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Episode-330- Starting Running and Growing a Business

The Survival Podcast Posted on by

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Big time shifting in gears today folks.  I think if you want security and you want to have a better life that a business of your own is a great way to make that happen.  There are rules to business though,

Join me today as we discuss a few of them such as

  • Find your why first
  • Follow your passion
  • Use your way and passion to find your what
  • In the middle of a recession a guy will buy a 800 dollar surf board and then turn off extra lights to save money
  • Do NOT pay attention to what other people are selling BEFORE you find your why, your passion and what
  • You must know and I mean know the answer to “who do I serve”
  • You can’t sell to the ignorant or the poor
  • Always sell what people want, don’t bother with what they “need”
  • Give a shit about your customers (listening is bullshit you have to care)
  • Know what ARPU and VPV are, with out them you are screwed
  • How you price items, how you know your price is right
  • Why no one stole your idea, that is a bullshit cop out
  • As a small business you should create markets not capture market share
  • You don’t set your price your market does
  • If you know what a visitor is worth you can’t loose money

Resources for today’s show…

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show.  Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.

Comments

Episode-330- Starting Running and Growing a Business — 26 Comments

  2. I’ve been enjoying and learning a lot from your podcasts. I really enjoyed the business start-up episode tonight. It rang with me. Only problem is that my sons (8 and 12) have become interested in listening to the show too and your bad language (seems to be getting worse lately) is a real downer. It really does not help you any. Even my 12 year old knows what “freakin” really means.. You seem straight-up so I just thought you’d wanta know ..

  3. LMAO @ Doug!!!!!!!!!!

    You can tell your 12 year old what THAT means if he doesn’t already know.

    “even my 12 year old knows what “freakin” really means.”

    Oh my God that’s too damn funny.

  5. AWESOME SHOW! I’ll be coming back to listen to this again- thanks for giving practical business advice to go along with the motivational speech. It’s exactly what I needed.

  6. Great timing for the show Jack. Getting out of the employment system is key to thriving. I was actually considering emailing you and asking your input on paying down debt and investing in self-employment. Maybe you can touch on how this ties in to finances as a followup?

    My wife and I have basically just a full car loan left, and need to buy dirt (renting currently, want dirt to eventually build on).. but also need to get her out on her own (hair stylist, currently in a tough employment environment). It’d be great if you could combine these topics in brief.

    -Justin in Boston

  7. Just really meant to comment that the language and the way you speak does nothing to add to your value and really only hurts your business. Disclaimers don’t really matter a bit in this sort of matter. I’m not here to say that you are not allowed to talk like that.

  8. Jack, great show! where else can you find practical content from beans to bullets to pro marketing and web design. Thanks, keep up the good work.

  9. Love the show, Jack! Yes… I have been to many motivational presentations over the years and you gave a great motivational talk. If it weren\’t true, it wouldn\’t work. No need to apologize!

    Doug: My kids are homeschooled and don\’t really know what the word \"freakin\" is taking the place of… however, they do understand s*&t and know that we don\’t use that word around our house. I don\’t think they are being scarred by hearing it occasionally… it\’s life. Just walking around in the world kids hear this stuff… it\’s an opportunity to teach our kids. And if/when my kids ask me what \"freakin\" means, I\’ll explain it to them and also explain that they aren\’t allowed to integrate it into their speech patterns. We also don\’t need to correct others when we hear it — just let it roll off.

    I\’d be far more worried if the content of the show weren\’t good, wholesome material that is helpful. The other type — they don\’t need to hear — Jack\’s content is all good (imho). Just analyze some of the stuff that has no swear words in it on TV, for example, but has a terrible message to the kids… I\’ll take Jack\’s colorful speech any day.

  10. @Doug, the disclaimer is there mostly for people like you to explain to you simply. The show is what it is, it ain’t gonna change if it bothers you that much go find something else. I am who I am, I won’t compromise it. Legality has nothing to do with it other then at least we are free in the realm of podcasting for now.

  11. Great show! I have a small business which sells goat milk soaps & use all your approaches…thanks.

    For Doug…This show is REAL life, get use to it! Your kids need to get use to how life is & how people talk to each other. I love Jack just as he is, he makes me smile ….& HE CARES FOR ME! I feel special when he says so.
    Jack, your right, can\’t fix stupid as far as a customer goes. I get all the time: \"oh, do you make these soaps?\" I want to scream: \"NO, I buy them from china!\" These are the people that won\’t buy in an event & I don\’t have time to waste on to educate about the benefits of my product.
    Thanks for another great show!!

  12. Hey Jack. Thanks for the great episode. I’m in the midst of transitioning out of the day job in animation, and growing my own business in comics (where I can actually own the art I create). Good practical information I can put to use in living that better life… if times get tough… or even if they don’t.

  13. Jack,
    Great show and perfect timing!

    @Doug – Jack has made a point several times in the past of stating that this is a show aimed at adults. I’m sure you’re a great guy, but if the language bothers you that much, don’t let your kids listen. You can only shield them from the world so much and if they’re interested in Jacks show, they sound like great young people with a bright future. They’ll evaluate Jacks content for themselves and I’ll just bet you’ve equipped them to make their own moral judgement. IMHO the language, which is not gratuitous is part of Jacks character and illustrates his passion. I really couldn’t give a s#@! that it’s there myself. 🙂

  14. @Doug – You could always download the mp3 and “bleep out” whatever you don’t like with an audio program to create a version for your kids to listen to… we have the technology.

  15. I have been listening to Jack off and on for a few years. The foul language is appropo to the times.
    If your kids dont know what freakin really means then you better tell em.
    My kids have all been homeschooled and they knew from an early age what real talk is.
    As for going into biz for yourself I have been selling below profit margins to the poor for years. IN my biz it makes sense and keeps em coming back. I make it up by selling more/ and charging more to the “ignorant stupids” with money. I DONT TAKE CREDIT.. Cash on the spot.

    In order to survive you need several flows of income.. Keep it open

  16. “Trash” is right. You can sell to the poor! It’s pretty easy too.

    What they want is something that feels like an obtainable indulgence or an “escape”.

    Why do you think drugs and alchohol sell so well in poor areas? It’s their escape from reality. (To those out there, don’t sell the illegal drugs, sell the booze. It’s legal and you’ll keep your buyers for a longer period.)

    Cigs and other tobacco products are the indulgences. They make the poor feel a little rich because those items are a luxury. Back when the gov issued paper food stamps, some recipiants would buy items that cost 15 cents or just over a dollar so they would get a large amount of change back. Then they would use that change to buy the tobacco product. It was a loop hole, but it was legal.

    So Jack, even the poor will buy things if deemed important enough to them.

    The first person to make a profitable/reliable $50.00 9-mil handgun will have millions of people beating a path to his door.

  17. You can sell to people considered poor, you CANNOT sell to poverty. Poverty would mean the item you are selling costs more then the individual you are selling to has. It is simply not doable.

    You also CANNOT sell to ignorance, with ignorance meaning “doesn’t understand why they need/want what you are selling”. You can try to break these rules if you want but your business will fail or at minimum fail to be what it could become.

    Conversely there is a lot of money to be made selling cheap stuff to a mass market or a low income niche market. There is nothing wrong with that market, my point is YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE, WHO YOU ARE SELLING TO, WHY YOU ARE SETTING A PRICE AT A CERTAIN LEVEL AND THE COSTS OF THOSE DECISIONS.

    These are laws of business, they are not subject to debate. Break them and fail. The key is Trash is not breaking them, I guess he simply doesn’t understand my points, hopefully he does now.

    He is not selling to poverty, he is selling to people with sufficient funds to buy what he is selling. He knows his margin and is working based on that knowledge. He is also not selling to ignorance as the ignorant would not see a need for what he sells and hence not buy anything from him.

    Sorry guys these are laws, like the law of gravity, ignore it if you want but watch that first step off a rooftop because the law won’t change just because you don’t agree with it.

  18. M Kitchen said, “@Doug – You could always download the mp3 and “bleep out” whatever you don’t like with an audio program to create a version for your kids to listen to… we have the technology.”

    Good point, BUT before anyone asks, no I won’t create G rated or even PG rated versions for you. I have had this request a few time, “Jack would you ……”, I have always found it to be an arrogant request from people that do not seem to appreciate how much work producing this show actually is.

  19. Jack
    GREAT Session – you ought to really think about making a “business” cast a regular – Monthly maybe.
    Thanks

  20. Jack-
    My problem is that I have many business ideas and have actually gone through the early stages of development for each (created a business plan, built prototypes, etc…). My problem is that I am sort of a Renaissance Soul and am passionate about many things. While I think this makes me a good modern survivalist (jack-of-all-trades), it is blocking me from small business success because I can’t seem to settle on a “what”. My “why” is VERY close to yours-freedom. Period. That’s all I want. Autonomy and freedom to be a success or a failure.

    “what”, though…”what” indeed…

  21. the why is the important question. Why = survival
    What= Wahtever it takes.. Thinking and planning are great IF you have the time.. DOING is much more productive..

    Success is 99 percent failure and 1 percent skill.
    Go for it and keep plugging.

  22. Great Show Jack!

    This is one of those shows I’m going to have to listen to more then once to get all the great information down.

    As I was listening to the end of the show I realize that it would have been really cool if this show had been recorded on video and offered for sale. Maybe you can re-recorded the best parts and included graphs and charts along the way to make your points. I’d buy a reasonably priced version of that…unless it’s also offered as a free bonus to Brigade Members! (Hint hint).

    Thanks again for a great show…

  23. Outstanding show! would love to hear more and thanks for the Vaynerchuk video. I vote to start a section on the forum for people interested in starting their own business. what better way to give encouragement, brainstorm ideas, get critical analysis. Everyone has dreams of doing this but few actually do it. a support group would be a great way to keep the fire in the belly going when we feel like giving up.

  24. Oh and for the people dogging on Doug about the language (“LMAO @ Doug”? Nice.) Doug – maybe you just found a new niche in survivalism. Kudos to jack for keeping it real and sticking to his beliefs. Jack makes learning new skills fun and entertaining for all of us. A lot of kids could learn some really valuable life skills. I’m not above cussing and foul language by any means but I also wouldn’t want an 8 year old hearing this. Ok haters. Flame away.

  25. Normally I am the first to listen to the show during the day when it comes out. If I feel the language is too “colorful” for my 5 or 10 year olds, I don’t play it again in front of them. Honestly, that is pretty rare. My 10 year old son asks me to play the podcast in the evenings and has learned so much practical information, so there is no way I’d ever ask for Jack to present it any other way than he currently does.. If he has to start editing his speech, I’m afraid he’d lose the momentum and spontaneous content that we enjoy now.

  26. Jack,

    Great episode and the tips about starting a small business has brought forward in my mind the idea of looking into the idea of running a small business. One comment, about the ARPU, is the average the better guage or the median (profit) return per unit. The reason is that way you have a more accurate reflection of how must the majority of people spend when visiting a retailer. Just a thought; I suggest median because averaging is very rough and I suggest won’t give you a really accurate result. What I mean is that a single massive purchase can skew the resulting value up more then is really warranted.

    I am not a business person, just dealing with personal experience when dealing with averages vs median value/result statements.

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