Josh Turner Joins Us On The Steve Jobs Inspired Join Up Dots Podcast
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Introducing Josh Turner
Josh Turner is my guest today on the Steve Jobs inspired Join Up Dots business coaching podcast.
He is one of those that I feel we will need to have on the show more than once.
The first time, in true Join Up Dots fashion we need to delve deeply into what makes the man tick.
Then discover how he went from being an employee to the creator of several very successful online businesses.
Starting his working life in Construction, and then moving into architecture it seems to me that at his core is a man who loves building stuff.
I can imagine him now as a small child with a box of Lego, or pens and paper, laying on the floor as he planned some new invention or creature out of his imagination.
How The Dots Joined Up For Josh
So after leaving the “corporate world” in 2009, he started Gateway CFO Solutions primarily working as an outsourced CFO for small businesses, leveraging the networks he had built online and off.
As he says “By 2011, some of my clients started noticing the things I was doing on LinkedIn to grow my business and asked me if I could help them do the same.
One of them hired me to do it for them, and that’s when LinkedSelling was born.
Since then, our company has seen exponential growth and we’ve started LinkedUniversity.com, Webinarli, and Onward Magazine.”
So as I say, Im sure there are so many of you that are thinking “ok , how can I do the same…and I’ll be honest I had the very same thought”
So without further ado, lets bring onto the show, to start joining up dots with the one and only, Mr Josh Turner.
Show Highlights
During the episode we discussed such weighty topics with Josh Turner such as:
How he went through a redundancy in his past and although it was tough on so many people he would definitely go through it all again.
How he believes that focus is the key part to the business that he is building, although he sees it as a paradox as flexibility will need to be in place too.
How you don’t need to take the path that everyone else is doing in life, and in fact creating your own path leads to less competition.
How future generations will have such an opportunity to create a life that is firmly within their control as they will have the belief that it is possible before they start.
And lastly…..
How his dots have bounced back and forth, inside out, but they have been generally been congruent to the path that he knows is firmly his.
Josh Turner Books
How To Connect With Josh Turner
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If you enjoyed this episode of with Josh Turner then why not listen to some of our favourite podcast episodes such as Dan Martell, Dan Lok Keith Perhac or the amazing Noah Kagan
Or if you prefer just pop over to our podcast archive for thousands of amazing episodes to choose from.
Full Transcription Of Josh Turner Interview
Intro [0:00]
When we’re young, we have an amazing positive outlook about how great life is going to be. But somewhere along the line we forget to dream and end up settling. Join Up Dots features amazing people who refuse to give up and chose to go after their dreams. This is your blueprint for greatness. So here’s your host live from the back of his garden in the UK. David Ralph.
David Ralph [0:26]
Yes, hello there. Welcome. How are we? How are we? Should we just chat you and me just for an hour we’ll just find out how we’re doing or shall we bring the guest on well, it would be very rude not to bring the guest on because he is a man who’s got a bit of a story and I’ll be honest, he’s one of those that I feel will need to have on the show more than once now the first time in true Join Up Dots fashion, we need to delve deeply into what makes them tick and discover how he went from being an employee to the creator of several very successful online businesses. Now starting his working life in construction and been moved In architecture, it seems to me that at his core is a man who loves building stuff. I can imagine him now as a small child of a box of Lego or pens and paper laying on the floor as he planned some new invention or creature out of his imagination. So after leaving the corporate world in 2009, he started gateway CFO solutions, formerly working as an outsourced CFO for small businesses, leveraging the networks he had built online and off. And as he says, By 2011, some of my clients started noticing the things I was doing on LinkedIn to grow my business, and asked me if I could help them do the same. One of them hired me to do it for them. And that’s when LinkedIn selling was born. Since then, our company has seen exponential growth. And we’ve started LinkedIn University comm webinar early and onward magazine. So as I say, I’m sure there’s so many of us out there that are thinking okay, yeah, LinkedIn, how can I do the same and I’ll be honest, I had that very same boat. So without further ado, let’s bring onto the show to start joining up dots with those One and only Mr. Josh Turner. How are you Josh?
Josh Turner [2:04]
I’m great. David, thanks so much for having me man excited for this
David Ralph [2:07]
is a lovely to have you. You’ve just jumped out of bed you’ve got that deep, gravelly American voice what sort of times at the moment
Unknown Speaker [2:15]
it’s 7am
David Ralph [2:18]
I know the world is round and so obviously we’re all in different time zones, but it still kind of it freaks me out somehow but we can’t get it together. So we all wake up at the same time and we’ll go to bed at the same time. It’d be so much easier wouldn’t it?
Josh Turner [2:31]
Yeah, yeah. I mean it’s something to do with like the moon and you know the the sun but I can’t figure it out.
David Ralph [2:37]
Time on if you can sell out LinkedIn you could still out visit be nothing. Nobody knows anything about LinkedIn.
Josh Turner [2:43]
Yeah, we’ll start a new course teaching people about it.
David Ralph [2:46]
Yeah, that’s the way to do it. So So whereabouts are you so you’re obviously in America? Seven o’clock. I’m looking at my car. So you want a Pacific
Josh Turner [2:53]
time isn’t the night we’re in Central. I’m guessing right now. It’s probably what 1pm one in the afternoon for you. Yeah, just 10 past one just had me lunch
David Ralph [3:01]
ready for this so perfect.
Josh Turner [3:03]
Yeah, yeah. So so I’m in St. Louis, Missouri, which is almost smack dab in the middle of the US.
David Ralph [3:09]
With the beat right next
Josh Turner [3:10]
to the Mississippi River. We got the big arch. We got the baseball team that wins almost all the time and almost all the time, but enough, we get our share. And yeah, it’s a great place but it’s freaking cold here right now. It’s like five degrees. I was in San Diego last week. And it’s like 70 every single day so sharp contrast
David Ralph [3:28]
is funny actually did the San Diego vibe especially if you’re entrepreneurial, and I mentioned this a lot seems to move a lot of people in and is it the the relaxed environment? Is it the sunshine Is it is it something but I can’t quite grasp but it does seem to be but a lot of people seem to migrate to San Diego who are in the online environment.
Josh Turner [3:49]
Yeah, more and more i mean it’s it’s really been taken off lots of people moving there like you said and definitely the business scene there is pretty vibrant.
David Ralph [3:58]
Did you need to be missing We can can you go anywhere you want? Is your business totally transferable.
Josh Turner [4:05]
To some extent it is I can go anywhere we want. We have clients all over the world, we do business remotely with our clients and with the members of our training programmes, but at the same time, we have a team of 12 people here in our office in St. Louis. And you know, so for that reason, I prefer to stick with the team and be here in St. Louis.
David Ralph [4:25]
So if we start delving back, which we like to do actually in Join Up Dots by introduction, but I had with my little imagination of you being a builder liking to build things with a box of Lego and a pen and paper. Would that be close or was that a long way away from the little Josh?
Josh Turner [4:43]
It was it’s it’s kind of maybe in the ballpark in some ways, but I was never, you know, when I was in construction, except for when I worked for my father when I was in college. I was never really doing much actual labour. I was always the one in the Back to the office plugging away on the spreadsheets.
David Ralph [5:03]
You know, you’ve got soft hands been Josh.
Josh Turner [5:06]
Some people would say that but I do know how to swing a hammer. Oh, okay.
David Ralph [5:10]
So what was it about? It wasn’t just a path you went into to begin with? Was it because your father had done that? Was it part of your passions at that time?
Josh Turner [5:20]
Well, I mean, you know, I can’t say that construction was a big passion of mine. But yeah, because my dad had a remodelling business through high school and when I was in college, that gave me a lot of experience in that industry. That then once I had graduated from college, I had a finance degree and I wanted to go out and do some other things that gave me an in with a company that was doing, you know, home remodelling and custom construction and commercial construction because I had a finance degree and I had some construction background so they sit here Sit in this seat and work on the spreadsheets for us. And it was it was it something that
David Ralph [6:01]
you you kind of just did like most of us most of us are formative jobs. I haven’t met many people that sort of leave university or college. And the first thing they do, they hit a home run and I go basis it for the rest of their life. It seems that we we try things out at that early age. Was it the same way picture?
Josh Turner [6:18]
It was to some extent, although I was very passionate about the work that I was doing at that company, and I was fortunate to have joined a company right out of college that was growing fast. Within three years of me starting that company went from five to 23 million in revenue annually. And I was in a great place and was elevated to position a CFO in a pretty short amount of time. And so I was all in with that company. It wasn’t just a stepping stone for me at that point, but maybe we’ll get to this in the story. Unfortunately, that company hit a pretty rough patch and it was forced to shut down which was kind of the turning point for me of deciding to do something on my own
David Ralph [6:58]
good turning point, obviously It’s a dodgy time at that time. But when you look back on it was that one of the things that sort of really set you on your path forced forced your hand as such,
Josh Turner [7:08]
there’s no doubt that it did. I can’t say that it was a good turning point because there was a lot of heartache in that situation and a lot of families that were, you know, you know, delta, pretty rough hand and some in some, you know, some some real sad situations that went on as a result of that company closing and some of the surrounding circumstances. But for myself, personally, it definitely was a catalyst to push me toward doing something on my own, which has changed my life.
David Ralph [7:39]
Right. Okay. million dollar question. You could put yourself back in that situation, and you know, it’s going to happen. So personally, and you’ve got to think about yourself in this situation, Josh? Yes, people are going to have a rough time this company closing, but you’re going to come out the other side on the path that you are on. Would you still do it again?
Josh Turner [7:58]
Absolutely. No doubt about it. I will I wouldn’t change it for the world. I always say that people, everyone’s got their own path. Whatever yours is, that’s where you’re supposed to be and what you’re supposed to be doing. And that was my path. You know, it was there was some zigs and zags. But here I am today in a place that, you know, 10 years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined doing some really, really awesome work and with building a great company with my team, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.
David Ralph [8:25]
That doesn’t still strike you as amazing. But in that 10 years, you can say, I’m doing something that I couldn’t have imagined. Because now with this sort of opportunities we’ve got online and the ability to bootstrap beings very quickly and connect globally. So you can find people that have got strengths that you haven’t just virtually did, does that sort of surprise you how fast life is going on and how quickly we’ve moved on the last 10 years?
Josh Turner [8:53]
It’s, it’s remarkable because honestly, I mean, I’m not saying 10 years ago, I couldn’t imagine this to be you know, That’s not just hyperbole or hyperbole or however you pronounce that word. But it’s real, like in 2005. I was I mean, I didn’t even know about this, like online business stuff. And, you know, LinkedIn, I wasn’t even a member of it. So I live, it’s just the the pace of this stuff just moves so fast now, that now I could probably say, Boy, I wouldn’t be surprised about anything I’d be doing 10 years from now, you know, because it’s just this stuff moves so fast, and there’s so much opportunity out there.
David Ralph [9:32]
Now, one of the things that I find a lot of times when I talk to people is we do a certain amount of coaching through Join Up Dots. And people kind of had that feeling that they’re behind the curve, that the movers and shakers are, you know, really ahead of them. And they are left behind somewhat, but I keep saying to them, this curve is so big, but yes, there are people ahead of you and there’s some people so far ahead of you, you can’t even imagine what they’re doing. But you can get on there at any time, can’t you, you can jump on if you see something that somebody else is doing, even if they’re successful. There’s so much scope that people shouldn’t be frightened to throw their hat into the ring and give it a go.
Josh Turner [10:14]
I mean, yeah, no doubt about it. I couldn’t really put it much better than that. But, I mean, our business is a great example of that when we started Lync selling in 2011. There were other people who had successfully positioned themselves as LinkedIn experts, you know, but we said this is a big market and it’s growing fast. And there’s plenty of room for more than just a couple people. I mean, and that’s still the case. I mean, we’re in a lot of circles some folks look to us and consider us the best in the world that what we do now, but they’re that doesn’t mean there’s not other people out there doing good work in this space too. You know, so yeah, I mean, the the doors wide open no matter really what, what kind of what kind of space you’re at now if you want to create the next Facebook or something like that. I might not You know, suggest trying something else, because that’s gonna be, they’re gonna be tough to knock off. But for most things, there’s there’s plenty of room to do whatever your whatever you want to do whatever you’re passionate about whatever you see as an opportunity.
David Ralph [11:14]
So what was it about LinkedIn then? Because I was reading your introduction, and it was it was, it was spot on. You said that most people see it as a glorified business card. And they don’t really understand how it operates and the algorithms and all that kind of stuff. And as I was reading that I was thinking, Yeah, mine is a business card. I’ve got so many connections, I only connect with them when they connect with me, I can see who’s looked at my profile. And that’s about it. I’m not gaining what it obviously can do. How did you come to the realisation that you could do more on it?
Josh Turner [11:51]
Well, I joined in 2006. And so for the first few years, I was using it to develop business for the construction company that I worked for. And just to build my personal network, and I was really opened up to the potential of it by my my good friend and, and colleague now Ben kniffin, who runs our operations here in our company. And, and you know, he one day came to me and said, Hey, I’m working on this music management project and look at what I’m doing here reaching out to people and booking meetings with, with potential clients using LinkedIn. And he was using Facebook, too. So back in 2006 2007, he was really ahead of the curve on that stuff. And I immediately saw it and said, Wow, that’s awesome. I’m going to start doing that too. And I was using it for the same purpose for the construction company reaching out, building new connections, networking, to spread the word about what we were doing. And so then by the time 2009 came along, and the company closed, I started my company shortly after, and I had this great network that I was able to tap into to build my company and then I started doing some more advanced strategies like building a LinkedIn group and just continually connecting with new potential clients through LinkedIn, for the finance consulting business that I had started and, and so that’s the kind of stuff I was doing with it. And then by 2011, I had a couple clients that said, you know, we see this stuff you’re doing on LinkedIn, that’s really interesting. Do you think that some of that stuff could work for us? And I said, Sure, let’s, you know, do you could do it like this. And they looked at me, like I had four eyes and said, How about you just do it for us? And that was the start of link selling.
David Ralph [13:28]
So what did they see? Because I can’t see what you’re doing on LinkedIn. So how can they see it?
Josh Turner [13:35]
Well, they could see that I had started a LinkedIn group that they were a part of, they could see that I was sharing out content and keeping myself in front of them on a regular basis. So they could just by when they logged into LinkedIn, every once in a while, they’d be seeing my name and seeing me sharing out content and whatnot. And then because they were a part of the LinkedIn group that I had started, they were seeing updates hitting their email inbox from this From Unity that I had built within LinkedIn. And so they thought that’s really intriguing. And they were totally separate land business. They’re a manufacturing company. But they thought, Well, look, we’ve got all these potential clients that we can see on LinkedIn, maybe this kind of stuff that Josh is doing would work for us too. And it turned out it did very well, that particular client generated over 10 million in sales from the the work we did for them on LinkedIn.
David Ralph [14:26]
So So from what you’re sort of describing, because over the last sort of six months or so, maybe a little bit longer, it’s gone. And I don’t like to use this word, but he’s gone a bit Facebook, there’s a lot more that you can do on it than you used to be able to do. And people are sort of connecting and putting posts on and updates and all that kind of stuff. So is that the kind of the the novice out there? That’s not really clued up on LinkedIn, is that what we’re talking about? It’s becoming a social platform, more than just a business network
Josh Turner [14:57]
to some extent, but it’s it’s the The social platform for your business and professional life is what it is, you know. So yes, it is similar to Facebook in some ways, but it’s for the for the professional side of your life right now. And that’s really the distinction.
David Ralph [15:14]
So how would I operate on there? I’ve got a show. And we’ve got X amount of downloads every day. We’ve got guests coming to us left, right and centre. We’ve got 300 plus guests who have been interviewed on the show, how would I create something on LinkedIn, which is worthwhile for my platform?
Josh Turner [15:34]
So I would think there’s a couple things that you would be interested assuming that you’ve got the whole, you know, lining up guests part totally nailed. I’m going to skip over that. And I think it’s content distribution. So getting your podcast in front of more people through LinkedIn, and then I think it’s also the development of sponsors, and, and advertising and whatnot. You know, so in terms of content distribution, it would be, you know, joining LinkedIn groups that are, you know, the kinds of groups that your your audience would would be members of. Right. So you can join up to 50 LinkedIn groups, and those groups will have hundreds of thousands or potentially millions of people in them. And then once you’re in those groups, you can share content into those groups that a lot of the members will see, you know, whether it’s because they’re just in the group checking out content or because LinkedIn emails, digests of activity to all the members who subscribe to those emails, which is a lot of people you know, so you know, once a week, share one of your episodes into all your groups and with a little with a little blurb and maybe a question to get people commenting on it and whatnot. And that can drive a lot of clicks. You know, so that’s, that’s one piece of low hanging fruit. And then on the the sponsorship and advertising side of things, it would just be identifying, you know, your target prospect for you know, who you think would be a good fit to advertise on the show and then then designing a campaign. To reach out to those people and and build some awareness with them, and then work them through some sort of a sales process.
David Ralph [17:07]
So it really becomes a lead generator more than a business card.
Josh Turner [17:12]
Absolutely. I mean, that’s what we do for our clients. Most people like just like you just said, and what you said at the beginning, just use LinkedIn for nothing more than a Rolodex. They’ve got a profile sitting there, but they’re doing almost nothing with it. And most of the time that they log into LinkedIn is, is pretty much a waste of time. They’re just poking around and seeing what other people are saying and going to some groups and maybe commenting on something, you know, but really, to get great results out of it. If you’re looking to develop new business from LinkedIn, you have to put a proactive strategy in place to be reaching out to prospects and working them through campaigns and it’s, it’s business development. Absolutely.
David Ralph [17:49]
So if we take you back again, so this this came to you, your your world, it sort of floated in front of you, you dabbled around with it, and then little by little you got better and better and better. Is it something now that you look back on? And you go, yeah, this was always going to happen, or was it a fluke occurrence, but it really come into your world.
Josh Turner [18:11]
I think that it was, you know, I, I have a tough time committing to either one of those. But I would have to say that more than anything, it was just kind of a opportunity to fell in my lap. And that, you know, Ben and I, doing this work together, we saw the opportunity, but you know, our experience to have really the knowledge to take advantage of it was something that we just kind of stumbled into. And you know, what happens when you’re when you’re out there hustling, and you’re trying new things, because this isn’t the first business I tried to start. I mean, I’ve tried my hand in a number of things. And when you’re not afraid to try new things, then opportunity is you can you can more readily take advantage of it.
David Ralph [18:54]
And so is it that sort of development of your hustle muscle as we call it. The ability to Go out and flex the muscle on a daily basis. Did it make it easier when these come along? And it’s the kind of leading question I’m thinking about the listeners out there. But more often than not, we’ll see opportunities come in front of them. But more often than not, won’t spot the opportunities because they’re just not used to hustling.
Josh Turner [19:18]
Potentially. Yeah, I think it just for me, it just came down to my willingness to do new things and to work hard, is really you know, what it is and and, you know, so I was running the finance business and then when one client said, what about this LinkedIn stuff I wasn’t afraid to, to dip my toe in the water and try something new and see how it would go. You know, and and that’s really was the key for me.
David Ralph [19:42]
So all you see this man, or was this a rare occurrence? Other things that if I threw them in front of you would just turn a go, Oh, no, no, that’s too big for me. I’m not even gonna tackle it, or do you sort of take it and start jumping on it?
Josh Turner [19:58]
No, I mean, I do. Don’t just take anything that comes our way with fearless mentality. But it’s more about the discipline to understand where our focus is at right now in the business, you know. And so there’s, there’s specific things that we do within LinkedIn and specific types of companies that we work for. And we have things that come our way where people have an idea of something they want to do, or they’re in a business that’s far different than that, and, and we’ll have to say, you know what, there, that’s there’s a company that’s bringing us an opportunity, they’re willing to pay us a lot of money to do this, but it’s really outside of our wheelhouse. And so we need to stay focused on what we do best in this situation. And then there are times though, where we can assess it and say, Hi, you know what, it’s a little different than what we normally do. But if you step back a little bit and look at it, it really looks like something that is a fit for our core competencies, and we can execute well on this, and we feel good that we can deliver on the results that this clients looking for. So let’s go for it. You know,
David Ralph [21:00]
now what what I find having these conversations very different from the real world away from from this show is on this show, people have focus. And they will, as I say, follow one course until success focus, and they will keep on working on it, working on it work on it, where the man outside who’s trying to get momentum will keep on changing direction. As soon as the next shiny object comes across firm, I’m sure did you see about with yourself? Is this something that that focus helped you go through those difficult times at all startups have?
Josh Turner [21:36]
Yeah, I think the focus concept it can be a bit of a paradox because you you have to, yes, you have to stay focused on on, you know, the most important thing in front of you, but at the same time, if you aren’t willing to sometimes look outside the box a little bit at other opportunities. You could be missing out on on things, but you can’t just take every opportunity To me that comes your way and constantly be moving the ball. You know what I mean? So it’s, it’s Yes, you have to be focused in one hand. But on the other hand, you also have to be strategic and looking at how are you going to really build your business out? You know, you know, the, you know, john Lee Dumas on his on his show, he talks about focus a lot of time with a lot of guests and stuff, but in his business, you know, he’s he’s got a number of different business lines now with different training programmes in different areas and such, but they all fall under the banner of really helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses online. So it fits that that broader focus, I think that it can almost be a detriment at times for some people to focus too much. And but at the same time, it’s like if you can just be the best in the world at one, one thing one niche, well, then you don’t need to distract yourself, you know, so that’s why I say it’s kind of a paradox and you really just have to have good balance.
David Ralph [22:56]
So I suppose the branding of it would be flexible focus, you had Be a focus. But every now and again, be willing to jump off and try something and then jump back on. But as long as you’re going vaguely in the same direction,
Josh Turner [23:08]
yeah, as long as it’s a fit for your, your overall vision, and you know, the mission of your business and what you’re doing, you know, that’s when I see people that are, you know, on one hand, and then insurance broker, and on the other hand, selling makeup, you know, something like that. It’s like, you know, that those are, you’re just trying to,
David Ralph [23:32]
that’s a drag artist.
Josh Turner [23:33]
Yeah, you’re just trying to be too many things to all people, instead of just be known for one thing, right? And then within that one thing you’re known for, what are the different business lines that can generate revenue for you?
David Ralph [23:48]
I have a big banner in front of me and it’s got Steve Martin, the comedian on it. And it just says be so good until they can’t ignore you anymore. And that yes, that’s pretty much what you’re saying is Just do something and do it so well. And I suppose the thinking of the world is that you’ve either got to be there first, or you kind of think small. And really, you can create something which is very similar to other things, but to still tap into a market and my mindset changed when somebody said to me, if you sell a product for $500 to 200 people, then that’s 100 grand a year. And I actually bought it, and I sort of looked at it, I thought, Wow, it is. Now if you take seven and a half billion on this planet, or whatever, could you go out and find 200 people that would buy something, but you’re selling for $500? Wow, that’s so doable. It’s untrue. And once you do the math, and you sort of delve down into it, I think most people out there, even if they haven’t got a product line in their mind that just listening to these conversations for inspiration. I think that’s one of those statements that you’d be Yeah, I reckon I could do that. And so is it mindset? Is it mindset that really sets you apart? Is it persistence? Is it focus? What What do you think for the listener once again, to get them going and drag him out of that cubicle and start working late in the evenings on something? What do you what do you think they need to have to have half a chance of success?
Josh Turner [25:22]
Yeah, I think it’s, it’s, it is a focus thing. I think it’s also a big vision for you know, the life you want to live and not having, you know, limiting thoughts about your potential, you know, because I had those thoughts early in my business, you know, and if you would have even told me three years ago, that we would be doing the the level of vows, the volume of revenue we’re doing now and the profitability of this company, I would have said, you gotta be out of your mind, you know, because I had set my sights low, and I was because of that I was playing small ball. It all worked out at the end because I My path. But I think that some people, things don’t just happen like that. And if if it, you know, you can’t just sit back and under and think that the path is just going to unfold for you, you also have to work hard for it. And so aside from just being focused, you know, look at your business and think, who are the best people in your industry? And what are they doing? You know, and that is the potential or even greater for you, you know, so if you’re that if you’re an insurance broker, and you’re doing business in your local area, you know, you don’t need to just settle on. I’m gonna try and make $100,000 this year. I mean, there, why can’t you make a million dollars this year or next year? You know, and so that’s, that’s the kind of big picture vision that I think people should have for themselves in setting their cell then setting their sights high putting stretch goals out in front of them, because when you have to think about 10, axing your revenue like that, it forces you to Think about your business in a different way. And it it takes you out of your comfort zone. But if you’re doing 100,000 in commissions as an insurance broker or agent, and you have to think about how you can do 10 times that amount, well, you’re gonna have to start thinking about marketing and sales processes and, and a lot of different things. And that’s gonna really help you take your business to the next level. And even if you come up a little short, you’re still gonna be killing it.
David Ralph [27:26]
I was speaking to a chap the other day very well known in America. And he was earning probably about in the 70s 8000 pounds a year or $8,000 a year. And he said, in his heart of hearts, he couldn’t see that he was going to earn more than that. And when he tried to start doing some other stuff, and he said, within about six months, he was earning 30,000 a year. And he thought, Wow, I’ve made it. I’ve made it. Yeah. And then one of his friends said to him, you realise you’ve started something here basically go anywhere, and he realised he’d already made it in his mind. It was like, duh, Travel, what he was already earning back was success. And he needed somebody else to come along and go, look, this is just the star push it forward. Now he’s earning 6 million a year. And well, he said he could have just stopped at that point and thought he was successful. But he needed somebody to drag him along. So do you have people when when you’re playing small ball, as you say, do you have people around you that goes, come on, Josh, come and just perk it up. Let’s go, let’s go for the home run.
Josh Turner [28:28]
Sometimes, so one of the groups that I’m a part of is called eo entrepreneurs organisation, and the folks that I’m close to in there, you know, oftentimes are a good check for those sorts of things. And I have some other friends and such that I bounce things off of, you know, and so it’s good to have those kinds of people, you know, for sure.
David Ralph [28:50]
Well, I’m gonna play some words now. And these are words I like to play every day on the show. And it really emphasises that moment when you don’t know your path, but you start Again as stirring inside you, but there’s something more for you. This is Jim Carrey,
Jim Carrey [29:05]
my father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him. And so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant. And when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job. And our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want. So you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.
David Ralph [29:32]
Is that the message that we should get out to the world now?
Josh Turner [29:35]
I think that’s that’s exceptional, man. I love that. Why not? You know what, what do you what do you have to lose? There’s no security and and, and really anything, you know, if we think there might be but but there’s not everything changes. So, you know, why not? Why not give it a go?
David Ralph [29:52]
Did you have kids, Josh? I don’t. If he says I’m going to give you a couple of my kids. I’ve got enough of them for everyone. What How would you sort of lead them? Would you lead them into the entrepreneurial world? Or would you lead them into a corporate gig, because I have the conversations with my kids all the time. And I’m trying to drive it into them that I, whatever they’re doing in life, they need to be happy. And they have choices to be happy. And if you’re in a job that you’re doing, and you love it, then great, that’s brilliant. But if you’re not, then you can do something about it. But I always try to get that vibe into them that even if I go into a job, try to get a side hustle, going trying to earn some money on the side, try to do something so that you create your own economy. What would you do if you were sitting down with with Josh Jr. Or what? What vibe would you give them?
Josh Turner [30:43]
I think it my take on it or the angle I would be pushing would be just to educate and make sure that they knew of what the opportunities were and that you don’t have to just take the path that everybody else does, and you don’t have to do what everybody else thinks you’re doing. post to do. And here are these other things that you could do and look at, look at what this person is doing over here. And, you know, hey, you can go get a job somewhere, but also do something on the side to try and start building some business skills and in trying some different things. Because I think a lot of people are just walking through the world with tunnel vision for a long time before they even see that, oh, that’s something I could do to, you know, especially at a young age, and this is this is changing now, but I’ll tell you when I was in, you know, Junior High High School growing up and thinking about stuff like this, when people constantly are asking you, you know, so what are you gonna want to do when you grow up, you know, all that kind of stuff, and they think you’re at that age where you should know now, because you’re 12 years old or something like that. And, you know, you work you kind of operate with tunnel vision at that point, at least I did of thinking like, there’s this path, you go and you get a job, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. And but, you know, I think sometimes kids that are young Don’t really don’t really realise that
David Ralph [32:02]
I talk about bass a lot. But I, I’m kind of annoyed, frustrated wished I could do something about it, of the middle part of growing up. Because I spent a lot of time with young kids who are very vibrant in their, their fantasy images, what they can do when they grow up. And then I see them go through teenager and they lose it. They just lose it big time. And for some reason, they come out the other end, just accepting their lot. You’ve got to get a job, you got to grow up, you got to take responsibility. You can’t play for a living, you’ve got to go out there and do that. Now I know what you’re doing is hard work. And you’re probably doing a lot of hours. But how much of it would you say when you’re really cooking on gas, his work and how much feels like you’re playing?
Josh Turner [32:50]
It’s, I mean, what I do is just like a huge part of like my identity. It’s just it’s, it’s just like, this is who I am. And what I do, and so there’s almost never turning it off and on, it’s not clocking in and clocking out. And so, you know, sometimes it feels like work, you know, that’s just the way it is some days, you know, I’ve got to do some stuff that isn’t really what I feel like doing. And I’m always working on trying to reallocate those kinds of activities to to other people who do enjoy that work, right. Because if there’s something that you don’t like doing, there’s probably somebody out there in the world that loves doing. Yeah, you know, and so that’s a that’s kind of a thing that I’m always working on. But at the end of the day, this this stuff, building a business and building a team and doing great work and especially when you when you’ve got a mission to be the best in the world at what you do. That’s, that’s exciting. And it sure it makes it a lot of fun. And so I it’s kind of like just being a you know, an conductor Have a grand orchestra, you know, or just the master of a big game and I’m not calling myself a master but but you know, building a business, you got a lot of moving pieces that you got to move around and, you know, all the strategy and the tactics and, and so in a lot of ways, it’s it, there’s a reason why they call it you know, playing the game, you know, are the great game of business. And it is a lot of fun. But certainly, you know, there’s a lot of hard work that goes into it too. But really, I mean, there’s, there’s a lot of people out there that are building really good businesses and structuring them in a way to where they can actually work less than most people. You know, I know a lot of successful entrepreneurs that are working 20 or 30 hours a week. Now, they worked hard to build the business and structure their systems and their people so that they could achieve that didn’t just start overnight. But there’s a lot of different ways to structure a business. It doesn’t have to just be working 80 hours a week and when I see people People that are doing that. I met a friend at a business event recently. And he was he was pretty burnt out and stressed out. And he’s working six or 7am until nine or 10 at night, and he was not enjoying it. And he was doing a lot of work that was was not the kind of work he wanted to be doing. And he was going through some challenging times. And that’s not sustainable. You know, when you if you go into business for yourself, you don’t have to have the mentality that that’s how it’s going to be. In fact, I think that you should plan on that not being the case. Because if you’re not living a whole life, if you’re not living a balanced life, your business is going to suffer.
David Ralph [35:40]
I agree with that. Totally. I’m structuring this whole show, but ultimately, I will work mornings and that’s it. I like the idea of having the afternoon off and having the evening to do what I want. But again up each morning, I work from nine to 12, whatever and then that’s job done. Now Was it a turn on the tap situation and it was very No. And to be honest, Josh, at the beginning of doing this show, almost killed me. There was so much effort involved getting it off the ground. I look back on it now. And I think to myself, how did I get through it, and people used to say you have a ball, you’ve got to take time off. Now, funnily enough, and it’s like a muscle again, because I’ve gone through that I’m still doing the same amount of work, but I can do it quicker, because I can just show Um, I’ve improved. And if we take it back to your statement, one very beginning, which I thought was key to everything, and I want the listeners to reflect on this, what Josh said is, there’s some days I don’t like doing it and it feels like work. Now, that’s a contrast to how I certainly felt for many years where every day I didn’t feel like doing it. So you can get to a point, can’t you where you can construct a life that you want under your terms? Yes, there’s going to be hassles. Yes, there’s going to be inconveniences, but ultimately, you don’t actually have to wake up every single die and go. Oh my god another day.
Unknown Speaker [37:05]
Yeah, absolutely man.
David Ralph [37:07]
Did you think that people just still don’t buy into this? Did you think we are programmed from past generations that because our moms and dads did Oh, probably Nan’s, and granddad’s did it by taught our mums and dads were influenced with our mums and dads. So with the vibe now of people coming through the online world, creating their own businesses, having their cake and eat it, and you see it time and time again, where people literally are on holiday over time, and they are running a business and you see earning X amount of thousands each month and no on a beach in Bali, Bali. Did you look at that now and think that ultimate generations coming along will be more open to the belief that they can have it all where past generations. It was a fantasy.
Josh Turner [37:56]
Absolutely, yeah. And almost to the point where you know There’s I’ve read some really brilliant articles talking about this, this current generation that’s coming of age, almost having an, like an entitlement mentality to that sort of a lifestyle. Like, I deserve to have it all. I mean, this is what people do and and that’s whether or not they’re starting their own business or going down the corporate path of working for somebody else, you know, and but at the end of the day, like I think it’s, it’s terrific that more and more people are seeing the opportunity at younger ages. Like it took me more time and I should I even had a dad that you know, he was what he left the corporate world and started his company when I was 14 or 15 years old or something. So I had that influence in my life of Oh, you can do something for yourself and work for yourself and have your own business and Wow, that’s cool. But it still took me a long time to really think like, Oh, I can do that too. You know, but and how it is Josh Well, when that really hit home Well, I had really been thinking about doing my own thing and dabbling in different things for some time, but really never took it that seriously, until I was probably, you know, 25 or something like that when and around that age, I started thinking, like, I’ve got the skills to do this on my own. And then it was just a matter of time before I could figure out what what’s, what’s my angle gonna be what kind of business makes sense for me to start? And, and then I stumbled into all this stuff we’re doing now, you know, but yeah, I mean, it’s exciting for for folks that are growing up right now and having to go through those decisions. I think that they’re, they’re more in tune with some of these different opportunities for sure.
David Ralph [39:40]
Well, I love the fact is you stumbled you stumbled into something? I certainly stumbled into something with this. Now I look back on it and I think it’s probably always going to happen. I can just see how my dots lined up to get me to this point. But it is that beauty isn’t it that you can stumble into something that seems to be Be your thing. And it’s only the fact that you’re walking. You know, I’ve never heard somebody sitting in a cubicle and stumbling. It’s only when you’re getting up and going off and trying different things. That’s where the stumbles occur. And what you’ll find in Join Up Dots is, the bad things in life become the good things, and the good things become the bad things. And the experience is all leading you towards something. And you might be going through a horrendous time in your personal life. But you look back on and you think, thank God for that. Yeah. Because it was so bad. I left that mentor lady and I’m no longer with her. And then I met so and so. And my life has just gone on. So it’s got to be the dark and the light, isn’t it? But it’s got to be the stumbles as well. The stumbles are what allows you to see things that perhaps you wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
Josh Turner [40:46]
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, man. And you gotta you have to create those. Those stumbles and you create those opportunities for yourself. And like you said, if you’re just sitting in a cubicle, it’s not going to happen. That doesn’t mean though, that you have to be like, Yo, I got to get out of the queue. Have a goal, and I have to go start businesses and try things. Well, it doesn’t have to be that I think when I look back on all the different businesses that I’ve tried, they, they all stem from learning and, and being a consumer of information and content and just reading books and, and following people online and just staying tuned in to what’s going on and in, you know, learning people’s stories and and then getting ideas from from those things. And and seeing how other people are doing things that then a light bulb goes off in your head about how you can apply those different things into implementing something that you think is a good idea or something that you’re passionate about. And that’s that’s the where, really all of my little business ventures have kind of come from.
David Ralph [41:49]
Yeah, it’s the awareness, isn’t it? You know, I wouldn’t have created this show without john Lee Dumas now I’ve never met him. Yeah, we’re sort of vaguely in connection because what we’re doing But he’s because he was doing something. I looked at it and I thought, Yeah, okay. Now, if he hadn’t been, I might have looked in a totally different direction. You know, I might have gone with a three day a week show instead of a seven day a week show, but it’s that belief that somebody is already out there doing it, which is like Dumbo is magic. Faber Dumbo used to be able to fly when he had a February nice a in his trunk, take that away, and he’d plummet to death. But he could always fly. He could always fly, but he just didn’t have that personal belief. And when you get that awareness and you start looking around at blogs and other people’s businesses, there are some nutty people out there that are doing stuff that you can’t imagine how they’re earning an income. I was talking to a gentleman the other day, what was his name? jack Canfield, you know, the Chicken Soup for the Soul person? Yep. And he was telling me about one of these business partners or lady he knows. He said to her, what do you want to do in life and she said, I just want to surf. He said, Well, how are you going to make money from surfing and she said, I’ve gotten idea. Well, she’s actually ended up doing corporate training courses on surfboards out in the water. And she teaches businesses now, if you wait for the optimum time for the wave to come, that is your momentum. But you’ve got to be ready at that time to make the most of it. And she’s building up this whole training kind of, I don’t know, Pat form, I suppose, based around the analogy and the metaphors of surfing. Now, when you get told that your first thought was, well, how can you do that? How can you do that? But as soon as you see one person doing it, suddenly you’ve got the belief in you. And you think, yeah, I can take that idea, put my own spin on it, be unique and authentic to myself. And I don’t need a huge amount of money to get going, but it will provide me support until the real thing comes along.
Josh Turner [43:49]
Yeah, I love that. That’s awesome. It reminds me of a story I just heard I met a woman named Alana and I forget her name, but she runs a programme called stiletto spice school and it is It’s a it’s a, it’s a training for women to learn how to be, you know, basically be like EMI six spy. And it’s all about how to become like this super badass ninja and, and like it like literally like hand to hand combat skills, right and I you know tactical army training for women, but it’s not so that they can go into the Army or that they can go fight people or anything. It’s for building them up from you know, building their their confidence and their, their their mindset so that their business acumen is more finely attuned. And this whole concept came from the fact that when she was a young girl, four or five, six years old or something like that she wanted to be like James Bond. And then one day as she had grown up, she said, Well, what if we could be like James Bond, and she created this thing and it’s been a huge success
David Ralph [44:59]
but by At your core, you must think that’s mad. That’s madness.
Josh Turner [45:05]
Well, sure, yeah, yes. And that’s what she thought when she first I just heard her tell this story two days ago, and she was telling a friend about, about how, you know, when I was a little girl, I wanted to be like James Bond and her friend said, I would love to be like James Bond. And then she said, that would be a good business idea. And she said, what nobody wants that she did some focus groups and found out there’s a lot of people that want that. And she started the business and it’s been just a huge success for years.
David Ralph [45:32]
And not not the English so we’re all like James Bond. We all have that suave, debonair ladies thrown themselves at us. Well, maybe in the old days before the grey hairs hitting so so right, where are you aiming to take LinkedIn selling and webinar early and onward magazine? Have you got other things but because of the momentum that they’re building better coming towards you and you’ve got your eyes on?
Josh Turner [45:58]
No, not at all. We’re trying to focus in even tighter, to really position our company as the best in the world when it comes to using LinkedIn to grow your business. And so we are totally focused on driving towards that goal.
David Ralph [46:15]
And that is absolutely for the next two years, five years, 10 years or whatever, or is that flexible focus again,
Josh Turner [46:22]
it’s always got to be flexible. Because, you know, in this space, things move quickly. And I can’t say 10 years from now what, what the situation is going to be, but definitely for the next couple of years. That’s that’s where we’re headed. And that’s our that’s our entire focus.
David Ralph [46:40]
Well, let’s play the theme of the show now, and we’re getting near the end, but it’s always worthwhile reflecting on the words that Steve Jobs left us over 10 years ago now. And once we listen to them, we’re going to ask you the key question that we ask every guest
Steve Jobs [46:54]
this is Steve Jobs. Of course, it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards 10 years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something, your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well worn path. And that will make all the difference.
David Ralph [47:30]
Now, do those words mean anything to you, Josh?
Josh Turner [47:34]
I think they do. I mean, you know, and they have to mean something to everybody. But for me, it I mean resonates with me strongly just because the path I’ve taken in my dad’s seemingly have been kind of all over the place. I mean, I’ve bounced from this to that to this to that, but it has been along somewhat congruent path surprisingly, and there’s no way that 15 years ago, I could have Have charted it out. But at the time when I when I, when I was, you know, in, in college, going through the finance programme, I had thought, Oh, well here’s what my path is going to be like, I’m just going to keep moving up the ladder and you know, bla bla bla bla bla, and try and make a couple hundred thousand dollars a year at the end of the day and blah, blah, blah. But it hasn’t. It hasn’t worked out like that at all. In fact, I started diverting off that path pretty quickly. And it’s been it’s been amazing, but yeah, there’s no way I could have foreseen it. So So
David Ralph [48:30]
what is the question we asked everybody, what would be a big dot when you look back over your life getting to this point? What was the big dot that really started your path becoming visible to you?
Josh Turner [48:43]
It was the the the construction company that I was working with and the opportunities that I was given at that company that were the catalyst to drive me towards what I’m doing today. It would be easy for me to say when that company closed That that, you know, that was really the the dot that really started me off on the path I’m on now, that would be an easy one to say. But really, without the opportunity that I was given at that company to be in a really senior position, I was working as a CFO of a $20 million company at a pretty young age. And it was being given that opportunity and being trusted by the owner of that company, to be in that role, that really gave me the experience and the credentials to to move along this path that I’m on now and the confidence to
David Ralph [49:35]
so so that’s a key lesson to everyone, no matter what job you’re in, you sort of use that as a stepping stone to something else, even if it’s a job that you don’t want to be in. Make sure that you take something that will transition your path.
Josh Turner [49:48]
Yeah, I mean, that’s that’s certainly the case. I you know, you always have to be, I mean, some people are content with just doing the same thing, you know, but I would guess that’s not the folks listening into this show, right? So so absolutely even if you’re not 100% happy in it, you know, just look for look for the leverage, you know, what, what is the thing about what I’m doing now that’s gonna be valuable in the next thing?
David Ralph [50:12]
Yeah, no, I think you’re right. We don’t have people that are really happy in their job. And we don’t have billionaires, but everyone in between. That’s what comes to Join Up Dots. Well, this is the end of the show. And this is the part that we called a sermon on the mic when we’re going to send you back in time to have a one on one with your younger self. And if you could go back in time and speak to the young Josh, what age would you choose and what advice would you give? Well, we’re gonna find out because I’m going to play the theme, and when he beat you up, this is the Sermon on the mic
Unknown Speaker [50:47]
with the best bit of the show
Josh Turner [51:01]
So, you know, 19 year old Josh 34 year old Josh here, and it’s been about 15 years since we talked last but, you know, I know right now you’re you’re going through some, some transitions and, you know, in college and trying to figure out what you want to do and, and trying to have fun at the same time and you know, the main thing that I would say is that it’s all going to work out and that the the path that you’re on, there’s there’s no certainty in it, but it is all going to work out, you know, at the same time, just be good to people. And, you know, spend more time reading books and less time drinking beers.
David Ralph [51:42]
Josh, how can our audience connect with you, sir?
Josh Turner [51:46]
They can connect with me on LinkedIn, at LinkedIn comm forward slash in forward slash Josh B Turner. Or if all that sounds a little mumble jumble he then just go look me up Josh Turner, and then our websites linked selling calm to university comm, and all that good stuff. So yeah, that’d be great.
David Ralph [52:04]
Well, thank you so much for spending time with us today, joining up those dots. And please come back again when you have more dots to join up, because I do believe that by joining up the dots and connecting our paths is the best way to build our futures. Mr. Josh Turner, thank you so much.
Josh Turner [52:18]
No, thank you, David. It’s been awesome.
Outro [52:21]
David doesn’t want you to become a faded version of the brilliant self you or wants to become. So he’s put together an amazing guide for you called the eight pieces of advice that every successful entrepreneur practices, including the two that changed his life, head over to Join Up dots.com to download this amazing guide for free and we’ll see you tomorrow on Join Up Dots.