As I’ve shared before, I’m a huge believer in access (to people, places, things) being easier than we often think. (Here’s an older piece on that). But generally, I think we put things on a pedestal and negative self-talk our way into not making an effort towards obtaining things we want all the time.
You may have noticed that in my monthly media roundups, I often include links to the TropicalMBA podcast, a show about location independent entrepreneurship. I love this show — I’ve listened to just about every episode over the last year.
The show often speaks to entrepreneurs who have built a sustainable, and often highly successful, location independent business. I thought the audience probably has more people like me, earlier stage entrepreneurs, who’d love an earlier perspective.
So in September 2017, I sent them an email. Actually, first I re-listened to a couple of their episodes that lay out exactly what type of email pitches are more likely to catch their interest, and I followed those guidelines. I’ll share the copy of that email below.
Their producer, Jane, responded a few days later and asked if I’d like to be part of a concept they were playing around with, a consulting episode. Talk about your business and challenges, get feedback from Dan and Ian (the cohosts).
Of course I agreed, and a few weeks ago we recorded the episode.
It’s always great to get outside perspective and feedback on your ideas. It’s great to get a nudge from someone to say, “You’re on the right track — put the pedal to the metal.”
I wasn’t sure I wanted to share this episode, because it’s pretty behind-the-scenes. Being vulnerable and honest with not only the large audience of TMBA, but also folks who read this newsletter is scary.
And it was that feeling that confirmed I should go ahead and hit the “send” button.
I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it provides some insight for you too.
(Listen to the episode here)
My email to the TMBA team:
Hi Dan and Jane,
For the last few months, I’ve been listening to TMBA religiously and digging deeper and deeper into the back catalogue. I absolutely love the show and first and foremost want to thank you for making it.
tl;dr: I am at an earlier stage of my entrepreneurial journey, nearing predictable sustainability, but I would love to hear more guests in this stage (first 1000 days). I think that would provide a new perspective for a different segment of audience, and if you agree, I think I’d be a good interview subject for you.
—I’m early on in my current entrepreneurial journey. My first company with my business partner was purchased in 2015, I joined a local startup to learn a new industry, and I left that company in April of this year to go back on my own and pursue location independent entrepreneurship.
At this point, I’m self-sustaining, but it’s still pretty touch-and-go. I have paying customers and they love the product, I feel confident I can make this work, but I’m still very much in the 1000 day journey (Currently, I’m trying to solve a short term cash flow challenge).
I’d love to hear from more guests who are in the earlier stages of becoming more predictable and sustainable. Frankly, I’d like to hear from more people like me.
My friends who listen to the show are in the same boat. And, I imagine that stage would be interested to the folks who are even earlier and aspiring to make a go because it fills in the knowledge gap of taking the leap and working like hell to get to sustainability.
Here’s an interview I did with the founder of Death to the Stock Photo ($1M in revenue, 500K+ email subscribers) about this stage of my journey.
If we can talk further, I’d love to do so. If this isn’t a direction you want to go, totally understood, and I will continue listening to the show! Thanks again for all you do.
Cheers,
Jay