Episodes

In this episode Neel chats with Amar Ghose, Founder and CEO of ZenMaid. Neel and Amar have managed not to meet, despite being the only two in their digital entrepreneur group in the cleaning space over the past few years. One time Amar left Chiang Mai for a few weeks and Neel happened to show up during the same time (everyone said it was just a swap out! :-) ). Neel and Amar discuss: the importance of "owning" the career ladder instead of climbing it choosing between lifestyle desig...

Neel recently came back from a ten-day desert island survival experience. As he switched back into work mode, he saw so many connections between what he had just experienced and how a daily business grind works. He has five lessons he learned, including: Getting your key work done when you have the most energy: stack your tasks to take advantage of when you're at your most energetic Play to your strengths to survive: lean into what you're good at You can't do it by yourself: the pow...

In this episode Neel and David discuss the classic question of how to deal with angry customers. As with so many great business (and life) tactics, this starts with having the right mindset. In this case, learning how to deal with irate customers can help you develop a superpower, something that can help you walk into any confrontational situation with confidence, helping you get what you want, and defusing the problem in the process. Neel and David also discuss: Not taking the critici...

In another of the Remote Local Podcast's ongoing series of entrepreneurial interviews, Neel chatted with Mike Loftus of Connor Landscape. Mike got a finance degree but found out he hated working inside. He took $10k of his own savings and started knocking on doors, building a landscaping company from scratch. After building it to $750k in revenues, he started acquiring others, three so far and more in the pipeline! Neel and Mike also discuss: All the things you have to learn when start...

In the last of a three-part series, Neel gives you an ultimate guide to hiring, from his own successful playbook! This episode focuses on tweaking your flywheel to make sure it's working at its best. Neel also shares: What he does on screening calls The purpose of a test job How many cleaners he actually ends up with from 20 applicants (shockingly low!) Collect all three! If you haven't listened to the first two episodes in this mini-series, do so now!

In the second of a three-part series, Neel gives you an ultimate guide to hiring, from his own successful playbook! This episode shares the six places that MaidThis posts jobs ads to find talent for their local services business. Those places include: Indeed.com ZipRecruiter Craigslist (yes, really!) Facebook (not just ads, but in groups) Oh, did you want the other two? You'll have to listen to the episode :-)

In the first of a three-part series, Neel gives you an ultimate guide to hiring, from his own successful playbook! This episode focuses on the mindset (and a few tactics) for hiring in general and putting up your job ad. Great tips which are included: How much an employee leaving can cost you How much an A-team player can make you each year Why you should ABC (always be 'cruiting...hey, close enough!) How to make your job ad STAND OUT There's plenty more here. This...

In this episode Neel interviews Chris Munn, a fellow remote local entrepreneur. Chris grew up in Detroit, now lives in LA (though he lived in Paris for a while), but has a cleaning business based in Tampa. Neel connected with him on Twitter and they had a chance to meet and connect in real life and decided to continue on some of the themes they had a chance to discuss when together, including: Chris' start in business via residential real estate Why Chris prefers the multiples on offer...

In this episode Neel interviews Jodie Cook, who recently exited her remote local business (and is getting ready to start another!). Jodie knew from an early age that she wanted to work and earn her own money and be independent, and that hustle meant sometimes two jobs as she figured out what she wanted to do. Turns out that was a social media digital marketing agency that began from the desire to travel and work. It would be some time before she realized that travel/work relationship in her b...

In this episode Neel and David talk about limiting beliefs, how to identify them, and how to replace them with empowering beliefs. David has been preparing to leave for 90 days off the grid and was worried one of his businesses would implode and Neel was battling the idea that more growth = worse life. Both of them share how these limiting beliefs paralyzed them for a while and how they moved past them. They also discuss: Why it can be hard to identify those beliefs Why you can't ju...

In this episode Neel and David sit down with Derek Dodds and have a leisurely conversation about how Derek found his calling. Derek currently runs WaveTribe, an ecological surf company, has an interest in Naked Armor, a wet shaving company, and serves an advisor to a publishing company he co-founded, 2 Seas Agency. The path he took to get to those projects is anything but conventional. Derek also shares: Going from having a gun in his hand at the age of 5 and being a hunter to becoming...

In this episode Neel and David brainstormed, putting the podcast itself into the frame that they discussed in Episode 32: the three levels of entrepreneurship. If you haven't listened to that episode yet, do so, so that this episode will make more sense! Neel and David consider the podcast to be still at Level 1, aka "Podcasting for Dummies." They discussed the origins of the podcast, why they prefer a conversation/co-host format, and why they keep the episodes short in length. They also d...

In this episode Neel and David share the ONE BIG SECRET of successful remote local business owners. Okay, so the secret is...well you're going to have to listen to the episode to get it, but here are some of the other things Neel and David talk about: "Level 1" entrepreneurship, which is essentially like building and working in your own job "Level 2" entrepreneurship, which involves trying many different things while you develop a secret sauce "Level 3" entrepreneurship, in which yo...

In this episode Neel interviews Johnny Robinson and Sergio Silesky, co-founders and owners of Orange Window Cleaning. Johnny and Sergio didn't grow up as entrepreneurs...in fact it wasn't until college when they found out that "anyone" could start a business and started a side hustle in residential and commercial window cleaning. That side hustle became a real-deal business when they found out that they hated jobs that they had been trained to get after going to college. And now they are on ...

In this episode Neel and David discuss his upcoming disappearing act: he's going to be totally off-grid for the first three months of 2022. David has been doing meditation for 6-7 years now and sees a three-month off-the-grid training to be a teacher in the Vedic meditation tradition as the next step. But he has a portfolio of businesses...what to do? Neel quizzes David on: What his endgame is How David used delegation, promotion, and partnership to prepare for this What "growth"...

In this episode Neel and David build on their "New Year's Resolutions Suck" episode by reflecting on 2021. Both Neel and David built strong romantic relationships this year, and also started this podcast. For Neel, that meant getting out of his comfort zone and engaging more on social media and elsewhere. But it was also part of something that David had introduced him to the last time they spent a lot of time together: meeting people that are very different from himself. He's curious about...

In this episode Neel and David tell you why they think New Year's Resolutions are no good and what they have planned for 2022. David is starting 2022 with a three month off-grid meditation teacher training. Neel will be spending 10 days in Panama in the first quarter of 2022 doing some survival training. They talk about the methodology they use to make plans for big events like these and what else they have planned for the year. They also discuss: Jesse Itzler's calendar hacking Tac...

In this episode Neel and David discuss how emotions play into personal and business decisions, and a system for how to avoid making poor decisions. When Neel isn't running MaidThis he enjoys buying and selling real estate on the side and he recently got to closing day with a buyer that ended up being dishonest. He recorded this episode on the day he got the news that the buyer was trying to change the deal at the last moment so we recorded this as a time capsule of this thoughts. David ask...

In this episode Neel and David discuss their recent deeper dives into social media and why it's been a challenge for them. David has really been very active on Instagram and Neel has spent more time on Twitter. Both of them have been less willing to be involved in social media in the past simply because they weren't entirely comfortable on various platforms. But both of them have come to separately realize that there are opportunities to engage with people in a real way that doesn't need to f...

In this episode Neel and David discuss the stress of running a remote local business. David begins the discussion philosophically by asking what the function of stress is within an evolutionary framework: it's there to give us tools to deal with a threat. While we might not have to deal with a tiger chasing us, sometimes our body can still react as if that's the case, and we need to reframe that thinking. They also discuss: situations that lead to stress in modern businesses, particularly the...

In this episode Neel and David discuss the well-known abundance vs. scarcity dichotomy. Both Neel and David came from immigrant backgrounds which had a certain amount of scarcity baked into their upbringing and have had to unlearn some of that programming. David notes that one of the ways he knew he was embracing an abundance mindset was the willingness to invest in himself. They also discuss: How you can't save your way to financial independence The inability of fear or scarcity to...

In this episode Neel and David talk about how to get started in acquiring a remote local business. While it can feel intimidating to get into the world of "buying a business" the reality is that like anything else, it's a learning curve but isn't nearly as complicated as it looks like from the outside. One of the things David, who has gone through 16 acquisitions at the time of this recording, stresses is the importance of the "investor" mindset when looking at businesses. They also discuss: ...

In this episode Neel and David give the BIG SECRET to taking your business to the next level. That secret is...being less available to your team! This helps: Empower your team Free you up from doing less valuable work so you can add greater value Give you the space to take three month mediation training retreats (like David wants to do next year) Level up your quality of life as a business owner Enjoy the episode!

In this episode Neel and David discuss how to build your marketing strategy when you're just starting out. David sets the stage for the discussion by pointing out that every business wants a consistent, profitable stream of customers without too high of an acquisition cost. How do you do that? Neel and David explain: Different channels (both online and offline) available to businesses Using your competition to reverse engineer a marketing plan The importance of testing and budgeting in diff...