There are some classes you solely be taught when life hits you exhausting. This week’s grasp stared down the lack of his enterprise —
“All of This fall was the largest punch within the face for me that yr. It was essentially the most confused I’ve ever been in my life.”
— and got here out the opposite facet with a six-figure company. At the moment, he shares the form of vulnerability and actual speak you hardly ever get from entrepreneurs.
And his recommendation simply would possibly aid you duck a punch.
Ryan Atkinson
Founder and CEO at Spacebar Visuals; Host of The UpFlip Podcast
- Enjoyable reality: In enterprise college, Ryan bought the bottom grade in a category referred to as Founders Membership. He went on to develop his personal six-figure enterprise.
- Declare to fame: Named to Austin’s 25 Underneath 25 and the Tippie Younger Alumni Board. His podcast about entrepreneurship has hit over 2 million downloads.
Lesson 1: Don’t simply develop to develop.
Should you imagine the hustle-culture hype that thrives on LinkedIn, the one technique to get forward is to eat and breathe the grind, proper? I’d say “eat, sleep, and breathe,” however the grind by no means sleeps.
“I assumed after I [created] Spacebar, I wished to develop as a lot as doable, rent as a lot as doable,” Ryan Atkinson says. And his enterprise did develop — second solely to his stress ranges.
“That is most likely TMI, however I had canker sores from stress. I couldn’t even take heed to music, as a result of music would make me anxious,” he confesses.
Atkinson reached some extent the place he needed to reevaluate each his enterprise and life targets and contemplate what he was rising towards. (One thing that many entrepreneurs gained’t admit.) His recommendation to you solopreneurs, startup founders, and small enterprise homeowners?
“The aim continues to be progress, nevertheless it’s not progress in any respect prices. Develop to rent accurately. Develop profitably. Develop mindfully.”
Lesson 2: It’s okay to start out low cost.
Video is not a nice-to-have for entrepreneurs, however that doesn’t imply you must drop half your internet price making the following Marvel film.
“As an example you are a startup firm, the place you’ve a restricted finances. You possibly can’t spend 20 grand on a video. Truthfully, Upwork is a superb place to get began.”
I took a sip of my tea simply so I might do a spit-take. The answer isn’t to write down a test to his video company?
“It doesn’t must be Spacebar,” Atkinson laughs. “However you possibly can’t do an iPhone kind of video if you wish to make first impression on prospects.”
“Should you’re a startup marketer, you’ve 1,000 issues you have to be doing. You’ve reporting. You’ve campaigns. You’ve e mail advertising. And video is just not straightforward to get proper. So, go to Upwork, discover somebody that may do it for $500, $900.”
To be clear, he’s not speaking about dropping that money on run-of-the-mill TikTok posts. That is about investing in movies that meet your viewers at key steps on their purchaser’s journey.
“You need to have a top-of-funnel explainer video as a result of individuals must know who you might be. You need a model overview video. And also you need a product demo that brings your product to life. Should you might solely do three belongings with video, do these.”
Atkinson went on to interrupt down precise suggestions for every of these movies, however since I couldn’t squeeze ’em into one e-newsletter, I’ve linked an extended information down beneath.
Lesson 3: Podcast for a unique goal.
As a fractional podcast host, Atkinson has helped launch extra podcasts than most individuals have consumed. So I requested him the important thing to getting a profitable present up and working.
“Rising a podcast is extremely exhausting. It’s nearly inconceivable to do it independently now,” he admits. “I really like podcasting a lot, however the extra I get into it, the extra I’m realizing it really is pay-to-play.”
Atkinson explains that until you possibly can pay for broad distribution, or until you’ve bought a ready-made viewers — say on LinkedIn or in a e-newsletter — it’s unlikely you’ll develop to some extent the place monetizing your podcast is well worth the time you place in it.
However even for those who’re by no means a prime 100 podcast in your area of interest, there are different causes to do it.
“Podcasts may be reused as a weblog submit, e mail, [or] for search engine optimization.” To not point out repurposed for YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn. So even when the podcast itself is gradual to realize traction, the trouble pays out in cross-functional content material.
And your present may even be an icebreaker for these hard-to-reach purchasers:
“We use it typically to allow us to speak with prospects and get launched to them. Attain out to your [ideal customer profile] like, ‘Hey, you need to be a visitor on our podcast?’”
When you interview them, it opens the door to additional collaboration and dialog.
Simply “don’t assume you’ll be a prime 50, even prime 100 podcast in two weeks.”
Lingering Questions
This Week’s Query
“What sparks pleasure for you?” — Jayde Powell, Founder and head of artistic, The Em Sprint Co.
This Week’s Reply
Atkinson says: “Professionally, while you take a guess on one thing and it really works.
Personally, being with household, buddies, figuring out, and studying books.”
Subsequent Week’s Query
Atkinson asks: “Should you might solely put money into one device to assist your organization develop for the following three years, what device would it not be?”
