James Dooley Podcast

James Dooley: Questions to ask entrepreneurs. A lot of people attend entrepreneurship conferences, networking events and things like that.

If someone is starting out as a business owner, or they want to become an entrepreneur, what questions should they come up and ask to get the most out of you?

Craig Campbell: One question we always get is, “Why did you start that business in that niche?”

We spoke about it in a previous podcast. Why that niche?

That is the biggest thing people ask me all the time. What niche should I go into? What should I do?

For me, the marketing part is the easy part.

But what business are you going to start?

I am going to throw the question back to you first. You have more companies than me.

I am not going to say what your companies are because I do not know if you want me to say it publicly.

But the company where I have been in your office, with PromoSEO on the top floor and the other company there, what made you start that particular one?

Was it other people’s skills and you using your marketing ability?

James Dooley: That was to do with the who, not the what.

The business partner’s dad had chopped up truck tyres and invented a way of using them. It just happened to be used for safety surfaces for kids.

It was a very profitable market and there were not that many people doing it in the UK.

I saw there was demand and I saw there were not many people doing it, so I knew there was profit margin there.

From that, there was a domino effect. You start doing work in schools and colleges, then it leads into other products and services.

I landed lucky in finding the business partner.

You have got new ventures with AI coming along, and you have met amazing people over the years.

They have now come to you with an idea and they are technical geniuses. You have managed to leverage their skills to take AI to another level with AI growth partnerships.

That came from networking and leveraging those people.

It was the same for me.

Sometimes people ask entrepreneurs a question because they think they will get a magic answer to find the next niche.

The honest answer is the red car theory.

You ask a member of staff how many red cars they saw on the way into work today. They say they do not know.

Then you say, “Tomorrow, look out for every red car and count them.”

The next day they say, “I saw 17 red cars.”

Then you explain that those red cars are opportunities they missed yesterday but saw today.

Replace red cars with opportunities.

Wherever you go, there are opportunities. It could be a billboard, a bus advert, someone walking past, a bar, or a networking event.

The quiet person in the corner could be your next business partner or investor.

I think asking questions at these events is the most important part.

Some people are scared to go over and ask questions.

What would you say to people who do not have the confidence to come over and ask you a question?

Craig Campbell: Do not ask basic 101 questions.

Do not ask, “What niche should I go into?”

I could say sell anything. You can market anything, whether it is furniture, water, surfaces or anything else.

That is the easy part.

The real question is who can you leverage, how can you monetise it, and what can you bring to the table?

With your business partners, they knew what they were doing, not many people were doing it, and there was profit in it.

You had marketing skills and saw the opportunity.

That conversation is much better than someone saying, “What niche should I get into?”

I do not know you. I do not know what you know or what you do not know.

You need to come with a better conversation.

I can tell you stories about niches I went into, why I went into them, who I met through networking and how opportunities came about.

But I never sat there deciding, “I want to do this AI growth thing.”

The opportunity came to me because I was networking, travelling, speaking and putting myself out there.

If you are a blank canvas, you have to create opportunities and learn to see opportunities.

When people look at expired domains, they are seeing an opportunity.

They might think, “I can leverage this and turn it into an affiliate website,” or use it to power up another website.

That is the way you need to think.

You need to spot opportunities.

The red car theory is spot on.

I think I am good at spotting opportunities because someone might tell me what they are doing and my brain starts thinking about how I can apply that somewhere else.

I might not be interested in their niche, but I can use the same idea in another market.

It is about return on investment. What can I bring to the table and what can the other person bring to the table?

If there are two valuable things there, you can make money from it.

It does not work if you go around asking someone to find a perfect business partner for you.

You need to understand what you bring to the table as an entrepreneur.

A lot of entrepreneurs do not even know what they have. They do not know marketing. They do not know how to do stuff.

James Dooley: I have a great question to ask an entrepreneur based on exactly what you are saying.

For anyone watching this, I strongly recommend checking out the link. We do a whole episode on entrepreneur versus intrapreneur.

That is the question I would ask.

If someone is uncertain and wants to ask an entrepreneur something, I would say, “How would you know whether it is right for me to be an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur?”

When they ask that question, the entrepreneur will probably ask them several questions about who they are as a person.

They might ask whether they want security, whether they are willing to take risks, and what kind of life they want.

That helps the person understand the answer.

If they want security and want someone else to take the risk for them, they are probably more of an intrapreneur.

If they are willing to take risks and back themselves, they are more likely to be an entrepreneur.

Asking, “Am I an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur?” opens up a lot of conversation.

If someone came over to you and asked that, it would probably get your attention.

Craig Campbell: We actually have a solution for that with the AI business.

We can build someone a website, social media, email, texting, virtual receptionists and the whole setup.

We can build a business like that.

But are they prepared to put the marketing spend behind it?

We can build and automate 99% of it, but they need to put the marketing spend in.

That is why we want to go down the growth partner route.

We can build the thing, they put the money in, and we take a percentage for doing it.

That weeds out the people who are serious from the people who are not.

For me, I would rather invest money to make more money.

That is where entrepreneurship comes from.

Years ago, I did not want to take risks and I wanted things to land in my lap.

I am still waiting for that to happen.

You need to decide what you are.

If someone has big money or they are an investor or entrepreneur, we can build whatever they want.

The rest is on them.

James Dooley: For sure.

Anyone watching this, make sure you check out the links about the advantages of entrepreneurship. We also do one on the disadvantages of entrepreneurship.

If you are an entrepreneur watching this, what is the best question you have ever been asked?

Maybe it put you in an uncomfortable position.

I would love to know in the comments what the best questions are to ask an entrepreneur.

Craig Campbell, it has been an absolute pleasure.

Craig Campbell: Cheers, mate.