Dan Kuschell started his first business at the age of 22 and hasn’t stopped since. However, a health scare in 2007 caused Dan to reevaluate his priorities and he’s now focused on helping other entrepreneurs grow their businesses.

Dan’s desire is to pass on the knowledge and skills other have taught him, and that’s he picked up on his own, throughout his 20 years as an entrepreneur.

John Ruhlin grew up a self-proclaim “poor farm boy” and by the time he was in college, he was well on his way to becoming the #1 distributor (out of 1.5 million!) in Cutco’s history.

He’s since launched his own company where he creates gifting strategies and packages for the world’s largest companies and professional sports teams.

Kevin Kermes went from being an Infantryman in the Army to placing executives with major corporations as a recruiter to now showing high achievers how to take their career to the next level with his own company.

All of these experiences have taught him the value of relationship building and that making connections in the right can have a major impact on your career.

Stu McLaren started his first online business just prove that it couldn't be successful. Luckily, he proved himself wrong.

Stu launched that first business selling Halloween decorations just a few weeks before the holiday and learned his first lesson in business. 

He's since gone on to partner with key influencers like Russell Brunson and Michael Hyatt. Now, he's stepping out from the behind the scenes to launch his own online courses about membership websites.

Stu's story is so inspiring and one I think you'll really be able to connect with.

In this episode, we also talk about:

• How One $8 Sale Changed Stu’s Life
• How Stu and Russell Brunson Became Business Partners
• Why and How Stu Created Wishlist
• How Stu and Michael Hyatt Became Business Partners
• How to Develop a Relationship with a Key Influencer
• How to Create Content for an Entire Year in Less Than a Week
• The Difference Between Being Behind the Scenes and Being Front and Center
• Who Stu Thanks for His Success

Resources Mentioned:

• Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt

Sponsor: Rise25

This episode is sponsored today by Rise25 Inner Circle… Rise25 is an exclusive, application-only accountability and group coaching program for professional services entrepreneurs running 6, 7 and 8 figure businesses who want to scale up, and shift from “one to one” client work to “one to many.”

Rise25 Inner Circle was founded by my business partner, Dr. Jeremy Weisz and myself… every few months, at 4-star luxury properties, we bring together like-minded entrepreneurs who come from client-serving backgrounds and they want to make the shift from chasing clients to having large groups of clients and buyers chasing them.

What makes these events different from any other events you’ve seen for entrepreneurs is we bring in our "Sherpas" - 8 and 9 figure entrepreneurs who are there the full time, in the retreat room providing feedback. Think of the Sharks from “Shark Tank” except they only give out advice rather than investment.

Then we back up those live in-person retreats with ongoing, regular accountability and group coaching - so you are guaranteed to turn inspiration into action.

Check out Rise25 to learn more

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Advertise on the Smart Business

Over the course of 34 years, Brian Kurtz worked his way up the ladder at Boardroom, Inc. and became an expert in all things Direct Marketing.

Thanks to that experience, Brian's gone from being mentored by some of the industry's top leaders to now charging $25,000 for a membership to his own mastermind group.

In addition to hearing about that journey, we're also going to get Brian's insights on how to "find" mentors.

In this episode, we also talk about:

• Why High-Quality Content Is Key in Direct Marketing
• The Benefits of Hosting 150 Boardroom Dinners
• Why Brian Spends $70,000 Annually on Mastermind Groups
• Brian’s Advice for “Finding” a Mentor
• Why Brian was an Intrapreneur for Several Years
• Why Brian Left Boardroom After 34 Years
• Brian’s Challenge for You
• What Brian Learned After Giving Acceptance Speeches for Multiple Awards

Resources Mentioned:

• The Boardroom Dinners
• Brian's Original Manifesto: From Intrapreneur to Entrepreneur
• Brian's Updated Manifesto: Intrapreneur to Entrepreneur... Two Years Later
• Networking Magic by Rick Frishman

Sponsor: Rise25

This episode is sponsored today by Rise25 Inner Circle… Rise25 is an exclusive, application-only accountability and group coaching program for professional services entrepreneurs running 6, 7 and 8 figure businesses who want to scale up, and shift from “one to one” client work to “one to many.”

Rise25 Inner Circle was founded by my business partner, Dr. Jeremy Weisz and myself… every few months, at 4-star luxury properties, we bring together like-minded entrepreneurs who come from client-serving backgrounds and they want to make the shift from chasing clients to having large groups of clients and buyers chasing them.

What makes these events different from any other events you’ve seen for entrepreneurs is we bring in our "Sherpas" - 8 and 9 figure entrepreneurs who are there the full time, in the retreat room providing feedback. Think of the Sharks from “Shark Tank” except they only give out advice rather than investment.

Then we back up those live in-person retreats with ongoing, regular accountability and group coaching - so you are guaranteed to turn inspiration into action.

Check out Rise25 to learn more

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Advertise on the Smart Business

Joseph Michael started out like most Entrepreneurs; working a full-time corporate job and still barely making ends meet.

Feeling the weight of the responsibility of providing for his family, he tried to get a second job delivering pizzas. After being turned down due to a "lack of driving experience," he started to utilize his lunch breaks to create a course, and grow a business, around teaching people how to use a popular writing program called Scrivener.

We talk about that journey today and how it's taken him from thinking he was rich if he had $200 in the bank to making more money in one webinar than he made in four months at his previous day-job. 

In this episode, we also talk about:

• The Viral Blog Post That Changed Joseph’s Approach to Business
• Solving a Scrivener Pain Point
• How One Tweet Changed His Life
• Using Webinars to Make $40,000/Month
• Joseph’s New Course About Courses
• Joseph’s Challenge for You
• Who Joseph Thanks for His Success

Sponsor: Rise25

This episode is sponsored today by Rise25 Inner Circle… Rise25 is an exclusive, application-only accountability and group coaching program for professional services entrepreneurs running 6, 7 and 8 figure businesses who want to scale up, and shift from “one to one” client work to “one to many.”

Rise25 Inner Circle was founded by my business partner, Dr. Jeremy Weisz and myself… every few months, at 4-star luxury properties, we bring together like-minded entrepreneurs who come from client-serving backgrounds and they want to make the shift from chasing clients to having large groups of clients and buyers chasing them.

What makes these events different from any other events you’ve seen for entrepreneurs is we bring in our "Sherpas" - 8 and 9 figure entrepreneurs who are there the full time, in the retreat room providing feedback. Think of the Sharks from “Shark Tank” except they only give out advice rather than investment.

Then we back up those live in-person retreats with ongoing, regular accountability and group coaching - so you are guaranteed to turn inspiration into action.

Check out Rise25 to learn more

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Advertise on the Smart Business

Hugh Culver has taken his experience being part of building five different business, including one that chartered private flights and tourist expeditions to the South Pole, to motivate others through the art of public speaking.

He speaks about Think, Plan, Act model for business 45 times a year and also helps train other speakers to improve their skills.

He's the author of Canadian Bestseller, Give Me a Break - The Art of Making Time Work for You, and this is exactly what he's done for himself and his business.

In this episode, we also talk about:

• Selling Private Flights to the South Pole
• How Selling Became Secondary to Telling His Story
• Going From Running Out of Content to 80 Speaking Engagements a Year
• How Hugh Scaled Back at Work but Doubled His Net Income
• What is Hugh's Think, Plan, Act Model of Business?
• How Heroic Habits Lead to High Performance
• The Main Thing Hugh Says You Can Do Today to Improve Your Life
• Who Does Hugh Want to Thank for His Success?

Sponsor: Rise25

This episode is sponsored today by Rise25 Inner Circle… Rise25 is an exclusive, application-only accountability and group coaching program for professional services entrepreneurs running 6, 7 and 8 figure businesses who want to scale up, and shift from “one to one” client work to “one to many.”

Rise25 Inner Circle was founded by my business partner, Dr. Jeremy Weisz and myself… every few months, at 4-star luxury properties, we bring together like-minded entrepreneurs who come from client-serving backgrounds and they want to make the shift from chasing clients to having large groups of clients and buyers chasing them.

What makes these events different from any other events you’ve seen for entrepreneurs is we bring in our "Sherpas" - 8 and 9 figure entrepreneurs who are there the full time, in the retreat room providing feedback. Think of the Sharks from “Shark Tank” except they only give out advice rather than investment.

Then we back up those live in-person retreats with ongoing, regular accountability and group coaching - so you are guaranteed to turn inspiration into action.

Check out Rise25 to learn more

Click here to subscribe via iTunes

Advertise on the Smart Business Revolution podcast

Chandler is no ordinary guest.

He’s a young guy most of my guests are a long further along in their career Chandler is in his early 20s. He dropped out of college. And he doesn’t have a long career.

But I was introduced to him recently and I thought he had an interesting story to tell.

While he was still in college, he decided to write and publish a book. I was busy chasing girls and going to parties he’s writing a book. That book helped launch a six-figure business built of course not just on book sales, but by monetizing the book with other services and consulting.

He then dropped out of college to focus full time on writing and today he helps other aspiring authors to become bestselling authors on the Amazon Kindle platform, and to create six-figure businesses behind those books.

He even recently created the Self-Publishing Success Summit which he was kind enough to interview me for along with some really big names including Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, Michael Port, Jeff Goins – frankly I’m not sure how I squeaked in to that group but somehow I did.

David Shapiro is the founder of Cartelligent.

It's a company that helps car buyers to have a more pleasant car buying experience. Cartelligent serves as a go-between locating, negotiating and ultimately delivering the car of your choice so that you never have to set foot in a car dealership.

Jayson fills it with brilliant takeaways about how to build a thriving network of peers you admire and to use that as a catalyst to drive your business.

David J. Soler is the host of the Relationship Marketing and Sales podcast. A former firefighter and mortgage broker, David coaches and trains others on how to improve their relationship marketing.

Jeff Goins is a writer, but he’s also an entrepreneur – and a savvy one at that. The author of the new book The In-Between, and Wrecked, Goins built a rabid following online of fellow writers who are highly engaged through his website, GoinsWriter.com, through his podcast, and other activities.

Pam Slim is a former corporate consultant and employee, Pam has built a reputation over the past 10 years as a coach and consultant to “corporate refugees,” based off her blog Escape from Cubicle Nation and the book by the same name.

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Ivan Misner, the founder of the world's largest business networking organization,?BNI (Business Network International).

I know a lot of people who have participated in local BNI chapters, and many of them swear by it.? BNI has chapters which only take 1 or 2 professionals from a particular vocation (i.e. 1 masseuse, 1 realtor, 1 accountant, etc.) and then the group meets weekly, gets to know one another, and refers business around.

BNI boasts that it generated 5.4 million referrals representing $6.5 billion in business amongst its members last year alone. Not too bad, huh?

Dr. Misner has written 18 books on the importance of face to face referrals and other subjects, including Networking Like a Pro, Business Networking and Sex, and Masters of Networking (referral links).

Have you ever seen a master mingler work a room? Someone who is really good at diving into a roomful of strangers, making friends and having a blast at the same time?

My guest on episode 43 of the Smart Business Revolution podcast is a true master mingler. (I worked for another.)

25 years ago, Susan RoAne broke ground with her book, How to Work a Room (referral link). At the time, people were just beginning to become savvy to the importance of socializing in a business context. Today, there are more "rooms" -- especially online -- but working a room is no less important. In fact, being able to mingle and socialize and develop relationships with people is more important than ever. Susan actually lives in Marin County, not too far from me. We met when our mutual friend Dorie Clark got the three of us together for dinner while Dorie was in from out of town. After we recorded this interview, I actually had the privilege of "going? mingling" with Susan - we went to a TEDx networking event together. That's right - I mingled with the Mingling Maven. (She's trademarked that term, but I can't find the "TM" thingy. You get the idea.) Anyways, all I can say is she's the real deal. She worked that room like ... like ... she had written the book on the subject. I felt like a guy with two left feet. In this interview, we discuss:

• how to master face-to-face savvy socializing today, in a social media world
• how to make friends and make connections when talking to strangers
• how to communicate with people where they are most active online.

Enjoy!

Did you know that the average American spends over an hour and 25 minutes on Facebook every day? OK, I just made that up. But it sounds true. As one of the largest websites in the world, Facebook is a behemoth no matter how you slice it.

It’s also a great source of new traffic and business for many businesses. The only problem is, few people actually know how to use Facebook effectively. Amy Porterfield is one of the few marketing experts who truly understands how to use Facebook.

In fact, she wrote the book on it –?Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies (referral link).

I invited Amy on the podcast to share how businesses can use tools like Facebook and other online marketing tools to increase their traffic and ultimately, lead to more clients, customers and sales.

Amy is one of the sweetest, nicest, most genuine guests I’ve had on the podcast and it was a pleasure interviewing her. She’s really as nice as she sounds.

Enjoy!

Do you ever wonder why you can't seem to shake your bad habits? What if you could easily drop all your bad habits and adopt all good habits? Wouldn't that make a huge difference in your life? James Clear is fascinated by the science of habit formation. Throughout his diverse career, he has studied ways to drop bad habits and form better ones, and he came on the podcast to talk about how you can develop your own good habits. He's a very smart and successful guy and has some great advice on the topic. If you've read the popular book The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg (referral link) (Audible.com) - a book I absolutely loved - then you'll love this interview. Enjoy!  

Derek Halpern is a blunt, straight-talking New Yorker who tells it like it is. While still in college, he decided to start a celebrity gossip website, but in typical Halpern fashion, he did not do any part of the project half-way. He did a thorough analysis of the market and found a way to stand out in an already crowded niche. As a result, he created a phenomenally successful site which at one point attracted over 1 million visitors in one 24-hour period. Today, he is most well known as the founder of Social Triggers, a marketing blog where he demonstrates how to use psychology to convert casual browsers of a website or blog into customers and subscribers.

In this episode, Derek shares a few of the secrets to his success and some practical, actionable ways you can convert more visitors to your website or blog into raving fans, subscribers and buyers. This episode will be of most value to entrepreneurs and small business owners who have a website or blog they want to attract more clients or customers to visit -- which, after all, is most people today. Enjoy!

A little over a year ago, John Lee Dumas was an unknown podcaster, hustling to get good guests for his new podcast. He barely even knew how to start a podcast, much less run a good one.

Today, he has a thriving business based off that same podcast, Entrepreneur on Fire, and he’s interviewed an incredible array of guests, from Tim Ferriss to Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran to Seth Godin.

He even interviewed my own client, Carl Mattiola, who started a software business on the side that allowed him to quit his job at Tesla within 6 months. Check out that interview.

s learned so much, in fact, that he recently launched a new podcaster’s training program called Podcaster’s Paradise, which walks budding podcasters through how to start a podcast, including everything from what equipment to buy to getting good guests.

I know some people who are members of?Podcaster’s Paradise and they have said good things about the community.

So if you are curious about how to start a podcast, I’d recommend you check it out. (Note: that link is not an affiliate link – I’m just recommending based on others’ recommendations and because I’ve met John and he’s a good guy.)

Personally, I can say that launching my own podcast was a huge undertaking with a lot of technical hurdles to overcome. So I recommend having a community who can help you through the process.

John has some great, practical advice in this interview about entrepreneurship in general, including some tips on how to be productive (spoiler alert: it involves getting up really early). Enjoy!

LinkedIn is one of the most powerful social networks available today. But a lot of people find it very confusing. Many people sign up, set up a profile, and then don't know what to do next. They end up abandoning it or wasting a lot of time because they don't know how to use LinkedIn and to make it work for them. That's where my guests Lori Ruff and Mike O'Neil come in. Lori and Mike are known as the "LinkedIn Rock Stars" and they shown hundreds of people how to use LinkedIn for business. I've been privileged to be a guest on their podcast, Rock the World with LinkedIn, where they combine their passion for music with their passion for LinkedIn (yes, really!). What I love about them is they are willing to express some of their individual personalities, which is so rare in the often-stuffy world of business. So definitely check out their podcast. In this episode, Lori and Mike share some great tips on how to maximize your LinkedIn profile, how to use LinkedIn effectively, and how to develop and nurture relationships using LinkedIn. Enjoy!

Imagine starting a new professional sports team... from scratch.

That's what my latest guest did. Mike Shapiro is the founding partner and current managing partner of the San Rafael Pacifics, an independent league professional baseball team in San Rafael, California.

Many years ago, Mike had the idea for starting a professional baseball team to play at a local ballpark where his kids played baseball. Only unlike most people who come up with a crazy, hare-brained idea like that, he followed through.

Mike shares how his new team ran into every barrier you can think of as they tried to get the new endeavor off the ground:

• raising the money to fund the initial startup costs (about $1 million)
• legal challenges - neighbors who filed a lawsuit to challenge required environmental impact reports prepared by the team
• a local community that had never heard of the new baseball team before
• the challenge of getting attention for an unknown, untested baseball team right in the backyard of the World Champion San Francisco Giants (who had won the World Series the year before the Pacifics began playing)

Mike has a fascinating story to tell, and I think it illustrates the importance of nurturing strong relationships in business. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to start up a professional sports team, you're going to love this interview!

When I first went to work for myself a couple of years ago, one of the first books I read was Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port.

I don’t think I could have picked a better book to read upon embarking on the journey of entrepreneurship.

Out of all the various business books presenting different coaching models available on the market today, Michael’s book was perfect. It covers how service professionals can develop their own personal brand, talk about what it is they do in the right way, build trust and credibility, price their services, and promote themselves without sounding like Donald Trump.

It’s one of the few books that I have read where I felt like I had to read it at the kitchen table with a notepad next to me, because I was taking so many notes.

I didn’t think Michael could improve on that book, but it happened. Enter Book Yourself Solid Illustrated.? Working with my guest in this episode of the podcast, Jocelyn Wallace, the pair tore up the original version and distilled it to its essence.

I loved the new version as much, if not more, than the original version.

Like so many in his generation, Srinivas "Srini" Rao graduated into a horrible job market. Except unlike many, he did it twice.

The first time was after college. Rao graduated from UC Berkeley, finishing up school in 2000 just as the dot-com-fueled Bay Area economy was crumbling.

The second time Rao graduated into a recession was after business school, which he graduated from in 2009. Not surprisingly, he suffered his way through a few years of working for various dot-com and startups that either failed or were acquired, leaving him out of a job.

Rao’s experiences led him to believe — quite understandably — that the corporate world would never be as secure and reliable as being an entrepreneur and finding a way to support himself based on his own skills and resources.

Today, Rao is the founder of BlogcastFM, a podcast and site which started out focused on blogging, and branched out into focusing on other areas such as entrepreneurship, personal development, public speaking, surfing (Rao’s personal passion) and writing.

This side project quickly turned into a major source of business for Rao and it has allowed him to avoid working any of the dreaded “corporate jobs” he vowed to avoid.

I’ve been listening to BlogcastFM since the early days (around 2010), and so when I saw Srini Rao was coming out with a new book (The Small Army Strategy), I thought it was a great opportunity to engage him in a longer discussion on the podcast.

Five years ago, Sean Malarkey was working in real estate in Columbus, Ohio.

Today, he presides over a 7-figure online marketing training company and spends his days playing with his kids, surfing, and hanging out around Santa Barbara, California.

Not a bad life, eh?

In between was a lot of hard work, some ups and some downs, and a lot of success.

In this interview, Sean shares it all: what he learned from surviving the real estate market meltdown (including how he saw the handwriting on the wall), the “lightbulb moment” of discovering Twitter, and why he believes in pricing his company’s products much lower than their competition.

Sean is currently the President of Inspired Marketing, a company he started with former professional athlete and LinkedIn guru Lewis Howes. Together, they provide online trainings for small business owners and professionals on how to use various social media tools.

Sean is also the host of a relatively new podcast, The Money Pillow, which you can check out on iTunes.

Enjoy!

When you look up the word "innovation" in the dictionary, there should be a picture of this week's guest.

Brian Goodell went from a career in commercial real estate to founding a very successful invention business. That's right - he was an inventor. How often do you meet someone who's business card says "inventor"?

And I thought my career history had a lot of variety.

Brian actually invented numerous different types of products, many of which ended up on the stores of some of the nation's largest retailers. His inventions included a keychain breathalizer and the DipTop, a plastic "top" that goes on the top of a soda can so that people who use chewing tobacco do not get spit all over the place.

In the interview, we discuss the innovations process: from coming up with a concept, creating a working prototype, and selling the product to retailers who have limited shelf space.

After moving on from his invention business, the next step in Brian's innovation journey was to create a new type of company that could not have even existed a few years ago.

Today, he runs a company called University of Social Commerce which is like a "Groupon Broker." This is a very simplified explanation, but basically they broker deals between companies that would like to strike a deal with one of the "daily deal" types of websites (like Groupon, or Living Social). They make sure the terms are fair to both sides.

In the interview, we also talk about how he came up with the idea for that business.

Caleb Wojcik is one of the three co-founders of Fizzle (along with Corbett Barr and Chase Reeves), an online business training program that I’ve participated in and talked about a little bit on this blog and on Twitter.

Before working on Fizzle and embracing a life of entrepreneurship, Caleb lived amongst the cubicles… working for a large aerospace company. During that time, he actually had the difficult job of creating spreadsheets with names of people to be laid off.

(Now he actually helps teach people how to quit your job, which is ironic.)

Disenchanted with corporate work, Caleb founded the blog PocketChanged.com (recently re-branded as CalebWojcik.com), which led to working with Corbett Barr, the creator of ThinkTraffic.net. Think Traffic was kind enough to publish my guest post 5 Ways Copying Politicians Can Grow Your Blog earlier this year)

In this episode, Caleb and I discuss:

• how he went from a corporate career to cubicle renegade
• why Caleb became an entrepreneur instead of continuing to work in the corporate world
• how you can quit your job to become an entrepreneur even if you have large amounts of debt
• the importance of connecting with other people online
• how Caleb was able to turn a side blog into a new job which made him much happier

"By the way, it’s pronounced “WAH-JICK," rhymes with “LOGIC.”

If you have a services-based business, you probably know the challenges of running a small business. On the one hand, you have to bring in business. At the same time, you need to serve those existing clients or customers. And while you're doing that, you have to be thinking about bringing in new business. It's a difficult juggling act. Darlene Hildebrandt is a working photographer, teacher and trainer, based out of Edmonton, Canada and I asked her to come on the podcast because she has done a tremendous job of building a successful photography business.

Rather than relying on just one area (such as shooting weddings or portraits), she has learned to diversify her photography business by:

• creating in-person trainings and workshops
• writing content for Digital Photography School, one of the largest photography education sites on the web.
• leading travel photography groups to interesting destinations such as Cuba.

In this episode, Darlene shares some of the strategies she has used to keep her business going and thriving. Even if you are not a photographer, I think you will get some good ideas from this interview. Enjoy!

Andy Drish had his dream job in his early 20s, working for a Fortune 250 company in marketing. Then a midlife crisis hit, and he threw it all away. He quit his job, broke up with his girlfriend... and even abandoned his puppy (don't worry; the girlfriend took the puppy). Andy then embarked on an entrepreneurial journey, eventually founding Referral Squirrel, a website designed to help Realtors get more referrals. In the process, he became passionate about writing copy that is effective and grows your business.

In this episode, he shares some very practical tips for how to writing great copy can be used to increase your revenues. These are lessons he learned from the masters of copywriting. Today, Andy is the co-founder of The Foundation, a fast-growing online training course he leads with Dane Maxwell. The Foundation borrows ideas from Agile software development and Lean Startup methodology to train entrepreneurs how to develop new business ideas, without committing vast sums of money and time to an idea before it has been validated. The Foundation is the real deal. It is a 6-month-long, intensive training program that requires a substantial commitment from its students. However, those who commit have a chance to be really successful. I have clients who are graduates of The Foundation, and I can say they are doing really well, thanks to Andy and Dane's trainings. By the way, The Foundation starts a new class this fall. Hop on their email list so you know when it opens, if you are interested. Enjoy!

How do you create customers who will rave about your business -- and tell all their friends to check you out? Most small business owners will say it's easier said than done. While there's no secret formula, Marie Forleo comes as close as any entrepreneur to having a magic recipe for creating passionate and engaged fans. Seriously, if she could bottle and sell a potion that creates raving customers who will buy up anything you do, she'd make a mint.

The creator of the massive popular B-School, an online based training program aimed at female online entrepreneurs, Marie has a fan base that stretches into the thousands. I have a few friends who have done her B-School training, and to a person, they all rave about how smart, savvy, engaging, fun and funny Marie is. Having interviewed her, I now know why. Marie was incredibly down-to-earth and generous with her time, in spite of her success. You can tell this is someone who has been so successful, in part, because she is so accessible and relatable. It's no wonder Marie has been interviewed by none other than Oprah Winfrey and Tony Robbins, and she has even done work with Sir Richard Branson and michael sobota. In this episode, I asked Marie about what it takes to create a customer base that will not only love what you do - but will turn around and tell all their friends.

How do you create customers who will rave about your business -- and tell all their friends to check you out? Most small business owners will say it's easier said than done. While there's no secret formula, Marie Forleo comes as close as any entrepreneur to having a magic recipe for creating passionate and engaged fans. Seriously, if she could bottle and sell a potion that creates raving customers who will buy up anything you do, she'd make a mint.

The creator of the massive popular B-School, an online based training program aimed at female online entrepreneurs, Marie has a fan base that stretches into the thousands. I have a few friends who have done her B-School training, and to a person, they all rave about how smart, savvy, engaging, fun and funny Marie is. Having interviewed her, I now know why. Marie was incredibly down-to-earth and generous with her time, in spite of her success. You can tell this is someone who has been so successful, in part, because she is so accessible and relatable. It's no wonder Marie has been interviewed by none other than Oprah Winfrey and Tony Robbins, and she has even done work with Sir Richard Branson and michael sobota. In this episode, I asked Marie about what it takes to create a customer base that will not only love what you do - but will turn around and tell all their friends.

There are some great nuggets of wisdom in this interview. Marie is also speaking at BehaviorCon in a few weeks, which is a great new conference focused on the psychology of consumer behavior. It's being co-organized by Michael Fishman (who I interviewed in episode 26) and Ramit Sethi, the New York Times Bestselling author of the book I Will Teach You to be Rich (afffiliate link) and the blog of the same name. You can check out more about BehaviorCon here. Enjoy!  

In this episode of the Smart Business Revolution Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Doug Lebda, the founder of one of the most successful online businesses to survive through the dot-com era to today, Lending Tree.

LendingTree.com was founded in 1996, and was inspired by Lebda’s own personal frustration applying for a mortgage.

He wrote the business plan for Lending Tree while still in business school, then left a comfortable job as an auditor with PriceWaterhouseCoopers to roll the dice and launch Lending Tree.

He later oversaw the sale of Lending Tree to IAC Corp, the innovative and entrepreneurial holding company run by Barry Diller which owns numerous well known online businesses, such as Match.com, The Daily Beast, and College Humor.? He later served as President of IAC Corp from 2005 through 2008.

After IAC Corp decided to sell off Lending Tree in 2008, Lebda returned to the company he founded, and oversaw a successful turnaround, helping Lending Tree to thrive and grow once again.