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Solopreneurship

The Complete Guide to Snapchat Takeovers for Entrepreneurs and Influencers

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Total Reading Time: 10 minutes.
Oh, Snapchat…
Are you just the latest social media app, or a pioneering multi-billion dollar platform at the forefront of digital media capturing consumer attention that’s destined for the long haul?
A lot of people say it’s the latter. Solopreneurship is exploding, and for the right influencer, brand, or company — Snapchat is the single most effective and engaging way to connect with a new or existing audience.
After some careful consideration and thinking through a list of ingredients every business needs, I decided to go “all in” on Snapchat and have been building my account while also connecting with other Snapchatters.
One of those influencers is my friend Suzanne Nguyen, known as String Story on social media. Suzanne is a “curious geek of the future that loves fried chicken, tech, and communication”. She’s also one of the most popular influencers teaching Snapchat marketing tactics. 
I performed a “takeover” on her account utilizing the exact strategies she teaches (strategies that she’ll be breaking down in detail in this post). You can see the actual video from the takeover below. What is a takeover you ask?

Definition of a Snapchat Takeover: A Snapchat takeover is when a person/brand allows another user to log in and share content to the account’s public story.

Note: String agreed to share her proven, step-by-step guide on how to produce awesome Snapchat takeovers here exclusively on the blog. The entire guide below is a guest post by Suzanne Nguyen. Please make sure to:  

  1. Download your free ebook and takeover worksheets — see form above
  2. Add Arman Assadi and String Story on Snapchat
  3. Watch the takeover video below, study the guide, and leave a comment on this post with your thoughts
Arman Assadi's Snapchat Snapcode
Arman Assadi’s Snapchat Snapcode

 

String Story's Snapchat Snapcode
String Story’s Snapchat Snapcode

 

Open Snapchat and take a photo of these Snapcodes OR click the image to automagically add.

Arman Assadi’s Takeover on String Story’s Snapchat Account

Introduction: Enter String…

Many have complained that Snapchat, as a closed network, is a hard channel to grow an audience. Whilst this is true, it took me just 3 months before I hit the 1k mark. Now, I realized from all the takeovers I’ve done, that it’s a hard number to reach for most people.
So, I decided to write this guide to let you digitally-pick my brain, and get some incredible results by doing Snapchat takeovers with entrepreneurs — but, without the pitfalls I’ve encountered 🙂

TL;DR: Takeovers have been a great tactic to help discover new peeps and grow my viewership

I’m super-excited to work and collaborate with you on helping YOU make the most of Snapchat Takeovers!
My role here is to act like a Producer and help you provide value to your audience. To date, I’ve successfully completed 15 takeovers (and counting!). My results so far? They’ve been overwhelmingly positive.
Sit back, and read my own notes and thoughts on how to produce awesome Snapchat Takeovers!

1) Who Is Your Audience?

Hint: It’s never about you.
Even though it’s your channel, it’s never about you, it’s about the audience and the value you provide them.
To help figure out your target audience and audit your numbers before you approach others for potential takeovers, click below.

My Snapchat Audience is made up of:

    • Geeks, startup, tech entrepreneurs and creative entrepreneurs.
    • Mostly men, between the age of 25-50.
    • Australia and the United States, mainly.
    • So far, they do enjoy takeovers because they get to discover new Snapchat Users and Content Creators.

2) Stats: Numbers You Need to Know

Most of growth came from taking over a high influencer’s Snapchat account

From the pie chart below, I was able to reach a snap view of 1000 by having regular takeovers, 23.8% have been from takeovers, which is why it’s important to use this tactic as a way for others to discover you and follow you on your Snapchat account.
Refer to Worksheet 10a (page 15) to gauge and audit you SnapChat channel.

 

Based on my own data and stats, here is an overview of my numbers:

    • Avg. 18k total snap views within 24 hours (#SnapchatMonday)
    • Avg. of 800-1000 per snap  views
    • Avg 350+ screenshots
    • Avg 30 comments (#TechTuesday), it once peaked up to 87  comments.

3) Engagement

Screenshots = the new Snapchat likes

My Followers are trained to be personally­ engaging, now they understand the concept of screenshots. They now also incorporate screenshots in their stories to help drive user engagement.
My audience tends to want and respond better to visuals such as flow charts, lists, and schedules. For example, when Arman Assadi (@armangeddon) jumped on, his slides and giveaway images were screenshot hundreds of times.
Lately, my mind maps and flow charts (refer to image below) have been getting the most amount of screenshots.

4) Sweet Spot for Takeovers

90 – 200 seconds

(which is approximately 10-20 snaps)

From experience, to create 1.5 ­- 2mins of quality Snapchat content, it takes approx. 1 hour of your real time.
NB: Snapchat is not a YouTube channel: it’s best to treat with brevity ­- use a “keep it short and sweet” attitude. Being succinct is key.
NB2: Any content that goes over this limit will be edited by me. I’m ruthless with my quality and content! You’ve been warned! 😀
I suggest that you have the same editor type attitude too, again you like to ensure takeovers to provide value to your audience.

5) Handover (Passwords and Security)

Keep the handover process simple.
But, if you’re scared someone will steal your account, here are some ways to protect it.
Ah, the Big One! Most people are scared of someone hacking and stealing your passwords. Understandable. BUT, we have a really cool system that’s baked ­right into Snapchat. We’re going to talk about 2FA -­ or, “Two Factor Authentication”. On Snapchat it’s called Text Verification.

Here’s how to streamline and switch accounts:

  1. Change your password into a temporary one.
  2. Pick a primary form of communication (i.e. Facebook, Whatsapp, email)
  3. Exchange your Snapchat passwords (and second Text Verification)
  4. Put into your diary when you both start and finish (work out the time zones too!)
  5. Swap Snapcodes & pre­introduce the Snapchatter beforehand.

Setting up Text Verification

NB: make sure you have a Text Verification setup beforehand!. Here’s how:

  1. Open Snapchat on your device.
  2. Tap the ghost icon at the top of your Camera screen.
  3. Tap the Settings gear in the top right-hand corner of your Profile screen.
  4. Tap ‘Login verification’ under the ‘My Account’ section.
  5. Tap the ‘Continue’ button.
  6. Tap ‘SMS’.
  7. Enter the verification code sent to your mobile phone and tap ‘Continue’.
  8. Every time you swap accounts, make sure you are on standby and exchange the second text verification codes.

6) Social X Promotion

Promote the Snapchat takeover on your social channels.

Share the news about the takeover on your various social channels. Yup, I’m looking at you Twitter, Facebook ­ and even pre­introduction on your Snapchat channel.
Leading up to your takeover, you can let people know that you’ll be on the @stringstory Snapchat channel. It’s also a good idea to tweet it out and share on Facebook during your takeover. Engagement during your takeover has a noticeable increase when you do this kind of cross-platform promotion. Give them your Snapchat GhostCode!

Providing feedback to other Snapchatters on Twitter, and having them do the same for you is a great way to cross-pollinate your audiences. Private replies on Snapchat increase your engagement with only one person at a time.

7) String’s Tips on Ultimate Takeovers

All winners! No Fillers!

    • Be short and sweet.
    • Provide value. “All winners, no fillers!” Make each snap count.
    • Avoid follow-my-day types, you can watch this on any other Snapchatter account. The goal is to encourage the audience to follow you on your own Snapchat.
    • Have fun.
    • Remember you’re a guest on someone’s channel.
      • Be yourself, but respect their differing audience demographic and culture.
    • Yes, people are known to tap away, so add text captions.
    • Do a pre-introduction on your own Snapchat account, introducing the Snapchatter.
    • Save your ‘stories’ before handing over the accounts back to the original owner.

8) Tips on Providing Value for Takeovers:

Here are more tips from other Snapchatters

Avery Rats: a digital Marketer based in Israel

Snapchat: AzrielR

  1. Give tips people can use right now.
  2. My general theory with content creation is that every 3 minutes a person should walk away thinking they learned at least 1 new thing, so that would definitely apply to takeovers.
  3. Give the people a reason right now to follow you back, like continuing the tips on your page. So in one takeover I have 5 tips for motivation and the 5th one was on my story, so they needed to follow me to get that tip.

Adam Cinemre: a digital designer based in Australia

Snapchat: AdamCinemre

  1. The set up – Direct people from your channel, and be sure to introduce yourself on the takeover account. Choose one (maybe 2) areas of your skill set to focus on
  2. The content – Come up with 1 awesomely actionable task or piece of content that will help people fall in love with you. Maybe offer a discount for your service or a tip that can help them (instill wisdom)
  3. The Praise – Thank them (audience/channel/host) for their attention and the opportunity to meet. “See you back over on my channel”.

Yopickles: a digital nomad known for her creativity, music, and tattoos

Snapchat: ieatpickles1111

    1. Keep it short and   simple
    2. Interact and make it  fun
    3. Do takeovers with people that are similar to you

Tien Wong: a CEO and VC based in Washington DC, USA

Snapchat: stienwong

  1. Know who your audience is and WHAT they are interested in.
  2. Be organized, plan your story deliberately so it flows sensibly.
  3. Keep it crisp – make 3 to 5 major HI IMPACT points.
    • “HI IMPACT” means “substantive, meaningful and appropriate content” which the audience would greatly benefit from.

David Ma: a Cancer Researcher from Australia

Snapchat: Frostickle

  1. Have a strong intro which clearly explains who this new face is and why they’re there.
  2. Use the caption on each snap to summarize the point of that snap, this makes the entire story much easier to skim through, resulting in more viewers making it to the end. Viewers who skim quickly to the end are more satisfied than viewers who drop out halfway because they couldn’t follow the story.
  3. Satisfied viewers come back for more and follow takeover-ees.

9) Format Is Key

Provide value by curating high impact content with a format.
In TV production, reality and game shows have a preset structure called a “format”. I’ve found that having a format and sharing the program encourages your viewers to tune in or allow them to opt out. Refer to Worksheet 10c and 10d (page 17 and 18) to help format your Takeovers. Feel free to send the worksheet to your collaborative Snapchatter, who will be taking over your account.

String’s Suggested Takeover Format

  • Introduce yourself
      • Who you are
      • What your areas of expertise are
      • Where you are located

NB: here’s a challenge, try to keep your intro to a maximum of a two snap video – 20 seconds

  • What’s your topic? (one snap intro)
    • If you let the peeps know what you’re planning to do, they are more likely to stay tuned in (i.e. share a list of a program)
    • Mark Suster (@msuster) is a good example, he shows the program of the week/day.

  • Pick ONE style and stick with it

Below is a list of few styles to choose from

    • Interview influencers/industry based peeps
    • Tips on ‘x’ topic
    • QandA format
    • Review
    • Tell your story about your startup/business
    • Play a game
    • Set up a competition
    • Demo of a service or product
    • Use your imagination and be creative.
    • Follow my day*
      • *NB. Personally, I have found this to be least engaging takeover style, so try to avoid if possible.
  • Conclusion/Recap/Thank you
  • Share your Snapcode

Examples of a Takeover format

Example #1
Adam Cinemre, Graphic Designer   (@AdamCinemre)
Main topic: Snapchat Geofilters

  1. Intro who are you?
  2. What is a Snapchat Geofilter? (one snap response)
  3. Why would a business/brand use a geofilter? (share 3 benefits)
  4. 3 tips on how make awesome geofilters? (share some design tips)
  5. Show’n’Tell­ share cool examples of awesome geofilters
  6. Where can we find you and Design My Filters? (Share website/Snapcode)

Example #2
Jonathan Caras, Cofounder of Glide (@Madcapslaugh)
Main Theme: “Faster Horses, If I asked them what they wanted me to build, they would have said faster horses”

 VS  

  1. My background working with startups
  2. My company and how it was founded
  3. How to engage and listen to your audience
  4. How to hear the underlying message
  5. How to apply this to your product

10) Instagram Story Takeover

This concept can be used to do collaborative takeovers for Instagram Stories too.
On Snapchat, you hand over your password to the collaborator to access the account. While on Instagram Stories, the host receives multiple videos or stills from the collaborator.
Snapchat has the white borders and Instagram Stories has none, making it a more seamless experience. Essentially, Instagram allows you to upload strings of content from the last 24 hours in your camera roll.
Again, takeovers can be used as a backdoor access to a new audience and demographic.

See the image below for instructions on how to upload from your camera roll on Instagram:

Step 1

 

Step 2

Conclusion

Within 8 months, I consistently treated Snapchat like my own TV channel that I’ve gained business and connections. This post about takeovers is just one of many Snapchat tactics I cultivated. I share all my thoughts and tactics, including how to grow your channel at my Snapchat Marketing Accelerator.

This course will suit anyone who wants to leverage video to build up their brand, confidence, and personality.
How will you use Snapchat going forward — and if you haven’t yet — what questions do you have? 

Why Is Solopreneurship Exploding?

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Total Reading Time: 4 minutes.
Why are so many people pursuing an alternative way of approaching your career by looking at things like freelancing, self-employment, and becoming a solopreneur?
Or possibly shifting into being a contractor and looking at things like entrepreneurship and online business?
It’s fascinating because every single year this is growing in the United States, and abroad. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world. There is a growth happening across all age groups, genders, and generations.
It’s not specific to just millennials that know how to use social media. You can see this in multiple studies.
They’re showing us every single year the number of self-employed is just growing. This is fascinating, and you can see the reasons why people are doing it.
 

Why Is This Happening?

Why is there such a tremendous growth, where all of a sudden people are just going from what they were taught, the conventional way of approaching your career, staying at companies, working hard, building your resume, to this completely self-directed alternative approach?
I think there’s a couple of big reasons this is happening…
One practical side of it is that it’s simply possible. It’s not only possible, but easier than it’s ever been in the history of all mankind to take up your own career.
You’re able to choose your own direction for your vocation and what you want to offer the world because people are realizing that they can actually shift into something that’s their craft.
Finding your craft is something that I’m passionate about and created a career for myself doing that.
The information is out there because of the internet and that allowed people to share their experiences (for example, here are 11 essential elements your business needs to thrive). Every generation is now utilizing this opportunity because of the tools and technology that’s readily available.
 

But That’s Not It…

I think there’s a deeper reason here…
I think it’s more of a psychological reason. It’s societal. There’s a shift occuring in how we’re living on a day-to-day basis, and we’re starting to wake up.
We’re starting to wake up to the idea that there’s more to life than following the path that was laid out for you. We’re starting to wake up and get excited about ideas like loving the work that we do, and being able to contribute something to humanity, to your neighbors, even to your friend.
Even if you help one person, people are feeling that sense of fulfillment that comes with it, seeing that it’s possible, and waking up to the idea that this is even possible. They’re also waking up to the idea that the plan they laid out for their lives was not their plan.
People are stepping aside and saying, “Did I intentionally choose this plan and this direction, and if I haven’t, where would I like the rest of the road — the journey of life — to take me?”
We’re waking up to the fact that life is short. We get to choose our own adventure We can have our own hero’s journey. Why not choose exactly what journey we want to go down?
Of course, there will be stop signs and car accidents and various signs along the way the leads us to different paths and possibly different turns, but at least we get to choose the ultimate direction.
At least we get to point our compass the direction we want to. People are waking up to that idea, and it’s a beautiful thing.
 
Photo credit: Dream Job // Interwoven—CC license

Is Your Work and Career Just a Game? Here Are Two Popular Paths

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Total Reading Time: 3 minutes.

Types of People

I believe there are two types of people when it comes to the world of work and careers.
We have the people that view it as a game, and realize that in order to do that type of work in which they are doing they must tap into some natural skills that they are already proficient and adept at.
Their job is simply to be like a chess piece on a board and understand the landscape. By understanding the politics of the arena in which they are in and finding ways to move around and build relationships, these people tend to be very successful because they are able to see a macro level view point of everything. These people are natural networkers, or “Weavers” as I like to call them, that build relationships easily and have a high EQ.
They imagine themselves at a micro level within the entire landscape and move around very quickly.  You immediately know who these people are in organizations.
You look at that person and go, “That person is going to move up very quickly.  They’re actually even over qualified for this position.”

One Unified Person

Then you have people that say “Just freakin’ forget it” to the entire game and they opt out completely. They “burn their bridges” and go all in.
They say “I’m not going to play a game in this incredibly important aspect of my life.”
Let’s be clear that neither one of these is more right or more noble than the other.
But in this second option, you have people that are simply saying “I opt out of playing that game and I’m going to turn my work and my career into something that melts in where the lines blur between the rest. Where my family, my friends, my relationship, my personal growth, my health, my wellness, my vitality and my career, my craft are all part of one, all-encompassing process of emergence.”
This is the process of becoming one unified person. It’s more holistic. With that there are lines that are less blurred.
What has to happen in order to opt out of the game, is that this person has to say “F it” to playing the politics of that world.
Now, let’s be clear, this person also still has to make certain things happen in their career in order to truly achieve what they want. But what they shouldn’t do is not sacrifice the type of work they’re doing in order to achieve or make money.
They make sure that they would be doing this work even if there was no money in it for them.
They’ve asked themselves:

“What would I do if money were no object?” (Here’s more on that.)

And that is exactly what they have done. And they’ve turned it into a career. So that there is such a deep rooted level of fulfillment within it.
They never have to question their motivation. It’s intrinsic. It comes from within. It’s not something where they have to push themselves, because it’s natural. They go into a flow state when they do this type of work. It pulls them.
There’s a purpose behind it.
And when you have a purpose in your work, it pulls you. You don’t have to push yourself. And it’s a different philosophy. It’s the one that I’ve shifted into.
I opted out of playing that game, but I still believe that both are equally important in this world. And both are absolutely necessary. But we need to realize that there are these various paths. And these are the two that I see.

Photo credit: Couple—CC license

11 Essential Elements Your New Small Business Needs to Survive and Thrive

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Total Reading Time:  10 minutes.
Have you ever wondered why certain companies thrive and somehow overnight just catapult off to success, while others seem to just constantly be struggling and making just enough money to survive?
Throughout these years of working as a consultant and being a solopreneur, I’ve started to notice some patterns. These patterns led to a really quick list of 11 things I want to share with you that I find essential every company or brand needs in order to really survive and thrive.
These also relate to the biggest mistakes that I find brands, companies, and individuals making. It isn’t an exhaustive list, but everything in here is definitely something you really need to be aware of if you are in business at all.
 

#1: Social Proof and Credibility

The first thing that is extremely important is social proof and credibility. So what is social proof? Social proof is when a person or brand has engaged with other respected brands in the marketplace. 
So a way for you to get social proof or credibility will be to literally to go out and create strategic partnerships with other companies and associate yourself with these other companies.
For instance, if I see that you are a friend or a colleague of Mark Cuban and you guys show up in the same YouTube video together, immediately (subconsciously) to me that means you’re also an influencer. A great book recommendation is Influence by Robert Cialdini. He is a brilliant, social scientist and psychologist based out of Arizona. This book is pivotal for marketing and influence.
 

#2: Beautiful, High-End Design

The second thing you need is beautiful, high-end design. I mean that across your brand overall. I believe that for one of my friends, Lewis Howes, this is one of the core things that really launched him into success.
He was doing all the right things by having really high-end beautiful design, that is the first experience people have of you, of your product, your software, your service and there is another sort of subconscious trigger that goes off in people’s minds. This again relates to the book Influence, but really, design is pivotal.
Another friend of mine who really believes this is Carter Thomas, of Blue Cloud Solutions. One of the things he told me that I personally need to do is go get really high end professional photography done and he believes that every brand needs this — anyone who is in content marketing or really putting themselves out there online should do the same. 
You need to have really beautiful photos and videos and an overall beautiful design.
 

#3: A Place to Engage With People

You need a place to engage with people. The mistake that people make is that they try to do this across too many spectrums and too many places.
Facebook. Instagram. Snapchat. All of the social media channels. Building an email list. A forum on your website.
You do not need all those things, and in reality, you really only need one in the beginning. Instead of your conversations being siloed in pockets where you are having a one-off conversation with people, you should find a way to bring everyone together.
This can also be done for offline businesses. So if you have an offline business, find a way to bring people together every so often so you can have a conversation with them, but so they can also have a conversation with each other. This way it is not just some one-way information conversation streak.
Make people come together.
 

#4: Crystal Clear Brand Messaging

You need crystal clear brand messaging. You need to be able to explain why you do what you do —and what you do for them — very clearly.
So why I do what I do?
I am a teacher that is here to inspire people to live self-directed, fulfilled lives. That is my mission. I don’t know where that will lead throughout my entire life, but there is a core vision there. What I do is help people identify their professional craft and create a life as a solopreneur.
You must be able to say this in one sentence right away to people: Why you do what you do and what you do for them.
It is important that it is clear because if it’s not people will easily get confused. They will not know what you do. They will not know what to tell their friends and it’s all going to fall apart.
 

#5: A Transparent and Authentic Story

You need a transparent and authentic story about your personal life or the company’s culture to share with people. People are attracted to authenticity, while people like Megan Macedo have committed their lives to helping people be okay with their true selves and share their unique story. There is so much BS out there, and so many people take one little success story and make that their whole story without really sharing the truth.
What was that struggle like? What was the path to this success? Who are you really?
If I had a beer with you, or if we went out and got a coffee or tea, what kind of person am I going to see behind the veil? If you are a large company, what is the culture of that company all about? What is your why, as Simon Sinek teaches?
A great example is Zappos, they have incredible values instilled by Tony Hsieh, their CEO. Or look at the social media software company, Buffer, they do an incredible job of sharing their company culture. They publish their salaries for all their employees. They talk about their mission and why they do what they do.
You have to find good examples of this in your industry and emulate them authentically — in your own unique way.
Go look at my about page as an example (no seriously, open this link and do it now). The about page story is an authentic, real example of who I am. It is quite detailed and people usually feel very connected with me after they read it. 
 

#6: Laser Focus on One Thing

The next thing you need is laser focus. That means that you need to be able to get one thing done at a time, and understand that it is very important to only focus on that one thing in order to accomplish anything. In order to successfully navigate your entire mission you must focus on just one thing at a time.
In the book The One Thing, by Gary Keller, he talks about the “big domino” at the front. You have your purpose, you have your mission, you know where you are going and you have all these things that you want to be doing. But what is that one big domino that, if it was accomplished, would allow all the other pieces to fall over?
Do that one thing and focus on it — yes, even when it’s painful to cut everything else out.
For example, let’s say the one thing you really need to be doing is writing one blog post per week, but yet you’re distracted by….
“Should I grow my Snapchat? Should I take up more consulting? Should we hire more employees?”
Those are the distractions. If you focus on your one big thing, the rest of them will fall over. If you do that successfully, you know that it becomes easier to hire people and to move on to the next task in the list.
 

#7: A Clear Plan for Profit

The next thing you need is a clear plan and strategy for profit. I find that I made this mistake early on as well. We tend to place the numbers game to the side. We are focused on the wrong things and all we need to do here is lay out a financial plan for ourselves.
How are you going to get to profit and how are you going to really create positive cash flow in your business?
Too many businesses are focused on creating the best product or service and they are not thinking about cash flow, especially in Silicon Valley. This is a huge, critical ingredient to surviving and thriving.
 

#8: Pay Yourself First

The next thing is to pay yourself first.
What do I mean by that?
I mean that you need to invest in yourself. If you are profitable but keep the money in the bottom-line of your business and leave it there, you will always find ways to spend that money.
That money is going to get re-invested, and that is smart. You do want to take your profits and invest them back into your business.
But…it is incredibly important to invest in yourself, so pay yourself first.
This is something many great classic books and multi-millionaire entrepreneurs often talk about. They talk about the importance of paying themselves first, investing in their future, and then taking the remaining and investing it back into the business.
 

#9: Define a Single KPI

You need a single KPI for the year. This is a measurement, and you need to do this because what you measure can grow. 
If you are not measuring your company’s efforts then you will feel scattered, and this goes back to laser focus on that one thing. An example is my friend John Corcoran, who’s key focus and KPI over the last few years has been the number of subscribers on his growing his email list.
If you look at a company like AppSumo, their flagship software SumoMe has one KPI that they are focused on — getting SumoMe installed on one billion websites (fascinating read on this here). So everyday, every month, they are backing into this one single KPI and all their efforts are focused on that one thing of just getting SumoMe installed on more websites. That is how they measure their success.
 

#10: Iterate and Adapt at Laser Speed

You need to iterate and adapt at laser speed. You need one outcome. The strategies constantly change and they can be optimized, but it is incredibly important that you move quickly. Iteration is another one of those Silicon Valley tech-lingo type phrases, but it simply means:

Know your outcome and where you’re going, but don’t be stuck on how you get there.

Be willing to iterate. Be willing to move and jump and change positions to still get to your one ultimate outcome.
So don’t get stuck on how you do it, but be stuck on where you are going.
 

#11: Get 1,000 Raving Fans

And finally, you need raving fans, ideally 1,000 of them.  Kevin Kelly is the pioneering creator of this idea, and in his article 1,000 True Fans he explains it beautifully. Tim Ferris calls this the only marketing article that you need to read — and I strongly agree. I’ve personally met Kevin and discussed the idea with him. He’s a brilliant man, there is a reason why this article is such a hit.
If you grow your business to 1,000 true, raving fans — you will have met your needs and no longer need to worry about the rest in your company (unless you choose to). 
 

Conclusion

So that is it, these are the 11 things. Take these seriously. I have seen these things across many different businesses, across all types of industries and I really believe that if we can master these 11 things and focus on them it will allow our brands and our companies to thrive.
 

5 Real-World Steps for Networking with Celebrities and World-Class Humans

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Total Reading Time:  5 minutes.
If you retrace the steps that led to success for the most popular, famous leaders that we know today, you’ll often find that it was a single relationship that catapulted them to success.
Here’s Uber in their early stages:


And we all know the value of relationships. We all know that your network is your net worth. That you’re the average of the five people you associate the most with.
That’s not what this is about.
What I want to do is give you the five steps for becoming friends with celebrities or world-class people. I’m talking about celebrities and people that are generally unreachable for the average person such as people that we know who already have their tight-knit group of friends.
A lot of people have been asking me this lately. “How have you been doing that? How have you been connecting with a lot of incredibly talented, successful, world-class people?”
It really comes down to five steps, so let’s just jump right into it.
 

Step 1: Trust Your Intuition

The first thing you have to do is trust your intuition. What I mean by that is that you have to feel a genuine connection with that person. You have to feel that not only you can be truly friends with them, but there has to be something deeper there.
It cannot be only for your own good because people smell that BS and they know that you’re selfishly just trying to become friends with them for your own purpose, for your own benefit. That is a huge turnoff.
So you have to feel an intuitive kind of attachment to that person, a sense that you have to be friends with this person. A sense that your models of the world match. That’s step one.
 

Step 2: Mutual Benefit

Step two is that you have to find a unique way to add value and help them. You have to make their life better, easier, whatever the case may be.
So if you already understand their model of the world, then reverse engineer and ask,
“What is one of the biggest pains and needs in this person’s life? What could they really use help with right now? Do they need to get their website redesigned? Do they need connection? Do they need to reach more people? Do they need a good lawyer?”
It really doesn’t matter, but that’s where you have to actually identify how can I add the most value to their lives. And truly, you may not get it right the first time, but once you start having a conversation with them you can identify what those pain points are in their life.
 

Step 3: Take Action — Do It!

Number three is that you have to actually do it. You have to take some freaking action and do it and add value to their lives and really do it, even when it’s difficult, even if it’s something that you normally charge a lot of money for.
I’ll give you an example. The way I elevated my consulting from working with average small businesses to working with world-class people was by doing free work for the world class people (read Charlie Hoehn’s book on this).
I don’t want to use any specific examples, but one I’ll give you is Lewis Howes. He’s a New York Times bestselling author, and now also a friend of mine.
When I met Lewis I offered to help him for free. I said I’ll look over his product launch and basically help him with copywriting and give him free strategy advice. I did it because I want to help him, and I really did.
I spent about 20 hours of my time, which is hundreds of dollars an hour that I sacrificed in order to help Lewis because I felt a connection with him. He’s like a brother to me. I knew he was going to be a friend and I really truly wanted to help him. This is just one example.
Once you did that and they see the results, they’re going to want to either become your friend, or become your client, or want more from you. I did it as a favor for Lewis and that was one way that you are able to get in.
So you have to take action, even when it hurts, even when it’s difficult.
You have to actually do it.
And this is where most people fail. They’ll do step one and step two and then it comes time to actually help this person and really add value and they don’t do it. The reason you have to follow through and actually add value to their lives is because everyone wants to be friends with them. Everyone wants something from them. But if you’re the one that gives something to them, you stand out immediately.
It’s like getting a job, right? Do the work upfront. Show that you can already do the work and you’ll get the job. They won’t even interview anyone else. So that’s that.
 

Step 4: Dedication — Meet Them in Person

Step 4 is you have to meet up with them in person. You have to do whatever it takes to get some face-to-face time. Show you’re a human being. Show who you really are on a friendship level.
That’s as simple as it gets. I don’t care what it takes — if you have to use points for flights, if you have to stay at your mom’s friend’s house. Do it. Get to their city. Meet where they are. Go where they’re going and meet in person and offer to take them out to dinner.
If dinner doesn’t work offer breakfast. If breakfast doesn’t work offer a coffee. Just meet up, even if it is only 10-15 minutes. This also happened to me before so it’s worth it. Take it, trust me.
 

Step 5: Be a Friend

Don’t forget that this isn’t about business, even if your ultimate intention is a partnership of some sort. Remember that if you focus on the business, you won’t show up and talk to them like a real friend. So don’t talk about like there’s some sort of celebrity or they’re above you and you’re intimidated.
Remember, you went into this for friendship. Show up and talk to them how you talk to an old friend. That’s what they want too. That’s all they want.
 

Conclusion

That’s it. Those are the five steps. Now go experiment and try them out in the real world. These things take time and need to be organic, but a single relationship can be life-changing.
Once you begin to experiment with this and shift your mindset toward actually helping others rather than wanting something from them, you will begin to see results. People will naturally want to be around you.
As always, let us know how it goes and what new friendships come into your life as a result of these five steps.
 
Photo credit: Friends—CC license

Recovering from Rejection: The Painful Truth

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Total Reading Time:  4 minutes.
We’ve all faced rejection at least one point in our lives. We are vulnerable. Thanks to electronic communications, we are at risk of rejections in all shapes and sizes from social media, or dating apps, where we are connected to millions of people.
No matter what size or where the rejection came from, it still hurts.
This was something that I wrote back in the day…
 

Recovering from Rejection

Today is one of the first times I’ve ever felt true, disappointing, gut-wrenching, soul-crushing, rejection. I’m sort of numb and confused.
While I’ve definitely experienced my fair share of rejection and failure before, it wasn’t like this. In the past, I was rejected from things I didn’t care about.
But being rejected when we’re doing something we enjoy or feel inspired to do feels…terrible.
 

Many thoughts come up…

  • Is the person/thing we’re being rejected by truly a good judge of my talent and ability?
  • Is this going to change me or my path?
  • (Or, even scarier) Does this mean I should just give up?

I’ve been waking up at 5 AM sharp (almost) every day and working extremely hard on a project for the last year, and I got some feedback from an important partner that basically came down to: “I have to be brutally honest, this just isn’t good enough.” (BTW: I’m not trying to be ambiguous, I just stay more motivated when I don’t share big goals. And, science.)
When we feel like we failed, we immediately begin trying to figure out what it all means and start writing a story in our heads about it. In my case, I’m going through 99 different “what if” scenarios. There’s even one of me becoming a homeless nobody that everyone forgot about, and I’m shouting at people shopping at Trader Joe’s.
Rejection can mean a lot of things. As I sit here right now trying to figure out what it all means, I realize it’s 100% up to us. It all lives inside our heads. The story and meaning I give this right now could completely change my life.
I can very easily allow this rejection to break me. I can even allow this to change who I am completely. And to be honest, in this moment, that’s exactly what I want to do.
Or…I can chill.
I can take some time to process what really happened, and look at it though a clear, objective lens once I’ve separated emotion from “reality”. But we all know that’s easier said than done.
 

Am I Alone?

There was a story floating around recently about Meryl Streep. Apparently she was rejected at an audition for “King Kong”, told she was “too ugly” for the part. That is a hardcore rejection. And yet, she pulled herself back up and told the guy he was just one opinion out of many. Today, she has been nominated for 20 (and counting) Academy Awards. Wow.
Michael Jordan was cut from the varsity squad of his high school basketball team. Throughout his basketball career, Michael scored 32,292 points, 6 NBA championships and 5 MVP titles.
Steven Spielberg was rejected from the University of Southern California School of Theater, Film and Television 3 times. He was eventually accepted by another school, where he dropped out to pursue directing. To date, Spielberg directed 51 films and won 3 Oscars.
Oprah Winfrey was an evening news reporter and apparently got fired because she was unfit for TV. Eventually, she became the host of her own show “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and launched her own TV Network.
 

Here’s the Deal:

I’m not going to sit here and say I’ve pulled myself back up already, but I do think that the story is critical. It’s everything. A fixed mindset would view any failure or rejection as their new reality, and give up easily. A growth mindset would persist and view challenges as an opportunity to learn.
Who knows—maybe the rejection we face is actually meaningless. Maybe it’s simply a part of our journey, so that we gain the wisdom to help others. Maybe it means we’ve reached a limit, and it’s time to pick up new skills or knowledge. Or maybe, rejection is just a redirection to the right path, even if it’s not the one we initially wanted.
We all know the feeling of looking back at a challenge and seeing the invisible silver lining. Most of the time we have to laugh, because it was actually meaningless or led to something 10X better.
Whatever the lesson, none of it is possible without telling ourselves the right story. We get to choose that story.
 

Conclusion

[I initially wrote this on Monday when it happened, here’s how I feel today…]
 
In Seth Godin’s book, The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick), he believes why it is so important to be the best at what you do and the benefits that result from catering to your strengths. The Dip is the period between starting something and mastery, when it’s really tough, and when most people or organizations quit.
For me, chilling out and stopping the “what if” game was a good decision. My story is this: behind every big accomplishment are the blood, sweat, and tears of obstacles, challenges, and rejection.

Rejection is redirection to the right path.

 
Photo credit: betrayal—CC license

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