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Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, I hate shoes that have a pull loop on the heel, and I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living. In today’s episode of Stuff I Learned Yesterday I share some of the reasons why I’m thankful for the people I get to serve.
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What I Learned Yesterday:
In September of 1994 I was hired as a part-time cashier for a local bookstore chain. Nineteen years later I left that chain having worn many hats along the way. I was a cashier, stocker, department head, key carrier, assistant manager, store manager, buyer, co-manager, internet sales coordinator, internet sales manager, and director of ecommerce.
No matter what my title was, my job was essentially always the same. That is, my job was to serve others. I served customer, co-workers, bosses, suppliers, and vendors. I served those who worked above me, beside me, and below me.
Despite what others may say, entrepreneurs do not work for themselves. Entrepreneurs, at least the successful one, work for others.
On July 12, 2012 I landed my first client. The client needed a new website to meet their current business needs. It was a huge moment for me. It was the first step to reaching my dream of becoming a full-time entrepreneur. A few months later I landed my second website client, a restaurant that wanted to help provide customers info about their services and menu selections.
In between those two clients I landed my first podcasting client, TV Talk. I told you about TV Talk yesterday, of course. A few months later I landed another client, a wonderful craft beer podcast called Tales From the Cask.
With each new client I learned a lot. By the time I landed Tales From the Cask and the second website client I had given my notice at the bookstore and was preparing to fulfill my dream of becoming a full-time entrepreneur.
Stepping out into the work of self-employment was not easy. I knew many of the challenges that I would be facing before I left my stable job at the bookstore. However, I also knew there were many things that I would not be prepared for. Like most things in life, preparation and knowledge came from experience.
There were also a lot of very practical things to figure out like invoicing systems, file sharing services, and how to communicate properly. I mean, what’s the best way to try and sell a prospective client on your services? What’s the right balance between trying to convey confidence in what I can do, and not coming across as egotistical? Should I send a long follow up email with lots of details on my qualifications and services, or just a short, punchy one that might have a better read rate?
I’m still not sure I have that one figured out.
Over the last year and a half, since I made the leap to become a full-time entrepreneur, I’ve had the opportunity to help launch well over 100 new podcasts and consult with dozens of podcasters. I love it.
Sometimes people need help fixing a technical problem, sometimes people need someone to guide them step-by-step through the process of setting up a podcast. Most of the time, they need advice to set them down the right path or getting them through the technical details leading up to launch.
These clients are a true joy for me. I spend 30 minutes to an hour with them and talk through the specific issues they’re facing. When we’re done, they have a new sense of direction, a solution to their problem, or a clear path to their next objective. They are excited about the solutions we’ve come to, and their energy is contagious.
Earlier this year a trusted advisor of mine encouraged me to double my consulting rate. I didn’t ask him if he thought I should raise my rate, and I wasn’t even thinking about raising my rate. However, because of his experience and the knowledge he had about my business, he saw the service I was providing and felt strongly that my rate should be double of what it was.
After a lot of thought and long discussions with my wife, I took his advice and doubled my consulting rate. He was right. I saw no change in the amount of consulting clients I was getting, and the feedback I got from folks after our time together continued to be high praise.
I’ve served clients all over the US, Canada, Japan, the UK, and the Middle East. In October I had nearly twice as many consulting sessions as I did in September, and by the end of this week I’ll have almost the same number of consulting sessions as I did in October.
Some of my clients take advantage of my podcast production services. Some of these clients need my full production service that takes raw, unedited pieces of audio, edits them for content, and stitches them all together into a professional polished podcast. Some of them take advantage of my publishing service which takes an already edited file and publishes it to their media host and website.
Whatever the case may be, these clients are a tremendous blessing. I get to interact with them the most, so I feel the strongest connection to them. Their podcasts are also the ones that provide consistent income for me.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
As I said at the top of the episode, I am a servant. I provide services and knowledge that help people.
My clients are all people who have a desire to help others and help others have a better life.
Jim Cumbee’s podcast, Entrepreneur’s M&A Journal is a podcast that is designed to help equip and educate those who are buying or selling a business.
Margaret McSweeney’s podcast, Kitchen Chat, is a podcast that is designed to help people better understand food and become better chef’s, but it’s also designed to help remind folks to appreciate every moment of every day.
Tales From the Cask is a podcast dedicated to craft beer. Chip, Tony, and Jen are passionate about craft beer and bring a great balance of history, culture, current events, and science to their podcast so that everyone can better appreciate frosty malt beverages.
The Empower Hour with Kyle Brown is a weekly podcast that is focused on helping listeners achieve their potential. From ESPN Radio in San Diego, Kyle interviews professional athletes, nutritionists, motivational speakers, and fitness trainers that will help empower each of his listeners.
Zac Johnson’s podcast, Rise of the Entrepreneur, aims to inspire and educate entrepreneur’s by learning from the lessons of other entrepreneur’s who have already learned from experience.
Linda Tucker’s podcast, Challenge Your Thinking, aspires to make the world a better place by looking at the lives of people who have faced tremendous adversity, and overcome those obstacles.
There are some other clients that I’m working with that are in various stages of pre-launch, and I’m excited about what they’ll soon be bringing to the world.
What I’ve learned is that by serving others, I help them fulfill their dreams and help them make the world a better place. This is a tremendously valuable lesson. It’s a lesson that’s relevant to every single one of us.
I’m currently reading the book, [[[Thou Shall Prosper by Rabbi Daniel Lapin]]]. He says that we can not make money in the first place without benefiting people. At least not long term. We may be able to make money for a short time by fooling people, but we will eventually run out of people to fool.
I am tremendously grateful that I earn my living by helping others. I love what I do and no matter how many hours I spend doing it, I never grow tired of it. The people that I get to work with and the value they bring to the world is inspiring.
Now, let’s all get out there and serve people and bring value to the world.
I’m Darrell Darnell and this has been stuff I learned yesterday.
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