How to Build the Business, Life, and Freedom You Truly Desire with George Black and A.J. Bishop
In the latest episode of "Executive Health and Life," we dive deep into the art of building the business and life you truly desire. Hosted by Julian Hayes II, this episode features George Black and A.J. Bishop, the dynamic duo behind the Get Busy Savvy podcast. They share invaluable insights on entrepreneurship, work-life balance, and the importance of clear direction and understanding your business numbers. The key theme throughout the episode is building the business and life you truly desire.
Watch The Episode
Meeting of Minds: How George and A.J. Started Their Journey
The episode begins with A.J. Bishop recounting how he met George Black during a university entrepreneurship contest. Their partnership blossomed from a chance encounter at a swimming pool, leading to the creation of the Get Busy Savvy podcast. A.J. shares how his entrepreneur father inspired him to pursue a path of freedom and happiness through entrepreneurship.
On the other hand, George discusses his extensive career journey, which included leading multiple companies and significantly increasing their revenue. His passion for mentoring young entrepreneurs and helping them navigate the complexities of business shines through as he discusses his motivation and experiences.
The Declaration of Independence for Entrepreneurs
A significant part of the conversation revolves around George's Declaration of Independence for Entrepreneurs, which outlines three key actions:
Live life to the full with balance and significance.
Have the liberty to reach your vision as your true self.
Pursue happiness through success and free enterprise.
The guests dive into entrepreneurs' challenges in adopting these principles, particularly the struggle to maintain happiness while pursuing business success.
Living Truly Free: Personal Insights and Experiences
Both George and A.J. emphasize the importance of achieving work-life balance and personal freedom. George shares his journey of being present for his family while running successful businesses, highlighting how free-living allowed him to experience life fully without sacrificing his professional goals.
A.J. echoes similar sentiments, discussing his aspirations to pour his all into the next generation while maintaining his health and personal happiness. For both guests, living truly free means pursuing their passions, maintaining solid relationships, and ensuring their work aligns with their values and life goals.
The Importance of Direction and Understanding Your Numbers
A central theme in the episode is the importance of having a clear direction and understanding your business metrics. George explains how many entrepreneurs get bogged down in tactical tasks instead of focusing on strategic direction. He stresses that having a clear vision and understanding your numbers are crucial for making informed decisions and leading your business effectively.
Using Story to Navigate Difficult Times
In today's turbulent economic and political climate, George discusses the power of storytelling in understanding one's purpose and navigating challenges. Entrepreneurs can find strength and clarity in difficult times by viewing life as a story and identifying oneself as the hero. George highlights the importance of knowing who you are, why you are here, and what unique contributions you can bring to the world.
Connect with George Black and A.J. Bishop
YouTube — http://www.youtube.com/@GetBusinessSavvy
Website — https://livetrulyfree.com/
(Book) The Next Level Entrepreneur — https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0999574620/
Transcript
George Black
(0:00) Now, there are economic headwinds. (0:02) There's there's all kinds of political headwinds. (0:05) There's there's tragedies and things globally and all this kind of stuff.
(0:09) But that's been going on for a very, very long time, long before we ever got here. (0:14) So how do we navigate that? (0:17) And you can.
(0:19) And so to me, story, if you think of life in terms of story, then you need to know the answer to this question, who you are, who are you intended to be? (0:36) What is the story? (0:38) What is the reason you are here right now at this time and place?
(0:43) Because if you don't step into who you are, nobody will only you can bring to this world what you have to offer.
Julian Hayes II
(0:57) Welcome, everyone, to another episode of Executive Health and Life. (1:00) I'm your host, Julian Hayes II. (1:01) And as I always like to say, back with some fascinating guests.
(1:05) And today we have two guests again, you know. (1:07) And so today I'll start off with a quote from John F. (1:10) Kennedy.
(1:10) He said that conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth. (1:15) Now, I'm sure he wasn't talking about business at that point when he made that quote, but I thought it was very applicable today. (1:20) Because if you ask the majority of entrepreneurs and people who have chosen this nonconventional path or people who have just chosen something that's just different from the grain, they'll say they're passionate about their product or service.
(1:35) But I can guarantee you that 100 percent of the people have a desire for freedom, a freedom to live truly free on their terms. (1:43) But to make that a reality, you need to have some business savvy. (1:46) You need to be properly equipped to handle the dynamic business world and the potential mental, emotional and physical obstacles that will most definitely meet you.
(1:58) So my guests today, George Black and A.J. Bishop, are the dynamic duo behind the Get Busy Savvy podcast. (2:05) So without further ado, how are you guys doing?
A.J. Bishop
(2:07) Doing great. (2:09) Doing great. (2:09) Thanks for having us.
Julian Hayes II
(2:10) Awesome to hear. (2:11) Awesome to hear. (2:12) And so I have to know, I think I saw it somewhere and it said young entrepreneur, old entrepreneur.
(2:18) And so how did you guys even meet?
George Black
(2:23) A.J., you want to start that?
A.J. Bishop
(2:25) Yeah. (2:25) So I was in a I was an entrepreneur starting off in an entrepreneurship contest at my school. (2:32) It was a university contest.
(2:34) And part of that contest was they gave us housing over the summer to stay on campus. (2:39) And as part of my fitness journey, I usually play basketball, but there weren't enough people on campus to keep that going. (2:46) So I just started swimming.
(2:47) And in the process of starting to swim, I was just going to the school pool and they sell out community passes. (2:55) And George was one of those community pass members. (2:58) And on just one particular day, the pool was busy and George needed to share a lane with me.
(3:03) And we started talking.
George Black
(3:08) Yeah, it was really pretty funny because this is the part A.J. doesn't tell. (3:14) So I get into the lane and it's a 50 meter pool. (3:18) And I swim down and back and my goggles were messed up.
(3:21) So I stop and he looks over at me. (3:23) He goes, you're not even out of breath. (3:25) Said, well, I just started.
(3:28) He didn't swim normally. (3:30) Says he says he's played best. (3:31) He's a basketball player.
(3:33) So, yeah, we started talking and he made a really. (3:37) So we we met a couple more times and he looked at some of my YouTube channel and said, you make you really a long form content guy. (3:47) And and I was like, brilliant.
(3:49) I mean, no one's observed that. (3:51) And he goes, you're trying to cram it in too short. (3:54) And have you ever thought of doing a podcast?
(3:56) And I said, well, as a matter of fact, like for the last five years. (4:00) But I want to do it with someone. (4:02) So we had no idea what we were getting into.
(4:05) But we're 83 or four episodes into this thing now.
Julian Hayes II
(4:11) So so, A.J., how did you catch the entrepreneur bug so young?
A.J. Bishop
(4:15) My dad was an entrepreneur. (4:18) So when my earliest memories were my dad running his carpet cleaning business and he would allow me one day a year from school to play hooky and be sick and just go out with him. (4:29) And I just love the idea of, you know, he gets to go to lunch wherever he wants.
(4:34) He's owns his truck. (4:35) He's people paid him to come here. (4:37) And just seeing how he interacted with his customers and kind of the happiness that he had at his freedom imprinted on me very young that entrepreneurism was the path to freedom and the path to happiness.
Julian Hayes II
(4:51) Yeah, I always find that interesting how, you know, that early exposure and just your background kind of dictates. (5:00) So to me, entrepreneurism, it wasn't even a thing. (5:03) It sounded like it was a folktale probably until mid 20s, late, late 20s to me.
(5:08) So I thought it was just for certain people. (5:11) So I so I find that interesting. (5:13) Now, did that kind of shape your whole trajectory even as a little boy just because you saw your dad lived and then most of your friends probably did not have an entrepreneur for a dad.
(5:22) So did you or are you always seeing the world differently compared to your friends?
A.J. Bishop
(5:27) I guess so. (5:28) I always saw it. (5:29) And a lot of my friends like they had their parents had corporate jobs and all that stability.
(5:35) And then seeing my dad, like he he wasn't just a carpet cleaner. (5:39) He ended up truck driving at one point. (5:40) He was doing mortgages at one point.
(5:43) So he was overall just a he had a lot of hustle to him. (5:47) And seeing that the way he approached the world versus how everyone else's parents approached the world where it kind of felt like they're on cruise control almost. (5:54) Just they know their job.
(5:56) They go to the same office. (5:57) They have the same kind of routine. (5:59) But then I would see my dad and he's always hustling and he's trying to find the next new thing or the best thing that he could be doing for his family.
(6:07) And that the work ethic that I saw him have put on to me, like, yes, the world's hustle, but it doesn't have to be he never was like sad about it. (6:16) It was always that's just how it worked for him. (6:19) And that always stuck with me.
Julian Hayes II
(6:22) Yeah. (6:22) And, you know, speaking of work and stuff, George, you have a fairly extensive work background, to say the least, after I was doing a little research on you. (6:30) And so I'm curious if I looked at you from a little boy, would we be surprised at what you're doing now or would it or would we have totally expected that?
George Black
(6:40) Well, I don't think so, because my dad was in retail and he never I don't think he really ever wanted to be. (6:53) But I don't know. (6:54) He studied geology and loved that.
(6:56) But he ended up in retail. (6:58) And even though I would do some work for the family business, I am not a real retail person at all. (7:07) And business, finance, finance stuff, strategy, that's that's what I'm all about.
Julian Hayes II
(7:16) Now, OK, so retail, my only retail experience. (7:19) Well, I guess towards us count. (7:21) Yeah, that's retail.
(7:22) So, yeah, I did one of the workshops, one of the workshops. (7:26) I was in college and I was working at Tours R Us. (7:28) And there's just they had this.
(7:31) I don't want to grow up. (7:32) I wanted to be a Tours R Us kid. (7:34) It just kept playing on loop and loop and loop.
(7:37) Oh, my goodness. (7:38) Yeah. (7:39) So, oh, man.
(7:41) Yeah. (7:41) Stories on that. (7:42) And so speaking of a little bit of your background, George, I saw that you was around 19 companies and over a billion in increased revenue.
(7:51) And so somebody hears that. (7:52) What does that exactly look like? (7:54) Like what are some specific tasks that you do to even help a company and help inside an organization grow in revenue?
George Black
(8:03) Right. (8:03) So in those it really started out with a small construction company. (8:09) And and this was when I literally launched into an entrepreneurial career of leading multiple companies at the same time.
(8:20) And and it would start on the business side of the business. (8:24) And the first company I started to help lead, the the owner was brilliant in roofing, construction, all that kind of stuff. (8:33) He could sell.
(8:34) He could install. (8:36) He couldn't run a business to save his life. (8:39) And he goes, oh, so you do everything I hate.
(8:43) I go, well, I hadn't thought of it that way. (8:46) But so it really the the fit is and this is developed over the years into my book and other things where the entrepreneur, you love what you do, hopefully, or you got into it for some sort of passion or something and you didn't get into it. (9:05) I can assure you for the business side of the business.
(9:11) And that's where I come in. (9:13) And that's where I was coming in and starting on the financial side. (9:17) But then I discovered these guys don't know where they're going.
(9:20) And that became direction and strategy. (9:24) And my whole strategic process came into that. (9:26) And and then it took off.
(9:28) And and I was leading very large companies. (9:32) And the largest being Rackspace, where we went from about one hundred million to eight hundred million in like four years using my strategic process. (9:45) I did some financial stuff there, too.
(9:47) But it was it became so big because we had like we grew to 2000 employees. (9:52) And so I that just consumed everything to do that. (9:56) So but this works for tiny companies.
(10:01) It works for solopreneurs. (10:02) It works at every level. (10:04) And so now that's what I'm doing.
(10:06) So I've got real world experience. (10:09) I've been in the in the conference rooms making those really, really, really tough decisions when everything looks like it's going to fall in, you know, collapse or whatever. (10:22) Market downturns, headwinds, all this kind of stuff.
(10:24) Personnel, you name it. (10:26) So it really I just grew into more and more.
Julian Hayes II
(10:30) OK, yeah. (10:31) And so I think that's a great launching point to start talking about kind of what it means to live truly free and also increasing our business savviness and growing our businesses without sacrificing our health and our actual enjoyment of life in that thing. (10:44) So I want to start with something that you did years ago.
(10:47) It's the Declaration of Independence for entrepreneurs that I saw. (10:50) And I thought that was, yeah, right. (10:52) And so we had three key actions.
(10:53) Number one was to live life to the full with balance and significance. (10:57) Number two was to truly have the liberty to reach your vision as your true self. (11:02) And number three was free to pursue happiness through success and free enterprise.
(11:07) Which of those three do you think is the most challenging for entrepreneurs to fully adopt?
A.J. Bishop
(11:16) Um, I'm curious what AJ would think. (11:19) I was going with the happiness one through free enterprise, because a lot of times people don't associate happiness with free enterprise. (11:27) They associate a lot of stress with running businesses.
Julian Hayes II
(11:32) Yeah, I was going to I was if I had to vote, I would say happiness as well, because I think a lot of times we put our happiness on hold until we get to some goal that we have said. (11:44) So whether it's a revenue goal of I want eight figures and then I'll be happy or this thing and that thing before I'll be happy. (11:51) So I think a lot of times we put our happiness on a plot on its own hold.
George Black
(11:56) Yeah, I agree with you guys. (11:58) I think listening to it, I think happiness would be the most challenging because it takes discipline to to stay in happiness or to go to happiness. (12:09) And you have to be clear, what is that for you?
(12:12) What is how do you define happiness? (12:15) And and that that all really fits into the whole concept of Live Truly Free, which is also the website LiveTrulyFree.com.
Julian Hayes II
(12:23) Yeah. (12:24) So, AJ, I'm curious for you right now in your entrepreneurial journey. (12:28) What is what's your initial motivations right now and inspirations?
A.J. Bishop
(12:32) That's a hard question to answer. (12:36) In this sense, I feel like a lot of people in my generation, we don't know what we want to do. (12:41) We're just kind of coming into this adulthood thing and figuring out, oh, we need to map our direction.
(12:48) And so I know I have very like loose parameters in the sense it's like a lot of what you just said with that Declaration of Independence is I want to be able to live happily pursuing free enterprise and making an impact on my world for good. (13:03) That's something George and I talk about a lot and that for good is kind of a double entendre and that it means for the duration of my life for good, but also for good in the sense that I'm doing good work. (13:15) When people interact with my enterprise, they leave happy.
(13:19) They show up expecting good service, expecting a good product, and then they leave happy and then they want to keep coming back. (13:25) And I can see community building around that. (13:28) I can see just an overall atmosphere of goodness is what I'm trying to get to.
(13:35) What that actually looks like, how I get there, I'm trying to figure out.
Julian Hayes II
(13:41) Yeah, I like that, though, because I think it was Jeff Bezos when he was talking about Amazon at the beginning, and I think still to this day, I hope they have this philosophy is that, you know, they're stubborn on the vision, but they're malleable on the details. (13:52) So long as you have a destination that you want to get to, that's one of the things and the details are always going to change. (13:58) And so whether it's business, whether it's with health, a lot of times we have an initial hypothesis of how we're going to do something.
(14:07) But then when we actually get out there and start doing, it's going to change very rapidly. (14:12) And I can speak even just from a content creating standpoint. (14:16) This is something that you think you're going to create and do this type of content in this way.
(14:21) And then you do a couple of videos over a course of time and it's going to change. (14:26) And so with you, George, at this point, what inspires you to keep creating and being out here?
George Black
(14:36) Honestly, I love entrepreneurs and I really, I really like young entrepreneurs because guys and gals who have started into the business, but they're still trying to figure it out. (14:53) And, you know, and I can just see, oh, how I could help make things so much easier for them, how they could leverage off my experience. (15:03) And they don't have to go through stuff I've been through or, you know, companies I've worked with go through and other entrepreneurs.
(15:11) I guide today. (15:12) And so that's that's really my driving force is that I want to impact them. (15:18) And and I really like the generation coming up because, in fact, I think I identify more with them than any other generation before, simply because they're not all about get rich, get rich, get rich.
(15:36) It's it's like, no, I want a life and I don't want my business. (15:41) I don't want to be a slave to my business, even if I'm a solopreneur, an entrepreneur, a business owner. (15:48) And they don't want to really work in big corp.
(15:51) You know, that's getting clearer. (15:53) But like AJ just said, it's not that they don't know their passions. (16:00) It's they need to focus their passions, which is part of the subtitle of my book.
(16:05) And and that's that's where it's like, yeah, focus your passions into something monetizable that you've got some skills on, develop that. (16:14) And you will keep going for many, many years. (16:18) So that's what that's what I love all of it.
(16:21) This gets my juices going.
Julian Hayes II
(16:23) So that's the first time. (16:26) Now, AJ, are you a millennial or what? (16:28) What's your age?
(16:29) Gen Z. (16:30) OK, so yes. (16:31) So that's that's the first time because I would like to say millennials.
(16:34) So I'm a I think I'm in the middle of what would be classified as a millennial. (16:38) So, yeah, I'm kind of in the middle of the millennials. (16:42) And I like to think millennials kind of started it.
(16:44) And then Gen Z really took on this whole thing of this work life integration or this more focus on work life balance or whatever you want to call it.
George Black
(16:53) Yeah, I agree. (16:54) Yeah.
Julian Hayes II
(16:54) Yeah. (16:55) So, yeah, that's interesting, because normally Gen Z gets a bad rap for a lot of things.
George Black
(17:01) Right, right. (17:02) And I you know, so I mean, to me, AJ and I, even though there's a little bit of an age gap, I've I've decided to be Gen Z. (17:15) You know, you can change everything about yourself these days.
(17:20) Why not change your age, you know, or at least your generation?
Julian Hayes II
(17:24) You can identify as Gen Z.
George Black
(17:26) Yeah, because my generation, I'm like, no, those guys, literally, I think 20 to 35, maybe 40. (17:36) But but you're open, you're teachable. (17:39) You want to learn.
(17:41) And and it's rare to find people in their 40s or 50s and 50s who really want to learn. (17:48) Now I have I've got a I've got an old person who came back. (17:54) I helped this business get started, helped lead it for a while.
(17:56) And he was like he's like 60ish, I think. (17:59) And he said, I want to reinvent myself. (18:01) OK, that's the attitude I love.
(18:04) It's like it's on the table. (18:06) Let's go for it because now we can do stuff. (18:08) But if it's like, oh, yeah, I already know all that.
(18:10) It's like, yeah, OK, then you don't need me.
Julian Hayes II
(18:12) Yeah. (18:13) So, you know, so speaking of that, there's there's something similar that I'm curious about is what do you think is maybe an overlooked trade? (18:19) Or you can say it's not at least it isn't discussed enough in terms of something that every entrepreneur needs to have in today's business climate.
George Black
(18:30) Oh, that's easy. (18:32) Direction. (18:33) Mm hmm.
(18:34) When I talk to client or sorry, when I talk to entrepreneurs and now some some I'm guiding, but but just about anyone just ask the question, where are you headed? (18:47) And the most common answer I get is, oh, we're going to, you know, double sales. (18:51) You know, we're going to have that.
(18:52) We're going to be seven figures, you know, and I'm like, that's exciting. (18:56) But that's not a direction. (18:58) That's a metric.
(19:00) And when you you go, well, what's the direction? (19:04) I go, if you were to say, I want to double sales. (19:09) OK, that's like saying, where are you headed in your car?
(19:13) And you go, oh, I'm going to drive 80 miles an hour. (19:17) And you're like, OK, but where are you going? (19:21) It's like, I don't know, but I'm going to go 80 miles an hour.
(19:25) I'll get there really fast. (19:26) Where is there? (19:29) And honestly, and then here's the other thing that happens with metrics like that, the goalposts, you never reach the end.
(19:36) Yeah. (19:37) And that I think is soul crushing. (19:40) It just crushed.
(19:41) And we just did a podcast on burnout. (19:43) It's the number one cause of burnout, I think. (19:47) Now we talk about we don't talk about it that way.
(19:49) But it's it's when you OK, we doubled sales. (19:54) Now what? (19:55) Double them again.
(19:56) You know, we just expanded to this other county. (19:59) Great. (19:59) Now expand to the other county.
(20:01) It's like, well, when's enough enough? (20:04) And I think the upcoming we're talking about new entrepreneurs. (20:09) I think and I think we're entering an age, a dawn, a new dawn.
(20:13) Let me say it this way. (20:14) A dawning of a new age of entrepreneurism. (20:17) I think that's happening.
(20:18) And I don't think it's about how I can make eighty seven thousand three hundred thirty two dollars a day for the number. (20:25) You know, you see these videos. (20:28) So.
(20:31) I think and the one way I created exponential growth with every company I help lead direction, we knew exactly where we were going.
Julian Hayes II
(20:41) So when you're talking about direction is how far does the direction need to be? (20:45) Does it need to be the end game where I see this thing going in 2025 years? (20:49) Or do I at least need just the first three years or five years?
(20:52) How do you start in this direction?
George Black
(20:56) So, OK, let me just do a little shameless plug for my free webinar called Exponential Growth. (21:02) And it's at get business savvy dot com. (21:05) You can sign up because we get into that.
(21:07) I talk I share stories of of companies I help lead and how we use direction. (21:14) But you talked earlier about Jeff Bezos and the vision. (21:18) The thing about vision is you've got that's a very far distant point, but you have and you've got to have that.
(21:26) And I think and we call it in my book, The Next Level Entrepreneur, we call it the envisioning sentence or the envisioning statement because it's what you envision. (21:37) And there's all this vision, mission and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. (21:41) And but the envisioning needs to come out of who you are.
(21:48) And if it does. (21:52) Then this is what you wake up every day to do. (21:56) So envisioning is really important, and I think it's the hardest part to the equation.
(22:02) But if you get that distance right and it's going to be fuzzy, you know, 20, 30 years from now, that's going to be really fuzzy. (22:09) But every year you get closer to it, it's going to get clearer. (22:12) You're going to pivot.
(22:13) There's going to be changes and stuff like that. (22:15) So so there's three, basically three levels we go to. (22:20) And then there's a next level.
(22:21) And then there's what I call strategic next steps. (22:26) So that's like a year, six to 12 months.
Julian Hayes II
(22:28) So and so this is actually part of the process, I believe, when you're talking about creating busy savviness is one of those is mapping our directions, correct? (22:37) And another one was about understanding our numbers.
George Black
(22:40) Right. (22:40) Yes. (22:41) So the two elements that I discovered over time, it was like I had to do.
(22:48) It was like, what am I doing? (22:49) You know, how am I helping these companies grow? (22:52) And I did I studied the numbers of what happened and all of them grew exponentially.
(23:00) And if you look at it, the investment they made in me, their investment was like a thousand ten thousand X. (23:07) I mean, ridiculous. (23:08) OK.
(23:09) And the two elements are and you can start in either place, either direction or or understanding your numbers. (23:18) And leading and making decisions based on your numbers, not your gut. (23:25) Now, your gut's going to be involved.
(23:27) But I mean, I've just talked to so many entrepreneurs and this would surprise you. (23:33) I mean, I'm talking entrepreneurs, business owners, and we're talking hundred a million dollars of revenue companies. (23:40) OK, in some cases.
(23:42) And I think, oh, yeah, I got a I got the controller in here and she'll explain it to me. (23:47) And I'm like, no, she won't. (23:49) You have to know this.
(23:52) And the most successful I've seen. (23:55) These guys understand their numbers. (23:57) They're not they're not deep in them, but they understand and they make decisions based on those numbers and where they're headed.
Julian Hayes II
(24:06) OK. (24:07) And so what do you think is one of the the hardest things? (24:12) Because it seems like you would want to know your numbers.
(24:16) It seems like a fundamental thing. (24:19) But so where's the disconnect between. (24:22) Actually doing this and the reason why people don't do it.
George Black
(24:26) OK, the best way to describe this is to give a little analogy in my own life. (24:31) So I wrote this book called The Next Level Entrepreneur, and the subtitle is Focus Your Passions, Map Your Directions, Build a Great Company. (24:42) All right.
(24:42) So I took a I spent a lot of money and did a book launch mastermind. (24:47) The first thing Tim said was, I'll bet you didn't write a book to learn how to market books. (24:54) And I go, right.
(24:56) I did not write the book for that reason. (24:59) I think that applies absolutely to entrepreneurs. (25:02) You didn't start your business.
(25:04) You didn't see this amazing entrepreneurial opportunity to learn how to run a business. (25:12) Yeah, but so you don't. (25:14) It's going to be a disaster or it's not going to do well.
Julian Hayes II
(25:19) Yeah, I don't know who said this, but it made total sense. (25:23) I think he said that most entrepreneurs are more of an artist than an actual businessman. (25:30) Yes.
(25:30) What do you think about that?
A.J. Bishop
(25:32) I completely agree, because that's a lot of times what I think of entrepreneurial thinking is like it's almost like a mindset that you always are in and you can't really turn off. (25:44) It's like when you go to a store and you see how they're doing something, you're like, that's a dumb way to do that. (25:48) They could organize this better or you're waiting in line and you're thinking about the last interaction you had at some company and you're like their systems all backwards or you see a company and you're like, wow, that's a really good business model.
(25:59) I see how they're funneling me in and they're not going to stop getting money from me like that. (26:05) Entrepreneurial mindset is always just like kind of seeing the art of business, seeing how that comes together, seeing what the actual process is. (26:13) But then you forget there's a bunch of numbers behind that.
(26:16) And I know I don't and I'm curious how many people actually are. (26:21) But that entrepreneurial mindset isn't, oh, they're spending this much money on this and this is going to be their margin and this is how they keep this sustainable and they're going to be cutting costs here and they're, you know, selling up here. (26:33) Like no one's thinking in terms of the actual numbers.
(26:35) You're thinking in terms of this is the environment. (26:37) This is the culture. (26:39) This is the beautiful creation, the art that they created.
Julian Hayes II
(26:42) Yeah, I realized today that I was I was much more of an artist than a businessman initially when I was giving pushback. (26:50) I was designing. (26:51) I'm designing like business cards.
(26:53) They're like some metal business cards. (26:54) Right. (26:55) And and even like a brochure.
(26:57) And I was very particular about the colors and then that the mood that I wanted to give off and everything. (27:04) Right. (27:06) And and even things like a website.
(27:09) I was very particular on the mood and everything. (27:13) And now you can say that's part of branding. (27:15) Right.
(27:15) Right. (27:16) But then I got really into the weeds of it. (27:18) Like I'm reading books on color psychology and all this stuff.
(27:22) Right. (27:22) That's important. (27:23) I mean, it's important.
(27:24) But then my mentor asked me, he asked me questions like what's what's the what's the profit margin? (27:30) What's the cost of like services sold? (27:32) What does it cost to deliver the service and everything?
(27:34) I was like, I don't know. (27:36) I have no idea. (27:37) I know this is just what we're charged and it's just what I want to charge and everything.
(27:41) So I had no idea and did things like operations and stuff. (27:45) And I was like. (27:47) This is kind of this sucks, kind of.
(27:50) That's what I was thinking. (27:50) I was like, this is not I didn't want to do this. (27:52) So you're absolutely correct that a lot of us were really passionate about the service, about whatever we're talking about.
(28:00) But there's a lot of other things on the back end that most of us do not like to do and probably we just close our eyes and pretend it doesn't exist and hopefully just goes away.
George Black
(28:11) Yeah. (28:11) So with business savvy, my whole idea on that is you can lead with business savvy, which means you don't have to go do all the little stuff. (28:23) You can go hire someone.
(28:25) You can say, you know, you want to get your. (28:28) I mean, if you're just starting out and it depends how you're developing the business, if you're growing it organically or whatever, you know, you may have to wear every single hat. (28:36) OK, got it.
(28:37) And that actually will help develop an understanding of things. (28:42) But I'm taking right now a doctor and he ended up inheriting the practice and the partner handled all of the business stuff so he he could just do the doctorate. (28:56) And he loves that.
(28:57) Well, now he's got to lead the business. (28:59) And he oh, my gosh, our early sessions terrible because he's like, you know, he just hates all that because he loves it. (29:08) And so but we were just talking the other day and he goes like, so now I think in terms of revenue streams and I'm like, you did not think that a year ago before you met me.
(29:19) And and but he doesn't have to understand all the details. (29:23) He has a team that can put the the right things into the right revenue streams or whatever. (29:29) But he I promise you, this can absolutely happen.
(29:33) You can you can lead, Julian. (29:35) You can lead your business and grow into leading your business with business savvy and it will explode. (29:42) And because you need to direct people, you don't need to go to the.
(29:47) I'll give you a great example. (29:48) You don't go to the CPA and the CPA tells you, here's what you need to do. (29:52) No, no.
(29:52) You lead your CPA. (29:54) I do podcasts on that. (29:55) We talk about that.
(29:56) You lead your professionals. (29:58) You lead your marketing. (30:00) You lead.
(30:00) These people need leadership. (30:03) And so you don't have to know debits and credits, OK, or QuickBooks or anything. (30:09) You can just lead it.
(30:11) But you've got to understand what you need from a number standpoint because there's certain things that are going to be really important and specific to your business. (30:22) So it's not a one size fits all either.
Julian Hayes II
(30:25) Absolutely. (30:26) And this is this also ties into when you're talking about leading and people need direction and leadership. (30:30) This this ties into the other part of that where you're talking about having direction.
(30:33) And this is why it's so critical, because how can you lead someone when you don't even know where you're going?
George Black
(30:40) Right. (30:40) That's my line. (30:41) It's how can you lead?
(30:45) How can you get there if you don't even know where there is? (30:48) You know, it's like it's like I'm going to double sales.
Julian Hayes II
(30:54) So, you know, so speaking speaking about being profitable and everything, I'm sure there's a lot of entrepreneurs that come to you where it's it's all about. (31:02) I want to I want to grow sales. (31:03) I want to increase the business and everything.
(31:05) But they tend to let their health slide or or their relationships is a giant dumpster fire. (31:10) How often do you see that?
George Black
(31:13) In virtually 100 percent of all cases. (31:16) Oh, my gosh, I've got these entrepreneurs and they're like, oh, well, I've got they literally tell me this. (31:23) I don't ask.
(31:24) They just tell me, well, I've got my annual checkup in a week. (31:27) I guess they'll tell me I'm overweight again. (31:29) I go, you don't know how much you weigh.
(31:32) They go, well, I'll find out next week. (31:36) And I'm like, well, you I can wait. (31:40) I can make a guess how much you weigh.
(31:42) And I can make a guess what the doctor is going to tell you. (31:46) I'm like, dude, oh, no. (31:48) I mean, the whole reason I'm an entrepreneur is because I can take care of my I can work out when I want to, you know, all this kind of thing.
(31:57) This is living truly free, OK? (32:00) I mean, and and like I think you were just alluding to earlier was like, you know, it's this mindset of, you know, we just have to keep grinding till we reach that goal, which we're going to change anyhow when we get there. (32:13) We're going to move the goalpost.
(32:15) You're never going to get there.
Julian Hayes II
(32:17) Yeah, and I think I heard I heard Tim Grover. (32:19) I think I think it was Tim Grover in one of his in one of those books where he talks about people to say, I'm just grinding. (32:25) I'm just grinding that if you just always just keep grinding and grinding and grinding, you're just going to be sawdust at the end.
George Black
(32:33) Or pulverized.
Julian Hayes II
(32:34) Yeah. (32:35) So, yeah, so that's a very interesting thing. (32:40) What do you what's let's see where I want to go with this.
(32:43) I want to ask about. (32:45) There's been 27 industries, I believe, I've seen that you that you've done work in. (32:50) Right.
(32:50) And besides direction and are people not having direction or knowing the numbers? (32:57) I'm curious, what are some other commonalities that you've noticed across entrepreneurs in all industries that you can that you can link to and say this is this is a common, you know, mistake and habit that they always do?
George Black
(33:13) Here's what typically happens is. (33:16) And this is a quote from the movie, The Legend of Bagger Vance. (33:20) They get buried.
(33:22) This happens to every business owner. (33:24) We get out. (33:25) Put me in there, too.
(33:26) We get buried under all the wouldas and couldas and shouldas. (33:29) We get buried in all the details. (33:31) And most business owners are operating tactically, not strategically.
(33:39) And this is a big, big problem because and I'll give you a perfect example is marketing. (33:48) I've I've been pitched marketing stuff as leading in leading these different companies to these companies. (33:55) And, you know, we're going to give you a marketing strategy.
(33:57) You know what it actually is? (33:59) If you understand true strategy, and this is in my book, we talk about that truth, they're not giving you marketing strategy. (34:06) They're giving you marketing tactics.
(34:09) There is no overarching strategy. (34:12) So you have to get out of the weeds. (34:15) You've got to keep yourself unburied with all of the fires that you're trying to put out and and get above the business.
(34:24) Vern Harnish, I think, was the original person who said, you got to work on your business, not in your business. (34:31) And and and that's what the next level navigator does. (34:35) That's my strategic process.
(34:36) It's in the book. (34:37) But it it's about you just pull that out periodically and you go, oh, yeah. (34:42) Now I remember where I'm headed.
(34:45) And then then we just have strategy after strategy after strategy. (34:48) And they're all structured. (34:51) So there's a complete plan from vision to application to boots on the ground.
(34:57) Here's where we're going right now, tomorrow. (34:59) And you have to keep reminding yourself of that, because otherwise you just get overwhelmed with, you know, whatever. (35:08) All the issues are that are just coming up.
(35:12) I don't know if that makes sense, but that's that's what I see. (35:15) This strategy versus tactics and just getting buried.
Julian Hayes II
(35:20) No, that makes that makes a lot of sense. (35:21) And so I'm going to slightly move to another topic. (35:24) And so, AJ, I'm curious in your entrepreneur journey so far, what has been perhaps the biggest kind of challenge for you or obstacle?
(35:33) The thing that you notice that you've had to really work on for yourself?
A.J. Bishop
(35:37) Yeah. (35:37) So I started my first company when I was like 20 years old and as part of that entrepreneurship competition and I was still in school. (35:44) So I hadn't I didn't really have much of an understanding of business.
(35:48) I found out and the understanding I was getting was from school, which, as I reflect back on it, is very descriptive in that it's you learn marketing and there's the four P's of marketing and then you do a SWOT analysis on your business and they still teach that. (36:03) I'm sorry to interrupt. (36:04) They still teach that.
(36:05) Yes, they still teach the four P's of marketing as of 2023. (36:10) Oh, my goodness.
George Black
(36:11) I know the five D's of dodgeball, but what are the four? (36:16) And why would they be the four M's of marketing?
A.J. Bishop
(36:19) But anyhow, product, place, price and promotion. (36:24) Promotion.
Julian Hayes II
(36:24) Yeah, I'm a marketing. (36:25) I'm a marketing. (36:26) I was a marketing major in an international business like collateral minor or whatever you call it.
(36:31) And so because I like I said, when I was in marketing, I wanted to work for like a cool like clothing company, fashion company and just be in a high rise office and just being part of an idea campaign. (36:43) And then they told me that you have to do like sales on the ground and be like account execs or whatever that is. (36:49) And that's when I just went to medical school and said.
A.J. Bishop
(36:55) And that sounds very similar to how I felt about business school. (36:59) I was like, oh, wait, this is what you want me to do. (37:01) It's all like business or what you learn in university relating it to what George is talking about is all tactical thinking.
(37:08) So right when I started my business, I was all coming from the university. (37:11) So everything I was doing was just tactical thinking. (37:14) Like I literally went on my whiteboard, wrote the different departments, marketing, finance, accounting, legal.
(37:22) Like I wrote them out and then wrote a bunch of things that I need to get done that were all just tactics. (37:27) And because I was the only person running it, I'm all of these departments and like universities are teaching you kind of from a corporate level, thinking, thinking departments, thinking tactics, thinking these little things need to get done. (37:40) And so that's what I started doing as I started my business.
(37:43) And when I look back on it, it's so much wasted time. (37:46) And when I started talking to George about my business, I was like, George is talking. (37:53) It's almost like I have to learn a new language to be able to relate to what George is trying to say here, because he's talking fully from strategy.
(38:01) He's talking fully from direction. (38:03) And everything I had trained and learned and thought I was supposed to learn by going to university was all just tactics.
George Black
(38:10) I remember, A.J., one day. (38:15) So this is early on. (38:17) And we would meet and we would practice.
(38:19) We were we were planning the podcast. (38:21) We know all that stuff. (38:21) And he goes, hey, I'm trying to I've been spending all this time trying to figure out an accounting software to get.
(38:26) And I go, why? (38:28) And he goes, well, I've got to know how I'm going to account for everything. (38:32) I go, you don't even have any sales yet.
(38:35) He goes. (38:38) He just went, boom. (38:39) He was like, well, I thought that's what I was supposed to do.
(38:42) I said I would figure out how to get sales way before I'd worry about how to get an accounting software pack.
Julian Hayes II
(38:48) Yeah, I remember I spent time. (38:50) I was crafting up like an extensive business plan.
George Black
(38:55) Oh, yeah. (38:56) Mr. A. (38:56) In my book, who's well, I have to explain that.
(38:59) But yeah, he's not a real fan of business plans.
Julian Hayes II
(39:02) Yeah. (39:03) Yeah. (39:03) I was think I was like thinking of a huge business plan.
(39:06) And then like you, I was thinking of departments as well because we're taught. (39:09) So I think they just assume when you're taught that you're already like this multi multi-million dollar company already. (39:16) That's your default state.
(39:17) Like you don't start at zero. (39:18) You started like 50 million or something with some of the tactics that they're giving you.
A.J. Bishop
(39:22) That is what they're teaching you for, right? (39:23) They're preparing you to go take a fortune 500 job or take a job with a big company that already has those departments set up. (39:29) So they're not teaching you so that you can go set it up on your own.
(39:33) They're teaching it you so you can go work for somebody else.
Julian Hayes II
(39:35) Yeah. (39:36) Yeah. (39:36) It's very it's a very interesting thing.
(39:39) I told somebody and I hope he didn't mind, but I don't think he mind. (39:43) I hope he didn't tell too many people, though, because he was in college. (39:46) He's going to business.
(39:47) I told him I'm not sure I would do a business major. (39:49) I can probably go on Coursera and other online places and learn the four piece or just grab or I can go to Amazon and grab probably the top 30 best selling marketing books and learn more on how to actually do marketing. (40:01) And then you could probably go find a job if you really wanted to get in there more so than using a degree for that.
(40:06) But I don't know. (40:07) That was just based off what I learned in marketing, which was, you know, just things to take a test on. (40:14) But I've never thought about the four piece of marketing so far in my journey.
A.J. Bishop
(40:20) And that would be the same advice I would give a school at this point because it's so expensive. (40:26) You have to be very, very thoughtful on what you're deciding to go spend that money on, what you're taking the debt on for. (40:33) And think of it in terms of like a business savvy way.
(40:36) What's going to be my ROI on this? (40:38) I went to community college first to keep my cost as low as possible. (40:43) And then I transferred to a four year school for only two years that lowered the cost.
(40:47) And I got a business degree. (40:49) But as I have entered the business world, I don't really use my degree at all. (40:54) I probably could have done it without the degree with just some learning in between over those four years.
(40:59) That would have been much cheaper.
Julian Hayes II
(41:01) Yeah, this stuff sounds nice. (41:03) It sounds nice to have degrees and titles. (41:05) And if you talk to people that are, you know, more in the older world, I would say the generations above me when you're meeting them and stuff or you're sending things out in papers, they like to see credential certifications.
(41:17) And so it's cool in that regard. (41:18) But everybody else, they don't really care. (41:21) Like, you know, it's whatever.
(41:23) But that is a good point that you bring up, though, because I wish I did that as well. (41:27) Do the first two years and then go to the four year. (41:30) But I think that's also part of living truly free, because a lot of times if we're not, if we make decisions like that and we do find we do degrees that are maybe not as useful in today's world and in the coming world, we may be handicapped a little more about the choices we make and the decisions that we have to do.
(41:51) So I think that is a key part that people maybe overlook now. (41:56) And so as we get ready to wrap this conversation down, I will. (41:59) I'll start with you, George.
(42:00) What does it mean to live truly free?
George Black
(42:02) Yeah, I'm glad you asked, because I actually kind of accidentally discovered living truly free. (42:10) And I because I was leading different companies, I could kind of home base out of an office in the house. (42:18) And and I've been doing remote before.
(42:22) There was actually some wires to do it. (42:24) And I've done remote in some crazy places. (42:27) And so I could just.
(42:29) So I thought, why have an office when I can just go use their office? (42:34) Why hire people when I just use their people? (42:37) You know, that sort of thing.
(42:38) Well, what I discovered was I could be home at three o'clock when the boys came home from school or I could even go pick them up and and have because there's a moment in time like when they come in and, you know, they're in elementary school or something and they're all excited. (42:59) And they're you know, you hear some things that by five or six o'clock, they don't even remember if they've moved on. (43:07) And so I got to experience a life like that.
(43:12) Plus, as they got older, we were able to do things other dads couldn't do because they're stuck in their job. (43:22) And so I go on a two week backpacking trip with my sons or, you know, we we just did these amazing things because it was like I could just plan that out, clear the schedule. (43:37) And it's because a lot of them said, well, I can't just take one kid backpacking and then I've got, you know, that would use up all my vacation time.
(43:43) And I couldn't, you know, and they're having to balance it. (43:46) And I get all of those. (43:46) Those are all real issues.
(43:48) But to me, living truly free was what I actually discovered was I got to do the work, but I can do it at 10 o'clock at night when they're in bed. (43:58) I mean, this work doesn't it's not time sensitive in the sense that I got to do it between eight and five o'clock. (44:04) And and so it was and I was having a ton of fun.
(44:11) I loved what I was doing for years. (44:14) And then I I was like ready to move on to something else. (44:17) So that's what so the book comes out, all this kind of stuff.
(44:20) The book is a passion book. (44:22) I mean, it's out of my heart and it's what I love. (44:25) And so and I want to and I discovered I'm a writer.
(44:29) I'm very creative. (44:30) So the whole thing when you were talking about creativity and all of that, that's absolutely true. (44:36) And so to me, living truly free and like now it's like, yeah, I have a I have kind of a plan on on health and working out.
(44:46) I work out five to six times a week every day almost. (44:52) And, you know, so it's like that's to me. (44:57) I don't know what it would look like for everybody, but it's about being able to have a life, live in relationships, family, time, impacting your worlds for good, you know, all that sort of thing.
Julian Hayes II
(45:11) So what about you, AJ? (45:12) What do you think?
A.J. Bishop
(45:13) Yeah, my answer would be very, very similar because like I was talking about with my dad, one of the his biggest motivators in life is that his dad wasn't around when he was growing up. (45:23) And so when I came into the world, he made it his only mission was no matter what, I'm going to make sure I'm there to take care of him. (45:32) And no job's going to get in my way of that.
(45:34) That's where my that's that was his number one priority. (45:38) And so for me, it's very much the same thing of I don't have kids yet. (45:43) I'm I don't want them in the very near future.
(45:46) Push them off a little bit. (45:50) But I do want to be in a position to me when living truly free what is once they do come, they become my priority. (45:57) It doesn't sound like free is like, you know, and now I work for the kids.
(46:00) But it's like to me, being able to pour my all into the next generation. (46:06) That's what living truly free is. (46:08) And also being able to live a fulfilled life, because it's one thing if you're doing a very stressful job and I'm able to figure out something that I'm able to be there for the kids still, but I'm not my full self.
(46:20) I'm not bringing my best self to my kids because the job is taking so much of me away and taking me out of my passion. (46:26) So to me, living truly free is being able to live with live into the person that I'm meant to be and be able to bring that to the world, invest that into my relationships and not have any forces that are taking that away from me. (46:41) Like the health thing is a huge part of it.
(46:43) I don't want a job where I'm not going to have time to work out or not have the energy to work out because working out a very big part of my life. (46:52) So to me, living truly free is being able to pursue goodness at every turn as much as I can without those constraints against it.
Julian Hayes II
(47:02) Yeah, I love both those answers. (47:04) And I'm going to quickly touch on this is that one of the other, I think, blogs that you had years ago was you're talking about using story to interpret and reinvent ourselves through difficult times. (47:15) And I wanted to quickly touch on that because, you know, business is tough and different geopolitical things.
(47:22) It's election year and then other economic things that are going on. (47:26) Business can be really tough for people right now to get going, to get momentum or maybe some people it's gone backwards. (47:33) And so you want to speak on that just a little bit on the power of story and using that to reinvent ourselves.
George Black
(47:42) Yeah, let me think about that, because we're I think my approach is this. (47:50) Is that the entrepreneurs I want to reach, the entrepreneurs I want to impact for good is you guys are the heroes and in the hero journey, which is the kind of classic hero journey, you know, you start out all that kind of thing. (48:10) At some point, the hero meets a mentor, a guide, someone to show him the way.
(48:16) OK, and in all the great stories, you see that. (48:20) The other thing you see in all the great stories is there's some kind of enemy. (48:26) There's there's some force that's evil force or something.
(48:31) And that's because that's in our lives, too. (48:34) I mean, that's why they're great stories. (48:36) We don't live in a world where I mean right now that the economy could be going right over a cliff, OK?
(48:44) But all that means for entrepreneurs is there's opportunity. (48:49) Interest rates are at seven percent. (48:51) All that means I've got a friend who switched jobs, left his corporate job to be an entrepreneur, to buy and sell houses.
(49:01) And I said, well, what do you think about it? (49:04) He goes, oh, it's just another opportunity. (49:06) And I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is so entrepreneurial.
(49:10) And it was like it was it was actually a refreshing kind of breeze in my face because entrepreneurs view this now. (49:18) Now there are economic headwinds. (49:20) There's there's all kinds of political headwinds.
(49:23) There's there's tragedies and things globally and all this kind of stuff. (49:27) But that's been going on for a very, very long time, long before we ever got here. (49:32) So how do we navigate that?
(49:35) And you can. (49:37) And so to me, story, if you think of life in terms of story, then you need to know the answer to this question, who you are, who are you intended to be? (49:54) What is the story?
(49:56) What is the reason you are here right now at this time and place? (50:01) Because if you don't step into who you are, nobody will. (50:07) Only you can bring to this world what you have to offer.
(50:11) Nobody else can. (50:12) You're a unique combination of of emotions and ideas and creativity and all sorts of things. (50:19) And whether you're an entrepreneur or not, I mean, that's what we focused on in this conversation, but it doesn't matter.
(50:24) You need to bring your whole self. (50:28) Into your life and view it. (50:29) It's it's a story.
(50:32) And what's what is the story?
Julian Hayes II
(50:36) Man, that's a great way. (50:38) I had another I had one last question, but that was such a great way to culminate this conversation that I'm going to leave it at that. (50:45) And so where can listeners keep up with you guys at?
George Black
(50:49) Sure. (50:50) So our podcast, Get Business Savvy is on all streaming platforms for the audio. (50:57) We're on YouTube.
(50:59) Same channel is Get Business Savvy. (51:01) Our website is LiveTrulyFree.com. (51:05) We offer, like I said earlier, this free webinar.
(51:10) And it's you can ask questions or bring your business questions and we'll talk about them. (51:14) And that's a GetBusinessSavvy.com. (51:17) And you can find it through our comments on I mean, our descriptions on any of our YouTube videos right now.
(51:23) So we've got that. (51:23) So, yeah, those would be, you know, LiveTrulyFree.com. (51:28) We offer masterminds.
(51:29) We're offering one on one e-course. (51:32) My book's on Amazon, The Next Level Entrepreneur. (51:36) AJ, what have I missed?
A.J. Bishop
(51:38) You hit everything. (51:39) I was about to bring up the book and then say that the audio book is coming soon.
George Black
(51:43) Yes.
A.J. Bishop
(51:44) Yes.
George Black
(51:44) Me and AJ and I read read on it.
Julian Hayes II
(51:47) So, OK, cool. (51:48) Awesome. (51:48) Awesome.
(51:49) And so I'll have to I'll keep up with you guys. (51:51) And if that's out by the time this is released, I will add that in the show notes as well.
George Black
(51:54) OK.
Julian Hayes II
(51:55) So this has been an awesome conversation. (51:56) Thank you guys again. (51:58) And so for listeners out there, stay awesome, be limitless.
(52:01) And as always, go be the CEO of your health and your life. (52:04) Peace.
