Andrew Lock
Most people give up too soon. The hardest part is that initial- I liken it to pushing a boulder, an Indiana Jones-size boulder, up a hill or a mountain. It’s really hard, but there is the peak of a mountain. There always is. It always exists. It’s never never-ending. There’s always a peak. And the most beautiful, wonderful, magical thing happens when you reach that peak. Because after that, the boulder runs down the hill on its own. And that’s called the snowball effect. That’s the momentum where all of that effort suddenly starts to pay off and your income starts to go up and you think, ‘Wow, I don’t even realize where all these customers are coming from.’
Announcer
(Announcer) Welcome to Juice Guru Radio for entrepreneurs. Firestart your own health movement. And now your host, founder of Juice Guru Institute and bestselling author, Steve Prussack.
Steve Prussack
Well, welcome to Juicingprenuer Radio. I’m really excited today. We’ve got Andrew Lock, one of my greatest mentors. He actually consulted us at Juice Guru when we were building our business and his information is just priceless. He’s been called “The Yoda of Marketing” not cause he’s short with green pointy ears, but because his knowledge of marketing is so impressive. And his WebTV show is for small business owners. It’s helped millions of entrepreneurs implement unconventional, practical marketing methods that work. That show’s at HelpMyBusiness.com
Steve Prussack
And I’m a big fan of his latest book. It’s ‘Walt Disney’s Way: How to Build a Better Business Using the Magical Marketing Strategies of Walt Disney,’
which I thought would be great for our audience because we’re all trying to reach more people, firestart the health movement and we’re going to find out Disney’s Way with Andrew. Let’s welcome to the show right now, Andrew Lock.
Andrew Lock
Thanks, Steve. Very nice to be here. I really appreciate the invitation.
Steve Prussack
Oh Andrew, I love the work you’re doing, the work you’re doing with SAM. I got to watch all of those sessions and you’re doing such amazing work out there.
Andrew Lock
Thank you very much. It’s fun.
Steve Prussack
Yeah, Sam is- what’s the quick sound bite for SAM?
Andrew Lock
SAM is sort of like a cross between Ted Talks and a Broadway show. It stands for sales, advertising and marketing. And it’s short talks by the leaders in those fields combined with live entertainment from world class musicians and singers and magicians and other entertainment. It’s a live spectacle, a live show that we do in Vegas. And basically, putting the fun back into business. That was really the genesis of it that most business conferences and seminars are quite boring, so we aim to entertain.
Steve Prussack
Well, we’d love to hear your entrepreneurial journey. There’s so much you’re doing in the online and offline space and making a difference and inspiring thousands of people all over the world. So, can you take us back to how you went down this path of entrepreneur?
Andrew Lock
Yeah. The sort of the standout moment for me was when I was at school, just in the final years of school. I think, I was maybe about 15 years old in England at that time. We left school at 16. And one day out of the blue, I got called into the headmaster’s office as the principal. (Quick translation there). And I was absolutely petrified because I just was thinking, ‘What on Earth have I done wrong,? as you do. Anyway, he called me in and he said, ‘Take a seat.’ And he said, ‘Do you know why I’ve called you in?’ And I said, ‘No, I don’t.’
Andrew Lock
And he said, ‘Well, we’re awarding you the award for the top student in business studies in the school.’ He says that all my teachers in that field tell me that you are just on a different level when it comes to entrepreneurship and business. So, you know you could have knocked me down with a feather. But there it was. And I think that sort of public acknowledgment solidified my path of- to be my own boss. And it’s been an exciting and wild ride over the years.
Steve Prussack
Well, we’re going to focus today on ‘Walt Disney’s Way,’ your latest book. And maybe take some of those things on what we can learn about building our own business, of how Disney did it. And I know you use some of the strategies in your own business with your clients and things like that. So, what are some of your greatest tips from that teaching?
Andrew Lock
Yeah. Well, I appreciate you mentioning Walt Disney. I’ve been a big fan of his since I was in my teens, actually. And not many people realize that Walt was -came from quite a humble, some might say even poor background but he was definitely a dreamer. He was definitely an entrepreneur. And he eventually became a real visionary where the sky was the limit. And we might even say there was no limit. In fact, when people said, ‘Well, we need to think outside the box,’ when some of his staff said that type of phrase, he would say, ‘There is no box. Don’t even think about the box. The box doesn’t even exist.’
Andrew Lock
But I’ve sort of made it my mission over the years to study him very extensively. And there’s just so much to learn as you saw in the book. But I’ll highlight a few things which I guess really stand out for me. One of them is a famous quote for those that follow Walt where he said, ‘Do what you do so well that they (that is the guests of what he was talking about, his own business, but it applies equally to any business)- ‘Do what you do so well in your business that they, as in your customers, will want to come back again (or in other words, buy from you again or return to your store, whatever type of business you have) AND bring their friends.’
Andrew Lock
So he said, ‘Do what you do so well, that they will want to come back again, and bring their friends.’ And there’s a lot of depth to that quote because over the years of helping entrepreneurs myself, one of the biggest mistakes that I see people make in their business, just as Walt identified all those decades ago, is that most business owners have a tendency of focusing their efforts on acquiring new customers.
Andrew Lock
Most of their efforts go on advertising and if it’s our type of business, building a list and that kind of thing. The focus is on getting new customers. And there’s nothing wrong with that and every business needs that. But the part that people miss when they do that is that – it is so much easier and more powerful to focus your efforts primarily on nurturing existing customers. And there’s a couple of reasons for that: one, is that simply the front-end cost doesn’t exist after you’ve already got a customer.
Andrew Lock
Every business, whether they realize it or not, is paying to acquire a customer, whether it’s overt, obvious channels like advertising and marketing but even time, maybe it’s trade shows or whatever methods you use, there is a cost. There’s an acquisition cost. So once you get a customer, that acquisition cost is finished because you’ve got a customer. So rather than focusing the efforts primarily on getting new customers, when you focus your efforts primarily on nurturing the existing customers by treating them well, giving them a great experience, communicating regularly with them, making them offers, looking after them and so on. All of those things and more, then they will spend more with you.
Andrew Lock
It’s just a fact. But as I said earlier, most business owners are terrible at doing this. And you know, you only have to think in your own life about let’s say- we’re all used to buying something online these days, it’s very common practice for us to do that- if we look at those purchases in a really brutal, honest light, how many times does a company follow up with us? First of all, to sincerely thank us for our purchase, to see if we need any help with it, to continue to provide value to us, whether or not we make another purchase and then continue to make other offers?
Andrew Lock
And we all know the answer is very, very few do that. Which is exactly what we’re talking about, because what tends to happen is even when we make a purchase with a company, let’s say that we don’t have a need for that particular item for 5, 6months, as an example, most of us would have to really think hard about where we made that purchase. We’d have to maybe research it. We’d have to maybe go into our search. And that’s tragic, because if the company had continued to communicate with us and treat us well and provide value and so on, they would be top of mind.
Andrew Lock
And more than that when they are top of mind, when our friends say, ‘Oh, I’m thinking of (whatever it is) buying (such and such),’ and we have been communicated with by that type of company, who are we going to recommend them to? Not only because we interacted with them ourselves to buy something, but more than that because they provide value to us. Because we look forward to receiving their emails. So, this was such a fundamental thing for Walt and it revolutionized their business.
Andrew Lock
And just to prove how powerful it was for Disney – in researching the book, I discovered that The Walt Disney Company did not do any advertising whatsoever until the late 1980s. So from the 50s, when Disneyland opened, all those decades, they did not do any advertising whatsoever. But what they did do was give guests, as Walt like to call them, ‘an incredible experience’ at the parks. He made sure that they went home with some souvenirs that they would show their friends, including a little souvenir picture guide which they sold at cost. They didn’t make any money on it deliberately.
Andrew Lock
And of course, the success speaks for itself. So, that’s one example of something that every single business owner can learn, even if we are doing better than most. I guarantee that there’s room for improvement.
Steve Prussack
So a couple of things in there, the follow up – nurturing our clients and the people that come to us to learn, and also creating that experience. It’s interesting to think how vast it was for Disney. From the cartoons, when you could think almost of Mickey Mouse as the mascot and there they were in all the theaters to draw you into this world that they’ve created in Disneyland. And I think I once saw some mind map of how they planned it all out even back then. Did you ever get a look at?
Andrew Lock
Yeah, very strategic.
Steve Prussack
Right? From where it even built to now.
Andrew Lock
Walt was, and of course with his brother Roy, who is his elder brother. Roy was really the responsible for raising money and looking after the admin and implementation. Walt was the people person. He would pitch the ideas. He would come up with the ideas. He would inspire and motivate the employees and so on. Together they were really a dream team.
Steve Prussack
But what were some of the greatest lessons you’ve learned on your entrepreneurial journey? Things that maybe – some challenges you overcame and better ways to reach people on, things like that.
Andrew Lock
Again, coming back to Walt who I’ve learned so much from because he really was an absolute genius when it comes to this stuff. Really, quite a humble guy as well. One of the the stories that I learned that made a huge impact on me. And I think, it makes a very powerful point – again I learned from and I loved sharing is – shortly after Disneyland opened, I think it was maybe a few weeks afterwards, one of the gardeners, as Walt was walking through the park as he loved to do, one of the gardeners came rushing up to Walt and said, ‘Walt, we have a problem.’ He said, ‘Can you come over here?’ And so Walt goes over with him.
Andrew Lock
And he says, ‘Look, (he says) the people (the gardener said) the people are trampling over these flowers here and the grass to go over there to take photos of the castle!’ Obviously, the Sleeping Beauty Castle was really the iconic centerpiece. So he was all in a panic and really upset about what was happening. And he said, ‘We need to build a fence here to stop people doing that.’ And it was so interesting to hear Walt’s response, because without a moment’s hesitation and his response gives so much insight into why he was successful.
Andrew Lock
He said, ‘Oh no, the people are absolutely right. That is a great place to take photos for the castle.’ He said, ‘What we need is a path, not a fence.’ See the difference? So, Walt was all about the guests. He realized that there was no business without the guests. It wasn’t about, ‘Well, look at what we’ve done to create these beautiful gardens.’ Yeah, that was all part of it. That was beautiful. But the guests saw something that no one else had, which was that there was this particular place, this spot – that was a great place to take photos.
Andrew Lock
And Walt was in the whole business of making people happy. So what better way to do that than to take a lesson from the people, accept that feedback and change what was there from a fence to a path. So we can all really take a powerful lesson from that because we run the danger as I have done in the past and getting so insular and blinkered in our focus of our business, in terms of looking inside the business, that we fail to remember why we’re doing all of these things.
Andrew Lock
If we make a decision that doesn’t serve the customer, it’s a very strong argument that that’s a bad decision. So in every decision we make, we can ask ourselves, ‘Am I making this because it makes things easier for me but detrimental to the customer?’ or ‘Is this decision genuinely going to make the experience for the customer better?’ It’s a brilliant sort of qualifying and filtering phrase. And like I said, at times, I have got off track with my own business in being a bit too much like the gardener.
Andrew Lock
And I needed to be more like Walt in realizing why am I even doing this in the first place? I’m serving the guests of my business, and that’s what I need to keep in mind. So I love that story. It’s such a classic insight, yeah.
Steve Prussack
Now you were one of the few people that actually was able to go into the parks and offer these immersive entrepreneurial experiences. And what were some of the things- I mean, I was lucky to go to Disneyland a few years back and you opened my eyes to a few things, one of them I’ll bring up in a little bit – but what were some of the things, the experiences you really take home when you’re looking through the park, the way they’re creating and doing things and marketing and intertwining that into the experience?
Andrew Lock
Yeah, I’m always on the lookout and I learn things every time I go, even when I’m taking tours. And that’s a real privilege for me, because as you mentioned, Disney do have their own internal program to help external corporations. It’s called Disney Institute but it is only for corporations. It’s not possible for entrepreneurs and small business owners to do that education. So that’s where I sort of came along and offered to fill the gap. And they’ve been very supportive and welcoming of me to do that, since they don’t serve that audience.
Andrew Lock
But in terms of marketing strategy, again, there’s very few companies that really beat what Disney does. They’re so strategic, and they’re so good at it. To maybe give you an example or two. One of the things that I think was genius from really, even the early days that they did was, of course merchandising has always been a big part of how they make their money. So beyond the ticket price, as we know, people always spend money in the parks, whether it’s on food or drinks or souvenirs.
Andrew Lock
And one of the challenges in doing that, is that when someone is in a Disney Park and they want to buy something- as human nature and human psychology is such that we can’t help, but subconsciously, we don’t usually do it consciously but we subconsciously compare prices that we see at any given time to our general awareness of pricing. So that’s why if we go to a little corner shop and buy some milk, for example, most people or bread or whatever it is, most people would be very aware of how much more expensive it is in that little corner shop compared to buying it in a supermarket. We just we know roughly what prices are on most popular products.
Andrew Lock
So for years, Disney had this issue or this challenge, I should say, in the parks where when they sell drinks and for most of the time, Coca Cola has been the main provider of drinks, everybody knows how much a Coke costs, right? And that’s why we invariably feel ripped off when we go to the cinema, because the prices are pretty outrageous, aren’t they? I don’t know what it is in LA now but last time I went I think, it was somewhere like $5 or $6 for a large Coke, which is absolutely outrageous when you think of how much a can or a bottle cost in the store. But this is the point is we know how much things, popular things like this cost.
Andrew Lock
So what Disney has done, which is really clever, is they have invented not only new drinks, but they’ve invented an experience around those drinks. And I don’t know if you remember reading about this in the book but one example of this is at Cars Land at California Adventure in California, where in Cars Land they have these cozy cones, the red cones from the Cars movie and there’s probably about 5 or 6of them. And each one of those cones, they offer unique drinks. And each of those drinks are themed around the movie. So there’s things like red apple freeze. Red was one of the characters. They’ve got a route beer float, route spell r-o-u-t-e to tie in with Route 66 and so on.
Andrew Lock
And so all of these drinks are custom creations. Like they have sort of- there’s one that is like a frozen apple juice with a hint of toasted marshmallow and then there’s a flavored foam on top. And they’re very delicious. They’re very unique. You can’t get them anywhere else. So the drink is unique and the theming around it is unique because they’re sold in these really cool kiosks that are themed around the cars movie. They look like big traffic, the big red traffic cones. Do you remember when we went there together?
Steve Prussack
Yeah. Oh, that was just amazing. Going on that ride – going on that Car’s ride?
Andrew Lock
The car’s ride there is incredible.
Andrew Lock
So, now what Disney have created in doing this, is they’ve avoided what we commonly refer to as the ‘apples-to-apples’ comparison. You know, it’s that when someone sees a Coke for sale, they know how much a Coke should, in their own mind cost or whatever else it is, some popcorn, for example. So Disney now doesn’t sell any item that has that direct apples-to-apples comparison. So if you buy popcorn, for example, it’s always themed popcorn, whether it’s a Disney character theme or the flavors also are unique. And so it changes the apples-to-apples comparison into being something unique that’s only available at the park.
Andrew Lock
And the truth is, every business can do this. Every business can use this same strategy to avoid an apples-to-apples comparison. And it’s by changing slightly what the actual item is or changing the theming around it or changing how you- what you put with that item. So as an example, if there was a store that sold baseball caps, for example and everybody knows how much of baseball cap should cost and there’s plenty of other stores that sell baseball caps. It’s very difficult to compete one against the other. But if you adopt this Disney principle of avoiding apples-to-apples comparisons, what you could do is add- the addition of allowing a customer to add a word of their choice embroidered on the cap, and then maybe charge a little extra if they want something beyond that. But that changes the offer then it’s not an apples-to- apples comparison anymore.
Andrew Lock
Again, with the popcorn- the popcorn analogy. I’ve noticed that what some movie theaters have done, which is very smart. Again, because popcorn is so expensive at movie theaters, some of them provide a flavor bar of seasonings and toppings where customers can customize their popcorn and create their own concoctions with these great flavors and seasonings. And also in doing that, it’s part of- they create an experience as well. And by doing that they can justify a higher price as you could with the baseball cap example, because it’s not apples-to-apples comparison. So Disney have done this with all of their merchandise. You cannot go into a Disney store within a theme park and see anything for sale that you could buy elsewhere. You know, even the candy is customized with the Disney brand. Everything is changed.
Andrew Lock
If you buy an ice cream from one of their carts, it would be either an ice cream that has some type of Disney theming, like you can buy one that’s in the shape of the Mickey Mouse ears, or you can buy a unique ice cream that isn’t available outside the park. One of the most popular ones is the chocolate covered bananas with the nuts on it. Very delicious. So anyway, you get the idea. This is just one example again of Disney’s genius in there, in the way that they’ve avoided this apples-to-apples comparison. So people- they can’t even if they wanted to compare prices. And more than that, they can also- Disney can now charge premium prices as well, which further increases their profits.
Steve Prussack
Good points. And of course, our audience are getting almond milks, not the dairy.
Andrew Lock
Yeah, well me too. Yeah, they do offer a fruit bar which is the one- unfortunately, the banana one I think the chocolate is milk, unfortunately. But they do offer a fruit bar, which is the one that I can have. And I have to say they are getting better at making items available for people like us that really do care about our health or with allergies and intolerances as well. That’s really been in the last 5 years or so, before that you really couldn’t find much at all. But they have realized that, ‘Hey, wait a minute. This is a huge trend that’s not going away.’ And they’re doing a much better job now at catering for those needs.
Steve Prussack
Well, one of the things I remember you showing me was the different tiers. Like, they had the VIP level of the- which I actually was able to get my brother in law took us on the VIP Disney experience last summer, which was amazing. But you called attention to that. Not only in the ticket pricing but in the products, different tiers. Do you remember that? And you were taking some pictures of that?
Andrew Lock
In fact, they offer tiered pricing on a lot of different things. And the principle behind that, is that in any given business, no matter what it is, there will always be a good 20% of customers. It’s sort of like the 80-20 rule. There will always be a good 20% of customers who just want the best. They can afford it. They’re happy to pay a premium to get something extra, to get something special, to get something different. And one very easy to understand example of that is with water. If you want- if you want a water in the park or ‘waw-ter’, as we say in America. You have a few options.
Andrew Lock
First of all, you can acquire water for free by going to one of the plentiful drinking fountains that are around the parks. And then, you can also buy Dasani water, which is their sort of mid-level offering because you got your free and then you’ve got your mid-level. And then they also offer Smartwater at a premium for that 20%. So they do this in many, many different ways of their business, many different aspects of their business.
Andrew Lock
They also do it with the resorts. So on the most-budget end of the scale, you can elect to bring your own tent and stay at the campground. This is in Walt Disney World. The next level up from that would be a little cabin in the campground. Then they have the budget resorts and then they have the mid- level resorts. And then they have the premium and deluxe resort all the way up to the private villas. For example, they have the Bora Bora-style bungalows now on stilts outside of the Polynesian Resort. These bungalows are on stilts, just like the ones you may have seen in those idyllic pictures from Bora Bora.
Andrew Lock
And they are on the Seven Seas Lagoon, which is the ferry ride that leads up to the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Anyway, to stay in one of those in the peak season period, you’re looking at over $2,000 a night. So, the point being that Disney has something available for everyone. And it’s very strategic, is very by design. And most businesses just on a fundamental level are losing out not only on business but also on profits by not offering something at a premium level. So you should always look at your product or service lineup and say, ‘What is my most premium level?’ For me, it’s I’ll come and spend a day with you, like I did with you and consult with you and help you with your business.
Steve Prussack
That’s what we did. And I actually- I brought Andrew to Disneyland too, as part of it. I was like, ‘Well, if you’re coming out here, how about we go to Disneyland, too?’
Andrew Lock
Yeah. We had a fun day out, didn’t we? It was the day before, which was a great experience, as it always is. That’s really the big lesson to learn is that probably you’re missing out both on increased sales and increased profits by not having premium offerings in your business.
Steve Prussack
Great points. So today, what is your biggest achievement? What are you most proud of for this body of work you’ve created?
Andrew Lock
That’s an interesting question. You know, us Brits are not really supposed to blow our own trumpet. I’ve been in the States 17 years, so I should be used to it now tonight, shouldn’t I? Well, I would say that probably the thing that I’m happiest about is that I started the Help My Business show in 2008, so that’s been running for 12 years, and it’s actually adopted the SAM brand now, as I’m sort of aligning things. But for most people would still know it as “Help My Business”. And that show, as you know, has been completely free that entire period.
Andrew Lock
I don’t advertise. I have sponsors but I don’t advertise any external companies on the show. It’s been my way of providing value in advance and also giving back. And so one of the nicest comments. I’ve had, I’ve had this comment from two people who went to believe it or not, Harvard Business School. And both of them said independently, I don’t think they know each other because these comments came many years apart. Both of them said they’ve learned more from watching my show “Help My Business”, then from attending Harvard Business School.
Andrew Lock
So you can’t get much better compliment than that. And to get it twice from two different people is pretty…. I take that as a huge compliment and that I’m very proud of being able to make that video content available since 2008. So, yeah, a long time.
Steve Prussack
What has been your biggest challenge in doing the work you’re doing? What would you recommend?
Andrew Lock
That’s an interesting question, too. As soon as you said that question, something immediately popped into my mind, as it normally does. When the question of challenges comes up. I went through a very messy business partnership, divorce. And to cut a long story short, I was developing a business and the business partner, I had fell ill and I needed someone else to fill the spot. Someone else came in who had known for some years. But I didn’t really know the person if you know what I mean.
Andrew Lock
And I should have done more due diligence. They didn’t do their part. And after about six months, it was obvious that it wasn’t working out. And I ended the relationship. I thought that was the last of it. It was sort of it was in I don’t know. I think it was around about April of the year that it happened. And I thought, you know, well, at least I can move on. Well, December the 24th of that year. So all those months later, I got a knock on the door Christmas Eve, and the guy said, Andrew Lock, and I said, yeah, and he thrust out his hand and I got served the lawsuit totally frivolous.
Andrew Lock
And so I went back and forth with the lawyers and thought that it was resolved and, of course, cost me a lot of money to do that, I should say, to resolve it. Anyway. So it was resolved around about the same time the following year around about in the springtime. Believe it or not, December the 245h of that same year, the next year, I got a knock on the door. Exactly the same thing happened. And so, you know, you can imagine that the sinking feeling after going through all that pain.
Andrew Lock
Anyway, this time it dragged on for four years, almost made me go bankrupt. It was the most stressful time of my life. The guy was absolutely crazy, as you can imagine, completely frivolous. And, you know, I essentially lost my passion for doing anything in business because it was just consuming. For four years, it consumed my life. It consumed my money. And it was just when you’re in that situation, you don’t have a choice. You have to fight it. And if you’re going to fight it, you’ve got to use people that know what they’re doing.
Andrew Lock
So it’s a no win situation. The only people that win are the lawyers. So anyway, at the end of that, when it was finally resolved, it had hit me so hard. It had such a negative impact on me mentally, emotionally that I genuinely didn’t do anything. It was like I was paralyzed and I just didn’t have the motivation to work because I thought, you know, as you can imagine, my mindset was, well, what’s the point if you work so hard and something like this happens?
Andrew Lock
And just now, as I’m sure people can relate to right now because we’re in many respects, we’re heading towards a similar situation for many businesses. And so what’s the point? You know, I’ve worked so hard, and now things outside of my control have decimated my business. So I was really wallowing. And then one of my great mentors, a guy by the name of Dan Kennedy, who some of your listeners will probably know he’s one of the genius marketers of our day and has fantastic marketing books.
Andrew Lock
Anyway, he gave me some advice that was so simple and yet so profound that it made all the difference to me. And what he said was, look, it’s okay to wallow. What’s happened is totally understandable. Anybody would be affected like that, like you are. It’s okay to Wallow. So that kind of shocked me a little bit because you would think he’s not that type of person to sort of have a soft side and to say something like that. But the qualifier was where the importance of the message was that was the first part was he said, It’s okay to wallow.
Andrew Lock
And then he continued, but only for a little bit. He said, It’s okay to wallow, but only for a little bit. And then you have to get back up on your feet again. And so that made all the difference to me because I thought, you know what? I have wallowed, and you know, it’s there needed to be a grieving process because what had happened was so- had such an impact on my life, you know, both professionally and personally. But there is a time and there has to be a time to pick up the pieces and move on.
Andrew Lock
And when I decided to do that, I accepted the advice. I thought it was great advice. What I built afterwards was infinitely better. It was more enjoyable because I learned a lot of lessons in the things that I’ve done before. So starting again, it enabled me to have a fresh start and avoid the mistakes that I had made originally. Build a much better business, much stronger. One that I really enjoyed doing, avoiding mistakes with partners and so on as well along the way. And, you know, going from strength to strength.
Andrew Lock
So that was a really, really hard time because it was circumstances outside of my control. But if there’s an example and a lesson that in terms of losing basically everything and being hit emotionally and mentally, but being able to eventually get back up and make something stronger, well, that’s exactly what happened to me. So I know that it is possible, and ultimately it is about mindset. You know, even with the current situation, it may be that some people need to or have no choice but to go into a different industry because of how things have been affected.
Andrew Lock
Well, it’s still within your power to do that. There’s nothing other than your own mental blocks and fear. There’s nothing stopping anyone from doing anything. So I hope that’s helpful, especially in the times that we’re living in right now, that it is possible to move past the most painful experiences. And there is a light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how dark it feels right now.
Steve Prussack
A lot to learn in that story right there. And before we wrap up, Andrew, what’s your advice for those just starting out, wanting to reach more people become fire starters of their own health revolution and really inspire an audience. What are some of the things if you are starting all over again, maybe you would do to get further faster?
Andrew Lock
Well, the stats of people starting a new business say that the vast majority of small businesses end within the first year, and that’s really because most people give up. So I think one of the biggest things that I’ve seen that is important to realize over the years of helping people is to have the quality of stubborn persistence, which Walt did, too. Incidentally, he absolutely was stubbornly persistent. He never took no for an answer. He got turned down by over 100 banks when he sought financing for Disneyland, and after that, he had to get creative and find another way to finance it, which was by partnering with the ABC TV network and also financing, refinancing his home, which he was quite willing to do.
Andrew Lock
But the point is stubborn persistence. Most people give up too soon. The hardest part is that initial, as you know, too, is that initial. I liken it to pushing a boulder- an Indiana Jones sized Boulder up a Hill or mountain. It’s really hard. But there is the peak of a mountain. It always is. It always exists. It’s never, never ending. There’s always a peak. And the most beautiful, wonderful, magical thing happens when you reach that peak, because after that, the boulder runs down the hill on its own.
Andrew Lock
And that’s called the snowball effect. That’s the momentum where all of that effort suddenly starts to pay off and your income starts to go up and you think, wow, I don’t even realize where all these customers are coming from and this income, it’s wonderful. But most people give up on the way up, pushing that boulder up the hill. So stubborn persistence is one of the key qualities that every business owner needs to have. Its absolute necessity. And most people just give up too soon. They give up, you know, within a short distance of that summit, usually.
Andrew Lock
And they just need the extra push, because that’s when it’s the hardest, that’s when they need that extra motivation to carry on and get up to the summit. So that’s one essential thing, another one is is to really be a good student of marketing. Sadly, there aren’t a lot of great resources when it comes to marketing that works, and, you know, really being strategic about it and going about it the right way as we talked about at the very start of this call. You know, most small businesses are still falling into old traps of spending money on advertising where there’s no accountability, like image advertising, where there’s no call to action and things like that.
Andrew Lock
So be a keen student of marketing that works. Marketing that’s proven. Avoid following the herd of- what’s the word I’m looking for the you know, where you all go chasing after the same, the same thing like jumping on the bandwagon or blindly following the leader. That is what most business owners are doing. Unfortunately, they see, for example, years ago, it used to be things like not so much now, but it used to be things like, well, everybody sees everyone else doing an ad in the Yellow Pages, so they think, Well, I should do that as well.
Andrew Lock
And usually that’s, you know, the worst thing they could do because your ad just blends in with everybody else’s ad. And there’s nothing to make you stand out from the crowd. So often it’s doing things that are the opposite of what most businesses are doing that help you stand out from the crowd.
Steve Prussack
Great advice. And I love your show. It’s such a great resource, too. And I love when you identify advertising that works versus- you show these unbelievable stories of marketing that obviously isn’t going to work.
Andrew Lock
And often it is by these huge advertising agencies. But what people have to realize about advertising agencies, for the most part, they’re very clever in creating advertising campaigns that showcase the brand rather than directly calling or asking people to take an action, which is called direct response advertising. So when you create advertising for someone, as the advertising agencies do or social media agency sometimes does these days, their tendency is to create an ad that just advertises what you have to offer. And there’s no way to track the effectiveness of the ad, which is great for them, because they can collect your money and say, yeah, we did what we said we would do.
Andrew Lock
And here are all the ads, and you see that the ads are out there, but its’ meaningless unless you can track the successfulness of the ad. And that’s something that I learned from one of my mentors, who I mentioned, Dan Kennedy. Everything needs to have trackability and accountability so that you can understand was that money well spent or not? And how much did it cost for us to acquire a customer through that channel, whether it’s marketing or advertising or whatever it is- salesman, whatever we’re doing, it needs to be accountable.
Andrew Lock
Otherwise, we’re just throwing money away.
Steve Prussack
Great tips right here on Juice Guru Radio. We’ve got Andrew Lock his website again, helpmybusiness.com..com Is that the best way for our listeners to follow you?
Andrew Lock
Actually, I think help my business. As I said, it’s integrated with the Sam brand, it forwards now to the Sam brand. But you can still see the show there, and it’s still free. And I really enjoy, as you can tell, helping entrepreneurs and I’m passionate about this- is it can be a lonely thing. But as you know, being an entrepreneur these days and especially if we’re surrounded by family members who don’t really understand what we’re doing. And worse, sometimes, if they’re critical of what we’re doing is make unhelpful remarks like, “Why don’t you get a real job” and things like that, which sometimes happens. So now we need to stick together and help each other.
Steve Prussack
Andrew has been so helpful in our business, like we said. So I highly recommend you listen to his words and his advice and you’ll be successful. Andrew, thank you so much for being here.
Andrew Lock
It’s absolutely my pleasure. I really appreciate that. The invitation, Steve. And if it’s okay with you, can I just mention the book, too?
Steve Prussack
Of course.
Andrew Lock
Walt Disney’s Way is available on Amazon. I’ve written seven books, but this is the one that I’m most proud of. It took the longest to write. Over three years of research and hundreds of visits to the park, which, as you can imagine, was such a trial. I’m being facetious, of course. But yeah, I’m really proud of it. And every chapter is packed with great lessons that every business owner can use, even if you’re not in the entertainment business, which you’re probably not. It’s designed to help every type of business.
Andrew Lock
So it’s Walt Disney’s Way. Yeah.
Steve Prussack
And you’ll see my review on Amazon, actually.
Andrew Lock
Yes, you’re very kind.
Steve Prussack
So I highly recommend it. And I know it’s coming out on Audible. If it’s not there yet, so I’m going to be getting a copy on there, too. I’m holding my copy in my hand right now, and that’s how good it is. So highly recommended. Thank you again for all the work Andrew.
Andrew Lock
Thanks, Steve.
Steve Prussack
Thank you again. This is Steve Prussack from Juice Guru Radio and we’ll see you next time.
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