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online entrepreneurs

10 Amazing Links for Online Entrepreneurs in 2019

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As us creative business owners go down our individual paths, we often find ourselves entrenched in situations that might take our focus off of the bigger picture from time to time. For me, I’ve been neck deep in catching back up with marketing so that I can better help the citizens of Amplify Indy.

So what I do from time to time, is reach out to others to see what new websites they’ve found in their journeys.

In this post, I’m going to share with you some of the best links the we AoL Podcast hosts think can help make an impact on you in 2019. I hope they will help you in the last quarter and well into next year.

JC’s

The podcasting world is changing all the time. This podcast keeps me up to date with that world. If you’re a podcaster (or soon will be), keep ahead of how the industry is changing by listening in on this short and to the point podcast.

Ok, I admit it, I’m a podcast fanatic. They allow me to listen to new ideas on the go without having to divert all my attention to them (ahem, looking at you Facebook videos!).

This particular show has Joel Comm as one of the hosts. Easily one of the more down to earth personalities in the online business world.

If you’re not familiar with cryptocurrency and want to get started OR you’re wanting to hear the newest of news, this is a pretty good place to get your info from.

Over the years I’ve used several hosts for websites of mine and clients. For the longest time, Hostgator was my go to host. They have so many things going well for them (including a WordPress helper) that if you’re brand new to the hosting world, I’d highly recommend them. They’re like the Verizon of hosts.

However, over the years, I’ve become more of a basics guy. I don’t need everything done for me. And there was just certain things that I wasn’t necessarily getting from Hostgator. That’s when I found NameCheap. I like to think of them as being kinda Sprint-like.

NameCheap is a great option for people who already know a little bit about creating WordPress sites but want a little help where it counts. While they don’t have a staff to answer your questions on the phone (like Hostgator does 24/7), they do have a chat support that I’ve found very useful. Also, with the ease of use of installing an SSH certificate on your site AND getting a inexpensive WhoIsGuard subscription, it’s hard to go anywhere else if you just want the basics for cheap!

Veronica’s

Success Principles – Jack Canfield is a co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Over his 30 years as a professional, he’s studied, taught, and lived certain principles. In this book we learn what they are and how we can use them in our lives in a practical manner. Even if you’re already successful, it’s an inspiring guide that will help any aspiring person get from where they are to where they want to be.

Female Entrepreneur Association – One of my older resources. Founder Carrie Green has made an online hub with the mission of inspiring and empowering women from around the world to turn their ideas into a reality, build successful businesses and live a life they love.


Every single one of us has the ability to achieve incredible things and life is too short to waste the opportunity to make it happen.

The Intern – In my recently released book Stories of Elders (which you can find out more about it in session 132), I traveled across the country to find out how technology has changed the lives of members of the Greatest Generation.

While Robert De Niro is a Baby Boomer, I think this movie does a good job of portraying the differences of generations, how they work mesh in an high tech entrepreneurial setting, and how we can still all learn from each other.

Harrison’s

Martech: This is fellow Indianapolis citizen’s Doug Karr’s blog. Let’s just say that if you have a question about something on digital marketing or just optimizing your online business, you’re going to find some kind of tips here.

Disrupt You!: Jay Samit is actually my mentor. He’s a living legend that has disrupted multiple industries. A ton of takeaways from this book, but my favorite has to be –

“The joy of disruption comes from accepting that we all live in a temporary state.”

With all the opportunities available through technologies, one may ask “where do I start?” A very logical question.

In his book, he explains how most disruptors success stories involve the individuals pivoting their way from failures to success after many attempts. MANY!

That’s right, the chances of you nailing it on the first try are slim to none. However, that doesn’t mean that you should stop trying.

If you want to succeed, make sure you are ready to embrace failure and mistakes. It’s meant to happen so that you can align yourself with the correct solution.

Business Rockstars: While it’s not as good as it used to be when my friend Ken Rutkowski owned it, it’s still a great resource. If you want advice from entrepreneurs who have made it to the top, this is definitely a place where you can find what they have to say. Not only that, but it’s a great community too where you can find mentorship and excellent group coaching.

Startup Grind: If your thing is to learn from people who have more recently been where you’re at, then you might want to check out the Startup Grind community. This Google owned platform is a valuable resource to get education, inspiration, and connection to other entrepreneurs.


Action Steps

Have something to add to this list? Let us know below!

positive and negative effects of technology

Veronica Kirin – Chronicling the Stories of Elders: Exploring the Positive and Negative Effects of Technology Through the Years (AoL 132)

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The phrase “I’d walk in 5 ft snow and blowing winds BOTH WAYS to school!” or something similar is a pre-internet meme that many of us think of when we think of stories from our grandparents. This generation, dubbed the “Greatest Generation” saw tons of changes in their lives – from civil rights to electricity and TV in every house. Over the years, technology changed the way they lived, worked, and even played.

Unfortunately, with each passing year, there are fewer members of this generation around to share their wisdom.

Today’s guest, and regular cohost of the show, Veronica Kirin made it her goal to get perspectives from this generation about something we all take for granted today: technology.

By chronicling more than 8,000 years of life lived, driving 11,000 miles across more than 40 states, she accomplished this goal.

In today’s conversation, we’ll be talking to her about how it all went down and some of the things she learned from the experience of publishing her first book.

Enjoy!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • What attracted Veronica to becoming a thought leader? 7:26
  • How did the rebranding of her company go? 10:24
  • What platform has she struggled with getting into as she’s building her brand? 12:21
  • Why did she opt to write a book when many people’s preferred format is video or audio these days? 14:36
  • Is there anything she would have changed in making the book as she’s finished the project? 18:04
  • What actually triggered Veronica to pursue writing the book? 19:36
  • How did she come up with the list of individuals she wanted to visit? 23:19
  • Was her Kickstarter campaign a success? 25:00
  • How did the knowledge of all the stories she heard changed her perspective on how we’ve changed as a culture? 27:59
  • How can we be more intentional in our use of technology? 31:30
  • What’s on the horizon for Veronica in the near future? 45:08
  • Which books are her favorite books to give or tell others about? 48:32
  • Something she’s been learning about and wanting to implement more? 52:37
  • If she could, is there any business she would want to magically have? 53:43
  • What’s something that would horrify a person from 100 years ago? 54:31
  • How can someone be a difference maker in their community? 55:39

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Your Grandmother Uses Technology Better Than You
>

Why This Work is Important

Self Care Through Scaling

You Don’t Work for Henry Ford

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on Castbox, iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

How to be a Good Interviewer

Michael O’Neal – Don’t Make It About Your Podcast Gear! – Learning How to be a Great Interviewer (AoL 119)

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When it comes to podcasting, you can get geek out about equipment and marketing tactics all day long. However, what separates the good from the great is, especially when you have an interview based show, is the content.

When you have an interview based show, this means that you should have a good feel for interviewing.

For me, I’ve listened to a number of interviewers styles since I first started: Larry King, Tim Ferriss, Cal Fussman, and Lewis Howes are some of the folks that I’ve tried to emulate.

Another is this session’s guest, Michael O’Neal.

According to Michael, when he first started the Solopreneur Podcast, he wasn’t sure how to help people get better at interviews. It was just something he was naturally good at. But, over time, he’s been able to deconstruct his ability and help hundreds of interviewers get better at their craft.

In this session, we’ll learn about what we can expect from his course as well as some new tips he learned recently at Podfest.

Enjoy!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • How’d Michael end up as a Steelers fan? 9:16
  • What was his experience like being a cohost with Hines Ward? 11:19
  • How’d he realize that he was unemployable? 14:28
  • What was the attraction to podcasting that got Michael started with it? 22:17
  • What’s his process in connecting with influencers and producing the podcast? 25:48
  • Has Michael seen a drop in his Google Analytics since shortening his show notes? What are a few things he learned at
  • Podfest 2018? 28:22
  • What can someone expect from his course “The Art of the Interview”? 32:02
  • Who are three influencers that have helped launch him to where he’s at today? 42:54
  • How does Michael say no to all the opportunities he receives these days? 43:18
  • Something he’s been learning about recently that he’s excited about? 44:44
  • What’s his least favorite social custom? 45:27
  • What’s the secret to achieving personal freedom? 45:45

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

 

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

 

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Michael starts Hand & Foot Combination Practice

Michael on drums at IGNITE 2016

Solopreneur Hour #377 with Pat Flynn

Solopreneur Hour #338 with Hines Ward

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

content creator

Tori Reid – Become a Master Content Creator! Why Blogging Should Still be a Part of Your Content Strategy (AoL 115)

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Lots of people would say that blogging as we know it is dead. There’s little ROI on it because you have to compete with all the other blogs that are out there.

That’s why a lot of people use Medium as their blogging platform. They then link those posts on social media hoping that the eyeballs see it.

However, today’s guest, Tori Reid, suggests otherwise.

She says that people still find blogs and other websites when they want to find information. However, when it comes to personal connection, that’s when they hop on social media.

Knowing this is important to content creators.

As are many other pointers.

This is what Tori’s group helps people with – keeping on top of what’s popular in the content creation world and how to get it out in a way that resonates with its intended audience.

In today’s chat with Tori, we find out how she got into content writing in the first place, how she started writing for LifeHacker, and her thoughts on blogging in 2018 and beyond.

Enjoy!

 

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • How’d Tori end up in Columbus and what are some of the benefits of working there as an entrepreneur? 11:20
  • What was it like to wake up to 1000 members in her Facebook group? 18:19
  • How did she get into content writing? 19:35
  • What was the pivot moment that she decided to drop out of school to pursue her business? 23:39
  • How did Tori become a writer for LifeHacker? 25:15
  • Why did she change her focus from blog writing to content development? 29:01
  • Can people still create successful brands online without putting a hub of theirs on a social media app? 32:44
  • What was the point where things start getting traction in her online career? 36:38
  • What’s a way for introverts to ease themselves into doing Facebook Lives? 40:01
  • What are a few tips that someone can utilize to craft a better selling message? 42:22
  • What’s Tori looking forward to doing in 2018? 48:24
  • What are her top 3 favorite books? 51:59
  • What’s something she’s learned to say no and what realizations have helped with that? 52:45
  • Something that she believes is going to affect entrepreneurs in the near future? 54:22
  • What bad advice does Tori hear adults giving children that she disagrees with? 56:34

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

 

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

 

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Getting Over Creative Blocks:

Upgrade Your Atmosphere, Upgrade Your Business:

The Art of Networking:

Landon Porter Interview:

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

how to get rid of malware

How to Get Rid of Malware on Your WordPress Website

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A website can make or break people’s perspective of whether or not you’re credible. When someone is legit, not only do they have a website but it’s one that is functional and findable. When you have that going for you, you can win their attention.

But what do you do if Google isn’t playing nice? What if you think you have Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools working for you but in reality, they’re not?

In today’s post, I’m going to not only share with you how I was able to fix my standing with Google search results, but also help you hopefully prevent future hacks.

 

My Introduction to Malware (the Hard Way)

So, here’s the deal. The New Inceptions site has been around since 2010. And for a long time, while I wanted to follow in the footsteps of the people I was learning from, for one reason or another, I wasn’t able to fully commit.

I’d write a post here or there – but never really had the time to actually put time into it.

And many times, what isn’t a habit, simply gets ignored.

Well, that’s what happened to the site. I wasn’t using it and because I wasn’t, the WordPress install files (including themes and plugins) all fell behind in updates.

The problem is that many of these updates are for security. And, truth is, if you fall behind, you’re leaving yourself prone to attack.

I didn’t know that at the time – and that’s when someone decided to upload malware on my site.

The way I found out was that I simply tried to hop on one time and I was given this warning instead of my site:

how to get rid of malware

Needless to say, I started to panic a bit.

Well after a few days of trying to figure the thing out, I basically decided that I was going to have to dump my site and start over.


And so I did.

 

But apparently, even after doing that, I hadn’t gotten rid of the problem.

 

I’d find out shortly after I relaunched New Inceptions in 2015, that I still hadn’t figured it out. But my solution at the time seemed to fix the problem…

 

2016 – A Chance of Intermittent Head Scratchers

So, there I am, moving along in 2016 with the AoL podcast and my regular scheduled blog posts.

 

I was about a year in and I was realizing I still hadn’t really gained much new traffic. Part of that, I figured, was simply because I didn’t know what I was doing with SEO. So I started following some advice that I was picking up from Bryan Harris and Brian Dean about how to structure posts so that they attract more people AND start ranking for SEO organically.

 

In the end, none of it seemed to work. I was still getting all this traffic from Indonesia and other asian countries – but not much from the US.

 

So weird. But my host couldn’t tell me why, nor could anyone in Google.

 

So I kept plugging away believing that like anything in life, success comes with time.

2017 – A New Host

Skip ahead to a few weeks ago – Houston got hit by Hurricane Harvey. As a result, Hostgator had all kinds of issues. From what I can gather, their primary server farm for the US is/was based there as well as their North American support staff.

 

Well, New Inceptions, along with my clients websites, were having all kinds of reliability problems.

 

So I decided that we’d have to move to another host. And luckily, Jake at America Multi-Sport had already tested another host for our Viking Trail Run series.

 

He was having good success with it (wasn’t slow, didn’t limit bandwidth, etc.) and I soon realized that I was going to move my account as well as client accounts over to the new host.

 

It was around this time that I had chosen to simply google NI and the result that I got simply blew me away:

how to get rid of malware

What in the world?!?

 

So I had the folks who were migrating NI to the new host could check for malware.

Unfortunately – they didn’t find any.

For about 3 weeks, I was left in this state as I couldn’t get ahold of anyone at Google that could help.

And during this time Google thinks my site is Japanese.

Wonderful.

 

The “Current” Solution

So, recently, I’ve been networking with different leaders of various groups using Arne’s FB Growth Course, I ran across one group called Blogging for Entrepreneurs hosted by Tori Reid.

Well, I posted the above image and asked if anyone might have ideas in how to fix it.

The response that got me going in the right direction: “Check your plugins to see if any of them haven’t been updated in awhile.”

That made me go back into my WordPress Dashboard and check out what hasn’t been updated for 6 months or more. I got rid of all of those that fit the criteria.

That didn’t do it.

But as soon as I did trash my last plugin, I get a notice from Wordfence saying that I might have some bad files in my installation of WordPress.

So I get over to see what it’s talking about…

AND THERE WAS STILL MALWARE!

Not only was this malware red flagged but it apparently it was installed from 2010 and 2011 – exactly when I first started having problems!

I couldn’t press the delete button quick enough! Lol.

After which, I update my Yoast SEO sitemap (an XML file you upload) on Google Webmaster Tools – and later that day, my the result looked like this:

how to get rid of malware

Hey, it’s not Japanese anymore!!

 

Final Result

As time has gone on since implementing this fix, my results have started to look better and better.

 

Today, I ended up with this as my results for NI:

how to get rid of malware

I think it might be finally fixed!

 

Action Steps

Alright – so guys, I hope you learned a couple of things in this one. First, don’t give up on problems you might not have the solution for right now. Just know that eventually it’ll work itself out.

Secondly, if you have WordPress installed – GET WORDFENCE for your site. Not only did it see these malware files, but it’s also limited tons of people from getting in and causing more mischief – including banning their IPs!!

Have any recent successes yourself with something you’ve been struggling with for awhile? Let me know. I’d love to hear about your win!!

sales skills

Mark Boersma – Developing your Sales Skills: Why Business Systems are Huge in Making Predictable Revenue (AoL 106)

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You always hear about people “systematizing” their work. However, so many of us, especially us solopreneurs, don’t take the time to do that. Sure, we might write an SOP if we hire a virtual assistant (if we’re smart), but when it comes down to our creative work we never take the time to think about what might be easier if we actually detail out what gets results.

As you’ll find out in the interview of Mark Boersma, he started systemizing early on. Having an analytical mind, he out thought his problem and now teaches others how to turn sales, which can seem like an intangible skill, into something that’s very step by step.

In today’s chat, Mark discusses with me why he had to figure this system out, what the results of it gave him, and how knowing personalities plays into the success of this system.

Enjoy!

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

  • Why did Mark get three bachelor degrees? 10:41
  • Did he feel that going to college was a detour of what he should be doing in his career? 13:22
  • When he got out of school, why did he immediately go for a 100% commission paid position? 15:02
  • What was the first tool that he made which systematized his sales? 20:35
  • How does knowing about personalities useful in making sales? 23:44
  • What’s the accuracy percentage of the personality assessment he uses with people? 30:54
  • What are some of the things Mark is looking forward to in the future with Synergy Solutions? 35:51
  • Who are 3 influencers who have helped him get to where he is today? 41:38
  • What is a scientific fact that he knows his true but still blows him away? 42:49
  • What’s an unwritten rule that should actually be written today? 43:55
  • What’s something that he belives all high school students must know? 45:18
  • What does it mean to live a life of abundance? 46:39
  • … and MUCH more!

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

 

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Mark and Tom interviewed by the Milwaukee’s Morning Blend:

Mark on Thinkers vs Doers:

ClickFunnels Viral Ad 2017:

Thanks for Listening!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!

Basics of The Junto- An Online and In Person Mega Mastermind Group

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Well, guys, it’s official! The new Facebook group is up and going! I present to you… 

mastermind group

 

I’m really excited to bring you guys’ this joint effort.

It’s been something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile but I just didn’t have the pieces in place to be able to get it done.

Now I do.

And by pushing the podcast to a every two week effort seems like it’s going to really pay off. I feel that I’m going to be much more productive in my own business as well as being able to help you awesome folks out a bit more.

Since last week, I’ve received a few questions about what the group itself. I wanted to take a little bit of time to answer some of those questions.

So this post is all for you prospective members.

What the Junto is all about – including what it is and what it isn’t.

What is this version of the Junto?

Basic Rules:

I’ve had some questions about how closely I’m going to be following Ben Franklin’s Junto. Well, for one, this group is going to be open to anyone – they just need to meet certain criteria including:

  • Been on Facebook for more than a year.
  • Answers the questions to get in the group.
  • Doesn’t post random offers or troll when they’re in.

 

The Junto is a branding channel, first and foremost. In my book, branding is all about making people aware that you exist. Marketing is letting people know you have something to offer. (And since we’re on the subject, sales is about making a transaction. Don’t get the three confused.)

Just to make it absolutely clear – marketing is usually not permitted (unless given permission to do so). But you’re totally allowed to offer people value as much as you want.

You can express that value in written, audio, or video form. Totally up to you. Just don’t drop offers.

 

What’s with All the Logos?

So here’s the awesome thing, guys. I’m not the only “star” of this group. I am simply the moderator and the pot stirrer. As I’ve done in the past with New Inceptions, Junto has various contributors itself – all with their own focuses in helping people in the offline community.

  • Coffe – Help people understand about finances and getting them out of debt.
  • Amplify – Make great events around the city.
  • Collaborate 317 – A place for people to come together for an event, a class, or simply to engage with other like minded individuals.
  • Ascension – A means for patriots AND veterans to get training so that they can climb up in their career – whether in the traditional 9 to 5 world OR as an entrepreneur.

 

All four of these companies are looking to expand their reach outside of Indianapolis. They want to empower others around the world and possibly do what they’re already doing.

Being part of this group will allow them to do that.

If your town doesn’t have one of these groups and you think it might be a great addition to your community, I’m sure the founders would love to help you put a chapter in your area!

 

Are we Going to Use the Junto’s Original Questions?

Yes and no. We are going to use them. It’s my goal to post at least a tip and a question as often as possible. Hopefully daily as I’m always learning and need to write some of this stuff down.

As you might have seen, the original questions ARE pretty antiquated. So I’ll need to update them a bit to post in the group.

For example, question 13 goes like this: “Do you know of any deserving young beginner lately set up, whom it lies in the power of the Junto any way to encourage?”

Today, we’d simply ask, “Do you know of any cool newbie entrepreneurs who need an extra boost that we could highlight and/or encourage?”

I think a lot of these questions are those that many groups don’t ask enough. So be on the lookout for these!

 

If someone wants to Promote Something, how can they do that?

By going through the proper channels! Lol.

But no, seriously. If you’re contributing regularly to the group and want to promote something, there’s a way to do that. It’s called hop on LIVE with one of us and we’ll highlight who you are and what you’re about. Just as in the podcast, in that conversation you’ll get the opportunity to mention anything you’re excited about and that’d be a good time for YOU to promote your wares.

 

Action Steps:

So this post is fairly short for a reason. I want you to hop in there and start introducing yourself! Answer the onboarding questions so we can make sure you get connected to the right people.

We’re all in this together, so if you want to know one of the mods a bit better – let me know. I’ll be more than happy to connect you!

Have any other questions? Let me know here or on Facebook.