Interview with FJ from Flawlessfitnessbook.com

Hey everyone, today I have a wonderful interview with FJ from Fit Jerk’s Flawless Fitness Blog. I met FJ in the Problogger community, and let me tell you now…he has some great information for you guys. Today FJ shares with us his great insight on how to become a better blogger, succeed as an entrepreneur and a whole lot more.

Interview transcript

Rob: Hey FJ, glad to be doing this interview with you today. To start off this interview can we get a little bio about what you do?

FJ:

Hey what’s cracking? Good to be here. And my bio.. well I’ve been obsessed with fitness since I was a punk kid. It was amazing to me the things our bodies were capable of so I wanted to push the boundaries and see how far I could go (naturally… without sticking needles in my ass). I was far from the ideal body type before things happened for me. I mean what is the story of most fitness trainers/authors? “Hey I was fat, then I went on this lame ass diet and now I’m this way, buy my shit so you can be as lame as me”

What you don’t hear is how a person went from being chubby, skinny, to chubby again and then ripped. Looking back, I feel exhausted just thinking about everything I tried. It’s crazy. But just like the persistent prick I am, I eventually figured it all out. And now, I have my own book and my blog where I help those who really need AND WANT the help. See, if you look around, there are plenty of people who need help, but they’re too pussy to ask for it, or too afraid to face the challenges. I don’t deal with those who choose to be mediocre in life. This is why I usually get approached by people who have had enough and are like “OK.. I’m here, I’ll do whatever you say, tell me what to do and I’ll do it!”. THESE are the people who are motivated and WANT it… and they want it real bad and so they are likely to succeed.

Rob: Awesome man, I always love hearing people who are motivated to do something. Do you think if people took the same motivation they had for wanting to lose weight and also applied that motivation to blogging also, they would succeed?

FJ:

Of course they would, but here’s the difference between blogging and getting in shape. If you work with me, having the drive is ALL you need since I’ll take care of the rest. The system is fool-proof so you just gotta put in the work and you’ll get results. With blogging or business… having the drive is good, but if you suck balls, no amount of considerable effort is going to make  you a HUGE success.

Sure, pumping out a post everyday and grinding away for hours commenting/linking/bookmarking can bring you SOME success. But, if you want to be HUGE, you’ve got to be GOOD. It’s so bullshit when people consider an information product in their niche and are like “will I need to buy more stuff after I buy this X product? I don’t want to keep buying shit”.

I’m like… “you’re a fucking moron”. See, if you are PASSIONATE about your subject matter, then further education NEVER stops. Do you know how many fitness books (good or bad) I’ve read? I don’t think you could count that high. I read EVERYTHING, every fucked up study, every book by every author that I could get my hands on. I’ve spent like over a grand on information alone and I’ve barely scratched the surface. I want to read shit from the 70’s and more from the 80’s… times that are considered the “golden era of bodybuilding”. You can ALWAYS find something useful to incorporate into your life.

So understand that if you want to succeed you need to be good, and the WAY you get better is by improving yourself, investing in yourself and growing your knowledge base. If you’re not growing, you’re dying. Point Blank Period.

Rob: Yea I get where your coming from. If a new blogger was to approach you today and ask “What should I focus on to be a successful blogger” what advice would you have to offer to them?

FJ:

I’m guessing by “successful” you mean make a shit load of cash? Hmm.. I don’t want to talk TOO much out of my ass here since I’m still not the biggest thing since sliced bread but I believe I’ve come a long, long way and there have been a few things that have worked. So I’ll talk about those.

1. Your blog itself. If it’s some whacked-out shit design? Then screw you man, I won’t read what you have to say EVEN IF IT’s good. Please my eyes and return the favor by sticking around, commenting and stumbling your content. There is so much noise on the web, the last thing you want to do is distract/repel people by having a shitty design. Make the user experience good. Fastest possible load times, easy navigation, organized layout etc.

2. Don’t attempt to monetize until you’re getting at least 50 uniques a day. For those JUST starting off, this seems impossible but trust me, this ain’t hard to do. It’s fucking peanuts. The reason for this technique is simple: if you worry about the cash from the very beginning, you’ll waste your time with ad networks, ad placement and all that bullshit when instead you should be making connections and ESTABLISHING yourself in your niche!

3. Write one QUALITY blog post everyday of the working week (that’s 5 posts per week) for 30 days straight and socially bookmark EACH POST to as many bookmarking sites as possible.

4. Spending 80% of your time leaving relevant comments and interacting with other people on: Blogs, (doesn’t have to always be in your niche, it could be something you like reading), Forums (this has to be topic related), Twitter etc.

5. BE GLOBALLY BRANDABLE AND MEMORABLE. If you have some ridiculous name that’s hard to remember, have a pen name (like me… although my real name isn’t hard but you’ll never know). Be yourself and create an identity around your blog and brand. A successful money making blog is a business and if your blog is forgettable then bye-bye repeat customers.

Rob: Awesome man, great tips. I like how you emphasized “Quality” because in my opinion that is one of the key elements to running a successful blog. On your site Flawlessfitnessbook.com you offer your course for free instead of your original $9.99. Mind sharing to us the method behind your madness with offering it for free?

FJ:

Correction, I offer “A” course for free. But yeah sure. I had 2 levels of products, a $9.99 starter guide where you just pickup and GO and then a bigger ebook for $39.99 that has EVERYTHING (like an up sell). The bigger book was for those that wanted to know the “why” behind the “how”. See not everyone gives a shit about the “why”. They just want something that works. So I catered to both crowds.

This business model worked for a while but as a natural “cycle” of things go, I wanted to push myself further. Also, I was getting pounded with questions from the $9.99 customer base as they started to get curious as to WHY they were seeing results and what to do next. I mean I love what I do, but fuck, you can only answer “how much rest should I take between sets” or “how does this training frequency look” so many times before you feel like emailing off stock reply. I had to do that a few times then Im like… “wake the fuck up FJ… the market is shifting so it’s time to adapt to the needs of your customers you moron!”

So I changed the products around a bit, and now the $9.99 HeadStart Book is FREE and the actual eBook goes for $24.99. It’s got the pre-made plans you can just pick up and go with (so does the free eBook) but it’s also got some of the reasoning and theory behind everything I do. Once you read it you can make you OWN plans since you now understand the fundamentals of training. It’s the whole give a man a fish/teach a man how to fish principal at work.

Rob: I see I went from interviewing an entrepreneur to an evil genius huh? Just kidding with you man haha. What advice would you offer to entrepreneurs planning to run their first business? Is there anything you would recommend they stay away from? Or is it better for them to learn the old fashion way “learn from your mistakes”?

FJ:

Hmm.. “fitjerk the evil genius”. I like it. When I take over the world I’ll be sure to appoint you to an important position, like rubbing me feet. I know I know, I’m so fucking nice sometimes. Back to your question. Uhm the advice for someone starting their first business. Well part of it goes back and relates to what I wrote about starting a successful blog. If you look at ANY successful business you’ll see that they have something called “power users”. This is where 5% of their overall customers provide 80% of their business income.

But the flip side is that when businesses realize this, they completely ignore their other 95% of users who are still bringing in the bank! WTF are you thinking? Sure, reward your closest business contacts but don’t forget about your HUGE audience because it’s that 95% that gives you the biggest REACH. They are the ones who tell their family and friends to buy your crap, and who knows where that will lead to.

You also need to focus on selling. Too many pussy foot around waiting for the distributor or and number of lame excuses. If the fundamentals are in place and you can accept payment and  your product is finished, START selling or you’ll out of business before you have a chance. EVEN IF your product is good. Selling also helps you calibrate your product because people who pay money are very vocal about what they’ve just bought… which makes them the world’s most honest critique. Don’t underestimate the power of that.

Rob: Great advice man, you do make a point they could be losing a big portion of their company’s revenue because they are not focusing on the larger percentage of the clients. Throughout your career working online, has there been anyone you look up to as an inspiration? (You can name more than one person)

Fj:

Hell yeah. And of course I’ll name more than one person… that’s a given. I only get inspired by those who are successful, those who’ve “made it” or are at a level where I want to be at. They are the “big dogs” in their respective fields/niches.

Here’s my list:
Frank Kern (Mass Control. Marketing genius)
Darren (ProBlogger a bald dude making 6 figures blogging? He’s doing something right.)
Eben Pagen (Get Altitude & Double Your Dating. Makes millions from info products!)
Gary Vaynerchuk (WineLibrary TV)
iJustine (yes, she uses her cuteness, so what? Branding at it’s best)
Tony Robbins (No better person to turn to if you lack motivation)
Seth Godin (You can’t call yourself a serious blogger unless you’ve read at least ONE of his books)
Mike Dillard (Magnetic Sponsoring)
Marina Orlova (HotForWords… she leverages her greatest assets and monetizes it. How can you hate?)
Mystery (From The Pickup Artist. His archive is the stuff of legend. Brilliant man)
Dooce (Probably the benchmark for all mommy bloggers. MILF!)
John Chow (He’s not a pretty dude, but he is smart dude)
Charles Poliquin (This man is a genius of a strength coach… tho some say he’s going crazy)
Brian Clark (Copyblogger)
Hughes Hefner (He’s like 70 and still gets laid more than a rock star. Enough said)

I respect what these people have accomplished but I don’t “look up” to them; that’s such a pathetic term. No one is “above me”… they’re just human! And what ONE human can do, another can replicate, or even improve upon. It just so happens that they have the knowledge and skill set that many lack, which is why their are at the top of their game.

See, in my mind, I’m on the same level as them, I just need to hone my execution… and learning from these individuals will help me do that. Those that think I’m being delusional need to get their head straight. Nobody who is big in the present day ever thought that they were small in the past.

Rob: Awesome man seems like you have the “million dollar mindset” already, that’s awesome. The next question I have for you, I love asking it to others who work online because the answers are always different! What do you like most about working online? What do you like least?

FJ:

Let me just say that working online is THE SHIT. The benefits are so fucking obvious, it’s like 2 inches from your face… staring at you with ridiculous intensity. But for those that still can’t see it, let me enlighten them.

1. You can work from where ever you want as long as you’ve got a connection. Home, Office, Street, Bathroom, Strip Bar…
2. You can reach the entire WORLD. Once your website is up, it’s in the game baby. If you have a store down the street, your reach is limited to that city. On the web? Your site isn’t limited in any way shape or form. Unless you’re hulu… stupid copyright laws.
3. You can meet tonnes of peeps and you can connect with the most unique, fun and weird individuals you’ve ever seen.
4. The COST of start up is fucking insane. It’s almost zero if you compare it to the traditional business The average cost to start a “store” of some sort is what? 20 grand? And they say like 95% of business fail? You do the math.
5. I can’t think of anymore but I’m sure if I really tried I could go all the way to 100.

What I don’t like:

1. Shipping. Shipping is such a bitch, but it needs to be done. At times the shipping companies make it obnoxious with their insane price points. In a store the price you see is the price you pay.
2. Because you have access to a bigger audience you also have bigger competition. Sometimes it can be quite the labor intensive job to try and take down the big dog from the rankings, or by trying to offer more value by upping his/her’s product.
3. I also don’t like how Google gets 65% of the web’s traffic. I mean I love em, but hate em. I hate RELYING on something or someone, but with Google, you have to. The two pillars which most online business stand on to find their audience is SE traffic (organic or paid) and Social Media Traffic such as Blogs, Forums, Twitter-like services (Leveraged with ads or with natural engagement). I’d rather have 3-4 pillars therefore if one falls you’re still good… but that’s just me.

Other than all that, online has no REAL downside if you think about it. I’m sure there are more cons but fuck that, why focus on it? I’m a master of turning weaknesses into strengths. Since I have spent a lot of time on the net platform, I’ve mitigated its cons so it’s hard for me to name them if you ask me. I mean I was about to answer this question with: “what the hell Rob. What’s NOT to like about an internet business?” But you know, then I took a sip of my coffee and thought about it a bit and pumped out 3 of them. Just for you. Be utterly grateful.

Rob: Oh no need to tell me twice, I love living the internet lifestyle. It’s kind of hard to see myself not living it now, but I’m glad you sipped that coffee bro. Before we tie up this interview, is there any future plans, business/personal you would like to share with us?

FJ:

Sure I can give away all my future plans but then I’d have to kill you Rob. And you seem like a cool dude, so that wouldn’t be fun. But what I will do is slip a little teaser for ya:

1. A store.
2. Site Upgrade

…That’s all I can say for now. You’re going to have to stay tuned for more deets as they surface. As for personal plans… I don’t know. I guess I need to work my JiuJitsu a lil bit. Getting rusty… I haven’t pulled off good triangle choke in a while. Nothing like choking a man out where the last thing he remembers is the smell of your balls

Rob: Awesome bro, had a great time doing this interview with you. Is their anything you would like to add before we finish this interview?

FJ:

Yeah this was oddly entertaining. No, I think we covered everything. For those who have relevant fitness questions can drop by and email me, I try and respond within 24 hours unless my inbox is truly being ass raped that day. Good luck to you Rob, I’ll be in touch.

Again I wanted to thank FJ for taking the time to do this awesome interview with us. If you managed to read this 2,800 word interview congratulations!

Connect with FJ online by:
His website -Fit Jerk’s Flawless Fitness Blog
Email: info@flawlessfitnessbook.com