From Strip Club to 7-Figures: How One Mentor Changed Everything | Stephen Martinez DSH #967

Summary

Digital Social Hour Podcast – Episode #967: From Strip Club to 7-Figures: How One Mentor Changed Everything | Stephen Martinez

Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Stephen Martinez
Release Date: December 10, 2024

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Introduction to Stephen Martinez’s Journey

In this compelling episode of the Digital Social Hour, host Sean Kelly delves deep into the transformative journey of Stephen Martinez, an inspiring entrepreneur whose path from humble beginnings to 7-figure success was profoundly influenced by a pivotal mentor. The conversation uncovers Stephen's early life, the challenges he faced, and the critical lessons learned that shaped his entrepreneurial spirit.

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Early Life and Family Background

Stephen opens up about his roots, providing listeners with a glimpse into his family dynamics and the hardships that ignited his drive for success. His parents immigrated from Colombia in pursuit of the American Dream, seeking better opportunities for their family. However, their journey was marred by adversity, culminating in his parents' divorce when he was around 12 or 13 years old.

Stephen Martinez (00:36): "My mom and dad immigrated from Colombia, pretty much coming here for an opportunity like anyone else, right? Everyone comes here for the land of opportunity, just to have a better life."

Living with his mother, who struggled with language barriers, Stephen witnessed her relentless work ethic. His mother would wake up at 5:30 AM to clean houses, a sacrifice that deeply impacted him and instilled a sense of responsibility from a young age.

Stephen Martinez (01:00): "I would voluntarily like, hey, mom, I'll come with you. So before school, I'd go help her clean houses, take out the trash, this and that."

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The Catalyst: Meeting the Mentor

Stephen's life took a dramatic turn during the COVID-19 pandemic. With traditional job avenues frozen and surviving through gig work like delivering groceries, he found himself at a social event that would alter his trajectory. It was a seemingly ordinary night out at a strip club when Stephen encountered a man in a professional suit—his future mentor.

Stephen Martinez (02:02): "They're saying luck is when preparation meets opportunity."

Despite the unconventional setting, the encounter was fortuitous. This mentor offered Stephen an opportunity in the blue-collar industry, specifically involving an online training platform and contractor events. Despite having no prior knowledge of the industry, Stephen took a leap of faith, a decision that would lay the foundation for his future success.

Stephen Martinez (03:00): "I went all in on that, called him in the morning, he was like, hey, we're leaving in an hour to Lake Charles."

This bold move marked the beginning of Stephen's realization of the American Dream, teaching him invaluable lessons beyond the confines of a traditional master's degree.

Stephen Martinez (05:12): "I learned more from him than my master's degree."

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Building RoofCon: A Unique Market Approach

Armed with the wisdom from his mentor, Stephen ventured into creating RoofCon, an event aimed at serving the Latino community within the construction and home services industry. Recognizing that a significant portion of contractors were Latino and Spanish-speaking, Stephen identified a gap in the market—events that catered specifically to this demographic were virtually non-existent.

Stephen Martinez (12:15): "We made it unique by hitting a specific demographic, which is a Latino community."

RoofCon quickly gained traction, doubling its attendance with each subsequent event. Stephen emphasizes the importance of understanding one's niche and targeting underserved markets to create impactful and successful events.

Stephen Martinez (13:09): "Why has no one created or promoted or targeted our market when it's the predominantly main market and foundation for this industry?"

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Marketing and Branding Strategies

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around effective marketing and branding strategies. Stephen highlights the importance of leveraging social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to build brand presence and engage with the target audience.

Stephen Martinez (23:33): "For something as specific as the event space for the construction industry, Facebook provides a good foundation."

He also touches upon the power of providing value beyond monetary transactions. By fostering genuine relationships and offering support, Stephen has cultivated a loyal community that actively supports his events and initiatives.

Stephen Martinez (06:04): "Providing value and finding a way to get yourself in the door no matter what way you can."

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Overcoming Challenges and Financial Literacy

Stephen candidly discusses the financial hurdles he faced, especially during the initial stages of organizing events without a proven concept. The fear of financial loss is a common entrepreneurial challenge, but Stephen's resilience and commitment to his vision propelled him forward.

Stephen Martinez (32:23): "Creating that proof of concept and going all in on something, no matter that you're going to lose money, and knowing it and just being devoted to that will create something that will create a legacy."

He also underscores the importance of financial literacy within the Hispanic community. Understanding how to manage and invest money is crucial for transitioning from labor-intensive roles to business ownership.

Stephen Martinez (30:15): "It's about applying yourself and understanding it. But financial literacy plays a big, big role in the Hispanic community."

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The Power of Community and Networking

A recurring theme in the conversation is the significance of community and networking. Stephen believes that collaboration, rather than competition, is the key to financial success and business growth. By building a supportive network, entrepreneurs can leverage collective strength to achieve mutual success.

Stephen Martinez (31:39): "The secret to money is networking and working together. It's not a competition. It's a collaboration."

He shares practical tips on finding mentors, stressing the importance of providing value and building genuine relationships rather than seeking monetary gains.

Stephen Martinez (06:59): "That's the essence of getting yourself in the door. Providing value, meeting the right people."

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Personal Growth and Discipline

Stephen's personal development journey is equally inspiring. He adopts disciplined routines such as cold plunges and sauna sessions to maintain physical and mental well-being. However, he clarifies that these practices are not mere rituals but are integral to building consistency and resilience.

Stephen Martinez (28:09): "It's about having that consistency that way we can obtain and develop and become better and better people."

He emphasizes that success stems from consistent effort and disciplined habits rather than transient motivational spikes.

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The Evolution of RoofCon and Future Aspirations

RoofCon has grown exponentially, with Stephen aiming to expand its reach beyond the Latino community to embrace all Americans, many of whom share immigrant backgrounds. This inclusive approach reflects his vision of unity and shared growth.

Stephen Martinez (24:59): "We're all immigrants in some way shape or form."

Looking ahead, Stephen plans to continue scaling RoofCon, enhancing its unique value proposition, and fostering an inclusive community that bridges gaps across various demographics.

Stephen Martinez (27:44): "We have a CEO Latino panel. Now we're going to call it the CEO American panel."

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Conclusion: Legacy and Impact

Stephen Martinez's journey from a challenging childhood to becoming a 7-figure entrepreneur underscores the profound impact of mentorship, resilience, and strategic innovation. His story serves as a beacon for aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly within underserved communities, demonstrating that with the right mindset and support, achieving the American Dream is attainable.

Stephen Martinez (32:23): "Creating that proof of concept and going all in on something, no matter that you're going to lose money, and knowing it and just being devoted to that will create something that will create a legacy."

Sean Kelly wraps up the episode by highlighting Stephen’s remarkable achievements and the invaluable lessons he imparts, leaving listeners motivated and equipped with actionable insights to pursue their own paths to success.

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Notable Quotes

• Stephen Martinez (05:12): "I learned more from him than my master's degree."
• Stephen Martinez (06:04): "Providing value and finding a way to get yourself in the door no matter what way you can."
• Stephen Martinez (31:39): "The secret to money is networking and working together. It's not a competition. It's a collaboration."
• Stephen Martinez (32:23): "Creating that proof of concept and going all in on something, no matter that you're going to lose money, and knowing it and just being devoted to that will create something that will create a legacy."

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This episode of Digital Social Hour offers a rich tapestry of entrepreneurial wisdom, personal anecdotes, and strategic insights from Stephen Martinez. It encapsulates the essence of overcoming adversity, the power of mentorship, and the importance of community-driven success, making it an essential listen for aspiring entrepreneurs and professionals striving to thrive in today’s dynamic business landscape.

Transcript

[A]

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[C]

Shifted it to a different market and we just made it bigger and better.

[D]

I love that man. So you learn more from him than your master's degree?

[C]

Absolutely, absolutely. I think the master's degree now, I saw a study on it. I think it was on Instagram or Tick tock. It's like 86 of college students regret their bachelor's.

[D]

I saw that yesterday.

[C]

Yeah, I saw it yesterday too.

[D]

And that's just people self admitting. So it might even be higher, I think, because who wants to admit that they wasted money and time? All right, guys, from Houston, Texas, we got Stephen Martinez here. We're gonna talk the American dream today.

[C]

Yeah, we are.

[D]

And you're living proof of that.

[C]

I'm trying my best brother.

[D]

So when did you start realizing this opportunity was out there, man?

[C]

That's a good question to. To answer that, we have to go back a little bit. Before the American dream. The whole conference, the event, the podcast, the book was ever a thing. I think we have to dig into the roots of my parents. So my mom and dad immigrated from Colombia, pretty much coming here for an opportunity like anyone else, right? Everyone comes here for the land of opportunity, just to have a better life. Fast forward a little bit. My family got divorced. Mom and dad got divorced when I was 12, 13. So I was with my mom and I mean, she didn't speak the language, right? So she was just hustling. And I was the middle child of three and she was cleaning houses and she would wake up at like 5am, 5.30am just to go clean houses. And I would voluntarily like, hey, mom, I'LL come with you. So before school, I'd go help her clean houses, take out the trash, this and that. And then she would tell me, she would say, stephen, you know, you're going to be the person that can get us out of. Out of this, out of the situation. You have so much potential. And then I had. I'm like, oh, you're just my mom. You're just saying that because you love me. But it did resonate, especially the whole school thing. School was very big for our culture. You know, going to school, get your bachelor's, get your master's. So I got my bachelor's, got my master's, and then covet, hit. And I was like, man, I was like, okay, I could still do online. But then like, the whole workplace thing froze. So no one was working. I don't know if you remember this, but during COVID you couldn't go to Target, Walmart, yeah, all those stores. So I was doing Uber Eats, but it's not Ubereats. But you did groceries for people. So you go to the store, Kroger, whatever, do the groceries, deliver the groceries. And then my buddy hit me up and he was like, hey, man, it's my birthday. And there's this one spot during COVID that pretty much lets you go out and like, have no social distancing type of thing. Really low key spot. So I'm like, sure, it's your birthday, we go out, we celebrate. I'm in school, I'm just working hard, doing Instacart. That's what it was called at the time. Just hustling, making money, trying to make ends meet. And then after the bar, he's like, let's go to the strip club. And usually I just say bar. But to be transparent, I feel like it's important for people to know where I met my mentor at the time because of the environment and you never know who you meet. And they say luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

[D]

Right?

[C]

And I was there at 3am Just having a good time, minding my business. And I see this guy in like a professional suit, like corporate style. Like, you could tell he's not doing anything shady or, you know, this or that. I'm like, damn, like, that must be nice. Thirty minutes later, we start talking and he's like, hey, man, you know, I'm in the blue collar industry, so we have an online training platform, a big event for contractors. If you're serious, get my number down and call me in the morning. Now this is where I like, it could have gone Left or right? Left. As in like, okay, this guy's weird. Like it's 3am at a strip club, I've never met this guy before. But then right as in, you know what, there's an opportunity that I think might be something, why not go for it? So I went all in on that, called him in the morning, he was like, hey, we're leaving in an hour to Lake Charles. This was during Hurricane Laura, Sally, Delta and Charlie. This was like four or five years ago. And I didn't know anything about the industry. I didn't know what a shingle was, nothing. I just knew people, I knew relationships, I knew kind of the lingo for business from school, but that was about it. And I called my mom, it was Labor Day. I said, mom, there's an opportunity that I don't think I can miss. Like this is serious. She's like, good luck, I love you. Go all in. Said and done. I went all in. And then that's what pretty much created the American dream. I learned everything.

[D]

Wow.

[C]

So instead of me learning a cubicle from a 9 to 5 where I'm just doing marketing, now I understand sales, I understand production, quality control, admin, HR systems, procedures, SOPs. How do you build and scale a company to 20 million? And because of him was what pretty much helped me create my concept. And then we shifted it to a different market and we just made it bigger and better.

[D]

A lot of math. You learned more from him than your master's degree?

[C]

Absolutely, absolutely. I think the master's degree now I saw a study on it. I think it was on Instagram or TikTok. It's like 86% of college students regret their bachelor.

[D]

I saw that yesterday.

[C]

I saw it yesterday too.

[D]

And that's just people self admitting. So it might even be higher.

[C]

I think so.

[D]

Cuz who wants to admit that they wasted money and time like. But I think people are waking up. I think like when I have kids I'd rather them get a mentor, whether it's me or someone else and go to college if they're going to be an entrepreneur.

[C]

100%. I think the, the hardest part about it all with a lot of people asking me specifically is how do you find these mentors? And as simple. I mean I guess that situation and that environment was very scarce. Right. Very limited. It's tough to find a mentor to strike at 4am on a random night out. But I think if you provide value and you find a way to get yourself in the door no matter how or what way you Can. It doesn't necessarily have to be monetary value. Right. I could be providing value through, perfect example, my editor. I get like 20 messages on Instagram saying, hey, let me edit your videos, let me edit your videos. I charge this, I charge that. So before we really kind of developed a good strategy, I needed an editor. And then this kid messaged me saying, hey, I'll do. I'll work for you for a month for free. He's providing value and I'll have nothing to lose. Crushed it. Killed it. Has been working with me for three years.

[D]

Wow.

[C]

So that's the essence of getting yourself in the door. Providing value, meeting the right people. And the moment you do that, you start to create proximity. And then that's how you can find mentors, like minded people for different areas. Because don't get me wrong, there are mentors for different areas. You're not going to go to an overweight person for gym advice. Right. You need mentors for your physical health, financial, mental health, emotional health, all sorts of aspects of life.

[D]

I got like seven, dude. Like, exactly. Yeah. Basketball, health. I got a spiritual one, I got religious one, I have a business one, mindset one. There's so many. Yeah, you don't want to listen to just one guy for everything. That's how you fail. And that's what people think mentors are, I think.

[C]

Exactly. And then you get bad habits too, indirectly. Like my first mentor, dude, genius, but he had bad habits. And then that like kind of strip.

[D]

Club was one of them.

[C]

Yeah, exactly. So you know what I mean? So it's like, okay, I need to step back here, self reflect and find people that are good at different areas, which is totally fine because everyone's people, right? We're all humans. That's what makes us special. And it's understanding that. So you're 100% right on that part.

[D]

Yeah, I get asked that all the time. Finding mentors. It's definitely like there's no one set answer for that. But I think just putting yourself in the right situations will help the odds of you finding one 100% going to events like your conference or whatever, you know, for your instance, it was a strip club.

[C]

That was the best yes I could have done, man. That was my first time actually going to one.

[D]

Oh, really? That's his destiny at that point then.

[C]

It really is. And I, I'll tell you something that I've told very few people and a lot of people believe me or don't. It's totally, it's totally fine. But before that whole scenario happened. I was with friends and I was dressed really nice and like, why are you dressed so nice? I was like, you never know who you're going to meet. But like, in my head I'm thinking, I'm going to meet a pretty girl. Turns out I actually ended up meeting my.

[D]

You manifested it in a way.

[C]

I. I believe in the law of attraction 100%.

[D]

What were some things he taught you that sort of got you on your feet, man?

[C]

Marketing. He's a marketing genius. I was in sales with him and I understood relationships very well. For example, if I had a client, I wouldn't call him a client. I call him my friend. I wouldn't utilize people monetarily. I would do it as I would play the long term game with people. For example, Tommy Mello, he was brought into me when he was with Anthony Del Medical, my first mentor. And he was doing the conference and all this good stuff. And Anthony wanted to sell him on something. He was like, I want you to close him. And me and Tommy created a really great relationship. And then Tommy on the side was like, hey, man, like, you're cool. I appreciate. He's like, don't sell me that. I don't like to be sold. I was like, respect, said and done. I didn't sell him anything. We just built a friendship. Friendship, I love that. And then we went to dinner one time and then I told the waiter, hey, let me go to the restroom. I got my card out, I paid for the tab because, you know, a lot of successful people like to pay for the tab. And I was like, I don't want him to feel used because I'm not that type of person. And obviously him with his caliber, I want to provide value anyway. I can't. Even if it's a simple dinner classic and waiter comes back, tab is paid, and he's like confused. He's like, what? And she was like, yeah, he paid for it. And then Tommy, ever since then, it was like skyrocketed friendship. And he thanked me for dinner. So I'd have a billionaire thanking me for dinner when I'm like 21, 22. Yeah, barely making.

[D]

I bet he's the one paying for most dinners, so 100%. For him to get that the other way around was huge. I bet.

[C]

I think you know how it is too, when it comes to those people, right? They always. They don't mind, which is totally fine. But you know, I'm the type of person that I really want to stand out and make an impression. If it's doesn't necessarily have to be monetarily. Right. It could be anywhere shape or form of me helping you, whether it's connect you to someone that I know or X or Y. Yeah. But I think that's kind of the secret sauce that he taught me. So back to your question. It was the sales slash relationship end game and then monetizing that through marketing, understanding how to brand, how to scale and how to create a brand. Because we had to create something from scratch that never existed. We had to create an event, a conference that never existed with no proof of concept. So I think that was the toughest, the toughest bit for sure.

[D]

Conference is a tough space, dude. I wouldn't be surprised if most of them lose money just off the conversations I've had with people that run conferences. So you need to have a good back end, you need a good sales team and everything.

[C]

You know what I tell people. So we're doing our third event next year and the gentleman you had before is a construction roofing. So you can be in the roofing industry for five years and have three to four horrible years and then a storm hits and then skyrocketed. You're doing 5, 6 million. Yeah, totally normal. You see that all the time with the vents. It's a one stop shop. You have one opportunity, either you make it or you don't. Because if you miss, you're not going to have attendees, you're not going to have vendors, sponsors. No proof of concept will ever be delivered. So it's literally like sink or swim. And you're developing and creating something that hasn't been done. There's no name. Like, imagine going to a vendor and be like, hey, do you want to come and support our event? Like, yeah, sure. How many times have you done it? Oh, not yet. Drop 20,000 to come and sponsor and support us. Like, dude, there's no, there's no track record, no proof, no nothing. So you really have to understand your target, your niche, your product or service, how to brand, how to market it and how to, how do you make it unique?

[D]

Right.

[C]

So the way we made it unique was by hitting a specific demographic, which is a Latino community.

[D]

So you saw a hole in the market. You didn't see these people being catered to other events 100%.

[C]

We do Roofcon. Win the Storm. My mentor had Win the Storm before he sold it, he had around 4,000 people show up contractors. And then I'm looking at all these contractors. I'm Latin, I'm fully Colombian, I'm like, dude, I see the white people, but then like, funny enough, like 80 to 90% of the home service space, they speak Spanish. You see a laborer, they're Latino. A lot of these people are immigrant. And I'm like, it's like kind of like a light bulb moment. I was like, why has no one created or promoted or targeted our market when it's the predominantly main market and foundation for this industry? So let me make a concept, apply it to a different market and make it better. And that's when we just went all in.

[D]

That's so true, dude. 80% of my contractors are Latino or Spanish speaking. That's a good point. So that's like the entire market pretty much.

[C]

And no one's done it before and.

[D]

No one's targeted them. That's crazy.

[C]

Especially to this magnitude. I mean, I'm sure maybe they've done like small events, but our last event had around almost 400 people and we more than double from the first one. So expecting to hopefully hit 7, 800 people with the consistency that we're doing.

[D]

That's incredible.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

So you're doubling almost every single one. Imagine what you'll be in few years.

[C]

That's what everyone says, but I think it's. It's one of those where you take a one step, one day at a time.

[D]

Right.

[C]

You know, I don't like to project it. You know, it's for example, the first of. And if I was like, oh man, I need to get 100 people here without creating anything going to be possible. No, I start off by doing the simple stuff first, such as going to an event, talking to a vendor, talking to a sponsor, connecting with someone, reaching out with my previous relationships from sales, seeing if people want to support what we're building and structuring. Stuff like that. Yeah, but I think that's the, the main secret. One day at a time.

[D]

I've had 14 networking events in the past six years. My first event had 30 people. Now I could have walked away from that like super like, you know, pissed and not had another event again, but I saw that as a good sign to keep going.

[C]

You're crushing it now, man.

[D]

Yeah, now they have like 400, 500 people.

[C]

That's awesome.

[D]

And it's a blast every time.

[C]

Now is it all organic whenever you're.

[D]

Doing your events or no paid ads, dude.

[C]

Wow.

[D]

So imagine if I wanted to go that route, but I like that community aspect. So that's where I differ from most events where people are just trying to fill in the door. I want Quality people that mine. So my events are pretty much invite only or you got to know someone to come in.

[C]

Yeah, I love that.

[D]

But that's how you build community, man. Community is everything.

[C]

I think you're right on that part, too. I've noticed that a lot of people like to build their own community slash network type of thing. Right. Like Tommy has. He just had an event too. Home service freedom, I believe, in San Diego. So he had around a thousand people show up as well. And like, these people are super devoted to him. I mean, he's very disciplined, of course, which is awesome. But you're 100% right on that aspect of it. Creating that community is very important for anything.

[D]

Absolutely. And those connections when you're having events, because normally these speakers are going to want a speaker fee, but if you've provided value to these guys, they're not going to charge you if you save 100 grand right there.

[C]

Yep. I've had. I've had instances where we've had speakers trying to charge. I mean, you know how it goes, right. Some people pay to play type of thing, you know, they want to charge. But when you're doing your first event ever, you're not really going to have that much capital to fund that type of stuff. And I was like, hey, look, this is bigger than me. It's always been bigger than me. It's about helping the community, helping bring financial literacy, level the playing field. At the same time, you can help your personal brand grow, your personal brand, your company brand, whatever you want to do, you know, really see it from that aspect of it, not just so personal from that side of it. Like, hey, nah, man, like, I'm too good for school. I charge 15k. Like, either I'm in or I'm not, you know, but we've been very lucky and blessed. You have the right people support us. Have you heard. Have you heard of Renee Rodriguez by chance?

[D]

Yep. He's been on the show.

[C]

He spoke at my first event and I saw him on TikTok, which is. The power of social media is insane, by the way.

[D]

That's how I found him.

[C]

Really?

[D]

I think so, yeah.

[C]

Yeah, he had that one video with, I think.

[D]

Yeah. Some viral video. Yeah. That's how I find a lot of my guests, actually. TikTok and Instagram and YouTube. Girls.

[C]

You got to be on top of the trend.

[D]

Yep.

[C]

That's the way to do it. I agree. So we had a call and he was trying to sell me. Yeah. He's like, hey, man, like, I love what you're doing, but you know, I charge X amount and I'm like, brother, like, this is our first one. Like, we're trying to make this really special, you know. I want you to see the big picture. I told him the backstory to it. My family, he's Cuban. He has a similar story as well. It was like, man, scratch that. I'm in.

[D]

Like, wow.

[C]

So it comes. Yeah. Seriously great friend of mine, actually, I'm going to see him in October, going to Minnesota.

[D]

So, yeah, he's a solid dude, man. He's brought a ton of guests to the show.

[C]

Really.

[D]

So. And for no money. Like, he just is a good person.

[C]

That's awesome.

[D]

So I surround myself with people like that, man. And that's.

[C]

That's the way to do it.

[D]

That's someone I'm probably going to hire in the future to public to coach me with public speaking.

[C]

You should come to the event, man. Yeah, it's all October 14th through the 16th or the 16th.

[D]

In Houston?

[C]

No, it's in Minnesota.

[D]

Minnesota.

[C]

It's at his. His place. He's doing like a little, like small.

[D]

Yeah, let me check it out. If I'm not filming those days, I'm down.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

But he, he coaches all the top speakers in our space. It's super impressive.

[C]

Justin.

[D]

Justin Waller. All the guys that spoke at Limitless haven't been.

[C]

Was it good?

[D]

Yeah, Limitless. Yeah, Limitless was solid, dude. I try to go to at least five to 10 conferences a year or events.

[C]

What do you. What do you benefit from it Whenever you're going to these big, big events?

[D]

Usually it's just connections. Like, I don't really watch the talks, if we're being honest. I don't. I went through that motivational phase though, when I was younger.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

So, like, I used to blast GaryVee and David Goggins when I was in college. But now I'm at the phase where just that. That doesn't really motivate me anymore, you know, I've found my purpose, so I don't need those videos anymore. But I used to blast those TED talks, man. Now I just go for connections and just to have fun.

[C]

I think that's the way to do it. Makes a little business with pleasures type of thing.

[D]

You have to. Yeah, because I used to just be straight business. I was robotic.

[C]

Really.

[D]

You wouldn't even want to be friends with me.

[C]

You seem pretty easy, man. Pretty easy going.

[D]

I've had to develop into that.

[C]

Really?

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Were you more introverted?

[D]

I still am. Yeah. I just took a test Last week. I'm still heavily introverted.

[C]

You know what I am? And it's like, I'm an introvert, extrovert. So, like, if I don't know you, I don't talk to you, which is, I guess, in the aspect of networking, kind of sucks, right? Because you're like, I need a network and meet people I've never met before. Yeah, Definitely was a challenge at the beginning, too. When I'm trying to create something and I have to meet people, I'm like, all right, suck it up.

[D]

You know, I used to be way more introverted. I think the success helped the confidence. So now I can. Yeah, I don't really get nervous talking to anyone anymore. Like, it could be Grant Cardone sitting there. It could be the president. I'll be a little nervous, but I won't be, like, freaking out or anything. As soon as we start talking, they'll go away.

[C]

Yeah, I agree with all people, man.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I think that's what differentiate. Differentiates us from being successful or not too. It's because sometimes we see success as, you know, this kind of, like, facade or this perception of it being unattainable because we see it on social media. But really it comes down to just treating people like people. Because when you're in the business aspect, an entrepreneur, not corporate, you're doing business with people, right? So they want to know who they're doing business with. Do you take care of yourself? Are you healthy? Are you in shape? Do you have good habits? All right, cool. Now that I like him as a person, all right, now I'm interested in his product or service as well. So I think that has a big play with that as well.

[D]

100%. Yeah. I tell people not to really idolize or look up to people and like, fanboy in person because it's a huge turn off for me. Like, and for a lot of people I talk to, like, it's the level of respect just isn't there anymore. When you fanboy, I agree. You know, I do. There's better ways to approach someone. How'd the book start? Was that after the conference or before?

[C]

Good question, actually. So Tommy and Anthony wrote a book as well. And a lot of my mentors have books. I actually have this little small mini shelf of books. And it's all of my friends books. Don't ask me if I've read them all, but I have them. Just more of support. And I think it's awesome. Like, it shows your proximity. Hey, like, all my friends have wrote books. Tommy one time Told me and Anthony too, that kind of said it similar ways. But essentially the best business card anyone can ever have is a book. You know, you give someone a physical card, I mean I don't think anyone really uses. You throw them out or you lose it or whatever. You could use the tap or dot 1 where they tap it, save it, whatever. But that's tangible, you know, that's going to be there forever. You're not going to lose. You're not going to throw it away.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

If you put it on your shelf or you put it in your home or know then someone signs it, makes it personal, you're going to remember that.

[D]

I feel that. Cuz even if you don't read it, it's still there on the shelf. You see the name? We're actually getting a shelf here because a lot of guests have books and we're going to display other work there. Make it pretty.

[C]

There you go, man.

[D]

I'm a fan of that. Yeah, yeah. You won't forget the book when someone gives you it, right?

[C]

I agree. Some. It could be a book or even if you and any. Honestly, anyone can write a book. I hate when people put me on a pedestal sometimes. Like I wrote a book at 24. 24 when I wrote it. Like, oh man, you wrote a book. Congrats. I'm like, well, anyone can write a book. It's like a thesis or a dissertation. It's just being disciplined with it. That's all it is. And then obviously you'll have the publishing. Amazon publishing director is a good one. They'll get it, get the title, all that good stuff. But anyone can do it. And if you don't want to write a book and you want to make an impression, something as simple as a T shirt in someone. A T shirt. Hey, man. Or a backpack or some sort of swagger. Something that makes them subconsciously remember you. Oh, like, hey, that's the guy with the book. That's the guy with the shirt. I saw your action figure there. That was cool. Yeah, that's awesome.

[D]

You got to brand yourself as much as possible. I wear merch every day.

[C]

Branding is so important. People don't understand that.

[D]

I think the afro helps me.

[C]

I know. Have you had that for.

[D]

I got asked that earlier today. I've had it since. Since I can remember. Yeah, my dad had one too. So I guess it's genetic, right? We'll see if my kid has one.

[C]

Is it like, do you style or you just wake up and then boom.

[D]

I just wake up. Yeah. I used to Use gel back in the day. But I'm super like holistic now, so I don't use any fake products on my body.

[C]

Do you got to trademark the hair?

[D]

I have to.

[C]

Can you do that in Jennifer Lopez? Trademark her butt or something?

[D]

Like what?

[C]

I'm pretty sure. I'm like 99% sure. And then boxers like trademark or their hands too, they register them. So if anything happens to them, like.

[D]

Oh yeah, they get insurance. Yeah, I've seen that.

[C]

Yeah, like JLO has that with her.

[D]

But yeah, Floyd tried to get it. I don't know if got approved. I think Manny Pacquiao tried to get that too.

[C]

I'm sure if you did it with your hair, man. Insurance on your hair. And then I just. You got a million dollars from that.

[D]

Yeah. Imagine some people stack those trademarks. Like that's a full time job these days.

[C]

Yeah. Or they'll buy the domains too.

[D]

Domains, patents.

[C]

Uh huh. What's that big one with Facebook? Someone?

[D]

Was it Facebook, the username handles something like that?

[C]

Yeah, they bought something and then they bought it for like $5 because someone on the Facebook team didn't buy it on time. Another.

[D]

Oh, I saw that. Yeah, that might have been Twitter.

[C]

I think it was Twitter.

[D]

Yeah. Yeah, I think Elon just ended up taking it though. Shout out to Elon. What platform are you liking the most right now?

[C]

For what?

[D]

Just branding.

[C]

Marketing.

[D]

Branding and marketing. Yeah, man.

[C]

It depends on the product or service. I'll tell you what, if you ask me, Steven, monetarily, how do you do more? Like where do we get more of a return on organic traffic is Facebook? Because the event space for the construction industry is 30 to 50 or 25 to 50 years old. So a lot of those people use Facebook and we have a pretty good foundation and climb base on Facebook. Now when it comes to just branding, building your brand type of thing, Instagram is solid as well. TikTok, we're building it, We've been building consistently. It's kind of hit or miss, but it's just being consistent with it. Right. So we're just, we're building it. Our guys do three posts a day or three reels slash shorts. YouTube's been picking up a lot as well. We want to follow, funnel it all down to the brand, the book, the event, the podcast, everything just falling into the brand and then that goes into the event. Because the event and the scheme of the event is the American dream. And we want to encourage any American. So what at first used to be a specific event for the Latino community. To come and learn. Our last event, we had a lot of African Americans, surprisingly. And I was like, whoa. Like, maybe I should focus more on the minority side. And I was like, light switch. Let's do it on all Americans, because we're all immigrants. Some. Some way shape or form. Right. And that's what we've been targeting. Been blowing up ever since.

[D]

Love it, man.

[C]

And it's about. Obviously, we grew up from the home service space, but we have people coming in from everywhere now, from garages, roofing, solar, real estate. We had a guy, his name's Gabriel Nas. He has no arms, no legs. He came and spoke.

[D]

Wow.

[C]

Just about providing value, motivational. But you go to all these events, too. And, like, like you said, I'm kind of over the whole motivational stuff. So we want to emphasize, too, on networking, building those organic relationships. And the most important is the experience. I've noticed that in the event space, experience is so important.

[D]

It's king.

[C]

Yeah. You have to make everyone feel important and like you care. There's some events I'm not gonna name who, but they don't even, like, introduce themselves to sponsors that spend 30, 40,000.

[D]

Holy crap.

[C]

They think they're too cool and have all their chains this and that. It's not a good look. I mean, for me, at least. I was raised to be more humble and respectful to people. And it's taken me a long way. Like our last event, all the vendors signed back up for the next one.

[D]

That's a great sign.

[C]

It's a great, fantastic sign.

[D]

Yeah. I'm the same way. I'm always thinking on how to provide value to my attendees, so even I'm still doing it. Two days ago, I made a WhatsApp chat of all the people that have ever bought a VIP ticket, and I put them in a chat. So it's like 120 people. It's just like a mastermind chat. Like, I don't make anything off it, but those guys are going to connect. Now, outside of the events, how many.

[C]

Events do you do you do throughout the year?

[D]

I do about three to five a year. Small or big, they get like 300 to 500 people.

[C]

Wow.

[D]

Yeah. So I do three to five of those a year in a new city every time. But I've been doing a lot of Vegas lately just because there's a lot of big events here. We got F1 coming up. We just had the sphere UFC at the sphere. But, dude, I think you're going to crush it. Because when I go to certain conferences, I was just at Tucker Carlson's conference.

[C]

How was it?

[D]

Dude, I was like the only Asian one there. It was all white people. Like literally my friend Spencer and I stood up and we said, whoever can find the first black person wins. We couldn't find a single one.

[C]

Why do you think that is though? Let me ask you a question. Let me ask you that.

[D]

I think part of it's like people don't want to go to these alone. They want to go with a friend and they want to go with people that they're comfortable with. So I would honestly say some people are intimidated to go to certain events just because of that. And then I don't know if pricing is a factor or whatever. Some, some of these conferences charge a lot, so who knows? But I think that I would be kind of scared to go if I was, you know, a minority and saw white people.

[C]

Do you think the speakers have to do with it too? If it's like, let's say an all white speaker panel or something like that?

[D]

Yeah. So that event, actually, now that you said that was all white speakers as well, so. Yes, probably the speaker. There's no representation, so why would they show up?

[C]

Right, Exactly.

[D]

So that's another hole in the market right there.

[C]

That's interesting.

[D]

That is interesting.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

But your, your events are the complete opposite, right?

[C]

Yeah. 100. 100. We, we have a CEO. Well, last year was the CEO Latino panel. Now we're going to call it the CEO American panel. So we have people from different backgrounds, different stories and just encourage people, man. I mean, we're all, we're all living life for the first time. Right. And it's all about working together in unison, understanding how we can get through our day to day as while becoming the best version of ourselves.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

And it comes down to discipline, consistency. Like I started actually doing cold plunges. I love those, I love those cold plunges and sauna in the morning. And I realized this. I said, okay, the secret to being successful isn't waking up and doing a cone plunge every day. Not. Right. That's not going to make you money, but it's going to instill good habits. Yeah, there's benefits to it. But most importantly, it's the discipline and consistency with it. You saying, oh, I don't want to do it, but you do it. That's. That's what life is. Right. There's going to be moments where we're not always going to be happy. It's impossible to be happy 24 7. But it's about having that consistency that way we can obtain and develop and become better and better people.

[D]

Agreed. I love that, man. Have you had Carlos Reyes speak at your event? We did shout out to Carlos.

[C]

Yeah. He was at our first one. He was at our first one. I met Carlos through Tommy, actually.

[D]

Love it. What about this guy? I had him on yesterday. Moses Heredia. No, look into him.

[C]

Moses here?

[D]

Yeah. He's going to be the face of the Latino community. I told him what.

[C]

What service or industry is he in?

[D]

Payment processing. And he's. If he's not a billionaire already, he's on his way.

[C]

Yeah, I need to talk to him. For sure.

[D]

I'll connect you guys. But I think between those two, you and a few others, the Latino community is really going to explode, man. I'm excited to see it.

[C]

We're actually the fastest growing demographic in the US Right now in terms of like, population.

[D]

Oh, really?

[C]

Yeah, I think there was a. I saw a post. It's always social media. There was a census saying, like, by 2030, like we're going to be like 45 to 50% of the US is going to speak Spanish.

[D]

Wow.

[C]

So it comes to show, right? It's a strong language.

[D]

I mean, when I'm on flights out of Miami, it's all in Spanish.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[D]

No, but I see it everywhere now. Even in Vegas. There's. They're starting to creep in Spanish commercials and everything.

[C]

Yeah, man. We're a strong, worthy, strong work ethic. We have a good community, good foundation, good morals. We're family driven. And we want to come here for the same reason that anyone wants to come to this country. Amazing country. Just to be better.

[D]

Yeah. It's cool to see that next evolution though, rather than you guys being workers, being business owners. Because I saw. I'm dating a Latina and I saw her family and they were so smart, but yeah, they just worked non stop. They didn't know how to take. Her mom's from. Wow, I should know this. Bolivia. Her dad's from Paraguay.

[C]

That's awesome.

[D]

Yeah. But I saw them work their ass off. Like, her mom was a cleaner, similar to your mom, clean houses. And then her dad was a landscaper. But they could never take that next step of like, you know, being a business leader.

[C]

Yeah. And I think it comes down to financial literacy because a lot of people in our culture, we have the money, we have the liquid, but we don't have the understanding on where to put this money, how it works. Not necessarily a language barrier anymore because I think there's a lot of people that are bilingual, stuff like that. It's just about applying yourself and understanding it. But financial literacy plays a big, big role in the Hispanic community.

[D]

Right.

[C]

I think we're just afraid. We live in this shelter, in this bubble where. Which is unfortunate. It's very true, Carlos. Even we spoke about this a while ago, but we think everyone's against us. You know, I'm here. Like, I'm by myself. I'm in this country. Like, everyone's out to give me. But the secret to money is networking and working together. It's not a competition. It's a collaboration. I have no competition with my. With anyone. The only competition is myself. When I wake up in the morning, I promise you that.

[D]

That's interesting. I didn't know they thought that way, but, yeah, that would be counterintuitive to being collaborative with that mindset.

[C]

Yeah. Because they're thinking, what is he out to get from me? Because they think everyone's trying to get something, but at the end of the day, maybe we are in the longer scheme of things, but maybe at the same time, we want to help and build a relationship, so it's mutually beneficial.

[D]

Right.

[C]

That's what they have to understand.

[D]

Yeah. They need to be more willing to work together. Right. There's. There's that fear. When you're living in fear, it's tough to grow. It's almost impossible.

[C]

That's a lot of people, man. That's a lot of people. I lived in fear, too. The first time we had our first event, it was. It was tough. I did a lot of mistakes. I learned a lot from my mentor because he had big events. But for example, our first venue was $80,000.

[D]

Holy crap.

[C]

But then this is what I understood, though. I purposely knew what I was getting into, even though it was a nightmare and a headache. But creating that proof of concept and going all in on something, no matter that you're going to lose money, and knowing it and just being devoted to that will create something that will create a legacy. Because the people that saw that, they're like, yo, this kid didn't even, like, try to milk us for money or splurge us. Because there's people that do events just to give quick in and out, out. That's not how we did. We went all in, and they're like, wow. He. It was at the Bayou Music center in Houston. It's one of the big ones. We have Little Wayne, Eddie Murphy. So we went all in with that. We had a crazy VIP event. Great speakers as well. Tommy was also one of the speakers. Carlos was one of the speakers. Renee was one of the speakers as well. So just the fear of it, too, man. It's just putting that to the side and just not being afraid. Yeah, you can't.

[D]

Can't. Dude, I lost money in my first 10 events. I was.

[C]

Let me ask you a question. I'm curious, like, when you started this amazing thing, were you scared? The first.

[D]

Oh, yeah. I lost money the first six months. I was out $100,000.

[C]

Really?

[D]

And I was introverted, didn't know how to talk to people correctly. I mean, if you look back at my first 10 episodes, it's so cringe, really. Like, I don't need to. I don't even think I could. Yeah, they're on the YouTube. I'll never delete them because I think it's important to see where. Where I started. But, yeah, dude, I was nervous. Whenever you start something that you're not comfortable in, you're going to be nervous. So you just got to fight through that.

[C]

When did you kind of have that momentum push where you're like, all right, like, I'm building something, I'm creating something. It's slow, slow, slow. But then just, I would say the.

[D]

First profitable month, which was seven months in, I was like, okay, now I can, you know, maybe recruit my money, maybe even make money. Let me. Let me keep pushing, because I almost. I wasn't going to quit, but I was going to really take a step back because I invested almost everything I had at the time.

[C]

So it took you almost a year of consistency to see results?

[D]

I would say. So, yeah.

[C]

Wow.

[D]

Yeah. At least a year. And it. For. For me, a year is most people's five years. Because I was filming 50 episodes a month.

[C]

I was going to ask you that.

[D]

So for me, a year, it doesn't sound like a lot of time, but for most people, it probably would be because I'm all in.

[C]

Yeah. You know, how many episodes do you have now to this date?

[D]

We're past a thousand now. I don't air every single one I film, but I've filmed almost 1200, so I think I'm gonna release about 800, 900 of those, so. Almost a thousand, dude.

[C]

Wow.

[D]

Pretty crazy, right?

[C]

Yeah, man. I'm, like, at, like, 40 or 50.

[D]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

I mean, we started, like, three, four months ago.

[D]

Nice.

[C]

And I'm trying to get good quality people, which I think is a little tough, too.

[D]

Sometimes in Houston, it'll be probably tougher than Vegas.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. And then the thing that we're we're in house, so it's like, oh, do you do virtual?

[D]

Like, nah, brother, hell no.

[C]

Podcast. Is the podcast human to human interaction, I think is important as well.

[D]

There's very few shows that could pull off virtual.

[C]

Which ones do you think could pull off virtual?

[D]

There's one called My First Million.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

I watched every episode of that. I think Tim Ferriss's might be virtual, but he started so long ago that his audience was already used to that. And then the all in podcast. Just because there's four billionaires, it's hard to get them all in person.

[C]

So that's with Carlos, right?

[D]

Carlos? No. Is it? It might be.

[C]

I think so.

[D]

I know Chamath is on it. He's the only one I know. I think Chamath and David something. But yeah, not many shows. So don't. Don't go against the grain, you know what I mean? Don't try to stand out. There's always going to be outlier examples in any situation.

[C]

You're 100% right. I think what you're doing is absolutely incredible, by the way.

[D]

Thank you. Dude, It's.

[C]

That's not easy. 50. That's a lot of energy. People don't understand because they see it through, obviously social media and stuff, but the amount of energy that you exert in one show, it's. You're tired.

[D]

I. Oh, yeah, I come home drained some days for sure. But then that's where the biohacking kicks in. Like you said, the sauna, the cold plunge. Yeah. I started doing oxygen therapy lately.

[C]

Hyperbaric.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, those are super expensive, so if I could find one, then yeah. But if not, I'll use the mask with the cycle.

[C]

Do you do the hydrogen water, too?

[D]

Yeah, I do.

[C]

Work.

[D]

I don't know, to be honest. Who knows? But I know the power of belief and manifestation is so strong, even if it doesn't. Whatever. Like, I drink out of glass and I'm paying four times the price, but who knows if it actually has significant results?

[C]

Yeah, it's all a placebo. I mean. No, but you're right. I might have a lot of friends too, that drink through glass and organic and all this stuff.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, the microplastics is pretty concerning. They're finding in every organ. But even if you're drinking out of glass, it's still going to find its way in your body. So as I'm drinking Aquafino, which is like one of the worst one. But dude, it's been fun.

[C]

Your fridge, bro.

[D]

Yeah, that's that's on me.

[C]

I'm kidding.

[D]

Where can people find the event, the.

[C]

Book and yeah, brother, Instagram, Stephen Martinez S T h e n Martinez. And then on Tik tok, Stephen Martinez all together with two z's. And then on YouTube, if you put the American Dream podcast by Stephen Martinez, it should pop up.

[D]

Perfect. We'll link it all below. Thanks for coming on, man. I'll see you in Houston.

[C]

You will.

[D]

Y. See you guys.

[C]

Thank you.