WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.919 Please share with me your first, last name, where 00:00:02.919 --> 00:00:06.320 you're located, and the name of your business 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:08.880 and or books you have written and anything else 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:10.900 you've done. Oh, wow. That's going to take a 00:00:10.900 --> 00:00:16.059 while then. My name is Michael Dillon. I'm founder 00:00:16.059 --> 00:00:18.699 and president of Paperback Expert. I'm currently 00:00:18.699 --> 00:00:22.379 just south of Lexington, Kentucky in a beautiful 00:00:22.379 --> 00:00:25.690 suburb. And books I've written, well, the first 00:00:25.690 --> 00:00:27.949 one, the biggest one, the one that started it 00:00:27.949 --> 00:00:32.109 all is on marketing. The Definitive Guide for 00:00:32.109 --> 00:00:34.710 Small Business Owners. That book changed my life 00:00:34.710 --> 00:00:37.289 and really set me on trajectory for my vision 00:00:37.289 --> 00:00:41.090 for the future. Since then, I've written, I think, 00:00:41.130 --> 00:00:43.750 seven or eight other books, mostly around marketing 00:00:43.750 --> 00:00:47.189 for different verticals and things. But that 00:00:47.189 --> 00:00:50.960 is the book that started it all. I love it. And 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:53.600 it's called On Marketing. How long ago did you 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:58.240 write that one? I wrote that in 2013. Nice, nice. 00:00:58.460 --> 00:01:02.579 Okay. And then six or seven others? Six or seven 00:01:02.579 --> 00:01:04.560 others, usually for the verticals that we're 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:07.079 in. So for financial advisors or attorneys and 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:13.719 things of that nature. I wrote one for men to 00:01:13.719 --> 00:01:17.640 prepare their wives for the day that the husband 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:21.519 dies. Oh, wow. It's called Walking With Your 00:01:21.519 --> 00:01:25.560 Widow. And yeah, there's a there's a whole story 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:27.739 behind that as well. But I wrote that about three 00:01:27.739 --> 00:01:32.079 years ago. And but anyway. Yeah, that one that 00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:34.659 that's very intriguing right there. Because you 00:01:34.659 --> 00:01:36.760 can talk about that if you like. I'm happy to 00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:38.799 talk about that one. It's just something that's 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:41.700 rarely ever spoken about in that aspect. You 00:01:41.700 --> 00:01:45.319 know, I love that. For the name of the business, 00:01:45.500 --> 00:01:49.019 Paperback Expert. Please share with me. Tell 00:01:49.019 --> 00:01:51.939 us a little bit more what that means and what 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:55.140 that is. Sure. So we are a professional book 00:01:55.140 --> 00:01:59.780 publisher for busy entrepreneurs. And our contention, 00:01:59.780 --> 00:02:02.879 our belief is that business owners are experts 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:06.819 at what they do. But there's so much competition 00:02:06.819 --> 00:02:09.419 and there's so many people doing what you do, 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:11.280 whether you're an attorney or a financial advisor 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:15.099 or a plumber. How do you separate yourself from 00:02:15.099 --> 00:02:18.259 all of your competitors? And one of the best 00:02:18.259 --> 00:02:20.979 ways to do that is to become a published author. 00:02:21.219 --> 00:02:27.360 Because in our culture, experts have books. And 00:02:27.360 --> 00:02:31.699 so we help busy entrepreneurs create a book without 00:02:31.699 --> 00:02:34.620 writing a word. And then we teach them how to 00:02:34.620 --> 00:02:37.740 use their book to gain clients because then they 00:02:37.740 --> 00:02:42.520 are a paperback expert because they have a paperback 00:02:42.520 --> 00:02:49.199 book. Yes, I love that. And I see a lot of business 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:52.919 owners, entrepreneurs, and even C -suite individuals 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:56.340 are now writing books because they're experts 00:02:56.340 --> 00:02:59.919 in it. How did you get into this? Hey, that's 00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:01.900 a great question. So I started my company after 00:03:01.900 --> 00:03:05.419 I escaped from prison. And so it wasn't a literal 00:03:05.419 --> 00:03:09.199 prison, okay? It was an emotional prison. So 00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:13.840 let me take you back a few years, okay? And this 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:15.280 will take about three minutes, okay? But I'm 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:16.300 going to tell you my whole story, and you're 00:03:16.300 --> 00:03:17.800 going to understand who I am, what I do, and 00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:20.139 why I do it. So first of all, I'm a follower 00:03:20.139 --> 00:03:23.360 of Jesus Christ. I've been married to my wife, 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:27.199 Jill, since 1990. And the first five years of 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:29.909 our marriage were like this. OK, we're complete 00:03:29.909 --> 00:03:32.669 opposites. And even though Jill and I both grew 00:03:32.669 --> 00:03:34.969 up in church, nobody ever taught us how to be 00:03:34.969 --> 00:03:38.050 married. And so after five years of conflict, 00:03:38.150 --> 00:03:41.889 we went to a weekend to remember marriage conference 00:03:41.889 --> 00:03:45.389 that's put on by a ministry called Family Life, 00:03:45.449 --> 00:03:48.650 part of Campus Crusade. And in that weekend, 00:03:48.710 --> 00:03:50.349 they shared with us God's blueprints for marriage. 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:53.180 I didn't know he had blueprints. So we grabbed 00:03:53.180 --> 00:03:54.699 his blueprints. We started applying them. Our 00:03:54.699 --> 00:03:56.620 marriage started getting better. This was in 00:03:56.620 --> 00:04:00.520 the 90s, okay? In the 90s, I was selling Christian 00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:04.240 radio in Indiana to local business owners. And 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:05.919 I found out after two years, nobody wants to 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:09.060 buy Christian radio. They want to sell their 00:04:09.060 --> 00:04:11.460 products and services, right? So I had to get 00:04:11.460 --> 00:04:14.120 really good at marketing. So I followed the gurus 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:15.840 and went to the conferences and read the books 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:18.879 and understood how to do marketing for businesses. 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:22.139 During the 90s, that's what I was doing. We had 00:04:22.139 --> 00:04:25.379 two sons at that time. Then God led us out of 00:04:25.379 --> 00:04:27.779 Christian Radio into a startup .com for about 00:04:27.779 --> 00:04:30.279 two years. And then that company went bankrupt 00:04:30.279 --> 00:04:32.379 because they were way ahead of their time. And 00:04:32.379 --> 00:04:34.660 I said, God, what am I supposed to do now? And 00:04:34.660 --> 00:04:36.879 he said, Michael, I want you in a ministry to 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:40.060 marriages. And I want you at Family Life, that 00:04:40.060 --> 00:04:42.439 ministry that changed our marriage. I said, that's 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:44.920 a great idea. Well, it's a missionary organization. 00:04:45.060 --> 00:04:46.720 So I had to raise my own support for two years. 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:48.180 And we moved from Indiana down to Little Rock, 00:04:48.180 --> 00:04:50.399 Arkansas, joined the Ministry of Family Life. 00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:52.519 They put me in the radio department of all things, 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:56.300 which was great for me. And I love that. Climbed 00:04:56.300 --> 00:04:57.579 the corporate ladder. I was on the leadership 00:04:57.579 --> 00:05:00.579 team after about six years. And then they started 00:05:00.579 --> 00:05:03.379 going through corporate reorganizations. And 00:05:03.379 --> 00:05:05.800 after the third reorganizational chart came out, 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:08.259 my name was no longer on the leadership team. 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:10.839 And so they shuffled me around the ministry to 00:05:10.839 --> 00:05:14.040 do different things. That was a began a two year. 00:05:14.180 --> 00:05:16.980 I call it a prison term because I was in a job 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:20.620 I hated. Yeah. A ministry that I love. Yeah. 00:05:20.980 --> 00:05:22.519 Now, during our time at that ministry, we adopted 00:05:22.519 --> 00:05:24.920 two girls from foster care. And so we've got 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:27.420 four children now. So after two years of being 00:05:27.420 --> 00:05:30.360 in prison, I got fed up. I said, God, I got to 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:32.240 get out of this place. It's killing me. And he 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:33.779 said, what do you want to do, Michael? I said, 00:05:33.779 --> 00:05:35.300 well, I want to go help small business owners 00:05:35.300 --> 00:05:38.019 with marketing because they hate it. They struggle 00:05:38.019 --> 00:05:41.259 with it. And I love it. And he said, OK, go. 00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:46.360 So on January 1st of 2013, I escaped from prison. 00:05:46.819 --> 00:05:49.560 I left the ministry, started a marketing consulting 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:52.040 firm. I come out to you, Javanka, and I say, 00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:53.759 I'm going to help you grow your business. And 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:55.579 you'd meet with me. We'd have a great conversation. 00:05:55.660 --> 00:05:57.540 And you'd say, Michael, this all sounds really 00:05:57.540 --> 00:05:59.540 good. Tell me, who else have you helped in the 00:05:59.540 --> 00:06:02.040 last few years? And I'd say, I've been building 00:06:02.040 --> 00:06:04.899 marriages and families at Family Life. That's 00:06:04.899 --> 00:06:07.060 so honorable, Michael. Way to go. Look at the 00:06:07.060 --> 00:06:09.480 time. I've got another meeting coming up, Michael. 00:06:09.939 --> 00:06:12.439 And you'd usher me out the door. Yes. You did 00:06:12.439 --> 00:06:15.920 not see me as a marketing guy. You saw me as 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:18.699 a ministry guy. Yes. So you didn't hire me. I 00:06:18.699 --> 00:06:20.860 know I had to fix that. Yeah. So I went to my 00:06:20.860 --> 00:06:22.259 church one day. I paced the hallways back and 00:06:22.259 --> 00:06:24.519 forth. I said, God, how in the world do I help 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:27.060 Tavanka? Because I know I can. Yeah. And he gave 00:06:27.060 --> 00:06:28.699 me the idea. He says, Michael, take all of your 00:06:28.699 --> 00:06:33.170 ideas. and put them in a book. And so I did. 00:06:33.250 --> 00:06:37.490 I wrote my first book on marketing back in 2013. 00:06:38.550 --> 00:06:40.310 Then I would call you. I'd set an appointment. 00:06:40.490 --> 00:06:43.329 I'd mail a copy of my book to you. And a week 00:06:43.329 --> 00:06:45.050 later, I'd walk into your office for our meeting. 00:06:45.569 --> 00:06:49.250 There it was. My book was on your desk. Dog -eared, 00:06:49.350 --> 00:06:51.230 highlighted, underlined. You'd read my book. 00:06:51.829 --> 00:06:54.670 And in that meeting, you'd pick up my book. You'd 00:06:54.670 --> 00:06:57.829 say, now, Michael, in your book, you said, how 00:06:57.829 --> 00:07:01.019 do you help me do that? And hire me. And then 00:07:01.019 --> 00:07:02.660 you refer me to somebody and they'd hire me. 00:07:02.660 --> 00:07:05.500 I started gaining clients and I went, wait a 00:07:05.500 --> 00:07:08.100 minute, this is really cool. Why don't business 00:07:08.100 --> 00:07:11.759 owners do this for marketing? And this was back 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:14.420 in 2013, right? This is almost a novel concept 00:07:14.420 --> 00:07:17.779 back then. So I went and created a system. I 00:07:17.779 --> 00:07:19.579 looked at everything it took me to write my book 00:07:19.579 --> 00:07:22.639 and publish it. And I built a system that eliminated 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:25.269 all of the barriers for business owners. and 00:07:25.269 --> 00:07:28.329 created a company that today is Paperback Expert, 00:07:28.490 --> 00:07:33.050 where we help busy entrepreneurs, business owners, 00:07:33.110 --> 00:07:36.910 create a book without writing a word. Then we 00:07:36.910 --> 00:07:39.370 make them Amazon bestselling authors to build 00:07:39.370 --> 00:07:42.529 their credibility. And then we teach them how 00:07:42.529 --> 00:07:45.870 to use their book in their marketing to gain 00:07:45.870 --> 00:07:50.230 more clients. There you go. That kind of gets 00:07:50.230 --> 00:07:52.529 you a ballpark of where I came from and why do 00:07:52.529 --> 00:07:56.220 I do what I do. I love it. Like I was so intrigued. 00:07:56.259 --> 00:07:58.879 I forgot I was on a podcast for a minute. I was 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:02.300 like, this is good, you know, because that's 00:08:02.300 --> 00:08:06.480 that's a whole different avenue. That's not that's 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:09.300 not a straight and narrow, you know, blinders 00:08:09.300 --> 00:08:12.339 on. You said if I'm going to think outside the 00:08:12.339 --> 00:08:14.879 box, I'm going to jump out the box. Absolutely. 00:08:15.199 --> 00:08:19.970 Yeah. I gave up the box. Yes. Yes. And so. 2013 00:08:19.970 --> 00:08:22.829 marketing was also definitely a little different 00:08:22.829 --> 00:08:27.889 as well as it is right now. And to have that 00:08:27.889 --> 00:08:32.750 idea and to put that into play, let me first 00:08:32.750 --> 00:08:36.269 say this, trusting God first. Absolutely. That 00:08:36.269 --> 00:08:39.389 he will guide you and get you exactly where you 00:08:39.389 --> 00:08:41.750 need to go and just having that conversation, 00:08:42.049 --> 00:08:44.750 Michael, like we're talking now. Hey, God, what 00:08:44.750 --> 00:08:46.899 do you want me to do? Where are we going with 00:08:46.899 --> 00:08:51.279 this? And I will say that that is a testimony 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:56.840 of just saying, hey, you listen and he'll hear 00:08:56.840 --> 00:09:01.659 it. He'll get you there. Well, thank you. And 00:09:01.659 --> 00:09:03.700 you also have to walk by faith, right? Because 00:09:03.700 --> 00:09:05.320 he didn't lay the whole plan out. He's like, 00:09:05.419 --> 00:09:07.200 okay, sure. Go in that direction. Kind of like 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:10.539 Abraham, right? Yes. Yes. Go. Where am I going, 00:09:10.659 --> 00:09:14.409 Lord? Go. Take a step. Walk. Learn. So, yeah, 00:09:14.470 --> 00:09:17.429 he's been with us the whole time and still is. 00:09:17.529 --> 00:09:22.309 We're dependent on him. Hey, and I stand alongside 00:09:22.309 --> 00:09:24.850 of you as your sister in Christ. Definitely. 00:09:25.389 --> 00:09:29.269 Yes. So when Paperback Expert came out and you 00:09:29.269 --> 00:09:32.730 decided to, you know, do this and you got all 00:09:32.730 --> 00:09:37.110 these clients and every. Tell me about your vision. 00:09:37.450 --> 00:09:40.590 What was going what were you doing going forward? 00:09:41.450 --> 00:09:45.570 Yeah. So my vision has always been around family 00:09:45.570 --> 00:09:48.009 and giving. So my wife and I are big givers to 00:09:48.009 --> 00:09:51.210 the kingdom. And I mean, I obviously vision wise 00:09:51.210 --> 00:09:53.470 for marketing business owners, I wanted to give 00:09:53.470 --> 00:09:57.809 them a platform to cut through the clutter of 00:09:57.809 --> 00:10:01.610 the marketplace and to be able to proclaim their 00:10:01.610 --> 00:10:05.389 message. OK, so that's the vision of Paperback 00:10:05.389 --> 00:10:09.899 Expert is to to turn experts into authors. who 00:10:09.899 --> 00:10:13.360 use their book to gain clients. Got it. That's 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:15.600 kind of our driving force because everybody has 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:19.500 a story to tell. Most of them are not telling 00:10:19.500 --> 00:10:23.220 it. And most business owners have a process that 00:10:23.220 --> 00:10:26.159 works really well, but they don't share that 00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:28.159 until after you become a client. And so we kind 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:31.019 of reverse engineer everything. And then from 00:10:31.019 --> 00:10:35.019 the standpoint of... I mean, this is a family 00:10:35.019 --> 00:10:37.759 business. My eldest son, Caleb, is my chief operating 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:39.960 officer. My wife is my bookkeeper. My other son 00:10:39.960 --> 00:10:43.000 works in the back end publishing. And we are 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:46.019 building a generational business. So my plan 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:49.059 is to hand this off to my son in the next seven, 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:51.980 eight years. And I'll be chairman of the board 00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:55.559 or whatever you are after that. And we are consistently 00:10:55.559 --> 00:10:58.779 giving to the kingdom through through the revenues 00:10:58.779 --> 00:11:00.940 that we generate now. And it's just going to 00:11:00.940 --> 00:11:04.710 get bigger as we grow. We give a percentage of 00:11:04.710 --> 00:11:07.090 top line revenue. Every dollar that comes in, 00:11:07.169 --> 00:11:09.330 part of it goes out. And that's part of who we 00:11:09.330 --> 00:11:12.450 are because this is legacy for us. It's part 00:11:12.450 --> 00:11:17.549 of the dynamic of who we are as people and what 00:11:17.549 --> 00:11:20.950 God is using us to do to be a small part of his 00:11:20.950 --> 00:11:23.970 kingdom expansion. I love that. I love that. 00:11:24.029 --> 00:11:27.710 And giving back what you'll give. And you'll 00:11:27.710 --> 00:11:30.769 receive, you know, and it's all in his timing. 00:11:30.889 --> 00:11:34.789 So I truly love that. So when someone's thinking 00:11:34.789 --> 00:11:37.909 about this, right? So, for example, we used me 00:11:37.909 --> 00:11:42.330 earlier, Javanka. Hey, so I decide I'm an expert 00:11:42.330 --> 00:11:46.129 real estate agent and I want to make a book. 00:11:46.250 --> 00:11:48.909 What's the first step someone should take to 00:11:48.909 --> 00:11:51.870 turn their expertise into a book? Yeah, call 00:11:51.870 --> 00:11:55.840 me and let's have a conversation. That's the 00:11:55.840 --> 00:12:00.139 obvious answer, right? Yeah. The real process 00:12:00.139 --> 00:12:03.340 is to think about what's your message? What are 00:12:03.340 --> 00:12:06.820 you trying to communicate to your audience? And 00:12:06.820 --> 00:12:09.860 then what you want to do is create a good theme 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:13.240 for your book, a great title that's going to 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:16.399 capture the attention of your audience and communicate 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:20.399 your purpose. Yeah. And then you want to build 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:23.779 the outline of your book. And just do that on 00:12:23.779 --> 00:12:27.720 a Google Doc or whatever. And the fastest way 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:30.799 to create your book, and I will tell you this, 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:33.539 this is my counsel to everybody, Javanka, never 00:12:33.539 --> 00:12:37.639 write a book. What you want to do is you want 00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:42.360 to speak to write your book because you can speak. 00:12:42.379 --> 00:12:44.940 You're a communicator. You're a thought leader. 00:12:45.100 --> 00:12:48.759 And you talk a lot faster than you type. Yes. 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:51.860 and so you want to use microsoft word or google 00:12:51.860 --> 00:12:55.519 docs or something like that to record your content 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:59.039 and then you can go back and edit it later or 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:00.980 hire an editor but you want to get the thoughts 00:13:00.980 --> 00:13:05.019 out of your head onto paper so now you have something 00:13:05.019 --> 00:13:07.639 to work with and that's exactly what we do we 00:13:07.639 --> 00:13:09.700 just happen to have professional writers who 00:13:09.700 --> 00:13:12.879 interview you and you get to speak very much 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:17.500 like we're doing now about real estate What is 00:13:17.500 --> 00:13:20.120 it? What are the five things every seller needs 00:13:20.120 --> 00:13:22.620 to know to sell their house for the highest price 00:13:22.620 --> 00:13:24.919 possible in the shortest time possible to get 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:27.620 the most money for their book? That's your chapter. 00:13:28.120 --> 00:13:31.100 Yes, yes. And it's interesting because when you 00:13:31.100 --> 00:13:34.100 do hear about writing a book, all you think about 00:13:34.100 --> 00:13:37.500 is typing. Sitting in the, what is it, going 00:13:37.500 --> 00:13:41.120 to the mountains. Yes. In the window, you know, 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:44.360 in this solitude with no family and you're typing 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:49.200 for months. Yeah. Not the way to do it. Not the 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:51.500 way to do it. Now, our whole process takes when 00:13:51.500 --> 00:13:53.740 somebody works with us, it takes less than 24 00:13:53.740 --> 00:13:56.659 clock hours of your time. We get your book published 00:13:56.659 --> 00:13:59.500 in six months and time is of the essence for 00:13:59.500 --> 00:14:01.779 business owners. And we understand that we've 00:14:01.779 --> 00:14:05.379 got a process that's just dialed in. It is slick 00:14:05.379 --> 00:14:09.220 and we can help any expert create a book and 00:14:09.220 --> 00:14:14.860 get you to be a sought after thought leader in 00:14:14.860 --> 00:14:17.539 the eyes of your audience. I love that. What 00:14:17.539 --> 00:14:19.799 are some of the challenges that business owners 00:14:19.799 --> 00:14:24.220 face when trying to write a book? Yeah, no, that's 00:14:24.220 --> 00:14:26.899 a great question. Most of our mental challenges, 00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:29.360 right? Thinking, I don't have enough to say. 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:32.700 I don't have enough experience to write a book. 00:14:32.879 --> 00:14:36.139 I don't know how to organize my thoughts. I don't 00:14:36.139 --> 00:14:38.960 know what to do with a book if I had one. We 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:41.960 take care of all of that. We answer every single 00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:43.519 one of those. We walk our clients from where 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:46.039 you are today to... being an Amazon bestselling 00:14:46.039 --> 00:14:49.299 author with a marketing game plan. And we know 00:14:49.299 --> 00:14:51.720 it works. We guarantee that you'll make money 00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:54.299 with your book. And it's so interesting because 00:14:54.299 --> 00:14:57.179 business owners, especially small business owners. 00:14:57.899 --> 00:15:00.460 we tend to wear majority of the hats, right? 00:15:00.559 --> 00:15:04.139 So our minds isn't on anything outside of the 00:15:04.139 --> 00:15:07.320 box, right? Make sure you're marketing on social 00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:09.679 media. Make sure you're doing this. Make sure 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:12.200 you're, you know, kissing babies and giving hugs 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:15.240 and, you know, giving a free here, free there, 00:15:15.399 --> 00:15:19.049 you know? And so it's... As I mentioned before, 00:15:19.250 --> 00:15:21.830 this is definitely something completely different, 00:15:21.909 --> 00:15:24.929 because as you mentioned, when you made that 00:15:24.929 --> 00:15:27.970 appointment, your book was sitting on the desk. 00:15:28.470 --> 00:15:32.850 So it's definitely a different avenue. But I 00:15:32.850 --> 00:15:35.789 love the fact that you and your team will take 00:15:35.789 --> 00:15:38.330 your thought, the thoughts of a business owner 00:15:38.330 --> 00:15:40.590 and say, hey, we can make this happen. How many 00:15:40.590 --> 00:15:43.889 books have you published? Oh, that's a great 00:15:43.889 --> 00:15:45.950 question. We're probably past six or seven hundred 00:15:45.950 --> 00:15:50.070 by now. I stopped counting a long time ago. Yeah, 00:15:50.149 --> 00:15:52.830 we've been doing it since 2013 and we publish 00:15:52.830 --> 00:15:58.090 a number of books every year. Wow. And all of 00:15:58.090 --> 00:16:01.409 this and all of what you do, what was one of 00:16:01.409 --> 00:16:05.549 your most significant learning experiences? To 00:16:05.549 --> 00:16:11.490 keep my thumb on the marketing. So we hired a 00:16:11.490 --> 00:16:13.529 number of years ago, we hired a marketing and 00:16:13.529 --> 00:16:15.250 outside marketing consultant because we were 00:16:15.250 --> 00:16:17.450 wanting to grow our business. And we kind of 00:16:17.450 --> 00:16:20.090 delegated everything to that consultant. And 00:16:20.090 --> 00:16:22.870 what happened is we were paying his fee and he 00:16:22.870 --> 00:16:24.789 was creating advertising and marketing, which 00:16:24.789 --> 00:16:27.330 didn't produce the results that we were looking 00:16:27.330 --> 00:16:31.549 for. And what happened is we started running 00:16:31.549 --> 00:16:33.769 out of money because we were spending and it 00:16:33.769 --> 00:16:35.970 wasn't working and we were delegating everything. 00:16:36.509 --> 00:16:39.009 And so I had to go back to prison for a few months. 00:16:39.090 --> 00:16:41.350 I laid myself off of my own company, went and 00:16:41.350 --> 00:16:44.289 got a job to keep the company afloat. And so 00:16:44.289 --> 00:16:49.970 for us, it's not delegating or no, not relegating 00:16:49.970 --> 00:16:52.990 marketing. We delegate. We still have have vendors 00:16:52.990 --> 00:16:57.009 that do marketing for us, my son and I. But we 00:16:57.009 --> 00:17:02.009 are overseeing it all. So don't relegate your 00:17:02.009 --> 00:17:05.519 marketing. but you can delegate it as long as 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:08.859 you as the CEO are overseeing it and guiding 00:17:08.859 --> 00:17:13.109 and directing it. Wow. OK, so and that's that's 00:17:13.109 --> 00:17:15.529 that's your expertise is marketing. You've been 00:17:15.529 --> 00:17:19.609 doing it since 2013. So what was the thought 00:17:19.609 --> 00:17:22.630 process when you decided to hand it over to a 00:17:22.630 --> 00:17:25.710 consultant? Yeah, well, we knew that we needed 00:17:25.710 --> 00:17:28.150 to grow. And like you just said, business owners 00:17:28.150 --> 00:17:31.450 have how many hats do we wear every day? Yeah. 00:17:31.549 --> 00:17:33.529 And so we're wearing so many hats and we knew 00:17:33.529 --> 00:17:36.430 we weren't focusing on marketing. And so we thought 00:17:36.430 --> 00:17:38.769 we'd bring somebody in who could focus on that 00:17:38.769 --> 00:17:41.150 so that we could get the other pieces and parts 00:17:41.150 --> 00:17:43.289 of our business up and running. And sometimes 00:17:43.289 --> 00:17:45.849 that works. We've got a great marketing partner 00:17:45.849 --> 00:17:47.829 right now that helps us in the marketing because 00:17:47.829 --> 00:17:50.869 they are doing, they are executing on our plan 00:17:50.869 --> 00:17:54.210 as part of our team, even though it's an outside 00:17:54.210 --> 00:17:58.349 company. But Caleb and I are on top of it. We 00:17:58.349 --> 00:17:59.809 meet with them every week. We make sure that 00:17:59.809 --> 00:18:02.230 the messaging is correct. So we didn't relegate 00:18:02.230 --> 00:18:06.119 it. We are delegating it. But we've grown the 00:18:06.119 --> 00:18:07.880 business enough now that we've got other people 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:10.640 doing things in the business. Because as a small 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:12.819 business owner, you're right. You're doing so 00:18:12.819 --> 00:18:15.279 many things. And most business owners, they're 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:19.579 not schooled in marketing. And if you don't know 00:18:19.579 --> 00:18:22.920 how to market your business, that is the lifeblood. 00:18:22.920 --> 00:18:25.759 That is the heartbeat that's going to cause your 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:27.819 business to grow or not. Dan Kennedy, one of 00:18:27.819 --> 00:18:30.099 my mentors from years ago, said you've got to 00:18:30.099 --> 00:18:33.869 be a better marketer. of your thing whatever 00:18:33.869 --> 00:18:36.710 your thing is then you are an a practitioner 00:18:36.710 --> 00:18:41.509 of your thing okay the best plumber in your city 00:18:41.509 --> 00:18:45.490 may not be the best marketer yeah true true so 00:18:45.490 --> 00:18:47.069 the best marketer is going to get more money 00:18:47.069 --> 00:18:50.029 he's going to get more clients yeah and and you've 00:18:50.029 --> 00:18:52.559 got to understand marketing Yeah, it seems like 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:54.940 that's just really the core of a business, you 00:18:54.940 --> 00:18:58.019 know, is marketing now, especially due to social 00:18:58.019 --> 00:19:01.180 media, how things are marketed nowadays. I think 00:19:01.180 --> 00:19:04.019 that that might be one of the as a small business 00:19:04.019 --> 00:19:06.720 owner myself. That's I think that's a challenge. 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:09.920 You know, if you're good at one thing and marketing 00:19:09.920 --> 00:19:14.440 is not your thing, you have you had it all. You 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:17.319 have to have the marketing side. I brought my 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:19.299 son in to build the back end of the business 00:19:19.299 --> 00:19:21.769 and the processes and systems. But on the marketing 00:19:21.769 --> 00:19:23.509 side, let's camp their real estate. Here's one 00:19:23.509 --> 00:19:26.529 of my marketing philosophies. Devanka, people 00:19:26.529 --> 00:19:31.289 buy who you are. Yes. More than what you do. 00:19:32.109 --> 00:19:33.849 So if you're in real estate, right? How many 00:19:33.849 --> 00:19:35.650 realtors are there in your community? Probably 00:19:35.650 --> 00:19:38.849 a thousand. How does somebody choose a realtor 00:19:38.849 --> 00:19:41.289 if they don't have a relationship? Ah, therein 00:19:41.289 --> 00:19:44.170 lies the issue. They need a relationship. How 00:19:44.170 --> 00:19:46.490 do you build a relationship with, let's say, 00:19:46.490 --> 00:19:48.670 a seller? Let's say you're going out on a listing 00:19:48.670 --> 00:19:51.400 appointment. you're gonna bring your nice little 00:19:51.400 --> 00:19:53.099 brochure and all the stuff just like everybody 00:19:53.099 --> 00:19:56.200 else does yeah how about you send them a copy 00:19:56.200 --> 00:19:58.539 of your amazon bestselling book a few days before 00:19:58.539 --> 00:20:02.480 you arrive and it tells your story of who you 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:08.119 are and how you've helped other sellers successfully 00:20:08.119 --> 00:20:11.039 exit their home profitably without the stress 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:14.240 and the headaches and then when you show up you're 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:17.859 different you're in a category of one That changes 00:20:17.859 --> 00:20:21.779 the dynamic of you in that seller because you're 00:20:21.779 --> 00:20:24.059 not now trying to get their business. They're 00:20:24.059 --> 00:20:26.819 sitting here going, I wonder if I'm good enough 00:20:26.819 --> 00:20:31.039 to be her client. You've preconditioned them 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:35.880 to hire you before you ever meet. That's just 00:20:35.880 --> 00:20:38.579 one little strategy that we teach our clients 00:20:38.579 --> 00:20:40.839 of how do you use your book to gain clients? 00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:45.660 You send it ahead of you. And then after, okay. 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:48.920 Then you sell a house, right? And the buyers 00:20:48.920 --> 00:20:50.839 come into the house and you give them some nice 00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:54.160 gift at closing or whatever. How about saying, 00:20:54.279 --> 00:20:56.420 hey, John and Molly, thank you so much for allowing 00:20:56.420 --> 00:20:58.940 me to serve you, to get your dream home. It's 00:20:58.940 --> 00:21:00.579 amazing. I know you're going to be showing it 00:21:00.579 --> 00:21:03.539 off in the next few weeks to all of your friends 00:21:03.539 --> 00:21:05.799 and your family. Would you do me a favor? And 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:07.460 they're going to say yes because they love you 00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:10.180 because you just got them. If you take five or 00:21:10.180 --> 00:21:12.220 six copies of my book and just lay them around 00:21:12.220 --> 00:21:13.859 your house, and when people are coming over talking 00:21:13.859 --> 00:21:15.359 about your house, would you just hand them a 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:17.299 copy of my book and say, here's the lady we trust. 00:21:17.339 --> 00:21:19.380 She was amazing. If you ever need a house, you 00:21:19.380 --> 00:21:20.920 should read her book and just give her a call. 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:23.680 Would you do that for me? And they'll say, well, 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:26.220 I'd love to do that. Now you're starting to get 00:21:26.220 --> 00:21:32.039 referrals from your happy clients. Two strategies 00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:34.819 right there that are super simple when you're 00:21:34.819 --> 00:21:38.650 an author. Yes, yes. And very unique. Very, very, 00:21:38.650 --> 00:21:42.950 very unique. And it's so I truly love this conversation 00:21:42.950 --> 00:21:46.450 and everything that you're doing, Michael. And 00:21:46.450 --> 00:21:49.130 I have one question before you go. And it's my 00:21:49.130 --> 00:21:52.490 most favorite question. What are the greatest 00:21:52.490 --> 00:21:57.329 joys of what you do? Oh, wow. There are so many. 00:21:57.430 --> 00:21:59.869 But honestly, the greatest stories of what I 00:21:59.869 --> 00:22:03.950 do in business is when I talk with clients who 00:22:03.950 --> 00:22:07.829 have followed my strategies. it actually works 00:22:07.829 --> 00:22:10.410 and they're going this stuff actually works right 00:22:10.410 --> 00:22:13.410 yeah we had one quick story at lynn godfroy she's 00:22:13.410 --> 00:22:16.009 a financial advisor up in canada published her 00:22:16.009 --> 00:22:18.309 book made her a best -selling author and she's 00:22:18.309 --> 00:22:20.430 like okay what do i do now and we said do you 00:22:20.430 --> 00:22:23.369 have a database yeah people who've like raised 00:22:23.369 --> 00:22:25.390 their hand they're falling she's like yeah 580 00:22:25.390 --> 00:22:29.650 people great send them an email don't buy my 00:22:29.650 --> 00:22:32.890 book i want to give you a free copy of my new 00:22:32.890 --> 00:22:36.809 book And she had about 80 people say, yes, send 00:22:36.809 --> 00:22:39.769 me a copy. Out of those 80, she ended up gaining 00:22:39.769 --> 00:22:43.670 six clients, made over $75 ,000 within six weeks. 00:22:43.849 --> 00:22:47.049 And that's what fires me up because I know it 00:22:47.049 --> 00:22:50.630 works when my clients do what I tell them to 00:22:50.630 --> 00:22:53.069 do. It just changes their life and the lives 00:22:53.069 --> 00:23:12.269 of their clients. That's what fires me up. Have 00:23:12.269 --> 00:23:15.349 an excellent time building out your vision and 00:23:15.349 --> 00:23:16.509 becoming a vision pro yourself.