What made you want to do the work you do? Please share the full story.
I got some experience with funnels and email marketing when I worked on a project called Hustle Island. We sold 24,000 t-shirts and built an email list of 147,000 people. That experience was invaluable. I realized how powerful email could be for building relationships and driving sales. I had found my love in business. I went all in on email marketing when an ads client wanted to fire me, I asked them why, and they told me it was due to their emails going to spam. It wasn’t my fault, but I decided to figure it out anyway. I did, they nearly 4x’d their email revenue, my name got a lot of traction, and the rest is history.
Tell us 3 surprisingly easy and 3 surprisingly difficult things about your business.
Here are 3 things that are surprisingly easy about my work:
1. Coming up with story ideas – Once you start looking at life through a storyteller’s lens, you realize that stories are everywhere. I can find them in my own life, in the lives of my clients, in the news, and everywhere.
2. Writing emails that get opened – I’ve learned how to write subject lines that are hard to ignore — and deliverability strategies that we’ve proven for 5 years now. It’s just a matter of knowing what grabs people’s attention and using that to my advantage.
3. Building an email list – You can start by connecting with your friends and family and then sharing what you know on social media. You can get people to opt-in by providing valuable content, like my free email cheat sheet at FAQemail.com.
Here are 3 things that are surprisingly difficult about my work:
1. Staying up to date with deliverability – Email platforms and algorithms are constantly changing, which means I always need to be on edge. Thankfully, platforms like Google usually give you a long ‘heads up’ time.
2. Scaling the personal touch – It’s challenging to make every email feel personal and unique, especially when you’re when you’re working with a lot of clients and sending so many emails each day and doing a ton of general business.
3. Balancing creativity with strategy – It’s important to have a well-thought-out strategy for your email marketing, but it’s also important to be creative and try new things. It’s about not just doing what everyone else does, but actually making it a point to be different.
What are the 3 things you like best about your work and why?
1. I’m working toward my goal of impacting 100,000,000 people – It’s incredibly rewarding to know that my work is helping businesses grow and succeed. I love seeing the numbers go up, but it’s also about seeing the impact that has on the lives of the business owners and their teams. Because when you help a client make more money, you’re also feeding their team & their team’s families. And you’re helping their email subscribers get access to a great product or service that improves their lives. So for every client we work with, we truly are impacting thousands of lives (or more).
2. Connecting with people – Whether it’s in writing, at an event, or anything in between… I never thought I’d love business so much. It truly is a game that I’m super blessed to play. A game that took the place of baseball & still gave me a mission & purpose that I’m proud of. I’ve made more friends than I ever could have imagined.
3. Solving complex challenges – I love figuring out how to get emails into the primary inbox and how to optimize emails & funnels. It’s like a puzzle, and I enjoy the challenge of putting all the pieces together even when it seems some pieces or missing or don’t fit.
What are your greatest 3 skills and how have they helped you succeed?
1. Storytelling: I’ve come to understand that stories are incredibly powerful. I use them in all my communications because they help me connect with people on a personal level, make my message more memorable, and motivate them to take action. I’ve learned to craft compelling narratives that resonate with my audience. I tell my own story, as well as those of my clients. I’ve learned to look for the most compelling parts of a story that I can highlight.
2. Email Copywriting: I can craft emails that not only get opened and read, but also drive
conversions. I’ve mastered the art of writing persuasive copy that makes people want to take action. I’ve learned how to write compelling subject lines that grab people’s attention. I can also make each line in my email compelling, so that people want to keep reading. I know how to use a good hook at the beginning of an email.
3. Deliverability: I know how to get emails into the primary inbox, which is a huge challenge for many businesses. I’ve learned the technical side of email marketing, and how to navigate the various email service providers. I can optimize the settings and content of emails so they don’t end up in spam. I also understand how to fix deliverability issues when they arise.
Tell us about a time you were dead wrong about something.
One time one of my team members got a positive comment from Alex Hormozi in Slack on the emails we wrote for a company of his. So I used the screenshot in my ads. The ads started to do better, but I got a message from Alex a few days later asking for that to be taken down. So I did.
I was super bummed at first because it made the ads do better, but it wasn’t the right move for me to post it without asking first. Eventually I realized that the campaign was doomed from the start anyway because I was selling a bundle of email templates that people viewed as a “toolbelt” kind of offer rather than one that made them curious about hiring us for done-for-you services.
It was the wakeup call I needed to focus on things that actually give value and increase curiosity rather than tactics & clout.
How do you get yourself out of a funk? Please share the details.
• I get everything out of my head and onto a whiteboard. I literally write down everything that’s bugging me or that I’m trying to accomplish. It doesn’t have to be organized at first, it’s just about getting it all out. This helps me to see all the different things that are weighing me down.
• Then, I organize those ideas into categories. I prioritize the different things that I need to do, and I organize them into a “now, next, and later” framework. I focus on the one to three things that are most important and that need to happen right away, the “nows,” and I put everything else into “next” and “later” categories. This helps me to focus on the most important tasks and to avoid getting bogged down by everything else. Some people use sticky notes to move things around. I often erase some things entirely because they just don’t matter and were taking up too much mental real estate.
• I make sure that I’m getting enough sleep. When I’m not getting enough sleep, I get easily overwhelmed, and I have a really hard time focusing. If I try to go back to work late at night, I know that I’m just running on low brain power. I have learned to close the laptop at night and to get back to it the next day. I know it’s time to stop working for the day when I go out to eat or go for a walk.
• I understand that nothing can ever be completely finished. There will always be something else to do, and that’s okay. I’ve learned to let go of the idea that I have to do it all, and I focus on the one thing that matters most. This helps me to avoid the feeling that I’m falling behind because I’m not doing everything at once.
• I focus on my strengths and bring in people who can help me with my weaknesses. I know I’m not great at everything, and I’ve learned to bring in people to help me. For example, I know I’m good at writing, but I need people who are good at technical stuff. This allows me to do what I’m good at and to bring in other people who can help me with the rest.
What is a habit you try to stick to and how has it helped you?
If I had to pick just one, it would be prioritizing my day by tackling the most important tasks first. It’s a game changer for me, and it’s something that has really helped me get more done and stay focused on my goals.
It’s really easy to get caught up in the day-to-day stuff. If I’m not intentional, I can easily spend hours on things that aren’t really moving the needle. So, I start my day with the most important stuff. It’s not always easy, but it’s definitely worth it.
Prioritizing tasks isn’t just about getting more done, it’s also about making sure I’m working on the things that matter most. It’s about being intentional with my time and energy. I find that this one habit helps me stay focused, and it makes a big difference in my overall productivity and my overall sense of well-being.
What is your favorite book and why?
10x Is Easier Than 2x is the book that has recently helped me shift my mindset toward taking bigger leaps.
The whole premise is that it’s easier to change your model or offer completely than it is to constantly make little tweaks. The bigger the change, the bigger the return (if it works of course – that’s the tricky, err, fun part)!
What advice would you give to your younger self and why?
I’d probably focus on mental state because everything else stems from that – including your habits, beliefs, and eventual success.
First off, I’d tell myself, “You are not your success.” Back in college, I was so wrapped up in baseball that my entire identity was tied to it. When I got injured and my baseball career ended, I felt like I lost everything. So I would go back & tell myself that it’s okay to be upset, but not to let it define me. I’d say, “Your worth isn’t tied to what you do, but who you are”. It’s important to find value in yourself outside of your accomplishments.
I’d also say, “Love yourself and love other people.” I really believe in the importance of building genuine connections. I would tell my younger self that it’s not just about achieving success, it’s about the relationships you build along the way. My mentor Joel Marion has a cool hat that says “Rich in Relationships”. Pretty powerful for a guy who built & sold BioTrust for well over 9 figures.
I’d also tell myself to embrace stories. When I first started out in business, I thought that writing was lame and that I needed to be more firm and factual. I didn’t realize the power of a good story and how it could connect with people. I’d tell myself that stories are not weak; they’re one of the most powerful tools available. And they’re actually cool too because people are drawn to stories and they use them to make sense of the world.
Who has been your biggest mentor in life (personal or professional) and how have they helped you?
Okay, I’m happy to talk about the people who have mentored me along the way, because I’ve had a lot of help from different people at different stages of my life. I’ve learned that success isn’t a solo sport, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without the guidance and support of others.
My Dad: He was my first and probably most consistent mentor. From a young age, he instilled in me a strong work ethic, telling me to never give up and never make excuses. He taught me the importance of showing up every day and figuring out a way to get things done via the sport of baseball.
Greg Berry: He was my first real mentor in the world of internet marketing. I met him when I was just starting out on Upwork. At that time, I still had a very corporate view of business, but Greg showed me that it doesn’t have to be that way. He helped me see that you can create something from nothing, and that it’s just a matter of connecting with the right people. He was really the first person to show me what was possible when you combined a hustler’s mindset with the power of the internet. When I worked with him on a project called Burger Box, which ended up crashing, he came back and helped me start a new business called Hustle Island. He had this idea to sell t-shirts, and, I didn’t even know at the time that it was a good idea, but it helped me get experience with click
funnels. Together, we sold 24,000 t-shirts, built an email list of 147,000 people and he taught me the basics of online business. Greg was like my “internet marketing dad” and a “light” for me during a dark time. He is the person who helped me get my first real email experience.
Tom Brady: I modeled my entire work ethic and underdog attitude after TB12 in both sports & business.
Just for fun, what is your favorite food?
8oz filet mignon from The Cut by Wolfgang Puck.