Show Notes
Mike Bundrant is a Neuro-Linguistic Programming trained therapist and the co-founder of iNLP, an online teaching program. In this interview, Mike talks about building a busy and successful business, his marketing strategies, and how he breaks down a very complex subject into online learning modules.
Interview Highlights
[2:10] Mike talks about why he became a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner. He majored in psychology in college and became a counselor, but he found he wasn’t getting answers on how to actually help people through psychology. He read an NLP book and became interested in the modality and eventually got trained to practice and teach NLP.
[3:45] Mike has taught NLP classes in Japan for six weeks a year for the last 17 years. The book that got him interested in NLP work is called “Frogs into Princes.” It’s a collection of seminar transcripts from the 1970s.
[7:40] Mike says that NLP is very popular in the life-coaching world. There are a lot of tragedies in NLP’s history. One of the earlier NLP developers was a controversial figure – quite abrasive. This person created an adversarial relationship with the mainstream mental health community.
[9:04] Mike explains that NLP skills create a kind of power. Unfortunately, various questionable people have manipulated these skills for personal gain (like dating gurus and other non-mental health professionals).
[12:00] Mike talks about his NLP online classes. He and his wife developed an online platform with small, digestible training modules. There are integrative pieces so that online students can absorb it. The modules include audio guides, video guides, assignments, and various exercises that can be done at home.
[14:48] Mike says the goal of iNLP online courses is to integrate the skills into your life, today.
[15:32] The NLP trainers’ course has a start date, but every other course has rolling admissions. There are a variety of levels and certifications, including life coach training.
[17:20] Mike talks about setting up the online classes in 2011. It was slow going at first but now they train more than a thousand people a year. Marketing the business is a lot of work.
[18:58] Two years into their iNLP classes, they let the rest of their work go to focus on the classes full time.
[19:54] Mike talks about his marketing practices. He was interested in SEO early on. He spends 20-25 hours a week on SEO. He forms relationships with other sites that get good traffic. Mike spends most of his time writing articles for other websites. He’s created free programs to entice people to sign up and provide their email address.
[24:53] Mike joined different online communities that were educational and interactive to learn how to blog and get traffic to his blog.
[27:06] Mike talks about his motivation. A combination of passion and fear pushed him on. He really wanted to address how to transfer NLP skills and is now convinced that online classes are the best way.
[31:08] Mike says that the marketing communities that were the most successful were the ones that were realistic about the risks. “90 days to six figures” online communities offer fantasies that no one in the community wants to disbelieve.
[32:48] Mike speaks about his business model. He has remote contractors and trainers, people that grade online classes, and others. There are a lot of calendars to manage, both class calendars and individual ones. Mike’s constantly looking for ways to automate and make his website better.
[35:24] Mike and his wife divide the marketing responsibilities. He does all of the content writing. Mike says they don’t take much time off, and he works more than full time.
Mike Bundrant — NLP Master Practitioner, IANLP Fellow Trainer, and retired psychotherapist – Temecula, California
Mike Bundrant is co-founder of the iNLP Center, the world’s leading accredited certification institute for online training in Neuro-Linguistic Programming and life coaching. With a background in psychotherapy, Mike brings depth to the iNLP Center’s NLP and life coaching training. The iNLP Center, with unique ‘unlimited training’ programs, has been teaching online since 2011 and has students in 63 countries.
Links:
http://inlpcenter.org/life-coach-certification-online/
http://inlpcenter.org/available-nlp-programs/nlp-practitioner-certification-online/
https://www.facebook.com/inlpcenter
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