1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,180 All right, welcome in to Vision Pros Live. 2 00:00:03,180 --> 00:00:05,240 With Jackson Calame, I'm your show host. 3 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:07,920 We'll be doing interviews for visionary entrepreneurs 4 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:09,880 and guest leaders who are building 5 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:11,240 fantastic visions out there. 6 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:13,320 I just wanna go through some of the things 7 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:15,120 that might help you with your visions. 8 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,120 Hey, what's up everybody? 9 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:23,120 And welcome into Vision Pros Live. 10 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:28,880 I'm your host, Jackson Callum. 11 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:32,480 A big shout out to our sponsors, Aepiphanni and Able Health. 12 00:00:32,480 --> 00:00:33,680 I'm gonna make that quick today. 13 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:35,320 We're gonna move right into the water project. 14 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:37,000 It's one that I love to talk about the most. 15 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:38,040 Everybody knows that. 16 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:40,360 Rick and Dr. Seth Gates also know 17 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:41,840 that their respective companies. 18 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:43,480 I don't know why, just hit me hard right now. 19 00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:45,420 I know there's so many people on this earth 20 00:00:45,420 --> 00:00:47,600 who don't have access to clean drinking water. 21 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:49,080 And that just kinda like tears me up. 22 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:52,000 It's like, man, why can't we make more time in our life 23 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:53,580 and dedicate a little bit more resources 24 00:00:53,580 --> 00:00:55,520 to helping people who are missing out 25 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:56,680 on the most basic needs? 26 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:58,440 The water project's a great thing to check out. 27 00:00:58,440 --> 00:00:59,360 Go and give a dollar to it. 28 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:00,780 I'm gonna always make sure that we're doing our part 29 00:01:00,780 --> 00:01:01,840 to lift those up in the world 30 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:04,560 who don't have access to the same resources that we do. 31 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:06,040 Now, without further ado, 32 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:07,880 I'm gonna bring on a guest named David Ramos. 33 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:10,800 And David is also one of those resources 34 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,960 that brings, in my opinion, the living waters, so to speak, 35 00:01:14,960 --> 00:01:17,480 waters that can help you with your brand. 36 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:19,280 Things about research, things about, 37 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:21,520 not trends, but he calls them threads. 38 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:23,040 Ways to connect with the market 39 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:26,120 in ways that you're likely overlooking, you and me both. 40 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:27,920 I caught some flaws in my own marketing 41 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:29,160 as I was just reading through one 42 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,760 of his super extensive posts on finances 43 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:32,960 and not the trends. 44 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:35,280 Again, the threads that are happening behind the scenes. 45 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:36,720 He's very great at research. 46 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,440 That comes from years of working behind the scenes 47 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:42,760 with professors at university for more than 10 years. 48 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,160 And also he's got two master's degrees, 49 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,020 one of which he earned in less than 100 days, 50 00:01:48,020 --> 00:01:49,160 which I think is pretty cool. 51 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,120 And he's done SEO for an enterprise company 52 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,240 that he had a half a million dollar budget 53 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,840 to compete with multi-billion dollar companies 54 00:01:57,840 --> 00:01:59,800 on SEO and content creation. 55 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:02,560 And in addition to that, he's also had a YouTube channel 56 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,160 where he was teaching people and probably other channels. 57 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:07,320 Let me not box him in too much, 58 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,600 but he's doing tutorials on a software called Kajabi, 59 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:14,000 which was able to help him make over $40,000 60 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:15,320 on those tutorials. 61 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:17,600 And he's got this simplicity about his style 62 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,380 and how he teaches that I hope that you appreciate 63 00:02:20,380 --> 00:02:21,220 as much as I do. 64 00:02:21,220 --> 00:02:22,520 And I'm really excited to bring him on 65 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,240 and pick his brain about how he's gotten to where he's at 66 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:27,960 and how all of these subjects can tie back 67 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:30,720 to what you're doing with your vision today. 68 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:31,880 So without further ado, David, 69 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:33,320 thank you so much for joining me 70 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:35,200 and I'm glad we finally got to catch up. 71 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:36,800 Absolutely, thank you so much, Jackson. 72 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:37,760 I'm so happy to be here. 73 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,400 Absolutely, so here's our background story, guys. 74 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:41,800 When we were at the Kajabi event, 75 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:44,160 Kajabi had just launched this wall for me. 76 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:44,980 I was new to it. 77 00:02:44,980 --> 00:02:46,440 I was what I call a Kajabi hermit. 78 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:48,200 And I hadn't known about the community. 79 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:50,960 And so I get into this community and they gamified it. 80 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:52,180 So people are connecting. 81 00:02:52,180 --> 00:02:54,040 And then there was a couple of people who said, 82 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:55,640 Jackson, you need to be David. 83 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:58,160 And you guys gotta catch up with each other. 84 00:02:58,160 --> 00:02:59,560 And so at the conference, 85 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:01,040 somebody pulled me and a David together 86 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:02,120 and I thought I met him. 87 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:06,040 I did, I met the wrong but the right David, another David. 88 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,680 And this is our actual first interaction 89 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,640 that lasted longer than 15 seconds, probably. 90 00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:13,160 Exactly. 91 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:15,240 So I'm happy to have you here. 92 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:17,860 Like I said, I read through your article 93 00:03:17,860 --> 00:03:20,040 on the financial landscape and what's going on. 94 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:21,240 And I was just like, whoa, 95 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:23,960 this guy has maintained what he's learned 96 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:26,440 from his master's degree and is actually like applying it 97 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:28,240 in the real world of research. 98 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:31,560 So how does that relate to entrepreneurs 99 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:33,120 who should be listening right now? 100 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:34,480 Why should they listen to you? 101 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:35,560 And what are they going to get out 102 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:36,960 of today's discussion with me? 103 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:39,880 So I think the people who should be listening today 104 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:42,800 feel like the market that they want to enter 105 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:45,280 is too crowded for what they want to do. 106 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:47,560 And so what I'm hoping to show them 107 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:50,160 by the end of this episode is that that's not true. 108 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,000 That there's plentiful opportunity out there 109 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,120 and that the opportunity that's right for you 110 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:57,560 likely hasn't even been tapped yet. 111 00:03:57,560 --> 00:03:58,380 Awesome. 112 00:03:58,380 --> 00:04:00,720 And so one of the things that you shared with me on that, 113 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:02,220 I think you hit it right at the beginning of that, 114 00:04:02,220 --> 00:04:03,360 but I'm gonna reiterate it. 115 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:07,200 Going all in on your thing. 116 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:09,240 I love the way that you talk about that. 117 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,380 What I get out of that is I gotta own the value 118 00:04:12,380 --> 00:04:15,560 that I know that I have and not allow the world 119 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:17,860 to distract me from that value 120 00:04:17,860 --> 00:04:20,140 or tell me that that value is not good enough. 121 00:04:20,140 --> 00:04:21,480 What, can you speak to that? 122 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:22,760 The way you word it is perfect. 123 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,040 So a phrase I throw around a lot 124 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,520 is that you don't need to find your next big thing. 125 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,040 You need to make your thing big. 126 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:32,480 And so the context that makes that true 127 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,600 is that A, what is the value bring 128 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:37,640 just need to be connected with the right audience 129 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:39,640 and it needs to be packaged in the right way. 130 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:41,320 And there's lots of ways to do that. 131 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:45,420 And so often we limit what we're trying to do 132 00:04:45,420 --> 00:04:47,840 so that it fits a pre-made mold 133 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:49,560 of what we've already seen done. 134 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:51,400 And there's a lot of issues with that 135 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:53,200 just because you're not like the people 136 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:54,880 who are probably doing the thing that you wanna do 137 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:56,240 in the way that they're doing it. 138 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:57,680 You are your own person. 139 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:01,360 You have your own background, unique molding of skills. 140 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,640 And so what I'm trying to do with my writing and research 141 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:06,920 and the companies I've supported is just saying, 142 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,060 hey, let's take the pieces that you do have 143 00:05:10,060 --> 00:05:11,600 and find a way to assemble them 144 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:13,420 to match what the market needs 145 00:05:13,420 --> 00:05:15,240 instead of constantly going out 146 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:18,520 and trying to add to the already full bucket that you have. 147 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:19,360 I love that. 148 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,840 So you're saying that if I shoot the basketball 149 00:05:21,840 --> 00:05:23,560 just like LeBron James does, 150 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,880 I might not get the same results that LeBron has. 151 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:28,080 Exactly. 152 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,780 But you might be the perfect person 153 00:05:30,780 --> 00:05:33,160 to teach people in your community 154 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,780 how to shoot the basketball like LeBron does 155 00:05:35,780 --> 00:05:37,880 because they're never gonna get a chance to meet LeBron. 156 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:39,520 But maybe you have a unique way 157 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:41,240 of understanding his skillset 158 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:43,040 and then translate that and so on. 159 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:45,400 But that's just a way of bridging the gap. 160 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:46,520 That's something I try to do. 161 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:47,360 Well said. 162 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:50,880 And so we're talking about the virtue and value of modeling, 163 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,060 right, of learning from those who go before us, 164 00:05:53,060 --> 00:05:55,640 but also making sure that we create space 165 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:56,800 for what it is we're meant to do. 166 00:05:56,800 --> 00:05:57,920 How do you do that? 167 00:05:57,920 --> 00:05:59,680 Let's say that there's people listening right now 168 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:00,840 who you're an entrepreneur 169 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:02,120 and you think you're on the right track. 170 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:03,880 You might feel that way 171 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:06,480 and you've been subject to many opinions out there 172 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:09,240 and maybe you've made shifts 173 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:12,200 that you're subconsciously unaware of. 174 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,800 And so how do you open somebody's mind and heart 175 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:18,960 to realizing that in a way that's safe 176 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,440 and allows them to really latch on to that concept 177 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:24,320 and run with their big thing? 178 00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:26,280 Yeah, yeah, you're asking the hard questions. 179 00:06:26,280 --> 00:06:28,120 These are questions that I wrestle with myself. 180 00:06:28,120 --> 00:06:28,960 These are hard for me. 181 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:30,280 That's why I'm like, let me put them on David. 182 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:31,840 Yeah, yeah. 183 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:35,040 So I can speak to what has worked to me 184 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:37,600 is that I have a few core things 185 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:39,240 of how I wanna spend my day 186 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:41,280 and the types of people I wanna help. 187 00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:43,860 And so I have tried to build a business 188 00:06:43,860 --> 00:06:45,920 that incentivizes those two things. 189 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:47,240 So I've tried to build a business 190 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:49,800 that A, incentivizes me to write deeply 191 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:51,120 because that's what I enjoy 192 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,480 and incentivizes me to work with solopreneurs, 193 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:56,080 the creator economy and so on 194 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:57,640 because those are the people I wanna spend time with. 195 00:06:57,640 --> 00:07:00,580 And so there are ways I could monetize my writing 196 00:07:00,580 --> 00:07:02,400 and research that are very valuable 197 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:04,040 outside of those two domains, 198 00:07:04,040 --> 00:07:07,280 but I would be incentivized to not work with those people 199 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:09,280 or to not do my own writing and so on. 200 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:11,080 And so I think for those of you 201 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:14,320 who might be stuck in this route where like, 202 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:16,640 I know I can make money in this way, 203 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:18,960 but this isn't how I wanna spend my time. 204 00:07:18,960 --> 00:07:21,000 This is how I wanna spend my time. 205 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,520 Well, you need to spend more brain power 206 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:27,360 figuring out how can you incentivize yourself 207 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:31,120 so that you are pushed to spend time that way 208 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:34,960 and able to monetize it in a way that also satisfies others. 209 00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:36,880 There that you have to go into it 210 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:38,880 with the belief that that exists. 211 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:41,200 I did not always have that belief. 212 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:45,480 My undergrad was in classical and medieval studies. 213 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,760 So a degree that you tell people you got a degree in that 214 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:52,920 and they're like, oh, okay, so you're gonna be a garbage man 215 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:55,540 or these jobs that maybe, 216 00:07:55,540 --> 00:07:56,840 there's not really a clear path 217 00:07:56,840 --> 00:07:58,680 in what you do with classical studies. 218 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:00,240 I would have a guest librarian. 219 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:01,560 Yeah, yeah, exactly. 220 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:05,520 And so I went into my career believing 221 00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:08,080 I'm not gonna be able to make money writing. 222 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:09,280 That's probably not gonna happen. 223 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:11,880 So I need to find other ways to make money. 224 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:15,280 And so here I am 15 years later, 225 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:17,680 oh, I can actually make a lot of money writing. 226 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:19,600 That was just a belief I had to change 227 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,120 and then incentivize the model to charge that. 228 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:22,960 Dude, well said. 229 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:24,960 It reminds me of an old friend of mine. 230 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:29,620 I haven't talked in almost eight to 10 years, Tom Richie. 231 00:08:29,620 --> 00:08:31,600 Tom Richie has a YouTube channel. 232 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:33,000 I hope he still has it. 233 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:34,840 I was working with Video Power at the time 234 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:38,040 and he had just crossed the line with them 235 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:40,640 of making more money through his YouTube channel, 236 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:43,880 teaching AP US history through YouTube 237 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:45,360 than he did as a teacher. 238 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,880 And so he was on the super high of course of like, 239 00:08:49,880 --> 00:08:51,680 wow, cool, this is real 240 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:53,800 and I can inspire others to do this and stuff. 241 00:08:53,800 --> 00:08:57,360 And so he reminds me again of what you're talking about, 242 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:00,680 being able to take what others have said, 243 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:02,400 no, that's not possible. 244 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,040 No, you're not gonna be able to do that. 245 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:06,680 And he took his big thing and he put it online 246 00:09:06,680 --> 00:09:07,720 and he made it happen. 247 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:10,280 So I'm gonna shift personally here. 248 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:13,080 David, what is your vision? 249 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:14,600 Normally we put a 15 seconds on this, 250 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,560 but what's your vision for you moving forward? 251 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:19,240 That's a great question. 252 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:24,240 So my vision for me is to create a market research resource 253 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:27,400 for the creator economy. 254 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,280 So if you are a person who is learning 255 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:32,880 how to build something online and monetize it, 256 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:35,600 you're going to find the answers that you need 257 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:36,840 in what I create. 258 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:38,120 I love it. 259 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:41,880 Okay, and so the creators that I know out there, 260 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:46,000 they don't usually have the gift of research, right? 261 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,840 That is something that most people don't understand. 262 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:50,200 Or enjoy. 263 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:51,640 Or enjoy, right. 264 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:53,960 And so if you don't enjoy it, 265 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:56,080 then you're not gonna wanna do it. 266 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:57,760 And if you don't understand it, 267 00:09:57,760 --> 00:09:58,880 then it's just gonna make you, 268 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:01,640 it's gonna make you feel bottlenecked and trapped. 269 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:05,840 And at the same time, that's probably one of the greatest, 270 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:07,280 I don't even think it's a kept secret. 271 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:10,880 I think it's one of the greatest tactics, strategies, 272 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:15,400 realizations that Mr. Beast knows, Mark Rober knows, 273 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:16,520 anybody you can think of, 274 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:18,760 whoever your favorite YouTube celebrities are, 275 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:20,800 influencers out there that have grown, 276 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:25,800 they are kings and queens of research in many respects. 277 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:30,960 So what are some of the bite size ways that, 278 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:32,700 let's talk about the vision for those you serve. 279 00:10:32,700 --> 00:10:35,080 How do they start diving into doing research 280 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:37,200 the right way or understanding 281 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:39,440 what the value is of what you do? 282 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:40,280 Absolutely. 283 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:42,560 So I think the core of that message, 284 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:44,640 so why would you even bother doing research 285 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:46,120 in the first place, 286 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:49,160 is that you don't need to find the next big thing. 287 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:51,800 You just need to go all in on your thing. 288 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:53,800 So that acts as a filter to say, 289 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:56,620 okay, I'm not entering the internet space 290 00:10:56,620 --> 00:10:59,200 to find answers to a million questions. 291 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:00,840 I have one question. 292 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:03,100 I want to make this business model work. 293 00:11:03,100 --> 00:11:05,680 I want to make this website a success. 294 00:11:05,680 --> 00:11:08,620 Okay, now how do I start from there? 295 00:11:08,620 --> 00:11:10,240 So right off the bat, 296 00:11:10,240 --> 00:11:13,660 if I'm gonna give two tactical tips, 297 00:11:13,660 --> 00:11:16,900 one thing that I know most people never engage with 298 00:11:16,900 --> 00:11:19,880 because it's still kind of a relatively new area 299 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:21,640 is called audience research. 300 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:25,680 So the tool called SparkToro and super useful 301 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:30,520 if you are entering a niche and don't have a good grasp 302 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:32,260 of what that landscape looks like. 303 00:11:32,260 --> 00:11:35,280 So a tool like SparkToro will give you, 304 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:38,640 enter a keyword like creator economy, for example. 305 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:41,680 And I'm going to see the top hundred podcasts, 306 00:11:41,680 --> 00:11:43,780 the top hundred Twitter accounts, 307 00:11:43,780 --> 00:11:45,880 the top hundred Facebook influencers 308 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:47,120 and Instagram influencers. 309 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:49,640 I'm gonna see what websites people visit the most. 310 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,320 And so that's gonna be a great starting point to be like, 311 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:53,820 okay, who do I need to follow? 312 00:11:53,820 --> 00:11:54,820 Who do I need to talk to? 313 00:11:54,820 --> 00:11:56,440 What topics are they talking about? 314 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:58,200 What hashtags are trending? 315 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:00,480 And so that's just gonna give me the data I need 316 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:03,080 to start creating what I call 317 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:05,440 a revenue driven content strategy. 318 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:08,800 So I'm going to understand what am I, 319 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:11,320 ultimately, what am I gonna charge for? 320 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:14,700 And then work backward, what are people interested in? 321 00:12:14,700 --> 00:12:16,360 And then build that bridge. 322 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:17,640 Oh, that's fantastic. 323 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:21,720 I was being a nerd the other night. 324 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:25,120 It was like two in the morning, I should have gone to bed. 325 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:27,800 And I wanted to watch a movie. 326 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:31,040 And I ended up watching some YouTube on expanding, 327 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:33,880 like how to use Twitter or something like that. 328 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:37,560 So I'm diving in and they brought SparkTor off as well. 329 00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:40,160 And I got to see that, how they were using it 330 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:42,920 to enhance their Twitter strategy. 331 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,040 And I was like, wow, cool. 332 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:47,920 So I took some screenshots rather, some pictures of my TV 333 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:49,720 and started sending them over to the team. 334 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:51,440 So I'm glad you mentioned, I've seen it too. 335 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:53,000 I was like, wow, this is actually a really cool tool. 336 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:55,600 I hadn't explored that one yet. 337 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:57,640 So yeah, dive in, play with it. 338 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,400 Get familiar with the different type of tools 339 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:01,240 you have out there. 340 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:03,880 And you said revenue-driven content strategy. 341 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,080 Words that are not combined often enough 342 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:08,280 in the marketplace. 343 00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:13,960 Detail Publishing calls it profitable publishing. 344 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,640 Right, again, two words that should be combined 345 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:19,860 more often than they are in terms of strategy. 346 00:13:19,860 --> 00:13:22,660 So revenue-driven content strategy. 347 00:13:22,660 --> 00:13:26,560 What does that look like in the creator economy? 348 00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:30,740 How are people going about doing that? 349 00:13:30,740 --> 00:13:32,700 Yeah, a few things. 350 00:13:32,700 --> 00:13:37,020 One of my core beliefs that I think people can miss 351 00:13:37,020 --> 00:13:39,940 because it's not the loudest voice in the room 352 00:13:39,940 --> 00:13:43,440 is that authority is more valuable than virality. 353 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:47,780 So we see a lot of viral creators or sites and so on 354 00:13:47,780 --> 00:13:50,780 getting millions of views, millions of page views, 355 00:13:50,780 --> 00:13:52,340 so on and so forth. 356 00:13:52,340 --> 00:13:53,820 What we don't see on the backend 357 00:13:53,820 --> 00:13:56,300 is that a lot of these people have a lot of difficulty 358 00:13:56,300 --> 00:13:57,780 capturing that value. 359 00:13:57,780 --> 00:14:02,780 So I personally know TikTok people with 200, 250,000 360 00:14:03,220 --> 00:14:06,700 followers on that platform who struggle 361 00:14:06,700 --> 00:14:10,440 to clear $100 a month just because they don't have 362 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,820 a clear way of capturing the value of that audience. 363 00:14:13,820 --> 00:14:17,700 And then I just read like in the SEO world, 364 00:14:17,700 --> 00:14:22,700 there was this basically website about classical music. 365 00:14:22,700 --> 00:14:27,220 Not a very big website, got maybe 60,000 page views a month. 366 00:14:27,220 --> 00:14:31,260 For context, most large websites you know 367 00:14:31,260 --> 00:14:33,180 are getting several million. 368 00:14:33,180 --> 00:14:34,300 Yeah, several million. 369 00:14:34,300 --> 00:14:38,020 So my website might be getting about 100, right? 370 00:14:38,020 --> 00:14:40,300 And everybody else out there that's listening 371 00:14:40,300 --> 00:14:41,740 is probably getting a couple thousand, 372 00:14:41,740 --> 00:14:45,980 but at 60,000, you're not crushing it. 373 00:14:45,980 --> 00:14:47,660 No, you're not crushing it. 374 00:14:47,660 --> 00:14:51,220 Not from a virality standpoint, as big as that may feel, 375 00:14:51,220 --> 00:14:53,140 just kind of helping you see over the horizon. 376 00:14:53,140 --> 00:14:55,500 That does not mean instant millionaire status. 377 00:14:55,500 --> 00:14:56,340 No, but- 378 00:14:56,340 --> 00:14:58,740 But you're making a great point about authority right now. 379 00:14:58,740 --> 00:15:00,940 Yeah, because they just got acquired 380 00:15:00,940 --> 00:15:03,260 for several seven figure deal 381 00:15:03,260 --> 00:15:06,500 because of the authority they've established in that space. 382 00:15:06,500 --> 00:15:10,340 And so, when I think about helping people build 383 00:15:10,340 --> 00:15:12,500 a revenue driven content strategy, 384 00:15:12,500 --> 00:15:14,460 what I'm helping them understand 385 00:15:14,460 --> 00:15:16,220 is that first goal is authority. 386 00:15:16,220 --> 00:15:18,020 You want to, you don't need to be the biggest name 387 00:15:18,020 --> 00:15:18,900 in the space. 388 00:15:18,900 --> 00:15:21,080 You need to be one of the most trusted. 389 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:23,060 And one of the easiest ways to do that 390 00:15:23,060 --> 00:15:25,860 is use a tool like HRS or Sumrush, 391 00:15:25,860 --> 00:15:30,740 find the top 50, top 100 most asked questions in your niche 392 00:15:30,740 --> 00:15:32,940 and just spend time answering them. 393 00:15:32,940 --> 00:15:34,820 Each one in depth, 394 00:15:34,820 --> 00:15:38,660 doesn't matter if it's been answered by a thousand others. 395 00:15:38,660 --> 00:15:39,860 It hasn't been answered by you. 396 00:15:39,860 --> 00:15:42,380 It hasn't been answered in the way you see that topic. 397 00:15:42,380 --> 00:15:45,340 And so these are like those core foundational tips 398 00:15:45,340 --> 00:15:46,700 that once you do that, 399 00:15:46,700 --> 00:15:49,320 you're gonna stand head and shoulders above the rest. 400 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:51,220 And they're so simple that people are like, 401 00:15:51,220 --> 00:15:52,380 why am I gonna waste my time? 402 00:15:52,380 --> 00:15:55,740 And like, I have a shoe business and like, 403 00:15:55,740 --> 00:15:56,580 how to tie your shoes. 404 00:15:56,580 --> 00:15:58,420 I'm not gonna write an article about that. 405 00:15:58,420 --> 00:16:00,460 No, you should, you should make a video, write an article. 406 00:16:00,460 --> 00:16:03,020 These things are little droplets of trust 407 00:16:03,020 --> 00:16:04,420 that build up over time. 408 00:16:04,420 --> 00:16:05,900 Well, blew my mind. 409 00:16:05,900 --> 00:16:08,060 Okay, it's written right here guys. 410 00:16:08,060 --> 00:16:10,220 Homework, right, homework. 411 00:16:10,220 --> 00:16:13,260 Top 100 questions by SEMrush. 412 00:16:13,260 --> 00:16:14,620 You mentioned one of their platform. 413 00:16:14,620 --> 00:16:15,580 What was it? 414 00:16:15,580 --> 00:16:17,760 Ahrefs though, ahrefs. 415 00:16:17,760 --> 00:16:18,680 People say it different ways, 416 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:21,780 but A-H-R-E-F-S. 417 00:16:21,780 --> 00:16:25,620 If you basically, if SEMrush had like a nerdy cousin, 418 00:16:25,620 --> 00:16:26,900 that too would be. 419 00:16:26,900 --> 00:16:29,300 And so people in the SEO space are very passionate 420 00:16:29,300 --> 00:16:30,900 about which one they use. 421 00:16:30,900 --> 00:16:34,300 I'm an ahrefs guy over SEMrush, but they're both. 422 00:16:34,300 --> 00:16:36,580 How long I've been out of the SEO game. 423 00:16:36,580 --> 00:16:38,180 So there's that. 424 00:16:38,180 --> 00:16:40,580 I got guys like you to help me with that. 425 00:16:40,580 --> 00:16:42,900 So, but that's, and you just, you just did, 426 00:16:42,900 --> 00:16:44,480 you just threw it down. 427 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:46,900 So we like to teach similar concept 428 00:16:46,900 --> 00:16:48,620 and that is make sure you're paying attention 429 00:16:48,620 --> 00:16:50,140 to the frequently asked questions. 430 00:16:50,140 --> 00:16:50,980 Exactly. 431 00:16:50,980 --> 00:16:51,820 Right, and you have that list. 432 00:16:51,820 --> 00:16:53,320 You frequently ask questions. 433 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:55,020 What people ask most frequently 434 00:16:55,020 --> 00:16:58,460 are also called your buyer's questions, right? 435 00:16:58,460 --> 00:17:00,780 And that means that if you can get those addressed 436 00:17:00,780 --> 00:17:03,860 on the front end before somebody talks to you, 437 00:17:03,860 --> 00:17:07,460 that builds that ability for them to start to know you 438 00:17:07,460 --> 00:17:08,980 and to start to like you. 439 00:17:08,980 --> 00:17:11,060 And like David's talking about, 440 00:17:11,060 --> 00:17:13,300 then you start to establish trust when they say, 441 00:17:13,300 --> 00:17:15,660 wow, that resonates with me. 442 00:17:15,660 --> 00:17:17,700 The way that you said it, the way that you framed it, 443 00:17:17,700 --> 00:17:20,300 combined with your other questions and answers, 444 00:17:20,300 --> 00:17:22,740 it allows people to feel much more comfortable 445 00:17:22,740 --> 00:17:24,740 deciding they wanna work with you. 446 00:17:24,740 --> 00:17:27,260 Yes, with like, that's a perfect example. 447 00:17:27,260 --> 00:17:29,380 So one of the stories I like to tell people 448 00:17:29,380 --> 00:17:31,260 is there's a pool company. 449 00:17:31,260 --> 00:17:32,740 I can't remember the exact name. 450 00:17:32,740 --> 00:17:34,240 It's very well known in the space, 451 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,220 but he was one of the first chains to use SEO 452 00:17:37,220 --> 00:17:41,100 to grow his neighborhood pool business. 453 00:17:41,100 --> 00:17:45,120 And so he created a bunch of articles over two years 454 00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:47,860 and started to see sales like really pick up. 455 00:17:47,860 --> 00:17:50,460 And then one day he had a guy come in 456 00:17:50,460 --> 00:17:52,940 and go through his Google analytics with him. 457 00:17:52,940 --> 00:17:55,660 He was like, hey, do you know how much content 458 00:17:55,660 --> 00:17:58,260 people are consuming before they schedule a call 459 00:17:58,260 --> 00:17:59,820 to talk about the pool? 460 00:17:59,820 --> 00:18:02,420 He was like, well, my articles are like really in depth. 461 00:18:02,420 --> 00:18:06,260 That's like two, 3000 words each about some fact. 462 00:18:06,260 --> 00:18:09,100 And so they went and they looked at the analytics 463 00:18:09,100 --> 00:18:10,680 and he was assuming people are gonna read 464 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,500 two to three articles and schedule a call. 465 00:18:13,500 --> 00:18:17,860 The analyst guy showed they're reading 47 on average. 466 00:18:17,860 --> 00:18:22,820 So we underestimate the volume of content we need 467 00:18:22,820 --> 00:18:25,140 to have the success we're after. 468 00:18:25,140 --> 00:18:28,260 And like that's such a clear example I try to tell people 469 00:18:28,260 --> 00:18:31,620 like you need more content for people to expose to 470 00:18:31,620 --> 00:18:32,940 before they have that trust, 471 00:18:32,940 --> 00:18:34,660 before they're gonna have that action. 472 00:18:34,660 --> 00:18:38,300 And so you answering 50 to a hundred questions 473 00:18:38,300 --> 00:18:40,600 is just a baseline of getting people 474 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:43,100 to even take that first step with you 475 00:18:43,100 --> 00:18:44,260 whatever that may be. 476 00:18:44,260 --> 00:18:45,100 You're hitting it. 477 00:18:45,100 --> 00:18:47,300 And I don't know whether to call it a trend or a thread. 478 00:18:47,300 --> 00:18:48,820 You can educate me as we go. 479 00:18:48,820 --> 00:18:49,660 Sure. 480 00:18:49,660 --> 00:18:52,340 But I would say one of the things that I've noticed 481 00:18:52,340 --> 00:18:56,620 one of my hypothesis is that has exponentially risen 482 00:18:56,620 --> 00:19:00,920 since COVID again, not to beat the COVID horse to death. 483 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:01,760 That's done. 484 00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:06,140 But people became more isolated, 485 00:19:06,140 --> 00:19:08,940 less likely to engage with each other, masked up. 486 00:19:08,940 --> 00:19:11,140 Like I'm the guy loves to say hi to people 487 00:19:11,140 --> 00:19:14,020 but it was awkward when you're under a mask 488 00:19:14,020 --> 00:19:15,020 and when other people are. 489 00:19:15,020 --> 00:19:18,620 So what we're seeing on our side from a sales standpoint 490 00:19:18,620 --> 00:19:21,260 is that people are coming in due to automation, 491 00:19:21,260 --> 00:19:24,100 due to COVID, due to who knows what else 492 00:19:24,100 --> 00:19:28,740 far more apprehensive and not ready to engage 493 00:19:28,740 --> 00:19:30,740 in a one-on-one conversation. 494 00:19:30,740 --> 00:19:33,180 Have you been doing any research in that space yet? 495 00:19:33,180 --> 00:19:35,020 That's a great, that is a great. 496 00:19:35,020 --> 00:19:38,460 I have not, I don't have hard data to show for that 497 00:19:38,460 --> 00:19:41,100 but like just in a baseline, 498 00:19:41,100 --> 00:19:43,660 like I agree from what I've seen too. 499 00:19:43,660 --> 00:19:47,280 I think there is a clear before and after for COVID 500 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:49,300 in terms of what sites have been successful 501 00:19:49,300 --> 00:19:50,980 and what sites haven't been. 502 00:19:50,980 --> 00:19:53,980 And I think, we touched on briefly 503 00:19:53,980 --> 00:19:56,500 my article on finance, personal finance. 504 00:19:56,500 --> 00:19:57,340 There's a clear before and after. 505 00:19:57,340 --> 00:19:59,420 That article's mind-blowingly. 506 00:19:59,420 --> 00:20:00,260 Thank you. 507 00:20:00,260 --> 00:20:01,080 I loved it. 508 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:02,860 I was like, this is so good. 509 00:20:02,860 --> 00:20:04,780 So if you could pull it up, that'd be great. 510 00:20:04,780 --> 00:20:07,980 For people who haven't read that, let me give you the TLDR. 511 00:20:07,980 --> 00:20:10,340 So basically within the last three years, 512 00:20:10,340 --> 00:20:13,180 the top 10 personal finance sites have lost anywhere 513 00:20:13,180 --> 00:20:16,380 from 60 to 80% of their overall traffic. 514 00:20:16,380 --> 00:20:17,220 And one of my- 515 00:20:17,220 --> 00:20:18,500 Say that again, say that one more time. 516 00:20:18,500 --> 00:20:19,340 Sure. 517 00:20:19,340 --> 00:20:20,780 So over the last three years, 518 00:20:20,780 --> 00:20:24,340 the top 10 personal finance blogs have lost anywhere 519 00:20:24,340 --> 00:20:27,660 from 60 to 80% of their overall traffic. 520 00:20:27,660 --> 00:20:28,500 Oh. 521 00:20:28,500 --> 00:20:29,320 That's massive. 522 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:31,500 So we're talking about revenue. 523 00:20:31,500 --> 00:20:33,580 We're talking about several million dollars in loss 524 00:20:33,580 --> 00:20:35,340 for each one probably. 525 00:20:35,340 --> 00:20:37,780 And so one of my beliefs is that attention 526 00:20:37,780 --> 00:20:40,580 doesn't disappear, it's just reallocated. 527 00:20:40,580 --> 00:20:43,020 And so I went looking for where that attention went. 528 00:20:43,020 --> 00:20:47,220 We're talking about five, 10 million questions a month, 529 00:20:47,220 --> 00:20:49,620 not being answered by the same people 530 00:20:49,620 --> 00:20:51,140 that they were four years ago. 531 00:20:51,140 --> 00:20:52,980 They're being answered by someone else. 532 00:20:52,980 --> 00:20:54,900 And so what I found was a lot of this attention 533 00:20:54,900 --> 00:20:59,420 shifted to social media influencers and also small blogs 534 00:20:59,420 --> 00:21:01,940 who are more focused on the lower end 535 00:21:01,940 --> 00:21:03,700 of the economic spectrum. 536 00:21:03,700 --> 00:21:06,020 So people are struggling financially, 537 00:21:06,020 --> 00:21:09,020 that's reflected in the types of questions they're asking. 538 00:21:09,020 --> 00:21:10,680 And so there's this huge opportunity 539 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:15,220 for traditional personal finance to just adjust the way 540 00:21:15,220 --> 00:21:17,940 and the topics they addressed and then get some of that- 541 00:21:17,940 --> 00:21:18,940 You say adjust. 542 00:21:18,940 --> 00:21:20,500 I'm gonna pick on you for that one. 543 00:21:20,500 --> 00:21:21,900 Sure. 544 00:21:21,900 --> 00:21:22,860 Go ahead though. 545 00:21:23,860 --> 00:21:26,680 Yeah, but I like, and there's lots of opportunities 546 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:29,340 like that, like every time there's a change 547 00:21:29,340 --> 00:21:31,660 or you see attention leaving one platform, 548 00:21:31,660 --> 00:21:33,980 it's going somewhere else, something is happening 549 00:21:33,980 --> 00:21:35,380 and there's an opportunity there. 550 00:21:35,380 --> 00:21:36,220 There is. 551 00:21:36,220 --> 00:21:39,200 And so is that something that you guide people through? 552 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:40,540 I feel like a leading question, 553 00:21:40,540 --> 00:21:42,560 but like if somebody wanted to hire you 554 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:45,020 to help with the research process 555 00:21:45,020 --> 00:21:46,300 and all of assessing that, is that, 556 00:21:46,300 --> 00:21:48,460 are you on the market for that or- 557 00:21:48,460 --> 00:21:49,940 I am not currently. 558 00:21:49,940 --> 00:21:51,680 I definitely get the question a lot, 559 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:56,180 but right now my focus is on writing this type of research 560 00:21:56,180 --> 00:21:58,080 so that I can reach a broader audience. 561 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,900 I think, you know, when I have done freelance SEO 562 00:22:01,900 --> 00:22:05,320 work in the past, we're talking several thousand dollars 563 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:08,260 per engagement, you know, on a long-term contract. 564 00:22:08,260 --> 00:22:09,880 And most people can't hire me for that. 565 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:13,100 You know, most starting entrepreneurs don't have four grand 566 00:22:13,100 --> 00:22:15,340 to help me come in and help them get started 567 00:22:15,340 --> 00:22:17,220 on the right direction. 568 00:22:17,220 --> 00:22:19,360 But a lot of them do have several hundred dollars 569 00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:23,100 to read something that can help them avoid a lot of mistakes 570 00:22:23,100 --> 00:22:24,340 and save a lot of time. 571 00:22:24,340 --> 00:22:25,220 Nice, okay. 572 00:22:25,220 --> 00:22:28,180 So are you working on the scalable model of you right now? 573 00:22:28,180 --> 00:22:29,680 Yes, a hundred percent. 574 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:34,420 So I am, you know, I am creating two assets right now 575 00:22:34,420 --> 00:22:36,660 that I'm hoping will lead to more down the road. 576 00:22:36,660 --> 00:22:40,340 I'm creating a weekly newsletter called Class Notes. 577 00:22:40,340 --> 00:22:43,940 It's basically a byproduct of the long form essays 578 00:22:43,940 --> 00:22:45,540 and reports that I'm writing. 579 00:22:45,540 --> 00:22:48,420 So I'm trying to remember what the last one was about. 580 00:22:48,420 --> 00:22:50,540 I've been writing them all week. 581 00:22:50,540 --> 00:22:52,940 So the first one was about creators 582 00:22:52,940 --> 00:22:55,500 versus users on a platform. 583 00:22:55,500 --> 00:22:57,740 And so, you know, we all hear about like, 584 00:22:57,740 --> 00:23:00,820 oh, Instagram has X amount of users 585 00:23:00,820 --> 00:23:03,980 or TikTok just surpassed a billion users. 586 00:23:03,980 --> 00:23:06,580 But in terms of actual audience growth 587 00:23:06,580 --> 00:23:07,940 and interaction and engagement, 588 00:23:07,940 --> 00:23:10,500 that number means nothing for most people. 589 00:23:10,500 --> 00:23:13,100 The matters are the people who are actually posting videos, 590 00:23:13,100 --> 00:23:14,860 adding comments, interacting, 591 00:23:14,860 --> 00:23:17,100 because if you're trying to build a audience, 592 00:23:17,100 --> 00:23:18,100 get customers and stuff, 593 00:23:18,100 --> 00:23:20,780 you want people who are actually using the platform 594 00:23:20,780 --> 00:23:22,120 to do something, 595 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:24,220 because then you're more likely to connect 596 00:23:24,220 --> 00:23:26,740 and build that relationship and so on. 597 00:23:26,740 --> 00:23:29,420 And so that newsletter, and then every week, 598 00:23:29,420 --> 00:23:32,500 it's basically diving into some small aspect 599 00:23:32,500 --> 00:23:34,420 from the larger reports 600 00:23:34,420 --> 00:23:36,740 and hopefully giving people an actionable tip. 601 00:23:36,740 --> 00:23:40,100 So yeah, and then the reports are once a month, 602 00:23:40,100 --> 00:23:43,140 deep dives into something related to the creator economy 603 00:23:43,140 --> 00:23:45,700 that's a clear gap for people to exploit. 604 00:23:45,700 --> 00:23:48,940 Okay, do people have the opportunity to like, 605 00:23:48,940 --> 00:23:51,540 you have like a poll or something that helps guide 606 00:23:51,540 --> 00:23:53,700 what you're gonna talk about? 607 00:23:53,700 --> 00:23:58,460 My poll right now is just LinkedIn direct messages. 608 00:23:58,460 --> 00:24:01,260 I probably get like 20 or 30 a day 609 00:24:01,260 --> 00:24:02,780 and just lots of conversations 610 00:24:02,780 --> 00:24:04,620 and the conversations that keep happening. 611 00:24:04,620 --> 00:24:06,140 People that are listening can reach you there. 612 00:24:06,140 --> 00:24:07,700 On LinkedIn, you're cool with that? 613 00:24:07,700 --> 00:24:08,580 Yeah, I'm cool with that. 614 00:24:08,580 --> 00:24:09,420 So send me a message. 615 00:24:09,420 --> 00:24:11,420 So I can ask you for things and all that. 616 00:24:11,420 --> 00:24:15,460 Exactly, yeah, because I have a notion doc right now 617 00:24:15,460 --> 00:24:17,620 with probably the next, I don't know, 618 00:24:17,620 --> 00:24:21,100 maybe 50 or so ideas that I have. 619 00:24:21,100 --> 00:24:23,940 And those come straight from questions people have asked me. 620 00:24:23,940 --> 00:24:25,700 I have one for you if that's okay. 621 00:24:25,700 --> 00:24:26,540 Absolutely. 622 00:24:26,540 --> 00:24:28,140 This is cool, I got that VIP seat. 623 00:24:28,140 --> 00:24:28,980 Yes, you do. 624 00:24:28,980 --> 00:24:30,820 For this process, just by hosting you. 625 00:24:30,820 --> 00:24:34,380 So I've got a client and her name's Jennifer. 626 00:24:34,380 --> 00:24:38,540 She's got a book program called Music Helps Me Learn. 627 00:24:38,540 --> 00:24:43,340 And it's helping infants, toddlers, two to three, 628 00:24:43,340 --> 00:24:44,780 actually learn to read. 629 00:24:44,780 --> 00:24:47,660 I'll learn the basic three steps of reading at those stages 630 00:24:47,660 --> 00:24:50,380 through the music and the book combination, right? 631 00:24:50,380 --> 00:24:54,300 Now, I'm asking partly just as a nerdy scientist guy too, 632 00:24:54,300 --> 00:24:57,220 like, okay, I've seen a shift take place with COVID 633 00:24:57,220 --> 00:24:58,700 and kids as well. 634 00:24:58,700 --> 00:25:02,100 You know, my child was born during COVID. 635 00:25:02,100 --> 00:25:03,260 Congratulations. 636 00:25:03,260 --> 00:25:04,940 Thank you, my fourth. 637 00:25:04,940 --> 00:25:08,660 And so, and I've got four kids, three that were older. 638 00:25:08,660 --> 00:25:11,140 Social skills were certainly affected 639 00:25:11,140 --> 00:25:14,140 by the enclosure that took place. 640 00:25:14,140 --> 00:25:17,180 And then you've got, I've got one child who grew up 641 00:25:17,180 --> 00:25:19,220 watching everybody with masks 642 00:25:19,220 --> 00:25:20,900 for the first two years of her life. 643 00:25:20,900 --> 00:25:25,180 And what types of educational research trends 644 00:25:25,180 --> 00:25:26,820 would we likely overlook? 645 00:25:26,820 --> 00:25:27,940 You know, there's the basics. 646 00:25:27,940 --> 00:25:30,460 We can Google stuff, we can ask people, you know, 647 00:25:30,460 --> 00:25:32,460 but what are some of the things that deeper dives 648 00:25:32,460 --> 00:25:35,140 that you would say, Jackson, don't forget to do this. 649 00:25:35,140 --> 00:25:37,700 Jennifer, don't forget to take a look at this. 650 00:25:37,700 --> 00:25:40,620 As we make sure that we're preparing them 651 00:25:40,620 --> 00:25:43,820 to get those books into daycares. 652 00:25:43,820 --> 00:25:46,460 And of course, in the hands of moms and dads too, 653 00:25:46,460 --> 00:25:48,980 to engage with their children. 654 00:25:48,980 --> 00:25:51,220 And you know, what would we do to make sure 655 00:25:51,220 --> 00:25:53,380 we're up to the speed with your research styles? 656 00:25:53,380 --> 00:25:54,340 Yeah, yeah. 657 00:25:54,340 --> 00:25:57,700 So I have a lot of questions to offshoot on that. 658 00:25:57,700 --> 00:26:00,620 So a few questions I might start with are, you know, 659 00:26:00,620 --> 00:26:04,540 what kind of, is this children of all abilities 660 00:26:04,540 --> 00:26:06,780 who are gonna be able to read with this program? 661 00:26:06,780 --> 00:26:08,500 Is it specializing in children 662 00:26:08,500 --> 00:26:11,180 who might have more difficulties than others? 663 00:26:11,180 --> 00:26:13,660 Is it children on the other side of the spectrum 664 00:26:13,660 --> 00:26:18,180 who have already shown some advanced skillsets? 665 00:26:18,180 --> 00:26:19,660 So I think that'd be a question 666 00:26:19,660 --> 00:26:21,500 so we can kind of help narrow that down. 667 00:26:21,500 --> 00:26:24,500 Another question would be the age range of those children 668 00:26:24,500 --> 00:26:27,340 to get really specific down to the, you know, 669 00:26:27,340 --> 00:26:28,300 are we talking about- 670 00:26:28,300 --> 00:26:29,260 Down to the month. 671 00:26:29,260 --> 00:26:30,300 Yeah, exactly. 672 00:26:30,300 --> 00:26:34,620 Like 12 to 18 month, month 14, month 15, 673 00:26:34,620 --> 00:26:36,340 like where are we talking about? 674 00:26:36,340 --> 00:26:41,340 And then from there, question I might go next to is, 675 00:26:41,940 --> 00:26:45,780 okay, who are the influencers for the children 676 00:26:45,780 --> 00:26:47,380 at that stage? 677 00:26:47,380 --> 00:26:49,980 You know, what YouTube channels are they watching? 678 00:26:49,980 --> 00:26:54,300 Just to get an idea of how does that entertainment style 679 00:26:54,300 --> 00:26:56,260 influence the product that you're making? 680 00:26:56,260 --> 00:27:00,820 Like, and then who are the influencers for the parent 681 00:27:00,820 --> 00:27:02,500 who are the target market? 682 00:27:02,500 --> 00:27:05,020 Whether or not that, whether or not their content 683 00:27:05,020 --> 00:27:06,100 is parenting related. 684 00:27:06,100 --> 00:27:07,140 I think that's important. 685 00:27:07,140 --> 00:27:10,020 People get stuck thinking, oh, I'm selling a book to parents. 686 00:27:10,020 --> 00:27:12,240 I have to find other parenting blogs. 687 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,420 You could find cooking blogs that specifically target 688 00:27:15,420 --> 00:27:16,780 to budget minded parents. 689 00:27:16,780 --> 00:27:17,620 They're probably on a budget 690 00:27:17,620 --> 00:27:19,700 because they just added a fourth kid 691 00:27:19,700 --> 00:27:21,860 and now they're trying to understand, you know, 692 00:27:21,860 --> 00:27:23,060 food bills went up a little bit. 693 00:27:23,060 --> 00:27:23,900 How do I- 694 00:27:23,900 --> 00:27:25,860 Always on a budget when you have children. 695 00:27:25,860 --> 00:27:26,700 Always. 696 00:27:26,700 --> 00:27:27,520 Exactly. 697 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:31,540 Or exercise blogs that focus on, you know, mothers 698 00:27:31,540 --> 00:27:34,540 post pregnancy who are trying to get their body back. 699 00:27:34,540 --> 00:27:36,540 Like that's a niche. 700 00:27:36,540 --> 00:27:39,260 And so I would think about the areas that serve that 701 00:27:39,260 --> 00:27:40,980 that aren't directly related. 702 00:27:40,980 --> 00:27:43,380 And then from there, I'd probably do some of that 703 00:27:43,380 --> 00:27:45,460 top hundred questions we've talked about. 704 00:27:45,460 --> 00:27:47,180 What are the questions people have 705 00:27:47,180 --> 00:27:50,020 when they're trying to get their infants to read early? 706 00:27:50,020 --> 00:27:51,940 This sounds like a problem that people have been facing 707 00:27:51,940 --> 00:27:53,140 for a long time. 708 00:27:53,140 --> 00:27:56,180 How can we address those questions in some way, shape 709 00:27:56,180 --> 00:27:58,460 or form through social media, blog content, 710 00:27:58,460 --> 00:27:59,660 so on and so forth. 711 00:27:59,660 --> 00:28:02,460 And then also use those questions to inform our marketing. 712 00:28:02,460 --> 00:28:05,900 And so, yeah, I feel like that's a good starting point. 713 00:28:05,900 --> 00:28:09,760 And then you just kind of follow the threads from there. 714 00:28:09,760 --> 00:28:10,600 I love it. 715 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:11,420 I love it. 716 00:28:11,420 --> 00:28:14,420 So yeah, once you've defined that audience more clearly 717 00:28:14,420 --> 00:28:16,900 then it's much easier to go about figuring out 718 00:28:16,900 --> 00:28:19,140 what the questions are that they have. 719 00:28:19,140 --> 00:28:22,580 If you start too broad, you know, to begin with 720 00:28:22,580 --> 00:28:25,100 and then the questions you're getting, you know, 721 00:28:25,100 --> 00:28:27,660 it's a hundred questions may sound like a lot 722 00:28:27,660 --> 00:28:30,220 but it's amazing how fast, you know, 723 00:28:30,220 --> 00:28:35,220 you can have 100 questions about Scott's toilet paper. 724 00:28:35,700 --> 00:28:36,620 Yes. 725 00:28:36,620 --> 00:28:40,300 You know, like that one, that one roll of toilet paper 726 00:28:40,300 --> 00:28:41,700 you can come up with a hundred questions. 727 00:28:41,700 --> 00:28:42,540 Yeah. 728 00:28:42,540 --> 00:28:47,020 And if you spend a day, one, answer one question a day 729 00:28:47,020 --> 00:28:48,340 in depth, right? 730 00:28:48,340 --> 00:28:51,980 In three months, you could have the most authoritative site 731 00:28:51,980 --> 00:28:54,820 or social platform for that topic. 732 00:28:54,820 --> 00:28:56,940 It's, we're not talking about three years of development. 733 00:28:56,940 --> 00:28:59,740 We're talking about, you know, a fast. 734 00:28:59,740 --> 00:29:00,580 Right. 735 00:29:00,580 --> 00:29:02,220 I'm with you on that because, and it really, 736 00:29:02,220 --> 00:29:03,500 it's symptomatic. 737 00:29:03,500 --> 00:29:06,220 Maybe that's not the word, but it's representative 738 00:29:06,220 --> 00:29:08,060 of the market we live in, 739 00:29:08,060 --> 00:29:11,820 which doesn't tend to gravitate towards, 740 00:29:11,820 --> 00:29:15,020 I would say a lot of the market is manipulating authority. 741 00:29:15,020 --> 00:29:15,860 Yeah. 742 00:29:15,860 --> 00:29:16,860 I don't know if that's fair to say, 743 00:29:16,860 --> 00:29:18,260 but that's what I would say. 744 00:29:18,260 --> 00:29:20,820 Is I see a lot of manipulation of the market taking place 745 00:29:20,820 --> 00:29:24,580 where people are demanding that they have authority 746 00:29:24,580 --> 00:29:26,980 or trying to force the issue of authority 747 00:29:26,980 --> 00:29:29,820 rather than actually doing the research 748 00:29:29,820 --> 00:29:33,300 that gives them strength without force, right? 749 00:29:33,300 --> 00:29:36,580 The ability to be strong without making it 750 00:29:36,580 --> 00:29:37,860 so boldly well-known. 751 00:29:37,860 --> 00:29:39,780 I don't know. How would you frame that? 752 00:29:39,780 --> 00:29:41,940 I feel like you're on the right track. 753 00:29:41,940 --> 00:29:45,500 Authority is something earned, not taken. 754 00:29:45,500 --> 00:29:49,780 And so when you, you know, this is why people often hate 755 00:29:49,780 --> 00:29:52,820 on paid advertising because, you know, 756 00:29:52,820 --> 00:29:55,060 it obviously makes money, 757 00:29:55,060 --> 00:29:58,100 but people don't always like to be sold that way, 758 00:29:58,100 --> 00:30:01,540 but give a blog that they've been reading for a year, 759 00:30:01,540 --> 00:30:03,300 they'll pay for your course in a heartbeat 760 00:30:03,300 --> 00:30:04,820 because you've earned that. 761 00:30:04,820 --> 00:30:07,980 And so obviously like there's a big time difference there 762 00:30:07,980 --> 00:30:12,900 and so on, but the more you can do to be that trusted figure 763 00:30:12,900 --> 00:30:15,540 and show up more often and you know, 764 00:30:15,540 --> 00:30:18,020 that authority is like, it pays the bills. 765 00:30:18,020 --> 00:30:20,660 Yeah, like the more you love that. 766 00:30:20,660 --> 00:30:22,900 So we actually, you and I get to combine now 767 00:30:22,900 --> 00:30:26,620 on a contrarian notion, which is that of advertising. 768 00:30:26,620 --> 00:30:29,340 You describe advertising was most people know it. 769 00:30:29,340 --> 00:30:32,340 That's the problem is when people are trying to advertise 770 00:30:32,340 --> 00:30:34,500 in a way that sells and convinces. 771 00:30:34,500 --> 00:30:35,340 Right. 772 00:30:35,340 --> 00:30:38,100 Elon Musk just last week posted, 773 00:30:38,100 --> 00:30:40,740 maybe it's been two weeks, my weeks go super fast, 774 00:30:40,740 --> 00:30:45,740 but he posted about an ad done by Vogue 775 00:30:45,820 --> 00:30:47,540 that blew his mind. 776 00:30:47,540 --> 00:30:50,740 And keep in mind, Elon Musk does not advertise. 777 00:30:50,740 --> 00:30:51,580 Right. 778 00:30:51,580 --> 00:30:54,340 They have zero budget, zero advertising budget at Tesla. 779 00:30:54,340 --> 00:30:57,180 They've done everything through PR, marketing and media. 780 00:30:57,180 --> 00:30:59,420 Like that's how they choose to grow. 781 00:30:59,420 --> 00:31:02,300 What he was talking about was when you use, 782 00:31:02,300 --> 00:31:06,380 when you utilize advertising with the same respectful 783 00:31:06,380 --> 00:31:10,940 constraints that a natural conversation, that an authentic, 784 00:31:10,940 --> 00:31:12,940 like you said, what did you say about authority? 785 00:31:12,940 --> 00:31:14,620 You said it really clearly, I loved it. 786 00:31:14,620 --> 00:31:15,460 It's earned. 787 00:31:15,460 --> 00:31:16,700 That it's earned, not taken. 788 00:31:16,700 --> 00:31:19,780 It's earned, not taken when it's proper authority. 789 00:31:19,780 --> 00:31:22,420 That's pro that's authority that's going to last. 790 00:31:22,420 --> 00:31:23,260 Exactly. 791 00:31:23,260 --> 00:31:25,300 Right. And that people have a respect for. 792 00:31:25,300 --> 00:31:28,340 And so that's ultimately what he did by posting that tweet 793 00:31:28,340 --> 00:31:29,620 about that particular ad. 794 00:31:29,620 --> 00:31:33,140 He was like, whoa, like this really pulls at the heartstrings 795 00:31:33,140 --> 00:31:36,540 here and provides a depth of value 796 00:31:36,540 --> 00:31:38,620 that makes it super successful. 797 00:31:38,620 --> 00:31:42,140 So my challenge to entrepreneurs would be the, 798 00:31:42,140 --> 00:31:43,860 the thing that has changed, 799 00:31:43,860 --> 00:31:47,220 the unique mechanism that has changed is 20 years ago, 800 00:31:47,220 --> 00:31:49,500 you had to spend a ton of money in advertising 801 00:31:49,500 --> 00:31:51,220 in order to test that medium. 802 00:31:51,220 --> 00:31:52,940 And you had to throw the whole kitchen sink at it. 803 00:31:52,940 --> 00:31:56,060 Nowadays you can spend a few dollars 804 00:31:56,060 --> 00:31:59,460 and on those few dollars, you can test your message 805 00:31:59,460 --> 00:32:01,900 on an audience that's designed to hate you. 806 00:32:02,980 --> 00:32:04,780 They hate ads. 807 00:32:04,780 --> 00:32:07,540 So if you can test that on an audience that's designed 808 00:32:07,540 --> 00:32:11,420 to preemptively not like what you say and they like it, 809 00:32:11,420 --> 00:32:14,140 that's indicative of how powerful that message will be 810 00:32:14,140 --> 00:32:15,380 with your warm audience. 811 00:32:15,380 --> 00:32:16,260 Exactly. 812 00:32:16,260 --> 00:32:19,340 And so you can leverage both to then be able to say, okay, 813 00:32:19,340 --> 00:32:21,140 well, let me test on a market that, 814 00:32:21,140 --> 00:32:23,460 and let me not offend my existing market 815 00:32:23,460 --> 00:32:24,820 by testing something. 816 00:32:24,820 --> 00:32:27,300 Let me do some more research on an unknown market. 817 00:32:27,300 --> 00:32:30,540 And then let me bring that message to those who lovingly 818 00:32:30,540 --> 00:32:33,900 follow me on a regular basis and gift them with the treasure 819 00:32:33,900 --> 00:32:34,820 that I've created. 820 00:32:34,820 --> 00:32:39,020 No, I think it is not the smartest path 821 00:32:39,020 --> 00:32:42,100 that a lot of solopreneurs use it as a badge of honor 822 00:32:42,100 --> 00:32:44,900 that they've never paid to grow. 823 00:32:44,900 --> 00:32:46,900 And as a guy- 824 00:32:46,900 --> 00:32:49,140 One of the biggest indicators to me that they're not growing. 825 00:32:49,140 --> 00:32:50,140 Exactly. 826 00:32:50,140 --> 00:32:53,660 As a guy who specializes in organic growth, 827 00:32:53,660 --> 00:32:54,620 I super value it. 828 00:32:54,620 --> 00:32:56,580 I know how to play this game well. 829 00:32:56,580 --> 00:32:59,100 And that's why I spend most of my time and money 830 00:32:59,100 --> 00:33:00,980 in the arena where I know I can win. 831 00:33:01,900 --> 00:33:05,140 But I also know that it takes me a while to win. 832 00:33:05,140 --> 00:33:07,620 I can win big, but it's gonna take me a time horizon 833 00:33:07,620 --> 00:33:09,500 that some people aren't comfortable with. 834 00:33:09,500 --> 00:33:11,020 And ads can shorten that. 835 00:33:11,020 --> 00:33:14,340 Man, let's go back to your subject too on this badge of honor. 836 00:33:14,340 --> 00:33:17,220 One of the badge of honors that I hear often is, 837 00:33:17,220 --> 00:33:20,500 my business grows through referrals. 838 00:33:20,500 --> 00:33:24,260 I get a ton of referrals and the opposite view of that is, 839 00:33:24,260 --> 00:33:25,700 well, wait a second. 840 00:33:25,700 --> 00:33:29,820 That means you're not good at converting strangers 841 00:33:29,820 --> 00:33:30,660 to buy from you. 842 00:33:32,460 --> 00:33:34,140 If you're only good at referrals, 843 00:33:34,140 --> 00:33:35,820 you may have become great at that, 844 00:33:35,820 --> 00:33:39,300 but you're ignoring your ability to influence 845 00:33:39,300 --> 00:33:40,340 the strangers out there, 846 00:33:40,340 --> 00:33:43,580 which means your content isn't great online. 847 00:33:43,580 --> 00:33:45,060 It's not attracting anybody. 848 00:33:45,060 --> 00:33:46,780 And you're underserving your existing market 849 00:33:46,780 --> 00:33:49,260 and your referral market by not fixing that, right? 850 00:33:49,260 --> 00:33:51,180 So back to your subject too, 851 00:33:51,180 --> 00:33:53,940 both of those matters come into hand. 852 00:33:53,940 --> 00:33:58,340 I wish more people understood the value of great content. 853 00:33:58,340 --> 00:34:00,020 I don't think content's king. 854 00:34:00,020 --> 00:34:03,100 I think great content is king. 855 00:34:03,100 --> 00:34:06,260 So what else would you like to, you know what? 856 00:34:06,260 --> 00:34:09,260 I don't know, I have one more pointed question. 857 00:34:09,260 --> 00:34:11,180 You do all this research. 858 00:34:11,180 --> 00:34:13,780 Sometimes researchers are looked at as mad scientists 859 00:34:13,780 --> 00:34:15,660 who aren't very personable, 860 00:34:15,660 --> 00:34:19,780 yet you're doing this research with your audience in mind, 861 00:34:19,780 --> 00:34:21,500 thinking of the market. 862 00:34:21,500 --> 00:34:24,300 Is this a nurture play or you have a nurture in nature 863 00:34:24,300 --> 00:34:27,140 or is this more like you just love the data? 864 00:34:27,140 --> 00:34:27,980 I'm just kidding. 865 00:34:29,300 --> 00:34:30,420 That's a great question. 866 00:34:30,420 --> 00:34:34,780 So circling back to our very first question, 867 00:34:34,780 --> 00:34:37,340 when I worked in higher ed and I wanted to be a professor, 868 00:34:37,340 --> 00:34:42,340 my dream day is reading about nerdy things 869 00:34:42,580 --> 00:34:45,100 and then helping people understand and apply that. 870 00:34:45,100 --> 00:34:46,460 That's my dream day. 871 00:34:46,460 --> 00:34:48,180 And so when people are like, 872 00:34:48,180 --> 00:34:51,420 oh, how do you get good at research and stuff 873 00:34:51,420 --> 00:34:52,540 and writing and all that? 874 00:34:52,540 --> 00:34:54,300 Well, first of all, I enjoy it. 875 00:34:54,300 --> 00:34:58,180 So it's not like that I'm outworking the other people 876 00:34:58,180 --> 00:35:01,020 in my niche because I can work on this 877 00:35:01,020 --> 00:35:02,220 for eight, 10 hours a day. 878 00:35:02,220 --> 00:35:04,740 And I'm just as thrilled the next day 879 00:35:04,740 --> 00:35:06,180 to get up and do it again. 880 00:35:06,180 --> 00:35:08,500 Is it right there, there's an advantage. 881 00:35:08,500 --> 00:35:11,740 And then the fact that I can give this to people 882 00:35:11,740 --> 00:35:13,660 and then they can actually grow their business 883 00:35:13,660 --> 00:35:15,300 and make money and what I've seen like, 884 00:35:15,300 --> 00:35:17,020 oh, this light bulb comes on. 885 00:35:17,020 --> 00:35:19,220 I didn't know that that's a technique or strategy 886 00:35:19,220 --> 00:35:21,540 I should be applying to my thing. 887 00:35:22,580 --> 00:35:27,580 That's just, there is no secret end to what I'm doing. 888 00:35:27,580 --> 00:35:30,860 The end is the incentivize that I want to do this 889 00:35:30,860 --> 00:35:32,620 for people and I wanna see them win with it. 890 00:35:32,620 --> 00:35:35,260 And that's just gonna make me better at what I do. 891 00:35:35,260 --> 00:35:37,900 And so why do I care? 892 00:35:37,900 --> 00:35:41,580 It's because I enjoy, selfishly, I really enjoy winning 893 00:35:41,580 --> 00:35:44,580 and I wanna prove to people that my ideas work 894 00:35:44,580 --> 00:35:46,780 and I prove them by helping them win. 895 00:35:46,780 --> 00:35:48,620 So it's a win-win all around. 896 00:35:48,620 --> 00:35:49,460 It is. 897 00:35:49,460 --> 00:35:50,820 Well, and you nailed something 898 00:35:50,820 --> 00:35:52,620 that is hard for people to figure out. 899 00:35:52,620 --> 00:35:55,340 And that you said you get satisfaction 900 00:35:55,340 --> 00:35:59,060 out of seeing that light bulb go on too in their head. 901 00:35:59,060 --> 00:36:01,260 So there is a part of you that's unselfish in that. 902 00:36:01,260 --> 00:36:03,340 And you're like, you see it, you feel it. 903 00:36:03,340 --> 00:36:06,300 Yes, it's always that win-win mentality. 904 00:36:06,300 --> 00:36:08,940 It's that the more you give, the more you get. 905 00:36:08,940 --> 00:36:12,820 So where did, do you remember your first couple 906 00:36:12,820 --> 00:36:15,220 of light bulb moments with people that, 907 00:36:16,340 --> 00:36:18,300 do you wanna share any of those stories? 908 00:36:18,300 --> 00:36:19,380 That's interesting. 909 00:36:19,380 --> 00:36:24,380 Yeah, I think, man, I've had a lot of light bulb moments 910 00:36:24,380 --> 00:36:25,220 over the years. 911 00:36:25,220 --> 00:36:26,060 I bet. 912 00:36:26,060 --> 00:36:26,900 I'm trying to think of like some of the standout ones. 913 00:36:26,900 --> 00:36:28,740 They're growing exponentially at this point. 914 00:36:28,740 --> 00:36:30,940 Yeah, I mean, so we talked a little bit. 915 00:36:30,940 --> 00:36:32,260 So I have two masters. 916 00:36:32,260 --> 00:36:36,260 And so the second one I did, because I heard, 917 00:36:36,260 --> 00:36:39,500 I discovered something called competency-based learning. 918 00:36:39,500 --> 00:36:40,860 I thought it was interesting. 919 00:36:40,860 --> 00:36:44,460 And so I did my second master's degree in 84 days, 920 00:36:44,460 --> 00:36:46,020 which to most people sounds ridiculous 921 00:36:46,020 --> 00:36:48,420 because master's degrees take at least a year 922 00:36:48,420 --> 00:36:50,700 and all this money and so on. 923 00:36:50,700 --> 00:36:53,820 But there's models of accredited programs 924 00:36:53,820 --> 00:36:55,860 that are different than other ones. 925 00:36:55,860 --> 00:36:58,500 And so I started telling other people 926 00:36:58,500 --> 00:37:00,540 who were thinking about going back to grad school, 927 00:37:00,540 --> 00:37:03,500 like, oh, you don't need to pay $30,000 928 00:37:03,500 --> 00:37:04,820 and take two years of your life. 929 00:37:04,820 --> 00:37:07,780 Find a school that's competency-based. 930 00:37:07,780 --> 00:37:10,420 And you can see them going like, what do you mean? 931 00:37:10,420 --> 00:37:14,580 Like, you know, they've never seen that before. 932 00:37:15,580 --> 00:37:18,660 And then same thing for when I started doing SEO work 933 00:37:18,660 --> 00:37:19,780 for SaaS companies. 934 00:37:19,780 --> 00:37:22,860 You know, a lot of them felt like they had to compete 935 00:37:22,860 --> 00:37:26,460 with the hub spots of the world to get an audience 936 00:37:26,460 --> 00:37:30,380 and gain traction for whatever their project was. 937 00:37:30,380 --> 00:37:34,900 And so I did some very light consulting with these people. 938 00:37:34,900 --> 00:37:36,460 Like usually the entrepreneurs, 939 00:37:36,460 --> 00:37:39,940 maybe they had a team of one or two already other engineers. 940 00:37:39,940 --> 00:37:41,380 And so I would just give them, hey, 941 00:37:41,380 --> 00:37:44,780 like here's the first 10 articles you write 942 00:37:44,780 --> 00:37:46,780 about your project. 943 00:37:46,780 --> 00:37:50,940 Just, this is it, just do this and you'll see traffic. 944 00:37:50,940 --> 00:37:54,580 And you could just see like their face go, 945 00:37:54,580 --> 00:37:55,420 but that's it? 946 00:37:55,420 --> 00:37:56,740 Like that's it. 947 00:37:56,740 --> 00:37:59,980 I'm like, yeah, like we don't need to recreate the wheel. 948 00:37:59,980 --> 00:38:02,580 Like you don't need to compete at level 10 949 00:38:02,580 --> 00:38:03,700 when you're a level one company. 950 00:38:03,700 --> 00:38:07,460 You compete with your arena and then you move up slowly. 951 00:38:07,460 --> 00:38:09,580 And so I really like, 952 00:38:09,580 --> 00:38:11,220 I think kind of the common thread 953 00:38:11,220 --> 00:38:16,940 in both of those examples is just the simplicity. 954 00:38:16,940 --> 00:38:19,060 Like we overcomplicate so many things. 955 00:38:19,060 --> 00:38:23,260 I think what research has shown me is that, you know, 956 00:38:23,260 --> 00:38:25,940 the overcomplication is usually there to make a buck 957 00:38:25,940 --> 00:38:27,580 somewhere down the road. 958 00:38:27,580 --> 00:38:29,740 So I try to come in and say, no, no, no, no. 959 00:38:29,740 --> 00:38:33,500 Like it is, this is the option that most people know about 960 00:38:33,500 --> 00:38:34,860 because they're making the most money 961 00:38:34,860 --> 00:38:37,380 and making sure they're the loudest voice in the room. 962 00:38:37,380 --> 00:38:40,660 But the simpler options are almost always there 963 00:38:40,660 --> 00:38:43,140 for almost any category you're looking at. 964 00:38:43,140 --> 00:38:44,740 Wow, that's awesome. 965 00:38:44,740 --> 00:38:47,500 And you mentioned competency-based education. 966 00:38:47,500 --> 00:38:48,500 If you have children out there, 967 00:38:48,500 --> 00:38:52,140 this is something to probably be aware of. 968 00:38:52,140 --> 00:38:53,900 I might be getting this concept wrong, 969 00:38:53,900 --> 00:38:56,100 but it reminds me of the movie August Rush. 970 00:38:57,260 --> 00:38:58,740 I saw when I was a teenager, 971 00:38:58,740 --> 00:39:00,700 this kid basically goes to Juilliard 972 00:39:00,700 --> 00:39:02,500 as a child prodigy of music. 973 00:39:02,500 --> 00:39:04,460 And Robin Williams is this homeless guy 974 00:39:04,460 --> 00:39:06,580 that's got his own like musician stuff. 975 00:39:06,580 --> 00:39:08,940 And he goes in there and he starts yelling 976 00:39:08,940 --> 00:39:10,140 at the Juilliard people, like, 977 00:39:10,140 --> 00:39:12,500 you're gonna destroy this kid's musical talent 978 00:39:12,500 --> 00:39:14,140 by trying to fit him in a box, 979 00:39:15,020 --> 00:39:17,420 versus allowing him to explore and express himself. 980 00:39:17,420 --> 00:39:20,340 Now, how does that tie into competency-based education? 981 00:39:20,340 --> 00:39:23,020 If I'm correct, you're saying that if we took a kid 982 00:39:23,020 --> 00:39:24,620 that had that type of talent, 983 00:39:24,620 --> 00:39:27,260 or we took a coder who's dedicated themselves 984 00:39:27,260 --> 00:39:28,860 throughout his teenage years 985 00:39:28,860 --> 00:39:31,820 to being able to code really well, 986 00:39:31,820 --> 00:39:34,980 there's a fast track to be able to help them get the degree 987 00:39:34,980 --> 00:39:37,580 to showcase I'm already at this level 988 00:39:38,620 --> 00:39:39,820 and then build beyond that. 989 00:39:39,820 --> 00:39:40,740 Is that correct? 990 00:39:40,740 --> 00:39:41,860 Exactly, yes. 991 00:39:41,860 --> 00:39:45,780 Because education should be about skill acquisition, 992 00:39:45,780 --> 00:39:47,300 not time spent in a chair. 993 00:39:47,300 --> 00:39:49,860 That's got to be on the growth trend right now 994 00:39:49,860 --> 00:39:51,700 with the way that education's being crushed 995 00:39:51,700 --> 00:39:54,020 by online education resources 996 00:39:54,020 --> 00:39:56,020 and online courses and all that. 997 00:39:56,020 --> 00:39:57,340 I imagine that's on the rise. 998 00:39:57,340 --> 00:39:58,260 Is that correct too? 999 00:39:58,260 --> 00:40:00,260 Yeah, so like one of my pet peeves, 1000 00:40:00,260 --> 00:40:02,420 and actually my next research article 1001 00:40:02,420 --> 00:40:04,780 is gonna be about online education, 1002 00:40:05,740 --> 00:40:08,460 is that there's just this gap. 1003 00:40:08,460 --> 00:40:12,380 There's so many things that higher education doesn't do, 1004 00:40:12,380 --> 00:40:14,300 and also that online courses don't do. 1005 00:40:14,300 --> 00:40:17,380 And there's just this giant thing online that says, 1006 00:40:17,380 --> 00:40:20,820 hey, if we could make an online education system 1007 00:40:20,820 --> 00:40:24,300 that was as valued as a higher education degree 1008 00:40:24,300 --> 00:40:26,900 and as simple and affordable as online courses, 1009 00:40:26,900 --> 00:40:29,900 like the game would be over for several years 1010 00:40:29,900 --> 00:40:32,340 because they would win so big. 1011 00:40:32,340 --> 00:40:35,140 And like that's winning with a big B 1012 00:40:35,140 --> 00:40:37,380 in terms of there probably would be a billion dollar company. 1013 00:40:37,380 --> 00:40:39,620 There's a lot of ways for individual course creators 1014 00:40:39,620 --> 00:40:42,620 and so on to come in and pick away 1015 00:40:42,620 --> 00:40:44,460 at the opportunities that are there 1016 00:40:44,460 --> 00:40:46,340 that no one is accessing 1017 00:40:46,340 --> 00:40:48,220 because we're all distracted by, 1018 00:40:48,220 --> 00:40:50,260 this is how an online course should be. 1019 00:40:50,260 --> 00:40:52,460 This is why higher ed is more valuable 1020 00:40:52,460 --> 00:40:53,780 than online courses and so on. 1021 00:40:53,780 --> 00:40:57,100 And we're having the same old conversations 1022 00:40:57,100 --> 00:40:59,860 when really people just want to get paid more. 1023 00:40:59,860 --> 00:41:01,380 They want to learn the skills. 1024 00:41:01,380 --> 00:41:05,620 And if we can serve that in a way that no one else is, 1025 00:41:05,620 --> 00:41:06,980 you're gonna win. 1026 00:41:06,980 --> 00:41:08,460 Well, I love that. 1027 00:41:08,460 --> 00:41:10,980 It's kind of the difference between realizing to, 1028 00:41:10,980 --> 00:41:12,860 this is not something that everybody can do, 1029 00:41:12,860 --> 00:41:16,220 but it's kind of the difference in debating politics all day 1030 00:41:16,220 --> 00:41:17,980 versus running for office. 1031 00:41:17,980 --> 00:41:18,820 Yes. 1032 00:41:18,820 --> 00:41:20,180 And saying, you know what? 1033 00:41:20,180 --> 00:41:22,340 I need to put these skills to use 1034 00:41:22,340 --> 00:41:24,620 rather than talk my neighbor's ear off all day. 1035 00:41:24,620 --> 00:41:25,460 Yes. 1036 00:41:25,460 --> 00:41:26,300 Right? 1037 00:41:26,300 --> 00:41:29,140 And so we won't dive too far down the political spectrum. 1038 00:41:29,140 --> 00:41:30,540 We actually talked about that up front. 1039 00:41:30,540 --> 00:41:31,380 Yeah, we did. 1040 00:41:31,380 --> 00:41:32,220 Oh my God. 1041 00:41:33,300 --> 00:41:34,620 Full circle. 1042 00:41:34,620 --> 00:41:36,780 Yeah, exactly, for real. 1043 00:41:36,780 --> 00:41:39,300 But man, this has been such a pleasure. 1044 00:41:39,300 --> 00:41:41,340 And I really appreciate you coming on. 1045 00:41:41,340 --> 00:41:45,220 We've got, go connect with David Ramos on LinkedIn. 1046 00:41:45,220 --> 00:41:48,500 You can send him messages on there about research projects. 1047 00:41:48,500 --> 00:41:52,540 Go check out his newsletter as well, ramoswriter.com. 1048 00:41:52,540 --> 00:41:54,180 Fantastic place to go and check it out. 1049 00:41:54,180 --> 00:41:56,140 We'll put these of course in the show notes as well, 1050 00:41:56,140 --> 00:41:56,980 Vision Pros. 1051 00:41:56,980 --> 00:41:58,340 I mean, just know that, you know, 1052 00:41:58,340 --> 00:41:59,820 from my perspective in business, 1053 00:41:59,820 --> 00:42:01,820 from his perspective in business, 1054 00:42:01,820 --> 00:42:05,380 what you will save yourself in terms of time, 1055 00:42:05,380 --> 00:42:08,060 resources and money by truly looking 1056 00:42:08,060 --> 00:42:09,900 at what your market needs, 1057 00:42:09,900 --> 00:42:12,180 by asking the right questions, finding them all. 1058 00:42:12,180 --> 00:42:13,020 And then of course, 1059 00:42:13,020 --> 00:42:15,100 answering them in ways that people can get 1060 00:42:15,100 --> 00:42:16,460 from point A to point B, 1061 00:42:16,460 --> 00:42:18,220 not necessarily point A to point Z, 1062 00:42:18,220 --> 00:42:20,940 will help you so much with scaling your brand out 1063 00:42:20,940 --> 00:42:22,540 and building and establishing the authority 1064 00:42:22,540 --> 00:42:24,100 that David has blessed us to know. 1065 00:42:24,100 --> 00:42:27,380 We need to all be focused on constantly earning 1066 00:42:27,380 --> 00:42:28,200 with our markets. 1067 00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:29,820 So David, thanks so much for being here today. 1068 00:42:29,820 --> 00:42:30,660 We really appreciate you. 1069 00:42:30,660 --> 00:42:31,700 Thank you so much, Jackson. 1070 00:42:31,700 --> 00:42:33,180 This has been fantastic. 1071 00:42:33,180 --> 00:42:34,940 And I hope everyone listening to this 1072 00:42:34,940 --> 00:42:37,020 got some value and I reminded that 1073 00:42:37,020 --> 00:42:38,500 you're already on the right track. 1074 00:42:38,500 --> 00:42:40,660 You just need the data to support that. 1075 00:42:40,660 --> 00:42:41,500 Absolutely. 1076 00:42:41,500 --> 00:42:43,540 Vision Pros, you guys have a fantastic rest of your evening. 1077 00:42:43,540 --> 00:42:45,420 We will see you tomorrow for the next episode. 1078 00:42:45,420 --> 00:43:08,420 Everybody take care.