Baldwin Berges: Marketing And Business Development Strategist

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All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today, Baldwin Burgess is with us. He's a marketing and business development strategist, and his job is to help make your message hard to ignore. So welcome to the show, man.

Thank you for having me, Tyler. It's great to be here.

Of course. Grateful to have you on. So the first question we ask on this show, Baldwin, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?

Let me tell you a story that's pretty relevant to what we're probably going to wind up talking about today, right? So I've been in investment management, investments, all my life, all my entire career. And, you know, we live on this, in this very strange separate universe. Most people don't know what we're talking about all the time. And so I used to work mostly with institutional investors. This is what it is, it's sort of like, um, we really try to keep our jargon really sophisticated when we talk to each other. The thing is, there was a time when I just joined a new company and I found it extremely difficult to get these institutional investors engaged. And, um, so I said, like, you know what, maybe I should just try to work more with private investors, although no affluent individuals. So I thought, what I'm going to do is I'm going to try to attract them by writing stories about investing but in a more pedestrian tone. And so I started to craft more sort of like very simplistic, uh, very, you know, down-to-earth kind of messages and started blogging about that. And this is about 2010, so no, blogging was not the common thing to do in my industry at all. And so actually, you know what happened is that after a while we got some traction, and then I remember I would, I would I went to see one of our institutional investors and he said to me, "Man, I love your research." And it's funny because basically we hadn't published a research paper in months, you know, but he says, "I'm reading all your research." And a light went on in my head because what I was just doing, I was just using very simple language in the storytelling format to try to get inside the heads of these private investors. But it turns out that even sophisticated institutional investors for some reason in their mind, because they read it, computed as research. That's one of my favorite, you know, aha moments in my career, I guess.

Yeah, that's awesome.

So you can make this complicated as you want, but it's really not going to resonate. It's going to be ignored.

Yeah, man, I agree. I even with my own business, like I try to simplify as much as possible because I— well, first, I think it's good for the people to understand what we're going to do for them. And also, I just think in general, like, it just makes the whole thing easier where when people, like you're saying, try— they literally try almost to make it complicated and use big words. And it's like, I don't— I don't know. I just don't think that's helping. So, but the next one I have for you, Baldwin, is what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?

It's kind of related to what I just said because, you know, the— and this is true for almost any industry, uh, B2C or B2B, right? And that's the— you learn after a while that people don't buy the best product, but they buy the one that's easiest to understand. So that is what— once, once you get that, is because often what we do in business is we like to sort of focus on the features and things like that. Often what you really have to do, and I'll take it a little bit further, if you understand this early on in your career, the way you speak about your business, the way you speak to prospects before they become clients and so on, what you're effectively doing is you're equipping them with the kind of message that they can pass on because usually nobody makes a decision on their own. So for even, you may have to discuss something with your spouse or your partner. There's always going to be someone else involved in any decision. Let's say not the typical off-the-shelf item, even that happens there. But especially when you get more into the B2B realm, what's always going to happen is they're going to put an expert in front of you. And that's— well, first of all, you have to convince this person. But what you're really doing is you're making it easy for him or her to convey your message to other stakeholders who you may never meet, never get a chance to speak to yourself. So once you understand that and you know you're basically equipping people, you're recruiting people as your ambassador always. And that's, I think it's a very important insight.

Yes. No, that is huge. Thank you for sharing that. And it could actually tie in. I think that like you said, because it's for really any business, but the next one I have is what's your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily necessarily industry-specific. And I know what you just said, that could be for everyone, but if you have another piece.

Sure. I mean, there's so much, right? I've been alive for 50 years. I have a few things, I have a few scars here and there and all that. But I think it's— the first thing I think is that what I wish I'd known longer was you have to sort of eradicate the word problem from your vocabulary. You just basically have to replace it with solution. That is an attitude which is going to get you very far. And it's also about, I mean, that also means that you have to try stuff out. I mean, you don't always have to ask for permission to do things, but I think it's fine to do micro experiments, you know, regardless of what business you're in, regardless if you report to somebody. You shouldn't be afraid to try things out on a small segment maybe of your clients, or, you know, think, throw things at the wall, see what sticks, you never know, you know. The cliché 3M thing, right? That was an accident, you know? And then I think another piece of advice which I— which really came through for me always is— and I could have done this much better— is you need to build a network around you. But not the kind of network online. A network that you speak to all the time. There's moments that you really need those people. I mean, it's, you know, you get— you know, we all— We all have these moments, you know, we all lose jobs or get fired or made redundant. These things just happen, or you have these challenges in your life, and to get back on track, and if you have a good network that you can basically always tap into, that's probably the most important piece of advice.

Talk to them.

Don't like stuff online, just talk to these people. Find a number that you can manage, people with whom you can speak at least once a month. That's important.

And then if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?

I am still— well, you know, this— we all go— I mean, I guess most people are listening to this have gone to school and all that, right? And I always think that if I would have known earlier that to always remember who I was when I was 6 years old. Because that person is the Baldwin Burgess who was unformatted. So I hadn't been pushed through the system yet. I still had my wings, they weren't clipped off yet. And I've actually, I figured this out over 10 years ago, and that's when I really, for me that was a very big moment because I don't, I must admit I can't quite recall who gave this advice to me because I read it somewhere. I said, "That's interesting." And so I went back into when I was 6 years old. I was always like putting together these stories and performances. I drew my own comic books and things like that. And so you often need some help from your family because it's not easy to remember what you were up to when you were 6 years old. It's a long time ago. Or maybe those memories aren't vivid, but it's quite fascinating because then you sort of realize what's worth, where's your bliss. I mean, because if you know, and sometimes it's a bit cryptic, sometimes it's not very straightforward. Sometimes it could be that you just like to take care of other people, or sometimes it could be that you'd spend like all the time in a library or something, you know. But you have to try to decrypt what that was that you were doing when you were 6 years old, what you were really fascinated by. And that will give you hints about what you should be doing in your life. Because when you're in touch with that essential person who you really are before being formatted, you're probably the best around in what you do.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, that I think is like so big. I actually, I think it was a few years ago, it was probably like 4 or 5 years ago. I put a post out there and I said, you know, what happens like to become successful, you become yourself again. And because what I had realized is like, like you're just saying, like once I started to have success is once I started to do the things that I naturally was doing when I was about 6. And but in between that timeframe, like you're saying, formatted, I was trying, like I tried to go to school to be an accountant and I'm like a crazy extrovert that should never try to do numbers ever.

Exactly.

And like I was failing miserably and like, I didn't know why. And then it was just like, and then once it clicked, I was like, oh, I'm becoming myself again. And that was the key. So I think that is, you know, maybe the top piece of advice ever.

And it's really not easy to do that, you know, because I mean, a lot of people— because the thing is also, so you've had this education and then, you know, it's often this It's never really about you, why you get an education. It's really about other people, and people you care about. So you sort of want to please them and you want to give back or whatever you want to call it. But you get on this track, which is artificial really. And, you know, typically you'll wake up somewhere in your mid-30s or something like that. Some people are lucky and they wake up, you know, in their 20s. In my case, I had to wake up in my early 40s really because I I'd spent almost a decade like an evil investment banker, you know? The money was great, but I mean, it just wasn't me. It's fun to play a role every now and then, but to do that day in, day out, and then tie your identity to a role that you think you should be playing because of the expectations, it's not a very healthy thing to do.

Well, a perfect leeway then is, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?

Minimalism, I think, is the reason why all these ancient wisdoms that have survived the centuries, they all come down to that same thing, right? It's about really, it's about minimalism, I think. I've been in finance for 30 years. I've worked in the end, I've been a private banker. I've been, you know, I've worked with some very wealthy individuals. And this is a cliché, but it's so true. I never— I met very, very few people who were actually really happy. You know, these are people that travel in their own plane and things like that. And this is— it's a cliché, I know, and it's a cliché for a reason. I think if you could sort of like really teach yourself to enjoy the essentials. And I know that's another cliché, right? But I have a little trick. I mean, so what's this sort of— it's— I guess it's nice to be wealthy. I really don't know because I've never really been that wealthy, but I guess it must be nice. But there's another thing that you have is sort of— there's a lot of insecurity around that about you. This one, though, the people who are around you, around you because of that or because of who you are. And when it gets dark, it gets very dark, you know. And I like to tell myself that I'm this mega rich billionaire, but who is very— what's the word? I'm this frugal billionaire. So my psychology, you know, that sort of like helps me get through that. But minimalism is worth it. Something that's nice to strive for. And the other cliché, I guess, Tyler, is when they say like, the things you own end up owning you. So true, all these things, you know?

Yeah, man, I couldn't agree more. Like, I actually, I, my car, I leave my car up, up north at my parents' place, and I just Uber everywhere around here because I'm very minimalistic. I own very little things like computer, phone, you know, the clothes, obviously. But like, I think that it's true that the things you own, like if I had like 3 Lamborghinis or something, I think that would give me anxiety. Like, I don't think I would actually want to even— I don't know. So I just like having less as far as materialistic things. And yeah, I agree with you, man.

And it's very difficult to have that attitude in the US, I guess. Right. Because obviously You know, the success is measured that way, in a way, right?

Well, yeah, especially in Miami, there's a lot of really nice cars, but for some reason, like, it's just never— it's never interested me. Like, I just— like, I will say the one place where I splurge is the place I live, um, but that's because I work from home. So like, for me, it's really important to have a really nice place, so I will put my money into that. But as far as like a car, like, you know, a $500 shirt or something like that, I will never do.

But you're getting mileage from your place. That's what you say, right? Yeah, that's your main asset.

Yeah, exactly. I mean, I'm here all the time, so it might as well be a place I enjoy.

Good for you.

So, but the next one I have for you, man, is what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?

Okay, I've got to name this one Lynchpin by Seth Godin. I know it's not a real original recommendation, but that book cracked me open. I think it's the kind of book that I think everybody wished they wrote themselves. But this is just— that to me is the equivalent of the Bible in my life, really. Linchpin, kind of. Have you read it, Tyler Wagner?

I've read a lot of Seth Godin. I haven't read Linchpin, though.

I think that one was— that's that book where you— because, you know, the thing also is, is Well, I guess what it's laid out for me very clearly is that it has to do with becoming yourself again and then really treating that like your most valuable asset. And then basically, no matter what you do, it's always about, you know, forget the problem, always replace the word problem with solution, and always add value. Don't show up if you're not going to add value. And, you know, keep your mouth shut if you have nothing constructive to say. The kind of things that I've learned from Vince.

Yeah, I gotta read that. I read Purple Cow. I, I, he's like one of the only blogs that I actually stay subscribed to because he emails out every morning. Um, but I, I, his blog Purple Cow, and then I think that the ones like Marketers Tell Lies, and then it crosses out lies and it says stories, something like that. I've read those two books as well. So, um, yeah, I'm a huge, huge fan. He's a fantastic writer.

Yeah, well, he's a mind. This is a wonderful mind. Yeah, there's a wonderful podcast too, which I really enjoy. It's called The Kimbo. It's really good.

I'll have to listen to that. No, I haven't. I haven't. I didn't even know he had a actually.

Oh, you're going to binge listen to it. It's inevitable.

And then what is your favorite quote and why?

Maya Angelou said, people will forget what you said or what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel. I think that's so true. That's something that I think is— that's the quote. I have that even— I even have that on my website. I like it so much.

Yeah, I love that one too. That's actually down here in Miami. There's like a club on the beach and that is on like the front door of the club, that quote.

That's a good idea.

I know. Or not the front door, it's like above the front door, like on the wall.

That keeps out the bad people.

Yeah, it's awesome. Well, listen, man, I really, really enjoyed having you on. The last one I have for you before we let you go is where can our audience best find you online?

I think the best place to go is baldwinburgess.com. That's my first and last name together. So Baldwin is usually a last name. It's my first name. Burgess is B-E-R-G-E-S.com. And that's where you can find out more about me or just connect with me on LinkedIn. I spend a good portion of my day on LinkedIn. So be happy to be connected with you there as well.

Awesome, man. Thank you again for coming on.

Hey, thanks for having me, Tyler. It was great. Till soon.