This is a follow up story for Entrepreneurs on Fire. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published over 5 years ago, check it out here.

Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.

Heyo! I’m John Lee Dumas, founder, and host of Entrepreneurs On Fire, an award-winning podcast where I interview inspiring entrepreneurs. I’ve been podcasting since 2012 and now have over 2400 episodes published and receive 1 million + listens a month.

Here at Entrepreneurs On Fire, we’re focused on helping entrepreneurs achieve financial and lifestyle freedom. We inspire and provide strategies on how to achieve this through the podcast and the products we offer.

Our flagship course is called Podcasters’ Paradise, where we teach others how to Create, Grow, and Monetize their own podcast.

While I started out in 2012 not knowing anything about podcasting, interviewing people, or running a successful business, I invested in myself and put in the time to fail fast, learn from my mistakes, and continue to take action.

As a result, with our podcast sponsorships, our online course sales, our affiliate relationships, and our Journal sales, we consistently generate 7-figures of annual net revenue every year.

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Tell us about what you’ve been up to! Has the business been growing?

Everything we create here at Entrepreneurs On Fire is a result of the biggest pain points and struggles our audience shares with us.

Every time we hear the same struggle multiple times, we know it’s an opportunity to create a solution that will help our audience get from where they are right now to where they want to go.

Creating a business that affords your lifestyle freedom, but to get there, you have to be willing to do things that don’t scale.

One example is a year-long mastermind I launched in 2019. I had several entrepreneurs reach out who was interested in an intimate mastermind that would provide them with small group coaching and hot seats. They needed accountability and feedback to help them take action and get to the next level in their businesses.

I took on 8 members in the mastermind, The Revenue Crew, and we had an absolute blast! But more importantly, everyone within was able to accomplish major business goals as a result of support and accountability.

But it’s not just about creating more and more and more. We put a strong emphasis on - and are very proud of - our ability to consistently improve what we already have out there.

Podcasters’ Paradise is a great example. Instead of continuing to launch more, we’ve dedicated a lot of time, energy, bandwidth, and resources into making sure our current offerings, members, and students are well-taken care of.

And one last thing I’ll mention: I’ve been investing time into learning more about Instagram and how I can leverage the platform better. Being consistent with posts, value-add videos, and doing daily Insta Stories has really helped me grow my following, engagement, and my connection with my followers.

Don’t underestimate the power of engagement and doing things that don’t scale (like having those DM convos with your followers!)

What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?

Over the past year, we’ve been very conscious of how we’re spending our time - and our money.

That has meant saying no to a lot of opportunities that honestly could have been huge wins for us. But this is the importance of knowing what type of business you want to run and how you want to be spending your time.

For example, I get offers all the time to be an affiliate partner for launches. But there’s only so many launches I can do in a year, and I always put my audience first: it has to make sense for them and I have to believe in the product or service.

So I end up saying no to a lot of those opportunities, but - less can truly be more.

Saying yes to only a few affiliate launches in any given year has given me the opportunity to go big on those launches, and also make sure I’m clearly communicating the value of each to my audience so they know whether it’s right for them.

It creates an amazing win/win/win scenario.

In 2019, I came in 6th place for the Knowledge Broker Blueprint launch with Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi. I learned a ton from partnering up with them, I was able to consume some incredible content throughout the course, and I helped hundreds of people in my audience who decided to join KBB through my affiliate link.

And as a result of winning 6th place, I got to spend 4 days at Namale Resort in Fiji with the top 10 affiliates, Tony Robbins, and Dean Graziosi.

So it’s not always about doing as much as you possibly can - it’s about choosing the right things and going all-in on those. 80-20 rule.

What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?

Right now we’re fully focused on the products and services we’re currently offering and making those the best they can be through constant improvement.

Have you read any good books in the last year?

I read both Federer and Nadal's biographies and found them riveting. Seeing how much they sacrificed to become the best and the amount of hard work they put in was inspiring to say the least.

Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?

I’m a big believer in doing things that don’t scale. I’m all about systems and creating a business that affords your lifestyle freedom but to get there, you have to be willing to do things that don’t scale.

One of the biggest and best examples of this for me is being present for my community, Fire Nation. I take the time to answer emails, I take the time to reply to DM’s… I even get on a phone call with every single individual who joins Podcasters’ Paradise.

The way you make people feel is what creates your brand. These touchpoints matter.

Are you looking to hire for certain positions right now?

We’re really happy with our lean team and are not currently looking to bring on any new team members :)

Where can we go to learn more?

If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!