The Business of Authority (youtube feed)

Author James Clear on getting remarkable results from making tiny changes to your habits. Guest Bio James Clear is an author, speaker, and entrepreneur. More than 400k people subscribe to James' newsletter on habits and performance. His work has been used by teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB, as well as leaders of Fortune 500 companies. His new book "Atomic Habits, Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results" i...

Why should you specialize? Talking Points Nobody wants a unisex haircut People are often looking for a unique style, not a one-size-fits-all approach It may be best not to put your portfolio on your website Generalizing locks you into lower prices and more competition Specializing minimizes your competition Specializing leads to higher prices Even if you only appeal to a small subset of the market...

Top 10 Tools for Building an Authority Business Which tools do you need to build an authority business? Talking Points Most authority businesses benefit from email marketing Email automation platforms have multiple useful features A contact system can help you keep track of leads, contacts, and clients Making physical notes with pen and paper is an alternative for people who don’t like digital to-...

How to decide if quitting is your best option Talking Points How to think about sunk costs—and the cultural and emotional messages around abandoning your “thing.” Evaluating opportunity costs—how to know when it’s time to quit to free up resources for other things. The value of asking for outside input before making large investments—and how to get it. Why setting kill criteria right at the start...

There are a lot of things going on behind the scenes of a successful launch. What do you need to do to make sure launch day goes smoothly? Talking Points A launch is an integrated process that can be considered part of the product development Figure out how to structure the product Learn how to talk about the product in a way that will attract the interest of people who need it Keep potential clie...

Are you asking for testimonials as often as you should be? Learn how to make it easier. Talking Points Asking for feedback should be part of your process Ask clients what their biggest concern was before hiring you Testimonial feedback can help you learn how to serve clients better Even if you don’t use it as a testimonial, feedback can be used to update your website, service offerings, or FAQs Wh...

How can you keep in touch with your creative process? Talking Points Focus on the objective, mission, or message Have a daily practice Avoid perfectionism Set a schedule Practice being creative Work on something that’s bigger than yourself Have a big idea or specialty to focus on Feedback from other people can help you generate ideas It’s OK to ignore certain kinds of feedback Have accountability...

Is podcasting the right path for you? Talking Points It helps to have a focus and a clear audience How podcasting and writing a book can go together How the interview format can be helpful for podcasters Podcasting as an income stream Complications of ads and sponsorships Podcasting as a way to build a network Things you need to get started in podcasting How to record voices on separate tracks Pod...

It's the most wonderful time of the year to initiate conversations with your network Talking Points How to revive dead deals The best communication channel for making connections Why outreach is both predictable and unpredictable The importance of genuine curiosity Networking for introverts Related Links Closing The Loop by Blair Enns

##Talking Points One of the critical growth points consultants and authorities-in-the-making grapple with is when to hire outside help with your business. This week we discuss how to decide if you’re ready for a Virtual Assistant—and then dive into how to make it work. We cover how to decide what to offload, what kind of VA you need, how much to pay them and where to find them. ##Quotable Quotes  ...

If you don't give yourself a break, who will? Talking Points Setting boundaries Examples of small, medium, and large breaks Identifying your "anchor habits/tasks" Reusing content to give yourself a break How our phones make taking a break difficult Quotable Quotes “I’m not a big fan of vacations.”—JS “We need a break from sitting on our butts using our brains.”—RM “Boredom is basically gone.”—JS “...

There's probably a difference between what YOU think you do and what YOUR CLIENTS think you do. Talking Points How to find meaningful metrics Why your craft doesn't matter as much as you think Quotable Quotes “Are you taking your clients on the scenic route to nowhere?”—JS “Measure what your client values.”—RM “How can you hit a home run if you don’t know where the wall is?”—JS “There’s always som...

Talking Points You might have a positioning problem if ...your clients can't tell the difference between you and everybody else ...you're not getting any word of mouth ...you can't explain what you do in five words or less ...you're not leading how your target audience sees you ...you don't know who your target audience is ...you don't know--or you don't talk about--how you transform your clients...

How and why to use stories with prospective clients. Talking Points How to remember your war stories The value of sharing stories in the sales process Where to look for story triggers How to use your values to test your stories Credentials vs stories How to prepare stories for client meetings Why you shouldn't memorize your stories (and when you should) ##Quotables: -“If someone wanted an arrogant...

A strategy for getting paid well even if your audience has small pockets. Talking Points The power of starting with the problem Big pockets vs small pockets Examples of paid marketing opportunities What to do before you have an audience How to craft a great pitch How to create interest in a cold email What to do on a pitch call Quotable Quotes “To increase the monetary value of your speaking gigs,...

How to give away expertise for free and make good money doing it Talking Points Selling more in less time without pushing How having a mission can help you strategically The roles that writing a book can play in a business How to give away expertise for free and make good money The importance of a good mailing list One way to constantly be in creation mode Quotable Quotes "I didn't sit down one da...

You’ve probably got at least a half-dozen bios (or maybe wish that’s ALL you had): your website ABOUT page, article bios/bylines, industry association profiles, speaking bio, media bio, LinkedIn profile, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, even your email signature… What constitutes a truly kick-ass bio? How far should you go in adding personality and sizzle to yours? And the big question: first person...

What does it take to become a true thought leader? On this week's episode, we separate building thought leadership from building authority and show you how to decide if becoming a thought leader is the right direction for you.

What's your vision for your business? Talking Points What's the point of having a vision for your business? What's the difference between vision and mission or purpose or big idea? What skills do you need to be developing (or discarding)? How do financial goals fit into your vision? How far out should you think with your business vision? What about me-focused vs you-focused vision statements? How...

Are you being a perfectionist... or just procrastinating? Talking Points How do you know when something is done? Are you being a perfectionist or just procrastinating? What things bring out the perfectionist in you? Quotable Quotes "If you want things to get better, you have to change something."—JS "People aren't really looking at your website that much."—RM "Your current clients don't go to your...

A few ways to think about how speaking might fit into your business strategy. Talking Points Three different types of speaking strategies What business models make the most sense for speaking The three stages of building a speaking practice Should you ever speak for free? How a product/service ladder comes into play when speaking The importance of knowing what you're selling and to whom Links We M...

Diversify your revenue streams by packaging your expertise in a variety of different ways.