Is Entrepreneurship for You? Two Experts Reveal the Truth

Welcome to the Kerner office. This is the second part of the Shannon episode that we started a week ago today. Today we speak in a little more generalities about entrepreneurship, how to make your first dollar, what audiences online are the most valuable, how to have resilience as an entrepreneur. Some practical advice for people just getting started in making money outside of a 9 to 5. We used an analogy about a slingshot that I think you'll like. We talked about compounding. So last week we talked about a lot of specific business, business ideas. And this week we're talking in more generalities about entrepreneurship and how to get started and how to persist when things get tough. But we did talk about some tactical stuff as well. Facebook groups, Etsy opportunities, Airbnb opportunities. You're gonna like it. Enjoy, please like and subscribe. Share with your friends and we'll see you next time. I'm glad you brought up the accessibility part because I'm really leaning into that as well. Like, it's, you can go upstream or you can go downstream. Right? Like, you can talk about billionaires or you can talk about side hustles. And I like talking about things that are more accessible. It's not as sexy, not as cool. What are you working on right now?

I often comment as people are in love with the end state of entrepreneurship. That's awesome. And that attracts me too, of course. But I feel compelled to share the work, you know, and the little stuff. And like we were talking about earlier, it's great. Yeah, you want to make a million dollars, but let's start with a thousand and let's get a system. Because if you make a mistake at the million dollar level, well, it has a much greater impact on your life. Right. Can be very negative because, you know, can you afford wipeout risk maybe in your 20s, but could you do it with your family in your 30s or 40s? I don't think so. You get to make those mistakes on that on the way up, and then you take a little more risk and a little more risk it's that mistakes are tuition and you're building your education and your curriculum along the way. So I'm with you and I'm doing it right now. We were talking about content creation. I've wanted to productize my knowledge forever and just didn't know how to do it. And so now I'm doing it. Some stuff doesn't work. Some stuff works. But I celebrate the small wins, the hundred bucks, the thousand bucks. That's to me, it gives me energy and I can feel makes Me want to get up earlier, want to stay up later, want to be in front of my computer more. That gives me energy.

Yeah, yeah. You know what's really interesting is I've been on YouTube and so now I have like data to back up the quote, the value of an audience when you talk about different things. Because YouTube will show like I interview people that are ultra high net worth and then I interview people that are making a few thousand bucks selling garage shelves on the weekend.

Right? Yeah.

Everything in between.

Yep.

Thank you. And one thing that I've noticed, because YouTube will break down your CPM, your cost per mil or cost per the value of the audience on a per video basis. And when I interviewed a guy named Matt who started an alpine slide, cost him $8 million. He's got a bunch of eight figure hits and he's very interesting, very engaging. And the CPM on those videos is like I'll say RPM because CPM is before YouTube takes their 50 or 45% cut revenue per mil is what I actually take home. And so you know, Mr. Beast's RPM, it's like two to three dollars. A lot of business channels are like six to eight dollars. And when I talk to these ultra high net worth guys, for whatever reason, the RPM on those is like $8, which is above average. It's good when I talk to the guys doing a side hustle, something more accessible. The RPM is over $20.

Is that right?

Which is unheard of for YouTube. And it's like, why is that reverse? And I was thinking about it and it's like the people watching this are probably more likely to take action, right?

Of course, of course.

They're to the point in their life where like they're already likely successful. They're ready to go to Home Depot and buy a chop saw. They have money. Like maybe they're making six figures in their job, but they don't like their job. And they're to the point where they're ready to take action. Whereas if you look at the RPM of like a, a motivation channel that just has like Elon Musk quotes, it's like it's like $4. Cause it's just dreamers. They're not doers. What do you think about that?

I agree with you. And I think that most people, we all strive for something better. We want something better for ourselves, maybe for our kids. We. Whether it's something we want, you know, it's a physical thing or education. So whatever it is, there's cost associated with that. Your time, money And I think that, you know, those folks that can watch that. And as. As you talk about, these actions are what makes it work. And I. I'll give you example, tactical specific. It's. It's not just this great strategy of like, I talk about auctions all the time, but I don't say, like, hey, you should go buy this couch. These couch retailers, returns from Costco. That sounds like a nightmare to me. But I want you to get in the game and start studying liquidations and returns, because you can start on a small level and ease your way in. You can do it out of your garage and easy way. But when I was running like three or four companies and making good money and everything else, and then Etsy came along, right? And I was like, what is this Etsy, man? And I was like, you know, I got some time in the evenings. I had already started something, a couple of companies, like, you know, I got to figure this out. So I'm studying. I'm just up on Etsy. I'm just looking around. What's selling. That seems like a lot. And I found that these guys and women were making these kind of steampunk light fixtures out of this black metal pipe, and they look really cool. And I was like, man, I got a spot. I really. It's like, you know what? And they're like $750. They're selling these really nice big wall things on there. I was like, I could totally do that. Just come on. I'm not there. So I went and bought all the pipe. I was shocked that the pipe to build this big thing was like 250 bucks. Got the wire, got these fancy LED bulbs, and I learned it. I was like, okay, man. I spent probably a week in the evenings building the first one, and I put it up my house, and it's still up in my kitchen, tucked up between the open beams in our kitchen. And then I talked to my wife. I was like, I'm going to make these up. And she's like, well, how long does it take? Are you going to do it? I was like, well, yeah, maybe I don't want to do it, but I could. I learned how to do it. And you could have made a few hundred dollars per light and managed it and this kind of thing. But I think it's that curiosity as well. And the biggest gift for me to be being an entrepreneur is confidence. Like, I've started telling people that want to be coached. I was like, really? I sell confidence that you have once you can make a little bit of Money on your own. For some of these businesses and ideas we're talking about today, it changes your whole life and your whole framework. You talk to people, you're more confident. If you have a regular 9 to 5 or W2, it's going to help you there because all of a sudden you're more confident and maybe it allows you to speak up and offer different ideas because you learned something in your side hustle. So I think the world is just full of people that want more. And your videos coming back full circle, it just tracks those and my posts on auctions and three and a half million people that want to learn about Costco auctions. Okay, well, I know that system, but it's a system. It's not just, oh, you should go buy this and do that. So I think that's why.

Yeah. Where do you think your confidence came from?

Well, when I got out of college and even when I was in college, we talked about this last time it was on your show about flipping trucks while I was in school and looking for the unfair advantage of getting the. The magazine that came out early. You built, man, you have to solve problems like crazy when you're doing that stuff. And like, oh, this didn't work or that didn't work. And so when you're younger, I kind of fell in love with problem solving and because in the outcome would come and you would sell that truck, make a thousand bucks. That was our whole system. Can we make a thousand bucks a vehicle? And that built my confidence a lot. And I learned a lot from. I mentioned this before. My mom taught me that reality is flexible. That was just a part of my upbringing. The whole time is you get to create your own life, your own reality, all that stuff. So that helped me build a lot of confidence. And as I started to find a little bit of success, I didn't make a. I don't. I would say every business side hustle I've ever done, I don't make a lot of money. In the beginning, we were just congratulating each other for making, you know, a hundred dollars, $150. So that is how I built my confidence over time. When I realized that I didn't have to have someone else tell me what to do. And no matter what happened, the worst mistakes I have ever made, I could always start over because I learned the system of making money, I understood it, and I'm a product guy. So I learned the study, research, find the delta between the buy and the sell. I learned the relationship part of it. So that built My confidence, because I'm.

Over here thinking like it's almost a chicken and egg. Like you kind of have to try and problem solve and fail to get some confidence. But how do you do all that without any confidence? And I'm thinking of myself, where I got my confidence, and that was knocking 50,000 doors in Eastern Europe for two years and getting rejected almost every time. So I'm trying to think of back to us, trying to be tactical and specific. What do we tell a 25 or a 55 year old or anyone in between that says, I want to do this, I want to do what you're doing, I want to do entrepreneurship, but I don't really like problem solving yet, but I want to like problem solving. And I don't know if I'm confident yet, but I want to be confident. What do you do with that?

Yeah, like I get DMs like that where it's like, where do I start? And especially when I don't have any money, how do I get started? Well, I think you have to study, you have to research. The way I would start is I would have my laptop on my lap. I just wouldn't watch Netflix or TikTok or whatever. I'd just be sitting there. It's like, okay, well how are these people making money? Go on X or YouTube or whatever. And, and just okay, in my case, you're buying and selling stuff and I'm giving all these links to these auction sites. And, and then how much can you access? Can you put, you know, if you don't have any money, can you put a few hundred dollars on your credit card? I don't recommend that, but that's what I did. I got 40 credit cards that had $10,000 each. And that was my first line of credit, $400,000. Because I believed in myself and I was young and I was like, well, what's the worst that can happen? And so if you study and research, it's boring, it's not sexy. And this is most people quit because like in my case, I look at an auction, say, I can't make any money. I looked at 10 auctions and I couldn't make any money on any of those. Well, maybe you should, you know, change what your. Change your framework and just buy something that you can get your money back so you could like, exercise, muscle, learn. There's a price to pay. With my handbag business that I started, I knew nothing about this stuff at all. Zero. And so it took me almost a year to really develop it. But The. The way I started was buying from other handbag resellers. Not a lot. They were sent. I bought cheap bag, 50 bucks here, whatever, 100 bucks, just so I could get the experience. How did they respond to me? What emails did I get? What does the box look like? What's the packaging? Is there a thank you card inside the box? All those things. And then I created notes. I wrote a book because I was, okay, I'm gonna do this. I know how to do this. They do this terrible. This is an opportunity. And while I was learning that, I was just researching on LinkedIn. Who works for Louis Vuitton? Can I reach out now? It didn't go anywhere. But who's the big handbag sellers? Oh, that store. Can I reach out to Macy's? Can I reach out to Bloomingdale's? Yes. I reached out to a guy and said, what do you do with your returns? Or overstock? And he turned me on to the Macy's liquidation website. And that's where I started. And they were mostly garbage. But I don't know if I mentioned.

But you're further along. You're further down the road.

Yes, yes, yes. You're swimming upstream. Think of that as a fish. You're swimming constantly upstream. You're. And you don't know where you will wind up. Right. Most people.

But you're making progress.

Yes, you're making progress. You're getting that little thing as you're learning and you're building this foundation. And I think that you have to congratulate yourself on the small wins, the little achievements. Oh, look, I got my resale permit. Awesome. That's huge. You don't know. 99% of people won't even do that. Right. And I got a business license and, oh, I cleared out a corner of my garage and put some racks, like that rack guy that you posted about. You built some racks and so you can stack stuff in there. Check, check, write it down. I don't like to do lists. I love to did lists that I can write down what I did. It makes me feel like I've achieved more. Right? So see what I got done today? I got this. I got this. I get this. That's what I would do to get started. It's a mental game, right? It's definitely a mental game.

All right. If you are watching this clip right now, you are watching this on YouTube. And if you are a fan of podcasts, please check out my podcast while you're at it. Because sometimes I have podcasts that aren't on YouTube. And sometimes I have YouTubes that aren't on podcasts. So check out the Kerner office on any podcast platform. Or you can go to tkopod.com Also, my newsletter will throw that in there. There are no ads. It's weekly. It's different content than my podcast and YouTube newsletter.chrisjkerner.com you'll see the link and we'll see you there. Each one of those steps, like, they pick up a book and they're 20% more likely to get there. All right? Now they go get a credit card and they're 40% more likely. Then they go buy some shelving to clear out the garage to buy something, they're 130% more likely to get there. Then they get their reseller certificate. And it's like their successes just compound in. In an exponential way. Not in an incremental way.

No, it's exponential. You, you. That's right.

And you might even say the first step is 120% more likely. And then after that, it's like 30% and 40% and 30%. I think you just answered my question. And this is a question I've had for a while, which is like, how do you get started? And I'm thinking to a lesson that I learned at church, which is like, how do you have faith? Well, you have to start with a desire to have faith.

That's right.

If you don't have a desire, then you'll never get it, right. Once you have a desire, pretty good chance you'll make it. And so, yeah, anyone that DMs us saying, how do I get started? I don't have any money. Okay, there's something there.

Here you go.

Okay. Yeah, but I think the research.

Yeah, yeah, it's definitely. And I think you have to. You can't just want it. You have to decide. You just have to decide that this is my own. This is going to happen. And for one reason or another. When my kids were little and I was like, oh, I don't want them to go to a government school, we just decided they're going to private school. And I was like, man, I don't have the extra thousand bucks a month. So we had to start a business to generate the thousand bucks a month. And we did it. But we worked every night from 10 to midnight for over a year before I could bring stuff. Before we made 500 bucks a month. We weren't at the thousand yet. Took like a little over a year. And then Once we made 500 bucks, I hired somebody to do the work, and I paid them the 500 bucks because it was only about an hour, maybe so a day. And then as the site grew, started kicking off, money took more time. We paid that person a little bit more. It was probably two years before I could take a thousand bucks a month, right? But eight years later, it was generating $30,000 a month. And that's how you start. You start. I got my wife involved because I got her buy in because she said, hey, we're in this together. And we decided to do this. It wasn't we want be really nice if we could send our kid to private school. No, we decided it was the way and we did it. We went in the hole for the first couple years and then we crawled out. So it is exponential. The analogy I really like is all this stuff is like a slingshot. And as you start, it's just this rubber thing hanging there. Everything you do, you're pulling back and you're pulling back and pulling back and pulling back. And at some point in your life and for, you know, we've had a great life, but for me, it always made, you know, good money. But that slingshot that I pulled tight, tight, tight, tight for like, I didn't really get to release it and really blow my life up until I was in my 40s because everything came together of all these people I knew and all these resources I had. And I had a building and I had this, and I had a forklift and I had all these employees. And so that little start is that you have to decide to do it.

It's so interesting because there are other guys on Twitter or in the business world that hear stories like that. I pulled it back for 20 years and I didn't let go until I was in my 40s. And some will take that information influencers and say, business is freaking hard, man. It's a lot harder.