Jason Lankow is the CEO / Cofounder of Visage, the design tool for content marketers. He co-founded Column Five, a content marketing agency, and both companies share offices in Irvine, CA and Brooklyn, NY.
Subscribe to EOFire
Resources Mentioned:
- Your Big Idea: Successful Entrepreneurs have One Big Idea. Follow JLD’s FREE training & you’ll discover Your Big Idea in less than an hour!
- Audible – Get a FREE Audiobook & 30 day trial if you’re not currently a member!
- Product Hunt – Jason’s small business resource
- How Will You Measure Your Life? – Jason’s top business book
- Visage – A platform for creating fantastic visual content (Sorry! This link was active when this episode was first published in 2016. This resource is no longer available.)
- Column Five – Jason’s marketing company
3 Key Points:
- Say ‘yes’ to things when you’re starting out. Momentum is the key to growth.
- Know that anything in life can crash and burn. Invest in relationships, in security, and in giving to other people.
- Stop comparing yourself to other people. Understand that you have different strengths, and work out how to use them.
Sponsors
- DesignCrowd: Post your design project on DesignCrowd today and get a special $100 VIP offer! Visit DesignCrowd.com/fire and enter the discount code FIRE when posting your project!
- LawTrades – Legal protection for your business. Fire Nation, get $100 off your first legal project today at LawTrades.com/fire!
Time Stamped Show Notes
(click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.)
- [01:30] – Visage grew out of a labs project in Column 5
- [03:00] – Jason generates revenue from flat rate projects in Column 5
- [04:00] – On the software side, they sell annual subscription plans to the platform
- [05:00] – People can buy content marketing packages
- [05:30] – Worst Entrepreneurial Moment: Someone coming to change the locks on his house during the 2008 real estate meltdown
- [08:02] – “Anything, at any time, can crash and burn”
- [09:30] – Entrepreneurial AH-HA Moment: Putting in his first marketing proposal after being IM’d by an engineering company
- [09:35] – “Spending disappears. Giving lasts.”
- [13:45] – “Saying ‘yes’ in the beginning is crucial”
- [14:06] – Biggest weakness? – “I find it hard to let go of projects, even when I’m no longer useful.”
- [16:15] – Biggest strength? – “Caring about other people and wanting to understand them.”
- [18:48] – The Lightning Round
- What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur? – “I was afraid I couldn’t do it”
- What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? – “Just do it”
- What’s a personal habit that contributes to your success? – “Taking walks”
- Share an internet resource, like Evernote, with Fire Nation – Product Hunt
- If you could recommend just one book to our listeners, what would it be and why? – How Will You Measure Your Life?
- [19:36] – Parting piece of guidance: “Look at the people around you and dig deep into how you each contribute”
- [20:14] – Connect with Jason on Twitter
Killer Resources!
1) The Common Path to Uncommon Success: JLD’s 1st traditionally published book! Over 3000 interviews with the world’s most successful Entrepreneurs compiled into a 17-step roadmap to financial freedom and fulfillment!
2) Free Podcast Course: Learn from JLD how to create and launch your podcast!
3) Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 podcasting community in the world!
Subscribe to EOFire!
