By |

What better way to learn Customer Service with Expert Shep Hyken! Great customer service keeps your customers coming back and increases your referrals. It is one of the best strategies to increase your revenue and gain a competitive advantage.

Customer Service Expert Shep Hyken!

Improving customer service is a vital part of growing any business. After all, the lifeblood of any company is repeat customers. As many as 70 percent of customers say they’ll spend more with companies that provide excellent customer service. In a market where it’s easier than ever for customers to take their money elsewhere, how can you improve your customer service?

What are some tricks in customer service? How can you succeed in excellent customer service? Besides, what’s your role as a leader in implementing customer service?

This article expounds more on some strategies you need to succeed in your business and keep your customers coming back. If you are wondering how to handle that unhappy customer who keeps complaining, this is for you!

Tricks in Customer Service

  • ●Process Improvement
  • ●Listening to the customer
  • ●Getting Feedback from customers
  • ●Acting on that feedback

Why most organizations fail customer service

Some organizations aim to invest in customer service, but they end up failing. Where do these companies go wrong? Such companies tend to invest in customer service based on the competitors rather than their customer’s wants.

You can’t just say, let’s give great customer service. There are certain angles you need to hit:

  • ●Have it in your culture

“Customer service is not a department, it’s part of the culture. It is the philosophy of the company.”

  • ●Proper Training

Training is not one time. You can’t just watch the course once. You have to go through it over and over again.

“Training is not something you did, it is something you do. It is ongoing.”

  • ●Who to train

Instead of creating the culture and training people properly, most organizations think they only need to train front-line workers. However, it’s never the case. You have to recognize that you have internal customers, the people you work with. If you do not treat your internal customers the right way, you do not expect these people to go and do a perfect job for the outside customer.

Role of Internal customers in Customer Service

Whenever a customer comes into contact with any aspect of the business, they form an impression. Therefore, no matter how big or small the company is, every person in your company has some impact on the customer’s experience.

Always ensure that you have good customer service. Are your employees working for a paycheck or the company? Do you pay them what they are worth? Ensure you create an environment that is fulfilling for your employees.

“If you take care of people on the inside, they are going to take care of people on the outside.”

Customer Service Solutions

Teach your customers to use customer service resources such as customer relationship software.  Using this software enables them to resolve issues on their own within a short time.

“It is impossible to wow someone everytime they call. I’m calling to enquire my bank balance. Wow that’s amazing. It doesn’t happen.”

Although you cannot always wow a customer, you can amaze them all the time by ensuring every interaction they have is slightly better than average.

The unhappy customer versus the happy customer

If you get someone that complains and always has an issue, it is an opportunity to learn from that. How do you get to eliminate, mitigate, or train people to respond, so it does not happen again?

For both the happy and unhappy customer, you need to ask the reason behind it. If it is bad, what can you do about it and prevent it? If it is good, how do you operationalize it?

The role of leaders in great customer service

In a customer-focus culture, leaders have to demonstrate what they want everyone else to do.

“Wear it on your sleeve and have it in your heart. Walk the talk.”

As a leader, always stoop to excellence. Be willing to stoop to whatever level to ensure an excellent experience.

Communicating with your Clients

Good customer service involves communication with your clients. You can do this via personalized handwritten thank you notes, texts, emails, or videos. It does matter whether it is digital or handwritten. Just personalize it and do it right!

Hope you enjoyed our episode with Customer Service Expert Shep Hyken!

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE ON:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

By |

In this mini-episode Shep Hyken tell us the 6 steps to have your customers saying “I’ll Be Back!”  From his most recent book Shep sums up what it takes to be succesful creating loyal customers that will come back again and again to do business with you! 

If you enjoy this short teaching episode make sure to listen to our full length podcast with Shep as well.

Have your Customers Say “I’ll Be Back” with Shep Hyken

In this mini-episode Shep Hyken tell us the 6 steps to have your customers saying “I’ll Be Back!”  From his most recent book Shep sums up what it takes to be succesful creating loyal customers that will come back again and again to do business with you!  If you enjoy this short teaching episode make sure to listen to our full length podcast with Shep as well.

hep Hyken, CSP, CPAE is the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard Presentations. As a professional speaker and author, Shep works with companies that want to develop loyal relationships with their customers and employees. He is the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Amazement Revolution and The Cult of the Customer.

By |

Registration is open for our next St Louis Mastermind Event. If you are growth minded and focused on getting better (personally, professionally, mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, etc.) then you do not want to miss this.

Last event was PACKED and we have booked a larger space downtown to accommodate the masses! If you are coming here to sell your services and hand out your business card then this is not the place for you! We are about building strong relationships and helping your fellow person get better.

“If you’re not growing, you’re dying…”

SIGN UP HERE!

St. Louis Mastermind Event

If you have any questions about our St. Louis Mastermind Event please contact us, we would be happy to help you out!

Contact us HERE!

By |

A lot of people look forward to starting their own businesses and having their dollar work for them so here are some Businesses to Start in 2022!. Some are already in business, but they would go for new ideas if they would only go back in time. What are some of the interesting business ideas entrepreneurs can go for?

In this episode, we get to share our current businesses, and if we were to start over, could we still pick a different business or stick to the same business? Besides, based on our experience, what can we do differently now?

If you are looking for some interesting business ideas and books to guide you through it, this is for you!

 

Finding your niche as an entrepreneur can be challenging. You might already have an established business, but you could do things differently looking back. You probably have new ideas or are looking for interesting ideas to get that dollar to work for you.

Tune in to this episode and listen to some powerful insights about business, favorite books on business, and what we would do differently if we were to start over again. Besides, what interesting business ideas would we go for. Find out more on this episode!

In this episode

Businesses to Start in 2022!

Business Ideas Finding your niche as an entrepreneur can be challenging. You might already have an established business, but you could do things differently looking back. You probably have new ideas or are looking for interesting ideas to get that dollar to work for you.

[00:30] What’s trending

[05:32] About NFT’s and Crypto

[09:13] Palatin stocks

[11:34] Quotes on businesses

[13:22] Recap on our mastermind group event

[24:59] Favorite books about owning businesses

[30:46] Inflation – how it is affecting businesses and pay raises

[35:01] If we were to start over again, what businesses sound interesting, and what would we do differently?

Powerful Quotes

  • Influencers can do more for a company than a sports athlete can right now. They can make a thirty seconds TikTok right now and sell it for 250 grand for it.
  • You have to build a business around your business brand
  • It’s always easier to slow someone down than speed them up.
  • A player wants A players around, B players want C players around so they can look like the shining star.
  • In order to stay in business, you have to keep up with market trends. You have to be ahead of the market trends.
  • If you can’t do something for five days in a row, why do you expect to have a reward?
  • Daily consistent efforts eventually will compound and pay off.
  • There is a lot of money in anything service-based.

Quotes on business

  • In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins, cash, and experience. Take the experience first, and cash will come later.

For people who are a little further in their career, maybe you are in college or just graduated, you can intern somewhere for a free or stipend. Pick someone’s brain and learn more about whatever you want to become good at. Once you gain the experience, money will follow later.

  • Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune.

Starting a business is the start of true self-education. You are learning every day, it’s a rollercoaster with ups and downs, and you have to be ahead of all the market trends.

  • Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving, they make mistakes, but they do not quit.

The compounding effect

If you want to start a business, put one hour or day into the course, and it will eventually compound over time. If you can’t do something for five days in a row, why would you expect to have a reward?

“ Daily consistent efforts eventually will compound and pay off.”

Once you put consistent effort while starting your business, it will be super impactful. Attack the process with your efforts. Identify your good habits and do them every single day.

The Built to Sell Book

The Built to Sell book is one of the best books when it comes to starting a business. It expounds on the difference between creating a job for yourself and being an entrepreneur is creating something scalable and saleable. Even if you do not intend to sell the business, put those processes in place so that other people are working in your business and you are working on your business. That is, you are worried about the strategies and scaling. This, in turn, allows you to build multiple streams of income, and you won’t have to rely on one stream.

Inflation, how it is affecting businesses and pay raises

With 6% inflation, the dollar will not get stronger in the next five years. The pandemic forced most businesses to shut down and some people to lose their jobs. Despite the high inflation, most businesses can only manage a 3% pay rise.

Interesting Business Ideas

Property investment

Once you invest in property, you let the dollar work for you instead of putting all the work in yourself, and besides, you get to have more time for yourself.

Service-based Business

Investing in a recession-proof business such as heating and cooling, trash services, and cleaning services is a lucrative idea because people will always need such services.

 “There is a lot of money in anything service-based.”

Businesses that can’t be automated

Investing in businesses that can not be automated, such as recruiting, is also a lucrative idea.

Real Estate

Investing in real estate is lucrative since there will always be a need for people to live, and we are not creating more land.

“90% of millionaires are made from real estate, and there will always be a need for people to live.”

Private Equity

Private Equity is an alternative to public financing to invest in companies or engage in buyouts. You end up making money by charging management and performance fees. Besides, watching start-up companies grow, being a part of them, watching them grow as someone else runs the business makes it a good business idea.

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE ON:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

By |

In this episode, we talk about leadership. We share some insights on the different quotes on leadership, the various books on leadership, the difference between a boss and a leader, what we have learned about leadership over the last year, and the bad boss stories. We also speak about what has been going on with us, the biggest focus as a leader in 2022 and, the best way to establish yourself as a leader within your organization without stepping on your manager’s toes. Tune in to learn more on leadership and other exciting topics!

Leadership! How can you be better!

This week the Bros dive deep into leadership!  With the first episode of the new year the guys wanted to start with a powerful episode!  Leadership can be looked at in several viewpoints.  As business owners they break down what it takes to be a great leader along with examples from some of the biggest influencers in the business and entrepreneurship world! 

Timestamps

[00:36] What has been going on with us

[07:01] Quotes on leadership

[09:26] Books on leadership

[12:55] The difference between a boss and a leader

[19:25] What we have learned about leadership over the last year

[27:09] Bad boss stories

[36:20] The biggest focus as a leader going on in 2022

[39:18] The only fans inquiry

Notable quotes

  • “People may forget what you said or what you did but never forget the way you made them feel.” By Adrian Gostick.
  • “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others but far enough ahead to motivate them.” By John Maxwell.
  • “A lot of people see leadership as a position rather than a responsibility.”
  • “The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority.”
  • “For a business to be successful, there is supposed to be a leader and a boss.”
  • “A boss is an authority. A leader is an influence.”

“People may forget what you said or what you deed but never forget the way you made them feel.” By Adrian Gostick.

Leadership is a quality that every individual and organization must have if they want to achieve their aspirations. A leader is an individual who has many followers. He is a motivator and inspires others to work towards attaining target objectives and goals. As a leader, you have a sympathetic, understanding, and accepting attitude. You can delegate and inspire, motivate, teach and mentor. You appreciate the talents and skills of others and possess many of these yourself. Your knowledge of human nature enables you to anticipate reactions, balance interests, and achieve the desired goal.

To lead, you must first follow. The best way to be a leader is to learn to be a great teammate. If you are looking for tips on how to build a strong relationship with your teammates or how to prove that you can be depended on during tough times, this episode is for you.

Quotes on leadership

Leadership! How you can be a Better Leader!
Leadership! How you can be a Better Leader!

Quotes on leadership are a great way to inspire your team or remind everyone how an effective leader should act. In this episode, we talk about the quote from Adrian Gostick “People may forget what you said or what you did but never forget the way you made them feel.” This quote explains that leaders should create a conducive working environment for juniors. A lot of people see leadership as a position rather than a responsibility.

We also discuss the quote from John Maxwell “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others but far enough ahead to motivate them.” This quote relates mostly to smaller businesses. Leaders need to create a bond with their workers in order to increase productivity.

Books on leadership

Leadership books are designed to help you lead your organization to achieve its goals. While reading a leadership book may sound like an easy thing to do, it is something that should not be done lightly. This type of book is designed to delve into the nature of yourself as a leader and how you can improve on certain qualities of good leadership, such as charisma and vision.

We discuss Extreme Ownership, a book written by Jocko Willick. It tells real-life stories on leadership. We also discuss the episode on strengthening a struggling team in the Craig Groeshel Podcast, talking a lot about the hard conversations you need to have with your team as you are trying to grow an organization. As a leader, you are there to help them be better at the business and help create wealth.

The difference between a boss and a leader

“ For a business to be successful, there is supposed to be a leader and a boss.”

They are a lot of misconceptions about the difference between leaders and bosses. For example, a boss is someone who gives you work to do, while a leader gives you clear direction and purpose. Sometimes this direction might include hard work, but that is what gives meaning to your mission and vision. While a boss has the aura of being in charge, a leader takes responsibility for their group and its outcomes.

A leader is someone who cares about other people’s success, while a boss cares only about the paychecks they collect. However, for any business to be successful, both must be present.

By |

Having regular reflection on every aspect of your life allows you to understand better where you want to go and develop a growth mindset. As we start this new year, reflect and audit your past year. What have you accomplished? How has your circle been? Have you built any long-term networks?

In this episode, we look at some of our reflection points for the past year with our guest Blake. What are some of the most significant changes we made in 2021, and what are our focus areas in 2022? Besides, we discuss how proving doubters wrong turned us into the best version of ourselves. Tune in for more!

Reflecting and Auditing The Past Year

Having regular reflection on every aspect of your life allows you to understand better where you want to go and develop a growth mindset. As we start this new year, you need to reflect and audit your past year. What have you accomplished? How has your circle been?

In this episode

[01:33] Meeting Blake

[05:40] Quote on reflection

[06:00] Our reflection points for the past year

[08:09] About the book The Darkside of the Light Chasers.

[08:24] 2022 Goals

[12:37] Provingdoubters wrong

[18:35] Looking into negative situations

[20:39] Biggest changes we made in 2021

[21:45] Achieving your goals

23:11] Focus areas in 2022

Powerful Quotes:

  • We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.
  • I have all this shit going on, I have all these people bending against me, but I’m gonna come out on top.”
  • The best revenge is success, but more importantly, the best revenge is becoming a better person.
  • Whenever shitty circumstances arise or are out of control in your life, you have two options. Sit down and be like, bitch, and let your life become shittier and just say it’s like you are a victim of circumstances someone else created or just move forward.
  • When you reflect, you can have a better understanding of where you want to go and how you want to build on that.

Quote on reflection

  • We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience- Experiences can shape us, but how they shape us is how we take a look at those experiences and decide to act from those experiences.

The Dark Side of The Light Chasers

What is your reflection point? How can you have a better reflection of yourself? The book The Dark Side of The Light Chasers is about self-reflection.

             “You see yourself, but you can lie to yourself.”

As you think of what you want to achieve in 2022, it’s good to ask people what they think about you.  What do they like or hate? They have to be brutally honest with you so that it inspires you to do better.

Proving doubters wrong

You’ve probably faced adversity, and everyone thinks you can’t do better. These vulnerable situations turn out to be the greatest motivators. 

  “I fucking know for a fact that one of the main drivers for me to start a business and pull the trigger was getting fired by a company.”

Rather than bringing you down, they will always spark a growth mindset. Adversity pushes you to start your own thing. It’s actually a blessing in disguise.

   “The best revenge is success, but more importantly, the best revenge is becoming a better person.”

Reflecting and Auditing The Past Year

Looking into negative situations

Different things have happened in our various aspects of life. Facing negative situations is a part of it, but how you handle the situation is the most important thing. 

  “Whenever shitty circumstances arise or are out of control in your life, you have two options. Sit down and be like, bitch, and let your life become shittier and just say it’s like you are a victim of circumstances someone else created or just move forward.”

Achieving your Goals

  “Thoughts and feelings create new circumstances, but new circumstances do not create new thoughts and feelings.”

If you want to achieve a house or car, getting these things will not change anything about you. It is the thoughts you create while you grow that can create those fucking circumstances. It is not about the goal of getting that car or house. It’s the journey where you feel I’m becoming the one that fucking deserves it.

Focus Areas in 2022

Having audited the past year, what are key focus areas in 2022? Find a comfortable ground, and do not be hard on yourself. Be empathetic and find someone to walk you through the storm!

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE ON:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

By |

As we start a new year, everyone is looking forward to being a better version of themselves and on goal planning. What areas do you need to improve on? How do you intend to remain persistent in hitting your goal? Any goal properly set is halfway reached. You need to know where you are going before you get there and be persistent.

Goal Planning!

As we start a new year, everyone is looking forward to being a better version of themselves. What areas do you need to improve on? How do you intend to remain persistent in hitting your goal? Any goal properly set is halfway reached.

Goal Planning!

In this episode we focus on how we can keep ourselves accountable and where we plan to go in 2022. Besides, we look at quotes on goal planning, why we begin to fall off months after setting our goals, auditing our goals, finding a business, and how you can leverage on debtTune in for more!

Quotes on Goal planning

  • You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. What systems do you want to have in place for your business to help? In any sort of business, if you do not have a process and you are not habitual in something that you do, daily or weekly, you will never hit those goals.
  • Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. Once you have your goals set, they take a shorter time to manifest, and if you have no goals, they will take long before they manifest.
  • A goal properly set is a goal halfway reached. You have to know the direction you are headed before you start getting there. So, before embarking on something, sit down and set your goals. Always plan on what you need to achieve first.
  • Persistence is more important than talent when it comes to achieving goals. You might get super-pumped when setting goals, then a month, two months, or a few months later, you start to fall off. The main reason we do not end up hitting our goals is that we stop. 

Auditing your goals

You’ve probably set goals at the beginning of the year, but a few months later, you have already lost track. How can you keep your goals in check? To keep them in check, you need to audit your goals’ progress regularly.

   “In order to hit those goals, you have to stay on a daily test, weekly, monthly,  and quarterly. You got to keep updating.”

Although auditing seems tough and time-consuming, it is worth it. At the end of it, you get a clear picture of where you are going, and it keeps you motivated.

Paying yourself and separating your personal expenses while in business

You have to separate your business expenses from your personal expenses in any business. You can do this by paying yourself. Set yourself on a paycheck and try to live within it. 

Besides, track your business expenses and use your business card to settle them.

Leveraging on debt

You can leverage debt and make more investments depending on your risk tolerance.

“It does no good having no debt if I’m planning on it making me more money.”

Besides, if you look at the super successful people financially, they leverage debt. It’s the only way to grow and build a positive cash flow.

Once you leverage on debt, ensure the liability becomes an asset at some point.

“If you want to buy a $300,000  house, you have to put a 20% down payment. You can rent it out for $2500 a month, but the mortgage payment is $1500 a month. You make $1000 a month, and you have people paying off the debt. The asset becomes a liability.”

Finding/Acquiring a business

So many baby boomers have been in business for the past 30 or 40 years, and they are checking out. It’s a golden opportunity since people will start their businesses, and some may be retiring. If you are looking to start a business, stick to the niche.

“For instance, if you purchase the biggest printing company. Find out their main supplier for ink and paper. Anything that you are purchasing through someone else grab them up.”

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE ON:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Hope you enjoyed this weeks podcast on Goal Planning!

By |

How To Make a Lasting Change in Any Area Of Your Life

Let us know your thoughts on How To Make a Lasting Change in Any Area Of Your Life HERE!

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” You need to make a lasting change in all areas for a better life. Besides, true life is lived when tiny changes occur.

We are all looking for a change, but why is the change short-lived, and do we start quitting once we see a little bit of progress?  Tune in to listen as we discuss what inspires a lasting change, distress versus eustress, uncertainty and how you can turn your stress into a motivating factor.

How To Make a Lasting Change in Any Area Of Your Life

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” You need to make a lasting change in all areas for a better life.  We are all looking for a change, but why is the change short-lived, and do we start quitting once we see a little bit of progress?

Quotes on Change

  • Money does not change people, but it shows who they are. Once you have the resources, you tend to be the person whom you have always admired to become. Inadequate resources limit people to being themselves
  • 99% of people let other people’s opinions and beliefs keep them from being who they want. You might fear letting down people close to you. Like what will your sister, brother or mother think once you take a different direction?
  • If you want to change your life, raise your standards. What creates a lasting change is when your should’s become must’s. Once you know you have to do something and there is no alternative, that’s change. You might try for days or months, but eventually, you will get there.
  • Kicking a habit constitutes change, but the change need not occur in a dramatic manner. You will need to make a dramatic change in life, but it is not something you can do in just a day.

The changing Factor, Inspiration or desperation?

What drives change? Is it inspiration and desperation? Most people will often change out of desperation compared to inspiration. 

The actual change is out of desperation.

    “I got dumped, started working out. I got dumped again, and started working on self-development. I was fired, moved back with my mom, partied but later started my own company since I could not let my livelihood lie in their hands.”

Most people fail to change because they are comfortable. So, ask yourself what that one thing you need to do and start doing it.

Fear of Unknown

Have you ever asked yourself why some people keep rewatching the same show so many times, yet they already know the outcome? It’s all about certainty. People always want certainty and prefer to go back to the same pain because they are familiar with it.

Although the certain pain may be worse, you tend to go for it easily compared to the unknown. You might stay in financial distress or a bad relationship because you fear changing to the unknown.

Principles of Psychology

“By age 30, the character has set like plaster and it will never soften again.” As our lives become more consistent in adulthood, change is less likely to occur. As you get older, you become more comfortable, and change can only be influenced if an event or something more powerful happens.

Changing Others

We all know somebody capable of more. However, you might give them all the necessary resources for change, but they still won’t change. 

For instance, you can send someone to the best rehab, but they won’t change because they do not want to. 

It is all in the mindset, and if someone wants to change, they have to make it a priority.

  “ You can make others change but only through manipulation. The change is going to be temporary, not real.”

 Reasons for failure while making lasting change.

Good is the enemy of great. Once you start making little progress, you can be a bit comfortable, lose inspiration and not work towards the end goal.

 People do not make changes because they are overwhelmed. They tend to think they have to do everything at once. However, it is something you do daily and keeps adding to it.

Distress and Eustress

While distress refers to stress that negatively affects you, Eustress refers to positive stress that motivates and energizes you to make a change.

No one wakes up motivated. Motivation is bullshit, but action creates motivation. It is better to walk for five minutes than not walk at all.

Healthy stress is good since if you have zero stress, how will you get motivated?

How do you turn stress into a motivator?

The aim is never to avoid stress. Everyone has stress, but how do you turn the stress into a motivator?

  • Identify what you stress about.
  • What can you do about it?
  • What help do you need?
  • What was the last time you had such negative emotions, and what did you do about it?
  • Figure out how you can come up with the solution in 60 seconds if you don’t go back to the drawing board.

Having a purpose

Although it sounds cliché, you need to have a “why” for a lasting change. Why do you want to change? You will not be consistent unless you identify “why”, which is your motivation factor.

For a change, either you get comfortable where you are, find a why or just wait for enough desperation.

Let us know your thoughts on How To Make a Lasting Change in Any Area Of Your Life HERE!

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE ON:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

By |

Profit First with Michael Michalowciz!

Profit First with Michael Michalowciz

Every entrepreneur starts their business aiming for financial or personal freedom. However, few entrepreneurs get to achieve this. The problem is not them but the logical models used in running the business. Changing these logical models into behavioral models like profit first can get your business to the next level. If you’re aiming towards changing your business culture, models, and strategies, this episode is for you.

Profit First with Michael Michalowciz

Michael Michalowciz is an entrepreneur, business maker on Amazon and a popular speaker on innovative entrepreneurial topics. He is also a former host of the “Business Rescue” segment for MSNBC’S  Your business and an American author. His business books include Get Different, Clockwork, The Toilet paper Entrepreneur, The Pumpkin Plan, Surge, Fix This Next and Profit First.

In this episode

[01:27] Mike’s view on the video format of his best selling print book

[03:44] Profit First book insights

[07:17] Causes of most business failures and advice to such businesses

[09:10] Learning the process and habits from his failures and success

[13:15] Turning point to being an entrepreneur

[15:00] Pushing employees to work towards their dream

[18:38] Business Culture

[22:45] Drawing the line with bad customers

[25:01] Best professional development book to read

In this episode of the Brofessional development podcast, we interview Michael Michalowciz is an entrepreneur, business maker on Amazon, and a popular speaker on innovative entrepreneurial topics. He is also a former host of the “Business Rescue” segment for MSNBC’S  Your business and an American author. His business books include Get Different, Clockwork, The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, The Pumpkin Plan, Surge, Fix This Next, and Profit First.

About the book Profit First

Profit First is Mike’s best-selling book, audio, and video format. The book is inspired by some of his failures, successes, interviews with different entrepreneurs, and comments from his fellow entrepreneurs.

Mike explains the business owner’s two aims while getting into the business in this book. That is personal and financial freedom. In personal freedom, the entrepreneur is always looking for a way to do things on their own time, while in financial freedom, the business owner is looking for a way to get his bills paid. Unfortunately, this does not happen for most businesses, and entrepreneurs keep questioning what is wrong with them. However, the problem is not the individual but the foundation formula, Sales minus expenses equals revenue.

The foundation level formula is logical but not behavioral. You need to always put your profit first. That is, take  3-10% of your profit, hide the cash and operate the business on the remaining revenue.

      “ According to human  behaviour, once you put something last it is not important. For instance, I love my family, I put them last.”

Consider changing the formula to Sales minus profit equals expenses. Taking your profit first will permanent profitability in your business. 

Cause of business failure

Having failed in two of his previous businesses, Michalowciz learned a few processes and habits that could lead to business failure.

One of the major failures in any business is the lack of a good profit system. In every single transaction, there must be a profit. Profit is not an event like just one big transaction, but it is a habit. Once you learn to put a little more every day, the profit becomes sustainable.

Some business owners might think that more sales automatically means more profit for the business. It is never the case. Sales cause stress in an organization since your obligation increases. You will need more resources and workforce. Hence, you need to strike a balance by having a sound profit system.

The turning point from employment to entrepreneurship 

Like most college graduates, Mike anticipated getting a job immediately after graduating. When he didn’t get one, Mike went home to work in a local computer shop. 

However, Mike could not understand the logic of why someone would just sit around and make everything while he earns the sweat.  This was Michalowciz’s turning point. He texted his boss an FU** message while drunk and lost his job the following day.

Mike burns the bridges and with a young family in his early 20’s depending on him, there is no shortcut but being successful in business. 

Business Culture

Every small business needs to actively define its business culture by recording the rules and adhering to them. You could be best friends with your employees but you still need to get your work done.

A well-defined business culture helps you to draw the line with your employees. It is also a reference point when you are at a crossroads with your customers. If a client cannot adhere to the rules, you can get rid of them. A bad customer distracts you from serving good customers, and even though you might experience short-term financial loss, it might return tenfold. On the other hand, once you let your clients know they are crossing the line and ready to terminate your services, they might change to good customers.

LISTEN TO MICHAEL MICHALOWCIZ FULL EPISODE ON:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

By |

House Hack Your Way To Financial Freedom with Craig Curelop! One of the most common questions people ask is how to start investing in real estate with no money. In this episode, Craig Curelop joins us to give the perfect answer to the question: house hacking! Craig is a real estate agent and the author of The House Hacking Strategy book, in which he explained how you can become financially free through house hacking. 

Craig shares his story, from getting started with a $90k student loan debt and a negative $30k net worth, to becoming a master of house hacking. He dives deep into what you need to get started, best strategies, and available purchase options for house hacking.

House Hack Your Way To Financial Freedom with Craig Curelop

In this episode, we are joined by Craig Curelop, a real estate agent and investor based out of Denver, Colorado. Craig is also the author of The House Hacking Strategy book, which teaches the tricks that savvy investors have been using in the real estate industry to save thousands of dollars in monthly expenses as you build your financial independence.

In This Episode:

[00:49] Craig’s college life

[02:05] The house hacking idea

[07:43] How much do you need to get started?

[10:36] Why aren’t more people into house hacking?

[14:55] House hacking strategies

[19:55] The downside of sharing your space

[23:58] Property purchase options

[26:30] Airbnb rules

[28:16] Craig’s self-development journey

[31:52] Motivated by money or freedom and time?

[33:02] Money saving challenge

[37:59] Automating your work

[41:24] Best books to start your real estate or finance journey

[43:54] Craig’s daily routine

[48:00] Only fans inquiry

The House Hacking Idea

House hacking a strategy in the real estate industry where you purchase a property for a low percentage down, live in a section of it, and rent the other space out. The idea is to collect rent that exceeds your expenses from the tenants. If you do this, you have probably eliminated all your expenses and live for free!

House hacking options

Craig says there are several options depending on your preference and the type of property you have rented out:

  1. Comfort: After renting a house with a separate space like garage, you can live in the house and rent out the extra space. 
  2. Most profitable: You rent out the whole space and live in a van or a different space.
  3. Rent by the room: Live in one bedroom and rent out the other space. You can also buy many units, live in one, and rent out the rest.

Craig’s Advice to starters

Craig says you should find a single-family house and have a separate living space divided. Divide the remaining space into rooms that you could rent out. 

Airbnb rules

While sharing your space with people can be a profitable, sometimes the benefits come with the downsides, especially when these people are strangers. To avoid some issues, Airbnb formulated rules that protect you as a homeowner.

  • Even when you purchase a room for renting out, you must have the intent of living in the property for at least a year. However, there are some exceptions; if you get married, the neighborhood becomes unsafe, or you experience a life-changing event.
House Hack Your Way To Financial Freedom with Craig Curelop

“Airbnb doesn’t want you to risk your safety to meet their law requirements.”

You also have to change your mailing address to show you are living in the property, and also let your insurance know the business you’re into.

Tune in House Hack Your Way To Financial Freedom with Craig Curelop

Mentioned Resources

Books

Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner

The Simple Path To Wealth by J.L Collins

Connect With Craig Curelop

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-curelop-a6457242/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thefiguy/