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This is a super short episode that I call a "Bacon Bit" Here's 1 quick tip to anyone starting a new side-hustle or business... This takes zero skill but will save so much frustration. (I wish I did it when I first started out)Gave this friendly advice yesterday and figured someone else, somewhere might find it just as useful. 

Today I'm joined by Justin Cooke, cofounder and CMO of Empire Flippers as he explains the state of the digital business acquisition market now... specifically Amazon FBA and ecommerce businesses.He reveals How Covid and 2020 effected online business purchases and sales. Who's on a buying spreeWhat to expect when buying a business in today's market.How EF Capital is helping to match investors and investor/operators up and create a winning synergyAnd how EmpireFlippers is hiring . See more https://empireflippers.com/careersIf you're sick of building a business and ever thought that buying one might be an option for you, tune in now.  

If you ever struggled to answer the apparently easy question "What do I want?" Then this is for you.If you know what you'd like to have, but you don't know what would DRIVE YOU, then this is for you.I've personally struggled with this question from time to time and recently helped a client work through this. This is a short solo episode with a few steps you can go through to help answer that question for you.At then end I posed a question for you...If I hosted a virtual workshop that went over this process in a lot more detail, so you could help discover what drives you and avoid the frustrating confusion of not being able to answer that question, would you be interested?  If so, email brad@baconwrappedbusiness.com and mention this episode and say "tell me more" 

Ever imagine what it would be like to own a second home (or two) in an international resort or vacation location?Would you want to buy it to live in a country with a lower cost of living while enjoying the high life of a condo on the beach?Would you rent it out and cash in on high yields in high demand locales?Would you do a combination of both? Live there for a few months and rent it out the rest of the year?This has been an investment strategy I've recently been pursuing and I invited the founder of Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA), Ronan McMahon on the show today to discuss how his company provides the information, tools and access to deeply discounted deals before they're presented to the public.Ronan McMahon is editor of Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) and a global real estate scout. He spends six months of every year on the road, finding and negotiating opportunities to buy low and make serious profit from capital appreciation, rental income, or a mixture of both.He does this both for his own personal real estate portfolio and for members of Real Estate Trend Alert. Only RETA get details of the best deals he finds worldwide—in Latin America, Europe, and Asia.One of his biggest strengths is identifying markets that are due for an upswing in values—but where other investors aren’t looking yet.I am a paying subscriber to their service and use it to educate myself on the possibilities of investing and potentially living overseas and I've gotten tremendous value from their resources.But in addition to the education, Ronan and his team scour these countries and leverage their relationships with established developers to create incredible deals on pre-development real estate in what Ronan calls “the path of progress.”Ronan also has a brilliant business model because he travels the world looking at real estate opportunities and leverages the RETA membership to secure these discounted investment properties, while sharing in the revenue from the developers.It's a win-win-win situation.Developers win because they receive a surge of demand and pre-sales for the properties they want to develop, thus de-risking their investmentRETA member-investors win because the economies of scale from the RETA membershipsRonan and his team win because they get paid for providing valuable deals and connecting investors with developers.In this episode episizzle you'll hear me satisfy my own selfish curiosity (as always) but it will also get your wheels turning about how you might be able to create a profitable business by matching up supply with demand.And if you're interested in learning more about Real Estate Trend Alert, visit https://internationalliving.com/real-estate and get his free report: 15 Best Places to Invest in Real Estate in 2021.

Tax strategy can be a very dry discussion for most entrepreneurs. After all, we love creating new dollars, marketing and growth strategies which make it rain.But if you have a leaky bucket, all the rain will drain to the ground and you'll be left with a lot less than you made.But what if there were a way to reduce taxes or even eliminate them altogether the way many Fortune 500 companies do it?There is a way, in fact there are dozens of ways and strategies that are perfectly legal yet often ignored.That's why I invited Steve Moskowitz on the show today to discuss little-known strategies to help avoid (not evade) taxes.This is less of an interview and more of a conversation where you'll hear me ask specific situational examples that will show what's possible as well as how Steve thinks.If you're on the fence about this episode, wondering if the topic will be too dry to listen to, stop and give it a chance.Because if you're in business now you could be missing a lot of money you could be owed now as well as paying a lot that you could avoid.To contact Steve visit https://moskowitzllp.com or call 888-TAX-DEALOther resources mentioned in the show.https://moskowitzllp.com/tax-lawyer-blog/https://moskowitzllp.com/leaving-california-and-the-franchise-tax-board-behind-a-little-qa-on-california-exit-planning/About Steve MoskowitzSteve started Moskowitz LLP because he saw that while big corporations were consistently navigating the tax code to their advantage, smaller businesses and individuals were not. With prior experience as a CPA at a national accounting firm, and with extensive experience in the corporate world, Steve knew he could help smaller businesses and individuals by applying what he knew. He wanted to make a critical difference in businesses and individual lives that protected them from the powerful government and enabled them to keep and enjoy the fruits of a lifetime of work that otherwise could be taken away from clients by the government in just one action.Today – together with a full team of tax attorneys, CPAs, enrolled agents and other professional staff – Moskowitz LLP helps business and individual clients across the country and overseas to resolve a wide variety of tax matters. The Moskowitz LLP team also creates strategies to utilize the tax code and relevant treaties to clients’ benefit, and provides ongoing tax support and tax return preparation. Unlike most firms, Moskowitz LLP clients pay a flat fee and are not subject to hourly rates.Learn more at MoskowitzLLP.com

Today we explore a saving and investment concept strategy that has proven to bring many advantages over traditional methods. It's called the Bank On Yourself strategy, made popular by author and advisor Pamela Yellen which uses a little-known type of insurance policy which provides guaranteed growth and tax advantages. I invited advisor Sarry Ibrahim on the show today to discuss how these policies work, who they're appropriate for and how to get the most out of them.If you're interested in speaking with Sarry, you can contact him at https://finassetprotection.com

Patrick Riddle explains a powerful shift he made in his information publishing and marketing business by working with proven experts and partnering with them to create powerful front end offers and creating a proven method to market these products more effectively.If you currently sell "information" or courses, you'll want to listen closely to what Patrick says because he started where most do but has evolved his business in a way that provides him greater income, security and longevity.

Nir Eyal  is the author of "Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products" and "Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life".  Previously he taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Design School and I’ve sold two technology companies since 2003.His expertise is at the intersection of psychology, technology, and business: “behavioral design" which encompasses user experience, behavioral economics, and a dash of neuroscience.Previously Nir worked in the video gaming and advertising industries where ge learned, applied (and at times rejected) the techniques used to motivate and manipulate users. He now writes to help companies create behaviors that benefit their users while educating people on how to build healthful habits in their own lives. In today's show, Nir gives me (Brad) a masterlesson hot seat on one of my existing businesses and how to create a more habit forming product while also discussing how we can become Indistractable (which is especially helpful for someone like myself).There's gold in this one. You might want to take notesVisit NirandFar.com for more information

Are you living where you're treated best?That's the question that the founder of NomadCapitalist.com, Andrew Henderson asks himself and his clients.If you're a location independent entrepreneur and ever wondered what it might be like to live in different countries around the world, or just another country that offers more flexibility, freedom, lifestyle and less confiscatory taxation, you're going to want to listen to this episizzle all the way through.What does it mean to be treated best?According to Andrew, the USA has the best "Brand" in the world, but that doesn't mean it has the best "product," especially for some people. The USA is a wonderful place in many respects, but depending on your socio-economic status it could be a nightmare compared to your options.And explaining the options is what Andrew does best.For instance, some people with lower incomes and savings could afford a much more comfortable lifestyle or retirement in a developing country where the cost of living is a fraction of the USA. On the other end of the spectrum, those with high incomes and wealth can also avoid the increasingly confiscatory taxation of the US and the other countries in the developed world.Evading taxes is wrong.Avoiding them however, through legal means is smart.Further the adventures and lifestyle you can create by understanding your options can open up a whole new world.This is a topic I've personally given a lot of thought to and today you'll hear me selfishly ask Andrew questions I want to know for potential moves I might make.And if you'd like to know more about this, Andrew has 3 resources to share with you here;How to get Portugal's Golden VisaHow to get Citizenship by InvestmentEU Golden Visa Residence by investment programsAnd I highly recommend reading Andrew's book, which you can order here on Amazon. 

Ever wished you could remember everything you learn, take better notes, recall what you read and access it anytime?  You don't need to be a genius, you need a "Second Brain"... that's what Tiago Forte of Forte Labs developed, a systematic and comprehensive way to get more out of everything you learn with a uniquely effective way to take digital notes. This is a special video episode, so feel free to visit https://baconwrappedbusiness.com/tiagoforte-secondbrain and watch He's the founder of BuildingASecondBrain.com and joins me on the show today as we geek out about knowledge. BONUS:  Part 2 Begins 35 minutes in as Tiago turns the table and interviews me (Brad Costanzo) about how to buy and sell course based products, what makes a company valuable and sellable and out-of-the-box ways to do creative deals and monetize your knowledge.   

Entrepreneur Magazine calls Justin Donald the “Warren Buffett of Lifestyle Investing.” He’s a master of low-risk cashflow investing, specializing in simplifying complex financial strategies, structuring deals, and disciplined investment systems that consistently produce profitable results. His ethos is to “create wealth without creating a job.” He recently published Lifestyle Investor: The 10 Commandments of Cash Flow Investing for Passive Income and Financial Freedom on Amazon which you can get here:  https://amzn.to/2LokXqjIn the span of 21 months, and before his 40th birthday, Justin’s investments drove enough passive income for both he and his wife Jennifer to leave their jobs. Following his simple investment values, Justin negotiated deals with over 100 companies, multiplied his net worth to over eight figures, and maintained a family-centric lifestyle in less than 2 years. Just 2 years later, he doubled his net worth again.  He now consults entrepreneurs and executives on lifestyle investing, with a forthcoming book and podcast based on his lessons and proven investment system that consistently produces repeatable returns.Justin began investing heavily in real estate and now owns several profitable real estate related businesses, including OrangeTheory Fitness franchises and a large portfolio of multifamily rentals. His entrepreneurial ventures include IFM Restoration, a residential maintenance and rehab company founded in 2016. IFM recently funded its Series A with S3 Ventures, the largest venture capital firm in Texas, leading the round.Justin is a member of Tiger 21 and a board member of Front Row Foundation International. He and Jennifer contribute to various causes privately and through their church, from fighting cancer to building clean water wells in third-world countries. Additionally, they sponsor multiple children through Compassion International. The Donalds are based in Austin, Texas, and love adventure-based international travel with their beloved daughter.Learn more at JustinDonald.com

Many entrepreneurs and founders have recently realized that it makes more sense to buy a business than to build one from scratch. I like to think of this as the next evolution of skillsets for any entrepreneur because it helps you achieve inorganic and often exponential growth. On the other side, selling a business can be a massively impactful decision to any business owner's future and making sure you do it right is critical.That's why I invited Domenic Rinaldi on the show to talk about his experience in working directly with both buyers and sellers to help them navigate a complex transaction.Meet Domenic RinaldiAs owner and managing partner of Sun Acquisitions, and K2Adviser.com Domenic helps his clients both buy and sell businesses across a variety of industries.Since 2005 he’s been personally involved in over 300 transactions for businesses with enterprise values of $2 million to $50 million.In this episode we discussThe real risks that buyers and sellers face in the process of buying or selling a businessStrategies to prepare well before a purchase or a sale.How Private Equity (PE) groups are now dipping down into the small business market in their search for acquisition targetsWhich sectors are the hottest for sellers and PEAnd what to do if you're thinking about buying or selling now or in the near futureYou can get more information from Domenic by emailing him directly at domenic@k2adviser.com

Perry Marshall is one of the most expensive business strategists in the world. He’s guided clients like FanDuel and InfusionSoft from startup to hundreds of millions of dollars.I've personally been a fan, follower and customer of Perry and am excited to bring you this conversation.Today we discuss one of the most important things you can do to succeed and keep sane in the modern world and that is to detox from distraction.Perry shares the 7 criteria all business owners must  follow in order to do this effectively.If you like this you can read his newest book available on Amazon: DETOX, DECLUTTER, DOMINATE: HOW TO EXCEL BY ELIMINATION The book reveals how to grow your business 4X faster by eliminating 80% of wasted effort. This book is for business owners who are overworked, struggling to keep up with your ever-growing to-do list, often overwhelmed with getting things done. If you’ve wondered why you are working so hard to make so little money from your business, this book reveals the clear path forward. Beyond time management, you’ll discover seven steps to scaling a prevailing business to accumulate wealth that lasts for generations. Not only that, you’ll identify and change habits to develop the mental toughness you need to say “NO!” to tasks beneath your pay grade.And find out more at PerryMarshall.com

If you are responsible for spending tens of thousands or more per month on advertising, you can't afford to miss this episode.Zach Johnson, founder and CEO of the new Ad Card (from FunnelDash) reveals an exciting innovation in financial technology that can be used by digital advertisers to help them scale their business in ways they never imagined... until now. The innovation doesn't stop at advertising your own business, if you operate a mastermind or agency with clients who spend significant money on ads too, you'll want to hear how Ad Card's co-branding partnership deals can help you revolutionize your business too. For more information visit https://funneldash.com

It's no secret that deadlines and scarcity in marketing help to increase conversions and spur sales. Yet many companies have abused false senses of scarcity and urgency and end up killing trust with their customers. Today Jack Born joins us to talk about innovative ways to use deadlines and scarcity in your marketing. Jack Born creates software that helps creators and online entrepreneurs maximize their sales through marketing automation. He’s the technical founder of DeadlineFunnel.com, SurveyFunnel.io and several other software platforms.Jack also created the Tactical Triangle concept which simply and elegantly explains how to scale your marketing and reach a bigger audience. 

If I offered to show you how to turn a two sentences into a $10,000 plus course, coaching or service, using a backwards funnel, a 2-sentence Power Offer, and 10-minute Mini-Webinar... and spend up to 90 percent less on ads, would you take me up on that offer?If the answer is yes, listen to Joel Erway explain a revolutionary and simple framework to increase your revenues without complexity or overwhelm by focusing on Offer-Based Marketing. Joel Erway helps Experts semi-retire with million dollar courses. Since 2015 he has worked with and served thousands of paying customers, helping them launch and sell their courses using The Perfect Expert model framework. For more links and resources visithttps://baconwrappedbusiness.com/power-offers-joel-erway/

Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin investing is NOT an area I understand well... yet. A few years back I placed about $5k into some coins and watched them go up and then back down. For the most part I ignored it. But after reconnecting with my friend and highly successful investor, trader & trainer, Tai Zen, he began showing me the macro case for having a portion of your assets in this market. Especially now as it looks like we're re-entering the bull market. I invited Tai to the show for this epic 2.5 hour class where I pick his brain on the topics I want to know. ATTENTION: This is a special VIDEO episode and you can watch at https://baconwrappedbusiness.com/taizencryptoThis isn't about how to be a professional trader like Tai is, but more of a primer on his philosophies and wise investment strategies with sound risk management.Tai's backstory is equally as inspiring as his knowledge of cryptocurrency investing. We devoted a lot of time to it on purpose because it demonstrates what you can do when you take radical personal responsibility for your life.From being born in a poor Vietnamese fishing village, to picking fruit in America, working in sweatshops as a pre-teen, growing up in a drug-infested ghetto, spending approximately 14 years in federal prison….To getting out, working his way up from nightclub security to day trading student, educator and finally mastering the art of trading crypto currencies and showing others how to do it as well.There is no hype here, no BS, no get rich quick.But if you watch closely you'll get an amazing education in what it takes to succeed.HIGHLIGHTS (click the timestamp to jump to the topic in the video)3:46 Tai explains how we originally met and what it meant to him (Brad blushes)7:45 Tai's tells his inspiring origin story starting in a Vietnamese fishing village to getting hijacked by Thai Pirates and immigration to America working as a migrant worker12:24 Moving to Houston and getting in trouble for drugs to spending 14 years in federal prison18:50 Freedom and first jobs27:20 Brad explains why Tai's story is so inspirational31:00 When Tai discovered Bitcoin44:24 A big misconception about Bitcoin's ability to overtake the US Dollar and Fiat51:00 The market cap case for Crypto52:26 Why Bitcoin may be better than Gold for a store of wealth58:20 Bitcoin and Altcoins59:22 Important: What is the VALUE of bitcoin and cryptocurrency?01:01:05 Real world use case for blockchain technology01:07:30 DEFI what is Decentralized Finance, what are the risks, why is it important?01:16:00 How to PROTECT yourself from the Major Risks in cryptocurrency: Pumps, dumps, front running and manipulation?01:19:00 THIS IS TAI'S 4 PART FRAMEWORK FOR PROFITING WHILE PROTECTING YOURSELF01:46:00 Short list of some of the most well capitalized/funded coins which protects their development, Tezos, NEO, Cardano, Filecoin, Ethereum…01:51:00 The EASY way to dip your toe into crypto. The 2 Taifu Crypto Indexes01:58:00 Potential tax consequences of rebalancing01:59:30 Tax Deferred Investing in a Retirement Account02:05:45 Tai's training resources and courses and what to watch out for from the Youtube influencers who simply make money from ads and affiliate marketing.02:14:29 How to avoid FOMO and chasing hyped up altcoins02:15:22 How will you exit your profitable positions and what will happen? “How would you unload $1mm worth of Bitcoins and what will happen if you try?”02:17:45 The ONE simple strategy to use if you're busy and want to take advantage of 80% of the growth of the crypto market with zero research.02:25:30 How EARLY are we in the crypto bullmarket???02:26:07 How the bull and bear cycles work in crypto02:28:50 REALITY CHECK! If you get a hypothetical 10x return, if you're able to pull out 30%, you're doing fantastic.02:30:03 Summary and Sharing the LoveQuick Linkscryptocurrency.marketcryptocurrency.market/faqTaiFu Crypto Market IndexTwitter.com/heytaizen   

George Bryant is a New York Times Best Selling Author & one of the most highly sought after digital marketing consultants in the world to teach his Relationships Beat Algorithms™ approach and the Lighthouse Method to business. He's also the hose of the popular Mind of George podcast.He has helped hundreds of the largest companies in the world and thousands of entrepreneurs ethically scale their businesses by deepening their relationships with their customers... and creating transformational breakthroughs that help them accomplish their goals.He believes a company’s financial success is directly dependent on the amount of value they share before AND after a purchase. Business is about relationships & touch points. The companies who put relationships before transactions will win. That is the Relationships Beat Algorithms approach.Here's a sample of the topics we covered:How George's Lighthouse Method works and why every business should use it to build, grow and scale their businessHow to understand your customer journey and create a better one for themHot to turn your customer service into a social media teamWhere you should and shouldn't put couponsHow and why George stopped selling subscriptions on the frontend of the product and still scaled his subscription businessWhy email is the ultimate killer app and why most people are messing it up2 incredible growth hacks George hasn't revealed anywhere else except to extremely high paid clients and partners.Why your job isn't to find customers but to be found by them (and how to do that better)How to use a surprise loyalty program*Listening to this episode with a notepad is highly advisedTo learn more, visit MindOfGeorge.com

Equity Crowdfunding (Reg A+) allows small business owners to raise investment capital using traditional and digital marketing from non-accredited investors and bypassing the headaches of roadshows and VC pitch-fests. Today's guest, Darren Marble is one of the world's leading experts in Equity Crowding and is embarking on an exciting new serialized program for Entrepreneur.com that will follow 5 founders on the road from raising capital using this method all the way to a full NASDAQ IPO (initial public offering). And they're looking for entrepreneurs right now for the casting process (as of August 2020).If you own a business now, this could be a very fortunate episode to listen to because Darren and his company are currently casting new entrepreneurs to feature on Going Public which you can see more about by visiting GoingPublic.comDarren Marble – Founder, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director Crush CapitalDarren Marble is a serial entrepreneur. In 2018, Darren co-founded Issuance, a leading provider of software as a service (“SaaS”) solutions for Regulation A issuers. Issuance’s Regulation A clients have raised over $150 million to date. Beginning in 2015, Darren was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CrowdfundX, a financial marketing firm focused on direct-to-investor retail marketing in connection with Regulation A offerings. CrowdfundX was acquired by Issuance in 2019 and Darren remains the CEO at Issuance. Darren co-founded the Crowd Invest Summit and is a contributor to Business Insider, Inc. and CryptoSlate. His insights have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Forbes and the Los Angeles Business Journal. Darren attended the University of California, Los Angeles from 1998 to 2002 with a focus on Psychology. 

Led Zepplin was wrong. She's NOT buying a Stairway To Heaven and on this solo-episode, Brad will explain WHY that matters to business owners who make offers to clients and customers. This is a core concept I teach all of my clients and it helps them understand a key concept when making offers. It also will help you make more and better offers. Listen closely and then send an email to brad@baconwrappedbusiness.com describing your offers and any challenges you're having with getting them accepted by your clients or at prices that would make you happier.