The Graham Cochrane Show

Do you feel icky about selling? Like, do you just cringe when you realize you have to write some sales copy or ask for the sale on a sales call? Ever done a webinar and then you'd get to the sales pitch part and you're like: uh oh... Here we go. I get it. We all have some baggage when it comes to selling. Some of you have a leg up on me in terms of having a sales background, but either way selling is just a part of life. It's a part of everything we do. Selling touches everything we do, whether money is being exchanged or not. We're always selling, selling our ideas, selling our philosophy, selling something that's free etc. We have to convince people it can help them. For an online business owner, sales is real and you gotta be good at sales. But what I want to do today is to introduce you six psychological selling hacks. And here's the great news: you're already familiar with these! You have already experienced these in some way, shape or form in the real world. So these will actually be not new, they will be familiar to you. And these are proven, and these are things you can start to massage into your sales process. These are going to help you sell more in an authentic way because you're just using human psychology and it's not even something that you have never heard of.  Let's unpack these six psychological sales hacks that you can use when you sell your product! In this episode you'll learn: What the psychological aspect is to all these 6 selling hacks Why tapping into your customers psychology is a genius move for selling How you can sell more by using powerful everyday examples Hope you enjoy!- Graham

I've been in business for 13 plus years now. I've run two online businesses over that decade and a half and boy, have I learned a lot. I have made a lot of mistakes. I've seen trends come and trends go. But the great thing about time is that it gives you an opportunity to form your beliefs, form your opinions on what really is true. And so I have come to find out that there are a few things that I believe about online business that are not very popular. In fact, they are so unpopular that I get made fun of. I get criticized for, or people just give me that glazed over look in their eyes. They're just totally confused. And as I have been compared to other online business gurus, I'm realizing we have totally different worldviews, totally different ways of going about things. What I thought I would do in today's episode is share the three most unpopular opinions in the hopes that you will at least hear them out and engage with them. My hope is not that you would believe me, but that you would choose to either agree with me or disagree and have your own reasons why let's discuss. In this episode you'll learn: What my unpopular opinions are and why they come across as such How these opinions came about and how they change my business for the better Why these are important issues for you to think about to grow your business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So all my students want a successful business, whatever successful means to them. Whether that's six figures a year, seven figures a year, or if that just means having raving fans or products that you feel really good about that sell really well. Whatever you define as success, that's what we're working towards every single day. And that's what I'm trying to help you with every single week on this show. But there is a critical key to success. Something that most business owners don’t even think about and fail to see as the most important cogwheel in your business. This is so important. I don't want you to miss it. We're going to unpack it and break down five ways to apply this key principle to your business, because I don't want you to show up and work hard and not get results. So let's unpack what the key to success is that most people aren't talking about. In this episode you'll learn: Why most business owners fail to acknowledge this crucial component for business growth How this key principle will make all the difference for your business What you need to get started with this key principle today! Hope you enjoy!- Graham

The very first email was allegedly sent in 1971. And today, so many business owners think that in a few years, email is going to be a thing of the past. Like we will literally not be using email any more. And so naturally, if you adopt this way of thinking, you would question why I talk about email and email marketing all the time. If this is a passing fad that will eventually transition away into something like just social media or whatever the next platform is, then why is Graham going on and on about email? But the reality is that email not only is going to stick around for the long haul, but it will become the preferred communication channel even more than it is today, as it advances and creates more powerful ways to connect with your ideal customer. After this episode you’ll know the full power of email and why email is king, not only now, but in the future, let’s dive in! In this episode you'll learn: What the fundamental dials of email are, that make it the best communications tool online What email advancements we're likely to see in the coming years, and why they will be a game changer What the main difference is between social media platforms and email, and why email is way more profitable for your online business   Hope you enjoy!- Graham

One of the biggest goals people have with their online business is making $100,000 a year or more, wanting to hit that six figure a year income threshold. It's a great goal to have and it opens up a lot of dream like lifestyle opportunities. But for many, the $100,000 a year goal is just that - a dream. I think one of the problems people have with visualizing and actualizing such a goal, is that many people think there's only one way to reach a hundred thousand dollars a year in your business and for the online business space. Usually we think that the and only way to reach that goal is selling digital products. I'm a huge fan of digital products, but they're actually multiple path to reach six figures - and these paths are simple to follow!In today's episode, I want to break down the three most proven paths to reaching that six figure a year income, break down the math and inspire you with some tips and tricks for each one of those.My hope is that you'll view this as a choose your own adventure book! Choose the path that seems most likely, most probable, most exciting to you because there isn't just one way to reach your income goals.There are multiple ways and we'll break down the three most powerful ones today! In this episode you'll learn: The three most proven ways to reach six figures a year in business income How a simple path to six figures can be immensely powerful and effective How you can scale and double down on the things that are working in your business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Your first launch of a product, meaning the first time you bring it to market, is NOT the end all be all of that product. It is just that: the first launch. It will either be launched again and again and again or you'll make it an evergreen product, always having it for sale inside your email funnel. The point is that long-term, you want to make money off this product. And with that mindset, comes the realization that you don't have to make a ton of money off of THIS one launch. Most of the big bucks can actually be made, by fine tuning the launch you just did - with a launch review formula. When you present a product to your audience, you want to make sure that you are squeezing a bit more juice and getting a little more mileage, every single time. And with my must have launch review formula - you’re going to do just that. After diving into this episode, you’ll know exactly what to focus your attention on, to make sure that you are not leaving a single cent on the table with your promotions. So sit back, relax and enjoy this breakdown of my must have launch review formula! In this episode you'll learn: How my launch review formula can make you more money, by just asking the right questions The 3 key areas that you need to dial in to keep making profitable launches How to eliminate failed launches completely when using this formula Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Affiliate marketing is a great tool to scale your online business. It can be a great addition to your current product suite and it as easily scalable product, since the product research, development and distribution has already been taken care of. I've personally made over $2 million selling other people's stuff, which is basically what affiliate marketing is. And so in today's episode, what I want to do is pull back the curtain on the things I have promoted for affiliate marketing, that got me to $2 million. We're going to talk about how affiliate marketing works and my recommendations for creating the best affiliate marketing plan that is guaranteed to put money in your pocket. I'll also share some of my favorite tips and tricks when it comes to affiliate marketing, as well as things that I regret doing and mistakes I've made, so that you can avoid them and keeps things ultra profitable. After watching this episode you'll know how to integrate affiliate marketing into your overall online business strategy to not only scale your income, but help you get more passive income. Let's do this! In this episode you'll learn: What affiliate marketing is, how it works and how to setup your affiliate marketing the best way possible How I've made over $2 million dollars in passive income using affiliate marketing  My personal recommendations for speeding up your success with affiliate marketing and scaling your income the best way possible Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Everybody online is talking about whether we are entering into a recession here in the US and globally. It's been the talk of the town for months, if not a couple of years now. And we might already be in a recession as of the time you're diving into this episode. Let's get to the obvious question first. Do I know when or where it's coming or how long it'll last? No, I don't know the future, but what matters more to me is understanding how do we conduct ourselves and how do we run our businesses in light of a potential recession. You need to be prepare for dark days of business. You need to have the financial and decision making prowess to navigate through the periods when your business isn't booming, and also through a global recession, when that day comes. And that's what I want to share with you today. Let's talk about what you and I can control instead of all the scary gloom and doom out there that we can't control. And I'll share my own story of how I made it out of the previous recession with a prospering online business. In this episode you'll learn: What essential steps you need to take to navigate through a recession and keeping your business prosperous How the previous recession of 2008-2009, changed my way of thinking and made me a better business owner Why recessions can actually be a good thing for your business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

When you're running an online business, there are generally only two levers to pull. When it comes to selling your products, you're either a launching products or you have products selling in an evergreen fashion around the clock.  The launch model is the sexy model. It's the one that gets talked about a lot and taught a lot when it comes to online business. But it also comes with a lot of bagage and downsides which you never hear anyone teaching online business mention or acknowledge. I'm here to tell you the truth. Even if that truth is ugly. And today we’re going to do just that.  In today’s episode I’m going to unpack how you can make more money longterm, if you build out an evergreen style product business and actually move away from launching new products all the time. It is the evergreen model, that's been responsible for the bulk of my revenue and both of my seven figure online businesses. So let’s talk about these six ugly truths about launching your products and hopefully I'll steer you into the evergreen product lifestyle! In this episode you'll learn: Why launching new products all the time actually might hurt your business What the evergreen model is and how to it can revolutionize your business My formula for using the evergreen model that allowed me to build two seven figure businesses Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So in about a week, I'm going to step away from my business for an entire month. That's right. I'm leaving my business, taking a month long sabbatical for the month of July. And today I thought I'd bring you in on this process, because it really ties into what I teach, what I preach and what I believe. I could have just kept this private, but I decided to be a little more public about it and use it as an opportunity to encourage you. I think there's a stigma around taking long breaks and taking periods of rest. Vacations last, maybe a week or two for most Americans, and turns out that business owners are actually the worst at taking breaks and not working for longer periods of time. I am the antithesis of the hashtag hustle culture. It is a badge I wear proudly. And so today, we're going to dive in head first into this mindset. In this episode I'm going to explain to you why I'm taking a month long sabbatical, what benefits I think will accrue to me in taking that month off, how I've experienced sabbaticals in the past, (both good and bad), what some of my mental scripts are that actually almost prevented me from taking the sabbatical this year and then I got a little challenge for you at the end that you don't want to miss! Let's dive in!   In this episode you'll learn: Why I'm taking a month long sabbatical and how I believe that will benefit my business What the stigma is around taking breaks for business owners, and how you can start to come out of the mental scripts that are holding you back How to tap into a creative superpower for your business - by actually not doing anything business related Hope you enjoy!- Graham

How can you grow your small online business fast? Everybody asks me: Graham, how can I grow this thing faster?Usually try to break it to them slowly that, hey that’s not really how this thing works. I get that there's pressure. I get that you want this to grow quickly, I can totally relate. When I started my online business, I was on food stamps. I needed to make money as fast as possible.There is no shortcut to making this happen in the way you're expecting it, BUT there are five counterintuitive ways to grow your online business faster. These are the things that you must be doing to actually turbocharge your efforts and move across the board game a little faster than someone else. So brace yourself, because this might not go where you think it's going to go, but I promise you, this is what it takes to take your small online business and turbocharge it and grow it fast! In this episode you’ll learn: The counterintuitive ways you can turbocharge your business growth Why most online business owners focus on the wrong things, when trying to achieve fast business growth How growing your business fast could potentially harm your business and how you can avoid it Hope you enjoy!- Graham

We're living in an attention economy. You and I need to get attention on the things that we're doing in order to get our ideas out there in the world, to get people to buy our products or hire us for our service. Whatever it is that we are selling or offering, whether free or paid in the world - you need eyeballs. You need people to pay attention to what you're doing. And that's why this conversation today with Alan Henry is going to be so instrumental for you as you think about creating content and finding your unique voice in the marketplace. Alan Henry is the service editor at Wired. He was previously the Smarter Living editor at The New York Times, and before that the editor in chief of the productivity and lifestyle blog Life Hacker. He's got a brand new book out that just dropped this week called Seen, Heard and Paid: The New Work Rules For The Marginalized. It's on sale now anywhere books are sold. It's a fantastic read, and I sat down with Alan to talk about the book and his thoughts on finding your unique voice in your market.Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Newsflash friend! You don't have to do every single business strategy that you see other people doing. In fact, there are a ton of strategies that I see people doing that are popular, flashy and trendy - that I just choose not to do. And there are some business strategies, that I have done in the past but have moved away from. And so in today's episode, what I want to do as always is bring you behind the curtain, show you some decision-making that I've done in my strategies for growing my business, show you the strategies that I've stopped doing or don't do at all - in hopes that it might give you a little bit of freedom to make some decisions for yourself. You get to decide what strategies make sense for you and your goals, and even the way you want to show up in your business. I want to give you a little bit of that insight today, because it's not just what you see people doing - it's WHY they are doing it or not doing it. That is the really insightful part for all of us. And I want to share that insight with you today, from my vantage point as a seven figure business owner. In this episode you'll learn: What flashy and trendy business strategies I stopped using, because of their inability to grow and scale my business What my ultimate big goals are as a seven figure business owner, that lead me to cut ties with some of these strategies How you can evaluate your business and make sure that you are hitting your goals and not wasting time on strategies that don't benefit you in any way Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Many people believe that online business success is simply derived from using the right tactics and the right strategies. But I believe that is a false perception. There might be some truth to using strategies that work (because the online business model is essentially a system to follow) but what I think it really comes down to is your own behavior.  Have you had this rude awakening? You've started your online business, and then suddenly you realize that you are your own boss. Nobody is going to tell you what to do. Nobody is coming to the rescue. Your online business success, is solely dependent on the amount of discipline and fruitful habits that you have. But it is very rare, that we stop and really think about our habits and what type of results they brings us closer to, or pulls us away from. That's what we're going to look at today. I want to share 7 bad habits that will destroy your business. If you resonate with any of these, it is time to step your game up and turn your bad habits into good ones - all for the sake of your business success. In this episode you'll learn: Why so many business owners never see real business success because of their habits How to turn your bad habits around and explode your business success What the seven bad habits will do to your business if left unchecked Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So you just lost your job. What do you do? How should you move forward? And how does online business connect to a scenario like this? If you're reading this right now, then you're obviously interested in online business, but maybe you just weren't expecting to have to start one this soon. As someone who's lost many jobs in the past, two in the same year back in 2009 during the global recession, I can empathize with your pain. And in today's episode, what I want to do is address literally the five things you should be doing the moment you lose your job and how to transition into something better and take this potential curse and turn it into a blessing!In this episode you'll learn: How to navigate safely and securely through a job loss and what role online business plays in this scenario Why losing two jobs in the same year, was actually the best thing that ever happened to me How to make sure you never loose a job again Hope you enjoy!- Graham

For a lot of people, online business is regarded as like the ultimate dream, right? You get to do work you love, you get to have scalable income, flexibility, work from home and all those great things. And every single week, I'm trying to help you get closer to all of that. It is a dream in a lot of ways, but as I've said multiple times over, this dream is actually doable! But as with all great things, there's also some dark sides, and online business definitely has a few of those that I don't think people talk about enough. Today I want to play devil's advocate for a moment literally pull back the curtain on some of the darkest secrets about online business that maybe you haven't considered. Just so that you are fully prepared and have a realistic view when you're out there building the dream that is online business. In this episode you'll learn: What the darkest secrets are to online business and why people aren't talking about them How learning about these dark secrets can actually make you a better business owner How understanding the dark side of online business can actually be a superpower that fuels your motivation Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Does online business actually work or is it just one big giant fantasy? Can the average man or woman actually find success with this business model or is it reserved only for a select few people who can afford to fail at first? Well today, what I thought I would do is bring it on. I thought I would curate all the common criticisms, skepticisms or doubts that I hear in emails, social media comments, people tell me about what I teach and what other online business gurus teach - does this model actually work? Let's just tackle all of this head on today. I think this will be a really helpful episode. And my hope for you is that there'll be at least one of these doubts that you've had that I can tackle in front of you, that might bring you a little closer to believing that you could actually pull this off. Because here’s the secret - you actually can! Let's dive in.In this episode you'll learn: The top objections to the online business model, and how I usually respond to them Why I believe online business isn't a lie and that ANYONE can succeed, following a set of core guidelines and principles What to do if you're stuck with your online business endeavor and don't know where to go next Hope you enjoy!- Graham

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away... Well, it actually happened in this galaxy, but it was indeed a long time ago since I started my first online business The Recording Revolution. As time progressed that business grew into a seven figure business and I then launched my second brand Graham Cochrane, which now also is a seven figure plus business.  I only bring up these numbers to give you some sense of the amount of work that went into growing these two businesses. Over the years I’ve had many different sources of inspiration, coaching and feedback that helped me to get where I wanted to go. And a big source of motivation has been (you guessed it) Star Wars. Because when we get past the nerdiness of lightsabers and ewoks, aliens, spaceships and the force - inside of all of that wrapping is really a bunch of stories of people. And when we understand how human nature works and how we tick on the inside and how our customers tick, we can actually apply those principles to create a successful business.  In this episode you'll learn: The four big ways Star Wars can help you take your business to the next level Why these stories resonate so much with us, and how that helps us to connect with our customers How these 4 powerful lessons accelerated my progress with creating two seven figure businesses Happy Star Wars day my friend. May the fourth be with you!- Graham

Creating content is the bedrock of a profitable growing, scalable and sustainable online business, I know I preach it to you all the time. And so today I want to help you out by bringing on an expert content creator on the show, someone who is running one of the biggest content machines on the internet right now, to help you crush it with your content, no matter where you at in whatever stage you are in your online business journey. My guest today is Jordan Calhoun, who is the editor in chief at Lifehacker. And hopefully you're taking advantage of all the juicy content Lifehacker has to offer. They're an amazing resource. Jordan is editor in chief at Lifehacker. He's also the host of the award-winning podcast: The upgrade. He's a renaissance man, returned peace corps volunteer, he holds a BA in sociology and criminal justice, a BS in psychology and an MPA in public policy. He's also a pop culture connoisseur, he and I both grew up in the eighties and nineties and so we have a shared love of movies, video games, TV books, comic books, all of the above. Also he has a brand new book: Piccolo is black that just dropped  available in all book stores. And in this conversation, Jordan I sat down and we talked about how to become a prolific content creator, even when you run out of ideas. Where the line is between creating content for clicks or for yourself and then we discussed the drive to want to be someone that matters in the world and not be a minor character. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with Jordan and I know you will too. So sit back, relax and enjoy my conversation with Jordan Calhoun.

Today I want to share the story of when I left my first business The Recording Revolution. I stopped being the main content creator for that business in 2021 and there were a lot of events, thoughts and reflections that led up to making that decision. But at the heart of it, there was one realization that tipped the scale. One thing that made me finally sit down, get honest with myself and start the process of transitioning out of the business that changed my life forever. It wasn't easy. In fact it was one of the hardest decisions I had ever made. As business owners you are bound to face hard decisions and with today's episode, I hope I can give you some clarity and some practical strategies to face those decisions and make the right move going forward. Because as it turns out, my realization brought me to an even better place, and I'm certain you can do the same! In the episode you'll learn: What kind of hard decisions you are bound to deal with as a business owner, and how you can navigate through them and continue to move forward What my big realization was that led me to leave my $1 million business, and how that changed everything How to tap into your intuition, build up your grit and learn how to cultivate and develop decision making superpowers for your business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So many people are turned off by the idea of an online business because of the amount of work they think they have to put in to see success. But is that premise really true? Does it take huge amounts to generate say $1000 online? I believe the answer is simply no. It doesn't take huge amounts of work to see success online. Now we can't eliminate work entirely, but what we can do is effectivize it to the point where just about anyone could pull this thing off. And that's exactly what we're going to do today. I'm going to pretend for a second, that you're a lazy person (I know you aren't, but hear me out). And because you're a lazy person, I'm going to lay out step by step, what actions you need to take to generate your first $1000 online. I call this 'The Lazy Person’s Guide to $1000 Online' - let's dive in! In this episode you'll learn:  What simple and important steps you need to take to generate $1000 online - the lazy way Why most people fail in taking this lazy approach to online business and what you can do to make sure you succeed The best mindset to make sure that you keep moving forward, don't fall off the wagon and actually put money in your pocket Hope you enjoy!- Graham

We are 25% of the way into 2022. And the question is, are you on track to hit all your goals?If you're like most people, you started off this year with a handful of goals in mind. Now it is time to assess how it's going. Are you heading in the right direction? If you answered no to either of these questions, then this is the episode for you. This is going to be the kick in the pants that you need to actually go accomplish, realize and achieve those goals that you set out to achieve at the beginning of the year. I'm going to break down the seven must have components that anyone needs to actually achieve goals. So this is going to be real practical and you are going to walk away with a renewed feeling of motivation and a set of hands on strategies that will turn you into a productivity genius. And don't worry. There's still plenty of time. That's why we're talking about goal setting now and not just at the beginning of the year, I'm here to help, and this episode is how we get it done. Let's go crush those goals together! In this episode you'll learn: The seven must have components to achieving ANY goal you set your mind to Why most people fail in their goal setting and how you can make sure that never happens to you The best goal setting mindset you can have, that will make 2022 your biggest year of accomplishments Hope you enjoy!- Graham

We all have our own story to tell. Starting your online business usually involves moving away from a traditional 9 to 5 job. And personally I don't have very fond memories, when I look back at that period of my life. I had Sunday anxiety, because Monday was creeping closer. I felt uninspired, unmotivated and was longing for a change, even though I didn't have any clue what that change would be. I've now come to realize that these were all huge warning signs, that were telling me to start my own business. Today we're going to look at 10 of these important warning signs. If you identify with any of these, you NEED to start a business. I can promise you that the consequences of not listening to yourself and changing this downward spiral situation, are much much worse than any initial challenges you might experience when starting your online business. Starting is what stopping most people. Your start doesn't have to be that successful, but you have to actually start to see real success. In this episode you'll learn: The 10 warning signs that should propel you to start a business, and what will happen if you ignore them My own personal experiences with these warnings signs and how I've used them to maintain my business success The absolute best way to start your business and turn your life around in a matter of weeks Hope you enjoy!- Graham  

Do you have trouble staying creative in your business? If you've been making content for a while, you might be in a season of no ideas, lack of creativity. How do you keep coming up with content ideas, product ideas, marketing ideas. How do you not become stale?  How do you keep the spark going and how do you even motivate yourself when you're bored with your own stuff? Is it even possible to create an unending flow of ideas? Well, today I want to share with you a simple but powerful thing that has completely revolutionized the way I think about content business.  Staying creative in your business is all about finding new ways to trigger and bring out your best ideas. And today, I’m going to share what I believe is the best strategy to unleash your creativity, and it’s both simple and fun. Ready to get creative? Say hello to the creativity switch! In this episode you'll learn: How the creativity switch works and why it is so powerful in bringing you new fresh ideas Why most business owners get stuck and fail to generate new inspiring ideas How you can make sure you always stay creative in your business, no matter how close you are to a deadline Hope you enjoy!- Graham

If you've followed along the last couple of weeks, we've talked about how to find your most profitable idea, how to grow your audience and how to capitalize on that audience to be able to sell a product online.  And now we come to one of the core components of online business: your online product. What do you actually sell? How do you actually make money online? And what should your product look like?All those questions and more - will be answered in today's podcast! There are many ways to monetize your audience online and it all comes back to how you want to run your business. Today I'm going to share the most profitable ways you can monetize your audience as well as give an extra push for online courses, since they are the backbone of my two seven figure businesses. In this episode you'll learn: All the different ways you can monetize an audience, including some counter intuitive ways that you don't want to miss! Why online courses are so powerful to grow an income online and the must have components of an online course Why many business owners struggle to make an income online and how you can make sure that doesn't happen to you! Hope you enjoy!- Graham

So, what do you do once you've been creating content? How do you turn all those views and those followers into a targeted lead who might buy your eventual product? That's what we're going to talk about today.  We're in part three of this mini series, based on my book: ’How to get paid for what you know’ which drops next week, March 22nd - I’m so excited about this!  We've been unpacking some core concepts of building your own income stream based off of the book and today we have to talk about one of the most important things you will do in your online journey, which is not just create content, but funnel those people into your email list so that you can eventually offer them a paid offer, product service, whatever it's going to be. This is a missing link for people. So pay attention today. As we dive into one of the most critical parts of making money online: your lead magnet. In this episode you'll learn: What the anatomy of a great lead magnet is and how it puts money in your pocket Why most people go about creating their lead magnet the wrong way, and end up capping their customer acquisition potential How to build out a solid suite of lead magnets and maximize your lead generation effortlessly Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Growing your audience is an integral part of running your online business. It is one of the most straight forward ways to scale your income and earn more while doing the same (or less) amount of work.  But so many business owners are scratching their heads when it comes to growing your audience. How do I get discovered? How do I get the word out and make people aware of my business? And maybe most importantly, how do I find the right kind of people that are looking for what I have to sell? I'm going to dive into all of that and more in today's episode. After jumping on this episode you'll know exactly how can grow your audience over time what you need to focus on next to make that happen! In this episode you'll learn: Why so many online business owners struggle to grow an audience (hint: they have it completely backwards) My best slam dunk audience growing marketing strategy, that is both simple, effective and will work 100% of the time How you can find the gems in your marketing strategy, so you can cut your audience growth time in half! Hope you enjoy!- Graham  

Whether you realize it or not, you already have the knowledge, passion, and skills to create an automated income stream that requires no college degree, zero employees, and less than fifty dollars to get started. But in the sea of great ideas that we all might have, how do we find the one that is actually profitable? And what do we do once we have that idea? How do we turn on the profit generating machine?Today I want to guide you through one of the first chapters of my upcoming book 'How To Get Paid For What You Know' (drops March 22nd). This chapter is all about finding your profitable idea using what I call  'The Three-Part Profitability Framework'. After this episode, you'll know what your profitable idea really is and what the next step is for your business to ensure it becomes a success.In this episode you'll learn: The step by step process to finding and validating your profitable idea Why following your passion, could actually be the wrong way to go How the three part profitability framework can help you maximize your revenue for your business Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Reaching six figures is quite the achievement.  Many people say that the first $100k is the hardest and in my experience there is definitely truth to that statement. But I would say that the push towards reaching seven figures is a lot harder, at least at face value.  When you’re earning six figures and you’ve set your sights on seven figures (which happens to almost all six figure earners by the way) your mind starts telling you a bunch of weird things and you are led to believe that everything has to fundamentally change for seven figures to even be a possibility.  And that’s exactly where the problem is. The real obstacle of reaching seven figures is on mental level, not on a practical level. And today I’m going to unpack what that looks like and unchain you from any mental scripts you might have, that could be holding you back from earning a seven figure income.  Let’s get you unstuck from six figures. Let’s open up the door to seven figures, because that doors opens a lot easier than you might think. In this episode you’ll learn: What mental scripts are holding you back from reaching seven figures Why reaching seven figures is a lot easier than you might think What practical steps you need to have in place to open the doors for a seven figure income Hope you enjoy! - Graham

What does it take to create a successful and profitable business that doesn’t require a huge team? And what is the main driver behind reaching the seven figure mark with such a business? If you knew the answer to these questions and had access to the data and the research of how small and no team businesses can grow to seven figures - would that be valuable information for you to have? I’m sure it would. And that’s exactly what I’m going to share with you today. My friend and author colleague Elaine Pofeldt has written a new book about this very subject called: ”Tiny business, big money”. Elaine Pofeldt is an independent journalist specializing in entrepreneurship. Her work has appeared on CNBC and in Fortune, Money, Forbes, and many other publications. Recently I sat down with Elaine and talked about her findings when writing ’Tiny business, big money’ and we also covered a lot of interesting topics for small business owners - or as Elaine likes to call them, micro businesses. What’s inside this episode: The surprising statistics of how long it takes for a micro business to reach the seven figure mark The importance of automation in your business and how that can be the secret sauce of scaling The counter intuitive things you should focus on to grow your micro business, while also protecting your personal time and avoiding burn out.   Make sure to pick up Elaine's new book!Hope you enjoy!- Graham

If there’s one thing online business owners are insecure about it is pricing. What should I price my products at? How do I know I have the right price? What prices are my competitors using? Will my launch fail because of the price I’ve set? The list of insecurities goes on and on.  Well today all that is about to change. In this video I want to guide you through one of my favorite strategies to remove any and all pricing insecurities. This wonderful strategy is called: Price elasticity.  No more uncertainty. No more pricing insecurities. No more second guessing. After this video, you’ll have everything you need to run your business with a solid pricing strategy. Relax, sit back and take in the wonderful resourcefulness that is Pricing elasticity. In the episode you’ll learn: Why there is no such thing as ”the right price” and what the better alternative is How price elasticity can help you increase your revenue effortlessly How to remove all pricing insecurities once and for all Hope you enjoy! - Graham

Today I want to do something a little different.  As business owners, we are constantly bombarded with the latest flashy trends on why online courses are the answer to most of our problems. Don’t get me wrong, I love online courses. They have been the backbone of both of my two seven figure businesses, but very rarely do you hear the real truth about online courses. I am in this space because I want to give you the truth. It might not be flashy, it might not be what you always want to hear - but I believe the truth is going keep you in the space the longest and lead you to success. So today we’re going to cover the truth about online courses. We’re going to touch on the big realizations that nobody really talks about. Why? Because I want to prepare you for what’s to come and to ultimately ensure that your online courses become the success that you want them to be. In this episode you'll learn: What most online business owners completely miss about online courses The real stats and secret metrics of online courses that most online business guru's never tell you! The must-have mindset you need to have, in order to make sure your online courses have a fighting chance of becoming best sellers Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Is there a science to online business? Is there a repeatable process that you can follow, that will allow you to reproduce success as an online business owner? The answer is: 100% yes! And it is because of this reason, that I show up every single week, teaching you all that I know about running an online business. We need to do away with this notion that running an online business is something special. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but if we were to boil down the components that make up my success - the results would be very simple. YOU are special, not the way you run your business. If you're looking for the straight and simple approach to how and why the online business model works - then this episode is for you. I hope and believe that this is an episode that can take procrastination out of the equation, help you punch fear in the face and ultimately get things off the ground - whether if you're looking to start or scale. Once you know the science of online business, you are well on your way to charting your own path to success.  In this episode you'll learn: What the most important components to online business are and why they work Why many online business owners fail, when they start to deviate from the science of online business How the science of online business can help you start or scale your business using very simple approaches Hope you enjoy!- Graham

As with most things in the online business world, growing a membership takes time. When you first start your membership, your main focus is usally to infuse it with valuable content and get people in. But if you want a healthy, best selling and long living membership - you have to think a little bit differently. Bringing in new members to your membership, is actually only one of the five things you can do to scale and grow your membership. If you target these five things in your membership, you will ensure that it is healthy and as profitable as possible.  If you’re looking to take things to the next level with your membership in 2022, then this is the video for you. Let’s crank these five levers in your membership and scale it using these proven strategies!In this episode you’ll learn: Why running a membership is so much more than bringing people in How you can scale your membership and turn it into a perennial best seller, by just applying a few strategic moves! 5 counter intuitive levers that you can pull to make sure your membership stays healthy and profitable Hope you enjoy!

Way back in 2010, I launched my very first online course. It didn't make me much money, but it changed the course, (no pun intended) of my life forever. I'm a humongous fan of online courses as are many people. And it seems like everyone and their mom is looking into launching an online course, but the reality is that everyone and their mom will actually not launch an online course. Even the most active people snooping around on the internet, maybe that's you looking into how to launch an online course, will not actually launch. There's four big reasons why most people, even the ones who are most researched and most interested and most likely to launch - won't actually launch. In today’s episode I want to break down these four reasons of why most people won't launch and help you actually launch your course this year. My goal is to give you that swift kick in the pants to take action in 2022 and beyond, because launching that first online course could definitely change the course of your life forever. In this episode you’ll learn: Why launching a course is so much more than just putting in the work What limiting beliefs you probably have (because I have them too) that are keeping you from actually launching What you need to do in 2022, to finally launch and change the course of your life! Hope you enjoy!

For many online business owners, selling can be viewed as a hard thing to pull off.But when we break it down into its core components - selling is a really simple concept to wrap your head around. Selling in the online business world can often be presented as this complex and advanced activity, leading people to shy away from it and consequently a lot of money is left on the table. But today I’m hoping to offer another perspective. One that is more simple to wrap your head around and will definitely set you up for success with selling. Whether it is courses, coaching or other products - after this episode you will know the core concepts of how to sell anything to anyone. In this episode you’ll learn: Why selling is misunderstood and turned into an overcomplicated process  What the two most important selling components are and how they can help you become a master seller What you do need to focus on right now to increase your revenue with whatever you’re selling Hope you enjoy!

I've said it a million times, and I'll say it a million times more: reaching six figures is not hard. You need the right components in place coupled with discipline and a whole lot of patience. Although reaching six figures can take a lot of time, it doesn't make the work you need to put in any harder. One who understands all this on an expert level is my student Antoine Michaud, who is in my Six figure coaching community (6FC). He recently reached six figures in his business and is doing 12k months on a consistent basis. To commemorate this massive achievement and to help others in our community to do the same, he posted a brilliant list of 13 steps he took that helped him reached these phenomenal numbers. Here's what Antoine says: "When I first joined 6FC, I was averaging 2k-3k/months, but I was confident that I could take it to the next level by applying what Graham was teaching in the masterclasses. But mostly, I knew I could achieve a lot just by staying the course with my content marketing strategy. None of these 13 steps alone have made an incredible impact to reach six figure. It's rather the added benefits of a little bit of all of them that made a big difference for me! 4 years ago, I was just another guy playing guitar on YouTube with way too much reverb :-) who knew this could lead to a highly profitable and highly fulfilling business?"  So in today's episode, I wanted to dive into these 13 steps and dissect the thoughts behind each one. Here's to six figures and beyond! In this episode you’ll learn: The power of small incremental adjustments made over a long period of time 3 counter intuitive ideas that makes all the difference in reaching six figures Why simplification actually is the secret sauce in scaling your business  Hope you enjoy!

It might be hard to believe, but 2021 is coming to an end. Hopefully you've had an interesting year with a lot of wins to celebrate. Or maybe, this year wasn't at all what you'd hoped it would be but you are taking those insights and coming up with a new strategy for 2022. I have so much to be grateful for this year. I've seen a lot of growth, both on a personal level and on the business side as well. Many of my wins were calculated and expected, which was really amazing to see. But some things came as a total surprise to me and made me change my strategy in certain areas. Today I wanted to share all my insights and take you behind the scenes, looking at both my personal and business wins and challenges. I also want to share some knowledge nuggets that played a big part in making 2021 the great year it was for me. In this episode you’ll learn: My personal best and worst moments and how they affected my business activities What surprised me about 2021 for my business and how that lead to an amazing experience My three knowledge nuggets for the year and why you should implement these for 2022 Happy new year, let's make 2022 the best year for your business yet! - Graham

Selling is an integral part of running an online business. If you don't sell, you don't make many - a simple equation that everyone understands. So, if we want to make more money, we should be selling more right? Well, it is actually a little more complicated than that. When it comes to selling online, most online business owners are actually selling too early, and end up leaving a lot of money on the table. Your audience isn't standing around waiting to buy any offer that comes their way, no matter how good that offer is. They actually have to be made ready to buy from you - a small change that makes all the difference. Today I want to make sure you're not leaving any money on the table. I want you to first investigate if you are indeed selling too early, and if that's the case I'm going to offer you a better system that will hands down put more money in your pocket. In this episode you’ll learn: How to know if you're selling too early and what to do about it The simple formula I use to make sure I'm selling at the right time to maximize revenue 4 simple steps that will change the way you view selling and how to convert your leads  Hope you enjoy!- Graham

The Internet can be a scary place. Especially if you are a content creator. If you've been putting out content for any length of time, then chances are you have dealt with some haters. People who hold nothing back in their comments, letting you know exactly where they think you've gone wrong and how you've made their lives miserable (Which of course isn't true!) It's no wonder that many online business owners are dragging on publishing content, they're probably scared to death of the haters that might be lurking out there! A long time ago, I made a promise to myself to not let fear dictate my actions inside my business. And that promise eventually allowed me to form a solid strategy for dealing with haters online. So today, I want to share that strategy with you, so you can move past hateful feedback in any shape or form so that it doesn't affect you or your business in any way. With this video I'm going to get you to publish your content, serve your email list and create your amazing products - all without a single hater standing in the way. In this episode you’ll learn: How to know exactly how to respond to any hateful comment, based on my three levels of haters The 3 things you absolutely SHOULD AVOID when interacting with haters on any platform How haters can actually serve you and eventually put money in your pocket  Hope you enjoy!- Graham

When you're trying to run and grow your online business, oftentimes we're in the process of adding things. We're constantly adding new products, new strategies, collaborations, and new moving parts to our businesses, while also wanting to incorporate new routines, books, and side projects to realize the visions we have for our lives and businesses. With the new year waiting around the corner, I think a lot of business owners feel drawn to the adding mentality because it is so heavily associated with newness. But today I want to turn things upside down. I believe it is equally important to take things out, to stop doing the things that aren't contributing to your life and business. We don't have to add things all the time, in fact, I think we probably add more things to our lives than we have margin for. If you want to add clarity, a sense of calm, mental bandwidth, and intentionality to your life and business - then this episode is for you. Here are 3 things I'm quitting next year. In this episode you’ll learn: Why adding more to your life and business could actually be hurting your progress The three things I'm going to quit to bring more clarity and intentionality to my life and business Why small adjustments are the most powerful for your business and how you can stay in your comfort zone while still achieving massive change in 2022  Hope you enjoy!

We've all been there. You spend hours and hours on a Youtube video, but then when its finally published and out there for the world to see, it gets little to no engagement. What happened? There are about a million different reasons why a video on Youtube gets a mediocre response, but often times we end up looking at the wrong things. We can become frustrated with not knowing what to do, so we end up questioning everything and we enter into paralysis by over analysis. Well today, I want to provide you with a simple approach to increase your engagement with your videos on Youtube, by looking at three different areas that you can improve today. You won't be overwhelmed, you won't over analyze and most importantly you'll be able to focus on what's actually important! Let's give your Youtube videos a boost! In this video you’ll learn: The 3 most important areas to look at, if your Youtube video isn't performing How to draw your audience attention towards your videos and keep them watching The No.1 thing you should avoid when creating your videos, to increase your engagement potential Hope you enjoy!

I've been doing online business for 12 years. I am immensely proud of the two seven-figure businesses that I have been fortunate (by God's grace) to build. Where time, patience, and discipline has been my main ingredients. But one thing is for sure: building a business is no easy ride. Even though most of us realize that the above statement is a fact, there are still some people that say otherwise. "Graham, you just got lucky!". "Graham, you just started at the right time!" "Graham, I don't have all the resources you had!" The truth is I started my first business with absolutely nothing, worked my way towards success - and you can do the same. That's why in this video, I wanted to talk you through step by step what I would do if I had to start all over, in hopes to inspire you and show you that starting a business isn't a fluke. When done right, it can be a reality waiting to happen... In this episode you’ll learn: The 8 steps I would take to get my business off the ground and start attracting an audience What to avoid when starting from zero, to make the most impact with your audience The fastest way to make great money online - even if you're just starting out  Hope you enjoy!

There are two types of business owners in this world. The ones who think email marketing died long ago and the ones who know that email marketing is the lifeblood of their online business. Hopefully if you're reading this, you've joined the latter alternative. Like with any tool used to move your business forward, there are a lot of insecurities about using email, which has led many online business owners to lower their growth potential, trying to play things safe. And no, Walmarts regular email sale spree, does not dictate what email marketing actually is. Email marketing is a wonderful value interaction and I believe at the heart of it, good email marketing is made up of 4 essential types of emails. If you're not sending these to your audience, you are missing out big time. Let's make sure your email marketing is where it needs to be! In this episode you’ll learn: The 4 essential types of email that has been the main driver for my email list growth for both of my brands Why most online business owners fail in growing their email list How to implement and use these emails to speed up your own email list growth Hope you enjoy!- Graham

If you've been a follower of mine for just about any length of time, you know that 'The 4 Hour Work Week' is a favorite book of mine. It is one of two books that I re-read every single year. This book holds a special place in my heart since it played such a huge role in getting my first online business started and introduced me to the wonderful concept of working less. Even though this book generated a lot of hype when it first came out and has established itself as a go-to resource for business, we need to address the elephant in the room. It has been 14 long years since this book came out and the world has changed dramatically from the way it was in 2007. Is the 4-hour workweek outdated? Is it still worth reading and can it still actually help you in your online business journey? Or is it speaking to a narrative that no longer exists and therefore should be left on the shelf? Well, that's the question we'll be answering today... In this episode you’ll learn: Why I think the 4-hour workweek is even more relevant today than 14 years ago The 4 best highlights of the book that you can actually implement today How this book impacted me and my business and why I re-read it every single year  Hope you enjoy!

What does it take to scale your online business? Many people believe that the end all be all is to sell more of your product to more people. And while that is true to a large degree, most business owners are actually leaving money on the table without even knowing about it. When it comes to scaling your business, we have to understand that our current pool of customers are the ones most likely to buy from us. Meaning that if we offer them something else that's really valuable and a good fit, they'll probably do business with us again. And to make things even more interesting, some of our customers are willing to spend way more with us, than most of our audience. When we put these two factors together, the strategy becomes super clear. We need to offer more products at different price points. We need to have a product suite. And today I'm going to show you how to do exactly that... In this episode you’ll learn: What a product suite is and why you need one The six different types of products you can create to scale your business How to think about the future of your business and create a plan that will put more money in your pocket Hope you enjoy!

When it comes to online business, I am a huge advocate of working less (which you probably know by now I've you've been paying attention). At one point in time, I was very protective of the tasks and routines I had that made up my business, but nowadays I make an effort to scale down the work I do each year. Many of the things I eliminate or delegate are things that I don't need to do or things I don't really want to do. But with each year that this refining process takes place, there is always one thing that stays the same. One thing that I've always done and will continue to do, probably till the end of my days. What is that thing? Content. Content is the main driver of your business. If you and I stop making content, our businesses will eventually cease to make money. So in today's episode, I want to give you a straight answer (and maybe a kick in the pants) when it comes to creating content. (Hint: You can't stop making it! EVER!) In this episode you’ll learn: What the number one rule of running an online business is The two hats or roles you take on every single day in your business and what they mean for your content creation How I was able to create one of my best pieces of content, even though I just came off an intense disagreement with my wife - and what you can learn from that story Hope you enjoy!

It's not that often I share personal stories of my own business journey. I can share examples from my own experience here and there in my teaching, but it's rare that I dive deep into just the personal stories in one whole episode. Part of that relates to fear. Fear of not providing value and helping you move forward with your business. I want this podcast to be didactic and actionable, which can be hard to incorporate into a personal story. But I today I'm going to go against my usual approach and share a tough personal story of the day I almost quit everything. My business, making content, selling products - EVERYTHING. This is going to be a story that has some dark elements to it, but in the end it all took a turn for the better (thank God!). I hope this can inspire you and give you that push to keep going in dark times. In this episode you’ll learn What actually happened that made me want to quit everything in my business Why I ended up not quitting, and what changed to turn things around The 4 components you need to have in place in your business, to make sure you don't quit and always keep going Hope you enjoy!

As business owners, we sometimes forget that we spend the majority of our time being customers. When we go to the grocery store, when we pick up new clothes or when we're waiting in line outside the Apple store to get the latest iPhone 20X ultra supreme edition. When you think back on all these kinds of interactions, is there a particular memory that stands out to you? One specific experience that cemented the idea for you that this is a fantastic brand that I'm going to tell my friend about and come back to again and again? Most likely, you were dealing with a magnetic brand. One that has a specific set of values in place that creates an attractive environment, which in turn will generate superfans. What are those values you ask? Well, I believe there are three values in particular that you should know about and implement into your own business, to create experiences that makes people seek YOU out, rather than the other way around. In this video you’ll learn: 3 powerful values that you MUST have in place if you hope to create a magnetic brand that draws people in Why people think about the values the wrong way and how you can escape these mental scripts How to generate a genuine and long-lasting following with your audience Hope you enjoy!- Graham

Marketing is something we all have a relationship with, whether we know it or not. We can all remember that warm and fuzzy feeling we got making a special purchase or interacting with a brand that went above and beyond for us. But most people don't associate that kind of interaction with marketing. In fact, marketing for them is something completely different. Something that leaves a bad taste in your mouth and something you don't want to associate with, especially when you're running an online business. This friction about what marketing is, calls for some myth-busting, which is exactly what we're going to look at today. I'm here to tell you that all those past warm and fuzzy interactions you've had with different brands, is exactly what marketing is and what it should be. Let's look at what these myths are and come back to the heart of great marketing for our businesses. In this episode you’ll learn The five biggest myths of marketing and why you probably believe them How these myths might have caused you to think and do things a bit differently in your business and how to break these mental scripts The better and more truthful alternative to all these myths, that you can implement in your own business right now Hope you enjoy!