In this futurist episode, Colin Hirdman, Co-Founder of Monkey Island Ventures, shares how he helps founders and entrepreneurs scale their biz dev through authentic, meaningful interactions on the best social platform for business: LinkedIn. You won’t want to miss this episode if you’d like to generate a more reliable flow of high-quality B2B leads.
You will discover:
– How to seamlessly connect LinkedIn events to your sales funnel
– How non-technical founders are building tech companies faster than ever
– The most time-efficient and effective system for LinkedIn
Episode Transcript
Scott Ritzheimer
Hello, hello and welcome. Welcome once again to the secrets of the high demand coach podcast. And here with us today is yet another high demand coach in the one and only Colin Hirdman, who started his first company A week after graduating college and has been an entrepreneur ever since. He’s building businesses through Monkey Island adventures, a company he co founded with two of his best friends, Monkey Island Adventures is named after a park where they played together since they were five years old. Colin is now focused on their newest business, Rainmaker. And he helps founders, businesses coaches and sales teams build their networks, leads and sales through LinkedIn. Colin excited to have you on the show. I mentioned before we started hitting record that every once in a while, I’ll kind of get in what I feel like is a little bit of a rut. We’ve got lots of coaches on and lots of coach websites kind of look the same. Monkey Island adventures doesn’t look the same at all. It’s just a fun website. There’s some cool resources on there. I love what you guys are doing. You’ve got a very interesting mission. I’m wondering if you could share what the mission that you guys have there is, and why you feel it’s so important.
Colin Hirdman
Yeah, thanks Scott for having me number one. I absolutely love what you’re doing here. You’ve got I’ve listened to some of your other episodes. You do a great job, and the guests you have on are fantastic. So thank you for giving your time and doing this, you know, I think for us, you know, really, I, the three of us, have been entrepreneurs for a giant chunk of our lives. And entrepreneurship is something that the world, dearly, dearly needs. We need more entrepreneurs. We need more entrepreneurship. We need more people believing that that they can be creative use, that innate creative ability that all humans have to build and add value to society. So entrepreneurship, I think, really is the best vehicle in doing that, and that’s really passionate about, not only wanting to create amazing businesses for ourselves, provide for our families, but also for our employees, and provide just great services and products to our clients. And I think that we hold near and dear, and we love giving of our time to help other entrepreneurs succeed. And so that’s why I love doing these kind of podcasts.
Scott Ritzheimer
That’s awesome. It’s an interesting time to be an entrepreneur because and one hand, you’ve got kind of the gig economy. There’s never, there are very few times in history there’s been as much engagement in entrepreneurship, but at the same token, someone thinking about, Hey, should I start a business? The billion dollar valuations and just the mega startups that we see stories about just time and time and time again. Can can feel really intimidating, right, especially for folks who don’t have a an MBA or an engineering background, or, you know, have a doctorate and, you know, fill in the blank. What? How should non technical folks be thinking about the world of entrepreneurship today?
Colin Hirdman
Yeah, well, number one, just from an entrepreneurial perspective, like you said, I started my first company A week after graduating from college. I graduated with a criminal justice degree. I never took a business, accounting or marketing class in college. Like, entrepreneurship wasn’t even really on my radar. I just kind of fell into it. So anyone listening that’s an aspiring entrepreneur, you know, one of the sayings that I love to put out there is, you know, everyone’s making up everything all the time. And I think that entrepreneurship is really very much that you learn by doing. There’s no entrepreneur that’s ever had an idea put it out there, scaled out one idea without any failure, and had just incredible success. It takes hard work, dedication, luck and really perseverance, more than anything else. And I think you know with with just that as as a baseline, if you can feel like you know you can, you can abide by those things, and you’re put the time and the effort into building what, you’re passionate about, or where you feel there’s a need. Then if that non technical component, if you’re building something technical, there’s never been a better time to do that with low code, no code and AI. What we’re finding through one of our companies, cloud burst, where we’re working with entrepreneurs and helping them build build software, is that in the last two years, we’ve been building a lot of initial products using custom gpts and allowing our clients to see that very first version of what they want at very, very low cost and In quick time frames. And so I think anyone that’s listening that has any kind of a technical component to what they want to build, start researching low code, no code tools. Start interacting with, with with AI, start getting, you know, kind of your toe dipped in the proverbial water around building something out. There’s just incredible amounts of resources for anybody that’s non technical to start. Building out a technical component to their business.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, it’s it’s fascinating, because technologies like the ones that you guys use and share really do open up a lot of opportunities that folks didn’t have before. But what they don’t necessarily solve automatically is this kind of feeling of imposter syndrome, right? It’s like, even if you put it out to market, like, well, you know, are they gonna think, you know XYZ? Fill in the blank. What fascinated me one of your resources, you lay out a few prominent founders that don’t really come from technical backgrounds. I’m wondering if you could share a couple of those stories with us, just so folks can see how common this actually is,
Colin Hirdman
yeah, yeah, no, there’s, there’s, I mean, honestly, countless founders. When you look at a lot of the founding teams, you may have someone that that’s technical, but a lot of times you also need someone that has, you know, sales, marketing, brand, you know, a vision for the company. You know, you look at even some, some, you know, huge companies that have been founded, you know, you look at, you know, even like a HubSpot or something like that, right, like there, there’s, there’s founding teams that are able to build without having that technical requirement up front. And I think that’s part of when you look even at Josh Zack and myself with monkey Allen ventures. Know, the software that we built over the years, we’ve always brought in technical talent to help us out, but that’s become less and less a need now with these low code, no code tools. So I think again, that kind of rise of the non technical entrepreneur that we put out last year really is capitalizing on this change of technology for people to be able to start to leverage, to start building out their own products and services using this kind of tech.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, one of the things that that is so cool about that, again, it’s easier than ever to get a product out there, but getting a product out to market is a whole different animal. And so some, let’s say someone has, has done it. They’ve they’ve partnered up with a more technical, you know, partner, or they’ve leveraged some of the technologies that you’re talking about now, and they’ve got that kind of minimum viable product. They’ve got something that they’re ready to take to market, but they don’t have a huge audience. They don’t have a massive following, and and a lot of folks are just sitting there like, well, now what? And so one of the projects you’re working on now with Rainmaker is kind of a B to B. Focus on using LinkedIn. Tell us a little bit about why you think LinkedIn is such a great strategy, and how you help folks use it.
Colin Hirdman
Yeah, yeah, for sure. And you know, one of the things, just to kind of add on to, you know, what you were saying around, you know, having, having an MVP of being able to scale that out faster than ever before, you still have to focus in on addressing a pain point. Okay, you still have to, there still has to be something that you’re solving for. Just because there’s, you know, technology that allows you to build things fast doesn’t replace the need for you to actually solve real problems. So one example that I did with Rainmaker and Rainmaker, I’m essentially just kind of automating LinkedIn best practices and helping my clients scale their network leads and sales on LinkedIn. But one of the things that I was noticing was some of the messages that some of my clients wanted to send out to their prospects through LinkedIn seemed really kind of salesy, right? Nobody wants to be sold on LinkedIn, but I think most people are willing to be educated on LinkedIn, and that’s kind of the focus that I wanted. So I actually created a rainmaker GPT, which kind of takes the ethos of being authentic and genuine using an educational mindset, figuring out what your audience wants to learn from you, what can you teach, and having that built into the GPT where now I’m telling my clients, go build your messages through these GPT that I built and then send me what you want me to send through the Rainmaker system. That’s an example of creating a very discrete product that’s solving a pain point for myself and my clients in creating this GPT that’s creating messages using the ethos of rain banker. So I think the people listening again, you know, start with something small, you know, some type of a pain point that you’re feeling, or that you feel your prospects are feeling, build that out. And then, you know, LinkedIn, as a platform is a wonderful way to start building out, you know, first degree connections, to start messaging those connections with with value, where you’re providing, you know, whatever it is that you’re offering in a way that you’re you’re teaching. And so when I think about LinkedIn, it’s about that philosophy, like I talked about authenticity, educational mindset, and then figuring out what your audience wants to learn from you, then it’s about honing in on a specific audience that you want to target using something like Sales Navigator rate or LinkedIn search. One great LinkedIn growth hack is LinkedIn events, if one of your direct competitors is putting on a LinkedIn. An event, or if there’s a organization putting on a LinkedIn event, or on a topic your business solves for, attend that event, and you can see everyone else that’s also attending that event. You know that they’re already interested then in this topic, and then start reaching out and connections that way. So LinkedIn, it is a phenomenal platform for really building relationship, for testing out messaging, and for starting to build what I think is really around lead gen and revenue through really the only business social network out there, and that’s LinkedIn.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah. And so, just for folks that are listening today and being clear on it, when you’re talking about LinkedIn, are you talking about, you know, putting posts out and videos as how specifically have you found is it most effective to use the platform?
Colin Hirdman
Yeah. So I think putting out, you know, one or two posts a week is fine. You don’t need to do any more than that. If you know one of those posts is a business post and one is more of a personal post, and maybe you’re calling out colleagues, other people in your industry. Why not? That’s fine. But what? What I’m more focused on with Rainmaker is actually a system where, when we create the audience, we’re reaching out to 25 people a day, Monday through Friday during normal working hours. So 125 people week, 500 people a month, and then one to three days after they connect, we’re sending out a thank you for connecting message. If they don’t respond to that, then seven to 14 days later, we’re sending out another message, right? Or using LinkedIn lock streams. I think LinkedIn live streams may be one of the best B to B strategies I’ve ever seen in in my life, and that’s a way for you to be able to teach on LinkedIn. It’s a way for you be able to invite people to come and learn from you, and you’ll actually be able to see people start to click the attend button on events if you’re targeting the right audience with the right topic. So again, LinkedIn events, I think, is a phenomenal opportunity for people to take advantage of a business social network in a way that will literally fill your pipeline with leads and help you generate sales.
Scott Ritzheimer
I love that. It’s hands down, the most effective strategy we’ve used on LinkedIn. And it’s a lot of fun, right? Especially for entrepreneurs who are really passionate about what they do. It can get annoying to just get out there and like, feel like you’re pitching people all the time, but the opportunity to get on, interact with folks, teach them, add value, educate them. It’s just a much more pleasant experience than than a lot of alternative strategies. I love that. So let’s say we’re communicating with folks on LinkedIn. We’re kind of we’re inviting them to these events. They’re going really well. How do you get them to take that next step? But what is the next step and how do you get them?
Colin Hirdman
Yeah, phenomenal question. The lifeblood of especially any B to B, is meetings, right? People have to talk to you first before they’re gonna buy Okay? And what the value of putting on something like a LinkedIn live stream is that if you’re getting people to attend, it. When I follow up after the event is over, I’ll say something like, Hey Scott, thanks again for registering for the LinkedIn live stream I led this morning. Here’s a link to the recording, because a lot of the people that attend might not watch the the live stream. They might end up watching the recording. And then underneath that, I’ll say, if you ever want to chat and LinkedIn strategy, feel free to grab some time convenient for you here, and I give them my Calendly. Okay, that’s the magic of being able to use LinkedIn in a way where you’re adding value in your teaching is following up with your Calendly at the right time. I just gave you a perfect example of how to use it with LinkedIn live streams. Because what you’re doing is these people are opting in, learning from you. They’re giving you a vote of confidence. You’re teaching them something, and afterwards, you’re just simply giving them the opportunity to continue the conversation one on one through a Calendly invite in a way that doesn’t feel salesy, pushy or icky in any way.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, so good. So good. Colin. It’s just super practical and inspirational at the same time. I love the balance of those two. And I’ve got one more question here before I let you go. It’s a question that I ask all my guests. I’m very interested to see what you have to say as well. What would you say is the biggest secret you wish wasn’t a secret at all. What’s that one thing you wish everybody watching or listening today knew.
Colin Hirdman
That luck plays a huge part in being successful in entrepreneurship, and what that means is that all the comparisons that we make, all the ways that we beat ourselves up about not starting a company or not being good enough in the companies that we have, it’s all a giant lie. What you need to do is what I talked about before, everyone’s making up everything all the time, that is entrepreneurship. I don’t care whether you’re Tim Cook of Apple, or whether it’s you and I on this call right now, we’re all doing the best job we can to create value, to change with the times. And that is really what a company is as a living, breathing entity. So all those aspiring entrepreneurs or existing entrepreneurs listening, that’s the secret. Is that you. It really is up to each of us to build out value and create these companies that that the world needs, and anybody can do it. You just have to be have that perseverance and drive.
Scott Ritzheimer
So true, so true. Colin, there’s some folks listening, and they’re just falling in love with everything from your mission to how you’re helping folks in such a practical way with LinkedIn right now, how can they find out more about you and the work that you guys do there at Rainmaker grows.
Colin Hirdman
Yeah, so rainmakergrows.com is the site specifically for Rainmaker there’s, there’s a live stream portion of the site where they can literally get my entire process from beginning end, if they hit the free consultation button, that’ll book A Calendly with me directly. And if they’re at all interested in what we’re doing with monkey Allen ventures, you can always go to monkey allenventures.com and that lists some of the other companies that we have there as well.
Scott Ritzheimer
Fantastic. Well, Colin, thanks for being on the show. It’s privilege. Honor having you here with us today. Thank you from the world of entrepreneurship, for all that you’ve done over all these years and all that you’re yet to do. Really appreciate the work that you guys all do over there. It was glad fun to have you on the show, and for those of you watching and listening, you know your time and attention mean the world to us. I hope you got as much out of this conversation as I know I did, and I cannot wait to see you next time, take care.
Contact Colin Hirdman
Colin Hirdman started his first company a week after graduating from college and has been an entrepreneur ever since. He’s building businesses through Monkey Island Ventures, a company he co-founded with two best friends. Monkey Island Ventures is named after a park they played at when they were kids (since they were 5 years old). Over the years, the trio has built over a dozen software and service businesses and wants to help create as many successful entrepreneurs as possible by sharing their knowledge.
Want to learn more about Colin Hirdman’s work at Rainmaker? Check out his website at https://www.rainmakergrows.com/
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