Jason Croft

Check out more of Jason

LinkedIn: /in/thejasoncroft/

Linktree: /thejasoncroft

Show Notes

Robert Peterson 0:23
Welcome to the add value to entrepreneurs podcast, the place where we help entrepreneurs to not hate their boss. Our mission is to end entrepreneurial unhappiness. If you dream of changing the world, but you're not sure where to start. The Add value entrepreneurs podcast will help you transform your life in business. This podcast is for entrepreneurs who want more freedom and fulfillment from their work so they can live the life that they desire. You deserve it, and it is possible. My name is Robert Peterson, Farmer passer turned CEO and the smiling coach. I believe that success without happiness is failing. But there is hope. Join us each week as we bring you an inspiring leader or message to help you. Thanks for investing time with us today. Our guest today is in the business of connection connecting people connecting those people with each other and connecting businesses to their ideal clients. Jason Croft has 30 years experience in media, movies, video, corporate events, podcasts, both behind the camera and now in front. Jason is leveraging those skills to further his mission of connecting and helping others to do the same. Jason is the founder of media leads an agency dedicated to a new form of business development, media lead generation, turning his love of precision interviewing and shining a spotlight on others like he's done with startup Dallas, and the Jason Croft show strategy in action and concentric into a scalable system that allows his clients to shorten their sales cycle and rapidly build their dominance in any industry. Jason Croft and Robert discuss his journey as an entrepreneur, podcaster and media expert, he has leveraged his experience and relationships to create a business helping entrepreneurs with their lead generation. His mission is to put a spotlight on his clients for the world to see, if you're an entrepreneur who started their business with a purpose and a passion that has been lost in the busyness of the daily grind, we get it. That is why we've opened up our free strategy calls. A lot of entrepreneurs, probably including you just want a sense of clarity on the barriers holding them back that you need to overcome in order to accelerate your growth and achieve your dreams. These short 30 Minute Calls give you a chance to work with one of our coaches without any commitment or pressure. Scheduling is easy, just go to smiling call.com. Let's jump on a call and get you the help and clarity you need. Select a time and let's build your business. It's time for you to add value. Jason, thanks so much for jumping on the show today. Man. I appreciate it. Looking forward to an awesome conversation.

Unknown Speaker 3:03
Heck, yeah, me too. Thanks for having me on.

Robert Peterson 3:05
Absolutely. So just tell us a little bit about your entrepreneurial journey and and what's led you to what you're doing today.

Unknown Speaker 3:13
Oh my goodness. Well, I think I've always been I mean, always, I think always that entrepreneurial bug. I think we, I think we true entrepreneurs like have those stories of of kids being kids selling stuff. And you know, whether it's selling candy at school that we took out of the cabinets or my mom has stories of me, you know, being seven or eight years old selling selling rocks at the side of the road and me going door to door. So I think there's there's always been that aspect and whether it's, you know, being freelance or actually starting a business around what I do, it's kind of been the majority of my life has been in that world. You know, I'm definitely not meant for the full time employment kind of life. For sure. But yeah, video, film, movies, all that stuff has been my world for 30 years. Started in actually my senior year of high school started working for a video production company back in Fort Worth, Texas where I lived at the time and that gave me you know, a ton of just real world experience right there and went into college for the movies side of things where I got that experience and then kind of had those parallel tracks going for for quite a few years of you know, paying the bills a lot of times with the corporate work while you know working on independent film and you know, pays a little bit and then this pays a lot then you know, but the up and down and so had both those things going it out at the same time. And it was kind of a weird, wild thing when that passion for the movie side of things I had driven me for so long. just switched off one day, it was almost overnight, it was very strange. But what went in its place was this love and passion of business marketing, all that fun stuff. So since then I've kind of been on, on that journey helping people with with that kind of that kind of stuff.

Robert Peterson 5:20
So, so let's talk about obviously, business marketing, and this great American internet landscape.

Unknown Speaker 5:33
How do you want to talk about a topic it is.

Robert Peterson 5:38
So, obviously, film production was was a big passion. So obviously, video is is a is a piece of what you do. And obviously, a big part of both film production and Video for marketing is storytelling. So maybe let's start there and talk about that transition from Video Production storytelling to business storytelling.

Unknown Speaker 6:04
Yeah, there are definitely some similarities there. I think, you know, where I kind of bridged that, you know, for folks is really pulling that story out out of them. Meaning that, you know, these last, even even the several years of straight video production that I was still doing, it really centered around the interview, even before, even when it wasn't, you know, me on the show, interviewing somebody, even when it was me off camera, you know, creating content for them. Still pulling that out, right? That was always the fun stuff. For me, you know, I want to make this look good and want to make it you know, beautiful, and all that unprofessional, and put you in a great light. But I also want that humaneness to come out and to get that, you know, across and, you know, about 2015 working for production company, one of my short stints of working full time somewhere. That, you know, I started this initiative, this marketing initiative by, you know, video podcast, their video show that we shot in our studios, called Startup Dallas. And by default, you know, just jumped in the, in the host chair, because nobody else is gonna do it. And that became sort of the ultimate version of what we're talking about here and pulling those stories out of people. And, and I think that's when I really started to get purposeful with that, because I would do that even just in video production, being off camera and kind of getting that. But it really helped me hone that ability, right? When you're doing, you know, 80 Something episodes of this show and 60 of this, like you're just doing the reps, right? You're getting that out? And if you have any, you know, want to get better. Yeah, you you studied this stuff, you watch this stuff back, you listen back and, and yell at yourself, you know, and you're like, Why do you say it that way? But

Robert Peterson 8:10
even better, you listen with your spouse, and then she starts telling you which words you repeating all the time. And the words you say, Yeah, you know, you know, you say that word all the time. Like, really, and you don't realize and then the next time you get to say you're like,

Unknown Speaker 8:27
exactly. And I tell people like when I'm when I'm coaching somebody through just helping them if they're going to start or their client, either one. I'm like a big part of this process is listening to your show back watching your show back. And it's the last thing you want to do. Nobody wants to do it, ever. But it's the most. It's it's just the greatest communication school you're ever going to go to. Because you listen to that back. And it's not just about being on camera, it's that it translates to real life, right? Every interaction that you have, you stop yourself from saying that thing over and over, that you didn't realize you did. And it's it's so powerful. You know, I highly I highly recommend it just for that it's such an important tool because, you know, I mean, this isn't a normal thing for any anybody who's trying to build their business and create content to go put themselves on camera, stare into a lens. And, you know, it's not normal, you know? So, you know, even though we look at other people like Man, they're just born for this, like, now like, it's, it's doing the reps, doing the reps and doing the reps and letting go of, you know, caring about what people think. great extent.

Robert Peterson 9:48
Like the good news about starting a YouTube channel or starting to go live on Facebook is is in the beginning. Nobody knows that you're doing it. And so nobody really watches it. So no But he sees those early in the beginning, just embrace that or before you build up an audience.

Unknown Speaker 10:07
Exactly. And then, and then the other side of that, too, is that if you go back, most folks who have done that and built this great empire have content and been super, super successful. They didn't go back and erase those. They're just as proud of those. And they're, you know, embarrassed. And all of us like, oh, yeah, that was bad. But, but you'll notice they leave them there, because there's still value there. And there's value in showing people. This is this is a starting place. You know, I know you see me now, but this is a starting place. Yeah, though, we all start with these rough edges. Yeah.

Robert Peterson 10:45
When it's really a testimony to, to the need to take action. You can't make it perfect. Because you don't know how to make it perfect. You have to just start and then figure out how to make it perfect, which is why you talk about listening to your own show and, and being able to recognize where you're repeating where you what questions, you're asking that work really well, what questions you're asking that kind of fall on your face. And, and so, yeah, there's there's a lot of power in fine tuning and figuring out all of those, all of those pieces.

Unknown Speaker 11:17
Yeah, big time. It's, yeah, it's great to model right. Like, it's great to have that. It helps me to have a vision, like, oh, I want, I want that, you know, but you gotta let you know, like, I'll get there, you know, but but to have that place to go is great. But you're absolutely right, just jumping in and going is so important.

Robert Peterson 11:40
So let's talk about startup Dallas, and, and obviously, refining your interviewing chops. But let's talk about some of the lessons that you learned in interviewing these startup businesses.

Unknown Speaker 11:56
Oh, yeah, the the three biggest things that came out of that whole process of doing exactly what you described by just jumping in doing, like, I listened to podcast that was like, the extent of you know, why I should be on camera hosting something, right. It's just like,

Robert Peterson 12:15
the Holiday Inn Express.

Unknown Speaker 12:18
Exactly. That's exactly the model, just like, I'm not qualified at all, but I'm doing it anyway. And three things came out of that, though, one was, I got an immediate seat at the table in the startup community. I mean, I was asked to host events and be at this place, and, you know, go here, and all of those things, because I very publicly, you know, put the startup community in the spotlight in these individual members of it, you know, and it became a thing really fast, and not because, oh, suddenly, I've got a million views on anything. Quite the opposite, right? Like, if you looked at the YouTube channel, you'd be like, nobody's watching, it doesn't matter. And yet, because it was such a niche, focused endeavor, the people that mattered to, they knew, and they were paying attention, and it meant something, so that happens. It was good for business, right? You know, we had these, these prospective clients, you know, walking through the doors of the production company, you know, to be on this show, so they're in the doors are starting that relationship and, and going from there. And then three is, you know, I fell in love with it. I was just like, this is everything. I don't know why, but my goodness, this lights me up, this is where I get my energy. And, and I, I mean, I developed the most amazing network of people who are, you know, still dear friends to this day? That it's almost, it's almost scary to think, if I hadn't done that show, the people I wouldn't know now, you know, like, going back like, man, that person probably wouldn't even be in my life and, and they're so dear to me, you know, and have been over the years. It's, it's strong, it's it's so powerful. So many, so many lessons there in it, it really was to just that repetition, right. And I did listen to every show back watch every show. But you know,

Robert Peterson 14:25
we got at least one listener then Right. I mean, that's numbers up.

Unknown Speaker 14:32
There's multiple times just to make from different devices, just like

Robert Peterson 14:36
you have to, right I mean, I gotta make sure that the counting thing the download thing is working because if I don't move it, it's not moving by itself.

Unknown Speaker 14:47
And that's, honestly that's like, that was one of the biggest insight that show the next one the net like it was that insight that it didn't matter. It didn't matter. From a business perspective, still having a positive impact. It didn't matter if from people agreeing to be on the show. Like, I've been telling people this like, I think we did. We did 80 Something episodes of that. For the Jason Croft show the driving around the show that it did after that 60 Something of that I've done 60 of of my latest show. Nobody asks about downloads, what are your numbers? What are your views? Like? I have one person? Yeah, there are a few

Robert Peterson 15:33
that asked, like the big people, right? Like, you know, exactly. I've had, I've had one or two that I've asked to come on the show and Gino Wickman needs 10,000 downloads per episode to come on his show. And so, you know, yeah, we will just move you later down the list. Next year, we'll get there. Right. But we'll talk to you the majority, the majority don't and, and they don't care, they want to be on a show. They, they they get a chance to be in front of a new audience. And so I tell people all the time, like just start, like put yourself out there. And I was interviewing, you know, some pretty heavy hitters within the first 20 episodes. And

Unknown Speaker 16:12
I saw that, like so impressive. Once you

Robert Peterson 16:15
start, you just put it out there, you say, Hey, I've got this podcast, and they introduce you to somebody and they introduce you to somebody. And like you said, we've got friends in our lives that my wife's saving up bail money because one of our podcast guests is coming into town in February and they plan to go out and I don't know what they're gonna do. But she said to save up bail money. So you just never know what what kind of relationship? So let's talk about that network was talking about connection and, and how valuable that is for obviously growing a podcast but for you as a businessman.

Unknown Speaker 16:51
Yeah, it's so it's, it's, it's two things. It's it's me as a business owner, like you say, but it's also me as just a human being like, for whatever reason, like, it feeds my soul, right. Like, that's the incredible thing that you and I shared that the other day, you know, talking through that of I remember, you know, reading Malcolm Gladwell is the tipping point. I remember reading about the mavens salesperson connector and, and going, you know, hitting that that connector description and going, oh, I want to be that. I don't know why I want to be that that's, and that was the furthest thing in the world from it, right. And I went on this purposeful journey to go be that be that connector, be that networker and all that that's been a bit of a blast. So it, I do separate the two because I acknowledge the fact that I love it. It's phenomenal and fun and enjoyable. And if I just do this all day, every day, fantastic connecting people connect, you know, all that stuff is great. But I acknowledge that, you know, some people do not toy that but here's still the lessons, here's why. To bad suck it up, do it anyway, he needs to happen. Because it's, it's everything and especially when you go into it just like any other business building, endeavor, sales and ever marketing, anything else, it's the your intention when you go into it, right? If it's get get get get get, well, people are gonna feel that, you know, at whatever level conscious, subconscious, whatever they're gonna feel it, you know, and it's not good. You know, so when you can truly be in that mindset in that space, and it requires patience, and it requires long term thinking. And it requires that intention of like, I no idea why we're on a call today, but I'm just something tells me we need to talk and connect, right? And just be open to that and, and jump into it. Everything comes out of that. Because it's so quickly. That is how, you know, business gets done and built to we want to have anybody have those things in place, right? And do that in a smart way. So there's the human side, like Yeah, I just want to know you but you can also be purposeful and smart and make sure that you have your very succinct message that people can consume grab onto and know when they need to introduce you right to be succinct with that and, and very purposeful is important. Otherwise, you're meeting some folks but if they don't have that thing, and it's for their benefit as much as yours, because they they want I mean I'm sure we've all experienced that if we've gone through those networking things we want to Yeah, man, I just love this person. I don't know where they are. I just love I hope I can send them some business right? Like they, you want to do that. So help us out when you know we have that like, tell me exactly who you want to find and how you're going to help them and That's so that's so strong. So it's been everything for me. So

Robert Peterson 20:04
I think that's a challenge for for so many entrepreneurs is, is being convinced that the tighter and smaller of a niche that you have, the easier it is for people to easier just for you to communicate who you serve. And the problem you solve. And we get so caught up in, you know, when we first start our business, it's pretty much anybody with a credit card or a checkbook, right. And so if they'll write me a check, I'll work for him. But, but that doesn't work, especially in marketing, because then our message gets washed out and lost. How do you help clients really see the value in in a tighter focus?

Unknown Speaker 20:47
Well, you just hit on it too, because it's like, you can maybe you truly it's rare, but maybe you truly can help just about anybody, right? And, and you can even have that mindset and be open to that as as people come in. And, you know, I would hope for your sake, you have some filter of what makes a good client where you really can shine and help folks, right, because I do think that's important. But even if you have, you know, that widget or that broad service, that you really can help the lawyer who comes to you, or the chiropractor, or the fortune 500 company, right? If you have that magical thing, that's fine. But what you just touched on, it's, it's the marketing of that message is how you speak about it. That's, that's everything. So you can have, you know, you can be open and make that decision as other people hear about you. And that that's the stuff that just happens to me, we always talk about niching down and do this and do this. But that's for your main focus, that lawyer is going to know a quiet chiropractor, who is going to say, oh, man, you need Facebook ads, you gotta go talk to so and so. Right. That kind of stuff will happen too. But the other, the other part of that, that marketing aspect to that I don't think is spoken about enough. When we talk about those things is you can have a few I mean, there's your there's your far and wide, you know, consistent message that you want to have on your site, and your LinkedIn and all of this stuff. And those areas that should be focused. But you know, if you know that, you're about to go hit a networking group that's full of authors in it, you know, because it's run by a publishing company, and you're gonna go in there and talk about Facebook ads or whatever. Well, you can have that very targeted, here's how I help authors do this, right. Or if you're talking to whatever industry to have that, you know, slight shift, and have three, four, at the ready because of who you're talking to, it still helps them. Awesome, I get it, and they can go away with some way that they can send you business.

Robert Peterson 23:04
I think the piece that we miss right Alex or mosey teaches in 100 million dollar offers those three elements, right, the problem you solve, the person you solve it for? And this guy gets there's two parts. Are they searchable? Right? Can you separate them from the rest of the world? So can you target them? And of course, then do they have the resources to afford you? And, and those two elements kind of get lost for a lot of entrepreneurs they get they get caught up in you know, well, I want to be a resume writer for college students graduating out of college, it's like, well, that's a great point. They need resumes, right? They need help in that area. But they don't have jobs yet. And so they have, you know, $100,000 worth of debt. Do you want to step into a world? helping a person starting out, you know, six figures upside down? Or do you want to step into a world where somebody's got, you know, $100,000 sitting on the side of their sofa ready to spend?

Unknown Speaker 24:09
Exactly. Yeah. And that's the thing. It's part of, it's just the hard truth of like that that I mean, that's just a numbers game. Like, this is who you need to go after. Now, if you want to have if you're so passionate about helping those college graduate who need this so much well bake that in somewhere, right? Like have that's a side fund that you help or a certain amount of hours a week, you pro bono work. Exactly, you can have all of that. And yay, do it. But if you're not eating, because you're not charging and you'd have hit that, that target client base that that can't afford you. There's not too many of the college graduates that you're gonna be able to help.

Robert Peterson 24:55
Exactly. Yeah, it's challenging and that and that those two pieces might be the The hardest for some right is figuring out, you know, is their category searchable? Are you? Are you able to find them online? Are you able to find them on Facebook or LinkedIn? Or, you know, is there a targeting mechanism on Google to trigger? And, and if you get the right one, like, you know, I used to joke about and angry white men who, you know, got sore knuckles because they punched the wall or, you know, it's a, it's a niche with a need, but but how do you, you can't they don't tag them on Facebook for that. So

Unknown Speaker 25:33
yeah, it's not a Sales Navigator category.

Robert Peterson 25:37
But it really is true that if you do find a niche that has the resources to afford good services, you solve a really good problem for him. And and you can search for him, you will build a business.

Unknown Speaker 25:54
Yeah, big time.

Robert Peterson 25:56
So yeah, love, love how you obviously how your business has grown. So one of the things I love about my position in, in coaching entrepreneurs, is to really take them back to Designing the business that they wanted and designing the life that they wanted. And then let's figure out how the business supports that instead of letting the business take over their life and, and run it for him. Obviously, you were able to move from, from Texas to Colorado, and and make a transition, you know, in relocating your business? How have you designed your business around your family and your lifestyle here in Colorado?

Unknown Speaker 26:36
I don't think I don't think as perfectly as I would like, for sure. Only, only that I'm finding it in a lot of ways exactly that structure in some ways. But for me, there's a very purposeful nature of you know, every second I can be with my boys, right? You know, and, and what this business does afford me, however, I structure it and build it, I'm starting to get even more purposeful with that is that, you know, at a moment's notice, I can go get my kid from school, I can go, you know, and there's not. I mean, there's not some kind of, oh, gee, Boss, can I go do this? Like, and I understand that's just a normal thing. For folks like, the idea of that. I don't know, it's just so far out. And I've had it I've been in those. I mean, when I first moved here three years ago, for you know, a few months, I came out here with a sales job. You know, very purposely I wanted to learn that skill. We talked about interviews, because I wanted that, that skill and, and got me out here and stuff. But then back to being on my own pretty pretty quickly, fortunately. And so it is it is a yes and no like I have, I've been very purposeful with that and owning my time and I'm fine if I need to be up at three in the morning, finishing a last minute thing if that means at three in the afternoon. I can be you know, picking up my son from school, you know, like, those things are fine. You know, it's not, oh, it's easy, because it's on my schedule. Now sometimes it's, you know, more hours than you would ever work otherwise. Right. I think I could get I think I could certainly get better with with some of that purposefulness, right and sticking to a schedule a little more. Honestly, you know, valuing that, you know, my own time a little bit more and making sure that I'm outsourcing. What I need to be outsourcing so that there there aren't those three in the morning kind of situations. So

Robert Peterson 28:57
nice. We will be right back after this short break. This episode is sponsored by perfect publishing a different approach to publishing a book. Perfect publishing carefully chooses heroes of Hope, who exemplify living life they created through faith, hope, patience, and persistence. No matter what page you open to in this mini cube of hope you will find a leader with a big heart. You will see you are not alone. The authors may share similar challenges that only hope and action could resolve. Get your free ebook at get a dose of hope.com Welcome back. Let's get back to more greatness. Let's talk about the sales job and taking a sales job to acquire that skill for for the sake of your business.

Unknown Speaker 29:42
Yeah, yeah, it's fun. So at the time, so we, my wife at the time and and I we've been wanting to get up here to Colorado for years. And she was in a position she's like my work remote so you can you know if you can find a job like they make gets us you know, to move around. was just a move, then we'll do it. And I was like, I'm on it, you know. And so I very specifically wanted a sales job. Because, you know, and I'm the kind of person who's like, focus on your skills, your strengths. Don't worry about the other stuff like focus on that don't obsess over, well, I don't know this, well, I don't know that well go all in on your strengths. But as a business owner, I know that just having that skill set of sales is so important. But it was also like being a connector, it was one of those things I wanted to obtain. I'm also like, when it comes to data and the process and the system, like, I really don't want to get good at that at all. I'm not gonna, that's the outsourcing stuff. But sales I wanted that, you know, so I wanted to very specifically and so fortunately, you know, just a few weeks in on the on the search and agency out here called Social SEO, they, they brought me out and it was like a week and a half notice. It was just like, well, we're starting this position up. Like next Tuesday. Could you be here? I was like, Yes,

Robert Peterson 31:14
I even better, better. So it was a sales a sales position in digital marketing space.

Unknown Speaker 31:20
Yes. Yeah. And, and a little sidetrack with it, to which I let people know, this power of video. And all of that is. So it was the first it was the first company I applied for. And it was like that, that's where I want to go. Because it was it was that digital marketing space is my world. I love the stuff. And it'd be a sales job in that. And so I wanted that I applied. And I also, but then I went on the hunt, because I was gonna make a video, hey, I would love to beat you know, this, this personalized video. But there's a process to that of like, how do I get this video to the person who could see it. So it's that hunting down right of folks. So a few weeks had gone by of applying to other places and all of that. And I finally get those connections, right? There's two roles there that like none of these people are are making the decision. Right. And so I got connected enough. And when I sent that video, I mean, it was within an hour, I got a call like, hey, awesome. Let's talk, you know, and the guy who hired me was, you know, he, he talked about that he's like, that's why we called you Yeah, like, because we saw,

Robert Peterson 32:36
you basically added an interview on to your resume.

Unknown Speaker 32:41
Exactly. And just, there was just enough of, of something there that like, Okay, this guy can speak in full sentences, we can put him in front of potential clients, you know, there's just a little bit there, because that was the other piece of it too, because my resume didn't support that, right. My resume was at full of sales roles at all these organizations that on paper, well, yeah, this doesn't make sense. Let's find somebody else. But to see, okay, there's something here we can work with this we can, we can train this guy up to something to define, it's really at least a part it really,

Robert Peterson 33:15
it really proves the point of skill set is only half of the job, right? Attitude and desire is the other and you can't show you can't show that desire through a resume in an application. You know, in a video allows them so look, I want I want this and I'm willing to go all in to have it. And you guys, you guys need me?

Unknown Speaker 33:44
Yeah, I mean, did a little we would joke about it, because I even like, I was very purpose because I was upfront like it was obviously I'm still in Texas, but we're wanting to relocate and everything. And I made sure that there was like, even like, boxes behind me like, like, like this, this implied like, Oh, we're moving like I'm packed up like we're, we're moving. We're not like maybe going to move, you know, like just these little clear on our level. That's right. needed jobs. That's right. It was a fast turnaround. And I came up here about three months ahead of the family and got acclimated and enroll in great agency, just wonderful people there and stuff. And again, it was just more of you know, there were these other opportunities that were happening and what a

Robert Peterson 34:33
fairly large two, I mean, yeah, so it's a digital marketing company.

Unknown Speaker 34:40
Oh, yeah, yeah, they're doing they're doing phenomenally just continuing to expand they're doing great.

Robert Peterson 34:46
Well, it's a it's it's a good space to be in obviously right now. Used to, to evolve, but but people are certainly spending their time online. So, online marketing is going to continue to be the place where companies invest.

Unknown Speaker 35:06
Oh, yeah, big time.

Robert Peterson 35:08
So let's talk a little bit about obviously growing yourself personal development idea, and, and mentors, and how have those may have mentors served you and helped you in this journey? And and what would you recommend to some of these folks in the startup world? For, for finding a mentor?

Unknown Speaker 35:30
Oh, gosh. Yeah. I mean, it's, again, really goes back to that network from, you know, starting a startup Dallas to Jason craft show now, strategy and action. And, like, it's, that's another thing that, that having this kind of format, allows, it's those conversations right, with just amazing people. And, you know, I've just been, I've been very fortunate that I've just had those great people in my life, there's been some purposefulness, of course. But I've, I've just found myself drawn to those folks, and having those relationships with, you know, people who are coaches, and who are, you know, just, that's their world is personal development. And they, they do this for a living. So when we're together, just hanging out, that's the kind of stuff we're talking about, those are the conversations that we're having. And it's been a lot of years of that, fortunately, I mean, I was interested in this stuff, even way back in, in college, and all of that, you know, the Tony Robbins cassettes, and, you know, going through starting that journey there, and I think that this whole idea of just what makes us better, and how do we communicate better and interact better, and all have that it's just been fascinating for me, and, and so there's, there's so much available, that's just wonderful, great stuff, you know, from someone as distant as Tony Robbins, right, you know, all of that available to folks who are probably right near you, and, you know, finding those resources. And, you know, from networking groups, or anything else, and you dig out, and you find those people who speak the same language, or that's their world, so they help, you know, walk you through that personal development journey, wherever you are on that. And that's another thing when it comes to mentors and finding that help from somewhere, I think one of the things is to just be really specific for yourself. And for that potential connection, mentor, coach, even if you're hiring them, it's that it's a very different mindset to go to somebody, and to even just operate in, oh, that person is going to fix everything, right? If you go like, Oh, man, I don't know what to do with my life helped me, right, like, what do we do with that? It's almost back to the networking thing, right? Like being find that specific thing. And we're coaching again, even if you're paying for this, this stuff, coaching is really valuable when you're going in to solve this specific step that has to do with the specific stage. You're in, right then like, oh, man, I'm just starting out, I'm doing this thing. I need to dial in my offer, I need somebody to help me dial in this. That's what you go into. And you get help with, boom, okay, that's covered. How do I get his message out? And now it's, it could be the same person, you know, but you go to, you know, it's the next stage, but often, it's another resource, it's another person. And, and I've watched that in the most successful people, too, who are phenomenal at taking action, and hey, just tell me what to do. I'm on it, I can go do it. And they're very specific, right? They're very even the top people in the world, you're thinking like, they need a coach. But yeah, they'll go for this one thing, because they want to figure out Facebook ads, they've got this empire over here, but they've never really spent time on that. And so who's the best in the world at it? Awesome. Teach me what to do. Got it. When they're on the next thing, that specificity is so important. I can't say the word apparently. But it's important specificity area.

Robert Peterson 39:18
Alright, so let's talk a little bit about about how you work in creating content obviously, content creation is a challenge for a lot of entrepreneurs that aren't necessarily in the content creation space. And, and you've actually adapted your, your interview style to creating a plethora of content for a company.

Unknown Speaker 39:43
Yeah, so we've got something called the video growth system. Super easy process, simple process for folks. I jump on a call similar to this for you know, 60 to 90 minutes with somebody in the some recording software that I have Obviously not me on camera, just them getting this solo authority content. And out of that we recreate 48 pieces of content. So that's like, they've got everything they need for a month out of that hour, hour and a half call. And there's a few resources to do that kind of thing. Obviously, anybody could just turn on the camera and go, right. But this helps, it really helps. Pull that out, we talked about story at the very beginning, right, it's pulling out that story, it's before we even start understanding who they're going after, what makes them unique, finding those things. And so, from that, we create four anchor pieces of content each month, so eight minute, you know, a little bit longer form piece for YouTube, and then we'll pull clips, and we'll create blog posts, and we'll do all that out of each of those longer form pieces. But it's really, you know, people, people come for the, they come for that, that end result and all this content that they have. But what they are often surprised by during the process is that coaching aspect, right? It's that crafting that message. During during the interview and going through it and having me on the other side, you know, off camera recording this to where it's just like, Okay, what you've got is, I know exactly what you're talking about and what you're trying to get across. Let's, let's craft it this way, let's talk about, you know, bring in this language a little bit and shift it over here. And that's going to, then it's a homerun. Right. So having that process, it's just like you said, people, people don't do this. I mean, I've been doing this for 30 years, video and all this stuff. And it's still hard, it's still weird. And it's still to just turn on a camera and look into the eyes and create content to myself for guys that you know, and so even for someone who's familiar with it, it takes, you know, it takes the reps it takes doing this a bunch. And still, you know, having that feedback, oh my gosh, it's so helpful.

Robert Peterson 42:14
Well, and, and, and it is a little crazy space, right? The reason that we anchor content helps for people that want to go check it out. And then of course, you need attraction content, you know, the short reels and tic tac videos to, to attract people to your stuff, so that they will go watch the eight minute one or the full hour one, you know, on your YouTube channel. And figuring, you know, there's no, there's no rhyme or reason to which thing will hit right in you just you have to put up consistently and put up, you know, a number of these one minute pieces. And, you know, I've been putting stuff on Instagram now just six months, like I avoided Instagram for a long, long time. And if you go look at it right now, there's, you know, the majority of my videos have single digit views. And all of a sudden, yesterday, I had a video hit 1000. And I have no idea what the heck happened.

Unknown Speaker 43:12
Wow. And that is it. That is the gay because another thing that's happening to that speaks to that number one, consistency having this out there. Because now it we do if something hits like that we think about that piece of content and like, oh, who do I reach with that? More importantly, now, when that does hit now you got 1000 People who go, Oh, I really dig this. Let me find out more. And then they go, Oh, now there's a library. Now there's a full thing. But also all the algorithms are making that what just happened to you like more possible because they're they're trying to mimic tiktoks algorithm which is interest based instead of connections paste and just putting it in front of who you're connected. They're actually feeding that oh, they like entrepreneurism. Well let's put a bunch of stuff that's, that's there. And then when those hit, you know, that'll that'll be a bump and then you know, if you've been on there creating this great content for six months, there's something to pull from there's something that like, Oh, perfect, and then that can hit that's powerful.

Robert Peterson 44:21
Yeah, well and and the whole real thing I always felt like when Facebook and Instagram yo first dumped these reels and people set up these videos that you you have to watch it six times just to figure out what Wait, what was that ending? Wait, wait, I'm not going to Oh, I missed out. And I haven't been creative enough to get there. I just want to keep creating you know, purposeful content in under a minute but but that idea of having to watch it over and over and over again just to see the end and and of course tick tock is a whole other weird space where obviously crazy other things are happening, but there's still a space Ace where people are watching, and learning from personal development and tapping into the personal development as much as the dance craze videos. And so it is a space that that people are are looking for this type of content even in the short, one minute hit.

Unknown Speaker 45:19
Oh, yeah. And it's another great exercise in getting that succinct message down, right? When you have that constraint of 60 seconds, what is the most actionable nugget here, you know, that I can get across? And again, that's another skill set that can carry you through meeting someone in the grocery store. What do you do? How do you help people you know, and having that right, or an interview like this? Oh, how do you do here? Well, I do this, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Oh, fantastic. I got it. Yeah.

Robert Peterson 45:54
No, sorry. You mentioned consistency as a big important part of developing your video content library. What would you say is the second most important thing?

Unknown Speaker 46:05
Oh, gosh. I think well, yeah, there's a few things a bunch of things come into my

Robert Peterson 46:16
head about we'll take them all. The top three, I don't know.

Unknown Speaker 46:20
Yeah, cuz this is, it is it's critical. And I've been horrible at it, I've had spots of being great at it. And when I've watched the, you know, my buddies who have just, you know, millions of views on YouTube, and all that kind of stuff. And that is just, I've been so impressed with them. And so they've inspired me to do so much better with that side of things. It is it's important. It really depends on your, your, your goal with it, too, for me, and the way I you know, encourage people the the why behind it, you know, starting a show, for instance, and creating this content, you know, is to build your business right there, there might be a whole different set of, hey, go do this, you know, for folks who just want to create entertaining content, or build their views or something like this for, for me, it's to help you grow your business, right. And so part of that is the, you know, it's the rapper, you know, of the thing that is the show, you know, it's having that, that, you know, from the graphics on screen while you're doing that interview, or the even straight to, to camera authority content, it's having that wrapper on there a little bit. So there's just that extra little. Oh, okay, this is real. This is this is legitimate, you know, and especially when you go to invite that guest on, even if, you know, it's not Oprah you're trying to get on the show, you know, even if it's somebody who's never been on a show, but they're big in your industry, and it would mean the world to have them on, when they can when you could send them to a link and they just see the show, they don't watch it. They just see like, oh, okay, this is this is real, or their assistant goes and looks and says, Oh, yeah, that's a real thing they're doing it's, it's great, you're gonna be on it, you know, those little things and then structuring that show, so that you it is very clear to the person you're interviewing and anybody that that person shares it with, that it's clear what you do, and how you help people and not being averse to, you know, I wouldn't want to come off as salesy in my show or anything like you know, it's like,

Robert Peterson 48:33
a call to action, I think, yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Every every every video should have a call to action, even if it's just, hey, hit the like button, right? I mean, yeah, Follow Follow me yet. Right? Subscribed our page, our YouTube channel. Those are so important. Man. I love what you mentioned about goals, no know what your purpose is, know what you're doing? Because it is tempting. There's, there's marketers in Bangladesh and Pakistan and all these places that they'll contact you and say, we'll get you 1000 followers, we'll get you 10,000 followers, we'll get you you know, 1000 legitimate likes and you're like and there's it's if you don't know your goal, those would be tempting to jump into just to throw the numbers up because everybody talks about the numbers and where the numbers are and and if you can get caught in that numbers game and and you can falsify it which of course doesn't lead to more business for your business. Even even numbers are bigger. And so it's a weird it's a weird, I know the truth. I know what I really want and yet when those offers come you're like, oh, that for 100 bucks. What

Unknown Speaker 49:44
and it's it's an interesting conversation that that I think it's it's messier than then people want to make it out to be in it is it is messy, you know, that I was gonna say a gray area but it's just messy, right because, as on All sides. So as a creator, just as human beings, we want, we want, I want to grow the show. Yeah, like, and just that reach, right, I want the legitimate growth to things that actually reaching people because then when I bring someone on the show, it's even more beneficial to them. Right? If it actually means something more real. But then there's everything else around it. Right? There's, there's the there is perception there is that feeling of, really, from an audience standpoint, I think more than, you know, cuz just like I said, I mean, certainly, when you get up there, people, you have to reach these numbers before they're gonna come on your show. But the majority of guests cool, I'll be on, right. But if I'm going after just somebody, and I haven't, you know, had a conversation with them, but they know that I help people create podcasts, right? And they go, Well, let me go look at his YouTube channel for views 100 views for like, just this person know what they're doing? Like, we as humans also have that, that reaction now logically, we can know. And we can talk to them like, Okay, well, that's, that's secondary to why you go create a show. But there's still there's still a piece there, that's, you know, there is that perception, you know, you if you if you're hiring somebody to be your social media person, and specifically, especially like to grow your Instagram account, and their Instagram has four followers. I mean, you can't, you know, you can't get around that, you know, I think there is, I understand the big, you know, out of shape do can be a great coach, because he's not going to go on the field, I understand that. But I do think there's a difference here. You know, like, if you haven't gotten those results for yourself, I think there's, there's a piece of that. And I've, I've played with it on all my channels a little bit, you'll see the ups and downs of, because it's also an SEO thing, which is, that's where I've, I've done it and paid for a promotion and paid for certain things. So like, oh, this will be interesting to see, because it's all an experiment. And I, you know, I tell people all day long, like, Oh, this one got a lot of views it out. I did a paid promotion thing, like, you know, yeah. Based on that, you know,

Robert Peterson 52:21
well, and like you said, we know, we know, there's experts out there that are faking it, right? They're, they're written the car and taking their weekend pictures to make all their social media posts, you know, in front of an Airbnb with a with a rental supercar. Right, so that temptation is there as well. But, and I think that's where the consistency in, you mentioned, having that library having that content, that that people can, you know, actually go back through and see my very first show my second show my third show and see, not just the progression of the show, but actually, you know, the fact that that my message, you know, we've tweaked it a little bit as we've gotten better and refining our marketing, but but the truth is, who I am, as a person is the same from the very first show till till today. I mean, I'm better at this conversation, and I'm better at drawing out my guests, but, but my character is, I'm the same guy. And I think that's an important piece in this, you know, the authenticity of, of being yourself and putting the real you out there and attracting your people. And the people that are literally legitimately attracted to what you're offering and what you're putting out in the world.

Unknown Speaker 53:38
Yeah, and that's, that's everything, just again, going back to, no matter what you're doing, to grow your business, like that energy is gonna get felt, you know, people, however they encounter you, you know, whether it's on your YouTube channel, or, you know, meeting in a network group, they're going to get that feeling one way or another, you know, of that often. Authenticity, or like, something's off here, you know, either way, and, you know, it is, again, it's just a big, messy, you know, situation, because we're always, yeah, we're always playing with that, right? We always want to put our best foot forward, we want to shine our business in a great light and our clients business and stuff, but, you know, we also, you know, the vast majority of folks don't resonate with the rented Ferrari, you know, and they're like, Yeah, that's weird. But it is it's all you know, it's all a certain play and you have enough vulnerability out there like, Hey, here's what's going on. And this is all I can do is be me and you know,

Robert Peterson 54:48
even the temptation to hey, let's put a tick tock video on somebody's grill on the beach to get more views but but like, then the message right then all this consistent message I've put up there all the sudden there's this these hits of weirdness that don't match. And so I can figure out how to get these hits with some stupid jokes or some, you know, pranks or other stuff that people are putting out there. But, but I want my message consistent, and I want it representing what I do in my business across the board. And so that's more important to me. And so I think that goal, that goal really does matter. Because if it's a numbers goal, hey, let's go hit the numbers, let's, let's play the game that everybody else is playing. And let's go, let's go get some numbers. But if the goal is, I want this to be an attraction marketing where people that see it know, like and trust, and, and the message is consistent on my tic tac channel on my YouTube channel, and on my podcast, is all sending the same message. And they go to my website, and they're like, oh, yeah, this is the same guy. And I think we want to do you know, we want to get to know more about him.

Unknown Speaker 55:57
Oh, yeah. You know, I think I think, you know, not the, you know, fake views and fake lifestyle and stuff like that. I think the when it comes to working the system, if you will, though, like LinkedIn, or any of these platforms, I do think there's value in, you know, understanding the algorithm and the algorithm, what it wants, but I think you can do that, and still get your message across, right? Like, LinkedIn wants a slideshow of what I want to say today. Okay. I'll put it in a slideshow, like it's gonna get 70% more reach if I do that. Make a poll. Right, exactly. You know, but understanding those things, for some people, for some reason that that is in the same category as buying views or renting a Lambo or something like that, you know, and that's weird to me, because this is more just, Okay. Well, this is the platform you're trying to play in. You can be 100% authentic, till exactly the message you want to tell it. But yeah, don't, don't do it in, you know, don't put a link in it. When you try to do it, you know, do it this way, do it that way. Those are just like little constraints of the of the platform that are just going to reward you if this message that you're trying to get out is so important to you. Why wouldn't you want it to reach more folks?

Robert Peterson 57:24
Yeah, certainly following the guidelines is definitely beneficial. Jason, this has been fantastic. I end the show, typically asking the guests share Jason's words of wisdom for our entrepreneurial audience, what would you share?

Unknown Speaker 57:37
Oh, connect like crazy. That's what I would share.

Robert Peterson 57:41
Nice. Jason, thank you so much for hanging out and just sharing your wisdom. And this was this was fantastic. Appreciate you.

Unknown Speaker 57:50
Thank you for having me on. This has been an absolute blast. Thanks so much.

Robert Peterson 57:55
Sweet, man, it's kind of cool. And you don't have to hit the buttons. I know. Don't have to stop it and started recording.

Unknown Speaker 58:06
Exactly.

Robert Peterson 58:08
Cool man. Did. Did you get our form? From my admin? I don't think so. Look for an email from my admin, the lab, it's got to form baskets for all this stuff. And the only thing I asked that isn't on the forum is you know, who do you know that make a great guest that you'd be willing to introduce me to?

Unknown Speaker 58:28
Yeah, and I've got somebody in mind for that. Actually, my co host of concentric Gary de Rodriguez. He would be phenomenal for you and for him to be on and all of that stuff. So

Robert Peterson 58:41
sweet. Well, sweet, and we got some networking events coming up in the springs that I'll send you information for this episode is brought to you by intentional decisions that lead to massive success. Now, those aren't companies promoting our show their qualities that you need to build your business and take control of your life. So to help you out, I'm offering my most popular worksheets to help you plan the future you want and audit your calendar today. The best way to get what you want is to know what it is and start making sure that your calendar matches. You can download them free today at add value mindset.com. If you will take action by just completing these two activities, they will change your life in business. I promise you a new level of results in the coming year. The problem is that we make things so complicated and we lose focus on what is really important. These tools will help you refocus on what matters most. When you align your passion with your purpose in your work. You can be happier and start doing the things you wanted to in the first place like spending more quality time with the kids. To get your free copy of the tools to start tackling your busy schedule. Go to add value mindset.com If you enjoy this show, please like subscribe, leave a review but most importantly If you enjoyed this episode, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Share, share, share. In our next episode, Andy Hoffman and Robert talk about money in human behavior, and he helps people set money goals, and then create a system to honor those goals because the system aligns with our natural habits. Most money planning goes against the grain and is as challenging to honor as a diet. But Andy helps people find success in creating a money system and protecting the plans that you make for your money.