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What Work Myths to Look Out For · Get Real Rae... Real Business & Life Advice

0:00
If you do what you love, you'll never
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work a day in your life.
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Yeah, what?
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That, that's, that's a little crap.
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It is, it just is.
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Hey, this is Rae with Get Real Rae,
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a place and space for life and business
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tips from this creative soul to hopefully inspire
0:24
you on your journey.
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Look at you, you're on a journey.
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Or at the very least, provide you with
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some laughs.
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And so, let's get real.
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Let's get real about the myth of being
0:36
a solopreneur or an entrepreneur or a small
0:42
business owner.
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Let's face it, work is work.
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I know, I know on the YouTubes, on
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the social media, everyone makes it look so
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glamorous.
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I'm an influencer.
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I'm on an airplane going to some tropical
1:02
island.
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I'm going to work four days a week
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because that's what Tim Ferriss said.
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Or is it four hours?
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I'm going to work four hours, four hours,
1:13
a four-hour work week.
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I think that's what it is.
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Okay, so you're, you're putting in a few
1:21
hours and then you're chilling and you're relaxing
1:23
and you've got your pomodoro method and life
1:28
is good just like Drake.
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Well, you know, honestly, it's not quite like
1:36
that.
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It's not quite that easy.
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So, I have been working for me for
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about 20 years.
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Now, let me clarify.
1:52
Throughout that period, I've worked for other people.
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I have.
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When I first started my business, I had
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to have capital in order to open the
2:01
business and I also wanted to have some
2:05
runway to figure out.
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So, I know what it is that I
2:08
want to create.
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I know what I want my business to
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do.
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Can I make money?
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Can I like actually make money?
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I mean, I've run all the numbers before
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I even started my business.
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Hey, guys, if you are looking to start
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a business, don't just be like, oh, I'm
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passionate about crocheting.
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Here's my Etsy shop.
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Like you have to run some numbers, baby
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doll.
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You have to figure out is there going
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to be an interest in what I'm selling?
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Case in point, I used to run a
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variety show and the host I thought was
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very talented.
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However, she started adding something to her act
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where I became less a fan of.
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And so, she would give out like a
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lemon and it was kind of funny because
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people were like, okay, I got this random
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lemon.
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But one day, she brought in a empty
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can like her recycling basically.
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And mind you, people paid to come see
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this show and her in character instead of,
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oh, look, I brought you a lemon.
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It's nutritious and delicious.
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She's like, oh, look, I brought you a
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can.
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And then found someone in the audience to
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give this can to.
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I think that was actually the last show
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I had her host for me.
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I was like, did she just bring in
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her garbage and give that away?
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I'm not understanding.
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And so, while she's an artist and she
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was trying something, maybe she was trying something
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new.
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Maybe she had used it in other acts
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and it worked just fine.
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Maybe she didn't have time to buy lemons.
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Maybe she wasn't thinking.
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Maybe she didn't care.
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Maybe she thought it would be hilarious.
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I don't really know.
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As the owner of that event, I do
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feel like that kind of changed.
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Like, hey, is it cool if I give
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away my recycling on stage at this event
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where people pay?
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I kind of feel like I would have
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liked to have had a heads up.
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But I also understand that, you know, if
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you are an artist, a comedian, you're not
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always going to think to run by changes
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to your act.
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You've been hired to bring in your act
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and you're not going to think, well, I
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should probably check with somebody to see if
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they don't mind a change to my act.
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So there you go.
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Point being, there was no demand on my
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side for that cam.
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And so, if you love crocheting little fuzzy
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warmers for a video game controller and you
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think this is going to be the next
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big thing because you could have your video
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game controller look like a little Pokemon face
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with crochet Pokemon thing.
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Is there a big demand for that?
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Probably not.
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If you were the person who's going to
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take this idea and make lots of money,
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give me some credit.
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You ain't got to give me any money.
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Just give me some credit.
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Like, I was checking out Get Real Ray
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and she said, you know, I could go
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ahead and try to make some money off
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of these little video game warmers.
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But yeah, think about the number, think about
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who's playing video games.
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Okay, the majority of video game players, do
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most of them have an issue with finding
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their handheld device, right?
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Why would they need your crocheted Pokemon thing?
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Like, why?
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Other than because it's cute.
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So, you're starting that business.
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Other than just thinking, because I'm passionate about
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it.
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Because I can.
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Ask yourself, is there an interest?
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Is there a demand?
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One way to start that out is just
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to ask amongst friends, family.
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If you are a social media person, go
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on social media.
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Hey, you guys, I made this cute little
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Pokemon thing for myself.
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What do you think?
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Would you want one too?
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Put up a poll.
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Now, when it comes to friends and family,
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a lot of times, especially if your parents
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are involved, they'll be like, of course, yeah,
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I want that.
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So, also, figure out, am I actually asking
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people in my ideal customer zone, your target
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market, your ideal audience?
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A lot of people will call this your
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ideal avatar, your customer avatar.
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I hate this whole avatar speech.
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So, I don't like to use it.
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But, case in point, if the person who
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you want to sell to is not like
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you and not like the people you consider
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your friends and family, then while their feedback
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is beneficial, right?
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They might know somebody who would want a
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Pokemon crochet thing for their handheld device.
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Chances are, if they're not the ones who
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are going to buy it, you know, you
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got to take their feedback with a little,
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I don't want to say a grain of
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salt, but don't put it as high up
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as someone that you know is an absolute
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gamer, wears Pokemon onesies all the time, right?
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That person, if they're like, dude, yeah, I
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would buy that.
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Actually, can I buy one right now?
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That's the kind of person where you're like,
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yes, I'm going to put more weight on
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your feedback than from someone who I know
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does not play video games at all.
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Additionally, just because you've run the numbers and
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maybe you had immense success in one area,
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you're, okay, we got to stop talking about
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this Pokemon game warmer things because I can't
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even figure out what to call the stupid
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handheld part where you play the game.
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I haven't played video games in a very
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long time.
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Duck Hunt, that was a lot of fun.
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Come here, doggie.
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So with all that being said, when I
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started, it took a few years to actually
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make money.
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And if you're a US-based business, the
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US government does say pretty much you got
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a few years before you better start making
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some money because otherwise this is a hobby,
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okay?
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I think the mark is five years.
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I don't know if that's still the case,
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but that's when I first started out.
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Okay.
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So the first few years, you're taking some
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losses.
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You're learning.
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You're learning what's working, what's not working.
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You're figuring out your avenues of marketing.
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All this is dandy.
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And maybe you're making some money.
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I remember I enjoyed producing a poetry show,
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but it wasn't making any money.
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And so ultimately I had to stop producing
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it because there were just too many days
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where we were losing.
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Why were we losing?
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Well, as much as people liked poetry, the
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popular thing was slam.
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I didn't want slam.
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And so the number of people who wanted
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just poetry was very small.
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And oftentimes the audience would be filled with
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poets who wanted to have a chance to
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perform at the next show.
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So they weren't going to be a regular
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audience.
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They just wanted for someone else to hear
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their poetry.
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So not a viable business.
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Great for like a once a year event,
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but definitely not for a monthly event.
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I transitioned to theater and dance and theater
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is a lot more costly.
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You need to have regular rehearsals.
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So even though I was passionate about theater,
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the prospect of making a full-time income
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from theater was just not happening for me.
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As a creator of theater shows.
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So yeah, passion is great, but I think
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it's important to remember that even in this
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AI age with all this technology, that just
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being passionate about something and running your basic
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numbers is not going to be enough to
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ensure a sustainable and viable business.
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Over the years, we talk about how you
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build it, they will come.
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And if you're passionate, then you'll never work
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a day, but work is work.
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And over the years, it's important to realize
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that you're going to be working.
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You're going to be making changes to your
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business.
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Maybe you are going to make a change
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to your business where you cut it down
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to you're only involved in your business four
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days a week, or maybe you cut it
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down to you're only involved in your business
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four hours a week.
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And when we talk about using AI and
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individuals overseas, my brain is forgetting what we
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call them.
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Contractors who are in foreign countries and are
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able to work for a lot less than
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a US worker.
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Yeah, it all looks and sounds really good
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on paper.
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And this is advice that a lot of
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people give like, oh, okay, so you need
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to get all this stuff done.
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Well, spend a month setting up your website
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with your zaps to connect to your email
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list and then hire an assistant through okay.
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Oh, what was that site?
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I want to say okay recruiter, but that's
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not what it is.
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But hire an assistant that's in the Philippines
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and you're in the US and just give
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them the work to do in terms of
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how to answer your emails, set up your
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chat box, set up your auto responses, and
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then just check in once a week to
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make sure everything's good.
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A lot of people who have created videos,
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sold books on those ideas, ask yourself, are
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those people still in this very moment running
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their businesses like that?
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When they created that video, wrote that book,
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were they still implementing those systems that they
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are?
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This dog is just staring at my face.
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It's making me nervous.
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Implementing those systems that they are promoting.
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So oftentimes, journalists, authors do research, right?
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We want to do research to test this
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theory.
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We're going to test it.
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We tested it.
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Now we're going to sit down and write
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the thing and then we're going to have
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to spend time promoting the thing.
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But many times, promoting the thing is not
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just one person doing it, okay?
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You wrote the book or you created the
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YouTube video.
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Now, you're going to have to spend time
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creating promotional content, marketing content.
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Yes, you can use this app to go
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ahead and create those videos really quickly and
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create those short viral clips really quickly.
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That's great.
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But the content still has to be put
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in.
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Maybe your assistant is doing it, but you
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would have had to have spent time to
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find a good assistant that's not going to
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mess things up.
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Okay, maybe this good assistant has been with
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you for a while.
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You've got all the systems in place.
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The assistant says, I've got your video.
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I've got your book.
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I'm going to go ahead and execute the
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system that we created together.
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The system this time, I'm meaning the actual
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order of how you want things to be
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done, the instructions.
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And you say, yes, go for it.
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And they implement it.
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You still got to put your time into
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getting the interviews.
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Maybe you have a manager or agent who's
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helping you get interviews, or maybe you have
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someone who is helping market your product, your
15:17
business, your service.
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Point being, the idea of achieving things on
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a large scale, just being one person who
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has put in a system once, and it's
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going to suddenly bring you lots of money,
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solve all your problems, blow everything up, it's
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just not realistic.
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It's just not.
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It's not.
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It's always more than one person.
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Even as a solopreneur, you still have businesses
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you rely on to keep your website up.
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Or maybe you've got someone who does your
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taxes for you.
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Maybe you are relying on someone to help
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you with your social media.
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It's not really a party of one.
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And you might be saying, but Ray, I
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do my taxes myself, so do I.
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I do my marketing myself, so do I.
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And I do my website myself, so do
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I.
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But do you actually have your own posting
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platform?
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Maybe you have your own server in your
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basement.
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Good on you, boo.
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But you're not cranking out your own electricity.
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So at some point, you are relying on
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others.
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Why do I say all this?
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I think it's really easy to start a
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business being very optimistic, and it's important to
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be optimistic if you're going to start a
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business.
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But it's easy to start not just being
16:54
optimistic, but with this belief that because you
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have started, because you have decided you're going
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to do this, that once you reach a
17:07
certain goal, once you have that perfect system
17:11
in place, then everything else is smooth sailing.
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If you've ever talked to anybody who does
17:17
sailing, then they can tell you, yeah, there's
17:21
going to be days where it's great on
17:23
the water.
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There's also going to be moments when the
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wind kicks up a little bit, and you're
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like, man, I wasn't expecting that.
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I did look at the weather, but this
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isn't quite what I was preparing to deal
17:36
with.
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There's going to be times when the water's
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a little choppy, or maybe there's something going
17:42
on below the surface of the water that
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you could not have anticipated and accounted for,
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despite the fact that you were tracking the
17:49
season of which animals will be coming through
17:51
your way.
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As someone who has been in business for
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20 years, and have had multiple businesses, and
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has worked for many people, and has had
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periods where business is not making any money
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or enough money to sustain me, thinking I'm
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going to go out of business, having to
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figure out, oh my gosh, what else can
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I do, or sell, or how else can
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I market this in order to survive?
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I can tell you with all honesty that
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it's always going to be work.
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Just because you work for yourself does not
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mean it's not work.
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Work is work.
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Sorry.
18:44
I know.
18:44
I know.
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I came.
18:46
I saw your bubble.
18:47
I took a pan.
18:48
I popped your bubble.
18:49
But work is work, and that doesn't have
18:53
to be a bad thing.
18:54
So instead of crying and being like, Ray,
18:58
you just ruined my day.
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Now I'm not gonna go start my business.
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No.
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Or maybe you are someone who has a
19:06
business already.
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You're like, Ray, I've been in business 30
19:09
years.
19:10
I was hoping you was gonna tell me
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it was gonna get easier, girl.
19:13
But man, I might as well give up.
19:16
Instead of giving up, accept that work is
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work.
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And then ask yourself, what are you willing
19:27
to tolerate?
19:28
What are you not willing to tolerate?
19:29
We've already talked in other videos about knowing
19:31
your wants.
19:33
And just figure out what is okay with
19:39
you for work.
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What's okay?
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Okay.
19:44
So I teach a lot of different subjects
19:51
online, and that's one of my businesses to
19:55
help the other businesses stay afloat.
19:57
Because I decided for myself that I really
20:00
don't want to go back to working for
20:03
somebody else.
20:05
Yes, working for somebody else would bring me
20:07
a lot more money, and that would be
20:10
great.
20:12
But I've just decided I've reached a point
20:14
where I'm not interested in doing it.
20:18
And so if not working for someone else
20:20
means that I don't get to go out
20:27
to nice restaurants once a month, or even
20:32
twice a month, and that I don't get
20:38
to keep up with my French tutor for
20:44
private lessons, and that my list of things
20:49
that I want to enjoy, like private Pilates
20:53
lessons, or gosh, I'm trying to think of
20:59
something that's not a private lesson, or having
21:02
a new fancy fancy Apple Watch or Fitbit.
21:08
Not working for someone else means that I
21:10
can't have these other things.
21:13
I can't take a family member on a
21:17
cruise or just on a nice vacation to
21:21
another country right now.
21:23
I have to accept that because of the
21:30
work I have chosen, I've chosen the work
21:34
that I'm doing.
21:35
I'm willing to do that work.
21:37
That work is work, and I'm going to
21:41
be okay with presently.
21:44
That work is not allowing me to do
21:48
all these other things that I want to
21:50
do.
21:51
Think of the bodybuilder.
21:53
The bodybuilder might want to eat the chocolate
21:58
cake, the donut, the cupcake, the cookies, mom's
22:02
home cooking, but the bodybuilder also knows there's
22:06
a competition coming up.
22:08
And so they have to prioritize, what is
22:13
it that, you know what I say, what
22:15
is it that you really want?
22:16
But what is it that I'm okay with
22:19
putting in the work for right now?
22:22
Well, I know in order to do this
22:24
competition and have a chance of winning, I'm
22:27
not going to eat the things that I
22:29
really, really, really want.
22:31
And those things, they're not off the table
22:33
forever.
22:35
They're just not on the plate for right
22:38
now.
22:39
And that's okay, because I've decided that the
22:43
work I really value is eating this plain
22:48
chicken and this small amount of broccoli so
22:52
I can go kill it at that competition.
22:55
All right.
22:56
So what have we learned?
22:58
We've learned that work doesn't have to be
23:02
a bad thing.
23:04
Reframe how you think about work.
23:07
If you grew up thinking work is that
23:11
difficult thing that you do and you're living
23:13
for the weekend, figure out how you can
23:16
think of work as that thing you do
23:21
that allows you to do so many other
23:26
things.
23:27
But so many other things should not be
23:29
defined as working less.
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That's the problem with the four-hour work
23:36
week and the having virtual assistants to do
23:39
everything and using Python and AI and Zaps
23:45
and all of these various tech hacks and
23:50
optimization in order to, in theory, free up
23:56
your time.
23:59
Except that things are going to change.
24:02
They'll keep changing.
24:04
Your body's always changing.
24:06
Life is constant change.
24:08
If your business is not changing, it's dead
24:12
or will be very soon, right?
24:15
So maybe that change is just getting your
24:17
new customers.
24:19
Maybe that change is new eyeballs on your
24:23
business.
24:24
But change is natural, normal, inevitable, and we
24:28
need change.
24:30
We need change.
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Same way, we need fulfillment in work.
24:37
Now, if you are someone watching this and
24:41
you're like, Rae, I go out to that
24:44
field.
24:45
I pick the berries from the field.
24:50
I give them to the supervisor.
24:54
I get my piddly little pay.
24:55
There is zero fulfillment in that.
24:58
I know that's work.
25:00
Work is work, girl.
25:01
You ain't told me nothing I don't know.
25:03
I hear you.
25:05
Know that I've also done types of work
25:08
that I'm like, oh, my goodness.
25:11
Is there freedom from this?
25:15
But I found a path for freedom from
25:18
a lot of types of work I was
25:20
just not enjoying.
25:22
At the time, I needed to feed myself.
25:24
I needed to take care of friends or
25:27
family.
25:28
These things were priorities.
25:31
But over time, I was able to rework
25:35
things so that I had fewer obligations to
25:40
others and I could then prioritize transitioning towards
25:46
work that would allow for me to feel
25:48
fulfilled.
25:49
So if you are watching this, either wishing,
25:55
hoping, praying for the day where you can
25:56
start your own business, wishing, hoping, praying for
25:59
the day where you don't have to work
26:00
for anybody else, wishing, hoping, praying for the
26:02
day when your business will make tons of
26:04
money and then you can sell it every
26:06
time, wishing, hoping, praying for the day where
26:09
things will just be different than what they
26:11
are now, I encourage you to take a
26:14
moment to figure out how can you work
26:19
with what is happening now in your life
26:22
and then make a plan for what things
26:26
will look like in one year than six
26:28
months.
26:31
So if in six months, within a six
26:37
-month period, you can save up enough money
26:39
where maybe you can invest in a course
26:43
that would allow you to interview for a
26:49
job where you don't have to pick the
26:53
berries anymore, start saving, right?
26:58
Maybe that means you've got to take on
27:01
extra work or maybe that means working overtime.
27:06
Maybe that means not buying certain things from
27:14
the store or maybe that means telling friends
27:18
and family, hey, guess what?
27:20
Let's go spend time at the park because
27:22
it's good weather instead of that weekly trip
27:27
to McDonald's or the once a month, whatever.
27:34
I just bought some nail polish the other
27:36
day and I was like, wow, I haven't
27:39
purchased nail polish in a really long time.
27:42
I like how my nails feel when I've
27:45
done my nails, but it was a sacrifice.
27:49
I just had to put it to the
27:51
side for a bit so I can focus
27:53
on taking that little bit of extra money
27:57
and putting it towards a bill, right?
28:02
So I think these get the points.
28:06
Yes, I hope so.
28:08
Follow your dreams, my friends.
28:11
Follow your dreams, but know that your dreams
28:14
do not have to be a nightmare and
28:15
that if you're feeling like, man, this is
28:17
still rough or this hasn't gotten easier, will
28:19
it ever get easier?
28:21
Yes, it will get easier and it will
28:23
get harder and it's always going to be
28:24
easy and it's always going to be hard
28:26
and it's always going to be changing and
28:28
that's work, but guess what?
28:30
That's life.
28:31
So don't believe the hype because you know
28:35
your girl be telling you, she be telling
28:37
you the truth.
28:39
Alright, my friends, until next time, peace.