Entrepreneur | 8 Steps to Get Out of Debt

Audio Transcription

Get ready to enter the Thrive Time Show! Good look as a father of five. That’s what I’m about. So if you see my wife and kids, please tell them how. It’s C and Z up on your radio. And now three, two, one, here we go. Started from the bottom, now we in. All right, we have a Thriver that asks. They want to know about systematic saving. How are they going to get out of debt? Their actual question here is, I’m a sophomore in college, and I need advice on investing while in college. I have a good job that pays well, but after living expenses, my cash flow is tight. Tight. I have $11,000 in student loans that I would like to pay off when I graduate in two years, but I have no idea where to begin when it comes to the type of savings plan or investment I need to be considering. I love the site. Thank you so much for all you do.” Oh, that’s very nice. Just so you kind of know, our whole mission here at Thrive 15 is to mentor millions, so that’s exactly what we’re going to do here for you. We’re going to teach you these specific steps, okay? You have eight steps. We’re going to teach you specifically how to get out of debt. Some people might be an uncomfortable subject, but we’re going to get into it, okay? First off, I have a notable quotable. I have a notable quotable from Dave Ramsey. Who is Dave Ramsey? Dave Ramsey is the guy who’s a best-selling author, has a radio show just about financial peace, how to get out of debt. He’s great. And he says this, financial peace isn’t the acquisition of stuff. It’s learning to live on less than you make so you can give money back and have money to invest. You can’t win until you do this. You can’t win until you do this. I’ll give you another just notable quote that blew my mind the first time I heard it. The statement is, you can’t, you’re sorry, the seeds of greatness are not within you if you can’t save. What? The seeds of greatness are not within you if you can’t save. Okay? So I’m going to go over these steps here with you, and I think they’re going to resonate, I think they’re going to change your life if you’re willing to do it. Now if you don’t do this, Thomas Edison says, vision without execution is hallucination. So you just learn this stuff, you don’t take action on it, then I really don’t know what I can do to help you. Okay, so here we go. One, you have to face reality as it is. I’ll give an example. If you’re looking into the mirror today, look in the mirror, there you are, right? You’re looking into that mirror and you’ve got kind of, whoa, you’ve got kind of short hair right here, short hair in the front, and then you’ve got long hair right here in the back, right? Short hair in the front, long hair in the back. You’ve got your ears, you know, and then you’re going, I’ve got a lot of short hair here, but I’ve got a lot of hair here. That’s called a what? A mullet. If you have a mullet, then you have a mullet. That’s what it is. You can’t be upset when people are like, oh my gosh, look at that, that’s a mullet. People are wanting to take photos with you going, oh, it’s a mullet, look at that. Guys, if you have a mullet, people are going to stop and stare. They want to get the photo with you. Quit getting all upset about it. If you have a mullet, formal in the front, party in the back, you know what’s going on. So face reality as it is. To quote Jack Welch, face reality as it is, not how it was or how you wish it to be. Jack Welch, okay, we’ll put the actual quote up on the screen. But you have to face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be so what is your financial situation here just look at it eyes wide open What is my financial situation ask yourself step number two? Print out all of your expenses print them out print them out print. I prefer digital. I don’t like paper You’re gonna lose Print them all out Print them all out. I just prefer to do it automatic, just withdraw, I don’t even look. Print them out. If you don’t print them out, what’s gonna happen? What you don’t think about, you don’t bring about, okay? What you don’t measure, you don’t treasure. Oh man, what you, what you accept, you have to expect. So if you’re just getting charged for everything and you have no idea what’s going on, you’ve gotta stop it. This month I got a bill, a very large bill from a online company for some i didn’t buy you know i know about it cuz i looked at the bill because i printed it off and then i found expenses that items spend you know that i don’t want to spend on the more circle that are you the circle are you sick of highlighted to print them all off circle it okay preferred is what you can help once you’ve looked at all your bills, eyes wide open, cut non-essentials. I love it, every time the government threatens to do a government shutdown because they’ve yet again spent more money than they make, how about that? Think about that thought for a second. What if you could be a business owner and you could just spend whatever the heck you wanted to spend and there was no recourse? You never had to balance your budget. You could just spend and spend and spend. Wouldn’t that be nice? That’s what government’s like. So every time that they almost run out of money and they basically means that they haven’t, they’ve spent all the money they have and they haven’t yet printed any more money, which is a mind boggling concept, they threatened to do a government shutdown. And they’re going, well, we’re going to have to just shut down non-essential government agencies. Shouldn’t we shut down all the non-essential government agencies? I mean, how many people do you have working in your company that are non-essential? How many companies have you worked for where you’re, Greg, you just stand over there and just be Greg because we don’t need you to actually do anything. You’re not what we would call an essential employee, but just, you’re here to learn. What are you talking about? I mean, so anyway, cut all your non-essential expenses. Cut cable TV. Cut anything that’s not gonna help you learn how to earn more money or that doesn’t immediately help you improve your life. Get it out of here. I mean, just quit buying stuff you don’t need. Cut expenses on cigarettes. I like to smoke. It’s not affecting my health at all. I smoke two packs of cigarettes in the morning and I drink my lunch. It doesn’t bother me at all. This just in, stop smoking. Man, I just, I like to, you know, in the morning, man, I just like to smoke a little bit, because it helps me, you know, I live in Colorado, and it just helps me get, like, my whole, like, flow, bro. It’s like, when I smoke, it’s like, maybe you need to, you know, dial back the weed a little bit. Maybe you need to cut back on the cable. Maybe you need to cut back on the two packs of cigarettes. Maybe lottery tickets. I like lottery tickets. They help the kids. I buy lottery tickets and then all the money goes back to help the kids and the school and it’s just something I do for fun. Yeah, $60 a week of fun. You’re not going to be ever successful because you’re spending all your fun money at the casino. How fun is that place, by the way? Bring ding ding ding ding ding. Bring ding ding ding. Hey, can somebody get me a drink? A guy with a stoma. He’s got a hole in his neck so he can breathe. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, pull on the lever. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, someone next to you is like, can I get some more drinks? Ding, ding, ding, ding, okay. Cut non-essential expenses. If you look it up, we’ll put the stats on the screen. People, not you, probably most people, but not you. People are spending insane amounts of money on these areas. I’m gonna list them for you. Lottery tickets, stop buying it. Cigarettes, stop doing it. Gambling, stop doing it. Cable TV, quit watching it. Quit wasting your hard-earned money on stuff that does not benefit your life. Step number four, ask yourself, to yourself, how can I cut my budget in half? You have to be able to cut your budget in half. Why do you need to learn to cut your budget in half? Why do you even need to ask the question? Because it’s a big question. I mean, what if you asked yourself right now, how could I cut my budget in half? I mean, if we’re focused on cutting your budget by ten percent, that’s sort of like an easy question. But ask the big question, how do you cut your budget in half? And if you ask yourself, how can you cut your budget in half, you might screw up and cut your budget by 15%. So somebody out there who’s a math genius, who’s saying to themselves, well, if I cut my budget by half, I can’t do it. I can only cut it by 35%. That doesn’t feel very good. I mean, because that’s just 35%. That’s what I’m saying. Try to cut it by 50%, and if you can’t, at least you’ll cut it down to an amount that makes a significant impact for you. Step number five, you want to do this while you’re alive. In fact, you want to do it by the end of today by five. Do it by the end of business the next day by five. Do this. Do this by five o’clock and I guarantee you that if you do this for the rest of your life, regardless of how much money you make, you will be a millionaire. Not a magic money millionaire where you’re like, I’m going to make a million overnight because my vision is why people pay me. I got a precision vision and I’m here to win. I win all the time. Do you know what winning stands for? Winning stands for winning I now win. I mean, no, if you’re that kind of guy, I mean, I can’t help you. But I’m talking about a specific, systemic, get rich over time. Step number five, set up an automatic savings withdrawal system, an automated savings withdrawal system, a system, a system that takes money out of your account without you having to think about it. And it puts it into another account. Somebody says, what kind of account? I don’t care at this point. A savings account, a money marketing account, a money market account, a mutual fund. Just take your money out of your check, 10% of what you earn, take it out and put it where? In savings. Because if you don’t save, the seeds of greatness are not within you. You need to save. How much? 10%. I don’t know if I have the discipline. I don’t have the discipline. I am so disciplined, but I don’t have the discipline to save money. I cannot put one more thing on my plate. That’s what I’m saying. Take it out automatically. How much? 10%. When? Do it this week by the end of business today or tomorrow by 5. Do it while you’re If you set it and forget it, guess what happens? It’s going to be done. This training, this step right here could be worth to you millions. I’m going to put the stats on the screen here, but let’s just say that you saved 10% of your income right now. Let’s say that you are the sophomore in college. You’re 20, and you never do anything else. You don’t do anything else. We train you on Thrive. The entire rest of your life is a complete example of jackassery. You screw up in every possible area, and all you do is you take 10% out of your check for the next 40 years. In 40 years, you’re going to be how old? 60. And when you’re 60, how much money will you have? We’ll put the amount on the screen. It’ll blow your mind. You will have so much money that you’ll be going, I have another Thrive question. I’ve got a new Thrive question. I’m 60. I have a Thrive question. I’ve been on the site for 40 years. I want to know if you have too much money, where do you put it all? That’s going to be your question. I’m just saying it’s so important that you do this. If that’s all you do, you will be a wizard. People will be coming to you going, Yoda, how did you become a millionaire? And you’re going to go, well, I saved money one time. Automated account I did. I mean, that would be like, what else, Yoda? How do I kill Darth Vader? How do I restore order to the force? How do I find my sister? Is that my sister? How do I blow up the Death Star? In due time, I shall you, save money automatic, you must. I show you Save money automatic you must know you know and then you’ll just kind of die and fade away And he’s gone. That’s how he disappears, but the thing is that’s all you have to do That’s all you got to do. That’s all you have to do listen Listen, I know I’m getting kind of squirrely here You’ll see I did there The squirrel and I are trying to communicate to you in a memorable way if you do not get this message, this is going to ruin your life. You not setting up an automated savings system is as ridiculous as me talking to the squirrel. What’s up, Mr. Squirrel? How you doing? I’m doing fine. Thanks for asking. Oh, why aren’t people setting up an automated savings account? I don’t know. That’s a good question, Clay. Well, Squirrel, do you think that people are stupid? Are they jackasses? Are they busy? Oh, yeah, they’re so busy. We gotta watch The Voice tonight, an American Idol. I watch all those shows. I sneak in your window. I connect all those nuts, and I watch all those shows, and I don’t have time. Squirrel, you gotta go get some nuts, buddy. You gotta save those nuts, automatic savings. You gotta do it. Oh, thank you so much, wise wizard. That’s what it’s like, it’s stupid. You are stupid if you don’t set up an automated savings program. I don’t make any money if you do it. You have to do it. If you don’t do it, you are so stupid, so stupid. Hopefully the guys in the studio are getting it. You’re so stupid. I don’t have time. I was watching American Idol. I’m telling you, this week there’s a girl that’s going to be on there. She went to my high school. It’s crazy. I don’t have time. I have to update my Facebook. Let me tweet myself. Oh, oh, here came a text message. Here comes a Facebook update. Sorry, I was distracted. Don’t pay a dumb tax. Set up automatic withdrawal. Move number six. Go to a happy place. Move number six. Buy used cars only. Tell me more. That’s it. Buy used cars only. But Clay, you lease a car. I know you have a car you lease. I know. I’ve seen it. First off, I have a Hummer, which I bought used, paid for cash. True. I have a very large, what kind is this, a Suburban? My daughter’s here. Suburban, this is a Suburban. I have a Suburban, bought it used, cash. But you lease, you hypocrite, you are not doing what you’re, you are not doing what you said you’re, no. I have that vehicle, not for me. It’s to pick up clients. It’s like clients when we picked up in a Mercedes, they feel like, look, I’m in a nice car, you’re a nice guy, you must be successful. If I picked you up in the suburban that we have, my daughter’s here, but isn’t it right, we have like food crumbs in there and we have like coloring books and we have, and I’m like, hey big investor, how you doing, man? Doing good. This is what’s going to happen. If I meet the investor, I say, hello sir, how are you doing? He’s gonna hear hi, man. How you doing? And I’m gonna go. Hey, you want to go out to eat? He’s go hi, man. You want to go on up to eat man? You know, he’s gonna he’s keep he won’t be able to hear me Cuz he’s gonna look at my car and go that thing is a disaster So the thing is you have to it’s like why I spend money on business cards So that thing is I drive it literally look like what one day a month. Do I drive that car one day a month? I just leave it there? One day a month I drive it? I have like seven miles a month on my car. So all I’m saying is just buy used cars. Point number seven, think about all major purchases for 72 hours before buying them. But I have to buy now. If I don’t buy now, chop, you’ve heard this. If you don’t buy today, the special ends. You can’t get your mattress zero money down if you don’t buy it now. The sale on the mattress is right now. I mean, so you’re gonna walk off the lot and not buy that car today? This special only goes till tonight, I’ll tell you that. I mean, you know that flat screen TV? Special expires, it’s a door buster spell, the special, door buster. I mean, the door has been busted, and I’ll tell you what, if you don’t buy this TV here today by four o’clock, I’ll tell you what, it’s gonna be all gone. You wanna go home and talk to your wife and say, I don’t got a big TV? No, you don’t. I mean, this, I tell you what, man, this timeshare, if you don’t buy this timeshare by today at the end of this tour, you’re not getting your free buffet. You won’t get the free buffet. You won’t get the two tickets to the show. You’re not gonna get the buffet. And you ain’t gonna get happiness. And people that don’t go on vacations and don’t buy timeshares are not happy. So if you want to walk out of here and throw your whole life away and not be happy and throw away your two tickets to any Las Vegas show and you do not want tickets to the buffet, then I’m just saying fine, because I don’t even care. But can we talk? I mean, if we need to talk, I mean, that’s just whatever. If you’re going to buy something big, think about it for 72 hours first. And point number eight, I call this the Ocho. Point number eight, the Ocho. Cut up your credit cards if need be. Credit cards are like a double edged sword here. So I’m gonna go back to my super drawing board here. This is what a credit card is like, so I wanna make sure you see this. A credit card is like a sword, right? It’s a sword, sword, sword, sword. Very important when you draw a sword, you draw a sword accurately. Okay, sword, a little decorative work here on it. It’s a sword. Ooh, ooh, wow, look at that sword. It’s got like a shimmer to it. Now, the sword is awesome because a sword can be used for cutting over here, right? This is good. Cutting. This is a win, a win for America. You’re like, hey, I seem to be caught on something. Don’t worry, I have my sword. You know, a sword is great for oh, no. There’s a bad guy Bad guy don’t worry about it. I got taken care of I have a sword Right a sword is great for I locked my car. I’m locked out of my car. Don’t worry ma’am I have a sword You’re in the car Don’t do that, but you know I’m saying that’s what a sword is good If a sword is good for sword is good for cutting that kind of thing a sword is bad for what? Oh no, I have fallen on my sword. Guess what? You’re dead. Oops, my back itches. I got this itch. I got my itch back here. I just need to scratch. I just cut my spine. I mean, a sword is not good for body scratching. It’s not good for falling on. It’s not good to use as a pogo stick. Look, I’m on my sword. You don’t want to use a sword as a pogo stick. All I’m saying is that’s what a credit card’s like. So if you don’t have the whatever that is to keep you from buying stuff with your credit card, I highly recommend you have one because you’re going to have to rent a car, you’re going to need a hotel, if you’re going to lease an office building, you’re going to need to lease space and have credit. But just put it in like you’re safe or something, if that’s what you need. But you just, you know, don’t spend more money than you have on your credit card. I spend money on a credit card and I pay it off in full every month. But that’s how it is. Those are the tips. That’s the systematic eight steps for getting out of debt. That’s how you do it. But the one big idea, if you don’t remember anything else, is set up automatic savings, an automatic savings plan. You need to set it up automatically so that it just happens. And if it just happens, it’ll be done, and if it’s done, I mean, how many times a day are you gonna breathe? A lot? Do you have to remind yourself, like, Greg, are you gonna breathe? Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me, bro. Thanks, bro, that’s totally. I mean, it’s automatic. Set it up so it’s automatic, it just happens. You save money like you’re breathing air. Boom, it’s done. If you have any questions, as always, email us at info at thrive15.com and book a workshop, come out to a workshop. People tell us in our two-day workshops, they learn more in two days at our Thrive 15 workshops than they learn in their entirety of their business career. We hear it all the time, and it’s included in your membership. As a member, that’s what you get. It’s included in your membership. All right, Thrivers, until next time, boom. All right, JT, so hypothetically, in your mind, what is the purpose of having a business? To get you to your goals. So it’s a vehicle to get you to your destination. And would you need profits to get there? I mean, is that when you have a business that’s successful and you’re in your mind, your expert opinion, would you need profits to get your to get you to your goals? Yeah, because if you have a $15 million business, but you have $15 million in expenses, it’s kind of pointless. Holy crap. Alright, so the question I would have here for you, if you could take like, 10 minutes or less, and see if you could save three thousand bucks a year by reducing your credit card fees would you do it? Yes, absolutely. Holy crap! Why would somebody out there who’s listening right now, who has the same mind why would they not go to thrivetimeshow.com forward slash credit dash card thrivetimeshow.com forward slash credit dash card to schedule a ten minute consultation to see if they can reduce their credit card fees by at least 3,000 bucks a year. Why would they not do it? Yeah, why would they not do it? Maybe because they didn’t understand how you set the website. This tree is a symbol of the spirit of the Griswold family Christmas. Now that’s clear. Okay, so that could be true. So I encourage everybody to check out Thrivetimeshow.com forward slash credit dash card. Thrivetimeshow.com forward slash credit dash card. What would be another reason why someone would not be willing to take 10 minutes to compare rates to see if they could save $3,000 or more on credit card fees. Maybe they think it is a waste of time and then it won’t it’s not possible There’s somebody out there that’s making more than three thousand dollars every ten minutes and they’re like nah, that’s not worth my time It’s probably some someone out there. Okay. Well, I’ll just tell you folks, if you’re out there today and you’re making less than $3,000 per 10 minutes, I would highly recommend that you go to thrivetimeshow.com forward slash credit dash hard because you can compare rates, you can save money, and the big goal in my opinion of building a business is to create time, freedom, and financial freedom, and in order to do that, you have to maximize your profits. Holy crap. Now, one way to maximize your profits is to increase your revenue. Another way to do it is to decrease your expenses. It’s a profit deal. It takes the pressure off. JT, is there any other reason why somebody would not be willing to take 10 minutes to compare rates to see if they could save a total of $3,000 a year on average. I am at a loss I cannot think of any other. Shampoo is better. I go on first and clean the hair. Conditioner is better. I leave the hair silky and smooth. Oh really fool, really. Stop looking at me, swan! Let me tell you a good story here real quick. I actually years ago compared rates with this company here called IPS. It’s Integrated Payment Services. And I scheduled a consultation. I don’t know if I was skeptical. I just thought whatever. I’ll take ten minutes. I’ll compare rates. I can’t tell. You can tell me I’m a doctor. No, I mean, I’m just not sure. Why can’t you take a guess? Well, not for another two hours. You can’t take a guess for another two hours? And in my case, in my case, my particular case, I save over $20,000 a year. Holy crap! Wow. Which is, you know, like groceries when my wife goes to the organic stores. Find everything you need today? Yeah. Great. Okay. Oh, God. Everything okay, ma’am? Oh, it’s just that you’ve only scanned a few items and it’s already 60 bucks. I’m so scared. Okay, I’m a trained professional, ma’am. I’ve scanned a lot of groceries. I need you to stay with me. It’s just that my in-laws are in town and they want a charcuterie board. This isn’t going to be easy, so I need you to be brave, all right? What’s your name? Patricia. Patricia, all right. I need you to take a deep breath. We’re about to do the cheese. You know, that’s the difference between eating organic and not organic. So because my wife eats organic, I had to take the 10 minutes needed to compare rates to save the $20,000 a year on credit card fees just for one of my companies. One question. What’s the brand name of the clock? The brand name of the clock, Rod. Do we have it? The brand name of the clock. It’s an elegant from Ridgway. It’s from Ridgway. Let’s buy the clock and sell the fireplace. I encourage everybody out there, go to thrivetimeshow.com forward slash credit dash card. You schedule a free consultation, request information. A member of our team will call you. They’ll schedule a free consultation. It should take you 10 minutes or less. they’re going to compare rates and see if they can’t save you more than $3,000 a year off of your credit card processing. You were hoping what? I wouldn’t owe you money at the end of the day. No, you don’t owe us money. Because at the end of the day, the goal of the business is to create time, freedom, and financial freedom. And in order to do that, you need to create additional profits. The number of new customers that we’ve had is up 411% over last year. We are Jared and Jennifer Johnson. We own Platinum Pest and Lawn and are located in Owasso, Oklahoma. And we have been working with Thrive for business coaching for almost a year now. Yeah. So, what we want to do is we want to share some wins with you guys that we’ve had by working with Thrive. First of all, we’re on the top page of Google now. I just want to let you know what type of accomplishment this is. Our competition, Orkin, Terminex, they’re both $1.3 billion companies. They both have 2,000 to 3,000 pages of content attached to their website. So to basically go from virtually nonexistent on Google to up on the top page is really saying something. But it’s come by being diligent to the systems that Thrive has, by being consistent and diligent on doing podcasts, and staying on top of those podcasts to really help with getting up on what they’re listing and ranking there with Google. And also, we’ve been trying to get Google reviews, asking our customers for reviews. And now we’re the highest rated and most reviewed Pest Salon company in the Tulsa area. And that’s really helped with our conversion rate. And the number of new customers that we’ve had is up 411% over last year. Wait, say that again. How much are we up? 411%. Okay. So 411% we’re up with our new customers. Amazing. Right. So not only do we have more customers calling in, we’re able to close those deals at a much higher rate than we were before. Right now, our closing rate is about 85 percent, and that’s largely due to, first of all, like our Google reviews that we’ve gotten. People really see that our customers are happy, but also we have a script that we follow. And so when customers call in, they get all the information that they need. That script has been refined time and time again. It wasn’t a one-and-done deal. It was a system that we followed with Thrive in the refining process and that has obviously the 411% shows that that system works. Yeah, so here’s a big one for you. So last week alone, our booking percentage was 91%. We actually booked more deals, more new customers last year than we did the first five months. Or I’m sorry, we booked more deals last week than we did the first five months of last year from before we worked with Thrive. So again, we booked more deals last week than the first five months of last year. It’s incredible, but the reason why we have that success is by implementing the systems that Thrive has taught us and helped us out with. Some of those systems that we’ve implemented are group interviews. That way we’ve really been able to come up with a really great team. We’ve created and implemented checklists, everything gets done and it gets done right. It creates accountability. We’re able to make sure that everything gets done properly both out in the field and also in our office. And also doing the podcast like Jared had mentioned that has really, really contributed to our success. But that, like I said, the diligence and consistency and consistency in doing those and that system has really Really been a big blessing in our lives and also, you know It’s really shown that we’ve gotten a success from following those systems. So before working with thrive, we were basically stuck Really no new growth with our with our business and we were in a rut and we didn’t know The last three years our customer base had pretty much stayed the same. We weren’t shrinking, but we weren’t really growing either. Yeah, and so we didn’t really know where to go, what to do, how to get out of this rut that we’re in. But Thrive helped us with that. You know, they implemented those systems, they taught us those systems, they taught us the knowledge that we needed in order to succeed. Now it’s been a grind, absolutely it’s been a grind this last year, but we’re getting those fruits from that hard work and the diligent effort that we’re able to put into it. So again, we were in a rut, Thrive helped us get out of that rut, and if you’re thinking about working with Thrive, quit thinking about it and just do it. Do the action, and you’ll get the results. It will take hard work and discipline, but that’s what it’s going to take in order to really succeed. So we just want to give a big shout out to Thrive, a big thank you out there to Thrive. We wouldn’t be where we’re at now without their help. Hi, I’m Dr. Mark Moore. I’m a pediatrician. Through our new digital marketing plan, we have seen a marked increase in the number of new patients that we’re seeing every month, year over year. One month, for example, we went from 110 new patients the previous year to over 180 new patients in the same month. And overall, our average is running about 40 to 42 percent increase month over month, year over year. The group of people required to implement our new digital marketing plan is immense, starting with a business coach, videographers, photographers, web designers. Back when I graduated dental school in 1985, nobody advertised. The only marketing that was ethically allowed in everybody’s eyes was mouth-to-mouth marketing. By choosing to use the services, you’re choosing to use a proof and turnkey marketing and coaching system that will grow your practice and get you the results that you’re looking for. I went to the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry, graduated in 1983, and then I did my pediatric dental residency at Baylor College of Dentistry from 1983 to 1985. Hello, my name is Charles Colaw with Colaw Fitness. Today I want to tell you a little bit about Clay Clark and how I know Clay Clark. Clay Clark has been my business coach since 2017. He’s helped us grow from two locations to now six locations. We’re planning to do seven locations in seven years and then franchise. And Clay has done a great job of helping us navigate anything that has to do with running the business, building the systems, the checklists, the workflows, the audits, how to navigate lease agreements, how to buy property, how to work with brokers and builders. This guy is just amazing. This kind of guy has worked in every single industry. He’s written books with Lee Crockerill, head of Disney, with the 40,000 cast members. He’s friends with Mike Lindell. He does Reawaken America tours where he does these tours all across the country where 10,000 or more people show up to some of these tours. On the day-to-day, he does anywhere from about 160 companies. He’s at the top. He has a team of business coaches, videographers, graphic designers, and web developers. They run 160 companies every single week. Think of this guy with a team of business coaches running 160 companies. Every 6-8 weeks he’s doing Reawaken America tours. Every 6-8 weeks he’s also doing business conferences where 200 people show up and he teaches people a 13 step proven system that he’s done and worked with billionaires helping them grow their companies. I’ve seen guys from start-ups go from start-ups to being multi-millionaires. Teaching people how to get time freedom and financial freedom through the system, critical thinking, document creation, making it, putting it into, organizing everything in their head to building it into a franchisable, scalable business. One of his businesses has like 500 franchises. That’s just one of the companies or brands that he works with. Amazing guy, Elon Musk, kind of like smart guy. He kind of comes off sometimes as socially awkward, but he’s so brilliant and he’s taught me so much. When I say that, Clay is like, he doesn’t care what people think when you’re talking to him. He cares about where you’re going in your life and where he can get you to go. That’s what I like him most about him. He’s like a good coach. A coach isn’t just making you feel good all the time. A coach is actually helping you get to the best of you. Clay has been an amazing business coach. Through the course of that, we became friends. My most impressive thing was when I was shadowing him one time, we went into a business deal and listened to it. I got to shadow and listen to it. When we walked out, I knew that he could make millions on the deal and they were super excited about working with him. He told me, he’s like, I’m not going to touch it, I’m going to turn it down because he knew it was going to harm the common good of people in the long run. The guy’s integrity just really wowed me. It brought tears to my eyes to see that this guy has he doesn’t his highest desire was to do what’s right and Anyways, just just just an amazing man. So anyways impacted me a lot. He’s helped navigate anytime I’ve got nervous or worried about how to run the company or You know Navigating competition and an economy that’s like I remember we got closed down for three months he helped us navigate on how to stay open, how to get back open, how to just survive through all the COVID shutdowns, lockdowns. I’m Rachel with Tip Top K9 and we just want to give a huge thank you to Clay and Vanessa Clark. Hey guys, I’m Ryan with Tip Top K9. Just want to say a big thank you to Thrive 15. Thank you to Make Your Life Epic. We love you guys, we appreciate you and really just appreciate how far you’ve taken us. This is our old house. This is where we used to live a few years ago. This is our old neighborhood. See? It’s nice, right? So this is my old van and our old school marketing. And this is our old team. And by team I mean it’s me and another guy. This is our new van with our new marketing and this is our new team. We went from 4 to 14 and I took this beautiful photo. We worked with several different business coaches in the past and they were all about helping Ryan sell better and just teaching sales, which is awesome, but Ryan is a really great salesman. So, we didn’t need that. We needed somebody to help us get everything that was in his head out into systems, into manuals and scripts and actually build a team. So now that we have systems in place, we’ve gone from one to 10 locations in only a year. In October 2016, we grossed 13 grand for the whole month. Right now it’s 2018, the month of October. It’s only the 22nd, we’ve already grossed a little over 50 grand for the whole month and we still have time to go. We’re just thankful for you, thankful for Thrive and your mentorship and we’re really thankful that you guys have helped us to grow a business that we run now instead of the business running us. Just thank you, thank you, thank you, times a thousand. The Thrive Time Show, two-day interactive business workshops are the highest and most reviewed business workshops on the planet. The Planet. You can learn the proven 13 point business systems that Dr. Zellner and I have used over and over to start and grow successful companies. We get into the specifics, the specific steps on what you need to do to optimize your website. We’re going to teach you how to fix your conversion rate. We’re going to teach you how to do a social media marketing campaign that works. How do you raise capital? How do you get a small business loan? We teach you everything you need to know here during a two day, 15 hour workshop. It’s all here for you. You work every day in your business, but for two days, you can escape and work on your business and build these proven systems. So now you can have a successful company that will produce both the time freedom and the financial freedom that you deserve. You’re going to leave energized, motivated, but you’re also going to leave empowered. The reason why I built these workshops is because as an entrepreneur, I always wish that I had this. And because there wasn’t anything like this, I would go to these motivational seminars, no money down, real estate, Ponzi scheme, get motivated seminars, and they would never teach me anything. It was like you went there and you paid for the big chocolate Easter bunny, but inside of it, it was a hollow nothingness. And I wanted the knowledge, and they’re like, oh, but we’ll teach you the knowledge after our next workshop. And the great thing is we have nothing to upsell. At every workshop, we teach you what you need to know. There’s no one in the back of the room trying to sell you some next big, get rich quick, walk on hot coals product. It’s literally, we teach you the brass tacks, the specific stuff that you need to know to learn how to start and grow a business. I encourage you to not believe what I’m saying, and I want you to Google the Z66 auto auction. I want you to Google elephant in the room. Look at Robert Zellner and Associates. Look them up and say, are they successful because they’re geniuses? Or are they successful because they have a proven system? When you do that research, you will discover that the same systems that we use in our own business can be used in your business. Come to Tulsa, book a ticket, and I guarantee you it’s going to be the best business workshop ever and we’re going to give you your money back if you don’t love it. We built this facility for you and we’re excited to see it. You go back eight years ago, think about the number of clients you had back then versus the number of clients you have now. As a percentage, what has been the growth over the past eight years, do you think? We’ve got to inspire somebody out there who just doesn’t have the time to listen to their call. it’s like I would go up and down from about $10,000 a month up to about $40,000, but it’s up and down roller coaster. And so now we’ve got it to where we’re in excess of 100 clients. That’s awesome. And so I would have anywhere from 5 clients to 20 clients on my own with networking, but I had no control over it. Without the systems, you’re going to be victimized by your own business. For somebody out there who struggles with math, let’s say that your average number of clients was 30 and you go to 100. As a percentage, what is that? I have doubled every year since working with you. So I’ve doubled in clients. I’ve doubled in revenue every year. That’s 100% growth every year. We’ve been good friends seven, eight years, and I’ve got doubled five times. Which is just incredible. The first time you do it, that’s one thing. But when you do it repeatedly, that’s unbelievable. We’re working our blessed assurance off this year to double. We’re planning on doubling again. We’re incorporating some new things in there to really help us do it, but we are going to double again this year. I started coaching, but it would go up and down, Clay. That’s when I came to you, as I was going up and down, and I wanted to go up and up instead of up and down. And so that’s when it needed a system. So creating a system is you have nailed down specific steps that you’re going to take no matter how you feel, no matter the results. You lean into them and you do them regardless of what’s happening. You lean into them and it will give you X number of leads. You follow up with those leads, it turns into sales. Well, I tell you, if you don’t have a script and you don’t have a system, then every day is a whole new creation. You’re creating a lot of energy just to figure out what are you going to do. And the best executives, Peter Drucker is a father of modern management. He said, the most effective executives make one decision a year. What you do is you make a decision, what is your system, and then you work like the Dickens to make sure you follow that system. And so that’s really what it’s all about. So with a script here, we have a brand new gal that just came in working for us. She nailed down the script and she’s been nailing down appointments. Usually we try to get one appointment for every 100 calls. We make 200 to 300 calls a day per rep. And she’s been nailing down five and eight appointments a day on that script. So she’s making how many calls a day? She’s making between two and three hundred calls a day. And our relationship is weird in that we do, if someone were to buy an Apple computer today, and or let’s say about a personal computer, a PC, the computer is made by, let’s say, Dell. But then the software in the computer would be Microsoft, let’s say, or Adobe or whatever that is. So I basically make the systems and you’re like the computer and I’m like the software. That’s kind of how I would describe our relationship. Tim, I want to ask you this. You and I reconnected, I think it was in the year 2000 and what was it, maybe 2010? Is that right? 2011 maybe? Or maybe even further down the road, maybe 2013? 2012. Okay, so 2012, and at that time I was five years removed from the DJ business. And you were how many years removed from tax and accounting software? It was about 10, 11 years. We met, how did we meet? What was the first interaction? There was some interaction where you and I first connected. I just remember that somehow you and I went to Hideaway Pizza. But do you remember when we first reconnected? Yeah, well we had that speaking thing that… Oh there it was! So it’s Victory Christian Center. I was speaking there. My name is Robert Redman. I actually first met Clay almost three years ago to the day. I don’t know if he remembers it or not, but I wasn’t working with him at the time. I asked to see him and just ask him some questions to help, you know, direct my life to get some mentorship, but I’ve been working with Clay for now just over a year. The role I play here is a business coach, business consultant. I work with different businesses implementing best practice processes and systems that I have learned here by working with Clay. The experience working here has, to put it real plainly, has been just life changing. I have not only learned new things and have gained new knowledge but but I have gained a whole new mindset that I believe wherever I end up will serve me well throughout the rest of my life. Since working with Clay I have learned so much. I mean I would like to say it was everything about about business in terms of the different categories. I haven’t learned it all, but I’ve learned all about marketing. I’ve learned about advertising. I’ve learned about branding. I’ve learned how to create a sales process for organizations in any industry. I’ve learned how to sell. I’ve learned how to create repeatable systems and processes and hold people accountable. You know, how to hire people. It’s almost like every aspect of a business you can learn. I have learned a lot in those different categories. And then, again, the mindset that I’ve gained here has been huge. Working here, you can’t be a mediocre person. You are a call to a higher standard of excellence. And then as you’re called to that standard here, you begin to see those outcomes in every area of your life. That standard of excellence that you want to implement no matter what you’re involved in. I would like to describe the other people that work with Clay are people that are going somewhere with their life. Marshall and the group interview talks about how, you know, the best fits for this organization are the people that are goal-oriented. So they’re on their own trajectory and we’re on our own trajectory. And the best fits are those people where there can be a mutually beneficial relationship that as we pursue our goals and we help the business pursue those goals, the business helps us pursue our goals as well. And so I’d say people that are driven, people that want to make something of their lives, people that are goal-oriented, they’re focused, and they’re committed to overcoming any adversity that may come their way. Clay’s passion for helping business owners grow their businesses is, it’s unique in that, that I don’t know if there’s anyone else’s that can be as passionate. You know, whenever a business starts working with Clay, it’s almost as like Clay is running that business in the sense that he has something at stake. You know, he’s just serving them. They’re one of his clients, but it’s as if he is actively involved in the business. Whenever they have a win, he’s posting it all over his social media. He’s shouting it across the room here at Thrive. He’s sending people encouraging messages. He can kind of be that life coach and business coach in terms of being that a motivator and that champion for people’s businesses. It’s again unique because there’s no one else I’ve seen get so excited about and passionate about other people’s businesses. The kind of people that wouldn’t like working with Clay are people that are satisfied with mediocrity, people that want to get through life by just doing enough, by just getting by, people who are not looking to develop themselves, people who are not coachable, people who think that they know it all and they’re unwilling to change. I would say those are the type of people and in short anyone that’s content with mediocrity would not like working with Clay. So if you’re meeting Clay for the first time the advice I’d give you is definitely come ready to take tons of notes. Every time Clay speaks, he gives you a wealth of knowledge that you don’t want to miss. I remember the first time that I met Clay. I literally carried a notebook with me all around. I was looking at this notebook the other day, actually. I carried a notebook with me all around, and I just took tons of notes. I filled the entire notebook in about three or four months just from being around Clay, following him, and learning from him. And then I would say, come coachable. Be open to learning something new. Be open to challenging yourself. Be open to learning and adjusting parts about you Be open to learning and adjusting parts about you that need to be adjusted.