938: It's WHEN, not IF (especially with the spirit of a hustler!) w/ Rudy Mage

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Hey, what is up?

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Welcome to this episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

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As always, I'm your host, brian LoFermento, and I'll tell you what this is a very special episode because, as all of you know, I love having family on the show and in almost a thousand episodes you've heard by my family, by blood.

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My sister has been on the show a few times.

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My niece and nephew have even made a few cameo appearances cameo appearances.

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I've had friends by choice, such as Nat Harward, one of my best friends in the world on the air, and today we're joined by my cousin, my distant cousin by marriage.

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This is someone who's come into our family and I've been so excited to have another entrepreneur in the family.

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So let me tell you just a little bit about Rudy, who's joining us in today's episode.

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So Rudy Mage came into the family and I thought to myself gosh, this is someone who's so creative in so many ways, who's a hustler by definition in so many ways.

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We're going to relate to that aspect of his entrepreneurial journey and this is someone who is incredibly talented artistically, business-wise, just growth mindset-wise.

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There's so much good stuff that we're going to get into today, so I'm not going to say anything else, let's dive straight into my interview with Rudy Mage.

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So I'm not gonna say anything else.

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Let's dive straight into my interview with Rudy mage.

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All right, rudy dude it is so good to have you here on the air, it's true.

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Well, I can actually tell you the day that I started to think about this episode, and that was Monique's wedding.

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Yeah, I remember it's the first time I met you in person walking up to you.

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I said Rudy, another entrepreneur, the heart of a hustler.

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That's awesome.

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Walk us through your story.

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I mean, where do I start?

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You know it's it's.

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It's been a long journey, been doing this for a really long time as far as like the printing part of it.

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I started my printing company a couple years out of college.

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So we do do screen printing, sublimation, clothing line production.

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So that's been my core business since I went into entrepreneurship Because I went to school for computer animation.

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But my last semester I was like I never want to do this again in my life.

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I literally went up to all my teachers I'm like I never want to do this again.

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Give me the bare minimum that I need to graduate.

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And then from there, my buddy Jose, who's now my business partner.

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He introduced me to putting my drawings on t-shirts.

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So I started off like that, as far as just you know, heat pressing my designs on t-shirts.

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And then from there I realized you know what everyone wants their own brand.

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Let me start a printing company.

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So that's what I did.

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I started a printing company to cater to all these people who wanted to start their brands and that's where Ink Pro, you know, was developed.

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Yeah, it's interesting to me thinking about Ink Pro and all the cool work that you do and shout out I mean, any listeners.

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If you're ever in the Miami area, they're gonna find you've got a legit shop.

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There's so much equipment, so much that you've built along the way.

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But what I really think is you're in retail locations now.

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You obviously have your clothing line, chimu, which, pumping out some really cool shorts, thank you, with a throwback to your Peruvian heritage, I think it's so cool how you and that's really the word that I want to launch from is weaving all of these different things in.

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You're talented in a lot of ways, rudy.

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Thank you I appreciate that, having seen your artwork people can see it throughout the streets of Miami the stuff that you've done in the city.

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Thinking of all of that, with someone who has so many different talents, how do you shoebox yourself in?

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Because a lot of us entrepreneurs we don't want to be shoeboxed.

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How do you view all these different things weaving together so?

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one thing that I learned, kind of way through the midpoint is you can't do a million things at once.

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Like you, you, you like let's say I'm going to use an example, as, as friends that I know that are pursuing music career, you can't be a rapper, a producer, an engineer, all that Because what you're doing is you're pushing, little by little, every one of those things.

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So grab the one that you think is the best, take that all the way to the top and then come back and get the rest.

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So like, for example, me, I had Inked Pro, I had Rudy Mage the artist, I had Rated Art, the venue, I had a watch sign it was just something's got to hit and I was trying to do all of them at once.

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So what I did is I'm like, let me focus on Inked Pro, let me take Inked Pro to the top, to where it's, you know, easily operated, I can just manage it.

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I have my team, have a great team.

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They, they help me with everything.

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So I overlooking pro.

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Now, once I get in pro to where I needed to be, I can come back and do I want to build Rudy mage up as an artist?

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I tried that, so I want to you know, do the the watches?

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I tried that, so now it's.

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I'm doing the shorts yeah, but it begs the question.

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I think I have the coolest job in the world cooler than yours because I just get to think like the entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs listening all over the world yeah, and I imagine a lot of them will hear all these different projects you're involved in and think well, rudy, you took a lot of swings at bat, you tried this, you tried that yeah, yeah something's gotta give.

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Where is it?

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Along the way, you talk about getting Inked Pro to a certain level.

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Now, obviously, you're all in on Chimu.

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You're hustling throughout the state of Florida and beyond.

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When's that decision point that you say, okay, let's add on, let's expand, but also build upon what's already working?

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I guess when you're able to fund it yourself.

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You know what I mean.

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So, like Shimu, a new brand.

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For you to build up A new brand, it takes capital.

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You know what I mean.

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All these trade shows Are expensive.

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So normally what people would do In this scenario Is they would sell off Part of their businesses To, you know, anyone that wants to invest.

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I don't want to do that.

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So Before I wasn't able to afford to go do a trade show for five thousand dollars or whatever it is, now it's like, okay, these are the.

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I already have the blueprint.

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All these years of experience, I have the blueprint.

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I've I've failed enough times to now know that, hey, this is what you have to do to win.

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Yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's not.

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If it's, when it's just a matter of hard work, that's it yeah, really, I'll tell you what it's fun for me to know you personally for this interview, because you probably didn't think I'd bring this up, but there's one quote that always makes me think of you what.

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Scared money don't make money.

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Talk to me about why that is so central to your philosophy.

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Because my mentality is like you have to be, you have to be willing to risk.

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The risk factor has to be very high on your end as an entrepreneur if you ever want to succeed, because you know sometimes you have to bet on yourself.

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And if you're willing to bet on yourself, then whether you win or lose, it was either, uh, you know a lesson or you succeeded at it.

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Any like anything else, hard work always pays off.

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It's not a matter of if.

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It's a matter of when.

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It might take two, three years, it might take 10, 15, like it did to me.

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So if you can bet on yourself, you're already winning.

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Yeah.

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I want to hear your perspectives on this then, because that sort of hustler's mentality I think about it so much.

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I mean, you obviously know my family very well as well.

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Immigrant background, obviously, obviously.

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My mom's side of the family came from Albania.

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Your family comes from Peru yeah obviously have that immigrant mentality.

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How much is that factored into it?

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Because I'll interject this into the conversation so much.

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When I look at you know, my quote-unquote American friends, the ones who grew up here, who come from families that have long lineages here, it almost feels like we started from zero, whereas they had a leg up.

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I view that as our advantage.

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It definitely factored into the way that we operate and see the world.

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I'd love to hear your perspective on that.

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No, I mean, I agree, I mean my mom, my family, moved over here in 88.

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I was about nine years old.

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We came here legally, know, so, like, as far as you know, the American dream, like we, that's, that's what I am, you know.

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I mean I'm legitimately, word by word, the American dream.

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We came in here.

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I went through every single heartache, difficulty that you can think of, you know, to a point where I was gonna get deported back to my country, but then I'd be, I was pardoned by the united states of america and, um, I did something with myself.

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You know, against all odds, literally, I'm not supposed to be here.

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Yeah, you know, so it's.

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It's something that that I hold dear to me, because when people like ask you those questions, it's like fuck, I did it.

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Like why can't anybody else do it?

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I didn't, I didn't do anything that, I just worked hard yeah, straight up, that's it.

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Let's talk about that, then, because something that's always stood out to me about you.

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You probably don't even remember this story.

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The first time I met you at Monique's wedding, when you and I were talking and you told me what you did, I thought to myself well, I host a business podcast and I talk to entrepreneurs every single day of the week.

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A lot of them probably need apparel.

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Let me send them your way.

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Do you remember where you said no, if you're going to send them my way, you're going to win too.

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Like, let's go in on it together.

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And then fast forward to Terezi, your wife, my cousin.

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Fast forward to her surprise birthday party at your house in Miami.

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I met all of your friends and all of your friends so consistently.

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When I asked them, oh, how did you get your business off the ground?

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They said to me oh, I started a workplace for medical professionals to have shared workspace.

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And you're from Bo, he told me Rudy helped me.

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Like I turned to Rudy and he always gives me advice and he's always there for me.

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It just seems to me like that is also embedded in your approach.

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Is if you win or if you eat, everybody eats.

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If you don't share.

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I learned this.

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I learned this.

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The hard way is, if you don't share wealth I learned this, I wasn't.

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I learned this.

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The hard way is, if you don't share wealth, you create animosity.

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So people start looking at you and they'll want your lifestyle.

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You know what I mean.

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You have to make sure that that you share.

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You share.

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It's just everybody eats me.

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You know Everybody's got to eat, so there's.

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So it's a hierarchy.

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So if you're at the top, you gotta disperse this.

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I learned that the hard way.

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So, now more than ever, it's hey, there's this amount of money to be made.

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You do this, you do that, you do this.

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And then you know I get paid for telling people to do things, but I spread it away, or else I'm gonna slave to make that type of money.

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That's how my mentality was before.

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Oh yo, you can make five grand off of this.

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You know what, I'm gonna do everything.

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I'm gonna do everything and then kill yourself.

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Other than being like, hey, you know what, I'm gonna do everything and then kill yourself, other than being like, hey, you know what, I'm gonna give you a thousand bucks, I'm gonna give you 500 bucks.

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You know you eat on this and then they're happy and dude.

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You really didn't have to.

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You know, do that much.

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It's interesting, though, because it is one of the hardest lessons to learn as entrepreneurs.

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We talk about the abundance mindset versus scarcity, and coming back to the immigrant topic I don't know what it was like in your household I remember my parents always saying money doesn't grow on trees.

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It's easy to think from a scarcity perspective where, obviously, as entrepreneurs, we've grown, we've learned, we've had these hard-knock life lessons, and so I think that's where, along the way, we realize everything is abundant, opportunities abundant, money's abundant, everything is where'd that come?

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Because, rudy, you and I are sitting on a podcast episode talking about these things.

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Yeah, but implementing it, learning it, that's the hard part I feel like I watched my mom struggle and my mom put in work like from sales, so this, so that like.

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So I, she without even implemented that into you know me, my sister and my brother All three of us are.

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My sister is incredibly successful lawyer, you know attorney partner, you know my brother too.

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So all three of us, we watched that and we took that into consideration and then, just you know, implemented that into our own lives.

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So yeah, I'll interject this as well, because obviously nothing happens by mistake in life.

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And you talk about looking at other examples.

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There's a level of intentionality at least what I can see from the outside of your businesses that with Chimu you know exactly what you're doing, you know what trade shows you're gonna be at, even your social media content, everything is consistent and intentional.

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Where's that foresight come from?

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Do you take executive time to yourself, where on sunday you tell teresi you say, hey, I'm gonna go to the office and just sit there and think how do you strategize that?

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oh no, like we don't, we, just we, we, we wing it.

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Nothing is planned, nothing is strategized.

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Me and Aaron, sometimes I'll be like a lot of the content we do is our own.

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I've been like yo, aaron, it's fucking Wednesday, let's go have lunch in South Beach, bring five pairs of shorts.

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I'm gonna bring five pairs of shorts, five shirts, and then let's just shoot content and that's what we do.

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We have lunch and I'm like all cool, stand there and we've learned that that the content you don't have to pay people to do that.

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Right now, it's, it's.

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You can do a lot of that stuff yourself on your iphone yeah, all the stuff that we're doing iphone it's, it's, it's so to those people

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it's not there right now yeah, and that's why a lot of entrepreneurs right now are convincing themselves.

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There are barriers to these things and that's why I said at the top of the episode you're a hustler by nature.

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It's the way that you operate.

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You'll just go and do it and figure the rest out later.

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What are some of those things that have hit?

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Because I think it's.

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I wanna make it clear to listeners today that Not everything hits.

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We try a lot of things.

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Some work, some don't work.

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What have been some of the most instrumental things for you?

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Even looking backwards that you've thought I'm glad I tried that.

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I've learned never to design for myself, like never just go based on like what you like, because what I like might not be what anybody else likes.

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Some of our biggest hits have been shorts that I'm like fuck, I hate those.

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Those are hideous.

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Why did we even design those?

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Hey, let's just put them out there and see what they think.

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Oh, I love them Because we did little.

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What is it when you get a group of people to Like a focus group, there you go, focus group.

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So I did that.

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I put a line sheet full of shorts and then I send it out to I don't know 100 people.

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Hey, send me, uh, from one to five, what's your favorite ones?

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And that's what happened.

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I'm like damn, really.

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So what were we talking about?

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yeah, things that have worked for you along the way that you've tried.

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So one is for sure don't design for yourself.

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Love.

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That advice for listeners.

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What else has worked?

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I just Come on, rudy, I know your background.

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I know that once upon a time you were hustling out of the trunk of your car.

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I still do that you do Okay, talk to us about that I mean because it's just a different trunk.

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But people, when I pull up to the gym, I'm like, hey, I do shorts, so that's what I do.

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I pass on my business card, I give people my information and then to my friends a lot of my friends are not going to want to go on the website and order it and wait for that, so I pull up.

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I'm like, oh, you like my shorts?

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Cool, come outside.

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I have my trunk full of them.

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What size are you?

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I have my trunk full of them.

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What size are you?

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I have sold more shorts out of my trunk in the past six months than stores and websites put together.

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See, I always love that type of story because I feel like, within the world of entrepreneurship, a lot of people obsess about scale and they say, oh, I only want to do things that scale.

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I've always believed when you do things that don't scale, it gives you a business worth scaling.

00:16:04.023 --> 00:16:06.336
Yeah, believed, when you do things that don't scale, it gives you a business worth scaling.

00:16:06.336 --> 00:16:07.282
Yeah, rudy, you clearly don't care about scale.

00:16:07.282 --> 00:16:07.845
How do you view it, though?

00:16:07.845 --> 00:16:11.806
Because I also know you dream big and and you picture Chimo being a massive thing.

00:16:11.806 --> 00:16:13.691
It's cool to see that trajectory so far.

00:16:13.691 --> 00:16:15.576
What does scale mean to you?

00:16:15.576 --> 00:16:16.989
What is the growth path you're on?

00:16:17.691 --> 00:16:19.839
to me, the growth has to come.

00:16:19.839 --> 00:16:23.389
You know I I'm not trying to go from zero to a hundred.

00:16:23.389 --> 00:16:29.524
I want to go, you know, from zero to 10, from 10 to 20, from 20 to 30.

00:16:29.524 --> 00:16:31.890
So that comes.

00:16:31.890 --> 00:16:37.494
It takes years and I'm okay with that because I'm building a brand.

00:16:37.494 --> 00:16:44.357
I've learned the hard way that you got to pace yourself.

00:16:44.357 --> 00:16:44.919
You know you.

00:16:44.919 --> 00:16:46.082
You gotta pace yourself.

00:16:46.082 --> 00:16:47.504
You know you gotta pace yourself.

00:16:47.504 --> 00:16:50.794
There's no fast way to success.

00:16:50.794 --> 00:16:53.791
If you believe in it, stick with it.

00:16:53.791 --> 00:16:55.552
Nobody said it was gonna be easy.

00:16:55.552 --> 00:17:05.019
So, like now, after failing for such a long time, not failing, learning For so many years, like I said, I have the blueprint.

00:17:05.019 --> 00:17:06.366
I've I've learned the blueprint.

00:17:06.366 --> 00:17:08.394
I know that, okay, you want to be wholesale.

00:17:08.394 --> 00:17:10.041
You have to do these trade shows.

00:17:10.041 --> 00:17:19.027
Trade shows are three days miami, las vegas, new york, california, like but you gotta have money to be able to do those trade shows.

00:17:19.027 --> 00:17:22.036
Most people go out and get loans and stuff like that.

00:17:22.036 --> 00:17:23.318
Luckily, you know I'm able to.

00:17:23.318 --> 00:17:28.960
All right, you know I'll take care of this and then I'll get paid on the back end when we do have orders.

00:17:28.980 --> 00:17:32.912
Right now you're trying to build a, an infrastructure.

00:17:32.912 --> 00:17:33.954
We need stores.

00:17:33.954 --> 00:17:36.221
We need stores throughout the us.

00:17:36.221 --> 00:17:38.907
You know, we just did the, the surf exo, like two, three weeks ago.

00:17:38.907 --> 00:17:39.670
It's just the surf exo.

00:17:39.670 --> 00:17:40.451
This is our second year doing it.

00:17:40.451 --> 00:17:42.336
Our first year we didn't get any orders, we didn't actual.

00:17:42.336 --> 00:17:43.799
This is our second year doing it.

00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:46.849
Our first year we didn't get any orders, we didn't have enough skills.

00:17:46.849 --> 00:17:49.757
This second year now we're gonna be.

00:17:49.757 --> 00:17:57.128
This is the first time I've been telling anybody we're gonna be selling at the uh, at the airport, miami international airport.

00:17:57.128 --> 00:17:59.875
We got a store there that's gonna be selling us there.

00:17:59.875 --> 00:18:02.467
We just got a appeal for alabama.

00:18:02.467 --> 00:18:03.407
We have, you know, oklahoma interested.

00:18:03.407 --> 00:18:04.868
Like it's just like that, little by, we just got a PO for Alabama.

00:18:04.868 --> 00:18:05.470
We have Oklahoma interested.

00:18:05.470 --> 00:18:08.092
It's just like that, little by little you build your little network.

00:18:08.092 --> 00:18:09.814
That's how you build brands.

00:18:09.814 --> 00:18:12.777
So now we're going to do a project show Las Vegas.

00:18:12.777 --> 00:18:20.790
We're going to do Las Vegas in February, then the Surf X will again in January and just that.

00:18:20.790 --> 00:18:21.733
It's putting work.

00:18:23.444 --> 00:18:23.768
Yeah, I love it.

00:18:23.768 --> 00:18:28.165
The only thing I'll complain about is the fact that Tampa has not worked its way into your schedule just yet.

00:18:28.165 --> 00:18:30.454
I haven't seen any trade shows here.

00:18:30.454 --> 00:18:35.034
Convention center every single weekend, rudy, yes, what type of conventions.

00:18:35.095 --> 00:18:36.101
It has to be something like this.

00:18:36.101 --> 00:18:36.605
I'll get you a list.

00:18:38.690 --> 00:18:48.167
I'm there, but I want to pick on one thing that you just said in that answer, because it reveals a lot about your mentality, and you and I both like chess, and it's a quote that I learned from chess, which is you either win or you learn.

00:18:48.167 --> 00:18:56.606
When you talk about learning as those failures and reframing those failures, one of those things I mean there's a lot of mindset challenges that we all face as entrepreneurs.

00:18:56.606 --> 00:18:59.355
We're impatient, we're the instant gratification society.

00:18:59.355 --> 00:19:08.159
We also question ourselves, we question and we compare to others, and I've been in this journey for 16 years now as an entrepreneur.

00:19:08.159 --> 00:19:09.751
You've been at it for a long time as well.

00:19:09.751 --> 00:19:11.805
Have you had those moments, rudy?

00:19:11.805 --> 00:19:15.094
These are the conversations listeners have gotten used to on this show is that?

00:19:15.094 --> 00:19:23.453
Have you had those moments where you look at your friends from school or you look at your friends in Miami and you think, gosh, would it have been easier to just get a job Like?

00:19:23.453 --> 00:19:24.936
Would it have been easier to just get a job Like?

00:19:24.936 --> 00:19:27.020
Would it have been easier to go on a different path?

00:19:27.020 --> 00:19:29.587
Give?

00:19:29.607 --> 00:19:32.374
us some insights into the way the mind of Rudy works.

00:19:32.374 --> 00:19:34.178
No, no, I wouldn't trade this for anything.

00:19:34.178 --> 00:19:42.875
I see now a lot of people that have these regular jobs and they hate everything about it.

00:19:42.875 --> 00:19:45.252
They hate to wake up in the morning and go to work.

00:19:45.252 --> 00:19:48.872
That, to me, is this is horrible.

00:19:48.872 --> 00:20:01.589
You know like the definition of to me of success is just being able to wake up every day and do whatever you want, you know and be happy about it like I cannot imagine have gone a different route.

00:20:01.589 --> 00:20:02.872
I've had jobs, jobs.

00:20:02.872 --> 00:20:04.755
I had jobs nine to five.

00:20:04.755 --> 00:20:05.476
I've done everything.

00:20:05.476 --> 00:20:10.593
I've sold gym memberships, I've done door to door sales.

00:20:10.593 --> 00:20:14.596
I've sold everything you can think of.

00:20:14.596 --> 00:20:16.210
I'm not trying to mention names.

00:20:17.505 --> 00:20:24.288
Well then, let me ask you this, rudy, because all of those experiences, of course, built the Rudy that's sitting here today, which enables you to do the things you do.

00:20:24.288 --> 00:20:26.595
What are some of those things you didn't even realize?

00:20:26.595 --> 00:20:31.615
You were picking up along the way that now you look back and you go, gosh, that's, that's part of who I am.

00:20:31.615 --> 00:20:32.425
For me, it's soccer.

00:20:32.425 --> 00:20:39.750
Like growing up playing soccer, I realized the things that happen on the field play into the person I am today and the way I show up in the world.

00:20:39.750 --> 00:20:42.213
What are some of those things that you didn't realize, that now you do?

00:20:42.575 --> 00:20:46.290
I mean, I played soccer in high school Also, I still play soccer.

00:20:46.290 --> 00:20:49.811
I mean, you know your work ethic.

00:20:49.811 --> 00:20:56.251
Your work ethic has to just be you know, on point, no matter what it is that you do.

00:20:56.251 --> 00:21:01.939
As far as entrepreneurship, you control everything.

00:21:01.939 --> 00:21:04.953
You control how much money you make.

00:21:04.953 --> 00:21:06.551
If you don't want to work, you don't make money.

00:21:06.551 --> 00:21:08.352
If you want to work harder, you make more money.

00:21:08.352 --> 00:21:20.089
So those are the lessons I learned was the work ethic and along with that, once you reach a level of success, freedom comes with it.

00:21:20.089 --> 00:21:26.525
And that is success, not the amount of money that you have, it's the amount of money that you have.

00:21:26.525 --> 00:21:36.349
It's the amount of freedom that you have to do whatever you want, because some people might be happy making $60,000 a year, some people might be happy making $6 million a year.

00:21:36.349 --> 00:21:39.092
It doesn't matter, it's just freedom.

00:21:39.825 --> 00:21:46.151
I'm going to put you on the spot then, while we're on the air together, rudy, and that is, you love working hard, but you also love playing hard.

00:21:46.151 --> 00:21:48.373
Talk to us about that delicate balance.

00:21:48.664 --> 00:22:10.115
I play a lot harder than I work I mean, I've worked hard for a really long time I have my moments where, like, let's say, I have to go to Peru for three, four days, that's the entire day boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, and then I'll go on vacation for three, four days.

00:22:10.115 --> 00:22:13.550
So it's, it's a, it's a balance, it's, it's a balance.

00:22:13.550 --> 00:22:18.305
Uh, making time for yourself is good for it's good for everything.

00:22:18.305 --> 00:22:20.087
You know it.

00:22:20.087 --> 00:22:21.009
It resets you.

00:22:21.009 --> 00:22:25.558
So traveling has to be part of your life.

00:22:25.558 --> 00:22:29.031
That's why I went to the whole.

00:22:29.031 --> 00:22:31.833
You know, the freedom to wake up and do whatever you want.

00:22:31.833 --> 00:22:33.770
I need to work, I work.

00:22:33.770 --> 00:22:37.873
I want to take the wife on vacation and the family.

00:22:37.873 --> 00:22:41.112
We're out, and there's nothing that's going to stop that.

00:22:41.472 --> 00:22:48.240
Yeah, listeners, if you follow Rudy on Instagram, you will see his big on Instagram, you will see his vacations and you will see what he means by freedom.

00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:51.932
So Rudy will definitely drop your Instagram at the end of today's episode.

00:22:51.932 --> 00:23:06.560
But I also want to ask you I don't usually ask this question on the air, but just knowing what I do about you and the fact that in Miami you're surrounded by other entrepreneurs, you're surrounded by the hustler spirit in so many different ways in Miami, I felt that energy in Los Angeles as well when I lived there.

00:23:06.560 --> 00:23:15.448
There's certain things, though, that, being 16 years into this journey, I can immediately identify in newer entrepreneurs and think to myself those aren't the things that matter.

00:23:15.448 --> 00:23:16.736
Like you've got that all wrong.

00:23:16.736 --> 00:23:19.548
What are some of those things that you see from your vantage point?

00:23:39.285 --> 00:23:40.628
So social media?

00:23:40.628 --> 00:23:45.824
People think now that social media is like your only key to building a brand or being successful.

00:23:45.824 --> 00:23:46.305
I can care less To me.

00:23:46.305 --> 00:23:46.704
I'm old school.

00:23:46.704 --> 00:23:58.955
I feel like you need to knock on doors, you need to shake people's hands, posting a video on social media and shit Views have to equal to sales.

00:23:58.955 --> 00:24:13.930
But to me, the relationships are built Knocking on doors, meeting on people.

00:24:13.930 --> 00:24:14.612
You know what I mean.

00:24:14.612 --> 00:24:21.873
That's why I do the trade shows, because you never know who, what buyer you're going to meet.

00:24:21.873 --> 00:24:32.807
You know you think that the buyer for you know nordstrom dick sporting goods, is fucking looking at your video on instagram and being like oh yeah, I can't wait to you know?

00:24:33.327 --> 00:24:40.410
no, there are the trade shows and you gotta go and shake their hands and be like hey, I'm such and such, this is my brand.

00:24:40.410 --> 00:24:49.465
Here's a boom email, like so instant gratitude has become very easy now.

00:24:49.465 --> 00:24:54.265
People think, oh, I'm gonna start a clothing brand, I'm gonna print 12 t-shirts.

00:24:54.265 --> 00:24:55.729
And this is no.

00:24:55.729 --> 00:24:57.413
You don't have a brand, you have 12 t-shirts.

00:24:58.678 --> 00:25:09.473
So yeah, it's fun for me to hear you think strategically as far as business-wise, because you and I don't normally talk about these things, but I know, of course, that you're very opportunistic.

00:25:09.473 --> 00:25:17.609
I mean, when I think about during the pandemic you identified a need for masks and you were hitting up colleges saying let's put your logos on them and they ate that up.

00:25:17.609 --> 00:25:23.657
And what I also think about is how you moved from kind of only consumer level with T-shirts out of the trunk of your car.

00:25:23.657 --> 00:25:25.020
It's a enterprise level.

00:25:25.020 --> 00:25:31.990
I mean, I know you want to say here on the air, because you're humble about the cool things that you do, but you've got huge clients that turn to you for their needs.

00:25:31.990 --> 00:25:35.365
Where did those, where did that identification come from?

00:25:35.365 --> 00:25:44.096
Where you said okay, I don't just have to sell to consumers, let's think big, let's go enterprise level that was all the relationships I had.

00:25:44.155 --> 00:25:45.378
It's all those.

00:25:45.378 --> 00:25:53.715
I mean, I did the, I did shirts for the super bowl, but that came through my friend lila, that I've known for years, you know.

00:25:53.715 --> 00:25:58.078
So she's like hey, boom, I know someone that does t-shirts I have worked with.

00:25:58.078 --> 00:26:03.932
You know people in the music industry nfl, nba but all those came from somebody.

00:26:03.932 --> 00:26:05.734
Hey, rud, rudy, here.

00:26:05.734 --> 00:26:09.366
This is that's what I mean by networking.

00:26:09.366 --> 00:26:11.893
That's what I mean by knowing people.

00:26:11.893 --> 00:26:13.798
Your network is your net worth.

00:26:14.704 --> 00:26:20.646
Yeah, knowing you though, I know that you don't view it as transactional you genuinely value those relationships.

00:26:20.646 --> 00:26:31.227
So watchers can't see him off screen right now, but you're joined here today in tampa by one of your best friends from miami, sergio, who didn't put his phone on silent mode to kick today's interview off.

00:26:31.227 --> 00:26:36.210
But let's talk about those relationships, because how do you nurture them, how do you follow up with them?

00:26:36.210 --> 00:26:45.497
Rudy, I can't keep as big of a network as you, my man, so the difference is, most of my really close friends have nothing to do in my industry.

00:26:46.184 --> 00:26:47.080
You know what I mean.

00:26:47.080 --> 00:26:54.375
Sergio, javier, tony, all my really close little small circle of friends are nothing in my industry.

00:26:54.375 --> 00:27:24.167
As far as my industry, I have my close friends that I've watched, struggled with, you know, putting work like guys, guys that when I was starting my printing company, they were starting their film career, their, their photographer career, their, their entrepreneurship, and all of us have literally watched each other just go, you know, level up throughout all the years and we stayed friends.

00:27:24.167 --> 00:27:30.204
So now, 20 years later, it's like, hey, I called Derek, Derek, what are you doing?

00:27:30.204 --> 00:27:31.450
I'm shooting for Nike.

00:27:31.450 --> 00:27:33.770
I'm shooting for LeBron, I'm shooting you know what I mean.

00:27:33.825 --> 00:27:36.193
Like, oh, hey, I'm doing a music video for Kodak Black.

00:27:36.193 --> 00:27:41.157
Like those are the same the friends you know, photographers.

00:27:41.157 --> 00:27:46.762
Hey, I'm shooting a commercial for you know such and such hotel, like that's where we're at.

00:27:46.762 --> 00:27:51.750
But it's years of hard work, years of hard work.

00:27:51.750 --> 00:27:55.455
And then when you run into each other, it's like you never skip the beat.

00:27:55.455 --> 00:28:00.669
It's just like what's new, and I mean the best.

00:28:00.669 --> 00:28:09.388
When people tell you nothing, it's like fuck, really Nothing's new, because you can ask me what's new any day of the week and I'm gonna tell you something different.

00:28:09.388 --> 00:28:11.590
So that's.

00:28:11.590 --> 00:28:12.192
I love that.

00:28:12.585 --> 00:28:18.372
Yeah, for sure, which speaks to one of our favorite principles behind the show, which is you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with.

00:28:18.786 --> 00:28:20.271
If you wanna see how much money you're gonna make?

00:28:20.271 --> 00:28:21.609
Look at who you're hanging out with.

00:28:21.609 --> 00:28:22.890
You wanna see your fitness levels.

00:28:22.890 --> 00:28:23.633
You wanna see anything?

00:28:23.633 --> 00:28:29.492
Look at the company that you keep Along those lines, rudy, what's it take as someone who's meeting a million people?

00:28:29.492 --> 00:28:31.556
How do you filter out this person?

00:28:31.556 --> 00:28:34.480
I want to keep in touch with and stay on top of this person.

00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:35.990
Ok, I'll just file them away.

00:28:35.990 --> 00:28:37.672
Do you have some sort of organizational system?

00:28:37.672 --> 00:28:40.454
It feels funny asking you that, rudy, but give us some insights.

00:28:41.365 --> 00:28:43.394
I'm big on vibes dude.

00:28:43.394 --> 00:28:52.977
That's why I like to meet people, because I'll know very quickly if I like you or not.

00:28:52.977 --> 00:28:54.058
That's just me.

00:28:54.058 --> 00:28:55.701
I'm scorpio, I don't know.

00:28:55.701 --> 00:28:59.432
I have like this fucking you know weird thing.

00:28:59.432 --> 00:29:01.718
Um, honesty.

00:29:01.718 --> 00:29:03.863
Honesty is key, you know.

00:29:03.863 --> 00:29:10.055
Don't bullshit always be 100, whether it's it's it's what they want to hear or not.

00:29:10.055 --> 00:29:12.118
Just always keep it real.

00:29:12.118 --> 00:29:25.193
And that's the best advice I can always give people, because most people that have been in it for a long time will be able to very quickly read your bullshit.

00:29:25.695 --> 00:29:28.942
Yeah, for sure, don't be coming up in Libra season with your Scorpio energy man.

00:29:28.942 --> 00:29:29.816
No, no, no, no, no, no.

00:29:32.597 --> 00:29:36.319
Don't be coming up in Libra season with your Scorpio energy man.

00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:37.701
This is so much fun for me.

00:29:37.701 --> 00:29:38.281
I'll tell you what.

00:29:38.281 --> 00:29:45.449
I always ask this question at the end of every episode, and it's fun with you because I know that you have so many thoughts.

00:29:45.449 --> 00:29:48.758
Obviously, I see them in the way that you show up in Instagram and just in our casual conversations.

00:29:48.758 --> 00:29:51.273
But that is what's your one best piece of advice?

00:29:51.273 --> 00:29:57.109
Knowing that listeners from over 150 countries are tuning in at all different stages of their business growth.

00:29:57.109 --> 00:30:00.271
What's that one thing that you hope they take away from today's episode?

00:30:03.026 --> 00:30:06.375
Never give up on a dream, you know what I mean.

00:30:06.375 --> 00:30:11.678
And work extremely hard, like I said it earlier, it's not a matter of if it's a matter of when.

00:30:11.678 --> 00:30:16.310
Work extremely Hard, like Just it's Like I said it earlier, it's not a matter of if it's a matter of when.

00:30:16.310 --> 00:30:18.497
That's, that's it.

00:30:18.497 --> 00:30:19.382
You know what I mean?

00:30:19.382 --> 00:30:22.192
Honesty, don't fuck people over.

00:30:22.192 --> 00:30:28.451
Don't ever fuck people over, cause that shit will come back to haunt you Somewhere down the line.

00:30:28.873 --> 00:30:46.212
So Do Work hard, be honest, and it's not a matter of if it's a matter of when yeah, and I'm just gonna pile on that for listeners, because when rudy gives you that advice, he's not just saying it's a matter of if not, it's a matter of when.

00:30:46.212 --> 00:30:52.633
Not if he's saying that, but also believing it, and I think that that's at the core of who you are, rudy to follow that up with.

00:30:53.094 --> 00:30:57.942
I always I would you, you, you have to speak into existence.

00:30:57.942 --> 00:31:14.027
I was just talking about this with the wife and my hardest fucking times I would go into the bathroom in tears and I would look at myself in the mirror and I would tell you are gonna be successful, this is only temporary, you are gonna make it.

00:31:14.027 --> 00:31:15.993
I will do that shit all the time.

00:31:15.993 --> 00:31:21.672
I tell that to people now it's like I sound crazy, but I, I, I speak into existence.

00:31:21.672 --> 00:31:29.954
So that's when I said, when I said it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of one if, if you want it, it's already yours, that's it.

00:31:29.954 --> 00:31:34.176
It's a matter of how long it takes, it's already yours.

00:31:34.176 --> 00:31:37.252
You have to believe it's already yours.

00:31:37.653 --> 00:31:38.836
Heck yeah, I love that.

00:31:38.836 --> 00:31:45.131
Rudy, you owe us some links For listeners who want to check out all the incredible things that you're doing business-wise your personal social media links.

00:31:45.131 --> 00:32:00.486
Chimu, you've got to drop those shorts, whether you like all the designs or not let listeners decide.

00:32:00.506 --> 00:32:01.450
So drop those links on my my personal instagram.

00:32:01.450 --> 00:32:03.477
Rudy underscore mage uh, the shorts is at shimu dynasty and then the printing company is at inked pro.

00:32:03.497 --> 00:32:04.641
Yes, listeners, you already know the drill.

00:32:04.641 --> 00:32:10.688
We're making it as easy as possible for you to find all of rudy's links down below in the show notes, wherever it is that you're tuning in to today's episode.

00:32:10.688 --> 00:32:14.857
Rudy, very much, on behalf of myself and all of our listeners worldwide, thanks so much.

00:32:15.045 --> 00:32:16.308
No, thank you guys for having me.

00:32:16.308 --> 00:32:17.050
I appreciate it.

00:32:17.050 --> 00:32:18.516
Heck yeah, absolutely.

00:32:19.746 --> 00:32:25.309
Hey, it's Brian here, and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:32:25.309 --> 00:32:32.627
If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there.

00:32:32.627 --> 00:32:38.509
Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at thewantrepreneurshowcom, and I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests.

00:32:38.509 --> 00:32:47.298
There's a reason why we are ad free and have produced so many incredible episodes five days a week for you, and it's because our guests step up to the plate.

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These are not sponsored episodes.

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These are not infomercials.

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Our guests help us cover the costs of our productions.

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They so deeply believe in the power of getting their message out in front of you, awesome entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, that they contribute to help us make these productions possible.

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So thank you to not only today's guests, but all of our guests in general, and I just want to invite you check out our website because you can send us a voicemail there.

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We also have live chat.

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If you want to interact directly with me, go to thewantrepreneurshowcom.

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Initiate a live chat.

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It's for real me, and I'm excited because I'll see you, as always every Monday, wednesday, friday, saturday and Sunday here on the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.