business based on a skill or ability you are burned out on.  It can seem the easy path to money, but often leads to real frustration and apathy.

Some strategies discussed:

1. Disconnect the ability from the job description
2. Create a personal development plan to give yourself time to learn new skills
3. Consider a mix of "curse of competence" and new skills to kick-start your business

I'd love to hear your comments on the blog - www.escapefromcubiclenation.com

 

 

In this episode, I cover three things that help new entrepreneurs overcome their dread of all things marketing:

1. Readjusting your marketing mindset
2. Clearly defining a niche
3. Selecting and creating a marketing plan

I reference two helpful marketing experts:

Robert Middleton from www.actionplan.com and

John Jansch from www.ducttapemarketing.com

Many people have questions about which business to start.  But most approach the task from the wrong angle, believing that if they just think about it enough that the answer will magically appear.

In this episode, Pam covers:

1. A myth about the process of deciding which business to start
2. Insight into why it is such a difficult quest for veteran corporate employees 
3. A (fun) homework assignment to get some insight into the best business idea for you 

This episode covers the importance of thinking about the kind of life that would make you happy, healthy, stable and fulfilled before you run down the road of creating a business plan.  I include an easy-to-complete exercise with just enough "woo woo" to make you relax in your cube.

This episode introduces the purpose and intent of the Escape from Cubicle Nation Podcast.  It will build on content I write on my blog www.escapefromcubiclenation.com as well as include interviews with interesting, informative, passionate and creative people who know more than a thing or two about entrepreneurship.