LEAD GENERATION SECRETS EXPLAINED FOR YOUR BUSINESS || DAQUOTA AVILA || EPISODE 067

Summary

The Code To Winning – Episode 067

Lead Generation Secrets Explained for Your Business / Guest: Daquota Avila
Host: Kagiso Dikane
Date: October 27, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this dynamic episode, Kagiso Dikane welcomes Daquota Avila, CEO and founder of Yike (also known as "your media guy"), to demystify the world of lead generation and social media-driven business growth. The conversation dives into actionable strategies for converting content into real revenue, structuring scalable businesses, and embracing the mindset shifts necessary to excel as an entrepreneur. With candid stories and hard-won insights, Daquota reveals the challenges and breakthroughs that transformed him from a struggling solopreneur to the leader of a thriving media company.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Redefining Lead Generation – What Really Works

• Practical “Hands-Off” Lead Gen: Daquota emphasizes that his company isn’t a sales team, but a lead generation powerhouse. They run 70+ social media accounts, identify potential high-value customers, and hand off qualified leads, overlapping digital and physical efforts for local targeting ([01:49–04:12]).
  • “We are not a sales team. We are a lead generation. ... I just generate the leads and you got to do what you do.” — Daquota ([01:51])
  • They use targeted location posting and direct outreach (especially in affluent neighborhoods) for higher ROI opportunities.
• Subscription-Based Model: Clients pay a subscription for content planning, creation, posting, and especially, for strategic targeting after posting.
  • “Where we really, really thrive is after the posting – we find your ideal, ideal customers.” — Daquota ([02:35])

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2. From Solopreneur Burnout to Scalable Business

• Origin Story & Growth Shift: Daquota recounts his humble beginnings, skeptical about business coaching but having his mind changed by real-life success stories ([04:49]).
  • “I was a solopreneur. ... Craigslist was my only source of lead gen, and they were horrible leads.” ([11:04])
  • The critical turning point was getting “roasted” during an open coaching session, leading to breakthroughs in pricing, systems, and mindset ([12:30]).
    • “You have no Legion. One source of Legion is you don’t have a company.” — His coach ([12:30])
• Breaking Through Limiting Circles: The transformative power of upgrading his network and masterminds — being the “smallest fish in the room” to drive ambition ([07:52–09:46]).
  • “I was the biggest fish in my pond, and I had to just get in the ocean.” — Daquota ([07:52])
• On Pricing & Value: Early on, Daquota was trapped racing to the bottom on price—now, he insists on value and isn’t afraid to walk away from customers who don’t see it ([11:23–12:15]).
  • “Now I’m the exact opposite. ... If you want the best of the best, go with that.” ([11:23])

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3. Mindset, Accountability, and Handling Discouragement

• Radical Accountability: Daquota stresses the importance of taking responsibility for every outcome — good or bad.
  • “Everything is your fault. ... If you own that, everything is your fault.” ([13:22])
• Embracing Failure as Growth: He recommends intentionally stress-testing business systems to find weaknesses and fix them fast ([13:22]).
  • “Let’s fail and fail fast and hard so I can fix it so it never happens again.” ([13:22])
• Consistency and Discouragement: Both guests acknowledge the daily grind can feel thankless, but small, consistent actions and resilience pay off ([16:01–18:38]).
  • “If you’re going to fail, just accept you’re going to fail, but you can’t let it... You have to get up. ... 1% better every day.” — Daquota ([18:32])
  • “Stop. Comparison is a thief to success.” — Kagiso ([16:01])

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4. Coaching, Networking & The Right Circle

• Coaching’s Value: Daquota has multiple business and life coaches. He emphasizes paying for the right kind of guidance—those who have walked the walk ([19:54–21:27]).
  • “Find a coach who’s done that... they’ve been in the trenches.” — Daquota ([20:38])
• Caution on Coaches: He warns against online “gurus” who haven’t achieved real results themselves ([20:38]).
• Networking Over Ads: Daquota underscores that his strongest lead flow is from a robust network over paid ads.
  • “Your net worth is your network.” ([27:31])
  • Acts of generosity and authentic connection are central to his client and partner retention ([27:31–32:12]).

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5. Scaling Challenges – Hiring & Letting Go

• The Hardest Move: Hiring Help: The scariest leap was hiring an assistant when he barely broke even — but this decision led to explosive growth ([24:02]).
  • “I went from making $500 a week, and in a month I made nothing because I paid everything to her. And then that next month I tripled my business.” ([24:02])
• Systemizing to Freedom: True business success means the company runs and grows without you ([24:02–26:51]).
  • “If you have a business, you can turn your phone off for a month and just disappear... I still don’t think I have a business. I’m just an overpaid employee.” ([24:02])

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6. Culture, Collaboration, and Motivation

• Strong Culture, Low Ego: Daquota distinguishes his company by building a culture where creative people thrive and buy into the bigger vision ([27:31–32:12]).
  • He splits roles according to strengths (field videographers vs. editors) and emphasizes knowing personal, professional, and financial goals (a lesson from Natalie Dawson).
  • “If you don’t know your employees’ goals and you’re not helping them achieve those goals, you’re not the business for them.” ([31:02])
• Motivation via Challenge: He seeks out rooms where he’s not the biggest player, constantly chasing bigger thinking, better systems ([33:39–35:20]).

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7. Definition of Winning & Final Words

• Freedom, Not Just Profit: For Daquota, true winning is being able to walk away from the business and see it continue to thrive and grow ([36:00]).
  • “Winning, I think, is that freedom where I can just leave. ... My board... company’s going up or down without me. ... That’s what winning is.” ([36:00])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If you’re the biggest fish in your pond, you gotta get in the ocean.” — Daquota ([07:52])
• “Let’s fail and fail fast and hard so I can fix it so it never happens again.” — Daquota ([13:22])
• “If you want great turnaround time, you want this... this is what my agency offers. If you want the best of the best, go with that.” — Daquota ([11:23])
• “If you have a business, you can turn your phone off for a month and just disappear... I don’t have a business yet.” — Daquota ([24:02])
• “Your net worth is your network.” — Daquota ([27:31])
• “Stop. Comparison is a thief to success.” — Kagiso ([16:01])
• “Winning, I think, is that freedom where I can just leave.” — Daquota ([36:00])

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Key Timestamps

• 01:49 – Daquota explains his company’s lead generation process
• 04:49 – How Daquota started in lead generation
• 07:52 – Realization on the importance of the right circles
• 12:30 – Getting “roasted” during a mastermind and the value of feedback
• 13:22 – Radical accountability and intentional system failure
• 16:01 – Discussion on consistency, discouragement, and redefining success
• 18:32 – Importance of resilience and actionable coaching
• 24:02 – The hardest move: hiring and delegating for growth
• 27:31 – Value of networking, culture-building, and collaboration
• 36:00 – Daquota’s personal definition of “winning”

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Where to Connect with Daquota Avila

• Find him on any social platform: @youremediaguy
  “That’s what everyone sort of called me, so that’s what we just went with... if you just follow us, you’re going to get a DM from us anyway.” ([37:27])

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Summary Judgment

This episode delivers a wealth of practical guidance for any entrepreneur, freelancer, or business leader aiming to boost their lead generation, scale their operations, and embrace the disciplines that make success sustainable. Daquota’s transparency about his journey, struggles, and wins—along with actionable takeaways—make this both an inspiring and instructional listen, reinforcing the show’s mission of providing “insights you need today to seize the world tomorrow.”

Transcript

[A]

The code to winning insights. We need today to seize the world tomorrow. If you are interested in learning a lot about what happens behind the scenes. If you want to know about media, building your social media team, trying to convert content in to revenue. If you want to learn about how to run a podcast studio, how you want to try and do the back office and learn all about that stuff, I have one. The guy's going to be training me as well. You know, he is the CEO and founder of Yike. Your media guy. I had to double check your guy. My guy, he's a very, very good person. Very knowledgeable in this field, in this industry as well. Very experienced. He's got studios in Arizona. So without further ado, our amazing guest today, we got Dakota. How you doing, brother?

[B]

Good, Hanging in there. Long day. Long day for you.

[A]

Long day for me.

[B]

We're working and getting it done.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. No. What's crazy is that my first and my last, I. I kind of go to the reserve tank. I. I like, listen, I got to be able to make sure I kind of step on the gas. I'm like, where the heck did that gas come from? So I'm here for it. If you heard from the intro, I still got it, brother. I still got it. So how you doing, boss?

[B]

Good. Just working. It's. It's never ending. Like, I don't know. People are like, when I had my nine to five Mondays, I was like, oh, it's Monday. I got to go back to work. It was like, you own a business that's like, every day's a Monday. Like, Monday's still a show, but every day is a show. So it's like, what do we have today? Like, what problems are we gonna come and overcome today? Like, just keep moving forward. Like, you can only control what you can control. And yeah, we make it happen. We have so many moving pieces, it's hard to have like a perfect day. Cause it's like there's 20, 30 jobs, 10 phone calls, five sale calls. Like, all of this stuff. It was like, nothing's gonna be perfect every day. You just gotta focus in on the stuff that's good, good, and keep moving on. Like, you can't win everything.

[A]

Do you do any roofing sales?

[B]

So we do a lot of setting for our customers. So we have like 72 different social media accounts that we run and manage. We are not a sales team. We are a lead generation. So I just set it be like, oh, you have problems with your roof? Because I'm logged in as them. I'M like, hey, that's crazy that you have that, like, roof leak. I need someone to get out there immediately. We do a free tarping service. Like, what's a good number to call you at? They send me their number. I send that to the company or the CEO and go, hey, like, this guy's ready, he has a roof leak. He needs you guys to go take care of them. Like, that's where I hand the ball off. Like, I'm not a sales team. I don't close sales. We're not paid off of commission. We are a lead generation company. I just generate the leads and you got to do what you do.

[A]

How do you get paid from that? If you generate the leads for customers or like, for clients?

[B]

Yes. So they're on subscriptions. So we build them a subscription based model where it's like, hey, you're going to pay X amount of dollars. We are going to plan your content, we're going to show up at job sites and record your content, we're going to edit that content and we're going to post it. And where we really, really thrive is after the posting, we find your ideal, ideal customers. So if you're like, hey, we did this job in the Pecans in Arizona. Like, the Pecans is a super nice neighborhood. Average house price is like 3.5 million plus. So like very good neighborhood gated, like a great spot to live. Well, also, everyone in that community has quite a bit of money. Well, Instagram will let you geolocate. So not only can you post that you were in that neighborhood working on a roof, but it's going to show all the people in the area. So it's like we use the geolocations to post and then we go find the park that all the moms take their kids to. And we follow all the moms like, hey, did you know this house has problems? It's 20 years old. Actually, all of your houses are 20 years old. Roofs out here only last for 20 years. So for you guys, I want to offer you a complimentary inspection so you can sleep safe at night, knowing when this storm hits us tonight, you not gonna wake up in a puddle. Well, what does the mom do? How much is it? Oh, it's free. We'll come out and do it. Right now. We're already in the neighborhood. We're down the street. You can see our trucks outside. So they walk over there and be like, hey, I just saw your Instagram video. Can you come give me a quote? Well, it's like, how do you sell roofs, you gotta climb on them and write quotes. So it's like, boom, immediately generation. And for these houses, we're talking about like $50,000 plus roofs. So it's not just a little tiny like patch job. So that's where our company thrives is roi. That's like our big thing when we're, when we're planning content, we're recording it, we're posting it. It's how do we get the business roi?

[A]

You know, it's crazy. I remember our conversation that we had yesterday. I was just fascinated to figure out that even when you were doing the lead generation thing, when you focus on those multiple accounts, you actually targeting actual people rather than having like these larger numbers and massive amount of followings and millions where some could be ghosts, some could be different country, could be in Iran. It doesn't really like, it's, it's very irrelevant where you're actually focusing and targeting jurisdiction, which is so important, especially with leads because you're targeting the actual market. That could be more important. And so can you talk about like, when did you start this, the lead generation thing?

[B]

So I started about four years ago. I, I was a solopreneur and I met a guy on Craigslist and now he's my business coach. But he's like, hey, I'm. I'm in business coaching. I'm doing open house. I want like a hype video. I was like, cool, I can do that. Here's some examples of me doing it before. Send him. He's like, looks great. How much do I owe you for the day to come out? And I was like, honestly, I'll do it for free. I've never heard of business coaching. And I think it's sort of a pyramid scam. Cause I've never heard of that. So, like, don't pay me because I don't want to be obligated to stay in the room. If I'm just getting weird vibes, I'm grab my and I'm going to bounce. So he was like, it's free. Even better. So I show up and there's 30 guys in the room and I go up to a real estate and I'm like, hey, is this real? Like, is this just some like pyramid scheme type stuff? And he's like, well, I've only been with him for a year. I was like, okay, well what did you last year? He's like, oh, I sold three houses last year. I was like, well, what did you sell this year? And he's like, I'm like, 37. We're only halfway through the year. I was like, you went from three houses a year to 37 in six months? How the sh t he taught me. So I go over to a roofing company. I was like, hey, does this stuff work? And he's like, well, I've been at 10 million for the past 15 years. I've been stuck at 10 million. And he's like, dude, we did 3 million last month because of the stuff he taught me that I wasn't doing. I was like, oh, okay, that's pretty impressive. So I go and start talking to all these people, and everyone gave me, like, this green testimonial of, like, how great this coaching is and how it's transformed their personal life, their business life, and they're just happier overall. So I sit in the corner, set up all my camera, sit in the corner, and I'm taking all these notes. And one of the assistants came up and she's like, hey, do you want a booklet? I was like, yeah, I would love a booklet. So I get a booklet. I'm following along with him, taking all the notes, doing the camera stuff. And then after, he was like, that business coach was like, hey, what did you think of it? I was like, dude, I'm so interested. This was very valuable to me. I'm so happy that I'm here. Thank you. And he was like, well, how's your business doing? I'm a business coach. You're a business owner. And I was like, at that time, I was a solopreneur. I wouldn't even say I was a business owner. And I was like, dude, I'm killing it. I'm going to do, like, $60,000. And he's like, that's amazing. Let's go to my whiteboard. So we go to the whiteboard, we map out everything. And he's like, oh, dude, your numbers don't make sense. And I was like, I'm at 63,000. I'm on track to do 63,000 this year. I'm doing great. And he's like, oh, I thought you meant a month. And I was like, that's impossible. There's no way my company can do $63,000 a month in social media management. And he was like, flips the whiteboard over, goes like crazy mad scientist, like, draws everything out. And he's like, you're telling me if you don't do this, don't do this. Hire a person here, train someone here, blah, blah, blah, have this training that you have this subscription fix, your billing fix, your lead gen fix. Like, you're telling me, is anything I said on there impossible? And mind you, this is a roofer. He's not the smartest guy in the world. Love him to death, but not the smartest guy in the world. And I was like, no, everything you said is completely doable. And he was like, well, what would the revenue on that be? And I was like, shit, that'd be like 75,000amonth if I did it like that.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

And he's like, so why aren't you doing it like that?

[A]

How much were you making at that time? Well, 60 a year.

[B]

Yeah, I was at 60 a year. Now we're doing 30 on a bad month.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

So have I done the 60,000amonth yet? No, but I've done 53. That was their best month ever.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

So. Totally made me look at everything different. And what I learned from that was like, I love my family. I love my friends that I've had, but they were not the right circle for who I wanted to be and where I wanted to grow. It wasn't the group for me. So it was like, when you hang out with your friends, and it was like, it literally happened. I went back home, and they're like, hey, dude, we're having a bonfire tonight. You want to come through? It's like, dude, I would love to come through. Like, hang out with all my high school buddies. Like, I'm so in. And they're like, could you pitch in, like, 10, 20 bucks for, like, some shitty beer? It's like, no, dude, I'll just go buy some beer and bring it. Like, it's fine. Like, I got you. We're good. Like, a hundred dollars of alcohol. I show up and I'm like, I'm the guy. Like, bro, you spent $100 in alcohol for us? I was like, yeah, it's like, not a big deal. Like, at that time, I'm doing 100,000 plus a year. Like, a profit. Like, not a big deal at all. Happy to do it, to hang out with my friends. And then I realized, like, the people I was hanging out with were so happy and content with all of them kicking a few bucks together for some horrible beer to sit by a bonfire. Like, they. In their minds, they're like, you've made it. You're at the cream of the crop. Best of your life. Like, good for you. Well, then I come to rooms like this, and I'm like, oh, you're doing a million a year. That's cute. I do a million a month. I'm like, that lights a fire in me. And I'm like that, okay. I'm so interested. Like, okay. Like I'm looking at things all wrong. And that's what it came down to. I was the biggest fish in my pond and I had to just get in the ocean. Like if you're in the room and you're the biggest person, there's a problem. I love being in rooms where I'm the smallest person, the smallest business, the smallest entrepreneur because it makes me look at everything like the problems I think I have in my business. I listen to their problems and I'm like, dude, that my problems are nothing compared to that. And then I'm like, hey, your problem I can't help you with. You're mind blown there, but this is my problem. And they're like, oh dude, that's super simple. Just do boom, boom, boom and you're fixed and you're good to go.

[A]

And I'm like, shit, no, no, dude, I couldn't agree more. And I think that's what they say if you're the smartest person or you're the biggest fish in like your thing, you gotta change circles. You have to. Because you naturally end up becoming accustomed to what you're surrounded by. And I think I also mentioned yesterday, like even what Jim Rohn says, you're the average of the five people you hang out with. And it's so crazy when I. This mastermind was the reason I like this mastermind. It was a very engaging one. It wasn't one of those like just talk, talk, talk, go God, they'll go to. It was like, you started off, we're all doing push ups. We start off with those questions, what can we do? What can we do? Another person comes up, spotlight. I'm like this muster man, I wonder everyone's coming every single week because it's an engaging thing. But not just that, like it's a different room because I was ment mentioning all those people that are name dropped yesterday and even today that you are on stage with. But like, just to take it a notch further, when I. When you start hearing all the amounts that everyone's making, you're like, I swear we got the same body. You know, we're human beings, we breathe the same air. It's just somebody managed to crack the code and they're willing to teach. So I'm willing to pay to try and make sure I can be in that room, that I can try and get the connection and just that's what networking is. And which kind of even segues to what I'm about to say. Like, did you always have, like, a networking mindset, or is that something happened over time after you met that one coach?

[B]

No, my mindset, honestly, everything was so bad. So, like, when I was a solopreneur, it was pure luck that I made 60,000 a year. Like, pure luck. I think Craigslist was my only source of lead gen, and they were horrible leads. Like, the stuff that I was doing for the price, I was doing it. Like, I was racing to the bottom.

[A]

So.

[B]

So there would be, like, multiple jobs, and it would just be like, are you going like, oh, someone said they do it for $100. Well, I'll do it 50. Oh, cool, you got the job. And I'm like, okay, cool. There's an hour of planning, two hours of recording, four hours of editing, and I'm like, so I'm paying myself $1 an hour. Why did I race to the bottom? And that was the problem I had. I was like. I was racing to the bottom for what? Like, there was no profit in it. Like, I was able to barely pay my bills. Like, now I'm the exact opposite. People are like, dude, this is my budget. I'm like, this is what I'll do for it. And they're like, ah, no, someone's going cheaper. I'm like, okay, go with someone cheaper. Like, but if you want great turnaround time, you want this, you want this, you want this? This is what my agency offers. Like, if you want the best of the best, go with that.

[A]

Oh, I thought something was wrong. No, I. I love that. And I think the fact that there was no adjustment, like you said, the precedent right there. How did you. Did you start forming your own lead generation, kind of like business apart? Like, how did that start about. I'm curious.

[B]

I got roasted. So what we did is we did that one on one, and I pretty much just got told, like, dude, you have no Legion. One source of Legion is you don't have a company. It's like, why are you not. When you hit the home run out of the park, and the customer's like, this was the best thing ever. Thank you so much. Like, hey, do you have any friends in the area doing the same thing? Like, one text message? Actually, I have four of them. Can you send me their numbers? Boom, four leads. That was more than I was getting, like, a month through Craigslist. So it was like. So there was a lot of things that I learned and how I learned it was. I got roasted. I sat in front of a room of 30, 40 business owners. Open my books, open everything. Like, this is everything I'm doing. This is what I think's working. This is what's not working. What can you guys tell me? I'm the small fish in the room. And they roasted the hell out of me.

[A]

Like, was that very similar to what happened today where it's like, hey, what can you do better? What do you. What can you do? What's it different?

[B]

That one was a presentation. So yeah, they got roasted on a five minute presentation. No, this was like numbers, hard numbers, profit. And I didn't have, I didn't have KPIs, I didn't have a team. I didn't know what closing ratio is. I didn't know what lead gen was. Like, I didn't know what I didn't know. Like, everything I've Learned was through YouTube and just like trial and error. And you said it earlier like you're the average of five people. But it's like how I was taught. Like the metaphor that got me is like, hey, if you show up to buy the brand new iPhone and the line is a seven hour late or seven hours around the block, do you want to wait in it or do you want to pay $500 and cut the first person in line? I'd pay $500 to be the first person in line. So am I smart enough to get to where I am today? Absolutely. But it would have took me years of failures and errors rather than I just paid to cut the line. I paid to listen to someone else's failures and for them to audit me and be like, you're doing this wrong. Why are you doing it like this? And I was like, because I don't know what I'm doing. So it's being as a business owner, everything is your responsibility. Trial, error, failure, succession, all of it comes down to you. So it's like one, you have to own that. If you own that, everything is your fault. Even if like your customer screwed up and like, well, why wasn't your, or, you know, your employees screwed up? Like, well, why didn't you train them better? Like, yeah, they were stupid and they shouldn't have done that and it should have been common knowledge. But is it an SOP or their onboarding or their training that taught them not to do it? And you're like, no, well, that's your fault. Like, totally unto you. So it was like, I took full responsibility for everything and I've Built that out where it's like, I'm the first one to blame myself for everything that goes wrong. And it should be me. Like, it's my systems, it's my processes. Like, and I tried to break them. I'm like, how hard can I overload this to see what breaks first? Because once it breaks, I can fix it. But if I don't know what breaks and I don't know where that weak point is, you can't do it. Um, and I've learned this from one of your guests, too, Tiffany. Um, we help her with her social media, and she's like, the best thing you can do is go on vacation for two weeks and turn your phone off. Come back, you'll know what the problems are real fast. As soon as you're not there, you're gonna see who covers down, who picks up the slack, what systems failed, what went wrong. Like, and then you can. You can't fix something you don't know. So overload your system and try to break it, because what happens is you just come back stronger. And it was like, yeah, it's going to suck. You may lose a customer, like, whatever. Like, it's not good to break a system. Someone's going to drop the ball or something. But on the back end, you can come back stronger. So that's sort of my thing. I was like, let's fail. Let's fail and fail fast and hard so I can fix it so it never happens again.

[A]

One of the things I love the most that you said that you spoke about accountability. You know, many times people, like, jump in something and they're always ready to point the finger. Oh, no, I shouldn't have done sales with this person because the company sucks. Oh, I shouldn't have done this thing. But that thing is, I should have went to that area. And then you realize that, hey, hang on. There are people that are in the exact same boat as you are, but they're finding success. And I won't lie. I don't want to be a hypocrite, but I've also been in those situations where I just blame everything but myself. And accountability is such an important factor, especially when you become an entrepreneur, when you want to try and upscale. And that's. That's. It just stuck out to me. It's like, gosh, like, how many times do people find themselves in this thing where they play the blame game and pointing at every other finger because, you know, we are capable of literally achieving anything we want to achieve if we just put our mind to it as well. And from our discussions and all the stuff that you've been doing, everything just comes down to how, like, you're structured, how many times you work out. Like, you work out all the time. You do the small things that just add up. You know, the small stuff eventually add up because they. My favorite term is consistency. You know what I'm saying? Like, I go from state to state, do what I do, but when. Every time. When I keep posting every single day episodes and I start seeing new subs and we do all these different stuff and people engaging and like, hey, I've been following you for a while. It's exciting to see that. Because you may not see the end goal. You're like, oh, yeah, I've been monetized since my second episode. But it's like, why am I not making I show speed. Okay, Cy thing? And I'm like, hang on. These guys have been doing it from, like, that time. And sometimes, you know what I'm saying? Stop. Comparison is a thief to success. That's all I can. And it's hard for me because I'm like, look at the guests I'm bringing. I'm like, I should be 100k at least, you know? But it's like, listen, success comes in many different ways as well. So have you ever felt discouraged and say, like, damn, like, I've been busting my butt. I'm doing all this stuff, running all these studios. I should be 1.2 mil a year, if that. Has that ever discouraged you?

[B]

Oh, every day. Like, there's not a day where I'm like, could I have done more? Could I have done better? What could I have done different? Like, you've been here for two days doing podcast. So, like, I was thinking about today. I was like, shit, I don't have the names and number. I think I got two of your. Your guests contact information. They're all local. They obviously like to do podcasts. They show up to. You brought me 12 of my ideal customers. What have I done as a business to close these? And I'm like, shit, I'm going to have to message this guy and be like, hey, buddy, like, can you send me the names and phone numbers of everybody just so I can.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so then we go back to Legion. Like, you brought me 12 ideal customers. All I have to do is send them a text. Be like, dude, I'm so happy that you came to our podcast studio and checked it out if you thought about doing a podcast, or that's something that just interests you, like, I'll do your first one to free to get you in here and hook you. Like, and once you're hooked on it and it was like, then you'll do another one and then I charge you and then I put you on subscription. So it's like, there, there's ways to do it. It's just like, discouragement is huge. Like, if you're going to fail, just accept you're going to fail, but you can't let it. Like, you're. You're going to get kicked while you're down, but you. You have to get up. And it's an everyday thing, like, improve yourself. And I wanted to get a tattoo, and I think I'm still going to. It's like 1% better every day. Like, I didn't come up with that, but it was like, if you're just 1% better every single day, like, you will succeed. You just have to do it. And that's where I think people give up, is like, I posted five times on social media and I didn't get a lead, so I stopped. Cool. I posted 500 times on social media and I got one lead. Like, talk to me after your 500 post. And I have other people. Yeah, I post one time on social media. Three people reach out. It was great. Like, cool. Good for you. High five. Like, but did you post the next day? No, I was like, well, did you post the day after that? No, I was like, post ev. Like, it goes back to the consistency. Like, you're going to lose battles. Welcome to entrepreneurship. It's not for the week. You're either in it or you're out of it. But it's like, you know, consistency, accepting defeat, improving yourself. Like, there's so much to it. And that's why I push people to coaching. Like, I love coaching. I have, like, nine different business coaches, some of them being more on the life coach, some of them being harder on the business coach, some of them in the middle. Like, you just have to find that person that speaks to you and helps you get to where you need to be. And I have different coaches for different things. I have some where it's like, I could tell them, like, oh, yeah, I did this podcast. This guy, he had 12 guests. It was cool. We made a little bit of money off of it. And they'd be like, but you didn't generate any leads. You suck. And I have other ones that will sugarcoat it, be like, oh, well, you know, you should have thought about, like, this. Like, could you have done this Differently. But I was like, I need that. I was prior service military. I need that person to slap me in the face with and be like, you're stupid. You messed up. Fix it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I was like, that's the coaching that I need. So it's like. And some people are like, whoa, that's way too intense. I need something nicer. Like, didn't find a coach that's nicer, but it was like, you have to find that person that speaks to you, motivates you and can get through. Like, we're all stubborn. Like, there's. There's something that gets through to you and you just need that person that gets through to you and has done it. And that's like, there's too many coaches online right now, in my opinion, that haven't done what they're selling. Like, in theory, do this, this and this. No, find a coach who's done that. And after you find a coach that's actually done it, hire them as your coach because they've done it. They've been in the trenches. They paid for the losses. Like they paid a million dollars in ads. It didn't work. They paid, you know, $50,000 for a billboard. It didn't work. Or it did work. Regardless. Use their money pay to cut the line. Take their failures, take their wins, and then just implement from what you learn from them.

[A]

You know, brother, you know what's so crazy is that everything you sing, I believe, but sometimes hearing it again is amazing. You know the reason I share that, because you and I have had so many raw convos. I'm so grateful, like, Jason got to connect us because when I obviously, I know what we're going to be doing in future and the stuff you're going to be training me and my team as well. But it's the fact that doing this right now has just always been so much of like hard earned money, like sales. So, like, there's no investor, there's no, there's no sponsor, but like, just this trip of like Miami, Vegas, back, blah, blah, all these different stuff. I've had people reach out and say, listen, have you got a sponsor? Have you got this thing? I had the parlor guy reach out again, the one I interviewed you. He says, like, listen, I want to get you and play tv. Let's talk about other stuff as well. I've had people's. You know what I'm saying? It's the fact that it's like sometimes you put yourself in situations where opportunities are there. And like, when I started speaking about that vision. I'm like, how the heck am I going to get like, I don't want to say it obviously what I'm going to be doing, but like 200 to 300 of people in a certain industry and you're like, hey, listen, I know if you guys are just went there, blah. But it's stuff like it, it's like, oh my gosh, like sometimes just opening up and letting people know because we're all in this thing where we want to win together and nothing as good as winning as bringing people together. But one of the things I like about winning is like people like you that see the vision and also see the opportunity rather than like trying to like just scam people. And that's a hard. That's why people also afraid of coaching, because people want to try and teach something that they're not living.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, and so. And I'm the same way, man. I'm just say direct to me, like, hey, kg, this is not good. Do that thing. Rather try and get you spend over close to 100k from your sales money or this amount of money from that side. Hustle. Try and work efficiently because YouTube is not going to pay you 100k when you're only on 40k subs. So stuff like that. But at the end of the day, like, it starts with that 1% better consistency and just doing it over and over again. Because unless I've done over a hundred episodes, I haven't. I've already had people potentially reach out as well. You know, it's just. There's many things that just do what you want to do. Like I've seen when you're there, like yesterday when you were watching you and Jason walk and then coming here, I think we. We saw you do three workouts yesterday, I think when we were talking about your story as well. But it's. It's the habits, you know what I'm saying? The habits that get instilled in your head and then it gets you moving as well. Which kind of, kind of segues to what I want to talk about right now. Like, yes, you did that. What was the hardest part or the hardest part of being an entrepreneur?

[B]

Oh, my gosh. I know exactly. The hardest thing I did was hire an assistant. So I was making like around 500 a week and my assistant cost me 500 a week. So go from a small business, all of your money paid to one person to do the back end stuff. So week one, I trained her. Week two, I trained her. Week three, she Started week four, I tripled the size of my business because I took so many minute easy tasks that were just time consuming off of my plate and paid someone else to do it. So I went from making $500 a week and in a month I made nothing because I paid everything to her. And then that next month I tripled my business. Two weeks after like that I 5x my business. I was like, mind you, my business wasn't huge so it was easier to do. But I went from $500 a week to like four grand a week with one hire of doing the minute back end stuff. So it's like it's so hard as a business. You put all your heart and your energy into like building this business and it's your baby. But eventually you have to pass parts of it away to actually like grow it to a business. And I still don't think I have a business because I can't leave for a month. So someone told me if you have a business, you can turn your phone off for a month and just disappear, go on vacation, go to Mexico, do, do whatever. Turn your phone off for a month and come back. Do you have a business or do you have a ton of ashes that are burnt down? Like I have a ton of astros that would burn down. It would burn down so fast. Maybe not that fast but like I would like to think it wouldn't. But I know we would have anything declined, we would have lost customers. Revenue would have gone down without me here. So I don't have a business yet. I'm still overpaid employee working in my business. I have a business when I can just disappear and I know that I'm going to generate leads, I'm going to close leads, I'm going to have new customers and everything's going to improve. So it's like I still don't think I have a business. I'm just an overpaid employee like which.

[A]

Goes back to that cash flow quadrant. You know, the, the Robert, you suck a thing of like E for employee, S for small business and then it's B and I. He said you want to be on the right hand side. BNI big business and investor. It's like the big business you can go for months but because of the, the structure and also the systems that are in place, it's easy for the company to end up like generating and moving. And I did an internship in like ab, like a Bloomberg kind of company. He was hardly there. Guy would leave for like months and he's in the uk Comes back, but because there's like, CEO. There's like, board of directors is this. And there's that thing. There's, like, people taking care of interns. It's like a freaking story building of all those floors and stuff.

[B]

But it's, like, almost sometimes better that they are gone. Yeah. It grows more without you in there micromanaging people. And that's. I mean, that's where I want to get where it's like, oh, it's better. Like, I have some of our clients that are like, will you send so and so they're just better than you. I know. That's why I hired them. Because they're better than me. Yeah, that's why I send them. Like, I'm so happy you want them to do it. Because I don't want to do it. I'm trying to do bigger tasks. So, like, yep, they'll be there every week on Monday.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Record for you. Like, not a problem.

[A]

Yeah, no, I. I couldn't agree more. And that's one thing I do like, collaboration. There's so much. We're in this world where there's so much ego. And I tell you, man, like, every time I see people with ego, you only can go so far before it all comes crumbling down. And I think we spoke about, like, the, like, the crap that's been happening with some of the leaders in era, you know, the. And their teams falling apart and this thing and that thing. But I. I always reach out. I'm like, listen, I'm willing to. And I'm willing to not just, like, reach out and try and, like, scabble people. Like, I'm reaching out, saying, listen, yeah, I need you to this thing from the uk. I'm willing. You know how important is collaboration and networking, working together.

[B]

Networking's everything. Like, you're only, like, your. What was it your net worth is? Your network. Like, I heard that. And I was like, does that really make sense? And I sat down, thought about, like, yeah, dude, my network of people are so powerful. Like, and I have people all the time. Like, hey, I need this do. Call this guy. He's my AC guy. He'll take care of you. Just tell him you're with me. Oh, your roof's bad. Oh, dude, call this guy. Oh, that guy's busy. He can't get out soon enough. Call this guy. Like, I have a roster of every blue Cop dollar business that are the best in their industry, first off. And that they would jump through hoops because they knew they would do it back for Me and I have it sometimes, like, whatever reason right now, we've had a lot of people die. And it was like, hey, dude, so and so's like, brother just died. Cool. Reach out to them. I want to do the memorial video. Oh, well, you know, they're a little, like, struggling with. No, I don't. I don't want money for it. Like, that network and keeping that network so close and just taking care of people will go so much farther in your business than paid ads or anything else. Um, and that's where people like, if. If you have an ego, I just don't mess with you in the first place. I was like, if you have, like, if you have an ego and we see it, it's the hardest thing for me to hire videographers. Cause they all have an ego. They're all the best videographer. And it was like, well, I don't care if you're the best. I want it done this way. Well, I went to film school, a prestigious film school, and no, you want to do it like this. And I was like, well, my customer wants a social media video, and they don't want to pay $20,000 for a 30 second video. So do it not to your standard. Like, no, no, I refuse to do that. Well, cool. Then you don't work for me. And then we look back about some of the overpriced people, and I was like, wait, so you did like $25,000 in work last year? Like, that's cute. I've done that in a month. And they're like, oh, aren't you cool? I'm like, no, I'm just saying, like, your ego's stopping you from all of this. So it's like, it's super tricky in my industry to find badass employees that don't have an ego. And I have to get them to buy in on the culture. And that's so hard. As a business owner, I think people miss that. Like, your culture needs to be strong enough where people want to come to work, they're happy to come to work. And we talked a little bit, you know, off camera, about how I break it down. Like, I have my videographers and I have my editors. My editors love to stay at home and just edit. They're not people. Like, they're not people people. They like to just sit at the computer and play on their keyboard all day. And then I have my super creative people that are like, they need that interaction and they hate going and locking themselves in a box to edit. And I'm like, why don't I split it? Like, yeah, it's expensive. I have to double my like, payroll. But it's like, you guys go be creative, Go out in the field and go make awesome content, then upload it to the Google Drive and then this person is going to download it and edit it. And I was like, now as a consumer, like, our turnaround time is amazing because it's like this person was so high energy. They came out there, they made us awesome videos. They went home that night, uploaded it. 3am, our guy woke up, click download. 6am he woke back up and he's editing like noon. All your videos are done. And you're like, dude, we finished less than 12 hours ago. Like, I just got on the flight, just got home, and I open it as like, click on the link. All of our videos are done. I was like, well, how do we do that? It's like, because we build an agency. Like, so you have to motivate people to do what they like and you have to know what they like. Like, I sold this from Natalie Dawson. Like, PPFs, personal, professional and financial goals. If you don't know your employees goals and you're not helping them achieve those goals, like, you're not the business for them, they'll leave you for money. So, like, how do you motivate your employees where, like, they're untouchable and unrecruitable. Like, there's always going to be a dollar amount or whatever. But like, ideally there's not a dollar amount. You're. You pay them good, you've met all of their goals. They're hitting their life goals, they're hitting their family goals, they're hitting their personal goals. Like, they're hitting everything they want to do with their life. Why would they lead the company? No, they're happy. So. And that's where I think people go wrong, is like, you forget, like, your employees aren't like workhorses. Like, I have some workhorses. But it was like, what are their goals at the end of the day? And what motivates them? And then how do I help them motivate? Like, one of my assistants right now is on vacation. I was like, I still sent her her paycheck and she's salary. So like. Or she's not salary. She's like, based off of the account she post for. So it was like, I still sent her her check full and she's at Disneyland with her family and she's like, hey, I don't think you meant to send this to me and be like, no, I absolutely. Did you bust your. While you're here, you took a week long break and I'm so happy for you that you get to go to Disneyland with your family. But, like, I know what I'd pay you is sort of like your play money. And you guys are out playing right now. So, like, I want you to still have a good time with your family and kids.

[A]

Yeah, that's nice.

[B]

So it's like, go to her right now while she's on vacation and be like, hey, come work for me. I'll pay you more. Dude, my boss just paid me and I didn't do anything.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And sent me a text saying like, hey, good for you. Have fun with your children.

[A]

Like, dude, at the end of the day, people are people.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, I just like it so much because if you start treating people like people, I think that's, that's where things start like working super well. And I think that's where we're talking about. I, I'm not going to name drop because I have no beef against a. The people that. And the stuff that's been happening, especially like in the Fountain Hills area. Cool.

[B]

Now where we're going.

[A]

But my point is if he's just. Because people will, if they buy into the idea is also if they see the vision, but if the vision also aligns with their goals and by understanding their goals. And I think that's one of the things I like the most. And that's why I'm like, listen, I just sense something good about you. I'm like, I'm going to fly out of Salt Lake and I'm gonna take notes like everyone else. As much as, yes, they're going to be in my team, I'm going to recruit them. I need to know what the expectation is and I'm willing to learn as well. Because one of the things I liked a lot about Jason, he was in the trenches, he's selling, he's out there on the roofs and stuff like that. And like you always like in, in and about. You involved you. You've taken calls seeing how that studio is doing, how that studio. What's the goals for this thing? KPIs, all the, all these different stuff and you, it's, it's all a process. And the minute you take your foot off the gas and you stop becoming complacent, I think that's when everything falls apart. Complacency is also another dangerous, like attribute as well. So how do you continue to stay.

[B]

Motivated yourself Being the smallest person in the room, Like, I, I refuse to be the biggest person in the room. Like, yeah, it's just not going to help me grow. And I'm, I'm very open minded, like as nice as possible. I lose a lot of money by trying marketing things like, oh, dude, so and so said they did this and it worked really good. Cool, let's do it. Hook me up with their person. Oh, it didn't work for us. It was good. Great for blue collar, not good for tech company. Well, I tried but it was like once you're complacent and you're like, I'm not willing to grow. I'm not going to integrate AI in my company. Like your business is going up or down. As soon as you stop willing to grow and like take notes and improve yourself, you're going down. And that's where like I'm still, My business is only three years old. We're thriving. We're like, I feel like we're dominating. Like you go to a Facebook group for Arizona, they're like, I need a videographer. I have 60 comments. 30 of them are me and they tag me personally and I've never even worked with them. But it's like we've built that team and that culture where it's like, no, these are the guys you want to use. Like, are they going to be a little bit more expensive? Yeah, they're reasonable with their prices. They're not going to give you this crazy quote. Um, and that's why I hate giving people quotes cuz I'm like, well what do you want? Oh, I just want you to record. Well, do you want editing? No, I just want like one 20 minute long video, very basic. I'm like, then I'm not gonna quote you 10 grand. Like it doesn't cost me 10 grand. Um, and it's like we built that team where we can be reasonable with our prices. Um, we, we do a ton of work, we have fast turnaround times and everyone's happy. So just keep growing. Like as soon as you're complacent, it's over. Like be a small person in the room, be open minded, take notes from the best. And if you feel like you are the best, then you either have an ego about you or you're just in the wrong rooms.

[A]

Love that. No, no, I know the reason, I've been looking at the time. I know you guys have to go somewhere right now and I, I really respect and I appreciate the time that you've taken to jump on this podcast, and we open up and discuss and so forth as well. I'm excited to come back here, by the way. You know, he's. This is his studio right here. So the great hospitality that's been given here in Arizona, it's been amazing to be able to bring the guests all last minute, and we end up managing to pull 12 out, you know, like, so it's another thing I have a passion for as well. So now, Dakota, in. In your opinion, like I said, I've always asked all my guests this thing because it is the code to winning. At the end of the day, what does the term winning mean for you?

[B]

Winning, I think, is that freedom where I can just leave. Like, my dad's going to retire 10 years tops. But he's aiming for, like, seven years. I was like, I want to sell my business in seven years. The same time he retires, where it's like, money's not an issue. Like, where do you want to go? What do you want to do? So I was like, I'm racing. My dad's a retirement. Like, I won't retire. Like, ideally, I'll sell my business same time he retires. We'll have plenty of fun money for a year or two to travel and do our thing, and then I'll probably start another business or do, like, I have too much adhd. I have to do something. But, yeah, so, like, winning for me is being able to, like, achieve that. Like, race my dad's for retirement, and then when I retire, just be able to, like, money not be an issue. Or even if I don't sell in seven years, being able to be like, dude, I'm gonna go hang out with my dad for the next six months. Like, my board, everything. The company's going up or down without me. Like, all the systems are in place. Everything's gonna run smoothly. I'm gonna come back. Let's say I left with a $5 million company, and, like, I'm at least going to come back in six months, and we're doing 5.5 million. Like, it has to increase without me. And that's what's winning for me, is if you have a real business where you're not an overpaid employee, your business can thrive and honestly sometimes thrives better with you when you're not there. Like, that's what winning is.

[A]

Powerful. If you could let our viewers know where they could get a hold of you if they want to try and, like, you know, jump. Rent a studio out in Arizona, Videographer, all that different stuff. Can you let people know where they can get a hold of you?

[B]

Yeah, you're a media guy. Any social media platform. You're a media guy. That's what everyone sort of called me. So that's what we just went with and it was like, yeah, you're a media guy. Any social media platform, send us a dm. Or if you just follow us, you're going to get a DM from us anyway. So that's how you do it.

[A]

Awesome stuff. The code twinning insights you need today to seize the world tomorrow. Dakota, thank you very much, brother.

[B]

Yeah, no problem.

[A]

Appreciate it.