0119: Who Are You Surrounding Yourself With? with GoBundance CEO Dirk Van Reenen

Ea interviews, episode 119, inspiration, transformation, success stories and the imperfect action round. Seven days a week, join Mario Ficcini for today's Expert Authority Effect interview. Have you ever wanted to start a business? How about grow a business? How about be around successful people? I am so excited because I have Dirk van Reinen on the show and he is not only an author, a speaker and consultant, but he is the CEO of GoBundance, which is a, which holds people accountable. In his new book, Tribe to Millionaires, he's going to be sharing these secrets. He's been a CEO to multiple companies in excess of revenue of $800 million. He is very successful, knows what he's talking about and I'm not going to say too much. So if you see me just smiling, it's because I just want to be listening and learning and I'm bringing them here for you. We're going to thank our sponsor and I'm going to bring up Dirk van Reenen. Winning with Google in 2020. Of course you want to. I'd advise Google search advertising and YouTube specialist Roche Sillers download the free Winning with Google in 2020 guide at eainterviews.com forward/roshtips. Dirk, it's great to have you on the show. How are you doing?

Mario, thank you so much for having me on the show, man. Having a great afternoon. Thank you.

I got a question for you. How did you get started with all of this? What inspired you to start your company?

I think for me, I don't know exactly where it came from, but from a young age I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur, that I wanted to be a business person and it was just kind of something that I wanted to kind of walk out there and do it. And I think for me it didn't start at all the way it is today. There's a lot of things that I've had to walk through, but it's just been an evolution of just a process and a journey.

What age did you get started?

In high school I did a few kind of like entrepreneurial type stuff, like had a little lawn mowing business and definitely worked hard on the summers. I wasn't the kid that really got to go on much trips or vacations. My family, I'm actually an immigrant from South Africa. So at 14 years old we moved to the United States and didn't have much. So I was always, from a young age knew that if I wanted something I had to figure out how to work and get that. But my first business actually bought when I was 20 years old and went into the ski and snowboard industry with the ski shop.

And where'd you do that at?

So that was actually in Amarillo, Texas, and some of it bled over to northern New Mexico. So you may think, wow, okay, there's not any mountains in Texas, but there's actually quite a few ski shops in Amarillo because it's a big thorough way for all of your Texas and Oklahoma and, you know, LA type skiers that are all driving up to the mountains. So it was actually a pretty big thoroughfare place and quite a few ski shops there.

And that's an important lesson you're sharing. And I want to talk about that a little bit, because a lot of people think you have to be in a certain spot to be successful. But like the gold rush back in the 1800s, you know, the people who profited the most were the ones selling the shovels. So maybe you can. Maybe you don't need the mountain right next door, but how many people did you see coming through there?

Yeah, I mean, between. We were only actually open like six months out of the year, but in the wintertime, I mean.

Most weekends we would actually rent out of all of our gear. And I mean, we had probably 250 pairs of skis, 40 snowboards, and I mean, we were renting out, you know, every weekend. Right. So there's a lot of people that came through there. And like I said, we were one of several businesses, but people just prefer to kind of stay there. And, you know, we made some concessions, like you get two free travel days, you know, to kind of still travel to the mountains and back. And, you know, we do nice things like go ahead and put people's ski racks on their cars for them and fit their skis and all that kind of stuff. So we just made it easy for people to just pull off the highway, interstate run in the shop. It's a good place to stretch their legs, get all their ski gear, and then when they get to the mountains, they don't even have to go to the shops anymore.

Well, it sounds like you definitely understand the supply and demand and adding value and serving people. So how would you say that experience helped you with the future stuff you've been doing and really got you started with gobundance.

I think one of the things I realized is that in business, people love to do experiential type things, right? So it's not just about doing a transaction. It's how the experience of the transaction makes you feel. And I think that companies that have really, really nailed it in growth and culture and scalability and a big part of really figured out how to create more of an experience around their transactions. So I think that was a good example for me in that industry, because people didn't want a transaction at all. The whole thing, they wanted to be experiential. People love to go skiing. It's a very fun leisure type sport.

Just one of those things that people want to just have a great time. So everything that we did was really centered around treating our clients and customers in a way that really made them feel good and they enjoyed the experience and we made the experience fun for their kids, all kinds of stuff. So, I mean, it's really served me just how we do business today is same thing. Everything we do in business today, we want to create a great experience. It's not just about the transaction.

So what type of people do you attract for gobundance and who is a great fit for.

Yeah, so gobundance started in 2014, and it was really launched as a mastermind group for millionaire entrepreneurs. And GoBundance came into existence because there was a few guys, David Osborne, Pat Hyben and Tim Rhode, that had been really meeting for probably about 10 years before that. And they were all entrepreneurs. They had all become wealthy, but they kind of did this journey together. They held each other accountable. They went on, you know, trips together. They really challenged each other in multiple areas in their lives. And then they started realizing that there were other people that wanted the same thing, they wanted to experience the same thing. So what we found is that there's a lot of people that start business, a lot of entrepreneurs that, you know, they take control of their destiny and they start something. And maybe for the first couple years, I mean, you're working things out and you're having failures and you're struggling. But as you just stay in there and you become more successful, what happens is, you know, you become isolated, which is kind of weird because you would think that, you know, the moment you become more successful, make more money, that you would actually just kind of have a lot more autonomy and freedom. But what you find is that you're. You're no longer as much in connection with the people that you used to be in connection with, because now your life is really transformed in a lot of ways. And a lot of people are very isolated in. Okay, where do I go to kind of create the new level of connection for the kind of people that are experiencing what I'm experiencing? Because a lot of Times if you're sitting around the table, maybe even with your extended family or your friends, and they may be talking about some stuff, and you want to talk about, hey, you're doing this multimillion dollar deal, or you're about to buy something or sell something, or you've got this $300,000 cash flow nightmare in your business. You can't talk about that stuff without sounding like an ass. And all you're wanting to do is authentically connect with somebody and share your joys or, you know, talk to somebody about your struggles and see if they can maybe mentor you and help you through that. So they said, look, let's create a tribe for people like that, people that feel isolated, that have become successful, and that really want to experience life at a new level. Right. So they launched gobundance, and I mean, we're up to 220 millionaire entrepreneurs now, and we also launched the women's division this year, and we've got 40 ladies now in gobundance women. So it's really cool to see that, man. You know, this is something that. As it's. As it's forming out and, you know, creating more connection, more value, I mean, there's. There's people that want to be a part of something like this, and the network within it is just incredible. But one thing we realize is it's. It's for kind of that lone wolf that's tired of being a lone wolf, and they really want to start running with a pack. So that's. That's why gobundance was created.

Well, I'm glad you started it, because I found working with clients and speaking to audience, there's a lot of people that they are successful, and like you're saying, they are alone, and they really do have a heart of gold and want to connect with people. They just don't know where to go.

Right? Yeah. And just to clarify, I didn't actually start the tribe. I was actually brought in earlier this year as a CEO to really scale the tribe. So just to want to give credit to David and Pat, Tim, and then also Mike McCarthy that came in, and he was the CEO before I took over. So those guys have done an amazing job in getting the tribe to where it is today.

Well, you're growing it now.

I am growing it now. Yeah. So our goal is to really be able to fill out more nationwide. And the cool thing that we're seeing is we're starting to see kind of pockets of areas where, you know, there's more and more gobundance members so they can actually connect on a, you know, bi weekly or monthly basis to just to get together in their towns and do some really cool things and help each other and hold each other accountable. So it's. It's definitely growing, and we're really working on kind of filling out, making it more accessible to more people.

So what would you say is the biggest transformation you've seen from someone that's come into gobundance?

Man, we've seen a lot of transformation. I mean, we've seen people that. It's taken them 10, 15 years to really kind of get to that millionaire status. And all of a sudden they joined gobundance and they all of a sudden start finding out that there's so many other things that they've neglected along the journey of becoming a millionaire. We've seen incredible transformations in health because age defying health is one of our pillars. We've seen people just flourish in their relationships. Right. And one thing that is so cool to see from the guy side is when you can sit around and tell other guys, and I mean, you're literally sitting around in a room with millionaire entrepreneurs and you're talking about, hey, how can we be better husbands to our wives and how can we better be better dads to our children and be better leaders to our people? And so just transforming the way we're showing up in relationships as well. A lot of people are rapidly growing their net worth because now, again, there's a lot of deal flow within the group. So there's people that can help you deploy your money, or there's always opportunities coming up where you can invest in. Now there's business partnerships that form within the group. So a couple guys get together, they got ideas, and now they got resources and everything. So, I mean, we've. We've seen people literally go within this gobundance ecosystem from, you know, one. One of the top guys, probably 40 million to over $100 million in net worth. We've seen guys that were, you know, 280 pounds, like, in terrible health, you know, but making in business, you know, become fit and start being like, running ironman triathlons. We've seen people's marriages, like, just blossom, relationships with their kids. So, I mean, it's incredible to see the transformation when people realize that there's so much more to life than just, like, grinding it out and trying to make money and run a business.

That's fantastic to hear because, you know, the money is great. But if you don't have the relationships or if you have the relationships and no money or especially your health. If you don't have health, you don't have anything.

Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, that's such an important thing. You know, Tony Robbins talks about that a lot too, is that, look, I mean, you don't have success if you don't have health. Right? Because I mean, it doesn't matter how much money you have, when your health starts going, everything else goes with it. So it's nothing like. That's one thing in general that entrepreneurs, most entrepreneurs and business owners that I come in contact with don't really regard their health as a top priority. So that's really something that we focus on and build a lot of conversation around and have accountability around as well.

Well, that's good. I'm glad you're doing the holistic approach and making sure that they're successful on all levels.

Yeah, we approach it. There's a term that's kind of been coined in our. In our tribe and it's whole life millionaire. And it's this idea that.

Your net worth means nothing if these other things don't exist. Right. And so when you can really start kind of focusing on that and start seeing that man, like, it's. It's really cool when you have more resources, when you have more money, when you haven't success, but when you can even take that and your health is great, your relationships and you have an amazing adventures and your level of contribution massively increases, then life just becomes sweeter. Right. And especially doing it, going through that whole experience with other people that are experiencing the same thing, it's really fun. So I would encourage everybody to like on their path to becoming successful. Like, think about, you know, if you want to be a millionaire, be a whole life millionaire.

What would one success story be that stands out to you?

I think probably one of my favorite stories, there's a gentleman in our tribe named Dan grebe. And Dan was one of these guys that is still in the real estate field. I think he's doing a lot of coaching now as well. But I think he got to the point that literally, I mean, he was almost £300 and working all the time. Right. I mean, just really giving so much to his business. And I mean, in joining gobundance, he really started finding some guys that started challenging him on his health and how much time he's spending with his family. And through that process, over a couple years, he went from this guy that wasn't really fit at all, wasn't really having that much additional time for you know, family, adventure and travel. And through this process, I think now he's done something like four ironmen, like completed like four of them. Wow. And, you know, his business is doing amazing. He's part of like a really big startup coaching company now. You know, relationships are flourishing, like the time he's spending with his family and like, you know, things like that are really encouraging, you know, when you look at it, because there's a lot of people that in the ordinary grind of life, even if they're being successful.

Those transformational moments don't come easily. Right. Because most of the people that are around you may not be focusing on the same thing. So that's one that really kind of sticks out for me of somebody that's just transformed their health and the relationships. And I mean, everything in business success follows.

What have you noticed with your book so far? How exciting has that been since you launched it?

The book has been really cool. So I got a copy of it here, tell you the first really cool story about the book. When I first got the full Transcript.

It was July 4th, and I remember I needed to kind of read it and I thought, okay, I'll read a little bit here and there because, I mean, I usually like to read about an hour or so. Like, Max, I'm not a person that sits down and reads for like four hours. And I ended up reading the entire book in one setting. And I was like, oh my gosh, man, this turned out really well. And so I knew that it's just written in.

Like a fable, like just an incredibly gripping story. So I started kind of sending some of the copies to my team, having them read it, getting feedback from them as well. And we're all kind of working on the book together because there's multiple authors. And when I got the first copy, I got a copy about 10 days before the official release. And I went to my 10 year old son and I said, hey, Jax, we got the book done. And I said, here's the really cool thing is if you read this book in the next 10 days, you'll be one of the first people to ever have read this book, even before it hits.

Kind of the public sale. And so he kind of took that on as a challenge because I'm always kind of encouraged him to read certain things and to really kind of, you know, challenge his thinking on things and really develop the way that he does think about things. So he read the book and he loved it. And the cool thing is in the book it talks about these little cards, the Effect cards. And actually from our summer event where we did a pre launch for our members, I brought some of the cards home. So every time he read a chapter, I would give him the effect card, just like it says in the book. So he was really bought into it. But the cool thing was that he started talking about it at school and he would come home and he would say, like, hey, I was talking to my teacher about Tribe of Millionaires and talking her about the importance of, you know, the people in your life and how they influence you. And you know, just really quickly you could tell that he was grasping the concepts because it's written in such a simple format. And probably about two weeks after that, he said, hey, dad, can I talk to you in your office? And I said, okay. And after dinner, we went and sat down in the chairs of my office and, you know, we're sitting kind of there. And he said, I've made a really important decision with my life. And I was like, okay, wow. Like, this has got to be serious because he's asking me to sit down, like officially in my office, and he's got an announcement. He said, I've decided to become an entrepreneur. And you know, I was like, I was really excited, you know, and it's something that I've never wanted to push on him, but I've always wanted to encourage him and, you know, him following kind of his pursuits and he's been really purposeful in some things he's done. But he said, I asked him why he made the decision. He said, well, when I read the book and I realized how much much people really affect your life. He said, I started thinking about all the people that you hang out with and your friends and the people you do business with. And he said, I started realizing that some of the people that I like the most in as adults are people that, that you do business with and that have become your friends. And he said, I've realized that it'd be really cool if I can do the same in my life, right? And have, you know, that kind of level relationship with, like, the people you do business with, your friends, you can travel with them, I mean, all kinds of stuff. It was cool to see that, you know, for my son, it made an impact. And, you know, I posted that on Facebook and we had quite a few people that bought the book all of a sudden for their kids, right? It wasn't just about them anymore. And we've had some amazing stories of people that have given their this book to a teenager or a kid or Even, like, you know, adults as well, that all of a sudden, for the first time in their life, they've realized that something they've never actually really dove into is understanding how the people in their lives are actually influencing them. And that's really what the book's about, is about the six effects of, you know, essentially your tribe and the people that you spend time with and how that there's. It's a very. It feels like a subtle or almost kind of an invisible influence, but it's one of the most powerful influences. And if you're not aware of it, then, I mean, you're living. Your life is actually being influenced by the people that are around you. So it's cool to see people really kind of taking a pause now and starting to think about, okay, who am I spending time with? What kind of conversations am I having?

Is there accountability in my life? Is there actually anybody in my life that's holding me accountable to anything? What kind of purpose am I living? So it's cool to see when you put something like this out there and people don't just kind of read it and say, hey, that was a cool book. But they say, wow, like, I've really had to kind of stop and think about who are the people that I'm spending a lot of time with and how am I showing up for them as well. So it's been cool to see that. Well, that.

That sounds like a success story in and of itself, because not only for the adults that are changing their lives, because, you know, people get on different paths and you end up in different places. You know, we've all done it, but as you get older, you go, do I really want to stay here? And then making that change when you're older, but it's equally, if not more impressive. I love hearing stories about the kids, and I've always encouraged people to, you know, get them started young. You said your son's 10.

He's 10. Yeah.

So, I mean, he's got eight more years till he's 18. And then even then, that's still young. And I mean, you still have your all. All your 20s to build the. Build the business up. I mean, he's already got. I remember when I. One of my clients, who I still have from over 10 years, and. Right. I started my first company at 12. And when I was 24, it was like, the next day I went into a meeting, and I was like, yeah, I've been doing business more than half my life. And he was like, half of what?

So you had the Same company from.

12 to 24, 12 to 18, sold it to start this one.

Wow, that is awesome.

So I have a passion. You know, I thought I got started old, but, you know, I was smiling even more because he was 10. You know, he get him started young. I'm so happy to hear that. And that the parents are buying the book. Where can people find the book?

Yeah, so we're actually giving a free book away. If you go to tribeofmillionaires.com we're actually giving a free book away. Just pay the shipping. You can also find it on Amazon. If you just go to Amazon and look at Google Tribe of Millionaires. So that's where you can get. Get a copy of the book?

Yeah, for sure. Want to make sure people get that. And we're going to be talking about that more in the second half. But that, that's really exciting to hear because how many people.

The younger you get them started, the more they're going to be better off when they are 18, 28, 38, 48. And hopefully they, you know, they don't have to do a 180, but for the adults who do, good for you.

Well, Mario, here's the interesting thing is I think most people, if you have kids, right, you. You're kind of acutely aware of this influence effect. And you, you want to tell your kids, like, you're aware of who they're hanging out with and who they're spending time with. And, you know, you're kind of cautious about who they, whose house they go to or who comes over to your house, because you understand that that influence effect is so real. And I think somewhere around maybe the age of, I don't know, 16 to whatever, like, you just kind of lose perspective of that, Right? So I talked to parents that they're so aware of that with their kids. But then I asked them, I said, hey, how aware are you of the influence affecting your life? And I think it's so important for us to look at, you know, how we're. We're doing that with kids. But I think as adults, it's easy to kind of recognize that in kids. But when we look at our own life, we think we're immune to it, and we're absolutely not. Right? So one of these things that I think is just as soon as you get somebody started, then for the rest of your life, if you pay attention to, you know, who you're, who you're spending time with, that's gonna really determine the overall trajectory of your. Of Your life in every way.

I agree. Because growing up, it's, you know, watch out who you're hanging out with. You know, this person, that person. And then afterwards it's just like you don't really think about it because maybe they're a client, maybe they're a prospect, maybe they're a friend, maybe they're whatever. And you just meet so many people. Like you're saying the more successful you get, you think you're in front of all these people and you have everything around you, but unless you're working on it, you really can get isolated.

And then when you pop back out, who are you hanging out with? Because can you talk about anything or is it just surface level stuff? That's never fun.

Yeah, that's. That's exactly right. Yeah. It's just one thing that, you know, we're really trying to bring awareness that to help people understand, you know, you could be working as hard as you want, and we're trying to work as smart as you want to work and putting as much time and effort and energy into something. And yet if you don't have the right people around you influencing you in the right ways, your effort is greatly diminished. Right. So you have to get around people that can actually multiply everything that you're doing.

Yeah, that's a good tip there. Because a lot of people don't realize they think life is linear and when it comes to business, you can grow it exponential.

Yeah. Again, people that grow exponential businesses are people that hang out and get influenced by people that have built exponential businesses as well. If you look at any successful person that's done significant things in business, they've got so many people that are influencing them on a continual basis, you know, by who they're talking to, what they're reading, what they're listening to. I mean, all of that. So. And it translates into your personal life 100% as well.

Well, you've shared some great expert authority insights. Can't wait to hear more. We're going to thank our sponsor and come back for the imperfect action round. Winning with Google in 2020. I have no doubt you want to for your business, but who do you trust and where do you start? I'd advise Rosh Sillers. Not only was he episode 22's featured VIP guest, but he's also a Google specialist with search advertising and YouTube. And I had him put together this free Winning with Google in 2020 guide for you to get started with right now, go to eainterviews.comroshtips to get your free download. Now, once again, that's eainterviews.comroSHTIPS and we are back with the imperfect action round. Dirk, are you ready to take imperfect action?

I am, yes.

First question, what is the fastest path to the cash in your experience?

Fastest path to the cache? I think the first thing is if you at least get clear about the first solid point that needs to get reached immediately taking action and starting to move towards that. I think too many people try to figure out the entire plan and don't take action. So as soon as you get it clear at least about the first mile marker, immediately take action.

Excellent. Number two, what is the biggest problem you see your prospects making and the fastest way they can fix it?

Man, this one can go a lot of places. I think the number one thing that I see like our type of clients doing is, number one, they think that they have to do it all, and they think that they need to learn a new skill or they got to figure something out instead of going to the whole. And the fastest way to fix that is for them just to change the mindset of don't ask the question why or even how, but immediately just start asking the question who? And find the right person that can help you for it.

That's very, very true. That's a great answer. Number three, what is the best way to maximize customer lifetime value?

Oh, man. I would say just care about your clients, like, authentically care about them. If you do that, even though you make mistakes and you screw up, if you really care about them and show them that you care about them, you'll retain them at a much higher level. Very good.

What is a book that's made the biggest impact on your business?

Okay, so for me, I got to go with two on this one. For me personally, I think Think and Grow Rich has been like one of the most significant books I've ever read. This year has been the seventh time I've read that book, and every time I get new insights from it. So for me, I know it's a classic book, but I mean, it is just incredible for me, for my business. A book that's really been powerful for us is the four disciplines of execution 4dx. Because it's really helped us, like, bring in some solid systems on how to. How to bring a team together and cohesive on breaking down goals from the top down.

That sounds good. Never heard of that one. Who's the author?

Stephen Covey.

Okay, that sounds real good. Where can people learn more about GoBundance and you.

Yeah, for GoBundance it's go and then bundance.com. so I'll just say Google GoBundance. Go to our website. We've got a lot of information about GoBundance. For me personally, you can go to BergFlow B E R G F L O-W.com and that's our primary training consulting company.

Excellent. Well, it's been an absolute pleasure and I appreciate you for sharing.

Awesome. Really appreciate being on the show, Mario. Thank you so much and take care.

All right, Expert Authority world. We have another great episode. I'll see you tomorrow. Have a great day and God bless.

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