Episode #32
My guest this week is none other than Paul Jarvis! I’ve been following Paul’s content for years now.
Paul has an awesome community of makers that he sends weekly emails too, in a newsletter called ‘The Sunday Dispatches’ (You can sign up here. )
He’s built multiple online courses and products for his community and also hosted multiple podcasts, including the joint podcast with Jason Zook – ‘Invisible Office Hours’ which was one of my favorite podcasts ever.
He’s also now a fresh author of a book called Company of One , which talks about the view that business growth isn’t always good, and isn’t always required. Paul is a solopreneur and remains happy staying this way.
In this conversation we get into his process and mindset when building a long-lasting, sustainable company of one, and creating consistent content for his audience.
We also take on questions from the crowd that watched this on the live recording in the Mindful & Ruthless Facebook community.
We talk about what to do if you’re starting from scratch, getting audience, monetizing, why growth should be always questioned, and why you don’t need a tech startup to reach your dream.
Enjoy! And don’t forget to subscribe to the show if you haven’t yet (on iTunes, Youtube, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app).
Links & Resources from the show
Paul’s site where you can subscribe to his awesome newsletter – ‘The Sunday Dispatches’:
The book – Company of One (Direct link to Amazon)
Sagi’s article: How to start building an audience when you don’t have any audience yet
If you enjoyed please consider subscribing & leaving your review on iTunes – it means the world to me:
Key Points from the Podcast
- [0:04:51.0] Book giveaway for the listeners
- [0:05:10.2] Why Paul decided to write his book ‘Company of One’
- [0:09:28.8] Testing an idea by sharing it with an audience
- [0:10:29.6] When a size of a company doesn’t matter
- [0:12:48.8] Starting with a minimum viable product
- [0:14:32.9] Launching your product quickly and testing it in the market
- [0:17:51.9] How to start and launch something
- [0:18:49.7] Paul talks about how to get your first clients and networking
- [0:22:22.8] How to simplify a complicated product: Lessons from Airbnb, Uber, Facebook and WiseStamp
- [0:26:25.2] Paul’s process in writing beautiful newsletters, what he uses for his drafts
- [0:30:31.7] Sagi and Paul talks about using Markdown
- [0:32:59.5] The benefits of investing in experienced freelancers for your business
- [0:36:05.6] Hiring families and friends for free when you’re just starting out
- [0:36:58.3] Where to source for newsletter ideas
- [0:37:58.8] Online tools Paul uses for his business
- [0:38:59.4] Why Paul uses Mailchimp
- [0:40:38.7] How to monetize your services
- [0:43:02.7] Writing and creating products that people actually want
- [0:47:08.7] Paul talks about how he breaks down big tasks
- [0:48:59.1] Paul’s working habits
- [0:52:08.4] Paul’s definition of a successful business
- [0:55:00.8] How Paul finds his zen
- [0:57:00.0] How Paul engages with his audience and why you don’t have to be in every social media account
- [1:00:28.3] If Paul had to start his business from scratch again, how would he go about with it?
- [1:04:28.8] Discerning between relevant and irrelevant feedback
- [1:07:10.0] What Paul thinks about Steve Jobs’ comment on focus groups
- [1:10:59.8] Paul’s tips on getting clients
- [1:16:26.3] Connect with Paul