The First 10 Podcast

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Matt Olpinski is a successful UI + UX designer and developer who teaches thousands of freelancers how to get more clients, raise their rates, and create a better life for themselves.

In this episode, Matt discusses in depth how to operate as a freelancer. Matt shares how he accidentally fell into the world of freelancing and how you can find clients through your personal network by letting people know what it is that you do. Matt also reveals how he transitioned from being a full-time freelancer to running his agency and how he built his own lively community – The Freelance Institute. Key points covered throughout the episode include:

• Matt’s leap into full-time freelancing.
• Communicating with clients and delivering value.
• Learning from conversations and evolving through feedback.
• Useful resources for operating your business.
• Freelance transformation - the shift from freelancing to running an agency.
• How to position yourself and scale your business.
• Finding the right people to work alongside.
• How to develop and grow a thriving community.
• Advice on finding your first 10 customers.
• Unlocking the power within your personal network.

Matt holds over ten years of industry experience and has worked with renowned world-class brands such as Facebook, Coca-Cola, PayPal, Porsche, and Google, to name but a few.

Matt’s Freelance Institute is a community for freelancers and remote workers, where you can receive the best freelancing advice by talking directly to experienced freelancers, including Matt in a private community focused on helping you learn the business of freelancing.

Connect with Matt Olpinski:

http://mattolpinski.com/

http://madebymatthews.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/mattolpinski/

The Freelance Institute – A community for freelancers and remote workers.

http://mattolpinski.com/community/

Connect with First 10 Podcast host Conor McCarthy:

http://www.first10podcast.com

http://twitter.com/TheFirst10Pod

http://www.linkedin.com/in/comccart/

Resources:

The Blueprint by Brendan Dunn

http://brennandunn.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17607204-the-blueprint

Useful business tools:

A proprietary business communication platform:

http://slack.com/

A visual collaboration tool:

http://trello.com/

A community platform for creators:

http://circle.so/

Produced in partnership with podlad.com

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’If I don’t understand the cost of selling the product, how to price and how to monetize it, I’m kind of screwed. Right? And that’s why 70 to 90% of startups fail, they start with that first bucket, and they don’t look at the second bucket.’’ – Dave Parker.

Each week on the podcast, we are joined by inspiring business builders who openly discuss their entrepreneurial journey with us, sharing how they obtained their first customers and revealing what worked and what didn’t throughout the growing process. This week, listeners are in for a double treat as joining Conor on the show is tech guru and five-time founder, investor, coach, and author Dave Parker. Dave was formerly the VP of Programs at UP Global (Startup Weekend & Startup America) which Techstars purchased.

So much ground gets covered in this episode. We learn how to think about value, the importance of understanding your revenue model, and how to perfect your pricing. Dave has helped numerous founders across the globe achieve startup success and is a library of knowledge when it comes to launching a viable business. Not only does Dave offer golden advice for startups, but Dave also gives us the inside scoop of what it is like to reach the finishing line of exiting and selling a company. Key points throughout the discussion include:

• An introduction to Dave Parker.
• The first-time founder experience.
• Leveraging salesforce to grow your business.
• The reality of striking viral co-efficient.
• Finding the lifetime value of a product.
• What is a business model?
• The role of maths in business.
• Understanding revenue models and the importance of keeping your eyes on the numbers.
• Scaling for exit: an insight to selling a business and why you should always seek help when selling.
• The advantages of knowing your market and creating competition.
• Establishing product market-fit and traction.
• Dave’s advice for obtaining your first 10 customers.

Resources:

https://www.fearless.fund/

Book: Trajectory: Startup – Ideation to Product/Market Fit by Dave Parker.

https://www.dkparker.com/books/

Book: Mergers & Acquisitions – From A to Z by Andrew J. Sherman
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mergers-Acquisitions-Andrew-J-Sherman/dp/0814413838

Connect with Dave Parker:

https://www.dkparker.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveparker/

https://twitter.com/daveparkersea

https://www.facebook.com/DKParkerLLC/

Connect with First 10 Podcast host Conor McCarthy:

https://www.first10podcast.com

https://twitter.com/TheFirst10Pod

https://www.linkedin.com/in/comccart/

Check out my podcast partners!

Buzzsprout:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1389931

Otter:
https://otter.ai/referrals/ETRNKY16

Calendly:
https://calendly.grsm.io/ilev18qxpn1e

Produced in partnership with

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"The goal of this podcast is to help business builders learn some best practices when they go looking for their first 10, to expose the things worth doing and the things that might be dead ends and ultimately cost time and money. We should all be recycling these days, and when it comes to understanding your customers and how you talk to them, there's a ton of value that my guests have shared that is worth repeating." – Conor McCarthy.

Welcome to the final episode of season 4 of The First 10 Podcast, and what a season it has been! This season, we have heard from an array of inspirational serial entrepreneurs who have created multiple businesses who kindly took the time to openly and honestly share their biggest learnings, challenges and wins with us.

Helping business builders is at the heart of this podcast, and valuable golden nuggets of advice come with each new episode. So, to close off this season, we will be doing a re-cap with each of our guests to learn their top tips for someone just starting out and hoping to obtain their first ten customers. So, grab a pen and paper and let this refresher masterclass begin with our entrepreneurial experts Andy Mackin, Jakob Greenfeld, Shane Melaugh, Daniel Vassallo, Rob Walling, Dave Parker, Brian Casel, Brennan Dunn and Corey Haines.

Connect with the First 10 season 4 guests:

Andy Mackin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mackinconsultancy

Jakob Greenfeld: https://jakobgreenfeld.com/

Shane Melaugh: https://ikario.com/about/

Daniel Vassallo: https://dvassallo.com/

Rob Walling: https://robwalling.com/

Dave Parker: https://www.dkparker.com/

Brian Casel: https://briancasel.com/

Brennan Dunn: https://rightmessage.com/

Corey Haines: https://www.swipefiles.com/Nick Loper: https://SideHustleNation.com

Connect with First 10 Podcast host Conor McCarthy:

https://www.first10podcast.com

https://www.conormccarthy.me/work-with-me

https://twitter.com/TheFirst10Pod

https://www.linkedin.com/in/comccart/

Check out my podcast partners!

Buzzsprout:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1389931

Otter:
https://otter.ai/referrals/ETRNKY16

Calendly:
https://calendly.grsm.io/ilev18qxpn1e

This podcast was produced in partnership with podlad.com

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Indie makers and marketplace shakers, this episode is a must-listen for you! Joining the podcast today is the prolific innovator and creator Jakob Greenfeld. Over the last two years, Jakob has successfully launched over fifteen software products and is the host of The Business Brainstorms podcast and creator of The Opportunities newsletter.

In this episode, we learn about Jakob’s journey from becoming a physicist to testing out the road of entrepreneurship with his bootstrapped products. Jakob gives us great insight into the early days of his workings, framework, and product launching tactics. Jakob also shines a light on taking shots on goal, the importance of authenticity, sharing your origin story and how to increase your business visibility. Key points within this episode include:

• An introduction to Jakob Greenfeld.
• The importance of hooking customers with your origin story.
• Preparation and patience in business.
• Building an online audience.
• Market response and first product sales.
• The downfalls of a product launch.
• Why we should never underestimate newsletters.
• The benefits of growing a sustainable community.
• The power of authenticity and being personable.
• Increasing your online visibility.
• Jakob’s advice on obtaining your first 10 customers.

‘’In the long term, it all boils down to just putting your brain out there and hoping that like-minded people find you.’’ – Jakob Greenfeld.

Connect with Jakob Greenfeld:

https://jakobgreenfeld.com/

https://twitter.com/jakobgreenfeld

https://businessbrainstorms.com/

https://indieopportunities.com/

Connect with First 10 Podcast host Conor McCarthy:

https://www.first10podcast.com

https://twitter.com/TheFirst10Pod

https://www.linkedin.com/in/comccart/

Resources:

Book: How to be a capitalist without any capital by Nathan Latka

https://book.nathanlatka.com/

Book:
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work by Michael E. Gerber
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Myth-Revisited-Small-Businesses

Book: Superfans by Pat Flynn

https://patflynn.com/book/superfans/

Trends.vc Newsletter

https://trends.vc/

Andrew Wilkinson – Co-founder of Tiny
https://twitter.com/awilkinson

Harry Dry – The Kanye Story

https://thekanyestory.com/

Pieter Levels – 12 start ups in 12 months

https://levels.io/12-startups-12-months/

Produced in partnership with podlad.com
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Check out my podcast partners!

• Buzzsprout
• Otter.ai
• Calendly

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Scott Perry is Creative on Purpose's Chief Difference-Maker and author of the Amazon top-sellers Endeavor and Onward. Scott is also the head coach for Seth Godin's Creative and Freelancer Workshops.
Scott has mentored and guided thousands of freelancers in helping them deliver work that is aligned with who they are and their key strengths, enhancing their own lives as well as the lives of others. In this episode, Scott shares with Conor his personal freelancing journey along with the key lessons he has learned throughout the adventure. Key points covered in the episode include;

• Scott’s freelancing journey from inception to now.
• The importance of doing work that fulfils and fuels you, rather than depletes and exhausts you.
• Freelancing joys, fraught and frustration.
• Good habits & intentions for freelancers to set in place.
• The importance of relationships especially when working independently.
• How Creative on Purpose came to light and scoring the first, not 10 but 11 clients.
• Defining your endeavour and finding your audience.
• The practice of stoicism – navigating and thriving through adverse & difficult experiences.
• Mistakes freelancers can make at the beginning and throughout their journey.

Scott is a husband and father, goes for a cemetery run every day, and quotes Marcus Aurelius more often than he should. For over thirty years, Scott has found and spread joy as a professional musician and guitar teacher while maintaining a happy marriage, home-schooling his sons, and paying the bills. The process Scott developed and employs is time tested and scientifically vetted.
Connect with Scott Perry:

http://www.creativeonpurpose.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/creativeonpurpose/

Connect with First 10 Podcast host Conor McCarthy:

http://www.first10podcast.com

http://twitter.com/TheFirst10Pod

http://www.linkedin.com/in/comccart/

Resources:

http://www.akimbo.com/workshops

Book recommendations:

‘Endeavour’, ‘Onward’ and ‘The Stoic Creative’ by Scott Perry
http://creativeonpurpose.mykajabi.com/book-store

‘A Guide to the Good Life’ by William B. Irvine
http://www.williambirvine.com/books

‘How to think like a Roman Emperor’ by Donald Robertson
http://donaldrobertson.name/how-to-think-like-a-roman-emperor-the-stoic-philosophy-of-marcus-aurelius/