← The My Wife Quit Her Job Podcast With Steve Chou
The My Wife Quit Her Job Podcast With Steve Chou
571: 2024’s Biggest Winners and Losers: Who Crushed It and Who Crashed?
00:50:35
Today, Toni and I are doing our first annual awards episode! From the Best Investment of the Year to the Coolest Moment of the Year, we’ll celebrate the wins, laugh at the losses, and reflect on the lessons that shaped the past 12 months. -
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- [00:00]
A
Welcome back to the podcast, the show where I cover all of the latest strategies and current events related to e commerce and online business. Today, Tony and I are doing our first annual awards episode. From the best investment of the year to the coolest moment of the year. We'll celebrate the wins, laugh at the losses and reflect on the lessons that shaped the past 12 months. Stick around as we crown the biggest winner, call out the biggest loser and share the life hacks, personal changes and standout products that define the year. But before we begin, I wanted to let you know that tickets are now on sale For Seller Summit 2025 over at sellers summit.com the Seller Summit is the conference that I hold every year that specifically targets e commerce entrepreneurs selling physical products online. Unlike other events that focus on inspirational stories and high level advice, mine is a curriculum based conference where you will leave with practical and actionable strategies specifically for an e commerce business. Every speaker I invite is deep in the trenches of their e commerce business. Entrepreneurs who are importing large quantities of physical goods and not some high level guys who are overseeing their companies at 50,000ft. I personally hate large events, so the Sellers Summit is always small and intimate. Every year we cut off ticket sales at around 200 people, so tickets sell out fast and we've sold out every single year for the past eight years. If you are an e commerce entrepreneur making more than $250,000 or $1 million per year, we also offer an exclusive mastermind experience with other top sellers. The Seller Summit is going to be held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from May 6th to May 8th. Right now, this is the cheapest the tickets will ever be. So head on over to sellersummit.com and grab your ticket. Now onto the show. Welcome back to the My wife Quitter Job pod. It is 2025 and what we're going to do today is we are going to reflect on 2024 and do I guess our first annual awards show, so to speak. I got this idea from another podcast. I thought it was pretty cool and both Tony and I, we all have our own spin on things. So. Ready to rock, Tony?
- [02:12]
B
I'm actually curious to see how far apart our answers are going to be.
- [02:17]
A
I know, I know. I. Because we're totally different. So we are. I am very curious also. Yeah, okay, so the first award is best investment that you've made of the year. It can be a product, it can be a stock, it be anything that you want.
- [02:34]
B
Yeah, this one panicked me because I'm not a. I'm like a Dump my money into Fidelity, not pay attention. And when I hear the word investment, I immediately think like, oh, money, Right.
- [02:46]
A
It can be a product that really helps you out too. Yeah.
- [02:48]
B
Right. So, so I would say like, just in financial wise, because I'm not like a fi. I'm good at saving. I'm not. Don't ever follow me for investment advice. But one simple thing that I realized that I didn't take advantage of early enough last year was just the high yield savings accounts. Like, the numbers are still pretty good, right? Like they're not as good as they were last year, but I do think moving some money because I'm the type of person that would just have your money sit in checking account. So just taking advantage of that was a really good investment. And then the other investments that I actually think was just investing in like personal growth. So whether it was just taking more time to like subscribe to podcasts or I, you know, buying a better pair of like walking shoes, I think anything that I did last year in the personal growth space, I saw the best return on investment. And actually I don't want to get ahead of myself, but it's something that's very important for me in 2025.
- [03:43]
A
Okay. I had a couple answers for this and I wasn't sure where you were going to go with it, but my first stock investment best of the year was Nvidia. I. I've owned that stock for like, I don't know, a decade now because I used to game a lot.
- [03:57]
B
Yes, yes.
- [03:58]
A
And I was always bullish on that company and then it just blew up like.
- [04:03]
B
Yes.
- [04:03]
A
I mean, not just this year, but the past couple years. And then I was using High Beam, which was really good. Which is this, which is this bank for e commerce stores where you get really insane yields because the interest rate is so high.
- [04:18]
B
Yeah.
- [04:19]
A
And what's great about this company actually is you know how money comes and goes when you're running a business. Right, right. Well, a lot of times you're paying for expenses and stuff and it's sitting in a checking account that's not yielding.
- [04:29]
B
Yep, yep.
- [04:30]
A
Well, by using like a High Beam account, for example, the money comes and goes and even the checking earns interest. But you can put it into this high yield savings where it like instantly at the snap of a finger, it'll start earning, you know, as high as 4 1/2 percent. Now it's gotten lower because the rates have been cut. But it's just a great easy way to, to just make money on the Money that you're making.
- [04:54]
B
Yeah. And I. That's kind of going back to what I was saying is there are a lot of opportunities out there still where you can do that, even on a personal account. I think actually Capital One has something similar for personal accounts. And check all fact check me, please, just because I was researching this this week, just for personal reasons, because I like to have money sitting in my checking account for whatever. You know, like today I'm taking a car to the. To the repair shop because someone got into an accident. You know, it's like you have this money sitting for emergencies, but it's nice to see that money earning a little bit of extra money.
- [05:27]
A
Yeah. Actually, what sets the high beam apart, though, and this is not a commercial high beam. They're not sponsoring this or anything. I've just been very happy, is that you can write checks, you can wire out of it, you can do credit cards out of it, essentially make it your real bank.
- [05:40]
B
Yeah. Okay, what's the worst? This one I really struggled with.
- [05:45]
A
Okay, this one's easy for me. That's stupid BMW. Oh, okay. So I had just gotten done paying about $2,500 to fit fix the thing, because it was at that age where stuff starts breaking, and then all of a sudden, I have catastrophic engine failure. I actually haven't told this story on the podcast, so just give me 30 seconds to just crash BMW real quick. So once. So the engine failed. I think the timing chain had failed. And I reached out to BMW and I was like, hey, you know, it's only got 50,000 miles on this car. What's going on? And they didn't tell me anything. They weren't willing to do anything. And then I just did some research, and I found out there was a lawsuit on my exact car. And when I thought I had the smoking gun at that point, so I went back to them, I said, hey, you guys lost this lawsuit. You should fix my car. Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you issue a recall if you knew this was gonna fail? If you knew that my car was a ticking time bomb? And they said, oh, you know, when you lose a lawsuit or when there's a settlement lawsuit, we're not required by law to tell people. And I was thinking to myself, wow, my son was in my car at the time, and if it broke down on the freeway, it could have been really dangerous. And that answer of they're not obligated just really pissed me off. So, anyways, worst investment of all time for me. Worst Investment of the year to all that money I spent into it, and it just died. And BMW is a rotten, horrible company. I hope they go down and they're hurting.
- [07:19]
B
I know this is also not sponsored by one of their competitors. This isn't sponsored by Toyota.
- [07:25]
A
Okay, what is your worst investment?
- [07:27]
B
I didn't have a bad investment this year, thankfully. I have had many bad investments over time, but this year I somehow managed to avoid. Because I didn't really. I bought one thing this year, and we'll talk about this in a minute. But I would. I started thinking about this, like, okay, if I, you know, what do I think are really bad investments from last year? And just based on. And this is terrible. I get most of my news from TikTok, but I think if you purchased real estate without. If you just bought something, you probably paid too much money in 2024. Also, I think if you have a car loan and you got a car loan in 2024, it was a horrible investment. Their interest rates are sky high. Car prices are nuts. There's supposed to be a major auto crash coming. Um, and those are like. I did buy real estate last year, but that's. There's a nuance to that. Um, but I almost bought a car last year, and I'm so glad that I didn't. Um, I feel like I. Because, you know, I was, like, on the fence for, like, six months about buying a car, and I didn't do it because I. I often feel that making staying put is better than making a decision sometimes for something. And I just felt like, especially with cars, the price is so volatile right now that it was not worth. Even though I would get more for my car if I decided to trade it in or something like that, it just wasn't worth the risk. So that is the worst investment that I guess I avoided in 2024 was I did not buy a car.
- [08:45]
A
Well, I had to buy a car in 2024. Yes, you did. Junk. Broke. But on the real estate front, actually, one, I consider it the best investment. We did move my mom out to my neighborhood, so she's literally, like, six streets down. And that's the best investment just for me personally, because I get to see her all the time, like, literally almost every day.
- [09:05]
B
I think if you didn't have to buy real estate in 2024, you could have. Could have made. Because pricing was. Prices were so high at the beginning.
- [09:13]
A
Of the year, but ironically, that house is already up 20%. Isn't that crazy?
- [09:17]
B
Yes, but you live in. You live in A different area than I knew.
- [09:22]
A
Okay, next topic is the biggest personal loss of the year. I'll let you go first because mine's going to be a little long winded.
- [09:31]
B
Okay. I do not have one at all, thank goodness. Because I have had some massive personal losses over the past four or five years. I needed a break from loss and I got one, thank goodness. I know it's not true for everybody, but I am very thankful that I didn't really have a personal loss in 2024.
- [09:52]
A
I think for you, just like in the last couple years, I feel like your life has profoundly changed for the better.
- [09:58]
B
Yes. Yes, for sure.
- [10:00]
A
Because there was many, many decades of misery.
- [10:06]
B
Yeah. So I don't. Yeah. And I was looking at that question last night and I was thinking about it and I was like, I'm really happy that I didn't have one because I feel like I've been hit, like, from all sides year after year after year. And it was really nice to not have that for 2024.
- [10:26]
A
And for me, too. I actually. I was really good. And technically this didn't happen in 2024.
- [10:32]
B
Yes.
- [10:32]
A
But my house just got broken into three. Is it three days ago? I don't know. It feels like it happened again. But it wasn't a personal loss financially. I mean, they ransacked the house, took a bunch of stuff, and like, the house is a disaster. They broke windows and everything's in disarray. But it wasn't like the. The financial loss. It was. It was more the mental security loss.
- [10:57]
B
Yeah.
- [10:58]
A
Because, you know, my wife is visibly. Was visibly distraught. The kids were distraught. They're worried. I had this big gaping hole still in my. In the back of my house where the sliding glass door and. And the other windows that they broke because for some reason they had to break multiple windows to get in. And now, like, I've been looking at alarm systems and beefing up security, and this is just not where I want to put my mental energy. And now we're setting the alarm even when we're in the house at night.
- [11:32]
B
Yeah, that's hard. It's hard to not feel safe, step.
- [11:35]
A
Outside to even do. Run a quick errand. We set the alarm and then we forget. Like in the past couple days, we've forgotten that we have it set and then we open the door and oh, crap, the alarm.
- [11:45]
B
Yeah.
- [11:45]
A
I don't know.
- [11:48]
B
I think that's a huge personal loss. I think it's because if you think about your house is supposed to be sort of your safe space and now it doesn't feel that way. And then on top of that, I feel like most of us start off the new year with, like, this sort of refreshed energy of, like, oh, I'm going to get to all these things. And you started off the new year with, like, crap. I've got all this extra, like, you can't even get into work yet because you're still dealing with the aftermath. So it almost is like a double whammy. Right. Like, the pain of, like, having to take care of all this stuff, plus the, like, feeling of, like, being violated. And then on top of that, you're like, hey, I was roaring into 2025, and now it's, like, screeching, halt.
- [12:28]
A
Yeah, I mean, we didn't exactly roar into 2025. Anyway, I was given.
- [12:33]
B
I was giving you some credit where you didn't deserve it, but it was.
- [12:37]
A
The worst 2024 Christmas break ever. I know also not to go into many details. Like, at our Christmas Eve Christmas party, Jen's cousin's dog passed away, and then Jen's uncle passed away. It was just terrible. Yeah, it's a. Yeah. So those are my biggest losses for the year, and maybe we should just skip on to the more positive awards of this episode.
- [13:05]
B
Okay. Yeah. What was your biggest win? Let's get. Let's get you some positives.
- [13:09]
A
Oh, you want. Okay. My biggest win was writing this script to automate the creation of new print products for our store. So one of the strategies now that, you know, E commerce is changing and whatnot, is we're focusing more on printed, custom printed products because the margins are super high. The problem is, is, like, whenever I want to make a custom printed product before, I'd have to take the image, Photoshop it on a product. Actually, before that, we were taking pictures of products, but now it's, like, Photoshopped on. Then we got to write a product description, upload it, and all that stuff takes a lot of time.
- [13:44]
B
Yeah.
- [13:44]
A
So I just took some time to write a script, thanks to ChatGPT, and it automatically photoshops the image on the three products that we're printing on, automatically uses AI to create a product description or product title, uploads it, and all I have to do is just kind of massage it before the product goes live. And the goal here is to target every single special occasion known to man and have print products for those occasions. And this is kind of like taking a page out of the Hallmark book, because Hallmark made up all these holidays, and that's how they thrived.
- [14:18]
B
You're capitalizing on the hallmark. Yeah. So my biggest one for. So I feel like my business last year was just a little bit on autopilot. I had a lot of just personal stuff that I was dealing with. Um, but my biggest win of the year kind of goes back to the best and worst investments was that I sold my house. Um, and I had someone say to me the other day, oh, you got lucky selling your house. I was like, no, I didn't. I studied the market for like six years.
- [14:46]
A
Did it crash? I don't know. The market in Florida.
- [14:49]
B
Um, so now it's. It went from a seller's market to a buyer's market literally overnight. Really? Yes. And I think for a lot of reasons, right. Too much inventory, high interest rates to the point where, like, sellers are giving concessions, all sorts of things. And I had been. I knew that I wanted to sell my house at some point because it was big and very. It was like, just expensive to operate. Right. The payment was super low, thanks to 20. 20. 2020 interest rates. But just the operating cost of the house was something that I didn't want to continue to, like, incur. And so I had been watching this for years. Right. Like just the market where. Especially specifically to my area. Right. Like my county, my zip code, things like that. And so I feel like I sold at the absolute top of the market. Which one made me a good amount of money that I could put into another house. Which is why, you know, if you sell a house, you usually have to buy something else to live in. Unless you're gonna go RV it for a year or two, which is not me. So I felt like that was my biggest win. Just being really in tune to what was going on. And basically, I mean, you know. Cause like, one day I woke up and I was like, I gotta sell. I gotta sell in a month. And I was like. I mean, I. Yeah. And it was a house that I bought for the purpose of renovating and eventually selling. But like, I had a lot of renovation products that were like process projects that were like half done or three quarters done or nine, eight done or whatever. Eight nights. So, like, getting it ready. I mean, we turned it around in about six weeks and sold it.
- [16:22]
A
It was nuts. I remember that.
- [16:23]
B
Yes.
- [16:23]
A
That was crazy.
- [16:24]
B
Yeah. Which was part of the reason for, like, my business kind of having to be on autopilot too. Because then I bought a house. Once again, it's another renovation project. So, you know, I've been living in a half renovated house for the past four months. Which is not, it's not definitely not going to be the coolest moment of my year. That's not going to make that happen.
- [16:42]
A
How you live like that because you have so many people in that house. But I guess your family's used to it probably.
- [16:49]
B
There's certain, I mean, that's a whole other podcast, right? There's certain things you got to take care of and certain things you can live with. Although there's definitely some things now that are grading on me. Like I still don't have a bathroom and that's super annoying. Um, but yeah, so, but I. That's definitely the biggest win for me financially and personally. Mainly, you know, financially, obviously I made a lot of money selling that house. But then also personally, like, it's kind of like when I, we talk about when I had my Audi and I loved that car so much. Like, that was just my favorite car I've ever, ever owned. But the stress of owning that car is kind of like the BMW, right? Like it breaks down and you're out 2,500 bucks when you sneeze, right? Like you need, you need brakes, $2,500. You need tires, $2,500. Like they are not European cars are not inexpensive to maintain when you don't live in Europe. And that house started to feel like the car, right? Like, oh, this is broken. Oh, I need to fix an AC unit. Oh, that's $50,000, right? Like it just, it got to be like, I dreaded like, oh, what's going to break next? Right? Because it's going to be this big expense. So that was a big stress reliever for me, just cutting out the expenses as well as just a financial win.
- [18:04]
A
I just wanted to take a moment to tell you about a free resource that I offer on my website that you may not be aware of if you are interested in starting your own online store. I put together a comprehensive six day mini course on how to get started in E commerce that you should all check out. It contains both video and text based tutorials that go over the entire process of finding products to sell all the way to getting your first sales online. Now this course is free and can be obtained@mywifequitterjob.com free. Just sign up right there on the front page via email and I'll send you the course right away. Once again, that's mywifequitterjob.com free. Now back to the show. This just reminded me like when our house got broken into, I had just sold the BMW. The broken BMW For a thousand dollars. So I just happened to have a thousand dollars lying around in cash in the house and they found it.
- [18:58]
B
Anyway, just pour salt in your wounds for that car.
- [19:01]
A
I know, I was wondering if it was an inside job, but the guy who bought it was actually our neighbor's friend, so I doubt.
- [19:06]
B
Yeah, probably not stealing his money back.
- [19:09]
A
So, yeah, my biggest win had to do with the business. My other biggest win, you know, just in general, was we got my mom's house at a really good rate. And it just so happened, like it doesn't usually rain that much here in California, but that week during the open house, it had rained and I think there was some other disaster or something. So people didn't really attend the open house. And I think the agent screwed up on the pricing too, because they, they set it really high initially and then they cut it by like $500,000. Which I know people listening to this like, oh my God, how much is this house? They just way overpriced it.
- [19:49]
B
Yeah.
- [19:49]
A
And so that drove a lot of people away from it. They're like, oh, what's wrong with it? What's wrong? So we, I think we got it at a really good price. And then of course, the win is. My mom is right down the street too.
- [19:58]
B
Yes. Big win.
- [19:59]
A
Yeah.
- [20:00]
B
Okay. What about the coolest moment of the year moment?
- [20:03]
A
I have a couple, so I'll let you go first.
- [20:06]
B
This one was really hard for me too, because I feel like I. I always have really cool moments.
- [20:11]
A
What I would really.
- [20:13]
B
Don't you think I do. I think I get to do cool stuff all the time.
- [20:17]
A
Yeah, I guess. I mean, that's, that's the positive way looking. But there's nothing that stood out.
- [20:21]
B
Yeah, no, no, no. I just. It was hard for me to like, narrow down because I feel like, you know, there's always really cool things I would say, hands down. And we have to go back a full 365 days. Last New Year's Eve, I was in Budapest.
- [20:34]
A
Oh, yeah.
- [20:35]
B
Which is my one, probably my favorite city. And then went skiing in Austria for my birthday. And that is something that if you would have told like 30 year old me that I would be doing that, I would have thought you were crazy. And so just realizing that I have had a lot of really cool moments like that in my life. And that one definitely topped the chart. The other one is what happened just last month. And of course it's another travel moment, but being in Denmark during Christmas time and kind of happening on an outdoor cafe that had heaters and heated seats and blankets that you could wrap yourself in. And just sitting there, like, watching the people, like, those are the moments that I love. Those are the moments that you can't really put in. I put a price tag on. And so those definitely be my top two of the year.
- [21:24]
A
That's true. You've been going on a lot of vacations.
- [21:27]
B
They're educational trips, Steve.
- [21:29]
A
More so than. Yeah, yeah. They're business related, right, Tony?
- [21:32]
B
They're business trips.
- [21:34]
A
That's true. Yeah. You're living your best life. More so than any other year I can remember, actually.
- [21:40]
B
Yeah, it's been a great year. And I've had lots of other great moments too, but that. Those were definitely. And oh, you know, my other cool. I gotta give a little shout out to one of my kids who has. Is not a good student. And I know you cannot relate to this, but I. My only kid left in school is not a great student and she made the A honor roll for the very first time, I think, in her life. And she's in high school now. So that was a really cool moment. I was really proud of her. And I don't. I didn't have anything to do with it. She just woke up one day and decided she wasn't gonna slack anymore. So shout out to her for secret.
- [22:11]
A
Did you do anything?
- [22:12]
B
I really. I mean, other than just continue to yell at her for 10 years to.
- [22:15]
A
Get her grades up, other than threaten to kick her out of the house unless she made the honor.
- [22:20]
B
It's. It's a cool moment when you see a kid that doesn't get it and then they get it like, hey, this is important. And, you know, you've tried everything. You've tried taking the phone away, you've tried all the things. And then all of a sudden they just figure it out like, oh, I need to be better. That's always a cool moment.
- [22:35]
A
Okay, I gotta tell this story now. I was at dinner with my family and my mom last night, and my mom just spoils the crap out of my kids. And reports are. Report cards are coming out tomorrow. And my son was. He was like, oh, you know, I might get a B on this. I'm like, what? A B? And then my grandma, or my mom, their grandma was like, oh, you know, that's okay. B is okay. We'll celebrate. You know, just. I'm like, what? You know, this is the same mom. When I grew up, I couldn't get bees. And now you're telling my son that he can get a B? And it's okay. What. What world am I living? I'm like, who are you?
- [23:14]
B
Who are you? Yes. It's. I'll tell you as someone who has grandkids, it's 100% a grandkid thing. Because during Christmas time, I took all three granddaughters to Target to let them buy gifts for their. Their parents. And I was like, we can go through every toy aisle. You can play with all the. Do you think I ever let my kids go through the toy aisle of Target or play with a single toy? Well, absolutely not. I was like, we're in, we're out. I'm like, we got nothing to do. Push all the buttons, make all the noise you want. I did not care. So, yeah, it's totally a grandparent thing.
- [23:44]
A
Grades. I mean, good Lord, your standards change.
- [23:47]
B
Your standards change 100%.
- [23:50]
A
Yeah. Okay, wait. So. So my coolest moment, and I actually had two. One is always been on my bucket list to go to the super bowl, so.
- [23:59]
B
That's right. Yes. I forgot.
- [24:01]
A
I went to see the Niners and the Chiefs. Unfortunately, the ending was not what I wanted, but it was probably the best super bowl that I've watched in recent history. It was close again, overtime and everything. And. And it somewhat justified the gobs of money I had to throw at it to get really good seats. But, you know, I told. I told my wife, it's a once in a lifetime thing. I'm not going to do it again.
- [24:23]
B
So, you know, well, the Niners aren't making the super bowl, so you're definitely.
- [24:27]
A
Not making the playoffs. Good Lord. You know, in terms of fun, though, I think it was. It was better than going to an NBA Finals game because there's only one game.
- [24:38]
B
Yeah. Everything's on the line. Yeah.
- [24:40]
A
And the halftime show is just ridiculous and whatnot. Yeah. You know, but outside of that, I. You know, it's just something that I wanted to do.
- [24:48]
B
Yeah.
- [24:49]
A
Second coolest moment of the year was going to the Paris Olympics. I had always wanted to go to the Olympics as. As long as I can remember. So that was like a bucket list item, too. And we watched my favorite sport, which was indoor volleyball, among other sports. We watched beach volleyball underneath the Eiffel Tower. We went to a basketball game. Actually, basketball was not that fun. Olympic basketball.
- [25:10]
B
Oh, bummer.
- [25:11]
A
Well, the reason is, is because, like, all the stars are spread out on other teams. And it's just like, since we have the NBA, it's like watching bad basketball.
- [25:21]
B
Yeah.
- [25:22]
A
It's the best way that. That I can describe it. Yeah, compared to the NBA, but yeah, that was an amazing experience. That was my first time in Paris too, and I think.
- [25:33]
B
Oh, I didn't know that.
- [25:34]
A
I didn't know it was my first time in Paris. Even though I took like 12 years of French, I got there actually, and I. I could not communicate with anyone or understand anything, so.
- [25:42]
B
Okay, but you don't need. I was just telling this to Andrea this morning. You don't need to speak French to go to Paris.
- [25:49]
A
You don't. But I wanted to be able to read the signs and, you know, maybe try a little bit.
- [25:56]
B
So your coolest moments are basically unaffordable for anyone in the real world, by the way.
- [26:04]
A
Yes, it was an amazing experience. Again, I don't. Paris was just amazing. It's probably one of my favorite cities. I know it's not yours for some reason.
- [26:13]
B
It's not. I want to go back, though. I want to give it another chance.
- [26:17]
A
I had July.
- [26:17]
B
Oh.
- [26:18]
A
I went off my low carb diet. I had literally every day I had these chocolate croissants.
- [26:23]
B
Oh, I love a chocolate croissant.
- [26:25]
A
So much better than anything in the U.S. yes. And I was expecting everyone to be impolite there because I just heard that. No, everyone was super nice because everyone.
- [26:34]
B
There was there for the Olympics.
- [26:35]
A
Yeah, probably everyone there were. Was expats and everything. They weren't real Parisians. Yes, probably, but beautiful city. The weather was perfect every day.
- [26:44]
B
Yeah.
- [26:45]
A
Yeah.
- [26:47]
B
Okay, what about your best life hack? Move on to some practical, achievable things for people. Other unlike going to the Olympics.
- [26:56]
A
I mean, a trip to Paris. How many people have been to Paris before me? Like, I. I just never been there after taking all that. Okay, best life hack. This one's super easy and it's probably cliche at this point, but using chat, GPT and Claude to write code and to help write YouTube scripts, huge game changer for me. I'm so much more productive. I got rid of all of my writers as a result. So I used ChatGPT to write a loyalty program which I. Which was, I guess, a big win for Bumblebee Linens. I can't remember when I launched that, but that's just like another excuse to email people. Another excuse for people to buy and add more to their order. And then I also used it to code up a spin to win. Pop up a two step version if you guys want to check it out. It's over at Bumblebee Linens. But basically this new pop up increased my email conversion rate by about 3x 3 and a half x, which was a huge deal for Bumblebee linens also. So just AI. I know everyone's using AI, but I think especially the coding and if you're using. If you're doing any sort of creative writing, claw AI is fantastic. It writes better than. Than humans.
- [28:08]
B
Yeah. So I was going to say Claude, but I knew you would use it, so I didn't. I had to come up with some other ideas.
- [28:13]
A
Oh, I have another one too you can use.
- [28:15]
B
Okay.
- [28:15]
A
Yeah, you can. How are you using Claude for the scripts? For the scripts?
- [28:19]
B
I'm using it. I'm using it to take blog posts and turn into scripts, which I started doing last year and then moved and now actually was working on two scripts yesterday and then also using it. And I think we talked about this in our webinar. Using it for the. The hook. I actually think it does a great job for the hook. For some reason on YouTube videos. Like, I'm great in a hook in email, but I'm not great for a hook in video, so I've been relying on that. But what's your other life hack?
- [28:49]
A
The other life hack was 11 labs. So what I did is I cloned my voice. And so now, like, if my assistant over in the Philippines needs for, like, needs a voiceover for something or whatnot, she'll just type in what she needs and it sounds like me. I sent you a sample. What did you think it sounded like?
- [29:11]
B
I think it does sound like you.
- [29:12]
A
Yeah, I do. And then there's this slider that allows you to add intonations where it thinks, and it's actually pretty good. And it keeps getting better. They've updated the model since. Since the last time. And this new model is amazing.
- [29:26]
B
Oh, good.
- [29:27]
A
So if you need yourself cloned, voice wise, I. I guess it's only really helpful if you're a content creator.
- [29:34]
B
Yeah.
- [29:35]
A
Podcast or something like that. But it just does an amazing job.
- [29:39]
B
Yeah.
- [29:40]
A
Yeah.
- [29:41]
B
So my. So I was. I knew you would use Claude, so I was like, okay, I gotta think of another one. So I have two more. My first one is my morning routine, which is get up, get directly out of bed, don't check your phone. And I know not everybody's a morning person. Blub. Don't. Don't email me. This isn't for you. And basically doing the morning meditation, like the five minutes of breathing. I will tell you, I was not a breathing fan, like, 18 months ago. I thought it was a bunch of bunk. I mean, I like breathing in general, but, like, like guided breathing. But Mike Barnhill, shout out to Mike and Dana. John Zima, shout out to Dana. Really changed my mind about this and just doing. And I'm. I'm not one who can sit for 30 minutes and do this, but five minutes of guided breathing is radicalized my mornings and my energy level, along with sitting in the sun, whether it's walking, sitting, whatever. So something like my last house, I could sit out on my back balcony and like sit in the sun and do the breathing here. I have to. I walk and then I do the breathing another time. But huge life hack, highly recommended. If you're not doing that, my other one, which is like, I am definitely late to the party, so don't come at me. Why was I not following the points guy before? I don't know. Like, I was talking to someone. They're like, oh, yeah, I found on the points guy. And I was like, I know. I. Like, I'm like, I know who that is. Like, why am I not. So I just signed up for the daily emails. You definitely get stuff that you don't want. But I've learned and you know, I'm a travel hacker. Like, we talk about going to all these places. I've gone for almost free on points to all my trips. But he has like, the ends. Like, I've wasted a lot of time trying to find out this information where he literally, like, the website's amazing. The information's great. It's all real, it's not gimmicky. Obviously he makes money if you sign up for certain credit cards and things like that through him. So, like, good for him. But I will say, like, if you want a travel hack and you don't want to have to do all the work, I would just sign up for the email for points guy. And we're not affiliated with them in any way.
- [31:49]
A
Can I get mad real quick?
- [31:50]
B
Yes.
- [31:51]
A
So do you remember when I came back from Mancation and I. I was raving about Wim Hof breathing?
- [31:56]
B
Yes.
- [31:57]
A
But you didn't, like, bat an eyelash. But now when Dana and Mike Barnhill tell you that breathing is really good, then all of a sudden you do it.
- [32:08]
B
Yes. Yes.
- [32:08]
A
I don't know how I feel about that.
- [32:10]
B
I'm sorry.
- [32:13]
A
Okay. Wow, we're running out of time. We have a couple more here. Okay. Best product of the year.
- [32:18]
B
Okay. Mine are all like, construction based. They're not work based. Okay. Because I. So anyway, best. Best two products of the year for me. Noise canceling, insulation. If you are building a house you need to have this installed. This does not apply to like 90% of the people here or.
- [32:33]
A
What is it?
- [32:33]
B
No, it's like roll. You roll it. Or it's in sheets, but it's like the pink stuff, but it's not. It's basically still wool.
- [32:40]
A
It.
- [32:40]
B
It's amazing. Never thought I would be singing the praises of insulation, but in the sound of. You might think that I hate noise. I got the. I have them right here with me. My boy. My Bose open ear headphones. I hate. If you hate headphones in your ear, like the ones like Apple AirPods, the ones that stick inside your ear canal, which I cannot stand, these actually hook to your ear. So like if you walk, run, cycle, anything like that, you can actually still hear everything going on around you. But the sound, the sound quality. 10 out of 10. Amazing. Um, I like them so much better than AirPods. Uh, I've had an issue connecting them to my Mac computer, but that's almost a hundred percent user error. Um, but love these little bows. Open your head. I'm curious.
- [33:25]
A
I want those two, actually.
- [33:27]
B
Yeah. So they hook. See if I can show you.
- [33:31]
A
Oh, I. I see, I see. Okay, so let me try to describe it since you guys are listening here.
- [33:35]
B
They hook. My nails are too long. But they hook around your ear, right?
- [33:39]
A
So nothing goes physically in your ear.
- [33:41]
B
Nope. They hook on your. What's the outside of your ear called? I don't know, the. The part that like loops around, that's where they hook. So they're on the back side. And to me, like, I don't know about. If you're a female and you're getting ready and like trying to do your hair and you have AirPods in. I always knock an AirPod out and then it's rolling across the floor under the bed, whatever. These do not come off your ear. So definitely recommend.
- [34:04]
A
My best product of the year is a. Is a service, I guess. And It's. It's not ChatGPT, it's Search GPT. Okay. Search GPT came out earlier this year and now it does citations and it does somewhat of fact checking with citations. So it has replaced Google for me across the board. I do not use Google at all anymore. I tried Perplexity as well. Perplexity is another AI search tool which is much better than Google. I just prefer Search GPT because I think it does a better job of citations and. And there's just less clutter in the answer that it gives you.
- [34:42]
B
Nice.
- [34:43]
A
Google's nice.
- [34:43]
B
You know, I hate Google, so I'M gonna have to check that out.
- [34:46]
A
I. I agree. Well, it's already kind of built into chat gbt. So.
- [34:50]
B
Yeah. What's your biggest change for the coming up year?
- [34:53]
A
Ah, so I used to play ultimate every week.
- [34:58]
B
Yeah.
- [34:59]
A
But then we're all old now. Like, one guy I was playing with was, like, 60, and so people just started getting injured, like, literally every time we went out and played. And so that game kind of died. And I'm playing tennis once a week now, but I still need a way to exercise the other days and not. I hate running.
- [35:19]
B
Yeah.
- [35:19]
A
And so I don't want to. I tried running and I tried to force myself to go running. I'm usually good for a couple weeks and then I stop.
- [35:28]
B
Yeah.
- [35:28]
A
So biggest personal change of the year. And this might be my product of the year, even though it's been out for a long time. There's this exercise game on the Nintendo Switch.
- [35:38]
B
Okay.
- [35:39]
A
It is called Ring Fit. And there's like this Pilates ring that you get. And then you fight monsters by exercising.
- [35:47]
B
Okay.
- [35:48]
A
And I've been doing that every day.
- [35:51]
B
Nice. Nice.
- [35:53]
A
And so the goal is to exercise five days out of the week, whether it be lifting weights, playing tennis. So that's two. And then Ring Fit for the remaining three days.
- [36:03]
B
Nice. I like it. It's a gamifying fitness. It always works.
- [36:07]
A
Yeah.
- [36:08]
B
So I spent the last, like, week with our friend Liz and Adam and Mike Jackness. And this was the biggest change, was, like, the number one topic of our conversation. Okay. And so I started the conversation out by saying, I need a gigantic change this year. I don't know what it is, but something needs to, like, change drastically in my life. And then as the days went on and we continued to have these conversations, and Jackness was, like, determined to figure out what it was going to be. And I was like, the problem is, I don't know, Jackness. If I knew, I would tell you. But I woke up one morning, actually, on my birthday, and I was like, you know what? It's not a big change. I need a shift. And the idea came to me because of. I was thinking about, like. And I'm. I'm not a science person, so. But I think about, like, Teutonic plates, Right. And how they move and shift over time. And it doesn't seem like that big of a deal when you think about the size of these plates, but actually it causes, like, massive issues. Right. Causes earthquakes. It causes huge crevices and canyons and mountains, like. Right. So this shifting of the plates Is a really big deal, even though, like, in theory it's not right. Shift doesn't seem like a big word, but I was like, that's what I need. I need a shift. So I need a slight change that will produce massive results. And so that's kind of what I went with after I did the cold plunge. And all the world became very clear to me after that. So a couple of those things that I just kind of came to, like, real practically. So, you know, last year I bought that big ass calendar, but I lost all the pieces in the move. So I had this calendar that was, like, empty. So this year I was like. Liz was like, I'm gonna buy the calendar. I was like, I'm not buying it. It sucks. You know, it doesn't suck. I'm joking. But so we decided we were gonna buy it basically together and fill it out together, like, on a call. So. So that's a big thing. As I want to, like, plan my. I want to get, like, an outline of my year now to sort of like, wow.
- [38:03]
A
We're like, yes, the opposite.
- [38:05]
B
I know we are. I know we are. Okay, so that was the big. So I was like, but if I have l. Anybody to do it with me, like, the accountability will be there, right? Like, to get it done. Because I do know that. Because I have so much chaos, like, in my personal life and my house and everything, like, the things that I can control, I really need to control. And then in. In that conversation, I realized the one thing that I feel like all of us, for the most part, have been missing over the past several years is like, I need to get out more. I'm very happy in my cave. I'm very happy in my office. I'm very happy in my house. You know, I'm like, if I leave, I'm getting on an airplane, and I need, like, more people in my life that are in our, like, not necessarily doing exactly what we do, but in, like, the entrepreneurial slash founder space. And so just making a concerted effort. And I have a lot of things, like, in the works for this, but, like, probably attending more events, networking more, just being better about getting out there because I tend to, like, close in if. Because I want to get stuff done right. And I'm realizing that I've missed out. Especially, like, if you think about, like, 2020 and everything that happened and how, like, my life before that and now, like, we were going to multiple events a year. And I'm at the point now where my kids are all older while it's still difficult to travel a lot. I can make it happen. And I think that's really important for my own, like, personal growth.
- [39:31]
A
You know what's funny is I'm going in the opposite direction.
- [39:34]
B
I know.
- [39:36]
A
And I think it's because our kids are at different ages. Like, your kids are older.
- [39:40]
B
Yeah.
- [39:40]
A
I feel like my kids need us right now to be at home. Because over the break, we toured colleges.
- [39:46]
B
Yeah.
- [39:47]
A
For my daughter. And like, there's just. It's just so hard to get in college now.
- [39:52]
B
Yeah.
- [39:53]
A
There's so many things that.
- [39:54]
B
Not when you make the A honor roll. Not when you make the A honor roll.
- [39:58]
A
I wish that's all it took.
- [40:00]
B
Yes, I know.
- [40:01]
A
But there's a lot of work involved and so many activities. Now both kids are playing volleyball. I'm literally driving to the gym like four times a week.
- [40:12]
B
Yep.
- [40:12]
A
Five times a week. And there's. And yeah, Karina's learning how to drive. That's a nice carrying itself. Did I tell. I told you this story. Right? I. I go in, she gets in the front seat, and I'm like, okay, let's drive. And the first question she asks is, okay, which one is which is the break? I'm like, okay, get outta the car. Get outta the car right now.
- [40:37]
B
And then.
- [40:38]
A
Yeah. And then I. We went to like a parking lot where I could show her which pedal was which. This is after she. She passed the learner's permit test.
- [40:45]
B
And I don't think they ask you that question. So here's. And you're right. Like, we're in very different seasons. Like, think about this. I'm teaching my seventh kid how to drive. I know, I'm just like, I'm in there smoking a cigarette, like, drinking a glass of wine. Like, let's go kids. You know, not really guys, but like, like there's very little. Like, not all my kids are great drivers. So it's like I've had some like, near death experiences with them behind the wheel. So now I'm just like, let's do it. Like, it just is very much unfazes me at this point for driving.
- [41:16]
A
So funny. That's so funny. Yeah. So I think once they're off to college, I'll be there with you.
- [41:22]
B
Yeah. I've just realized that I miss, I miss that part of like, I. I need people to like, kind of hold my feet to the fire. And I think that getting out there is the. For me is the best way to do it because I, I quickly go in. Like, I quickly am, like, I could not leave my house for a month and be totally fine. Like, literally not leave it. Except for I have to take a kid to school. But, like, I don't go to the store. I'm not. Like, I don't want to interact with you. Like, I very quickly want to go inward. So I think this is a good push for me.
- [41:56]
A
I mean, those were great years.
- [41:58]
B
They really were.
- [42:00]
A
I was speaking like six or seven times a year at various conferences. Had a blast. Met so many people. Like, yeah, I would love to go back to that, actually, but just not these next two years for sure. Yeah. Maybe afterwards. Actually, I feel like there's less events now too.
- [42:17]
B
There are less events. So, yeah. Anyway. Okay. Biggest loser of the year. I have a list.
- [42:23]
A
Oh, you do? Okay, let me just get my one.
- [42:25]
B
Out of the way then and I'll.
- [42:26]
A
Let you do your list.
- [42:27]
B
Okay.
- [42:27]
A
I think the biggest losers of the year were Amazon sellers who only rely on selling on Amazon.
- [42:33]
B
That was on my list.
- [42:34]
A
That was okay. Amazon introduced so many new fees, they you could avoid some of those fees by using their new service, which was a disaster this holiday season. It was Amazon warehousing and distribution. And just recently they announced that they are not reimbursing you the full price of a product. When they.
- [42:53]
B
I saw that. Just the cost of goods or whatever it is.
- [42:56]
A
The cost of goods.
- [42:57]
B
Yeah.
- [42:58]
A
What they consider your cost of goods or you can submit your factory invoices and get that reimbursed, but it doesn't take into account the cost of customs duties and freight forwarding and all that stuff. Just the pure cost.
- [43:12]
B
Yeah.
- [43:12]
A
Of the. Which that's garbage to me is outrageous.
- [43:17]
B
Yeah. So, okay, I. This was my funnest part. I was like, I love fighting the losers and winners. Biggest losers of the year. SEO blogs, blogs that relied totally on SEO. Poo in the toilet. The Democratic Party guys messed up. We're a little bit tone deaf. We don't talk about politics here, but they are definitely a big loser for the year. Did not do a good job marketing, that's for sure. Actually, if you're in marketing, watch, learn from this. Chain restaurants, the Red Lobsters, TGI Fridays. Right. Like, once again, I feel like a lot of this has to do with, like, people being tone deaf to their audience, not knowing what people want, not adapting to the new world. Right. Department stores. Right. Macy's closed 150 stores. Same thing.
- [44:02]
A
I didn't know that. Yeah. Do people not shop there anymore?
- [44:04]
B
No. So I read a couple years ago that Macy's does the majority of their sales online anyway. And a lot of people just walk into Macy's to pick up their order. Right. And I don't know about you, but like, shopping malls, like the traditional. Everything's inside shopping mall, like bankrupting. Right. The outdoor malls, the plazas, those are the ones that are. Are doing better malls. Like, were you actually walking?
- [44:30]
A
Yes.
- [44:31]
B
Oh, no.
- [44:32]
A
Here they are packed.
- [44:35]
B
Yeah. So, you know, like, Red Lobster file, they got a new CEO, so they're restructuring. But TGI Fridays went down. Okay. Another big loser, Aaron Rodgers. What are you doing, dude? Like, once again, like. But like, once again, I feel like all this kind of relates. It's like they're tone. Like a lot of these people are just tone deaf. Right. To what's going on around them. Not, like, understanding the market. Right. Aaron Rodgers did not understand what it was like to play in New York where your fans will boo you. Right. He was in Green Bay where everyone loves you. They're all cheeseheads. Right. I would say X, formerly known as Twitter, Big Loser this year lost a lot of users. Once again, I feel like in that tone deaf category, I mean, you stopped putting effort into it.
- [45:17]
A
See, I feel the opposite about X, actually.
- [45:18]
B
Oh, really? Okay. Why do you feel the opposite?
- [45:22]
A
Because I think X has become the platform for. For people, for free speech. So I think X is on the. On the rise.
- [45:30]
B
We'll see.
- [45:31]
A
Especially after. Especially after the Trump victory.
- [45:34]
B
It might turn around, but I feel like in 2024, it was not. And then I think the absolute biggest loser of the year was anybody who stayed up to watch the Mike Tyson Jake Paul fight Biggest Loser, if you could even get it to stream correctly. So then we have to add Netflix to that list of biggest losers for screwing that one up.
- [45:55]
A
Sounds like we should have just made an entire episode on this. You got a long list.
- [45:58]
B
Okay, the biggest one winners.
- [46:00]
A
Okay? Biggest winners, Nvidia stock, Elon Musk. Those are my two that I. I was thinking of. Like, Elon banked so much on this election.
- [46:12]
B
Yes, he did.
- [46:13]
A
And he would have gotten screwed if. If Trump had lost.
- [46:16]
B
Yeah.
- [46:16]
A
So Nvidia, Elon Musk, anything related to AI killing it right now?
- [46:22]
B
Amazon the company, not Amazon the seller. So everything that hurt the sellers benefited Amazon. Since chain restaurants took a tank, These fast casual restaurants like Cava, where you, like, go up and order, but they bring you your food. I don't know. You know, all those restaurants really did well because they kept their price point. Right, Right. Like shake shacks. Like you. You know those places. Are doing actually really well. Walmart, big winner of 2024 and are still coming hard after Amazon. Um, and then people in general, because I had to add Aaron Rodgers, I got to add people that are winners. A huge winner. Probably my number one 2024 winner, Caitlin Clark. Right. Just crushing it. And not only crushing it for herself, but bringing up an entire industry. Like, who cared about the WNBA before Caitlin Clark? Nobody. Right? And then along with that, we got Simone Biles, right, Coming back and the Olympics, like, once again, huge personal winner. Ilona Meyer, right. Rugby player in the Olympics. That then has she. What I like about her is in her and the pommel horse guy, Stephen Erratic, who transformed their Olympic wins into, like, outside of that monetization and fame, because I think so many people, like, get their 15 minutes and don't know how to leverage that. So I think they did a really good job of being, like, slightly obscure, but then leveraging it for huge social media followings. Dancing with the Stars, you know, all sorts of stuff. And then the other two big winners for me are YouTube and tick tock. Who knows what's going to happen to Tick Tock? We might not be saying this in 2025. In one more week, Tick Tock, Tick Tock, we'll see. But anyone creating content on YouTube and tick tock, big winner in 2024 and definitely on YouTube, I see that in 2025 as well.
- [48:05]
A
I agree. I. I also wanted to add the biggest loser of the year, I think, is the NBA.
- [48:10]
B
Yeah.
- [48:10]
A
Like, viewership is down, like, 58 or so.
- [48:13]
B
It hurts my heart. Hurts my heart to say that I.
- [48:16]
A
Must say, the game has kind of devolved into just, like, chucking it up.
- [48:22]
B
Yes. Yeah.
- [48:23]
A
From 3.9. Drive and kick. Drive and kick.
- [48:26]
B
Yeah.
- [48:26]
A
Anyway. All right, well, that concludes our first annual awards show. You're only supposed to pick one in each of these categories, but maybe we should just do an entire episode on Biggest Losers and Biggest Winners, because that's when you, like, perked up.
- [48:42]
B
Well, here's. Here's the thing. I know I had double for some other ones. Here's the thing about the biggest winners and losers is I think that you can. You like the audience. Us can learn so much from what's happening in the world, right? Like, you can look at people who, like, look at Aaron Rodgers, right? Like, so how do you avoid that in your own business or your own branding, Right? Because he's. He's a person, but he's also a brand, right? So how do you avoid that negative backlash? How do you avoid? How do you avoid getting in that position? Same thing with like, how can you do what Caitlin Clark has done right now? Obviously most of us are never going to be in the wnba. Mainly we're too old. But. And you're not a woman. But details, details. But like looking at some of these people, looking at what like Walmart is doing, right? Looking at some of these bigger companies or people and like how are they leveraging what they already have to grow and be better? And then also looking at like, hey, if YouTube is blowing up, should I be on there, right? How do I need to get on? It's like just watching these things and making decisions in your own business and personal life I think is really, really valuable.
- [49:56]
A
Hope you enjoyed this episode. If there are any awards that you think we missed, let me know by sending me an email. For more information and resources, go to My wife quit her job.com Episode 571 Once again, tickets to the Seller Summit 2025 are now on sale over at sellers summit.com if you want to hang out in person in a small intimate setting, develop real relationships with like minded entrepreneurs and learn a ton, then come to my event. Go to sellers summit.com and if you're interested in starting your own e commerce store, head on over to my wife quitherjob.com and sign up for my free 6 day mini course. Just type in your email and I'll send the course right away via email.