7 Figure Business Strategies From Facebook Ads & Marketing Expert - ft. Brandon Guthrie | TNS 17

Entrepreneurs, hey guys, welcome back to another show. Welcome to Internet Entrepreneurs Freedom, where we are interviewing 2 Comma Club winners and 7-figure business owners to provide insane amount of value regarding how you can scale your business. So this is me, the Nikhil Sai, back again with another amazing interview today. And guess what? We are having another 2 Comma Club Award winner here. Who was somewhere unknown person, now a 7-figure business owner, helping businesses scale, leveraging Facebook ads and other cool stuff. So let's not waste any time and welcome Brandon Guthrie, CEO at Dream Design Labs. Hey, Brandon.

Hey, what's up? Woo!

Yeah.

How you doing?

Yeah, I'm doing absolutely great. I'm very excited to have you on, bud. Super excited to have you on. Hope you're having a great time.

Yes, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

Absolutely. So Brandon is a Facebook Ads expert who went from absolutely having nothing, now being at a level where helping businesses to scale to 7 figures and beyond. And everyone who is watching this interview right now, please make sure to comment #live if you're watching this live and #replay if you're watching this replay. So, and also share this information because it's so valuable, amazingly, so that other people can also get some value out of it. So let's not waste any time. Brendon is with us for 45 minutes. So if you have any questions, straight put that into the comments and Brendon will answer that. So Brendon, can you please get started with your backstory? Like how did it all started? Like where did it start?

Absolutely, yeah. So yeah, like many entrepreneurs started out with the lemonade stand. For me it was the Kool-Aid stand. You know, started way, way back then. And always had the entrepreneur blood inside of me. In high school, started my own clothing company, bought a screen press, started doing silkscreen printing. I actually got into video, so I started shooting videos of professional motocross racers. I learned how to use HTML and CSS to build websites, built my own website, started making money through AdSense on traffic, people watching my interviews. Um, and, uh, so just serial entrepreneur. And from there, uh, funny story, someone said, hey, you built this site, can you do that for me? I was like, wow, okay. So he's like, could you do it for $300? I was like, sick, that's so much money back then. Um, so I started— that started me down the path of like, I— that was my first $300 I had made as an entrepreneur really through like digital marketing services. And I was on fire. And so from there it grew from me realizing that what business owners want more than a website, they would say, how can I make sales to this website? So naturally it turned into me then moving to Google Ads and Facebook Ads and eventually really, you know, I amounted to enough to build and move out of my parents' house. I was super excited about that. I got my own place. I thought I made it. I can retire. I can like go sit on the beach, chill out, barely need to work anymore. You know, I get to have my Lamborghinis and mansions and it couldn't have been farther from the truth. So because I had that attitude and I don't want to put anyone on blast here, but there was a book called The Excuse me for one sec. Hey, thanks. Sorry, someone just came in. So I hate to put anyone on blast, but there is this book called The 4-Hour Workweek, and I read that at the time of starting my business. And I think it's a great book for people that have an established business to like start stepping out of the business. But I tried implementing these strategies as I was starting my business. Trying to put barriers between me and my clients and try to put like, you know, barriers and boundaries before they were ready to have them. And they just felt disconnected. I ended up losing all my clients. I got evicted from my apartment. Yeah, man, I got evicted from my apartment. Couldn't pay my bills. And this is the, this is the most embarrassing part of my story personally, just because there's something in my, in my head that finds this super embarrassing. And I know about being vulnerable on stages, that that's the best way to connect with everyone. And I had to move back in with my parents. And for me, that was like a huge gut punch. I didn't want anyone to know. I was super embarrassed. And I remember like I posted a picture on Facebook and someone commented, 'Oh, are you still living in the back house or something?' And I do— I lost it. I was with my girlfriend at the time, now fiancée, and, uh, you know, it drove me. And I, you know, I worked 7 days a week, 18 hours a day for a long time. I got to a point where my girlfriend's father was like, 'What's wrong with Brandon? He looks scrawny.' There's— I looked like there was— I was like, 'Something's wrong with me,' because I literally wasn't eating, I was barely sleeping, I was busting my tail for years. But, you know, through that, um, I just persevered. I pushed through.

I—

this is for everybody that's listening right now that feels like they're stuck and they're like, there's no hope, no light at the end of the tunnel. I just kept going and, um, kept investing as much money as I could, but I had none, and, uh, into courses and classes and trying to learn in different ways and No, I pushed through. I learned enough. I amounted to enough. You know, it's literally just— it's— that's what it is. It's like when you swing the bat, you get better at swinging the bat. So eventually amounted to enough to be able to move out, move back out of my parents' house. And I proposed to my then girlfriend, now fiancée. And, you know, now since then, We have been—

I've been—

I was— it was just me wearing all the hats. And now since then, I've been able to bring in help and pretend like business is a team sport because it is.

You can't do it alone.

It is a team sport. And as soon as you start— stop having an ego, things start to work. So fast forward today, we now have a Two Comma Club Award and we're super excited and looking forward to getting our Two Comma X Club Award. And even more than that, huge shift in my mindset has been, I want to say this to people that are struggling right now, stop thinking about yourself. It's not about you. It's not about you living at your parents' house. It's not about how much money is in your bank account. It's about changing your client's life. And even more than that, I think that most people don't even think about this. It's about changing the end user's life. You need to care about nothing else other than that. And when you truly have that heart to serve, they're going to see it through the copy that you write, through the creative you create, through the ads that you send, through the follow-ups that you send. It's the cornerstone of everything. So by having that correct starting point, everything's just going to work better. So yeah, that's about it.

I agree. Yeah, that's an awesome story. And that's really It's a complete mind-boggling when I hear that you read a book and you got disconnected in a different way. And finally, like, again, it's all the mindset. You got it back and now you're in a different mindset and now you're actually looking at that X award and aiming for it. And hopefully when we get you on the interview next time, you'll be with that X award hanging on your wall. Let's aim for that. But yeah, excited for that. And that's awesome story. But I hope a lot of people who are actually watching are being stuck in their agency business or being struggling in their business. They get a lot of value out of it and they see that they shouldn't quit. There is no way to quit. They should be always keep pushing themselves to the next level. That's how you got there. And that's how hopefully people who are watching this will be there soon. So thank you so much for the valuable story. And let's get started with your core expertise question, Brandon. Like, what are the best traffic source for quality lead generation? Because as you know, business is all about generating leads and serving people in the right way. So right now in 2021, especially after all these crazy things happening right now in 2021, all the algorithms are shifting and all this crazy stuff. Going on, what do you think are the best traffic source for quality lead generation?

Yeah, so I'll be biased on the Facebook ads for the traffic that we use to get our leads. Facebook ads, if done right, is a great source of leads and traffic. There are other avenues that I would recommend, such as free Facebook groups, creating real relationships, now that I have this heart to serve, you know, this different cornerstone of direction and messaging. By creating Facebook groups, you can truly connect one-on-one with people, figure out their pain points, figure out their desires, and like personally connect with them. It's like, you know, it gives me that picture of sitting down with the beggar in the street and like spending time with them, you know, understanding who they are and what their pain points are and like truly understanding them to the core. So that's another great source. I'm personally exploring that and I'm very excited about it. I started my first free group, so you're welcome to check that out. I'm going to be training, teaching all of my strategies and tactics in there. But for everyone else listening, I think it's a hugely underutilized traffic source is Facebook groups. And other than that, just getting on stages is what some have called it. I think it was Pete Vargas actually. He's like the expert on getting on stages. And that's the best. I would say it's going to be doing this right here on this podcast. This is one of the best ways to get quality traffic because they see you, they hear you, they see your face, they hear your voice, they see some body language, and they decide if they like you right now or not. So those are kind of my top recommended sources of traffic.

Absolutely. Thanks for that answer, Brendan. And I'll add Brendan's group link after this live session in the comment section so that you can just join and get more value out of him. And he's an absolutely amazing dude. You can see his body language and he's freaked out every single time, but yeah, excited. So let's get into the next question, Brendan. Like, what are your 3 hacks to hit 7 figures using Facebook ads? As you say, Facebook ads is your main core traffic source. What are the 3 hacks that you personally use to hit 7 figures using Facebook ads?

Yeah, for sure. So the 3 hacks that I actually have in the Facebook group, that's our cover photo right now. So the 3 hacks, it's like if I had to simplify the process into 3 main points that made the biggest difference, it would be one, the first thing I said about understanding your customer and actually caring about them, understanding their pain point, entering the conversation that they're already having in their mind right now. What worries did they wake up this morning with? You know, understanding that is number one so that it creates, it's the cornerstone of your messaging. Without good messaging and actually having that heart to serve, none of it's gonna work. Okay, so the rest of it won't work. Two is what we use is definitely, we use ClickFunnels, obviously. ClickFunnels award, where is it right here? Yeah, so a lot of people in, let's just say in the industry, in the service industry for lead generation tend to use the short form as it's more appealing with a lower CPL. But we recommend using ClickFunnels and going for the more quality lead by putting them through an extra step. And then you can actually give them the further step, which is, do you want fries with that? Which is the in-home design estimate. And then, you know, the further we offer financing. So normally with the short form, a lot of people are just getting the lead and then sending it over for information, whereas you could be taking it longer. So that's number 2, making sure to use the right funnel. And then number 3 is proper follow-up. So, you know, everyone's heard it, fortune's in the follow-up, but it's common knowledge, but it's not common practice. So for instance, this Two Comma Club Award, when we started with them, they were only calling leads after 3 days. And then after that 3 days, the lead was trash. And I was like, what? Are you serious? I had a real estate background and we work with some real estate agents on lead generation and we're used to following up with leads for months, if not years. So I came in there and I was like, what's going on here? We need to add in some more follow-up. And honestly, there has been days where they booked more appointments than they got leads. So they, one day they booked 21 appointments and they got 15 leads that day. And they literally were like messaging us in Slack and they were, because all of our clients have a Slack channel of their own. And they were like, how? They were like looking at the numbers and they were like, how is that possible? And it was like, follow up, I'm telling you. So anyways, those are—

That's a good idea. Seriously.

So yeah, those are the 3 hacks I would say, and we can go in more depth into those in the group and whatnot.

Absolutely. So anyone who wants to learn more deep on how you can implement these 3 hacks into your business, make sure to join Brendan's group. And that absolutely makes sense. Traffic, funnel, and follow-up. If you figure out all these 3 hacks in the right way, then it's going to be a 2-comma club. Who knows, right? If the offer is super exciting, for sure. That's amazing, but thanks for that golden nugget. And let's get into the next question, Brendan. Do you think starting a media buying agency is a good idea right now? If yes, how to do it? Like how to get that first client? Like you got lucky client, like clients asking for designing the website for $300. It was pretty awesome back then, but right now it's super competitive. I see like people who are offering crazy stuff for very little money. "So do you think starting a media buying agency is a good idea? How to do it?" Yes, definitely.

So is it a good idea? I think it's a good idea if it's your passion, you know, if it's in your bones to create cool creative and create cool action and create cool change. You know, that's what I'm into and, you know, that's just, it's in my bones. So if you love it, do it. If you don't have that in your bones, it's going to be really hard when it gets hard. I'm telling you, it's gotten really hard for me. I've screamed, I've yelled, I've cried. It's going to get hard. You need to love it to get through that. So that's number one. And then number two is it is good if you are passionate about it. Heck yeah, because you want to do what you want to do, what you love to do. So I would say yes, it is. And how to do it, how to get that first client for people. I've had people ask me that. That's a loaded question. How I did it personally was through personal connections and relationships for my first clients. And now looking back, I, 'cause you could say, oh, run ads and get strategy calls, but wait a second, you don't have budget, so that doesn't work, right? So there's a couple of things that you can do. One, One is you can reach out to your real connections and this is something that I didn't do before, I wish I did, I wish I did this. Just offer a free beta partnership program. Free beta partnership program. Don't just say free work, doesn't sound as cool. Free beta partnership program. Say, you know, I really wanna break into this industry and basically offer to do work for them for free in order to get some results. And that way you can then turn around, have a case study, and get more clients. Not that, that won't always work. I know I would say that this is a good strategy to try. People still might be like, well, I don't know if I should trust you with my ad spend. Still, I got to spend it, right? So that might not always work, but I would say it's pretty good. I would take a swing at it. Number 2, is the Facebook groups. So if you actually have studied everything that you can study about Facebook ads, I do think there is enough free information on the internet to make you pretty much an expert. I always didn't believe that. I never believed that because it's free. Why would it— why would I— would that make me an expert? An expert now, it used to be— this is something I learned— an expert is used to be the person that had access to information, like real estate agents used to be the only ones that could access the MLS. Now that's not it anymore. Everyone can access all the homes. What makes someone an expert is their ability to put— make sense of all of the noise. There's so much noise in the world. An expert is able to put it into a frame and say, this is what you need to look at. So you can get free information, you can become an expert. And then the next part is create a free group. Go into other groups, answer questions from all— you have to scrape the face of the planet and become an expert with all the knowledge you can. Go into groups and help people genuinely answer the questions. You know, be generous with your time, answer questions, invite them into your group if they want to learn more. Don't do it in any— don't do it in other people's groups. Make sure to don't conflict with that, but, because then you'll get blocked. But, and then get them in your group and then nurture them. And eventually you're going to be able to create relationships. And I think that definitely that would be a great way to land some new, so your first client, I would be, I'm super confident that would work.

Absolutely. Yeah. I think like a lot of people offer this free thing, like, hey, I'll work for free for 1 month, 2 months. But I think people really undervalue that service. But when you say this cool word like beta partnership program, and if you offer it for free, a lot of people will be saying yes. And you can have a basic contract going around. If you get results, you're going to get this kind of payment. And I think that can definitely get a yes from clients. And of course, if you have that bone in the skin to give results, you're going to make it happen with that client and retain them. Absolutely. That's amazing. And that's in a nutshell, golden nugget on how you can acquire your first client without a lot of expertise.

That's awesome.

Yeah.

Yes. And I'll add one more for everyone listening.

I—

we're, we're experimenting with this, and I think this would also work. Offer a pay-per-lead or pay-per-appointment program. So they— you set it up for free, and they only pay you when they get an appointment booked in their calendar. Okay, it sounds like I could do that.

And then you're good.

And then we have a formula on how to figure that out, but that's the gist of it. And yeah, I think that's a great one as well. I would want to put it out there.

Absolutely. Yeah, that really makes sense to actually the client's ideology, right? They'll be looking at like, okay, I'm not spending anything unless I get an appointment. So they'll be super freaked up and they'll be excited to get started. That's amazing, Brendan. And let's get into the next question, Brendan. Like, as you're the expert of this Facebook ads and all the cool stuff which is going around, and you know, like, Zook is not really good when it comes to maintaining consistent, seeing these algorithms and softwares. Like, you know what's happening right now in 2021 February, we're getting this iOS 14 thing rolling out. So like, it's going to change the whole tracking system of how Facebook function and algorithm and the conversion campaigns and stuff like that. So what do you think is the best way? How to defeat the iOS 14 update? Do you have any recommendations, process, stuff like that going around?

Yeah, for sure. So yeah, you're probably already going to see some of your campaigns have zero conversions in the campaign column. And we identified that that was because our attribution window wasn't set to 7-day, 7-day click, 1-day view, and it's going to be changing to 7-day click soon as well. So that's the reason why you might be like, oh, why are all my conversions gone? And so that's one way, just a quick tip on how to solve that really, really fast. There is gonna be tracking issues and how do we defeat that? How do we stand out is honestly, it's gonna come back to understand your client. Like I said before, the picture of sitting down with the beggar and understanding their pains and their desires is the more you can understand them on that level, the more you're gonna stand out in your messaging, the better creative you're gonna create. And I've actually heard media agencies say, I have a buddy of mine that, He owns, uh, he owns Welling Media. Shout out to Chandler. But he was saying like now more than ever, creative is going to be pretty much where it's at for with this iOS update. Now the tracking is going to be, you know, harder, harder. It's not going to be, it's not going to be gone 100%. It's going to be a little bit, you know, more restricted. Um, but, uh, that's now it's just, it's just making creative. The creative side is just gonna be need to be elevated that much more.

Absolutely. So everyone who is still bobbling your mind about how you can defeat this iOS 14 update, it's all about having the right creative and getting more CTR so that you can actually defeat that and get more traction from your potential client. And again, Brandon put it all in one nutshell, understanding a potential client really clearly. If your messaging is on point, then it's going to convert no matter what, if you have the right tracking or not. It's gonna still work, right? That's awesome. And let's get into the next question, Brendan. As you're already at this 7-figure level, managing a lot of clients, having a lot of stuff to do every single day, and like, as an agency, you know, it's gonna be freaking up all day, having a lot of tasks on the table, on the desk, right? So it's overwhelming. Like, I'm curious, like, what kind of tools you use to manage all these projects, all these clients, uh, like leveling up your productivity?

Yeah, for sure. Great question. And, uh, I've learned that as I've been building the team. We use Slack and we use Asana. So they integrate together. It works great, keeps us all accountable. And, you know, we have all of our clients in the Slack channel, including their team members. So, you know, their associates, their appointment setter, their creative, their website designer, everyone, they're all in Slack. So it's just this really cool way to to communicate, and by doing that, you can be outstanding from other agencies that don't offer that experience. And that's when, you know, you start getting more referrals when you have the outstanding experience. So pretty much Slack and Asana, I would say those are our main ones. Yeah, I mean, that, that just helps everything kind of keep everyone accountable.

Absolutely. So you're really streamlining to the one way. You're not having 100 different tools to confuse yourself. Simply Slack integrated with Asana, you have all the tools and all the communication in a simple place, and you got it done. And I really agree, like, giving the client the best experience, that can help us to scale up in a very great way. That's— thanks. So thank you so much for that answer, Brendan. Let's get into the next question. So like, how does your daily routine look like? Like, what does your daily routine look like for success?

Yeah, well, that's a good one. I've been working on that. I'm a daily work in progress. So last night I went to bed at midnight, woke up at 4:00 AM. Not normal. I've been working on a— working hard on a project right now, but normal, the normal daily routine. I mess around with it all the time, but right now what I've been doing is I go to bed at 8:00 PM. Wake up at 4 AM. I, uh, go— I do go downstairs in my garage, do some weights, do weights in the garage. I run, and because that, uh, I believe in having strong physiology empowerment, it gives you the right— you know, you win the battle in the morning, it gives you your first win so that the next one can come and the next one can come. You're not starting like with no momentum. And then after running, um, I spend a little bit of time with my fiancée, have a little bit of coffee, and then I head into the office. And I'm in usually about 8 or 9, and we work until we're just, we're basically on it. We schedule our day through Asana, so we have all our tasks laid out, so we're really efficient. I would say that's a huge thing that I would say to anyone is Schedule things out, schedule things out. Don't just put on a to-do list with no time. I personally, every hour is scheduled for me, you know, every, every hour. And I've even tried to narrow it down to like minutes and seconds, and the seconds thing didn't work. I'm a schedule freak. So, but stay on track, use, use some software, use your calendar. And then I usually, I attempted to have a normal life and leave at 5. Didn't work, right? So I'm back to heading home at 7. So, and then I get home by 7:30, go to bed at 8, do it again. So just trying to be super productive, trying to maximize my productivity. I would say experiment with your schedule, you know, make it work for you, maximize your productivity. Also, there's a huge thing I want to say to everybody that's starting out is you also don't want to get burnt out. So, you know, there is, you need to have personal time, mental health time. It's not even personal time, it's mental health. It's mental health. So yeah, that's pretty much my routine for maximum productivity.

Absolutely. That's pretty simple. And like those sweet moments which you're saying exactly, that really makes a lot of sense and it fulfills the day, right? And as an agency, you know, It's all about putting out more effort and pushing our limits to the next level. And like, that's really interesting when you're trying to schedule for seconds, even that's much more complicated than time boxing, which Elon Musk uses. But yeah, I really appreciate that. And like, it's really important. Like I personally like just lay out tasks on paper, but I need to try that out, which you're just mentioning, like minute to minute scheduling tasks. I think that really keeps us accountable to get things done on time, right? That, that really pushes us to get things done in time. So absolutely, I definitely will try that. Thank you so much for that takeaway, Brandon. So let's get into the next quick question. As you're already at a different level right now, I really believe and admire that you had a lot of mindset issues and probably business issues when you were young. So what will be your suggestion to a 20-year-old you or someone who is just getting started right now?

So mindset, I definitely, definitely wish I would have had the mindset of serving instead of— because when you're young, you get, you get attracted by the Lamborghinis and the mansions and the private jets. And it's like, oh man, that's what gets you, you know? And so you kind of, you try to see how much money you can make. And I think that's the problem with this industry, actually. I've heard, I've heard high— I've been one-on-one with high-impact coaches and these are super high level, and I've had the opportunity to speak with them and they're like, dude, the one problem with your industry He's like, there's a lot of douchebags. He said it straight up. And, you know, I wish I would have known at 20 that it's truly about serving and change, making change in someone's life, not in a corny way, in a results way. If you're not making results, if you're not bringing results, then it doesn't matter what you're doing. Because I feel like there's this easy— it's— you can be tempted to be like, okay, let me close a client so I can make some money. And then like, I don't know, hopefully I get results. It's like, okay, well, if you're going to do that, then let them know that you don't know if this is going to work. And this is a beta thing. Like, I want to learn just as much as you do, and I'm going to give you a hookup price. You know, I'm going to work below minimum wage for you. You could hire someone, it'd be more expensive, but I'll work below minimum wage to learn. And I truly want to serve you. I want to make your life better. And your clients' lives better. And I think that if I would have known that at 20 years old, I would have taken a much slower approach to it. I would have taken a step back. I would have said, okay, I'm going to focus on trying to help a small group of people. Maybe, you know, let's just say 3 to 5 people in mind, and I want to, I want to focus on those 3 to 5 people. Not every single one's going to work out, so that's why I say 3 to 5, not just one, because one market just might not be right. So that's why I'm diversifying a little bit. I would try to seek to serve them as much as possible. And then once I can make some change in their life and make their lives better, literally by bringing extra income to them, they're less stressed, they have more income and they have better mental health and better relationships with their family because of what I did. So once, and then once I did that, then I would scale vertically in that niche. I wish I would've known that. I didn't, it was the mindset. So I wish I would've had the mindset of service before.

So yeah. Absolutely. I think like a lot of agency owners, especially the young ones who are just getting started or who's just trying to start out with their clients and niche down, like I've seen people who say like, I work with everyone. I help every niche. I help, I do every service from web designing to SEO, funnel designing, copywriting, Facebook ads, follow-up emails, everything. But that doesn't work that way. You know, Renan, much more than me. So it's really important to niche down. And as you mentioned, I really liked that one sentence which you just said, niching down to just one client, like one specific client. I think that's too hard because you have a very low capability of delivering results. I think like exactly what you mentioned, like probably diversifying in the similar niche, like real estate investors, agents and capital raisers, private lenders. Like we can pick the same niche and have multiple diversification so that we can have much more market to capture. And that's a great suggestion for everyone who's watching right now. Amazing. So let's get into the next question. As you're already at this big level, I definitely believe that you have some great achievements to mention. So what are your life's biggest achievements and what are your next bigger goals?

So definitely I'd say the Two Comma Club Award. Where is it?

There it is.

Yeah. So that's definitely a big achievement. It's so funny. I know people have made way more money. But in this world, but it just, it feels so good.

It feels grateful to be impactful and changing other people's lives. Yeah.

Yeah. 100%. So I would say that's a big achievement and yeah. So I mean, exactly the client that we helped with this, you know, his life has been impacted in a big way, positively, you know, so that's super rewarding. Um, so, um, and then any bigger goal next? So, Definitely. So we're going to— we're already planning, we're building a funnel right now to scale vertically in that market, in the artificial grass market and really in the residential lead generation market as well. So HVAC, roofing, windows, you know, all that good stuff. But probably not industries like plumbing or garage door repair or anything like that because those are emergency Google Those are good for Google Ads and we're trying to stick with, starting to stick with Facebook Ads where Facebook Ads creates desire out of thin air. That's what interruption marketing is.

Yeah.

So it's different. You can't create desire. Oh, I really want to, now that you mentioned it, I do want to make my pipes better. No one wants that. So it's an emergency-based thing. But so scale vertically there and then also, you know, impact more clients' lives, but also, basically turn around and teach people that were stuck just like I was in those, in those years, the years that I spent screaming, yelling, crying at the wind, become looking like there was something wrong with me because I was getting so scrawny and skinny and like I looked unhealthy. My eyes were probably sunken, you know, like just looked like a, like Gollum or something. I don't want that for anybody. And for those of you that are feeling like that, I have a— I really want to serve. I really want to help them get unstuck. You know, I've been asked by, you know, high impact coaches, you know, who— like, who basically look back to your darkest point in life, in your journey, and then like, wouldn't you want to help yourself? When you were crying, yelling, punching the wall, doing whatever you were, heck yeah, dude, I want to help that person because that is super fulfilling. And now with this, even just starting to do this whole thing of like helping people, it's just like a whole different level of fulfillment. It feels so great when someone says like, oh my gosh, thank you so much for your time and being so generous. And it just, It's awesome.

Yeah, it's an awesome feeling. And again, thanks for being on the show. Like, we really love the value which you're giving us right now. And hopefully, who is watching right now, just join Brendan's group and you'll definitely find a lot of value. And you can connect him on a more personal level if you need any help with him. And I'm glad that I'm into your mastermind, but looking forward to it as well. Let's get on to the next question, Brendan. So what was the biggest mistake in your life so far?

Biggest mistake. Biggest mistake. Business or personal?

Both, maybe.

Okay, so business, business, business, business. I would say biggest mistake was making it about money in the beginning, for sure. That was a big mistake. It set me back. I could have been so much more ahead in helping people and you'll be equally compensated for it too. If I would have known that, that's the biggest mistake. When people just know that you're being genuine, that you really want to help, it's just, it's going to come around. It's going to come around fast. You know, it's going to take like a, you give it 1 year of like just seriously serving people and you're going to blow up. So I wish I would have done that business-wise and then, uh, Okay, I'm going to be open and vulnerable on the personal side because I know that being open and vulnerable is the best way to resonate with audiences. So I had a DUI when I was 21. So I turned 21 years old and I got a DUI. It actually, it was a big thing in my life. You know, I can't add everything in my story. I want to keep it short, but this is part of it. I hit rock bottom. I mean, dude, I would for sure— it was like, it was bad. It was— I hit rock bottom. That was a huge mistake of making. It was like, I know, as he— I guess I was focused on, you know, partying and hanging out with my friends and whatever.

Yeah.

And you see what's his name? What's it, Caleb? Or, uh, who's the Maddox guy? He's like 14 years old, 16 years old, made a million bucks already. I was like, 21, still wasting my life away. I wish I would have— wish I would have known sooner. Um, but out of that, I, I do have to say, I actually, um, I transformed. It was actually the best thing that happened to me. And then, yeah, I hit rock bottom, and it really humbled me, and it made me a better person in the end, and, uh, it propelled me forward to who I am today. So for those of you that feel like you're at rock bottom right now, just keep going and it's going to build your character. And I love this. I love this. There's this writer, he's in MasterClass. If you guys look up MasterClass, if you're in a MasterClass, you know, the app and you watch the— he's a humorous— he's a comedy writer or something. I can't remember his name, but he says when bad things happen, I feel— he says, I feel so bad for people that aren't writers. Because when bad things happen to them, they just have to deal with it. And me, when bad things happen to me, I think, oh, this is going to be a great story. And he starts writing in his journal. He's like, he writes books based on his horrible experiences. And in a way, after hearing that, I think about that. If you're in this space, your biggest setbacks are the best stories that you're going to be able to help other people with.

So exactly, yeah, a lot of people can really learn from that exact experiment. And I really love that, like, you know, you went to the rock bottom and now you change the whole shift to your business and mindset. And like, I believe like people who hit the rock bottom and get to the next level, they have the strong, like strongest mindset ever in their life. Like they'll be ready for anything. They'll be set up for anything to do and they have a lot more to achieve as well because they'll be super aspirational for the future and helping other people. As you are right now. Definitely appreciate that, and I hope whoever is watching learn from your mistakes and make sure that they never give up in their, in their whole journey of business and personal life, no matter what, right? So absolutely, thank you so much for the quick answer. Let's get into the next question, which is like your main inspiration people for success and any key people involved in the whole journey.

My inspiration for success and key persons involved. So inspiration for success Let's see. Okay. I love Seth Godin. Seth Godin is awesome. He is so cool. For everyone watching, listening, his book, This Is Marketing. I listen to his audiobook probably every— I listen to it every morning. I probably heard it like 100 times.

Whoa.

Yeah, maybe over 100 times. I just— I just read— it's on repeat. Because he's so right about everything. So that's a huge inspiration. That's a great person to follow. And then key persons involved, I would say I want to give my hats off to Dusty Ledbetter. I know you have—

there you go.

Yeah, shout out to Dusty. He's a key person involved. He's— we started out Crazy story of we actually met in a program and, you know, we stayed connected and we eventually started working together on projects. And now he's the CMO, Chief Marketing Officer at the company. And now we have a COO, Steve Izzaki, shout out to him as well. He— funny story with him. I met him in person at a Tai Lopez internet marketing party in San Diego in the crowd. We got connected, stayed in touch. 3 years later, we end up— he ends up bringing a client to me, and now he's our COO. Crazy, right?

Awesome, awesome. Yeah, that's the part of networking, right? Like, just networking with the right minds and people that can take it to the next level. I definitely appreciate that. Awesome.

Yeah, so those are, those are, uh, some key people involved for sure.

Amazing. And that, that's what it's all about, like being a team and Working for what you really want and having the right vision that can really lead us to a next level life. I definitely agree with him. Thank you so much for that.

One last shout out because I just got to do it. I don't want to hear it later. My, my brother Blake Guthrie, he's our CTO, Chief Technology Officer. Shout him out. He's my brother. He's my big brother. And, uh, and he works on— he's good with computers and he works on all of our follow-up GHL, follow-up Salesforce. He's all in there. So just shout out.

Yeah, amazing guy. Like, follow-ups is like, I think it's the backbone of a business, any business. And pretty amazing stuff. Awesome. Thanks for the shout out again. So let's get into the last question, uh, like where can our audience find your mentoring? Because you are providing, like, providing insane amount of value, like how they can start their agency, how to get the right mindset for serving clients, how to be result-oriented, how they can actually have the right mindset, learning Facebook ads and all of cool stuff. Like where can our audience find your mentoring?

Yeah, for sure. So my free Facebook group, I got a link in my bio and my Facebook profile. Also, it sounds like we'll be getting you a link here after the live video as well.

Yeah, I'll drop that. Awesome.

And yeah, join there. I truly do have a heart to serve. I think that this should be the same for anybody. I think I love that I can be open and honest about this because I don't want it to be salesy or something, right? Everyone should be doing this. This is what the path should be. The path should be, hey, I want to serve my tribe. I have a free Facebook group. I'm going to be giving free value all the time, pretty much going to be teaching everything I do at a high level for free all the time. I know you— maybe not everyone can afford my paid programs, but go in there. I promise you, you will get better and you will become an expert. And then if you, you know, have some income or some revenue, disposable revenue to invest and go up the value ladder and you want to get closer to me, spend more time with me, have more one-on-one experience, then we have those available to serve you further. So I think everyone, you, the next person, the next person, I think everyone should have a free group where they're serving their people and then truly, and it's not even a lie and let them know, yeah, I have paid programs and yeah, if if I don't pay my bills, I can't be on this laptop right now on this Wi-Fi and I'm going to be homeless. I'm not going to be able to serve anybody if I'm not making— if I'm not paying the bills. So I got to— I do have to charge something for some paid programs, but there is free stuff as well. So anyway, love the messaging, man.

Love the honesty, buddy. And like, people say that they're already in your group and excited to learn more. So you're already on the stage.

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, all right, absolutely, absolutely. So everyone who's watching, you have nothing to lose. And like Brendan put it in a very smooth way, like you can just go join the group, learn the core expertise. If you have something, if you're really excited about his program, just go and ask him. Or else you can still learn, and if you don't have any income as well, you can learn the expertise and try it out, try it out yourself, make some money, and you can reinvest that into this business. Again, it's a value-added. You can make more money. It's all about investing probably like ₹1, sorry, $1, and then making $10 back. It's all about doubling down, doubling down. And investing in yourself is like probably the best investment you can ever do. So that's awesome, Brandon, again. So any last words before we conclude the whole session?

I just want to say thanks. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me on. I really, really appreciate it. My last words would be I am looking forward to jumping in this community, helping people out, having a true heart of service, and I hope And I, and I hope that what Seth Godin says is he says marketing is creating change. And the change that I want to create in this, in this industry is I want to change it back to— or it actually, I don't think it's ever been like that. I think it's, uh, basically moving forward to having heart first, putting caring about the end user first before It's not about the numbers, not about the sales. All of that will follow. Um, just excited to jump in and, and, uh, I'm gonna go ahead and proclaim it now. Hashtag— I'm gonna create a hashtag. It's gonna be a movement. Okay, so stay tuned for that. I've messed around with it a little bit. I'm thinking about calling hashtag Empathy Marketing.

So, wow, interesting.

Empathy Marketing Movement. So it's gonna be— I want to create a movement where people are like, yeah, dude, I love that. I stand for that. And I want that. I want to see that change in the world. I want that change. And as soon as you can say that they want that change so much that they— oops. If people want to see the change that you're trying to make in the world so much, they might even be able to— they might even be willing to invest in that change. Anyways, yeah, that's my last words.

Absolutely. That keyword is super interesting, right? So let's definitely stick to that moment. I'm super excited to be a part of that moment, and I really feel that heartfully that we should always keep heart first in the marketing and just make sure about the end consumer experience. And if we really try to make that better, we can definitely have everything going well for ourselves. And again, Brendan, thank you so much for amazing opportunity, and we really love the golden nuggets. And hopefully everyone who's watching this live will join your group and get more value out of you. And probably if they like to, they can work on a more personal level. Again, thank you so much for being on here, and hopefully everyone got amazing stuff out of this. And please make sure to comment if you have any more questions right now, or else we can start. And stay tuned, guys. Hopefully you enjoyed the session, and Brennan is with you on Facebook. Just go and connect if you need any more help. And again, thank you so much. We'll be looking forward to interview when you get to that X level. Let's do that.

Yeah, okay, awesome.