Business:Marketing
I can't stop my brain.
For years, I tried to be like, "Okay, it's nighttime, I'm gonna go try to calm down and wind down."
I don't do that anymore…
Now, I just try and redirect my noggin...
WHAT IS ENTREPRENEURSHIP???
So... I was on vacation, sitting in a hotel room... my wife had taken our kids on a little walk. I had stuff on my mind, so I decided to take an hour or two to write a post...
… and it turned into this thing that was pretty awesome.
BUT when I posted it (and it was a huge lesson for me), something happened that made me laugh!
... it was actually a mistake, that I will NOT make again 😂
Here’s what happened…
I needed a picture for the post, so I took a picture of me speaking on stage for Two Comma Club X coaching program at ClickFunnels.
I was wearing a shirt (that we will definitely be selling) because EVERYBODY talked about the shirt - NOT the post.
It took me two hours to write that email, (and it was so good), and EVERY comment afterward was about the shirt I was wearing…
Oh my gosh, I love that shirt!
Where did you get that shirt?
That's a cool shirt!
How do I get that shirt?
Should I Google that shirt?
Where's that shirt, where's that shirt, where's that shirt?
There was NOT a single comment about the actual post itself.
This is a classic example of the market telling you what to do.
I was laughing pretty hard. I was like, "Oh man, that's funny.."
Next time, I'll choose pictures more carefully so that people read the post - 'cause it was some good stuff.
So, scroll away from the shirt pic… ‘cause I’m gonna share what I wrote in the email, (before *the shirt* sabotaged it)... because I think there's some power in knowing why I write emails in the way I do…
GETTING SURGICAL WITH STEVE
There are two things I do spend A LOT of time doing…
Content Creation
Email and Post Writing
Whenever I start writing a post, I really wanna go all in and usually, it'll take me a while - an hour per post is not abnormal...
For me, it's surgical. Like... "Oh man, it seems like people are struggling with this concept. Boom! Let's do that.”
I have a team of writers and a big content team now, (#Amazing) - their role is to go a little more broad stroke teaser based on the content that I'm promoting.
But when I write stuff, I like to dive in deep...
INTO THE SHARK TANK
Recently, I've been watching a bit more Shark Tank.
And it's funny…
Someone from the corporate world might look at Shark Tank and see both the people sitting behind the desk and the person who's asking for money as an entrepreneur…
… and technically, they're right.
But I wanna go through and talk about the different types of entrepreneurs, so you can identify…
"This is the kind of entrepreneur I'm trying to be."
I want you to have a clear understanding of what each of these roles is likely to bring you.
Obviously, I'm talking in stereotypes, I'm NOT talking about science-backed numbers here, however...
These are very stereotypical ranges of income that I typically see happen for the different types of entrepreneurs that are out there.
THE EMAIL - THE ENTREPRENEUR PERSONALITY
Much of the business world is kinda getting carried away with the word "entrepreneur"...
So that's how the email started…
The subject line was ‘Types of entrepreneurs (or not)...’
Much of the business world is kinda getting carried away with the word "entrepreneur"...
And many are calling themselves an entrepreneur when they're really not...
AND, not everyone is an entrepreneur, nor should we expect everyone to be.
Free Market Capitalism needs different roles...
AND THAT'S OK!
But -
I wanna share some insights on the differences (because an "investor", "fast food franchise owner", or "copy cat" isn't an entrepreneur).
The term "entrepreneur", (the actual definition) is a noun and the actual definition of the word "entrepreneur" is…
‘a person who organizes or operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so’.
Now, I'll tell you, right off the bat…
One of the reasons why the funnel game that we teach is so powerful is that you get to mitigate a significant amount of that financial risk if you just know how to build a funnel.
You don't need to take on money
This post may offend some people 😉
WHICH TYPE OF ENTREPRENEUR ARE *YOU*?
#1: THE VC-BACKED ENTREPRENEUR?
The VC-backed entrepreneur is the type of person who walks up on Shark Tank asking for money. They're asking for VC, (venture capital)...
i.e., they're asking for funding for their business...
Entrepreneur, VC-Backed:
Own: Partial
Control: Partial
Risk Tolerance: Highest
PERSONAL Cashflow Level: Moderate until an IPO, if it happens
Time to Personal Cashflow: Once funded, immediate
They're a creator, imaginary, disruptor, truly new
Eg: Entrepreneurs that take cash on Shark Tank. I'm very against this. It's freaky. I want the market to give me my paycheck when I'm selling something of worth, and not before that.
How much risk tolerance does that type of person usually have? The highest level of risk tolerance - and that's NOT always a good thing.
Personal cash flow level, that's typical, moderate until they take out their company to go to the stock market with an IPO, (if it even happens).
Time to personal cash flow- immediately, if they get funded.
Now what's crazy about an entrepreneur who chooses to go get VC funding is that…
Traditionally, the VC funded entrepreneur gets paid from the money that they borrow.
In my opinion, that's backwards...
I didn't get paid until I created actual value and started selling stuff.
That's one of the reasons I'm so against the whole concept of the J Curve.
If you've NOT seen the episode of Sales Funnel radio called Kill the J Curve, go watch that episode - you can watch me freak out a little bit on the whiteboard and teach you why it's so VC funding is sooo crazy.
*The J Curve is Nuts*
Don't borrow money. 99% of the time, you don't need it.
Don't think you're the 1% either!
Now, here's some general characteristics of entrepreneurs who seek VC funding…
They're creators
They're imaginaries
They're disruptors
They make things that are truly new.
Example: hose entrepreneurs who take on cash on Shark Tank.
I'm very against this model - it's FREAKY.
I want the market to give me my paycheck when I sell something of worth and not before.
The freaky part about it, (and why I'm so scared about it), is that when someone takes on money for their business, usually they get paid from that cash in addition to paying for their marketing efforts.
If you just bootstrap a little bit and just get ready to feel a little bit of discomfort, you can own 100% of your company!
You don’t need to take on money and a paycheck when you may NOT actually have a successful business - you’ll owe somebody else millions of dollars, and then... you may go bankrupt.
You know what I'm saying?
It's not too much of a trade-off in my opinion to boot strap for a while
For me, it's a very obvious choice.
THE NON-VC BACKED ENTREPRENEUR?
This is why ClickFunnels has been such a big deal.
ClickFunnels has taken on NO VC money.
In fact, it's NOT even really been self-funded...
It's not like Russell and the founders put their own dollars in to start it; they just built a funnel and then sent an email invitation to a webinar to their list…
… and then, all the money just went right back into the business.
They didn't really self-fund it either.
This is a BIG deal to understand!
ClickFunnels is one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies in the world - that's EXPLOSIVE growth.
Everyone's like, "Oh man, we need to go recheck the curriculum inside of colleges 'cause they're doing everything you're NOT supposed to be able to do."
And it's just because Russell knows how to build a front-end funnel.
Other funnel software don't even sell their software with a funnel - little jab there, unapologetically 😉
Entrepreneur, Non-VC Backed:
Own: Full
Control: Full
Risk Tolerance: High (less likely to lose their shirt if it fails, they own it all)
PERSONAL Cashflow Level: Low for a while, then grows big
Time to Personal Cashflow: Soon after traffic is consistent
They're a creator, imaginary, disruptor, truly new, and a bit more scrappy than the VC-backed chaps. Requires moderate skills in marketing and sales.
Eg: Steve Jobs
(He tried to get financing but was turned down. So he sold his car for $750 and Steve Wozniak sold his calculator for $500. Get after it)
Eg: Russell Brunson
(He used funnels to sell funnels (imagine that, a product of his product) so his own money wasn't at risk. Get after it)
So, as a Non-VC Backed Entrepreneur…
How much does that entrepreneur own? Full ownership. They didn't give up any of their company.
How much control do they have? Full control.
How much risk tolerance do they have? They have a high-risk tolerance, but they're actually less likely to lose their shirts if it fails because they own it all.
Personal cash flow level. It's kind of usually low for a while - I didn't take a paycheck for the first 2-3 months that I was doing this on my own.
Personal cashflow is low for a while, but then it grows really big, really fast.
Time to cash flow soon after traffic is consistent.
(If you guys wanna go see this email, and you know you're on my list, go search in your inbox for types of entrepreneurs (or not)...and it'll pop up for you)
Entrepreneurs that are non-VC backed are...
They're creators
They're imaginary
They're disruptors
They make things that are truly new
They're a bit more scrappy than VC-backed entrepreneurs, (that's what I've typically found) because they're willing to feel a little pain.
It requires moderate skills in marketing and sales to actually be a non-VC backed marketer and an entrepreneur.
(You've gotta have a few marketing skills - come to freaking OfferMind - that's where we teach you that 😉 )
Example: Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs tried to get financing, but he was turned down.
Steve Jobs, tried to get VC funding, and he was turned down, so he sold his car for $750, and Steve Wozniak sold his calculator for $500…
... and that's how they self-funded Apple. 😂
Russell Brunson used funnels to sell funnels, (imagine that, a product of his product)...
So his own money wasn't at risk. Get after it!
Now…
There are 4 other profiles who often think they're entrepreneurs, but they're not.
# THE BUSINESS OWNER
A business owner is NOT an entrepreneur.
Business Owner, Copy-cat:
[not an entrepreneur]
Own: Full, depending
Control: Full
Risk Tolerance: Moderate (but they're just copying someone else)
PERSONAL Cashflow Level: Moderate, they didn't create anything
Time to Personal Cashflow: Moderate
They're usually not very creative. They can make good money "hacking" all the time but I've found those that stay there usually remain worried about money. It's not that they don't make money, they just constantly need to see what others are doing so they know how to act next, which takes focus off their own creativity, so they stay in a "hacking" loop.
Eg: Any product that was 'second' to a market or off-brand
Let's look at the definition of an entrepreneur...
A person who organizes or operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risk.
*They are the creator*
To ‘entrepreneur’ something is to put something together and create stuff.
A business owner is NOT always an entrepreneur, in fact, most of the time they're not.
It's NOT semantics.
A business owner is not always an entrepreneur - if they are not the one who put it together, usually they're not being entrepreneurial.
You can own something and not create anything in it.
Anyway…
How much do they own? Full, (depending)…
Do they control anything? Yeah, they can have full control, (again, depending on ownership levels).
Risk tolerance is moderate, but usually, they're just copying somebody else.
Personal cash flow level is moderate - they didn't create anything though. They didn't create anything usually.
Now, I'm not jabbing anybody who's a business owner, I'm just saying, (usually) they're NOT as creative as an entrepreneur.
They can make good money by hacking, but I found that people who stay in this role, usually, remain worried about money.
If your whole business is based on continually hacking everybody else, that is the category that remains worried about money the longest.
Eventually, you gotta be prolific.
I'm NOT saying you can't funnel hack your way into a lot of wealth, but usually that person remains a little bit nervous most of the time.
# THE FRANCHISE OWNER ( The Franchisee)
The person who owns a franchise - that kind of business owner is NOT an entrepreneur.
When somebody buys a franchise of McDonald's - that's NOT an entrepreneur.
They're participating in the fruits of the entrepreneur but they're not entrepreneurs themselves…
.... they just own the business.
This also includes anybody who's working for commission.
So I'm gonna tell you, affiliate marketers, (most of the time), they're not entrepreneurs... unless they're ‘entrepreneuring’ a way to sell something that's different.
They didn't make the product.
My affiliate marketing stuff has been so powerful because I start bringing in entrepreneurial principles into affiliate marketing.
Same thing with MLMers, (little stingy here), okay! They're NOT entrepreneurs, they're salesmen.
Entrepreneurs create stuff, and if you're not genuinely creating anything, you're NOT the entrepreneur.
So anything that is working under commission, you are under the category of business owner, franchisee/salesman.
Do they have control? They ‘think’ they have control, but it's really an illusion.
Franchise owners, in my opinion, are the MOST desperate to be included as an entrepreneur.
They're stuck in a business model that focuses their role solely on products and operations, NOT actual marketing.
It's out of their hands.
They bought a job and ‘entrepreneur’d’ nothing.
The original builder was the only entrepreneur in this scenario.
Example: practically any fast-food chain.
#THE CEO
CEO:
[not an entrepreneur, usually]
Own: Only if they built it, or contracted a percentage when hired
Control: Depends if they were hired into the role, or built the role
Risk Tolerance: Moderate (if they fail, they're fired, not Chapter 11'd)
PERSONAL Cashflow Level: Moderate to High
Time to Personal Cashflow: If hired, Immediate
I believe most all entrepreneurs should become the CEO of the company they built, but in due time. They're both 'builders' but for different roles and at different timelines. Entrepreneurs build to solve a valuable problem. CEO's build to sustain and grow systems. Both are important, but a CEO isn't absolutely necessary for a new entrepreneur for some time.
However, a CEO that's hired from the outside is not an entrepreneur. They're a 'business systems tweaker/builder'. It's funny to me when bright and shiny new entrepreneurs label themselves as CEOs (A CEO of what? They have no business systems to be a CEO over, ha!)
Eg: Steve Jobs creates, then leaves, then comes back make Apple innovative again (chopping almost all projects)
Eg: Russell Brunson creates, then puts systems in place and becomes a CEO later
CEOs are NOT entrepreneurs unless they were also the one that built the product.
I was first an entrepreneur and then I took on the role of CEO.
… and that's a very natural progression for any entrepreneur who doesn't wanna stay a serial entrepreneur their whole life.
I want to start as an entrepreneur and then take on the CEO role to build the business...
That's the model I know I'm gonna follow my whole life.
So, CEOs are usually not entrepreneurs.
#THE INVESTOR
Investor:
[not an entrepreneur]
Own: Depends if it's an equity, asset, or cashflow deal
Control: Depends how the business was valued and what type of contribution the investor is making (cash, talent, assets, relationships, etc)
Risk Tolerance: Low
PERSONAL Cashflow Level: Willing for low, but secure, with big exit plan
Time to Personal Cashflow: Usually needs cashflow back regardless of business health
It's the other side of the "Entrepreneur, VC-Backed" coin. I have no problem when someone chooses to take on an investor to move faster, but only AFTER the market has said yes to them by paying the business lots of cash. An investor doesn't have the option of simply giving cash. I've heard investors say that the only time when their investments in existing companies has worked well is when they're personally involved (not a fund-and-dash), or there's a brand new talent brought in for the company.
Eg: Warren Buffet (who kinda 'entrepreneur'd' his style of investing)
An Investor is NOT always an entrepreneur.
Now, this might sound really weird, but here’s my description of an investor from the email...
An investor is the other side of the entrepreneurial and VC backed coin.
I have no problem when someone chooses to take on investment to move faster, but ONLY after the market has said yes to them by paying the business lots of cash. I'm fine when people take on money in VC funding post their business being validated by a lot of money from the market.
But beforehand your business has been validated?
*Sounds really dumb to me*
I’ve heard investors say that the ONLY time when their investments work has taken at least one of the following…
They're personally involved
They're bringing a new skillset
There is a brand new talent brought into the company.
I've actually heard from a few people:
"Hey, I don't find that straight up just investing cash in a business very challenging to make it work, unless you're willing to actually bring in a new skill set, bring in some kind of new talent.”
The cash itself is usually NOT the reason why something's going to work - which is why you don't need it in order to build it in the first place.
So hopefully, I've not just offended the crap out everybody who's reading this?
I know I went a little bit deep, and there’s not a lot of story but just to recap…
(Again, speaking in stereotypes here, I know there's always different scenarios and clever contracts... )
TYPES OF ENTREPRENEURS (OR NOT)...
# A VC-backed Entrepreneur - obviously NOT an entrepreneur.
They just took on cash and gave up a lot of control and ownership, usually.
#A NON-VC backed Entrepreneur - obviously an entrepreneur.
They own everything and keep control.
They usually don't take a paycheck for a while, but they have an insane amount of flexibility afterwards, more than any other type.
# A Business Owner (who's kind of a copycat) - by default they're NOT an entrepreneur.
They're just hacking their way into cash, which is great, but eventually, understand that to be an entrepreneur is to create something.
if you're just copycatting your way in, that's not being an entrepreneur.
This is the category that remains the most scared about money, even above the franchise people, 'cause they're like, "Who do I hack? Who do I hack? Who do I hack?”
They have to spend all this time, money and resources hacking and hacking, and hacking and hacking and hacking.
They get freaked out and they're like, "Then I need to go recreate it, then I need to go relaunch it and it's scary."
Just be a real entrepreneur and build something that's awesome.
Build a list, and then it's very hard for your products to fail after a certain level
… just stay with it.
# Business owner who's a franchisee (also includes any sales positions) - not an entrepreneur.
It's a sales position that you bought.
# CEO - not an entrepreneur, unless they were an entrepreneur beforehand.
# Investor - not an entrepreneur.
I know I'm gonna get a little kickback from that, but I'm talking about the investor who just walks up and hands cash off and then walks away.
The invest and dash model - that's not being an entrepreneur.
Now an investor who brings extra talent, and starts actually creating extra things on top of the business they invested in, sure… they can be an entrepreneur.
This was all in my email, (and it's the reason why it took me a lot of time to write), and maybe I went too deep… but I don't care, whatever.
So, here’s how I tied EVERYTHING together...
DO YOU OWN OR CONTROL?
"Steve, nice. Why show me this?"
I totally get it... Seems random, but it's not...
The reason I get so stoked about my OfferMind event and what I do is because it's a VERY fast path to REAL entrepreneurship that lets you OWN and CONTROL everything you build.
"The poor OWN everything and CONTROL nothing.
The rich OWN nothing and CONTROL everything." - Robert Kiyosaki
*FASCINATING*
It's from Robert Kiyosaki…
The poor own everything and control nothing, the rich own nothing and control everything
This is sooo powerful because, (if you just caught what I've just said)...
OfferMind teaches you how to OWN and CONTROL your business.
… and that’s freaking rare!
Everything we're doing in this funnel world...
Everything we do in this offer world...
Everything I do in my business...
… is NOT normal.
*BUT IT WORKS*
It's just NOT known yet - it's just barely starting to get seen by the actual mainstream entrepreneur space.
You have such a ridiculous advantage if you just learn the models we're talking about.
... and the BEST NEWS, the models aren’t hard to follow!
You can execute them at a 50% level and you'll still make a lot of money.
It's NOT about perfection.
I finish the email by saying…
When you come to OfferMind (Sept 2-3) you'll learn the marketing principles and timeless models...
(That let us non-VC backed, REAL Entrepreneurs grow our companies from the ground up...)
Not sure how else to position the tremendous value here...
This is NOT what I learned in my Marketing Degree...
This is NOT what you'll learn in mainstream entrepreneurship...
But would it surprise you to know that REAL entrepreneurs know and do MORE than is being taught??!
Come to OfferMind Sept 2-3, 2019 and let me pull back the curtain...
There really is a back door.
Understand that when I'm writing emails and doing promotions, I’m finding principles and tying them back to whatever I'm promoting, (which isn't new)...
But what I'm declaring in the email I sent, (and what I was hoping people would gather from the post before my shirt subverted it was…
You can OWN and CONTROL your entire company.
SKIP THE J CURVE!
Robert Kiyosaki says, ‘The poor own everything but control nothing. The rich control everything and own nothing.’
I'm saying you can own and control if you just learn how to build a freaking funnel and skip the entire J curve.
And that's why this stuff's so powerful, so please hear the principles inside what I'm telling you…
The opportunity you have inside this funnel space is unlike any other has ever existed in the entire history of the planet.
And when you choose to come and learn these kinds of things, I promise you, you will NOT be able to look at any business the same way…
You’ll sit back and go:
Huh. I wonder how they're generating leads?
Huh. I wonder what their average car value is?
Huh. I wonder what their cost to acquire is?
I wonder this? this? this?
It's ALL a big formula.
And I'm excited to teach it to you at OfferMind.
We're almost sold out of VIP and we're starting to max out in other tickets too - it's gonna be awesome.
I’ll be doing interviews with the speakers cause I want to chat with them - so you can see what you’re actually gonna learn from them.
Go to offermind.com and grab your ticket. We'll see you guys there.
Let me help you learn how to get rich.
BOOM!
If you're just starting out you're probably studying a lot. That's good. You're probably geeking out on all the strategies, right? That's also good.
But the hardest part is figuring out what the market wants to buy and how you should sell it to them, right?
That's what I struggled with for a while until I learned the formula.
So I created a special Mastermind called an OfferMind to get you on track with the right offer, and more importantly the right sales script to get it off the ground and sell it.
Wanna come?
There are small groups on purpose, so I can answer your direct questions in person for two straight days.
You can hold your spot by going to OfferMind.com.
Again, that's OfferMind.com.
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