Mastering Referral Marketing & Scaling Success with Brandon Barnum

When you think about businesses that are selling through the roof, like Alo or Skincee, sure, you think about a great product, a cool brand, and brilliant marketing. But an often overlooked secret is actually the businesses behind the business, making selling, and for shoppers, buying, simple. For millions of businesses, that business is Shopify. Nobody does selling better than Shopify with Shop Pay that boosts conversions up to 50%, meaning way less carts are going abandoned and way more sales happening. So if you're into growing Your commerce platform better be ready to sell whatever your customers are scrolling or strolling on the web, in your store, in their feed, and everywhere in between. Businesses that sell more sell on Shopify. Upgrade your business and get the same checkout Skins uses. Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com/westwood1, all lowercase. Go to shopify.com/westwood1 to upgrade your selling today. shopify.com/westwood1. You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites. With Indeed Sponsored Jobs, your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, Sponsored Jobs posted directly on Indeed have 45% more applications than non-sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed. And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at indeed.com/arts. Just go to indeed.com/arts right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring? Indeed is all you need.

Welcome to the CJ Moneyway Show.

Show podcast, the podcast show where we unlock potential one dream at a time. Today we have another guest whose journey is truly worth hearing. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the Moneyway experience. Mando's Starter Pack is perfect for new customers. It comes with a solid stick deodorant, cream tube deodorant, 2 free products of your choice, like mini body wash and deodorant wipes, and free shipping. As a special offer for listeners, new customers get $5 off a starter pack with our exclusive code. That equates to over 40% off your starter pack. Use code CJ at shopmando.com. S-H-O-P-M-A-N-D-O.com. Please support our show and tell them we sent you. Smell fresher, Stay drier and boost your confidence from head to toe with Mando.

What's up, my good people? Welcome to the CJ Moneyway Johnson Show in association with Believe Network, the podcast where we bring you success stories and actionable insights from world-class entrepreneurs and industry leaders. Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Brandon B, a serial entrepreneur, coach, speaker, and CEO of HOA .com, the number one referral network for home service professionals. Known as the King of Referrals, Brandon has mastered the art and science of referral marketing, scaling his income 10 times in just 18 months. He has since closed over $500 million in referral transactions and created multiple referral platforms that have connected over 5 million members worldwide. Brandon's journey began as a single dad in 1997, where his early innovations in real estate technology laid the foundation for his future success. He's also served as CEO of Codebreaker Technologies, building the world's first personally based AI for sales. Brandon, man, what an impressive resume, man. Welcome to the CJ Moneyway Johnson Show, man. I can't wait to dive into your story and get insights on your business growth and referrals, man.

I love it, CJ. Thanks for having me, brother. Happy to be here.

Yeah, man. Thanks for, uh, coming in, B. So, so, Brandon, man, you're a serial entrepreneur. Your entrepreneurial journey, man, began during a challenging time as a single dad in 1997. Can you share how you got started and what inspired you to develop your early real estate technology innovations?

Well, what got me started was I was broke, right? When I got custody of my son and I was a single dad, I, I was making $20 grand a year. So I had to, make a change and find a way because I kept bouncing my mortgage payments. So I got into the mortgage business and somebody taught me the art and science of what I now call raving referrals. And like you said, I was able to 10x my income from $20,000 to $200,000 a month— a year in 18 months. And man, that just set me on my path. Once I understood that I could get more business by really creating strong partnerships but adding value, right? Serving, not selling. And just focusing on creating strong relationships with people that were serving my perfect prospect every day.

Mm. Hey, man, like you say, on your way, on your path to 10 times your revenue from $20,000 to $200,000, I would say that's such a path. You know, I didn't have this as a question, but as I was reading this, I saw something. AI for sales, man. How's that? How did that go, man? Tell us, explain that to us a little bit.

Yeah. So we teach a personality system called Bank Code, and it's all about who your prospects are, who the people are In Your Life. I'm missing one because there's a fourth card there too. And basically, somebody approached me with these cards and they said, do me a favor, sort these cards and it'll help me serve you better, save us both time. And when I saw this, I was the president of Refer.com at the time. And I thought it was fascinating, right? Because I've taken a lot of personal development or personal assessments, personality assessments, I should say, like Myers-Briggs and DiSC and Kolbe Index and all that stuff, but never one in the real world. And what this did was it created instant empathy. And so when I met the CEO of the company and, you know, I ended up exiting out of Refer.com, we sold that company. And so she said, hey, will you come build an AI? And this was back in 2019, long before ChatGPT and OpenAI and others. And so that's what we did. We built a Chrome extension that used our AI to one-click decode somebody's personality. Code. And once you understand how they're wired, then you understand how they make buying decisions. And then you can customize your conversations and your presentations to serve them better, but also to close more sales in less time.

Man, that's very interesting, especially in this AI movement that we in right now, man. I was just talking to a guy the other day, and he has a, you know, a program and everything that he's doing. And things of that nature. He gave me this chart that I can go by to— like, you can build your own AIs, you know what I'm saying? Like, man, this thing—

oh, so he gave you a chart of prompts to be able to code and program your own AI agent?

Yeah, man. Oh my goodness.

I tell you what, CJ, we're using AI at hoa.com, but we're using it as the community concierge because we take inbound phone calls. So it's not just like a text bot, we actually take phone calls. Our AI knows everything about the HOAs, CC&Rs, all the rules and regulations, what people can and can't do. And so, so far we're still testing it, but we've taken over 10,000 phone calls and 78% of the time it doesn't need to go to a human because the AI has given them the answer that they're looking for and solved their challenge. And only 22% of the time it's got to go to the HOA board or the community management company. So we're improving homeowner satisfaction, reducing the load on the people that manage the communities. So it's a win-win for everyone.

Yeah, man, you know, my son, he was going to like, uh, he did a summer school thing at a community college here. They was doing summer programs for, you know, uh, helping them for college. So one day I picked him up and I say, you know, what y'all do today? And he said, oh, we was working on some AI stuff. And I told him then, I said, man, You need to learn this stuff because it's the future. Because I had been dibbling and dabbling in it, you know, or whatnot. I said, man, it's the future, you know? And like people like yourself, and like I said, I've been talking to other people and man, it's just so enlightening. I know, you know, it's a risk for human jobs and things of that nature as far as, you know, down the line because this is the thing. But man, if you try to be creative and do things and you know, it's just building a model for you or every, it makes it that much simpler to do, you know, just generate like, but 100%. And, and what I've learned is the prompts are the key, you know, to get that thing to do what you wanted to do. Although sometimes I be feeling myself fighting with it like, look, AI, I told you that's not what I wanted.

You, you know, CJ, it's funny, man, because AI is kind of like God. And I, I'm— God is— they're not even close. But what I'm saying is When we ask God for what we want, when we ask AI for what we want, God delivers, AI delivers, right? So you've gotta be specific and precise with the question that you're asking and, or your prayers because God gives you your prayers, but most people aren't asking for what they want, right? And it's the power is in the ask. And so when you get crystal clear on what you want in life and whether you're writing that down, like I got all my goals for the year 2050, I got 'em all written down. I got pages and pages and 200+ goals, the things that I want to create, accomplish, experience, things that I want to do for other people, charities to impact. And so the more clear that you can get on what you want to create, accomplish, and experience, the faster it happens. And it's kind of like an AI prompt, right? You get that prompt right, you unlock the keys to the kingdom.

Yeah. Oh man, I'm telling you. And I'm glad you brought up the equation of God because that was confirmation for me. Because just before we got on here, I got another podcast called Planting Seeds with CJ. And so I was doing an episode on there, and the topic of that one was seek, uh, seek first the kingdom of God.

Amen.

And so I'm talking about prayer, as what you just said, like, you know, if we ask for what we want, he provides us for what we need. And he say not only if you seek the kingdom of God, everything that you've been looking for in life, he said, I will add all these things unto you, you know what I'm saying? But first we gotta seek him first because he does answer prayers. So I'm glad you brought that up. So Brandon, man, let me ask you, you help businesses close over $500 million in transactions through referrals. What are the key principles behind building a successful referral-based business?

Yeah, so there's a, a couple that are really important. Number one, I think a lot of people don't get because they don't ask. Right? So, we actually teach the art of the ask when it comes to referrals, and there's 3 steps. First step is setting the stage. The second step is listening for the referral triggers. And the third step is ASK to GET. So, let me unpack that for you. When you first have a client that has agreed to hire you, you're working with them, what you wanna do before you leave that first meeting is say, now, CJ, can I ask you a favor? Before I let you go, would it be okay? I'm so committed to delivering 5-star experience for you and just wowing you with the service that I provide. Would it be okay if once you've experienced that and I've really delivered and gone above and beyond for you, would it be okay if I ask you for referrals later on? This is called setting the stage. Now, you're going to get some referrals right then because some people are going to say, you know, now that you mentioned it, my brother, sister, wife, cousins, neighbor, 'Needs help.' And she was just talking to me about that very thing, right? So you're going to get some referrals on the spot, but also what's going to happen is you're setting the seeds, you're planting seeds that people are going to give referrals later on. Okay, so that's step 1, is setting the stage. Step 2 is listening for the referral trigger. So now that they've said yes, which by the way, 100%, never had somebody say no So now what you're doing is you're listening for the referral triggers, and that's basically like, wow, this is so great. Oh, thank you so much. You've done an amazing job, right? I love it. You've helped me lose so much weight, save so much time, make so much money, whatever you deliver in your product or service. That's the step 2, is listening for those referral triggers, because now that they praised you, now you're going to step 3, ASK to GET, and it sounds like this. I'm so glad to hear you say that. Remember, we first started working with you, I told you that I was gonna deliver a 5-star experience, and I'm looking to help a couple other families, business owners, whoever you help. And so if you know anybody that would benefit from what I do, I'm willing to give them a free discovery call, consultation, whatever, however you frame your business. But if you do that, if you set the stage, You listen for the referral triggers and then you ask to get when they're at a peak state that will generate more business for you today.

Mm. Yeah. And hey, we can't knock the method, man. You helped over $500 million.

Well, honestly, CJ, that's just transactions I closed. I've helped create billions of dollars for my clients. The $500 million is just the deals that I closed.

Wow, man. You know, so, hey, numbers don't lie. Numbers don't lie. And so let me ask you, B, How do you advise professionals to start building referral partnerships and what are the common mistakes to avoid?

Well, the common mistakes is most people don't do it. You know, I've, I've surveyed thousands of business professionals. 23% have zero referral partners, somebody that sends them at least one deal every 90 days. 47% say they have one or two, and that's 79% altogether I think I missed my 32% plus 47%, 79% altogether that have 2 or less referral partners. So they don't ask, number 1. And what you should be doing is number 1, identify the business owners or professionals who are already serving your perfect prospect. Now, some of you serve business owners. Who else serves business owners? You're talking about marketing agencies, business coaches, accountants, attorneys. You identify all those people that are serving your perfect prospects every day. Or if you serve consumers, think about homeowners, that's your realtor, painter, plumber, handyman, electrician, mortgage, finance, insurance. So there's an ecosystem around these people. And if you just show up as help and add value to them, then they're going to refer you back. You wanna be the solution to their client's challenges. Now, what I recommend you do, we have a referral partner blueprint that we give to people. It's hoa.com/blueprint. You can download it for free. But basically, once you've identified the people you already know, like, and trust, and you start with people who are already referring you business, make a list. And you think, last year, who sent me business? Number 2, who am I referring business to, right? And then number 3, who's in my phone? Who do I know that is in the business of serving my perfect prospects, but I've never approached them and said, let's build a partnership. And then what you do is, it's easy, man. You call them up. And you say, you know, I realize, CJ, I have a lot of clients that could use your services, and so I'd like to get together with you and talk about formalizing a partnership. Is that something you'd be interested in? What do you think they're going to say?

Yeah, you know, it don't hurt to, uh, to talk about it and see where we can go with it.

Well, and honestly, bro, we get almost 100% of people that say yes because they've never thought about it that way. And when you basically approach them and say I've got clients that could use your help. Usually they're pretty excited about getting that phone call and sitting down with you for a meet and greet. So that's how you start. And then you create a plan. In the Referral Partner Blueprint, we actually walk you through 21 different co-marketing campaigns, how you promote them and they promote you so that you both win together.

That's a good strategy, man. That's a good plan. I'm listening to you, B. Hey, Closing over a billion dollars in sales, man. We gotta put an ear to it, man, and pay attention to what you said. So let me ask you, uh, Brandon, we talked about this a little bit earlier. You also served as CEO of Codebreaker Technologies, um, which developed a personality-based AI for sales. Can you explain how personality profiling and AI can help businesses close more deals?

Yeah, absolutely. It all comes down to understanding your buyer type, right? Because There's the Action personalities, and these people love freedom, flexibility, spontaneity, action, right? Opportunity, excitement. You're dressed in red. You got the microphone. Something tells me you're high Action, right? You're a get-it-done kind of guy, but you also like to be on the red carpet, be the center of attention. That's part of why you do what you do. At the opposite end, you've got Blueprint personalities, and these people that are all about the structure, the stability, right? The predictability, the systems. They're into credentials and titles and tradition. These people are at opposite ends of the spectrum. And so maybe you're high action and you're trying to sell to a high blueprint personality and you're facing resistance. You kind of feel them pulling back and it's like they're speaking a different language, right? And you just don't jive with those people. Well, you need to meet them where they are. If they're a high Blueprint personality, you gotta help them understand how you've got a system of predictable success for their business or what they're looking for. So, we often speak in our own language. And we've got to speak in the language of our clients, our customers, our prospects. Maybe they're high Knowledge. If you've got a high Knowledge person, this is somebody that loves science, technology, logic, intelligence. You can't push this person to close. You can't try and pressure them. You just need to give them more information so they can make a wise and informed decision. And then the last personality style is nurturing. And these are your lovers, right? They're all about community and charity and relationships, authenticity. And for them, you just wanna give 'em a big hug, right? So for each of the 4 primary personalities, You can learn how to close more sales in less time. And this all comes out of the book Why They Buy. So if you want to know more, check out Why They Buy. It's a great book written by Sherry Tree. She's a brilliant woman that created this system. She just happened to hire me to be your CEO to create the AI 6 years ago.

That's cool. I was gonna ask you, I'm like, them cards are pretty neat, man. Who created that? Because that's neat. And since you brought up the book Yep. And, and the bank. How did learning the B-A-N-K sales methodology influence your approach to sales and business development?

Well, so much. And quite frankly, CJ, it goes way beyond business because I say it's like instant empathy. I carry these cards with me anytime I go to an event, anytime I go to a meeting. And what I ask people is, hey, you want to see a magic trick? I'm not a very good profiler, right? So some people know how to do this and they just read the other person. They check out their clothes, they look at their— what they drive. I'm not very good that way, right? So what I do is I say, you want to see a magic trick? And they all say yes. I've never had anybody say no. Then I hand them the cards. I say, do me a favor, read the information on the cards and then sort the cards in order of what's most like you to least like you. That will help me serve you better and save us both time. And what happens is in 30, 60, maybe 90 seconds, they hand the cards back to me and then I tell them who they've just told me they are. Oh, that's so fascinating. I see your blueprint first. So you're really all about process and systems and stability. And they're like, oh yeah, that's me. Because you're talking about them. It's not about you. It's all about them, right? Oh, I see you're in nurturing, so you're into relationships. I'll give them a pat on the shoulder, right? Because they like connection. And so I'll connect with them. And what's amazing is normally within 3 minutes of meeting somebody, if I use the BANK system, I've built more rapport than ever before. In fact, I was at a tech conference and after the speakers finished, I had just said this exact thing to, to a man, you want to see a magic trick? And just then one of the speakers of the conference came up to me and she said, I want to see a magic trick. I had just told this guy, after telling him who he was, I said, the coolest thing is at the end of 3 minutes, people are like, wow, he gets me, right? So this woman walks up, I want to see a magic trick. 30 seconds, she hands me the cards back. I spend 60 seconds telling her who she is. And in 90 seconds of meeting this woman, She turned to the guy I had just talked to and she said, wow, he gets me.

Hmm.

Now, when I was CEO of Code Breaker Technologies, we did a research study and we created a white paper because I came from the mortgage business. So I wanted to know what's the impact of this on real estate listings and sales. And what we found was that if a realtor will decode and understand the bank code, of the potential buyer or seller that they're working with, for sellers, the listing conversion increased by 123%. That means that realtors more than doubled the number of listings that they won when they customized their presentations based on the client's personality style. And on buyer brokers, when they're representing a buyer, it was an average of 300%. So the research shows that when you customize your conversations and your presentations for your prospect, you speak in their language, make it about them, you close more sales in less time.

Man, I like that. I, I, I like that. I'm gonna have to come back and listen to this podcast again and get some of these methods that you talking about. Hey, so, um, so Brandon, man, you talking about AI. With AI transforming industries today, where do you see the future of sales and referrals heading?

Yeah, really interesting. Great question, CJ. Nobody's ever asked me that before, and I love that you're asking that. I think there are several industries that you're going to see some massive transformation. I would not want to be an insurance agent right now. I got to tell you, because I think AI is going to transform the way we shop for insurance. Now, the good news is there's different generations, right? The older generation and you and I might be in that camp. I'm definitely in that camp. I think you might be in that camp.

I'm 51. I'm 51. Okay.

Yeah, you're up there. All right. I'm 54, so we're in it together. So our generation, we grew up on relationships. Referrals matter, relationships matter. So we're still gonna buy through people we trust, and that's always gonna be the case. But the younger generation, I've got a 21, a 24, and a 32-year-old kids, right? Daughter 21, two boys. They buy differently than we buy, right? My daughter will just order everything on her phone and she doesn't need a relationship. And quite frankly, she doesn't want a conversation.

Sometimes. Yeah.

So you better know your audience. And depending on what generation you're selling to, if you're selling to a younger generation, you better get on the AI bandwagon or it's gonna run over you.

Yeah.

CJ Moneyway, X Mando, the freshness upgrade, fellas. Let's be real. Have you ever had that moment where you catch yourself Wondering, "Do I smell fresh right now?" Yeah, we've all been there. But let me put you onto the game-changer— Mando Whole Body Deodorant. I've been using Mando for a minute now, and let me tell you, this isn't your regular deodorant. This is next-level freshness, not just for underarms, but for your whole body. It's smooth, lightweight, aluminum-free, and keeps you smelling like success all day. Whether I'm grinding in the studio, handling business, or out making moves, Mando keeps me fresh, dry, and confident. Let's be honest, your balls, your chest, your back, everything deserves the same level of care. And Mando, it's built for that. And because Mando is rocking with the CJ Moneyway Show, they're hooking up my listeners with an exclusive deal. Right now, new customers get $5 off of starter pack. That's over 40% off when you use the code CJ at shopmando.com. That's S-H-O-P-M-A-N-D-O.com. Please support our show and let them know we sent you. Smell fresher, stay drier, boost your confidence from head to toe with Mando whole body deodorant. Mando, the whole body deodorant for men who move different. Go get yours today.

I know sometimes they don't want confirmation. Uh, like you said, I got a— my youngest is 14, my baby boy, 14 years old. And he went on a trip with a friend for his birthday party. They went to Orland Park. And so, you know, he got money, he got his bank account and all that. So his mother unlocked the car for him to take. Do you know he went out and bought a $200 hoodie? No, take that back, $300 hoodie. You said no questions, you know what I'm saying? No questions. Like, I'm just gonna do it. This is what I want. So like you say, man, they buy differently than we did, but they get older, they'll see that money don't grow on trees.

They're also a generation that grew up with the cumulative knowledge of the universe in their hand at all times, right? We didn't grow up that way. There was no internet when we were kids back in the '70s, man. Like, we had 3 TV stations. Oh, I guess 4, because Fox came around later, right? So, you know, they don't know, man. They have streaming everything. They have everything they ever want at their fingertips. And you know what? They can order anything they want and usually have it delivered in a matter of hours. So it is a different game entirely. Now, if you're in the professional services world, that's where referrals make a difference. 84% of business-to-business sales start with a referral. And when you're referred to someone, they are 400% more likely to hire you because of the trust transfer that takes place. Because somebody they trust said, you gotta call CJ.

Yeah, I like that. I, I guess I'm looking at it the same way as if I, I just got through interviewing a guy. He said, CJ, you know, do you mind if I tell my assistants and, uh, assistant that they sent somebody your way that you can interview them? So that's a referral, I guess, you know. When you moving on and people enjoy, you know, whatever, whatever, they refer you to other people, you know. So yeah, I get it. I like CJ Moneyway Johnson.

Here's a fun referral story because this one just happened to me yesterday, right? I'm in the process, I'm launching my new book, Raving Referrals for Real Estate Agents. We launch it at the RE/MAX convention 2 weeks from today, and in it we're featuring a number of experts, influencers, icons in the industry. And one of the people is Barbara Corwin. I'm meeting yesterday with my chief strategy officer. And as I'm showing him the book and everything we're doing, he's like, oh, I can get you to Barbara. He says, I'm business partners with Daymond John. And I'm like, oh snap. He's like, you knew that, didn't you? I'm like, no, I didn't. And that's awesome. Congratulations. Daymond's a rock. Daymond rocks. And he's like, yeah, let me just hit up Daymond and he'll reach out to Barbara and then, you know, maybe we can do something together. And so that's how it works., right? But it starts with being intentional, like we talked about on goals earlier. You got to get crystal clear on what you want to achieve, experience, manifest, right? What are you asking God for? What are you praying for? And if you don't have a vision, without a vision, people—

Perish.

Perish, right, exactly. So, you know, they can either perish, wither, and die, or their business can just die because they don't have what they're looking for. Most people don't have because they don't ask.

They don't ask. He say knock and the door shall be open, and ye shall find. I'm with you. I'm with you, B. I'm with you. Hey, hey, and before I move on, man, good luck with your book, man, uh, coming out and everything. Wish you great success with that, man. So let me ask you, uh, B, you've built platforms and networks that connect over with over 5 million members in 195 countries. That's amazing. In itself. How do you create scalable business systems that allow for such massive reach and impact?

Oh, I love this question, man. You ask me questions I've never heard before. Fantastic. You know, so my, my chief strategy officer wrote a book called Exponential Theory, and anybody that wants to know the answer to your question and dive deep needs to read this book, Exponential Theory. It's all about creating businesses that are scalable. And you don't have to create a world-changing business, but that's the mission I'm on. My goal is to inspire, uplift, and empower every person on the planet. That's my personal dashboard scoreboard. But within that, if you wanna create a scalable system, it's gotta be tech-based and you've gotta get people out of the equation as much as possible. So like what we do at hoa.com is we're creating a platform kind of like Nextdoor meets Angie's List meets Zillow. Over half of all American homeowners live in an HOA, 53%, but most don't love their HOA. So we're out to, you know, re-engineer the way that all works. And you gotta start with a massive problem. What is the problem that you're trying to solve? In our case, we wanna help HOAs more effectively serve the homeowners in their communities. And we wanna create unity through community. We do that through events, bringing homeowners together. Like we did a community barbecue recently, right? And it was so cool, man, because the realtor and mortgage lender that are serving that HOA invited homeowners out. It was by me, so I got to go check it out. And it was so cool because there are about 50 people there and the kids are playing kickball, the dads are playing cornhole, the moms are listening to music, just dancing, having a good time. But not one person was on their cell phone as I looked around all 50 people.. And so how are you creating a movement behind your business? If you want something that really scales, it's gotta— there's gotta be a movement behind it. You gotta create a reason for people to care about what you're doing and impact them so deeply that they have no choice but to tell the world about it. Mm.

Yeah. You know what? Now that I say, I'm gonna go back. I'm gonna have my wife listen to this because we got HOA, you know, homeowners association. And she don't like the way that things was going, so this year she decided to get on the board.

Okay, come on.

And everything. I'm gonna have her listening to this, man. I like the vibe. We never had that. We've been staying here for 6 years. We've never had nothing like that or whatnot, but that's a good idea. So B, let me ask you, man, you know, going on another note, you've been featured internationally on TV and major publications and and in books like Cracking the Millionaire Code. How important is visibility for business growth and what advice do you have for those looking to increase their exposure?

Yeah, so visibility and credibility go hand in hand, right? In order for people to buy from you, they got to know about you. And ideally, your credibility leads the way. The visibility leads the way. You know, the younger generation is all on social media and that's cool. Social is great because You can have a business that everybody can know about. Hopefully, it's, it's you're being known and famous for good things, right? I always ask business owners, what do you want to be famous for, right? What do you want your business to be famous for? What do you want the reputation of your company to be? What do you want the world to say about your brand? And most people don't think that way, and so it kind of changes their reference. But visibility is huge, whether you are a solopreneur and you're a service professional focused on serving homeowners in a local community or business owners in your local market, you wanna elevate your expert authority and status, okay? How do you do that? Well, you do a podcast like you're doing, CJ, right? You bring guests on, you tie into our network, you're featuring me, my people are gonna hear about your podcast, some of 'em are gonna follow you and check you out. So this is one of the things that we teach. This, so far today is February 11th, 2025 as we record this, this is my 18th podcast interview in a year. That's basically one every other day, right? I did 98 last year. So I partner with podcasters that are looking to get good news out and I come on shows like this. So there's a number of different ways that you can elevate your expert authority, but you wanna be seen as the expert in the industry, whether that's, Publishing, uh, blogs, white papers, books, videos. Share your expertise with your clients, your customers, and your community and your social sphere, and your credibility will rise, and so will your revenue.

Yeah, that's a good way to look at it. And man, uh, besides a billion dollars in transaction, you've been a busy man on these podcasts. I know, doing 100-some podcasts, that's a lot of work.

Well, you do the heavy work, man. You're doing all the preparation. I'm I get to just show up and answer your questions. So for me it's easy and I got a team that books me. So my, when I talk about being a single dad, my son Sebastian is the one that booked me on this show. So he now works for me full-time and he gets me all these podcast interviews. I get to just show up and sing his praises.

Man, that's cool, man. I've been trying to get my sons to buy into working for me in different capacities. Like I wanted my youngest boy, 'cause like we say, they in the computers technology. I wanted him to start editing videos and stuff. Yeah, I think he's still a little too young. He don't understand, you know what I'm saying? You got to push them sometimes and they got to be motivated. I don't want to push him into something that he really don't want to do, but I'm hoping one day I have my team with my family and sons on that too, B.

You know what I found? I love that vision for you, brother. And what I found too is sometimes your kids don't listen to pops, right? So sometimes you got to bring in an outside mentor. Maybe it's an uncle, maybe it's a friend. Like, I'm a big brother. I believe in mentoring others. But if you bring somebody else up to mentor your son, then he can kind of guide them. You can work with them to make sure he's getting the right lessons. And then, you know, all of a sudden, Dad's a genius.

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean, man. The same way with basketball. I give— I try to give them that. It's like my brother, we say the same thing because he got a son that plays. Like, ah man, you know, I did it with my— probably my father and mother then when I grew up too. Ah, they don't know what they talking about, they out of touch, you know. Uh, that was in the old day. But as we know, the Bible say there's nothing new under the sun. What has been done, you know what I'm saying, what's been done now has already been done. But not knowing that, so you just go your own way thinking of having your own understanding. So B, let me ask you, man, your story is inspiring. You know, like I say, billion dollars in transactions. You know, I like your humility as far as wanting to serve others. You said something not too long ago that was very vital. You said you're trying to build something not only, you know, not just for yourself, but you trying to build something to help everybody. And I find that fascinating with people on your level that, you know, has success and, doing great within your own means, but to have the fortitude and the mindset like, it's more than just me, it's beyond me. I want to help as many people as I can to achieve their dreams and, you know what I'm saying, and moving forward. So it's not all about me, man. And I respect that a lot with a lot of people, a lot of guests that comes on the show, man. They can put they self to the side and they thought process is wanting to help others, man. And it's a testament to your character and your integrity. Man, so that's all I would have to say about that.

Oh, I appreciate that.

Thank you.

But with that being said, B, man, your story is inspiring. But like any entrepreneur, I'm sure you faced challenges along the way. What were some of the biggest obstacles you've overcome and how did you stay motivated?

Yeah, you know, honestly, the biggest challenge I've ever faced is just keeping my marriage together through the entrepreneurial journey. Right? Because until you hit it big, it's tough on the spouse. I, I had a wife that, quite frankly, for a lot of those years building tech platforms, it takes time before the money comes. And, you know, my wife has been a breadwinner of our house. She's been enterprise sales forever. And so in some of the valleys, like, she's taken care of everything. So I think your family— and a lot of people don't appreciate what it is to be an entrepreneur. And so, you know, when you're worried about payroll, like, I made sure my teams got fed, but sometimes my, my wife fed our family because I was taking care of 20 others or whatever the case may be. So I mean, that, that's a big one. But funding is huge. Like, we just raised a half a million dollars in the last week for hoa.com. And going through that process of raising capital, selling the dream, starting with nothing but a vision and then putting the pieces in place, it can take time. So, you know, what I would recommend is don't quit your day job. Even if you got the big vision, keep the money rolling in and add that side hustle until you can build it up and it replaces your primary income.

Yeah, side hustle, podcast, still got a regular job, you know what I'm saying? I still got a 9 to 5, do doubles at times. I fit this in. But you said something that was intriguing to me. Especially about your spouse. My wife was the breadwinner for a long time, you know? And because just my jobs. Now I gotta, I think the last 2 years was the first time I made, had made more money than her, you know what I'm saying? As far as gross. And you know, just doing what you're doing, as you say, you was building your entrepreneur, you know, your business and everything. And I was like, I was telling her New Year's Eve, I had to thank her, and I'm pretty sure you can allude to this too, had to thank for giving me the space. Amen. To be con— you know what I'm saying, to be creative and to do what I'm doing, you know what I'm saying? Because, you know, we need space and not to be hovered on like, ah, well, you know, complaining. And so to have a wife, and, you know, and this first time I heard somebody say this to me because I've said it to other people, but to have a wife that's in your corner like that and say, you know what, don't worry about it, I take care of this, you know what I'm saying? And then you don't feel no less than a man. I'm still a man, you know what I'm saying? Regardless if you putting food on the table or not. And they, and they don't— cause some women, and we know this for a fact, if they the breadwinner and they put food on the table, they feel like they in control of the household. They telling you what to do. You wash it, cook it, and everything else. Take care of the kids. But to have a wife to support you and all that you're doing, man, and overlook certain things and you keep striving and keep moving on, man, it's a beautiful thing to have. And I wish everybody had a wife like that. Only right now, only me and Brandi can attest to that.

Well, I bet there's some guys listening that are like, oh man, that's where I'm at right now. And if you are, keep grinding. But you know what? Show your wife the love. Show her the respect. I wouldn't be here but for my wife's support, just like you're talking about, CJ. So it's so important that you keep your— it's, you know, family comes before the finance. You got to take care of your family, take time to spend with your kids, especially when they're young. I mean, 14, your son's not going to be home for much longer and then he's going to be out the crib and out the door.

Yeah, that would be—

and we just got to save every second.

It was just all about that the other day. So, so, B Moneyway Johnson, I only got a few more questions for you, man. I really appreciate you coming on. Sharing this wonderful insight, man, and your vision. Hey, so looking at your journey from single dad to the King of Referrals, what's the most valuable lesson you learned about entrepreneurship and success?

Yeah, so 20, almost 21 years ago, I found a mentor that changed my life, and I was basically helping out with a charity project in Portland, Oregon, and I was serving on their corporate industry council, helping raise money and awareness. But they asked me to help find a speaker And I knew someone that knew this man named Mark Victor Hansen. He wrote all those Chicken Soup for the Soul books with Jack Canfield. And I'm like, that's the guy. I want him to come be there. And so I hired him as the speaker. I paid for it. I was killing it with my mortgage company. So we just paid his speaker fee and he came out and he did 2 events and he challenged the audience to write 101 goals. He did it both for the lunch event and the evening event. And a week later, my wife and I went over to Maui, and I wrote 338 goals over the course of that week. And it changed my life because I just took time to, number one, ask, "Okay, Lord, what do you have me for? Like, what's my purpose on this planet?" And I was 34 years old at the time. "And what do you want for me? And what do I want for me?" And I took time to just dream without limitation. And I wrote down all these different goals, and some of them came true like immediately. Like, one of them was I wanted to meet Bono from U2. And I met Bono within 6 months. I wanted to travel the world. I had really hadn't been out of the US much. And within the next 2 years, I did a 30-day around the world trip to London, Hong Kong, China, Venezuela, and Colombia. And I started doing amazing things all because he had expanded my vision or helped me expand my own vision. I had asked him to be my mentor, which he said yes.. And then one of my goals that I set was that I wanted him to write about me in a book by May 28th, 2005. So one year later, and I'm sitting there on the beach, I'm like, okay, if I could have anything, what would it be? That would be so cool, right? Well, I come back, I ask him to be my mentor. We start hanging out. And about 3 months later, he calls me up one day and he says, hey, Robert Allen and I are writing the sequel to The One Minute Millionaire. And it's gonna be called Cracking the Millionaire Code. Would it be okay if we write about you? And I'm like, oh yeah, it would. I knew that was my dream. He didn't know that was one of my dreams. That book came out May 31st, 2005, and it changed everything in my life. Number one, because it was proof positive that you can have, do, or be anything you want in life if you get clear on what it is. Mm-hmm. But also number two, it gave me credibility and authority because now when I traveled around to business meetings, I would take a copy of that book. I would put my business card on page 24— 42, page 42. And I would give them the book, and they would read about an expert that was writing about me, right? So, your dreams can come true. You just need to dream, and then you've got to take action. But anything you want can be accomplished if you get clear. So, write at least 101 goals and see what happens.

I'm starting my journey of writing 101 goals today. And my first, like you said, if I met this person, you said, Bono. My thing is, and I tell everybody all the time, if I can meet Magic Johnson and have Magic Johnson on my podcast, hey, I dream, you know what I'm saying? Anything is possible, you know what I'm saying? You never know, anything is possible. Then you said something else, man, made me laugh. I just interviewed a guy, Terry Wellens, a couple weeks ago, he's a publisher, worked for a publishing company and things of that nature. Got so many books under his belt. And he was telling me about the Chicken Noodle Soup guys that wrote the book. And he told me, he said, do you know that they book, they was trying to get the book out and everything. He said, do you know that they got rejected 165 times before a company, a book publishing company in Florida, I believe he said, picked it up and that book went on to sell over millions of copies.

600 million copies. Health Communications Inc. picked up that book. You're absolutely right, 600 million copies.

Can you imagine the fortitude that you had to have? They, somebody, they had a gold mine. 600 million copies had a gold mine and got declined 165 times. And now, you know, I know everybody that declined them, you know how we do, you kicking yourself in the butt like, ah, that could have been, that could have been us, that could have been me. But you know, you know how rejection is, you get rejected a few times, you like, uh, is it really worth it? You know what I'm saying? But they knew that they had something that was worth gold.

That's right.

Say they had a dream they had a plan, they prayed about it, and they just kept moving forward. And man, look at them today. That's a wonderful thing. And so, uh, so Brandon, man, finally, finally, this is my last question. Where can people connect with you, learn more about hoa.com, and find resources to grow their businesses through referrals?

Yeah, you bet. So, uh, hoa.com, that's pretty clear. I don't think anybody's going to forget that domain. So if you are a professional who service homeowners, go to hoa.com. If you are a homeowner, you can go to hoa.com, you can type in your address and you'll get a free report about your home with everything about your house in one location, including the professionals around you that serve that area. So that's super helpful. Uh, if you're looking to get more referrals in your life, go to ravingreferrals.com. And if you just want to connect with me, it's brandonbarnum.com.

Now what about your social media handles? Can we follow you on social media?

They can.

Yeah, you go to brandonbarnum.com, you'll see all that. It's all included. Usually it's Raving Referrals is most of them. So if you look up Raving Referrals, you'll find us.

Okay. So thank you, Brandon, man, for sharing your expertise and your story today. Your insights into referral sales and business development are invaluable. To our listeners, if you're ready to transform your business by mastering referrals, be sure to connect with Brandon and check out hoa.com. If you enjoyed today's episode, please leave us a review, subscribe, and share this conversation with someone who wants to take their business to the next level. Until the next time, stay driven, stay focused, and keep building your legacy. This your boy CJ Moneyway Johnson and Brandon B. Johnson signing out. We outta here.

Peace.

Thank you for listening to the CJ Moneyway Show. Don't forget to share this episode with your friends, leave a comment, and drop a review. Be sure to tune in every Tuesday and Friday for more inspiring journeys. Who knows, your story might be next.