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Solopreneurs! Thanks for joining us on another installment of Find Your Swing (Solopreneur Coaching). It’s been a minute! I’ve missed doing these with you all so I’m extra excited to bring these type of shows back.
Today’s episode brings us an extra special co-host, Matthew Kimberley from episode 274. I say extra special because it’s his first (and hopefully first in a long line of many) FYS co-hosting spots, and it was also his birthday on the day we recorded this show.
Plus he’s got the best podcasting voice of any non-podcaster out there so tune in to hear him and our solopreneur coaching! Episode 286 is all about helping you find your swing on The Solopreneur Hour.
More About How To Find Your Swing (Solopreneur Coaching)
For those of you who have been with us for awhile you know how these Find Your Swing (Solopreneur Coaching) episodes go: you send in your skill set, your background and your passions and we give you our thoughts on how you could create a viable solopreneurial business based on the info you provide.
We also provide solopreneur coaching if you’re stuck in your business and not sure how to get over a particular obstacle, or how to best grow your business from where you are.
In short, we hear from you about where you are on your timeline, what’s holding you back and we give you advice to move forward. Your mileage may vary but we do our best to give you our soundest suggestions and encouragement to get things rocking or keep things rolling.
In This Episode, You’ll Also Hear:
- What’s the law of reciprocity?
- The simple way to get everything you want.
- What is jorkyball?
- Are you meant to serve everyone?
- Is it ever a good idea to marry two different business ideas?
- And so much more!
On today’s show Matthew and I help one listener turn his love of the outdoors and natural living into a wilderness camp for kids and/or a camp on how to be a man. Our listener has always dreamt of having his own out-in-the-wild type camp, especially for kids. And Matthew breaks down how he can do this, WITHOUT relying heavily on the Internet.
We hear from another follower who has a background in insurance, and in sales. Matthew and I offer suggestions on how to bridge the gap between where’s he at now (being an employee) to the land of solopreneurship. Sometimes it’s simply about taking what you know and creating a business of service with it.
There are a few others we hear from on this episode but the final two we’ll touch on here are employees in the medical arena.
The first is someone who works in sports medicine offices helping people rehab injuries and using yoga therapy techniques to do so. She also loves to write and edit, and is considering how to make a career combing these passions. We recommend she create her own methodology, trademark it and train other practitioners how to use her methodology. A great strategy is to follow what Bikram Choudhury did to create the Bikram Yoga system and culture.
And finally is our CT specialist (that is short for CAT scan) who has started his solopreneur journey much like Matt began his. Our recommendation for him is to STOP building what he’s been building. Then ask and answer the following questions: who do you want to serve, what do you want to do for them and how are you going to serve them? Once he’s done that he can start building again.
Those are just a few of the people we hear from on today’s Find Your Swing! Tune in to get all the goodies on this edition of The Solopreneur Hour. Thanks for being here, and we’ll see you next time!
QUESTIONS OF THE DAY: Have you found your swing? How did you do it? Let us know in the comments below!
Do you enjoy this podcast? If so, could you please leave a review here. I read them, sometimes on the show, and will reach out if you leave your Twitter handle!
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Selected Links and Resources From This Episode
Learn more about Matthew Kimberley
Matthew Kimberley on the Twitter
Episode 274 with Matthew Kimberley
Sololab, a Unique Mastermind
100 Skills Every Man Should Know, Popular Mechanics
The Creative Cajun
22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, by Al Ries and Jack Trout (free audiobook)
Thanks so much Mike and Matthew for answering my jumble of questions. And you nailed it, Matt, in that I was, without even fully realizing it, seeking affirmation for what I already knew to be true. So thank you for calling me out (in a good way)! Mike, I got the book TODAY right before I listened to the part of the show where you answered my questions, and it all couldn’t have been more perfectly timed, as I was wondering who the heck is Mark Costes and why did a dentist send me his book? Ha! Hilarious. As usual, my friend, your timing is impeccable. I will definitely be signing up for SoloLab shortly since I know my scattered brain needs some focus and coaching to keep me on track. I will also mention that you were right about the veggie detox drink. My husband even said the same thing yesterday. I did feel like Doug the dog in the movie “Up.” Squirrel! It’s time to focus, get out of this rut I’m in, and get creative! I’m so ready. Thank you so much! Hope your nose and little alien in your throat are healing well so I can hear your voice again soon.
A couple thoughts.
First, I could not disagree more with your advice to STOP learning CSS & HTML any more vehemently. In talking to hundreds of small business owners, this is the greatest weakness I find in their brand architecture. Even if they can visualize the end product they are solving for they can’t put it into words. They also have ZERO control over their brand. They’ve been faked out by LinkedIn’s Publishing Platform and call it a “blog”, then wonder why they aren’t getting any traffic or leads. It’s because that content belongs on their site where it can rank and drive traffic and leads in their sleep. But, since they don’t even have a cursory understanding of basic web design and architecture they have no idea how to solve the problem…or why it’s even a problem in the first place.
Everyone on my team — regardless of their daily role — has to take 5 Lynda classes during onboarding.
Lynda.com Training
1. https://www.lynda.com/WordPress-tutorials/WordPress-Essential-Training/154417-2.html
2. https://www.lynda.com/HTML-tutorials/HTML-Essential-Training/170427-2.html
3. https://www.lynda.com/Web-Interactive-CSS-tutorials/CSS-Fundamentals/80436-2.html
4. https://www.lynda.com/Web-Interactive-CSS-training/CSS-Page-Layouts/86003-2.html
5. https://www.lynda.com/Genesis-tutorials/Up-Running-Genesis-WordPress/170289-2.html
This doesn’t mean that everyone has to become a Master Artisan and reach Shokunin status. It also doesn’t mean we’re a web design company. But the importance of fundamental web design understanding for a company reminds me of the old Zig quote:
“Money is not everything but it ranks right up there with oxygen” – Zig Ziglar
Telling a small business owner to abandon trying to understand web design is like telling Dale Earnhardt, Jr. he doesn’t need to know how to fix a car. You’re sending someone onto a race track into a field of vicious competitors who are all going at least 220MPH. Imagine this scenario:
Dale Jr: Hey guys, something’s wrong with the car.
Pit Boss: What you feeling out there, Dale?
Dale Jr: Man, I have no idea. Isn’t that what I pay you for?
This just before he goes careening into the corner and ends his career.
I’m not saying every business owner needs to churn code in their sleep. But experience has taught me if they aren’t at least proficient they are destined to fail, or fall very short of their potential at the least.
Conversely, I completely agree about The Creative Cajun! It’s a fantastic brand with tons of potential. I live in Houston and have had the blind dumb luck to stumble into what I think is the greatest industry on earth; the oil bidness.
My co-host on “This Week in Oil & Gas” has Cajun roots in South Louisiana. I spent a short time at Xavier University back in ’09, and one of the most fervent members of The Tribe is Cajun. He sent me an assortment of Cajun sauces and spices at Christmas time.
What I would add to your advice is that there is a HUGE market for her business growth services in oil and gas in South Louisiana. When most people think “oil” they immediately think ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, etc. But, nearly 90% of the oil that’s produced in America is produced by small independent companies. Johnny and his boys got themselves a rig and they think there’s oil in them thar’ swamps. Over 90% of natural gas in America comes from small independent companies.
These operators rely on THOUSANDS of small service companies to run their operation. The company that operates the well is a glorified project manager who’s really good at identifying “sweet spots” (places where hydrocarbons exist). They don’t own the rig that does the “open hole” drilling. They don’t own the mud logging equipment or directly employ the mud loggers who analyze the flowback coming out of the well to determine what “zones” they are penetrating. If the well needs to be fracced, they don’t own the trucks that bring water on-site. Once the well is completed, if they decide to “bring it into production”, they don’t own the “workover rig” or “coil tubing drillout” equipment needed to go back “downhole” and to remove the “plugs” that were set to “perf” the well.
I could go on, but I went hard here to underscore the point that it’s a MASSIVE undertaking with more small business than you ever imagined involved.
All of the companies we’ve talked about so far comprise on segment of the oil bidness known as “upstream”. These are the guys who get it out of the ground. But there are three more segments; midstream, downstream, and service companies.
Midstream companies get hydrocarbons from the wellhead to their final destination. Think pipeline companies, trucking companies, rail, and barges. Downstream companies refine hydrocarbons into all of the products that make modern civilization possible. Even the computer you’re reading this on is made of oil and gas derivative.
Here’s the problem: Upstream companies are in SEVERE pain right now. The price of oil dropped 50% and they’re ALL on strict spending freezes. A couple years ago when oil was $120/barrel the only thing that mattered was time. Now that’s flipped and “operational efficiency” is winning the day. The operators who can make their shops as lean as and efficient as possible are winning.
Here’s the opportunity: There are thousands of small service companies in South Louisiana who had all of their eggs in one basket. I was just talking to a friend last week who told me about his buddy who’s an entrepreneur. During the boom he started a barge company serving offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. But, since oil has dropped so drastically they’re scrambling for cash. They don’t know where their next meal is coming from.
I looked at their website and noticed it said “Health, Safety, & Environmental” (HSE). The page talked about how HSE was a major business driver and central to the company’s culture. The easy answer for them is to dock their ships and go midstream or downstream selling HSE consulting.
To give you an idea of the size of that market; the HSE spend in oil and gas in 2011 was $32 billion. That’s billion with a B. By 2030 that market will grow to $56 billion. In the interim oil prices will rebound and they’ll be able to put their barges back to work. Until that happens, the HSE pie is so damn big they get real fat and happy on that fraction of the industry alone.
So, for The Creative Cajun, I say GO FOR IT, sister! Just don’t neglect the number one revenue source in your home state and the world. There are THOUSANDS of fellow Cajuns who need your help and expertise.
Hope you have one heck of a Fais do-do down on the bayou!!