Many years ago, I introduced a new format that alongside our regular episodes called “Lessons for Hannah.”

Hannah is my daughter and one of the main inspirations for the Misfit Entrepreneur. I wanted to have a place where she could go and learn from her daddy and his Misfit friends throughout her life…. even after I am gone. If you haven’t listened to the first episode of Lessons for Hannah, I urge you to as it gives some more background and tells the amazing story of how Hannah came to be in our lives.

Lessons for Hannah are short, very useful, and sometimes comical lessons, that I want to share with you and give to Hannah to help in your lives. Because I want Hannah to have these for her life, I’m going to speak as though I am talking directly to her. These episodes are a lot of fun and if you think there is a lesson that we should include in these episodes, please don’t hesitate to send it over to us at support@misfitentrepreneur.com. We’d love to share it.

This Week's Lesson for Hannah

Hannah, I am excited to speak to you about one of my favorite topics, mental toughness. There are many takes on this subject and tons of books written on it. It seems there is a new book out on the subject every week. And I can understand why, achieving true mental toughness is personal to each person. How you find yours will be personal to you. I can only speak from my experience and how I have achieved my levels of mental toughness in my life – and I hope it inspires you to level up in yours.

First, what does it mean to be mentally tough? To me it is the ability to respond rather than react to hard circumstances in our lives. Notice I said respond. Most people react emotionally and let fear drive them when hard times come. They cede control of thought to the basic animal side of humanity and react in ways that are typically detrimental to themselves and their potential.

Being mentally tough is being prepared for the hard times because they will inevitably come, and then having the fortitude to say no to the emotional reaction and instead think logically and work through the challenge to reach the best outcome. Being mentally tough is keeping perspective as hard times come, and they go, and life goes on. You must never lose faith in yourself, but you must see reality for what it is.

To be mentally tough is to be able to endure and outlast. One of my favorite movie trilogies is the Batman Trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan. I like it for a lot of reasons. The series is a great set of lessons on good, evil, how fragile societies can be and of course, mental toughness. In one scene in the Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne and Alfred are talking about how in order to stop the Joker, he will have to turn himself in as the Joker has demanded it in order to stop his anarchy and crime spree. This was a moment of mental weakness for Bruce Wayne as he knew deep down that turning himself in would not stop the Joker and Batman was the only way. He asks Alfred what he should do, and Alfred says, “Endure, Master Wayne. Take it. They'll hate you for it, but that's the point of Batman, he can be the outcast. He can make the choice that no one else can make, the right choice.”

I’ve learned that mental toughness is making the right choice even when it is the hardest choice, even when it may bring pain. It is making the right choice knowing others may not understand why at the time or be angry at you for it. It is enduring through all the things, including your own thoughts, that tell you to stop or quit, or give in because you know what is on the other side. You know the ultimate prize is waiting.

I have found my mental toughness through sports and entrepreneurship. I played football from grade school through college and then after college started endurance racing and ultimately Ironman. Sports provide one of the ultimate battle fields for mental toughness. You will go through highs and lows. You will stretch yourself physically and mentally. You will experience fatigue, not just from the work you must do to compete, but also in the form of doing something for a long period of time. I played football for almost 15 years and there were times where I just got tired of it – after all, I had been doing it for so long.

But something I realized is that I spent all this time getting to where I could be my best at the sport and to quit would be to waste all of that hard work and effort. It is the same with Ironman racing. There are a lot of days where my training plan calls for me to train for 5, 6, 7, hours or more. This means, I need to be starting at 4 or 5am in the morning to get everything in alongside all the other things I do and commitments to our family. I would be lying if I didn’t state that there are days where I get up and just am not feeling it and don’t want to do it. I question why I am even doing it – after all I don’t have to…it is an elective sport for me at this point in my life. Those are all emotional reactions, and I have learned to respond logically. It is in these moments that I think of all the benefits of what I am doing and move forward. For example, I have done all the work to get into the best shape physically and mentally of my life and the training is the practice to keep it. After all, it is a lot easier to stay in shape than to get in shape. I also know that it helps me in my health and my ability to be able to do all the things I do with you and your mom. I also know that it helps me as an entrepreneur and in my life as it keeps me disciplined. It keeps me in a good routine and structure. Lastly, I am being rewarded for the work as I am now Top 10% for my age in the world in the sport. And I also know that I have not reached my full potential yet. So, this keeps me going.

Entrepreneurship is similar to sports in that you have to take a long-term view and have the endurance to keep going through the challenges that present themselves on almost a daily basis. I have learned that the more problems you can handle and the bigger ones that you can handle, the larger your business can grow. And this capability allows you to develop others and help them reach their potential, because you can show them through your experience that they are capable of so much more. And ultimately, as an entrepreneur, you want to develop your systems and people so that the business can continue to grow and thrive without you having to be there for it to do so. The only way you can get there is by being mentally tough and sticking it out until it happens.

Hannah, developing your mental toughness and learning to respond rather than react when challenges and hard times come is a lifelong journey. It is worth it. It is worth to push and stretch yourself. It is worth to live into your true potential and capabilities. It is worth it to endure and develop the fortitude needed to see things through. I’ll leave you with a secret and probably the most important advice I will give you on this topic. You don’t have to do it alone. In fact, you are not alone. While you can rely on others, like your mom and I, to help in tough times, there is something else that is always there for you and by your side and that is God. Knowing God and Jesus are walking with you on your journey will keep you going. In fact, one of the most important phrases I use late in Ironman races after swimming over 2 miles, biking over a hundred, and getting deep into my marathon is “God is with me.” When I am feeling like my muscles don’t want to move any more or that I am too tired physically and mentally to go on, I just say that to myself, “God is with me. God will help me finish.”

And it is in these moments that I truly understand what it means to be mentally tough and keep going, because that is what Jesus did for us. He endured more than any human being every could to sacrifice himself and take on the burdens of this world, and knowing this, knowing I have him by my side means I can see anything through. He is the greatest example of mental toughness there is. Hannah, develop your mental toughness and you will be amazed at how you can see anything through.

I love you,

Dad

Best Quote: Being mentally tough is being prepared for the hard times because they will inevitably come, and then having the fortitude to say no to the emotional reaction and instead think logically and work through the challenge to reach the best outcome.

Misfit 3

1. What does it mean to be mentally tough? To me it is the ability to respond rather than react to hard circumstances in our lives. To be mentally tough is to be able to endure and outlast.
2. I’ve learned that mental toughness is making the right choice even when it is the hardest choice, even when it may bring pain.
3. Knowing God and Jesus are walking with you on your journey will keep you going. Jesus is the greatest example of mental toughness there is.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Alex Weber. Alex is a former American Ninja Warrior, Award-Winning Entertainer for NBC, and international keynote speaker on leadership and peak performance. If that is not enough, he’s also a world record holder and best-selling author of Fail Proof, Become the Unstoppable You.

Alex has proven that you can learn to consistently operate in a peak state and accomplish more than anyone thinks is possible. So, I’ve asked him on the show to teach you how to do it in your life and business.

www.ImAlexWeber.com

Alex was a bullied, insecure, awkward kid until a leader came into his life. It was a high school lacrosse coach. He told Alex he could be good at the sport. This small vote of confidence spurred Alex to work as hard as he could and commit to it. The more he poured himself into it, the more he grew. He gained, friends, confidence, respect, etc. Alex learned that when find an outlet to be successful, it can make all the difference in your life. He went on to play in college and started every game as a freshman, but then got benched every game as a sophomore. This affected him negatively – so he worked hard and came back and was a player his junior and senior year, but he never forgot the way he felt and was affected when he was sidelined. His path was like many other at U of Penn – get a business degree and go to Wall Street. It wasn’t the path for him, but he followed the path “he was supposed to go down.” On evening, he was sitting around with friends talking and he asked the question, “What do you want for your moments on earth? He wrote down his answer. The next morning, he read what he wrote and started doing action and theatre. He did it quietly, but new it was right for him.

“People don’t see it until they see it.” Once those around him, saw him have success and be in commercials, etc. they can around and understood his path was to go that way.

He moved to Los Angeles for his career and start acting and doing comedy. In fact, he’s done stand up for many years.

During this time, he was also coaching Lacrosse for a prestigious High School. Right before the season started, the head coach quit and he was names interim head coach, so he gave it everything he had. He fell in love with it. The team had never won a playoff game and in that year, they won the LA championship and Alex was named Lacrosse coach of the year.

You have to notice when it is time for new chapters in your life. You have to move to next chapter with courage and grace. He wanted to fulfill his acting career and ended up getting hired as a host of American Ninja Warrior. Part of his job was also trying everything on the show, and he failed at it. But, after the end of the first season, his bosses said that he was crushing it at failing, but as a former athlete, he could be really good.

They gave him the opportunity to be an athlete again. He ended up winning an award for hosting, but also pursued being a contestant on the show. He also pursued his speaking career by blending his experience as a host, pro-athlete, coach, and comedian.

Define unstoppable…

• It’s not that you will live a life without challenge or fear.
• It is knowing you want something and are committed to it.
• No matter what comes at you, you are not going to stop.
• It is being relentless.
• If you are unstoppable, you will get to your goal.

What does it mean to get into a peak performance state and stay there?

• If you want it, you will make it happen.
• If you are clear on your powerful, visceral why – the thing that makes your heartbeat faster, it will ripple through your life.
• Fight for the best version of yourself.
• You decide to get in the jungle, so you must see it to them.
• Peak performance is a building process.
• Preparation is one of the biggest things. Be around the best you can. (Athletes, entrepreneurs, etc.)
• Being around people that are more successful or experienced than you will elevate your capability and possibility.
• Once it is time to perform – you need to “get in your body.” Get the blood going. Visualize your success.
• Focus on the immediate actions that will affect your success.
• Things are won or lost in the moment by who we are and our commitment. Choose to believe in yourself.

What is it that holds most people back?

• Good is the enemy of great. Good is a trap. Strive to be great.
• We are quick to dismiss wanting to be and do more. Our minds hold us back.
• Don’t let negative thinking validate fear.
• You are capable of doing anything you really want. It is a choice, a commitment to see it through, and believe that it is possible.

What is the “Fail Proof system?”

• 6 steps
• Step 1: Identity goals that matter to you.
• Step 2: Make it real. Get it from idea to reality.
• Step 3: Dive in the deep end. It’s big bold action. This leads to initial progress.
• Step 4-6: The Chain Reaction. The progress feeds on itself and it becomes snowball effect.
• Step 4 - you will have adversity and your emotional reactions and how fast you overcome to get back to what matters is most important. Respond, don’t react to emotion.
• Step 5 is the “golden nugget” – find one thing that you can do better.
• Step 6 is staying committed, full effort and full belief. Implement your golden nuggets.

How do people foster the ability to respond instead of reacting to emotion?

• Reacting is weakness.
• It is short-sighted.
• You can feel the emotion, but if you let it control you, it is your weakness.
• Feel it, but channel it in a way that is productive.

What are some of the best ways to translate the lessons you teach to entrepreneurship?

• You must find your crew. People you admire to have around and fuel each other.
• Get a small group committed to each other’s success and hold each other accountable.
• Don’t go it alone. Your best may not be able to be attained alone. Many times, our best is summoned when others need us and we have to level up to help them. ​

What have you learned from doing standup comedy that has helped you as an entrepreneur?

• He was scared to do it. And had to dive into the deep end. Just like you have to do as an entrepreneur.
• It has taught him how to feel a crowd and know if he is engaging or not – or hitting the market.
• It has brought a new level of awareness.

Best Quote: What do you want for your moments on earth?

Alex's Misfit 3:

Zoom out. You are a living creature on a planet. What do you want for your moments on earth?

1. Purpose is the meaning of life. Purpose can be anything as long as it is meaningful to you. Find your purpose and see if it can be with people.
2. Be open to the gifts. Do not have blinders on so much that you miss the gifts on the journey.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Mike Moll. Simply put, Mike is a marketing expert with a special focus on helping entrepreneurs build systems that create time freedom. He built a fully remote company in 2013 and then has replicated that in helping hundreds of other companies charge what they are worth and free up the entrepreneur in their business.

Through his company, MarketMe, he’s worked with everyone from Trends to AppSumo and regularly speaks on how to build effective and successful marketing systems. I’ve asked him to come on and share his best strategies and advice on how to create better marketing systems in your business.

@TheMikeMoll on Instagram

Mike was not a great student. He felt that everything he was doing was wrong and questioned if he was smart or not. He started making money early in life, working 25 hours a week even in high school. He went to college, and it didn’t last. He was on academic probation within a year and ultimately left. He did a bunch of odd jobs in things likes breakdancing, Bingo caller, and then did some sales roles. He felt he needed to grow up and get a real job, so he got into insurance and did it for 6 years.

In his 6th year, he had a complete nervous breakdown. He was doing well financial, had a company car, etc., but he was not happy. He knew things had to change. His family and life at the time told him he had to find something else. Two weeks later he left and was unemployed with no plan. He started a software company out of his house and as he says, “That caught him up on everything he had not learned and needed to learn about life and business.” He pivoted a year in and turned it into a marketing agency. That is where found his calling and groove to doing what he is today.

What is your business today?

• When he first started, he was selling advertising and google ads for clients.
• Now, he does lead generation for service companies through Facebook, google, and other mediums.
• He also coaches marketers “helping Mike from 7 years ago.”
• The agency has a team in place the operates without him having to be there.
• The coaching side is where Mike spends his individual time.

What is the most important piece of a good marketing strategy?

• A very clear vision of who you work with and what you do for them.
• People buy when the feel understood – not when the understand you. Narrow things down and speak to people.
• I help “X” group of people” achieve “Y” by doing “Z”
• Really defining that and understand the specific person you are selling to is the focus.
• If you don’t know how to speak to the needs and challenges of your customer, you cannot succeed.

What is the best way refine and state how you help clients?

• The key is to not be afraid and not there is a big enough market for just about everything.
• Getting a certain type of business in front of a local audience. A service in a specific town or city is easier than national.
• Niching is the best place to go to work and help clients – you’ll be surprised at how much business there is for you.

Any other elements of a great marketing strategy?

• Where people go wrong is to go bigger and flashier than they need to be and try to be everywhere all at once.
• Find that one channel first to focus on. One market channel should bring you 80% of your customers.
• You can’t be good at everything.
• Unless you have the budget to hire expertise in all areas, it is a waste of your time and money.
• You will have to determine what works for you.
• Use Google Tag manager on your website.
• Great solution called CallRail that dynamically adapts to the lead by source.

What should we know about Google Ads?

• They are not for everyone.
• 70% of businesses are a good fit, about 30% are not.
• Many times, what people search to find you are not what you think.
• Google Ads work well for service, Ecom businesses, etc.
• Google makes it seem like they are very friendly, but their “easy to use” system wastes a lot of money for clients.
• Do not use the default “google AdWords express.” You want to use “Expert Mode.”
• When you put your keywords in, you need to take control and make sure that specifics need to be in the search for your ad to show up.

At the 26 min mark, Mike answers the question, How do you generate high converting leads with one single message?

• You should have an individual sales or landing page for everything you offer. It should never go to a website.
• Be focused and obvious about you being the solution to their problem on a specific page.
• Then you have to think about what that person needs to do to get the finish line with you.
• Make sure they are in the right place with the “who and do what statement.”
• You need to show you know what you are doing with social proof like testimonials.
• Then you reinforce they are in the right place by confirming what they care about.
• Then a call to action. On that page there should be nothing else, but the way to move forward.

How does someone automate things to free themselves up in the business?

• You cannot do this until you’ve nailed the product and pricing in the business.
• Your product must be positioned and priced the right way to turn it into a business.
• Once you’ve got things right, you can hire or outsource for what is needed.
• You then need to build out your systems and processes for people to follow.
• Make a list of every step that needs to be done in every area of your business and then explain it in a way that someone who has no knowledge can understand.
• Put the processes into a slide deck and record a video of how to do the process.

Best Quote: If you don’t know how to speak to the needs and challenges of your customer, you cannot succeed.

Mike's Misfit 3:

1. Start building relationships with people who are at your next level by giving away your time and expertise for free.
2. Take action now. No one is going to do it for you. You have to move you forward.
3. Expect to fail and learn to enjoy it. You cannot build anything without failing.

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Michael Juergens. Mike is a very interesting guy and a modern-day renaissance man. He runs the winery solutions practice for a Big Four firm. He founded the wine industry in the Kingdom of Bhutan. He owns the award-winning So-Cal Rum company that boasts the highest rated silver rum of all time. He runs the Drinking and Knowing Things newsletter and is the author of the best-selling book with the same name. And if that is not enough, he is an adventure race addict and candidate to become the 58th American to qualify as a Master of Wine. Oh, and he’s also a professor at the University of California Irvine.

Mike’s motto is “do epic stuff with awesome people,” And on this show, we have epic conversations with awesome people. So, I’ve asked Mike to come on today to share how he’s done all he’s done and what he’s learned along the way.

www.DrinkingandKnowingThings.com

Mike got to where he through interesting experiences that he was not afraid to lean into. As he says, the universe is constantly presenting us with opportunities and we are often too caught up in our day to day to realize or, even if we do, we don’t lean in on it. So, Mike decided to lean in on everything that seems cool and that has lead him to where he is.

Explain more about we should and can lean into the opportunities in our lives…

• If you are going Kayaking in a whitewater rapid, the rapid is going to take you to the bottom.
• The goal is the make it to the bottom and have the best time without having any major issues.
• If you can nudge yourself into the middles, the fast part, and not try to control it, but let it take you, it will get you to the bottom.
• The analogy applies to the universe as if you try to fight the universe, you don’t get anywhere and get beat up, but if you get into the flow of the universe, you will go places you don’t expect – but they are the right places for you to be.
• Mike gives a few examples at the 6:30 mark.

With all that you do, you still choose to work and have a job. Why still do that when you have all your businesses?

• Mike loves what he does, and his job is to travel around and hang out at wineries and help them.
• He was doing that as a hobby before starting the vertical at the firm.
• He gets paid to do his passion.
• He’s built a business within a business.

Talk about how you created your role…

• The corporate culture allows for it.
• He has started 6 different practices during his career at the firm.
• It has been having a good idea and the sponsors for it, communicating it well to get support and momentum – and then having the guts to do it and take the risk.
• It also easier to do when you have already done it and shown success which he has done.

How do you keep up with everything? How do you schedule your life?

• He was a single dad for many years and had to be very structured around their schedule.
• He would get up at 3am every day.
• As the kids got older and did not need him for so much, it freed up a lot of time as he stayed on the same schedule.
• Don’t attend non-essential meetings.
• Delegate and let go where needed.
• And he truly wants to live the life he has and does what is needed to do so.

How did you create the wine industry in the Kingdom of Bhutan?

• Mike has been adventure racing in all kinds of different places and his girlfriend had read a book that took place in Bhutan.
• She always wanted to go there.
• He got an email about doing a marathon in Bhutan and applied.
• He surprised his girlfriend but was confused and thought it was an island in the tropics, and she explained it was in the Himalayas.
• Bhutan is self-sustaining and has incredible crops/soil.
• Everywhere he went, he asked about wineries, and no one knew what he was talking about.
• He met some people from the government, and they told him they did not have wineries.
• He told them they were screwing up, went home and wrote a white paper about it and sent it to them.
• They asked him to help build the industry.

What did you have to do to get started?

• He helped them understand the possibilities.
• He wrote a 10-year business plan to follow.
• It is literally building from scratch.
• Mike paid for phase 1 and then got a series A round for phase 2.
• He personally planted the first vine, a merlot.
• Pre-covid, he went every quarter and there is a team of 100 people there.

Lessons learned?

• They don’t know what grape will ultimately work best, so they have adopted a philosophy of failure to see which grapes are going to work.
• It takes 3-5 years to figure this out.
• It’s a core strategy for them to try a bunch of different things and see which ones work which is different than a typical business strategy.
• You have to be careful not too be wide and broad, but not too narrow at the same time.
• Building the industry is the most risk he’s take in business.

At the 29 min mark, Mike talks about how he got into the rum business…

• One of his best friends and his son are big rum guys.
• One day, they were all sitting around having drinks and his friend said, “we should start a distillery!”
• Mike said, “what if?” What if we could create a competitor to Bacardi silver rum and focused on that category – and just did it better.
• They didn’t know anything about how to do it, but started talking to people who did.
• They found out that they could be better and it would not cost much, so they did it and had it made. And it won.
• They outsourced the making and bottling of the rum.

You’ve spent 25 years traveling the world meeting people, what are the most important things you’ve learned about life and business?

• It’s all about people and relationships.

Advice for people that aren’t living the life they are capable of?

• Get outside your comfort zone. The people least like you are the ones you need to meet and learn from the most.

What does it mean to optimize the runner’s mindset?

• Recognize that you are capable of much more than you believe.
• We place limitations on ourselves.
• 40% rule. When you body is telling you that you are done – you have 60% still left.
• Acknowledge that you are capable of more because you are.

We have a great conversation on racing and breaking through mental limitations…

Drinking and knowing things – what should they know about wine?

• There is a wine for everyone.
• Just explore and be willing to try them
• Drinking and Knowing Things book Vol 1 and 2 - check it out. ​

What’s your favorite wine?

• Burgundy, Pino nior from France

Best Quote: Get outside your comfort zone. The people least like you are the ones you need to meet and learn from the most.

Mike's Misfit 3:

1. Do epic stuff with cool people. Don’t leave anything on the table.
2. Don’t fight the universe.
3. Ask “What if?”

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This week’s Misfit Entrepreneur is Stephen Flood. Stephen is the founder and CEO of Goldcore, one of the oldest gold and silver dealers in the market today. The firm is responsible for over $1 billion in transactions and manages $300 million in assets for their clients.

Stephen has an incredible story. After graduating college in Ireland, he left for New York with just a few hundred dollars in his pocket and made his way into finance, eventually working with Goldman Sachs as a Trader in Equity Derivatives. After having a lot of success, he followed his entrepreneurial spirit back to Ireland starting Goldcore in 2003. The company has been featured on just about every financial medium there is from CNBC to Bloomberg.

But, what I love most about Stephen is that he’s an entrepreneur at his core and I’ve asked him to come on and share the wisdom he’s learned on his way to becoming a billion dollar CEO as well as his unique take on investing.

www.GoldCore.com

www.GoldintheUSA.com(Free Report on Gold Investing)

Stephen’s father died when he was 11. He learned early on how to take care of himself. And after going to college he knew he needed to follow his instincts and decided to go to New York where he go into finance. He loved his time in New York, but was always fascinated with technology and finance together. This helped in New York, but it also helped in finding creative solutions like he and his team have done at Goldcore.

Everywhere Stephen has gone, he’s been a disruptor and is driven by creating efficiencies.

What made you leave Wall Street to start Goldcore?

• It wasn’t in the plan.
• He had been there 7 years and planned to stay.
• He originally had planned to start his own firm.
• Then 9/11 happened. He was newly married and had an opportunity to exit Goldman and decided to travel the world with his wife.
• He witnessed 9/11 firsthand and was ready to move. After about a year, he found himself back in Ireland and joined an old friend to start Goldcore.

What should people know about investing in gold and silver?

• Put 10% of your money into gold and hope it does not work!
• Gold is a risk off solution.
• It gains or holds when things get rough in the markets.
• It provides stability and financial insurance.
• It calms the mind of the investor so you have the insurance and can take advantage of the opportunity of a down market.

Inflation is at 40-year highs, why hasn’t made very large moves higher?

• At the 14 min mark, Stephen talks about the financial experiment of Quantitive Easing and money printing.
• Stephen talks about the gold price seeing intervention by larger institutions.
• The Cantillon Effect: You can print money and things look good initially, but eventually, it catches up with you and the money loses purchasing power and people start to dump it as they do not believe in it.
• Hard assets will appreciate in value.

At the 18 min mark, Steven and I have a deeper discussion about central banking and about the monetary system in general.

Explain how gold gives personal sovereignty…

• Having gold stored in a private storage facility is the closest thing you can have to personal sovereignty.
• It’s like having your car parked in a garage that is storing it for you.
• It gives you an asset that you can access at any time.

Thoughts on cryptocurrency?

• Blockchain is a revolutionary technology.
• It is huge leap forward.
• Bitcoin is not a really a currency and should not be treated like one.
• Money is power and the central banks will not allow Bitcoin to take that power – they will create their own and replace it.

What are the key elements needed to succeed as an entrepreneur?

• Many entrepreneurs chase the exit and money, but it doesn’t usually happen.
• If you can become the domain expert in your area, your chosen field.
• If you do that, you will do well successfully and monetarily.
• You must become the expert first and then the money will follow.
• You need to be truthful to yourself, your employees, and partners.
• Your team is critical and cannot be taken for granted. Show then a high degree of respect.
• “It is better to find right, than to be right.”
• Never stop learning…nothing is sacred.

Biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

• When they first started, gold was about $300/oz, and no one really cared about it.
• Then as the financial crisis came in and gold went down.
• At the time, the business was very transactional based and gold buying slowed down and their business slowed down for quite some time – they had an 80% drop in transactions.
• They learned the most on the way down.
• They also found a niche in storage which added stability.

What is the benefit of storing things offsite vs. a safe at home?

• It is a client preference.
• For larger orders, it is easier.
• The benefits are that if you sell it very quickly vs. having it at home where you have to ship it in, etc.
• Storage is also insured by Lloyds of London.
• There is a chain of integrity for storage, so validation is automatic.
• If you take possession, it needs to be re-validated.

www.GoldintheUSA.com for some good basics on gold. ​

Main principles that you have used in building your business that have really stood out?

• Being honest and truthful.
• Humility is very important.
• Own it and take personal responsibility.

Where do you see the economy going over the next year?

• Big bold call – there is going to be an event that had a major impact on the markets and economy.
• Commercial real estate is a place to watch.
• The FED is in an impossible situation and cannot raise rates meaningfully.
• There is desperation for yield and returns and it is a bubble.

Best Quote: It is better to find right, than to be right. Stephen's

Misfit 3:

1. Take personal responsibility and own every outcome.
2. Look after your mind, body, and soul.
3. Be truthful to yourself and those around you.

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