This one radio appearance changed my brand forever.

And what you can learn from my pressure-cooker situation.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Issue #48 | July 25th, 2023 Hi, it's Pat! Over ten years ago, I was interviewed live on the radio — it was the one and only radio interview I’ve ever been on. I don’t remember the name of the radio station, and I don’t even know if anyone out there was actually listening, but that radio interview was one of the most vital moments for my brand. For the first time in my career, someone told me this: “Pat, you have 1 minute and 30 seconds to explain how to build a business for everyone out there. Are you ready?” I’ll tell you how I handled this, and in the process, help you get unstuck. Let’s do this… QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Your earnings are a byproduct of how well you serve your audience.” – Pat Flynn THE STORY People go to school for years to learn how to start a business, so when I was told by a producer right before the interview that I only had a minute and half to teach people how to start a business, I had a mild panic attack. With 30 seconds until airtime, I had to think fast. How in the world was I going to distill all my years of learning and making mistakes, triumphs, and failures into this short segment? Should I start with how to start a website, or maybe get into niche selection and research? What about product validation or building an audience? Maybe the different platforms to choose from, like podcasting or YouTube? There’s no way… Well, it’s amazing what happens when one is forced to come up with something quickly, and that’s when I came up with this phrase: Serve First. It’s quick and it encompasses everything I truly believe every business should value. In my opinion, it’s mandatory. Online businesses that have incredible brand loyalty, repeat customers, and healthy word of mouth all practice serving first. In my past, whenever I’ve built something to chase money or created something that wasn’t for the purpose of helping others, it’s always ended up failing. Serve first is your guide. If you’re not sure how to best serve your audience, then do everything in your power to figure it out! Ask your audience and have conversations with them. Let the drive to serve your people guide the questions you ask, the decisions you make, and the direction of your business. Serve first is a way of business. It’s the way you sell something (or don’t sell something). It’s the way you handle customer service. It’s the way you create. Serve first is ultimately how you build your audience. It’s the thought behind niche selection. It’s how to validate and market your product. It’s how to choose a platform. It’s how to do business the SMART way. Today, myself and Team SPI use this phrase all the time and it guides us in our decision-making as well. And it’s all rooted in that moment of panic over 10 years ago on the radio when I was asked to distill what has truly worked best when it comes to building a business. CALL TO ACTION A few lessons to be learned here, and items to consider, no matter where in the business journey you’re at today: - Pressure cooks. While under the gun, I was forced to think about my business differently and come up with a phrase that could easily summarize what I did. - Simplicity rules. Keeping things simple makes it so much easier to understand, and when something is easy to understand it’s much easier to take action. - Have values that are known. When your audience knows the values that you and your company have, it’s much easier to get behind (and stand for) what you believe in. Give yourself 10 minutes from now to brainstorm more efficient ways to talk about your business with others. In fact, I challenge you to come up with two or three words that share what’s at the heart of your brand, something that perhaps makes you uniquely you. ​ SPONSORED BY CLICKFUNNELS Struggling to Get a Constant Flow of Customers? Test-Drive ClickFunnels For 30 Days FOR FREE!!! ClickFunnels is the #1 tool small business owners and entrepreneurs use to attract a constant flow of customers to a website or store and turn them into happy paying customers. And right now, you can test-drive ClickFunnels for 30 days completely free! ClickFunnels gives you everything you need to build, launch, and scale a business online from scratch, including websites, funnels, analytics, pre-built templates, cart pages, email automation, courses, membership areas, and much much more! No coding or tech experience required either! Our fun drag “n” drop platform means literally ANYONE can build a business online. Click below to grab your limited time, Pat Flynn exclusive, 30-day free trial of ClickFunnels and you’ll be on your way to growing your business online faster and easier than ever before. [CLICK HERE!](=) SPI NEWS AND EVENTS We work hard at SPI to remain unstuck and consistently provide you with the best ways to support your business. Check it out: Like the teeshirt Pat’s wearing in the picture above? Now you can get a [limited edition Serve First teeshirt](=) too — only available until August 2nd! Don’t hesitate, because time is running out. Starting and growing a YouTube channel can be overwhelming and confusing, so here’s your chance to learn how to do it the smart way! As the creator of two successful YouTube channels, Pat Flynn will be sharing best practices for starting a YouTube channel during a live training session, back by popular demand on Monday, July 31st, 10 AM PT. [RSVP now!](=)​ When your business is optimized, you hit a button and money happens. But, many entrepreneurs make mistakes that stop them from reaching that level. [Listen to this conversation with Matt Giovanisci]( for a powerful deep dive into the entrepreneurial mindset — a wide-ranging discussion about filtering and prioritizing your ideas, building an ATM-like email list, simplifying your marketing, short-form versus long-form content, and more! DAD JOKE OF THE WEEK What did August say when June claimed that today is the last day of the month? …Don’t July to me! Did a cool person forward you this email? [Sign up here for free](. Want to reach over 125,000 entrepreneurs? [Become a sponsor](. [Link to SPI's Website](=) [Link to SPI's Twitter Account]( [Link to SPI's LinkedIn Account]( [Link to Pat Flynn's YouTube Account]() You are receiving this because you signed up for Pat Flynn’s newsletter at [smartpassiveincome.com](=). If you'd like to adjust which emails you receive or update your name and email address, click here: . If you'd like to stop receiving all emails from SPI, click here: . No hard feelings. 10531 4S Commons Drive, Suite 524, San Diego, CA 92127