Jake Jorgovan: my all-time favourite client on scaling from consultant to owning multiple companies

My old pal and long-time former client, Jake Jorgovan, joins me to explore his journey of entrepreneurship, self-promotion, and the evolution of his business ventures in this episode of Where Are They Now?

We discuss the importance of personal branding, understanding customer needs, and the challenges of leadership in a growing business. We examine the emotional aspects of layoffs, the importance of resilience, and the necessity of risk management in business strategy. Jake shares insights from his experiences, emphasising the value of hiring competently and building skills to effectively manage teams and navigate the complexities of entrepreneurship.

Chapters

00:00 Lessons Learned: The Importance of Documentation
00:45 The Journey of Self-Promotion
02:02 From Pseudo Therapy to Legitimate Coaching
02:57 The Evolution of a Serial Entrepreneur
04:27 Early Ventures and Lessons Learned
06:39 Building a Personal Brand and Audience
07:58 Navigating Market Validation and Customer Engagement
10:00 The Importance of Market Research

10:31 Bonus - RESCUE(C) framework

R - Is there a recurring need that this product solves? If your product is one off, the score will be 1. If it is all recurring, then 3.

E - Does the problem you’re solving elicit emotion? Will your customer be angry if it doesn’t get solved or love you if it does? 1 for no reaction, 2 for meh and 3 for anger or I love you.

S - Can you see your product scaling to generate enough revenue to help you achieve your personal income goals? 1 for no and 3 for yes.

C - Is there a meaningful/significant hard and/or soft cost of not solving the problem your product intends to solve? 1 for no tangible impact, 3 for holy shit this is going to cost me a ton.

U - Is there an urgency to solve the problem? Can the customer just do nothing? If yes, score 1. If it matters, score 3.

E - Does the idea of working on this product excite you? Can you see it exciting you for more than a few months? 1 for nah, 3 for OMG this looks like a ton of fun.

C - Do you have conviction that you can do this and want to do it? 1 for nope, 3 for heck yeah.

Add up your score for a few ideas and you'll get a feel for how exciting the opportunity is, for you.

11:33 Understanding Platform Risks in Business
14:48 Solving Expensive Problems
15:54 Positioning and Client Profiles
18:51 The Benefits and Challenges of Upmarket Sales
21:00 A Day in the Life of a Multi-Business Leader
22:57 Leadership Lessons from Personal Experience
26:54 Navigating Layoffs and Emotional Resilience
28:33 Building a Resilient Business Structure
30:27 The Impact of Team Bonding and Personal Connections
33:57 Creating Opportunities for Others through Creativity
35:42 The Journey of Personal Growth and Resilience
38:01 Understanding Risk Management in Business
45:11 The Importance of Competency Before Hiring
54:29 Closing Thoughts and Future Directions