Pia Silva is a partner and brand strategist at Worstofall Design and the author of Badass Your Brand: The Impatient Entrepreneur’s Guide to Turning Expertise into Profit. She specializes in badass branding for small service businesses and is a weekly contributor to Forbes.

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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!
• Boomerang for Gmail – Pia’s small business resource.
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Pia’s Top Business Book.
• Badass Your Brand: The Impatient Entrepreneur’s Guide to Turning Expertise into Profit – Pia’s book.
• Badass Your Brand – Pia’s website.
• Connect with Pia on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
• How To Finally Win – Learn how to create your dream life one step at a time!
• The Freedom Journal – Set & Accomplish your #1 goal in 100 days!

3 Key Points:

1. Hitting a brick wall? Niche down on your business.
2. Do the thing that flares and ignites your passion.
3. If you want to be loved by some, expect and accept that some people may misunderstand or dislike you.

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Time Stamped Show Notes

(click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.)

• [01:03] – Pia works and lives in Brooklyn with her husband
• [01:08] – Their business is Worstofall Design where they completely transform businesses in 1-2-Day intensives
• [01:41] – Their business allows them the lifestyle they want
• [02:08] – Be the best in your niche
• [02:26] – One BIG and Unique Value Bomb: Pia’s area of expertise is in badass branding for 1-3 person service businesses. A badass brand has to attract clients and has to command a premium price. One important thing is to embrace the word “NO”
• [03:18] – “NO is the strongest way to be your brand”
• [04:12] – Perception is reality
• [05:17] – You should never give away your time for free
• [05:55] – People value what they pay for
• [06:33] – Worst Entrepreneurial Moment: A Friday night in March, 3 years after they opened their business, Pia and her husband had 2 employees, a studio and $40K in credit card debt. There was no money left for payroll for the next 2 weeks and Pia was just crying and freaking out
• [07:22] – That moment forced Pia to make a huge change
• [07:57] – The reason why the moment felt so awful was because it felt like failure
• [08:04] – Steve, Pia’s partner, turned to her and told her they might need to let the employees go
• [08:27] – “Maybe this is NOT the right way to do it”
• [08:56] – That was the beginning of them shifting their business
• [09:19] – Sometimes you have to learn the hard way
• [09:24] – Over the next 12 months, they pivoted into a niche-intensive model that earned them $500K
• [10:56] – Entrepreneurial AH-HA Moment: Pia and Steve realized they needed to put themselves through their own interview process. They asked themselves what their favorite thing to sell was and it was Brand Up, a product that changes a company overnight. It was also their most profitable product. This was a light-bulb moment for them.
• [14:00] – Even if it’s not your most profitable thing, you can always add value to it
• [14:12] – Follow your passion
• [15:52] – What is the one thing you are most FIRED up about today? “I’m releasing my personal brand and that is because I want to reach a much greater audience”
• [16:44] – Pia finds that people’s expertise usually has the passion behind it
• [17:46] – We attract people who are really excited about what they do
• [18:58] – The Lightning Round
  • What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur? – “I don’t think I ever thought about what entrepreneurism was”
  • What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? – “Whenever you’re looking at your to-do list or your calendar, ask yourself ‘what would happen if I didn’t do this?’”
  • What’s a personal habit that contributes to your success? – “Constant personal exploration of my fears and motivations”
  • Share an internet resource, like Evernote, with Fire Nation – Boomerang for Gmail
  • If you could recommend one book to our listeners, what would it be and why? – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – “it is the best of its kind”
• [21:24] – Connect with Pia on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
• [21:33] – Go to Badass Your Brand to download the first chapter of Pia’s book
• [21:50] – If you want to be loved by some, be okay with being misunderstood or disliked by others

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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