BigValueBigBusiness.com AJ Amyx AJAmyx.com

Transcript James: All right, welcome back my friends to yet another edition of the Big Value Big Business Podcast. I am your host, James Lynch. I am really big, big, big time super excited about my very special guest today. His name is Mr. AJ Amyx. AJ comes to us from the same titled website ajamyx.com, that’s AJAMYX.com. AJ is a business coach, consultant, and Passionpreneur and he is the founder of the Passionpreneur Academy. AJ’s specialty is in training folks from all over the world on how to attract new customers, create high end programs to serve people worldwide and how to implement the mechanics of automated marketing and sales systems so that you’ll not only get paid but you get paid well, and that being said let’s bring him on. Let’s say hello to AJ. AJ, how the heck are you today, sir? AJ: Hey bud, hey dude, James, thanks for having me on today. I’m like so stoked to talk with your people, talk with you and see what we come up and chat about today. James: Yeah. This is not our first time talking to you. You are a wealth of information I’m really excited to share even just a bit of what we’ve talked about, back last time we talked last week. So, I’m really excited. Again, I want to thank you for your time in coming on the show and I want to share maybe a little bit of your journeys, maybe give us some insight on how we can do something with our lives that we’re passionate about, all the while serving others and getting paid in the process. So, does that sound like a plan, sir? AJ: Dude, it sounds like the perfect plan. So like, where should we start because there was like so many directions that we can go down, rabbit holes to chase. So, where should we start? James: I don’t know, man. It depends on how much time you have. But let’s start at the beginning. I want to hear about you. I know you were in the band and your humble beginnings. Let’s get a history of AJ Amyx and who you are, where did you get start and a little bit about the journey that brought you here to where you are today? AJ: Yes. So, I grew up in a very big town of Seven Points, Texas and there’s about, I think now, there are 1200 people and I think that is including the cattle that roam the pastures in the fields. So, it’s a real small town, Seven Points, and the locals they call it Seven Pints because pretty much the only thing that’s in the town in Seven Points is local little honky-tonk bars and liquor stores. And so, it’s like this typical East Texas town where most people here they’re in the construction industry, they work at the school. It’s pretty order of farmers, ranchers, type of things like that but for me, I just have like these huge dreams. So, I got involved in music when I was in high school. For whatever reason I found this old beat up acoustic guitar in the old little metal shed behind my house. I think I was in eighth grade. This is 1998. I picked it up, started banging around on it.

By the time, I got to high school and met with some friends, we played soccer together but they play the guitar. So, we started playing and playing. I went to college with one of my best buddies from high school. We’re roommates four years in college together and our music journey just evolved and evolved and we decided that we want to get serious about music. And so, that kind of led me to going into forming and co-founding a Christian rock and roll band called Trade Cities and so we went on from pretty much 2009 was the time like we climb the hill of like I guess people call success in the music industry. But we have like radio play in Dallas. We had this big 38-foot tour bus. We had offers from record labels but we’re just an independent artist. I mean, we didn’t have this huge record label backing us. We just literally had thousands and thousands of hours of sweat equity and then my ability to just be ridiculously tenacious and figure out the whole business and the whole marketing thing and in order to do that I guess you could say how lucky or whatever you want to call it. I like to say it’s just where preparation and opportunity meet. James: Yeah. AJ: I had the opportunity to work with one of the big music guys in Dallas and I went and worked with him for free for about six months or eight months and his name was Jimmy Swan and I got to learn like the music game from the inside out by while everybody else is out partying and drinking and doing whatever they do and until they get in college, I was out booking shows and hanging out with Mantel Jordan’s manager and Coffey Anderson and Rupert Boneham from Survivor and going to all of these things and learn in the music industry. So, I was able to pull that experience back into what we were doing and then make it happen. And then we went along and in 2009, I came to this place in October 2009 where we had to make a decision as a group because we just had different visions in life and if anybody’s ever been in a band or if you haven’t been in a band, I tell you that being in a band with five guys is pretty much like being married to five people. It gets interesting when you have different visions and like in a marriage, if two people don’t have the same vision and then if they’re not moving in the same direction together, it just creates absolute chaos. And so, that’s kind of what was happening. Some people wanted to stay home much or whys and some people wanted to go preach the gospel and some people wanted to preach the gospel and make money that would be me and others did it. And so, we decided that we weren’t going and do it anymore. So, we played our last show in October of 2009 and then between October of 2009 to March of 2010, so I guess it’s six months or so. I pretty much went through this experience where some people had midlife crisis or whatever we call it. I guess mine was a quarter life crisis. James: I know, you’re a little too young for the midlife problem. AJ: And so, I got to like learn the importance of like relationships and Walt Disney always said or he had this quote and I always remember he said, “Sometimes the best thing in life is a good swift kick in the teeth.” And at that point in my life, getting kicked in the teeth is exactly what happened because the girl I’ve been dating and spent and living with and she said, “You have to go.” And then, my parents they got divorced after 25 years of marriage. My contract position just finished and so I didn’t really have any income coming in. My SUV was broken down and I need to put a new turbo charger on my diesel and I didn’t have the $900 to put the new turbo charger on it just to make it run. And so, I had to come back to this place where I had nowhere to go and so I did the only thing that I knew to do at that point which is I came home and I remember for the first time, in my entire life, coming home to my dad and just crying and like just bawling my eyes out to my dad.

I never done that in my entire life and me being a southern man was always told like “Guys are tough. Guys aren’t supposed to cry and you’re supposed to put on this tough fascade.” And I did that my entire life but I finally when life kind of broke me down to my knees where I had to start asking questions and in this – this left me asking two things. Number one was: What in the hell is my purpose for existence? It’s really the main thing and then the other thing was like: Why did this happen to me? But during this whole process, I picked up a book called Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins and that book honestly is one of the books that has fundamentally radically changed my life and had an impact. Because I didn’t just read the book, I mean, that book T. Ro wrote it, Tony Robbins, I don’t know why I call him T. Ro just like we’re buddies. James: I like that. AJ: But I call him that whatever. So, like T. Ro wrote this book and like if you go through it, the information and the exercises literally will change your life if you apply the information like most information product. If you apply the information, you get the result, right? And so, this had me ask. I learn like the ability of questions and that if we asked good questions, we get good answers and if we had bad questions and we get bad answers. So, therefore, be careful on what we’re asking for because there’s a universal law that says “Ask and it shall be given to you. Knock and the door will be open.” So, therefore, we have to be careful about what we’re asking for and careful on which doors we’re knocking on. And so, when I was asking these questions, I thought, “Well, you know what? This hurts extremely bad right now.” And I’m in immense amounts of emotional pain and I could choose to say marriage is for this terrible thing and women are this terrible thing and I’m just down and out. Why me? Why me? I go to all this whole pity party but I chose and I consciously chose not to come to a place that’s saying “Well, what I can learn from this? Like this hurts. I mean, this hurts badly. But there has to be good. I refuse. I refuse to accept anything but good. So, what good comes from this?” And so, I continue to ask this question every day seeking, consciously seeking the good. I finally started to see that these people that were around, they’re not mad at me. They’re not bad people. Marriages aren’t bad just people had different visions and maybe in my relationships, I had to make sure that when I have that partner that I make sure my girlfriend, me and my girlfriend are heading in the same direction together, that we’re stepping in the same things, that we’re in the same interests, that we have the same visions. When it comes to interpersonal relationships, I’m asking: How can I invest in these relationships? Just like we do in business, how can I invest in this relationship daily to get a return on investment if we want to use these words? And at the same time, I had this whole business question coming in and about because I spent 10 years of my life in music and I’m honestly, James, I’m not like the best musician in the world. In fact, I’m a pretty terrible musician. I’m just a pretty half way decent very charismatic performer that knows how to create an experience and also knows how to lead five guys and create and market music. And that was really the only reason we did pretty well. And my passion was always in business and marketing because I learn that these are the books I can’t get enough of like I know growing up, we had to read like, I don’t remember like fantasy books and stuff for school and I hated reading. But once I learn like the whole, like self-development and spiritual and self-help books and all these non-fiction things that exist, I was like, “Where have you been all my life?” And so I was like, that’s why I love reading and so, I just kind of follow that passion. I picked up a book in 2008 called the 4-hour Workweek with Tim Ferriss and he talked about this idea of creating a lifestyle business and I love that book. Another book that changed my life because it opened up my vision to a new possibility because in college they don’t teach you lifestyle businesses, I wish they did. I mean, God, why couldn’t we have a degree in like lifestyle design and going through the current internet marketing

trends where you don’t have PhDs in Teaching but you actually have people in the trenches teaching what’s working, what’s not working and banging stuff out in two years work. It’s like two years is just everyday of current trends and everyday of testing things and split testing. I mean, that would be an awesome degree right there. James: Yes. AJ: And it would be a lot cheaper than us in the real world investing in mentors and doing out our own and seeing what works and doesn’t work, if we could just have a source, right? James: Yeah, eventually it’s going to evolve into that. It has no choice but right now with Seth Godin is doing that industrial educational model. AJ: Yeah. James: But yeah, I agree. Yes. So tell me more. So, you’re heading until you’re still kicking stuff around. You’re finding yourself. All of a sudden you love reading; you’re gobbling up all this great information both spiritual and technical hands on. So, tell us more like what brought you to where you are today, the independent business coach consultant? AJ: So, it’s been this evolution and so, when I read Tim Ferriss’ book 4 Hour Work Week, I went “If Tim can do it, I can do it.” I don’t know this is going to happen but I want to create a business to work from anywhere in the world. That was literally the only goal. That was the vision. And so, as I started digging and reading and I had – I don’t even know how this happen in hindsight but I got on people to email this within the whole internet marketing industry like Brendon Burchard, Mike Koenigs and I think those are really the main two. And as I got on this email list, I’m watching this content that Brendon dropping be a video and Mike’s dropping via video and I’m going, “This is a great stuff.” Like look at all of these possibilities that I never knew were possible. But then, the like reverse engineering aspect of me kicked in and I’m always one of those people who believe like if somebody is doing it successfully just model it, like just figure out what they’re doing. James: That’s the Tony Robbins’ things on modeling. AJ: Yeah. Exactly. And so, I started like looking at Brendon, I was like watching his videos but I was like buying his products. I have been to Brendon’s events now. I love them and he drops some of the best content in my opinion in the internet marketing space and so I was just watching like, “Okay, well, how many emails did he send out?” I opted it on a Monday. The sale is dropping. Fourteen days later, what days did he drop them on? What are the subject lines? I was like highlighting the emails, dropping in them to a Word document and saving them on a folder in my computer and then like printing them off. I’m like what’s the sales psychology he’s using? How many links does he have in this email? If I click on the link, I’d watch it change in the little address bar at the top and I would see and he’d be like, “Aweber dot Brendon Burchard that Infusion stuff” like I watch everything but I haven’t had a notepad. I’m like Aweber and I take a note and then I’m like Google Aweber. What the hell is Aweber? Oh, email system it says to deliver the email. All right, then later, as it evolves like Infusion Soft, what’s that? So, I’d Google Infusion Soft and oh, so, that’s what they’re moving now to do all the shopping carts and checkouts and his email campaigns now, oh, all right.” And so, that’s how I started learning about the software and thankfully, all of these software companies give you a trial version because that’s how I start out. I didn’t have any money. And so, I’m like, “Wooh, let me go and learn this stuff.”

And so, I would go and I would go through it and figure it out and watch the tutorial videos and there’s trial and error to figure it out. So, once I had the skill sets then I was like, well, this would be great information for brick and mortars to use, that’s what led me to finally in 2011, I had the vision in 2009 of creating and helping brick and mortars. Now, I was doing it kind of like on a contract basis. But then in 2011, I launched my first company called A New Way to Market and that was a social media marketing agency because I bought Mike Koenigs’ course that was called Social Media Marketing Machines. I devoured it and went through it. Learn the skill sets there, joined the Chamber of Commerce, stood up and dropped what I teach now called my Passionpreneur Power Statement then it was just more my identity statement and I dropped that which pretty much this consists, “This is who I am. This is how I help. And this is the reason that benefits you.” So, I used my little window of time and sort of saying, “Hey, I’m AJ with new way to market. I’m a new business. If you need marketing, let me know.” And sit down. I didn’t do that. Here are my three little windows like a presentation. So, I stood up and said, “Hey, did you know that” and this was in 2011, keep in mind. I said, “Did you know that 97% of the online searches, people are searching for you? They’re searching for a solution and your job as a business owner in today’s marketplace is to create content for people to find you?” And I said, “Did you also know that there’s a common thread between the yellow pages and nursing homes? Because the only people that use yellow pages, they’re old and let’s be honest, they’re a little out of it. So, if you guys want to get up-to-date and get leads then my name is AJ Amyx. I help brick and mortars through how they get leads and navigate the online space.” Then I sat down. And so, for merely after I did that, right when the launching concluded, a guy came up to me and said, “You know what, son?”Because he was way older than me and he’s like, ”You know what, son? I think you can help my son in Las Vegas. I think you’re exactly what he needs.” And I was like, “Well, maybe I am. Let’s have a conversation. Let’s set up.” So we booked a meeting from the meeting and then we went through the whole sales process which I teach now which was like the asked tell us. So, you’re asking questions. You’re saying, “Hey, I have this. It may be a good fit. Hey, do you want this?” And he said, “Yeah.” So, I got my first client from that, the $2500 client and that some kind of what got me into being able to work from anywhere and then over the next 18 months, I went into taking that social media company having 22 reoccurring clients every month and I woke up one day and hated my life. James: You created a job for yourself. AJ: I did. I definitely created a job for myself and it was, I spent like 18 hours a day posting for people and managing their accounts and I had like one person working for me. I hired my friend and well, he came on as a business partner at that time and I hired my brother and I was paying him hourly to help me. This wasn’t having fun and so, then it evolved into learning about the coaching process because then I hire a coaching. I said, “You know, I have this vision. I felt like I’m called to like really inspire millions to see their passions.” I see Brendon doing this thing. I want to do it. You’re doing it. Can you help me? And he said, “Yeah.” And so, I invested $6000 with the man named Garret J. White and how it will back sense and that’s what brought me to today. It’s got a long to say what my journey, my story is. What brings me to today where I pretty much just help authors and speakers and coaches with these fitness coaches, health coaches, anybody in the coaching industry to figure out how can we launch and monetize their online product or program in 90 days or less? James: Every part of that journey was necessary because just towards the end so perfect because so many people they try to escape that cubicle or that job. They end up getting clients. They end doing the same thing you did. They turn around six, 12, 18 months later and go, “Wait a minute. I’m working more

than I did before. I don’t have the cushy insurance. I don’t have the cubicle. I’m paying all my own bills and it’s 18 – it’s crazy, 12, 14 hours a day. AJ: Yeah. James: So, you were there? AJ: I was totally there. I became – I mean, I created my own prison. Now, I think the beautiful thing like you said, everything teaches or something to allow it. And I believe like each one of us, we have the opportunity. If we still choose to claim it, to reach back and teach. Like each one of us has the story, each one of us in life has a unique journey and if we take the time to clarify that journey, there’s always, always, always, always somebody who wants to be where we’re at. So, even if we’re experiencing some type of what I call the prison and right now like in this moment, understand that your prison is always, always, always somebody else’s paradise, always. And so, we can always, we take the time to quantify and qualify where we’re at to reach back and teaches those people who are behind us in the journey. Even if we’re one step ahead of them or two steps ahead, we can create something, whether this is a service, whether this is a products, whether this is a coaching program, whether there this is some type of online, on-demand academy, masterminds a bit, like there’s always something to be able to monetize our life experience because it’s wisdom and then, our job becomes helping the people get through that gap quickly. I mean, even like in the service industry, no matter it’s a business, that’s what you’re doing. But you’re just providing the service to get through that gap for that client efficiently and quickly. James: Yeah, that’s a great point. I never thought about that and I want to tell these folks that want to go out and get a bunch of clients and behold into that client-base said don’t do it. But I think they have to get there. They have to experience and work it. Quite frankly, it is for some people. AJ: Absolutely. Dude, I honestly do not regret having the 22 clients because I learn skill sets that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. In fact, I wouldn’t have the credibility that I have today. James: There you go. AJ: I wouldn’t have the confidence or the certainty that I have today at a consulting capacity or a coaching capacity because I didn’t live it. I’m so tired that people getting into the coaching or the consulting space because they want to make big money yet they haven’t done anything. They don’t have any results to back up what they’ve done. They don’t have any life experience. So, they just want to go get some type of certification and then think they’re qualified to help people. James: You mean the gurus? Are you talking to about the gurus? AJ: I’m talking about anybody who thinks they see what a certification and that qualifies them to help people. James: Yeah. AJ: People want the result. If you can help and get the result, perfect. Perfect. But I will qualify that because everybody is at different levels and until you – you may say, “Well, I have never gotten a result from somebody.” And somebody listening to this right now may be they’re starting out, they’re like, “Well, AJ, you know, I don’t have any results. So, what you’re telling me?” You’re kind of telling me that if I go in for a job interview where if you catch 22, it’s like well you can’t have this job because you’re not

experienced but yet, the employer is not going to give you the experience to get the experience to get the job, right? So, this comes back to – well, just start where you’re at and don’t go and charge what people have invested 18 years of their life to get the results and they know exactly how to get it and then you want of the gate and charge $5000, $10,000 for consulting. Why don’t you first go around? Maybe your first month... James: Get to work for free. AJ: Yeah. James: I mean, most guys work for free to earn their jobs in there and their testimonials and credibility. Absolutely. AJ: Exactly. Or a hundred bucks or 50 bucks. James: Sure. You have expenses or so but be modest about it and say, “Hey...” AJ: Exactly. James: Because that person is giving you your break basically or that client. AJ: Absolutely. James: Yeah. AJ: Absolutely. Some people has learned from –I hired a coach, his name is Nick Ainsworth and he teaches, kind of what we’re talking about here and never thought about it and he calls it his anchor client strategy. And it makes sense like if you’re just starting out, figure out, who would be that person or that perfect client that you would go out, you would work for free maybe for your time just make them pay the expenses like if you’re running ad expenses - James: Sure. AJ: - or technology expenses. This is the hard cost. But go ahead and work for free, get them the result and then leverage that result. Because if you can get that anchor client the results, well then they’re going to expose to all of their friends and all of their network and it’s a way for you to kind of how to pass that beginning stages of whatever you’re trying to start out with. So, like I didn’t really know I was doing this but when I start it here in town at the brick and mortar which I really don’t do this much anymore. But when I did, I landed one of the biggest well respected clients in town, just kind of happen that way due to I guess my charisma and my speaking abilities that I learn in the music industry. And then so, therefore, an instant credibility when I got them the result, because right, oh, well, if you’re helping Don then you can help me. If he trusts you then I’m going to trust you. James: Okay. AJ: So, I think for those listening, if you’re just starting out, it’s a beautiful, beautiful strategy when you think about whatever industry you’re in, go out, find that anchor client if you have to, put in the sweat equity and then leverage that into the next step of your journey.

James: Find the biggest kid in the schoolyard and beat the crap out of him and everybody else leaves you alone. AJ: I like it. Yeah, dude. Totally, totally same stuff. James: Yeah, basically. Hey, I love that, great journey man and great talk. There’s so much stuff here. Let’s talk about your shift, your pivot that – was it Garrett, Wright, you said that was your coach that kind of put you leads you dead to rights on the coaching path? AJ: Yeah, Garrett J. White. Garrett is like awesome mentor. I met him at the Brendon Burchard event. It was Brendon’s 10 X NYC. It’s like his 10K event in New York, Garrett was there and I just kind of connected with him for whatever reason. In a breakout kind of session, Brendon had this out meeting people and I remember meeting him and it came back and I look to my vision board like eight months later when I was hating my life and it said, the highest achiever almost relied on mentors and for whatever reason instantly he popped into my brain. I’m like, well, I listen to it, I follow my intuitions. I reached out to him on Facebook and he said, “Yeah.” I said, I know this what you do but I’m looking for this is where I’m at, this is where I want to go. Can you help me?” And he said, “Yes, that’s exactly what I do.” And we got on and had a conversation and then I hired him. But yeah, so, he built this coaching business where he was running what he calls or I don’t know, this what I learn from him anyway pod coaching where you’re taking groups of 10 or five people or 20 people but he was using small groups, multiple small groups but you’re running five people to a destination. So, you try to find five people who are experiencing a present and then you are of course to be guiding them to the paradise through the frameworks that you’re creating based upon your life journey and each one of us has of course different journeys and different skill sets. James: You know that’s cool. So, would you say after your big change happened when you completed the course with him or completed your work with him, tell me where the shifts came from the 22 clients to all of the sudden and now you’re teaching the consultant or the author? AJ: Yeah. So, like I said it’s been like this constant evolution - James: Sure. AJ: - and so, the entire time when I was working, when I read 4-Hour Workweek and that’s one from anywhere in the world, but then when I saw Brendon’s information, I was like “I want to be like Brendon.” Not like be like Brendon - James: I hear you. AJ: - but his business model and the people that he attracts. Now, his people were totally different than my people because Brendon has this corporate background. I have zero corporate experience. So, there’s no way in hell I can resonate with the corporate individual. I just don’t walk in their shoes every day. But yet if they’re the entrepreneur then yeah but so, I could use Brendon’s model inside of me, intuitively I want, I’m really drawn to that. And so, I pay attention to what I’m drawn to and so, it’s taken since 2011 to 2014. It’s taken really about three years to get to where I’m at today of having to do it for people to know what works and not, what doesn’t work, to know what platforms to build for people, to know how to identify my target market, to know how to message correctly, to know package and position correctly. And so, I started – I hired Garrett in 2012 of October, October of 2012 and that was

the first kind of pivot point. And so, he said – I said, “I want to create programs.” He said, “What can I do in this?” So, up to this point, I’ve been doing social media marketing for brick and mortar. He said, “You’ve gotten results. What are the results you got?” I’m like, I told him the results and he said, “Okay. Well, then you would be qualified to teach people how to do social media marketing for their own business instead of doing for them, teach them how to do it themselves.” I said, “That’s a great idea.” And so, I did. And so, I had a friend of mine that owns the Dallas Psychic Fair, her name is Charlotte Andrea in Dallas and so she has this big fair every month and she has all these vendors who are different intuitive whether the numerologists, astrologists site whatever and so, I said, “You know Charlotte, I think I’m putting together this program to teach social media. Do you think it would benefit your people?” And she said, “Yeah. Because if we could help them market themselves better, it would help me market my fair better so it would be a win-win. So, we JV’d that’s what we did and so, I wrote all the email copy, I built all of the lead capture pages, the squeeze pages for the events. We sent out the email to her list. They came to a live event. I taught my butt off for four hours. They’d love it. I pitch at the end of the event to the six-week program, usually $200 a month and they paid and so, within the first 14 days of working with Garrett, I went from having no program, coming up a strategy, implementing and then having $800 a month in reoccurring income for this program that I was walking these healers through. James: Sweet, sweet. And that was the beginning, that’s awesome. AJ: And that was the beginning and then, it has been a constant evolution since then of – it’s sometimes working. I think many times as entrepreneurs, we kind of get this shiny object thing. I’m guilty of this. James: Sure. me too. AJ: I have to try this. It’s like, no, just go back to what worked and do it again. And so, like even to this day still, even if it’s really small live events, they still create lots and lots of money for me. I mean, I hosted a simple event for brick and mortars. We had seven people in the room and I sold two people consulting off that seven person event and that was $7500 in that month in revenue just off consulting of a seven-person event. And I think lots of people in the coaching industry, consulting industry they think we have to put hundreds of butts in seats, hundred, 200, 500, 1000 people but the reality is you don’t. I mean, you just have to have qualified people in that room, serve them. This is kind of what you’re talking about, James, Big Value Big Business. James: Absolutely. AJ: You’re showing up at that event. You’re dropping, I mean, big value. James: Dude, you did four hours with the healers. AJ: Yeah. You’re dropping everything you know and then, they’re coming and do business with you and that’s how you kind of take where you’re at to that bigger business and then the bigger business and then the bigger business and each time, you’re just delivering massive value to this people. James: Absolutely. You hit it right on the head. That’s fantastic. And you had mentioned and we talked before, so, is your model – I get the joint venture obviously this particular woman that ran the fair, she had the list and you had the know-how.

AJ: Right. James: But you lean towards a live event or a webinar as getting the message out there, is that a model that you teach? AJ: I do teach that model taking people to a live webinar. They’re great and here I preface this. This is webinars are great if you have an ad budget and Facebook advertising is still to this day good but as of today, today is whatever day it is, I don’t know. James: Cinco de Mayo. AJ: Cinco de Mayo, okay. As of Cinco de Mayo, 2014, in case somebody is listening to this like later, as of today, Facebook advertising, you should be still be able to get leads for $3 to $5 for an opt-in to a webinar and then you’re all going to get to have those not all those people are going to show up and then you’re going to have to run encore and then you’ll be able to close 10 to 20% on industry standard. So, in order to get massive value out of this thing, you’re going to have to drop a $1000 or $2000 in ad revenue, now, this not the case. I mean, you may experiment with $200 to $300 in ad revenue to test your funnel to see how it’s working, converting, and you may sell one thing but depending on your price point. You may not have enough margin to make up for it and so you had to have larger people. I mean, larger quantity, more quantity. You want quality but you have the quantity. And I think there’s this misconception especially in the guru expert space. We see all these people in these huge launches and like, “Oh, put this webinar then I can make hundreds of dollar or hundreds of thousands of dollars doing just a webinar.” But these guys are spending, I mean, they’re converting maybe like a big cold list launch, maybe they’re converting one or two percent of their list. So, they’re spending, I mean, thousands and thousands and thousands and tens of thousand dollars on traffic and even paying out as incentives to their affiliates. James: Sure. AJ: And I think there are something as newbies and people beginning to want to get in this industry that we have to recognize that this is business. You have to have a marketing budget if you’re going to run the webinar method, if you don’t have a list and/or to continue build that list. So, that would be one model. For those that don’t have the ad budget, there’s still stuff to do straight up sweat equity and that would to be to make sure you have what I teach like in the Passionpreneur Academy and even in my coaching sessions with people and help them create which is figure out what is your homepage money machine? Meaning your website has to be doing three things which is adding value to the people. This is going to be just like you’re doing James through your podcast, other people blog, other people do videos like you have to add value and solve people’s problems. That’s why people come to your site. They don’t give a damn about you. They’re with their own lives looking for a solution and our job and as content marketers in this new economy is to solve these problems. Second thing is, it should be creating leads. So, just because you drive traffic to the website, people are digesting and eating up your content. We as marketers in the business, we have to control the experience. If we think people are just going to go to the Contact Us button, hit Contact and say, “Hey, I want to come work with you.” Some of them might, but the reality is everybody is on this different level of a buying scale. So, think of 0 to 10, you have some people coming to your site who may be a 1 or 2 or 3 and they’re not going to want to come spend money with you yet, and your job is to give them something that’s going to add value to life.

We call this the lead magnet, whether this is an eBook or an MP3 or a video series. My personal favorite is a three-part video series that’s been going to train them to the transaction. But yet in the same time, you may have people who are at eight, nine, or 10 who are ready to come and play ball right now. So, you have to have that lead magnet and capture the leads. And the second thing or the third thing actually is to then make some money which you need to have some type of automated follow-up system to be using Aweber and Fusion Soft, MailChimp, whatever that you want to use - James: Sure. AJ: - that has that automated follow-up process but also has the sell psychology built in it where you’re sharing your story, where you’re overcoming the obstacles for the person where you’re sharing your story of credibility and your story of kind of wow to win what we call the story of connection. So, you’re building a rapport with these people and then, when you say, “Hey, you want to come in and play here?” They can come in and play. And so, if that’s set up like straight up grassroots, honestly, Twitter is the way to go. James: Yeah. AJ: Like if you are to tweet nine times a day, if you were hop in and engaged with people within your target market, if you will spend Monday thru Thursday following people in your target market, you will generate the traffic and get the daily opt-ins and have people going through. Now, I understand it’s just on a small level but it doesn’t cost you anything but time and energy and it works. I have yet to have a person if they tweet nine times a day and know how to craft really good tweets and they can go, go look at mine. My Twitter handle is @Ajamyx or go look at Nick Ainsworth or Life on Fire or @bluegino, Chris Cerrone of the Chris Cerrone Show or go look at Amy Porterfield like go look at their Twitter accounts and see how they’re tweeting. Like they have lots of following so see what they’re doing and then again, model the way that they’re tweeting. It doesn’t mean you have to write the exact same tweet. You have a story, you have a stance, you have your own strategy but just see how they’re tweeting and then model that with your voice, your style, your brand and it will allow you to get the leads that you need like I said on a small scale. So this kind of like two options, this kind of depends in where you’re playing at. James: Yeah, if you have a budget of it all but I like that. AJ: Right. James: And you know, I was going to ask you for a gold nugget but you gave us a whole coaching course with the paid budget and without. So, that’s awesome. That’s awesome. Hey, let me shift gears for a minute. AJ: Sure man. James: You are on fire, man. Business mindset, you spoke of a vision board. What gets you going, man? What keeps you this pumped up, pro-active dude? AJ: Man, I don’t – I really don’t know. Like people asked me and like – even my girlfriend is like you’re busy all the time and it doesn’t mean like we don’t go out and hang out. I’m very intentional on trying to keep everything balanced. I mean, I go out and I have dinner with my dad and his girlfriend. They live right next door to me. We have dinner every night either here or there. Sarah and I cook twice a week.

They cook twice a week and we kind of have the old school southern family round table dinner every single night which was by design by the way. We enjoy that. And then, I’m consciously thinking, “Well, how can I invest in Sarah and I relationship?” But then also in business, there is something within me and I remember like when everything was falling apart and I was telling a good friend of mine and I said, his name is Rod Warren and I said, “Rod, I can’t quit right now. There are people that I had never even met in my entire life that if I quit right now, they’re going to fall. They’re going to be swept under into the raging waters of life because I’m not willing to persevere and share my message which is you can live a passionate life and do whatever it is and monetize it in life. Like if you don’t want to go have the corporate career, you don’t have to like you can create life on your terms if you will invest in the skill sets of marketing and in sales and in the systems. Like if you will learn how to business owner, you can do that. So, there’s this like this calling within me, James, that I can’t really articulate besides. It’s just like this burning fire within me that wants to share that stance with people but at the same time, I want to experience all of life. Like I see people who are in marriages, who have been married for 50 or 60 years but yet, there’s no intimacy. Like you can be around these people and they’re great people but there is no – like there’s no connection because they haven’t invested in each other. Yeah, they go to the same routine but they’re not like investing into each other. And I’m like in my relationship, in my marriage, I want to be on fire. Like I know it’s possible. I know I believe God created us to have everything in life and to be passion on fire in our bodies, in our beingness. Like even in our spiritual lives or businesses, in our relationships and so like that should drives me to show the world, it’s possible. And so, I’m always like trying new things and testing new things to kind of demonstrate that walk for people if that makes any sense. James: Absolutely, absolutely. Well said, too and I totally appreciate it. Wow. Masterminds, coaches, you mentioned a lot, you said all the great successes for the most part. I have had coaches. Tell me a little bit about that. AJ: Yeah. And so, it feels like – I grew up playing soccer and I played at a very high competitive level. I played on a club team, I played in Europe when I was like 12, I dunno if that counts but we’re on this club team playing in Europe when I was 12. James: Sure, it does. AJ: And so, likely I always play, I always played sport at a really high level and I was always pretty good. And if you look at that, you don’t get good without somebody who hasn’t unbiased perspective to give you feedback because so many times in life, we’re so in our stuff that we can’t see the forest for the trees and over we’re blinded. The possibilities are always there. I mean, they exist right in this moment, however, our blinders or our to-do list or clients say I need this, this and this or your schedules or the wife or girlfriend needs this or the car needs like we’re blinded by what’s going on in our lives. So, having this outside perspective person to say, “You know what? If you tweak this, if you did this, this will get you to where you want to go.” That gives you that non BS filter. Everybody is a high achiever when they have a coach and it’s not just in sports. I mean, it’s like in business. It’s in relationships. I mean, I had a relationship with the mentor of mine. He’s just a really good friend of mine. His name is Ralph Monroe and he’s like in his 80s and him and his wife have a great relationship. They’ve been married for over 60 years like happily, love spending time with each other. They do daily walks in morning. They read to each other. I mean, they just have a really great relationship. They’re one where I can say, “You know what? When I’m 80, I want to have relationship

like Pat and Ralph.” And so, by doing so at church the other day we went out to brunch and instead I’m doing whatever most people do, I’m asking – I’m saying, “Ralph, I’m struggling a little bit. My relationship is great but I’m trying to be pro-active because I have a lot going on in the business world right now and I’m trying to maintain this balance, how did you and Pat do this? Because you were a high executive at T.I. so like, how did you navigate this?” And getting again, it came back to modeling. Find somebody who is successful at it and ask them, be willing to ask the deeper questions of life and get that feedback and then the takeaway was for me and Pat every since we’ve been married, we have a daily meeting. He’s like, he’s not like one where we have an agenda or anything like that, it’s just I share my schedule with Pat for the day, for the week. She shares her from mine’s. We’re always on the same page and moving together and he said, “The other thing is never let something fester. If something is bothering you, say it immediately and the other person’s going to give the grace to hold that space and share it.” So, I said, “Okay, great.” So, I came home and Sarah and I were talking and I said, “You know, I had this great conversation with Pat and I’m really busy here right now and I understand that right southern saying…here we go, “sometimes you just have to make hay while the sun is shining”, okay, meaning the works here we have to do there for us to hit our goals. Let’s implement a daily meeting.” And so, our first daily meeting was this morning while we lay in bed and we shared “This is my plan for the day and this is your plan for the day. Here’s what I get done for the week. This is the income that’s out flowing. Here’s the income that I think that should be in flowing.” So, we’re all on the same page and I’m like, it’s working for them then I’m going to implement that into my life. So, to answer your question, I guess, I kind of get wordy. James: No, man it’s good stuff. AJ: Because we have to have that coach in order to have it all or to have life at its fullest rather than it’s a mediocre life. Like I always tell, I tell my girlfriend all the time, I was like, “You know what? I would rather die than live a mediocre life.” Like if I just had to settle for mediocrity, I would rather die. I’d rather get hit by a car, then that’s the truth for me. I would rather die than have a mediocre life because there has to be more so let’s push the potential where it’s truly possible for the human existence. James: Good stuff, man and I hope it’s coming loud and clear to the audience because yeah, awesome, awesome. So, tell us what take you have going on, you kind of hinted to a book you’re working on. What’s happening? AJ: Yeah. So, back in January, I was asked to do a book with the Elizabeth McCormick and for those of you that don’t know Elizabeth, Elizabeth is a really cool lady. She is black Hawk helicopter fighter pilot and she was, I think, one of kind like the first kind of women black hawk helicopter fighter pilots and so, she created this whole story – I mean, this whole book series called Soar 2 Success and she teams up with people who were, like influence her in their space whether this be on social media, whether this be on digital strategy, whether this be sales, mindsets, etc and she called to write these books and so, she said, “Hey, I would like you to do a book on digital strategy. Are you down?” I said, “Yeah, absolutely.” So, I wrote this book. It’s a little less than hundred pages and so it’s called Soar 2 Success and Digital Strategy, 68 tips to igniting your online empire. And I didn’t want just to do tips and so I really kind of wrestle with this idea. So, “You know Elizabeth, I don’t really want to do tips. I want to do steps. Like this like, I wish I had these steps when I first started, when I had that bug by reading Tim Ferriss. If I had, okay, step one, step two, step three like everything it would take from conception to completion.” And she said, “Okay. Well, let’s

just call it a tip book and you write it that way.” I said, “All right.” And so, I wrote it that way and I thought through everything I could think of like that from conception to completion. And I mean, there’s like mechanical stuff in the book, there are videos, links where you can go watch training videos, it’s very interactive but also it goes through mindset. It goes through understanding what I call your PFE which I learn from John Strelecky which is what is your purpose for existence? Because so many times, like I want to make money, I’m going to implement the mechanics and then we do that and then you get 22 clients or you build this business and like that definitely hate your life. And so, we have to come back to the foundation and establish what I call power first and I broke out the book having the four sections and it’s what I always teach which is power then platform and then your product or your program and then your promotion. Because if we and I learn this the hard way, if we’d learn mechanics and implement mechanics and create a program and then we go to sell it. But we’re not at a place of power, we go to self-sabotage because we’re saying, “Oh, well, I’m not good enough. We play this whole game of I have these clients, but why are they listening to me? I’m not the expert. I’m not the guru. I’m not qualified to teach these people.” So, we have to take a break, clarify on paper or map, what I call your map, where were you? When did you have the bug? When did you see the possibility? Like for me in 2007, 2008 and then what happen every single year, all the way up to 2014 and write it down on paper like this happened, this happened, this was the good, this was the bad, this was the not – I mean, just whatever happened that books I read etc. So, I could see my journey. Then, once I could see that on paper I’m like, I am qualified to teach this. I mean, here are the results. Here’s my walk. Nobody can take this away from me no matter what. So, then when it comes into going to the mechanics, we have confidence and we have certainty and we have absolute clarity. And in this space without those three seeds, without clarity, without confidence and without certainty, you will not generate cash. And so, that’s kind of what the book is about and it’s called Soar 2 Success and Digital Strategy as of today, cinco de Mayo, I’m taking personally pre-order copies. If there’s any left then if you can find out just connect with me on Facebook or send me a tweet. My Twitter handle is @ajamyx or my Facebook, same thing Facebook.com/ajamyx, send me a private message. Just ask me if they’re still available, I give you the pre-order discount that’s going on. And so, that’s kind of what the book is about. It’s just the steps to igniting your online empire and honestly, it really worked in any online business. James: I love it. That was good I would say. The last thing I ask is how we can contact you and you’ve given us your Facebook and Twitter so that’s awesome. One more thing before I let you go, Passionpreneur Academy is that still rocking and rolling or do you transform that into more of one-on-one coaching, tell us a little bit about that. AJ: Yeah. So, it’s still totally rock and rolling and so I have a couple of ways. I have what I call the 90 days to crush a challenge and that’s my one-on-one program where if people are good fit. I mean, you can go to 90daystocrushit.com. If you want check it out. My whole goal is to work with the person, if we’re a good fit, they have to apply for the program. We have a conversation and if they’re good fit, I want to come into their lives and bleed for their success and be able to launch and monetize their idea if they want to be an online space or already have online business that want to take it to the next level and my goals to get it done in 90 days or less than 90 days. It’s a lot of work like it’s not for everybody. It’s a lot of work but it can be done. But the Passionpreneur Academy, it’s like all the concepts that I teach people when they work with me one on one because I was having this people said, “I would love to work with you one-on-one but my budget doesn’t fit it.” So, I created the Passionpreneur Academy which is like a onetime payment of $997 or they finance it for a year for just $97 bucks a month and again, it goes through everything and teaches in the skill sets. Like

what I tell people, they have to know sales, they have to know marketing and they have to have systems if they’re going to be an online business owner. All of that information is there. I mean, we go through creating the homepage money machine, using WordPress and OptimizePress, step-by-step, I mean there are videos like lots and lots of videos where it walks them through here is how you buy your hosting, here’s how you buy your URL, here’s how you link them together, here’s how you install WordPress, here’s how you install OptimizePress, here’s how you build the homepage. This is what should be on the homepage. This is walks them step by step by step by step and all they have to do is watch the video and implement, watch the video, implement. We start with power and we go through identifying your target market. We go through understanding and claiming your own power which I talked about during this interview which was that mapping process. I help you craft your power statement so you can walk into any room, drop that thing in 10 to 15 seconds and if your client is in that room, people are going to listen to you and come talk to you because they want to get the results that you’re spitting out of your mouth. Okay, we then we come to the platform like I told you building all of your homepage money machine, setting up the lead magnet, setting up the follow-up sequence, integrating it with Aweber, writing all your copy, what should the copy be, how to write good copy that people love, and then we come into designing the program and I always tell people, “Let’s design it on paper.” I call it wire framing. Go out, let’s promote it and if people buy it then let’s build it or let’s build it in the process. James: I love that. AJ: And then, we go into promotion using Twitter and Facebook strategies so we can promote this thing and so, that’s what the Passionpreneur Academy is all about and it’s usually for authors, speakers, and coaches who is usually who is design for. James: Yeah, but if they want to get into the fast track then they can get 90 Days. What is 90 Days to Success? AJ: No, 90-days to Crush It. James: To crush it. I love it. AJ: You got it. You got it. James: Awesome, man. Hey, listen I really appreciate today’s chat and I’m glad you could come down and be with us. We’ve learned so so much and I know that anybody that listen today will definitely be checking you out and I hope, I wish you so much good fortune with the book. AJ: Thanks and I appreciate it. James: When is that going to drop? When is that available? AJ: It drops on May 9, Friday actually. James: Soon. AJ: On May 9. James: All right.

AJ: Yeah. I have the launch party. It will be like black tie event where I going to get dressed up all nice and fancy schmancy and go to the lunch event and I don’t even know the URLs. It always got ajamyx.com, catch out any information and once I do have the sales page up and running when the publishers like you can let people know it exists now that would be fine. James: Awesome. All right AJ. Thank you so much for your time and we’re going to keep in touch on you and I hope to talk to you again soon. AJ: Yeah dude. Thank you so much, James. James: All right, take care. AJ: All right, bye, bye.