In this episode of the Business Blast Podcast, host Tyler Wagner interviews Dan Morse, an online marketing consultant based in Portland, Maine. Dan opens with a personal travel story where a series of flight cancellations forced him to improvise a route home, illustrating his principle of focusing on the end goal rather than the obstacles. He then shares his core industry insight: small‑business owners must maintain a strong, easily discoverable online presence that guides customers to simple contact methods, otherwise competitors will capture the sales. Dan offers broader business advice centered on controlling what you can—time, daily actions, and accountability—citing a quote from the TV show Entourage about the lack of asterisks in life. He emphasizes the importance of time‑blocking and structured prospecting to avoid distractions and ensure consistent pipeline building. When asked about happiness, Dan says relationships and a supportive network outweigh money or location. He recommends two books—Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount for sales tactics and Mindset by Carol Dweck for personal growth—highlighting the shift from a fixed to a growth mindset. His favorite quote, “Don’t sacrifice what you want most for what you want now,” reinforces his long‑term focus. The episode concludes with Dan’s online contact points: LinkedIn (under his name) and Instagram @djmorse126.
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Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode. Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Dan Morse with us. He's an online marketing consultant in the Portland, Maine area. So welcome to the show, Dan.
Yeah, thank you so much.
Of course, thanks for joining us. We'll dive into the first question. The first question I have for you is, what's the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Yeah, good question. So this was pretty recent. It was about a year or so back. I was actually down in Orlando, Florida for a training seminar. And I was scheduled to fly back home to Maine that Friday. And I was just so ready to come home. All I wanted to do was sleep in my own bed. And as the day went on, I just realized that the world just wasn't going to cooperate with me that day. I remember I hit my connector flight to New Jersey, I think it was. And then basically came to find out that all flights going back to Portland had been canceled. And it sounded like I was pretty much stuck in New Jersey for the weekend. So after hearing that, I basically just said, you know, screw that. And I was gonna focus on doing whatever I had to do to get home that night, which was my end goal. So I basically talked my way into a first-class flight to Boston. I just figured the closer I could get home, the better. Got into Boston around 11:30. From there, I hopped onto a bus that I heard was heading back to Portland. I didn't even have to ticket at the time, but I knew if I got on it, I could square the rest of that up later. Basically told the driver my story, was able to end up buying a ticket on the bus ride back, got into a bus station around 1:00 AM, took an Uber back to my house, got into my own bed at around a quarter to 2:00 in the morning. Mission accomplished. And basically what I learned is I didn't really focus on how it was gonna happen, just kept my focus on that end goal and just did whatever I had to do in between then to get there. And I've come to realize it's kind of how I tend to approach long-term goals now.
And what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
Yeah, sure. So like I said, I focus on digital marketing for small businesses, and I've come to realize that, you know, as a society, as consumers, we place a lot of emphasis on doing our research before we make a buying decision. So from a business owner's perspective, if you don't have a strong online presence, where someone can easily find you, find what they're looking for from your site, and then most importantly, find a simple way to connect with you, whether it be a direct phone call, an email, a request for a quote, then if you're not doing those things, you're really not gonna have a good shot at earning that person's business. And the troubling part is, they may end up going with your competitor who may not provide as good a service and customer experience as you would, but they're getting that opportunity because they took the time to make sure everything is buttoned up as far as their online efforts. So I would say it's vital to think like your customer, and if your customer is looking for you online, make sure you're doing all you can online for them to find you.
And what's your best piece of overall business advice, not necessarily industry-specific?
Yeah, definitely. I would say focus on what you can control. It's so easy nowadays to find and make excuses, you know, why something may not have worked out. Whether it be valid or invalid excuses, it doesn't make a difference because the outcome is the outcome at the end of the day. I've always been a big fan of the TV show Entourage, and Ari Gold, one of the main characters, had a quote from one of the episodes I've always loved. And he basically said, "Hey, there's no asterisk in this lifetime, only the scoreboard." And things you can't control are someone canceling an appointment on you or their phone going to voicemail or your car breaking down on the way to an appointment. But what you can 100% control is what time you start your day, how many calls you make, your efforts in regards to confirming appointments so they do hold. And when you really hold yourself accountable for everything throughout your day, I also think it makes it that much sweeter, that much sweeter when you do succeed in accomplishing those goals and those tasks at hand when you may have to overcome some adversity along the way.
Yes, and I am also a huge fan of that show. So that's awesome. Yeah, I love Ari. And if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
I would say importance of time blocking, for sure. I used to be kind of like a scatterbrain, for lack of a better word, when I kind of first got started. And it's so easy to get distracted from what you're trying to focus on nowadays, whether it be emails coming in or notifications from Facebook popping up or side conversations with your coworkers. And I quickly came to learn that failing to plan is planning to fail. And so now, I like to go into each day with a plan. It might look something like, from 8 to 9, listen man, I'm just gonna sit down and focus on getting out emails and follow-ups to clients I met with last week. From 9 to 10, I'm doing nothing but prospecting, or cold calling rather, new prospects I've never spoken to. 10 to 11, I'm gonna sit down and just do nothing but research for some new local prospects and clients I've never reached out to, to kinda start filling up my pipeline. So on and so forth. And this kind of goes back to what I was saying earlier about holding yourself accountable and how easy it can be to make excuses. And I think step 1 in that accountability process is taking control of your time, taking control of your schedule, and that all starts with planning.
And in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
Ooh, that's a deep one. But I would say it's not what you do, it's not where you live, it's not how much money you make. I think it's the people and the relationships in your life that are the true key to happiness. I think having a solid support system, whether it be your spouse, your kids, your parents, your friends, your coworkers, whoever, is absolutely vital when it comes to your business and the success of your business. Because let's face it, if we all had the choice, I'm sure we would rather spend more time with friends and family than we do at our jobs. But I mean, obviously that's just not the reality for most people. So I would say find people in your life who make you a better person, who support your share similar values and surround yourself with as many of those types of people as possible. And at the same time, just simply appreciate what you have. We all have crappy days. We all have bad weeks, but more often than not, there's someone out there who's worse off than you. So, in those times, I always try to focus on the good in my life because I certainly have plenty of it. And I definitely have some amazing people in my life that I'm beyond lucky to have.
And what's the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
That's a great question. It's a tough one. I do read a lot. One book I've read and actually listened to on Audible multiple times is Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount. I just think it's awesome. It's great because it's part sales advice, part motivation, part best practices, part anecdotal. And I actually think it's one of the books that I think is better on the Audible version because it's a great one to throw on in the car going to or from the office or heading out to meet with a client or whatever. But as far as a more sit-down, read and relax type of book, I would say Mindset by Carol Dweck. It's outstanding. And what I learned from that book real quick is how quickly your perspective on life can change when you shift from what she considers a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. And basically, the idea that nothing is set in stone, you control your own destiny. And basically, it's having yourself ask every day, what am I doing? To grow for the better. So those are two I would highly recommend.
And what's your favorite quote and why?
Sure. So my favorite quote is, "Don't sacrifice what you want most for what you want now." And I have no idea who originally said it, but I remember I heard it from a guy in one of my networking groups a while back. And I was just like, wow, that's a good one. Basically all ties back to focusing on the long term and how easy and tempting it can be to fall off track by focusing on the now and your immediate needs. So that's what I tend to fall back on pretty frequently. It's always kind of stuck with me.
Well, thank you so much for coming on, man. The last question I have for you before we let you go is, where's the best place for people to find you online?
Oh, I appreciate that. So sure, yeah, you can find me on LinkedIn. Obviously, it's under my name, Daniel Morse, as well as on Instagram @djmorse126.
Awesome, man. Thanks again for coming on. We appreciate it.
Yeah, Tyler, thanks a lot.
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