81: “Fill Yourself” to Grow Your Business with Jeremy Ryan Slate

This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Jeremy Ryan Slate. Jeremy is the founder of the Create Your Own Life Podcast and Command Your Brand Media. Create Your Own Life is One of the top-rated podcasts out there today. He’s been featured in INC, Forbes, and countless other media outlets and is rated as a top Millennial Influencer to follow by Buzzfeed.

But I know it didn’t start out that way for Jeremy. In fact, it started with a near death experience followed by a career shift and struggles as an entrepreneur before he found his way.

Today, in addition to running a great show, Jeremy teaches others how to position themselves and grow their personal brand. There are ton of topics we explore in this episode together.

@JeremyRyanSlate on all Social Media

www.CommandYourBrand.media

How Jeremy got to where he is today doesn’t match up. He started out getting a degree in world religion and studying at Oxford. He got his Masters and was on a path to be a college professor. But, it did not happen. He was passed over for a position. He then got a job as a teacher while working a few others jobs putting in almost 16 hours a day. He got burned out. His mother, who he is very close to, then had a stroke and it really woke him up. His wife was presented with a network marketing opportunity which was a new thing to Jeremy, but to him it looked easy. He thought he was going to be a millionaire overnight and wasn’t. He was successful and did it for two years – but he burned himself out again. He then did a bunch of odd things like selling life insurance. After all of this he finally figured out what he was good at and truly wanted to do which is where his podcast and business today comes from.

Jeremy notes that when looking back at his path, nothing seems to make sense, but in reality, in each of the things he did, he learned vital skills that help him succeed in his companies today.

Through your own experience and interviewing many of the highest performers in the world, what would you say is the most important thing that you have learned about entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship?

• Those that succeed at high levels and do well are able to transcend themselves and operate for a larger group.
• They ask questions such as “What will this do for mankind? What will this do for the larger group?”
• They are really able to look outside themselves and see what the world away from them looks like.
• They don’t operate on a “me” playing field, they look at all parts of a bigger picture and help the people in those areas come together to succeed and they reap the benefits as well.

Most important thing you’ve learned about yourself from your journey?

Jeremy is the type that has felt he has to do everything.

He has learned that people that can build systems and groups, enabling others allows your business to truly grow.

You have to get past you and relinquish your need to be in control of everything and do everything.

Jeremy has a great saying “Fill yourself on the organizational chart as you climb it.” Meaning that every time you create a role type in your business, learn it, systematize, and then teach it to someone to fulfill and move onto the next role. Create the position and then fill it.

Did you ever hit a bottom? If so, how did you handle it?

In 2013, he was living at home still, working out of his basement, and not doing as well as he wanted. He got a credit card statement that rocked him since he really couldn’t pay it. It caused him to ask himself what he was doing wrong. He asked himself, “Maybe I’m wrong? What am doing that is causing this?” It was this time of self-reflection that led to the self-awareness needed to pull him out and change things to make a difference in his life.

At the 16 min mark, Jeremy gives more detail of what he learned about himself and changed which made a huge difference in his success.

At the 21 minute mark, Jeremy talks about how the Create Your Own Life podcast came to be and his other businesses.

• His first version was a big failure because it was focused on him and his advice
• His second shot was looking at interviewing the Top 100 people he looked up from the viewpoint of “what could you teach me?” That resonated and the show took off.
• Many of the lessons he learned about positioning and marketing came from learning from these people and formed the foundation for his business Command Your Brand.

Best advice for growing a brand and profile online?

• Have a central piece of content (Podcast, Youtube Channel, Blog, etc.)
  • Start looking for press
  • Big a big fish in a small pond (local area works well)
• Once you get some local press, you can get higher level press
• Be professional with you pictures, logo, etc.
• Have the same imagery across your social media platforms for uniform branding.
• Your goal in building up a press profile is to get verified on social sites which gives you more ways to get noticed and connect.
• Lastly, have a page on your website. where you store your media and where you’ve been featured

First step for the small pond is to send a press release to your local news sources. Jeremy talks about this at the 32 minute mark.

Advice for entrepreneurs starting out today?

• Know what you are going to do and how you will help (central message)
• Have an income source while you build your business (this can be a job). This allows you to focus on creating a great business and not on money to eat.

At the 37 min mark, Jeremy talks about the power of having a good fitness routine and how it correlates to success in business.

 

Best Quote: "We are cause over things that happen in our lives. We have to stop thinking that we are victims and things happen to me, but instead, things happen because of me."

 

Jeremy's Misfit 3:

1. Figure out what your mission is and who you are going to serve
2. Figure out how you are going to deliver your message and start creating content like crazy.
3. Start telling everybody about all the content you’ve created and how you can serve them.