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When you look up the word "innovation" in the dictionary, there should be a picture of this week's guest. Brian Goodell went from a career in commercial real estate to founding a very successful invention business. That's right - he was an inventor. How often do you meet someone who's business card says "inventor"? And I thought my career history had a lot of variety. Brian actually invented numerous different types of products, many of which ended up on the stores of some of the nation's largest retailers. His inventions included a keychain breathalizer and the DipTop, a plastic "top" that goes on the top of a soda can so that people who use chewing tobacco do not get spit all over the place. In the interview, we discuss the innovations process: from coming up with a concept, creating a working prototype, and selling the product to retailers who have limited shelf space. After moving on from his invention business, the next step in Brian's innovation journey was to create a new type of company that could not have even existed a few years ago. Today, he runs a company called University of Social Commerce which is like a "Groupon Broker." This is a very simplified explanation, but basically they broker deals between companies that would like to strike a deal with one of the "daily deal" types of websites (like Groupon, or Living Social). They make sure the terms are fair to both sides. In the interview, we also talk about how he came up with the idea for that business.

Caleb Wojcik is one of the three co-founders of Fizzle (along with Corbett Barr and Chase Reeves), an online business training program that I've participated in and talked about a little bit on this blog and on Twitter. Before working on Fizzle and embracing a life of entrepreneurship, Caleb lived amongst the cubicles… working for a large aerospace company. During that time, he actually had the difficult job of creating spreadsheets with names of people to be laid off. (Now he actually helps teach people how to quit your job, which is ironic.) Disenchanted with corporate work, Caleb founded the blog PocketChanged.com (recently re-branded as CalebWojcik.com), which led to working with Corbett Barr, the creator of ThinkTraffic.net. Think Traffic was kind enough to publish my guest post 5 Ways Copying Politicians Can Grow Your Blog earlier this year) In this episode, Caleb and I discuss: how he went from a corporate career to cubicle renegade why Caleb became an entrepreneur instead of continuing to work in the corporate world how you can quit your job to become an entrepreneur even if you have large amounts of debt the importance of connecting with other people online how Caleb was able to turn a side blog into a new job which made him much happier "By the way, it's pronounced "WAH-JICK," rhymes with "LOGIC."

If you have a services-based business, you probably know the challenges of running a small business. On the one hand, you have to bring in business. At the same time, you need to serve those existing clients or customers. And while you're doing that, you have to be thinking about bringing in new business. It's a difficult juggling act. Darlene Hildebrandt is a working photographer, teacher and trainer, based out of Edmonton, Canada and I asked her to come on the podcast because she has done a tremendous job of building a successful photography business. Rather than relying on just one area (such as shooting weddings or portraits), she has learned to diversify her photography business by: creating in-person trainings and workshops writing content for Digital Photography School, one of the largest photography education sites on the web. leading travel photography groups to interesting destinations such as Cuba. In this episode, Darlene shares some of the strategies she has used to keep her business going and thriving. Even if you are not a photographer, I think you will get some good ideas from this interview. Enjoy!

Andy Drish had his dream job in his early 20s, working for a Fortune 250 company in marketing. Then a midlife crisis hit, and he threw it all away. He quit his job, broke up with his girlfriend... and even abandoned his puppy (don't worry; the girlfriend took the puppy). Andy then embarked on an entrepreneurial journey, eventually founding Referral Squirrel, a website designed to help Realtors get more referrals. In the process, he became passionate about writing copy that is effective and grows your business. In this episode, he shares some very practical tips for how to writing great copy can be used to increase your revenues. These are lessons he learned from the masters of copywriting. Today, Andy is the co-founder of The Foundation, a fast-growing online training course he leads with Dane Maxwell. The Foundation borrows ideas from Agile software development and Lean Startup methodology to train entrepreneurs how to develop new business ideas, without committing vast sums of money and time to an idea before it has been validated. The Foundation is the real deal. It is a 6-month-long, intensive training program that requires a substantial commitment from its students. However, those who commit have a chance to be really successful. I have clients who are graduates of The Foundation, and I can say they are doing really well, thanks to Andy and Dane's trainings. By the way, The Foundation starts a new class this fall. Hop on their email list so you know when it opens, if you are interested. Enjoy!

How do you create customers who will rave about your business -- and tell all their friends to check you out? Most small business owners will say it's easier said than done. While there's no secret formula, Marie Forleo comes as close as any entrepreneur to having a magic recipe for creating passionate and engaged fans. Seriously, if she could bottle and sell a potion that creates raving customers who will buy up anything you do, she'd make a mint. The creator of the massive popular B-School, an online based training program aimed at female online entrepreneurs, Marie has a fan base that stretches into the thousands. I have a few friends who have done her B-School training, and to a person, they all rave about how smart, savvy, engaging, fun and funny Marie is. Having interviewed her, I now know why. Marie was incredibly down-to-earth and generous with her time, in spite of her success. You can tell this is someone who has been so successful, in part, because she is so accessible and relatable. It's no wonder Marie has been interviewed by none other than Oprah Winfrey and Tony Robbins, and she has even done work with Sir Richard Branson and michael sobota. In this episode, I asked Marie about what it takes to create a customer base that will not only love what you do - but will turn around and tell all their friends.

How do you create customers who will rave about your business -- and tell all their friends to check you out? Most small business owners will say it's easier said than done. While there's no secret formula, Marie Forleo comes as close as any entrepreneur to having a magic recipe for creating passionate and engaged fans. Seriously, if she could bottle and sell a potion that creates raving customers who will buy up anything you do, she'd make a mint. The creator of the massive popular B-School, an online based training program aimed at female online entrepreneurs, Marie has a fan base that stretches into the thousands. I have a few friends who have done her B-School training, and to a person, they all rave about how smart, savvy, engaging, fun and funny Marie is. Having interviewed her, I now know why. Marie was incredibly down-to-earth and generous with her time, in spite of her success. You can tell this is someone who has been so successful, in part, because she is so accessible and relatable. It's no wonder Marie has been interviewed by none other than Oprah Winfrey and Tony Robbins, and she has even done work with Sir Richard Branson and michael sobota. In this episode, I asked Marie about what it takes to create a customer base that will not only love what you do - but will turn around and tell all their friends. There are some great nuggets of wisdom in this interview. Marie is also speaking at BehaviorCon in a few weeks, which is a great new conference focused on the psychology of consumer behavior. It's being co-organized by Michael Fishman (who I interviewed in episode 26) and Ramit Sethi, the New York Times Bestselling author of the book I Will Teach You to be Rich (afffiliate link) and the blog of the same name. You can check out more about BehaviorCon here. Enjoy!