Episode 216, Daymond John’s Biggest Takeaways From 2020

You're listening to Business Lunch with Roland Fraser. This is your seat at the table. Welcome to the show. This is Darren Clark, the producer, and we appreciate you tuning in on a busy week like this. And you won't be disappointed because we have Daymond John as our guest today. He doesn't need much introduction among entrepreneurs, but he's an American businessman, investor, TV personality, author, and the founder of FUBU. So Roland has been doing the 21 for 21 challenge with Ryan Dice and his other partners, and we get to sit in and hear what advice Daymond John has going into 2021. So enjoy the show, stay safe this week. Don't forget to hit subscribe and go to businesslunchpodcast.com for show notes and more.

So I'm excited to welcome Damon. Damon, good to see you, buddy. How you been?

I have been great, man. Good seeing you.

So, you know, when I asked you to do this and we were texting last night, I said, I really. I want you to share with everybody, you know, what's kind of the big takeaway that you've had from this year. So, obviously, this has been a year of challenges, a year of learning. And in my experience is the biggest breakthroughs happen when things don't go perfectly right. The biggest breakthroughs happen when we're kind of backed up against the wall. That's when we're forced to act. We tend to not fix things when they aren't broken. And so that's really what this year's been about. It's been about a year of learning. So I want to hear in a little bit your big learning from 2020 that you plan to take into 2021. But before we get to that, I mean, I got to ask. You're an entrepreneur, Successful entrepreneur. You're a celebrity, like a legit celebrity. Not like I can be Internet famous at times, but I don't walk into a restaurant. Anybody give a crap who I am. But you and I walk into a restaurant, now we get the best. So you're not just a celebrity. You're not just an entrepreneur. You're an entrepreneur celebrity, which in this world basically makes you the coolest person ever. But I also know that you're a business owner, which means you got payroll to make just like the rest of us. I also know that you're a New Yorker, which means that you were especially impacted by the coronavirus in your hometown, Jamaica, Queens. I know it was really bad there from deaths and hospitalizations. I know you're a black man, and I Know that that has meant something different this year. And I know you're a dad raising kids, so I just want to just get real and just say like all this stuff aside, like from a human perspective, how you doing?

You know what? I'm doing great and thank you for asking because a lot of times people don't have the empathy to ask other people and how they're doing. And I think that of course, this conversation is for all of us to learn. You know, when everything first went down, you know, my team called around to all the people that we work with, some of the bigger companies, and to ask the people in those companies, because they're not a company, they're still people how they were doing. And they said, you know, nobody's called to ask me how I was personally doing because I'm the one that writes the checks. So I appreciate you doing that and I think that everybody here can learn from that to do the same thing, right? Reach out to people to see how they're doing. How am I doing personally? Well, you know what, I'm doing really great. I mean, I'm only having two panic attacks a day. I'm down from five to two. I'm only panicking around 7:35 in the morning and 8:47 at night. So I'm doing really well with that. But yeah, you know what? Being from New York, I lost 40 people, directly or indirectly. I lost three people this week. Being a man of color, you know, I've seen a lot of things and I'm going to always be an optimistic person. I've seen a lot of things as we all have witnessed, but I also seen a lot of people of all colors come together and to fight for a cause that they felt was unjust, you know, and not serving people. So I'm very optimistic about those things, you know, and listen, you know, and being a business owner, I've had to let people go. I've had to have hard conversations with staff and or other companies. But I've also seen things turn around and I've seen people rise to the top that are in my system or strategic partners that I know and I've seen people really, really step up. So I'm always going to look at the best side of things. And I say to myself, now I know why I work so hard for these people. Now I know why they work so hard for me. And now I know why I appreciate these people that work for me. Even though we bump heads. But a lot of times you see that these people that your Staff and your customers and your partners and strategic partners, they step up. I've also seen a lot of tragic things happen around the country, but I've also seen people who have nothing go out of their way and give what they can because they have nothing. So I'm always an optimistic person about what's going on in the world.

So what do you think is the difference? Right. When you think about those who you saw step up, those companies that you saw succeed, you say you're optimistic. And I know that from the conversations that we've had and just how you are. But, like, what is the. We're still living in reality, right? And it's impacting people differently. But what do you think? I know it's not one thing. I know we have these conversations. We tend to oversimplify stuff. So I'm asking you to do the impossible. And it's a bit of an unfair question, but when you've seen it, whether it's with your team members who have stepped up or the strategic partners that you know that have stepped up, or the companies that you're associated with. Right. What's the difference between those who have stepped up and they've succeeded and those who haven't? You know, sometimes you just get smacked across the face and, like, there's nothing you could do, right? Nothing you could do. But sometimes there was stuff you could. So what's the difference between the people who could do something and didn't and the people who did do something, and now they're better because of it?

Well, you know, I was talking to somebody I knew yesterday on my Instagram live named Charlinda, and she's an entrepreneur, and she said her rock bottom is always her trampoline. And I think that that is the way that people who have nothing, number one, they feel about, all right, well, what am I gonna do now? Or people who have nothing go, I already have nothing. But yet my moral compass says that I gotta be able to do whatever I can do, no matter how small it is, and it will blossom. And that's what entrepreneurs do with $40 and a couple of hats. I didn't think that I was going to be where I'm at today, but I did what was in my power to do. So whether it's planes crashing into buildings or whether it's the Great Recession or whether it is Covid.com bubble crash, war, things are gonna happen, and things are gonna happen that are not in your control. And there are literally two type of people. They're the people that Go, oh, my God, the government's gonna save me or this person's gonna save me, or, if I only had this. We were never supposed to do this. Nobody in my family's ever did that. They're gonna do that. And there's other people, like the people who are watching today who listen, you could be anywhere right now. You are watching today for a reason. You are seeking information, other people. And the information you're seeking today either is going to teach you something new or is going to reinforce something you already knew. And you are going to say, now, I've heard it 10 times from 10 different places, I better move forward. And the people that out there trying to create true change go, even if I'm just one vote, I may put the person I love back in office or change the way it's done, whatever it is. The people who have a moral compass, who say, I know that I have to participate, are the ones that create change in your company, you know, in the public eye, you know, in communities, in charitable organizations. It's just absolutely amazing. So those are the two type of people. And Covid has just highlighted either people's weaknesses or people's strengths.

Yeah, I think about these times, they can be a bit like alcohol, which is an accelerant. Right. There's people who they drink and they get more fun, and there's people that drink and they become more of a, you know. Yeah, yeah, sorry, it is. And so that's how it is. And hard times can be that same way. But also, I love your idea of the two people, the two different types, that you're gonna see something. And we talked about this in one of the pre trainings leading up to this. I told everybody, I said, look, there are two types of people. There are people that happen to the world and there are people that believe the world happens to them. And I actually sent out an email prior to the election, prior to election day, saying, screw politics was the subject line. And it really got a lot of people mad because they thought I was saying that politics doesn't matter or that having a voice doesn't matter, that the government doesn't matter. I wasn't saying that at all. What I was saying is that whatever happens, a third of the people are miserable, a third of the people are thrilled. And my belief is that both of those groups who believe that whatever's going on out there is going to be the cause of their success or their cause of their failure, they're both wrong. And what I heard you say is the difference is the folks who made it are the folks who had a clear moral compass, a clear value system. And that value system said in this time I have power, I have agency, which means I'm free to give back and that's what I should do. I heard you say that with yours. I have what I have. I'm still standing here. So now how do I give back when everybody else is grasping and hoarding?

Yeah, and I think that I totally agree with you about the screw politics thing because as a man of color, black people have never been treated good or bad, Democratic or Republican, you know, so I never looked at the government as something that is going to alter the way that I'm going to succeed or not. I looked at it as over delivering to a customer that felt that there was a pain and, or a joy in something I can deliver to. And everybody right here, right now listening to us, they have a product, a concept, the service or themselves. And they feel that there are like minded people out there that are not being serviced as well as they can service them. And they thought somebody else was going to do it and nobody else is doing it the way that they can and they're going to deliver to them. That's it. So you're going to have challenges and hiccups that go on in society and other things, but like you said, the world didn't happen to you, you're going to happen to the world.

Yeah, well, so in that kind of thing, in that light, I want to talk about what we primarily came here to talk about. I want to know, and I know there's not again, distilling anything down to one thing. It's helpful, but it's not always. It's helpful in understanding, but it doesn't always give you the full picture. But I'm going to ask you again to kind of do the impossible. Lots of lessons this year, I'm sure. And if you want to get more than one, by the way, feel free. But I really want to know if you look back on this year and it's not over, I know there's still time to be had, lessons to be learned, sales to be made, but if you're looking back at 2020, thinking about everything that's happened this year, and we packed a decade into a year, it's been a lot. What's one really big thing that you either learned or maybe relearned? Because that's been another theme, just the theme of relearning stuff that used to work that we forgot about, that we had to Relearn. So one big thing that you learned or relearned this year that you plan to take into 2021 and maybe even make a theme of 2021, knowing your.

Why, I think it's the why am I getting up every day and going to this job? Or why am I, did I open up this business? Why am I quitting? Why do I have the wrong people around me? Why am I not looking for the right people around me? Why am I not educating myself so I can pivot? So really knowing your why, because as we sit home and get to reflect on what life is, I mean, listen, you know, ryan, I travel 250 days a year and I get the joy of bringing my family here and there. But now, if I leave the house for a day, why did I leave my beautiful wife and my little 4 year old, so scrumptious little baby, why am I doing that? And maybe I should rethink how I do this in the future. Because as a father who has a 27 year old and a 22 year old and a 4 year old and they're all girls, your kids don't talk to you anymore. After they're 15, 16 years old. They're either thinking about nasty boys or they're thinking about school or something else. And I have great kids, but damn, I need to spend more time with my little baby, right? So thinking about your why now, that's the personal note. But now thinking about your business and your company, you know what I had to relearn and Ted from my company really shared it with me and I've seen a lot of places is what are you really selling in your business, in your brand? What are you promising somebody? And the best way to do it is to explain it is like if you're a gym and you're selling people gym memberships and you think that that's what you're selling people? No, you're selling them a healthy lifestyle. You're not selling them gym memberships. And we had ended up talking to somebody who was like, listen, I couldn't get people back in my gym. I was afraid about their memberships gonna go down. So you know what I did? I sent them all machines that I have and said, that's part of your membership. I went to local stores around the area that sell, you know, lululemon type of clothes or fresh juices, and I said, I'm gonna let you market to my community of 2,000 people, give them 20% off and give me 10% affiliate marketing fees. And they Got to do that. And then I started showing because of peloton type of classes. I started doing cooking classes as well as workout classes on my phone out of the gym. And everybody can get that part of their membership. His membership went from 2,000 people to 3,000 people because he was over delivering on a healthy lifestyle instead of thinking, I just need memberships. Right? So what is your core value of what you know, today? FUBU started off as apparel, and we may not be as big in apparel as we used to be, but now we have a cellular company that holds content to your phone. And we're even talking about a healthy form of frozen soul food that people want in certain countries. Because soul food, fubu, you know, lower your cholesterol and various other things. It makes sense because we are delivering something different, you know, than what we thought we were delivering at first. So. So again, I'm going back to the basic, what is your promise on what you are going to and what you are delivering to somebody? And you'll realize that your brand or yourself, you're much larger than you thought.

Well, I love that because what I heard you say is, you said. You said a number of things. One, coming back to where you kind of began in terms of with remembering your why and also bringing in that, you know, that, that, that value aspect to align the reason you're doing something with the thing itself. That's big. And I know I struggle with that. I mean, I'll get real with everybody here too. I started this business back in 1999 because I wanted to buy an engagement ring for a girl that I wanted to marry, right? That was why I started the business. Like, if I can make $10,000 and buy this engagement ring, then, like, great. And then, you know, I did it and I bought the ring. And it's like, okay, well, now, you know, I gotta provide a life, you know, for this family. I gotta do all this. Do all this stuff for the person I'm with to make, you know, to make them happy. And so the business grew because my why was aligned with the work, you know, that I was doing. But I'll never forget the day my wife came to me and she said, you can keep working like you're working. You can keep doing what you're doing. I get it. I know who I married. But you can't pretend like you're doing it for us anymore. And I remember that just crushed me. And this time, like during this season, and then, you know, and I was like, oh, my God, you're right. And had this whole, you know, had to go back and reevaluate the why. But during this season, same as you, I've been confronted with my why more and have had to get, you know, had to sort of reevaluate that because it's so easy when things are great, just to go through the motions. Cause it's working. But when it stops, you start to ask yourself, you know, why? Why is it not working? That was the first big thing and man, that caught me all up in my feels. The second thing though, that I think is very tactical, that I heard you say as well, is make sure that you're not defining your business by the product that you sell, you know, but instead have an audience centric customer centric business. I love the story of the gym owner who said, you know, I can't have people come to the gym, but like, why are they coming here to get healthy? I can still do that even though they're away. I'm going to serve my customer. I'm going to be customer first, Serve my customer. Same you said. Maybe the economics around apparel and all that stuff isn't as much of a fit for Fuba, but it's there to serve an audience and a customer. So how can we do it? So remembering you, your brand, it exists to serve a customer. It's not about whatever that product is. That's how we're going to be able to pivot. That's how we're going to be able to expand and scale. And that's what I just heard you say. I want to give you the kind of the final word on that though, because I don't want anybody to think that I said something that was new there. I tried to repeat back what I thought I heard you say.

No, you said it absolutely correctly. And it starts to lead where your navigation is going to go, right? Your navigation may take you to other strategic partners who are going to say, you're doing something that I believe my audience needs. And it may not be exactly what you're thinking, but it's about customer centric people coming to you. And we all know it's very easy to upsell a current customer. When people really love what you do and what you're about, they want to support you more and more. It's one stop shopping for them. Right? It reinvests in the customer when you're able to expand. So absolutely know what you are about, what your customer is looking for you from. And also on the flip side, don't do things that are not you know, in the area that you're at. Because it's a fad or because it's an easy way to make money, because you will repel customers just as quickly. I've seen that happen already as well.

Yeah, I love that the inverse is also true. All too often, if we've discovered a truth, the inversion of that truth is so often. Man, I thank you so much for, you know, for your time today. I thank you for your wisdom. I thank you for the work that you're doing. Thank you for your friendship and just again, thank you, thank you, thank you. And I hope this has been great. It's been great to catch up. Been good to catch up in front of all of these awesome people out there. But we got to get together soon. Dinner is long, long, long overdue, my friend.

We absolutely do. And thank you so much.

Thanks, man.

You've been listening to Business Lunch with Roland Fraser. If you're enjoying the show, let us know by subscribing and leaving a review. And for more information, go to businesslunchpodcast.com thank you for listening.

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