Tommy Keough on Building Your Online Brand and Standing Out
Tommy Keough was in the Navy for 10 years and led an adventurous life until he settled down with a traditional business. Then, he discovered MLSP. Here is his powerful story
Thanks you for this interview, Tommy. I am excited to learn more about you. So, let’s get started!
Where were you born and raised, what was childhood like, and what did you want to be when you ‘grew up?’
Thanks Erik for the business interview.
I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia and lived in the Western Suburbs, which is like the working class area of Sydney and pretty rough. Every city has these areas.
I always wanted to join the Military, I guess mainly because my older brother joined straight out of school when he was 15 as a junior recruit.
He was 6 years older and I would listen to his stories when he came home on leave to visit, and I thought that was a lot better than school, travelling the world and having a great life with your mates.
I wanted to do something exciting and for my Country. How wrong I was. My first couple of years at apprenticeship school, HMAS Nirimba, were harder than school, but being young, you didn’t know any different so you just did it. I did two years at Nirimba then joined the Fleet for my final 2 years training and life got a lot better.
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What did your parents do for a living and was there any Entrepreneurship in the family?
Mum was a stay at home mum and looked after my older brother and I while Dad had a blue collar job in the city and also a part time job working as a warehouse manager to make ends meet. Mum pretty much ran the house and was the Boss, (and a tough one at that) and we hardly saw much of Dad.
It was the days when kids were seen and not heard, parents didn’t come and watch you play sport, like they do nowadays, you played outside and only came home when the street lights came on. No Electronics or computers in those days.
It was a tough life, my parents were great, but no Entrepreneurship at all ran in the family. I never heard of that word till many, many years on. The only thing taught back then was to finish school and get a good job.
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You entered the Navy and have had some amazing experiences. Can you give us some highlights from that period of your life?
I applied for the Navy when I was 15, and got accepted as an apprentice Shipwright at age 16. Over 3,000 kids applied and I was one of the only 120 youths accepted. Yahoo, I thought, out of school and onto an exciting life, which it definitely was and I ended up doing 10 years.
I finished my apprenticeship as a shipwright, cross trained as an Engineer and then one day they put a call out for anyone wanting to do a Ships Diver course at the Diving School.
I loved the ocean but had never dived and thought a bit of sunbaking and swimming was better than playing war games off the Coast.
Huge mistake at that time, it was no holiday, it was hell, after 7 years in I was cruising, then all of a sudden my life was handed over to the Navy Diving Instructors.
I finished that course and went to Singapore for 6 months, came back and did an underwater welding and cutting course then decided to change over to the Clearance Diving Branch and do a further 7 months of training that was like hell. Again, forget you have a life because you just handed it over to them.
After this I joined a Pararescue Team, became a parachute instructor, commercial diver, dive instructor, medic, Ships Master and gained my pilot qualification.
I changed my military diving qualifications over to sports diving and became a sports diving instructor teaching diving to tourists out on the Great Barrier Reef.
I worked for Mike Ball Dive Expeditions and absolutely loved that part of my life. Everyday was different and when you get paid for doing something you love that’s what it’s all about.
I was then lured into the Offshore Oil and Gas industry working around various parts of the world before deciding to settle down on the Gold Coast in Queensland.
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You became a traditional business owner. How was that, and what were the pros and cons of running a traditional business?
Ahh, where to start and wouldn’t it be great to turn back time. Working offshore Oil was a blast, challenging and adventurous, but whilst it was great money you spend half your life at sea with guys that you probably wouldn’t have a beer with ashore, listening to how much maintenance everyone was paying because the industry isn’t renowned for keeping marriages together.
I had always wanted to get into this industry and it was a hard industry to get into, but you can only do it for so long. If you want a life of some sort of normality you have to eventually bite the bullet and change.
I moved down from Townsville in North Queensland to the Gold Coast. I searched around for a business to buy and bought a Franchise, I didn’t know enough about running a business and buying a franchise would be the safe option and thought, great, I will just have employees do the work whilst I lay beside the pool.
I soon started expanding and putting on more employees, but whilst it looked like I was making a lot of money, only 2 people made, the tax office and the Franchisor. What was left over after paying employees, overheads, etc, wasn’t going to give me the lifestyle I dreamt about.
So running a traditional business isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, unless you have good systems in place, but you will have a lot of stress, and depending how big the business is, depends on when you can take holidays.
If you don’t have the right mindset to be successful then that is going to be another hurdle as the percentage of businesses failing in their first 5 years is fairly high.
If you buy a Franchise, do your due diligence as there are a lot of bad Franchises out there. It is so easy now to google and get the information about franchises and if they are good or have had problems with the franchisees.
Another thing about Franchises is you pay fees whether you work or not. You are also building someone else’s business. It is better to build your own business and brand you.
The good thing about owning your own business is that you don’t work for a boss, because you are the Boss. The other good thing is I met my wife, Karla, and that wouldn’t have happened because I met her through the business. We have now been together for 19 years.
To be honest after having quite a few businesses, the satisfaction of seeing your business grow is worthwhile, but it does take a lot of effort and personal time, which can be taxing on family life.
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When did you discover network marketing, what was your first two years like, and can you tell us what you would change if you started over today?
Soon after finding your own niche in different industries someone will eventually come along offering you a way to make extra money.
That happened to me the first time in 2002, and prior to this I was like most people thinking that Network marketing was a pyramid scam and to run and stay well clear. After all, that’s what my uneducated friends told me.
I did the first couple of times but then I went along and listened to the speaker at a meeting and realised that what she talked about sounded great and we were in. The first two years were full on, we put a lot of energy into building and going through the different levels.
Let’s face it if you don’t, then why did you get into it. It was before Social media platforms were around, mobile phones were basically just a ring and talk function, no smart phones back then. So exciting times and building your business back then meant going to weekly meetings, and doing the 5 foot rule. How different it is today.
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What would I change if I started over?
I am not a fan of weekly meetings. Nowadays everyone is in a rush, there are not enough hours in the day, people just want to relax at night.
The good thing about weekly meetings is that it is a good social night out, hanging around like minded people, but you can get that sitting in your pyjamas listing to a webinar, doing a zoom, and reach out to far more people around the world that makes it comfortable and exciting.
Also, if I started over there are some high tech companies that are big movers and I would seriously align myself with one of these, of course doing due diligence.
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You discovered attraction marketing through using a system, can you tell us about MLSP and what it does?
Yes I did. MLSP sort of fell into my lap. I remember doing a lot of googling and noticing a pattern with different training sites and what the top earners were promoting.
I actually came into MLSP once before, but didn’t make the commitment that was needed to do it properly. After all, that is why we get into it, to change our lives and help others do the same but it just didn’t click the first time in.
It was much later that I started noticing a young woman that was making an impact back in late 2015, and I thought she is so committed to blogging every day and giving great content to help others that I reckon she will be the next big entrepreneur on stage, and she is well on her way. Anyway, she made an offer for some training and mentoring that I jumped on board with her in MLSP.
The great thing about MLSP that sets it apart is that everything is under the one roof. You have the capture pages set up, the Customer Relation Manager, the Funnelizer, the training library with all the webinars dating back to 2008 you can reference. You have System campaigns set up for you, product campaigns, the list just keeps going on.
On top of that you have weekly webinars where the six and seven figure earners share their knowledge, an MLSP facebook community where someone will always have an answer for you, and plenty of information that is shared, yet no one talks about the company they are with.
Isn’t that incredible, hanging around with top earners, following in their footsteps, doing what they teach, learning, it doesn’t get better than that.
What is the biggest mistake you see new network marketers make, and how can they fix it?
Ahh, that’s any easy question, you see it all the time. You only have to check out their social platforms and see their network marketing companies name and products blasted everywhere.
That doesn’t make people buy, if anything they will google it to see what it is all about and not only have they left your page but they have no one to guide or answer questions. They will probably make an ill informed decision never to be seen again.
People will come onboard with you once they get to know, like and trust you. The best way to do that is attraction marketing, giving out great content, free content, and gathering their names and email addresses to your list so that you can stay in touch and they will keep learning from you and accept your recommendations.
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I love your blog! How old is it, how many posts are on it, and what is your daily traffic like?
Thank you. It is not very old at all, I started it about 12 months, and I really wouldn’t know how many blogs are on there, but I know there should be a lot more and that is something I will prioritize as daily traffic is quite good but there is always room for improvement.
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Should every internet marketer blog and why?
My personal view is they should. It gives you a place to call home and you own it. People will come across your capture pages and they will be on your list which is great, but I feel if you have a blog it gives authority, it gives your personal touch, it shows a professional side to you.
You need to brand yourself and attract people to you, it is the like, know and trust factor. I also believe in doing videos with your blogs so that you can put your own personal touch to the blog.
This is what people will be drawn to you for, great content, and they can possibly relate to you a lot better. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Social media platforms are important and vital, but you don’t own them like your blog. There are so many horror stories of people being shut down on You Tube, Facebook, and other platforms and no amount of begging will reverse it.
Some of the biggest names in the industry have been shut down and lost their content and or videos. That’s the real world, it can happen.
Now there are plenty of six and seven figure earners that have got there without a blog, they have done it on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or whatever other platforms, I am just saying a blog is a place to call home.
I like your videos on YouTube, can you tell us how we can survive our first three months in a home-business?
Thanks, I was never a video guy, but it just takes a commitment and the hardest bit is starting. Do your first one and don’t worry if it is not perfect. If you wait for perfection it will never get done.
Upload it and do the next one. I still have a lot to learn, but surviving your first 3 months is just about committing to do it, make it part of your Daily Method of Operation. Do a 90 day challenge.
What I do recommend is keeping them short, no longer than 5 minutes because I know a lot of people will check the length before watching and everyone is having a busy life and if it is too long they won’t watch it unless it is specific to what they need. It is always about supplying your market with great content and filling their needs. Survive your first 3 months by doing this and you will be hooked.
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What’s the best way to generate leads for you these days, and can you share a technique?
I try different ways, it is a matter of trying different things, implementing the trainings from MLSP webinars, and courses.
Good timing though as this morning I was listening to a six figure earner with MLSP doing her wake up call, and she revealed her one and only strategy to hit L5 with MLSP was solely promoting the system campaigns in MLSP.
She would listen to the trainings attached to the system, write a review, and then promote. So simple, yet it made her L5. I will be doing this and let you know how it works.
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What is your favorite book right now and why?
My favorite book is The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. It makes you more aware of things that you probably are aware of but just haven’t implemented properly. It is laid out in such a way that you feel like you are involved along the way through, and you can picture yourself in the situations.
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What are your goals for 2023?
My goals for 2023 are huge, and power driven. My only problem is that I’m an eagle (if you haven’t heard of the 4 personalities, just Google it), I don’t have to know how it works, if it looks and feels right then I am in. If something better comes along then I am easily sidetracked. On the other hand my wife is an owl, which compliments me.
Like everyone, I am in for a huge 2023 and have some key makings in the pipeline to come to fruition, we all aim to be debt free, and the key to that is taking the opportunities as they present themselves and implement changes. Work smarter, not harder!
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What is your favorite quote and why?
If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door – Milton Berle
I love this quote, it is truly meant for Eagle personalities. It means for me to not let excuses stop you or slow you down, but find a way to complete the objective.
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Thank you so much for this interview Tommy!
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