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Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal

How To Build A Business In 2023 (The Easy Way) - Robin Waite

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Robin WaiteguestAli Abdaalhost

Aug 3, 20232h 26mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

What a Business Coach Does
Ali asks Robin what a business coach is. Robin distinguishes coaches, mentors and consultants, likens coaching to having a tennis coach, and explains that accountability and nudging clients just outside their comfort zone are central to it.
- •A mentor has done it before and tells you what to do, while a coach asks well-formed questions as a guide
- •Robin's own approach mixes coaching and mentoring, drawing on 12 years running an agency
- •A coach provides accountability on the days you don't feel like doing it
- •Fear of failure, success and rejection, especially around sales, is what coaching often addresses
- •Clients should be pushed only slightly outside their comfort zone, since too far becomes demotivating
Role Play: Why Start and What Holds You Back
Ali role-plays a junior doctor wanting to build a side income, and Robin opens by asking why. Robin probes how long he can tolerate his current situation, what he loves and what he is good at, then challenges the unevidenced fears behind his hesitation over web design.
- •Ali's character wants an extra 2K a month to drop to three days a week at work
- •Robin asks what he loves doing and what he is good at, landing on web design
- •Ali's character admits he has no evidence for his fears that he isn't good enough
- •Robin compares the situation to driving at night, where headlights only show a little of the road
- •Robin says the first step is to build a roadmap for the business
The Three Fs and Choosing an Idea
Robin introduces freedom, fulfillment and finance as the criteria for a business, and warns against chasing get-rich-quick options. He argues the product matters less than the principles, and that you just need to start small and eliminate ideas by doing.
- •Freedom, fulfillment and finance should all be present to some degree
- •Get-rich-quick options like day trading or Amazon FBA are rejected if you have no passion for them
- •Robin scores web design roughly 7 on freedom, 9 on fulfillment and 6 on finance that can grow
- •Business functions like sales, marketing and finance are the same whatever the product
- •Building a five-page website for a friend is a way to test an idea quickly
No Funding Needed: Scoring Your Ideas
Robin says the common belief that you need funding before starting is a misconception, and that the smallest first step can be taken for free. He describes a scoring sheet in which ideas are rated on love, likely results for clients, and whether people can afford to pay.
- •Many people believe they need a loan or investment before starting, which Robin calls a complete misconception
- •Free steps include registering a domain or setting up a social account
- •Too many choices leads to procrastination
- •Ideas are scored out of 10 on how much you love it, likelihood of results and whether people can afford it
- •The best ideas tend to rise to the top with a score out of 30
Designing a Relationship Coaching Offer
After the sponsor breaks, Ali switches to a relationship coaching idea. Robin flags the line between coaching and therapy, then has Ali lay out a process, a six-month timeline and a session structure that become the basis of a productized program.
- •Robin says coaching needs no qualification but therapy-related work needs a certificate
- •Ali outlines steps including profile optimization, meetups and post-date debriefs
- •Robin packages this as a unique seven-step process in a six-month transformation program
- •Ali imagines an intensive two-hour start, then weekly sessions that taper into asynchronous check-ins
Pricing and Capacity-Based Pricing
Robin challenges Ali's low hourly pricing, arguing that low prices make clients less invested and that pricing is a decision made on behalf of clients. Using a Jedi mind trick exercise and capacity-based pricing, they work toward 2.5K for a six-month program.
- •Basing prices on your own value system makes decisions on behalf of all clients
- •Higher prices bring more committed clients who do the work
- •The poker-face exercise reveals subconscious value between 800 and 1,200 pounds
- •Robin cites a 20 to 40 percent conversion rate for service businesses like coaching
- •Capacity-based pricing works back from a 24K goal and the number of clients you can serve
De-Risking the Offer and Giving Back to Love Clients
Robin gets Ali to see that a refund guarantee, backed by a contract requiring the client to do the work, removes the risk. They then work out how to serve doctors and nurses as a separate, lower-priced offer without undermining the main business.
- •A full refund for clients who do all the work de-risks the offer for both sides
- •Ten clients at 2.5K a year is less than one new client a month
- •Ali's likely clients are people with disposable income, such as those in finance and tech
- •Robin suggests a group program or membership at a reduced rate for doctors and nurses
- •Free offerings may not be valued, so some skin in the game is advisable
Marketing 101 and Finding Your First Clients
Ali asks how to find five prospects a month, and Robin lays out four steps of marketing 101: define the ideal client, find where they hang out, go to them, and be tenacious. Ali brainstorms workshops at consulting firms and LinkedIn, and Robin explains how a free lead magnet and ads can amplify reach.
- •The four steps are ideal client, where they hang out, going to them, and being tenacious
- •Robin describes an identity layer as even more important than demographics and psychographics
- •A free Google Doc giving away the seven-step process can generate leads
- •Ali comes up with free lunchtime workshops at consulting and finance firms
- •Facebook or LinkedIn ads can amplify demand beyond your existing network
Fear of Failure and Understanding Your Numbers
Robin reassures Ali that business mistakes cost only a bit of money or face, then pushes back on people who say they're not good with numbers. He covers the Profit First account split, cashflow, bootstrapping, and why more clients is not the goal.
- •The only two things that can go wrong are losing a bit of money or looking a bit stupid
- •Robin argues the technology and numbers excuses are often crutches
- •The Profit First approach splits incoming money into pots for tax, a fun pot, a rainy day fund and a float
- •Keeping expenses low helps avoid problems when a bad month hits
- •Robin lost nine thousand on Facebook ads after audience conversions dropped
- •Turnover and net profit are the two numbers to understand
Setting Up the Business, Timelines and Why Not to Charge Hourly
Ali asks if he needs a name, website or registration, and Robin says to start by talking to people while noting the UK side-hustle income threshold. They discuss how long the journey takes, then Robin argues hourly pricing is unethical using a three-web-designer example.
- •No business bank account or limited company is needed to start, and a small amount can be earned within the UK threshold
- •Robin set himself up as limited and VAT registered from day one because of his 100K goal
- •Timelines vary, from a client earning back double the investment in four days to a year-long wait for a 180 grand contract
- •Hourly rates reward the less experienced and penalize the faster expert
- •Results-based pricing with a guarantee strengthens the value proposition
You Are Not Your Business and Selling Without the Ick
Robin explains that sales fear comes from making the call about yourself rather than the client, and that a no is aimed at the business offer, not the person. He then coaches Ali on structuring a workshop with the offer up front and a quiz, plus a free qualifying chat with red flags.
- •Thinking only of yourself in a sales call stops you serving the client
- •A no is a rejection of the offer attached to the business, not of the person
- •Put the offer at the start of a presentation and use a ScoreApp quiz to capture leads
- •A free 30-minute chat works as a two-way qualification, with Robin's rule of three red flags
- •Robin recommends sales resources such as Gap Selling, Benjamin Dehenney, David the Sales Angel and Socratic Selling
Resistance, Business Models and Launching an MVP
They discuss why people resist taking even simple first steps, with examples from Frank Kern and Ludwig. Robin says selling anything teaches 90 percent of business, Ali notes there are only a few business models, and Robin shares how he built his first group program fast and iterated.
- •Few people in Frank Kern's audience bought a book when asked to on the spot
- •Robin says getting out and selling something teaches 90 percent of what you need to know about business
- •Ali sees only service, product and content models, and Robin agrees passive income rests on active income
- •Robin built his first group program in five days and improved it from feedback
- •Eric Ries's minimum viable product idea and building an audience before launching are recommended
Early Mistakes, Imposter Syndrome and the Truths Exercise
Asked about the biggest early mistakes, Robin names hourly rates and comparisonitis. He then teaches OKRs and a truths exercise of writing present and future truths in the present tense, and explains how his business name Fearless came about.
- •Comparing yourself to others breeds imposter syndrome and stops people starting
- •OKRs break a goal into small steps like the first client and first conversation
- •The truths exercise lists true things about you and future truths written as I have or I am
- •Imagining what future you would thank present you for helps pick a first action
- •Fearless came from a friend calling Robin the Fearless business coach during a talk about fearing small things less
Robin's Story: Kids, Work Patterns and Work-Life Balance
Robin talks about his biggest challenge, time, after having kids, and what he would do differently, like building recurring revenue sooner and prioritizing fitness. He explores how his childhood around work shaped his guilt, and they discuss provider culture, hiding in work and hustle culture.
- •Having kids led Robin to choose a slower pace in his business
- •He wishes he had built recurring hosting revenue four years earlier and focused on fitness before having kids
- •His parents' focus on work shaped a pattern he is still unpacking
- •This year Robin committed to making everything easy and effortless and says he is happier
- •Ali cites a book and a conversation with Bill Perkins on over-investing in work and under-investing in health and relationships
- •Robin says hustle and grind culture is bullshit and advises filling work with tasks you love and delegating the rest
Entrepreneurship, Lifelong Learning and Robin's Book Offer
They reflect on whether Robin would encourage his daughters to be entrepreneurs, then on learning from mentors and books. The episode ends with Robin describing his book Take Your Shot, the signed copies and PDF offer through a scorecard, and his parting advice to just start.
- •Robin would tell his kids not to mistake entrepreneurship for work and to aim for something like Ikigai
- •He regrets not reading books for years after university, and Ali credits coaches and ignorance debt
- •Robin says health is the most important thing
- •Take Your Shot is a roughly 100-page parable about a golf pro client
- •The first 15 applicants through the scorecard get a signed copy, with PDFs for others
- •Robin's parting advice is not to overthink it and to take your shot

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