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About Today’s Guest, Daymond John:

Today’s guest, Daymond John, is a mogul in every sense of the word. He is the CEO & Founder of FUBU (a multi-billion dollar brand) and a shark on the fantastic ABC show Shark Tank. Now he is making a transition into the world of business advice, giving his expertise and experience and working with all types of brands – from NBC Universal’s Miss Teen Organization to celebrities Pitbull and Ne-Yo.

I was lucky enough to track down Daymond before the season finale of Shark Tank this Friday (May 13th) on ABC at 8 PM EST to talk about the world of television and what he is up to next.

And in REALLY cool news, Daymond wants to give every single RISE viewer/listener a digital copy of his book Display Of Power: How FUBU Changed a World of Fashion, Branding and Lifestyle (Thanks Daymond). All you have to do is text “sharktank” to 90210 and it is yours.

Enjoy!

-David

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About Today’s Guest, Neil Strauss:

Where to start about today’s episode? As announced yesterday, the show is moving beyond business content and focusing on a variety of interviews with interesting people in all kinds of industries – from sports to entertainment.

Today is the kick off of the new era of The Rise To The Top with a VERY special guest. I couldn’t think of anyone better to kick off the new direction.

Neil Strauss is a multiple-time best-selling author with such books as The Game: Penetrating The Secret Society Of Pickup Artists, Emergency! This Book Will Save Your Life and many more, including coauthoring Jenna Jameson’s How To Make Love Like A Porn Star. His new book, Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead, chronicles some amazing (and revealing) moments during his incredible interviewing career for such publications as Rolling Stone and The New York Times.

In this interview, Neil and I discuss a whole range of topics from interviewing some of the world’s top celebrities, musicians and personalities, to finding his calling as a writer, to Neil doing sort of a psychological read on me (not kidding).

Enjoy!

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About Today’s Guest, Chaz Dean:

When Jenni Pulos has an idea, I listen. One of the most popular guests on RISE (and the real force behind Bravo’s Flipping Out and this rap video, Jenni shot me a note telling me more about her good friend Chaz Dean and why he would be great to have on.

When Hollywood celebrities want their hair perfect, they go to Chaz Dean. Period. A hairprenuer, Chaz Dean has created a unique studio, a wildly successful WEN Hair & Body Care line (which is all natural), and has firmly placed himself on the map as a go-to person in the crowded world of celebrity beauty.

Chaz is certainly an interesting and successful guy and in this interview we cover how he built his brand and business. Enjoy!

-David

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One second with today’s guest, Troy McClain, and it will be nearly impossible not to like him. I was first introduced to Troy via the good ole television when he made it to the final four of the first season of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice. Troy is literally an “up from the bootstraps” story of someone that has used charisma, hustle, and street smarts to become a successful entrepreneur, a reality star, and now a personality sharing his unique story with the world.

In this interview, Troy share his story. Everything from successes, to failures, to caring for a special needs sister (as well as a juicy behind-the-scenes look at The Apprentice).

My hope is, like me, you will get a ton of inspiration and ideas. Enjoy! Troy also sets the all-time RISE record for amount of clever rhymes in one episode. Keep an ear out.

As always, would love to hear your feedback. What is your take on Troy’s story?

Connect With Troy (and tell him you saw him on RISE!):

On His Website

This Episode Is Ever-So-Proudly Sponsored By:

Jeff Michelman: *A special ONLY FOR THE RISE COMMUNITY* – Jeff has generously offered a free legal consultation to RISE viewers. It is like getting some free time with a Rolls-Royce (or other exotic, valuable car…umm, you know what I mean). Trust me, some lawyers are scary, and Jeff is not. He is one of the good guys (and also an author, entrepreneur, and my personal attorney). Reach out to him via email, or at 314-244-3669, and make sure to mention RISE.

Ecamm Call Recorder For Mac: For the side-by-side Skype interviews, I use Ecamm Call Recorder. Best $20 ever spent. You can watch exactly how I use it and which settings I use right here. You can pick it up right here. It also comes with all kinds of cool tools so you can make an MP3 out of the video and convert it for the Internet. Neat.

Smarter, Faster, Cheaper by David Siteman Garland (my book!): Yes, my book is an official sponsor of RISE (insert evil laughter here). Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring Fluff-Free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business will get your business butt moving in the right direction to kick off 2011. Nab a copy on Amazon or anywhere non-boring books are sold. Check out more at SmarterFasterCheaper.com.

Interested in sponsoring a RISE episode (or twenty)?

Did you know RISE was downloaded/listened to over 3,000,000 times in 2010? If you want to become a sponsor and get your product/service in front of our rabid community, reach out here and we shall start a convo.

Have You Seen These Episodes?

• RISE #155: From Facebook Group To Million-Dollar-Plus Company: How Peter Shankman Built HARO
• RISE #154: A Chat With Kevin Kelly On What Technology Wants & The Power Of 1,000 Fans
• RISE #153: How To Escape From Cubicle Nation With Pam Slim
• RISE #152: How Kim Overton Started SPIbelt In Her Apartment With $2,000
• RISE #151: How Gary Arndt Created One Of The Most Amazingly Popular Travel Blogs In The World

Reminders & News:

There are new episodes of RISE every Tuesday and Thursday (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday feature articles, blog posts, and other videos) featuring unique entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and other interesting folks here to help you build your business. You can hear about them first and have them directly delivered to you in a few different ways:

Email:

RSS: You can subscribe via RSS right here.

iTunes: You can get RISE episodes right to your iTunes, iPhone, iPad, etc. Here’s video, and here’s audio only.

RISE is mobile friendly (sweet!) and can also be viewed right from the site on your mobile phone or iPad.

Connect With David & Hop Into The Conversation:

On Twitter

On Facebook

Book Update: It’s here! Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring, Fluff-free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business is officially on sale! You can grab the first chapter for free right here.

Sex toys, the Internet and entrepreneurship go together like…ummmm (fill in the blank). But seriously, the adult product business is over 100 BILLION dollars a year (yes, that was a B).

There are savvy entrepreneurs everywhere from the junk business (see interview with Brian Scudamore -Founder of 1-800-GOT-JUNK) to the pleasure business. Dave Levine, known as “Sex Toy Dave” is the king of the latter and my guest in this episode of RISE.

Dave is perhaps best known for his two appearances on “The Millionaire Matchmaker” with Patti Stanger (who has also been on the show…you can check out my interview with her here). He is an interesting guy and entrepreneur who REALLY understands the business of doing business online (mouthful) and I was lucky enough to be able to pick his brain for all of us.

In this interview, you will learn about (and hopefully takeaway some juicy nuggets for your business):

-Dave’s background and how he jumped into the online retailing business before it even really existed.

-Why he decided to focus on the niche of adult toys.

-His secrets to marketing including signing up a bunch of affiliates (people to have their own sex toy stores).

-Dave’s thoughts on creating a working environment that works for you (he runs his business out of his home with a team of executives who also work out of their homes)

-The reality show phenomenon and why going on “The Millionaire Matchmaker” was a great business and personal decision.

-How he crafted a personal brand to set him up for future success as “Sex Toy Dave.”

Hey,  just because we are talking the business of sex toys doesn’t mean we don’t have sponsors

1. You can check out my interview with Johnny right here talking customer service, business tips and more (more with Johnny coming soon)

2. When you head into Johnny Londoff Chevrolet, mention you heard about him from RISE and get supplier pricing (in a nutshell: Best. Price. Ever.). And he will give you $1,000 over Kelley Blue Book Value of your trade-in.

Jeff Michelman: At some point, you are going to need an attorney who REALLY cares for entrepreneurs and not just big businesses. Jeff is who I use for everything from contracts to any “situations” that arise and he will take care of you too. He can be reached at: JMichelman@pcblawfirm.com and 314-244-3669

Whether it is a sex toy or something else you are looking to market, you will want to check out Abstrakt Marketing Group. Led by uber-entrepreneur Scott Scully, Abstrakt is a new approach to marketing. Innovative. Different. Measurable results. All the stuff you would want. Plus, they are offering a “free marketing audit” where they will analyze your current practices and offer suggestions when you mention The Rise To The Top (nice). Scott and I discuss the changes in the marketing world in this interview. You can also check out Abstrakt on Twitter, Facebook and on their video blog: Idea Machine 365.

5 Reasons Dan Aykroyd Rocks The Entrepreneurial World (and has a shout out for TRTTT)

Rise Undergound: The Rise To The Top Entrepreneur Blog
Entrepreneur Resources. Entrepreneur Education. Everything Entrepreneurship.

Dan Aykroyd is best known of course as an incredibly talented actor with works ranging from Ghostbusters to Saturday Night Live and one look into his accomplishments leads to an endless list of awards, movies, and television greatness. Entrepreneur is not a word you would necessarily associate with the Canadian-born actor….until now.

Dan stopped into St. Louis a bit this week and his agenda was quite different than what you might expect. He was here letting the Gateway City in on two of his new ventures: Crystal Head Vodka and Dan Aykroyd Wines. Now, the knee jerk reaction may be that it is another celebrity endorsing a random project; however, in reality Dan Aykroyd is a very savvy entrepreneur who is passionate about his new business ventures and here are a couple of things you can takeaway from the former Conehead.

1. Be Selective: One look at Dan’s website lets you know that he is REALLY behind his wines and other spirits. He has fallen in love with the process and business as well as the spotting of a tremendous business opportunity.

2. Get Your Hands Dirty: The sweat equity and promotion. Dan Aykroyd is out there getting his hands dirty, meeting people, and marketing his business…and he is a ridiculously famous movie star. What is your excuse for not getting out there and promoting?

3. Importance Of Design: Great design can sell a product. A great product then keeps customers coming back. Bad design or bad product = you in trouble. Take a look at Crystal Head vodka…and that my friends is amazing design (and some not so great photography skills of yours truly) Design Note: Elizabeth Erickson of Creative Entourage will be on our next episode of The Rise To The Top later this month.

4. A Little Entrepreneurial Conquering: Dan and a brilliant partner spotted a need in Canada that was not being fulfilled in the spirit world (tequila, vodka, etc.) and decided to import to the great white north. They earned market share and then expanded into wine and other spirits. Is there a product/service you see in another market that you could bring to yours?

5. Tap Into Your Talents: While Dan is the face of the products, he has a dream team of people who are masters of the liquor business. Remember, go with your talents. If you are a rocking promoter, spend your time promoting. If you are great at presentations, present. If you aren’t great, find someone who is and it will be worth it in the long run (of course dabbling in all areas of your business is often necessary for the bootstrappin’ entrepreneur, but that does NOT mean you shouldn’t be focusing your time on your talents).

And that sums it up. Dan Aykroyd is a stand up guy and everything he does turns to gold. I’m looking forward to keeping a close eye on his newest ventures.

Live Passionately! – David Siteman Garland – The Creative Opportunities Specialist and Entrepreneurial Chameleon - http://www.therisetothetop.com

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