Unpacked with Ron Harvey
People Always Matter. Join Ron as he unpacks leadership with his guests.
Unpacked with Ron Harvey
Building a 7-Figure Agency While Working Less Than 40 Hours Weekly
Colby Wegter shares his journey from burnt-out marketing agency owner to creating the Autonomy Agency, helping six-figure agency owners reach seven figures while working under 40 hours weekly. He discusses the essential elements of entrepreneurial success: passion, commitment, systems, and relationships.
• Transforming after experiencing severe burnout twice in one year despite reaching seven figures
• Creating the Autonomy Agency model to help marketing agency owners scale without sacrificing wellbeing
• Finding your passion through asking yourself difficult questions and embracing discomfort
• Committing fully to what you do - "I'm not willing to do anything unless I'm committing to it for 10 years"
• Understanding that money is impact, not the goal itself
• Developing grit as the essential quality for entrepreneurial success
• Building businesses on relationships and "emotional credit in the bank"
• Leading by example - "Make sure your audio matches your video"
• Simplifying your business model and messaging for clarity and effectiveness
Find Colby Wegter on YouTube or visit autonomyagency.com to learn more about his coaching program for agency owners.
Connect with Ron
Just Make A Difference: Leading Under Pressure by Ron Harvey
“If you don’t have something to measure your growth, you won’t be self-aware or intentional about your growth.”
Learn more about Global Core Strategies
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Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organization or entity. The information provided in this podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice. Listeners should consult with their own professional advisors before implementing any suggestions or recommendations made in this podcast. The speakers and guests are not responsible for any actions taken by listeners based on the information presented in this podcast. The podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice or services. The speakers and guests make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in this ...
Welcome to Turning Point Leadership Podcast with your host, ron Harvey of Global Core Strategies and Consulting. Ron's delighted you joined us and excited to discuss and help you navigate your journey towards becoming an effective leader. During this podcast, ron will share his core belief that effective leadership is one of the key drivers towards change. So together let's grow as leaders. Here's Ron Harvey.
Speaker 2:Good afternoon. This is Ron Harvey, the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Global Core Strategies and Consulting Leadership Firm. We're based out of Columbia, south Carolina. For all you that are following us, you know that's where we're coming from. You know, lately we've had some colder weather than we anticipated. That's supposed to be where you know. My guess is that not in South Carolina, where we in 20 degree weather in the morning. But, but we're past that and we're working our way towards Christmas.
Speaker 2:But you know, for us as an organization, what we do every day is really help people leaders be better connected to the workforce, the people that actually help them achieve whatever their vision or their goals are. But we want them to be connected and I've worked in organizations where sometimes you felt like your leader was in one room and you were in the other room and you were just another number in the organization. We're trying to change that. Our goal is to help leaders really value everybody in the organization and bring all that uniqueness to the table. So we spend all of our time helping leaders be better at connecting with their staff.
Speaker 2:But we do a podcast and the podcast is just honest conversations called Unpacked. Our leaders come on with none of the questions in advance. Only thing I have is their bio, where they're located, what they're doing, but no questions in advance and we just have a real candid conversation. So if you've been following us, you know we'll talk about leadership. Outside of that, I'm not sure where we're going to go. So hang on for the ride, don't disengage. We'll be with you about 20 to 30 minutes. So hang on with us for 30 minutes. If we take that long, and we'd love for you to tell your friends and your family and all of the people in your circle about the podcast. We really want to change leadership. So I'm excited I get to bring another guest on and Kobe is coming from Milwaukee with us. Let me give him the microphone and let him do his thing and introduce himself this up.
Speaker 3:Let me give him the microphone and let him do his thing and introduce himself. Yeah, ron, I appreciate it. Yeah, thanks. Thanks for having me on. I appreciate being on. I'm honored to chat with you.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, just a quick bio is I come from the middle of nowhere and then kind of fell into marketing. I actually went to school to be a teacher and failed at that pretty early, so fell into marketing accidentally and then created after several years in it, created my own agency with a couple of partners but did all the wrong things in terms of saying yes to everything and burnt out really, really hard. So around the time we hit seven figures that was the same year. I burnt out twice in the same year and it was pretty serious stuff. So what spawned out of that was just to get my life in order, and so I started implementing a bunch of systems and all that. But I also started networking with a bunch of people. It's kind of stuck in my own bubble and so when I started networking with those people, a lot of them turned out to be agency owners. And then, as the systems I was implementing were doing really really well and removing me from the business and the agency was growing, I was also simultaneously talking to these people who were like where I was the previous couple of years, you know, years on their verge of burnout and just doing everything themselves and all that sort of stuff. So it became unignorable after a while that that was what I was meant to do is help that population.
Speaker 3:And so I am currently I say it with the most endearment kicking and screaming into my new venture, because it wasn't some grand plan or big idea, but I started this thing called Autonomy Agency a few months ago with the intention of serving six-figure ideally marketing agency owners, but any creative agency owner who's in six figures, working over 40 hours a week, doing everything themselves, hitting a revenue wall or just burning out to help them get to seven figures, working under 40 hours a week, because not only is it possible, it's actually a systemized way to do it and I call it the autonomy agency model right. So maybe we can dive into that a little bit more. But so, yeah, that was. It's been a calling thus far, because I had no intention of being a coach and helping people one-on-one, but I just spoke to over a hundred people who needed help and because I had personally been through that, it just seemed like maybe I'm the one and so it's early stages for the business, but I'm feeling really excited about it and it's definitely what I'm meant to do.
Speaker 3:Sometimes you don't, you know. You make plans. What do they say? You make plans and God laughs, or whatever, whether you believe or not. So this wasn't in my plans, but it's definitely what I'm meant to do. So that is that's the gist. Is autonomy agency helps six figure agency owners get seven figures. If you're working over 40 hours a week, we'll get you there in under 40 hours a week.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, you're in the right place, man. Thank you for coming on, kobe, but you gave us a whole lot to unpack, even in his bio. He just led in and I was like, man, that's a great question. I'm more curious. You gave me a lot to be curious about and definitely to unpack, because we speak leadership, but we also think of business owners and entrepreneurs and their journey and things that they go through as this thing called life. But you jump right in and you tried to be a teacher and that didn't work out. Well, you say, hey, I failed miserably at that. What did you learn from that failure? When you think of leadership Because sometimes leaders don't want to be transparent and say they failed, they want to look like they got it all together what did that failure really teach you? That can be helpful for listeners.
Speaker 3:There's a bunch of different ways. I could actually answer that, but just to kind of go with the thread that speaks most to me is just the thing is like leading by example is not a cliche, it's a truth, right? And so if you have those insecurities and you're not like willing to admit that you fail, then the people you are leading will be in fear of admitting that they fail, right. They'll have a lot different motivation than actually trying to produce something amazing, which is basically signing up to fail thousands of times until you get to amazing. Thomas Edison failed more than anyone else, right? And he's obviously a household name and his product is in every single home in America. You know what I mean. So it's like if you are too afraid for yourself to fail, that'll trickle down into your staff.
Speaker 3:But in terms of my failure as a teacher, that was honestly what I probably learned most from that run. Is that, because I came from the middle of nowhere, all I saw were like teachers and farmers, and I didn't want to be a farmer, right? So I was like I guess teaching is what it is, and of course, you don't have a fully developed brain until you're 27, 28 anyway. So when I was going to college, it was like, all right, well, I'm setting my path, not really being that passionate about it, right? So actually I think I had a decent skill set in terms of, like, new college grad. I definitely put my all into everything I do, but the passion wasn't there. And so when push came to shove and I got my first real big boy job was teaching in Bed-Stuy, brooklyn, right, I was like the only white person around and knew exactly like what I signed up for. But I got signed as an assistant teacher and then, within two weeks, half the staff quit. So I became a lead teacher to like 100 plus students in my first two weeks and didn't really have any support, right.
Speaker 3:So that was I definitely burnt out then as well. It was just a different kind and I didn't really have any support, right. So that was I definitely burnt out then as well. It was just a different kind. So what I learned from that, I think in super hindsight later, is like, as cliche as it may be, you need to be passionate about what you're doing, like you have to have full belief in it, otherwise it's not going to last forever. It's either going to burn you out and you'll quit and you'll start again with something else, or you'll just leave a life that ends with that kind of regret on the deathbed type thing, right? So I've been in constant pursuit of trying to find the thing. This is the first time I'm 35 now is the first time in my life where I'm like this is it for sure? Right? So it took me, you know, from 18 to 35, it took me almost 20 years to get what I was looking for.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean phenomenal responses for those that are listening. Sometimes we think it's overnight, sometimes we think like the first thing you do, but unpacking the thing of you qualify, you're certified, you're smart, you're educated, but you were missing the passion Can you speak more to? And that's in everything that you do. That's whether it's a marriage, that's whether it's raising your children, that's whether you're going to do something in the community, that's whether you're going to be an entrepreneur. How important was it for you to say I got to find out what I'm passionate about and how does that actually help you having the passion outside of just education or the credentials? How important is having passion for you to be successful?
Speaker 3:What I will say is I don't have all the answers because, in terms of finding your passion and those sorts of things like I think it's inherently difficult or you luck out right. It's one of the two. So I ended up in the inherently difficult side of things and knowing what I know now, if I had some of the mechanisms I've learned in just the last couple of years of like how to you know kind of fine tune that and figure out what it is Like. I don't know if you've heard of the icky guy exercise, but that's a good one to get started and that kind of stuff. I hadn't even heard of that stuff until a couple of years ago, right, so why? Why is it a requirement? I would say more or less because nobody cares about you. I know that sounds like really upfront and direct, but nobody cares about you. So if you don't care about what you're doing, no one else is going to save you. No one else is going to convince you. People will help you.
Speaker 3:There's an amazing people on this earth, but at some point you have to be the one to decide do I want this or not? And so many people where I grew up, for instance, they've never even asked that question and so they are stuck. They're very talented, high-level people that are not fully satisfied, but it's not because they're not high-level and talented and have the credentials, like you said, because they don't ask hard questions. And looking outwards for someone to ask you the hard questions is not the way you should be asking yourself hard questions all the time, and so I wouldn't consider myself crazy successful just yet, because I will probably never feel that way. I have so much more to learn. But when people say, like how have you gotten to where you've gotten, I say I'm uncomfortable all the time, like I just ask difficult questions of myself all the time, right, because it's forcing me to get better. So I don't know if that directly answers the question so much as just like finding your passion is. I think if you are hoping it's easy, you're a fool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're sharing. I mean, you said something that's really key is that you are always uncomfortable, and that's where the growth happens at and that's how you can find it. But if you're too comfortable, you may not find the passion you know. It just may not show up because you're afraid to step out of that box of being comfortable, you know. So I'm glad that you're sharing that. And so, as you go on your journey and you continue, what were the fundamental things? When you start thinking of hey, I'm looking at six figure companies becoming seven figures, I'm looking at as we're talking in the green room you made some conscious decisions. Your wife is working and doing what she does and you're supporting that. How important is commitment to whatever that thing is, regardless how hard it gets? How important has your commitment played a role in in just continue to never give up and never stop?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I love the question Cause again, a lot of this stuff I've arrived at late. It's one of the I'm in those weird paradoxes where I feel really young still but I feel ridiculously old at the same time. One of those things. And so a lot of this stuff I've arrived at later. But now my, my current mode of operation in the last two years, since my second major burnout at the agency, was I'm not willing to do anything unless I'm committing to it for 10 years. Right, which sounds like a very black and white and kind of whatever. But I'm either all in or I can't do it Right. And so if something the other way you know people say it if it's not a hell yes, it's a no. Very similar thinking. Right, Because whatever you're saying yes to now means you're saying no to something in the future.
Speaker 3:And you mentioned kind of an operative word of journey. That's actually more of like where my passion lies is like in the day to day, what I'm doing every single day. Passion is not a destination. I don't really care at all about results or any of that stuff, because my mission every day is am I doing what I want to do that helps the most people like that's it right and everything will take care of itself. So the name of the game gets really, really simple. It's not what's the next hack or what's the next system or blah like. All that stuff is on the periphery, where it's like no, all I care about. Am I doing what I want to do? Do I have choice over that? Can I keep doing it? So the game is how do I keep playing, Not how do I win.
Speaker 2:Yes, you mentioned something that's important as an entrepreneur or anything in life, is helping people. How did you?
Speaker 2:stay focused on that Because you know you can do some things and people may not always show you appreciation, but then again you may not be paying attention that they appreciate it. How did you stay focused on that? Because you can do some things and people may not always show you appreciation, but then again you may not be paying attention that they appreciate it. How did you stay focused to make sure? Because it's easy to chase money, it's easy to chase trophies, it's easy to chase positions and titles how did you stay focused on helping people, regardless of title, position or revenue?
Speaker 3:What I will say is just, my philosophy is like I want to be incredibly wealthy. I think we all do. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. You should never think of money as a bad thing. But I look at money more as impact and I also look at it in terms of the way to earn it, as in like a person I follow who I really admire, he said once on a podcast he was on, he said every time I wanted something really bad and I didn't get it. I now look back on that time and say you weren't ready. And so for me, if I don't have it yet, it's just a clear indication from the universe. I'm not ready yet. Which means, again, the game is really simple Keep earning it so that it shows up right. There is no entitlement on this side of the microphone, no entitlement on this side of the microphone. It is hard earned, got to get it done. But what I see with those outward kind of metrics that people are working towards and all that sort of stuff, I have plenty of people in my network who are earning way more than me, who are more miserable than I am, because when you earn the thing you realize, that doesn't solve all the other problems. And so, unless you know why you're doing it, earning it is great, go for it. But what's it there for Every dollar I make is in tears right now because I'm an American and went to college and my wife has a doctorate degree and we have kids and a house, I have a mortgage, I have student loans.
Speaker 3:So the first thing is, I believe you have to feel good to do good. I don't feel as good when I owe other people things. I want it gone. So I need to earn enough to get there. If I don't have it yet, I'm not ready right. But when that happens, every other dollar is impact to me. How can it serve the most people? How can I help the most people? Money is the most common thing on earth. They just keep printing more of it. I want to be uncommon, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's great. I mean, when you're chasing dreams and you're doing things, it's going to be uncommon. That's going to help you get there. Tony Dungy wrote a book about uncommon leadership. How do you be something different than what you see all the time? So when you think about moving forward, you think about goals. As an entrepreneur, what's the biggest challenge you had to overcome internally for you to stay on course?
Speaker 3:Probably just grit. In my earlier years, I had no shortage of ideas and I would throw them up there and then in a couple of months, if it didn't work, I was like, oh, this is just a bad idea. And everything works. Yes, right, 99% of anything I'm learning and I'm still at the early stages is just doing it for long enough and doing your best. I would love to give you a more detailed answer, but it's honestly grit.
Speaker 3:I think somebody said entrepreneurship is like getting punched in the stomach just over and over again. It's like I just need to take more punches, that's all it is right. And so I have plenty of people in my network right now who are very stressed and at the same stage as me and wondering like where is it? Where is it? Where is it? It's just like you're looking for the wrong thing. You're looking for the bonus, I'm looking for the punches. Yeah, so it's just a different mindset. It's not because they're less talented or we're thinking about it incorrectly that you can think about it any way you want. That's just the way I do.
Speaker 2:Yes, and I love that you say that too. When you think about it, kobe, is they're not less talented Is what is the grit, the determination, the commitment? Do they know their passion? Like? What's keeping you, as I say, when you get up in the morning? What's keeping you moving? Because getting up, you're there now. What do you do? What keeps you going and what keeps you driving? So, when you think about speaking to leaders across that are listening to us and paying attention to us, getting up as an entrepreneur, putting in honestly, 80 hours a week instead of going to get a 40-hour-a-week job, what's the value of being a successful leader in your organization that people are watching? I mean, you went into teaching, you did some other businesses. What's the value of you understanding where you are and being ready for what's coming?
Speaker 3:Man, that's a really good question. Unpacked is a very good name for this podcast. I tell you, with questions like this, I'll probably answer it just more holistically, in that somebody asked me the other day they're like who motivates you? Answer it just more holistically in that somebody asked me the other day they're like who motivates you? And if you don't know me, you'd probably be like, wow, what a tool with my response. But my response was me, if I was making no money, if I had no advantage to progressing aside from just helping people, I would do it. Everything I'm doing is regardless of the actual reward, aside from helping the most people.
Speaker 3:So what keeps me focused is and I'll give you just a really visceral illustration is, as I've built this business, which is only three months old, I've changed my offer four times. The reason for it wasn't because I was like, oh, this isn't working. That wasn't it. The reason I kept changing it was like this doesn't feel exactly right and I kept trying to have like these, you know, the Alex Hormozy offer, or like having this extra stuff, or complexity, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and I finally just stripped it all away and said what do I really like to do and what do I do? Well, I work really well with people one-on-one right. Every single person I've worked one-on-one with has gotten a result, and I was trying to pretend I shouldn't say pretend, but I was trying to be something I wasn't qualified enough to be yet. I wanted to have a community and I wanted to like have in-person events and all that sort of stuff Too complex, not my core skill right now and those things got in the way of me just helping people boots on the ground. And so if I have any regrets in my young business, it's that I wasn't focused enough on what I do and that may have impacted helping less people. But I'm also incredibly realistic in being like. That was a valuable lesson and part of the journey for me to understand why my current offer which I don't see changing for a long time is what it is. I had to go through this doesn't feel right. Iteration one. Iteration two this doesn't feel right. Iteration three this doesn't feel right. Iteration four wow, this is the first time this feels right. So it's like what keeps me focused is how can I help the most people? And sometimes, instead of saying I have this massive mass appeal thing, it's actually if I can help one person get outsized results. That's why I got out of the agency world. Outsized results that's why I got out of the agency world.
Speaker 3:I've had 1,100 clients plus in my career. I'd have probably another 1,000, 2,000 more if I did it for another 20, 30 years. I think at least this was my thinking at the time. I had to exit my agency because if I can help one agency owner, they have their own staff, they have their own clients. That is a trickle down effect and impact. I think that far outweighs me working one-on-one with a client on their marketing campaign. If I can help a marketing owner, they fundamentally change as a leader and that trickles down to all their environment and ecosystem and that's what I'm after. So of course it was a lot harder to find because that's to me a very powerful thing and you don't just stumble across powerful things. I'm diverting a little bit, but the focus is in help people in the best way possible or death.
Speaker 2:I mean you're covering it well and unpacking this. You know, for everybody that listens and watches, everybody that comes on. They talk real, it's really transparent. The questions are coming from all the stuff that you're saying and how you've navigated and the focus shifted and how you've matured over that time and what you've learned, because sometimes we call it a mistake and I just call it a valuable lesson learned.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there are no failures you didn't learn anything, then it's a mistake. But if you just pause briefly and what's the valuable lesson learned in everything that you may want to call a mistake, and that's for all of our listeners, our viewers you're going to take some risk and there are going to be things not go the way you want to, but what did you learn from it so you can re-navigate? How do you, as a leader, keep your vision solid so everybody that's watching don't get confused about what it is that you do? How do you be really clear on your vision?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I love that question, cause that was that's literally what I was trying to pursue for months and months and months. Right, like I was still at the agency up until three months ago and I kind of was like again leaning into what I think this could have been. It came to a point around where I was like the person who chases two rabbits catches neither. So I had to make that decision right, and so, yeah, the business itself is only three months old. The thought process behind it is a bit older, but in terms of like, how do I keep that clear? You're exactly. You nailed it right. That is actually my goal. That's what I think about all the time. I'm constantly like I sleep pretty well, but if I am up at night, it's like, how do I make this more simple? How do I make this more clear? All that sort of stuff, right, so's taken me a good seven, eight months of thinking of this as a possible business to be like what is the 10 second speech? Right, what is the thing took months and months. Trust me.
Speaker 3:It was just like painful, like I would cause I have a couple of mentors. It was like a running joke. Every two weeks I'd be like this is it, I think this is it, and then two weeks later I'd be like that freaking sucked. I think this one's it, you know what I mean. And it would just keep going. And so I'm saying I think I have it now, but two weeks from now, who knows?
Speaker 3:A mentor of mine says slow is smooth and smooth is fast, and also simplicity is the ultimate. So it was one of those things where I was like that's why my offer is so simple. It went from community with all these bolt-ons to one-on-one coaching for 16 weeks. Right, one promise, one guarantee, like all that sort of stuff. Instead of trying to maneuver around now, I can say it in like six seconds who I help, what I promise and what the guarantee is. I can say that all in like less than 10 seconds and I feel so good about that. But anyone who talks to me now, that's all they'll hear. They won't hear the eight months of just agonizing over it every day to try and get there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because it can be very confusing and distractions are happening as you talk about it. Yeah, I heard you mention a couple of times. You have mentors. You got people that you go to. How important has feedback been in your growth?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think I would add a caveat to that, because what do they provide? They provide a shorter time delay for whatever your idea is and your action to the actual response Right. So, like again, you know, I can tell just from the other side of this, this computer, that you're a very ambitious person. You have your own company, you do a lot of things, you're action-oriented. Yeah, yes, if you're only doing that in isolation, which is the population I serve. They're agency owners who have gotten to six figures. They are talented MFers for sure, right, yes, but my mission is not to convince them of a new system or to shove a new tool down their throat.
Speaker 3:My job and role is to shed light on hey, you are an A player, but you're operating at 20% when you're doing it alone. And as a business grows, you add complexity, and so then it seems like I have to do more. I have to do more, I have to do more. Complexity, right. And so then it seems like I have to do more. I have to do more, I have to do more.
Speaker 3:Doing more is not how to build a business. Doing better is how to build a business, right. And so I guess the importance of feedback and mentors. At worst it's a time-saving mechanism and at best it's accountability, like springboard to be. Oh my gosh, I can access all this other stuff because how easy is it for you and your role to solve everybody else's problem? How difficult is it for you to solve your own? Sometimes it's just that outside perspective that shortens the misery. To get to where you want to go Now, you still have to put in the work, but if you have an idea as a solo business owner, it could be months before you know if it worked or not.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 2:Yes, when you talk to us because I hear a lot of entrepreneurs they need to start a business for one or two reasons, or probably multiple reasons, but one that I know is they don't want to work for anybody. That's the first thing they say I don't want to work for anybody.
Speaker 1:Wrong reason.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they go on to be an entrepreneur. I say, yeah, you may want to do a little bit more research around that. Yeah, dedication and commitment it takes to be an entrepreneur. What do you say to those that are contemplating being an entrepreneur and the response is they're doing it for the money or they're doing it because they don't work for anyone.
Speaker 3:Don't do it. It's simple. A business, by nature, is a thing that solves a problem. So if the first problem you're solving is your own, you're in it for the wrong reason, straight up. You need to provide a solution to someone else's problem and you need to believe that it's a problem worth your time to solve. So if you're already out there saying my time's too valuable for me to work with somebody else who doesn't get me, the grass is never greener Get over yourself because you don't understand too. Sorry, I'm really direct, but, like you know, it's not about me.
Speaker 2:No, when you're in the business I say it all the time, I use the acronym and my audience knows this Q-tip it Quit taking it personal. This is a professional conversation, so oftentimes we do have to get over ourselves. We do got to get our egos and our pride and all those things out of the way so you can focus on what you're really there. So the most important thing I'll tell as I answer that question for people is he's absolutely right. It can't be about you. If you're trying to be an entrepreneur, if you make it about you, you're probably not going to be as successful as you can be. What's the requirement and who are you trying to help and how do you actually solve those problems? If it's just your problem, you can stay on a debut too and your problems can get solved.
Speaker 3:Well and that's the thing too is you just have to be really conscious of what you're doing, right? So you always have to give something up to get something. So if you're trying to get freedom by not working for somebody else, okay, congratulations. You are also giving up safety and adding a bunch of risk. Okay, like someone who has never started their own business, who's thinking about it, they're gonna listen to this and be like, yeah, yeah, whatever. Right, because that's who I was too.
Speaker 3:But it is abundantly clear once you get into the business that there are so many little things you never thought about you had to do, right? A business is not getting an LLC and making a couple of phone calls. That's not what it's about. You've got nobody to lean on. You have all of the risk. You realize that what you're stepping into is basically a shark tank.
Speaker 3:And that is exactly why I'm building the business I'm building, because when I get on sales calls, it is not by my thing. I'm qualifying them if they're good enough to work with me. So I don't make sales every day, I don't make sales every week. Even I have a very high ticket program. So it's fine and that's what I want to build my business around, but if I'm going to solve someone's problem, I am testing their metal and grit on the freaking phone call to know that they won't let me down, because what I do works. I know it works. So if you want to start your own business and you think it's some sort of freedom, pass. No, it's not. You're stepping into a ring to get punched in the stomach over and over and over again. The reward for doing it long enough is freedom.
Speaker 2:Yes, how do you keep the confidence? I mean because you've had some challenges, you've had to figure some things out, and when you don't win constantly you're not going to score all the time how do you help people? Or what have you done to keep the confidence? Because you show up, it's pretty confident, even though you don't have all the answers, even though you still got a ways to go and you got a lot to learn, as you said earlier, which I love because you're a constant learner. How do you stay confident when you really don't know what you're doing sometimes?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think, transparency. I would always tell my staff when I was managing at the agency. I would say I can't say one thing and mean another. You can say emotions on your sleeve and stuff. I'm a very logical person, which is hard to be right now because I have three young kids. There's no logic in my normal life ever, but I stay confident.
Speaker 3:I think probably the easiest answer is because I believe in what I'm doing and my entire life's motto, ron, has been I'm addicted to solutions, not feeling good. Entire life's motto, ron has been I'm addicted to solutions, not feeling good. Yeah, right, and so solutions are, even if this makes me feel uncomfortable, so long as it's ethical and it's the right thing to do, do it. When I left the agency, trust me, every bone in my body was like I don't want to start over again, but I did it because it wasn't up to me. It was can I reach my full potential here or do I have to do this thing to reach my full potential? And I didn't apply any emotion to it whatsoever. The answer was clear and it was like okay, then what else is there to discuss? Do it. So my confidence comes from an absolute iron belief in. I'm doing the right thing. That's my mission every day. Do the right thing and enjoying it is a bonus.
Speaker 2:I love it. The belief gives you the ability to have the confidence in what you're doing.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Is there anything that you want to share that I haven't asked any questions around that has really contributed to your level of success and belief and continue to get up every morning and show up and deliver?
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, I think what made me want to speak with you and be a guest here is the value of people. Right, like, as we're trending more and more into you know, people are putting entire businesses on selling chatbots and just like, do all this through AI and that's you should be leveraging AI. Like, if you want to survive, you got to stick with the times, but I am a firm believer that you get nowhere without people. If I wouldn't have invested in myself two years ago and gotten mentors, I would not be here.
Speaker 2:I love what you're saying For everyone that's listening. He's absolutely right. Technology is a tool. Don't let people become like a tool. Build those relationships, and the language I use around that, kobe, is I call it relationship equity. That's really what I say in corporate America. When I'm out in places I say it's just like your credit score. If your credit score is horrible, it costs you more to get money. It takes a lot longer and they're not as nice. Well, the same thing. If you and I don't have a healthy score with each other, it's going to take a lot longer for us to work together and get things done. It's going to cost us a lot more. So look at all your relationships and rate it. If you got a 750 or higher, I'll probably pick up the phone a lot sooner. I'll probably be a little bit faster responding. I'll probably be burn bridges. Please do not destroy relationships. Everything happens based on relationships. Everything for us.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I call it relationship equity. I like that. I call it emotional credit in the bank, so we just got a different way to say the same thing, right when it's like. That is why anyone I help, because I know we are basically at time. But that's the reason, the model I employ. Everybody wants a rocket ship agency. They want to grow and they want to build their team or build their lifestyle or whatever Guess what. Rocket ships are incredibly volatile and explode, so the model I'm about is a pyramid. Pyramids have been around for thousands of years. They'll be around for thousands more. And you build a pyramid at the foundation. That's you. And you build a pyramid at the foundation. That's you right.
Speaker 3:You scale yourself, because if you don't scale yourself, if you can't feel good, you won't do good, and everyone will kind of follow your example right. And so if you are not investing in yourself with mentors, the people you are leading won't think that that's valuable. If you aren't trying to get better every day, the people you're leading won't try and get better every day. We started at the top and we're ending with leading by example is cliche. It's freaking true.
Speaker 2:Yes, it is. People have to see you do what you want them to do. So a phrase I use for everybody is make sure your audio matches your video. If you say it, I want to see it.
Speaker 3:Heck, yeah, I love that. All right, can I steal that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, see it, heck. Yeah, I love that All right, can I steal that?
Speaker 3:That's really good.
Speaker 2:If you say it, you better let me see it, cause if I don't see it, I'm not believing it, and that's human behavior. That's why video is so popular. People want to see it. Anybody can come up and get a script and read it. Can you live it?
Speaker 3:Exactly, and I'm not trying to convince anybody, right? Like I had a sales call today and they want to take their time and that's great. It is not cheap, it is an investment, right? And so what I said is here's the deal Like, I'm a hell, yes, you need to be a hell, yes, okay. And so if you need a little bit of time for that, that's fine. But I am not here to convince you that this is it. I want you to know ahead of time.
Speaker 3:And so the people who say yes to everything, it's not a business thing If you're not where you want to be. It's not a business thing. It's a self-reflection. It's ask yourself tougher questions. And if you can't ask yourself tougher questions, go pay someone who will, because that is the like. What was it? I don't think it was Aristotle, maybe it was. He was like give me a wedge and a lever long enough and I'll move the world, or something like that. Like leverage are people who are further ahead than you, who actually believe in you and want you to succeed. So if you're buying a system, tool or hack, you get what you pay for. If you hire someone who actually has been where you want to be and is invested in you getting there too. That is the highest leverage lever you can ever pull, like ever.
Speaker 2:Yes, and listen to them once you hire them. Don't ignore that. And yeah, if you're going to hire them to ask you difficult questions, don't take it personal, q-tip it, but listen once they come up. Yeah, q-tip, it Don't take it personal. So how do we get in touch with you? I mean so, when you're thinking about the work that you're doing, you're also, you know, running a podcast and you're leveraging a business. What's the best way for our audience to be able to reach you at any given time if they want to contact you?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I will say something I'm really dedicated to is giving as much value on the front end before you ever talk to me. So if you want like long form value, I am working on YouTube, more specifically getting that video right, like showing what I've learned. So it's just my name, colby Wechter. If you search that, I'm pretty sure there are no other Colby Wechters on earth. So a Google search of Colby Wechter will find my stuff. If you are an agency owner and you're just stuck at six figures and doing everything alone, then check out autonomyagencycom. That's where you'll find the actual program itself. And, like I said, I'm very, very stringent and rigid on who I work with. So, yeah, you got to apply, but I would encourage you to do so if you think you fit the brief.
Speaker 2:So yes, yes, love it. I mean great information. Love it I mean down to earth, unpacking a lot with you. So, colby, you've done a phenomenal job. For those that are listening, you know, go out and look up Kobe W-E-G-T-E-R. If you want to know how to look him up, find him out there on YouTube. He has content out there for you, but reach out to him.
Speaker 2:We'd love to be able to support you and help you. Here's what I do know is that all of us can afford an opportunity to help someone else, and that's what the show is really about. So hopefully we share something that helped you understand something, get clarity or realize who do you need in your circle to help you be what you're trying to be. All of us can work together, so there's enough for everybody to work together and support each other. So I'm happy that you came on and, for those that are listening, we release a podcast every single Monday. There's a different person from around the globe with all different backgrounds. Hopefully we'll continue to add value to you. Hopefully you'll continue to join the show, but until next time, colby and I are going to sign off and tell you to have a wonderful day. We appreciate you joining us. You can always find me on Global Core, or you can find me on LinkedIn. Either one is OK. It'll send you straight to our website. Thank you all for joining us, and Colby and I are signing off at this time.
Speaker 1:We hope you enjoyed this edition of Turning Point Leadership with your host, Ron Harvey. We're so glad you joined us. Remember to join us every first and third Mondays and expect to receive real answers for real leadership challenges. Until next time, make a difference where you are and with what you have. There are those who are counting on you for effective leadership.
