- Speaker #0
I believe that your network is your net worth. You know, the people who you surround yourself with and truly want to be with, that's your tribe, and your vibe will attract your tribe.
- Speaker #1
You're watching
- Speaker #0
Marketing Misfits with Norm Farrar and Kevin King.
- Speaker #2
Mr. Farrar.
- Speaker #1
Oh, okay. All right. I thought you were waiting for me.
- Speaker #2
No, it's, what's that song, Always Waiting on a Woman? I'm not waiting on you. Last I looked, you weren't a woman. You know what song I'm talking about? That country song where it's like, I'm always waiting for a woman, and you know.
- Speaker #0
No,
- Speaker #2
it's a country song. It's got really good lyrics. It's actually a pleasant song. It's a good song, but it's always waiting on a woman.
- Speaker #1
You know, last time, I actually have a problem, and it was traumatic. when i was at your place and you put on your uh your cowboy music came out with your hat your your uh cowboy boots those are new ones you just bought right but it was those assless chaps i go no those all i
- Speaker #2
got those at that special store had the rhinestones down the side and everything yeah you sure did you didn't like those no i'd say well the part i didn't like is you didn't have a shirt on a picture you know that was it take a picture and show it to Connie at least yeah see what she asked those chaps I was fine with well I was just trying to get you to get out of the cold plunge you know uh okay very good you did so
- Speaker #1
you know what yeah we got a great really great guest today and uh we met him uh where were we when we met him we were AI, AI,
- Speaker #0
AI.
- Speaker #2
That's where we reconnected. Actually, we met. Oh, yeah. And I met him in Chicago at an Amazon event. I think you met him somewhere before that. No,
- Speaker #1
it was Chicago.
- Speaker #2
So Chicago then in 2023, I guess we're all there for an Amazon event. You know, it's always over cigars. I know we talk about this all the time, but we were sitting out on that balcony in Chicago. Remember, we went out there and held court and we had like 15 or. 15 or so people come out there. He joined us there. And then when we were in Orlando at the AI Bot Summit, you and I went out and braved the cold Orlando weather. It was a cold night in Orlando.
- Speaker #1
It was.
- Speaker #2
I thought it was just going to be the two of us. I thought it was just going to be the two of us. And then several other cigar smokers come out, and he was one of them, joined us, and telling all kinds of cool stories and cool stuff. And then I think he had a house rented. there and he's trying to throw a little party and unfortunately we i think we were leaving or there's something some conflict or something where we couldn't make it over there but uh no really cool guy uh super stoked to have him on the show today yeah and uh one of the things well first let me introduce him so
- Speaker #1
he's behind his back keep talking behind his back uh we can we can say all kinds of stuff before you bring him on oh yeah okay let's do that but uh one of one thing you're gonna notice and with today's guest he's a little bit enthusiastic he's got this really incredible positive attitude and whether you're in a bad mood or not this guy's going to solve that but let me introduce shamari
- Speaker #2
battle and so i have a job here to do hit the button hit the button there i hit the button hit the button you could do it norm give me a clap for normie hit the button good job good job
- Speaker #0
Gold star for Norm. Gold star.
- Speaker #1
There we go. So before we say anything or get into you, Shamari, I just want to say this. You're the type of guy, now think of the Count of Monte Cristo. You're the guy coming down in the air balloon. As it comes down, dancers like Cirque du Soleil are going down the ropes. you come out with a gold robe and say hello and then go into the house. How's that? Did I describe it? Did I?
- Speaker #0
That is fantastic. Yes. That is, uh, that's my ultimate birthday dream. I think, uh, I'm gonna try to make it happen this year for my 50th birthday. You know, I just think that's one of my favorite movies, one of my favorite books, but that, that scene in the movie, I just think is so bad.
- Speaker #1
right because he says all about three words it comes out looks over by his like greetings and then yeah oh that was hilarious we talked about that in chicago that's why uh uh in orlando and i was just cracking up but uh yeah so welcome to the show for those who don't know you Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
- Speaker #0
Oh, man. Let's see. What can I say that won't get immediately redacted or have the alphabet boys knocking on my door? Let's see here. You know, me, born and raised here in Chicago. I've spent most of my life either entertaining, inspiring, or selling something in one form or another, right? So, you know, a lot of people have. Things they bring to the table, you know, whether it be their, you know, operational skills or this or that. I don't have any of those. I've never been that guy. If you looked at it, you know, if you look at it as a form of ingredient, everybody has their ingredients that they bring for a dish. I'm not that. I'm the heat. You know, you put those things together and you make it happen.
- Speaker #2
Is it fair to say you're like a master at networking and like. a people person you could say that you know i've been called a uh a entrepreneurial muse yes i noticed i pick up on little things and i noticed when we uh reconnected and had those cigars and in orlando you're one of the few people that actually sent a follow-up message i think you even did it that night it was like when you got back to your place or something you you sent a little a nice kind little message like something to the effect of uh It was great to meet you. A good story about this or that, you know, let's keep in touch. Here's my number or whatever. But the way you said it, it wasn't just like a business way of, you know, like I want something. It was like a caring way. And it was in a way that I was like, I even showed it to Nora. I was like, look, I was like, all right, this guy, this guy, he ain't fooling around. He's the real deal, which impressed me. So I was like, that's why I just asked that question. Are you like a network? connector, kind of like the glue that holds a lot of people together and brings people together.
- Speaker #0
Man, I really appreciate that. And it's true. I did too. And I believe I said Norm one too. Actually, everyone who I met who I interacted with- Norm just deleted his.
- Speaker #2
He just deleted his. He's like, spam.
- Speaker #1
I call this- No, it was actually emoji, emoji, emoji.
- Speaker #0
You know, for me, my whole life has been about developing the things they didn't teach me in school. which were the soft skills and learning how to deal with people. You know, in the beginning, for me, it was out of necessity. I didn't come from a very wealthy family. I didn't have, you know, a silver spoon in my mouth. I was young. I was a large kid. You know, I looked like 10 years older than I already was. And I'm in Chicago and I was black. So, you know, it scared a lot of people, especially getting in the business. And I got in the business at a young age in the financial industry. Forget about it, you know. So you had to you had to be able to connect the little things that moved in between those parts. Right. And I believe that your network is your net worth. You know, the people who you surround yourself with and truly want to be with, you know, that's your tribe and your vibe will attract your tribe.
- Speaker #2
And it's marketing. I mean, it's genuine, but it's also it's also subtle marketing. It's. It's staying top of mind and being memorable.
- Speaker #0
And wanting to add value. I think the problem that a lot of marketers have today is, well, I can go down a whole rabbit hole with that. I think most of them have been in a job working somewhere and they realize now after 5, 10, or maybe even 20, 25 years that this ain't it. That's not what they want to do. So everybody goes, oh, I know what I'll do. I'll start my own business. And then they jump into business. But just because you will. have a business doesn't mean that you know business and most of them get in a situation where they have no idea what they're doing but they still they need to do something what they're really doing is running from the pain you know they're running from the pain of not being to spend time with their family they're running from the pain of not answering your phone because they don't know what to tell this bill collector again you know they're running from the pain and they aren't wanting to something they really want to do and because they aren't doing that they don't look at it as a way to provide value to the other people around them and then look for just a way for them to gain something. I think once we realize that the way you truly gain is by giving freely of yourself to the people around you, that's when you really get it. So for me, I love to be able to provide value. And I think both of you are stand up dudes from the moment I met you. I loved your energy. I love the way both of you conduct yourselves. And I love the way that people around you treat you. It's very important when you watch how other people treat people around them and watch what they say about them when they're present in the room. and you'll learn a lot about them, you know? And so being able to want to provide that kind of value and level of community.
- Speaker #2
is huge. Hey, what's up, everybody? Kevin and Norm here with a quick word from one of our sponsors, 8Fig. Let me tell you about a platform that's changing the game for Amazon sellers. That's right. It's called 8Fig. On average, sellers working with 8Fig grow up to 400% in less than a year.
- Speaker #1
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- Speaker #1
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- Speaker #2
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- Speaker #1
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- Speaker #2
That's 8fig.co, 8fig.co. See you on the other side.
- Speaker #1
It's a skill. And it's a very subtle skill that when you're creating a network, we go to a lot of events, and you'll get a text or you'll get an email or you'll get a message. But it turns me off when all of a sudden you get that hit you up for something. Okay. And it's so hard not to just, you know, you have to form a relationship, I think, like anything. You know, you have to get engaged before you get married. And just, you could just have that one email that. It's great. Okay, now we can go to the next step, start to go back and forth, meet the person at the next event. But it's that hard-hitting approach that really turns me off. And I don't know about you. I mean, Kevin, you must get this a lot too. But I don't like following up with those types of people. And I want to give you an example of the worst. So I went, I was never heavily into the... What are they called? Network marketing. And, you know, some people are and that's great. But this one event I went to, and I think I told you, Kev, this guy came up to me and he went and he shook my hand. Hey, welcome to this event. Now, in his palm, he had this paper. I unfolded the paper. And he said, and that's what I made last month. And I went, what did I get myself into?
- Speaker #0
Oh, man. Something tells me that guy has to nail the piss.
- Speaker #1
Oh, you know, he might be successful, but I don't want to be part of that network.
- Speaker #2
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. So, I mean, so you said you were, you've been doing this like 30 something years, I think you said. You're about to start in the big five. Oh, so. At 20, you were doing wealth advisory stuff?
- Speaker #0
Yeah, I started in, the funny thing is, so let's see, I started my first paycheck, I was five. You know, I was five. Yeah, I was selling. I was at five years old. I was out. My parents had me singing and dancing at birthday parties and bar mitzvahs. You know, I was, because at that time it was all about the Jackson Five and I was Michael Jackson. I've been performing my whole life. So they had me out singing and doing the whole thing at birthday parties and all that. And then I was selling snow cones on Lakeshore Drive. And I remember writing out a business plan for my parents because they would just give me the money. You know, I understand my father was a banker, was in the financial industry, the whole bit. So I had to have a business plan. So I had to get $20 to pay for the ice, the napkins, the straws, the cups, the juice and the ice. and set it up on a table and sell it that went really well until they did that for years but you figure even as a kid if you're making you sell 50 of those a day at a buck so 50 a day that's real money in the late 70s early 80s that ain't bad yeah yeah no you know but so i i got i got licensed in the financial industry you know let's see i started doing it when i was 18 19 years old going to that And so, yeah, so I get licensed 66, 63, 26, life, health, the whole bit. I got into a network marketing company, a marketing company, and their product was financial services. So I was like, OK, wait a minute. So I can build a team and make some and like have residuals and renewable income. Oh, my product is money. OK. You know, that sounds like a deal made in heaven. And I made it work for what it was. Right. So, yeah. So how did older people relate to that?
- Speaker #2
I mean, older people listening to a 19, 18, 19, 20 year old.
- Speaker #0
Were they like this face to this day? I don't know.
- Speaker #2
you see this this is it you said you look 10 years old you said you looked 10 years older back then you're or than you were look two years older but okay that fine that put me at what
- Speaker #1
25. it's a big job going up there i'm still still like a kid to this day this is like two weeks worth of growth i don't you know it doesn't happen so how back in the days and you said it was you were working with a network company network marketing company they have a very strict format for the most part, just like any type of franchise. How could you create in a very competitive field, a USP or just something different or something different in marketing that made people come over to you? Was it your personality? What was it?
- Speaker #0
So you don't know what you don't know, right? And I was horrible at sales. The first year or two after I got licensed, it took me just to make my first sale. And I was doing appointment after appointment after appointment after appointment. And I was doing appointments for other people, doing appointments, doing appointments, wasn't getting paid. But what I did do is I got a lot of notes. I got bloodied up a lot, real, real fast and early. You know, and I think that is one of the credits I look at to my successes in life was because most people, either they get lucky out of the gate and they do really, really well. Or, you know, they do have a meteoric rise and then they do really well. But most of them have been punched in the nose, you know, and knocked out or told no. And I believe the person who gets the most no's wins because it's easy to feel great and smile when everything's going right. When you're bouncing checks for ramen noodles and living out the trunk of the car and trying to figure out what you want to do and still be able to put a smile on your face and go out there and make it happen the next day. That takes a certain amount of grit that you only form. When you're able to go through those kind of situations, there are people with millions of dollars a month who never had to deal with that. If they ever did, they'd fold like a blanket. Right.
- Speaker #2
I think hardened, hardened entrepreneurs are the best entrepreneurs. And the rest of them, like you said, have gotten lucky. But people that have gone through, I've been I just like like you just said, I didn't I didn't write a hot check for ramen noodles. I think I wrote it for ice cream. for a little thing of ice cream and some macaroni and cheese, like three for a dollar box of macaroni and cheese. But, you know, I've been there where you're like, how am I going to dig myself out of this? You know, bankruptcy may or may not have been an option at that time, but how are you going to dig yourself out of this? And that's where you get resourceful. Your best ideas sometimes come when your back's against the wall. And that's when you get the most creative, if you're a true entrepreneur, I think.
- Speaker #0
No, you're absolutely right. And to Norm's question, for me, I think the biggest thing was there were guys who were in the industry who were older than I was, much more successful than I was. Well, not too many were handsomer than me, but I'm sure there's one or two. But what I did have is the one thing they couldn't take from me and the one thing that nobody else could duplicate was me. Just I just had to be genuine. I had to be me. And that means I was going to rub some people the wrong way. But it was going to rub the right people the right way. And they were going to follow you.
- Speaker #2
So how important is that? I mean, people, a lot of times they try to conform. They take a job and they're putting on the suit or they're putting on the mask and they try to conform. And then when they go home, they're like, ah, kick off those shoes. I don't have to be that person anymore. They try to be something they're not. And they think that's the way to success. But you just said it's like, no, I'm going to be myself. And I am who I am and see that you like it or you don't and I don't care Why does so many people have do you think have trouble doing that and just being themselves?
- Speaker #0
well, there's
- Speaker #2
Society is
- Speaker #0
I Think the biggest reason they have problems being themselves is because most people don't know who they are They don't know who themselves They've never taken the time to sit and think about that. No one's ever asked them, who are you? Who do you want to be? Who do you want? When the world talks about you and you're not there, what do you want them to say? When you're dead and gone and you have children and people come up to your children and say, hey, I knew your father, what do you want them to be able to say about you?
- Speaker #1
You know, if you want to find yourself, I've seen this with partners, it's greed and fear. Then you see the true person.
- Speaker #0
Yeah, man, it's you nailed it on the head, especially with partners. And I've never been married. But I've had a lot of business partners who were married. So by default, I was married to their spouse. Because when you get in business, your business partner is probably as close to you as a spouse, if not more closer to you.
- Speaker #2
Why do you think I was running around in my bottomless chaps with Norm?
- Speaker #0
Right. I'll tell you what, you just brought up a big point that was crazy. So and I'll ask both of you the same question, too. If you've ever, what was the one that got away? What was the one business, has there ever been a business that you're like, man, this thing's going to set me up, get my private island to hold it. And something happened and it slipped right through your fingers. Because for me, I was in a situation coming out of college, ran into a guy who I went to college with, grew up in the same neighborhood in Chicago. So that was crazy that we just ran back into each other. And he was like, hey, we need to talk. i got a hand i got a hold of this product um we have the the uh what is that called um not the permit the licensing but uh ip there we go so he's like hey we have the patent but we have a window on it it's like five years they get it from some university i didn't know the universe you know universities have those things tucked away on shelves they're stored somewhere that could be doing all kinds of stuff because that's not the business they're in So they don't even think that, you know, hey, we could be making money on this. They don't know how to do it. They don't have the markers there, apparently. But they hand in something. He says, hey, we got the money. We have the operations. We don't have a face for the company. We need somebody who can really do that thing well. And you're the guy. And at that time, I had just lost everything from my hedge fund. That was character building. And so I said, look, I don't have any money. I just let you know up front, I don't have any money that I can invest in. I can invest in this the whole bit. I don't mind working. I don't mind put stuff together, but I want you to know up front where I'm at. I'm coming from. If that's OK, then we can keep moving. And I'm like, no, don't worry about that. We got all that covered. We just need you to be you and do the Shemari thing. I was like, I got that. Let's do it. He was engaged. Yeah, they weren't married. But as things really started to look like they were going to take off with this product, which was going to put us in position to literally, like I told her when she said she wanted a house, she found out the kind of money we're about to start making. She says, oh, you know, I really need a house. And I was like, I'm not working with you. I'm working with him and we have business to take care of. Let's get this together first and then you can get a house. Right. And she kept coming to him, you know, I deserve a house. We have to do this right now. and i said look you see that globe i'll spin it and you can stop it with your finger i'll buy you a house wherever it lands i don't care after we get this done let's not fry the golden goose you know let's just let's let's get some eggs first you know um and he folded to the pressure uh that whole business wound up dissolving and nothing came of it which is very very very unfortunate um they're not together anymore and she has the house that he bought her
- Speaker #2
Yep. That happens. That definitely happens. I mean, so what was the business? What was it supposed to be?
- Speaker #0
Basically, what it did was it would remove the alcohol from your bloodstream, right? So it would, and normally the only way you can do that is through time, waiting for these enzymes to neutralize that alcohol. But this was able to go in. neutralize the alcohol in a very short amount of time and side effect where there was no hangovers so it's fantastic right i won't say the name of the the brand that we created and i hope that i don't feel like dealing with his lawyers again but um it ended up coming out that some version of it well we we created it we we had it i was able to negotiate the price of us getting it to a very very very small amount of what they were originally paying for it so It was it was set to do well. I put it in the hands of some celebrities. I put it in the hands of some athletes, some doctors. Everybody loved it. They're like, hey, no, this is good. And that's what I was like. This if this does half of what I think it's supposed to do, we're going to be in really good shape. like really good shape uh and it was working and we had about a year left on the patent when all this you know stuff started to happen uh and that whole thing fell apart now i know how long ago was that oh that was that was let's see i do everything by the age of my daughter isn't that crazy once you have kids you're like okay how does my kid when were they so i think that was like cc was like three or four so 2020 or 2006 like right in there wow yeah uh and then we obviously the patent door closes i'm sure someone else probably wanted to pick it up but by this time we'd already done all the research we've done everything else put together so that the university knows what they have and they want to charge you not five million for that patent but now a hundred million you see what i'm saying so um there are companies that have certain things out now and always wonder when i see that i wonder if they just picked up our stuff and which it probably did i mean that's that's what happens i'm sure um but you know that was the one that got away for me that was the big one that got away from me because that that
- Speaker #2
could have been a trillion dollar ticket if you did it right you know how about you yeah like that could have that could have been big yeah that could have been big so it and there's always those i mean but the only way you have those things that get away is by putting yourself out there is by actually networking and making those connections and sometimes something that's bad can actually turn into something that's good it can flip and it's it's serendipitous almost like well if you hadn't if this thing hadn't gone bad this next thing that happened wouldn't have gone good and a lot a lot that happens in relationships it happens you know personal relationships as well as business relationships a lot of times too And do you work with when you're doing is that the only partner that you've ever had in business or have you had other partners?
- Speaker #0
There's a business and some of them we did. I think I learned a lot from that. So it was it was it wasn't a pleasant experience, but it was a great experience in the fact that I took a lot of lessons from it. Right. So I learned what not to do and how to do things a little bit different because I've always been a handshake kind of guy. You know, this is how I was raised. You know, my word is my bond. If I say we're going to do it, we're going to do it. I shake your hand and say, hey, all right, we're buds, we're partners. We're going to do this. Let's do it. And that's how I do things most of the time. Unfortunately, everybody doesn't have the same set of ethos. So that makes it difficult in business because money is funny. People, when people lose money. But when people make a lot of money, you start to see who they are. I won't say they change. A lot of people say that money changes you. I don't believe that. I think money is a magnify. It makes you more of who you are. You know, if you're a jerk.
- Speaker #1
Leopards can't change their spots.
- Speaker #0
Yeah. Yeah. If you give a jerk a lot of money, he's become a bigger jerk. You know, if you give a good person a lot of money, they're able to do more things for more people. All right.
- Speaker #1
Now a quick word from our sponsor, LaVonta. Hey, Kevin, tell us a little bit about it.
- Speaker #2
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- Speaker #0
But I heard a saying once in a movie, and I thought it was fantastic. It said, make your friends rich and your enemies rich, and then you'll find out which is which. That's a good one.
- Speaker #1
That's so true. I mean, especially we're in the Amazon world, and there's a lot of very quick millionaires, and they start off being approachable and nice, and then you see some of the like it's the first kick at the can, right? They make a million bucks. Now they think they're just too hot for anybody, and you can see a lot of arrogance come out. I mean, this is the true person until they get kicked between the legs and they go down you know one or two or three or five times but that's what i like about entrepreneur true entrepreneurs is that you can get kicked between the legs go down you could get depressed and not show your face for you know six months a year but then you do recover and the more kicks you get between the legs you really know what kind of entrepreneur you are i think that's really important like resilience is a key factor
- Speaker #2
making up an entrepreneur yeah no grit is everything and being able to i think a lot of times the the better you do out of the gate the harder it is for you to get kicked in the nuts and i think once you do some people think i've been on social media i've been here i've done this nobody's seen me like crushing it and now i'm getting my teeth kicked in i can't show my face right um and i mean i get that there's There's a point that we have to go lick your wounds and, you know, kind of sit back and figure out what's what and have a conversation with the powers that be and figure out what you do. But then you dust yourself off and you can get back out there again. Right. I think the more successful they are in the beginning, the harder it is for most of them to get back out there again, because I know growing up for me, the first time I said, hey, I'm going to be a millionaire. I'm going to do this. And I was like, no, you're not. No, you're not. I was like, yeah, I am. Watch this. And then I went and I did it. And guess what? Lost it. And oh, they could wait. They couldn't wait to be like, oh, so he told you. There he is. Yeah. You know, where's where's a fancy car? Where's this? Where's that? You're like, you know,
- Speaker #1
so how many friends did you lose?
- Speaker #2
I didn't lose any friends. I lost all the people who I thought were my friends, though. You know, all the all the they were they were, you know. You're going on dates with Playboy Centerfolds. You're traveling to Vegas and hanging out doing this and going here and fancy cars. And everybody wants you in their restaurant, you know, going on a first date with a girl. And it turns into the scene from Goodfellas when you're walking through the kitchen. They bring you and give you your own table. I mean, I was in my 20s and that happened a few times. That was just a Tuesday for me. Right. And then all of a sudden your phone stops ringing and nobody calls you back. And, you know, you can't even get a friend to come change a tire or help you change a tire in a snowstorm. Like, and that hurts when you truly believe that these people care about you. Yeah,
- Speaker #0
I think that happens to a lot of athletes. A lot of athletes that come out of college and making all the kinds of money and don't have the proper wealth management skills and proper planning skills, living high on the hog with the women, the lifestyle, the money, and then three years in get a major injury or get cut. and their life turns upside down, they end up riding the back of a garbage truck to make a living, being a host on a sports talk radio show or something, making $30,000 a year.
- Speaker #1
Or a podcast.
- Speaker #0
On a podcast, yeah, exactly. But I think one of the things I like is in our business, Norm and I are well-known in the Amazon space. We go to an Amazon event, and we can just sit somewhere, and people come up to us. They know us. People are... want to take selfies with us. We're pretty popular in the Amazon space because of our podcast, because of our trainings, because of our speaking. But when I go, what helps keep that in check for me, at least, I'm speaking for myself and maybe Norm too, is when I go to a non-Amazon event. I go to a Funnel Hacking Live or Go High Level or something like that, and nobody there knows me. And, you know, like two people know me. Like, oh, Kevin, good to see you. What are you doing here? And, you know. And nobody knows you. That keeps it in check where your ego, if you let it go to you, it can it can get to your head.
- Speaker #2
You're absolutely right. I think that social media has a lot to do with that now, too, because we live in chambers. Right. And you just Amazon is a perfect example. So a year, almost two years ago, I was showing people how to get their credit in the right position and build out their credit profile. so that they can go get an LLC and get business funding and then take that and go run a business. And for proof of concept, I started an Amazon business. Anything about Amazon, right? But I was able to get couple hundred thousand dollars worth of funding from business and i was like okay let's go do it and see what see what we can do i went and found some people who um someone had mentioned uh econ to me and i was like okay well maybe i'll give this a shot and the first person who i talked to about it who i spent a lot of money in of course uh and in there they were telling me about um going to these stores and you know driving up and grabbing some things off the shelf and they were scanning them and checking them and it was like arbitrage right and i was like okay but i mean there's only so many items i can get off the shelf like where's the money at like i mean like like again i i got you know just about 200 grand burning a hole in my pocket i can't buy 200 000 worth of stuff you know at the local ross or marshalls And even if I could, there was no guarantee that I'd be able to do that next week or next month, that they'd have the same items and all that. So I was like, OK, well, I need to find another vertical in the e-com space. And then I found something else. I found, you know, the private label was funny. Private label is something that also came up afterwards. But unfortunately, the person who I spoke to about it didn't be very careful who you get your information from because everybody doesn't understand everything. So some of. they had at that point they'd really turn me off a private label because they didn't know what they were doing right um so i wound up going to the middle road which you know it was the goldilocks zone for me which was wholesale so went to wholesale um found some mentors in that who are amazing guys you know you know both of them they're like brothers uh and they um they took me under their wing showed me that and i was able to get that business up to i think it's closer a quarter million dollars at that point so when right like hey most people start a business majority of businesses fail in their first their first year or first two years this first year we got up to a quarter million dollars i thought that was great and it wasn't great right uh but just in that small space i would be at events and people in amazon business want to start taking pictures with me and want to join my my instagram i want to go and in my mind because i've been in multiple other businesses before. I was like, I really haven't done anything yet. But okay, I don't want to crush your dreams. Fine, I'll take a picture with it. Great. Or sign your thing or follow you on whatever. But I was like, man, that's so fleeting. But if all you know is that echo chamber that you're seeing, and there were people there who were doing less than I was, but you wouldn't know that by the way they presented themselves. you know, through this and that. And you realize that people are renting Lamborghinis and all of that to, you know, to do videos and all that for social media. I'm like, man, how long do you think that's going to last? You can't, you can't do that without burning yourself out. And you now have put people who watch you and believe in you think they think that that's the road and it's the way to do it. And then they wind up burning everything they got and doing it. Now you've not only ruined yourself, but you got other people who could be that. for you, it might have been 50 grand that you lost. It may not have been anything, but for them, 50 grand could have been their whole life savings. You know what I mean? You could have put them and their family in a whole different situation. So I think we have, as leaders, as success stories, we have a responsibility to be fiscally responsible with the people who take in what we bring.
- Speaker #0
That goes to, like you said earlier, that one of your businesses is helping people that are in credit trouble fix their credit and turn themselves around a little bit. Those people, when you're marketing to those people, they're almost willing to try anything. Right. And there's a lot of things they should not be trying and they should not be doing. So there's a lot of unethical stuff that goes and a lot of people that prey on those type of people because they're desperate. Yeah. They are in a bigger hole and a lot of times the marketing just makes them create an even bigger hole So what was your approach to doing that and you've helped like you said you've helped a lot of people turn themselves around What what how did you do that differently and how is the marketing? What do you see in that space and how did you differentiate from from what you did and what you did in the morning?
- Speaker #2
I think that that space is It's scary because I think you have people who really want to help and really want to provide value to people. I also think that you have people who are hungry and see an opportunity to make a quick buck. And so they don't think about the repercussions from doing that. It's like, hey, I'm just going to go ahead and get this while I can get it. And then they're out the door. And they really don't think about what's left of their wake when they do that. I think there are a lot of people who didn't like the way that I brought it to them because as much as everyone's like, hey, look, we can do this. And in two weeks, we can get you $25,000 on a business credit card. I'm like, great. Yeah, that's possible. But for what? What are you going to do with it? Because if all you're going to do with it is go get with your buddies. and rent a couple cars for the weekend and go down to Florida or, you know, LA or do whatever, and then come back and you spent it all. Now you're not only in the spot that you were before, but you're in a worse position because you now owe that money, you know, and you've done nothing to create the life that you said that you wanted. But most people haven't thought that far because they're starving, you know, and some people say, hey, you know, if I give a man a, you know, I give a man a fish, I just feed him. But if I teach him how to fish, I feed him for a lifetime. so I just want to teach them how to fish. I'm like, I understand that thought. But when a person is starving, when a person is drowning, they can't even hear what you have to say yet. So, you might want to feed them to satiate the hunger to bring that down so they can actually open their head up to hear what you have to say. And then you can teach them how to fish, because now they're not starve crazy, or you can stop them from drowning. Now you can teach them how to swim, you know, because now they have air in their lungs. Like, oh, OK, great. Now I can get board. The trend that I'm seeing now, unfortunately, is people don't even want to learn how to fish. They just want, you know, they want a fish sandwich brought to them with fries and a drink from DoorDash. They just want it right now. I want it right now. And they don't want to learn how to do it or make it. But the people who take the time to actually learn it and get it, they'll be able to do it for a lifetime or even longer.
- Speaker #1
Instant gratification, right? This is our generation right now. This is a society that we're living in right now. You know, I want to talk about a different subject. We touched on it before. And I talked about resilience for becoming an entrepreneur. But what prevents other people from... Becoming that entrepreneur and becoming successful. Now, an entrepreneur, success doesn't have to mean money. It could mean a great failure that you learn something from. It's an education point, an obstacle. So I'm just, I'm curious on your views on that, you know, the prevention. What stops people from getting in to the entrepreneurial world?
- Speaker #2
Fear. Fear, knowing what they don't know is one of it, but really it's fear. It's fear of failure for a lot of them. It's knowing that if I have to pay bills and I know I can go get this job that's going to make me just enough money to pay my bills, and by contrast, that person will do just enough not to get fired. That's how it works, right? And the fear of risking that for something more, they want it, it sounds good, but man, I can't, I don't think I can, if I let this go, what if I can't make it? What if I can't do it? I think the fear is the biggest thing. That's why for me, it's so important to help inspire entrepreneurs into entrepreneurs. and letting them know that, hey, you know, one, delayed gratification is the key. You know, you just touched on that. For me, that's like the biggest thing for most people is if you can learn to delay that just for a minute, there's so much more for you on the other side, if you're willing to just put your head down and do it. I tell people all the time, if you put your head down for three months, you'll change your life. Turn all the other stuff off. and give as much attention to your life as you do to these celebrities who don't care about you or even know who you are, you'll be shocked what you can do and what kind of change you can make in your life or life around the people of you.
- Speaker #1
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- Speaker #0
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- Speaker #1
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- Speaker #0
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- Speaker #2
Yeah. Right now what I'm working on most is, um, you know, I'm teaching people offers and how to create, um, and convey offers and then how to, how to scale those offers and then how to come up with continuing offers. Right. Um, but AI has been amazing for me. Um, And just watching the growth and the change, like every week, if you're not on top of it, things change. Things that we thought that we couldn't do before, we can now do with ease. And things that we never thought we could do, we're doing even quicker. So that's been changing. The newsletter is about to relaunch again. So that's for me. It's been learning how we can use these. things to help entrepreneurs handle the things that they either can't or don't want to do.
- Speaker #0
So right now you're playing with AI, figuring out what are some of the basics that I can then teach to entrepreneurs and other people that they can use to give them a leg up and give them an advantage. And then putting that out into a course or a training of some sort or something along those lines. That's what you're working on right now.
- Speaker #2
Yeah. That and the only other thing that. The thing that I really love working on, but I need more people to be successful to do it, I need more of the right people to be successful to do it, is I want to really create a community where entrepreneurs can just relax and be able to spend some time and remember why they became entrepreneurs in the first place, not the work, where they can just have some fun and fellowship and network with each other. And not necessarily about business, but just... life in general, just have good people around you, even if it's not in your industry. We all have, there's a certain thing that ties all of us together, right? So one person may be in the restaurant industry, one person may be in e-com, one person may be in entertainment, whatever, but there's a thread between all entrepreneurs, right? And I'd love to have a community where we can all just really... be and enjoy each other for who we are and not so much what we bring to the thing because it's not about that. It's about having good people who you know are good people around you because you truly are a combination of the people you're around, the books you read, the places you go, you know, but you see. So, yeah.
- Speaker #0
If they smoke cigars in this group, that's even better.
- Speaker #2
Yes.
- Speaker #1
Yeah, you got to check out Collective Mind Society. I mean, that's what it's all about is just bringing like-minded individuals that we don't have to talk about business, but it's just camaraderie and having that cigar, having a drink, and sitting around that campfire just discussing what comes up. So that's definitely something that we're going to be talking to you about after we get off this podcast. But you just described it perfectly.
- Speaker #0
It's something that Norm and I do. We have a group that's called Collective Mind Society. And right now, it's in the early stages, but we've done two events where it's not presentations. It's more people from their like-minded, exactly like you said, 12 to 16 people that get together and just go do an experience. So the first one we did was in 2022 at the F1 races in Austin. So we got a big cabana. We spent like $80,000, $90,000 on this. So this wasn't a cheap little weekend, a little party.
- Speaker #1
That was just for the cabana.
- Speaker #2
Yeah.
- Speaker #0
Everybody had to pay like 10 grand or so, 10, 12 grand, whatever it was to come. It wasn't a moneymaker. Norm and I actually lost a little bit of money, but it was to cover the cost. And these are entrepreneurs that can afford it and appreciate good things and nice things in life and good experiences. And we just hung around for four days, you know, got to know each other better. And a few business things might pop out here or there. And then we just did another one last year in August. And we took that. Rocky Mountain Express train from Vancouver to Calgary, basically, and through the Rocky Mountains of Northern Canada. And we had a VIP service on there. We had our own little, mostly, primarily our own little car with a restaurant on the bottom, a two-story train car with big wide windows. And we cruised for two days through the Rocky Mountains and then ended up at Lake Louise on this beautiful lake at the Fairmont and did some stuff around that, then ended up going to Calgary. And over that... Over those four or five days on that trip, everybody bonded. Everybody's like, you know, by the end of it, like, where are we going next? Where's next year? And we had good food along the way, good drinks, good people, and just hanging out, experiencing life and not worrying about, you know, what's the latest marketing technique or what's the latest hack or latest this or that. And, you know, in discussion, something might come up. And Norm actually just sitting on the train, just talking to somebody sitting next to him that's in the group. Saved him, what, $40,000 or whatever he said?
- Speaker #1
It was $20,000 within a half hour of our trip on the Rocky Mountaineer. But what I like is what you were describing is you can, what I got out of it is that you could be an entrepreneur. You might not know that person. You might not be in the same industry, but you have an event, and then you walk in as strangers, or you might know the person, acquaintance, And you really walk out with, like Kevin said, that bond. You're friends. I can call these people anytime. It's like when I was in the Army. You go into boot camp and you're complete strangers. When you come out of boot camp, you're solid.
- Speaker #0
It's the same as Cigar. I mean, we started the conversation, but that's why we reconnected with you. It was over Cigars. You guys came outside and like. Instead of sitting in your own little world over here, like, hey, can we join you? Because you have that instant connection already because chillness of cigar smokers. It's an instant bond. It's the same thing in entrepreneurship.
- Speaker #1
Yeah. And you know something? Kevin and I talk about this a lot. I don't know about your feedback on this, but have you ever noticed a lot? Like we started talking, a lot of people don't like cigars or cigar smokers. They think it's terrible. But I look. at it as this session where politics does come up. It's not a great thing to talk about. Politics comes up, religion comes up, really things that most people can't talk about. But when I've seen it come up in a group, it's a debate. It's like when people were talking before, it's not a hatred. It really is that... that bonding where you can, yeah, I can have a different opinion than you. Sit back, have that cigar, take a sip, and, you know, for 45 minutes, you're talking about it.
- Speaker #2
Yeah. There's something to be said about human beings being human, right? Cigars will bring that out of you. Hookah will bring that out of you. Alcohol sometimes will bring that out of you. Jazz brings it out of you. You're right. Jazz music and house music. Jazz music and house music are the, you know, they are the great unifiers. I'm a house head. I've been born into house music here in Chicago from day one of my life. And same thing with jazz. My family has owned jazz clubs around the country, spent a lot of my time in jazz clubs. And when you're sitting around with somebody who's got a cigar, maybe, you know, a snifter of Sambuca with three coffee beans in the sitting back. It's hard to be upset and yell and argue over some jazz music. It doesn't really happen, right? The same thing happens to guys. Like, you know, you can chill. Now, if we're playing a poker game, different story.
- Speaker #0
Hey, Kevin King and Norm Farrar here. If you've been enjoying this episode of Marketing Misfits, thanks for listening this far. Continue listening. We've got some more valuable stuff coming up. Be sure to hit that subscribe button if you're listening to this on your favorite podcast player, or if you're watching this on YouTube or Spotify, make sure you subscribe to our channel because you don't want to miss a single episode of The Marketing Misfits. Have you subscribed yet, Norm?
- Speaker #1
Well, this is an old guy alert. Should I subscribe to my own podcast?
- Speaker #0
Yeah, but what if you forget to show up one time? It's just me on here. You're not going to know what I say.
- Speaker #1
I'll buy you a beard and you can sit in my chair too. And we'll just, you can go back and forth with one another. But that being said, don't forget to subscribe, share it. Oh, and if you really like this content, somewhere up there, there's a banner. Click on it. And you'll go to another episode of the Marketing Misfits.
- Speaker #0
Make sure you don't miss a single episode because you don't want to be like Norm. That's what I thought about jazz and EDM music. That is true. I mean, some of the biggest festivals in music are actually those two genres.
- Speaker #2
Yeah.
- Speaker #0
It's not. I mean, country and rock, and they have theirs, but really some of the biggest are in those two genres, and they're all over the world. And that does make sense. And those are both musical genres without lyrics for the most part.
- Speaker #2
Yeah.
- Speaker #0
So it's more of a feeling, I think. I wonder why it's more of a vibe, more of a feeling, more of the music creates this either, in the case of jazz, it's like... this relaxation, this inner peace kind of thing. And I guess in EDM, it creates that excitement, that hormonal reaction. I don't know. But, yeah, that makes sense.
- Speaker #1
All right, guys. We're getting to the end of the podcast. And this has been great. We've talked about a ton of different subjects. Kev, do you have anything else? Any other thoughts?
- Speaker #0
No, I mean, how do people follow you if they want to learn more about what you're up to or about some of the AI stuff you're doing or whatever? What's the best way for people to check out what's going on?
- Speaker #2
The easiest way to get a hold of me really is probably my YouTube channel, Instagram, or my school community right now. It's Shamari Battle on Instagram. It's Shamari Battle on YouTube.
- Speaker #1
uh and i believe in school at shemari battle also so i'm easy to find and we'll post all those links as well so i gotta ask you yeah at the end of every podcast we ask our misfit if they know a misfit i
- Speaker #2
do i know i know a few um and really who who who do i who do i think would be the and in my head i'm like running through them but it's like there's one or two i think with with uh I think would fit in great. I think you guys would would really like to chill. And you may know. Do you know Eric? You know, Eric, right? Yeah, I know. Yeah.
- Speaker #0
Yeah. Yeah.
- Speaker #2
Yeah. So that's my guy who's who actually, as we're filming this right now, I believe is having a baby.
- Speaker #0
Oh, wow. OK. Awesome.
- Speaker #2
Awesome. So you'll be a new father, which is really cool.
- Speaker #1
Oh, fantastic. So we will reach out. Thank you very much for that. And thank you for being on the podcast today. You were awesome. And Kev, I don't know about you, but the official invite goes out to Shamari right now for our CMS event, our cigar event in Tampa that's coming up in a couple of months. So hopefully we'll see you there.
- Speaker #0
Yeah. Make sure you're invited to that. We're still planning it, but the plan right now is... is possibly we're not sure the exact month but we're looking at october as a possibility so yeah we're working on a really cool event uh with some sporting events and some other things maybe tie it around to it so we'll definitely make sure uh we let you know the question is yeah
- Speaker #1
can i can i show up in a hot air balloon in fact in fact i will be one of the dancers coming down the rope kevin will be on the other side And we'll welcome you to the event.
- Speaker #0
I'll just be the anchor. The rope will be tied around me so the balloon doesn't fly away.
- Speaker #1
Oh, okay, okay.
- Speaker #0
I'll be the big anchor on the bottom.
- Speaker #1
All right, Srivari.
- Speaker #2
Thanks for having me on, guys. I appreciate it. I appreciate both of you. I really do. Thank you.
- Speaker #1
No problem. Now, I'm going to remove you. Don't leave. We'll come back and talk to you in a second.
- Speaker #0
All right, buddy.
- Speaker #1
Yeah, I think I'd be a good anchor for a balloon.
- Speaker #0
I think I would, too.
- Speaker #1
We might have to take both sides.
- Speaker #0
Maybe that's what we do, yeah, yeah. But, you know, it could be a new job opportunity, a new industry, balloon anchoring.
- Speaker #1
Yeah, there we go. We're always looking for that next thing, you know. Entrepreneurs are always looking for that next. that next shiny object or that next venture to go into. So you never know. It could be ballooning.
- Speaker #0
I'll sell the balloon. There we go.
- Speaker #1
I mean, that's what our buddy Perry Belcher says. The money right now is in the dirty industries, the ones that nobody wants to do, you know, the sewage removal or the tree cutting or the carrying pianos up three flights of stairs. That's where the big money is at. So maybe balloon weights is something we can look into.
- Speaker #0
You know what's very interesting with what you just said there? My dad. My dad's still alive. And his philosophy going through his business, his entrepreneurial journey,
- Speaker #2
was do,
- Speaker #0
like, find products that other people can't or won't produce. So just to give you an example, shoe counters. He made... the majority of the back part, the hard parts of the back of your shoe, he made them for most of the shoe companies for women's and men's shoes in North America. And he did box stows and then got into some other types of chemicals. And he did tons of things that just, he lived to his word. Just, you know, just do things that other people either don't want to, or it's a dirty job, you know?
- Speaker #1
Nope. That's where there's, especially in the world of AI, where things are going to get automated and get much easier, that's where probably a lot of the opportunity is going to be in that kind of stuff. Hopefully, you like the marketing of this. If you do, be sure to check out our YouTube channel where we have all the back issues or on Apple or Spotify or wherever you may be listening to this. Share this episode. Forward it to a friend. Let them know. We're back every Tuesday with a brand new episode. So. All kinds of stuff all over the world of marketing. It's fascinating stuff. And look for our newsletter coming soon as well. That's right. There'll be a Marketing Misfits newsletter. You can follow everything that you need to know about Marketing Misfits at marketingmisfits.com. What is it?
- Speaker #0
Just the .co, okay?
- Speaker #1
You're the domain guy.
- Speaker #0
.co. I know I'm a domain guy, but it's not always .com. It's marketingmisfits.com. Dot co.
- Speaker #1
Dot co. Dot co. MarketingMisfits.co. You can follow, keep up with all the latest there. But other than that, I guess normal. I'll see you next week on Tuesday, another episode.
- Speaker #0
Howdy, partner. See you later.
- Speaker #1
Yes. Giddy up.
- Speaker #2
What
