Go For Launch Rocket Fuel For Entrepreneurs

What drives you to become a successful entrepreneur? Have you truly discovered your "why?" Austin Hulsey is someone who has spent years discovering where his skills and passions intersect as an entrepreneur. Austin is the CEO and Founder of , a Nashville-based startup specializing in high performance natural supplements and nutritional education. His mission is to inspire people to find their true-life why, take insane action, and never settle until their dreams become a reality. Austin has an Associates degree in Health Sciences and is currently finishing his Bachelors degree in foods, nutrition and dietetics at Tennessee State University. In 2010, he founded Avera Skincare, a company specializing in local handmade cosmetics. In 2015, he founded Precision Pressure Washing & Sealing which provides residential and commercial maintenance services. He is also co-author of the children's book Nanook. In our discussion on the podcast, Austin and I talk about the following topics: • How he started young as an e

How would you like a proven system to get more business referrals? Stacey Brown Randall has perfected the art of dramatically increasing the referrals for her own business and her clients' businesses. It is a major focus of her consulting practice, which is to help business owners avoid business failure. She knows – she’s been there, done that and got the t-shirt! What Stacey learned when her first business failed is now what is making all the difference with her current ’ success.  And she is sharing all of her secrets. Her online programs and live coaching sessions provide a blueprint to follow to take control of your business by increasing sales through “sticky” clients and creating a strategy to unleash a referral explosion in your business. Stacey calls herself a business growth accelerator…with a focus on helping solopreneurs, micro/small business owners and people on commission make more money and find more time.    Stacey is a three-time entrepreneur and a certified productivity and time efficiency co

Learn how to launch and scale your business with the , an amazing new visual tool and methodology created by Ja-Naé Duane and her husband, Steven Fisher. For over 20 years, Ja-Naé has focused on one mission: to make life better for as many people as possible. With that goal in mind, she founded or co-founded five different organizations, including Wild Women Entrepreneurs, The Leaders, the National Artistic Effort and the Massachusetts Artist Leaders Coalition. She currently leads the Revolution Institute while also teaching at Emerson College and Northeastern University. At Clark University, she holds the position of Entrepreneur-in-Residence. The author of  and , Ja-Naé excels at advising startups because she understands from personal experience what it means to be an social entrepreneur. Over the years, her work has caught the attention of The Associated Press, NPR, Classical Singer Magazine, The Boston Globe and Business Week. In 2007, she was nominated as one of New England’s Most Innovative Leaders. Top

How would you like to 10x your business success? That is one of the goals of Scott Hansen in working with his clients. Scott is a high performance coach, sought after speaker, podcast host and published author. He joins me on today's Go For Launch podcast. Along with working with Fortune 500 companies, Scott has trained and coached entrepreneurs and executives on how to live a life of purpose and significance. Scott is the creator of Success Blueprint On Demand, an exclusive, high performance program teaching entrepreneurs how to 10x their business, get more clients and build multiple income streams online. In addition, Scott is a contributing writer at biznews.com and Entrepreneur.com. He is also a web-show TV host, and creator of Success Hackers, one of the most popular business podcasts on iTunes. Topics Scott and I discuss include: • How he worked in corporate sales and marketing before he had a "calling" to jump into entrepreneurship • Why he advises new entrepreneurs to build a bridge from their corpora

Do you know how to network like a boss? If not, pull up a chair and learn some strategies from one of the masters of networking, Dave Delaney. He joins me on today's podcast. Dave is best recognized for his work in the digital marketing, social media strategy and business networking spaces. He is the author of the acclaimed book, New Business Networking, and he has a bi-monthly column in The Tennessean newspaper. He also writes regularly on Futureforth (his company's blog) and on his personal blog. Dave has been featured in Billboard Magazine as a digital marketing expert to follow on Twitter. In 2015, Forbes featured him as a professional networking expert to watch. He has also appeared in articles in USA Today, Entrepreneur, Mashable, Venture Beat, The Tennessean, Nashville Business Journal and Toronto Globe and Mail. The Nashville Business Journal calls him a "power leader of technology in Nashville." He is the recipient of the prestigious Digital Media Champion AIM Award by the American Marketing Associat

Do you know what to look for in a web developer? (Hint: The answer is not the cheapest price). Hiring a credible web designer and/or developer is critically important to any business and should not be taken lightly. If you think a free or cheap website will serve you well, then you should not be wasting a legitimate web developer?s time. Today on the podcast, I talk with David Somerfleck about how to hire a web developer. David owns and operates Sudden Impact Web Design and DenverWeb.us. He is a branding expert, social media strategist, developer, entrepreneur, and trainer focused on business development and internet marketing. David has more than 20 years of marketing, branding and PR experience. He is a former teacher, professor, and journalist with a strong background in positioning, project management, integrated marketing, new product launch, website development and online community management. David's goal is to inspire and encourage business owners and entrepreneurs while giving them the tools needed t

David Taylor is on a mission to change how people fuel up in the mornings. His company, , has launched what I like to call the "breakfast of entrepreneurial champions." It's a breakfast shake that is extremely nutritious and convenient for entrepreneurs and anyone else with a busy lifestyle who needs a great kick-start to their morning with minimal effort. (Check the  for a discount code to try Mobius Breakfast.) David is the founder and president of Mobius Nutrition. Born in Alberta, Canada, he attended Missouri University of Science and Technology, where he earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. It was while he was in school that he found a passion for health and fitness and began leading workouts with his fellow students. After graduating in May 2013, David began work as a consulting engineer in the food and beverage industry, where he saw first-hand how modern processed food is made. He soon after realized his true passion lay in helping people maintain a healthy and optimal lifestyle. During the fall of

If you want to know how to become an "infopreneur," Bailey Richert is an excellent person to teach you. In fact, that is what infopreneurs do—they package their knowledge around a specific subject and sell it to others in a variety of ways. Bailey joined me on this week's Go For Launch podcast. She is a business coach who helps individuals launch profitable online enterprises as infopreneurs—or respected experts in their fields who create value and profit by sharing their passions with others in a manner that supports their ideal lifestyles. After working the 9-5 grind as a consultant in California until 2014, she quit my job and enrolled at MIT to study entrepreneurship. She then launched a successful online travel education company, DontDieAbroad.com, and has expanded into teaching "infopreneurship" to other people (e.g., how to create and sell digital informational products online). Her new book, ,  is available on Amazon, and she offers a free video training course that outlines her 6-step process to laun

There is no one better to appreciate the power of business checklists than an entrepreneur who has actually flown planes! Pilots literally live or die by their ability to follow checklists religiously. / / That's something I discussed at length with Matt Miller on the latest episode of the Go For Launch podcast. Matt is president and founder of , a concept he developed in July 2007. / / Matt graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1989 and was an Air Force pilot for nine years. After his military service, Matt worked in both the medical and advertising fields. / / As a father of three, with years of expertise in both print media and vending, Matt was able to see school fundraising from a unique, outsider's perspective. One day, after a child in his neighborhood came by the house selling items for his school's fundraiser, Matt decided to create a business that would help schools and their clubs or organizations raise money more simply. Year-round, hassle-free fundraising with School Spirit Vendin

There are far too many candy-ass 20-somethings with virtually no real-world experience, touting themselves as "lifestyle entrepreneurs," business and life coaches. However, if you want real wisdom you can apply to your life as an entrepreneur, you need to talk to someone who has truly lived and actually built companies, someone like Dean Roberts. When Dean approached me to be a guest on the Go For Launch podcast, I was struck by how rambling and crazy his entrepreneurial journey seemed. At 77, he has enjoyed a wild ride through life so far. Born in 1939, he was expelled from school in 1956...joined the Navy in 1957...and spent the next 40 years having two kids, three wives and building and operating his business called Greenleaf Dollhouses, the world's oldest and largest dollhouse manufacturer (now run by his children, Lisa and Dean Jr.). Dean is the author of I'll Fix My Head Before I'm Dead, an autobiography that reads more like the back of a Dr. Bronner Magic Soap bottle. Join Dean and me as we talk about

Staying fit, for business and life, should be a mantra for every entrepreneur. Sadly though, many times we let too many things take precedence over our health.I was encouraged after speaking with Jay Scott, a personal trainer who battled food addiction, obesity and a binge-eating disorder — and overcame all of it. He has helped hundreds of people do the same with his information and training. Jay is the founder of and the host of the . He has written for sites like The Good Men Project and Mind Body Green and has had over 30 TV appearances including spots on ABC, NBC and CBS.Jay went from living in his parents' basement at age 30 to starting the most successful in home personal training business in Lexington, KY, by the time he was 32. In our conversation, learn more about how Jay: • Grew up in poor area in Kentucky • Became a bodybuilder in his late teens • Got into the personal training industry (and moved from mostly in-person training to primarily virtual training) • Started blogging from his perspecti

It is often called a "best kept secret" for entrepreneurs. In fact, you may be amazed at how the helps entrepreneurs — whether you are simply in the planning stages, have started a business as a solopreneur or own a fifth-generation firm with up to 500 employees. Although I had personally interacted with the SBA as an entrepreneur—particularly in seeking a mentor through their free Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) program when I started my first business—frankly I was not aware of the depth and breadth of services the SBA offers. So I was very excited when Christopher Hatch, the regional communications director for the U.S. Small Business Administration's Mid-Atlantic Region, reached out to me recently about doing an interview. I was honored to get the chance to speak with , a decorated administrator as well as a highly successful entrepreneur herself. This is one of the best interviews I have had on the Go For Launch podcast, and I hope many entrepreneurs will get value from our conversation! Nat

You might be driving traffic to your website—but what are you doing to make every website click count? I got some killer advice on improving website conversions in my interview with Lindsey Anderson, also known as "One Click Lindsey." Lindsey is a Web strategy expert who works with small business owners to help them use the web to produce more website traffic and leads. She is the founder and CEO of TrafficAndLeads.com, which specializes in driving traffic, getting leads and nurturing those leads to become lifelong clients. Lindsey is an expert in landing pages, email sequences, search engine ranking, newsletters, analytics, social media, pay-per-click ads, websites, blogging...the list goes on. She knows how to utilize the latest online marketing options to generate more traffic and leads and ultimately more paying clients. On the show, we talk about what people really want with their websites—which is traffic and leads. Lindsey talks at length about why our main focus should be on creating high-quality cont

I have used dozens of process management applications—from Asana and Basecamp to Trello and beyond. But the best business process management software application in my experience is . So I was excited to speak with Vinay Patankar, cofounder and CEO of Process Street, on the Go For Launch podcast. Process Street is the simplest way to manage your team’s recurring processes and workflows. You can use Process Street to do things like easily setting up new clients, onboarding employees and managing content publishing (or podcast production and promotions workflows!). Process Street is a venture backed SaaS company and AngelPad alumnus with numerous Fortune 500 clients. When not running Process Street, Vinay loves to travel and spent four years as a digital nomad roaming the globe and running different Internet businesses. Vinay and I had a wide-ranging conversation about the benefits of process management and why Process Street is helping everyone from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies 10x their business res

As an entrepreneur, it's up to you to expand your business investment options as you grow and become more profitable. But with all the investment choices available, how do you know what's best? That was a key question I asked Joshua Belanger, my guest on the podcast today. Joshua is one of the world’s top options trading specialists who has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, New York Times, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg and Business Week. He is author of the book Fearless Investing With Options and the founder of , where he publishes free daily investing and trading tips and teaches struggling self-directed investors how to become more profitable trading options while reducing risk, creating higher chances of success and generating better returns in any type of financial market. Josh has a great story as an entrepreneur, starting early on when he had to battle a huge competitor (and won).

How can improve your personal and business performance? That is a question Brad Raney has studied for many years. He now coaches people on how to reach their peak performance from both a personal and professional standpoint. Brad is an author, motivational speaker and a sales, leadership and management trainer. He is the CEO and Founder of Personal Performance Partnership (P3) and has almost 30 years experience in creating and developing high performance teams in a variety of industries. Brad’s first book, Improve Your VOWELS, Improve Your Career! The A,E,I,O,U’s of Finding Your Perfect Job! has now sold on three continents. His new book, Reach YOUR Peak! Become CEO of Your Success! was recently released in traditional and eBook formats. Brad has spoken to over 50,000 people across the United States and was part of the highly successful “Pink Slip Tour presented by Virgin Mobile” that made stops in Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Detroit. Brad and his wife Dawn have been married over 25

Thinking about raising money through crowdfunding? Then you need the wisdom of crowdfunding expert Clay Herbert. Clay is a marketing strategist and the founder of Crowdfunding Hacks, where he helps entrepreneurs and creatives fund their dreams. As one of the world’s leading crowdfunding experts, Clay has helped more than 150 entrepreneurs raise over $50 million on popular crowdfunding platforms Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Clay is a frequent keynote speaker and engages audiences around the world on topics ranging from innovation to creativity, crowdfunding, marketing, entrepreneurship and the future of work. Clay has trained senior leaders at Fortune 500 organizations, and his corporate speaking clients have included Accenture, Pfizer, Zappos and some of the top universities and nonprofits in the world. He has written for The Washington Post, Forbes and The Next Web, and his work has been featured in The New York Times, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Lifehacker and The Financial Post. He is a regular guest on FOX

Can you make your business sexy? Heather Ann Havenwood says, "Yes, you can!" She often equates success in business with success in dating—and she's an expert at advising people in both camps. She joins me on today's podcast to talk about adding sex appeal to yourself and your company. Heather Ann is CEO of and Chief Sexy Boss. She is a serial entrepreneur and is regarded as a top authority on internet marketing, business strategies and marketing. Since marketing her first online business in 1999, bringing together clients and personal coaches, she has played an active role in the online marketing world since before most even had a home computer. In 2006, Heather Ann started, developed and grew an online information marketing publishing company from ground zero to over $1 million in sales in less than 12 months. Starting without a list, a product, a name or an offer, she molded her client into a successful guru who is now known as an expert in his field. Heather Ann has been named as an ‘Icon Creator’ and a ‘

Are you interested in building an online business empire? If so, Jim Palmer is a great person to talk to about this. He joins me on today's podcast. Jim is a marketing and business building expert and host of Newsletter Guru TV and Stick Like Glue Radio. He is known internationally as ‘The Newsletter Guru” — the go-to resource for maximizing the profitability of customer relationships. Jim is the author of several books, including The Magic of Newsletter Marketing – The Secret to More Profits and Customers for Life and Stop Waiting For It To Get Easier! Create Your Dream Business Now! Jim Palmer is a sought-after speaker on such topics as newsletter marketing, client retention, how to build a profitable business and how to achieve success. Jim is a cancer survivor, has been married for 35 years, has four grown children and two grandchildren. He lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania with his wife, Stephanie, and their cat Serendipity. Jim and Stephanie love to kayak, travel, and spend time with their family. L

It's a fact of the Information Age: personal branding is crucial to your business success. How you conduct yourself and come across to others (i.e., what your personal brand says about you) matters more than ever. In today’s episode of the Go For Launch podcast, I have the pleasure of speaking with personal branding consultant Nicole Lundy. Nicole is founder of Profitable Personal Brand, which works with leaders who want to stand out in their respective industries. After leaving a demanding career in corporate finance on Wall Street, Nicole launched a beauty consulting company and used her branding skills to get featured in a HarperCollins published book, work backstage at New York Fashion Week with top designers such as Jason Wu and CZAR by Cesar Galindo, and get featured on MSNBC, eHow.com and Huffington Post Style. Nicole now owns a brand consulting boutique and is a noted speaker and bestselling author. She helps high-performing CEOs and entrepreneurs who don’t know how to be distinctive in their marketpl