There are some classes you solely study when life hits you onerous. This week’s grasp stared down the lack of his enterprise —
“All of This autumn was the largest punch within the face for me that 12 months. 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. As we speak, he shares the form of vulnerability and actual speak you not often get from entrepreneurs.
And his recommendation simply may aid you duck a punch.
Ryan Atkinson
Founder and CEO at Spacebar Visuals; Host of The UpFlip Podcast
- Enjoyable truth: In enterprise faculty, Ryan acquired 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.
In the event you consider the hustle-culture hype that thrives on LinkedIn, the one approach 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 believed after I [created] Spacebar, I needed to develop as a lot as attainable, rent as a lot as attainable,” 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 a degree the place he needed to reevaluate each his enterprise and life objectives 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 objective continues to be development, but it surely’s not development in any respect prices. Develop to rent accurately. Develop profitably. Develop mindfully.”
Lesson 2: It’s okay to begin low-cost.
Video is now not a nice-to-have for entrepreneurs, however that doesn’t imply you must drop half your web price making the following Marvel film.
“As an example you are a startup firm, the place you’ve a restricted funds. You’ll be able to’t spend 20 grand on a video. Actually, Upwork is a good place to get began.”
I took a sip of my tea simply so I may do a spit-take. The answer isn’t to write down a test to his video company?
“It doesn’t need to be Spacebar,” Atkinson laughs. “However you possibly can’t do an iPhone sort of video if you wish to make first impression on prospects.”
“In the event you’re a startup marketer, you’ve 1,000 issues it’s worthwhile to be doing. You will have reporting. You will have campaigns. You will have electronic mail advertising and marketing. And video will not be simple 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 folks have to know who you might be. You desire a model overview video. And also you desire a product demo that brings your product to life. In the event you may solely do three property with video, do these.”
Atkinson went on to interrupt down actual suggestions for every of these movies, however since I couldn’t squeeze ’em into one publication, I’ve linked an extended information down under.
Lesson 3: Podcast for a distinct function.
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 onerous. It’s nearly inconceivable to do it independently now,” he admits. “I 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 except you possibly can pay for broad distribution, or except you’ve acquired a ready-made viewers — say on LinkedIn or in a publication — 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 should you’re by no means a prime 100 podcast in your area of interest, there are different causes to do it.
“Podcasts might be reused as a weblog submit, electronic mail, [or] for search engine optimization.” To not point out repurposed for YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn. So even when the podcast itself is sluggish to achieve traction, the hassle pays out in cross-functional content material.
And your present may even be an icebreaker for these hard-to-reach shoppers:
“We use it generally 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 suppose 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, once you take a wager on one thing and it really works.
Personally, being with household, associates, understanding, and studying books.”
Subsequent Week’s Query
Atkinson asks: “In the event you may solely put money into one device to assist your organization develop for the following three years, what device would it not be?”
