Author: Derek Bingham

    TPP: 013 John Lee Dumas on Igniting Sparks of Business Inspiration with Entrepreneur On Fire
    26 Apr

    TPP: 013 John Lee Dumas on Igniting Sparks of Business Inspiration with Entrepreneur On Fire

    Derek Bingham 4

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download

    john lee dumas on the passive podcast

    It’s all about coming up with an idea, building it from scratch and making sure that people will get something from it. This article is about the life and journey of someone who did not only create a nation but also helped others in becoming a full time, effective entrepreneur.

    John Lee Dumas is our main protagonist and he is the “Man on Fire”. Figuratively speaking.

    John is the host and the founder of Entrepreneur On Fire. The interview that I just did with him was a combination of enlightenment and amazement.

    He’s simply brilliant! What made the chitchat more incredible is that John has shown different sides of him that makes you feel like it’s possible to become anything you want for as long as you believe you can make it and you have the right tools for it.

    He’s an embodiment of energy, positivity, and personality. He’s the man to go to for basic resources for podcasters, entrepreneurs and those who just have the knack for achieving their goals in life.

    Seriously, this interview will just blow your mind.

    Starting with the Journey

    Entrepreneur on fire on the passive podcastWho’s the man behind the success and how in the world was he able to create an iconic theme?

    John was just an ordinary guy who used to live an ordinary life. Before becoming who he is now, he was a different person who never imagined that he could establish something from a spark of idea that occurred while driving through heavy traffic. 

    John Lee Dumas was a student of Providence College. After graduating, he joined the Army and was handpicked to become an officer. He served in the US Army as a platoon leader and was designated in Iraq for 13 months. After that, he became a reserve for four years and an active member for three years. When he retired from the Army, he decided to do what others are expected to do – get a job.

    First, he went to law school. It did not take one semester for him to finally figure out that law school was never his calling in life. So he went to Boston, got a job at John Hancock and was assigned in finance. It was corporate so maybe, it would be sufficient. However, after a few years, John flew to the jungle “where dreams are made of” – the Big Apple. He got a job in a technical company and enjoyed what NYC could offer. Still, there was something that didn’t make sense. 

    Podcast Revelation

    john lee dumas interview with Derek Bingham

    John kept on traveling, looking for his passion far and wide, until he made it to San Diego, California where he became a real estate agent. That was around 2009. Because the work entailed a lot of driving, John tried to find a way to entertain himself while “allowing time to pass” in events of devastating traffic. One of his friends suggested that he indulge in listening to podcasts. At first, John was apprehensive. He doesn’t have the slightest idea what a podcast is and how it would be a form of “entertainment”. 

    He did some research and finally, it ended up quite well. He thought that podcasts are fantastic. He saw an opportunity from the engaging and free content of podcasts that he started to focus himself on the mainstreams and led on to other forms. 

    Flicker of Inspiration

    EOFIRE on The Passive PodcastIndulging in other forms of podcasts made John realize that he has found something noteworthy: there is an immense world of amazing podcasts yet none has offered reliable content on a daily basis.

    John rummaged through numerous contents and recognized a specific problem that he could solve. He thought that if he was having a hard time going through specific podcasts, others are also experiencing the same difficulty. John’s love for listening to different kinds of entrepreneurial interviews talking about creating niches and businesses led him to create a podcast that mainly focused on entrepreneurial failures and triumphs.

    Thus, Entrepreneur On Fire was born.

    A Sole Purpose

    Entrepreneur On  Fire has one main goal: to motivate and inspire millions. John has directed all his energy towards his passion of sharing success stories to people who doesn’t have a single clue on what to do or how to start.

    Keeping the Fire Alive

    In September, 2012, John launched his Entrepreneur On Fire.

    The moment John started his website, he never looked back. He just kept on doing what he loves and enjoyed every minute of it. The seed grew into an emblem of desire to create relevant and targeted content every waking day. John was just so absorbed to what he’s doing that he invested his time and effort without noticing long hours of work passing by. He wanted to fulfill his goal of providing what he thought was of value and eventually gained fans and followers who would most likely benefit in John’s search for in-depth information about different entrepreneurs.

    Establishing a Fire Nation

    It didn’t John long enough to realize that his predicted followers and fans who have minds and beliefs like his would be aware of his site’s existence. These dedicated people supported John’s vision and made him believe that somehow, he was on the right path. Soon, John was made visible to various social networking sites and gained an iTunes award. Since then, the number of his fans just kept on growing.

     

    On Taking the Entrepreneurial Leap

    john-lee-dumas-fear-600x400

    John Lee Dumas’ main intention was to move people. He was searching for something and finally found it just by knowing what is lacking. As an entrepreneur, you must recognize a need. It may or may not be included in a person’s basic need or it may not be what the majority would find useful but it could definitely be something that is of great value to the minority. Mind you, the minority is a very, very promising crowd.

    Offer something out-of-the-ordinary, something that people have never experienced before. There might be others that have similar concepts and are doing what you’re doing but at least, you have bragging rights to pride yourself on something unique and useful.

    Most of all, build something out of passion and not just out of popularity. If you do something which you love and can create a certain joy inside you of, then you’ll never feel weary of what you’re doing. Feed it with your time and effort minus the feeling or regret or uncertainty. People should not only get inspired but also take action and you can only have them do that if they are equipped with the proper knowledge and vast resources.

    If you have all these, you know, like John Lee Dumas, you’re on the right track.

     

    Show Notes

     

    Links

     

    Tag Line

    • Inspiring Millions!

     

    Recommended Books

     

    Today’s Quote

    • “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.” – Earl Nightingale

     

    Action To Take

    • JUST START!

     

     

    11 Apr

    TPP 012: Douglas Smythe Has a Cutting Edge Online Business with Blades and Mustaches

    Derek Bingham 2

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download

    2

    Spoiler Alert: This is a gender-sensitive selection. On the entrepreneurial aspect, whether you’re a man or a woman, you would be able to gather some insight on how to have a humble number of followers and eventually creating massive traffic.

    Let’s talk about facial hair.

    You’ve read that right – facial hair. One of the most fascinating discoveries found on the internet is the creation of a website dedicated for gentlemen around the globe that is dominantly gaining popularity and recognition. That website is now known as HowToGrowaMoustache.com.

    Its architect, Douglas Smythe, has found it quite interesting to scour the internet and find that something has been left out and talked minimally about – gentlemen grooming. Aside from providing a great source for your everyday, every occasion moustach-ing and shaving needs, it also provides an in-depth resource on how to become a well-defined gentlemen and technically everything you need to know on how to act as one either in front of the ladies or other gentlemen.

    So to make it easier for you, HowToGrowaMoustache.com is mainly created for the men. If you’re a female, this website might not be of interest to you however, if you wanted to know how a simple idea has become an online follower magnet, you might want to stick around and learn from he who has achieved that goal.

    About Douglas The Mustache Dude

    In all honesty, how many websites are entirely dedicated for men? You don’t really see or surf through a lot of websites that mainly talks about gentlemanly stuff. It’s actually quite rare. Douglas has defined his website as an innovative and informative access point. To further elaborate, How to Grow a Moustache provides blogs about different tips, suggestions and opinions about grooming not only the mustache but also the beard.

    On the other hand, you can’t expect that it would all be about facial hair because that would be monotonous and insane. Douglas also included instructions on travel and fashion. Bred by dedicated and passionate groups of writers, How to Grow a mustache is up-to-date and delivers information like a piece of cake.

    What’s significantly unique about Douglas’ website is that it features more of the “ancient” or conventional ways of shaving with a touch of class and providence.

    The Man behind the “Stache”

    Grow as much facial hair as you want and then cut it and shape it the way you wanted based on what’s current and trendy. That is how Douglas Smythe perceived his website to exhibit. Describing himself as a soap maker, a podcast artist, a blogger, a wet shaver and a mustache enthusiast, Douglas Smythe also considered himself as a humble servant of those who believe in the power of establishing something and generating profit out of it.  

    Growing that Mustache $$

    So what inspired Douglas to build this domain? History. He loves all things that were manufactured and used in the not-so-old age. While he welcomes the presence of all things new, he still asserts himself among those who choose to prove to these technology-guided men that the usage of blades to clean those sides and shape that stache are still intact and the industry will grow more. Believe me, not everyone welcomes the idea of machines cleaning up that 5 o’clock shadow. It would still boil down to the idea that grooming should be something personal and not a hasty act.

    Entrepreneurial Insights from the Bearded Gentleman

    Technically, if you tend to describe and summarize the entire website and what it offers, you would say that it’s The Passive Podcasta “Man Blog”. Though Douglas hated that sort of adjective attached to the site, he stood still and focused on what his interests are like manly fashions, tutorials on grooming, travel and conventional wet shaving. From that, he was able to get his site recognized from other websites. His main goal? To spread the word of wet shaving to men of all generations. From that idealism, he made a fortune.

    Douglas Smythe is now considered as one of the most successful shaving online entrepreneurs who built a domain not only for himself but for others as well. He is now one of the go to guys who you can trust to provide instructions on anything that relates to wet shaving.

    Now, what are the things that you can learn from Mr. Mustache?

    1. When growing a mustache, you first have to allow it to grow and evolve. It may be itchy at the first few days or weeks or there may be discomfort but that’s the part of it. Eventually, you would get used to it and find that having it on your face is not bad at all. That goes the same with entrepreneurship. Upon building something, you must allow time to take its place. You have to allow it to grow and be recognized. Like growing a mustache, you have to be patient and constantly take care of what you’ve created.
    2. Decide what form of mustache you want. There are different kinds of mustache. When choosing a mustache, make sure that you’re comfortable with it and it looks good on you. On an entrepreneurial side, when choosing a business, make sure that, first, you are passionate about it and second, you know how to keep it going. Never choose a business that you have no interest with. One of the reasons why people tend to fail in their businesses is that they venture in something new.
    3. If you create a community, be part of it. Don’t just go on MIA once it has been established. You might be misunderstood for a non-existing entrepreneur who just built something for profit. Although money is a factor, you have to make your followers feel that you are there running your own industry.
    4. Don’t hesitate to introduce something new. People may be skeptical at first but as they see how helpful it would be for them in the long run.
    5. Advertise. If you really like your business to be well-known and to last longer in your chosen industry, you have to make a shout out on different popular websites, namely social websites like Facebook.

    Thoughts on a “Stached” Interview

    What made the interview enjoyable and fascinating is the thought that this simple guy has created something he’s obsessive about, believed in it and eventually engaged it into the savvy internet world. Not to mention that he delved into this website that is fueled by mere ad support. Through leveraging, Douglas was able to expand his business horizons and eventually made the site into something that is driven by shaving products that he, believe or not, personally designed and created.

     

    Recommended books

     

    Recommended Websites

    • Twazzup.com
    • Zite.com  
    • Plagium.com
    • instructables.com

     

    Plugins:

    • Tint

    Douglas Personal Links

     

    Shows Mentioned on Today’s Episode

    28 Mar

    TPP 011: Billy Murphy Built a Million-Dollar Empire through Online Poker Mentoring

    Derek Bingham 0

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download

    Billy Murphy

    Billy Murphy is not only a genius entrepreneur but also an effective and successful one. Who would have thought that there are going to be heaps of income from teaching people how to play poker? Billy Murphy has something to say about that.

    But first, a bit of info about this not-so-popular-yet-so-successful innovator.

    Looking Back

    Currently living in Austin, Texas, Billy Murphy started earning at the age of 9 by slinging out newspapers. His very first venture as an entrepreneur was when he sold collections of sports cards at the age of 17. Now that he’s 29, Bill has mastered the art of playing poker and has created a way to teach aspiring wannabes to become excellent players as well.

    In 2009, Billy did the unthinkable – he challenged the President to play poker. After creating BlueFirePoker last 2009, it went viral and is now considered as the largest and most-trusted poker training website around. He started out buying e-commerce stores early 2011 and by the end of the same year, he owned around 20 niche stores. Forever Jobless is the ultimate contribution to the world of entrepreneurship which Billy has launched in August 1, 2012.

    The First Revenue

    Billy Murphy, founder of foreverjobless.com earned a whopping $30,000 as a half-day revenue during the first day of launching his website. On that same week, his sales generated more than $100,000. Who would’ve known that just by training people to be knowledgeable about poker would spawn that much? Needless to say, that’s pretty amazing.

    Everybody wants to know how he did that astounding measure.

    Non-Promotional Campaign

    It started out with an email brigade. Billy called it an “email forum” and it was one of the significant things that he did before the launch. Unlike other conventional marketing strategies, there were no promotions, just a few people who are listed on their email forum. Billy intended not to tell anyone what he was doing and insisted on going against scrupulous marketing schemes via the internet which he enumerated as building a catastrophe of pre-marketing tactics, creating a humongous list and gathering a number of affiliates.

    Billy thought of leaning towards spreading the news about his website through word of mouth. The pre-sales came after the site was launched.

    Lessons Learned from Selling Cards

    It was in his early days that Billy realized a couple of things about marketing. Persistent selling was one of them. He stated that through his sports cards, he learned that you can look for people who are bidding on the same thing. Apart from finding the right people to sell your cards to, it’s a time saver.

    The Art of Stalking…and Making Money

    In case you’re wondering how he was able to learn on how to pursue his life’s endeavor, one of the things that he pointed out was stalking. He stalked forums and people that he thought could feed his curiosity on how things work in the business and marketing world. He stalked known people by reading what they wrote through their websites or other online marketing resources. He read books they wrote. Billy even encourages newbie entrepreneurs to do the same since it’s a positive way of gaining knowledge and insight about someone who has already been successful in their own respect.

    Another form of stalking that Billy did is picking people’s brains by annoying them in forums. This might seem odd and funny at the same time but when you think about it, somehow, it made sense when he tried to justify his means. Billy finally found a couple of knowledgeable and successful people and tried out all their suggestions and considered their opinions. That led Billy into having an idea of teaching people something that he learned when he was about 20 years old – playing poker.

    Seek and You Shall Find

    At first, he thought it was a fun hobby, then he realized that he could make money out of that hobby and even encourage those who are interested to play the same game.

    Billy never really knew how to play poker. He just taught himself through free online gaming. Then when he gained knowledge on how to maneuver the game, he thought that winning and losing is cool at the same time. He only needed a couple of people to teach him how to make money out of poker. That strategy led him into making a hefty side income while he was in college. Due to his unwavering confidence to pursue his dream, he ended up becoming a professional poker player as well.

    However, when it came to a point wherein Billy was tumbling down his chosen path. This made him more determined. He then hired a coach on contingency basis and because of that unprecedented help, he started to earn $17,000 monthly. Eventually, his plans stabilized and he was now thinking on how to expand and give back the favor he once had from his coaches.

    Conquering the Divide

    BlueFirePoker has a slightly different atmosphere as compared to other poker tutorial sites. Here, you are provided with numerous coaching techniques through videos of professional players actually playing timely poker. It’s your front row seat ticket to seeing these pros hold their cards and overpower the game. They teach you what to do when the situation calls for it. The tendency was to become a real-time narration about their game plan and what the approach should be during certain field dilemmas.

    While other websites are overflowing with mentors and poker pros, BlueFirePoker has basically focused on the pros. The objective was to bring more traffic by providing quality advisors more than quantitative coaches.

    As an entrepreneur, your main goal aside from soothing the bumps along the way is to maintain members and eventually gain more. Some of the things that you would concern yourself with would be in terms of making your members stay longer and improving the services that you provide so that they wouldn’t look for anything similarly better.

    Billy-Murphy

    Wisdom from the Pro

    According to Billy, there are a couple of things that you have to consider when approaching a new undertaking especially when you’re dealing with online marketing.

    1. Hire the right guys, don’t settle for bots. Though bots or other more superior machine-made applications will perform whatever task you programmed them to do, they wouldn’t be as good as the originals. Like poker, marketing is a game of come and go. You would have to lean on the right people and do your research on who would be the best candidate to help you out on your business
    2. Adjust when it’s needed to. You could have a number of players running your site and feeding it with all of what the consumers need but you shouldn’t always count on that mark to keep your business flowing. Situations tend to get complex as in the game therefore there is a need for you to further analyze your strategies and contemplate on what changes are needed to be made in order for you to go with the flow and become more competitive.
    3. While in the game, focus on the weak spots of your opponent. Learning on how to overcome them is as important knowing how to blindside them. That is one way of extracting money from them which Billy has completely advocated in his industry.
    4. Enrich in a business that you already know. Don’t venture into something that you have no idea whatsoever. By then, education and simplification would no longer be a challenge but a stepping stone. You already have fixed ideas on how the game would run, you just needed a few tweaks to pursue it and make it happen.
    5. Educate yourself further. Attend forums and take it from the experts. Read about the nature of your business. Don’t be hesitant to dole out a couple of bucks for quality approaches. It will pay off in the long run.
    6. Lastly, never lose that dream. Hold onto it and make it happen. Keep yourself fuelled by your dream into hoping that one day, it will pay out. As for Billy, he now has his fair share of income and has boosted others as well.

    Links

     

    Recommended Books

     

    Words of Wisdom

    • Listen to people who inspire you and ignore everyone else.

     

    WHAT IS YOUR WHY?

    • “Want to be able to do what I want to do on my own terms.”

     

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