Cut The Tie | Own Your Success

“I Want to Spend Time Where I Want, With Who I Want”—Pablo Gonzalez on Redefining His Path After the Military

• Thomas Helfrich

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Cut The Tie Podcast with Pablo Gonzalez

For many veterans and corporate professionals, the transition into a new chapter of life comes with a difficult realization: the “safe path” isn’t always the one that leads to real freedom. In this episode of Cut The Tie, host Thomas Helfrich sits down with Pablo Gonzalez, a United States Air Force veteran turned entrepreneur, who now helps business owners unlock global talent and reclaim their most valuable resource — time.

Pablo shares how he went from explosive detection dog handler to co-owner of Global Talent Direct, a veteran-led company that helps small and mid-sized businesses hire pre-vetted international professionals without the overhead. His story is rooted in discipline, service, and a deep desire to build a life where freedom and time matter more than job titles or traditional definitions of success.

About Pablo Gonzalez

Pablo Gonzalez is the co-owner and Head of Broker Relations at Global Talent Direct, a veteran-owned and operated company that helps small and mid-sized businesses scale through pre-vetted remote talent. Based in Atlanta, Pablo works with U.S. businesses to access highly skilled global professionals through a transparent, flat-fee model that prioritizes fairness, impact, and long-term support.

A former Air Force explosive detection dog handler, Pablo brings military discipline, service-driven leadership, and a global mindset into entrepreneurship. Today, he empowers business owners to reduce overhead, increase profitability, and reclaim their time by hiring right — without sacrificing quality or ethics.

In this Episode, Thomas and Pablo Discuss:

  • Why stability is an illusion
    Pablo explains why the illusion of a “safe job” keeps many people stuck, and how betting on himself became the turning point.
  • How military discipline transfers directly to entrepreneurship
    From leadership to resilience to mission-first focus, Pablo reveals how his service shaped his approach to business.
  • The danger of taking on too much
    Pablo opens up about the entrepreneurial trap of overworking, and the importance of systems, prioritization, and work-life boundaries.
  • Why hiring global talent is about empowerment, not job displacement
    Pablo addresses the common misconceptions about global hiring and explains how small businesses can use talent sourcing to fuel local impact.

Key Takeaways

  • Veterans are uniquely equipped for entrepreneurship because discipline and purpose transfer across any industry.
  • You can’t be the bottleneck and the builder at the same time.
  • The only real security is your ability to create value, not your W-2.
  • Scaling starts with freeing up the founder’s headspace, not just their hours.

Connect with Pablo Gonzalez

🌐 Website: https://www.globaltalentdirect.com
 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablo-gonzalez-4687a322b/

Connect with Thomas Helfrich

🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/thelfrich
 📘 Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutthetie
 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thelfrich/
 🌐 Website: https://www.cutthetie.com
 📧 Email: t@instantlyrelevant.c

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SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to the Cut the Tie Podcast. Hello. I'm your host, Thomas Helfrick, on a mission to help you cut that tie to whatever's holding you back from your success. As I always say, you gotta cut the tie to success that you own, not someone else's. So define it yourself first. Today we're joined by Pablo. Gonzalez. I like to do a little pause there because it's like you get you with the with your last name, you can drop the base of Gonzalez.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you. Thank you very much. I'm happy to be here. And uh I I feel like I'm I'm one of thousands of Pablo Gonzalez's, so people always have a a fun time trying to find me on LinkedIn. Millions, probably.

SPEAKER_01:

There's a guy working at my house right now. His name's Alex Garcia. I'm like, you can have a more common name than that. Pablo Gonzalez might might compete with it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah, it's like the John Smith of uh of Latin America. So it is true.

SPEAKER_01:

Uh take a moment. Introduce yourself, where you're from, what it is you do.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, absolutely. So my name is Pablo Gonzalez. Uh, I'm one of the owners and the head of broker relations at Global Talent Direct, uh based out of Atlanta right now. Uh probably gonna be relocating here soon. But we're a veteran-owned and operator firm that helps businesses uh scale by hiring pre-vetted international professionals for remote roles. So we specialize in giving small and mid-side companies access to the same global hiring power that the big corporations have without the overhead. Yeah, and that's a great value proposition because you can get uh you know, to get good people.

SPEAKER_01:

We do this with our own team through the Philippines and we pay our people better. Uh at the same time, you know, it's you you shouldn't, you know, expect U.S. prices at the same time. I say it that way. And and the people are people wherever they are, Latin America. Um I'm not a big fan of buying out of India. I mean, it's the just cultural differences of how we work. Uh, but there are places. So uh there are but there the the what I was getting to there is there are quite a few competitors in the space, and there's people who like internally just take care of it. Where do you how do you guys differentiate in that?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, uh so what makes us unique is uh that we run on a success-only flat fee model. Um so you know, I I have uh plenty of competitors, I'm I'm sure you've heard of some, but to give an example, one charges about$3K a month for any executive assistant. Um and I had a personal connection who actually worked for them out of Columbia, where I'm from, and uh asked her, you know, how much she was getting paid, and it was about$600. Um and the cost of living in Colombia is low, but it's not that low. Um and so for me, that's I'm all for profit margins, but that didn't sit right. So uh no endless percentage on contracts for us, no inflated markups. We only win when our clients win. Uh and we're able to peace of mind, essentially, you know that everything that you're paying is going directly to your candidate, and you see that reflected in the uh in the work output.

SPEAKER_01:

So they pay you a flat fee and then they pay the candidate, basically. Exactly. Yes. Yeah. So it's it's almost like an access model for the talent. They don't like it, they get a you guys help find somebody new.

SPEAKER_00:

Precisely, yeah. And it's uh free consultations, free interviews, uh only pay when you want to hire somebody.

SPEAKER_01:

And that's good. And in in uh the margin business is fine, I agree with you. Uh, but if you don't pay your people right, they they do get second jobs, they look elsewhere, they're unfocused because they don't find what they're doing in the street or super important to them. They're spending that time trying to find more money. Um absolutely. But that matters, it really does matter. Um so as a principle, um sometimes you do have to pay people less because you just can't afford it. I've been through it. And at the same and at the same time, when things are good, you you need to reward your employees for that that ride along. So I I agree with you on this. Um so people can stalk you just a little bit while you're talking. Where do you need to go?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so uh you can find me on the website globaltalentdirect.com. Uh it's got the contact info there, uh, or find me on LinkedIn if you can. Uh it's uh Pablo Gonzalez. And uh I I had a hair in in that one, but uh as I mentioned, I recently shaved my head uh um so that it it's not false advertising and it'll grow back eventually. But that's right.

SPEAKER_01:

So to be clear, he's doing it because his mom has breast cancer, so he's supporting her um with that.

SPEAKER_00:

So good for you, good song.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you. Start with you. How do you define success?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so you know, success for me, it's it's about freedom, not not money, not titles, uh, freedom and time, not just for myself, but really any business owner can relate. Uh time and freedom are the most valuable things that I can provide for anyone. Uh, the ability to spend time where I want with who I want, doing work that matters for me. Um, that means just being present with my wife and daughter while building something that gives that exact time and freedom for others as well. Yeah, and that's a big one, right?

SPEAKER_01:

It's it's it's it's controlling your account, the captain of your calendar, right? And so to speak, and giving it for others. Uh in now, talk about yeah, you have a neat neat journey. So go into your journey a little bit and maybe identify kind of the big things that were holding you back, the metaphoric ties, so to speak. You you had a cut to to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, absolutely. So background, I guess, where my professional career started was uh I spent six years in in the United States Air Force as an explosive detection dog handler. Um and after separating, believe it or not, my wife asked me to do something where she could sleep at night. Um and uh it was important for me to do something that I was still uh helping people. Um service is mandatory in Columbia, where I'm from. Uh, and that's a principle I always grew up with. So I wanted to carry that on and make sure that I was able to help people. Um I'm 100% disabled, so I don't have to work. And I tried that, but it just didn't stick. Uh, you know, I want to contribute to society. Uh I jumped into sales and business consulting where I learned how to drive revenue and build relationships and carrying people specific journeys to become business owners and and how I could help them reach their goals was was great. Um, but I kind of realized I was trading time for money, uh, stuck in corporate metrics that didn't really align with my personal values. And at the end of the day, the impact I was having on my clients wasn't as big as I hoped, um, which is tough to find, you know, matching the impact I had in the military. I was, you know, doing uh first contact with villages in West Africa, dropping in central supplies and security suits for the president and vice president. But now I've changed my mindset on that where I don't really view it as a problem as much as I do a challenge to strive for every day. Um so in short, the the tie I had to cut was, you know, the belief that I need to stay in a traditional career path for stability and and for helping people. And I had to let go of the W-2 safety net to really take full ownership of my own path and and help others and myself.

SPEAKER_01:

So six years in the military, you your wife goes, Hey, enough. We're going were you on two-year renewals? I think there's like certain opportunities you can renew and get out. You just can't be like, hey, by the way, I'm out. They're like, no, you're in.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, no. So uh Air Force, how the contracts work there is uh four or six-year contracts, and uh I wanted to do as much as I could. Um 20 was not necessarily in the books for me personally. It's that you know, I just wanted to do my part and and say I served and um and then go out and about. And you'll find a lot of veterans don't really think much after the fact. And I myself was guilty of that very thing. Uh, but it's uh finding your purpose, and and now I'm I'm also on on the advisory board of a nonprofit called uh savvy, which is a strategic alliance for veteran integration, and it's resources for all veterans, but specifically builds tracks out for a year pre-separation and post-separation um to really help folks get back home, not just physically but mentally as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Did you uh did you have a tough time agreeing to that w when you were in the because that like that you you identify with that, it's fun, it's good, it's got order. You know, yeah, you definitely have a sense of purpose, I would think, in it. But what obviously you're wide trumped it, but like it tell me about that transition just a bit.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so it was it was tough. And and tough would be a bit of an understatement. I I think I am a lot luckier than a lot of uh of fellas and in and gals in in my same shoes. But you're leaving not just uh a brotherhood-sisterhood, you're leaving, you know, you're you're going through the worst and and the best times with this group of people that whether you like them or not, you you get bonded. Um and and then you go out into the world. And uh it's it's sad to say it, but a lot of the times people are told, you know, you're not gonna survive out there. You know, it's this is this is how you do it. And I don't know if it's a retention idea or what. It's it, you know, but it's it's just not the truth. Uh veterans are some of the most successful people I know when when they get out, uh, if they're able to, you know, use their everything they learned from the service and and translate it into civilian side. Uh, that sense of purpose, um, it just translates in in any industry.

SPEAKER_01:

I I I believe veterans are in the the prime spot to become entrepreneurs, specifically because they've they have discipline, they've they've worked for tough people of order, and and I would think that would be a very hard transition to work for a civilian manager that's not of the same quality, maybe that you might have gotten in the military. And I'm not not saying that people on the civilian side, but it's just different. And that difference is is probably very irritating. It is, it is. Who's a member, but has less life experience than you coming in and you're like, we used to beat people like right? Like you know it's like you can't do that now. It's like there's a way to fix this, but you won't let me. Yeah. Um, and so it's it's difficult. And so so I think for entrepreneurship coming into it, it's uh it's a logical path. You can keep your own bus, you can apply some of your skills. You do have, if you take the resources, like you said, there is there's a lot of resources organized around just the idea that you're a veteran, we know it's hard. Um, how did you get your started in your business though, specifically? Like you see you you took it there, but how how did you how'd that come about?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so I'll give you a little background. Um, but I the the it really started um and I'll I'll go a little even further back, but during my time business consulting, I just kept hearing the same problem over and over uh from from business owners, entrepreneurs, nonprofits. I wish I had more help. I can't afford to bring someone else on. I feel like I started my job, not my business. Um and it was about eight months ago, really, that uh a LinkedIn connection of mine, Christian Ruff, posted about an opportunity. Uh a little background on him, he owns a company called Uncommon Elite, which business owners and investors go to when they want veteran leadership with a very niche experience within their uh operations. Um after message messaging Christian, he introduced me to Kayvon Bina and John Matzner, and they run Sagan Passport, which is our parent company. Uh they showed me the kind of impact that global talent can have, both locally and globally, and and told me the work that they have been able to do um for for everybody. Uh and and they but they run on an enterprise level. So folks that need to hire like 30 to 100 people a year, and they wanted a veteran with a global mentality and and a business background to help uh help start Global Talent Direct. And it was right then that I realized you know I was I was building someone else's dream in in corporate and not mine. Uh I felt like I was just sprinting on a treadmill. And uh here was this amazing opportunity not to just change my life, but the community around me and nationally. So um to you know, name the podcast, uh cutting the tie for me meant betting on myself. Uh we launched Global Talent Direct with a mission to help business owners unlock global talent in a way that levels a playing field. And obviously it was scary at first, but clarity came when I realized that if I don't take control now, I'm always gonna wonder what is.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

And which felt actually scarier, or leaving military or or going entrepreneurial route? This that's you know, that's a very good question. Uh, and I have to say, believing the military, it's uh, you know, I I I knew I could do there's things that, you know, have happened to us and and as veterans and that really lets us know I can I can handle it, you know. And um a lot of the times it's a double-edged sword in the sense that we don't really seek help sometimes. Um but I, you know, having this amazing uh parent company that already has the the groundwork for a lot of it, and uh just any placements I've done have have always been people always thank me and and the impact that I'm having now is it's just uh ten times more than when I was doing corporate side.

SPEAKER_01:

What's the biggest tie you're struggling to cut right now?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh man.

SPEAKER_01:

If you start crying, we're gonna we're we've got it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Yeah, no, biggest tie I'm struggling to cut is um I think sometimes I I take a little bit too much on my plate. Um and and that's uh again, just the the the curse of of the veteran and and entrepreneur most of the time, uh, with the sense of I'm always trying to grow, uh, to push and to build. And um that you know can bite you in the butt sometimes if you don't that take that time for yourself to to unwind and spend time with the family. Um so gotta be, you know, shout out to to my wife, daughter, and and my mentors to to get me to where I am and um the community I built along the way because you know the it's I've met business owners in all sorts of fields, and uh I have this awesome circle where we don't really care who gets paid as long as the client's taken care of. Um and that's that's all I can ask for.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Do you have a system for addressing that tie of uh because that that's one that sneaks up on you like every month? Yes. Yeah, a way to manage it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I've been not efficiently yet. Uh so I I've been working on it. Um I uh, you know, I don't know if you've read the Getting Things Done method, um, but it's it really helps talk about, you know, how to prioritize things in a way that you're not in those moments where you do get to spend time with the family, you're able to be present and not thinking, did I send that email out? Did I do this and that? You know, and and so I've it's uh it's a work in progress, um, but uh it definitely definitely something that I've been prioritizing.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it it lets I'm I've struggled with it as well. Uh you know, I I live to cut the tie principle of you know, no drink, you know, get get your male hormones going right, get your adult ADHD working, you know, therapy, all the things. And I'm out hourly about it. Uh I will say that, you know, we we discussed this, you know, I'm gonna cut back on shows like 100% until I figure out what we need to do with it because it starts taking away from higher revenue generating activities or taking a walk. Things that might be have a like a maybe like uh initially I do this, but now yeah, I think a walk is probably better than me doing a and so it's amazing that you reshift your your micro definitions of success for some things, right? And there's a macro one focus one on the show, but there's so it's good that you have a book or something going with it. But it it is a that feeling of getting too much done and being busy is uh uh yeah. I don't think I'm wired that way, but somehow I'm in that in that mode. Uh do you struggle with this as well? I I do, where yeah, you fill your day sometimes with work and you go, like, I didn't make shit money from that. What what did I do that for? And you're like, why am I keeping myself busy? I sometimes have to manage my other side, my my better better two-thirds of she's like, Are you gonna go do something? I'm like, because today I don't really have a whole lot. Oh yeah. But then you're like, well, you're not making enough money. You go, you should be working. I'm like, I can go down and bang on the computer or pretend to for two hours or get my head right tennis or something. I don't know. So my that point is you struggle with things like this, this like busy to stay work or at least not be bothered that you're not working.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh yeah. No, I I'm the same way. And and you know, there's things that we invest our time in, whether it be networking events that maybe it's the first time we've gone and it wasn't a great one. You know, that that's potentially two hours of your day. So I always try to make it up on the tail end. Um, and that, you know, comes up to to bite me with with family time and everything, but it's also a bit of the sacrifice where it's at least, you know, in the first couple of years of the business, uh, it's just gotta get done. And so I'm eternally thankful to to my wife to be able to uh take the time um and and watch our daughter grow for for the times I can't be there, uh, so that I can you know do this for us and uh she knows why I do it and and not just for our family, but the community and to be able to give that headspace to to business owners as well, because at the end of the day, if if you know a plumber is having to run his social media and he's like, oh man, that I post today, uh, that's just something he didn't start that business to do that. And so that's that's where we come in as well.

SPEAKER_01:

It's interesting, by the way. So it's like you talk about like a plumber, right? Yeah. I see some companies uh that like they only focus on franchise leads, and I'm like, so smart. I wouldn't know what to pick though. And like, because as an entrepreneur, you kind of pucker up and you're like, where do I lay that flag down when I can like for what we do for consultancy and growth, we work really well across industries to help you get out of your own weeds because I'm not in your forest, right? I'm I can look at it differently. And do you guys struggle with that from a niche of who you provide things to? Or is it something in your world that or how does it work, I guess, probably in your own are you with that?

SPEAKER_00:

So honestly, probably one of my favorite things of Global Town Direct. Uh so my time in business consulting was spent in the uh the PEO side of things, the professional employee organization. Um, and it's super niche in the sense that if someone kicked in the door that day and was like, I need this now, it's like we can't give it to you. We need your medical information, your uh zip codes, your employees' first last birth dates and your firstborn. And and even then, you might get rejected, you know? And uh with this, it's it's not we're not restricted. It's it's really any business that uh would like the extra help without the overhead. Um and it it's been it's been amazing. I mean, on a professional level, it just created a lot more impact than I ever had in corporate. I know I said that already, but I'm helping business owners save hundreds of thousands in payroll and reinvested into growth. Uh, and not just that, but again, clear their headspace so that they have that stuff managed. Um I I, you know, it was just the mission statement I've come up with GTD is helping businesses leverage global talent for their local impact. So global talent, local impact in short, because at the end of the day, every business has employees stateside they want to get bonuses to. Uh, you know, they have charities they want to donate to. Uh, can't do that if if their business isn't running how they want to. They can't do that if it's not profitable enough. So um that that's where we come in. I thought it was God Teams Division. I thought maybe Global Talent Direct, yes, or Cloud Teams Gravity and Isolid.

SPEAKER_01:

Then your division is out, then we'll we'll we'll go on first. Teams might it might be TGT. We don't know. Okay. Uh if you know you I I walked over this a little bit. You said you guys are vetted. Uh but and I I say that because I know on our teams uh for they work on my accounts first. So I can see they show up, do they do well, do they listen, do they take instruction, can they can get the brand before they go to clients, which is our form of training. I take the personal hit sometimes. Yeah. Um but but how do you guys do your your vetting? Because that that's super important. Because if I'm buying, let's say someone who's a sales business development, which I I would be interested in talking to you about because I can't find one that's yeah, usually the ones that you can find are no good, to be fair. Um, because they're out of work. Yeah. How do you guys given that you do a lot of different roles, yes, or or maybe you guys are more narrow than I'm seeing, but like how do you train for that? How do you get them vetted?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. So we have ready-to-go roles. Uh, and just to cover those real quick, we have customer support, executive assistants, I would say are the probably the most popular that people look for. But then we have marketing, accounting and finance, operations managers, sales folks. Um, and and how the vetting works is you know, we have job listings in one way, shape, or form, and uh they, you know, they apply, they go through our interview process. Uh a lot of times they have the the references as well with their US-based companies so that we're able to verify that. And we also test for obviously English fluency, but not just in the do you speak it uh shape, uh, but in the uh, you know, I speak fluent Spanish, but I can't tell you how to take a computer apart and put it together. So for for the accounting guys, they have to know those terms. Uh, same for the um, you know, marketing and and everything. So they have to know terms as it regards to their specific fields.

SPEAKER_01:

Do you guys do anything in the sales zone? I'm like, that's a very hard role to fill. Uh what I mean is someone using their own LinkedIn business account to go set meetings on my account or as somebody else's that you guys do.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. Uh we we love it. And uh it's it's definitely uh I think the biggest no-brainer for businesses because at the end of the day, with uh what their you know, cost of living and and what they're asking monthly, it's uh they they pay for their annual salary depending on what you're selling, obviously, but in one or two deals. Um so it's uh and and once they start seeing some of that commission too, uh it they're they're gonna work like nobody else. And um, you know, it's it's uh it's definitely a good area. And and a lot of times businesses have used us too with we have closers for sure, but uh I feel like a lot of times people want to try it out first, so they hire the salespeople as uh business development rep, and uh that way they can just do outbound activity and set appointments uh so that their estate side closers have the the open time to just handle their current clients and not so much the outbound stuff.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean that's that's the place to get to. Uh there's a stylistic piece you have to consider into that, right, with brands and other stuff. But I think a lot of people are comfortable with people setting for them. I mean, like uh yeah. What I mean by that is the per prospects are like, oh, okay, they're using they have somebody that's you know white labeled on their team or whatever it is to set for them. And I think a lot of people are much more comfortable in that role than who's this person from Columbus closing me right now for 5k well, what pull back on that, right? Like, like, no, go go talk to that guy. Like, I'm gonna get you time with him, but I gotta make sure you're actually serious because if I go there, he's gonna yell at me and you're in if you're not serious, right? It's like, oh yeah, I agree. There's a style, because honestly, I would take that deal all day because then I then I don't have to have any appointments except the ones that person's setting for me. And if you know seven out of ten are good and too close, we're all gonna be really happy, right? So it's like Exactly.

SPEAKER_00:

And it's the same as you know, just sales positions in general. Most of the time they're gonna start out as BDRs, uh, but our our talent has the background to they've been promoted several times and they're more than happy to prove themselves again. They're they're hungry and and ready to go.

SPEAKER_01:

So one thing you mentioned since your mom was going through some stuff with with, you know, because you shaved your head. Uh are those kind of the moments where you're like, I'm so grateful that I have set up I can capture my own calendar. I don't have to worry about someone saying, why aren't you in the stand-up meeting? or like, you know, why aren't you at your desk? Is that are those the moments for you though? Like maybe just like you know, you're playing through your daughter in the dirt, who knows? But like the point is like talk about how that go to impact. Like when by doing that, I'm able to do that. And that's talk about that. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so it's uh it's definitely um helped a lot. So I think part of the transition that I struggled with was um, you know, in the military, there's not this mindset of it's not in my job description. There's not this mindset of um, you know, it's mission first um mindset. And and a lot of times that bites us on in the butt on the on the coming out side of of the military. And and you know, so we're we're drowning ourselves for for a corporate organization, someone we've never met. Um and it was keeping me away from my family, and I wasn't really seeing the I, you know, I I was doing well. Uh it killed my quota, and I still wasn't really feeling financially where I wanted to be. Um, and so now, you know, I'm making more. I'm able to, like you said, in those key moments where my daughter wakes up from a nap, you know, I can go check in on her and not not worry about what's going on because I I know my calendar and um it it's really helped us as a family. And uh just being able to, I know at the end of the day, I'm gonna put in the work. It doesn't really matter what hours it is. Um so i if I need a mental hour, like you said, and and so that I can get back into it with 100% focus, uh, the ability to take that is um it's a game changer.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it is. And I I I I wanted you to call that out because uh it's beyond like I can sleep late, or it's it's like making moment for the actual things you're gonna need to be there for. Uh but also setting up what you guys are doing in your business allows business owners to also do that. Exactly. You're paying for a service and there has to be an ROI attached to it, and it could be I just don't have to do it, I can afford it. The more powerful, I think, honestly, is can that person generate revenue? And and when you can find help generate revenue for you, I look at it as oh wow, how can I get like 10 of you now? Yeah. Exactly. You're like, that'd be great. And then I'm like, yeah, I, you know, because each one, you know, I'm making 80% or 100% of what I pay them every month. Uh that's a great that's a that's a capital machine. Oh yeah. If you guys that is, it means if I put a hundred bucks in and I'm getting 200 back, I'm gonna try to find a way to get 10,000 in my hand. Yeah. At some point, by the way, if there's a block in returns where 10,000 might only get you 12,000 back, but it's still 2,000 versus uh to be fair. I I like that a lot. Uh but do you maybe just uh uh if you could go back in your timeline at any point, when would you go back? What would you do differently?

SPEAKER_00:

Oh man, you know, I um I've I asked myself that constantly. Uh just you know, there was a lot of hard times during the transition, not just for uh out of the military, um, not just for myself, but for my wife and and family. And um there's not I'm not really one that has the regrets. Um, so I I like I love where I am in life. Um very thankful to be here. And uh if the only thing, if I could keep everything else exactly the same, is I'd probably start my own business a lot sooner. Um it's uh, you know, for anybody listening, uh the the main thing to take away is is stability, is it's an illusion. You know, in the military we have a saying that complacency kills. Um and I've found that to be just as relevant now in businesses as it was then for me in the military. Umly real security is the ability to create value. Don't wait for permission to chase that freedom and uh cut the tie to what's holding you back. If if it's a job, a mindset, or a fear, um bet on yourself and you'll be surprised how how fast the doors open up when you make that decision.

SPEAKER_01:

I find sometimes too in that statement of just go after it. And you know you don't want to have too many eggs, too many baskets, but at the same time, it's it's risky to have just one source of income. And and even as an entrepreneur, you have one source of effective income. Uh where you know, if I lose two big clients, I'm we're hurting like like, oh my god, we have a couple whale, not enough fish, right? And I I look at it like, well, but why don't I like go start a side hustle of like power washing or something, like where it's like, you know, commercial, maybe it makes two, three K a month. I can you know find a guy that can go run it. It you know, but my point is people need work, they'll do it. You can find people who show up. And if you don't, you're just gonna get up early and go do some shit. Okay. Oh yeah. Quicker. Residential versus commercial. But my point would be is I've thought about that. I'm like, why can't I set find a secondary source of income that takes a little work to set up? I take what I know how to do with marketing. Do you find that on your own personal level or do you find it distracting? I I'm I'm getting more take as an entrepreneur because I find it might be, I mean, I think I might be distracting myself by doing it. Yeah. But do you do you go through those motions as well?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so I do have the the double-edged sword of being the hundred percent disabled, so I get uh pay from from Uncle Sam uh and that helps a lot. Um, but I I do find that uh and I wouldn't even necessarily consider it as a hindrance as much as uh a future goal. So I'd I'd love to, you know, get get that going and not even necessarily start something, but potentially buy a business that I could scale. Um and and you know, it a lot of private equity folks uh partner with us for for that exact reason of they can use us to make their business more profitable and and have a process that's repeatable. Um and that's how you have guys like you know, Alec Bormozi that just all all they've done is they perfected a process and they're repeating it. And and so that's really uh the most successful, wealthiest people I know have maybe like four meetings on their calendar a week because they just have a repeatable process with trusted checklists that they know everything's getting taken care of. And um, I think the biggest hindrance to business owners is oh, I'm I'm crucial to my business. Without me, it would crumble. And it's like, you know, if if you have that mindset, it's only gonna hurt you on the tail end with uh you want to leave the business at some point, whether it's to your children or someone else. And if your children don't want it, it's it's not gonna praise very highly if you are the main factor of success and you're leaving.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. No, so it's interesting. So I'm in the spot where uh a lot of entrepreneurs start this way, where you know we're about four and a half years in, or almost five actually, uh, where you know you you move into something where your knowledge is the offer and the and the piece. And I do not want to be the that's even more maddening than I think saying I have to be, because at least you have purpose and you're like you can find justification. I'm trying everything possible to be like two meetings a month, right? Oh yeah, oh yeah. Like, oh my God. Like that's more critical and more painful, I assure you, when you're like what is one thing I can repeat that have someone else go do. Um and I'll tell you, and this is the thing I'm gonna leave you with that you and I can do a follow-up on, is sale. It is in business development, executing the exact system that we go do for others. I can't do both. And like it it you always get these ebbs and flows. We've we've leveled it where it's like, okay, I'm not as busy. I can go do a little bit more business development, write more proposals, and I get busy, and then I get snake, and then you go through these cycles. Having somebody that can keep driving revenue for you allows you then to hire someone to go execute that revenue uh piece. And and that is a breaking point that I'm in the middle of right now. So I'm gonna follow up with you on that from uh from a from a uh resource standpoint. I know that's it's the who, not how, right? Absolutely. Once again, uh well actually if before I you know you do your your uh shameless plug here. What's the one question I should have asked you today and I didn't.

SPEAKER_00:

Uh one question. Um so I I've ran into this a few times but people say it's like are you are you just taking American jobs? Um and and that's uh I'm you know I'm not surprised you didn't ask it because it might seem like a combative a little bit but but uh I I always am happy to answer it because you know if you find someone that's got their master's 14 years of experience and they're willing to work for 2,000 bucks a month uh in the States, then I'll agree with you. Uh but otherwise I just refer back to my mission statement and it's it's helping local businesses uh leverage global talent for their local impact um at the end of the day and it's not not about taking anybody's jobs it's it's about freeing up that headspace for the small business owner um and and any business owner really and and that wants to that needs the help and so they can they can spend more time with their family. So that that's why I do it.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah I I I struggle with that not from a false from a political or standpoint. It's more of that's the world we live in yeah where if you're not you won't have a business. If you're not leveraging AI to drive down costs, increase scale, whatever, or outsource talent where it's allowed so some industries don't allow it, others do, you're losing because you're not as profitable. Those jobs by the way are available oh yeah but you just no one's gonna take them for the same price point. Exactly. So you know just because I have uh let's say an uh I'm an American and I have money and I go invest my thing in the print publishing and it tanks because the digital printer took my job like well you should probably invested your time someplace in money else. Same with like an MBA like did you really need it? Could could you have shifted your focus so I it's like to me it's an excuse. Yeah and it's to it's to advance someone else's agenda on some other item I I I kind of like pull back on I'm like oh just stop just go create something new else to do like I mean like that's our role like that part's gone we make our benefit is we should go create something new as America it's like because we have the ability to go do that. So anyway I could probably do a whole show and that alone um it's like just kind of shut the f up and and go get get all on it like like that's cool done. So yeah we'll hear it. All right uh who should get hold of you how do you want to do them?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah any any business owner that maybe has experienced a a lot of growth technically that that will you know fill up their back office and uh they might not want to hire somebody else just with the benefits and uh you have kids coming out of college asking$95,000 from no experience. So any business owner with with high growth uh anybody that wants to hire without uh murdering their overhead uh give me a call.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah I'll tell you what we've grown pretty well with all outsourced and I am I'm gonna say uh set up payroll for the first time in five years just because I was supposed to have payroll but I'm there's some kind of tax advantage that I'm gonna have to explain to me for doing aiming up points extra to pay myself anyway. You can use outsource and build a plenty plenty of good business with it I'll tell you right now so thank you once again give them the address where you want them to go.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely globaltalentdirect.com and that's the same for our Instagram Facebook um you'll you'll be able to find us that way and and just contact us through there.

SPEAKER_01:

Awesome. Thank you look forward to meeting in person here in Atlanta uh as uh as one of my ATL people and uh and I should ask did you go to Betfest?

SPEAKER_00:

I don't remember yes I did I did I did go to vetfest. Did you see me on stage? Wait vetfest is the one that's the one that was at the College Football Hall of Fame right no no no that's supposed to be at the aquarium with with the Netherlands one I was going to say I think I didn't know you were on stage there. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_01:

I had to leave just a little bit early I was the first one so I I rocked it I okay they were very they were in tears and then I got that's that's also jump in later uh thank you so much anybody who's made this part of the show thank you so much for listening and watching if you um if you're an entrepreneur you're gonna go be one find your success get after it cut all ties that's holding you back to it. Thanks for listening

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Thomas Helfrich

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