Episode #795 - How a Teen with a Camera and a Dream Built a $100M Business with Jason Wojciechowicz

Foreign.

Welcome to this edition of the Million Dollar Mastermind podcast. This is where we pick the brains of high achievers from all walks of life and get their hard earned real world insights on winning. I'm your host, Larry Wydell.

Hello everybody. We're talking to Wojo. Help me with the last name so everybody will know. I thought I had it, but yeah.

Yeah, yeah, it's Jason Wojahowitz.

Yeah, Wojahowitz, Wojahowitz and Jason.

Wow.

I don't usually do this Jason, but you're a young guy with, usually you have to go to Wikipedia. You get an older guy and you go to his Wikipedia page and find this kind of list of achievements. But you've been featured in Entrepreneur magazine, you've been listed in the New York Weekly 30 under 30, ranked number seven, featured in Forbes. New York had a net worth of 3 million by the age of 25. In LA Weekly, you were mentioned as a top 20 entrepreneur to watch out for in 2023. And Yahoo Finance listed you as a top 20 Instagram account. And you run, you know, you help people and traders have prior sales and social proof and bring about more leads and sales and help multiply what they've got going on. And so congratulations on your success. Over the last three years you've scaled 46 and seven figure businesses that still work to, they're still operational. It's one thing to build them up, it's another thing to keep them running. So congratulations, people can go to Instagram and see your account. You generate 100 million in online business with paid ads and have over 155 clients. That's a lot of people to keep up with. And so good for you young man and proud of you. And I told you when I saw your Instagram account I could feel the energy and the drive and the boldness that you project. And we got to project. That doesn't come. You don't find somebody who's lazy, who doesn't know what they're talking about and are just making stuff up or posing. I'm trying to be like this guy. You don't find people who are posing that have that boldness. You're talking speaking from the heart and that's why I love to have people like yourself and especially a young guy like yourself who, who can come in and share those kind of experiences because you've learned about what works. And I picked up a lot of that from just a few of your posts on your Instagram account. And welcome anybody to go in and check that out. And so congratulations on a bulldozer, explosive start to your career. It's going to be fun seeing, talking to you five, ten years out from now, which hopefully we'll get a chance to do. But you got a real positive trajectory, and I want to congratulate you on that. And let's talk about what you've learned about winning. And I've given people a little bit of an idea of what you've accomplished and where you are. Where did this dynamic start? You know, what, where, what, what are the seeds of. Of this kind of drive, insight, curiosity that led you to where you are today? How early on did you realize there was something bubbling inside of you wanted to do, something big and something special?

Yeah, I think it was when I was at an early age, when I was very, very young, probably about 14, 15 years old, and I was working at a local cafe in my area in New York. And I just realized that, like, working for somebody else, I didn't have the right, like, flexibility, the right time, just the right, like, creativity to speak my mind on things that I wanted to do and achieve. And while I was working at that job, I was, you know, getting paid five bucks an hour under the table. It was nothing insane. And I was like, all right, well, like, is this all there is to life? Like, do I just do this for the next five, ten years and just, like, get a paycheck? And my boss was like, hey, go to culinary school. And I was like, all right, like, I might as well go to culinary school because I don't know anything about anything else. Like, I had no self awareness. And that also steps in the fact that my parents didn't make much money. So, like, if we went shopping for stuff, like $3 for a pizza or like a difference in a pizza being a medium and a large, like, that was a big thing for us, like, just spending an extra couple bucks or like, the difference between a $60 pair of sneakers and an $80 pair of sneakers. And, like, it just didn't work out the way that I wanted it. And also, just one thing that I always realized is when my parents would come home, they would be like, oh, like, our boss doesn't listen to us. Like, they don't care about our opinion. You know, we're just working for them. We're making them all this money. They don't care. And one thing always stuck in my head was, people don't listen to you if you don't make a lot of money. And that was this, like, this belief that Stuck in my head. I was like, all right, well, I was a skinny teenager in high school going into college. Like, no one listened to me. But everybody listened to the kid who had the popular dad, who ran the local business down the street, who had the big house because he hosted all the parties in the basement. Like, that was who people listened to. But now with me, I was like, oh, no one listen to me because I'm broke and I'm skinny and I'm short, so how do I get people to listen to me? I was like, well, I have to get rich. Like, no one's going to care. And that's what, like, stemmed to winning. And I was like, unless I make money, no one's gonna listen to what I have to say because there's no proof behind it, right? There's no. There's no, like, validity. It's just like, if you want to win and you're mad you're not winning, it's because no one's listening to you. You're aggravated about it because that's why you're at a job, because you decided to listen to somebody else. No one listens to you. You're just given the. The tools and the tasks to do what you're going to do, and then you go home, and there's no passion behind it. It's just like, oh, I did whatever my boss told me to do today. And being able to have your voice heard was important to me because of creativity reasons.

Now, you've. You've mentioned nobody would listen. Listen to you or pay any attention to From a young age. It was important to you that you got noticed.

Oh, yeah. Because I knew that I was smart. Like, I knew that I had this creativity because when I was in culinary school, just to kind of conclude on that, I was, you know, like, very rebellious. Like, I knew I didn't like school. Like, I was just partying all the time. I was playing video games. I didn't do anything in school. Like, I barely went to class. And one day it was snowing in school, and I had to go outside and shovel the snow. And I go to the back trunk, and there's this box of Pokemon cards. And I was like, oh, like, I used to love Pokemon cards. I used to be a kid. And I took these cards out and I started flipping them on ebay, like, in my dorm room. I refused to go to class. I was like, all right, if I make 7 bucks here, 5 bucks here, 10 bucks here on Pokemon cards, like, that's satisfying to me. And I did that for about three months and I saved like, maybe like three, four grand. It was so cool. Like, and after that was up, I decided to call my parents and I dropped out of culinary school. Then I went to business school instead because I saw that I was savvy with, like, numbers and flipping things. I was like, all right, like, I'm not going to be good in the kitchen. Like, I need to do something where I can control, like, my freedom. Because, dude, I was going from CVS to Target to Walmart, buying the cards, getting back in the car, opening up all the packs. If I got a good card, I would take a picture, put it on ebay, run to the post office. Someone would buy them very quickly. Dude, these cards would sell in 30 minutes. And then I would run to the post office, get the, like, get the thing packed up and sent. And then I was off to Walmart again. I took the profit, ran to Walmart, bought more packs. Like, I used to go around the entire area and I would sell them out every week. They used to get so pissed because when I would walk in, they were like, dude, we don't have any more packs. You bought them all. And I was like, I'm sorry, but, like, I'm doing this. I had to go from multiple stores back and forth. And I just think that, I think I was just more willing to bet on myself because I was like, hey, like, even if I worked 14 hours a day, I'm just more satisfied doing this than being in a classroom, than sitting at a desk. Like, this is it for me. Like, I'm excited about it. And yeah, like, even working, yeah, like, even working a job for six, seven hours, that wasn't enticing. Like, it just wasn't. And I was like, all right, well, I want to control my income. I want to control my destiny. I got to make money on my own.

Well, the. With me, I specifically remember and I lived out in the Hamptons at the time I was 17. And I'd worked in, you know, in the summer jobs, you know, it's hasty freeze, you know, I worked in restaurants and I worked out of the, the hero place with a 500 degree oven in the hot sun along the side of the highway with all the people coming out from New York City and, you know, you're paying, making minimum wage. But what it also dawned to me was the lower the income, the less respect. You get treated like turned and you get more ignored. And it's like at that time, when I hear that you did, your instinct spoke and you responded. Because I think what spoke to me was, I don't even know what I'm saying right now, but I'm going to do whatever it takes. College, this, that, the other. I'm going to figure out where I can get in whatever situation I get into, company, occupation, whatever. I'm going to be in the top half. I'm going to be in the top group. Because the people in the bottom not only don't get paid anything, they get treated like dirt. And so it's interesting that you had that thing at 14 years old, the light bulbs were turning on for you. And as you went through business school, what did you notice about that?

I think when I was in business school, I noticed that all my teachers never ran a business. And I was like, what is going on right now? And that was, like, where I started getting very. Like, that was where you talk about in the beginning about the curiosity. That was. My curiosity was like, okay, well, if my teachers don't run a business, where can I find one? That's when I went online. I started searching for, like, just business advice. And that's what I found videos of, like, Gary Vaynerchuk. And I found Tai Lopez's course, and I bought that. And, like, I started diving into from people that I wanted to learn from because, like, you know, like. Like, there was a professor at my school who worked at Xerox, which is a printing company. He's like, yeah, you know, I control the supply chain. I'm like, you don't own it, though. Like, what. What is going on? Like, I'm paying all this money to go to school. You don't own it. You don't. You're not, like, a leader. You don't control anything. Like, they could fire you tomorrow. It's like, yeah, but I know, like, how people and supply works. And I'm like, that's not all a business is, man. Like, and that's where I just started to drift away from school and get rebellious again. Like, I used to challenge my parents about. I was like, oh, like, this is so stupid. I went out like, can we just not do this? And they were always like, oh, well. Like, because I had a ride because I played tennis. So, like, I didn't really have to pay much. I was like, all right. Like, I'll just, like, go. I'll play tennis, I'll get my education, and then I'll go do my own thing. But, like, it was. It was just tough because, like, my dad was so into school. My dad was a Lab scientist for Pfizer. And like he didn't even make a lot of money. They would work him 11 hours a day. He would work home and be so pissed and make 80 grand a year. Like, that's not. And my mom didn't even work. So like we were making less than six figures a year. And like 80 grand a year for anybody who's listening, like, that's not enough to really live. Like, you can barely do anything with that. So it's like. And that's when I started to see like my dad getting mad every Friday, sitting down, eating dinner. You'd get pissed at like all the bills in the mail. I remember those days. Like you didn't want to sit next to him and eat because you just felt like he was gonna like throw the mail at you because he was just that mad and those things. Always said when I was a kid, I always wanted to get to that point where I was like, hey, like, I don't care about a 20 bill for overcharging the phone bill or like 80 bucks in electricity or whatever. It was like, I don't want to care about stuff like that. I was just like, why let a piece of paper stress you out that much? So that was really where a lot of stuff came from.

For those of you who are sick and tired of fooling around and are dead serious about wanting to move up fast, I've got something especially for you. I've combined the best insights from over 40 years in business and making $70 million in income and compress them into a free webinar. That's right. It's a free resource. If you want to find out exactly what the concepts are that I use in coaching million dollar earners, Register now@wydellonwinning.com you'll discover the five part framework used by so many to reach their financial, personal and professional goals. You can find that link in this episode's show notes.

So where did you take your first stab out at making your mark in the the world on your own?

Yeah. So when I was done with college, well, not done with college, but about a year before, I was going through Tylo business course and I started like cold approaching local businesses. I was going to local businesses and I was like, hey, I'll manage your social media, I'll record videos for you, I'll take pictures. I saved up some money at the time and I bought like this, maybe like it was like a cheaper Canon, but it was a nice Canon camera and you know, I was taking pictures shooting Video, all this stuff. And I was offering them like packages, like 300 bucks a month. Like, I was really like eating to learn and like trying to figure out where I standed. And I was like, maybe had like 10 clients. I door to door knocked for probably 4 weeks. And I had a 3k a month business. And the funny thing is, is like, I bring this up, I was talking to my friend last night and he's like, dude, like, how do people not understand that making money is a lot easier than it looks? And I'm like, dude, if I were starting from zero right now and I lived in a big city, I would just get me and my best friend and I would door knock 50 businesses a day, and you would close two of them each and you have four clients a day. Like you would be able to do it. The problem is, is that they just don't do it because they're lazy or they don't believe in themselves. And that's really like it. And it's like, it's not that hard. And when I was done with that, I saved up some money, maybe like 70 grand. And my dad comes to me, he's like, yo, you're about to finish school, you got to get out or you're paying a 600 bucks a month. And I was like, well, I mean, I'm gonna be honest, man. Like, I could afford it barely, but like, I'm just not. Cause I had other expenses too. Like I had other debt to pay off and stuff like that. So, you know, plus being a 1099 worker, I had to pay taxes on that three grand a month. You know, I didn't understand like S Corp and all that stuff yet I was still getting taxed like a soul drop. So I basically was like, hey, like I. I could afford it, but I'd rather go try to find somewhere where I would live that was around the same price, that was sunny. Because I hated the weather in New York. It was so freaking cold, I couldn't stand it. So, like, that's when I went on Facebook, Marketplace, and I found a room in a college house. And it was like 7:50amonth. And I was like, damn, that's so much. I was like, can I really do this? And I called the guy, his name was Steve, and we're still friends at his very day. I FaceTime him. And I'm like, dude, like, I need this place. Like, can you shoot me a FaceTime so I can see what it looks like? And he's like, yeah, we got two dogs. Beautiful Backyard. Like it was a really nice house. And he was like, yeah, you know, we're all in college because they were doing like PhDs and stuff. They were in college longer than me because I was just doing a bachelor's, so they were going for the full fledged med school thing. So I was like, all right. Like, is there like noise hours? Like, are you guys okay? He's like, yeah, we still have fun. Like, we do drinking games. We have fun. Like, yeah, we're in college. And I was like, all right, like, that's cool. I still get to keep like some of my youthfulness by living here. So, dude, I venmoed him 750 and I moved the next day. Like I dead ass just picked my stuff up, got it in my, like at the time I had this like beat up Mazda and I put all the stuff in there. I drove down 4:00 in the morning, literally woke up and I was like, mom, dad, I'm out, like I'm going to Orlando. And they were like, what do you mean you're going? I was like, yeah, I. I paid 750, like, I'm going to Orlando. And they didn't believe it for an hour. So like I set my alarm for 3:30am and I'm like, I got to wake up my parents. So I wake them up and I'm like, yo, I'm leaving. And they're like, where are you going? I'm like, I'm moving to Orlando. So I scared the hell out of them. It was the funniest day. But like, the one thing I'll never forget is when I was driving, I'm on a, I'm on a 16 hour car ride, right? The amount of adrenaline, like, I don't know if anybody's ever been in a situation who's listening to this that like has ever like maybe got in a fight or like maybe got a really big adrenaline rush. But like when you're driving behind the wheel and you know that you're about to start like a real life, like, dude, my veins were popping out of my arms. It was nuts. Like, I didn't take a break unless I had to go to the bathroom. Like, I didn't even eat. I was so focused on getting to Orlando that the amount of energy and adrenaline was just kicking in. Like I went nonstop. I got there at about 1205 the next morning. Like 1205am 1210am I just made it at midnight. And I did it with no hotel stops, like one fast food stop and like a Couple bathroom breaks. And I just went for. I just gunned it, and it was nuts. And the next morning, I wake up and, dude, it's so weird. Like, living in the same house for the longest time in my life. I didn't know anything about the area. So, like, this is funny. So I get there, and I had, like, the crappiest phone plan ever. It was like five megabytes a month. No, five gigabytes a month, which is not a lot. And I used it all on Google Maps driving down there. So I get to Orlando, and I'm trying to find the grocery store. Like, all of this shit. And I had no data. So then I call the phone company. They're like, yeah, it's an extra 80 bucks a month. Was like, damn, that's a lot, too. And I started, like, freaking the hell out. And it was just so funny. Like, I had so many money blocks, but I was just, like, excited about, you know, starting my life. And, dude, having all those bills and having all the accountability. Like, I like my rent now and groceries. Like, my mom didn't cook for me anymore. Like, what the hell do I do? So that all really pushed me to be, like, a lot better at just, like, being more independent. And it forced me to grow. It forced me to be more mature and, like, look at things through a different lens. And that's where, like, I had no backup plan. Like, my dad was willing to move back in because when I left, oh, they were furious. They were so pissed. They're like, you didn't tell us all this stuff. Like, you know, if you're going to come back, we're going to charge you more. And I'm like, bro, that's not how parents should be, first of all. And that. Yeah, like, that was it. And then I just started building the agency, and within three months, I had my first $10,000 month. And then we just kept scaling and scaling and scaling. I kept growing. And then like, dude, five years later, now we're here. And it was. It was just an interesting time in my life. And I learned so much by just going out on my own and putting my back against the wall.

And now you've. You flipped down to Tampa, right?

Yeah, we're. We're in St. Pete, so it's like a subsector of Tampa. But, yeah, it's a nice area. I Bad.

Very nice area. And so the thing is, that strikes me about your. What you've told me is, you know, as entrepreneurs, it's only the lonely type life. So much of it, you know, you hear the people have partners or they got a spouse and they're, you know, they do everything together. But most of the time you're in there and it's like, it's just me.

What?

But you threw yourself into it. And you're driving down there not have, you know, no scouting trips, no careful planning. You know, there's like, okay, they told me to get out, I'm out and I'm going to go someplace where it's warm and start to take control of your life. And so as you got there, let.

Me ask you this.

Was the weather better in Orlando?

Hell yeah. Yeah, Like, I literally drove down there and the first thing I do, I get out the car and I'm like, damn, I had a sweat on and like a sweatpants. And I hop out the car and I smell it because like, dude, the other thing too about like kind of being broke was I didn't turn the AC on the whole time in the car. Like, I didn't want to waste all the gas. Like, dude, I was still a rogue minded person. I was like, I don't keep stopping for gas. I'm using all this ac. Like, let me just like put the windows open and so I just put the windows open and like, I get out the car and I'm like, damn. The first impression I have, body odor. This is bad. So like I'm outside the house and I'm like, dude, this is so bad. I'm smelling myself. And I'm like, they didn't notice though. I was like, all right, where's the room? And I took a shower right away. I was like, so bad. But like, dude, I was, I was a very, like, I guess you could say like a very like taken back child. Like, I was very like introverted. I didn't do all the social. Like, it was tough for me, but that house was the best year and a half of my life. Being innocent and having fun and just like tapping into things that I didn't have the freedom to do when I was a kid. Like, when I was a kid I had curfews or I couldn't see friends on certain times because, you know, my mom had to get her hair done and all this stupid stuff that my parents do on the weekend or whatever. Like, oh, we don't have a car right now. You can't go anywhere now. I was like, yo, I get to go wherever I want, when I want, how I want. I get to say whatever I want. Like, this is crazy. So I never got Those freedoms, like, it was. It was like a really good, like, breath of fresh air, like, eating the things that I wanted. Like, dude, there'd be times where we'd go out to eat, and my mom was like, no, you've had a cheeseburger three days in a row. You're not getting another one. And I'm like, what? And, like, just things like that. I was like, just let me eat what I want to eat. Like, what is wrong with you? So just things like that. I had the freedom to do whatever I wanted.

Now, how did you, you know, in your mind, driving down in the car, you know, you're a monomaniac on a mission, which I think it sounds like you've lived your life a lot like that. And you're, you know, you got your destination in mind. You're headed down there like a bullet. And as you're thinking, were you strategizing in your mind about what you're going to do when you get there? And when did you get to the point that. Where you started thinking about, okay, this is what I'm going to do now, you know, and, you know, and some. Maybe some activities, specific activities came to you. And, you know, how hard was it to get operational into a pattern of where you could, you know, because that phrase, I've started saying this on here occasionally. It's like, where on an instinctive basis, on a daily basis, you instinctively know if you're doing enough of the right things to get ahead. You know, you get in that flow, that workflow, and how long did it take you to kind of get your feet on the ground, meet people in the room, get somewhat comfort with that, the lay of the town, and launch, you know, get. Get on some kind of schedule.

Yeah. So for the first, like, three weeks, I'm not gonna lie, I completely did zero work. Like, I was just excited about being in a new city. And I just explored. Like, I was just like, hey, like, I already had some of my clients. Like, I had them on scheduled posting, so it was automated for a couple weeks. I did that on purpose because I was like. Like the first couple days, I just did a bunch of work the first couple days, got all the clients scheduled for a couple of weeks. And I was like, all right, let's go explore Orlando. So I went to, like, Disney Springs and all these, like, the amusement parks, and, like, I did all that stuff, and I was like, oh, my God, like, there's nothing like this in New York. This is crazy. And it was nuts. And as far as getting Operational. After those three weeks, I, like, got my shit together because something happened to my car. And, like, one of the rotors went. And, like, if you don't know what a rotor is, it's like the same with a. Like, it's basically on the back of a brake. Dude, the thing was like, 300. And when I got my first ever mechanic bill, I almost, like, freaked out. And that's when I was like, oh, I gotta, like, step up my game because what if this happens to the other three rotors on my car? So, yeah, that's where I was like, all right, you know, I need my car, obviously. So that's when I started doing the whole, like, 100 a day. And, like, dude, people who are listening are definitely going to resonate with this, but if they haven't gone off the ground yet, they're going to love this. So, like, if you just do 100 of something a day, like, you're bound to get results that you want. So, like, what I did was I would do 50 cold Instagram messages a day and 50 cold calls a day. So I would pull up a list on Yelp of all the local businesses, and I would just call 50 of them and set appointments. And then the other 50 were just messages. And, like, at the time, I was posting videos online of my journey and I was getting a good following. I had, like 40,000 followers at the time. It wasn't crazy, but, like, it was a good audience. And I used that when I cold DM people. I got a lot of high reply rates because of that. The reply rates were very high because I had 40,000 followers and, like, I was able to send appointments a lot easier. The thing too was I was so motivated. I was posting content, like, at least twice a day. I was posting a video of me talking and then, like, a picture. I had my Canon camera still, so I would put it on the tripod and I would just, like. I would put a timer on and I would just, like, go run outside and take a picture. It was so funny. Like, all my roommates would make fun of me for it, but I would, like, put the Canon camera down and, like, sit on the couch on my laptop and, like, set the. The timer the five seconds. I would run over and, like, take a picture. It was so funny. And, like, dude, just putting out all the content and doing 100 of something a day, it just made me a lot faster. Like, it just helped me out. And then once I made about six, seven grand a month. That's when I took about A thousand bucks a month. And I made my first hire, which was a va and I found a VA who was willing to do, like, cold outreach for me. So she got my Instagram and she would do the same thing every day for me. 50 messages a day. And then I was like, wait a second, I remember her name at the time. She doesn't work anymore. I was like. I was like, dial. I was like, why don't we do Facebook too? Like, we could do Instagram messages in Facebook and do 100 messages a day. And then she brought up a good idea. She was like, oh, my God, you could do LinkedIn too. And I was like, oh, my God, we could do LinkedIn too. Like, let's do 150 a day. And then I gave her a little bit more money to do that because then she didn't understand that workload. Like, it was actually a lot of messages and 150 messages a day got us about four to five book calls a day. And I was closing deals. And that was it.

Thanks for listening to the Million Dollar Mastermind. If you felt there were any valuable takeaways from this episode, please take a minute and leave us a five star review. Your feedback is important and really helps us get the word out to a wider audience. Remember, we have a valuable webinar that is absolutely free.

Register.

Register for it right now@whiteallowinning.com. thanks for listening.