WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.220 what lessons have you learned throughout your 00:00:03.220 --> 00:00:07.160 journey as an entrepreneur, maybe early stages 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:09.859 or maybe now, or maybe some of the lessons that 00:00:09.859 --> 00:00:13.919 helped you save some years of your life or maybe 00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:18.399 some time of your life because of the right people 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:20.480 that came in or the things that you learned. 00:00:20.539 --> 00:00:25.600 I'd love to hear about those. Sure. So number 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:30.379 one. I would say the most impactful is, like 00:00:30.379 --> 00:00:32.920 I said to you before, you miss 100 % of the shots 00:00:32.920 --> 00:00:39.679 you don't take. And so I really led by realizing 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:42.679 you have to take a chance and execute. So had 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:45.880 I not taken that bold leap into entrepreneurship 00:00:45.880 --> 00:00:48.899 and starting my company, I would have missed 00:00:48.899 --> 00:00:50.740 out on the great opportunities that have come 00:00:50.740 --> 00:00:55.060 into my life. The businesses that I've had to 00:00:55.060 --> 00:00:58.630 support. the people that that have been with 00:00:58.630 --> 00:01:02.729 me on my team along the way that that enriched 00:01:02.729 --> 00:01:07.569 my life and and the people that people that have 00:01:07.569 --> 00:01:11.109 left because i believe sometimes a lot of cases 00:01:11.109 --> 00:01:13.349 the people that brought you to where you were 00:01:13.349 --> 00:01:17.730 today may not be the people that need to bring 00:01:17.730 --> 00:01:19.790 you to that will bring you to where you will 00:01:19.790 --> 00:01:22.269 be tomorrow which is unfortunate but sometimes 00:01:22.269 --> 00:01:25.739 the universe tells us that we need to make those 00:01:25.739 --> 00:01:28.840 tough choices. And I've done that. And sometimes 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:36.540 I've taken some time. I've recognized also that 00:01:36.540 --> 00:01:40.959 the biggest thing I would always default to this, 00:01:41.019 --> 00:01:43.780 how am I going to get things done? But now I 00:01:43.780 --> 00:01:48.340 really embraced who is going to do this for me, 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:53.420 on behalf of me. And so you put that trust in. 00:01:54.010 --> 00:01:57.310 in a team member or or find somebody else in 00:01:57.310 --> 00:01:59.430 the greater community of the world that can support 00:01:59.430 --> 00:02:02.890 you get to where you need to be because you have 00:02:02.890 --> 00:02:06.150 to lead by example and set the vision but if 00:02:06.150 --> 00:02:09.189 you're doing it all by yourself and if you're 00:02:09.189 --> 00:02:13.789 that man or woman trapped on an island you can't 00:02:13.789 --> 00:02:15.909 execute at that level trying to do it all yourself 00:02:15.909 --> 00:02:18.810 or be the savior trying to save people you've 00:02:18.810 --> 00:02:21.650 got to give people a chance to grow and execute 00:02:21.650 --> 00:02:26.949 yes Thank you for sharing that. So if I were 00:02:26.949 --> 00:02:29.750 to take you back in the early stages of entrepreneurship, 00:02:30.289 --> 00:02:35.870 what would you say that how was that like? And 00:02:35.870 --> 00:02:38.990 then fast forward a little bit when you hired 00:02:38.990 --> 00:02:43.669 your first person, what was that like? So first 00:02:43.669 --> 00:02:49.199 thing was. trying to do everything on your on 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:52.259 your own and working late hours and realizing 00:02:52.259 --> 00:02:54.620 hey this is exhausting but you're trying to save 00:02:54.620 --> 00:02:58.080 money by not investing in hiring somebody but 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:01.180 that's exactly the reason why you need to make 00:03:01.180 --> 00:03:03.400 a change and invest in a person so it gives you 00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:06.340 the time to execute and think so when i first 00:03:06.340 --> 00:03:11.430 made that strategic hire it allowed me to to 00:03:11.430 --> 00:03:14.250 have more freedom and time to do what I need 00:03:14.250 --> 00:03:16.389 to do, which was meet the customers and grow. 00:03:16.669 --> 00:03:20.669 So as much as I want to hold back on investing 00:03:20.669 --> 00:03:23.449 and having somebody for revenue needs, because 00:03:23.449 --> 00:03:25.289 we're afraid of making that leap, taking that 00:03:25.289 --> 00:03:27.770 leap of faith, it was exactly the reason why 00:03:27.770 --> 00:03:31.110 I needed to do that. And it gave me more freedom, 00:03:31.229 --> 00:03:35.810 but it also allowed our business to grow at a 00:03:35.810 --> 00:03:38.990 tremendous rate. It's been an incredible rate. 00:03:40.379 --> 00:03:46.439 So in terms of time or in terms of revenue, did 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:48.960 you have a term in mind? Hey, if I reach X amount 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:53.240 of revenue, then I can hire someone or if I get 00:03:53.240 --> 00:03:56.539 this much time back. And what did you delegate 00:03:56.539 --> 00:04:01.770 to other people? Well, initially. Initially, 00:04:01.770 --> 00:04:04.629 in the early parts of my entrepreneurial journey, 00:04:04.870 --> 00:04:07.969 I was doing everything, even doing phone calls 00:04:07.969 --> 00:04:12.810 and invoicing. First thing I did was in technical, 00:04:12.909 --> 00:04:16.089 I hired a technician, a computer technician at 00:04:16.089 --> 00:04:20.389 the time. But the other thing I leveraged after 00:04:20.389 --> 00:04:25.230 speaking with a wise entrepreneur, he said, Brett, 00:04:25.329 --> 00:04:27.870 you don't always need to hire somebody full time. 00:04:29.389 --> 00:04:31.889 So I found fractional people that could support 00:04:31.889 --> 00:04:36.410 me. So I leveraged the use of a VA at the time. 00:04:36.449 --> 00:04:40.689 And initially it was 20 hours a month. And that 00:04:40.689 --> 00:04:45.449 took such a load off my mind that I could focus 00:04:45.449 --> 00:04:49.790 on doing things I like to do. And face it, I 00:04:49.790 --> 00:04:54.149 don't love doing admin work. So I gave the benefit 00:04:54.149 --> 00:04:56.569 of somebody else having the joy of doing that 00:04:56.569 --> 00:04:59.470 admin work that they thrive and excel at and 00:04:59.470 --> 00:05:06.850 they get excited. So it was liberating. And how 00:05:06.850 --> 00:05:09.589 long did that take you to get to that point where 00:05:09.589 --> 00:05:11.670 you were like, okay, I need to hire an admin 00:05:11.670 --> 00:05:15.850 person? How far along were you in your journey? 00:05:16.189 --> 00:05:22.160 I was about a year when I recognized that. I 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:24.980 could have done it. I could have gave myself 00:05:24.980 --> 00:05:29.319 permission to do that much sooner. But like I've 00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:32.819 said before, this is all about mindset and beliefs 00:05:32.819 --> 00:05:35.779 and overcoming limiting beliefs. So it took a 00:05:35.779 --> 00:05:38.860 while for me to process. And even when we fast 00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:43.839 forward to 12 years later, 10 years later, I 00:05:43.839 --> 00:05:46.060 was still processing that. And I really, really 00:05:46.060 --> 00:05:48.879 recognized then that I hadn't gone far enough. 00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:51.500 And I've taken it to a whole new level since. 00:05:52.040 --> 00:05:54.959 since those early days of what i believed was 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:58.360 possible yeah and i want to add on to what you 00:05:58.360 --> 00:06:01.600 just just just said i think when you hired the 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:04.699 va i i can almost guarantee that there probably 00:06:04.699 --> 00:06:07.920 new challenges also arrived from hiring a person 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:13.879 training and and expectations aspirations of 00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:16.600 how the work needs to be done and all those things 00:06:16.600 --> 00:06:19.060 and a lot of things set in but those are just 00:06:19.060 --> 00:06:23.970 small challenges that that can be overcome. But 00:06:23.970 --> 00:06:26.329 for you, I'm guessing it was the time that you 00:06:26.329 --> 00:06:28.569 got back that you could focus on other things. 00:06:29.110 --> 00:06:32.769 Well, absolutely. I really buy into that concept 00:06:32.769 --> 00:06:35.670 of buying back your time. In fact, I took that 00:06:35.670 --> 00:06:40.970 to a whole new level about 18 months ago. Not 00:06:40.970 --> 00:06:45.170 only in my business, I made the decision that 00:06:45.170 --> 00:06:50.160 it was time to invest in having a person come 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:55.100 in and help with our house. So we hired a lady 00:06:55.100 --> 00:06:57.779 that was looking for an opportunity that was 00:06:57.779 --> 00:06:59.899 supporting a number of other professionals in 00:06:59.899 --> 00:07:03.420 our community. And she now comes in once or twice 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:07.019 a week and buys back the time for my wife and 00:07:07.019 --> 00:07:11.259 I and my family so that we can focus on taking 00:07:11.259 --> 00:07:16.709 care of the needs of our family. I have... I'm 00:07:16.709 --> 00:07:19.730 a busy house. We have four children at home and 00:07:19.730 --> 00:07:22.110 we're a hockey family and a scouting family. 00:07:22.269 --> 00:07:25.449 So it's go, go, go. So when you have that, when 00:07:25.449 --> 00:07:28.529 you give yourself the permission to bless somebody 00:07:28.529 --> 00:07:32.089 with the opportunity to support you, that blessing 00:07:32.089 --> 00:07:35.689 comes back to you. So there's nothing better 00:07:35.689 --> 00:07:39.170 than coming back to your house Tuesday late in 00:07:39.170 --> 00:07:41.350 the afternoon to see that your house is all cleaned 00:07:41.350 --> 00:07:44.930 and the clothes are folded. You have four children. 00:07:45.579 --> 00:07:51.040 and two adults and and it just it it brings order 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:55.660 when you when you allow to give people opportunities 00:07:55.660 --> 00:08:01.860 to do what they love yes that's awesome so bang 00:08:01.860 --> 00:08:05.579 back of of time i'm i'm a big fan of alex hermosi 00:08:05.579 --> 00:08:08.939 on that i mean i think he's broken down those 00:08:08.939 --> 00:08:13.839 aspects pretty good he was like if if it takes 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:19.189 me two hours a week to go buy groceries, come 00:08:19.189 --> 00:08:23.389 back and at least 30, 40 minutes a day to cook 00:08:23.389 --> 00:08:27.610 something and then more on cleanup after that. 00:08:28.089 --> 00:08:33.889 And if I take that three hours or on an average 00:08:33.889 --> 00:08:40.269 probably would be close to six hours a week if 00:08:40.269 --> 00:08:43.190 I can take that and just use it to productively 00:08:43.820 --> 00:08:46.139 do something that'll make me money, I'll get 00:08:46.139 --> 00:08:50.679 Uber Eats all day. Absolutely. I live by that. 00:08:50.779 --> 00:08:55.600 We order from the local grocery stores and have 00:08:55.600 --> 00:08:58.559 it delivered. So that time that I buy back from 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:02.580 that, I'll spend that extra hour making phone 00:09:02.580 --> 00:09:08.000 calls. Yes. And I can guarantee you, well, I 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:12.730 know this, my hour is worth more than... than 00:09:12.730 --> 00:09:18.750 paying a $10 delivery fee. Correct. In one hour, 00:09:18.909 --> 00:09:26.149 I've secured business deals beyond that, securing 00:09:26.149 --> 00:09:31.190 MRR to help businesses manage their cyber risk. 00:09:31.289 --> 00:09:34.129 They're just waiting for me to have that conversation. 00:09:34.409 --> 00:09:38.740 But if I'm majoring in the minors, and doing 00:09:38.740 --> 00:09:40.980 things i shouldn't be doing or that i can pay 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:43.580 somebody else the privilege to do that then it 00:09:43.580 --> 00:09:45.820 gives me that opportunity to buy back my time 00:09:45.820 --> 00:09:49.679 yes yeah and and i want to there's two sides 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:52.419 to that equation though right the one side is 00:09:52.419 --> 00:09:56.759 that you buy back your time and you do something 00:09:56.759 --> 00:09:58.779 productive with the time but if you're not doing 00:09:58.779 --> 00:10:01.500 something productive that is actually going to 00:10:01.500 --> 00:10:04.559 make you money or make you grow or something 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:06.580 in that direction that's going to help you maybe 00:10:06.580 --> 00:10:08.740 two, three, four, five, 10 years down the road, 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:12.500 that time is then wasted. Then it's not a positive 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:16.240 equation. So you have to replace it with something 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:19.940 higher in value. I think even $2 higher value 00:10:19.940 --> 00:10:21.879 is a worth of exchange because you still get 00:10:21.879 --> 00:10:25.799 $2 back in an hour. Absolutely. But it could 00:10:25.799 --> 00:10:28.320 be something as simple. I'm a lifelong learner. 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:32.820 So if it means for that one hour that I go out, 00:10:33.289 --> 00:10:36.110 which I often love to do if I'll take that hour 00:10:36.110 --> 00:10:39.549 and go for a walk and listen to a podcast or 00:10:39.549 --> 00:10:43.490 an audible, not only am I working on my physical 00:10:43.490 --> 00:10:47.929 health, I'm working on my professional goals 00:10:47.929 --> 00:10:52.309 by feeding my mind and giving myself the oxygen 00:10:52.309 --> 00:10:58.149 I need. Yes. You know, someone mentioned to me 00:10:58.149 --> 00:11:02.970 yesterday, it was one of my friends, When you're 00:11:02.970 --> 00:11:05.629 doing all these things, it's hard to see the 00:11:05.629 --> 00:11:08.529 changes and the effect it's going to have. Yeah. 00:11:08.590 --> 00:11:11.909 Right? And he said something very sweet. He said, 00:11:11.970 --> 00:11:16.730 you can't watch a tree grow. No. You cannot watch 00:11:16.730 --> 00:11:20.169 a tree grow. You have to just experience it over 00:11:20.169 --> 00:11:25.370 time, the effects of what you do today. and the 00:11:25.370 --> 00:11:28.370 fruit is going to bear tomorrow well exactly 00:11:28.370 --> 00:11:33.370 and my my transformation uh is very much an example 00:11:33.370 --> 00:11:36.730 that i i've released 120 pounds in the last 18 00:11:36.730 --> 00:11:40.129 months and when i first started on my journey 00:11:40.129 --> 00:11:46.070 it was just a pound two pounds but now i'm a 00:11:46.070 --> 00:11:48.269 totally different person with a whole new belief 00:11:48.269 --> 00:11:51.870 system and when people see me they say i wish 00:11:51.870 --> 00:11:55.090 i could have do what you've done well Anybody 00:11:55.090 --> 00:11:57.590 can do it. It just starts with taking that first 00:11:57.590 --> 00:12:01.129 step and having the discipline and commitment 00:12:01.129 --> 00:12:04.289 to keep going, even when it's hard, because when 00:12:04.289 --> 00:12:07.129 you do hard things, everything becomes easy. 00:12:07.809 --> 00:12:12.649 Yes, it is. It is. It is. Or you or you realize 00:12:12.649 --> 00:12:15.230 that you need to get stronger to do it. Right. 00:12:15.649 --> 00:12:18.669 Right. Either way you learn when you do hard 00:12:18.669 --> 00:12:20.889 things, you learn either you're too weak to do 00:12:20.889 --> 00:12:24.970 it. So you get stronger or or. or you were able 00:12:24.970 --> 00:12:27.649 to do hard things easier or surround yourself 00:12:27.649 --> 00:12:31.090 with accountability partners which i which i 00:12:31.090 --> 00:12:34.870 did in which i i i did again because um i've 00:12:34.870 --> 00:12:37.809 had i shared a tremendous success about my transformation 00:12:37.809 --> 00:12:42.269 but i also shared an accountability group where 00:12:42.269 --> 00:12:44.110 i realized for the last two months i've been 00:12:44.110 --> 00:12:47.470 at the same place and i shared an accountability 00:12:47.470 --> 00:12:53.690 post and i was very honest and vulnerable But 00:12:53.690 --> 00:12:56.429 I did it not only for myself, but to inspire 00:12:56.429 --> 00:13:02.070 others with my honesty. I have learned that it's 00:13:02.070 --> 00:13:06.210 okay to fail or have a temporary setback. But 00:13:06.210 --> 00:13:07.950 when you get knocked down, you get back up again. 00:13:08.370 --> 00:13:11.009 So I was knocked down. I wasn't moving like where 00:13:11.009 --> 00:13:14.549 I want to be. But I decided, and I have this 00:13:14.549 --> 00:13:16.950 sheet of 100 days of accountability, but I tied 00:13:16.950 --> 00:13:20.230 it with my accountability group. No longer am 00:13:20.230 --> 00:13:24.679 I going to grab the chocolate chips. or take 00:13:24.679 --> 00:13:27.440 a little spoon of peanut butter, I'm sticking 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:34.460 to my meal plan 100 % because I'm worth it. Yeah. 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:37.279 Your body is worth it. You're worth it. Yeah. 00:13:37.960 --> 00:13:40.940 Yeah. That's awesome. Thank you for sharing that. 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:47.360 I want to end on one more aspect. From what you 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:50.080 have learned, if someone's starting out today 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:53.200 as an entrepreneur, Let's say someone's starting 00:13:53.200 --> 00:13:57.980 out in cybersecurity as you are. What tips would 00:13:57.980 --> 00:14:03.820 you give them? Okay. Number one, we all have 00:14:03.820 --> 00:14:08.759 imposter syndrome. Okay. So recognize it and 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:12.500 be okay with that. But also recognize that we 00:14:12.500 --> 00:14:14.679 are living in the best time. So the best thing 00:14:14.679 --> 00:14:18.340 any business can do, even my business, is continuously 00:14:18.340 --> 00:14:23.139 feed your mind. and get into a group of like 00:14:23.139 --> 00:14:25.679 -minded peers. I'm in a group in cybersecurity 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:28.919 with 800 other professionals. So I have a whole 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:31.860 network behind me that I can call on that supports 00:14:31.860 --> 00:14:38.860 me. Invest in your team. Invest in your process. 00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:44.360 Have a good, solid foundation for your bookkeeping. 00:14:48.220 --> 00:14:51.500 Really, the best thing also is continuously checking 00:14:51.500 --> 00:14:55.220 in with your clients and coach your team. Whatever 00:14:55.220 --> 00:14:58.399 you've learned, and I'm in a coaching environment, 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:03.139 I take that what I learn and I empower my team 00:15:03.139 --> 00:15:06.799 by sharing what I've learned. So share that knowledge 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:09.820 and share the best version of yourself, but also 00:15:09.820 --> 00:15:13.720 just recognize that you're not perfect, but if 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:17.070 you don't start. You're going to stay at the 00:15:17.070 --> 00:15:22.269 same place. So we are living in the best time. 00:15:22.350 --> 00:15:24.769 So this is the time to embrace whatever goal 00:15:24.769 --> 00:15:29.529 you have. Take that step and go for it. But count 00:15:29.529 --> 00:15:32.629 on your network. Rely on your network. Your network 00:15:32.629 --> 00:15:36.649 is your biggest asset. And we're a people of 00:15:36.649 --> 00:15:39.440 connection. So we need to be talking to each 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:42.139 other, lifting each other up and asking for support 00:15:42.139 --> 00:15:44.299 and giving support. Thank you for being here 00:15:44.299 --> 00:15:46.179 today. I'm really happy that you tuned in to 00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:48.639 Vision Pros Live. I'm looking forward to seeing 00:15:48.639 --> 00:15:51.679 your reactions as these episodes continue to 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:53.399 move forward. This is going to get more and more 00:15:53.399 --> 00:15:55.720 fun. We'll have more and more engagement as well. 00:15:55.740 --> 00:15:57.659 We'll invite people to participate in the show. 00:15:57.779 --> 00:15:59.820 And thank you for giving us your time and attention. 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:02.759 Have an excellent time building out your vision 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:04.159 and becoming a vision pro yourself.