WEBVTT 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:19.699 Welcome back to Networking Unleashed, Building 00:00:19.699 --> 00:00:22.839 Profitable Connections. I'm your host, Michael 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:25.780 Foreman, and today's episode is all about the 00:00:25.780 --> 00:00:28.960 power of relationships, that ripple effect of 00:00:28.960 --> 00:00:32.039 generosity, and how the right connection can 00:00:32.039 --> 00:00:35.399 literally change everything. My guest today is 00:00:35.399 --> 00:00:38.640 someone who just doesn't talk about networking. 00:00:38.840 --> 00:00:42.899 He's lived it for moments of transformation fueled 00:00:42.899 --> 00:00:46.119 by a single introduction. to launching Project 00:00:46.119 --> 00:00:50.420 Giveback, a platform designed to help small businesses 00:00:50.420 --> 00:00:54.679 grow without overwhelming costs. His story is 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:57.960 a masterclass in what's possible and when you 00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:02.460 lead with value. If you ever felt stuck, uncertain, 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:05.879 or like you're doing it all on your own, this 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:09.579 conversation is going to inspire you to start 00:01:09.579 --> 00:01:12.819 seeking networking, not as a transaction, but 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:16.180 as a powerful tool for growth. community, and 00:01:16.180 --> 00:01:20.040 long -term success. So let's dive in. My guest 00:01:20.040 --> 00:01:24.099 today is Clinton Holmes, and I don't want to 00:01:24.099 --> 00:01:26.079 butcher his background because he's got a great 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:28.599 background. So I would just like to introduce 00:01:28.599 --> 00:01:31.379 Clinton and have him just give us a little bit 00:01:31.379 --> 00:01:33.340 about his background. Clinton, welcome to the 00:01:33.340 --> 00:01:36.939 podcast. I appreciate you. Thank you for having 00:01:36.939 --> 00:01:41.299 me on the item. No problem at all. No problem. 00:01:41.379 --> 00:01:43.650 Give us a little taste of your background. What 00:01:43.650 --> 00:01:46.469 brought you today? What brought me today? It's 00:01:46.469 --> 00:01:49.069 broad, so I'll try to keep it as short as possible. 00:01:49.549 --> 00:01:51.930 I, my wife and I, we were originally from South 00:01:51.930 --> 00:01:54.469 Carolina, then moved to Georgia, stayed in Georgia 00:01:54.469 --> 00:01:57.170 for about 10 years. Career opportunity, career 00:01:57.170 --> 00:02:00.189 advancement on my wife's side. She had an opportunity, 00:02:00.370 --> 00:02:04.269 a great opportunity to become a VP of operations. 00:02:04.530 --> 00:02:11.789 So moved to Florida. Big jump, obviously. That 00:02:11.789 --> 00:02:15.389 was the introduction for me to actually start 00:02:15.389 --> 00:02:19.229 my business full time because I've always had 00:02:19.229 --> 00:02:22.870 nine to five business and would work on my personal 00:02:22.870 --> 00:02:26.530 brand and personal business part time. But this 00:02:26.530 --> 00:02:28.930 gave me the opportunity to say, you know what, 00:02:28.949 --> 00:02:30.949 let's step out in faith. Let's do this thing 00:02:30.949 --> 00:02:33.909 full time. And it worked perfectly because the 00:02:33.909 --> 00:02:36.849 company that I was working for in Georgia, the 00:02:36.849 --> 00:02:39.229 company is Alcatech. Shout out to Steve Martin. 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:42.500 an architect. It was amazing. They became my 00:02:42.500 --> 00:02:46.539 first hardcore client and that was, it was a 00:02:46.539 --> 00:02:49.979 humbling experience for them to trust me to actually 00:02:49.979 --> 00:02:53.560 continue their brand. And so it grew legs from 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:57.719 there. But when I landed here, reality hit me. 00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:04.139 I saw a need for networking. I realized this 00:03:04.139 --> 00:03:06.599 was the first time in my life I was in an area 00:03:06.599 --> 00:03:11.289 where I knew absolutely. I got on, of course, 00:03:11.330 --> 00:03:15.090 LinkedIn and local community groups, generally 00:03:15.090 --> 00:03:17.629 the local chamber of commerce in Tavares. And 00:03:17.629 --> 00:03:23.509 I started actual networking. And it was an amazing 00:03:23.509 --> 00:03:28.250 experience because you would think it's transaction, 00:03:28.590 --> 00:03:30.949 right? You would think it's, hey, here's my business 00:03:30.949 --> 00:03:33.729 card. Hey, here's your business card. Okay, let's 00:03:33.729 --> 00:03:36.490 do some work together. It wasn't like that. It 00:03:36.490 --> 00:03:39.990 was individuals who... listened to my story celebrated 00:03:39.990 --> 00:03:45.930 gave me amazing advice and it grew from there 00:03:45.930 --> 00:03:49.210 so it was it grew from hey you're just a guy 00:03:49.210 --> 00:03:51.849 who's in a new land new place trying to grow 00:03:51.849 --> 00:03:55.449 your business to being on podcasts being on radio 00:03:55.449 --> 00:03:59.150 shows being invited to corporate events it was 00:03:59.150 --> 00:04:03.580 just an amazing experience and It wasn't the 00:04:03.580 --> 00:04:06.620 atypical transactional experience that I was 00:04:06.620 --> 00:04:10.560 told. So I had the absolute wrong experience 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:14.300 or the wrong ideology of what networking was 00:04:14.300 --> 00:04:18.259 supposed to be. I got a real taste of pure networking 00:04:18.259 --> 00:04:22.319 and it was about connection and growth. And I'm 00:04:22.319 --> 00:04:24.879 floored. And when I ran into you, I was like, 00:04:24.939 --> 00:04:27.639 OK, I have to be on Michael's show because he's 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:30.949 all about network. So that's why I'm here. I'm 00:04:30.949 --> 00:04:33.610 here to grow. I'm here to learn. And I'm just 00:04:33.610 --> 00:04:36.410 humbled, man. I'm really humbled. That's all 00:04:36.410 --> 00:04:40.149 fantastic. And I have found that really ever 00:04:40.149 --> 00:04:43.569 since the pandemic, that when everybody was shut 00:04:43.569 --> 00:04:46.930 indoors and they relied on Zoom and their cell 00:04:46.930 --> 00:04:49.850 phones and everything else, before then, everybody 00:04:49.850 --> 00:04:52.490 was into building their client, their customer 00:04:52.490 --> 00:04:56.629 list. But now it's more about relationships. 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:00.120 and who you connect with and how you connect 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:03.959 with them. And I always said that more importantly 00:05:03.959 --> 00:05:08.060 than meeting the person is the follow -up. How 00:05:08.060 --> 00:05:11.220 do you follow up with the person? So we'll get 00:05:11.220 --> 00:05:13.160 into that later on because I'm sure they'll have 00:05:13.160 --> 00:05:15.519 something to say about that. But let's start 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:19.339 with the questions, okay? You said that networking 00:05:19.339 --> 00:05:23.240 changed the game for you. Can you take us back 00:05:23.240 --> 00:05:26.399 to a moment when a connection truly transformed 00:05:26.399 --> 00:05:32.500 your path? So, first networking event that I've 00:05:32.500 --> 00:05:37.439 been to, Cam Madison, he reached out to me on 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:41.040 LinkedIn. And I thought it was a regular LinkedIn 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:44.819 pitch, obviously, but it was an authentic gentleman 00:05:44.819 --> 00:05:49.000 who was doing local networking here in the greater 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:52.839 Orlando area. So I'll never forget it. I actually 00:05:52.839 --> 00:05:55.839 went to the event. It's okay. I'll do it. I'll 00:05:55.839 --> 00:05:58.319 just break the ice. I need it. I know I need 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:01.660 it. Let's go. Networking event. By the way, Michael, 00:06:01.699 --> 00:06:04.800 I'm an introvert. A lot of people would never 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:07.720 know that. So networking events will break you 00:06:07.720 --> 00:06:13.879 out of that really quick. So I went there. Will 00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:18.720 Bradley. He was the first person I met. I got 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:21.720 there first because I'm that. i'm that get there 00:06:21.720 --> 00:06:24.399 first guy so i got there first and cam was like 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:27.300 whoa you're early that's just who i am so got 00:06:27.300 --> 00:06:31.120 there got my bearings together and will came 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:34.500 in will happen to be in marketing as well now 00:06:34.500 --> 00:06:38.279 will does the seo the pay -per -clicks and pay 00:06:38.279 --> 00:06:40.639 dad so he's on that side of marketing i'm more 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:43.819 so on the branding content creation side of marketing 00:06:43.819 --> 00:06:48.779 so obviously he and i it was a instant connection 00:06:49.529 --> 00:06:57.370 And the way he interacted and the way he gave 00:06:57.370 --> 00:07:03.930 me strategic advice on how to scale. And when 00:07:03.930 --> 00:07:07.389 I use the word scale, it's not about, oh, I'm 00:07:07.389 --> 00:07:11.509 at 5 ,000 a month. Okay, now I'm going to scale 00:07:11.509 --> 00:07:15.019 to 50 ,000 a month. Scale meaning, OK, this is 00:07:15.019 --> 00:07:18.240 what you can do to really maximize what you are 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:21.360 trying to accomplish, the audience that you are 00:07:21.360 --> 00:07:27.120 trying to attract. Because will I accept a billion 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:30.060 dollar a year companies? I sure would. But my 00:07:30.060 --> 00:07:32.860 core and my heart are for people like myself, 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:36.379 the people that just started out or the smaller 00:07:36.379 --> 00:07:40.500 businesses. They really can't afford that 75K 00:07:40.500 --> 00:07:43.790 a year marketing guy. but they need that 75K 00:07:43.790 --> 00:07:46.949 a year marketing work. I'm the guy to intervene 00:07:46.949 --> 00:07:50.750 and help. But after talking to Will, he gave 00:07:50.750 --> 00:07:53.990 me so many different approaches and so many different 00:07:53.990 --> 00:07:57.149 strategies that I could implement. It just blew 00:07:57.149 --> 00:07:59.870 my mind. And then of course, after he and I were 00:07:59.870 --> 00:08:03.209 talking, then more people came in and every single 00:08:03.209 --> 00:08:06.629 person I talked to gave more nuggets of advice 00:08:06.629 --> 00:08:09.410 and more nuggets of knowledge. Not one person 00:08:09.410 --> 00:08:13.209 said, by the way, buy my stuff, here's my stuff, 00:08:13.430 --> 00:08:17.370 give me this, give me not one person. Everybody 00:08:17.370 --> 00:08:21.930 actually fed into me and it was amazing. And 00:08:21.930 --> 00:08:25.670 that is the best experience I've had as far as 00:08:25.670 --> 00:08:28.930 networking or my first introduction to networking 00:08:28.930 --> 00:08:32.809 that I could have hoped for. Let me give you 00:08:32.809 --> 00:08:37.850 another nugget, okay, regarding networking. Networking, 00:08:37.850 --> 00:08:40.450 if you go in with what's called a servant's heart, 00:08:41.029 --> 00:08:44.830 If you go in thinking, what can I give today? 00:08:45.230 --> 00:08:48.169 Not receive. You don't go into a networking event 00:08:48.169 --> 00:08:50.830 thinking you're going to sell anything. You're 00:08:50.830 --> 00:08:53.789 going to go in and thinking, okay, what two people 00:08:53.789 --> 00:08:57.710 can I connect? What can I give? What I usually 00:08:57.710 --> 00:09:00.070 do when I speak to somebody such as yourself, 00:09:00.429 --> 00:09:04.610 how can I make you more successful? What can 00:09:04.610 --> 00:09:07.649 I do to be a good referral source for you? And 00:09:07.649 --> 00:09:10.049 I do all this without even telling you what I 00:09:10.049 --> 00:09:13.879 do. Because I just want to know about you. So 00:09:13.879 --> 00:09:17.740 as Zig Ziglar and other major people would say, 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:22.320 always look to give, not receive. So if you go 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:25.299 in with that, all the pressure's off. Introvert, 00:09:25.419 --> 00:09:29.159 perfect. Not for extroverts or introverts, right? 00:09:29.259 --> 00:09:31.179 Because you're like, oh my God, who do I have 00:09:31.179 --> 00:09:34.600 to talk to? No, nothing. Go in and try to give. 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:37.559 And once you give, people love to talk about 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:41.700 themselves. And people love to share their knowledge 00:09:41.700 --> 00:09:44.600 with somebody else. If you ask them, because 00:09:44.600 --> 00:09:49.259 that means that they've made it and they're trying 00:09:49.259 --> 00:09:52.440 to help you. So that's a little nugget for you 00:09:52.440 --> 00:09:58.279 to remember. Okay, so what mindset shift had 00:09:58.279 --> 00:10:01.299 to happen before you started seeing real results 00:10:01.299 --> 00:10:12.850 from networking? I had to realize. I needed a 00:10:12.850 --> 00:10:17.250 different perspective in order to get to where 00:10:17.250 --> 00:10:21.210 I need to be. Does that make sense? Sure. You 00:10:21.210 --> 00:10:25.090 can build something as an individual and in your 00:10:25.090 --> 00:10:29.210 personal world, it works and you can have a little 00:10:29.210 --> 00:10:34.490 success and it works until you're placed in an 00:10:34.490 --> 00:10:37.470 environment like this. When you're placed in 00:10:37.470 --> 00:10:39.850 that right environment, the proving ground, the 00:10:39.850 --> 00:10:44.490 real testing ground. That's when it shows, oh, 00:10:44.649 --> 00:10:49.409 you missed a step or you missed this lesson or 00:10:49.409 --> 00:10:53.509 you need this strategic partner. That's the mindset 00:10:53.509 --> 00:10:58.149 shift that I've had and continue to have. I realize 00:10:58.149 --> 00:11:02.750 there's a lot of room as far as I have gone and 00:11:02.750 --> 00:11:05.509 I am so humbled and I thank God for the knowledge 00:11:05.509 --> 00:11:08.840 and wisdom that he's given me. And now I'm in 00:11:08.840 --> 00:11:12.299 a place of learning because a great part of my 00:11:12.299 --> 00:11:15.059 life, I've been the coach. I've been the mentor. 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:20.100 And I'm 50 years old now. And it hit me. I've 00:11:20.100 --> 00:11:24.379 never had a mentor in my life. So the mindset 00:11:24.379 --> 00:11:29.639 shift that I have now is, oh, wow, now you get 00:11:29.639 --> 00:11:32.539 to have a mentor. And you need it. And now you 00:11:32.539 --> 00:11:35.909 see it. There's no more. okay, I got this and 00:11:35.909 --> 00:11:38.289 I can do this because I've been successful in 00:11:38.289 --> 00:11:43.950 my past. No, my mindset now is, okay, I am now 00:11:43.950 --> 00:11:49.590 the student. And it's humbling. And I thought 00:11:49.590 --> 00:11:52.169 it was scary at first, but it's not. That's just 00:11:52.169 --> 00:11:56.830 excitement that I'm feeling because I know where 00:11:56.830 --> 00:11:59.789 I can go from here. And so it's just taken my 00:11:59.789 --> 00:12:01.870 mind to a whole different place. So yeah, so 00:12:01.870 --> 00:12:04.840 that's the mindset shift that I have now. I've 00:12:04.840 --> 00:12:07.399 become the student now where I've always been 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:10.580 the teacher. You don't realize how important 00:12:10.580 --> 00:12:17.620 a mentor truly is. Now, I mentor several people. 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:23.539 I coach several people. But I am mentored by 00:12:23.539 --> 00:12:26.019 somebody else. I'm always being taught because 00:12:26.019 --> 00:12:30.340 nobody knows everything. And things change so 00:12:30.340 --> 00:12:34.159 fast. quickly and often that you can't know everything. 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:37.440 And my mentor doesn't know everything either, 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:40.639 but he keeps me on the right track. So that's 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:42.940 all you're really doing. So I'm in the middle. 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:47.240 I'm receiving and I'm giving. And I don't think 00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:49.539 I'll ever get out of that position. So always 00:12:49.539 --> 00:12:52.220 have that in mind because you can't know everything. 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:54.679 You don't know everything. And every time you 00:12:54.679 --> 00:12:57.220 go to a networking event or something else, you're 00:12:57.220 --> 00:12:59.480 learning something. If you don't learn something 00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:02.559 every day, you're not doing your job. Exactly. 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:08.799 Okay. So how did the idea for Project Give Back 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:11.960 come about? And what problem were you solving 00:13:11.960 --> 00:13:15.480 for small businesses? Project Give Back. That 00:13:15.480 --> 00:13:19.309 is a love letter. It's really lovely. It was 00:13:19.309 --> 00:13:21.950 when I came here and I gave you the picture of 00:13:21.950 --> 00:13:25.389 the minor struggles, new place, new land, have 00:13:25.389 --> 00:13:28.490 to build my brand, build my business, build, 00:13:28.610 --> 00:13:32.730 scale. And then one day it hit me and I want 00:13:32.730 --> 00:13:39.429 to say it was divine. I was reminded that's not 00:13:39.429 --> 00:13:43.070 who I am. That's not my personal brand. My personal 00:13:43.070 --> 00:13:47.850 brand is giving more than I give. I've always 00:13:47.850 --> 00:13:52.210 been that person from volunteering at local parks 00:13:52.210 --> 00:13:55.750 and recreation to volunteering time at churches, 00:13:55.830 --> 00:13:59.230 helping churches grow, building, building this, 00:13:59.289 --> 00:14:01.590 building that. It's always been my passion to 00:14:01.590 --> 00:14:03.730 help people grow and then look back and say, 00:14:03.870 --> 00:14:05.950 God, thank you for giving me this knowledge and 00:14:05.950 --> 00:14:08.970 wisdom to help somebody else grow for years. 00:14:09.269 --> 00:14:12.450 And I still consider myself this. I'm more of 00:14:12.450 --> 00:14:15.649 a king maker than the king. I know how to be 00:14:15.649 --> 00:14:18.679 the king. i just choose to help other kings be 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:23.340 kings and so project give back is just that for 00:14:23.340 --> 00:14:28.019 businesses non -profits solopreneurs entrepreneurs 00:14:28.019 --> 00:14:36.320 whoever who need help real genuine help to build 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:38.340 their businesses i don't care if it's from the 00:14:38.340 --> 00:14:42.299 ground up i don't care if it's from an idea let 00:14:42.299 --> 00:14:44.889 me talk with you Let's walk you through some 00:14:44.889 --> 00:14:48.330 processes and show you how I've gotten where 00:14:48.330 --> 00:14:51.990 I am. And I can help you get there as well to 00:14:51.990 --> 00:14:54.090 businesses that are already established. But 00:14:54.090 --> 00:14:57.429 again, funding is a thing. It is a real thing. 00:14:57.590 --> 00:15:01.549 And lack of funding is a real thing. And a lot 00:15:01.549 --> 00:15:04.009 of times people really don't have. It's not like 00:15:04.009 --> 00:15:06.570 everyone's trying to take advantage. People don't 00:15:06.570 --> 00:15:10.169 have the funds because they pay this and that. 00:15:10.350 --> 00:15:14.860 And so Project Get Back is it. Let me. And it's 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:19.120 not me giving money. It's me giving advice. It's 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:22.340 me giving time. Sometimes I'll give services 00:15:22.340 --> 00:15:26.019 to companies, individuals, what have you, that 00:15:26.019 --> 00:15:28.480 need that extra help, that extra person, that 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:31.960 extra idea, the extra consultation to help them 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:34.379 go to the next level. I've actually helped in 00:15:34.379 --> 00:15:37.059 the past couple of weeks. I think it was about 00:15:37.059 --> 00:15:41.080 three individuals. One of them is a startup. 00:15:41.580 --> 00:15:44.120 They want to actually do a clothing brand. And 00:15:44.120 --> 00:15:46.720 so I started from ground up. Okay. First things 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:49.799 first. What's your idea? We found out their idea 00:15:49.799 --> 00:15:52.460 and we went from there and it grew from there. 00:15:52.620 --> 00:15:54.940 And by the time we finished the session, we had 00:15:54.940 --> 00:15:59.379 already started with a concept of his design 00:15:59.379 --> 00:16:01.240 because he wanted to start off with just a logo. 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:03.460 He said, here's my logo. And I'm throwing the 00:16:03.460 --> 00:16:09.860 shirt. I said, wow, that's scary. And he was 00:16:09.860 --> 00:16:12.909 like, wow, what's wrong? I said, Okay, I said, 00:16:12.929 --> 00:16:17.090 put it like this, a logo without a brand or identity. 00:16:18.669 --> 00:16:23.769 It's like putting a gigantic, beautiful car in 00:16:23.769 --> 00:16:26.789 the middle of the world without an engine. It 00:16:26.789 --> 00:16:29.710 won't go anywhere. People may look at it, they 00:16:29.710 --> 00:16:35.250 may not, but nobody will get in it because they 00:16:35.250 --> 00:16:38.710 can't find the doors. They can't crank it up 00:16:38.710 --> 00:16:41.570 because it doesn't have an engine. You have to 00:16:41.570 --> 00:16:44.549 build something around this logo. A logo is basically 00:16:44.549 --> 00:16:47.830 pretty paint on the building. I said, let's build 00:16:47.830 --> 00:16:50.629 your brand. And so it starts like that. So Project 00:16:50.629 --> 00:16:53.490 Give Back is just my way of saying, hey, I know 00:16:53.490 --> 00:16:56.870 a lot of people can't afford larger marketing 00:16:56.870 --> 00:17:00.409 firms, larger marketing companies. You can afford 00:17:00.409 --> 00:17:05.329 me. And hopefully they will come back to you. 00:17:06.620 --> 00:17:09.599 Look, you've given me enough information. So 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:11.920 you know what? Let me just hire you. Just even 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:14.599 first of all, them out. And that's the way it 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:16.839 all starts. So it's a beautiful thing. And that's 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:19.279 what we're talking about beforehand. Let's take 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:23.180 this one step further. How does Project Give 00:17:23.180 --> 00:17:26.059 Back help businesses grow without overwhelming 00:17:26.059 --> 00:17:29.779 them with traditional marketing or startup costs? 00:17:29.980 --> 00:17:33.579 Now, you basically covered that just now. But 00:17:33.579 --> 00:17:38.279 how? Give me another scenario. Okay. I hope I 00:17:38.279 --> 00:17:41.119 don't offend anyone when I say this. So allow 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:45.740 me to go granular. Sure. Typical marketing. Obviously, 00:17:45.859 --> 00:17:49.680 worry about your PPCs, your paid ads, what have 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:53.740 you. That is not my strategy. That's a part of 00:17:53.740 --> 00:17:58.039 my strategy. Eventually. But that's not my initial 00:17:58.039 --> 00:18:01.099 strategy. My initial strategy is establish your 00:18:01.099 --> 00:18:03.880 footing. Establish your brand. Establish your 00:18:03.880 --> 00:18:07.809 identity. Your target audience, who are you really 00:18:07.809 --> 00:18:12.549 talking to? Who do you want to talk to? And then 00:18:12.549 --> 00:18:14.890 I asked the other question again, who are you 00:18:14.890 --> 00:18:18.109 really talking to? Because sometimes, and I'm 00:18:18.109 --> 00:18:21.849 guilty of this myself, I'm accustomed to wanting 00:18:21.849 --> 00:18:24.529 to be everything to everybody. And I can't do 00:18:24.529 --> 00:18:29.190 that. Even my new mentor is teaching me, hey, 00:18:29.230 --> 00:18:33.470 Clinton, bring that back in. Yes, you have capacity, 00:18:33.690 --> 00:18:37.529 but. Conceptually, your capacity is too far out 00:18:37.529 --> 00:18:39.930 there. So I help individuals with that. Once 00:18:39.930 --> 00:18:42.549 I help them with that, then I start off instead 00:18:42.549 --> 00:18:48.809 of paid ads, Google ads. I go old school. Local 00:18:48.809 --> 00:18:52.769 market. Hey, I tell you what, find a local event. 00:18:53.549 --> 00:18:56.670 Join a local chamber of commerce. Free information, 00:18:56.809 --> 00:18:59.329 free advice. Whoever was listening, free advice, 00:18:59.410 --> 00:19:03.279 free information. You would be amazed. How much 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:05.640 resources your local chamber of commerce will 00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:09.460 give you just by joining that local chamber of 00:19:09.460 --> 00:19:13.119 commerce. And it is a fraction of the cost of 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:17.160 paying for a paid ad. Because a paid ad, I will 00:19:17.160 --> 00:19:19.299 tell you, one, if it's not set up correctly, 00:19:19.579 --> 00:19:24.279 you are going to lose a lot of money. Two, it 00:19:24.279 --> 00:19:26.579 depends on your niche. You will not be at the 00:19:26.579 --> 00:19:29.069 top of Google. I don't care. What anyone tells 00:19:29.069 --> 00:19:31.950 you. Because again, depending on your niche. 00:19:32.190 --> 00:19:35.269 Because you have individuals and companies who 00:19:35.269 --> 00:19:38.210 have a lot more revenue and resources than you 00:19:38.210 --> 00:19:40.470 started. So you're never going to be at the top. 00:19:40.750 --> 00:19:43.890 So instead of allocating your money there, allocate 00:19:43.890 --> 00:19:48.109 your money to local sources. There you are. If 00:19:48.109 --> 00:19:50.789 you're in Orlando, focus in Orlando. If you're 00:19:50.789 --> 00:19:54.029 in Atlanta, focus in Atlanta. If you're in Florence, 00:19:54.130 --> 00:19:57.180 South Carolina, my hometown. Focus on Florence, 00:19:57.259 --> 00:20:01.039 South Carolina. Focus on your local area. Choose 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:04.579 your local chamber of commerce. Use those resources. 00:20:05.079 --> 00:20:09.740 Start local. Then grow. That's my number one. 00:20:09.779 --> 00:20:13.859 That's Clinton Home Strategy 101. Start small. 00:20:14.059 --> 00:20:18.779 Start local. And I promise results. You know 00:20:18.779 --> 00:20:21.099 something? And you can almost guarantee your 00:20:21.099 --> 00:20:24.619 promise. Because if you start organically. You 00:20:24.619 --> 00:20:27.599 start your business organically, and then you 00:20:27.599 --> 00:20:30.640 could go for something else, but start organically, 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:33.599 do word of mouth, go to those networking events. 00:20:33.980 --> 00:20:38.119 And just for the heck of it, there's always something 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:40.940 called that 30 -second elevator pitch, okay, 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:44.140 elevator speech. And people ask me all the time, 00:20:44.220 --> 00:20:45.880 what's yours? What's yours? What do you have 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:49.559 to do? I say, look, don't. First, don't just 00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:52.759 give me a 30 -second elevator pitch because what 00:20:52.759 --> 00:20:57.680 is the purpose of that pitch? It's to get somebody's 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:00.079 attention, to get a response from the person. 00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:04.500 So give them five seconds. Give them mainly what 00:21:04.500 --> 00:21:07.319 you do and have them respond to you like, oh, 00:21:07.339 --> 00:21:10.119 can you tell me more? Or, oh, what is that? Or, 00:21:10.140 --> 00:21:12.579 oh, that's all you're looking for. And then you 00:21:12.579 --> 00:21:15.440 go into the rest, right? So that is the way that 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:22.039 you do it. does networking play inside of Project 00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:27.160 Give Back itself? That's actually, it's almost, 00:21:27.319 --> 00:21:31.519 I can't say almost, it is a major one. It is 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:35.400 the key component. I don't want to say, I don't 00:21:35.400 --> 00:21:40.839 want to use the word force, but I strategically 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:46.839 persuade the individual. Network, network. By 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:51.579 the way, network again. Because I don't stop 00:21:51.579 --> 00:21:54.660 with me. I don't limit their resources and their 00:21:54.660 --> 00:21:58.019 knowledge with me. In fact, I teach them how 00:21:58.019 --> 00:22:02.920 to network or find connections through other 00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:06.660 sources aside from myself. I'm just a conduit. 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:09.880 I'm the one that can teach you, hey, and again, 00:22:10.059 --> 00:22:12.279 I got to keep pointing this out. I got to keep 00:22:12.279 --> 00:22:14.960 pressing that button. Join your local chamber 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:18.400 of commerce. i can't stress that enough that 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:20.480 is networking by itself because what that'll 00:22:20.480 --> 00:22:23.279 do because most of those most of those chamber 00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:26.140 of commerce they have networking events and you 00:22:26.140 --> 00:22:28.380 would be amazed at the individuals that you meet 00:22:28.380 --> 00:22:31.299 and those events it could be something as simple 00:22:31.299 --> 00:22:33.900 as a dinner something as simple as breakfast 00:22:33.900 --> 00:22:37.359 or lunching and then that'll evolve into hey 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:41.539 we have a an event we would like for you to sponsor 00:22:42.299 --> 00:22:44.180 They're not talking millions of dollars. They're 00:22:44.180 --> 00:22:46.539 not talking thousands of dollars. It may be a 00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:50.420 hundred bucks, maybe only 50 bucks. Now, guess 00:22:50.420 --> 00:22:54.140 what? Your brand, your face, your name is right 00:22:54.140 --> 00:22:57.160 there with the major player. And all you had 00:22:57.160 --> 00:23:00.359 to do, get out of your shell and network with 00:23:00.359 --> 00:23:03.180 Clinton. Oh, Clinton teaches you to network with 00:23:03.180 --> 00:23:06.200 Bob at your local chamber of commerce. Then Bob 00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:08.980 teaches you to network with this person. It is 00:23:08.980 --> 00:23:12.440 a major part. Networking is a major part of Project 00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:16.119 Give Back because in essence, I'm teaching the 00:23:16.119 --> 00:23:20.180 individuals to give back themselves. What I hear 00:23:20.180 --> 00:23:25.359 you saying is that networking is a skill and 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:30.019 a talent. And what do you have to do to, I'm 00:23:30.019 --> 00:23:32.299 going to say perfect it, but there's no perfecting 00:23:32.299 --> 00:23:35.680 networking. Okay. You have to practice, practice. 00:23:36.829 --> 00:23:39.930 And you shouldn't be afraid, anybody that's listening 00:23:39.930 --> 00:23:43.710 or any of your first time people, you shouldn't 00:23:43.710 --> 00:23:47.369 be afraid to go out and network. Look, the first 00:23:47.369 --> 00:23:49.089 time you go out and network, you're going to 00:23:49.089 --> 00:23:51.549 suck. It's horrible. You're going to be so bad, 00:23:51.609 --> 00:23:54.509 right? But you're going to learn from it. And 00:23:54.509 --> 00:23:57.150 you take those bits of wisdom and you go to your 00:23:57.150 --> 00:24:01.170 next one and the next one. And pretty soon, you're 00:24:01.170 --> 00:24:03.410 like, hey, you know what? This networking thing, 00:24:03.529 --> 00:24:07.309 it's not so bad. It's pretty good. And once you 00:24:07.309 --> 00:24:09.710 start to enjoy it that much more, get the nerves 00:24:09.710 --> 00:24:12.950 out to you introverts, okay? Once you get the 00:24:12.950 --> 00:24:15.809 nerves out of your system, then you'll start 00:24:15.809 --> 00:24:18.549 to have fun. When you start having fun, that's 00:24:18.549 --> 00:24:21.789 when you really start to network properly. Exactly, 00:24:21.910 --> 00:24:26.730 exactly. That's key. Okay, so you've built a 00:24:26.730 --> 00:24:30.289 platform that gives first. How has that philosophy 00:24:30.289 --> 00:24:34.359 of generosity impacted your own business and 00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:42.680 relationships? I've established my place in this 00:24:42.680 --> 00:24:49.099 very congested niche. And honestly, that really 00:24:49.099 --> 00:24:52.019 wasn't the purpose because the purpose was, again, 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:56.660 this is who I am at my core. But what happened 00:24:56.660 --> 00:25:02.180 is I established a position. In most marketing 00:25:02.180 --> 00:25:05.519 firms or most businesses, one of the key questions 00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:08.539 is, what separates you from company XYZ? What 00:25:08.539 --> 00:25:10.720 separates you from every company in your niche? 00:25:11.259 --> 00:25:14.660 I find that separate right there. That's how 00:25:14.660 --> 00:25:17.359 I found it. And it just landed in my lap. Basically, 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:25.279 I honestly do not care about scaling. It means 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:28.480 more to me to... build a relationship and build 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:31.980 partnership because to me, that is worth its 00:25:31.980 --> 00:25:36.859 weight in gold. I can, again, I can have 1 .5 00:25:36.859 --> 00:25:41.299 billion, but if I don't have 1 .5 billion individuals 00:25:41.299 --> 00:25:46.440 who I've helped, then the entire market is messed 00:25:46.440 --> 00:25:49.839 up. Our entire structure is messed up. So I prefer 00:25:49.839 --> 00:25:51.940 to have more people because this world is big 00:25:51.940 --> 00:25:56.259 enough for growth. If more people grow. then 00:25:56.259 --> 00:25:59.259 we all work. If more people who actually have 00:25:59.259 --> 00:26:02.920 their ideas, put their ideas out there, the more 00:26:02.920 --> 00:26:05.039 people will say, hey, baby, I can do it too. 00:26:05.500 --> 00:26:11.299 So it has established me as an industry leader 00:26:11.299 --> 00:26:14.500 or a thought leader in what I do. And this is 00:26:14.500 --> 00:26:16.880 a very crowded niche. Once you just say marketing, 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:19.640 it's like everybody does marketing. What separates 00:26:19.640 --> 00:26:24.099 you? What separates me is honestly, I teach people 00:26:24.099 --> 00:26:28.019 at the core level. And I teach them, you don't 00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:30.940 have to be in this gigantic box over here. You 00:26:30.940 --> 00:26:33.900 can be in this nice box right here and still 00:26:33.900 --> 00:26:36.940 help thousands upon thousands of people. Because 00:26:36.940 --> 00:26:39.900 guess what? If you have an idea, someone's just 00:26:39.900 --> 00:26:42.759 like you at one point. They have the same idea. 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:46.839 Don't forget where you came from. Go back. Bring 00:26:46.839 --> 00:26:49.680 those people up with you. And watch what happens. 00:26:49.740 --> 00:26:52.799 Watch what flourishes. Watch how it goes. Very 00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:56.019 good. What's the biggest misconception people 00:26:56.019 --> 00:27:00.059 have about networking today, especially when 00:27:00.059 --> 00:27:05.779 they're just starting out? I want to say the 00:27:05.779 --> 00:27:09.380 misconception that most people have, including 00:27:09.380 --> 00:27:14.640 myself when I first started it, was it was transactional. 00:27:15.920 --> 00:27:19.839 I will say this, and this is how I know that 00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:23.079 what I'm doing is working. By the grace of God, 00:27:23.119 --> 00:27:28.420 it's working. I'm starting to attract those transactional 00:27:28.420 --> 00:27:32.920 networking individuals. And so it does exist. 00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:35.420 So I don't want to tell people that it doesn't 00:27:35.420 --> 00:27:41.039 exist because it does exist. But I think of misconceptions 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:44.099 that it's all transactional and that is not the 00:27:44.099 --> 00:27:47.500 case. It is not the case whatsoever. You meet 00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:51.269 a pure person, for example, like yourself. It 00:27:51.269 --> 00:27:54.930 is an honor to be on this podcast. There are 00:27:54.930 --> 00:27:59.549 countless, countless number of people who would 00:27:59.549 --> 00:28:03.630 charge to be on an established podcast, talking 00:28:03.630 --> 00:28:07.009 with a keynote speaker, a coach, a public speaker, 00:28:07.069 --> 00:28:09.990 and you do it out of kindness of your heart for 00:28:09.990 --> 00:28:13.690 the sake of networking and exposure. And I thank 00:28:13.690 --> 00:28:15.890 you, by the way, again, I really thank you for 00:28:15.890 --> 00:28:17.490 this opportunity. I really thank you for doing 00:28:17.490 --> 00:28:20.839 this. Thank you for positioning me. What we're 00:28:20.839 --> 00:28:23.180 doing now, this is True Network. And a lot of 00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:26.119 people have the misconception that this is not 00:28:26.119 --> 00:28:29.259 what it's supposed to be. And that's not the 00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:32.680 case. What we're doing, this is what it really 00:28:32.680 --> 00:28:37.059 is. It's not the other stuff. I agree 100%. I 00:28:37.059 --> 00:28:40.099 can't agree enough because that's why I do what 00:28:40.099 --> 00:28:43.259 I do. You do what you do. And together, I'm sure 00:28:43.259 --> 00:28:47.440 that we can take care of all business in our 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:51.180 niches, our small lane. We'll get into that afterwards. 00:28:52.079 --> 00:28:55.220 How do you encourage small business owners to 00:28:55.220 --> 00:28:58.000 network when they feel that they don't have anything 00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:01.680 to offer yet? Let me be the one to encourage 00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:04.299 you. You do have something to offer. That is 00:29:04.299 --> 00:29:06.640 the first thing. You have something. I don't 00:29:06.640 --> 00:29:08.119 have anything to offer. Yes, you do. You have 00:29:08.119 --> 00:29:11.640 something to offer. If you have an idea, you 00:29:11.640 --> 00:29:14.500 have something to offer. I remember, again, going 00:29:14.500 --> 00:29:16.720 back to that first networking event, it was a 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:19.960 young man. He wasn't really established. He had 00:29:19.960 --> 00:29:21.759 an email address, so it was a Gmail account. 00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:26.539 But he had an idea. It was more of a naturalist, 00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:30.380 basically. He believed in a holistic style of 00:29:30.380 --> 00:29:33.779 living. He showed me pictures of the stuff on 00:29:33.779 --> 00:29:36.460 the ground that I would normally just cut because 00:29:36.460 --> 00:29:38.119 I don't know anything about that kind of stuff. 00:29:38.299 --> 00:29:40.779 He was like, oh, no, this is that type of herb 00:29:40.779 --> 00:29:44.730 because it does this. The purpose of this and 00:29:44.730 --> 00:29:47.549 the benefits are here, there, and on the side 00:29:47.549 --> 00:29:49.930 of the road is this. So he's one of those individuals. 00:29:50.230 --> 00:29:53.450 And I said, wait, stop. Did you hear what you're 00:29:53.450 --> 00:29:57.289 telling me? And you started off by saying, I'm 00:29:57.289 --> 00:29:59.930 just here. I got these papers. And he literally 00:29:59.930 --> 00:30:02.630 took his time to print out some things and put 00:30:02.630 --> 00:30:04.670 them inside of a little plastic folder. I said, 00:30:04.710 --> 00:30:08.190 look, this is presentation. I just do a little 00:30:08.190 --> 00:30:10.950 something together. No, it's not a little something. 00:30:11.190 --> 00:30:15.619 This is a lot. Don't short sell yourself. Don't 00:30:15.619 --> 00:30:18.700 shortchange yourself. You have something to offer. 00:30:19.019 --> 00:30:22.059 Now, do you want this packaged in a better bow 00:30:22.059 --> 00:30:26.920 or better packaging? Okay, guess what? I can 00:30:26.920 --> 00:30:29.819 help you with that. But right now, you have something. 00:30:29.900 --> 00:30:33.180 Don't come to this big event feeling you have 00:30:33.180 --> 00:30:35.619 nothing to offer because you do. No matter how 00:30:35.619 --> 00:30:38.519 minute you think it is, there's something to 00:30:38.519 --> 00:30:41.750 offer and you have it. That would be my message 00:30:41.750 --> 00:30:44.069 to anybody who feels they don't have anything 00:30:44.069 --> 00:30:47.670 to offer. Yes, you do. Start talking. And I guarantee 00:30:47.670 --> 00:30:49.890 you, someone with a pure heart will hear you 00:30:49.890 --> 00:30:54.150 and they'll help you. You have to realize that 00:30:54.150 --> 00:30:57.390 if you go to a networking event, you're not just 00:30:57.390 --> 00:31:00.930 talking to the people at the event. You're talking 00:31:00.930 --> 00:31:04.869 to their network of people that came to the event. 00:31:05.009 --> 00:31:08.170 So if you have 30 people that came to an event, 00:31:10.619 --> 00:31:14.039 20 of them, 10 of them, you're talking to 10 00:31:14.039 --> 00:31:16.339 of their people. So you're actually speaking 00:31:16.339 --> 00:31:19.220 to 100 people. So always keep that in mind because 00:31:19.220 --> 00:31:22.339 you never know who's going to hear you. You never 00:31:22.339 --> 00:31:24.559 know. That's a very interesting idea. Tell me 00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:27.920 more about that. And once they give you that 00:31:27.920 --> 00:31:30.839 opening, you just... It's like out of the mouth. 00:31:31.279 --> 00:31:35.299 Okay. What's one powerful connection you've made 00:31:35.299 --> 00:31:38.779 through giving that came full circle later in 00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:48.299 your business journey? I tried to narrow it down. 00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:54.019 I tried to narrow it down. Wow. That's a hard 00:31:54.019 --> 00:31:57.279 question. It's an easy question, but it's a hard 00:31:57.279 --> 00:32:02.480 question. Wow. I'm not giving. Okay. I got overwhelmed 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:05.430 with the question. Okay, sorry. Ask me another 00:32:05.430 --> 00:32:08.109 way because you overwhelm me with that because 00:32:08.109 --> 00:32:10.609 I was like, whoa, that's too much. Okay. Okay, 00:32:10.650 --> 00:32:13.509 just give me a connection that you've made that 00:32:13.509 --> 00:32:18.009 came full circle. So a connection you've made 00:32:18.009 --> 00:32:21.130 and later on it came around and became fruitful 00:32:21.130 --> 00:32:29.980 for you. Art beats. Okay. I was like, like I 00:32:29.980 --> 00:32:32.339 said, it was too big. It was too much. Okay. 00:32:32.440 --> 00:32:36.599 Who's Art Bemis? Art Bemis. He's an older gentleman. 00:32:36.640 --> 00:32:39.619 He's from Boston. The company that I mentioned, 00:32:39.799 --> 00:32:43.779 Alcatech, who's now my number one client. Art 00:32:43.779 --> 00:32:49.700 Bemis rebranded that company. I was hired on 00:32:49.700 --> 00:32:55.880 during the same time, just before Art rebranded 00:32:55.880 --> 00:33:03.920 the company. So we're talking full circle. I 00:33:03.920 --> 00:33:08.880 gave a lot of my personal time, of course, business 00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:11.079 time, because I was part of the business. So 00:33:11.079 --> 00:33:13.859 you're paid to do this. But I gave a lot of my 00:33:13.859 --> 00:33:18.180 personal time to learn what he had to offer. 00:33:21.579 --> 00:33:26.279 He, his words, he fell in love with me. because 00:33:26.279 --> 00:33:30.460 i didn't have an ego because he's used to going 00:33:30.460 --> 00:33:32.680 into places especially in rebranding process 00:33:32.680 --> 00:33:36.220 with whoever the marketing person or the person 00:33:36.220 --> 00:33:39.119 that's in charge of designing or graphics he's 00:33:39.119 --> 00:33:41.240 used to them having an ego he's used to them 00:33:41.240 --> 00:33:44.740 pushing back i didn't push back at all in fact 00:33:44.740 --> 00:33:49.140 i was sponge that made him want to give more 00:33:49.140 --> 00:33:56.329 give back interesting And the more time we spent, 00:33:56.589 --> 00:34:00.630 he gave me. When it was time for him to leave, 00:34:00.769 --> 00:34:03.950 he said, Clint, here's my personal number. I 00:34:03.950 --> 00:34:05.490 don't give people my personal number. Here's 00:34:05.490 --> 00:34:10.610 my personal number. I want you to call me. If 00:34:10.610 --> 00:34:14.190 you run into any problems, be it here or your 00:34:14.190 --> 00:34:17.570 personal business, and he stressed that word, 00:34:17.789 --> 00:34:24.340 give me a call. The man's a genius. He matches 00:34:24.340 --> 00:34:30.679 my style because my style is minimalist. He made 00:34:30.679 --> 00:34:34.420 me feel better about that style of design, that 00:34:34.420 --> 00:34:38.039 style of branding. He said, great things don't 00:34:38.039 --> 00:34:46.840 need to be noisy. Nike. Check. That's it. Apple. 00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:51.820 Apple with a bite out of it. Clear. And it stands 00:34:51.820 --> 00:34:55.159 the test of time. If I say to you right now, 00:34:55.239 --> 00:35:00.300 you're already smiling. You know what I'm talking 00:35:00.300 --> 00:35:03.920 about. I didn't even say the brand name. So he 00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:08.420 taught me all of that. And it came from me sacrificing 00:35:08.420 --> 00:35:15.119 personal time and it swung back around. To this 00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:17.699 day, we still communicate. We still interact 00:35:17.699 --> 00:35:23.719 with each other. He has sent me personal. information 00:35:23.719 --> 00:35:26.840 via mail, like, hey, Clinton, what's your address? 00:35:27.380 --> 00:35:29.619 He said, congratulations on the move to Florida. 00:35:29.780 --> 00:35:31.619 What's your address? We have some stuff to send 00:35:31.619 --> 00:35:34.900 you. He sent me personal stuff from the family. 00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:40.880 He meant it, and it all came from me just being 00:35:40.880 --> 00:35:45.380 very humble and sacrificing my personal time 00:35:45.380 --> 00:35:50.059 to listen to what he had to say. and be open 00:35:50.059 --> 00:35:57.440 to everything he had to teach. That's one. I'm 00:35:57.440 --> 00:35:59.679 sure that's one of many, but that's very important 00:35:59.679 --> 00:36:05.000 to you because it meant so much to you, and it 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:08.340 hit you on a personal level, and you don't have 00:36:08.340 --> 00:36:11.860 many of those connections. You don't have a whole... 00:36:13.469 --> 00:36:16.730 sackload of connections like that. But every 00:36:16.730 --> 00:36:19.769 once in a while, you get somebody that you connect 00:36:19.769 --> 00:36:22.630 with solely. And he happens to be part of a major 00:36:22.630 --> 00:36:26.190 corporation, so that helps. But he brought it 00:36:26.190 --> 00:36:28.369 down to a personal level and you two connected. 00:36:28.889 --> 00:36:32.150 And that is the most important thing. So let's 00:36:32.150 --> 00:36:35.690 bring this podcast full circle. If you had to 00:36:35.690 --> 00:36:38.590 leave listeners with one piece of advice about 00:36:38.590 --> 00:36:41.420 building a business through relationships, not 00:36:41.420 --> 00:36:49.179 just transactions, what would it be? I would 00:36:49.179 --> 00:36:54.480 say, in order to build a relationship, be transparent. 00:36:55.880 --> 00:36:57.619 It's the best start of any good relationship, 00:36:57.719 --> 00:37:04.860 be transparent. And always look for what you 00:37:04.860 --> 00:37:11.619 can do versus what you can get. So, Be transparent. 00:37:12.599 --> 00:37:15.760 Look for what you can do versus what you can 00:37:15.760 --> 00:37:18.360 get. We're going to get what we're going to get. 00:37:20.300 --> 00:37:23.340 I believe that's how the world does the exact 00:37:23.340 --> 00:37:27.480 same thing. The world revolves. Everything cycles 00:37:27.480 --> 00:37:32.900 around. So you're going to get back. But be transparent 00:37:32.900 --> 00:37:40.000 who you are and your intentions. And just find 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:42.360 out what you can do versus what you can get. 00:37:42.480 --> 00:37:45.139 That's the secret that I kind of buy. Those two 00:37:45.139 --> 00:37:47.179 things. And that's perfect. And don't be afraid 00:37:47.179 --> 00:37:50.820 if you are talking with somebody and really from 00:37:50.820 --> 00:37:54.239 the onset that you're not going to get anything 00:37:54.239 --> 00:37:57.860 from this person or this person is just talking 00:37:57.860 --> 00:38:00.000 about something else. And you have to be able 00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:02.699 to say very politely, bow out of that conversation 00:38:02.699 --> 00:38:05.579 and go somewhere else. Okay. You have to know 00:38:05.579 --> 00:38:09.400 how to get rid of those people. and get the people 00:38:09.400 --> 00:38:13.840 around you that you truly want. That makes sense. 00:38:13.960 --> 00:38:18.260 I actually had to do that a lot in the past couple 00:38:18.260 --> 00:38:22.039 of months. Yeah, it is a real thing. I learned 00:38:22.039 --> 00:38:25.619 this because I owned a graphic design studio 00:38:25.619 --> 00:38:30.039 and I had six people technically, six people 00:38:30.039 --> 00:38:33.400 graphically. And I was taking like everybody 00:38:33.400 --> 00:38:35.519 that you, look, you're going to pay me money? 00:38:35.579 --> 00:38:39.409 Good. And somebody who I used as a mentor, even 00:38:39.409 --> 00:38:42.469 then, this is going back 100 years, of course. 00:38:42.969 --> 00:38:46.030 But usually then, he said, Michael, you have 00:38:46.030 --> 00:38:50.409 to learn how to fire your customer. Learn how 00:38:50.409 --> 00:38:54.250 to say no. And it resounded with me. It stayed 00:38:54.250 --> 00:38:57.389 with me. So that was very true. Okay. So Clint. 00:38:57.739 --> 00:39:01.699 First of all, this was a great podcast. I am 00:39:01.699 --> 00:39:05.400 so thankful to have you on because you shared 00:39:05.400 --> 00:39:09.500 some insights to networking that whether it's 00:39:09.500 --> 00:39:12.079 your project or anything else, listen, this is 00:39:12.079 --> 00:39:16.059 all about you. And you were very transparent. 00:39:16.340 --> 00:39:19.820 If anybody truly wants this type of guidance, 00:39:20.019 --> 00:39:23.960 especially in the Florida area, please call Clinton. 00:39:24.349 --> 00:39:27.010 Clinton, how can somebody, if they want to be 00:39:27.010 --> 00:39:30.070 coached by you or hire you for your services 00:39:30.070 --> 00:39:33.510 or just want to say hello, how can they get hold 00:39:33.510 --> 00:39:36.610 of you? First and first, again, Michael, I appreciate 00:39:36.610 --> 00:39:40.090 you. Yourpropertymarketing .com. You can find 00:39:40.090 --> 00:39:43.750 me at Your Property Marketing Solutions on pretty 00:39:43.750 --> 00:39:46.809 much any social media platform. You want to call 00:39:46.809 --> 00:39:52.690 me directly, 678 -920 -2542. I'm available, chat, 00:39:52.889 --> 00:39:56.500 talk. Just throwing some advice, a lot of my 00:39:56.500 --> 00:40:00.579 advice, a lot, sorry, all of my advice, free 00:40:00.579 --> 00:40:03.599 charge. I love networking with people now. I 00:40:03.599 --> 00:40:05.860 still call myself an introvert just in case for 00:40:05.860 --> 00:40:08.800 some crazy reason, my brain reminds me, oh God, 00:40:09.000 --> 00:40:11.460 you're a shy person. Please don't communicate 00:40:11.460 --> 00:40:14.940 with people. I always tell people that and everybody 00:40:14.940 --> 00:40:17.199 by the end of the conversation say. You're not 00:40:17.199 --> 00:40:21.000 an introvert. I'm like, yeah, I am -ish. But 00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:24.559 I'm breaking out of it. But the chat, when we 00:40:24.559 --> 00:40:27.860 talk, I need help. Have an idea on a business. 00:40:28.920 --> 00:40:32.119 Honestly, no idea is a crazy idea. Come on, let's 00:40:32.119 --> 00:40:35.739 talk. One of my greatest quotes or taglines that 00:40:35.739 --> 00:40:38.239 I came up with, and it's real simple, three words. 00:40:38.440 --> 00:40:41.820 Let's grow together. That's all. Let's grow together. 00:40:42.079 --> 00:40:44.820 I don't want to grow by myself. Top of the mountain 00:40:44.820 --> 00:40:48.019 is not a beautiful place to be looking at. There's 00:40:48.019 --> 00:40:50.260 nobody there or limited people there with you. 00:40:51.440 --> 00:40:53.360 Let's do this together. Let's do this together. 00:40:53.539 --> 00:40:56.579 Let's grow together. Fantastic advice. Clinton, 00:40:56.679 --> 00:40:59.000 thank you very much for coming on the podcast. 00:40:59.659 --> 00:41:01.360 Michael, I appreciate you. Thank you for having 00:41:01.360 --> 00:41:05.119 me. Well, hold on, folks. Don't go anywhere. 00:41:05.539 --> 00:41:07.960 Let me just read a few of our sponsors that we 00:41:07.960 --> 00:41:11.400 have. Struggling to reach success? Maybe it's 00:41:11.400 --> 00:41:15.150 time to quit. In Quit Your Way to Success by 00:41:15.150 --> 00:41:19.250 Rodney Davis, this reveals 27 steps to breaking 00:41:19.250 --> 00:41:22.210 bad habits that hold you back. This powerful 00:41:22.210 --> 00:41:25.949 book helps you rewire your mindset, take control 00:41:25.949 --> 00:41:29.090 of your actions, and turn setbacks into stepping 00:41:29.090 --> 00:41:32.230 stones. With real -life examples, motivational 00:41:32.230 --> 00:41:36.349 quotes, and actionable lessons, especially for 00:41:36.349 --> 00:41:38.590 sales professionals. You'll gain the tools to 00:41:38.590 --> 00:41:40.969 quit, what's stopping you, and start winning. 00:41:41.230 --> 00:41:44.690 Transform your future today. So Quit Your Way 00:41:44.690 --> 00:41:48.250 to Success by Rodney Davis, available now on 00:41:48.250 --> 00:41:52.329 Amazon. And this is a nonprofit called Revved 00:41:52.329 --> 00:41:55.829 Up Kids. This is something I believe in wholeheartedly. 00:41:56.289 --> 00:41:59.750 Revved Up Kids is on a mission to protect children 00:41:59.750 --> 00:42:03.590 and teens from sexual abuse. exploitation, and 00:42:03.590 --> 00:42:05.969 trafficking. They provide prevention training 00:42:05.969 --> 00:42:09.429 programs for children, teens, and adults. To 00:42:09.429 --> 00:42:13.389 learn more, go to revvedupkids .org. That's R 00:42:13.389 --> 00:42:21.369 -E -V -V -E -D -U -P -K -I -D -S dot org. Well, 00:42:21.550 --> 00:42:24.869 that's a wrap, folks. A huge thank you to our 00:42:24.869 --> 00:42:27.730 special guests for sharing such incredible insights 00:42:27.730 --> 00:42:31.110 today. And of course, a big shout out to you, 00:42:31.210 --> 00:42:34.809 our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending 00:42:34.809 --> 00:42:38.429 your time with us. Remember, networking isn't 00:42:38.429 --> 00:42:41.070 about being perfect. It's about being present. 00:42:41.349 --> 00:42:44.110 So take what you've learned today, get out there 00:42:44.110 --> 00:42:47.380 and make some meaningful connections. If you 00:42:47.380 --> 00:42:49.880 enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, 00:42:50.179 --> 00:42:52.960 leave us a review, and share it with someone 00:42:52.960 --> 00:42:55.139 who could use a little networking inspiration. 00:42:56.059 --> 00:42:59.440 Let's keep the conversation going. You can find 00:42:59.440 --> 00:43:03.800 me on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or my website, 00:43:04.059 --> 00:43:07.840 Michael. Remember, until next time, keep practicing, 00:43:08.119 --> 00:43:11.039 keep connecting, and keep building those relationships. 00:43:11.559 --> 00:43:15.059 This is Michael signing off. Take care and happy 00:43:15.059 --> 00:43:15.519 networking.