Content Equals Clients with Matt Olson.

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Matt Olson designs merch for organisations, makes it, stores it, sells it through an online store he builds for them, and ships every order. His work all comes from referrals. So I asked him what he's done in the last 30 days to get in front of the people he wants to work with. His answer: "I've tried absolutely nothing and I'm all out of ideas."

Matt came on the show for some free coaching. He's trying a new model with no setup fee, just a monthly fee, and he's stuck on how to get the word out. So I tell him what I'd do: plant a flag for two years, share what he knows in short videos on YouTube, let AI find the questions people ask, send it all to one landing page, and don't quit after three weeks.

Matt Olson is the founder and creative director of MGO Studios, a brand, web design and merch agency in Santa Clara, California.

In this episode:

• Why recurring revenue is the number one thing Matt has to fix, and the question most people skip: what will the market pay you for?
• How Matt's merch model works, as he runs it for Re:wild: he designs it, makes it, stores it, sells it through a store he builds and ships every order
• Why finding prospects isn't the hard part: Viktor can put together a list of purpose-driven organisations selling swag on Bonfire
• The fear that stops Matt starting, and why I tell him there's no plan B and one rule: don't quit
• How I funded my own pivot with three months of done-for-you Viktor installs, and why I'll probably never do that again
• Why sharing what you know beats a networking breakfast: one text post of Josh's on Facebook had over 4,200 views
• Why short videos on YouTube can get you into Google's AI results, and how AI finds the questions to answer so you never run out of ideas
• My phone-to-Shorts setup: one video in, four or five Shorts out, scheduled on five platforms without touching a button
• Why my last two deals came from people who found me on YouTube, and why Matt needs one landing page for one offer
• Getting past the fear of video: make your first one for the bin, then make every video for one person

Chapters:

0:00 Cold open and intro: share what you know
1:48 Who Matt is and what MGO Studios does
2:40 Who buys merch from Matt
4:30 Where Matt's clients come from
5:59 Why recurring revenue comes first (and Ikigai)
8:21 Merch stores for organisations like Re:wild
12:29 The whole model: design, make, store, ship
16:12 Where Matt is stuck
19:44 There is no plan B
21:20 The rule is don't quit, and how to fund the pivot
25:20 Share what you know instead of networking
30:43 Plant a flag: it's a two-year play
31:13 Short-form video gets you found on Google
32:41 Never run out of ideas: let AI find the questions
34:36 A phone, Claude and Vizard
36:21 One landing page for one offer
37:41 Make every video for one person
39:16 How YouTube closes deals
41:52 Getting past the fear of video
44:37 Short form first, long form later
47:26 Where to find Matt
47:55 Troy's outro: come on the show

Connect with Matt:

• MGO Studios: https://mgostudios.com

Mentioned in this episode:

• Viktor: https://mvrx.link/get-viktor (affiliate link)
• Leave us fan mail: https://mvrx.link/fanmail
• Be a guest on the show: https://theagencyhour.com/apply
• Work with us: https://theagencyhour.com/headless

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