Over the last couple of decades the investing landscape has changed dramatically. From the dotcom era to bitcoin, it can be tough to keep up. But one thing holds true, those who are ahead of the curve, and had some foresight, have been able to make a ton of money. 

But how do you know which ones will be winners?

I don’t know about you, but I’m not much of a gambler. It’s too damn hard to make money. I don’t want to risk it on unfavourable odds. 

I’m a firm believer in the basic business principles that have stood the test of time. Strong leadership, a solid customer base, and of course… revenue. As flashy as something like NFT investing is, to me, if it doesn’t make sense on paper, it just doesn’t make sense. 

Our guest on this episode of “Guide 2 the Grind” offers a unique perspective on modern investing with old school principles. Kyle Kuderewski is the Operations Manager for WebStreet. WebStreet offers passive investments in Web based businesses. They merge the old with the new to create an entirely new way for investors to diversify and take advantage of burgeoning areas of technology. 

It’s a whole different way of looking at digital investing, you definitely want don’t want to miss this episode.

www.guidetothegrind.com

Since the dawn of time one thing has always captured our imagination. From Neanderthals sitting around a campfire, to Hollywood blockbuster movies, we are captivated by stories.  

I used to work in the film business. I worked on tons of tv series and feature films. I can recall countless times that I watched directors and lighting technicians spend hours getting a scene to look just right, then spend only a minute or two actually filming. The one thing that always stuck with me in those moments was the thought that no matter how visually pleasing you make the scene, if the content is crap, nobody’s gonna care.  

An example that immediately comes to mind is the movie “Locke” with Tom Hardy.  

The entire movie is just one person, Locke, driving somewhere in his car and taking phone calls. Not the type of movie that captures your attention with car chases and explosions, but I was totally enthralled by the story. I couldn’t stop watching it.  

Why is this important?  

Because we as business owners are great at telling our customers every fact, figure, and detail about what we do, but very few of us tell the story of what we do, or how we can matter to our customers.  

There’s an old saying in the sales world… “Facts tell, stories sell”.  

Yes, our clients need to know that our product or service is going to do what we say it’s going to do, but why is it better for them to do business with us rather than our competitors?  

It’s the personal connection they create in their minds that keep them coming back to us. Now, you might think it’s because we create a great relationship through our product and service, but that’s not where it starts. It starts when they feel a reason to pick up the phone, or send an email.  

How many people do you know that always vote for the same party regardless of the candidate? Or always drink the same coffee, even though the coffee sucks?  

Or drive a Ford?  

Or drink Coke?  

What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you think of these brands?  

Any 80’s kid can remember the polar bear commercials at Christmas. Is there a more heartwarming image?

The best way to attract new customers is by creating an emotional connection with them immediately when they discover us. The easiest way to do this is to draw them in with a story.  

But it doesn’t have to be super complicated. One of the best “stories” I can recall in advertising are the Motel 6 ads. “I’m Tom Bodett, and we’ll leave the light on for you”.  

This is such a simple story, but makes us think of images of home, being a road weary traveler, and being welcomed by a friendly face.  

It doesn’t have to be a massive theatrical production, it just has to be good.  

Our guest on this episode of “Guide 2 the Grind” understands this completely. Wayne Stanley works with fortune 200 companies and small businesses to help them understand what story they should be telling, and how to get that story out there. This conversation was truly a treat for me, and I’m super glad I had the chance to meet Wayne.  

No matter what business you’re in, you need to hear this!

www.guidetothegrind.com

Have you ever had a great business idea and thought “If I only had the money”?

We all know there are ways to get early stage business funding, but few actually understand it. I would definitely include myself in that category. 

Our guest on this episode of “Guide 2 the Grind” is Nathaniel Harding, the Managing Partner of Cortado Ventures. 

Cortado is a Venture Capital firm in Oklahoma City. They specialize in early stage development funding and have a whole range of programs for educating and coaching the CEOs they work with. 

Nathaniel walks us through both sides of the Venture Cap world from business selection and underwriting, to investor expectations and returns. 

If you’ve ever thought about starting a business that needs Venture Capital, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss!

www.guidetothegrind.com

An interesting realization that I’ve had while trying to craft this is, it’s not easy to talk about charity. In fact it’s downright uncomfortable.  

There’s a lot of psychological factors at play wherever you are on the spectrum of “being charitable”. If you don’t give, you may feel guilty that you don’t. Or you don’t give enough, or if you do give enough you don’t want to talk about it, so you don’t seem like you’re being “holier than thou”.  

Regardless which bucket we fall into, we can all agree that giving is important. Whether it’s time or money, there’s folks a whole heck of a lot less fortunate than us out there.  

But where do you start?  

What are the tax benefits?  

Our guest on this episode of “Guide 2 the Grind” is John Bromley, CEO of Charitable Impact. Charitable Impact is designed to help individuals and companies make more knowledgeable charity contributions without having to do all the research themselves.  

As well, they help folks realize the tax benefits without having to commit to a specific charity right away. It’s a really interesting model, and one that’s helped facilitate $1.2 billion of donations since its inception. 

www.guidetothegrind.com

Have you ever thought about a second career?

I know, it’s hard to think about giving up what you’ve spent so many years doing, but there comes a time where lifestyle begins to trump security. 

For corporate executives looking to transition into ownership, investors who understand passive (or at least semi-passive) income streams, or the average person looking to make a change and build something for themselves, franchising may be a great option. 

In recent months I’ve had my eyes open to new franchising models, and different ways of looking at the strategy as a whole. 

To me, the first thing that comes to mind is burger chains and coffee shops, but that’s not what it is anymore. There’s a whole world of businesses out there that have far better profit margins than food, and allow you to spend less time working on the business that something like a fastfood chain would require. 

Guiding us through the “matchmaking” process on this episode of “Guide 2 the Grind” is the top franchise coach in the US, and founder of the Daly Coach, Kim Daly. Kim has been featured in a ton of media, including USA Today, and is recognized as the foremost expert in franchising today. 

You don’t want to miss this!

@thedalycoach

www.guidetothegrind.com

When I first got started in sales I was encouraged to start reading and listening to personal development greats like Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar. I remember how much this expanded my mind in the first few years. I learned new philosophies for business and life, but one quote always stood out to me. 

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears”

To me it was a saying without meaning. Because it hadn’t been proven to me… yet. 

Looking back now I can see that I’ve been blessed with many teachers along the way. Some taught me a lot, some a little. Some stayed for years, and some faded away almost as quickly as they appeared. 

But I learned from all of them. 

At this stage in my life I still listen to the teachers I had early on, but their messages aren’t mind blowing as they once were, for the simple fact that I’ve applied most of what I’ve learned from them. Yes I’ve grown as a person because of it, but I was ready for the next level. 

That’s when a new teacher appeared. 

Our guest on this episode of “Guide 2 the Grind” is Archie Merigold, the epitome of an entrepreneur. In the 80’s he gave up a good job to start a business. After finding massive success with that he began investing in real estate and eventually got into land development. 

I’ve had the good fortune to connect with Archie in my personal life, and I’m learning a ton from him. Trust me when I say you don’t want to miss this interview. 

www.guidetothegrind.com

The hardest thing about being an investor is learning. For the average Joe venturing into the world of investing to say that it’s overwhelming is a huge understatement. I know for myself I’ve been in the financial world for over a decade, and I still learn about new strategies and tactics all the time. It’s one of the reasons I’m so grateful we have Guide 2 the Grind. 

We get to meet so many brilliant professionals.

As we wrap up 2023, and the 3rd season of doing the show, I’m super excited about the coming year. We’ve learned so much this year, and have some pretty big things planned for the near future.

… and one massive announcement I’ll get to after I talk about our last guest for season 3. 

Kyle Mowery is the Managing Director of Grizzly Rock Capital in Chicago. They’re a small cap equity fund that invests in publicly traded companies. On this episode of “Guide 2 the Grind” Kyle talks about his due diligence process, where he’s seeing opportunity in the market right now, and how you can mimic his process no matter what level of investor you are.

Happy New Year!!

Oh yeah…  the big announcement…

Jonathan and I have been working for the last few months on our brand new “MORTGAGE HACKER” course. We’ve taken all of the best strategies we’ve learned and made them accessible to everyone that either owns a home, or is thinking about buying one in the near future. 

We show you how “Hack Your Mortgage” by using a few key strategies the bank won’t tell you about. You’ll learn the 3 secrets of how to keep your payments low, and how to be debt free in half the time. 

We’ll be hosting a LIVE event this coming Wednesday night at 7pm. Best of all… it’s absolutely FREE. 

All you have to do is go to www.guidetothegrind.com to learn more about it, and get registered for the event. 

Have a great New Year and we’ll see you there!

www.guidetothegrind.com

As we approach the end of our third year doing this podcast, I look back on all of the great guests, and the multitude of strategies they’ve shared. We’ve met some incredible people, and learned so much.  

But none of them have been able to make investing as simple as this guest.  

Most of the time we’re speaking with folks who’ve been in the investing world for a decade, maybe even two, but never have we had the opportunity to chat with someone that has the breadth of knowledge you can only acquire from over 40 years in the business.  

In the last 4 decades we’ve seen both the best and worst of times. The market cycles have ebbed and flowed more than a couple of times, and understanding what happens at each stage of those cycles is paramount for investors today.  

Admittedly you only need to study the history of these cycles to understand them, but there’s one thing that can only be achieved by living through them… clarity.  

Clarity can only be gained through proper perspective, and it takes an intimate knowledge of all of the information available to have that perspective.  

Steve Selengut is a man that’s been in the investment business for over 4 decades. He’s seen the rise and fall of markets, the forging of new ones, and protected his clients through all of it. We’re fortunate to have him as our guest on this episode of “Guide 2 the Grind”.  

Have a listen to this fascinating episode as Steve breaks down his strategy for investing in close ended funds, and totally blows my mind with just how simple investing really is.  

(BTW… this is our most popular episode so far!)  

www.guidetothegrind.com

It’s refreshing in an era of Robin Hood pump n’ dumps, Forex Traders, and so called Crypto experts, to hear someone say that preservation of capital is far more important than making a quick return. 

Chris Vermeulen is a Technical Trading expert who teaches his students the slow and steady path to financial independence. 

Ever since Chris’ dad lost everything they had in a land deal gone wrong, his focus has been on building a strong financial foundation that will last long after he’s gone. Creating a true legacy for his kids and beyond. 

Have a listen to how Chris approaches investing in today’s market on this episode of “Guide 2 the Grind”. 

www.guidetothegrind.com

“Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome”

• Clint Eastwood, Heartbreak Ridge

No guest we’ve had on the show embodies this more than our guest on this episode. 

Gary Hibbert is a real estate entrepreneur which I can say from personal experience has a massive heart, and truly cares about other people’s lives. 

I first met Gary through a random phone call back in 2015. Since then I’ve had the great pleasure of attending his meetups, learning from him and his team, and breaking bread together. 

Gary’s journey to success has not been an easy one. But with every challenge he’s found a way to “Improvise, adapt, and overcome”. 

Have a listen to this extremely candid conversation with one of the principled people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in the investment world, Gary Hibbert, on this episode of “Guide 2 the Grind”. 

www.guidetothegrind.com