Bill Boone Full Interview Transcript
What Thriving Means at Different Stages of Life
AJ: My first question is: what does thriving through mean for you?
Bill: That definition has probably changed over the years. When you're a young, hard-charging MBA, thriving through just means you're going to change the world, you're going to break through everything, and you're going to make it. But as you get more seasoned and experienced, I believe thriving has a more personalized message. It means more to me in terms of how I thrive personally versus what might be visually appealing to other people. To me, thriving means first of all living in your own skin and being comfortable with yourself. Your soul answers to you and your maker, whoever that's defined by. Thriving is having the life you enjoy. You're surrounded by the friends, family, and love you want to have around you. Thriving just becomes so much more than a single thing—it covers all aspects of your life.
AJ: And would you say that you are thriving?
Bill: I feel pretty good about things right now. I'm doing something I love at work, I'm in love, things are good, I'm healthy, and I feel fine. So yes.
The Path from Corporate to Self-Employment
AJ: Let's talk about your path to being a self-employed consultant entrepreneur. When you graduated and got your MBA, you went the traditional corporate route, right?
Bill: Yes, I did. When I got out of UCLA, I started a sales career as a marketing representative at IBM, and I did that for four years. Then I went to Oracle where I was in sales and then a sales manager. That's when I first transitioned into a traditional marketing role.
After seven or eight years, I was faced with the question of what I wanted to do. I had the choice to be part of a new marketing group and project called Alliances Marketing. The alliance I got to choose was the Independent Oracle Consultants Alliance. I was responsible for designing everything from scratch. It was brand new in name, but I got to build it all out. I helped set up accreditation for consultants and was the liaison between Oracle Consulting and all the third-party consultants. I got to work with all these different entrepreneur consultants.
That was the fun part because I've always worked with the small business person. Even at IBM and Oracle, I always sought out the small business people and entrepreneurial environments rather than the Fortune 500 divisions. I worked with a whole range of consultants—some were facilitators and trainers, others did coding, and some were fractional CMOs or CFOs before that term became popularized.
After that, I worked in direct marketing with a lot of lead generation and call center management. I was responsible for promotional mail and direct mail campaigns. I was part of the transition when companies were getting rid of direct mail and moving to email. So I've done a lot of that in my career.
But what really transitioned me out of corporate were two things. First, the tech downturn hit around 2000, and I had two young kids at home. I'd been living the Silicon Valley dream where I'd stay at the office until 10 or 11 at night, then wake up at 5 in the morning. I could get more sleep if I just stayed there, even though home was only a half-hour commute. But with two young kids, that wasn't sustainable.
Second, when a couple of IPOs didn't happen and founder stock didn't become what it was supposed to be, I thought: let me do something that's going to work well in good times and bad times. So I got my insurance license and became an insurance agent.
I worked in insurance for 20 years, mostly as an independent agent. I did a stint as a manager at AAA where I ran a couple of branches as an insurance sales manager. But over time, I realized that the insurance side of things was becoming very commoditized. I was selling on price, not on value. The recurring revenue model wasn't working because people would shop around every year or two.
The Discovery of Virtual Summits
AJ: So what changed? What made you move from insurance into the world of virtual summits?
Bill: I got invited to participate in a virtual summit. I went in as a speaker to talk about marketing. But when I saw how it was structured and how it was run, I had this aha moment. I realized that a summit is basically a curated experience where you bring together experts to provide value to an audience. The summit owner builds the list, builds relationships, and captures leads. It's a way to build authority and credibility at scale.
I thought: if I created a summit, I could build an audience, generate leads, create a list, and position myself as an authority without having to do all the heavy lifting myself. I could leverage other people's expertise and audiences. That was the lightbulb moment for me.
Why Summits Work Better Than Other Lead Generation Strategies
AJ: What makes summits so effective compared to other lead generation strategies?
Bill: A few things. First, people are more willing to opt into a summit than they are to opt into a webinar or some other promotional event. A summit feels valuable and educational. Second, because you're bringing together multiple speakers and experts, you're tapping into their audiences too. So you're not relying solely on your own reach.
Third, a summit positions you as a curator and connector. You're not pitching; you're providing value. People see you as a leader and someone who has their best interests at heart. That builds trust.
Fourth, the conversion rates are really high. People who attend a summit are engaged and interested. They're not tire-kickers. So when you follow up with an offer or a consultation call, the conversion rate is significantly higher than cold outreach or other tactics.
You Don't Need a Massive Audience to Run a Profitable Summit
AJ: A lot of people think you need a huge existing audience to run a summit. Is that true?
Bill: No, not at all. That's a myth. You can run a successful summit with a small audience. Let's say you have a list of 500 people. If 20% of those people attend, that's 100 attendees. If half of those are interested in what you're offering, that's 50 potential clients. If your average client value is $5,000 or more, that's a quarter-million dollars in potential revenue from a single summit.
The math is really compelling. And remember, every person who attends is also opting into your list. So even if they don't buy this time, you're building an asset—your email list—that you can market to repeatedly.
The Mechanics of Running a Summit
AJ: Walk us through the mechanics of running a summit. What does the process actually look like?
Bill: At a high level, there are a few phases. First, you define your theme and your ideal attendee. You need to be very clear about who you're trying to help and what problem you're solving for them.
Second, you recruit speakers. You want speakers who have audiences and who can promote the summit to their followers. Their audiences become your audience.
Third, you build the promotion machine. You're promoting the summit across multiple channels—email, social media, LinkedIn, your website, etc. You're giving people lots of reasons to opt in.
Fourth, the summit itself runs for three to five days. Each day features two or three expert speakers. Attendees watch the videos and get value. You're capturing their information, so you're building your list.
Fifth, after the summit closes, you have a "replay period" where people can still access the content if they opt in. That extends the lead generation window.
Sixth, you have a direct offer or call-to-action after the summit ends. Now you have a warm audience who's seen your expertise and the experts you've curated. They're primed to hear what you offer.
The Importance of Your Ideal Client Avatar
AJ: You keep emphasizing the importance of knowing exactly who you're trying to help. Why is that so critical?
Bill: Because if you're trying to help everyone, you help no one. Marketing to a broad audience is expensive and ineffective. But when you get crystal clear about your ideal client—their demographics, psychographics, pain points, aspirations—everything becomes easier. Your messaging is clearer. Your speakers are better. Your promotion is more targeted. Your conversion rate goes up.
For my businesses, my avatar is Michelle. She's a woman entrepreneur, typically over 40, who's made significant money in her business but is looking for a new business model or wants to diversify. I know exactly who I'm talking to. And because of that specificity, I can use AI, I can create content, I can pick speakers—everything is aligned with helping Michelle.
When I look at my audience data, I've found that about 65% of my audience is women. That might be because I'm more patient, I listen better, I don't talk as much. But my message tends to resonate more with women entrepreneurs. So my avatars are specific. I know exactly who I'm reaching and why they'd want what I offer.
How Narrowing Your Focus Actually Multiplies Your Revenue
AJ: This seems counterintuitive to a lot of consultants. They think that narrowing their focus limits their opportunities. How do you respond to that?
Bill: It's the opposite. When I finally figured out who I was going to help and went all in on that, my business doubled and tripled. Before that, I was trying to help everyone. I wanted to help all entrepreneurs. But that scattered message doesn't work.
The thing is, I didn't start out with a narrow definition. It evolved. But once I got clear—once I decided to really focus on entrepreneurs over 40 and specifically on women entrepreneurs—everything changed. My messaging got clearer. My marketing got more effective. My conversion rates went up. And counterintuitively, my revenue went up too.
The reason is simple: when you specialize, you become the go-to person. You're not competing on price. You're not competing with generalists. You're the expert for that specific audience. And that allows you to charge premium fees.
Positioning Yourself as an Expert
AJ: How do you position yourself as an expert without being arrogant or off-putting?
Bill: The key is to focus on the other person, not yourself. When you're curating a summit, you're highlighting other experts. You're bringing together the best voices on a particular topic. That positions you as a leader and connector, not as a know-it-all.
And here's the thing: when you position yourself as the curator and connector, people respect that. You're saying, "I've done the work to bring together the smartest people on this topic. I'm here to make sure you have access to their expertise." That's a position of service, not arrogance.
But you also have to own your expertise. You've spent years in your field. You know things. You've helped people. You've gotten results. You need to be able to talk about that without apology. Being humble and being confident are not mutually exclusive.
The Model Match Quiz and Finding Your Right Business Model
AJ: You mention that some consultants might discover through your Model Match Quiz that consulting isn't actually the right business model for them. Can you explain that?
Bill: There are lots of different ways to make money as an entrepreneur. You can be a consultant, but you can also do software development, SaaS, product businesses, facilitation, coaching, and many other models. Some people are really built to be consultants. They thrive on one-on-one relationships and direct client work.
But others might discover that they're better suited to a different model. Maybe they're actually a facilitator at heart. Maybe they should be building software. Maybe they should be developing information products. The point is, not every consultant is going to be happy as a consultant, and not every consultant is going to be successful as a consultant.
The Model Match Quiz helps you reflect on your work. It asks you to look back at the last three or four engagements where you were really happy and enjoyed the work. Then it asks: What was it about those that made them special? If you do more of those, I promise you, you will make more money. You will be happier. And you will love what you do.
Where to Find Bill and Next Steps
AJ: If people listening want to find out more about you and what you do, where should they go?
Bill: The best place is BestOnlineBusinesses.com. That's with an E-S at the end. You can take the Model Match Quiz there to find out what your entrepreneur type is. Even if you're a consultant, you might show up as a curator or a guide, or you might show up as something else. If you're happy as a consultant, great—the quiz should validate that. But you might also discover that the reason you're not having success as a consultant is that you shouldn't be a consultant. Maybe you should be doing software development, SaaS, or something else entirely.
I can also be found on LinkedIn as Bill Boone and on Facebook as Bill Boone. By the way, if anybody reaches out and wants information, I'll be glad to provide a basic summit checklist to help people get started.
AJ: That's wonderful. Bill, this has been fantastic—full of practical information. I know it's going to be one of the most popular episodes because it gives consultants another way to generate leads, build their list, and make money.