Breaking Biz

In this episode we're joined by Nagina Abdullah of MasalaBody.com to understand the straight forward steps to take when it comes to creating, launching and selling an informational product online. Throughout the interview we reflect on the initial mistakes Nagina made that cost her thousands of dollars and countless hours of her time. By adjusting her process and finding the right mentors, Nagina was able to understand the psychology of selling and how to really get inside the head of her future customers.

John has been writing about fitness at johnfawkes.com for nearly two years now, and has built a following of over three thousand regular readers.  In this interview, he discusses the key skills and strategies and habits that allowed him to grow his business and understand his market on a deep level.   John had tried and failed with multiple business ideas. He adopted the same attitude of countless other people, following the traditional path of website, traffic, product and money. It was only when he started giving a damn about his customers that things started to change. I started to succeed once I thought, 'How can I really deliver value to my customers?' In this interview you will hear about: John's attempt to get rich in the mobile gaming space The moment he thought he'd found a market in the caeer advice world What simple systems and processes make a real online business Why you need to be tough with your customers and ignore the complainers Using specific language as a way to market your pr

How does it feel to continuously launch new business ideas and see them fail? Not great, of course, but this interviewee demonstrates the value of putting in that extra bit of work called research. Researching your audience ahead of a launch is one of the most important things you can do, yet so many people decide to skip it, preferring instead to assume that people are ready to buy what they're selling.   Matteo has been a freelance iOS developer for 10 years, and now makes a full time living helping iOS beginners to understand how the platform works and how they can make apps for themselves. In fact, Matteo had tried releasing his own apps in the past, with a simple mission statement: 'If we only get 1% of the market, we're going to make a lot of money' The problem was, he didn't understand just how hard it was to get even 1% of the market, let alone the fact that the Apple app store is not a marketing platform, merely a distribution platform. So what did he do? He spent a month online simply researchi

Bryce Conway is the founding editor of 10xTravel.com and the Author of Takeoff: How to Travel the World for Next to Nothing. He writes about travel, personal finance, and lifestyle design for more than 30,000+ monthly readers. It all sounds great, but life wasn't so simple at the start of his business venture. "It was below the worst expectations I'd ever had.." That's the sound of someone who thinks they have one of the hottest eBooks available online, only to find out that nobody feels like buying it. Confusing, especially after thousands of people had expressed a huge interested in saving money on their flights, which is exactly what Bryce specialised it. It gets worse though. "People do not make buying decisions based on logic!" Bryce even managed to get his business promoted on 'Good Morning America' - do you recognise that name? It's probably because around 15 million people watch it. Imagine millions of people hearing about your eBook, an eBook that you KNOW has valuable information and then…. Only 200

Vanessa Van Edwards is a Huffington Post columnist and her groundbreaking work has been featured on NPR, the Wall Street Journal, the Today Show and USA Today. Her organisation, Science of People, is a human behavior research lab with the goal of teaching you how people work. Understanding people is the most important life skill a person can have. Yet, we are not taught people skills in school nor do our parents sit us down and teach us how to interact effectively. In this episode Vanessa is going to discuss how we can use non verbal communication to increase sales and have more influence over our conversations. You'll learn that many of her tech entrepreneur clients are so clued up with the technical know how and book smarts, that they completely neglect their emotional intelligence. In this episode you'll discover: The cost of not mastering your non verbal communication The typical lightbulb moment that Vanessa's clients experience The value of 'encoding' and 'de-coding' when it comes to non verbal co

Ben Knep­pers co-​​founded Bureo with an eye toward reducing plastic pol­lu­tion in the ocean—specifically, dis­carded fishing nets. The com­pany designs and man­u­fac­tures sus­tain­able skate­boards and launched a col­lec­tion and recy­cling pro­gram in Chile called Net Pos­i­tiva that part­ners with local fish­ermen. To date, more than 50 tons of dis­carded nets have been pulled from the ocean and beaches. In this interview you'll hear all about Ben's journey from living in a friends closet through the financial crisis, different jobs in different countries, to where he's ended up. This interview does not follow the more 'normal' path of someone wanted to work for themselves and finding a way to leave their office job. Building relationships with low income communities that are traditionally suspicious of NGO's (broken promises) "The world is in a very critical state right now" "We're just trying to inspire the next generation to step up"   Find out how: Reverse Culture Shock Creates A Sustainabilty W

Jordan has always had an entrepreneurial mindset, whether that involved selling on eBay or to his friends at school. That kind of salesmanship still can't prepare you for setting up a gym wear brand from scratch, and negotiating with manufacturers in countries such as Turkey, China and Pakistan. "I couldn't really be in a job where there's a cap on salary." In this interview Jordan goes through the steps that he took to set up and grow Muscle Monkey to the brand it is today and we learn about what his typical day can look like (hint, there isn't one) as well as the ins and outs of sourcing products from factories and the problems that can pop up as a result. "What I love about business is you can earn as much as you like, it's down to how successful you become."

In this conversation with Benjamin Hardy, we talk about the power that can come with taking control over our lives. This means taking responsibility over our futures, no matter what's happened in the past, reminded ourselves that we're not 'just the way we are' and the value of paying attention to our own personal relationships.   During the conversation we'll reflect on the above as well as the unpredictability of self confidence, why people thrive on autonomy (to learn more check out Why Following Your Passion Is Terrible Advice) and what it means to actually be our authentic selves.

What's great about this startup story is the level of commitment Clara Vaisse and her co-founder demonstrated by hopping on a plane to Latvia. So many of us dream of starting a business, and we live that dream by discussing it over drinks night after night until that dream is passed off as a 'weak moment' especially in light of the new promotion we receive at work. In this case, Clara and her business partner pursued their idea by hopping on a plane and flying to Latvia. The story you're going to hear, is the creation of Sibberi Tree Water.  In the words of Cosmopolitan magazine Sibberi Tree Water is, "Better than coconut water, this birch-tree sap is packed to the gills with skin-clearing, anti-inflammatory salicylic acid." Our conversation is full of lost in translation moments as Clara and I try to reach an understanding about whether she was actually in danger when visiting Latvia and we cover off the various lessons that she has learnt since starting her own business.

Katherine didn't quite manage to ditch all the corporate adminwhen she started Kat Bakes London, but she is getting to spend herworking life doing something she feels passionately about. In thisepisode, and after many attempts at recording via Skype, we finallygot to speak to Kat about her entrepreneurial journey.Amongst other things we discussed: The biggest misconceptions people have about her jobThe value of fearNew skills picked up as a business ownerGetting away with no business plan

Peter Bregman is the author ofFour Seconds, a New York Post top pick for your career in 2015. His previous book was the Wall Street Journal bestseller 18 minutes, winner of the Gold medal from the Axiom Business Book awards, named the best business book of the year on NPR, and selected by Publisher’s Weekly and the New York Post as a top 10 business book. In this conversation Peter discusses the importance of focusing on your future self as well as covering off the different lessons in business that he's picked up since starting his own company 18 years ago.

What to say about Tom? He studied chemistry at University, packed his bags and went to work for Ernst & Young then decided to become an entrepreneur to meet girls at Brick Lane market. He was also brave enough to take the idea of men's leggings to BBC's Dragons Den and pitch it to over 2 million viewers. His latest venture is Virtual Valley which enables entrepreneurs to hire a new Team Member within 5 minutes and 7 clicks. In this episode we spoke to Tom about why entrepreneurs need to stop thinking, mens leggings and the startup lessons he's learned on his journey.

Wow. We've been going big on the business of stress in recent weeks, speaking to Barack Obama's former CTO about how he handles stress in a high pressure environment and more recently, James Routledge who came on to discuss mental health in startups. In this episode GiftGaming founder Nick Hatter tells us about his recent lifestyle changes that have resulted in a more productive, happier daily life. WARNING: Nick has made coffee his enemy....I apologise. A book that's heavily referenced in this interview is 'Essentialism' by Greg McKeown so if that sounds like it might be useful to you, just go ahead and buy it!

I know, you just read the words 'macho' and 'tech' in the same sentence. Seriously though, stress is very real problem and whilst it can feel like it's a bit of a trend in the startup world it's not entirely surprising given the pressures that come with the territory. Recently we spoke to Barack Obama's former CTO Harper Reed about how he handles stress in a high pressure environment and we also heard from London entrepreneur James Routledge on mental health in startups. In this short extract we hear from GiftGaming founder Nick Hatter who describes his experiences bouncing from one illness to the next without realising what the root cause was.

Do you spend a lot of time desperately searching for that elusive true calling in life? Perhaps wondering what your passion really is and how to use that to enjoy a more meaningful existence where work is no longer work? In 1982 Steve Parish turned down a job offer. This did not go down well with his recruiter or his Father, but it was a pivotal moment.   We spoke to Steve to hear his altogether refreshing insight into how someone should think about their career. In an internet swamped with swashbuckling entrepreneurs who guarantee the formula for success, Steve delivers altogether more grounded thoughts.  

When Alan decided to 'win at life' this meant taking stock of what made him genuinely happy and realising that goals based on external factors (i.e. job promotions, money) were not the way forward. And so he ditched the free meals at Google, instead opting for eating straight from the tin and starting his marijuana business, Tokyo Smoke.   In this episode we'll here more about TimeOn, the extravagent project Alan created to identify what made him happy, as well as the unexpected challenges he found transitioning from a company like Google to running a small business. "I wanted a structure to understand what winning at life meant"

Our original conversation with Brent Underwood focused on his achievement of becoming an Amazon bestseller in 5 minutes after taking a photo of his foot. In this episode we're leaving behind the world of scams and beautiful feet and instead getting some real insight into opening and running your own hostel. In this interview you'll hear: Why Brent and his team bravely ignored some of their customer demands What some of the most unsexy aspects of running a hostel are When to 'splash the cash' and why The difference between 'playing' business and taking care of business

For over a year, James Routledge has battled with stress, sleepless nights, anxiety and panic attacks. By his own admission, it took James far too long to recognise his symptoms and take appropriate action. It seems like when it comes to mental health, we're continually going round in circles. You cut your leg, you put a plaster on it. Why can't we also treat the way we feel?   In this discussion James discusses his own recent experiences with his own mental health. Talking points include: The inability to recognise your own symptoms of stress, anxiety and/or depression How we approach friends or colleagues that are showing symptoms The power of opening up and talking to people about how you feel Attaching your personal identity to your startup   You can read James' original post on Medium, 'Mental Health in Startups' here. If you’re interested in podcast episodes that relate to stress and/or self improvement you may enjoy: President Obama's Former CTO On Surviving Stress In A High Pressure

The term 'Best Seller' used to mean something. That is until Amazon self publishing came on the scene and Brent Underwood decided to take a photo of his foot. With this photo and a few text messages, he was able to become an Amazon #1 Best Seller. We catch up with Brent to find out how that's possible, especially since one of his clients sold 10,000 books in one week yet failed to reach any kind of best seller status.  In this interview you'll hear about why people are manipulating the system, what they actually get out of it and how you too, can become an Amazon best-seller. Tip: The 'foot' thing has now been done, so if you were thinking of that it's best to put the creativity cap back on and think harder.

Are you taking good care of yourself? Take a moment to actually think about that. Maybe the question makes you sneer and shake your head because you're only twenty one, and staying up all night isn't a big deal. Maybe you're nodding furiously to yourself because you know all about high stress environments and how you used to be completely unable to switch off when you returned home to your friends or family at night. Harper Reed, founder of Modest and former CTO for President Obama's re-election campaign has picked up a few techniques along the way. "When you start in technology, you're young and resilient" Being able to unwind or switch off from your work is a crucial way of staying sane and it's something that's easier said than done for someone running their own business. There is no 'one size fits all solution' which is something Harper acknowledges during the interview but this discussion demonstrates how just a few simple rituals can make a big change to the quality of your working life. "When I went to