Bootstrapped Learnings

This week, I unpack Alex Hormozi’s $100 Million Offers—specifically, his Value Equation. It’s a framework for building offers that people actually want by focusing on dream outcomes, likelihood of success, time to results, and minimizing effort. I also share how this shaped customer interviews I ran last week. Turns out, there’s a lot to learn from someone you instinctively don’t trust and kind of dislike.

The old format doesn’t make sense anymore. I quit my job, dropped the side hustles, and now it’s all about the main thing. So, the podcast is pivoting. No more updates on projects I’m not working on. Instead, weekly reflections on what I’m learning, reading, and trying to apply to building a real business. It’s less about accountability and more about staying curious—and hopefully staying interesting. If you’re still here, thanks for sticking around. Let’s see where this goes.

HighRoad Marketing: Still no website, but hey, the Gmail accounts are warming nicely. Offering packages to local businesses? That’s on pause—client work’s taking up all the oxygen, so we'll revisit when we have “bandwidth.” Podcast: Ideal concept is talking to local businesses to hear insider stuff. But, on reflection, rushing it would likely end up as a dead podcast walking. Slowing down to avoid that tragic fate. Freelancing: Cold calling is soul-crushing, but cash is king. Upwork apps are a drag, but the pipeline must flow. Upcoming priorities: Sprinting to deliver client work with marketing funnels, emails, events, landing pages, and training videos for coaches. Plus, making it through 200 more cold calls. All this should wrap in time for me to regain my sanity—and ideally free up time for real business-building. Next week? Everything will go flawlessly, obviously.

Quarter of a century baby. We're just some build in public co-founders, trying to pivot our way to product market fit in this crazy world of SaaS come MLM. Not MFM - MLM, baby.

We're ~6 months into a startup. So you know what time it is. Can I hear a PIVOT?

I'm back!

This episode starts off with an apology so you know it's going to be mid. But things are popping and fizzing int he business: first user onboarded, inbound demo requests, cold outreach working and getting demos booked, people interested in being early users and adopters, new features rolling out. But feels like we may have a larger opportunity staring us in the face that I cover. But ultimately, we're just build in public, startup Founders, keyword stuffing our way to fame.

We launched our B2B SaaS (yay) and now we have more work to do (yay). On the real, though - stuff is getting real and stuff is getting more interesting. Build in public SaaS bootstrapped startup and all that jazz. Focused on new user acquisition, refining the product, and just trying not to crash and burn.

Building our SaaS startup in public - ya know - all the keyword stuffing possible.

In this episode Russell is a sad mopey boi for no good reason :) Or maybe for a good reason? If you didn't like this episode, feel free to send it to an enemy.

And now for the obligatory SEO keyword stuffing: build in public, SaaS Startup, Zero to One, Indiehacking. In this episode, I chat about the progress we made last week, including getting the demo call recording done for CallNotesCRM and hitting up interested prospects (though no bites yet). We also talk about the challenge of building a usable database from GoHighLevel’s feedback section and my plan to systematize the research process to make it more efficient. We’ve set a launch date for September 1st, so we’re working backward from there, and this week’s goals include updating the website with product images and a demo, adding 100 people to Apollo sequences, and creating solid prompts for analyzing calls in the product. I also share some wins, like getting three signups from posting our website in GoHighLevel forums. Lots on the plate, but all fun stuff. Let’s get after it!

Build in public, GoHighLevel, startup, zero to one - okay, that keyword stuffing aside: Hey there, welcome back. In this episode, I update you on our progress from last week. We had five main tasks: Record a mock call for the demo environment. Prioritize outreach to get 1-3 people interested in CallNotesCRM. Target prospects from GoHighLevel's product ideas and feedback section. Timeblock at least an hour each working day for cold outreach. Flesh out the GoHighLevel instance. I didn't get the mock call recorded but plan to do it this week. However, we generated interest from three people through cold email, although those conversations didn't progress due to them not watching the pre-recorded demos. I also discuss the unique aspects of GoHighLevel, especially its referral program and how it compares to HubSpot. The outreach success came from using GoHighLevel’s feedback section, and I'll continue leveraging this resource. For this week, my focus is on: Getting the demo call recording done. Reaching out again to the interested prospects to schedule live calls. Building a list of contacts from GoHighLevel’s feedback section who have similar challenges to what CallNotesCRM solves for. Let's dive into the details and keep pushing forward.

Just out of curiosity, what happens to impressions from search if I copy and paste in the lyrics from rollin by limp bizkit into this? Let's find out together :)[Chorus](I move in, now move out!) Hands up, now hands down!(Back up, back up!) Tell me what you're gonna do now!(Breathe in, now breathe out!) Hands up, now hands down!(Back up, back up!) Tell me what you're gonna do now!Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (What?)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (Come on!)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (Yeah!)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin'See Limp Bizkit LiveGet tickets as low as $12You might also likeThe AlchemyTaylor Swift6:16 in LAKendrick LamarBig Foot (A Cappella)Nicki Minaj[Verse 1]Now I know y'all be lovin' this shit right hereL.I.M.P. Bizkit is right herePeople in the house put them hands in the air'Cause if you don't care, then we don't care (Yeah!)One, two, three times, two to the sixJonesin' your fix of that Limp Bizkit mixSo where the fuck you at, punk? Shut the fuck up!And back the fuck up while we fuck this track up[Pre-Chorus](Throw your hands up)(Throw, your hands up)(Throw, throw your hands up)(Throw your hands up)(Throw your hands up)[Chorus](I move in, now move out!) Hands up, now hands down!(Back up, back up!) Tell me what you're gonna do now!(Breathe in, now breathe out!) Hands up, now hands down!(Back up, back up!) Tell me what you're gonna do now!Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (What?)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (Come on!)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (Yeah!)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin'[Verse 2]You wanna mess with Limp Bizkit? (Yeah)You can't mess with Limp Bizkit (Why?)Because we get it on (When?)Everyday and every night (Oh)And this platinum thing right here (Uh-huh?)Yo, we're doin' it all the time (What?)So you better get some better beats and, ahGet some better rhymes (D'oh!)We got the gang set, so don't complain yetTwenty-four-seven, never beggin' for a rain checkOld school soldiers blastin' out the hot shitThat rock shit, puttin' bounce in the mosh pit[Pre-Chorus](Throw your hands up)(Throw, your hands up)(Throw, throw your hands up)(Throw your hands up)(Throw your hands up)[Chorus](I move in, now move out!) Hands up, now hands down!(Back up, back up!) Tell me what you're gonna do now!(Breathe in, now breathe out!) Hands up, now hands down!(Back up, back up!) Tell me what you're gonna do now!Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (What?)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (Come on!)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (Yeah!)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin'[Bridge]Hey, ladies! (Where you at?)Hey, fellas! (Where you at?)And the people that don't give a fuck! (Where you at?)All the lovers! (Where you at?)All the haters! (Where you at?)And all the people that call themselves players (Where you at?)Hot mamas! (Where you at?)Pimp daddies! (Where you at?)And the people rollin' up in caddies! (Where you at?)Hey, rockers! (Where you at?)Hip-hoppers! (Where you at?)And everybody all around the world Hands up, now hands down!(Back up, back up!) Tell me what you're gonna do now!(Breathe in, now breathe out!) Hands up, now hands down!(Back up, back up!) Tell me what you're gonna do now!Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (Yeah!)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (What?)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (Come on!)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin'(Move in, now move out!) Hands up, now hands down!(Back up, back up!) Tell me what you're gonna do now!(Breathe in, now breathe out!) Hands up, now hands down!(Back up, back up!) Tell me what you're gonna do now!Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (What?)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (Come on!)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin' (Yeah!)Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin'

In this episode, I recap our progress and outline upcoming tasks for CallNotesCRM as we build in public. We’ve hired a HubSpot expert and scheduled interviews for the Sales Efficiency podcast. Although the "Tales from Sales" subreddit posts are shelved, we’ve built a list of business owners and created a sequence for personalized outreach. This week, we’re focusing on sending 20 personalized emails daily, recording a mock sales call for CallNotesCRM, and refining our HubSpot demo instance. I also share insights on overcoming startup challenges and optimizing our waitlist signup flow. And are you ready for some needless keyword stuffing? Join us as we delve into AI in sales, sales automation, sales efficiency, and utilizing HubSpot to streamline our processes.

Recap last week’s progress and outline upcoming tasks as we build in public for CallNotesCRM. This week, I aim to hire the Hubspot expert, add three tales to the subreddit, and create personalized emails for 100 business owners using HubSpot. Additionally, I'll send 25 LinkedIn invites for podcast guests, purchase two domains for email warming, and create a competitor sheet for CallNotesCRM. Jordan’s development progress has been a huge gust in the sails. Come join the pirate ship, gang. We're sharing every step of developing our startup idea and navigating the challenges of going 0-1.

In this episode, I recap last week's progress and lay out new tasks. The CallNotesCRM website will transition from Carrd to Framer, and I'll post two SEO articles. I plan to record the first episode of the Sales Efficiency podcast, schedule ten posts for the "Tales from Sales" subreddit, and promote CallNotesCRM on SMB and HubSpot subreddits. I'll also post a job on UpWork to consult with HubSpot experts. My goal is to focus on automating sales update notes for businesses, especially those lacking sales operations processes.

Quick one this week, laddies. Recap last week's tasks and their progress, including moving the CallNotesCRM site, creating branding materials, exploring Reddit communities, and completing tasks for the Sales Efficiency podcast and SEO articles. The Reddit sub community is the current fascination.

In this episode, I recap last week's tasks, including sending cold outreach notes, creating a new podcast for CallNotesCRM, and brainstorming a list of people I aspire to meet. Not to spoil the plot, but I didn't finish all the to-dos. Plz don't hate me. But got some more data to inspire future plans to improve. Upcoming goals include moving the CallNotesCRM site off Carrd, create brand materials, exploring a Reddit community for sales stories, and drafting solo podcast episodes for the other pod. I'm interested in content and communities atm. Keen to leverage these for distribution. Link to people I wanna connect with: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ndLaePR9i3It6ipQt10wYKO1cHIH6AOn4bj_4odHt6I/edit?usp=sharing Spotify link to Efficient Sales pod: https://open.spotify.com/show/0zkJMJgxAwIZ5ou7fYM7p0?si=cee72508e7484ca6

Hey there - A week of reflection that I think is going to springboard into next week. New idea website: www.callnotescrm.com Things I recommend this week: https://www.growandconvert.com/user-research/conduct-customer-interviews-even-dont-customers/ https://open.spotify.com/episode/2SsJNTrwBTN4nXFZM7pdwS?si=iWX8VnC6S3ShMdHLSCF7Pw https://open.spotify.com/episode/1wBphN6mqhRXfrzRiGTulp?si=bGf_V6qUQYa8UqIdrUURBg

Hey y'all - In this Ep we formalize our break from our original idea to the new one I broach last week. I share some high level research I've done, my vision for the addressable market, and what I plan to get done this week. ~"Competitor" links mentioned~ www.paragon.ai www.input.com

We're back after an enforced hiatus. We've got a Hail Mary, a potential new idea, and some lazy audio editing in store for y'all this go round.

In this episode we cover off last week's progress, my cold email woes, and my fascination with Typeform. Can you tell that I spent too much time in the sun this weekend and that I'm dying of heat stroke? ⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact me here

In this episode we cover off last week's progress, listen to my half of a cold call (guest feature by Gig Harbor landscaping), and talk about the need to reposition things tied to outreach and site messaging. ⁠⁠⁠Contact me here

In this episode we cover off last week's progress, the need to keep screaming into the void, and I ask for your opinion on something, dear listener. ⁠⁠Contact me here

In this episode we cover off my questionable progress against last week's goals, the need to get ish done this week, and then I go onto a tangent about a new idea. ⁠Contact me here

In this episode we cover off progress against last week's goals, upcoming goals, and finish off with a question for you, dear listener. Contact me here

In this episode we cover off progress against last week's goals, upcoming goals, and finish off with some unfiltered thoughts on starting stuff and SaaS. ⁠Contact me here

In this intro we cover what this podcast is about (me building side projects and businesses), what you can expect (unfiltered view into my thinking about going 0-1 and my goals), and hopefully you get a flavor for if this is your vibe or not. Contact me here