*633()69(;065,*6564@ “Business in the 21st century is no longer a zero-sum game where the winner takes all. !e new leaders will be those who activate and thrive in the global collaboration economy.” —Yanik Silver, Founder Maverick1000 “!ey say content is king, but now and in the future, there’s a new king on the block. It’s collaboration. If you want to succeed, you must read this book and implement what you learn.” —Ryan Lee, RyanLee.com “!e bigger your dream, the more important your team. And the Collaboration Economy is all about how you fortify yourself with the right people, JV’s, affiliates, and collaborations to rapidly accelerate your success and significance. If you want to reach more people and create more IMPACT, collaboration is the name of the game. !is is a must read book!” —Todd Durkin, MA, CSCS Owner, Fitness Quest 10 Lead Training Advisor, Under Armour “!e Collaboration Economy is jam packed full of easy- to-apply strategies that will transform your business in today’s marketplace.” —Dan Bradbury, author of Confessions of a Millionaire Coach “I’ve known Topher and John through separate business ventures and always had great experiences with their professionalism. When I heard they were collaborating on a book I knew it would be a winner. Sure enough, this book takes you behind the curtain and shows you how they have managed to create alliances with some of the most influential people in their industries. !e strategies in this book are priceless!” —Forbes Riley, Award Winning TV Host & Fitness Hall of Fame Inductee !e 2 Billion Dollar Host / TV Health & Fitness Celebrity *633()69(;065 ,*6564@ Eliminate the Competition by Creating Partnership Opportunities 16/5:7,5*,9,330: and;67/,946990:65 N Y *633()69(;065,*6564@ Eliminate the Competition by Creating Partnership Opportunities © 2014 16/5:7,5*,9,330:and ;67/,946990:65. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other‚—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published in New York, New York, by Morgan James Publishing. Morgan James and !e Entrepreneurial Publisher are trademarks of Morgan James, LLC. www.MorganJamesPublishing.com !e Morgan James Speakers Group can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event visit !e Morgan James Speakers Group at www.!eMorganJamesSpeakersGroup.com. ISBN 978-1-61448-983-2 paperback ISBN 978-1-61448-984-9 eBook ISBN 978-1-61448-986-3 hardcover Library of Congress Control Number: 2013951387 Cover Design by: Rachel Lopez www.r2cdesign.com Interior Design by: Bonnie Bushman [email protected] In an effort to support local communities, raise awareness and funds, Morgan James Publishing donates a percentage of all book sales for the life of each book to Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg. Get involved today, visit www.MorganJamesBuilds.com. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ix Foreword xii Introduction xvii !e Old Economy vs. the New Economy 1 In Search of the Micro-Niche 5 Yesterday’s Competitors are Today’s Allies 9 Frictionless Transactions 14 Turning the Sales Model Upside Down 21 How to Be a Celebrity 28 Affiliate Systems 33 Personal Branding 46 Friends Are More Reliable than the Internet 61 Becoming a Key Person of Influence in the Industry 66 !e Future of Finance 82 Expert Interviews 87 Interview with Yanik Silver 89 Maverick Entrepreneur, Author and Publisher vii viii | *633()69(;065,*6564@ Interview with Debbie Allen 103 International Business & Brand Strategist Interview with Ryan Lee 117 Entrepreneur, Author, Coach and Proud Father of Four Interview with Polly Bauer 128 Credit Expert, Speaker and Corporate Trainer Interview with Kevin Harrington 136 Productization Conclusion 143 Your Resource List 145 About the Authors 147 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Tophers Acknowledgements I would like to first acknowledge my co-author John Spencer Ellis. I met john nearly 20 years ago, and we’ve done several projects together. He has always delivered on what he said he would do. I’m honored to call him a business partner and a friend. Some other people that definitely deserve some credit: Daniel Priestley, the author of Become a Key Person of In"uence whose entrepreneurial acumen leaves me humbled every time we speak. Kevin Harrington, from ABC’s Shark Tank… thanks for the awesome foreword for this book! Mandi Foster & Jodi Mclean, I couldn’t ask for a better team! I’m blessed to come to work each day and work beside you two! Anthony Amos, this crazy Australian is like a human Google… he’s connected to everyone. Roger James Hamilton, the creator Wealth Dynamics, and one of the most insightful men I’ve ever met. ix x | *633()69(;065,*6564@ Dan Bradbury, one of the few people in the business coaching world that I think knows what the hell he’s talking about. John Heffron, funniest comedian alive and a great co-author. (I only co-author with Johns…keeps it simple that way) Peter Rosegarten, the best manager a person could have. I appreciate you more than I ever tell you. And the most important Collaboration in my life…Kermit & Donna Morrison, married for over 50 years and my source of daily inspiration. Johns Acknowledgements My list of mentors and people of inspiration is lengthy. I first must thank my wife Kelli who supports all of my crazy ideas, and challenges me with her intelligence each day. Of course, I need to thank my co-author Topher Morrison. He is funny, ethical, and a great collaboration partner. Al and Marilyn Sargent are two people who have helped me make the toughest decisions of my life with positive outcomes. I would not have this wonderful life without their influence and guidance. My incredible staff which supports my network of companies. !ey are loyal, dedicated and always have my back. Some influential people in my life, and who have shaped my understanding of business are the following: Tim Ferris, T. Harv Eker, Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Malcolm Gladwell, Ryan Lee, Yanik Silver, Brendon Burchard, Chalene Johnson, Debbie Allen, John Assaraf and all cast members of !e Compass. A special thanks to members of KBL, !e Pack and my fellow fitness entrepreneurs. Acknowledgements | xi Finally, thank you to my mom and dad who keep me balanced, and support my business and entrepreneurial endeavors. My dad was my first entrepreneurial teacher, and my mom taught me the importance of savings and a back-up plan. FOREWORD I remember approaching a crowd of people huddled around one man selling a set of knives at the Philadelphia Home Show. His pitch was perfect. He wasn’t a salesman; he was an entertainer. !e crowd was laughing and the way he used his words created vivid images in the minds of everyone watching. It was the mid 80s and I had just seen one of the best pitchmen ever. His name was Arnold Morris and he was the presenter of the Ginsu Knives. How he got those knives so sharp, I don’t know. I can only guess they were sharpened by his wit. I’ll never forget how the audience would laugh as he shouted out his signature lines… “You can cut this tomato so thin you can read the Sunday paper through it” “You can slice the tomato so thin it will last you all week” At the end of his presentation, over half the crowd would pull out twenty dollars to be the proud new owner of a set of Ginsu Knives, and Arnold Morris was the proud new owner of about $200. Not bad for a 15-minute presentation in the 1980s. xii Foreword | xiii Before I could approach him, he had already called around another group of 20 or so people, and he launched back into his pitch with the same jokes, same vegetables and same results. Cha Ching… another $200 went into his back pocket. I didn’t see any more of the home show that day. I stayed there watching him deliver this pitch about 3 times an hour until the end of the day. Finally, as he was packing up what was left of his inventory, which wasn’t much, I approached. “I’ve been watching you all day long, that’s quite a presentation you have there.” “Well when you’ve been doing it for over 30 years you tend to know what works and stick with what works.” !at’s when I knew he was a great salesman but a struggling entrepreneur. He had been selling his knives for 30 years the exact same way because it worked. !ere’s an inherent danger in continuing to do something because it works. It keeps you from finding ways to make it work even better. Be willing to abandon already working methods for even better working methods. Arnold had been selling knives for nearly 30 years. Considering how hard he worked, how perfected his pitch had become, and how long he had been in the business presenting the knives, I estimated that he had probably earned over $1 million dollars in that 30 year span. Not a bad life. !en he met me. I realized that if we just videotaped him delivering his pitch and put the presentation on TV he could sell the Ginsu knives in more than one city at a time for more than 8 hours a day.