Why Most Entrepreneurs Plateau (And How to Never Peak) – Intrepidus Podcast Ep. #83 https://www.youtube.com/watch/VnqQlYAHA

**Automated Transcript**

So when you look at that compared to where I am where I am today, it’s extremely different. Every day is a day that I have to go look for a dollar so I can survive. So I’m in that beginning stage because I’m still learning what that means, what that truly means cuz there’s months that it’s amazing and you feel great. Today we’re joined by Clauddio Venezuela, a creative individual on an entrepreneurial path with his new podcast studio owned in Stanford, Connecticut. Clauddio studied photography and graphic design in college and he began building his portfolio and his creative career through photography. First it was a hobby to him and then eventually it became a side hustle for him over the weekends. Now today he has his own studio. >> Around he expanded into videography and podcast production turning his passion from content creation into a growing and thriving business. Today, while running that podcast studio in Stanford that he’s approaching his second year at right now, he’s helping creators bring their voices and their stories to life. >> In Clauddio took the leap of faith, left his full-time career to focus entirely on building his new company. >> Clauddio, awesome to have you here at our studio. Um, I see you a lot at your studio. U, why don’t you, uh, just kind of let us know what you do? >> Yeah, man. First, thank you. Thank you for having me on. Appreciate you guys. Uh what I do so I have a uh podcast studio in Stanford, Connecticut. Um and what I do is I basically produce podcasts for people just like you, just like anyone that’s uh um out in the in the platforms. >> So is it majority of people that are like podcast curious that are entering the space or do they have a do they have already have a vision? They know what they’re doing. Maybe they’ve done a couple and they found your studio and it’s nicer than the other ones. Like what is the typical clientele? what stage of the podcast game are they in? >> Gotcha. So, I mean, I’m I have a variety of clients and the majority of the clients, they already know what they want. They’re they are in the leadership space. They want to promote themselves. They want to make sure they’re speaking um in in places and positions where it’s going to be captured and they can use that on their platforms and and and so on. But then I also have the clients that are, you know, curious and they want to kind of do something. and they want to speak and they want to get what’s uh you know whatever is in on their mind out to the world and and I think it’s also in hopes to you know make it to that place where you can put the stuff on platform and leverage it for uh >> for you know finances. >> Do you ever put yourself in a leadership role where they come in and they’re not quite sure what they either want to talk about or like or what to do at all? Right. Since you because you do everything you’re you’re a one-stop shop full suite, right? They come in, you record it, then you produce it. I’m assuming you cut reels for them. Yes. >> Depending on the package that they >> correct >> that they uh procure. >> Um >> is there ever ever a time where you kind of have to >> almost create the vision for them? >> Yeah. So like I said there’s there’s there’s a variety of clientele. So some people come super wellversed in what they want to do, how they want to do things, and others are more like, hey, I I have a vision. I know what I want. I need help to get there. And then yes, in those instances, I usually tell every client, I I can be as as hands-on as you need me to be or as little hands-on as you need me to be. And depending on the need, depending on what they want is how much I will kind of pour into what their vision may look like. So yeah, a lot of times I’m brainstorm. Brainstorm is probably my favorite thing to do cuz it’s probably where all the visions and all the all the cool stuff kind of comes up and it’s just talk and then from that moment is making sure that we we get some action, some plans uh so we can get, you know, to go into the right direction. How long how long have you been uh running a podcast studio? >> So, the studio is we’re closing in on two years now, but I’ve been working at the studio at the podcast game um for the last six years or so plus maybe. >> Got it. Yeah. Um, so here’s an important question to ask you that uh you’re going to have to be honest about and some people might get buttth hurt, but uh has there been I remember when you first started I I don’t remember, but I could imagine when you first started um just trying to fill up the calendar, get everyone you can, whoever you could book, whoever’s going to buy sessions. Now today, are you a little bit more picky about somebody? If someone goes, "Hey, um I want to shoot podcast in your studio, you know, blah blah blah." Do you turn people away just because you like, ah, I don’t know about this guy or girl? >> Well, uh, we’re still in that very first phase, so we’re still filling up that calendar. Uh, so I’m not being picky yet. Um, I am trying to grow the business. I am trying to make sure this thrives. Uh, so bringing in any and all clients right now is is the yes. Um, I can definitely it resonates with me, right? Because >> this question more. >> Oh, absolutely. because there’s going to be, I’m sure, times that people are going to come with things that maybe I don’t agree with or or it’s just not the best look for the studio. Um, at which point I would have to make a decision. Luckily, that has not come my way yet. So, I haven’t have been put in that position to make that hard decision as to, hey, I don’t really agree with your podcast. I don’t think we should, you know, record here. >> So, not saying that you’re desperate, but desperate times call for desperate decisions where we just want to fill the calendar. Um, and is there any of your podcast people that you have where you’re like, you think now maybe I should have rethought this or or or whatn not or like, you know, I don’t know if uh this person is to be with me long term. And you have a number of people so nobody would even know if you were talking about them or not. But I think the honesty helps to be like, you know, there are certain traits of people today that I see on future people who want to bring on my podcast, you know, as hosts that I maybe would eliminate from, you know, some of the people maybe had it from the beginning. >> Yeah. I mean, so it’s the it’s thoughts, right? I’m human. Uh thoughts are always going to pop into my mind as to whether I like, I don’t like, I agree, I disagree, all those things. So, it’s natural. But in all reality, it’s it’s people are entitled to make whatever shows they want to do, right? Um, so right now, I’m like I said, I’m not in a position. >> I’m not worried about the show. I’m worried about more about individual personalities. >> Oh, well, you know, personalities are personalities, man. Like everyone’s got them, you know, it’s like it’s the saying like everyone’s got they’re like buttholes, you know? Everyone’s got one and they all stink. You know what I mean? So there’s not much. It it’s it’s how we uh approach it, how we we how the energies kind of go. Are there people that that have better energies than others? Of course. It’s it’s it’s life. It’s normal. You know, I’m not going to sit here and tell you I don’t like this person or that person or whatever it is. It’s at the end of the day, it’s it’s everyone’s there to do a job. My job is to make sure they are happy and they’re satisfied with the product. Their job is to fulfill whatever is they have. So, if it’s to come in and record and and get some content out, that’s what they need to do. You know, as long as we’re both on the same page, I’m I’m happy to do what I do. I love what I do. >> I want to rein you in two years. One thing that I that I picked up on, you said that we’re >> because you’ve been at this for about two years. >> Two years into the full-time, right, by myself, kind of ongoing. Uh, but I’ve been working at this part-time probably for the better part of six to seven years now. >> But full-time, two years. And one thing that you said earlier that >> u was was led by by Dan here is you said, "I’m still in that first phase." >> Correct. So at what point and and it reminds me of the your your partner or friend John who’s just on the podcast and he had said that >> uh [ __ ] takes longer than you expect or more than you expect right you need a hundred you think you need you need three you think you need a month you need three months uh things always take a little bit more time so what keeps you driven being that you’re still in the first phase after two years where like you might have expected and correct me if I’m wrong but you might have expected that you be at a different place right now. Oh, >> absolutely. >> Right. Um, what keeps you going and and like you know h how do you know that you’re getting to the next stage where you’re at of phase one? >> That’s it’s an interesting question, man. It’s it’s it’s new every day. So, right. So, if we go backwards a little bit, right? I came from a much different world. I was I’ve been an entrepreneur for a little less than two years. Prior to that, I worked a civil service job with a steady paycheck. never really having to worry about job security. >> So just being very comfortable in that space. >> So when you look at that compared to where I am where I am today, it’s extremely different. Every day is a day that I have to go look for a dollar so I can survive. So I’m in that beginning stage because I’m still learning what that means, what that truly means. Cuz there’s months that it’s amazing and you feel great and you feel like life is going to go in the right direction. Then there’s other months you’re like, "Oh man, I wonder if I’m going to be able to pay this bill. I wonder if I’m going to be able to survive. I wonder if the business is going to make it through this. And that learning process is, I think, what’s got me hooked right now. It’s it’s uncomfortable at times. Um, but that’s okay. That’s growth. It wouldn’t be growth if it wasn’t uncomfortable. So, that’s what keeps me that’s what drives me. It’s like, can I make it to that to that vision that I had when I first started? Am I going to be able to get this business uh this vision that I had to that ultimate place? And you know, I’m I’m that guy. I’m that guy that once you get something in your head, I need to achieve it. And it’s it doesn’t matter what gets in the way. I need to get to that point. And that’s kind of where I am right now. I’m still battling to climb up the hill. >> So, you’re still battling to climb up the hill. You’re still in the beginning stages, but you called yourself an entrepreneur. How do you how do you define yourself as an entrepreneur if you’re still figuring it out? >> Well, I say that loosely because it’s the word that that we use to be honest. I’m still I’m discovering myself. It’s an entrepreneur because I I’m in that space. Do am I an entrepreneur? Only time will tell if I’m a true entrepreneur because years worth of a different line of work is what I what I’ve basically built my career on. This is a very different. So I’m learning this game. I’m learning all of that. Uh so I’m I just feel if I had to define myself, I’m that guy trying to make it in the world, you know. >> So entrepreneur is definitely used lightly. Um people throw it around. You got a school teacher who has a real estate license, sells one house every three years, she calls herself an entrepreneur. You call this guy who flips, you know, uh, candy bars, calls herself an entrepreneur. I think entrepreneur, people put their title like I own my own business, so I’m an entrepreneur. So what I classify that as a entrepreneur like you want to be an entrepreneur, you’re on the journey to becoming an entrepreneur. You’re learning the process of an entrepreneur, but an entrepreneur has to arrive and you’re still in a point of where you’re on your way. And once you arrive, you know, and you can get through those battles, you’re still in your comfort uncomfort section, but you got to be battle tested. You haven’t been battle tested yet. So they truly say like it’s like five years in your business, five, six, seven years in your business, and you really know what you’ve got if you’re still going. So you’re on that journey. You’re on your way, but you’re still in the phase that like you haven’t sacrificed it all to give it all yet. You know what I’m saying? Because you haven’t been there. And and I want to tell you why. Because wherever you are in life, if you’re not where you need to be, you’re going to make decisions. We were we were talking before about money, pricing, and all that kind of stuff. And like what I heard out of your mouth was like I want to. When that I want to turn it turns into I will. You just watch the difference in your business. You watch the quality of people that you’re surround yourself. You watch how money starts to flow because it’s no more a need. The serving is so high. the value of people are so good that the money’s just gonna blow. >> I disagree. I disagree. I I think that so I do think that you’re an entrepreneur wholeheartedly and that’s and that’s because >> we we always agree to disagree. >> Yeah. And it’s it’s because I don’t think entrepreneurship is a uh testament of success, right? I don’t think that you need to reach a certain degree of success and achieve anything in order to be considered an entrepreneur. However, you do have to uh it’s more of a mindset than anything else, right? You have to be able to believe in yourself so much that you can go out on your own. And most times it requires you to lose something or give something up. In your case, you gave something up. You gave up a nice cushy job that you could probably could have retired at, probably had a k, whatever, and you could have just continued down that path until you were old enough to retire, right? Instead instead because you’re not old enough to retire. I’m I don’t think you are. You don’t look it. Um, so >> he’s younger than all of us probably. I I do think wholeheartedly that it entrepreneurship is is all about taking a bet on yourself and the ability to do so and yes like what you said is is % accurate. Um I think or I one day maybe but changing that that framework to I will % is the mindset that you need to be an entrepreneur. I think that taking a dive like you have or just walking off the cliff and saying I’ll build the parachute on the way the way [ __ ] down. I’m going to figure this out. Is is entrepreneurship at at heart? >> So I I I disagree with you as well on that because let’s say five years from now he goes back to a job. His comfort level dropped, his security level dropped. He just didn’t believe himself enough. So you say, "I dabbled in entrepreneurship." Do you say that? >> No. >> You never [ __ ] became one. >> But I don’t think that that that’s usually what happens. I I think that normally what people do if they leave something secure and go something to that’s completely unsecure they continue down the unse the path of unsec insecurity right and then they they just try and try and try and if this guy right here Claudio if he fails tomorrow and then picks up something else and says I’m just going to do this because I you know what I learned all the lessons that I did from owning the podcast studio I’m going to translate transfer all that knowledge to this new thing because I think it’s going to be successful I’m going to make it successful Even if it’s not, is he not considered an entrepreneur? >> Yes, he would be. But what happens if he’s part of the smaller percentile that goes back to his comfort? >> Then he’s a dabbler. >> So that’s what I’m trying to say is like I feel like, you know, the waters are being tested at the moment. So he’s on his way to entrepreneurship, right? So you’re in college. You’re not a scholar. >> Just because you’re in college, you’re like, "Oh, I’m going to be a doctor." Oh, yeah. You’re ready to be a doctor. Like you’re on he’s he’s on his way. Like he’s on his way to the path. He’s got so many things he needs to learn. It’s like a teenager becomes a teenager after their childhood, right? So, he’s on his way to growth and to that word is just like, yeah, I own my own business. I’m an entrepreneur. Hey friends, Joe Butler here with Ability Tree. Ability Tree comes alongside families impacted by disability by providing rest, recreation, education, support, and training. We’re so proud to be the charity of choice for Intrepidus. And when you partner with us, you help us to come alongside families to make community possible and Jesus accessible to them. Thank you so much. >> So that’s the way I look at it. You >> One of the greatest things that that’s come from this entire journey that I’m on is having the uh the blessing to be around a whole bunch of entrepreneurs, right? Like yourselves, like John, um and so many others that I’ve been coming across more often than not. And to really hear and absorb the language, the the thought process, right? The mindset, all these things are something that are new to me. >> Uh, and now I’m experiencing them maybe in the dabbler form, as you eloquently put it, >> but it’s understanding that this is the journey that I’ve chosen. This is the the path that I need to be on and and I understand that this is I need to absorb as much of that as possible. And again, this is going to be a time. So, yes, you’re interviewing me not even at two years yet. So my experience in this entrepreneur world is very minimal. I’m dabbling. So until we interview again in years or years and I’m a little bit more established and I can and I can speak with the same language that you guys do then then then it will be a little bit more of telling of where this journey really. >> Well, number one, my hats off to you because your podcast studio is unique for entrepreneurs and business owners. So my hat off to you because you will succeed because you have no other choice in the event that all the stuff that you hear and absorb you apply >> because information doesn’t mean anything until implementation. So you could take what all these people are saying but until you start doing it right you have to practice. Once you start practicing and once you start changing once you go oh you know what I got this guy or girl on my podcast and um you know they’re not paying me enough and I raise my prices they don’t all right [ __ ] you. on, right? Until you start adapt that mentality and you start doing things, you go, "Oh, you want to be on my podcast? You know, I do need to fulfill my schedule, but I don’t think you’re going to be the right energy for me." And those things start to happen. You watch. And you’ve learned this probably from all the hosts on your show. >> Some of these people are no [ __ ] right? But then some other people are just full of [ __ ] right? So, at the end of the day, like you have a choice now. You’re living in both sides of the boat. What side do you want to weigh on? You know, that pendulum is swinging. So, I think you have an opportunity that a lot of entrepreneurs don’t have, you know, throughout their season of growing into that entrepreneur is that a majority of the people that you’re in front of every single day, bro, you’re in college, dude. You’re in business college, you know, and you’re learning from business professionals, now it’s your time to apply it. And I think that your shortcut to success doesn’t have to be five years. It could be in the next months. You can literally make radical change in your life if you just start implementing things because you still have a scarcity mindset. a little bit. I know, bro. I talked to you. I know I know your scarcity mindset and I know where you are and I just know how you are, but you’re growing into a place, bro. How long did it take me to get you on a show? >> I don’t want to talk. I’m good. Right. So, I know your scarce mindset, but you’ve changed so much from the day I met you to the person you are today. But seeing you out, I spent time with you out in public at, you know, at a restaurant, you know, at a rooftop restaurant. And just seeing the free Claudio, the no stress, no work, just free individual. I saw a totally different side of you. The chill. So, I know both of your worlds now. And I understand what you’re capable of. And I just feel like you have such an advantage. >> Like even our camera guy, right? The the amount of talent that is in front of him, the amount of information that is in front of him, he’s taking college courses on business. I go, "Bro, you’re wasting your time." >> Yeah. I agree with that. Every single month you’re in front of four to entrepreneurs and the [ __ ] you will learn in days you will never learn in school >> and tested already >> %. >> In schools is just a book. >> I guarantee every time he walks out of this studio he’s like >> [ __ ] I walk out of the studio like [ __ ] around >> and I’m like why are you doing college my mom’s making me well again this is conditional thinking right? We’re forced to do something because everybody is told that that’s the way, right? >> But all it’s doing is compounding time that is going to waste in our entire life. But you, you’ve got time compounded very well because of your proximity, because of who you’re around. Now, I would just say, bro, listen, take mental notes. What I don’t see you doing >> when you’re behind recording podcast is taking notes. I know you’re editing. So, I don’t know if when you’re editing, you’re taking notes. I would literally have a [ __ ] journal that would be my Bible if I was you on the information that is spread on my show and I would literally write a book about it. This is how I learned my entrepreneurship journey. This is how it went. Bro, you have nuggets, dude. Nuggets. You never thought about that, did you? >> Well, so I I was going to say something to to that because you know I acknowledge that %. I mean even meeting you, you know what I mean? Now I’ve met you and now just our conversations just off camera and and in this I mean I’ve been doing this for like I said two years with a whole bunch of different people um steadily and I am receiving a a wealth of information and if you have seen that massive change from the day you met me till today is only it only speaks to that it’s I’m I’m information is coming in very quickly sometimes it kind of releases pretty quick as well but I am receiving and I’m taking it in. I need to do a better job at maybe writing things down. That’s not my forte. >> You just have a you just have a wealth of information. >> But it’s coming and it’s coming from different angles, different people. I mean, I live with one of them that’s right across over here. You know what I mean? So, these are the conversations that are on a daily happening. So, >> it is a very different world that I’m in today than I was two years ago. So, the conversations are different. You know what I mean? >> And that’s I mean, it’s invaluable. So, I definitely acknowledge that and and it’s it’s you know, as long as I can be I saw it on the wall. As long as I can be % better every day, I’m moving in the right direction, you know. >> Yeah. I’m I’m absolutely proud of the growth uh that you’ve done. And I and I just think now today, um if anything, you can recognize two things >> throughout the last two years. You can recognize the real people you’ve been in front of and you can recognize the people who sit in a seat and are full of [ __ ] And once you are able to do that and distinguish that throughout people, >> bro, you’re on a whole different level of life. >> Some people are really good at hiding their [ __ ] though. >> Yeah. >> Oh, absolutely. >> Yeah. I got an interesting question for you. Um, so you own a podcast studio quite a long time now. Why don’t you have a podcast? >> I he baited me into this question because we spoke about it outside too. Uh, that’s that’s a phenomenal question. Uh there is no justification to to give you a better answer. Uh you’re right. I need to have a podcast. It is something that I’ve as of late been thinking not thinking about I’m going to be doing. Um I’ve even gone as far as kind of test recording some understanding kind of what the kind of platform that is that I want to be on and how what I want to speak about. So it’s there. It’s very much in the works. I I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s out there within the next month or two. Uh so it’s there. It’s a thing. Why haven’t I done it? It’s exactly that. I’ve been just kind of hiding, not really wanting to be in front of the camera. >> These these the few interviews that I have been on, I’ve been fortunate enough to be on on people’s um shows. It’s been kind of like the the that was my way of saying, you know what, you need to stop with this nonsense. Stop the hiding and just jump into it. And it sucks, man. I can’t even tell. I mean, this is probably this is the third time more comfortable than the first time. Um and but it’s slowly getting a little bit easier. And sometimes I kind of need that. I need to kind of jump into that deep end a little bit, kind of feel it out and get out really quick. Maybe go back to the shallow end and do a little bit of that back and forthness until I’m fully comfortable. But I can tell you that it’s it’s mostly comfortable. >> I think that’s what it comes down to. You’re absolutely right. That’s not true at all. I’m going to tell the story. I’m going to tell the story. I was telling Claudio earlier. Um I did not want to go talk about that. Oh, no. Go ahead. >> I’m going to tell you how first how we first started the podcast. I did not want to go to the podcast. Right, >> Dan? the we did some masterminds together and he just looks at me randomly one day like you want to do a podcast. I was like I don’t know. He’s like we’re going to do it and I was like okay. He’s like we’re going to shoot the first the opener right now. I was like right now? >> That doesn’t sound like Dan at all. >> Yeah. I was like all right. It was terrible. We still have it. It’s the worst video ever. >> It was like three years ago. I said it to him. >> I can’t even watch it. It’s so cringy. I can’t even watch it and I’m petrified. Someone’s on a cell phone camera at the I’ve been I’ve been in front of cell phone cameras for the last decade before that. Right. no problem whatsoever. As soon as he said we’re going on a podcast, hands are sweating. I can’t talk. My feet are sweaty. I was covered in sweat. I just couldn’t do it. And then I was just like, I can’t do this. Then’s like, dude, shut up. You could do this. It’s going to be fine. >> No, something episodes later, you could put cameras on here and I will not face me. >> Yeah, it doesn’t make a difference. >> He’s very good at at getting making you get over your fears and pushing you to to your limits because he knows where your where your limit is. or he he doesn’t yet and he keeps pushing you because he wants to see this strict curiosity. Um and the same thing applies, right? He asked me to do a presentation on KPIs. I was like, I don’t really do those, but um I’ll do it for you. They said yes. Best thing I did in a long time, right? Got so much praise for it. Got a lot of people to talk to me after the fact. It was it was fantastic. Then fast forward, went on the stage last week, Puerto Rico in this, you know, thanks to I just did a his p his mastermind a couple few weeks before that. So I still had that confidence. was like, "Oh, yeah, I could do it. I did it before." So, it does get easier. It definitely gets easier, but you put yourself in more tougher situations. Yeah. >> Like getting in front of camera is not as hard as getting in front of an audience of of or audience of thousand, right? But that’s just you’re leveling up. >> So, to to Dan’s point, it never gets easier if you continue to level up as an entrepreneur, as you should, >> %. So, uh let’s do this. Let’s put some pressure on Me, Anthony, and John will be your first three guests. Um, when are you starting? Because we’re going to book it. >> Yeah, we’re booking it. >> When are we starting? >> That’s a good question. >> And some days, not a day of week. So, right now, it’s gonna be about Let’s talk about what it was about. >> Well, no, let’s pick the month that you’re going to launch it right now. And then we’ll talk about what it’s going to be about. >> Well, I kind of have an idea already what it’s going to be about, and I I want we’ll stop beating around for a question. >> We’ll pick for you. We’ll pick the date for you right now. >> Okay, no problem. July st. >> July. That’s many months away, dude. >> No, I’m going to be in Poland. We don’t We don’t drive north in the summer, bro. We have summer here. >> It’s got to be before that June down here. >> June st. >> June st. >> June st. >> You got plans first. >> June st. June first. >> Whatever. First week of June. Whatever that looks like. You let us know and I’ll make sure John’s there because he lives far. But we’ll make sure John’s there. And me, John, and Anthony, me and Anthony will take the ride up and we’ll be on your first podcast. We’ll be your first three guys. >> What are we going to talk about? >> No. What are you going to talk? What’s your idea? >> I’m going to talk about the life of a podcaster. You guys live it every day. So, how about you’re going to run out of guess? >> Oh, no. Because I can I can continue talking about what it means to be on a podcast. I want to demystify to to the point of what we’re talking about. I want to demystify that fear that people have of getting in front of a camera and speaking about anything or whatever. It’s Let’s talk about that. The more people um put that fear to the side, the more people will eventually jump into a podcast. >> Camera shy podcast. Camera shy podcast. >> Feel comfortable. Yeah, >> that’s not a bad idea. >> There you go. Like you got to do something like that where it takes the word of why you didn’t but then you did. >> Mhm. >> You know. All right. So, first week of June, John, put in your calendar. We got it. We’re all set. >> CSP live June st. >> Let’s do it. >> Great. Um I’m excited. >> So, I have a question for you guys since uh since we’re going down this path. >> Good. Since you’re going to uh be a podcaster, start question. I got to learn how to interview people, right? Sure. Uh, so what is your favorite part about podcasting? >> You want to go first? You want to go first? >> Yeah. Um, >> fame and glory, right? >> No. >> No, definitely not. You know, we we’ve discussed this. It’s that it’s like this is a a passion project more than anything else. It’s expensive. Um, we we pay into it. You know, obviously we don’t charge you guys to be on. You guys um donate on your own free will to to our cause, which we’re extremely thankful for. Obviously, it’s for for a good cause. So, we’re thankful. But, uh, the best part for me initially was getting over the fear, right? I did it to get over the fear. Um, but what I learned is I just love learning about other people’s businesses, um, their trials and tribulations. And when the most rewarding thing is when someone said, "Oh, I listened to that podcast. I got this out of it." >> Like just just one part. If I get once a month, I am ecstatic for the next six months, right? Um, so that’s that’s the best thing that comes out of it for me. >> That’s a unique question because I just asked that question uh this past week. I was in uh California for seven days. I was on six podcast and I spoke at three speaking events and uh someone who was saw me towards the end of the uh week was like hey how long you been here blah blah what you doing? I’m like well I was on a bunch of podcasts and um you know I was a couple speaking events. What do you do for a living? own business coach and uh podcaster and all that [ __ ] Well, why do you do what you do? Um I go, well, number one, uh I think hope is a major thing that most people struggle with. And for podcasting, um the whole intention behind podcasting is this. If someone behind that camera on the other side that’s watching hears one thing out of your mouth and you’ve impacted their life and you’ve changed their life, I’ve done my job. It’s the same thing with me going in front of the room. I’ll talk about an event I spoke at on Tuesday. I was the last speaker at a two-day event. Do you know how much pressure is on me? >> So the two speakers before me were literally like putting everybody to sleep. So, the host of the event comes up to me and goes, "I might have to cut your time now from an hour to minutes because these guys went over and uh we got to do a round table first." I go, "If you make that decision, it’ll probably be the worst decision you’ve made this entire event." I said, "Do me a favor. Let me go first. Give me my hour and I will bring all these people back to life. I promise you." So, I literally went in front of the room, told everyone in the room, I said, "Guys, I’m about to bring the heat. I want all of you to put your cell phones down. Anyone in the room touches their cell phone for the next hour, you got to VMO or sell the person next to you." Bro, I had that entire audience by the end of the room. He had another thing scheduled. He couldn’t schedule the next speaker because every single person came up to me to talk to me when I was done. And I delivered. So, here’s what I know I did. brought value, impacted and changed a life. My whole job when I talk to someone or connect with someone or we do something like this is to make sure that there’s impact. Many people do podcasts because they want themselves to feel good about it. >> People want to call themselves a I’m a podcast host, right? But it’s about the value that you’re bringing in that hour. It’s not it’s not a you show. So, I watch people post clips on their podcasts and the clips are all about them. And it’s the same [ __ ] all the time. You’re going to see here that when we post this, it’s all about you. You’re not even going to see us in any clips. It’s all about you. It’s about bringing you to your market, collaborating with you, and showing every single person who you’re connected with who you are. If you look at other podcasters, it’s about them talking to you and their clout and all this. [ __ ] that, dude. This is your show. This is your time to shine. And we want you to change their lives. And we want people to know who you are because that’s what this is all about. People think we make all this money, bro. We don’t make any money. This [ __ ] cost us a lot of money. >> Who? >> You know what I’m saying? But at the end of the day, like he gets a message like I get a message, bro. We got episode dropping tomorrow. We’re either going to get cancelled from this episode or it’s literally going to blow our channel up. We hope it blows our channel up, but we waited a long time for this episode and we built up to it. We built a lot of value in it. It doesn’t devalue the guests before, but we wanted to build the audience. Build the audience. Build the audience. And now we’re bringing the heat. And now moving forward, we’re just literally So what we are, we consciously bring the right people on our podcast. When before we would just fill, see who we get, who we can get. We have a waiting list, dude. >> Yeah. A long list. >> Like a long ass waiting list. plus people. People like, "Hey, this kid just messaged me today. Hey, I could bring a lot of value to you. Let me jump on your podcast." I want to text him back. Like, dude, are you [ __ ] kidding me? Like, and people are like, let me get on your podcast. Hey, let me come on your podcast. I have something important to talk about. Chill for a minute. What’s the value you’re going to bring to the audience? Number one. Number two, what do you want to say? Or do you just want to talk? But when we were brand new, we were like, "Ah, we just need to fill a seat. We fill a seat." And we watched how bad it was. Like, we had some really good guests and we had some really bad guests, but we were just trying to fill a seat. But I feel like because we bring value now, people want to be on here and we have a waiting list. because of the way that we strategize this. We didn’t get into this thing about making money like Anthony said. We got into it, hey, listen, we’re not going to make money. Did we think we were going to make some money? Yeah, probably. But we’ve come to the realization that we’re not making any money at this moment and that we are actually changing lives and we are getting respect for people like you because we get to show who the real you is. That’s why when you saw us doing a podcast before here, I really try to dig deep in people to figure why. Because that person on the other side of camera needs to know who the [ __ ] you really are. Let me say number one, I’m honored that you guys chose me to be on the podcast. I really appreciate that. Um, it resonates. Everything you’re saying resonates. I do have another question. What would you do differently if you started from from the beginning again? >> Differently. So, we rushed into it in the beginning um by just trying to put the pieces together and figure it out. And we learned a lot of stuff along the way. So, personally, I don’t think I would have done anything differently because it allowed us to realize who’s for us, who’s not for us. Because again, on the other side, from the editor, from the people who have the cameras, from whoever, those people are money hungry. Those people don’t have a vision. They just want the money. So, we’ve had to go through multiple channels to find the right people, the right editor. Dude, our editor now, amazing. The guy who does our clips for Instagram, amazing. Our camera guy, amazing. But it took a series of people, episodes, bro. And like a a handful of people that we had to go through to learn what we really needed because in the beginning, what we thought we needed wasn’t really what we needed. >> You know, I love that answer. I’m going to come back to you cuz I want to hear your answer as well. Um, I love that answer because a lot of what I do is with that thought process in mind. Now granted, I’m on the other side of the thing. I have a business and I am making money off of that, but it’s my the way I see my role in your journey is to that is to give you the help you avoid all those missteps that you had in the very beginning. Now it sometimes it’s inevitable. you have to go through, you know, episodes that could be good, could be bad, could be in between, could be awkward, it could be all these different things, but I’m trying to make sure that if you don’t want to hit those, and yes, do you have to be able to afford it? Yes. But I’m trying to avoid those things. Whether it’s through the knowledge that I’ve acquired over the last few years, whether it’s through the gear that I have, whether it’s through the editing, whether it’s through all the little things that that encompass what who I am and what I my business means to some some people like you. >> That’s your character. So Anthony can touch on this, but this is the most important part of it. You know, it’s about who that person is. And we have to trust that person number one, and that person has to give us what they say they were going to give us. What we’ve found from the beginning to now is those beginning people told us one thing and did another, >> you know, and we’re sitting over here like, bro, we’re we’re at the grace of these people. Like, you know, they’re they are helping us build this thing. >> And if you’re telling us something and then we’re expecting something, then the last hour it’s like we’re like, "Bro, what the [ __ ] What do you mean?" Oh, well, you know what I mean? Like it everything just changes. So by you doing that and showing up that way, >> that’s all I can say is that that’s what’s going to make you different than everybody else. appreciate it. >> Yeah, for for me, what would you have done differently? Well, I agree with Dan that I wouldn’t have done anything differently, per se. However, if there is one thing that I think that we could have done better, which is um expose oursel a little bit more than what we did, because we literally knew zero. We just said, "Oh, you take a camera, you record, we interview people. This is our goal. This is our vision. Done." Right? We’ve built businesses before. Nothing changes. Um, but being in business for so long and being in the podcast game for so long, the one thing that I would have maybe changed and I’m not positive because and I’ll get into this in a second, but um, is expose ourselves to people in the space, right? Get in front of the people just like you know, you said it’s it my life has changed. My circle has changed. The people I communicate on a daily basis have has changed. And the amount of knowledge that I gained and I’m I’m paraphrasing for you um so forgive me uh the amount of information that and knowledge that I’ve gained in two years supersedes everything that I have in the last right um so applying that knowledge to what we have done to our podcast venture may have changed the way we look at things but quite honestly the reason I wouldn’t change it is because us learning in that phase allows us to have comm community uh have conversations with you about what we didn’t do well, right? And that is value of its own. And two, I don’t think to Dan’s point, we would have met some of the people and been able to identify the people that were really for us or just wanted what the end result was, you know, the the fame, the glory, the the compensation, right? We were able to identify people and it’s unique that had faith in us as individuals >> in the very beginning. And then you you soon find out that some of those individuals just think that the rewards are going to come real a lot faster and they’re not true entrepreneurs, right? They haven’t suffered through that time. They got instant gratification like some kind of [ __ ] trust fund baby. And those are people that typically aren’t in our circles anyway. So, we don’t want to associate with those. Over time, as we built the podcast, we identified those people and those people are sitting around us today, right? We have Gio who who’s been with us for the last six, eight months. Um, our our now producer uh and editor is fantastic. doesn’t, you know, doesn’t push the limit, gives us good advice, sees our vision, is totally on board with everything we want to do. And then of course with that, um, we also found better ways to do our edits, right? So like I wouldn’t change anything. The only thing I would have maybe done is maybe we would have went to some conferences together, right? >> That’s it. >> Cool. >> So, but now I’m in we’re getting recorded by C by glasses now. I I would have >> stressed now. Yeah, we we um we definitely uh we’re looking at a couple conferences, but there’s things didn’t line up. But what’s unique is I’m actually talking to somebody right now. She’s a podcast host and uh she said, "Hey, we should do a podcast summit." And I said, "Me and my uh co-host actually like we’re looking into them." And I think that’s a great idea because, you know, we’re in a space right now where most podcasters don’t even get this far. They don’t even do this many episodes, you know, or they stop. They start and they stop. That’s why people like they do seasons >> because when people do seasons, bro, they just they don’t know what to do. They don’t have a goal. But if you look at true podcasters, people who are delivering value every single week, there’s no season of entrepreneurship. There’s no season of business. You either do it or you don’t. >> Don’t. >> No, I agree with that. I mean, I think, you know, another qu another topic of conversation that I have with a client as they’re coming on is that understanding, right? It’s a the podcasting is not like a hobby that you pick up and you do it for a little bit and then you’re done. It’s an pretty expensive hobby. As a matter of fact, for you to just jump into it, do it for a year and then bail out. Um you have to make the conscious decision in the very beginning. If this is something that I want, it has to be a lifestyle decision for you because this is going to be something that you’re going to have to continue doing from here on out. If not, it is going to be a waste of money. You know, >> you know what we realize, I think, is uh the important things that we’ve done from the beginning now is in the beginning, we just put people in places. What we’ve done now is we built a team. >> We’ve got a team of people who are all on board, who are all doing the same thing. Whether it’s, you know, our our editor who lives in uh South Carolina, whether it’s the guy in the Philippines who does all of our editing, you know, whether it’s our camera guy who’s here, everyone’s on par. Everyone knows their job, everyone knows their role, and at the end of the day, everyone plays well together. But what’s awesome about it is none of them, including us, if we need something or we want to talk about something, like we just talk to each other. We communicate. And if there’s extra that we have to do on our end or there’s extra that they have to do on our end, it’s like it’s never like in the beginning where we needed something more than maybe we talked about, it’s like, "Oh, you got to throw me all this money. You got to do this." So like, you really find people who want to build with you and build for you versus people who are just trying to build off of you. >> Yeah. I like that. That’s interesting. You know, the I don’t know. I got caught in this in this gaze for a second because I’m >> You guys speak, right? And this is this is what tends to happen in when when I’m doing other people’s podcasts. I’m not in front of the camera, which is a good thing because now I’m being caught kind of gazing away, right? you guys will talk and my mind will start kind of like thinking of what you said and then kind of placing it in in like the practice of of what I need to do or what needs to happen uh moving forward as it goes. And I tend to get lost and and this happens in more, you know, in more people’s podcast than I care to admit where I’m listening and I’m so intently listening that I kind of get lost in the message because it’s so valuable and so good. Um, I was actually iron I going to be very candid on the camera. Um, I was just thinking about what I want to write on that wall. Now you you probably like, "Well, weren’t you weren’t you just listen?" >> You know what that’s called, my friend? What’s that? >> Okay, maybe you are a true entrepreneur. That’s called ADD. >> Well, the thing the reason I thought about it was because it’s it’s the power in in in the vocabulary that you guys use. And in the very beginning when I was sitting uh during the other recording, I was looking around of the other the other things that people wrote. Some are quotes, some are not. I’m thinking, "Oh, what do I write down? I’m going to put a quote down." And I had a quote even in my mind, one that I love. And what what what dawned on me in this moment where I started gazing away was like, "I know what I’m going to write. I’m I’m going to I’m going to write something that says that changes the vocabulary that I use that I use. not I want to start a podcast, but I will start a podcast. And it’s ironic that it came in that sentence, but it’s I think it’s just a tribute to the to the dialogue that you guys are having, the vocabulary that you guys are using and me absorbing it cuz you said it pretty clearly. It it didn’t go in one ear and now the other, right? That whole I will thing is something that resonates and it it and it it hits you pretty hard in the heart. >> It’s you don’t use that lightly. It changes the way you think. And that’s kind of what >> that’s the I want mentality. Like people want things, but if you’re not willing to do them, >> you’re not going to get them, right? We It’s okay to We It’s great to want things, but if you’re not going to go after, you’re going to want it forever. >> If you don’t have unreasonable conviction, >> you will not succeed in the thing that you’re trying to obtain, right? Period. >> Desire is a starting point of all achievement. So, two words of advice I can give you from both sides of your spectrum, right? So, you have your podcast editing, podcast studio side. What I can tell you is this. I don’t know what your prices are. I don’t really care. But, hey guys, you know, Claudio, here’s my studio. Here’s my price. Here’s what you get. Sometimes you may have to just do a little bit of extra editing. Sometimes you may have to do a little bit of extra this and give opinions. But what you don’t do is you don’t ever bend for people that aren’t willing to bend for you. Meaning somebody doesn’t want something, that’s fine. But if that’s what you’re going to deliver, that’s fine. But if they want to change it, they got to pay for it. If somebody wants more than they’re willing to pay for it, you put a stop to it. So you understand where your value is because that’s how you gain mutual respect. You should never have anybody who’s walking over you. You guys should be walking together. That’s the first thing that we learned. >> I love that >> in this space. >> Yeah. on the other side of the spectrum. Uh being a podcast host, just make sure you’re intentional. Like we sit down in this chair and we’re intentional about what we want to bring to the audience. We know what we’re trying to deliver and what our goal is. It never changes. If you go from episode one to episode now, the intention has always been the same. The questions may have changed because of things that we’ve learned, but the role and idea of where we are and where we’re sitted for you as the guest has never changed. And we’ve always made it about them. And we’ve always made it about what our podcast stands for, which is fear. And that’s the base of it. So your entire podcast, we didn’t even talk about fear, but we literally talked about fear. We didn’t bring it up, but we’ve talked about it because this is the way that we intentionally show up every single time we shoot, no matter what. And that’s a that’s a skill that we gained over time, by the way, that that was not there in the very beginning. We semi-scripted in the very beginning. There’s no script here, right? We barely we casually talked about what was going on. You mentioned some stuff. I take mental note. Uh Dan takes mental note and then we bring it up. Fear, right? Why Why haven’t you been on a podcast? You told me earlier that you decide I’m afraid of the camera. Like I don’t that’s not my thing. And here you are overcoming your fear. We attack that. We use that for the audience because they need to know that you’re doing something that makes you completely uncomfortable and you made a commitment to us on camera, which we will hold him to. >> We do that a lot, >> you know, and and that’s important, man. It it really is. It really is. So, kudos off. My hats off to you for sure for for all the things that we discussed here for making the commitment here. But now, we’re going to hold you to it. >> It’s all good, man. I appreciate it. And it’s just another another obstacle that will climb, get above it, and keep moving. And one thing that’s not changed for me since the day I met you to the day now is I always look to get you out of your show. From the first conversation, the first time we had lunch, it was just all all about how can I bring Clauddio out into this world? Because Claudio’s hiding the turtles inside a show. How do I bring you out? And I kept telling you throughout the times that we’ve always met each other. Hey bro, when when when you get on our show? Hey bro, when are you coming out? Hey bro, when are you doing this? Hey bro, when are you doing that? And I’ve never ever and correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve never intentionally walked into any space where you were at. I’ve made it about me. Always made it about you. >> Because I truly believe that if I could bring greatness out in you and I could do something for you and I can make you your absolute best, I’ve done my job, you know. But when you look at some of the people who you surround yourself with in a podcast space, even people who are maybe hosts uh that you you go, it’s about them, you know. Even when I walk into your show and or into your studio and I’m a guest in someone else’s podcast, bro, nobody knows nothing until it’s time for me to talk. And then once I talk, I deliver. Then I leave. I gradually say goodbye. I’m good. I never own this space. It’s not my space. It’s everyone else’s space. So that that’s all I can tell you is that from the time I’ve met you, I’ve just saw something about you. Um, and and I honor it because you’re a straightup humble guy and I truly believe that you have so much more on the other side of that fear. You know, you’re breaking it, bro. You’re ice picking that [ __ ] But until you [ __ ] jackhammer that [ __ ] it ain’t coming out. >> So, let me I’ll tell you a quick little story. I don’t want to take too much of this. So, you you’ve you’ve only known me the the the about the two years that we’ve kind of been around each other, right? And what you don’t know is that in my prior career, I was very much out in the spotlight. I was very much out talking in front of people, in front of my staff, large staff. Um, I was out in the community, making sure that that the programs that I ran, the things that I did were very much out there. And I did that for a very long time. And I think as the time went on, I started I don’t want to say resenting that portion of the job, but it was not the job that I first started when I was younger. You know, I got into it to to work with the population that I was working with, with the kids I was working with. And I was super passionate about that. And as you kind of scale the the the corporate ladder, you end up being in positions with more responsibility, further away from the things that you love, more pushing paper and those kind of things, being in front of the community. And little by little, I started resenting it a little bit to the point where I just kind of wanted to be behind the scenes. And it’s almost like I put myself in that place of being behind the scenes >> almost intentionally >> intentionally to the point that now I have a business where my job is to be behind the scenes. Right. So I hear what you’re saying. It’s it’s it is uncomfortable but it’s only uncomfortable because I remember what it used to feel like. And it was different. I wasn’t in front of a camera. It wasn’t like that but it was in front of a lot of people that I would have to day in and day out have a lot of interactions. And it’s something that I was like, I want to kind of get out of here and I want to be on the on the back side of things, you know? >> What’s the one thing you learned from all your hosts? They get behind a camera because they need people that know the message, right? So that’s how you grow. People need to know who you are. Whatever, bro. People don’t know you. People know who you are. They see your logo. They don’t know who you are. They need to know who you are. They need to know the reason. They need to know who this now this episode. People know who you are. They know what your mission is. You know, a lot of times people sitting in a studio, oh, this studio just wants to make money. It’s a big studio. It’s not an individual guy trying to make something happen, live his dream. You know what I’m saying? You people need to know who you are. And once they know who you are, I’m just telling you right now, bro, you’re going to be turning business down. >> I love it. >> Anthony has one last question before we wrap things up. >> Yeah. And don’t get a co-host. And I think I was just thinking about it. You know, you said you you had that. >> What would you do differently? Don’t get a >> No, no, no. I wouldn’t change that. I wouldn’t change that. >> We have two different personalities, so it works really well. >> No, it works really well. The only reason I say don’t get a podcast co-host cuz I’m thinking about it while while we’re all talking here and it’s like because we’ve had people on the show who have changed co-hosts before and I think the mass majority of partnerships don’t work, you know, professionally and romantically for a variety of different reasons, right? But um you know for us our relationship is extremely unique. We’re business soulmates, right? Never once have we said I can’t make it. I’m I’ve been sick before. He’s been sick. I would came in here dying. We like [ __ ] thorough flu and that and that’s it, right? Um hey Dan hit me up the other day. Hey, I over booked. We have like two extra. You want to stay late? I was like I’d rather stay early. He’s like [ __ ] done. So we we went in early. Right. There’s never been a a disagreement or we I can’t make it. we made these commitments and we stick to them. It’s just because our personalities work that way, right? And maybe he identified that early and and I I was just taking a shot. I I don’t really don’t know. But the majority of people don’t mesh like that. That’s the only reason I would say that. >> Yeah. He’s taking on his role. Like so I get everything prepared for the podcast for the day. After the day, he takes care of the rest. >> So like we know our roles. We know what we’re doing. And like you said, we’re both committed. There have been times where it’s like, you know, we don’t feel good and you know, we still show up because you why people are committed to each other. You know, we’ve had people cancel on us when they were sick, but we’re not going to cancel on each other because you know why? If that one person cancels, we still have three other people that have taken the time and to do that kind of stuff. And that what how many confirmation texts do we send out? >> Yo, it was a lot. I’m not going to lie. I was like, Dan, I told you I’m coming, man. I’m coming. >> It It doesn’t matter. You know what it is? >> But I appreciate it. That’s >> It’s reminders. And what we have to start doing is actually doing calendar invites so we don’t have to do it. >> But like, I’m so old school, bro. I just like to text people. I want to know what’s going on. And if you’re not answering, you know, three people didn’t answer the form until last night. >> It’s like, bro, like, you know, sometimes you got to slap the [ __ ] out of people, you know what I mean? But that’s just the way that we are. That’s just the way they are. Like, bro, bro, bro, bro, like check in, right? You know what I mean? But that’s just how we are and that’s how we’ve been able to to build this. So, right. >> Yeah. So, final final question of the uh afternoon here. Um my favorite question to ask is, you know, at the end of the day, uh we lay our heads down. We lay our head down on the pillow or couch whatever depending on where you are in your entrepreneurial journey and >> in the studio the studio >> maybe laying in the studio. Um and and we just you know we have time to think about the day. Um and some things keep us up. What keeps you up? >> Um well a lot keeps me up. Um I will say though my sleep my sleep patterns are on point. >> So it’s it’s kind of Yes. I’m lucky. I’m lucky. Uh, but there are things that that keep me up and in this stage of the life of the of the business journey. It happens to be a lot of the financials that that come along with having a business and and trying to make it in the world. Again, >> the inconsistency >> the inconsistency, right? The es and flows of of like I said, I was accustomed to that steady, you know, by by monthly check that would come or bi-weekly, however you want to put it, and it was comfortable. This is not comfortable. You get a bimonthly check. That >> sucks. >> Well, I mean, there’s some there’s people, you know, >> get paid every other month >> if it’s a large amount. I mean, right now I’m basically working on like a once every six months. >> An employee is not getting paid bi-weekly. >> No, not Well, by monthly can be considered like twice a month. >> I think I thought bimonthly is every other month. >> It’s both. It’s the English literature is kind of weird. >> Bi-weekly. >> Bi-weekly. Yeah. >> It’s kind of one of those that it could be one or the other. That’s why I I literally said bi-weekly. >> Say the first and th and I don’t say anything else. Yeah. Yeah, it’s weird. It’s weird. Trust me, I’ve I’ve gotten myself into that. >> I get too deep into that argument, but anyway, go ahead. >> Um, well, I lost my train of thought, but it’s Yeah, it’s it’s that it’s the inconsistencies of of the of the business world and that and trying to make it because at the end of the day, I am trying to make it and I’m not trying to make it so I can have the title of an entrepreneur, but I’m trying to make it so that I can live my life and be comfortable in what I do and love what I do. So, I know that I’m in the line of work that I love what I do already. Have you had to buy a month’s worth of ramen noodles yet? >> Uh to survive. >> Close to I’m close to, >> bro. You’re now you’re on your way. >> I’m close. >> Then you’re on your way. >> It’s almost like back in college. >> Dollar my first two years. [ __ ] Yeah, the dollars invest, bro. >> I stooped as low as the [ __ ] cups from from China. That was bad. >> Yep. That’s good. >> But nevertheless, >> Clauddio, it was awesome having you out here. uh if you can uh let the audience know where they can find you and um you know however they can connect with you. >> First and foremost, thank you so much. I appreciate being on the show. Uh thank you for for bringing me on. Uh you can find me at um Kai Visions uh on Instagram. That’s C A Y V I S I O Ns. Kayie Visions. You can also find me on my website ww.kaivisions.com. And again, thank you so much. I appreciate it. >> Awesome. It was a pleasure having you on. Thank you so much for taking the time. >> Thank you. Thank you. We’ll see you in June. >> All right, that wraps up today’s episode. 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