171. You’ve Made Money In Crypto, Now What? Here’s How We’ll Spend It

So okay, that all plays off Bergs. All of our listeners have made a bunch of money. We've nailed the cycle, we've all exited at the right time. What on earth we're doing with our money, man? What are we doing? Where are we putting it?

The right answer is mate, whatever you want.

Welcome back to another episode of the Ben and Bergs podcast. I'm Ben, your favorite high school dropout and founder of Collective Shift alongside Ms. Bergs, your favorite MBA and CEO of Collective Shift. Join us as we bring you world class crypto research and strategies to help you dominate this crypto pool market as well as behind the scenes view of us scanning a fully remote support research business here in Australia. And if you like the Bennett Mergs podcast, we would absolutely love for you to leave us a follow or share these podcasts around with friends. It's how we grow the podcast coming to you each and every week with no affiliates, no commissions, no nonsense. Give me the beans on helping you succeed in crypto. Now today, bit of a fun episode. We're just running this off the cuff because I want to talk to Bergs about what are we going to do when it comes time to selling down our crypto, taking those huge profits, you know, what are we going to be buying? Our listeners want to know. I was having these conversations with some platinum members recently around. You know guys, you know one of my guy in our group's got 25 million in Solana, could easily, easily be 50 million plus the top of the cycle. What on earth you're going to do with that money? Where do you park it, where do you invest it? You know obviously we've got our business as well burgs, it's going really well. We've got cash flows coming from there and it's an exciting time. It's like okay, now that you have money, now you've got a money problem, now what do you do with the money? So we're going to just spitball and talk about maybe what's on the shopping list. What, what are we going to do with that money? And yeah, it's kind of a, it's a, it's a cool but scary concept for I think for a lot of.

People you kind of have to flip modes from.

Bare market investing or building a business and putting all of your time into that to then now it throws off cash flow. How do I deal with this? It's a different type of problem, it's a better type of problem but it can be quite stressful as well.

You Know, I've been thinking about this more recently. It's like having, and not to say by any means that I think I'm, you know, super successful. Like, you know, we've got a long way to go. But now that you sort of come into a point where you have in a very fortunate position where you have, you know, more money than when you're in a position where it was like, you know, scraping peanut butter off the floor and like, we're going to run out of money and oh my God, you know, I can't afford to pay the, you know, I mean, that sort of state. So, you know, fortunate position to be where we are. But now it's like, it's more for me thinking a lot about like, lifestyle and the way I want to live my life. You know, I don't want to be in a position where I'm making a lot of money, but I don't even have the time to, to, you know, spend the money or enjoy myself. And I think this a lot about, you know, with my parents, you know, wanting to spend more time with them and going on trips and family and like, what's the point in making all this money if you're tired, stressed, depressed, and you not even being able to go and spend that time doing what you love with people that you love?

Yeah, it's. I hear people talk about it like you kind of sacrifice your health for money and then you spend that money getting your health back. And another way to look at it is you spend a lot of your time making money, but when you have money, you buy your time back. So what's the point in having, you know, heaps of cash or more cash than you can spend if you actually don't have time to enjoy it? And that's where your whole lifestyle has to shift. So a lot of people that invest in like the fire community, so financially independent, retire early. They're very frugal, so they control the expenditure side and they do that for a decade, two decades, and then they've made enough money to live to work part time or not work at all or do what they want in their life. But after that time, you don't magically shift over, do you? Like, you have to learn how to live that new life, which can be really, really challenging. Or if your business is throwing off cash flow, damn, now I need to start investing. I would put it back in my business. Great. We do that, we get some growth, but then there's still more cash. Like, what do I do? Right? Where do I put this. And that in itself is very stressful too, 100%.

And I want to get back to something that I went first on in that business and when I was, you know, first getting started and learning about money made so much sense to me. And that was the cash flow quadrant from rich dad, poor dad. And this to me is just like, like everyone should know this. So on the left hand side, as you think about four quadrants, on the left hand side you've got E is employees, so you have a job. And below that you've got S self employed, you own a job. And you know, according to rich dad, poor dad, that is the poor dad side. So his poor dad either was, you know, he was an employee himself or he was self employed. And really on the left hand side you are, you know, working for time. So time equals output and output equals dollars. So you know, you go To a job 9 to 5, you earn the hours that you work or you're self employed, you have to do all the work. And if you stop working on earning any money. Now, the right hand side, where a lot of our listeners sit on B business owners. So people work for you or I investors, money works for you. And obviously all of you listening are most likely an eye. You may be an E in an I, which a lot of people you know do. You start out as an E, you get to an I and then you know, the money works for you. And that's, that's a great stepping st and that money works for you. But you know that really where you can earn a lot of leverage is running a business. Right? You know, it's probably the fastest way you can create wealth. If you don't have a lot of wealth because you have people working for you, people pay for your services and other people are, you know, doing the work for you. And I think, you know, once you get to a certain point in time for us, it's coming up to our fourth birthday collective shift. I've ultimately been doing this for eight years. You know, it kind of, you hit this sort of, you know, chasm when you, when you cross and things just start to work. You find product market fit, customers come in, you're doing a great job, people are loving it. And then, you know, then you have this money that sort of flows into the end and then now it's like, well, now what? You know, now what do you want to do with it? So yeah, for me, being in that B quadrant was always a goal of mine because it allowed me to have that time Freedom. I think the biggest thing like you said, Bergson, that's a great quote is, is more about like, you know, being able to have the time and, and the location. Freedom to do the things that you want to do. Like what's the point in doing, busting your balls for eight years, you know, like betting everything, you know, to lose everything or getting to where you want if you can't actually achieve the things you want to achieve.

Exactly. It's upward mobility and you get that through levering things. And the leverage on the business side in the quadrant you described is generally labor, capital and code. Things have moved on since Robert Kiyosaki first published that. And you can be self employed, a solopreneur. If you're in professional services, you know, you need to do all the work if you're a consultant or something like that, accountant, lawyer, but you can have products or courses that scale on the Internet as well. So you can still be in that like you know, self employed quadrant, which is, which is really fascinating these days. But even if you're an employee, you are the person being leveraged by your business but you still get money from that job and you can move to that investor side. So one thing, that's what I was doing at my previous job. I was paid well, I had surplus cash at the end of the pay week and I would invest that money and I was doing that since I was 20 years old, put my lifestyle down and invested and let that compound. The thing that was missing for me was I was doing all this work, I was building great products, I was saving, you know, the business. I was working for ten plus million per year. And you see hardly any of that through like all the efficiencies, automation, whatever it may be, year on year. And I'm like, no, I need to be an owner, I need to have equity. And that's why I came across to collective shift. And that's right, being in that side of the quadrant, it's a lot of work, it's a lot of risk, but it can pay dividends and set you up.

Yeah. And that's capitalism at the end of the day. Right. Like it's why employees can be paid well and have a salary from day one because they deliver a service. But ultimately they're not taking as much risk as someone who, you know is invested all their savings, that has a big tax debt, that has no guarantee that things are going to pay off. And your responsibility if it all goes to your next on the line, like all of that is, is the reason, that's capitalism, right? And then, and then if it does work out, you sort of get the payoff. So, okay, that all plays off bergs. All of our listeners have made a bunch of money. We've, we've, we've nailed the cycle. We've all exit at the right time. What on earth are we doing with our money, man? What, where are we, what are we doing? Where are we putting it?

The right answer is, mate, whatever you want, because you answer. So why don't we start off with you, mate? So project forward a few years. The business is going well, it's going to go better. You're going to sell off some crypto. What are you planning to do with that?

I think number one, and most people would know this that have been listening to me for a long time is buy my mum and dad a house. That's number one. That's always been a goal of mine. They backed me when I first wanted to quit school, however many years ago it was now eight, eight years ago. They've always backed me and everything I've done and I owe a lot to them and I just love to be able to do that for them. And you know, we come from a, you know, a lowish socioeconomic family. Like I shared a bunk bed with my brother, you know, they've always rented, they've always just put the money into us, me and my brother and sister, to, to get the best out of our childhood. And now being able to do what I do, I'm, you know, so excited to be able to do that for them. So that's, that's number one on the cards from there.

It's a tough one, right, you know, because I think the property market is something that makes a lot of sense. It's on my left hand side of my barbell. Bitcoin and property, it's a lot more stable. And I think diversifying away from crypto is a big thing. But then ultimately I want to keep building my bitcoin stack. Like I want to buy more bitcoin. I think bitcoin for like the next 20, 30, 40 years, like, you know, is just going to outperform everything. So I ultimately want a big bitcoin stack because with a bitcoin, big bitcoin stack, I can take equity out against that, I can loan against it, I can cash flow my assets without having to sell them and I can continue to have exposure to the market. So bitcoin is on my list. I also want to diversify into some stocks and some equities, maybe, you know, get some money into one of my buddies that runs a fund and try and get, you know, maybe 10 to 20% a year from, from maybe a large equities portfolio. If that could pay for my lifestyle, let's say that could make me a salary's worth. Like, let's put a million bucks or 2 million bucks into there and earn 100 to 200k a year just through that alone. Touch wood. If everything goes to shit, we've got that sorted. So we've got like a bit of a, you know, emergency break the glass, red button portfolio. And then from there I think it's about, you know, being able to.

You know, enjoy life. Like, I think it's once you can get to a certain point of assets that can compound for you again in that I category that's just doing the work for you and you're sorted, then the cash flow or money making elsewhere is probably more about lifestyle, family, charity, friends, trips, those sorts of things. And for me it's not about like fancy cars or, you know, the, the boats. It's. It's probably more about maybe having, you know, taking my family away on a trip to Europe, you know, and, and being able to go along and just pay for everything. Or maybe, you know, getting a, a holiday home on the Gold coast and we Airbnb out. But then during the summer, like we're up there and anyone, my mates can use it and they just go up and, you know, have a good time. Like stuff like that, I think would be really cool.

That's epic, man.

Yeah, for me.

I will sell down some of my crypto and it's going into an investment property. That'll be for the little one. And really the other things I had planned were.

Really just the big Euro trip, like take the whole family, which would cost anywhere from 80 to $100,000.

They are the two major things that I wanted to do as well as.

Work less. So the other thing would be focus on this business and.

Still work at a very high utility, but not work crazy hours all the time. So really reduce that and I don't mind doing that effort and putting, because what essentially what we're doing then is we're front loading everything, right? Like, business was terrible, was falling apart, all this stuff happened and we put in so much time and effort and now we're seeing those results. So now we need to structure the business, build in a way where it's self sustaining. We're still in the business, but we're less operators More focusing on strategy and key areas, and then just use that free time to spend more time with my family. It's very, very simple for me. It's about time. Not necessarily having more money and more things, but by setting it up and going down that hard path and that very difficult journey, it will throw off more cash flow and that I could just build into my life and potentially do more trips. It'll be honestly just be doing the same things I'm doing now, but just at a higher level.

Yeah, I love that. I think that lifestyle is very, very, very similar to you and I. And I think the other one that you and I spoke about as well is, you know, potentially other businesses like being able to invest into boring businesses that, you know, we can cut the fat, we can increase their market share, generate more cash flow, put in an operator, and then grow a set of boring companies. You know, that also sounds fun.

So this is the thing where, like when people.

People that I know that have businesses that throw off a lot of cash flow, they either start doing things like angel investing or they start acquiring more businesses, rolling it up into their current ones like businesses or businesses, competitors that are going under, or they start doing things like gyms. And I think it's generally because they're in their 40s or 50s that work so hard. They kind of get sick, they have to look after their health and they're like, hey, I have all this business experience. I might as well just buy a gym. I'll operate it. I'll put all that business experience to use. Because you think about this, Ben, it's like, like when you're a parent, you have no experience, but if you had one kid, the second one's, you know, it's, it's a lot more work, but at least you have that experience to, to do something and put. Think about what you go through. All the different, you know, tax things, you learn things about people, employees, legislation, rules, you know, different accounting measures, how to structure a business, processes. You've learned all of that. You know, all the people, you've got good people already, you know how to do it. And if you have money and you have a bit of free time, that could be the kind of either passion project or like you said.

All you need to do is. And of course there's other things. It's not all you need to do, but the main thing is hire someone that is hungry, tell them the. What they need to do, and incentivize them correctly and watch over them and then grow that business.

Look what's happened in our business with the amazing team that we have, we have a brilliant team, you know, compounding to achieve a goal together. And it's, it's amazing. And to your point, about what you've learned, if I think about what I've learned, you know, I've recently taken up doing small business coaching in AO with the accelerator program, which I absolutely love. So basically businesses, business owners are doing up to about a million in revenue. I'm doing like monthly coaching. And it's fascinating hearing the problems that they're going through and me going and thinking back, going, like, I remember that, like, I remember that like, you know, like one in all the trauma getting resurfaced. Oh like the ptsd. But then also to then share my experiences of how I went through that and the way I've navigated and, and the focus, like things I would focus on and how I go through those problems and to hear how valuable that is for someone that hasn't been through that, like, is just, it's very eye opening to, to think about how much we've learned and everything that we've been through that you could now then take that knowledge and put into another business or businesses.

Oh, and like you were saying before, boring businesses, like we were just chatting before, there's things like was spitballing. Like any business that uses a fax machine, that's not online, that doesn't run ads, that doesn't have automation, that you can't get a quote from online, that you have to pick up the phone, but things you need. So things will be potentially like, I don't know, a gym plumbing, electrician business, even like fitting companies and just applying all the marketing and technology knowledge that we have and automation knowledge and applying it to that business, leading it out, creating a better customer experience because that business will be able to run leaner. So you have a cost advantage against other businesses. You'll be more visible as well. And yeah, I've listened to a few podcasts about people doing this. There's this huge trend. So I think it's on Harvard business review of MBAs. You know, you do your MBA, you pay heaps of money, you know, you learn a lot about business and you go out and you work for a big consulting company. Like that's what they prime you to do.

A Large percentage of MBAs are now rejecting that and going and finding a boring business. This is what Cody Sanchez does as well, that people need all the time. Things like plumbers going in there and going right this is how we work. This is how we optimize, you know, the vans, the routes, how we do our payment systems, how it's all integrated and automated. We take payments straight away. And you just blow away your competitors. And you're very quiet about it because you could take that business from a $2 million business, lean it out, make it a three, four, $5 million business. You're making a lot of money every single year.

Yeah, man, it's, it's the opportunity there is massive. I think it's more about, again, like the scaling and having the people, the right people to run those businesses and, you know, the systems and processes. And once you do that, you're in the top running quadrant. We got people work for you and that's where you can really make a lot of money.

The other thing I'd like to do is.

Really grow Ben and Bergs and get to having in person Ben and Bergs like a conference. I would love that. That would be so, like taking Ben and Bergs on the road, meeting a lot of people and potentially even running sessions because we kind of talked about this loosely, but we have a lot of killers in our business and a lot of advisors and people that helped us to become what we are today.

Yeah.

And I would love to provide that to other people.

Yeah, yeah, I agree. I think the content side of things is a massive opportunity that we both enjoy. Like, we've got the podcast and then, you know, I've got my own brand that I'm building. Like being able to continue to grow, that not only is fun because you meet so many amazing people and the content that you put out attracts people similar to you, which is, which is awesome.

Yeah.

But then also, you know, the, the leverage and opportunities that that creates, whether that be speaking opportunities, deal flow for investing customers, for businesses.

You know, just anything like it did. I don't know, it's kind of a.

Getting recognized in the street. Like, you know, it's just such, it's such a fascinating. You know, I was in Sydney the other day and a guy just come up to me. It was a man. I follow you on Instagram. I'm not even in crypto. I mean, like, whatever. But I just like love your stuff. And how's Europe?

It's just, it's just like. And then you can have these conversations with people and I don't know, I think the impact and the people we met on Ben and Bergs, especially because it's a longer format, been doing it for a couple of years now, you know, it's just such a cool opportunity. And to have more time to spend on this, I think would be really cool.

Yeah, absolutely, man. And it's kind of almost like.

Like using that business knowledge and kind of giving it back as well. Like, we do things like EO and even, you know, mentoring a group like you do.

Yeah.

Is fantastic. And I think, like, not cloning EO or anything like that, but us being able to, like, we give back, I guess we give value to our listeners through this podcast. But then doing that in person, whether it's like coaching or intensive sessions, and it's not about making money or anything like that, because you, you know, we've already made money. Right. Like, this is post, like, bull run and our business going really well. This is about doing what we want to do and impacting people's lives.

Yeah. Yeah. Which is super fulfilling. And I think that's the next step. Like, money solves your money problems, but then, like, you know, you still want to have it. Enjoyment in life. Like him. How do you get that?

Yeah. Why do you wake up and how do you feel fulfilled? Yeah. You know, like, what is the reason to wake up? And yeah, for me, it's like, I really get a kick out of helping other people. That's why I worked in health for so long.

Yeah.

Because there's these people that, you know, they're injured, they're sick, they're vulnerable, and you can have a direct impact with them and change their lives. And that is one of the best feelings in the world.

Yeah. I love it. I love it. So I think that's how we're looking at planning it out. There's a lot of different things, but I think it's more than just money and investing. It's time. It's freedom. It's location fulfillment.

Exactly.

And.

But we have a lot in common. Like, there's the real estate theme, there's building a bitcoin stack, taking the family on holidays, and then even forward looking to, you know, five years or so, but creating that additional business, which will just compound as we build a bigger brand and then utilize that as well. It's just. Yeah, it's. It's. I never thought we'd be in this position. Well, no, I did think we'd be in this position. I didn't know what it would feel like, and I didn't think it would come this soon.

Yeah, I agree. It's a.

It's an interesting. It's an interesting feeling when you. You really have to sit and think about how how, like the journey, right? And, and, and everything you've been through to get to that point. And even those listening to the podcast, I'd urge you to think about when it comes into the bull market, you know, especially when things are getting really crazy. You made all this money. Really think about what it took you to get to that point, and that's really going to get you over the line and make sure you sell and take those profits and actually do some things with the money this time around.

That's it.

Be.

Be a robot with this, like, have it written down. Follow that and execute on your goals. Don't get caught up in the euphoria. Oh, what if, you know, it goes up a little bit more? Another 5%, another 10%? No, take it off the table. Fulfill those goals, set larger goals and keep going.

Love it. Live a happy life, folks. Thank you so much. We'd love for you to, you know, let us know what you're planning on doing with your money. What are you. What are you looking to invest in? Do you agree with Bergson? I do have some other ideas. Let us know. You can leave a comment on Spotify or you can let us know on Twitter. We'd love to hear from you. Otherwise. Yeah. I hope you enjoyed the podcast. Please share it around if you have anyone that you think will find value in it, and we'll see you on the next episode.

Thanks, champions.