John Lee Dumas – Finding Your Fire
By Mary Maxey
October 24, 2019
In this episode, our guest is John Lee Dumas. He is the host and founder of Entrepreneur on fire. He is a remarkable individual who is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world. He shows the entire thing of what he does. He is also living a life that people want to emulate. He is enjoying his life but still maintaining a high level. Today we will unpack how he made it, the values we can extract from him, what he has experienced, and what we should do to succeed.
[1:58] Why should I listen to you?
You should listen to me because of the message you passed across in the introduction phase. I am not brilliant, but I’m one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. I have been a mentee for years, and I have learned a lot of things. I may not have original things to say, but I have much impactful knowledge to share.
[3:40] What things made you feel confident to take the first step of interviewing someone?
It has been said that you are an average of the five people you spend the most time with. I surrounded myself with people that I look up to as mentors. I begin to listen to podcast interviews of hosts that I admire. But a question popped: Why can’t I be in the room? Being challenged by that question helped me in taking a step forward. I started talking to people, and through that, I gained control. I started my podcast journey in 2012, and here we are in 2022 with a lot of incredible success.
[8:00] How does it feel to be successful at this level?
There was no revenue in the first year that I started. I had no experience with entrepreneurship and how it works, but an individual reached out to me. He told me I have a fantastic audience who loves to hear me speak, and he decided to sponsor the entrepreneur shows. He did that because of the podcast’s quality and the niche. I picked a place. Then I stuck with it.
[11:00] When did you find out that you are moving fast?
We got to a phase of sponsorship deals, and everything was going well. I had coaches, and I decided to launch a product. I decided to teach people how to grow and monetize their podcasts. I have always believed in investing in mentors, and I still invest in them. My mentor then advised me to write an email list and tell them I was about to launch a product. The strategy was to open the door for this product for $250, and after that, the fee increased to $500. I had it in mind to give 20 people, but 35 signed up over the weekend. It is important to make hay while the sun shines but remember that the sun will not always be shining.
[15:28]How did you think of having a team to support you on this?
It was a process. At first, I wanted to do everything alone. I found every guest and did the social media pages’ recording, editing, posting, and handling, but I got worn out. I couldn’t handle it again, so I sat down and wrote the most important things I should do. I figured out what I’m good at the most and picked a group of professionals at what they do. We have different people with different roles, which helped me push my business forward while my teams do their best to get things done.
[20:30] How do you deal with people’s differences when building a team?
That’s tough, but a mastermind is okay. People who know and understand what you are doing are critical. They have done it before, bringing in their strength and weakness. They have done it before, so that you can leverage that. If they do not know something, be assured that they know someone who does because they are in that field. You’ve got to help one another to get things done. I have mentors, and they are significant to me. They give me the information, tips, and answers to questions I can’t fathom.
[25:38] Was there a time when you didn’t like your successful person?
I’d say that in my ten years of building this person I am, there is no point when I regret becoming the person I am. I have no regret. I did get to a point where it was my best year. We had over 5 million revenues for the year, but the expenses were quite much. I had to pay workers, fees, and so on. In all, I never regret being the person that I am.
[36:24] Do you think the journey you’ve gone through can’t allow you to work six days per week?
Everything I did was part of the process. It was getting through the fire. I made mistakes, tried again, and I put in the wraps. If you want to be better, you must be consistent. Nobody is good at something the first time, but it gets better with hard work and consistency.
[42:13] What promise did God make to the world when he created you?
The ability to choose my destiny is my biggest dream. I want to show people that they can be in control of their lives. You can live a life of your choice.
Key Quotes
[10:30–10:37] Doing it right with a bit of risk will be great.
How to connect with John Lee Dumas
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnleedumas/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnleedumas1
