Episode 49: Just Show Up! | Photographer Chris Carlson from the Associated Press

Chris Carlson has done photography in more than 40 different countries covering some of the world’s greatest sporting and political events. He’s been involved in the business a long time but attributes his consistency and reliability to be one of the keys to his success. Learn how to just show up in Episode 49 of the Defining Success Podcast.

Chris Carlson has been a staff photographer at the AP in Southern California for the past 6 years, Prior to that, he has been on the staff of the Orange County Register where he shared a Pulitzer Prize for coverage. During his career, he has been on assignment in over 40 countries.

Chris’s family was in the newspaper business. Early on he realized his spelling was so bad that the only way he could stay in the newspaper business was by becoming a photographer. Like any field you get into, you have to hone your craft. Chris was very lucky to work with people who were very skilled. Many people took Chris under his wing and helped develop him into a world class photographer.

When Chris started in photography, there was a huge delay between the time he took a picture and the time he had it developed. In some cases it was several hours. Now, photographers know very quickly whether or not they have shot something great or not and they have the ability to take more if they are not happy with what they’ve shot. Twenty years ago photographers were not as lucky because if they took bad shots, they would not be able to recognize this until hours later and in some cases this meant the opportunity was gone for good.

In photojournalism, they have deadlines and now the deadlines have sped up excessively.

One thing that Chris thinks many people in photography may not realize is the way that professional photographers are able to effectively use lighting to create a better picture. The average person would be able to look at a picture and say it’s beautiful, but the professional photographer would be able to understand why the picture looks beautiful. A good photographer can take any situation and make it look like it was shot with photo studio lighting.

Some people get into journalism because they want to get into the world. Chris got into journalism because he wanted to see the world. Being a photographer has given Chris the opportunity to see how the world has unfolded before him.

One of the best assignments Chris ever had was the 2007 U.S. Open where Tiger Woods won in a 19 hole playoff and watching him make a put on the 18th hole to force a playoff was probably the most exciting thing he had ever seen. Watching the crowd react and watching Tiger’s reaction and seeing how competitive that day was was amazing. And he felt very fortunate that photography was the vehicle that gave him the opportunity to witness the experience in person.

A lot of pressure comes from being a photographer. Chris works hard to capture special moments, but sometimes many factors can contribute to the missing of a moment which can be lost and gone forever if he doesn’t capture it as it’s happening. The stress of capturing these events can be a burden. Over time the stress of having to capture that one moment can weigh on you a bit.

Chris attributes his success to luck, good decisions, hard work and sometimes, no matter how hard you try, something happens that you couldn’t plan for and in his case he feels very lucky. Somebody once told Chris that a key to success is just showing up. If you show up and do work you’re already ahead of your competition. He looks at his colleagues that are very successful, he sees that it’s because they have a very strong work ethic.

One of the biggest mistake Chris has made was that he didn’t know if he enjoyed it enough in his time. He wonders if when he retires if he’s going to say that he enjoyed it enough while he was doing it.

Working at the Associated Press, Chris feels fortunate that they cover big stories and the one event Chris wants to go to that he hasn’t yet is the Masters Golf Tournament. Every year Chris covers the Kraft-Nabisco women’s golf tournament events which conflicts with the Masters, but he hopes he can make it to the Masters.

Chris has done countless brush fires, earthquakes, civil unrest. He was on the presidential campaign with President Obama and he’s done the Iowa Caucus and recommends that if anyone has an interest in politics that they should visit Iowa during that time because they are all very knowledgeable about politics.

If you’re interested in becoming a photographer you need to decide what kind of photography you’d like to do and then position yourself to be able to do that. Sometimes it means starting at the high school level and hone your skills to build up to the big time. Photography is incredibly competitive and in order to be successful you must love photography and if you have a good work-ethic, you’ll have a chance to be a good photographer.

When they started introducing digital cameras, your competition grew and the ability to make a living in photography is a lot tougher than it used to be.

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What does it take to make a great picture?
How important do you think being reliable is to business?
Would people say you just show up?

Links to Great Stuff:

AP Images – “AP Images gives you access to the world’s largest collections of historical and contemporary photographs, so you have all the imagery you need, right when you need it. AP’s timely, powerful and informative images cover topics ranging from breaking news and sports to business, entertainment, weather, fashion, travel, royalty-free, rights-managed, microstock and more. You can purchase the images you need immediately on our site or set up a subscription service with your sales representative. And with our new API delivery method, you get images in a more flexible, fast and reliable way, within your own interface. AP’s Assignment & Publicity Services is also ready to assist you with start-to-finish planning, execution and distribution for all your promotional needs.”

The International Center of Photography – “The International Center of Photography (ICP) is the world’s leading institution dedicated to the practice and understanding of photography and the reproduced image in all its forms. Through our exhibitions, educational programs, and community outreach, we offer an open forum for dialogue about the role images play in our culture. Since our founding, we have presented more than 500 exhibitions and offered thousands of classes, providing instruction at every level. ICP is a center where photographers and artists, students and scholars can create and interpret the world of the image within our comprehensive educational facilities and archive.”

MSNBC – Pictures of the Week – “NBC News Digital is a collection of innovative and powerful news brands that deliver compelling, diverse and visually engaging stories on your platform of choice. NBC News Digital features world-class brands including NBCNews.com, tv.msnbc.com, TODAY.com, theGrio.com, NBCLatino.com, NBCPolitics.com, Nightly News, Meet the Press, Rock Center, Dateline, Newsvine, Breaking News, and the existing apps and digital extensions of these respective properties. We provide something for every news consumer with our comprehensive offerings that deliver the best in breaking news, segments from your favorite NBC News shows, live video coverage, original journalism, lifestyle features, commentary and local updates. NBC News Digital reaches an audience of more than 58 million unique visitors who generate more than 1.2 billion page views and 140 million online video streams each month.”

New York Times – Lens Blog – “Photography, Visual and Video Journalism.”

Success Quotes:

“Success is balancing my career, my family life, my social life and my future.”
“I got into journalism because I wanted to see the world.”
“The one thing that separates amateur photographers from professional photographers is the way they handle light.”
“Photography is about capturing the moment.”

Special Requests:

Engage with us on Facebook, Twitter and leave reviews on the Defining Success Podcast in iTunes.

Zeb Welborn to Speak at Shark Boot Camp

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Honored to have been chosen to be a speaker at the Shark Boot Camp Event being held this Saturday, November 9 in Newport Beach. Because I have interviewed several of the entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank I’ll be on a panel where we’ll discuss how entrepreneurs can utilize bloggers, podcasters and bloggers to help promote their business.

Because I’ll be presenting, I have the opportunity to offer discounted pricing for this Shark Boot Camp Event. If you’re interested in attending for half-price please visit Zeb Welborn’s Shark Boot Camp Half-Priced Tickets.

Shark Boot Camp

The hit TV show has created overnight success and new ventures along with provided REAL LIFE learning for business owners.

Shark Tank, one of the most popular and successful reality television shows over the past four years, has been a launch pad for almost 250 new or expanding businesses. Season five recently started with some new combinations of Sharks on the panel joining the feeding frenzy.

On Saturday, November 9, from 9:00am till 5:00pm the largest gathering of alumni will share their experiences of being on the show and becoming an “overnight success.” This will be the second reunion held in Orange County and a sell out crowd is expected.

The TV panel of Sharks, all with a net worth in excess of $100 million, team with small to medium sized businesses that are seeking capital or strategic partnerships. This local all-day Boot Camp will provide panel discussion with alumni from the show along with individual presentations on what “worked”, what didn’t work, ideas of how to get on the show and getting picked (a Special Report of those tips is available at www.sharkbootcamp.com), plus presentations on guerilla marketing, social media and working with blogs. A real-world pitch session will be presented to real-world investors and the audience will be able to critique and learn from the contestants.

Local celebrity contestants including Shelly Ehler with ShowNo towels (www.showno.com), who will speak about the lessons learned both in businesses as well as life. Shelly’s “pitch” has been aired five times, and has been one of their most popular segments.

The all day admission fee is $97 and VIP packages are available for $147 which include personal one on one conversations and coaching from the alumni as well as a MasterMind lunch session. A portion of all registration fees will be shared with the Special Olympics in Orange County. The location will be at the Balboa Bay Club on Pacific Coast Highway in Newport Beach.

For more information about me and the speaking engagement, please visit the Speakers Page for the Shark Boot Camp Event and for half-priced tickets, please visit Zeb Welborn’s Shark Boot Camp Half-Priced Tickets.

Zeb Welborn

Episode 48: Tap Into an Existing Audience | Shark Tank Podcast Host – TJ Hale

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In Episode 48 of the Defining Success Podcast, TJ Hale, host of the Shark Tank Podcast shares how he got the idea for starting his podcast and why he decided to name his show the Shark Tank Podcast. Learn how you can tap into an existing audience to build a larger audience faster in this episode.

TJ Hale

TJ Hale is host of the Shark Tank Podcast. The Shark Tank Podcast is a place where you can come and listen to entrepreneurs tell the whole scoop. Details regarding their business, what really happened on the show, failures, setbacks, big wins, and in some cases what its like partnering with a multi-millionaire/billionaire investor.

TJ Hale was a commercial real estate broker and did some really big deals in the real estate business and when the economy changed he changed he knew he needed to change directions. He then moved into the tech arena and as he was working in the tech business, a good friend of his was experimenting with some online marketing. His friend continued to come up with ideas, but they never lasted very long and TJ kept making fun of him for his many failed ventures and his friend challenged him, asking him to give it a try. They then decided to hold each other accountable.

TJ began by doing research and learned that he thought he was best suited for podcasting. He then Googled how to do a podcast and decided to start the Shark Tank Podcast with its built-in audience and became very successful early on. By learning how to tap into an existing audience, TJ set himself up for success.

The Shark Tank Podcast was chosen by TJ because he knew that any online venture would take time before he could be seen as an expert . . . unless he could tap into an existing audience. He knew that by tapping into the audience of the Shark Tank he could be successful from the beginning.

TJ has learned a lot since he started his podcast. One of the things he’s been most amazed by is the willingness of people to provide information and to be helpful. One story he recalls comes from Cliff Ravenscraft who discusses about a podcast he started around the T.V. Show Lost. The first season he invited some friends over to watch the show and the next season he had to rent out a hotel ballroom in order to meet the demand for a viewing party. TJ likes talking to people and there is something about podcasting that he had a large enough impact that people were willing to buy a plane ticket to fly out to attend his viewing parties.

One thing TJ would change about his progress so far would be getting involved in Facebook. Early on he was very anti-Facebook, but he quickly learned that it was a great tool to connect with his listeners. TJ didn’t start on Facebook until a month ago and he’s glad he did because it changed his whole universe.

If you’re a beginning business person you need to talk to experts. Social media makes it so easy to connect with people.

TJ came from a family that was very skeptical and many people who are using social media are using it in a very sales promotional way which is not how social media should be used, but it turns many people off. When done the right way, social media can have tremendous benefits to any business.

The Shark Tank Podcast started it during Season 4 and this is the first season that he’s been able to interview people as soon as they’ve come off their show. He’s able to ask a lot of great questions to entrepreneurs about their experiences on the show.

The podcast features Shark Tank entrepreneurs and many people who are successful in the Shark Tank of life. The key to success is to continue striving right at the time of success. We focus on many of the negatives and the whole goal is to make us people of significance and not of success.

One of the coolest things that has come about because of the Shark Tank Podcast is that there are now numerous projects starting up to help small business owners. They are now trying to do community level Shark Tank events called the Guppy Tank and they’re doing all sorts of similar shows with many local people involved in the show. The compounding effect on small business is incredible.

There is a lot of great info to help people start a podcast because there are a lot of unknowns. If you plan on starting a podcast, you need a good microphone, but the rest you can do very inexpensively.

TJ Hale

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What existing audiences are available that you could tap into for your business?
What Facebook pages do you think are done extremely well?
What’s the best power connection you’ve made through social media?

Links to Great Stuff:

The Shark Tank Podcast – TJ Hale is the host of the Shark Tank Podcast. Shark Tank is the best reality show on T.V. & a great way for entrepreneurs to get valuable insight from extremely successful sharks. TJ helps take the Shark Tank experience to take the next level on the Shark Tank Podcast.
Cliff Ravenscraft – My goal is to help you create valuable and engaging podcasts that are so compelling that people will want to engage with you and your brand. Allow me to help you save hours, weeks, months or even years of research. Having the correct equipment and using it in the right way determines not only the quality of your podcasts, but how well your podcast converts listeners into subscribers and creates an engaged community.

Success Quotes:

“Success is that I’m the one who determines my own level of control in my life and I don’t surrender that to anyone else.”
“The nice thing about a podcast is that people do trust you.”
“If you’re thinking about doing something, just go out and do it. The worst that can happen is you screw up. Big deal.”
“If you want to be someone who is not just successful but also significant you’re going to put the time in offering value before you get anything in return.”
“You’re best thinking got you to where you are today.”
“People have great ideas all day long. It’s the one they choose to execute and how they choose to execute them that determines their success.”
“So many people are using social media the wrong way it gave me a bad taste in my mouth. It’s been incredibly valuable using it the right way.”
“I didn’t start on Facebook until a month ago . . . it’s changed my whole universe.”
“You’re offering it for free . . . you’re not selling it. You become someone they trust and like to associate with.”
“You’re someone they’re willing to put in their ears while they’re blasting their pecs at the gym.”
“If you’re going to start an online venture, it’s going to take you a while to become established as an expert if you don’t already have that customer base built-in.”
“In the Google Age you can teach yourself to do just about anything.”

Shark Tank Podcast

The Kingdom Net: Learning to Network Like Jesus

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The Kingdom Net: Learning to Network Like Jesus by Dr. Joseph Castleberry was recently made available and we’re excited to give the listeners of the Defining Success Podcast the opportunity to check it out.

If you’re interested in learning about marketing or becoming a marketing expert, it’s important to learn from the best. Jesus used networking not for his own selfish needs but to be of service to others. Dr. Joseph Castleberry explores the necessities of networking and how you can use it to apply to all aspects of your life in his new book.

The greatest networker in history was Jesus Christ. Beginning with a team of three close friends and a dozen followers, He created an organization that today has over 2 billion members.

Jesus networked for a single purpose: to introduce people to the kingdom of God. No product, service, or personal friendship can meet the needs of people more completely than ushering them into God’s rule. Jesus used networking to deliver to humanity the highest level of service that anyone has ever offered.

Regardless of your line of work, adopting the Jesus style of networking can take your life and career to a new level. By networking His way, you can achieve greater success in your career or professional life. You can enhance your personal life through building more and better friendships. You can find more significance in your life by ratcheting up the level and breadth of service you provide to others. Learning to network like Jesus will help you make the most of your life for God and for others.

The Kingdom Net

Episode 47: Network Like Jesus | Author Dr. Joseph Castleberry

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Dr. Joseph Castleberry shares his experience networking and connecting with new people in a variety of locations over his career. In his new book, The Kingdom Net: Learning to Network Like Jesus, he shares how Jesus was able to network and how you can network like Jesus for your business or career. Learn to network like Jesus in Episode 47 of the Defining Success Podcast!

Dr. Joseph Castleberry

Joseph Castleberry is the president of Northwest University. He enjoys writing, and his second popular book, The Kingdom Net: Learning to Network Like Jesus, launches in August, 2013. A native of Alabama, he came to the Pacific Northwest after a transcultural career that took him and his family to New Jersey, New York City, Texas, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Missouri before his soft landing on the banks of Lake Washington.

Dr. Joseph Castleberry started attending school at a very young age and at five years old, he knew that he had a strong connection with God and religion and he’s always been that way.

When Joseph was 12 years old he attended a camp and one student told everyone that God had called on him to preach and it really got his attention. Joseph then prayed to God and said that was what he wanted to do and from then on he began preaching. A few years later he came to his mother and knew that he wanted to preach to intellectual people.

He also had a strong calling to aid in poverty in Latin America and at 15 he traveled to Honduras and experienced the poverty in the area. Honduras was the poorest country in the hemisphere that year and he saw real human misery up close. He was amazed at the power of faith to help lift people up out of trouble, misery and poverty and he felt strongly attracted to Latin America.

In college, Dr. Castleberry fell in love with scholarship. He took Greek and Hebrew and began studying the Bible from a critical perspective and an academic perspective and felt a strong desire to become a professor.

At 21, a family tragedy struck and he was praying to God and he sensed God’s promise to him that he would some day be a college president. His first full-time job was a chaplain at Princeton University.

He then went to El Salvador as a missionary and taught classes at the University and planted a church in front of the Naitonal University and spent 20 years as a missionary in El Salvador, Ecuador and all over the Latin American region.

He had finished his doctorate from Columbia University during that time and came back as the academic dean in Missouri and five years later he was elected as the president of Northwest University in Washington.

One of my gifts was my ability to make friends and to keep them. And I had an ability to connect people to be able to help others become better.

Joseph had a strong desire to work with intellectuals and make a difference in the lives of poor people. He came from a poverty stricken family and he was the first person in his family to go to college and he had a connection with people who were struggling with poverty.

He spent his career in his academy and the other half of his time he spent building churches. The Latin American professional class is a delightful group of people with a hopeful view of the people. As a pasteur he was always good at getting them involved in helping poor individuals across Latin America.

As a pasteur in Ecuador, he started a church in a gated community, but the truth is that church had so many different ethnic groups and so many different socio-economic backgrounds. It was a really interesting mixture of people.

If you build your church around the culture of poor people, you will only reach poor people. If you build a church for the upper-middle class, you can reach everyone.

Joseph Castleberry came to Northwest University to be the president of the University and he didn’t know a soul when he moved there. He had no network at all and had to start meeting people really fast.

He joined rotary clubs and local organizations and he made friends and started developing more connections in his community.

If you look at Jesus’ own networking methods the very first people who he called upon were fishermen. He called upon them because fishermen were great networkers because they knew how to catch the fish, get them inland and then learned how to sell them. So they had experience at getting a product to market.

People think of networking as if someone is trying to get something from themselves. All of the networking Jesus did was seeing how he could serve other people. When people recognize that you have a heart of service, that’s where business is the most elegant.

There is good business and bad business. The person who does business in order to take advantage of people, they wind up paying the price in other ways because life is more than how much money you have.

Dr. Joseph Castleberry

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What do you think of business people?
What can you do to network like Jesus?
What are you doing to serve people?

Links to Great Stuff:

The Kingdom Net – “Jesus came to proclaim the Kingdom of God; he built the Kingdom Net to keep the word and work of God spreading.”

Success Quotes:

“Success means achieving the purpose for which you’re in the world.”
“The most dignified label a person can wear is employer.”
“Human beings need a purpose and a mission. They need something to accomplish and if they don’t have accomplishments, it’s impossible for them to be happy.”
“Nothing has ever taken anything from poverty to prosperity except by business.”
“If you’re going to be successful, it’s not going to come at the cost of your integrity, conscious and dignity.”
“The person who does business like a snake has to pay the penalty of being the snake.”
“Life is more than how much money you have.”
“Network with people in order to serve them.”
“Jesus was a master at working together with other people.”
“No one can buy into a message unless it’s marketed.”
“Why did Jesus choose fishermen to be their first disciples? They were networkers.”
“The greatest commandment is to love the lord your God with all your heart and then your neighbor as yourself.”
“Every person who has submitted themselves to the rule of God has entered the Kingdom of God.”
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was thrown into the world.”
“You currency does not go farther than your set of relationships. Your influence can not go further than your network.”
“Networking is connecting people who had something to offer with people who need things.”
“Any career is highly dependent on your ability to create connections.”
“No career could have been more in tune with who I am as a person.”
“I believed that God was leading me the whole way and I was always obedient to God’s purposes for me were.”

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Rate the Defining Success Podcast in iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909

Dr. Joseph Castleberry

World Wide Rave | FREE eBook from David Meerman Scott

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David Meerman Scott (Episode 46), author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR is offering his book, World Wide Rave free to anyone who is interested in generating positive word of mouth for any business.

Learn how to harness the power of the Internet to get people talking about you, your company and your products. Get people to visit your website because they genuinely want to be there and reap the rewards!

Take advantage of this opportunity to get your hands on this great book by David Meerman Scott for FREE!

“A World Wide Rave!

What the heck is that?

A World Wide Rave is when people around the world are talking about you, your company, and your products. It’s when communities eagerly link to your stuff on the Web. It’s when online buzz drives buyers to your virtual doorstep. It’s when tons of fans visit your Web site and your blog because they genuinely want to be there.

Rules of the Rave:

Nobody cares about your products (except you).
No coercion required.
Lose control.
Put down roots.
Point the world to your (virtual) doorstep.

You can trigger a World Wide Rave: Just create something valuable that people want to share and make it easy for them to do so.

What happens when people can’t stop talking online about you, your company, and your products? A World Wide Rave is born that can propel a brand or company to seemingly instant fame and fortune. How do you create one? By learning the secret to getting links, YouTube, Facebook, and blog buzz to drive eager buyers to your virtual doorstep. For free.

In World Wide Rave, David Meerman Scott, author of the award-winning hit book The New Rules of Marketing and PR, reveals the most exciting and powerful ways to build a giant audience from scratch.”

World Wide Rave by David Meerman Scott

Listen to Episode 46 with David Meerman Scott where he discusses Real-Time Marketing.

Episode 46: Real-Time Marketing | Author David Meerman Scott

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David Meerman Scott is a marketing strategist, advisor to emerging companies, best-selling author of eight books including three national best-sellers, and a professional speaker on topics including marketing, leadership, and social media. In Episode 46 of the Defining Success Podcast, David shares his ideas on real-time marketing and how you can use real-time marketing to help your business grow.

David Meerman Scott

David Meerman Scott wrote the New Rules of Marketing and PR and he’s helping businesses understand how the marketing world has shifted to giving and receiving instant feedback so you can be found online. In Episode 46 of the Defining Success Podcast, David Meerman Scott talks about Real-Time Marketing and its implication for the future.

David’s first job was at a Wall Street Street Bond Trading desk which he hated. He then began selling economic services to traders and he learned that he was really doing more marketing than he was selling. He then got a job in marketing for a company called Knight Ridder and he’s been a marketer ever since.

In 2002, David Meerman Scott worked for the News Edge Corporation was acquired by Thompson-Reuters and he was an officer and was asked to leave because they didn’t need the management team going forward and it gave him an opportunity to see what he wanted to do moving forward. At 39, he realized he could do some consulting on his own and in 2005, his second book was called Cashing in With Content and his most well-known book is the New Rules of Marketing and PR which has sold 300,000 copies.

Since 2007, David has been earning his income on the speaking market. He drifted from one point to another. David wasn’t afraid to do things that others said would be a mistake. And these events all worked out great for him. In 2002 when David decided to start his own thing and many people looked down on people who started their own businesses because it was seen as if you couldn’t find a real job.

Each of the things that paid off the most were risks that Scott took.

The old rules of marketing and PR were that you either had to buy attention for your business or yourself in the form of advertising, you had to convince media outlets to write about you or you had to reach customers individually through direct selling. The new rules of marketing and PR is the idea that on the web there are millions of people who are looking for things online to buy or do and they go to search engines or they ask their friends, colleagues and social networks. The organizations and the people that create the best content will be the ones that show up in search engines and the more likely friends are to share them.

The New Rules of Marketing & PR Fourth Edition

The New Rules of Marketing and PR is about how to create content. World Wide Rave is another book by David Meerman Scott and in the last year, David has made his book completely free, and to get it search for World Wide Rave. David wrote another book called Real-Time Marketing and PR. When people are making purchasing decisions, they are doing it right now and his book is designed to show how to engage people in real-time. Most companies and organizations are focused on campaign marketing and most companies are doing that exclusively.

The idea of marketing is switching it around from doing it when a business is ready to when the customers are ready. News Jacking is the art and science of turning your ideas into a news story. It provides really cool ideas on how you can create something that people will see because you’re piggy-backing off of a breaking news story.

David gives 35 speeches a year all over the world. This month, David is traveling to Cairo and Cutter and he’ll be gone for six days. In November, he’s traveling to Buenos Aires and Istanbul.

The biggest mistake David sees companies make is that they talk about themselves way too much. And that doesn’t work in today’s world.

It’s very important to create content on the web. To have a great website, to have real-time content around that website, whether it’s a blog or YouTube videos and it’s important to put yourself out there on the web and through social networking.

Facebook has only been open since 2007. Twitter has only been around since 2007. It’s important for businesses to understand what this means for them and their future.

David Meerman Scott

Engaging Discussion Questions:

Do you interact with your customers in Real-Time?
Are you creating content on the web? If so, how?

Links to Great Stuff:

David Meerman Scott – “David’s book The New Rules of Marketing & PR opened people’s eyes to the new realities of marketing and public relations on the Web. Six months on the BusinessWeek bestseller list and published in 26 languages from Bulgarian to Vietnamese, New Rules, now in its 4th edition, is a modern business classic. Scott’s popular blog and hundreds of speaking engagements around the world give him a singular perspective on how businesses are implementing new strategies to reach buyers.”

Success Quotes:

“Success is creating a path that allows you to enjoy life.”
“Social media is about engaging people.”
“Social media is about listening.”
“Social media is about sharing the content you create elsewhere.”
“The way that people are solving other people’s problems on the web.”
“No matter what you’re doing you’re gaining incredible knowledge, you’re learning and interacting with people.”
“Everything that I’ve done all pointed me to where I am now so I don’t have any regrets.”
“Create the content that will be valuable to the people you’re trying to reach.”
“You need to be helpful on the web that will be beneficial to people.”
“The New Rules of Marketing and PR is the idea that on the web there are millions of people who are looking for things online to buy.”
“It’s the organizations and the people that create the best content that generate the higher search engine results and promoted in social networks.”
“The New Rules of Marketing and PR is that the better your content is the more attention you drive to yourself and to your business.”
“If you’re blogging, creating videos and active on social networks than you’re more likely to get noticed than someone who isn’t.”
“I enjoy helping people and being able to interact with people and share ideas.”
“I wasn’t scared to do things that people actually told me were a mistake.”

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Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, of by leaving reviews on our iTunes page! Find us anywhere by searching for the Defining Success Podcast!

Bunkers Paradise Charity Golf Tournament at San Dimas Canyon Golf Course

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Bunkers Paradise held their first annual Bunkers Paradise Charity Golf Tournament for the Special Olympics of Southern California at San Dimas Canyon Golf Course on Sunday, October 13.

For a first year tournament, Bunkers Paradise had close to 50 golfers playing for the Special Olympics of Southern California, including two previous guests of the Defining Success Podcast, Ken Lee (Episode 9) and Kate Hughes (Episode 26).

Ken Lee is the Editor-in-Chief of Bunkers Paradise and worked with San Dimas Canyon Golf Course to help put on the event. Welborn Media and 19th Hole Media are currently working with San Dimas Canyon Golf Course on their social media presence. Check out the San Dimas Canyon Facebook page to see how we can help build and grow the online presence of any golf course. Surprisingly enough, with the help of Gary Christman, Kenny Donovan and Mike Quiroz, the Welborn Media and 19th Hole Media ended up shooting a 14-under par to tie for the lead at the tournament and each of us won brand new Cleveland XL Drivers thanks to the folks at Bunkers Paradise.

Kate Hughes was in attendance as a contributor to Bunkers Paradise and an advocate of the Special Olympics and golf. All in all, the tournament was a great success and we were happy to be a part of it! Even happier that we ended up winning the first ever Bunkers Paradise Charity Golf Tournament!

Episode 45: Listen to Your Market | Steve Fluke from EZee Golf

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Steve Fluke, President of EZee Golf discusses how important it is to listen to your market. EZee Golf is a new sport with golf clubs that don’t require a swing to knock the ball down the fairway. In order to become successful, Steve has had to listen to his target market to adjust their business strategy to grow their business.

Steve Fluke

Steve Fluke is the president of EZeeGolf.com. EZeeGolf is an exciting new sport that is fun and easy to play. Their club’s patented design helps those with physical limitations to now enjoy the game of golf on any sized course!

Steve Fluke started as a junior golfer and his grandfather got him playing the game and it was love at first swing and Steve has been involved in golfing ever since.

Steve played golf as an amateur and as a professional. Steve got his first hole-in-one at 15 years old and never looked back.

Steve knew he was a good player, but knew he wasn’t good enough to take his game to the next level. He became a teaching golfing professional for 5 years and he started a golf company in the telecommunications business designed to serve the golfing community.

He then became the President of EZee Golf, invented by Roy H. Taylor . . . It’s a self-propelled golf club that you can use to hit between 50 and 250 yards. It’s golf course friendly meaning no divots and no swing is required to use the club. Basically, you insert the power strip into a club which can propel the golf ball down the fairway.

The club is perfect for people who loved the game, but can’t play it like they used to, for people with disabilities, or people who would like to learn how to play the game.

One success story from EZee Golf was a lady who used to play with her husband but had to quit because of her shoulder and now she’s back out there playing with her husband. Another great story is from a stroke survivor, Greg who goes out all the time to play. Another success story is a gentleman who bought the club for himself, but soon realized that his blind son could use it and enjoy the game.

Once people get out on the golf course using EZee Golf, Steve sees golfers learning how to play the game using EZee Golf and so they can learn the game and then develop their skills to actually go out and play traditional golf on the golf course.

At impact, when you press the action button of the EZee Golf club it feels the same as if you were hitting the ball with a traditional golf club.

Steve and EZee Golf present the product as a new game which is different from the traditional game of golf. One piece of advice Steve would give to businesses would be to listen to your market. They needed to learn how the golf community would embrace the product.

One thing Steve anticipated that didn’t really happen was that golf courses would embrace EZee Golf much faster than they have by seeing it as an opportunity to increase rounds. They learned how to present baby steps to golf courses to give them the opportunity to learn how to grow the game of golf.

A big concern for Steve Fluke and EZee Golf is making the product mainstream and building awareness of the product.

Golfers play as good as they normally did when they were playing golf regularly. Steve Fluke himself shot a 4-under par. And most of the time it’s 14 out of 14 fairways for Steve.

I was talking to a friend the other day about the latest news for fantasy golf and my friend recommended I check out FanDuel, I must say I was very impressed.

Steve Fluke

Engaging Discussion Questions:

How do you listen to your target market?
Would you like to try and play EZee Golf?

Links to Great Stuff:

EZee Golf – “EZeeGolf is an exciting new sport that is fun and easy to play. Our club’s patented design helps those with physical limitations to now enjoy the game of golf on any sized course!”

Success Quotes:

“There is a very large section of our population that would like to enjoy golf if it wasn’t so difficult.”
“Success is to have EZee Golf enjoyed where traditional golf is enjoyed worldwide.”

Special Requests:

Please rate and review the Defining Success Podcast in iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-success-podcast/id619459909

Episode 44: Build a Buffer When Starting a New Business | Bridget Brady from TheVoiceGenius.com

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Bridget Brady can help you make money online and can help you improve your voice for presentations. She discusses how to build a buffer when you’re becoming an entrepreneur and finding a realistic way to starting a new business.

Bridget Brady

Bridget Brady runs two successful companies, moreonlineincome.com and thevoicegenius.com. She is a speaker, trainer, author, singer, actor, voice expert, and a presentation and sales authority. She has also worked as an actor, singer and project manager in New York and Los Angeles.

Bridget was doing a lot of work in Corporate America. She spent 15 years in Corporate American prison as a software developer and project manage and spent 7 years in Wall Street. She worked in Wall Street during the day and was a theater girl at night.

Bridget left her job in Corporate America because she never felt fully-fulfilled and from 7 to 10 years it worked out really well and she like it, but after 7 or 10 years she started waking up with a pit of despair thinking about going into her cubicle for 10 hours. She knew it was something she couldn’t do anymore and she thought to herself there must be a way to make money.

She knew she wanted to make money to live a lifestyle she loved and have the freedom to pursue what it is she wanted to do. She stumbled upon the idea of starting a new business by owning her own Internet business and it gave her the freedom the way she thought it would. She works from home, works when she wants to and doesn’t work when she doesn’t want to.

Bridget helps people make online incomes and she actually sets people up with affiliate websites, and helps them develop strategies to make money online. Bridget meets a lot of people who think they can just jump into the online world and start making money right away, but that’s not the case. It takes a lot of work to make money online.

If you talk to any of the amazing thought leaders and successful thought leaders in the market. They will tell you that being an entrepreneur is not easy and it takes a lot of work. The beauty of an online business is that it’s a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year way to bring in money, but it takes a lot of work.

An online business is just like a brick and mortar business and it requires a lot of work to make it happen. The difference between an online business and an offline business is there is much more freedom with an online business than a brick and mortar business.

Bridget encourages people who are interested in starting a new business online is to get a mentor.

Bridget Brady

Bridget Brady also has a voice and sales training company. Her business grew out of a gap she saw in the sales and training business. She learned to harness her speaking skills and there are many classes and courses that will teach you how to sing and act. She learned how to help speakers have a more powerful voice and how to use that voice to help sell their product and services.

The biggest mistake people make vocally is speaking and using their voice from their throat and having the voice initiate from their vocal chords as opposed to using their entire body and instrument to help them speak. She hears a lot of people speaking from their throat. That is the biggest mistake she sees people make.

The biggest mistake Bridget made was that when she started her entrepreneurial career was that she didn’t set up herself for success as an entrepreneur. Starting a new business is not easy, when she started her entrepreneurial career she had been let go from her job and she had no buffer to start her entrepreneurial journey.

Bridget went through some difficult years and it was a difficult time for her. For anyone who is thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, save money so you can have some money set aside to start your entrepreneurial journey. A lot of the people who Bridget coaches make a substantial amount of money very quickly doing things online.

She is a real life full-time entrepreneur and she’s extremely proud.

Bridget Brady

Engaging Discussion Questions:

Have you ever thought about being an entrepreneur?
How important do you think having a strong voice is in business?
Have you tried to make money online? What are your thoughts on making money online?

Links to Great Stuff:

MoreOnlineIncome.com – She has helped 1000’s of people earn money online,
and can teach you to do the same!
TheVoiceGenius.com – Bridget Brady ~ aka, “The Voice and Sales Genius” is a Speaker, Trainer, Author, Singer, Actor, Voice Expert, Presentation and Sales Authority. She spent 10 years doing theatre in New York City, 12 years as an actor and singer in Los Angeles, as well as 15 years working as a Project Manager in Corporate America (including 7 years on Wall Street in New York).

Success Quotes:

“My success is based on how many people I’ve helped.”
“Success is living a life of my choosing.”
“Entrepreneurs are changing the world.”
“Your vocal chords are about the size of a standard paper clip.”
“Find someone who is making money using the Internet…and have someone who knows how to make money online help you get started.”
“The Internet is a golf mine if you know how to extract the gold.”

Sushant Misra from TrepTalks.com Interviewed Me!

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I was recently interviewed by Sushant Misra from TrepTalks.com.

Sushant Misra

“Sushant Misra is an entrepreneurship evangelist, accomplished serial entrepreneur, dynamic speaker, published author, syndicated columnist, and philanthropist. Sushant is best known for founding and hosting Trep Talks, a web based video interview show featuring successful digital entrepreneurs. Sushant is also an experienced eCommerce professional. He is the founder of Yogamatstore.com and has helped Canadian retail giant Hudson’s Bay grow their eCommerce business. Sushant is a seasoned Yoga and Energy practitioner and has lived in 4 countries on 3 continents. – See more at: http://treptalks.com/about/#sthash.0lOJivHD.dpuf”

I had a great time being interviewed by Sushant as he asked me how I made the decision to get into business for myself and my progression as a business owner to where I am at today. Sushant has interviewed many successful entrepreneurs, including Tim Ferriss, author of the 4-Hour Work Week.

I’d love for you to check out the interview and leave your feedback for Sushant and share your thoughts on the article with us on the Defining Success Podcast Facebook page!

Check out TrepTalks.com, tell Sushant Zeb sent you and listen to my interview with Sushant titled, How A High School History Teacher Started A Successful Social Media Business? – Zeb Welborn

“Zeb Welborn is the President of Welborn Social Media and The Tutoring Solution. He helps passionate business owners become successful by harnessing the power of the Internet to reach more potential customers and develop stronger relationships with current customers. Zeb is also the founder and host of Defining Success Podcast.

For more information about Zeb Welborn, visit Welborn Social Media, or email him directly – Zeb@WelbornSocialMedia.com“

Episode 43: New Businesses Must Set Goals | Will Mitchell from StartupBros

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Will Mitchell is a serial entrepreneur. Learn from Will why new businesses must set goals in order to become successful. Learn how Will has implemented goal setting in his businesses to build more effective, successful companies.

Will Mitchell, StartupBros, Zeb Welborn, Defining Success Podcast, Businesses Must Set Goals, Entrepreneur

Will Mitchell from StartupBros

Will Mitchell is the owner and co-founder of StartupBros. He has been an internet entrepreneur since he started skipping school to build businesses in the 6th grade. After numerous business engagements at 22. Will launched StartupBros, a community for aspiring entrepreneurs to learn from like-minded people.

Will started skipping school to start businesses when he was way too young. He had a lot of failures and through his failures he has achieved some success. Will became interested in business at 12 or 13 years old and he started skipping school because he became disenchanted with it. He saw a lot of potential in business and he knew that was where he wanted to be.

When he was younger, Will started importing goods from China and became very successful until China banned the exporting of the product he was importing. He then went on to start a business called FashionBidder.com, an eBay for fashion, which didn’t go very well. He the started a clothing company which also didn’t go very well.

The realization that came to him which helped him overcome his business failures was that he realized that he needed to create value for other people which he wasn’t doing with his previous businesses. All the business ideas he had that failed were ideas that he thought were cool, but they weren’t ideas that would help anyone.

StartupBros are trying to help as many new entrepreneurs as possible. They are pulling in people who were successful on their own and they take their knowledge and break it down to see what they would have done if they could start all over again.

Will has some clients that they help one-on-one, a mastermind that will help students, a new book that they’re hoping to sell and they’re offering a new product on how to import services.

The #1 thing Will would tell people is to create value for people first and foremost and then learn to create ways to make money off of the value you’re giving to others.

The biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make online is because they don’t actually know where they go or what they are trying to accomplish as they are working. Knowing where he wants to be in 5 years and 10 years helps him become more consistent. Businesses must set goals in order to be successful.

Will has set goals at different times of his life. He wants to get StartupBros to the point where they can continually teach entrepreneurs how to succeed.

Will works with entrepreneurs in a one-on-one scenario, but he’s hoping to convince more people to connect with the products and services he’s offering through StartupBros.

The biggest mistake Will had was losing his business focus. He considered going into politics and it made him very cynical. Learning to not let the world impact him as much has made him a better person.

Will was involved in a company called influence.org which went public and he was very happy about that. StartupBros is the first business project that is connected with his personality and he’s very proud of what he built.

Will Mitchell

Engaging Discussion Questions:

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?
What do you think it takes to be an entrepreneur?

Links to Great Stuff:

StartupBros – “The only way to achieve success and freedom from corporate machine is to READ OUR BLOG POSTS! Well, maybe that’s a lie… but really, you need to learn how to leverage your knowledge and the knowledge of others and turn it into value and a cash income.”
Affluence.org – “Affluence is a private social network where accomplished individuals connect, share information, and engage in meaningful conversations. Our members also enjoy exclusive, high-quality content and feature advice from industry experts on subjects such as art, technology and travel.”

Success Quotes:

“As entrepreneurs you have to force yourself to live outside of the world around you.”
“That’s a big disconnect is being able to connect the value you create and the money you make.”
“Success is accomplishing a goal.”

Special Requests:

Rate and Review the Defining Success Podcast in iTunes!

StartupBros

Rey Ybarra’s Conversations with Shark Tank Winners Book Launch

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Rey Ybarra, (Episode 31) invited me out to the Conversations with Shark Tank Winners book launch in the Northern Trust Bank in downtown Los Angeles on September 17, 2013. The event was attended by many people who had appeared on Shark Tank, including, Jennie Nigrosh from the Green Garmento, Jim Tselikis from Cousins Maine Lobster, Brandon Marz from Marz Sprays, Aly Lessor from Cozy Bug, T.J. Hale, the host of the Shark Tank Podcast, and many other successful entrepreneurs and business owners.

Rey Ybarra Conversations with Shark Tank Winners Book Launch Zeb Welborn

Rey Ybarra and Zeb Welborn

The event was a blast, as we got to mingle with some of the Shark Tank entrepreneurs and we even had a panel discussion with several of the business owners themselves where they shared how they got on the show, the impact the show has had on their businesses and how excited they were to be in Rey’s new multimedia book.

Rey appeared in Episode 31 of the Defining Success Podcast where he shared with our listeners the stories of failure and success that the entrepreneurs who appeared on Shark Tank have faced. Because we got along so well and Rey valued my opinion, he asked me to review his book before the launch. You can see my book review of Conversations with Shark Tank Winners here – http://www.sharktankeffect.com/book-reviews.

I feel very fortunate to have met Rey Ybarra and those who have appeared on the show Shark Tank. Rey’s book has a lot of very interesting insights about the guest who have appeared on the hit ABC Reality TV Show Shark Tank and I’d definitely recommend Conversations with Shark Tank Winners to any entrepreneur looking to build a successful business.

Thank you Rey for including me and giving me the opportunity to interview you, to invite me to your book launch and for all the kind words and exposure you’ve given to the Defining Success Podcast. Great job!

Episode 42: Engagement vs. Automation | Rick Mulready from the Inside Social Media Podcast

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In Episode 42 of the Defining Success Podcast, Rick Mulready shares his thoughts and ideas on social media for small and medium-sized businesses. During our conversation we discuss the pros and cons of engagement and automation. We also discuss the power of social media and how building genuine, authentic relationships can help grow any business.

Rick Mulready

Rick Mulready is the host of the Inside Social Media Podcast. His podcast is a place to learn secrets, insights and strategies from heads of social media for some of the most powerful brands in the world.

Rick has been in the Internet marketing world for 12 years. He spent 5 years at AOL in Virginia. He moved to the West Coast after that and spent 2 years at Yahoo as an advertiser. After Yahoo, he went to Vibrant Media and then he went to Funny or Die and went back to Vibrant. While Rick was at Funny or Die, he saw that there was a minimum spend that people had to invest in order to advertise, but it left a lot of small businesses out. At that time Rick saw Facebook starting to grow and he began to see the opportunities that small business could have in Facebook. He jumped into Facebook advertising and taught himself everything he could about it.

During a flight, Rick was listening to a podcast with Gary Vaynerchuk who recommended two publications, Advertising Age, so you can get the big brand perspective and TechMe.com so you can get the perspective of what’s going on in the tech world. Rick then saw that there was an opportunity to reach out to big brand companies and help share what big brands were doing in social media with small businesses.

Rick Mulready

The whole purpose of Rick’s podcast comes from a Tony Robbins quote where he finds someone who’s doing something successful and then copy what they’re doing. Rick has been able to show his listeners what big brands are doing and how they can apply that to their small business.

Rick built up a large safety net, and had a lot of planning. The job that Rick was doing paid really well, but he wasn’t happy, so he saved up a lot of money and made the jump to running the podcast. He is working with clients showing them how they can achieve their business goals through social media.

As an advertiser, Rick didn’t like the way the advertising industry was set up because no matter how hard you worked you always were striving to meet new goals which Rick found very taxing.

Rick loves Twitter because it allows Rick to have quick conversations with people he wants to have conversations with. It also allows Rick to listen to conversations that are going on in the social media world where he can jump in, engage and add value wherever he can. Rick does enjoy Facebook advertising more than he loves Facebook itself.

Too many people don’t understand Facebook advertising and there is a great opportunity to reach out to highly targeted customers if you can understand and grasp how Facebook advertising works.

A common mistake many people make in social media is that they go out there and they start yelling. Another common mistake is that people spread themselves too thin, get overwhelmed and then say social media doesn’t work.

Rick recommends finding one or two platforms that you love using and then stick with those and really dive in and engage deeply. If you can do that you’ll soon see immense benefits in your business.

Rick says that some businesses may not even need social media and it may not be the best platform for them to get their business goals. He recommends that businesses first establish goals and then determining the best course of action to reach their goals. The explanation starts with what is your goal and then work backwards.

There are two trends that are really important. Listening and engaging with you customers and using social media as an opportunity to serve your customers. A lot of brands get it really well and many do not. Rick says that in the future, location based social media marketing will take place, meaning that when you arrive at a destination, deals and discounts will be sent to people’s smart phones in an attempt to drive business. Another trends that Rick sees is these short videos which can be used to tell a story for a business.

Rick says that the people who are automating their message are missing the point of social media. One of the big problems people who jump onto social media face is dealing with automation vs. engagement. The point of social media is to develop genuine relationships designed to lead to sales, and not to continually blast your sales message. People do business with people they know, like and trust. Show them they can know, like and trust you by authentically engaging with them.

When working with a business, Rick starts to figure out their goals and if social media can help them achieve their goals, you have to know what social media platform would be the best for them. Learn your target market, figure out their goal and then learn how to be there.

The podcast has been working very well for Rick Mulready and the podcast was something he never thought he would be doing. He’s always loved interviewing people and he still doesn’t know much about it, but a lot of people pushed him to start it. And Rick understands that the podcast is a great way to connect with people.

The first episodes Rick launched were with the social media managers of Ford, McDonald’s and City. He loves doing interviews and gets pumped up after he has an interview with people.

Rick Mulready

Engaging Discussion Questions:

What is your favorite social media platform?
What do you think of Vine and Instagram videos?
What is the best way to connect with potential customers on social media?

Links to Great Stuff:

Inside Social Media Podcast – “Through this blog and my podcast Inside Social Media, I give you inside access to heads of social media from the most successful brands in the world, as well as the smartest social media influencers around.”

Success Quotes:

“Success is having control of your time and being able to set how you spend that time.”
“If you’re automating your message and not really having that personalized conversation with people, they pick up on that very quickly.”
“Remember that it’s just as easy to unfollow someone in social media as it is to follow them and to remember that.”
“I like Twitter because it allows me to engage with my target audience and my customers the best.”
“Too many people get on social media and just start shouting.”

Episode 41: Take Action and Adjust Along the Way | Lain Ehmann from Layoutaday.com

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Lain Ehmann does a lot of work online in the scrapbooking industry where she does online events, webinars, and has been able to monetize that to make a very successful business for herself. In Episode 41 of the Defining Success Podcast Lain discusses how she’s been able to build a massive online following and been able to monetize her online efforts through event, webinars, and more. When Lain first started she had no idea on the direction her business would take her, but she’d advice anyone interested in starting a new business to take action and adjust along the way.

Lain Ehmann

Lain is a fast-talking, fast-scrapping human dynamo with three kids, tons of ideas, and more books than she could ever read in this lifetime. The author of several books on scrapbooking, including “Snippets: Mostly True Tales from the Lighter Side of Scrapbooking” and “20 Simple Secrets of Happy Scrapbookers” (co-authored with Stacy Julian), Lain loves sharing her philosophy of guilt-free, simple scrapbooking.

Lain Ehmann got involved in scrapbooking shortly after her son was born. Lain was a freelance journalist who mostly wrote on business and finance. She was invited to a Scrapbooking party where people bought and shared scrapbooking ideas and she fell in love with scrapbooking. She was also a born story-teller and scrapbooking fit in very well with her passion. She started working less and less in journalism and she began writing more and more in scrapbooking magazines. She began teaching classes and then dove headfirst into scrapbooking as her career.

The scrapbooking magazines that Lain were working for were declining and eventually both magazines she was working for folded and so, she was without a job. She started a blog as a way to keep in touch with the people she was meeting as she was meeting at scrapbooking conventions. She saw that a lot of knitters were doing webinars and she spent a year learning about Internet marketing, podcasting and hosting and in May 2010 she launched her website layoutaday.com.

The favorite thing Lain enjoys doing is live events which have really become the cornerstone of her online presence. She does live virtual events and every month she puts on a scrapinar, a free monthly education session that is centered around a video training in a state-of-the-art webroom. They use Cisco’s webex event center that Cisco uses for its international sales meetings. It’s very robust and steady and is a great platform for everything they want to do.

They do video trainings once a month where Lain gets on the camera live and either provides some kind of training or announces someone who is going to give the training. The training session is recorded, there is live chat and people arrange their schedule in order to attend the virtual event live.

In addition to her monthly session, several times a year she puts on larger events with 15 or 16 instructors in two days. Lain serves as the host, produces the event and features the instructors. It’s kind of like a Scrapapalooza.

Scrapbooking companies love the event because companies can’t be everywhere and this live event gives them access to scrapbookers all over the world. These companies are allowed to target their customers like never before during these live events that Lain holds several times a year.

In the chatroom, people will chat and you get immediate feedback that you can not get in any other way and people love it. The instructors can get the replay again and instructors can see where people were engaged and where they lost momentum.

Lain Ehmann

If you live in rural Ohio, the idea of traveling to a foreign city to attend an event is a barrier for a lot of people. Lain realized she could bring instructors to people. Scrapbookers have a lot of stuff and it becomes difficult to transport. With these online virtual events, people can enjoy, chat and scrapbook along with others. It’s really a lot of fun and they enjoy the live virtual events.

When you go to an online event there are no clicks, everyone is talking to everyone and it’s very friendly, open and supportive.

Many people find Lain online through social media. She does a lot of YouTube videos, search engine optimization, relationship marketing, affiliate marketing, and podcasting.

Lain Ehmann has multiple streams of income:

Several big events a year where attendees pay to attend.
Monthly scrapinars are free to attend, but after a month, Lain charges her customers to get access to the content.
A membership site, scraphappy.org where people pay a monthly fee to have access to the site.
Sponsorship opportunities

It seems like Lain does a lot of work, but she’s been really good at establishing repeatable systems. She’s also been fortunate enough to hire people who have been able to help her manage the workload.

Lain started with one product, the layout a day class that she offered several times a year. Originally she did it for free and didn’t see it as a big revenue generator and things began to evolve over time. Things began gradually improving from there in order to get more customers and make more revenue for her business. Everything grew from the natural progression of the business with people offering suggestions for improvement and Lain seized those opportunities and has been able to grow a successful business as a result.

Lain is most proud of bringing a group of passionate scrapbookers together who are willing to help each other learn and grow. People know that they are going to come to Lain and get a dose of positivity.

In the future, Lain hopes to take the events she’s doing and model that for companies and manufacturers to reach her audience. She has a large audience of scrapbookers who listen and follow her and there are companies that want access to that. She can create these live events for companies and bring it to her audience.

Sometimes there is a tendency to look for the cheapest way to do anything and when I started I wish I didn’t do that. The first live event I held was the cheapest and she had a problem with it. But, finding people you trust for advice and investing where they tell you to invest.

A layout is a scrapbook page with the photos on it, also known as a scrapbook page. A month-long class where she started a layout a day which she’s built on since to incorporate more of her business.

If you’re interested in hosting your own live events, Lain recommends taking a look at your audience and what you’re trying to accomplish to determine the best route to take when starting your live events/webinar. Write down what you have to have and find the solution for that. Once you find a handful of solutions, test them out to make sure it works before you do your event.

Lain Ehmann

Engaging Discussion Questions:

Have you ever attended a webinar?
What are your thoughts on scrapbooking?
Have you been procrastinating to take action? Why or why not?

Links to Great Stuff:

Layout a Day – “Take a helping of Rachael Ray, a sprinkle of Martha Stewart, and a dash of Ellen DeGeneres, shake well until blended, and what do you get? Lain Ehmann, scrapbook lover!”
Scrap Happy – “Want to Join the Happiest Group of Scrapbookers on the Interner? Well, We’d Love to Have You!”
Layout a Day: The Simple Scrapbooking Podcast – “Professional scrapbooker, author, and instructor Lain Ehmann talks the scrappy talk. Simple scrapbooking advice, fun stuff, updates, and more!”
Scrapbook Expo – The Premier Scrapbook Show
Weekly Scrapper – For the Everyday Scrapper

Success Quotes:

“Success is knowing what your passion is, working hard and helping other people through that.”
“Start by finding mentors, experts or coaches and following their advice.”
“Life is good, even if it’s not perfect.”
“A lot of it was really listening to my audience, hearing what resonated with them and doing more of that.”
“My number 1 goals was to make enough money so I didn’t have to go to work in an office.”
“These scrapinars allow the instructor or manufacturers to reach customers all over the world.”

Special Requets: