Episode
#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
Description
“And then I wake up at 7:00 a.m., and I roll over and look at my phone. And I have a notification from Shopify saying that I made my first sale for $149. And I let out this huge, orgasmic noise of relief. I was like, 'Wow. Everything’s going to be okay.'” — Allen Walton This episode is by popular request!In detail, we uncover a real-world case study of someone who built a seven-figure business after reading The 4-Hour Workweek (and other resources, of course).Two important people joined me for this jam session.First is Allen Walton (@allenthird), founder of SpyGuy, an online security store based in the Dallas, Texas area. Walton struggled in high school and spent a few years playing video games before his mom made him apply for a job at a local surveillance chain, where he worked from 2009-2011. He became interested in starting his own business after being exposed to The 4-Hour Workweek. In 2014, he went out on his own and started SpyGuy, his current business. He built the business to $1 million in revenue on his own, relying on what he learned in books and podcasts, and it now brings in seven-figure revenue with five employees.The second person joining me is journalist Elaine Pofeldt (@elainepofeldt), an independent journalist and speaker who specializes in careers and entrepreneurship. She is the author of The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business: Make Great Money. Work the Way You Like. Have the Life You Want, in which she looks at how entrepreneurs are scaling to $1 million in revenue prior to hiring employees.In this episode we explore the specifics of key decisions, helpful tools, early mistakes, and much more, all leading to a business that has exceeded all expectations. I had a blast doing this one, and I hope you have a blast listening!Click here for the show notes for this episode.This podcast is brought to you by Four Sigmatic. I reached out to these Finnish entrepreneurs after a very talented acrobat introduced me to one of their products, which blew my mind (in the best way possible). It is mushroom coffee featuring chaga. It tastes like coffee, but there are only 40 milligrams of caffeine, so it has less than half of what you would find in a regular cup of coffee. I do not get any jitters, acid reflux, or any type of stomach burn. It put me on fire for an entire day, and I only had half of the packet.People are always asking me what I use for cognitive enhancement right now — this is the answer. You can try it right now by going to foursigmatic.com/tim and using the code Tim to get 20 percent off your first order. If you are in the experimental mindset, I do not think you’ll be disappointed.This podcast is also brought to you by FreshBooks. FreshBooks is the #1 cloud bookkeeping software, which is used by a ton of the start-ups I advise and many of the contractors I work with. It is the easiest way to send invoices, get paid, track your time, and track your clients.FreshBooks tells you when your clients have viewed your invoices, helps you customize your invoices, track your hours, automatically organize your receipts, have late payment reminders sent automatically and much more.Right now you can get a free month of complete and unrestricted use. You do not need a credit card for the trial. To claim your free month and see how the brand new Freshbooks can change your business, go to FreshBooks.com/Tim and enter “Tim Ferriss” in the “how did you hear about us” section.***If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Please fill out the form at tim.blog/sponsor.Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferrissSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Chapters
Tim Ferriss talks about the benefits of mushroom coffee and elixirs from Four Sigmatic, including increased productivity and focus.
00:00 - 02:22 (02:22)
Summary
Tim Ferriss talks about the benefits of mushroom coffee and elixirs from Four Sigmatic, including increased productivity and focus. He also mentions the availability of caffeine-free options.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Tim Ferriss interviews Elaine Pofeldt, author of 'The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business', in which they discuss inspiring case studies related to bootstrapped startup businesses and the trend of million-dollar, one-person businesses.
02:22 - 06:27 (04:04)
Summary
Tim Ferriss interviews Elaine Pofeldt, author of 'The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business', in which they discuss inspiring case studies related to bootstrapped startup businesses and the trend of million-dollar, one-person businesses.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
Alan, the founder of Spy Guy, utilized his learning from working at a spy camera-selling store for $11/hour and founded his own online security store, which reached a $1 million-run rate before hiring any employees or turning 30.
06:27 - 11:37 (05:10)
Summary
Alan, the founder of Spy Guy, utilized his learning from working at a spy camera-selling store for $11/hour and founded his own online security store, which reached a $1 million-run rate before hiring any employees or turning 30.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
In this episode, the speaker discusses the Fear Setting Exercise and DEAL Framework for building cash flow businesses.
11:37 - 17:29 (05:52)
Summary
In this episode, the speaker discusses the Fear Setting Exercise and DEAL Framework for building cash flow businesses. The Fear Setting Exercise is similar to goal setting but helps in achieving specific goals, and DEAL Framework helps in defining, eliminating, automating, and liberating business activities.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The importance of building confidence in entrepreneurship is discussed, with a focus on case studies that examine successful entrepreneurs and how they mitigated potential downside risk.
17:29 - 27:46 (10:16)
Summary
The importance of building confidence in entrepreneurship is discussed, with a focus on case studies that examine successful entrepreneurs and how they mitigated potential downside risk. While courage is important, a degree of analysis and risk mitigation is necessary to optimize for success.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The Fear Setting Exercise helps one to think through all possible scenarios and fears that arise when contemplating quitting a job to start a business, making it easier to take the leap.
27:46 - 34:43 (06:56)
Summary
The Fear Setting Exercise helps one to think through all possible scenarios and fears that arise when contemplating quitting a job to start a business, making it easier to take the leap.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker shares how utilizing data from Google and doing AB testing helped improve their customer experience and increased orders.
34:43 - 39:58 (05:14)
Summary
The speaker shares how utilizing data from Google and doing AB testing helped improve their customer experience and increased orders. He also emphasizes the importance of proper packing supplies when shipping products to avoid a negative customer experience.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
A business owner shares his experience of handling inventory and live chat for e-commerce.
39:58 - 49:17 (09:18)
Summary
A business owner shares his experience of handling inventory and live chat for e-commerce. He reveals the challenges of stocking items and the need to handle multiple customer inquiries simultaneously in live chats.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The struggles of small business owners in managing security and technology issues due to lack of expertise and resources are discussed, along with practical tips on how to overcome these obstacles.
49:17 - 53:46 (04:28)
Summary
The struggles of small business owners in managing security and technology issues due to lack of expertise and resources are discussed, along with practical tips on how to overcome these obstacles.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker discusses the availability of niche job boards and the option of mentoring for those interested in niche career paths, rather than relying on traditional routes.
53:46 - 1:01:51 (08:05)
Summary
The speaker discusses the availability of niche job boards and the option of mentoring for those interested in niche career paths, rather than relying on traditional routes. She reflects on her own experience of trying to offer professional guidance to a friend and how it negatively impacted their friendship.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
E-commerce is always changing, but there are plenty of people out there who are doing interesting things and are willing to let you into their world.
1:01:51 - 1:11:01 (09:09)
Summary
E-commerce is always changing, but there are plenty of people out there who are doing interesting things and are willing to let you into their world. Attending conferences may cost more money, but the networking opportunities can lead to serendipitous events and new business deals.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker talks about his desire to bulk up before hitting 8% body fat and his plans for manufacturing products that would add value and could be passed down.
1:11:01 - 1:15:01 (04:00)
Summary
The speaker talks about his desire to bulk up before hitting 8% body fat and his plans for manufacturing products that would add value and could be passed down. He also mentions the possibility of offering a return policy with enough time for customers to get value out of the product.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The importance of customer service for entrepreneurs and the tools that can be utilized to improve it, such as live chat and canned responses.
1:15:02 - 1:18:59 (03:57)
Summary
The importance of customer service for entrepreneurs and the tools that can be utilized to improve it, such as live chat and canned responses. Also, the potential risks of counterfeit items for businesses.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
ShippingEasy is a tool that generates a shipping label within a minute of a customer placing an order, tracking product weights, envelopes, boxes or shipping methods selected, making the shipping process less complex.
1:18:59 - 1:24:07 (05:08)
Summary
ShippingEasy is a tool that generates a shipping label within a minute of a customer placing an order, tracking product weights, envelopes, boxes or shipping methods selected, making the shipping process less complex.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker discusses the concept of breaking tasks into categories like rocks, sand, and pebbles, where rocks represent the most significant tasks that propel the business forward, and sand and pebbles are less important.
1:24:07 - 1:31:16 (07:09)
Summary
The speaker discusses the concept of breaking tasks into categories like rocks, sand, and pebbles, where rocks represent the most significant tasks that propel the business forward, and sand and pebbles are less important. Additionally, he mentions small tasks that require less time to manage and can help to facilitate the workflow.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
A reporter discusses a recent story about a hidden camera found in an Airbnb rental and her involvement in covering the story.
1:31:17 - 1:36:10 (04:52)
Summary
A reporter discusses a recent story about a hidden camera found in an Airbnb rental and her involvement in covering the story. The camera was discovered by a child and eventually reported to the authorities, but the perpetrator had not been identified.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The E-Com Crew podcast provides valuable e-commerce tips, including finding factories and raising money, while featuring interviews with successful entrepreneurs who found small teams in remote areas to keep costs low.
1:36:10 - 1:43:41 (07:30)
Summary
The E-Com Crew podcast provides valuable e-commerce tips, including finding factories and raising money, while featuring interviews with successful entrepreneurs who found small teams in remote areas to keep costs low.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
The speaker finds personal satisfaction in helping people who are at a crossroads by sharing his knowledge and pointing them in the right direction.
1:43:41 - 1:50:21 (06:39)
Summary
The speaker finds personal satisfaction in helping people who are at a crossroads by sharing his knowledge and pointing them in the right direction.
Episode#351: Real 4-Hour Workweek Case Studies — Allen Walton and SpyGuy, The Path to Seven Figures
PodcastThe Tim Ferriss Show
This podcast includes ads from Fresh Books, the cloud accounting software for small business owners, offering a 30-day free trial, and Four Sigmatic, a company promoting mushroom coffee.
1:50:21 - 1:54:19 (03:58)
Summary
This podcast includes ads from Fresh Books, the cloud accounting software for small business owners, offering a 30-day free trial, and Four Sigmatic, a company promoting mushroom coffee.