Mike Black
This week I started binge watching a youtube show called The Million Dollar Comeback or something like that with this guy Mike Black. And what I like about it is he seems very genuine and he shows how he creates a this business from scratch.
Couple key notes:
When he had nothing or needed cash – he would flip stuff online. So he started by going on craigslist and finding free stuff and then flipping it on facebook marketplace. He basically acted as a broker. Then he started doing it with bikes.
He did what he had to do to survive and make money. That meant delivering food, that meant freelance work, admin assistant work on Upwork. Whatever. But always he was planning and plotting his business. He also put the amount of time he was spending working on the show versus his time for clients and time for business.
He used unconventional means to find clients like looking on indeed for people looking to hire a marketing person. These are warm leads. Can I get warm leads? People searching for help on their case. Where do they go? (*questions to brainstorm later)
He cold called. He didn’t give a fuck. And he had a very positive attitude about it. How can that be applied to me. Are there people I can cold call that could lead to work? Yes. Other lawyers – PI, Criminal, Workers comp.
Focus on using capital. He was very big on using capital. Don’t be afraid to use capital. Create cashflow. That means hire people to do the work. Creating cashflow is crucial. Deploy Capital!
Business v. Production. Business gets the work and Administers everything. he had another name for it. But basically, your are a producer. Similar to film I guess. It is hard to be both. Figure out what you do and link with someone else. (Notably, he clearly had a bad experience with partnerships. I’m not talking about partnership).
Mentors. Find mentors. Cold call them. He has more on this but I find this interesting. He learned a lot from just talking to people. (Also makes me think about, the need to take notes and organize yourself).
Hiring. Obviously important. Three steps: 1. He loves researching them on Linkedin. If they don’t have a linkedin profile he doesnt even consider it. (also from a admin standpoint he likes googleforms to create a sheet of hiring criterial with questions. 2. strategic questions – like what gear do they have. not fluffy questions but concerete questions. How much money did you manage last year for ads. 3. a test – a real test – I think he said he pays them. There is also an interview goal is just to see how they communicate. That’s all you really learn.
Cashflow. Cashflow is king. (Everything is King – Content is King). Cashflow is the goal. You generate cashflow by getting business and having people work on it.
Hard work. No excuses. He had a very strong work ethic. Staying up late to get things done. he also seemed very focused.
Starting from Nothing versus the advantage I have. He literally started from nothing and was looking for a place to stay. He started with very hard problems. I have problems they are different and probably less (likely, definitely) no where near as hard as not knowing where you will sleep. But he work within his limitations. I can do the same.
CRM. He was big on CRM – and I think I don’t understand it. He did it to see if people opened his emails and for outbound reach like cold and warm outbound. I can do the same. He liked hubspot. (*research hubspot).
SOPs. Standard operating procedures. It is important to scale. I’ve heard it in HTM and I heard it with that guy Mike Black.
Wearing Different Hats. He was also super good at wearing different hats.
Talking and Screen Recording.
I’ve been trying something different with the Ipad. I put on notes, screen record and head phones. Basically talk to myself and brainstorm. Which I noticed seems to help me stay focused. Maybe, like when I’m driving I get all these ideas. Also in the shower. If I just type sometimes I get distracted. But If I say what I’m typing out loud it helps me focus. Same with the brainstorm on the ipad. We have all these amazing tools but they are also major black holes of distraction. How to harness that power without getting overly distracted is tough. I think speaking out lout and screen recording is the way to do it. I wonder if I could do that and just upload it to youtube as a way to generate content.
White Board
Likewise, I like using a whiteboard. I think it has to do with standing and being away from tech. Great method for brainstorming. I noticed Mike Black using it too.
Outlining
Doing a quick outline for content creation helps with the flow. Trying to write from nothing can be hard. Or I lose track of ideas. Stick with the outline. Create quick slide deck.
Content Creation
Creating Content is key and good because it creates trust and value. (*note create video for doctors – way to cold call them). Maybe create quick slide deck.
Social Media
Clearly powerful but needs to be researched, understood and used with intention. I’m still learning. Also working on using it with intention.
Marketing
Learning as I go. Impressions are key and step one.
Relation to Writing
I think brainstorm and outlining are crucial to writing. It just helps layout a roadmap. The same with starting a business. But also resilience and grit – which are crucial to starting a business.
Brainstorm Questions
I think it is important to brainstorm questions. Don’t just brainstorm answers. Brainstorm the question. Then you can ask the question to people. You know where to look. I need to brainstorm more questions.
Plan for Nanowrimo
2500 words a day x 30 days = 72000 words. Very respectable. I plan to dictate a lot. Get it on the page fast.
People speak 125 to 150 words a minute. That’s about 2,500 words every 20 min.
If i were to pay for that. 1.50 per min of dictation on Rev. That would cost me 600 dollars. Not Terrible. I should just do it. Worth my time. I type way too slow.
Starting out and acting like a broker
In the beginning, it is effective to act like a broker. Be a middle man. Focus on getting the work. Don’t focus on craftmanship level of attention in the beginning. Someone else is the craftsman. Too time consuming. On the flipside, to make money fast, you can leverage skills as a freelancer.
Notably, he reduced his costs a lot. But he was going to grow a business to one million in 12 months. I am not on the same thing. My problems are different.
Social Media Strategy – Commenting – Provides Value
One strategy that I need to work on is commenting. Commenting more on people’s work. It provides value because it shows the person that you cared enough to watch their content and comment on it. Effective way to reach out to someone. It creates an impression and leverages audience.
Minimum Standards v. Gold Standards in Case Handling
The other thing I think about is minimal standards v. gold standards in case handling. Although gold standards and being smart you can uncover opportunities. Uncovering opportunities, which I think can be trained.