WEBVTT - How to Start 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:02.120 I got a really dope episode on the way for you. 0:00:02.160 --> 0:00:04.800 Be First, let's get this started with some afro Tech news. 0:00:04.920 --> 0:00:08.160 Rick Ross says he's one year away from becoming the 0:00:08.200 --> 0:00:09.360 next hip hop billionaire. 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.360 We just walking up. 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:19.799 Just what that's audio? Friend Ricky Rose. Last week in 0:00:19.920 --> 0:00:24.760 Austin at afro Tech, he performed Tortoise Stays Down. He's 0:00:24.800 --> 0:00:28.320 got investments in real estate, cannabis, rest arounds, healthcare, and more, 0:00:28.920 --> 0:00:34.839 and nearly thirty Wingstop locations. Each location reportedly earns him 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:38.159 an estimated two hundred thousand dollars annually. That's what to 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:41.519 give him, and it allows him to provide jobs. And 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:44.120 he says with Wingstop, we're bringing in the food I 0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:47.880 like and adding jobs to the community. It's a double win. 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:50.479 Shout out to Ricky Rose and hope you touch a 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:54.400 billy TikTok announ See. It's pulling the plug on this 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:58.680 one billion dollar creative fund. Now this is important the 0:00:59.000 --> 0:01:03.760 outlet know that before shutting down the creative fund, TikTok 0:01:03.880 --> 0:01:10.120 influencers and content creators voiced earning low payouts, sometimes just 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:14.080 a few dollars, for millions of views, making it impossible 0:01:14.120 --> 0:01:17.240 to earn a living through the Creator Fund alone a 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:21.800 lot of discontent there, it's previously reported by Afrotech in 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:25.200 March twenty twenty three. Earlier this year, Sean Kim, former 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:29.399 head of product for TikTok's US operations, said the quiet 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:33.240 thing out loud, claiming that TikTok didn't create the fund 0:01:33.240 --> 0:01:36.720 to help creators monetize their content, but rather to help 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:42.039 with user retention for their metrics. For TikTok's metrics, he says, 0:01:42.400 --> 0:01:45.640 when we launched the creator the TikTok Creator Fund, we 0:01:45.720 --> 0:01:50.040 didn't launch it to help creators monetize. To south by Southwest, 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:53.800 I mean, that's what we said everywhere publicly. We're doing 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:56.440 this to help create us monetize. That's not why we 0:01:56.520 --> 0:01:59.920 launched it. We launched it as a reactive measure against 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:04.360 other platforms launching their creator funds. We thought to ourselves, 0:02:04.600 --> 0:02:08.000 what happens if these creators then go monetize or create 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:12.600 content on these other platforms. It hurts our metrics, our dau, 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:16.680 our retention. That's the reason why the Creative Fund was launched. 0:02:17.400 --> 0:02:21.320 I appreciate the honesty dau of stately active users, by 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:24.080 the way, but I appreciate that kind of honesty. But 0:02:24.160 --> 0:02:27.160 I hit up Isaac Hayes, who's founder at the growing 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:30.280 fan Base app, and asked what he thought about this. 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:35.640 I think TikTok canceling their creator fund further proves that 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:41.160 you can't pay creators and run advertising at the same time. 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:47.079 It's impossible to serve an audience of advertisers but also 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:49.959 try to make it possible for creators to earn millions 0:02:49.960 --> 0:02:54.200 of dollars when you suppress their content and having to 0:02:54.280 --> 0:02:59.280 do that by running advertising. And the future of this 0:02:59.360 --> 0:03:03.520 is really subscrib and that rev share and subscription models 0:03:03.600 --> 0:03:05.960 are the ways that creators are going to earn the 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:08.720 most money in the future, which is what we've been 0:03:08.720 --> 0:03:12.519 doing at fan Base from day one. So it's unfortunate 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:15.760 and I feel for the creator community, but I think 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:19.440 they have to start thinking differently about ways to monetize 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:26.120 other than revenue from creator funds or small pieces of 0:03:26.360 --> 0:03:32.240 pennies per thousands of views that really can lead to 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:38.920 a sustainable, thriving and growing business. So it's unfortunate, but 0:03:39.040 --> 0:03:42.680 I think it points to the future that subscriptions are coming. 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:46.480 Afrotech report last week the fan base just hit another 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:50.280 milestone and Isaac an important one becoming the first black 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:53.960 person to raise ten million dollars in crowdfunding, which means 0:03:53.960 --> 0:03:55.960 a whole lot of people, people who look like you 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:58.880 and I who otherwise wouldn't be able to get a 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:03.480 piece of equity in owing startup. Now hold stocking one 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:15.560 that's your AFRO technos. I'm with Lucas is black, tach, 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:18.640 Green Money, and I appreciate all the feedback and comments 0:04:18.680 --> 0:04:21.720 I've been getting on these solo episodes, and I was 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:25.679 thinking about this one. I'm gonna talk to you about today. 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:28.560 As always, if you get something out of this, I 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.040 hope you will share it with somebody. You can even 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:33.960 comment sign me a DM. I just want to know 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:36.479 what you're thinking about this type of content. I've been 0:04:36.520 --> 0:04:39.440 getting asked for a long time to do these solo episodes, 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:42.080 and I'm doing them, but to keep doing them, I 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:45.159 just want to hear from you, so at Will Lucas 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:49.240 on IG I'm on fan base too. By the way, 0:04:49.720 --> 0:04:53.120 at Will Lucas on fan Base, it is not uncommon 0:04:53.480 --> 0:04:57.640 or irregular for someone to stop me at some point 0:04:57.720 --> 0:05:00.240 during my day at least once a week with the 0:05:00.279 --> 0:05:03.720 request for advice on a business concept or even a 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:07.520 business move. Now I've made it clear to me and 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:10.360 a few folks who have shown interest, like my twenty 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:12.800 year plan. I have a plan that I wrote at 0:05:12.839 --> 0:05:17.599 the beginning of twenty nineteen. It is detailing a twenty 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:21.000 year run and everything I wanted to do, everything I 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:23.720 wanted to work on, why I was working on it, 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:27.200 the people I needed to connect with to be able 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:31.560 to find success with it. Now it's my personal mission, 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:33.760 and it's a very detailed mission. I might even do 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:37.120 an episode on that one of these days if you're interested. 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:42.800 But my mission is to create both content and opportunities 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:48.000 that help black people realize entrepreneurial success beyond their wildest streams. 0:05:48.240 --> 0:05:52.000 So everything I do has to be aligned with that. Now, 0:05:52.000 --> 0:05:54.080 there are some things on the periphery that I know 0:05:54.600 --> 0:05:58.880 how they tie in, but everything that I'm actively involved 0:05:58.920 --> 0:06:02.200 with in some way helps me to, you know, achieve 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:07.000 that particular mission. So I suppose that wavelength of intention 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:12.120 attracts people who have ideas and need information, and I'm 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:16.520 okay with that. What I've learned to do is scale 0:06:17.160 --> 0:06:20.400 that kind of support for people, because what happens is 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:23.800 when you're in a position to help the questions you 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:28.440 get the questions you get asked a lot are a 0:06:28.480 --> 0:06:31.640 lot of the same questions, or even if they're not, 0:06:31.680 --> 0:06:35.040 to say, they're very similar and may only vary with 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:37.479 you know, a little bit of nuance that makes the 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:40.680 questions specific to that person. But by and large, what 0:06:40.760 --> 0:06:44.080 I get asked about mostly is how to take a 0:06:44.120 --> 0:06:47.920 business from idea to a tangible thing. That's what I 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:51.320 get asked about the most from budding entrepreneurs or would 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:55.680 be entrepreneurs, or would or early founders. People come to 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:58.640 me with their ideas a lot or very early concepts 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:03.680 of their products. That could be for variety of different reasons. 0:07:03.720 --> 0:07:07.040 But being somebody like who is constantly trying to feed 0:07:07.200 --> 0:07:11.280 on resources like me, like and like I imagine you are, 0:07:12.920 --> 0:07:15.880 I'm looking for things that help me get from point 0:07:15.880 --> 0:07:18.080 A to a different point. And I'm sure you're trying 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:20.080 to always look for things that help you get from 0:07:20.120 --> 0:07:23.080 point A to point B. Now, whether the point A 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:25.360 is the id and point B is making money from 0:07:25.360 --> 0:07:29.040 that idea, there's a lot of resources out there that are, 0:07:29.720 --> 0:07:34.160 in my view, insufficient to helping small business owners, startup founders, 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:38.160 early ambitious entrepreneurs get the motor running. You know because 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:42.440 too often the episode. Now, this episode is not about 0:07:42.520 --> 0:07:44.480 how to make your first million. There's a lot of 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:48.560 episodes of the why, variety of podcasts, why, variety of books, 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:51.720 a lot of wide variety of resources that help you 0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:55.200 find success in that area. This episode isn't about how 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:58.120 to scale or how to sell your thing to people 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:00.320 all over the world, and it's not about how to 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:04.920 raise money. This episode is about how to start, and 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:07.600 how to start in such a way that you improve 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:11.920 your chances of success. Now we're going to talk about 0:08:11.960 --> 0:08:15.600 scale and we're going to talk about raising money, but 0:08:15.720 --> 0:08:18.800 in a way that helps you think about them properly 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:22.119 at the stage at because too many of us aren't 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:25.240 clear on those topics as they relate to ideas that 0:08:25.320 --> 0:08:30.800 we've ideated, because we tend to be more beholden to 0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:33.960 ideas when there ares and we don't think about them 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:37.880 as clearly. Often not everybody, but we don't always think 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:41.480 about them as clearly as we should. And so this 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:47.280 episode is about just that, how to start, And in 0:08:47.400 --> 0:08:51.920 order to start, you got to write it down. It 0:08:52.080 --> 0:08:55.320 needs to be clear in your mind what you are 0:08:55.360 --> 0:08:59.280 trying to do, and you won't even know how many 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:04.560 questions that will need to be answered until you start 0:09:04.559 --> 0:09:08.360 to write it down. When your idea only exists in 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:13.719 your head, you can't get specific or gain an actionable 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:16.040 view on the steps you're going to need to take 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:19.400 to make that idea exist in the world. So I 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:24.559 highly recommend there's some really good journals out there I use. 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:29.560 I used to use this Full Focused Journal by Michael Hyatt. 0:09:29.840 --> 0:09:32.079 I no longer use that one because I didn't need 0:09:32.360 --> 0:09:35.640 necessarily the prompts that it gave me anymore. I'd kind 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:39.360 of just like to take notes in a different way. 0:09:39.400 --> 0:09:42.320 But if you need prompts to help you start to 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:46.480 structure your idea, the Full Focus Journal by Michael Hyatt 0:09:46.520 --> 0:09:50.080 is a really, really good one. I've moved on personally 0:09:50.120 --> 0:09:53.640 to like just regular mold skins, so I carry one 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:57.000 of those in my bag. I just need some place 0:09:57.080 --> 0:10:00.760 to just jot down ideas. Often I'm just jotting down 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:04.280 ideas in my notes app on my iPhone because it's 0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:10.440 always readily available, and I also very often I will 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:14.520 carry a small little It's kind of like, what do 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:19.400 you call those things? Little tiny journals? Somebody knows what 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:23.520 I'm talking about. One of the field notes, so I 0:10:23.559 --> 0:10:26.719 will just have one like in my back pocket. Very 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:28.679 often I will have those with me because I like 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.600 to just write down, like it'll be like one word, 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:33.959 you know, reminders of things that I'm going to need 0:10:34.000 --> 0:10:38.080 to transfer to a larger effort later. So I will 0:10:38.120 --> 0:10:40.440 often do that because it's just helpful for me. So 0:10:40.720 --> 0:10:44.880 I recommend you do whatever works for you, but definitely 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:48.720 start to write down not just the idea, but what 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:51.599 are the steps that are required to actually making that 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:55.319 idea happen. Now, in the previous episode, I want to 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:58.680 say it was two three weeks ago. It's an episode 0:10:58.720 --> 0:11:02.040 I put out the best Apps and Tech for Small 0:11:02.080 --> 0:11:05.200 business Owners. That is a really good episode if you 0:11:05.240 --> 0:11:07.760 want some more resources and things like that, things that 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:10.880 I recommend you do to help structure yourself and structure 0:11:10.920 --> 0:11:14.559 yourself with success. So I'm going to reference that episode 0:11:14.600 --> 0:11:16.360 a couple of times, but that is a really, really 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:21.040 great episode if you want more depth about actual tools 0:11:21.040 --> 0:11:24.280 that you can use in your how to start a journey. Now, 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:28.400 I would also recommend you start getting really good at 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:32.480 AI applications, and I shouldn't even say really good, just 0:11:32.520 --> 0:11:35.760 to get proficient at using an AI like a chat 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:38.840 gpt it is not too late. As a matter of fact, 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:43.440 most people in the world are still unaware of what's 0:11:43.440 --> 0:11:47.959 even happening in the conversation of GTPs GPTs, and even 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:51.880 before we discuss how to use them. Just get familiar 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:56.320 with how you could apply that sort of a resource. 0:11:56.400 --> 0:12:01.240 And so whether you want to spend time. I could 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:05.000 spend a whole episode on my love hate relationship with 0:12:05.120 --> 0:12:09.000 business plans like writing out thirty forty page business plans, 0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:11.559 which a lot of places if you go to support, 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:13.640 you know, like kind of like local supports like chambers 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:16.040 of commerce and et cetera, they'll have you, you know, 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:20.200 start to work on these long business plans. We can 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:22.560 talk a whole episode about that. I'm not gonna do that, 0:12:23.040 --> 0:12:28.319 but forget about putting your questions in like the Google 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:32.760 search bar. You know, AI is supercharging your ability to 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:36.520 get these things done quickly and well, and so you 0:12:36.520 --> 0:12:40.360 can simply ask questions to the intelligence, you know, even 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:47.240 super specific ones based on your demographical information. If you're 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:50.920 trying to figure out what your demographics should be. Should 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:54.359 you manufacture you know, in house or should you outsource 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:58.560 your manufacturing? What country should you have your manufacturing in 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:01.840 like all of these superspecif if it questions that it 0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:06.239 is harder to get answered on the traditional search and navigation, 0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:10.360 you can do that with something like a chat GPT. 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:16.240 So I highly encourage you to start learning about writing 0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:21.080 prompts for GPTs. And what I mean by that is 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:25.800 structuring your questions in such a way to get the 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:30.360 responses that you need that will believe. I believe that 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:34.160 that will be one of the most valuable skills inside 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:37.960 the next five years is how to write prompts. And 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:42.120 this is not a technical thing. It is a way 0:13:42.120 --> 0:13:45.880 of thinking, a way of thinking about how to write 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:51.040 questions such that you get responses that are actually helpful 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:54.800 to you getting what you need done. And so what 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:59.079 I did I went to chad GPT, I said, all right, 0:13:59.360 --> 0:14:02.520 what I write? I wrote, how can I best write 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:06.839 prompts to get the best answers from chat GPT? And 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:10.199 so it gave me a couple prompts I could use 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:12.760 to get the best answers from it. This is something 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:15.480 you can do with an AI like chat GPT. So 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:20.000 number one it said, be clear and specific, Clearly articulate 0:14:20.040 --> 0:14:24.120 your question or request, ambiguous or vague prompts may lead 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:27.640 to unclear off topic responses. Provide as much detail as 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:31.160 necessary for the context you're seeking. That is something you 0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:35.320 can't do with like a traditional navigation a search bar, 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:39.600 being super specific, giving a bunch of detail it can't find. 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:41.680 It's harder to find the answers you need when you're 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:44.680 that specific and so. But with the chat GPT or 0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:49.600 another GPT, it's saying be specific because it can handle 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:52.720 that much information. Actually, it works best if you give 0:14:52.760 --> 0:14:55.360 it more information. The next thing you said was ask 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:59.120 one thing at a time, and it says, break down 0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:03.760 complex queries into simpler, more focused questions. This helps the 0:15:03.800 --> 0:15:07.800 model understand your intent better and provides more precise answers. 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:11.760 This is what's so important about writing things down, because 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:17.480 we don't always necessarily have enough clarity and what it 0:15:17.600 --> 0:15:21.239 takes to get to the next level. If the ideas 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:23.400 are in our head, but if we need to write 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:27.640 it down and provide instructions, then you get to You 0:15:27.680 --> 0:15:31.680 get an idea of what is unclear to you as 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:34.920 the entrepreneur, as the founder. But if you don't take 0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:38.880 the time, if clearly think through point A to the 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:43.360 next point, you're not gonna know what you don't have 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:48.280 clarity about, all right, So that's a couple of things 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:50.600 that there's like four or five more. I won't go 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:51.960 into those, so I don't want to spend this whole 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:54.720 episode on writing prompts. But these are the types of 0:15:54.800 --> 0:16:00.760 things that if you get at least reasonably good at AI, 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:04.840 you will be so much further than most people. So 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:06.480 I have a few more at These are just a 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:09.640 couple of points, and loogain, I want to start shit. 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.080 I should have started here, but I'm gonna say midway 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:16.360 through this episode, these are not These are not everything 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:19.960 that you're gonna need to know about how to start. 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:24.800 These are I'm speaking to the specific things that stop 0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:28.280 the people who come to speak to me, the things 0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:33.400 that they find challenging. So I'm using those people as 0:16:33.520 --> 0:16:37.359 a focused group because I believe they represent more entrepreneurs, 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:41.240 and so most people get stuck on certain things. So 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:43.880 the things I'm gonna speak to in this episode are 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:45.920 the things that I believe will help you get past 0:16:45.960 --> 0:16:49.000 those specific hurdles. The next one is I would stop 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:52.360 spending money on stupid stuff, and so it is super 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:55.080 important even I do it. So I will go to 0:16:55.120 --> 0:16:59.400 my credit card statement every month, my bank statements every month, 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:02.600 and just look through them. I would just look through 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:05.080 them and just see what is on here that I 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:07.959 didn't even know I was being charged for anymore, Things 0:17:08.000 --> 0:17:10.720 on here that I'm not even using anymore. And So, 0:17:11.280 --> 0:17:16.639 because you're gonna need to be your first investor, it 0:17:16.760 --> 0:17:21.879 is your job to invest in yourself before you start 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:25.320 to even think about asking somebody else to invest in you. 0:17:25.320 --> 0:17:30.280 You should have the belief that I am willing to 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:33.240 put my own money up if you believe in the idea. 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:34.880 If you're not willing to put your own money up 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:40.560 in the beginning, come on, I would be hanging around 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:42.720 the right people. And I'm not gonna get into a 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:49.439 munch like very rudimentary stuff. But what we miscalculate about 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:53.560 finding success in entrepreneurship, business, startups, and etc. Is this 0:17:53.800 --> 0:17:59.720 not like these there's these rocket science level challenges. These 0:17:59.760 --> 0:18:04.440 are doing basic things over and over well, doing well, 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:07.440 doing well again today and well again the next day. 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:12.000 Do the stuff well, the simple stuff, really well, and 0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:15.560 you will find outsized success because most people don't do 0:18:15.600 --> 0:18:18.720 the simple stuff well. One of those things is the 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:22.000 people to hang around you cannot grow with the people 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:25.320 you're hanging around with aren't growing. I'm gona leave that there. 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:31.760 I'm not gonna go further than that one. This is one. 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:33.560 This next one, I'm gonna just tell you what it is, 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:37.119 then I'll talk about it. I would get as unromantic 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:41.120 as possible about my ideas. And there will be things 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:45.919 that you want to do that do not mean you 0:18:45.960 --> 0:18:49.600 should do them. I'm gonna say it again a different way. 0:18:50.240 --> 0:18:53.119 Just because you want to do something doesn't mean the 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:57.280 world wants that from you. As much as you love 0:18:57.840 --> 0:19:00.760 the thing, as much as your passion about the thing, 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:04.639 as much as you believe. Man, if I could just 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:06.760 do this, you know I would love to do this 0:19:06.840 --> 0:19:08.400 every day for the rest of my life. That does 0:19:08.440 --> 0:19:11.199 not mean people will pay you for it. And so 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:17.639 you've got to be taking an honest assessment of yourself. 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:22.640 A lot of people cannot do this. This is entrepreneurial 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:30.520 success requires a very strong ability to look at yourself, 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:35.720 see where you're deficient, see where you excel, and then 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:40.120 match yourself with something that the world will pay you for. 0:19:42.520 --> 0:19:44.480 That is not an easy thing to do for most people. 0:19:45.280 --> 0:19:51.520 Because we are passionate about specific things, and your passionate 0:19:51.560 --> 0:19:56.479 about specific things is helpful in determining what you should 0:19:56.520 --> 0:19:59.920 be spending your energy on. But it does not mean 0:20:00.680 --> 0:20:03.679 that other people are as passionate to pay you to 0:20:03.800 --> 0:20:08.280 do it. And so that takes some honest self reflection 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:12.480 that most people are not prepared for. So I would 0:20:12.600 --> 0:20:16.359 ask myself a few questions. What is the market need 0:20:17.240 --> 0:20:20.640 at such a level that people are willing to pay 0:20:20.680 --> 0:20:26.679 you for your solution? What does the market need so 0:20:26.960 --> 0:20:30.520 much that people are willing to pay you to do 0:20:30.600 --> 0:20:34.560 the thing to solve their problem? What pains do people 0:20:34.640 --> 0:20:38.320 have that they're willing to pay you an appropriate amount, 0:20:38.880 --> 0:20:43.520 an amount that works for you to have that pain alleviated. 0:20:44.520 --> 0:20:47.040 Just because people have a pain, and just because people 0:20:47.119 --> 0:20:49.800 have a need doesn't mean that they're willing to pay 0:20:49.960 --> 0:20:52.800 to pull out their wallet to scan their card, to 0:20:53.520 --> 0:20:56.879 you know, touch their Apple watch to the pay you 0:20:56.920 --> 0:21:02.720 know device at such a rate that it makes sense 0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:04.760 for you to do it. There's a lot of people 0:21:05.119 --> 0:21:07.240 who are willing to pay for things, but they're not 0:21:07.280 --> 0:21:11.320 willing to pay enough to make it a valuable business proposition. 0:21:12.280 --> 0:21:16.840 It's not worth it. Can your service or your product 0:21:16.920 --> 0:21:20.359 provide a solution? At a price consumers are willing to 0:21:20.400 --> 0:21:24.000 pay that still leaves enough money for you to grow 0:21:24.440 --> 0:21:29.600 and reinvest into the business. Here's the thing that I 0:21:29.760 --> 0:21:34.840 found most people will not do. And I've done this 0:21:35.320 --> 0:21:39.360 a gazillion times to my own pain, because I love 0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:43.719 to do things that I've done. If nobody cares that 0:21:43.840 --> 0:21:46.159 you stopped doing it, if you were to start a 0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:52.159 business and you stopped doing it, would anybody say ouch? 0:21:53.440 --> 0:21:59.560 Would anybody say where's the thing that you were doing yesterday? 0:22:00.560 --> 0:22:03.440 I need more? Why are you not? Why would you 0:22:03.560 --> 0:22:06.439 not give me more? Why are you Why are you 0:22:06.520 --> 0:22:11.280 depriving me of your product? Why are you not letting 0:22:11.320 --> 0:22:16.480 me have your service? If nobody does that. If your 0:22:16.560 --> 0:22:21.160 website has been down for three weeks and nobody's emailing 0:22:21.200 --> 0:22:24.280 you saying, yo, I need your website. I came here 0:22:24.320 --> 0:22:27.440 every day for you know, my information, and it's been 0:22:27.480 --> 0:22:30.639 down for three weeks. What's going on if nobody's doing that. 0:22:31.640 --> 0:22:36.360 If you are, you know, the fashion designer of your 0:22:36.400 --> 0:22:42.000 community and you don't release a new fall line and 0:22:42.160 --> 0:22:47.600 nobody says, hey, when's the new drop coming, that you 0:22:47.640 --> 0:22:49.520 got to think about whether you really got a thing. 0:22:50.400 --> 0:22:54.199 If nobody cares that you stopped, you probably shouldn't have 0:22:54.200 --> 0:22:58.080 been doing it in the first place. That is hard 0:22:58.080 --> 0:23:04.879 to swallow. If nobody cares, nobody raised the flag and 0:23:04.920 --> 0:23:11.919 said foul because Gene over here, stop doing donuts. I 0:23:12.359 --> 0:23:17.359 the men Gene keeps doing donuts. I need those donuts. 0:23:19.080 --> 0:23:22.280 If nobody's doing that at some level, obviously I'm exaggerating, 0:23:22.560 --> 0:23:25.760 But if nobody's asking where is the product? Where is 0:23:25.800 --> 0:23:29.800 the service that you used to provide? You really got 0:23:29.800 --> 0:23:33.439 to think whether you've been force feeding and trying to 0:23:33.720 --> 0:23:35.840 trying to get people who just love you and just 0:23:35.840 --> 0:23:42.680 want to support you, versus actually building a market. Because 0:23:42.680 --> 0:23:45.480 people will support you, and you get confused about whether 0:23:45.520 --> 0:23:48.240 it's just support because they's cute and they want to 0:23:48.280 --> 0:23:51.199 see me, you know, do my thing, or are you 0:23:51.240 --> 0:23:55.480 actually building a business. That is a hard thing to swallow. 0:23:58.359 --> 0:24:01.840 You got to define who's your target audience, who's your consumer? 0:24:02.160 --> 0:24:03.960 Your product. I don't care what it is. It is 0:24:04.000 --> 0:24:07.240 not for everybody, It is for a specific group people. 0:24:07.320 --> 0:24:11.240 Number One, you don't have enough money to reach everybody 0:24:11.359 --> 0:24:14.920 with your marketing and your branding efforts and your communication efforts. 0:24:14.920 --> 0:24:18.480 So you've got to define who is best suited for 0:24:18.960 --> 0:24:21.240 who is the low hanging fruit? Who is this thing 0:24:21.320 --> 0:24:24.680 designed for? And then there may be other people later 0:24:24.760 --> 0:24:28.359 who you know, come and join the bandwagon who see 0:24:28.400 --> 0:24:32.400 themselves in your thing too. But if you're building a brand, 0:24:32.760 --> 0:24:36.440 who are you building it for and super serve that audience? 0:24:36.800 --> 0:24:42.960 Nothing is for everybody. There may be specific vertical, specific 0:24:42.960 --> 0:24:46.240 things inside of a vertical that's this one's for that group, 0:24:46.359 --> 0:24:49.080 this one's for that group, and they self select, but 0:24:49.119 --> 0:24:51.480 nothing is for everybody. Some people like this version of 0:24:51.520 --> 0:24:55.760 a thing, whether it's white bread. Some people like this 0:24:55.880 --> 0:24:58.159 version of the white bread, the one that uses this 0:24:58.280 --> 0:25:01.880 type of flower. Other people love the one that look 0:25:02.560 --> 0:25:06.720 that's in brown packaging. So you've got to determine who 0:25:06.800 --> 0:25:09.320 is it for? Who are you talking to when you 0:25:09.600 --> 0:25:13.200 present your offering to the world. This is about all 0:25:13.680 --> 0:25:15.600 I'm gonna get into. I told you I will get 0:25:15.640 --> 0:25:20.120 into scale and raising money, and I'm gonna just touch 0:25:20.160 --> 0:25:21.800 on it because I'm gonna get out of here, and 0:25:21.880 --> 0:25:26.000 because I've been laboring these points. It is while so 0:25:26.200 --> 0:25:29.680 often many of us are not ready for capital or 0:25:29.720 --> 0:25:33.960 to even scale, but behave you should always be behaving 0:25:34.040 --> 0:25:37.200 like you will be And how do you do that? 0:25:37.840 --> 0:25:41.439 Your systems will be important. How can How good are 0:25:41.480 --> 0:25:45.760 you are you at documenting your operation? You cannot do 0:25:45.880 --> 0:25:48.520 this as a hustle. This has to be a business. 0:25:48.840 --> 0:25:50.960 How can you I can't invest in your hustle, but 0:25:51.000 --> 0:25:53.800