014 ron reardon by EntrepreneursRadioShow

THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

EPISODE #14: RON REARDON Intro: You‟re listening to Diamonds in Your Own Backyard, the business owner‟s guide to success, inspiration, and community. Where each week you will hear fellow business owners share their inspirational stories, strategies and moments of clarity that help them find success. And now here is your host Travis Lane Jenkins and Sandra Champlain.

Ron Reardon Travis: Hey, it‟s Travis Lane Jenkins here. Sandra: And this is Sandra Champlain over here. And we‟d like to welcome you to Diamonds in your own backyard. Travis: Hi Sandra. Sandra: Hello Travis. Travis: How are you doing? Sandra: I‟m happy. Travis: Yeah? Sandra: Yeah. Travis: Tell me more. Sandra: I get to go on a trip tomorrow. I‟m going to go to Atlanta, I am going to meet up with my best buddy Travis Lane Jenkins and we are going to take a course together on video creation. Travis: Yes I‟m really excited. We don‟t get many chances to get together. Sandra: No we do not, and we get an extra bonus of meeting up with a fantastic man and his lovely wife tomorrow for dinner. Travis: Yeah, just icing on the cake, right? Sandra: While the extra, extra, extra icing is that man is our guest today on our show. Travis: Yippee!

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

Sandra: Yippee, can I tell you a little bit about him. Travis: Please do, I know a little about him but please do. Sandra: That‟s why I am smiling so much because he is special to both of us. Well we have on our show today Mr. Ron Reardon coming few hours from the George Atlanta area. And Ron is a writer, he is a speaker, he is an inventor. And he is the owner and founder of Patents and More which he founded in 2003. Ron helps inventors get their patents, since 2003 he has over 500 clients international. India, Switzerland, UK, United States and I won‟t talk anymore; we‟ll let him talk but Ron welcome to our show. Ron: It‟s good to be here Sandra and Travis. Travis: Hey Ron. Ron: Hey Travis, good to hear from you. Travis: Yeah, you are an inventor yourself aren‟t you? Ron: That‟s correct, I got 5 issue patents. Travis: Yeah, is that what got you into this path. Ron: Yeah, that was kind of a journey. I was Physics major and when I went to work at a communications company, they put me in accounting because their model at that time was they didn‟t care what degree was, I put electrical engineers in the business office. And so being physics major they set up accounting for me. But I end up going from accounting to IT as a programmer, leading large teams to rewrite major systems. Travis: When was this? Ron: Oh well, I started in 72. Travis: Okay. Ron: So I head on the curve I got it to way before everybody got curve. They actually at that time they have their own programming language called Sobel, which is kind of a one step above machine languages. And when we were rewriting the systems we were actually going to Cobalt of course since this time we‟ve gone to other languages. Travis: Right.

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

Ron: But I was in IT long enough that I got really tired of it but I won‟t let anybody leave because they had too much invested in our training. But finally they opened up a window and say anybody wants to leave and I just jump in the window and went to marketing. Knowing zero about marketing but willing to do anything other than I am running a major system. Travis: Right. Ron: And then from marketing went to project management and then from project management to innovations and strategy. One day my boss said this process that we are working on, we are going to patent for the company, we are going to learn about patents. I was like okay, so I found out that they had this really lucrative rewards system for people coming up with ideas. They would pay you good money, all taxes paid, if you had an idea that they have decided to patents and if they got patented and they would pay you again so some good money all taxes paid. Travis: Is that the business that company that you worked for would do that? Ron: That company that we worked for, it was their innovation program. Travis: Aha. Ron: I‟m really creative, this a good way to increase my take home, just started sending them lots of ideas and five of them stuck. Travis: Were you able to keep partial ownership to some of this. Ron: Nope. The agreement was they pay me and I will sign all the rights to them. Travis: Ah ok. Ron: So this is the way how it works. But anyway, so I decided that I want to go work for intellectual property which is where the company that subsidiary that was standing all of these. They went and tell me that I need to go pass the patent bar. So I was in the process of doing that when it came out with the retirement offer that was too slip to turn down so I end up retiring from them then passing the patent bar and then founding Patents and More in my own company. Travis: Interesting. So you just took a skillset that you learned in the business that you worked in and applied it towards building your own business. Ron: Yeah, yeah because basically I am a creative person. I just really get energized working with creative people. Travis: Right. Copyright © 2012, 2013 The Entrepreneur‟s Radio Show

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

Ron: And then our creative, it‟s kind of a natural fit of like you said taking a skillset and applying it. Travis: So that lead me to a conversation, it‟s a conversation that we had in our last interview, what better person that talk to about the topic of innovation than you. Because I feel like a big part of the problem that‟s going on with many other businesses today is innovation and maybe not from the traditional way than most people think about it. I think so many people are struggling because there have been so much innovations in the last 7 years that a lot of business owners are left behind. Where you at on that, do you agree with that? Ron: Actually one more time and I will make sure I‟ll follow it. Travis: Many business owners for the longest time if you had a great idea you could put yellow pages at up, maybe a newspaper ad and you bring business in. And then over the last 7 years, 7 to 10 years there have been such incredible amounts of innovation, new platforms, new marketing platforms, squeeze pages, sales funnels, so there‟s an incredibly stiff curve in order to stay in business, to start a business unless you find someone that understands that. And so that innovation is made it harder for if you are not paying attention to the changes to stay in business. Does that make sense? Ron: Yeah, well no but a lot of things buying for everybody‟s attention. As far as giving people‟s attention there‟s a lot of clutter out there and really it‟s challenging for people to know that you exist and you got something for them to look at because people are just really suffering from information overload and so that‟s got to be a challenge. Travis: Part of it. Ron: Yeah, when you are starting a business you got a new idea in business. They may take some time to think and to strategize because that‟s what the idea-- when I launched my business Patents and More, I sat there and said okay I‟ve got some competition, at least I thought I did because there‟s over 600 patent agents and attorneys in Georgia alone. Sandra: Wow. Ron: And I was a brand staking new patent agent and I said why is anybody going to work with me, I haven‟t even written my first patent application and I don‟t even know what to charge or how to talk to people as far as the invention disclosure, passed the patent bar but how would people know I‟m even here? So part of the thinking that I went through is that I said okay what are the stereo types that people have about attorneys that they really don‟t like because as you know there are lots of attorney jokes. Travis: Right.

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

Ron: And so I said okay let‟s listen out there the patent attorneys, and I said well they charged by the hour. People don‟t like that because they feel like if they talk for 1 minute they are going to get there for 15. I am going to go flat rate charge so that people can feel comfortable, they know what the price is and it‟s not going to go over them. And so I said okay, you have to go to the attorney‟s office. Instead of them coming to my office because I have been on a cable goober for quite some time and said I have a home office, I want to go to them instead of them coming to me. Starbucks will be my office and I don‟t think Starbucks is going to charge me for a rent. And I said you got 6 office hours, you got to go downtown and that‟s between 9 to 4. I thought many years ago that said we dose but never close and I said okay that‟s come be my model. Funny to work along on Saturday or meet people 6‟oclock in the morning or 9‟oclock at night then I will do that, got to go the extra mile. I also notice that patent attorneys, all they do is patent that‟s it, that‟s all I know its patent all. I‟m like okay I‟m going to add some stuff to that that‟s why the name of the company is Patents and More. Travis: Right. Ron: I said I am going to make connections with trusted vendors in the industry that do things that I don‟t do so that I can refer clients to people that do proto types investors that invest in new start ups, people that do marketing, different things like that. So I will have more value I can have that they don‟t. And then lastly I said, “Who is the perfect client for most patent attorneys?” Well, perfect client would be a huge company that‟s got the pockets, that‟s going to want more to have multiple inventions, who is the client that they really don‟t want? Well, that would be the individual inventor that‟s just going to have one idea, maybe two but just probably one and have limited funds. So I said okay I will take the clients that they don‟t want. So that was the construct that I put together of how to basically be in the position where I would be distinct from everybody else. Travis: So did you create an avatar? Ron: The avatar still did not exist but the last of icing on the cake that I did, in the addition to the convenience of going to them, I said I am going to be responsive. Normally call in attorney, if you get an answer in a week you are really lucky. My cell phone will be my main number and I will answer the phone when it rings. Travis: Wow, that‟s weird. Ron: You don‟t believe how many people especially from other clients I am not going to answer the phone, that‟s the policy that I have. Travis: Right.

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

Ron: I will call the people back within the hour, or make sure it‟s within the same day and the same thing for per emails. And you would not believe how many people that when I call them back, the first thing that comes out to their mouth is „Thank you for returning my call‟ and I thought hmm, that‟s a clue. They have probably shopping and they have called several patent attorneys and none of them returned their calls. I wish you heard an statics if you answered a call, like voice mail, if you answer within 5 minutes of them calling, there is a 22% increase chance that they are going to do business with you after somebody else, just being prompt. Sandra: That‟s amazing. Travis: Pretty high enough. Ron: Yeah, yeah I am thinking it pretty high but yeah, just answering the phone how simple could that be. Travis: Right. Ron: As I continue to strategize as to how I am going to put the business together, this is back in 2003. My business is not going to be location based, it‟s going to be round based, wherever I am is where my business will be. So that is why my mobile phone was my main number, my laptop was my office, I do have a 6 packs machine, I started using the e-fax and there are some other companies that do that. So that when somebody sends me a fax to a fax number it shoots out to my email and likewise I can fax and fax to email. And then the last thing I did was I used to company code to authorize that code so that I could take credit card payments online. So everything I did was just totally mobile, I could be in Singapore and still running my business. Travis: Well, it‟s obvious that you are a thinker, so did you sit down and sketch this out? Ron: Yeah, yeah. Travis: You did? Ron: Yeah, I do. It‟s just a step by step I went through this process of basically here‟s how my business is going to operate. Here is the client I am going after. Here‟s how I am going to position myself so all the negatives that they have about people in the industry would not exist. And I did not know it at that time but I created a blue ocean where competition was irrelevant. I was in the area that all the existing folks would not competing in this area, they are all going after the big fish, and they were waiting for people to walk in the door because there is a tendency in every industry including this one of commoditizing the products which is patent. Travis: Right. Copyright © 2012, 2013 The Entrepreneur‟s Radio Show

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Ron: And so a lot of attorneys especially at big firms, the big firms would play one attorney firm against another, tendency it would charge the least for riding the patent. They were seeing and that the prices that they were doing were going down, down which the big companies that they have. Reverse that in truth for me, as time is going on I have increased my prices probably 5 different times with no impact on the number of clients coming out. Travis: Because you help them, you offer them more total solution or if you can help them with that specific part of the solution you connect them with someone you can. Is that correct? Ron: That‟s correct, that‟s exactly what I do. Travis: Yeah, and so Blue Ocean Strategy is a book, I have read that. Can you go deeper on the topic of the blue ocean strategy? Ron: Yeah, basically says take a look at your competition that is in the red ocean. The reason that is red it‟s because there is so much price cutting that the ocean is full of blood from everybody. Take a look at a put together like a cost strategy canvass, where you say, what are they offering? What do they do? And then look at your offering and look for where your points of distinction kind of blow them away. Really focus on your points of distinction. What examples they give of course is in Blue Ocean is the Cirque Du Soleil. Is that they took aspects of theatre and aspects of circus and put them together to create a whole new venue where they could charge premium prices that people would see acrobatics and things like that but with a theatre scene and pay premium prices for it. Because the circus industry has been going down, down, down for a whole bunch of reasons. But they were able to create something that was totally different item and it has been enormously successful I think the artist that created it was originally was a street performer and now he‟s a billionaire. Travis: Oh yeah? Ron: He did well. Travis: Yeah, I think they do a couple of billion a year or something, don‟t they? Ron: Yeah. Travis: Now, the interesting part of that story that you tell there is so they took a dying business model PETA was giving them the circus industry fit. Ron: Yup. Travis: Because of the animals and their shipping cost and their insurance cost, to keep and maintaining those animals were going through the roof.

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

Ron: Right. Travis: And nobody was showing up and they kept dropping their price on their ticket and so they went in and revamp the business model they took the most expensive element out. Ron: Yes they did. Travis: Those were the animals. Ron: And liability, yup. Travis: Yeah, the liability and quadrupled the ticket price. Ron: Oh Yeah, easily. Travis: And had a success. It‟s unbelievable. Thereby creating a blue ocean and no longer have competition with specifically what they do, right? Ron: Right, and I have been to almost all of the Circus Ole shows and they keep creating new ones. Sandra: And they are wonderful. Travis: Yeah. Sandra: Wonderful. Ron: The one for talents of the Beatles that‟s nice, the one that involves water, I mean this goes on and on all these different things they come up with. And they actually have training camps where athletes apply and it‟s difficult to qualify, to be in the circus Ole act. It really is. Travis: You have got to be a top level performer. You know another great example of a blue ocean strategy is yellow tail wines. Are you familiar with that story? Ron: Very familiar. Yeah. Travis: Yeah, do you want to tell that story. Ron: No, I‟ll let you tell that it. I have read it, but I‟m not that familiar. I just know that they made it extremely easy for people who are not wine conifers, like, yeah I‟ll take this one. Travis: Yeah, exactly. And so one of the problems with the wine industry is the amount of time that you need to age the wine and so it‟s a very expensive from the overhead expense business, and so they noticed that there was a large group of the market that they were not serving were the beer drinkers

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

and the mix drinkers. And so, they said, “How can we get to this group yet eliminate a lot of the problems that come with wine, making wine and all of those other issues. And so they no longer have to go through the long drawn out fermentation process. They concocted a couple of different wines that are pleasurable and taste that you don‟t have to acquire to taste from and kind of like alcoholic Coke or something. Ultimately, they drove the cost down. I want to say to something like a fourth or a fifth of what they were spending and in the process seize a large share of the market that was there and those guys are dominating. Yellow tail dominates across many levels. They just changed the rules of the game. I don‟t know if I‟m missing some of the specific elements of that. But the more important part of that is that they changed the strategy; I guess the rules were in their favour, right? Ron: That‟s right. They look at the problem and said basically they have to eliminate them that made them different. That‟s going to be distinctive Travis: Now you were, I‟m dominating this, Sandra you want to jump in. Sandra: No, I‟m taking notes over here. I think this is just a brilliant conversation to look at things differently. And to look at people are not doing because I think it‟s such a human tendency of a business owner to want to go down the tunnel of being competitive and just being priced and just want to top on service or whatever that is that you‟re giving us this example of a blue ocean just completely doing something above and beyond in difference. Capitalizing from that and so I am taking notes. It‟s wonderful. It keeps adding. Ron: In one part of the story, part of my retirement package was they paid me to go 3 months with an out placement company to either learn how to get another job. Which definitely I didn‟t want, or I had to start my own company. Luckily the mentor or the leader of that, I was always taking notes whatever he says “don‟t do this, do this.” Because I am more visual than auditory so if I don‟t write it down it just kind of goes in one ear and out on the other. And he would say, you don‟t need an office. I‟m like no to sales so I made an office, because he talked about when he left Coca Cola he got this fancy dandy office with a secretary and for two years nobody came to the office until finally just dragged one person and say hey here look at my office. Okay you don‟t need an office. Travis: Right. Ron: That‟s pretty common now but back in 2002 it wasn‟t. Starbucks was just starting to promote a concept of being the 3rd place, it‟s not your office it‟s not your home, it is kind of a combination of the two. So I‟d like to talk about all the things I did that didn‟t work. All the mistakes I have made. Travis: Oh yeah. Ron: Especially the first year.

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

Travis: Oh, that would be super valuable. Ron: Okay. My first year was dismal, really, really bad. Even though I put together pretty good strategy it takes a while to get momentum. I mean the use of statistic on business is that if you stay in business it‟s the 3rd year when you start to break even. Travis: Right. Ron: And hopefully then you go into black and everything when you start. But what kept me really going in the first year was basically in my head a mantra where I said I will succeed with this I even find me on the side of the road dead, failure is not an option. So over and over again I kept repeating the words, how do I and then dot, dot, dot. So started off how do I distinguish myself from other people, how do I attract customers to me instead of me going out and try to find clients. And these different things like that because one of the things I knew in the past was that instead of trying to get all your ducks on the row it is better to go out and get a duck. I had this principle that I use when I was a teenager, I was so introvert and so shy I came up with a system of how girls would be attracted to me and ask me for a date instead of me risking everything and asking every date and get rejected. Sandra: I love that. Ron: So I applied that same system when I got in business it‟s like how do I get clients to come to me instead of me trying to run down and seize the arm of the client. So anyway I did mostly about the 90% of what I did that didn‟t work. I tried advertising in magazine as if I was a big company. What a nice, glossy ad all that but didn‟t get any clients that way. I sponsored a robotics team and where these kids from high school put together robots and all that sponsored by Patents and More, no clients from there. I went and spoke at multiple chambers of commerce, nothing out there. I spoke at service clubs, zero. I wrote on white paper that was post in the internet and a present company excluded and I was actually a radio host of the internet radio program for a couple of years. But that was fun and it gave a good exposure to my existing clients it didn‟t bring any new clients in. And then I was a president of local clubs and national clubs. But what really, really worked was and I don‟t know how I came with this idea but it turned out to be good fortune. The first things that I did was I took a tour to the United States of all the regional inventor‟s meetings and met the people that were already legendary in the industry in marketing, proto types, I‟ve seen on TV and things like that. And got to know them, got their card and I will ask each of them what is so perfect client for you and they would tell me and I write it on the back of the business card. And I would tell them, okay as I get clients that fit this profile I will send them to you and they would say okay, and then I would do that. What happened over time is after I sent two or three referrals to them it builds up to what I called „comic death‟. I think it‟s really technically called the „law of

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

reciprocity‟ when they get a client and says do you know where I buy those patents and I would say yeah and I give them a contact information. And over time it took at least a year before it started kicking in. And all of a sudden I started giving clients come to me, they were pre sold because somebody they already knew and trusted said this is the „go to guy‟ so they came to me and I just did the assumption of close just assuming that they already decided I am the guy and it went from there. A huge part of my business even today continues to come from same folks that I met first year. Sandra: Great. Travis: Interesting. So that‟s say 2004? Ron: Yes, 2004 when I started off. Travis: That‟s really before and that‟s one of the things that I was talking about as far as innovations today you can create a sales funnel that can bring multiple people from a multiple directions. First and foremost I agree with you, like Napoleon Hill says „give before you get‟ and then things starts happening for you. I think that is one of the mistakes that so many people make is they are so busy trying to get that they yet to give and if you reverse that order. But one of the benefits today and I knew that you set up new in your business is one you get a sales funnel going, there used to be a 3 sources that could bring you 40 leads in a month. Now there are 40 different sources that can lead you 1 lead in a month. Ron: Right. Travis: And so now that you have that sales funnel, how many sources do you have that bring you business. Have you added 5, 10, 15 or where you at. Ron: Well, I haven‟t sit down and counted them because there is this all individuals that I met overtime and then there‟s all my existing clients a lot of them refer friends to me that say I know you got a patent and how to use. I‟ve got all the YouTube videos out there that people can find on my channel. I‟ve got different companies that have worked with me that I should be using Google AdWords and different items like that so that I appear on first page of Google, I don‟t know what the number is. Travis: Well, in most people don‟t. Let‟s say 20 people are referring you, I view that as one channel because that‟s personal referral. Ron: Okay. Travis: And then so you‟ve got AdWords, and you‟ve got organic a free part of the search engine of Google, you could have Adcenter for Bing, you could organic in Bing if you place in there, you could have several referral networks and it‟s so easy if you start looking at the different ways that you can Copyright © 2012, 2013 The Entrepreneur‟s Radio Show

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bring people in to that funnel. The purpose of your funnel is to do the sorting and assisting for you. They get to know who Ron is and how great Ron is, the things some of the steps that you know. And it also removes some of the people that are really not ready to move forward and do business with you, right? Ron: That is correct. Yeah because I mean that as you asked me about channels, I‟m sitting here and thinking there‟s a company here in Atlanta called Product Development Group. What they do is people come to them with an idea, I sat there and then I proto type it, even have connections where I could be manufacturers and things like that and they‟ve sent me tons of business. I mean they even ask me for tax of business cards saying when people come to them one of them that develops the products I would give them my collar that‟s one source. And there‟s even individuals within that company that are also freelance and do things of the side and they are also refer clients to me. There this people that written the articles in inventor‟s digest, this people that help entrepreneurs get funding from a new investors and it‟s another source and this goes on and on, and on and all the different people that have companies that work with entrepreneurs or they work with investors that are bringing business in. Travis: Right. What is the person have to, let‟s say I have a great idea, what I do, if I think if I have something that is going to be a hit, do I call you? Ron: Well, that‟s a process that I have automated inside of my website is that there is a video there that says okay, you got an idea, here‟s 3 things that you need to do. And there‟s also an open button, it would be part of that process. In the video, you basically need to do some research and when you are doing your research you will get a no, a no and a yes in your research. And so that video develops an intrigue because it‟s got this 3 circles there with a no, a no and a yes and I was like, hmm I wonder what is behind that circle that says no. So behind the video I do a reveal on each one and then the first `no‟ is, „Is it already in the market place?‟ Now you want to know all that, so I encourage people to go to Google.com/products and let‟s say that they came up with an idea of electric car jack that you would plug in your cigarette lighter and put it on at the car, and it would lift the car so you don‟t have to break your back changing the tire, couldn‟t get the car up. So they go to Google.com/patents and type in electric car jack and find out if it‟s already in the market. So that was like, okay come up with an idea but if they did not find it there so I send them to google.com/patents where they can do informal patent search and once again if they type again electric car jack, they find several patents on electric car jacks which would also be a yes which is what you don‟t want. But if they get no when no then third things they do is to see if there invention has a characteristics of a successful invention. And I developed an interactive pdf form with 41 questions with a score 1 to 10. That they can self score their invention to see if it‟s scores well enough to go to the next step. So that‟s the first three things that you would do if you have an idea. And the next thing you will do is to fill out invention disclosure and contact me for initial consultation. Sandra: I want to invent something. Copyright © 2012, 2013 The Entrepreneur‟s Radio Show

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

Ron: You want to invent something. Sandra: That‟s so nice, I‟m so excited. Ron: Yeah. Sandra: Just great, not just the information that you are giving us but the how to, because anyone can map on the how do I, the questions, the blue ocean all that and to whatever their business is. Ron: Right. And then also on the website there‟s a blog, a steps going on the blog listed is a weekly tips or something like that. And a lot of folks that I met over the years have written guest articles there. One would say, “Do you want your products on television? Here‟s what you do.” And the other one say, “Have you invented something that is going on, be going for children or babies? Here‟s what you need for product safety law.” Had it put together a sales sheet, is this article after article about legends in the industry that say if you keep looking at doing this here‟s the thing, if you want to make a killer presentation to an investors here‟s what you got to be in your presentation for investors to get their attention. Just educating people on a different aspect or step that I don‟t do, for how they can commercialize the product. Travis: Kerry Marshall uses this process it comes to mind for what you are talking about here is he has a URL this is Facebook for me, so it‟s a brilliant URL because it‟s clear what you are going there to do and then you answer 10 questions and it gives you a score. Ron: Oh, cool. Travis: That makes me think of what you are doing here, do I have a patentable idea. And so basically what happens is she gives you a score, if you score 7 or above then you should proceed with Facebook, if your score is between 5 and 6 ½ you need to seriously think about it, below 5, give up. Ron: Okay, pretty cool. Travis: Yeah, it‟s a brilliant way because I know there are a lot of people out there that are wondering whether they have a good idea or not. Ron: Right. Travis: So what is the website that we go to engage with to figure out and get the answers to the secret, free questions for their idea. Ron: Yes. It‟s patentsandmore.com, so of course www.patentsandmore.com. Travis: Okay. Go ahead Sandra I do not want to dominate here. Copyright © 2012, 2013 The Entrepreneur‟s Radio Show

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Sandra: Well, I am not just so sure where to go, the thing is Ron everything that comes out of your mouth right now is new and different and you‟ve got a listening audience to thousands of people right now. And I don‟t know what questions to ask but I have this sneaky suspicion you might have a few things that need to be said knowing that who we have listening to us are business owners, with all kind of things planned right now. But are there any behaviour, any instructions, anything that comes to mind that you can really impact the lives of thousands of people in this conversation. Like what you else you want to give because you are just a gold mine of really great value. Ron: Well, thank you Sandra, I appreciate that. One thing I would like to say, it is important to have someone who believes in you. That‟s where my wife held up. Because I guess back in 1999 while I was still employed, she encouraged me to go back to college and get my MBA. And I enrolled in executive MBA program. And I was the oldest guy in the class, I thought that my brain fully turned to peanut butter but it turned out that I could still compete with those younger folks, I started building my confidence because of her belief in me because she says `you can do it‟, I‟m like `really, you think I can?‟ So it‟s really important to have some kind of support system, somebody that believes in you it‟s kind of a foundation. Travis: Right. Ron: And the other thing is how you look at failure. I don‟t know with you Travis but I don‟t like making mistakes but if you find a failure as something else, if you look at it as being a test not really a failure, it‟s a test to look out. I think it was Pen Kennedy that said that when you are writing advertising copy they know that 9 out of 10 of the advertising efforts are going to fall flat and it‟s a piece of pancake and one of them will be a winner. But they view it not as failure but as test. It goes to tell me that all the things I did wrong was one expensive education. Sandra: Right. Ron: And if you look at it as educational experience I suppose. Travis: It‟s all of the above. Ron: It‟s all of the above. I really recommend that as entrepreneurs really take time to think both at the beginning when they put that strategy together, of how they could start their blue ocean and when they hit the wall and when things just don‟t go well and when they have reversals which you going to have those, reflect on why this does not work? What are we going to do next time? That‟s really the key thing. Travis: Right. Are you a fan of Napoleon Hill.

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

Ron: Yes, definitely. No question about it. Travis: Yeah. Ron: Actually recently got a cd series of Napoleon live series, about his live lectures and it‟s one thing to read the book. It‟s another to hear him in his voice sharing some things that are not in the book. Travis: You got to share that with me. Ron: It‟s pretty incredible because I just got one of them it just blew me away. He keeps talking about you got to have this definite purpose; I was kind of like okay let‟s find Napoleon. How do you develop this definite compelling purpose? So he said in his talking and the second thing about going the extra mile, he says by going the extra mile you would develop your definite purpose. Oh I‟m like `thank you very much why you have not written that in the book?‟ Because I thought you had a start with a definite purpose I didn‟t realize that by this practicing going to the extra mile all of a sudden your definite purpose would be revealed to you. Sandra: Wow. Ron: It‟s good to go a deep dive on any author whenever you get the chance. Travis: Ron, have you listened to Napoleon Hill‟s 16 laws of Success? Ron: Yes, oh man it‟s powerful. Travis: I am listening to Diana Bridge‟s version right now and I am riveted, 35 hours of audios. Ron: Right. Travis: And I am completely riveted, and it‟s helping me become a better person, a better business man. He talks a lot about number one delivering more than what is ask of you. Is that what you are talking about? Ron: Yeah. Travis: Giving before asking, giving before expecting to receive. Ron: Right. Travis: The power of focusing on the positive and letting go of the negative. You just can‟t participate in the negative without holding your back. Ron: That is correct. Copyright © 2012, 2013 The Entrepreneur‟s Radio Show

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

Travis: And so I take that as, you could step in a puddle of mud and you got a decision either to wipe it off and move on or lie down and wallow in it. And I have done my share of lying down and wallowing in it but ultimately what made me a better person is when I finally got a hold of it, took ownership of it. Ron: Yeah, I agree. Travis: And then I started finding clarity in what I can do better, I steal every place some of the things I say and do. And I think how could have I done that better, I want to let go, I want to impact in people‟s lives, I want to help people, I want to make a difference in their lives and critiquing and finding the negatives or what they are doing wrong is not doing any service unless critiquing or to help them grow. But beyond that it‟s not doing me any service, and he talks about vibrating at a different level and that‟s so true. Have you experienced that, sounds a little hokey the vibrating at a different level but he goes on the details of the vibrations of radio and energy and power and everything else. Ron: Yup, let me give kind of a back story on that, I am physics major. Travis: Right. Ron: Let me give the backstory on that to finish my story. What‟s that refreshing to me for a couple of years is that for a long time physicist will talk about matter, physical matter, and everything? And now more and more they are talking about energy because really what matters is a form of energy. No question that positive energy attracts negative energy repels. I realized a couple of years ago not too long ago that I have been so head down on working in a business that I haven‟t really connected my personal growth and for some reason. I started subscribing the Success magazine which is something I would recommend every entrepreneur do because the CD that comes with Success magazine as well as the article have so many good business tips that are current and what‟s working now it‟s just a tremendous trade. One time when I was reading one of the items I saw an ad for Jim Rohn, he is the business philosopher. I ordered his products and was listening to it. One of the things that he had in there just really caught my attention, he says you need to have something good to say, I‟m like have something good to say, how do you do that? Maybe I realized I have not really put anything good into my brain. The first things I did I started to program of not watching the news, not reading the news. Travis: I just did the same thing. Ron: Okay, because it‟s negative. I mean good news doesn‟t sell so all they do is put negative news out there. Travis: Exactly.

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Ron: So I just like I am not going to watch news on television, I am not going to go to CNN online and see what‟s happening because there‟s absolutely nothing I can do about that. And it‟s not really helping me and the business. So I turned off the negative and then I started listening to more and more positive cd‟s and watching more positive videos going to seminars that were uplifting and started associating with like-minded entrepreneurs and developing relationships with people that were going forward and were positive. Travis: Right. Ron: I think it was Brendon Burchard that talked about when you look at different classifications of friends, you got old friends that you kind of stuck with, you got close friends and then you got growth friends. Travis: Right. Ron: And you really need to focus on getting more of and closer relationships with growth friends. Travis: Oh, I agree with you on that as a matter of fact that‟s where we met. Ron: Yeah, that‟s true. Travis: I think that‟s where we met Sandra also, right? Sandra: It is. Ron: It‟s exactly it. The one item I did not do would really compress how much it took to become successful was getting a mentor. I thought I could just figure it on my own. For a long time, I was not teachable. I think there‟s a lot of heat strong entrepreneurs out there who is not just teachable. My wife is just over in the corner just clear her throat for not being teachable because there‟s a lot of things she teaches me you have to do this and I wouldn‟t do it because I would be stubborn. And then when I read it on the book or heard on CD, or another guy would tell me hey Ron, you need to do this to not start doing it I just said okay, you wouldn‟t do it when I tell you and you learn it someplace else than you do it. Travis: Right. Ron: I‟m like guilty as charge. But it is really important to have a coach and to have a coach in a lot of different areas of your life. Travis: I‟m so glad you said that.

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Ron: Yeah, but it took me a while to come to that realization so hopefully entrepreneurs listening out there that it resonates with them, that to go out and coaching can really compress the time on your path. Travis: And it didn‟t matter who is as long as you know that they‟ve got to be good, they‟ve got a background that proves success within the realm of that you need coaching it. Ron: That‟s right, that‟s right. Travis: In business, getting back to a little here maybe not I am interested knowing that you are physicist. I have something crazy happening this morning, I have multiple malfunctions. I had my computer, my iPhone, my landline and the recording that we did earlier on another episode. All of them were acting up and I‟m frustrated and it‟s just going so sour that I‟ve got to reach out and ask for help. I could not even log on to the call with you because of all this issue I just decided to just roll with it and laugh about it. But I can‟t help but wonder is if there something in me that‟s projecting this because how come so many different things electrical equipments be going wrong that are not tied to each other. Ron: No, I would beg to differ on that, it‟s not something within you. I heard many, many, many years ago, there‟s really this positive uplifting business related event that you are getting ready to go to. Your car gets 4 flat tires, your flights is delayed and all these other stuff. All these obstacles are being put in front of you keeping you from going to this event that you know is going to really impact your life and your business. Travis: Right, right. Ron: In fact the more resistance you see to that the more of an indication it is that you are supposed to go. Sandra: I like that. Ron: There is a force out there that is trying to keep you from growing and succeeding in life and you just have to sit there and laugh like you did, it‟s kind of interesting. Travis: Yeah. Ron: And almost as if there‟s forces that is testing you, okay they really want this, it‟s either a test or it‟s a force that is preventing you from getting what you need to get. Travis: Yeah, it‟s kind like challenging me and maybe I am being tested to see if what I can really apply what I am learning here with the 16 laws because there have been times in the past that I have to get

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pissed off and I have to go and settle down. Now I just okay, even Sandra I‟m sure probably wondering what is up with him this morning? Sandra: I look at things not my auto pilot response might be to get kicked off not you Travis but just when things happens but deep inside you take a minute before you give in to that and you can either go down the road of being the victim and being kicked off or you could turn on around and say I am the most powerful human being in the universe. And I just created this like why would I do that and to look for the lesson, I mean it has not to be affected for too long, because Travis that‟s a lot of power because of all that upper that certainly we don‟t want to miss this show today with Ron. Travis: No. Sandra: Genius, really fun too. The energy thing is something that I write about it in my book, because there‟s woh woh I can found down to taking the camera and to smallest molecule or atom is emptied and there‟s nothing there except vibrations and I don‟t think people really know that we are made of nothing. It‟s the worst thing of energy. It‟s pretty miraculous world and things that we wanted that are human machinery kicks in, hey I just started this, how about speak of fear a little bit Ron, any titbits because I know for me a lot of things come up that could never do it, that I am afraid to do it or had it always been easy for you to overcome fear. Ron: No. Sandra: We‟d love to hear it. Ron: Oh boy, I had many examples I can give you, where this really come from I need to think it over. Where to start, I mean I had fear, big time. I will give you one example that started even before I started business back when I was in my early 30‟s, I was so introverted and it worked that when I had to conduct meetings, I could not even look people in the eye and I am a meeting leader. So what I would do is that I would prepare this really great handouts and I would read the handouts in the meeting. That was my idea of conducting a meeting. I was taken up vibes that this is not good so I decided I‟ve got to learn how to speak in front of the people. So I went to my boss to see if they go to that course and he says well we had budget cuts we don‟t do that anymore but you can go join the Toast Masters, it‟s pretty expensive but you got to pay for your own stuff so I said okay. A friend of mine has been in the Toast Master and I notice an improvement in her presentations so I asked her you think you can get me into this and she said yeah, I will use my influence and see if you will get accepted. Not knowing that they accept everybody. Travis: Right.

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Ron: But anyway I go to the first meeting and all I have to do at the first meeting is talking about 12 people in the meeting and I only knew one of them. I had to stand up and say my name, where I work and my family situation. So I stand up and my heart like triples, my voice goes up a couple of actives and I squeak out, and I sat down and I was so mad of myself because I was in my early 30‟s and I couldn‟t stand up in a group of strangers and say my name, and where I work and I was married with kids. So I made a decision this is too hard I am out of here, I am not going to do this. Well luckily, this fella got to give his first speech and the first speech is supposed to be four minutes and stuck you know absolutely cold, where you were born, what was your family like, things that you don‟t have to memorize. He sat in there and being sweat was dripping at his chin and his hands are shaking with his nose and I‟m looking at that and my mind shifted. And I said you know I am mad in every sense about this process but he is scared and he is doing it anyway. And I made the decision go do it, if he can do it so can I. So I come back to the next week for the meeting and I have notes in my hand, my hands run weird I am reading my notes, I am married with kids okay, I sat down. It ended up that I became the president of the club, and then area governor and winning series speech contest in Humor Speech contest because I was determined that I was going to learn how to speak in front of people. And I had this image in my mind that I played over and over again, I think they called it theatre of the mind in rehearsal where I would be in a big board meeting in my company and all of the vice presidents will be looking at me, looking my presentation and nodding their heads and turning to each other, yeah he is good, he is really good. And that image carries me to the entire process. Did I fear? No, I had it big time. To give you one more example of fear kind of related to business but not. I decided at the same time I decided to become a speaker in front of people that I would pass athletically do something to be really proficient. At that time I was playing golf poorly, I was playing tennis poorly, and I was canoeing okay, like water canoeing, so I decided to drop golf and tennis and to graduate from canoeing to kayaking. So the first class I go to kayaking they squeeze you into this kayak we were out there in mars on the lake with really cold water. Sandra: Wow. Ron: And we go couple of yards off shore and they say the first thing we want you to do is get another person‟s kayak to be at a right angle to you, put your hands on their boat, lean your kayak over and put your nose on the water and then come back up. I am good swimmer but I am wedge in this kayak because I feel entrapped in it and they haven‟t taught us yet how to get out of the kayak. And it‟s like all the courage I had to lean over put my nose on the water and come back up. And that night I have taken 7 people with me who don‟t know how to kayak all the two of us continue to learn the rest of them could not handle feeling trap inside the kayak. I even have a vision in my head on the headlines in the paper of a local boy dies drowning wedge in the kayak in this kayaking class. But I went on not to be an Olympic kayaker but I was really good.

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Sandra: Wow, it really takes something. Everything within that inside saying no, don‟t, stop, you can‟t or people won‟t like me or this isn‟t going to work or you are going to fail but to just people anyways. And it‟s not you are superhuman Ron or you have super powers, I want to ask you about fear because it is so easy to see people talking or say to them of course you can do that but I can‟t but you‟ve got everything too, it‟s just that you go to that extra step, and then Travis too, and I do too. When I can you know what I am doing anyways and gosh, to take an action, to take a new action that you never have before really can build up confidence to try something else new and get new more results. Ron: That‟s true. Because what I learned with Toast Masters in fact is everything is a learnable skill. Travis: Right. Ron: Everything. You might not be world class but if you want to do brain surgery you could learn the technique but that wouldn‟t take responsibility unless somebody‟s brain, everything can be learned, everything. Sandra: Well both of you read Napoleon Hill, I want to mention to all our listeners also we spend a lot of time alone, I know I do drive in my car and I know as far as mentor and powerful friends I‟ve got some really great once in my life but I am not talking to them 24/7. I can tell that both of you always have something you‟re listening to probably in the car in your off time, if you can‟t get into a conversation with someone to maybe pull you out of the slump or advance your growth, have something that you regularly committed to listening to. Ron: Yeah, definitely if we get in the car the CD should come out automatically. And you should listen to it more than once. I mentioned the CD that counsels success magazine. I listened to it probably about ten times before I will take it out and replace to another one because you will be surprised what you missed the first time, the second time, and third time. Travis: You are challenging me because I only listened to them three times. Ron: Well, when I get the magazine, the magazine is marked it with a yellow highlighter and then I‟ll go back with my journal and look at what I marked in yellow highlighter and write in the journal because when you write something it really imprinted into your brain a little better. Sandra: And there are people that are natural geniuses that can meditate and come up with some great invention and some great idea but for most of us we tried hard we are on our own and maybe just as simple as listening to a CD or reading something just to get that spark. Nobody can stand on top of the cutting edge new idea. But I tell you get one of those idea you hear something in CD or you can spark a whole new bunch of idea so really great advice for people learning.

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Travis: I think the CD‟s, the circle of five is the five people you spend the majority of your time around that affect your thought processes, your attitude, and so many other things and sometimes we don‟t have a third or fourth or fifth person that we spend all the time around. I think one of the things what I‟m pointing out is that you can use those parts as stand ins for your circle of influence. I know that I do in my own life, I don‟t want to speak for you Ron but I know that do for me I spend a lot of time even though Napoleon Hill is not alive he is still a mentor. Ron: Right. Travis: I know it‟s extremely the hebo lessons that come from such a prolific writer. Ron: Yeah, I agree. Sandra: Well, meantime we are just an hour and five minutes and I want to make sure we are not missing anything before we wrap up. Ron: Well, one more thing I want to leave with you Sandra: Yes. Ron: Because when you sit there and you look at all the things to do in starting a business or everything I want people not to get focus on getting their desk, their filing cabinet, their fax machines, their laptop and all those stuff. The key item when you look at first things first is to create a world class product or service, that‟s really the foundation. It has something that produces results for your clients, that‟s the critical thing to produce we are creative people, create that product and once you created the product or service then you can focus on the technology, to deliberate the technology, to attract people, the marketing of it and all that stuff but what comes first is creating that world class product or service. Sandra: Right. Excellent. Ron: That produces results to your clients because your clients really don‟t need more information; they are already overloaded with information. What they want is results in their life. So create products and services that produce results. Travis: Right. I agree with you. When I go and help business there are two things that I cannot fix is poor quality and no motivation or drive. I can help you refine your model, I can help you refine your pricing and all those everything, but I can‟t fix those two other things. Ron: Yeah.

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Travis: That‟s completely for you to create the quality and the drive so that‟s very important. And another thing that you talked about and I know we need to wrap things up, I feel like in times when I am not at my best I let my lower self-take control and my lower self is normally that little 6, 7 year old inside of me they once throw a feat because everything is not going on my way or I want to throw a feet because everybody is not doing what I want them to do. And that is part of the teachings of Napoleon Hill is to come from a place of positivity. There is a way of looking at it, you take a glass of water and you put a tea bag in it that water turns brown so it is obvious which is stronger; the tea is stronger than water. And so you can either choose to react in a very negative way or you can choose to react in a positive way. And just get beyond it rather than letting it drag you down to that lower level of yourself. I just want to point that out. I want to start closing the show with some important pointer or quotes because we are all here to grow ourselves and improve and make a difference. One of my favourite quotes by Napoleon Hill is „Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit.‟ Sandra: Wow. Great. Ron: That‟s powerful. Travis: Yeah, powerful. I want you think about that, Sandra and myself are here, Ron here, we are all here to help you make a difference in your business, in your life, in your circle of influence because business owners matter that‟s what makes, I feel like that‟s one of the key things that makes America great. And so I want to thank you for tuning in. Sandra what do you have to say. Sandra: I‟d like to hear that quote one more time so that we could just wrap it up. Travis: Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit. Sandra: That‟s great. Travis: Do you want to do the housekeeping for me today? Sandra: No. Travis: No? Sandra: That‟s your job, I want to activate that little 6, 7 year old you are as far as you can get. Travis: Yeah, alright. I am going to see you tomorrow and you‟ll get to sassy with me. Sandra: I want to get sassy. Travis: So listen I want to tell you go to travisandsandra.com, of course that‟s where all the blogs are. I know that you probably access this through Facebook or iTunes but remember at travisandsandra.com, Copyright © 2012, 2013 The Entrepreneur‟s Radio Show

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

you can interact with us, all of our contact information is there, Ron‟s contact information once we publish the show Sandra and I is going to give you some link and you can click on it and it will get straight to Ron, but it‟s a great for a start for us to interact we are looking to get for videos up in there as well, plus we have a consumer guide that is critical part of your business that you really need to start applying. So go there to begin that process and be part of our community. Alright? Sandra: Perfect. And as a reminder when you go to travisandsandra.com and join our community you‟ll have access to all of this great audios. You may choose not to listen to them 10 times or you may, but we really have recorded so very, very valuable information that maybe just the thing you need to hear to get excited again, go back on track know you are just in right place, you are human and you really can succeed and the areas that are important to you so thank you for joining us. And Ron an extra thank for just being such a fountain of wisdom and fun today really appreciate you for taking the time. Ron: Thank you for having me on here it‟s really been fun.

End of Interview Travis: Alright guys we‟ll get you on the next episode. Take care.

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THE ENTREPRENEUR’S RADIO SHOW Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs that Grow Your Business

How We Can Help You We know that finding someone that you can trust online today is hard and that so many “so called gurus” are self-‐appointed and have never really even done what they teach you to do. That‟s exactly why we created the Double Your Profits Business Accelerator. This is an exclusive offer for our fans at a fraction of its normal cost. Here's what to expect. We'll Schedule a 'One on One' private session, where we'll take the time to dive deep into your business and tell you what is missing, so that you can have your best year ever! We'll do this by performing a S.W.O.T. Analysis. This tells us your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats within your business. This will be an eye opener for YOU, for several reasons, however some of the most common reasons are. As the 'Business Owner' it‟s difficult to see the big picture of your own business because you‟re in the middle of a daily management. And you are too emotionally involved to completely impartial. This is a common problem for EVERY business owner. It doesn‟t matter if you are a one-man army, or an army of 150, the problem is still the same.

Travis Lane Jenkins Business Mentor-Turn Around Specialist Radio Host of The Entrepreneurs Radio Show “Conversations with Self-made Millionaires and High-level Entrepreneurs That Grow Your Business"

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