August 23, 2025 • 25 mins
Cut The Tie Podcast with Pasha Knish
What does it take to walk away from a traditional path—college degree, steady career—and instead double down on entrepreneurship? In this episode of Cut The Tie, host Thomas Helfrich sits down with Amazon seller and agency founder Pasha Knish to explore what it means to define success for yourself and keep going no matter how many times you fail.
From hustling in Brooklyn as a teenager to building seven-figure Amazon brands to launching his own full-service agency, Pasha shares the raw truths of e-commerce, resilience, and why confidence is the ultimate skill every entrepreneur needs.
About Pasha Knish
Pasha Knish is a serial entrepreneur, Amazon seller, and founder of AMS Optimized, a full-service agency that helps brands launch, scale, and thrive on Amazon. Having built and exited his own seven-figure Amazon business, Pasha brings real-world experience—successes and failures alike—to his work with clients. Born in Ukraine and raised in Brooklyn, he grew up with a hustle mindset and a relentless drive to carve his own path. Beyond Amazon, Pasha is passionate about cryptocurrency, investing, and mentoring e-commerce entrepreneurs.
In this episode, Thomas and Pasha discuss:
- Dropping out to bet on business
Pasha left college in his final semester to pursue e-commerce full-time, choosing uncertainty over comfort—and never looking back. - Building (and crashing) brands
From a seven-figure electronics brand to three failed launches, Pasha explains why failure taught him more than success ever could. - The reality of Amazon today
With competition fiercer than ever, Pasha shares why experience, adaptability, and a full-service approach separate the pros from the scammers. - Why success is surviving failure
For Pasha, success isn’t flashy cars or viral posts—it’s the ability to fail a thousand times and keep getting up every single time. - Confidence as the game-changer
Whether in jiujitsu, consulting, or business deals, confidence determines whether you execute or hesitate—and it’s the skill he’s most intent on passing to his son.
Key Takeaways
- Failure is part of the path
Success isn’t about avoiding failure—it’s about refusing to quit when it happens. - E-commerce is constant change
Amazon shifts fast; winning means adapting faster than your competition. - Trust is non-negotiable in business
When trust breaks down with partners, it’s time to cut the tie and move on. - Confidence builds results
The difference between winning and losing is often the courage to commit fully. - Define your own success
If you don’t set the standard, someone else will—and you’ll be chasing their dream, not yours.
Connect with Pasha Knish
📎 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pasha-knish/
🌐 Website: http://www.amzoptimized.com
Connect with Thomas Helfrich
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/thelfrich
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutthetie
📎 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomashelfich
🌐 Website: https://www.cutthetie.com
📧 Email: t@instantlyrelevant.com
🚀 Instantly Relevant: https://instantlyrelevant.com
Serious about LinkedIn Lead Generation? Stop Guessing what to do on LinkedIn and ignite revenue from relevance with Instantly Relevant Lead System
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Cut the Tie podcast.
I am Thomas Elfrick and I'mhaving trouble speaking this
morning, apparently.
Listen, I'm on a mission tohelp you cut the tie to whatever
it is holding you back fromsuccess, and that success is
something that you define foryourself, because if you haven't
defined it, someone else hasfor you and you're chasing
someone else's dream.
So define your own success andthen cut a tie to whatever's
holding you back.
And today's guest is PashaKanish.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hello, p're wearing a tie, by the way.
Is it cut?
I am, it's cut.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Nice.
It's all metaphors around here.
Life is.
I'm just kidding, I'm not goingto do that.
It's too early.
You're the first show of theday.
I get cheekier.
There's two things that happen.
I get cheekier throughout theday and throughout the year, and
this year I started off superunprofessional and cheeky, so I
cannot imagine what's going on.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Oh, man, you're going down the rabbit hole this year.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Oh yeah, we're going to go full personality.
I get one of these a show, fuckit.
Here we go.
That's it One cuss for a show.
That way I stay within YouTubeguidelines.
Pasha, thanks for coming ontoday.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Do you want to take a moment, introduce yourself and
go down the hard path?
You know the uncertain path,and so I chose that road.
I took the blue pill or red pillwhatever pill and, um, I took
them both at the same time.
It was just boom, you know.
So, uh, yeah, I've been doingthat ever since.
So I've uh, I had one exitworking on my second one right
now as a seller, and that I'vebeen operating a service
business for Amazon sellers forthe last six years.
(01:45):
We're a full service agency, sothat's what I do.
Also, I'm pretty interested incryptocurrency, as probably many
are just in.
I've been following thetechnology since pretty much
when I started Amazon too, soI've been through a lot of
different ups and downs andwatching the market.
So that's just kind of like aside business related passion
(02:05):
amongst other non-businessrelated passions I mean crypto
speaking.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
So the people who really done well in crypto, uh,
haven't tried to time anything,they just kept pumping money
into it, yeah, and they started10 years ago and now they're
like cool, dollar cost average,I've made like four thousand
percent, that's it.
And then they just take it outand they go buy an asset with it
and they're like, okay, youknow what?
Yeah, I could make more, butlet me just go it's life, let me
(02:30):
go buy a second home, let me gorent it, let me go put some
cash flow behind it now, andit's smart.
I mean, we could take anothershow on that one.
I'm curious in the seller basedbusiness because there's I mean
, listen, there's a ton of theseout there.
Um, I want to throw the elephantin the room.
Right, there's a lot ofscammers out there that does do
this stuff too.
The fact that you said you'vedone it a long time tells me you
you're either very good orhaven't gotten caught Just
(02:51):
kidding.
Um, but there are, there are alot of people who who make up
shit around this, and so tell mewhy you're unique.
You're kind of like why peoplechoose you to help.
You're helping people set theseup and turn keen them out,
right, I mean.
So tell me why they pick youlike.
What's your unique identifier?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
yeah, and so we help people launch on the platform
and we help people who arealready on the platform.
That's my favorite, honestly.
There's people who are alreadyon the platform because they,
you know, they've passed acertain portion where you don't
have to educate them as much.
You could just kind of go doyou speak the same language?
They've gotten, gotten to acertain point where they're just
like how do I get the sevenfigures?
I'm already at like mid sixfigures, but we do launches as
(03:29):
well.
Um, what makes us stand out is,like you said, you know I have
tons of experience.
I've been through so many hiresand fires in in my uh, in my
day.
So these last six years hasbeen very difficult to come up
with a team that is workingseamlessly globally without a
centralized office place to makethat actually cost efficient
for the client and also manycompanies they'll do.
(03:51):
They call themselves fullservice but they say, oh, but we
don't do this, this, this, this, this, you know.
So anything that we can do froma virtual standpoint, we can't
go into your logistics centerand start, you know, packaging
boxes for you, but everythingelse we can do.
Yesterday I just drove into thecity, took a train into the city
to meet with one of my clientsat the Amazon offices and sit
(04:12):
down with their accountexecutive and talk about
advertising strategy.
So you know, if, if needed,I'll, you know, I'll take a
flight, I'll take a train,whatever you know to to be
successful.
So, um, I guess it's that that,and I've myself like to be
fully honest with you I'vecrashed three brands in the last
three years, just opening newbrands and thinking that I know
(04:32):
what's working and actuallyfinding out that the game is
changing Like the carpet isslipping from under your feet.
That's how fast this thing ismoving.
So I've learned the hard wayand I've learned.
You know I have lots of scarsto prove, so anyway, I tried to
apply those learnings and, uh,help my, my clients and my
partners.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Yeah, and I, you know , for a long time I always said
people always would say you know, the differentiator can't be
people, and I'm like that issuch bullshit, because it is
typically the difference betweenpeople who know and don't know,
and know how to act whenthere's you know when to make a
decision, when to pause, and soI agree with you on this, um, on
your own journey, right, so youknow.
Before we kind of get into thethings you've had to do to be
(05:13):
successful, can you first definesuccess on your terms?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Uh, success is being able to fail a thousand times
and just keep getting up everysingle time.
That's, that's the only way.
Like I don't see.
Success, like what you see onYouTube or Instagram, is not
success.
That is the result of successor the result of being born into
money.
I come from an immigrant family.
I was born in Ukraine, uh, I, Igrew up in Brooklyn, new York,
and, uh, you know, we didn'thave much and I had to do
(05:41):
everything myself.
I started working I was 15.
So I was the youngest person atthe call center.
When I was 15 years old, I wasdoing telemarketing, selling
donations.
So from day one, I've just beenhustling and so I've tried many
businesses.
When I was 18, I had a halalcart.
I was selling gyros in New YorkCity, in Manhattan, and that
(06:03):
obviously failed, like I'vefailed more than I've succeeded,
but I'm still here and I cansay that some things have worked
.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
So well, right, and, and I think, um, I think so.
My wife being from Slovakia, Iget a little of the mindset.
So Ukraine, slovakia aredifferent.
They are neighbors, but theythere is a similar mindset of be
lean, no debt, um and debt, andtry not to borrow right, like
to earn your money, reinvest it,try to make more money from the
money you make, and sometimesyou go broke trying to do that.
(06:30):
And so the hustle culture whenit's your stuff and you come
from nothing.
So when you have a little bitand you're trying to make a lot
of it out of it, you're superfocused on getting it done and
if shit fails, you're like we'renot doing that again, let's go
find something else.
And so there's a culturaladvantage you have over many
(06:50):
Americans who have been inabundance and when you come from
, a whole new culture.
I don't know when did you move?
How old were you when you got?
Speaker 2 (06:54):
here.
Well, I was a kid, so I grew uphere, and I will say that that
is partially true.
Like I would say in my family,that's kind of the case.
It's ingrained into you throughfamily.
Yeah, absolutely yeah, it's acultural thing.
But I will say that, in orderto be successful as an
entrepreneur, you still have toinvest, you still have to risk.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Oh, 100 right and you got to just treat every dollar
like it freaking matters yeah,yeah, but you're under
tremendous pressure.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
It's like, you know, if I had a trust fund with
millions of dollars in itputting a bet on something new
business idea not a big deal.
If it fails, no pressure here.
It's like I'm borrowing moneyand I have to pay it back and
it's like if I don't have thatmoney tomorrow, then what's
going to happen, you know?
It's like, yeah, collectionscome after whatever, so just
don't pick up the phone.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
That's it.
Uh, I like that definition ofsuccess.
A lot of people don't define itquite like that, uh, but I, I
think at the as long as I nevergive up, I I'll win.
I don't lose if I don't quit.
Does it?
You may not win either, but you, but you are not losing if you
don't quit.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
No, you just stay.
Stay in the game, Like whatI've learned, like just kind of
taking a step back, like life isa dance, there's never, you're
never always up and you're neveralways down.
You're always a little bit hereand there and I, it seems like
that's always the constant of ofchange and it's breathing.
So life is a dance and businessis a dance, and so you you
can't, you know, beat yourselfup too much.
(08:13):
You got to, like you know,meditate on it, take the
learnings and keep going.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah, it's a.
It's like poker right Chip in achair, just stay in the stay,
stay in the tournament.
Except there's blinds there andeventually they chip away your
your one chip anyway, but it's.
I mean, that is life you got.
You still got to make money.
You got to make some risks andmove, you got to eat.
That's the blinds yeah theblinds are rent and food.
Um uh, on your journey, though,so you got success to find.
(08:38):
Tell me a little bit about yourjourney uh, you've spoken to
some of it but specifically talkabout the biggest tie you've
had to cut to find that success.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yeah.
So when I exited my firstbusiness in 2016, I dropped out
of college, went with my twobuddies to pursue this business.
It was a seven-figure business.
It was doing very well, butlife was pulling me in a
different direction, forwhatever reasons.
And what was the business?
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Just to clarify.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
We were.
We were selling electronics onAmazon.
We had our own brand and wewere kind of undercutting a
really big producer of a verysimilar type of product and
taking a lot of market sharefrom them, and that's why we
were able to grow so fast.
Also, we had Google ads runningbefore PPC on Amazon, so not
many people knew about runningthat kind of traffic.
This was pre Alibaba ice IPO,so nobody knew about like
(09:29):
sourcing from China.
This was before Chinese sellersknew how to sell on Amazon, so
it was like a golden era, ohyeah, you had a really good era
there.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Yeah, full profitability advantage, like
still make great money andundercut the guy that was also
doing it at crazy volume.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yeah, absolutely we, and people were just flocking to
us because we're, and so anyway, we did that business model.
It was working very well andvery fast, and so I pursued that
for a year.
We got seven figures.
And then something life waspulling me in a different
direction.
I fell in love at the time.
I wanted to do my own things.
There was certain kind ofreasons why I didn't feel it
working out anymore with mypartners, so I had to make a
difficult decision.
(10:02):
Do I just walk away, take somepiece of money, knowing that the
company is going to continue togrow, and just do what I need
to do, what I feel inside isright for me?
And ultimately I took that stepforward.
They ended up exiting thatbusiness years later for a
significant amount more thanwhat I got paid out.
They just continued basicallywhat we were doing, but just
(10:23):
scaling it higher and higher and, um, that was a difficult
decision for me to make.
Where it's like you know, do Ido I follow my own path and give
up this potential, and ninetimes out of 10, I think that's
the right move, even if, likewhatever you're giving up, the
opportunity costs you know mightnot be as valuable than you
know.
Pursuing what you know is rightfor you.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Well, right, and there is a balance between the
two.
A lot of it has to do withtiming.
You know you staying aroundmaybe changes the course of that
exit as well.
That's right.
Do you have the mindset of ithas happened to you or for you?
Speaker 2 (10:59):
I have the mindset that it happened for me because
I was the one in control.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Yeah, and I think that's the takeaway I would take
anybody listening to this youcannot save the what ifs for the
future, not for the past.
They don't belong in the past.
What ifs don't serve you at all, except to create an excuse and
anger and resentment.
So what if I do this?
So tomorrow I can do that.
So when I hear what ifs in thepast like those serve no one
Don't, let's not even do that.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
No, you can't be a victim of your own decisions.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
I mean, you could be if you choose to be, but you
could also just own it and say,hey, this happened for me.
Now, what do I do with thatknowledge?
So I like yeah, would youremember the moment specifically
?
You knew you were going to makethe move.
Yeah, that tie, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Yeah, yeah, there was a moment, there was a situation
that happened where Iunderstood that it's just, I
have to go out on my own, and soit's.
You know I think many of us gothrough that type of experience,
whether it's in business orrelationships that they
understand that there's just youhave to cut it.
And like, when you cut that tie, then you're free in a way.
(12:04):
You have other challenges thatwill come at you as a result of
the cutting that tie.
It's not that it's a cleanslate and you're just, you know
paradise afterwards, but you'rewilling to bear that
responsibility in order tocreate more.
It's like replanting a tree,you know, in a bigger space, in
a bigger pot, in a biggerwhatever it's like.
There's going to be that time,time where you're uprooting
something, you're taking awaylife and nutrients from it, but
(12:24):
you know, over time those rootswill set into that new soil, but
now it's going to have morespace to grow bigger.
So it's a long-term versus theshort-term, always balancing the
two.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
I'm curious what was the moment, though?
What happened?
Speaker 2 (12:37):
There was just something that happened where
you know.
It made me understand thatthere was a loss of trust.
You know, and whenever youcan't have a loss of trust in
business with your partners, andso I was like Any relationship,
really Any relationship.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I extrapolate that out a little bit, yeah, and
that's okay.
You don't get into details, butI think that that's what I
wanted to hear.
You had a moment of I can nolonger trust this person.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
And did it happen pretty quick after that?
Yeah, pretty much right afterthat.
But the thing is that sometimesthese kind of unfortunate
situations and moments arebrought to you by the universe
in some way as a way to get youto move your butt and do what's
right for you.
Because we all have, I believewe all have a path in this life,
and when we're not taking stepstowards the path that we're
meant to be on, life will throwthese obstacles in your way to
kind of help you, to like nudgeyou along the river.
(13:30):
You know so if you're stuckbehind a rock, something will
come and, you know, kind of likemove you, knock you off of it.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
That's it, and it's a listen.
When I talk about cutting thetie to you.
You make a good point.
You know it depends on how it'sgot you tied up.
You might be in a bit of freefall and uncomfortable for a
while.
Other times it might let youbreathe and you feel great.
And so it depends on how it'stying you down.
You know you may feel likeyou're.
You know, if it was.
The metaphor is like if onehand's been locked up and also
it's free, now you can and so,but don't assume just because
(14:07):
you let it go you're gonna begreat state.
You could be free fallsomewhere for a bit because you
were kind of hung up on it.
So.
So there's one thing toidentify the journey and and
know your success and know themoment.
But then there's the how.
So how did you make the move?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
well, I left that company and I started doing
something else, and you did itgot out there, I just did it.
You know I made a good deal forthat time.
You know it was more money thanI've I've ever had in one shot.
At that age I was whatever 20,early 20s, and so my wife and or
my girlfriend at the time itwas, you know we were like oh
man, let's go travel, let's go,you know, open new businesses,
let's go explore so you made themove pretty quickly and and
(14:38):
what I want to highlight I liketo highlight some points.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
People like don't overthink the shit, just do it.
Yeah, I'll give you an example.
So this podcast was named NeverBeen Promoted last year and we
grew to a million subscribers.
As the name Never Been Promoted, I decided that, hey, that's
all about me, but everythingwe're talking about is cutting
the tie to what's holding youback.
So that's all about you.
(15:03):
And so one night I literallyjust went and changed the
channel names, the website,everything, and I told my team
fix it.
I was like we're just going togo do this.
There's nothing that's reallygoing to happen, that's going to
be that bad, yeah.
And so we did it, and I knowit's probably not quite the same
as starting a business, but thetruth is I didn't know what
that was going to do to YouTube.
I didn't care.
I was like this is what we need.
Go talk about it for months andplan we're just going to go do
it.
Yeah, I recommend people ifyou're in a situation where you
(15:24):
know you need to go and exit andyou've got any room to do it,
go do it right away.
That's it you have to follow,at least start.
If you've got a job right, likemaybe you keep the job and let
it fund your thing but be ahundred percent committed in
(15:45):
your's, no interruption.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
I mean, that's exactly kind of the point is
like you go and follow what'sright for you and you just go
and do it.
Because when there's momentumlike I always use, like momentum
or like electricity, that's theway I like to look at things.
Like when you feel that, likewhen you get hyped up about
something, an idea or a feeling,like you know what, what if I
left this thing and I went to godo this thing?
I'm not saying that we shouldjump around and not be committed
to things, but when, over time,you've been just like fed
(16:06):
information that makes you likebuild this thesis that this is
not really going in a directionthat I was hoping for, you just
got to cut it loose.
I've, like I said, I recentlydid that I had three brands for
different reasons.
They didn't work out.
We got knocked out bycompetition.
For, you know, we got like aSupreme court mandate that says
that we're, you know, infringingon their patent rights.
And you know, are you going togo fight that?
No, man, I just, whatever,screw it, lost the 10 K, okay,
(16:33):
move on.
You know next thing, and it'slike, is it worth fighting?
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Yes or no.
If not, move to the next one, Ijust keep going.
Yeah, it sounds like it's had agreat impact on your life and,
uh, you get kids.
But eventually, like you'regoing to see this in you and
they're going to have this kindof advantage that the role model
is do it go, get it done, and Ilove that.
Um, what are you most gratefulfor in this moment in your life?
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Uh, my family, my son , like you just said.
You know you have, I do have.
I have a three-year-old andit's exactly it.
I'm grateful to be a role modelfor him, in a way of like.
I want him to believe that hecan do anything.
So I'm trying to show him thatanything is possible If you put
your mind to it.
It's not that I can learn howto fix that thing.
I can learn how to read thealphabet, you know, whatever you
know.
It's like like give him thatconfidence.
(17:14):
Confidence is the mostimportant thing.
I was in jujitsu class actuallythis morning and there's the
teacher.
Whenever I spar with theteacher, I'm always so much
worse.
Not because he's much betterthan me Well, he is but I don't
have as much confidence againsthim because he's the teacher and
he always points that out Likeman, you, you had that move down
, you just didn't go for it allthe way because you know you
(17:35):
hesitated in the last moment.
So confidence is the mostimportant thing and I definitely
want to, you know, be a shiningexample of that, not just to my
son but also to the communityaround me.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
I think you know I usually ask kind of what your
advice for a listener is.
I think that would be it.
Yeah, go with confidence.
You'll feel like an imposter attimes, like, but you know
somebody who's a professionalconsultant for years.
You just got got to know 51% 1%more than they do.
That's all you need, honestly.
That's enough to buildconfidence off of um or
recognize when you know 1% lessand be smart enough to learn
(18:08):
from them very quickly.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
So just be real, like we're all humans.
You know, like people who arejust phony baloney you can smell
it on them but people who arereal, you're just like well, I
know this and this, but thatpart let me get back to you.
Let me research this.
As a consultant right, becauseI have a service business I'm
faced with things that I don'tknow sometimes and I don't
pretend that I know things thatI don't.
I'm just like we can look intothat for you and honestly,
(18:32):
that's what people want to hear,not make up some BS and then
people are like he was lying.
You know that, like you losetrust.
That's not what people hire youfor no, you're 100%.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
So that's a great great takeaway is if you don't
know, just say you know, I don'tanswer you with BS.
Let me just let me go do thework for you and I'll answer
that question, and I thinkthat's, you know.
That's solid advice to have,speaking of which we need some
rapid fire questions.
What's some of the bestbusiness advice you've ever
received?
Speaker 2 (19:04):
It's received.
Um, it's the part about gettingup and keep going and and don't
be afraid to fail.
I mean I've been following thatlike as much as I can.
You know it's hard.
Sometimes you feel like givingup, you feel like you know you
have down days, but just youknow, take, take a rest, keep
going.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
What's?
Uh?
Who did you inspiration fromthis point in your life too?
My wife.
I love that.
I mean that's a great answer.
You know, I ask myself thatquestion sometimes.
I'm like who does give meinspiration right now?
And I struggle with that.
Sometimes it's like that's anindicator you need to read more,
be out there more, look atstuff, and so anyway, I love
(19:39):
that you can find inspiration.
I'm sure why unless she's offcamera with a gun.
You better say it.
You better say it.
You know what to say in thisquestion.
You know what to comment.
What's?
your recommended must-read bookRich Dad Poor Dad.
Rich Dad, poor Dad.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
What was the one big takeaway you got from it?
Assets versus liabilities.
There's a big piece about thatand that was a very foundational
book for me when I started kindof going out on my own, just
understanding how those twothings work and not being afraid
to borrow.
Um, I think there's a lot offear around debt and uh, this uh
robert kawasaki guy is likeyeah, I have a billion dollars
(20:21):
in debt, but I have a billiondollars in debt, but I have two
billion dollars in assets.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
So I'm good.
I'm not one.
I'm anti-debt for the most part, but I will tell you where I
don't want any debt in mypersonal life, meaning like I
don't want a mortgage, I don'twant car payments, and I'll tell
people don't borrow yourhappiness, own that.
Because if everything elseloses everything, you need very
little to keep a home.
You need very little to keep acar going.
(20:46):
It takes a lot to pay for a car.
It takes a lot to pay for ahouse.
But if you can get down to nothaving any debt on the personal
side, it's a lot easier toborrow on assets because you can
get rid of the asset.
Yeah, you can bankrupt thebusiness.
It depends on the state you'rein.
So my point is don't be afraidto borrow on the business side
if you need to, but I would bevery cautious on your personal
side because once you screw thatup, it's tough to recover from
(21:08):
that Absolutely.
So there's a line because oneassumes constant income and the
other one is trying to makeincome.
Three types of people those whopay interest and those who earn
it.
See that joke anyway, nice one.
I like that.
(21:29):
Start over today.
You're a dad man like you gotto get these dad jokes down.
You should be.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
You should know that I mean, I have a three-year-old,
so I'm still training you gottaprep.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
That starts now, man.
You gotta start.
I'll help you, I can coach youthrough this.
That's a good one.
Go tell your wife that later,like there are three types of
people in this world, or do thisone on her.
Uh, tell her.
You know, dark humor is kind oflike food.
Not everyone gets it.
See which one she laughs at.
And you know where to go takethat.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
I think the number one.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah, the Deborah do the number two just for your own
entertainment.
Yeah, all right.
If you had to start over at anypoint in your life, you could
go back to any point in thetimeline when do you do that and
what do you do differently?
At any point in your life, youcould go back to any point in
the timeline when do you do thatand what do?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
you do differently.
You know, kind of going back tothat moment that I told you
that I had to just jump and getout, I think now, knowing what I
know now, I would have waitedjust a little bit and played a
little slower.
So at that time I did make thejump, just to kind of edit what
(22:32):
I was saying.
I think I did the right thing,but I was too quick with it.
I don't have such an itchytrigger finger these days when
making decisions because I meanI have more responsibilities.
Everything has a bigger impact.
It's not just me anymore been alittle bit smarter to be like
how do I, how do I get out ofhere with the most bang for the
buck?
You know what I mean.
(22:52):
Not just like get me out rightaway and, like you know, take
the scraps, Cause I feel like Icould have gotten a much better
exit financially.
I could have gotten, yeah, butit happened for a reason.
But I, you know, just to, kindof for the context, no.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
I think it's great, because when you say that
because it's what I hear is,you've lost the impulse, you've
taken the emotion out of it.
Decision making a bit yeah, andthey're not highly emotional I
need to run defensive answerversus I'm going to take the
business decision and justfigure this one out, right, so I
guess I'm not regretting itfive, three, 10 years now.
So that's, that's right.
So you can remove emotion froma business decision.
(23:30):
It's a lot easier to make.
A lot easier to make, notsaying they're not emotional
things, but you can just takethe business piece of it.
You got to learn that, thoughUnfortunately, you don't learn
that until you make the mistake.
You know, if there's a questionI should ask you today and I
didn't what would that questionhave been and how do you answer
(23:56):
it?
Speaker 2 (23:56):
I feel like you asked lots of questions.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
It's amazing how you can get in in 23 minutes.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Yeah Well, there's nothing that comes to mind, I
think.
I think we've we've covered alot of bases.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
I love that.
No questions.
Listen, you got them all nailed, I get an hey.
So if I was an exam, youbasically cannot give me an A
Just saying I'm just leaving itout there, All right?
Thank you so much, by the way,Pasha, for coming on.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
If someone wants to get a hold of you, who do you
want to get a hold of you andhow do they do that?
Amazon sellers and non-Amazonsellers.
If you have an e-commerce store, if you're selling on Shopify,
you're thinking about Amazon.
90% of searches start there.
It's kind of crazy as astatistics like think about how
much people people buy stuff,like crazy, and 90% of those
purchases at some point happen.
Looking at the Amazon listing.
(24:43):
They might not always end there, but anyhow, amazon exposure is
very important.
That's where we focus on buildcontent, run accounts, run ads
and grow and scale.
So, um, if you're an e-commerceseller, if you have a private
label business or brand, reachout to me, pasha at
amzoptimizedcom, or just go toamzoptimizedcom or you can find
(25:05):
pasha knish on linkedin or youcan check out our mini course
and we have a free tool for seo.
We like we have a free tool forSEO.
Like we have tons of stuff andI do all this for free and just
talk to people all the time.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
So reach out if you have any questions.
Thank you for coming on today.
I appreciate you.
I appreciate you having me.
Thank you Listen everyone.
You made it this point in theshow you rock.
If this was your first timehere, I hope it's the first of
many, and if you've been herebefore, I really do appreciate
you guys listening.
Hey, listen, give a follow, Goto Apple Spotify If you like it.
Do a review.
Five star, it's not a five star.
Just let me know why and we'llsee if we can improve it.
(25:36):
Thanks for listening.
Get out there, Go cut a tieSomething holding you back and
go unleash that success thatyou've defined for yourself.
Welcome to Cut the Tie podcast.
I am Thomas Elfrick and I'mhaving trouble speaking this
morning, apparently.
Listen, I'm on a mission tohelp you cut the tie to whatever
it is holding you back fromsuccess, and that success is
something that you define foryourself, because if you haven't
defined it, someone else hasfor you and you're chasing
someone else's dream.
So define your own success andthen cut a tie to whatever's
holding you back.
And today's guest is PashaKanish.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hello, p're wearing a tie, by the way.
Is it cut?
I am, it's cut.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Nice.
It's all metaphors around here.
Life is.
I'm just kidding, I'm not goingto do that.
It's too early.
You're the first show of theday.
I get cheekier.
There's two things that happen.
I get cheekier throughout theday and throughout the year, and
this year I started off superunprofessional and cheeky, so I
cannot imagine what's going on.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Oh, man, you're going down the rabbit hole this year.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Oh yeah, we're going to go full personality.
I get one of these a show, fuckit.
Here we go.
That's it One cuss for a show.
That way I stay within YouTubeguidelines.
Pasha, thanks for coming ontoday.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Do you want to take a moment, introduce yourself and
go down the hard path?
You know the uncertain path,and so I chose that road.
I took the blue pill or red pillwhatever pill and, um, I took
them both at the same time.
It was just boom, you know.
So, uh, yeah, I've been doingthat ever since.
So I've uh, I had one exitworking on my second one right
now as a seller, and that I'vebeen operating a service
business for Amazon sellers forthe last six years.
(01:45):
We're a full service agency, sothat's what I do.
Also, I'm pretty interested incryptocurrency, as probably many
are just in.
I've been following thetechnology since pretty much
when I started Amazon too, soI've been through a lot of
different ups and downs andwatching the market.
So that's just kind of like aside business related passion
(02:05):
amongst other non-businessrelated passions I mean crypto
speaking.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
So the people who really done well in crypto, uh,
haven't tried to time anything,they just kept pumping money
into it, yeah, and they started10 years ago and now they're
like cool, dollar cost average,I've made like four thousand
percent, that's it.
And then they just take it outand they go buy an asset with it
and they're like, okay, youknow what?
Yeah, I could make more, butlet me just go it's life, let me
(02:30):
go buy a second home, let me gorent it, let me go put some
cash flow behind it now, andit's smart.
I mean, we could take anothershow on that one.
I'm curious in the seller basedbusiness because there's I mean
, listen, there's a ton of theseout there.
Um, I want to throw the elephantin the room.
Right, there's a lot ofscammers out there that does do
this stuff too.
The fact that you said you'vedone it a long time tells me you
you're either very good orhaven't gotten caught Just
(02:51):
kidding.
Um, but there are, there are alot of people who who make up
shit around this, and so tell mewhy you're unique.
You're kind of like why peoplechoose you to help.
You're helping people set theseup and turn keen them out,
right, I mean.
So tell me why they pick youlike.
What's your unique identifier?
Speaker 2 (03:08):
yeah, and so we help people launch on the platform
and we help people who arealready on the platform.
That's my favorite, honestly.
There's people who are alreadyon the platform because they,
you know, they've passed acertain portion where you don't
have to educate them as much.
You could just kind of go doyou speak the same language?
They've gotten, gotten to acertain point where they're just
like how do I get the sevenfigures?
I'm already at like mid sixfigures, but we do launches as
(03:29):
well.
Um, what makes us stand out is,like you said, you know I have
tons of experience.
I've been through so many hiresand fires in in my uh, in my
day.
So these last six years hasbeen very difficult to come up
with a team that is workingseamlessly globally without a
centralized office place to makethat actually cost efficient
for the client and also manycompanies they'll do.
(03:51):
They call themselves fullservice but they say, oh, but we
don't do this, this, this, this, this, you know.
So anything that we can do froma virtual standpoint, we can't
go into your logistics centerand start, you know, packaging
boxes for you, but everythingelse we can do.
Yesterday I just drove into thecity, took a train into the city
to meet with one of my clientsat the Amazon offices and sit
(04:12):
down with their accountexecutive and talk about
advertising strategy.
So you know, if, if needed,I'll, you know, I'll take a
flight, I'll take a train,whatever you know to to be
successful.
So, um, I guess it's that that,and I've myself like to be
fully honest with you I'vecrashed three brands in the last
three years, just opening newbrands and thinking that I know
(04:32):
what's working and actuallyfinding out that the game is
changing Like the carpet isslipping from under your feet.
That's how fast this thing ismoving.
So I've learned the hard wayand I've learned.
You know I have lots of scarsto prove, so anyway, I tried to
apply those learnings and, uh,help my, my clients and my
partners.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Yeah, and I, you know , for a long time I always said
people always would say you know, the differentiator can't be
people, and I'm like that issuch bullshit, because it is
typically the difference betweenpeople who know and don't know,
and know how to act whenthere's you know when to make a
decision, when to pause, and soI agree with you on this, um, on
your own journey, right, so youknow.
Before we kind of get into thethings you've had to do to be
(05:13):
successful, can you first definesuccess on your terms?
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Uh, success is being able to fail a thousand times
and just keep getting up everysingle time.
That's, that's the only way.
Like I don't see.
Success, like what you see onYouTube or Instagram, is not
success.
That is the result of successor the result of being born into
money.
I come from an immigrant family.
I was born in Ukraine, uh, I, Igrew up in Brooklyn, new York,
and, uh, you know, we didn'thave much and I had to do
(05:41):
everything myself.
I started working I was 15.
So I was the youngest person atthe call center.
When I was 15 years old, I wasdoing telemarketing, selling
donations.
So from day one, I've just beenhustling and so I've tried many
businesses.
When I was 18, I had a halalcart.
I was selling gyros in New YorkCity, in Manhattan, and that
(06:03):
obviously failed, like I'vefailed more than I've succeeded,
but I'm still here and I cansay that some things have worked
.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
So well, right, and, and I think, um, I think so.
My wife being from Slovakia, Iget a little of the mindset.
So Ukraine, slovakia aredifferent.
They are neighbors, but theythere is a similar mindset of be
lean, no debt, um and debt, andtry not to borrow right, like
to earn your money, reinvest it,try to make more money from the
money you make, and sometimesyou go broke trying to do that.
(06:30):
And so the hustle culture whenit's your stuff and you come
from nothing.
So when you have a little bitand you're trying to make a lot
of it out of it, you're superfocused on getting it done and
if shit fails, you're like we'renot doing that again, let's go
find something else.
And so there's a culturaladvantage you have over many
(06:50):
Americans who have been inabundance and when you come from
, a whole new culture.
I don't know when did you move?
How old were you when you got?
Speaker 2 (06:54):
here.
Well, I was a kid, so I grew uphere, and I will say that that
is partially true.
Like I would say in my family,that's kind of the case.
It's ingrained into you throughfamily.
Yeah, absolutely yeah, it's acultural thing.
But I will say that, in orderto be successful as an
entrepreneur, you still have toinvest, you still have to risk.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Oh, 100 right and you got to just treat every dollar
like it freaking matters yeah,yeah, but you're under
tremendous pressure.
Speaker 2 (07:17):
It's like, you know, if I had a trust fund with
millions of dollars in itputting a bet on something new
business idea not a big deal.
If it fails, no pressure here.
It's like I'm borrowing moneyand I have to pay it back and
it's like if I don't have thatmoney tomorrow, then what's
going to happen, you know?
It's like, yeah, collectionscome after whatever, so just
don't pick up the phone.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
That's it.
Uh, I like that definition ofsuccess.
A lot of people don't define itquite like that, uh, but I, I
think at the as long as I nevergive up, I I'll win.
I don't lose if I don't quit.
Does it?
You may not win either, but you, but you are not losing if you
don't quit.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
No, you just stay.
Stay in the game, Like whatI've learned, like just kind of
taking a step back, like life isa dance, there's never, you're
never always up and you're neveralways down.
You're always a little bit hereand there and I, it seems like
that's always the constant of ofchange and it's breathing.
So life is a dance and businessis a dance, and so you you
can't, you know, beat yourselfup too much.
(08:13):
You got to, like you know,meditate on it, take the
learnings and keep going.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah, it's a.
It's like poker right Chip in achair, just stay in the stay,
stay in the tournament.
Except there's blinds there andeventually they chip away your
your one chip anyway, but it's.
I mean, that is life you got.
You still got to make money.
You got to make some risks andmove, you got to eat.
That's the blinds yeah theblinds are rent and food.
Um uh, on your journey, though,so you got success to find.
(08:38):
Tell me a little bit about yourjourney uh, you've spoken to
some of it but specifically talkabout the biggest tie you've
had to cut to find that success.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yeah.
So when I exited my firstbusiness in 2016, I dropped out
of college, went with my twobuddies to pursue this business.
It was a seven-figure business.
It was doing very well, butlife was pulling me in a
different direction, forwhatever reasons.
And what was the business?
Speaker 1 (09:05):
Just to clarify.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
We were.
We were selling electronics onAmazon.
We had our own brand and wewere kind of undercutting a
really big producer of a verysimilar type of product and
taking a lot of market sharefrom them, and that's why we
were able to grow so fast.
Also, we had Google ads runningbefore PPC on Amazon, so not
many people knew about runningthat kind of traffic.
This was pre Alibaba ice IPO,so nobody knew about like
(09:29):
sourcing from China.
This was before Chinese sellersknew how to sell on Amazon, so
it was like a golden era, ohyeah, you had a really good era
there.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
Yeah, full profitability advantage, like
still make great money andundercut the guy that was also
doing it at crazy volume.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yeah, absolutely we, and people were just flocking to
us because we're, and so anyway, we did that business model.
It was working very well andvery fast, and so I pursued that
for a year.
We got seven figures.
And then something life waspulling me in a different
direction.
I fell in love at the time.
I wanted to do my own things.
There was certain kind ofreasons why I didn't feel it
working out anymore with mypartners, so I had to make a
difficult decision.
(10:02):
Do I just walk away, take somepiece of money, knowing that the
company is going to continue togrow, and just do what I need
to do, what I feel inside isright for me?
And ultimately I took that stepforward.
They ended up exiting thatbusiness years later for a
significant amount more thanwhat I got paid out.
They just continued basicallywhat we were doing, but just
(10:23):
scaling it higher and higher and, um, that was a difficult
decision for me to make.
Where it's like you know, do Ido I follow my own path and give
up this potential, and ninetimes out of 10, I think that's
the right move, even if, likewhatever you're giving up, the
opportunity costs you know mightnot be as valuable than you
know.
Pursuing what you know is rightfor you.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Well, right, and there is a balance between the
two.
A lot of it has to do withtiming.
You know you staying aroundmaybe changes the course of that
exit as well.
That's right.
Do you have the mindset of ithas happened to you or for you?
Speaker 2 (10:59):
I have the mindset that it happened for me because
I was the one in control.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Yeah, and I think that's the takeaway I would take
anybody listening to this youcannot save the what ifs for the
future, not for the past.
They don't belong in the past.
What ifs don't serve you at all, except to create an excuse and
anger and resentment.
So what if I do this?
So tomorrow I can do that.
So when I hear what ifs in thepast like those serve no one
Don't, let's not even do that.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
No, you can't be a victim of your own decisions.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
I mean, you could be if you choose to be, but you
could also just own it and say,hey, this happened for me.
Now, what do I do with thatknowledge?
So I like yeah, would youremember the moment specifically
?
You knew you were going to makethe move.
Yeah, that tie, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Yeah, yeah, there was a moment, there was a situation
that happened where Iunderstood that it's just, I
have to go out on my own, and soit's.
You know I think many of us gothrough that type of experience,
whether it's in business orrelationships that they
understand that there's just youhave to cut it.
And like, when you cut that tie, then you're free in a way.
(12:04):
You have other challenges thatwill come at you as a result of
the cutting that tie.
It's not that it's a cleanslate and you're just, you know
paradise afterwards, but you'rewilling to bear that
responsibility in order tocreate more.
It's like replanting a tree,you know, in a bigger space, in
a bigger pot, in a biggerwhatever it's like.
There's going to be that time,time where you're uprooting
something, you're taking awaylife and nutrients from it, but
(12:24):
you know, over time those rootswill set into that new soil, but
now it's going to have morespace to grow bigger.
So it's a long-term versus theshort-term, always balancing the
two.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
I'm curious what was the moment, though?
What happened?
Speaker 2 (12:37):
There was just something that happened where
you know.
It made me understand thatthere was a loss of trust.
You know, and whenever youcan't have a loss of trust in
business with your partners, andso I was like Any relationship,
really Any relationship.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I extrapolate that out a little bit, yeah, and
that's okay.
You don't get into details, butI think that that's what I
wanted to hear.
You had a moment of I can nolonger trust this person.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
And did it happen pretty quick after that?
Yeah, pretty much right afterthat.
But the thing is that sometimesthese kind of unfortunate
situations and moments arebrought to you by the universe
in some way as a way to get youto move your butt and do what's
right for you.
Because we all have, I believewe all have a path in this life,
and when we're not taking stepstowards the path that we're
meant to be on, life will throwthese obstacles in your way to
kind of help you, to like nudgeyou along the river.
(13:30):
You know so if you're stuckbehind a rock, something will
come and, you know, kind of likemove you, knock you off of it.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
That's it, and it's a listen.
When I talk about cutting thetie to you.
You make a good point.
You know it depends on how it'sgot you tied up.
You might be in a bit of freefall and uncomfortable for a
while.
Other times it might let youbreathe and you feel great.
And so it depends on how it'stying you down.
You know you may feel likeyou're.
You know, if it was.
The metaphor is like if onehand's been locked up and also
it's free, now you can and so,but don't assume just because
(14:07):
you let it go you're gonna begreat state.
You could be free fallsomewhere for a bit because you
were kind of hung up on it.
So.
So there's one thing toidentify the journey and and
know your success and know themoment.
But then there's the how.
So how did you make the move?
Speaker 2 (14:16):
well, I left that company and I started doing
something else, and you did itgot out there, I just did it.
You know I made a good deal forthat time.
You know it was more money thanI've I've ever had in one shot.
At that age I was whatever 20,early 20s, and so my wife and or
my girlfriend at the time itwas, you know we were like oh
man, let's go travel, let's go,you know, open new businesses,
let's go explore so you made themove pretty quickly and and
(14:38):
what I want to highlight I liketo highlight some points.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
People like don't overthink the shit, just do it.
Yeah, I'll give you an example.
So this podcast was named NeverBeen Promoted last year and we
grew to a million subscribers.
As the name Never Been Promoted, I decided that, hey, that's
all about me, but everythingwe're talking about is cutting
the tie to what's holding youback.
So that's all about you.
(15:03):
And so one night I literallyjust went and changed the
channel names, the website,everything, and I told my team
fix it.
I was like we're just going togo do this.
There's nothing that's reallygoing to happen, that's going to
be that bad, yeah.
And so we did it, and I knowit's probably not quite the same
as starting a business, but thetruth is I didn't know what
that was going to do to YouTube.
I didn't care.
I was like this is what we need.
Go talk about it for months andplan we're just going to go do
it.
Yeah, I recommend people ifyou're in a situation where you
(15:24):
know you need to go and exit andyou've got any room to do it,
go do it right away.
That's it you have to follow,at least start.
If you've got a job right, likemaybe you keep the job and let
it fund your thing but be ahundred percent committed in
(15:45):
your's, no interruption.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
I mean, that's exactly kind of the point is
like you go and follow what'sright for you and you just go
and do it.
Because when there's momentumlike I always use, like momentum
or like electricity, that's theway I like to look at things.
Like when you feel that, likewhen you get hyped up about
something, an idea or a feeling,like you know what, what if I
left this thing and I went to godo this thing?
I'm not saying that we shouldjump around and not be committed
to things, but when, over time,you've been just like fed
(16:06):
information that makes you likebuild this thesis that this is
not really going in a directionthat I was hoping for, you just
got to cut it loose.
I've, like I said, I recentlydid that I had three brands for
different reasons.
They didn't work out.
We got knocked out bycompetition.
For, you know, we got like aSupreme court mandate that says
that we're, you know, infringingon their patent rights.
And you know, are you going togo fight that?
No, man, I just, whatever,screw it, lost the 10 K, okay,
(16:33):
move on.
You know next thing, and it'slike, is it worth fighting?
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Yes or no.
If not, move to the next one, Ijust keep going.
Yeah, it sounds like it's had agreat impact on your life and,
uh, you get kids.
But eventually, like you'regoing to see this in you and
they're going to have this kindof advantage that the role model
is do it go, get it done, and Ilove that.
Um, what are you most gratefulfor in this moment in your life?
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Uh, my family, my son , like you just said.
You know you have, I do have.
I have a three-year-old andit's exactly it.
I'm grateful to be a role modelfor him, in a way of like.
I want him to believe that hecan do anything.
So I'm trying to show him thatanything is possible If you put
your mind to it.
It's not that I can learn howto fix that thing.
I can learn how to read thealphabet, you know, whatever you
know.
It's like like give him thatconfidence.
(17:14):
Confidence is the mostimportant thing.
I was in jujitsu class actuallythis morning and there's the
teacher.
Whenever I spar with theteacher, I'm always so much
worse.
Not because he's much betterthan me Well, he is but I don't
have as much confidence againsthim because he's the teacher and
he always points that out Likeman, you, you had that move down
, you just didn't go for it allthe way because you know you
(17:35):
hesitated in the last moment.
So confidence is the mostimportant thing and I definitely
want to, you know, be a shiningexample of that, not just to my
son but also to the communityaround me.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
I think you know I usually ask kind of what your
advice for a listener is.
I think that would be it.
Yeah, go with confidence.
You'll feel like an imposter attimes, like, but you know
somebody who's a professionalconsultant for years.
You just got got to know 51% 1%more than they do.
That's all you need, honestly.
That's enough to buildconfidence off of um or
recognize when you know 1% lessand be smart enough to learn
(18:08):
from them very quickly.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
So just be real, like we're all humans.
You know, like people who arejust phony baloney you can smell
it on them but people who arereal, you're just like well, I
know this and this, but thatpart let me get back to you.
Let me research this.
As a consultant right, becauseI have a service business I'm
faced with things that I don'tknow sometimes and I don't
pretend that I know things thatI don't.
I'm just like we can look intothat for you and honestly,
(18:32):
that's what people want to hear,not make up some BS and then
people are like he was lying.
You know that, like you losetrust.
That's not what people hire youfor no, you're 100%.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
So that's a great great takeaway is if you don't
know, just say you know, I don'tanswer you with BS.
Let me just let me go do thework for you and I'll answer
that question, and I thinkthat's, you know.
That's solid advice to have,speaking of which we need some
rapid fire questions.
What's some of the bestbusiness advice you've ever
received?
Speaker 2 (19:04):
It's received.
Um, it's the part about gettingup and keep going and and don't
be afraid to fail.
I mean I've been following thatlike as much as I can.
You know it's hard.
Sometimes you feel like givingup, you feel like you know you
have down days, but just youknow, take, take a rest, keep
going.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
What's?
Uh?
Who did you inspiration fromthis point in your life too?
My wife.
I love that.
I mean that's a great answer.
You know, I ask myself thatquestion sometimes.
I'm like who does give meinspiration right now?
And I struggle with that.
Sometimes it's like that's anindicator you need to read more,
be out there more, look atstuff, and so anyway, I love
(19:39):
that you can find inspiration.
I'm sure why unless she's offcamera with a gun.
You better say it.
You better say it.
You know what to say in thisquestion.
You know what to comment.
What's?
your recommended must-read bookRich Dad Poor Dad.
Rich Dad, poor Dad.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
What was the one big takeaway you got from it?
Assets versus liabilities.
There's a big piece about thatand that was a very foundational
book for me when I started kindof going out on my own, just
understanding how those twothings work and not being afraid
to borrow.
Um, I think there's a lot offear around debt and uh, this uh
robert kawasaki guy is likeyeah, I have a billion dollars
(20:21):
in debt, but I have a billiondollars in debt, but I have two
billion dollars in assets.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
So I'm good.
I'm not one.
I'm anti-debt for the most part, but I will tell you where I
don't want any debt in mypersonal life, meaning like I
don't want a mortgage, I don'twant car payments, and I'll tell
people don't borrow yourhappiness, own that.
Because if everything elseloses everything, you need very
little to keep a home.
You need very little to keep acar going.
(20:46):
It takes a lot to pay for a car.
It takes a lot to pay for ahouse.
But if you can get down to nothaving any debt on the personal
side, it's a lot easier toborrow on assets because you can
get rid of the asset.
Yeah, you can bankrupt thebusiness.
It depends on the state you'rein.
So my point is don't be afraidto borrow on the business side
if you need to, but I would bevery cautious on your personal
side because once you screw thatup, it's tough to recover from
(21:08):
that Absolutely.
So there's a line because oneassumes constant income and the
other one is trying to makeincome.
Three types of people those whopay interest and those who earn
it.
See that joke anyway, nice one.
I like that.
(21:29):
Start over today.
You're a dad man like you gotto get these dad jokes down.
You should be.
Speaker 2 (21:33):
You should know that I mean, I have a three-year-old,
so I'm still training you gottaprep.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
That starts now, man.
You gotta start.
I'll help you, I can coach youthrough this.
That's a good one.
Go tell your wife that later,like there are three types of
people in this world, or do thisone on her.
Uh, tell her.
You know, dark humor is kind oflike food.
Not everyone gets it.
See which one she laughs at.
And you know where to go takethat.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
I think the number one.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah, the Deborah do the number two just for your own
entertainment.
Yeah, all right.
If you had to start over at anypoint in your life, you could
go back to any point in thetimeline when do you do that and
what do you do differently?
At any point in your life, youcould go back to any point in
the timeline when do you do thatand what do?
Speaker 2 (22:10):
you do differently.
You know, kind of going back tothat moment that I told you
that I had to just jump and getout, I think now, knowing what I
know now, I would have waitedjust a little bit and played a
little slower.
So at that time I did make thejump, just to kind of edit what
(22:32):
I was saying.
I think I did the right thing,but I was too quick with it.
I don't have such an itchytrigger finger these days when
making decisions because I meanI have more responsibilities.
Everything has a bigger impact.
It's not just me anymore been alittle bit smarter to be like
how do I, how do I get out ofhere with the most bang for the
buck?
You know what I mean.
(22:52):
Not just like get me out rightaway and, like you know, take
the scraps, Cause I feel like Icould have gotten a much better
exit financially.
I could have gotten, yeah, butit happened for a reason.
But I, you know, just to, kindof for the context, no.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
I think it's great, because when you say that
because it's what I hear is,you've lost the impulse, you've
taken the emotion out of it.
Decision making a bit yeah, andthey're not highly emotional I
need to run defensive answerversus I'm going to take the
business decision and justfigure this one out, right, so I
guess I'm not regretting itfive, three, 10 years now.
So that's, that's right.
So you can remove emotion froma business decision.
(23:30):
It's a lot easier to make.
A lot easier to make, notsaying they're not emotional
things, but you can just takethe business piece of it.
You got to learn that, thoughUnfortunately, you don't learn
that until you make the mistake.
You know, if there's a questionI should ask you today and I
didn't what would that questionhave been and how do you answer
(23:56):
it?
Speaker 2 (23:56):
I feel like you asked lots of questions.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
It's amazing how you can get in in 23 minutes.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Yeah Well, there's nothing that comes to mind, I
think.
I think we've we've covered alot of bases.
Speaker 1 (24:05):
I love that.
No questions.
Listen, you got them all nailed, I get an hey.
So if I was an exam, youbasically cannot give me an A
Just saying I'm just leaving itout there, All right?
Thank you so much, by the way,Pasha, for coming on.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
If someone wants to get a hold of you, who do you
want to get a hold of you andhow do they do that?
Amazon sellers and non-Amazonsellers.
If you have an e-commerce store, if you're selling on Shopify,
you're thinking about Amazon.
90% of searches start there.
It's kind of crazy as astatistics like think about how
much people people buy stuff,like crazy, and 90% of those
purchases at some point happen.
Looking at the Amazon listing.
(24:43):
They might not always end there, but anyhow, amazon exposure is
very important.
That's where we focus on buildcontent, run accounts, run ads
and grow and scale.
So, um, if you're an e-commerceseller, if you have a private
label business or brand, reachout to me, pasha at
amzoptimizedcom, or just go toamzoptimizedcom or you can find
(25:05):
pasha knish on linkedin or youcan check out our mini course
and we have a free tool for seo.
We like we have a free tool forSEO.
Like we have tons of stuff andI do all this for free and just
talk to people all the time.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
So reach out if you have any questions.
Thank you for coming on today.
I appreciate you.
I appreciate you having me.
Thank you Listen everyone.
You made it this point in theshow you rock.
If this was your first timehere, I hope it's the first of
many, and if you've been herebefore, I really do appreciate
you guys listening.
Hey, listen, give a follow, Goto Apple Spotify If you like it.
Do a review.
Five star, it's not a five star.
Just let me know why and we'llsee if we can improve it.
(25:36):
Thanks for listening.
Get out there, Go cut a tieSomething holding you back and
go unleash that success thatyou've defined for yourself.
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