Testosterone, Role Models, and Confronting CEOs - Episode 011
Mike Andes and a co-host talk testosterone replacement therapy, why YouTube personalities shape kids' role models more than parents do, and what it means to be watched by fans. They cover a UK study on children's heroes, office stories, and their company's vision for Augusta.
Chapters
I use my Rogaine that they got me for my birthday the very first time.
Yeah.
Last night.
How's it feel?
I'm just growing massive amounts of hair, dude. Yeah.
Do you actually feel like there's a difference? Oh, dude, no. All right. I don't know.
I think it's like 95, psychological, really. I had a couple who say my hair looked good, but I think that it goes darker during the winter, so.
I think that makes sense.
Yeah, it's okay. One day I'll just shave it all off. Yeah.
Just rock the bald look.
Well, the last time on last episode, we were debating whether or not I should have a beard was with Brad.
That was with Brad.
Yes, Brad. We debate whether I should have a beard if I would lose subscribers and therefore I should be able to do a write off for my haircuts. So I. I determined that if, you know, having hair on my. The top of my head is important.
Yep.
I could have, like, a hair transplant and just have that as a write up. It's important to the business, dude.
I. I really hope that I never have to go full bald. I mean, eventually, obviously, all males pretty much lose their hair. But, like, I'm talking, like, I want to get to, like, 70 before I have to go full.
I think, like, when I. When I, like, 55, 60. I think by then TRT and like, testosterone will be really dialed in. And, like, I don't want to get bulky, so I'll wait till I'm like, I'm older.
Yeah.
But, like, I definitely, like, I'm now convinced based on the research I've been doing, especially since Liver King, I've been, like, digging into the actual research and testosterone. I don't like it, like, the vanity part of it. Like, I definitely think when I'm like, 60, I'll probably start taking some stuff. Like, you can just, like, it just. Yeah, it's super helpful. Yeah. And I wouldn't try to hide it. It's just like, look, that's. It's super. Like, you enjoy life more. Like, you worked all your life making money. Like, now you can spend it on something that's gonna make you feel better for the last 20, 30 years of your life.
Let's go. Yeah. Well, you're more versed in this than I am, but would you feel like similar, like, collagen? Like, I feel like we've done more studies on collagen, and people are saying that it actually has good benefits. I don't really know, like, the details of it, but I feel like Years ago it was like, oh, it's like it's fake. It doesn't actually have any.
Well, the thing is with trt, you're, you're talking about hormones, you're talking about hormone replacement. Right? Like, that's very different than my collagen supplement. Supplement, vitamin. Like dieting. TRT is a whole different ballgame and I don't think most people should do it, by the way, especially in the. There's guys in their 20s and 30s, like, dude, you're doing this to buff. But like, you're probably hurting your liver. You're probably over. If you do it too much, it's really going to hurt you. I think, like, if you have the money and you're in your 50s and 60s, obviously living a healthy lifestyle, like, you can supplement with it and get a little bit. They help you a lot.
Yeah. So liver king recently, since you brought him up, he's doing his natty journey now.
Oh yeah.
How he's all natural.
Yeah.
Substantially smaller.
Is he really?
Oh, yeah, he's like three, four weeks into natty because it's been like a month since he really.
He's already shrunk a bunch.
Oh yeah, I, I feel like I can tell.
Really?
Yeah, he's doing like weigh ins and stuff. But I like, you know, I still get like ads and things on Instagram and you see him pop up.
Right.
I'm a.
So is he trying to say that, like, is he trying to say that him on this 30 day thing, he can still do it, he still has it, or is he trying to say like he expects to now look like a regular human being?
No, he's, I think it's a little bit of I still have it. So he's showing like, I can still have this physique to an extent, but he's ultimately still just preaching like his nine core tenants.
Right?
Where it's like, that is what has always given me a balanced life. And now I'm going to show you how I can live those nine core tenants and still look pretty, Pretty dang good.
I think like when he came out with the apology, he was confused. I think like, I think he was trying to split the two options. In my mind, he had two options. One, you say, yeah, I'm taking it and kind of like, you know, forget you guys kind of thing, or B, you do what he's done. And I was like, okay, I got caught, I'm sorry and I'm gonna go natural.
Yeah.
So I felt at the beginning he didn't have A clear direction which way he was gonna go. And then I feel like he kind of like, in the spare of the moment, almost made decision, like, oh, he's gonna go natty. Yeah. Which I think is a good move. I think that could serve him well. But he's gonna look very human in about six months. Yeah. Like, if you take the levels of testosterone and hormones he was taking down to nothing for six months, he's gonna look very normal in six months.
Yeah.
Even with all the working out that he does, he's gonna look totally different.
The couple clips I've seen of him, he just looks less wide.
Oh, yeah.
Like, just his shoulders, his arms, it's all just like, compressed.
You're 50. Your. Your. Your frame is not built for that. It's not like. Yeah.
Anyways, I don't know how we got back on Liver King. Mike's taking testosterone for hair growth.
Just so everyone is clear, Rogaine is like a foam you put in your hair. I got a gift from the command center giving me Rogaine for my birthday. Like, seriously, I'm 27. You're giving me Rogaine for my.
Anyways, produce the documents. Show us what supplements you're taking. Produce the documents. Well, it's been a minute, but we hit 100 subscribers. I wanted to congratulate our subscribers on subscribing to us.
Did you hear my first million? The gentleman's agreement?
Yes.
That's so good.
Gentleman's agreement was fantastic with my first million. Do you want to elaborate on that for the folks?
Because you want this to happen? No, the gentleman's agreement is that someone does work for you without you ever checking in or making sure that they repay you. There's a gentleman's agreement. For example, you take a penny, leave a penny. Right. Well, in this case, we put in this hard work. You do the editing, we come up with these great ideas and share our knowledge. And we have gentleman's agreement that everyone watching this clicks the like button and subscribes.
Yes.
And so we just ask that here on the C Suite unfiltered podcast that you abide by the rules of the gentleman's agreement and just hit the subscribe button. For all the work that we put on this end, we just. We just expect. We just have a gentleman's agreement that you on the other end, are going to do your part.
Click, subscribe, and if you really want to get brownie points, share. So.
We hit 100 subscribers. Well, now we're officially at 125. And I hinted on the last pod.
25% stock up. Let's go.
Yeah, we'll take days. I said we do 100 subscriber giveaway.
Right.
So what should it be? I don't know. What do you think it should be?
I don't know. You could do a stream yard and have them come in on the podcast.
Have them come on the pod if they want. Yeah, it definitely be someone we know.
This point they should. To make it easy on yourself, you should have them record and just send you a Google Drive link of, like, a question for us, and we just do it live on the show.
That's cool.
Yeah.
You want to. I was thinking, like, I could throw them, like, a gift card or something too.
I don't know. Gift cards are dime a dozen.
Fine. Mike doesn't want me to give you guys a gift card. Fun fact.
They can ask a really personal question about you and a really personal question about me. All right, on the next episode, we have to answer it live.
All right, that sounds good.
You can't watch it before.
Okay, that's fair. All right. We're giving away the ability to ask us a very personal question live without us saying, I will contact the winner.
Okay.
I guess I don't do it. I don't know how YouTube works. You can't contact my people.
Sweet. 100 subscribers. Thanks for subscribing. We appreciate you guys. Hopefully we can provide you some sort of entertainment.
Okay. The goal next week needs to be 200.
200 by next week.
Totally, dude. You're at 25% up in the past few days. Yeah, since the last episode.
Gonna have to do something wild, I guess.
200 episodes.
Rogain applications live on camera.
We'll see.
I don't know. I want to do, like a medium giveaway for 500, but I want to do something big for a thousand.
Okay.
I know it's. I know it's way out in the way.
Next week, they know. We gotta. We gotta up our game, bro.
All right.
You're wearing a barstool sports sweater. You gotta represent, bro.
Well, maybe they'll pick us up. You never know. They got a lot of podcasts, so I had to represent. It was a gift, all right? It's a gift. Someone gave it to me, dude. Command center, all right? They give you Rogaine for a gift, and your repayment is a horrible toilet. So the bathroom saga continues.
The bathroom at command center has made on the podcast three times, so I.
Think people want to know now. Now we do have the bathroom saga. Command center new office. One single use bathroom, one toilet. Very low to the ground. Mind you, if Mike says it's low to the ground, it's low to the ground.
Did I already tell you that?
No, I've used it. I used it once or twice.
I've always thought like man, if it's low for it lies me really low. It's a full out squatty potty.
Yeah dude, it's very low to the ground. Tiny little sink. The lighting in there is something out of a. A horror movie. It's horrible. So now it got. Now, now the bathroom's messed up again. So what, what's the plan here?
Well see it's not so crazy cuz see my bathroom where I live at down the. Down the strip mall is the exact same way with like the weird laboratory lighting from the fluorescence.
Yeah. So the solution. So earlier this week or last week someone brought a scooter to be able to transport themselves down to bathrooms that are public.
Love that.
So now the going joke in the contest is to see who can get to the bathroom and back on the scooter the fastest. So I think it's 49 seconds.
Nice.
There and back. So if you ever come and you see people that's literally flying down to the bathrooms, it's not because they're dying to go to the bathroom. They're just trying to beat the record. So I ordered a couple because I was like this is. Someone's going to die here pretty fast. Trying to run so fast or like go on the scooter. So I got the three wheeled. Yeah. So that'll be the plan. Hopefully they'll hear tomorrow.
Yeah, I like that. That's exciting. Now I don't want to get too personal is that it's 49 seconds down. It's not down. Use them back.
Right.
That's.
That would be a record.
That's athletic washing of the hand. Yeah, yeah. Then it becomes a sanitary thing. The handlebars than typing when you get.
Back to the office like hey, mind.
If I borrow your phone real quick?
So yeah, no.
We gotta adjust some things in the bathroom. We're getting a new toilet. Kind of higher levels of force. The, the fan didn't work when we moved in and it's not good because like the office is relatively quiet. Around the corner is the bathroom and it's all very hard surfaces like tile and. And so noise travels. So fortunately no one's like super close in terms of their workstation. But it's definitely when you're in the bathroom it's like dead quiet.
Oh yeah.
And you're just really self aware of.
Like the noise and you get like one of those sleep machines that they have for toddlers. Just makes like the ocean waves.
Well, yeah. And just, and just, you know, when you have 50 people in an office and go in the bathroom, you don't really want. When you know there's. So I'm gonna be using the bathroom right after you.
Yeah.
So we have like three things of spray. Yeah, it's pretty great.
I'd be a scooter guy.
Oh yeah, dude.
I like my privacy.
Yeah, I, the, the other day I was carrying a ladder on the scooter. It was great. Yeah. I had to get. Go down the gym, grab a ladder for the lights. Nice, dude.
Well, yeah. Bathroom drama. Yeah, dude. Well, it's a weekly update that we're gonna have to keep doing on the podcast segment. Yeah. Liz said they were ordering a toilet with more force. Direct quote. Like that is an interesting verb. Shoes or adjectives.
Notice how many people on Connect Team are excited about that.
Very excited about forceful toilets. All right. Right on.
May the force be with you. A whole other concept.
Not going there. Not going there. Cool. Well, for the, for this deeper 12.
Minutes and I don't think we've really talked about much.
Hopefully, hopefully, you know, maybe the subscriber count will start going down. I don't know if we're gonna get to 200.
Oh dude.
I did have something of hopefully value to maybe talk about. So I was trying to look for recent articles. This was just something that came across. Came across the desk, you know, trending or whatever. The desk of the producer. The desk of the producer. Yep. Shout out the producer. But a recent UK study, so it's a non profit that works with children and literacy in the UK and I really tried to find like a more updated one from the US but I couldn't find anything with like really recent data. And this one's from October of last year. So it's like three months old and very interesting data. And it was about role models. So before we get into kind of the article, but like who, who were some of your role models growing up?
Oh, dude. Growing up.
Yeah. And. And now we could talk. Let's talk growing up. So like pre 18.
Right.
And then now kind of. Who are some of your role models?
Definitely growing up was probably more to do with church because I didn't like have any business. Entrepreneurial. Yeah, like mentor type. Like I need no one that knew own businesses and would like help Me with stuff. So.
Probably like my dad, pastor, like, things like that. And then now it'd probably be like more online from a business perspective. But I don't really, like, I don't know, I don't gravitate towards that sort of thing. I kind of like pick and choose from different people now. I do struggle with having like, just actually knowing personally people that are like above me. And that's not to say like, I'm so great. It's just. It's harder. Right. So like, I really cherish relationships that I have where like the person has had like a $500 million exit or like has some really awesome stuff because, like, that's someone that I feel like I'm. I'm below, quote unquote when it comes to like business success. And it can still learn from a lot. Not to say I can't learn from other people. It sounds horrible, but like, it's just. Yeah. So now it's like, it's not easy to find people like that I personally know, not just online. Right. So, you know, even like meet Kevin. You know, I'm going to go down there and spend a day with him. But like, it's not because, like I agree with him on everything or anything like that. I've grown him on some stuff that he's done and he now is coming around the fact that he needs to have a team and not just be by himself. But like, there's definitely things I can learn from someone like him.
Right.
And so I'm willing to travel, I'm willing to fly, I'm willing to do whatever like just to spend a little of time. So. Yeah. On.
On that note, I want to keep talking about role models, but I had an idea. How do you. How hard do you think it would be to convince. Convince me, Kevin, when he comes up here to get him to do a selfie intro. I meet Kevin and you're listening to the C Suite.
Oh yeah. If you're going to be driving around, driving us around on the bus. So for those. He was supposed to come last week on Wednesday, but they're. They have a crack in the windshield of their brand new jet. And so the windshield from Embraer is like three weeks behind or whatever the humanity. So they had to cancel like two days before. We had a bus rental. We had a restaurant ready to rol.
Nope.
It's be fun. I was gonna show him five houses.
Yeah. But meet Kevin. He will be coming to Bellingham. I'm gonna see if I can get a. A Selfie video and have an intro.
To get out of the Park.
Dude, I love that.
Get a Graham Stephan. Subscribe, dude.
That'd be fire. Anyways, guys. Those guys. Those guys, I would say, are role models to a lot of. A lot of people. And, you know, some of my role models growing up, I. I think I'm kind of pretty similar to you. I think my dad is probably my biggest role model, right? That veteran of the U.S. navy, like, classic blue collar story. Like, worked at a refinery, oil refinery. Someone higher up was like, this guy works really hard and got a promotion. Got a promotion, and then ended towards, you know, more the top of the hierarchy, if you will. So he taught me, like, work ethic. You know, pull yourself up by your bootstraps. And then, yeah, church, obviously, I have, like, youth pastors that I think of our youth leaders, I think guys like Scott, Joe, some of the people that really impacted me. But did you have any, like, exterior role models growing up? Like, maybe, like, you read a cool biography or you did a book report once, or were there any men that you. Men or women that you were really, like, drawn to or inspired by?
I don't know. Like, I'd say Gary V. And Grant were definitely the ones, like, because I. Both of them, I followed for years before they actually got big. Like, I was reading Gary's, you know, thank you, economy book before he really got big on social. Like, he had, I think when I first start following, like, 40,000 subscribers. And he was there for a while, wrote a few books. Jab, jab, right hook. That's what really sparked his social career. But, like, I was following before that same thing with Grant. I followed them a lot. And now, like, I see a lot of things I don't like about them, but, like, I definitely appreciate them, what they got, kind of what I got from them, right? And I kind of look at them as two different, you know, extremes, especially at the beginning. And I'd say they're, like, from a social media business standpoint, they're probably the most impactful. When I was younger.
Yeah, you don't have, like, any. Trying to get people to relate to you, man. Like, I'm thinking, like, I read, like, I did a book report on, like, General Douglas MacArthur, and I was like, this just a true American man. Dude, dude.
He'S dead. How could he be a role model for me? I can't follow what he's doing.
I also did a book report in sixth grade on Oprah Winfrey. Extremely inspirational, dude. She grew up in poverty in Chicago. She rose to the top. Oprah's fantastic. I would say she was a role model.
I don't know. I'm not really into that. Like, I don't know, man. I'm sure, like, you could probably bow it down something in my background, but, like, I don't look at other people and be like, I want that, or, like, I can learn from that at all. Like, I literally think when I. So I don't, like, read books a lot and stuff is like, I'm like, I want to write my own story. Like, I don't want to spend time thinking about other people's story. And there are definitely things to learn from other people's story. That's probably what I missed out on. But, like, I don't know, man. I'm just busy trying to do my own thing.
She did a good job. Now Oprah's losing her brand power. So what can I do to make sure I'm doing that?
I did have someone ask me, actually. They did an introductory call for Augusta. They were just kind of asking about more resources, how they could find out more about Augusta and how could they tap into the network we've created and all sorts of stuff. And one of the things they were like, you know, does Mike ever, like, share what he's, like, currently reading? Have you ever thought about doing, like, a. Like a book club?
Like a Mike Andy. This is what people need to learn. I do. So on our. If you subscribe to the members club, which is like, if you buy. If ever bought anything from us, you're probably on it. If you're on the Facebook group, you're on it. You have to join. We send out, like, every month. We're going to try to put every two weeks, but, like, today we just sent one out. And on the book, it was small Giants, the book I mentioned at conference. Cool. Basically how, like, you do. Don't need to make your business big in order for it to be great. So. Yeah.
Nice. Yeah. Well, there you go. So what are you reading? What am I reading currently? Are you talking fiction or non fiction?
Oh, brother. You and your fiction. The producer has infiltrated your brain, dude.
Fiction's great, man. Storytelling.
We can disagree on this one. It's like dogs, dude. Me and dogs not flying. And me and fiction not flying. So reading in general. Not not flying.
My right now, fiction. I'm reading Tolkien. I'm reading Fellowship of the Ring.
Okay.
So Lord of the Rings.
Okay.
And non fiction, I guess. I'm still trying to finish. Never finished by David Goggins, which is not an intentional play on words.
Never finished. I just never finished it.
I finished it. Hand up David Goggins, you'll burst through the door.
Like I'm working on it, I'm working on it. So yeah, that's my non fiction right now.
I got through the first couple of chapters. He got the gist of it. Yeah. I like the part where he talked to his mom. That was cool.
Yeah.
Then I think after that it was done. I kind of get the gist of it. Like push yourself hard. Yeah, yeah.
It's good though. If no one has a role model, start with maybe looking at like Dave Goggins direction. He'll inspire you and then put you on the track to someone else. But anyways, so this article that I had brought up from the UK, so it's from October of 2022 so only like three months ago. And they interviewed a large set of 7 to 18 year olds. And their key findings and, and the questions that they asked are as follows. So they said, who do children and young people look up to? 93.4%. I think this is a very encouraging statistic of children. Young people age 7 to 18 had at least one role model. So that's good. I feel like that's very good. I'm actually kind of surprised. I thought it'd be lower. Yeah. Now 70, 67% said it was their mom. 60.2% said it was their dad. And it's a, it's a UK article, so it's actually Mums Mu. Ms. Mums. But this is the, this is one of the ones that really threw me for a loop. More than half of children studied, 52.6% said that they, they look up to a sports YouTuber role model.
Really?
Yeah. While fewer than two of five looked up to a sibling or a teacher.
40%.
So big shift. Yeah, big shift. So I, you know, I didn't really have any like major points or comments I wanted to make on it. I just thought it was interesting seeing the shift of like education on a YouTube platform. And I think stemming from the conversation we had last week about AI and Common Core and like standard learning procedures. I think this is that shift, right, that we're seeing online universities. We're seeing, you know, people say, oh, where'd you get all your education? Well, YouTube University. Right. I just studied what other people did and I learned from them. And now like 2 out of 5 are saying that it's a sibling or a teacher, which I feel like typically they don't give historical data, I feel like typically siblings or teachers would be much higher than 36%.
Well, you think about the frequency and the intimacy of the communication with a YouTuber. Right. So frequency, they're watching them probably every day. They're constantly looking forward to the next dopamine hit that comes when the next next video drops.
They can wear merch from them. They. So they can represent their brand, they can represent their role model, they can support their role model. They can also the intimacy of the conversation and the communications. Like, think about when you're watching the YouTube video. It's like in the bathroom, it's like in your bedroom before you go to sleep, it's alone. So that, that intimacy level is not equated in even a teacher relationship or you know.
A brother sister relationship.
Right.
So I think, I think it's very powerful. Yeah. And that's why I just underestimate, I think just how much impact a social media person can have. It's just easier to quantify when they start a business and it's like, oh wow, like they can move product. It's like, well, yeah, because you got, you know, millions of people watching what they're doing every single day. Yeah.
I think the flip side of that coin is that it makes it very scary. 52, over half of the youth, at least in the UK surveyed and I would say America's probably pretty darn similar, if not higher.
Well, I think if you would have pulled 30, 40 years ago, it'd just be TV.
Yeah.
Right. It's different media. Right. It's just what people look forward to. Like back in the day, everyone ran home to go watch TV. You know, if you look back 67 years ago, so the TV would have been a big deal. Well, now everyone's watching their pocket. Right. You're not getting 14, 15 year olds like looking for the next TV episode release on cable. Yeah, right.
Yeah. So, yeah, I don't know, I just thought it was almost like scary because there's so many horrible people on YouTube and horrible people in this world are snake oil salesman, if you will. Like, like the reason you demonetized ads on your YouTube because you were like, I don't want all these fake promises, get rich quick schemes on my YouTube. So I don't want my audience to see that, like just in the context of this conversation because I feel that I have a better ground to stand on as their role model and I don't want them to be swayed by these potential would be role models. Is that kind of how you feel about that?
Yeah. Like, you know, I would love to have had someone like me that was, say, 10 years older than me when I was 18. That could be like, I can do that, and I can see what they're doing works. And it's not about, like, the flash and the glamour, but, like, actually day to day, like, it gets done. So I would like to think that I want to be a role model. Like, it's definitely inspirational. Like, something motivates me is when I have conferences or whatever, and there's 14, 15, 16 year olds coming out to me, and like, they are saying that I'm their father figure. It's like, oh, bro, take it easy. I've never met you in my whole life. To them, it's real. Yeah, right? And I said, even at conference we were talking about afterwards, like, what's the protocol for, like, breaking someone off from talking to me when they're taking time, there's a bunch of people waiting. It's like, well, look, like there are some people that they really do want to talk to me. And, like, this is their. Like, this is their chance to. To show that they appreciate their role model. Right. And regardless of how little it means to me, because I don't know who they are, that's not how they feel about. Right. So I feel pretty obligated to make sure that, like, I reciprocate the. The level of appreciation they have. And, like, I'm not like, oh, yeah, here, take a picture. Leave, like, you know, I want to listen. And if they've spent hundreds of hours watching me and they do feel like I'm a role model and it's something they want to become, like, I don't want to be a jerk for the five seconds I got to be with them. Right.
So it's your reverse gentleman's agreement. In a way. I feel like when you meet someone that says, like, hey, I've watched you for a long time, or, hey, I use one of your products, it's kind of a reverse gentleman's agreement. Like, I know it's a. It's a joke and play on words, but I really think I've seen that. And you genuinely care about them. You try to, like, put only your focus on them. Like, you're not looking around, you're not distracted. I know your phone's going off like crazy in your pocket. Like, you're not listening to what me or Liz are saying. You're just, like, fully locked in that person, showing them, like, I appreciate you. I hope that I've made an impact in your life for the better. And if there's anything I can do for you, like, you. You always say that too. I love that you always wrap up when you meet someone in person, one of your subscribers, you'll say, you know, like, hey, if there's anything I would do for you, reach out, brother. And like, you, you almost always say that. And I think it just shows that you care and you are trying to help them.
I kind of start to get it sometimes because if you say it, like, I really feel like I have to do it. And so, like, I really do try to respond. If anyone buys anything from me on any platform, like, I still send them a personal video. Yeah, right. Like, those are not made up. Those are me usually in the middle of the night making those videos for people. And so it's great. The problem is, to them, that's the one video they get from a creator and there's a big connection there.
Yeah.
To me, I don't remember their name and their face. I don't even see their face. I don't got a video of them. I just have a spread, like, you know, a name, and I'm using that name based on what they purchased. And I say thank you and I appreciate you. Look forward to seeing you next time. Hope you're able to make it to Summit. Like, and then to them, like, that's a different level. Right. So, yeah, it's, it's, it's. It's a great feeling to have, you know, be a role model. I just. No, I make sure. I. I really hope that it doesn't ever get to my head. I don't think it will because, like, I have it pretty good in check. But I just see so consistently people, like, really blow up and it just like, goes directly to their head and. Or they just treat people around them like dirt. I don't want to do that. So that's like, my biggest fear probably. I'm not worried about the money side because I, like, I. I'm very confident I won't spend my money differently, but very concerned about, like, everyone day treating people less than. And so I just want to guard against that, like, as much as I can, I think.
I think you sending the videos is really cool. Like, I genuinely think that that is a really cool bonus because I have supported some content creators and you never hear anything. Like, you might comment on their stuff on a regular basis. You might even send them a donation. You might buy their merch or whatever. Like, I've bought some. You Know, subscribers, merch. And like, I mean, right here, like, this is. I mean, you know, like.
Show some love.
Bar stool. Hit me up memes. Someone, Anyone on the bar stool theme Gas. Just send it. But, like, I've bought merch and like, this was a gift, but I've, like, bought the merch. I've support. I comment on stuff I like, I share. Right. And I think if I got that video, it just make me buy in so much harder to that brand and that person and that content creator.
It's not really the goal. Like, my thing is.
Yeah, I'm not saying that's your goal. I'm just saying for me as a consumer, to give you the outside perspective.
Right.
As a consumer of your content. If we didn't know each other and I didn't work for you and I stumbled across your content, like, I would be thrilled that I got a video from you. I think that would be so cool.
Yeah, well, I'm glad. I'm glad someone makes their day. You know, I feel like if someone's going to invest into the products that I make and, you know, trust me with their business and livelihood that, like, I kind of owe them a minute. It takes me two minutes, basically, to make a video personalized for them. And yeah, like, sometimes it's not fun. Like, I have three days. If they pile up on, there's like 30 of. I have 30 of them I have to make. And it's 2 in the morning. Like, it's not fun to make videos at 2 in the morning for 30 different people. It's basically an hour of talking. Like, but, you know, one day I won't be able to do it. And so I think, you know, if I can kind of quote unquote, reward. It sounds so stupid because me, but, like, reward the people that, you know, at the beginning, I could do it for the, you know, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, whatever it is, you know, when there's millions, it'll be like, they don't treasure that a little bit, you know, and that's like, what I can give them. Because I can't be like, hey, the first thousand subscribers, I want to, like, give you stuff. Like, same thing with the franchisees. Like, you know, the first ones have my phone number. Like, I know it's not like anything amazing, but, like, down the road, that would be something they'll be able to brag about a little bit.
Right?
They were the first ones that Augusta. The first 10. Like, I want that to be bragging rights. And so, yeah, yeah, I was, I.
Had an intro call with someone that wants to buy, like, right next to an established territory and it's a big radius with a lot of people in there. Like, why is it so big? And I was like, that was the first one. I was like, you get some benefits. I was like, hey, we, I, I said, honestly. This is what I said on the call. I said, honestly, we were a startup and the earlier ones who bought into our startup got better benefits.
Which, which state it.
Not a state. It was up in Canada. Up north. The great north.
Oh, okay, okay.
Up north there.
Up north there.
I'm not there at the Canucksy. Sorry. So role models, I, I see no red flags and you as a role model, but what would you tell people to look for in red flags? Is it always asking for, for the sale? Like, is it, is it.
Like being not genuine when maybe they're on someone else's platform or not on someone else's content? Like, what are some red flags that you pick up on?
I don't think there's any wrong answer because, like, you know, if you want to be the best criminal in the world, your role model could be a quote unquote bad person. It's fair, right? So I think it's just like, what, what do you aspire to be? That's probably who your role model is going to be. For me personally, I, I hate pride because I actually see it in myself sometimes and I hate it, like, hate it. So I try my best to push against it. That's like, partly why the way I live, like, financially, I don't think I've ever said this, but, like, partly the way I live financially is like, because, like, I never want to feed it.
Right?
Because as soon as you get on the treadmill, as soon as you go on the treadmill of, like, if you start buying things for the pride's sake, like, it is a treadmill, you can easily just keep going and going and just keep feeding the beast, right? So, like, I know because even though I don't feel like I'm a very proud person, I, I just, I just consistently see it happen with people that I like or I have followed over time that I'm like, they started off really good, I really enjoy them and they just like money that for them and I just never want to do that as long as I possibly can. And so for me personally, I like, pride is a big deal.
Yeah.
That's why, like Gary Vee and Grant, I both kind of checked out on. They're just so Proud, like they're so stuck on themselves and it's like I never want to be that. And so that's when I like personally kind of check, start checking out their content and that sort of thing. Like I haven't watched anything of theirs. Like now I just get annoyed. Like, it's like no one, like no one cares that you're not great, you're not that special. Right. Stop talking about yourself so much. Like, like talk about your audience, what can help them. And so that just annoys me. That's probably my giveaway for a role model is like, how much do you talk about yourself versus other people? Is a big deal for me.
Yeah.
So that's why I get confident. I try not to talk a lot about our businesses, like what I'm doing. Like, I just don't think there's bringing any value to other people besides like making me look good. But like that and it's not helping anyone.
Yeah. Yeah. I think I look at, you know, how they treat people. Yeah. And that's hard to get if it's, if it's all digital. Right. If your relationship with your role model is all digital, it's extremely hard to see how they treat people. But I would say, you know, if they, if they have a big following, they'll probably go on other people's podcasts. They'll get interviewed until. See how they interact with people, how they treat them, how they treat, you know, like the producer on the podcast.
Family, how they see how they treat their family. Like, that's why I respect Gary actually a lot.
Yeah.
His family relationships was like pretty strong.
Wrong.
I disrespect him when it comes to the way he treats people on podcasts. Like cutting them off all the time.
Oh yeah.
Like even if like my brain kind of works like very quickly like his. Like sometimes you just shut up and let people finish.
Yeah.
And let them finish their thought and not interrupt. Like I'm not very good at. I'm still improving, but I used to be really bad at it. Like where I'm thinking about what I'm gonna say before they finish. And so now like I've just tried to slow down. Not so much how fast I talk, but like just let them finish. Like, yes, I know what you're gonna say, but like shut up.
Yeah.
It's rude.
It's not a one way conversation.
It's like that annoys me about him. Like back to your point of like treating others, but like his family on point. Really respect that. And even just fan interaction I've learned a lot from him. Like, the way he communicates during fan interaction is actually how I try to emulate.
Yeah. Oh, I've noticed that. 100. Yeah.
The way he. Where he just like locked in on them. There is no. There's not a lot of distractions. I don't like how he talks about himself so much again. But like, typically, he's very in tune with the person and not like the camera or like other people. That's like, I'm locked in. So there's definitely. That's why, like, for me, role models like, you just bits and pieces from people. Right. But yeah, 100. How you treat people is very important. Yeah.
Like, one is still like. Like a shout out if you will be Sean Spencer. He came to our conference and I like, you know, out of the corner. Yeah. You see who. Who's hanging out with who, who's mingling. And like, he was always smiling, his face mingling, talking to people. And I know he wasn't there as a speaker, he was as an attendee. So he could have just sat in a corner and done his own thing, but he was like, mingling. He was hanging out with people. He was taking pictures with people. His smiling, interacting with his wife, Savannah. She was mingling with everyone. And I was like, they just seem like great people because they're just. They're genuine. They're willing to have conversations with folks. Like, they're not acting like they're above anyone because they're YouTubers and they're special or anything. They've never said that. That's me, like, quoting. But I just think, like, how they treat people, how you interact with others. And yeah, you and Gary are very similar in that regard, and I respect that. So now today you had an interesting meeting that maybe you can't share too much with us, but, you know, we are the unfiltered podcast C Suite. Unfiltered, like, and subscribe.
Hey, C Suite. There you go. CEO. Yeah.
You talked to a CEO today. This is a perfect topic. And the CEO was of the one and only service Autopilot.
Oh, I didn't think you were gonna say the name of the company.
Okay, never mind.
That's fine.
The CEO was of an established CRM.
That we currently use that we currently use as an acronym with two letters.
I wasn't. I got it.
Anyways, so who you talk to? The CEO. And how'd that go?
I went good.
Yeah. Basically, obviously, we've launched Copilot. It's a competing product and so they Just want to kind of get on the same page because we do use their product also. So just wanted to get on the same page. So they have to be careful what they say because.
I could use my social presence to really wreck them. I gotta be careful because they are still a partner of our franchisees and we need to make sure that they're taken care of. And they've actually improved doing that since they knew we were coming out with Copilot. And so I appreciate that. So it was very good. You know, we're going to compete together and we're going to good competition and we both feel like competition is friendly. And that's about all I can say. Yeah, I. I shared no my concerns, thoughts, the history of why I started copilot and the things that I've told them in the past that were not listened to and why I had to take action. And yeah, I was just brutally honest about what I thought was right and wrong about what's. What's going on at their company. And yeah, I think it ended good.
Yeah.
You know, shake hands, respect each other's competitors and walk away.
So, yeah, I don't want to dig. I don't want to dig too aggressively.
I think it's an interesting spot. I think a lot of people, I think maybe do bring it to a more relevant level or easier to understand level would be, let's just say, because it's probably a lot of people that subscribe are in the lawn care industry. Right. That's kind of the brand. Like, you had a great all star employee and they're like, well, I think I'm gonna go start my own lawn care company. Do you feel like it's kind of like that where like they were. They were. They were the owner and they.
No, I wouldn't say employee because I wasn't like employed by them.
Right.
I would say something like a vendor. Right. So it'd be like, for example, your landscape supplier now going and doing services. Yeah, that's kind of what would be like. You kind of still need the supplier.
Right.
But now they're competing with you.
Yeah.
Right. So that's. The conversation is a little strange. So it was good, though. They got. They're. They're making improvements over there and there's. Several companies have really kicked things in high gear and I'm. I would like to take the blame for it. Right. So I'm thrilled whatever improvements can come our way for the home service industry. And if that means me just jumping in the ring, causing a little bit of Disturbance. So people up their games are, you know, developing better products and improving service. And I was just brutally honest. They were really brutally honest to me. I was really, really honest back. So it was great.
Yeah. Where, what can, can you speculate or did they share like, what's their 5, 10 year goal? Are you willing to publicly speculate?
Well, I'm just speculate.
No, I would never.
I have pretty good ideas. I have pretty good ideas, but I. There's also, people have left the company have shared a lot of stuff with me. So I kind of know where things are going. But more importantly, regardless of that.
You know, we need to control, with, with Augusta Lawn Care, we're just not going to be at the whim of anything. And CRM is extremely important and we don't allow someone to change the logo of Augusta. I'm not going to let them change another very important part, which is our CRM. And I don't want those keys in anyone else's hands. And I personally think that will push the envelope for the home service industry so that these other CRMs that have gone a little bit lax will research and development and support will improve when they start to see their numbers dwindle, which I don't think is going to be for another 12 or 24 months. So like I've been very consistently saying there's certain people that should stick with service apart. There should be certain people should stick with LMN, Aspire, et cetera. But I think in 24 months, like they're going to have to really start to pay attention. And I'm thrilled that they'll be copying what we're doing. And I just want, I just told them today, I said, look, it's kind of a dig because they're, they're employees, right? The people I'm talking to, they're CEOs of a company that's a massive, massive company. People don't understand just how big. Yeah. The companies are that are involved, but they're, they're employees, so they don't have the control that I had to. But I said, I said I don't care about money. And so without saying it, what I was saying is like, I have nothing to lose and I'm gonna be tough competitor beat.
Yeah.
And I wasn't trying to flex on them, but like, that's ultimately what it comes down to. I'm not trying to suffice a venture capital board or stock, the stock market or anything like that. I'm trying to build the best product. And that's all that's in my head.
Yeah.
And so I don't think they can compete with me just on that premise. Like, we will make mistakes. We won't have as much experience. I won't have as much capital. But like, they cannot compete with the fact that I am not in it for any other reason but to help the owner and the user. That's it. And so I just think they're gonna have a hard time competing with that. It's gonna take us a while to catch up on what they've built over decades. But give me 24 months and that's. That will allow. Exactly. With five years inside of Augusta. And I said when we started Augusta, give me five years. Until it becomes painfully obvious that we have a unique advantage against the rest of market. And when we have that and everything else we've built and we're completely vertically integrated at Augusta and we start a bank, like, I'm sorry, like, you should join a guest longer. And it's not a matter because I'm about it. It's like it makes the most sense financially. And you kind of got to be a little bit out of it to think otherwise. And it's not to say, you know, push anyone down, but like, we're just gonna dominate. Dude.
Yeah, sorry. Like just getting after.
Crush it, dude.
I love it. I love the tenacity. So I like when you show it.
I just don't. I just don't. I just don't think anyone can compete with us that has ulterior motives of. Can you suffice a board need to suffice. Venture capital or angel investors or Wall street, they're trying to like, you know, trying to go on the wall and go take company publicly. You're not going to be able to beat me because I will outspend you. I don't need the margin. I don't need to suffice anyone else. I'm not doing anything for show and slide decks and presentations. I'm doing this to help the owners. And that is the gauge of our success, not how will our stock price is doing. So I'll make a horrible CEO when we go public if it's not in like 20 years. Because, like, I will literally just tell people up front, like, if you buy in this company, don't think I'm going to look at that stock price ever and make a decision. That's how it'll all be. I'll be. So it'll be one of those stocks where, like, when I leave, the stock will go Up.
Yeah.
Like when I. If I got hit by a bus. Yes. Because like I'll just be very clear and upfront if we go public down the road that like, I am not looking at stock price as a determination of whether or not we're successful. And so if you are not on board for that, like, please do not invest. That's how I'll operate.
Yeah. Well, the nice thing though is that you don't have to appease anyone with stock price because you aren't backed by private equity, venture capital, any of that stuff.
No.
Right. Going public will be a decision that you make when you're ready to make that decision. So. Gotcha. What is, what, what is. Let's. Let's speculate some more. What is Augusta's value going to be? Or the, the. The vertically integrated brand. Whatever. Mike Andy's brand.
That's Yum Yum brands.
Whatever. All these different brands.
It's gonna be too hard to speculate that's 20 years from now in my mind. It has to be at least a billion to even think about going public private.
Get to 1 billion in total worth.
Just again value what you could get, you know, say a 10x multiple.
I would not be happy with a billion, to be honest.
Yeah.
So it's not about the number in terms like it's not gonna like, like it's just the game. I love the game. And if that's going to be the benchmark of the game, I'm going to crush the benchmark. So I'm not going to go public because we need money. I don't think we'll ever need the money. It'll be a matter of. It's a good point to liquidate. I want to reward the people on the team for that long. I want to have. Because we're not going to ever have crazy luxury and high float and tutin jobs and stuff like that where people are making a million dollars in executive. That'll never happen. But if I can liquidate using stock options for people, that'd be super cool in 20 years. And then I like, it'd be super cool to see like Liz retire like super ultra wealthy. Like that's super cool. That's important to me.
Yeah.
And her not have to work anymore. And like, you know, in 20 years, you know, if you wanted to go do something else, it's like hey look, you know, have a place for you to go, so. And I want like the first 10 franchisees. Don't tell them but like I want to make them super wealthy. During an ipo. So, yeah, like, there's definitely some like. Like, things I want to cash in on, and so those will be super beneficial to them. And I would get a lot of pride out of seeing them win.
Yeah.
I would personally like it to be over 10 billion in terms of when we go. But, like, that. That's going to require a lot of vertical integration. The bank will be important. The software will be very important. And I think the reason partly taking a public offering is giving it a. A little bit difference for myself. I think it'll do better because so many people are not going to join Augusta or they're not going to join a lot of what we do because I'm involved and because Augusta is involved. So when it goes public, it somewhat becomes, like, artificial. Like, people don't think about Domino's and like, oh, like they're trying to take over the pizza brand, they're trying to take over the industry. People think about Augusta and they think, like, we're against and like, we're trying to, like, tear our competition apart. It's like, to one extent, going in public would, like, somewhat sterilize that. It was like, is it a good business opportunity? Is it great return on capital? You deploy money. Right? And so there's. There's a pros and cons of both of those different sort of philosophies when it comes to a business's culture. And I think we're definitely right now, like, we're the scrappy, we're the dog hungry. But eventually that has to change. And I don't mean like that. That mentality, but you can't grow to a certain size if the whole public Persona is like, you're this disruptor in the space. You eventually need to become the establishment and then dominate. Like, you buy out companies and you really do take over if you want to have real impact. So. Yeah, sorry.
No, you're good. I loved it. I listened to that all day. Yeah, I think disruptors to. At a certain point, I heard this once in, like, in like, a show or a movie, and it was this guy, like the fictional character, ultra wealthy, and he goes, yeah, capital plus execution equals success. Business is boring now. And that, like, line really stuck with me. I was like, man, I can't imagine, like, getting into that point. And, like, that's because we're in that mentality of, like, we're scrappy, we're the underdog, we're the disruptors.
Yeah, but see, even, like, there's a thing, like, in my mind, you just Keep increasing. Like, how we talked about the Mastermind this morning with franchisees about, like, increasing the weight. Right. If you kept doing the same weight, it would seem easier. And everyone's like, well, just in time, it'll be easier. Yeah. If you keep doing the same weight, but, like, there's not a shot in the world I am ever going to be one day, like, like, oh, we'll just keep doing the same thing.
Yeah.
I told someone recently that kind of was, you know, pushing back on how fast we move, and one of the team members. That's really awesome. But, like, was pushing back. I said, like, look, this will never be an organization until the day I die. That is, like, we do the same thing. And, like, everything's super perfect and sops for every little thing. It's all nailed down. I said, I would rather die than work here if that's the case. So if you don't. If you want to play like that, you need to leave. Like, just in all honesty, because it'll never be that. So, like, in one regard, yes. On the flip side, like, the day I retire is when, like, the moment we switch to, like, oh, look, we're established and we're fine, and, like, we're just going to buy out other people and do, like, I just don't care.
Yeah.
So we just. You just move. You just move the goalpost. Right. And you just keep moving it up and making it harder and moving the weight higher to keep growing the muscle. Right. So, like, that's what happens when you, like, if you find a real gym. Gym rat. They're not doing. Because you look good, they're not flexing in the mirror. They simply just want to lift heavy stuff.
Yeah.
And it's just, like, the numbers are important. Right. And that's, like, where I'm at. Like, I don't really care. Like, at this point, I'm not changing my lifestyle. And, like, when I got to that point where I'm like, okay, I'm not gonna buy anything new, more money isn't gonna, like, change the way I live at all.
Yeah.
Well, then the only thing I care about, like, building the businesses.
Yeah.
And so. And seeing other people succeed, and I want them to win. So that's, like, super cool to me. Yeah. So back to role models. Like, that's what I. I want the kid coming up to me and being like, I see. Like, he said at a conference, he. He talked to a few people and said, like, I need to talk to Mike. Like, I. What can I do to talk to Mike. And then I came out the last night and was like, dude, like, I don't have a dad. And, you know, you're like my dad figure. Like, I watch you all the time. I rewatch stuff, and I pray for you every night. I'm like, dude, dude, like, that's. That's what I'm going for.
Yeah. Yeah, man. That's awesome. I love that light transition just ever so slightly. Also, on the day of recording, just to, you know, shout out, happy birthday, Liz. Chief operations Officer at Augusta.
Let's go. 24.
Pretty cool. She's in C suite, so I'm not even in the C suite. I'm a fraud. Honestly, I think that's actually hilarious. I thought of that the other day. But anyway, she's got, like, operations manager.
Somehow it's morphed into coo.
Yeah, we don't really. Should I just give myself a title? You did.
You franchise business consultant.
You gave that to me. I didn't take that. Yeah, you just told me that was my title. I don't care. I'm just, like, so funny.
The guy came into command center the other day getting an interview with Liz.
Yeah.
And she said that he was like, hey, like, so what's my title gonna be? Yeah. She's like, well, like, we don't really have, like, a hierarchy. Like, we just have team members. He's like, well, like, what's my title? If I'm telling my buddies at a party? She's like, well, when we call customers and they're, like, really difficult, we'll tell them that we're the office manager to make sure that the buck stops with us and doesn't have to go to the owner. He's like, so can I say I'm the office manager? She's like, yeah, you can.
Nice. Love it. So anyways, happy birthday, Liz. Yeah, that's why I wanted to give her a shout out. Don't forget to text her. I had, like, three people remind me. I'm like, I'm not gonna forget, but I really appreciate the reminders.
We forgot Marcus's. That one time.
Marcus was one of the people.
So, ending with our segment. Our continuing segment, because this is the second time we've done it, so now it counts as a recurring segment, is not financial advice.
Oh, yeah.
So, Mike, do you have any not financial advice?
You probably have something, so you say it, because I haven't thought about it.
Here's my not financial advice. Maybe we'll talk about this guy next time. Because we. We're. We got A good pod here, but I thought if the role models topic was. Was a dud, I'd bring up Andrew Tate.
Oh, yeah.
But maybe we'll dive in them next time. So here's my not financial advice. Don't listen to Andrew Tate. Just period. That's it. That's all I got for you.
Okay. My non financial advice or. No, fine. What's it called? Not financial advice. Okay, so my not financial advice is a key piece of style. Style for the gentleman out there.
Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The guy who always wears the grossest yellow, giving us style tips.
See, I do that for branding.
Yeah. No, no, no. The rest of your style is fantastic. But the yell, dude. Like, that's why I do a cop costume change for the pod. Most days I'm like, I gotta stay consistent.
I love branding, bro.
No, I love it. See, my brand is like, usually baseball hats and hoodies, like, that's all what I wear outside of work. So.
Okay, so the style is you gotta make sure that your belt, shoes, and watch match. So white. That's typically what I like to do.
Yep.
You know, if you're gonna match up with the blacks, then your socks should match your pants. Right. So if you're gonna wear, you know, black pants, you should wear black socks. Technically speaking. Or you can sometimes, if you really want to be bold, you match your socks with your. With your pants or your socks with your shoes. Yeah, it's like white shoes, white socks, and then black pants. But yeah, belt and shoes.
Definitely, Definitely. Always.
You can match up with a watch, you win brownie points. So, yeah, white belt, white belt, white shoes.
It's fantastic. I.
It's fantastic.
Yeah, it is. It is fantastic. Get a reversible belt, too. If you can't afford a lot of belts, get a nice reversible black brown clutch.
These work for everything. You can wear these.
Getting weird role models.
These are great. These. Josh got me hooked on these years ago.
Oh, yeah, Clasp.
Yeah, the clasp. But the cloth ones, they work well in like all scenarios. Yeah, like khakis, fruit work. I'm wearing with dress pants. I've worn them out in the field and I have two of them. And you can just cut them to length.
Yeah, those are great.
And you can throw them in the wash.
I will push back on one of your. I think your piece of advice. You're not financial advice is fantastic. This is the thing. It's not. The. The not financial advice is not up for debate because it's. It's not financial advice. It's Subjective to each of us giving advice. Well, mine's not subjective. Please don't listen to Andrew Tate.
Just.
Oh, my gosh. I. If you have time and you want to lose some brains, Sales watch. Who was it? Vice. Vice Media did a documentary on him right before he got arrested in Romania. It's. It's what everything about Vice. Put that aside. Phenomenal little documentary. It's almost a mockumentary. You're like, this person is not real. But anyways. Socks. I'm a bold sock guy.
Oh, yeah?
Yeah. I go. I get weird with the socks. I agree with everything you said, but socks. Unless it's black tie, which I've never been anything black tie, so I, like, can't even say speak on it. But unless it's black tie, have fun with the socks. I like orange socks patterns, so I.
Think if you're going to black tie event, that's the time to have the flare on the socks.
Oh, okay.
Like, if you're gonna do, like, just the office, like, working out in the field, like, really, you're gonna have pink socks. Like, chill out, dude. But if you have, like, black pants, black shoes, black all. And then you have, like, a red watch with red socks, dude.
Dude.
Pops.
I don't mean that guy you just described, Mr. Wonderful. Like, 100.
Like, y.
He always does that red watch band.
If you can keep everything simple, but then let the socks pop, dude. That's fire.
How do you feel about guys with earrings?
I'm not huge earring person. Yeah. And just in general.
Just in general.
Yeah. I wouldn't say, like, judge anyone's character based on.
I know you wouldn't. Yeah. I just. Many a people told me I should get earrings. I definitely would never. Now, if someone.
Never if someone has a fake fake earring, like, fake diamond earring, and I knew it was fake. Tells me a little bit something about that's fair, but I don't know. I just don't think. I'm just not. I don't know. I. I can't even imagine, like, the. Just the thought process of, like, having to deal with it every day, like, sleeping on it. Like, I wouldn't want that.
Take them out.
I don't think I take them out every day. That over the course of your lifetime, you just wasted weeks of your life.
All right, that's the pod. Like, and subscribe. Thank you all.
Gentlemen's agreement. Don't forget it.
