← Trading Secrets
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- [00:00]
Jason Tardick
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- [01:25]
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- [02:08]
Jason Tardick
Welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets. I'm your host Jason Tardick and welcome to the jta. So the JTA is one episode every single year where I'm in the hot seat and David, my co host who does the recaps with me after every episode, puts me in the hot seat, asks me all the tough business questions, the one I ask most of my guests. How much you make? Give us the breakdown. What does it look like? Business challenges, life challenges, all the moving parts. Now I have a giveaway. Before we even start, please remember to subscribe and let us know what your biggest takeaway from this episode is or any episode is and give us five star in the comments and make sure you you put your email address and or your Instagram in the review. And I have a nice little gift card that I am giving away. Next recap. I will announce the winner. So please give us your biggest takeaway from this episode. But it is a good one. It's a fiery one. It's intense. Sometimes JTA gets super emotional and super raw. Sometimes it's very straightforward and it's very businesslike. I will tell you this a little behind the scenes, which is what we usually do in the recaps is we got a little short on time. So this episode's 54 minutes, which is no joke. That's a long episode. We probably could have done about two, three hours with the things that we had to cover and the things that happened in 2025. It was a lot. So what we're going to do is this week will be the first week ever and we are going to do it for at least one week and maybe we'll extend throughout, but we are going to do 30 minute Thursdays. So again, remember to subscribe to the podcast. Follow us on Instagram Trading Secrets podcast And this Thursday 30 Minute Thursday, we'll touch on a recap of JTA. Things that we missed. Maybe some of the more emotional pieces of 2025 that we didn't hit on in this business breakdown. But if you guys like the 30 Minute Thursdays, let us know in your review when you give us five stars and maybe we'll keep it around. There's so much that happens in, in my personal life and with business and outside of news that are trending in pop culture, life, economics and policy. And we're thinking about on 30 minute Thursdays maybe break that a little bit more. Going through the news that you need to know the things that are being talked about and things that are important to both our lives. Maybe having call ins, call in questions, maybe having guests time to time. But 30 Minute Thursday, stay tuned. This week. It should be a good one. But enough of me rambling. Let's ring in the bell to the 2025 annual recap. JTA 2025. It's the fifth one we've ever done. David, take it away.
- [04:45]
David
Welcome to another episode of Trading Secrets. Today I am joined by someone who you may be familiar with on Trading Secrets. It's our host or usually our host, Jason Tardick. But today, the one day Jason, I am the host, your curious Canadian, the voice of the viewer. I'm relaxed. You're in the hot seat today.
- [05:02]
Jason Tardick
I'm in the hot seat.
- [05:03]
David
Listen, Jason, a little bio for you that you give all of our guests. Jason is the co founder of Rewired Talent agency. He's the host of trading secrets podcast, 51 weeks a year. He's an author of two books, Talk Money to Me and the Restart Roadmap. He's a content creator with over a million followers across all of his platforms. He's an expert in multitasking, despite being the most inefficient multitasker I've ever met in my life. He's a very proud dog dad. He's a die hard Buffalo Bills fan. He's one of my best friends. He's the one. He is the only Jason Tartek. Jason, welcome to Trading Secrets today.
- [05:35]
Jason Tardick
It's so good to be here. That was a great intro. I feel like this is the fifth year year we've done this. That was your best intro yet.
- [05:42]
David
I learned from the best. So what can I say? And you know what else we're learning? We're at the Brand Hive here in Buffalo again for the second year in a row. And last year, Jason, we popped champagne to celebrate and it was a mess all over the floor. It was a tough start, honestly, like your 2024 was. And it kind of set the tone for what the JTA was. So we're in a much different place.
- [06:01]
Jason Tardick
What's funny is that was 2024 and 2025. It was tough starts for both those.
- [06:07]
David
It was kind of spilling all over the floor like it spilled into 2025. So this year we're going to class. Little bit. It's less chaotic this year. So we're going to cheers.
- [06:14]
Jason Tardick
Look at us.
- [06:14]
David
Look at us. Cheers. We've grown. Hey, we've grown. Cheers to us.
- [06:17]
Jason Tardick
We've grown. With high noons in our cocktail class.
- [06:20]
David
Yes. But we brought nice glasses today, so we're classing it up a bit. And just to touch on before we turn the page, in preparation for this, I listened to JTA 2024.
- [06:29]
Jason Tardick
Oh, boy.
- [06:30]
David
It was sad. Yeah, it was sad. We talked a lot about your past relationships. We talked a lot about some obstacles you have in life. We talked a lot about your healing process. Yeah. Okay. It put me back the time in our life and our friendship and what we were feeling together at that time. And you know what I'm looking forward to?
- [06:45]
Jason Tardick
What are you looking forward to?
- [06:45]
David
Listening to this episode next year and feeling. None of that.
- [06:49]
Jason Tardick
None of that.
- [06:49]
David
I'm looking forward to feeling the energy that I know you're bringing into life right now.
- [06:53]
Jason Tardick
I listened back to 2025. We recorded it January 2025 room, same place, and it's the recap of 2024. So today, of course, we're recording in 2026. It's the recap of 2025. And when I listened to it back, it was interesting how far off my predictions were of what life would look like, but also how they were a little close. And I was clearly in a little bit of a state of chaos. And it's so crazy how much my life has changed in a year.
- [07:20]
David
I think it was like in that moment, you were the little engine that could you. Could you believe, but you just weren't there yet, and you knew that you were going to get there. And I think it's fair to say right now, Jason, happy, positive, dare I say, a little bit relieved with where you are in life?
- [07:35]
Jason Tardick
Yeah, relieved. I think it's light, it's peace, it's clear. My everything in my life is so clear. And you think about what my teaser looked like last year for what I thought it would be. It was not clear which.
- [07:48]
David
Which we'll get into right away, which we will get into because the teaser has become a tradition at jta. And we're going to get into all the things that are making you happy, that are bringing this energy into your life. We're going to get into those a little bit later. Okay? But for those of you who have joined us to Trading Secrets this year and are listening to JTA for the first time, can you just lay out why we do gta, what the purpose the heart of JTA is for this podcast?
- [08:12]
Jason Tardick
All right, so jta, trading Secrets, it's everything we weren't taught in school. It's the people content you consume, the books you read, the people that you watch, the athletes you admire, entrepreneurs that you learn from. And we say, come in the chair here and tell us everything about your business, how you got to where you got, how much money you've made along the way, how much money you've lost. Because these are the things we're not taught in school. And on this episode, what we do is we talk about my year, how much I made, where I made it, what it looked like, the different business avenues, the struggles, the successes. And what I always like to preface, we've been doing this for five years. Some of the numbers we might throw out here, they might be a shock to some people. Some people might not be phased at all. And the biggest thing I like to say in this episode is that this is not to boast or brag, flex or feel good it's that we have been taught in our society since day one, there's a stigma that we don't talk about money. When we're struggling with money, we hide our bills and we have credit card debt. We won't acknowledge it. And the only way that we can advance what we're doing in life is if we have some sort of financial transparency. If we can all talk about where we make money and how we make it, we can grow. We can learn about different industries. We could put ourself on a path we want to be on, as opposed to the path that maybe mom, dad, cousin, brother, sister put us on or societal pressures put us on. So that's the entire part. If you're new here to trading secrets, that's what we do. And it's all for educational purposes.
- [09:41]
David
In a world where we don't talk about finances, in a world where we sometimes don't talk about feelings. On gta, we do it all.
- [09:47]
Jason Tardick
We do it all.
- [09:48]
David
We check all the boxes. Much to my smile and your nerves. But take another sip of that High Noon and we'll continue to get into into it. But things we do, always touch on JTA personally.
- [09:57]
Jason Tardick
Can I say this?
- [09:57]
David
Yes, you can say whatever you want.
- [09:59]
Jason Tardick
I don't know the questions he's asking, so I. There's one time a year that David gets to log into my Instagram. He gets to see the questions you guys submit. I don't look at them, I don't know them. I don't know the curveballs. I do have some numbers here that I think are somewhat accurate. Haven't filed taxes yet, so they're not perfectly accurate, but I'll do my best.
- [10:16]
David
Thanks for the reminder that I should probably file my taxes.
- [10:19]
Jason Tardick
Yeah, get on.
- [10:19]
David
I appreciate that.
- [10:20]
Jason Tardick
You should find your crypto.
- [10:21]
David
I will get. No, we won't talk about that today, but we will talk about your personal, your professional, your financial. As you mentioned, we will get into the money mafia question roulette, which I'm very excited for.
- [10:32]
Jason Tardick
Fire away.
- [10:32]
David
But listen, we have to. We tease it already. We're talking about your trailer for 2025. So before I go into it, do you remember elements of what it was, or are you. Is it a foggy time back then when you talked about what your trailer for 2025 would look like? Because I'm going to say it, and then I want your instant gut reaction.
- [10:50]
Jason Tardick
Say it.
- [10:50]
David
Okay. I got to say in the Jason Tarnick voice, too.
- [10:53]
Jason Tardick
Okay. Okay. Last time I was here, Mitch Trubisky, backup Quarterback of the Bills. He did the whole welcome to Trading Secrets and the Jason Boys and just embarrassed me. I'm like, thanks, Mitch. So, David, let's go. Fire away.
- [11:04]
David
This one started a little bit. You could tell your headspace with how it started. Okay, here we go. Jason's 2025 trailer went a little something like this. It is going to be a twister. Wicked, the show, right? Think about the wizard of Oz. You got Dorothy, the house gets fucking blown up. They're spinning around and then they land and it all works out. It's mayhem. They kill the witch and all that stuff. Thought. I think my life is going to be absolute twister in 2025. I don't know next year where I'm going to live. It's not going to be Nashville. I think if you take a snapshot, this is Jason's life today, January 2025. In January 2026, none of it will look the same location. Things going on, things are happening in my life. It's going to be a twister and then all the dust is going to settle. My guess is going to be September, October, and it's going to be great. I think in 2025, it's going to be the most insane year of my life. So when you hear that, Jason, what's your gut reaction? Which of that is true and which of it is false compared to the reality of you sitting in this chair a year later today?
- [11:59]
Jason Tardick
I'm laughing. I'm laughing hard because when I said that, I was in a. I was in a state of chaos. 2023, I had a four and a half year relationship not work out and an engagement end. Didn't know what was going to happen and what life would look like. I then 9 months later, jumped into another relationship that was very serious and that didn't work out as both those were public relationships. And when we filmed this, that was three months after dealing with the culmination of it all. And it was chaos. That was chaos. It was. You could hear it in my. I called it Wicked.
- [12:34]
David
You were talking about Wicked when you started your trailer with Wicked. I was like, here we go.
- [12:38]
Jason Tardick
It was Twister. It was starting last year. I remember I had such confusion. I just didn't know what it would look like or how it looked like. It was very pessimistic, but it was also excited. And the beginning of the year was crazy. What the thing that I laugh about is it's anyone that's listening to this that's going through a hard time. I just want to say whether it's one millimeter, it's one inch, it's one foot. Just keep going. Just keep going. Because once you crawl out of that hole of hell, whatever it is, your work life, your friendship life, your financial life, your health life will open up. And when it opens up and you're on the right path with the right people and it's addition by subtraction, everything will move at a speed you never thought it would, but in the best way possible. So here we are a year ago, and I'm saying I know one thing with certainty. I won't be in Nashville one year later. I'm 20 days from signing a piece of paper for my dream home, my first home, which we'll talk about the numbers.
- [13:43]
David
We will talk about that. Yeah.
- [13:44]
Jason Tardick
And it's in Nashville, Tennessee.
- [13:47]
David
There you go.
- [13:47]
Jason Tardick
I was way off in every direction. But I just think when you're saying that, all I hear is chaos. And someone listening to this, you might feel one of those areas I mentioned is chaos. Trust me, clarity will come every day. Just put one little baby step in front of the next.
- [14:03]
David
You saying that about getting 1 millimeter, 1 inch getting closer, and it'll figure itself out reminds me of the Amanda Petula episode that just came out a couple weeks ago, because that her whole podcast was about that, so it really resonated there quickly. Before we move on to the professional aspects of jta, I want to know when you think about the growth that you've made this year, when you think about the place that you're in now from the place that you were in, maybe it's not a person, but is there something? When I say the word thankful, what are you thankful for in the last year? Is it something? Is it someone? Is it some moment? Is it some lesson? Is it. What are you the most thankful for? Is it a word? Is it an act?
- [14:39]
Jason Tardick
What?
- [14:40]
David
Is it that when you think back, you're like, man, I'm so thankful that this is in 2026 and didn't have that 2025 and previous.
- [14:47]
Jason Tardick
So I'm gonna answer that question. I'm gonna say I'm having this vision of what I was wearing that day. I remember I was wearing when we did this episode. It was a blue and white sweater. And. And I remember sitting there and I remember watching it back when we just recorded just to make sure it all was fine. And what I would tell that person right now, I would be like, dude, put your chin up, put your chest up, and find your fucking foundation, your confidence, like you have this, stop questioning yourself. Stop let other people, word or likeness impact who you think you are. None of that matters. You are so caught up and just the noise in the chaos. But no one in life, no matter what they say, can take your character and they can't take your integrity and they can't take your identity. And I think I've learned in my life, especially in the last year, what I'm most thankful for is that I don't over explain anymore. Hell, I don't even explain to people I don't respect. And a year ago I was sitting in this chair trying to figure out how to explain to those listening while also being respectful of many people that didn't weren't respecting me because I was trying to walk on this tightrope making the world happy. And you know what? It doesn't matter. Like all that doesn't matter. So that's the biggest thing I would say is stop over explaining. I'm thankful for that. Stop explaining. Especially stop trying to gain the likeness of people that you don't respect. And that was a big learning lesson for me.
- [16:16]
David
Well, you attract what you project in life and you are definitely attracting positivity into your life. I think you feel that in your surroundings. And let's just give me a cheers, I'm happy for you. Cheers. See, I told you that this year was going to be a little different. I told you this year was going to be a little different.
- [16:30]
Jason Tardick
It feels good. It feels good. I said last year, I don't know what next year will bring. When I look at next year, I have a lot of clarity of what it will bring.
- [16:39]
David
Let's do this. Let's round out the feel good portion. Before we get into the business of the numbers, you got to give us the trailer for 2026. So Jason, as you think about this, what is the trailer with all those thoughts and those feelings and those words, Give it to me 30 seconds or less. Your trailer for 2026.
- [16:57]
Jason Tardick
Trailer for 2026. Okay, I'm going to start with this because it's just top of mind and it connects what we talked about. Being nice is not kind. I think hard truths are a privilege. And I think when I look at business life and I look at friendships and I look at where I spend my time, the places I will spend it are the people that I know deeply care about me and I deeply care about them. And when I look into 2026, what I see is I see light, I see bliss, I see happiness, I see someone that no matter what challenges come my way, economic challenges, financial challenges, I will find a way to do it. And the reason I feel so confident in that is because of the work I've done and having a partner like Catherine and the work she's done. And I feel as a team, we're on. We're just unstoppable. And when I say unstoppable, I'm not talking about work, I'm not talking about financial success. I'm talking about happiness. Like, we're 10 toes down to the things that matter and talking through conflict and seeing the vision of what we want for life. And I don't know if 2026 is going to be massively financially successful or I'm going to have this big moment. There's going to be this huge change in relevancy or a show, and I don't care. I know that next year at this time I will be in a better place to what I want to be in life, which is to be married and have a family and have kids and do something bigger than social media and work. And so that's what I'm expecting for next year. It's a lot. It's vulnerable because I've said things like this before. Yes, you have to look back and be like, dude, you are way off. But you know what? 37 years. I think I finally got it right. Spring season is approaching us and it is time to refresh your space and make your home better for you. And you should do that with Wayfair. Now, I'm curious what your style is with Katherine. I'd say she's more like farmhouse. I would say, you know, mid century modern. I'd say I'm a little bit more contemporary. So we're using Wayfair to find a happy medium between the both. And so we just got, I will say, in New York City, this unbelievable coffee table that fit in perfect for what was already a furnished apartment. The price was great, the quality was perfect. And then it also helped us because we were trying to move quickly. We wanted to find this fast. So we used all the different reviews and filters and visual tools on Wayfair to really help us find the right piece. So Wayfair, for me is the best because you get unbelievable pricing at great quality, especially if you need a quick turnaround. So find furniture, decor and essentials that fit your unique style and budget. Head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things. That's Wayfair.com W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com, wayfair, every style, every home.
- [19:53]
David
That's high because you've said it before and it didn't happen. And so you find a new, true meaning of it when it's right in front of your face and you feel like it is real. So I hope the listeners at home are saying, you know what? Hell yeah. Hell yeah, Jason. Because we want that for you, too, and we're rooting you on and we see it right in front of your face, too. So that's. I can get behind that. I can get behind that trailer for 2026. And I think this one is. It's believable. I think it'll happen for you.
- [20:16]
Jason Tardick
Yeah, I think so, too.
- [20:17]
David
And you know what sticks out to me when you say that There was a Monday Mafia question last year where it said, what would you give up to find all those things that you just mentioned? And you said, I'd get everything. I go back to being a corporate banker. And so you just said it, you said, not being overly worried about the social media things and those aspects because you have the priority and you have those things. It's really important. And you're living to the word that you. Your truth that you've spoken, which is really exciting.
- [20:43]
Jason Tardick
So I said back then, I remember that moment. I said I'd give it all.
- [20:46]
David
Yeah.
- [20:46]
Jason Tardick
Like you said, if you find your wife and, yeah. Can have a family to give it all up. And I feel very confident that I found that and I would. I'll give it all up right now.
- [20:58]
David
There you go.
- [20:58]
Jason Tardick
I had to do it right now. We had to kit the switch on all of it, turn it all off to keep what is current today.
- [21:05]
David
If you don't think that we're getting in the weeds about that in the last 25, 30 minutes of this podcast, you don't know. Trading Secrets recaps that. So we're going to hit the pause on that.
- [21:13]
Jason Tardick
Okay.
- [21:14]
David
And we're going to transition into the business aspect of it.
- [21:17]
Jason Tardick
Okay.
- [21:17]
David
I like. I like where this is going right now because you just alluded to maybe it's not your everything anymore work, which is a healthy place to be. Let's see if the numbers reflect that, Jason. Okay, let's see if the numbers reflect that. So we're going to start with the podcast.
- [21:30]
Jason Tardick
Okay.
- [21:30]
David
Podcast. We'll go to your own socials or go to the. We'll go to the agency. We're going to start where we always do, reflecting on 2025 with the top podcast episodes for this season. Do you have them in front of you?
- [21:42]
Jason Tardick
I do. I just pulled it up here.
- [21:44]
David
List off for the people. The top five podcast episodes from a download perspective from 2025.
- [21:50]
Jason Tardick
Okay. Top five podcast episodes. Trading Secrets, Olandria from Love Island. Absolute star, Rachel kirkconnell. This summer in the Hamptons, that episode blew up. Caitlin Collins, CNN correspondent, White House correspondent. An absolute star. Cordell Beckham Jr. And Amanda Batula. Wow. And something tells me with Amanda's episode last week, you saw the coverage that got. I think Amanda's episode will be top five this year too.
- [22:21]
David
Do you know how I know that shows growth for the podcast?
- [22:24]
Jason Tardick
How's that?
- [22:25]
David
That is the first year that we number one spot hasn't been a bachelor alum.
- [22:29]
Jason Tardick
Wow.
- [22:30]
David
And not only has it not been a bachelor alum, there's only one bachelor or bachelor at alum in the top five.
- [22:35]
Jason Tardick
Rachel Carcano.
- [22:36]
David
Yeah.
- [22:36]
Jason Tardick
Yeah.
- [22:37]
David
So that's it. That's growth.
- [22:38]
Jason Tardick
That means the brand's. It's moving the batch, man. We can go down the whole world.
- [22:43]
David
We are going to lean into the old Bachelor strategy on March 22nd when it airs. I think that's the air date and we're going to actually give our honest thoughts about the franchise. Okay, on what we'll talk about really soon. 30 minute Thursdays, more to come.
- [22:57]
Jason Tardick
30 minute Thursdays.
- [22:58]
David
What was the total revenue for the podcast in 2025?
- [23:03]
Jason Tardick
Okay. I think this would be cool for people to learn there's different aspects of podcast revenue that's important. So the big thing that rates are derived from is cpm. So that is the amount of money you get for every thousand downloads. So typical CPM is going to be about 25 to 30 bucks for every thousand downloads you get for an ad. So if you get 50,000 downloads at a $30 CPM, each ad is going to be $1500 per ad. Okay, then if you get a couple ads, right? So let's say you get two, three ads a week, you're going to gross in those scenarios, like 250,000. Okay, so the thing with Trading Secrets is, and this is one thing with my brand too, there are certain niches where your CPM will go up. Finance, entrepreneurship, beauty, fitness. Those are categories that you can charge a higher cpm. So for our podcast, we have revenue that comes from audio, and then we have revenue that comes from Trading Secrets. The audio only ads probably do around, let's call it 300,000. And then the social media element probably does another 200,000. So let's call it with that podcast, 400 to 500,000 when you factor in social media elements coupled in with audio only reads. Now the biggest thing with Trading Secrets is that it has given me on resumes and working with other brands a huge connection into deal structures I'm doing that are going at six figure rates, right? So for example, Tommy John deal I did, which was a top six deal I did in the last year. A portion of that is I'll interview the CEO and so we'll connect what's 98 social media deliverables, but also connects the podcast. So the podcast brand, having the podcast, even if it was a loss, even if we made no money on this podcast through audio only ads, I would still do the podcast because it brings such a strong brand element to the other areas that are monetizing. Does that make sense?
- [25:15]
David
That makes perfect sense, yeah. Even though all I can picture is the Tommy John ad in your underwear, being in the subways in New York City and on my Instagram central.
- [25:23]
Jason Tardick
Crazy.
- [25:24]
David
Didn't see, didn't think I'd see that.
- [25:26]
Jason Tardick
But another thing too is there's you. When you guys hear podcasts, there's, there's three different styles of ads. There's dynamically inserted ads which are at the top of the podcast or you'll hear them often. And then there's programmatic ads. Those are when I'm not reading them, someone else is reading them. Then there's baked in ads and that's when the host is reading them. So the baked in ads will pay the most amount. And so we have a good deal with our podcast network right now. However, that contract's coming up in May and for the first time ever, I am dialed in on the revenue generation of this podcast. In the next year it's going to pop. We're going to hire a full time creative director. For so long we've had part time people. Like one person wrote the newsletter, one person did this, one person did that. We're hiring one creative director, we'll have our video editing team and that's going to be it. We're going full speed and you will see changes in Trading Secrets, but let's call it 500,000 with trading.
- [26:19]
David
Okay, so we're moving up in the
- [26:21]
Jason Tardick
world, moving up year over year.
- [26:22]
David
That's the goal.
- [26:22]
Jason Tardick
Moving up around 320. We estimated all in with social and all that around 300. That was 400 last year. And I would say somewhere I got it.
- [26:30]
David
I don't again have, I have the numbers right here. 4 to 583k in 2021, 262k in 2022, 325k in 2023, 400k in 2024, and 500k in 2025. There you have it. Moving up in the world. All right, speaking of moving up the world, your boy sitting here who normally does the recaps, we're talking about doing 30 Minute Thursdays.
- [26:49]
Jason Tardick
What do you think about those? Listen, last time at this time we were talking about getting rid of the recaps. We got all these comments. Don't get rid of the recap. 30 Minute Thursdays. Make the pitch.
- [26:57]
David
Listen, I think 30 Minute Thursdays is a great idea. I think our podcast is evolving. It's. We're trying to grow it. We're trying to lean into the social media. We're trying to characterize us a little more than just host interviewing. Recap once a week, getting on the ones and twos and doing things like this. Right. Being able to talk about some really relevant. Maybe they're more in the moment, pop culture. Maybe the more business. Maybe it's more learning about the house. Maybe it's more learning about things that you're going through that I'm going through in life.
- [27:24]
Jason Tardick
It's a free flow.
- [27:25]
David
It's a little bit of a free throw. It's a little bit of what we do best at the end of the day is we. One thing I think about corporate bro as he gets his audience from the guy who came off the Bachelor who finds love and is going to eventually buy a house and start a family, your audience is going through the same thing. So tapping into that for that audience is going to connect them with us more and more. Right at the end of the day. Been here for five years. Don't think I'm going anywhere. If you look at the reviews and people that we get, they like our connection, they like our banter. I think they like the insight that I'm able to pull out of you that our audience really likes. So I think giving us a little bit more platform. 30 minute Thursdays. We talked about it last year. It is better for the podcast. It does bring in more opportunity for ads. It does help download downloads. It's a way to just spice things up a little bit, get a little spicy.
- [28:09]
Jason Tardick
30 minute Thursdays, no prep. Just go talk all things. Maybe just bring random guests on based on what's happening. Let's do it.
- [28:15]
David
We've talked about female voice too. Maybe get Kelly Flanagan is the name
- [28:19]
Jason Tardick
who comes in there.
- [28:21]
David
Yeah, we spice it Up a little bit.
- [28:22]
Jason Tardick
We just call people in. We do call ins, questions, all of it.
- [28:25]
David
Collins questions, Minute Thursdays.
- [28:26]
Jason Tardick
Let us know, you know, in the comments.
- [28:27]
David
We just got the four ring lights that still don't do me any justice. We got the 4K camera. We're trying to do this a little bit differently in 2026. So that's come. That's more to come on that to end the podcast. I'm gonna get you some rapid fires and I want these rapid fires. No ADHD kick in. We're gonna go on a tangent here. Ready, set. What's the favorite podcast you went on in 2025?
- [28:48]
Jason Tardick
Favorite podcast that I went on. I think for a lot of reasons, I said no to most podcasts. Okay. I don't know if I.
- [28:54]
David
Did you go on any podcast in 2025?
- [28:56]
Jason Tardick
I don't even know, honestly.
- [28:58]
David
Okay. Do you want to go on more or less?
- [29:00]
Jason Tardick
I'm sure I did. I like asking the questions. I don't like the questions being asked.
- [29:04]
David
Okay. Yeah, there you go.
- [29:06]
Jason Tardick
Let me think about that one.
- [29:07]
David
Okay. What podcast host out there do you admire the most?
- [29:10]
Jason Tardick
What Caller Daddy is built is impressive. It's just not. It's unbelievable what she's built.
- [29:15]
David
That's good. That's rapid fire. Don't have to explain it. We're good. On to the next. Jason. Why haven't we done a live show? We said last year if we didn't, then JTA would be a live show. And all we have in the audience is my wife and your girlfriend. So if we're ever going to evolve, why haven't we done a live show?
- [29:30]
Jason Tardick
I know, I know. We have. We should. You want to do a live show?
- [29:33]
David
I would love to.
- [29:34]
Jason Tardick
Where?
- [29:35]
David
It doesn't matter.
- [29:36]
Jason Tardick
Name it. Where do you want to do it?
- [29:37]
David
New York City probably. Sounds like a good start.
- [29:39]
Jason Tardick
All right, New York City. We're gonna do a show in New York. Let's go. We're doing a live show in New York. Be ready, David. Me and a guest. Tbd.
- [29:47]
David
Hit the. Hit the reviews. Let us know. Maybe a DM, maybe an email.
- [29:50]
Jason Tardick
Let us know about this. 30 minute Thursdays in a live show. Okay, here's a trading secret. If you did not know live shopping on what whatnot is exploding. I've seen the shows. I've seen the rankings and I've seen the revenue numbers. The number of sellers making over a million dollars on whatnot has doubled in the last year. I actually have a friend who owns a company, and what they do is they Go live with the returns and you would not believe the numbers they do. I think they do more numbers on their whatnot of actual shoppers they have on an annual basis. It's crazy. If you're selling online or you're out of a storefront, you full time or as a side hustle, you already know there's so many challenges. You're hoping to find people that are listing and you're waiting for them to walk in. Whatnot will help flip that. And on whatnot you can go live, sell directly to people in real time and they see what you've got, they can ask questions, buy and they can keep coming back. What not. Buyers spend more than an hour a day in the app. They're not just browsing, they're bidding, they're buying, they're coming back, they're going live. You're showing off your products live in real time and you're building a community with real income. And for a limited time, whatnot will match your first 150 sold in the first month. Just visit whatnot.com sell to start selling. That's W-H-A-T-N-O-T.com sell whatnot.com sell last thing
- [31:17]
David
about the podcast go. I got some questions in the DMS on Money Mafia roulette about why isn't Trading Secrets posting any updates on market trends and news on their Instagram anymore?
- [31:27]
Jason Tardick
Because we're redoing the whole Instagram. So stories are a good place to put updates and stuff. But every single day we had someone at 8am putting 15 stories up about those trends. And the response was good. It wasn't great. And so what we want to change is putting a creative director in place that is touching everything that's happening relevant to what's happening in this moment. The Grammys are on. You're going to know who's wearing what dress, how much it costs, what it what gift package you get at the Grammys, how much they made from what brand endorsements. So it's just going to be live action 247 coverage. So we're moving it from stories to more action in the actual Instagram.
- [32:04]
David
We need that because do you know how many stories or news articles I saw about Rob from Love island who won Traders who bought the Birkin? You know how many stories I clicked in the comments to find out how much that Birkin bag was and I still don't know the answer. So yeah, we need the creative director on it because you need answers to the Birkin.
- [32:20]
Jason Tardick
What did he win? Do you know what he win in traders?
- [32:22]
David
How much you win? 250.
- [32:23]
Jason Tardick
250. Birkin Bass could be 10k. They could be over 200. But I saw here's a little trading secret he did a collaboration. He tagged some store. I would bet next to everything that the store he tagged paid for the Birkin.
- [32:36]
David
That is a nice little tease.
- [32:37]
Jason Tardick
That's my guess.
- [32:38]
David
Into the talent agency questions which are on deck. Coming up. Firing away. Let's go. The rewired talent agency, it's still kicking. Not only kicking, it's growing.
- [32:49]
Jason Tardick
May I add it's kicking ass is what it's doing.
- [32:51]
David
Kicking ass. Good. Because listen, in JTA 2024, you said it would be tough for the agency to beat a record setting year in 2024, going into 2025, you cited that there was no economic pullback in 2024 and predicted a pullback in 2025. And so thus it would be harder. Were you right and what was the total gross revenue for the agency?
- [33:14]
Jason Tardick
I was wrong.
- [33:15]
David
Okay. Okay, good.
- [33:16]
Jason Tardick
And I was wrong.
- [33:17]
David
Best thing ever to be wrong was.
- [33:20]
Jason Tardick
Culture in a company is not defined by what you put on a website. It's defined by what happens on a random Tuesday and who and how you connected you are and where you show up for your people. And I feel so strongly about our team and I will tell you, if you do any type of social media work out there and you post consistently and you drive impressions, you have some type of PR power and you're willing to show up and work and differentiate yourself, I, with confidence will say there is not a better boutique, there's not a better agency that will monetize your social media better than us. The problem sometimes comes is you get people that have massive relevancy to get off a show. They're not willing to post as much. They don't want to dedicate the time to the brand. They're not working in the areas that they have to work. They're not working in the niches that will get higher rates. If you're willing to show up every day on social media and you have those things, there's not a better group anywhere that will get you the highest rates at the best deals that are customized. Now what we do and where we've specialized is outbound work. A lot of these massive agencies out there, the, the big agencies, we all know the big athletes are there, George Clooneys are there. Nowadays reality stars will sign with one of these agencies and they do this big poster like, oh, my God, they signed. My message to them is, you just got put in jail. And the reason you got put in jail is those agencies are working on a 10% commission. The reason they're working on a 10% commission is because they're doing deals with guys like Josh Allen At 100 plus million dollars, they're going to get 10% of that, and they should never charge more than that. But what happened is, in reality, in the creator world, they would never touch creators, they would never touch reality stars. Now these big agencies will sign these reality stars. And it's a big ego play to go to these big agencies because the biggest players in the world are there. The problem is, if you're not earning more than $5 million a year as a creator or an influencer or someone from reality, you will not get served at those agencies in the way that you should get served. And then what they will do is put a full blanket exclusivity on you. Anything you do in any form of tv, any place, anywhere for a year, you will pay them. And it doesn't have to be the fact that they got it for you. And at our agency, what we do is we customize things. One size fits none. And so if we get a big reality star who just came off a show and they've been on that show for seven seasons, they can negotiate that on their own. If they want, they can have someone else do it. Or if they have other things going on and we haven't sourced it, we don't have to get paid on it. And so 70% of our top line is from outbound us finding deals that are getting done for these people as opposed to these massive agencies. They're sitting on inbounds and they're just taking emails and passing them. We have hunters that find the best deals out there. We also spend time on boards of other agencies. We spend time in the market. We spend time researching, building connections. We know the margins that other agencies are making in different places between PR and brand, and we negotiate the best rates for our clients. My vision for the agency is strong. We're doing unbelievable work. And then the cool thing about Boutique is we represent brands, we represent people, we represent. And we now have an events division. We have a social media strategist and a social media division. We have a podcast division where we're managing and producing players podcasts. We got Jesse Pegula, Maddie Keys, two of the biggest tennis players, United States, Des and Jenny. They're killing it all. Four pro female tennis players and we're just doing things differently and it's working and it's working and it's so much hard work. And the last thing I'll say about the agency because I'm like taking all your questions, I get fired up about it is like with the agency, I still have never taken a salary and any type of distribution is pretty much to cover tax liability. It's fully self funded, I don't have any other investors and the money that is made is put right back into it and it's serving us well. It's going good.
- [37:26]
David
Three takeaways from that one. It sounds like you're talking from experience and people you worked with that have left for other agencies and may be crawling back and big fish, small pond. Small fish, big pond, they always crawl back. Definitely.
- [37:40]
Jason Tardick
Because the problem is if they go big. Right. So if you're making more than 5 million bucks and you go to one of those big agencies and you're very multi hyphenate like you have true skill sets. It's not like you're having a moment on reality tv. You have a true skill set. Those agencies can serve you very well. But if you don't, you're going to be the smallest fish in the biggest pond and you will come back, you will make less money. Period. Period. And the one thing about the agency world that's very hard is you are a goalie. And if you get a shutout, it's you won. Yeah. Because you either build someone and grow with someone so much that they become too big that everyone wants them. And at times it's, I'll have clients knock on my door. You guys are the best. You crushed it. No one does digital better than you. But I want to be an actor and this agency has a full active vision. So I'm going to sign with that. So you're going to sign with them for a year and then they're going to take everything you've built to this point, not just your acting career. They're promising. Yeah. And then they come back because they don't get served that the way they do. So it's a tough position to be in because you either build people up so big that they leave, you're not selling cars, you're not selling houses, you're not selling CRM or tech systems or medical devices. You're selling people that and you're building their storyline. And people are hard, especially when egos get involved. I digress.
- [39:02]
David
Two, if I was in a rewired talent agency, boot camp or workshop you'd have the whole staff fired up. Number three, you could never have given an answer like that to save your life last year because your head was in a totally different space.
- [39:17]
Jason Tardick
I was in chaos.
- [39:18]
David
You were in chaos.
- [39:19]
Jason Tardick
But the reason, like some of these numbers that we're sharing are because I have the best team. I'm talking to them every day about storylines that are happening in my life. And I'm going to buy a house. And this is the first house I bought in. And where are we getting the dog? The next thing that's coming up, things that I'm not going to share right now, they know the stories, they know the pitches. And when you're storytelling and you're customizing pitches like that, you can change things dramatically. And there's gonna be probably people that will listen to this that have signed with us before and we haven't been able to fulfill what they have put on the table. And the one thing I've learned is you have to be. You really have to screen talent because they got to be talent that show up every day, that are ready to build a brand, that are ready to do things differently. And not everyone is, because it's 247 business, and it's brutal. It's a tough business. It doesn't stop. If you stop for a day, you're out. You stop for two days, you better get back in. You're not in the game for three days.
- [40:16]
David
See you later.
- [40:17]
Jason Tardick
Forget one week. My God. Unless someone else. Take your time. Break. So anyway, with all the juice behind
- [40:23]
David
that answer, you've done a really good job avoiding the main answer, which is what is the gross revenue for the age of the see? And did you beat what you thought was an impossible beat in 2024?
- [40:33]
Jason Tardick
Yeah. So we went from 2022, I think we did about 2, 3, 2, 2 and a half million. 2023, it was around 4 or 5 million. 2024, it was close to. We broke the 10 million 10.4 y. And then this year, again, we haven't filed the taxes, but this year will be 15, 20 something million.
- [40:50]
David
So. You did it.
- [40:51]
Jason Tardick
Yeah, we did it.
- [40:51]
David
You did what you didn't think you were going to do.
- [40:53]
Jason Tardick
We did it.
- [40:53]
David
Congratulations.
- [40:54]
Jason Tardick
Hell, yeah.
- [40:55]
David
Take a sip. You deserve it.
- [40:56]
Jason Tardick
Let's go. No, my team deserves it.
- [40:57]
David
Team deserves it.
- [40:59]
Jason Tardick
Got the best team, literally in the planet.
- [41:01]
David
Love that.
- [41:01]
Jason Tardick
Convinced about it.
- [41:02]
David
Absolutely. Love that. Agency's crushing it. We're moving along. We're real quick on this.
- [41:06]
Jason Tardick
What I think is important is people that are trying to possibly get in the creator game. Like, your followers are important, but the number of followers you have is relatively immaterial. PR power, your community and your overall engagement. There are people that we. I could give an example right now of someone who has 40,000 followers, but she's got a good brand. She shows up every single day. She posts nonstop. We made her over 30 grand in January. She's 40,000 followers. Yeah. So your follower account doesn't mean shit. You got to show up, you got to build your brand, you got to have community, you got to work on PR power and you got to do something different. Because when I go to a cause, what happens now is work. Every day we're out there casting, calling people, like actors used to fill roles and we're trying to play stories with brands. And these brands are activating and this industry is growing at a 22 to 25% compound annual growth rate every single year. So the money is flowing out of old traditional. It's out of the billboards, it's gone from the newspapers and magazines. It's in this space and it's hot right now. In the winter, I feel this more than ever, but especially with the dogs. Even after cleaning all the time, my house still feels a little dust heavy. And so I now have in my bedroom an Air Doctor. An Air Doctor helps with a lot of things. Fewer odors, reduced allergy symptoms, better sleep, and just extra protection and peace of mind. So air Doctor's powerful three stage filtration captures extremely small particles about 100 times smaller than what a typical air purifier will actually be able to remove. It also has this whisper quiet operation so it's not loud like some of those other filtration systems. And it has this auto mode feature where ensures optimal air 24,7. I could tell you on mine it will like it grades it like it will tell you like your air is green. The circle around it will give it a percentage and it will show you you're in good space. 98% of air doctors customers say their home's air feels cleaner and safer and healthier. Now here's what I gotta tell you. Air Doctors won Newsweek's reader's choice award for the best air purifier. The answer is there. It's the Air Doctor. Just head to airdoctorpro.com, use promo code Trading Secrets to get up to $300 off today. Air Doctor comes with a 30 day money back guarantee plus a three year warranty. That's an $84 value for free. Get this exclusive podcast only offer now at airdoctorpro.com a I r d o c T-O-R-P-R-O.com use promo code trading secrets.
- [43:42]
David
You are transitioning to me right into what I want to talk about next. And you're also not allowing me to be a great host because you're clearly too comfortable in what we're talking about right now. Because I need to do a better job getting in the hot seat. Dude, you are buzzing right now. I'm like, this is supposed to be jt. I'm supposed to get you in the hot seat. You're laid back. You're firing it up, you're going at it, you're giving pitches, you're bringing business in. I love it. But I'm going to bring you back here.
- [44:04]
Jason Tardick
Okay?
- [44:05]
David
I'm going to bring you back. Not quite yet. Because you did touch on followers. Yeah. Yeah.
- [44:09]
Jason Tardick
I'd like to say anyone that wants to contest anything that I've said that I don't, that works. Oh, that's another thing, is people. The other agencies are trying to sell against agencies. So the other hardest thing is they'll just talk. Anyone that wants to go on a debate one on one with me, that is in this space. You're a CEO. I don't care if you work at the biggest agency in the world, your talent. You've worked at five agencies. You disagree with anything come to this podcast. We will go toe to toe, head to head on the agency space, because there's so much gray area in this world and I'm ready to rip.
- [44:39]
David
And you're telling me that we don't need 30 minute Thursdays to get some of this out of there, to get it in the universe. Let's go.
- [44:44]
Jason Tardick
Is this called I Had a Labat Blue Light? Yeah. What are these? High news.
- [44:49]
David
Ever heard of them?
- [44:50]
Jason Tardick
Done talking.
- [44:50]
David
All right, perfect. You talked about it. Doesn't matter how many followers you have. But I have a question for you. Yeah, it's 20. 24, 24, 25. You grew over all your platforms. TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, subs, trading seekers, Instagram, LinkedIn threads. You grew in all the areas not. Your relevancy is more relevant than it's ever been. You're growing. All these people wonder, do you worry if this is ever going away on a personal level? It's not going away on a business level. You're crushing it on both aspects. The podcast has grown, the talent agency is growing. You're at 997,000 Instagram followers? How important to you is it to hit a million followers? A personal level? Is there financial incentive? Is there a threshold? Is it anything at all?
- [45:31]
Jason Tardick
It's just ego.
- [45:32]
David
Could you have answered that same way last year, the year before, the year before?
- [45:35]
Jason Tardick
Probably not. Yeah, it's just ego. Would it be cool to have a million? Sure. But there are people that have. There's people that have 5 million followers that I make 10 times more than they do. So I. And there are people that have 200,000 followers that make five times more than I do. So it works both ways. The million is an ego thing. I would love to get there. It'd be cool to get there. But what I'm more interested in is am I doing the right things that are authentic to me, that are real, that are. That are creative? Am I thinking about really creative things that are bringing education or enlightenment or entertainment to the community that I care about? That's what if I could do that every day? I don't care if it hits a million point five or it goes down to 800. But I also have a very hard critic of myself. Like a really hard critic.
- [46:19]
David
Yeah, you are. Did you ever think that you would get a million? And was there a time in your life where you did work or you tried to put contact with that mind? Not like for the natural, the goodness. But hey, I have to do this because I have to get a million.
- [46:31]
Jason Tardick
You can look at audio that we have said from probably 2022 to 2023 to 2024, we've talked about a million. I said I'll never get a million.
- [46:37]
David
There's no way.
- [46:38]
Jason Tardick
That's the way I work though. I never thought last year I'd be at 997. I never thought that you're 996, whatever it is. I never thought that you and I would be five years into this. I thought last year the agency wasn't going to do well.
- [46:48]
David
True.
- [46:49]
Jason Tardick
I have this weird wired system. It's an anti manifesting system. It's like everything that everyone tells you not to do. I operate from a place of fear. I operate from a place of. I can't. It's not good enough. I got to keep going. I got to be better. And I'm not saying that's the way to do it, but that's what drives me. Me. We walked into the house the other day and we're FaceTiming Catherine's dad and his exact words were, I'm pinching myself looking at this house. You must be so proud of yourself. And I took a second, it gave me goosebumps because when I was walking around the house before he said that, there was not one single thought of the 1 million that went in my brain. That thought. Proud.
- [47:28]
David
Yeah.
- [47:29]
Jason Tardick
I thought I didn't deserve it. I thought, how am I going to continue to afford it? What am I going to do tomorrow? How am I going to be better at work? Okay, I got a budget and that is. That's a little unhealthy. That's quite unhealthy. But.
- [47:40]
David
But it's gotten help. It's gotten me to help. To get to where you are today,
- [47:44]
Jason Tardick
there's got to be a happy balance between it all.
- [47:46]
David
When you talk about social media, last year I asked you out of 10 what your priority level was to grow your socials. Your answer was 8 or 9 out of 10 as a priority level to grow your socials in 2025. Which honestly really surprised me. Me. What did it end up being in your life in terms of a priority to grow your socials last year?
- [48:04]
Jason Tardick
Four.
- [48:05]
David
Yeah. Good, good. I thought so.
- [48:07]
Jason Tardick
I think where it is now is just put out stuff that you put out stuff you really think is good, put out just things you think are good that are true to you. That's just good stuff. And I know when I put out and I'm like, that was terrible. Why is it doing that? And I know when I put out really good stuff. And yeah, that's the priority is there.
- [48:23]
David
All right, we're gonna fire through these last ones. We can get to the money mafia questions. We can talk about some of these things. In JTA 2024, you talked about the Jason Tardick brand. 600 million Instagram impressions, 150 million tick tock impressions in 2024, a massive increase year over year in 2025. I'm assuming that this will be less because of deals based on your prior relationships. Dating someone in the public, in the public space, in the social media space. And you expected it this year to go way down, more focus on your life, more focused on getting back in your feed, building a massive pipeline of deals. What was the Jason Tardick brand earnings last year from social media engagements, speaking events, et cetera.
- [49:02]
Jason Tardick
So last year on Instagram in 2025, I did around 550 million.
- [49:07]
David
Okay, so right, yeah, around the same amount.
- [49:09]
Jason Tardick
So on a month to month basis, it's in that 30 to 50 million range, which I've now met with analysts and stuff for my following is massive. Part of the new Algorithm is pushing stuff out to non followers and so some of the stuff I've done has done that. Trading secrets has been a big part of it. We had Rebecca Minkoff on.
- [49:27]
David
Yeah.
- [49:27]
Jason Tardick
The most viral clip. We had the floozy claws got 400000 likes. 10 million impressions to your answer. I did just about the same as last year. So again I haven't like the tax return hasn't come or whatever, but it's going to be in that 2 million,
- [49:42]
David
2 to 3 million range. Yeah. Congratulations.
- [49:45]
Jason Tardick
Yeah.
- [49:46]
David
Just keep the train rolling.
- [49:47]
Jason Tardick
Keep it going.
- [49:48]
David
Keep rolling that snowball down the hill.
- [49:50]
Jason Tardick
Keep it going.
- [49:51]
David
Okay.
- [49:51]
Jason Tardick
I love it.
- [49:52]
David
We're going to keep it going over here. I think it's time for me to turn the page. I'm looking at that clock over there. You're taking a sip. You know where we're going. I'm going to ask one last personal investment question. We're going to get to the Monomofia questions.
- [50:01]
Jason Tardick
I'm real quick on the.
- [50:02]
David
Yeah.
- [50:03]
Jason Tardick
The big thing I want to say is creators might see this and be like, how'd you make 2 million bucks? There's no way. And when you look at five deals, I wrote them down. Chime Bank, Dell Invesco, Tommy John Progressive, those five deals together are over a million bucks.
- [50:23]
David
Wow.
- [50:23]
Jason Tardick
That's over 50% of it.
- [50:24]
David
Wow.
- [50:25]
Jason Tardick
So when you talk about high rates for high niches, when you're in the finance area, you're going to get paid a premium because you're dealing with a ton of regulation, you're dealing with a ton of operation. They have to have. You have to have extremely low liability. So essentially your entire socials get scrubbed into technology to make sure you're like a G rated to PG rated social media content creator. And those five deals did over seven figures. Think about that though. One's a bank, one's a top computer company for business entrepreneurs, one's insurance and one is a big investment fund that ever like QQQ is a fantastic. I don't. It's unbelievable. The other one was a Tommy, you
- [51:09]
David
just strutting around your undies, baby. There you go. Hey, yeah, whatever pays.
- [51:12]
Jason Tardick
So those five.
- [51:13]
David
Yeah.
- [51:13]
Jason Tardick
The big one. If I didn't have the finance and the entrepreneurship piece, that doesn't happen. The other thing that was big this year, I don't want to get away from is speaking. I did about 150 to 200k of speaking last. Wow. That I'm including into those numbers. And so the low end got paid around 10k. The high end got paid 50k for the one I got paid. It was like 5060 for the one I got 50 60k though I was doing full 2 hour segments with big brands there. Talking all about the perspective of a creator and someone that manages creators. So how do you manage and then how do you actually get in that? And these people are doing seven figure plus campaigns. Like one campaign is a million plus dollars. So they're trying to understand how to better optimize their process. So now like speaking has become an income source as well. Hiring help shouldn't be a headache or a drain on your budget. Upwork makes it easy to hire specialized freelancers quickly so you can get the expertise you need now without weeks of recruiting or a full time hire. Upwork is a one stop platform to find, hire and pay expert freelancers across web and software development, data and analytics, marketing, business operations and more. With Business plus you can also get access to the top 1% of talent on Upwork. And with AI powered shortlisting, you'll get matched to the right freelancer in under six hours. No endless searching required. Just visit Upwork.com right now and post your job for free. That's Upwork.com to connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. That's up w r k.com upwork.com it's
- [52:52]
David
always good to know I'm getting my steak dinner when you come to Buffalo to record the JTA after finding number.
- [52:56]
Jason Tardick
So let's go if we can find a place. Let's go. Let's go now. I got a house I can't afford in.
- [53:01]
David
Okay. Hey, we're going to get to that. My last question is sticking on traditional investing. People always come to this podcast. They want advice for investing. You talked last year how you said you invested in a g squared fund. AI fund. You had 250k invested in that fund. You were all about AI. We talked about it a lot. I don't know if you we need to go into detail about your belief in AI unless it's changed. But where is that fund at? How's it doing? Talk to us a little bit about that.
- [53:26]
Jason Tardick
So that fund is a private equity AI fund. I won't see the money until it materializes. They value the fund every quarter or so. Last time I heard it was valued it was over 2x that.
- [53:38]
David
Okay.
- [53:39]
Jason Tardick
I haven't seen that. I.
- [53:39]
David
All right.
- [53:40]
Jason Tardick
I invested KKR BlackRock.
- [53:42]
David
Yep.
- [53:43]
Jason Tardick
Shout out to UBS Bank. They've been unbelievable. But the other thing too is the way that I'M managing money. And the way that I'm managing all this stuff is like what my advisor says. We're managing like an athlete. We're assuming tomorrow the switch is flipped and this all goes away. Yeah, but also tax liability is insane. Like the amount last year I paid well over seven figures in taxes and I live in a no state income tax. So these numbers sound like this, these crazy things. But after you pay the expenses, the people, the team, all the non just all of it and taxes, I'm not here at all complaining. It is a, this is an honor, the position I'm in. I know how fortunate I am, I for that. But I just want to put in perspective. People throw these numbers out but you don't think about what the actual number is. That's the cash inflow after all that. And it's a lot smaller than numbers we're throwing around right now.
- [54:35]
David
And that is why people tune into trading secrets. So you can tell them about that. You can have guests tell us about it in their different industries, in their world. And you have situations like Mike, the situation, who got himself in a situation, another big podcast that we had talking about all these things. So Jason, you have mentioned it a couple times. I want to make sure I get the questions in a big focus in your life that I'm sure you're going to be talking about on the podcast in a 30 minute Thursday on your Instagram. And it was complete false prediction was that you are done in Nashville because you, my friend, are officially. You want to break the news.
- [55:08]
Jason Tardick
I haven't signed the paper yet, but I'm supposed to close in April.
- [55:11]
David
He is closing on a house. He is going to be a homeowner in Nashville, Tennessee. Something that you never thought in this roller coaster and twister ever, whatever happened.
- [55:21]
Jason Tardick
One thing you asked me though, okay, so you said, do you want to get a dog this year? And I said, I'd love to get a dog.
- [55:26]
David
Yes. So that came true, of course. And listen, I saw the house. The house is beautiful. And you know how they say that dogs look like they're dog owners?
- [55:34]
Jason Tardick
Yeah. You're the funniest reaction.
- [55:36]
David
Your house looks like Teddy. Like if Teddy was a house. He looks like your house. He's just, it's just the perfect golden retriever house. And it's like Teddy smiling, looking at you. So I absolutely love that. I gotta ask. Ask. It is a beautiful home. We talk numbers here. Jason, what was the cost of the house? Give it to us. Just give it to us.
- [55:53]
Jason Tardick
Before I give you the. Okay, let's talk about what's really interesting.
- [55:57]
David
You've been doing a good job this year. You've been pushing the question, the answer back and giving us the reason. And then you hope I forget it. Maybe not, but it ends.
- [56:03]
Jason Tardick
7 years old. I've never bought a home.
- [56:05]
David
Yes.
- [56:05]
Jason Tardick
37 years old. I've never bought a home. Good starter home everywhere. I've lived at 37, when I was 36 and 35. And at 36, I think last year, $2.7 million of income, I lived in a home where my rent was $2,000. I was single, too, so you'd see all these people online. They're flexing. I was by. I lived in this little baby ranch that was in a swamp. It was $2,000 savings because at a young age, at a banker and doing all this, I've been smart with my money. I've been smart with my spending. And because of that, I've been able to stockpile a good amount. And so my first home, it puts in perspective. 37. Don't have a home until now. It's the first time. And when you look at the amount you're supposed to spend based on your earnings, they say 30 to 40% of home expenses. Like Max.
- [56:54]
David
Yep.
- [56:55]
Jason Tardick
That was. I was spending, like, literally 2% of my earnings. So I want to give that perspective. Of course. Okay. For this home, it's. It's a new build. It was listed at 3, 4, 5, 9. $3.459 million.
- [57:11]
David
Okay.
- [57:11]
Jason Tardick
I wanted at 3, 2, 5, 9.
- [57:13]
David
Okay.
- [57:14]
Jason Tardick
They came back at 3, 4.
- [57:17]
David
Okay.
- [57:17]
Jason Tardick
I went back at 3, 3.
- [57:20]
David
Okay.
- [57:20]
Jason Tardick
They said 3, 3, 3.
- [57:23]
David
Okay.
- [57:24]
Jason Tardick
Lowest will go. Bottom of the line. I went back and said, 3, 3, 0, 9, or I'm not doing the deal. My realtor. This is an interesting trading secret. My realtor was, like, really trying to push me. Like, Jason there. Are you. What are you going to feel like if they don't accept this? Because I'm not sure they're going to. And she's. I don't think they're going to. I said, they'd be insane not to take this. I don't have to sell a home. And I'm giving them a lot of things in this contract that are advantageous that other people can't do. They'd be insane. She goes, they would say the same about your counter. I said, we'll see what happens.
- [58:00]
David
Is your heart racing? Are you in negotiation mode? Do you even really care about the house at that point? Are you just not Trying to prove a point, but you're just in it.
- [58:06]
Jason Tardick
One of the things I said was like, it's sick. Life's a game. Every day's a game. This is a game. Everything is a. It's a. It's like fun. It's a day. Every day you wake up, there's a game, there's challenges. I was like, this is a game I was more excited about. I wanted at 3309, can we get it or not? If not, I'm walking. I know the leverage I have as a buyer. And I felt. I honestly felt bad because she called me. This is an interesting training secret. She. I call, she called me back. She said, jason, I've been looking at homes with you for a year. I haven't seen you have the twinkle in your eye at one home. You have the twinkle in your eye at this home. Katherine's amazing. I see this being your home together. I'm going to take a discount on the commission.
- [58:44]
David
Wow.
- [58:45]
Jason Tardick
And it's 3309. And I stopped and she's like, do you. Are you okay? I was like, I gotta think about. She's like, you have to think about. I go, no, I think I have to reverse negotiate against myself. I don't feel comfortable. Jason, stop. That right there tells me the kind of heart you have. This happens. We're doing it. It's done. 3309.
- [59:05]
David
Amazing.
- [59:05]
Jason Tardick
That's it.
- [59:06]
David
Congratulations. We have a homeowner in the house. Not a big deal yet.
- [59:10]
Jason Tardick
It's not done. Well, we're gonna.
- [59:12]
David
We're gonna manifest that it is done. The papers are going to be signed. I got a question. When you, you sign those papers, Jason, how many names are on the mortgage right now?
- [59:20]
Jason Tardick
Catherine is still my girlfriend. Okay. There will be one name.
- [59:23]
David
Okay.
- [59:24]
Jason Tardick
And if you read the book, talk money to me, you'll hear a couple horror stories. Those horror stories would never happen with her, but okay. When we get married, things will change.
- [59:31]
David
Are you with your new relationship with Katherine? Are you following all the talk money to me? Words of wisdom and advice in there? So you guys talk finances. That was a big question. My name, Mafia roulette, open book.
- [59:40]
Jason Tardick
We talk about it. It. We go through it. We got some. Probably with the new house. Got some more things to go through. Okay, we got.
- [59:46]
David
Okay, so one name on the mortgage. You said my girlfriend. For now. There's a couple dots in there. JTA 20, 27. When we reflect on 26, maybe we'll have some updates on that.
- [59:54]
Jason Tardick
I like that.
- [59:55]
David
Okay. I like that. Quick rapid fires on the house. You ready?
- [59:58]
Jason Tardick
Fire away.
- [59:58]
David
What percentage are you going to put down as a down payment? Traditional 20 or anything less?
- [60:01]
Jason Tardick
25.
- [60:02]
David
25. Most stressful part of the home buying process.
- [60:07]
Jason Tardick
Justifying the cost in 2026.
- [60:09]
David
Okay. Most rewarding part of the home buying process.
- [60:12]
Jason Tardick
Knowing that you have a permanent place. Like this is it. This is home.
- [60:17]
David
What's the best feature of the house?
- [60:19]
Jason Tardick
The closet. Isn't.
- [60:21]
David
It's.
- [60:21]
Jason Tardick
Yeah, the closet's great. The living room's great. I love everything. I don't. There's not one imperfection for my eyes.
- [60:26]
David
Closet is probably the size of of your parents starter home from your first home.
- [60:30]
Jason Tardick
What's the first product closets as big as my house. That was 1800 bucks. Bucks a month.
- [60:33]
David
What's the first project you're going to do in the house?
- [60:35]
Jason Tardick
Consider a pool.
- [60:37]
David
Oh, I like it. I am a pool owner. So we can talk about the pros and cons of that. How prepared are you to be a homeowner?
- [60:42]
Jason Tardick
Not at all. Terrifies me.
- [60:44]
David
What will you absolutely contract out based off of the dollar value of your time?
- [60:49]
Jason Tardick
Landscaping?
- [60:50]
David
Yes, 100%. Anything else?
- [60:52]
Jason Tardick
I think we covered most. I think what's interesting if we go back the house or just life as we wrap here?
- [60:56]
David
I think just the house. Maybe the life, but just the house.
- [60:59]
Jason Tardick
Yeah.
- [60:59]
David
Okay, good. Awesome. We are going to get into some money mafia roulette questions. We have a couple minutes here. You ready for them?
- [61:05]
Jason Tardick
Fire.
- [61:05]
David
I knew I had to get it for the people. Catherine gotta touch on it. We didn't go too much in detail. She's an absolute sweetheart. You guys are great together. You're infectious together. It's so great to see you guys together. Shout out to her. I love that her and Ashley are getting to to catch up and hang out. And when this is done, we're gonna have a great night together. But what feels different about your relationship with Catherine compared to not just your last couple but every relationship that you've had?
- [61:27]
Jason Tardick
Everything.
- [61:28]
David
Okay. Good.
- [61:29]
Jason Tardick
I think everything. I remember last year you told me you'll know you when you're with the right person, when you have to ask advice on anything. Have I ever called you and asked you what you think about this, that or the other thing? Everything.
- [61:40]
David
Amazing.
- [61:40]
Jason Tardick
Yeah. Her and I are doing an episode. Okay.
- [61:43]
David
So there you go.
- [61:44]
Jason Tardick
People are asking how we met, when we met. More about us. It's coming.
- [61:48]
David
Favorite person you met in 2025 and not named Catherine.
- [61:52]
Jason Tardick
Harry.
- [61:52]
David
I knew you were going to say Harry. I love that you said Harry.
- [61:55]
Jason Tardick
Harry or Harry number one, my neighbor.
- [61:57]
David
Number two, how do you stay in amazing shape but not eat healthy foods? That was a money mafia question.
- [62:03]
Jason Tardick
Intermittent, fast.
- [62:04]
David
That's a good. That's a great.
- [62:06]
Jason Tardick
I'll go on crazy streaks, too. I'll do two months of being dialed and then one month of hell.
- [62:10]
David
Do you ever stress about money, even when you're doing well?
- [62:14]
Jason Tardick
I don't ever not stress about money because I. When I think about stressing, I didn't come from much and I think about where I'm at and there's always a liability. Even when you have it, there's liability getting sued. There's a liability of this. There's always a concern. The liability of the business goes out. So, yeah, it's top of mind. If I was so motivated by money, I would do a lot of the things I do. I'm not motivated to make more money, but I think about money as safety. That's it. It's safety to provide more time and freedom.
- [62:40]
David
It's a great way of looking at it. How is your ADHD, if at all impacted your professional career or your financial decision making?
- [62:47]
Jason Tardick
My ADHD is a battle every day.
- [62:49]
David
Really?
- [62:49]
Jason Tardick
Yeah.
- [62:50]
David
You think it's a superpower or do you think it's a hindrance?
- [62:53]
Jason Tardick
Yeah.
- [62:53]
David
Okay. I just have to say the outro to this. I have in my notes. We ended last year's JTA with a quote that said, life is only about the people you love and who you're surrounded by. We've talked about the house, we've talked about the business, we've talked about the podcast. We've talked about everything. At the end of the day, my wife is outside. Your girlfriend, for right now, is outside. We're still here five years, just kicking it. And this podcast, this JTA we talked about, this is probably the least prepared I think either of us have maybe felt. And that's okay because our lives are evolving and they're growing and they're different. And I actually think that this GTA flowed more naturally. We had more confident answers. We're more sure of all the answers. There's less doubt, there's more certainty. And I think that's a testament to those two beautiful women outside our. Our friendship, how it's grown, and also our listeners who have stayed with us. So thank you to the fans, thank you to everybody. Thank you to the listeners for allowing us to do this. The greatest gift that I get in this podcast is to connect with you every week. It's something that I wish I could do with all my friends. So that is my outro.
- [63:54]
Jason Tardick
That is a perfect outro. And it's a privilege. It's an honor. You can't beat this stuff.
- [63:59]
David
Well, awesome. I gotta sign off as the host of Trading Secrets. If you're listening, make sure you go give us five stars. Leave a Comment Leave a Review Let us know about 30 Minute Thursdays. Let us know anyone you want to see on the podcast. Let us you know how we did today and at the end of the day, I hope this was another episode you couldn't afford to miss.
- [64:41]
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Jason Tardick
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