How Entrepreneurs Inspire Change – In Just 7 Minutes with Doug Foley

Resources/Links:

• Want more tips on how to switch that job mindset into an entrepreneurial one? Click here: https://go.douglasjfoley.com/BreakoutBlueprint

Summary

Does your business give you more stress than income? Do you feel like your business has finally hit that glass ceiling and you just don’t know what to do to break through it?

Doug Foley is a best-selling author, entrepreneur, and speaker that is passionate about helping entrepreneurs build a lifestyle business and making a lasting impact in the world.

Dive into the world of entrepreneurship as Doug gives his amazing tips and tricks on how you can navigate through your business without stress and rekindle your passion for change by honing what you’re great at.

Check out these episode highlights:

• 01:45 – Doug’s ideal client: Entrepreneurs who are looking to make an impact with their business and not just an income.
• 01:59 – The problem he helps solve: We help entrepreneurs figure out how to scale and breakthrough at each stage of their business, and how they can leverage their business to create a more meaningful lifestyle.
• 02:57 – The symptoms of the problem: I think most people, especially coming through, you know, the global crisis we came through, they went into this position where they’re stuck. You know, they feel stagnant, so some left corporate America to start a job.
• 04:08 – Clients’ common mistakes before consulting Doug: I think most people chase income instead of impact. And it’s really cool until you realize you can make as much money as you want, but you’re not finding happiness.
• 05:17 – Doug’s Valuable Free Action (VFA): One of the biggest things, I would say, for most people is to focus on something called your “ikigai”. It’s a Japanese principle, you can Google it.
• 06:26 – Doug’s Valuable Free Resource (VFR): Want more tips on how to switch that job mindset into an entrepreneurial one? Click here: https://go.douglasjfoley.com/BreakoutBlueprint
• 07:06 – Q: When is the best time to start a business? A: The answer goes back to the Chinese proverb. When’s the best time to plant a tree? The honest answer is 20 years ago. The second best answer is now.

Tweetable Takeaways from this Episode:

“There's no perfect business plan. There's no growth hack. The best way to start is to go out there and provide value with the expertise that you have.” -Doug Foley Click To Tweet

Transcript
(Note, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)

Tom Poland 00:10
Greetings everyone, and a warm welcome to another edition of Marketing the Invisible. I’m Tom Poland beaming out to you from the Sunshine Coast in Australia, joined today by Doug Foley. Doug, a very warm g’day from Down Under. Where are you hanging out, sir?

Doug Foley 00:22
Virginia Beach!

Tom Poland 00:23
And how’s the weather in Virginia Beach right now?

Doug Foley 00:26
Yeah, right now, it’s beautiful. We’ve got 60 degrees. Nice and warm. I think Australia is a close 12-15.

Tom Poland 00:33
That’s- yeah, it’s not bad for the depths of winters.

Doug Foley 00:36
Yeah, I will take it. Listen, I’d rather be there for summer. I can tell you that much.

Tom Poland 00:40
Right. Yeah, I always think if you’ve got clear skies, you know, that sun shining, it doesn’t matter too much how cold it is. Folks, Doug is a best-selling author. He’s an entrepreneur. He’s a speaker. He’s passionate about helping entrepreneurs build a lifestyle business. And, Doug, I stalked you around the internet prior to this interview, and your passion clearly comes through. Doug oozes, cares about people, and is there to make a difference in your business, and in your life. That’s certainly been my impression in the 20 or so videos, I had a look at Doug. So it’s coming across! Doug’s thing is all around, as an entrepreneur, helping really to build a lifestyle business for you. And not just a lifestyle business for you, but as you do that, to make a lasting difference, a dent, if you like, in your part of the world to help other people around you. So it’s a subject that’s easy to get passionate about for anyone who cares about humanity. It’s how entrepreneurs inspire change. Doug, it’s a delight to have you on the show! Our seven minutes is going to start now. Question number one, sir, who’s your ideal client?

Doug Foley 01:45
Entrepreneurs who are looking to make an impact with their business and not just an income.

Tom Poland 01:51
Impact, not just an income– nice! Question two, sir, what’s the problem that you solve for those entrepreneurs who want to make an impact, not just income?

Doug Foley 01:59
We help entrepreneurs figure out how to scale and breakthrough at each stage of their business, and how they can leverage their business to create a more meaningful lifestyle. Most people will start a business, they end up creating a job for themselves. And we try to help them figure out how they can operate their zone of genius, and then build a business that’s ultimately going to help them with what they set out to do in the first place.

Tom Poland 02:23
It’s so true, isn’t it? People often jump out of the corporate cage into the entrepreneurial world believing they’ll- the quest, really, is to have more time, more money, and help more people. And they can, in fact, end up feeling trapped, earning less than they were and having less time, and helping less people.

Doug Foley 02:41
Hey, you’re looking at victim number one. Yeah!

Tom Poland 02:43
That wasn’t the plan. So let’s have a look at question three, what are some of the typical symptoms, you’d say? Let’s picture someone listening to this, and what’s going on in their life or their business that they think I really need to find out what Doug has done helping people.

Doug Foley 02:57
I think most people, especially coming through, you know, the global crisis we came through, they went into this position where they’re stuck. You know, they feel stagnant, so some left corporate America to start a job. You know, they’ve been doing it for a year, 18 months, and we find that’s the period where it’s a tipping point where they’re like, “This is too hard. I feel like I should just give up, throw in the towel, go back and get a job.” Or, you know, they’re working 80 hours making less money. They’re just trying to scratch your heads to figure out like, “I know I have something great. I know I can provide value.” But they just need that one little tipping point to get that breakthrough where they start to see that they’re making an impact. They start to see the income. And they get out of the job mindset, and they get into the entrepreneurial mindset where they’re inspired to continue to make a change, continue to make the right changes to build a scalable business.

Tom Poland 03:48
I mean, we’re generally talking about people that are passionate about making a difference. You know, they do care about the slice of humanity they interact with, but they also do want the profit and the time and so on. What I’m saying is they’re going to be trying stuff. So question four is, what are people telling you about the mistakes they made? What sort of mistake did they make before they found your solution?

Doug Foley 04:08
I think most people chase income instead of impact. And it’s really cool until you realize you can make as much money as you want, but you’re not finding happiness. And that’s where I started with the Happiness of Pursuit Podcast understanding how important it is to embrace the journey. And when you start to make an impact, you find fulfillment. You find real lasting joy. Something quick, “Hey, cool. I got $10,000 I bought this thing!” You’re able to actually see, feel and watch the impact of what you’re doing to the communities that you operate in. That gives you a lasting motivation, a lasting sense of fulfillment, to scale, to make the things that become the really big businesses that are going to be known for hundreds of years. You know, not these transactional businesses. “Hey, I created this course.” It lasted for nine months. Shut it down. Create the next thing.

Tom Poland 05:00
Right. Thank you for that, sir. Three and a half minutes left. Let’s flip it now. We’ve talked a lot about the past. Let’s go to the future. Question five is what’s a top tip, one valuable free action, that someone listening to this could take that won’t solve the whole problem for them, but it might be a step in the right direction?

Doug Foley 05:17
Yeah, one of the biggest things, I would say, for most people is to focus on something called your “ikigai”. It’s a Japanese principle, you can Google it. But if you can figure out how to start operating in your zone of genius, that’s kind of the correlation of what you know, what you’ve experienced, some of the things you’ve done over your life, and then what the world needs. If you can find a way to operate in that zone of genius more and more, you maximize the value you bring to the people around you, whether that’s in your business, even in your job, you know, if you’re not ready to make the leap. But that’s where you provide the most value. It’s where you’re going to find the most reward. It’s also where you’re most naturally interested, and willing to learn things. So you’ll see your fastest growth if you do that. Most people when they become entrepreneurs, just get stuck. They get drowned, and all the other minutia. They try to do everything. The more you focus on what you’re great at, the faster your business scales.

Tom Poland 06:12
Perfect! Thank you for that. Just over two minutes left, Doug. Two questions to go, so perfect timing. One valuable free resource. I want to be able to direct people to a landing page somewhere where they can find out more about your work, and maybe get some more cool free tips.

Doug Foley 06:26
Yeah, the best place is if you go to douglasjfoley.com/book, you can get a free copy or free download of my book. You can also reach me online anywhere, @douglasjfoley. DM me, I’ll send you that link if you forget.

Tom Poland 06:39
We’ve got it here. Douglasjfoley, F-O-L-E-Y, .com/book. So if you’re watching the video, it’s underneath the link. If you’re on stitches, or iTunes, Douglasjfoley.com/book. We’re not getting commissioned out of this, folks. It’s just something that we think should be promoted to make the world a better place. So we got about 80 seconds left, Doug. What’s the one question I should have asked you but didn’t? And the answer.

Doug Foley 07:06
Probably, say, when is the best time to start a business? The answer goes back to the Chinese proverb. When’s the best time to plant a tree? The honest answer is 20 years ago. The second best answer is now. If you find a problem that you’re truly passionate about, and you know that you have the skill sets to solve that problem, I would encourage you to just go find one person that you can help and start there. Once you’ve done that, find two. There’s no perfect business plan. There’s no growth hack. The best way to start is to go out there and provide value with the expertise that you have.

Tom Poland 07:42
Perfect! Doug, thank you so much for your time and your insights and, most especially, for your passion. Cheers!

Doug Foley 07:48
Tom, it’s my pleasure. Thank you so much!

Tom Poland 07:50
Thanks for checking out our Marketing The Invisible podcast. If you like what we’re doing here please head over to iTunes to subscribe, rate us, and leave us a review. It’s very much appreciated. And if you want to generate five fresh leads in just five hours then check out www.fivehourchallenge.com.