Jon Butt started a fire safety business as a cold-calling door-to-door salesman, and did OK selling to Kidde plc for 7-figures in 2003. He accidentally started another using ecommerce. Over $20 million later, it’s the UK’s largest online fire safety supplier.
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Resources Mentioned:
- Your Big Idea: Successful Entrepreneurs have One Big Idea. Follow JLD’s FREE training & you’ll discover Your Big Idea in less than an hour!
- Audible – Get a FREE Audiobook & 30 day trial if you’re not currently a member!
- Process Street – Jon’s small business resource
- The Perfect Day Formula – Jon’s top business book
- Marketing For Owners – Jon’s podcast
- Jon’s Free Online Marketing Course
3 Key Points:
- Don’t try to do everything yourself. Outsource your work to talented people and focus on what you’re really good at.
- Be patient. Focus. Build your business slowly and steadily.
- Appreciate the people around you – put energy into creating a great company culture and you’ll reap the rewards.
Sponsors
- ZipRecruiter – Are you ready to find your perfect hire? Right now you can post jobs on ZipRecruiter for free at ZipRecruiter.com/fire!
- DesignCrowd: Post your design project on DesignCrowd today and get a special $100 VIP offer! Visit DesignCrowd.com/fire and enter the discount code FIRE when posting your project!
Time Stamped Show Notes
(click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.)
- [02:14] – “I set up a site to show people how to use fire extinguishers – and they started buying them!”
- [03:31] – Jon generates revenue through sales online
- [06:30] – Worst Entrepreneurial Moment: Being undercut by his larger competitors
- [07:00] – Know your numbers – know exactly what you can do and get away with
- [08:12] – “You’re not going to succeed by trying to do what everyone else does”
- [09:53] – Entrepreneurial AH-HA Moment: Realizing that he could replace himself in every single position
- [10:47] – You don’t have to do it all yourself. If you do, it won’t be fun.
- [11:10] – Amplify your strengths and replace your weaknesses
- [11:43] – Biggest weakness? – “Impatience”
- [12:18] – Biggest strength? – “I see opportunities”
- [13:05] – What has Jon most fired up today? “Creating my podcast”
- [16:43] – The Lightning Round
- What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur? – “I didn’t have any entrepreneurial influence around me”
- What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? – “Stop playing at QuickBooks”
- What’s a personal habit that contributes to your success? – “Appreciating my staff and team and treating them as equals”
- Share an internet resource, like Evernote, with Fire Nation – Process Street
- If you could recommend one book to our listeners, what would it be and why? – The Perfect Day Formula
- Imagine you woke up tomorrow morning in a brand new world, identical to Earth, but you knew no one. You still have all the experiences and knowledge you currently have – your food and shelter is taken cared of – but all you have is a laptop and $500. What would you do in the next 7 days? – “Write down ten of the top online sales people and contact them, offering to work for them for free and show them why they need me.”
- [20:50] – Parting guidance: “Slow and steady wins the race”
- [21:15] – Connect with Jon on his website or try out his free marketing course
Killer Resources!
1) The Common Path to Uncommon Success: JLD’s 1st traditionally published book! Over 3000 interviews with the world’s most successful Entrepreneurs compiled into a 17-step roadmap to financial freedom and fulfillment!
2) Free Podcast Course: Learn from JLD how to create and launch your podcast!
3) Podcasters’ Paradise: The #1 podcasting community in the world!
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