Dawnna St. Louis (website: Dawnna.com & Biz-On-Fire.com) has been a mentor to me for years, teaching me the basics of the platform business (speaking, coaching, consulting etc) from the ground up.

Dawnna is an entrepreneur who teaches the Business Success Blueprint to holders of intellectual property who want to build a real, live business out of their knowledge.

You’ll learn today how Dawnna became an entrepreneur in the first place, what began her speaking career, how to actually sell your stuff, get the money, and the skill of negotiating.

Follow Dawnna’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dawnnastlouis/

Today’s show is brought to you by The Super You. Learn more at dreallday.com/super

2:45 Today’s Interview: Dre’s coach Dawnna St. Louis on Becoming THE Expert In Your Space

3:53 Check out Dawnna’s website on www.dawnna.com and www.biz-on-fire.com

5:49 Start of the Interview

13:04 What Google says about Dawnna

14:01 Dawnna’s background growing up in a single parent household just above the poverty line between Liberty City and Carol City

15:25 Her grandmother who had only 4th grade was her inspiration and guide to become an entrepreneur

18:34 Dawnna’s experiences which broke her belief in working for a company

29:33 This is how Dawnna has, built, and created a multi-million dollar company

32:49 Her grandmother always told her that there are 3 things you have on earth that are valuable -intellect, integrity, and time. Never ever trade your integrity or time for a dollar, ever.

34:21 Ideas are nothing unless you put them into action

36:21 Donna and her partner discovered the business success blueprint as a project

41:04 Being a business owner is very different from being a contractor. When you are a business owner, you can step up and away from the business because everything you have is transferrable, you have a trend line, and you can see your profit and losses.

43:48 At the beginning of every year, she takes all the money from her account except for $2500 to $5000 and puts it where she cant touch it. Then starts her year from zero

45:08 when you have money to spend, you can be so quick to throw money on a problem instead of coming up with an innovative way to correct it

48:31 Her career as a public speaker started when she joined toastmasters and had a company call her to do a leadership program, and eventually do hot seat keynotes for thousands of people around the world

53:55 Referencing Episode #161 Mentors – Why To Have Them & How To Use Them

58:06 When you find someone who has the knowledge that can help you do the things you want to do, but you do not use that knowledge, you will lose that mentor

59:09 Dawnna’s superpower is to hear what is not said, to read what is not written. She can read people like it was nobody’s business

59:38 When Dawnna heard that Dre put out a video everyday, she knew that Dre had what it takes – discipline

1:01:58 Dawnna no longer wanted to meet with people wanting to be as speaker because they do nothing about the information she is giving away freely

1:04:25 “I don’t want to waste peoples time, so I want to make sure to give them real value”

1:04:53 Biz on Fire is an entrepreneur training academy that actually has a business success blueprint, a method, a formula that takes people from idea to implementation

1:06:32 What makes the program different is that they are very honest and truthful weather or not you are a contractor or if you are developing a business. Dawnna really wants people to come out and create a successful lifestyle business

1:07:00 Dawnna takes people from idea, educate them, and apply the education to their idea, coach them on the process of launching, and help make sure the business is sustainable

1:08:08 Who she doesn’t want to speak to – doesn’t want to speak to someone who wants to setup a high tech app, retail, manufacturing, brick and mortar businesses

1:08:49 Dawnna wants to speak to people who want to use their intellectual expertise and leverage these expertise in order to build a business. People who want to build a service based business.

1:09:15 Dawnna discusses the process of working with Biz on Fire – starting with the virtual academy to launch and implementation

1:11:58 Intellectual property is your expertise that is valuable to your target market

1:15:37 “What I tell people is to use their knowledge and go a little deeper. Take their expertise, turn it into a specialty, and charge a premium for it”

1:17:36 People have a hard time understanding that if they can niche, they can really get down into a smaller segment so they can get a bigger piece of the pie

1:18:22 The book Zero To One by Peter Thiel

1:20:34 I am willing to pay more for the person who I know understands my industry than a generalist

1:22:55 There is a difference about having target market and being targeted

1:25:50 The easiest way to do this is to create a methodology, a formula, a way of doing things that to no one else is doing. And make sure the knowledge is transferrable because you now have something that belongs to you. In short, be a thought leader.

1:27:13 Recognize what it is that you love and then start doing more of that. Start saying “I specialize in…” start saying it and start doing it

1:27:37 There would be times you do both hats to get by and still recognize that you are focused on your goal

1:31:19 You got to feed yourself and take work not in your specialty till you reach the point where you can turn away people

1:31:42 Methodology is something that somebody can learn without you being there with them, a step by step way of doing things that can be applied to different industries

1:34:29 The virtual academy starts at the beginning of May and beginning of June. They can go to Biz-On-Fire.com to sign up

1:35:05 Entrepreneurs are afraid of the word NO in selling. Dawnna got over this fear by realizing that when she gets 9 no’s she gets 1 yes. So she looks forward and gets excited with no’s cause she knows she will eventually get a yes

1:38:20 What Dawnna does when people want what she offers but they say they do not have the money – bartering. Bartering for things she wants and things they are willing to give.

1:43:55 For individuals who sets their own price – they should raise their rates when they have so much business that they can’t do all the work and when they are getting the type of customers they don’t want to work with

1:46:32 If someone wants to 10x their rates, they just need to do it.

1:48:37 No one believes that someone who only charges $25 can help them nail hundred thousand dollar interviews. When she charged $250, people think she has something valuable to say

1:49:44 The best negotiators are listeners. They listen a lot and they listen for one thing only – why. Why would you do what it is they want you to do.

1:50:28 Common misconceptions that people have on her is that she sits around all day, travel, and she does not really work, that she don’t do sales calls. Now she has flexibility, but she still has the responsibility in ALL the business

1:53:24 What is in store for wantpreneurs is that most of the advice you are gonna get is likely to be bad advice unless you are a good judge of character

1:55:53 There is a feast and famine rollercoaster if you spend the money as soon s you get it and you do not have a plan for it. Do not quit your job until you have 6 months to a year in your account from your new business venture.

1:55:36 If you want to be an entrepreneur and you have a job, you’re gonna need to work 2 jobs till you can get rid of the other job

1:55:48 if you don’t have a job and want to be an entrepreneur and you have not saved up money for investment, you are gonna be hard pressed

1:56:25 Invest first in education

1:57:25 Dawnna shares the 6 kick ass strategies takes an entrepreneur from the very beginning

1:57:40 What is going to be the focus of your business

1:58:17 How are you going to sell

2:00:45 Have the processes of your business in place, create simplified and streamlined processes

2:00:17 Have goals, work to achieve something

2:00:29 What do you do everyday to make sure you are growing your business

2:01:04 You need people to communicate with and mentor you

2:01:33 6ix Kick-A$$ Strategies of the Million-Dollar Entrepreneur

2:03:50 You have to sit and look at yourself – what expertise do I have? What do I know that people would like to know? What have I done that people want? What methodology do I have that other people can follow? What problem do I solve and who do I solve it for?

2:11:18 It is stupid to set goals that are not realistic

2:12:12 You give yourself permission not to be perfect

2:14:03 All of your best thinking got you to where you are right now

2:14:34 Weather you graduated at the top of your class or at the bottom, you’re still a doctor

2:17:17 There is no point in setting the bar so high that at the end of the day the results are not gonna give you what you want