In The Trenches with Tom Morkes provides behind-the-scenes look into the life and work of entrepreneurs, writers, artists, warriors, and leaders.
Episodes
Monday May 20, 2019
Monday May 20, 2019
Abby Walker is the CEO of Vivian Lou Inc., a single-product company with multi-million dollar annual sales dedicated to helping women look and feel better in high heels. She started her company as a “hobby” business (while being a full-time working mom) after picking up the phone and asking one simple question. Abby has also written her book Strap On a Pair to inspire fellow middle-aged, middle-management, middle-class moms to take the first step—or the next step—toward finding their something more.
Today, I’m sitting down with Abby Walker, who is the founder of Vivian Lou. Vivian Lou is a shoe company that focuses on creating insoles for high heels so that high heels are more comfortable to wear. During our conversation, Abby shares some of the fortuitous events that took place in order for her to get her business idea off the ground. The crazy part about Abby’s story is that she started off as a blogger and she didn’t create the actual insoles herself. She found them through a recommendation on a forum, but then connected with the creator of the insoles to strike a deal. Leading her to being an exclusive seller for the product worldwide and growing her business to over four million dollars in roughly four years without any employees.
My biggest takeaway from this conversation is that there are a lot of ways to think about a problem and solve a problem. Problem solving is not binary and we explore Abby’s decision making process so that she can grow and scale her business.
In this broadcast, Abby and I talk about:
- What is the origin story of Vivian Lou
- How did Abby approach her business idea as just a hobby
- Why Abby had to separate herself from the product and company
- What were the first few months like when Abby became the exclusive seller of these insoles
- What steps did Abby take to make her first sale
- How did Abby start using Facebook Ads to generate revenue
- What advice does Abby have for people who want to start their business
- How has Abby structured using contractors rather than employees
- In what ways do contractors give you more flexibility
- What does Abby think about scale
- Why is Abby hesitant to work with retailers
- What goes into making the right decisions
- Why you need to learn how to trust your gut
- What are Abby’s words of wisdom for startups
- What is the importance of keeping notes during your journey
How to Connect with Abby:
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Friday May 17, 2019
Friday May 17, 2019
Shawn Askinosie left a successful career as a criminal defense lawyer to start a bean to bar chocolate factory and never looked back. Askinosie Chocolate is a small batch, award winning chocolate factory located in Springfield, Missouri, sourcing 100% of their beans directly from farmers around the world. Recently named by Forbes "One of the 25 Best Small Companies in America", Askinosie Chocolate has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, on Bloomberg, MSNBC and numerous other national and international media outlets.
During today’s conversation, Shawn gives us a look behind the scenes of his business, how he started it from trial lawyer to chocolatier, and the ups and downs of what that process was like. We also discuss meaningful work and what Shawn the drive and passion to continue to do what he does even though it can be really really difficult. One of my major takeaways from today’s conversation is Shawn’s approach to business and his idea of reverse scale. We explore whether or not we can build a profitable business that aligns with our ethics and our morals and if that can be profitable for you.
In this broadcast, Shawn and I talk about:
- How did Shawn pivot in his career choice
- What did Shawn do in the beginning stages of his business
- What were some of the biggest challenges Shawn faced
- How did Shawn use his skills from being a lawyer in his chocolate business
- Why does Shawn like being in a place of need
- How does faith play a role in Shawn’s entrepreneurial journey
- Why should entrepreneurs focus on kindness
- How important is silence for your mindset
- What does Shawn think of Social Entrepreneurship
- What is scale and reverse scale
- How does scale not necessarily equal value
- What is Shawn’s exit plan
How to Connect with Shawn:
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Monday May 13, 2019
Monday May 13, 2019
Max Kolysh is a serial entrepreneur and investor. After graduating early from MIT with a degree in Computer Science, Max co-founded Zinc.io, a 15 person startup in San Francisco, California, which now powers tens of thousands of e-commerce companies around the world.
During today’s conversation with Max, we zoom in on his entrepreneurial journey and how he grew his startup to $6 million in revenue. We also dive into what being a part of a startup incubator environment is really like. My big takeaway from today’s conversation is specifically on the aspect of user acquisition and customer acquisition. We discuss how Max thinks about acquiring new customers by leveraging their existing customer base to grow their platform through influencer marketing.
In this broadcast, Max and I talk about:
- What is Max’s founder story
- How did Max learn about Y Combinator and what was that process like
- Did Max’s startup idea change while going through Y Combinator
- How did Max define the metrics their team wanted to focus on
- What constitutes as metrics for a successful startup
- Why you should be using non-revenue metrics
- How is Max’s business at a point of organic sustainability
- What was it like for Max as he was bootstrapping his business
- Why you should look into pre-selling first
- How do you decide what is worth your time and energy
- In what ways has Max grown his business
- Why are referrals a good way to increase exposure
- What is Max looking at now in terms of improving his business
How to Connect with Max:
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Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Friday May 10, 2019
Friday May 10, 2019
Tina van Leuven helps soulpreneurs align their energy and mindset with the intentions, desires, and vision they have for their business and their life. She does this by helping to clear their money blocks and energetically release lifelong limiting programming that have been sabotaging entrepreneurs from creating the results they know deep within their hearts are possible, yet haven’t been able to achieve. Tina helps entrepreneurs reconnect with their own source of joy and abundance while discovering ways to express that in their business so that they may begin monetising their unique gifts.
Today we’re talking about what abundance is, why it’s important, and some interesting archetypes that go along with the idea of abundance. We’ll also dive into a short discussion about her recent launch that we worked on together. My biggest takeaway from this conversation is that we all have an archetype, but it’s how we use and embrace this archetype that will see us reaping the benefits.
In this broadcast, Tina and I talk about:
- What is Tina’s entrepreneurial journey
- What are the Sacred Money Archetypes
- How can you use the Sacred Money Archetypes to reach your money goals
- In what ways can you approach the strengths and weaknesses of the archetypes
- How can you strengthen the “Celebrity” archetype
- What are the steps to embrace rational awareness
- What is Tina’s energy clearing process
- Why you have to be open to doing deep work to change yourself on the inside so that you may be successful
- How you can run a successful launch
- What are the pros and cons of hosting challenges leading up to a launch
- How did the challenge set the foundation in place for Tina’s launch
- What did Tina focus on after the launch
- Is Tina going to explore influencer marketing to drive more traffic to her launches
- What was Tina’s engagement like with a live launch
How to Connect with Tina:
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Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Monday May 06, 2019
Monday May 06, 2019
Kyle Gray is an entrepreneur, the founder of ConversionCake, and a bestselling author who helps startups and small businesses grow their businesses with content marketing. He has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs create scalable content marketing strategies while also creating step-by-step processes and templates to automate and delegate tasks. Kyle’s book The Story Engine outlines his process for making content marketing and brand storytelling easy and effective.
In today’s conversation with Kyle, we’re talking about how to use storytelling to become an authority in your niche while boosting sales and winning the hearts and minds of your audience. In other words, we’re exploring how you can start selling with story. My biggest takeaway from this conversation is that using story in your marketing really does sell and it is what cuts through the noise and nonstop interruption based marketing techniques that you see all over social media.
In this broadcast, Kyle and I talk about:
- What was Kyle’s journey when it came to writing The Story Engine
- Who is The Story Engine best suited for
- What is a proprietary process
- How can you approach the proprietary process
- What is a good outcome versus a bad outcome
- Why having a clear outcome helps you set yourself apart
- How you can make naming your offerings easier by knowing the outcome you’re offering
- What is a success path and what does it include
- What are Kyle’s top five story elements
- When should you use Kyle’s recommend story elements
- How can you use these story elements to teach
- What is The Buyer’s Journey framework
- How can you implement know-like-trust into your stories
- What is The Hero's Journey and how is it different than The Buyer’s Journey
- What is The Crossroads Formula
How to Connect with Kyle:
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Friday May 03, 2019
Friday May 03, 2019
Anne Janzer is an award-winning author on a mission to help writers communicate more effectively. She has worked with over a hundred technology businesses, from industry giants to innovative start-ups, helping them articulate positioning and messaging in crowded markets. Anne also coaches business leaders on communicating their ideas with impact, clarity and marketing teams on telling brand stories that strengthen customer relationships.
During this podcast, I explore why so many businesses are moving to subscription based business models with Anne. We also dive into the how’s and why’s behind whether or not you should consider integrating a subscription model into your business.
In this broadcast, Anne and I talk about:
- How did Anne get started in subscription marketing
- How is software enhancing subscription businesses
- Why have so many businesses moved to offering subscriptions
- How are subscriptions more like renting things rather than owning
- In what ways do subscriptions eliminate risk
- How can you create a framework around selling subscriptions
- Why do subscriptions have to make sense from a business marketing perspective
- What do you need to look for if you’re integrating a subscription model into your business
- How can you think of your offering as an experience
- Do subscription based business have more marketing power or virality built into them
- What is the power behind honest reviews rather than reward recommendations/referrals
- Is it possible for only a component of your business to be subscription based
- How can you turn content focused products into a subscription model
- Why is having a community and building a community important
- Are there any pitfalls when it comes to subscription based businesses
- Why niching down is one of the most lucrative things you can do
How to Connect with Anne:
Anne’s Books:
- Subscription Marketing: Strategies for Nurturing Customers in a World of Churn
- The Writer’s Process: Getting Your Brain in Gear
- The Workplace Writer’s Process
- Writing to Be Understood: What Works and Why
Get the Latest Broadcasts of In The Trenches
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How You Can Support In The Trenches
Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Monday Apr 29, 2019
Monday Apr 29, 2019
Mojca Zove is a Facebook Ads expert, author of the Facebook Ads Manual, and international speaker. Her work focuses on helping businesses generate more leads and increase profits with a professionally-made Facebook Advertising Strategy so that they can devote their time to other aspects in their business. Mojca works with multimillion-dollar businesses from all over the globe. In her work, she focuses on implementing previously tested and already successful strategies for generating the best results.
I brought Mojca onto the podcast to discuss what’s working in the space of Facebook advertising, how she’s setting up campaigns that are lucrative, and what Facebook Ads funnel structure will actually convert. My biggest takeaway from today’s conversation is that even though we’ve heard a lot about how Facebook Ads are becoming more and more expensive and results are decreasing, I have a better understanding that these negatives are really because of the level of competition and not Facebook itself. So if you’re truly hoping to see results from your Facebook Ads, then this is one podcast you do not want to miss.
In this broadcast, Mojca and I talk about:
- What is the current landscape of Facebook Ads
- How does Facebook Ads compare to other social media platform ads
- Are Facebook Ads effective no matter what you’re selling or is their a certain market that Facebook is better suited for
- How do you approach Facebook Ads for the first time
- What should you look for when it comes to organizing Facebook Ads
- What is Mojca’s Facebook Ads structure
- What is a traffic campaign on Facebook Ads
- Why should you do research on your target market before running ads
- How do you know if your Facebook Ads are working
- How are Facebook Ads an investment
- Why you shouldn’t move directly from traffic to paid product, but rather have a lead magnet in between
- What should you be looking to spend in ads for the first piece of your campaign to the second piece
- Why you should have a tripwire product
- What is retargeting and why is it important
- Why should you invest in brand awareness
- How are ads different for B2B and B2C
- What kinds of items should you create for ads
- Why you should do some proper A/B testing for your ads
How to Connect with Mojca:
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Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Friday Apr 26, 2019
Friday Apr 26, 2019
Adam Anderson is CEO of Hook-Security. He is also a long-time small business owner who happens to be one of the leading authorities on small business cybersecurity. This serial entrepreneur is an author, who has written several books on cyber security and cyber crime to help other business owners understand and navigate the digital world. Adam is on a mission to help fellow business owners find the answer to the question, “Should I even care about cybersecurity?”
I brought Adam onto the podcast today to talk about what small business owners and online entrepreneurs can do to stay safe online as we leverage online portals and platforms. We’re also going to be discussing what we can do to protect our online assets, websites, and our products from intellectual theft in the online space. My biggest takeaway from this chat is that security and protecting our online businesses from the start is one of the most important and crucial elements of what we do online.
In this broadcast, Adam and I talk about:
- How Adam began his cybersecurity journey
- What is Adam’s focus in his business now
- Why it’s easy to be a target for hackers
- How to keep your site safe from a cyber attack
- What you should have in your business security policy
- Does everyone need to be aware of cyber phishing
- What is Adam’s rule when it comes to two-factor authentication
- What specific type of people are more prone to be targeted
- When does having too many employees get dangerous for your online security
- What to do if you’re a heavy browser user or working in coffee shops
- Is it typical that larger companies are already working with cybersecurity businesses
- What are the most common problems with cybersecurity and businesses
- Why you should be spending money on backups from ransomware
- What is the purpose of a ransomware attack
- Why is important to have a rock solid cybersecurity insurance policy
- What is the importance of automatically pathing your machines
- What is the basic antivirus software you should have
How to Connect with Adam:
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Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Monday Apr 22, 2019
Monday Apr 22, 2019
Joshua Zloof is the CEO of Sudden Coffee, a premium instant coffee brand. He has 10 years of combined experience in Mobile App Product Management, Lean Operations, Supply Chain, and Logistics.
I brought Joshua onto In The Trenches to discuss his startup journey and what it was really like for him to develop his idea and actually launch it. To many, Joshua’s idea of founding a premium instant coffee company might sound bizarre, because we equate “instant coffee” with “cheap”. However, during today’s episode you will learn that the two are not mutually exclusive. I think what Joshua has done to build his business with various marketing techniques and experiments is really quite fascinating, and so my biggest takeaway is just that... It’s okay to do something different and to go against what everyone else is doing because it might just pay off - in real life and online.
In this broadcast, Joshua and I talk about:
- How Joshua founded his coffee brand and his journey as an entrepreneur
- What is the difference between Sudden Coffee versus other instant coffee brands that are currently on the market
- Who does Sudden Coffee target with their brand messaging and marketing
- How to increase sales during the beginning stages of your business
- How to turn your business plan into a subscription-based business plan
- What are some things Joshua thought was working but failed in his business
- When is using influencers in your marketing strategy a good idea
- What are a few strategies to use for Facebook marketing
- How to prioritize spending money during the startup phase
- What are the critical roles to begin hiring in order to gain traction
- The pros and cons of a venture-backed startup
- What is the plan for the future and expansion of a brand
- How to start and develop your idea for a product or business (what’s the most important factor that contributes to a successful launch of a product)
- Is there more space for potential growth online
How to Connect with Joshua:
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Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.
Friday Apr 19, 2019
Friday Apr 19, 2019
Gregory Diehl has always understood the importance of universal ideals. Though he was raised in California, he soon embarked on a journey of global quest for learning, self-discovery, entrepreneurship, and inquiry. Since then, Gregory has lived and worked in 48 countries and continues to use his experiences to help others along the path of self-fulfillment through exploration. Gregory is the author of two Amazon bestsellers: Brand Identity Breakthrough and Travel as Transformation. His podcast, Uncomfortable Conversations with Gregory, taps into the core of people’s conceptions of self. He helps entrepreneurs prepare complex value messages across many mediums, and offers unconventional lifestyle coaching and brand identity consultancy for impassioned individuals.
I brought Gregory on today because he’s working on two new books, both of which I thought would be interesting to touch on. During this episode, we talk about writing and publishing and how to create meaningful books with meaningful ideas. Our conversation ends up going in the direction of meaning and how to live a meaningful life. My big takeaway from today’s conversation is that we all need principles and values to live by. We cannot navigate this world without a set of principles that guide us in the direction we want to go.
In this broadcast, Gregory and I talk about:
- Gregory’s origin story (what he’s done leading up to what he’s doing today)
- How are targeted meaningful conversations defined
- Why you should focus on getting your work in front of the right people
- How to approach controversial topics in the public eye
- The complexity of story typical hero archetypes
- How does the hero journey in stories directly relate to how we feel in real life
- In what ways does society act against individuals sharing their ideas or core principles
- What are the critical principles that guide us unconsciously
- What does a heroic exceptional person do
- Why you should think before you give something a sense of importance in your life
- The importance of getting to the bottom of all of the little things that you do
How to Connect with Gregory:
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Did you enjoy today's broadcast of In The Trenches? Please click here to leave an honest rating and review on iTunes. Your review helps me spread the word of this podcast, which allows me to line up amazing guests and continue to produce this podcast ad-free. Thanks so much in advance for your support.