The conversation revolved around growing and automating online businesses, with a focus on community and membership. Micah Mitchell and Daryl Urbanski discussed the importance of delegation, empowerment, and meeting rhythms for scaling businesses. They also emphasized the need for creating a community that provides value to members, tailoring sales messaging to specific segments, and leveraging technology to streamline the sales process. Additional topics included the future of online training and education, and the role of documentation and immersive experiences in this field.
Three reasons to listen to this episode:
- Find out the importance of membership to your company’s success.
- Discover strategies for making meaningful connections.
- Learn how to manage and train teams to be smarter and more effective.
Resources
- Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
- Follow Micah on LinkedIN
- For more Informative Interviews Click Here.
Episode Highlights
Acquiring WishList Member and growing membership sites using WordPress
- Micah Mitchell discusses growing and automating online businesses with Daryl Urbanski.
- Micah Mitchell aims to serve entire membership site market with WishList Member.
- Micah Mitchell reconnected with a former business partner and proposed taking over their company.
- Micah Mitchell aims to avoid burnout by scaling their businesses and leveraging legal and financial support.
Empowering employees, delegating responsibilities, and creating a "tilted desk" culture
- Daryl Urbanski and Micah discuss how to empower employees to run a business without direct supervision.
- Micah Mitchell shares a book recommendation, "It's Your Ship," which provides insights on hiring, leading, and firing people.
- The new captain's approach empowered crew members to take ownership of their work and make decisions without seeking permission.
- The tilted desk principle encourages employees to delegate tasks and responsibilities to others, rather than taking on everything themselves.
Entrepreneurship journey, from technical services to software sales, with a focus on hiring and firing based on vision
- Daryl Urbanski shares his progression in career, from starting a business to selling it and focusing on corporate work.
- Daryl Urbanski did not come from a family of entrepreneurs, but has developed skills through experience and learning.
- Micah learned from mistakes and grew software company through hiring and delegation.
- Micah Mitchell found success by pairing visionary skills with an operator's ability, in the form of a trusted team member.
Micah Mitchell: Managing and empowering a team for business growth
- Empowering team members through cultural fit and clear expectations is key to successful management.
- Effective managers set clear expectations, give autonomy, and foster a culture of critical thinking and argumentation.
- Micah describes their hiring process as giving candidates a project challenge before hiring them.
- Micah Mitchell has learned the hard way that hiring people without experience can be expensive and cause friction.
- Daryl Urbanski and Micah discuss how they manage their team's work and track progress.
- Micah Mitchell shares their approach to weekly meetings, including setting numbers-based goals and tracking trends.
Habits and strategies for success in business, including exercise, motivation, and strategic thinking
- Daryl Urbanski spent $50,000 to research critical success factors for business, finding 9 key areas: self-efficacy, strategic planning, market intelligence, marketing, strategy, sales strategy, scale, money management, business operations, and business intelligence.
- Micah emphasizes the importance of exercise as a main habit for maintaining energy and creativity in business, citing the negative effects of prolonged computer use on posture and overall health.
- Micah prioritizes fitness, motivation, and strategy to achieve better results in their work.
- Micah Mitchell defines DME work as any task that does not align with their goals or values, and takes time to strategize to avoid it.
Automating tasks and creating documentation for efficiency
- Daryl Urbanski acknowledges his ignorance in undervaluing the importance of custodial work.
- Daryl Urbanski realizes that the mindset is the issue, not the work itself.
- There's more confusion for problem solvers due to many solutions, and the bar has been raised for intuitive content.
- Online content needs to be gamified to stand out and meet expectations.
Immersive learning experiences and building communities for long-term customer retention
- Micah discusses the evolution of training and education, from traditional methods to immersive VR/AR experiences.
- Micah Mitchell believes business owners will soon recreate their training as VR/AR experiences to stay ahead of competition.
- Daryl Urbanski discusses scaling coaching services through online events, mentioning Bieber and Travis Scott as examples.
- Building a community is key to retaining customers, as people come for content and stay for the community, according to Stu McLaren.
Copywriting and marketing strategies for membership sites
- Micah emphasizes the importance of copywriting for growing a membership site.
- Micah suggests that being seen everywhere and having a fancy sales page can be effective strategies.
- Micah Mitchell emphasizes the importance of copywriting for membership site owners, citing personal experience and the need to connect with customers on their level.
- Daryl Urbanski highlights the value of synthesizing thoughts through email communication, rather than relying on meetings or other forms of communication.
Marketing and sales strategies for online courses
- Daryl Urbanski discusses the importance of speaking to people on a one-on-one basis at scale, making them want to join a program.
- Jeff Walker agrees, emphasizing the need to speak to people in a way that makes them want to buy, and using marketing materials to help with this.
- Daryl Urbanski and Micah discussed their experiences with Memberium and Course Cure, a learning management plugin.
- Micah mentioned that people often want to buy a simple course before purchasing a membership product, highlighting the importance of offering a flagship product or subscription service.
Expertise: Business Growth, Sales, Marketing Automation, Leadership