25: Question-and-Answer Online Community – Interview with Assaf Levy from yes.no

Yes.no is an online community where users can “crowd interview their heroes”. So today we ask Levy himself a few questions!

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Tell us about yourself and your background!

I’m Assaf Levy, the co-founder and CEO of yes.no – a new crowd interviewing network. I’ve spent the best part of my career working in internet marketing and advertising management, and previously founded the digital marketing agency Web Pals. I was lucky enough to build a great team there, and we sold the company (now XLMedia) in 2012 and took it public on the LSE in 2014. Now I am able to work on my passion project yes.no!

What inspired you to start yes.no?

Most of us have questions that we’d love to be able to ask our heroes (and get answered), but there isn’t always a simple way to do so. I myself had a question for a musical hero of mine, Samy Birnbach (Minimal Compact vocalist and lyricist), about a song that was dear to me, and I dedicated a lot of time and effort to get my answer. After that experience, I realized that a lot of people likely had the same problem, that many others would also benefit if this interaction had been in the public realm, and that my hero himself also enjoyed engaging in meaningful, respectful Q&A. And so yes.no was born!

Assaf Levi Photo

What makes yes.no unique?

yes.no is all about connecting people; experts with their audiences, influencers with their fans, the interesting with the interested. It’s a place where good quality in-depth conversations can take place without getting lost in the noise, through the age-old format of questions and answers. Our platform is person-centric, so rather than being a forum for you to ask your question to the community, everything is focused around the person being asked. These aren’t time-sensitive AMA sessions either; once you open a profile people can continue to ask you questions. And all this is built in a social network format, with a personalised feed.

What is your daily routine? What habits would you say an entrepreneur needs to have?

In the mornings I help out with the kids at home before arriving at the office reasonably early (9.30 is early in the start-up scene). Every day is different; as usual a CEO’s duties span the entire company. I tend to eat a quick bite in the office or go out for a lunch meeting. I try to set themes for each week to focus myself and my tasks. But as for general habits, something I know now that I wish I’d known earlier is that it’s important to get good rest, not burn the candle at both ends, and enjoy what you’re doing. Not all entrepreneurs share this philosophy, but for me it’s the most important thing.

Any books about entrepreneurship you can recommend?

“Hooked” by Nir Eyal is a great book that focuses on creating a product, and one that ensures its users form habits around your product and get ‘hooked’. I loved it. And I am very grateful that Nir himself is answering questions on yes.no!

What is the best way to find employees?

I don’t think there is a magic answer here. I have people on my team that I’ve worked with at previous companies, that I’ve been introduced to through friends, and that I’ve found by posting in job-seeking Facebook groups. No method is foolproof, it’s about making sure you click with the people and can imagine yourselves working together.

What critical part do start-ups often get wrong?

I think they often underestimate the importance of building a strong team of good people that will work together towards a common goal. So often important work is outsourced, or the wrong people are hired just to fill immediate gaps, and it can end up costing the startup a lot in the long run.

What do you do to relax?

I am lucky to have a wonderful wife and two great young kids, so I enjoy family time at home. I also enjoy volleyball and mixed martial arts, plus I’m a massive music fan! I have a large record collection, and listen to a lot of new wave.

To start asking a question yourself sign up at Yes.no!

24: Artisan-made goods from Mexico – Jim & Ale from Maria Bonita

Today we interview Jim & Ale from Maria Bonita Handmade who sell artisan-made goods from Mexico.

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Who is behind María Bonita Handmade? Tell us your story.

Like any story I suppose, it’s a pretty long one—so I’ll try to stick to the basics! My name is Jim Dobrowolski and my wife is Ale Flores and together we run María Bonita Handmade. I’m from the United States and she’s from Mexico, but we met in Costa Rica as foreign exchange students. After graduating from college I moved to Mexico, where Ale was completing a dental internship in a public hospital. My original plan was to teach English, but I soon discovered that I could make more money working from home as a freelance writer—so that’s what I’ve been doing for closing in on two years now.

Ale and I love to travel, and the idea for María Bonita Handmade came about as we explored cities and towns throughout Mexico. We saw such a wide variety of beautiful, artisan-made goods that were only available in one city or even one specific shop, and we thought to ourselves, “If people in the United States and around the world knew about and had access to this stuff, it’d sell out in a day!” So we decided that we may as well try to make that happen.

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What inspired the company name? Who is María Bonita?

María Bonita was apparently the nickname of Mexican film actress María Félix, but frankly I don’t know too much about her! For Ale and I, the name just has a perfectly evocative ring—very Mexican, kind of elegant, also kind of hip. The images that we imagine when we hear the name are the same images that we want to be associated with our brand.

Later on, we also found out that María Bonita was some kind of bandit/folk hero in Brazil, but that’s not what our brand is supposed to be about!

Tell us about “Child Aid,” a charity you are supporting.

From the very beginning, we wanted to do something to give back to the community. Childhood education is very close to both our hearts, and Child Aid is a charity that works to support education and other children’s initiatives in Mexico and its neighbor to the south, Guatemala. 10% of all our profits go directly to them.

Ale’s always dreamed of having her own sort of charity or charitable association, and maybe someday we’ll get to that point! But for now we’re operating on a smaller scale, and we’re very happy to support Child Aid.

Does the project earn enough money to support you?

As of right now, the money we’re making is being used to increase stock and reinvest in the business. I work outside of María Bonita Handmade, and Ale’s studying to apply to dental programs in the United States. This is, for the time being, just a side project for us.

What are the biggest challenges with running the business?

This is the first business either of us has ever run, so really everything’s been a challenge since Day 1! The biggest thing right now though is traffic/publicity. Competing with big e-commerce sites and established online stores is tough, but we are managing to drive more traffic to the site almost day over day.

What has been your experience with the live chat software Tidio?

It’s simple to use and it serves its purpose—absolutely no complaints from us. Since I work from home on my computer, I’m able to leave the program up in the background and respond to customers as soon as they have any questions. We’re just using the free option for now, but for small stores I’d highly recommend it.

What future plans do you have for María Bonita Handmade?

We’re looking to grow and grow, eventually taking over the world!

No, actually—for the time being, we’re just hoping for modest growth and to expand the operation bit by bit. One plan that we do have is to eventually place our products in some boutiques/specialty stores in the United States, but that will come when Ale’s visa application process wraps up.

What are the pros and cons of sourcing products in Mexico? How good is the quality of products coming from Mexico?

Right off the bat, I can tell you that one of the biggest cons is the misconception that anything coming from Mexico must be mass-produced and cheaply made. This is certainly true in some cases, but the country also has a variety of artisan traditions dating back centuries without comparison anyplace else in the world.

As just one example, our tooled leather handbags are sourced from León, Guanajuato, a city with a leather-crafting tradition stretching back over 400 years. The last Pope, Pope Benedict, has stated publicly that the only leather shoes he’ll ever wear are made in León—that the quality is better than even Italian leather! Regardless, the majority of Americans and most other people around the world have probably never even heard the name León, Guanajuato.

There are some positive associations with Mexican goods—that they’re exotic, for example—but overall there’s a negative stereotype that we have to overcome. The good news is that, when people see what we have to offer, we’re normally able to erase this negative impression pretty quickly.

Do you recommend Shopify?

This is our first time engaging in e-commerce, and for the most part we’re satisfied with Shopify. We overcame the learning curve very quickly, the fees are reasonable, and payment processing is easy and quick.

As someone who’s worked with SEO in the past, I do have to say that there are some aspects of the site that I don’t like—for example, I don’t like some of the URL structuring and I don’t like the fact that I can’t manually change the URLs of our blog posts. In the future, it would be great to see some workarounds here, but overall these are just minor complaints.

Who designed the beautiful logo and the website? Can you recommend someone to other entrepreneurs?

I’m flattered that you’d even say this, because to me this is an area in which we have to improve! Our site’s design is a default Shopify theme customized to match our color scheme and with some very basic HTML edits. The logo I created with a free online program called, funnily enough, the Hipster Logo Generator. It looks good for what it is, but it’s definitely something that we’re planning to improve in the future.

At the end of the day, María Bonita Handmade has been a totally DIY project from start to finish. Ale and I have sourced the products, built the website, taken the photos, written the copy, and run the social media accounts—it’s all just us for the time being. That being said, friends, family, and kind strangers have all offered helpful input throughout the process.

Outside this business venture, what do you enjoy doing? How do you deal with stress?

We deal with the stress mostly by arguing, making up, and then going out for sushi together. At the end of the day, this is still a side project for us and the fact that our financial well-being doesn’t entirely hang in the balance brings down the stress level a lot. That being said, running any business is inherently stressful—but it’s totally worth it, I think.

To learn more about Jim & Ale products please visit Mariabonitahandmade.com.

23: Interview with Meryl Johnston from Bean Ninjas

Today we feature Meryl & Ben from Bean Ninjas. Read all about how they went from zero to $7000 monthly recurring revenue, in just 8 months!

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Where is the company based and how many people are involved?

We have a virtual team so our staff either work from home or a co-working space. I’m based on the Gold Coast and my co-founder Ben is based in Sydney. We have 2 x bookkeepers based in Australia, one in the US and one in the UK. We’re in the process of hiring 2 more bookkeepers and an accountant. That will bring our team to a total of 9.

What inspired you to start this business?

We consider ourselves lifestyle entrepreneurs and we were inspired to start Bean Ninjas so we could run a location independent business and have time to spend with our family, doing the things we love. One of our goals is to help 100 other lifestyle entrepreneurs achieve their business goals by the end of 2016.

What is your unique selling point?

We are accountants who ‘get’ online businesses.

What were the most challenging parts of setting up the business?

Ben and I both already had other businesses. The hardest part was finding time to work on Bean Ninjas while keeping the other businesses running to pay our living costs.

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How did you come up with the name Bean Ninjas?

To launch Bean Ninjas, Ben and I met together on the Gold Coast for a 3 day business bootcamp. We were inspired by Dan Norris’s 7 Day Startup book and we condensed his methodology into 3 days. We allocated 2 hours to selecting a business name.

We wanted to be different to a typical bookkeeping business, so our main criteria was that the name wasn’t boring. We also wanted to have something related to bookkeeping / accounting, so we liked the word ‘bean’ short for ‘bean counter’.

We came up with a list of available names and then narrowed it down from there.

You offer Xero bookkeeping, tell us more about Xero software for people who haven’t heard of it!

Xero is a cloud based accounting program which means we can login from anywhere and so can our clients. It integrates with bank data via a daily bank feed. This makes it really easy to stay up to date with what money is coming in and out of your business.

I could talk for hours about various Xero features. If you are a freelancer or run a business then I’d highly recommend you check out these Xero videos so you can see for yourself what it can do.

https://www.xero.com/au/tv/video/5050-bank-reconciliation-in-xero/
https://www.xero.com/au/tv/video/5169-reporting-in-xero/

How do you spread word of “Bean Ninjas”? Or do you rely mostly on word of mouth?

The majority of our clients have come via word of mouth or from some of the online communities we are part of.

We haven’t done any advertising and our email list is pretty small. One of our goals for 2016 is to have a bigger online presence. Up until now we’ve been very focused on getting our internal processes right and training our team so we’re ready to scale.

Ben and I were very hands on in our first 6 months and have handled all scoping calls / Xero setups and conversions and client onboarding ourselves. This probably hampered our growth, but it gave us a really good understanding of our customers. We kept adapting and testing our offer during our first 6 months and now we’re happy we’ve found ‘product / market’ fit so we can focus on scaling.

Do you use Social Media to find new customers?

We share our fortnightly blog posts on Facebook and Twitter, but we actually focus most of our social media time in contributing to Facebook communities we are a part of. We’re also about to get started with Instagram. Feel free to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Are there any blogs, podcasts or Facebook Groups about entrepreneurship you follow closely?

Dan Norris, Tropical MBA podcast, Nathan Chan (Foundr), Taki Moore, James Schramko, Rob Walling.

If you could start your business again what would you do differently?

I would back myself earlier and close my other business sooner. Bean Ninjas has now been running for 8 months and I’m only now making progress towards winding up my previous business so I can focus 100% on Bean Ninjas.

There is always a juggling act with a startup where you need to balance earning money and creating an asset. We knew within the first 4 months that Bean Ninjas was going to be more successful than our other businesses, so in hindsight I would have shut down my other business and other projects sooner so I could focus on scaling Bean Ninjas.

What are your future plans for the company?

Our first goal is to hit $100k annual run rate which we should hit next month (9 months in). Our next goal is to hit 7 figures.

Who do you think is the most accomplished entrepreneur you’ve met?

There are a number of entrepreneurs who I look up to, but I haven’t actually met many of them personally.

If I had to pick one I would say Dan Norris. He was part of the reason we launched Bean Ninjas. We used to work at the same co-working space on the Gold Coast. I was running an accounting consulting firm at the time and he used to say, when is someone going to start the WP Curve of bookkeeping …. and we did!

Which resources to run your business do you use most?

An internet connection! It would be impossible for our virtual team to run without it.

What tools do you use to run your business?

Other favourite tools are Trello / Slack / Drip / Google Apps.

You know you’re an entrepreneur when …

… you find yourself saying “I think I love Bean Ninjas even more than surfing!”

Read more about Meryl’s & Ben’s Business at Beanninjas.com.

22: Interview with Rob Merlino from Shark Tank Blog

Today we do something different! We interviewed Rob from Shark Tank Blog who is an expert of the famous show. Strap yourself in – he’s going to mention a lot of the products from the show!

Barbara Corcoran kissing Rob

What is your background? Do run a business yourself?

I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was 12 years old when I grew and sold wholesale nursery stock in my back yard. I did all the planting and selling; my mom or dad drove me to deliveries. As an adult, I owned a Duct Cleaning business that was very successful. My company made the market for residential air duct cleaning in the greater Boston area back in the early 1990’s. The company was sold when I got divorced and is still in existence today.

After that, I found myself in the mortgage business – I figured money never goes out of style! In 2004, I bought a Hot Dog Truck. When the mortgage industry “adjusted” in 2005-2006, I was a full-time hot dog man. It was 2007 when I first started experimenting with websites when I spent a day making a website for my hot dog truck. That site still exists (www.thehotdogtruck.com)

I continued to educate myself on the ways of making money on the web and found I liked blogging. I was an English major in college and I am a Massachusetts licensed teacher (I never taught professionally – not enough money to be made). I always liked writing, so I continued to blog in my spare time. Shark Tank Blog, and other sites I own, is my full-time business. I tell people I have a business that is a blog about businesses that appear on a business-based reality show!

What inspired you to start Shark Tank Blog?

I actually didn’t start Shark Tank Blog. An acquaintance I know from attending Affiliate Summit started it. We talked about working on a project together at the conference in Las Vegas in early 2012 (season 3). When I returned home, I found I had a hernia and needed surgery! I couldn’t drive for six weeks. I contacted him and we formed a partnership; he ran the back end of the site and I did the writing. The site took off. The first three episodes of season three crashed our servers and we had a private server before long. A year later, almost to the date, I bought the partner out.

Who is your favorite shark?

I met Barbara, Daymond, and Mark in person and I’ve spoken with Lori several times on the phone. Each and every one of them was gracious. I only spoke to Mark for a minute, but I did a sit down, in person interview with Barbara at a Boston area real estate event. I met Daymond twice; once at a Babson college event where I interviewed him over lunch and once at Brandon Jacobs’ nightclub in New York City at the PRONRG launch party. Daymond is very cool! I interviewed Lori in season three and she was very nice, too. I really want to party with Mr. Wonderful!

Do you follow other franchises, such as the British “Dragon’s Den”? What do you think of them?

I’ve seen the British Dragon’s Den. My mother in law, who is British, would watch it on BBC when she visited. I first saw it long before Shark Tank aired in the USA and said I thought it was a cool show.

Any favorite pitches?

I LOVE the Sullivan Generator. That guy was NUTS!

Which pitch/product do you think was best but was rejected?

Bouqs has a good business. They didn’t get a deal, but they have done very well. I signed up for their concierge service. My mother gets flowers every birthday and my wife every Valentine’s Day and Anniversary. It’s automatic – it’s perfect for guys! The Sharks missed out on that one. The most successful “failure” has to be Doorbot. That guy ended up partnering with Sir Richard Branson and has a $200 million business!

Which products pitched on the show do you use regularly/most?

I have and use many of the products on the show. I get a lot of them free. I buy Scrub Daddy regularly, there’s always one in our sink. I am wearing Combat Flip Flops while I type this. We use our Freakers all the time. I also own Xeroshoes. I just got some Custard Stand Chili in the mail and I’ll be trying that in a day or two. My wife has Proof Sunglasses. I have some Spretz, but haven’t tried it yet. I also have an AquaSafe which is unopened (they sent it to me after beach season here in Florida – I’ll be trying it out in a few weeks). We downloaded Sworkit the other night and started exercising. I tried Bon Affair wine, Echo Valley Meats (a bunch of products) and I always have some Slawsa on hand. Julie from Slawsa was the first Shark Tank Entrepreneur I knew BEFORE I started with the Shark tank Blog. I even still have my limited edition Shark Tank Show No towel! My daughter used to like the Qubits Toys, but she outgrew them. I tried Marz Sprays (the energy spray came in handy on a long road trip). Pork Barrel BBQ sauce was good. LOVE Nardo’s Body Lotion – it’s soothing after a day in the sun. My daughter likes her GOBIE water bottle. We have Drop Stop in our cars. Susty Party sends me stuff for review all the time. I make noodles with my Rapid Ramen Cooker all the time. I wear my PostureNow a lot while typing. I gave ReaderRest as a gift. I like PRONRG, but they are having some legal issues, so I can’t get it. I’ve tried and have others, but I just can’t think of them off the top of my head. I’M STILL WAITING FOR SCOTT JORDAN TO SEND ME A SCOTTEVEST!

Any favorite investor you think should be part of the show?

I am digging Chris Sacca – I’d like to see more of him. Elon Musk would be fun, as would Sir Richard.

What would you recommend to a new entrepreneur?

I’d tell a new entrepreneur what countless Shark Tank entrepreneurs tell me: “Go for it and figure it out as you go along. DO IT NOW!”

Which industries do you think are hot right now?

I don’t know about that, but I think the Clean Sleep guy has a hot idea. Anything that helps the environment is good and will find a market.

Much more information about the show is available on Rob’s website at Sharktankblog.com.

21: Interview with Mark Chapman from Tesol Zone

Today we featured Mark who runs Tesol Zone, a website for teachers who are interested to teach English as a foreign/second language (EFL/ESL).

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What kind of business do you run?

TesolZone.com helps potential (or current) EFL/ESL teachers learn more about teaching English abroad. Firstly, the website provides job seekers with information on the employment situation around the world, the type of certification they need, and how to go about finding a job. Secondly, Tesol Zone provides guidance on how to teach, and effective ESL activities for the classroom.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.

I’m from the North of England, but have lived in various parts of Europe and Asia for the past twenty years or more. I’ve taught ELT, trained teachers, written a series of ELT textbooks, and I set up, and then managed, a chain of English schools in Northern Taiwan. I ran them for almost ten years. I now run Tesol Zone, write ELT books, and teach at a university in the countryside in Northern Taiwan.

What inspired you to start this business?

I’ve worked in most areas of TESOL and wanted to help new teachers make better choices, and to help improve the quality of teaching in the field. I was also interested in running an online business, without the need to rent physical premises, recruit and manage a workforce – although I do sometimes hire assistants and other freelance help .

Does your business generate enough money to support you?

Not yet. But it does provide me with an income equivalent to a part-time job – which is helpful. Actually, my main focus for the past few years has been on writing a series of novels; however, I’m now working consistently on the website and have seen a recent increase in traffic and income. My goal is for Tesol Zone to support me by the end of 2017.

Which resources to run your business do you use most?

I use SBI (Site Build It) a company that provides a lot of support (not only hosting, templates, and technical support) but also tools and training for running an online business. Their training is almost like taking a master’s degree in online business – very practical.

Have you ever started a new business and then given up for some reason?

Yes. I set up a copywriting business in London. I quickly found that although I could write, I didn’t have the necessary experience or contacts in the field. It was hard, and I was working alone. I managed to get some work, but I found it difficult to get enough business and soon gave up.

My second business was more successful. I set up a language school in Northern Taiwan with partners. I was much more organised this time, and the language school soon attracted students – some of whom travelled over 10km to attend. We expanded to three schools, and employed about 20 people. The schools did well and are still operating, but I sold my share to free myself to focus on other things.

How important do you think is talent when starting a business?

Not as important as hard work and intelligent planning, but it helps, of course.

How did you come up with the name of the company?

I wanted a short name and a dot com. Teaching English has many acronyms: TEFL, TESL, TESOL and more. TESOL was a newer term which as a keyword had a higher demand and lower supply than most others. Also it incorporates the meaning of TEFL and TESL.

How many people are involved in your business?

I work by myself, but I employ freelancers when I need to. For example, I sometimes hire designers or assistants to help with research or more mundane tasks.

How do you stay productive and not get distracted?

I don’t always, but I have list of tasks to achieve each day, and I try to focus on those. Having a quiet office at home helps, but I also work on my commute up and down the mountain.

I’ve turned off all distracting sounds on my computer, such as the one for incoming email (this simple act has helped me avoid the feeling to check incoming mail).

What are your future plans for the company?

I plan a series of 8 short ebooks, each focussing on specific areas of TESOL. I plan to release one every four months for the next two and a half years. I also plan to increase visitor interaction on the site by introducing more opportunities for visitors to submit their own content and comments on certain aspects of teaching abroad.

Outside of business what do you enjoy doing?

I write novels. I also like exercise: running and kung fu.

Do you think that anybody could start a business?

Anyone who wants to badly enough could. You would have to be prepared to be uncomfortable at times, and to stay focussed. If giving up TV in order to work on your new business after you come home from your day job seems unreasonable, then probably not. However, many more people than actually do, could start one. But not everybody is suited to working independently.

What is the best strategy to utilize Twitter for a business?

This is an ongoing experiment for me; I’ve mastered SEO more than social media. But, Twitter has been useful for connecting with related businesses, and I’ve found advertisers there.

I’ve recently registered the hashtag #tesol, and am experimenting with this. Registering a hashtag does not confer ownership, but my hope is that it will encourage the search engines to look more favourably on my site.

Twitter has also been useful for brainstorming ideas for articles and areas of interest related to my website.

What is your experience with LinkedIn?

I’ve only recently become actively involved on Linkedin. I’m still exploring the website, but it looks like a good way to connect with other professionals, and directly with businesses.

As with Twitter, it’s been useful for generating ideas. I’ve become involved in groups related to my area and have met many other ELT professionals in this way.

For more information please visit TesolZone.com.