The Grit Factor Podcast w/ Karl Jacobi

0:00:00 You know, one thing is I've always felt like I've been good at different things, but I've never been successful or tried to even be successful at my own thing.
0:00:11 So, I think for me this is where it circles back to just total belief. You know, I just have total belief that if I keep working and improving and staying on the right path, then things will succeed eventually.
0:00:26 I think one thing is I look at other people that are successful, and you know I look and I go well they can do it I know I can do it I love that I mean why not is not you know we're all human beings.
0:00:39 There's hundreds you know there's tens of thousands hundreds of thousands of people succeeding in this business every day It's like if I just keep stay usually I you know if I'm not interested in something I'll just bail on it right so or if it gets too hard, just bail on it.
0:00:54 If it's not that interesting, but this is something I'm really lazy to focus on. So every day, I think if they can do it, then I absolutely know I can too.
0:01:04 Silas, welcome to the Gritfactor Podcast. It is an absolute honor to have you here in the studio today. Hey, Carl, thanks for having me on.
0:01:14 So I'm honored that you even reached out and asked me to appear on the podcast with you. So I appreciate that.
0:01:21 Yeah, man, absolutely. So a little disclosure, a little transparent. So you and I have been working together for about six months now.
0:01:31 And I watched you navigate some incredibly choppy waters, right? So before we get into the weeds and wear this conversation to go, I really want you to give the context or give the audience some context of who Silas was, right?
0:01:53 And who Silas was 17 years ago and so forth. So if you want, or if you can, just give the audience some context on the man who you used to be versus who you are now.
0:02:06 Okay. Well, thanks, Carl, for having me on. I think that's a really good question so I guess let's talk through that so who am I so I live in the Midwest Indianapolis Indiana area married to my wife Christine I have a daughter in junior and high school her name is Lucy and they're both wonderful so a
0:02:31 little about me is that I'm in the e-commerce business which is how I know Carl. I, sorry, will probably dive more into this, but this is a more recent newer full-time venture for me.
0:02:46 Prior to this, I worked for a very large Fortune 500 brokerage firm, household name. I won't mention here, but it's a household name that everyone would know of, and I worked in our trading department for the firm, and I'd worked there for, well, over 17 years.
0:03:03 So it got into the point where I was getting older, I'm in my 50s now, the job was the stress of it, everything that came along with it.
0:03:16 Literally I felt like every day was killing me just to get out of bed and go there. And finally I made a decision that my health was worth more than that.
0:03:27 It just wasn't worth it anymore. in that if I was ever going to do anything or accomplish anything on my own the time was now to go for and give it a try.
0:03:37 So starting last year I left I guess you can say I retired from working there and decided to try and decided to go into business for myself and for once in my life bet on myself I've never ever ever done it before because I've always been so risk-averse but finally for once in my life, I decided to bet
0:03:55 on myself and go for something on my own. Wow, that's awesome, man. That's awesome. 17 years, you're in a very comfortable environment, right?
0:04:07 And for those 17 years, you're in a completely different world. You're, you're in a corporate world, you're safe, you're secure.
0:04:16 And a lot of people would just write on that, right? They would just write on that until retirement and, and Yeah, just ride that safety zone.
0:04:27 And, you know, so I love what you said there in a sense of like, it's time for me to bet on myself because, you know, drawing back the curtains a little bit, man, when I really first got it to talking with you and getting to know you, you're like, Carl, man, I had never been the type of person who's
0:04:45 taking risks. You know, I had never been that type of person who would bet on myself, you know, I was always the type of person to just go with a flow essentially, you know?
0:04:55 Yeah, I think you heard and worried about doing anything and, you know, I think we probably talked about getting to the point where I felt like I made too much money to really walk away, but then I wasn't at a point where I was really going to go anywhere either.
0:05:13 So the only choice was to kind of just grind it out for another 20 years there, you know, be, you know, another 15 years, you know, what's 10 years never taking, you'll be miserable or never taking a chance or betting on yourself.
0:05:27 Yeah. Yeah. That's a great point, man, especially in that season in your life, you're not a young buck, right? Like me, they're either a mind, right?
0:05:38 And so a lot of individuals, especially those that are seasoned like us, you know, there's a lot of intimidation there to change direction.
0:05:49 It's one thing to change jobs and change industries or anything like that, but going from one area where one side of spectrum where you're clocking in, you've got safety, you've got security, you've got the path ahead, right?
0:06:05 Then going to a complete opposite where you've got no safety, no security. And when I say safety and security, I'm talking about in the grind of the 9 to 5 yeah, you know, and this is an area where I kind of I'm against the grain on because Yeah, I love what Cody Sanchez said in one of her videos Talking
0:06:29 about you know how a lot of Individuals in the workforce are looking to their 9 to 5s as secure as this as safety and And it's so far from the truth because any point in time man, the market could change or your boss could come in They say you know what I don't like you anymore or you I don't like the
0:06:51 way you look at me or whatever the reason is It doesn't matter especially nowadays and terminate you right at the end of the day That boss that employer Decides your life decides how much time you get to take vacation?
0:07:05 How much you know how big of a house you get to have You know what kind of meals because of the amount of money you make, right?
0:07:13 So let me through it for if you will. The old, this is kind of, you know, take a stand back for a moment.
0:07:19 What would, what did life look like for you in those 17 years? And what was the atmosphere like in that part of your life in that corporate world?
0:07:29 Because you did kind of, you know, reveal that it was taken some, some, some tolls and health and, uh, some other things.
0:07:37 But, you know, just kind of walk us through walk, you know, those are listening, you're like, on the edge of the sea, it's like, what was that environment like for you to make you want to just leave all that?
0:07:48 Because, again, a lot of people will look at like, my god, 17 years. You're in that later season. Why not just write it in retirement?
0:07:55 So walk us through that, if you don't mind. I think that, you know, in the type of roles that I was in, it was interesting, because I think you have two type of people.
0:08:06 Well, let's say three type of people, but you mainly have two type of people. You have the type of person that is maybe younger, and that they're just or older, and they're just there to make an income, get paid.
0:08:21 They don't really care. They just want to check, and they just want to hang on. You know, my environment, it was a bit call center environment, so you can probably imagine this when you're thinking of it.
0:08:33 you know, my company's in financial services, but I happen to work in a call center type of environment, even though I was in a manager there, so it was still that type of environment, but you have a lot of people that are in that boat.
0:08:46 Then you have a lot of people that are in the boat of, I'm gonna come in and do this for a year or two, and my goal is to get out.
0:08:53 Whether my goal is to get out to like a sales rule or something like that within the company, Yeah, or my goal is to get out to go to another firm You know, that's my goal.
0:09:06 So being on a constant grind like that where you know 24-hour a day schedule You know everything you do is monitored to every minute, you know You have X amount of time for lunch.
0:09:20 You know if you're sick or something like that. It's you know, it is looked at You know, so it's just feeling of Think about this, imagine every single thing you did for an 8 hour workday was recorded, monitored, reviewed, and looked at.
0:09:36 You know, it doesn't make you feel like you're very trusted. It really doesn't make you feel like an adult environment.
0:09:43 So really that's why I think you have there's two main types of people. You either have the one that they don't really care.
0:09:49 They're just coming in because it pays okay. It's a good paying job. It's not about the money. I made good money actually.
0:09:54 So, or you have the type of person that they're just there, they're looking as like they're gonna embrace the suck for a year or two because they're going to move out.
0:10:04 Then you have a small sliver of people like me that have been there for such a long time, that they just ended up in this environment and you get to a point where you make enough money that's like it's almost hard to leave.
0:10:16 And you don't want your family, you don't want to do anything like that. So that's kind of how I ended up in the place of, I was literally making myself sick with being there and everything that went into the job and didn't feel very good, actually I felt really bad about how we were treating clients
0:10:35 and didn't think we were, I didn't feel like I was, we were doing the right thing ethnically anymore. And you know one thing you mentioned was terrible.
0:10:44 And there had been a lot of changes because of acquisitions and things like that over the years where the culture of the company had changed a lot.
0:10:52 I mean, like dramatically, then we did a major acquisition, oh, about four years before I retired, and that took multiple years for it, the integration.
0:11:03 But that was like a total change in culture. I mean, it was dramatic change in culture. And it went from more of a customer-focused atmosphere to more of a, we just need to focus on earnings per share and churning people, you know, clients as fast as we can.
0:11:20 You don't like it that's okay. We can pay someone else that will have to take her seat so Go ahead, Carl That's that's horrible man.
0:11:30 I mean what kind of what kind of environment did that does that introduce you know because You know not just for for the customer that you're serving on the side of that phone or the computer or anything nature, but being exposed to that to eight hours a day, yeah, man, that does wear on you.
0:11:49 That's got to wear on you. Not just physically, but mentally, you know, seeing. Yeah, right? And then, you know, we carry that home with us.
0:12:00 We walk that in, especially, you know, come Monday's, right? You have off the weekend, you're just starting to on one and relax, and then you get to Sunday evening, right, and you just have this, I can imagine, right, you have this, like, just, just dressed and anxiety, like, oh my gosh, here we are,
0:12:23 another week. So hearing all this from you, let me kind of, you know, take, you know, take into a note chapter here, because in reading your bio, in reading some of the things you said, I really they want to make sure that the audience is grabbing you know this pivotal point for you and this is where
0:12:43 it kind of really turned a knife for me because I can relate to this right on both sides of the coin so as I read this man I'm like I got to make sure I get this out there so again you had the security had the tenure and again most people would have coasted right there until retirement, but something
0:13:02 shifted for you, right? Yep. You mentioned a specific event or a specific wake-up call involving a colleague that made you realize you couldn't wait for Sunday anymore.
0:13:18 So take us to that moment. Why was that, to be point, why did that make you you know, handing your notice and it's like, this is it.
0:13:31 This is, it's time for me to bet on myself. So, yeah. Walk me, take us to that moment, and why was that the tipping point for you?
0:13:40 I'll think about it in the moment while we're talking about it. I think that really, there were three things that it came down to, you know.
0:13:48 So one, with like any big Fortune 500 company, you know, well, you brought this up already, Carl, Also, I'm glad we're circling back to it is your employment is totally at their will.
0:14:02 You know, you count on them for everything you have. And I wasn't really think that I would be late off or let go, but the company had been doing layoffs, especially with the different integrations, you know, every year or two.
0:14:18 And as you start to get older, you start to think, well, eventually, you know, if they're laying people off every year or two you know what's to say they're not going to lay me out just strictly because of how much money I make right and I know that there's a lot of other guys that work there that I
0:14:34 was friends with that felt the exact same way so it didn't feel as secure anymore because there was a layoff factor I remember we were actually on a family vacation and oh I was the company that I worked for they would give you a longer period of time off as a sabbatical for every employment milestone
0:14:55 that you hit. And I remember I was off for my one of my sabbaticals and they did another round of layoffs.
0:15:02 I remember being gone on vacation down in Orlando down at Disney World and thinking you know being like totally miserable on vacation because it's like I know that they're going to do layoffs because they announced they're in here's the other thing they announced they're going to do them.
0:15:15 So you sit there and work like well Am I going to be the one, so I'm on vacation, you know, thinking, ruining the entire time, you know, on vacation with my family is like, yeah, if you're present, like, am I going to be the one?
0:15:27 And that really made me start to think like, well, gosh, what would happen if I did get laid off? Because there's not really any other jobs like I do here, you know, where I live.
0:15:37 So I'd probably either have to make significantly less or I'd have to move, which I, not really, I could do, but I have, you know, a daughter that's almost where he graduated from high school or wife has her job here so that was a part of it.
0:15:53 You know I think some other things that happened to or I have started having a lot of health issues for multiple reasons and one of the health issues was that it wasn't much of a health issues much as it was just a side effect of all the stress and everything that it built up from the day to grind is
0:16:13 I was having trouble sleeping at night I remember even one day I woke up in the middle of the night and I thought I was going to have a heart attack and I thought to myself I don't if I die you know that's one thing but I just couldn't stand dying here next to my wife and bed in the middle of the night
0:16:29 with my kid with my high school age daughter down the hallway I just couldn't you know maybe I just could it just was so painful to think about that happened and then And the third thing that happened, which I think is what you're alluding to or talking about, is I had someone that I considered a good
0:16:47 friend that worked there. We worked together. We sat next to each other. He was a really good guy. We liked to talk to each other.
0:16:54 We worked together for multiple years. He worked at the company basically his entire life, finally retired, and within several months of retiring, he passed away.
0:17:06 And I thought, gosh, the guy worked here for, you know, like 30 years, and that very much fanfare, you know, he leaves him immediately dead.
0:17:16 And I thought to myself, I don't want to end up like that. That was after I had already left when that happened, but that's when I really said, I just can't go back to doing something like that for someone else.
0:17:28 So it's just, And one thing I thought Carl was like, if I didn't at least try, how would I feel if something like that happened to me.
0:17:39 Yeah. Agreed. Agreed. Yeah. Man, thank you for sharing that, dude. And I hope everybody listening to it now is taking a good inventory of, you know, of where they're at, right?
0:17:54 And you said this, you know, this quote, quote, someday, right? And I kind of put it out to my audience earlier before this recording, you know, that I was super excited.
0:18:05 Well, I say what? I'm super excited for this because you're putting this out there in such a way that we don't have an infinite amount of number of days, right?
0:18:17 And, you know, my fear, not just for me specifically, but everybody that is still walking this blue marble is going to let the eight-year-old and the eight-year-old down, right?
0:18:31 The eight-year-old version of you, before you had your hoax dreams and aspirations tainted, you know, through adversities or through other people's programming of stories, letting that eight-year-old person, you know, kid down because you didn't leave it all out there.
0:18:48 In the eight-year-old person you know letting that person down because you didn't fulfill those dreams because laying on that you're taking your last brush like man I should have you know I should have I should have you know try to at that business or I should have done this or I should have done that
0:19:07 you know and it's it's not too late you know yeah and I do it I love love you know that you put that out there because I want that to be that stark reminder that someday is not on the flipping calendar right you know so you know for for all of us out there that we and I've been guilty of this you know
0:19:30 where we just inherently think we've got tomorrow we've got next week we've got next month or even next year and I've lost a lot of good friends you know in throughout my life and especially as of late And it's a really a stark reminder that, man, we have got to wake up and go out there and chase it
0:19:53 down because we don't know when, you know, we don't know if we're going to have another day. You know, we don't know if we're going to have another week, another month or any of that, right?
0:20:05 So, you know, that's something I really wanted to pull and make sure that the audience it's here this, but you're a hundred and a half.
0:20:16 You don't know, yeah. And then if something, you know, and then from a work standpoint, I kind of felt like I wanted to, you know, it really, you know, I started as like, look at this as a backup plan, you know, and then that shifted to more like, well, I just need to go, if I'm gonna do it, I just need
0:20:36 to go for it because obviously, tomorrow could be my last day on Arthur, or it could be my last day of work.
0:20:42 So. Yeah, absolutely. And let's kind of put this position from a person, you know, supposed to be sending example, right?
0:20:50 We're both, we're both husbands, we're both fathers. And we're, we're the ones telling our kids, go chase your dreams, go chase, you know, go chase it down.
0:21:00 Be, you know, do, you know, do the best you can, right? But here we are, we're trying to play it by safe.
0:21:07 We're trying to be secure. And again, I've been guilty of this and I still do it to this day in some things you know where I you know I get nervous about something because you know either my baby kept you know my bank account saying oh you can't you don't Have that or maybe my current abilities tell
0:21:24 me I don't you know that I don't have what it takes right so we always have this This monster in our minds telling us you know that we're not able to do something because it's not actually us man and it's actually somebody else in our own mouth or in our own tone, right?
0:21:41 But let me go in a different direction here because I really wanna explore another area or dive into something else you mentioned in your bio, you have this incredible ability that execute, I've told you this several times, you know, when you and I work together, you know, probably I four or five weeks
0:22:09 in, man, I, and I worked with a lot of people, man. And you're, you've been among the top, not just, not really, not by results.
0:22:19 I'm talking about straight up execution, right? There's no doubt, there's no hesitancy. Well, there might have been some doubts, right?
0:22:27 But there's no hesitancy. There's no like, wow, you just frickin' execute, right? You have this incredible ability to execute, but the results haven't quite caught up yet.
0:22:41 In fact, you described your main business, your econ business as a money-losing cash-eating monster. And cash-eating monster, I kind of like to pull that of Mike McCallowicz's proof of profit first.
0:22:57 You know he describes this bit just being that you know cash-eating monster, right? And you know in that bio you also admitted to being you know or you know right around a hundred thousand hundred thousand in debt, right?
0:23:14 So most people were frees at that, right? I mean a hundred K you know a lot of people were to freeze at $10,000, $20,000, $50,000, $80,000, but, you know, at $100,000 in the whole, you just keep moving.
0:23:34 So how do you wake up on a Tuesday or on a Friday or any given day and look at that red number and still find the will to execute?
0:23:46 Because a lot of people are listening right now, They're in that hole somewhere, right? They're looking at their current situation, they're looking at their current circumstances, and they're allowing that to dictate how they show up for the day, knowing that they're one something away from their biggest
0:24:08 breakthrough. I gotta give Ed my left credit for that one. But, how do you find the will to execute? I think the thing is, is that that I'm totally convinced that I can make this work.
0:24:24 There's no one that can convince me otherwise. Other people do this successfully. I absolutely 100% totally feel as though I can do this and be extremely successful.
0:24:38 Now, the ways that I've gone about doing it weren't the best ways to do it. I've had some bad training along the way.
0:24:47 Well, you know, I've had, you know, I've been taking advantage of a couple of times or enrolled in some programs that were totally not worth the money.
0:24:57 I've made a lot of bad inventory decisions. You know, you know, funny you had messaged execution because I don't look at myself as being someone very good at execution.
0:25:09 Now, when I think of execution, I think of that as, and here's why, but I totally understand where you're coming from, I think that what it is is like, one of my problems is, is that I lose focus so easily, or I'm always willing to try something new, or I'm always willing to buy a new piece of software
0:25:27 or something like that, I think part of it is because I always say, okay, maybe this will be the one, this will be the one to figure it out.
0:25:34 Now, I think I totally understand what you're talking about, though, because I've kind kind of got you know I've gotten to the point where like okay I have to get this on the right track I know I can do this I'm just going to do whatever Carl tells me to do so that's the thing is like when you tell me
0:25:51 to do something so that's probably why you're saying after an execution standpoint because if you tell me to do something I go and do it no matter what it is because yeah I feel like I'm on the right track now and I have faith that is working.
0:26:06 And I've actually seen so much improvement just like in my EO and my numbers, my KPIs. I've seen so much improvement there that at least I can see that now.
0:26:18 I can see it where the numbers are going up instead of down for once. So I just get, you know, I'm always one of my big things in the big mistake that I made was thinking, okay, let me get really big and then it will fix everything.
0:26:35 You know, it's like, you know, you read in profit first, and I don't want to, like, I'm not here to plug the book or anything, but a lot of that.
0:26:41 Oh, plug it, come the way. The water that was true. But reading it with a lot of it was true for me because, you know, the even specifically talks about it, and that's the kind of way that I looked at it as like, okay, well, I'll just get really big, and that will solve my problems.
0:26:55 Or I will do what this other e-commerce seller is doing that's supposedly successful. Well, I assume they aren't, but maybe they're not.
0:27:03 I don't know either. So that's one of the big things in the e-commerce world is everyone always focuses on the top-line revenue.
0:27:10 You don't focus on the bottom-line revenue. And so I've had to totally change my mindset after, you know, basically, two years, two and a half years of focusing on nothing but the top-line number and figuring the bottom line would fix itself.
0:27:22 If I just sold enough the bottom line would fix itself. To now, I'm just blazing focus on the bottom line.
0:27:28 And if I don't sell it much and my sales go down and I don't have these big shiny bars or graphs to show off anymore I am totally okay with that Yeah, yeah That what you just said I'm gonna pick up on this later in the conversation because I definitely want to dial into that right because this is where
0:27:47 I self-included Got so wrapped up in the top line, right sales is vanity profit is standing This is a phrase that was told to me about one of my coaches and I hold that close to the chest But that aside, there are too many things that I picked up on what you just said, right?
0:28:08 Absolute conviction Right, you're actually convicted in the deep your heart that you could do this Right and the second one is the environment, right?
0:28:18 having people in your corner where that's a coach, it's a cheerleader, somebody to speak life, somebody to guide you, like those are the two things that I pull it out of, pull it away from you know listening to you talk was those two things is having a solid growth contributing environment and then haves
0:28:38 an absolute conviction that as long as you're shown to path you can do this, right? Yes, we're going to make mistakes.
0:28:49 That's just a journey, right? We're all going to make mistakes, whether it's buying decisions, hiring wrong people, you know, spending money on whatever, right?
0:29:00 I mean, trust me, I've spent, you know, my fair share amount of money on, you know, bad training. I would say bad training.
0:29:08 Training I did live up to the value, right? No matter what training I have gotten or that I pay for, I've always received something but oftentimes the training that I pay for did not live to the value that it promised, right?
0:29:23 Yeah. Everything I do, you know, and I've been groomed to give 10x the value of what some ace paid at the absolute minimum, right?
0:29:32 So that's the lens that I typically view things as man, can I deliver a minimum of a 10x value on the investment that this person has placed it?
0:29:41 I can't ethically do that then obviously you know there's a problem there right so I love that you that you put that out there is having conviction and surrounding yourself and not that I'm pitching myself to be a you know to be a coach for anybody listening or watching right now fact I'm pretty book
0:29:59 up but it's absolutely surrounding yourself with the right people you know not people talking about the good old days in the court when you're a quarterback or running back or when you had that amazing girlfriend high school whatever and if I see something go across the background either mine yours is
0:30:19 prioritize spouses but that being said you know uh those are the two main things I really wanted to make sure that I heard correctly on um let me let me you know dissect acting as something, you know, in your bio that as a father and as a husband, it really, that really, that choked me a little bit.
0:30:41 You admitted something heartbreaking in your intake and you said something to the effect that your 17-year-old daughter Lucy pointed out that since you started the business, right?
0:30:53 All that you and your wife would do is, is fight, you know? As a father and as a husband, how did that land with you?
0:31:04 How did that comment land with you at that moment, especially as you're trying to save the ship? Well, that hurt a lot.
0:31:12 And I will say, so in actually my wife Christine, she's the bee's knees without it. She's like my biggest fan as a supporter.
0:31:21 So that's always been great, because that helps a little bit too that it's not like, You know, I I have heard my back corner always being my biggest fan in cheerleader.
0:31:31 So um I think for us is Especially the problems will always occur not around money or things like that, but it was more about like When we were working in the business You know That seems like it always occur like especially like packaging or shipping and things like that is like I'm always I'm always
0:31:52 trying to figure out how to turn cash which goes back to you know kind of the monster, right? So I'm with ship, ship, ship, ship, ship.
0:31:59 And she's like, it doesn't go out just like that. So, you know, and then we'd always in a fighting about it.
0:32:06 Now, the good thing is stuff like that's easy to solve that problem. Is you just yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then you're done.
0:32:15 You know, so that correct that we corrected that problem, which is outsourcing after fighting things like that. Now you also know, too, I have had some health issues and, you You know, I'll share this in the podcast, but you referred me to a doctor that I've actually enjoyed working with quite a bit.
0:32:31 You know, for like multiple years, I'd had some health struggles and some problems and I've complained to doctors and been to different doctors.
0:32:39 It never felt like I got a resolution, you know, with the doctor that I was able to get connected with, you know, for some men's health issues.
0:32:48 He's actually been able to help me quite a bit and I started taking, you know, I'll start taking the testosterone replacement and I feel like a new man I've even said like I even think from like a corpina standpoint or getting upset easily or things like that It just seems like a totally different world
0:33:07 and now part of me though is just being really pissed off like I've been telling people for like four or five years.
0:33:16 I think that this is an issue help me and no one would help so So, you know, so that gives me upset because then I think about like, well, how different would my life be?
0:33:26 You know, or would my business be if I had had this, what if I was in this mindset now as when I started two years ago, right?
0:33:34 So where would I be if I was, you know, function like this 17 years ago when I started my career?
0:33:41 So that's hard is regret. And so I just try, you know, try to move on from that. and I can't change anything that happened in the past.
0:33:51 I just have to focus on going forward. One thing we talked about was it was nice with New Year's coming, it's basically, you know, I just, it's like taking a shovel and bury into things in the past, right?
0:34:03 You know, there are all learning lessons. Okay, they were very expensive mistakes, but I just have to focus on the things that are working now and continue to do those.
0:34:11 Instead of falling back into old habits and behaviors. years. Oh, I love that. But let me, let me, let's, let's, let's dive into this a minute because you, you said something that I think just about every person that has a heartbeat can resonate with, right?
0:34:29 Is the regrets, right? Man, if I had done this, if somebody would have listened to me four or five years ago, how would my life be?
0:34:38 You know, whether it's a leave, correct me if I'm wrong, I'd like to hear your stance on this. Everything happens for the reason that the time that it happens, right?
0:34:52 Like, God prepared you in this season, in throughout this journey for this very specific, right? You know, like, God intended to be right here right now in this situation, in this shape, in this season, you know, for a a very specific purpose, right?
0:35:10 Had you been in a better health four or five years ago, would you have quit your job, right? You know, or had you been in a better mindset two, three years ago, would you have done all these things to course correct in your business, right?
0:35:26 So those, all these questions like, man, I wish I had, but were we ready for that? You know, that's the question I have to ask myself is, man, I wish I was exposed to this two years ago, three years ago.
0:35:37 I wish I had known about this 10 years ago, was I, was I ready for it? Was I, was I ready to receive that, you know, either spiritually, mentally, physically?
0:35:47 Was I ready for that, for that moment, for that change in, I would bet you, no, I was not. And that's why God said, no, not today, right?
0:35:59 Because you've got to go through this journey. You've got to go and learn the lessons, right, and learn to appreciate the journey of this so that when the better life does occur, you appreciate it more.
0:36:12 You have the sense of ownership, like, yeah, you see the life I have right now, but you don't see the darkness I went through for the last four or five years to get more of that, right?
0:36:25 Darkness being spiritually, physically, mentally, you know, and this is where a lot of people miss the gap is we see stuff on social media thinking, well, that person's got an excellent life, right?
0:36:36 Let's see the highlight we all, but they don't see the darkness that we went through for last two, three, five, 10, 15, 20 years, right?
0:36:44 Well, that's 100% true. We've talked about that, like, you know, with the, in the groups that I'm in with you, with the other guys and stuff, and, you know, after this with other people too, it's like so often you hear from the person that's wildly successful, you know, sometimes it'd be nice to hear
0:36:59 from the person that wasn't wildly successful that is now because it's a lot easier to relate to that than the person that, you know, you don't even understand how they got from A to B, right?
0:37:10 So you're exactly right. And then, you know, I think the big thing is just not living in the past because that's not going to do any good.
0:37:21 If I do that, then just the resentment and the things like that, it's not healthy. I mean, plus what good is it going to do anyways?
0:37:30 What changes are going to make? And if I start living there, then I could live there all day long. So I just had to stay out of it.
0:37:38 I just have to keep looking forward. And, you know, like I said, for work, for business, you know, it's just the conviction.
0:37:45 I've never really had a belief before. Like, I know I can do this and so it's plus that's another thing too.
0:37:52 It's like when you actually have that belief It's like you want to do anything you can to make it happen Yeah, you're right 100% correct you know and Doing the small things consistently daily man helps fulfill that belief right especially as you mentioned earlier You're seeing improvements in the KPIs
0:38:13 . Yeah, you're not you know having what the world would see is like like, oh my gosh, she's amazingly successful, but you have a different definition of success, right?
0:38:23 Your definition is different. You know, being able to live life on your own terms, you know, building a half, the flexibility, the mobility, the security, you know, that this new life, this new season brings you.
0:38:37 So, you know, that's your definition of success and that's right there, man, that's amazing. So let's go in a different direction here because you didn't put this on your intake and if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but I can edit this out.
0:38:57 But there is a different business that you start out too long ago, right? oh yes right so it's a yeah and I kind of put this out there for a little bit I'll edit this part out but let's let's get tactical for the entrepreneurs listening right now okay right because I feel that a lot of individuals are
0:39:21 listening right now where they're a builder they're a founder they're a business owner or somebody who's aspiring to be an entrepreneur maybe they've tried it and they failed and I hate to use that word term to fail but the main mistakes and then they, you know, went back into the shell thinking it's
0:39:37 not for them. So for all of these individuals that's listening or watching right now, you said the hard lesson was to start stop chasing revenue.
0:39:48 Right? And I love how you said that because that was my life early on as an entrepreneur because I didn't know any different, right?
0:39:55 I didn't know any better. Like to you point, you know, I thought as long as I got my top line high enough, everything else was sort of out.
0:40:07 So for all those out there that's in that situation, maybe they're chasing that top line. Maybe they're thinking, oh man, I've been crushing, I've been doing 50,000, 100,000, a million, right?
0:40:21 So those listening to our watching, give us a specific example. What was a revenue-generactivity that you we're doing that was actually killing your profit.
0:40:33 Can you give us some examples or a specific one? Yes, I can give you a few. You know, there would be numerous times where I would make bad buys or try a different like product category just to continue to move the top line revenue.
0:40:54 I think actually one of the biggest problems I made was seeing some of the bigger, you know, seeing like some of the larger sellers out there in my business and thinking, oh, well, I'll just do what they do and that will make me successful.
0:41:10 Well, they may have a totally different business structure than I do, you know, correct. You know, they may make the revenue in totally different ways.
0:41:17 I'm convinced that some of these sellers don't even make that much revenue in selling products, right? You know, maybe they make it in things like cashback or credit card rewards or courses or things, you know because you know when I see it, I'm like I guess at first you kind of like well, surely it
0:41:39 will work if you just I think that's what I mean Surely it will work if I give it enough time, but then after it was like well crap it doesn't work.
0:41:49 So then you have to start thinking like okay let me stop focusing on what other people are doing. Let me figure out how to do what I need to do for my business to work.
0:42:02 I love that. It's in Carl one thing you had mentioned about guess I do have a side business as well too.
0:42:09 That's actually turned out pretty good and I think one of the things from that is is looking at like, okay, you know, for me expenses was always a big problem.
0:42:18 I would be, you know, I always, but again, that was all going back to scaling. Like, oh, well, if I just, you know, buy more of this or, you know, get more help, generating revenue, you know, no matter what it costs, eventually the profit will come.
0:42:31 So, but one thing I did build out of that is a leads database of like 25,000 leads. So, yeah, we did start a side business with a friend of mine, a former coach, someone that I trust quite a bit.
0:42:46 He happened to be in a place where he could take on, I guess you can see like the manual labor part of it.
0:42:52 And we could use like my intellectual property part of it is my contribution to it. So long story short we were able to take you know from my business and the infrastructure I have set up with my employees and and so forth, and we were able to start utilizing that to generate revenue from day one and
0:43:13 a new business, it's not a lot, but it saved me about $1,000 a month in expenses right off the bat.
0:43:20 It continues to bring in new leads, if fresh leads to me, you know, multiple times a week, it's turned into a really good business, and we came up with an idea that no one else is doing also.
0:43:32 That's really helped because now we're able to build a weekly stream of revenue. That's basically, you know, very little cost is actually saved my primary business money and it's not that expensive to operate this business.
0:43:47 So by doing that and diversifying a little bit, it's been it's been a lifesaver. So in this business really starting to take off.
0:43:57 That's nice, man. There's a few things that I want to, if time expand on for a little bit. But a few things that I pulled out of here at what you just said.
0:44:10 I really want to clarify for the person that's listening to it because if I understood correctly, you instead of watching what everybody else is doing trying to follow their path, you're like, you know what?
0:44:22 I need a laser focus on what I'm doing and see what I'm doing wrong and see what's working for me in this laser focus on that while acknowledging what everybody else is doing right and give them props and so forth because Ariel's has their own journey right you set it perfectly right you don't know with
0:44:40 their journey that you don't know they're you don't know how they made that money you know could be from other types of you know incentives whether it's you know cashback or affiliates or whatever right right and we didn't really dive into the specific to the specifics of your business I mean we We kind
0:44:59 of take this as something we take for granted, because you and I have been in the industry for, well, I've been in for almost 20 years, and you know, quite a few years, right?
0:45:09 So some nuances here are some things I want to clarify. You're building a business on the Amazon platform. You know, you use them online arbitrage and retail arbitrage, basically just reselling products, you know, buying low, selling high, right?
0:45:24 Just like we do on a stock market and so forth and leads. He's basically saying, hey, here's a lot of products that I can't buy because I don't have enough money.
0:45:33 Exactly. That's what comes down to. I have a full organization because I spent all the money on the top line, right?
0:45:39 And then he was able to just shift that manpower to another, you know, to the new organization that actually has revenue coming in.
0:45:48 That's profitable. Yeah, that's amazing, man. I love it. You know, so again focus on your own journey. Don't worry about what everybody else is doing.
0:45:57 You know, can you pull some nuggets from that? Sure, but don't let that. And I've seen Sony entrepreneurs get distracted by seeing that one thing they're doing or like, oh my, I need to base my business on that.
0:46:08 Well, oh, wait a minute. Yeah, let's let's put some context in this because you don't know what he's doing behind the scenes, right?
0:46:15 or she's known behind the scenes and I love that you diversified in here's an area I think a lot of entrepreneurs when I see entrepreneurs I'm using this as the broad term as business owners founders anybody is building their own business because I live that life I certainly know I've been there right
0:46:36 but you mentioned something about diversifying talk to me about the entrepreneur that that is diversifying too fast, right? Let's start this business.
0:46:46 For example, you started yours, you learned some skills, you're like, oh man, you see this leads business opportunity, you can create, or this prep center or three PL, or you could create this, and you didn't quite bolt that down, the initial business, right?
0:47:03 And you go off starting that. Is that a good idea? I mean, what's your stance on like diversifying how far do you diversify?
0:47:11 Do you really need to get the bolts, you know, the bolts bolted down on your first business? I mean, taught me through that because I want to clarify that because I don't want not, you know, somebody that's listening to me and I'm like, oh my gosh, I need to go off starting out of the business.
0:47:25 Right. So what do you say then? So I think that that's a great question and, you know, to be totally transparent, one of my biggest problems was always circling back to bright new shiny object or software or whatever it may be to try it and since now we're talking more specific to what we do in the ecommerce
0:47:43 world you know one thing that I tried to do and I spent a lot of money doing was thinking okay before I really had you know the business I was in kneel down and really successful was okay well maybe I'll start doing wholesale and brand direct so you know I paid like $15,000 for training for that and
0:48:02 then you know another $5 or $10,000 for things associated with that. So, you know, you're in for like $25 or $30,000 before you know it, just for that kind of stuff.
0:48:11 But I wasn't successful enough in what I was already doing to even worry about that. You know, so someone that we have as a common acquaintance Ryan Camira, he's a great guy.
0:48:23 Remember talking to him, he does cementoring with me, very wildly successful guy. And with me, he mentioned was specifically, you really need to focus on one thing, you know, make sure you have it nailed down.
0:48:36 And before that point, I had always been kind of all over the place. I think it goes back to my worries and fears of like, well, what happens if X happens?
0:48:45 Well, then I didn't have Y or if Z happens, I need to have B as my outline. So, and I had to kind of let that go and just focus on, okay, here's what I'm going to work on.
0:48:56 laser focus just work on getting good at this and work on limiting expenses. Now that's where the leaseless comes in is I already had these expenses so what was the way that I could utilize that to my advantage?
0:49:12 I could either get rid of them totally or I could say well hold on I already have an entire operation is doing a good job.
0:49:19 I don't have the money to buy everything that they find. I only you You know, really need them for a limited amount.
0:49:25 And I have this giant leads database that I've spent, you know, tens of thousands of dollars probably building is like, why don't we just put this all together and utilize this to actually have some income coming in.
0:49:37 I mean, for me, they just paid my virtual assistant, you know, when I'm paying them each month, I would've been thrilled just to get rid of the expense.
0:49:46 I didn't even really care if it made money. It was just getting rid of the expense. And another thing for me too was keeping them employed because the last thing I wanted to do was let go of that, let go of them, because of my incompetence, I wanted to make sure to keep them.
0:50:01 So this was a great way to be able to stick with this, the difference about the leaves list is I'm doing the same thing that I'm doing already.
0:50:09 So I'm not scattered myself into a whole new business where everything else I've done has always been like I've had one step in one thing and one step in another.
0:50:18 I've never been fully committed. It's just, it's doing the same thing. It's just doing it, you know, for some other people as well, too, basically.
0:50:25 So I love that. I love that because what you, you took, see, and this where a lot of entrepreneurs get wrong in myself included, yeah, I'm guilty is that is you took something that you were already doing, right?
0:50:39 A process that you were already doing and simply monetize it in the same verbal, same. It was a complimentary service, right?
0:50:47 So it wasn't like you're doing a car wash or a vending machine round or you know Airbnb's or whatever it was something that's already a compliment or it's already a party process you just simply said you know what I'm gonna outsource not just outsource I'm gonna monetize it because I have perfected this
0:51:05 process I have honed my craft and then well my existing business is now turning from a cash eating monster to a cash producing cow, right?
0:51:17 So, you know, so I love that you specify that because too many people, and like you said, you know what Ryan told you is the laser focus on one thing until you got that bolted down, right?
0:51:29 And so I love that you took something, you're creative like wait a minute, there's so much stuff here that I can buy, I just don't have the money, right?
0:51:41 I'm you took that you monetize it you systemized it right and so that was you know that was very strategic of you ma'am and anybody that's listening to wash your hand out that's the lesson that we need to be taking through this is like you took something that were already doing something you've already
0:51:58 perfected and in the sense of holding your crap and you just positioned it in such a way that would not necessarily distract you in fact probably increase some alignment because by serving more people in that fashion you learn more.
0:52:11 You were able to systemize and you got that expense off of your books. Yeah. Something else is paying for it.
0:52:20 You know, you talked about the top line revenue and I think one of the biggest whole backs for me that the mental hurdles I had to jump through was being okay if things don't sell.
0:52:33 You know, because you always get a top line going up. Well the way to do that is to make things sell faster.
0:52:37 Way to do that's by lowering the price. You do that you lower margins. You do that you lose money So you know, and I think that goes back to having the giant machine behind me too is like well I'm paying money for this so I just need to turn inventory So yeah, that goes nowhere.
0:52:53 So it by putting it all worked together has really just changed the entire mechanics of my of my business Yeah, absolutely I love that man.
0:53:04 I appreciate you sharing that because quite frankly man, you know, that can destroy a lot of businesses, right? It is focusing on the top line, focusing on that and whatever is going to be that and not this because if you don't feed this, guess what?
0:53:22 Nobody eats. Yeah. Yeah. So in some ways, it could be counter-tuitive to a lot of people you think you would just like well as long as you focus on top line and they also sort stuff out.
0:53:35 No, because I lived that life for a very long time. You know, it wasn't until I was like, all right, nobody's talking about this.
0:53:42 And unfortunately, this is a, and I hope some a, or I hope anybody in fact that's listening to right now and knows that if you don't know, it's okay to ask, right?
0:53:52 Because I don't know if you felt this way, but But in my journey, I felt stupid about asking us because I thought there was some type of implied belief that I should have already known how to do that.
0:54:06 Like, I should already know how to do my numbers. I should already know how to manage my business, especially in the e-com world, right?
0:54:14 That's just not talked about enough. There's not enough exposure, there's not enough information, there's not enough micro-level coaching and consulting, if you will, to help entrepreneurs make sure their ship is not a sinking ship.
0:54:29 Yes, we talked about that just a week or two ago that it has been one of my big complaints is like there's so many people out there that will teach you how to start and they'll teach you some basic things and they'll teach you how to get going but almost no one out there like we talked about like getting
0:54:47 into the numbers down to the level that we get down into. There's really no one out there. Well, other than you that I'm aware of that does that.
0:54:56 Really everyone that's into coaching or training, they're all catered to a newbie. And so I kind of wonder the people that like me, I'm embarrassed to say it, but you know, I always figured I'd be good at writing a business, but apparently I'm not.
0:55:13 So now I've had to learn how to do it. Now I'm learning the proper foundation, which is now I'm learning the proper foundation.
0:55:21 And you know, I almost kind of wonder, you know, there's probably a lot of sellers out there. The ones that are really super successful just probably either had run another business before or they just happen to be good at running a business too, right?
0:55:35 So running the business is the hardest part, you know, yeah, I found it. And that's what I really need to work on that.
0:55:42 It's totally changed for the better for many. Yeah. One thing I want to clarify though, know this because I harp on as constantly or these negative IM statements, right?
0:55:55 You know, we are not all naturally good at something. We do have the inability to be great at things, right?
0:56:01 right? None of us are great at being entrepreneur at the beginning, right? And so one thing I want to kind of really reinforces what I heard is you are working every day to be better at managing your businesses.
0:56:17 Not that you are not good, right? Because, you know, none of us are good at the beginning. We all had to take lessons and learn.
0:56:24 You know, so I want to make sure I clarify that. But secondly, yes, I do believe that a lot of entrepreneurs that you see in in the just in general right either in the e-commerce space or just in general they they did have another business they did have another business where there was successful or
0:56:43 was not if it was not just because they took the lessons learned in you know in position I'm over to the new business as lessons learned right but even if right there are still nuances is in each business that if you're not careful and managing, and managing, you're not going to be successful, right?
0:57:06 Because I'm of the belief, and I'm sure you can, you know, especially after what you've been through, the journey you've been on for the last six months since you've been working with me, is if you don't measure everything, there is any one part of your business that you don't measure, you're not managing
0:57:21 . You're just, you know, allowing chaos, right? What measure what cannot be measured cannot be improved? That was a phrase I learned a long long time ago You know, and so I try to apply this in every aspect and not just a business but in my life, you know How can I perform better from a KPI perspective
0:57:40 ? You know so that I can be a better person be a better father be a better dad be a better Entrepreneur better coach better mentee right mentor So this is an area I really want to, you know, make sure it's clarified.
0:57:54 But let's talk about a little bit before we start to wrap this up, Max, we're having some great conversations here.
0:58:01 But this leads to this business. Why is this new leads business, this new digital business that you created? Why is that working?
0:58:12 While the e-com store is, I always say struggling, right? But it's on a different path you know it started off on a very very you know on a very different path and it's thankfully on a path but yeah while that is struggling is it a difference between selling a product versus just being more digital is
0:58:31 it you know is it lessons learned coming over to this you know for those that are listening and watching you know why the difference is I would say probably probably 100% of it or close to 100% of it is what I've learned from my main e-commerce business with the expense management and doing accounting
0:58:55 and getting up to speed on doing accounting more properly. As you know, really watching I've kind of had some accounting chaos over the last couple of years.
0:59:04 So, you know, getting so now ingrained into the numbers has just made all the difference in the world because now I'm seeing that improvement in my main business too.
0:59:15 One of the differences there is I still have like a lot of old inventory or other things being worked out that are going to take some time to get through the system, I get you to say, where I learned that lesson so when we started the brand new business from day one, from day one I said if the business
0:59:35 can't pay for it, I think that what we agreed to, with the part one I say we have a partner in it and I was mainly putting in most of the money to start it was basically like after two months I'm not paying any more money into it that's done I love it so we have two months if it doesn't make money in
0:59:52 two months we're not doing it anymore it's just flying and where I had I never had that mindset until when we really started working together on the business side as opposed to the you know personal coaching but more into the business coaching that's when I started to get more into the mindset of the
1:00:09 e-commerce business That's much bigger monster, so that's gonna take that's taking longer time to unwind But starting this fresh is how I would start if I started my e-commerce business today This is how I would do it like I'm doing the leaseless business.
1:00:21 We're basically like here's the capital That's it. We're gonna make it work We're not taking on any expenses Until they take themselves and I think that's the biggest difference where I did it all backwards when I started or commerce business was I figured if I build it big enough and I brought it, you
1:00:40 know, if I was willing to pay for things out of my pocket, eventually I'd make enough money to recover everything.
1:00:47 Where it's just I've learned that doesn't work. That's why in this business, say here's the amount of money I'm willing to put in.
1:00:52 I won't be upset if I lose it all, but I'm not putting any more in. We're gonna start, we're gonna make money.
1:01:00 Let me paraphrase this into something that I think a lot of people need to hear and correctly if I'm wrong what I heard here is you remove the motion out of this you assign a very specific deadline like listen it doesn't matter what our motions are it doesn't matter you know if we're Joyce and happy
1:01:22 or whatever right or you know if we just want to get you assign a very specific deadline and you make commitments we're not going do X, Y, and Z until X, Y, and Z is met.
1:01:35 Here is a deadline. I think that was very wise. Less than that. You took out of your previous chapter or in this current chapter that you're learning and you adopted it, right?
1:01:47 So all those that are watching and listening right now, I hope you heard what Silas is saying is, you know, when you come into a business or you come into new chapter.
1:01:57 You've got to remove emotions. You got because when it, especially when it involves money, a lot of people, a lot of emotions get, you know, they rise, they get sparked because, you know, I get it, you know, things can, you know, things can flare out, right?
1:02:14 We can get emotional when, you know, we lose money or, and or we make money, right? It goes both ways.
1:02:21 So I love how you removed the emotions out of the equation, you gave it a very specific deadline. If it meets this, great, we're going to continue moving forward.
1:02:29 If it does not, no harm, no foul. We're going to take the lessons learned from that and move it into something different.
1:02:34 Right? And you essentially said, that's it. And that's where a lot of entrepreneurs go. I think, like, within those six months and eight months and before we know it, they've lost tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in relationships and stress and everything else.
1:02:49 So the big things was curl is that with my primary business for such a long time I looked at is like Okay, well, there's the business pockets and then there's my personal pockets You know, I can't put it in the business pockets.
1:03:03 I'll just pay for it myself But you know, you start talking. I'm like The personal pockets are staring to run out I got to figure something out because eventually you know, they're gonna be dry too So we're with the leaseless businesses like, okay, there was some seed money in it, but besides from that
1:03:19 , it's like I said, I'm not taking anything out personally, I'm not paying for a penny personally after that. It either fails or it succeeds.
1:03:27 And I think you're right. From an emotional standpoint, maybe that's helped. And now thinking this through was like, if it failed, I don't care.
1:03:36 You know, it wasn't, you know, I obviously didn't want it to fail, but I'm emotionally invested into it. So, yeah.
1:03:45 Well, if I'm here, if I'm understanding what I'm hearing correctly, it's not that you didn't care. It's just that you weren't going to get emotionally tied up in the process, right?
1:03:54 Either it worked or it didn't. If it didn't work, you're going to take a lesson and learn and move on.
1:03:59 If it did work, great. Yeah. Let's keep moving forward and let's keep building, right? So it wasn't that you didn't care.
1:04:05 It's just that you didn't get emotionally, you know, tied up and allowing it to, you know, make, you know, make false decisions, right?
1:04:13 As you all know, you know, when when emotions arise, either low or high, we don't make good decisions. So, as I mentioned earlier, you know, you are an action-taker, right?
1:04:27 And when we discuss strategy, you don't debate it. You actually do it. So walk us through the launch of this leads business, where I'm gonna go back just a little bit because there's something here that I think we kind of hopped over, but walk us through the launch of this business.
1:04:46 How quickly, and this is one area I really want to highlight how quickly did you go from idea to first sale?
1:04:54 Oh gosh, we did that. I can't tell you how many days were sure of it. It couldn't have been more than a week or two.
1:05:01 I think that's one of the things is just like in the other business of what that from the beginning is like everything needs to be done right.
1:05:09 I need to have all the professional coaching. I need to have all the information. And again, focusing on the top line revenue where with this was kind of, I kind of like the bootstrapped.
1:05:19 You know, we're like, yeah, I think that kind of helped is just putting a limit on everything and saying it's going to pay for itself after our initial seed investment.
1:05:28 So And then my partner is great because he does things I don't want to do, you know, I kind of keep up kind of a low profile about the business where he's more like the frontman.
1:05:40 So, you know, and he need really, he really needed to work too because as you know, he went through section three with Amazon and We got through that.
1:05:50 That's when they do an account review. He got through it. Just fine. No problems, but it really put a bitter taste in his mouth.
1:05:55 I think I don't want to speak for him, but I think that's probably how he would describe as a bitter taste.
1:06:00 So he was really looking for something new pretty quick. So it just kind of worked and to where we're both like totally committed to the, you know, I have these resources.
1:06:09 You have this time, which is your resource. Let's get it done and going. I love that you put that out there and I love what you said and if I'm here and correctly is you think it's stuck in analysis paralysis you wait for perfection you took imperfect action right you went out there an attack and you
1:06:33 you just took the lessons learned and kept moving right you know wait months you know, wait weeks and years and so forth for the perfect whatever, right?
1:06:44 When you felt you had enough time, when you felt you had enough skill, knowledge, money, whatever, that's a feeling. We often wait for the feeling and feelings come and go and they're very, very, they're, they're tricky, right?
1:06:58 So I love how you can dense that timeline. I want to challenge anybody that's watching you're listening right now, Or, you know, watching is whatever it is that you're analyzing whatever it is that you're like pondering do it, right?
1:07:13 because And I guilty as this as well as you said you are, man We spend so much time and getting as much information to make us feel like, okay I'm ready to go out there and do that one thing, right?
1:07:28 Or to what I mean it would just one dollar more or a hundred dollars more or what had You know, so to that person, I just want to encourage you to just go out there and do it imperfectly.
1:07:40 Take that imperfect action and work on perfect progress, not perfect, you know, perfection. You know, that's where a lot of people get, you know, wound up or get held up.
1:07:51 Now, you told me your hard lesson was to stop chasing revenue, focus on profit, right? And you did talk a little bit about this, but I really want to make sure that this is really pointed out for those that are listening and watching.
1:08:08 How are you applying that lesson or how you yes, how are you applying that lesson to this new lease business so it doesn't become another monster, a cash-eating monster.
1:08:21 Yes, well, we are going to do profit first with this business as well too. So we are going to do profit first.
1:08:31 We do have the accounts with blue vine. In fact, we're going to meet later this week to get our buckets set up.
1:08:37 Right now we've just had money sitting in revenue. So we're going to start splitting up our buckets now. You said everything up for how we're going to do.
1:08:44 How we're going to split up the revenue. I think the main thing is just being super conservative on any expenses that we're taking on.
1:08:55 just being it is concerned you know that that's the main thing because that's always my problem is I just it's so easy for me to make an emotional decision that oh I'll try this so with the leaseless business just no that's not I'm gonna get in the same fiscal mindset that I'm in with my primary business
1:09:13 so it's good having a partner too that's really concerned about it also because we can rein each other in or rope each other in.
1:09:25 And not having, you know, Carl, the more that I think about, I think not having is almost like a stock.
1:09:31 You know, you always do better in stocks when you don't have an emotional attachment to them, right? So kind of the same here.
1:09:38 Again, I don't have it. I probably should have an emotional attachment since that business actually makes money already. So, but since I don't want it once again, it's way easier to just be like, well, it's either going to fail or succeed on its own, but you know, I think just trying to be as physically
1:09:58 responsible as we can from the very start. Yeah, I love that, man. Thanks for sharing. So let's die into an area that I think a lot of high achievers, entrepreneurs, founders, builders, business owners, leaders, and general struggle with is the identity aspect, right?
1:10:19 You're juggling a struggling business. I hate to use the word struggling because I don't feel like struggling. I think you're on a better path now.
1:10:27 So we'll talk about, we'll say a rise in Phoenix, right? You know, a business that's rising from the ashes. A booming leads business from what I'm understanding and a marriage, a marriage that involves a teenager who's about to go to college.
1:10:45 I've lived that life too. You mentioned in your bio that your a day is tied to success. And I think so many people, myself included, can resonate with that.
1:10:59 So, let me ask you, in your opinion, or in your world, when the winds aren't happening fast enough, and again, speaking of personal experience here, because I'm not the most patient.
1:11:14 The fact there's a phrase I learned from Ben Newman, you know, the chase things with aggressive patience, right? So when the winds aren't happening fast enough, how do you keep your identity from crashing?
1:11:27 Well, I think one thing for me is that, I think from recalling from the intake form, you know, one thing is I've always felt like I've been good at different things, but I've never been successful or tried to even be successful at my own thing.
1:11:45 So I think for me this is where it circles back to just total belief. you know I just have total belief that if I keep working and improving and staying on the right path then things will succeed eventually.
1:12:01 I think one thing is I look at other people that are successful and you know I look and I go well they can do it I know I can do it.
1:12:09 Oh I love that. I mean why not is not you know we're all human being. There's thousands you know there's tens of thousands hundreds of thousands of people succeeding in this business every day.
1:12:19 It's like if I just keep stay, usually I, you know, if I'm not interested in something, I'll just bail on it, right?
1:12:26 So, or if it gets too hard, just bail on it, if it's not that interesting. But this is something I'm really laser focused on.
1:12:31 So every day, I think if they can do it, then I absolutely know I can too. There's no reason I can't.
1:12:37 I just need to learn the right formula. The good news is I like the term rising Phoenix, because that's the way that I feel, especially with closing the book on last year, in the year before and looking at, we're just going to focus on 2026 going forward because it does feel like that.
1:12:53 When you go, when you do your P&L, which you, you know, one thing Carl has me doing every Friday that I talk about all the time with other people in this business is finding us Fridays, you know, when I'm opening up my books every week and I see like, you know, like today, I was just looking at him as
1:13:09 not finding us Friday but I was looking at him, I see like, okay, I'm a little bit ahead or okay, I'm broken even, that, you know, just even that's just like a big achievement, it's like I'm still getting rid of bad inventory and just, you know, getting rid of, that's the other thing is just emotionally
1:13:23 just getting rid of my mistakes and moving on. So it's just, and that actually brings a sense of joy is like, okay, I feel like I'm finally on the right path in moving forward.
1:13:36 So I love what you just said there. Let me extract something here because there's a phrase that I live by or that I'm a belief that I can put in my life, you set it but let me me say this so that you know those that are listening or watching can understand what you said.
1:13:57 You didn't tie your identity to the results or to you know to yeah to the results right where that's money or anything at nature.
1:14:12 You I know that I can do this. I wanna keep chasing it down and you're starting to see the results of that, right?
1:14:19 But you're tying your identity to the fact that you're the type of person that will follow direction, that will execute and that's where your identity lies not in the results, but in the process, in the journey of, am I understand or correct?
1:14:34 Yeah, actually I hadn't thought about that till you just bring it up, but yes, but I think it's because of that belief that's like, I just know they're given enough time, it will work.
1:14:44 Well, yeah, I think that's where a lot of people go wrong is they tie their identity to that result, right?
1:14:51 And it could be in their, in their, in any area of their life, it didn't have to be business, right?
1:14:56 You know, we've talked a lot about business, but hell, we all go through different seasons, especially parents, you know, especially about parents.
1:15:03 You know, for the first 15, 16 years of our our lives is really about the kids, right? But as they flourish, as they grow their wings well, our seasons change.
1:15:12 And a lot of times we get to tie the identity that we're, yes, we're still the parents, right? But we're not the concept caregivers.
1:15:20 They're able to make their own decisions. And it's some of their pretty freaking stupid. But heck, I made those decisions too.
1:15:26 So I'll give them some grace. It's like grace was given to me. But we have to tie our identities to the specific seasons, and there were a lot of people.
1:15:39 Myself included. I did different times when I sold my companies, I lost a big part of my identity because that's where a lot of people tied my identity to was the success that I achieved in the commerce.
1:15:51 All the different companies I've created, an exited soul, some of which you didn't, that were not successful. but I took those lessons more and like you did, right, and moved them into a different business and now it's flourishing, right.
1:16:06 So, you know, let's, it's starting to move, you know, move towards wrapping up and closing because, man, I feel like we can talk forever on this, but, you know, we've got to start, we've got to get back on track.
1:16:22 You are in a thick of it right now, And I love to get everybody's perspective in their different seasons, what grit looks like, right?
1:16:32 Because grit looks differently in every season of life. So right now, in this very specific season that you're in, what is your definition of grit?
1:16:46 Well, yeah, I thought about that before the podcast and my definition, actually, I think I have two definitions and I'll be the the fun one second.
1:16:58 So I think grit is for me mentally getting into the place where you believe that you're going to see no matter what.
1:17:12 Not stopping, not considering it a failure. You know, look at how many people out there that have been inventors. You know, we're done, you know, wonderful, huge major accomplishments in the world that have failed many times, but kept getting up and kept working.
1:17:33 You know, it's funny. I don't know if the story's true or not, but I heard this story. I had an uncle that was huge into racing, you know, we're from Indianapolis area.
1:17:44 it's the Indy 500. Indy 500 is here obviously a lot of people into racing. My uncle worked in the racing business and he told me a story one time that about a formula one team owner that started a team.
1:17:59 He didn't have a sponsor but to start the team obviously he needed to have a sponsor. This was many years ago when things are a lot different than they are now and he just started cold calling companies started at the A's and started cold calling huge major corporations you know all around the world
1:18:18 and he finally landed a sponsor he didn't give up it took a really long time by finally managed to land a sponsor do you know who that sponsor was Carl?
1:18:28 No I had no idea. Well the amazing thing about it was the fact that he never gave up because it was U.O.P.
1:18:34 Shadow. So he worked his way all the way from A to the U's before he got a yes. So imagine had he given up at M or you know or or at H or something and just said I made so many hundreds of calls I'm not doing anymore but he kept now again I don't know if the story's true or not but my uncle told me this
1:18:55 story and said that allegedly it is and even if it's not I don't care is such a great story. But I've always thought about that.
1:19:02 You know, cold cold, hundreds and hundreds of major corporations all around the world finally landed a huge major sponsor, which was United Oil products, United Oil petroleum, something like it, but UOP shadow.
1:19:15 It became a huge one with one team, UOP shadow. They're very, they're free when this is familiar with older formal one teams.
1:19:22 They're very famous and they had some of those beautiful cars ever in existence of grace. Just imagine that story that you go through and you start alphabetically and, fortunately, you don't give up, you almost get to see, but you only end it and you start, you know, huge formal ones, you know, like
1:19:38 that. So, I think grid is things like that when you just have the determination and you know that when you have a true belief that's going to work, which is knowing that give it enough time.
1:19:49 And that's how I feel. just give it enough time course correcting along the way and then but it will work eventually.
1:19:58 Agreed. Agreed. What I heard right there, it replicates what I heard and might let's say all the time. In fact, he's got an amazing book, Power One More.
1:20:08 You're literally one more conversation, one more phone call, one more email, one more transaction from changing your life and that story right there is the exact definition of that, right?
1:20:21 You're literally one conversation, phone call, email, whatever, away from your biggest breakthrough in your entire life. And that's how we need to treat it, right?
1:20:32 And so one thing is for sure, man, you know, if we give up, right, we will definitely never succeed, you know?
1:20:42 And that's where people get hung up. So now moving along, I talk about subtraction here a lot lately because we always talk about adding habits, systems, plans or goals or anything in the nature, right?
1:20:57 But I say recently, but I've been more focused lately that we need to also to know when to subtract, right?
1:21:07 When I talk about subtract, I'm talking about taking away one habit, one belief or one friction point that you're actively trying to quit right now, that is preventing you from, you know, that next chapter, that next great thing, right?
1:21:23 Because a lot of people say, you're gonna do this, you know, what new habit, no new system, no new process, but they don't talk about the habits they're gonna stop doing, right?
1:21:34 You know, financial anxiety, or always focusing on lack or those things right so what is one thing that you're actively trying to quit right now?
1:21:47 So okay I don't know if it's actively trying well I guess I am still actively trying to quit it because I did make a mistake recently and did this so well and I know and I did he just sounded like a broker record but for me it's not making it's not spending money you know what's the word that I'm looking
1:22:08 for without just thinking it through all the way so sometimes I'll see something I don't think it's too good of a deal to pass up or I just you know I get that warm and fuzzy like I got to try this I got to do this so I'll do it so yeah for me I think it's getting rid of that I've got way better at it
1:22:28 but the other day I did buy something I was like oh this might be great let me do it and I ended up buying something I was like and now I'm I'm like, man, this is gonna take my focus away.
1:22:37 I think it is great, but I really need to be focusing on what I need to be focusing on. I was like, dammit why did I do that?
1:22:44 Now I'm gonna have to put it in there and get on my numbers. So I think that's, I think for me getting away from that.
1:22:51 The second thing is, is I've started to think more and more not that I have a lot of this, but I think there's some people that are takers, there's some different communities in.
1:23:03 I think there's some people that are takers and they're not givers. And I think we've even talked about that. I've heard you talk about it maybe.
1:23:12 So, we're trying to stay away or decouple myself from that because, you know, if someone's asking for advice or questions and then they don't want to take any advice or do anything with it or disagree with you, it's like that's not worth my time.
1:23:32 I'm If someone's always a negative nelly or whatever you call them, you know, trying to stay away from that, too, because I don't want to be in their pity party.
1:23:46 I have to be thinking about, you know, positively and looking forward to what we can accomplish, not about all the problems or what we can accomplish yet.
1:23:54 So it's almost like time thieves, so trying to stay away from, not that there's a lot, But you know trying to see it with some time thieves as well too.
1:24:03 Oh, I like how you said time thieves I love that term time and energy theme I like it energy to it.
1:24:12 So yeah. Yeah, well because it is a two-night two finite things that we have that people often Take right is the energy and the time You know that we pour into things and so I love that I say in a different way Don't be the asshole.
1:24:31 Don't be the asshole. Don't be the person who's always asking for advice. How did you do this? How did you do that?
1:24:37 And you don't take the advice when you're giving it, right? Or the success zombie. You know, that person's always like, you know, in glamour, in this, and so forth.
1:24:47 They're always asking how did you do this. And you just want to turn them to the guy. I'm like, listen here, mofo.
1:24:52 You know how to freaking do it, you're just lazy, right? You're not motivated. I hate to use the word lazy, but for live voice saying you're you're just not motivated or properly motivated.
1:25:05 Let me put that perspective, right? So I love that because the more successful you are, you're gonna attract a lot of those.
1:25:13 And so you've got to learn how to put the proper filters in place to let the right people in who actually like you did with Ryan, right?
1:25:21 You You approached him, and I know Ryan, and I have heard him say he was very apprehensive, but he saw, like me, I saw you, you're an action taker, right?
1:25:31 You're not just a type of person who's always asking, asking, asking, asking, you're taking action, and then getting back, right?
1:25:38 You're also giving back into other people, whether it's in my community or in others, right? So I love that you said that.
1:25:45 Now, for the guy listening right now, or a gal, for the individual who is 50, 200, 200, 500,000 and scared to launch the next thing, what do you have to say to him or her?
1:26:04 I think, well, honestly, I think it would be, is if you're going to do it, make sure you improve the position that you're in don't get in the situation where you're like me where you have no idea what your numbers are or why they're the way they are make sure you get everything cleaned up and then if
1:26:28 you have that all done and you have total conviction that it will work then go for it yeah you can always start over right dust yourself off start over yeah well I'm not a huge fan of this but then also I totally get it and I am a huge fan of it but I've heard somebody I've heard a few people say one
1:26:50 of the beautiful things about America is you can always start over again. I'm like I kind of hate that advice and I kind of love that advice at the same time because they're 100% right.
1:27:02 You can always start over in America. Yeah that is true true. That is true. So as we're starting to wrap up, I've got a few more questions or we'll wrap this up because I'm really love the conversations here.
1:27:18 When the lights go out and you're in trenches, what is the one quote or directive that you repeat to yourself to keep moving forward?
1:27:30 Boy Carl, I don't know what the answer that is. I think I don't have one that I would say to keep moving forward.
1:27:39 I just I more think that I'm so focused that I know that success is just right ahead to keep pushing.
1:27:46 I think going back to the U.O.P. shadow story, you just got to keep going through the phone book. Maybe that's my answer is you just got to keep going through the phone book because eventually you'll get a guess.
1:27:59 Yeah. I like that. Keep going through the phone book. I think that's just keep going through the phone book. Keep going through the phone book.
1:28:10 I actually like that of course for people that's like a quarter of our age or half our age you're like what the heck is a phone book.
1:28:17 Exactly. Oh, I didn't even think about that. I was I was I thought I was I almost talking about the UOP shadow racing team of Formula One.
1:28:26 One bug. So, fortunately, I didn't see a Rolladex car. I'm right. I know. I hear you. I said that several times.
1:28:35 And I get this deer and headlights look like, did you just meant to say Rolex like Bob Roth? If I said Rolex, we're in a wrong conversation.
1:28:44 Rolladex. I agree. All right, lastly, as we wrap up, and this is an area I really want to hard be on because I'm of the belief that high achievers are expert critics of themselves, right?
1:29:00 I want to take a moment for what I call as like the 60 seconds of grace. So with that said, what is the one, you know, one mistake failure that you've made with your family, either with Christine, Lucy, and or your business during the stressful season that you've had to forgive yourself for.
1:29:28 For me it would be a combination that too it would really be because of circling back to doing things like losing my temper or being angry or things like that or being shut off emotionally because of not having success.
1:29:47 I think part of that goes back to the health that I've had too and having to move on for that and try to forgive myself but also live better every day to be a better husband and father and not fall back into those no matter how stressful things get us not fall back into those bad behaviors love it man
1:30:10 thanks for thanks for sharing that man all right we're building a chain of iron here so that being said I'm doing something a little different than I don't think I've seen anybody do this so what is the one question that you would want to challenge my next guest with oh the one question I'd want to challenge
1:30:34 your next guest with. Well, I think it would be the theme of our conversation. When things got really deep, and you had a lot of fear, and the things, you know, the things that kept you up at night, what made you ignore that and keep pushing through to get to where you got?
1:30:59 I love that. All right. Kate, tell you who the next guest is going to be. But I like that. I love that question.
1:31:11 I do. That's a very good question, man. Thanks for sharing that. So awesome. Silas, I want to thank you. You know, we talked a lot about success on the show.
1:31:24 But it takes a different type of courage to come on here and talk about the messy middle, right? So while you're still fighting your way through it, I respect you not only as a client my man, but I respect you as a husband, as a father, and as a fellow builder for doing this, right?
1:31:49 So now usually this is the part where I ask guests, you know, where people can follow you or follow them on Instagram or or whatever platform that they're most on.
1:32:02 But you're essentially a ghost on social media, which I can actually love. Social media is not that important to me, so it's not a big deal.
1:32:11 I hear you. I hear you. If anyone wants to check out our leads list, they're welcome to at OAPROF at pipeline.com.
1:32:19 That's not the reason that I'm here though, but yeah, I am I enjoy watching and getting on social media sometimes But I am not much for putting things on social media or marking itself.
1:32:32 Well, I get it So let me ask you this because I'm sure there's gonna be at least one person out there who resonated with this story and Maybe they're in a hole right now and need to know right You know that they're not alone you know or you're not alone so where is the best place for them to find your
1:32:54 reach out to you just to say thank you you know granted you may not be posting content I heard you say you do get on social media so if you have a you are your own Facebook I saw this Anderson so people can reach out to you say thank you no no no I'm not Facebook I'm not on I have an Instagram account
1:33:16 I think I can't remember what my handle is. I think it's at the real Silas 317 or something like that but yeah, so I am kind of a social media loser.
1:33:27 I don't do anything. I'm not big into that. I am more of a content intakeer than than put her out.
1:33:37 So, however, there's an open invitation if anybody did want to reach out to me that Carl, you're always welcome to give them my personal phone number and they could text me or my email, my personal email address, and I'm more than happy to talk with people.
1:33:53 So that's one thing I need to do better at and that I work on is trying to build more personal relationships.
1:33:59 So I am certainly open to that. Gotcha. Well, thanks for sharing all the information you've provided, OA Profit pipeline. I think it was.
1:34:09 We'll link that in a show notes. Silas thank you again for stepping into the arena today really appreciate the courage you displayed here so again thank you I appreciate you man.
1:34:20 Thank you Carl for having me on I appreciate it I can't believe that we spent how on a half together.
1:34:26 Good time you know when we have we have fun at time flies or time flies when we have fun right so awesome thank you so much.
1:34:34 Thanks Carl. We don't grow by just listening. We grow by doing. The gap between average and excellence is action, even in perfect action.
1:34:46 You heard Silas today. The difference between staying stuck in debt and building in a future isn't that fear goes away.
1:34:55 Is that you execute anyway. My challenge to you is simple. Take one specific tool or insight from this conversation. Maybe it's auditing your profit versus your revenue and use it in an X-24 hours.
1:35:12 Do not wait to feel ready. Actually creates the feeling, but you cannot build a life-assessence alone. This episode added value to your life.
1:35:25 Do the unseen work of a leader and share it. textously to one friend or team member who needs to hear this message today, be their catalyst for growth.
1:35:38 I believe in you, and I will see you for the next rep. Let's get after it. There's one more version, let me try one more time.
1:35:58 We don't by doing. The gap between average and excellence is action, even imperfect action. You heard Silas today. The difference between staying stuck in debt and building a new future isn't that fear goes away.
1:36:18 It's that you execute anyway. My challenge to you is simple. Take one specific tool or insight from this conversation. Maybe it's auditing your profit versus your revenue and use it in the next 24 hours.
1:36:36 Do not wait to feel ready. Action creates the feeling but you cannot build a life of sustenance alone. If this episode added value to your life, do the unseen work of a leader and share it.
1:36:54 Text this link to one friend or team member who needs to hear this message today. Be the catalyst for their growth.
1:37:02 I believe in you, and I will see you for the next rep. Now let's get after it.