Professor Nez - Maximize Your Personal Brand

Professor Nez - Dealcasters Transcript

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Chris Stone: [00:00:00] Personal branding consultant, executive career coach, online business strategist. The list is long and I would be here with his picture on the screen for 15 minutes long. But, uh, this guy's gonna inspire you to grow your impact and your income online. Professor Nez, welcome to Deal Cast. It's about time.

It's about time.

Professor Nez: I love it. Thank you so much for being here. And you know what? You just inspired me. I think I'm gonna change my show to many things, many things livestream. The, it just, it conjures up so much. A whole lot of good, bad, ugly controversy. Controversy's good, right? No, it's really a pleasure to be here, you guys.

I'm so excited. You guys are everybody, please share this out. Hit that like button. Follow these guys. You know, I, I said this in a post really quickly. I'll just, uh, uh, say this. I. Please. I did a post on Instagram talking about today's show today, and I have been live streaming content, [00:01:00] creating for a long, more than I care to even, you know, mention I want a lot of the, uh, younger folk might, uh, you know, their jaws might drop.

I have seen all the best and I've come across a lot of amazing content creators. I'm telling you guys without any shadow of hyperbole. Chris and Jim are, is it Jim and Chris? Or Chris and Jim? It doesn't matter or do you guys care? Okay, good. That's what we call ourselves. I didn't wanna upset

Chris Stone: the, I didn't wanna upset the rotation.

We need a, we need to name a together name like Yes. Um, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. You know, Angelina, you need Benef, right? So, we'll, we'll try to find something that's appropriate. I think, uh,

Jim Fuhs: Chris didn't they call us at, uh, at Lima Crim? Yeah,

Chris Stone (2): the other one, the other one didn't work out. That didn't bode well.

Jim Fuhs: The other one was a little scary, so we went

Chris Stone: back. We're not going to get a SM live anytime soon as, no, no, that's not happening. That's not happening. Doesn't have a nice

Professor Nez: ring to it. But anyway, I mean, I, in all seriousness, I can't wait to have a blast with you guys. [00:02:00] Everybody watching and listening to this, I can say without any hint of hyperbole, these two gentlemen are superb.

They are consummate professionals and they do it the right way, which is, you know, I love what you said earlier, Jim. Uh, you know, and, uh, my heart goes out to, I, it's been a really tough time lately and, and I know we don't wanna focus on that, but it is something important, you know, in relation to personal branding and creating value and impact for your audience, which helps your business grow.

You know, the Marine Corps way. It's like that whole mindset and that whole philosophy of service, right? Where, you know, we wouldn't have. This amazing country, we wouldn't have these amazing freedoms. We wouldn't have these amazing opportunities, which, you know, why is it that everybody wants to come to the us?

It's because we have the best opportunities, right? And so that mindset and that sort of way of being, I. It's just, it resonates and it really relates to what we're talking about, personal branding. So kudos to you [00:03:00] gentlemen. Super excited to be here. And, uh, I'm outta here. I'm done. See you guys later.

That's all I have.

Chris Stone (2): Exactly. No, no, no. Don't

Chris Stone: go. No, man. That's awesome. And I, I meant this, she look at the time. No kidding. Yeah, exactly. I, I meant this like when we were, uh, you know, Jim and I do a number of, you know, this isn't like Tudor Horn moment, but we do a number of podcasts. We, we get asked, can we stroke each other's egos for a second?

Right. Let's do that. Let's do that. Right. Um,

Professor Nez: and I'm sure the audience would love that.

Chris Stone: Yeah. And, and so, you know, we get on these shows, we get on these, on these podcasts. We get asked to speak certain places because Amazon is one of those things that, that everyone's like, this is the shiny new thing that's kind of moving in this direction.

Should I do this? Should I be a part of that? Um, type of deal. You, uh, uh, by the way, very early in this, uh, you know, put out, started putting out content, started talking about it, started inviting people on your show, but when we were on your show, like we've been on a lot of shows and I'm, this is not to disparage any other show or any other platform we've been on [00:04:00] Dispar ahead.

So, uh, they all were terrible. No, um, they, no, it's just like I, and I talked to Jim afterwards and, um, you know, it, it, there's not many times where you get in there and you're just, you know, spewing the information. You're answering the questions. I think the, one of the great things about your show and why I'm so interested on Sundays, when, when, when you go live and other days and, and, and your podcast and everything that you've got going by the way, everyone in the Carousel is his podcast.

Make sure you subscribe to personal branding. And, um, is that it wasn't just about Chris and Jim talking about Amazon. It was, it felt like, you know, you're backstage before, uh, you know, people are going on stage and you're just riffing. You're just kind of like, you know, what about this, what about this, what about this?

And I got to the end of it and didn't feel like an interview at all. It felt like these are people that are trying to sharpen their irons, trying to get better at content creation, sharing information with [00:05:00] each other, and you do a great job on your show of pulling in your community. And so I wanted to start there if we could.

Mm-hmm. Let's talk about your community that you've built and I, and I, I would like to know. Maybe when you first started, because I think a lot of people, they don't know how to even begin to build a community and how to include those people and how to build what you've built so far. Yeah. Can you maybe touch on that?

Professor Nez: Yeah. Thank you. Wow. What a great, see what I was, see what I'm saying guys? I mean, nobody's even ever asked me that. I've been on tons of shows. Nobody's even ever asked me that. I love that. Thank you so much, Chris. Yeah, man. Yeah. I mean, what you said earlier about the show and the feel and that that's something that I never like consciously was trying to do, but I definitely was consciously trying not to be.

I. Like some of the shows. Again, not to disparage, but I, I wanted the show to feel like we were all hanging out at Starbucks or maybe grabbing a beer or whatever, [00:06:00] because those were the kind of shows that I loved growing up. I was inspired by a lot of shows, like SNL David Letterman. I. Um, you know, uh, even, even some of the other variety shows, uh, uh, like SLC and, and, uh, uh, you know, so many great, uh, vibes.

I liked the energy. I liked how it seemed that there was this removal of, okay, we're doing a show. It's gonna be very regimented. We're gonna talk about this only. I just felt like those were the kind of shows that I, I, I really, not that they weren't valuable, but I wanted to do something different. And I really wanted to make sure that my show felt like it was home and it felt, everybody felt comfortable sharing and expressing themselves.

I do the same thing in my classes too, believe it or not. I still teach at the university even though it's on a super part-time basis. Um, I love doing that even though the pay is Jack. But, so, but, so like, like for me, it's, it's always been about like if [00:07:00] you're going to, if you're going to build a brand, and I'd love to define personal branding too, 'cause I think people get this.

Really wrong all the time. They think of personal branding as being logos, uh, insignias, you know, social media, marketing materials, color palettes, design, et cetera. Personal branding is really what is the message that you have that somebody should be hearing. How do you take control of that? How do you take, how do you, uh, uh, uh, provide value to somebody who maybe has something going on in their lives, whether it's personal, professional, maybe they just wanna be entertained, whatever.

What is the problem that you can solve and how do you communicate that? And so it's really all about communication. It's really all about crafting a message that says, Hey, I can actually maybe, perhaps help, or, Hey, you might wanna join my community because if you are into this or that, or X, y, z, you may have fun here.

And so the way that it really started was I thought less about myself. I didn't think about what I [00:08:00] wanted. I didn't think about. Who I am and, and kind of how to, um, it wasn't self-promotion. I think a lot of creators, when they start creating, it's like, I'm gonna get on YouTube, I'm gonna get on Facebook, I'm gonna get on Amazon Live.

People want to hear about me. And they actually, the exact opposite is true. They don't want to hear about you. They really have a vested interest in themselves. First. The reason they clicked on your video, your content, or opted in or what have you, is because something that you did in your messaging, it, it touched a nerve.

It hit that emotional trigger. And they're like, okay, I'm curious. I actually do wanna earn more money. I actually do wanna get myself outta my own way, be more productive, be a better leader. I actually do wanna learn more about tech so I can create something that I, you know, feel, you know, uh, aligns with who I am, whatever it is.

Right? And so I, I really, really, this is something that goes back to, I. Just a lot of failure, a lot of learning. I mean, you guys know this. Um, everything [00:09:00] changes so rapidly. The marketplace change, which is why I have such a, um, a sadness about the university system, is because the university system is so antiquated.

And Covid has really sh you know, revealed that with the lack of innovation and so many, uh, of the infrastructure was not equipped to handle, you know, uh, the, the virtual kind of takeover, which let's face it guys, with or without covid, this is gonna happen. It's all happening here. And so, and so, like, really it's, it's about not being afraid of experimenting, thinking always about how can I service?

I know, Jim, you do too. Chris understands this vehemently. What can I do to, to really smother. My audience, my customers, my clients with unceasing value. And when you do that, the loyalty erupts. So I know that's kind of a, a, a long answer, but really in short, it's has nothing to do with you. [00:10:00] You wanna make money online, you want to grow your brand.

It's simple. Help people just help people. There's really not more, uh, to it than that.

Jim Fuhs: And, and I want to touch on something you talked about too, which I've found amazing as well. 'cause I also do some, uh, part-time teaching at a community colleges. I am shocked. I would love to

Professor Nez: be in your class. Jim. You gotta I would love to be in your class, dude.

Well, Chris

Jim Fuhs: is gonna help me teach a class next month on podcasting. I'll send you an invite. Please do. I'm down. But it's, it's crazy how behind they are. You, you're absolutely right. It's like, why are you charging the same amount for someone to take a class online as in person. Mm-hmm. I mean, I, I can't believe.

You talk about inflation, right? 'cause if you study economics, it's like, oh

Professor Nez: goodness,

Jim Fuhs: what it cost us, the three of us to go to college. Those same schools today, it's probably six times the cost. And it's like, is it really that much better than when we went? I don't think so.

Professor Nez: No.

Jim Fuhs: Other than they have really nice dorms and, you know, all these really nice services that they, [00:11:00] they upcharge for.

Uh, 'cause they don't want the kids to, to suffer any. But, uh, it's just, that's one of those things that just has always blown my mind. But, uh, yeah, I think that's amazing how you, you know how you looked at it, right? It's like, Hey, how can I, how people, and I think that's where a lot of content creators fall short.

They make it so much about themselves as opposed to serving their community. And I, and I love that, uh, that you bring that up and

Professor Nez: then they, and then they wonder why Jim, they're not growing. Then they wonder why they're not making money. Then they wonder why to Chris' Point. Why am I not gaining, you know, a loyal, thriving community?

Community? I mean, if you really define that word, community, there's no, there's no, um, you know, there's no head, uh, figure, there's no, um, leader or there's no, um, you know, uh, dictator or so to speak, or somebody who's, you know, uh, uh, doing all of the kind of masterminding, it's community. It's all of us together.

We're all doing this together. [00:12:00] Yeah, there may be some people who, uh, kind of take the forefront, but, uh, you know, it's really all about like, what can we do for each other? How can we support each other? How can we help each other? And if you, it's the same thing. It's like, it's not really like supernatural.

I mean, if like in personal relationships, I know we've all been in relationships before where God, you know, every time I want this person, they make it all about them. And it's just not, I don't even feel like I exist when I'm around this person. Like everything's about them. We do whatever they want. We shop wherever they wanna shop.

We go eat wherever they want to eat. We go to whatever party they want to go to every day. Our activities are, are revolve around them. That's not a relationship, that's basically a, uh, you know, that's a solo kind of, um, endeavor where you're basically just, um, existing as a sort of a latcher honor, if you will.

And so that's not, that's not re relationships need to be reciprocal. That's what community's all about. And so, and

Chris Stone: people change too. Yeah. People change in those communities. And, [00:13:00] and ne I'd love for you to touch on this too, because do you think, and I know you've, um, you know, in terms of YouTube alone, um, you've, you've created not only a community, but a a fantastic channel.

And, uh, for those who, um, need to be fed by this gentleman on your screen, his YouTube channel is fantastic. Um, and it, it covers, thank you. Just a gamut of content creation. Uh, which means if you're focused on one thing, which you should initially, like, don't, don't try to do all the things at once, and that's one of the, one of the things that, that you talk about.

But I think a lot of times, Nez, we, we see what's on YouTube and there's a lot of content creators. I, I talk to Jim all the time about this. There are givers and there are takers. Okay? The givers are the ones who receive, and the takers are the ones who end up leaving. And so if, if, if, to your point, if you show up to give, without that expectation that I'm gonna give back, you know, it's going to come across [00:14:00] in your content, it's going to build that community.

People are gonna be like, okay, this person is going to be giving me something. And so they're going to feel the need as a natural human being to give back, hopefully to that person and build that community. But I think there's a lot that's happening out there. Uh, and it's not just YouTube, it's all kinds of, where it's that click bait of that, Hey look.

Um, here's something that you could do that's really easy. Here's how you can make six figures in three weeks by just doing this. And, oh, I can just watch this 11 minute YouTube video. Um, and Rich, I'll, you know, I will, you know. Exactly. And, and so all I have

Professor Nez: to do is buy your course. Oh,

Chris Stone: okay. Right. And I, I think I, and you mentioned it earlier about, um, about the effort and the work that you gotta go through in order to be successful and not just successful financially, right?

That means that your success is beyond just your finances and your means, the, that you can be successful financially. But do you feel like, um, that has sort of fed this [00:15:00] algorithm of people just thinking that they need to be looking for these easy buttons in order to get that and they don't want to hear about the hard work that it takes in order to be successful?

Professor Nez: I think that's like human nature, isn't it? Like I feel like most people always want the easy way out. Um, I remember when I was a kid, I'm sure you guys can relate to this. Every time my dad would tell me, like, if you want that, if you want to be a basketball player, if you want to be a astronaut, if you want to be a whatever, the only way to do it is to work hard.

You have to work hard. You're, I, I was told that all, all the time when I was a kid, I hated hearing that. I was like, I don't wanna do all that. I don't wanna work hard. I don't want to. Um, but the truth of the matter is now I'm saying it to my kids, you know? But the truth of the matter is, is that like, you know, I mean, there's all sorts of people who are peddling shortcuts.

Um, I see a lot of talented people who do everything to make as much money as they can in the short term, [00:16:00] sacrificing the long term, getting what they want now. Sacrificing what they could really enjoy and thrive doing later. Mm. I always say this, you know, I've done everything under the sun from being a paperboy when I was 10.

Telemarketing, holy macadamia nut. One of the worst things I've ever done in my life. Actually, it was really funny because I was a telemarketer guys. When I was 18 years old, I was making $25 an hour as a telemarketer. Wow. Now, can you imagine back in 1990, you know, seven 90? Yeah. That, yeah. I was making, I was making $25 an hour.

And here's the thing, my boss always got mad at me because I'd end up talking to these guys for two hours about politics, religion, life. My boss is like, you're supposed to be selling timeshares. What the, what are you doing? Actually, it was a great learning. It was a great learning, uh, uh, era for me because it really taught me how people think and how people how to navigate communication.

But anyway, my point is, is that I've done everything. I've been as a bartender. Professor, I [00:17:00] helped my mom with her leather shoe and handbag business when I was 14. I've done it all. I'm telling you right now, building a brand, having an actual online entity, a business online, YouTube, using these platforms to as basically engines for your business, it's the hardest thing I've ever done.

I I, I actually tweeted earlier today, guys that you know, and I think Jim, you actually responded to it, um, that, you know, don't think that being a a business owner, entrepreneur is a glamorous life. It's not, it's a beautiful life. But if you think that it's going to happen, just, you know, by, you know, posting a couple things here or going on Facebook or YouTube and boom, magically you're gonna have millions of dollars flow into your, into your bank account, you got another thing coming.

I mean, I joke around, I work 24 8. I literally feel like I do, but like it doesn't feel like work to me. And here's the point, coming back around, my dad used to say, you need to work hard. If you can find something that actually [00:18:00] electrifies you. I don't wanna say do what you love 'cause that's so bumper sticker and everybody says that.

But if you can find something that actually just, I mean, you are a, it's almost like an obsession. And to me, I call it purpose. You know, if you, if purpose is bigger than what you love or what you're passionate about, you'll never work a day in your life. And so my wife always to this day, guys, get off your computer, get off your phone, get, and I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, believe me.

And there are times where I, you know, I like to think that I have good balance, but my wife, who's a billion times smarter than me, always checks me. But see, I could do it. If I didn't have to sleep, you guys, I'd be doing what we're doing right now, 24, 24 8. And in a literal way, why? Because it doesn't feel like work.

So, so here's the kicker. I. Identify if you want to make money in the creator economy, which is what I really love to inspire people to do, find something that gives you [00:19:00] purpose. Find something that electrifies your chest, find something that you want to do all the time, like you can't breathe without doing it.

Like it actually gives you life. Find that, and I promise you, in this economy, there's a way to monetize it. And yes, if you marry that with a crap ton of hard work, not only are you gonna be successful, you're gonna be bulletproof. Nobody will ever touch you. And so that's really the key. And I'm happy to go deeper

Chris Stone: or what have you.

Yeah. Uh, no, I think it's awesome. I think, I think this is the thing ne is like. What you say is it, it, it rings true to everyone. And you know, what you're saying also has been said by other people not to, and, and I'm not discounting it, but what people calling this? Are you calling me a repeater? No. No, not at all.

Not at all. I, but I think, I think, I think what people, um, what people have struggle with here in getting stuck is [00:20:00] everyone knows what gets them up and out of bed, right? Everyone goes, I'm, I'm either getting outta bed because I have a job and I have to do this right, or I'm getting outta bed because I get to do this, right?

Chris Stone (2): Mm-hmm.

Chris Stone: And so when someone knows I like that someone finds, finds the get to, right then they can't figure out what to do with the get to in order to wrap that around. And so then they don't, then they don't understand why it's important to get a coach.

Professor Nez: Okay. So going back to, if I may, really quickly, I love what you just said.

Yeah, please. Going back to service, going back to service. Now that you've ident. So this is exactly what I do with my clients. And you just mentioned coach, right? So my wife and I run a personal branding agency. It's a digital consulting agency. We help people with social media, YouTube, uh, online business, e-commerce, SEO, whatever, um, LinkedIn profile their career.

So, so here's what I do with all my clients. It's these three major concepts. So first we try to identify purpose. What is, what is it that [00:21:00] you feel? Because, you know, if you're gonna just go after the money, which there's plenty of money to chase, you're not gonna be able to sustain that if it's not something that gives you purpose.

The second and most important thing is audience. So if you want to create, if you wanna figure out what do I do, I get outta bed. Like you said, I, I know I need to get outta bed either to pay the bills, I totally relate to that, or doing something I really am passionate about, but they don't know where to go or how to start or where do I even begin?

Begin with the audience. So if you have the purpose part down. Build something around an audience that can actually get something out of what you can offer. Whether it's a service, whether it's a product, whether it's entertainment, whatever it is, it doesn't matter. Whatever it is, it can be anything. But if you build your brand around an audience, then you have something verifiable in the marketplace, you know, there's a demand for it.

And then now the third thing, so purpose [00:22:00] audience messaging. You need to craft a powerful message because there's a million live streamers out there. There's a trillion uh, uh, uh, content creators out there. There's so many people peddling maybe the same thing you are, but. There's something unique about you.

So crafting a message that says, Hey, I'm not these guys that you see on YouTube that say, Hey, if you buy my course, you can be a millionaire. Look at my yacht. I call it, you've heard me say this, Chris. I call it the coconuts and yachts syndrome. Yes. Everybody thinks that. If you know, like you see these 19 year olds or you see these, you know, it's not even 19 year olds, it's everybody.

Hey, you see my yacht? Yeah,

Chris Stone: yeah.

Professor Nez: Hey, do you see this cool drink with a nice umbrella in it? You can have that too. And it's, you don't even have to work. You don't have to work. You don't have to speak English, you don't even have to have legs. You don't have to do anything. You don't have a pulse. And so and so like, like once you, once you really understand who are the people that can be, be, and this goes for [00:23:00] careers too, you know, I'm an executive career coach for LinkedIn.

It's the same thing. It's like people who go into interviews, the, the clients I work with, guys. They make it all about them. I'm good at this. I graduated here. This is where I specialize in. No, no, you need to make it about them. What about that company? What is it that you have that makes you an asset to that company that they can't say no?

So we're really good at identifying that. So if you know how to get outta bed again, just really quickly, and you either do this, you either do what you need to do or you do what you love, but maybe perhaps you want to transition into something else in this amazing creator economy, which I'm happy to elaborate on now.

It's really about identifying audience. Who are the people that are gonna really get the most out of what you have to offer? Are you a good, are you good with your hands? Are you good with marketing? Are you, uh, uh, you know, are you good at investment strategy? Maybe you're good at financials. Are you good at creating, um, you know, maybe graphic designs?

Maybe you're [00:24:00] a, a, an artist, whatever it is. Find the audience, okay? And create around that audience. Deliver a message that's powerful personal branding. And if you do that, you work hard at it. 'cause it's not gonna happen overnight. It's not gonna happen in the first 36 months. Sometimes you guys know this as well as I do.

Building a business, you don't, some people, some businesses don't even profit for the first five, 10 years. If you have the actual wherewithal for this and the understanding of that, and you know it's gonna take a long time and you're willing to put in the work. I promise you guys, anybody can do this.

Jim Fuhs: And, and I think it's, it's so important what you talk about too, because like, even for me, right?

I'm, I'm a marketer, I'm a digital marketer, but I worked with a coach who made me realize like, well, you know, Nez is a marketer. Chris is a market. How are you different? We're all marketers, right? Yeah.

Professor Nez: We

Jim Fuhs: can not be

Professor Nez: one.

Jim Fuhs: How I was different was I, I brought in my Marine Corps, you know, background, which is a part of me, 20 plus years of my [00:25:00] life.

That's how I'm different. That's it. And some people will like it and some people won't. And that's okay because I think too many people in audience building get caught up in, I am everybody's person. No, you're not. Right, right. And you know, everybody ends up being nobody. So I think, I think what you, you hit is so important.

You know? I mean, there's 7.7

Professor Nez: billion people on this planet. There's enough to go around. Yeah. There's an audience out there. And by the way, by the way, look, Chris is a live streamer. Jim is a live streamer. I'm a live streamer. Believe it or not, everybody listening and watching, there's some people who maybe don't like how Professor N does it.

I know that's a shocker, right? How dare they? I

Chris Stone (2): know

Professor Nez: that. I know. How dare they? I know that's hard to believe, but there's some people are like, you know what, N is just a roller coaster of trouble. I don't like him. And you know what? He's just too bombastic. I just don't like his energy. [00:26:00] All the power to you.

There's other, there's so Jim's vibe, which is different from mine, Jim's vibe in how he delivers and how he executes and how he s serves his audience. Right? There's enough to go around and here's the beautiful thing. There's no barriers anymore. There's no geographical barriers. If you have one of these, if you have one of these, you can literally reach the world.

That's insane to me. It's, I think, as people who are Gen Xers and above, we remember what life was like as a, as a marketer in the pre two thousands, pre iPhone, pre-social media mail, uh, mailers, snail mail, going to post offices, creating flyers, uh, uh, uh, you know, talking to people at the newspaper, local and regional, what have you, maybe trying to do radio.

I mean, it was a bunch of, I mean, I don't need, are you kidding me? Who reads, who reads, uh, uh, uh, magazines and newspapers anymore? I mean, [00:27:00] everything is on this thing or on this thing right here that we're doing right here. It's phenomenal. I think people need to understand that. Like if you really have that purpose audience message, which by the way, it wasn't invented by me.

This goes back to Aristotle. Something I tell my clients and students all the time, if it's the truth, the truth is eternal. The truth is not good. You, maybe I'll use this when I graduate, I won't need it now. Maybe I'll use it in four years. Or maybe I'll use it on Sunday, but not Tuesday. It doesn't work on Tuesdays.

If it's the truth. The truth is eternal. Yeah. Purpose, audience message. It's as old as time itself. Right? Yeah. And it relates to everything, both professional and your personal life. It's the same thing. It's all communication.

Chris Stone: Do you think people have trouble, you know, when, when you're identifying your audience?

Yes. Um, you know, let's equate it to a podcast. 'cause I, I deal mostly with podcasters. Sure. And, you know, we go through a similar process, but we, we spend a lot of time on who you're talking to. Yes. Right. Who, who, who's your ideal [00:28:00] listener? Who's your ideal viewer? Who, who are you serving? And I think a lot of people have a little trouble, sort of I not, not just identifying who that is, because they wanna be all things to everyone.

To Jim's earlier point, they wanna be all things to everyone, but they're afraid to really, really, really hone down and focus on that. And then ask the question, what are their problems? And then when you say to yourself. How can I solve those problems? Then your content flows. Yeah. Then you're like, this person has this problem.

They can't, uh, they have, they, they have financial issues here. They have, uh, this issue here. They've got, uh, they've got children that they've gotta take care of, they have trouble with, you know, whatever those troubles are. Or maybe they

Professor Nez: just wanna be entertained. You're solving a problem just by being entertainer percent, a hundred percent.

When I come home from work or when Joe Schmo, uh, we're going back to Joe Schmo now. Sorry. Oh, professor Joe's bag. Professor Joe made a pro. I need like a, I need a caricature. I need like a, a, an A [00:29:00] mask. A coffee mug Professor. A coffee mug. Exactly. That's it. Jim, we need to put it on the carousel. Hello?

Stupid. I should have thought of that. But like, when, when, when, you know, when, when, let's just say Joe comes home from work and it's been the worst day at work and he turns on Seinfeld, or he turns on Chris and Jim's show and he laughs. That laughter solves a problem. Yes. I had a tough day at work, and you know what?

I want to be entertained. There's so much value in that. There's so many people making tons of money, just being really good. Storytell ellers and entertaining with a, a kind of a personality driven, uh, brand. Uh, so there's, there's also that too, because I don't wanna discount, you know, we as marketers and business owners, we tend to only talk in terms of services and products.

Right. But like, yeah, totally. To your point, uh, uh, uh, Chris, and, and was there a question in there?

Chris Stone: I don't know. I don't know, but, but if there was, you answered it. I think I, I think,

Professor Nez: I apologize. I think there was a question in there, and then, and then [00:30:00] me in my, in my oust way just kind of destroyed that. So I apologize, but yeah.

If the problem is, uh, like I think what you were alluding to, correct me if I'm wrong, was mm-hmm. They know who they are and it's, and they've identified the pain points and when they solve that with their content, things flow. And I could not agree more because again, you're making it about them and not you.

Yeah. And so when I click on Professor NE's video, I'm talking to myself in third person. Yes. I could, you know, this is what most people do. Hi, I'm Professor Nez. I'm an author, I'm a speaker. I've gotta download down there. Hey, you need to sign up for my email list. Make sure you like and subscribe. It's like, wait a minute, like I clicked because you told me you were gonna talk about maximizing your brand with Professor Ne.

But all I'm getting is self-promotion for the first minute and I'm outta here. And then they come to me and say, Nez, I bought a $6,000 Sony a S seven, I bought, you know, the most expensive lights I bought, the most expensive [00:31:00] software. What in the world? This guy who's using his phone on TikTok has 6 million followers.

He's making $8,900 a day. What am I not doing right? Personal branding has nothing to do with equipment. Personal branding has nothing to do with your website. Personal brand. I mean, it does a little bit, but it's really about messaging, reaching deep into who are the people that you can serve. So how do you do that?

I wanna be, because I like what you said earlier, everybody says the same thing. I don't wanna say the same thing. If I may really quickly, guys, please. I want to give something tactical. This is how you do this. I, I say this to my clients. I'm gonna give this here to you guys as well. Okay? Let's say, uh, we're, let's go back to Joe Schmo.

Let's say Joe Schmo is a chef and he has amazing recipes. As a matter of fact, I had a client, not that that long ago, uh, Frank. Frank, if you're watching, I Love You. He comes to my livestream all the time, meet Chris and Jim virtually, you know, kind of, you know, and, uh, he's like, you know, as I really [00:32:00] enjoy cooking Italian cuisine and I wanna be able to monetize that, I wanna be able to maybe, how do I do that?

And I talk about, well, first we need to build awareness, right? You guys know about funnels, top of funnel awareness, et cetera, et cetera. Build that trust, then we can start creating products. Maybe a recipe book, a digital course, what have you, affiliate stuff, right? So this is what I say. Let's get tactical.

How do you find out how to serve your audience? So this is a very simple thing, and I'm happy to go deeper. I don't wanna monopolize, but this is what I tell them. I say, let's look at 10 channels. Okay? Let's say if we're gonna do this on YouTube, or it doesn't matter, 10 businesses, 10 websites. That are crushing it in your Italian very specific niche, right?

Italian cuisine, recipe, cooking, you know, brand. Let's look at the, the top 10 channels in that specific niche, and let's, and I'm just using this because this literally happened recently. He was a YouTube client of mine helping. Mm-hmm. I wanted to help him with his YouTube channel. But you can do this for [00:33:00] Facebook.

You can do this for your e-commerce. You can do this for whatever. What are they doing that is working? You need to do your market research. Dissect. I call it analyze and adjust. Okay. Analyze and adjust. It's the name of the, you guys know this. Being a content creator, entrepreneur, it's always about evolution.

You're always evolving, right? What are they doing well? What are they doing in their live streams? How well look at their offers. What are they doing in their calls to action? What are, what's the energy, the pacing? How do they start their video? How do they end their video? What are they doing on other platforms?

What's their distribution strategy? I mean, there's, I could go on and on. You guys. The list is, you know, it's endless. Add infinitum. Yeah. If you look at the, if you do your market research, I mean, very specifically related to your niche. Let's say you wanna be a coach, a consultant, maybe a plumber, uh, maybe you want to be a construction project manager, real estate agent.

Look at the top 10 channels. I would say even more, [00:34:00] maybe 20. And put in the work, analyze, look at what they're, what are, what is Chris and Jim? I mean, look at these amazing live streamers. What are they doing? Look at their website. Look at that intro. That intro made me look like, I mean, I literally want to go change everything on my live stream.

That intro was phenomenal. God, look at these beautiful overlays. Look at these beautiful, the ticket taper the presentation. Look at their looks, their lighting. You can just look at the competition and don't. Copy, obviously, but see what they're doing well, and then provide your own voice to it. And I'm telling you right now, there's so much more I could dive deep into, but when I, oh, this is great.

Yeah, when you really, let's get tactical. 'cause you're right, I don't wanna be general. Those tactical things will change everything. If you really look at those top brands in your niche and just analyze to the tilt, analyze all the way, really do a deep dive, do your due diligence, incorporate what's working into your own [00:35:00] brand.

I mean, there's really nothing new under the sun. I'm not saying copy, but I'm saying there's nothing new under the sun. Just look what they're doing. Say, oh, you know what, they're offering a really cool, um, have a really cool, creative way of getting people on their email list because that's ip, that's an asset you own.

I need to, I didn't even think about that. This is like natural, right? This is human conditioning. When we're starting upon a new endeavor, it helps to have, like you said, guides examples, right. Concrete, this or that. And so, um, and so that I, I mean, does that make sense to you guys? I hope that's a little bit more Oh yeah.

Tactical than just the general Yeah,

Chris Stone: it's, yeah. No, no, no. It's phenomenal. Yeah. You, you cannot be general my friend. You are, um, you are, you are as tactical as they did, uh, dominion Life. That that means the world to me. Yes. Yes. Um, but I, you know, I, I, let's take this ano, let's, let's go another step here, please.

Right. 'cause what you're saying a hundred percent. I mean, there's like, I hope that someone listening, watching. Just like is fired up [00:36:00] to do that. And we, Jim and I do the same thing. We're like, we are always, uh, watching other live streamers, not just on Amazon. We're, we're, you know, we're, we're getting, you know, tips and trips, tricks from, from pastors on the stage of churches.

You get tips, you know, from, you know, Jim is in Toastmasters, he does speaking like all of these things to try to sharpen your, your skills. Yes. But I think a lot of people when they go down the, the, uh, research and they start watching these people, these people who are crushing and they go, God, man, I just, man, I could never do that.

Oh man. And it's that whole comparisons, uh, thing, oh, I love this. Where they just start going. Oh man. You know, I, I don't know if I could do that, you know, or, or the classic, well, I'm just not a tech person or, um, and, and Jim and I always say to each other, like, listen, you're, you can be a tech person. Mm-hmm.

You're not, you may not be one right now. Let's, I'm living proof, by the way, [00:37:00] I'm the

Professor Nez: worst at tech, and yet I'm able to do all this.

Chris Stone: Like, do the, just put the work there. The work, it's there. You know, I wasn't a tech person, you know, years ago, but I became, I guess, somewhat of a tech person. But you just have to, you have to be intentional to take the time to do it.

But like, when, when people do the research, like you're talking and they, and they're, they're analyzing, but then they get stuck at that mind junk. Like, how, how do you, how do you work with someone to get over that?

Professor Nez: So this is so good. My, you, I gotta get my hats off to you guys again. I'm not stroking here.

You guys are phenomenal at this. I mean, really, you guys are phenomenal. These are, I, I've, again, I've been on a few shows, let's say that. Uh, the questions you guys are asking, I just really appreciate. I just wanna say I appreciate it as somebody who's a fellow content creator and interviewer, I'm, I'm being inspired by you guys.

You guys, I'm learning a lot from you guys. Hit that like button, guys, share this out. This is amazing, phenomenal stuff. If you're listening on the podcast, subscribe. These guys know how to do it. [00:38:00] You know, the, you know what, I kind of, if I could just maybe say this in a story, and this is a story I sometimes use with clients, you know, I don't know about you guys, but I've, I think, I can't remember if I talked to you guys or somebody else about this, but I had to recently put on a suit, um, for something, for an event, and much to my dismay.

The buttons were a little tighter than I'd hoped, right? When I say a little, basically the shirt ripped. Um, anyway, check. Please check please. Um, put a shirt.

Please do. So, what I'm basically trying to say is, uh, uh, Corona Belly, yes. Table two, Corona Belly, uh, the, the Pandemic has, has, has done wonders on my figure, okay? And my plan is to, uh, you know, actually get back in shape, hopefully, right? And so here's the story I tell clients, you know, when you, you know, [00:39:00] when you, you've been doing good.

Let's say you've gone to the gym pretty consistently, or you've gone on a hike or, or a run or whatever. But then there's that one day, which turns into multiple days where it's like, man, the last thing I want to do, I just got home from work. Or you know, I didn't get much sleep last night. I really, the mental thing starts to jump in.

Like, you could do it tomorrow. Yeah. And then tomorrow turns into next year. Right. But if you've ever fought through that, which I know everybody knows what I'm talking about, when you fought through that, no, no, no, I'm not gonna, even though I really don't wanna do this, and I'd much rather sit on the couch and have potato chips and watch the ball game, I'm gonna go do this.

Correct me if I'm wrong, when you have fought through that mental, uh, barrier and you actually did go do that, you know, hike or run, and you came back, how amazing did you feel?

Jim Fuhs: Oh, you feel amazing. Yep. Yeah. Absolutely. Not

Professor Nez: only, not only because you did the exercise, but also because you didn't let [00:40:00] this guy.

Get in the way. Right? Yeah. And when I say this guy, by the way, I talk a lot about this on my channel because mental health for content creators, business owners, is a, is a thing that I really care deeply about. I've seen so many creators burn out. I've seen so many business owners give up when they're inches away from success.

Wow. If you can fight through that, that, 'cause I get it. I was there like, my God, A-D-S-L-R-A-A-A-A-U-S-B pot. What? What? Huh? Like I was the same way. But if you just fight through this guy, 'cause literally it's not the equipment, like Chris was saying, it's not the tech, it's the dude inside here.

Chris Stone (2): Mm-hmm.

Professor Nez: And if you really embrace what I'm saying right now, everybody listening and watching this awesome audience, the deal caster audience, you guys are phenomenal.

If you really embrace this, it relates to everything. Everything. Your personal life, your business life, your professional life, what have you. And so when that naysayer comes. Professor [00:41:00] Nez gives you permission to fire his butt. Just give him the pink slip. Be like, I'm not listening to you. I am not. You actually have power.

A lot of people, they take this guy very seriously. I, I'll tell, I say this all the time, guys, the most liberating day of my life, I was 29 years old and I've gone through serious anxiety, mental problems, right? Hard to believe. I know. Um, the day, the most liberating day of my life is when I finally discovered I don't have to take this guy seriously.

Everybody has one of these guys in their head. Everybody does. The most successful to the abysmally, uh, failed. Everybody has this. Don't listen to him. Don't take 'em seriously. Push through, and I promise you that will make all the difference if you practice this. It's hard at first, just like anything in life, okay?

The more you practice that, it becomes second nature. And the voice that was so loud, turns into a murmur, turns into a whisper, and then it literally eventually dissipates. That's how I try to [00:42:00] help my clients. That's how I try to help my audience, is to really empower them and hopefully remind them, because we all know this, remind them that they have the power to not listen to this guy.

You'd be surprised, this is not woo woo. This is not a new age, you know, woke. You know, I can't stand that stuff. This is actually practical. It's very pragmatic advice. You have an untapped power in you. What you give attention to, you give power to. So if you give attention to negative people, they have power over you.

If you give attention to this guy, it has power. You give attention to news, media, outlets, what have you. Toxicity. It has power over you. There's a lot of things. You guys are my age, so you know this. There's a lot of things you can't control in life. What you have sovereignty over is what you give attention to God.

You can control what you give attention to. And so I really try to go all the way with my clients and my audience. It's not just about, Hey, do this on YouTube. If your mindset ain't right, your messaging ain't [00:43:00] right. And yes, I'm a professor that said, ain't

Jim Fuhs: well, that's okay 'cause we're in the south and we just thought it was part of the English.

Like, yeah, I love it man. I love the, I'm a wanna be

Professor Nez: southerner. I'm, I'm a wanna be Southerner. I swear

Chris Stone: all I love California. Alright, California. Uh, God no, it's, it's so true. It's like it will sneak up on you in the back door in the darkest of times when you don't realize how long you've sat in front of something that was doing, not just nothing to you, but doing damage to you.

And, and you mentioned earlier about putting, putting down some stuff and going for a hike and, and and going and it's like, uh, I saw a TED talk at, uh, at one point and they were talking about, you know, that the classic sort of white space, right? Yeah. You know, you look on a page and you look for the white space, right?

Professor Nez: Yeah.

Chris Stone: Um, and he talked about, um, historically. When there was something that would distract you, it was television or it was radio, [00:44:00] or it was, you know, there was limited sort of, um, you know, uh, content being fed at you. And that content at some point kind of cut off. Like they would actually cut off television at, uh, 2:00 AM you know, it would actually go to boop, you know, and it would be over.

We're not gonna broadcast anything. Right. Right now, it never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever stops. It's constantly, that algorithm and that feed is constant. It will never stop for you. Yes. You have to be intentional and stop it yourself.

Chris Stone (2): Yes.

Chris Stone: And, um, it's it and it's, I, I'm guilty, you know, I'm, I'm here like saying, you know, I'm not, I'm not here preaching like I, like, I know I'm a know-it-all.

This is, this is crept corrupt into my life. Yes. Constantly on, on many fronts. Um, and you just have to start, you have to cut cords. You have to, you mentioned being surrounding yourself with people who will support you that are positive in your journey, and cutting cords on those who aren't. [00:45:00] I think that's a part of, that's a part of it, right?

If if, if you've got people that you know, you know, Jim and I, um, you know, have this show and one of the reasons why we feel, you know, we're gonna continue doing it, whether or not it's successful financially or, or whatever, it's because we make each other better every day. And I think you gotta find other people.

It, you don't have to find somebody to do a live show with, you know? And in your case, you mentioned your wife, you know, your life partner is huge and she keeps you in check on stuff. Yeah. Jim keeps me in check all the time. Ne you wouldn't believe the kind of stuff this dude yells at me. Good for you, Jim.

He's a lead Lieutenant Jim, Colonel in every sense of the word. But, um, yeah, and I think the, the other thing too is, this is another thing I wanted to touch on, and I don't, and I know this is a bit of a, you know, a bit of a 90 degree, uh, turn here. Is that, you know, you, you and I and, and Jim and you, we found each other in this, in the, in, in the, in the screen world.

You know, you're across the, across the United States. Um, we say, y'all, you say you [00:46:00] guys, I don't know, whatever. Um, and we found each other in this world. Um, and a lot of times people don't look at podcasting and net, uh, live streaming and this as networking as a way for you to touch base with people, to communicate with people, to commune with people virtually.

And con, you know, especially now that you know the way the world is. This is, this is, you know, you're gonna have to figure out how to do this, how to put on the suit and, and be able to, uh, to do this. I mean, how true, um, you know, we, we found each other through that, that whole thing. Um, and I mean, I, do you have any I.

Any examples of how either you've worked with clients in order to do that from a, from a networking perspective or how to find other people that can help you, um, and how to get rid of that, uh, that shaft that is, is hindering you. Um, any, any thoughts on that?

Professor Nez: Yeah, no, I love that. Um, you know what's so funny is I was looking at you on Amazon Live and there was a little delay.[00:47:00]

I just came back to our, and I was like, I was like, whoa, that's so interesting. Like, Chris is Chris's minding right now. It was awesome. Yeah, exactly. Um, you know, that's such a good one, man. That's such a good one because I can't tell you, and here perfect example, uh, reached out to my network. You guys tap into your network and you don't need to see them in person.

You don't need to, I'll tell you, it's something tactical in a second, but tapping into your network has been a ever, ever fruitful resource for me. Case in point. I've got a meeting today at 1:00 PM Pacific Time. That's, what is that? Lemme do the math. Is that 3:00 PM uh, Eastern time. 4:00 PM four. Hello? I'm a communications professor, not a math professor.

Not a math, okay. And so, and so I need to take my socks off to do basic math. Anyway, um, I tapped into this, uh, uh, awesome content creator, fellow content creator, and [00:48:00] I said, you know what, man? I know you have a connection to this, uh, company. I really think this would be a cool fit for me too. And I really dig what they're doing.

Do you, uh, happen by any chance to have any, uh, like a contact info or anything like that? You know, sometimes it's intimidating. Sometimes you don't wanna do that. You kind of feel bad, like, oh, great. You know, it's like, you know, you're, you're putting undue burden or pressure on a, on somebody who's, you know, we're all busy too.

And, and it's a little bit, I think a lot of people feel apprehensive tapping into their network. This guy was more than happy to help. He was more than happy to go above and beyond. Not only did he say of course, but he actually set up the meeting for me as a mediary. He could have just given me the email contact, but he actually was like, Nez, I'll take care of you brother.

Here is the person you need to speak to. On top of that, I'm gonna give him a call on your behalf. I was like, dude, you don't have to do that. I was just, was simply looking for an email, [00:49:00] so, so you know, you don't, I mean, this is the world now. The world now is virtual. Covid has accelerated the inevitable.

You need to learn how to communicate. You need to, it's the same thing as in person. You don't just go, Hey, I've got something you need to somebody you just meet at Starbucks. Right. Be a human being. Right. Hey, hey, my name's. Hey, how you doing? I noticed cool. I noticed your, uh, your mirrorless camera there.

Are you a content creator? My name's Nez. I do, you know, just be a human being. You know what I mean? Like, it's like, it's not, it's not, this isn't rocket science guys, right? And so just be, be, um, be I, I hate to say authentic, but yeah, just be real and, and have a conversation and don't expect anything from anybody.

But, but be open. Okay. And, and, and here's another thing. I wanna give something tactical. If you are looking to connect with people, if you are looking for, uh, people to add to your network or what have you, or you want to tap into your network or you want to, [00:50:00] in my case, what happened with this awesome creator was I've got a meeting today with a really cool company for potential sponsorship.

Um, the best place to go for things like that are two places I like to go. Maybe you guys have something different, but I like to go to LinkedIn and I will literally look at my network, see who's, 'cause you can see mutual connections on LinkedIn, right? So if you go to a company, let's just say the company is Streamy Yard or Amazon or what have you, you can see mutual connections and if you see titles that are congruent, say, Hey Jennifer, I noticed that you know Rick over at Oracle or over at Apple or what have you.

Um, I was just curious because I'm, you know, thinking about maybe partnering with them or I'm, I was actually had a project in mind I'd like to do with them. And, and is there any chance I could just, just talk and just see what happens? Here's the worst that could happen. The worst that could happen is they say, no, I can't do anything.

But look at the upside. The upside is it could change your life. I mean, I'm not even joking. [00:51:00] Yeah. It could literally change your life. This meeting that I have in an hour and a half, with, with, with all intents and purposes, this meeting could be huge for me in my, in our company. So, and this all came from me going to my second favorite place, which is Twitter.

I don't know if you guys use a lot of Twitter. I think, Jim, I see you a lot on Twitter. Chris, I don't know if you're on Twitter a lot.

Chris Stone: Well, I don't, I I don't have as many followers as Kim Kardashian, so I'm Are you sure about that? Well, maybe something is not right. Yeah. After today, I think, uh, last you checked.

Yeah. But Jim does, but you're close. I know Jim does.

Professor Nez: Jim has more followers than anybody. Right. I'm working

Jim Fuhs: on it. Working on

Professor Nez: it. How could you not follow the Marine Corps of Marketing? Right. I mean, that's insane to me. Uh, but I like going on Twitter too, and I like just tagging people or just going in the dms and just saying, Hey, you know what I noticed again, just be real, be upfront.

I'm actually thinking about doing a dedicated video about this on my channel because, uh, correct me if I'm wrong guys, but do you just get spam ified on LinkedIn all the [00:52:00] time?

Chris Stone: Yes. Yeah. Yes. Yeah,

Professor Nez: all the time in

Chris Stone: mail. Big time. Yeah. If

Professor Nez: I had the time, I would love to coach every spam I get, but I can't. So what I'm thinking about doing is just doing a dedicated video.

This is how you connect with people on LinkedIn. This is how you DM people on LinkedIn because you telling me how, how many times have you gotten this? You know, I just wanna expand my network and you seem like the right person. And it's like, if you actually fall for that, what's the next message? Hey, here's a program I think you'd be interested in.

We help people get clients. It's like, dude, just tell me up front. Just be like, look, I run a business. I notice you're a coach. Do you, are you in need of clients? If so, book a five minute meeting with me. That's what I do. And so again, uh, it's just be real, be human. Tap into your network. I know that was kind of a long answer, but I hope that helped.

Chris Stone: No, no. I love the five minute, um, meeting concept. Right. It's actually, it's gonna be longer

Professor Nez: than five minutes too. And you know that Chris, it's gonna be longer than five when you shorter say five. Yeah, [00:53:00] yeah, exactly. Exactly. It's

Chris Stone: like, yeah, this is over. Um, you know what I say,

Professor Nez: you know what I say, Chris, just really quickly.

Yeah. I always say, do, do you guys, do you have time for a six minute virtual coffee? Oh, that's very specific. I say six minutes because they're like, he didn't say five. He didn't say 10. Right. I like that he's attentive to detail and six minute is kind of weird. It kind of leaves a, an impression. Mm-hmm.

Yeah. And then virtual coffee is like, oh, okay, cool. Like he wants to, you know, it's legit.

Chris Stone: Yeah. It's like, it's more than five. But if you said four people were like, well, this guy can't even gimme five minutes. Right. Exactly.

Professor Nez: And I, I, I'm telling you right now, I have never had a six minute virtual coffee in my life.

Right. They have all gone to 20 minutes, 30 minutes. It's ridiculous. So, yeah. Yeah. It's all about perception. It's about psychology.

Jim Fuhs: Well, it is. That's a great, yeah. I mean, the fact that you would say six is people, like he really put a lot of thought into that. Yeah. To make it six. Right? Yeah. It's like, I'm gonna steal all that, Jim.

Chris Stone: Yes. Yeah. Yes. Gonna change. I'm gonna set [00:54:00] seven minute.

Jim Fuhs: Seven minute. Right. Lucky seven is lucky. So there go seven is lucky. Yeah.

Chris Stone: We've got, we've got lots of comments here on Amazon. Is it Setti who has said, never let the tech hold you back. So much information is out there and if you want to learn the info is there, break that box. Don't let the box confine you or hold you back. That's good stuff. Very good. Setti is great. Yeah, that's, uh, that's better than, uh, I could have put it Setti.

So we appreciate you and, uh, Joe Dexter, uh, forward down the field. Joe Dexter in

Professor Nez: the house. Joe Dexter Media.

Chris Stone: Yeah. Yes. Forward down the field. A fellow Lions fan, um, has, uh, has been chiming in as well. Jeff c is in the house as well, it looks like. Uh. Jeff c um, wanted to see, uh, professor what you had in your carousel.

See, this is, this goes back to when you were talking about looking and doing market research and figuring out what other people were doing. This is what Jeff C's doing. And so like, we, [00:55:00] we, we got on his show and we were, and you know, if you've seen Social Media News Live, by the way, it, if you haven't, fantastic show.

He and Grace Duffy, uh, do from, uh, from Restream. Oh, cool. And, uh, he does, his show has this moving graphics and there's, there's just really pro, it's like you're watching a pro news show, and he actually said to us that he watched our show in order to, to see what we were doing. And like, it doesn't, it doesn't look like he really did.

I'm like, well, you know, you may have looked at our show, but what you did is you took it from here to here. Right. Um, and so, I mean, it, it, it sort of speaks to the example that you're talking about is. Create your own thing. And sometimes it's not about creating something that doesn't exist. Like find some things and cobble together, use influence to, um, you know, these influences to cobble something together that you can own and that creates your brand.

Not necessarily a color code or a logo, [00:56:00] but what you're talking is about building authority along with that brand. And man, this has been, and going

Professor Nez: after it, you have to go after it. Yes. Like you need to ask a hundred brands. I'm telling you right now, there's so much money to be made and I, I'm not trying to focus this on money, but if you have kids and a mortgage and a wife who likes really nice things like I do, money's important.

And so, and so, I'm telling you guys right now, you have to go after it. Even if you have a thousand subscribers, even if you have five subscribers, 5 million subscribers. Don't do what I tell my clients, don't do this. Don't spray and pray. Meaning don't just send out your media kit, your resume or what have you, and just sit back and hope they'll all just come pouring in.

People are super busy. If you want to make money in the creator economy, you need to go after it. You have to ask, you're gonna get 99 nos, but that one yes, will fill your bill of sales or fill your, uh, revenue cycle for the entire year. So you gotta [00:57:00] go after it. That's really, really important. The fortune is in the follow up, follow up with people.

People are busy just because they ghosted you, just because they didn't call you back doesn't mean they're not interested. FI wish somebody would've told me this when I was 28, 25, just starting out.

Jim Fuhs: I think that that's so important and you know, to your point as well, I mean, if you really, you know, put the effort out there are consistent.

I mean, yesterday, Chris and I, you know, would've never thought that would, we would be helping produce an event. Gary V was the keynote speaker.

Professor Nez: Oh, you guys did that. That's so awesome. I'm so proud of you guys. You were the

Jim Fuhs: scenes and, uh, you know, a few months ago it was Seth Godin. Congratulations. We put ourselves out there.

You know, it's like you can't just sit there and, and hold back. And, uh, I, I love what you're saying about what people need to do. I mean, you know, because that's the whole thing in this creator economy. The people that are gonna succeed are the willing, they gotta be willing to put forth the effort. It's not just gonna happen.

Like, and I [00:58:00]

Professor Nez: wish they taught this at the universities. I wish they taught this. Yeah. They teach you how to have a piece of paper. They teach you how to pass a test, but the real stuff that matters for you to be successful in life, it's just far and few in between. I love the way you said that, Jim, because it's so true.

You know, being a, a, a marine that look, if you just sat around and rested on your laurels, nothing would get done, you know? Yep.

Chris Stone: Yep. Yeah. She'll teach you how to create YouTube channels, um, you know, uh, how to create a podcast, how to, um, how to live stream, how to, uh, create a great presence online. Um, 100% graphics.

I mean, you know, those are the kind of, and maybe they're teaching how to write to write a proper

Professor Nez: email. Yes. You know, copywriting copy. I know you guys know this. Copywriting is super underrated in our line of work.

Chris Stone (2): Mm-hmm.

Professor Nez: Really good marketing copy. Really persuasive, incentivizing communication like copywriting [00:59:00] is so, so underestimated and underutilized.

Chris Stone: We're just gonna let AI do it. We're just gonna let the bots do that for us.

Professor Nez: We're just gonna let AI do it. Yeah.

Chris Stone: AI is just gonna do it all anyway. Rights. I know for crying out loud.

Professor Nez: Well, you know what's funny is like I, my kids are learning times tables, guys, guys, I was, my wife thinks I'm crazy. I'm like, honey, why is he learning timestables?

You can do that with this. Exactly. Like, why do I need a times? I don't need my kids to learn timestables. They'll just ask Siri to do it. Right. What I would like them to learn is critical thinking. How about critical thinking? Wow. You know, there's a concept, but no, they're learning. Yeah. They're spending five hours a day.

I'm not even kidding you guys. I and my wife can't. My wife's like, you need to stay at home. These parent teacher conferences, she won't let me go with her because I get really upset. I get heated. I'm like, why? What you said earlier about teaching them how to start a YouTube channel or a podcast, think about that.

You're learning, marketing, [01:00:00] communication, sales, thumbnails, editing, design, distribution. I mean, uh, uh, uh, uh, ownership, right? Um, customer service, like, I mean, that's every, that's so much skills. Yeah. You're teaching my kid how to remember to multiply

Jim Fuhs: eight times, eight equals

Professor Nez: Are you joking me? Like, all I need to do is use my phone.

I don't Why are you teaching things that Siri can answer? Exactly. I don't care how old George Washington was when he had his first injury. I mean, I love George Washington. I love our history, but I could care less when the war of 1812 was, when was the war of 18? 12.

Jim Fuhs: Ah, trick question, right?

Chris Stone: No, but I mean, you're so, you're so right, like, uh, like open up that world and maybe they stumble upon something that they're passionate about.

I really apologize, guys, because

Professor Nez: I can go off on education forever, so I apologize. I know it's kind of a broken record with me, but I can, I, I'm so passionate about it. But,

Jim Fuhs: but it, but it, the [01:01:00] problem is, nes to your point, is it has it, to my my perspective, it has changed in the wrong way. I mean, yes, so much is focused on test scores, but if you get these kids outta the school and ask 'em to solve, like you said, a critical problem, they don't know how we need, you know, that I think is the problem.

It's all about. Multiple choice tests. It's not about like

Professor Nez: how to get good at taking tests. Like who cares about that?

Jim Fuhs: Right. Right. Rote memorization, I mean,

Professor Nez: rote memorization. That's it. That's it. Exactly. I love that. And again, I don't wanna harp on education, but I eat, sleep and breathe in that world for two decades.

Chris Stone (2): Mm-hmm. And

Professor Nez: I still, look, I've got a class coming up on Monday that I'm gonna be teaching. It's a part-time business communication course. I still teach there 'cause I love working with young people. I have my businesses to run. It's not about money for me, but I actually love being around, you know, younger people because it just, it just thrills me.

I actually just, I love doing it. Um, like, gosh, they just, it's, [01:02:00] it's, it's too far and few in between. There's a lot of great instructors out there and professors, but it's too far and too few in between. And the universities don't encourage innovation. They want you to teach the status quo. Because guys, I'm gonna break it to you first on deal casters.

The university system is for profit. It's not nonprofit, it's for, even if they were nonprofit, they're not for loss, right? Yeah. So think about that, think about that. Students are customers, they're not, uh, really be open about that.

Chris Stone: Yeah. We had, um, really quickly, we had a guest on a number of months ago. Uh, Dr.

Uh, Dr. I Addison sang and, uh, Julie McCoy.

Professor Nez: Oh, I know Dr. I I, classroom Without Walls. Love it. Yes. Yes. It wrote a book. She's terrific book

Chris Stone: called, uh, uh, save, uh, save the degree, skip the Tuition. Is that, do I have that right? Yes. Skip the degree, save the tuition. Skip the degree. Save the degree, save the tuition.

So smart. And that's what, that's aren't smart. So smart. And, and that's really what that's about right, is to say, listen, sometimes you don't need to go through and, [01:03:00] and get, you know, uh, the, the, you know, 14 acronyms listed after your name with commas. Um, and, uh, in order means nothing to be successful. Um, yeah.

And sometimes you have to, we understand that, that that's, you know, unfortunately a part of

Professor Nez: doctors, you know, we want surgeons and doctors to be equipped with knowledge. Yeah, right. But when it comes to business specific, 'cause you guys are bus, you guys are multifaceted, highly, highly profound entrepreneurs in your own right.

You don't, you didn't, you don't need to take a class from some professor who's teaching PowerPoint,

Jim Fuhs: you know? I mean, what's, what's crazy? Think about it. You know, I started doing digital marketing full-time five years ago. I didn't take any classes. I, I went to, as Chris calls it, YouTube University or

Professor Nez: going back to, or, or, or Apple Podcast University.

Yeah, yeah. Or, or looking on Facebook like,

Jim Fuhs: oh, what are other people doing? Oh, okay. Let me see how I replicate that. What's working? The

Professor Nez: University of Google and YouTube is the best university on the planet.

Jim Fuhs: Yep.

Professor Nez: Because you know what? It's actually based on [01:04:00] something that the university, um, does not hold the professors accountable.

Think about it, guys. If you're not actually giving quality content, what happens to your podcast on YouTube channel

Jim Fuhs: disappears.

Professor Nez: If you actually suck as a professor, you don't have to worry about a thing 'cause you're tenured,

Jim Fuhs: right?

Professor Nez: Oh, I mean, the only way you're gonna get fired as a tenured professor is if you do something really, really out of bounds, right?

Like something very, very criminal. Criminal in nature. Mm. Other than that, you can rest. You don't have to innovate. You don't have to try to grow. You don't have to try to be good like you and I as content creators, we're graded on our merit every single second of the day. If we stink, we're not gonna get views.

We're not gonna get clients, we're not gonna get customers. That's how it should be. Yes. That's what, you know. Yes. A lot of people call it the meritocracy. That's how it should be, you

Chris Stone: know? Absolutely. It makes things better. I mean, it's like, you know, it makes things better. I love the way you said that.

This is what, you know, we get, you know, we, Jim and I get a little flack for evangelizing for this [01:05:00] platform that we're on, on Amazon and, um, you know, because, because it's love that I love from you guys inspired me. Yeah. These other content creators, they, they were like, what are you doing? Like, why are you letting, why are you trying to tell more people about this?

It's creating more competition. It's like, do you realize that this is like so massive and that we, that we can make this better together? That means we need to be better, right? So we can be better on and rise those ships. You know, when, when that tide comes in, you know, the rising tide

Professor Nez: lifts all ships.

That's exactly what I was just gonna say. You stole the words right outta my mouth. The rising tide lifts all ships. It's so funny. You know what you just said right there, Chris? I found such a paradoxical thing, and I don't want to, I I know we, we we're probably running outta time here. Yeah. But I found such an irony when I, and I've been there.

I've been like, Ooh, those are my secrets. I don't wanna share those. I've been there. I'm not, I'm not immune to that. I'm a human being. And sometimes we value our ip, our intellectual property a little too much. You know what's funny is the more that I give away, [01:06:00] the more money I make. And when I say, again, I'm not making this about money.

Yeah. But money is a, is a metric for value. Right. For how we're doing. Because the better you are, the more quality content you can earn more money. Right. Let's just stop beating around the bush. But what's funny is the more I give away, the more I'm less, you know, covenant, you know? Yeah. With my skills or my, my wherewithal, my knowledge about the creator economy, it always comes back.

It always comes back. So I love that you're evangelizing this platform, because I'll be honest with you, when I talk to Ross. When I talked to, uh, Chris Giles, when I talked to Monty Weaver, when I, they always came back to, well, have you talked to Jim and Chris yet? And I was like, uh, bucket list. Bucket list.

Jim Fuhs: Well, and, and you know, it, it's funny too, what you talked about. I have a friend Brian Kennedy, and he taught me this several years ago, or just the perspective. He's like, the first action of giving when you put your hand out is also the first act of receiving. And so [01:07:00] I've always thought that, that, that's powerful, right?

When you give, things will happen. If you're always trying to take, you know, Chris and I talk about this all the time. We don't have time for the takers in the world. We have the sometimes the same issues as, as you ne and that we, you know, it's like there are things we know that we think are our ip, but at the same perspective, we wanna help other people.

So it's, you know, figuring out how to, I guess, draw that line. So, uh, you don't give it, give it all away, but give enough to help others succeed. Because, you know, then more people will wanna, you know, be a part of that, uh, community. I mean, and Mon Beautiful was on here. I, I don't know if he still is, but you know, they've created an amazing Facebook community of Amazon creators, and I think they just hit a thousand.

So, congratulations. Awesome. Mon uh,

Professor Nez: congratulations,

Jim Fuhs: Chris. Great melody. And we, and we love being a part of it. We're, we're kind of glad. It was funny, Chris and I joke sometimes we had thought about starting a Facebook group, but now what we've seen all that goes on in [01:08:00] that group, we're like, I'm glad somebody else is doing it.

Professor Nez: Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, it's hard, isn't it? It's not easy. Well, you know what you just said right there? It's like human nature. Sorry, Chris, really quickly, I, it's like human nature. Like, like when somebody, like, I had a mechanic once that like, you know, he was like, you know what, I'll, I'll just, I'll take care of your, you know, your timing belt.

Just, you know, next time you come down here, just make, maybe refer us or something like that. Yep. I, like, my wife was shocked at how, how far I went to bat for this person. And it's, it's something happens when somebody does you a solid, if you're a good human being. And I like to think that 90% of people on on Earth, maybe 95, are really good people.

There are those few that, you know, whatever. Um, man, when somebody does you a solid, you feel like obligated to do something in return. Right? When, when, when Chris and Jim invited me on their show and when Chris and Jim, you know, came onto my live [01:09:00] stream and they shared vast amounts of knowledge about this beautiful platform that nobody really knows about.

Every molecule in me was like, I'm gonna share on Instagram, I'm gonna share on Twitter, I'm gonna share, and I know you guys saw the posts. Oh yeah, I'm gonna share on my podcast. I'm gonna share. Because it wasn't like. You know, it wasn't like I actually, I I wouldn't have done that. I, I don't always do that, to be honest with you.

I do do it a lot, you know, just to be transparent. But like the fact that you guys brought the heat and you brought the value, I felt like if I didn't do that, who am I as a human being? So anyway, Chris, I didn't mean to cut you off. No,

Chris Stone: no. And, and vice versa too. It's like, I, I think a lot of times, um, you know, uh, we'll have guests or, and, and that guest will show up and do their deal and then they're off, you know, to their next, you know, stop on their podcast tour or whatever.

But like, but you know, Hey, I wanna go on a podcast tour. Right. Exactly. But you know, when we, where's my podcast tour, when we're on your show? We're, and [01:10:00] afterwards, and you saw this, we, we take, we, we take your, the content that we did on your show and then this content, and we put that into the flywheel man.

Yes. And, and, and we're gonna, anything that we said on that show, we're gonna drive back to your show. Yes. And that's the way it should work. It's like, let's help each other through this, you know? Uh, again, it's such an honor to know you

Professor Nez: guys. I really, I wanna say this live. I wanna say it as it's recorded.

You know, uh, I was planning on saying this when we're offline, and I think I've said this a couple of times, it's an honor to know you guys, and it's been a long time coming. Me and Jim were talking about this, Chris, uh, like, like I've been so aware of, Jim was on, on, uh, earlier, you know, on, on one of the streams we're talking about.

And, uh, on my, before you guys officially came on and we were talking about this, this was like, man, I've known about you for a while. Like, it's like we all kind of. We all kind of know what's going on in our space. Sure. Um, we're not maybe so super involved, but we kind of have, we, we have, we understand presence and we understand, ooh, they're [01:11:00] doing this, that's kind of cool, or Oh, I see that.

I see you. I see you. Um, long time coming. And I wanna say this for the record, I'm honored to be here. It's, it's, it's, I could talk to you guys if I didn't have a meeting to run to. I could talk to you guys for seven hours. I'm sure you guys got stuff to do too, but it really, truly is a pleasure, man. I really mean that.

Jim Fuhs: Well, likewise man. Well, and I appreciate that. 'cause, you know, and this may sound funny, but you know, you talk about imposter syndrome. So for someone like me, you know, seeing how, how big of a following you have, it's like, you know, oh, you know, is this guy, would he talk to me? You know, who am I to be talked to?

So, for those of you out there that gimme a break, it happens to all of us, right? Where we think that you're not good enough or you're not ready for that. So I, I definitely appreciate, uh, appreciate that ne coming from you. 'cause uh, yeah, you, you've gotta. Great stuff. I love how you do your, you know, asking anything.

Hopefully more things to

Professor Nez: come, man. Yeah. Hopefully a lot more things to come seriously. Absolutely. Start something. Are you, uh,

Jim Fuhs: are you gonna go to Social Media Marketing World in, uh, March? Are you thinking about it or, you

Professor Nez: know what? I [01:12:00] am planned, I, I'm supposed to be a speaker at the people of video conference in October.

Ah, uh, thankfully I was very honored that Dan asked me to come speak. Um, it's in Albany, New York. Yep. And, you know, I'm just kind of, um, I'm so excited, like I wanna speak there and, and with all intents and purposes it seems like that's going to be okay, but I am not, um, impervious to what's going on and I'm just kind of right now, 'cause I've got kids and I've got parents that are in their eighties.

And so I am, uh, I'm just kind of, uh, playing it sort of by ear. It's so funny because I had, I know you guys know who Dean Niman is?

Chris Stone (2): Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Professor Nez: I had Dean Niman on, uh, the show three, four weeks ago, maybe a month ago, and he was like, I'll see you all in 2022. Yeah. He's like, if you can't get it right by 2022, you're all done in my book.

And so there was a part of me that was like, gosh, that's, he's joking, but it's not a, it's not a bad philosophy actually. [01:13:00] 'cause you know, everything that's going on and everything that's happening, it's, it just gives a little pause, you know? And, um, so I'm hoping, I've actually, I've actually never been at Social Media Marketing World.

Funny enough, I've always had something going on, unfortunately, and I've not been able to attend. Uh, but you know, I'd love if you're gonna be there, Jim and Chris, you're gonna be there. Dunno. I'm trying to talk

Jim Fuhs: him into it. We'll see. Yeah, I'm trying to talk

Professor Nez: him into it. Yeah, I'm here. It's one of the best conferences to go, period.

I've heard

Jim Fuhs: it's, it definitely is a great place to meet people. But I will tell you, the conference that we were at two weeks ago in Lima, that was

Professor Nez: Oh, you went to Lima in Ohio?

Jim Fuhs: Yes. Yep. Uh, nice. What was that like? Like that was great. Awesome. Really great. She's great.

Professor Nez: Jessica Phillips, she's fantastic.

Jim Fuhs: I already, I already got my tickets for next year, so, uh,

Professor Nez: that's great.

That's great.

Jim Fuhs: They're, they're on sale now. Ne if you want to go, if you, if you can figure out how to get to Lima if I can figure out how to get there.

Professor Nez: Yeah. Alright. I'll swim there.

Chris Stone: Can I swim there [01:14:00] to Lima? That would be a Long River. That'd be a Long River. Well, you know, I do

Professor Nez: need to lose my corona belly.

Chris Stone: That'll do it. That absolutely

Professor Nez: do it.

Chris Stone: Uh, this has been phenomenal and, uh, we appreciate it ne and you know, you've, you've taken up so much of your valuable time. Good luck on your meeting today. Thank you. Um, for sure. Um, thank you. And, uh, uh, for those of you who are, uh, have stuck around this whole time, I know there's a lot of you out there because this is just, you know, uh, professor Nez dropping them knowledge boulders, um, and uh, down the, down the hill there and, and everybody catching them, we, good thing they're not peoples.

Uh, but, uh, we'll be back on uh, Tuesday. We've got a guest on Tuesday and that will be Darrell Stinson, who has a phenomenal story, TEDx speaker, as well as a former, uh, division one football player who's now, uh, you know, dedicated his life to working with athletes after. [01:15:00] Sports is a phenomenal story.

Suicide survivor and author. Wow. And we're excited to have Darryl on. I'm gonna check that out. What's that? When's that again, Chris? That's Tuesday. Tuesday, yeah. Oh, I'm gonna

Professor Nez: be there for that. Count me in that. Awesome. Sounds great.

Chris Stone: Alright everybody, thanks for sticking around Nez, you're awesome. And then thank you guys to everyone else as always, don't fear the gear.

Jim Fuhs: Thanks for listening to deal casters. Congratulations. You've taken another step forward. In your content creation journey, please don't forget to hit the subscribe or follow button here in your favorite podcast player so you can be reminded every time we drop an episode,

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