Follow Josh, an immigration lawyer-turned-tech cofounder, as he builds his businesses in Canada and shares stories/takeaways from his journey. Every week you’ll get an update and key lesson to help you build (or start) your business!
Episodes
5 days ago
5 days ago
Every week I record a short business vlog to update you on my previous week, updates, tips, book recommendations and more.
Make sure to like/subscribe to follow along, and drop any questions in the comments!
You can also follow me on Substack for my weekly updates here: https://joshschachnow.substack.com/
Agenda:
00:00 Introduction
00:54 Visto update and exciting news
02:40 Problems with working from home and my solution
05:33 Exciting webinar I was on this week and why video is great
09:06 Book(s) of the week
10:54 Conclusion
Sunday Sep 10, 2023
Sunday Sep 10, 2023
Every Sunday I give a quick update on the last week growing my immigration tech company (Visto.ai), any lessons learned, key takeaways, book(s) I'm reading and more. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss it!
Watch the weekly vlog here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheJoshSchachnow
Follow on Substack: https://joshschachnow.substack.com/
Sunday Aug 20, 2023
Sunday Aug 20, 2023
Josh and Chris go live every 2nd week to discuss their businesses, recent progress, struggles and focus for the next few weeks.
In this episode we discuss:
- Etsy stores
- landing pages
- promotion services and products
- podcasting and Youtube videos
- cold calling and email cross promos
- short video/snippet creation
Resources we mentioned:
Nobody's Perfect: Bill Bernbach and the Golden Age of Advertising by Doris WillensVidyo.ai
Heygen.com
syllaby.io
https://elevenlabs.io/
d-id.com
Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy by Mo Gawdat
Jack: Straight From the Gut by Jack Welch
https://savewisdom.org/the-1000-word-save-wisdom-questions/
https://christophersilvestri.com/user-journey-test/
https://christophersilvestri.com/website-copy-and-ux-audit/
Make sure to like/subscribe for more!
Follow Josh at https://solopreneurgrind.com/join
Follow Chris at https://conversionalchemy.net/
Summary:
00:00 Josh and Christopher discussed their recent activities, including posting podcast episodes, reading books, and creating products for an Etsy store. They also mentioned their plans for the next two weeks, such as finishing a book and promoting the Etsy store on social media.
9:37 Josh and christopher discussed the importance of building trust with potential customers through various channels such as podcasts, email lists, and social media. They also talked about the need to drive traffic to their products and services and brainstormed ideas for promoting them effectively.
17:48 Josh and Christopher discussed their goals for the upcoming weeks, including promoting their podcast, posting a YouTube video, and scheduling an in-person meetup. They also talked about their strategies for cold calling and creating video snippets for social media.
26:38 Josh and Christopher discussed the use of AI avatars for generating content and the process of scheduling and posting snippets on TikTok and YouTube. They also mentioned their use of chat GPT for various tasks and shared their book recommendations.
35:01 Josh and Christopher discussed the books they have been reading, including "Rework" and an autobiography by Jack Welch. They also mentioned a cool contest on Twitter where people shared their wisdom and recorded it for future generations to learn from.
Wednesday Aug 09, 2023
Wednesday Aug 09, 2023
Josh and Chris go live every 2nd week to discuss their businesses, recent progress, struggles and focus for the next few weeks.
In this episode we discuss:
- getting a new podcast started
- Etsy stores
- productized service landing pages
- cold calling
- balancing growing pains
- newsletter growth strategies
- optimizing social media content strategies
Resources we mentioned:
Lettergrowth
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle
Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Vipassana meditation
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
Rework by David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried
Make sure to like/subscribe for more!
Find Josh at https://solopreneurgrind.com/
Find Chris at https://conversionalchemy.net/
Summary:
00:00 Christopher and Josh had technical difficulties while trying to livestream their podcast episode. Christopher successfully completed his goal of recording the first podcast episode and transitioning to a weekly email.
11:35 Josh and christopher discussed the challenges of recording a podcast episode and the benefits of doing so. They also talked about the importance of providing a brief introduction to the podcast and christopher's plans to create an Etsy store related to his podcast.
21:27 Christopher and Josh discussed various goals and tasks, including creating t-shirt ideas for an Etsy store, redesigning productized services landing pages, and increasing cold call outreach. They also talked about strategies for promoting their email lists and the challenges of fundraising.
30:51 Josh and Christopher discussed their morning routines and the importance of incorporating moments of silence and reflection into their day. They also shared book recommendations, including "The Power of Now" and "Hagakure: The Secret Wisdom of the Samurai."
39:06 Josh and christopher discussed various books they have read, including one by George Lucas and another by the founders of Basecamp. They recommended the books for their practical advice on entrepreneurship and managing a business, and found them to be easy and quick reads.
Tuesday Jul 25, 2023
Tuesday Jul 25, 2023
Josh and Chris go live every 2nd week to discuss their businesses, recent progress, struggles and focus for the next few weeks.
In this episode we discuss:
- email list cadences
- Youtube and podcast content strategies
- growing pains in sales
- fundraising for tech companies
- books and tools of the week
Resources we mentioned:
the real madmen
ben settle
the intention merchants
the 48 laws of power
shoe dog
https://vidyo.ai/
https://www.opus.pro/
Chris' Youtube video: https://youtu.be/4QXfaO_69tA
Make sure to like/subscribe for more!
Find Josh at https://solopreneurgrind.com/
Find Chris at https://conversionalchemy.net/
Summary:
00:00 Josh and christopher discussed their recent trips to New York City and London, sharing their positive experiences and observations about the cities. They also talked about their plans for upcoming projects, including christopher's podcast about advertising and Josh's bachelor party.
07:40 Josh and Christopher discussed the possibility of starting a podcast and transitioning Christopher's daily newsletter into a weekly format. They also considered the benefits of focusing on digital products in the future for a more scalable business model.
13:55 Josh and Christopher discussed various topics including the success of Josh's cold calling efforts, the need for more time to do outreach, the possibility of raising funds, and the positive impact of switching to a weekly email format.
20:56 Christopher and Josh discussed their current readings, recommending "The Attention Merchants" and "Shoe Dog" as interesting books. They also mentioned using AI tools like Video and Opus for creating short snippets of videos for social media.
26:50 Josh and Christopher discussed their experiences with video editing software and the success of Christopher's latest video. They also talked about the importance of thumbnails and the potential for future improvements in their video content.
Sunday Jul 09, 2023
Sunday Jul 09, 2023
Josh and Chris go live every 2nd week to discuss their businesses, recent progress, struggles and focus for the next few weeks.
In this episode we discuss:
- FB and Youtube strategies
- outsourcing versus automating for video editing
- vacations
- podcast experiments
- growth pains in tech
- community building
- podcast/content consumption habits
- updates on books - business and fiction
- personal CRM tool
Resources we mentioned:
Founders podcast
Podbean
VidIQ
Opus pro
Win Bigly by Scott Adams
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
https://clay.earth/
Make sure to like/subscribe for more!
Find Josh at https://solopreneurgrind.com/
Find Chris at https://conversionalchemy.net/
Summary:
00:00 Josh and christopher discussed their upcoming vacations and the scheduling of their future meetings. They also talked about christopher's YouTube channel and his decision to outsource video editing.
10:58 Christopher and Josh discussed Christopher's plans for the next two weeks, which included enjoying his vacation, trying a podcast video experiment, and restructuring his ClickUp project management setup. They also talked about Christopher's interest in David Senra's podcast and his potential opportunity to write for ClickUp.
19:52 Christopher and Josh discussed their listening habits for a podcast, their admiration for the host's ability to connect ideas from different books, and their experiences with social media engagement. They also talked about the growth of their business, the challenges they face, and the use of AI tools for video editing.
28:33 Christopher and Josh discussed their recent strategies and successes, including using long-form videos for social media, reaching out to immigration professionals through emails and a Discord community, and reading books on persuasion and power. They also mentioned their plans for future community building and their summer schedules.
37:43 Christopher and Josh discussed their current reading habits, with Christopher mainly listening to audiobooks in the morning and reading Kindle books during lunchtime and before bed. They also mentioned a personal CRM tool called Clay that Christopher was trying out to manage and keep in touch with his contacts.
Monday Jun 12, 2023
Monday Jun 12, 2023
Josh and Chris go live every 2nd week to discuss their businesses, recent progress, struggles and focus for the next few weeks.
In this episode we discuss:
- evaluating Facebook ads
- new Youtube and content posting schedule and strategy
- attending conferences
- cross promotions for email lists
- building communities
Resources we mentioned:
Lettergrowth
https://www.opus.pro/
https://www.heygen.com/
My life in advertising by Claude C. Hopkins
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty
The Greatest Business Decisions of All Time: How Apple, Ford, IBM, Zappos, and others made radical choices that changed the course of business by Verne Harnish
Make sure to like/subscribe for more!
Find Josh at https://solopreneurgrind.com/
Find Chris at https://conversionalchemy.net/
Saturday May 27, 2023
Saturday May 27, 2023
Josh and Chris go live every 2nd week to discuss their businesses, recent progress, struggles and focus for the next few weeks.
In this episode we discuss:
- FB ad fixes and landing pages
- Youtube channel update
- testing AI
- sales calling update and rant
- email list cadences and marketing
- catchup on recent books we've read
Resources we mentioned:
- Sparkloop
- VidIQ
- Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi
- Turning Pro by Steven Pressfield
- Winning by Tim Grover
- The 4 Thoughts that Fuck You Up by Daniel Fryer
- Driven by Robert Herjavec
- The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty
- Harpa.ai
Make sure to like/subscribe for more!
Find Josh at https://solopreneurgrind.com/
Find Chris at https://conversionalchemy.net/
Summary:
00:00 Josh and Christopher discussed their recent vacations and the benefits of taking time off. Christopher fixed his Facebook ads and pixel with the help of a professional on Fiverr.
09:36 Christopher discussed his recent testing of Facebook ads for his newsletter and the possibility of offering a free portion of his ebook as a newsletter giveaway. He also mentioned using Sparkloop to monetize his newsletter and breaking even with his ad spend. Josh provided advice on split testing and upselling the full ebook to his email list.
18:49 Christopher and Josh discussed their goals for the next two weeks. Christopher planned to post his second YouTube video and evaluate his Facebook ads, while Josh aimed to make 30+ cold calls per day, finish a new demo script, and do 10 letter growth outreach. They also talked about the challenges of sales outreach and the importance of not burning bridges with potential clients.
28:15 Christopher and Josh discussed their email strategies, with Josh recommending that Christopher keep his emails shorter and more focused on one key idea. They also talked about books they had recently read, with Christopher recommending "Never Eat Alone" for networking and Josh enjoying "Winning" for its motivational stories.
37:25 Josh and Christopher discussed their recent reading habits, with Josh recommending a fantasy book called The City of Brass and Christopher expressing his preference for movies over fiction books. They also briefly mentioned some AI tools they plan to test out in the future.
Sunday May 14, 2023
Sunday May 14, 2023
Josh and Chris go live every 2nd week to discuss their businesses, recent progress, struggles and focus for the next few weeks.
In this episode we discuss:
- FB ad pixel issues
- New youtube strategy
- Cold calling
- Email list cross promoting
Resources we mentioned:
- Dall-E
- Chat GPT
- Scott Galloway
- Skillshare
- Scott Adams: How to fail at almost everything and still win big
- Buffett: The making of an American capitalist by Roger Lowenstein
- The essays of Warren Buffett
Make sure to like/subscribe or tune in live on Youtube or your favorite podcast platform for new episodes!
Follow Josh at https://solopreneurgrind.com/join
Follow Chris at https://conversionalchemy.net/
Sunday May 07, 2023
Sunday May 07, 2023
Josh and Chris go live every 2nd week to discuss their businesses, recent progress, struggles and focus for the next few weeks.
Resources we mentioned:
- Hotjar
- Auto GPT
- Total Recall by Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Mastering Uncertainty by Matt Watkinson
- Amazon Unbound by Brad Stone
- Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein
Make sure to like/subscribe for more!
Find Josh at https://solopreneurgrind.com/
Find Chris at https://conversionalchemy.net/
00:00 Christopher discussed his busy agency work and how his content creation efforts are paying off in building his social media audience. He also talked about launching Facebook ads for his info product, collecting data, and planning to test a new landing page. Josh provided updates on his recent holiday weekend and work schedule.
10:26 Josh and Christopher discussed reviewing Facebook ads data and testing and editing the landing page. Christopher also wanted to decide whether to pivot the product idea into the freelancer side and mentioned possibly outsourcing social media work.
19:52 Christopher and Josh discussed repurposing Christopher's daily emails into videos for YouTube and other social media platforms. They also talked about hiring a sales team in India and improving the join page for SG. Christopher planned to explore the idea of repurposing his emails and Josh aimed to continue cold outreach and improve the join page.
30:20 Josh and Christopher discussed various tools and books they have been using and reading, including a new auto GPT application and books on Arnold Schwarzenegger and Warren Buffet. Josh also talked about starting a small accountability group for like-minded individuals.
39:24 Christopher and Josh discussed various topics including books they have read, Facebook ads, landing page testing, and the potential impact of AI on jobs. They also mentioned a new web browser app for auto GPT.