Latest / The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson / Making Your Side Hustle Your Main Business with John Clidy

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Making Your Side Hustle Your Main Business with John Clidy · The SmallBizChat with Melinda Emerson

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  3, 10, 1, 0, ignition, liftoff,
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  Ending small business failure.
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  Welcome to the Small Biz Chat podcast with a number 1 small business expert Melinda Emerson.
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  Bolinda's goal is to end small business failure, and she'll give you the information
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  you need to succeed and live the life you've dream of.
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  Now here's the small Biz lady herself.
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  Melinda Emerson.
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  Hi, everybody.
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  I'm Melinda Emerson.
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  This small lady, and welcome to small biz chat live.
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  Now small biz chat live is a peer to peer interview show that gives small business owners
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  a way to get and share invaluable business advice.
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  The mission of small business chat is to end small business failure.
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  And we've been doing this thing 11 years, and we're not gonna stop anytime soon.
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  We all know right now we are living in perilous times, and we need motivation, inspiration, and
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  good ideas.
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  And that is what we have for you tonight.
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  You know, our goal at small business chat is to give you information.
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  Sage advice is gonna take your business to the next level.
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  You know, I'm a big believer that when you start a small business, that you should start
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  as a side hustler first until you get to the point where your business is actually throwing
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  off real revenue because we know that when you cut your paycheck off, they're off.
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  So replacing your corporate salary is not so easy, but I have a guest here who has done it
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  successfully walked away from a six figure job, and he could not be happier.
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  And he's gonna talk about if you're ready, if you've been running in your side hustle
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  business and you looking for the information encouraged to transition over.
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  I got the guy here to talk to you about it.
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  His name is John Clyde, and he has a very successful real estate business, but he was a
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  state trooper for the police before he started his business.
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  So I I want to hear I want all of you guys to hear his story.
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  I've known him for a very long time.
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  He recently released his first book called leaving 6 figures, and he's here tonight to
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  talk to us about, you know, how he made this transition because now He owns $7,000,000,000
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  worth of real estate.
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  He cannot imagine going back and punching a clock for somebody ever again.
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  So, John, welcome to Smallish chat live.
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  Thank thanks, Melinda.
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  I'm excited to be here and wow.
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  A lot of good information on this chat today.
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  So thanks for having me.
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  Hey.
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  You know, I don't be messing around, John.
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  Alright.
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  Listen.
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  So you worked a full time job in law enforcement for how many years before you went
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  off and became a full time real estate agent.
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  And then eventually, you opened your own real estate practice.
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  Right?
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  So you have many real estate agents that actually work for you now.
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  Right?
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  Yeah.
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  I did 17 years, and I just this great idea that I was gonna leave 3 years shy of a pension for
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  life.
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  So here I am.
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  No.
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  It it it was, well thought out decision as I put in the book.
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  And like you said, I mean, it's smart to to start anything out as a side hustle because if
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  you have family, you know, Scott talked about his family and you gotta be smart.
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  You know, you just can't, you know, you gotta think about more than just yourself.
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  And and then obviously, you know, if you get into business and you bring others along and
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  you're not right, then you you mess up other people's lives too.
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  So definitely need to be smart when you go from, you know, the side hustle to the main
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  hustle.
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  But I would say the the the state police part of it was easy and hard.
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  It was hard because I I worked so hard to get that that job or that career.
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  I mean, it was like 10,000 people that applied and only a few 100 made it.
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  So it was it was just at the time back in the in the late, I guess, mid nineties.
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  A lot of people wanted to be state troopers.
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  It was, you know, $60,000 a year base and, you know, it seemed to be really good and, a lot of
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  benefits and all these things.
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  So it it seemed to be good, but as you grow and your mindset grows in life, you start say, is
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  this who I really am and you start to get some juices in you that you never thought you had?
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  And, you know, so You you you you kinda it it plays itself out somewhat.
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  Alright.
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  So how did it encourage you to do it?
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  Because how many years did you work the side business and work full time as a state trooper.
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  How many years did you do both?
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  For for a long time.
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  I was really 1999.
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  I got my license.
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  And I did them for pretty much up until 2014.
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  I worked you know, I was like minus, what, 40, 50 5, 60 hours a week.
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  And then I, at one point, I was one of the top real estate agents in the country and units
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  sold, and I did, you know, flipping homes all at the same time.
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  So as you could believe it was, you know, I was able to go, but my body was like, no, no, no,
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  no, no, no, Wait
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  a minute now.
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  And you have a bunch of kids still like that.
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  How many children do you have?
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  I have 4.
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  I have, 13, 12, and twins that are 9.
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  Yeah.
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  So okay.
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  So wait a minute.
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  So so so you're like, you're working full time as a state trooper.
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  You're you're a a real estate agent.
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  You're flipping houses, and you got 4 little kids.
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  Like, your kids are not that old.
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  I thought your kids were older than that.
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  No.
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  They're young.
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  Yeah.
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  So your wife is a saint.
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  Is that what you're telling me?
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  I love you.
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  That's what you're telling me.
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  Your wife is a saint because I'm like, You you were not running all those trains.
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  That's a lot.
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  That's a wow.
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  I mean, I'm actually even more impressed now.
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  So Alright.
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  So so let's get into this.
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  So you you're running the business.
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  You you you you know, you're working full time, and you have, like, a dangerous job.
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  Like, people shoot at state troopers.
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  You know, like, not like you you were able to just phone it in or kinda go to work tired.
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  Right?
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  I mean, you you kinda had to pay attention because not paying attention, you could die
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  doing your job.
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  Right?
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  Yeah.
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  You know, I I I worked across the bridge from where you are.
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  I was in Camden, which was at the time when I was there in the most dangerous city in
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  America, and it's only 9 square mile So I was assigned there and and I was on the shoot team.
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  So but, you know, really, that's kind of what that there was times there that made me know
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  that, you know what?
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  I can get myself killed because my mind was not there anymore.
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  And, you know, I started to see the transition from business owner away from that and and then
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  I started to say, you know, I can get some I can get myself killed and other people killed.
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  That was that was kind of the change in my mindset was I had to think about more than just
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  myself and my family too.
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  I mean, I, you know, they're they're they're pretty important too.
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  So
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  Of course, they are.
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  So alright.
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  So you're doing all of this.
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  What kind of support system did you have?
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  Cause I'm imagining you you you had to have some help to be you know, working full time and
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  showing houses and selling I mean, flipping I mean, you tell me about the the the
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  infrastructure and support that you kinda have to put around yourself.
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  If you're gonna be, you know, side hustling while working a full time job.
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  Well, you know, listen in to Scott, you know, there's a lot of parallels and what I what I
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  didn't know is I I thought I can do everything myself.
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  So that's the part where I learned probably 4 or 5 years in this word called leverage.
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  Really nice work.
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  And then talent acquisition, you know, what talent looks like.
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  But I really didn't understand it, to be honest with you, probably until about 7 years ago when
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  I joined Callaway.
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  Because I was really a practitioner.
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  And I define a practitioner as, you know, the doctor who, when he goes on vacation, you see
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  the sign up that I'm I'm going for the 2 weeks, and I'll see you see.
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  So, you know, that that's a practitioner.
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  And I had to start becoming a business owner who was able to hire talent that can actually
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  do whatever role they need to do with my, you know, supervision and accountability and set
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  clear patient.
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  So and I didn't learn that till really getting around like people, like your guests, and
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  really reading books, just being a lot lot more smart around business as opposed to being that
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  practitioner.
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  Mhmm.
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  Mhmm.
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  So alright.
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  So you you ran your business.
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  I'm 14 years while you were working full time.
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  That's a long time, but I but I get it.
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  Do you wish you woulda transitioned sooner?
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  Like, if you do you wish you woulda walked away from being a state trooper, like, you know, 5
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  years earlier.
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  Like, do you ever think about that?
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  Yeah.
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  You know, I do a lot.
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  I probably should have left in 2007.
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  I left in 2014, and it it probably I don't see it now maybe 10 years from now.
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  I think I'll see the toll that it did on me then.
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  But I knew I should have left, but I think, like, anybody in that side hustle stage,
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  Melinda, is that uncertainty and fear And even when money still wasn't my reason anymore
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  because I was doing well with my passive income streams, it still was that fear and that
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  embarrassment that I worked so hard for this job and leaving it and just feeling, you know,
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  not right.
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  It just felt not right.
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  And I was like, I deserve to get that that pension in that badge and shake the hands and
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  really have this retirement party.
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  So I really felt sorry for my own self.
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  And then I was like, you know what?
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  No one really cares.
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  At the end of the day, you know, no one really cares.
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  So if I'm not happy and and my life's not in alignment, then it really doesn't matter.
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  So I started to really process it, ask a lot of really peep smart people that I trust and and
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  and map out a plan and and, you know, little by little, I'm like, wow, this starting to make
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  sense.
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  This is there's some clarity here.
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  So I know now we do have quite a few real estate agents that work under you.
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  So you're so you're like, coaching and motivate.
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  I mean, you've got, like, a whole apparatus.
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  How many folks do you have working for you?
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  I'm I I've run the region that's almost 10,000 agents, and I I own 6 market centers that we're
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  we're all over about 121200 agents.
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  So, you know, we got a nice amount of agents in our world, and, we actually had a call today a
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  co it's called a cultural summit.
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  We had a, almost a thousand folks on the on the Zoom platform.
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  So and we probably had over 2000 chats going on.
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  So it was a really powerful thing to see kind of, you know, 8 years removed of kind of what's
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  been created from the start then.
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  So it's it's really cool to see.
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  How do you sort of, like, exercise your leadership skills to be, you know, motivated?
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  I mean, right now is a scary time.
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  Even though the interest rates are lower than they've ever been, getting a mortgage isn't as
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  easy.
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  Like, now I heard you gotta have 20% or you can forget it.
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  You know, so is it getting harder in your industry, and how are you keeping people
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  encouraged?
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  Because the real estate businesses are kinda like, you don't sell a house, you don't eat
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  kind of thing.
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  So How how have you been, you know, kind of motivating the troops to help people?
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  Well, you're in Pennsylvania.
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  So in Pennsylvania, we we can't sell real estate.
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  Real estate's not considered essential.
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  We're one of only 3 states in the country that that can't sell real estate.
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  I'm in New my businesses are in New Jersey and Delaware too, but it's it's unique.
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  It's crazy because in in New in Pennsylvania, these agents, especially in Keller Williams,
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  are figuring out ways to be creative.
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  And, you know, I see a difference in New Jersey as opposed I mean, they're both a difference in
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  profitability and things, but you could see the the hunger because they know they can't do it.
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  They're figuring out ways to do things that, you know, whether it be getting their client
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  base up, whether they're getting their business more in alignment now, you know, there, you
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  know, Scott talked about, you know, financially getting yourself in a good place or really
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  monitored in those expenses and really being very purposeful around what you do.
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  And I think for me as a leader now, it's like, you know, I gotta start here at my house.
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  Right?
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  So if my family's not in place, I can't be in place.
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  I gotta really make sure that my mind sets right every day, and then I motivate and and
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  and get my family's mindset and place so that they can get through these days.
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  And then I go into the business part of it.
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  Right?
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  I kinda follow follow the god family then business kinda mantra in my life.
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  Awesome.
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  Awesome.
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  Well, listen.
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  You have given us so much wonderful information.
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  You are a side hustle success story, and I love it.
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  Alright, John.
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  Tell me.
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  What is your favorite podcast?
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  I have a whole lot, but, I'm gonna go with my man, Gary Keller, who's my mentor.
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  Think like a CEO, with Jay Papazon and Gary Color, and it's incredible because he really
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  tells his journey how he created the number one real estate company in America.
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  Really when and then now, I don't know if you know, I mean, with this virtual platform, I
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  mean, he was the only one 4 years ago that said, you know, technology is the way to go,
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  and everyone says, you're crazy.
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  And now everyone's going to technology in our in our industry.
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  So it's it's kinda cool to watch the progression of where it started, where it is
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  today.
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  I'm I'm actually a big fan of Gary Keller.
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  I actually his book, the one thing is, like, one of my favorite business books, actually.
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  So I'm a actual big, big fan of his What is your favorite business app?
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  Favorite business app?
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  We have a k w app that's unique because it's it's actually, if you think of it a pizza
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  delivery analogy, when your pizza is is late, you you get on the phone 30 minutes and call
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  the pizza delivery and says, you know, where's my pizza?
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  You really don't wanna call.
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  You just want the information of where the pizza's at.
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  Right?
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  Well, the apps kinda like you don't want on you don't wanna on demand grower, you want on
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  demand information.
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  So this app kinda gives you on demand information of where your transaction is.
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  So it's pretty cool.
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  Oh, neat.
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  Neat.
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  Now that sounds cool.
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  Alright.
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  What's your favorite old school marketing tip?
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  Your favorite old school Marketing tip.
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  Old school marketing tip.
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  The one thing that really made me a successful realtor, and I did I never had any marketing
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  class you know, again, I'm a old knocks type of of guy.
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  Was the business card, meaning that, you know, I just let everyone know what I did anytime
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  I've seen someone So the marketing strategy is always having conversations with people all the
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  time everywhere you are and celebrating them and then celebrating your business when you
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  find the time do so.
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  And that's been my my go to, and it still works today.
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  Not not in the pandemic, but before.
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  Right.
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  Right.
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  Right.
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  Alright.
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  Last question.
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  What is your favorite business book?
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  Favorite business book that you've read either recently or all of all time.
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  5 levels of leadership, position, permission, production, people development, pinnacle.
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  I think, you know, it's been something see when we take on existing companies and you you come
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  in there and you think you're gonna just fire everyone, or you're gonna you have this thought
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  gotta get in there just because you got the role, don't mean you get the permission to lead
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  those folks.
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  So I think it's a great Bible of how to lead people.
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  Well, listen, thank you all so very much I wanna leave you all with this.
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  You never lose in business either you win or you learn.
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  If you wanna learn more about my guest tonight, head over to my blog, 60 is your own boss.com.
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  I am Melinda Emerson, a small business lady, and I will see you next time.
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  Thank you for listening to the Small Biz Chat podcast with Melinda Emerson.
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  For more resources and small business success strategies, visit succeed as your own boss.com.
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  Subscribe to this podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and join us next Wednesday.