Joe is Founder of the Content Marketing Institute and co-founder of the Orange Effect Foundation, providing resources to children with speech therapy needs.

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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!
Marketing Profit – Joe’s Latest Book coming out in September 2017
Content Marketing Institute – Joe’s website
Connect with Joe on his website and podcast
The Freedom Journal – Set & Accomplish your #1 goal in 100 days!
The Mastery Journal – Master productivity, discipline and focus in 100 days!

3 Key Points:

Niching down is easy if you focus and dominate what you’re good at first.
Don’t baby your companies – if it’s time to say goodbye, let go.
When you’re starting out, it’s always a “yes” to every opportunity—but when you’re in a place of success, if it’s not a “hell yes!”, then it’s a “no”.

Time Stamped Show Notes

(click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.)

[00:54] – Joe became an entrepreneur in 2007
[01:00] – Joe has 20 years in the content marketing industry and just had an exit
[01:29] – Joe was on Episode 71 and Episode 341 of EOFire
[02:43] – Joe’s current area of expertise is content marketing
[03:00] – The best way to start a business is to build an audience first
[03:35] – Let’s not fall in love with your product or your service, but fall in love with your audience, first and foremost
[03:50] – Your audience will tell you what they want to buy
[04:36] – “Simplify the strategy”
[05:20] – “Consistency is more important than frequency”
[05:26] – Find what you’re good at and do it everyday
[05:58] – It takes awhile to build a loyal relationship with your audience
[06:03] – The 4 simple ingredients of content marketing
[06:20] – Focus on what you do really well
[06:48] – Remember KISS: keep it super simple
[08:15] – One of Joe’s goals is to sell a company
[08:40] – Joe started his company with multiple ideas and the initial idea was to be a matching service for content marketers and agencies
[09:08] – The company was successful at matching brands with content marketers
[09:27] – In 2009, Joe had a problem with the company
[10:38] – Joe was feeling down after a client dropped them
[11:20] – “When your best case study doesn’t re-up, you’ve got a problem”
[11:30] – Joe realized a couple of things
[11:40] – One of Joe’s mentors asked him, “How are you going to be great for your customers if you’re going in 3 different directions?”
[11:58] – Joe had a belief that he needed several startups to be successful
[12:20] – Joe decided to focus on one thing which was a Content Marketing Institute
[13:35] – In May 2010, Joe launched Content Marketing Institute just 6 months after selling his first startup
[14:14] – In September 2010, Joe started planning Content Marketing World, which is a big event for content marketing
[14:43] – A year later, 660 people came to the event
[14:48] – This year, Joe is expecting 4,000 people from different countries to attend Content Marketing World
[15:54] – Find your initial momentum and get the ball rolling
[16:16] – Joe shares how he decided to sell his company
[16:50] – Joe looks at his goals everyday
[17:12] – An entrepreneur needs to have an exit plan
[17:59] – In 2014, Joe was looking at a valuation
[18:30] – Most companies are valued by earnings
[19:11] – Entrepreneurs need to evaluate their salaries, as that will be their replacement value
[20:07] – Joe didn’t go directly to the bank, but hired a CFO instead
[20:33] – It took Joe a year to get everything in order
[21:04] – Joe went directly to companies who might be interested in the business
[22:00] – There was a negotiation and Joe started to choose the one that made the most sense
[22:54] – The process was completed and the company seemed to be the right fit
[23:15] – 2 weeks before the sale, Joe got cold feet and his gut told him to back out
[23:40] – Joe was 98% sure he wouldn’t sell, but his wife told him to call his mentors and asked for advice
[24:30] – Joe’s mentor told him to take his head out of his rear and get the deal done
[25:28] – Joe told his mentors his hang-ups and his mentors said to negotiate
[25:55] – One of Joe’s hang-ups was his time left with the company, and the other one was that Joe wanted his employees to be taken cared of
[26:30] – Joe negotiated and his business was sold
[27:10] – Don’t let your ego and product get in the way of your goals
[27:40] – People have to have mentors
[28:10] – Joe shares how to start a business you can exit from at some point
[28:08] – Joe is reading Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss
[28:11] – Don’t read Tools of Titan at night because it will pump you up
[29:25] – Start thinking about what an exit strategy looks like for you
[29:50] – If Joe hadn’t had that goal, he wouldn’t have taken the path he took for his business
[30:25] – Another question is: what will it take for me to exit and be happy with my decision for the rest of my life
[30:43] – Joe’s newest goal
[31:00] – Joe thinks about the time that he still has left with his kids before they go out on their own
[31:40] – Joe’s goal starting January 1^st 2018 is that he will spend his time with his kids
[33:23] – “If it is not a hell yes!, it’s a no”
[34:30] – Follow Joe on his website and podcast
[34:50] – Joe is into The Orange Effects Foundation with his wife
[35:10] – Joe’s latest book, Marketing Profit, will be out in September 2017