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Who have you helped?

raylech1986.it

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It’s a start. Engage people and find out what they want. Then figure out how to get paid. Then figure out what everyone who *pays* you is stuck on, how to continue helping them one-to-one, then at scale, then taking it from there.
Like Reid Hoffman said:

“In order to scale you have to do things that don’t scale.”

Reid’s theory:
If you want your company to truly scale, you first have to do things that don’t scale. Hand-craft the core experience. Serve your customers one-by-one. Then figure out how and what to scale.


ALOT of wisdom in that advice from Mr. Hoffman and @Andy Black
 
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Andy Black

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Like Reid Hoffman said:

“In order to scale you have to do things that don’t scale.”

Reid’s theory:
If you want your company to truly scale, you first have to do things that don’t scale. Hand-craft the core experience. Serve your customers one-by-one. Then figure out how and what to scale.


ALOT of wisdom in that advice from Mr. Hoffman and @Andy Black
Here's a great article by Paul Graham about doing things that don't scale:
 

Ytcho's

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I had a chat with Tony who describes how:
  • One simple question got him unstuck.
  • He's only been on Quora for 30 days helping people.
  • He's only posted 29 times but is now top ranked for his subject matter.
  • His bio sends people to a survey where he asks opened ended questions (as per the Ask book by Ryan Levesque).
  • He's had 300 surveys and email addresses.
  • He's done 5 free 30 minute coaching calls.
  • One free coaching call converted on the spot to a $400 coaching package.
  • His advice to people who want to start by building a website and autoresponder series.
What he's done is such a short space of time is inspiring.

I spent over 2 hours personally chopping this call down to only 25 minutes so it's no fluff and actionable. Do yourself a favour and give it a listen.

Well done @arobinson04


> Click here to access the recording <


What were your takeaways?

What will you do differently going forward?



(For other recordings click HERE.)
Thank you @Andy Black , another great topic to change the mindset and create something more consistent and meaningful.

My biggest conclusion was that the help given when helping someone, carries in it a feedback, whether in making him future customer or learning something of value in the process.
 

Ray C.

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I had a chat with Tony who describes how:
  • One simple question got him unstuck.
  • He's only been on Quora for 30 days helping people.
  • He's only posted 29 times but is now top ranked for his subject matter.
  • His bio sends people to a survey where he asks opened ended questions (as per the Ask book by Ryan Levesque).
  • He's had 300 surveys and email addresses.
  • He's done 5 free 30 minute coaching calls.
  • One free coaching call converted on the spot to a $400 coaching package.
  • His advice to people who want to start by building a website and autoresponder series.
What he's done is such a short space of time is inspiring.

I spent over 2 hours personally chopping this call down to only 25 minutes so it's no fluff and actionable. Do yourself a favour and give it a listen.

Well done @arobinson04


> Click here to access the recording <


What were your takeaways?

What will you do differently going forward?



(For other recordings click HERE.)
Thank you for this recording (and all of your other SoundCloud recordings). The "Who Have You Helped" changed my perspective on helping people and providing value, so I appreciate it, Andy!
 
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Andy Black

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Thank you for this recording (and all of your other SoundCloud recordings). The "Who Have You Helped" changed my perspective on helping people and providing value, so I appreciate it, Andy!
Glad it helped and thanks for the feedback. I cohosted a podcast for the first dozen shows at www.letschatsales.com too.

What’s your main takeaways from “Who have you helped?” and what will you do different going forward?
 

DMass

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Listening to this Podcast was really helpful for realigning my objectives and plan.

I have a post it note on my monitor stating “Who have you helped today?” to remind me that it’s the most important thing to growing a business.
 

Ray C.

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Glad it helped and thanks for the feedback. I cohosted a podcast for the first dozen shows at www.letschatsales.com too.

What’s your main takeaways from “Who have you helped?” and what will you do different going forward?
My main takeaway from your podcast is that asking questions, answering questions, and being selfless will improve your life and those you help.

Let's take it back to Tony (if you're reading this, I hope you're doing well!)—he quickly became ranked number one on Quora in his subject matter by answering questions and made enough of an impact to land a $400 gig in a month!

From now on, instead of answering a friend, family member, or stranger's question in a couple of words, I'll take the time to give solid feedback to help them through their situation.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night, Andy!
 
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kommen

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Damn... More people need to see this thread. There are always those posts here from time to time saying how they just keep trying and failing for years with no progress. I feel that this thread has saved me years of wasted effort and heartache. I think all good things done in the world are always to help someone else, especially in a world where evil is naturally everywhere.

I'll start by taking baby steps, but most importantly I have to understand people's problems. I have to feel people.

Thank you very much, Andy.
 

Andy Black

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Damn... More people need to see this thread. There are always those posts here from time to time saying how they just keep trying and failing for years with no progress. I feel that this thread has saved me years of wasted effort and heartache. I think all good things done in the world are always to help someone else, especially in a world where evil is naturally everywhere.

I'll start by taking baby steps, but most importantly I have to understand people's problems. I have to feel people.

Thank you very much, Andy.
Thanks for your feedback, and everyone else who's replied.

At your suggestion (via PM) I'll mark this Gold and make it sticky.
 

ChristineKing

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What were your takeaways?

What will you do differently going forward?
Great call Andy and Tony. Very educational.

My takeaways -

1. Helping other people needs to be the #1 priority. This also goes back to TMF when discussing the N of CENTS, where your business is filling a need. Other people NEED help with xyz. And filling that need first then opens the door for financial success by attracting money secondarily.

2. Everyone is an expert in SOMETHING. It's easy to feel the imposter syndrome, and tell yourself that you have nothing to offer other people. But everyone has some expertise in something. Think about what you have done over and over, or what you have spent your free time doing. Are you a good baker? Great, help the world make better muffins. Do you play video games all the time? Great, help others level up. It doesn't have to be something "serious" ... there is someone out there who wants your expertise. Go help them.

3. Consistency wins. If Tony hadn't CONSISTENTLY answered those questions on Quora, he would not be where he is today. I recently read Jim Rohn's book The Slight Edge, and those principles are really on display here. Even one answer a day adds up to 365 answers in a year... a very significant contribution to both helping others, and helping the business system.

Thanks again for this call! I'm going to be listening to the others in the archive for more gems. :)
 
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DavidePaco00

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I had a chat with Tony who describes how:
  • One simple question got him unstuck.
  • He's only been on Quora for 30 days helping people.
  • He's only posted 29 times but is now top ranked for his subject matter.
  • His bio sends people to a survey where he asks opened ended questions (as per the Ask book by Ryan Levesque).
  • He's had 300 surveys and email addresses.
  • He's done 5 free 30 minute coaching calls.
  • One free coaching call converted on the spot to a $400 coaching package.
  • His advice to people who want to start by building a website and autoresponder series.
What he's done is such a short space of time is inspiring.

I spent over 2 hours personally chopping this call down to only 25 minutes so it's no fluff and actionable. Do yourself a favour and give it a listen.

Well done @arobinson04


> Click here to access the recording <


What were your takeaways?

What will you do differently going forward?



EDIT: Wow... I didn't realise this recording was so old. Almost exactly 4 years later I've created a video out of it and published it to YouTube. It's tighter too (down to 17 minutes from 25 minutes).


View: https://youtu.be/8YBY0r2Hb1g




(For other recordings click HERE.)
Thanl You , this should be valuable content! Very useful for each one of us who gets to start!
 

NeoDialectic

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Thank you for the thread Andy!

It’s a start. Engage people and find out what they want. Then figure out how to get paid. Then figure out what everyone who *pays* you is stuck on, how to continue helping them one-to-one, then at scale, then taking it from there.
You got it!

Yes. Business is incredibly simple:

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.

Start. Sell. Scale.

The only reason it’s not simple is because we over-complicate it.
This is the key. So many people get stuck in the building phase. It's similar to a conversation I had somewhere else on these forums about how to know if you are action faking. I took paragraphs to explain something along the lines of "Think about what your ultimate goal is and if there isn't a direct line (or close to it) from what you are doing to that ultimate goal then you are action faking."

Your question accomplished exactly that but with it only took a few words! I know you pride yourself on being succinct, but dang! Your question got the heart of the matter.

Provide the value. Figure out how to make a dollar off it. Then you can eventually make Systems to scale and fastlane the business.

As mentioned in the other thread, the video has given me some things to chew on.
 

Andy Black

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Your question accomplished exactly that but with it only took a few words!
To be fair, it took thousands of PMs trying to figure out how best to help people, why they were stuck, and what seemed to get them unstuck them the quickest.

"Who have you helped?" seems to do the trick. You can hear Tony describe how he was taken aback when asked and almost looked around with fresh eyes at what he was building.


Oh, and thanks for mentioning you missed this thread because it was a video or podcast. I'll grab the transcript and add it to the opening post, and upload the 17 mon version as a podcast somewhere. Maybe that will help people more.
 
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Andy Black

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Andy Black

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Where can I listen to these radio interviews?

It seems like they can help me with some of my current challenges (finding out my natural skillset).
Episodes 1 and 4 in here:

 
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Isaac Odongo

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I had a chat with Tony who describes how:
  • One simple question got him unstuck.
  • He's only been on Quora for 30 days helping people.
  • He's only posted 29 times but is now top ranked for his subject matter.
  • His bio sends people to a survey where he asks opened ended questions (as per the Ask book by Ryan Levesque).
  • He's had 300 surveys and email addresses.
  • He's done 5 free 30 minute coaching calls.
  • One free coaching call converted on the spot to a $400 coaching package.
  • His advice to people who want to start by building a website and autoresponder series.
What he's done is such a short space of time is inspiring.

I spent over 2 hours personally chopping this call down to only 25 minutes so it's no fluff and actionable. Do yourself a favour and give it a listen.

Well done @arobinson04


> Click here to access the recording <


What were your takeaways?

What will you do differently going forward?



EDIT: Wow... I didn't realise this recording was so old. Almost exactly 4 years later I've created a video out of it and published it to YouTube. It's tighter too (down to 17 minutes from 25 minutes).


View: https://youtu.be/8YBY0r2Hb1g




(For other recordings click HERE.)
Thanks Andy for this gift. Got me thinking. Who have I helped? I need to really help some people.
 

Andy Black

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Hey MJ or any other Fastlaner who can help me. I have a question.
I have all MJ's books. How do I make it show on my profile? Something of the kind.
There's a thread for each of the books titled "I've read <book name>".

Reply to those and the system will give you your badges.
 
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Isaac Odongo

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Thanks Andy for this gift. Got me thinking. Who have I helped? I need to really help some people.
I listened to the interview. It was great. Pretty simple. Entrepreneurs help people. So. Who have I help. Got to get out and help some people.
 

Isaac Odongo

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There's a thread for each of the books titled "I've read <book name>".

Reply to those and the system will give you your badges.
Thanks Andy. Let me check it out. Some learning to do here.
 

Andy Black

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I listened to the interview. It was great. Pretty simple. Entrepreneurs help people. So. Who have I help. Got to get out and help some people.
It doesn't even have to be business related.

Say good morning to people. Hold doors open. Offer to carry someone's groceries if it looks like they're struggling. Hop into online communities as a peer and help by giving support, encouragement, pointers, advice.

Exercise that helping muscle and you'll start seeing opportunities to help people everywhere.

Over time you'll start seeing ones where you can get paid (or you'll get better at seeing those).

I still help people with no expectation.

Even this morning I bade half a dozen people a cheerful good morning and stopped to talk to the lady outside the school who helps kids cross the road. It's freezing and I offered to get her a cup of tea or coffee. She laughed and said she has a sneaky flask of tea in her car. To which I replied I should get a sneaky hip flask of whiskey it's so damn cold.

You don't have to, but chatting to and helping people helps you get over yourself. You'll realise you can make a difference with just a few manners and a helping hand.
 
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Isaac Odongo

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It doesn't even have to be business related.

Say good morning to people. Hold doors open. Offer to carry someone's groceries if it looks like they're struggling. Hop into online communities as a peer and help by giving support, encouragement, pointers, advice.

Exercise that helping muscle and you'll start seeing opportunities to help people everywhere.

Over time you'll start seeing ones where you can get paid (or you'll get better at seeing those).

I still help people with no expectation.

Even this morning I bade half a dozen people a cheerful good morning and stopped to talk to the lady outside the school who helps kids cross the road. It's freezing and I offered to get her a cup of tea or coffee. She laughed and said she has a sneaky flask of tea in her car. To which I replied I should get a sneaky hip flask of whiskey it's so damn cold.

You don't have to, but chatting to and helping people helps you get over yourself. You'll realise you can make a difference with just a few manners and a helping hand.
I always thought I was doing the right thing. This is quite a way of life recommended here. I now see that I was actually getting selfish in someway. I was becoming a kind of hermit. Now I remember that my WhatsApp status is always a quote from some good book I am reading and tends to once in a while start a conversation where someone appreciates. But I was misusing it by beginning to feel big.
I will definitely apply this advice.
I think it will even add my happiness.
 

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Just while reading the topic of a new thread ( while I m procrastinating as usual;) ), I remembered my 15 year old self:

My parents were building a house for us. It was a big deal, as we weren’t rich and every cent was turned around twice.

My parents didn’t make it themselves and I wasn’t allowed to do anyting at our house.

So in that area many houses were built and I wanted to do that house building work.
So someday I just went from one construction site to the other and just asked, if I could help.
At first, Nobody wanted to let a 15 yr old help on a construction site, but with the time, I got jobs.

I did that maybe one year or so, than the houses in the bigger neighborhood were finished, My interests changend a bit.

But in that time I learned different skills, but I never charged any money.

The skills I learned were sure not at the highest levels, but from there I got good jobs the years afte, when I was studying and could ask for a job as mason , carpenter ...helper with basic knowledge.

And sure I got some money here and there, but the main profit for me was to learn the construction skills, the social management with coworkers and least not last the connections.
 

Andy Black

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Transcript finally added!
 
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Andy Black

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kommen

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Hey Andy one quick question.

How would you define "helping"?
 

Andy Black

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Hey Andy one quick question.

How would you define "helping"?
IMO, business is simple:
  • Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Swap "help" for "entertain" or whatever resonates with you best.


One of the simplest ways to help people can be by giving thanks:

I contend people don't get enough helping people, and they often do it to get something in return.

To be in business though we need to GET PAID.

So ultimately we want to help/entertain/add value, AND get paid.

So while you exercise your helping muscle, think about how you can help people with some service or product AND get paid.

Does that help?
 
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kommen

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To be in business though we need to GET PAID.

So ultimately we want to help/entertain/add value, AND get paid.

So while you exercise your helping muscle, think about how you can help people with some service or product AND get paid.

Does that help?
Kind of helped.

Even though I have read some of your posts, it got me thinking the other day every time I shower.

Why do people do everything they do? Why do they pay in terms of money, time, work, or mental load?

I have my own answer in my mind, but I don't know if it's correct.

That's why I asked you in the PMs whether or not you have an independent post about helping what people "are already willing to pay for" and you replied with the quote "help the people in motion".

The word "motion" got me thinking again in another shower. Why are people in motion? Also, what makes a problem a significant problem for people? I mean if they do nothing, they wouldn't experience those problems in the first place right? I think this is why it's important to observe what those people have been trying to do to solve their problems before helping them.

My thoughts are that everyone are subtly ambitious to some degree. Drew E. Whitman described the 8 primary human desires in his book Cashvertising, and I'm contemplating whether most ambitions in people are probably rooted from some of the primary desires.

Actually you know what, I think I'm just making things complicated lmao. I'll just go back to talking about what people struggle with a product/service then help them with that pain and come up with a minimum viable product which value skew solves that pain.

And I'll keep on helping people with no expectations, like holding the door open for someone.

Maybe the takeaway here is the main goal of helping people and their loved ones is for them to enjoy life.
 

kommen

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Maybe the takeaway here is the main goal of helping people and their loved ones is for them to enjoy life.
I just thought of this "enjoying life" thing just now, I don't know if I'm correct on this or not. So what do you think, @Andy Black ?

Because of that, next time instead of starting my sales pitch with "what are you struggling with?", maybe I'll ask: "How would you (and your family) enjoy life?"

EDIT: I think this question is too broad and a bit vague. So maybe instead of asking that person directly, I'll think to myself "How can I help this person enjoy life? How can I make him happier?"
 
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