1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,720 Dell and he's got another organization called Gotcha 2 00:00:03,720 --> 00:00:06,960 Covered. It's unofficial, but it's actually endorsed by the 3 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:12,000 mayor because he fills up the San Antonio Food Bank and a couple 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,680 of other, the batter women's shelter with 5 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:22,640 Alright, welcome in to Vision Pros Live. With Jackson Callum, 6 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,760 I'm your show host. We'll be doing interviews for visionary 7 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:30,040 entrepreneurs and guests, guest leaders who are building 8 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:33,280 fantastic visions out there. Ultimately, I just want to go 9 00:00:33,400 --> 00:00:36,520 through some of the things that might help you with your vision. 10 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,440 If you have a vision that you're pursuing, drop a link in the 11 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:41,760 comments and let us know what that is. If that's a business or 12 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:47,760 a brand. If it's a nonprofit that you run, be happy to promote 13 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:50,040 it, be happy to talk to you about it. And if you'd like to 14 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:52,760 apply to be on Vision Pros and be interviewed about that vision, 15 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:54,760 then by all means, feel free to reach out. 16 00:01:13,720 --> 00:01:16,480 Hey, hey, everybody and welcome to Vision Pros Live. I'm your 17 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,160 host Jackson Callum, founder of First Class Business, co 18 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:24,720 founder of Able Health, a CEO of Podbooker. And I'm excited to 19 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,920 have everybody here today. Welcome in Vision Pros. So today, 20 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:31,360 I've got a special guest named Jennifer Glass. And Jennifer has 21 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:35,400 a company called Business Growth Strategies International. 22 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,600 She's based out of the East Coast. One of the reasons why I 23 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,520 wanted to bring her on is because we're super similar in what 24 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:44,080 we do for businesses, both in terms of coaching and providing 25 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:48,120 services. And she's just got a different vibe, a different way 26 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:50,200 of doing things. And I appreciate that. I know that our 27 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,160 audience will benefit from seeing that too. So we're going to 28 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,480 be debating a little bit about different business tactics and 29 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,360 strategies, but we're also going to be honoring what she's been 30 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:04,000 putting out into the world. She's got two podcasts of her own, 31 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:07,200 worth checking out as well. So without further ado, I'm going 32 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,120 to bring Jennifer on. We'll talk about strategy, we'll talk 33 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:13,200 about vision, and we'll talk about how we help entrepreneurs and 34 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:16,320 what advice we have for you today. So Jennifer, welcome to 35 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:19,720 Vision Pros Live. We're glad to have you. Thank you so much for 36 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:23,320 having me, Jackson. It's really a big pleasure to be here. 37 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:28,880 Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, and this is returning the favor 38 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:32,120 and the honor, right? So Jennifer hosted me on her show as 39 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:35,600 well, several episodes back. And so as we got ready to launch, 40 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:37,840 I was like, you know, I really want to bring Jennifer on here 41 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:41,000 too. It's a great way for the two of us, the audience 42 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:43,240 understands to get to know each other's business models as 43 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,000 well, and talk about that in an arena where other people get to 44 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,400 see it, we get to test each other's transparency a bit, we get 45 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:53,080 to find out more about each other's resources, and instead of 46 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:55,880 doing that behind closed doors, and also helps us with our 47 00:02:55,880 --> 00:03:00,160 distribution. So there's a win win win scenario when we're on 48 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,880 these live streams, which is why I enjoy it so much. So anything 49 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:05,040 you'd like to add about that? 50 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,840 Now, I think what you said is really interesting. And it's 51 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:14,800 just, what is it that the two of us can do? How do we help not 52 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:19,720 only each other, but our joint audiences at the end of the day, 53 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:22,640 you went into business, I went into business to help people to 54 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:27,000 be of service. And I know that that is really why most people 55 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,200 do go into business. And it's great when you're really there 56 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,520 and you can say, I am making a difference in someone's life. And 57 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:36,000 that's exactly why I do what I do. 58 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,840 I love that. That's very reflective of the culture of 59 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:43,920 first class business as well. So that leads me to this question, 60 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,560 Jennifer, everybody's got different motives for why they 61 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:50,520 might launch a podcast. What led you to do your podcast? And 62 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:51,480 when did you start? 63 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,720 So I guess the first question is because you mentioned I've got 64 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:57,560 two of them. Which one do we want to start with first? 65 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,280 I think the first one. So, you know, really the word. 66 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:03,120 Yeah, you know, 67 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:09,000 that's 68 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:11,800 it. 69 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:21,400 Yeah, so what I can say is that in terms of my first show, it's 70 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:26,120 the bottom line that matters. So what basically happened was in 71 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:30,360 terms of the, it's the bottom line that matters for me, I 72 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,800 think it's the bottom line that matters podcast. Back in the 73 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:41,480 beginning of the pandemic, during the early days of lockdown, I 74 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,000 created an accounting group, sorry, not accounting, accountability 75 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:50,080 group. And I got accounting on my head for some reason. But an 76 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:54,320 accountability group that I was in with a couple of other 77 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:59,680 coaches. And one day after someone else in the group dropped 78 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,400 out, it was just the three of us that remained in the group. And 79 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:06,640 I suggested to the two other coaches, I said, you know, one 80 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:10,200 of the things that really would be good for us to do to help 81 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:14,880 with thought leadership, to help with helping more people and 82 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:19,240 really get a little bit more exposure is let's do a podcast. 83 00:05:19,680 --> 00:05:24,720 And so because I had the idea to do the show, they decided to 84 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:29,520 name it after my book, it's the bottom line that matters. And so 85 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:33,920 that was how we ended up creating that show. But the one 86 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:38,080 that I do on my own and that you are a guest on, Jackson is 87 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,760 Mojo, the meaning of life and business. And that is really an 88 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,960 absolutely incredible one. And that one I started towards the 89 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:53,440 latter part of 21. And in that time, I mean, what I've been 90 00:05:53,440 --> 00:05:56,960 doing is I've been trying to really find what are those 91 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:02,760 interesting stories that we all have. We all have a reason why 92 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:06,920 we get into what we do. I want to know what is it that makes 93 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:14,080 people tick? I am by nature, a very social person. I am an 94 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:18,320 inquisitive person. And trying to really figure out, well, what 95 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:23,120 does it mean? I'm also philosophical. And so meaning of 96 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:26,840 life is one of those major philosophical questions. And so 97 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:32,080 I try and really get what is it that my guests do? What makes 98 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:36,720 them tick? Where do they want to go? What drives them? And 99 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:40,640 ultimately, if I can help my guests get a little bit more 100 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:46,240 exposure to my network and all of my other guests network, then 101 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,480 ultimately, I'm doing something good and helping more people 102 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,880 find out because as we all know, we're only as good as our 103 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:57,480 network. And if you have your people and someone else's their 104 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,880 people and someone else's their people, and we're all building 105 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:02,600 on that, we're all benefiting. 106 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:07,520 Absolutely. And that's hence the opportunity for podcasting. 107 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,280 Right. So some people are seeing this video right now, they've 108 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:14,080 no idea that it's a podcast. And or what a podcast is, they see 109 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:17,200 this as like a TV interview, you know, somebody playing with 110 00:07:17,200 --> 00:07:22,000 social media. And it's a way of distributing your voice. Right. 111 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,760 It's a way of getting in front of more people. When I first heard 112 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:30,400 about podcasting, I was actually driven very far away from it. I 113 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:34,080 was I literally like exit off my list of things not to do. The 114 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,560 person who introduced it to the founder I was working with was 115 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:41,040 fairly sociopathic. Like he scared me. And so when he brought 116 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:46,040 up, this is 2010, right? So 2010 back then, podcasts were not 117 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:48,760 well known. I mean, others, again, they're still not but 118 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:51,880 fast, but rewind 13 years, we had just gone through the 119 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:56,800 recession. The iPhones had barely come out. We hadn't advanced to 120 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:59,200 this stage of technology, people weren't going live on their 121 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:02,320 phones, for instance. And so we heard about this. And I was, you 122 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:05,360 know, he tells the company, they should start their own podcast. 123 00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:08,400 You know, and they they waved them off, you know, I again, 124 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:10,840 waved them off. And now, looking back at that, I'm like, 125 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:15,440 why didn't we listen? You know, we would have been away ahead of 126 00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:19,440 the curve on podcasting. Now, there's millions and millions of 127 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:24,680 episodes out there. It's still a blue ocean. And, you know, your 128 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:29,760 insights into being able to drive your network together, and 129 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:32,600 help people network in a way that's effective. You know, 130 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:34,320 you're absolutely right. I just hope people who are listening to 131 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:37,120 this see the opportunity to realize that this is kind of 132 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:40,880 like the modern day garage band, so to speak, you, you know, not 133 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,880 everybody's going to hit it big. But there is so much 134 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:47,720 opportunity to win a record label, so to speak, to get 135 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:52,000 sponsors to be able to promote what it is you do, and, and 136 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:55,400 really, really grab attention. So with that said, let's talk 137 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:59,160 about your vision, both from the angle of your vision for 138 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:03,040 entrepreneurs, and your personal vision to feel free to start 139 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:07,000 with either one of those. Those who are listening, Jennifer's got 140 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,200 a vision that from what I've heard, what I've seen, you know, 141 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:14,160 whether it's helping the one individual and caring about that 142 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,680 and I've seen her do that, or understanding that her message 143 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:20,120 can have a global impact. It's, it's quite powerful, but I'd 144 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:22,720 love to hear from you yourself, Jennifer. Tell us about your 145 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:23,080 vision. 146 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:30,800 Sure. So my vision is tightly tied to my why. And I kind of 147 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:35,400 mentioned it a couple of moments ago, but in terms of, as 148 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:41,160 Simon Sinek says, start with the why. And it really is that, you 149 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,880 know, and I'll share the story, I've been accused of being 150 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:48,560 utopian, because with utopia, there's got to be dystopia. But 151 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:53,320 in my utopia, I don't see a bad part. But let me explain what I 152 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:59,160 mean. Every person that has a business, again, went into 153 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:03,280 business to help others, but also help themselves, they're 154 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:08,080 helping their family. Right? I open up a store. Why did I open 155 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:13,000 the store? Because I need a job to feed my family. But if we 156 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:17,600 help all of these small businesses, really start seeing 157 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:23,080 more money come in, more value coming in, more freedom, more 158 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:27,120 time, what ends up happening? They end up hiring more people. 159 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:31,600 They end up having more disposable income that they can 160 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:35,360 give the Boys and Girls Clubs, the churches, the synagogues, the 161 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:40,000 mosques, the other temples that are in town. They've got extra 162 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:44,480 time that they can be giving to organizations. And all of these 163 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:50,720 small organizations that come in and ask Main Street businesses, 164 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:54,880 can I get a donation? Right? All these nonprofits, right? 165 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:59,280 Whether it's the parent organizations, it's the police 166 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:03,840 benevolent associations, it's the volunteer ambulance, the 167 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:07,240 volunteer fire, whatever it is, all of these organizations 168 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:11,680 depend on our downtown businesses to really help them. And so 169 00:11:11,680 --> 00:11:14,080 when we can make that difference, what ends up 170 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:19,120 happening is our communities grow as a result. And as our 171 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:24,600 communities grow, our nations grow as well. And it's not just 172 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:30,120 our local community. It is our shared community. And shared 173 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:34,040 community can be looked at as humanity. But it can also be 174 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:38,480 looked at, though, as I support, as an example, for me, I 175 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:43,440 support St. Jude Children's Hospital. I've said it to them, 176 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:46,400 I've said it on many shows, I want to put them out of business. 177 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:50,240 It's kind of funny saying that, you know, but I want to end 178 00:11:50,240 --> 00:11:54,880 childhood cancer. And I, you know, one of the things I've done 179 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:58,720 to help is I'm middle of writing a book. And I said, if you want 180 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:02,600 to get a character named after you, donate at least $5 to St. 181 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,440 Jude, summing the screenshot of the donation, I'll include you as 182 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:09,040 a character in my book. And if you wanted your business name, 183 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:12,600 at least $100, and I'll include your business name in the book. 184 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:16,840 And that's one way that you can really be helping even more 185 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:21,160 these organizations. And it doesn't cost them anything to do 186 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:25,480 that. And it's a way that you can really start seeing so much 187 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:29,960 more. And so what I do for me is also what I do for these 188 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:34,520 entrepreneurs, because it's tightly tied in terms of helping 189 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:38,400 everybody, helping our communities, so that everybody 190 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:39,880 ultimately ends up benefiting. 191 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:44,360 Absolutely. And let's, let's go ahead and shift into that. So 192 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:46,760 where is it that most entrepreneurs and business 193 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:51,200 owners fail? You know, what's, what's got them trapped? And 194 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:54,280 when I say that, you know, we've got to look at the logic 195 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:58,680 behind this 96% of businesses are failing within 10 years. And 196 00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:00,760 if you're looking at yourself as an entrepreneur, and you're 197 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:04,840 asking your question, you know, am I where I want to be? Right? 198 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:07,760 If you were to honestly answer that the answer is probably 199 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,880 no. So the point isn't to drag down and say, okay, well, that 200 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:14,560 means you're a failure. Right. But as much as looking at it 201 00:13:14,560 --> 00:13:18,200 and saying, okay, I have goals that I want to achieve. I 202 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:20,960 haven't learned those things yet. Right. The things that I need 203 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:23,160 to do to get to where I want to go. And that's what we're 204 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:26,640 focused on. We're not focused on the past. Right. And what's 205 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:31,440 what, just digging into the, the things that they can no longer 206 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:35,800 prevent. But what can they prevent moving forward with 207 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:37,480 their life? Does that make sense? 208 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:41,560 Absolutely. And that's a great question. And here's something 209 00:13:41,560 --> 00:13:46,160 really interesting that you want to think about. And 210 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:48,920 unfortunately, I don't remember which of the Google founders 211 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:53,240 said it. But one of them is credited with saying, I would 212 00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:59,440 rather fail fast, so that I can learn from my mistakes and grow 213 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:04,480 from there. Too many businesses go down the path we start 214 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:07,960 seeing, all right, I'm going to open up a business. Did I do a 215 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:10,480 business plan? Maybe I did a business plan only to get an 216 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:15,480 SBA loan. But I kind of forget the whole value of really 217 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,280 looking at the SWAT analysis, strength, weaknesses, 218 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:21,760 opportunities and threats. Do I really understand what it is 219 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:25,480 that I'm doing? The other thing is also as I'm going through 220 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,960 my business, is my business plan some that I just always 221 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:33,480 stick in my desk, or I just put it in my drawer and I don't 222 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:39,800 look at in terms of reexamining what happens in the future? Or 223 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,320 is it a living breathing document that changes as we're 224 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:47,960 going through the business? The other thing also is that 225 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:54,760 businesses or entrepreneurs very often are online, searching 226 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:58,560 for that magic bullet that is going to translate into 227 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,240 something that they hope is going to be a million dollar 228 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:05,880 idea. But here's the thing, if you have one person out there, 229 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:09,320 one talking head that's saying advertise on Facebook, on 230 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:12,280 Google, and all of these networks, and someone else 231 00:15:12,280 --> 00:15:16,360 that's saying, you know, fake it till you make it, and someone 232 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:19,960 else is doing all of these other things, what is it that 233 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:23,000 people are actually doing, right? There's so much competing 234 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:28,040 information that's out there. Now, if you trust one mentor, and 235 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,920 I'm just going to throw out Gary Vaynerchuk, Gary Vee for 236 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:34,040 those of you that are in a position to actually know 237 00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:37,880 who he is, you may follow Gary and say, all right, I'm going 238 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:41,560 to trust Gary top to bottom and I'm going to let him guide me. 239 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:45,880 One of the things I did when I came out with my new company 240 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:49,640 and the logo and everything, I asked my Facebook community, 241 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:53,160 I said, what do you guys think? But then when my coach chimed 242 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,360 in, I said, all right, I'm going with that because I'm 243 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:00,600 implicitly trusting my coach with my business, and I need to 244 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:04,440 do the same with the logo, even if it wasn't the one that was 245 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:09,320 hands down winning from everyone else. And so I looked at it 246 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:12,280 in that regard. The other thing also though is because of 247 00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:16,920 these talking heads, everybody is also looking, oh, Jackson, 248 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,360 you're doing this, Johnny, you're doing that, Jimmy, you're 249 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:24,120 doing that, and everyone is doing the same thing. But here's 250 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:27,720 the thing, everybody doesn't understand, let me actually 251 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:33,320 take that back. 99% of people do not understand that if you 252 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:38,120 want to do something different and be that top 1%, you can't 253 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,560 do what everyone else is doing. You need to actually think 254 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:45,640 contrarian to what they're doing. So if they're out there 255 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:49,560 and they're saying put money on Facebook and Google, is that 256 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:52,200 really the right thing? Because everyone else is doing it 257 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:56,040 and having mediocre at best results, right? I mean, there's 258 00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:00,360 some that are doing better, but most people are mediocre, if 259 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:04,600 not worse. And you're too late. Yes, it is too late by the 260 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:10,680 time the winner told you to do it, right? The winner millions 261 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:15,480 to do it. You'll be second and you're not, you're gonna get 262 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:18,760 the results of the rest that were too late to the to the 263 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:23,240 party. Go ahead. Absolutely. And that's the thing, you know, 264 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:26,680 if you're really paying attention to what you're doing, and 265 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,040 you're really looking at, right, here's what I need to do. 266 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:35,080 And I'm working with my mentor to help me get there. That's 267 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:38,440 going to be a great way at starting. The other thing also 268 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:45,320 though is if you ignore basics of business and marketing in 269 00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:50,200 sales and operations, you don't have a foundation for the rest 270 00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:54,120 of your business to live on. Yeah. And you need the foundations 271 00:17:54,120 --> 00:18:00,600 go back to the basics and start really working at those 272 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:06,360 become precision in the basics and you'll start seeing a lot 273 00:18:06,360 --> 00:18:10,120 more growth farther down the line. I just told my team 274 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:13,640 yesterday that one of the hardest things to teach an 275 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:19,480 amateur athlete to do is to stick to the basics, right? For 276 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:21,720 instance, basketball, one of the hardest things to give 277 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:25,320 an amateur to do is practice their layups. But guess what? 278 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:30,200 The pros do it every day. The pros do it every day. That's 279 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:32,840 why they're professionals because they're willing to do 280 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:36,760 what is not necessarily fun that empowers them to be able to 281 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:39,800 do their fun. Right? So we're gonna we're gonna go into both 282 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:43,560 of these topics quite heavily both the business plan and 283 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:47,080 using it to get a loan versus actually using it. Love it. 284 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:50,920 I'm super glad that you said that and going into this idea 285 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,280 and concept of a mentor. I'm gonna start with that one 286 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:57,080 because I worry I'll forget. I also worry we'll end up 287 00:18:57,080 --> 00:18:59,400 spending too much time on the first one, the business plan 288 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:01,240 one because I think we need to spend more time there but I 289 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:06,280 want to blow some people's minds real quick. I think one of 290 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:10,120 the most damaging things that entrepreneurs say when they're 291 00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:13,160 seeking out a consultant or when they have an opportunity to 292 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:19,320 grow and they're not is I already have a mentor. Drives me 293 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:23,800 crazy. I'm not gonna lie. Drives me crazy. I'm not I have to 294 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:27,640 remember not to react like myself when somebody says that 295 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:31,560 word the the mentor word it but it drives me insane and 296 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:35,400 here's why the most successful people in the world if you 297 00:19:35,400 --> 00:19:40,840 were to look at them how many mentors do they have? 298 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:44,840 LeBron James. He has his head coach. He has at least three 299 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:47,560 assistant coaches. He has a dribbling coach. He has a 300 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,680 shooting coach. He has a physical trainer coach. He has a 301 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:54,200 nutritionist. Right? I wouldn't be surprised if he was 302 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:56,280 smart enough and I think he does based on what I've seen in 303 00:19:56,280 --> 00:20:00,280 his parenting skills. He probably has several therapists as 304 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:03,880 well for him and his family as they go through. He's got 305 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:07,800 business coaches. He's got a business partner. The more the 306 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:14,360 higher this this concept of mentor is crushing people from 307 00:20:14,360 --> 00:20:17,720 getting their results. We if we want to achieve different 308 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:20,840 things in different lives, we need multiple perspectives. We 309 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:24,760 need more leaders around us who can guide us and one mentor 310 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:28,600 is not God. They're not. They are limited to their sphere of 311 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,320 knowledge and they may have our best interest in play. They 312 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:34,280 may be able to help but I believe it's so important that 313 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,800 people start to realize they need more help than just one. 314 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,760 However, to go back to your also your thought about the 315 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:44,200 market and you know, do I just ask my customers? We learned a 316 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:47,480 very hard lesson at Restaurant Connect to to really 317 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:50,200 validate what you're saying. We were asking our customers, 318 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,400 what should we do to improve our software? We were getting 319 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:58,520 answers like, oh, can you make the tables pink instead of blue? 320 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:02,280 On the software? Really? Do you think that the change of the 321 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:05,640 table from blue to pink was helping the bottom line for the 322 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:09,400 restaurant owner? No, not not unless the host team members 323 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:12,680 were in an uproar about it, right? If it was causing people 324 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,560 to quit, then maybe we should just listen and change the 325 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:19,080 table color, right? There's a there's a time and place to go 326 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:22,920 to the majority for things too. But what we realized was what I 327 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,840 realized was we needed to be masterminding with our top 10 328 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:33,240 performing clients. Yes, we had our our upvote system of 329 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:36,840 tickets, allowing people to to assess what they wanted and 330 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:40,440 the majority vote mattered for some things. But in reality, 331 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,160 what really mattered to us was you restaurants that are the 332 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:47,320 most successful, what are you doing to win? And what areas 333 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:49,960 do you all need help with? We would then come out with that 334 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:53,480 solution, right? One little change, whatever it was, that a 335 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:58,360 top performing restaurant gave us, everybody loved it. 336 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:01,560 Nobody else thought of it because nobody else had the 337 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:04,280 success track record to be able to come up with the solution, 338 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,680 otherwise they would have already been doing it themselves. 339 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:09,560 So yes, there's there's different reasons for getting 340 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,520 feedback from different levels of people. But one of the 341 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:16,600 greatest problems, one of the greatest signs to me that 342 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:19,480 somebody is stuck in their growth is when they say I already 343 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:22,680 have a coach or when they say I already have a mentor, 344 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:26,280 I'm like, oh boy, I got to get it through to them that they 345 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,320 need to broaden their horizons a little bit. Otherwise, you 346 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:31,640 know, they're they're going to be stuck with bows or the 347 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:34,920 clown here, telling them that they shouldn't get get any 348 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:36,760 feedback from anybody else. But let's go back to this 349 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:39,960 business plan and the actually using it part. So you're 350 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,760 inspiring business owners to take that business plan and 351 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,640 put it into action. What things do you do to help them 352 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:47,960 realize the importance of that Jennifer? How do you get 353 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:52,120 people to to realize that that wasn't just something to to 354 00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:57,080 get a quick 50,000 or a quick 300,000? And which parts do 355 00:22:57,080 --> 00:22:59,400 you start with with them? Is it strengths and weaknesses, 356 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,560 opportunities and threats? Or is it some some other part of 357 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:06,520 it? So as far as the actual business plan itself, I mean, 358 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,720 the whole aspect is really important, right? One of the 359 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:13,480 things that you put in there is your forecasted financials. 360 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,800 We're always trying to figure out where we're going to be in 361 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:23,000 our business at any given time. We say that we're setting 362 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:26,920 goals. But what are we really doing? Right? I mean, yeah, I 363 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:29,800 want to make a million dollars. How are you getting that 364 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:33,400 million dollars? Right? And again, whether that's in the 365 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:36,200 business plan, it's not in the business plan. Different 366 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:40,200 story. But how are you getting there? What is it that you're 367 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,560 doing? What is your core business? Part of the business 368 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,920 plan says this is what our business is. And what our 369 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:51,080 business is not. Too many times we go into business and we 370 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:53,560 think, well, I'm going to do this too, and I'm going to do 371 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:56,120 that, and I'm going to do this and I'm, oh, let me do that too. 372 00:23:56,120 --> 00:24:02,680 Look, squirrel. And before, before we get guilty, yes. Before 373 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:07,320 we get anywhere, we end up saying, all right, we got 374 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:11,160 nowhere, right? And a lot of people are saying you have to 375 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:15,560 have passive income 30, 40, 50 times, right? In your 376 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:20,200 business. If you really want to get somewhere. Is it bad to 377 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:24,360 have passive income? No. I started my business back in 378 00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:28,680 2005 with a payment processing company. The clients that I 379 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:33,560 had from that are still giving me residual income in their 380 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:38,440 credit card processing volume. I still do take on some of 381 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,600 those new businesses, but it's not my focus. One of the 382 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:48,440 things that I do is I had that really strategically set when 383 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,360 I repositioned my company. And I said, this is where I'm 384 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:56,920 going. And this is what I offer as an ancillary service, but 385 00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:01,560 it is not the core. So I still take it on, but it all 386 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:06,200 ultimately ends up in increasing a business's growth, 387 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:09,720 right? Where are they getting more value? But if I started 388 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:15,560 saying tomorrow I'm going to sell greeting cards, there is no 389 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:20,120 connection to greeting cards unless I'm using one of those 390 00:25:20,120 --> 00:25:25,480 robot companies that write the letter and send it out as a 391 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:29,480 thank you to my customers. There would be the only way that 392 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:33,720 there would be any kind of immediate connection. But the 393 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:37,800 whole idea though is is that if we say we're going to ignore 394 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:40,760 the business plan, ignore everything we put in there, 395 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,800 we're going to lose focus. Then we look at the 396 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:47,640 SWAT analysis, strength, weakness, opportunities, and 397 00:25:47,640 --> 00:25:52,600 threats. As the industry changes and forget the industry, 398 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:56,920 if you aren't changing, someone else is putting you out of 399 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:02,840 business. If you think about this when Reed Hastings and 400 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,640 I don't know why I'm blanking on his partner's name, the 401 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:10,280 Netflix founders, the name was Blockbuster, and they offered 402 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:16,040 Blockbuster an idea to work together. Blockbuster left them 403 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:21,720 out of the meeting because who wants to get stuff in the mail? 404 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:25,320 It's going to take too long to get there. It is an instant 405 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:28,920 gratification and we're all, human's instant gratification 406 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:34,920 is big, but they said no. Uber did the same thing to the 407 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:42,680 taxi market. All of these services put another mainstay out 408 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:45,720 to pasture. If you're not killing your own product and 409 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:50,440 innovating, someone else is going to do it for you. But the 410 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,720 other thing too though is when you're looking then at your 411 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:58,600 SWAT analysis, what is it that you're doing to watch where 412 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:03,960 the market is? What strengths and opportunities are really 413 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:08,760 there as you continue moving forward? If you forecast out 414 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:13,080 the next three to six months and again in some industries you 415 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:17,160 can look out 18 to 24 months, but if you're anything in the 416 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,520 tech world, three to six is probably the most you can 417 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:25,320 realistically go out because it just changes overnight. I 418 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:29,160 mean, if you go back six months ago, ChatGPT was only like a 419 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:33,880 little bit being spoken about. In the last three, four months, 420 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:38,040 it's been all over the place. I mean, now to the point where 421 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:41,480 the writer's guild is talking about ChatGPT and writing 422 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:45,320 scripts for Hollywood. So we're talking about... 423 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,440 There it is. I mean, this whole episode is ChatGPT. I'll just 424 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,480 don't know it. I mean, me and Jennifer aren't actually here 425 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:56,520 right now. Just kidding. Somebody can believe that. That's 426 00:27:56,520 --> 00:28:02,680 not true. Go ahead. Yeah. But the point is as things change, 427 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:06,440 you really need to be looking at what is really there for us 428 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:11,640 to look at as an opportunity. What can I capitalize on? Who 429 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:15,880 do I need to partner with? What kind of resources do I need? 430 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:18,600 And then where do you go from there? And again, converse is 431 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:22,760 true too. Your weaknesses and threats. Where do you need to 432 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,960 be aware? Is the Fed going to be raising the rates again when 433 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:29,000 they meet later this month? Or are they going to keep the 434 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:31,720 rates where they are? Is that going to impact your business? 435 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,280 For some businesses it will because your customers may not 436 00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:37,240 have the money to pay you. And so you're going to have to 437 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:39,240 raise this one. I don't know. I think it's different. I feel 438 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:43,400 like if on that one, there's a lot of fear missing out that 439 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:48,360 goes along. And I think that there's an important, healthy 440 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:51,800 level of fear we should all have. Where a child's running 441 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:55,800 towards a Grand Canyon cliff. There's fear associated. 442 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:59,160 That should be associated with, okay, I got to save that child. 443 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:05,640 And I see way too many business owners fall victim of the 444 00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:09,240 smoke screen objection. Oh, I don't have the money for that 445 00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:13,000 because they don't know how to communicate value to individuals 446 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:17,000 because they never learned how to sell. That's an external 447 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:20,440 factor that's so broad that I don't feel it's even 448 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:23,240 appropriate. But on the flip side, there's two audiences that 449 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:27,160 you speak to. And there's two different audiences. So one of 450 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:30,200 them, when you said if you're not killing your own product, 451 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:33,000 then somebody else is going to come along and kill it. You're 452 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,880 right. I'm on that. There's a context of entrepreneurs that 453 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:38,520 need to be ready for that. So I heard, the first person I 454 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:42,360 heard say that was Mark Cuban, who was on a rather 455 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:45,480 controversial interview with Tai Lopez. Hence the 456 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:51,560 controversy. Now, Mark Cuban said, if you don't do everything 457 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:53,880 that you can to get ahead of the market, somebody's going to 458 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:57,640 come along and they're going to kick your butt. You know, and 459 00:29:57,640 --> 00:29:59,800 and so you've got to be relentlessly dedicated and moving 460 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:02,280 forward, right? And I love the idea that you're talking about 461 00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:04,760 because with established entrepreneurs, you're absolutely 462 00:30:04,760 --> 00:30:07,720 right. Established entrepreneurs, business programs that 463 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,440 have been around for years and decades, we kind of take for 464 00:30:10,440 --> 00:30:14,760 granted sometimes that that the right person's listening. Well, 465 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,160 if you have a brand new product or service, you've only been 466 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:20,360 out for a year or two and you're worried about killing your 467 00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:23,720 own product and bringing out another product. What are you 468 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:27,560 doing? You know, like you're in a blue ocean and yes, you have 469 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:30,120 to learn how to swim in your blue ocean. You have to learn how 470 00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:34,920 to survive and how to thrive. But you know, just because 471 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:37,160 Jackson and Jennifer today said go kill your product doesn't 472 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:40,360 mean that applies to you, right? You've got to be able to 473 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:43,880 realize that some of what we say and back to everything that 474 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:48,600 we say has a context that's associated with a few audience 475 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:52,680 listeners here and there. And so that's I just think it's so 476 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:56,520 important that we address that because I see too many people 477 00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,640 listen to a guru, right? Everything that's said in a 478 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:04,920 generalized conversation and go and apply general concepts to 479 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:08,440 their very unique brand, right? The the goal is for us to 480 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,880 inspire. My goal for this too is to inspire you. If you like 481 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:15,960 what Jennifer's talking about, book a call with her, right? 482 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:19,320 Go go find her on LinkedIn and reach out to her and find out 483 00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:23,480 how her generalized information applies in your unique space 484 00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:26,440 because if you don't do that, if you just try to take the 485 00:31:26,440 --> 00:31:29,960 generalized answers, you're likely going to fail. It's just 486 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:33,080 it's not the way that you build into it. So Jennifer, you 487 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,800 mentioned the forecasted financials. I'm glad you said 488 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:40,040 that most entrepreneurs that I've seen are ignoring those. 489 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:45,800 You also mentioned putting this business plan into action. 490 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:49,400 I also add on for those for the for maybe it's a few. I think 491 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,520 it's a majority though. Most of that most of the people that 492 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:55,320 I've seen their business plans, they have put together a 493 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:59,320 business plan in order to win the confidence of the bank, 494 00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:01,480 right? Win the confidence of those who are going to support 495 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:07,560 the business. It's not the real business plan. It never was. 496 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:11,400 It's not in there. That's not actually what they want to do, 497 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,440 which is why they don't rotate towards it. So I would say if 498 00:32:14,440 --> 00:32:17,080 that's you, if you put together a business plan because 499 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:20,040 that's what you were told to do, then I believe it's also 500 00:32:20,040 --> 00:32:23,240 important to assess, am I actually in the right business to 501 00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:27,160 begin with? Now, I'm not talking about going from, you know, 502 00:32:27,160 --> 00:32:29,640 being a fashion designer to all of a sudden, you need to 503 00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:33,000 change your business model to construct new houses. Right? I'm 504 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,400 not talking about completely changing your identity and who 505 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:39,400 you are, but most business plans that I've seen are 506 00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:43,320 horrendous and they do check the boxes of a decent business plan, 507 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:45,560 but if your heart's not in it, if you're not feeling the 508 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,440 purpose of it, you know, if you open that vape shop because 509 00:32:48,440 --> 00:32:50,520 there's a new vape shop on every corner, for instance, and 510 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,240 you're like, man, I should probably open a vape shop too. 511 00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:57,240 You're going to fail. You're not going to win by copying 512 00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:00,440 every other business model out there. You got to find out who 513 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:05,240 you are. You got to find out what you really want in life. 514 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:07,960 And if you're not doing those types of assessments on the 515 00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:10,840 front end too, and nobody's taking the time to care about 516 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:13,960 your actual vision, going back to Jennifer's concept of 517 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:17,960 Simon Sinek, start with why. Right? That's what that's what I 518 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:21,160 love about Jennifer's. It sounds like she's also doing that 519 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:25,400 same thing of of hearing you out, wanting to know where do you 520 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:28,680 start? Right? Why did you come up with this business concept to 521 00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:32,040 begin with? And then of course, going into the rest of those 522 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:35,960 elements, but trying to do it alone, you know, to me, it 523 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,760 reminds me of somebody trying to again swim across the ocean 524 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:43,080 alone. I don't recommend anybody make that that attempt or 525 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:47,400 attempt that endeavor rather. So can I add by the way on that? 526 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:52,440 Yeah, where do you want to go from here? Sometimes people use 527 00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:57,880 consultants to write business plans. It may be a great idea, 528 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:03,480 but here's the problem. When you have consultants writing a 529 00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:07,400 business plan, they don't know your business or your thought 530 00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:12,520 like you. And they certainly don't have the heart. So what you 531 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:18,200 can do is you can either write your own business plan, or and I 532 00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:21,560 hope Jackson is okay if I make a pitch for the Small Business 533 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:25,080 Development Center. Oh, yeah, I've been there many times, 534 00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:29,320 Jennifer, I'm with you. Go ahead. Yes. I am an ambassador for 535 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:33,160 the SBDC. It's an organization here in the US that works with 536 00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:37,560 nearly a million entrepreneurs every year at nearly a thousand 537 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:41,480 locations across the United States. So if you need help, 538 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:46,840 Jackson and I can probably connect you with either our local 539 00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:52,280 center to get you where you need to be or give you more guidance. 540 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:57,800 Sorry. I prefer not to and here's why. Again, I'm a big fan, but I'm 541 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:04,760 also not a pushover at all. Every single consultant, like you 542 00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:07,720 said, doesn't matter if they're SBDC or not, has their own 543 00:35:07,720 --> 00:35:10,680 nature of bias, right? And it's going to have their own 544 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:14,520 skill set and how well they do or not. No, I don't trust them. 545 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:18,280 Come to me. Go to Jennifer you want to. That's my request. It's 546 00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:21,240 come to us. I will set you up with who you want to and there's 547 00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:25,480 no cost on that, but my and I have my own bias too. I'm not 548 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:29,160 going to deny that, but what I do that's different than most 549 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:35,960 coaches that I see is I invite you to decide your own answer. 550 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:39,480 It's your, you're the visionary. That's where I see most 551 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:44,120 therapists, most psychologists, most coaches, most consultants go 552 00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:47,160 wrong. You tell them, hey, here's a, you know, here's my 553 00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:49,480 business model and that consultant where they do, they 554 00:35:49,480 --> 00:35:52,360 might say something like, well, you should really go this 555 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:56,040 direction. I mean, are you opposed to that? Uh-uh. That 556 00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:59,320 word should is one of the most toxic words on the planet. Who 557 00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:03,480 are they to tell you what you should do? Right? This is what 558 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:05,560 others are going to expect of your business. So, you need to 559 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:09,080 consider going this route. Uh-uh. There's no place in that. 560 00:36:09,080 --> 00:36:11,800 Most people don't have the strength to withstand that type 561 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:14,280 of guidance. They end up saying, okay, I should go that way. 562 00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:17,880 You know what they do later? Oh, well, he told me to do it. 563 00:36:17,880 --> 00:36:21,960 So, I did it. Well, how old are you? Five? You know, it's 564 00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:25,400 your business. You're the visionary. So, you gotta be 565 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:30,120 careful who you go to and again, I might, my doors are open. 566 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:34,920 But you wanna be, you, what I would do, I would seek out the 567 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:38,520 Small Business Development Center advice. I'd go vet that 568 00:36:38,520 --> 00:36:44,280 advice with three or four trusted peers. Who? One, my mom. 569 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:46,760 Why? She's a business owner too. Does she know everything 570 00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:49,960 about modern business? Absolutely not. I'd probably take it 571 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:53,320 to my stepdad. We don't even get along. He's a business owner. 572 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:57,320 He's gonna scrutinize whatever I do. That's very helpful. Call 573 00:36:57,320 --> 00:37:00,120 him a friend of me if you want to. Um, right, I take it to 574 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:02,520 other business partners and put it out in front of them. What 575 00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:06,600 do you guys think? People who have no bias on the on the 576 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:10,920 scenario, right? However, if they don't have a bias and they 577 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:14,360 don't have a vested interest, then they're not necessarily 578 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:17,800 going to look at it with a fine tooth comb, right? So, then I 579 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:21,240 also need to take those concepts to people who are invested 580 00:37:21,240 --> 00:37:26,200 in my success. So, I, I prefer to have several witnesses, 581 00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:29,960 several people, even including my customers, but I'm, I'm 582 00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:33,240 very, very careful as, as forthright as I am, as, as quick 583 00:37:33,240 --> 00:37:36,120 as I am to go shiny ball. I'm also very quick to show that 584 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:39,400 show that shiny ball to 20 different people and look and 585 00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:42,360 see what do they do with it. Um, because that's that you need 586 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:45,320 editing. If, if, if, if JK Rowling needed it for the first 587 00:37:45,320 --> 00:37:49,480 chapter of Harry Potter 14 times, then our business models 588 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:52,520 that are supposed to serve the masses and an often, an often 589 00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:57,240 essential ways needs vetted and scrutinized like crazy. So, I'm, 590 00:37:57,240 --> 00:38:00,360 I'm off my soapbox now. Um, but yes, small business 591 00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:04,920 development center, fantastic. Just be careful. Be careful to 592 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:10,360 not put your business in the hands of the consultant or the 593 00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:12,600 person who's mentoring you. It's still your job and 594 00:38:12,600 --> 00:38:14,920 responsibility to move your business forward in the right 595 00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:19,000 direction, not rely on anybody, including myself or Jennifer. 596 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:23,240 It's your baby. It's your vision. My question and where I was 597 00:38:23,240 --> 00:38:25,880 going with that just really quick is that they have a tool 598 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:32,760 growth wheel that allows you to, um, input your information and 599 00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:36,920 it will help you create the business plan and actually 600 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:42,680 based on information, but it's then up to you to implement. 601 00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:46,760 So, it's $390 free, right? Yes. That's the other thing. I'm 602 00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:48,440 saying, right, then go into that consultant who's going to 603 00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:52,040 charge you a couple of thousand dollars to do it who is not 604 00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:55,960 vested other than the financial value and you know, I can do 605 00:38:55,960 --> 00:39:00,200 it, you can do it, but I don't want to do it for people. I 606 00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:04,600 just, I feel uneasy doing that. Sure. But the other thing 607 00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:07,800 also, when you were talking, you remind me, I think it was 608 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:10,120 Jim Ruhm who said you're the average of the five people 609 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:13,480 you hang around most. Yep. And I think it's more like 10 or 610 00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:17,720 15 now rather than the fly that was when he said that, but 611 00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:21,880 it's exactly like you were saying, who are you talking to 612 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:25,320 and who are you getting the input from that is going to be 613 00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:28,360 making that difference? You know, who's riding that way of 614 00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:32,120 pretty strong right now is is Gary Vaynerchuk. Yes. You know, 615 00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:35,560 talk, he now carries that torch of the five people, you know, 616 00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:37,960 that you're surrounding yourself and the environment. It's 617 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,800 so important. So, if you don't have that environment, I 618 00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:44,760 believe that the SBDC, that small business development 619 00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:47,160 center at universities, they're available at almost every 620 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:50,920 university that I know of, you know, you can go to that. Then, 621 00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:54,040 I also recommend your startup hub communities, right? So, 622 00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:57,000 for instance, in San Antonio, you've got Geekdom. And so, if 623 00:39:57,000 --> 00:40:00,440 you're in a big city, there's usually an incubator building 624 00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:03,640 where you can pay like 50 bucks a month, probably a little 625 00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:06,600 higher now that that rates are going up on everything, but 626 00:40:06,600 --> 00:40:09,640 they have their own programs as well. They even do events. You 627 00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:13,720 don't have to be a member to attend and get some advice. Just 628 00:40:13,720 --> 00:40:17,240 be careful, you know, as you as you take the advice, not to, 629 00:40:17,240 --> 00:40:20,600 you know, we've got we've got a entrepreneurs can't 630 00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:25,240 fall victim of meme culture. 631 00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:30,040 Meaning, just because you saw meme that's liked by everybody 632 00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:33,160 and commented and shared as though it's wisdom does not make it 633 00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:36,760 wisdom. You know, you've got to be more selective in what 634 00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:39,640 you're listening to. So, I would take the SBC advice, I'd go 635 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:42,520 to that incubator, you can come through the Academy of 636 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:45,320 First Class Businesses, you can of course approach Jennifer 637 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:48,840 Glass as well. When she says that she's not comfortable, I 638 00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:50,840 don't think that she's saying I don't want to talk to you as 639 00:40:50,840 --> 00:40:54,360 much as she's going to be careful about how she guides you. Is 640 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:59,000 that fair? Absolutely. Yeah. So, and that's that's what I love. 641 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:02,200 Like, it's very helpful when you have a consultant that's less 642 00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:05,240 aggressive on, hey, I need to be involved in this and we need 643 00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:08,120 to do this, right? That's a little bit too forceful. You 644 00:41:08,120 --> 00:41:13,000 want to look for consultants who have a standard of, all right, 645 00:41:13,000 --> 00:41:15,880 here's here's what I work with and here's how I work. Here's 646 00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:20,520 my boundaries, you know, as a as a consultant or as a guide. So, 647 00:41:20,520 --> 00:41:25,000 Jennifer, what who is the ideal person, you know, 648 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:28,120 entrepreneur that would benefit from working with you? What 649 00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:32,920 do they look like? So, the kind of people that are typically 650 00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:37,880 coming to me are those people who are looking at where they've 651 00:41:37,880 --> 00:41:41,320 been in business, maybe the last two, three years, they've 652 00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:44,680 been getting the same income level and they just can't 653 00:41:44,680 --> 00:41:49,160 break through whatever that ceiling is. You know, it's 654 00:41:49,160 --> 00:41:53,160 plus minus a couple thousand dollars a year and they want to 655 00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:56,120 figure out what they can do. They can. They're just stuck 656 00:41:56,120 --> 00:42:01,320 and they don't know why. So, having an objective third set 657 00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:04,920 of eyes is always a good thing in terms of figuring out what's 658 00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:10,680 going on. Another one is a startup business who wants to get 659 00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:15,160 that leg up and save time on the trial and error. We know that 660 00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:19,160 you can go down 10 years trial and error until you finally 661 00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:22,120 find something that's going to work or you can talk to 662 00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:25,160 somebody that's been there, done that, helps other people do 663 00:42:25,160 --> 00:42:30,200 the same thing and goes from there. What I will tell you is 664 00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:34,120 that in terms of what I do, it isn't only in the sales and 665 00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:39,080 marketing, it is in the financials. A lot of people I speak 666 00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:41,800 with, I ask them very often, what are your numbers? They 667 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:45,480 tell me I have 30,000 sitting in the bank. I say, I'm not 668 00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:48,520 interested in what's cash in the bank. What does your 669 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:51,720 acquisition cost, your lifetime value cost, your P&L, your 670 00:42:51,720 --> 00:42:54,920 balance sheet? What is your cash flow look like? What is 671 00:42:54,920 --> 00:42:57,800 your receivables look like? A lot of business owners talking 672 00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:01,640 about receivables. We get the bill, we pay the bill. 673 00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:07,080 Massive companies give PO's 90 to 180 days out. You work with 674 00:43:07,080 --> 00:43:11,480 the government very often. It's a 90 to 180 day out payment 675 00:43:11,480 --> 00:43:16,200 also. You have your bills due tomorrow. They're giving you 676 00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:18,920 money way down the line. We need to look at what that 677 00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:22,600 collections is and what you're paying out is. How do you make 678 00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:25,880 that difference? How do you really set your terms to be 679 00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:30,680 making that difference? Then we also look at operations and 680 00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:35,000 strategy two. Do you have the right systems in place? Many 681 00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:38,440 people look at it and they say, well, sure, I've got this 682 00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:42,200 system because I tell Johnny to go do this and he does this. 683 00:43:42,200 --> 00:43:45,080 But what happens if you are in there? Is Johnny going to do 684 00:43:45,080 --> 00:43:48,600 that too? Or if Johnny leaves, do you have a system that is 685 00:43:48,600 --> 00:43:53,320 easily replicatable without you having to do it over and over? 686 00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:57,880 If you look at McDonald's as an example, McDonald's has a 687 00:43:57,880 --> 00:44:02,040 system. You rarely, if ever, see the owner there. It's really 688 00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:06,680 only to ever pick up the money if they're ever there. But it's 689 00:44:06,680 --> 00:44:09,560 because of that system. What are you doing that's different? 690 00:44:09,560 --> 00:44:13,160 And how does that matter and where do you go from there? 691 00:44:13,160 --> 00:44:17,400 Smart. And that's one of the reasons why I see a vision of 692 00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:21,400 us working together in the future too. Vision pros, we're 693 00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:24,200 wrapping up today on this episode. But to talk a little 694 00:44:24,200 --> 00:44:26,920 bit further about that, when we bring people on at First 695 00:44:26,920 --> 00:44:30,360 Class Business, that's also what we start with the why. We 696 00:44:30,360 --> 00:44:33,400 start with two forms, business preliminary evaluation form 697 00:44:33,400 --> 00:44:36,040 and the revenue growth workbook. I start on the marketing side 698 00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:38,920 of things to see as a marketing message in line with what this 699 00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:42,440 business owner wants and needs. And that business preliminary 700 00:44:42,440 --> 00:44:46,120 evaluation, we request the financials as well as part of 701 00:44:46,120 --> 00:44:49,480 that. We do an initial assessment on that and we have 702 00:44:49,480 --> 00:44:52,920 people like Jennifer in place and she's somebody that I 703 00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:55,960 would love to work with on that where depending on the 704 00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:59,560 alignment of the client and how our business is scaling, we're 705 00:44:59,560 --> 00:45:02,440 going to need more people like Jennifer in order to scale 706 00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:05,400 our ability to assess because a lot of times the business 707 00:45:05,400 --> 00:45:08,840 owners are spending on things they should not be spending on. 708 00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:11,160 Right? And we don't say this should not. What we do is we 709 00:45:11,160 --> 00:45:14,040 highlight it on the income statement or on the profit and 710 00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:18,920 loss as green, yellow and red. Right? And that means we want to 711 00:45:18,920 --> 00:45:21,320 talk to this entrepreneur about those aspects because if we 712 00:45:21,320 --> 00:45:25,400 can save a business $10,000 per month that is currently being 713 00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:28,280 utilized towards something that's not effective for their 714 00:45:28,280 --> 00:45:31,160 growth, guess what? Now they have a $10,000 marketing 715 00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:34,440 budget without spending an extra dime. So it's super helpful to 716 00:45:34,440 --> 00:45:36,920 be able to do those assessments in the front end. Jennifer, 717 00:45:36,920 --> 00:45:40,120 you're blessing the business owners everywhere. On behalf of 718 00:45:40,120 --> 00:45:45,080 business owners who started my, I started my career super weak 719 00:45:45,080 --> 00:45:48,440 with the finances and saying things like I don't care about 720 00:45:48,440 --> 00:45:51,240 the money. Only to learn years later that the money didn't 721 00:45:51,240 --> 00:45:54,760 care about me. It took me a long time to bridge that gap. I 722 00:45:54,760 --> 00:45:57,400 know that most entrepreneurs are so caught up in what their 723 00:45:57,400 --> 00:46:00,120 vision is and they're so excited about pulling it forward to 724 00:46:00,120 --> 00:46:02,120 the world that they forget about the importance of the 725 00:46:02,120 --> 00:46:04,840 finances. But we need people like you to be able to help us 726 00:46:04,840 --> 00:46:07,640 stay focused on what's most important, focus in on those 727 00:46:07,640 --> 00:46:10,840 finances because that is our vehicle to get to the next 728 00:46:10,840 --> 00:46:13,160 level. And if we're not paying attention to our vehicle, then 729 00:46:13,160 --> 00:46:16,440 we might just lose that vehicle along the way. And that's 730 00:46:16,440 --> 00:46:18,840 never good for anybody. So thank you so much for being here. 731 00:46:18,840 --> 00:46:21,320 I hope you guys enjoyed the episode. Feel free to reach out 732 00:46:21,320 --> 00:46:23,720 to Jennifer or myself if you need anything and we'll see on 733 00:46:23,720 --> 00:46:28,680 the next show. Thank you. Have a fantastic day. Thank you. 734 00:46:30,680 --> 00:46:33,160 Thank you for being here today. I'm really happy that you 735 00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:37,560 tuned into Vision Pros Live. I'm looking forward to seeing 736 00:46:37,560 --> 00:46:41,320 your reactions as these episodes continue to move forward. 737 00:46:41,320 --> 00:46:43,720 We optimize them as the months go by. This is going to get 738 00:46:43,720 --> 00:46:46,840 more and more fun. We'll have more and more engagement as 739 00:46:46,840 --> 00:46:49,880 well. We'll invite people to participate in the show. And 740 00:46:49,880 --> 00:47:08,600 thank you for...