How to Market Test your Business Idea in Under Ten Minutes

Hi there!

I hope you had a lovely long weekend.

Sometimes on my blog I like to have imaginary conversations with imaginary people who appear to be very interested in what I have to say.

If one of these imaginary folk were to ask: 

Hey JJ. So what’s are the real steps involved in this setting-up-business / coaching / mentoring lark of which you speak?

Then I would be able to show them checklists, flow diagrams, lightning-bolt-strewn process maps. They would be impressed.

I like to call this my methodology, because I am fancy like that.

This methodology is the foundation of all my work with folks who want to set up their own little businesses. It’s the main reason that my mentoring service is so totally brilliant, and why this website is too. Even if you’re only here because you like my hat.

Earlier today I was doing some ad-hoc coaching with a friend of mine who is looking to start an online business. I ran him through a quick set of tests he could use to determine whether there would be a market for his business idea.

That’s cool, I thought to myself. I should share this on my blog and add it to the methodology.

And that’s what I’m doing here. 

I made a quick 7 minute video to explain the process. It’s a long way from being slick – and if you’re not interested in internet business then frankly it’ll bore you to tears – but the information in here is fantastic.

I think everyone would benefit from following along with this one. I should really sell this information for a gazillion dollars or something, and I probably will one day, so watch it now whilst I am still outrageously generous!

Enjoy! And if you feel like telling the rest of the internet how great you think this is then please go ahead and Digg, facebook, mixx me and generally shout messages of love from the rooftops. I won’t mind!

See ya’ tomorrow.

JJ Jalopy.

How to be more productive by doing less stuff.

Hey!

It’s a beautiful sunny day in Londontown and there’s a beer outside waiting for me…

…just as soon as I get my AWESOME Jalopy Gang newsletter finished.

Not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s totally brilliant.

Reading it makes you instantly cleverer, richer and more attractive.

If you would like to be stupid, poor and ugly then please don’t put your email in the box below.

 

This week the newsletter is better than ever. It’s jam packed with instantly applicable advice on getting client testimonials, and it’s absolutely hilarious if I do say so myself. You will laugh. Oh, how you’ll laugh.

Just to prove it, here’s an article from the newsletter…

 

How to be more productive by doing less stuff.

Most of us spend a lot of time doing stuff we don’t want to do.

We attend meetings that waste our time, we stay late at work because we think it will impress our boss, we hang out Dave and Sue twice a year even though we think Dave and Sue are terrible bores.

Productivity advice is big business. There’s a whole ton of boring books written about how to be more productive. There’s a whole industry devoted to squeezing the maximum amount of work out of a workforce who, in most cases, would rather be doing something else.

Probably the most famous is Getting Things Done, by David Allen.

It’s actually a very good book if you like that kind of thing. (Which I do, a little.)

It’s basically a complete system to help people to do more stuff they’d rather not be doing.

It’s generally accepted knowledge that productivity springs naturally from the fire of passion.

If we’re doing stuff that we love, then we are productive.

Do you need to motivate yourself to play with your kids? Or go fishing? Or go for a beer with a good friend?

No, because we love doing these things. We are passionate about them. At least some of us are.

If we flip this on it’s head, we might conclude that being unproductive results from doing a load of stuff we don’t really want to be doing.

So how to I stop being unproductive? What’s the solution?

Well the solution is to stop doing stuff you don’t want to do.

If you only did what you wanted then you’d get an enormous amount done.

Yeah, but it’s not that easy is it? Some of the crappy stuff I just have to do.

This is true. And it would be grossly irresponsible of me to claim otherwise.

You really should pay your bills. 

You really should do your tax return.

You really should pick up your son from soccer practice. 

There are a number of things that you might not want to do, but you really should to avoid death or imprisonment. 

There are a number of things that you might not want to do, but you really should to avoid being a terrible person. 

Thing is, we’re not always very good at being objective about what we have to do, and what we really don’t have to do but just think we do. (For example, many people will think that I should rewrite that last sentence because it’s ugly as sin, but I won’t because I’m lazy.)

Here’s some stuff that you really don’t have to do.

• You don’t have to hang out with Dave and Sue. They’ll cope. And maybe they find hanging out with you a bit of a chore too. (They don’t, obviously. They think you’re brilliant. But you can see my point.)  
• You don’t have to answer the phone when you’re in the middle of something important. They’ll leave a message. Or they’ll call back if it’s important. It’s okay.
• You don’t have to return all your phone calls.
• You don’t have to reply to all your emails.
• You don’t have to send birthday cards.
• You don’t have to go to valueless meetings just to show your face.
• You don’t have to finish everything you start.
• You don’t have to get up early every day.
• You don’t have to stay in college if you don’t love it.
• You don’t have to stick in a job you hate.
• You don’t have to have a well-paying professional career simply because you paid a lot of money for your degree.
• You don’t have to have goals.
• You don’t have to have a five year plan. 
• You don’t have to live up to other people’s expectations of you.

Aren’t I just going to end up annoying and upsetting everyone?

In order to rid your life of stuff you don’t like doing, you’re going to have to say No a lot. You’re probably going to disappoint people who are used to you behaving in a certain way. 

You might run the risk of people thinking you are a flaky, self-centered, arrogant, egotistical.

But I’m not advocating that you go too far with this. I’m intending this as a re-balancing exercise. I don’t want you to make a religion out of giving stuff up. Don’t make it a total lifestyle decision. Don’t become a selfish idiot.

The key is to create space for the passion to grow in your life by eliminating the shoulds that cause you anxiety and stress, and replacing them with the “work” you love.

The message, summed up in a cheesy alliteration-heavy catchphrase?

Do what you dig. Don’t do what you don’t dig.

See y’all tomorrow!

JJ Jalopy.

SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: Sign-up for my newsletter. It’s totally brilliant.

Get Paying Clients from Free Coaching Sessions in 7 Easy Steps

Hi there!

Just when you think you don’t have to listen to me anymore…

I have a REAL treat for you today.

If you’re struggling to fill your coaching practice with clients then you have to listen to this.

I run through a simple 7 step process that you can use in your free trial coaching sessions to get more people to sign-up for coaching with you on an ongoing basis.

It’s 100% content and value packed. I hit this one out of the park!

The 14 minute podcast is below. Click the Audio MP3 icon to make it play. Or select the link below.

Get Paying Clients from Free Coaching Sessions in 7 Easy Steps

Would you like more cliches? More hyperbole?

Good.

This 14 minute recording is an extreme injection of value packed information into your brain. I go into brain-hemorrhaging detail and define a clear cut strategy to turn your free trial coaching session into a gold mine of happy paying clients.

This time there’s no B.S., no cowboy hats, no larking around – just clear, applicable strategy. I’m really pleased with it, and I hope you will be too.

If you’re a visual person, you might like to look at this as you listen to me explain the process:

 

I hope you enjoy it and get as much value from the process as my clients do.

NOTE: In the latter part of this podcast I mention setting up coaching sessions 4 times a week. That’s an awful lot of coaching. I meant 4 times a month. Thanks Mrs. Jalopy!

See you tomorrow!

JJ Jalopy.

P.S. I’ll doubtless post some larking around for you again soon! My buddy Duane and I are planning to do a podcast together. And who knows what might happen…

Fill Your Coaching Practice in 7 Easy Steps.

How to become a coach. With Coaching Marketing Superstar JJ Jalopy.

Hey there!

Look! I’m on YouTube – spreading the word about my coaching marketing blueprint and other awesome stuff.

Obviously I cringe if I watch it and have no way of telling objectively whether it sucks or not.

So please tell me what you think…

Feel free to be totally honest with me.

Except if you think it sucks. You can keep that to yourself.

Actually, you can keep quiet unless you think it’s totally brilliant. Otherwise I’ll get all self-conscious and I’ll do the next one in the dark.

Thanks. Glad we’ve sorted that out.

See y’all tomorrow!

JJ Jalopy.

An interview with a Health, Nutrition and General Zen Master Rockstar!

Hey there!

I’ve just recorded a podcast interview with holistic health expert Anthony Lemme of www.anthonylemme.com. 

Check it out. It’s awesome.

Well, Anthony is awesome anyway.

He teaches me some new words, drops some great soundbites and explains his functional approach to health and happiness. He truly is a master of body and mind. And a darned humble one at that.

Unfortunately, though, he cannot levitate.

I guess you can’t have it all…

(I lose my voice about halfway through. So that’s a plus too!)

Enjoy!

JJ interviews health expert Anthony Lemme

UPDATE: 22/05/09 – Here’s Part 2. It’s way better quality and you get to hear me call my friend, ubiquitous blog commenter Avery, an asshole. 

Interview with Anthony – Part 2

JJ Jalopy.

How to submit your podcast to iTunes.

Hi there!

I’ve just submitted my podcast to iTunes.

This makes me feel very big and important.

I have an official looking email from Apple telling me that they are going to review my podcast feed and decide whether it’s good enough to be allowed in.

I bet Steve Jobs will review mine personally.

The process isn’t that hard if you know what you’re doing. But it can be a right pain in the proverbial if you don’t.

Thankfully I took some screenshots along the way so I could share this with you. Yes, I really am too good to be true.

Many of the steps I’m about describe I learned from this website. I wouldn’t advise you visit though. There’s a lot there. I read it so you don’t have to!

Before we start, I’m going to make some fairly big assumptions. I’m going to assume that you:

• have the podcast recorded in a file on your computer of a sensible type
• have iTunes installed on your computer
• have a blog with FeedBurner RSS feed.

Now I know these are pretty big assumptions, especially the first. If you think it would be useful, and I don’t totally suck at describing this stuff, then let me know and I might describe how to record one.

Or I could make a screencast of me making a podcast. That would be wild. Like standing between two mirrors and watching a million reflections of me go on and on and on and on and….

Ahem.

I’m also going to assume that you already think that getting your podcast into iTunes is A Good Idea. So I’m not going to convince you of that one, but move straight onto…

Step 1 – Make a Cool Logo for your Podcast

The iTunes Store displays an image for your podcast in a number of places.

Your podcast will look rubbish if it doesn’t have an image. So you should make one.

Create one which is 340 x 340 pixels.

Then another for encoding into your MP3 file which is 157 x 157 pixels.

Upload these two your website server using your favorite FTP program.

Here are mine:

Okay. So they don’t look fantastic. But they’re okay.

Step 2 – Use iTunes to Tidy Up your Podcast

Open iTunes.

We’re going to use iTunes to convert your file, of whatever format you recorded it in, into something which is friendly and compatible with the iTunes store.

Select iTunes >> Preferences >> General

Press the Import Settings button

The Import Settings box is displayed. Select MP3 Encoder, and select Custom from the Settings menu.

Select the options displayed below:

Now, drag your podcast file into the iTunes application.

It is likely to import it with no album name, so sort by album name to bring the blank album files to the top.

Select your podcast file by clicking on it once and then go to the Advanced menu and select Convert Selection to MP3.

iTunes will now make itself busy with converting your file to MP3 format.

When it’s done  (and it’ll take it’s time) right click on the new MP3 file and select Get Info.

Select the Info tab and fill in all relevant fields.

If there is no relevant Genre available then select Custom and make up one of your own.

Now select the Artwork tab.

Select Add and choose your 157 x 157 pixel image.

Cool.

Now drag the MP3 file out of iTunes and onto your desktop. Then FTP the file to your website server.

Step 3 – Configure your FeedBurner RSS feed.

Log into your account at feedburner.com.

Go to the Optimize tab and select SmartCast in the services menu on the left hand side.

Fill in the fields as relevant to your podcast. These fields will be displayed in the iTunes store so fill them out well.

In the Image Location field enter the location of your 340 x 340 pixel image.

Step 4 – Link to your podcast in your blog.

Create a simple blog post in which you include a link to the URL of your podcast file.

Step 5 – Ping your RSS feed!

FeedBurner will check your blog feed for changes every 30 minutes.

We want it to update a bit quicker, so we can get on with things. So Visit FeedBurner’s ping page and enter your URL.

FeedBurner will let you know if your update was successful.

Step 6 – Test your Feed in iTunes

Go back to iTunes.

From the Advanced menu, select Subscribe to Podcast.

Enter your feed URL in the box provided.

Your podcast should start to download. Check that all titles and images look correct and marvel at your handiwork!

Step 7 – Submit your podcast to the iTunes Store

Select iTunes Store >> Podcasts from the iTunes menu on the left.

Select the Submit a Podcast button. It’s the funny looking one in the middle of the screen.

Enter your FeedBurner URL into the field below:

If everything was okay, iTunes will now send you a confirmation email stating that your feed has been received for review.

And you don’t have to do anything else…

I’ll let you know how I get on…

Goodnight,

JJ Jalopy.

Podcast number 1 – JJ’s Warm Call Confidence Blaster Reloaded!

How to become a coach. With Coaching Marketing Expert JJ Jalopy.

Hi guys!

This is a repost of my first podcast, featuring my extraordinarily awesome Warm Call Confidence Blaster Visualization.

Podcast 1 – JJ’s Warm Call Confidence Blaster

I’m reposting it:

1. because it’s totally brilliant and…
2. so my shiny new RSS feed that I whined about yesterday will pick it up so that…
3. iTunes users can learn of my magnificence! 

It’s a Podcasting masterstroke. 

I’ll let you know how I get on.

Fingers crossed!!!

JJ Jalopy.

Coaching Business Startup 103 Bonus Podcast – JJ’s Warm Call Confidence Blaster!

How to Become a Coach. With Coaching Training Expert JJ Jalopy.

Welcome back!

Come on in.

It’s great to see you.

I’ve just sat myself down with cup of orange fruit tea. To be honest, it tastes like colorful hot water.

But I like hot water, so it’s all good.

Would you like anything? I’ll have the maid fetch you anything you like.

Dang. Just remembered – I don’t have a maid. I’ll fix it myself…

Okay… today I want to carry on our series about building a life coaching or business coaching home business.

In Coaching Business Startup 103 – Get practice clients from your network we discussed how the best way to gain experience and confidence was to start coaching right away. We agreed that you would write down a list of everyone you knew and pick ten or so people that you thought would be most receptive to the idea of coaching. You then wrote down the reasons why you thought that person would appreciate an invitation to experience a free coaching session with you.

I then challenged you to call all ten of these people one after another and make those invitations.

Did you do it?

If so then CONGRATULATIONS, you can move on. Go for a walk and get yourself an ice-cream.

If not then, CONGRATULATIONS too! You’ve just qualified for the JJ Jalopy Warm Call Confidence Blaster!

JJ Jalopy's Confidence Blaster!

 

It’s my first podcast! I had an absolute blast making it! I wonder if you can tell…

Click below to listen. It’ll open in a new window.

JJ Jalopy’s Warm Call Confidence Blaster Podcast Extraordinaire!

See you tomorrow for more fun and games!

JJ Jalopy.

Become a Life Coach