Say No to Grow? Learn How to Say No to Grow & So You Can Say Yes to Your Best!? + Celebrating 3 Long-Time Clay Clark Client Success Stories + Join Eric Trump At Clay Clark’s September 25-26 Business Conference (8 Tix Remain)

Audio Transcription

Transcribed with Cockatoo

(Speaker 15)
You have questions? America’s number one business coach has answers. It’s your broda from Minnesota. Here’s another edition of Ask Clay Anything on the Thrive Time Business Coach Radio Show.

(Speaker 2)
Yes, yes, yes, and yes, Dr. Z, it is always ecstasy when you are next to me. How was your weekend, my friend? How was the weekend?

(Speaker 1)
My weekend was fun, but the most fun I had was picturing you on that big cruise ship just wondering what kind of mischief you were getting into and and how many stressful situations you encountered. I have a few highlights.

(Speaker 2)
Because I know you people people tend to stress you.

(Speaker 1)
I have a few highlights that that happened that my wife can verify okay.

(Speaker 43)
The first one we get on the first flight is supposed to leave I think at like nine in the morning or something okay.

(Speaker 1)
Okay. And I love to be on the first flight out But in her defense, you can’t book it, because we had to connect from Dallas to Miami.

(Speaker 2)
But the first flight, I love that flight, because it’s never delayed.

(Speaker 14)
That second flight, though, you travel enough.

(Speaker 2)
You know what I’m talking about.

(Speaker 24)
The second flight, that third flight, here we go.

(Speaker 2)
Oh, yeah. So the flight, they said, ladies and gentlemen, the flight from Tulsa to Dallas has been delayed with new time. The departure will be 11 whatever. So it’s like two hours. I’m doing the math going, if I leave now, I can get to Dallas. By the time the other flight’s going to land, I mean, it’s almost the same time.

(Speaker 2)
But I’m going, no, I need to wait. Because, you know, my wife talked to the front desk ticketing people or something. And then they, ladies and gentlemen, the flight from Dallas to, from Tulsa, Dallas has been delayed. New time, 12 o ‘clock. And I’m going, if I wait till then, I can’t make the flight.

(Speaker 43)
I can’t drive there to Dallas in time to get the connecting flight to Miami.

(Speaker 2)
I can’t. Correct. So they said, hey, Mrs. Clark, here’s the deal. We have tickets available for you and three of your kids. But there are seven of us traveling. So you, two of your kids can’t be on this flight.

(Speaker 2)
But you can sit him on a different slide.

(Speaker 1)
I mean, then I’m not gonna separate our kids. So I’m like we should just drive to Dallas.

(Speaker 2)
Is that what if you did that, you pick the ones you really love to go with?

(Speaker 71)
Or you pick the one?

(Speaker 2)
No, I’d always pick my favorite one. Well, sure.

(Speaker 1)
I’m just kidding.

(Speaker 2)
Anyway, so I decided to leave to go down to Dallas, we go down to Dallas, we’re driving in the Z for the listeners out there that don’t know how long should it take to drive from Tulsa to Dallas if you’re following the laws that have been established by the various counties and cities around? Well, I’d like to preface everything with the fact that that’s widely known that you are the worst driver in the world.

(Speaker 1)
Worst driver in the world ever and the slowest. But if you weren’t following the speed limits. So saying that now, now answering your question, I would say that here again, Dallas is a big community, so when you say Dallas, but I would say. To the airport from Tulsa. Yeah, DFW, right? Not love, or were you going to love?

(Speaker 1)
DFW.

(Speaker 46)
Okay from the Tulsa Airport.

(Speaker 1)
Okay, DFW that should be four and a half four four four I got there in right just a hair under three hours Wow You were flying and I got I get there you get it. You’re flying. Oh good Why get there and I go through the their airport, you know security thing their TSA stuff. Oh, yeah, I get through that and And then right then they’re shutting the door to the plane. And Vanessa had already talked to him.

(Speaker 40)
They said, hey, as long as he gets there, we’ll wait a few minutes if we need to, because I was there on time for the board.

(Speaker 2)
It was on time for the boarding time, but it was there before they left.

(Speaker 52)
Sure.

(Speaker 1)
Well, I guess they’d already given my tickets away.

(Speaker 2)
Standby or so. Oh, that’s the move. So now they decide that Vanessa can be on the plane, but we can’t.

(Speaker 1)
But we can catch the next flight to Miami. Her flight. Wait a second.

(Speaker 2)
Time out.

(Speaker 1)
Did you drop them off and then go park or how did you get separate from how did she get on the plane and you didn’t?

(Speaker 25)
Because she flew from Tulsa to Dallas.

(Speaker 1)
Oh, I see. I didn’t. I didn’t.

(Speaker 46)
Oh, you drove with the other.

(Speaker 2)
You’re not with Havana and Aubrey. And so we’re we’re driving, just jamming out to 80s music. Just whoa, whoa, whoa. Just having a good time. And Aubrey didn’t like if I was having a good time to stay away. you know sure so anyway, so we’re They say we can’t get on the plane.

(Speaker 2)
So Vanessa gets on the plane. They go out on the runway and Attention passengers will be taken off one of us. We are approximated time of arrival should be something happens. Ladies gentlemen mechanical failure To me Vanessa didn’t take off Oh, wow.

(Speaker 1)
So now she’s scrambling on the airport trying to find me.

(Speaker 2)
Anyway, nine o ‘clock, we meet up, we discover each other. There she is at the airport.

(Speaker 1)
You do the slow run to each other. And so it happens is we end up we have audio actually of us meeting at the airport is incredible. And you just I see her. She sees me in slow motion. I’m just giving you a little white short shorts. Yeah, it’s anyway, so we end up getting to a place where we finally can take off at nine o ‘clock at night or something.

(Speaker 1)
We get there, we get into Miami around one in the morning or something. The ship itself, it’s a beautiful ship, real Caribbean ship. But I guess that family reunions, it’s a big thing for people to have family reunions. And some families are huge, they’ve got hundreds of people. And so there’s hundreds of people wearing like red shirts running around. And there’s hundreds of people wearing Miami high school graduation shirts.

(Speaker 1)
And they had little themes on their shirts that had curse words on their shirts. Just spelled out, you know. So you might say like, class of 99, woo! There says, you know, you could say ship. Yeah, yeah, but it’s kind of like that. But anyway, this is very clever.

(Speaker 1)
And Sandy shirts running around. And it was like a rap video is being shot on the the the boat. That was half of the audience was the rap video. You should have felt right at home.

(Speaker 2)
The other half was like the rednecks from the fertile regions of the Kuwaiti boundaries.

(Speaker 63)
Yes, in Oklahoma, and people who had had maybe no hadn’t brushed her tooth to

(Speaker 2)
their tooth and brush their tooth in the last couple decades.

(Speaker 1)
And they were on the it was a beautiful time certain smells I discovered it was an truly incredible time.

(Speaker 22)
Wow.

(Speaker 2)
I got a chance to see you pay extra for that.

(Speaker 1)
I saw a guy who was intoxicated laying on the floor in a glass elevator before noon.

(Speaker 42)
Nice.

(Speaker 24)
I mean, well, that’s hard to do.

(Speaker 1)
What time are you starting there? Wow.

(Speaker 2)
Early. I mean, I was probably a little hair of the dog from the night before. I would imagine. I mean, I’m so that was our trip.

(Speaker 19)
And then on the way home, we got stuck because some woman said that she was being taken advantage of and she got taken. So she announces to the flight attendant.

(Speaker 2)
She goes, I’ve been taken in. And I and I and I’m going to do this.

(Speaker 14)
She’s writing like the movie.

(Speaker 35)
She’s sitting right behind me.

(Speaker 2)
And she puts her hand.

(Speaker 1)
It’s a little button. Boop.

(Speaker 2)
This is about ready to take off. We’re already pulled out of the runway. You’re on the runway. Excuse me, a stewardess. I have been taken advantage of. Okay.

(Speaker 2)
And I and I demand is my right to get off this plane. I bought a ticket to St. Louis.

(Speaker 11)
And I don’t I didn’t buy a ticket to Dallas.

(Speaker 2)
And like, well, maybe you bought a ticket to house and there’s a connection to St. Louis. Are you aware it’s a connection to be in St. Louis tonight at 730.

(Speaker 1)
But it’s not a direct and she goes, uh, I’ve been taken and I want to exercise my right.

(Speaker 42)
Sure.

(Speaker 2)
So she just demands to get off the plane. There’s 400 people on a 777 who’ve been waiting all day with a delayed flight. And I don’t know what happens, but when I get in small crowds, I start to actually get spasms. Oh, yeah. So I get a full -grown back spasm. And thankfully, Wendy gave me an ibuprofen or something.

(Speaker 62)
But I mean, I have had some serious, like, it’s crazy.

(Speaker 2)
It’s the worst thing ever. But anyway, the kids had a great time. They’ve now got the chance to discover what it’s like to be in a bus station. Yes.

(Speaker 1)
at sea. And it was a truly remarkable experience. So that was the summary. My wife told me that after our vacation…

(Speaker 2)
What was the high point?

(Speaker 31)
The high water mark?

(Speaker 1)
My favorite moment was when my wife said to me, getting the plane on the way home, she says, after this vacation, I need a vacation.

(Speaker 2)
Your wife said that? Yeah.

(Speaker 13)
She goes, let’s not do this for a couple of years.

(Speaker 2)
I’m like, yeah.

(Speaker 36)
yes because i hate traveling with such a passion there had to be a small part of your brain that enjoyed knowing that All the jackassery of that vacation.

(Speaker 14)
Give me good material.

(Speaker 1)
I mean, I’m good. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I got something on sound clips that I’m going to put into a show. Nice.

(Speaker 2)
That was good.

(Speaker 1)
That was good.

(Speaker 28)
But then also, you know that this verified that you are not going to have to be called upon to go on a vacation for quite some time.

(Speaker 2)
You know, the guys who work at the Royal Caribbean are the nicest employees of all time. Great customer service. Yeah. Every one of them. And these guys are great people.

(Speaker 3)
Most of the kids are like from other countries.

(Speaker 2)
No, they were. They’re all working seven days a week. Super hard working people. These guys are gone nine months at sea and they’re home for two. Just, I mean, they’re hardworking. Great staff there.

(Speaker 2)
Love them. Good people there. All my flight attendants on American Airlines were very nice. I can’t say, though, out of the four planes we were supposed to leave on, three did not take off. Three of the first four for American Airlines.

(Speaker 14)
And I always think that’s kind of a downer when you’re in the business of flying.

(Speaker 1)
And three out of the four times that the passenger boards the plane, the plane does not take off.

(Speaker 14)
I think that’s always a little bit of a downer. So big thumbs up to our good friends at Royal Caribbean. Big thumbs up to you guys. Big thumbs up to American Airlines, the flight attendants.

(Speaker 1)
Big, big mega points for you, but big downward arrow for whatever’s going on in American Airlines.

(Speaker 2)
I don’t know.

(Speaker 1)
Somebody canceled.

(Speaker 2)
You fly all the time.

(Speaker 1)
How often does it happen? Is it a third? Is it a half? Unfortunately, when I fly southwest, it’s very, very seldom. Southwest is, I’d say, about 95%. Yeah, about that.

(Speaker 1)
What about American, though?

(Speaker 2)
I mean, it’s almost 50 -50 anymore.

(Speaker 1)
I mean, it’s crazy. Their website, though, it’s called aa . com, and their new slogan is, we’ll drive you to drink.

(Speaker 2)
I think it’s a great slogan.

(Speaker 7)
Why are you why are you here?

(Speaker 2)
How did you become an alcoholic?

(Speaker 27)
I used to travel a lot.

(Speaker 2)
I used to travel a lot and you know America over to Delta, save my liver. Do you know what they do every time they’re delayed? What? They give you free drinks. Oh, well, there you go.

(Speaker 2)
Seriously, the guy was like, Sir, I, you know, I always get this cranberry vodka when I get on a plane.

(Speaker 1)
Oh, I know.

(Speaker 2)
Every time I get on there, they don’t do sky, they do Tito’s. I go in there and get to the guy was like, Here you go. Give me like a collection. I’m like, Santa. Well, I’m just saying I mean, gosh, I mean, I’ve been offered more free alcohol from American Airlines. So they always want to make it right.

(Speaker 2)
I’m like, you can keep the alcohol, just get me on time. Yeah, because I’ve got to drive home and now I can’t even drive. So anyway, so now that we’ve got into my vacation, now we’re going to ask you anything, Z. Oh, Julia is on our staff.

(Speaker 1)
Let me tell you about her.

(Speaker 9)
She started off on the search engine team.

(Speaker 2)
over there working at Make Your Life Epic, doing search engine articles for clients. And did a very good job, accurate, fast -paced, hardworking lady. Her uncle is a former client, good guy.

(Speaker 9)
And so we promoted her to be an assistant manager, elephant in the room. Doing a great job there and is in route to being able to coach some one -on -one clients. Doing very well. Julia, how long have you been on the team here? going on four months.

(Speaker 1)
Four months. Okay.

(Speaker 2)
So four months in 120 days in there.

(Speaker 1)
What questions do you have for Dr. Z? Well, I want to preface with so Steve Jobs says he is just as proud of everything that they haven’t done. Or that they’ve said no to as much as he is that they have. So for you, you have multiple businesses in all kinds of different industries. This is why thrivers love you.

(Speaker 2)
So Tell us, so how do you know what to say no to or what kind of filter or gauge or how do you piece this in your mind?

(Speaker 3)
First of all, if it’s, if it’s not any energy that I started, in other words, if someone’s cold calling on me, that’s almost, that’s a 99 % no.

(Speaker 41)
I’m gonna say no just because it sounds good.

(Speaker 1)
His default is no, by the way. Yeah, default is no. Which, by the way, that is rare, and that is an action item for somebody out there.

(Speaker 2)
My wife does this.

(Speaker 14)
She says, kids first.

(Speaker 1)
My wife’s very much, husband first, kids second, that’s what she does. Everything else is, so if anything gets in the way of those things, she’ll go, no. What was that again? Yeah, no. No, I mean, she’s very quick to no. That’s a big moment.

(Speaker 1)
That’s a big change. Your default to nosy. That’s huge. And a lot of people have an issue with that saying no, because they feel like because they look at that other person and they see the disappointment on their face or they hear it in their voice. Or anywhere I guess you can sense it on a text message or an email, right? And you’re just like, oh, I’m so sorry.

(Speaker 1)
Okay, I’ll do lunch with you next week. I don’t want to, but I’m going to. And then you’re sitting there the whole time for lunch going, why did I say yes? Why am I here? And then all of a sudden that leads to the next meeting, the next meeting. Pretty soon you know, I mean, now all of a sudden you’ve bought something from this person you don’t want to buy.

(Speaker 1)
Now they’re having to, come and service it every month, and you’re just like, how did I get caught in this trap? Well, you get caught in the trap because, quite frankly, you don’t say no. And you need to say no early on. Now, when it’s something that I’m driving the energy, when it’s something that I need to have done for my benefit, for my business’s benefit, for my family’s benefit, for whatever benefit I seem deem worthy, then I am going to be very creative if I get a no. I’m gonna keep at it. And so I’m not saying you’re not persevering through a no, but I’m saying if you’re not saying enough no’s, you’re wasting a lot of your time.

(Speaker 30)
You’re letting other people fill in your calendar, fill in your agenda for the day.

(Speaker 50)
So I can see that, and I love that about Steve Jobs when he says, listen, my no is powerful, and what I have not done has led me to all the great things that I have done. Because if you’re spread out too much, and they’ve got 100 ,000 people,

(Speaker 26)
on the developmental pipeline, it’s hard to really be focused on what’s really the next move for Apple.

(Speaker 1)
What’s really, where do we really want to go as a company? And so, you know, even the CEO, even the boss, you have to be able to say no, even though it may seem like someone’s really passionate about it. I ran into a young man the other day, Clay, Clay loves this story.

(Speaker 37)
And he was here shadowing, doing something.

(Speaker 1)
I mean, he was in the room for a reason, and I’m sure he’s a fine young man. Fine young man.

(Speaker 30)
Fine young man.

(Speaker 1)
Beautiful man. Yes. And I’m leaving the studio, and I’m headed out to my car, and I get the, hey, hey, Z, Dr. Z. So, you know, you don’t want to be rude, you know.

(Speaker 2)
But you always sometimes want to use the phone method, right?

(Speaker 30)
You know the phone method?

(Speaker 35)
What’s that?

(Speaker 1)
The phone method is when you know you’re going to walk through a gauntlet of people that you know somebody is going to want your attention. You do the old phone to the ear, right? Check that voicemail. You do the old phone to the ear and you give him a nod, you give him a happy smile, but you just keep walking. Another move that Z does, he’s very good at establishing when this meeting has to be over before it starts, which is great. So if you meet someone for coffee or for lunch, he’ll go, hey, I really appreciate y ‘all.

(Speaker 1)
You got me until four o ‘clock. What do you got? Yeah, what do you got? You got my undivided attention right now. Go with your time. But he asked me this young man asked me, Hey, can we do lunch?

(Speaker 2)
I just really would like to I mean, basically saying, you know, I really would like for you to hang out with me and get to know you and you speaking of my life. And, you know, you seem like such a nice guy. And I mean, I, I want to, you know, pick me pick me and I and I looked at him. I said, What’s your name? said again, I said, Well, it’s nice to meet you. But no, we’re not going to do lunch.

(Speaker 2)
Have a nice day and appreciate you asking and see you later. And I walked on out. And you would have thought that I’d taken his puppy and gone outside and ran over it with my car. Let me tell you something that Z has done to me that’s horrible. I’m going to keep this audio clip and I’m going to give you just a second.

(Speaker 23)
You have…

(Speaker 2)
let me know that you are not a big fan of who I believe to be one of the greatest actors in American history. Let’s think about this. Jerry Seinfeld has recently been disclosed. He’s now worth over $900 million for syndicating his material. Now, approaching him in that net worth is Adam Sandler and his deal with Netflix. Now, I’m going to keep this audio and you can please, after I play it, I’d like for you to explain to me why you always say no whenever I’m like, hey, you want to get together and watch Sandler movies?

(Speaker 1)
Because it’s always a quick no, but I just want to explain to you, what about this incredible acting you could possibly, because it’s almost hard to tell, is this Mel Gibson or is this Adam Sandler?

(Speaker 52)
Let me cue that real quick.

(Speaker 1)
Mama says that alligators are ornery because they got all them teeth but no toothbrush. Why do you not want to watch this movie? What an incredible movie.

(Speaker 61)
Waterboy, an incredible movie.

(Speaker 50)
Incredible film, really.

(Speaker 1)
It’s more of a film. You don’t call it a movie, it’s a film.

(Speaker 70)
I would rather take a hammer out and like bludgeon my left elbow.

(Speaker 1)
Why?

(Speaker 27)
Because it is it’s nonsensical.

(Speaker 2)
It’s it’s it’s not even funny. I mean, it’s like, you know, we I got so passed out in junior high school, you know.

(Speaker 38)
OK.

(Speaker 2)
Hey, hey, hey, hey. OK, let me give you one more. Let me tell you something funny. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

(Speaker 36)
Now, this one is where Adam Sandler from the movie Billy Madison, he walks in on his girlfriend.

(Speaker 2)
Oh, no. And he believes that she’s having an affair with the penguin. Now, we all know from the movie Billy Madison, which I’ve only seen like 50 times that Billy Madison Drinks alcohol to a point where he starts to see an imaginary penguin that sings strangers in the night by Frank Sinatra Sinatra. So it’s, doo -bee -doo -bee -doo, doo -doo -doo -doo.

(Speaker 1)
Here’s a scene, as we explained, what part of this is not good to you? Because this right here, a movie is like, oh, it’s a little movie, it’s a little film. We begin to call things a film when they touch the soul in a way. This scene touches mine. Here we go, let me queue it up.

(Speaker 2)
Z, what part of that do you not like?

(Speaker 1)
I mean, think about the beginning, the end, was it the plot? Was it the character development?

(Speaker 52)
I mean, what part?

(Speaker 1)
When you have true love, why would you want to interrupt that? See, that’s the thing, it’s just mean. I mean, it’s just mean. She’s sitting there having, obviously, a wonderful time with said penguin, and he just comes in, and party’s over.

(Speaker 2)
Adam’s there, party’s over, go on about your way, and that’s just mean. Is there any Adam Sandler movie you like? Before I say, No, I don’t think there is, number one. But I don’t think I’ve seen them now.

(Speaker 1)
Unbelievable.

(Speaker 3)
I know.

(Speaker 2)
You really owed yourself. Why’d you bring that up?

(Speaker 1)
I saw them live in concert and it’s impressive. Oh, yeah, I’m sure it was. No, seriously, you would not have liked it, I don’t think.

(Speaker 59)
But I’m just saying, the point is, you don’t feel like you need to pretend that you agree with me just to be copacetic.

(Speaker 2)
You’re not mean about it. You’re like, I just don’t like it.

(Speaker 14)
Yeah.

(Speaker 69)
And if I press more of you over time, you’ll get more, you know, you’ll cite the facts or the reasons.

(Speaker 9)
Sure. But it’s a formula. He’s a formula actor. Come on. He has a formula, the same formula.

(Speaker 52)
It’s just over and over and over.

(Speaker 9)
Okay. Julia, what other questions do you have for him about what he says no to or any question at all?

(Speaker 1)
Any question at all? You have the floor. Yeah.

(Speaker 2)
I have one more question for you.

(Speaker 1)
Okay. So you seem to be a very calm guy.

(Speaker 2)
Just you go for it.

(Speaker 33)
I like that. But I have a question.

(Speaker 1)
How do you avoid overthinking every potential liability that will occur or procedures, rules, constantly changing laws? Just how do you avoid overthinking that to the point that it’s going to sacrifice you business and growth? That’s a great question. And I think so many people, if I could, if I could get rid of one thing in the world, Hmm. Oh, this is a deep question.

(Speaker 2)
Not Adam Sandler.

(Speaker 41)
No, Adam.

(Speaker 1)
He’s a great guy. He’s a great guy. Great guy. Great. I wouldn’t go that far. The one thing that I could get rid of would be fear.

(Speaker 44)
And I think that with all the things that can go wrong in life, I choose not to spend any of my mental runway on worrying about those things.

(Speaker 13)
That’s why you have insurance. That’s why you have attorneys. That’s why I have several of the people in my life that are in accounting.

(Speaker 11)
You don’t get scared? No. You don’t worry?

(Speaker 68)
No.

(Speaker 1)
Let me wrap that up a little bit. You can’t just throw caution to the wind. But I have people that worry about that stuff so much, it frees me up from having to worry about it. And they’ll learn, it may be a learning process for them to say, hey, listen, it’s now come to the level I need to tell Z about, right? In other words, let’s say someone gets a slip and fall on one of my businesses. Boom, it happens, right?

(Speaker 14)
It does happen.

(Speaker 24)
Do I stay up the night before thinking, oh, Oh my lord, what happens if someone slips and falls and hurts themselves in the business?

(Speaker 1)
Do I have enough insurance?

(Speaker 14)
How’s that going to look?

(Speaker 1)
What’s going to happen? Oh my gosh, what am I going to do? Oh my gosh, it’s going to happen. I know it’s just, oh. Okay, that what you’re doing though, your ability to do that, I know in my life it really really irritates most people around me because most people are controlled by fear and I care not.

(Speaker 1)
But that really bothers, a lot of people are like, dude, how could you not? I remember with the DJ company, we had a company opened up, several of our former employees offered the same packages. They’re like, how could you not be worried? I’m like, I’m not gonna be worried, I’m gonna take massive action. But I’m not gonna sit there and, Because what does that do? Nothing.

(Speaker 1)
But people, people, I think it bothers people when you say you’re not worried. It really does. It does. But the thing about it is now, now that it happens, and then it goes another step or two down the road. Sometimes I don’t even get involved in it. Just, you know, you call your workman’s comp insurance.

(Speaker 2)
They put that the dad, they do all the things. Then all of a sudden, this guy doesn’t like what he’s hearing. And he’s an employee of one of the people that do business with you. And so now all of a sudden, you get a letter from an attorney.

(Speaker 1)
You know, now all of a sudden you get, you know, it goes to the next level. And so at some point, I get pulled into it.

(Speaker 2)
And more times than not, I’m like, okay, one employee saw what happened. So now I’m interviewing five employees, right? Did you write, have you written any of this down? No, we weren’t told to write any of that.

(Speaker 35)
Okay, Eric, my HR guy, come on, get in here.

(Speaker 1)
We didn’t write, you write down what you saw, sign it, date it, because you know, and with this thing two months from now or whatever, or whenever this has to finally you have to tell your story, you know, sometimes you get a little foggy on what happened. And so you don’t want to document, you want to make sure you’re buttoned up on your side, you want to make sure that all your policies and procedures are right, and they’re being followed. And then you know, you hear again, you still don’t worry about it, you still turn it over to your legal team you turn it over to your workman’s comp attorneys you turn it over to the people that that you pay to worry about this or you pay to deal with it I should say so to me it’s rather easy it’s kind of like why why do you want to worry about things What about when people have screwed you over in business? So you’ve worked on a deal. Somebody screws you over.

(Speaker 1)
How do you keep yourself out of the emotional cobwebs of trying to repair something that cannot be fixed? Because I see a lot of people where you have to fire somebody because they’re bad at their job. Right. And then they’re now offended or hurt because they’re your cousin, your neighbor, your former best friend, your neighbor, your cousin, someone’s cousin, someone’s neighbor, someone’s friend, everyone’s related somehow, you know what I mean? And then you hear them saying bad things about you. How do you move on?

(Speaker 1)
How do you just move on? How do you do it? You take a deep breath and you move on. I like to think of things that are like positive in my life and things that are fun for me to think about. I mean, sometimes getting control of your thoughts and and having your hands wrapped around your own brain and having you know, it’s it’s sad to me when I hear people talk about I just can’t not think about that. It’s almost like a loop in their brain that they just can’t break through that cycle.

(Speaker 1)
And it’s tough. You know, you see some people, the misery of that torment on them of something that they’re either worried about that’s going to happen or that they’re in the middle of and they’re thinking it could be a worst case scenario. I could lose it all. This could be horrible. And they’re just caught up in that. And it affects them physically, affects them emotionally.

(Speaker 1)
affects their business.

(Speaker 2)
And I think one of the strongest things that you have to understand is that you can only really show that your team you can really only show them how to really respond to things that might cause other people fear and really show them that you on the outside especially on the outside that you are not going to let that affect you or affect the business you’re going to go forward and yeah it may have to cause for some changes and policies or procedures that you’re doing in your business because you want to make sure you’re buttoned up everything’s correct but on the term, by having that no fear and having that push through and having that where you demonstrate that to your staff, hey, this is okay, we’re going to get through this. This isn’t a debilitating thing. It’s going to be all right. We’ve got these people over here working on it and they’re professionals in that and they’re going to take care of it. You guys continue to do your job and not let that one bad thing, you know, dictate your month long activity.

(Speaker 2)
I mean, how is that that you get 10 great reviews, you get one one star review, and that’s the one that you lay there in bed sitting there going, I can’t believe they did that to me. I mean, we gave them even a free It’s a freak cleaner for their glasses. And I think when people know that you freak out, I think what they do is they try to make you freak out more. So like Mr. Anderson, I think I’ve shared this story before on the show, but Mr. Anderson in Minnesota, what happened is they decided, they called it outcome -based education, and there’s this new holistic approach to education when I was in school, and they made you take archery classes and swimming classes. You had to do choir and band and all these various things in Minnesota.

(Speaker 31)
And the teacher, his name was Mr. Anderson.

(Speaker 2)
And Mr. Anderson was a guy who had the ability to deal with emotional situations about one inch thick, maybe one -tenth of an inch thick skin, like very, like just maybe one -tenth of one -tenth of one, I mean, he was just one one -hundredth of an inch thick skin. See, this guy was like a brittle, you could break this man by doing anything. Look at any wrong. What would we do is we would talk we would Myself and a guy named Jeff we would kind of be the ringleaders, but I’m gonna go shocking Here’s the deal shocking at like 1010. We all need to start coughing.

(Speaker 51)
There’s like 200 guys.

(Speaker 2)
We’re all gonna start coughing. Oh, here’s You’ll start in the front row.

(Speaker 28)
It’ll move its way to the back It’s like a wave and we cannot stop and it needs to get moving

(Speaker 24)
and more violent It needs to get where it’s like it’s it’s crazy You’re like we’re wheezing and we have to get into it and the more he gets upset The more we press on until he throws something and then when he does we all just start freaking out.

(Speaker 22)
So anyway, it’s like One by one each guy starts And then he’s like, guys, seriously, stop.

(Speaker 2)
And then he’s like, are you kidding me? It was just he’d freak out every time. Oh, yeah. So they were like, oh, that’s so good.

(Speaker 67)
That’s because he would freak out.

(Speaker 2)
He’d walk out of class. So the next day, we’re like. When he starts talking, I want one of you guys to climb around the back of the class when he’s taking attendance. He won’t see you. There’s a big auditorium.

(Speaker 14)
Turn the lights off when he starts talking.

(Speaker 1)
Just turn them off.

(Speaker 2)
Just turn them off. Dark room. Dark room. We’re all going to scream. Start throwing things.

(Speaker 1)
Yeah. And the guy’s like, are you going to do it? I’m like, we’re all going to do it.

(Speaker 2)
We’re ready to go.

(Speaker 26)
So he started.

(Speaker 2)
All right, guys. Today we’re going to start singing Shenandoah. It’s a new song. It’s from the Yadda Yadda period.

(Speaker 1)
And all of a sudden, lights out. We’re all just screaming going nuts, you know, and he’s like, Oh, he just so pleased. He’s crazy, crazy. His shirt would be untucked.

(Speaker 22)
His shirt would be untucked.

(Speaker 1)
He’s got a large man. His shirt be untucked. He’d be sweating.

(Speaker 24)
He would call that a short fuse.

(Speaker 1)
No.

(Speaker 40)
And it was like a deal where we loved it.

(Speaker 1)
Oh yeah. We loved it. So we would just, and I think if you’re out there and you’re a business owner and you’re kind of brittle, we all have a certain high watermark. Cause he would advise what you have for someone who’s kind of a little bit brittle, quick to fire off the cannon right now. Short fuse.

(Speaker 2)
How can they elongate that fuse and not freak out?

(Speaker 1)
Two things. One, what I’d like for you to do is summon up all the pride in your body and set it down into a box and light it on fire. Get rid of it all. All that pride. All that pride. Number two, whenever you feel that bone in your body, the offensive, the bone in your body that gets, I’m offended.

(Speaker 63)
Whenever you need to surgically have that removed.

(Speaker 2)
Amygdala.

(Speaker 20)
Is that it?

(Speaker 2)
Yeah. That’s not a bone. That’s a region of the brain, but you can have that removed. Is there a bone that control? Okay, there’s not.

(Speaker 1)
Let’s get it from this point forward. The science is no longer relevant. The point is, don’t be offended. I mean, this day and age wake up in the morning. They’re like, hey, I wonder how many times I’m going to be offended today. I mean, because that’s the move, right?

(Speaker 1)
I was on the, I was on the cruise and there was a group of people telling white jokes, like just loud white jokes. And I actually think they’re kind of funny. Sure. Cause they’re based on some element of truth. Sure. So I mean, I could have been offended.

(Speaker 2)
I probably could.

(Speaker 1)
But there was like really, really because they had like, you know, dance parties on the boat and stuff.

(Speaker 24)
And there’s a group of people who had just a ton of white jokes, you know, like in a row, like people have Chuck Norris jokes.

(Speaker 2)
I’m sure just in a row of them. And I mean, again, if you’re listening right now and you’re a redneck, redneck, redneck jokes are kind of funny because they’re based on reality. Yes, there is.

(Speaker 1)
So, you know, as a bus parked on their yard, you know, this to me, you know, you know that, you know that you’ve been on that bus, been on the bus. You’ve seen that you’ve had a cold beverage of your choice. Don’t get offended. I tell you what, just do not be offended. I love the line one time. I forget who it was we were interviewing.

(Speaker 1)
He said his line was, well, I’m offended that you’re offended. That was his line. See, I have an audio clip of a bus driver that was easy to offend here. Let me cue this up here and let me get this cued up here. See, when you get that kind of reaction, don’t you almost have to throw something else? Sometimes you do, but here we go.

(Speaker 2)
bus around that’ll end your precious little field trip pretty quick don’t throw the sandwich you want to go on the field trip here we go hey i’m trying to score points with a teacher today unbelievable but i’ll just say

(Speaker 1)
we’ve all seen that scene. Chris Farley is freaking out.

(Speaker 2)
But you see, I mean, you just don’t want to be that person. You don’t want to be that person. And you don’t you want to be slow, very slow to anger.

(Speaker 22)
And I know that’s easy to say.

(Speaker 44)
And particularly in this day and age, don’t freak out.

(Speaker 2)
We’ve got so many things out there that are kind of pulling and pushing and prodding on us. And we’re under a lot of stress, you know, which is really, we’ve got to get something done in a certain amount of time.

(Speaker 65)
We’re busy, busy, busy.

(Speaker 2)
And someone cuts you off, someone does this, someone just, you can just feel your blood pressure rising.

(Speaker 66)
You get the red in your face and you’re just ready to, it’s a fight, you know, fight or flight.

(Speaker 14)
I’m going to fight.

(Speaker 17)
But just take a deep breath and realize it’s going to be okay.

(Speaker 2)
And, you know, forgive yourself for being mad when you shouldn’t have been, forgive them for making you mad, and just learn to go through life with this thing of, you know, where you’re gonna think about it and be calm, and not be all worked up about something.

(Speaker 1)
Do you have the, just still the call, if people call with 918 -460, that’s the official office number, right? 918 -460. 461.

(Speaker 2)
461, 918 -461 -2020.

(Speaker 1)
It’s home with a $99.

(Speaker 8)
You got your first pair of glasses, your exam. Yep. $99. You got four, six, nine, one, eight, four, six, one, 2020. And do you still take calls where you, cause I have audio of you doing a therapy session with a thriver recently. Yes.

(Speaker 8)
Can I cue that up here?

(Speaker 23)
Oh, absolutely.

(Speaker 8)
The thriver was stressed out.

(Speaker 29)
They called the help.

(Speaker 8)
Yes. Yes. Nine, one, eight, four, six, one, 2020.

(Speaker 3)
I love doing this.

(Speaker 11)
They asked for Robert to get through, but to get through the front desk, you usually just ask for Robert.

(Speaker 2)
You’re in a Bob, Bob for Bobby.

(Speaker 1)
And this was your last therapy session with a thriver.

(Speaker 9)
Good.

(Speaker 2)
Oh, perfect.

(Speaker 1)
Great.

(Speaker 51)
A lot of pressure.

(Speaker 1)
You got to rise above it. Got a harness in the good energy.

(Speaker 65)
Block out the bad.

(Speaker 1)
Harness, energy, block, band. Feel the flow, Happy. Feel it. It’s circular.

(Speaker 11)
It’s like a carousel.

(Speaker 2)
You pay the quarter, you get on the horse. It goes up and down and around.

(Speaker 12)
Circular, circle, with the music, the flow. All good things. All good things.

(Speaker 7)
All good things, man.

(Speaker 2)
Now, Z, we’re going to ask Julie.

(Speaker 65)
Julie, do you have any final question for Dr. Z before we give Wendy the mic?

(Speaker 37)
Let’s give Wendy the mic.

(Speaker 12)
Oh, Wendy’s going to have the mic. Now, Wendy, a little commercial for Wendy. Wendy coming in hot. Wendy has been working faithfully with Elephant in the Room for a couple of years and did a really, really good job at the store level managing a store. And see, that means she has about 1 ,200 members she has to manage.

(Speaker 2)
Wow. And she’s managing all the employees and all the stylists.

(Speaker 1)
And she has expressed an interest of wanting to move beyond a manager level and to eventually consult with clients. And so she has begun the path. She’s learning the search engine moves because you can’t teach it if you can’t do it. Come on now. Wendy, welcome on to the Thrive Time Show. How are you?

(Speaker 1)
I am fantastic.

(Speaker 12)
It’s great to be here.

(Speaker 14)
Thank you.

(Speaker 1)
All right. So, Wendy, what questions do you have for Dr. Robert H. Zellner and associates?

(Speaker 2)
All right.

(Speaker 55)
So.

(Speaker 2)
You have so much that you’ve accomplished. I know you have so many businesses that you’re partners with with clay and on your own and they’re all successful. They’re all doing great.

(Speaker 64)
Is there What is your next goal?

(Speaker 1)
What else do you want to do?

(Speaker 2)
Wow, that’s a hot question.

(Speaker 1)
We don’t get that question asked very much.

(Speaker 2)
Well, no, I’ve got a few businesses that are queued up. I’ll tell you off air what they are, but they’re in what I call NQ. I just opened up some new businesses two months ago and got the second location opened up. Doing very well. And that has some vertical integration. I’m going to continue to kind of work in that.

(Speaker 2)
But then I’ve also got the next one lined up and quite possibly the next one after that lined up. So you’re just going to continue to grow and develop more businesses instead of saying okay I’ve hit a point I’m done I’ve had enough and now I’m gonna go live on a Jamaican island. It’s fun for him. Oh no I want to do both I want to go start a new business and hang out on a Jamaican island. I mean they’re not and that’s the thing about they’re not you know they’re not what’s the word I’m looking for they’re not.

(Speaker 46)
I would say they’re not mutually exclusive ideas.

(Speaker 2)
Okay there we go. I say this I had to do this is my let me give you a Z 1 .0 notable quotable from your head Okay, we’ll stamp. This is the first 10 years of business.

(Speaker 1)
Okay, and then I’ll do Z 2 .0 next 10 years now Z 3 .0 my opinion. Okay. So first Z 1 .0 was I think Z did whatever it took That’s 1 .0. So what, seven days a week for how many years, buddy? Couple three. Yeah, seven days a week, working seven days a week.

(Speaker 12)
That’s like whatever it takes.

(Speaker 1)
And Z, I believe 2 .0 was, I’m going to do whatever it takes, but I am also going to have fun when I get in the end zone. I think that was probably four or five years into the business. You were very intentional about having fun and doing whatever it took, right? I mean, correct. And I think Z 3 .0 is he wants to have a blasty blast first. And when at the same time, you’re not mutually exclusive at all anymore.

(Speaker 1)
I think you have. I think now you’ve got to a place where it’s almost funny to you. These certain things that would make a young Dr. Zellner potentially upset, you know, the crazy things that happen in business. I think now it’s almost funny. I think it’s like a comedy.

(Speaker 2)
You look at it from a different level now. Do you think I mean, I think you’ve dealt you learn how to delegate and elevate. And it’s almost like funny now. I mean, you’re right.

(Speaker 7)
I mean, a problem that, you know, it’s like I tell people the analogy.

(Speaker 14)
I love analogies.

(Speaker 2)
It’s like when you have a two or three year old daughter.

(Speaker 1)
and she can’t find her her favorite Barbie doll or her favorite doll and the world is ending as we know it for her. Been there, done that, got the t -shirt. There you go. And so then it’s so funny because that’s her perspective and no matter what you tell her, no matter what you do, short of producing said doll immediately to her because you as a parent know everything, right? You’re omnipotent when it comes especially to the household. And then what’s so funny no matter what you can do that’s the meltdown is gonna happen and the world is ending as we know it and then

(Speaker 1)
tack on a few years it’s amazing then all of a sudden it’s like remember when you had that tantrum about couldn’t find your Barbie and they’re like yeah that’s so silly you know we our perspective changes as we get older we understand that that’s not that big a deal you know what the world didn’t end and I found something else to play with and life did go on So it’s just that perspective of life and going through. And I guess for me, even though I’m 54, you know, it’s kind of like, I feel like I’ve been through so many of these kind of experiences in life. As an example, an employee tries to extort money from you. Like as an example, Z has had multiple times where somebody knows they’re in a crisis situation where they’re short staffed and they will approach you with a demand for a ridiculous raise at the very moment when you need them to do their job.

(Speaker 33)
Absolutely happens a lot though.

(Speaker 1)
It’s a move. They smell weakness. They say go they say look man Z’s one manager short So I’m gonna go in there and I’m gonna pretend like I’ll say hey I got another opportunity now if I could double my wage or go by 40 % or some crazy number They know you can’t make money at that level. They’re gonna say I have to leave all the time.

(Speaker 44)
You’ve seen, it’s like a move.

(Speaker 14)
Now you’ve seen the move.

(Speaker 1)
I know the move. How do you handle that move? How would you, what’s your, what’s your move to handle the move? I smile real big. I said, well, absolutely.

(Speaker 32)
Think about giving you a raise.

(Speaker 1)
You know, the shark only attacks the fish that’s bleeding. You do know that, right? I mean, so, so when you’re bleeding, you can’t go around and say, why is the shark trying to bite my root end?

(Speaker 24)
Cause that’s what they do.

(Speaker 1)
So I smile and go, Oh, you bet. And you want that better schedule?

(Speaker 2)
I don’t know why you’re working on Saturdays either. Come on now. Well, you bet. You get your pay raise, you get your new schedule.

(Speaker 59)
Anything else I can do for you?

(Speaker 2)
Okay, let’s hug this thing out.

(Speaker 1)
Hug it out.

(Speaker 2)
If you get a hug out, watch out.

(Speaker 47)
Oh, watch out now.

(Speaker 2)
And then I go promptly and hire somebody to replace that person.

(Speaker 1)
And until they’re hired and trained and ready to go, then I don’t fire said earlier person. So you have somebody working for you that you might not like for a week or two or a month or so? And you know why? Why? Because I don’t want to get down there and do the work that I’m paying them to do. That’s what my choice.

(Speaker 1)
But a younger you might have let him go because you were mad. Oh, yeah. And then you’d be working on your wrestling.

(Speaker 2)
You get them down.

(Speaker 14)
See, that’s a move you had to teach me. I’m like, you are literally having somebody who works for you right now that makes you crazy.

(Speaker 1)
You’ve told him about it. You’re not blindsiding him. You told them it bothers you. Oh, yeah. But now you’re going to literally give someone that you can’t stand to raise. Absolutely.

(Speaker 1)
Two weeks before you fire them? Absolutely.

(Speaker 2)
It’s impressive.

(Speaker 1)
Well, because there’s the super move.

(Speaker 2)
It’s your business.

(Speaker 1)
You get to make the decisions. You’re the one that gets to decide whether they stay or leave.

(Speaker 2)
So you smile and you go, you know what?

(Speaker 1)
Two weeks ago when you came in and made those ridiculous demands that I said yes to. But you said yes to them. I said, well, you bet I did because I wanted to keep you around for these two weeks. But that day fired you. And you are a great poker player. You’re a great poker player.

(Speaker 52)
I wouldn’t go as far as great.

(Speaker 2)
Very good.

(Speaker 1)
What’s the best card game what’s the card game you’re the best at the best the one that I’m best at yeah Probably I don’t know hold them or Could you win if you played enough? Like if you play long enough, are you going to win more than half the time?

(Speaker 2)
I believe I’m, yes. You have a poker face?

(Speaker 1)
Yes, I have a poker face. I don’t know if it’s a very good poker face, but I have a poker face.

(Speaker 12)
But you could win more often than not if you play long enough, right? Yes, I’m going to help you with your story.

(Speaker 1)
When you play cards, do you normally come out ahead? I always win. I never lose.

(Speaker 38)
No, I mean, I know you, but I’m just saying, when you go to Vegas, do you usually come out ahead or break even?

(Speaker 1)
Um, it would depend. I mean, when you’re playing poker, it’s a whole, that’s a whole different kind of mindset. And a lot of times I like tournaments, which are a big win, or, you know, it’s either all or nothing kind of thing. So, um, so when I played like in a tournament, your poker face is incredible. Thank you.

(Speaker 2)
You smell great today, by the way.

(Speaker 1)
You look like you smell great. I mean, I can’t smell you from where I’m sitting, but I wish I could. I can’t believe that you survived the cruise ship. I’m just glad you did. As am I, as am I. Now, Wendy, one other question. do you have for Dr. Robert Zellner?

(Speaker 2)
Did we answer your question, by the way? You did, you did, absolutely. Okay, fantastic.

(Speaker 1)
So the other question I have is that there anything that you were ever approached about business wise that you said no to that later on either became successful or you look back and you said, gosh, I really should have done that. Yeah, about 30 years ago, a guy by the name of Gates called me up and wanted me to know. He wanted me to come to his garage and help him with this electronic thing that he was working on. I was like, that sounds stupid. No way. Get out of here.

(Speaker 1)
No, I’m thinking back on that and I get shark tanked a lot. And yeah, there was probably some real estate deals that I could have or should have done back before when downtown was blowing up. I had a buddy that had a building down there. And it was almost like you were just buying it for the land itself at the time. Crazy low prices, dude.

(Speaker 15)
Crazy low prices back in the day.

(Speaker 2)
And I probably should have played in that arena a little bit, bought and sat on them for a hot minute, and then gone in and cleaned them up and done something with them. So I look back at some commercial real estate that I had. Anytime you’re investing your money, you’re building an asset, that’s a good thing. So many people invest in real estate. their money in things that don’t appreciate or don’t become an asset. After they bought it, they bought it for the price of the land, but the upkeep, the maintenance, the taxes, and it did not turn around for what, like a decade?

(Speaker 35)
I mean, seven years.

(Speaker 1)
I mean, that’s a long play.

(Speaker 2)
It is a long play, but you need to look back on, you say, you know, something that you now downtown is blowing up and doing great.

(Speaker 24)
And those buildings are going for a premium and people are coming in and tearing them down or getting them and doing all kinds of crazy, cool things with them.

(Speaker 2)
And so, you know, then you look back on it now and now you’re paying the rate that everybody’s paying for them.

(Speaker 1)
But, you know,

(Speaker 2)
if you’d had that foresight to buy and sit on them for a little bit, you know. But I would say that I’ve been shark tank quite a few times on businesses, and there have been a few of them that people have gone on as a general thumb and done well with. But I still I don’t look back on those and go, gosh, I wish I was more invested in that anymore.

(Speaker 1)
When people approach me with the business idea, usually the deal killer for me is is that I can’t control it.

(Speaker 2)
And I don’t want to invest in something that I’m just not a venture capitalist to go around and say, oh, here’s your money.

(Speaker 41)
Yeah, I get an extra point or two above what the bank would get because the bank has the cheapest money in town.

(Speaker 2)
Here’s the money for you to go do your dream and good luck. And he’s very well.

(Speaker 33)
He’s very wise.

(Speaker 1)
I say wise.

(Speaker 2)
It’s like he knows the right decisions to make. So I think it could be a burden to watch somebody make mistakes because most people learn through mistakes.

(Speaker 1)
or mentors.

(Speaker 41)
Right.

(Speaker 2)
And most people, for whatever reason, we prefer to learn from mistakes. I think so. When you watch a young man or young woman just making endless mistakes at your expense. You’re kind of like it blows. Yeah. Yeah, because you can’t control it.

(Speaker 14)
I can’t control it.

(Speaker 1)
So if you’re out there and you’re thinking about having Z invest in something, I’m just trying to tell you he’s doesn’t lose, but it’s because you can make those decisions. And that’s why that’s the difference between a you and a venture capitalist.

(Speaker 63)
A venture capitalist just throws money at an entrepreneur and says, hopefully it works out.

(Speaker 7)
Yeah. Go get him. Go get him, buddy. Go get him, tiger. And venture capitalists, even the most successful firms like Sequoia, they talk about how they invest in 10 businesses and they hope that one of them makes it.

(Speaker 1)
That’s their, that’s their business strategy. Right. That’s crazy.

(Speaker 2)
That’s crazy.

(Speaker 11)
But that’s how they make all their money.

(Speaker 22)
It takes one Facebook to make it all back.

(Speaker 2)
Book a face or something like that.

(Speaker 13)
Book at the face.

(Speaker 1)
Book at the face. I want to have Andrew an opportunity to ask you a question because he’s got a lot of great clients he works with. And he’s a young man who does the coding. He does the coaching. He does ad management. He just does a lot.

(Speaker 1)
He’s got a lot of clients. And obviously not all of them could be here on today’s show. But Andrew, what’s a question that you think that your clients would love to ask Z or maybe questions you’ve been asked today that you think would be a great question to ask Dr. Z? Gardner. Absolutely.

(Speaker 1)
I actually have a client right now who is actually going to meet with someone who would be a potential investor in the company. He’s trying to figure out if it’s a good move to go for the investment, or to wait and grind it out, or look for more of a bank, more of a loan, as opposed to selling 15 % of the company to the investor. He’s known this guy for about Probably about eight months, but he’s worked with someone who’s known him basically all his life, and they have a good connection. So, he’s trying to figure out, should he invest, or should he take on an investor? Should he just wait, grind it out, or should he look more towards a bank? The wait, grind it out is the number one choice.

(Speaker 1)
Number two choice is the bank. Number three choice is the investor. This just in, you said number one choice. Grind it out. Grind it out. Number two choice.

(Speaker 1)
Bank. Number three investor. Why hub this last business that I was asked about just a little bit ago that I just started a couple months ago.

(Speaker 25)
I had about a year ago when I was formulating it maybe six to eight months ago.

(Speaker 1)
I couldn’t tell you the exact amount. I had a dinner with some folks that wanted to invest. And they were going to buy 10 % of the business for a certain amount of money. Yep. And so they had the money and they were brought to me by somebody else on the team and said, Hey, listen, I know I know you’re thinking about, you know, raising all this money and here’s some folks that want to play with us when I want to want to buy. So I’m like, okay, cool.

(Speaker 2)
So I’ll have dinner with them or I’ll visit with them. I met with them and neat couple and you know, they had they had some resources, some money.

(Speaker 14)
you know the 10 the amount so we kind of got through all that and okay okay okay and then all dinner long i was probably asked i don’t know a hundred questions and some of them were kind of almost to the point of like almost like silly right like you know um you know like so Are you going to have a landline phone?

(Speaker 1)
Yeah, yeah, we are. Well, you got that figured out yet? No, we’ll get that figured out closer. Oh, well, that’s okay. I mean, all these silly little questions about micro I’ve just felt I just felt like this micro managing thing was kind of cloud was coming on top of me, you know, and how often we get the numbers and how often do we get reporting?

(Speaker 58)
And can we come in?

(Speaker 1)
And can we help with that? Can we verify that? I mean, I mean, I’ve by the time I got the By the time they’re asking for dessert, I was asking for a gun.

(Speaker 7)
I was going to shoot them or myself.

(Speaker 1)
I said, thank you for dinner. You just confirmed the fact that I’m not going to have any investors in this business.

(Speaker 18)
Have a wonderful life. Thank you for your time. And left, you know, so I think the investors, what the investors do is that particularly with someone who’s not very savvy in business, Andrew, what happens is, is that They’re a weight.

(Speaker 1)
They are a weight and they’re also just so annoying.

(Speaker 11)
Stop. Just stop. I mean, you just you just want to say, listen, I got this.

(Speaker 1)
Just trust me. We’re doing what we need to do. And here’s the reasons why.

(Speaker 7)
And they still aren’t happy.

(Speaker 1)
They still they’re they’re still not happy with that.

(Speaker 36)
There’s a different it’s a different.

(Speaker 1)
There’s three things that come with the investors. There’s the three C’s. Here’s the three C’s. You get the connections, whether you like them or not. All their buddies now somehow have a way into your life. They show up at your office, the connections, then the counsel.

(Speaker 1)
They’re like go watch one episode of Shark Tank and read one chapter of one self -help book and now they come in with life advice for you. Oh yeah. And then you have the cash which it’s better just to get money from a bank if you can.

(Speaker 11)
Yeah so that’s why number two choice was the bank and if you can get money from a bank that’s

(Speaker 1)
always the best. Right. And they’re going to be very professional about it. They’re not going to call you every other day going, how are yourselves today? What’s going on? What are you going to do?

(Speaker 1)
I mean, what are you going to do? You’ve hired this person. I mean, I mean, I sent my cousin and you said you’re not going to hire him. And why is that? What’s going on with there? You know, but they’re going to be, Hey, we need, we need the P and L statements.

(Speaker 12)
We need quarterly.

(Speaker 1)
We need whatever they set up as your base that you need to provide them. Right. And then, then it’s all business and then you provide them with that. And that’s good. That’s what you should be doing anyway. you Um, and then the grinding out’s the best, that’s the most rewarding because that is right there.

(Speaker 1)
When you, when you have to, it’s kind of like the poker analogy that Clay was talking about earlier about the poker face. When you get short stacked, we don’t have as many chips.

(Speaker 7)
Your decision -making gets heightened and you, you know, is this hand, am I all in on this hand?

(Speaker 1)
I mean, am I going to go to war on this hand? Is this the, you know, so your, your thinking process, when you get a whole lot of chips, you do a lot of lazy calls, a lazy, this lazy that, but when you’re kind of short stacked, you’re a little little, you’re a little, and so I think when you’re in the grind, you’re, if you will, in the business, you’re short stacked, if you will. And so, you know, Hey, where are you buying paper and how much is important? You know, are you providing bottled water for every one of your employees, 24, seven, they drink two sips out of it and leave it on the counter, which drives me crazy. Well, by the way. Um, so in other words, you, you’re, you kind of make more decisions based upon that.

(Speaker 1)
You don’t have a fat account in a bank sitting there just waiting for you to blow cash, right. You know?

(Speaker 2)
Um, I think it keeps you leaner.

(Speaker 1)
It keeps you. meaner and it keeps you more on track with your business. I really do. Yeah. So that grinding it out is very rewarding. Plus it also implies that you’re having to give it more.

(Speaker 1)
You know, you’re having to be in there. You’re having to, I don’t just have a think back account.

(Speaker 14)
I just, I’m going to hire a manager and go to Jamaica.

(Speaker 2)
Right. Right. I mean, that’s the choice people want to do. Right. Yep. And so, you know, you’re the manager and you have to get in there and grind it down when you finally build it up and it ramps off and you’re multiple locations, you’re franchising, you’ve got it busy, you’ve got it, you know, a bunch of

(Speaker 2)
employees, you’ve got it dialed in, your procedures, your protocol, and now all of a sudden you can go, you know what, now I can step away a little bit at a time and not have to be in the grind of it. So that’s why that’s always my first choice. Bank money, cheap money, second choice. And investors at a distant, distant third. Especially if it’s your Uncle Carl. It’s related, yeah.

(Speaker 1)
If it’s an Uncle Carl, Run.

(Speaker 2)
See, we had a Thrive writer who writes, he says, What are your thoughts about business plans?

(Speaker 62)
Obviously, you don’t need a formal business plan to buy a lawnmower and cut grass.

(Speaker 2)
I wanted to know your thoughts on this.

(Speaker 36)
What I did to make your life easy, Z, is I broke down from the book called Pitching Hacks, written by Naval Ravikant, the founder of AngelList.

(Speaker 1)
Naval has distilled the how to make a business plan into 13 steps. I’m putting a link to it so you guys can download the book for free, the PDF, and I’m going to read off the 13 points, and then, Z, you can fire off why. If you’re going to pitch somebody, Why do you want to have a cover on there that has like a logo and a tagline? Why should the cover of it at least look professional? Well, because it shows that you are a professional.

(Speaker 2)
I don’t know how many people look at a logo, look at branding and make up their mind right then and there.

(Speaker 1)
They look at the front page or the first half of the front page of a website and determine whether or not this is some hokey deal or not.

(Speaker 2)
You know what’s funny?

(Speaker 1)
It’s kind of like with our Thrive Time business umbrella that we do here. How many people have called us over the years and now I guess three years, four years we’ve been doing this? and say, are you guys really legit?

(Speaker 2)
I mean, are you guys just? Dude, you know what’s crazy? If you’re out there listening right now, I wanna help you help me on this.

(Speaker 53)
I’ve had, Julia answers the phone calls, so she probably deals with it more than I do at this point.

(Speaker 1)
Abby does as well.

(Speaker 52)
People will ask that all the time.

(Speaker 1)
Are you guys legit? And I always tell them, just come to Tulsa, book a ticket to the conference. Listen, I promise you, I’ll upsell you nothing. And if you leave us a review on what you’ve heard so far on the show, I’ll give you a ticket to Tulsa. Just come here. A lot of people, we’ve had people from Canada, we’ve had people from Florida, we’ve had Australia, we’ve had California.

(Speaker 14)
I’ve had people come here on like a Wednesday or a Thursday and they’ll just go to our companies, trolling out, getting a haircut.

(Speaker 1)
Trolling around at Regent Bank.

(Speaker 2)
New pair of Ray -Bans, sunglasses.

(Speaker 1)
Is the bank you invested in is real?

(Speaker 14)
Yeah.

(Speaker 1)
They’re over there looking for, you know somebody’s trolling out when they’re looking for durable medical equipment supplies off the street, you know what I mean?

(Speaker 2)
Oh yeah. But they’ll go spy on the, they want to know if you’re real. If the companies are real, and then once they know that we’re real, it changes the conversation, but that cover, do not be rejected. Don’t allow your book to be rejected by the cover. Now, move number two, you gotta have a quick summary, Zee, an elevator pitch, one page or less. What’s this thing?

(Speaker 2)
Why do you have to have a quick summary if you’re gonna pitch to a wealthy person? Get to the point. Come on, baby.

(Speaker 1)
Get to the point. How are we gonna make money with this? That’s the bottom line. See, people don’t want to get to the point. They want to ramble on and on. No, no, no.

(Speaker 1)
You can’t ramble.

(Speaker 2)
You can’t ramble.

(Speaker 1)
Why? I’ll tell you what.

(Speaker 61)
You may say my cover of my book is not important because it’s what matters on the inside.

(Speaker 1)
But I tell you what, in life, every book, whether you like it or not, is judged by the cover. So you got to have a good cover. And then on that first page, you got to get to the point. You can’t dilly -dally around.

(Speaker 2)
You got to get to that point. How are we going to make money? How are we going to make that money?

(Speaker 3)
How are we going to continue to make money?

(Speaker 1)
How are we going to continue to make that money? And what are we going to do with that money? Write that down. Somebody should write that down.

(Speaker 2)
Why don’t you slap three friends?

(Speaker 53)
Slap three friends.

(Speaker 2)
OK, so Z, summary.

(Speaker 1)
Now the team.

(Speaker 2)
Point three. Why do you want to list on your pitch deck your business plan your who’s on your team? Why do you want to list the specific people’s names? Here’s the deal. It’s so important to people you have gathered around you. I’ll tell you this right now, Andrew, I could say hey, what are the five friends that are closest to you that are around you the most that give

(Speaker 2)
you have told they have total access into your life.

(Speaker 60)
And that will define you as a person true.

(Speaker 2)
And the business the people you have gathered on your team are going to help define that business and you’ve got rock stars and studs on there. I guess you have rock stars and you can make good music and whatnot. Yeah.

(Speaker 24)
Why is Darryl drunk?

(Speaker 2)
We can’t. We can’t detail a car but we can sing about it.

(Speaker 46)
Oh man.

(Speaker 48)
Okay.

(Speaker 33)
No, um, but the better quality team you have on there and you don’t just talk about, you talk about their credentials, you talk about their, a little, a little bio, a little quick, you know, who they are and why they’re on your team.

(Speaker 2)
And that is very powerful because now all of a sudden the first thing goes, oh, wow, that’s cool.

(Speaker 40)
You got a CPA on your team.

(Speaker 1)
That’s impressive.

(Speaker 11)
The 12 variables you got to have here.

(Speaker 2)
So one, you have to cover to the summary, to the team for, why do you have to explain the problem? See the actual problem that you’re solving? Why is that so important? Because here’s the deal, if there’s no problem to solve, then you’re just kind of having fun with some product. You have to find it.

(Speaker 59)
The more intense and the more life -changing that problem is, the more likely you are you’re going to have those emotional buys.

(Speaker 1)
You’re going to have that rocket. Have I told you about the power washer? Explosion business. Have I told you about the power washer? No, you haven’t told me. There was a guy who called.

(Speaker 1)
People were on the outside of the website. I kind of envisioned them knocking on the door. And then we open the door, and I don’t really know what to expect, and you probably don’t know what to expect.

(Speaker 58)
Hopefully you know what to expect about us, because you’ve read reviews, you’ve looked online, you’ve looked at photos, you’ve looked at videos.

(Speaker 1)
But this guy opens the door, one of our sales associates picks up the phone, talks to this guy for about a half hour.

(Speaker 14)
And Eric and I did the call together.

(Speaker 2)
It was beautiful. And I listened to the calls. I always listen to the calls to make sure we’re on the same page. And this guy has a power washing business. This is his model. He knocks on your door.

(Speaker 2)
Hi, is the owner of the home here? Yes.

(Speaker 1)
Yes. Yes. Okay.

(Speaker 2)
Imagine this actually happened at your house. Okay. Okay.

(Speaker 1)
I was in the area power walk.

(Speaker 2)
some houses. And typically, we charge $300 to power washing house or whatever the number is $300.

(Speaker 1)
But if you’ll prepay for the year, we’ll do it for half off.

(Speaker 2)
So today, you’d be walking out, you’d be looking at $900, you know, $900 up front to prepay for your power washing for the year. Or 100 or be 1250 times 12 should be 100. He had a kid got polished, but it’d be like 1600 bucks.

(Speaker 1)
Okay. Yeah. So it’s like, it’s normally $300 per power wash, but we’ll do it 12 times a year. If you prepay, it’s $1 ,500. Now this guy, every person he talked to said, no, can you please, you’ve never met this man. You don’t know the story.

(Speaker 57)
Maybe he still listens to the show.

(Speaker 14)
Can you please explain why door knocking on the homes of wealthy people and asking someone you just met prepay $1 ,500 for a monthly power washing is the reverse of a no brainer.

(Speaker 46)
Can you please explain why he had zero sales in years?

(Speaker 1)
I know why he had zero sales. Why?

(Speaker 46)
Because everybody saw him as a scam artist.

(Speaker 56)
Right.

(Speaker 2)
And nobody wanted to prepay for housecleaning or house powerwashing. I talked to the guy.

(Speaker 1)
I said, so you’re telling me the biggest issue you have is that have you powerwashed in the past? He goes, yeah.

(Speaker 2)
People paying like $300 one time.

(Speaker 1)
And it’s always like a one time deal.

(Speaker 55)
People don’t ever call me, but like twice a year.

(Speaker 37)
And I’m like, so what do you want to do?

(Speaker 1)
He says, I want to do automated, automated, recurred revenue, revenue like your elephant in the room where it’s recurred revenue. So what I want to do is I want it to be that they pay up front and it’s a monthly thing. You can only get that after you get the golden look. He has it backwards. He’s making the ask before he gives the presentation. So he said, Hey, is this, is the owner there?

(Speaker 1)
Hi, I’m actually a power washer and I was power washing your neighbor’s house and we do our first power washing for a dollar.

(Speaker 41)
Would you be okay if I power washed your home for a dollar?

(Speaker 2)
There you go.

(Speaker 1)
And then after I power washed your home, I show you, do a little quick inspection, take five, 10 minutes. Are you happy, Dr. Zellner, with the service? Absolutely, you did a great job, buddy.

(Speaker 2)
Well, hey, if you want us to, how many times a year do you power wash your house?

(Speaker 17)
Once a year, twice?

(Speaker 54)
How often do you power wash?

(Speaker 2)
No, no, you don’t do it then. You don’t do it then even. No, no, no, no, no, no. You don’t.

(Speaker 53)
You don’t.

(Speaker 49)
Come on.

(Speaker 1)
Come on. We have one availability.

(Speaker 52)
Yeah.

(Speaker 1)
Now go talk to my manager because we have one availability. I think we’re sold out. Where did he get it wrong?

(Speaker 14)
Right.

(Speaker 1)
I like you. Why can’t you get that close? Where did we get it wrong?

(Speaker 24)
Yeah.

(Speaker 1)
Well, here’s the deal.

(Speaker 24)
No, what you do is you is you booked them for their next power claim.

(Speaker 1)
Oh, you booked the next one.

(Speaker 46)
You book the next power.

(Speaker 1)
Okay.

(Speaker 51)
You book it.

(Speaker 1)
You say, listen, your house, the size of houses, whatever. I mean, you know, let’s, uh, let’s get you booked. Let’s, you know, we’re, we’re booking up and I come into this neighborhood, you know, we’re doing, I don’t know. What does he recommend every two months, once a month? I don’t even know. What is a power?

(Speaker 1)
We never got that far because he would, he would not be willing to do the first service at any discount at all.

(Speaker 50)
Yeah, that’s wrong.

(Speaker 1)
He said the first service to be like four 50, as opposed to 300, if you’re not going to sign up for his program.

(Speaker 2)
Yeah, or the other movie is what are you talking about?

(Speaker 1)
The other move is just power wash a portion of the house and let them see what what you can do.

(Speaker 13)
I’m saying this guy and I boy this and I and whenever you have someone that emotional and that poor, I’m like, Hey, I care but I just have to know.

(Speaker 1)
Are you coachable at this point? Are you? Are you? You’ve been power washing for a decade, right? Yeah. And you’re telling me in years no one’s ever done.

(Speaker 2)
He’s like, that’s why I’m calling you. I need help with my branding. Frick. Frick. And Eric and I were like, Oh, You do but I mean that the moves are the moves and the moves are you’ve got to get the golden look and the golden look is when that homeowner says yes power wash my house oh come on and you need to do whatever you need to do to get that yes and once you get that and you show them that you’re a rock star power washer.

(Speaker 2)
Yes. And that you do a good job.

(Speaker 1)
You could be trustworthy.

(Speaker 13)
Now you book the next one.

(Speaker 2)
Money back guarantee. And then at that point, at that point, you could talk about when they talk about how much is it. So then the next move is, you see, so then they go, well, how much, how much, how much is it? We got a couple of different options. A couple options. We got a couple options.

(Speaker 2)
We recommend. You can pay as you go. Okay.

(Speaker 1)
Three bills. 300 bucks. A lot of people like to save money by prepaying a little discount. Yeah. Or, you know, we can prepay.

(Speaker 2)
We’ve got two packages. We’ve got the six month package, you know, premium package, or we have the Royal, the Royal package, the Royal homeowner package.

(Speaker 28)
I call it the Royal, the Royal, the Royal flush.

(Speaker 2)
We don’t we don’t know. There’s a limited number of these. We have limited.

(Speaker 1)
We have only 30 spots and you prepay for the year, but you get it almost.

(Speaker 2)
We can’t power wash everyone’s house in Oklahoma. I mean, we can’t do I mean, I’m limited. I’m limited. many I can do on this Royal Homeowners. And then you give them the options. And now all of a sudden they see that you’ve done a great job.

(Speaker 2)
You’ve built a rapport with them. And now all of a sudden they’ll be like, let’s try one more month. And is it really bad that you’re booking and you’re making $300 instead of about $1 .50? Step four, you list the problem.

(Speaker 1)
Step five, you list the solution, which we just talked about.

(Speaker 42)
Step six, you talk about the technology you’re going to use.

(Speaker 1)
Step seven, you talk about the marketing you’re going to use.

(Speaker 2)
Step eight, the sales system you’re going to use. Eight, the sales conversion system you’re going to use. Nine, the competition.

(Speaker 46)
Who’s out there competing with you?

(Speaker 42)
If you don’t know, by the way, that’s a problem.

(Speaker 2)
That’s a problem. Ten, the milestones you want to hit to give the investors a return.

(Speaker 30)
Eleven, there’s a conclusion like, OK, in summary, this is what I’m asking for.

(Speaker 1)
And then twelve, the financing, how you’re going to structure the deal.

(Speaker 2)
And as soon as you define that, you give that to an investor and he invests.

(Speaker 38)
Get ready for it to change immediately.

(Speaker 1)
But this is like you’re the way I would look at a business plan is it’s like I’m going to drive from Oklahoma to Minnesota.

(Speaker 2)
I know my destination, I put in my GPS, but there’s gonna be traffic cones on the way. You don’t be a moron where you’re like, well, my plan’s to stay on Highway 12 going westbound. Now, I know that there was a gaping hole in the highway, but I went for it. I mean, you gotta detour, you gotta make these pivots, and I see a lot of entrepreneurs who are like, my business plan stated that this is what I’m gonna do, and I’m not gonna change it, because this is what I wrote on paper.

(Speaker 3)
It’s all fun and games to get punched in the nose, right?

(Speaker 1)
Right, right. But the thing about it, I think what a business plan does is it’s so beautiful in that it it forces a person to sit down and actually write down come on what it is they’re actually thinking in their brain. Because when you write it down, you really read it or you have your buddy read it or you have your friend read it or your buddy’s right.

(Speaker 2)
Bro, how high were you when you wrote this? No, I was completely sober. What do you mean?

(Speaker 1)
This doesn’t make sense. Furthermore, like you were changing fonts. Have you read your own words?

(Speaker 49)
Right.

(Speaker 2)
And really, do you think that the the the problem is that there’s not enough chocolate chips and chocolate chip cookies?

(Speaker 1)
Let me tell you, let me tell you, let me tell you one time. Z shut me down. He shut me down. He shut.

(Speaker 48)
He shut.

(Speaker 1)
You shut me down like the Shawshank Redemption shot. It was a sound like like a door from Star Wars.

(Speaker 47)
I did a ton of wedding bookings with DJ connection.

(Speaker 33)
Yes, the largest entertainment company in the region, perhaps in the country.

(Speaker 38)
Some had said it was like 4000 weddings a year.

(Speaker 2)
And I was like, I’m gonna open my own wedding chapel.

(Speaker 14)
Why wouldn’t you?

(Speaker 1)
And you seems like a great idea.

(Speaker 2)
Remember you go and hey, how many referrals do you get from other wedding chapels? And I was like, A lot. You’re like, do you think any wedding chapel is going to refer you once they know you’re competing? Probably not. OK. And it’s going to cost you a million dollars to build it, maybe two million.

(Speaker 2)
I think it was at the time like two and a half million. Oh, yeah. You had a swanky. You’re going to like that because the Plaza.

(Speaker 3)
Oh, yeah.

(Speaker 1)
It was it is an Italian themed.

(Speaker 2)
Yeah.

(Speaker 46)
Oh, yeah And you’re like you’re gonna drop two and a half million dollars on a house that will then cut off your referral lines.

(Speaker 20)
Mm -hmm I’m like I’m passionate.

(Speaker 45)
You’re like, I love you, bro.

(Speaker 1)
But I got I got a piece out. I got a piece. I mean, double double downing on this whole wedding industry. I mean, I know there’s a lot of emotions there. And it’s it’s if one of those things you probably can overcharge most brides because they just want it perfect. Oh, hey, come on.

(Speaker 1)
You paid for your wedding. Was it $50 a plate? A golf club of Oklahoma’s at 50 bucks a plate. Purge out of my memory is bliss. I don’t even know. You know what?

(Speaker 2)
There’s people that you barely know.

(Speaker 1)
who invite a date who you don’t know, and it’s $100 right there.

(Speaker 44)
To this day, I don’t know how much I spend on the pool in my backyard, and I don’t want to know.

(Speaker 1)
I don’t want to know. At least $100 for somebody you barely know who brought someone you don’t know who then said, can I bring a friend, because they’re also from Michigan. Sure. Because I was at your daughter’s wedding. There’s some great people there, but you know and I know there are people that you don’t know who are there. Well, of course.

(Speaker 1)
That’s how it works. That’s how it works.

(Speaker 27)
That’s what a wedding is.

(Speaker 1)
A wedding is let’s get together. That’s a free place to go and scam food and cake. Let’s all, for some reason, return to the old English times where we handwrite things with calligraphy. We’re dropping about 20 bucks an invitation. Nobody even checks their mail anymore.

(Speaker 43)
And it’s like, Dearest, I think it is good Lord Andrew and manna.

(Speaker 2)
We would like to invite you to this house is Request these checkers are chicken or beef, please the bequeathed would like to invite.

(Speaker 43)
What are we?

(Speaker 1)
What words are these words?

(Speaker 2)
What do you say bequeathed?

(Speaker 11)
What the crap does that mean?

(Speaker 2)
You’re looking this up. You’re good. What’s the Old English version of I mean, it’s crazy. Oh, it’s crazy.

(Speaker 3)
And again, all I’m saying is that Z cared enough to go.

(Speaker 42)
Nope.

(Speaker 2)
Nope. Nope. But see, you got to get out there and pitch that thing. Once you have the business plan, you got to pitch that thing. And when you get feedback, ask the person who says no, why? And each time it gets more and more refined.

(Speaker 2)
And then I found that after Z rejected me, I thought, you know what?

(Speaker 1)
I can vertically integrate, I can buy a party rental company, because I don’t get referrals from party rental companies, because the brides book the party rentals after the disc jockey. They get the ring, they get the gown, they get the cake, then they go out there and they book the DJ.

(Speaker 2)
Then they get the party rentals as an afterthought. I should get that company. And it saved me a lot of money, made me a lot of money.

(Speaker 1)
I bought chocolate fountains, I bought margarita machines, dance floors. It made a lot of sense. But if you would have said, sure, let’s build a wedding chapel, I would have cut off all of my referral lines. And maybe not all of them. A lot of them. And you might have.

(Speaker 1)
And then, you know, you worked those wedding conferences and whatnot, a little bit different. But, you know, you could be a one -stop shop. But still, it’s one of those things where it’s, at the time, the money that you had to put into it, it wasn’t like, hey, I’ve got a house here. I’ve got a venue in my backyard I’m going to start using and kind of, you know, have an option for somebody. I mean, you were going to build some $2 .5 million, you know, mega, mega wedding jab. And I had the financing approved and I was ready to go.

(Speaker 1)
I was like, yeah, because you know the banks want to lend you money if they know you always pay off your bills. Yes. See, they don’t care if it’s a profitable thing. They’re like, as long as you’re going to pay us back, you know, you got to have cash flow over here in this business. Even if it’s a even if it sucks, you’re like this. You can still make the payment.

(Speaker 1)
At a certain point, a wedding man or a banking banker could be like your hype man. Oh, sure. You’re like, oh, this is a good move. Sure. This right here, because it’s real estate, right? It’s an asset.

(Speaker 1)
Oh, yeah. Oh, you were called.

(Speaker 41)
I won’t say that I know, but I feel like you were called to do this.

(Speaker 1)
Oh, the banker who I just met. told me who makes a commission feels like I was called.

(Speaker 2)
I gotta do this. I gotta do it. So one final one final question for the plots. It should have been so the plots.

(Speaker 40)
Okay, so one final question.

(Speaker 39)
This is from a gentleman who asked me remain anonymous.

(Speaker 2)
He’s a doctor though. Okay, and you doctors you guys are

(Speaker 14)
you got you doctors are a unique type.

(Speaker 1)
Yeah. You’ve been to school for a long time.

(Speaker 14)
We can be a little squirrely.

(Speaker 24)
You’re smart guys.

(Speaker 1)
So your questions tend to be smart. However, they could be too smart. This is the question.

(Speaker 14)
He says he wants to provide a cash based medical service for patients who donate to a specific charity.

(Speaker 1)
So if a patient donates a certain amount to a specific charity, I guess then he will treat them at a discount, maybe? It says, I want to provide a cash -based medical service for patients who donate to a specific charity. Specifically, I want to direct the profit to a charity, but need them to pay for the cost of goods. Can I ask the patient to donate a specific amount to the charity, then pay me for the cost? Or do I need to just collect the full amount and donate the profit through my company? Z. Choice B. I mean, it’s just crazy.

(Speaker 1)
You have passions out there and you have organizations and you have 501 c three companies that you feel great about and you want to help them. Don’t try to sell if you’re a doctor sell being a doctor, but don’t try to sell the fact that you know, you want to help orphans in Zimbabwe, which is a great thing to do. But but don’t make that to where I’m only going to see patients that want to help orphans in Zimbabwe. I mean, that’s really limiting your potential patient list.

(Speaker 14)
And if you feel strongly about orphans in Zimbabwe, God bless you.

(Speaker 1)
Make a bunch of money on patients that whether they care about orphans or not, or even they care about Zimbabwe or even know where Zimbabwe is. And then once you make a fat amount of cash, you can go fly to Zimbabwe and say, hey, orphans here’s the money and you can help them because that’s your heart don’t try to don’t try to get your here’s the thing your business is your car is your tool there we go for you to make money now once you make money you do with it you be a good steward of it

(Speaker 5)
You do with that money what you feel like you need to do with that money.

(Speaker 24)
But don’t try to sell.

(Speaker 38)
Sell your business.

(Speaker 37)
Don’t sell what you want to do with the money that you’re going to make off your business.

(Speaker 1)
So that’s an easy answer. Charge them said fees. If you want to tell them, hey, listen, if they want to feel good about it, it’s a move anymore with this social media stuff right now with these young kids. It’s a move right now to let them know that you have some social aspect of your business. In other words, you’re saying, hey. I’m going to help.

(Speaker 1)
My big thing is, are you still donating to Z’s travel fund?

(Speaker 25)
Yes, I am.

(Speaker 1)
It’s a it’s a worthy it’s a worthy fund. If anybody out there wants it, it’s funded.

(Speaker 36)
One optometrist has been able to go to Vegas.

(Speaker 1)
He’s been able to go to South America. Not you, but the other optometrist. He’s been able to go to Florida. All over. All over. One optometrist has done very well this year.

(Speaker 1)
And it’s for as little as what? Is it a thousand a day? You can support your very own traveling optometrist.

(Speaker 12)
For a thousand a day.

(Speaker 2)
That’s all we’re asking.

(Speaker 1)
You’ll feel good. You might partner up with a buddy and he wants you to do 500 each and that’s okay too. He doesn’t go on Facebook. He might post on LinkedIn occasionally, but usually you won’t even see what you’re getting. But it’s not about seeing that.

(Speaker 2)
It’s knowing you’ve done the right thing. So my point is, yes, have a charity, have something in your heart that you want to, you know, use your hard earned money to, to make the world a better place.

(Speaker 1)
Do that, but don’t make that reliant.

(Speaker 2)
Don’t make your business reliant on people that also feel that way. Cause that’s not what business is about.

(Speaker 1)
business is about. Business is not about trying to find, you know, people that want to help, you know, orphans in Zimbabwe and everybody else you don’t care about, you’re not going to give your services to give your services to everybody. And then you know, those that find out that you do it with that you might find a little tribe or some people that are interested in that or someone wants to drive in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, you know, tribe, but but just do it like that.

(Speaker 4)
And, and, and I get this from my favorite CEO of all time, Jack Welch, Jack Welch, who used to behind me, so I always like to kind of give him a little point. Let me queue up my Jack Welch music. Jackie, Big J as I sometimes call him, or J . W. , if we’re having a happy hour beverage, if you know what I mean.

(Speaker 4)
Oh, waiter, Jack and I will be having beverages here.

(Speaker 2)
Jack, one to Jack. I’ll be paying. Yeah. Okay. I’ll be paying because I get the privilege of hanging out with J . W.

(Speaker 2)
Okay, sorry to make it awkward. He had some employees approach him and said, hey, listen, we need to make a light bulb that’s green. And he goes, okay, tell me about that. That’s a good idea. We’ve got the design. Give me a…

(Speaker 2)
Thank you. We’ve got the design. We know what it’s going to cost, but it’s going to be 10 times the cost of a regular light bulb, but it’s going to be green and therefore will make the world a better place by selling this light bulb. Yes. Yes. Yes.

(Speaker 2)
And CEO Jack Welch says something to the effect of that’s foolish. We’ll go out of business because no one wants to pay 10 times more for a light bulb and I want to flip a switch and have a light come on.

(Speaker 35)
So what we’re going to do is we’re going to sell a light bulb.

(Speaker 2)
A lot of these over here at the regular light bulbs. And then all the money we make, what you could do with your portion of your profit that you make off of it, you could go and help make the world a greener place. been you then it could not have been i don’t know i mean i just know that i was nine san francisco giants were playing i know you record a lot of things around the world they were playing and i i got this audio you kids are probably saying to yourselves hey i’m gonna go out and i’m gonna get the world That was kind of intense. It was kind of an earlier you before you learned how to not fire off the cannon shots, but the kids got the message. I sure did.

(Speaker 2)
And GE made it and they made a profit. They made a lot of profit. I mean, you increase the business by 4 ,000 with just the idea of what’s best for the business. And then what you do is you don’t get your, the emotional social thing that you want to do with the profit. Hide up in the business. Have your business, make your money, and then go take your money, and if you wanna do whatever you wanna do with it, do what you wanna do with it.

(Speaker 2)
I appreciate you letting us interrogate you today, my friend. You had some great, great answers to some great questions. Yeah, they were all great questions.

(Speaker 3)
I’m gonna have to go back and edit the show a little bit, take out a few choice words. A few, I think, Adam Sandler clips.

(Speaker 17)
That’s not surprising that you’re having to edit Adam Sandler out of the show.

(Speaker 34)
That’s not surprising at all, by the way.

(Speaker 3)
Poet it just goes into my narrative of what I was saying earlier So what makes Adam Sandler in your mind better than Mel Gibson less Adam Sandler? Okay My name is Kevin Thomas and the name of our company is multi clean we are a commercial janitorial service and we serve the entire state of Oklahoma and Kansas and soon to be Arkansas. We have probably grown probably five times. We’ve added, I think when we first started with you, we had 60 to 65 employees and now we have a little over 300 employees. Before we got involved with Thrive Time, we didn’t really have any systems or processes in place. I’ve probably been to Oh, in six, seven years, I’ve probably been to 12 to 13 business conferences.

(Speaker 3)
And amazingly, each time I go, I learn something new. And I’m so excited to bring it back and, and show the team about marketing and how to implement.

(Speaker 17)
Okay, Aaron Antis, September 25th and 26th. Guess who’s coming back to Tulsa? I will give you a hint.

(Speaker 3)
His first name is Eric. And his last name is Trump. And his father is the 47th president of these United States. Yes, Eric Trump is joining us once again here, September 25th and 26th in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the two day interactive Thrive Time Show Business Growth Workshop.

(Speaker 17)
But Eric Trump is bringing friends.

(Speaker 2)
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Alina Haba will be joining Eric Trump right here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Amanda Grace will be in the place. Dr. Stella Emanuel. will be here in T -Town in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Julie Green will be on the scene. Mel K will be here to say hey.

(Speaker 2)
Dave Scarlett from the His Glory team will be here. It’s going to be a blasty blast right here in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

(Speaker 20)
If you want to start or grow a super successful company, if you want to make your wallet great again or make your wallet great for the first time, if you want to learn marketing, systems, scaling, human resources, accounting, social media, branding, search engine optimization, sales training, financial management and more.

(Speaker 33)
Get your tickets right now at Thrive .

(Speaker 6)
.com. com. Once again, that’s Thrivetimeshow . com. People don’t know this, but the Trump Organization has thousands of employees.

(Speaker 28)
There’s not 50 employees.

(Speaker 32)
The Trump Organization, again, most people don’t know this, but the Trump Organization has thousands of employees.

(Speaker 6)
And while Donald J. Trump was the 45th president of these United States, he needed a competent man to run and execute his business plans. showtime so the man that runs the trump organization for donald j trump as he was the 45th president of the united states and now the 47th president of the united states is eric trump eric trump is here to talk about time management, promoting from within, marketing, branding, quality control, sales systems, workflow design, workflow mapping, how to build. I mean, everything that you see, the Trump hotels, the Trump golf courses, all their products, the man who manages Billions of dollars of real estate and thousands of employees is here to teach us how to do it.

(Speaker 2)
You are talking about one of the greatest brands on the planet from a business standpoint.

(Speaker 31)
I mean, who else has been able to create a brand like the Trump brand?

(Speaker 2)
I mean, look at it. And this is the man behind the business for the last pretty much since 2015. He’s been the man behind it. So you’re talking, we’re into nine going into 10 years of him running it. And we get to tap into that knowledge. That’s going to be amazing.

(Speaker 2)
Now think about this for a second. Clay Clark, man. He is one character. It’s a good word for character. Yeah, that is it.

(Speaker 1)
Good, driven, smart.

(Speaker 30)
And I’ve never met a guy who was so hyper all the time.

(Speaker 2)
He’s doing so much good. And then I met his mother and she just says, She just lets him be Clay Clark.

(Speaker 22)
I mean, he’s endorsed by his mother.

(Speaker 29)
and he’s doing magnificent work.

(Speaker 2)
So it was great meeting you out there and all the people that he surrounds himself with. His, Clay Clark starts his days at five o ‘clock in the morning. Oh, it’s incredible. Yeah. He’s, he’s like, he’s, he’s a machine. He’s a machine.

(Speaker 2)
But his, you know, I could, I have problems with my company starting at nine o ‘clock. He has hundreds of people showing up at 5 .00 AM in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Man, he’s a leader of a leader.

(Speaker 16)
He’s a fantastic young man.

(Speaker 2)
No, he is. Now, we only have limited seating here. The most people we’ve ever had in this building was for the Jim Brewer presentation. Jim Brewer came here, the legendary comedian Jim Brewer came to Tulsa, and we had 419 people that were here. 419 people.

(Speaker 14)
And I thought to myself, there’s no more room.

(Speaker 2)
I felt kind of bad that a couple people had VIP seats in the men’s restroom. No, I’m just kidding. So I thought, you know what, we should probably add on. Clay Clark is here somewhere. Where’s my buddy Clay? Clay’s the greatest.

(Speaker 2)
I met his goats today. I met his dogs. I met his chickens. I saw his compound. He’s like the greatest guy. I ran from his goats, his chickens, his dogs.

(Speaker 2)
So this guy’s like the greatest marketer you’ve ever seen, right? His entire life. Clay Clark, his entire life is marketing. So again, if you want to get tickets for this event, all you have to do is go to thrivetimeshow . com. Go to Thrivetimeshow .

(Speaker 2)
com. When you go to Thrivetimeshow . com, you’ll go there, you’ll request a ticket, boom. Or if you want to text me, if you want a little bit faster service, you say, I want you to call me right now. Just text my number. It’s my cell phone number, my personal cell phone number.

(Speaker 2)
We’ll keep that in mind. private between you, between you, me, everybody. We’ll keep that private.

(Speaker 25)
And anybody, don’t share that with anybody except for everybody.

(Speaker 2)
That’s my private cell phone number. It’s 918 -851 -0102. 918 -851 -0102. I know we have a lot of Spanish -speaking people that attend these conferences. And so to be bilingually sensitive, my cell phone number is 918 -851 -0102. That is not actually bilingual.

(Speaker 2)
That’s just saying Juan for a Juan. It’s not the same thing.

(Speaker 28)
I think you’re attacking me.

(Speaker 27)
Now, let’s talk about this.

(Speaker 2)
Now, what kind of stuff will you learn at the Thrive Time Show workshop? So, Aaron, you’ve been to many of these over the past seven, eight years. So let’s talk about it. I’ll tee up the thing and then you tell me what you’re going to learn here, OK? OK. You’re going to learn marketing, marketing and branding.

(Speaker 2)
What are we going to learn about marketing and branding? Oh, yeah.

(Speaker 16)
We’re going to dive into, you know, so many people say, oh, you know, I got to get my brand known out there like the Trump brand.

(Speaker 8)
You want to get that brand out there.

(Speaker 2)
It’s like, how do I actually make people know what my business is?

(Speaker 25)
is and make it a household name.

(Speaker 2)
You’re going to learn some intricacies of how you can do that. managing people.

(Speaker 16)
Why does everybody have to learn how to manage people? Well, because first of all, people are, you either have great people or you have people who suck. And so it could be a challenge, you know, learning how to

(Speaker 2)
work with a large group of people and get everybody pulling in the same direction can be a challenge.

(Speaker 26)
But if you have the right systems, you have the right processes, and you’re really good at selecting great ones.

(Speaker 2)
And we have a process we teach about how to find great people. When you start with the people who have a great attitude, they’re teachable, they’re driven, all of those things, then you can get those people all pulling in the same direction. So we’re going to teach you branding, marketing, sales, search engine optimization. We’re going to teach you accounting. We’re going to teach you personal finance, how to manage your finance.

(Speaker 25)
We’re going to teach you time management.

(Speaker 2)
How do you manage your time? How do you get more done during a typical day? How do you build an organization if you’re not organized? How do you do organization? How do you build an org chart? Everything that you need to know to start and grow a business will be taught during this two -day interactive business workshop.

(Speaker 2)
Now, let me tell you how the format is set up here. Again, folks, this is a two -day interactive 15 -minute workshop. Think about this, folks. It’s two days. Each day it starts at 7 a . m.

(Speaker 2)
, and it goes until 5 p . m. So from 7 a .

(Speaker 23)
m.

(Speaker 2)
to 5 p . m. , two days.

(Speaker 10)
It’s a two -day interactive workshop. The way we do it is we do a 30 -minute teaching session, and then we break for 15 minutes for a question -and -answer session. So, Aaron, what kind of great stuff happens during that 15 -minute question -and -answer session after every teaching session? I actually think it’s the best part about the workshops because here’s what happens.

(Speaker 14)
I’ve been to lots of these things over the years.

(Speaker 10)
I’ve paid many thousands of dollars to go to them.

(Speaker 2)
And you go in there and they talk in vague generalities and they’re constantly upselling you for something, trying to get you to buy this thing or that thing or this program or this membership. And you don’t, you leave not getting your very specific questions answered about your business or your employees or what you’re doing on your marketing. And what’s awesome about this is we literally answer every single question that any person asks. And it’s very specific to what they’re doing. is. And what we do is we allow you as the attendee to write your questions on the whiteboard.

(Speaker 2)
And then we literally, as you mentioned, we answer every single question on the whiteboard. And then we take a 15 minute break to stretch and to make it entertaining when you’re stretching. And this is a true story.

(Speaker 15)
When you get up and stretch, you’ll be greeted by mariachis.

(Speaker 2)
There’s going to probably be alpaca here, llamas, helicopter rides, a coffee bar, a snow cone, I mean, you had a crocodile one time. That was pretty interesting. I should write that down. And I’m sorry for that one guy. We lost the crocodile. We duct tape its face.

(Speaker 2)
So that’s right. We duct tape a baby crocodile and duct tape. Yeah.

(Speaker 14)
Duct tape around the mouse.

(Speaker 24)
It didn’t bite anybody.

(Speaker 2)
But it was really cool. That thing around. And I should I should do that. I should. We have a small petting zoo that will be assembled. It’s going to be great.

(Speaker 2)
And then you’re in the company of hundreds of entrepreneurs. So there’s not a lot of people in America today.

(Speaker 1)
In fact, there’s less than 10 million people today, according to U .

(Speaker 5)
S. debt clock that identifies being self -employed. So if you have a country with 350 million people, that means you have less than 3 % of our population that’s even self -employed. So you only have 3 out of every 100 people in America that are self -employed to begin with. And when Inc. Magazine reports that 96 % of businesses fail by default, By default, you have a 1 out of 1 ,000 chance of succeeding in the game of business.

(Speaker 2)
But yet, the average client that you and I work with, we can typically double this. No hyperbole, no exaggeration. I have thousands of testimonials to back this up. We have thousands of testimonials to back it up. But when you work with a home builder, when I work with a business owner, we can typically double the size of the company within 24 months. And you say, double?

(Speaker 2)
Yeah, there’s businesses that we have tripled. There’s businesses we’ve grown 8x.

(Speaker 23)
There’s so many examples.

(Speaker 2)
see it thrive timeshow . com.

(Speaker 22)
But again, this is the most interactive best business workshop on the planet.

(Speaker 2)
This is objectively the highest rated. and most reviewed business workshop on the planet.

(Speaker 14)
I was looking to learn how to take my business, like they’ve said today, from being very successful to being systematic. I’ve got a very successful practice in three different cities.

(Speaker 2)
I make good money.

(Speaker 16)
I just want to take it to the next level with systems and processes to where I can drive my cars more.

(Speaker 2)
Paul Hood. Been a CPA for 33 years.

(Speaker 21)
and what kind of um growth have you and your great team had here over the past let’s say five six years the last five when i met you five years ago we were doing three million this year we’ll be we’ll do 24 million and you say clay i still i’m not gonna get a ticket unless you give me more okay fine we’re gonna serve you the same meal both days true story we have we cater in the food and because I keep it simple.

(Speaker 2)
I literally bring him the same food both days for lunch. It’s Ted Esconzito’s, an incredible Mexican restaurant. That’s going to happen. And Jill Donovan, our good friend, who is the founder of Rustic Cuff. She started that company in her home, and now she sells millions of dollars of apparel and products. That’s rusticcuff .

(Speaker 2)
com. And someone says, I want more.

(Speaker 20)
This is not enough.

(Speaker 1)
Give me more.

(Speaker 2)
OK. I’m not going to mention their names right now, because I’m working on it behind the scenes here. But we’ve got one guy who’s given me a verbal to be here.

(Speaker 4)
And this is a guy who’s one of the wealthiest people in Oklahoma. And nobody really knows who he is because he’s built systems that are very utilitarian that offer a lot of value. He’s made a lot of money in the it’s the. It’s where you rent. It’s short. It’s where you’re renting storage spaces.

He’s a storage space guy. He owns this. What do you call that? The rental? The storage space? Storage units.

This guy owns storage units. He owns railroad units. he owns a lot of assets that make money on a daily basis but they’re not like customer facing most people don’t know who owns the mini storage facility or most people don’t know who owns the warehouse that’s passively making money most people don’t know who owns the railroad cars but this guy he’s giving me a verbal that he will be here and we just continue to add more and more success stories so if you’re out there today you want to change your life you want to give yourself a incredible gift, you want a life -changing experience, you want to learn how to start and grow a company, go to Thrivetimeshow .com. com. Go there right now. Thrivetimeshow .

com. Request a ticket for the two -day interactive event. Hey, how’s it going? I’m Thomas Croson, owner and founder of Full Package Media in Dallas, Texas. I’ve been a coaching client with Clay Clark since the beginning of our business. We started about a year ago, August of last year.

I had no clients, no idea what we were doing, no clue really what was going on, and now we’ve grown to where we’ve got six photographers, we’ve got office space here, I have an admin sales person that works for us full time, developing an online system, and a lot of that growth we attribute to Clay helping us, and there’s so many things that No, I mean, this stuff is not revolutionary. It’s not this crazy walk on hot coals and all this stuff. It’s just real, real stuff. It’s going to be a blasty blast. There’s no upsells. Aaron, I could not be more excited about this event.

I think it is incredible. And there’s somebody out there right now you’re watching and you’re like, but I already signed up for this incredible other program called Smoke Your Way to Thin. I think that’s going to change your life. I promise you this will be 10 times better than that. It’s like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking. Don’t do the smoke your way to thin conference.

That is it. I’ve tried it. Don’t do it. Chain smoking is not a viable. I mean, it is life changing. It is life -changing.

If you become a chainsmoker, it is life -changing. It’s not the best weight -loss program, though. Right, not really. So if you’re looking to have life -changing results in a way that won’t cause you to have a stoma, get your tickets at Thrivetimeshow . com. Again, that’s Aaron Antis.

I’m Clay Clark, reminding you and inviting you to come out to the two -day interactive Thrivetimeshow workshop right here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I promise you It will be a life changing experience. We can’t wait to see you up right here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. What kind of growth have you had since you and I’ve been working together over these past few years? 3 .45 million. I got those stats before I got on here.

So you’ve grown by 3 .45 million? Yeah, 3 ,450 ,000. Would that be like if you took the combined revenue, maybe doubled it? Have we gone up by? About almost three, not quite.

Transcribed with Cockatoo