Serve No Master: How to Escape the 9-5, Start up an Online Business, Fire Your Boss and Become a Lifestyle Entrepreneur or Digital Nomad

by Jonathan Green

  You want to build up a network of connections so that if something comes up you can offer them value. When you have a giant network of connections, you can leverage it for access to resources. You never have to pay for software or training. You find out about sweet deals and discounts. You get to join that inner circle.

  I have a whole video course I made on advanced networking, and I could talk about it for hours, but just understanding the basics is enough for now.

  When you give people value, they want to spend time with you and return the favor. Giving a favor without wanting anything in return is the best way to form that connection. Removing ulterior motives means that successful people will like you.

  If you give value, treat people with respect, and give everyone a good time, you’ll soar in business.

  V

  Turning Relationships into Money

  I've always loved the experience of working together with other people toward an artistic goal.

  - Trey Anastasio

  42

  Turn Your Relationship into Money

  We’ve made it this far, and I love that it has been an epic journey. There is a lot more book left, and you’re doing great. You’re going to events and business functions. You have built connections with power brokers and chill newbies. You’ve even treated their significant others like real people.

  This is all great, but let’s be honest, you grabbed this book because you want to be rich. And I think that’s awesome.

  Always do favors first. Anytime there is a way you can help people, connect people or in any other way do people a favor do it. You don’t need to ask for anything in return because they will remember you.

  Take the time to make people feel good - buy a round of drinks. Tell people you liked their blog post. Offer to give people testimonials and positive reviews.

  I have this friend, who does everyone favors. He undercharges for coaching and always helps people in any way that he can. He doesn’t focus on his business as much as he focuses on helping people around him. He’s a really good dude. I met his girlfriend a few months ago, and I told her he was a badass and how lucky she is to be with him. It’s all true, but I took the time because he’s been there for me.

  You just never know how someone is going to pay you back.

  So put a lot of favors into the world. It’s kind of like throwing messages in bottles into the ocean. You never know where or when it’s going to land, but you can be assured that something cool will happen because of it.

  You will be astounded by the favors that people remember months or even years later. They will find the most amazing and thoughtful ways to pay you back. And remember. You don’t do favors hoping for something back. You are without intent.

  43

  Share Resources

  You have resources in your life that other people would love access too. It might be something you never thought about before. The ability to do carpentry is something that’s quite valuable to me right now. With all the salt in the air from the ocean where I live, wood repairs are pretty constant.

  Something you might not have thought was valuable, really is to me. Pooling and sharing resources is an excellent way to form strong connections. Maybe you and a buddy pay for coaching together. I’ve certainly done this in the past. You can even go in on a course together and then work through it as a team. I see no harm in that. I think it’s awesome.

  You have things in your life that are easy for you, and maybe you haven’t even realized that there is value there. Think about the ways you can help people get through life. When I was younger, people that could cut hair or do piercings were super valuable connections. Do you know someone who can get a discount on car rentals?

  We will talk more and more about the skills you can use to build your business. That unique knowledge that people want online, they also want in person. It might take a little creativity for you to realize the great resources you have access to.

  Maybe you have a high-speed Internet connection, and your friend has a great computer. Combined you can suddenly do much more than either of you could alone.

  44

  Share Opportunities

  I love when one of my friends tells me about a good offer I can promote. There is nothing like making a bunch of money on a tip. You think I forget people who make me money? Don’t be insane.

  If you know about something that’s doing well or a cool event coming up, don’t keep that stuff to yourself. I do side projects with partners all the time. Sometimes, people I don’t know come to me with a product and ask if I’ll release it with them under my brand and I almost always do it. If the product is good and helps people, then I’m happy to help them get sales and share all the spoils.

  When I want to work with someone, I prepare a little strategy in advance. I pour a ton of value on them, but I don’t do it in a weird way. I invite them to exclusive events I have access to and introduce them to people that they want to meet. Most people don’t want to be treated like celebrities or something special. They just want to be treated like a normal person.

  I can tell you the one thing in common with all the big players in my industry I meet. I don’t treat any of them special. I just treat them like cool normal people.

  This entire section is how I approach people without a big tactical strategy. If you can approach the big names you want to meet and be cool with them and not act like a fan, they are probably going to like you.

  This is the plan that I implement over and over again. I give value and introduce them to other people that I think can help their company before I ever mention the idea of something that we could do together. I ask if they have something I can write about on my blog before I ask them to do something for me.

  Give a lot of value first. Later on, when you mention your idea, they will be receptive. The great thing about this plan is that it’s not sinister. It’s basically “be nice to people and then, later on, mention an idea.”

  It’s hard to pretend you enjoy giving value. I know some people who saw what I do and thought that they could just repeat my motions. They said the same things and followed my steps, but people could tell it wasn’t genuine. That’s why I talked about favors as a muscle first. You have to master and implement that first.

  Don’t make it something you do, make it someone you are.

  VI

  How Relationships Made Me Rich

  The glue that holds all relationships together--including the relationship between the leader and the led--is trust, and trust is based on integrity.

  - Brian Tracy

  45

  The Good Life

  At a net worth of $75 billion dollars, Bill Gates is the richest man in the world, and I’m not him.

  I’m not a super big shot or some international guru. What I do have is an excellent life packed with interesting people. A lot of what makes that life awesome is building projects with the right people.

  It’s very tempting to lean on people when you’re just getting your start in business – you want to trust that people with more experience will give you a hand up, and it’s always fun to work in a team environment. But you don’t want to start out in partnerships. Trust me; I learned this in the hardest of ways. You want to get your act together on your own before you go down this path. The book you’re reading right now is one hundred percent me. Serve No Master is my main project in life now, and there is only room for one captain on this ship.

  I like writing, and one of the fastest ways to get more books out there is to find partners and publishers to handle that part of the game. I have a great life living on a tropical island, so I know a little bit about what I’m doing.

  When I first got started, I partnered with the wrong guy and paid for it in some serious ways. I learned my lesson by going solo for a while so that I would know the entire process. That’s important if you want a sustainable business.

  Instead of telling you all the sob stories, I want to share a few stories about
my most exciting, most successful partnerships, so that you can see how partnerships can help when you’re ready to take them on.

  46

  My Big Solo Project

  Remember that dramatic, fist-pumping success story at the opening of this book? It was the result of a smart partnership.

  I used to sell a lot of products teaching people how to build their businesses on a forum for people who want to make money online. When you sell a product there, they call it a Warrior Special Offer or WSO. I wanted to shift from selling services to selling products. I approached this transition strategically. I knew how to get to the top of Google fast and cheap, so I created a course teaching people how to do this.

  I hired a coach who was an expert at breaking into this market. I paid him two thousand bucks to coach me. It was a back-breaking investment, but he was a cool kid that I had met at a conference. If you can afford it, I think it’s always good to pay people for their time or products, even if they offer them for free. He never made that offer, but it was worth every penny.

  He gave me a step-by-step plan to implement. I had to spend a LOT of money hiring copywriters and graphics people, to make what I was selling look and sound professional. I put in a lot of hard work, and it paid off. The offer did well, and I appeared as a blip on a lot of radars for people in that market.

  My name on the forum isn’t my real name, so there’s no need to go searching around just yet. I had this course that had done well and a new list of over 1600 customers. I started promoting all these products that I thought were good by people that I only knew by reputation.

  When I started going to more and more events people would meet me and not even realize that I had made them money, and the truth is that I often forgot myself. I would go to these events and have fun and party and buy people drinks. And then on top of that, they would realize that I had ALREADY made them money, so of course, they loved me.

  I invest a lot in my relationships. Here’s an example - right now, two Seriously Big Deal marketers I know are dating and will probably get married. At one point the girl was thinking of pulling away, and I talked her into pursuing the relationship. Now they are both super happy. I gave their relationship a little support when it needed it the most.

  The more value you give, the more people will respond with love, affection, and even finances.

  47

  Girl Gets Ring

  For about a year my dating blog was #1 on Google for the phrase “get a girlfriend.” This gave my website a lot of visibility.

  It ALSO meant I was swarmed with emails from people who wanted me to promote terrible dating offers and products that wouldn't ever help anyone. A lot of these people were just obvious grifters who peddled creepy junk and didn’t care whether the advice worked or not.

  One day I got an email from this guy Ben. He was the manager for a product I’d heard of that helps people get back with their exes. I know that people love that type of product, and I think healing relationships is wonderful. I told him at the time that most of my readers were interested in getting over that bad breakup rather than going back, but I would give it a shot because he seemed like a good guy.

  Sadly, my prediction was correct – it was a nice idea, but it didn’t meet the needs of my audience. Even though the promotion flopped, we kept in touch. And that one little seed of personal contact blossomed into something amazing.

  Even though my customers weren’t interested, that product already had a huge audience. Having sold over 100,000 copies, it’s one of the most successful relationship products of all time. When we talked, Ben said that most people he approached online were pretty rude to him.

  With one email to his customers, he can change a small business into something majestic and people treat him like garbage? I was pretty surprised. When he first approached me, I had no idea he had so much going on. I just thought he was a great guy, so we emailed back and forth a few times.

  A few weeks later he asked me if I would write a book that his company would publish. They loved my writing style and could see a great opportunity there. Most people who meet me and find out about that relationship expect a much more exciting story. Like I rushed into a burning building and saved someone’s life.

  But it didn’t take something that dramatic – it never does. All I did was treat someone with respect and courtesy. I’ve made more in royalties from that one book than I would have in two years of working full time for the university that fired me.

  48

  Girlfriend in a Week

  When I mention the name of my second publisher at any party, I don’t have to pay for my drinks the rest of the night. He’s one of the biggest publishers in the online world; people try to be friends with me hoping they can become friends with him. I’ve never felt more like a roadie than I do when I’m hanging around him. Allow me to tell you the story of how we became friends.

  I met him on a marketing cruise. I knew his name because I'd purchased products from him in the past, but I didn't recognize him the first time we met. I was waiting for a girl I knew to get a haircut when I looked outside and saw one of my friends talking to some people. I walked over and joined the conversation without realizing just who my friend was talking to. My friend left, and this titan of industry asked me about what I was up to, and I told him about my book, “Girl Gets Ring.” I’d been working on the project for more than a year with my first publisher. We were a week from launch, and I was so excited to finally see that first dollar. I was so excited to be at the end of that journey that my enthusiasm was infectious. While we were talking, people would continually interrupt our conversations to pitch ideas to him. It was like the speed round on Shark Tank (or Dragon’s Den if you live in England.) Everyone was just asking him for things. They had ideas that might have made him money, but they didn’t invest in talking to him like a normal person. They kept walking up and interrupting our conversation with these ideas, where he could get in on the ground floor.

  He finally stopped one of these people in the middle of their pitch, turned to me and asked if I was exclusive with my publisher. And I sort of was. Our agreement was that I was exclusive, but just for female-targeted products. He immediately asked if I’d be willing to do a product for men with him. Somebody, who everyone else was throwing projects at, turned and pitched an idea to me.

  It was awesome, and I made sure to meet his wife on the cruise and let her get to know me (remember, I talked about how important that is!) This is how I started another great relationship that has led to more and more. All I did was talk to someone at a conference and share my passion and excitement without asking for anything in return.

  I’m not suggesting you walk up to people and just talk about your current projects, but if it’s your PASSION, then people will like hearing about that way more than amazing business opportunity.

  49

  The University Job

  It was the most overwhelmed and under qualified I’d ever been. Before I got canned from my position at one of the top universities in America, I was hired. At twenty-nine years old, I was running a small department with several teachers and managing a multimillion-dollar program.

  I wasn't ready for that kind of job, but I knew I could figure it out along the way.

  I cold-called the head of the English department one day and asked if they had any openings for new teachers. They had an opening for an administrator position that they weren’t advertising anymore. It wasn’t teaching, but instead, it was being in charge of a group of teachers.

  I went into that interview and used all the techniques from the networking sections earlier.

  My new boss absolutely loved me offered me the position on the spot. She told me the salary range the university was offering for this position. I asked for a number higher than this range, and she immediately gave it to me. Using my simple networking techniques, I was offered a job and salary bump in just one interview.

  Implementing the correct social skills works i
n any industry - even the wrong one.

  You don’t have to be an entrepreneur to get ahead using the tactics in this book. I first used them to leapfrog ahead in my career as an employee long before I ever thought of going out on my own.

  These principles can help you even if you stick with your current career.

  50

  Dollars to Donuts

  I know that not everyone who reads this book is going to shove a resignation letter down the boss’s throat tomorrow. And I don’t want you to do that just yet! First of all, it’s a little rude. Second of all, you shouldn’t make any big moves until you have a secondary revenue stream in place. While you’re there, you might as well get better at the game, get a raise, get a promotion. These networking and favor techniques can make that happen.

  The ability to form connections and alliances with people is extremely valuable. It works in social situations as well as the corporate world.

  From here on out, we are going to unleash your potential, so that you can build something amazing on your own.