Listen in as Mark Podolsky, the Land Geek, talks to Erlend Bakke, MrOutsource.com, about working with Virtual Assistants from the Philippines. Mark talks about how he has gotten hooked on working with the well-trained MrOutsource.com team.
Mark talks about his six-week experience working with the MrOutsource.com team. When Mark first dipped his toe into working with MrOutsource, he was a bit skeptical at first. He had some experience with other companies and they all left him wanting. Mark highlighted the fact that working with the team, he has gotten daily reports from the team with updates, questions, and clarifications. He has been happy with the communication between himself and the team, which made working with the team such a great experience.
Mark’s experience, working with the MrOutsource.com team has been wonderful for him. It has become a one-stop shop for his podcast. Right after he records each episode, the podcast is sent to the team, who would literally do everything with it. Erlend stressed that one year of doing podcasts has made this his team’s core competence, making Mark a perfect fit. This has saved Mark some time and money. This also allowed Mark to focus on higher income—generating strategies.
Working with Filipino Virtual Assistants, Erlend has had to emphasize during training that they shouldn’t just say yes and be submissive. Another important report required of all the Virtual Assistants is their daily update, which includes What I Did Today, Challenges Encountered, and Questions I have for you. Among the parts of the report, Erlend recommends focusing on the third question, which require immediate attention. One of the simpler tools Erlend recommends everyone to use is the email.
When asked about the prices, Erlend responded that connecting a Virtual Assistant with a client would cost $497. Then you get three candidates to choose from. The benefit of going throughMrOutsource.com is that the VA has a contract with the Filipino company, which means that if the VAs do something illegal, they can be sued in the Philippines. In addition, each applicant is also required to go through their seven-day training. You pay a 30% rate on top of whatever other rate, but you are secure knowing that you’re working with trained and reliable VAs.
Mark asked Erlend whether MrOutsource.com is going to eventually increase their prices now that he’s hooked and how Erlend would maintain the quality of work when more and more clients avail of their services. Erlend responded that he intends to charge new clients more but keep prices the same for old clients. Perhaps if he were to consider an increase, he would increase his prices by the standard 4% per annum, depending on the inflation rate. Erlend emphasized that keeping his current clients happy will lead to a whole positive ecosystem of positive referrals. Taking care of the customers he already has will continue to be a priority for MrOutsource.com.
Erlend mentioned learning his business philosophy from Keith Cunningham’s course called the 4-Day MBA where he learned quite a few things. One of them was learning to take care of his clients before he’ll consider raising the prices or going out to get more customers.
When working with VAs, Erlend says it’s incredibly important to be passionate because people are attracted to passionate people. You need to be excited about what you accomplish as a tem, especially when it comes to delegation and outsourcing. Those are the kinds of leaders people are attracted to. Being like Richard Branson, Erlend says that you need a vision, know how to joke around but also be serious.
Outsourcing has allowed Erlend to do things that he enjoys. Since he is able to do the things he enjoys, he is able to be energetic and passionate at work. That way, he is able to attract people who are equally as passionate. These people he is attracting want to be part of his vision and his dream. He likens this to having weight on an entrepreneur’s shoes but with the VAs, with their help, they can run together rather than walk slowly. To have fun and success in business, Erlend says if you have a passionate team that care about the same stuff, you will be successful. It shouldn’t be all about money. Erlend also warns against greedy business partners. These are people you shouldn’t be working with. The same goes for outsourcing. Employees who are driven by money and are opportunists will only play for the money. They’re not adding to any value but rather just focused on getting a paycheck.
A book by Adam Grant called Give and Take was read both by Mark and Erlend. It says that we all go through phases of matching, taking, and giving. We want to be more on the dominant side of giving because ultimately, you’ll get more. The more you give, the more you get. You don’t want to be a giver all the time. There are people you want to be matching with. If you give me an apple, I’ll give you an apple. Mark says Erlend has done a phenomenal job hiring and training these givers and has somehow been able to crack the code of giving this kind of service.
Tips of the Week:
Register for the live webinar with Erlend and myself next Wednesday April 6th at 12:30PM and learn how to generate $20k a month thanks to outsourcing:
Registration URL: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4289649331852387073
Webinar ID: 108-432-995
Erlend: I was reading about getting up in the morning and suggests that as soon as you get out of bed, you stand tall, confident, with your shoulders back and your head held high. Then, you reach up your arms a little bit upwards, like a 45- degree angle, and you welcome the day. After that, you make your bed. After that, you’re done with your first task of the day. That would make you feel really good. Also, as soon as your alarm goes off, you start counting down from 10 inside your head. Then you get up before it goes to zero.
Mark: Go to MrOutsource.com, schedule that 30 minute consult, and find out if it’s a good fit for you and what you’re doing.
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In this episode of the Best Passive Income Model Podcast, Mark chats with reluctant entrepreneur, Dan Lok. Listen in as Mark and Dan talk about his journey from a penniless immigrant to a multi-millionaire who owns 21 companies, tinkers around on Facebook making $150,000 a month in income, having a mentor who gave him the million dollar year of his life, online marketing, writing books and being the guy behind the guy.
Dan Lok talks about how he was an immigrant who didn’t speak a word of English and going to North America at the age of 14. By the time he was 17, his father’s business went bankrupt and he had to grow up and be a man. His journey from rags to riches began because he had no choice. He needed to take care of his mother.
Dan’s journey to success had many more failures than successes. He attributes part of it to the timing. He came into the business during its heyday. As a result, he got invited to speak in many different conferences and was making a ton of money as a speaker and information marketer. He took all that money and invested in businesses outside of information marketing.
Today, Dan has 21 companies, which he either owns or has a stake in. These companies include real estate education, software, and financial planning. When asked how he had the time to mentor people, he said that every deal is different. Usually, the mentoring happens at the initial starting phase of the business. He either puts in his time, money, or expertise, depending on what his partners need. His philosophy is instead of having 100% of a big pie, he would rather have 25% to 75% of many small pies.
For Dan, freedom is having the luxury not to do something you don’t want to. It’s being able to walk away from any deal. It is about being in control of your time. Currently, he runs his companies from his home because he chooses to.
When asked what kind of advice he would give a 25 year old, he said (1) try to be the best version of yourself and (2) don’t go out there and start your own business. He introduced the concept of the wealth triangle that’s made up of high-income skills, scalable business, and high returning investment. He suggests you focus first on the high-income skills. That will ensure there is a steady cash flow coming in. It also allows you to start a business from a place of strength. The worst place you can be in is when you’re desperate.
Dan has invested money in real estate all over the world. He likes Hong Kong because it’s not rent controlled and you can double your rent if the market can sustain it. He also has investments in Taiwan. He prefers investing in commercial properties. As long as you buy in the right location, he says it’s a passive commercial business.
On Mark’s business model, Dan says that you’ve got to know your stuff. What’s best for Mark may not be best for others and vice versa. What’s more important is that you find your niche. It’s not what you do but it’s how you do it that matters.
Dan : Watch “How to Generate Massive Passive Income” on YouTube, and get a copy of my book, F.U. Money from Amazon.
Mark: Learn more about Dan Lok and his books at Danlok.com.
Thank you for listening to the Best Passive Income Model podcast. Your support helps me to invite guests who share their knowledge that you can use to grow your business.
Listen in as Mark and Damion talk about living on the beach, Damion’s journey to building an 8 Figure real estate empire, taking risks, making mistakes, putting systems in, and investing in QRPs. In this episode of the Best Passive Income Model, Mark chats with Damion Lupo, owner of an 8 figure real estate empire, multiple black belter, a renaissance man of life. Damion left home at 17, made his mistakes along the way, but made it by the time he was in his 20’s.
Damion mentions that when he left home at 17, he was moving fast, not listening to the rule, making his own rules, and just going for it. He did something unorthodox and brought what he learned from the experience of having his first big mess and stumbling around and learned what he didn’t know. Now, he has more than 30 businesses and companies.
When asked about Damion Lupo’s Tony Stark-ish lifestyle, Damion says that when he moved to the beach in California, he started getting up between 4 to 5 in the morning and doing whatever it is he was going to do including conquer the world and create stuff.
The journey to having 30 companies started in the late 1990s, when Damion owned an insurance agency at the age of 20. His friend, who later abandoned him, brought the deal to him. On December 30, 1999, he went to the closing and paid with his Visa Card. He remodeled that house and learned about electrical work by electrocuting himself. He says he also learned about roofing by falling off the roof. He then ended up buying 80 houses in the next 18 months.
On building a system, Damion says that it’s important to set up a system because you can’t do everything yourself. As you manage more houses, things will get exponentially more complicated. However, you need to have a balance. You should be setting systems up from the get-go but not to the detriment of people getting started so they don’t get stuck.
Mark mentions the Ready, Fire, Aim Approach where you take massive action, stretch yourself to the point of breaking, and make the adjustments later. Damion believes that making mistakes allow you to succeed. Go ahead and throw mud, move fast, learn, and expand because you don’t want to go to death’s door safely. He thinks that if you’re going to think big you’re going to trip and fall. The question is how fast you get up. When you think big, you don’t bring the past with you. You have a blank slate in your thinking.
Damion and Mark also discuss the Qualified Retirement Plan (QRP) as a way to use tax deferred money. Damion describes it as a big trust document. Basically, you can take the money and buy things like real estate and precious metals. Compared to an IRA, which has a lot of restrictions, the QRP is a much better alternative because you can put 10 times more money into a QRP than a Self-Directed IRA. At the same time, you can defer over $50,000 a year. The best part is being able to buy real estate, notes, and precious metals with your money. The best part of it is that you don’t have to deal with a third party and constantly having to pay fees. You just pay an upfront fee of $2,500 to set it up. Using a firm may be good because they can tell you which transactions are allowed. There’s a chapter in Damion’s QRP book that lists all these things.
QRP’s have a downside. Since you have direct control of the money, you might do some dumb stuff like self-deal or engage in a disqualified transaction. You have to be competent and responsible. If you’re irresponsible, don’t do it.
According to Damion, the coolest thing about the QRP is when it’s inherited. You can create a subaccount for a parent and hire them as an employee. If the parent/grandparent dies and leaves the asset to you, you can tap into that asset, grow it, and spend it no matter what age you are.
The QRP however, might go away. Congress has been discussing the possibility of abolishing it right now. This is something you need to do before it does because these will be grandfathered in.
When asked about Mark’s Best Passive Income Model, Damion says that it’s an awesome model, which he would have preferred to do when he started in the real estate business. However, he was moving so fast and didn’t think of another option.
TIP OF THE WEEK:
Damion: I want to give people a shortcut. My third book, Reinvented Life talks about the process of building my life back up. It’s an intimate encounter and story that is told on those pages that will help remove the pain and suffering of melting down.
Mark: Go to TheQRP.org and download Damion’s free book and set up your Qualified Retirement Plan (QRP) and start building your empire, tax-deferred and tax free. Avoid fees and get all these benefits.
Thank you for listening to the Best Passive Income Model podcast. Your support helps me to invite guests who share their knowledge that you can use to grow your business.
In this episode of the Best Passive Income Model, Mark chats with Jordan Harbinger, the co-founder of the Art of Charm podcasts, which hit $2,000,000 a month with 440+ podcasts. Jordan Harbinger’s Art of Charm has been featured in magazines such as Men’s Health, Detail, and Cosmopolitan. It has also been featured by NBC.
Listen in as Mark interviews Jordan on the Art of Charm:
Jordan simplifies the tools we need to succeed in life through his Art of Charm program. Jordan mentions it’s about unlearning years of negative thoughts and putting them under intellectual or rational scrutiny. Focusing on social skills rather than personality, Jordan has been able to successfully change peoples lives using a formula that has worked for most of his 800+ clients.
Jordan shares how he and his partner got his start through meeting successful people and belonging to their inner circles. He says it’s all about who you know.
Go-getters will tend to see this as a learning opportunity and a way to get ahead. He tells of a dramatic success story of how a client went from being overweight and lacking in confidence to the smart and successful executive he is now at Facebook. When asked about how long this program takes, Jordan mentions that there’s 6 months of preparation, a week of residency, and years of follow-ups.
TIP OF THE WEEK:
Jordan: Download iCal, that comes with the Mac OSx, BusyCal or similar programs and put reminders in 15-minute blocks. This will allow you to put reminders for yourself and will put focus on the things you need to pay attention to in all areas of your life.
Mark: Go to the Art of Charm or listen to their podcast.
Thank you for listening to the Best Passive Income Model podcast. Your support helps me to invite guests who share their knowledge that you can use to grow your business.
In this episode of the Best Passive Income Model, Mark chats with Erlend Bakke, owner of 3sixty, 3sixtyfactory, and Mr. Outsource. Erlend, a serial entrepreneur, speaker, and #1 international bestselling author, has been in the business for about 8 years and made his money doing product photography and outsourcing it in Norway. He has also been successful with his 3sixtyfactory, which creates product communications to clients worldwide. Mr. Outsource, an offshoot of these companies, has also contributed to his success by giving him a steady income stream from providing entrepreneurs with passionate virtual assistants. Erlend has written a #1 bestselling book called Never Work Again.
Listen in as Mark and Erlend talk about:
Unlike most of his colleagues in the US and worldwide, Erlend focuses on honing down on tasks he should be doing and spending time on work that motivates him.
On finding the right Virtual Assistants to help him with his business, Erlend’s philosophy is to know what drives them, aligning with what they want to achieve, and being emotionally involved with them.
Erlend also suggests we ask VAs three important questions: what kind of experiences do you want to have, how do you want to grow as a person and how you want to contribute, to find out if they are a perfect fit in your business.
Tip of the Week:
Erlend: Two must-have books: Total Recall by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Letters from Stoic by Lucius Annaeus Seneca. For productivity tools, use Simple Mind to plot key influencers in your industry.
Mark: Get to know more about Erlend and hiring your virtual assistants here: www.MrOutsource.com
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