Julien Smith took the unusual path to business success. Unlike others who build a career and then write books to share their expertise, Julien became a best-selling author in his early twenties. As one of the pioneers of blogging and internet marketing, his expertise was sought early on. Julien later went on to found several companies and has raised hundreds of millions in venture capital.

Julien and Jeff discuss:

1. He took a non-traditional route; book deal first then business owner
2. He was good at "trying" new things from a young age
3. Started one of the first podcast in the world that ended up on Sirius Satellite radio
4. Then wrote an Ebook with a co-author at 29 that was a New York times best seller in book form
5. The book lead to speaking gigs and book deals; ironically he had never run a business
6. He had a tech idea that he raised money (150 Million) for.
7. Learning as he was going on how to be a CEO of the tech business
8. After a couple years he started another business that serves coaches
9. Today Julien raises venture capital with ideas, builds a team around that idea and then

goes out into the market and executes on the plan.

1. Advice for business owners: Pick your battles so you don't burn out
2. Helping solo businesses is what he cares about
3. Advice: To have a book sell well, you have to own a channel that has your own tribe of people
4. Want to be a CEO: Just pitch the idea
5. Advice: Business owners need to confront reality; dream vs reality

Fast Five Questions:

1. If you woke up and your business was gone, you have $500, a laptop, a place to live, and food, what would you do first? “Set up 10, 15, 20 conversations with people and ask them about what's going on today. It's not about his idea but the timing of the market and what is perfect for right now.”
2. What is the biggest mistake that you have made in business? “At the height of the last business he was running, he was burning a million dollars per month. I should have gotten smarter about business when the business was smaller.”
3. What is a book that you would recommend? “Zero to IPO by Frederic Kerrest”
4. What is a tool that you use everyday that you would recommend? “Slack (to communicate) and Hubspot (CRM)”
5. What is the best way to contact you? “Twitter.com/Julien, julien@practice.do or google him on the internet”

Jeff spent the early part of his career working for others. Jeff had started 5 businesses that failed before he had his first success. Since that time he has learned the principles of a successful business and has been able to build and grow multiple seven-figure businesses. Jeff lives in the Austin area and is actively working in his community and supporting the growth of small businesses. He is a board member of the Incubator.Edu program at Vista Ridge High School and is on the board of directors of the Leander Educational Excellence Foundation

Connect with the Freedom Nation podcast at www.freedomnationpodcast.com

You can connect with Jeff through

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freedomnationpodcast/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeffKikel

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffkikel/