14.3K
Downloads
279
Episodes
Making Bank highlights
Episodes
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Friday Nov 04, 2022
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:
Twitter: ryantansom
Instagram: ryan_tansom
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ryan-tansom-4a440710/
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Friday Nov 04, 2022
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:
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Friday Nov 04, 2022
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:
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Friday Nov 04, 2022
On this episode of the Making Bank podcast, Justin Rezvani discusses internet censorship and how he’s been working on a decentralized and open-source social network called Zion.
Justin initially started working for Disney before starting his own company, theAmplify, at age 25. The platform was used to create large-scale native advertising campaigns for brands on social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Youtube. It was one of the world’s first-ever influencer platforms created without any outside funding or investment. Along with a team assembled by Justin, he was able to scale theAmplify into a multi-million dollar company.
After the company was acquired in 2016, Justin would leave his role at theAmplify in 2018. Since 2020, Justin has shifted his focus to his latest venture Zion. 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.instagram.com/justinrezvani/?hl=en
https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinrezvani
https://www.amazon.com/Unapologetic-Freedom-Censorship-Sovereignty-Reclaims/dp/B09WTLF44K
Friday Nov 04, 2022
Friday Nov 04, 2022
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:
Friday May 27, 2022
Friday May 27, 2022
In this episode of the Making Bank podcast, Jesse Krieger takes us through his journey of how he went from playing music on the streets of Europe to writing his book and starting a publishing company that publishes around 30 books a year.
Jesse Krieger has been passionate about music since the age of 13. When he was only 19, he skipped his ticket home to stay in Vienna, playing music on the streets and backpacking through Europe for a living. After that, he returned to the US, where he started his first business with his bandmate, which was a record label for their band.
He would go on to start several businesses, from an SEO business to dropshipping products. His experiences starting and running these businesses spawned the idea of documenting his process for creating business and making it successful. Eventually, that idea would lead to the inception of his first book. Going through being an author and writing his book, Jesse took his knowledge and decided to make it lucrative. He would start his own publishing company, Lifestyle Entrepreneurs Press, and has currently published over 150 books.
In this episode you’ll learn more about Jesse and his process of writing a book of your own.
Listen to Josh and Jesse talk about Jesse's Journey and what makes a great book:
- (3:50) Jesse's Backstory
Jesse grew up loving music, at 13, Jesse would ditch school to practice Jimmy Hendrix songs. Jesse played in bands and even attended music school in LA for a year. However, he wouldn't stay in LA, instead, he went on a backpacking trip to Europe for a couple of months but then extended his stay to a year, and that's where he started making money playing music on the streets of Vienna, Austria.
- (7:35) Jesse On Starting His First Business
Jesse explains how he realized his options were to go home and move back in with his parents or continue his adventure with music. This eventually gave birth to Jesse's first business. He moved back to the US and started a record label with his bandmate and now business partner. They thought, why get a manager to sign them with a record label when they could create a label of their own and produce their music. They raised capital and eventually started their label and toured America twice.
- (13:51) Why Publishing?
Jesse traveled to Asia and started studying languages. In Asia, he would start an SEO business as well as a dropshipping business selling flash drives in bulk out of South China. He sold the company 18 months later, and this sparked the idea to document how he went from zero to a six-figure business — that would then become his first book known as Lifestyle Entrepreneur.
- (17:16) Creating Opportunities With Your Book
Jesse talks about creating business opportunities with your book. He explains how if you have a brand or business and you've written a great book, don't just sell the book as the book itself but sell it with a bonus that compliments what you're offering with the book.
- (22:33) Shortcut To Writing Your Own Book
Writing a book from scratch takes effort, but Jesse explains his shortcut to writing. Take five questions that encapsulate what your book is about and get someone to ask you those questions and let you answer them. Use those questions to create the chapters of your book — record your answers and later get it transcribed or edited and clean it up after.
- (26:32) Can You Make Money With Your Book?
Jesse talks about the types of relationships and deals you can make with your publisher — if your publisher is giving you an advance on the promise that you will sell x number of books or if your publisher is partnering with you to set up your business for future success as well.
- (28:52) Biggest Mistake When Writing Books
According to Jesse, an author's biggest mistake is announcing your book too late. He talks about what you should be doing while making your book and when it's the best time to reveal your book's existence.
Links mentioned:
Monday Apr 11, 2022
Monday Apr 11, 2022
On this episode of the Making Bank podcast, Dan Zavorotny discusses how he started the company “NutriSense” and how it reached a 150 million dollar valuation in 26 months.
When Dan started out his career, he realized that he would get hyper obsessive over certain things — where he wanted to be the best at whatever it was that he was doing. Dan used this hyper obsession of being the best to help propel himself in his career and later to kickstart his company NutriSense.
NutriSense is a metabolic health company that uses Continuous Glucose Monitoring and machine learning to personalize nutrition and reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes & heart disease. With NutriSense, Dan’s customers can track how their blood glucose levels respond to food, exercise, stress, and sleep all in real time.
Listen to the episode to learn more about Dan’s journey, how he approaches business and how he managed to scale his company during a global pandemic.
Listen to Josh and Dan discuss health and business growth:
- (1:24) Dan’s Background
Dan talks about growing up as an immigrant in the US and not being able to travel as much as he wanted to. Later as an adult, how being able to travel for work became a criteria for the jobs he would choose and the biggest takeaway from his travels.
- (7:09) Creating NutriSense
Dan was already working as a consultant in the healthcare space and he noticed that healthcare costs relating to diabetes, heart disease and alzheimers in the US kept going while people kept getting sicker. That’s when he had the idea of doing something in this space. Later he ran into one of his friends wearing a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) and Dan talks about creating Nutrisense together and the role he played in the company’s creation.
- (9:48) Creating Meaningful Relationships with Influencers
The biggest mistake companies make is treating influencers as “cash in and cash out.” Dan talks about how important it is to treat influencers as people and develop good relationships with them — how the relationships you have with people create an avenue for you to be introduced to others driven by the same motivation in that space, over time allowing you to create a network of like-minded individuals as well as build your brand.
- (13:04) The Importance of SEO
Dan touches on the channels he used to expand his business to reach its 150 million dollar valuation, where he emphasizes on using SEO to its full potential. He stresses the importance of differentiating between short-term, long-term and mid-term channels and discerning which ones are best suited for your business.
- (15:54) What Sets Nutrisense Apart
For years a CGM was only available to people with type 1 diabetic people. The process of getting one was everything but simple, on top of needing a prescription, it was expensive as well. However with NutriSense, Dan aimed to make CGMs available for everyone that wanted to track their glucose as well as making the information tracked available to them on their phones.
- (20:14) Overcoming Challenges
Before wrapping up their conversation, Dan discusses the problems he faced starting up a company and trying to scale it during the pandemic. How his approach to challenges helped him overcome them and reach where he is today. Dan approaches all his problems with the mindset that “every wall can be broken,” he’s a firm believer that every problem is solvable and it’s only a matter of figuring out the solution.
Links mentioned:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danzav
Sunday Mar 13, 2022
Sunday Mar 13, 2022
Alternative Asset Investing made accessible.
On this episode of the Making Bank podcast, Eric Satz discusses how his company “Alto” make alternative asset investing accessible and affordable for all.
Modeled after Turbo Tax, Alto connects individual investors with better ways to utilize their retirement funds for long-term investments. Eric and his team provide their customers access to financial literacy tools, as well as an abundance of resources. Alto is here to disrupt the market—and it already has.
Listen to the episode to learn more about how to properly diversify your portfolio, what long-term investments you should look into, and how you can make the most of your money now.
Listen to Josh and Eric discuss alternative asset investing:
What is Alto? (2:44)
Alto is a trust company that helps individual investors better access and utilize their retirement funds for long-term investments in private equity. Eric and his team match you with opportunities you’re looking for, as well as allow you to bring deals to the table.
Financial Literacy and Diversification (9:06)
Eric and his team believe that everyone should have access to financial literacy tools and resources. Through this education, investors can better diversify their portfolios so that their investments are less volatile and generate more revenue.
Investment Fees (11:44)
Eric adopted the Turbo Tax method for his approach to investment fees. He himself was getting frustrated with traditional fees. So, he decided to make Alto an accessible platform and charge less than traditional investment firms or brokers. When it comes to crypto exchanges, Alto only charges 1%.
Disrupting the Market (14:54)
Alto wants to disrupt Fidelity and Schwab. Eric and his team seek to disrupt the investment landscape and make it accessible and understandable to all. He also delves into the caps on investments, particularly for IRAs.
Customer-Oriented (18:46)
Although Alto focuses on investments, it’s still a customer service platform. Eric believes that to some extent, all entrepreneurs are customer service people.
Long-Term Investment (20:14)
As retirement funds are long-term, Eric encourages everyone to pursue long-term investments, particularly ones that are illiquid. The great thing about making investments with IRA dollars is that it’s tax advantage, and includes compounding returns.
Links mentioned:
Sunday Mar 06, 2022
Sunday Mar 06, 2022
Can you build a $100 million company with no employees? Our guest has done it six times.
On this episode of the Making Bank podcast, Trevor Blake shares how he has built over $600 million worth of companies without any employees.
As a bullied child, Trevor got into reading and learning early on. From there, he learned many life lessons from the people before him. When he hit his 40s, he left his current company to start his own, putting those lessons into good use. Harnessing technology, systems and himself, he has built multiple $100 million companies without a single employee. He shares how he did it on this episode.
Trevor also delves into how set proper intentions, build quickly, and sell well. Listen to the show to hear more on how to harness your intuition, work five hour days, and the one big secret to success.
Listen to Josh and Trevor discuss scaling quickly:
Trevor’s Background (2:00)
After being bullied in school, Trevor turned to books and biographies to learn. Eventually when he grew up. took to traveling with his wife, and learned physics. When he hit his 40s, he quit his job to start his own company, and since then has raised $600 million with seven companies and zero employees.
Zero Employees (5:17)
Trevor explains how he started his first company with $200 and grew it up to over $100 million. A large part of this is due to his business model, which relies on technology and himself to perform all functions. Without employees, his net profit is 76. He has since successfully repeated this process 7 times.
Real World Wizards (9:22)
Trevor delves into why he thinks entrepreneurs are really just real-world wizards. From converting ideas into institutes and money, any entrepreneur has the power to make magic happen with the right steps and intentions.
Setting Intentions (11:47)
Can you imagine success into happening? Drawing from his background, Trevor explains how by telling yourself that your success has already happened, you can trick your brain into heading into that direction. Instead of saying, “I will sell my company,” you can say “I have sold my company” and your brain will move towards that goal.
Trevor also delves into how entrepreneurs are fixers and creative people, maybe even more than analytical. He uses past examples of entrepreneurs who set out to solve a problem before finding success.
Get Big, Fast (17:08)
Trevor chats about how to think bigger and grow big quickly. By not taking employees and having success exit strategies, you can build a company and sell it in only a few years and make millions while doing it.
Trust Your Intuition to Exit Properly (19:57)
The best exit strategy is a solidly built company. Trevor shares his idea that the fast-paced world we’re living in lends itself well with those who have strong intuition and can adapt quickly, which traditionally has been women. Trevor urges the audience to embrace these traits and learn from the women in their lives.
Five Hour Days (23:23)
In studying brain neurology, Trevor has discovered that our minds can only be product for short periods at a time. Other successful entrepreneurs have adapted habits such as doing something creative or even short naps that have greatly improved productivity. Trevor explains what his day looks like and how much he gets done.
One Big Secret of Success (25:28)
Trevor believes that the one big secret of success for everyone is “just start.” Start now.
Links mentioned:
Sunday Feb 27, 2022
Sunday Feb 27, 2022
Are you investing correctly? Maybe not.
On this episode of the Making Bank podcast, Salvatore Buscemi discusses how true investors make money work for them. Originally on the path to a medical degree, Salvatore quickly realized he wanted to switch to finance. After getting into real estate, he began networking, studying, and observing how the extremely rich invested.
Now, he teaches others how to invest like the .001%, create legacy, and get into the right circles to meet the right people.
Listen to Josh and Salvatore discuss smart investing:
Salvatore’s Background (3:26)
Salvatore explains the winding path that brought him to entrepreneurship. Originally pursuing a medical degree, Salvatore realized he didn’t want that life. He was able to connect with people in finance and set his sights on business.
The Pandemic and the Work Landscape (9:07)
Salvatore chats about how the pandemic has and continues to shape the work world. He views the Great Resignation as a spiritual awakening for most people. People are now moving into other industries or starting their own businesses.
Statement Assets (10:54)
It’s not just about showing off your car anymore. It’s about showing off your assets. Salvatore discusses the new trend of “statement assets,” which are things like stock in professional sports. These statement assets show to others that you’re willing to invest big dollars, thus attracting wealthier and more sophisticated partnerships. As opposed to investing in Airbnb, a statement asset would be investing in commercial real estate.
Invest like the Rich (15:12)
Don’t invest in stocks. Invest in new ideas. Salvatore talks about how investing in private equity and venture capital is how the rich get richer. Instead of running after the stock market, look to the centers of new ideas, and follow the people who have many successful start-ups under their name.
Additionally, Salvatore emphasizes the importance of always knowing who the other investors are.
Entrepreneurial Evolution (22:02)
Salvatore explains how you can jump from the middle class to the upper class. Get involved in entrepreneurial groups and leverage your network as much as you can to get into the right circles and meet the right people. Meeting people outside of your comfort zone, immediate acquaintances and geography online and through groups will push you to create an airtight network.
As you expand outward, pay attention to how people approach their work. Are they doing something you’re not? Are they succeeding? You’ll be surprised with what you learn.
Investing Legacy (27:01)
Salvatore explains why he wrote his book Investing Legacy: How the .001% Invest. In it, he discusses investment biases of the top .001%, as well as what they get right. The top .001% invest in what helps further their mission statement, brand, and values—better cementing their legacy.
Second Rule of Real Estate (31:22)
Location, location, location. That’s what’s most important in real estate. To Salvatore, the second most important rule of real estate is never stop raising capital.
Links mentioned: