I figure it’s about time I write a little bio and introduce myself formally.
I’m calling this my “elevator intro” of who I am and why you should follow along.
I am relentless in the pursuit of building an empire and changing the trajectory for my family.
But here’s the
Went to a pumpkin patch the other day and got talking with the coordinators.
Avg. ticket price = $12
80,000 visitors each year
Only open 1 month
80,000 x $12 = $960,000
And that’s JUST on tickets. Not including food, games, etc.
… What?!
They say “the proof is in the
@sweatystartup
Let’s normalize rugby. Played it all through high school. When you take away pads as
@Persist_Change
mentioned, the tackle is controlled. You actually learn to tackle instead of becoming human projectiles. As we would say, it’s a hooligans game, played by gentlemen.
@TylerPurcell24
Man I say you give them two options:
Either
1. A wash and dry race. First to get 10 loads done with colors separated. Military folds
OR
2. Take this to a TV court room drama and let Judge Judy decide.
Just thinking out loud 🤣
I’ve spent the last two days interviewing 7 entrepreneurs for the launch of my podcast.
1. A lawncare owner that started a business with a 5k tax refund. Now it’s valued at $700k+
2. A pet training business owner that left his W2 and now makes 6 figures training dogs
3. A
PSA for those busy dads grinding on the biz during your kiddos naps…
When you hear those little tip tap footsteps coming down the stairs, try your hardest to wrap up and shut your computer before they come down.
I wrote this because I’m SUPER guilty of keeping the work going
BLOWN AWAY would be an understatement!
@trentjhughes
messaged me the other day to connect and today we had a call.
This guy is THE REAL DEAL.
There was so much jam packed into the 30 min on the call with him that this tweet won’t do it justice, but I’ll give it a shot.
I had a call with
@ShannonJean
today and it blew my mind! 🤯
It could have been 10x longer and still not long enough.
It was SO validating on multiple levels:
1. Even at the level he’a at right now, he’s still shooting for more. The growth never stops.
2. Success HAPPENS.
When you’re in the grind, with a young family, hustling to make ends meet and build big things…
All you want to be is on the other end; Empire built, financially independent, freedom to do whatever it is that lights you up.
BUT
I’ve been told by many that have “made it”, who
You know when you see something super successful and you think “dang, that would’ve been so cool to be a part of from the beginning!”
… well I’m living that right now as one of the first guests for
@SMBjourney
podcast. 🎙️
This dude is a rockstar with such a wild story. What
It’s the best $5/mo you’ll ever spend.
Just got to pick
@ShannonJean
’s brain for an hour with a bunch of other rockstar entrepreneurs hanging out on a Friday afternoon.
Gems from today 👇
💎 Growing a following on is; You’re building a media company. Once you have the
Mondays are a “day off” from my police job, but this is what my day looks like (roughly).
*** And this video is what it looks like to be a dad while on zoom 🤣
0400 - wake up
0410-0430 - Wake up the brain 🧠
Wordle, Duo Lingo (Spanish app), Lingvano (ASL app)
0430-0500 -
Just got off the phone with
@DustinKamali
from Meow.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,
ONE DM CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
Here’s the scoop and why this post is relevant 👇
Dustin and I connected through the DMs and hopped on a call.
On the surface, just to talk about
To my U.S. males between 35-44yo at 6am, sipping coffee during one of the FEW quiet moments they get during the day while their kids are still asleep, who are liking my posts...
I genuinely appreciate you and KNOW how precious that time is. Thank you 🙏🏻
Every single one of you are awesome!
For a LONG time it would say triple zeros. Seeing 5+ each week now is huge.
Thank you! I will continue to share as much value as I possibly can with you all 🚀
Ted “The Donut King” Ngoy built an empire making over $100,000 a month in the 1970s and 80s by selling donuts. 🍩
($100k PROFIT) 🤯
He did this by doing three things really well.
1) Creative financing to buy old mom and pop shops
2) Adding value to the way the shop was run
This is how you add product links to your X profile. 👇
I just did this for my newsletters and it was kind of tricky…
So I made a video on the process to make it easier for you. 😎
Let me know if you have any questions.
If there’s one thing I really know, it’s self storage.
The past several years have been dedicated to finding, acquiring and operating.
And with this particular skillset, I’m running an experiment. 👨🔬
I have TONS of training videos that I created to train the VA team I built
Shaboozey is taking the world by storm with his new song “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
At over 60 million radio airplay impressions, 45 million streams and 23,000 sold, it’s safe to say that he’s crushing it.
But this isn’t a story about Shaboozey or his new song, this is a story about
Pre Coffee Business Idea 🧠☕️
“How to Build Your IKEA Stuff” membership site.
Yes, I know there’s YouTube, but not all videos are created equal.
This site would be the step by step visual instructions of exactly how to build anything from IKEA.
- Clear video
- Tips and
Yesterday my daughter was running down the hallway and ran into the wall as she cut the corner a little too tight.
She walks up to me upset and says “dad, we need to make this house bigger to run in.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. But what I love most is the BIG thinking problem
Posted this in
@ShannonJean
’s group today but figured I’d throw this out into the X universe as well 👇
I was talking with my partner at work today (for reference I’m a police officer) and he’s a pretty experienced entrepreneur himself.
He road the first wave of Instagram with
Family Men With Businesses;
When you give 100% of yourself and your bandwidth to your workday and all the projects you’re working on / million things spinning around in your head…
… and then you come home feeling like you don’t have anything left…
… what strategies do you
I’m all about the best gear, but don’t let that stop you from making “it” happen.
7 full in person podcast episodes were filmed using this $20 tripod, $20 mic and my iPhone.
It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t have to be.
With revenue close to $1.6 billion annually, Scholastic is an absolute POWERHOUSE in publishing.
The craziest part is that they are hyper focused on children’s books and have been using the same techniques since the 50’s.
Here’s there story
🧵
@trentjhughes
has been there, done that and continues to pave incredible paths for entrepreneurs.
On top of that, he’s an open book. What he learns, he shares.
Great dude and a great follow!
I've learned that the more vulnerable I am, the more people I can connect with.
Some of the hardest things I've been through:
Over 100 rejections on my first book
Passed up for a promotion I really wanted early in my career.
I've been broken up with a good amount of times.
Another SOLID
@SMBjourney
episode with
@Mikethelummox
.
14:23 in is a takeaway worth sharing. Here’s the quote:
“A lot of people will say ‘I’ve never taken a distribution, I just reinvest in my company’— Well good for you, but I bought my company to make money. So I did take
X wasn’t ready for the engagement I was about to disperse.
I had just finished a workout, coffee was brewing, phone in hand, sitting on the couch in the dark quiet morning…
Words were swirling ready to be launched into orbit.
But then I heard something…
Shuffles of feet
This video will teach you how to juggle. Literally.
As entrepreneurs, we aren’t only natural jugglers, but we’re also in the business of skill acquisition.
7 reasons why this is relevant:
🧵
*** link to full 5 min tutorial at the bottom
Working a new strategy for our storage cold callers👇
When the owners answer and our callers are able to talk with them, we have a quick valuation calculator that we’ve trained them on.
The script:
“Before you go, if you’d like we can give you a free valuation of your
Earlier today my 5 year old was making some sort of magic potion and wanting a bunch of ice for it.
I told her to pretend to use ice. I then showed her an imaginary cup and made some "ice dropping into the cup" sounds...
Just now I asked her to throw some trash away.
She
Main St. Summit 2024 is here.
One of the BEST conferences around. If you’re in the SMB world, THIS is summit to be at.
While I’m not there this year, I have been to a handful of conferences over the years and wrote an article about conference do’s and dont’s
I’ll drop the
@ChrisRamsey60
So true! Man this goes for everything. It’s an ego thing to say you’re the owner. It’s a position of pride, BUT if you disclose that, it comes at a cost for sure. You can’t deflect, you can’t take time to process or “check with the owner”. It’s just you.
GREAT post!
Just like a pen trying to write on a piece of paper without anything behind it, sometimes all you need is a little pressure to create something incredible. 🖋️📄
There’s a lot that can be said about the power and VALUE of aggregation.
Here’s how you can take your overconsumption and turn it into a lucrative creation.
Killer email from
@mhp_guy
!
If you’re already subscribed, you should read this. If you’re not, you should DEFINITELY subscribe.
I took a screen shot of part of the email because it was so spot on!
This wont be applicable to everyone, but if you know, you REALLY know.
Two
These are the exact questions we ask owners on the phone when we cold call facilities to purchase.
Feel free to steal it and use it as your own.
We then plug the numbers in right then and there on the phone and give them a range.
Based on how they react to the range is how
One way to guarantee your success is to surround yourself with people that are challenging you to be better.
If you don’t have that “inner circle”, you should be building one. Or borrow mine 😉
This particular convo happened in
@ShannonJean
X group.
The topic came up about
Why go 0-1 when you can go 0-2?
You’re right. It takes a gifted person to start two SMBs at once, but this guy bears gifts (he bought my dinner the first time we hung out). 🍔
Meet
@Peter_Nordberg
who owns:
Triangle Business Law
@Rolling_Suds
of Raleigh-Durham
You're right
Legos are a gateway drug for entrepreneurship.
Here me out 👇
The other night we got a set of Legos for the girls for the first time.
I was sitting with them explaining
how to put the pieces together and what the goal was.
The mission…
The PURPOSE of this project…
Are you an expert? 🫵🏻
I'm launching a newsletter right now focused on how to start, buy and scale businesses called "Start. Buy. Scale." ... sometimes you have to go with the obvious name lol
Our tagline is "one platform, all you need to build your business."
We are looking
Shannon has grown his following by 64X in 9 months. 🤯
One of the ways he’s done that is through what he talks about in this video.
The other (and most important reason) is because he is FULL of value.
He has poured into me and so many others on this platform. For FREE.
Want to grow your followers on 𝕏?
In January, I had 541 followers. Today, I have 32,414.
I don't post much about 𝕏 growth, but the video below explains how important the time of day is when you post.
Cheers to your success!
To my parent peeps who are ALSO entrepreneurs / business owners —Question for you: 👇
How are you teaching your kids entrepreneurial concepts?
We all know that we’re wired a little different…. Okay, A LOT different 🤪
A lot of it will be taught by them seeing what we’re
@trentjhughes
I like the “local guide” idea.
You’re local to an area heavy on tourism and know the area. You show travelers around to all the best spots. You build a newsletter talking about upcoming events and things you’ll take tourists to. You can partner with local venders and
To my landscape biz owners out there, is there any concern for regulations on gas powered equipment?
Battery powered just doesn't seem powerful enough yet.
Makes me think twice about CA acquisitions with landscaping.
@LeadershipAcad1
@MikeBotkin_
There’s an image that swirls around in my head about where people are in their success journey.
It drew it on this dirty napkin the other day for this post.
It starts with the GRIND
Then you have MODERATE SUCCESS
Then SUCCESS
Then you’re CRUSHING IT
After that you have
@SqueegeeGod
@sergiosilesky
@Codie_Sanchez
Ya this is gold man! What’s your take on integrating inside cleaning services with exterior? I’ve seen it done a couple of times, but don’t think it’s on the same cycle of customer need. Inside home cleaning is potentially a weekly expense for a client. Power washing not as much.
One thing that has always appealed to me is transparency in a business.
I’ve always wanted to know the HOW, not just the WHAT.
I want to hear about the process, the background, the build.
I’m a sucker for a great origin story.
There are so many companies out there that do
This is the coolest strategy I’ve seen in a bit!
Definitely taking note of the unconditional value
@readwise
is providing.
It’d be super easy just to roll right into billing after the first month trial. But they are giving another month for free!
Which in turn makes me like
Here's a crazy cool example of the importance of READY FIRE AIM ...
Seriously a lesson here that we should all remember👇
I have a good buddy that just started a newsletter.
He has a YouTube channel and a few other funnels to get people into his newsletter.
His newsletter
When I’m out of town, I always try to find a hotel with a sweet pool to get some laps in. Maybe one day I’ll run into
@RyanHoliday
while he’s getting his swim on.
Today I had NO intention to go that fast.
Just a nice little cruise.
But someone hopped in next to me and I
I know this is a super niche scenario, BUT I like to operate in a good niche…
I’m a girl dad now with 2 girls and then 1 boy on the way.
There just aren’t any hats out there right now that solve for this.
Now there is.
I’m not in the hat business, but I’ll keep you
Just a friendly reminder to other content creators out there that you are at the mercy of the platform.
YouTube is incredible for distribution and growth. Same with all these other platforms… Just make sure these aren’t your ONLY sources of distribution.
It’s never too early
@jamiferrell
Ok so just surface level due diligence, these are the kinds of things to be looking at:
Financial review
Operations
Legal
Market
For finances you’ll want to go through revenue, CoGS, and operation expenses
For operations you might already have a good idea of how it was ran
Sometimes there’ll be “leaks” in the business or project that you’re working on.
Before you get carried away with a complicated solution, start with the basics.
It might just require tightening one tiny little screw like I show here. 👇
There’s another side of this that doesn’t get mentioned enough as an employee.
It’s the “overtime trap”.
Definitely more prevalent in blue collar work, but when you see several hours come in with time and a half pay, it’s addicting.
You start to feel like whenever you need
@trentjhughes
Oh man these always get me going! 🤣 SUCH a great question. As it is now, more money as an Employee. But here’s the catch; I’ve already reached the ceiling. I’ve mentioned this before, but the W2 grind is a double edge sword.
You feel “safe and secure”, but there’s only so much
Just finished Skip The Line.
I bought this after hearing
@jaltucher
on a podcast in 2020 talking about it. And I wish I would have read it sooner.
It’s an incredible book!
In the social media non-fiction book inner circle, you don’t hear about this one as much as others,
@noahkagan
This reminds me of the way Michael Jordan talked about the game. Everyone saw him in the gym early lifting weights, staying late practicing drills, playing while sick and injured, etc etc. He’s said that people are in awe of his “hard work” but to him, it wasn’t work. It was
100 followers! 🙏🏻
I know this is a small number to some, but it’s big for me and I appreciate every single one of you that have recently subscribed.
My goal here is to document and share the entrepreneur journey, in real time.
The successes and most importantly; the failures
Just because it hasn’t been done before, doesn’t mean it SHOULDN’T be done.
Walt Disney was the essence of being relentless.
Check it out 👇
📌 When Walt Disney put sound to Steamboat Willie, he was told that it would be too difficult and the audiences wouldn’t appreciate
Entrepreneur parents— what’s your “shut it down time?”
I know most of us are turned up to 11 during the day.
But that energy still hangs on as we get home and in the front door, like a monkey on the back…
The work is endless. In a good way… but also not so good. 🤷🏻♂️
When do
Having kids and starting a family is similar to that of starting a business.
If you’re waiting to “be ready”, you’ll be waiting forever.
I was married at 23. Soon to be 3 kids in, I wouldn’t trade a SECOND of it.
I’m still figuring things out and I’m far from “making it”
“One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through and it will be someone else’s survival guide.”
— Brene Brown
Beyond grateful to be in the process of writing my story, along side
@SMBjourney
!
The episode was a blast to record and so freaking cool to
WE'RE LIVE!
You’ll love our first guest. He wears his heart on his sleeve. And trust me when I say he's got the heart of a hero.
-Police officer in SoCal
-3X SMB owner: bookkeeping, self-storage, and global talent agency
-Self-funded searcher looking for more
More? Yes,
It’s really easy to post polished videos after all the editing and fancy captions.
But this is the behind the scenes of what filming a podcast / YouTube channel intro looks like. 🤣
The product might be sexy, but work is full of bloopers.
@johnreinesch
@CreatingJas
Bro what a story!! That’s so good! I had no idea about the Patels. That reminds me of Ted Ngoy AKA “The Donut King”. Immigrant from Cambodia who started donut shops in southern Californian in the 70’s/ 80’s. Sponsored other Cambodian families and provided them with jobs in his
When someone says you can't do something, send them this 👇 Just fill in the blanks 😉
Dear ______,
I hear you and understand your points.
Everyone at one point doesn’t know what they need to know.
And either they solve for it or they don’t. Prior to doing _______, I didn’t
Almost everyday either my wife or I say this out loud with our girls.
This came from
@JonAcuff
book “Soundtracks”.
We’ve done this so many times now that we all have it memorized.
It might not soak in right now at ages 3 and 5, but I know ONE DAY, they’ll be stuck on some
Me without any kids:
“Nah, I don’t need the crew cab, the extended cab will be fine.”
Me with 2 kids and 1 on the way:
“I should’ve gotten the crew cab…” 🤦🏻♂️
If you have a mustache or have started a business OR both, you’ll resonate with this one 👇
“Starting a business is like growing a mustache”
And here’s why…
🧵
For those of you that write a newsletter, you know how meaningful each and every reply is.
@bradsmithcoach
thank you for being a Sunday Doughnuts reader! 🍩
Entrepreneurship is about seeing that a problem exists and then solving for it.
I’d argue though, that it’s also about the velocity of your problem solving abilities. 🚀
Using those characteristics, we saw a problem Friday of last week, now we have a solution.
🧵
@jamiferrell
Ok so just surface level due diligence, these are the kinds of things to be looking at:
Financial review
Operations
Legal
Market
For finances you’ll want to go through revenue, CoGS, and operation expenses
For operations you might already have a good idea of how it was ran
I read a bunch... Honestly I wish I could read more, but i'm not at
@RyanHoliday
status...yet 😉
I highlight the heck out the books I read and haven't ever shared those highlights until now.
This newsletter is me sharing the most valuable highlights from the incredible
Found this posted in my daughter’s classroom during back to school night.
The cool thing as that these lessons are ones that most of as adults are working on daily.
For those that need to hear it (🙋🏻♂️);
Mistakes are ok!
They help our brain grow stronger and we learn from
Pre Coffee Business Idea ☕️💡
"Airport Tesla Turo"
Get a long term parking pass for an airport
Place a Tesla there and put it up on Turo
Rent it out for business travelers coming in and out of the local airport who don't want to mess with rental car agencies and want super
At some point I need to write a book called “pulling the slingshot back - Launch your success by being consistent in the grind”
(Title in progress 🤣)
It seems crazy, but it’s the truth. Just. Stay. With. It.
@ShannonJean
is proof.
@AlexFinnX
is proof.
Growing an X account SUCKS
You hit publish 1000x with no recognition
You spend an hour on a long form post that gets 0 likes
You feel like the algo is silencing you
Then one day a post changes everything
The post below got me:
• 6,000 new followers over night
THIS is valuable.
1) This post was 🔥
2) This whole situation is what being an entrepreneur is all about!
Kevin saw a problem and then recognized the opportunity.
He the. found a way to distribute a solution to others that had that problem.
He did this with gardening.
Look at this guy.
He's a humble gardener who turned his passion for plants into a multimillion dollar media empire.
Now his brand Epic Gardening has 400M+ YouTube views and generates over $27M/year.
The story of Kevin Espiritu (and how to turn your passion into a thriving
I took my 3yo with me the other day to go get some Starbucks.
I ordered a few drinks and as I’m grabbing them she asks me if she can hold one…
😑 I agree… She needs to learn to hold a drink and not spill it at some point….
We’re walking out and just as we get to the door,
This is one of the coolest things I’m a part of right now.
It’s at its founding stage, but it is powerful and will have huge impact.
Here’s the story 👇
Mondays seem to go by in a blur.
The entrepreneur grind is turned up to 11 with emails flooding in.
The kids are in
IKEA might be a close second to Disneyland for some weekend family fun. Haters will hate, but the kids had a BLAST.
And whatever you might think about their meatballs or furniture quality, you can’t deny that IKEA is a behemoth of a company.
And everyone likes a good origin