In The Trenches with Tom Morkes provides behind-the-scenes look into the life and work of entrepreneurs, writers, artists, warriors, and leaders.
Episodes
Friday Apr 17, 2015
Friday Apr 17, 2015
Chris Mance is a software engineer and the founder of Nichevertising, software that gives authors, podcasters, and thought leader businesses the power to engage with influencers and build their following. What Chris Mance and I talked about in this broadcast:
- How Chris went from the corporate world to launch his business
- How Chris built Nichevertising into what it is today, pivoting multiple times along the way
- Nichevertisings pricing model and how Chris moves customers along the sales funnel (from free to paid)
- How Chris developed a system to maximize the effect of twitter for businesses
- Where Chris sees the future of Nichevertising and how he plans to grow from here
Where you can contact Chris:
If you enjoyed today's podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Monday Apr 13, 2015
Monday Apr 13, 2015
Darren Stehle is the founder of EatMoveBe.com, a website devoted to living a healthy lifestyle through healthy eating. He lives in Toronto, Canada, and has spent his entire adult life cooking healthy meals. He could have been a successful chef, but the stressful lifestyle wasn't worth it to him. So he started his own business and grew his own platform from scratch on his own term. What Darren Stehle and I talk about in today's broadcast:
- How Darren positioned himself and his business in the food/health industry
- Why Darren moved from a static to a dynamic website
- How Darren approached his niche to multiply his efforts
- Darren’s process of reaching people with his message
- The greatest struggle Darren had building his platform from scratch
Where you can find Darren Stehle online:
If you enjoyed today's podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Friday Apr 10, 2015
Friday Apr 10, 2015
Today's guest is Simon Granner, the President of Clarity Financial, a life insurance company, and the founder and host of The Simon Granner Podcast, a business and self-development podcast for entrepreneurs (or anyone hustling to do great work). What we talk about in today's episode:
- How Simon got his start in entrepreneurship
- Why Simon started podcasting (we definitely share this in common)
- How Simon has evolved his podcast into something much bigger
- What it takes to create a "Minimal Viable Strategy" for any type of business or creative project (skip this and you're toast)
- How a podcast can be a VERY powerful marketing tool for your sales funnel
- And much, much more...
Where you can connect with Simon Granner:
If you enjoyed today's podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Wednesday Apr 08, 2015
Wednesday Apr 08, 2015
Today's guest is Rachel Glueck, founded of El Amor Del Diablo, a Mexico-based mezcal company. Originally from the United States, Rachel met her now-husband and business partner in Mexico in 2012. Rachel originally began experimenting with importing textiles to Baja, California, that they wanted to sell in the market in Baja California. That's when she was invited to help sell mezcal. After seeing how well it sold, they decided to do start their company. What you'll learn in today's broadcast:
- Having never worked in an import / export business, Rachel shares her experience getting started
- How Rachel approached their import business from a sales perspective
- How Rachel found investors and handled the importation of mezcal into the United States (hint: it's not a very simple process)
- The biggest struggles Rachel has dealt with thus far in her startup journey
- How Rachel grew their following locally, organically and via a crowdfunding campaign.
Where you can find Rachel and El Amor Del Diablo online:
If you enjoyed today's podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Monday Mar 16, 2015
Monday Mar 16, 2015
Doug Geiger is the founder of CanYouHandlebar.com and senior project manager at Saddleback Leather Co. In today's interview, we not only talk about both of these companies, but we also look specifically at how Doug has leveraged giveaways to grow his business rapidly. Just a few of the topics we cover:
- Doug's background as senior project manager at Saddleback Leather Co.
- How Doug uses true stories to grow his brands
- The fastest ways to market a company (as well as the LEAST effective ways, and what to avoid)
- How Doug launched CanYouHandlebar.com from scratch
- The thought process behind niche products like mustache creams and leather satchels
- The long road to retail
And much, much more... Where you can find Doug Geiger online:
If you enjoyed today's podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Friday Mar 13, 2015
Friday Mar 13, 2015
Rachel Gilliam is the founder of PunchPresence.com and the marketing director for Launch DFW, a company that supports tech entrepreneurship throughout northern Texas. I brought Rachel on the show specifically because of her uncanny ability to connect with people and lead communities (a skillset that is undervalued, in my opinion). Here are just a few of the topics we touch on in today's interview:
- How Rachel got her start in marketing and how she started her own business from scratch
- How Rachel and other entrepreneurs handle the loneliness of solopreneurship
- The most effective ways to network no matter what business you're in
- Rachel's incredible ability to connect with people (even though she's a self-admitted introvert)
- What Launch DFW is and where it's going
Where you can find Rachel Gilliam online:
If you enjoyed today's podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Monday Mar 09, 2015
Monday Mar 09, 2015
David Nihill is the founder of FunnyBizz.co, an entrepreneur who has been featured in Inc., Forbes, and Fast Company among others, and author of Do You Talk Funny? 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better and Funnier Public Speaker. Prior to writing Do You Talk Funny?, David had been deathly afraid of public speaking. His solution? Spend one year as a standup comic - a sort of "jump in the deep end of the pool to learn to swim" approach. What grew out of this experience was not only great advice on how to overcome the fear of speaking but how to actually master the art. What David and I talk about in today's broadcast:
- David's background leading up to comedy
- Why David chose standup comedy to overcome his fear of public speaking (versus, say, Toastmasters)
- What inspired David to apply comedy to business
- How David developed his initial idea into an ecourse on Udemy (and his process for turning that course into a bestselling book)
- The launch of his bestselling book, Do You Talk Funny?
And much more... Where you can find and connect with David:
If you enjoyed today's podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Friday Mar 06, 2015
Friday Mar 06, 2015
Navid Moazzez is a lifestyle entrepreneur, personal branding strategist, blogger, podcaster, and online marketer. He helps entrepreneurs build their authority and powerful personal brands online. His goal is to help people make a bigger impact by building powerful brands. In high school, Navid spent a year in the US, earning a high school diploma in both the US and in Sweden. He was accepted into one of the best law schools in Sweden, but didn’t really know if that’s what he really wanted to do. After a few years, he asked himself what he was doing and started to read personal development books such as How to Win Friends and Influence People. Eventually, this inspired him to branch off on his own and start his own business. Here are some topics we talk about:
- Why Navid chose to use his own name for his blog
- Navid's intention behind starting a branding company
- How Navid monetizes his blog
- The most effective technique Navid has used to grow his blog from scratch to thousands of subscribers in one year
And much, much more... Where you can connect with Navid:
If you enjoyed today's podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Monday Mar 02, 2015
Monday Mar 02, 2015
Ryan Levesque is well known for creating online lead, sales, and flow models, most notably his survey sales funnel. In the past few years, he has managed to generate over 2.8 million leads and 175,000 customers in 19 different markets. In today's broadcast, we talk about:
- Ryan’s background of how he got to working with sales funnels
- The first month after quitting his job
- Ryan’s first success and failure
- When he first started working as a consultant
- What results Ryan brings to the table
- How he scaled from working solo to growing a team
Where You Can Find Ryan Levesque:
If you enjoyed today's podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Wednesday Dec 17, 2014
Wednesday Dec 17, 2014
Charlie Gilkey is the founder of Productive Flourishing, a company that helps professionals, leaders, and executives take action on the things that really matter through planning, productivity, and team development. Charlie founded Productive Flourishing out of his own frustration with the conventional approach to productivity. Instead of complaining, Charlie took focused action to create a better solution, and now has a flourishing business of his own as a result. In his own words:
Our livelihood depends upon the way we harness our creativity to make change happen in the world.
Charlie is also the author of The Small Business Lifecycle, a powerful, fluff-free book on growing your business from scratch. In today's broadcast, we talk about:
- Charlie's background in the military (and how that influenced his perspective on productivity and business in general)
- The Small Business Lifecycle and why every entrepreneur should understand the stages of business development
- How Charlie built Productive Flourishing from scratch and his plans to grow the company into the future
- The 5 stages of the business lifecycle
- And much more...
Where You Can Find Charlie Gilkey:
- ProductiveFlourishing.com
- Twitter: @CharlieGilkey
Additional Resources:
If you enjoyed today's podcast, please leave a review on iTunes here. Thanks so much in advance for your support.