In Episode #10 of Seth Godin’s Startup School, he talks about the challenges of being a standup comedian, and how it’s exactly the same as what an entrepreneur goes through. Coincidentally, one of our listeners Jamarr Johnson works in New York as a comedian, actor, singer, writer, artist, and handyman. I got him on the show to draw some parallels between his experience and entrepreneurs just starting their E-Commerce stores.

Topics Discussed:

• 03:00 – Background of Jamarr
• 07:30 – How the comedy industry works
• 09:40 – How do comedians create content
• 12:00 – Split testing your content
• 13:30 – Tweaking your value proposition as a comedian
• 14:50 – What happens when your jokes don’t work
• 18:47 – Write for one person, not a million people
• 20:45 – Niching down in the comedy business
• 23:30 – Finding your own voice in comedy
• 27:45 – Dealing with haters and hecklers
• 30:00 – Turning haters into your biggest fans
• 32:50 – Dealing with nervousness on stage
• 34:45 – A comedian’s content creation process
• 36:00 – Different niches within the comedy industry
• 37:45 – Working with other comedians like guest blogging
• 39:08 – Imitation of Barack Obama
• 39:55 – Getting comfortable putting yourself out there
• 41:20 – The best pickup line in history

Mentions in the Episode:

• Charlie Murphy
• Jerry Seinfeld
• Kyle Grooms
• Rich Dad Poor Dad
• Louis CK (no lomnger working)
• Orlando Baxter
• Jo Koy
• Chelsea Handler
• Comedy Central
• Colbert Report
• Bill Maher
• Michael Jr.
• Joe Klocek
• Verbal Brainstorm

Episode Length: 44:31

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