Strive For Good Life Podcast Ep 18: How to successfully run and scale your business with Adrian Smude
Introduction
Welcome to Episode 18 of the SFGL Podcast, where we delve into mastering real estate and business growth with special guest Adrian Smude! A seasoned real estate investor and entrepreneur, Adrian began his journey in real estate investing back in 2002. Since then, he has built a thriving business, inspiring countless individuals through his courses and books to create lives driven by passion and purpose.
In this episode, we uncover the secrets behind Adrian's success, exploring topics like effective team communication, process documentation, and cultivating the entrepreneur mindset. Adrian shares invaluable insights and lessons learned from his decades of experience in business growth, offering actionable tips for aspiring entrepreneurs and seasoned professionals alike.
Whether you're looking to start your real estate journey, scale your business, or develop a winning entrepreneurial mindset, this episode is packed with inspiration and strategies to help you achieve your goals.
Here’s how you can connect with Adrian:
https://www.facebook.com/adrian.smude
https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriansmude
https://www.instagram.com/Lifestyle_REI
https://www.threads.net/@lifestyle_rei
Listen to this Episode Here:
Watch this Episode Here:
Strive For Good Life Podcast Ep. 18 Transcript:
NOTE: This transcript was computer generated and likely contains errors
Nino Pingera: Welcome everyone to another episode of The Strife for Good Life podcast. My name is Nino pingera and I'm sure with Adrian smude who is a real estate investor with his Lifestyle I'm so grateful to have him here because we've got lots of fun things to talk about today. welcome Adrian.
Adrian Smude: thanks for having me I'm excited to talk about business.
Nino Pingera: Yeah, yeah. Let's talk about how you got into it initially what those early influences were in your life.
Adrian Smude: I got into being a real estate investor, not the Essentially. I wasn't really bad tenants. And my friends and I it wasn't all me but I was to do with we got eviction notices for parties. spaghetti wrestling parties putting wrestling parties parking a motorcycle inside the house. You don't rank to 20 year old Adrian and his friends. And I'm a Problem Solver at heart. So what happened? As I said why not just buy a house move my friends and no one can kick us out. then I learned what it's like to be the landlord and why we were not good tenants. But I did something really smart there. This is wise is I divide my mortgage up amongst my friends. So I was At 20 years old living for free and not in your parents home is really cool.
Adrian Smude: So that I get it a few more times the second time didn't end very well because I was losing a little bit every month the banks that don't worry real estate goes straight up. You'll refinance in a few years was that top of the last Market? The market was going down. I couldn't refinance. I had an adjustable rate mortgage. I went from losing a little bit every month a little bit more.
Nino Pingera: It's a lot.
Adrian Smude: I end up giving the home up as a short sale. I think my ego thing to my credit but listen hurtful was ding to my integrity. Fast forward about some more houses, but then I got into the mobile home space.
Adrian Smude: A single unit mobile home with the land and not the unit within the rented Park so I actually on the dirt and I own the home and I rent them out. So I'm a cash flow investor. That's what I love. That is my Niche at foot pays for my lifestyle is the cash flow that comes from the mobile homes with the land. And then I did something also a little different than I started most Real Estate Investors treat it as they're real estate investor. There are one man show. And I didn't want to be doing every piece of it. So I started studying business a little bit more in reading this as the actual business. And here I am, right.
Nino Pingera: That's interesting. So just to be really clear for anyone listening out there. You didn't put your friends on the mortgage with you. You just charge them, enough to cover the mortgage, right?
Adrian Smude: Yeah good clarification there. I did not put them on the market. And I didn't even have a lease with them. I just said move in pay this amount, luckily they were friends and they were honest and paid me.
Nino Pingera: I love it. I think it's interesting a lot of entrepreneurs, they end up. At least this is true with some of the people in my life, they'll find something that they want and they'll figure out a way to pay for itself essentially and that's kind of what you did and my wife does that with all sorts of things and it's amazing anytime. She wants a new stroller. She'll figure out a way to flip one. So she gets it for free. Basically, it's awesome.
Adrian Smude: I love it.
Nino Pingera: So I love that mentality and I love stories like that and It's great advice for anyone out there because it's doable with anything even real estate. Let's talk about Okay, turning real estate into an actual business. So you started studying business. Did you have any experience in business before this or was it just let's figure it out. Let's learn some new skills.
Adrian Smude: no, I had a lot of business influence in my life. Most of my family are entrepreneurs my parents I grew up right in the middle of business. So they had two and a half acres a garden center. So they sold plants with the houses really in the middle of it. Then they sold the statuary with it. Then turn into wrought iron work with all of that. So, you woke up and you went outside to work. And so I grew up understanding it seeing that we would go on a vacation always business related and cousins and other family members. So I already understood the beauty of being an entrepreneur once I start studying it though and reading books. I realized the difference in a small business. And more I'll say Some of the mindset differences and I grew up in a wonderful family. I would have never changed anything. but they did a lot of small business mistakes.
00:05:00
Adrian Smude: At least to me, they were mistakes. They're not the lifestyle. I want weird doing everything. And I decided I wanted some things that I wouldn't be doing. I wouldn't be in charge of because other people do it better than me.
Nino Pingera: yeah, would you say that's one of the biggest differentiators between a small business and real big business is just handing off the tasks to other people are there other things as well? then you can point to
Adrian Smude: No, I definitely think that's one of the biggest differences which comes with a mindset difference. that's too expensive to pay that person that one of my friend Laura she said it's only expensive if you don't value it. I value not doing a lot of things. I do work over 40 hours a week, but I wake up excited about that. some people might say this is worth talking to you like no this is exciting and fun for me. This isn't work. so I pay your outsourced someone it's better at task than I am. And that helps the business run more efficiently which then if it brings in more money than I can hand off even more tasks that I'm not good at or someone's better at that. I just don't absolutely love the unique genius zone is a term I've heard and I love so my goal is everyone on my team.
Adrian Smude: Has their role as their unique genius zone so something that they enjoy doing that's all the way from my va's overseas to in person local staff that I want them doing what they love doing so it doesn't feel like work.
Nino Pingera: Yeah, I think that's perfect. I think a lot of people get hung up wanting I guess maybe the quality control or they're afraid that people won't be able to do it as well as them so maybe talk to us about that piece of it. How do you manage that?
Adrian Smude: And I still struggle with that at times I am literally just got over that right now. So I'm revamping my website. So lifestyle Dash REI is my education brand. So I keep exactly what I do. And I had a limiting belief of that for a while that knowing could recreate it the way I want no one would keep my personality in it. I'm a little quirky and different and loud and weird if you see my stuff and that's very important for me that's in my personality and I just didn't think anything could do it which now I think that's silly. I talked about people I interviewed different people to help redo the website and I learned that was just me trying to be a perfectionist.
Adrian Smude: Which is a silly thing, so I did hire someone and she's working on it now and I think she's gonna make it even better because my skill set is not editing a website and it doesn't get done because I dread doing it. I like teaching and putting content on there but actually good in and making it changes. It's not for me.
Nino Pingera: Yeah. Yeah, I mean the key really here is that you're getting back your time to be able to focus on other high-value tasks that you actually enjoy doing that actually move the business forward and I've seen it so many times business owners get stuck working in the business and then they can't work on the business right and you have to make that transition to like you said A bigger business owner mindset, I guess. However, you want to phrase that.
Adrian Smude: And that's a really daunting big task. it's a big elephant. how do you eat it one little bite at a time. And we've had different times that the goal was to either eliminate automate or delegate one task a week that could be as simple as going into Gmail and creating a filter.
Nino Pingera: my goodness. We lost him. That's a first
Nino Pingera:
Nino Pingera: you still there?
Adrian Smude: I'm sorry, Okay.
Nino Pingera: It's okay. We'll edit this. So don't worry about it.
Adrian Smude: Yeah, I'm sorry.
Adrian Smude: I'm creating more editing for you.
Nino Pingera: It's okay.
Adrian Smude: So, I'm sorry back to the Gmail filter. I think I got cut off little after that.
Nino Pingera: Yeah, yeah.
Adrian Smude: We could be a small as setting up a Gmail filter. So it's filtered out certain emails or unsubscribes from them could say five minutes a day. that starts stacking up and just teaching us how to do that. It's none of for me. It was not a very intuitive thought process it's faster for me to do it then set up this algorithm to do it or Outsource or teach someone else how to do it. And that's still not one of my strongest skill sets to teach someone how to do something. I just know what I want done. So I use a lot of screen recording and then give my team permission ask questions. I know I didn't give you everything just ask questions because that's not my skill set, Ask question. I give them a lot of information. To just fill in the blanks did a lot of times especially va's. I have found that.
00:10:00
Adrian Smude: They just want to do it and do it. Right and the culture sometimes isn't to ask clarifying questions. And I need that for my skill set of not being able to give the perfect thing. So I'm learning with that still today.
Nino Pingera: Yeah, that's interesting. I love the idea that you're shaving off a couple minutes or a couple seconds, but that it Stacks over time, That's what people don't realize. So yes, it might be quicker to avoid setting it up, maybe today but over time. I mean you're losing. Time and…
Adrian Smude: Mental bandwidth of it's I use the email one…
Nino Pingera: money, right? So I
Nino Pingera: Yeah.
Adrian Smude: because it sounds silly but going through and deleting all these emails every day. Can be a mental bandwidth that it's just not necessary or unsubscribing or so. I'm a person. I like a zero inbox or no notifications. I don't get there all the time, but the people that have hundreds of notifications and tens of thousands of unread emails. They can't find stuff. And it's an organized everything goes slower because of something so silly and simple. Get rid of the email. I'm starting a new one.
Nino Pingera: I love that. Another thing you said is that you record videos that you send to people. Do you use a tool like Loom or how do you do that?
Adrian Smude: Yeah Loom, we will use zoom sometimes I think Vimeo is another one. I didn't know the answer that question at first. So I guess asks my team, it's and especially a small business owner. I think a lot of times. We feel like we have to know everything and part of that is an ego. guys are a little bit harder with the ego women I think are easier to set it down aside. So it's harder for sometimes us to just not know the answers and ask for help. And when I started doing that. my communication with my team gotten better and just the company culture of I'm not perfect. I'm not expecting you to be perfect. I always want both of us to improve.
Adrian Smude: And when we don't understand something let's just ask for help. Everyone's always allowed to ask for help. I do have an office manager and a little say the va's are to go to her but they have permission and they still do it go straight to me sometimes. Because that's a company culture I want.
Nino Pingera: I love that company culture super important to think about as you're building, just so it doesn't slip away quite yet. I love that you're talking about documenting your processes. I mean, that's so critical. If you ever want to remove yourself from that position and hire someone else to do the tasks, right? So that's a great way to do. It just record videos of what you're doing start documenting. that's how you're gonna be able to scale eventually. So that's …
Adrian Smude: Yeah, I wish I would have done it sooner. I really
Nino Pingera: that's incredible advice super valuable for those listening.
Nino Pingera: Let's talk about some of the challenges you faced. some of the bigger ones. I mean, it sounds like there are few that we've kind of touched on but what are the biggest ones as you've tried to grow your business? And how have you overcome those?
Adrian Smude: I think we touched on one of the biggest it became an overwhelmed thing of. I'm the entrepreneur mindset. I think I grew up with it. So it's just like, all here's the plan. let's just do it and then it'd be for the real estate world the day before closing only that's got to insurance. And then it's just that not having an actual checklist because I'm good at going and…
Nino Pingera: the checklist
Adrian Smude: doing. But usually I have found from my entrepreneur friends a checklist thing is not our tap like our skill set of just sitting down and making sure it was this done. We need that to make sure it all gets done. But our brain just thinks of it last second or two days late and then you have no insurance for a few days. that's terrible. So having that checklist and then getting the right people in the seat that's their skill set. They enjoy checklists and making sure holding me accountable that at some point. What is your Cadence or your growth speed? I don't want to grow super fast because that means I'm all in business and I don't have harmony with a personal life.
00:15:00
Adrian Smude: the parent Harmony versus balance because I feel like ever flows more than every day. I spent X hours in business and X hours at home and next out it's an absent flows thing. So find out what that Harmony pieces for me. I am the person I like to buy four to six a year. I know I have friends that do that a week. That's tiring to me. I don't want that many, then of course it keep funding up for all that. There's just so many pieces of it if you're moving at the 10x speed. You have to have a process. If not, you're just creating this massive. Avalanche that's gonna come down and trust you at some point of all these things you didn't take care of.
Adrian Smude: And the loose ends up. I like the balance of it. Everyone's gonna have a different personality. Some people say 46 years. That's a lot. They want to do one big deal year or when every few years. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. It's what's personal in the person?
Nino Pingera: Yeah, I love that. Just going back to this idea of having the right processes in place the checklist and that's so critical and not running faster than you can. You can right that's so interesting. It makes me think of that what's that line? That slow is smooth and…
Adrian Smude: Yeah.
Nino Pingera: smooth as fast. right That's absolutely true in business,…
Adrian Smude: Haven't heard out a while. really true here.
Nino Pingera: Because like you said, you don't want to create this massive. I don't know especially when they're legal issues at stake right with real estate.
Adrian Smude: yeah. That's where you're gonna legal nightmares a lot of people create if you create a business to get out of a business 2 job, and then you are actually working more hours. And your whole life is serving your business. Why don't you stand at W2?
Adrian Smude: That you actually had to find times that you get off,…
Nino Pingera: Yeah.
Adrian Smude: so something really important that I learned to do is create a business Vision have a personal vision for my life. What I want it to look like in the future. I'm always working towards it to get real close. I kind of start ripping up and start a new one. So it just a better life. I have one for each of my businesses as well. What do I want this business to look like? So when I get a shiny object comes in I can filter it and I have friends that have my vision so they can look at it like no how is that related here? they call me out. I give them permission to call me out and I either have to change it and have a good answer or I have to submit you're right. This is a shiny object. It's Gonna Take Me Away from the goal on the business.
Nino Pingera: I love that. Okay, so you create these. Visions for your life and your businesses and you actually share them with people. Is that done in a mastermind group or…
Adrian Smude: You typically in a mastermind group and…
Nino Pingera: How do you do that?
Adrian Smude: today the lady that's rebuilding my website. she was interviewing, getting through to make sure the personality as you know, I don't think I shared my vision of what this business is. So it was a good document to already that I wrote up in a really good State, so not a high stress that everything's falling apart a good State really took time with it and I tweak it here and there. And that's when things are going great of what I want the future look like. I think that's the best time to write up. And yeah, I'm a part of a multiple masterminds. I run one and I'm the one that probably annoy some of the members at times always getting in my vision and what did you change anything? Yeah, I changed three words on it. I would rather than have it in front of them.
Adrian Smude: To glance down and call me out on something. I'm talking about versus not have it. So it's just made such an impact in my life of having a road map,…
Nino Pingera: Yeah.
Adrian Smude: or in goal of where I really want to go.
Nino Pingera: Yeah, that's interesting because a lot of entrepreneurs that have the mentality that if they share what they're doing with business or their plan for it. They're worried that some competitors can come in and copy their model or whatever it is. And so for some reason we're not great at sharing the vision as Well as we should.
Adrian Smude: Know yeah. I really
Nino Pingera: I really like what you said about Harmony versus just balance.
Adrian Smude: Enjoyments, so…
Nino Pingera: What have you done?
Adrian Smude: what are you?
Nino Pingera: What are the things you've put in place to create our life?
Adrian Smude: So that's something I'm getting better and better at I've really gotten pretty decent and I think in the last few years one of my biggest is my phone and all my devices do not disturb on permanently. We're going on three years now. and I use all the Screen time limiting apps that devices are usually made for the kids. Why use them on myself and I know you're editing this but we just got cut off and that's actually why because I didn't hit unlimited for the day and it told me your time limit is up. And that has helped me.
00:20:00
Nino Pingera: Really?
Adrian Smude: My phone's not going off all the time when I turned it for it to be personal time. I don't get all these alerts and also keeps me focused there in my business time. I'm still not getting all these alerts. And I can be all in on whatever that is if it's being with my wife if it's right now talking to you. I don't have a buzzing going back. what is that phone call? all in and In that so that's probably one of the biggest things that hasn't really done for me. I read my vision often. I'm a very big mindset person. So I'm a huge Hal Elrod fan of the miracle morning. So I do that every single morning,…
Nino Pingera: yeah, right, but
Adrian Smude: it says it's a gift. My intention is right for the day of what I really want to Got my checklist highlighted exactly, the things I need to do. And as one of my coaches says, when things get off go back to What everyone has different basics for me a lot of its Fitness? So I do my little workouts or maybe some push-ups right before getting on here with you so that I am pumped and bring energy and not what are we gonna talk about? I'm not like that's just not who I want to be and that's the very intentional.
Nino Pingera: Yeah, I love that. It's so important to bring the right energy to everything you do right…
Adrian Smude: It's important.
Nino Pingera: up in one thing is how you show up and everything. That's what they say. Let's talk about.
Adrian Smude: ly with Benefits could
Nino Pingera: Some of the unexpected benefits that you found of being your own boss and being an entrepreneur.
Adrian Smude: I only have a legal disclaimer, the tax benefits. So there can be huge tax benefits you of course have to do it the right way, it's not you just write off everything your life. but I'll have each travel for business purpose and maybe it's a town. I like maybe I'll say an extra day or two. So then I get some Leisure Time of it and I didn't have to pay for the flight there again, you have to make sure that you're doing it. All right, but what you can write off what you can but that's a big benefit and really creating the way you want.
Nino Pingera: Yeah.
Adrian Smude: That's that Vision again. for me, it's about bringing Sunshine joy happiness and inspiring others. That's throughout all my business and my personal life. So now I get to think about it. is this going to do that for someone else if the answer no the taxi say we're just not gonna do that. If I'm working for someone else, I don't really get that opportunity. I can say it. I may not have a job anymore and then they may not listen and then maybe they actually do listen. Yes, you get to make those decisions. And mostly you can control your time, I do work sometimes at midnight. I like the scheduling that goes back to some of that Harmony and tools I don't want to get anyone permission to think I'm available outside of the set hours, but I might write emails and it's scheduled to a certain time.
Adrian Smude: So I'm sitting the president's but I can do that, so right now my life and that Harmony world and the benefits of it is my wife is a travel RN. We're in Maine right now as our home base. So she works overnights. So basically a three days that I cram most of my business into so today's a very straight through day and I planned it that way on purpose. So then when she's off and not sleeping and not working. We're free. I might have some phone call or something. I have to take care, but for the most part it's open and I get to choose to do that.
Adrian Smude: someone tell me the hours. I have to work. So to me that's a huge benefit being geographically free. I can run my business from my phone and getting to be where I want when I want with who I want. That's my purpose for the business my personal life, not me serving the business.
Nino Pingera: I love that. I mean, that's really what's drawn me to entrepreneurship is the ability to design the life that you want.
Adrian Smude: Yeah. It's different things.
Nino Pingera: I mean, yes, it comes with extra responsibilities and you have to do things differently than what everyone else does and that's a challenge for people but it's absolutely possible and I love that's what this show is all about to be able to Showcase how other people have done that. let's talk about Some of the unexpected negatives. I mean, that are inherent in being an entrepreneur.
00:25:00
Adrian Smude: Know pretty much what I just said you're on call. Especially in the growth phase,…
Nino Pingera: Yeah.
Adrian Smude: the growth phase. We don't have these processes and set up. We usually don't even have a team because I think most people start out with very limited money and more maybe time than money at least in the small business world. So you have to answer the phone you have to do all of these things the things you don't really enjoy until you build up the business the point that you can hand off items or you get the mindset that they need to contact me on my time and not be like I need a video. need to sell. No product. so kind of creating that framework in the hustle at the beginning and I don't like to
Adrian Smude: I respect Hustle, but don't like to promote it and I'll say the Grant Cardone way, I've learned stuff from him and I've taken a lot of stuff but the work work Never Eat Alone never do anything. That's not in business. I don't subscribe to that mentality and I think it's very easy to get sucked into that an entrepreneur where world and even if it's not a perfect never build out of it. we talked about working 50 60 90 100 hours a week and you replace the W2 job with a job that you're doing everything and it's either get into that cycle.
Adrian Smude: Than it is the building business and once you're in it, I think it's difficult to get out of that as I go. So those are like to me some of the potential negatives and of the beginning phases of the grind quote unquote in the hustle quote unquote that we have to do which I just want to encourage people to limit it to not get out of balance at a harmony with a personal life. So yeah.
Nino Pingera: right Right, and that's tough because a lot of people especially when they're first starting out, they've got the side hustle, They still have their main job. And so to get to a point where they can leave that, they got a cram in all those extra hours on weekends and nights. And so it's a challenge. Do you have any advice for people that are kind of in that stage and they're trying to make the transition?
Adrian Smude: And keep coming back to that Vision thing. I wish I sold Visionworks,…
Nino Pingera: Yeah, right.
Adrian Smude: it's when you have a very strong Vision or…
Nino Pingera: Maybe you should.
Adrian Smude: a it's on the same world that it's Why then it makes it easier to skip the bar with your buddies. And go home and grind out or create something. I actually had a point where I didn't hang out that much because I was excited. I wanted the business more than having another drink at the bar. I think now I have a pretty decent Ebbs and flows. I'm still figuring out for my personal life, but I wake up excited about it. And if you have something there and that's not every piece of my business. I don't want to come off of this fake thing, the Facebook where everything looks fake and perfect.
Adrian Smude: There's items that I don't love doing but all I did is jumped on a podcast and talked about business and talked about that would be cool. If I didn't do anything else like that would light me up. So having even a day I get up excited to do it and then in between that I do what I have to do and it kind of helps pull me along. And look for small wins and get that momentum moving, get the smallest one you can on days that I am discouraged or it's been a little bit. I look for the smallest win possible. That I can get. And build on that momentum.
Nino Pingera: yeah, so you've mentioned excitement a couple times and I think that's so much more important than passion. We're always talking about how you need to be passionate about what you're doing. Passion is kind of this elusive word for me. I don't not really sure what that Fully means for me but it's easy to feel excited and no one that's there and to follow that is been really a game changer in my life. And it absolutely gives you the energy to put in the extra hours and do the extra work. I love going off of that as kind of an indicator of when you're in the right thing.
Nino Pingera: yeah, I just got
Adrian Smude: I love that. I never thought of it the differentiating a little bit and it makes me think of when you explain that. I'm excited about my business. Obviously I get to make some money in it. And then give to some Charities that I'm passionate about but I'm not excited to go and start that whole charity do a whole work. So I think that's kind of differentiating a little bit like what you're talking about is I am passionate about it but not enough to do the work that is behind the scenes on it. So I get to just hand them for money. And still get to help my passions.
00:30:00
Nino Pingera: Yeah, so when you're excited to do the work, I mean, that's when you found gold. I think that's…
Adrian Smude: Yeah.
Nino Pingera: what we need to be pursuing.
Nino Pingera: Last time you talked about being big on massive imperfect action. What does that mean to you? And as the listeners of this leverage that in our lives?
Adrian Smude: so massive is big. Imperfect means we are planning to make mistakes and that's gonna sound scary a lot of people and then action is actually doing something. but when we do that we are taking the action and I say it's so slow. It sounds so simple, but that's where we get stuck a lot. I'm no different. I do it here and there I still get stuck. I mean I just got myself so stuck on this topic. taking some action moving a little and then failing forward John Maxwell had a great book failing forward and that is a Skill set I have learned to acquire is to take some action fail forward ask my coach my guide for help. And as I've studied successful people I've learned that's also a skills that I have Tony Robbins find a commonalities of all these successful people.
Adrian Smude: Everyone I have studied has taken action and failed over and over and over again. They all have tons of failures and actually most of them they talk about their big failure. And that's how they even sell you into their stuff. so why then are we scared of failing? It's that ego. I think it comes back to but all these super successful people have failed a lot. So not being scared to fail, taking that action feeling for the most important part is a fail forward. And then for me it's asked for help because we are planning to fail. We need someone to ask for help. That's where a mastermind group a coach, wherever it is that you get your help and is to get back up and do it again and know what's gonna happen again, and every time I've done that, I've been more successful than just waiting around six months to finding Perfect answer.
Adrian Smude: And then sometimes it's already gone like that whole project is irrelevant because we're no such a fast-paced moving world and the mental bandwidth it takes up. so
Nino Pingera: Yeah. Yeah, it's a really interesting point because I think a lot of that fear comes from people thinking that they're betting the farm and that there's not going to be maybe any recovery. So if they try something and it works, they'll have to go back to their old job or whatever it is. But in reality failure comes in little increments,…
Adrian Smude: yeah.
Nino Pingera: right and you can always pivot. And if you're pivoting learning quickly and pivoting fast, then it doesn't have to be this devastating thing that completely destroys you. Right. And so that's…
Adrian Smude: Really? Yeah.
Nino Pingera: what I think a lot of people are getting wrong about failure in general.
Adrian Smude: That's a perfect way to order it and then just go learn from it. I got caught up for a long time and not going when a review it but now we review everything. What could we have done a little bit better and failure now teaches me. I know I have had some of the at painful failure The worst failure it is the bigger. My growth has been. So I slightly look forward to it, obviously I still don't want it because it's painful at the time. But I know now I get huge growth if I utilize the failure the right way.
Nino Pingera: right Right. I try and…
Adrian Smude: piece right there
Nino Pingera: frame everything and I don't know if we talked about this on our last call try to frame everything as a data point. Everything is a test and a data point and so you'll try something you get feedback. And the more you try the more feedback you get the more data you collect and the better decisions you can make moving forward. So
Adrian Smude: Perfect. the light bulb was even a thousand ways not to make a light bulb Edison is something like that as well.
Nino Pingera: right, Thomas, Edison
Adrian Smude: Yeah. I love that. I'm gonna use that data point I found another data points.
Nino Pingera: Yeah, yeah, at least that helps me. I don't know if it's useful to anyone else out there. Yeah.
Adrian Smude: What you're reframing is, that's really what we're doing when we do that and then we don't get bogged down to this negative thing.
Nino Pingera: Absolutely, absolutely. and going back what you said earlier keeping. The momentum going is such a key part of reaching success, So you can't let yourself get bogged down you have to be able to keep rolling and keep moving forward. And so yeah the reframing absolutely helps with that. Let's talk about some of the biggest pieces. That you recommend people hire out immediately. Because I think they're a few things that we mentioned last time that I think are really really important. You said you hire out the bookkeeping and you have a fractional see how is that changed your business as you've done that?
00:35:00
Adrian Smude: I waited way too long for that. And also at one point my wife was taking care of the bookkeeping. I have seen that work maybe 1% of the time. And it's a terrible idea. I don't recommend it to anyone. It's gonna cause pinching between the personal life, which is not good. And unless she or he is automatically a bookkeeper. and that's still not always the best idea. They don't know what they're doing really either and then you're gonna expect more than they can do. So hiring that out. Yes, it cost me money.
Adrian Smude: But I actually know my books I know where I'm making money. So I'm making more than I expected. I realize I wasn't making that much there. So you have a product you understand what products are selling the most and what's your more than selling the most which are actually giving you more next income and you can plan better or the future and tax purposes. I love hiring that out and then I got a good CPA and we text plan. Then I decided to get a fractional CFO. That was the reason that I really want to turn this into a better functioning business. I don't plan to ever sell my business. But you did make that comment of that I believe in building a business that you could sell because that means it's ran really well even I don't plan ever sell it. I got a lot of that mentality from the myth.
Adrian Smude: Where he basically talked about, build your business as if it was a franchise. And then you're doing the pieces within it you really love. And so I keep that mentality there. It's been a little painful also with the fractional CFO, but I'm happy I did it and painful because he's asking me questions that I don't know the answers to and he's forcing me to go do work that I don't want to do. but now we're getting the real answers and then we're creating something so I don't have to deal with that on that painful part of it as much instead of doing weekly reports for me. I just want a monthly. He's like you're gonna understand your business a little bit lag and I'm like, that's okay for me.
Adrian Smude: Because it's super meat. So painful to do some of the bookkeeping stuff that I have to do. I'm not fully removed from it, but I do very little of it and so it's just really knowing your numbers. It's not just looking at your bank account. there's more money in it. Then last month there is money in it. I've had those times are they're not money in it right this check. Not mailed out yet. It helps you plan forward a little bit more. hiring that out. I would really say look at all the tasks you do. And what are the lowest dollar item task? So if you want to get really into it, you literally write down everything right Social media. I'm into social media post, so you get that detail on something. You just put social media or marketing. And then which of those Can you hire out with someone so posting?
Adrian Smude: You can hire that output VA pretty easy. How That's not so easy because you have to prep a lot. So maybe you don't hire that piece out yet. And maybe that's gonna bring in more traffic to you. So you want to keep that one's a higher dollar item. It's gonna make you more money. So it's kind of figuring that out every part of the business. In a couples with what do you not enjoy?
Nino Pingera: Yeah, I love that. Especially what you touched on with the numbers. It's so crucial to understand your costs what your actual margins are, right and you need someone that knows…
Adrian Smude: perfect you
Nino Pingera: what they're doing with the bookkeeping. Absolutely and then I love that you mentioned the CPA so that you actually planning for taxes. I've seen businesses just absolutely get destroyed because taxis and roles around they're not prepared for it. They're not set up their business isn't structured properly and they get eaten alive. So those are huge pieces that everyone really needs to
Nino Pingera: Twitter letting professionals handle because I think it's so easy as an entrepreneur to say. I can learn anything I can do anything. I can be everything in my business and that's not true. And so we have to get honest about that and especially with the finances. If you're not are eating an expert in that you're essentially your taking a huge Risk by not just giving it to someone that knows what they're doing. So, thank you for touching on that. man let's talk about
00:40:00
Nino Pingera: okay, and a few times you've brought up certain books you mentioned the miracle morning. You mentioned just now there's another one.
Adrian Smude: sailing forward John Maxwell
Nino Pingera: Yeah feeling Yeah, John Maxwell. So it sounds like you're an Avid Reader. Are there other books that you recommend people read?
Adrian Smude: Yeah, so when people ask me one of my favorite books, the answer is almost the last book I read Because that's the book. I needed the most at that point in my life. I was heavier into the business book real estate or actual business as I was building it today. I'm honestly heavier and mindset. I think the business thing is Relatively easy do this and you get this it's kind of algorithmic. But what usually screw that up is our mindset. And if you have the right mindset the business of the much easier, so the miracle morning is the mindset piece for a business though. I want to say the traction. I don't remember the author on that.
Nino Pingera: the traction
Adrian Smude: He has a few different what the heck is eos. You got a few different books. It is built for a little bit larger business. I think it's like five employees or maybe it's 10 plus so we did have to alter it a little bit. because I have multiple seats in the business but you just go into it, but I run a lot on kind of that concept. some other books mindset wise is anything like John Maxwell, he's got some books some consistently kind of diving back into him.
Adrian Smude: Nothing else is coming. the go-giver series. Those are fantastic the original one and I think it's just called the go giver and it's a mindset book, but then they have a leadership version. They have a marriage version and then they have an entrepreneur I think is the other version of it. They're all very similar, but it's such a good book of getting your right mindset kind of get bunions in mentality. We alluded to earlier. branding wise building a story brand I love that book for that. I tore apart my entire website after that. it's completely through this guy. My website says completely different.
Adrian Smude: And I love following Alex harmoni. Anything is the hermosis thinking.
Nino Pingera: Or Mosey, yeah.
Adrian Smude: Yeah, I followed him for a long time. I'm just now getting in his books and they're fantastic. I'm really listening to Capers right away the hundred million dollar offer. a lot of these guys you can just listen to their stuff and…
Nino Pingera: Yeah.
Adrian Smude: my let and everything that man says is gold I'm digging the Jay Shetty right now, which is relationship mindset but relationship is the same you and I My wife a future customer current customer,…
Nino Pingera: Yeah.
Adrian Smude: they're all relationships. they're a little bit different. But the base of the communication relationship is the same with all of them. So I'm very big in a studying that and…
Nino Pingera: Yeah.
Adrian Smude: yeah, that's a quick brain dump on something that came to mind.
Nino Pingera: I love that. I almost glossed over what you're doing for marketing and so I want to touch on that as well real quick because I know we're kind of starting to press up on time. But tell me about your approach to marketing because I love what you're doing what I've seen on social media. tell us about your approach to that.
Adrian Smude: I am the person next door. That's my marketing. I'm not the big corporate structure because it fit my personality. So I have learned I absolutely love marketing. I love branding myself. I never thought it was important. So my t-shirt from people actually watching I wear a bright yellow t-shirt today. I'm wearing lifestyle REI, which is my education side. My buying brand is my Wi-Fi's mobile homes. It works because it's my personality and I've done some split tests. I've studied some of it some people want the big corporate and some people want the person next door. If I had the big corporate look if I was in a suit and tie and everything right now, I would be a little uncomfortable.
Adrian Smude: And that's okay. I need to fit to my personality. My people are gonna want to do business with me and other people when I want to do business with the big Corporation and we need both. There's no right or wrong as long as you're going with your personality and making it fun and exciting with it. So the people that think Adrian's too loud to colorful I don't like that which are usually introverts. That's okay. Do one that fits your style and your people are gonna want to talk to you. And that's a lot of it if it's fun you'll keep doing it. And we always have to be marketing and every marketing person we ever follow says that is the number one thing you can't just have sales because sales don't ever come in without marketing.
00:45:00
Adrian Smude: So almost every business is actually a marketing business or they hire out the marketing if they're not good at it. We don't want to I love marketing. it's my fun personality. I go with 70% fun and 30% sales and that's not exact. I don't do all the calculations. I just try to make sure there's more give and more fun in my world my social media and any of my marketing my blog and all that. And a little bit all right. if you like this here's something I have that you can pay for. And it's fun.
Nino Pingera: Yeah, I love that you phrased marketing as giving because a lot of people don't make that connection that is what you're doing. Right you're adding value to the world and…
Adrian Smude: Yeah.
Nino Pingera: when people see the value that you're offering right that's what attracts them to you. And so I love that and…
Adrian Smude: Okay.
Nino Pingera: love your colorful personality. I love that. You just wear it on your shirts and all the time everything that I've seen from you you're wearing the shirts those bright and young colors to draw attention. and I think it's awesome. I think more people need to be doing…
Adrian Smude: Thank you. What's the old Ziggler quote?
Nino Pingera: what you're doing.
Adrian Smude: If you help enough people get You'll get what you want. I hope I didn't put her that. Because I'm a big Zig fan Jim Rowan all those older mindset guys and…
Nino Pingera: Yeah.
Adrian Smude: it's really a sales guy. I thought he was only a mindset. So hope guy and as I dug deeper into his stuff, he's actually a sales guy. He's helping that's exactly what you said.
Nino Pingera: Of wanting to add value to people's life. They'll reciprocate that they want to give value back to you just naturally, So I love that that's key. Where can people go to connect with you.
Adrian Smude: I'm on a lot of the social media platforms LinkedIn. I'm a Facebook generation. So that's where I'm more active. But really the best place is a good lifestyle Dash REI. Slash s f g l so that's a custom landing page for the podcast here. And on there. I had a PDF it's free, you put your email and we'll email it to you and it's on private money. So it's seven people you already know that have private money because in all business we need funding and I'm a little more.
Adrian Smude: Advantages to people that are not Banks. I like human beings. It feels better when I write that check and they're all different reasons, but we can never have too much funding so that could be a gap sometimes a business. So it's just a give there and so you can find me there and…
Nino Pingera: Thank you.
Adrian Smude: if I can help in any way, I love the help.
Nino Pingera: Thank for anyone listening we'll have that link in the show notes so you can go there to check that out. Yeah, thank you so much for being on the show Adrian. It's been a pleasure. I know that I got a lot of value out of this call. I'm sure our listeners did as well. So if you're out there listening to this, please make sure to share this and whatever platform you're on make sure you subscribe so that you don't miss another episode. Thank you so much for being on the show Adrian and we'll see you guys in the next one.
Adrian Smude: welcome. Have a good. man.
Nino Pingera: Okay, perfect. That was great.
