Nvidia Investing $100B Into OpenAI, Starbucks Closing 400 Locations & Amazon's $2.5B Fine For Tricking Prime Members

Summary

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Rich Habits Podcast — Episode Summary

Episode Title: Nvidia Investing $100B Into OpenAI, Starbucks Closing 400 Locations & Amazon's $2.5B Fine For Tricking Prime Members
Hosts: Austin Hankwitz & Robert Croak
Date: September 26, 2025
Main Theme:
A rapid-fire breakdown of the week’s most impactful financial headlines, with practical insights on investing and business, followed by thoughtful Q&A advice for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

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Episode Overview

Austin and Robert kick off their new "Rich Habits Radar" Friday segment with in-depth discussions of three major stories:

1. Amazon’s $2.5B fine for Prime subscription tactics
2. Starbucks closing 400 stores and laying off 900 employees
3. Nvidia’s unprecedented $100B investment into OpenAI

They round out the episode with rapid-fire headlines—including government shutdown risks, crypto adoption, and auto industry signals—before diving into Q&A on loneliness in entrepreneurship, comparison traps, and smart business acquisitions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Amazon’s $2.5B Fine for Prime Subscription Practices

[00:58–03:18]

• Background:
  Amazon agrees to pay $2.5 billion after being accused of using ‘dark patterns’ in Prime sign-ups and making cancellations deliberately confusing.
  "The settlement is one of the largest consumer protection penalties ever imposed on a US-based tech company."
  — Robert Croak [01:50]

• Impact:
  Although the fine is only a fraction of Amazon’s revenue, the case sets a precedent for future design of subscription services.

  “While $2.5 billion is only a fraction of their half a trillion dollars in annual revenue, the ruling could set a precedent...”
  — Austin Hankwitz [02:35]

• Investor Take:
  Both hosts remain bullish on Amazon due to its unstoppable ad business and AWS. They caution listeners not to be spooked by the headline.

  “For me, this seems kind of like a nothing burger. Y’all shouldn’t get shaken out as investors...”
  — Austin Hankwitz [03:18]

2. Starbucks Closing 400 Underperforming Locations

[03:19–07:42]

• Announcement:
  Starbucks will close 400+ stores and eliminate around 900 jobs as part of a $1B restructuring.

  "Their CEO Brian Niccol framed the move as part of this back-to-Starbucks turnaround story, focused on elevating customer experience while restoring... financial discipline."
  — Austin Hankwitz [03:51]

• Context:
  Company faces slowing U.S. sales and rising labor costs; even flagship stores in Seattle are shuttering.

  “It’s notable given that Starbucks has long branded itself as a community-driven company... now it’s grappling with slowing U.S. sales and rising labor costs.”
  — Robert Croak [04:13]

• Turnaround Lessons for Investors:
  Store closures and layoffs are often the first step in a genuine turnaround, but patience is critical—success takes years, not months.

  “For a turnaround to be successful... new CEO, renew the vision, execute it. I think that this is Starbucks’ story right now.”
  — Robert Croak [05:01]

  “Turnarounds in publicly traded companies exist—they could be successful, but they take time and sometimes include some flashy headlines...”
  — Austin Hankwitz [07:23]

3. Nvidia’s $100B Investment Into OpenAI

[07:42–10:51]

• Deal Details:
  Nvidia is committing $100 billion over multiple years, providing hardware and custom chips that form the backbone of OpenAI’s infrastructure.

  “This isn’t just a supplier contract. It will literally cement Nvidia as the backbone of OpenAI’s infrastructure...”
  — Austin Hankwitz [08:39]

• Strategic Importance:
  The investment signals how costly—and moat-driven—AI research is, as Nvidia locks in top-tier partnerships and gains long-term dominance.

  “The hundred billion dollars really underscores just how resource intensive generative AI has become and how much of a moat Nvidia is building...”
  — Robert Croak [09:23]

• Investor Advice:
  Nvidia remains the clear “AI play of the decade,” and listeners are encouraged to look at both AI training and inference markets.

  “Nvidia remains the AI play of the decade for us. This headline just solidifies that.”
  — Austin Hankwitz [10:24]

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Rapid Fire Headlines

[10:52–18:41]

Austin’s Picks:

1. 77% Chance of Government Shutdown

   • Senate rejected a stopgap measure; shutdown could inhibit economic data and cost $1B/week in economic activity.
   • “No one wants a government shutdown. It impacts everybody in a very negative manner.”
     — Austin Hankwitz [11:54]

2. Elon Musk’s xAI Approved for U.S. Government Use

   • Federal agencies gain access to Grok4 AI; Elon is working closely with the Trump administration.
   • “Seems like Elon and Trump are friends now. What happened there, man?”
     — Austin Hankwitz [12:56]

3. Auto Industry Warning Signs

   • Profit squeeze due to tariffs, auto lender bankruptcy, rising vehicle prices, and consumer pullbacks.
   • “I'm not spending $46,000... What kind of a world do we live in, Robert?”
     — Austin Hankwitz [14:15]

Robert’s Picks:

1. Morgan Stanley Launches Crypto on E*Trade

   • Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana now available for E*Trade’s 5 million users.

2. U.S. GDP Upgraded to 3.8%

   • Attributed to companies loading up on inventory ahead of new tariffs.

3. CleanSpark Secures $100M for Bitcoin Mining

   • Funds will expand mining capacity; CleanSpark up 58% in six months.

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Side Hustle Spotlight: Solo Bitcoin Mining

[17:39–21:29]

• Austin discusses a $40 “solo miner” device that could—in theory—mine full Bitcoin if lucky, asking Robert if it’s worth trying.
• Robert shares past experiences: possible if electric costs are low, but beware noise and heat.
• Both consider trying different types of miners as a fun experiment.

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Q&A: Entrepreneurship, Mindset, & Main Street Deals

[21:29–38:56]

1. Overcoming the Loneliness of Business Ownership

Question from Claire F.

• Entrepreneurship is isolating—friends and employees can’t relate; should you join mastermind groups?

  “It's like eating glass sometimes. It's pretty intense.”
  — Austin Hankwitz [23:09]

• Advice:

  • Join niche Facebook groups, entrepreneurial communities like Rich Habits Network, and possibly seek therapy.
  • Importance of a support system free from envy or jealousy.

  “It's very difficult... If you're crushing it, you can't share that. If you're struggling, you can't share it either... Get outside your normal circle.”
  — Robert Croak [25:00]

  • Book recommendation: How I Built This

2. Managing Comparison & Imposter Syndrome

Question from David S.

• Comparing your progress to others can be healthy if it’s about benchmarking, but avoid letting it become discouraging.

• Robert’s approach: Focus on progress versus last year; comfort is the enemy of success.

  “You will never win the comparison game... Most of what we see on the internet is fake.”
  — Robert Croak [31:21]

  • Remember the power of compounding and that year two often can’t compare to someone else’s year nine.

3. Smart Diligence for Main Street Acquisitions

Question from Rebecca L.

• Buying a small mobile car wash: what to watch for in diligence and deal protections?

• Robert’s checklist:

  • Prioritize established locations (traffic habits matter)
  • Deep-dive the books—focus on revenue and customer traffic, less on bottom line if books are sloppy
  • Hire experts to inspect equipment
  • Investigate local competition and market trends
  • Determine if buying land/building or just business
  • Use a broker to price for value (owner’s discretionary income or EBITDA)
  • Seek deal protections: holdbacks, transition periods, non-competes

  “It’s pretty simple to figure out what it’s worth... If you need me to take a look at it, DM me or join the Rich Habits Network and I’ll help you through the process.”
  — Robert Croak [37:13]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Turnarounds in publicly traded companies exist—they could be successful, they just take time and sometimes include some flashy headlines...”
  — Austin Hankwitz [07:23]

• “Comfort is the death of success. That is why the comparison is so important—not the fake comparison you see on Instagram and TikTok, but understanding if you don’t improve, you get comfortable, and that is the death of your future success.”
  — Robert Croak [30:38]

• “You are always one meeting, one video, one phone call away from a totally different life.”
  — Robert Croak [33:19]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:58] — Main headlines introduction
• [01:50] — Amazon’s $2.5B Prime settlement deep-dive
• [03:19] — Starbucks closures & what it means for turnarounds
• [07:42] — Nvidia’s $100B investment in OpenAI
• [10:52] — Rapid fire news: government shutdown, xAI, auto industry
• [17:39] — Bitcoin solo miner side hustle discussion
• [21:29] — Audience Q&A begins: entrepreneurship loneliness
• [27:53] — Book recommendations for entrepreneurs
• [28:39] — Managing comparison and imposter syndrome
• [34:29] — Smart diligence for small business acquisitions

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Final Takeaways

This episode delivers a high-value blend of market analysis, grounded investment wisdom, and entrepreneurial guidance—peppered with real talk about the emotional and practical realities of running a business. Austin and Robert’s sharp breakdowns and honest anecdotes make this an engaging listen for anyone interested in money, investing, or starting and scaling their own ventures.

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Transcript

[Austin Hankwitz]

Tuesday on NBC. Jimmy Fallon and Bozma St. John host the highly anticipated new competition show. I hire 10 creatives from all walks of life. They will be battling it out to.

[Robert Kroke]

See who can impress the world's biggest brands. This is a huge opportunity.

[Austin Hankwitz]

This is the battle for the next big idea.

[Robert Kroke]

This is not Play Play.

[Austin Hankwitz]

We're spending millions of dollars. I'm so excited to embark on this adventure with all of you. Say the Best Idea on Brand with Jimmy Fallon Series premiere Tuesday on NBC.

[TJ Watt]

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[Austin Hankwitz]

Public.Com presents this episode of the Rich Habits Radar, a new Friday episode of the Rich Habits podcast, where every Friday morning we're coming at you with the biggest headlines impacting you and your money. My name is Austin Hank Witz and I'm joined by my co host Robert Kroke. The three things sitting at the top of our Rich Habits Radar this week include Amazon's two and a half billion dollar fine for allegedly tricking people into subscribing to Amazon Prime, Starbucks closure of over 400 stores, and the Elim foundation of over 900 jobs. And of course, we have to talk about Nvidia's $100 billion investment into OpenAI. And be sure to stick around to the end to hear more about the 77% chance of a government shutdown in the year 2025. So Robert, let's dig into our first story.

[Robert Kroke]

That's right, Amazon has agreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle allegations that it tricked millions of consumers into signing up for its prime memberships. Rich regulators accused the company of using dark patterns design tactics that made it easier to join prime than it is to cancel it. The settlement is one of the largest consumer protection penalties ever imposed on a US based tech company.

[Austin Hankwitz]

I remember when I joined Amazon prime in college. I wonder. I wonder if they use those design tactics on me.

[Robert Kroke]

Probably so.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Prime currently has over 200 million members worldwide, annual fee of about 139 per year, so their service generates more than 25 billion in annual subscription revenue for the company. The case fee focused not only on the signups, but also on how Amazon made cancellation deliberately Confusing multiple step process, not easy to do. So while two and a half billion is only a fraction of their half a trillion dollars in annual revenue, the ruling could set a precedent for how big tech designs subscription services. So Robert, what does this mean for us and our money?

[Robert Kroke]

Well, it means you and I are still very bullish long term on Amazon and we both think it's a great time to buy. We while they're beaten down a little bit, their advertising business seems unstoppable. AWS is trending in the right direction, albeit slower than Azure or gcp. And they're about to surpass Walmart in annual retail revenue.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Yeah, for me, this seems kind of like a nothing burger. Y' all shouldn't get shaken out as investors for other big tech companies though hopefully this could set a precedent to begin to crack down on predatory subscription tactics. And as a reminder, Monday's episode this week was all about subscriptions. So if you want to learn about that and how to sort of audit your own subscriptions, be sure to listen to Monday's episode. Now, Robert, let's talk about Starbucks's closure of over 400 stores and the elimination of over 900 jobs. So Starbucks announced it will close hundreds of their underperforming stores across North America and cut out about 900 corporate and support jobs as part of a $1 billion restructuring plan. Their CEO Brian Nicol framed the move as part of this back to Starbucks turnaround story, focused on elevating customer experience while restoring the ever important financial discipline of the business.

[Robert Kroke]

Yeah, one of the most high profile closures will be the Seattle Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill. And it's one of their flagship stores just minutes away from headquarters. The decision is notable given that Starbucks has long branded itself as a community driven company, but but it's now grappling with slowing U.S. sales and rising labor costs.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Now here's the fun thing. Starbucks has promised to reinvest savings into remodeling over 1,000 existing stores into new format designs for mobile orders and efficiency. Let's just hope they don't remodel it in such a way like the Cracker Barrel people did. And everyone gets all mad. But I do have a Starbucks here by my place here in Nashville. So if y' all want to come remodel this one, it is definitely in the need of a nice little refresh. So Robert, what does this mean for you and your money?

[Robert Kroke]

Yeah, I think it can be a learning lesson for everyone listening right now as it relates to a turnaround story. You know, Starbucks is a wonderful example of a turnaround story taking place at the moment right before your eyes. But so is open door. And let's get this straight. For a turnaround to be successful, a few things really need to take place. Number one, existing management is booted and a new CEO and executive team is brought in. Number two, renew the vision for the company's future. And most importantly, the vision has to be executed on. And I think that this is Starbucks story right now. And they've just got to get it together and figure out what's next for them and get the stock back up because it's been flat for a long time.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Yeah, Brian Nichols, this new CEO of Starbucks, who by the way, is the ex CEO of Chipotle and Taco Bell. Now, you know, they're sharing the vision for this company with the world, but they're also sticking to the plan that they had shared six or nine months ago. Right. They came out with this back to Starbucks sort of vision. And sometimes, most of the time, whenever you sort of share a vision and you got to do some things to stick to that plan that involves cost cutting and getting rid of failing sort of branches of a business. Usually what happens in response to layoffs like this, though, in some store closures, depending on how large is a pop in the stock price. We didn't see that today with Starbucks. Starbucks stock is still down on the week and on the month and on the year. I don't own the stock. Who knows if it's a good stock to own. But I think what's most important to sort of realize here is that as investors, as sophisticated investors, we need to understand how a turnaround story really takes place and not just the hype around it in the beginning, because there was a lot of hype with Starbucks. Robert, I'm sure you remember when they brought on Brian Niccol. But the long, grueling patience that comes with a turnaround story. There was a company I worked for, it was publicly traded. The Stock was down 20, 30, you know, is where it was trading at at the time. And they were getting sued by the Department of Justice. And it was all these crazy things they were doing wrong. So they got rid of their old executive team. They brought in the guy that I worked for, his name was Paul Kucero. And he turned the whole company around. Now, it took six years, right? But the stock price went from about $25 a share to about $400 a share in that six year period of time after having a lot of struggle. So it's it's possible. And I think this is a really good opportunity, Robert, for us, our audience, that turnarounds in publicly traded companies exist. They could be successful. They just take time and sometimes include some flashy headlines of store closures and layoffs.

[Robert Kroke]

Yeah, I mean, we talk about intel all the time right now because they're in the news and every top of everyone's mind. But a year ago, when intel was really beaten down and written off and everyone was saying they missed the AI party, look at the turnaround story there. I mean, they have been able to really turn the stock around. It's doing very, very well. So you are absolutely right. For anyone listening and following along, it's all about patience and finding these turnaround stories at the right time. And sometimes this is a really incredible way to make really great money. So let's get into our third point today. Nvidia is reportedly committing as much as $100 billion to deepen its partnership with OpenAI in what could become one of the most consequential investments in the AI arms race. The deal is said to be spread across multiple years and tied directly to supplying AI with access to Nvidia's most advanced GPUs and custom chips.

[Austin Hankwitz]

So to put that number in perspective, that $100 billion investment into OpenAI is nearly equivalent to Nvidia's entire annual revenue run rate, which over the last 12 months came in at about $120 billion. So this isn't just a supplier contract. It will literally cement Nvidia as the backbone of OpenAI's infrastructure at a time when competitors like Microsoft and Google and Amazon are all racing to scale their own AI platforms. I will say, Robert, I did see something posted on x recently how nine of the top 10 AI lab are customers of Google Cloud. I saw that. That was interesting, so be sure to keep that in youralls back pocket. But goodness, how interesting is this investment?

[Robert Kroke]

The hundred billion dollars really underscores just how resource intensive generative AI has become and how much of a moat Nvidia is building by locking in the most prominent research lab in the space. And investors will be watching closely to see how this translates into both revenue recognition and Nvidia's dominance in the years ahead.

[Austin Hankwitz]

So here's why it matters for you and your money. Nvidia's done a really good job of building these types of partnerships with their customers. Right? We got OpenAI, we got Core, we just to name a few. However, I want to encourage people to think beyond this generative AI Training. Right. A lot of this hardware. But now to also think about the inference side. I think it was Larry Ellison, a recent earnings call from Oracle. He talked about how inference is going to be bigger than gen AI training. Right. So think robotaxis, humanoid robotics and other AI heavy technologies. Nvidia remains the AI play of the decade for us, hands down. So this headline, this whole news story just solidifies that.

[Robert Kroke]

Yeah, I agree with you. Nvidia has been a real player for years and years and it just continues to grow. And I think they've done a tremendous job with all these partnerships in really solidifying their status as the number one. I'm not saying we shouldn't be investing in other companies. There's a lot of other companies we like and we think have a long growth period ahead as well. But Nvidia is definitely our top dog in this space.

[Austin Hankwitz]

So, Robert, let's now jump into our rapid fire headlines this segment of the show. I bring three interesting headlines that caught my attention. Robert brings three of his own and we just kind of get into it. So my three here. The first one is there's a 77% chance that the government's going to shut down in the year 2025 as soon as even September 30th. The second one is Elon Musk's X AI has now been approved for use by the US government. And three, the auto industry sharing some warning signs for us. So let's talk about this government shutdown. The Senate recently rejected a stopgap measure that would have kept the lights on through November, in part because Democrats insisted on adding new funding for Medicaid and ACA subsidies. Now, from a market and public impact perspective, the risks are real, okay? Delays in economic data releases could happen. Think inflation and jobs. That could lead the Federal Reserve in a spot that's even trickier than where they are right now. Kind of flying blind. They don't really see the data on what's happening in the economy. Harder to calibrate interest rates to where they should be, which in our opinion is much lower than where they are today. Travel and tourism. You know, analysts project that $1 billion could be lost per week in economic activity from park closures, museum shutdowns and airline disruptions. So I don't care what side of the fence you're on. No wants a government shutdown. It impacts everybody in a very negative manner. Hopefully this doesn't happen, but definitely something to keep an eye on if you are an investor. Up Next is Elon's XAI being approved for use by the US government. So federal agencies can now gain access to Grok4 and Grok4 fast for 42 cents per organization for the next 18 months. And there's a quote here. The quote is, Xai's Frontier AI model is now unlocked for every federal agency, empowering the US Government to innovate faster and accomplish its mission more efficiently than ever before. We look forward to continuing to work with President Trump and his team to rapidly deploy AI throughout the government for the benefit of the country. It's a quote from Elon. Seems like Elon and Trump are friends now. What happened there, man?

[Robert Kroke]

They're back. They're back and things are happening. You can see that by how quickly some of Elon's initiatives have been back at it and added to the US Government's playbook. So I like it. I think progress is always good to make the government more efficient because they waste more money than anyone I've ever seen any organization on earth.

[Austin Hankwitz]

I could not agree more that the government's very inefficient and we need to do something about it. It's just so funny how someone can go tweeting that the President is on a specific list, and then now they're buddies again. So who knows what's going on there? But definitely funny, to say the least. And now my last call out about the auto industry warning sign. So the auto industry is flashing a couple warning signs on the state of the U.S. economy as automake profits are getting squeezed by tariffs. Prime auto lender recently collapsed and filed bankruptcy. And car dealers like CarMax are warning of a consumer pullback in spending. High vehicle prices and high interest rates have weighed on shoppers who are already facing high food prices and feeling less secure in their own jobs. New vehicle prices are up 3% since last year to an average of $45,795 in September.

[Robert Kroke]

Here's.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Here's what I'm not doing. I'm not spending $46,000. Y' all remember when you can buy a new car for, like, high 20s, low 30s, and you go, that, that. That Toyota RAV4 that your uncle just bought, and you go, oh, man, how much you pay for that? You know, I got 32, 000. Now it's 46. What kind of a world do we live in, Robert?

[Robert Kroke]

Yeah, and it's crazy. You know, I talked a long time ago with you, Austin. I said we should launch a truck company to offer affordable trucks to everyone in the US because the average truck price now is over $50,000. And I saw that Toyota has a model, a basic model, awesome truck for workers and anyone that wants a truck for $10,000, but it's not allowed to be sold in the United States. And that really bugs me because a lot of people just need affordable trucks, just like they need affordable housing. And it doesn't exist in the US Market. So the automakers are going to see a big downturn, in my opinion, with a lot of inventory. And I look to see a world where we see this 2.9 financing again very soon because they're going to have to unload a lot of inventory that's sitting. So let's get into my three rapid radars today. Starting off with Morgan Stanley launches cryptocurrency on the E Trade platform. They just announced this and they're joining the crypto party by adding Cryptocurrency to E Trade, which I think is awesome. They're only going to begin using Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana up for sale for their clients, but they currently have 5 million active users. And as a reference against competition, Robinhood has about 11 million active users. But E Trade is still very big. And I'm glad that that Morgan Stanley has joined the party because I think this is great for adoption and growth in the crypto space because seeing further institutional adoption and allowing more people, especially with E Trade, because it's an older audience, get involved in crypto easier, is great for the space moving forward. My second point today is that the Commerce Department upgraded their second quarter gdp. What does this mean? It means they upgraded it to 3.8% and this is mainly due to US companies loading up on inventory in Q1 ahead of the Trump tariff tantrum, causing imports to fall dramatically in Q2. So depending on each country's tariff agreement, how that shakes out in the coming months, we will keep a close eye on this. But a lot of people were smart, a lot of these companies got ahead of it and that is what's causing the GDP to improve in that situation with less imports in Q2 of this year. And number three for me is CleanSpark just secured a $100 million Bitcoin facility. So they've secured this facility and it's a credit facility with two prime. That's their partnership. And the company plans to use these funds for its bitcoin mining hash rate improvement and invest further into more high performance compute. This will help CleanSpark grow its data center portfolio to over $400 million, which I think is great news for CleanSpark, which is already up 58% in the past six months. We've been buyers of CleanSpark now for about two years. So I still think there's a lot of room to grow ahead for CleanSpark. And those are my three rich habits Radar points today.

[Austin Hankwitz]

So here's my question for you, Robert. I saw a video. Stevie Sells is the guy who posted it. He's so funny. He's great. I saw it on Facebook Reels, which, yes, I watch Facebook reels, and he bought a single bitcoin miner. And I'm not talking about like you join a pool of bitcoin miners and you get the. He bought this. It's the size of my iPhone, right? So it's this little thing. You plug it in, you do the Internet, and it's. It's like a one and bajillionth chance that you. That this thing ever actually mines a bitcoin because it's like one thing, part of this hole. But if it does, somehow, some way mine a bitcoin like it, it completes the hash, it will get 3.125 bitcoin as a reward. And there's a headline that happened, I want to say, about six or nine months ago where one of these single miners, like some guy plugged thing in and it worked. And like he was able to get three bitcoin as a reward for completing the hash or whatever the, the technical term is there. Have you ever heard of this thing? And is this something I should just go plug into my, my lamp or my, my little charger here and just have it running just in case as a little bit of schmuck insurance?

[Robert Kroke]

I think. So we had a bunch of them back in the day. And then even as recent as four or five years ago, I had these little ASICS miners that while I was mining Solana and some other coins, and they didn't do as planned. But here's the key. If you live in an area where you have a low cost for electricity and your home has a really good rate on electricity, it can be profitable. Just buy or beware. Don't go out and buy $20,000 worth of miners and put them in your house because they're loud, they run really hot, and they will eat you alive in electrical cost. But if you wanted to try one and see if it can outrace the electrical cost, it's a lot of fun and I love it for you because you can have some fun with it and try to beat the schmuck insurance. But yes, they do work. It just depends on what you're trying to mine and what your electrical cost is.

[Austin Hankwitz]

I found it here. If you're watching on Spotify, open up your eyes and look. We're sharing it here on the screen. This is the one that he had. It's 40 bucks. New solo miner, NMM miner V2, whatever. Low power Bitcoin, 2.8 inch display and Wi fi like it's the size of your iPhone. You plug it in and it's just like if you get lucky, you get a bitcoin. If not, it's like no impact on power, right? Because it's like the size of your iPhone. It's like charging your iPhone. So I don't know. I'm going to get one. Maybe we should get a couple, roll the dice, see what happens. And maybe we could turn into CleanSpark 2.0.

[Robert Kroke]

There you go. I mean, it's fun. I mean, I used to have them in my office and it was fun watching them do their thing and produce, you know, all these different coins. So it's definitely could be a side hustle, especially if you catch it at a time when crypto is moving upwards and, and not stagnant. So you can actually make money. But yeah, I think you should do it. It'll be a blast. And I'll go ahead and buy the miner that I used to have and I'll test that one versus the $40 one and we'll see which one does better.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Well, if the $40 one actually does end up being the. The solo miner and completes the hash. Because the thing is, like how this works is you can either join a mining pool and you get a pro rata share of the bitcoin, or you could just do it yourself. And so these solo miners, they just do it themselves. They don't join the pools.

[Robert Kroke]

Right?

[Austin Hankwitz]

So you try and like be the one to complete it. And if you don't complete it, then you don't get anything at all. Versus you could have got a little something in a mining pool. But if you do complete it, you get all 100 of that three plus Bitcoin. All you need is one. All you need is.

[Robert Kroke]

I'm excited for you to try it. I love it when you get excited about these little side hustles and fun and. And that's why we do what we do. But you gotta definitely order it.

[Austin Hankwitz]

All right, y', all, let's now jump into our Q A section of the episode. As always, if you have a question to ask us, you can email us at rich habits podcast gmail.com you can DM us on Instagram at Rich Hab Podcast. And the questions we like to answer on these episodes are more related to entrepreneurship side hustles. Just earning money, right? Being a small business owner, all in between. So if you have a question for us as it relates to earning more money, making more money, starting that business, anything related to that, be sure to ask it so we can answer it on these new Friday episodes. So our first question comes from Claire F. Claire says nobody talks about how isolating it feels to run a business. My friends work nine to five jobs and don't understand. And I can't really vent to my employees about stress, cash flow, or uncertainty. It often feels like I carry the whole way to the company by myself. How do business owners find community or support systems where they can be vulnerable and honest? Is it worth joining masterminds, networking groups, or even getting a coach? Or is that just another distraction from real work? This is probably the most important, most impactful, but no one talks about it. Parts of small business ownership, the absolute mental gymnastics that I'm sure you've gone through, that I go through on everything that happens with my mental health because I'm a business owner that works 16 hours a day and five families depend on me to show up and do like, you know, my dad died two months ago, but I've got this podcast. A hundred thousand people, like, depend on me every week to come here and like, talk. And so it's like, like, that is mental warfare in itself. So it's like, there's a lot of, like, battles that go on in your brain when it comes to being a business owner. That. It's like eating glass sometimes. It's. It's pretty. It's pretty intense. So my advice for you, Claire F. Would be a couple things. The first thing is I don't know about getting a coach, but I do know about joining those communities and support systems. How do you do that?

[Robert Kroke]

I was gonna say join our community. Hell yes. Rich Habits Network is filled with business owners.

[Austin Hankwitz]

Yeah. So to, yeah, to Robert's point, Rich Habits Network, we have tons of business owners in there that I'm sure can support. But more specifically, like, tactically speaking, here for you, I would look and try and join a Facebook group of, like, entrepreneurs in my state or entrepreneurs that are selling on Etsy or, like, niche down into what you're doing specifically to give you a little bit of, like, relatability. You know, entrepreneurs that have trucking businesses or maybe you know, Etsy sellers literally are a great example. Like, like, oh, you sell on Etsy. Like, or maybe you, you know, whatever. But I would start there. The other thing I would do is I'd talk to somebody, like an actual, you know, therapist. Their help, I'm sure is great. I've heard good things about them. I don't really do this part of it, but I've heard really good things and good feedback from people that, that do need to have that communication. Luckily, I guess my, you know, Ireland is my, my therapist and so are you, Robert. But yeah, it's just like one of those things where it's the dark side of entrepreneurship. It's depressing, it's lonely. It is very scary knowing that if you do something wrong, you can't make payroll. And now someone can't pay their mortgage and their kids can't go on the field trip. Or you do something right and you can't share it with your employees because you don't want them to think you're bragging, right? It's this really weird part of your life where you have to be so like to yourself until you find the support system. And also, Robert, and I'll let you jump in here in a second, talk about the importance though of finding a support system that's not driven by any envy and jealousy, but instead of true support.

[Robert Kroke]

Yeah, 100%. I'm going to start by piggybacking what you said. And it's very difficult because money and success in business and in entrepreneurship is very difficult because if you're crushing it, you can't share that because then there will be jealousy and envy from your friends, your family, your employees. But if you're struggling, you can't share it either because then you lose the culture. The employees will start to look for other jobs. They'll start to doubt you and wonder where the company is headed. So it is a very, very slippery slope. And I remember when Silly Bands, prior to Silly Bands, we had two really down years. But I kept every employee, I paid everyone, I did everything right. And then six months after Silly Bands blew up, then all of a sudden I wasn't giving enough. I wasn't sharing enough, I didn't give big enough bonuses. And it really broke my heart because here I was, I couldn't tell people how much I was struggling during that two year period. But they got their paychecks on time every time. And then as soon as you start really making money and become successful, then you all of a sudden are back against a different wall. Because people are up against you. So my recommendation when it comes to you for a support team is get outside of your normal circle. Like Austin alluded to, join places like the Rich Habits Network, where a lot of business owners are, engage with them, ask them, how did you get through the tough times? What did you do in these instances? Because anyone that has owned a business has gone through it. Nobody just has hockey stick growth. And it's easy. And that's the part that is the most difficult. Because you're right, those 60, 70, 80, 90 hour weeks can be very lonely when you're doing well or when you're struggling. Because at the end of the day it's hard because you can't really share with people inside your network. You have to get outside your network and say, hey, I'm struggling right now. Cash flow's not there, receivables aren't coming in, I'm struggling to make payroll. What should I do? And that is why everyone is not meant to be an entrepreneur. I know it's a fancy word for the last five or ten years where everyone says you got to go out and do your own thing, but a lot of people like the security of a paycheck and they like to be able to punch out, go home, hang out with their kids, hang out with their wife, their boyfriend, and not have to worry about work again till the next day or on Monday morning. So I hope that helps for your question and anyone that is suffering in business ownership and dealing with the loneliness and the uncertainty.

[Austin Hankwitz]

So I guess my follow up question for you, Robert, and I'd argue that this is pretty important too. I think a lot of that loneliness, maybe a portion of the loneliness, not a lot of it, but a portion of that loneliness can be sort of like aided by reading books of people who've gone through what you're going through, going through and are truly seeing the other side of it. So do you have any favorite business books, Robert, that you'd recommend?

[Robert Kroke]

Yeah, I would say probably How I Built this is probably the best one for this question. I think it's a really, really good book. And you're right, you just have to find a way to get that piece because otherwise you will drive yourself crazy, especially during the difficult times. And so yeah, I would start by books following people. Like you're listening to this podcast and you're asking questions, so obviously you're in the right place. But just find other like minded people that have had success in failure and have questions, have conversations, get to know them. Because all of it is important to help you get to the other side, because we all don't know what we don't know. And the learning curve is so important over time when you're running your own business and building your own brand.

[Austin Hankwitz]

So our next question comes from David S. David says, I'm two years into my business, and even though we're profitable, I constantly compare myself to others who seem way ahead. Bigger teams, faster growth, more polished brands. It makes me feel like I'm not moving fast enough or that I'm not a real entrepreneur. How do you manage imposter syndrome and avoid getting trapped in the comparison game? What practical things can I do to stay focused on my lane and measure progress in a healthier way? Oh, gosh, this is so good. So I have two, like, perspectives on this. The first one is, I think comparison's healthy. It's not something you should do all the time, but it's healthy because it allows you to sort of reset expectations. We can compare our podcast to another podcast. Are they doing thumbnails better than us? How often are they posting? What are their ratings and reviews look like? How are they, you know, are they doing an email newsletter as well? Right. So it's like, it's healthy to compare your business to other businesses, in my humble opinion, in moderation, assuming you're doing it from a place of growth, in a place of excitement, how. What else can I do? How can I benchmark my progress against others, things like that. Now, the comparison, I think, unfortunately, that you're trying to argue on here, though, is that. And I feel bad I'm not doing this. And it's, like, bringing you down. So, Robert, how did you manage imposter syndrome in the beginning and sort of not falling for the comparison game?

[Robert Kroke]

Well, you said past tense. I feel like this question is me every day, every single day where I sit there and go, man, we've got to do better with YouTube for the rich habits. Man, that person's thumbnails, like you alluded to, are better than our thumbnails. It is an everyday process, but comfort is the death of success. So that is why the comparison is so important, because not the fake comparison you see on Instagram and TikTok, but just understanding that if you don't have the tenacity and the drive to want to continually improve, you're going to get comfortable and you're going to get lazy, and that is going to be the death of your future success. So for me, it's an everyday struggle where I think, man, I Got to do better with my videos. I got to do better here, there. It's never ends. So for me, it is not past tense. It is current. And every single day for me to strive to be better. You know, we hear these sayings that, you know, entrepreneurs and people that want to be great need to improve 1% a day. And I think that is a great mantra to live by, because as long as you see what you want in the world and in your career and you can lay out a plan to improve all the time, you won't fall victim to comfort and you'll continue to grow. So for me, to answer your question, I don't get caught up in the comparison game like you're talking about just because I'm going to do the best that I can of my. With my 30 years of experience. And so to prevent it and not have imposter syndrome. Look at where you were last year. Look at where you were two years ago. See the improvement. Chart it out. Not necessarily just from a financial perspective, but a perspective overall of your business. Have you grown? Have you built better processes? Are you hiring better people to fill in the gaps? All of those ways are how I look at it, of how I'm growing and how I'm avoiding the comparison game. Because you will never win the comparison game because most of what we see on the Internet is fake. I see it every day. These people drive in Lamborghinis and they're in front of a mansion, and then I find out they don't even own the mansion, it's rented and they're broke and they get a lawsuit. So I think it's all about staying in your lane, making sure you're continually improving. And as long as you can do those two things, you will get there as long as you stay consistent. That's my take.

[Austin Hankwitz]

I really think that it's one of those. It's like a muscle, you know, it's like anything else. I think the most important thing to keep into perspective here is the power of compounding in your business and how compounding takes years and years and years before it actually starts, right? And sometimes the comparison that you, you're comparing your year two to someone's year nine, right? And so like, you have to understand that person's been compounding for nine years. So therefore they will have day to day, month to month, year to year, faster growth and whatever that they introduce and do than you will, because you're only on your year two, or maybe you're comparing your week three to someone's Year eight. Right. So like, just really keep things in perspective and yeah, you're a real entrepreneur. Come on, get that, get that out of there. David, you're a real entrepreneur. Absolutely.

[Robert Kroke]

Yeah. It reminds me of a story that just happened the other day for anyone listening, you know, and I always talk about your one meeting, one video, one phone call, one email away from a totally different life. And I'm living proof of of it many times in my career. But I had a friend the other day that is a very gifted doctor. He said, I want to build my personal brand so I can help more people. I explained it to him. I said, sure, I'll help you along the way. It's going to take a long time to build. You're going to have to be patient. It's going to take work because it is a lot of work. You got to write, you got to film, you got to edit all those things. And he did a great job for about 60 days. And then he called me the other day. He said, hey, I'm going to call it quits for now. Now it's more work than I thought and I'm not growing. I said, what do you mean you're not growing? I went to his TikTok. I go, you have two videos already in 60 days with over 200,000 views. Some people take years to get to that, but that is the nature of the world we live in because people think everything should come quicker than it will. And they compare, like Austin said, someone's year eight to their year one. So don't give up, up. Keep doing what you're doing, keep learning, keep reading and you will be just fine.

[Austin Hankwitz]

You're gonna be great. You're gonna be so great. So our last question comes from Rebecca L. Rebecca says, I'm considering buying a small mobile car wash business from a retiring owner. The numbers look fine, but I'm worried about hidden issues, customer relationships tied to the owner, sloppy bookkeeping or bad equipment that I won't notice until it actually breaks. What does a smart diligence checklist look like for a a tiny Main street acquisition? And what simple deal protections like holdbacks, transition periods, non competes should I consider for this deal? Robert, this is a you question.

[Robert Kroke]

Yes, this is definitely a me question and they might not like the answer. I personally would buy what's already there because you have traffic habits. People know there's a car wash there. Now, they might not like the current ownership, but that's easy to overcome with a cleanup up with value add, with proper marketing and all of that, because with you building your first business like this from scratch, there is two years of diligence, getting the, you know, the lot and the property prepared and getting through all of the licensing and contracting and all of that stuff. And a lot can change in that amount of time. Because let's say you buy a piece of land that you love and you start the process and it takes two years. What if somebody else is already in year two and they break ground a month after you get all of your approvals two blocks away from you and you're $2 million in and you're like, oh my God. And they already have 15 other locations. So they can give crazy deals that you can't offer because they have economies of scale and then all of a sudden you're stuck. So in this instance, if you can buy the car wash that is already there and they're ready to retire and it' decent shape and you can do make sure you get a contractor out to help you with all the equipment, get pricing and make sure you understand what you're buying. I think that's the better play because you can be up and running in weeks, not years, and put yourself in a good position because it's just like a restaurant. Once you get people in the habit of going to a location for tacos, if you fail and another taco place goes in and does it better, people are already used to going to that location for tacos. Same thing goes with the laundromat and a car wash. So I hope this helps because I think it's a better idea to buy something that's already there. And if you need me to take a look at it, DM me or join the Rich Habits Network and I'll help you through the process. So what does a smart acquisition checklist look like for buying and acquiring this business? First, I would start with the books. You gotta look at the books, see where they're at, see what the revenue is. Don't worry about the bottom line as much, especially if you believe maybe that there's some sloppy bookkeeping, you don't care as much about that. You want to see how many customers come through that location a month. So then you can really deduce the numbers and be able to break it down. If you improve everything, you offer packages, what does that look like from visits? So you can calculate the monthly revenue better. Also, I would get somebody out there that is an expert in repair in these types of car washes, have them do a full once over on the whole place. You might have to pay them a few hundred bucks, have them come by, look at the age, how well has the equipment been kept up, all of those things so you understand what you're walking into. I would do that as well, but also I would check the competition because this person may say they're retiring and that's why they're selling. But there could be three other car washes being built sequentially right near you, which would really deplete your monthly visits. So that would be the main things I would look at. But then also get reference from a broker or somebody that can help you figure out what price to pay based on either owner's discretionary income, because that's going to catch them in the sloppy books. Or maybe you could go off of EBITDA and look at it that way. But it's pretty simple to figure out what it's worth and also determine are you buying the land or just the business? Because remember, if you're buying just the business, you need to determine are you buying the building in the business or just the business. And that will come into play as well. So if you're unsure of this and you want me to take a look at it, DM me on Instagram at Robert Crok Join the Rich Habits Network and send me a message in the school community and I will take a look to help you out.

[Austin Hankwitz]

I don't think I've got anything to add there, Robert what a wonderful breakdown everyone. Thank you so much for tuning in to this week's episode of the Rich Habits Radar, a new Friday episode of the Rich Habits Podcast where we talk about the biggest headlines and happenings impacting you and your money. As always, these are new episodes so we want your feedback. Leave us a comment on Spotify say hey guys, I love it when you talk about this. Or hey, you said this doesn't make any sense. Don't do that again. So leave us feedback in the comments. We love it and if you enjoyed the episode, please consider sharing it with a friend as well as leaving us a five star review. We are so grateful to have gotten so many five star reviews from over I think now 7,000 of you have left us a five star review. It is unbelievable. So as always, thank so much for tuning in to this week's episode of the Rich Habits Radar and we'll see you on Monday.

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