← Right About Now - Legendary Business Advice
Right About Now - Legendary Business Advice
From Finance to Netflix "Million Dollar Secret" with Chris Allen
00:33:24
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- [00:00]
Ryan Alford
Did you know a 2018 study showed.
- [00:03]
Chris Allen
Half of prenatal vitamins tested had unacceptable levels of heavy metals? I'm Kat, mother of three and founder of Ritual. When I was four months pregnant, I.
- [00:14]
Ryan Alford
Couldn'T find a prenatal I could trust.
- [00:16]
Chris Allen
So I created my own. Ours is made traceable third party tested.
- [00:20]
Ryan Alford
For heavy metals and recently earned the purity award from the Clean Label project.
- [00:25]
Chris Allen
But don't just take my word for it. Get 25% off@virtual.com podcast. If nobody knows who you are, nobody cares. So ultimately we had to play in that game. And when you're a nobody like me, you have to take action on that. This is Right about Now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast Network production. We are the number one business show on the planet with over 1 million downloads a month, taking the BS out of business for over 6 years and over 400 episodes. You ready to start snapping necks and cashing checks? Well, it starts right about now.
- [01:00]
Ryan Alford
What's up, guys? Welcome to right about now. We're talking about what's now, what's hot. And you know, you may have heard of Netflix, but have you heard of Million Dollar Secret? I think you have. It's a game show. It's a lot of fun, and Chris Allen is here to tell us all about it. What's up, Chris?
- [01:21]
Chris Allen
What's going on, Ryan, how you doing?
- [01:22]
Ryan Alford
I'm good, man. I was excited. We get a lot of great guests and sometimes it's like stuff from 15 years ago. Great. You know, you never know like, where the business or what the concept is, but something when it's here and now and been on Netflix and been popular, I'm always excited. I. I have to admit, I started to go down the rabbit hole because there's so much content now. Like, I had heard of Million Dollar Secret but didn't know it. It's fun, man.
- [01:47]
Chris Allen
It's.
- [01:48]
Ryan Alford
It's intriguing.
- [01:49]
Chris Allen
Well, yeah, I tell you what, it's. This show is very much in the news right now. I mean, this is kind of like, you think about reality tv. You have kind of like, you know, relationship stuff. You got the Bachelor, Love is Blind too out to handle. You got those, like, slice of life things. You have the Vanderpumps, Real Housewives, whatever. Just day in the life with famous people. Kardashian started it years and years ago. Right. Was getting really popular. Is competition. TV shows like Survivor, Big Brother have been around. Traders is kind of the hot name in the streets. Right? Million Dollar Secret is Netflix's take on the Traders. Right. It's kind of a very similar show. Obviously got critical differences, but Netflix is like, okay, this is what's popular. We got to get in the game. And when Netflix goes in on something, they go in on something with Million Dollar Secret. You can tell they put a lot of resources behind this show.
- [02:36]
Ryan Alford
Yeah, they did. And I think they're proven to be right with the popularity, especially as we talked pre episode, Worldwide got a worldwide hit on their hands. Let's set the table, though. I mean, Chris, I mean, we could tell your background. I wanted to tell your background, but I, you know, definitely want to, for anybody that maybe not have seen the show, explain a little bit of the concept, how you got involved all that. Maybe we could ball that into one.
- [03:01]
Chris Allen
Yeah, for sure. So, you know, I came up in the finance world and I went to the Notre Dame finance career. That was kind of where I started. Did that for several years. And like so many young finance people, I burned out in my late 20s and I said, you know, I like, I got to do something different. I don't, you know, I'm seeing my bank account go up, but I'm not feeling any happier. I got to do something different. So in 2018, I left the finance world, went back to business school, and I went to Orton, and that's a hallowed hall of business education. I was with some really, really talented people. I felt like the dumbest guy there almost every day that I was there. But being around really smart people is great for inspiration and great for ingenuity, and that's a great place for businesses to start. And while I was there, got kind of really interested in startups, and that was around the same time that White Claw was taking off and everybody was drinking Spike Seltzer. So I met a guy who was working in Anheuser Bush, and he's like South American Uruguayan immigrant. Right. Child of Uruguayan immigrants. And he grew up drinking coconut water. And he's like, what if we did what Spike Seltzer is doing, but we did it with coconut water and we kind of like aimed it at health conscious people, said, you know, I don't really know what I want to do with my life, but that sounds as good of an idea as any. And we dove in to that world as people were creating new Spike Seltzers, we dove into that world and we've launched in 2021. We got about, like half of the US under distribution. Started distributing to cruises, luxury resorts in the Caribbean, all of that. But what's really cool about starting a Business, especially with a co founder, is you guys can kind of trade roles back and forth and cover for each other. And we were noticing that so many of these Spike Seltzers were having success with celebrity front people, and we couldn't afford a celebrity front person. We tried to negotiate with a couple of them. We're like, dude, we can't even afford like a tenth of what you're asking. Right. So I came up with this crazy idea of like, well, what if I just tried to become, you know, the celebrity friend person myself and started pitching to reality shows and ultimately nothing really was a fit. I mostly got cast into, like, dating type shows and I was like, I don't really know if I want to go running around making out with people on tv. I feel like that's not a good look for our brand, much less myself. And ultimately Netflix called me in 2024 with this, this concept, Million Dollar Secret, and I knew right away it was a winner. You had a chance to work with Netflix, like, you just take it. They're kind of like an ascending power in reality tv. And this idea was so interesting. We didn't really know too much until we got there, but this idea was so, so interesting. So I just had to take it. And I'm really glad I did it because it's become sort of this global phenomenon.
- [05:22]
Ryan Alford
Yeah, man. A couple of things to unpack there. Then I want you to delve into sort of the concept. But people realizing it pays to be known. Someone owns a trademark for that. His name's Ryan Alford. But look, we have this Democrat of the Internet and media and all these things. And yes, you got to be interesting, good looking and talented, which Chris knocks out all three, I'll give you that. Chris, man, you got them all going. You are and actually a really nice guy once you get to know you a little bit. I'm a quick study. Once we've been on, I can already tell, like, you're not a jerk. Like, you got the right.
- [05:58]
Chris Allen
I think the fans of that show, the fans of Million Dollar Singer, might be kind of split on that.
- [06:01]
Ryan Alford
Yeah, I think it's probably 50, 50, but I can tell already talking to you for 10 minutes, I'm like, this guy's not a jerk. Like, he's smart. He knows he's doing. But look, you were smart. I mean, like, can't afford your own influencer, then become one yourself. And it does take some help and it helps when Netflix calls. But you did the work to get there.
- [06:18]
Chris Allen
Yeah, it's kind of Interesting because, like, you know, I think a lot of especially consumer, like, beverage food entrepreneurs, they end up competing product attributes, right? Like, they're like, oh, you know, we make a protein bar that's like 20% less calories in the next one, right? And it gets to the shelf, and then you start looking at a shelf set and you're like, how the hell will anybody pick me over these other 400 options? And then you see people start streaming into the store because they're like, oh, I have to buy the new Kardashian vodka. I have to buy the new Ryan Reynolds. This, that, the other thing. I'm like, damn, nobody actually cares who you are. Nobody really. You know, when you come out there, nobody cares about, like, X calories x fat X this, that. They're like, I want to go for whoever my reality TV star famous person is, my favorite actress, the guy who I like, you know, see on tv. And I was like, well, if nobody knows who you are, nobody cares. So ultimately, we had to play in that game. And when you're nobody like me, Right. You have to take action on that. So it's a process to try to get on a show like this. It took me years to make it happen.
- [07:16]
Ryan Alford
And look, you think anyone cares about Prime? It's Jake Paul's sports drink. You know, immediately, like taking down Gatorade for a little while. Because it's Jake Paul's sports drink. Right. Prime.
- [07:32]
Chris Allen
I was told my co founder is, like, notorious. Kind of like, you know, pessimistic about the fact that this works. Right. He's always just like, I just hate that this is the reality. I'm like, listen, man, like, I don't make the rules of the market. All I do is play by them. And don't hate the player.
- [07:47]
Ryan Alford
Hate the game. Yeah.
- [07:48]
Chris Allen
This is like, the way it works now is like, we've kind of replaced religiosity in our culture with celebrity worship, and that's just kind of how it goes.
- [07:57]
Ryan Alford
Yep. And. But with social media and streaming being Netflix kind of being in this. I'll call it New Media world.
- [08:06]
Chris Allen
Yeah.
- [08:06]
Ryan Alford
New media. I call it now media. That's my brand, but. Exactly. You took advantage of that. Talk to me about Million Dollar Secret for our audience. Sure. There's a lot, because you fit right in our demo that probably seen it. But for anyone that hasn't, like, what the premise of the show and what went down.
- [08:24]
Chris Allen
Yeah, well, I mean, if anybody hasn't watched it, you got to check it out. The show is so awesome, and it has so many different layers to it compared to a normal reality show. Like, you can think about 8,000 different things when it comes to the show, but the basic concept is you have 12 different people and talk about, like, 12 different archetypes. So we got like a grandma, we got a grandpa, we've got a cowboy on our show. We got, like, the sort of typical l. A. Actress type influencers on the show, and then me sort of like the business guy. We arrive at this mansion in canada where a mysterious owner of the house has prepared a welcome gift for all 12 people, which is a box to be laid on the foot of your bed. When you arrive in the box, one of the 12 people receives $1 million on day one, like, the second they get to the house. Right. 11 people get an empty wooden box, and the goal is essentially to figure out who has the million dollars in their box and vote them out of the show. If we do that successfully, the money is given to somebody else and the process continues from there. So if the person who gets a million dollars on day one is able to keep their identity clean the entire season, they just go home with the million. Right. So our job is to figure out who's acting weird, who has a guilty conscience, who's changing the way that they're acting, who's being nervous, figure out who it is, vote them out, and then get the money to our box.
- [09:47]
Ryan Alford
You've only been on our radar for a few weeks. I'm going down the rabbit hole. But I was like, I guess they've got things set up. What if this had been, like, vetted too fast or something? Yeah, like the person, like, completely. I mean, I assume it's all. Is it all been aired now?
- [10:02]
Chris Allen
It's all been aired, yeah. It came out in late march and was finished up by kind of like mid April.
- [10:07]
Ryan Alford
Okay. And so the secrets out, everything's been exposed because I'm only one and a half episodes in the secrets out.
- [10:14]
Chris Allen
We know. We know the winner. And the way it went down is pretty interesting because, you know, if you think about it. Right. That there's a lot of different ways you can play that game.
- [10:23]
Ryan Alford
Yes, there's a lot. How much were you clued in to that? Like, what the strategies may or may not be, different angles and all that beforehand.
- [10:34]
Chris Allen
So 0%, which I think is what makes the game so good. Right. Is if people are familiar with reality TV, I think they're on, like, season 50 of Survivor and like season 25 of Big Brother, and by the time you get 20 seasons into a show. A lot of times people are sort of game bots. Like, they're. They're super fans of the show. They know. Exactly. They're on Reddit.
- [10:57]
Ryan Alford
They read the show, they know the formula. They know the formula.
- [11:00]
Chris Allen
They call them game bots. Right. So it actually leads to pretty dull tv, I think, when you have that right. We knew nothing about the game that we were playing other than that a million dollars was on the line and it was going to be some sort of a game deceit. Right. So in episode one, the owner of the house sort of tells us the rules on camera. That was actually the first time we realized what show we were on. And what's so cool about that is there's no strategies. And in a lot of ways, you. You result in pretty messy gameplay. I mean, so we made a ton of mistakes, and it gets super messy because of that. I think the reason is because we didn't know what show we run. We hadn't read up. Now, like, I did a little bit of homework. I watched the Traders, I watched shows that I thought it would be like, and I saw like, basically kind of the trends of what would be work. What would work. But then when I learned what the game was, we basically had like six hours that night to go back to our hotel rooms and figure out, like, what are we going to do? Like, how are we going to play this?
- [11:56]
Ryan Alford
Yeah, Real world game playing. I mean, for a million dollars all at once. So, Chris, you mentioned it a little bit, but, like, the Netflix factor and watching sort of that behemoth work and how it markets, how it, like, how privy were you to all of that that's going on with marketing the show, all the components of the business side of it.
- [12:20]
Chris Allen
Well, I think what's so interesting about the Netflix machine is that if you look at the statistics around, like, total percentage of hours streamed by Netflix compared to, like, the other players in streaming. So whether it be like HBO Max or Disney or Hulu or Amazon Prime, Netflix kind of like, is television now. Like, they're such a dominant player in that space that they've kind of just become television. And we know that they're global. Right. So what's super interesting about Netflix is they obviously market their shows, they market their originals, and the shows that they have that do well, but it's also a really democratic platform. Right. Anybody who has Netflix knows, like, every day it seems like definitely every week there's a ton of new stuff coming out. Right. And what bubbles up to that Netflix top 10 is based on who's watching the show, right? So things can kind of catch fire for Netflix similar to how they do like a TikTok algorithm or YouTube algorithm, like out of nowhere. And, you know, Million Dollar Secret is a brand new show. So like, they put it out there not knowing what would resonate on it. And I think two days later, we were the number three show globally. So we've kind of seen like what that. What happens when you achieve that initial success is Netflix pours gas on the fire, right? And what's so interesting about it is a global platform, right? So, like, we're thinking about a lot of shows like Survivor, Big Brother. Those are like, primarily US based. And we think about reality TV and television and our culture. It's like being US based. What I wasn't prepared for is like, every corner of the globe, people are talking about me, people are talking about what I did on the show. People are getting interested in what I'm doing outside the show. And that is, like, pretty hard to wrap your head around.
- [13:58]
Ryan Alford
So I think it'd be curious. People like listening. So you smart enough to recognize that it pays to be known, and lo and behold, you went and did it for yourself. What has surprised you, delighted you, and scared the shit out of you now that it's come true?
- [14:18]
Chris Allen
Well, I think what surprised me again, the most is just the global aspect of it. Like, I was totally expecting to walk down the street and have people recognize me. Like, you know, I was like, okay. The night before the show came out, it was like, this is the last day of normalcy for probably a really long time. For example, you just go to the grocery store and you get someone come up to you and say, hey, like, I watched you on the show. Like, you know, the fact that I can go to a different state and my face, like, prompts a response from people is something that you just don't expect. Like, you know, you've lived your entire life in anonymity. What has been scary about that is the. The level of just online discourse and dialogue, especially with anonymity. So, like, I made the mistake, like so many other reality TV stars do, of, like, poking my nose around in Reddit. And Reddit was growing. And, you know, I was pretty controversial on the show, surprisingly to me, because I don't really feel like I'm a very controversial person. But there are certain things that I did on the show. I was trying to win, right? I was trying to win the game. So I competed hard. Again, I'm a business person. I Compete with disregard for feeling in a lot of cases, that is, like, pretty wild. The level, like, and toxicity of online discourse is actually pretty shocking to me. So, like, eventually I kind of just learned, okay, just leave that where it is and, like, focus on what's in front of your face. But, yeah, that's. I mean, like, anybody who acquires, let's call it, like, instant fame. And I say that, like, in air quotes because this is still, you know, just the first foray into what I hope to accomplish is a little. Little scary the first time that you encounter it.
- [15:41]
Ryan Alford
I can only imagine with this. I don't know, the. The way with which reality TV sort of gets devoured and then much less. I mean. But I will say we have a pretty popular show. I didn't know I had made it until a Miami airport sighting and. And then my. Forever. My kids thought I was cool finally.
- [15:58]
Chris Allen
You know, but, yeah, it's so awesome. I was. I was down in Florida. I took my dad on a retirement trip to Florida, and we. I got recognized out at the new Universal park down in Orlando, and I got recognized by two people, and then four more people came over, and they were like, I know I've seen you somewhere. What show is it? So at one point, I was kind of holding court with, like, six people, and my dad was like, yeah, he was. He kind of panned. It was the first time he'd seen me get recognized in person. He kind of, like, ran away. He's like, I don't know what to do when you call my mom. And he's like, your son is being mobbed by people on the bridge. Like, what do we do? I'm just his son. Like, he doesn't know what. From what.
- [16:41]
Ryan Alford
Has everybody. Has most people been in person, been pretty cool?
- [16:44]
Chris Allen
Everybody in person has been cool. Everybody.
- [16:46]
Ryan Alford
It's just the trolls behind the keyboard, though. But they'll, you know, and it's hard to. But you can't. You gotta stay away from that man. Send me a message on it. You know, if you're being tempted, send me a message. I'm gonna. Back away, Chris. Back away.
- [17:03]
Chris Allen
Maybe I need to do that, Ryan. Maybe you could be like, my personal. Just like Fire Lightyear. I need to email you for a password or something like that.
- [17:12]
Ryan Alford
It's just no good. Because I, you know, I. I do a pretty good job of, like, not, I don't know, listening to other people, like, not caring. But if you go down that rabbit hole, there's some really disturbed people, and then it's Also, you'll start, like, questioning yourself, like, oh, I mean, you're a good guy. Like, I'm a good guy. You don't want to be impacting someone in that way.
- [17:33]
Chris Allen
Right.
- [17:34]
Ryan Alford
But. But if they've taken it that far, it's a them problem, not a you problem.
- [17:37]
Chris Allen
You know what I think is so interesting about that, too, is a lot of times they'll take it to, like, your. Your court, too. Like, they'll put it on your personal pages and things like that. And in a lot of cases, like, I went into this with the intention of, like, if someone writes me a message, I'm gonna respond to it. Right. Like, I want them to feel seen by me. I want to feel like, yeah. And so, like, way to go. It's kind of on the board.
- [17:57]
Ryan Alford
Sounds altruistic, but yeah.
- [17:59]
Chris Allen
Right. Yeah. If somebody says something that's kind of on the line negative, I'll respond to them.
- [18:03]
Ryan Alford
Right.
- [18:03]
Chris Allen
And then a lot of times what they'll do is they'll be like, they immediately fold, and they're like, oh, I thought you were awesome. Like, so sorry about that. Like, you know, whatever. So it's kind of interesting to see, like, if they're just doing it for attention or, like, whatever it might be, I don't know. But, you know, obviously, I think there are valid critiques out there, too. Like, there's a lot of things that I did on the show that I was kind of like, yeah, it was kind of tough. Like, but, you know, you're in a competition. It's not like we're out there holding hands and, like, dancing in a circle. It's a.
- [18:29]
Ryan Alford
But it's also business. Like, you nailed it. Like, I'm pretty. I'm not. Like, I don't think I'm a ruthless business person, but I'm very driven, and I can remove emotion from it and. Sounds like you're built the same way. And it's not because we're screwing people, but we're doing business. And I think there's a lot of people that just aren't cut for that. And so when you get to see it raw, some people just get turned off, you know?
- [18:53]
Chris Allen
Right. Yeah. I mean, like, anything else in, you know, your life is. You try to do things with, like, the purest of intentions that you can, but in. In a competition setting, like, there can only be one winner. And then a lot of times that's. That's not going to be the nicest version of yourself that. That plays that game. And this is, like, very real. Money. Like we were in there competing. It wasn't scripted. It was all real. We were competing and I got very close to winning. Right. So as that happens, right, you know, you're going to see tensions rise. You're going to see people do things that are cutthroat. Like if we were just playing a game for no money, I don't think that we would have done the things that we did. But it required difficult decisions to be made and difficult, you know, in a lot of cases, behavior in order to win.
- [19:37]
Ryan Alford
Yeah, man. So drink company, I sense a pivot coming. Where are we at with the business?
- [19:43]
Chris Allen
Yeah, no, so I mean, I think, you know, one of the things that we wanted to do is obviously we've been out there in the seltzer world and the seltzer world is very popular when we launched and is much less popular now. And almost every large drink brand is losing volume year on year. They're declining 15, 20% in a lot of cases and a lot of brands that came out and that's sort of like let's make a white clot knockoff. Go try to find a case of Bud Light Seltzer. Good luck. Good luck. Go try to find Corus Seltzer. It's hard to do. So as that's sort of happened, it's been challenging on our business. Right. One of the things that we've done is think about, let's respond to the show. And the show is global, you know, so we have a global audience. So I think what we'll likely do is try to find something non alcoholic that we can ship to our fans around the world, especially our fans in Brazil and the Philippines, those markets where like this has really, really become a.
- [20:30]
Ryan Alford
Very popular show in that regard. Is transitioning the fame, the known to dollars been more difficult than you thought?
- [20:42]
Chris Allen
Well, yeah, I mean it's something that I'm very much figuring out right now because you don't necessarily know what it's going to look like, right. Like this show could have come out and totally flopped. Like what we didn't know is that we're going to become the number one show in Brazil for several weeks. Like you don't know that, right. As somebody who's like going onto a show and trying to anticipate things. So there are obviously like when you go on a reality TV show, there are like easy ways to monetize, monetize things like through, you know, cameo and like through subscriber based type of content.
- [21:10]
Ryan Alford
Like those Chris Allen T shirts with your shirt Off?
- [21:14]
Chris Allen
Yeah, like, you know, keep me away from Reddit or something like that. Those are like the easy things. What's harder is like, okay, well, I obviously have my ongoing business interests. Right. Like, how do we transition that? How do we make the fans of the show want to care about the drink that I'm doing? Because also they care about me. But, like, they may not like the drink that I have. They may not. Like, they may not like what product I was producing before. Like, how do I make something that sort of aligns like their interest in me and also their interest in like a product that I can produce that actually will drive value to their life? Like, you know, so I can't ship an alcoholic product in many cases to many of the places where the fans have resonated with me. So you just pivot your business. So one of the great things about it is like, so the status of social media is that they can follow your journey and become aware of the things that you do. And that's been the primary strategy that I followed that I've employed. Yeah.
- [22:06]
Ryan Alford
I'm going to give you a couple tips, but you didn't ask for it. I'm going to. Sometimes it's not about creating your own product. It's using the leverage you have to create the influence on other things that you get paid for. I'm not saying you aren't doing some of that, but to that end, how do you like, keep the attention is fleeting. How do you keep the attention flame lit?
- [22:31]
Chris Allen
Yeah, it's great. I think you gotta be active is number one, one. And then number two is I'm like big. It's obviously like I've been business person. Being a marketer is like, you gotta understand that you gotta produce things that people want and people want to follow. And what I think people have generally sort of followed me for is number one reason is like, okay, they like me because I was a business person and I played strategically on the show. I was sort of like the avatar for the business person on the show. Right. And then in some cases it's for more superficial reasons. Like they like the way I look or they like the way that I, you know, act or whatever it might be. I found that in a lot of cases, like I just did kind of typical testing of different kinds of content. What does well for me is like talking about what I do outside of the house, like talking about business and talking about like my learnings from my business career. People really like that. And then number two is like fitness and wellness content. Does really well for me. Right. So I try to produce as much that people are interested in to keep them around because ultimately, like, you know, the window for talking about like what actually happened in the eight episodes of the show, it goes by very quickly. You got to keep them interested in you as a personality. So like, you know, I was, I'm a big test and react guy. So I produced a lot of different kinds of content and I saw what did well and then I'm going to kind of just go down that. That avenue.
- [23:46]
Ryan Alford
Is it creating any other opportunities? Like, have you heard from other things, anything other, you know, like coming across your radar from the show?
- [23:53]
Chris Allen
Yeah, I think the number one thing is typically with reality TV is you. You get some interest from brands while your show is out. And that's starting to happen for me, obviously, like, it's taken some time for my social pages to grow, but kind of at the level now where I can do that. And I, you know, having been an entrepreneur and startup founder myself, like, I like to align with brands that I resonate with. I'm not going to just take any deal. So, you know, kind of in the process of evaluating those right now. But that's really cool because ultimately, like, I want to position myself as an influencer that has been in the business owner chair before, which I think is somewhat rare. Right. I've been behind a brand of my own before and worked with influencers from the brand owner side. So I can be an authentic and real voice and a good mouthpiece for these brands and sort of connecting the dots between the brand and the consumer. What do you think the most important.
- [24:48]
Ryan Alford
Business skill is that you have?
- [24:51]
Chris Allen
So such a good question. Ultimately, at the end of the day, everything kind of comes down to sales, right? Sales and influence. I feel like that's sort of the fundamental business skill. Like you can learn finance, you can learn the fundamentals of marketing, you can learn, you know, pick your discipline. Right. Supply chain. But in order to get anything done in business that you want to get done, you've got to sell to people and convince them of your. Your business, that they should invest in your business, that they should buy your. Your. Your product, that they should trust you. All those sor. Different things. It just sort of comes down to influence and sales. I do, I feel like that's sort of at the core of everything, don't you?
- [25:28]
Ryan Alford
Oh, 100. Like if you can't sell, good luck, you know, like, because we can get caught up in all these product benefits and like, or the financials and all none of those financials matter if you don't have new, new new lifeblood of the business coming in the door. And convincing, convincing is an interesting word. You know, like it's, it's one thing for someone to be aware, it's another for them to have intent and to drive. Intent takes convincing. And so that's a key skill no matter what you do. And if you've got it, you typically can do anything.
- [26:07]
Chris Allen
Absolutely, absolutely. And I think like, you know, what I've seen is the most successful entrepreneurs are kind of like lifelong salespeople. Like these are the people who are like running trading card rings in middle school and things like that now, I'll be honest.
- [26:21]
Ryan Alford
Irony. Yeah, yeah, right.
- [26:23]
Chris Allen
Like I don't really think that that was, that was me. You know, I, I didn't necessarily feel like I was sort of a lifelong entrepreneur salesperson. So it's been a bit of a process for me to kind of develop that skill. And as I've gotten better at it. Right. I've become a better business person.
- [26:39]
Ryan Alford
Yeah. Well, one way or another I, I tell people this and it's self serving. It's a little bit of a joke, but I'll, I'll kill the punchline before I say it. But everything comes back to marketing. I was one of the rare people that my major was marketing. Never ventured. I learned at an early age how this world worked. I'm like, you can market something and sell it. Marketing, we combine these worlds a little bit together, even though I think they're different. But necessary Human, human behavior, understanding how humans work and understanding what it takes to move someone from one position to the other. And that's what marketing is. You know, you got a mindset, they assume this or they, they believe that and you're moving them to here to get them to take an action.
- [27:31]
Chris Allen
It's sort of been, I mean, like across the spectrum of, of, of human history. Right. This is how empires were built is with marketing and sales. Right. Obviously it's built with military power, but it's, it's, it's grown with, with marketing and sales. Like this is, this is like the core human skill. And now like the arena of business, you don't have that. You know, all you have is like pretty spreadsheets and PowerPoint slides. It's not going to get it done.
- [27:56]
Ryan Alford
I mean, Donald Trump and Barack Obama have a lot more in common than they realize. They're two of the greatest marketers of all time, no matter where you fall politically. But they are.
- [28:09]
Chris Allen
Yes, exactly. We just captured 100% of the audience with those two, by the way.
- [28:13]
Ryan Alford
Exactly. So, hey, no polarization here, but it is moving all the bullshit out of it. You know, that's the truth, Chris. I mean, what. Just success in your mind. Like, you've had a successful show. Like, you made shit happen. Like, this is what I love about your story. We talk about a lot of people. Some people fall into shit, some people stumble into it. You worked your ass off, you know, like, you sent in. You played that in Netflix. Caught. Yeah, maybe you caught lightning in a bottle, but you created that. But now you've. You got what you asked for, and you're navigating it all. When Chris Howard looks and goes, this is my vision of success. What is there at the end?
- [29:00]
Chris Allen
It's such a. Such a good question, too, because, you know, it's one of those things, like, people say the question, like, now what? Right? Like, when you. When you get what you've been going for. Now what? Right.
- [29:10]
Ryan Alford
I love that question too, by the way.
- [29:12]
Chris Allen
Right, yeah. Well, you know, and the other thing is, like, people want to look at, like, a. Let's call it a signature achievement, like getting on a Netflix reality show as sort of like an endpoint. I'm like, this is a waypoint on the journey for me. I'm 34 years old. You know, I have. I have hopefully 40 more years of making stuff happen before I go retire to Florida and play golf every day. Right? Like, that's. That's. It's. It's a whole process. Right? And I think for me, obviously, I'm asking myself that question every day, but it's really about, like, just making an impact on people for myself, like, what do I need intrinsically? I just want to feel like I'm living authentically and that I'm happy if I'm doing those two things. Like, you know, material wealth, you know, influence, whatever it might be. That's all sort of like a byproduct. I think if I'm doing those two things, I think I'm probably doing okay. What I really want to do is think about, okay, am I making an impact on people? I tried to create what I thought was a healthier, better for you, drink for people. Right now, with the megaphone of being on reality tv, can I create some content to help people demystify the journey of starting a business? Can I help people, you know, maintain their mental and physical health in the process of entrepreneurship? Which is, for me, I was a total fail. Total fail, right? So, like, Learn from my mistakes, hope to kind of share some. Some content about that. Can I inspire people, you know, to. To they look at my story and say, wow, like, could I do something like that? Or, like, can I take things from him that I can learn? And then I try to make it just about, like, service to people. Like, so, you know, try to use this great. I would say lucky, you know, accomplishment. It's somewhat lucky, right? Like, accomplishment that I've made of being on this TV show and acquiring new fans around the world to help people, you know, whether it be through the things that I've just talked about or just, like, by being a good person and trying to be, you know, somebody that they can look up to and that makes them feel good.
- [31:11]
Ryan Alford
I think you're on your way, man. I'll give you one other thing. My favorite saying. Everyone should always go ask themselves this question. To what end? Everything you're doing, everything you're thinking about, everything you're planning. When you make a brash decision, when you make a good decision. To what end? You know, like, that's. That's the question we have to ask. Right?
- [31:32]
Chris Allen
Awesome.
- [31:33]
Ryan Alford
Yeah.
- [31:33]
Chris Allen
Think about, like, think about the. The end of your life and look back on. On things and think about what decision do you think you wish you had made in the present? Like, kind of try to gift yourself the gift of. Of. Of hindsight. Right.
- [31:45]
Ryan Alford
Yeah.
- [31:46]
Chris Allen
It's a really, really difficult thing to do, but I do sort of think about those sorts of things. I'm out of that, like, you know, mentality that I had in my 20s, and, like, I just got to get as rich as possible and all these different things. Like, no, it's at the end of the day, like, it's about fulfillment and happiness. And luckily, you know, I have a lot more doors open to me now, having been on a show like this, which is really cool, and I just want to make sure that I make the right decisions.
- [32:08]
Ryan Alford
Yeah. And having purpose, that's really what the question is. When you say to what end? It's. Well, you're asking, what is the purpose of what I'm doing? Chris, where's everybody? Keep up with you. The show, all the links, all that stuff. Yeah.
- [32:22]
Chris Allen
So obviously, Million Dollar Secret is on Netflix. It's not hard to find. I mean, just. Just, you know, we're not on the top 10 anymore. It's a few weeks later. But you can find us. You can read about us all across the Internet, and then you can find me primarily on Instagram and TikTok. I'M diving into TikTok which is a 35 year old man. 34 year old man is a little scary. So I'm brand new to that one. I'm also on all other socials under the same handle which is alannd and you can find me and kind of track my journey from here which I hope is, you know, as entertaining as those eight episodes of tv. I hope this is just a blip in the story and not sort of the headline at the end of the day.
- [32:59]
Ryan Alford
Chris, appreciate you coming on the show, brother. I really appreciate your transparency and openness talking about all this stuff.
- [33:07]
Chris Allen
Fantastic. Well, it's a pleasure, Ryan. I hope, hope we get a chance to talk again and you know, maybe it's about another show that I'm on or hopefully, you know, do something really cool in business. And I'm right back.
- [33:14]
Ryan Alford
Hey, well, we, I think we put our heads together on something. I'm here to help you, brother. Hey guys, you know, to find us Ryan is right.com you'll find the highlight clips, the full episode, all the links to the show, Chris's stuff, all this stuff. Hey, always ask yourself to what end?
- [33:30]
Chris Allen
To what end?
- [33:32]
Ryan Alford
We'll see you next time. Right about now.
- [33:36]
Chris Allen
This has been right about now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast network production. Visit ryanisright.com for full audio and video versions of the show or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities. Thanks for listening.