Jill & Joshua Stanton - Screw the 9-5, build a facebook group and build a 7 figure passion business
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Married couple Jill and Joshua Stanton are the entrepreneurs behind Screw the Nine to Five, an innovative business that helps people take what they know from their 9-to-5 jobs and turn it into their own entrepreneurial endeavors. Jill took the time to talk to us about her personal story and also shared some great business tips and strategies she’s picked up since founding Screw the Nine to Five with her husband.
During our chat we discuss:
- Making the transition from employee to entrepreneur
- The process of turning subscribers into customers
- Jill’s personal tips for high performance
Making the Transition from 9-to-5er to Entrepreneur
The decision to quit your 9-to-5 job to pursue your entrepreneurial endeavors full time should not be taken lightly. Quitting without a backup plan is not always the best idea, especially if you are not yet financially secure. Instead, put a solid plan together and have six months of savings before stepping away from your day job.
Understand that things in your business are probably not going to happen right away, but six months is a solid amount of time to make something happen in your business.
“If you can do at least one thing each day in your business you can pick up some solid
momentum”
Octopus Model
The Octopus Model is a business model in which the head of the octopus represents your core offer and each tentacle of the octopus is a different sales funnel leading to your core offer.
Building a Community
Building a strong community is one of the keys for sustained success. Community members are excellent resources for identifying what the “tentacles” of the Octopus Model need to be - they can give you valuable insight into what they want and what you should offer next. Popular platforms for brand communities include Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, and Twitter chats.
Facebook groups in particular work as ideal community platforms. Group pages are more visible to members than Facebook pages, and also encourage more engagement among members.
Jill drives people to join her Screw Community through:
- Navigation bar button on her website
- Social profile links
- Podcast mentions
- Subscription welcome email
From Subscriber to Customer
A strong community off quality member is an excellent base to create sales funnels. Screw the Nine to Five encourages its Facebook group members to become subscribers. From there they receive introductory offers to low cost products (e.g. mini courses). Subscribers are then gradually introduced to higher tier offers, and this has proven to be an effective sales strategy for them.
High Performance Tips and Resources
- Slack (messaging app)
- 10-20 minutes of gratitude work every morning
- Walking and talking
- Wake Up and Break Up - Each morning Jill and Josh exercise on their own before starting their day together
Make Sure to Check Out
Book - Good to Great by Jim Collins
Book - Entrepreneur on Fire by John Lee Dumas
