We once had an informal poll/discussion with regards to some of the best online business resources and Fizzle was mentioned many times over. Tom even wrote a a post telling you all about its features!
So, I won’t spend time covering things that Tom already has in this post, but what I will do is give you my insider account of the Fizzle experience and the benefits I have gained from my membership there.
If you are interested in building an online business and leaving work behind then you need to keep reading!
Alternatively, if you want to check Fizzle out straight away, get your first month’s membership for just $1 here.
How Fizzle Has Influenced Me
Personally speaking, Fizzle has been a major influence on my burgeoning online business. I have been an extremely active member for just under a year and I can happily tell you that I will be a member for life.
You may be asking right now, is Fizzle really that good? For me it certainly is, and I really feel that anyone starting their own online business can benefit from the resources offered there.
Fizzle was a major factor in getting me hooked on the benefits and values of online communities and learning. It is probably safe to say that I am addicted to them! My experiences in Fizzle’s virtual hallways are what drove me to dive into the Leaving Work Behind Community Forums when they were first introduced, and that’s why I think it’s important to pay forward what Fizzle has done for me, and what I believe it can do for you!
Business Foundations: Going Back to School
When you first venture into online business building it is scary, overwhelming, exciting, amazing and confusing all at the same time. Where do you start? Who do you listen to? Who do you talk to that understands this new world? You need to essentially ‘choose a school’ and learn what you need to know to build your business the right way.
Even if you have some business experience, taking things online is a whole other world. Not only do you need to learn how to set up your first blog, but there are social media considerations, email and auto-responder options as well as figuring out who your audience really is so you can give them what they want (and that’s probably the most important aspect!). Not to mention those of you who want to build an online business but need help choosing a topic.
I won’t lie to you. You can find all of this information on the internet for free if you want. There are vast resources and information available to you if you hunt for what you want, but how much easier is it if everything you need is in one place organized by a reliable source that also keeps track of your course progress? Much like Tom’s Paid to Blog course, where he teaches you how to make money from freelance blogging, Fizzle offers the business foundations to learn from scratch (or to fill in any gaps you may have), and you cannot go wrong trying out the first month for only $1.
When I got started I had no clue about the foundations you needed in place to build a business. I had never done anything remotely like it before, and I’m guessing that many of you are in the same shoes. I didn’t know what affiliate marketing was or how it worked. I was clueless about WordPress and website design. I didn’t even know how to accept online payments (because we all need to get paid, right?). I wasn’t even aware of all the options and methods available for making money online (There are six major ones, in case you are wondering ;-)).
Every aspect of building your business the right way is extremely important, and Fizzle offers courses on all of those mentioned topics plus many more. I am still working through all of the courses available in the library, but a stand-out course for me is the Book Yourself Solid course Fizzle has, which is an essential learning resource for anyone running a service-based business. With a new course rolled out every few months, I think my never-ending thirst for online business knowledge will always be satisfied.
Testing and Validation
Building your business starts with an idea, and sometimes it’s hard to know whether your idea is good or bad, or what the holes are (and how to plug them).
In other words, you want to validate your idea and see if it is viable as a business.
Using the over 1,000 Fizzlers (that’s what members are called) as guinea pigs (through forum posts, surveys and polls) allows you to test and explore some basic fundamentals of your business. I got my very first clients through Fizzle and am constantly able to adapt what I offer, how I present things and what to use to get it done by testing through the Fizzlers.
True, not every member will be your target audience, but there will probably be a few in there, and getting a general consensus or baseline on how to improve your idea or proceed a certain way is invaluable to your business. Early feedback, testing and validation can help you to alter course or maintain direction.
Expert Advice and Connecting With Influencers
Every single week Fizzle has ‘Fizzle Fridays’. This is a 26 person online chat hosted by one of the invaluable three Cs of Fizzle – namely Corbett Barr, Caleb Wojcik and Chase Reeves.
This is your opportunity for direct feedback and questions to get the help you need to solve certain issues. They will look at your website, explain exactly how to do something or let you in on their process for getting certain things done. You also get to interact with some super-high calibre successful entrepreneurs.
To make this even better, every few months there are ‘Fizzle Office Hours’ which is hosted by all three of the founders and open to the entire Fizzle membership. They discuss chosen topics, have special guests and answer submitted questions. Through Office Hours, I was able to ask a question directly to Scott Dinsmore and Leo Babauta on the same day! Not to mention being able to get to know and interact with Corbett, Chase and Caleb online on a consistent basis. They are seriously smart business savvy guys who are so approachable, you won’t want to miss a session.
These three wise men are influencers in their own right, and they are all incredibly down to earth, but what stands out the most is how much they care about their ‘people.’ I attended NMX for the first time in January (it was also my first conference as an entrepreneur) and Fizzle held at least three official and unofficial events which were attended by some of the biggest names at the conference. Not only did I get to meet fellow Fizzlers and not feel ‘alone’ at my first conference, I had the pleasure of socializing with and getting to know Pat Flynn, Chris Ducker, John Lee Dumas and Kate Erickson, Nick Loper and Justin Jackson, not to mention Caleb and Chase.
Relationships, Collaboration and Friends for Life
The biggest impact Fizzle has had on my life and business is the people that I have met.
Near and far, I have made friends all over the world to meet in person when I’m in their area. The amount of feedback, advice, forum conversations, Skype calls and Google hangouts alone have enabled me to develop significantly more than just superficial relationships with many members. I will happily call them friends for life, and am ready to jump on board and help with any projects they need me on!
I got to really know Omar and Nicole of Business Republic who designed my site and whipped me up some surprise business cards for NMX! Tom Morkes is a super-instigator and publishing pro who inspires me to get things done and introduces me to books that change my life. Darlene Hildebrandt lives a few hours away from me and she is a photography beast and wicked smart businesswoman!
These people have made my successes, supported me through failure, brought me clients, become clients or introduced me to people I could help or who could help me. It does not get any more fulfilling than that.
Fizzle is also where I founded my very first (and still running strong!) mastermind group. My group has consulted with me, collaborated with me, kicked my butt and provided invaluable advice and feedback. The accountability and camaraderie of meeting with them every week has pushed me forward or supported me through everything. I don’t believe I would be accomplishing as much as I am without them. Without a doubt, Whitney, Carlton, Max and Josh have been there every step of the way.
Beyond the people in my group is a large core group of regular Fizzlers as well as the larger membership body of brilliant minds. The experiences of these people have taught me so much about what to do and what not to do in business that I learn valuable lessons from them as much as I do from the courses.
When I see the courses being developed, the podcasts casting off, and the books being written by the members, it constantly pushes me to reach my own milestones. I have multiple projects on the go (books, courses, communities) but without Fizzle I am not sure I would have quite nailed down what I wanted and how it could best work (and I am not nearly done yet!).
Conclusion
So ultimately, what has Fizzle done for me?
It has introduced me to lifelong friends who are also fellow entrepreneurs in the trenches. They get this online business ‘thing.’ I have friends backing me up at conferences and meet-ups with influencers, online sessions directly answering my questions and a continually growing knowledge base of brilliant minds and courses to feed my business knowledge thirst.
In a world where so many businesses ‘fizzle’ out because steps were missed, Fizzle gives you the crackle and buzz you need to build your business right. Fizzle is fuel for your business.