Jason Lankow is the CEO / Cofounder of Visage, the design tool for content marketers. He co-founded Column Five, a content marketing agency, and both companies share offices in Irvine, CA and Brooklyn, NY.

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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!
• Product Hunt – Jason’s small business resource
• How Will You Measure Your Life? – Jason’s top business book
• Visage – A platform for creating fantastic visual content (Sorry! This link was active when this episode was first published in 2016. This resource is no longer available.)
• Column Five – Jason’s marketing company

3 Key Points:

1. Say ‘yes’ to things when you’re starting out. Momentum is the key to growth.
2. Know that anything in life can crash and burn. Invest in relationships, in security, and in giving to other people.
3. Stop comparing yourself to other people. Understand that you have different strengths, and work out how to use them.

Sponsors

• 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!

• LawTrades – Legal protection for your business. Fire Nation, get $100 off your first legal project today at LawTrades.com/fire!

 Time Stamped Show Notes

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

• [01:30] – Visage grew out of a labs project in Column 5
• [03:00] – Jason generates revenue from flat rate projects in Column 5
• [04:00] – On the software side, they sell annual subscription plans to the platform
• [05:00] – People can buy content marketing packages
• [05:30] – Worst Entrepreneurial Moment: Someone coming to change the locks on his house during the 2008 real estate meltdown
• [08:02] – “Anything, at any time, can crash and burn”
• [09:30] – Entrepreneurial AH-HA Moment: Putting in his first marketing proposal after being IM’d by an engineering company
• [09:35] – “Spending disappears. Giving lasts.”
• [13:45] – “Saying ‘yes’ in the beginning is crucial”
• [14:06] – Biggest weakness? – “I find it hard to let go of projects, even when I’m no longer useful.”
• [16:15] – Biggest strength? – “Caring about other people and wanting to understand them.”
• [18:48] – The Lightning Round
  • What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur? – “I was afraid I couldn’t do it”
  • What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? – “Just do it”
  • What’s a personal habit that contributes to your success? – “Taking walks”
  • Share an internet resource, like Evernote, with Fire Nation – Product Hunt
  • If you could recommend just one book to our listeners, what would it be and why? – How Will You Measure Your Life?
• [19:36] – Parting piece of guidance: “Look at the people around you and dig deep into how you each contribute”
• [20:14] – Connect with Jason on Twitter

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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