Speaker 1: 0:11

All right guys. Welcome to Episode 16 of its personal and entrepreneurs podcast. We have a kind of unique guest, cody, with us. Cody is actually the owner of the production company that we use to put on our podcast, so it's a very cool. He actually helped us set this up and get it into production. So to finally have him here on it is kind of a special treat for us and we're we're very thankful you were able to join us.

Speaker 2: 0:34

Yeah, man, definitely no stranger to the podcast. We're just more behind the camera, you know, so a lot of people don't see it. But yeah, we're definitely behind the camera. I've on I think I've been on every single episode shoot, I think you were.

Speaker 3: 0:45

You were at, like p diddy's music video, or something yeah that one you missed.

Speaker 2: 0:52

Yeah, that's a good excuse, yeah, but yeah, thanks for having me on and you know um you guys, the content you guys create, and you know it's really, really good. I get so much from it. So you know me listening to the podcast every single time. I always feel like god. I apply some of those things I learned for sure, and that's what.

Speaker 1: 1:10

I do with my business. You've probably watched more hours of this podcast than anyone else, I would imagine.

Speaker 2: 1:14

Yeah, listen to you know, here listening to it and then having to go back and edit it and listen to it all over again, you know. So, yeah, just pushing the analytics are what hype us up.

Speaker 3: 1:21

So yeah, just pushing the analytics are what hype us up.

Speaker 1: 1:23

Yeah, so, um, I, as you know, I love to start by asking people a little bit about their personal background and their story and how they got into doing what they're doing now. Obviously, um, I, now you're the owner of one shot productions or creations, I should say and, um, so we'll talk a little bit about what what all the stuff you guys do with your company is. But I would like'll talk a little bit about what all the stuff you guys do with your company is. But I would like to talk a little bit about just your background and which I know a little bit about, and how you got into even doing that.

Speaker 2: 1:53

Yeah, man, you know. So I grew up in Fort Walton, went to all the schools in Fort Walton, graduated from Fort Walton Beach High School in 2008. Upon graduating, I was actually I was going to play football and that was my thing. Um, what position did you play?

Speaker 2: 2:09

wide receiver, okay yeah but I got into I got into a fight over a girl in high school and, you know, all football dreams went out the window. So I ended up joining the army and, uh, did six years in the army and, um, I was actually, I was actually going to do the full 20 years, get my 20 years retire. You know, everything I did in the military I was so proud of and never thought I you know the things that I did in the military never thought I'd ever do in a lifetime. So, but I always wanted to do something bigger and do something for myself and I was always a creative person and actually, when I got out of the military, I actually went to school for music production and I was actually going to do music. Um, but then you went to full sail, right, yeah, I attended full sail and you know, I got my bachelor's in digital cinematography and film. But it switched yeah, switched from music to excuse me, music to video production and, um, I was actually a dream of mine was like work for, like, sony motion pictures or universal studios and, like you know, be on those big film sets. Yeah, all that.

Speaker 2: 3:11

But then I realized, um, I'm a big people person and I, I've always enjoyed entrepreneurship and, um, I, literally, in the middle of college, I kind of changed my dream. I was like you know what, what if I just did this on my own and did my own company and do the things how I wanted it to be done? Yep, so I decided to start my company doing one-shot creations and I really wanted when I started the company, I really wanted to change the traditional nine to five. I really get inspired by google work. You ever seen google's workplace like their actual environment is a creative space and everybody's comfortable, very comfortable. It's, you know, not really a traditional nine to five type of job. So I wanted to provide that for people in the area.

Speaker 2: 3:59

Um, because me, it's like I love the trap. Like me, I love like experiences, I love to travel. Like me, I love experiences, I love to experience anything that this world has to offer. I mean, I used to race, race cars. Just to do it. I've jumped out of airplanes. Anything that seems interesting, I'm going to try it.

Speaker 3: 4:19

Yeah, at least try it once.

Speaker 2: 4:21

But traveling the world and being able to see what the world provides outside of you know the getting to document it too yeah, um, I wanted to be able to do that. So with having, with starting the company, it kind of gave me the freedom to be able to travel a lot more and stuff like that. So that's why I've been applying myself and doing so so what is it that made you?

Speaker 1: 4:42

because you were going to full sail for music production. Um, what made? What made you want to make the switch?

Speaker 2: 4:47

Well, actually, so to correct that I actually was, I was at Northwest Florida State College for music production and then once I realized, you know, music really wasn't going to take me that far, I realized that actually I had a professor at that college I won't even say his name, but he, he actually persuaded us to get out of music. And he was he. What he told us was, if you're really trying to, you know, really make a big career out of music, you're not really going to make a lot of money. A lot of big artists have their own studios and their own people, you know. So, um, so it kind of like made me think. And then, you know, I actually did a lot of video work for the company I worked with. So I was like you know what, let me solidify my skills with video, go to college. So I got my A in music production and then switched over and then got my bachelor's, got it.

Speaker 1: 5:38

Okay, makes sense.

Speaker 2: 5:39

But yeah, and then this is where I'm at today, so the company's been. I started the company in 2020, january of 2020 during the COVID era.

Speaker 3: 5:49

Tough time to start, good time to start.

Speaker 2: 5:52

Yeah, it was very challenging because I was actually the operations. Sorry, at that time I was the line manager at the private airport in Destin, okay, so I was working that and I was running my company on the side and I realized the amount of work that I was getting and trying to trying to do both I was.

Speaker 2: 6:12

I knew I had to grow a team to get to where I wanted to go, yeah, so I ended up stepping down. I was actually in line for a job promotion and I turned it down and I was like I'm going to, you know, I was making. I was at a job making six figures and I was like I'm a step away from this and just really dive in and commit to it.

Speaker 1: 6:32

It's really the only way to make it work at some stage right, there's a stage where you have to start and still be doing something else and have earned income, but then there always becomes an inflection point, I feel like, where you have to say if I'm really going to do this, I have to get rid of the safety net.

Speaker 2: 6:44

Yeah, yeah, and it's you know. The thing is is that, like, cause I was passing up on opportunities all the time, cause I had, you know, my job I had to do, I had to do. So it was like I'm never going to push, I'm never going to get further with this unless I really dedicate more time and take advantage of my opportunities. So you know what they always say all the time and I appreciate it to my guys is you know, take advantage of every opportunity you have, because you never know what door that opportunity will come for you.

Speaker 1: 7:10

It's true, it's even, like you know, yesterday we were talking we're in like this six-week sales program with a bunch of other guys right now. Oh yeah, and you know, one of the guys I was talking to, we had a zoom call and it was a really long zoom call, good zoom call, and then I told Andrew I was like man, I should have been prospecting, you know, doing this or that, um, but then like he reached out several days ago and has a development opportunity for us. That's pretty big that we're looking into now. So it's just all those even little opportunities to have a call, connect with someone else, all those things you got to take advantage of all. Yeah, you never know what they're leading to.

Speaker 2: 7:44

And you know it's. I remember like right when I was getting the company off the ground and I had this guy just call me up and was like hey, I'm from Tennessee. We actually have a wedding on 30A on Saturday and he called me on a Thursday. And you know, usually people when they book weddings they plan that stuff years out.

Speaker 3: 8:08

Somebody on a Thursday. You know usually people when they book weddings.

Speaker 2: 8:09

They plan that stuff years out so might be held on them or something. Yeah well, they just really didn't plan for it till last sec. That's our weddings. You know, we have this big wedding, we're going, you know, um, we just need a videographer to document it. Yeah, so I almost turned it down, because I really don't take last minute second jobs like that. But I always had that thought process like, hey, take advantage of every opportunity something else yeah, exactly so, um.

Speaker 2: 8:25

So when I got to the wedding on sat on, it was on a saturday, two days later. I actually, um, I didn't have any help, so it was just me, because I usually every project we do, we have more than just one person on. But since it was the last second, you didn't have to, I didn't have to, yeah. So, um, I showed up to the wedding. The guy's like he's NF's manager and he's like oh gosh, the rapper NF which I didn't even know who he was at first.

Speaker 1: 8:48

I've seen him live before. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 8:50

I didn't really do it. I've heard all the songs but I didn't really put a name to it until I looked him up. But they're like oh yeah, this is his sister's wedding. I couldn't tell you anything, just for because of that. Basically, yeah, yeah. So I ended up. I remember I was I was manning four cameras in a drone at that wedding. That's crazy, um, and I was super nervous afterwards. So I'm like oh man, this is a big deal. Now I gotta make sure I deliver and did I do all right.

Speaker 2: 9:15

So by myself working like crazy manning these cameras, getting everything done and it, um, the video came out great. They, they fell, they loved, they loved it and it opened the door with me working with like music videos in that music industry.

Speaker 1: 9:31

That's very cool, that's awesome, it's what I'm saying. You just never know like what interaction or what client. Even in real estate. You could have a client call you about selling a $100,000 track of land. Yeah, but these people own millions of dollars worth of properties, right?

Speaker 2: 9:50

You just never really know you got to pursue every opportunity, that's it, that's it. So, um, yeah, from there, uh, I remember getting a call like a month later and they're like hey, we're doing a music video with um, with khalifa, and you know, we I'm just impressed by your camera skills, we just need a camera guy. I was like you know then that just just taking advantage of that little opportunity, you know snowballed because I almost said no, you know, I mean. So I was like imagine, you know, just taking advantage of that little opportunity, I snowballed Because I almost said no, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2: 10:06

So I was like imagine if I would you know.

Speaker 1: 10:08

But Especially, you don't have somebody to go with you all that stuff. You could have gotten your own way on this.

Speaker 3: 10:12

It would have been very easy to say no. Yeah 90% of people would have said no and it would use that one experience really opened.

Speaker 2: 10:22

Uh, it really that was like the break I needed. Yeah, you know what I mean and it kind of got me through the door and it just, you know, obviously like stuff like that, people want to work with you, they want to be able to do stuff like that too. So being able to provide that for people and you know I have like employees that are, you know, 20, 21 years old and being able to go on a shoot and do that, you know and it's cool, too cool too because you know, just calling out the truth, the Panhandle has a lack of creative outlet.

Speaker 1: 10:47

I would say um for, you know, for people who are really good at those types of things, and so to have a company that provides something like that for some people it's pretty cool.

Speaker 2: 10:57

Yeah, I know, I know Panama city they have, they have some some uh big wigs out here in Pensacola and there really isn't much and I mean there's some companies in in between there, yeah, but I think we have like one of the biggest ones in Okaloosa County. I agree, I know I know a lot of people out there, but it's always a. It's a solo entrepreneur, like they're buying.

Speaker 1: 11:17

It's not a team, it's not a team thing and you guys are really the only like team that I know of. Yeah, really.

Speaker 2: 11:24

I know some. I remember researching out here in Panama city there's there's a couple of big ones out here, but I know they do like a lot of big like short films and stuff like that. So, um, and then one Calipe films in Pensacola um, they're really good company too as well. But yeah, I find that middle being there and, um, you know, know a lot of I go to like the psa meetings and stuff like that and you know, which is like a meeting they have like a lot of these creatives, videographers and stuff. They'll come together and have a meeting once a month.

Speaker 2: 11:52

Yeah, and you know, the biggest thing was with all the career. There's so many creatives there and a lot of them. Like I get inquiries all the time. People want to work with us because, like, the hard thing is that these guys don't they it's you don't know where your next job is coming, right, it's not consistent, not consistent at all. So, um, I actually have a mentor, um, that's actually he's guided, like I talked to her at least once a month and he's guided me and you know, I found a way to secure jobs and consistency and consistency and be able to provide full comp and full-time payroll for for which is awesome.

Speaker 1: 12:30

Yeah, consistency like real estate's very similar. But anything insurance, real estate, videography, anything that's like entrepreneurial but job-based uh, it's any. Anytime you can provide someone some consistency in a world like that and have confidence in that it it's going to stay like that, that's huge Cause. It's not an easy industry to achieve that it's not, and you know there's different talents.

Speaker 2: 12:50

you know everybody has different strong points in what they do.

Speaker 3: 12:53

What part of the business they fit into.

Speaker 2: 12:55

Yeah, Cause by Kino. He loves music videos and you know, meet the music video types of stuff and but he still does the other stuff, yeah. And then I have noah. He's really like, really good with the real estate, yeah, real estate stuff so, and he's really grown in that. So I always try to like and we're very diverse in the content that we create, yeah, so, which is good yeah, it helps with the consistency.

Speaker 2: 13:16

We always try to get the people, like you know, because we do a lot of real estate work. So, like you know, it's like hey, I definitely want to get people who are good with real estate video coverage and stuff like that.

Speaker 1: 13:24

So so let me ask you this um, let's, let's rewind and then kind of fast forward. So you started in 2020. Who all was involved? And then like, how big was the team? Was it just you?

Speaker 2: 13:37

yeah, actually it was, um, when I first started in 2020, I actually had a business partner. His name was johnny, still a good friend of mine to this day. I was in the army with him, okay, and you know, I just remember we were working at the airport and we were like I was like, hey, I want to do this. I, you know, I wanted someone to go in with it, with me, because I know it's a big, yeah, big challenge. Yeah, it's a big challenge. At that point. So, like I remember, like we were, I was like, hey, let's do I've. We came up with the name. We're like, we're looking up, making sure, like nobody had the name, and like, and then I created a logo that night and it was just like, I was so pumped up, so, like the you know, after eight hours after having this idea, I had the name, the logo, and I was like ready to go. And, um, during that COVID era, we had to managing the airport, we had to furlough a lot of our employees.

Speaker 2: 14:26

I had to do some of that back then too so like it was me, the line manager, the general manager and then our CSM CSR manager and that was it, working the airport, and obviously we were slow because everything was closed down.

Speaker 2: 14:39

Sure not a lot happening, but for like a month, though, and then Florida opened back up. It opened back up, and it was just like mayhem and crazy. Well, in the meantime, I was trying to operate my business at the same time as doing my job at the airport, keeping an income, yeah, and my business or my partner was actually one of the guys that had to furlough. So I tried to lean on him a little bit to do the business.

Speaker 1: 15:01

A little more free time on his side.

Speaker 2: 15:03

But I ended up running the business like 90% of it by myself. So I was like I was like, hey, I think it's just best that if I'm doing all the work, I might as well reap all the benefits of it. So we had a mutual agreement on it and I ended up doing it by myself, but it was more like a side hustle thing more than anything, until I realized I really want to make a career out of it.

Speaker 1: 15:23

Yeah, so, from there to now, how big is your team?

Speaker 2: 15:27

uh, we have one, two, three, six people on our team. Okay, now that's awesome. Um, and we're? We actually just brought on another guy. He actually lives in la. Um, he's an editor for us, so he's gonna be doing some editing jobs very cool from la, and we're steadily growing. I'm projecting to be around like eight or nine by the end of this year. Um, that I want to be at. So that's awesome.

Speaker 1: 15:49

I never imagined I was gonna be that big yeah sure yeah, um, but it just, it just happened you know, I guess the best businesses just happen because you're actually you're filling a need that people have solving problems yep, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 16:00

And um, yeah, yeah, I just you. We just steadily keep growing and growing, and growing. I think it's just the. You know I very pride ourselves on our reputation and the integrity of our work and making sure we're putting the best out there?

Speaker 1: 16:14

Yeah, so what all services like do you provide just for our listeners and everything? What kind of stuff do you do?

Speaker 2: 16:20

Real estate, commercial advertisements um event coverage, weddings, I mean anything. Music videos yeah, anything. Video wise, like you know, we definitely um, we can definitely do, and a big part of it is podcasting obviously podcasting yeah podcasting for sure, um, but the big thing of it is is that to which I really had to like teach.

Speaker 2: 16:44

This is like, hey, even though we like something the way we think is best, we have to do it what's best for our client, because, you know, our clients envision something on what they want, like a commercial or something to look like, and we have to do our best to you know be a liberal match that vision, so that that's a big. That's the challenge.

Speaker 1: 17:01

That's like the biggest challenge is kind of because you kind of have your creative outlook on it, but they might have their vision. You kind of have to get the two things as close to each other as possible.

Speaker 2: 17:10

But when we have the clients are like hey, you have full creative freedom on it. Yeah, that's when it gets really fun, yeah.

Speaker 1: 17:22

That's kind of how we like to hire what they do you know what I mean. Yeah, that makes sense, though that that's got to be kind of a difficult process sometimes, especially if people have a very vivid picture of what they want in their head.

Speaker 3: 17:31

Yeah, because sometimes that might not be the best way to do it it's just like real estate clients that have a very vivid picture of how the how the transaction. That's true, that's true, and they're going to control every aspect of the process. Yeah, and regardless of whether you're the professional or not, it's, it's my commercial, so I'm going to control it.

Speaker 2: 17:49

Your customer's always right. Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 3: 17:51

At the end of the day, your customer is the reason why you have the business.

Speaker 1: 17:53

Exactly.

Speaker 3: 17:54

So there's a happy medium between both of them, exactly.

Speaker 1: 17:56

Are there any like uh, I would say, are there any connections from your time in the military that are helping with you being an entrepreneur and running a business that you can draw from?

Speaker 2: 18:09

um, honestly, all my like leadership skills. Okay, yeah, makes sense I'd say my leadership skills. I mean, the military paid for a lot of my schooling so that was the determination to leave a six-figure income to create a business.

Speaker 2: 18:22

But honestly, I think if I had to give anybody like props or any credit for the success that we've had thus far, I'd say is my mentor, mark Davenport. He's actually from Oklahoma, he's a guy that actually was a client that used to fly into the Destin Airport. Okay, and me I'm all about like, hey, if someone treats you right, you know, treat them even better, you know. So, um, this guy, a little bit about him. In our history, we I've known him since 2016. No, no, no, sorry, 2014. Okay, I'm about 10 years now, and he would fly in and he had, he had like a brand, he bought a brand new Mercedes and you know that's his car that he, you know, kept here in.

Speaker 2: 19:09

Florida and the guy would tip us $100. Like boom, yeah, I'm like you know, like that's you know.

Speaker 3: 19:17

That's nice.

Speaker 2: 19:17

That's nice you know Well, what I really gained respect from him was we had damaged his car. We had an employee that backed his brand new Mercedes into a golf car and busted the taillight and everything like that, and so we took care of his car and we got it fixed. And I remember when his car was finished and he was in town, I personally grabbed his car and I delivered it to him to his house. Yeah, and he gave me like 500 bucks and he's like I appreciate you and I'm like damaging. So after that I was like you know, this guy, you know, really treats this, is a really nice guy that really appreciates us. So like I always try to find ways to um, do things for him. Yeah, like I would like when he'd be flying, I'd start detailing his car and I would get his car clean before he got there yeah when he got there and I'm like you know, this is, you know we, I just appreciate you.

Speaker 2: 20:12

That just became the thing and I find it's cool. I find different things, like I knew that he, you know he had diet coke, yeah, yeah so you have it in the car when he got it so I put diet coke in there and then, like his girlfriend or whatever, I'd put a water in there for her and just kept doing it.

Speaker 2: 20:28

And when I left the company to run my business, he cut me a big check. I'll put it that way, that's cool. So cause he'd always, cause at this point now he's like letting me know when he's on his way and then his pilot will, so I'll get his car and everything prepped up. So after I left the company, I'd still I still went out there and I did that stuff for him. Yeah, and he, um, he was very appreciative and he's like I'm not sure if I'm ever going to see you again, but this is just me showing my appreciation to you. So he kept me this big check and I'm just like man, I was just he invested in you as a person.

Speaker 3: 21:03

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 21:04

So, but he was. He saw me as a you know person. That's like you know, I used to run, manage that airport and that airport's so busy and I'm still doing all the things to make sure every client is happy. The little details, the little details and everything like that. And that's what kind of he kind of like took me under his wing and he, like you know, offers mentorship to me. So like when he'd fly in, he would literally like take time out of his day and schedule a meeting with me and we'll sit on the beach and we'll have our computers out and he's going over numbers with me and he's coaching me.

Speaker 3: 21:35

He invested in what he can see, that he knows you can be. Yeah, he did, and that tells a lot for you individually and the small actions you took throughout that timeline.

Speaker 1: 21:45

One of the things that you know our coach always said that I think resonates in that situation is that everyone needs something to believe in, someone to believe in and somebody to believe in them, Absolutely, you know, and that's the truth, and actually that is right Because, like when he believed in me, I just made you believe in leaving.

Speaker 2: 22:03

Yeah, it made me really believe in what I was doing and it's like I didn't want to fail him either. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 22:08

He really believed in me that much and it's just like Coach Burt says, the four most powerful words in the English language are I believe in you, yeah, which is true, yeah, and I think I think you know going back to the root of that, like when you're talking about those little details, the diet, coke, the water. It reminds me of something that you know, andrew, when he was doing beach service, used to do and people would be confused on why he was making more tips than everybody else. Right, because he would. When, when people would come up and lay in their chair, he would go brush their feet off of sand you know little and bring them a drink and little things like that. And so he would make a lot of tips, even if he wasn't selling more chairs or selling banana boat rides or running jet skis.

Speaker 3: 22:45

I would work the smaller beaches and kids would get mad at me because I would come back at the end of the day to check in. You know we go to this one place that check in where all 30 beach attendants come and check in and give their money back to the boss. I would come in, you know, working a 40 chair beach when other people were working 120, 150 chair beaches. I'm like man.

Speaker 1: 23:03

I got $600 in cash tips in my pocket and I think the testament to those two things are look where the focusing on the details got you right. He's made a ton of connections on the beach that we still utilize, from just random people that were on vacation. And I even think back to you know, when I was managing dental practices, all the little things that I did for the doctors that own them in the background that I definitely didn't have to do you don't portray those?

Speaker 1: 23:27

things. You don't talk about them, you just do them, yeah, and you still have relationships with those people, and I think it's a testament, though, like at all those situations, none of us were necessarily at our final destination or where we want it to be, but instead of focusing on that, we just did our jobs really well and intrinsically took care of people and focused on details. And I think if you do that and then when you do become an entrepreneur, you carry those things with you there's no way you can't be successful.

Speaker 2: 23:51

Yeah, and it's you know, carrying you know it's like, it's like teaching those traits too as well. And it actually he. He told me he was like who was your best boss? Because, like, because it's big, he's like big on leadership. He's like, hey, because he told me the most important thing is going to be your team, because you can't do what you do without your team. Without, yeah, you can't please your clients if you don't have, you know, if your team is not on board as well with you. So it's like he, because he told me he said you have good quality traits. You got to teach those good quality traits with your team. And he told me to he's like, imagine the best boss you ever had and like, what are those things that made him such a great boss? And if it works for you, mimic your best boss in your own version and treat your employees that way and you'll be surprised on you know, how solid your team will have your back and everything like that.

Speaker 3: 24:49

So I I also challenge myself sometimes to think about the worst boss I had, uh, and then what made, what made me feel like that's the person that was the worst boss, and what? What did they do that I didn't like or I didn't adjust to? Because, in the same sense, mimic and do the things that your favorite boss did to lead you, but also think back and recollect on the things that you experienced with the boss you don't like, so you don't be that person exactly to your team.

Speaker 1: 25:16

Exactly, yeah, and I think people, you know, not to make it more, more like a bigger deal than it is, I think, but I think people spend, you know, the majority of their lives at work. That's the truth.

Speaker 1: 25:30

A lot of people Working and sleep, and so, when you think about that, the impact that you can have on people as a business professional whether they're your clients or you or they work for you is massive. That carries to when they go home with their families. It carries to their personal time, their sense of self-worth, their future, and so I think it's not really a small undertaking, and so so, being really intentional about how you treat those people and the information you provide them, reaching and giving them that same information that someone took the time to give you, is a huge undertaking and one that's really important. I think you can.

Speaker 2: 26:09

Actually, if we had better leaders in the workplace, you could actually change a lot of problems that exist, I think, emotionally and spiritually in the world with people, yeah, yeah, I mean then, yeah, just having the right people in the right positions, like you know, like I, where I think of my worst boss and I'm just like, and I can just see, cause I mean I've been, I've been that I just I've been the employee you know had bosses and you know it's like what, like what, what did I not like as being an employee, me like being in a corporate company.

Speaker 1: 26:42

I just felt like I was just a number, yeah, I mean. And what feeling did they give me when I showed up and what did I want to feel like?

Speaker 2: 26:46

exactly and um, so yeah, applying that, like I can think of my first boss. I remember this guy was brand new, um, didn't have any experience working, working, um, you know, on a flight line, but then it's like, is I could just see everybody because he was, he was, he was a boss, like he was right above me but we were kind of we had employees that we we managed to get colleagues but peers at the same time. Yeah so, but I remember him. I remember him coming at me and he's like, why does everybody have so much respect for you and not me? And I'm like, because me I believe in, like, I believe in being out there and getting down and dirty with it.

Speaker 2: 27:22

Even though I was a line manager, I was out. I was out on the tarmac fueling airplanes. You know towing airplanes and dripping in sweat. You know working over time even though it's my job to work over time, yeah, but being out there with them instead of being behind a desk and pointing you do this, you do know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 27:38

Like being out there, it's gonna well, what you're describing is and I'm just gonna shoot it over the bow that's the difference between an employee and an entrepreneur. Even though you were an employee at the time, you still had a different mindset you were acting as an entrepreneur, yeah that's the truth yeah, I mean, yeah, I haven't been doing the entrepreneurship side.

Speaker 2: 27:55

I kind of see how a lot of the I mean I kind of it's it's crazy being on the other side of the lens now and it's kind of like now I'm, I'm the boss that everybody has to look up to. I have to make all the big decisions, I have to do all this and um, but at the end of the day, I'd never wanted to change who I was as a leader. So, like you know, um, I'm on majority of the shoots you know with, with guys.

Speaker 3: 28:18

But at this point in your career, you wouldn't give making these hard decisions up to go back to what you were doing, would you no?

Speaker 2: 28:25

never. I could never feel like being an entrepreneur now.

Speaker 3: 28:27

I could never go back to yeah, Even if the decisions are hard you would rather deal with the hard decisions for your team Exactly, I mean honestly, I get it Me.

Speaker 2: 28:37

I just really pride myself that I'm able to provide a career path for a career.

Speaker 3: 28:41

Absolutely Because it's not.

Speaker 2: 28:43

it's hard to do it in this area. So, being able to provide that, I agree with the people.

Speaker 1: 28:47

I love that. It's a lot more of an I hate saying it, but it's a lot more of an accomplishment here than it would be in any other, like city market or something like that. I truly mean that.

Speaker 3: 28:57

It something like that. I truly mean that. It's even like this podcast. A small example I mean I won't get names and details, but I had somebody that I communicated with last week who left a corporate job of 15 years and has started their own business in the last four months. And it's not because of our podcast but, in the conversation I had with that individual, listening to our podcast over the last several months has been a big part of the final decision to finally do it. And so to hear that, even if it's a teammate or a client, an employee or not, to create an environment and a mindset that opens doors for people like that, even that you don't see on the regular. But I've I've seen this, this particular person, in person, twice in my life and it's because I used their services for something else and, and staying in facebook relationship, she started her own company. Yeah, because she watched a few of our episodes and said that it was the, the strategy and the conversations and it made me just finally do it.

Speaker 2: 30:01

Yeah, probably makes you feel really good.

Speaker 1: 30:02

That's huge, I think when so and I'm I'm.

Speaker 1: 30:05

something I am extremely passionate about when I say this is that if you have that inkling feeling inside of you to do something entrepreneurial or leave a job, it's very, very hard, and you can hash up all the reasons on a pro and con sheet why you shouldn't do it yeah, and I usually sit here and tell you how you're gonna do it, yeah, but what I know is, if you have the the fortitude and the gumption to take the leap, and and you really do have that burning desire inside of you and something you're passionate about, you will figure it out and eventually you're gonna make the leap.

Speaker 3: 30:39

Eventually you're gonna do're passionate about. You will figure it out and eventually you're going to make the leap. Eventually you're going to do it. That's the truth about it. So Rachel's point a couple of episodes ago, hurricane Michael eventually something in your life is going to come across and it's going to force you to make the leap. So if you think about it for every day of your life while you're working that job, do it.

Speaker 1: 30:57

And there will be times that you're broke. There will be times you're 10 times more stressed than you were when you had a secure income. But I'm still happier pursuing something like that than I was being stuck wondering what I could be and could do. It's like my own shit, you know like even though I'm in shit, it's my shit.

Speaker 1: 31:15

And I know one decision tomorrow could change how I get out of it Absolutely, Absolutely. And you know one decision tomorrow could change how I get out of it Absolutely, Absolutely. And you know I think it's very hard to wrap your mind around making that leap. And I'm not going to tell you it's going to be easy. I'm not going to tell you you might not lose some things in the process friends, your car, your place, you live. I don't know, it might be tough, but it is worth it. I feel like life is worth living, not not existing.

Speaker 2: 31:39

And uh it.

Speaker 1: 31:40

it's tough to do, but I'm very you know, I'm very passionate about if you have that burning desire to do something and you feel like you can impact someone. Don't be selfish and not do it, because you doing it may impact someone else Exactly, yeah, and.

Speaker 2: 31:52

I mean, if it was, if it was easy, everybody would do it. You know, yeah, you know, and especially and especially, I faced a lot of challenges along the way, and you know thursdays where I'm like I don't see the light yet you know, I was like yeah, I don't know where it's going, it's just been, you know, I took a lot of hits, hits, hits. Lonely too it does, and it gets very lonely and scary, and you know. But you know the uh, the reward is always worth it.

Speaker 2: 32:16

The reward it is, and I've every. I'm very committed to everything that I've done. I've literally had two, two civilian jobs my whole life, yeah, or sorry. Three, three civilian jobs my whole entire life, and that's it. I mean, I know my. I have brothers that's had more jobs in a year than I had my whole entire lifetime.

Speaker 1: 32:37

Yeah, and it's me. It's kind of what it takes a focused commitment to be good at anything.

Speaker 2: 32:42

Yeah, like I've always strived to like, hey, when I'm at this company, I'm gonna get to the top, and then I get to the. And then, once I'm at the top, I'm like if I'm not going to go any higher, I need to go somewhere else and keep moving. And then entrepreneurship made it easy to like I can literally there's no ceiling for me. Now. There is no top.

Speaker 1: 32:56

Yeah, there is I can get to the next level and then start working on the next one exactly.

Speaker 2: 33:00

It's like an insatiable appetite almost because, like we're actually, we're at this point now, we're like hey, let's, let's expand to nashville yeah, the second team, yeah, second location nashville and then, hey, right after that, we're moving, let's go to atlanta, and then let's go to savannah, georgia. So now it's like I thought I was almost at my ceiling here, but now I'm like I just made so much more.

Speaker 1: 33:20

As we all find being entrepreneurs, the appetite is really insatiable. You stay focused on that level and you go get it, but when you get there, like you already have another level planned in your head. It's kind of like a disease, but a good disease, yeah, it is. So this is the final question that I like to ask everyone on here, kind of a more deeper philosophical question. I know you've probably watched it at least 15 times. Let's ask this question. I wasn't ready to prepare for this one.

Speaker 1: 33:50

But if you had to give one piece of advice for our listeners personal, professional at this stage in their life, the most impactful piece of advice that you could leave someone, what would that piece of advice from you to them be?

Speaker 2: 34:02

Um, I've had a couple of them, but I've, you know, I've already kind of prepared myself for this question because I knew it was coming. I would say we were just on it about spilt. I was like, do it, I'm gonna wait till the very end because I, you know. But, but take the take the leap, take the jump. You know it's, even though it's scary, it's, you're going to find a way. You know, and those, every jump that I've ever took in it's been the scariest. It's almost like a life. It could, it could mess my life up or it could change my life.

Speaker 2: 34:35

But I've found my like every time you take that leap and I, you just, I feel like everybody has that instinctual they're gonna, they're gonna make the best out of it. And, you know, making every jump that I've made, even though it was super scary, I had no idea what's going to turn out. It was the best decision I've ever made. So, leaving a six figure income job to do this, I was like people were telling me I'm crazy. You know what I mean. You're telling yourself, you're telling myself I was crazy and I'm like, how am I going to do this? Yeah, but I found a way and now I'm like I would never. I would never be here today if I never would have left that job.

Speaker 1: 35:07

Yeah, yeah, you know so, and I think uh, you know the the whole idea of like leaving something and earning that ship at the shore, if you will like. You have no escape. That's really the only way to figure it out. A plan B is detrimental to plan A sometimes, I think.

Speaker 3: 35:23

If you're making a plan B, then it's probably plan A already. Yeah, that's true In this mindset, in this world that we live in. If you're having a plan B at least in my head is important, but if you're focusing more on plan B, then you already don't believe plan A Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 35:39

Whether it works or not, you just got to stick through it until it absolutely doesn't work.

Speaker 3: 35:44

Worry about plan B when plan A is a failure, not if it's a failure.

Speaker 2: 35:48

And you know I don't ever want to live life in regret. You know I never take the jump and like, hey, what if I would have done that? You know, you never know. You know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 36:02

Until you do so. I appreciate that and we appreciate you coming on. It's really cool to have you help us kind of do this and get this off the ground and produce it and then have you kind of share your story with us.

Speaker 2: 36:07

Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I just remember like texting you. I was like you know what I could get on there too. You know what I mean. So I texted you last month. Yeah, so it was really cool. Thanks for having me, buddy.

Speaker 1: 36:15

All right, that's Cody from one shot productions. We hope you guys tune in for one shot creations. One shot creations one shot creations, episode 17. We're actually going to have Nathan and TJ from Abbott Martin group also with the XP realty, the team we formerly were on and they kind of helped us get our start on our own. We're super excited to have them on. Hope you guys can tune in for that one. That's episode 16 of it's personal and entrepreneurs podcast.