From Trader Joe’s to $220K/Month: Luke Dobson’s INSANE Rise

Summary

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The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex

Episode: From Trader Joe’s to $220K/Month: Luke Dobson’s INSANE Rise
Host: Paul Alex Espinoza
Guest: Luke Dobson
Release Date: September 18, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Paul Alex interviews Luke Dobson, a 24-year-old digital marketer and entrepreneur who made the massive leap from working at Trader Joe’s to scaling his business to $220K/month. Luke shares his raw and honest journey, including deep personal struggles, his grind through various sales roles, the collapse of his early marriage, and the pivotal mindset shifts and business strategies that fueled his meteoric rise. The discussion provides motivation, practical insights, and real strategies for anyone seeking to “level up” their mindset and finances, no matter their starting point.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Luke’s Personal Origin Story

Timestamp: 02:08 – 06:01

• Depression & Family Crisis:
  Luke recounts a dark period starting in 2020, battling depression and anxiety following his brother's suicide attempt amid the COVID pandemic.

  “I didn’t want to get out of bed. All I wanted to do was sleep all day long.” – Luke Dobson (03:18)

• Finding a Way Out:
  Inspired by Wes Watson, Luke builds a strict regimen: early morning routines, Bible reading, journaling, gym, and healthy eating.

  “Start stacking daily habits. Waking up early...workout, eat right and stack your wins, and then that overflows the rest of the day. And that’s how I got out of my depression.” – Luke (04:06)

Leap from Trader Joe's to Sales

Timestamp: 06:01 – 10:19

• Commission-Driven Mindset:
  Dissatisfied with hourly work, Luke jumps into door-to-door solar sales, determined to learn rapidly and outwork seasoned pros.

  “I’m going to drop my ego. I’m going to become a beginner again...I want to learn in the next three months what took them the last three years.” – Luke (06:42)

• Breaking Limiting Beliefs:
  Within three weeks, he earns more in a day than a month at Trader Joe’s, igniting his confidence for commission-based roles.

  “I made the same amount I would make in a month working at Trader Joe’s in one day.” – Luke (07:40)

Early Entrepreneurial Attempts & The Videography Pivot

Timestamp: 12:51 – 16:57

• Online Fitness Coaching:
  After a move to San Diego post-marriage, Luke attempts online fitness coaching but struggles with pricing and scaling.

• Videography Hustle:
  Finds opportunity in filming fitness content, traveling for clients, and landing his first $10K month in June 2023. Initial wins are followed by two rough months, leading wife to stress, though Luke maintains “delusional optimism.”

Relationship & Personal Turmoil

Timestamp: 17:33 – 20:55

• Marriage Friction:
  Pragmatic about the collapse, Luke details mismatched priorities: his drive for growth vs. wife’s desire for stability and routine.

• The Split as Catalyst:
  Countless advice sought. Divorce becomes the only freeing option.

  “I would be happy seeing you in the future with a husband and kids, and I wouldn’t have any regret seeing that… Once I had that thought, it was like, I felt free.” – Luke (20:56)

  The separation sharpens Luke’s focus—“Fire lit underneath me”—and motivates him to prove the value of mentorship and his investments.

Business Breakthrough: The Service Model

Timestamp: 23:15 – 27:24

• New Market, New Offer:
  Relocates to St. George, Utah; targets local service businesses with combined videography, Instagram content, and paid ads.
  Luke takes inspiration from scaling models usually reserved for “gurus” and applies them locally.

• Case Study & Proof:
  His offer: “High quality content + ad teaching free for case studies.” Rapid revenue growth: $20–40K/month in spring 2024; $84K in June after doubling down on DMs and ad spend.

• Rapid Scaling:

  “Once I built out the team and got rid of the videography aspect and went to teaching businesses, that’s when we scaled to 220k a month in December.” – Luke (27:21)

• Profitability:
  Runs lean: 56% margins on $220K/month; “$17K of ad spend” (28:10)

Business Model Evolution & The Next Big Offer

Timestamp: 29:03 – 30:33

• Staying Ahead:
  Facing market saturation as others mimic his methods, Luke pivots to a ‘done-for-you’ model:
  • $2–5K setup fee, then 10% rev share on results-driven lead funnels.
  • Lean team of eight.

  “After helping 160+ local service-based businesses nationwide dominate using Instagram…Let us come into your business and do it all for you. And we take a rev share model.” – Luke (30:04)

Thoughts on Digital Marketing Today & Authentic Branding

Timestamp: 31:28 – 32:29

• The Power of Personal Branding:

  “Attention is the new currency… In a world of AI...what’s going to stand out is authenticity. Just showing up real on camera.” – Luke (32:11)

• Advice for 2025 & Beyond:

  • Show up online as your true self.
  • Personal brand is non-negotiable; vehicles (business models) will change but brand remains.

Words of Encouragement To His Younger Self

Timestamp: 32:54 – 33:38

• Luke’s Message to Those Struggling:

  “Get up tomorrow morning and create the man you admire and always gift him to the world... Go make somebody smile today... Screw how you feel. Go make somebody else’s day and your day will be made in the process.” – Luke (32:56)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Stack your daily wins and you were sick and tired of being sick and tired.” – Paul Alex (05:34)
• “Screw how you feel. Go make somebody else’s day and your day will be made in the process.” – Luke Dobson (33:36)
• “Nobody understood it when I was first doing it… why skill stacking was so important to me. But now they see it.” – Luke (25:26)
• “Attention is the new currency…what’s going to stand out is authenticity.” – Luke (32:11)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Luke’s background & early struggles: 02:08–06:01
• Door-to-door sales breakthrough: 06:16–10:02
• Jump into videography: 13:49–17:32
• Marriage, mental health, and divorce: 17:33–21:00
• Pivotal business growth & new service model: 23:15–27:24
• Hitting $220K/month and maintaining margins: 27:24–28:10
• Outlook on branding and authenticity: 31:28–32:29
• Words for young entrepreneurs: 32:54–33:38

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Where to Find Luke Dobson

• Instagram: @LukeDobsonn (two ‘n’s at the end)

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Episode Takeaways

• True transformation starts with daily, personal discipline—regardless of outside circumstances.
• Leaning into discomfort and commission-based roles accelerated Luke’s mindset and income.
• Leveraging mentorship and investing in uncommon knowledge can produce outsized results—if acted upon relentlessly.
• Authenticity is the ultimate moat in an increasingly automated world.
• Scaling a business is as much about mindset and adaptability as it is about tactics.

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This episode delivers real, raw, and tactical inspiration for anyone looking to rewrite their story, start fresh, and scale up—proving that it’s possible to go “from Trader Joe’s to $220K/month” through relentless self-improvement, calculated risks, and a drive to serve.

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Transcript

[A]

Hey JJ Virgin. Here on my podcast well Beyond 40, we ditch the idea of aging gracefully and go all in on aging powerfully. Every week I host powerful experts who can give you powerful insights on building muscle, boosting your energy and feeling amazing. No matter what your age, this is your one life and trust me, being smarter and stronger are superpowers that can turn lifespan and into strength span. Listen to well beyond 40 wherever you get your podcasts.

[B]

I attempted suicide with my family, with my brother and set me spiraling and our whole family spiraling. I didn't want to get out of bed and I just went through a lot and I just got tormented mentally waking up early in the like 5am straight into reading from the Bible, straight into journaling, work out, eat right. And that's how I got out of my depression. The faster that you can invest and learn the skill set, the faster you can implement it and charge more. Nobody was teaching local service businesses how to run follow ads on Instagram. I implemented it and it worked, making 20 30k in February. And then in June, my mentor said, luke, double down on DMS. I was like, okay, we hit like 84k that month. I was on top of the world. Once I built out the team and got rid of the videography aspect and went to teaching businesses, that's when we scaled to 220k a month in December.

[C]

Hey guys and welcome back to Level Podcast. This is Paul Alex. Guys, once again, thank you for being or allowing us to be on top four in all categories right now. It's currently August 30th. We're about to get into December. It's been wild, huh, Emilio? He said, yes, sir. Yeah, it's been crazy, guys. 4 million downloads this past month and we're just growing. We're just absolutely growing. And that means that we're going to have more special guests going on just like today's guest. Today's guest is he goes by the name of Luke. Luke, how are you doing, my man? Welcome to the show.

[B]

I'm doing amazing. Couldn't be better, dude.

[C]

So you're coming from Scottsdale, right?

[B]

Yes, sir.

[C]

How was the, how's the flight?

[B]

It was four hours. Not bad at all. I flew in last night and I'm flying out after this, so.

[C]

I love that dude. And for the, for the people that don't know you, man, what do you currently do?

[B]

So I, my name is Luke Dobson. I teach local service based businesses how to run ads on Instagram and use Instagram as their main source of leads.

[C]

I love that, Yeah, I love that. And how old are you right now?

[B]

I'm 24.

[C]

You're 24. So 24, you're in the digital marketing game. What did you do before?

[B]

I did videography before, but I got a good story from like videography and a ton of types of sales. And then I worked at Trader Joe's four years ago.

[C]

Dude, I love that. No, no, that's great. Because most people, they're like, dude, I'm at Trader Joe's right now. Or they're working a job where they don't have passion, dude. And they're trying to figure it out. Right. So this is why I love bringing on guests like you that have phenomenal stories because you're young. You're a young guy and you currently just got a supercar, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

What kind of supercar did you.

[B]

2018 Lamborghini Hurricane.

[C]

Dude, that's such a great achievement. No, it really is. At. At your age, man, I remember I was driving like a freaking beat up Lexus, you know, it is what it is. Different times, right? But with that being said, man, how did you go from working at Trader Joe's to actually running your own agency now?

[B]

So it started with personal. It started with personal development more than anything. So it. When I was working at Trader Joe's, I got a good store. Can I get into it? Of course, let's go. So I went through. I was working at Trader Joe's. I worked there for four years or so. So from 16 to 20 ish, when I was at Trader Joe's, I went through one of the worst seasons of my life with depression, anxiety, loneliness. I didn't want to get out of bed. All I wanted to do was sleep all day long.

[C]

What year was this?

[B]

This was 2020, dude.

[C]

Right smack in the middle of COVID Yeah, right. Holy shit.

[B]

Okay, so basically what happened within my family, like crazy thing with attempted suicide within my family with my brother and set me spiraling and our whole family spiraling. I didn't want to get out of bed and I just went through a lot and I just got tormented mentally. Didn't want to get out of bed. But then I started listening to his name's Wes Watson here, so four or five years ago. And his whole thing was to stack the daily wins, stack the daily habits in place, and the habits create the man.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And so what did I have to start doing? I knew I was sick and tired of going to bed at 3, 4am and waking up at noon to go work 2pm to 10pm I was. I was like. It was a living hell that I created for myself. So how do I get out of that? Start stacking daily habits. Waking up early in the like 5am straight into reading from the Bible, straight into journaling, running to the gym because it was close by. Workout, eat right and stack your wins, and then that overflows the rest of the day. And that's how I got out of my depression.

[C]

So day by day, in 2020, how old were you at that time?

[B]

Like 19. I was 19. 20. Ish.

[C]

So you were 19, man. Working at Trader Joe's and you had a critical incident happen in your life with a close family member that hit the family and you didn't want to get out of bed, dude. And did you feel like anyone was there for you?

[B]

So as a man, as a guy, like, you feel like, you know, you have people around you, but you always want to bottle it in.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You don't want to share. You don't want to be expressive with your emotions at all. So I bottled it in and all I wanted to do was sleep, dude.

[C]

No. The reason why I ask. Okay, because I can. I can resonate with you, dude. Back in 2019, 2020, I was in deep depression. I was. Dude, I was a cop. So. So at the end of the day, dude, it's. It's. I wouldn't say shocking, but I would just say like, I'm like, damn. Like, it wasn't that far ago, dude. You know, 2020, which is around the corner. And for a lot of people, it changed a lot of lives. It really did. For good and bad, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

I would say for us, it was good because we had to find who we were and we had to dig deep. So we used the pain as fuel to get out of there, Right? Yeah. So that's good, dude, I. I love the fact that you're like, stack your daily wins and you were sick of. Tired of being sick and tired, my man.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So you went ahead and you got yourself out of the depression. Now you have this winning abundance mindset.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Okay, what is the next move? What happens?

[B]

So I knew I had to get into a job that wasn't paying me, that was paying me commission, not just 16, 17 bucks an hour, which was good at the time, but I knew I was meant for more and I felt stuck. I was sick and tired of stacking cans of beans I work in at a grocery store.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So I needed to take some type of leap to get. To get uncomfortable. You gotta be uncomfortable. You have to take leaps of faith. And we always, everyone always say that, but what does that actually look like for me? I learned about door to door solar sales. And so I had a friend doing it. He's like Luke. We went on a hike together and he was like, luke, with your mindset alone, like we're talking, we've talked for like two hours here. With your mindset alone, you would crush it with door to door solar. Just take a leap of faith. Trust me on this. And you would crush it. And I was like, fine, screw it. I'm sick of wearing a mask and everything right now too. And at the time I was like, fine, I'll do it. Took that leap of faith and I went in with the mindset of I'm going to outwork every single person in this team. And these are a team of killers. Team of, they crushed it door to door. And I was like, I'm going to go in, I'm. I'm going to drop my ego. I'm going to become a beginner again and I'm going to learn from what took them the last three years of them doing it. I want to learn in the next three months. And I took all that information and then started like with the same habits, daily habits to do well and just knock more doors than anybody else. And then I made what completely changed my life with it was I made the same amount I would make in a month working at Trader Joe's in one day. Cause I had like two deals closed with door to door solar. And I was like, there's, I. There's no way I don't do something with commission for my job for the rest of my life. So. And then I got into all different types of sales. So I was going to school for cybersecurity, I was going to do it cybersecurity stuff and then at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. And then so I took a leap, went into cybersecurity sales. Because that was more for my, like obviously my profession I was going for. It was like an internship, then software sales and then from there moved to San Diego with my ex. I was married for a year too, so we'll get into all that. But I was in IT sales and then from IT sales I went all in with videography.

[C]

So let's, let's rewind a little bit. You go into door to door solar sales. Would you agree that door to door solar sales is one of the hardest industries to get into?

[B]

100% it is, dude.

[C]

Yeah, it's terrifying. Let me Paint the picture. Gentlemen, gentlemen. And ladies, door to door sales in itself is already hard because you are knocking on random people's houses. What was the strategy? Like the company will go ahead and they would drop you guys off or group of you guys in a neighborhood and then say, okay, go knock on the doors. And then you guys would go one by one, just knock on the doors. Or how does it work?

[B]

We did it with one other person. And then you. It was your turf, it was your area. So it was your little patch of neighborhood that you would go and knock doors with. And so when I first did it, I was with a buddy and I heard him knock for the first like two days. And then my first ever door I was going to knock on, his name was Gabe. Gabe Rogers. Shout out Gabe Rogers. And he taught me door to door. When I knocked on that first door, it's like my first ever door. I'm scared here. Okay. I knock on the door and I heard him all the time say, hey, my name is Gabe. And then here's Luke. So I knocked on the door, I said, hey, my name's Gabe. And then this is. And then I said my wrong name on the first door. So I was like, okay. I was embarrassed after that. It can't get worse than this. Any other door is going to be better if I don't. If I just get my name right.

[C]

Correct.

[B]

So that's how it started.

[C]

So it started and then from the time that you started door to door solar sales, from the time that you actually made in two days what you would make a month at Trader Joe's. How long was that duration?

[B]

Like three weeks.

[C]

So within three weeks you were able to go ahead and break your limiting beliefs that you were able to accomplish more than what you were currently doing.

[B]

A brand new industry, A brand new job. Okay.

[C]

And how long did you do the door to door solar sale?

[B]

3, 4 months. But then I always wanted to do something else and next and keep leveling up.

[C]

So. So you kept ahead, you kept growing and you were like, do you know what? I believe I could do more. So what was, what was the next approach that you did? Did you do various different sales jobs and then you got married.

[B]

Spoiler alert.

[C]

On top of all that, dude. So. So let's dive into that while you're going ahead in your ventures in this and the Sal Realm. Okay. In the sales industry, mind you, I was a sales guy for six years. You're also in a relationship.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[C]

How long were you in the relationship before you got Married.

[B]

So eight months before engagement.

[C]

Wow, that's really quicky, dude.

[B]

So. I know. So I knew her from high school, and so it was like high school sweetheart. Put her on a pedestal my whole life. And we dated for like a month when we were young.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And then split and then rekindled things in college. And then. Yeah, dated for eight months. And then the only reason she. We would get, she would come out to Arizona where I was living is if she. And she was back home in Huntington, Newport beach is if we were on the path to marriage. Got it. So, yeah, proposed. I was like, I did everything perfect in a perfect Christian way. Proposed. She moved out here, got her own apartment, or back in Phoenix. Got her own apartment. And then, yeah, we had our horse blinders on for marriage. Never intentionally dated. And then we never went through seasons together either. And so. Yeah, but then we got married and. And then moved in together and shit hit the fan, let's just say. So I can, I can dive. I'm an open book. So happy to talk with anything.

[C]

No, absolutely, man. So you get married and how old are you at this time?

[B]

21.

[C]

So you're 21. You guys didn't do any serial dating at that time. You guys fully intent of getting married? You guys end up getting married and then you guys end up moving to San Diego. I love San Diego. How was living in San Diego?

[B]

I loved it. I loved it. I was even. I was debating between going back to. So I was living in St. George, Utah, where I moved from. I was debating going back to San Diego or Scottsdale and decided on Scottsdale. And that's how we met.

[C]

No, absolutely, man.

[B]

Loved it. You like it?

[C]

Oh, yeah, I loved it, dude. I. You know, when I left the police department, that was actually the first city I moved to from the Bay Area. You know, I, I sold my house, dude. I was already, what a lot of people say was already living the dream. Had the million dollar house, had the Porsche, dude. Was. Had the career, but I just was not fulfilled and I needed to get out of there. So sold everything and then moved to San Diego, dude. So San Diego, it was really my environment for growth. It really was, right? You want to be around a good environment, you want to see good things, you want to hear good things, and you want to be around motivated individuals. Right. Because that's how you level up in life. So you go over there and then while you're in San Diego, are you still getting into other sales opportunities or is that when your digital marketing measures start?

[B]

Yeah. So A little bit of both. So when I moved to San Diego, I started to venture into online fitness coaching with Wes. And so I invested into that to get a part of that community. And then when I did that, I'm moving to San Diego. She wanted a change, so she was like, luke, I either want to move into a nicer place here. Like, I don't feel safe with. In your condo. The condo I was paying 800 bucks a month for that I owned in Phoenix, or I want to move to a nicer spot, or I want to go back to San Diego closer to family, because our family's from Orange County. And so we decided on San Diego. And once we moved there, I was doing online fitness coaching, but I was 21 at the time and trying to charge what you should be charging for online fitness coaching that Wes was telling me I couldn't, like, find. I was only building rapport and resonating with people my same age with online fitness coaching. So this is my first ever, like, entrepreneurial endeavor. First dollar I made online was with online fitness coaching when I was 2122.

[C]

So 2122, you were charging people to show them how to become healthy or what were you doing?

[B]

It was macros. It was just macros with trainer eyes. And just, like, I had group calls. Like, I didn't know what I was doing. Yeah, I'm figuring out. Yeah. But I knew, like, okay, yeah, you're eating like crap right now. I will show you how to like, the macros. I'm. But. So I'm not in crazy good shape either. I'm not. I don't have a bodybuilder physique at all. Like, I'm in the gym every single day, but I didn't have a crazy physique that made me stand out in any way.

[C]

You were trying to figure it out?

[B]

I was trying to figure out. I was throwing the things at a wall to see what stuck.

[C]

How much were you charging at that time?

[B]

It was anywhere from 50 bucks a month to 150 to 200 bucks a month.

[C]

Oh, okay. You had the different ranges. You were just throwing it out there to see what works.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

Okay, so then from there, what happens?

[B]

So I got up to, like, nine clients at a time doing that, and it was awesome. Great group of guys. But it was. Wasn't sustainable to qu to five and go all in. So in San Diego, I started to do it sales, and so just that's how I was able to afford it. And then I picked up a camera. So I started Going to the gym every single morning that Wes would go to the. It's called the gym in San Diego. And every morning at 4am I started getting around other people that also invested with him around that, that right community. And I knew how to use a camera. So I knew a buddy at the time that he also invested. He's like, hey, you know how to use a camera? I know how to use a camera. Let's film each other and let's have high quality content every single day to stand out in the online fitness coaching space. It's like, okay, sweet. So we started having high quality content for everything on our stories. Everything looked amazing. But then what switched was like, hey, we're doing this for ourselves. We can teach other people in this community and give them this amazing style content. We'll do the videography for them. So because like anybody that invested into a group like that, it's like they trust each other immediately. So it's like, hey, our pitch was when we first, this was our first ever entrepreneurial with videography pitch with me and a buddy. It was, hey, we'll fly to you, we'll stay with you for two to three days. We'll get enough content for you for the next 30 days free of charge.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

Free of charge. So we'll give, give, give until they ask. It was our method. And when we did that was we would fly to Napa Valley, California, we'd fly to Arizona, Florida, wherever else, Vegas. And when we do that, we would give all this content to them and then they're like, okay, how much do we owe you? And then they, we would say like 2k or whatever. And that's how we hit. Our first 10k month was doing this two years ago. Yeah, two years ago. First ever 10k month. So this was June of 2023, and we're in August. Okay, So a little bit over 2 years ago, first ever 10k month doing it sales and this. And then we're like, yo, once we both hit 10k, we're quitting our jobs. He was a barber, I was in IT sales. We both quit. We made really nothing after traveling and all that. And then the next two months were terrible. 600 bucks and then 400 bucks the next two months. So my ex or my wife at the time, freaking out. We were already butting heads a ton. But stressing, stressing. She. But it was, are you, are you stressing? I had a delusional level of optimism.

[C]

I love this dude. Because, mind you, dude, when I hit, you know, my first Few dollars in the online space. And I started in April 2020. I didn't really hit it, you could say decent, until maybe January of 2021. I had the exact same enthusiasm that you're talking about. That feeling of making $10,000, it is the greatest feeling in the world. You're like, dude, I created fire. Like, dude, this is amazing. Right? So I get it. Like, that delusion. And it's good delusion. You need that delusion, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

So what happens next?

[B]

Dude? Yeah. So we're in San Diego. We just hit 10k a month. I quit that 9 to 5 IT sales job. We, relationship wise, which is a huge part of this is. Which is why I'm where I'm at today. Okay. And then the relationship, we're still butting heads, arguing all the time. I have a lack of empathy on my side within the relationship, within the marriage. She has mental health issues, like, all, like bipolar, all that kind of stuff. Or multiple personality disorder, one of those. Okay. And so we butted heads. I had a lack of empathy just off of other things that went on in my childhood with, like, dad passing away and stuff like that. That made me have tough skin. And she grew up in a very safe environment, let's just say that.

[C]

Correct.

[B]

So we butted heads a ton there. But then once we quit the OR, once I quit the 9 to 5 in June 2023, she would say, luke, I wish you would just come home at 5pm and chill with me on the couch. I wish you would just chill with me. And I was like, my brain was going a million miles a minute at this. And I was like, I physically couldn't. I couldn't just stop. And like, my brain was going, I got to do this. Got to do this. And it's like, I, I'm. I. I'm grateful for that mindset, but it ruined the relationship side we like. So now we're butting heads. She doesn't like me traveling for work and everything, trying to do all these filming shoots, but it's like, I need to. I need to. So we kept butting heads. We did three months of Christian marriage counseling. Like, faith is a big part of me too. And, like, I got advice from everybody underneath the sun for this. I got advice from people that were married forever will say, luke, divorce is not an option. You know this. I got advice from people in the church that were married forever but stayed together because the kids will tell me, luke, divorce is not an option. You know this. Even though I knew they were miserable then I got advice from people that were married forever or married, divorced, remarried, had kids and like, lived a good life. And they're like, Luke, like, I've seen your emotions go down the drain over the last year. Like, you don't have to live in misery. You guys are both young. You guys are both going to get over this and grow from this. Like, you don't have to live in misery. And so I took everybody's advice and, like, I stored that all. And then it came down to one day in December. So like a year and a half or year and a half ago. Ish.

[C]

So this is December of 2023.

[B]

2023. December 2023. I was checked out of the relationship. Just like arguing. And then without getting too much into the crazy detail with it, I was checked. I said, okay, if this happens again, if she freaks out like this again, I'm done. And it was like, it was a pretty bad freak out, like, explosive with the mental health issue. I was like. And it like almost looked like abusive type of thing. And I was like, I'm done, I'm done. When, yeah, it was crazy. So it was like self harm stuff on her end, but it looked terrible. And the only thing that would calm her down was calling her parents.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And like, getting that down. So checked out from the relationship, from the marriage. I. I'm taking all these people's advice. She sits me down and she says, luke, I'm you. Luke, you making a decision is you not making it. Luke, what is it? She sat me down and she said, luke, you not making a decision is you worse than actually making a decision. I need you to. I'm giving the ultimatum, are you in or out of this? And I sat down and I looked at her and I thought to myself, I would be happy seeing you in the future with a husband and kids, and I wouldn't have any regret seeing that.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

And then boom. Once I had that thought, it was like, I felt free. I was like, she's going to move on, I'm going to move on. And this is going to be a building process. I knew to the day I died where I was going to go with this girl, like, to the day I died. And I had no idea on this other end what. What life would have in store. Right. And so I took that leap. I said, like, yeah, this is it. Like, we're done. She called her grandparents, her parents, they came down. And I, like, I have videos of this too. I documented everything walking into the apartment as soon as she left, like, I'M crying. I was like, this is a time to rebuild. Like, this is a rebuilding season. I have all that content now. She's had like a relationship for like the last year. Like, she's happy, she's moved on. And then I kind of, I. I hit the ground running because she never really in. She never truly believed in me. I believe, never truly believed in me. With investing in people, investing in coaching, investing with the west, like investing in other people. She never saw the payoff of it. She just saw the front end, like investment, trying to make it work. And then what happened was as soon as we split, so granted, I am doing like 9, 10k a month right now. This is like November, then December, 9, 10k a month of 20, 23. We split in December. And then I invested to learn paid ads on Instagram. I was doing videography, organic short form content. And then I invested heavily. It was like 500 bucks a week on a credit card for like five, four months. It's like eight grand in total. Okay. She found out that I invested. This was a day after we split. And she called me, she's like, Luke, I heard, like right after we split, Luke, I heard that you invested with another mentor. I want to make sure I'm off all your financials. And then boom. That, that was the fire lit underneath me. I was like, okay, don't you worry. You're off everything. You're off everything. Don't you worry. I was like, this is on me. Fire lit underneath me. To do well, I have to make this work. I have to prove it. So that's how I hit the ground running. And I was still living in San Diego. And then I found out about St. George, Utah. So Southern Utah. I had a plumbing client out there and then went out there to film them. Realize, I love it out there. I can move my, I can move out there. My mentor said, luke, like, if you love St. George that much, move there as fast as possible, run local ads and teach local service businesses there how to run ads on Instagram. And then I moved two weeks later and hit the ground running and built the business.

[C]

Wow. So, man, that, that's, that's, that's a roller coaster, dude. Because a lot of people don't have that level of mindset to continue to work the business when they've gone through some. Something so traumatic, especially getting a divorce and separating from their wife or their husband. Right. So you, you were at a point in your life where you're like, dude, this is like greatly affecting who I am. As, and you know, even though she wanted to make it work out, you, you, you were a man and you told her the truth. Which, dude, I applaud you. You know, it's, it's, it's, it's very difficult to, to, to tell somebody the truth, especially when you care about them. Right? So at the end of the day, dude, you went ahead, you invested in another mentor. What told you or what, what made you believe that you needed to pay for an additional mentorship? Because most people. Okay, and the reason why I asked that most people would not be willing to reinvest before they actually make all their money back from the first mentor, right? With me, I had a very similar situation where I had invested $10,000 when I first started in digital marketing and I had made 6,000 and I was still short 4,000, but I invested another 15,000 into learning something else. And then that's when my business boomed. Right when I started, you know, obtaining more and more information. So I'm a big believer in self education. So what made you tell yourself at that time, I'm going to reinvest and get another programmer, another mentor?

[B]

Because I knew if I can learn the information that took them three years to learn, I will learn in the next three months. I will pay to learn and put down the ignorance debt of like, I don't know it all. I know I want to learn paid ads on Instagram. You do paid ads on Instagram? Teach me how to do it. I will happily pay for that. Because you're paying. The faster that you can invest and learn the skill set, the faster you can implement it and charge more.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And learn something else. You're paying for the skill sets. Nobody understood it when I was first doing it on why skill stacking was so important to me. Nobody understood it.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

But now they see it.

[C]

So now that you started that business, okay, what was the journey from the time that you reinvested on the second, ended up making the move and then built a, built a business till now. Where did it go?

[B]

Yeah, so this was February of 2024. So like a year and a half ago, I Moved to St. George, Utah. Moved to St. George, UT. Hit the ground running with videography as my service. Boots on the ground for my business. Okay. Boots on the ground. This is my local service business. I want to help you with your content in person and I'll teach you how to run ads. That was it. So it's like the deliverables was high quality content for Instagram, short form, 10 to 30 video packages between 1400 to 3K per the package and then for free. I'll teach you. I needed to get case studies of like, this actually works for service businesses. Nobody was teaching local service businesses how to run follow ads on Instagram. Nobody was doing it. It's what the gurus were doing at a nationwide level. We were bringing to the local level. Yeah, nobody was doing it. So I implement it and it worked. And so then it was like making 20, 30k in February, then 40k in March, 40ish k in April, and then May, same thing. Like around 40ish k. And then in June, my mentor said, like, luke, double down on ad spend or double down on DMs. Luke, double down on DMs. I was like, okay, sounds good. Do it. Doubled up our, like, how many DMs we were sending and like up the ad spend with it. And then we hit like 84k that month. Like, I was on top of the world. Like, I thought this was crazy. Now it's a fulfillment thing.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Now it's like, okay, now we have to go fulfill all these videos. And so long story short, like, did that and then went back down to like 60 ish K. 50 60th. And then once I built out the team and got rid of the videography aspect and went to teaching businesses just how to do the content, how to do the ads, how to do the DMS, that's when we scale to 220k a month in December.

[C]

I love that, dude. So 220k a month. Where are your margins at?

[B]

It was like 56% margins.

[C]

No, that's great margin, dude. Because the standard in digital marketing for all my marketers out there, they're like, you ever see those guys are like, I made a million dollars, bro. That ain't all fricking that profit. Let's be real.

[B]

600K in ad spend.

[C]

Exactly, right. I've seen even worse. I've talked to some big wigs, man. I was part of, you know, Russell Brunson's inner circle paid, you know, 150k to be in that. And I talked to some big guys and they're like, paul, it don't matter if you hit that comic club when you spend a million dollars on ads. And I'm like, you right? It's not about how much you make, it's about how much you keep. So the fact that you're at 50, 60, dude, that's phenomenal.

[B]

It was good. Yeah. I was on for 17k of ad spend.

[C]

Fire it's fire, dude. So. So with that being said now, with all the new knowledge that you have, and I still, I still consider you like a new marketer because you are, dude, and you're a young guy, you're successful, you got the sports car, you're in Scottsdale, you're in Miami, you're making moves. What is the vision for you now, bro?

[B]

Honestly, Like I had, you have to get the Lambo, you have to get the place, you have to get the penthouse to say it's not about the penthouse.

[C]

Yeah, you're right. No, absolutely right. Yeah, I've done it all.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. You know, you know, so I've now realized, like, I don't know who I'm trying to. I love cars. I genuinely love cars. Like, they're fun, but like, I've realized it's there. It's all fleeting. You're all trying to do it for looks or for whatever. So now, honestly, I want to build a business that I've been teaching businesses how to do. This. This is, this is brand new. Okay.

[C]

Okay.

[B]

So for over the last year and a half, basically my old mentor switched his offer to helping videographers learn content plus ads and everything. So he's creating a ton of people doing basically what I was doing. So now there's hundreds of these people running around with the same ad script. I need to. How do you stay 10 steps ahead? This is our new offer ready. So we're still doing. Done with you. We're teaching businesses how to do it. This is what's next and this is what I am excited about. I can't sleep because of this. Okay. It's building this out and we're ready to rip as soon as this is up. If there's any businesses like, we're ready to rip. This done for you. Yeah. So our offer is after helping 160 plus local service based businesses nationwide dominate using Instagram as their main source of leads with ads content and teaching them how to run dms over a hundred different niches. We know what works. Everything's plug and play now. We know the ad scripts that have gotten businesses a 6x return on ad spend. We know the DM process. We know what content you need to create. We know everything. Let us come into your business and do it all for you. And we take a rev share model.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

So 2 to 5k setup fee and then we come in and then we do everything you don't. We're opening up a brand new funnel for leads for this business and we'll take 10% of it, whatever that comes out to.

[C]

You know, I think that's number one. I think it's very smart. I think number two, it's, it's very fair on your end because you're not charging an arm and a leg, dude. You know, most service based businesses, they're not hitting a million dollars. Well, not, not every single one of them.

[B]

Right.

[C]

So you're able to cater to almost every service based business out there, dude. So the, the 2 to 5K is a really, really good hook. And then 10%, dude, of the leads that they actually close. Yeah, that's more than fair, dude. So I think you have a really good business model right there, man. I think it's a great offer. With that being said. Okay, how big is your team now?

[B]

We have a team of eight right now.

[C]

A team of eight.

[B]

We're done with you. Two setters, two phone call setters, closer and two people full time for client success. And then me and then a finance guy.

[C]

But so what would you say to. Let's say the old Luke. The old Luke that was struggling, dude, and he's looking into getting into digital marketing based on your knowledge, especially you being such a fresh marketer in the game. Where do you see the biggest opportunities right now in 2025 going into 2026 for digital marketing?

[B]

For digital marketing? Yeah.

[C]

Just in general, dude.

[B]

Like what do you see in general? It's branding. It's, it's the branding itself. It's you being a complete authority and authentic figure online. Yeah, I see it. I see attention as a new currency. It doesn't matter what you're posting. If you're posting you, you're going to have people gravitate towards you for being you. So it is just showing up with your phone, talking on camera just like this. And you're going to find people that resonate with you on that. And then even for a business, if you have a service based business, it's not just posting about the before and afters for your landscaping job. It's posting, hey, this is what we just did. Come check it out. And building that genuine connection in the world of AI, in the world of how much fakeness there is with AI, what's going to stand out is authenticity is just showing up real on camera. That's what, that's the biggest thing in 2025, dude.

[C]

Nobody's doing it being real personal branding. And then you're able to go ahead and switch the vehicles. I'm a big believer you can switch the Vehicles, if you like, but your personal brands, everything.

[B]

Yeah, it's not leaving you.

[C]

It's not leaving you, dude. So now that's good, brother. So a couple words of encouragement for other young entrepreneurs right now. Think about back when you were at Trader Joe's, dude. Think about like, you know, right there getting to depression. Like, what are some words of encouragement that you would tell them as a friend, bro.

[B]

As a friend, this is exactly what I would say if I was stuck in my depression still, if I was still working at Trader Joe's is exactly what I would tell myself. Get up tomorrow morning and create the man you admire and always and gift him to the world. So what does that look like? It is stacking daily good habits that make you feel good that you can then overflow with positive emotions to everybody else around you. And the quote that kept me going throughout the day was go make somebody smile. Make somebody smile today. And that's. And I. When you do that, when you think that to yourself, God will find ways to put that into your life, into your day to day and you can go have the opportunity to make somebody smile. So I would say go do things for others. Screw how you feel. Go make somebody else's day and your day will be made in the process. It starts there.

[C]

I love that dude. Servant based leadership solution driven man. That's Luke, guys. That's the level up. All right, guys. So there you have it. That's the interview and Luke, where can.

[B]

They find you, brother? So best place is Instagram. So at Luke Dobson. L U K E D O B S O N N. So two n's at the end on Instagram.

[C]

There you guys have it. If you guys want to go ahead and talk to Luke, you guys want to go ahead and need services for a done with you, done for you concept for your service based business. Luke is the man with the plan. With that being said, guys, leave a five star review on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Podcast. Guys. We're currently ranked top four in all categories. Number one in business because of you. Four million downloads this month, guys. Let's make it five for next month going into September. With that being said, my name is Paul Alex. This is the level up. Catch you on the next one.

[B]

It.