Jamil Jama: The Steps To Becoming An Entrepreneur

That free event completely changed my mindset and I haven’t gone back to the employee and average living mindset ever since, I always think big now.

Show Highlights

During the show we discussed such weighty topics with Jamil Jama such as:

How Jamil is never happy re the amount of work that he gets done, and often gets told by his friends to calm down and look after is health

Jamil shares how he has developed his time management system, to ensure he gets masses done every single day. This is something we can all use.

We talk about Meetup.com and how useful it is to surround yourself with like minded individuals who understand what you are going through in life.

and lastly….

Jamil talks openly about his belief in self development, and why its the stories he hears that make such a huge difference to his life.

How To Connect With Jamil Jama

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Return To The Top Of Jamil Jama

If you enjoyed this episode of Join Up Dots business coaching podcast, then why not listen to some of our favourite podcast episodes such as David Kadavy, Dan Lok, Sophie Radcliffe, or the amazing  Jeanine Cerundolo

Or if you prefer just pop over to our podcast archive for thousands of amazing episodes to choose from.

Full Transcription Of Jamil Jama 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 [0:24]
Yes, good morning, everybody. Good morning and welcome to Join Up Dots I believe all infused and all passionate and maybe a little bit sexiest morning because a podcaster. I woke up this morning and actually thought this is a bloody bizarre life but I’ve created for myself it really is. And the great thing about life as we will see with today’s guest is you can create your life once you decide to do something and move forward and make decisions, bold decisions, crazy decisions except the stumbles except the failures. You know, you can create even the weirdest life for yourself. And that’s what we’re going to prove. And we prove every single day on Join Up Dots. And today’s guest is a UK guy who knows more than most what it takes to get something off the ground and become a success. He’s the author of the book series The Law of business, a book series, highlighting the skills needed to make a business successful, whilst also running a podcast of the same name yet go over to a show below a business it’s better than Join Up Dots you can listen to it and and get a different spill. But why I wanted to have him on the show was to highlight that guys at all levels, building their dream businesses as he says, my entrepreneurial story started when I went to an event in Oxford Circus London, hosted by an American singer called Napoleon an affiliate of Tupac Shakur. I don’t know. But you say Yeah. And that’s that is more than good enough to think. But he’s a dots that need to be joined up. Really? How did he go from the Polian to where he is today? Anyway, he was telling us his story and all the things he did, etc. At the end of the event, the guest started thinking this man is not much older than me, and he’s done so much with his life. It was wakeup time. And that’s when I said, I need to achieve something big in life to free myself from the supermarket while I was living at the same time. Now I went home. And while on my bed, I was thinking with things I could do. And I said to myself, I can’t be a doctor. I can’t be a football player. Then Bill Gates came on my mind. Yes, Mr. Gates himself. And that’s when I wanted to be an entrepreneur or inventor. And that’s when my journey began. That free event completely changed my mindset. And I haven’t gone back to the employee and average living mindset ever since I’ve always been big now. Now in 2011, I had a language learning website called foreign talk. But I took that down in 2012, because I knew nothing about marketing and sales. I was getting members but didn’t know how to monetize from it. I got into internet marketing by first doing network marketing when I worked on some advertising websites. When I started my own ad website. And now I’m working on the law of business, my book series and making online courses about business and personal development as well. So this is going to be such an interesting story as it touches on so many areas that trip others up as they work on the life they want. Some why is it that people managed to create a traffic source but then fail to monetize it? Is it that they create a business that doesn’t solve above problems, or actually creates more problems for themselves? That is a good question. Well, let’s find out as we bring onto the show to start joining up dots with the one and only Jamil Jamma. Good morning. Groaning Jamil. How are you sir?

Jamil Jama [3:22]
I’m awesome. David, thank you so much for having me on your podcast. I appreciate you so much.

David Ralph [3:26]
Oh, it’s good to have you here. Because if you wasn’t here, I’d be talking to myself. And that would be a boring show. Jimmy also, thank you so much for getting up out of bed early. Or maybe nowadays. There’s no such thing as getting up out of bed early. You basically spring like a gazelle on drugs out of your paper ready to go.

Jamil Jama [3:45]
Yeah, definitely did. David that was an awesome intro. And that was that was just a real quick intro. That’s the best intro I’ve ever heard about about about myself. Thank you for that.

David Ralph [3:54]
So right that’s you that’s your right let’s let’s get right into it because it’s so much I need to talk to you about okay, because you are the podcasting legend of the law of business. Now, as you aren’t doing your podcast and you’re doing your book series, and did you ever sort of stop at this moment of being? Blimey, blimey, I’ve done a lot? Oh, are you still like so many people thinking of what you need to do? Are you tortured by where you are? Or are you pleased by where you are?

Jamil Jama [4:22]
I think I don’t do enough. Basically, I work in a podcast. I work in a book series. I work on the course. And I work on social media as well. But I feel as though I don’t get enough. Done. I get things done. But I feel as though I’m not doing enough. Basically I should be doing more. I can do more

David Ralph [4:41]
now but you shouldn’t you shouldn’t be doing more. This is why I’m going to give you a bit of coaching straightaway Jamil. Unless you do the quality will go up. Yeah, you focus in on your thing. At the beginning of Join Up Dots. I used to try to do everything and I was murdering myself and literally falling to pieces at the same time and I used to wake up with that stewing stomach where you fit. I’ve got you, I’ve got so much to do today, I’ve got so much to do today. And I had sort of health issues, so I had to step back. best thing that ever happened. Because if you can focus in on just doing one amazing thing, that sweet spot every day, you don’t have to do all the other stuff. And that’s a big problem that people have. They think they’ve got to do stuff and 20 hours a day, but you’re creating a monster for yourself. You need to be rolling around making love to people or having a few drinks at lunchtime and just doing the right thing one a day seven amazing things each week and you will be rocking and rolling sir.

Jamil Jama [5:38]
Definitely my friend or my friend always tells me that I should I shouldn’t I shouldn’t I shouldn’t I should sleep more and work less because otherwise you’ll get sick he says you will get sick and and then your your you aren’t able to work.

David Ralph [5:53]
Now why do you not listen to your friend Ron, let’s get straight into this because he is wise he is like a Yoda in your life pointing you in the right direction. Look after your body and the business will take care of itself.

Jamil Jama [6:05]
Definitely, because because everything is connected, the podcasts are connected. The books here is connected. The courses are connected. And obviously social media is connected as well. Because these days, everybody has to be on social media on Facebook, on Instagram on Twitter, and now YouTube as well getting I’m getting into YouTube videos as well.

David Ralph [6:24]
Yeah, but you down it down. Right, right. This is this, this has gone off in a totally different direction. Now my podcast is going up exponentially because I looked at where people are coming to it. And they’re not coming to where you’ve been. I used to be on Twitter, I used to be on Facebook, I used to be on all these places. I’m barely touch them now. Because the podcast, people don’t really go, Oh, I’m gonna listen to a podcast, let’s go over to Twitter. Oh, yeah, I think I’m gonna discover a new podcast, let’s go over to Facebook, they go over to iTunes, or they go over to one of the podcast directories. So that was a complete waste of time on my effort. So what you need to think Jamil is where is your target audience and go to them, you know, if you was creating a business, only for Christians, you would go to Christian churches, and you would sell a lot of stuff because it’s tailored for them. And I think that’s the mistake that we make. Pat Flynn, the Smart Passive Income guy used to say, be everywhere. I don’t agree with that now, just be where your people are, and then you will be successful.

Jamil Jama [7:26]
Yeah, yeah. But don’t Don’t, don’t you think it’s good to be everywhere? It’s good to start with, it’s good to be. It’s good to be in one place. First. Well, after you establish that you should go everywhere else after that. You agree with that?

David Ralph [7:38]
No, I don’t agree with that. Now, I did. I did agree with it maybe a year and a half ago. But I can see the difference in my business now. From when I stopped all that silliness, and just focused in on where my tribe are, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s basically if I, if I wanted to be the most successful burger van seller, I’m going to plunk it either outside Wembley or somewhere like Ethiopia where people are hungriest, you know, and I would sell, I wouldn’t go down to somewhere and plunk it right outside a posh restaurant because I’m not going to sell it. And in the online world, I think that’s what people do. They think they’ve got to put their burgers in every single place without ever really thinking about where are people hungriest? And that’s what you’ve got to think about for any product out there. Any service any solution to somebody’s problems? Where are they hungriest? Where are they waiting for that to be put and bang just plunk it in their business is no more difficult than that? And I’ve taken my business and it’s not just about me, but you’ve got me role Jimmy, oh, you got me riled up. I feel like wrapping my arms around you and protecting you. But my business has gone from strength to strength when I stopped doing all the other stuff and just focused congratulations.

Jamil Jama [8:48]
Congratulation with that. David,

David Ralph [8:51]
is thank you so much time coming back to me. Right for you then. So you’re at this this concert Napoleon right and I’ve never heard of him at all. And he’s an affiliate of Tupac shaker so I can only think that it’s dreadful music for a style. Okay. So I do

Jamil Jama [9:08]
it is it is I no longer listen to that type of music and this was in 2006

David Ralph [9:14]
You got to be into like the cutting edge ones like Rick Astley and, and maybe Duran Duran and stuff. That’s what you need to listen to you move on from these people. Now, what was it about that that speech that really hit home? Because that’s why I wanted to have you on the show. Because that was that’s kind of bizarre, but you’re in this concert. And this guy is just talking to the masses, but it hit home to you why?

Jamil Jama [9:38]
Because he wasn’t much older than me. He’s he’s, I think six or seven years older than me. And he was talking about the early 90s and all the things he did and order the houses he owned the cars he drive the businesses he had the money he made. The places he travelled to, and I’m thinking this guy’s not much older than me, and I’m looking at me I’m working in Sainsbury’s. I haven’t done nothing in my life. That’s when I said to myself, I have to do something in my life. I’m 20. I’ll be turning 2021 soon. So I started thinking of all the things I could do, I started thinking about becoming a doctor, I said, I can’t become a doctor, I said, I can’t become a football player. And I kept on thinking, thinking, thinking. And then I thought of Bill Gates, because Bill Gates has achieved a lot. So I was thinking, but I thought he was an inventor, not not an entrepreneur,

David Ralph [10:28]
thinking, you know, inventor, entrepreneur, is there any difference?

Jamil Jama [10:34]
He copied, he copied. It copied Microsoft from Apple, I think I’m not too sure about his story. But I sort of started thinking about so I started thinking about how to invent up, I thought it was invention. But really, it was entrepreneurship, who was starting up starting online businesses. So I kept thinking of different ideas, different ideas, different ideas, but I wasn’t acting, I wasn’t acting on them. I only started acting on them in 2008. A little while later, four years later, I started the language learning website for on talk.com. And that was a revolutionary idea. That was it was language learning. It was a good name, as well as a premium name, foreign talk. Anyway, what was a language learning social networking website. So it’s like Facebook, but for language learning. So people, people do a language exchange. And I was getting members from Twitter. I was getting a lot of members from Twitter for free without without without any any paid advertising or anything from from from word of mouth marketing. But I wasn’t, I wasn’t monetizing on that. So the server was growing or Going up Going up Going up Going up, the cost of the server was was kept going up. Because I didn’t I didn’t know how to monetize. I didn’t, I didn’t know nothing about affiliate marketing. If I knew about affiliate marketing, I would have put some affiliate products. Yeah, some language learning affiliate affiliate products from Clickbank. But I didn’t know that. So the numbers are growing. And the cost of the service go in as well. It the cost of the service is going up as well. So after a while, I think in my mind making any money from this, I just decided to just take it down, which was a shame really, because it was I felt bad for the members, because quite a few members joined.

David Ralph [12:19]
Now what was was this because I see this a lot with businesses, was it the fact that you created the concept more than actually where you’re going to sell? Because I always now, start with the product? Well, no, actually, I go one further, I think about the problem that somebody has, how can I solve that problem. And then all my marketing leads from that point, were back in the day I created Join Up Dots. And literally, it was just I was recording podcasts, I was pushing them out to the world. And I couldn’t see for that same reason as you how I was going to monetize it. And I literally had to step back and think to myself why I’ve really got to restructure this and it always comes back to the avatar, the customer their problem their their failures, would you could you go back and do phone talk again and see it in a totally different way.

Jamil Jama [13:10]
Definitely, definitely, it’s very important to have a way it is a business. So you need to have products to sell. Because in order to keep the business up you need you need the money to keep it up. So you need to have products to sell it basically you need to have products to sell, you need to have a product or service, and then marketing and where that money you can grow the business forever and provide more value to your avatar.

David Ralph [13:37]
Now now why then did you go into because the way I see it listening to you now I think to myself, right? Okay, if you can already get traffic to this thing. Why kill it? Why don’t you go back and restart it again? Have you still got the URL?

Jamil Jama [13:53]
No, somebody else took this.

David Ralph [13:56]
A couple of 1000 Oh, yeah, you should have kept that one.

Jamil Jama [13:59]
It was a good night people. People kept telling me that. That’s a good name.

David Ralph [14:04]
It’s a great name. It’s a great nine minute film until you think to yourself. Yeah, bang on bang on with that one. So it is event. Did you go over to phone talk and look at it now is it being used?

Jamil Jama [14:16]
Somebody last last last I checked, it was for sale for a couple 1000? A couple $1,000? Yeah, but

David Ralph [14:23]
are they actually using it?

Jamil Jama [14:25]
I don’t think so. No,

David Ralph [14:27]
probably, but I’d probably pay a couple of $1,000 and get it back. Get it back. It’s like the Beatles buying back their back catalogue. If you can now see what you could do wrong. How quickly would it take for you to get your two grand back?

Jamil Jama [14:40]
A few few months. Just probably probably just get the website up and build a website myself. Now I’ve got I’ve got the skills, and I had to make products now. And I know how to market it now. So just a few just a few months, and I’ve had to do a launch now.

David Ralph [14:54]
Why not then why not? Why not really get phone talk or something as close to that and then reconnect what you did at the beginning because you know, you can drive traffic, but then do it in a totally different way focusing on the avatar right at the very beginning.

Jamil Jama [15:09]
I could do that I could do that in the future, but not not not right now. No, because I need to focus, you have to focus on one thing at a time you do talking about earlier.

David Ralph [15:17]
Absolutely follow one course until success, they say. And that’s what you’re doing. So where is your focus now, so you’re laying on your bed, and you’re fantasising about Bill Gates. And then you think I need to be an entrepreneur or inventor. Now, certainly, from my point of view, when I started being an entrepreneur, I never class myself as one, I still don’t today, because I don’t like that word. I think it sounds like you’ve got all the answers already. But you’re not. You’re just making it up as you go along. And that thought, but people have all the answers stops so many people out there from even giving it a go. So where are you on the entrepreneur journey? Would you say yes, I’m an entrepreneur? Or would you say like I do. I’m kind of making it up every day. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t.

Jamil Jama [16:04]
I would say I’m an entrepreneur, because I’m old. I don’t know everything. I don’t know everything. But I know a lot more now than I did then.

David Ralph [16:13]
And so how are you? Income? How are you producing? Let’s get to that. Are you fully funded yourself? Do you still have to go off to work? Or how are you doing this?

Jamil Jama [16:23]
From the books from the books and from affiliate marketing? That’s our target funds. Right? So you don’t work for

David Ralph [16:29]
anyone else anymore?

Jamil Jama [16:31]
No, no, no.

David Ralph [16:32]
So you are Yeah, I would say you are an entrepreneur. I would say you and I salute you, sir.

Jamil Jama [16:37]
I’m far from rich. I’m far from rich, but I no longer need to go to a job.

David Ralph [16:42]
No, I tell you what, Powell, right. That really annoys me what you just said there. Because you are richer than 90% of the wealth anyway. Yeah. Because if you think about the Africans and the Indians and stuff, you are so far beyond that. And the fact that you can control your own time because you’re working for yourself, and you’re not likely to get a hand on your shoulder and say, sorry, we’re doing cutbacks in your department. You are a multi millionaire, aren’t you?

Jamil Jama [17:10]
To some people. Yeah, of course, of course.

David Ralph [17:13]
But not to yourself, not to yourself. You You don’t see that you are actually rich in life. Rich in possibilities, rich in opportunities.

Jamil Jama [17:22]
Well, I am of course, I’m rich. I’m definitely Richie Rich, rich and opportunities because I mean, I’m in the UK there’s a lot of there’s a lot of opportunities here. And I’m rich in life as well, because yeah, I’ve got health. Health is more important. A wealth of course, you need to you need to your health, got my health, calm, got the hang of family or friends. So yeah, I’m rich. I’m Rich in that in that field as well.

David Ralph [17:42]
Yes. See ya. I’ve turned you I turned you in 30 seconds. You’ve gone from going? Oh, yeah, I’m doing all right. Thinking I

Jamil Jama [17:50]
was thinking millions. I was thinking millions, you know, I mean, I wasn’t thinking and wealth in that.

David Ralph [17:56]
But do you need millions? Yes, you do? Yes, you do. Why do you need millions? Why can’t you just be happy paying all your bills, having time to be with the family? You know, just being comfortable? Why do you need millions

Jamil Jama [18:10]
to be more comfortable. So you can help more people. And it’s not just it’s not just about the money, it’s the person you become as well. Because to become a as a seven figure earner yet, you have to be before you can have. So you have to have the you have to be a Google good goal setter, you have that you have to have the discipline, you have to have good time management. You have to have good networks, you have to have good social skills. You have to have you have to build yourself. So it’s not just about the money. It’s about who you become as well.

David Ralph [18:39]
I agree with that. 100%. But I don’t know the journey. I don’t focus in on the money at all. Because I think that if I’m thinking about the money, I’m missing out on the opportunities of smelling the roses, you know, of actually going, I don’t need it. I don’t. My dad always says how many dinners do you need? And that’s a good, good metaphor for life. Really. If you’re paying for your bills, and you’re controlling your time, and you’ve got the heating on, and you’re probably buying Netflix or whatever, you don’t need millions Do you? And Tim Ferriss once said to me, Jimmy, oh, he said, Well, he didn’t say to me personally, he said it to me in a book, but it resonated. He said it’s not about having millions is about living like millionaires live. And so because you can control your time and you could go off to Amsterdam on a Tuesday morning when the flights are cheapest. Whatever. bein you could actually operate like a millionaire.

Jamil Jama [19:33]
Not necessarily because I can’t take a private jet. I’m joking. I’m joking.

David Ralph [19:38]
Easy jets good enough. As a

Jamil Jama [19:39]
joke, that’s a joke. That was a joke.

David Ralph [19:41]
It was a joke. It’s a joke. Right? Okay. Anyhow, let’s play some words from a man who was big on the jokes. He’s not so much now. But he’s big on these words, is Jim Carrey.

Unknown Speaker [19:52]
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 to say Dave 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 [20:18]
Now what he says at the end, yeah, he doesn’t say, you might as well go for the millions. He says you might as well go for what you love. There’ll be different from what I’m getting from you, sir.

Jamil Jama [20:29]
No, I definitely agree with that. You have to do what you love. I love what I do. I love what I do. And because because of the, because of the personal development, like, like I said, who I become is more important is more important than what I have. I like Lamborghinis. But I don’t like I don’t love them. I like Ferraris, but I don’t love them. Who I’m I wouldn’t say I’m materialistic. It’s more about the journey and who I become that’s more important. And then then the financial, then then then then then the money basically, it becomes more important.

David Ralph [21:01]
I agree. Totally. And I do think that for everyone out there listening, play that back. Because what Jimmy was saying there is basically it’s the self development, it’s the upscaling is taking yourself from where you are to a better version of yourself. And when you can actually market yourself, you become your product, so people see you as a solution. And how many times do you meet people and you talk to them? And you think, Oh, very impressive. You know, the selling part is almost done. You’re all ready to that point where you’ve been? I’d like to work with this person, because I think I think they’re good. They’ve got that that X factor. So can you see your X Factor improving by day Jamil?

Jamil Jama [21:44]
Well, I don’t really get that question X Factor? I don’t so I don’t get that question.

David Ralph [21:49]
Your quality, the thing that makes you exceptional from other people. So from where you were in Sainsbury’s walking around, probably thinking that you was one of the masses to now almost thinking, yeah, I could perform on Madison Square Garden. I’ve got that X factor. I’ve got that quality. I don’t know what it is. But God, I’m a different person from where I was before.

Jamil Jama [22:12]
Arcos after common initial, yeah. Because you’ve increased my confidence definitely.

David Ralph [22:18]
Due to lack confidence vote because you were quite bold, reaching out to me and yeah, but,

Jamil Jama [22:23]
but this is, this is kinda this is like a bit live, it’s not going to be edited or anything. So if I make any mistakes, it’s not it’s not it’s not it can’t be edited. So it’s quite, it’s a bit like, it’s kind of like a live show. Yeah. Because I don’t live, my podcasts are not really live, I do editing,

David Ralph [22:41]
ah, take too much time polishing it up. People want the mistakes. If you go to a concert, and you see somebody screw up, and then start again, that’s the best part in there is that you see them as humans more than this polished entity. I remember going to see Paul McCartney once and he was doing, we can work it out by the Beatles, we can work it out. And he had to do that song about four times. He just couldn’t remember the colds and stuff. And it was brilliant. We laughed all the way through it. And he laughed, and you kind of you felt a connection with that person, because you realise that actually, you know, that they’re like us. And I think that’s what a podcast is all about. I think a podcast is just pressing record, seeing what comes out. And you know, just going with the flow. That’s the journey, you’re all about the journey. Jimmy also, do it, do it, make mistakes and share the mistakes.

Jamil Jama [23:31]
You maybe

David Ralph [23:34]
I’m gonna convert you I’ve already done it once I’m going to convert you by the end of the show. So right.

Jamil Jama [23:39]
I will save time though it will save time though, because editing takes quite well.

David Ralph [23:43]
So insane seconds, 19 seconds at the end of this show. And it will be done and dusted, boom. And then I can move on to the next one. So right. Okay, so you are you’ve got that idea. You’ve got that entrepreneurial spirit, you’ve been going and seeing Napoleon, and he’s done his songs. He’s done his tunes, and you’re inspired by him. And so how did you separate yourself from the tribe, the people around you in Sainsbury’s doing bear because when you’re in a work environment, the majority of people are quite happy, or they’re not even happy, but just kind of accepting of where they are. They moan about it. They say I’d like to get out of this place, but they never do anything about it. How did you actually separate yourself from them so that you could free yourself and move on to new things

Jamil Jama [24:31]
by going to events or going to events and networking with other entrepreneurs

David Ralph [24:36]
going to did you find those events because a lot of people struggle with that

Jamil Jama [24:41]
meetup.com Our meet meetup.com I just went to free events or chief events, inexpensive events that I started going to more expensive events. And I just I just met people there are many people online from on by joining Facebook groups, and just connecting with people on online And then meeting up with them in real life.

David Ralph [25:02]
And so meetup.com This is a global thing. Can everybody use it?

Jamil Jama [25:06]
Yeah, definitely. So it’s global global. Meetup. meetup.com is global. It’s not just for entrepreneurs. It’s for. It’s for all types, all types of meetups.

David Ralph [25:18]
Is it like Tinder? Is it like Grindr? Is that Is that what we’re gonna get?

Jamil Jama [25:22]
I’ve never heard of Tinder, Grindr. Sorry, man. But meetup.com is the name, the name, the name, the name says, Oh, you meet up. And you meet up basically, with a with a with people, with entrepreneurs or with anybody.

David Ralph [25:35]
And when you first went to your first meeting, did you kind of sloping sideways thinking? They’re gonna point at me, and they’re gonna know that I’m a newbie.

Jamil Jama [25:45]
Yeah, I was very, very, very shy. Yeah. I, I was I was very shy. But then I just got used to it. At that time. I never even had a Facebook account. Well, I had a Facebook account, but I never used it. I only started getting into Facebook after after I got into these business events.

David Ralph [26:04]
So for the listeners out there, they’re they’re now thinking meetup.com This sounds good. I can I can connect with people? Do they have to go there and just sort of sit there quietly? Do you have to get in there and start talking to people? Because I could imagine the majority of people will go, I’ve got nothing to bring to the table. I’m new. I’m a starter. So why would these people be interested in talking to me?

Jamil Jama [26:26]
You know, everybody, everybody’s socialising with everybody. Everybody just hadn’t had their business cards where everybody was having their business cards, and just chatting. And obviously, it naturally you’re going to keep in touch with some people and some people, you’re not going to keep in touch with them.

David Ralph [26:42]
And where has that taken? You can can you say that was the pivotal point in your entrepreneurial development, surrounding yourself with the right people?

Jamil Jama [26:51]
Yes, yes. Because I discovered more opportunities. I discovered. That’s how I discovered network marketing. I discovered. I discovered network marketing, after phone talk. After two phone talk to calm down. I discovered network marketing ago, a guy was being interviewed by a friend and I were still friends. And I contacted him. And then he invited me to an event he was hosting. And that and then he introduced me to his other friends who will or entrepreneurs as well. And that’s how we’re going to address how I got involved in network marketing, internet marketing. And that’s how I discovered that affiliate marketing and personal development. Before that I never heard of personal development I never heard of actually before that I heard just before that, I was listening to Tony Robbins or Brian Tracy, but I never knew who they were. I was just listen to their stuff on YouTube.

David Ralph [27:42]
But the trouble with this self development stuff, I think, is people get trapped in self development. They’re listening to all these podcasts. They’re listening to all these motivational speeches. But they’re still not taking that next step. They’re not doing it. And I always say to people, self development is brilliant. But action development is even better, getting out there and actually doing stuff. That’s where the real learnings occur. And I would say, if you sat there with Tony Robbins, Tony Robbins would say, yeah, you can only listen to me for so much. Get out there and start doing it. So you did the right thing, didn’t you? You took action.

Jamil Jama [28:15]
Yep, I took action. Definitely. I still take I still take a lot of a lot of action as well.

David Ralph [28:20]
So what is a day like for you Jamil? So you’re here on the podcast, and for people listening? It’s eight o’clock in the morning, UK time. And so do you have it all scheduled out? Do you know what you’re doing? Or do you just sort of float from one thing to another? How do you make sure that you go to bed being effective?

Jamil Jama [28:39]
Basically, I’ve got my diary, and I just write down what I’m going to do a number. I write down what I what I’m going to do in numbers, pray I prioritise. I don’t I try to put timing like from 10 to 12, or one to but is very difficult. Yeah. So now. So now I just put what I’m going to do I just prioritise. I’m going to for example, today I was going to do with for example today fix a software that without number one I was having, I was having problems with my Kindle. So now that that was number two, number three was read number four is work on my podcast number five, work on a book number six work on the course and find find JV partners. And then this guests on my podcast as well, because I search for guests as well. I find guess myself, I don’t know. I’m registered to two agencies, but I also look for guests myself. I’ll tell you the sorts number 10 Upload episodes, upload episodes. So that’s that’s the list for today and then go on YouTube, and then learn SEO. That’s number 12. So I just I just put it in numbers. I don’t put it in timing. I don’t put a time there, for example, 10 to 12 or two to four. I tried that and it was very difficult because I couldn’t keep up with I couldn’t keep up with the time.

David Ralph [30:03]
It’s just, it’s interesting the way you do that, because I couldn’t do it like that. I have to do days, like on a Thursday, I record episodes of Join Up Dots. So I start at eight o’clock, and I’m going to be finishing at six o’clock this evening, and I just do hour upon hour upon hour upon hour shows. And then on Friday, I take Friday off, don’t do anything. Saturday and Sunday, I don’t do anything. Then Monday, I might do a little bit about this and that, but I like to batch stuff. I don’t think I could operate like you’re doing where you do an hour base two hours of bad I don’t I need to have my focus on that one task. So I wake up and I know that one thing is going to be completed in that day so that I can move on is interesting to hear you do that?

Jamil Jama [30:46]
Yes, yeah. That’s that’s that’s that’s the way I do I just I’m I’m I’m more comfortable doing it this way. I really in in a time management, time management book that you have to put a time to it for, like I said, like it start at nine and finish it at 10 or start at 10. And finish. Do I try it that way? And it could, I couldn’t do it basically,

David Ralph [31:08]
I do something called Parkinson’s Law. And what’s the other thing? Well, time compression, I can’t think it is with Parkinson’s Law for anybody out there, a task will expand to the amount of time you give it. So if you give yourself two hours to do something, it’s going to take you two hours, if you’re going to when you’re a kid, and you’ve got six weeks go on holiday, it takes you a whole six weeks to do an hour’s worth of homework because you just let it flow on. So I literally allow myself 15 minutes to do a task. And I put a stop clock. And I make sure it’s done in 15 minutes. And I turn off because I used to let it sort of expand in and I could be in an office for eight hours but not really get a great deal done. So now I like to do it in maybe a couple of hours to have the rest of the time off. That’s what I do I do Parkinson’s Law and set a stopwatch don’t go beyond that stopwatch and more often than not the quality of the work is exactly the same.

Jamil Jama [32:01]
Sounds cool. I may I may. I may try. And actually, I may try to stop. But I may try that Parkinson law.

David Ralph [32:07]
Yeah, it did not put you under pressure. But I’ll tell you what, you’re focused, you really are focused. So so let’s get back to yourself. So this is a, you’ve had the Napoleon talk, you’ve been decided, but you wanted to do something about it. You’ve then gone on to meetup.com. And you’ve separated yourself from your friends. To a point that’s very

Jamil Jama [32:26]
important. That’s very important. You have to separate you have to separate yourself from people who have a different mindset from you.

David Ralph [32:33]
Yeah, absolutely is kosher. I think I’ve lost 99% of my friends. But I used to have, due to the journey that I’ve gone on, either that they don’t understand it, or be their mindset was just wrong, and would have routed me to the spot. So you do have to lose friends. And sometimes you have to lose family as well, you need to sort of separate yourself. So once you you@meetup.com Was it an instant? Yes, I’ve had this idea, or was it that you was talking to somebody and they sort of planted the idea in your head? How did it all sort of come together? From that point? How did you go from surrounding yourself with people to actually becoming an entrepreneur?

Jamil Jama [33:16]
How are you talking about how about the ideas for how to get action

David Ralph [33:20]
out of it.

Jamil Jama [33:22]
Actually just action, you just need to get up and start moving. The desk does just take you back to just just get up and start doing things that’s taking action. But the idea is how you get ideas, our ideas in a way is by reading, reading books, listening to audios, and basically just learning because when you learn things, ideas pop up in your mind. And then you can probably act on those out. And then you can and you should act on those ideas. That’s that’s how I that’s how I got ideas. And Brian Tracy says as a good a good way to get ideas is by reading and is by learning.

David Ralph [33:58]
And one of the things that I always say to people is once you get your idea, just focusing on two people because it’s not going to be a new idea. It’s very rare that anyone creates something totally new. But But look on the internet and find maybe two real rocking and rolling people that you can learn from and you can I say so for me and I say this all the time. But my two at the beginning was a guy called John Lee Dumas who had the Entrepreneur on Fire because he was going dailies. I went daily. So I had that personal belief if he was doing it, I could do it. And Pat Flynn, the Smart Passive Income guy, they were the two that I looked at their websites and I structured mine and it’s still going on my website is being changed again. But you can get too much information Jamil Can’t you out there? Definitely definitely, definitely separate yourself.

Jamil Jama [34:46]
Definitely we got to be careful of information overload. And as as we’ve talked about earlier, we don’t want to get stuck in just learning mode and not doing enough what is good to take action and learn as you go along.

David Ralph [35:00]
I think this podcast is going to be called becoming an entrepreneur. Because I think we’re pretty much giving the early stages blueprint, aren’t we?

Jamil Jama [35:08]
Definitely about goal setting as well. You need to set goals. You need to set goals. Write down your goals. And just take action basically, and learn as you go along. You don’t need to know everything. Just learn as you go along. And just take imperfect action. Don’t wait for things to be perfect. Money likes speed. So just just take input, take imperfect action.

David Ralph [35:34]
One of the things I will throw into the mix as well, but I think is a great transitional thing to do is start reducing your overheads look at where you’re wasting money. And most of us in entrepreneur life are quite lean. We have looked at what we want to spend our money on. And more often than not, it’s our business. So we might get rid of the gym membership because we were never going and we

Jamil Jama [35:56]
might I did that did that did that? Yeah, I did that.

David Ralph [36:01]
And I Are you a big fatty that can’t move now because

Jamil Jama [36:05]
now I’m calm very slim. I used to get I try to go I was I was going gym last year. But then that was taken up that was taken up some some I needed that money to buy books or something. So I just started just cancel my membership.

David Ralph [36:16]
Yeah. And I did everything. I went through my insurance, my car insurance, we went from one or two cars down to one car. We went from four holidays a year down to one nice holiday, you know, we looked at all that kind of stuff. And it made the transition from my corporate job to where I was so much easier. Because I wasn’t having to replace the whole amount. I was only have to replace maybe two thirds or a third of what I was earning before. And it wasn’t easy. It was tight financially. And there’s a period of mourning you have where you used to have these things, but you don’t have a male, but that fades away afterwards. That must be like when somebody dies and you miss them for a period of time. But then you sort of you know, you stop thinking about them every single day. And now I would never go back. I would never go back to the amount of money but I was wasting on things I’d much rather spend on quality. More than quantity.

Jamil Jama [37:11]
Definitely, definitely. Some some entrepreneurs say you should buy secondhand equipment to save money, but I kind of disagree with that because you could buy secondhand equipment, and it might not work good. And then you and then you know you’d have to buy something else. So you will see end up wasting more money. It’s good to buy good equipment, a good iPhone, a good or Android phone a good a good laptop, a good microphone brand new on buy secondhand because secondhand or might not work. And I’m talking from experience I bought a secondhand after when I first started and that laptop and working normal.

David Ralph [37:41]
And even things like websites. I remember when I had my first website done, I did it myself because I couldn’t do those. And then the second one, I paid about 360 quid, and then that wasn’t very good. And so I’ve had another one done. Now I would have thought just pay two grand, pay two grand and get a really nice one that’s professionally done that you can grow with for a couple of years because it’s going to change anyway. But I went cheap on a lot of things that I look back on now. And I think I should have gone to the best I could possibly afford at that time. But you don’t you look at it and you’d be oh I can I can use that money elsewhere. And so you kind of do it yourself. But it was be a big learning curve for me spend big on things that need to be spent big on so that you get the quality that stays with you.

Jamil Jama [38:26]
Definitely, definitely and even close as well, you know, clothes as well, you need to dress nice. So it’s good to buy expensive, expensive suits. But just like a couple of them not not not not not not too many, just a couple of expensive suits that you wear regularly. Instead of buying cheap suits that you you wear for a few months and then you need to buy a new one.

David Ralph [38:48]
I like to be naked at all times Jamil at the moment. I’m sitting here with not a stitch on and you know that because we’ve got the webcam on I gave you a little bit of a glimpse earlier but um, it’s good in it to just sit here being free knowing that you’re what actually I bought into the old Steve Jobs being actually in the Mark Zuckerberg, I literally wear the same clothes every single day because I can’t be bothered to think about it. I literally wear a white t shirt and tracky bottoms. And that’s it. Now when I was going to corporate land it was a suit and tie every single day and I never wear a suit and tie out other than weddings and funerals now. But um yeah, I like that feeling of not having to think What should I wear today? Just open the cupboard and bang go through decision out my way. And I think that’s a lot of things about entrepreneur life. You can limit the amount of decisions that you’re making in life generally, so that your brain has got the the ability to recharge itself and come up with the good stuff by leaving a lot of the crap behind you can focus in on the on the sweetspot thing.

Jamil Jama [39:47]
Definitely definitely a David Yeah, definitely. But would you go to an event with your tracksuit bottoms? Or would you go to an event with a nice suit?

David Ralph [39:57]
Well, if it’s me now, then why not? You know, Steve, Steve, Steve Jobs used to get up on stage in a black sweatshirt or something and jeans and trainers.

Jamil Jama [40:07]
You know, I get your point. Yeah. And, you know, Steve Jobs, people know Steve Jobs. If somebody people know you would wouldn’t think negative things about people who don’t know, you might not. You do the site started, do you get what I’m saying? Yeah. Steve Jobs is where he can dress.

David Ralph [40:29]
Jimmy, are you Oh, no,

Jamil Jama [40:30]
you’re you’re what you’re well known, you’re well known to your circle. So. So you can do that with your circle. But you can’t do that to people to people who don’t know you.

David Ralph [40:40]
But why? Why can’t you? If it’s you? Why are you creating an image that isn’t you? Why couldn’t I turn up, you know, in just tracking buttons, if that’s me, and that’s how I want to operate. Life is all about being authentic for you. And the more authentic you are, the more life becomes easier your natural branding occurs. So if I may want to wear that, and that is my my outfit, then why not? You know, Zuckerberg wears a grey t shirt every single day. And people don’t go, Oh, he’s only wearing a grey t shirt. You just expect it?

Jamil Jama [41:15]
Yeah, they say you shouldn’t. You shouldn’t judge a book by his front cover, but most people do. So it’s always good to look good. So it’s always good to look as as entrepreneurs always good to just dress nice. You don’t you don’t have to wear a suit and tie every day. You have to dress nice. Get away with

David Ralph [41:34]
it, because it’s a nice white t shirt I’m wearing, it’s lovely. It’s all if it’s all pressed, people wouldn’t see me and go look at the state of him. It’s just comfortable. It’s my, it’s my uniform. You know, you get football players, they wear a uniform, you know, and you know, and you can connect with. And if you look all sort of movers and shakers out there, I would say that they have is a similar vibe to them. You know, if you see, for example, who I was talking about earlier, John Lee Dumas, he pretty much he’s wearing some kind of half falling off T shirt and a baseball cap and stuff, you know, and that’s, that’s what he is. I never look at him and think and actually, if I saw him in a suit, I would go a bit weird. You know, you just kind of expect it to be like that.

Jamil Jama [42:21]
I had Yeah, I had interviewed God a couple years ago on my podcast is a cool guy.

David Ralph [42:26]
He’s a cool guy. And he’s done so much to lead the way but other podcasters you know, big big ups to him big salute to him. So we’ve we’ve yourself now then where’s the dream, because you have achieved so much we’ve already worked out but you’re rich, we know you’re rich, because you are controlling your time you’re controlling your opportunities. But the dream becomes bigger as you proceed into it at the very first stage, it’s getting going been paying the bills, and then you start to think Blimey, you know, this is really going somewhere. Where’s the dream now?

Jamil Jama [42:59]
What the dream is just getting more and more more books done it. Like I said, it’s a book series. So it’s going to be a book about goal setting, or whatever, there is a book about goals. And then there’s gonna be a book about productivity, about discipline, about networking, time management, and all the skills needed for entrepreneurship habits. And all the skills needed for entrepreneurship. Basically, short books will be it’ll be it’s just the books are 40 pages. So you can read the books in like half an hour, because I’ve read some of these books and it takes they’re like 300 pages or 400 pages. But some of the information on there doesn’t that it doesn’t need to be in there. So the books I’ve made it just it’s just the important stuff. So that you can just finish the book quickly and just take action

David Ralph [43:46]
and where people where can people get these books?

Jamil Jama [43:51]
Amazon amazon.com or Amazon Dakota, UK,

David Ralph [43:54]
like flying off the shelves, but when people go there is an empty shelf.

Jamil Jama [44:00]
I want to say is the Empty Shelf but yeah, I’m making sales

David Ralph [44:06]
of course you can say that. Say it again and say it proud don’t do a sideways saying Be proud of yourself. Go and do it again.

Jamil Jama [44:14]
Yeah, making sales make yourself big sales. Small sales. Enough.

David Ralph [44:21]
Oh, you’re so English. You’re so English, aren’t you? If you was in America, and you’d be going, I’m doing really well. It’s awesome. It’s flying off the shelves but your yes or yes. Okay. Could be better.

Jamil Jama [44:35]
Yep, definitely. So you want me to be more if you want me to be more enthusiastic. I’m usually more exactly exactly this, but I’m just a bit. It’s my first time on a live show. So I have to get used to this.

David Ralph [44:48]
You’ve achieved so much Jamil. You should be bathing in your glory, not in a smoke. You should be sort of making really, really good sound. You know, it’s as good as it could be. You know, I’ve got ideas of making it better. But at the moment, I’m really happy with it. I’m proud of myself, my family have a statue outside in the back garden off me that a prayer every morning did. Did they do that? Did I do that as it got to that point where they’re seeing you in a different way?

Jamil Jama [45:15]
Not really no, because they they’ve achieved more than me most of them.

David Ralph [45:19]
Yeah, but I haven’t been on Join Up Dots right. Back at ya Jama family. That’s what ESA, you know, if you’re not connecting the dots yet, you haven’t made it. That’s where life is. And we’re going to bring a guy on the show now who should have been on the show. But unfortunately, he departed before we ever got a chance to connect with him. But he left such a legacy it’s untrue, especially these words is Steve Jobs.

Unknown Speaker [45:47]
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 [46:22]
I wish I’d said those are wish I’d said nose Jamil. They’re good. And they

Jamil Jama [46:26]
definitely definitely, I was gonna do stuff like that on my podcast as well like at famous people’s quotes. But I was scared of copyright copyright infringement because I don’t want to get into copyright copyright infringement.

David Ralph [46:39]
He’s dead. He’s dead. He’s not going to get me easy. Now. I don’t think I think musics the problem. I don’t think you can do music. But I think speeches they’re fine. I’ve never had anyone connect with me. And to be honest, I’m nice about him wouldn’t need like to have his words shared every day.

Jamil Jama [46:56]
So is there is there certain so do you do you mind me asking you this? This question? Basically, so if you refuse to add somebody’s own, quote, for example, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates or somebody? Is there a certain Is there a time limit? Is it is it 15 seconds or 30 seconds? Because I know you can’t put a full speech? Because that’d be copyright infringement. Right?

David Ralph [47:18]
I don’t know if it is, you know, somebody come along and tell me but I’ve done 1000 shirts, and nobody said anything at all. And I’ve spoken to people and nobody said anything. And I’ve had legal experts on the show, being interviewed, and not one of them afterwards has said, you know, or you’ve got an issue there. And I listened to lots of podcasts. Doing it. Yeah. So yeah, create, create, and if somebody comes and smacks your body, except it, you know, I did have a connect with me. I was tweeting out something once some motivational speech, and I got a desist sort of letter saying, you’ve got to stop tweeting this dispraise out or whatever. And I went okay, and I just stopped it. But that’s the only thing I’ve ever had is it’s a good point. It’s a good point. But no be creative breaker for you eggs be rule benders, that’s what we’re all about. So when you listen to those words, Jamil, you know, are they words that sort of really resonate with you and they words but you look at and you go, yeah, that’s really how my life is turning out.

Jamil Jama [48:16]
Welcome to what Steve Jobs that connect connect the dots? Yeah, definitely. Definitely. And I think Steve Jobs says, resonates with me, because he all entrepreneurs resonate with Steve Jobs. We all look up to him, because he’s one. He’s one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our generation. So it definitely resonates, resonates with me. Why is it definitely resonates with me?

David Ralph [48:37]
And so where is your big door? I asked, literally, everyone who comes on the show, when you look back on everyone, there’s normally a moment is a conversation, there’s a situation that really sparks you into life. Where do you think yours was?

Jamil Jama [48:51]
Mine was plenty of times, whenever a book or read or an audio or listened to, or an event I went to what or not usually stories, people stories, when I hear stories inspire me that for example, if I have somebody achieving something, somebody’s got an achieving something, that that that will that will motivate me to, to be to take action and and to they’ll motivate me to take the action and try to achieve my goals as well. Stories. Basically,

David Ralph [49:29]
you could have your big dots anywhere you could be watching a film and somebody says one thing and it hits home and you’re at Napoleon’s cancer and that was usually

Jamil Jama [49:39]
stories usually stories usually stories, people stories inspire me. Entrepreneurs stories. My podcast used to be called entrepreneur stories by Dubai chain, I changed the name to the law business,

David Ralph [49:49]
and has it done well is it is it growing because of that?

Jamil Jama [49:54]
It’s a better name. I would say I changed the name because you know the name entrepreneur has been trademark entrepreneur, magazine and so on. just change that name to the law business. And yeah, it’s a better name as well, in my opinion is a better name.

David Ralph [50:06]
Once you know the name, you know it. So leading up to the point where we’re going to send you back in time to have a one on one with your younger self and a sermon on the mic. What is your legacy? Is your legacy, you know, financial is your legacy, helping people is your legacy, what you’ve shown your family you can do, what do you think you’re aiming for?

Jamil Jama [50:29]
As I said earlier, who who I become legacy is more important than who you become is more important and then what you have so legacy definitely, and definitely, Legacy who you become is more important than what you have. And my younger self, what are my younger self is learn more, learn more. And network more networking is very important. And continuously, continuously. You might, you might, you might, you might disagree with this and continuously work, you got to continuously work. You can’t be lazy. We were to get things done as I got one of Amazon’s employees was complaining that they worked too hard. And the Amazon, Jeff, Jeff, Jeff Bezos, he got, he got real angry with that. And he said, we’re here to get things done. We’re on Earth to get things done. So continuously working, continuously learning, continuously working and continuously networking and meeting new people. That’s what I’ll tell my younger self.

David Ralph [51:28]
Well, we normally pray the Sermon on the mic music goes like this. Of course, you’ve already told us and what’s the point we’ve we’ve saved time you are somebody whose time management actually spreads across my show as well you push this through to the end. So how can people connect with you Jamil,

Jamil Jama [51:46]
Nick, and find me on the law business.com. And I’ve got quite there’s a Contact page there, you can find me there, the lobbyists

David Ralph [51:57]
and we will have all the links to Jamil on the show notes for Join Up Dots. Until next time, Jamil, thank you so much for spending time with us today. Joining up those dots. And please come back again when you got even 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. Jamil. Gemma, thank you so much.

Jamil Jama [52:18]
Thank you so much, David, I want to I want to give you a big shout out your show your show is real awesome. And you’re great. You’re a great interviewer. That was that was that was really that was real awesome. Thank you.

David Ralph [52:28]
Cheers, pal. That was Jamil and that that is a real kind of starting point blueprint to everything that shows you how you kind of get out your comfort zone, get out your own way you right at the very beginning. And he did it the right way he realised that he needed support of like minded individuals. So he used meet up.com I’ve never used that myself. But I’ve looked at it since and it is a global organisation. So there will be meetups near you. And it will be a good way to separate yourself from where you are, and start making those those steps to your next life and your next life should be a pretty good one because you’re making all the decisions yourself. Until next time, thank you so much for listening to Join Up Dots. We’re in the fourth year of Join Up Dots now. And we have got, as I’ve been saying so much coming up. But it’s taking a bit of time to get there. But I’ve still got the time. And if Dave Ramsey can do 8000 episodes, I can as well. Until the next time I will see you soon. Cheers. See ya. All right.

Intro [53:29]
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.