Peter Shankman, founder of the valuable, simple and painless press service Help a Reporter Out (HARO), believes adamantly in two ideas.

1.) Life should be fun, so work should be fun.

2.) Give back to people because you care about them.

The latter belief is the foundation for HARO's success, a company that he ended up selling for millions of dollars in 2010, and more importantly, connects those who want to share value with a wider audience with those who get paid to share stories, aka journalists.

In my experience, online business owners tend to ignore public relations, partly because they don't know where the heck to start and partly because the value isn't immediately apparent.

But for the sake of your brand, I beg of you, start taking it seriously.

That being said, scoop some time out of your day to listen to this episode so you can start creating a public relations strategy that works or so you can take the next immediate step toward being a media darling.

Not only that but Peter and I discuss how he's used social media to build his personal brand and why customer service is important and a secret weapon for your business success.

Here is what you will learn in this podcast:

It's hard to believe that 2014 is just three weeks away. This is about the time that every man, woman and their cat and dog start thinking about their plans for 2014.

If you're ahead of the game, you might have your business plan completely mapped out, as well as your holidays and digital sabbaticals. If that's the case, hats off to you.

If not, then this is the perfect time to not only figure out what you most want out of 2014 in terms of business growth and the lifestyle piece, but also to reflect on what 2013 was like for you and whether you reached your goals and milestones.

Often the hidden gems are contained in what you didn't end up doing this year, as well as where your surprise wins come from. Too often we just rush into the new year full of promise and major goals we'd like to achieve.

Now while I'm probably the first to do this, it's never without looking back on my successes, failures, frustrations and joyous moments, coupled with actual tangible results like community growth and revenue made, as well as countries traveled to and lessons learned.

So that's why in this special episode, you get to listen to me tell you my exact blueprint I use for planning out my 2014 business and lifestyle vision and learn what I think are the 5 pillars to success in achieving both.

Here is what you will learn in this podcast:

Jill Stanton, co-founder of Screw the Nine to Five, started out in online business with the belief that it was going to be easy...just like most of us think when we start out online.

But when she and her husband Josh set up an affiliate marketing site where, she readily admits, the writing was terrible, she realised they weren't going to make any traction with what they were doing.

It wasn't until they made two key shifts in their strategy that they started gaining traffic that converted into sales, eventually bringing them to $5,000 in revenue on a monthly basis.

What was the key shift? Guest blogging and it literally transformed their business. They went from putting in way too much work for lousy sales results, to being able to travel as much as they want, while working on their business from anywhere in the world. 

In this podcast episode we talk about the ins and outs of guest blogging, how powerful it can be and how you can increase your next month's revenue by using it.  

Jill is also super transparent about how she maintains her content strategy now with a hired content writer and tells us all exactly how much she pays out.

So if this is an area you've been meaning to learn about then listen in!

So if this is an area you've been meaning to learn more about, or you're struggling to get traffic to your site and would like to make more money with your online business, then listen in!

Can I tell you a secret?

Even after building my business up to where it is now, I'm still not where I want to be in terms of my revenue goals. In fact as an entrepreneur, you should always look to be growing your business.

I'm always exploring new options for creating residual income so I can create something sustainable for myself. Which, I'm pretty sure is what you want for yourself, too and luckily there in today's podcast we discuss one of those.

Andrew Youderian has leveraged the power of eCommerce to create a ton more freedom in his life than his corporate job as an investment banker would ever offer him. He's built two profitable eCommerce sites and his own website eCommerceFuel - a site based on teaching others how to dive into eCommerce from scratch.

With that in mind, Andrew started on eCommerce as a total newbie, and he specifically focused on mastering drop shipping - where you focus on selling one or more physical products, but you don't hold any inventory and the product is only sent once the purchase is confirmed.

From that end eCommerce is a great low risk business option and requires less commitment too, but you can certainly build up to make millions of dollars from.

Fast forward to today and Andrew's two eCommerce niche sites run completely automated and his second site alone made over $500k in revenue in the past year!

Crazy, right?

So even if you've never heard of drop shipping or are only vaguely familiar with the concept of eCommerce, get ready for a lot of actionable advice and tips that you can apply to your current business model.

Here is what you will learn in this podcast:

In this podcast interview, you'll learn about one of the most overlooked areas, we as entrepreneurs usually fail to focus on from the get go - that is defining your niche and knowing your audience.

Most of us, including myself, start off with a niche that's way too wide because we don't want to miss out on excluding anyone - and as a result target no-one in particular, which is a disaster for any business.

It's the reason why I wrote a whole guide on this very topic called Am I Your Customer to help you avoid this mistake yourself (and target your ideal customer and charge what you're worth).

Yet that wasn't the problem for Mark Manson, former pick-up coach (yes, you read that right). He started with an excellent niche that was very specific, which led him to create the wildly popular blog Postmasculine.

Then he hit a growth ceiling and made the decision to expand on his niche, listen to his audience and observe how they were changing and what they wanted.

This guy is an incredibly talented writer who gives self-development advice from a place of deep understanding and humility and as you hear his story, I'm sure you're going to have many 'ah-ha' moments, especially when he gets to the ways we all lie to ourselves.

And then when you hear the insane growth his blog received after he decided to rebrand to MarkManson.net, your jaw will drop just like mine did.

So what was the tipping point for Mark, from former pick-up coach who never wanted a real job, to the self-development blogger who receives millions of hits to his site every month? And how did he move past that growth ceiling?

Here is what you will learn in this podcast:

Some people struggle all their life to 'find their true calling' and if you've been wondering exactly what it is that you should be doing you're probably searching for your sweet spot.

That is the intersection between what you're good at, what you really enjoy and what people will pay you for. I talk all about how to find your sweet spot here.

And if you've found your sweet spot, you know what a revelation it can be, and just how quickly it can transform your business.

But as you'll hear Michael O'Neal, founder of Solopreneur Hour, talk about, it's usually a rocky path until you 'find your swing.'

Like most entrepreneurs, his story wasn't always pretty and it touches on everything from the death of his parents to having just $15 to his name, which ultimately gave him a taste of freedom from the corporate grind that he had to pursue.

Luckily (and through a lot of hustle), Michael has finally found his swing, particularly in the podcasting space.

For the past two months, his Solopreneur Hour podcast growth has doubled and he's had people on the show with major clout like Pat Flynn, John Lee Dumas, and ahem, yours truly.

We discuss specific strategies that have been instrumental in helping the show and his brand grow while also discussing the hustle that has ensued, because I truly believe people overlook what it really takes to do what you love.

Anne Samoilov has proved to be the leading lady in the online launch field.

She first started out with the likes of Laura Roeder and Marie Forleo (she ran the very first launch of RHHB School), which taught her the ins and outs of highly profitable + successful launches.

Since then, she's established herself as the go-to launch strategist for women building online businesses and has been teaching online entrepreneurs all about the art of launching.

So if you've wondered why your latest eBook or digital program didn't make nearly the amount of money you thought it would, you're going to hear tonnes of tips you can start to implement right away for a lucrative launch in this podcast episode.

Here is what you will learn in this podcast:

• What one strategy you know but should be doing more strategically with your launches
• One negative trend Anne has been seeing lately and how she helps her clients overcome this issue
• What three key metrics you should keep in mind for your launch goals
• What you need to be doing 1-3 months BEFORE you launch in order to make profit
• What profit expectations are realistic for your launch
• How you should plan your guest blogging strategy for consistent community building
• Why Anne undercharged for her first program and what gems of wisdom she got from it
• What you should do to discourage people from constantly asking you for lower prices and discounts
• What types of team members are critical during your launch

Click on the play button at the top or download this in iTunes or on Stitcher Radio (and do not forget to leave a review as we might feature yours in the next show!).

Even better pick up my completely free book on `How to Start a Podcast that Matters' at suitcaseentrepreneur.com/free by leaving a short review on my podcast.

Connect with Anne and Natalie

Twitter:

Tweet @annesamoilov

You have to magnify your presence for people to realise you're there. @annesamoilov

Say hi to Natalie on @suitcasepreneur

Facebook:

Anne Samoilov

Suitcase Entrepreneur

Key sites mentioned in this podcast:

• Anne Samoilov - main website
• The Fail-Proof Launch Leak Formula + Feeling Okay In A Roomful of Strangers
• Fearless Launching

The key to a successful online business

Finding new customers in a cost effective manner is the quite frankly the key to any successful online business. The best way to do this is to allow your customers and community to promote your products and services for you.

You do this by creating an 'affiliate program', where you reward your partners and current customers for referring new business your way. That's why I'm so excited to introduce my new Podcast Sponsor LeadDyno.

LeadDyno is a tool designed specifically for online entrepreneurs who are setting up a formal referral program. Here's how it works:

1. 1. When new affiliates sign up with you, they receive a unique referral link, so that they can send their friends and colleagues your way
2. 2. When their referrals purchase your product, you provide them with a commission – which is automatically tracked, calculated, and paid by LeadDyno

The result is you get more business, without any up front cost.

The team at LeadDyno have kindly offered my listeners a free 14-day trial to start building your new affiliate program. Visit suitcaseentrepreneur.com/leaddyno now.

Turns out that even if you rack up $20,000 dollars of credit card debt within a year like Kate Northrup did, you can still turn it all around to become financially free AND build a completely sexy and profitable business.

Kate, creative entrepreneur and author of the No #1 Amazon Bestseller,Money: A Love Story, truly takes how you think about money and turns your existing beliefs inside out.

Before being financially free herself, Kate was running a successful multi-level marketing business and coaching women on how to manage their finances, which made her feel like a total fraud.

After getting her financial game straight, she was able to move forward in her business by leaps and bounds.

I know many of you struggle with managing finances while you're trying to build a real business and live your ideal lifestyle.

As a result, you often end up living beyond your means.

But if you take a new approach and change your money story, amazing things can start to happen, especially when you learn to approach money like Kate does, in an introspectively intimate, bare-bones honest, and kick-butt way.

According to Kate, we all have our money problems, and we all need to look to ourselves first to solve them - not to finance books, Prince Charming or life-stealing money saving hacks.

You already know how important it is to get your money in order, so I'm challenging you to make the time to implement one piece of advice that she gives in this episode.

Here is what you will learn in this podcast:

• One necessary shift you can make to truly accelerate your business
• Three actions you can take today to change your relationship with money
• The real reason you're not getting the results you want with money
• One question you need to ask yourself about your credit cards for a healthier relationship with spending
• How you should really be spending your money to feel in alignment with who you are
• What Prince Charming complex you might have that is holding you back
• Why you're having trouble charging what you're worth and what do to get over that
• One overarching rule to always remember if you want to network with influential people

Click on the play button at the top or download this in iTunes or on Stitcher Radio(and do not forget to leave a review as we might feature yours in the next show!).

Even better pick up my completely free book on`How to Start a Podcast that Matters' at suitcaseentrepreneur.com/free by leaving a short review on my podcast.

Connect with Kate and Natalie

Twitter:

Tweet @katenorthrup

The faster you get yourself in alignment, the faster you will accelerate. @katenorthrup [click to tweet this!]

Say hi to Natalie on @suitcasepreneur

Facebook:

Kate Northrup

Suitcase Entrepreneur

Key sites mentioned in this podcast:

• Kate Northrup - main website
• Money: A Love Story: Untangle Your Financial Woes and Create the Life You Really Want - Kate's book!
  

The key to a successful online business

Finding new customers in a cost effective manner is the quite frankly the key to any successful online business. The best way to do this is to allow your customers and community to promote your products and services for you.

You do this by creating an “affiliate program”, where you reward your partners and current customers for referring new business your way. That's why I'm so excited to introduce my new Podcast Sponsor LeadDyno.

LeadDyno is a tool designed specifically for online entrepreneurs who are setting up a formal referral program. Here's how it works:

1. 1. When new affiliates sign up with you, they receive a unique referral link, so that they can send their friends and colleagues your way
2. 2. When their referrals purchase your product, you provide them with a commission – which is automatically tracked, calculated, and paid by LeadDyno

The result is you get more business, without any up front cost.

The team at LeadDyno have kindly offered my listeners a free 14-day trial to start building your new affiliate program. Visit suitcaseentrepreneur.com/leaddyno now.

In the comments below, tell me what one action you are going to take to create a healthier relationship with money.

In the past six months a lot has been happening with my business including the launch of my No#1 Bestselling book on Amazon as well as a 2 month long book tour.

In addition I have written 4 other eBooks, done a ton of interviews and traveled like a crazy mofo! As a result my life and business has seen a lot of pivots, transformations and growth.

While there have been a ton of highs, there have also been many moments where stress got the better of me and I realised I was hanging on to many aspects of my business still - despite thinking I'd handed over so much to my team.

After a few too many of those moments I came to the realisation that I was not a superhero and I was definitely under utilizing the team I had.

I needed to start making moves forward so I could accomplish one huge goal of mine - to fire myself from my day to day operations of running my business!

What I experienced I'm sure other entrepreneurs have experienced or are in the midst of experiencing.

You feel the need to scale your business or to hire help, but you have this internal voice telling you that you need to do it yourself because no one else can do it as well as you or that you can't possibly afford to take on help.

Do yourself a big favor and don't listen to that voice.

We'll talk about more of the mindset shifts, budget concerns, and answers to juicy questions you might have in this podcast episode.

At the end of it, you'll know what you need in order to really take your business seriously and create more revenue and more freedom, which at the end of the day is why we're all here.

And stick around until the very end as I share some secret insights into an experience called the Mile High Club coming up that will help you build a virtual A team and take your business to the next level.

Here is what you will learn in this podcast:

• Why you're probably the bottleneck in your business
• How the '3 Lists to Freedom' can help you gain clarity about which tasks to outsource
• How an organization chart will help you fill the gaps in your business one role at a time
• What documents you absolutely need in order to create functioning systems
• Which four types of team members you need on your core team
• Which four types of team members you need on a project basis
• Two main ways I find my rockstar team members
• What spreadsheet I use to manage the key pieces of my entire business
• Eight tools which are essential to my business

In the comments below, tell me one action you'll take to start building your virtual A team.

Click on the play button at the top or download this in iTunes or on Stitcher Radio (and do not forget to leave a review as we might feature yours in the next show!).

Even better pick up my completely free book on `How to Start a Podcast that Matters' atsuitcaseentrepreneur.com/free by leaving a short review on my podcast.

Connect with Natalie

Twitter:

How can you create more freedom by firing yourself from your business? @suitcasepreneur

Say hi to Natalie on @suitcasepreneur

Facebook:

Suitcase Entrepreneur

Key sites mentioned in this podcast:

• The Suitcase Entrepreneur book
• How to Become an Outsourcing Expert and Build a Virtual Team with Chris Ducker
• Virtual Staff Finder
• Web Goddess Solutions
• SystemsRock
• Speakpipe

Key tools mentioned in this podcast:

• Dropbox
• Google Docs
• Asana
• Google Hangouts
• Skype
• Call Recorder for Skype
• Sanebox
• Mailbox App

The key to a successful online business

Finding new customers in a cost effective manner is the quite frankly the key to any successful online business. The best way to do this is to allow your customers and community to promote your products and services for you.

You do this by creating an “affiliate program”, where you reward your partners and current customers for referring new business your way. That's why I'm so excited to introduce my new Podcast Sponsor LeadDyno.

LeadDyno is a tool designed specifically for online entrepreneurs who are setting up a formal referral program. Here's how it works:

1. 1. When new affiliates sign up with you, they receive a unique referral link, so that they can send their friends and colleagues your way
2. 2. When their referrals purchase your product, you provide them with a commission – which is automatically tracked, calculated, and paid by LeadDyno

The result is you get more business, without any up front cost.

The team at LeadDyno have kindly offered my listeners a free 14-day trial to start building your new affiliate program. Visit suitcaseentrepreneur.com/leaddyno now.

PS did you hear about the Podcast Awards?

If you love The Suitcase Entrepreneur podcast, then go to PodCast Awards, and vote for the show so we can help more people build freedom in business and adventure in life!

It's as easy as:

1. Go to PodCastAwards.com.
2. Find the Business category on the right hand side, two rows down.
3. Enter 'The Suitcase Entrepreneur' for the title.
4. Enter this link for the URL: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-suitcase-entrepreneur/id439165878
5. Enter your details.
6. Hit submit!