Breaking the Payment Ceiling: How Chris Capuano Helps Small Businesses Save Big and Scale Fast

Summary

Podcast Summary

The Amazing Authorities Podcast

Host: Mitch Carson
Episode: Breaking the Payment Ceiling: How Chris Capuano Helps Small Businesses Save Big and Scale Fast
Guest: Chris Capuano
Date: November 20, 2025

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Episode Overview

This engaging episode features Chris Capuano, New York entrepreneur and author of No Ceiling, No Excuses. Hosted by Mitch Carson, the conversation dives into Chris's journey from a challenging upbringing and a stable but limiting union job to building a thriving payment processing business that helps small businesses reduce costs, gain flexibility, and scale fast. The discussion is both practical and personal, with candid stories on entrepreneurship, overcoming adversity, and the realities facing small business owners navigating payment processing in today’s landscape.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Chris’s Story: From Adversity to Authority ([03:07]-[05:25])

• Chris’s newly released book, No Ceiling, No Excuses, is split into three parts:
  • Childhood and challenging circumstances (“broken family, divorce, death, you know, the alcoholism, drugs. That whole part.” [03:11])
  • A journey through numerous jobs: “from starting a power washing business to driving for Uber, to being a drop shipper, to being a waiter, a bus boy… every job under the sun I’ve had.” [03:22]
  • Landing a six-figure, unionized job as a steam fitter, installing fire sprinklers in Manhattan high-rises: “I was making over 100 grand a year.” [03:51]
  • The eventual leap into entrepreneurship and building a payments company: “We processed over $1 billion in payments… and we process over $150 million annually.” [04:50]

Inside the Payment Industry & Saving Businesses Money ([05:25]-[06:11], [10:34]-[14:38])

• Chris breaks down the limitations of mainstream providers:

  • “Stripe and PayPal… slap you with all these fees left and right.” [05:40]
  • His company offers competitive rates and, uniquely, “the ability to completely eliminate the fees by passing it on to the customer.” [05:56]
  • Not for every business, but worth exploring based on business needs.

• The pain of working with giant payment processors:

  • Mitch describes PayPal freezing $800,000 of his funds for nine months in 2004: “It was as though I was in jail.” [06:41]
  • Chris: “They don’t care because they’re a trillion dollar company... everything is done through a support ticket. So it makes the process very challenging to get a real human.” [06:41], [07:19]
  • Lesson learned: Do not put all business income through one processor, diversify to avoid catastrophic cash-flow issues.

Who Chris Helps & His Unique Approach ([09:11]-[14:38])

• Target client: "I try to help small business owners. I try to help people that are feeling stuck. I try to help people that are hustlers, and they don't kind of know what direction to go." [09:14]

• Types of businesses: "Hair salons... auto mechanic shops... bakeries, pizzerias... a lot of food because I love food, man." [09:37]

• Service area: Primarily New York tri-state area, but serves clients in 16 states and is willing to work nationwide ([12:15]-[12:57])

• What makes Chris different:

  • White-glove, human service: "You know, all I hear is that the support is, like, insanely bad... With me, it's like my clients just text me... I'll be there in an hour." [13:14]
  • Personalized tech solutions: “It may not be POS A ... [it's] my job... to try to find the best solution.”
  • Cost savings: "Usually I'm able to save at least 20 to 30% of the fees that they're currently paying... now we have a program out that eliminates 100% of the fees." [10:34]
  • “I cut out all the BS... I give people the service that I expect.” [13:57]

The Pivot: Leaving Union Security for Entrepreneurial Uncertainty ([14:38]-[21:12])

• Chris details his decision to leave a coveted, stable union job:

  • “I didn’t like the fact also that I could work my ass off... and we were getting paid the same. That kind of drove me nuts.” [16:05]
  • On the transition: "I did build it up for the prior three years." [17:21]
  • “I could have got hired the next, literally the next day by 10 different companies. But I decided to dive head first into this job.” [18:49]

• The mindset shift: "I call it the golden handcuffs... I didn't do well with ceilings. And I wanted to smash and blow past that ceiling." [16:08]

• Planning the leap: Chris built his business as a side hustle for three years, and accumulated savings before going all-in.

Replacing the Income & Scaling Up ([20:13]-[22:06])

• “It took me about a year after I got laid off, to kind of make what I was making in the union, you know, so it took about a year, and then, I don't know, within five years, I'm making 10 times what I was making back then.” [20:20]

• On scaling: “I've learned to surround yourselves with people that are smarter than you and want to work as hard, if not harder than you, and just kind of like, letting go of control.” [20:58]

The Deeper “Why”: Family Motivation & Competitive Drive ([27:13]-[29:49])

• Both Chris and Mitch share stories of coming from difficult backgrounds and being driven by proving doubters wrong.
• Chris on family as a motivator: “My older brother, he's kind of a driving force behind me because he's 10 times more successful as far as financials go...” [27:49]
• The dynamic is competitive but supportive: "We get along very well... there's always a hint of like him throwing a dig at me." [29:17]

Political & Economic Climate: How It Affects Small Businesses ([32:29]-[33:41])

• Brief discussion about the upcoming mayoral election in NYC and potential impacts on business owners.
• Chris: “A lot of my clients in Manhattan are scared because if [the new candidate] wins, then they think that the economy is going to basically take a dump and just go down like the tubes...” [32:29]
• But Chris aims to stay apolitical in business dealings, focusing on value regardless of outside noise.

Final Takeaways: Chris’s Core Competency ([34:39]-[35:04])

• “Finding out what the business owner needs... point of sale systems... service as far as transactions are concerned. A lot of people get hit with fees and they don’t understand why... So yeah, that's kind of the different avenues that we tend to help people with.” [34:39]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On leaving his union job:
  “That was my ceiling. Right. And I decided that I don’t do well with ceilings. And I wanted to smash and blow past that ceiling. And the no excuses part comes from growing up in, you know, the broken family. And a lot of people would have used that as an excuse... as opposed to using it as the fuel.”
  — Chris Capuano ([16:08])

• On dealing with giant payment platforms:
  “They don’t care because they’re a trillion dollar company... everything is done through a support ticket. So it kind of makes the process very challenging to get a real human.”
  — Chris Capuano ([06:41]-[07:19])

• On his unique selling proposition:
  “If there’s one thing that Covid taught me, it’s just that, like, people want a real human, like, now... I cut out all the BS. I really do. And I try to treat people and give people the service that I expect.”
  — Chris Capuano ([13:57])

• On mindset and growth:
  “Now if I sign up an account... this account could generate as much revenue per month that it would take me a year to... So I kind of made that mental mind shift change into thinking more long term instead of short term. That was a big change.”
  — Chris Capuano ([22:06])

• Host’s reflection on motivation:
  “Sometimes it takes that motivation of a catalyst. What was the emotional catalyst for you?... For me, it was proving you wrong. And I do have a personality. And I’ve spoken on stages in 63 countries around the world.”
  — Mitch Carson ([27:14])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & Book Overview: [00:30]-[05:25]
• Payment Processing Landscape & Challenges: [05:25]-[08:59]
• Who Chris Helps & Service Model: [09:11]-[14:38]
• The Pivot: Leaving Union Job for Entrepreneurship: [14:38]-[21:12]
• Replacing Income & Scaling Insight: [20:13]-[22:06]
• Motivation and Family Influence: [27:13]-[29:49]
• Political/Economic Commentary: [32:29]-[33:41]
• Final Details and Offer: [34:39]-[35:04]

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Tone & Style

The episode is energetic, candid, and down-to-earth, combining entrepreneurial tactics with relatable, real-life stories. Both Mitch and Chris bring humor (often with playful New York and Italian references) and transparency about their personal journeys, emphasizing that anyone can break past self-imposed limitations (“no ceiling, no excuses”) with the right mindset and support.

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Further Resources

• Reach Chris at: www.noceilingnoexcuses.com
• Book: No Ceiling, No Excuses by Chris Capuano

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If you’re a small business owner frustrated with payment fees or seeking truly personal service, Chris’s story and approach might change how you think about your bottom line—and your own entrepreneurial journey.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the Amazing Authorities podcast where game changers, visionaries and category leaders share how they built their brands, platforms and global influence. Your host is Mitch Carson, international speaker, media strategist and creator of the Instant Authority system. If you're ready to learn from those who've done it and want to become the go to expert in your space, you're in the right place.

[B]

Today's expert, Chris Capuano hails from New York City, specifically from Long Island, New York. But he is the author of the soon to be best selling book no Ceiling, no Excuses. And that's his website. So if you're to reach out to Chris and you're going to want to after this interview, we had a nice little chat before we got into this and he's here to share what he can do for you and your small business, local business to grow and prosper with. No ceiling, no excuses. Chris, welcome to the show.

[C]

Hey, thanks for having me, Mitch. Let's, let's have some fun. Yeah.

[B]

And I'm looking at the background here and the image in the, it's, it's quite clear. You've got buildings. Ah, there you are. You're the man in this, in the silhouette. Oh, where did you go? Oh, you're back. Then he's Superman. Oh, there's Chris Capuano. He looks like a boxer. Ready to make sure that you're challenged, Chris, tell us about your book, no Ceiling, no Excuses. It's right there. It's, it's pretty black and white.

[C]

That's it. Yeah. Technically tan and green, but I like it. Yeah. No Ceiling, no Excuses is a book I just dropped for my 35th birthday. First book ever. About maybe four and a half weeks ago now. My goal is to sell a thousand copies. We are on pace. Hopefully it happens pretty soon. Just got to keep getting on a few more of these awesome shows. Hopefully all your listeners buy one. Puts us over the edge. That would be awesome.

[B]

And I'm going to buy one and review it. And you get the yellow chicken award for writing a book. Everybody gets acknowledged. You get three squeezes. That is important.

[C]

That is Val, thank you. That, that's pretty freaking cool. You're the first person to give me a three squeeze chicken, so.

[B]

All right, well, I, I'm, I always like to be first. Not second, first and each. Just so you know the flow of the show, every time you drop a bomb of value, you get the green chicken because that's money, baby. You get a squeeze from the green. You've already got the yellow because of you wrote a book. Every time you have a value bomb associated with money, you get the green chicken.

[C]

I love it. I'm not quite here in the chicken though. Squeeze. Squeeze it one more time. Now I hear it. Before I wasn't hearing it.

[B]

All right, well, he's right here. He was lonely, so then he gets the squeeze.

[C]

All right, so keep that chicken close. We're going to drop some bombs this whole episode. Okay. It's a three part book, essentially. The first third of the book talks about my story, my childhood, growing up in not ideal circumstances. You know, broken family, divorce, death, you know, the, the alcoholism, drugs. That whole part. Right. Second part of the book talks about all the different jobs and careers I had, from starting a power washing business to driving for Uber, to being a drop shipper, to being a waiter, a bus boy. Like every job under the sun I've had and, and I kind of got over it. Eventually I stepped into a six figure union stable job where I had vacation fund, pension, I had benefits. I had everything going for me. I was making over 100 grand a year. Most people.

[B]

Was your job. What was your job?

[C]

I was a union steam fitter, Steam building behind me, Steve steam theater. Yeah, I was the guy that installed all the, basically all the big pipes inside of. Inside of high rises in Manhattan. So specifically I focused on fire sprinklers.

[B]

Oh, nice.

[C]

Yeah. So God forbid there's ever a fire. You know, it's my, it's my sprinkler heads that, you know, 90% of them put out, put out the fire and then, okay, the other 10 hold the fire down until the firefighters get there. Really cool, really cool job. So that's kind of the second part of the book. And then the third part of the book is how I decided that I wanted to walk away from a stable six figure job, kind of start over at ground zero, build my own business from the ground up. And now here I am. And I help small businesses grow. I process payments. We processed over $1 billion in payments last, last, what was it actually, three months ago now at this point, and we process over $150 million annually. So I help move the money from the customer's pocket into the business owner's pocket. I help reduce costs as far as small businesses go. I reduce the fees from the credit cards. I give better technology, I give better tech support, and I give better point of sale systems than most other people can. And if you're a small business owner and you want to work together, reach out to me. Just go to my Website, Shoot me a message. Www.no ceiling, no excuses.com.

[B]

I love the title of your book, but let's go back to processing fees. Like, I, I run my merchant account through stripe or. And PayPal. And are there better options out there?

[C]

Yes and no. I mean, Stripe and PayPal, they have their fees, you know, whatever, 2.9, 15 cents, and then if you take it over the phone, it's another 30 basis points, and they slap you with all these fees left and right. I, I mean, look, my company gives competitive, you know, rates as far as those are concerned. We also offer something that they don't offer, which is the ability to completely eliminate the fees by passing it on to, you know, the customer. It's not right for every business, but some businesses, it, it makes sense for. So it's just a conversation that's maybe worth exploring.

[B]

Okay. Well, yeah, I mean, they're the two, two of the big ones. I, I know I've been with PayPal for a number of years, but the challenge with them is there was an occasion where they basically held my money hostage because of too much activity.

[C]

A lot of people have that, that issue. Yeah.

[B]

And it was cash flow. No screaming, yelling, threatening, crying, begging. Got my money released. It took nine months for them to drip. It was as though I was in jail.

[C]

It's crazy. And, and they don't care because they're a trillion dollar company.

[B]

They were shameless.

[C]

Aren't they publicly traded at this point? You know, I'm not sure.

[B]

I think Elon Musk started PayPal, didn't he?

[C]

He did start it, yeah. And then he sold it years back. But, I mean, PayPal, it's like, it's also, I think, ebay, right? Or, or American Express or. So I don't know. One of these huge companies, like, owns PayPal, and they are, you know, I mean, you know, to listen to Mitch Carson complain that he didn't get his, his, you know, thousand bucks or 100,000 bucks, whatever the amount was, it's, it's, it's next to impossible to break through with those people. You know, you're, you're, you know, you're dealing with, you know, usually it's, it's overseas tech support with people that are on a totally different time zone than you. And, you know, English is their second language, and everything is done through a support ticket. So it kind of makes the process very challenging to get a real human.

[B]

Yeah, this was 2004. Unfortunately, I was doing very well financially. I owned an ad agency and I sold a Whole bunch of courses from the stage, as a speaker. And it was 800,000 that they held. And I. Holy cow. Yeah, it was a stake. It was.

[C]

You got that 100 bucks you owe me, Mitch, Come on. Damn.

[B]

Yeah, and it was. I. I wish times were so good like that today, but I worked my butt off. It was a different time in my life.

[C]

I was going to start doing whatever you were doing together. Well, we'll crush it. We'll sell whatever classes you want to sell. 800 grand. Damn. I'm sorry to go through that. That's.

[B]

Yeah, it was a painful process dealing with them. And what I learned was, is to make sure you split the carriers. Card processors. So I had another.

[C]

Put all your eggs in one basket.

[B]

No, I learned a very expensive lesson. Fortunately, I had cash reserves to cover it. But it was. It was scary because I. I could do nothing. They. It was part. Oh, it's. You have to read the terms of our service, of our merchant agreement, you know, and they are like.

[C]

They are like the. The legal mob.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. You got to pay Uncle Vinnie.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't mean to pick on that.

[C]

Particular ethnic group, us Italians. I got you. I'll let it slide, Mitch. I'll let it slide.

[B]

Hey, I had Italian food last night, so I get a pass.

[C]

All right. So. Yeah. So you got a fat. Yeah, Spaghetti and meatballs last night. Don't worry about it.

[B]

I did with garlic bread and a pizza.

[C]

Just forget about it. You'll be.

[B]

So who do you typically help, Chris?

[C]

I try to help small business owners. I try to help people that are feeling stuck. I try to help people that are hustlers, and they don't kind of know what direction to go. Those are kind of the. The three types of people.

[B]

Are they retail establishments? I mean, you're in. You're in New York.

[C]

Cool.

[B]

Could it be the local grocer?

[C]

Could it.

[B]

Yeah, the dress shop.

[C]

Yeah, it could be. Exactly. All of them. All of the. It could be anyone. That. That takes credit cards. I work with hair salons. I work with auto mechanic shops. I work with bakeries, pizzerias, a lot of food. Because I. I love food, man. So if you're, like, Italian, what do you mean? That's it? Yeah. And of course, most of them are pizzerias. And I gotta start signing up some more salad places, so I. I start going the opposite.

[B]

Balance your diet there, bud.

[C]

Yeah, but it's funny because, you know, when you start working with a client, you know, you're with that client for the first, you know, week or two while they're getting adapted to the new system and they tend to feed you. So I really got to start signing up some. Some healthier places. Man, all these carbs are just going straight to my hips.

[B]

I get it. Well, you're still young, so it won't be a problem for a bit. All of a sudden, the metabolism changes, trust me. But. So these. These clients, what's your pitch to them? People have got merchant accounts, but what makes you different? I'm going to put you on the spot a little bit, but I know you can handle it.

[C]

Yeah, yeah. So. So I try to think of sales like I'm not, like, pitching someone. So I look at sales, like, how can I help someone? And if I can't help them, I move on to the next person. But usually I'm able to help people in one of three different ways. It's usually either service. They're either not getting service or they're getting bad service. Right. So I come in and I tend to give much better white glove service than they're used to. Okay. Cost savings. So saving money, right? That's a big one. Usually I'm able to save at least 20 to 30% of the fees that they're currently paying. And now we have a program out that eliminates 100% of the fees that they're paying. And then three is going to be technology. So I'm sort of a payments broker. So it's my job, my responsibility, to ask the right questions with whatever business owner I'm speaking to to try to find the best solution for that specific business's needs. It may not be POS A, it might be POS B, it might not even be a POS it might be a separate credit card machine. It depends. So it's my job to leave no stone left uncovered and try to find out the best option for that specific business.

[B]

All right, so it could be the dress shop, the pizza place, all these small businesses in. In the locale. Are most of your clients local? I mean, or. Or could you handle somebody, God forbid, in Jersey?

[C]

Well, no. I mean, look, I mean, I know Jersey is kind of like the armpit of the United States, but I have nothing against New Jersey. Even though they're just living in New York. Shadow where it will let it slide.

[B]

Oh, gosh. Oh, God.

[C]

I love. I love Six Flags. Great adventures. So I'm. I'm a fan of Jersey. Yeah.

[B]

So.

[C]

And look, I have clients in right now, I think. I think 16 states. So I'd love to have a client in all 50. When they're out of state, the relationship is just. Usually it's a little different. You know, if it's a big enough client, I'll get on a plane and I'll fly out there and I'll. I'll be on site for up to a week to try to help with the installation and everything. But if it's a smaller client, you know, usually I'll just ship the equipment to them and we'll do like a FaceTime call as needed. But, yeah, about 80, 90% of my. My clients are within the tri state radius. Most are on Long Island, a lot are in Queens, some are in Brooklyn, and I got a bunch in New York City. Right. In Manhattan. So, yeah, mostly local. But if you're a listener and you're not local and you're within the 50 states, feel free to reach out to.

[B]

Me as well, because you'll help them save money on their merchant fees. Because we. We've got to embrace this if we're selling things online. Yeah, if you're in the ecom.

[C]

Yeah. E Comm's been taken off, obviously, like wildfire. But it's. It's more like. Like I'm the guy that. That comes in. I'll install the system, I'll build the menu for them. I'll teach them how to, you know, build in modifiers or set up the kitchen printer to print correctly. Like, a lot of hospitality loves working with us because the other two players, you got square and you got toast, and there's just the support with them. You know, all I hear is that the support is, like, insanely bad. Between having to open up support tickets and waiting 24 to 48 hours to get an answer or response. And with me, it's like my clients just text me. They're like, hey, Chris, our kitchen printer was left under the heat lamp, and we melted it. It's Friday night, and I'm like, I'll be there in an hour. So it's a little different experience.

[B]

White glove experience.

[C]

Yeah. And it's. It's like, you know, who wants to call a 1-800-number or send an email or open up a support ticket to. To get a response? Like, if there's one thing that Covid taught me, it's just that, like, people want a real human, like, now, you know, and they don't want to have to deal with, like, sitting on hold and pressing one because you speak English. And four, for technical support, just. Just call a number and someone answer and that person that answers, I don't want to get transferred, just fix my problem. And that's. I cut out all the bs. I, I really do. And I try to treat people and give people the service that I expect. So that's, that's my whole mentality behind my business.

[B]

What prompted you. What was the pivot point where you left a six figure job? I saw the ring in your finger. You're married.

[C]

Correct. Good eyes.

[B]

Okay, Yeah, I saw that. I have two of them.

[C]

There you go.

[B]

I don't know if you have kids yet. Do you have kids yet?

[C]

Oh, kids. No kids.

[B]

Not yet. All right, but you have a wife and was she supportive of you leaving a six figure union job which is coveted in New York City? I know that I live in New York for one year on the Upper east side and I.

[C]

There you go.

[B]

Union job is coveted because it's very expensive to live there.

[C]

How I was.

[B]

What happened in that dynamic?

[C]

I mean, look, I was in probably the best, one of the best unions that you could get into. Local 638, steam fitters. And it was an amazing, amazing job. And I did it seven years prior to getting into the union working for my brother. And then I got into the steamfitters union and I worked in the union for another seven years. So I'll tell you, when you're doing construction for 14 years, your body kind of gives you clues, like, I don't know if you want to keep doing this another 30 years, you know? So like, you know, the knees start to give you zinger pains here and there. Yeah. Every day at 4:30 in the morning, 5:30 in the morning. Gets old after a while. Working six days a week, sometimes seven days a week, you know? Yeah, you're. If you hit 200 grand that year, that's an amazing year. But it's. You are a zombie. If you're hitting 200 grand a year, normally you make like a buck 20.

[B]

A buck 30, then you're a slave to the job.

[C]

Yeah. And then you're, you're, you got the golden handcuffs, I call it. So I didn't like the fact also that I could work my ass off and I could get more done in a day than the guy next to me. And we were getting paid the same. That kind of drove me nuts. And I didn't think that that was fair. So I, that was my ceiling. Right. And I decided that I don't do well with ceilings. And I wanted to smash and blow past that ceiling. And the no excuses part comes from Growing up in, you know, the broken family. And a lot of people would have used that as an excuse to, to convince themselves and other people that that's why where they're, they're. We're not their. Not where they want to be, as opposed to using it as the fuel and, and being like, okay, well, you know what? Now that's going to give me a reason to work my ass off even harder to get where I want to go.

[B]

That's a big decision. I find very few people that have enough confidence. Did you have a nest egg put aside before you made. Yeah, okay.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

So I'm not as bold as, as I, as I may be coming across right now because what I was doing three years prior to leaving was building this other company on the side.

[B]

Sure.

[C]

So by the time I decided to essentially get laid off kind of on purpose, you know, and, and whatever, and I could have fought to keep my job. And I decided at that point, like, just to give you like the quick story behind it. Right. So like we, we went out to lunch. It was 12 o'. Clock. We come back in, me and my partner, it's, it's 12:30, maybe 12:35 the latest. And we had to go get material on the other side of the job site. And we went, we got the material, we're in the elevator, we're coming, you know, it's like 80 story building. So we're in the elevator coming up now it's like it's almost one o' clock at this point. And now the foreman was where we were supposed to be, but we had to go get material from the other side of the job site. So he's calling us and like we're holding heavy boxes, so we couldn't answer the phone. So we go now where we're set up, and we see the foreman, they're shaking his head because he thinks we're coming in late from lunch. So now instead of me trying to convince this guy that I was actually doing the right thing, which, you know, there was no getting across to this guy, I was just like, you know what, dude, lay me off if you think I was trying to get one over on you. Because I took that as like my golden moment. And I was like, you know what, Maybe this is a sign from God that, hey, this is maybe a pivotal moment in your life. And I took it and I could have got hired the next, literally the next day by 10 different companies. But I decided to dive head first into this job because I did build it up for the prior three years.

[B]

Was he shocked that you gave him that response? Because he was being a dickhead.

[C]

And, you know, he was already on the phone with the project manager ratting us out, and my partner was all upset, like, he didn't have the same background. I should have answered the phone. And I'm like, dude, Tony, like, yeah, I get it. I kind of felt bad because, like, he. This is still what he does, and I'm still very close with. With that guy.

[B]

Did he get canned, too? Did he get canceled?

[C]

You know. You know what it is with Steam Fitters? We. We work in units of two, and you can't lay off just one guy. You have to lay off the entire gang. So it's. It's a. You lay off two guys at a time.

[B]

Oh, poor guy. So he didn't have a back? He didn't have a back, no.

[C]

He ended up getting another job somewhere else, like, the week after. So it's. This is one of those jobs. It's like. I don't know, man. It bothers me. When I knew that we were doing the right thing. And it's all an image. It's all a game. One of my chapters is called Learning to play the Game, and these little moments just kind of drove me nuts. And I don't like working for someone else. I'm like, dude, let's look down on a piece of paper. You want me to highlight what I got done in a day versus someone else? I guarantee you it's more like, why are we even going. Going through these. These motions, you know, Excuse my voice. I've been on, like, five shows today.

[B]

No, no problem. No problem. So I. Yeah, you sound great.

[C]

Thank you.

[B]

Were you. How long did it take you to replace your income when you went onto the entrepreneurial journey?

[C]

Okay, so by the time I got laid off, it took me about a year to make what? After I was. It took me about a year, like, after I got laid off, to kind of make what I was making in the union, you know, so it took about a year, and then, I don't know, within five years, I'm making 10 year, 10 times what I was making back then. So, you know, and. And now I'm learning to scale and delegate and hire people. So I've learned to surround yourselves with people that are smarter than you and want to work as hard, if not harder than you, and just kind of like, letting go of control. I think for me was kind of the hard. One of the harder, harder things to learn to do.

[B]

So so you, you plan this, you planned your exit. Like some people make this entrepreneurial jump without a nest egg or without a plan. So you planned it, you executed later. And your poor partner, he's. Well, he's still doing it then, huh?

[C]

He's. He's still doing it. He came to my book release and he was fully supportive. And I love him like a brother. We have an amazing relationship. And he. It's so funny how now we went. I went from blue collar to white collar, essentially, right? And we're both, we're both living totally different lives and he's still doing his thing. He's happy. I'm so happy for him. And every day I was on the job site, I was just thinking, I'm like. I felt like I was in jail. I'm like, how can I bust out of here? You know? I'm like, I don't. Like, I always. I would say job stands for just over broke. So I'm like, we got. I got to get out of this. I felt like I was just trapped, you know?

[B]

Well, that's a, that's an interesting shift because you paid the dues. Paid your dues, you had a stable job. And then there was that year of a flex where you believed in yourself enough to. Where you were able to duplicate your income. And then eventually you leapfrogged it. Like you said, you're making much more now.

[C]

Exactly. And so you know what the thing was, was, so the last three years before I got laid off with the union, before I walked away with the union, whatever you want to, however you want to phrase it, I was getting off work every day, like 230, maybe three. And then I get home, I'm walking in my door at 4:00'. Clock. I'm not the type of guy to just sit on, you know, in a Lazy Boy and drink a beer and watch the Mets game. I hate sports, so I'm like, I gotta make use of my time here. So I found a business that lets me work when I want to work as hard as I want to work. There's no limit. It's. It's. What's the word? When, when you keep stacking on top of each other, Building and growing. Yeah, building and growing and exponential and all those fun words. And I did that for three years. And I realized that when I was working in the union, it was almost like. I felt like I was almost losing money because, yeah, I was making over 100 bucks an hour. But I'm like, I could be trying to sign up Other accounts and clients right now. And it's like, now if I sign up an account, I don't know, this account could generate as much revenue per month that it would take me a year to. You know, basically with the union, every year you work, I think they give you, what is it, like an extra hundred bucks every month towards your pension or something. And it's like, so if I close one account, I don't know, per month, it's like, now I just basically saved a year of my life, you know, So I kind of made that mental mind shift, change into thinking more long term instead of short term. And that's. That was a, that was a big change.

[B]

That deserves the green chicken is that right there what you're sharing is you're paying your dues and your, your knees are saying thank you. Because, you know, I had a similar story. I'll share. My father was a drunk and he came. I didn't meet him until I was 17. Personal story. I haven't shared this on a podcast before. You mentioned, like, oh, this gives me permission. I don't care. My age, people judge me harshly. They can pound sand. I don't care. But he came to visit me and I was working myself through college. Took eight years because I had to work full time and had to do a little few classes at a time to finally finish. And I was working in a freezer. I was the frozen foods clerk for a grocery chain called Ralph's in Los Angeles, where I live. Yeah. So I was with Rouse and was working frozen foods. And my father came one time to visit me and he said, you know, you don't have much of a personality and you ought to stay in the freezer. You have benefits. I was union. I had good medical, dental. I was part of local union seven seven zero. I remember you go, yeah, local union seven. I paid my monthly to the union, you know, and they had my benefits. And I was making a good hourly wage back then. Nothing like you were making 100 bucks. Not even close to that. It was, I don't know, 12, $13 an hour, whatever it was as a store clerk, because I was a clerk stocking frozen foods. Yeah, I should have been a pipe fitter, but I think I'm glad I didn't go that route because I might have been resistant to leave. And back then, I mean, this is. Obviously there's a little bit of an age gap here. So the wages were quite different back then. I made enough to live a life, pay for a car, pay for an apartment, but it was just an existence. It was. Would have been a cage of income because if I had ever gotten that income and then kids, I'd have been six days a week for the rest of my life. And my knees would have been. They're already shot because of sports for other reasons. But to be on my knees and, and stacking, you know, stocking ice cream and doing all this stuff. Yeah, it would have been a.

[C]

That's, yeah, that's. That's an incredible story. And you realize that you could work your. Your butt off and you'll never make more than X. And you wanted to make more than X. And there are some people out there that they are happy making that and God bless.

[B]

Nothing wrong with them.

[C]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with them at all. I almost wish that was me, but it's not me. I'm just wired differently, which everyone is.

[B]

Same here. Same here. But I did it. I did it out of defiance to my father, who was not there. It was an emotional catalyst for me.

[C]

You're like, I'm going to prove you wrong.

[B]

Yes. And I proved him wrong because I make more money in a year than he ever made in his entire life. Cumulative.

[C]

And how good does that feel?

[B]

Oh, I mean, he's long gone and I, I didn't have much of a relationship with him. And, you know, I don't want to make this a sob story, but it was a motivation story. It was. I'm proving you wrong. And I do have a personality. And I've spoken on stages in 63 countries around the world. You know, I'm a TV show host on NBC, Channel 3 in Las Vegas. I hear my shows there.

[C]

So I, that's great.

[B]

I, I'm. I had no aspirations at that level, but sometimes it takes that motivation of a catalyst. What was the emotional catalyst for you? There has to be something, because we're no different. We're entrepreneurs. We're doing this. But you, it was more than the money. Who did you, who did you answer to? Where you didn't want to be, to where you are now. Emotion. I mean, and financially free, essentially. If you're making 10 times where you. That's very good money, you're doing very well. Then.

[C]

I. Luckily I'm doing very well. And I'm just. I'm honestly, really, really grateful for every opportunity that I get. I was extremely grateful to get into the steamfitters union. And I thank God every day for the opportunities that come across my way. But I also do work my ass off for everything I have and you know, my older brother, he's kind of a driving force behind me because he's. He's 10 times more. More, you know, successful as far as financials go, that. Than I am, you know. He is one of the largest, most successful construction companies in. In the entire state.

[B]

Wow. Good for him.

[C]

Yeah, he does extremely well. He's got, you know, the wife, the kids, the boats, the Porsches. He's got everything under the sun, you know. Okay, so he's got his own fire truck, this guy. Oh, my gosh, how or why. But I was just at my one year old's birthday, my nephew, you know, his kid, and he had the freaking fire truck in the driveway and he had the fire hose going and they had dalmatians and they clowns juggling, doing magic shows. It was something out of like the, like, it looked like a Kardashian birthday party.

[B]

It was just, oh, my gosh, pretentious.

[C]

It makes me love him and hate him at the same time because it's like, if the attention's not on him, God forbid, you know, But I mean, look, he's the driving force, right? So I guess I'm living in his shadow in a sense, you know, So I can't wait to kind of, you know, like, give little digs here and there. I don't know. I'm very competitive. We've always been competitive.

[B]

But you guys get along. You get along.

[C]

We get along very well. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

So he's been supportive? Not poking?

[C]

No, no, no. There's always, you know, a hint of like him throwing a dig at me, you know, like, I'm building a house right now. And he's like, oh, you think it's only gonna take 12 months? I know it's gonna take longer than that one. And we bet on it. And, you know, he's always trying to like, you know, one up you with.

[B]

That's culture. That's. That's culture.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm like, dude, I'm like, shouldn't you be rooting that like your little brother, like, builds his house quicker than he thinks, not longer. Like such a dick.

[B]

I laugh. That's very New York. And also subculture Italian.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm an Italian New Yorker. I mean, I'm literally like, I get it.

[B]

I hate to generalize, but the generalizations work in some case. And this is in a fun way, I don't want. I don't want Occasio Cortez coming after me for making a racist joke.

[C]

Oh, I look I literally love, love spaghetti and meatballs. I will literally say, forget about it. Like, like there are general relations for reasons, you know, so there's nothing wrong with them. In a positive light. Yeah.

[B]

AOC is coming after you. Be careful.

[C]

She's coming off. She's coming after everyone. So what are you gonna do? I, I, I just, I laugh.

[B]

I live in Thailand, but of course, I still follow American politics. It's my country. And I see her and I cringe.

[C]

And I don't care.

[B]

I mean, House likes what I'm saying. I don't care.

[C]

It's just, it's so, it's so crazy. The world is upside down as far as politics goes, you know? I don't know. Did you see the, the new guy running for mayor in New York?

[B]

No. Who's this?

[C]

I don't know. He's, he's some guy. Google him. I'm gonna butcher his name. Guy wasn't even born here. I think he's, I think he's Muslim. Could be wrong, but either way, look, that's what I have against the guy personally is his, his policies. He wants to give everything away for free. Right. I actually love Muslims, by the way. I have a lot that has nothing.

[B]

To do with religion. They're good.

[C]

It has nothing to do with that. I'm just, I'm just trying to describe this guy. He's young. He's like in his 30s. You know the guy.

[B]

Oh, man.

[C]

So, yeah, look, and I'm all for young people, but his policies suck. He's trying to give away everything. He's trying to say, oh, we're gonna do supermarkets run by the government. We're trying to do free, free buses. And I'm like, dude, the bus fair is like, I don't know, $2 or something. I'm like, I get it. Like, everyone needs help, but, like, I don't think people realize that, like, all the free stuff other people are paying for, so it's just like, he want it and it's, it's like, I don't blame people for liking him because on paper it sounds like, oh, this makes sense. Everything's going to be free. It's going to be great until you're.

[B]

Going to pay for it then.

[C]

Exactly, exactly. That's the whole thing.

[B]

It's an economic model. You need. You got to pay for this. New York is the most expensive city in the world. New York City, if you live in New. If you live in Manhattan, you're paying the highest taxes in the fricking country.

[C]

Exactly.

[B]

Tax on top of the state tax and federal.

[C]

And it's coming back. And it's like, apparently he's doing pretty well in the polls. Never thought I would be rooting for Adams, but here I am. And I don't know. We'll see what happens here.

[B]

Well, I'm disconnected. Does that have any effect on your business?

[C]

Ah, you know what it is? A lot of my clients in Manhattan are scared because if he wins, then they think that the economy is going to. Is going to basically take a dump and just go down like the tubes. It's going to go back to, you know, 2020, when everyone, you know, was scared to spend money or not spending money. And it's also like, the cost of everything is just going to go way up because inflation is just going to keep going up. So, I mean, look, a lot of my clients are worried that if he wins, then that's going to happen. But, I mean, dude, I mean, I. I try not to get into politics with stuff because, you know, I'm kind of. I don't know, like, a lot of the clients feel one way, sometimes you feel the other. And it's like whatever the news says, I've learned you kind of have to believe the opposite, you know, so it's kind of. It's. It's like you. You don't know where to get your news from at this point.

[B]

Now, that's true. It varies based on where you are, also what we. You get filtered. So I. It's interesting. I don't know about this guy, but I'm now curious. I'm gonna have to look him up. I mean, I haven't lived in New York a number of years, and I don't follow it as much, but obviously the biggest city in our nation is. Is at the helm in many cases, because that can spill over into other. Other cities. So I have to see what his policies are.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. And hold on, I'll give you. Let's pull him up real quick. What's his name? Mayoral candidate? Zo. I don't. I'm gonna butcher his name. I can't even say his name. Zo. Ron Mamdani. Zora Mandani. Yeah, that's him.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

And you know what it is? He's. He's like, he's. He's a very good speaker. You know, he's. He's. He's not ugly, you know, by any means.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

And he says things that sound great.

[B]

You know, I can't even considered AOC when exactly. And I'M very unimpressed with her. But that's just a I for people who aren't listen outside of the US they're not even going to relate to this. So I, I will go back, I'll, I'm going to circle back to no ceiling no excuses.com and that's where I love the name, by the way. So they can, so you can help them with their merchant accounts, streamlining their processing fees. Is that your core competency?

[C]

Chris yeah, I would say finding out what the business owner needs and is looking for as far as their merchant services are concerned. Point of sale systems is concerned service as far as transactions are concerned. A lot of people get hit with fees and they don't understand why they're paying all these fees and they want to try to reduce them and save costs. So yeah, that's kind of the different avenues that we tend to help people with.

[B]

Okay, well great. So go to no ceiling no excuses.com Chris Capoano forget about it.

[C]

He's forget about it.

[B]

Native New Yorker to the core.

[C]

I can hear Italian baby.

[B]

Oh buddy, I think I need a pizza. Later after this conversation. Chris, you've been a great guest. Thank you for your time today.

[C]

I appreciate it. Thank you very much for having me on.

[A]

Mitch, that was thanks for tuning in to the Amazing Authorities podcast. If today's episode inspired you, take a moment to subscribe, rate and leave a review. It helps more experts like you rise to the top for behind the scenes access and free resources to boost your authority. Head to MitchCarson.com until next time. Stay amazing.