Making Bank

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome guest Allison Maslan. Allison is the WSJ Best Selling Author of SCALE OR FAIL endorsed by Daymond John and Barbara Corcoran from Shark Tank. She has built and scaled 10 companies since the age of 19 and has featured in Success, Inc., Fortune, Fast Company and Forbes Magazines. She is also the host and producer of The Scale or Fail Show podcast, and the Women Who Own it Podcast in partnership with WBENC, the largest certifier of women owned businesses in North America. Allison is the CEO and founder of Pinnacle Global Network and has helped established business owners scale their companies and reach their dreams. Her team of established mentors are all CEOs who have built and scaled their own highly successful companies. This week on the podcast, Allison gives you some amazing insights, tips, and nuggets to help you transform your business where you're at, and then improve your overall revenue. As well as improve your systems processes and give you your time and freedom back, so that you can stop feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. Listen to Josh and Allison discuss scaling: (3:01) Allison On Becoming An Entrepreneur Allison grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and says that she was blessed with the spirit of entrepreneurship. Her first break as an entrepreneur would come in college when she wrote personalized poems for birthdays and anniversaries. Her dad encouraged her to do more, so she worked at a TV station. After learning all she could from her job, at the age of 25, Allison was running a full service advertising NPR firm. (5:59) Initial Success & Challenges Initially Allison had to learn how to ask for help and that’s something most entrepreneurs struggle with. People think it’s a sign of weakness, but asking for help is one of the best ways you can progress forward. Allison also struggled with always wanting to be in control of her business. Even though her business was extremely successful, she had no time for anything else and that made her feel miserable in her own success. She became so afraid of failing but she had so many people depending on her that she felt she couldn’t let them down. (10:24) How To Stop Being Stressed And Overwhelmed As the CEO, it’s our job to make sure that the business is running whether you’re present or not. That’s why we have to learn how to hire people and have the right systems and processes put in place so that we can step back and allow our employees to take over, make decisions of their own and successfully keep the business running. In order to stop being stressed all the time, it’s important to shift from being a boss to being a leader. Delegate, instruct and empower your team to handle the business and transform it into a collaborative company where you’re able to step back and the team steps up. (17:07) What Is Real Scaling The word scaling isn’t used to just describe your ability to grow the company fast. Scaling really is a creative strategy. You have to figure out what is the best scalable model for you. Figure out the best strategy that is going to create the growth you need, but also make sure that the systems and processes you have in place enable you to meet that demand. Scaling is about having a strong foundation. A lot of businesses can grow quickly but end up toppling over due to the lack of foundation. (20:48) Staying Sane And Being Happy Nobody enjoys being stressed and burnt out. If you’re constantly feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, you’re doing something wrong. The best way to escape from stress and burn out is to build a team managed company that’s able to run by itself so that you can remove yourself from the day to day business activities. If you can give yourself more free time, it’ll enable you to feel more energized and allow you to focus even more on the aspects of your business that really matter. Links mentioned: Pinnacleglobalnetwork.com Twitter: @AllisonMaslan Instagram: @allisonmaslan LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/allisonmaslan

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome guest Frank LLosa. Frank is the founder and CEO of KetoneAid Inc which is the world leader in Ketone Salts. He also just launched Hard Ketones which is the world’s first ethanol free alcohol. Frank has revolutionized the keto space. Frank is a serial entrepreneur who has an incredible track record of success in a number of fields from real estate, to highly technical photography for National Geographic, to one of the first cloud-based storage systems available to the public. Now through KetoneAid Frank offers one of the purest ketone esters ever tested. This week on the podcast, Frank talks about how he developed a ketogenic drink that was 40 years in the making. He also talks about the benefits that ketones have for you from a health and energy standpoint. Listen to Josh and Frank discuss ketones: (2:53) Frank’s Background Before Frank was revolutionizing the keto space, he was a real estate agent. His wife’s godfather was Dr. Richard Veach and he had been working for the last 40 years trying to develop a keto drink that would stimulate a ketogenic diet. So Frank had prior success by creating one of the first cloud-based storage systems available to the public and he decided to take a shot at developing a keto drink. It took two years of research and development and now Frank’s drink is the sponsor of the number one cycling team in the world. (5:41) Biggest Challenges Frank Faced The first hurdle that Frank had to overcome was being able to figure out how to scale. To overcome that, rather than using one R&D lab, he had 3 or 4 labs that were competing against each other to complete the same task. Another hurdle that Frank faced was getting customers to believe in his product enough to actually want to try it. The hardest part was clearing up the misconceptions and misinformation that had been spread by other keto companies so that they could sell more of their products. (9:20) Benefits of Ketones While there is a lot of misinformation spread regarding the actual benefits of ketones, you can expect to have better recovery after they workout, it’s also used to clear brain fog. People also use it to help with their multi day fasts — they use it for its appetite suppression effect. Even though people usually use ketones to get a boost to their energy, if it’s used in small amounts before bed, it could also help you track around 30 minutes more of deep sleep. It’s important that we understand the real benefits of ketones and not the misinformation that gets spread so that consumers will spend more. Ketones are beneficial but to a certain extent. (16:02) What Sets KetoneAid Apart Frank believes that it’s his marketing message that sets KetoneAid apart from the rest. Rather than using flashy graphics that can appeal to their customers, Frank focuses his marketing message on getting his customers to believe in his product. His marketing message doesn’t revolve around his ketone ester being the only ketone product they should buy. He tries to promote the value of ketones to his customers through his own product and other products as well. (19:11) Just Do It Frank explains how he didn’t go down the venture capital route even though most people think that’s the correct path. He goes on to explain that people use venture as an excuse when they aren’t getting enough funds. Instead of complaining about not having an abundance of funds to start your company. It’s rare that you will, Frank’s advice is to stop whining and start doing instead. Just start, if your company is good enough, then you’ll be able to figure out how to make it work. Links mentioned: Ketoneaid.com Twitter: @ketoneaid Instagram: @ketoneaid LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/frankllosa/

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome guest Simon Leslie. Simon is the founder and CEO of Ink, a global travel media company. He's an expert in crafting travel media, and over the last 30 years, he has dedicated his skills to creating remarkable media in the travel space. Some of his clients include major airlines, airports, and travel groups. He's a world record holder for the amount of inflight magazines he has launched and published, with over 250 million copies of magazines being published in the last 30 years. Simon is also the author of three books on sales and negotiating and a beautiful compilation of motivational poems. He also works as a mentor to multiple young entrepreneurs and worn-out business leaders and coaches them on how to live the life of their dreams. This week on the podcast, Simon talks about his 30-year journey of starting multiple businesses as an entrepreneur. He talks about what it means to be who you really are and how to bounce back from failures and setbacks. Listen to Josh and Simon discuss surviving your struggles: (1:56) Getting Started As An Entrepreneur Simon was difficult to manage while and even when he started working a 9 to 5. He realized that he could only be content with his life if he became his own boss, which was the beginning of his journey as an entrepreneur. He started a few businesses that failed before he finally managed to successfully create his company, Ink, which has been going strong for 28 years. Simon talks about business being stressful but also fun at times. So if you want to live an easy life, find what you love to do, then find what inspires and motivates you to do what you love. (8:49) Biggest Takeaways From Owning Multiple Businesses After failing three businesses and then successfully running one for 28 years, it's fair to say that Simon has been through his fair share of obstacles and turmoil and knows what it takes to become successful. Over 28 years, Simon has dealt with 9/11, the 2008 crash, and most recently, COVID and many mistakes he's made while running his business. He believes that all opportunities are gifts wrapped in problems. However, most people don't work hard enough to get through the problems and unravel the opportunity waiting for them. (15:13) Who Is Simon Leslie People are often judged by their titles or accomplishments, but that's not substantial enough to dictate who a person really is. Even after successfully running a business for 28 years, Simon Leslie doesn't want to be known as just the founder and CEO of Ink. Today his priorities are being a good father and being more present in his kids' lives. Apart from being around his kids, he also wants to be able to inspire people and help them get through tough times. We need to adopt a similar mindset and ensure we're not only focusing on our accolades but truly developing who we are as a person. (19:18) VIP Listening There are both regular and VIP seats whenever you go to a conference. While the VIP seats may be a lot more comfortable or closer to the stage, Simon points out that there's something called VIP listening. Where you're sitting doesn't matter because the same information is being relayed to you regardless. The problem is that we usually get so busy and caught up with our days that we often miss the opportunities being presented to us. So you need to be awake, awake, and available, and only then will you attract more opportunities. (22:56) Staying Grounded With the rise of COVID, all planes were grounded, and airports began to shut down, but through that, Simon was able to persevere. Covid was out of his control, but he understood it was still his responsibility to take care of his team and inspire them to push through the struggles. Simon talks about how he and his team were able to bounce back after their business went down to zero in just nine days. Links mentioned: Luckyleslie.com Twitter: @simonleslie21 Instagram: @simon_leslie21 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/simon-leslie

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome guest Robert Overweg. Robert has over a decade of experience in innovation and digital transformation with clients like Vodafone, Liberty Global, eBay Heineken, and various other startups and innovative schools. He is also a frequent speaker at MIT, SXSW, and the European Commission institutes. Robert speaks about how we can use tech to work smarter and add value to the world. He's the founder of the adaptable mindset program. He and his team aim to empower people and help them develop their own adaptable mindset to develop mental flexibility and learn how to create a mental space allowing them to find new possibilities. This week on the podcast, Robert explains the adaptable mindset program and how you can use the adaptable mindset to eliminate stress and perform better in all aspects of your life. Listen to Josh and Stephen discuss the adaptable mindset:: (1:26) What Is The Adaptable Mindset There's a desire for change, innovation, experimentation, and trying out new things, but Robert noticed that there was a lack of openness and a lot of doubt instead. To bring about change and innovation, you need to be able to deal with the uncertainty and ambiguity the change brings. An adaptable mindset is the ability to find fresh perspectives and be open to new ideas. It's a mental space that allows people to connect their intrinsic motivation to what energizes them to create the proper foundation to be innovative. (4:10) Most Common Challenges The most predominant challenge faced by most people that Robert has worked with is stress. People are so busy nowadays, and none of them focus on having a vision for the future. Most people are just trying to get through their days. There's also a fear of failure that hinders people from being innovative and creative. People tend to compare themselves to the top performers — the best of the best, but usually don't live up to those expectations and make themselves feel like failures instead. The biggest problem is that they aren't creating an environment that enables them to flourish. (7:19) How To Develop The Adaptable Mindset Robert talks about a small hack that almost everyone can follow to develop an adaptable mindset. Most people spend a significant chunk of their time on their phones, watching TV, and all sorts of other superficial things. The hack is to spend less time distracting yourself with something superficial and substitute it with some of the things that have pushed humanity forward, like art, nature, or philosophy. Learn from other top performers and find something that resonates with you. Anything you can integrate into your life that enables you to have a different perspective on the world. (10:38) Alleviating Stress To unlock the adaptability mindset, you need to be able to get away from stress. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to lower your levels of stress. The easiest thing you can do is take some time out of your day to meditate and practice breathing exercises. Also, how you structure your day plays a major role in the amount of stress you may feel. How often do you have breaks and intervals that allow you to relax? The key is to actually relax, don't take a break and pick up your phone and distract your mind. Just relax, maybe even close your eyes — figure out what helps you relax and then do it regularly. (15:40) The Biggest Changes Robert Has Seen Robert was able to see significant changes in the workspace when people were able to make the connection between their work and their own insights, input, and innovations. Robert also noticed that the more autonomous the organization, the better it was because it's hard for just one leader to have knowledge about everyone and know exactly how to steer the organization. The adaptability mindset allows for more openness which gives people a broader perspective enabling them to come up with new business models and opens up many new possibilities for that organization. Links mentioned: Robertoverweg.com Twitter: @RobertOverweg Instagram: @theadaptablemindset LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robertoverweg

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome guest Stephen Flood. Stephen is the CEO of GoldCore — one of the oldest gold and silver dealers in the market. While originally from Ireland, he used to work in financial and trading positions in New York before joining Goldman Sachs as a sales trader in equity derivatives. Upon returning to Ireland, he used his experience of trading risk and financial markets from Goldman Sachs to establish his own financial services firm at GoldCore, where they advise clients on gold and silver purchasing and storage. Today, he has turned over 1 billion in transactions and manages over 300 million in assets for his clients. This week on the podcast, Stephen talks about how he moved from Wall Street and started his company. He also talks about the current state of the gold market and gives tips on why and how you should invest in gold and silver. Listen to Josh and Stephen discuss investing in gold: (1:46) Stephen's Story Stephen started out working in the financial services industry in New York. He worked in financial technology and learned how to manage data and risks. Eventually, he'd move to Goldman Sachs and work in equity derivatives for program trading. When Stephen got married, he moved back to Ireland away from Wall Street, and that's when he got introduced to GoldCore. After 16 years of running GoldCore, his close friend Mark exited the company, and Stephen became the CEO in 2020. (6:23) Managing Assets Around The World Through GoldCore, Stephen manages over 300 million worth of assets. Many of his clients need to move their assets around, and GoldCore takes care of that. Stephen gives the example of how he had to move some of his clients' assets out of Hong Kong due to the unrest there. GoldCore can move its clients' assets effectively because everyone's gold is stored separately. So if someone needs to mobilize their assets, the gold is ready to go. (10:50) Why Should You Invest In Gold And Silver As opposed to stocks and crypto, Stephen says gold isn't an investment in the traditional sense. He believes that gold and silver are more of financial insurance. Gold is a rare commodity that will rise in value over the years. Gold should be seen as the ultimate form of money because it will always be exchangeable no matter where you are in the world. It's not connected to the economic system, and it has no liabilities, and that's what makes it valuable. (15:34) Is It A Good Time To Invest In Gold When it comes to investing, generally, silver is a lot more volatile than gold. Stephen talks about the current state of the market and how that affects gold. He talks about things from the perspective of an investor. The way some investors see gold is that it's an asset that costs money to store. Whereas money has a useful function in the economy, and you can earn from interest on cash. People generally buy gold as a safe haven asset when the economy starts declining. While gold gets cheaper and more people start looking for safe-haven investments, it predicts that a higher demand cycle will be approaching. (20:49) The Best Investment Stephen believes that the best investment you can make is education. You have to be constantly learning. Making easy money is extremely rare, so don't live hoping to get rich quickly. Educate yourself on humility, handling your employees, running a company, diversifying your wealth, and most importantly, treating your customers right. You have to run a customer-focused business in order to succeed. (23:40) Reason For GoldCore's Success The way Stephen has managed to be successful for over 18 years is through simplifying things. There's a very flat management system at GoldCore, where everything is communicated effectively, and all processes are transparent. Team culture is a priority — where everyone is heard and treated with the same importance. Apart from the team's culture, effective and meaningful branding is key to your success, as well as having the financial power to execute your plans. Links mentioned: Goldcore.com Twitter: stephen_flood LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stephen-flood-544905/

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome guest David Carlin. David is one half of the husband and wife duo, David and Patricia. David has been the leading expert in the digital payments and credit card processing industry for over 20 years. From the time he married his wife, they have been able to bring to life and grow some of the very first e-commerce brands online. The companies and brands that have benefitted from their efforts include Star Wars, Sony Music, Time Magazine, and even some of the early dating websites. Nowadays, the power couple strives to inspire young entrepreneurs and share their expansive knowledge of this now 400 billion dollar industry. Not only do they help couples in terms of their business, but they're passionate about helping them with the entrepreneurial lifestyle as well as strengthening their relationships on a personal level. This week on the podcast, David explains how he and his wife got to where they are today and what you can learn from the training they provide. Listen to Josh and David discuss making money from your credit card: (1:24) What Does David Do David already owned his own retailing company, but when he married his wife, he fully submerged himself in the credit card processing industry. David and Patricia are brand payments and business experts. They help new businesses set up their credit card processing, and if you've got an established business, they'll help you make money faster. Through their company, Residual Payments, they train people on how to set up their own payment companies that can work alongside similar companies, so rather than being competition, they work together and use their power in numbers to get exclusivity and better rates. (9:10) Biggest Challenges David Faced Growing The Company David believes that knowledge should be either free or as close as possible to being free. He truly believes in helping people become successful. So to grow their company, Residual Payments, David and his wife offered their program for just a dollar to join. That gave you access to live training, and they taught you everything you would need to know about the business. After your initial training, you're free to choose whether you want to work with them and move on to more extended training programs or branch out on your own. Most people would choose to work with them because it made more sense to have power in numbers rather than be the competition. (13:11) The Training Program By joining the training program, you are entailed to hundreds of hours of video content. There's live training, and you'll receive online support 24/7. David and his wife try to provide as much help as possible without doing the work for you. The program isn't meant to spoon-feed you to success; it's about empowering and enabling you to create success independently while being guided by David and Patricia. (16:45) Top Three Things To Do When Training People 1. Whenever you're teaching someone, you have to make sure you're getting your point across, and that person is retaining the correct information. 2. Be accountable — most people, especially any entrepreneur, need to learn to be responsible. Sometimes it can get hard to hold yourself accountable, and that's why it's essential to have a group of people around you that can keep you accountable. 3. Make sure you're honest with others and, more importantly, with yourself. Even if you're not the best at something, learn to admit that you aren't. Stay true to yourself and know where you stand so that you can always work to improve yourself and get better. (22:20) The Takeaway There are two things David always aims to do. The first is to inspire you, whether it's to learn from his example or to set out and do something completely different. The goal is to be an inspiration. The second thing is to empower people. You don't want to have to carry people on your back constantly. Find someone willing to work and help them improve, not by doing the work for them but by empowering them through your support. Links mentioned: Carlinglobal.com Instagram: meetthecarlins Facebook: facebook.com/meetthecarlins LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/david-carlin

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome guest Jerome Meyers. Jerome once worked in corporate America at a construction company and was part of the team responsible for building a $20 million division. However, he believed that there was more to be gained from life, and being a part of corporate America wasn't helping him satisfy that itch, and that's why he left. Now, Jerome is a corporate America dropout who has become one of the world's most sought-after Thought Leaders and real estate entrepreneurs in the multifamily development space. His company, the Meyers development group, has been able to build a multimillion-dollar portfolio following the principles of his Meyers method. As a developer of people and places, Jerome has lived out his childhood dreams of helping people manifest the things they could once only imagine and create social proof that dreams can be real. Today, Jerome is the Founder and Chief Inspiration Officer of Dream Catchers and the Myers Development Group. Through these entities, he works to help others that are just like him exit the matrix that is corporate America. This week on the podcast, Jerome talks about his journey and gives us tips for entrepreneurs getting started in the multifamily space. He also details why your inspiration is essential and why you should be genuinely passionate about your work. Listen to Josh and Jerome discuss the lessons he learned on his entrepreneurial journey: (2:24) Jerome's Introduction To Entrepreneurship As a kid, Jerome exhibited early tendencies of most entrepreneurs; he sold candy at school and mowed lawns to make money. However, Jerome's introduction to entrepreneurship came when he was around 5. He was fascinated with the idea of being free and not having to work late so that he always had time for his family. He asked his mom about it, and she explained that to continue living the way Jerome was used to living, he'd need to be able to make money, and the best way he could make money and be free would be to be the boss and own his own company. (7:01) Leaving Corporate America Jerome would get an engineering degree and start working for a construction company. Things would start off going smoothly for him, but on January 24th, he received a call informing him that he had to fire half of the team's employees. Even though the company was doing well, he still had to lay off those employees. Jerome remembers this as one of his most humbling experiences because he wasn't really a leader, he just had a title, and he was doing what he was told to do. That's when he decided to leave and figure out how to make it as a real estate entrepreneur. (18:13) The Challenges Jerome Faced And How He Overcame Them Jerome's most significant challenges came with his first real estate deal. He did almost everything wrong. He didn't get the correct permits, hired contractors that didn't perform, and created a business plan that flat out didn't work. He learned from that to stop operating with zero margins for safety. Always have a contingency plan because things won't go perfectly when you're doing something the first time. There are always going to be issues, so be prepared for them. (20:48) Top 3 Things Jerome Learned 1. Figuring things out on your own is the most inefficient and ineffective way of doing things. Hire someone that already knows what they're doing and make them work for you. 2. Don't try to be self-made. Nobody is truly self-made. Humble yourself, learn to get help, and use other people who are skilled in areas you're not. Remember, you can only get so far on your own. 3. Always believe in your dreams, no matter how outlandish they may seem. Most people haven't experienced freedom because they've never believed it was possible. The road to success is full of hardship, but your conviction will help you get through it. (23:39) Jerome's Four Step Process Jerome's four-step process is: Find it, Fund it, Fix it and Flip it. This goes for all types of business. Find a project, then bring in the capital and investors. Once you have sufficient funds, you want to execute your business plan so that you eventually get your initial investment back. Links mentioned: Jeromemyers.co Instagram: coachjeromemyers Twitter: CoachJeromeM LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jeromemyers/ Gratitudegear.com — use code “makingbank10” for 10% off!

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome guest Andre Swanston. Andre Swanston was born in the Bronx, New York, and is a proven leader and entrepreneur with a wide range of experience in marketing, finance, and starting and scaling companies. Andre has also completed the fifth largest exit of any black CEO. He was the former CEO and Co-Founder of Tru Optik. Under Andre's leadership, Tru Optik has become the preferred over-the-top data and technology partner for many of the world's largest media companies, brands, and agencies. Before founding Tru Optik, Andre served as a Vice President of Investments at JP Morgan Chase. He also led the Media and Entertainment division at a boutique investment bank in New York City. Today Andre serves as the Senior Vice President of Media & Entertainment Vertical at TransUnion. This week on the podcast, Andre dives into the future of digital media and OTT. He also talks about what it takes to be an entrepreneur, both in terms of the business side and the mindset perspective. Listen to Josh and Andre discuss being an entrepreneur: (2:18) Andre's Introduction To Entrepreneurship Even from a young age, Andre always had an entrepreneurial mindset — he was always trying to do things differently. His first steps as a "real" entrepreneur would come in college; he was known as the Cables Zap guy. He bought a cable zapper for 350 dollars and charged people 100 dollars to zap their cables. Then once he had reached his junior year of business college, he started to work as a promoter for parties and events, and eventually, that led to Andre opening up his own nightclub at the age of 23. (7:46) Andre's Big Break In The Digital Space Working as a small business owner exposed Andre to the types of media needed to market to people. He identified a massive opportunity in the future of marketing: the shift from traditional to digital media. Even though Andre didn't really have much venture capital behind him, he was able to get ahead of the curve because he bet everything on connected TV to be the future of media consumption, and he was right about it. (16:25) The Future Of OTT And Digital Advertising Andre believes that the future of OTT and digital advertising is a company's ability to be agnostic. When it comes to privacy and someone who's going to be a steward of data, you need someone that you can trust. That's why while the space continues to evolve, there needs to be a responsible third party that can be trusted to be impartial and act as a source of truth and understanding. (19:22) The Biggest Challenges That Come With Selling Your Company Every industry is different, so depending on your industry, you will have different industry-specific challenges when you go to sell. With most businesses, you'd have to focus on traditional business metrics, but it's different when it's a tech startup. So it's essential to understand things relative to the industry you're in so that you can go about growing and valuing your business correctly. Surround yourself with people with a different natural market or relationships or network because it widens the opportunities for exposure for your business and lets you look at things differently. (26:10) Tips For Entrepreneurs There are a few things entrepreneurs need to focus on. The first is to get the most out of your life experiences. Your experiences are valuable because there are lessons to be learned. You don't need money, learn to trust your gut and motivate yourself. The second thing is to persevere — never quit early because you're going to regret it. As an entrepreneur, you need confidence, ambition, and the willingness to take risks, but it's only your ability to persevere that will keep you focused and ensure that you succeed. Links mentioned: Twitter: AndreSwanston LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/andreswanston/ Gratitudegear.com — use code “makingbank10” for 10% off!

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome a guest for the second time — Timothy Sykes. Timothy was once an aspiring pro tennis player, but an elbow injury eliminated all chances he had of going pro. Since then, Timothy has set his focus on the stock market. Today Tim Sykes is a penny stock trader, entrepreneur, and teacher who became a self-made millionaire by the age of 22 by trading $12,415 of his Bar Mitzvah money that he had saved up while in school. After becoming disenchanted with the hedge fund world, he established the Tim Sykes trading challenge to teach aspiring traders how to follow his trading methods. He has been featured in various media outlets, including CNN, Larry King, Steve Harvey, Forbes, the men's journal, and many more. Tim is also an active philanthropist and environmental activist and has donated millions of dollars because he wanted to give back and start impacting people's lives. This week on the podcast, Timothy talks about how to be a successful trader and dives into the most common mistakes that most people make when starting in trades. He also gives many tips on improving your life, mindset, and becoming a better overall human. Listen to Josh and Timothy discuss trading and life tips: (5:25) Living The Life You Want To Live Many people see Timothy with his laptop trading in some of the wildest and most ridiculous spots, and many think it's just to brag. To Tim, it's more about being able to document his life. He wants to show people you can take your laptop or phone anywhere in the world and still trade. Tim believes that you decide to live whatever life you want to live, so choose to live a life that's worth living no matter what other people think. (9:58) Strategy For Success Tim credits his success to his ability to be adaptable. Over the last few years, the world has been quite unpredictable, so your ability to adapt and overcome is essential, especially regarding trading. The most important thing is to be open to opportunities and adjust to take advantage of the opportunities presented to you. Listen to your heart, and don't be closed-minded — you'll be shocked at the life you can create. (16:58) Tips For Trading One of the best tips for trading is being able to cut your losses early. Don't be afraid of getting out; there's always going to be the possibility to buy back in later. Many people follow the crowd, but the results that come from trading are on an individual basis. Learn to keep your gains bigger than your losses and focus on trading individually. A lot of small gains add up over time. Being a successful trader means focusing on winning strategies and staying disciplined. (21:41) Most Common Trading Mistakes Tim talks about how he's made many mistakes trading because so many mistakes can be made. Some of the most common mistakes start with not cutting your losses quickly. Another mistake is putting all your eggs in one basket — 90% of traders lose, so you have to understand the game but don't try to do too much. Also, don't put off studying — trading is a game of preparation, but many people don't put in the time to prepare. Finally, no matter how much you prepare, you might still lose, so learn not to get discouraged by your losses and try again. Treat your losses as lessons. (27:59) Be Real, Learn Discipline, And Work Hard When it comes to being a better version of yourself, learn to be real — be natural and put yourself out there. Have a positive attitude, be authentic, think long-term, and then work on it every single day. In order to get better, you need to be disciplined, so learn discipline, build a foundation of knowledge and then work hard. While some people think that's boring — to a certain degree, that's true. However, just being an "exciting" person doesn't mean you are going to make money and be successful in life. Links mentioned: Timothysykes.com Instagram: timothysykes Twitter: timothysykes Facebook: timsykesfans LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timothysykes/ Gratitudegear.com — use code “makingbank10” for 10% off!

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome guest Brent Kesler, owner of The Money Multiplier. Brent was a chiropractor and chiropractic coach for over 14 years. However, after developing and implementing The Money Multiplier (TMM) Method, he could pay off over 984,000 dollars in 3rd party debt over the span of 39 months. Once he had realized how powerful the TMM method was, he became passionate about sharing it with others. His primary goal was to help more people understand how to manage and grow their wealth. After taking advice from his previous mentor, Brent started his journey to becoming a licensed producer. Over the last ten years, he has been lecturing thousands of people around the country on the dynamics of the TMM Method and helping individuals break the bonds of financial slavery and take control of their financial life. Brent passionately believes that whether you make $10/hour or $10,000/hour, you should know about and learn how to use this powerful information to control your money. This week on the podcast, Brent talks about his money multiplier method. He explains the infinite banking system and how you can start putting your money in different areas and make it work for you. Listen to Josh and Brent discuss the money multiplier method: (2:42) Brent's Background Brent used to be a licensed chiropractor and chiropractic coach; however, that didn't necessarily translate into patients lining up outside his clinic. He had precisely 984,711 dollars of debt to his name. When he first heard someone speaking about the infinite banking concept, like most people, he was skeptical, but finally, in 2008, he started implementing the idea in his life and was able to pay off his debt in 39 months. After seeing how well it worked for him, Brent has now shifted his focus to teaching others how they can implement the same concept in their lives and change their financial situation for the better. (7:00) What Is The Infinite Banking Concept So the idea around the concept is that you purchase a whole life insurance policy in a mutual company that pays dividends. It's not the standard whole-life policy that most agents try to sell you. It's a specifically designed and engineered whole-life policy that pays yearly dividends. The policy is designed so that you have high, immediate cash value to use from that policy and immediate means within 30 days. You probably haven't heard about this because the agent has to take a 60 to 90 percent cut in their commission to design this policy, and no agent wants to do that. (10:28) How Does The Policy Work? You can set up the policy with any amount. Whether it's 100 dollars or 100,000 dollars, the policy will work the same way. The policy has a guaranteed growth rate inside the contract. Typically it's between 4.7 and 6.2%. So you can take out money on a policy loan, which is borrowing money from the insurance company's general fund. However, since it's borrowed money, the money you put in continues to grow uninterrupted compound interest. (14:56) How Long Do You Have To Pay? How long you pay is up to you. Think of it as a deposit; you put money into an account you control, and those numbers continue to increase each year. Now, the dividends can fluctuate — one company may have a higher dividend this year, and then they may have a lower dividend next year. However, depending on how your policy is designed, it will be more efficient. (20:08) One Of The Tools The Rich And Wealthy Use Brent explains that this isn't about you buying the policy right now. This is just one of the tools that the top 1% use to grow their money. Brent's goal is to teach and educate you on how you can design your policy to best suit your specific needs. He aims to share the money multiplier method so that you can drastically change your financial life, just like he did. Links mentioned: TheMoneyMultiplier.com Facebook: themoneymultiplier LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brent-kesler-324abb19/ Gratitudegear.com — use code “makingbank10” for 10% off!

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome Jake Stenziano and Gino Barbaro. Jake and Gino are multifamily real estate investors, educators, operators, and the founders of Jake & Gino LLC. They have managed to accumulate over 175 million in assets under management. They have grown their real estate portfolio to over 1800 multifamily units as leading experts in investing and operating in the multifamily real estate space. Now Jake and Gino teach others how to invest in multifamily real estate through Jake & Geno LLC — a multifamily real estate education company founded on the three pillars of sound apartment investing: buy right, manage right, and finance right. Their students have closed over 400,000 growing units and have accumulated over 2 billion in deal volume. This week on the podcast, Jake and Gino dive into the three pillars of multifamily investing. They also give valuable insights on the right time to invest and what you should look out for before you get started in the multifamily real estate space. Listen to Josh, Jake and Gino discuss multifamily investing: (2:26) The Beginning Of Jake & Gino For Jake, it was all about the state he lived in aligning with his values. At the time, he lived in New York but wanted many things that New York didn't provide. That's when he created a spreadsheet and found that the best place for him was Knoxville, Tennessee. In Tennessee, Gino was working out of his pizzeria, and the two of them, friends at the time, were trying to figure out how to have a passive income. They started looking into multifamily investments, and after two years, they got their first deal, and they created Jake & Gino from there. (6:39) The Right Time To Invest? The most important thing is supply and demand. The right time to invest is really dependent on where you're situated. If you're in a growth market where the population and the jobs are growing, you've got an opportunity to make money. The problem isn't always your market; sometimes, people make excuses and talk themselves out of the real estate space. Don't fall prey to being doubtful. Instead, get educated, get your mindset right, and take action to start. (12:41) Key Things To Look Out For Before Investing There are four keys to getting started in the real estate business. The first is to set your goals, decide what you want to accomplish, and have clarity about what you want to do. Next is to select your market; pick a market that's good for you because it takes time to get things going. Then you have to start networking and getting acquainted with brokers and others in the market. Finally, you need to get educated on your selected market, the procedures, and the space in general, because you can't succeed without being educated. (17:04) Biggest Hurdles Of Multifamily Investing The most common struggle in real estate is property management. You need to be able to lead and dictate the way things should be for your property manager. Hold your property managers accountable and maintain a tight relationship with them. Another common mistake is not having an exit strategy. It's one thing to get started in the space, but once you buy a deal, you need to figure out if you're going to sell the deal, hold it for the long term, or refinance it. Your exit strategy is crucial to your success. (19:52) Top Three Things To Pay Attention To In A Management Company The first thing is to have accountability. Knowing and understanding your key performance indicators — your vacancies, collections, delinquencies, economic occupancy, etc. You need to be proactive. The second thing is to determine if your management is a good fit for your core values and culture and if they'll be a good team member. Finally, the third thing is don't be cheap and make sure you pay your management companies. Links mentioned: Jakeandgino.com Instagram: jakeandgino Twitter: JakeandGino Facebook: jakeandgino LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/jake-and-gino/ Gratitudegear.com — use code “makingbank10” for 10% off!

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome guest Dr. Eric Holsapple, a successful developer, and entrepreneur. He has used mindfulness to transform his life and business and helped many others do the same. Eric has been a real estate CEO and developer for nearly 40 years. He also has a Ph.D. in Economics and has lectured on real estate at Colorado State University for 20 years. Eric has been practicing yoga and meditation for 30 years and has developed a unique perspective on how merging business and mindfulness can be a catalyst in changing lives. Dr. Eric Holsapple is the Founder and Lead Facilitator of Living In The Gap. Through his popular workshops, he has been able to teach countless CEOs and professionals a different way to operate mindfully while improving their bottom line. This week on the podcast, Eric talks about his entrepreneurial journey and why he believes mindfulness is essential for your life as an entrepreneur. He explains mindfulness and breaks down his process of becoming a mindful leader. Listen to Josh and Eric discuss mindfulness: (3:21) Eric's Start As An Entrepreneur Even from a young age, Eric had a knack for business. So by the time he finished college and went out to work, he was almost immediately successful. However, he wasn't doing too well on the personal side of things — he had completely let go of himself. Finally, his decision to diet and get in shape helped him find meditation and yoga. Once he noticed the benefits of being mindful, he was able to start Living In The Gap and developed a nine-month program that showed people how to merge mindfulness and business. (6:22) Finding Where Your Passion And Abilities Meet Eric credits some of his success to being lucky, but the majority of his success comes from the fact that he was able to find out what he wanted to do. Eric was able to identify what he didn't want to do with his life and capitalized on what he was good at. To succeed, you have to find your element — where your passion meets your abilities. Find that intersection where your capabilities allow you to do what you're passionate about, and then you'll be able to live with more purpose and peace of mind. (10:51) Defining Mindfulness Mindfulness isn't necessarily meditation; instead, meditation is just one of the methods of being mindful. Mindfulness is the process of slowing down and letting your mind quiet down. Today almost everything in our lives promotes keeping our minds active. However, science says that most people feel joy and peace once they've quieted down their minds. To be mindful, you don't need to spend hours meditating, just find anything that allows you to switch your mind off for a few minutes at a time. (15:31) The Process Of Mindful Leadership The first step to being mindful is slowing down and clearing the clutter. Start by giving your mind a few minutes to quiet down and then gradually increase that over time. The next step is to plant seeds of what you want to do. Once you've cleared your mind, you'll be more aware of the direction you want to go in life. Spend your time envisioning what you really want to do with your life and find a purpose worth living for. (18:39) Narrowing Down Your Vision Our visions tend to be quite extensive, and there's never enough time or resources to act on all of them. That's why we need to narrow down our visions to something more attainable. It's good to know where you want to be in 10 or 15 years, but it's more important to know your plan for the next year. Focus on smaller and more achievable objectives and work on transforming your life more meaningfully and intentionally. (21:51) Eric's Book: Profit With Presence Eric has been working on a book called Profit With Presence that will share the story of his journey and the 12 pillars of mindful leadership with the business community. The book will be available for preorder around November this year and will release in the first quarter of 2023. So stay tuned! Links mentioned: Livinginthegap.org Instagram: holsappleeric Instagram: livinginthegap501c3 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dr-eric-holsapple-57590316/ Gratitudegear.com — use code “makingbank10” for 10% off!

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome guest Cole Gordon to talk to us about the 7 beliefs your prospect needs to have before buying in phone sales. Cole is one of the top closers in the high ticket industry, having sold over 10 million in consultancy, coaching, and agency deals. He then scaled his own consulting company to over eight figures in less than 18 months. Currently, Cole builds, trains, and consults the sales teams of hundreds of seven and eight-figure companies online through his company Closers.io. He has even been able to work with groups such as Tony Robbins, Frank Kern, and others. This week on the podcast, Cole dives into what your customer needs to believe in order to close a sale with them. He breaks it up into seven fundamental beliefs that allow your prospects to believe in what you're selling. Listen to Josh and Rylee discuss the 7 key beliefs of sales: (2:21) Cole's Start As An Entrepreneur And Entry Into Sales Cole dropped out of medical school because of a book he read that shifted his focus to becoming an entrepreneur. He felt that he needed to start an online business and started with SEO and blogs, but he couldn't find any success doing that. By buying courses and finding mentors, he came across Facebook ads, and that's where he first had his initial success in sales. He brought in around 30k a month, which fueled his belief that sales were his talent. Eventually, that would lead to Cole joining a team as a high ticket closer. (6:19) What Makes You Good At Sales? It took Cole some time before he could find success as a high ticket closer. He credits his success to his solid work ethic and discipline. The other members on Cole's team were much better closers than he was. However, he decided to shift his focus to becoming the best he could be at sales. That amount of dedication required discipline and consistency — he hired coaches and invested in himself, and eventually, by staying consistent, he was able to become the best on his team (9:36) The 7 Fundamental Beliefs Cole explains that objecting to your customers doesn't bring in sales. The idea is to reverse engineer a deal whereby at the end of the call, your customer is basically enrolling themselves to buy what you're selling. He discovered the seven fundamental beliefs a prospect needs to have to buy are pain, doubt, cost, desire, money, support, and trust. Pain is the problem they have. Doubt is the lack of surety of whether the problem can be fixed. Cost is the consequence of leaving a problem unfixed. Desire is the compelling payoff of fixing the problem. Money is the funds required to fix the problem. Support is if the people around them are willing to stand with them and support the fixing of their problem. Finally, trust is if they believe in your specific problem-solving methodology. (13:37) The Biggest Hurdles When Teaching Sales The most common hurdle is a person's beliefs about selling. Do they look at selling as evil? Do they think it's a bad practice? Are they unable to be assertive? To train someone in sales, you must teach them that selling isn't about doing whatever you can to sell a product. Instead, it's you selling your prospect on a way of thinking. A new salesperson can always be trained in tactics, but the most essential aspects are their beliefs, mindsets, and character traits. (16:28) Focus On What You Naturally Gravitate Towards Don't over consume information. Instead, find the industry that you naturally gravitate towards. Then focus on getting any job in the best company in that particular industry. No matter your position, focus on dominating and doing your very best at that position. Your passion is what will allow you to accelerate your growth. Links mentioned: Closers.io Instagram: colethomasgordon Facebook: closersintoleaders LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/cole-gordon/ Gratitudegear.com — use code “makingbank10” for 10% off!

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, Rylee Meek, the Founder, and CEO of The Social Dynamic Selling System, talks to us about money, God, and Sales. Rylee Meek is also the founder of King’s Council Coaching and a fellow podcaster hosting the King’s Council Podcast. Through King’s Council Coaching, Rylee has been able to empower individuals and families and help them create a proven framework of success. Rylee has also used his company Social Selling Dynamic to help eight companies reach 7 to 8 figures in just a year of their inception. Utilizing his proven methods and strategies, those companies have each generated over 150 million in sales over the last decade. This week on the podcast, Rylee talks about the importance of having money, whether it’s for life, business, or your God-given purpose. Rylee believes that everything has its roots in sales. He explains that we live everyday life trying to sell products, services, ideas, thoughts, and even who we are as people. Listen to Josh and Rylee discuss money, God, and sales: (2:22) Rylee’s Start As An Entrepreneur Rylee’s start in entrepreneurship came when he was 15 years old. He realized he didn’t want to be working a typical ‘job’ for the rest of his life. He disliked the idea of an hourly rate being put on his time and set out to make money his own way. Rylee shares the concept of looking for the fruits in other people’s lives. He did whatever he could to surround himself with mentors and people whom he could learn from. The exposure to these mentors then provided him with opportunities that helped him make money and subsequently set him out on his entrepreneurial journey. (5:40) Money Is Not Evil Many other Christians believe that money is the root of all evil. However, Rylee, who is a Christian himself, disagrees with that. He believes that God gives us the ability to create wealth. Evil doesn’t come from money; instead, money is just the tool that allows us to operate and live our lives the way we choose. Rylee believes the more money you have, the better you are at operating within your God-given calling. (9:15) Lessons For Entrepreneurs Rylee talks about the top three things he learned on his entrepreneurial journey. First, there’s no truly passive income; you must put in the work and some type of effort to make things work. The second is to surround yourself with people that already have what you want and learn from them. Especially as a fresh entrepreneur, you need to do whatever you can to get with people you can learn from. Finally, following your passion doesn’t always work out because sometimes that leads to your passion turning into a chore. Instead, look for opportunities and bring your passion with you no matter what the opportunity is. (12:40) Shiny Object Syndrome Shiny object syndrome refers to an entrepreneur jumping at every opportunity they get but never finishing or getting fully engaged in what they started. Rylee explains that no matter how great your product or service is, if nobody knows about it, then you can’t help anybody. That’s why he believes it’s so important to bring your passion to your opportunities. Use your passion as fuel to help you sell whatever you start. Starting without completion is pointless. (15:42) Ninja Sales Techniques Rylee believes that whoever controls the customer controls everything. Being able to sell is key to you connecting with your customers. He explains that we all receive information differently; some connect better visually or auditorily while others want to feel or touch. Your job is to ensure that you can sell and convey information in whichever ‘language’ your customer connects to the most. When you talk to people, pick up on cues and pay attention to their language. Selling to a group of people is more challenging. You have to make sure that at some point in your presentation, each individual feels like they’ve connected with you because you were able to sprinkle in their ‘language’ at some point in your presentation. Links mentioned: Ryleemeek.com Kingscouncilcoaching.com/podcast Twitter: theryleemeek Instagram: theryleemeek LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ryleemeek

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome serial entrepreneur, partner at High Performance Institute, and New York Times bestselling author Randy Garn. Randy has been passionate about helping CEOs, companies, and experts grow and become high performers. He has founded or partnered with numerous companies such as Prosper, Hero Partners, Education Success Inc, High Performance Institute, and many others. Today Randy specializes in guiding leaders through personal and professional transformation. On the podcast, Randy talks about business strategies and models that you can implement to take your business to the next level. Randy also explains the importance of people and what you can do to optimize the performance of your employees. Listen to Josh and Randy discuss high performance: (3:48) How Did Randy Get Started Randy talks about how his dad used to pay him to help out on their cattle ranch. Randy says that while growing up, it was through getting paid for helping out that he was able to get the things he wanted. He grew up with six other kids and developed the mentality of not wanting to be a burden to his family. So through his desire to be self-sufficient, he learned how to create his own income. (9:56) Driving Value To Randy, people are the most important. He doesn't believe in being a solo entrepreneur; instead, he believes in growing people. When hiring people for his business, he picks people who can drive the maximum amount of value. At the end of the day, no matter their position, your employees are hired with the sole purpose of driving value, revenue, and profits for your business. (15:29) Working With Your Best Friends Randy talks about always trying to hire his best friends and explains that he can do that because there's clarity. When you're working with friends or family, an essential part is having clarity about each other — knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses and the value they bring. Another important thing is writing things down so that you can avoid misunderstandings. When something is in writing, it leaves no room for dispute. So if ideas or plans change, make sure you're always writing them down. (18:45) The Biggest Challenge According to Randy, the biggest challenge for people is not learning. As entrepreneurs, one of the most crucial practices is continually learning. Things are constantly evolving and changing, and we must be ready for that. Continually learning is vital so that you can innovate and come up with new ideas. The need to be able to innovate constantly is so that you won't get left behind when change comes. (24:25) Creating Culture and Making Your Company Thrive Randy explains that the most important aspect of your company is the people. You create culture through your employees; thriving as a company depends on their performance. It goes back to value — are you hiring high performers? Your team needs to be committed to excellence in order to thrive. Make sure you're hiring the right people for the job, not only in terms of the technical skill or service they provide but also their mentality and attitude. (29:07) A Good CEO Focuses On... Throughout this episode, Randy has emphasized the importance of people. That's why he says a good CEO always focuses on bettering their team. A good CEO is concerned about their team's wellbeing. You want to be able to support your team whenever you can — always cheer for your team. A good CEO focuses on enabling his team to win. By caring about your team's wellbeing and growth, you're giving them a reason to feel valued and accepted. Your team is the backbone of your success, so it's vital to focus on their growth and improvement. Links mentioned: Randygarn.com Twitter: randygarn Instagram: randygarn LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/randygarn

On this episode of the Making Bank podcast, Tim Kennedy discusses his career in the military, the UFC, and Socratic education. Tim saw with his own kids how every child learns differently and set out to create an education that reflected that. His school, Apogee, seeks to help every child fulfill their potential. Tim also chats about his time in the UFC fighting, as well as in Special Forces. He covers what inspired him to join the military and the lessons he now applies to his businesses. Listen to the episode to hear more about Apogee’s education model, boxing victories, and war stories. Tim has also written a book titled Scars And Stripes that shares Tim’s story and the lessons he learned from his experiences. Tim is a Decorated Green Beret sniper, UFC headliner and a businessman who started two multimillion dollar companies. The book describes his failures and how he was able to learn from and embrace his failure to become the man he is today. The book is available for pre-order and will be released on June 7th. Listen to Josh and Tim talk about the lessons Tim learned: New Adventures (1:33) Tim discusses the lessons he’s learned on pivoting from the military, as well as this past year—and is applying them to his entrepreneurship. He is launching 12 new companies, including a school. Apogee: An Acton Academy (3:04) Tim’s venture that he’s most proud of is his school Apogee. Having been homeschooled himself, Tim understands and follows the model that parents should facilitate the education of their children. A Socratic School (8:45) Tim explains how at Apogee, the students—otherwise known as “heroes”—are active participants in their own learning. They are the ones leading the classroom discussions and activities and with the guidance of the teachers, the students discover the answers themselves. When accepting heroes into their studios, Apogee looks for parents and children who are both willing to try this new approach. Different Learning Styles for Different Children (11:22) No two children learn the same way. Tim’s seen it in his own children, and he’s seen it in the heroes at Apogee. Traditional schooling follows certain agendas—whether that be the teacher’s, the school’s, or the governments. At Apogee, the focus is on the children. How Tim Manages Multiple Companies (14:36) When it comes to managing multiple companies, Tim hires the right people and then allows them to do their jobs properly, without being micromanaged. Tim also follows a military approach that emphasizes training, as well as organization. People, Purpose, and Plan (17:41) Tim first makes sure that the person he’s looking to hire has the right attitude and culture to fit well into the organization. Next, he looks to see if his purpose aligns with their purpose. Finally, he looks to see what their plan is, how they will execute it, and if they even planned in the first place. Discipline (22:49) Without discipline, there is no success. For Tim, discipline is commitment to a plan that is executed in 30-minute blocks. If you have a plan, even when life gets in the way, you can go back to the plan. Tim also touches on how discipline can not only help your business but also your family life. Tim’s Background (28:14) For those who don’t know, Tim shares his background of homeschooling, sports, martial arts and more. After a career in UFC and watching 9/11 unfold, Tim joined the military and became a Green Beret. The Camera’s Focus (37:11) Zooming out, Tim and Josh discuss Special Forces and the state of the US right now. Lessons from the Special Forces (46:46) Tim explains the key lessons he’s learned from the Special Forces that he now implements in his businesses. He values qualities like communication, and more. The UFC (49:37) Tim talks about his time at the UFC and what he would’ve done differently. Stopping Poverty Stops Trafficking (55:04) Before the episode wraps up, Tim touches on SERE school, as well as ways you can help stop crimes such as drug and sex trafficking. He encourages those who can to open community centers, gyms, programs and more. If we can prevent poverty, then we can prevent other crimes as well. Links mentioned: Sheepdogresponse.com Twitter: TimKennedyMMA Instagram: timkennedymma Book: www.amazon.com/Scars-Stripes-Unapologetically-American-Fighting/dp/1982190914

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome Sean Kelly, the founder of the Chibi Dinos NFT project, which sold all 10000 of its PFPs in 18 minutes, generating around 2.4 million dollars in revenue. He is also the founder and CEO of Jersey Champs and the marketing agency NFT Gorillas which recently got acquired. Sean is currently working as the Vice President of Web3 Marketing at InfiniteWorld, a metaverse infrastructure company. Sean talks about how he entered the NFT and dives into NFTs and what makes them valuable. He talks about his journey in the NFT space and answers some of the questions you may have as a newcomer. Listen to Josh and Sean discuss NFTs: (2:22) Sean's Start As An Entrepreneur Sean's entrepreneurial career started when he was in college. He founded Jersey Champs, where he would go on to sell custom throwback jerseys. Jersey Champs was his entry into the e-commerce world, and through drop shipping, he was able to make his first six figures. When COVID came around, Sean's e-commerce business took a hit. However, at the time, he saw Gary V and the buzz around NBA top shots, and he exposed himself to the NFT creators, and within a few months, he was able to understand the NFT space. (5:47) What Is An NFT NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. However, Sean explains that he sees NFTs as a proof of ownership. Whether a video snippet or a static image, you can prove your ownership to everyone as long as it's documented on the blockchain. (10:43) NFTs And Utility The NFT space is continuing to evolve. What started out as static images and video snippets of cool art has now grown to a point where people ask what they get in return for buying an NFT. Sean talks about NFTs having a utility that allows them to reward their holders. For example, with his own NFT project, Chibi Dinos — there are in-person meetups, calls with NBA players, and they're also working on a game. So now, if an NFT project wants to be looked at as valuable, they need to think of creative ways to provide utility to their holders. (14:15) Minting NFTs Sean talks about why people buy NFTs — some people are flippers who buy NFTs looking to sell them and make a profit, while some buy into established projects for the community. Sean explains NFT minting, which means a person pays a fee to mint, so an NFT project launches, and that person gets a randomly assigned NFT. Doing this opens the possibility of getting assigned a really rare NFT that could go for a lot of money. Essentially, that person is taking a chance on the NFT launch, but they are also helping the project owners execute their plan for that project by supporting them. (17:43) Sean On Selling His Marketing Agency Sean had also founded a marketing agency known as NFT Gorilla that aimed to help and consult upcoming NFT Projects and Brands with their marketing. His marketing agency was recently acquired after just six months of its inception. InfiniteWorld was looking for someone to take over their Web3 marketing role and hired Sean as their VP of Web3 Marketing and Strategy. (19:19) Things To Know About Today's NFT Space Today the NFT space is evolving, and more people are hopping on the NFT wave. So Sean advised newcomers to be wary of the NFT projects they support. The most important thing to do is research the team behind the project. It's also essential to see if there are only flippers since they're in it to profit from their investments. Sean also mentions being cautious of celebrity NFTs, a lot of them are just cash grabs, so it's crucial to stay away from the hype because hype can and usually will die out. So be careful, do your research and look for projects that have established team members. You might be able to make some money but, more importantly, be exposed to a valuable community of people. Links mentioned: Chibidinos.io Twitter: seankelly25 Instagram: seanmikekelly LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sean-mike-kelly/

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, we welcome Ryan Tansom who started his entrepreneurial career in his family's business. They sold copiers, and Ryan worked as the executive vice president and grew the company to make 21 million dollars in revenue. Ryan is now the Co-Founder of Arkona; their mission is to help entrepreneurs develop the value of their companies through Value Growth Education and Strategic CFO Services. The idea is to help entrepreneurs shift their focus to long-term value creation rather than annual income. Ryan talks about what it means to grow your business into a valuable asset. He dives into the difference between a lifestyle business and a valuable asset. He also explains how you can set up your business to be sold at maximum value in the future. Listen to Josh and Ryan discuss growing long-term value: (2:12) Ryan's Background Ryan first worked with his father selling copiers. When they first started, the company was losing almost a million dollars a day. They set their minds on growing the value of the business. Through rebranding, software automation, and managing their IT services, they managed to turn the company around in 6 years and make 21 million dollars in revenue. In 2014, they sold the company and paid off their debts and taxes, which set Ryan out on his entrepreneurial journey. (4:56) Creating A Valuable Asset Many business owners only focus on growing their top line and, in turn, think they're growing the value of their company. Ryan breaks it down to shifting from a lifestyle business mindset to increasing your company's value as an asset. Rather than optimizing for annual revenue, you should be concerned about your long-term revenue. Your company's value is tied to how sustainable, predictable and transferable your cash flow is. However, it's also important to remember that cash flow isn't always directly correlated to revenue. (8:22) Intrinsic Value and Strategic Transaction Value When it comes to value, it's essential to understand the intrinsic value, which is your company's value based on the risk of cash flow, and then strategic transaction value, which is where a strategic buyer may pay a premium for the company. The intrinsic value of your company is vital because that's the value that you can track. You're able to measure your company's value while you're growing it based on the risk of cash flow. (11:29) Cash Flow And Growth The most important thing for anyone buying or selling a company is the long-term value of that company. Ryan talks about three financial statements that matter — your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. While many entrepreneurs ignore their cash flow statement, Ryan emphasizes the importance of the net cash flow provided by operating activities. That's how much cash came into the business and how much is leftover. For anyone purchasing a company, the net operating cash flow is important because it allows them to figure out if the cash at the end of the month is growing or not. (18:14) Selling Your Business Ryan brings up the importance of having options. While many entrepreneurs enjoy what they're doing and how they're running their business, often, they don't pay attention to giving themselves options for an exit. For business owners, it's crucial to make money, but it's even more important to grow the overall long-term value of your business. Think about the lifestyle you want and how your company is a part of that plan. You need to do things intentionally; you want to give yourself options that will help you achieve whatever your end goal may be. (21:34) Making The Right Choice Many entrepreneurs are miserable after selling their company because they sold without other options. These entrepreneurs aren't happy because they haven't sat down and figured out what they want from their company. That's why long-term value creation is so important — rather than regretting what happens to your company later, decide what you want from your company, grow your company's long-term value, and give yourself options for the future. Links mentioned: Arkona.io Twitter: ryantansom Instagram: ryan_tansom LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ryan-tansom-4a440710/

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, Tony Bradshaw talks about how you can create a plan that will make you a millionaire. Tony Bradshaw was the first millionaire in his family. He was broke and living in debt, but he had what he calls a financial awakening. He realized he had been mismanaging his money and set out to learn how to handle his money better. He figured out how to manage his finances and, at the age of 25, his first millionaire choice and created his millionaire plan. By the age of 40, Tony became a millionaire, and now he's helping others take the first step to being a millionaire by teaching them how to make their millionaire plans. Tony talks about what it means to have a financial awakening and how you can change from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset and lifestyle. He also discusses what you need to do to create your own millionaire plan. Listen to Josh and Tony discuss what it takes to be a millionaire: (2:47) Why Tony Decided To Be A Millionaire Tony grew up in a low-income household, so he was never surrounded by wealth. It was around his twenties, he was working but was still living with his parents, and he had around 16 grand in debt. That's when Tony had his financial awakening and decided to change his life for the better. He started reading and figured that money was about making the right lifestyle choices, and from then he set out to be a millionaire. (6:19) Tony's Awakening Moment Tony talks about having a scarcity mindset, when you work, earn money, spend your money, and then repeat the whole process. Tony's awakening moment was when he realized he had no vision — he was living in the scarcity loop, and rather than continue to live like that for the next 60 years, he chose to break the loop. He changed his mindset and started earning to have abundant money rather than just enough to get by. (10:59) Changing A Scarcity Mindset To An Abundance Mindset The people you're surrounded by are the ones that will either lift you up or drag you down. Tony mentions that he spent most of his time with his parents, so his parents were poor, and that's why he was poor. So if you want to be wealthy and successful — find and surround yourself with rich and successful people. The people influencing you are vital to changing your mindset. (16:09) Financial Literacy For Kids Tony is a first-generation millionaire, so he had to figure most of the process out on his own. He's got six kids, and his goal now is to transfer the principles that he learned while becoming a millionaire. For parents, it's important not to shy away from talking about money with their kids. Introduce financial responsibility to your kids early on, and you'll help them develop their financial literacy at a young age rather than them growing older and having to figure everything out then. (20:44) Unplugging Your Job Mindset Tony had two goals when he was 25, the first was to become a millionaire by 40, and the second was to live off his investments after. Tony successfully became a millionaire by 40, but he forgot about his second goal. He still hadn't got over the job mindset — you have to spend the rest of your life working for your money. Find other ways to earn money that don't involve you working. (22:55) The Three Things You Need For Your Millionaire Plan The first thing is to never stop learning about money. There's a lot to learn, and you need to keep educating yourself if you want to be a millionaire. The second thing is having an income plan — you don't want to become income stagnant. Think about how much you earn and how you can increase your income while covering your costs and not being in debt. The last thing you need is a multiplying plan. Today there are multiple ways you can earn more — look for opportunities where you can get the highest return rather than just investing your money in the hopes of multiplying it. (26:44) Purpose of Wealth Tony encourages you to have a purpose for your wealth. If you're making money, give your money a purpose. Find a way to use your money to help other people, and Tony believes that you'll be inspired to build wealth because your money has a purpose. Links mentioned: Themillionairechoice.com Twitter: tonybradshaw Instagram: tonybradshaw.millionairechoice Gratitudegear.com

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, Noah St. John talks about what you can do to change your life in less than 5 minutes a day. Noah has published over 17 books that can help you succeed. He's a legendary mental coach and is also known as the Father of Afformations; which is his method of using the question form of affirmations. 25 years ago, Noah would have an epiphany: he realized that our subconscious mind reacts and responds more effectively to questions rather than statements, and that's how he came up with his afformation method. Today Noah has been able to help his clients earn more in 12 weeks than what they would have in 12 months. This episode covers the difference between affirmations and afformations, Noah's 4 A Formula, and his Core 4 Formula. Listen to the episode to learn more about how you can earn more and live better using Noah's methods and formulas. Listen to Josh and Noah discuss afformation: (2:30) Noah's Story Noah grew up in Kennebunkport, Maine, one of the wealthiest communities in New England. However, he wasn't wealthy at all, and eventually, his family would lose their house to foreclosure. Growing up, Noah spent a lot of his time with books, but none of the self-help books he read seemed to work for him. He was so frustrated with his life that he reached the brink of suicide, but that's when he set out to find his purpose in life, and he had two significant epiphanies that changed his life forever. (6:47) Afformations Instead Of Affirmations In 1997 Noah changed his outlook on life; he'd been through multiple self-help books, most of which honed in on affirmations. Noah realized that we could state affirmations most of the time, but they mean nothing because we don't believe in them. That's when he developed afformations: rather than positive statements; he found that our brains responded better to positive questions. With his afformation method, he's been able to help hundreds of people worldwide find not only success but also overcome addiction. (13:01) How You Can Change Your Life In Just 5 Minutes A Day As entrepreneurs, we're all looking for success. So how to achieve success by doing something for just five minutes a day? Through afformation — you want to sow thoughts that matter. Every single day we think about the events in our lives. If we fail, the natural reaction is to ask yourself, "what went wrong?" or "why did I mess up." Noah talks about how we're always asking ourselves lousy questions, and in turn, we get awful answers. Don't sow lousy thoughts; instead, plant thoughts that will bring you success. Use positive afformation in your life for just five minutes a day, and you can change your own financial future. (15:39) 4 A Formula There are four steps in Noah's formula for afformation. The first A is to ask yourself what you want and find your end goal. The second A is afforming that what you want is already true; you want to afform the fact that you've already achieved your goals. Earlier, we mentioned that affirmation doesn't work because we don't believe; that's why the third A is to accept the truth of your new questions. Finally, the fourth A is to take action — the first three parts of the 4 A Formula are useless if you don't put in the work. (17:54) Core Four Formula Noah discusses the next steps after using his 4 A Formula. That's where his Core Four Formula comes into play. The Core Four Formula is related to the action-taking process — the four cores are reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Noah explains the process in detail and why it matters. A simplified version of the process is: you start by reading afformations. The second step is to write down those afformations by hand, and then third, you move on to saying those afformations out loud, and finally, you listen to afformations. Noah has a website called iafform audios, where you can listen to afformations in the background to reprogram your subconscious thought patterns. (21:20) How Noah's Clients Earn More In 12 Weeks Noah talks about how he's been able to coach multiple clients to earn more in 12 weeks than they would have in 12 months. Noah's process is different from others; rather than putting in hours and hours of work and leaving little to no time for anything else. He explains that in order to be more successful, you need balance. The four things you need to balance our time, energy, relationships, and money. It's great to have money, but without the time, energy, or people to enjoy your money with, having money becomes obsolete, and that's why balance is so important. Links mentioned: Noahstjohn.com Getmillionairebook.com Freegiftfromnoah.com

In this episode, you’ll hear Justin explain how he aims to tackle internet censorship and enable people to own their own digital identities through his social network, Zion. Listen to Josh and Justin discuss internet censorship and how to be unapologetically free: (3:08) Justin On Elon Musk Buying Twitter The latest tech news was Elon Musk’s 44 billion dollar purchase of Twitter. Justin lays out his thoughts on the purchase, saying that it’s a good thing for the world. For the last 20 months, Justin has been working on creating a social network that eliminates censorship entirely. While Justin thinks Elon Musk buying Twitter is a step in the right direction towards a free and open network, he explains that Elon Musk and Twitter still have complete control to censor you if they want based on Twitter’s terms of service. (6:11) Three Things That Are Broken About The Internet According to Justin, the top three things that are currently broken with the internet are that: most of us don’t actually own our digital identity. Second, a third party is involved whenever we need to communicate online. All messages and forms of communication are handled and regulated by third-party companies that own the social networks we use. Lastly, when it comes to payments, there are layers of arbiters involved in that as well. Justin then talks about how he aims to fix these problems through Zion. (9:22) How Justin Got Started Justin started his journey as an entrepreneur at a young age. He started his first business at the age of 13, then at the age of 24, he started his first tech company theAmplify. Justin talks about his idea for starting his businesses and where his motivation came from — he believed in using technology to enable better and more useful interaction between people, making it easier for people to engage with other people. His goal has remained the same even today, and that’s through Zion; he aims to enable people to connect better than they ever could before. (12:48) The Initial Challenges That Came With Creating Zion Every new business comes with its struggles, and Zion wasn’t any different. Justin discusses the initial struggle of starting a decentralized and open social network like Zion. Zion is the first of its kind; there simply is no other social network doing what Zion aims to do. The challenge that arises with Zion is finding out whether it will work at scale for millions of people at a time. However, Justin knows that creating this kind of technology is challenging, and that’s why along with his team, he’s working hard to make Zion possible. (16:14) Justin On The Current State Of Internet Censorship Justin discusses the current state of media, where people can share their ideas, thoughts, or opinions with hundreds and sometimes millions of people online. He talks about how the issue of censorship starts when someone else disagrees with that person’s thought, idea, or opinion. Today when someone doesn’t agree with the majority, the consensus is that we censor them. He also talks about how media is free to use, but that doesn’t equate to having freedom of expression. (20:58) Unapologetic Freedom Justin is also the author of a book titled Unapologetic Freedom; in the book, he explains how Bitcoin can help eliminate censorship and give us back our liberty and freedom forever. The book describes the history of censorship and provides you with an outline of tools that will enable you to have digital freedom in your life. (23:12) How Being Relentless Helped Justin Justin opens up about his journey to success, and it wasn’t just an easy path for him. In 2019, Justin would have a seizure, which would lead to the discovery of a tumor in his right temporal lobe. It was a moment of adversity in Justin’s life because he had just sold his business, but now he finds out that he has a tumor in his brain. He’d go through with surgery, and here he is today; he’s back at it, working relentlessly to make Zion possible because the world needs it. You can read more about Justin and his story in his book and find out more about what it means to gain digital freedom today. Links mentioned: https://www.getzion.com https://www.instagram.com/justinrezvani/?hl=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinrezvani https://www.amazon.com/Unapologetic-Freedom-Censorship-Sovereignty-Reclaims/dp/B09WTLF44K https://gratitudegear.com

In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, We welcome guest Cole Rodgers, who sits down and talks about his organization, School of Man, and what being vulnerable has done for him in his life. Cole is a family man, Minister of Impact, Coach, and the founder/CEO of School of Man, a training organization meant to help men find their why. Cole understands mental toughness and uses it to make dreams a reality. However, his life wasn't always pretty; he battled with substance abuse, and he was on the brink of divorce, and that's when Cole realized that he was just existing rather than truly living. In the episode, Cole talks about fitness and sports and its impact on getting him where he is today. He overcame injury and took part in a 90-mile triathlon, Spartan Races, and was also one of nine out of a total 50 civilians that completed a 50+ hour Navy SEAL Hell Week simulation, known as SEALFIT Kokoro. Cole recognized the importance of being vulnerable and being able to open up about it, and that's why he founded School of Man, to make men realize their potential and change their outlook on life and the way they think in order for them to develop the skills they need to be successful in every aspect of their life. Listen to Josh and Cole discuss vulnerability and success: (10:38) Death and Its Impact On Cole's Life Cole talks about his experience being a part of SEALFIT Kokoro, one of the most challenging and brutal events a person can put themselves through. Cole recalls his own experience where he witnessed his teammate's heart give out on him and pass away. This experience was pivotal in Cole's life, and he regards it as the fabric on which School of Man was created. (15:15) Who Is School of Man For? Cole explains how more and more men don't have environments where they can be vulnerable and open up about the things in their lives. There isn't a particular type of man that is better than others; Cole shares that School of Man gets men from all backgrounds — every man has their own reason and purpose for being there. It's not the background that matters but giving men an environment to be vulnerable regardless of who they are and their reason for being there. (17:01) How Vulnerability Affects Your Mental Toughness He mentions that the absence of vulnerability in a person's life is just the absence of trust in their life. People that can't talk about the issues in their life — the stuff that really hurts them those people will never be able to reach their potential. Being able to account for your pain and then use it as your purpose allows you to not only love and know yourself but also channel that energy into the best version of yourself. (19:09) Men Finding It Difficult To Open Up What makes it so hard for men to be vulnerable? Cole explains that it's how things have been set up for men. Their upbringing and relationships have played a role in them being able to open up. There might have been things that have scarred these men mentally, and the men define themselves by those scars. (21:44) Cole's Top Three Successful Traits A common trait amongst the successful people that Cole has worked with is that they're all Go-Givers, who aren't selfish but are willing to help others succeed at their highest level. The second trait is that they don't lead with their resume and accolades but their actions. They operate with impact rather than showing the rest of the world that they're successful. Lastly, Cole mentions immortality; if that person's impact goes further than what they did in the world while they were alive — being able to leave a dent in the world that'll stay even after they're long gone. (24:42) How Do You Do It? How do you reach your full potential and become successful? Cole says it's not about how you've done it but, more importantly, who you do it with. Many people end up being stuck where they are because of the people in their circle. You need people who are better than you — someone who can lift you up rather than hold you back. Links mentioned: https://schoolofman.live https://linktr.ee/schoolofman