Say It Like You Mean It: The Blueprint for Bold Communication

summary

In this conversation, Jonathan Fodera and Matt Berthot explore the significance of clear communication and the emotional connection it fosters. Matt shares his journey from a small-town upbringing to becoming a voice coach, emphasizing the importance of intention and visualization in effective communication. They discuss the role of emotional resonance in public speaking, the art of simplifying complex concepts, and the cultural differences that influence communication styles. The conversation highlights how effective communication can lead to personal transformation and business success.

takeaways

• Clear communication is essential for effective messaging.
• Emotional connection enhances the impact of spoken words.
• Intention and visualization are powerful tools in communication.
• Simplicity in communication leads to better understanding.
• Cultural differences affect communication styles and perceptions.
• Personal transformation often stems from effective voice coaching.
• The best speakers evoke emotion and passion in their audience.
• Understanding your audience is key to effective communication.
• Effective communication can significantly impact business success.
• Building relationships through clear communication is vital.

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Transcript

0:02

Hey everybody and welcome to the Integrated Entrepreneur. I have my friend Joe Evangelisti on and he actually runs two companies. He has legacy developers and legacy executive coaching. which business did you start first? Tell us your origin story. I got into real estate in 2007. At first I spent six years in the military and construction battalions, US Navy CBs and I really it started before that. I was really in construction my whole life. My dad was general contractor growing up. I was always in construction and got lucky enough to go do that in the military for a couple years and then when I got out. jumped head first into what I thought was gonna be flipping houses, right, in 2007. And we ended up hitting some roadblocks and some obstacles, as you can imagine. And yeah, that was it. That started the real estate career. Yeah, here we are. Nice. And then what what led you and that was a rough time. People don't a lot of people don't remember that. Right. That was I actually think we're gearing up toward for another one. Honestly, I think the last two years is almost as bad as it was in 07 08 09, you know I really think that and a lot of different capacities not just real estate but you know, I coach people in all walks of life a lot of a real estate related but I'm seeing people struggle worse than I have in 18 years. I've been in business Yeah, yeah and What I will say and these are trends and we could talk just on trends because I love that you actually have You see that as well because most people don't see it from the angle. We see it and if you are not a Service-based business that is a necessity You don't you're not doing well Or you are the best of the best like best in class and you are doing you're gaining market share now Yeah, I mean, it's like you have to be in this weird middle ground. Like I've seen a lot of the guys that were like the too big to fail guys that had to lay off huge parts of their staff because things got soft. And then you got those guys that are starting up and they're just struggling on their way up the ladder. I think a of those mid-level, especially blue collar has been doing pretty well, but a lot of the attorneys and insurance providers and salespeople, depending on what you're selling, they're struggling, man. They're having a hard time. Yeah. And it's not just entrepreneurs. I think the average American is getting their ass handed to them. And in 08, 09, if you remember, it was primarily caused by real estate. And that led to the markets tanking and layoffs. This is, feel, all across most, if not all sections or sectors. And it's caused because people don't have discretionary income to spend because the prices of everyday goods and services are through the roof. And that is more concerning than like a market crash that just impacts real estate. Yeah, now I agree. I agree with that on a high level. I the banks took the primary hit the first time and now the consumers are taking the hit this time. I would agree with that. And I don't think the only way out of it, I want to be careful what I say here because I said this three years ago, right? Typically, the only way out of these massive ruts is war. I wish it didn't look like that's where it was and I hope these things can get reversed because I don't think it's in anyone's benefit. But I do think that that is absolutely firmly and squarely on the table. Yeah, yeah, I agree with that assessment a little bit. I look, I think, you know, regardless of people's political leanings, I think that the world's uprising in the last few years is going to get squashed when Trump gets into office. That's my hope anyway. And I hope we don't need a war in order to survive. I think that the reality of it is credit and lending and, all that stuff has to loosen up. Our biggest challenge personally on the development side of the last couple of years has just been, everyone says the rates. Well, the rates are just one part of it, It's the terms, it's the underwriting, it's the equity provided, it's all the other things that, when banks see rates increase, everything else tightens up. so, you know, going from 5 % to 7, 8, 9 % in certain instances, that's not really changing a lot of outcomes of a big project. But when you go from 20 % equity required to 40 or 50 % equity required. Plus I need money on deposit plus work in place. Now I'm taking a 30 % loan where I used to take an 80 % loan and that's a game changer for a lot of people. Yeah, absolutely. And that is a great point. I do think credit and the markets may start loosening up if they start seeing some. positive trends, And I do think a problem with where we are today is the data that has been reported the last three or four years is not accurate. Okay, it is heavily manipulated. And because it's heavily manipulated, the banks are sitting there looking, hey, this is bullshit, right? Like, I can see my clients accounts, I can see their credit scores, and they're seeing what's really happening. And then we're just the government's just printing out all these numbers that make no sense. Yeah. Right, and that's a big part of it, Well, and I'll tell you what, I mean, you know, you're the credit guy. I mean, I don't hate to be interviewing your own podcast, but at the weirdest thing I've seen in the last six to nine months is I'll get, I'll get emails from my credit card companies and say, we've reduced your credit limit. I don't even use the credit card. Like I might've had a $30,000 credit there, but now it's 20. I'm like, I don't even use this card. It's not going to affect me, but you scratch your head and you go, why, why is that? Right. And I'm sure that's happening to everyone else. Yeah. Yeah. So here's what here's what they're not coming out and saying. And this happened, by the way, in 07 08 09. And I remember it distinctly because that's when I got into the business. And so what you're going to see is you're to see a lot of credit cards do that. If people have lines of credit, OK, through banks, you're going to start seeing that they're either going to shrink. And then what they do, guys, just understand this. just be aware that when these banks are doing this, they're cutting your line of credit or they're cutting your credit cards. That absolutely messes with your credit because not only do you not have as much available, it impacts your debt to income ratios. yeah. then they go and they do that cut and your DTI goes through the roof and it drops you 50 points, drops you a hundred points. You did nothing wrong. So. is wild are great. Joe, If you're thinking it, our audience is thinking it. So drop it, you know? And then on the liquidity, I do have a company that might be helpful to you that got into development. So we could talk after on that. All right. And I use them personally for my stuff. But in terms of credit markets, I do think it'll loosen up. I will say that there's a couple industries that are really hard to lend to right now, too So like roofing roofing roofing it is very tough anything that's dependent on insurance right now It is not good where? Historically it was and and roofing it's been like that for about 18 months as soon as all the finance companies pulled that's when it got more challenging because all these companies had a way to offer their services where people could pay in installments. And once that left, the average American doesn't have 20 to 50 grand to throw at a roof. Right. So how are they financing it? That's the biggest problem in that once particular space. Yeah. And Goldman got out of personal lending, too. You know, we had a decent program with Goldman that we could get people personal loans. And that went up in smoke because most of them defaulted. Yeah, I think your average American is hurting right now and I think that they already say that credit is increasing and defaults are increasing. Like I said, I'm not here for doom and gloom. think that ultimately you make your own market and you figure it out, but I think the average American is definitely suffering. Yeah. Well, that's a great point. And that's what I want, a thing I want to touch on. It doesn't matter where you are. You can flip the table, right? You only quit. I mean, you fail when you quit. If you can keep taking one step after the other, even though it won't feel like progress, you will be able to get out of these holes, right? I got into a $600,000 hole investing into a gym three or four years ago. I'm out of it. Two years later, I got in a $700,000 hole with Unfortunately, I got a dirty lawyer that was holding escrow for a very large transaction. yeah, Joe, you have no idea. Look up Messner Reeves versus Emerald Consulting Partners. I'm Emerald. This guy took the money, gave it to a known criminal when it was supposed to be held in escrow. Known criminal disappears. Looks like a Ponzi scheme. They got 12 million. I was only 700 of it, thank God. But it wasn't my money, I raised it. when markets are tight like this And it's hard you're going to see way more scams way more fraud Right like anyone that you see posting about anything crypto related right now stay away from all right That's going to be bad news for you Yeah. Yeah. You know what though, John, they say adversity, forces us to do the things that we should have been doing all along. Right. And I think that that's the one thing that I've been, I've been preaching to my clients here for the last 12, 18 months is stop with all the chasing shiny objects, with all the bullshit, with all the get rich quick focus on what you're great at and get better and better and better because everyone else is, is looking at 20 different things. They're looking at different options. They're searching for that, you know, holy grail home run deal where, know, my best clients are the ones that are staying consistent. They're head down. They're working. No bullshit. Cut your overhead, get it done. Focus on high gain and high impact activities. And, you know, those are the ones that are surviving and thriving in this market. Yeah. People think that you have to hit a home run at bat every time. There's nothing wrong with singles and doubles if you're hitting them consistently. Talk to us about the executive coach, because I like that. There's not too many entrepreneurs that have actually built things that decide to coach. That's a real thing. The coaching model is severely flawed. But I've known you since before you did that. And you are a very high level operator. So what made you decide to do that? And talk us through your process. it's a contribution thing. And when I look back, John, over last 15 years, my lowest points, like you just said, you don't fail until you give up. I'm either course correcting, I'm pivoting, I'm making a reassessment, I'm trying to figure things out. And at my lowest points, and there's been plenty of them in the last 15 years, It's always been a mentor or a coach or somebody who I was able to get on the phone with, work through it, create a strategy, get a game plan and shift. And you know, the challenge is. I would say a great coach doesn't tell you what to do. what they do is they ask you the right questions to get you back on track, to get you in the right direction. Right. So, you know, a big piece of coaching is having great clients. You know, you need people that are coachable and they're willing to take criticism and they're willing to take, you know, whatever it takes to get it done. But at the end of the day, to me, I find that if I don't have somebody to express that to, if I don't have a sounding board that's been there, done that, if I don't have somebody that's at least some experience in what I'm going through, then I'm just talking to my friends and family. And my friends and family have not came close to achieving what it is I'm trying to achieve. That's not a knock on them, but they're doing different things. Right. And so if I want to hit new levels, I need someone who's going to push me to a new level. And that's why I fell into coaching. I ended up doing it enough times where people would go, well, how did you overcome that problem? How did you shift from single family to self storage? How did you get into commercial real estate? How did you whatever, whatever thing we're working on. And so it became like an automatic byproduct of being in business. And that doesn't mean that I have clients that are way more successful than I am, right? But it's sometimes you have to have that person to lean on and say, dude, I'm struggling. What do you think? And you work through it. And to me, that's one of my biggest learning lessons. That's one my biggest comeback stories have come from my biggest shifts have been in that space. And so For me, it's super fun now. I tell you what, man, I solve your problems a whole lot better than I solve mine. Right? And that's what it comes down to, right? Cause we get stuck in our own head and we think we're on the right track or we think we're doing the right thing. And sometimes it takes that outside voice. I call it co-creating, right? It's like, how do we create together? You know, and it's so hard, especially, you know, when you're an entrepreneur, you know this, you've been, you've been in that for probably as long as I have. And, know, it's really, really hard to know the solution. without somebody that's got a little bit of background in business to help you work through it. Yeah, perfect. I love that in every part of it because as you, when you just start a business, everyone's curious, you don't really know shit and you're just gonna muscle through. Okay, getting a mentor obviously makes that way, way easier. But along the way you learn all these things. Once you grow to a certain point, there's very few people you can actually speak with. And most of the time, if you are speaking with people, it comes off that you're... bragging and you're not. You're just telling them about your fucking day. Okay? I can't tell you how many times I have a conversation with somebody and I read their face and I either know I lost them or they think I'm bragging. All I'm doing is just telling them about my day. Hey, I did this, I did that, I had to do this. They don't get it. Yeah. get it because we are cut from, a different cloth than the rest of the people. We can tolerate a lot of risk. We can tolerate crazy swings, but we get rewarded for that. That's part of the game. What's some of the biggest challenges you're working through with clients now and and approaching that? yeah, I mean, you know, obviously there's the obvious ones, right? have clients that are struggling getting financing for different things and, trying to private money has been an absolute bear in the last couple of years. You know, the irony of that is the money's still out there, right? We know when the market goes up, the market goes down, the money still exists. It doesn't disappear. but I found that a lot of people are sitting on opportunities for the last couple of months to a year. A lot of people are I mean, man, up until the election, everybody was holding their breath, I've seen actually in the last three or four weeks, things have started to loosen up a little bit and people willing to take risks and I think the Bitcoin and the crypto world is going to help that a lot because you're going to have a lot of overnight millionaires again. they're looking for ways to shift around their capital. But, a lot of it's been financing struggles. A lot of it has been just building team, you know, trying to keep a team through a tough time or you know, have the guts to let go of some people. I mean, we've made cuts in the last couple of years that I didn't want to make, but we have to. And sometimes just making those decisions is extremely weighing on an entrepreneur, We, we take things, everything's personal, I feel like I got hundreds of families that are feeding through my payroll. know, so you gotta take that and control what you can control. And, along with that comes a lot of struggling partnerships. I'm not gonna tell you about that, But I mean, shit gets tough. I talk a lot about the difference between wartime and peacetime generals, There are some amazing freaking operators when times are good, they are goddamn rock stars, man. But let me tell you, when time gets tough, they're burying their head in the sand and they're running away from problems and they're not solving things. And that doesn't make for good partnerships, So I would say those are kind of the high level things, the private equity, the private money, the debt. struggling financial means and then the partnership stuff has been wild. We can go on and on, that leads into families and relationships. My wife hates me because I used to make more money than I do. There's just so many pieces and parts to that. You're speaking to somebody that has had probably three or four failed partnerships. And those were some of my biggest losses of all time. saying. tough, man. You got to be really, really specific about setting what I call like the core three things, I to set expectations, how many of us get into business and we're like, man, we're boys. I like you. You like me. We both got money. Let's go start a company. And you wake up three years later and you're like, what are you doing here? what do you provide? What do you bring to the table? so setting those expectations upfront, setting yourself some milestones of goals that you want to hit together and creating, a good synergy and a good culture around whatever that thing is you're building. And then also getting it in writing, I must have 50 operating agreements out there on the street and I haven't read 45 of them until a couple of years ago. I had a guy take advantage of me three or four years ago and took me for a quarter million dollars. And it was only because the operating agreement basically said either one of us could reach into the checking account and do whatever we wanted any time. we were best friends when we signed that operating agreement. I'm not going to sit there and decide how this guy spends money. Lesson learned, right? So I think partnerships are something that can be amazing if you've got the right alignment. And they can be a catastrophe if you don't set things up upfront. And I think you're right. A lot of it comes from, we're good now. Here's the other thing. You don't want people with similar skills. That's the number one thing I see people go around. We're friends. We should start a business. Horrible reason. my first business is with my best friend since I was nine years old. And it's amazing. And we make a lot of money and we built a lot of equity, but we're also polar opposites. I'm the A mindset running gun, let's go do shit. And he's a chemical engineering background, analytical, checking all the boxes. So we're great together, But that doesn't mean that we could have blown up because we were best friends, So, you got to pay attention to who brings what value to the group. And here's where I'm at. I would never, and this is crazy to say from someone that's been a finance pro, right, a lending pro, but I would never take on a partner that's just bringing money to the table, Unless they're LP investors, just to clarify that, if you bring on an investor and they're getting equity on a silent basis, yeah, sure. But somebody you have to make decisions with you're getting married to that person. Like, how much do you like your wife? I spend more time with my business partner sometimes than I do with my wife. so you better learn to communicate and like those people and make sure that you're both bringing solid value to the group. So what are some of the things that are exciting to you looking forward in either one of your businesses? I just love to build, man. I love to create things. So whether it's I'm co-creating with a client, one of my clients started a debt fund last year and he's done pretty well raising money. I think he has way more opportunities in front of him. think he can raise way more money. And I have, part, of the upside with him because that's my deal with him. So it's exciting. When that dude raises a million dollars, it's more exciting than if I raised a million dollars. it's so much fun to see people win. I know people think it's crazy. I like to see people win. when I see someone that's done it for the first time, the excitement, the energy, the passion, it's like I'm reliving it from when I was 30. I love to see people win and do new things and build new things. and create and that's why development's always been a thing in my blood. I like taking a piece of dirt and putting 100,000 square foot building on it and that excites me. So anytime I can build things that weren't there last year, that's what drives me. cool. I love that. I got to tell you, I've hopped on some trends early and had some real success with it. Okay. But the pivot that you made and when you made from single family The timing of you doing that was fucking impeccable. That's a very good accident. at a really, really good time. you know, like a lot of people, I could have hit it two or three years later and I would have been bankrupt. No doubt. Like we wouldn't have made any money, but, we got lucky in a time and we did it. We got lucky in that. Look, there's luck and then there's luck. you could say you got lucky. I also left the single family business when the market was just steady 3 % appreciation and for the next five years it went up 20 % a year. I mean, I'm glad I did what I did. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy I'm in commercial development and there's way, way bigger swings to have. But at the same time, man, I'm looking at some of the stuff I wholesale for 200 grand selling for 750 right now, going, damn, I should have held onto that. It is what it is, right? think timing is very important and certainly we got into it at a good time. Thanks. Awesome. Is there anything or any words of wisdom you'd like to leave with our listeners? first off, they need to know where to find you if they can reach out to you, if they can work with you, any type of coaching that you offer. And guys, Joe is one of the ones I will vouch for. Okay, I don't have I don't have bad guests on my podcast. I don't have people that don't run actual businesses. If they're here, I've seen them, I verify them. And I know what type of business they are and who they are as a person. I'll give you a link. You can put in the show notes, you know, booking link. You're anybody listening is more than welcome to book it. I love entrepreneurs that want to scale. hate that word scale, but if they're feeling like, hey, I got some growth potential and I just can't unlock it. Like that's my superpower is looking at somebody and saying, here's where we need to go next to get you from here to here. That doesn't mean I don't spend a lot of my time helping people that are going through bad partnerships, are going through business divorces, that are trying to restructure any of those things, or things that I'm very well versed at. But I will give you a link to put in the show notes. And feel free to use it, I'm not here to sell or pitch I'm not a good coach for everybody. But I'm happy to spend some time just helping people ascertain what's the highest and best use of my time and where can I focus. love it man, I love it. Well hey, thank you so much for coming on. Guys, give Joe a follow and we will catch you next time. Remember, pay the fee, share this with two people that need to hear it. Appreciate you guys and we'll catch you on the next one.