Colin Who?

Who is Colin and what does he do?

Colin is a 26-year-old American entrepreneur, author and maybe-a-little-too-curious person. As a result of that last trait, he also finds himself traveling full-time, and this travel is paid for by that first trait, and gives him stories to use for the second one. He’s also not great at writing comprehensibly in third-person.

Are you a “solo act” or do you employ other people (for example, do you use VA’s on a regular basis)?

I’m a solo act, and though I do tend to bring other people in to work on my projects with me when warranted, I do tend to prefer things I can bootstrap and run myself. I don’t know if that’s a result of my natural tendency to have full control over and understanding of what I’m doing, or if it’s just more convenient that way. I also don’t like having other people around who can tell me what I’m doing is wrong, because who learns anything new doing things the expected way?

Do you have any “permanent” residence in the U.S. (or somewhere else in the world) or do you always just rent as you move from one place/country to another?

Well, technically my permanent residence is in Columbia, Missouri, but that’s just where I send me my and visit my family in between jaunts to other countries. Most of the time, though, I’m renting apartments in whatever city I happen to land in. Other than that, though, no permanent habitation anywhere. It’s always a bit of a laugh when people realize that I’m homeless.

Behind The Scenes Of Colin’s Businesses

You introduce yourself as a serial entrepreneur. Can you give us a short introduction on the businesses that you run?

For sure.

At the moment, my main focus is on consulting and publishing. Colin Is My Name is my consulting studio, through which I help people out with branding and strategy, with the occasional other bit of whatever thrown in when necessary (I’ve got experience in quite a few fields, and I tend to make use of that knowledge when I can). I also publish books, my most recent being My Exile Lifestyle, and I run an ebook store called Ebookling.

I’ve got a bit of an experiment going on right now called Exiles, through which I’m writing my next book (and a bunch of other content) and allowing other people to subscribe to see that work as it’s written. The thinking there is trying to figure out how indie authors can make a living from their work without going through mainstream publishers, and without already being well-known.

I’ve got a subscription-supported community called Most Interesting People in the Room, where folks pay $10 per month to participate in the discussion, but are able to earn 10% of the previous month’s total revenue by writing interesting things in the forum, and just generally being interesting people.

I used to design t-shirt graphics for a few companies in my past life living in LA, so I’m also running a shop called I Have No Shirt that leverages that skillset. Through IHNS, I’ve got about 150 different designs that are strange and quirky and fun, and they’re all print-on-demand, which leaves no overhead for me to deal with from the road.

Hmm, there are a few other, smaller projects percolating, but those are the main ones right now.

I Have No Shirt is one of Colin's businesses. I have a strong hunch that he might be expanding to "other areas" soon as well.. what do you think?

Income wise, which of those businesses are the corner stones that support your travels around the world? (in other words, if you’d have to focus on just 1-2 of your current income sources – which ones would you choose?)

Hmm, that’s a tricky question, because at any given time, one business might be the major bread-winner, but it could be a completely different one the next month. That’s part of why I diversify my income streams so much, is because each is a bit risky by itself, but together they tend to balance pretty well. Each also passes my test as being a business I can run from anywhere in the world without killing myself to do it, so you have to expect a little fluctuation in reliability when you add that into the equation.

This month, though, I think the publishing side of things is doing quite well. Last month it was consulting.

You just recently launched a new book called My Exile Lifestyle. What made you write and launch this book right now and how has the book project gone so far?

I did!

Hmmm, well, part of what made me wait to launch this book was that I didn’t think anyone would be interested in such personal stories, so I kind of kept them to myself and continued to write about more practical things. Eventually, though, I had enough people comment on those types of stories, and ask for more, that I figured it would be a good exercise, and the worst-case scenario would be that no one would like it or buy it, and I would be out some effort, but the loss would otherwise be minimal.

Turns out, people were VERY interested in these kinds of stories, and the book has been selling very well. I did try a different method of selling My Exile Lifestyle than my previous books, however, so I made a few mistakes when launching it, and I know I can do even better next time.

After the next book (which I’ve already started writing), I would love to be able to tell other authors, “Okay, this is what you should do, step-by-step, to get the most mileage out of your work.” I’ve learned a lot already, but I’m thinking once I can get a bit more of the raw data down on paper and figure out a good formula to get one’s work out to more people, I’ll feel even better about how much publishing efforts are going.

We both know that many people in the lifestyle design/business niche are dreaming about launching their own book. What advice would you give to a first time author?

Get an audience ahead of time if you can!

I say that half-jokingly, because it shouldn’t be required that you have an audience before you write a book, but these days it really does help. You look at someone like Tim Ferriss, and the guy could write a haiku on toilet paper, make photocopies and staple some blank sheets to it and make a million dollars from publishers, and that’s primarily because he’s been so smart about building his audience over time.

Not everyone has access to that kind of audience, however, so if you have to go at it from scratch, just be sure that you have a clear message and a good audience to target. If you have a confusing message, no one will want to pick up the book, because they won’t have any idea what they’re picking up. If you don’t have a clear audience, it will be very tough to launch it and get it in the hands of the right people, because you won’t be directing your efforts correctly.

It helps, of course, to write a damn good book. Unfortunately this isn’t really enough these days, but your other efforts will be a little bit more in vain if you doesn’t have a solid product to sell, and frankly I think the industry is made a little worse-off with every piece of trash book that’s put on the market, just because someone thinks they can write the next Four Hour Workweek by copying the Four Hour Workweek.

Come up with an ORIGINAL idea and then write a damn good book.

It all starts from an idea..

Behind The Scenes Of Colin’s Lifestyle

You live a very nomadic lifestyle (moving from one country to another every 4 months)! Do you have a certain task-list and/or routines that you go through before each “trip”?

I have a mental list of things to check off, but I’m not sure I’ve ever formalized, as it changes so frequently that if I didn’t just roll with the punches each time, I’d likely forget to do something important.

Some things remain fairly consistent, though. I make sure to get check-ups and dental cleanings each time I’m back in the States. I refill my contact lens prescription. I refresh my wardrobe if I’ve worn through my shoes or am heading to a new climate. I try to go have a drink with as many friends as possible. The usual stuff.

I do try and reinvent certain things about myself and my tastes, when I can, so in between countries I tend to backup old music and photos and store them away, leaving my computer empty and ready for new stuff. This forces me to keep on taking new photos, finding new music to listen to, etc. It’s a simple thing, but it’s amazing how satisfied we can become with the same old stuff, and I love reinvention. I’m able to reinvent myself every 4 months if I want, so I make sure to take full advantage of that.

I know this must be a tough questions to crack, but I’ll ask you anyway! Can you name 1-2 of your favorite living destination(s) so far and why do you think you liked each so much?

Yikes, it is a tough question to answer, because homes are kind of like significant others – you may prefer one or another at certain times, but each has pros and cons, and even with their flaws, you love them all for different reasons.

I guess if I had to choose, I’d say Thailand was fascinating to me because of the crazy contrast between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots.’ On the same block would be beggars with their faces melting off from disease and a cosmopolitan socialite, carrying a box of a dozen Krispy Kremes (terribly trendy while I was there, among the upper-crust), just coming from shopping at one mall and heading to another. The sex trade is also hard to stomach, there, as is all the corruption and such. The food was amazing, though, and the beaches were beautiful.

Iceland was amazing in a different way – they’re still trying to recover from the economic collapse of 2008, and seeing what happens to a nation full of ridiculously wealthy people when the bottom falls out is a storyline worth following. The people are incredibly friendly, and the culture is rich with fun traditions and holidays. I adore the architecture and sense of style. Seeing their entrepreneurial community bloom out of nothing was really something special for me, too, as I think there will be some major success stories there, but they really are constructing that mentality out of nothing, as their past has been focused on a few big, centralized businesses and little reason for innovation outside of the banks.

Thailand - Not exactly hard to fell in love with!

What would be your 1-2-3 point of actions/advice you’d give to a person who would like to kick-start their own location independent business / lifestyle?

1. Be sure you know where your money is coming from. It’s great to travel and figure you’ll come up with something on the road, but I’ve met a lot of people who went that route, and I met them on the last leg of their journey after they went broke and had to head home and get a job to pay off their travel debts. Figure out where your money will be coming from first, then decide how to spend it.
2. Figure out why you want to be location independent, and base your business/lifestyle around that. You don’t have to go live on a beach – I’ll visit beaches from time to time, but frankly I get bored pretty quickly lounging around in hammocks – but you do have to go somewhere, even if just down the street at the neighborhood coffeeshop. Don’t fall for hype, though, and don’t feel like you have to live someone else’s idea of an ideal lifestyle. Figure out your own motives and use those as a compass.
3. Do something meaningful. This may not apply to everyone, as it’s perfectly justifiable to run businesses that don’t create any real value (most affiliate programs fall into this category, unless they involve products that you’re really passionate about in a field you love). Does it really do the world any good to get more clicks for the sake of getting more clicks? I guess you could argue it does if it makes you enough money to do what you want, but I’ll tell you from experience that work that isn’t work – work that involves doing things you love to begin with – is a great way to go if you never want to feel like you’re working. Work-life balance is a non-issue if every day you look forward to doing what makes you money, because it’s what you’d be doing anyway. Figure out how to make that happen, and it won’t matter where you are, because you’ll be doing what makes you happy.

Closing words from Juha

Colin, making this interview was such a true pleasure.  Thank you so much and godspeed with all your upcoming adventures!

If you have any questions you’d like to ask from Colin, post them through the comments. I’m sure Colin would be more than happy to answer them. Until next time.. Grab your laptop, travel the world,  live a life full of purpose!

Photos in this post by (in addition to Colin’s photos):

Writer’s Block by Sarah Franco
Krabi Transportation by Mike Behnken

About Colin Wright

Colin Wright is a serial entrepreneur, world-traveler and the founder of Ebookling. Moving to a new country every 4 months (based on votes from the readers of his blog, Exile Lifestyle), Colin engages in extreme lifestyle experiments in order to gain new perspective and figure out solutions to problems before they become problems. Colin currently runs a handful of small businesses alongside Ebookling and Exile Lifestyle, continues to consult with clients large and small about their brands and how to better align themselves with their purpose and audience, and speaks at schools and businesses in every country he visits.

How To Run a Business From Anywhere In The World Without Killing Yourself – Interview With Colin Wright From Exile Lifestyle is a post from: Nomad Couch

Note on this interview: You can either watch the videos or read the text summary I prepared for you. I hope you enjoy the interview!

In the first video:

• Introductions. Q: Who is Cath Duncan and What do you do?
• Cath tells about her two primary online at the moment: The BottomLineBookClub.com and AgileLiving.net
• Cath mentions that she’s not using outsourcing in the traditional sense. She does do a lot co-working with other authors and coaches though.
• Cath mentions three people who helped her to fine tune the idea of Bottom Line Book Club: Pamela Slim, Dave Navarro, Naomi Dunford. Not following them already? You know what to do..
• Cath outlines her three most important income sources: Coaching, The BottomLineBookClub.com and the brand new Dreaming to Delivering mastermind group that she has just put up.
• She also mentions her previous coaching course called Zen Productivity and tells few details on that one.

In the second video:

• Location independence, getting traffic, focused look on her Bottom-line Bookclub product packages.
• Q: People know you from being a location independent. How would you line up your income sources from the perspective of being on the move. In other words, how well and easily each one of your income sources work when you’re traveling?
• Cath shares information about how she does coaching while on the move. Setting up Skype, scheduling coaching sessions, timezone issues, etc. She continues with telling how she can also work on her products while traveling. Sometimes with just with the help of her iPhone!
• Q: How do most of your clients find you? What are your top traffic sources at the moment?
• From social media sites, Facebook and Twitter. A lot of coaching clients come from MarthaBeck.com (Cath is a certified Martha Beck coach). Those are also the one’s who usually convert the best, because they already know what coaching is all about. Bottom-line bookclub also get’s some decent traffic from Google. Guest posts to big blogs like ZenHabits and IttyBiz have also . Cath also mentions that she’s boosted her incoming Google traffic by including the “reviewed” bottom-line book’s title in the corresponding Bottom-line bookclub post.  Some details about Cath’s site statistics tool of choice (well, Google Analytics of course)! Did you know that you can also get the same analytics to your iPhone? Try it out. I use it personally and it’s a fantastic tool.
• Q: How long have you been doing coaching?
• Qualified since 2000. Cath’s been doing online coaching for 18 months. Before that it was regular face-to-face meetings and coaching in her fixed location office.
• Q: Let’s dig down to the Bottom-line bookclub in more detail. How long does it take for you to make a bottom-line of a one book and what steps are there involved?
• Takes her about a week or two per book. Reading the book, extracting the good stuff from the book by highlighting, interviewing the book author. She also uses a structured document template for writing the actual bottom line and making the  audio part based on that.  From all the previous, she prepares a workbook and a series of e-mails for her bottom-line subscribers.
• Q: How do you get the book’s author interviewed? How do you get him/her “online” with you?
• Most of the authors realize that this would be a great opportunity for them to promote their book, so they do it gladly. But not everyone. Some more “old school” authors tend to think conversely and they believe their “trademark” will suffer if they give others the opportunity to promote their book via online methods.

In the third video:

• Talk about her sales site at BottomLineBookClub.com.
• Q: What made you choice the 1ShoppingCart as your product’s delivery and sales tool? Did you try other alternatives before that?
• Before 1ShoppingCart she used PayPal and E-Junkie for her coaching programs and other products. Cath goes on describing the main reasons affecting the change she made. Those reasons include the ability to use ONE product that combines all the necessary functionalities, offers a secure recurring payment option, great shopping cart customization options, etc. Like Cath put’s it: “The 1ShoppingCart is what you use if you have a real business. Period.” It’s an integrated system. Cath has her email autoresponders, shopping cart, affiliate programs all integrated in this one software.
• If you’re interested on the three most used digital product delivery / sales channel products, check out the review I made previously on this blog.
• Q: How do you acquire the testimonial, featured on your product sales sites? Do you give free access to your products to some big online names to get testimonials from them?
• Cath sends all her bottom-line’s to the book authors in question and they usually write a testimonial in return. She also asked Naomi Dunfor from IttyBiz.com to review her sales page on the bottom-line bookclub. And she did,  plus gave her a testimonial for the actual product (after getting a free copy of the product from Cath of course). (Naomi actually have Cath the opportunity to write a guest post for her blog, which was a added “awesome!” factor for Cath). Many of the other testimonials have came from the users who have buyed the product and enjoyed it deeply.
• Talk about Cath’s new Mastermind program. Q: What is it and who it’s for?
• It’s a 6-week mastermind group for people who want to learn to create digital programs like Cath’s Bottom-line bookclub. Cath goes into more detail about the programs content and the working methods used throughout the course.

In the fourth video:

• Wrapping up. Q: What else is there? Any tips for other online business builders? What’s happening behind the scenes at MineYourResources.com blog?
• Cath’s currently working on a book!
• Q: What’s your take on plain text versus video sales site?
• Cath’s experience is that the video sales pages convert better (she has done both with her products).
• Talking about her clients. What sort of site visitors convert the best for her and why? Do your recurring payment clients (the one’s who have subscribed to the monthly fee based products) tend to stick around long? (in other words, what’s your product retention like?)
• They stick fairly well. Cath remember she’s had ONE cancellation in the last 5 months. (That’s awesome retention btw!)
• THANK YOU Cath! We’ll see you in Oprah someday, I’m sure

That’s for the interview clips this time. I hope you gained something valuable under your location independent & online business belt and enjoyed the chat.

Have you thought about starting a online based coaching business (or are you running one already)? Have you build subscription based product packages (or programs like Cath likes to call them)? How did your product creation process go? Would be great to hear about your experiences!

If you have anything at all, you’d like to ask Cath about her business and working methods; please do so in the comments! I’ll pass message about your questions to Cath and she will come here to give answers.

And oh, what do you think about the interview’s structure and lenght? Too long? Too short? Too many questions? I’d love to hear how I can make these interviews more valueble to YOU as a Nomad Couch reader.

Until next time!

What’s It Like To Be a Location Independent Coach? – Video Interview With Cath Duncan from MineYourResources.com is a post from: Nomad Couch

Anyway, let’s get to it! Just a while ago, I had the chance to interview Chris Ducker from VirtualBusinessLifestyle.com. I’ve been keeping my eye on Chris’s blog for a few months now and I must say, he’s killing it (in a good way)! If you’re considering “removing yourself from the office”, listen to Chris. He’s fulfilling his own dream right now as we speak and becoming a  full-time Virtual CEO. More about that and many other things in the interview!

You’ve been warned. Let’s start!

In the first video:

• Who is Chris Ducker and What do you do?
• What gave you the idea for the Virtual CEO goal?
• Few words about Work The System, a fantastic book by Sam Carpenter
• Why should someone outsource to Philippines?
• Comparison between Philippines and India as an outsourcing country

In the second video:

• I’d like to hire a VA. How does the process work?
• 2 Outsourcing routes: Solution Providers versus Freelancers. Pros & Cons?
• How does the employee candidate screening process work in your company?

In the third video:

• Best practises for communicating with your VA?
• What means there are for monitoring your VA’s work?
• Hiring a long-term versus a short-term (project’s based) VA. What are the differences?
• Few words about Pat Flynn from SmartPassiveIncome.com (awesome guy btw, if you don’t follow him yet, I suggest you do so NOW.)

In the fourth video:

• How have you personally removed yourself from the office? Your VA setup?
• Few words about The Four Hour Workweek, a book by Timothy Ferriss that has become almost like a “holy book” for many lifestyle designers, business owners and many other people.
• What advice would you give to people watching this interview and thinking about “could this outsourcing thing work for me and my business”?
• Chris’s opinions on sites like oDesk.com, Elance.com, Freelancer.com?

Those were the interview clips. I hope you gained something useful or at least got inspired! Go try out outsourcing TODAY. You probably won’t regret it.

I’m just about to take that “freelancer route” myself. I started working on my first e-book project (which is going to be a pretty big one, so don’t expect it too soon!) and that’s where I’m going to use outsourcing. More about that project later. I’ll tell you more when the project evolves!

• YouTube
• iTunes (this one will take some time to show up in the podcast directory)
• Blip.tv

The reason I uploaded this to all three (via TubeMogul btw) is simply because I want to test how these three compare to each other in terms of:

• Features (what kind of benefits can there be found from each channel)
• Traffic (how much traffic comes through each channel)

I’ll give you a heads-up how the features and traffic worked later on, in the upcoming posts.

Like Chris said in the last video, He is going to come and check your comments every now and then, so if you have any questions for him you’d like to ask; Please do so in the comments section! I hope you liked the interview. Happy outsourcing!

Talking Outsourcing – Video Interview With Chris Ducker from VirtualBusinessLifestyle.com is a post from: Nomad Couch