Company Of One With Dale Callahan

This is part 3 of the series called How to Create Your First Information Product in 30 Days where I promised to let you look over my shoulder as I create a product. Today I will actually go over the product creation process and offer you a simple guide to creating products fast. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/The U.S. Army [/featured-image]In case you are just joining in, I hope you too will take the challenge and create a product with me. I will walk you through it.The previous posts can be found here:Intro of the topic - How to Create Your First Information Product in 30 DaysPart 1 - How to Create Your First Information Product in 30 Days  | Finding Information Product IdeasPart 2 - How to Create Your First Information Product in 30 Days  | Writing the Sales CopyClick to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show. Topic of the Week: How to Create Your First Information Product in 30 Days  | Creating the ProductProduct creati

This is part 2 of the series called How to Create Your First Information Product in 30 Days where I promised to let you look over my shoulder as I create my own information product. At this point I have decided on the product I will create. Today I will write the sales copy, or at least most of it. And, in case you are just joining in, I hope you too will take the challenge and create a product with me. I will walk you through it.  Attention Getting Sales Copy - Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/Brett Jordan [/featured-image]I will admit, this is the hardest part for me. Creating product is easy, writing sales copy is always my hangup, so I am ready to get this out of the way. Join me!Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.The previous posts can be found here:Intro of the topic - How to Create Your First Information Product in 30 DaysPart 1 - How to Create Your First Information Product in 30 Days  | Finding Informat

Last week I started a series called How to Create Your First Information Product in 30 Days where I promised to let you look over my shoulder as I create an information product of my own. And, in case you are just joining in, I hope you, too, will take the challenge and create a product with me. I will walk you through it. Today we start by creating a list of information product ideas. First, I will do it for me. Then, I will lay out some steps to help you come up with your own information product ideas. Ready to watch it happen? Ready to generate a quick list for yourself and get started making money? Photo courtesy of Luna - our family dog (She receives dog biscuits for royalties) [/featured-image]As you will see below, one of my crazy ideas is about pets. Above is the photo of Luna, our Siberian Husky, who is the subject of the idea. Ideas can come from anywhere! Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show. What's Up with

Want to know how to create your first information product in 30 Days? I am going to show you how. Today I will give you the steps, and over the next few episodes I will let you behind the scenes as I create a product. I invite you to join me and create a product of your own. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/Serge Saint [/featured-image] Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show. Topic of the Week: How to Create Your First Information Product in 30 DaysWhile it might not really take 30 days to create your first information product, I like the idea of a deadline. So, instead of telling you what and how to do this, I am going to show you how I did it. In the next few posts and podcasts, I will let you look over my shoulder to watch me create an information product in 30 days.First, the goal is not to get an information product that makes millions. Right now let us just focus on the idea of getting something done, getting

Passive income from information products is history. Or, as Jerry (a devoted listener) put it "In a world where the value of information appears to be in rapid decline due [to] the sheer volume of web-based information and the extent to which such information is free on the internet, what is the present viability of sharing information via the internet to make money as a business start-up?" In this episode I will address this and two other common questions and/or objections about information marketing. I will walk you through each of these objections, demonstrating how each one is a lie because these are the lies we hear from others as well as from ourselves. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/rossgram[/featured-image] In past episodes I have encouraged you to do two things to help you take control of your income and your career.1. Five Steps to Becoming a Paid Authority2. Why You Need to Start Your Own Business Now Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go

How can you make your goals actually happen? Setting goals is the easy part. You experience fun and excitement as you envision the things you will do and become. Yet, keeping your goals on track for the next year is the hard part. Between now and the arching of the goal is frustration, fatigue, and thoughts of putting it off till tomorrow - which never comes. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/Trekking Rinjani [/featured-image]So, before you set off to make the goals, you first have to build in a process that works for you so that you can actually focus and get something done. On this podcast I will share the process I use. Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.Works for Me: Tools and Tips for Productivity and ProfitGet too many business cards? Have an iPhone? Try Cardmunch. I found this tool (recommended by Ray Edwards) that is by LINKEDIN. I love it. You take a photo of your card and forget it. They MANUALLY read t

Merry Christmas!Years ago, someone asked me a question which I struggled with for some time, which I will now ask you:"Can you see light?"She wanted to know if we saw things with our eyes by using light, could we actually see light.What do you think? (I will answer this later.) Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/d arthur [/featured-image]Personally, I struggled with this question for days. Being an electrical engineering student who was studying the electromagnetic spectrum, I suddenly realized how little I knew about my field of study and how it applies to reality.But, later in life, another question brought me back to this issue. Today, I want to share both with you as we explore the light of Christ who is the light of the world.Click to ListenThe topic of the Week: Light of Christ | The Light of the WorldThis is a quick outline of the podcast.My first struggle with light: "Can we see light?"  Result: We can see NOTHING but light. The eye is the receptor of light but can be foole

When I was a teenager, my father decided we would build a A-Frame cabin on the lake. Over the next few years, I spent some mostly wonderful times heading up to a lake house every weekend morning. When we were not building, we were planning and preparing to build. One thing I learned as we went along, you cannot create something big without a plan. The better we planned, the easier the job was once we got down to doing the actual building. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/Greg.Buri [/featured-image]This lake house lesson is one I have tried to apply to everything I do in life. Sadly, I have failed too often. While I have accomplished much, I find that most things I wandered into by accident. As I have looked back over the last year or two in my annual review, a lack of planning and acting on the plans has become painfully clear. I have now taken some serious time to explore and learn from others (and my own successes and mistakes) what really works. Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in em

Don't live last year over again! Last year may have been wonderful, a dismal failure, or just a minor disappointment. Either way, you do not want to experience the same thing again. You want to grow. You want new challenges and new successes. So, before you jump into planning for next year, a good process is to look back to last year and ask yourself some key questions. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/FtCarsonPAO [/featured-image] First I will share some of my favorite tools, then I will jump right into the key questions you need to ask (and answer) to help you plan for a powerful year.  Then at the end I will address two listener questions.Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.Works for Me: Tools and Tips for Productivity and ProfitMy current home office has a large 10 x 5 workout mirror on the wall. Because of the mirror and doors and windows I have little room for a whiteboard. So I decided to try a mirror

Wonder what it looks like when a business fails? After all, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, the failure rate of small businesses is well over 50% within the first five years. I personally disagree with that failure rate, but that is a blog post for another day. Today, I want to help you take a look at one of those failures that I personally can take credit for helping push over the edge.  Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show. But, perhaps more importantly, I want to share with you some of the common mistakes I made and some tips about how you can avoid these same mistakes in your ventures. What's Up with MeI am about to close the 2013 year of speaking engagements. So far in 2013 I have logged over 17 official speaking engagements not including my normal teaching and volunteer teaching. I will end it this year in one of my favorite cities, Nashville. I will be speaking to the Nashville Project Mana

Are you planning for next year? Usually at the start of a new year, I get overwhelmed. It is then when I start to do planning and think about the year ahead. Would it not have been better to start early? So this year I am doing my annual planning in December - and I invite you to join me. But before we start planning, we need to take five steps to prepare to plan. In this podcast I cover five basic steps you can take to help you be successful in planning for next year. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/JasonParis  [/featured-image] Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.Thought for the WeekFirst, before we get to planning, I want to share a thought related to planning.For those of us who are Christian's, are we supposed to be content where we work even if we hate it or find it meaningless? Are we called to minister there even though we feel called elsewhere? I quickly explore this question on the podcast. But to

While I was at Platform in Dallas, I got a chance to sit down and talk with Cliff Ravenscraft who is otherwise known as "The Podcast Answer Man." If you are familiar with Cliff and have heard his story, you will get to hear more in depth his path to finding his passion and some of those challenges he faced. If you do not know Cliff, you really need to listen. His message is loaded with power. You will question your path and your passions and hobbies. You will wonder if you too could say "I do whatever I want every day of the week." Photo courtesy of Cliff Ravenscraft [/featured-image] Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.Interview with Cliff Ravenscraft - Passion to ProfitsI went into the interview with Cliff with these questions in mind:What do you do for a living?How did you get started?When you started, did you ever think you would make as much money as you did in insurance?You found your passion, bu

Today I bring you an interview with someone who has experience breaking out of corporate life and starting his own business. I have been absent a few weeks. I took a blogging sabbatical. Have you ever tried that - a sabbatical from the normal? I suspect some of my reasons are like the reasons many of us take a break: to get clarity. My search for clarity led me to a very valuable conversation with Marcin Kwiecinski of Poland. Marcin really helped me get to the bottom of some key issues. But, during our conversation, I realized Marcin might have something to say to you also. Photo courtesy of Marcin Kwiecinski [/featured-image]Marcin has taken a leap, and left the corporate world. While he is not in the United States, much of his path outside the big company to his own business is not unlike what we would experience here in the states. So today, I bring you insights in breaking free from across the sea. Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get acc

I have recently been convicted that small business ownership is not for just a few; it is for all. In this podcast, I want to share with you some of the reasons why you need to start your own business now.I am consistently meeting people who struggle with finding employment. They are smart and energetic, but for some reason, they cannot seem to find a job. Some have legitimate reasons such as disabilities, age, or family situations which limit their options. When I meet them in person, these individuals are often down and out. All appearances suggest they are ready to give up. Many people have broken down in tears while discussing their situation and the economic impact on their families. As I have met with these people, I have become convicted of one key point.Click to Tweet: Everyone should earn an additional 25% of their take-home pay in a small business.Why? The answer is in the podcast!Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this s

What will you be doing in five years? Ten years? What will you have achieved? It is up to you to create a vision for your future. Unfortunately, most people have no vision for their future. So, here I will show you how to write one. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/C.P.Storm [/featured-image]Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.The Future NewsThe other day I was in a meeting with our dean of engineering. He showed me the powerpoint slide he was going to share with the faculty displaying his vision for the School of Engineering. It was a newspaper article dated October 4, 2028 (15 years in the future). He had taken the web link from the newspaper and used it as a template, changing the title and the text of the article to spell out his vision of what would be written about the School of Engineering fifteen years in the future.  The article was written as if it had already happened and was being reported on in the n

Networking within your company may sound like a job for boring suck-ups. And, if you do it wrong, it is boring and makes you appear slimy. But if done right, you get significant benefits and rewards.

What if your value at work was measured in dollars? What if someone took how much value you added to the company and subtracted it from how much you cost in salary and benefits? Someone is. But, do you know what the numbers are? Do you know your value?In this podcast I will show you how to find a real number so you can actually calculate your value. Just think how powerful it would be to show someone on paper that you add a substantial financial value to your employer! Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/qthomasbower [/featured-image]Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.Finding Your Value at WorkThe steps to this are pretty easy to imagine, but doing it is a lot harder. So we will start with the easy stuff and move up.Understand the Goal: First, get a clear picture of what you are trying to calculate. If you are operating as a Company of One (a service provider to your employer), then you need to be able to show valu

Do you want to start your own business and live as an entrepreneur? Are you afraid you do not know the ropes enough to get started? Or would you just rather get a job in a startup company so you can be more where the action is and feel less like a cog-in-the-wheel? Startup companies are loaded with opportunity, but you have to know how to find the opportunity and how to present yourself as someone who can deliver. Photo courtesy of businessinsider.com [/featured-image]Finding a job at a startup is not like finding any old job. It is a search that will take you to places most people never see. Looking for an adventure?Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.Steps to Finding an OpportunityMany startups will tell you they are not hiring, but that is a lie. Startups are hungry to hire, even if they do not know it! On the podcast I share some ways you can find a job in a startup company.Outline of the PodcastWhy work for a startup

This week I have Sally Murray as a guest. Sally is one of those rare people who found her calling early, so now she can truly say "I love my job". She is owner of the Egoscue Clinic in Atlanta. I have been a client of Sally's for about 18 months, and have found her to be someone who fell in love with what she was doing so much so that she bought into the company as a franchise owner. I wanted you to not only hear another example of someone who loves their work, but also some of the modern models of healthcare that you find in the Egoscue Method. Photo courtesy of Sally Murray - Egoscue [/featured-image]Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.EgoscueBefore we got into the interview, I asked Sally to talk a bit about Egoscue and what they do. You can find more information at the Egoscue WebsiteMost people who seek help from Egoscue suffer fromarthritis,migraine or other headaches,backaches,or other issues and hav

Weekly I am approached with new ideas for businesses. Ideas are easy, but few find true opportunity. Determining the difference between an idea and an opportunity is a critical first step in the evaluation of a business's potential. Let me show you how I perform an opportunity analysis. Photo courtesy of Flickr/Creative Commons/Craig Sunter [/featured-image] Click to Listen*NOTE: If you are reading this in email, you will need to go to Itunes or my blog to get access to this show.Ideas vs OpportunitiesAn idea is a groundless supposition, while an opportunity has potential to allow you to meet a goal. The opportunity analysis is the process of determining if an idea is in fact an opportunity. The world of venture capital would call this doing your due diligence. I just call it doing your homework.First - get clear on the basics What will you do? Be clear and concise!Who is the customer? Think of a list. How big?What is the pain that you are relieving? The pain helps you identify your value proposition.Wh