From $7 Haircuts to 7.6M Followers: Sly Honcho’s Blueprint to Going Viral in 2025

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex – Episode: From $7 Haircuts to 7.6M Followers: Sly Honcho’s Blueprint to Going Viral in 2025

Introduction

In this compelling episode of The Level Up Podcast with Paul Alex, host Paul Alex Espinoza welcomes Sly Honcho, a burgeoning digital marketing mogul with an impressive 7.6 million followers across platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter (Now X), and more. The episode delves deep into Sly's transformative journey from humble beginnings as a $7 haircut barber to becoming a viral sensation and successful entrepreneur in the digital marketing realm.

Career Beginnings: From Fast Food to the Barbershop

Sly Honcho opens up about his early days, starting as a professional fraud flipper while working at Wendy’s. Dissatisfied with the slow income from fast food jobs, he sought a more lucrative path.

• Transition to the Military: In 2017, post-high school, Sly was recruited into the Army, motivated by the promise of a college scholarship. However, he admitted, “I already felt separated from the start” (01:50), expressing his lack of enthusiasm for military life but recognizing the necessity for a successful future.

• Athletic Background: An accomplished high school athlete, Sly excelled in football, wrestling, and track, earning 12 varsity letters. Despite his athletic prowess, he couldn’t take his sports career to the next level, prompting a pivot to other ventures (03:09).

Military Service and the Grind

During his time in the military, Sly was stationed in the civil affairs unit, surrounded by older personnel, which he found challenging due to generational differences and perceived abuse of rank (05:35). Despite these obstacles, his military tenure instilled in him a strong work ethic and discipline, crucial for his future entrepreneurial endeavors.

Entering the Barbershop: Humble Beginnings

Sly’s entry into the barbershop business was somewhat serendipitous. Initially reluctant, he learned to cut hair from his sister and began offering affordable services:

• Pricing Strategy: Starting with $5 lineups and $7 haircuts in 2018, Sly quickly realized the limitations of underpricing. By his sophomore year in college, he adjusted his rates to $25 to better reflect the value of his services (11:50).

• COVID-19 Challenges: The pandemic forced Sly to make significant sacrifices, including sleeping in his car to continue serving clients in Kansas City while his college town was shut down. This period of relentless hustle culminated in him saving enough to secure his first apartment and achieving a six-figure income by July 2020 (13:56).

Discovering Digital Marketing: The Turning Point

While excelling as a barber, Sly recognized the potential of social media as a powerful marketing tool:

• Early Social Media Efforts: From 2018 onwards, Sly utilized creative video content to promote his barber services, going against the grain when older barbers resisted using videos (07:03). This early experimentation laid the groundwork for his later digital success.

• Epiphany and Strategy Development: December 2023 marked a pivotal moment when Sly fully embraced digital marketing. By screenshotting his social profiles on January 1, 2024, he began aggressively marketing his social media strategies, leading to a meteoric rise in followers—gaining over 6 million in just 69 days on platforms like Instagram and TikTok (15:20).

Social Media Monetization: From Followers to Income

Sly outlines his methodical approach to monetizing social media:

• Content Strategy: Emphasizing consistency and emotional engagement, Sly focuses on creating content that triggers viewers' emotions and senses, effectively telling a compelling story in each video. He likens his videos to “free ads,” using voiceovers to describe clients' hair issues and solutions, thereby hooking the audience within the first five seconds (16:36; 20:21).

• Platform Optimization: By linking Instagram to Facebook, Sly ensures dual-platform growth, maximizing his reach and income from both sources simultaneously (18:30).

• Product Launch: In December 2023, Sly launched his first digital product, a social media growth eBook priced around $50, generating $10k in the first month. This success was amplified by residual income from content marketing (17:08; 17:21).

Overcoming Challenges: Discipline and Mental Fortitude

Sly candidly discusses the mental battles inherent in entrepreneurship:

• Internal Struggles: The greatest challenge for Sly has been maintaining discipline and consistency, battling internal distractions and previous bad habits like drinking (26:34). He emphasizes the importance of mental resilience and controlling one’s thoughts to stay focused on business goals.

• Building a Supportive Environment: Surrounding himself with like-minded, high-achieving individuals, especially after moving to Atlanta, exposed Sly to “higher level thinking” and innovative ideas, fueling his ambition to create unprecedented digital marketing solutions (24:00).

Future Plans and Vision

Looking ahead, Sly aims to build an empire not just for himself but for other service-based entrepreneurs. His vision includes:

• Educational Systems: Developing systems to enhance social media presence for service-based businesses, helping them attract target audiences organically without heavy reliance on paid ads (22:48).

• Innovative Products: Launching “mega suites” with unique, cutting-edge ideas inspired by his exposure to diverse CEOs and high-level business strategies in Atlanta (24:03).

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Sly provides actionable advice for those starting out, particularly in service-based businesses:

• Embrace Storytelling: Utilize voiceovers and storytelling techniques to engage audiences emotionally from the outset of each video (20:52).

• Overcome Shyness: View the camera as a friend to become more comfortable and authentic on screen (29:50).

• Consistency is Key: Maintain a steady flow of high-quality, engaging content to meet platform requirements and grow organically (16:36).

Conclusion and Motivation

In closing, Sly emphasizes the importance of determination and mindset:

• One Mode Away: “You’re one mode away from changing your life. So get in that mode,” Sly advises (33:35), encouraging listeners to adopt a focused and resilient approach to achieving their dreams.

• Community Building: By fostering a community where followers know, like, and trust the entrepreneur, Sly believes in the power of collective growth and mutual support.

Notable Quotes

• Sly Honcho on Grind: “You have to go through the grind. Everything's not going to be easy. You got to get through the grind” (10:03).

• Sly Honcho on Content Creation: “Triggering all their emotions... bringing the people into the experience” (20:21).

• Paul Alex on Discipline: “The hardest portion of business... the mental battle is huge” (26:34).

• Sly Honcho’s Motivation: “You’re one mode away from changing your life. So get in that mode” (33:35).

Final Thoughts

This episode serves as an inspiring blueprint for aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly in the digital marketing and service-based sectors. Sly Honcho’s journey from $7 haircuts to millions of followers underscores the power of discipline, innovative social media strategies, and unwavering determination. Listeners are encouraged to leverage these insights to level up their own entrepreneurial ventures.

For more insights and resources, visit www.OfficialPauLAlex.com and follow Sly Honcho on Instagram @SlyDiehuncho.

Transcript

[Paul Alex]

Welcome to the Level up podcast. I'm your host, Paul Alex. I went from being a cop to an eight figure entrepreneur that helps average people like you and me make money every single day. I created this podcast to help you get motivated and to crush your goals. Let's win together. Remember, I have your six. Get ready to level up right now. Hey, guys, this is Paul Alex. Welcome to the level of podcast. Today I have a special guest, guys. He goes by the name of Sly Honcho. He has over 7.6 million followers across social media platforms. Guys, we're talking about Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, which is called Now X. Absolutely everything. I'm probably missing a couple guys, you know. You know me, man. Old school millennial here. But anyways, Sly, how you doing today, brother?

[Sly Honcho]

I'm doing good. How about you, man?

[Paul Alex]

Thanks for coming out, dude. Like, you know, I come to Miami once a week and, you know, my schedule's back to back to back to back. And I was just like, bro, I gotta link up with Sly. Sly, man, you've been blowing up, bro. You've been blowing up. Tell me, tell me all the secrets, man.

[Sly Honcho]

So you know what I'm saying? So I started out as a professional fraud flipper, first off, so I was working at Wendy's, working at fast food. I'm expecting fast cash because how fast I'm working, but the money's coming in slow because it's fast food.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Sly Honcho]

So I was like, I need something different. I need something different. So you know those. Those recruiters that come to your high school? Like, you want to join the army? We'll pay for your college. They got me.

[Paul Alex]

What year was that?

[Sly Honcho]

That was 2017. That's when I graduated high school. 2017.

[Paul Alex]

Okay, so 2017. This is before the pandemic, before everybody's life changed. Yes, Before Uber Eats. Stocks just skyrocketed. Right. Because everybody's ordering delivery. So. Okay, cool. So you go to the military and you're like, all right, this is pretty good.

[Sly Honcho]

And then originally, no, I'm not like, it's pretty good.

[Paul Alex]

No, no, you were like, I gotta do it.

[Sly Honcho]

I already felt separated from the start. Really? I didn't like it at all. So I was really doing something that I didn't want to do because I had to do it because they was paying for college. So I felt like, oh, I got to finish this because I didn't want to pay back the money that they was giving me.

[Paul Alex]

I got you. I got you. Okay, we'll get into that. And then originally where are you from?

[Sly Honcho]

Kansas City, Missouri. I'm with Chiefs.

[Paul Alex]

I love that. I love that. Chiefs fan, right?

[Sly Honcho]

Yeah, yeah. Facts.

[Paul Alex]

Love it. Love it. Niners. Niners. Go my Niners.

[Sly Honcho]

Sorry for y'all. We got, we got whooped this year, so you know what I'm saying?

[Paul Alex]

I mean, it happens, bro. You know what I'm saying? Every dog got their day, so. Okay, so 2017, you're getting recruited into the army. What are your first thoughts? Like, what do your parents say about that, man? What does your family think about the army?

[Sly Honcho]

Donald Trump, that's the first thing he say. Oh, you gotta worry about Donald Trump. You gotta worry about Donald Trump. But mentally I'm already preparing myself because I know that they're not gonna be paying for college. So I'm already self dependent in my mind. Like, I gotta do this for me because I'm the only person that's gonna be able to save myself. So I already had that mindset back then, so. So this, that was a choice that I had to make in order to have a successful future. So that's what I felt like, taking the leap. But everybody like, oh, don't do the Army. You gonna do the army. I'm like, shoot, what else I'm gonna do? Because I was really one of those high school kids that was having those athlete dreams, you know, but it didn't work out.

[Paul Alex]

But what sports did you play?

[Sly Honcho]

I played football, wrestling, did track, my main sport that I was good at. I would say that's kind of. I was well balanced. So wrestling, 32 and 9 football. Played wide receiver, cornerback, all conference, all district, all that, you know, I mean, got like 12 varsity letters, so all around athlete, but just didn't get over the top as far as taking it to the next level. So I had to choose or figure out another way, you know?

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, yeah, no, that makes sense, man. So with that being said, so you end up going to the army, what was your first impression of the army the first couple months? Like where they fly you to, man? Like, like describe it, describe it.

[Sly Honcho]

Okay. So they gave me a scholarship, whatever. So I had to enlist. They gave me the scholarship. So that avoided my basic training date until I graduated college. So that was the finesse.

[Paul Alex]

Wow, I didn't know you could do that.

[Sly Honcho]

Yes, because that's, that was like a limited scholarship. It was like a 50 case, 50k scholarship, whatever. So that would avoid my basic training date till I finished college. It's called like a Minute man scholarship, whatever. So did that. But the only thing I Had to do was go to drill every month, go to drill every month, do the ROTC program, complete all my classes, keep 2.5 GPA. I think that was really it. And then do PT in the morning. So first it felt, it felt like sports and PT felt like sports. You know what I'm saying? So you're getting up early doing what you got to do. But when the classes came and I'm around the people, I felt like separated. So while I'm at jail, I'm in the corner just quiet because it's all older people. They like, oh, oh, oh, oh.

[Paul Alex]

People like, what do you consider old at that time?

[Sly Honcho]

They like, they like 50, like at least.

[Paul Alex]

Really.

[Sly Honcho]

It's like I was in, I was in the civil affairs unit.

[Paul Alex]

Got it.

[Sly Honcho]

So it's like everybody here is older, but it's like they kind of abuse and they rank like just because they tell you something, right, you got to do it. Like I get that you got to do it, but the way that they saying it and they approach you just because they got their rank or whatever. So it's like disrespectful. Yeah. They come in, they coming at you sideways, but if they was outside the uniform, they wouldn't be talking to you.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Sly Honcho]

So it's more so. It's more so like that.

[Paul Alex]

Okay, so you do that and then once you go ahead and you're in the military. How long were you in the military for?

[Sly Honcho]

Still working on getting out.

[Paul Alex]

Still working on getting out.

[Sly Honcho]

Yeah. So they supposed to put me in IR or whatever because.

[Paul Alex]

And what is that?

[Sly Honcho]

The inactive reserves.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[Sly Honcho]

So basically until my obligation was fulfilled till like 2026, that's when the contract was up. So I've been in since 2017. Whatever. And then they, I believe they put me in the IRR like two years ago. Whatever. That's the last time I went up there and spoke to somebody. But when I graduated college, like around that time, that's when I had to make the choice.

[Paul Alex]

Got it.

[Sly Honcho]

So the choice was choose my entrepreneur journey or choose a military.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Sly Honcho]

If I chose the military, I have to go away for three months. And by that time I was already making six figures in college. It's like a full time barber. So I was risking like putting pin everything that I built to the side. Like, damn, I'll just build all this clientele. I'm making six figures. I even asked the captain that's about to retire, like, how much did you make? And he was like 109,000 last year. See, the army is a good job. I'm like, I just made more than him while I'm in college. So I know the sky's the limit. And at that time, that's when I'm already progressing. I was already marketing my business on social media, so I already had a little aspect on how to maneuver and leverage social media. So I never had a business card because I was strictly using social media. So I'm like, as a beginner, I'm doing this and he's about to retire. Oh, hell no, I can't do that. So I'm already thinking 20. That's like 2020. So probably like, I don't know, probably like 21.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[Sly Honcho]

So.

[Paul Alex]

So the middle of the pandemic, not.

[Sly Honcho]

Yeah, yeah, literally.

[Paul Alex]

Because I think it happened like what, 20? Like towards the end of 2019. And then in 2020, everything got shut down. People's lives changed. People were like, oh my God, what's gonna happen? Right? And you're over there killing it.

[Sly Honcho]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

So how did you get into social media and digital marketing and then using it as a business?

[Sly Honcho]

So I was always the underdog as far as like the service I provide. Cause it's always somebody that got a.

[Paul Alex]

And what is the service?

[Sly Honcho]

I'm a barber, so I was always the underdog because everybody already got their barber. Right. So I was using videos to critique myself, but push out my business towards other people. Like, okay, this is the service I provide. Come check me out, do this, do that, do that. But the older people that was on social media, but they wasn't doing the videos like me. So I was doing creative videos, basically using my creative vision to attract people and market the experience that I'm providing for my customers and my clients to attract them more. So that's what I was using. Just hitting them every day. Video, video, video. I'm even telling the other people, like, you need to post the videos. They like, eh, videos. You know what I'm saying? I ain't really into videos. That's when Instagram was more so on the picture thing. But I tried to tell everybody, like, do the videos, but nobody wanted to listen till now. You see what I'm saying? So I've been doing that since really I started cutting hair. So 2018.

[Paul Alex]

Okay, so 2018. And let's backtrack a little bit. So 2018. What made you want to be a barber?

[Sly Honcho]

I didn't, honestly. So funny thing is, my dad tried to teach me and my sister how to cut hair when we was younger, but the clippers felt too Heavy for me. So I'm like, nah. So I'm just stick to the sports. My sister got it right, so she'd been cutting my hair since sixth grade. So when I graduated high school, that's when I was enlisted in the army and stuff like that. So I used to have hair. So I cut my hair off and I asked my sister to teach me how to cut my own hair because I know I wouldn't be back so often. So she was teaching me. But she like, you about to go to college, you might as well get some extra money. So I'm like, yeah, I'm going to get some extra money, learn how to cut other people's hair. So that whole summer, I was doing $5 lineup, $7 haircuts, $20 house calls. So it really just fell into my hands because I was learning just be. Just because the path I was on.

[Paul Alex]

That makes sense. That makes sense. So it's almost like it was God's plan, dude. You know, for. For you to go through this. And it's. It's so funny. You keep it so real, man. The fact you're like, I didn't want to be a barber.

[Sly Honcho]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

I didn't want to go to the military.

[Sly Honcho]

You know how it is, like, with your, like, your siblings. Like, okay, your sibling do this. You don't want to copy your siblings. It was like that at first. Again, military, you just got to do what you got to do. You know what I mean? So I was always, you got to do what you got to do to get where you want to be.

[Paul Alex]

So let me ask you this, man. Now that you're towards the end of leaving the military and now you found new success on being one of the biggest and fastest growing digital marketers on social media, would you do the exact same steps that you did before?

[Sly Honcho]

I felt like I had to go through that in order to get where I needed to be.

[Paul Alex]

Why?

[Sly Honcho]

Because you have to go through the grind. Everything's not going to be easy. You got to get through the grind. So the grind is going to teach you all those key lessons, the little things, the little tweaks, the little mistakes, because if you just win it from the jump, you're not going to learn how to handle the losses or handle when something goes wrong. So I take the same journey, but I could tweak a little bit of something to make it grow even faster. You know what I mean?

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. And that makes sense, man. So you became a barber, you were in the military, you went to school, you started getting into Digital marketing in school now, the friends that you had around you in college, are you still friends with them?

[Sly Honcho]

I don't really, I don't really talk to nobody from college. Probably like one person, but it's like one or two people. But it's like every blue moon. I don't really talk to. Nah. No college because, you know.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. And it's because you were doing your own thing.

[Sly Honcho]

Yeah. More.

[Paul Alex]

And that's. And do you think, you know, especially for, let's say all our college viewers right now that are trying to figure out life. Right. Would you say social media and digital marketing is a shortcut to success in 2025?

[Sly Honcho]

Facts. This is the number one marketing tool. Like last year, I believe it was close to like 2 billion was spent on digital marketing just from like social media last year. So I know social media is the number one marketing tool because what are people on? They're not watching TV no more.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Sly Honcho]

Kids are on their phones, People on their phones during a break and they own social media scrolling. So it's like, why not push your business? Why not market yourself? You're doing yourself a disservice if you're not.

[Paul Alex]

So when you were first starting off as a barber, how much were you charging for a haircut?

[Sly Honcho]

Like $7.

[Paul Alex]

$7? Yeah, $7.

[Sly Honcho]

I would never charge that again. Yeah, $7. Wow.

[Paul Alex]

And that was Whittier.

[Sly Honcho]

That was 2017, fall and 2018. I didn't start raising my prices till like my sophomore junior year. I raised it up to like $25. But then, you know, college students start getting cheap.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. So. So 2018, $7. Humble beginnings. You're going through the grind, you know, you're learning your craft and you go in college, you start learning digital marketing, you start getting higher end clients. Is that what ends up happening?

[Sly Honcho]

I started shifting towards working in a barbershop versus just college students. So I was going back and forth from college. So I got PT at 6, 6am, do PT, boom, go to class, then drive an hour away just to work in a shop, work there till like 11pm, then drive all the way an hour back to the college and repeat that. But during COVID that's when everything shut down. Right. So that's when I was living in my college town, but everything shut down and all my clients is in Kansas City. So when Covet hit, that's when I started sleeping in my car just so I can work in Kansas City. So I was sleeping in my car the whole. During, like the whole covet. Just stacking my Money. Stack my money. Stack my money. And that's when I finally saved up to get my very first apartment. And then by that time, I was on the road. That's when I started bringing in the numbers because I was on the grind so hard. That's when I started hitting like six figures.

[Paul Alex]

And that was 2020.

[Sly Honcho]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Wow. So you sacrificed living in your college dorm to stay in your car so you wouldn't have to drive that hour. So then you can go ahead and stack your money, save your money. And then you bought yourself an apartment. You started making six figures. How long was it that you were sleeping in your car? How many months?

[Sly Honcho]

I would say that whole, like half a half of COVID Like the half of 20. 20. Yeah, like from when I first hit. Because school let out. It was like. It was like a crazy time. School let out. It's probably all the way up until the next school year. So I got my apartment. Probably like the. July.

[Paul Alex]

July of 2020?

[Sly Honcho]

Yeah, like July. Yeah. July 2020.

[Paul Alex]

Wow. Dude, that's amazing. A lot of people wouldn't be able to take that sacrifice because they're like, oh, I don't wanna people think I'm poor. I don't want people to think that, you know, I. I'm homeless, living in my car. Right? So the fact that you did that, dude, it just shows that, like, bro, you got the discipline to do it. And that's respect, man. Respect. Okay, cool. So July 2020, that happens. And then when does all your social media, like, I guess profiles start blowing up? When do you start getting that momentum? Where was that aha moment where you were like, I got the secret.

[Sly Honcho]

So I had two jumps. So while I was in college, that's when I was having a jump. I got to like 60k. That was like 2018, 2019. I was blowing up on social media.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[Sly Honcho]

But I wasn't getting paid from social media as much as I was getting followers. It was like kind of like a. A mental block or like something was off because I'm like, I got all these followers, but I'm not making no dollars type stuff.

[Paul Alex]

But it was driving traffic to your actual barber gig.

[Sly Honcho]

So I'm like, I want to make money online.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Sly Honcho]

So I was trying to figure out how to make money online, but nobody was telling me. It's stuff, right? Everybody keeping the secret. So it's bringing people in as far as clients and stuff, getting out of business that I need. But I wanted to make the social media money. How can I make money easier without having Physically work harder.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Sly Honcho]

So then that's when I discovered the, the. That's the epiphany happened. It was December 2020. Was it December 2023? So I screenshoted all my profiles and it still pinned on my social media. I screenshot all my profiles when January 1st hit 2024. But I figured out the sauce in January, December 2023. So screenshot all my profiles. That's when I started really marketing my social media strategies and basically focused on the social media money aspect of things. So I started at like 179k followers January 1st, and then that entire year, I gained over 6 million followers. But in 69 days, I gained a million followers on two platforms, which is Instagram and Tik Tok.

[Paul Alex]

Wow. Wow. And what was the needle mover behind that? What was the momentum? What would you say? And obviously this is not going to be a free master class, guys. No, I'm just kidding. But no, no, no, we're. We're interviewing Sly and, and the way he thinks and, and that's what the level of this, guys, because you guys have to level up the strategies, the information. You have to be around hard hitters like Sly to learn this. So what was the main needle mover to that success?

[Sly Honcho]

Man, I would say consistency, but consistency on a thing that works. So every time I'm creating content, I'm psychologically thinking what is going to trigger you? What's going to bring emotion out of you, what's going to make you think about the five senses to where you experiencing the service that I provide within the video?

[Paul Alex]

That makes sense, man. Okay. So you end up figuring out the formula. Okay. And when do you start moving more towards now making Internet money?

[Sly Honcho]

That was 2020. The December 2023. That's when I launched my first digital product. I started getting paid from social media.

[Paul Alex]

And what was your first product?

[Sly Honcho]

Social. My social media growth ebook.

[Paul Alex]

So how much were you selling that for?

[Sly Honcho]

I want to say like $50. I don't know, it was like $50 or something. But that first month I hit like 10k just from.

[Paul Alex]

How many, how many units is that? Let's do the math, Emilio. Do the math. And if you guys, if you guys are listening to this, Emilio, he is the producer of the show, he's the engineer of the show. He does absolutely everything. He's kicking ass. Okay, all right, let's go ahead and do the math here, guys. So probably our listeners are like 200, so. 200 units. Wow, man.

[Sly Honcho]

But that's not the only money I was making. So I was getting a residual income from the content that I was creating because social media is basically paying me to market my business.

[Paul Alex]

How does that work? Break it down to, like, right now, the listeners who are like, okay, how can I leverage? Let's say there's somebody out there right now, dude, that has a lot of followers and they're like, I'm not leveraging anything. Where you were, you know, back in 2020, you're like, okay, explain to them A to Z, how they could go ahead and start leveraging and monetizing their. Their actual views. Let's see, on Instagram, for example, how does that work?

[Sly Honcho]

So Instagram, I'm basically focused on content. So I record my client. So I'm already getting paid for my client. I record the content, create an engaging reel over the content. So that's going to pay me after I meet the requirements or whatever that Instagram has. Every app has requirements, but as long as you stay consistency consistent, you should hit those requirements like within, I would say, 30 to 60 days. Because if you really trying, then it's going to hit. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, but Instagram is kind of weird. They send you random, random invites for the bonuses and stuff, but create. I create the engaging reel and then they pay me, but I have to link my Facebook to it. So that way I'm growing two platforms at once. So every time I'm uploading on Instagram, it's uploading on Facebook. So my followers are building on Facebook as they build on Instagram, and I'm getting paid from Facebook and Instagram at the same time.

[Paul Alex]

Oh, wow.

[Sly Honcho]

But then I take that same piece of content and then I put it everywhere else because I know it's gonna hit because the strategy and the structure that I created for the videos works.

[Paul Alex]

Wow. What would you say is that? Strategy? What, what is that structure, man, that. That you're able to go ahead and make almost every video that you create have millions of views. Because there's a lot of people out there, man. Like I even told you, like my. My barber here in Miami, jc, she, she's. She's good people. So shout out, JC all right. But, you know, she. She's. She's right now on the Internet game, and she's trying to blow up as a barber herself. And, you know, she's trying to figure it out. You know, she's like, what do you think I should do? I'm like, well, first off, make a decision and stick with it. That's my first Tip right now, right? Delegation. But my second tip is just like, hey, why don't you just duplicate what worked before? So for you, what is that formula, man? What. What makes your reels pop off?

[Sly Honcho]

Like I was saying earlier, bringing the people into the experience and basically triggering. Triggering all their emotions.

[Paul Alex]

So give us an example of that. So what does that look like?

[Sly Honcho]

If I tell you, somebody's. Let me see. A client comes in, right? They got a problem. They probably either losing their hairline, they thinning, they hair dirty, or something like that. So I come. I come in with the voiceover. So you got to start using your voice, okay. Because you got to think about it like this. That's how I like to think of things. Think about every ad that you see, right? Yep. What does every ad have?

[Paul Alex]

A third person talking?

[Sly Honcho]

Exactly.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Sly Honcho]

So somebody talking. So that's how I think of my videos. My videos are just free ads. So I started using my voice. I didn't even like using my voice at first. It was a point in time. My manager. I was getting brand deals. My manager is like, hey, they want you to do a voiceover. I'm like, nah, I don't do voiceovers because I don't like my voice. And I noticed a lot of people out there that don't like their voice or they scared to get in front of the camera. So I was running away from that. And then when I finally tried that, that's what made my content skyrocket. So I come in, I explain to the. To the. To the. Is what's happening? Oh, he drove seven hours for this haircut. Oh, his. His top is missing. His hair is thinning. You got the. You got to get. Get the voice right. His hair is thinning. You know what I'm saying? I'm describing what the problem is from the jump. So I got to. I got to hook you in. I got to make you question what the hell is going on within the first five seconds of this video.

[Paul Alex]

If you.

[Sly Honcho]

If you. If you question that, that's how I know I got you. If you sit there and look for the first five seconds, I got you. And then I'm going to keep you rolling through the whole video because I'm basically telling the story throughout the whole video.

[Paul Alex]

Wow. So you're storytelling.

[Sly Honcho]

Yeah, exactly, bro.

[Paul Alex]

I'm over here trying to give this advice on storytelling. This guy's the master of storytelling.

[Sly Honcho]

Yeah. That's all it is.

[Paul Alex]

I love that, man. No, that's a great strategy, and you're right, dude. You know what? Hey, my market team watching this right now. Like, I'm just saying, dude, you about to get some new ideas for me because I got, I got some ideas now that I've been talking to my boy Sly. All right, cool, man. Yeah. So, all right, what do you see as far as like the future for you, man? Like, what are you trying to build up now in 2025? I mean, guys, it's about to be May, which is insane to me, right? It goes so fast, bro. But now I'm seeing you with a lot of big marketers, man, especially in Atlanta. Like, what's the next move for you, dude? Like, what are you trying to build up? What type of value are you trying to provide for the people right now?

[Sly Honcho]

Right now I'm building an empire for me and for other people to follow. So other service based entrepreneurs, I can give them a system that help boost their social media, their social media presence. So that way they're attracting the future clients that they want, the target audience that they want. Because most of them are dominating in a space. They have a good business, they just need the reach. So basically helping as many people as possible, as though helping as many people as possible as far as that goes, and then building an empire for myself. So basically what I plan to do is launch my own suites, but mega suites, I can't get out a whole. I want nobody stem idea, but something like something along the lines of those. It got a lot of stuff lined up, but basically push the limit to where nobody has done or seen anything like this. Because being in Atlanta has allowed me to think different, think bigger. Because being in my hometown, you only could think so high because of what you exposed to. I would say. So Moving to Atlanta exposed me to a lot of different CEOs, a lot of different things that they're doing. It's like higher level thinking, like, oh, I didn't know this was possible. So once I got exposed to that, I'm like, sue. My mind, my mind started turning and.

[Paul Alex]

Just started turning, you know, Isn't that exciting, man?

[Sly Honcho]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Once you start getting into different rooms, talking to different people that come from different life experiences, just like we were talking about, you know, earlier today, and being exposed to the abundance of wealth, facts that someone can build, not only for yourself, but for your family, for the people that you're trying to help. Absolutely everybody. And you know, all my clients, everybody that I associate myself with, I always like to provide value. And that's it. Just like this show, right, Emilio? You know, the level of podcast guys we try to bring you guys the best of the best on the show to motivate you, but to show you guys that, like, hey, everybody starts off like a regular person. I'm a regular person. Sly's a regular person. And we just go ahead and have that grit, resilience, and discipline to go out and just get it for yourself. And you have to have purpose, man. So let me ask you, dude. All right, now we're going to get deep into our purpose. So what was your purpose? To actually, like, go through all of this? Like, what makes you get up every day excited to go ahead and crush it in the digital marketing game?

[Sly Honcho]

Them. So it's other people like me that have been told they can't do stuff or, no, don't do this. You know what I mean? It's a lot of doubters. So I'm here to show other people that they can do whatever they want to do in life. As long as they stay in that mode, as long as they stay focused and consistent with their dream and follow along their path, they can do anything, and anything is able to be accomplished.

[Paul Alex]

I love that. I love that. And then, what would you say was the hardest portion of entrepreneurship for you, man? Since the day that you got into the military? The day that you started being a barber and then transitioning now to living life by design, dude. I mean, if you guys check out Sly's social media, dude, it's just, like, people look at it and trust me, like I said, my barber, she was like, look like he's made it. And I was just like, oh, that's cool. Like. Like, the videos are awesome. You're bringing a lot of attraction. So. So what was the hardest portion of this for you, man? Because everybody struggles, right? Like, me. I'm not disciplined enough to go ahead and review, you know, sales calls or to go ahead and write policies and do the finances. No, I hire smarter people than me to go ahead and do that. I'm more of a visionary guy. Right. So for you, what would you say is the hardest portion of business?

[Sly Honcho]

Everything is a mental battle. So everything that I'm going through, everything is all mental because the choices that you make all comes from inside the discipline, like you was talking about earlier. The discipline. You got to have discipline in order to do this. Waking up every day having that dog, you, that fire in you, to want to push and keep going. So really, the biggest challenge is the battle within myself. Yeah, so consistency. Showing up every day for myself, wanting more, and actually changing those habits that I've had that's been bad habits. Like okay, I used to drink, I used to drink a lot. I used to smoke a lot. Well, not smoke did it.

[Paul Alex]

Everybody, everybody did. Everybody did. In my 20s, man, I was a nightclub promoter. Like, you know, I, I, I was in a lot of relationships. Facts, you know, like my wife, she knows what it is, you know, she tells me all the time. She's like, okay, she's like, you got a little pass, but that's okay. That's, you know, because you got to live through that experience. Facts, you know, I feel like alcohol just numbs people from reality and that's why you got some people that like, you know, they seriously got, got an issue. Like I had an issue where like I had to go ahead. I was working in law enforcement and that's like a, a high drill in a rush job. So after work or, or on the weekends, you know, what would I want to do?

[Sly Honcho]

Drink, go drink, party, make a rage.

[Paul Alex]

Be like, you know, like that's just what it was. Facts, you know. And a lot of people don't see it like that. They're like, no, I don't got a problem, I'm not an addict. But I feel like a lot of people are addicted to what makes them feel good, man. I think with, with, with, with us, right, because we're in the entrepreneur space, you know, we, we love what we do so much that like we're addicted to it. And a lot of people don't see it like that. You, you gotta, you gotta be in love with what you do on a daily basis. So, so I get, I get what you're saying, man, but no, it's just the mental battle is huge. The mental battle is huge. How are you able to overcome having those bad habits, dude?

[Sly Honcho]

So basically controlling my thoughts and just knowing that this test is going to come back. So say you, you working towards defeating a bad habit or whatever, right? You start being in, you start getting on track, you got a routine to where you avoiding these bad habits. If this happens, then I'm not going to do this anymore. But that same test is going to come back around and you never really learn unless you pass that test again. So basically I'm keeping track of me passing the test. Me eliminating the distractions allows me to stay focused in business. All the energy that I'm putting towards the distractions is gone now because I'm putting it towards that energy, towards the business.

[Paul Alex]

What would you tell someone who let's say is in a service based business like a barber, right? That right now is struggling with gaining followers. What would be a very short, I'm not going to say master class, because master class could be like an hour, guys. But I'm talking about probably like straight 10 minutes of strategy that they can use as a beginner that really, really leveraged you because you, you, you obviously gave us your formula. But from a beginner standpoint, let's say they don't have experience with recording, they don't have experience with the voiceover. They're shy. You know, what would you tell somebody that's shy, man? And they want to go ahead and go viral like you? Is that something they have to get over?

[Sly Honcho]

Yeah, of course. You got to get over that. But this is how I like to think psychologically to make myself comfortable behind the camera. I like to think of the camera as my friend. So think of your camera like your homeboy talk to the camera. You talk to your camera like you talk to your homeboy. Your homegirl just act like the camera is your friend. Then you're going to be more comfortable because you're comfortable around your friends.

[Paul Alex]

That makes sense. That's a good mindset to have, man. I love that. I love that. And then, so as of right now, okay, are you currently doing more work within your barber niche or are you doing, are you really building up your digital marketing side? Like, are you currently taking any mentees? Because usually that's what happens, man, with you especially having a 7.6 million followers across the board, dude, it's a no brainer. Like, like, I would want to learn from you, bro. So like, let's say for example, if somebody was just like, hey, does Sly offer like anything that, you know, I could take advantage of? Like, what are you currently offering right now?

[Sly Honcho]

So I teach service based entrepreneurs. So it's not just limited to barbers. I teach all service based entrepreneurs how to create something creative to where people can experience their service. And they attract their target audience, they target client. So that way they saving money on ads because they got organic reach. They build a following so that they have credibility. And now that they building a following, they building a community up. Now they followers know like and trust them.

[Paul Alex]

I love that. I love that. And then let's say if somebody was to come in here and work with you, okay, you know, I have a level of confidence that let's say if you're an expert in any field, I could take any expert and help them launch a consulting offer online and at minimum break 50k on a launch. Okay, so that's usually within 60 to 90 days. And I know you have the level of confidence based on your skill set. So if somebody was to come to work with you and they say they had a zero following, but they were an expert in their service based business, what would you estimate the amount of followers and reach they would be able to get with working with.

[Sly Honcho]

Yo, how long you gonna work with me?

[Paul Alex]

Because let's say 90 days.

[Sly Honcho]

90 days.

[Paul Alex]

I always say 90 days for everything, dude.

[Sly Honcho]

I would say minimum, minimum 40k. I had somebody reach 40k followers within two weeks.

[Paul Alex]

Really?

[Sly Honcho]

Yes. I'll say if you follow my strategies, it should be more than that because I've seen somebody hit 200k and they started at 17k followers. I seen somebody start at 500 followers. Not yet 12k. I seen. I took somebody from 200k followers to a million followers in less than a year. So it's really up to you, Milio.

[Paul Alex]

We got to, we got to talk to Sly after this. But there you have it, folks. I mean, if you guys are looking for the best of the best, to actually grow your organic following on social media is huge. Okay? Don't fall for these services that like, get you bots and all that stuff, because it doesn't really help you. It doesn't really help you. It goes against the grain, guys. And then you're pushing the algorithm to people outside the country or other people that are not going to buy your services or niche. So make sure that you build your organic following. But the only way to do that is you gotta have that blueprint to actually record good content. Okay? All right, with that being said, Sly, do you have any words of motivation for our audience, man, for the person right now that is trying to level up? Just like you did, dude, from your humble beginnings, from the military, from being a barber, trying to make money as a barber. Like, dude, we got a lot of people with a million downloads on a monthly basis. We're ranked number two right now behind Andy Frisella. And, dude, I'm looking for the future, dude. It's, it's, it's looking great. So what words of motivation can you give your audience right now?

[Sly Honcho]

I would say you're one mode away from changing your life. So get in that mode.

[Paul Alex]

I love that. And where can they go ahead and follow you for more information?

[Sly Honcho]

So you can follow me on Instagram @Sly Diehuncho. My name is Sly Die Huncho across all platforms just to make it easier for y'all.

[Paul Alex]

That's it. That's it. Sly honcho 7.6 million followers. The level of podcast with Paul Alex. Guys, make sure to leave a review. Make sure to share this episode with somebody who needs that motivation, that needs that discipline, that look and can relate to us. Guys, like I said, guys, you have to start from somewhere. You have to start from somewhere, okay? Take advantage of social media. Social media is a tool now. It's one of the biggest marketing tools in 2025 and beyond. People are not using billboards no more. People are not using new the new stations no more magazines. That's all out the door, okay? You have to adapt. You have to adapt. All right, guys, so at the end of the day, your network is your net worth. This is Paul Alex, once again, the level podcast. The top 10 business podcasts on Spotify, Apple podcast and YouTube. Guys, we'll catch you on the next one. Thanks for listening up to the level of podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to share with a family friend and everyone you know who's ready to level up. Leave a five star review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever you tune in. It really helps spreading the word. And don't forget to check out officialpaulalex.com for more episodes and resources to kickstart your journey. Let's level up together.