CO-HOST | Make Money by Thinking Like an Entrepreneur (Even Before You Start)

Summary

Travis Makes Money – Episode Summary

Podcast: Travis Makes Money
Host: Travis Chappell
Episode Title: CO-HOST | Make Money by Thinking Like an Entrepreneur (Even Before You Start)
Date: April 3, 2026

---

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of Travis Makes Money dives into the mindset differences between entrepreneurs and traditional employees, focusing on why thinking like an entrepreneur—even before you start your own business—can change your financial future. Travis Chappell and his studio producer discuss pivotal moments that shaped their career paths, feature insights from Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary, and share first-hand stories about breaking free from arbitrary rules and the “safe” route of career mediocrity.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lighthearted Icebreaker & Studio Banter

[00:44–02:58]

• The episode opens with humorous banter about mustaches and fashion trends.
• The light, casual tone sets up a comfortable atmosphere for a deeper dive into entrepreneurship.

2. Kevin O’Leary on Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Be an Entrepreneur

[04:19–08:12]

• Travis plays a clip of Kevin O’Leary from the Iced Coffee Hour podcast discussing the fundamental traits of successful entrepreneurs.

• Key Insight: The willingness to take risks—and the inability to tolerate arbitrary authority—separates entrepreneurs from high-earning employees or consultants.

  “About two thirds of America should not be entrepreneurs... If you don’t have the ability to take risk, you’ll never be a successful entrepreneur.”
  — Kevin O’Leary ([05:04])

  “If you really jump off and become a consultant, you’re going into a life of mediocrity.”
  — Kevin O’Leary ([05:43])

• O’Leary describes how great business schools produce many who choose the security of consultancy over risk, resulting in "opinions" rather than "consequences."

• The critical “jolt” or defining life event often redirects people into entrepreneurship.

  “Every entrepreneur I talk to that’s been successful has that defining moment... a meteorite in space... a fraction of an inch, 100 years later, it’s a billion miles in a different place.”
  — Kevin O’Leary ([07:22])

3. Travis’ Personal “Jolt” Moments

[13:34–35:40]

Turning Away from Conventional Careers

• Travis shares how his original plan was a full-time ministry, but interviews and realities led him toward sales—out of necessity and opportunity.
• His first taste of freedom and earning potential came from 100% commission door-to-door sales.
• Making six figures at 21 in less than 30 hours a week opened his eyes to what was possible outside traditional five-day, 40+-hour jobs.

Problems with Arbitrary Authority

• After moving to Fresno and briefly taking a salaried position for a home loan, Travis experienced rigid corporate rules and a lack of recognition for his skill and results.

  “I cannot stand arbitrary rules that make no sense... that was one of those things where I was like, this is not going to work.”
  — Travis Chappell ([25:51])

• A memorable story: While working inside Home Depot, Travis was reprimanded for “sitting down” on a bucket with a cushion during a lull—despite being a top performer. The aftermath, driven by a photo sent through several management layers, deeply reinforced his impulse to never work for others ruled by arbitrary systems.

Early Signs of Entrepreneurial Thinking

• As a teen, he discovered the value of being the one who lands the job, not just does the work. Outsourcing labor while pocketing a profit taught him early about leverage and the value of “initiating the contact.”

  “I was going to make more on this job than all of the money that I’m paying out in labor combined... there’s so much more value in landing these jobs and being the salesperson than there is in actually doing the labor.”
  — Travis ([29:38])

• In both education and work, Travis consistently pushed back against illogical authority.

  “I just never did well with arbitrary authority. When it’s just like... would never admit when they were wrong. Even stuff that didn’t make sense to me, I challenged it constantly.”
  — Travis ([34:03])

Realizations and Lasting Mindsets

• Refusing to settle: Once he tasted higher earning potential on his own, the thought of taking a lower-paying, more restrictive job became unthinkable.
• Confidence in adaptability: Success in commission-based work led to a belief, “I’ll figure something out—because I have, a dozen times before in situations just like this.”

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Kevin O’Leary:

  “About two thirds of America should not be entrepreneurs... If you don’t have the ability to take risk, you’ll never be a successful entrepreneur...” ([05:04])

• Kevin O’Leary:

  “If you really jump off and become a consultant, you’re going into a life of mediocrity.” ([05:43])

• Travis (on being reprimanded at Home Depot):

  “Now you’re going to enforce it even on the people who are actually doing the real job, which is selling more of your shit, which should be the top priority. You know what I mean?” ([27:13])

• Travis (on early entrepreneurship):

  “There’s so much more value in landing these jobs and being the salesperson than there is in actually doing the labor.” ([29:38])

• Travis (on arbitrary authority):

  “I just never did well with arbitrary authority… Even stuff that didn’t make sense to me, I challenged it constantly.” ([34:03])

• Motivational closing:

  “Money only solves your money problems, but it’s easier to solve the rest of your problems with money in the bank. So let’s solve that one first…” ([35:51])

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [04:19] Kevin O’Leary on entrepreneurial risk-taking and mediocrity in consultancy
• [07:22] The defining “jolt” moment in an entrepreneur’s life
• [13:34] Travis’ personal path away from ministry to sales
• [25:51] Home Depot anecdote illustrating frustration with arbitrary corporate rules
• [29:38] High school landscaping story: learning to outsource and value sales
• [34:03] Experiences pushing back against nonsensical authority
• [35:51] Motivational sign-off: why making more money matters

---

Takeaways & Actionable Insights

• Not everyone is suited to be an entrepreneur: It requires a tolerance for uncertainty and risk.
• Defining moments—personal or professional “jolts”—often push people to start thinking like entrepreneurs.
• Commission-based or side hustles are practical ways to learn entrepreneurial thinking before launching a business.
• Question arbitrary authority & embrace self-direction: Being uncomfortable with pointless systems can be a signal you’re wired for independence.
• It pays to own the deal, not just do the labor: Early delegation and focus on sales/relationship-building sets entrepreneurs apart.

---

Tone & Language

The episode blends humor, storytelling, and blunt honesty. Travis and his producer keep the conversation light but dive into meaningful examples, making the episode motivating and highly relatable for anyone considering a step beyond the traditional career ladder.

---

For listeners new to entrepreneurship or frustrated with their current job, this episode is both a reality check and a motivational nudge to start thinking—and acting—like an entrepreneur.

Transcript

[A]

And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show. Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date? Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird. Yeah, the bird looks out of your league. Anyways, only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

[B]

You're listening to the Travis Makes Money

[A]

podcast, presented by GoHighLevel.com for a free 30 day trial of the best all in one digital marketing software tool on the planet, just go to gohighlevel.com travis.

[C]

We're doing good.

[A]

Yo. What's going on, everybody? Welcome back to the Travis Makes Money podcast, where it's a mission to help you make more money. Today on the show, my producer is here in studio.

[B]

What's up, man?

[C]

I am here in studio looking like a.

[A]

Looking like a copy.

[C]

Looking like a cop. It's because I'm in the full uniform, huh?

[A]

Yep. You got the. You got the stash and you got the aviators. Be honest, you look like you're auditioning for a copy.

[C]

The stash looks pretty good, actually.

[A]

I like mustaches.

[C]

If I had told you I was thinking about trying a mustache, would you have told me not to?

[A]

I would have been fully supportive.

[C]

Do you. Do you.

[A]

Do I look better than you expected with a mustache?

[C]

Yeah. Or did I look appropriately.

[D]

I think.

[A]

I think you look appropriately sexy for a mustached man.

[C]

So bad. No, I'm just kidding. No, I shaved it as a joke. And I was like, typical guy. You know, it's like, I actually. Maybe I look good.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then mustaches are back in.

[C]

Well, the bad. That's what I said. Yeah. The bad news is, though, which means that, like mullets, in about two years, I'll be like, why have a mustache for that content. The worst thing was. So there was really. There was a lot of breaking news in my sphere the last few days, and I had just done it. And then, like, all these stories got. And I had to make the decision because I look horrible when I'm fully shaved.

[B]

You think so?

[A]

Do you think it's only. I think it's because you gotten so used to having facial hair, though.

[C]

No. I'll show you pictures of me face. I said faceless, mustacheless.

[A]

I feel like that whenever I shave.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

I look.

[A]

I'm Like, I look terrible.

[C]

You look worse. No, I looked. I look terrible. And. But all this breaking news happened. It's super serious stuff. And I was like, is this how. And that's the first content I did with the mustache. And I was like, is this really bad? Are people going to comment on this? Is it going to be really bad? And then I got invited. Yeah, then I got invited to do a piece of content on, like, a massive YouTube channel. And I jumped in and I was like, we're five minutes from going live. And I was like, I will go shave. Well, I told them. I said, I got on and I said, listen, please be honest with me. Do I look really scary? And should I go shave this right now?

[A]

Do I look like the people that I talk about on my show?

[C]

Yeah, it was a choice doing this, but I honestly, I really like it. And today I even, like. I even trimmed down again around my face. So I'm. That's.

[A]

You're committed.

[C]

I am committed and I really like it. So far.

[B]

So good for you.

[C]

Anyway, that's good news. So I have a clip of Kevin o' Leary here working on the segues. So this is a clip of Kevin o'. Leary. I was just double checking when I'm going to close the clip. This is from the Iced Coffee Hour. As always, you can't see it. In the clip, Graham Stephan is sitting on four phone books. And he's still that doll. That's after. He's like, we only have four phone books. I need a good eight. Look at Kevin o' Leary next to him.

[A]

That's. That's why he has to check luggage when he travels.

[C]

Kevin o' Leary next.

[A]

Just a suitcase full of phone books.

[C]

What's the. What's the meme? What's the meme?

[A]

I feel really bad.

[B]

Don't. Don't hate us, Graham.

[A]

I'm not spending one on one time with Graham. But he seems like a cool guy. He's getting. He's getting way too much shade from us. Well, you didn't say his physical stature. Yeah.

[C]

Oh, where's that? Where's the post? I can't find it.

[A]

I don't know, but that's a strange search term.

[C]

When I show you. I don't want to show. I would only want to say it on the show.

[A]

If you can find the.

[C]

But I wanted to find the image to show you to make you giggle. But it's okay. But look at the. Like, just scope out Mr. Wonderful. Like.

[A]

No, I understand.

[C]

It's like this looks like. Okay. Let's watch.

[A]

It'd be better if it's not muted.

[E]

When to give up about who should not be an entrepreneur. And when do you know when to give up?

[C]

You know, he was, you know, he was itching to say you fellas or something.

[A]

Mr.

[C]

Wonderfully. Oh, by the way, this is an interview with Kevin o', Leary, the. One of the actors from Marty Spring,

[E]

who should not be an entrepreneur. And when do you know when to give up?

[D]

About two thirds of America should not be entrepreneurs. And the. The reason you would know that is you. You're unable to make the first step. If you don't have the ability to take risk, you'll never be a successful entrepreneur. Because I'll give you an example. In great business schools, I teach practically all of them. Almost half the class become consultants. They don't have the guts, because think about a consultant. They never make any decisions of consequence. You get paid a lot. It's great. If you go to the top of your consulting firm, maybe you make 3,4 million bucks a year. That's great. Can't complain about that. But every decision you make is just a consultation so that an executive who actually makes decisions, who's a real entrepreneur, can say yes or no to that idea. You're just making decisions of no consequence whatsoever. And the reason I don't hire consultants is after two years, they get that virus. They're just generating opinions. They're not doing anything. And I don't mean to insult consultants. I would just never hire them. And so if you really jump off and become a consultant, you're going into a life of mediocrity. And I'm trying to define the difference.

[C]

Once again, I don't mean to insult them, but your whole life is mediocre.

[A]

Just a mediocre 2 million a year.

[D]

I mean, that life of mediocrity. And one where that same graduate says, I'm gonna take a chance. I'm 28 years old. I don't have a family yet. I'm gonna start a business. I don't know if it's gonna work or not, but I have the ability to just take.

[C]

How much family did you have at

[B]

28 years old, two kids and a wife?

[C]

It's always crazy examples. And we're like, you know, I was a young, no kids, not married, and I just decided to go, you know, sleep on my friend's couch. I'm like, I couldn't do that.

[A]

I signed away that option when I was 21.

[C]

Yeah, it was over.

[D]

Take that risk. Not seeing what's on the other side of the chasm. And I'm going to forego a salary of 200,000 a year because I want something more. Those are the people that become free one day because they make $5 million in a day because they're entrepreneurs. And that consultant that you use, they're back enjoying their lives, but in. In a sea of mediocrity.

[E]

Do you think you're born like that, though? Because it seems as though there is a personality type.

[C]

That's the cup that Graham's holding in this shot. That's a 64 ounce cup.

[A]

That's a water cup at Wendy's.

[C]

That's a 60. That's a 64 ounce cup. Oh, wait, no, that's backwards.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, that's backwards. That's a two ounce.

[C]

He's a giant.

[A]

That's. That's a Dixie cup.

[C]

This is the water cup from Panda Express.

[A]

Yeah, the little Dixie cups that used to be at the doctor's office.

[C]

What are we doing now? What are we doing?

[E]

Prone to becoming an entrepreneur who really pushes back against rules, against authority, and they want to take a different path.

[D]

I don't know if you're born that way. I think you have events that occur in your life that are jolting to you. And every entrepreneur I talk to that's been successful has that defining moment where they say, I remember this moment in my life and I remember what happened to me and it just changed my direction. It's like a meteorite in space. Knock it off course. A fraction of an inch, 100 years later, it's a billion miles in a different place. Well, that's the same thing with an entrepreneur early in their lives. For me, it was getting fired. The first day I ever had a job, I realized that that was just somebody else had power over me. I couldn't even deal with that concept. And so that was the. I never worked again. And with all the hardships and everything else, but it's very similar. There's some event that triggers somebody. So I'm not sure you're born with it. It's just something in your DNA says I'm going to take that path of risk.

[A]

What do you think? So is Kevin o' Leary a lefty? I don't figure out why he has a wedding ring and watch on his right hand or they.

[C]

I think that might be. That could be a. Like a tracker ring too.

[A]

Oh, yeah, I guess. But it's strange to put it on your actual ring finger.

[C]

Is he married?

[A]

That's a good Question.

[D]

I don't know.

[C]

He would be the worst person in divorce. You ever think about that? You ever think about divorce?

[A]

I have not. I've not. I've not thought about that.

[C]

There's just certain people you're like, have to be honest. You're not getting anything. All right. Okay. So here's my question for you, Travis.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

What were the jolts for you? That's a good question, huh? Yeah. You didn't know I was gonna ask.

[A]

Aha. Moments.

[C]

What were the jolts that made you go, I don't want to do anything but be an entrepreneur.

[B]

This episode of the show is brought to you by Wayfair. It's Wayday at Wayfair. From April 25th through the 27th, you can score the best deals in home, like up to 80% off. With free shipping on everything. Wayfair makes it easy to find exactly what fits your style and needs, from furniture and decor to home improvement and outdoor essentials. And it's all on sale during weigh day. Best part, everything ships fast and free during Wayday. Plus you can shop with Wayfair verified, AKA your shortcut to the good stuff. So their team of product specialists vets everything by hand using a 10 point quality inspection. So you know that you're actually getting a quality piece no matter what your budget is. Look, I. We basically have redecorated our home with Wayfair in the last few months. And at every time we use a site, I'm always blown away by how easy it is to use the platform itself. Also to find like the craziest stuff. Like if you think for a second that there's something that's not on Wayfair that you could put inside of your home for something, just test me out on this. Go to Wayfair and search for it. I promise you, you're going to find it. It's crazy whether regardless of your aesthetic, if it's mid century modern or farmhouse or contemporary or eclectic, or you're looking for outdoor furniture or home upgrades or you want to upgrade the kids room or. Or you need a new shoe rack. Whatever it is, Wayfair has it. They make it simple to narrow down to exactly what works for your style and for your budget. Plus they have great reviews, filters, visual tools to help you make sure that it's the right fit. And then, you know, installation and assembly could be available depending on what you buy. It makes the process easier. Their shipping always blows my mind because you can get some like a literal our dining room table that we just got came from Wayfair and they shipped it to our house fast and completely for free. So they have thousands and thousands of five star reviews to help you shop with confidence and find things that fit perfectly into your home and lifestyle. Wayday is the sale to shop the best deals in home. We're talking up to 80% off with fast and free shipping on everything. So head to wayfair.com, april 25th through the 27th to shop Wayday. That's wayfair.com w a y f a I r.com Wayfair Every style, every Home this episode of the show is brought to you by Factor. Look, everybody who's listening to the show is busy. I get it. There's kids, there's distractions, there's businesses, there's side hustles, there's podcasts, there's everything to prevent you from eating good quality food all the time. So for me, eating healthy isn't necessarily a willpower problem, it's just more of a setup problem. It's just easier to pick the processed food because I know I can just grab it and eat it really quick. Well enter Factor with Factor. I'm hitting my nutrition goals this season. Without the planning, the grocery runs or even the cooking, they have meals built around your goals, whether that's weight loss, overall nutrition, more protein or GLP1 support for strength and workout recovery. Check out Factor's Muscle Pro collection. Every meal is crafted with functional ingredients. Lean proteins, colorful veggies, whole foods, healthy fats. In fact, they ban 175 plus ingredients so no artificial colors or sweeteners, no high fructose corn syrup, no refined seed oils. Just nutrient dense food. It's fresh, never frozen and they have over 100 rotating weekly meals including globally inspired flavors like Mediterranean and Asian. Mediterranean is my favorite, so there's always something new to look forward to. Try the newly launched Ready to eat salads with vibrant ingredients like elote corn and miso edamame. Plus there's over 70 add ons to round out your your nutrition from like all the snacks and stuff that you grab throughout the day from green juices to you know, peanut butter, energy bites, things like that. It's ready in two minutes. Factor shops, preps, cooks and delivers straight to your door so you have more time for everything that you love. This spring I use this and you should too. Head over to factor meals.com TMM50OFF and use code TMM50OFF to get 50 off 550 not 1550 off and free daily greens per box with new subscription only while supplies last until September 27, 2026. That's Factor Meals.com TMM50OFF and use code TMM50OFF to get 50 off and free daily greens per box. Factor Meals.com TMM 50 off

[A]

H I guess when I was coming out of college and thinking I was going to be in full time ministry and going

[B]

through all the interviews like that, that

[A]

was, that was when I realized I didn't really want to be in ministry. But then afterwards when I was, I did door to door just out of necessity because I couldn't get a job like the, nobody would hire me for probably for good reason because I was an inexperienced 21 year old out of college with an unaccredited Bible degree. And like the jobs that I was looking at were just so underwhelming. It was like, like I was making more money in college going door to door than any of the jobs that I was looking at getting outside, like out of college. So door to door felt like its own version of entrepreneurship because it's a hundred percent commission sales and nobody can tell you when to show up to work. You just kind of work, you know, as much as you want to and then you make as much or as little as you are comfortable with making. So that was like a little version of entrepreneurship that I, that I got a taste of pretty young and realized that I could, that, that I could, you know, at 21, 22, I made six figures for the first time. And that in my life was like a huge goal, was like growing up, you make six figures, you're set, you know. So when, when I did that and realized that I did it in 25, 30 hours a week knocking doors and selling stuff and then, and then having had the experience of working somewhere else for four weeks, I remember I basically when we, when we moved away from Antelope Valley from Southern California, you know, the, the college that I, that I went to, their core metric of success was students placed in ministries. So when you were exiting, they would always ask all the graduates, well, where are you going to serve? And they wanted to make sure that every graduate was placed in a ministry which to be fair is their job. They, they want to make sure that they're training people and that they're actually getting job placements out of college. So when I was leaving, the only reason I ended up in Fresno was because Josh was the only pastor that told me that I could come work for them, that they had a full time position opened and he wanted me to do that, but they also had a part time position open and he wanted me to do that. And he was like, also, if you just want to come be a layman in the church and work outside of the church, we'd also love for you to come here and do that. So it was like.

[C]

He didn't say layman.

[B]

Probably did.

[C]

No, he said lame man and you misheard him. He said, oh, we actually been looking for a lame man for our church. He's like, you fit the bill.

[A]

That, that was a really good one. Wait, hang on.

[C]

Oh, it helps if it's not muted wrong. Oh, wow.

[A]

There we go.

[C]

Yeah, it was a magical joke. All right, go.

[A]

Okay. So I, I took, I took that part time position basically just so when everybody, whenever anybody asked me, hey, what ministry are you going to? I could tell them, well, I'm going to go, you know, serve up in Fresno with, with Josh up there. And then, and then they would leave me alone and then they would add me to their numbers of success and then stop asking me questions. And then when I got to Fresno, I spent I think one or two days working in the church before I started this job. Because basically what had happened was I was doing 100% commission sales for a solar company leading up to that move. And when we were moving, I wanted to buy a house. And when we went to go qualify for the loan to buy the house, I could not qualify for the loan because I was too young, didn't have enough credit history, and I didn't have enough years of 100% commission income in order for the bank to recognize it as actual income and give me the loan. So I basically did an internal transfer for the company I worked for doing a hundred percent commission sales and got a salaried position working for that company so that I could have a salary, so that I could have pay stubs so that I could qualify for the home loan. So for that entire escrow process, I had to keep working there because you know if, when you buy a house, they'll do like multiple income checks throughout the escrow process to make sure that you're still employed there actively by the time you're closing. So I think I had a nine to five for four weeks, maybe five weeks. And during that time of being forced to work that 9 to 5 so we could close escrow on that home, it was enough for me to recognize that that was never going to be something that worked for me. It was automatically just immediate bullshit and red tape. Like I, I was already selling deals for that exact company. So I wanted to internally transfer to become a, a closer for them, like a sales consultant for them. And I felt like I have like three years of experience in solar. I started off setting appointments already. I built a team of 20 people. We were the largest team and in productivity in that company, which at the time was the second largest installer of solar in, in residential solar in the country. So it's like I felt like I had a really stacked resume and I'm already closing deals and being a sales consultant. Just let me be a sales consultant. They were like, no, you have to start at the bottom of the ladder, which is back into setting appointments and being a lead generator, which already pissed me off because first of all, it was just wasn't enough. It wasn't. The earning potential was nowhere near as high. And then, and then so they, so they made me start over at the bottom again. And then when I was starting over at the bottom again again, it was like those stupid corporate rules that just don't make any sense to me. It's like if I can produce and I can even outproduce some of your top performers, why would you not just let me work that job? Like you just want me to go through the perception of having worked my way up even though I already did in your company, just in different department. So that was already irritating. But then I also remember there was a. There's this one time I got. I got in trouble from my manager at the time because we were doing lead gen inside of Home Depots. So the relationship for that company with Home Depot was really important to them because they generated a ton of business from Home Home Depot's. And so I was you, you stay on your feet basically for eight hour shifts in Home Depot.

[C]

You're the guy that everyone hates at Home Depot.

[A]

Yeah, that stops you.

[C]

Did you need help with anything? And then you go, oh no, I'm good. Like by the way, actually I didn't

[A]

even ask if you needed help with anything. I just went directly your electric bill.

[C]

I got caught at Target because he's like, oh, do you need help looking for something? I was like, oh, I'm actually looking for something. And I thought it was a Target employee. And then we're like walking over there, it's like, who's your phone carrier? And it's like, oh yeah, do you why you need one?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And then they like no, I'm going to sell you one.

[B]

Yeah, that's exactly right.

[A]

So I was that guy inside of Home Depot.

[C]

The worst.

[A]

But you base, you stand up for the whole shift. But the difference is like Home Depot employees, they walk around the store, right? So like they're constantly walking around doing stuff. When you're working in that setting, you basically have a booth set up and you're standing behind the booth and waiting for traffic to walk by you. And we were not allowed to like walk the aisles of the store.

[B]

This episode of the show is brought to you by Shopify. Starting something new isn't just hard, it is terrifying. So much work goes into this thing that you're just not entirely sure that's going to work out. It'll be hard to make that leap of faith. Trust me.

[A]

I know.

[B]

When I started this podcast, when I've started several of my businesses, I just wasn't even sure what I was doing. Like, what if nobody listens to the show? What if I make a fool of myself? What if I embarrass myself? Nobody buys my stuff. Now I know that I was right in believing in myself and, and launching my podcast and several of my businesses despite all the fears and hesitations. But it also helps when you have an amazing partner like Shopify on your side to help. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world. And 10% of all E commerce in the US is using Shopify. Like, this is the place that hosts all of your favorite products and services. So if you are considering this, then Shopify is a must if you especially, especially, especially if you're gonna launch some sort of an E. Com product. So get started with your own design studio. With hundreds of ready to use templates, Shopify helps you build a beautiful online store that actually matches your brand's style. But Travis, what if I get stuck? Well, Shopify is always around to share advice with their award winning 247 customer support. Which is very, very important to people like me who are still some for some reason like caught in the 1980s and I want to talk to somebody when I actually have a problem and instead of just relying on an AI system. And did I mention that the iconic purple shop pay button that's used by millions of businesses around the world, that's from Shopify. It's why Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet. Helps boost conversions, meaning less carts going abandoned and more sales for you. So it's time to turn those what ifs into with Shopify today. Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at shopify shopify.com TMM go to shopify.com TMM that's shopify.com TMM. This episode of the show is brought to you by Chime. Chime is not just another banking app.

[A]

They unlock smarter banking for everyday people

[B]

with products like MyPay giving you access to up to 500 of your paycheck anytime and getting paid up to 2 days early with direct deposit. Some old banks still don't do this.

[A]

So forget overdraft fees, minimum balance fees, monthly fees.

[B]

Chime turns everyday spending into real rewards and progress. Plus they have this new credit card which I'm a big fan of, this Chime card. It's the new way to build credit history with your own money and actually get rewarded every single day. So a lot of cards like this, they require you to put some sort

[A]

of money down and then they will

[B]

give you a credit card based on the money that you put down. But when they do that, because it basically is working off of the cash that you have down as collateral for the credit line, you don't get rewards on it. Well, Chime changed the game with their new credit card as well. There's no annual fees, there's no interest, no strings attached. And when you get qualifying direct deposits, you get 1.5% cash back on eligible Chime card purchases. Chime is not just smarter banking. It is the most rewarding way to bank. So join the millions who are already banking fee free today. My younger self would have benefited from this and I know you will too. It just takes a few minutes to sign up. Head to chime.com travis that is chime.com travis

[A]

so I was standing there and surprise, surprise, not every Home Depot is full of foot traffic all day long. So there would be times where it would be like just an hour and a half of dead time where just nobody's in the store and hardly anybody's walking past. And I was just standing there and I was like, like I'm uncomfortable and I don't have a chair. So I went and found a Home Depot bucket. I flipped it upside down and then I went to the, the garden department where the patio furniture was and I grabbed like a cushion from one of the patio furniture chairs and came back and set that on top of the Home Depot bucket and sat down on top of that. So that night, taking Jackie and I are taking Sadie, our dog, to the dog park and I get a call from my manager and he immediately starts yelling at me, like immediately, which is the first time I, I experienced that in that type of a setting where it was like there was no There was no intention to try to get to the bottom of it or try to hear my side of the story or try to like figure out what was going on. It was immediate, just like yelling at me for sitting down in the Home Depot. I was talking and he was talking about like, you're like, you know you're not allowed to sit down. And like, this is a terrible look. And I was like, in my mind there were so many questions that I had that I was just like, first of all, how did you even find out about this? Like, that seems strange. And then second of all, and I, I just, I don't do well with anybody disrespectfully yelling at me, but especially when it's in a context of like, you don't even know the situation here, man. And so my pushback immediately was nobody ever told me I was not allowed to sit down. I just thought that I wasn't sitting down because I didn't have a chair. So I was like, let me fashion a chair and I can sit down now. But nobody ever told me in training that I was not allowed to sit down. So that was the first thing I said, was like, well, maybe you should have mentioned that if it was, if this was that big of a deal to where you're calling and yelling at me. And then my second question was, how did you find out about this? So what had happened was one of the Home Depot employees saw me sitting down, literally took a picture of me sitting down when I was doing it.

[C]

I want this picture.

[A]

They, it got forward. Like my manager forwarded it to me to be like, proof you were sitting down. I was like, I'm not arguing that I wasn't sitting down because I didn't know that was something I wasn't supposed to do. So this grown ass person takes a picture of me sitting, sends it to their manager, who sends it to the district manager of like 24 Home Depots in that region, who the relationship with the solar company I was working for, that's who that relationship was managed through. So this is the person who basically can make the decision to allow that solar company to stay in there or to go replace that solar company with another solar company. Right? So it was a big deal from the solar company's perspective because they're like, we don't want to ruin this relationship. And now my manager is getting a call from this manager, from something that happened, from some low level employee taking a picture and basically sending it up the food chain three or four different levels to this manager. To talk to my manager, to then call me and yell at me for doing something that I didn't know, first of all, I wasn't allowed to do. And then second of all, made no sense to me at all. Like, I. I cannot stand arbitrary rules that make no sense. And that was one of those things where I was like, I just explain to me how I'm going to be less productive in this position. Like, I'm not doing this when there's a bunch of traffic. I was still one of the top performing guys in, in on this manager's entire team. Even though I was only working there for like two or three weeks, I already had more. They call them cws closed ones, which basically is like the. An actual sale. So your job is to set appointments that lead to sales.

[B]

Right?

[A]

So there were people who were outperforming me on setting appointments on that team at that time, but there was nobody that was outperforming me in terms of the volume of appointments that I had set that went to sale because I'd been doing it for like three years and I knew how to qualify people and I knew that whole process. So I was like, I'm already out producing everybody on your team. But you're concerned with the fact that I was sitting down during an hour of dead space when I should have just been standing up talking to nobody. Like, it's not affecting my productivity negatively. You didn't tell me that it was a rule. And now I'm getting berated for something that I just don't even believe in at all, nor was ever spoken to me. And that like, that experience was one of the things that I pointed to when I was just like, this is not going to work. Like, I can't. I cannot stand this type of corporate nonsense just because somebody made some arbitrary rule sitting in a desk chair somewhere that has never actually done this job before. Now you're going to enforce it even on the people who are actually doing the real job, which is selling more of your shit, which should be the top priority. You know what I mean? So that, that as soon as I close, we closed escrow on that house. I think the day after or two days after we closed escrow on that house, I called my manager and told him, I'm not coming back in. And then I went directly back in, 100% commission, door to door. So, yeah, that, that was, that was probably the moment where I realized it wasn't ever going to work for me. But if I go even further back, it might have been in high school, when I realized the value of creating relationships for people and how much you can get paid for being the one who initiates the contact and gets the sale in through the door. Because I was doing. I had a small landscaping. You know, calling it a business is. Is overvaluing what it was. But I. A buddy of mine and I were mowing lawns, and then we would work with people who were flipping houses, and we'd go in and put lipstick on the front yard for them, basically, like, you know, install sod, fix the sprinklers, and, you know, do a bunch of manual labor essentially, to create a landscape job. So during the summer before my senior year, it was me and my buddy, we were just doing all the work, right? So, because that's just what we did. We would land a job, we'd go do all the work, and we get paid. And the hourly wage was pretty high because we were selling the full job and doing all the work. And then when I started my senior year again, I was in school, and I had football practice and I had homework and all these other responsibilities, but I had sold, like, two or three jobs right before I started school again. And so I was. I. I hired college students to do the manual labor on the jobs for me. And then one time I was sitting in Bible class, and I remember just, like, sketching out on a piece of paper how much money I was going to clear on a job that I had sold but did none of the work for. Basically, I just drive over there after school and make sure that they're making progress and, you know, help fix a couple of things that they didn't know how to fix or something. And then that was my entire involvement. And I was realizing, I was like, wow, I. I'm going to make more on this job than all of the money that I'm paying out in labor combined, right? So I was going to make, like, 600 bucks on this job when I was paying out $300 in labor for the job or something like that. And that was the first time where I realized, like, oh, there's so much more value in landing these jobs and, like, being the salesperson than there is in actually doing the labor, which is basically when I stopped doing manual labor and started outsourcing it immediately to other people that were willing to do it. So there's a couple, like, aha. Moments that I had along the way that were like, first of all, there's a lot of value in being the salesperson here. But then, second of all, there's no way I'm ever going to be able to fit inside of this corporate world because I, I cannot stand, I cannot stand arbitrary authority. And even in high school and college, like, I'm not, I wasn't somebody who would buck up against all authority. It was just when it didn't make sense, you know. So I had a teacher in college one time who was, she had a, she had an ego essentially. And there was one time in class where we're, we graded a test and I, one of the answers to the test was like, she had marked it as wrong. And I raised my hand, I was like, I'm pretty sure this is right. And she was like, nope, it's wrong. And I was like, she kept talking. And then like two minutes later I found it in the textbook that she had used to teach us, you know, and raised my hand again and I was like, but the book says this. You're telling me this is wrong, but this is actually right. And then she stuck to her guns. She did not even admit in that moment that she was wrong. And then, and then I find out later she was teaching two classes that were the same class. And we're doing research papers. You know how research papers you had to write like note cards. Did you ever do that?

[C]

I didn't go to college.

[A]

Well, in high school, even when we did research papers, we were, we were forced to do that.

[C]

I didn't do my assignment.

[A]

That was in high school. That was. The method that they taught us was basically like when you're doing the paper, like you're 3 by 5 sort of sources for the 4x6 cards for your

[C]

cited sources and stuff.

[A]

No, it was basically like the, it was, it was essentially the first draft of the paper just not written in paper format where it was like. So we, we would write 50 note cards. And then once you wrote out the note cards, now you have like the structure to turn it into the paper.

[D]

Really.

[A]

So yeah, it, it was a really a great way to structure how to do a research paper.

[C]

What's the point of that? So you can shuffle them around into the order you want to put them in the paper. Yeah.

[A]

And to get your thoughts fully out on this one particular idea or concept based outline that you had structured for the, for the entire paper. So typically it was about 50 note cards. But on our research paper, as a milestone for us, she assigned our Class 100 note cards, which we were like, that seems strange. That's like more than usual, but whatever. Come to find out, the other class that she taught, only had to do 50, so she doubled the note card work for the entire class because I challenged her on something that I was right about, that she was wrong about, but she was not willing to admit that she was wrong about it. She literally waited until the next class until she was willing to be like, okay, everybody that answered that way actually got that question right. So like, I just never did well with arbitrary authority. When it was just like somebody that was given authority and would never admit when they were wrong. Even like stuff that didn't make sense to me, I challenged it constantly. And that is exactly what happened when those four weeks that I was working for this, this company inside of a job, and I was like, there's just no way I'm gonna be able to fit inside of this mold. And I was already out earning what I'm currently making when I was doing 100% commission. Because you just get paid more on 100% commission than you do if you have a salary, plus benefits and all this other stuff. So I just immediately went back into it. So for me, there was pro. There was a few aha moments along the way. And then it was also kind of helpful that past that point because I was making pretty good money doing door to door, like making six figures. It immediately removed an entire world of jobs, if that makes sense. Where it was like, how can I, how can I stop doing this thing in 25, 30 hours a week that makes me six figures and go to this thing where I'm going to be working 50 hours a week and making a $60,000 salary. It's just, you know, like. So from that point forward, whenever I'd apply for jobs, there were always jobs that were going to be like six figure jobs. And I was just, I had not been in corporate world long enough, or I didn't have the degree that they wanted, or there was 34 other applicants that they decided to go with. I was never great at job interviews for whatever reason. Maybe I was too, too, too much too. Had too big of an ego when I was a kid too, because my first, my first ever job interview was at a, a Honda dealership because I, a buddy of mine started selling cars and was doing pretty well with it. And I asked him in the job interview, I said, I said, what is your, what is your top performer make? And he told me and I was like, cool, I just want to get an idea of what I'm gonna make. And apparently he didn't like that. Cause I did not get the job. But you know, his loss. Cause I would have crushed that in that at that particular time in my life, which I ended up just doing door to door instead. But anyway, so there's like several things along the way where I realized, like this whole giving up control of my schedule to somebody else and having to like, beg for time off and stuff like that just never sat well with me. So it just propelled me into always just doing stuff on my own and figuring it out. But it also gave me a ton of confidence to always figure it out, which has allowed me to take more risks because I knew that if I was ever in a tight position or a pinch, I had the confidence to be able to be like, that's all right, I'll figure something out. Because I know I've figured it out, you know, a dozen times before in situations just like this. So I can't say it was like one moment in particular, but there was several things that just, like, drew me

[B]

into entrepreneurship from the.

[A]

From the get go. Yeah.

[C]

Well, I'm about to get jolted out of this podcast, so wrap us out,

[A]

wrap us up, wrap us out, wrap

[C]

us out and wrap us up.

[A]

Well, for those listening, thanks for tuning in. Remember, money only solves your money problems, but it's easier to solve the rest of your problems with money in the bank. So let's solve that one first here on the Travis Makes Money podcast.

[B]

Thanks for tuning in. Catch you next time. Peace.

[F]

Quick break. This surprised me. The most useful advice I get now doesn't come from experts. It comes from regular people on TikTok. What works, what doesn't. No filters. Download TikTok and see for yourself.