The Mark Butler Show
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
EP63: You'd have to work hard to kill this business.
09 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Businesses have inertia. That means they're hard to get moving, but it also means it's hard to stop them once they're rolling.
EP62: A message to the spouses and partners of aspiring entrepreneurs.
01 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
I've had multiple conversations with new business owners whose spouses are worried (and occasionally antagonistic) about the time and money they're in...
EP61: "I made this for you. Do you want it?"
12 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
I stole that line from Seth Godin's new book, "This is Marketing." That one phrase -- "I made this for you. Do you want it?" -- captures so much about...
EP60: A class for new coaches -- when to hire someone to do work for you, when to do it yourself, and when to hire a coach to guide you.
04 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
I've been teaching some class to new (and new-ish) life coaches. In this episode of the show I pulled a 15-minute segment out of one of the classes wh...
EP59: Discounts? Bonuses? None of the above?
21 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Let's talk about the psychology offering discounts, bonuses, or neither in our sales process.
EP58: Two kinds of goals, two kinds of goal tracking.
14 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How to use goals whose outcome you can control completely to achieve goals you can only influence with your effort.
EP57: The market isn't saturated. There isn't too much competition. You're not behind. It's not "too late."
07 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This is your reminder to ignore anyone (including yourself) who might say "It's too late. The market is saturated. There's too much competition. Every...
EP56: Beware of false financial finish lines.
22 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Some of your long term income and savings goals may be false financial finish lines. Episode 56 talks about making sure you're on the right track for ...
EP55: I hired three new people. It's going great. So why am I so anxious?
14 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
I've hired three new team members and they're doing a great job. This is great news, so why am I so anxious?
EP54: The numbers are neutral. Our thoughts about the numbers are not neutral.
10 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If you show ten different business owners the same set of financials, you'll get ten different opinions about what the numbers mean. This is proof th...
EP53: Go where your people are.
03 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
I went to a six-day life coach training this week. The content was amazing, the connections and conversations were even better. There's nothing like g...
EP52: A specialization lesson from my double root canal.
27 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week I had the pleasure of a double root canal. During the procedure -- under the influence of all the drugs -- my mind naturally turned to marke...
EP51: Why you should challenge your basic assumptions for the sake of improved client experience.
20 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Last week I told you to set rules and guidelines for how you deliver your service. This week's message is to keep your mind open and change those rule...
EP50: Why the rules and boundaries you put in place for client work protect your clients more than you (and that's a good thing).
13 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
I have a few rules (maybe more like best practices) I use in my service to ensure high quality and limit mistakes. On occasion I've broken those rules...
EP49: If you're struggling in your expertise-driven business (ie coaching or consulting), it's probably because you don't have expensive products and services.
06 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If you're a coach or consultant you need to have a high-four or low-five figure offering for your clients to buy. If you don't, you'll struggle to cre...
EP48: Action, Observation, Simplification, Documentation, Delegation
29 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week I've been listening to a book called 'Work the Process' that reminded me that our lives and businesses are a system of systems. In this epis...
EP47: Service, specialization, and pushy upsells: a sprinkler repair story.
22 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This is the story of two sprinkler repair guys named Carl and Tyler. Each takes a very different approach to selling, and they get drastically differe...
EP46: Would you be willing to do 274 grunt-work projects for the chance to work on one dream project?
15 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week I met a film maker who described is career to me as "roughly 800 projects I wasn't very excited about and three dream feature films." That's...
EP45: Why it's so important to understand your entrepreneurial personality type.
08 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week I found out I'm not a Visionary, and that's okay.
EP44: How to re-focus on the small set of activities that drive the majority of your success.
01 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It's way too easy to lose sight of (or just plain forget) the few strategies, tactics, and activities that have created disproportionate results in ou...
EP43: Why you should be skeptical of claims that it doesn't work anymore (whatever it is).
25 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes clients tell me they've heard something "isn't working anymore." "People are tired of courses." "Email marketing doesn't work." Episode 43 e...
EP42: The CFO's perspective on why, when, and how to raise your coaching prices.
18 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A friend of mine has been under-pricing his coaching. Instead of just repeating the easiest business advice there is ("Raise your rates!"), we talked ...
EP41: How to figure out how much you can afford to spend on marketing.
10 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Your goal (and mine) should be to steadily and profitably increase the amount we spend on marketing. But there's no simple calculation that will tell ...
EP40: How niche selection shows up in your business financials.
04 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Usually marketing and business coaches are the ones talking about niche selection, but today it's the CFO who has a few things to say about why pursui...
EP39: Why bank balances do and don't matter to your cash flow management.
24 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Your bank balances give you some important information about your business finances, but they're just a small part of the true picture.
EP38: How to identify and improve the most important numbers in your business.
17 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Revenue and profit goals set the vision for our businesses, but the key to achieving that vision is identifying and executing your most important dail...
EP37: Why you will probably overpay your first significant hire, and how to avoid it.
10 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We're all looking to pay the right person the amount that gets the work done without draining the business's cash. Most of us (me included) overpay ou...
EP36: The most important question to ask the person who wants to be your business coach.
03 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Hint: The question is not "who did the amazing photography on your website?"
EP35: Bookkeeping 101: Understanding the difference between bookkeepers, CPAs, CFOs, financial advisors, and money coaches.
26 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 35 walks you through all the different financial service providers that can help you in your business, how they want to help you, and when it'...
EP34: Bookkeeping 101: Let's talk about contractors vs employees and the what, how, why, and when of 1099 forms.
20 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Does the government consider your virtual assistant an employee or a contractor? Why does it matter? And what's the deal with 1099 forms, anyway? Epi...
EP33: Bookkeeping 101: My surprising criteria for picking accounting software.
13 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
People usually want to talk about whether bookkeeping software has good invoicing or pretty reports, but those aren't the features that will make or b...
EP32: Bookkeeping 101: How your Balance Sheet gives you a snapshot of your business's financial health.
05 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Your balance sheet showcases financial strength and exposes financial cracks in your business. Episode 32 walks you through how your balance sheet wor...
EP31: Bookkeeping 101: How your Profit & Loss statement helps you helps you make financial decisions in your business.
29 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Profit & Loss statement (aka P&L, aka Income Statement) is the first of two key financial reports that help you stay in touch with the fin...
EP30: Bookkeeping 101: A simple daily bookkeeping workflow.
21 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Daily bookkeeping will a) keep your financials perfectly accurate and current, b) help you develop fluency in the language of business quickly, and c)...
EP29: Bookkeeping 101: How to track loans and loan payments in your business.
16 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When I borrow money to fund my business, how do I track the money into my business? How do I track the payments to the loan? Are the payments a busine...
EP28: Bookkeeping 101: How to track money into, out of, and inside your business.
08 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Not all the money that flows into your business is 'revenue,' and not all the money that flows back out is an 'expense.' In this episode I explain the...
EP27: Bookkeeping 101: The Transactions are the Truth
01 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This is the first in a multi-part series where I'll teach the fundamentals of bookkeeping with the goal of persuading you that you can (and want to be...
EP26: Choose to be profitable.
24 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Your business is a creative outlet, a passion project...maybe even your life's work. That's why it has to be profitable, and profit is a choice.
EP25: Forget the finish line, let's chase the freedom line.
17 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I've watched my friend Phil grow a company that carried him across the financial finish line. Turns out being 'finished' isn't all it's cracked up to ...
EP24: How I used simple, friendly outreach to connect with three influential people online.
10 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It's too easy to forget how important and value one-on-one connections are in online business. Here are three stories of how I became friends with "po...
EP23: Targeting a hyper-specific customer profile in my marketing.
03 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I thought my target customer for Let's Do the Books was already hyper-specific, but this week I decided to take it even narrower. Makes me a little ne...
EP22: How to recognize important 'signs of life' in your new business or project.
27 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We all want the big dollars and the big, engaged email lists. We can have them...if let early, important signs of life help us through the lonely, qui...
EP21: What if there's just too much competition?
20 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Have all the products been created? All the newsletters written? All the clients sold? Is there just too much competition?
EP20: What does it mean to 'outsource' your marketing? And does it even work?
14 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It's possible to effectively outsource certain aspects of your marketing...under the right circumstances.
EP19: How a prospect helped me out by rejecting my offer.
07 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I had two conversations about my new software product this week. One prospect was a "probably" and the other was a "no." This episode explains why I'm...
EP18: The power of serving one market for years.
01 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sticking with one market/set of problems for the long haul allows you to build assets that will pay you over and over for years to come.
EP17: What if your project isn't risky enough?
24 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
A few thoughts on how increasing the risk in a project could be its only real chance of success.
EP16: Why 'Asks' are the key to success in a product business.
16 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I've successfully launched my product, but if I want to reach my revenue goals I'll have to shift my focus.
EP15: How to figure out what you really want to do.
10 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I used to freeze up when people asked me what I really wanted to do in my life and business. Then I used this exercise to help me come up with an answ...
EP14: Why we need to think differently about using debt to start and accelerate a business.
02 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I don't borrow for consumption, but I'm not anti-debt. There's too much debt around dogma; borrowing isn't inherently right or wrong. Sometimes NOT bo...
EP13: How to scale as a solopreneur.
27 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When we talk scale what we're really talking about is getting disproportionate results from our inputs. The obvious way to scale is to hire, but many ...
EP12: Why it's time to stop talking about plans, dreams, and schemes.
20 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
There's a big difference between people who talk about what they're going to do and people who talk about what they did. I know which one I want to be...
EP11: Why I'm not quitting my day job.
10 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
My 'day job' is my one-on-one freelance bookkeeping and CFO business. Here's why I won't quit offering the service...even if my products end up paying...
EP10: 5 compelling reasons to make my product 3x more expensive.
04 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 9 I made a strong argument for making a big chunk of Let's Do the Books completely free. To keep things balanced, episode 10 lays out the c...
EP09: A compelling argument for making my new program free.
28 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Last week I launched Let's Do the Books, a video+webinar+software offer that helps up and coming solopreneurs master their business and personal finan...
EP08: How to set product launch goals that guarantee success.
21 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I'm launching Let's Do the Books tomorrow, so I have goals on my mind. I've watched too many business owners set goals that leave them disappointed, s...
EP07: What I learned from partnering with friends and family, and how I'd structure future partnerships.
14 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
They say it's a disaster to partner with friends or family. I've done both and come out with relationships intact, but had some rocky moments along th...
EP06: How one podcast appearance has paid me $61,325 (and counting).
07 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Yeah, that's a hypey title, but it's the truth. One podcast appearance in September 2015 is responsible for over $60k in my business. Here's how it ha...
EP05: The rise and fall of my $50,000 per month membership site.
30 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
From $0 to $50,000 per month to $0. The membership site we (my friend Court Tuttle and I) ran between 2009 and 2012 taught us lessons and paid us well...
EP04: Why I hate the launch-based product marketing model.
23 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
There's a widely-used marketing tactic online where you only make your products available during specific, narrow timeframes. I'm not a fan. Episode 4...
EP03: My $200,000 Product Plan
16 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I'm launching a new product. My plan is to have it bring in $200,000 within 12 months of launch. This is how I plan to make it happen.
EP02: Progress on my product in spite of persistent negative thoughts.
09 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I'm excited to get Let's Do the Books out in the world, and proud of the work I'm doing. So why do I have to deal with constant self-doubt and negativ...
EP01: A simple framework for your ideal business
03 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I'm looking for my ideal business, and I know how to find it.