In this Business Blast podcast episode, host Tyler Wagner interviews Jordan Fox, founder of Custom Fit Productions and host of the Lessons of Leaders podcast. Jordan shares a formative college story about befriending a homeless man, "Homeless Mike," who taught him the value of asking questions and not fearing others' judgments. He discusses recent work in Facebook advertising, especially upcoming changes to demographic targeting for real‑estate audiences and the importance of split‑testing. Jordan offers broad business advice centered on curiosity and asking the right questions, and reflects on personal growth, urging his younger self to speak up more. He delves into the science of happiness, citing Jonathan Haidt’s Happiness Hypothesis and the four key neurochemicals (dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins) as tools for a happier life. Jordan also shares a favorite quote from the film We Bought a Zoo about taking brief, bold courage. The episode concludes with information on how listeners can connect with Jordan via his podcast website, lessons‑of‑leaders.com.
Chapters
Welcome to the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
All right everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Jordan Fox with us. He is the founder and managing producer at Custom Fit Productions and host of the Lessons of Leaders podcast. So welcome to the show, Jordan.
Appreciate it, Tyler. Thanks for having me.
Of course, we appreciate you coming on. Uh, we'll start off with question number 1. The first one I have for you, Jordan, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Sure. The— this question made me think quite a bit because the story behind it has— continues to keep teaching me new lessons over and over. It started back in my freshman year of college at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and I was walking to class up on the quad every day and kept passing by Well, it seemed to be a homeless guy sitting on a bench. And I always would look at other people walking by him. They would look at him and, you know, with cockeyed stares and things like that. And never really knew what to think about it until I started paying closer attention. And every single day I'd go to class, he'd be reading a different book and he was sitting right outside of the library. So long story short, I was working an event inside one of the prayer breakfast venues at school. I was a hospitality major. And in walks Homeless Mike. And so, I approached him. I said, "Mike, what are you doing here?" He had a reputation on campus as Homeless Mike. And after that, I started walking up and speaking to him on the bench just mainly to see how other people would react. And the lessons I learned from taking that step and not really caring what other people thought about what I was doing or who I was talking to. The guy was filled with knowledge. He was reading nonfiction books every single day. He finished a book a day and happened to be really good friends with 2 of the 4 vice presidents on campus. So, that was probably a big pivotal moment. In my life. Not being scared to ask someone a question and learn more if they seem to be an interesting person. Everyone's there for a reason. Yes, that's awesome.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
So recently I've been diving into the Facebook ad space. It's been interesting with the whole Facebook debacle and the privacy regulations and laws. So right now, in terms of demographics, we're in the real estate space quite a bit, and Facebook will be changing how you're able to specify your demographics based on, you know, household income and personal income, net worth, and be able to tell whether someone's moving or not. They're changing that coming up. So getting creative and learning how to split test different results to be able to hone in on those audiences moving forward is something we're playing with now. So when Facebook does make those changes, we're ready for it.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
I would say learning how to be curious and ask the right questions. The right questions have seemed to open doors for me and genuinely pouring into other people's experiences and what's gotten them there has been amazing advice that's been given to me that I would pass forward.
And, if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Hmm. Let's see. Younger self, one piece of advice, I would say To speak up more, actually. I've always been kind of shy, someone who observes a lot, and I wish I would've had the courage to speak up more and ask better questions to the people who I was always kind of nervous and timid to talk to off the bat.
And in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Researching and reading about it before gathering any conclusions as to what makes you personally happy. There is a science behind it, and the more you learn about that science and then how it applies to you, I think the better off we all are.
And what is the best book that you've read, and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
The best book is Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt, and it feeds right into the previous answer. The 4 chemicals that, you know, and based on how you manage them and how you figure out how to unlock them essentially equates to a happier lifestyle: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins. So, that's probably the number 1 tool I've been able to use.
And, what is your favorite quote and why?
Favorite quote is from "We Bought a Zoo." You know, sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, just literally 20 seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it. Matt Damon in that movie did an excellent job.
I love that. Thank you so much for coming on, man. The last question I have for you before we let you go is, where's the best place for people to find you online?
Best place right now would be at the podcast website, www. Lessons-of-leaders.com. It's a hospitality-focused podcast, and I'll respond to any emails I get through there. Awesome, man.
Thanks again. We appreciate it.
Appreciate it, Tyler.
The podcast you just heard was published with Anchor. Got something you want to say to the creator of this show? Send them a voice message using the Anchor app, free for iOS and Android.
