The Art of Passive Income

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with Matt Miller, SSVBusiness.com—a vending machine franchise, with a twist. Matt spent the first nine years of his career as an Air Force pilot before entering the corporate world to work at both Abbott Laboratories and Valassis. Despite being a top performer for both companies, his long-term desire was to start a business and be his own boss. Then, a conversation Matt had with a friend about gumball machine vending inspired him to invest in his own machines. Starting with candy and gumball machines, Matt soon became frustrated with the market downturn of ’07 and ’08 because there weren’t as many people frequenting his regular vending locations… then a knock came at his door. Local kids were selling merchandise for their school fundraiser and Matt thought there had to be a better way for these kids to raise money than knocking on the doors of strangers. That’s when School Spirit Vending was born — customized school stickers machines, placed in schools and part of the proceeds go back to the school’s fundraising campaigns. Matt has taken vending beyond the gumball machine and has brought School Spirit Vending to the cutting edge of both the vending and school fundraising industries by combining these two ventures into one, then took it to the next level by franchising it. With franchises across the country, they are raising millions for the schools they serve. “I had 75 schools myself before I walked away from my full-time advertising career. I was working about five days a month to make an income that was in excess by several times what my full-time career income was.” Join us as Matt walks us through his business model, both on the vending and franchise sides. He delves deep into: Profit margins Placement Maintenance Start-up costs And, are the challenges in this business? Matt explains that the hardest part is the learning curve in the first few months. Everybody that joins the team with no vending machine background has to learn the vending part along with how to work in the school’s environment. Plus, find out everything you need to know to get started in his franchise. Is Matt’s model a good source of passive income? Matt shows us some pretty impressive margins that suggest that it might be. Matt has a special offer for our listeners. His course—Vending Secrets To Passive Income can be accessed at VendingSecrets.net and with coupon code: bestpassiveincome is available for only $97! Listen in now to learn more about Matt and his company! TIP OF THE WEEK Mark: Learn more about Matt by going to his websites at SSVBusiness.com/BestPassiveIncome and VendingSecrets.net. Scott: Check out the Google Chrome extension Meetingbird at MeetingBird.com/Chrome. Matt: Read the book, DotCom Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Growing Your Company by Russell Brunson. Also, check out my e-book, Live your Dreams: Top 10 Reasons Why You Need to Start a Vending Business. Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

For the month of July, we will be presenting The Best Of Round Table on The Art of Passive Income Podcast. Each week we will be featuring segments that we’ve received a lot of feedback on. Topics that have made an impact on you or your business. So sit back, relax and enjoy the best of the best! This week’s theme: TIME. Listen in as we tackle the artificial deadlines we put on ourselves in this business. By comparing your progress with someone else’s, you’re just adding unnecessary pressure on yourself which affects your ability to focus and make progress. We feature segments that will help you manage expectations, avoid the time-suck of overthinking it, and why it’s crucial and time-saving to follow the proven systems. Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with, Dawn Marrs of MarrsMarketing.com—specializing in helping entrepreneurs automate their businesses. When it comes to automation, Dawn’s philosophy is to automate everything you possibly can! If there’s a task you find yourself doing repetitively in your business, chances are there is a way to automate it. Listen in as we swap geeky tools of automation with Dawn and find out which task Mark hasn’t automated yet that could be generating him more sales. Also, find out how Dawn started her marketing business and what automation piece made her different than everyone else, along with: The worst advice she has seen given in the marketing automation world Her advice for setting up automation for those who are still in the business learning curve and feeling overwhelmed Dealing with that ever-so-tempting new app shiny object syndrome The advice she would give to her newbie self when first starting out One thing would she would like to change or improve in her business Plus, find out what we shouldn’t be automating! Dawn shares so much great advice and knowledge with us today, that it warms the cockles of our geeky automated hearts! TIP OF THE WEEK Mark: Learn more about Dawn by going to her website at MarrsMarketing.com. Scott: Check out the app Gfeed.co. It turns Gmail into a social feed and helps you cruise through your email faster. Dawn: Invest in Ontraport.com. Get a 45-day follow up series in place. Always leave your audience on a cliffhanger. Have a cart abandonment system. Read the book, Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less by Sam Carpenter. Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

For the month of July, we will be presenting The Best Of Round Table on The Art of Passive Income Podcast. Each week we will be featuring segments that we’ve received a lot of feedback on. Topics that have made an impact on you or your business. So sit back, relax and enjoy the best of the best! This week's theme: MENTAL BARRIERS. Listen in as we tackle fears that we face in this business. Whether you’re a newbie or seasoned pro, we all have them, it’s how you deal with them that determines your progress and growth. We look back at segments that will help you tackle those common fears and barriers holding you back so you can move forward, execute and continue to grow your business with confidence! Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with Jeremy Roll—an active real estate and business investor for over 15 years. Jeremy is currently an investor in more than 70 opportunities across over $500 million worth of real estate and business assets. As Founder and President of Roll Investment Group, Jeremy manages a group of over 1000 investors in the US and Canada who seek passive managed investment solutions from real estate and businesses. Jeremy also co-founded For Investors By Investors (FIBI)—a nonprofit organization in 2007 with the goal of networking with, learning from, and helping other investors. FIBI is now the largest group of public real estate investor's with over 23,000 members. Jeremy is a licensed California real estate broker for investment purposes only, has an MBA from The Wharton School, and is an advisor for Realty Mogul the largest real estate crowdfunding website in the US. Between anticipating the economic downturn and not seeing eye-to-eye with management at the large company he worked for, Jeremy left the corporate world in 2007 to pursue passive cash flow investing full time which was a big step for a low-risk taker who is all about predictability! But, because he had spent the previous several years moving his money from stocks and bonds after the dotcom crash into passive cash flow, he had built up enough passive cash flow to live off of. Jeremy’s focus is on low-risk, highly stabilized passive cash flow opportunities. He does not believe in putting all of his eggs in one basket and invests across multiple asset classes, including: Commercial and residential real estate ATM machines Cash flowing websites Startups Listen in as Jeremy shares his philosophy behind predictable cash flow, why he invests in syndications, and why his diversification is across these three components: Asset-Class Geography Operator Find out why each is critical when choosing an investment. Plus, find out the worst advice he has seen given in his area of expertise, and his best or most worthwhile investment. TIP OF THE WEEK Mark: Email Jeremy at [email protected]. Get the details of how Jeremy does what he does. Scott: Read the book, Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong by Eric Barker. It challenges the conventional wisdom that you think you know and puts it to the test and is balanced back with science. Jeremy: Read the books, Rich Dad Poor Dad and Cash Flow Quadrant both written by Robert Kiyosaki. It is recommended to read them in that order. For those who are new to investing or new to general passive cash flow investing or just looking for a change of mindset over the stock market, these are two books to frame a change of mindset. ScheduleOnce - an online scheduler; they sink into your calendar real time, you’re able to allocate certain times automatically to them, and it saves a tremendous amount of time. Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—The Best of Round Table edition, we look back at a couple segments that will help you grow your land business at a consistent and steady pace. Sustainable Growth and Underestimating Effort takes you to both ends of the spectrum to show you how growing too fast can lead to bottlenecks and burnouts. And, how underestimating effort but expecting big results can lead to big disappointments and can also lead to quitting before you even get started! Also featured, a segment on newbie pricing mistakes and how to avoid leading with the wrong price. We also threw in a little bonus material for laughs. Listen in as Mark and Scott battle it out over the Tip of the Week! Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with John Lim—BeMovingForward.com. John drops the mic academically with a BA from The University of Pennsylvania, his JD from Georgetown Law, and an MBA from The Johns Hopkins University. In addition, John was a former actor for television and film and is known for his role as Young Lt. Cmdr Sulu, in Star Trek: World and Enough and Time… Now that’s GEEKY! John started off practicing law but couldn’t see himself dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s for the next 50 years so he then went to work with a Fortune 500 company for over a decade. After surviving a 40% cut in his company, John got his MBA and decided to test drive his new business degree on the advice of a professor. So he left the corporate world behind and is now a successful entrepreneur who specializes in public speaking, he's a TEDx speaker and social digital media marketing expert for small businesses. He is also the host of the podcast series, Moving Forward. Listen in as John and Scott compare notes about the circumstances that led them to leave the corporate world for a better life. Could it be that Scott found his Doppelganger? Plus, John shares: The best advice his dad, a serial entrepreneur, gave him since starting his entrepreneurial journey The worst thing he’s seen people do in the field of digital marketing The one thing he would most like to change about himself And so much more! TIP OF THE WEEK Mark: Learn more about John by going to his website at BeMovingForward.com. Scott: Check out the book, Intimate Behavior by Desmond Moore and learn more about the 12 stages of intimacy. John: Update your website to an SSL protocol. Check out Snip.ly to add a call-to-action to every link you share. Also Johns book recommendation—Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk. Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition, Tate Lichfield is sitting in for Mark and joining him are: Mimi Schmidt Erik Peterson Mimi kicks it off with a concern she hears often and that is summer slowdown on the buy side. We hear about the slowdown on the sell side often, but slowing down on the intake side can also be very concerning. Listen in as Tate, Mimi, and Erik share their thoughts on why business tends to slow when the weather heats up and what you can do to neutralize the situation so you don’t run low on inventory. Also, find out the best strategy when getting priced out of a market. “The people that get into issues are the ones that overpay for a property, then they get desperate and that’s when you lose control of the deal.” -Tate And the trio also go over some recent, and not so recent deals that make you go, “WOW!” While we have a modest group today, this episode does not lack in value! Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with The Dream Business Coach, Jim Palmer—GetJimPalmer.com. Jim has a long list of attributes, including: A marketing and business building expert and in-demand coach. The founder of the Dream Business Academy and Dream Business Coaching and Mastermind Program. The host of Business Coach TV—a hit weekly web TV show watched by thousands of entrepreneurs and small business owners. The host of Dream Business Radio—a weekly podcast based on Jim’s unique brand of smart marketing and building business strategies. Known internationally as 'The Dream Business Coach' and creator of No Hassle Newsletters, the ultimate 'done-for-you' newsletter marketing program. In addition, he’s the author of seven books, the seventh in which we are going to talk about today is called, Just Say Yes: Create Your Dream Business and Live Your Dream Lifestyle. Are the what-if’s holding you back from doing the things you really want to be doing? Well, what if you can create the lifestyle you want by just saying yes? You can and that is what changed Jim and his wife Stephanie's life. Jim’s Dream business allows him to do business anywhere, so why not on a boat!? Join us as Jim shares how he and his wife created the lifestyle of their dreams, living life on a boat on one big adventure! Are there things they had to give up? Jim explains that there are certain trade-offs they had to get used to, but the benefits of waking up on a boat every morning and watching the sun rising over the water make it all worth it! Jim gives great advice for living without regret—You can't change the beginning of your life, but starting today, you can change the ending. It’s a quote from a video he saw about people who were close to death and asked what their regrets were. Most weren't regretful of things they did, but rather of the things they didn’t do. This episode is full of inspiration and motivation that will have you wanting to live on a boat before it’s over… or following your dreams no matter what they are. If the liveaboard lifestyle appeals to you, check out Jim and Stephanie's blog at OurFloatingHome.com. Jim tells us that the deciding factor for them to leave their safe and predictable life behind was a great quote that Stephanie received in her email—You are not created to arrive at heaven’s door in a well-preserved body. You are meant to skid in sideways in a big pile of dust, with a smile on your face and say, “Wow, what a ride.” What ride are you going to say yes to next? TIP OF THE WEEK Mark: When you're procrastinating or having a hard time starting, just do the metacognition hack, "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go and do it." Also, learn more about Jim by going to his website at GetJimPalmer.com. Scott: When you have voices in your head talking you out of great things, simply make two lists: The What-Ifs—These are things that could go wrong or you feel like are bad.The Containment Plan—This is what do you do to offset the what-ifs. Jim: Get a copy of my book, Just Say Yes: Create a Dream Business and Live Your Dream Lifestyle at JustSayYesBook.com. Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition, Mark is joined by: Tate Litchfield Erik Peterson Aaron Williams Mimi Schmidt Mike Zaino Scott Todd Today, we jump straight into PAID TRAFFIC and why we don’t use it for marketing. Everyone agrees that it is too time-consuming to target the right audience and too difficult to convert cold leads. It is easier for companies that have an inexpensive product or gadget to get impulse buys, but nobody buys land on an impulse. It takes time to warm up a prospective buyer. “Are you willing to spend thousands of dollars on cold traffic that won’t convert?” -Mark Listen in as we go deep into the metrics and the importance of knowing your numbers, knowing your conversion rates and why paid traffic for this business does not make good sense. We also talk about the Dog Days of Summer and how we adjust to the seasonal slowdowns. TIP OF THE WEEK Erik: Land investing is a team sport. We all have these fears and doubts that cripple us in this business. But when you have a team and you assemble people that are very skillful in particular areas, then these fears and doubts begin to remove. When you work with people who have overcome those, you feel empowered. The whole idea of team sport is really huge. Leverage it in all areas of your life. If you’re not confident about something, surround yourself around people who can help you. Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with Brian Fanzo—iSocialFanz.com. Brian is a pager-wearing millennial rock star who is known as a change evangelist. He went to school for computer science, then worked for the US Department of Defense for 9 years in cyber security and social business and traveled to 45+ countries, three trips to Iraq, two to Afghanistan and had a team of 32 team members. While he loved the job, he is passionate about driving change and the government isn’t quick to change so he left that industry and went to the tech space where he crafted his dream job as a technology evangelist. He did that for three years until he decided to do what he called his craziest journey of all, he became an entrepreneur! Brian created iSocialFanz and is a keynote speaker doing about 50 events a year. He works with brands on how they can tell their story and leverage new technology like Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook Live to create stories and experiences. His focus is to reach the Millennial/Gen-Z customer. He also hosts two podcasts—FOMOfanz and SMACtalk. Join us now as we delve deep into why you need to cut the fluff, deliver the message and create experiences and stories to capture the attention of the Millennial and Gen-Z customer when it comes to today’s marketing. We go over: What defines a millennial and what type of story that resonates with them Cutting through the distractions to get a message across in a way that will be impactful In an era of change, what’s NOT going to change? Plus, so much more! Find out why you shouldn’t focus on what you do, but why and how. And, why Brian says, “the most powerful thing you can say on video, especially live video, is, ‘I don’t know.’ ” Listen in as Brian shares a ton of valuable information with us today. And no need to adjust your listening speed, Brian’s default is 1.5x! TIP OF THE WEEK Mark: Learn more about Brian by going to his website at iSocialFanz.com. Scott: Check out the Chrome plugin Blade. It’s great for creating nice email signatures. Brian: Check out the app Flipboard. It’s great for content consumption, curation, and crafting. Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition, Mark is joined by: Erik Peterson Mimi Smidt Tate Litchfield Aaron Williams Jeannie Morem Scott Todd This week we are going deep into the topic of spousal support—You just found the Land Geek Program, it’s the life-changing answer you’ve been looking for that’s going to help you escape the rat race. You’re pumped up and excited to get started but meet a little resistance from your spouse… whether it’s fear of legitimacy of the program, or fear of the investment, or any other fears they may have, how do you help ease their fears and get them onboard? "We have to emotionally get into the place of our spouse. When I don’t see eye to eye with my wife, the only time it goes well is when I step into her shoes and see it from her lens." Mark The group goes over their own experiences in this matter and with a full house of seven on the panel today we have a split between spousal partnership and tackling this business alone. We also tackle the ugly head of resentment. Listen in as everyone goes over their own experiences and offers advice on keeping the marital bliss... just beware of the eye roll! Happiness is the new rich and I’m happy in my life. As a result, my marriage is healthy, my family is happy, I get to spend time with my daughter and be an awesome Dad. And ultimately that’s because my wife and I are on the same page. We both want the same thing, we want to have more time, we want to live a comfortable life-style and she is very aware and recognizes that land is the way to do that. It’s the best method out there and if anybody has a better option, I’m open to it but you’re going to have to try really hard to convince me. -Tate Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income, Mark and Scott talk with Mike Hambright—FlipNerd.com. Mike is a successful real estate investor who wanted to give back, so he started a real estate podcast where he interviewed experts in real estate investing. Just under 2 years of doing the podcasts, Mike turned FlipNerd into a membership site and started coaching and training others in real estate. Mike and Mark both agree that at the end of the day, doing deals is phenomenal but it’s not satisfying. The real satisfaction comes from helping others succeed in this business. Mike finds that a lot of those who are just starting out don’t understand the importance of the business side of investing because the “reality” house flipping shows glamourize it... you don’t instantly flip a house and get rich, there is a lot of work that goes in behind it! He explains that the hardest part of the process is finding the deal and three important components necessary to run this business are: Creating systems and processes Lead generation Investing in marketing Listen in now as we extract Mike’s success secrets, including which characteristics are in his magical real estate elixir—Key criteria found in successful investors. There is one in particular that if you don’t have will cause failure early on! We also tackle: Abundance mentality Shiny object syndrome Dealing with haters Plus, Scott shares a story of a difficult seller who kept bidding him up and he felt like she didn’t like him. Wait until you hear the goosebump moment after closing the deal with her… it was an eye-opener for Scott! Listen in for details... TIP OF THE WEEK Mark: Learn more about Mike by going to his website at FlipNerd.com. Scott: Check out PotCoin.com for alternative payment methods for your customers. Mike: Look for ways to continuously simplify your life. Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?

In today’s episode of The Art of Passive Income—Round Table edition, Mark is joined by: Erik Peterson Jeannie Morem Aaron Williams Mimi Schmidt Jeannie starts us off this week with those irascible HATERS. She’s been getting hate mail and insulting voice messages in response to her mailers. Initially, she gets offended but realizes it’s part of the business and that she must be doing something right. But, how do we deal with this and stay positive...do we hug our haters or ignore them? And is this something we become immune to? Everyone recounts their own run-ins with haters and how they deal with it—Erik has sneaky haters, Aarons curse him in a nice manner, and Mimi tells us about one attack that was directed at her personally, not an offer amount. Then, Mark shares how he categorizes the responses by: Angry Crazy Super mean His approach is to try to turn those angry responses around into possible sales and gives an example of how he does this, a strategy Mimi says is brilliant! Then, Mimi brings up a COUNTY TAX situation for our next topic. She went to the website to pay the taxes and found that the payment feature had been turned off and in big red letters it said that the property was going to have a tax certificate sold on it. Aaron also went through a similar situation on a property he sold on terms. Unbeknownst to him, it had a tax certificate on it. After the terms buyer paid a significant amount towards it, the guy who held the tax certificate contacted Aaron to let him know that the property belonged to him now, the certificate holder! Find out the outcomes, lessons learned, and how to avoid these situations. Also, find out what Mark says about the overage strategy. Plus, how do you gain customer trust and loyalty? Jeannie shares her full transparency principles and Erik’s GLUE gifts have them talking! Listen in now... Isn't it time to create passive income so you can work where you want, when you want and with whomever you want?