Flip The Switch: 2 Big Lessons Learned From Our Guests

Most of the time, these articles are meant to be informative around specific tactics within a digital marketing mix. In this one, I aim to be a little bit different. This one is less data-driven, and more experiential. Less about the direct channels that you use to influence your marketing mix and results.

Let me back up.

I, along with Austin Mahaffey, Joe Hollerup, and John Saunders run our company podcast – a program called Flip the Switch. Myself & Austin are the hosts, with Joe and John working more heavily on the production side.

Our first episode aired a little over a year ago, back in late September of 2017. Listening to that first recording is admittedly a little bit rough for me now. We didn’t know what we were doing. We knew the material that we were supposed to discuss, but were still getting used to the idea of recording while talking, wearing headphones, passing the conversation fluidly to one another, being conscious of time, and all of the nuances that go into making the podcasts we admire work.

That said – listening to it now, I can hear right where we wanted to take it despite its shortcomings and kinks.

We started the show because we wanted to dive into what makes businesses tick. We wanted to understand and put ourselves in the mind of the business owner with respect to digital marketing, and see the similarities and differences in our own philosophies and tactics. We realized there aren’t any digital marketing podcasts out there right now that are geared toward the business-owner, and tie into the world of business as a whole in addition to digital marketing. We wanted to fill that void.

Fast forward to December 2017 and onward. A key priority for us was to start getting some really quality guests on the show to discuss their own successes, their ideation for businesses, where they see their industry going, and more.

The best way for us to get inside the mind of a business owner is to actually have on business owners, entrepreneurs, and people who are generally badass at what they do and bring to the table. We also thought that this would be the best way to bring the highest quality content to our listeners, while feeding our own curiosities at the same time.

This was one thing that came together for us in a nice way this past year. We had some guests on the show that were truly outstanding individuals, and who not only brought us some great content, but taught us some valuable lessons in business along the way.

To wrap up the year – I wanted to name 2 big lessons that some of my favorite guests taught us.

1) Gain Control of Your Mental Game, and the Rest Will Follow

One of the most memorable interviewees we had the pleasure of hosting was Commander Mark Devine.

Commander Mark Divine is a retired Navy Seal and current leadership development expert who trains thousands of individuals out of the San Diego area. After graduating number one in his SEAL BUDs class, Mark served for 9 years actively as a Navy Seal, and 11 in the reserves before retiring with honors as Commander in 2011.

Mark currently runs SEALFit, a program based on the BUDS navy seal training, and Unbeatable Mind, which is a retreat based program focused on helping individuals overcome mental blocks that are inhibiting their success. Mark Divine owns and runs NavySeal.com, the leading website for Navy Seals. He also co-founded the Coronado Brewing Company a leading microbrewery restaurant in SOCAL.

He told us that in his career trajectory, the most important thing that he learned how to do was meditate. He commits to doing it every day, and credits a lot of his successes to it. He aimed to win in his mind before he ever stepped foot onto the battlefield as a SEAL, and has done the same as a hugely successful business owner, life coach and entrepreneur ever since.

2) Don’t Be Afraid to Do Things Differently. That’s Where Success Comes From

Another interviewee who was simply outstanding in my opinion was David Walker, the CEO of Firestone Walker Brewing Co. (famous for their 805 beer). He is an incredibly busy man, yet was fully present for the interview and could not have been more fun to get to know.

Firestone Walker started as a passion project in the central valley of Northern California. The Firestone family is very well known, which is where that partnership stems from. At the time about 20 years ago, he and his business partner/brother-in-law were living near Sonoma, which is widely regarded as one of the most premier wine counties in the state. They noticed that wineries were employing the wood-soaking technique for fermentation of the wine, and taking a very, as David described it, artisanal approach to the making of the wine.

They decided to try the same thing with beer. The beer that they were drinking at the time had almost no taste to it. Think Coors Light or Bud Light. They start this as a passion project to make a really good product, and slowly but surely it started to catch on. In a lot of regards, they are responsible for a good chunk of the growth within California of the micro-brewing scene.

They were later acquired by Duvel Moortgat Brewery for over $250 Million, because they saw the value in what Firestone Walker had done and brought to the table. They had changed the industry for the better, because they did things differently and had good intentions in doing so.

Closing Out – as the year wraps up, I am keeping these two big lessons top of mind for 2019. As businessmen, it’s easy for us to get caught up in our day to day and get in a routine, whether that be good or bad. That’s just the nature of humanity – we are looking for and seeking out patterns at all times.

One of my goals is to utilize the foundation of this knowledge to continually improve my craft, as well as myself as a person in the coming year.

To everyone who listened to the show this past year – thank you. Your support means the world to us, and we’re so excited to continue bringing you great content and interviews as we continue to improve on our craft and our work.

To those of you who haven’t heard us yet – check us out. I promise you will not be disappointed.