I Make $5M/Year With 3 Businesses

Summary

In this inspiring interview, Tim Stoddard shares his journey from a blue-collar background to running three successful businesses that generate over $5 million annually. Starting with a blog during his sobriety journey, Tim discovered SEO and transformed his writing skills into a thriving SEO lead generation agency, Stazzi Internet Marketing. He then expanded into other ventures, emphasizing the importance of building a diverse portfolio of assets. Tim offers practical advice on scaling businesses, sales strategies, and the tools that facilitate his multipreneurial endeavors, while candidly discussing the challenges of constant worry and the mindset needed to overcome entrepreneurial hurdles.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Tim Stoddard runs a multi-million dollar business portfolio, starting from humble beginnings and building his success through various ventures.
• 💼 Tim's main business, Stazzi Internet Marketing, serves as the financial backbone for his other ventures, generating significant revenue.
• 🔑 Tim's strategy involves building a portfolio of assets that work for him, allowing him to move away from the traditional 9-to-5 job model.
• 🌐 Tim's early success with blogging and SEO led to the creation of a lead generation business, which attracted clients from the healthcare industry.
• 📈 Tim emphasizes the importance of focusing on one keyword or article at a time for SEO, which can lead to substantial growth over time.
• 🤝 Tim's approach to sales involves asking questions to uncover clients' pain points and offering tailored solutions, which helps in closing deals.
• 💬 He advises to address the price early in the sales conversation to avoid the common 'let me think about it' response that often leads to no sale.
• 🛠 Tim has invested in and built various businesses, including Recovery Local, Copy Blogger, and several others in the SEO and lead generation space.
• 🛑 The challenges of running multiple businesses include the mental load of managing multiple tasks and the complexity of overseeing various operations.
• 🛠️ Tim's tools of choice for managing his businesses include Slack, Loom, Todoist, HubSpot, ClickUp, and Google Drive, which aid in communication and organization.
• 📚 Tim recommends reading 'The E-Myth Revisited' to learn how to effectively manage a team and scale a business by documenting processes and stepping back when necessary.
• 🌟 Tim's daily routine involves early mornings, family time, exercise, work focused on logistics and deal-making, and maintaining a consistent, disciplined lifestyle.

Q & A

What was Tim Stoddard's initial business model?

Tim started as a solopreneur, running a single business focused on SEO lead generation through his agency, Stazzi Internet Marketing.

How did Tim transition from a solo business to a multipreneur?

Tim discovered an opportunity to diversify his income and reduce his working hours by building a portfolio of assets that would work for him, leading him to become a multipreneur.

What is the main goal of Tim's business strategy?

The main goal is to build a self-sustaining portfolio of assets that generate income with minimal effort on Tim's part, allowing the businesses themselves to do the hard work.

What was Tim's first step into entrepreneurship?

Tim's first step was starting a blog on Blogger, writing about his personal experiences and journey, which eventually led to the creation of Subnation.

How did Tim's blog lead to his first business opportunity?

Treatment centers and behavioral healthcare centers reached out to Tim, interested in how he built a community and audience, which led to him turning the blog into a lead generation media outlet.

What is the significance of the keyword 'drug rehab marketing' in Tim's business growth?

Ranking for the keyword 'drug rehab marketing' was crucial as it helped Tim generate leads and establish his business in the SEO and lead generation niche.

What advice does Tim give for someone looking to start an agency?

Tim advises that starting an agency is ideal because it requires no significant upfront capital and can become profitable with just one client. However, it can be challenging to scale due to the increasing workload with each new client.

What are some of the tools Tim uses to manage his multiple businesses?

Tim uses Slack for communication, Loom for video messaging, Todoist for task management, HubSpot for CRM, ClickUp for more robust task management, and Google Drive for document storage and management.

How does Tim approach the process of investing in new businesses?

Tim invests in businesses based on three criteria: liking the founder, the business being cash-flowing, and the business being evergreen, meaning it has long-term sustainability.

What book did Tim recommend for managing a team and growing a business?

Tim recommends 'The E-Myth Revisited' for its insights on systematizing a business and getting out of the way to let the business grow.

What is Tim's daily routine like, and how does it contribute to his success?

Tim's daily routine is consistent, starting early with task assignments, spending time with his kids, going to the gym, working on logistics and deal-making, and maintaining a work-life balance by spending time with his family.

What is the biggest challenge Tim faces as an entrepreneur?

The biggest challenge Tim faces is the constant worry about what might go wrong and the need to anticipate and mitigate potential problems before they arise.

What advice would Tim give to his younger self starting out with his blog?

Tim advises to live life one day at a time, focusing on getting through the day and making it to midnight, which helps in dealing with fear and uncertainty.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 From Zero to Multipreneur: Tim's Business Journey

This paragraph introduces Tim Stoddard, a successful entrepreneur who has built a $5 million portfolio of businesses. Starting from humble beginnings, Tim shares his story of how he transitioned from a solopreneur to a multipreneur, managing multiple businesses simultaneously. Key points include his initial struggles, the pivotal moment that led him to diversify his business ventures, and the overarching strategy of building a self-sustaining portfolio of assets. Tim's journey is highlighted by his first business's growth, the realization of the potential for passive income, and the subsequent expansion into various industries, including SEO, lead generation, and content creation.

05:01

🔍 Scaling Businesses and SEO Mastery

In this segment, Tim delves into the specifics of scaling his businesses and the critical role of SEO in his success. He discusses the organic growth of his audience and the strategic approach to lead generation that transformed his blog into a media outlet. Tim emphasizes the importance of targeting specific keywords and creating content that addresses the needs of the audience. He shares insights on the challenges of scaling an agency, the benefits of starting with a single client, and his philosophy on building a business one step at a time. Additionally, Tim provides advice on sales, negotiation, and closing deals effectively.

10:02

🛠️ Tools and Strategies for Managing Multiple Ventures

This paragraph explores the tools and strategies Tim uses to manage his diverse business interests. He highlights the importance of communication and task management tools like Slack, Loom, Todoist, HubSpot, ClickUp, and Google Drive in maintaining the efficiency and organization of his operations. Tim also discusses the transition from being a solopreneur to building and managing a team, emphasizing the value of process documentation and delegation to avoid becoming a bottleneck in the company's growth.

15:04

💡 Investing in Businesses: Criteria and Daily Routine

Tim shares his approach to finding and investing in business opportunities, focusing on the founder's character, the business's cash flow, and its evergreen nature. He outlines his daily routine, which includes early mornings, family time, exercise, and a clear division between logistics and task assignment in the morning, and deal-making in the afternoon. This paragraph also touches on the mental challenges of entrepreneurship, such as constant worry and the need for vigilance in identifying potential issues before they arise.

🌟 Reflecting on the Entrepreneurial Journey and Offering Help

The final paragraph wraps up the interview with a reflection on Tim's entrepreneurial journey, the struggles he faced, and the advice he would give to his younger self. He emphasizes the importance of taking life one day at a time and not worrying too far into the future. The speaker also promotes a free workshop aimed at helping others validate and build their businesses, providing a resource for those looking to embark on a similar path.

Keywords

💡Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship refers to the process of designing, launching, and running a new business, which typically involves taking on financial risks in order to create and develop a business venture. In the video, Tim Stoddard exemplifies entrepreneurship by starting from nothing and building multiple successful businesses, showcasing the journey from a solopreneur to a business owner with a portfolio of assets.

💡SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of website traffic by ranking higher in search engine results pages through optimization, content, and keywords. Tim's primary business, Stazzi Internet Marketing, is heavily reliant on SEO to generate leads, highlighting the importance of understanding and leveraging SEO for business growth.

💡Lead Generation

Lead generation is the process of attracting and converting strangers and prospects into potential customers for a business. In the script, Tim's businesses focus on lead generation, particularly in the fields of rehab centers and digital marketing, demonstrating the effectiveness of targeted content and SEO in attracting potential clients.

💡Portfolio of Assets

A portfolio of assets refers to a collection of different investments or businesses that an individual or company owns. Tim's goal is to build such a portfolio to ensure that the businesses themselves do the hard work, providing passive income and growth, which is a common strategy for financial stability and diversification.

💡Solopreneur

A solopreneur is someone who runs a business entirely by themselves, often working alone and wearing multiple hats within the company. Tim started out as a solopreneur, which is a common starting point for many entrepreneurs, but eventually built a team and diversified his businesses.

💡Multipreneur

A multipreneur is an individual who is involved in multiple business ventures simultaneously. The script describes Tim's transition from a solopreneur to a multipreneur, emphasizing the ambition and diversification that comes with managing several businesses at once.

💡Content Creation

Content creation involves producing various forms of content, such as articles, videos, and social media posts, to engage an audience and promote a brand or product. Tim's business Copyblogger.com focuses on teaching content creation for the internet, which is crucial for SEO and building an online presence.

💡Investing in Businesses

Investing in businesses involves putting money into companies or ventures with the expectation of generating financial returns. Tim has invested in several businesses, such as Moving Local and Stem Cell Authority, which has allowed him to expand his portfolio and diversify his income streams.

💡Task Management

Task management is the process of planning, organizing, and controlling tasks to achieve a desired outcome. Tools like Todoist and ClickUp are mentioned in the script as essential for managing tasks across Tim's multiple businesses, illustrating the importance of organized task management for productivity and efficiency.

💡Deal Making

Deal making refers to the process of negotiating and finalizing business agreements or transactions. The script highlights Tim's approach to deal making, emphasizing the importance of asking questions to identify pain points, being upfront about pricing, and directly asking for the deal to avoid delays.

💡Evergreen

In a business context, 'evergreen' refers to products, services, or markets that are consistently in demand and not subject to rapid changes in consumer preferences or technological advancements. Tim seeks evergreen businesses for their longevity and stability, such as healthcare, which is a recurring theme in his investment strategy.

Highlights

Entrepreneur Tim Stoddard earns over $5 million a year by running three different businesses.

Tim started with nothing and grew his first business to 22 million using effective marketing strategies.

He transitioned from a solopreneur to a multipreneur, aiming to build a portfolio of assets working for him.

Tim's businesses include an SEO agency, Stazzi Internet Marketing, and Recovery Local, a parent company for several health-related websites.

He also owns Copy Blogger, a platform teaching online writing and SEO skills.

Tim's strategy involves reinvesting earnings into cash-flowing assets to build a self-sustaining business portfolio.

He discovered SEO and online writing as a way to grow his initial blog, which later became Subnation.

Tim's first client came from Behavioral Healthcare centers seeking to replicate his community-building success.

He emphasizes the importance of targeting specific keywords and being methodical in SEO strategies.

Agencies are scalable businesses that can become profitable with just one client, according to Tim.

Tim shares sales tips, including asking questions to reveal pain points and addressing price concerns upfront.

He has invested in various businesses, focusing on lead generation and SEO tools, such as Moving Local and Stem Cell Authority.

Running multiple companies allows Tim to explore new ideas and keep his entrepreneurial spirit engaged.

Tim's favorite tools for managing multiple businesses include Slack, Loom, Todoist, HubSpot, ClickUp, and Google Drive.

Transitioning from a solopreneur to a team leader involved hiring people from his recovery community and learning from 'E-Myth Revisited'.

Tim's approach to finding business ideas includes assessing the founder, the business's cash flow, and its evergreen nature.

His daily routine consists of early mornings, task assignments, family time, gym sessions, deal-making, and evening relaxation.

The constant worry about potential problems is the hardest part of being an entrepreneur for Tim.

Tim's advice for his younger self would be to focus on getting through one day at a time, especially during challenging periods.

Transcripts

this guy makes over $5 million a year

running three different businesses and

the crazy part is he started from

nothing I flew out to Denver Colorado to

ask him exactly how he got started how

he runs all these businesses at the same

time and the marketing strategy he used

to go from Zer to 22 million with his

first business we generated and still

generate a lot of our leads to Tim

started out as a solopreneur he was all

in on one business but this business had

a problem the more it grew the more

hours he had to work every day then one

day he stumbles onto an opportunity that

would change everything he decided to

become a multipreneur the big goal is to

build a portfolio of assets that

essentially do all the hard work for me

in this video Tim will share how he

built a team to run his $5 million

portfolio of businesses how to find and

close big clients and the best best

business model to start as a beginner I

still think it's the best business for

somebody to start I'm Pat walls and this

is starter

story all right Tim what's up buddy

thank you for having me sure thanks for

being here in your amazing House in

Denver Colorado tell me about who you

are and everything you built great well

my name is Tim Stoddard I own an SEO

lead generation agency called stazzi

internet marketing this year uh for

stazzy we'll do probably like 2 and A5

million but uh on the side and more and

more throughout the day I I find myself

running a personal Holdings company my

guess is it'll be like 5.2 to 5 A5

million for 2024 amazing can you break

down each of the different businesses

that you run within your holding company

sure stazzi internet marketing is the

main driver of everything else that

generates like the cash and the revenue

to make all the other stuff go

subsequently to stazzi is recovery local

that's sort of the parent company that

own owns sober.com your first step.com

detox.com and medically assistant.com

then there's copy blogger.com so copy

blogger teaches people how to write for

the internet how to build newsletters

how to do SEO on websites how to write

on LinkedIn so I've I've built up equity

in like five or six other companies over

the last couple years but those three

are the main ones so you have all these

different companies what's the Big Goal

what's the strategy of running different

multiple companies well the big goal is

to build a portfolio of assets that

essentially do all the hard work for me

I had a real like click moment like oh

wow I don't have to just work for a

paycheck every week I can use the money

I make through stazzy through my agency

reinvest it into Cash flowing assets and

eventually build up a portfolio where

the businesses the company themselves

just do the hard work for me I just made

up my mind to do it I've been doing it

ever since yeah can you give me a

timeline of how you got started and how

how you got into the business of

Entrepreneurship I grew up a bluecollar

kid I built houses for most of my

childhood my dad worked at the airport

and my mom was a nurse and so I just

thought I'd be working my whole life got

in trouble a lot when I was younger and

I had a bit of a drug problem so the

time came when I needed to change my

life and I went to rehab and and I got

sober about 6 months into that Journey a

friend basically a mentor bought me a

subscription to Success magazine which

had this CD in it and it was this

interview and it was guy named Seth

Goden he said start a blog don't tell

anybody about it and write in it every

day and there was something about that

message where I thought like you know

what I can do that I don't know why it

felt like it was a good direction for me

but I just I knew I could do that so I I

started a blog spot and I would just

write random articles about like my day

and what I was feeling and experiences I

had and there was other people that

might have been getting sober might have

been going through a journey of

themselves and they were saying like oh

I really relate to this or like I felt

the same way but I was wondering how are

these people finding my blog like I

didn't tell anybody about it so I

started researching and I discovered SEO

I discovered search and then I would

read copy blogger every day and just

improve my skills of of being an online

writer and yeah eventually that blog

spot account turned into subnation and

and that's how I got my start yeah I

love that you found this skill of

writing because actually writing was one

of my skills that helped me build

starter story and what's amazing about

starter story is there are thousands of

case studies on Founders who had some

sort of skill like writing or coding or

design they were able to take that one

skill and turn it into a business that

changed their lives if you're looking to

take your skills and passions and turn

it into an online business you should

check out our Workshop that we're

running where I share the story about

how I turned my skills which was

actually writing into a million-dollar

business how I found that business idea

how I executed on that and built that

business on two hours a day while I had

a full-time job if you're curious about

learning more about that you can find

the first link in the description and uh

save a seat for yourself see you there

all right so you got this blog people

are reading your blog they're commenting

how do you turn this into a business all

of the sudden with sobern nation

treatment centers and Behavioral

Healthcare centers were reaching out to

me saying like how did you build this

community how did you build this

audience and so we took the traffic that

was coming from sober nation and almost

turned it into like a a lead generation

media Outlet I remember got my first

client it was 2,000 bucks a month and we

just kept doing it and doing it and

doing it and it's it's scaled ever since

give me a little bit more of a breakdown

about how you built it so you had your

first client then then what did you do

from there we generated and still

generate a lot of our leads through SEO

it was one keyword in particular that I

ranked for it was just drug rehab

marketing and then we started writing

for drug rehab SEO drug rehab lead

generation so if there's like one

message that somebody can get from me

it's that you don't have to build this

giant media entity like you can tackle

it one keyword one article at a time the

trick is to be methodical about it

that's why I hate the advice like just

make great stuff just be yourself it's

just being yourself is like terrible SEO

advice what you want to do is you want

to know what people are searching for

you can figure that out just by going to

trends. google.com type in a bunch of

keywords see what keywords are available

and then write an article that best

solves the particular problem that that

person has I always think of Google as a

problem solving machine you never go to

Google for anything else other than to

solve a problem and so if you can write

an article that best solves that

person's problem you can generate leads

and then on sudden you can build a

business yeah can you tell me the pros

and cons of building and running this

agency agencies are great because

there's no real upstart Capital you

don't have to build anything you just

need to get a client and then all of a

sudden you're a profitable business

they're hard because they're difficult

to scale so like every new client you

bring in you know you have to do more

work you have to onboard them you know

every like two or three or four clients

or however many you got to hire another

employee right but nonetheless I still

think it's the best business for

somebody to start because you just need

a client once you get your first client

all of a sudden you have a profitable

business so yeah let's talk about sales

and closing deals do you have any tips

on negotiation and how to close a deal

there's only a couple things you need to

know about closing deals one is learn

how to ask questions so that the person

tells you their pain points you want the

person to tell you their problems when

that's happening I just write down what

the person says I write down the problem

and I respond with a a solution to that

problem the second most important thing

is is to get like the the price out of

the way in the very beginning because

what always happens you go through this

whole pitch and then people say okay

I'll call you back let me think about it

and that's the worst thing that can

happen so I always start a conversation

by saying like hey love just do me a

favor and let me know if you're serious

about this that way you get like a

commitment and you actually get the deal

closed and then the last and absolutely

most important thing is ask for the deal

here's my line for this it's the best

line it's are you ready to get started

that's all you got to say you say are

you ready to get started and the trick

is you shut up so what I do is I say are

you ready to get started and then I mute

my phone and I put it in front of me and

I just sit there and that's where you

close the deal so you build this agency

it's profitable it's generating cash

then you start buying businesses can you

tell me more about what that looked like

the first one was a company called

moving local again like a lead

generation site people buy moving leads

a lot I built another one called stem

cell Authority which was lead generation

for the stem cell industry I've recently

invested in a company called Kaa which

is an AI content creation tool it's

mainly for SEO it's an SEO tool I was

one of the founding investors in a

company called spark loop it's a a way

for people to build their email list it

works with beehive and it works with

convertkit there's a website called your

Boulder which I bought which is a

newsletter that goes out to the people

of of Boulder Colorado there's another

SEO agency called digital Commerce we

saw a big opportunity to do SEO for

people that want to build email lists

and sell digital products or sell

courses or sell ebooks or subscriptions

whatever the case may be so we have

another agency and then most recently I

just invested in a company called Hey

Creator so hey Creator is kind of like a

Creator Studio you could call it of

people that are all trying to build

these creator-driven businesses and then

of course I bought copy blogger that's

going really well but I'm still running

recovery local and I'm still running my

agency that's really where I spend most

of my time so you're running and have

equity in multiple companies at the same

time what are some of the pros and cons

of running multiple companies well the

cons is more mental sometimes I think

about how much more simple my life would

be if I just had one thing to focus on

and I didn't have to keep track of so

much stuff in my mind the pros are that

I love hearing new ideas I love

researching New Opportunities and so

that keeps me like really engaged and I

really think that investing in private

businesses especially investing in cash

flowing businesses that's just a great

way to make sure your money keeps

growing on itself and going on itself

all right let's talk about tools and

software that you run multiple

businesses on what are your favorite

ones well slack is a must it's just a a

great communication tool especially now

that we're all over the country

underutilized is Loom like Loom is the

best you can just get your idea out one

time and people don't have to stop what

they're doing to know what it is that

you need to tell them to doist is great

for me is the simplest task management

tool but I write down all the tasks that

I need to assign I record Loom videos

and then I assign them on todoist and

then that's it the rest of the day takes

care of itself although it's the most

expensive HubSpot in my opinion is

definitely the best CRM it makes it easy

to keep track of your leads to keep

track of your network and then click up

I think if you're running a real

established agency to doist isn't going

to be enough it's just not robust enough

and so toist is really where I manage my

personal Holdings company but clickup is

where sty runs that's like our our real

task management software so slack

todoist Loom HubSpot and clickup and

then of course Google Drive like

sometimes we laugh that basically every

tool that anybody makes is just like a

modified version of of Google Sheets and

Google Docs and so like yeah Google

Drive is a must so your goal is to build

these self-sustaining businesses and now

you have a team how was it going from

just a solo preneur to building a team I

had access to a lot of young people that

were just getting into recovery I hired

them like straight out of halfway houses

and we've all built this together over

the last 10 years so in terms of

managing a team read the e- myth

Revisited that book changed my life I

just realized that I am in the way of

everything I am literally the biggest

problem in the company and the best

thing I can do for the company is

document processes be organized about it

teach and then get the hell out of the

way because I don't do anything except

mess things up when I get in the middle

of it so read the emth and read it again

again and then read it a third time and

take notes on it and just do everything

that book says and you'll be fine yeah

so you've invested in tons of businesses

and you built tons of businesses how do

you approach finding great business

ideas and knowing when to invest and

when to not invest in a company there's

only three things that I really care

about one do I like the founder because

if I don't like the person it doesn't

matter how great the idea is like life

is too short to deal with people that

you don't like two is it cash flowing I

personally am not interested in betting

on a thousand companies and hoping that

like one of them turns the Facebook I

want to build a portfolio of assets and

then the third one this is just for me

personally is is it like ever green I

want to find something that's going to

be around forever right that's why

Healthcare is appealing to me because

people are always going to need to take

care of themselves so that's it like is

the founder cool does it cash flow and

is it Evergreen and if it meets those

criteria I'll take it seriously all

right let's talk about what a day in the

life looks like for you what are you

doing these days all my days look

exactly the same I've always woken up

very early so I'm usually up at like

4:00 chug some water I get a cup of

coffee I sit on my computer I record my

assignments for the day by that time my

kids used to wake up I play with them I

take them to school around 8:00 and then

my wife I go to the gym I'm in the gym

every day from 8:30 to 10:00 I come back

I eat and uh then I work the afternoon

is usually deal making so the mornings

for me is like Logistics and task

assignment and the afternoon is is deal

making so I follow up with my leads I

make phone calls I write proposals I

write contracts if I close a deal I do

all the onboard and uh then my kids get

home at like 5: we hang out down here

and we play and we eat dinner and I

watch [ __ ] True

Detective like I do the same thing every

day my life is super

boring throughout your journey building

businesses you've been doing this for a

while now what have been some of the

struggles or have there anything that's

been hard in your journey the hardest

part about being an entrepreneur is that

I worry all the time most of my time is

just spent like what's about to go wrong

what's a fire that's about to happen

like where can I see something coming so

that I'm not blindsided and my life

doesn't like Fall to Pieces because of

some problem that I couldn't control so

like yeah I worry a lot every morning as

soon as I wake up I'm thinking like

what's wrong what's wrong what's wrong

it's just it's really difficult to make

that go away yeah if you could sit on

the shoulder of yourself when you're

just getting started just getting

started with that blog what would be

your advice to Young Tim when I was

getting sober basically the fear is

always how am I ever going to have fun

for the rest of my life or like what am

I going to do when I'm at a wedding and

then somebody told me all you ever have

to do is get through the day so you make

it till midnight and then what do you do

when midnight comes you just make it to

midnight again and like it never ever

ends the solution to every problem in my

life is always like I'm just going to

get through the day I'm just going to

make it till midnight so I really really

truly live my life like one day at a

time I don't think too far into the

future I have no idea what's coming next

I just I I make it till midnight one day

at a time that's great advice thanks

thank you

man thank you for having us of course

follow this advice and you will have

five companies making $5 million a year

hey guys I hope you enjoyed the

breakdown of all of Tim's businesses

it's amazing story right if you want to

do something similar but you're

struggling to find the right idea or the

time to build it well I have something

that might help you I'm hosting a free

Workshop this week to show you exactly

how I validated my own million dooll

business and then exactly how I built

that business on Just 2 hours a day

while I had a full-time job because I

know from personal experience there's

nothing worse than wanting to start a

business but not feeling 100% confident

that you're on the right track so if

you're interested click the first link

in the description to save your seat and

I'll see you in there otherwise see you

in the next video peace

[Music]