Hard-Won Business Wisdom, with Nathan Fraser

When you need some good advice for your business, who you gonna call? My way of looking at is pretty simple: You need someone who knows it, not only because they’ve studied it, but because they’ve also done it. Successfully. In the best of all possible worlds, more than once. For instance, if you wanted to take a cooking class, would you choose a class given by someone who has read all the cookbooks… watched every episode of “Master Chef”… and knows where you can get the freshest ingredients in town… but has never cooked a meal for anyone besides himself? Of would you want to learn from someone who has a decent education in food preparation but has also cooked and served hundreds of meals to happy customers, friends and family? Me, I’d choose the second one. Because he’s not only a teacher, he’s a doer. Now, you may know Nathan Fraser as the announcer and co-confabulator on Copywriters Podcast, but today you’re going to discover another side to Nathan. He’s also an experienced entrepreneur and copywriter who has gone through the trials and tribulations every successful businessperson goes through before they find out what really works. Just a few weeks ago, Nathan released a new book called Start-U Cheat Codes: Success Shortcuts For Your Start-UP (Or Small Business). I rushed to get a copy as soon as I found out about it and I was floored. By how simple it was. By how powerful it was. And by how had nuggets for ANY business in it. While it is pure gold for a start-up, it’s also a can’t-miss diagnostic tool for any business of just about any size. I talked Nathan into discussing it today. You probably think I’m kidding, but at first he thought I was kidding when I asked him to do a show about it with me. I wasn’t. You’ll see why in a minute. I told Nathan: I truly don’t know if you realize how much pared-down wisdom you packed into that book. It reminds me of “Obvious Adams,” a simple, short book that we talked out previously on this show. The reason it does is, it covers the basics so well, so simply, so elegantly, it’s hard to miss the essentials when you read it. And that’s rare among business books. I was wondering if we could talk about your own history as an entrepreneur. Your experiences, in a nutshell, and what got you to where you are today? So, as I see it, your book sets out to solve a lot of problems start-ups and small businesses face all the time, and they don’t really know how to solve them. Could you talk about the problems you see, both with start-ups, and with small businesses that are only performing at a fraction of their potential? You’ve also seen people who solved some of these problems, starting with yourself. Could you tell us how you discovered the path to success, and how you’ve helped others do the same? There are a couple of key things in your book that really stood out to me, and I was wondering if you could talk about them. The first one is the idea of the “Genius Zone.” I think that’s so important for people to understand. The other thing is multiple streams of income. Someone with a job usually has just one. Many business owners have only one. Could you talk about having more than one and what that looks like? Finally, tell us more about the book. How have people responded, and how does everyone else get a copy if they want it? And they should! link To Start-Up Cheat Codes: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HRPXFGRDownload.