April 14, 2025 • 45 mins
This episode is for anyone standing at a crossroads… wondering whether to take the leap.
In Episode 6 of the UNTOLD Podcast, Ash and Des go balls deep about the uncomfortable but powerful topic of risk—in business, in relationships, and in life. From leaving a stable career in the police to launching an Amazon business... to shutting down a 25-year-old family company to chase a dream... this episode covers the real fear and real freedom that comes with taking a chance.
No fluff. No fake motivation. Just honest talk about:
- The risks that change your life—for better or worse
- Why most people gamble on the wrong things
- What to do when you're scared to make a move
- Why some people risk their marriage but won’t risk chasing their dream
- The difference between a calculated risk and a dumb one
- The hidden cost of playing it safe
💡 Whether you’re stuck in a 9–5 you hate, scared to start something new, or worried about what people think—this episode might be the nudge you need.
🎧 New episodes drop every Tuesday at 5AM
📲 Follow us on Instagram & TikTok: @UNTOLDPodcast.official
🎟️ Grab tickets to the Des Hamilton Roadshow: https://des-hamilton.mykajabi.com/des-hamilton-roadshow-manchester
🔗 Listen to all episodes: https://linktr.ee/untoldpodcast.official
💬 Leave a review. Share it with a mate. And remember:
Take the risk… or lose the chance.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
If you hadn't taken that risk, where do you think
you'd be sitting today?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
If I had seen that post even two weeks earlier, I
would have laughed it off andgone.
He don't know what's he talkingabout.
At that point in my life, itwas exactly what I needed to
hear.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
It's easier to find the excuse not to do something
than it is to do it.
The risk comes from not takingthe opportunity.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
You've got to help yourself.
No one's fucking coming, noone's coming.
You have to be unapologeticallyyou.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
The Untold Podcast is proudly sponsored by Aura
Surfaces, specialists in luxurysurfaces for extraordinary
spaces.
Like creating dream homes,building a dream life takes work
.
That's why we had to get behindthis podcast Real stories, real
challenges and real success.
Let's get into it.
Welcome to the Untold Podcast.
Now, today's a little bitdifferent because Chris is doing
(00:56):
his hair somewhere and he'shaving a day out, so it's just
me and Des the best two.
Today.
I'm going to talk about risks,because I know that Des has had
taken quite a few risks over thepast couple of years and we
feel like it's a good topic,because you've got to take risks
in life.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Eh, this week I cancelled my charting podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
That feels like a risk yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
But we're doing this one and there's three of us
involved and we'll push it, sodon't worry, that's right.
That's not a risk you need to beworried about.
So I've got a couple ofquestions here so to try and
keep us on the track, but it'squite important.
I think that we set this right.
So what's the first big riskthat you remember taking in your
(01:47):
life?
Oh, wow, what in my career orin my life?
In your life, what's the firstbig risk?
You remember Something that youthought you look back on now
and think, oh God, I waspanicking so much about doing
that.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Yeah, I don't know why right.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
In my head.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
It's a bungee jump in Falaraki.
Three big bungee ropes, I knowright, this was something like
1999.
And I remember signing thewaiver.
If I die, it's not your fault.
I remember signing that.
It was a drunken promise and wetalked about this earlier.
I'm a man of my word.
A promise is a promise.
(02:24):
The next morning I jumped offthis crane and you they measured
it, so you went headfirst intothe swimming pool and then out
again.
So I'm bungee jumping whatlooks like a fucking matchbox
from up high so my head getsdunked in the thing and comes
out.
Yeah, that I don't know why.
That's always struck as one ofthe big ones for me that?
Speaker 1 (02:45):
how do you remember how that felt?
Do you remember how that feltbefore and after?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
yeah, yeah, it was.
And it wasn't necessarilyscared of the jump, it was the
fact you know uh penaltyshootouts for the football.
They don't say it's the penaltythat freaks you out, it's the
walk from the centre circle tothe penalty spot.
It's the same thing going up inthis crane, up and up and up
and up and up.
And there was people all aroundthis swimming pool and you sort
(03:12):
of you stepped out.
It wasn't the jump, it was thebounce.
I didn't want the bounce to goup and then unclip.
You know, that's what I had inmind.
But the feeling afterwards,mate, just the relief, the joy,
and, yeah, it's the fact that Idid that.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah, so now we move on in your life.
A few years ago, you took arisk to quit your, to leave your
comfort blanket which was thepolice force to start an Amazon
journey.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Oh no, I didn't leave the police for Amazon.
I was a civil servant.
Yeah, okay.
Actually, that was a big riskin itself, leaving the police to
go to be a civil servant.
The police is one of the mostsecure jobs you could ever have,
yeah, and you sign up knowingit's going to be a 35 year
career.
But the way the police wentdownhill and the civil service
(04:13):
sorry, the public service wentdownhill, and this is just
towards the end of the tonyblair government.
When they went you know whatwe're skint let's take it out on
.
The old bill gutted the policetop to bottom and everyone
marched on parliament and Idecided no, I'm going to quit.
I was the first one to quit tojoin this other company that
were recruiting generalenforcement people.
I was the first one.
Within a year, that team that Ijoined had built to over 50
(04:36):
ex-coppers.
That was a big risk because allof a sudden I was subject to
redundancies.
I was subject to disciplinariesof things, because in the
police you just don't get sacked, you just get moved.
You know what I mean.
Nobody leaves the policebecause the pension's so good
and all that crap.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
So when you left the civil service then would you say
in your career, leaving thatcomfort blanket of a job that
was paying you to go on yourAmazon journey, yeah, was that a
big risk?
Did that worry you when youtook that leap?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
When I took the leap, no, a few weeks later.
Yeah, yeah.
When reality kicked in Becausethe Amazon business was going so
well, I built it.
I built it, built it and itstarted as a side hustle and we
did it to get rich.
You look back at my firstTikTok post I'm going to get
loaded.
And even though I said ahundred thousand pound, I knew
(05:30):
that a hundred thousand poundisn't loaded, but I knew it was
enough to then really reallykick on.
So when I did leave the job,I'd built up enough that I
thought, yeah, we're doingreally well, we're living really
comfortably here, we've gotthis money in the background and
everything's going well.
But of course, I did the thingthat we're all guilty of.
I was taking my monthly salaryfor granted, and it's one thing
(05:53):
to lose your monthly salary, butwhen you start replacing that
salary from your own businesscashflow, you're wiping out so
much of your growth.
It's not two steps back to gofour steps forward, you're going
back a hundred steps.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, and it was.
It was brutal.
It was only when I received mylast ever pay slip.
It was a case of shit.
(06:14):
Me and Claire had to sit downand go through the forecast and
saying, right, we need to findthis money somehow.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah, but that risk enabled you to think outside the
box, I would say.
And you were put in a positionwhere you had to find that you
had to find that money everymonth.
It wasn't a case where it wascoming in every month and you
were comfortable.
You were now in a positionwhere shit, we've got to find it
(06:41):
.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Yeah, mate, I'll tell you what I saw a post.
It was from Jack Jack's AmazonClub.
He yeah, mate, I'll tell youwhat I saw a post.
It was from Jack Jack's Amazonclub.
He was a good mate.
He's a good mate of mine now,but at the time didn't know each
other.
I saw a post from him and hesaid exactly that.
He went right.
Best advice I can ever give youand Jack was 23 at the time
right, quit your job, because inyour three-month notice period,
(07:01):
your three month notice period,you will find ways to make more
money than you've ever dreamedof in your life.
And I remember looking at that.
And if I had seen that posteven two weeks earlier, I would
have laughed it off and gone.
He don't know what's he talkingabout, but at that point in my
life it was exactly what Ineeded to hear.
This is why the universe is sofreaking amazing.
That post landed on my phone atthe exact time I needed to hear
(07:23):
it Because I was thinking, yeah, it's time to kick on.
Two weeks later, him and I arein conversations and we're
meeting in London.
Yeah, mental how it all playedout.
But it is true, it all comes toyour periphery.
Right, yeah, we talk about this.
You're driving down the road,you're looking for parking
spaces.
One pops up oh, that's theparking fairies, is it?
Or is it because you're looking?
(07:44):
Yeah, now, all of a sudden,three months later, I've gone
through all of these differentavenues of how I can really
maximize my time, because I'dmade a boatload of money in my
spare time.
The whole gambit was look, look, what I can do in my with all
the time.
But I needed to then walk thewalk, yeah, but then I was
(08:04):
looking at these opportunitiesthat weren't there before.
So I thought, right, let's meetJack, let's partner up with
Luke.
Luke and I have been pals sinceI got started on the challenge.
Let's partner up with Luke.
Let's start building thecommunity and putting a monthly
subscription on it.
Let's go out to brands and say,look, I've got much more time.
We're about brand deals.
Let's start putting some morestock in my public speaking.
(08:27):
Let's go out and do a roadshow.
Yeah, and it all just builtmate, it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
All just came together.
And if you hadn't taken thatrisk, where do you think, if you
hadn't taken that risk, wheredo you think you'd be sitting
today?
What do you think you'd bedoing?
I know this is a difficultquestion, but if you didn't take
that risk and say, right, I'mleaving this corporate job, I'm
leaving the civil service, Iwant to go out on my own, where
(08:51):
do you think you'd be today?
Do you think you'd still bedoing it?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
I think, yeah, I think I'd still be in hustle
mode though.
Yeah, right now, and this isthe beauty, so it's only the
last week or two that I'vestepped into the shoes of CEO,
now director, agency owner,whatever you want to call it.
I would still be full on inhustle mode, and not just on the
(09:16):
outskirts either.
I'd be knee deep in it.
So I'd still be Amazon selling,which is straight up hustling,
and I would still be running myAmazon mentoring, which is
straight up hustling, and Iwould still be running my Amazon
mentoring.
I knew now, knowing what I knownow, I knew I needed to grow out
of that for my own journey, oneof the things I always wanted
to do.
I wanted to be this connector.
(09:37):
If somebody comes to me andsays, des, I want to start
Amazon FBA, I can send themsomewhere.
Someone says, des, I want tostart a podcast, I can send them
somewhere.
I can send them somewhere.
Someone says, des, I want tostart a podcast, I can send them
somewhere.
I'll send them to you now.
I'd send them somewhere.
I've always wanted to do that,but I needed to be able to be
free to be able to build thatnetwork.
That way, if I still had my dayjob, I'd be doing it in my
(09:57):
spare time, which basicallywould.
It would put limits on myceiling.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Yeah, limits on your ceiling, and you wouldn't be
where you are today.
No, you might be still aimingfor it, but I don't think you'd
be there.
So taking that risk has paidoff for you.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Absolutely, mate.
Well, I wouldn't have met you,we wouldn't have been doing this
podcast.
I wouldn't have met Jack andLuke, we wouldn't be doing the
TikTok agency.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Mate, scary, isn't it ?
Has there ever been days whereyou sit back and you think oh, I
wish I hadn't done it.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
No, no, no, no, no, never, no, no.
And again every month we do sitdown and we think, right, how
much have we got?
How much can we take out of thebusiness Because we don't want
(10:49):
had when I got started they'vestill got the same problems now
with the loft and the car andthe crap and stuff like that.
But I won't have for long.
Yeah, if I'm still in my dayjob, mate, I'm treading water,
yeah, and I'm stressed becauseI'm throwing every hour god made
at this thing.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Yeah, so do you think there's ever a right time to
take a risk or do you think it'sworth just jumping?
From your experience, is thereever a right time For someone
listening now?
Is there ever a right time totake a risk or do you just jump?
Speaker 2 (11:12):
I'll tell you why.
It sounds like the same sort ofquestion.
How many times has someone saidto you is there ever a right
time to have kids?
It's the same, isn't it right?
Because ultimately, we'retalking about our time and we're
talking about our money.
If you're quitting your job orif you're having a kid, you're
saying goodbye to both of them.
It's the same thing, the onlything with your job.
(11:35):
And this is where the riskkicks in, because I didn't
really take it on.
For me, claire had already quither job and she was a 20-year
career-driven secondary schoolteacher, like second in her
faculty, for maths as well, andshe was.
She was duke of edinburgh andshe would go on to other sort of
primary schools that are havingmaths problems and help boost
them up.
She had quit because of me,because hang on, that sounds bad
(11:59):
, doesn't it?
Speaker 1 (12:00):
because of the opportunity she quit because you
told her I've got to do thisGet in the kitchen quit your job
.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
That's the clip.
And then when it came to mequitting and I can't talk about
this yet, it's such a shamethere's another episode down the
line.
I can't talk about the reasonsand the story behind why I quit
my job.
Yeah, but when I did quit, allof a sudden, I had the
responsibility of not only mycareer that.
(12:31):
I'd been 25 years regulatoryenforcement, you know.
On top of that, benefits aregone, pension's gone, sick pay's
gone, annual leave's gone,claire's pension's gone, sick
pay, annual leave all of thatall because of me, yeah, and I
was responsible not just for mebut for her and then for our
kids and for the upkeep of thehouse.
But not only that as well.
(12:53):
I had literally broughtthousands of people along with
me.
So many people had started sidehustles because they saw what I
was doing.
So if I had gone wrong inwhatever way, or if things had
fallen down, that is a shitloadof people that I'm responsible
for.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Do you feel responsible for those people
though?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Yeah, I know I shouldn't, but I do.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Because that's quite a powerful thing as well, isn't
it?
You've taken your tellingpeople your journey and the
risks that you took, and they'refollowing along on the path.
Now, I guess it's not foreveryone, though, is it?
That's it?
It's not easy.
I think you said before it's aside hustle.
What did you say Side hustlesare for?
For the broken lazy For thebroken lazy yeah, and we hear
(13:39):
this term a lot side hustles andrisks.
Now, the way I see it is ifyou're sitting comfortably at
the moment but you're not happy,look at what you can do as a
passion, as a way to do it.
Now, there's a way ofcalculating the risk.
Isn't there?
So you could have left your job.
(14:00):
You had a bit of a nest egg tokeep you going for, I don't know
, three months, six months, andthen you were relying on this
new business to take over.
But if the new business and thenew venture didn't, how easy
would it have been for you tohave walked back into your world
that you was in before?
Speaker 2 (14:22):
when I was in my day job.
I could have gone back, I couldhave taken a career break.
My plan was because it waspublic sector, my plan was
always right.
I'm going to stop.
I'm going to go from five daysa week to four days a week, to
three days a week.
I'm going to slowly, slowlywhittle it down and then I'll do
some sort of career break.
There was a guy I worked withwho runs a travel blog.
(14:43):
Lovely, lovely guy, really goodguy.
He and I were growing our sortof socials and we were chatting
with each other all the time.
He took a career break totravel the world, but of course,
what he's actually doing isvlogging it and building his
YouTube.
That was what I wanted to do,but again decisions were made
and circumstances changed and Ihad to leave there, and then
(15:05):
I've forgotten the question.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
But you could have walked back.
If your venture maybe not intothat company, but you could have
walked back into a very similarrole pretty easily.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
No, not really.
This is the crazy thing.
So my niche was reallyspecialist.
I worked on a very specificpiece of legislation that only
one company regulates.
Oh, okay, I could have gone andfound another financial
investigator role, but itcertainly wouldn't have paid as
well, never in a million years.
I probably would have been agood 20 grand less, yeah, so it
(15:37):
was all or nothing.
It was all or nothing yeah, yeah, and, but you're right, one of
the things I always talk about,I hate the phrase side hustle.
I hate it.
I hate it, but I have to use itbecause it's what my target
audience tracks.
You know, it's the key word.
So I can't help people withoutusing that phrase and it drives
me mad.
But I can sit here and sayanyone can get started, and they
(16:02):
can.
I believe it.
The model you choose, the sidehustle you choose, the secondary
income you choose, is vital toyour personality and it needs to
be everything.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Not everyone can podcast.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
No, not everyone can stand up on stage and rattle out
a five hour show.
Not everyone could do a ticktock.
My people don't want to do ticktocks.
That's fine.
That's where Amazon FBA is sogood.
Yeah, it's so good Cause itteaches.
It teaches you everything youneed to know about retail.
The barrier to entry is low.
You can do it.
I did it with 200 quid a coupleof years ago.
(16:32):
The goalposts have changed.
Now it's got I think you'relooking at about 500, but on the
grand scheme of things, 500quid to start a business, learn
everything there is to learnabout Amazon.
And it opens the door for somany bloody things, especially
if you build it up with personalbranding many bloody things,
especially if you build it upwith personal branding.
Content creation at the back ofit, if you can.
(16:53):
But again, content creationmight not be for you, but
everybody has an opportunitythese days with the internet to
make money.
I don't care who you are, whatbackground you've got, what your
educational levels are, whetheryou're even able-bodied, it
doesn't matter.
You can make money using, usingamazon fba, and if you wanted
to, then you've got e-commercethat you could dip your toe in
in other ways.
Yeah, I swear by that.
(17:14):
It comes back to the same thing, mate.
If you're determined, you finda way.
Yeah, if you're not, you'llfind an excuse.
Yeah, so many people quit.
And to anyone that's listening,if you've started a side hustle
and you've quit, if you'reblaming someone else, I'm sorry
but you're wrong.
You have to look at yourself,don't you?
Speaker 1 (17:32):
yeah, oh yeah, 100 you've only quit because of you.
Really yeah, and I've.
It's easy to.
It's easier to quit.
It's easier to find the excusenot to do something than it is
to do it, and I think a lot, lotof people do that.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
And I think you sort of the risk comes.
The risk comes from not takingthe opportunity.
Yes, if you want to dosomething, I think the risk
comes from not trying it but notgiving it your all.
It's all good and well, I'mgoing to start a side hustle.
I'm going to do this with theplans in a year's time that that
replaces my income.
(18:10):
So you do it on the side.
You put as much effort in asyou can.
It's a year of your life.
Yeah, a lot of people see theseposts.
Take the risk, quit your job.
Quit your job, go and startyour own business.
Take the risk.
Now, that's not.
My advice would be to not quityour job and go and do it.
(18:30):
My advice would be to findsomething that you enjoy, that
you can do, that you can grow at, and then, once it starts
bringing in money, then you canmake a plan as to move forward
with taking the bigger risk.
That's it.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Mate, exactly that.
I was 18 months into it beforeI even told my work.
Yeah, because I agree with youand I said it from the start.
I didn't even want to quit.
I liked my job.
Yeah, it was nice, the peoplewere great, I had no problem
with it at all.
It's only when things startedgetting real when I realised,
right, okay, if it carries ongoing this way, I'm going to
reduce my hours by 20 hours.
Yeah, and I'll see what.
(19:10):
That was always the plan.
Yeah, but you're dead right,mate, you're dead right.
The thing that I find the mostinspiring is I've had people
that have been following mealong now for the best part of
two years and some of themhaven't had the success that
I've been able to get.
Some of them have flown past meyeah, but it's the ones that
haven't.
But they're still there andthey're still trying and they
still understand that whateverthat route they've taken hasn't
(19:30):
been the one yet, but they,they've taken accountability and
they said, right, well, I triedtoo many at once.
I didn't go all in, I didn't go80% on one, not even all in
kind of you want to 80, 20,didn't you?
Yeah, those people inspire meso much because they're still in
it.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
They're still in it and they're still learning, and
I guess, with the way that themarketplace changes, especially
with Amazon FBA, you said thegoalposts have changed.
You started with 200 quid, nowit's 500 quid.
Yeah, the barrier to entry iseasy, which means that you've
got to be slightly different.
You've got to be willing to putin the legwork and you've got
to be willing to learn along theway.
That's it, mate, and I guessyou've still got to be learning
(20:11):
because you're teaching otherpeople.
I bet you.
Amazon moves the goalposts likeGoogle moves the goalposts,
like everybody moves thegoalposts, definitely.
I think, you've got to still belearning, haven't you?
You've got to be willing totake on information.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
You really do, mate, you really do.
And this comes with the riskthat we've taken, so that the
Amazon mentoring was probably mysecond.
So I had Amazon itself and thementoring.
They were both equally mybiggest earners every month.
And I realized when I switchedwell whistled, when I switched
to TikTok shop, I wanted tocarry on selling on Amazon.
(20:44):
So we do, but not nearly asmuch.
Not nearly as much.
We've kind of automated a fewbits here or there.
So we've kind of got thingsgoing on the time.
But the mentoring program wedidn't have the time to adapt it
, to evolve it, to put newvideos out.
So I pulled it.
Yeah, I basically went thisisn't fit for purpose.
I and again, this is one of thereasons why I think it's gone
so well for me, because I wouldopenly stand up and say there's
(21:05):
better courses than mine out.
Don't waste your money on asubpar course like mine.
So I pulled it and what I havedone since is I've collaborated
with a bunch of guys, five guys,they're called the Navigators.
They're coming to ManchesterBrilliant, brilliant guys.
Their program is amazing.
So what I've said to those guysis look, come into my Facebook
group, I'll make one of you anadmin, help people with amazon
(21:28):
fba and send them to yourprogram, so I know that these
people are being looked after.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
yeah, yeah, because sorry, hold on, let me what's
happening in manchester oh, I'vegot a road show, ash, are you?
Speaker 2 (21:39):
yeah, another one second one it is the 30th of may
, friday, the 30th of may, inmanchester, both of you, both
cameras here, three cameras, andwe're taking it on the road as
well.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
You're coming we're gonna do a live podcast Friday,
the 30th of May, in Manchester.
Both of you, both cameras here,three cameras, and we're taking
it on the road as well.
You're coming along.
We're going to do a livepodcast on the stage somewhere
in Manchester.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Somewhere in.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Manchester Venue will be sorted very soon, very soon
when?
Speaker 2 (22:00):
do people get tickets , des?
They get them from the linkthat we're going to put in this
show.
We'll put the link in the show.
Come to my TikTok.
There's a link there as well 35quid, amazon, fba, tiktok shop,
content creation, live podcasts.
But, most importantly, mate.
It is a room full of peoplethat are all following the same
dream.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
That are ready to take a risk that are ready to
take a bleeding risk, that areready to take a risk.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
And the sad thing is is that these people are
changing their lives and they'retaking the leap into the
complete unknown and they don'ttell their friends and family
about it because it'sembarrassing.
That's the sad thing, mate, andI've found with these roadshows
.
It's a room of people that notonly took the same bleeding risk
but support you a stranger inyours, it's lovely, mate.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Community is nice Community.
We've said it before yournetwork is your net worth.
Now, I've learned that a lot inmy business, what I do, because
these people are doing thesethings and we're hanging around
with these people, so we'regetting involved with this stuff
, and it's the same with youhosting these events.
You're going to meet peoplethere that might say, oh, let's
have a look at your videos.
(23:04):
I help you out, mate, becauseeverybody's here to help each
other.
I think that's the mostimportant thing in the current
day is that you need to surroundyourself with a community of
people who are going to supportyou.
That's it, mate, and that's whythat's another reason why we
did the podcast.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
That's it.
It's the one thing that's gotme to where I got to be.
Yeah, if I was an Amazon sellerdoing my 200 to 100,000 pound
challenge, there's loads of themout there.
Loads of them got started afterme, but they didn't network the
way that I did and they'restill in that little zone, which
is fine.
I'm not no judging, becausesome people don't want to
network, they don't want to putthemselves out there.
I'm naturally extroverted, butthe podcast I did instantly grew
(23:43):
my network and instantly put mein the eyes of others up there,
which is ridiculous.
I had millionaires coming to meand I was making thousands.
They were making millions.
They're coming to me.
Des, can I come on your podcast?
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Yeah, all right, yeah , yeah, Well, that's it and
that's the thing.
And that's like taking a riskand rolling with it and running
with it Like we're taking a risk.
You're taking a risk becauseyou're getting rid of that
podcast.
To go all in on this one.
Yeah, focus on Toptic, becauseyou had to weigh up what you
felt had more clout movingforward.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
I guess.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I guess.
And what you enjoy more.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
All of it, all of it.
So Toptic has got the abilityfor me to help more people and
earn more money.
Yeah, I mean, what the hellthat?
What the hell?
That's the dream, right?
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Yeah, so I had to shed the skin of the person that
was in the community.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Again, I lived my life through bleeding music and
football metaphors, mate.
So basically I was the captainof the team.
It was a couple of steps aheadof everyone else saying, look,
do this, do this, and you willget this, this, this and this,
just like I did.
Now I've had to step out fromthat, so I can't be the player
manager anymore.
I need to be the director.
I need to be that sort ofperson.
(24:56):
Yeah, but in being yeah, so inbeing the toxic, we get to do
all of that.
But I understand that I need toleave an awful lot behind.
And the podcast, mate, that'sjust a no-brainer.
I freaking love this one.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
I think this has got such potential it's good fun as
well, and what we said is theday this turns into work is the
day we stop it.
The day we don't want to turnup and record is the day we stop
it.
But let's go back to risk now.
We've spoke about risk inbusiness now.
When I was doing a bit ofresearch on this, I was thinking
about like risks in life aswell.
So people take risks in life,like do you think that some
(25:34):
people are addicted to takingthe wrong risks, like gambling,
drug taking?
Yeah, and that could all gowrong.
It's it's a really, reallyinteresting conversation because
I think I like a bit ofgambling and I like the risk of
(25:56):
I don't after I've lost money.
I like the risk of putting, notstupidly, but I like the risk
of going to the casino.
It builds up a bit ofadrenaline, yeah mate.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
So I like the horses, yeah, football and the horses,
mate, I love a bet.
I love a bet, but I also knowthat all of these things,
they're shortcuts.
Yeah, and this is what peoplethrive on.
And not only do people thriveon it, but people that sell you
stuff they know you thrive on it, yeah, and they exploit you for
it.
So drug taking look again, nojudgments whatsoever, but it's a
(26:29):
shortcut to feeling better in aworld.
That's shit.
It's the same with booze.
It's the same with gambling.
Gambling's a way to make money.
Yeah, put a fiver on thisaccumulator, you can win a
thousand pounds.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
You're right, dude, that's why people buy the
fucking lottery tickets.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
It's a shortcut to getting rich.
It took me a long time tounderstand that, because there
is no better growth.
You said it yourself in thatpost which was brilliant, by the
way from what your life coachsaid if you're not growing,
you're not moving.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
Yeah, persistence and consistency it is, mate, it is,
and I think that's the same.
Going back again to to take inthe risk.
If you want to be a TikTokseller, you've got to have a
thousand followers first.
Yeah, now you've got to beconsistent and persistent and
put the effort in to get to thethousand followers, which I
think.
I look back on it and I thinkactually that's quite a good
(27:17):
thing that TikTok have done yeah, because it's going to stop
everybody just picking up andbuying this guitar.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
That's it, mate.
Sort out the crap.
Yeah, tiktok, don't want you togo on and see post off the post
off the post of shoppable stuff.
They want a mix of theentertaining and the shoppable.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, and they've had to dothat.
You're dead right.
You're dead right.
In america it's 5 000.
I reckon that'll be coming.
I reckon that'll come over soon.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Well, that's hard what have we got on the podcast
now?
Speaker 2 (27:43):
500 503 I think we're up to yeah um podcast Instagram
hates us.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Instagram hates us.
Gives us three views for real,for now.
For now, yeah, sorry, right, Ithink we've answered this, but
have you ever taken a personalrisk that's changed your life
for the better or for worse?
Oh, mate, is there any that youcan really remember?
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, mate, I live by this
stuff.
I live by it.
It was when I read my book onmanifestation, on the law of
attraction.
It was called you Are a Badass,by Jen Sincero.
I read that and realized Iwasn't happy in my marriage.
I had two kids and a marriageand everything was going all
right, yeah.
(28:28):
And then I read this book and Irealised actually I'm not happy
, actually I'm not the bestparent I can be.
I'm not the best husband I canbe.
I kind of scratched beneath thesurface a little bit and I'll
never forget.
My wife went out.
I sat in the garden.
I like a little cigar sometimesin the summer evening.
I sat in the garden, had acigar, had a beer and I sat
(28:51):
there thinking and I put a bitof music on.
And, like I had a cigar, I hada beer and I sat there thinking
and I put a bit of music on and,like I say, I live my life by
music.
And there's a song called LuckyNow by a guy called Ryan Adams
not Brian Ryan Adams and thelyrics I don't remember.
Were we wild and young?
It's all faded in my memory.
I feel like somebody I don'tknow.
Am I really who I used to be?
(29:11):
That, mate.
I might as well have it etchedin my brain, because all that
just went round and round andround and I realised, no, I can
be.
Even if I see my kids half thetime, I still can be a better
dad to them than I am currently.
So me and my wife had aconversation.
Of course, it didn't go well,but I ended up leaving, ended up
(29:34):
living at home with my mum anddad for two years.
That was meant to be six weeks,but of course, divorces can be
messy, and here we are.
So that was 2017, middle of2017.
By the middle of 2018, I met mynow wife, claire, and I am a
completely different man.
(29:55):
I'm the best dad I can be.
I'm the best husband I can be.
I I know in my previousmarriage I couldn't have done
this.
That risk may change my life.
I can look back on my life as atimeline and put a pin in that,
as the time, everything changedfor the better, and that's not
to say that, that's not todisparage anything about my
(30:16):
ex-wife.
It just didn't work out.
You know what I mean but yeah,that's incredible.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
That's incredible.
Thanks for like that's gotta bethe fact that you pinpointed
that off the back of thatquestion.
If you asked me that question,I probably would have had to
think for a good couple ofminutes before before I said it.
Mine would have been closingdown the 25 year old family
business to start.
What I do today made us massive.
That that would have been.
(30:42):
That would be my biggest one.
Um, because that was mysecurity.
That was my biggest risk wasclosing down a family business
that has supported my family, myparents, for 25 years and
starting another one.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
The emotional pressure as well mate.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
It was mad, mate.
It was mad.
I'll never, ever forgetshutting those shutters down for
the last time on that building.
I'll never, ever forget it, thefeeling I had, the feeling I
had that I felt like I let mydad down because he'd run this
business for 20 years and infive I decided to close it.
But it was for the best,because my dad always felt like
(31:27):
he'd left me a burden.
I remember him saying do youare you sure?
Are you sure?
Are you sure?
Are you sure, are you sure?
I was like yeah, yeah, yeah,I'm sure.
I've worked in here for 10years, I know the ins and outs
of it.
I've got a vision for it.
Let's move forward.
And now I think he feelsrelieved that it's gone and it's
brushed away and we're nowdoing something.
(31:49):
Me and my brother are doingsomething and the team are doing
something from it's our own,it's our own baby.
It's got no responsibility forhim anymore.
It didn't anyway.
Once I signed that bit of paper, it didn't anyway.
But mentally, emotionally forhim, of course he was.
If things were bad, he wouldfeel bad because he felt like
it's his fault for passing it on.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
But it's still his family that are taking on a new
business as well, exactly, butnow it's not his business that
he's passed on.
So he's like how's it going,lads?
Yeah, um, and like things aregoing really well first year.
We've just had the first yearand stuff, and I'm so happier.
Before I wouldn't have beenable to do this podcast, before
I wouldn't have been able totake a day to drive to ipswich
to be an extra on a film, justfor the shits and giggles.
So it's that risk that I tookand I toyed with the idea for 18
(32:37):
months.
For 18 months I was like, no,I've got to keep it going, I've
got to keep it going, Got tokeep it going.
And yeah, I just don't know.
It's hard Fascinating.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
If you think about all of the people in that
scenario that got affected andthat meant that moved there and
that moved there and that wentthere, and then you think of me
and all of the things that'sgone on in my past and all of
the people that are affected, itall had to happen for us to
come together, and we're noteven including Chris on this.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it'd be interesting to have his
take on risk and stuff.
And this leads us onto this one, quite nicely.
Actually, do you think thatfear is there to protect us or
to stop us?
Did you ever have any fear?
Have you ever wanted to dosomething?
(33:26):
That has been.
I'll bet the bungee jump, I'llbet you.
There was a doubt of fear inyour mind that was stopping you
doing that, but you overcome itand you did it anyway.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Yeah, massively.
I mean I was hung over to themax and the bungee jump killed
me very quickly.
But yeah, mate, all of it,scared of all of it, and funny
enough.
I talk about my therapist quitea lot.
It was only when I spoke to herabout it and I was talking
about the things, I felt like Iwas trapped by certain things
(33:58):
and she went no, look back,you've done some really, really
life-changing things and I hadstomach surgery and leaving the
police and the divorce and allthat stuff.
She went you did that, youstarted this business.
And it made me realize, yeah, Ithink it is there to protect us
and I think it's no more than aan element of your subconscious
(34:18):
which just wants to keep you inyour lane.
And again, one of the thingsthat I often talk about starting
the business is easy.
It's months three and four whenthe shiny object syndrome wears
off and you realize, hang on aminute, this is actually shit
and you're not getting theresults that you used to get in
months one, two and threebecause you're subconsciously
trying harder in the first fewmonths.
It's that phase that I'mdetermined to help people
(34:41):
through.
Yeah, because that's when thefear kicks in, isn't it?
How do?
Speaker 1 (34:46):
you define when a fear is there to protect us and
when a fear is there justbecause it's a fear.
Do you reckon Bloody hell?
Yeah, I have no idea.
It's a bit deep, that, isn't itit?
Speaker 2 (34:59):
is, it is.
And again it comes back to thatquote we always look to the
future in fear, yeah, but inessence, all you want to do
really is take it day by day,especially when you get started.
Enjoy the journey, yeah, andwant to do really is take it day
by day, especially when you getstarted.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
enjoy the journey.
Yeah, and I think if you weretaking a risk, like my advice to
anybody that was looking tochange their path, I always I
talk, I talk to my son aboutthis whole.
Right, you're on this path atthe moment.
You either pull off or youcarry on on this path.
Now I think if you weigh up,we're going.
(35:34):
The brain puts us into fight orflight mode, no matter what
you're doing, whether you'redrop, whether you want to drive
a race car or whether you'realways going to think in the
back of your mind what if?
Yeah, and I think sometimes wehave to in that.
The other question yeah, justjump and think what's the worst
(35:54):
that could actually happen andwhat's the likelihood of that?
Yeah, yeah, because it's likefor you what was the worst that
could have happened if yourAmazon journey didn't work?
Toptic?
What's the worst that couldhappen if Toptic doesn't work?
Speaker 2 (36:08):
Yeah, if Toptic doesn't work, I'll know why.
There will be reasons why, andthen we can either roll the dice
and go again and change thingsAgain I'm confident we could do
that or, worst case, I have gota community of 10-odd thousand
on Facebook, 80-odd thousand onsocial media that I know I could
(36:28):
lean back on.
I've also got this bleedingpodcast that we've got very,
very big plans for.
There are other avenues.
Now it all comes back, really,doesn't it?
To whether you're it's amindset, it's a fixed mindset or
it's a growth mindset and howyou can handle failure.
(36:49):
So if things, if you, if youfail, is that a sign of of?
Oh, I wasn't very good at this,I'm shit.
I'm just going to go back.
Go back to the day job when youknow that wasn't working?
The whole point of me gettingstarted is because, whoever, if
you're in your day job and youfind your disposable income at
the end of every month isgetting smaller and smaller and
smaller, or you've spunked yourwages on day three of the month
(37:11):
because bills are so stupid Infive years' time what do you
think is going to happen?
Do you think the government isgoing to come through and go?
Well, here's all that moneythat we stole from you for the
last 10 years.
Sorry about that.
Of course they're not.
You've got to help yourself.
No one's fucking coming.
No one's coming.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
No one's coming, the chances of winning the lottery
are next to nothing.
Yeah, the chances of winning ona scratch card are next to
nothing.
I think people put so muchenergy into things they can't
control.
Yeah, and we've said this and Isaid this to the coach man the
other day, we put so much energyand I used to do it into the
things we can't control theexchange rate.
The government taxes nationalinsurance whether there's going
(37:51):
to be a bread shortage in a fewweeks.
Government taxes nationalinsurance whether there's going
to be a bread shortage in a fewweeks.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
These tariffs, what does it mean?
Speaker 1 (37:54):
for us?
No one knows.
No one knows.
They make it up as they goalong.
But if you focus on what's onyour little bubble and you get
the right people in your littlebubble, you will do good things.
Yeah, you will, and the riskwon't be as hard.
And my advice to anybodywatching listening would be to
(38:16):
don't do it alone.
Yeah, don't do it if someonesays to you that's a stupid idea
.
That's a stupid idea.
Break it down.
So why?
Yeah, it's like we get thecriticism on the youtube video
when we did the gary thing.
Yeah, you're all idiots, you'reall dense, but why?
Yeah, why go on, give us somecontext in that, some
constructive stuff.
Yeah, and I feel that that issomething that's really
important is to don't do it onyour own.
There are communities, thereare whatsapp groups, there are
(38:38):
reddit communities where you cango on and you can ask people
for advice.
Look at how someone else isdoing it.
Yeah, but don't follow thatperson exactly.
You can take a bit from like wecould take a bit from joe rogan
, a bit from stephen bartlett, abit from staying relevant a bit
from Des Hamilton and we do ourown thing.
(38:59):
We're all individuals, humanbeings.
I feel Perfect and you just,yeah, just do it.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
Mate, I finished the last roadshow on that exact
speech.
You have to be unapologeticallyyou.
You cannot go and copy someonebecause that person is
unapologetically them andthey're better at being them
than you could ever be.
So be you, because no one isbetter than being you than you,
and people don't understand that.
(39:26):
Mate again, my first post.
I knew it.
I knew what I needed to do.
So, before I pushed record onmy phone for the very first time
, I went away and thought right,who is it I want to be?
Who am I showing up as?
What are my medium-term goalshere?
What are my short, medium,long-term goals?
The whole point of what I wasdoing is because I felt there
was a gap in the 30 to60-year-old range of online
(39:49):
money-maker newbies.
That was it.
So I did my post saying, right,I'm taking £100, because it was
£100 to start with.
I'm taking £100, I'm turning itinto £100,000, and what I'm
doing is I'm building acommunity of online money-making
newbies on Facebook, and thatwas it.
And again, it was thatcommunity, it was that network.
It was that that, all of asudden, was like who's this guy?
Speaker 1 (40:15):
Why quick, you know, I mean it was that.
Yeah, just again, consistency,getting the people, if you, if
you do a post and you don't getany sales, don't stop doing the
next one.
Exactly look at the post and belike why didn't you get it?
Look at everything you do inlife um, going to the gym being
a dad.
Do you know what I mean?
You had to learn to walk beforeyou could run.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
Definitely, mate, and in most things there's data.
Yeah, you go and do a t, aTikTok post, and you think that
didn't work.
You can find out at what pointin that post people stopped
watching, stopped watching.
Yeah, so go back and say whatdid you say then?
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
Fail, faster Fail faster.
Take the risk, but don't setyour goal.
Don't set your going stone.
I didn't know when a rocketgoes to the moon.
Now, I could be completelywrong, but this is what I read
when a rocket goes to the moon,it don't go straight to the moon
, it will zigzag across pops andit changes yeah it stops off at
mars.
Stops at kfc burger king on theway like, but I used to focus on
(41:06):
the end goal so much that Ididn't know that I'd have it.
The end goal in sight, and youfocus on the end goal, you take
a risk oh, I want to quit my jobin 12 months' time and you're
constantly focusing on that.
Focus on tomorrow.
What can you do tomorrow tomake the next day better?
Yep, and the next day better,and the next day better.
And compound those exercisesevery day and just enjoy the
(41:29):
journey, exactly right mate.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
That's why I broke it down.
It was £100 into £100,000, andI had 24 months and I knew I
needed to hit a 30% growth atleast every month.
Yeah, and I wrote it on aspreadsheet.
I went right.
Here's my goal.
So, even though I had mymonthly target, when it turned
into £200, £200, £200,000 in 24months with a 30% reoccurring
(41:52):
growth, that's what makes thatnumber.
So I knew I had my monthlytarget.
What I wasn't talking about wasthe fact that I also had a
fortnightly target.
So I broke the month downenough so if it wasn't working,
I could pivot to make my monthstotal.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
You know what I mean and then you draw a line across
12 months yeah and averages itout exactly, right, exactly, and
that's what I did.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
It it's all goals, all of its goals, especially,
you say, if you can make themquantitative, yeah, focus on
that.
Yeah, and that's exactly it.
Mate, you don't watch a film toknow what the ending is.
No, you don't.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
You enjoy the when you know the ending.
It ruins the film, exactly thefilm, exactly.
And you could be.
I want to do this and that'swhat your goal is, but in actual
fact, you end up exceeding youcould have exceeded your goal
because the path ofentrepreneurship and the path of
life changes.
You were married and then yougot divorced and you someone
else.
You, you go down a road and thesat-nav says there's a crash
(42:48):
there.
Mate, you want to go this way.
Yeah, that's life.
Yeah, and that's what I learnedover the last 18 months was
enjoy the journey.
Yeah, and focus on the journey.
Exactly right, exactly right.
Couldn't agree more, mate.
I think we'll end this up.
One of my favorite things istake the risk or lose the chance
yeah and you've got to reallyweigh that up?
Speaker 2 (43:09):
absolutely right, absolutely right.
And, mate, we talk to chat gpta lot.
I kind of get the idea that meand you talk to chat gpt more
than most people.
My best friend, I love it, Ilove it and I put it.
I put all of this into chat gpt, saying, look, am I doing the
right thing?
I'm giving up the control of myfacebook group.
I'm giving up the podcast thatI said I would never give up.
(43:30):
I am shifting from.
I've removed myself for anawful lot of whatsapp groups and
a lot of chats because I'vesaid that I'm not the one in the
gang anymore and chat.
Gpt said no, what it actuallysaid, because I've got it to
talk very frankly to me.
I've been telling you to dothis for months.
For Christ's sake, you arefinally stepping into the shoes
(43:52):
that you should be stepping into.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
But you're stepping out of a comfort zone, yeah,
into something that you're notquite sure of, but it will be
all right.
No, mate, my biggest fear isthat.
I'll turn into an arrogantprick and this is where I need
you to be.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
We won't let you do that, mate.
No, exactly, we won't let youdo that, as accountable as I
used to be, yeah, but yeah, I'vegot good people around me, man,
yeah, you guys, claire, all ofyou, tell me when I'm being a
dickhead.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
And that's it.
And community, surroundyourself with a people You're an
average of the five people yousurround yourself with.
I love it, and I'm not talkingget rid of your friends who have
been your friends for years.
I'm talking in your.
If you want to be the bestTikTok affiliate, surround
yourself with other TikTokaffiliates, yep, and make sure
you're the lowest in that group.
Yeah, if you want to be anAmazon seller, surround yourself
(44:39):
with Amazon sellers, and theway by doing that is to go to
networking events, to joingroups to join what To go to a
Des Amables Roadshow.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
To go to a.
Speaker 1 (44:46):
Des Amables Roadshow for if of May in.
Manchester venue to beconfirmed.
Speaker 2 (44:51):
But that's exactly what we did when Luke and I
wanted to get into TikTok shop.
We partnered up with a guy thatruns the best agency.
We spoke to affiliates thatearn thousands more than we did.
That's what you do.
That is exactly what you do.
You've hit the nail on the head, mate.
That's it.
Speaker 1 (45:06):
Yeah, and that has been another episode of the
untold podcast with your man,des and meiyash.
Follow us, give us somecomments, let us know what you
want to hear next week or theweek after or the week after.
If there's any topics you wantto discuss, then let us know,
because we're doing this for you, for us and for you.
(45:27):
So yeah, we'll see you soon.
If you hadn't taken that risk, where do you think
you'd be sitting today?
Speaker 2 (00:05):
If I had seen that post even two weeks earlier, I
would have laughed it off andgone.
He don't know what's he talkingabout.
At that point in my life, itwas exactly what I needed to
hear.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
It's easier to find the excuse not to do something
than it is to do it.
The risk comes from not takingthe opportunity.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
You've got to help yourself.
No one's fucking coming, noone's coming.
You have to be unapologeticallyyou.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
The Untold Podcast is proudly sponsored by Aura
Surfaces, specialists in luxurysurfaces for extraordinary
spaces.
Like creating dream homes,building a dream life takes work
.
That's why we had to get behindthis podcast Real stories, real
challenges and real success.
Let's get into it.
Welcome to the Untold Podcast.
Now, today's a little bitdifferent because Chris is doing
(00:56):
his hair somewhere and he'shaving a day out, so it's just
me and Des the best two.
Today.
I'm going to talk about risks,because I know that Des has had
taken quite a few risks over thepast couple of years and we
feel like it's a good topic,because you've got to take risks
in life.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Eh, this week I cancelled my charting podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
That feels like a risk yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
But we're doing this one and there's three of us
involved and we'll push it, sodon't worry, that's right.
That's not a risk you need to beworried about.
So I've got a couple ofquestions here so to try and
keep us on the track, but it'squite important.
I think that we set this right.
So what's the first big riskthat you remember taking in your
(01:47):
life?
Oh, wow, what in my career orin my life?
In your life, what's the firstbig risk?
You remember Something that youthought you look back on now
and think, oh God, I waspanicking so much about doing
that.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Yeah, I don't know why right.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
In my head.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
It's a bungee jump in Falaraki.
Three big bungee ropes, I knowright, this was something like
1999.
And I remember signing thewaiver.
If I die, it's not your fault.
I remember signing that.
It was a drunken promise and wetalked about this earlier.
I'm a man of my word.
A promise is a promise.
(02:24):
The next morning I jumped offthis crane and you they measured
it, so you went headfirst intothe swimming pool and then out
again.
So I'm bungee jumping whatlooks like a fucking matchbox
from up high so my head getsdunked in the thing and comes
out.
Yeah, that I don't know why.
That's always struck as one ofthe big ones for me that?
Speaker 1 (02:45):
how do you remember how that felt?
Do you remember how that feltbefore and after?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
yeah, yeah, it was.
And it wasn't necessarilyscared of the jump, it was the
fact you know uh penaltyshootouts for the football.
They don't say it's the penaltythat freaks you out, it's the
walk from the centre circle tothe penalty spot.
It's the same thing going up inthis crane, up and up and up
and up and up.
And there was people all aroundthis swimming pool and you sort
(03:12):
of you stepped out.
It wasn't the jump, it was thebounce.
I didn't want the bounce to goup and then unclip.
You know, that's what I had inmind.
But the feeling afterwards,mate, just the relief, the joy,
and, yeah, it's the fact that Idid that.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
Yeah, so now we move on in your life.
A few years ago, you took arisk to quit your, to leave your
comfort blanket which was thepolice force to start an Amazon
journey.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Oh no, I didn't leave the police for Amazon.
I was a civil servant.
Yeah, okay.
Actually, that was a big riskin itself, leaving the police to
go to be a civil servant.
The police is one of the mostsecure jobs you could ever have,
yeah, and you sign up knowingit's going to be a 35 year
career.
But the way the police wentdownhill and the civil service
(04:13):
sorry, the public service wentdownhill, and this is just
towards the end of the tonyblair government.
When they went you know whatwe're skint let's take it out on
.
The old bill gutted the policetop to bottom and everyone
marched on parliament and Idecided no, I'm going to quit.
I was the first one to quit tojoin this other company that
were recruiting generalenforcement people.
I was the first one.
Within a year, that team that Ijoined had built to over 50
(04:36):
ex-coppers.
That was a big risk because allof a sudden I was subject to
redundancies.
I was subject to disciplinariesof things, because in the
police you just don't get sacked, you just get moved.
You know what I mean.
Nobody leaves the policebecause the pension's so good
and all that crap.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
So when you left the civil service then would you say
in your career, leaving thatcomfort blanket of a job that
was paying you to go on yourAmazon journey, yeah, was that a
big risk?
Did that worry you when youtook that leap?
Speaker 2 (05:09):
When I took the leap, no, a few weeks later.
Yeah, yeah.
When reality kicked in Becausethe Amazon business was going so
well, I built it.
I built it, built it and itstarted as a side hustle and we
did it to get rich.
You look back at my firstTikTok post I'm going to get
loaded.
And even though I said ahundred thousand pound, I knew
(05:30):
that a hundred thousand poundisn't loaded, but I knew it was
enough to then really reallykick on.
So when I did leave the job,I'd built up enough that I
thought, yeah, we're doingreally well, we're living really
comfortably here, we've gotthis money in the background and
everything's going well.
But of course, I did the thingthat we're all guilty of.
I was taking my monthly salaryfor granted, and it's one thing
(05:53):
to lose your monthly salary, butwhen you start replacing that
salary from your own businesscashflow, you're wiping out so
much of your growth.
It's not two steps back to gofour steps forward, you're going
back a hundred steps.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, and it was.
It was brutal.
It was only when I received mylast ever pay slip.
It was a case of shit.
(06:14):
Me and Claire had to sit downand go through the forecast and
saying, right, we need to findthis money somehow.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah, but that risk enabled you to think outside the
box, I would say.
And you were put in a positionwhere you had to find that you
had to find that money everymonth.
It wasn't a case where it wascoming in every month and you
were comfortable.
You were now in a positionwhere shit, we've got to find it
(06:41):
.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Yeah, mate, I'll tell you what I saw a post.
It was from Jack Jack's AmazonClub.
He yeah, mate, I'll tell youwhat I saw a post.
It was from Jack Jack's Amazonclub.
He was a good mate.
He's a good mate of mine now,but at the time didn't know each
other.
I saw a post from him and hesaid exactly that.
He went right.
Best advice I can ever give youand Jack was 23 at the time
right, quit your job, because inyour three-month notice period,
(07:01):
your three month notice period,you will find ways to make more
money than you've ever dreamedof in your life.
And I remember looking at that.
And if I had seen that posteven two weeks earlier, I would
have laughed it off and gone.
He don't know what's he talkingabout, but at that point in my
life it was exactly what Ineeded to hear.
This is why the universe is sofreaking amazing.
That post landed on my phone atthe exact time I needed to hear
(07:23):
it Because I was thinking, yeah, it's time to kick on.
Two weeks later, him and I arein conversations and we're
meeting in London.
Yeah, mental how it all playedout.
But it is true, it all comes toyour periphery.
Right, yeah, we talk about this.
You're driving down the road,you're looking for parking
spaces.
One pops up oh, that's theparking fairies, is it?
Or is it because you're looking?
(07:44):
Yeah, now, all of a sudden,three months later, I've gone
through all of these differentavenues of how I can really
maximize my time, because I'dmade a boatload of money in my
spare time.
The whole gambit was look, look, what I can do in my with all
the time.
But I needed to then walk thewalk, yeah, but then I was
(08:04):
looking at these opportunitiesthat weren't there before.
So I thought, right, let's meetJack, let's partner up with
Luke.
Luke and I have been pals sinceI got started on the challenge.
Let's partner up with Luke.
Let's start building thecommunity and putting a monthly
subscription on it.
Let's go out to brands and say,look, I've got much more time.
We're about brand deals.
Let's start putting some morestock in my public speaking.
(08:27):
Let's go out and do a roadshow.
Yeah, and it all just builtmate, it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
All just came together.
And if you hadn't taken thatrisk, where do you think, if you
hadn't taken that risk, wheredo you think you'd be sitting
today?
What do you think you'd bedoing?
I know this is a difficultquestion, but if you didn't take
that risk and say, right, I'mleaving this corporate job, I'm
leaving the civil service, Iwant to go out on my own, where
(08:51):
do you think you'd be today?
Do you think you'd still bedoing it?
Speaker 2 (08:54):
I think, yeah, I think I'd still be in hustle
mode though.
Yeah, right now, and this isthe beauty, so it's only the
last week or two that I'vestepped into the shoes of CEO,
now director, agency owner,whatever you want to call it.
I would still be full on inhustle mode, and not just on the
(09:16):
outskirts either.
I'd be knee deep in it.
So I'd still be Amazon selling,which is straight up hustling,
and I would still be running myAmazon mentoring, which is
straight up hustling, and Iwould still be running my Amazon
mentoring.
I knew now, knowing what I knownow, I knew I needed to grow out
of that for my own journey, oneof the things I always wanted
to do.
I wanted to be this connector.
(09:37):
If somebody comes to me andsays, des, I want to start
Amazon FBA, I can send themsomewhere.
Someone says, des, I want tostart a podcast, I can send them
somewhere.
I can send them somewhere.
Someone says, des, I want tostart a podcast, I can send them
somewhere.
I'll send them to you now.
I'd send them somewhere.
I've always wanted to do that,but I needed to be able to be
free to be able to build thatnetwork.
That way, if I still had my dayjob, I'd be doing it in my
(09:57):
spare time, which basicallywould.
It would put limits on myceiling.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Yeah, limits on your ceiling, and you wouldn't be
where you are today.
No, you might be still aimingfor it, but I don't think you'd
be there.
So taking that risk has paidoff for you.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Absolutely, mate.
Well, I wouldn't have met you,we wouldn't have been doing this
podcast.
I wouldn't have met Jack andLuke, we wouldn't be doing the
TikTok agency.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Mate, scary, isn't it ?
Has there ever been days whereyou sit back and you think oh, I
wish I hadn't done it.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
No, no, no, no, no, never, no, no.
And again every month we do sitdown and we think, right, how
much have we got?
How much can we take out of thebusiness Because we don't want
(10:49):
had when I got started they'vestill got the same problems now
with the loft and the car andthe crap and stuff like that.
But I won't have for long.
Yeah, if I'm still in my dayjob, mate, I'm treading water,
yeah, and I'm stressed becauseI'm throwing every hour god made
at this thing.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
Yeah, so do you think there's ever a right time to
take a risk or do you think it'sworth just jumping?
From your experience, is thereever a right time For someone
listening now?
Is there ever a right time totake a risk or do you just jump?
Speaker 2 (11:12):
I'll tell you why.
It sounds like the same sort ofquestion.
How many times has someone saidto you is there ever a right
time to have kids?
It's the same, isn't it right?
Because ultimately, we'retalking about our time and we're
talking about our money.
If you're quitting your job orif you're having a kid, you're
saying goodbye to both of them.
It's the same thing, the onlything with your job.
(11:35):
And this is where the riskkicks in, because I didn't
really take it on.
For me, claire had already quither job and she was a 20-year
career-driven secondary schoolteacher, like second in her
faculty, for maths as well, andshe was.
She was duke of edinburgh andshe would go on to other sort of
primary schools that are havingmaths problems and help boost
them up.
She had quit because of me,because hang on, that sounds bad
(11:59):
, doesn't it?
Speaker 1 (12:00):
because of the opportunity she quit because you
told her I've got to do thisGet in the kitchen quit your job
.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
That's the clip.
And then when it came to mequitting and I can't talk about
this yet, it's such a shamethere's another episode down the
line.
I can't talk about the reasonsand the story behind why I quit
my job.
Yeah, but when I did quit, allof a sudden, I had the
responsibility of not only mycareer that.
(12:31):
I'd been 25 years regulatoryenforcement, you know.
On top of that, benefits aregone, pension's gone, sick pay's
gone, annual leave's gone,claire's pension's gone, sick
pay, annual leave all of thatall because of me, yeah, and I
was responsible not just for mebut for her and then for our
kids and for the upkeep of thehouse.
But not only that as well.
(12:53):
I had literally broughtthousands of people along with
me.
So many people had started sidehustles because they saw what I
was doing.
So if I had gone wrong inwhatever way, or if things had
fallen down, that is a shitloadof people that I'm responsible
for.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
Do you feel responsible for those people
though?
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Yeah, I know I shouldn't, but I do.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Because that's quite a powerful thing as well, isn't
it?
You've taken your tellingpeople your journey and the
risks that you took, and they'refollowing along on the path.
Now, I guess it's not foreveryone, though, is it?
That's it?
It's not easy.
I think you said before it's aside hustle.
What did you say Side hustlesare for?
For the broken lazy For thebroken lazy yeah, and we hear
(13:39):
this term a lot side hustles andrisks.
Now, the way I see it is ifyou're sitting comfortably at
the moment but you're not happy,look at what you can do as a
passion, as a way to do it.
Now, there's a way ofcalculating the risk.
Isn't there?
So you could have left your job.
(14:00):
You had a bit of a nest egg tokeep you going for, I don't know
, three months, six months, andthen you were relying on this
new business to take over.
But if the new business and thenew venture didn't, how easy
would it have been for you tohave walked back into your world
that you was in before?
Speaker 2 (14:22):
when I was in my day job.
I could have gone back, I couldhave taken a career break.
My plan was because it waspublic sector, my plan was
always right.
I'm going to stop.
I'm going to go from five daysa week to four days a week, to
three days a week.
I'm going to slowly, slowlywhittle it down and then I'll do
some sort of career break.
There was a guy I worked withwho runs a travel blog.
(14:43):
Lovely, lovely guy, really goodguy.
He and I were growing our sortof socials and we were chatting
with each other all the time.
He took a career break totravel the world, but of course,
what he's actually doing isvlogging it and building his
YouTube.
That was what I wanted to do,but again decisions were made
and circumstances changed and Ihad to leave there, and then
(15:05):
I've forgotten the question.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
But you could have walked back.
If your venture maybe not intothat company, but you could have
walked back into a very similarrole pretty easily.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
No, not really.
This is the crazy thing.
So my niche was reallyspecialist.
I worked on a very specificpiece of legislation that only
one company regulates.
Oh, okay, I could have gone andfound another financial
investigator role, but itcertainly wouldn't have paid as
well, never in a million years.
I probably would have been agood 20 grand less, yeah, so it
(15:37):
was all or nothing.
It was all or nothing yeah, yeah, and, but you're right, one of
the things I always talk about,I hate the phrase side hustle.
I hate it.
I hate it, but I have to use itbecause it's what my target
audience tracks.
You know, it's the key word.
So I can't help people withoutusing that phrase and it drives
me mad.
But I can sit here and sayanyone can get started, and they
(16:02):
can.
I believe it.
The model you choose, the sidehustle you choose, the secondary
income you choose, is vital toyour personality and it needs to
be everything.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Not everyone can podcast.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
No, not everyone can stand up on stage and rattle out
a five hour show.
Not everyone could do a ticktock.
My people don't want to do ticktocks.
That's fine.
That's where Amazon FBA is sogood.
Yeah, it's so good Cause itteaches.
It teaches you everything youneed to know about retail.
The barrier to entry is low.
You can do it.
I did it with 200 quid a coupleof years ago.
(16:32):
The goalposts have changed.
Now it's got I think you'relooking at about 500, but on the
grand scheme of things, 500quid to start a business, learn
everything there is to learnabout Amazon.
And it opens the door for somany bloody things, especially
if you build it up with personalbranding many bloody things,
especially if you build it upwith personal branding.
Content creation at the back ofit, if you can.
(16:53):
But again, content creationmight not be for you, but
everybody has an opportunitythese days with the internet to
make money.
I don't care who you are, whatbackground you've got, what your
educational levels are, whetheryou're even able-bodied, it
doesn't matter.
You can make money using, usingamazon fba, and if you wanted
to, then you've got e-commercethat you could dip your toe in
in other ways.
Yeah, I swear by that.
(17:14):
It comes back to the same thing, mate.
If you're determined, you finda way.
Yeah, if you're not, you'llfind an excuse.
Yeah, so many people quit.
And to anyone that's listening,if you've started a side hustle
and you've quit, if you'reblaming someone else, I'm sorry
but you're wrong.
You have to look at yourself,don't you?
Speaker 1 (17:32):
yeah, oh yeah, 100 you've only quit because of you.
Really yeah, and I've.
It's easy to.
It's easier to quit.
It's easier to find the excusenot to do something than it is
to do it, and I think a lot, lotof people do that.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
And I think you sort of the risk comes.
The risk comes from not takingthe opportunity.
Yes, if you want to dosomething, I think the risk
comes from not trying it but notgiving it your all.
It's all good and well, I'mgoing to start a side hustle.
I'm going to do this with theplans in a year's time that that
replaces my income.
(18:10):
So you do it on the side.
You put as much effort in asyou can.
It's a year of your life.
Yeah, a lot of people see theseposts.
Take the risk, quit your job.
Quit your job, go and startyour own business.
Take the risk.
Now, that's not.
My advice would be to not quityour job and go and do it.
(18:30):
My advice would be to findsomething that you enjoy, that
you can do, that you can grow at, and then, once it starts
bringing in money, then you canmake a plan as to move forward
with taking the bigger risk.
That's it.
Speaker 2 (18:43):
Mate, exactly that.
I was 18 months into it beforeI even told my work.
Yeah, because I agree with youand I said it from the start.
I didn't even want to quit.
I liked my job.
Yeah, it was nice, the peoplewere great, I had no problem
with it at all.
It's only when things startedgetting real when I realised,
right, okay, if it carries ongoing this way, I'm going to
reduce my hours by 20 hours.
Yeah, and I'll see what.
(19:10):
That was always the plan.
Yeah, but you're dead right,mate, you're dead right.
The thing that I find the mostinspiring is I've had people
that have been following mealong now for the best part of
two years and some of themhaven't had the success that
I've been able to get.
Some of them have flown past meyeah, but it's the ones that
haven't.
But they're still there andthey're still trying and they
still understand that whateverthat route they've taken hasn't
(19:30):
been the one yet, but they,they've taken accountability and
they said, right, well, I triedtoo many at once.
I didn't go all in, I didn't go80% on one, not even all in
kind of you want to 80, 20,didn't you?
Yeah, those people inspire meso much because they're still in
it.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
They're still in it and they're still learning, and
I guess, with the way that themarketplace changes, especially
with Amazon FBA, you said thegoalposts have changed.
You started with 200 quid, nowit's 500 quid.
Yeah, the barrier to entry iseasy, which means that you've
got to be slightly different.
You've got to be willing to putin the legwork and you've got
to be willing to learn along theway.
That's it, mate, and I guessyou've still got to be learning
(20:11):
because you're teaching otherpeople.
I bet you.
Amazon moves the goalposts likeGoogle moves the goalposts,
like everybody moves thegoalposts, definitely.
I think, you've got to still belearning, haven't you?
You've got to be willing totake on information.
Speaker 2 (20:20):
You really do, mate, you really do.
And this comes with the riskthat we've taken, so that the
Amazon mentoring was probably mysecond.
So I had Amazon itself and thementoring.
They were both equally mybiggest earners every month.
And I realized when I switchedwell whistled, when I switched
to TikTok shop, I wanted tocarry on selling on Amazon.
(20:44):
So we do, but not nearly asmuch.
Not nearly as much.
We've kind of automated a fewbits here or there.
So we've kind of got thingsgoing on the time.
But the mentoring program wedidn't have the time to adapt it
, to evolve it, to put newvideos out.
So I pulled it.
Yeah, I basically went thisisn't fit for purpose.
I and again, this is one of thereasons why I think it's gone
so well for me, because I wouldopenly stand up and say there's
(21:05):
better courses than mine out.
Don't waste your money on asubpar course like mine.
So I pulled it and what I havedone since is I've collaborated
with a bunch of guys, five guys,they're called the Navigators.
They're coming to ManchesterBrilliant, brilliant guys.
Their program is amazing.
So what I've said to those guysis look, come into my Facebook
group, I'll make one of you anadmin, help people with amazon
(21:28):
fba and send them to yourprogram, so I know that these
people are being looked after.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
yeah, yeah, because sorry, hold on, let me what's
happening in manchester oh, I'vegot a road show, ash, are you?
Speaker 2 (21:39):
yeah, another one second one it is the 30th of may
, friday, the 30th of may, inmanchester, both of you, both
cameras here, three cameras, andwe're taking it on the road as
well.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
You're coming we're gonna do a live podcast Friday,
the 30th of May, in Manchester.
Both of you, both cameras here,three cameras, and we're taking
it on the road as well.
You're coming along.
We're going to do a livepodcast on the stage somewhere
in Manchester.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Somewhere in.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Manchester Venue will be sorted very soon, very soon
when?
Speaker 2 (22:00):
do people get tickets , des?
They get them from the linkthat we're going to put in this
show.
We'll put the link in the show.
Come to my TikTok.
There's a link there as well 35quid, amazon, fba, tiktok shop,
content creation, live podcasts.
But, most importantly, mate.
It is a room full of peoplethat are all following the same
dream.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
That are ready to take a risk that are ready to
take a bleeding risk, that areready to take a risk.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
And the sad thing is is that these people are
changing their lives and they'retaking the leap into the
complete unknown and they don'ttell their friends and family
about it because it'sembarrassing.
That's the sad thing, mate, andI've found with these roadshows
.
It's a room of people that notonly took the same bleeding risk
but support you a stranger inyours, it's lovely, mate.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Community is nice Community.
We've said it before yournetwork is your net worth.
Now, I've learned that a lot inmy business, what I do, because
these people are doing thesethings and we're hanging around
with these people, so we'regetting involved with this stuff
, and it's the same with youhosting these events.
You're going to meet peoplethere that might say, oh, let's
have a look at your videos.
(23:04):
I help you out, mate, becauseeverybody's here to help each
other.
I think that's the mostimportant thing in the current
day is that you need to surroundyourself with a community of
people who are going to supportyou.
That's it, mate, and that's whythat's another reason why we
did the podcast.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
That's it.
It's the one thing that's gotme to where I got to be.
Yeah, if I was an Amazon sellerdoing my 200 to 100,000 pound
challenge, there's loads of themout there.
Loads of them got started afterme, but they didn't network the
way that I did and they'restill in that little zone, which
is fine.
I'm not no judging, becausesome people don't want to
network, they don't want to putthemselves out there.
I'm naturally extroverted, butthe podcast I did instantly grew
(23:43):
my network and instantly put mein the eyes of others up there,
which is ridiculous.
I had millionaires coming to meand I was making thousands.
They were making millions.
They're coming to me.
Des, can I come on your podcast?
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Yeah, all right, yeah , yeah, Well, that's it and
that's the thing.
And that's like taking a riskand rolling with it and running
with it Like we're taking a risk.
You're taking a risk becauseyou're getting rid of that
podcast.
To go all in on this one.
Yeah, focus on Toptic, becauseyou had to weigh up what you
felt had more clout movingforward.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
I guess.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I guess.
And what you enjoy more.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
All of it, all of it.
So Toptic has got the abilityfor me to help more people and
earn more money.
Yeah, I mean, what the hellthat?
What the hell?
That's the dream, right?
Speaker 1 (24:33):
Yeah, so I had to shed the skin of the person that
was in the community.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
Again, I lived my life through bleeding music and
football metaphors, mate.
So basically I was the captainof the team.
It was a couple of steps aheadof everyone else saying, look,
do this, do this, and you willget this, this, this and this,
just like I did.
Now I've had to step out fromthat, so I can't be the player
manager anymore.
I need to be the director.
I need to be that sort ofperson.
(24:56):
Yeah, but in being yeah, so inbeing the toxic, we get to do
all of that.
But I understand that I need toleave an awful lot behind.
And the podcast, mate, that'sjust a no-brainer.
I freaking love this one.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
I think this has got such potential it's good fun as
well, and what we said is theday this turns into work is the
day we stop it.
The day we don't want to turnup and record is the day we stop
it.
But let's go back to risk now.
We've spoke about risk inbusiness now.
When I was doing a bit ofresearch on this, I was thinking
about like risks in life aswell.
So people take risks in life,like do you think that some
(25:34):
people are addicted to takingthe wrong risks, like gambling,
drug taking?
Yeah, and that could all gowrong.
It's it's a really, reallyinteresting conversation because
I think I like a bit ofgambling and I like the risk of
(25:56):
I don't after I've lost money.
I like the risk of putting, notstupidly, but I like the risk
of going to the casino.
It builds up a bit ofadrenaline, yeah mate.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
So I like the horses, yeah, football and the horses,
mate, I love a bet.
I love a bet, but I also knowthat all of these things,
they're shortcuts.
Yeah, and this is what peoplethrive on.
And not only do people thriveon it, but people that sell you
stuff they know you thrive on it, yeah, and they exploit you for
it.
So drug taking look again, nojudgments whatsoever, but it's a
(26:29):
shortcut to feeling better in aworld.
That's shit.
It's the same with booze.
It's the same with gambling.
Gambling's a way to make money.
Yeah, put a fiver on thisaccumulator, you can win a
thousand pounds.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
You're right, dude, that's why people buy the
fucking lottery tickets.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
It's a shortcut to getting rich.
It took me a long time tounderstand that, because there
is no better growth.
You said it yourself in thatpost which was brilliant, by the
way from what your life coachsaid if you're not growing,
you're not moving.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
Yeah, persistence and consistency it is, mate, it is,
and I think that's the same.
Going back again to to take inthe risk.
If you want to be a TikTokseller, you've got to have a
thousand followers first.
Yeah, now you've got to beconsistent and persistent and
put the effort in to get to thethousand followers, which I
think.
I look back on it and I thinkactually that's quite a good
(27:17):
thing that TikTok have done yeah, because it's going to stop
everybody just picking up andbuying this guitar.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
That's it, mate.
Sort out the crap.
Yeah, tiktok, don't want you togo on and see post off the post
off the post of shoppable stuff.
They want a mix of theentertaining and the shoppable.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, and they've had to dothat.
You're dead right.
You're dead right.
In america it's 5 000.
I reckon that'll be coming.
I reckon that'll come over soon.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Well, that's hard what have we got on the podcast
now?
Speaker 2 (27:43):
500 503 I think we're up to yeah um podcast Instagram
hates us.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Instagram hates us.
Gives us three views for real,for now.
For now, yeah, sorry, right, Ithink we've answered this, but
have you ever taken a personalrisk that's changed your life
for the better or for worse?
Oh, mate, is there any that youcan really remember?
Speaker 2 (28:07):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, mate, I live by this
stuff.
I live by it.
It was when I read my book onmanifestation, on the law of
attraction.
It was called you Are a Badass,by Jen Sincero.
I read that and realized Iwasn't happy in my marriage.
I had two kids and a marriageand everything was going all
right, yeah.
(28:28):
And then I read this book and Irealised actually I'm not happy
, actually I'm not the bestparent I can be.
I'm not the best husband I canbe.
I kind of scratched beneath thesurface a little bit and I'll
never forget.
My wife went out.
I sat in the garden.
I like a little cigar sometimesin the summer evening.
I sat in the garden, had acigar, had a beer and I sat
(28:51):
there thinking and I put a bitof music on.
And, like I had a cigar, I hada beer and I sat there thinking
and I put a bit of music on and,like I say, I live my life by
music.
And there's a song called LuckyNow by a guy called Ryan Adams
not Brian Ryan Adams and thelyrics I don't remember.
Were we wild and young?
It's all faded in my memory.
I feel like somebody I don'tknow.
Am I really who I used to be?
(29:11):
That, mate.
I might as well have it etchedin my brain, because all that
just went round and round andround and I realised, no, I can
be.
Even if I see my kids half thetime, I still can be a better
dad to them than I am currently.
So me and my wife had aconversation.
Of course, it didn't go well,but I ended up leaving, ended up
(29:34):
living at home with my mum anddad for two years.
That was meant to be six weeks,but of course, divorces can be
messy, and here we are.
So that was 2017, middle of2017.
By the middle of 2018, I met mynow wife, claire, and I am a
completely different man.
(29:55):
I'm the best dad I can be.
I'm the best husband I can be.
I I know in my previousmarriage I couldn't have done
this.
That risk may change my life.
I can look back on my life as atimeline and put a pin in that,
as the time, everything changedfor the better, and that's not
to say that, that's not todisparage anything about my
(30:16):
ex-wife.
It just didn't work out.
You know what I mean but yeah,that's incredible.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
That's incredible.
Thanks for like that's gotta bethe fact that you pinpointed
that off the back of thatquestion.
If you asked me that question,I probably would have had to
think for a good couple ofminutes before before I said it.
Mine would have been closingdown the 25 year old family
business to start.
What I do today made us massive.
That that would have been.
(30:42):
That would be my biggest one.
Um, because that was mysecurity.
That was my biggest risk wasclosing down a family business
that has supported my family, myparents, for 25 years and
starting another one.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
The emotional pressure as well mate.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
It was mad, mate.
It was mad.
I'll never, ever forgetshutting those shutters down for
the last time on that building.
I'll never, ever forget it, thefeeling I had, the feeling I
had that I felt like I let mydad down because he'd run this
business for 20 years and infive I decided to close it.
But it was for the best,because my dad always felt like
(31:27):
he'd left me a burden.
I remember him saying do youare you sure?
Are you sure?
Are you sure?
Are you sure, are you sure?
I was like yeah, yeah, yeah,I'm sure.
I've worked in here for 10years, I know the ins and outs
of it.
I've got a vision for it.
Let's move forward.
And now I think he feelsrelieved that it's gone and it's
brushed away and we're nowdoing something.
(31:49):
Me and my brother are doingsomething and the team are doing
something from it's our own,it's our own baby.
It's got no responsibility forhim anymore.
It didn't anyway.
Once I signed that bit of paper, it didn't anyway.
But mentally, emotionally forhim, of course he was.
If things were bad, he wouldfeel bad because he felt like
it's his fault for passing it on.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:14):
But it's still his family that are taking on a new
business as well, exactly, butnow it's not his business that
he's passed on.
So he's like how's it going,lads?
Yeah, um, and like things aregoing really well first year.
We've just had the first yearand stuff, and I'm so happier.
Before I wouldn't have beenable to do this podcast, before
I wouldn't have been able totake a day to drive to ipswich
to be an extra on a film, justfor the shits and giggles.
So it's that risk that I tookand I toyed with the idea for 18
(32:37):
months.
For 18 months I was like, no,I've got to keep it going, I've
got to keep it going, Got tokeep it going.
And yeah, I just don't know.
It's hard Fascinating.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
If you think about all of the people in that
scenario that got affected andthat meant that moved there and
that moved there and that wentthere, and then you think of me
and all of the things that'sgone on in my past and all of
the people that are affected, itall had to happen for us to
come together, and we're noteven including Chris on this.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it'd be interesting to have his
take on risk and stuff.
And this leads us onto this one, quite nicely.
Actually, do you think thatfear is there to protect us or
to stop us?
Did you ever have any fear?
Have you ever wanted to dosomething?
(33:26):
That has been.
I'll bet the bungee jump, I'llbet you.
There was a doubt of fear inyour mind that was stopping you
doing that, but you overcome itand you did it anyway.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Yeah, massively.
I mean I was hung over to themax and the bungee jump killed
me very quickly.
But yeah, mate, all of it,scared of all of it, and funny
enough.
I talk about my therapist quitea lot.
It was only when I spoke to herabout it and I was talking
about the things, I felt like Iwas trapped by certain things
(33:58):
and she went no, look back,you've done some really, really
life-changing things and I hadstomach surgery and leaving the
police and the divorce and allthat stuff.
She went you did that, youstarted this business.
And it made me realize, yeah, Ithink it is there to protect us
and I think it's no more than aan element of your subconscious
(34:18):
which just wants to keep you inyour lane.
And again, one of the thingsthat I often talk about starting
the business is easy.
It's months three and four whenthe shiny object syndrome wears
off and you realize, hang on aminute, this is actually shit
and you're not getting theresults that you used to get in
months one, two and threebecause you're subconsciously
trying harder in the first fewmonths.
It's that phase that I'mdetermined to help people
(34:41):
through.
Yeah, because that's when thefear kicks in, isn't it?
How do?
Speaker 1 (34:46):
you define when a fear is there to protect us and
when a fear is there justbecause it's a fear.
Do you reckon Bloody hell?
Yeah, I have no idea.
It's a bit deep, that, isn't itit?
Speaker 2 (34:59):
is, it is.
And again it comes back to thatquote we always look to the
future in fear, yeah, but inessence, all you want to do
really is take it day by day,especially when you get started.
Enjoy the journey, yeah, andwant to do really is take it day
by day, especially when you getstarted.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
enjoy the journey.
Yeah, and I think if you weretaking a risk, like my advice to
anybody that was looking tochange their path, I always I
talk, I talk to my son aboutthis whole.
Right, you're on this path atthe moment.
You either pull off or youcarry on on this path.
Now I think if you weigh up,we're going.
(35:34):
The brain puts us into fight orflight mode, no matter what
you're doing, whether you'redrop, whether you want to drive
a race car or whether you'realways going to think in the
back of your mind what if?
Yeah, and I think sometimes wehave to in that.
The other question yeah, justjump and think what's the worst
(35:54):
that could actually happen andwhat's the likelihood of that?
Yeah, yeah, because it's likefor you what was the worst that
could have happened if yourAmazon journey didn't work?
Toptic?
What's the worst that couldhappen if Toptic doesn't work?
Speaker 2 (36:08):
Yeah, if Toptic doesn't work, I'll know why.
There will be reasons why, andthen we can either roll the dice
and go again and change thingsAgain I'm confident we could do
that or, worst case, I have gota community of 10-odd thousand
on Facebook, 80-odd thousand onsocial media that I know I could
(36:28):
lean back on.
I've also got this bleedingpodcast that we've got very,
very big plans for.
There are other avenues.
Now it all comes back, really,doesn't it?
To whether you're it's amindset, it's a fixed mindset or
it's a growth mindset and howyou can handle failure.
(36:49):
So if things, if you, if youfail, is that a sign of of?
Oh, I wasn't very good at this,I'm shit.
I'm just going to go back.
Go back to the day job when youknow that wasn't working?
The whole point of me gettingstarted is because, whoever, if
you're in your day job and youfind your disposable income at
the end of every month isgetting smaller and smaller and
smaller, or you've spunked yourwages on day three of the month
(37:11):
because bills are so stupid Infive years' time what do you
think is going to happen?
Do you think the government isgoing to come through and go?
Well, here's all that moneythat we stole from you for the
last 10 years.
Sorry about that.
Of course they're not.
You've got to help yourself.
No one's fucking coming.
No one's coming.
Speaker 1 (37:28):
No one's coming, the chances of winning the lottery
are next to nothing.
Yeah, the chances of winning ona scratch card are next to
nothing.
I think people put so muchenergy into things they can't
control.
Yeah, and we've said this and Isaid this to the coach man the
other day, we put so much energyand I used to do it into the
things we can't control theexchange rate.
The government taxes nationalinsurance whether there's going
(37:51):
to be a bread shortage in a fewweeks.
Government taxes nationalinsurance whether there's going
to be a bread shortage in a fewweeks.
Speaker 2 (37:54):
These tariffs, what does it mean?
Speaker 1 (37:54):
for us?
No one knows.
No one knows.
They make it up as they goalong.
But if you focus on what's onyour little bubble and you get
the right people in your littlebubble, you will do good things.
Yeah, you will, and the riskwon't be as hard.
And my advice to anybodywatching listening would be to
(38:16):
don't do it alone.
Yeah, don't do it if someonesays to you that's a stupid idea
.
That's a stupid idea.
Break it down.
So why?
Yeah, it's like we get thecriticism on the youtube video
when we did the gary thing.
Yeah, you're all idiots, you'reall dense, but why?
Yeah, why go on, give us somecontext in that, some
constructive stuff.
Yeah, and I feel that that issomething that's really
important is to don't do it onyour own.
There are communities, thereare whatsapp groups, there are
(38:38):
reddit communities where you cango on and you can ask people
for advice.
Look at how someone else isdoing it.
Yeah, but don't follow thatperson exactly.
You can take a bit from like wecould take a bit from joe rogan
, a bit from stephen bartlett, abit from staying relevant a bit
from Des Hamilton and we do ourown thing.
(38:59):
We're all individuals, humanbeings.
I feel Perfect and you just,yeah, just do it.
Speaker 2 (39:05):
Mate, I finished the last roadshow on that exact
speech.
You have to be unapologeticallyyou.
You cannot go and copy someonebecause that person is
unapologetically them andthey're better at being them
than you could ever be.
So be you, because no one isbetter than being you than you,
and people don't understand that.
(39:26):
Mate again, my first post.
I knew it.
I knew what I needed to do.
So, before I pushed record onmy phone for the very first time
, I went away and thought right,who is it I want to be?
Who am I showing up as?
What are my medium-term goalshere?
What are my short, medium,long-term goals?
The whole point of what I wasdoing is because I felt there
was a gap in the 30 to60-year-old range of online
(39:49):
money-maker newbies.
That was it.
So I did my post saying, right,I'm taking £100, because it was
£100 to start with.
I'm taking £100, I'm turning itinto £100,000, and what I'm
doing is I'm building acommunity of online money-making
newbies on Facebook, and thatwas it.
And again, it was thatcommunity, it was that network.
It was that that, all of asudden, was like who's this guy?
Speaker 1 (40:15):
Why quick, you know, I mean it was that.
Yeah, just again, consistency,getting the people, if you, if
you do a post and you don't getany sales, don't stop doing the
next one.
Exactly look at the post and belike why didn't you get it?
Look at everything you do inlife um, going to the gym being
a dad.
Do you know what I mean?
You had to learn to walk beforeyou could run.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
Definitely, mate, and in most things there's data.
Yeah, you go and do a t, aTikTok post, and you think that
didn't work.
You can find out at what pointin that post people stopped
watching, stopped watching.
Yeah, so go back and say whatdid you say then?
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
Fail, faster Fail faster.
Take the risk, but don't setyour goal.
Don't set your going stone.
I didn't know when a rocketgoes to the moon.
Now, I could be completelywrong, but this is what I read
when a rocket goes to the moon,it don't go straight to the moon
, it will zigzag across pops andit changes yeah it stops off at
mars.
Stops at kfc burger king on theway like, but I used to focus on
(41:06):
the end goal so much that Ididn't know that I'd have it.
The end goal in sight, and youfocus on the end goal, you take
a risk oh, I want to quit my jobin 12 months' time and you're
constantly focusing on that.
Focus on tomorrow.
What can you do tomorrow tomake the next day better?
Yep, and the next day better,and the next day better.
And compound those exercisesevery day and just enjoy the
(41:29):
journey, exactly right mate.
Speaker 2 (41:31):
That's why I broke it down.
It was £100 into £100,000, andI had 24 months and I knew I
needed to hit a 30% growth atleast every month.
Yeah, and I wrote it on aspreadsheet.
I went right.
Here's my goal.
So, even though I had mymonthly target, when it turned
into £200, £200, £200,000 in 24months with a 30% reoccurring
(41:52):
growth, that's what makes thatnumber.
So I knew I had my monthlytarget.
What I wasn't talking about wasthe fact that I also had a
fortnightly target.
So I broke the month downenough so if it wasn't working,
I could pivot to make my monthstotal.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
You know what I mean and then you draw a line across
12 months yeah and averages itout exactly, right, exactly, and
that's what I did.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
It it's all goals, all of its goals, especially,
you say, if you can make themquantitative, yeah, focus on
that.
Yeah, and that's exactly it.
Mate, you don't watch a film toknow what the ending is.
No, you don't.
Speaker 1 (42:26):
You enjoy the when you know the ending.
It ruins the film, exactly thefilm, exactly.
And you could be.
I want to do this and that'swhat your goal is, but in actual
fact, you end up exceeding youcould have exceeded your goal
because the path ofentrepreneurship and the path of
life changes.
You were married and then yougot divorced and you someone
else.
You, you go down a road and thesat-nav says there's a crash
(42:48):
there.
Mate, you want to go this way.
Yeah, that's life.
Yeah, and that's what I learnedover the last 18 months was
enjoy the journey.
Yeah, and focus on the journey.
Exactly right, exactly right.
Couldn't agree more, mate.
I think we'll end this up.
One of my favorite things istake the risk or lose the chance
yeah and you've got to reallyweigh that up?
Speaker 2 (43:09):
absolutely right, absolutely right.
And, mate, we talk to chat gpta lot.
I kind of get the idea that meand you talk to chat gpt more
than most people.
My best friend, I love it, Ilove it and I put it.
I put all of this into chat gpt, saying, look, am I doing the
right thing?
I'm giving up the control of myfacebook group.
I'm giving up the podcast thatI said I would never give up.
(43:30):
I am shifting from.
I've removed myself for anawful lot of whatsapp groups and
a lot of chats because I'vesaid that I'm not the one in the
gang anymore and chat.
Gpt said no, what it actuallysaid, because I've got it to
talk very frankly to me.
I've been telling you to dothis for months.
For Christ's sake, you arefinally stepping into the shoes
(43:52):
that you should be stepping into.
Speaker 1 (43:54):
But you're stepping out of a comfort zone, yeah,
into something that you're notquite sure of, but it will be
all right.
No, mate, my biggest fear isthat.
I'll turn into an arrogantprick and this is where I need
you to be.
Speaker 2 (44:04):
We won't let you do that, mate.
No, exactly, we won't let youdo that, as accountable as I
used to be, yeah, but yeah, I'vegot good people around me, man,
yeah, you guys, claire, all ofyou, tell me when I'm being a
dickhead.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
And that's it.
And community, surroundyourself with a people You're an
average of the five people yousurround yourself with.
I love it, and I'm not talkingget rid of your friends who have
been your friends for years.
I'm talking in your.
If you want to be the bestTikTok affiliate, surround
yourself with other TikTokaffiliates, yep, and make sure
you're the lowest in that group.
Yeah, if you want to be anAmazon seller, surround yourself
(44:39):
with Amazon sellers, and theway by doing that is to go to
networking events, to joingroups to join what To go to a
Des Amables Roadshow.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
To go to a.
Speaker 1 (44:46):
Des Amables Roadshow for if of May in.
Manchester venue to beconfirmed.
Speaker 2 (44:51):
But that's exactly what we did when Luke and I
wanted to get into TikTok shop.
We partnered up with a guy thatruns the best agency.
We spoke to affiliates thatearn thousands more than we did.
That's what you do.
That is exactly what you do.
You've hit the nail on the head, mate.
That's it.
Speaker 1 (45:06):
Yeah, and that has been another episode of the
untold podcast with your man,des and meiyash.
Follow us, give us somecomments, let us know what you
want to hear next week or theweek after or the week after.
If there's any topics you wantto discuss, then let us know,
because we're doing this for you, for us and for you.
(45:27):
So yeah, we'll see you soon.
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