TMBA01: Welcome to Tropical Talk Radio, The Scene in Bali, and Identifying Peer Groups
Date: 2011-11-01
Link: Tropical Talk Radio
Pick people’s brains.
1,000 subscribers is about how many to be able to live full time on your blog. ($30k a year)
Bali is the Hawaii of Asia.
TMBA02: Huge Tax Breaks for Expats (Plus the 3 Biggest Tax Mistakes Expats & Travelers Make)
Date: 2011-11-04
Link: Tropical Talk Radio
If you spend 330 days inside a foreign country you can qualify for tax credits and exclusions.
Time spent in transit doesn’t count as time spent in a foreign country.
FICA, Social Security, etc. have to be paid before the exclusion.
You have to report your foreign bank accounts if you have more than $10,000 cumulative outside of the U.S.
TMBA02: Grey Hat SEO Techniques For Highly Competitive Key Terms
Date: 2011-11-07
Link: Tropical Talk Radio
Put your products in “shopping networks”.
Shopify.
Include part numbers and UPC codes.
Once domains expire they lose their page rank value.
Need 1,000 words of unique content on your front page.
TMBA03: An Internet Marketing Pyramid Scheme Rant + 5 Life Lessons We’ve Learned
Date: 2011-11-08
Link: Tropical Talk Radio
Your environment affects you. The people you’re around affect you.
Newbies are not a good market.
Do as successful people do, not as they say.
Nobody will give you the power.
Don’t be a pussy.
Entrepreneurship is about being a contrarian. It is about finding value where other people have undervalued stuff.
Be confident in your core desires and passions.
Have integrity.
Truth isn’t relative but values are.
TMBA05: The Magic of Being an Expat and Stories from a Million Dollar Year
Date: 2011-11-14
Link: Tropical Talk Radio
If you’re not number one then somebody else is and they know more about SEO than you.
SEO is a zero-sum game.
Product names need to be Googleable, memorable, and spellable.
There is a difference between plans and missions. You’re much better off setting a mission than a plan.
A mission has to inspire your employees, yourself, and your market.
Think big and act small. Be humble.
At a certain point ventures need to have a publishing arm to put your own messages out.
Even if you’re a one man operation you should write a mission statement to answer the why question (why you’re doing what you’re doing).
The most difficult thing is definition but it is also the most important thing.
TMBA06: How to Make a Living from Affiliate Marketing (Seriously)
Date: 2011-11-15
Link: Tropical Talk Radio
Needs to cost less to get the conversion than the payout.
You can try buying keywords related to the product.
You need to be analytical to be a good affiliate marketer.
Books are a shortcut to hard earned knowledge.
Recommended Books:
Cashvertising by Drew Eric Whitman
Words That Sell by Richard Bayan
affplaybook.com
affbuzz.com
Don’t get attached to your niche.
Buy data by spending money on advertising campaigns.
TMBA07: Software Development as an Entrepreneurial Crutch, Cash Runway Strategies, and Sex-ish
Date: 2011-11-21
Link: Tropical Talk Radio
Book recommendation: Sex at Dawn
Runway metaphor is taking off–not landing. At the end of the runway something magical happens and you take off.
Do cool shit with your time.
When you’re doing a startup you need to understand what you’re doing with your time.
What is the DNA of your company?
90% of technical issues can be solved by picking up the phone or sending a couple of emails.
TMBA08: The Mindset Differences Between Aspiring Entrepreneurs and Business Owners
Date: 2011-11-23
Link: Tropical Talk Radio
Commit yourself with a violence towards action.
The farther along in your career the more fucked you are if you step out of that career.
Just start emailing manufacturers telling them you want to sell their stuff.
Act in accordance with your desires.
TMBA09: Run Your Own Tropical MBA, or How I Found My Dream Job
Date: 2011-11-29
Link: Tropical Talk Radio
tropicalworkforce.com (domain expired)
Entrepreneurs undervalue what their experience means to people on the entrepreneurial path.
Hiring in the Philippines -> Get more done for less.
TMBA10: How to Use Smart Drugs and Supplement Stacks to Get More Work Done
Date: 2011-12-05
Link: Tropical Talk Radio
A stack is when you take separate supplements together.
Lower quality vitamins aren’t always fully absorbed by the body.
Take high dosages of fish oil (unless you have heart problems).
Run everything by your doctor.
Episode #84 – How To Live The “Four Hour Workweek” Dream And Make Money From Anywhere in the World
Date: 2011-12-08
Link: Lifestyle Business Podcast
Focus on the kind of results you want to achieve and get creative about how your organization can deliver them.
Be ruthless with your personal finances.
Blogs they recommend:
Dave Ramsey Podcast
Early Retirement Extreme
Mr. Money Mustache
Be frugal. It is easier to save money that to generate it.
You do not need anything you think you need.
Quit your job.
If you don’t have big assets the only one you have left is how you spend your time.
Turn it up to 10.
Get used to saying no.
Time and money are the two things you’re protecting. If you don’t other people will spend them for you.
If you don’t have clear cash goals then it will start to leak away.
Frame up the consequences of your actions in three or four year windows.
Short term thinking fertilizes failure.
A job is fundamentally a short term compromise. You need to sell your time off to satisfy your cash flow needs.
Life is a trajectory. Getting on the right path is critical.
Consume insane amounts of content and act on it.
You have to start taking action.
Nobody is going to give you stuff.
Be your own leader.
Do webinars for your business.
Episode #85 – How To Get Started Sourcing Products From China
Date: 2011-12-15
Link: Lifestyle Business Podcast
With garments there are a lot of variables.
One advantage of physical products is that the cash flows are more sustainable if you identify a good product line.
Ways to find manufacturers:
Alibaba.com
- Need to sample from multiple suppliers
- You don’t build a long term relationship with manufacturer (which is very important)
- There is a difference between agents and factories
Dealing with Middle Men
- Look for a middle man that adds value (for example being able to drive out to factory when there is a problem)
- Make sure they understand you know they are a middle man
- They take 10 to 15%
Show up and Knock on Doors
