http://www.tropicalmba.com/diet/ This show has always been about finding success in your business and your lifestyle. We've talked about lifestyle in a lot of different ways, but one portion of our lifestyle that is so important, that we have rarely touched upon on this show is our health. On this week's episode, Dan and Ian are diving into a topic of health discussion that is as contentious as it is important: what we should be eating. Dan is fascinated by diets, and he has experimented with a ...
May 26, 2016•32 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/pickle/ One of the fastest ways to gain freedom from a location or a 9-to-5 job is to sell your skill set and your time as a freelancer. When you do that, you can create problems that might not rear their head for years. On this week's episode, Dan and Ian are speaking to Russ Perry from Design Pickle. He began his entrepreneurial career doing just that, and when we first heard from him in 2014, he was in the process of dissolving his first business and starting from s...
May 19, 2016•46 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/mattfarah/ On today's podcast, Dan and Ian have decided to dig into a topic that isn't usually covered on this show. We are going to be talking about one of Ian's favorite things in the world: cars. If you don't consider yourself a vehicular aficionado, have no fear. This episode is about the journey of Matt Farah, a successful automotive journalist who rose to fame through his YouTube channel, The Smoking Tire. You're going to be hearing a pretty compelling story abou...
May 12, 2016•42 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/longview/ Dan and Ian have been speaking about the lifestyle of the Location-Independent entrepreneur on this podcast for over six years. During that time, they've found that people all over the internet tend to glorify this movement, and why wouldn't they? It's exciting to be a part of. On the other hand, there are very few people online who are talking about the challenges of being a digital nomad. Mark Manson and Stacey Herbert have both traveled the world as locati...
May 05, 2016•41 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/investmentsfollowup/ On one of our recent episodes, Dan and Ian spoke with Joe Wirbick about some of their options for managing their money since they have sold their business. That episode elicited a very passionate response from our listeners. We got a ton of feedback from some really smart people about that episode, so we decided to do a follow up show. On this week's episode, you'll hear some specific feedback from our friend Laura Roeder, as well as Dan and Ian's ...
Apr 28, 2016•32 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/shayna/ If you have been listening to our show for a while, you will recognize this week's guest from an episode we did about a year and a half ago called "Is It Getting Harder to Grow a Successful Business Selling Info Products?". That episode ended up being one of the most popular episodes of this show, so Dan and Ian decided to invite Shayna of Espresso English back onto the program to follow up with her story. Shayna will be talking about a range of new topics, inc...
Apr 21, 2016•34 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/mmm/ On this week's show, Dan and Ian had the opportunity to interview one of their all-time favorite bloggers, "Mr. Money Mustache" Peter Adeney. Peter was recently the subject of a profile in The New Yorker, and you'll hear him share his opinions about that piece. You'll also hear how he was able to retire at the age of thirty, why he believes we should be optimizing for our own happiness, as well as his thoughts on achieving freedom through frugality. Stick around a...
Apr 14, 2016•51 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/productized4/ Longtime listeners know that one of our favorite things to do on the show is to ask our guests to donate business ideas to our audience. For the fourth part of our Productized series, Dan and Ian put out a call for anyone that has used one of those ideas to come on the show. On this week's episode, you'll be hearing from Ben McAdam and Meryl Johnston, otherwise known as the Bean Ninjas. They will be sharing how they took an idea that was donated on this v...
Apr 07, 2016•33 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/youtube/ On this week's episode, Dan and Ian are speaking with Gabby Wallace. Gabby is extremely qualified at teaching English as a second language, and has spent many years doing so in Japan. She got fed up with the traditional ways of teaching language abroad, and she decided to start her own business called Go Natural English. Gabby's business has been built almost entirely through her YouTube channel, where she has over 150,000 subscribers. YouTube can be an incred...
Mar 31, 2016•39 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/theexit/ Jeff Giesea recently penned an article for the Harvard Business Review titled "Dealing With the Emotional Fallout of Selling Your Business". Needless to say, this article caught the eye of Dan and Ian, who have recently sold the largest business they have ever created. There are a lot of weird and conflicting thoughts that go through your mind when you go through this process. Dan and Ian invited Jeff on to the show this week to speak about his experience sell...
Mar 24, 2016•34 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/investments/ As many longtime listeners know, Dan and Ian have recently sold their business. This has put them in a rather unique and advantageuous situation, and forces them to ask the question: what do you do with your money once you have made it? Managing your money requires a completely different skill set from building a business, and even savvy entrepreneurs often have to seek the advice of a professional. On this week's episode, you'll hear from Joe Wirbick, the...
Mar 17, 2016•32 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/dhh2/ Today's episode is the second of a two part series in which Dan and Ian are speaking with the co-founder of Basecamp and creator of Ruby on Rails: David Heinemeier Hannson. This episode is all about business relationships. You'll hear about the origins of David's relationship with his business partner Jason Fried, as well as David's many interesting thoughts on business partnerships and how they can evolve over time.
Mar 10, 2016•23 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/dhh/ Today's episode is the first of a two part series where Dan and Ian are speaking with David Heinemeier Hannson. David is the co-founder of Basecamp and the creator of Ruby on Rails. Truth be told, DHH has been a huge influence on the Tropical MBA podcast. In this episode, we're going to be talking about a subject that some see as a blueprint to getting rich, and others see as a dirty word: Venture Capital. Later on in the show, you'll hear from Zapier co-founder W...
Mar 03, 2016•34 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/ribbonfarm/ On this week's episode, Dan is speaking with Venkatesh Rao, Venkat is the author of RibbonFarm, a philosophy blog about technology and entrepreneurship. He recently launched an essay series called Breaking Smart, that explores the relationship between humanity and technology. Today's conversation covers a whole plethora of philosophical heuristics, including blind spots in the digital nomad community, the difference between passion and work ethic, what it m...
Feb 25, 2016•1 hr
http://www.tropicalmba.com/amazongold/ Throughout the history of the internet, there have been many different entrepreneurial opportunities. People who got in on these opportunities early have historically found an incredible amount of success. What we've seen in 2016 is that the people who have gotten into the Amazon ecosystem early on are starting to see the fruits of that decision. This week, Dan and Ian have put together a unique round table discussion with a few of those people; Greg Mercer...
Feb 18, 2016•44 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/nooffice/ There is a movement in the internet business world where some companies have decided to start getting rid of offices altogether. It might seem easy for small businesses to pull this off, but lately businesses have started to do this at scale. This week, Dan and Ian are going to be speaking to a few entrepreneurs who are growing real teams for their businesses without offices; Wade Foster, the co-founder of Zapier, and Michael Erickson of Search Scientists. So...
Feb 11, 2016•43 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/oneforthewriters/ This week's episode is one for the writers, bloggers and creators. Dan and Ian have invited Jodi Ettenberg on to the show this week. Jodi is the author of a blog called LegalNomads.com, and she makes a full time living as a writer. She recently gave the closing address at the TBEX conference, where she talked about what it takes to make a living writing full time. You're going to hear why Jodi feels that strong narratives are so important, along with ...
Feb 04, 2016•33 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/productized3/ Several weeks ago, we put out a call for someone who would be willing to start a productized service business on the show. Jeff Pecaro was the man that answered that call. This week, Dan and Jeff will be speaking with Brian Casel. Brian is an expert in productized services. He has not only found success with his own productized services businesses, but he has also helped other entrepreneurs launch successful productized services businesses as well. Brian ...
Jan 28, 2016•32 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/enough/ Being location independent means that you don't have a boss or a corporation telling you what to do, but it also means that you have to make your own decisions on how to spend your time. You have to decide how to make your money, and you have to decide when enough is enough. On today's episode, Dan and Ian are speaking with two entrepreneurs who have put a lot of thought into this idea. Daryl Mander and Nathan Berry have both proactively made the call to scale ...
Jan 21, 2016•37 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/michaele/ On this week's show Dan and Ian were originally going to be talking about the three different stages of entrepreneurship, but once Dan started speaking with Michael Erickson, he knew that this conversation was worth devoting an entire episode to. Michael trained hard and loved the career path that he was on initially, but a sudden change in his life-script drove him to become an entrepreneur. Michael's story is ultimately about how difficult circumstances can...
Jan 14, 2016•21 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/mentor/ On today's episode Dan and Ian are going to explore the most powerful, and potentially toxic relationship in entrepreneurship; the relationship between a mentor and a mentee. We're doing so by speaking with Tim Conley, a Dynamite Circle member who has quite a bit of experience in these types of relationships. We'll be talking about how to seek out a mentor, what makes a successful mentor, and how these relationships evolve over time,
Jan 07, 2016•37 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/priorities/ This week we are chatting with Peter Griffin, a member of the Dynamite Circle who relocated to Austin, TX about two years ago. Peter is a prototypical digital nomad. Starting his own business has afforded him the ability to travel the world, but now that he's getting older, he is starting to figure out what is really important to him. We'll be talking with Peter about why he decided to move to Austin, and what happens to digital nomads when their priorities...
Dec 31, 2015•31 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/meetings/ In this episode Dan and Ian offer thoughts, suggestions and ideas on the best way to handle meetings as your business – and number of employees - grows. You’ll also get the chance to ‘listen in’ on a Tropical MBA/Dynamic Circle team meeting involving Dan, Ian, Jessica and Alex – and hear about Dan and Ian’s very different styles of management.
Dec 24, 2015•33 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/smartdrugs/ Many entrepreneurs have dabbled with "smart drugs", also known as "cognitive enhancers" or "nootropics" but few have studied them as closely as Jesse Lawler. In his weekly podcast Smart Drugs Smarts, Jesse talks to range of specialists and academics about different aspects of brain chemistry, including the effects of smart drugs. In this week’s TMBA episode, Jesse shares what he’s learned about the effects of Smart Drugs, things to consider when using them,...
Dec 17, 2015•29 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/3dprinting/ In this week’s episode Dan and Ian invite you to share in one of Bossman’s many interests: 3D printing. This technology has been around for a while - mostly used by designers and engineers to conceptualize and test prototypes. But, as 3D printers become cheaper and more sophisticated, might it begin to revolutionize not only the world of retail but also DIY? What are the opportunities and potential pitfalls for entrepreneurs? Lawyers like Alan Rothenbuecher...
Dec 10, 2015•29 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/cutbait2/ Starting out as an entrepreneur can be scary – but it’s exhilarating and rewarding too. In the first part of series of episodes about the ‘different stages of the entrepreneurial journey’, Dan and Ian revisit some advice they gave Kiri Masters who, in 2013, was still in her day job as a highly successful corporate player whilst struggling to set up a business that would give her the lifestyle and kind of satisfaction that she felt she was missing. What advice...
Dec 03, 2015•28 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/tax/ One of the major issues that location independent entrepreneurs, who spend time outside their home country, grapple with is tax. Let’s be honest: we’re all looking for ways to pay less of that! Phil Hodgen is a leading lawyer in this field, advising his clients on the relative advantages of foreign earned income exclusion, acquiring overseas residency or even, in some cases, expatriation. In this week’s show we bring you advice that could save you thousands of dol...
Nov 26, 2015•39 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/productized2/ A few weeks ago we spoke with Jeff Pecaro. Jeff is starting a productized service business and he offered to let us follow along with his journey on the show. This week we are catching up with him to find out how his business has progressed and he has managed to weather the storm of some tough criticism.
Nov 19, 2015•26 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/writingabook/ Is it possible to go from being successful blogger to writing a book that tops the Internet charts within the space of a year? In this week’s episode Dan talks to Taylor Pearson, an author who has done exactly that. Tune in and find out how.
Nov 12, 2015•26 min
http://www.tropicalmba.com/laura/ Laura Roeder was one of our keynote speakers at DCBKK a few weeks ago and she really wowed the audience with her talk. Dan and Ian got a chance to sit down with her after the conference to talk about how she has been able to start Edgar, an extremely successful social media tool, with little to no experience in tech.
Nov 05, 2015•29 min
