EP 56: Justin Esgar on Generating Ideas on the Fly, the Genius of Multiple Revenue Streams, and the Hard Climb to Profitable Conferences

Where are your blind spots?

 

Is there something you love doing anyway that could make you a few extra dollars with minimal setup or maintenance costs? Can you leverage your audience to support your passion project or side hustle?

 

I tend not to think things are worth my time if they aren’t going to produce significant revenue. That has served me well, of course, but it may also close me off to new ideas that are actually really good.

 

Today, I’m chatting with a badass business owner and entrepreneur whose approach is almost exactly the opposite of mine.

 

Justin Esgar has more ideas than he has time to implement them but he does it anyway, whether it’s parking a domain for later or putting T-shirt designs on Threadless and being delighted by every single $6 sale.

 

Justin originally built a successful IT consulting company over 10 years ago called Virtua Consulting Group, which he still runs and owns. But like so many entrepreneurs, Justin has IDEAS.

 

First, running a successful IT company wasn’t enough, so he started the ACES Conference to teach IT consultants how to build better businesses. Fun fact, I actually spoke about branding at the first ACES Conference in New Orleans!

 

But as you’ll hear it didn’t stop with the conference. Justin is always looking for new ideas, creating new streams of income, and enjoying himself in the process. I’m looking forward to catching up with him and seeing what irons he’s got in the fire right now.

 

Tune into this episode to hear:

• Why even if you can’t do the job, you can still do the work
• The double-edged sword of responsibility and being a “fixer”
• The challenges of building a conference from the ground up, from hotel block fees to $85 coffees
• How Jason has used add-on services and leveraged relationships to build multiple income streams
• How making T-shirts for fun has led to surprising connections and opportunities

 

Learn more about Justin Esgar:

• Virtua Consulting Group
• Connect with Justin on LinkedIn

 

Learn more about Pia:

• No BS Agency Owners Free Facebook Group
• The Show Your Business Who's Boss Crash Course
• Start reading the first chapter of my book
• Piasilva.com

 

Resources:

• ACES Conference
• Year of Yes, Shonda Rhimes
• Managed Services in a Month: Build a Successful, Modern Computer Consulting Business in 30 Days, Karl W. Palachuk
• Paul Green’s MSP Marketing Podcast