Uncovering the Secrets of Successful Entrepreneurship with Tony Kitchens #podcast

Are you ready to take your entrepreneurial journey to the next level? If so, join us for an exciting episode of GreenBusinessImpact where we sit down with none other than Tony Kitchens!

In this episode, Tony shares his invaluable insights and experiences that have helped him achieve success in the world of entrepreneurship. From overcoming challenges to staying motivated, Tony reveals the secrets of successful entrepreneurship and uncovers the strategies that have made him stand out from the crowd.

This conversation is packed with inspiration and empowerment that will leave you feeling motivated and ready to take on the world. Tony's wealth of knowledge and contagious passion for business is a must-listen for anyone looking to make their mark in the world of entrepreneurship.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn from one of the best in the game! Tune in now and join us on this exciting journey with Tony Kitchens, and get ready to take your entrepreneurial game to the next level!

So, what are you waiting for? Hit that play button, sit back, and get ready to be inspired!

Check out Tony Kitchens’ website:

https://tonyrkitchens.com

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-r-kitchens-466778209/

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Episode Transcript

(00:21):
you're going to probably be more uncomfortable than you can ever imagine.
So the first thing is are you really serious about doing what you're asking to do, what you're raising your hand to? Do? I want to be a business owner.
Okay, let's understand what that really means.
it really is a lifestyle, because it's probably just way more of a long-term building of yourself.

(00:45):
That results in having a good business more than it is anything else, because you as a business owner are going to evolve several different times along this journey, and we have to understand that.
.666666666So as I'll sit with a business owner up front and they tell me what it is that they want to accomplish, not just in business but life. 11 00:01:03,646.666666666 --> 00:01:13,416.666666666 Are you ready to be the person who's going to be able to handle that responsibility? And then always gives them pause because they don't know who that person is going to be. 12 00:01:13,666.666666666 --> 00:01:18,266.666666666 And I tell 'em, I can't tell you what's going to be, but I can tell you who it's not going to be who you are today. 13 00:01:54,311.15646258 --> 00:01:59,366.15646258 All right, Tony, do you mind telling us a bit about what you do excellent. 14 00:01:59,366.15646258 --> 00:02:00,716.15646258 First, thanks for having me, Billy. 15 00:02:00,716.15646258 --> 00:02:05,66.15646258 I appreciate you allowing me to come to share some time with you and your audience. 16 00:02:05,76.15646258 --> 00:02:07,356.15646258 I've been an entrepreneur for 32 years. 17 00:02:07,656.15646258 --> 00:02:09,366.15646258 I currently run two different companies. 18 00:02:09,366.15646258 --> 00:02:13,366.15646258 One is a company that basically covers all of my branding. 19 00:02:13,376.15646258 --> 00:02:19,986.15646258 My book, sales Speaking Opportunities, things in that Public Space, and the second one is a global consultancy. 20 00:02:20,376.15646258 --> 00:02:25,563.65646258 It's where I help small businesses with less than 25, team members expand and scale their companies. 21 00:02:25,568.65646258 --> 00:02:26,108.65646258 That's awesome. 22 00:02:26,378.65646258 --> 00:02:33,68.65646258 And so how many companies have you worked with so far for each business, like it is, you could say? I would say a good number on both. 23 00:02:33,128.65646258 --> 00:02:37,678.65646258 More on the consulting side over the years, informally and formally. 24 00:02:37,678.65646258 --> 00:02:38,658.65646258 I really love that space. 25 00:02:38,998.65646258 --> 00:02:41,738.65646258 It's something that I'm just very well known. 26 00:02:41,748.65646258 --> 00:02:58,118.65646258 To do internally, meaning that it's something that's true to me, so it's very easy for me to deliver the solutions that companies need because it's second nature to me, the speaking and authoring I just became an author two years ago, so that's still relatively new and still trying to come to grips with that title. 27 00:02:58,693.65646258 --> 00:03:01,993.65646258 It's, when people say author, it's kinda who are they talking about? Definitely. 28 00:03:01,993.65646258 --> 00:03:06,568.65646258 You're just like, oh, it seems like something that somebody like famous would do, and it's oh, it's me. 29 00:03:06,658.65646258 --> 00:03:07,498.65646258 It's just oh, wow. 30 00:03:07,498.65646258 --> 00:03:08,248.65646258 I can say that now. 31 00:03:08,258.65646258 --> 00:03:08,468.65646258 Yeah. 32 00:03:08,498.65646258 --> 00:03:09,308.65646258 So that's really cool. 33 00:03:09,648.65646258 --> 00:03:11,658.65646258 And so tell us a little bit about your book. 34 00:03:11,658.65646258 --> 00:03:18,151.98979592 You wrote a book called The Gift of Pain, and so I would love to hear more about it and what inspired you to write it. 35 00:03:18,496.98979592 --> 00:03:18,976.98979592 Sure. 36 00:03:18,976.98979592 --> 00:03:20,806.98979592 Gift of Pain is a memoir. 37 00:03:20,816.98979592 --> 00:03:32,946.98979592 And it details basically snippets of my life, but those times of my life, when I felt different challenges and situations, I wasn't really sure how to deal with and how to overcome and how to get past them. 38 00:03:32,956.98979592 --> 00:03:40,456.98979592 And it was really me sitting down and taking inventory, trying to figure out how I was gonna deal with the situation I was in at that time. 39 00:03:40,466.98979592 --> 00:03:43,640.32312925 So I really wanted to understand I know I've been through things worse than this. 40 00:03:43,640.32312925 --> 00:03:46,130.32312925 How did I get through those? And we tend to forget. 41 00:03:46,140.32312925 --> 00:03:53,320.32312925 So I started just writing down those situations and it turned into some information that I thought would be helpful to other people. 42 00:03:53,330.32312925 --> 00:04:03,760.32312925 So I figured that after 109,000 words into this diary to myself, I need to organize it, and it turned out to be 353 pages of my life. 43 00:04:03,770.32312925 --> 00:04:08,0.32312925 And I'm happy to share it with people, and I've gotten really good feedback. 44 00:04:08,30.32312925 --> 00:04:11,180.32312925 More than that, though, it's been very therapeutic for myself. 45 00:04:11,180.32312925 --> 00:04:16,400.32312925 So it's not a work of love because I didn't intend on doing it, but it was definitely something that helped. 46 00:04:16,410.32312925 --> 00:04:16,980.32312925 Yeah, definitely. 47 00:04:17,40.32312925 --> 00:04:27,970.32312925 How did you go about that process of figuring out, what to keep in the book, what to take out? I assume it was a lot of editing to go from 109,000 words down to, 300 some pages. 48 00:04:27,970.32312925 --> 00:04:32,715.32312925 So what was that process like for you? Interestingly, I didn't really take out anything. 49 00:04:32,725.32312925 --> 00:04:37,475.32312925 I didn't, the editor, when I sent it over to her is a young lady named Jara. 50 00:04:37,485.32312925 --> 00:04:38,925.32312925 I've been working with her for years. 51 00:04:38,935.32312925 --> 00:04:41,965.32312925 She took out almost a hundred pages worth of content. 52 00:04:41,970.32312925 --> 00:04:43,260.32312925 Save it for the next book. 53 00:04:43,270.32312925 --> 00:04:45,220.32312925 But I didn't hold anything back. 54 00:04:45,280.32312925 --> 00:04:47,920.32312925 I put in there, it was really just a brain dump. 55 00:04:47,980.32312925 --> 00:04:49,721.32312925 So as you can see, I really didn't plan on. 56 00:04:49,731.32312925 --> 00:04:53,211.32312925 It being for anyone or anything along those lines. 57 00:04:53,391.32312925 --> 00:04:55,521.32312925 It was just really a brain and a heart dump. 58 00:04:55,821.32312925 --> 00:04:58,941.32312925 So I kept everything in that I wanted to express. 59 00:04:58,941.32312925 --> 00:05:04,771.32312925 Whether it was vulnerable or embarrassing situations, crazy situations, I just left it all in there. 60 00:05:04,781.32312925 --> 00:05:05,561.32312925 It is what it is. 61 00:05:05,566.32312925 --> 00:05:06,251.32312925 That's my life. 62 00:05:06,261.32312925 --> 00:05:09,941.32312925 Yeah, you were just being, raw and authentic with, who you are and that's great. 63 00:05:09,951.32312925 --> 00:05:19,546.32312925 What can somebody, if they're, interested in reading the book, what is that overarching high level summary that you might, give for, as somebody who is interested? Couple different takeaways. 64 00:05:19,546.32312925 --> 00:05:24,686.32312925 One is your current circumstances truly do not dictate what your future is going to be. 65 00:05:24,896.32312925 --> 00:05:29,481.32312925 I think that's a lesson that there's a line that goes through the book and that's one of the lines. 66 00:05:29,691.32312925 --> 00:05:38,611.32312925 I think the other thing is difficult of a situation is we all face or we're in today that you will get through it and you don't even have to know how. 67 00:05:38,941.32312925 --> 00:05:42,601.32312925 Just know that the next day it's going to be. 68 00:05:42,611.32312925 --> 00:05:49,971.32312925 One step closer to you healing or one step closer to you achieving something to get you out of that situation you're in. 69 00:05:49,981.32312925 --> 00:05:57,736.32312925 The darkness comes, the uncertainty comes when you just don't know what to do, and that's what we are afraid of, is being in the situation. 70 00:05:57,906.32312925 --> 00:06:00,256.32312925 You don't know whether you're gonna go left or right. 71 00:06:00,266.32312925 --> 00:06:06,236.32312925 The thing that I've learned throughout all of these situations in my life is you don't have to know that yet. 72 00:06:06,246.32312925 --> 00:06:09,321.32312925 Because people will come into your life as long as you're open. 73 00:06:09,331.32312925 --> 00:06:19,101.32312925 People will come into your life in at the right moment and give you just what you need at that time to help you get through without even knowing they're helping you. 74 00:06:19,111.32312925 --> 00:06:25,751.32312925 They'll say something and you'll think, wow, that was, and you'll resonate and it'll resonate with you. 75 00:06:25,761.32312925 --> 00:06:29,211.32312925 And it will become something that you'll use to get past that. 76 00:06:29,221.32312925 --> 00:06:39,621.32312925 And then you'll see other little bits and pieces come into your life and you'll be over the thing that you were so terrified of, and maybe it was bad, it probably was if you were really fearful of it. 77 00:06:39,631.32312925 --> 00:06:43,481.32312925 But once you get past it, then you'll recognize the tools that you'll achieved. 78 00:06:43,811.32312925 --> 00:06:45,641.32312925 So that's the second aspect of the book. 79 00:06:45,646.32312925 --> 00:06:46,246.32312925 That's powerful. 80 00:06:46,246.32312925 --> 00:06:46,426.32312925 Yeah. 81 00:06:46,476.32312925 --> 00:06:52,506.32312925 I've done a lot of that, but like realizing, looking back, how someone really influenced, me in different ways. 82 00:06:52,506.32312925 --> 00:07:05,62.98979592 And then also just realizing too, you go into some things thinking that you're gonna gain one side of things out of it or you're thinking you're going to, go there and That it's really not gonna have a big impact on you. 83 00:07:05,272.98979592 --> 00:07:10,2.98979592 And then all of a sudden, somebody says one thing and you're just like, whoa, like mind blown. 84 00:07:10,7.98979592 --> 00:07:11,837.98979592 How did that, I didn't even think about that. 85 00:07:11,837.98979592 --> 00:07:15,457.98979592 And then now I'm like thinking a whole different perspective. 86 00:07:16,12.98979592 --> 00:07:19,267.98979592 So that as some of the stories that you tell in the book. 87 00:07:19,277.98979592 --> 00:07:19,427.98979592 Yeah. 88 00:07:19,457.98979592 --> 00:07:20,237.98979592 Many times. 89 00:07:20,577.98979592 --> 00:07:24,117.98979592 one of the most successful business deals I was ever a part of. 90 00:07:24,127.98979592 --> 00:07:28,837.98979592 As a partnership with another really big company, I fought tooth and nail against that deal. 91 00:07:28,882.98979592 --> 00:07:35,622.98979592 They asked me, me being my company, asked us several times to do business with 'em because we had a unique skillset set. 92 00:07:35,892.98979592 --> 00:07:36,372.98979592 That was it. 93 00:07:36,402.98979592 --> 00:07:38,162.98979592 We weren't, there was nothing special about us. 94 00:07:38,482.98979592 --> 00:07:40,972.98979592 We had something very unique that they needed at that time. 95 00:07:40,972.98979592 --> 00:07:44,462.98979592 It was real simple, and they needed us more than we needed them. 96 00:07:44,472.98979592 --> 00:07:46,477.98979592 And I was like, eh, I don't wanna do business with them. 97 00:07:46,477.98979592 --> 00:07:48,817.98979592 That's not really in our space, this, that and the other. 98 00:07:48,817.98979592 --> 00:07:54,457.98979592 And it was the best relationship we had in business in 30, 29 years. 99 00:07:54,467.98979592 --> 00:07:55,457.98979592 It was the best one. 100 00:07:55,817.98979592 --> 00:07:57,107.98979592 And I just fought against it. 101 00:07:57,117.98979592 --> 00:08:02,777.98979592 And when things come my way, now I'm looking for an opportunity, I'm looking for this. 102 00:08:03,72.98979592 --> 00:08:06,342.98979592 And I don't get exactly that, but something else shows up. 103 00:08:06,672.98979592 --> 00:08:09,12.98979592 I always remember, let me just give it a chance. 104 00:08:09,12.98979592 --> 00:08:09,762.98979592 Let me. 105 00:08:10,107.98979592 --> 00:08:17,417.98979592 At least sit down and listen to the conversation, because what I know is that may be more valuable than the thing that I was looking for. 106 00:08:17,427.98979592 --> 00:08:19,17.98979592 So I'm always open-minded. 107 00:08:19,17.98979592 --> 00:08:21,627.98979592 I think that's another lesson, not just in the book, but just in life. 108 00:08:21,637.98979592 --> 00:08:22,687.98979592 Be open-minded. 109 00:08:22,697.98979592 --> 00:08:30,22.98979592 Explore opportunities that may not necessarily correlate with what you think you're doing today, and just listen. 110 00:08:30,32.98979592 --> 00:08:33,212.98979592 At least you have the information to make an informed decision at that point. 111 00:08:33,222.98979592 --> 00:08:34,62.98979592 And I've learned that. 112 00:08:34,72.98979592 --> 00:08:37,222.98979592 Oh my goodness, Billy, it's been a thousand times. 113 00:08:37,232.98979592 --> 00:08:37,892.98979592 Yeah, definitely. 114 00:08:38,142.98979592 --> 00:08:44,957.98979592 It makes me think, I've been realizing and putting this together and I hadn't really thought about it till now, but I hear a lot of on one side of I. 115 00:08:44,957.98979592 --> 00:08:50,432.98979592 Tips for entrepreneurs, right? It's okay, one side is say no to 99% of things. 116 00:08:50,762.98979592 --> 00:08:56,567.98979592 But then the other side is be open and think and try to explore more and more opportunities. 117 00:08:56,777.98979592 --> 00:09:04,472.98979592 So it's like this, opposite relationship that you're trying to mediate between on yes, you have to stay no, to like literally everything. 118 00:09:04,472.98979592 --> 00:09:27,49.65646258 Steve Jobs and the most successful people, what do they do? They, focus on one singular thing as much as they can and, you don't get distracted by anything else, but then it's like on the other side of the thing, it's oh, are you missing out on new opportunities? There's a beam that goes around on LinkedIn sometimes where you see the guys pulling the trailer and they've got like square wheels, and so it's like going like this. 119 00:09:27,49.65646258 --> 00:09:28,859.65646258 And there's a guy next to 'em that's got a s a. 120 00:09:28,869.65646258 --> 00:09:32,199.65646258 A round wheel, and he goes, look now. 121 00:09:32,199.65646258 --> 00:09:36,679.65646258 And they're just like, too busy, can't, and they're just like going around on their square wheels. 122 00:09:36,679.65646258 --> 00:09:39,419.65646258 And so it's like the line is start on that meme. 123 00:09:39,419.65646258 --> 00:09:59,424.65646258 It's are you too busy to pay attention to? What could, exponentially grow your business? So I'd love to hear your perspective on that, on like, how do mediate in between those two, disparate ideas of, being singularly focused versus not missing out on opportunities to exponentially grow your business. 124 00:09:59,434.65646258 --> 00:09:59,524.65646258 Yeah. 125 00:09:59,529.65646258 --> 00:10:01,24.65646258 I'm glad you brought that example up. 126 00:10:01,34.65646258 --> 00:10:10,216.32312925 So let me clarify you're exactly right, which is, I tell business owners that you have to be focused on your mission. 127 00:10:10,226.32312925 --> 00:10:14,156.32312925 There is a time when you need to now take your head up, lift your head up. 128 00:10:14,166.32312925 --> 00:10:16,1.32312925 And be conscious of things around you. 129 00:10:16,11.32312925 --> 00:10:26,431.32312925 But when you first started out with anything, any career, any relationship, any business, you literally have to be focused in on the goal, focused in on what you're doing. 130 00:10:26,441.32312925 --> 00:10:29,321.32312925 In my first business, I didn't look up for years. 131 00:10:29,621.32312925 --> 00:10:33,666.32312925 29 years I passed up everything that came my way. 132 00:10:33,846.32312925 --> 00:10:38,526.32312925 And what I mean by that is not the opportunity we just talked about because that was still in the tech space. 133 00:10:38,536.32312925 --> 00:10:46,376.32312925 But I would have people present different business opportunities, real estate and other things, and I just shut those down immediately. 134 00:10:46,386.32312925 --> 00:10:55,426.32312925 So the things that I focused on were driven by the industry that I was in and the road that I knew I was already on, and our company was on. 135 00:10:55,999.65646258 --> 00:11:03,589.65646258 So the particular engagement that I was referring to was just a different aspect of it, which we were familiar with, we just weren't doing yet. 136 00:11:03,599.65646258 --> 00:11:07,449.65646258 So that wasn't a far stretch, but you're exactly correct. 137 00:11:07,509.65646258 --> 00:11:08,529.65646258 You have to. 138 00:11:08,539.65646258 --> 00:11:28,429.65646258 There's no way to be a jack of all trades and be very successful, but it's a matter of timing, meaning that later in life, like right now, When I'm saying that things may come my way, I'm still going down an area that I'm very focused on, right? The most recent company is a five year shelf life. 139 00:11:28,434.65646258 --> 00:11:28,884.65646258 That's it. 140 00:11:29,244.65646258 --> 00:11:30,624.65646258 June 20, 28. 141 00:11:30,804.65646258 --> 00:11:39,314.65646258 It's done right? So I'm very focused on that end date and everything that I have to accomplish between now and then has a limited shelf life. 142 00:11:39,324.65646258 --> 00:11:43,14.65646258 So I'm not gonna be distracted when it comes to that particular business. 143 00:11:43,19.65646258 --> 00:11:49,512.98979592 However, I know a lot of people and just like a lot of people and people will bring opportunities your way. 144 00:11:49,512.98979592 --> 00:11:51,552.98979592 It may not necessarily be a business opportunity. 145 00:11:51,956.32312925 --> 00:11:54,506.32312925 It may be an opportunity for some charitable work. 146 00:11:54,806.32312925 --> 00:11:56,306.32312925 So I will look at those things. 147 00:11:56,306.32312925 --> 00:12:04,356.32312925 I'll keep my head up and be aware that situations and opportunities to help other people and to do some ancillary things will come about. 148 00:12:04,366.32312925 --> 00:12:12,582.98979592 But my main business area, that main business focus, you have to focus in on that in order to have any type of traction. 149 00:12:12,592.98979592 --> 00:12:13,12.98979592 Definitely. 150 00:12:13,12.98979592 --> 00:12:24,12.98979592 So I think what I'm hearing and tell me if I'm on the right track here is that, you have your lane that you're in for your business, and you've got to, stay in your lane basically. 151 00:12:24,22.98979592 --> 00:12:32,562.98979592 If something is in, your, maybe it's in, say you're going down a four-lane highway, you got the, opposite direction on the other side, you got your two lanes over here. 152 00:12:32,682.98979592 --> 00:12:34,2.98979592 Maybe it's in the right hand lane. 153 00:12:34,2.98979592 --> 00:12:35,52.98979592 You're in the left hand lane. 154 00:12:35,262.98979592 --> 00:12:44,402.98979592 Maybe it's in the right hand lane and you can it's still over on your side of the road, right? But then, you don't wanna go off and veer off into the other side of the road or take an exit or anything like that. 155 00:12:44,402.98979592 --> 00:12:44,762.98979592 You want to. 156 00:12:44,807.98979592 --> 00:12:56,947.98979592 Pay, in your lane for the overall mission of what your business is, but then, pay attention to what's over on your side of the highway, don't get distracted by, getting off at an exit or going on the other side of the road kind of thing. 157 00:12:56,957.98979592 --> 00:12:57,497.98979592 Exactly. 158 00:12:57,497.98979592 --> 00:13:04,592.98979592 If you take a branded, everyone knows Amazon, for example, when Jeff Bezos first started out, it was how do you sell books online? That was it. 159 00:13:04,602.98979592 --> 00:13:06,42.98979592 That was the only thing they sold were books. 160 00:13:06,52.98979592 --> 00:13:12,322.98979592 And at a certain point, what he realized was he didn't build an online book sales company. 161 00:13:12,322.98979592 --> 00:13:23,966.32312925 What he really built, which people may not recognize today, is he built infrastructure and now everybody in the world uses his highway, so to speak. 162 00:13:23,976.32312925 --> 00:13:37,506.32312925 To sell their products and aws, Amazon Web Services is their digital infrastructure, and companies use their servers and storage space, some of the biggest companies on earth, not to sell product, but to actually run their businesses. 163 00:13:37,516.32312925 --> 00:13:41,866.32312925 So that was something that came about after a certain period of time. 164 00:13:41,866.32312925 --> 00:13:46,766.32312925 If you would've started out focusing on all of those things, maybe one of 'em would've hit possibly. 165 00:13:46,776.32312925 --> 00:13:59,66.32312925 But he focused on building this highway, this infrastructure, and look at all of the off ramps and on-ramps that there are now because of what he did, because he was narrowly focused in the very beginning. 166 00:13:59,71.32312925 --> 00:13:59,996.32312925 Yeah, definitely. 167 00:14:00,1.32312925 --> 00:14:02,11.32312925 Imagine trying to have three wives at once. 168 00:14:02,21.32312925 --> 00:14:02,801.32312925 Oh God no. 169 00:14:02,811.32312925 --> 00:14:06,221.32312925 People raised when they're born and they have, twins or triplets. 170 00:14:06,226.32312925 --> 00:14:07,696.32312925 It's a lot to manage. 171 00:14:07,711.32312925 --> 00:14:08,581.32312925 It is for sure. 172 00:14:08,581.32312925 --> 00:14:08,821.32312925 Yeah. 173 00:14:08,821.32312925 --> 00:14:18,566.32312925 I remember when my wife had our son, it's a lot for that one little kid, but then, put a, another baby in there with him and twins in them would be, it would be more than double. 174 00:14:18,576.32312925 --> 00:14:19,716.32312925 We got a lot more going on. 175 00:14:19,721.32312925 --> 00:14:20,261.32312925 Exactly. 176 00:14:20,591.32312925 --> 00:14:27,292.98979592 So I'd love to also hear more about, how did your speaking business transform into the authoring as well. 177 00:14:27,342.98979592 --> 00:14:33,557.98979592 I guess give us a timeline, if you will, on Your business that you had and then the speaking and the authoring business. 178 00:14:33,557.98979592 --> 00:14:35,52.98979592 How did they transform into one another? Yeah. 179 00:14:35,52.98979592 --> 00:14:41,327.98979592 Oftentimes with entrepreneurs, what you'll find is they don't necessarily just make a coal hard decision to get into something. 180 00:14:41,692.98979592 --> 00:14:49,442.98979592 It usually is an offshoot or is usually something that's closely tied to something you've done and now you want to formalize it a little, do more of it. 181 00:14:49,452.98979592 --> 00:15:05,622.98979592 So over the years in business, I've always had to stand up and speak in front of audiences, whether it was in a conference room with 20 something employees, whether it was in a business meeting, if I was the head of an association, which I was at one point or I was on board to have to stand up and present. 182 00:15:05,632.98979592 --> 00:15:07,312.98979592 So all of those things. 183 00:15:07,322.98979592 --> 00:15:17,332.98979592 Led up to now saying, okay, maybe I can formalize this, as opposed to just doing it out of the daily routine that I've had all of these other years. 184 00:15:17,342.98979592 --> 00:15:29,302.98979592 So what I did was I decided to join Toastmasters because I figured I need to now take the raw skills that I had, that I learned organically, and to pair that with a formal process. 185 00:15:29,846.32312925 --> 00:15:42,176.32312925 That some of the world's best speakers have gone through, and I learned an extreme amount through Toastmasters International, and then I joined National Speakers Association as well, which helps you develop your business side. 186 00:15:42,566.32312925 --> 00:15:47,566.32312925 So Toastmasters is really helping you to learn the craft of speaking formally. 187 00:15:48,16.32312925 --> 00:15:52,286.32312925 N NSA teaches you how to grow the business after you already had that in place. 188 00:15:52,496.32312925 --> 00:15:54,476.32312925 So it's just been a natural progression. 189 00:15:54,626.32312925 --> 00:15:57,466.32312925 Same thing with the book, I've been asked to write books. 190 00:15:57,476.32312925 --> 00:16:00,656.32312925 Many times by clients years and years ago. 191 00:16:00,666.32312925 --> 00:16:01,446.32312925 But here's the thing. 192 00:16:01,446.32312925 --> 00:16:03,276.32312925 They wanted me to write technical manuals. 193 00:16:03,336.32312925 --> 00:16:06,396.32312925 They're like, can you just write that? And I'm like, no, that's not what I do. 194 00:16:06,451.32312925 --> 00:16:09,56.32312925 It wasn't that they were inspired by my life story. 195 00:16:09,446.32312925 --> 00:16:17,826.32312925 I just had a unique set of skills from a technology standpoint when I first started out, and they wanted me to document that I had no desire to write a tech manual. 196 00:16:17,881.32312925 --> 00:16:23,371.32312925 But then here you are, 20 something years later just pouring out your heart in a book. 197 00:16:23,521.32312925 --> 00:16:28,621.32312925 So it was, I guess it's a speaking and being an author was a natural thing for me. 198 00:16:28,631.32312925 --> 00:16:31,301.32312925 Same thing like helping small businesses. 199 00:16:31,301.32312925 --> 00:16:33,421.32312925 It's natural because I've been a small business owner. 200 00:16:33,476.32312925 --> 00:16:33,927.32312925 I'm 52. 201 00:16:34,286.32312925 --> 00:16:38,436.32312925 I started in business when I was 21, so the majority of my life I've been doing this. 202 00:16:38,706.32312925 --> 00:16:39,996.32312925 So it's just natural to me. 203 00:16:40,6.3231293 --> 00:16:40,726.3231293 Yeah, definitely. 204 00:16:40,726.3231293 --> 00:16:45,386.3231293 I would love to dive more into your consulting business where you help small entrepreneurs. 205 00:16:45,696.3231293 --> 00:17:00,91.3231293 What do you focus on with them and what's your process that you go through? Yeah, it, they're existing business owners and the reason I stress that is because right now what you find on the internet is you'll find a pretty girl, handsome guy that will. 206 00:17:00,481.3231293 --> 00:17:06,466.3231293 Do a video on how to start an L L C and they get a hundred thousand views and your curiosity is peaked a little. 207 00:17:06,466.3231293 --> 00:17:08,266.3231293 And I, let me just look at this real quick. 208 00:17:08,266.3231293 --> 00:17:13,616.3231293 Why is this video so popular and the information they're given is just horribly wrong? It's terrible. 209 00:17:13,626.3231293 --> 00:17:15,186.3231293 Absolutely wrong thing. 210 00:17:15,396.3231293 --> 00:17:18,256.3231293 And I'm thinking that's just no, that's not how it works. 211 00:17:18,256.3231293 --> 00:17:18,736.3231293 No. 212 00:17:18,746.3231293 --> 00:17:23,396.3231293 So that's why I try to start with, not try, but that's why I start with existing business owners. 213 00:17:23,406.3231293 --> 00:17:28,86.3231293 And what I'm looking at are people who are serious about growing and scaling their business. 214 00:17:28,86.3231293 --> 00:17:37,246.3231293 Growing a business is one thing where year over year you get a little bit more revenue or you hire one more person or you introduce a new product. 215 00:17:37,576.3231293 --> 00:17:42,426.3231293 Scaling is when you go from having two or three employees to now having 15. 216 00:17:42,436.3231293 --> 00:17:43,366.3231293 You go from. 217 00:17:43,376.3231293 --> 00:17:52,436.3231293 A few hundred thousand of revenue, or 50 or 60,000 of revenue, and you scale to 600,000 of revenue in the course of a year. 218 00:17:52,446.3231293 --> 00:17:54,516.3231293 And the thing is, that's not magic. 219 00:17:54,526.3231293 --> 00:18:01,226.3231293 There is a precise formula that you can use to do that, and it's all about processes and systems. 220 00:18:01,236.3231293 --> 00:18:03,996.3231293 So I show companies how to do that. 221 00:18:04,6.3231293 --> 00:18:09,56.3231293 Again, I don't walk around saying I can 10 x this and this, that, that's not how it works either. 222 00:18:09,66.3231293 --> 00:18:10,926.3231293 Nobody can do that for your company. 223 00:18:11,16.3231293 --> 00:18:27,46.3231293 So what I do with business owners is shift their mindset do you really want to grow the way you say you want to grow? And if you do, let's sit down and we'll figure out a plan based on your specific needs, based on exactly who you are as a person and what you're trying to accomplish. 224 00:18:27,56.3231293 --> 00:18:29,306.3231293 And there are certain businesses that will never scale. 225 00:18:29,316.3231293 --> 00:18:43,426.3231293 I can't scale a hotdog stand to a million dollars a year because if you sold hotdogs for $4, you would have to sell a quarter of a million hotdogs just to get to $1 million, but you may wind up spending 900,000 on product. 226 00:18:43,959.6564626 --> 00:18:52,29.6564626 So that's a more difficult task than taking a company who has a $25,000 service offering and getting them to a million dollars. 227 00:18:52,419.6564626 --> 00:18:58,939.6564626 We can create processes, we can replicate systems to do that, and that's really the key to scaling. 228 00:18:58,969.6564626 --> 00:19:00,769.6564626 It's what's behind the scenes. 229 00:19:00,919.6564626 --> 00:19:03,421.3231293 It's not social media, it's none of that. 230 00:19:03,421.3231293 --> 00:19:06,841.3231293 This is real work where you have to talk to real people. 231 00:19:06,841.3231293 --> 00:19:08,701.3231293 You have to offer real products. 232 00:19:08,711.3231293 --> 00:19:16,241.3231293 That are sustainable and services that are sustainable as opposed to just maybe an online course that may live there for six months. 233 00:19:16,251.3231293 --> 00:19:21,741.3231293 The owner will make, some money off of that, but they're constantly going back to the, trying to start from scratch. 234 00:19:21,751.3231293 --> 00:19:31,636.3231293 So I'm talking about having a business where you create a machine that just generates money over and over again even when you're on vacation and it's a process that just works seamlessly. 235 00:19:31,646.3231293 --> 00:19:33,176.3231293 And you have to nurture that though. 236 00:19:33,181.3231293 --> 00:19:34,106.3231293 It's difficult. 237 00:19:34,106.3231293 --> 00:19:37,656.3231293 It's a lot of work, but that's what I do with my small businesses. 238 00:19:37,666.3231293 --> 00:19:38,266.3231293 Yeah, definitely. 239 00:19:38,266.3231293 --> 00:19:50,41.3231293 And what do you see as like some of the biggest mistakes that people are making when you come in to help them start scaling their business? I think it's fighting with what the narrative is on the internet. 240 00:19:50,101.3231293 --> 00:19:51,631.3231293 I think that's one of the biggest things. 241 00:19:51,991.3231293 --> 00:19:56,71.3231293 I think they are under an assumption that business is easy. 242 00:19:56,81.3231293 --> 00:20:04,831.3231293 One of the things that bi there that drives me crazy is the first thing that someone does is they'll go and they'll form a company typically in llc, because that's all they know. 243 00:20:04,921.3231293 --> 00:20:15,782.3231293 Even though there are many types you have a C-corp, s-corp, the many types of entities that you can create, but they go for that one because they perceive as easy and the first thing they do. 244 00:20:15,792.3231293 --> 00:20:25,642.3231293 Immediately is they go find a lender who will allow them to purchase a vehicle using their company name without cosigning, without being a guarantor. 245 00:20:25,652.3231293 --> 00:20:28,622.3231293 And it's the worst mistake you can make as a business owner. 246 00:20:28,632.3231293 --> 00:20:30,402.3231293 It's the worst, one of the worst. 247 00:20:30,612.3231293 --> 00:20:39,442.3231293 And it's not that it's a vehicle, it's you don't open your door to your business and immediately the next day, Now create debt for your business and you have no revenue. 248 00:20:39,652.3231293 --> 00:20:41,542.3231293 It makes no sense whatsoever. 249 00:20:41,722.3231293 --> 00:20:49,572.3231293 So that's one of the biggest things is buying to these notions that now that you have a business entity, you can start just drawing money out of the company. 250 00:20:49,572.3231293 --> 00:20:52,353.9897959 You can start buying cars and you can travel. 251 00:20:52,927.3231293 --> 00:20:55,797.3231293 And this whole idea that it's a business expense. 252 00:20:56,7.3231293 --> 00:20:56,877.3231293 No, it's not. 253 00:20:56,887.3231293 --> 00:21:06,697.3231293 Because the thing that I know is when you start working with the real accounting firm, not your cousin who did taxes in the past, when you start working with an accounting firm, they're going to question everything. 254 00:21:06,697.3231293 --> 00:21:12,257.3231293 And they say, we can't write off this business expense because you're using it in your personal life. 255 00:21:12,287.3231293 --> 00:21:13,367.3231293 It's not a business tool. 256 00:21:13,763.9897959 --> 00:21:16,643.9897959 So it's this thing with the young people. 257 00:21:16,673.9897959 --> 00:21:28,693.9897959 When I say young, not just age, but young in terms of the maturity of the business that you have to almost deprogram take all the bad info out and then say, no, this is how it really works in real life. 258 00:21:28,703.9897959 --> 00:21:33,23.9897959 Some of them will come around Billy and say, okay, I, okay, this makes sense. 259 00:21:33,203.9897959 --> 00:21:35,633.9897959 And some of them will just say, that's not what I'm interested in. 260 00:21:35,643.9897959 --> 00:21:37,803.9897959 Because what they really want is a lifestyle. 261 00:21:37,813.9897959 --> 00:21:42,43.9897959 Business and they don't want to grow a company, and that's okay. 262 00:21:42,53.9897959 --> 00:21:42,773.9897959 It's okay. 263 00:21:42,778.9897959 --> 00:21:48,523.9897959 Some people just want a YouTube channel so they can do affiliate ads and affiliate links and things, and that's okay. 264 00:21:48,733.9897959 --> 00:22:06,60.6564626 Just understand that's not going to feed your grandkids and when you're 60 years old, you cannot be on TikTok doing flips and cartwheels getting monetized for that, right? So what are you going to build? That's going to outlast you and it's going to provide for your children and your grandchildren, that legacy. 265 00:22:06,60.6564626 --> 00:22:24,195.6564626 What are you going to build? Because if you're doing that when you're young, the trendy stuff, when you get to a certain age, it's more difficult to pivot and to maneuver, and you may not have as much energy to build this big thing that you need to build later in life as it was when you were earlier in life. 266 00:22:24,200.6564626 --> 00:22:26,393.9897959 Definitely that's big reprogramming. 267 00:22:26,393.9897959 --> 00:22:30,713.9897959 What people have, learned out on YouTube and all that misinformation out there. 268 00:22:30,863.9897959 --> 00:22:31,883.9897959 That's a big challenge. 269 00:22:31,893.9897959 --> 00:22:33,793.9897959 It is to deal because business is boring. 270 00:22:34,13.9897959 --> 00:22:35,903.9897959 The reality business is not glamorous. 271 00:22:35,953.9897959 --> 00:22:37,693.9897959 it's not, it's hard work. 272 00:22:37,703.9897959 --> 00:22:44,453.9897959 And if you listen to any of the experts that have been around Bill Gates, no matter what you think about him, he's to sleep in his office under his desk. 273 00:22:44,463.9897959 --> 00:22:48,123.9897959 For years, Elon Musk is as glamorous as his life looks. 274 00:22:48,133.9897959 --> 00:22:51,918.9897959 He doesn't sleep much and he talks about it and it's not easy. 275 00:22:51,928.9897959 --> 00:23:03,993.9897959 And you have the responsibility of everyone who's on payroll, not just a va, a virtual assistant that, you pay a couple hours a week when you have people on payroll that you're paying income tax on. 276 00:23:04,3.9897959 --> 00:23:12,848.9897959 And these people have college tuitions and mortgages and rent and car notes and tuition to pay for their families and medical bills and insurance. 277 00:23:12,858.9897959 --> 00:23:16,38.9897959 It's very sobering to do that for one employee. 278 00:23:16,338.9897959 --> 00:23:20,298.9897959 But what about when you have dozens and hundreds and thousands? This is real life. 279 00:23:20,308.9897959 --> 00:23:21,628.9897959 It's real life. 280 00:23:21,928.9897959 --> 00:23:25,688.9897959 And if you notice, most of those guys don't have time for social media. 281 00:23:25,698.9897959 --> 00:23:26,448.9897959 They just don't. 282 00:23:26,463.9897959 --> 00:23:27,333.9897959 They're grinding. 283 00:23:27,333.9897959 --> 00:23:33,503.9897959 Even Bill Gates now with his foundation, the philanthropic work he's doing, he's busier than he used to be before. 284 00:23:33,503.9897959 --> 00:23:34,553.9897959 Cuz he flies a lot. 285 00:23:34,763.9897959 --> 00:23:35,873.9897959 He's all over the world. 286 00:23:35,878.9897959 --> 00:23:36,568.9897959 Doing good. 287 00:23:36,578.9897959 --> 00:23:40,788.9897959 So it's not easy, to your point it's different than what people perceive it to be. 288 00:23:41,20.6564626 --> 00:23:42,557.3231293 different from what what they perceive as be. 289 00:23:42,557.3231293 --> 00:23:46,557.3231293 But would you say, in the end, is it worth it? That's a relative question. 290 00:23:46,557.3231293 --> 00:23:49,22.3231293 I'm glad you asked it that way I'll explain it like this. 291 00:23:49,32.3231293 --> 00:24:01,442.3231293 When I closed my tech company in 2019, imagine waking up every single day in your life is email in front of a computer because everything we did good and bad involved email. 292 00:24:01,452.3231293 --> 00:24:03,132.3231293 Or phone call from your desk. 293 00:24:03,142.3231293 --> 00:24:05,242.3231293 That's how we got notices of awards. 294 00:24:05,242.3231293 --> 00:24:07,932.3231293 That's how we got notices of contracts ending. 295 00:24:07,942.3231293 --> 00:24:08,692.3231293 That was it. 296 00:24:09,52.3231293 --> 00:24:16,257.3231293 And had a lot of employees, a lot of responsibility, a lot of overhead because that's what it takes when you're running a successful company. 297 00:24:16,267.3231293 --> 00:24:17,942.3231293 And even when you have challenges. 298 00:24:17,952.3231293 --> 00:24:25,332.3231293 And when I closed in 2019, even now, still four years later, If my wife and son and myself, he's in college. 299 00:24:25,332.3231293 --> 00:24:33,112.3231293 During the summer, if we're out, we were in New York about a year ago and we were just sitting out in the park in the middle of the day, like 11:00 AM and we were playing cards. 300 00:24:33,112.3231293 --> 00:24:36,202.3231293 I think we were playing Uno, and then we were playing blackjack. 301 00:24:36,442.3231293 --> 00:24:40,142.3231293 We're just sitting there and I leaned over to my son who was 19 at that point. 302 00:24:40,182.3231293 --> 00:24:42,42.3231293 I said, this is the weirdest thing. 303 00:24:42,52.3231293 --> 00:24:45,852.3231293 And he said, what? And I said, part of me feels just very irresponsible. 304 00:24:45,862.3231293 --> 00:24:52,567.3231293 That during the quote unquote business day, I'm sitting out in a park in New York playing cards and I said, real business people. 305 00:24:52,567.3231293 --> 00:24:56,317.3231293 What I've been doing my whole life is at that time, you're not even eating lunch. 306 00:24:56,527.3231293 --> 00:24:58,27.3231293 You're in the office grinding. 307 00:24:58,37.3231293 --> 00:25:01,127.3231293 You're calling customers, you're dealing with challenges. 308 00:25:01,187.3231293 --> 00:25:04,977.3231293 You're bidding on new opportunities, and it doesn't go away. 309 00:25:04,987.3231293 --> 00:25:08,707.3231293 And when I look back now, my wife told me about a year ago. 310 00:25:08,717.3231293 --> 00:25:11,627.3231293 She said, this is the most present you've been in years. 311 00:25:11,637.3231293 --> 00:25:15,27.3231293 Even though I thought I was present, I was physically there. 312 00:25:15,37.3231293 --> 00:25:25,971.6564626 I never sacrificed family time, but mentally, Billy, you are always at a different place than where you physically sit because your mind is thinking that you have payroll in two weeks. 313 00:25:25,981.6564626 --> 00:25:31,61.6564626 You have this project ending in six months, but you have 10 people tied to it. 314 00:25:31,71.6564626 --> 00:25:46,476.6564626 How do you replace that so that in that timeframe, you don't have to let these people go, so your mind is always ahead forecasting and projecting, and so when you ask if it's worth it, the thing that I would say is I think it's a very personal question for each person to answer. 315 00:25:46,899.9897959 --> 00:25:55,849.9897959 In my case, it was absolutely and absolutely is today worth it because of all the good I've been able to do for myself, my family. 316 00:25:55,859.9897959 --> 00:25:58,629.9897959 The community at large, people around the world. 317 00:25:58,639.9897959 --> 00:26:20,674.9897959 So even when it's tough, when I think about the charitable work we've done, it brings the smiles to my face and I think about the people who we gave jobs to, these young people that would've never gotten jobs in the tech industry at that age, to be exposed to the biggest companies on earth, to sit down in a conference room and talk strategy with these people, that brings a smile to my face. 318 00:26:20,684.9897959 --> 00:26:21,824.9897959 The tough times. 319 00:26:21,834.9897959 --> 00:26:24,484.9897959 You don't want to go through those, but I wouldn't trade them in. 320 00:26:24,494.9897959 --> 00:26:32,74.9897959 So it's all relative in my answer to you, in my personal experience, it was a thousand percent worth it and continues to be today. 321 00:26:32,84.9897959 --> 00:26:32,474.9897959 Yeah. 322 00:26:32,564.9897959 --> 00:26:32,984.9897959 That's great. 323 00:26:33,34.9897959 --> 00:26:35,664.9897959 I'm glad you were able to have that experience and be able to go through that. 324 00:26:35,664.9897959 --> 00:26:36,234.9897959 That's awesome. 325 00:26:36,244.9897959 --> 00:26:43,414.9897959 And what would you say has been, your experience working with clients who are, looking to grow their business. 326 00:26:43,414.9897959 --> 00:26:54,24.9897959 What is, one thing that you'd like to have them, first get started on when you guys start work together? The first thing is to really understand that they need to understand, not me. 327 00:26:54,34.9897959 --> 00:26:57,94.9897959 They need to understand if they're really in this for the right reasons. 328 00:26:57,104.9897959 --> 00:27:00,109.9897959 Because it's going to be a bumpy road. 329 00:27:00,119.9897959 --> 00:27:00,719.9897959 It is. 330 00:27:00,729.9897959 --> 00:27:15,459.9897959 And if the motivations aren't correct, if the desire, your why, your end game, the end state that you want to be in, if you don't believe in that enough, and if it's not something that's big enough, you're never going to survive in business. 331 00:27:15,469.9897959 --> 00:27:24,924.9897959 And an example of that is, If you think it's about a lifestyle and you're going to be comfortable, you're going to probably be more uncomfortable than you can ever imagine. 332 00:27:24,934.9897959 --> 00:27:37,669.9897959 And it's not a level of providing comfort because the amount of responsibility that you have 24 hours a day compared to a nine to five job or working for someone else, it's some people don't understand. 333 00:27:38,14.9897959 --> 00:27:39,514.9897959 That it doesn't go away. 334 00:27:39,604.9897959 --> 00:27:41,284.9897959 It's there constantly. 335 00:27:41,294.9897959 --> 00:27:50,199.9897959 So the first thing is are you really serious about doing what you're asking to do, what you're raising your hand to? Do? I want to be a business owner. 336 00:27:50,209.9897959 --> 00:27:52,249.9897959 Okay, let's understand what that really means. 337 00:27:52,489.9897959 --> 00:27:53,289.9897959 That's the first thing. 338 00:27:53,299.9897959 --> 00:27:57,84.9897959 And if they can't convince themselves, Then I'm not convinced. 339 00:27:57,84.9897959 --> 00:28:00,664.9897959 Then I don't have to work with them because I know the result. 340 00:28:00,694.9897959 --> 00:28:01,864.9897959 I know what's going to happen. 341 00:28:02,14.9897959 --> 00:28:05,214.9897959 As soon as there's a bump in the road, they give up and that's okay. 342 00:28:05,224.9897959 --> 00:28:18,114.9897959 If they decide that, that this is not the lifestyle for them, because it really is a lifestyle, because it's probably just way more of a long-term building of yourself. 343 00:28:18,124.9897959 --> 00:28:30,4.9897959 That results in having a good business more than it is anything else, because you as a business owner are going to evolve several different times along this journey, and we have to understand that. 344 00:28:30,9.9897959 --> 00:28:36,241.6564626 So as I'll sit with a business owner up front and they tell me what it is that they want to accomplish, not just in business but life. 345 00:28:36,251.6564626 --> 00:28:38,51.6564626 And then here's the thing that I always ask them. 346 00:28:38,61.6564626 --> 00:28:47,831.6564626 Are you ready to be the person who's going to be able to handle that responsibility? And then always gives them pause because they don't know who that person is going to be. 347 00:28:48,81.6564626 --> 00:28:51,931.6564626 And I tell 'em, I can't tell you what's going to be, but I can tell you who it's not going to be. 348 00:28:51,931.6564626 --> 00:28:53,701.6564626 It's not going to be who you are today. 349 00:28:53,841.6564626 --> 00:28:56,461.6564626 You're not gonna have the same friends you have today. 350 00:28:56,471.6564626 --> 00:28:59,141.6564626 Your family is going to be strained. 351 00:28:59,171.6564626 --> 00:29:12,838.6564626 Meaning that you are going to have to take time away from some very important events in order to do what you need to do, and you are going to have to sacrifice doing the things that you really want to do for the things you have to do. 352 00:29:13,281.9897959 --> 00:29:20,261.9897959 It's not gonna last forever, but it's like when we were kids, Billy, and you would see the your friends outside playing and you had to do chores. 353 00:29:20,271.9897959 --> 00:29:27,511.9897959 And you will be cleaning your room, getting all that, shoving everything under the bed, and you peek out the window and your friends are playing baseball or whatever they're doing. 354 00:29:27,521.9897959 --> 00:29:32,301.9897959 It's being okay with that and being okay that's not gonna happen once, that's going to happen a lot. 355 00:29:32,311.9897959 --> 00:29:40,480.3231293 But you understand the little kids now, if you look back, you understood, wow, cleaning my room gave me discipline to do what I'm doing today. 356 00:29:40,490.3231293 --> 00:29:42,440.3231293 And maybe some of those friends that were out playing. 357 00:29:42,450.3231293 --> 00:29:46,940.3231293 They're a little scattered right now, so there's a gift in that process. 358 00:29:46,950.3231293 --> 00:29:51,400.3231293 So we have to know as business owners what we're gonna look like in five or 10 or 20 years. 359 00:29:51,760.3231293 --> 00:29:53,830.3231293 And sometimes people are afraid of that vision. 360 00:29:53,840.3231293 --> 00:29:54,170.3231293 Yeah. 361 00:29:54,270.3231293 --> 00:29:54,690.3231293 Definitely. 362 00:29:54,695.3231293 --> 00:30:05,475.3231293 Where do you see yourself with your businesses and your speaking and being an author? Where do you see that going in the next six months or so? I wanna do more international speaking opportunities. 363 00:30:05,475.3231293 --> 00:30:17,395.3231293 I love talking to people across the world because everybody has a different story and everyone that I encounter, whether it's in India, Africa, Asia, when I speak to people in United Kingdom, their perspective is so different. 364 00:30:17,405.3231293 --> 00:30:29,785.3231293 And it's just a breath of fresh air to hear their challenges and to hear their successes, and to be able to come together and talk about things and find a common ground there between who they are and who you are. 365 00:30:30,55.3231293 --> 00:30:41,315.3231293 So definitely meeting more people around the world and sitting, I love fireside chat conversations opposed to, as opposed to standing up and just talking at people because you get to dialogue and you get to interact with people. 366 00:30:41,495.3231293 --> 00:30:42,725.3231293 So a lot more of that. 367 00:30:42,735.3231293 --> 00:30:53,335.3231293 As far as the book is concerned, I think the thing about a book is this drag along, meaning that it's something that people are interested in, but they really want to hear the conversation. 368 00:30:53,335.3231293 --> 00:30:55,585.3231293 They really want that book to be brought to life. 369 00:30:55,595.3231293 --> 00:31:01,105.3231293 So again, I think as far as the book is concerned, book sales are one thing, but really talking about. 370 00:31:01,115.3231293 --> 00:31:08,585.3231293 What's in the book and talking about the person who wrote the book and those experiences I wrote, people really want to hear because they want to hear the inside story. 371 00:31:08,585.3231293 --> 00:31:23,475.3231293 What are you talking about that? But tell me what were you feeling at that time? So more of that as far as the consulting business is concerned, is, I don't know if I can accomplish this goal, but I'm gonna take a stab at it, which is changing the narrative of what it takes to be a successful business person. 372 00:31:23,485.3231293 --> 00:31:39,830.3231293 In light of everything that we hear and in spite of everything that we hear on social media is to really level set not the world, because I don't have that ego, but level set the people who really want to grow and show 'em a path that's obtainable for sure. 373 00:31:39,840.3231293 --> 00:31:46,890.3231293 And between those three things, speaking and being an author and a consultant with the consulting firm, I think I cover. 374 00:31:46,945.3231293 --> 00:31:57,815.3231293 The target group that I'm looking to cover, which are people who are looking to move beyond where they are today to a different place, and I want to be a part of that process with them as an individual and with the company. 375 00:31:57,825.3231293 --> 00:31:59,5.3231293 Yeah, That's great for sure. 376 00:31:59,335.3231293 --> 00:32:08,795.3231293 And I love asking this question just because I get a lot of different responses and we are always learning multiple different things as entrepreneurs on a daily basis. 377 00:32:08,795.3231293 --> 00:32:10,861.9897959 So I'd love to hear, your perspective. 378 00:32:10,866.9897959 --> 00:32:20,371.9897959 What are you currently learning right now? Oh my goodness, what am I not learning? Learning is, I'll just say this, learning is one thing that you have to be intentional about doing. 379 00:32:20,381.9897959 --> 00:32:23,51.9897959 I'm reading something every single day, every day. 380 00:32:23,61.9897959 --> 00:32:28,111.9897959 I don't look at news on TV because I don't want the narrative that's related to that. 381 00:32:28,291.9897959 --> 00:32:35,461.9897959 However, I will skim through articles to get the headlines to see if I want to dig into the story. 382 00:32:35,471.9897959 --> 00:32:36,341.9897959 So that's one thing. 383 00:32:36,341.9897959 --> 00:32:38,591.9897959 That's how I keep up with current affairs. 384 00:32:38,591.9897959 --> 00:32:41,771.9897959 I don't want to hear the pundits on either side discussing it. 385 00:32:41,801.9897959 --> 00:32:44,861.9897959 I'm intelligent enough to read an article and translate it myself. 386 00:32:45,101.9897959 --> 00:32:45,611.9897959 No problem. 387 00:32:45,621.9897959 --> 00:32:54,561.9897959 I'm also really digging deep into life and business strategies, meaning that I love hearing people like Deepak Chopra, for example. 388 00:32:54,571.9897959 --> 00:32:55,651.9897959 I like Jay Shetty. 389 00:32:55,661.9897959 --> 00:32:56,651.9897959 I like people. 390 00:32:56,651.9897959 --> 00:32:59,11.9897959 Of course, Oprah is timeless, right? Of course. 391 00:32:59,61.9897959 --> 00:33:09,501.9897959 But I like listening to people who have achieved a level of success, whatever that looks like, and I really want to hear their perspective as they look back on where I am today. 392 00:33:09,511.9897959 --> 00:33:12,171.9897959 So Oprah's in her, I think she's in her seventies I believe. 393 00:33:12,176.9897959 --> 00:33:14,726.9897959 And now having her look back. 394 00:33:15,116.9897959 --> 00:33:26,471.9897959 And talk about what she thought she knew when she was 52 and what she knew for sure when she was 52, gives me a direct line of sight to what I need to take into consideration today. 395 00:33:26,476.9897959 --> 00:33:34,201.9897959 Do I think I know more than I know about life today? According to Oprah, 15 years from now, she's gonna look back and she's gonna say no. 396 00:33:34,211.9897959 --> 00:33:38,81.9897959 She thought she knew everything when she was in her fifties, but she now, she's older. 397 00:33:38,81.9897959 --> 00:33:41,751.9897959 She didn't think she knew anything about what she perceived to know. 398 00:33:41,841.9897959 --> 00:33:49,896.9897959 So I'm really interested in that in life and how much education I have today and how much more I really have to learn. 399 00:33:49,896.9897959 --> 00:33:52,266.9897959 So constantly reading anything that I can. 400 00:33:52,506.9897959 --> 00:33:57,226.9897959 Even on YouTube, I learn a lot off of certain channels when I follow certain channels. 401 00:33:57,236.9897959 --> 00:33:58,796.9897959 But it's a constant thing. 402 00:33:58,796.9897959 --> 00:34:04,501.9897959 It's constantly educating myself on life and business and here's the other thing, Billy and this may resonate with you. 403 00:34:04,511.9897959 --> 00:34:08,861.9897959 I always want to learn more about being a good parent, even though my son is 20 years old. 404 00:34:08,871.9897959 --> 00:34:12,431.9897959 But I'm constantly talking to older people who I know people in my life. 405 00:34:12,491.9897959 --> 00:34:19,121.9897959 It just getting advice from them and getting guidance from them and listening to them talk about not just children, but their grandchildren. 406 00:34:19,131.9897959 --> 00:34:20,751.9897959 So I love hearing those stories. 407 00:34:20,761.9897959 --> 00:34:21,571.9897959 Yeah, definitely. 408 00:34:21,621.9897959 --> 00:34:38,375.3231293 It's a different stage when your child is at every age, no matter whether they're, just born or they're two and a half, which is how old my son is right now, or they are, 20, there's different ways of parenting and you're always walking this line of just constant learning. 409 00:34:38,385.3231293 --> 00:34:40,695.3231293 So I it's a new experience every day. 410 00:34:40,705.3231293 --> 00:34:41,335.3231293 It's, yeah, for sure. 411 00:34:41,585.3231293 --> 00:34:41,875.3231293 Yeah. 412 00:34:41,880.3231293 --> 00:34:41,985.3231293 Yeah. 413 00:34:42,45.3231293 --> 00:34:47,435.3231293 You got a lot of joy ahead of you at, with a child that, at that age and the, and he's so much fun. 414 00:34:47,445.3231293 --> 00:34:47,735.3231293 Yeah. 415 00:34:48,35.3231293 --> 00:35:08,300.3231293 And here's the thing, bill, based on this whole conversation, it's what do you create, and this is a rhetorical question, not just for you, but all of us, the audience members, what do you create for that next generation? What foundation are you laying for them so that when you look at his eyes now, and he's two and a half years old, As a father, you make a promise to 'em probably every single day. 416 00:35:08,310.3231293 --> 00:35:15,430.3231293 Hey, buddy, it's going to be, I'm going to do this and life is not gonna be as hard as it would've been if I wouldn't have done X, Y, Z. 417 00:35:15,640.3231293 --> 00:35:29,680.3231293 So you make these promises to your kids, but then now you have to go out and build something that's going to allow you to try to keep your promise, because you can't keep 'em completely safe from the world, but you can do things that's going to give them a foundation. 418 00:35:30,25.3231293 --> 00:35:35,35.3231293 So that when they get to be 16 or 18 years old, that they know how to process information. 419 00:35:35,40.3231293 --> 00:35:36,385.3231293 They know how to think on their own. 420 00:35:36,385.3231293 --> 00:35:37,915.3231293 They don't have to think like you. 421 00:35:37,925.3231293 --> 00:35:40,535.3231293 And then also another aspect is financial. 422 00:35:40,545.3231293 --> 00:35:47,255.3231293 And people don't like to talk about money, but it's a reality when your child decides that he's going to go to college or he wants to get married. 423 00:35:47,728.6564626 --> 00:35:59,498.6564626 Why not be able to give him money for tuition? Why not be able to give him money to pay for his wedding or to give him his down payment for his first home? That's a responsibility that we should embrace. 424 00:35:59,508.6564626 --> 00:36:01,963.6564626 And you got 15 years before he goes to college. 425 00:36:02,203.6564626 --> 00:36:05,173.6564626 So you got a lot of time to say, you know what? I don't need a new car. 426 00:36:05,183.6564626 --> 00:36:07,433.6564626 My six month old car is good enough. 427 00:36:07,438.6564626 --> 00:36:15,278.6564626 Put a few hundred dollars aside so that when he gets to that place, you are keeping your promise to make things a little bit easier for him. 428 00:36:15,288.6564626 --> 00:36:18,138.6564626 So it's an opportunity, this whole conversation, it's an opportunity. 429 00:36:18,138.6564626 --> 00:36:26,568.6564626 What are we doing collectively to not just benefit ourselves, but the next generation and the generation after that? And that's whether it's building a business or. 430 00:36:26,578.6564626 --> 00:36:27,943.6564626 Learning from one another. 431 00:36:27,953.6564626 --> 00:36:30,953.6564626 That's what it's all, that's what life essentially boils down to. 432 00:36:30,963.6564626 --> 00:36:31,503.6564626 That's it. 433 00:36:31,513.6564626 --> 00:36:32,143.6564626 Yeah, definitely. 434 00:36:32,143.6564626 --> 00:36:43,443.6564626 And I think for a lot of us here on this podcast, thinking about, being green business impact, we're creating businesses that are hopefully looking to better the world, making it more a sustainable place for all of us to live. 435 00:36:43,503.6564626 --> 00:36:48,263.6564626 Making it a greener place for all of us to live and really allowing us to have a world that. 436 00:36:48,273.6564626 --> 00:37:02,54.6564626 Isn't, all of the dystopian views that the media might tell us, but something where it's even better than that where our, carbon dioxide levels have gone back to what they were before and how we've gotten to a point where we're not. 437 00:37:02,64.6564626 --> 00:37:05,489.6564626 Looking at, irreversible climate, change kind of thing. 438 00:37:05,489.6564626 --> 00:37:14,204.6564626 And I think that's, a lot of us are looking for that, looking to build businesses that are going to extend beyond our generation, have a positive impact on the world. 439 00:37:14,414.6564626 --> 00:37:29,330.6564626 So it definitely, Coming back to that, how are you going to impact? What are you gonna leave for your children? What is your impact going to be? I think that's, a huge part of, this conversation as an opportunity, but also this podcast is really showing and speaking to those people who are looking to make a difference in that way. 440 00:37:29,469.6564626 --> 00:37:29,709.6564626 Yeah. 441 00:37:29,734.6564626 --> 00:37:31,714.6564626 I lived in Puerto Rico for nine years. 442 00:37:31,924.6564626 --> 00:37:33,664.6564626 We were boaters when we were there. 443 00:37:33,664.6564626 --> 00:37:35,404.6564626 Just got back to stateside two years ago. 444 00:37:35,404.6564626 --> 00:37:36,274.6564626 So we were boaters. 445 00:37:36,284.6564626 --> 00:37:41,474.6564626 When you're out in the ocean and debris, somebody tossed over a can, it sticks out. 446 00:37:41,479.6564626 --> 00:37:47,79.6564626 It's not normal to see just a pop can in the ocean, right? I'm a scuba diver. 447 00:37:47,94.6564626 --> 00:37:50,274.6564626 Every now and then you'll see some debris at the bottom of the ocean. 448 00:37:50,274.6564626 --> 00:37:55,454.6564626 If it's 25 feet or a hundred feet, you'll see some debris and it sticks out like a sore thumb. 449 00:37:55,464.6564626 --> 00:37:59,874.6564626 And what happens is whether I think it's going to kill all the coral reef. 450 00:37:59,884.6564626 --> 00:38:02,224.6564626 I don't know that, right? I'm not a scientist. 451 00:38:02,224.6564626 --> 00:38:03,4.6564626 I don't know that. 452 00:38:03,14.6564626 --> 00:38:13,989.6564626 But let's just take from a practical standpoint, when you're out in the ocean and you're in a boat and you have props, your propellers, Which is propelling the boat forward and people leave debris in the water, it tears up. 453 00:38:14,19.6564626 --> 00:38:19,639.6564626 Now you got a $20,000 repair on your hands, right? Because somebody dumped a bag of garbage in the ocean. 454 00:38:19,649.6564626 --> 00:38:26,594.6564626 And that's not a stretch because I've gotten fishing line tied up in props before and it'll seize that prop up. 455 00:38:26,604.6564626 --> 00:38:28,374.6564626 Now you have to get a boat towed. 456 00:38:28,614.6564626 --> 00:38:33,294.6564626 Now you have to spend thousands of dollars to get it repaired because someone didn't care. 457 00:38:33,294.6564626 --> 00:38:35,754.6564626 They just tossed to this thing into the water. 458 00:38:35,764.6564626 --> 00:38:42,494.6564626 When you drive down the street, there's a bunch of garbage on the ground, right? Even if you don't think it's good for the climate, let's just not pollute. 459 00:38:42,504.6564626 --> 00:38:45,444.6564626 Let's just be human and just put stuff in a garbage can. 460 00:38:45,454.6564626 --> 00:38:50,929.6564626 Hold a can of soda on the boat until you get back to the marina and then tossing in the garbage can. 461 00:38:50,944.6564626 --> 00:38:55,264.6564626 So there are a lot of things that we could do that have nothing to do with the environment. 462 00:38:55,264.6564626 --> 00:39:03,544.6564626 That could be a benefit to it, but what about just being human and being respectful and not throw stuff on the ground? Things of that nature. 463 00:39:03,549.6564626 --> 00:39:12,479.6564626 Even if we don't have a business that's directly tied to being green or socially conscious, not just the environment, but socially conscious to help people. 464 00:39:12,489.6564626 --> 00:39:13,269.6564626 Here's the thing. 465 00:39:13,279.6564626 --> 00:39:20,519.6564626 Strive to have a business that's profitable because then as a business owner, you can take the profits from that company. 466 00:39:20,529.6564626 --> 00:39:24,954.6564626 And do charitable work for the causes that are going to get you where you want to go. 467 00:39:25,224.6564626 --> 00:39:41,374.6564626 So for the people in the audience who may not have a green business, you can still do everything that you want to do with the environment when you get profitable, right? If you care about endangered species of animals, which is something I care about, haven't put money behind it, but that's important to me as well. 468 00:39:41,384.6564626 --> 00:39:45,614.6564626 Then maybe you can contribute to a conservancy in a different country. 469 00:39:45,649.6564626 --> 00:39:52,649.6564626 But you have to have profits from your business, whatever that is, to do all of the things that you wanna do around the world. 470 00:39:52,659.6564626 --> 00:40:07,374.6564626 So I look at it like this, whether it's green, whether you are concerned about life and human rights or anything else, that's all our right to think about and how we want to do and what we want to spend our time in our, the spoils of war, so to speak on. 471 00:40:07,384.6564626 --> 00:40:09,589.6564626 However, there's a prerequisite to that. 472 00:40:09,599.6564626 --> 00:40:15,589.6564626 You have to have the resources to do it because you can't preach to other people to do it because it may not be something they want to do. 473 00:40:15,599.6564626 --> 00:40:32,835.6564626 So we have to take the responsibility ourselves and say, okay, what can I do if I can't convince anybody else that is important? What can I do? You build your business or you save your personal money, you sacrifice, and then you put your money toward that resource because if something is important enough, you're gonna put the resources behind it. 474 00:40:32,845.6564626 --> 00:40:40,240.6564626 So that's the thing that I would encourage with the businesses who are listening today, and they may say Billy, I don't have a business directly tied to saving the world. 475 00:40:40,250.6564626 --> 00:40:40,940.6564626 Yes, you do. 476 00:40:40,950.6564626 --> 00:40:42,270.6564626 It's an indirect tie. 477 00:40:42,280.6564626 --> 00:40:44,740.6564626 Just become profitable and stay profitable. 478 00:40:44,750.6564626 --> 00:40:50,180.6564626 And find the charity and find the organization that's helping with that cause and support them. 479 00:40:50,190.6564626 --> 00:40:51,900.6564626 So I think that's another aspect of it. 480 00:40:51,910.6564626 --> 00:40:52,210.6564626 Yeah. 481 00:40:52,270.6564626 --> 00:40:53,140.6564626 Yeah, definitely. 482 00:40:53,145.6564626 --> 00:41:03,205.6564626 And just to wrap it up here with this last question, if anybody would like to, reach out to you, get in touch with you find out more about what you do, how can they reach out to you? Sure. 483 00:41:03,205.6564626 --> 00:41:06,475.6564626 They can go to my website, which is tony r kitchens.com. 484 00:41:06,805.6564626 --> 00:41:10,105.6564626 My social links are at the bottom, and I'm very responsive as well. 485 00:41:10,105.6564626 --> 00:41:19,980.6564626 I'll say that cuz as a business owner, how can you not respond to people who are trying to connect with you? There's a lot of businesses that do and you'll reach out and then it's how do you let those leads go? Yeah. 486 00:41:19,980.6564626 --> 00:41:21,480.6564626 People are calling and they say it. 487 00:41:21,660.6564626 --> 00:41:22,860.6564626 Wait, is it you? Yeah. 488 00:41:22,860.6564626 --> 00:41:24,390.6564626 That's the number that you call. 489 00:41:24,390.6564626 --> 00:41:24,780.6564626 Yes. 490 00:41:25,160.6564626 --> 00:41:27,10.6564626 Yes, it's, yeah, definitely else would it be. 491 00:41:27,150.6564626 --> 00:41:30,600.6564626 Tony, thank you so much for coming on Green Business Impact Podcast. 492 00:41:30,600.6564626 --> 00:41:37,625.6564626 I really appreciate having you on talking all about, what you do, your speaking business, your consulting, the booking wrote. 493 00:41:37,625.6564626 --> 00:41:41,795.6564626 So thank you so much for coming on this show, spreading your wisdom and insights. 494 00:41:42,5.6564626 --> 00:41:45,215.6564626 Thank you so much and I look forward to having you back on someday. 495 00:41:45,565.6564626 --> 00:41:46,105.6564626 Thank you, Billy. 496 00:41:46,105.6564626 --> 00:41:46,705.6564626 I appreciate it. 497 00:41:46,705.6564626 --> 00:41:56,235.6564626 And to your audience, I wish them all the best luck not just in business but in life as well, and continue to move forward every single day, no matter what's happening today, because we need you. 498 00:41:56,235.6564626 --> 00:41:59,925.6564626 All of our dreams are connected somehow, so we need each others to make this happen.