Welcome to the Virtual Antics podcast , where we help entrepreneurs streamline their business to six figures and beyond . These short , sweet and info packed episodes will inspire , educate and leave you feeling motivated to take one more step forward in your business . So put down your never-ending to-do list , because in this podcast we are interviewing the best of the best in the entrepreneurial world as they spill their secrets to success . This podcast is sponsored by Nandora , the all-in-one software for entrepreneurs to grow their business , with unlimited landing pages , automations , emails and text campaigns , and so much more . I'm your host , natalie Guzman . Now let's get into it . Hey y'all , welcome back to Virtual Antics podcast . As always , I'm your host , natalie Guzman . So so excited to have a good friend of mine , roderick of Million Dollar Flip Flops , is here . He is a Michigan-born lifelong entrepreneur , multi-number one best-selling author and sought out after speaker , who started his business journey at a young age . Welcome , how you doing today ?
Speaker 2Super good , natalie , thanks for having me .
Speaker 1Oh my gosh , I am so excited to have you here because you have created multiple multi-million dollar companies in the product and service industries and you just have so much knowledge to share . But first , how'd you get started in the entrepreneurial world ?
Speaker 2I like to say I was born and bred an entrepreneur . I was that kid that we grew up with nothing and I knew if I wanted a Nintendo or a bike or some cool new shoes . I was going to have to figure out how to get it myself from when I was like six , seven years old . So I was like finding stuff in the basement to sell to the neighbors , selling golf balls down at the public courts , like anything I could do to make a few dollars . Right and fast forward to the time I started college . I went to UT for entrepreneurship , family and small business . I was one of the first graduates and at that point I'd already started six businesses . So I was that kid sitting in class going this guy's never actually done this stuff and I just couldn't wait to get out , finally graduate and I moved down to Charleston , south Carolina .
Speaker 2And the bad word of the day , natalie , is job . I took a job and I was 23 at that point , making more in a month than my parents made in a year , and I could buy anything . I wouldn't do anything , I wouldn't go anywhere I want and I was miserable , hated my life . I woke up every day saying is this all there is , and I was anxious and depressed and had suicidal thoughts and I couldn't figure out why . And ultimately there's a lot more business that came behind that . I quit that job , started multiple other companies , but that is the reason that I do what I do now . When I exited my last business , I don't have to do anything . So I decided to write the book because all the things I had learned along the way shouldn't just die inside my brain , right . So I am on a mission to change the way entrepreneurs make decisions about their business in their life .
Speaker 1It's really awesome and definitely needed . I feel like there's just so much freedom that comes from entrepreneurship , if you do it right , because they can also turn into a job , and that's not why we got into this . So definitely . I love that you wrote a book , so tell us more about your book , because I know I really like it , but tell the listeners about it .
Speaker 2So it's called Million Dollar Flip Flops Peace , prosperity and the Courage to Change Course in Life and Business . And I say it's one-third manuscript , one-third manual and one-third manifesto . It's a little bit about kind of how I did what I did , and it's also a formula so that it spits out on the other side If you do the work , a decision making filter , so , and we can talk about the five phases , the entrepreneur and all of those things . But ultimately that's what it's about . It's about changing the way you look at your life and making sure that what you're building and the reason I work with entrepreneurs , natalie , isn't just because I'm an entrepreneur and I've been one my whole life , so I can lend a lot of experience but it's because you're uniquely able to change your situation .
Speaker 2And I was just asked on another show earlier today you know what's the one big thing that people miss ? And I said that they are in control . You know your life doesn't happen to you . The decisions you're making right now will be your life next week or next month or next year . So change it , you know . So , ultimately , that's what the book gives you . It gives you the peace and prosperity and the courage and the confidence to make those changes once you recognize that they need to be made .
Speaker 1That's awesome and it's not . It's not so easy to recognize that the changes even have to be made sometimes . Right , we actually have to take a minute and think about it and think about what we actually want . I think a lot of us get roped into like the day to day of life , and that's actually how a lot of times I see entrepreneurs their job . It just becomes they're taking calls like all hours a night and they're not able to be there for their kids , and it's just you know one thing after another and they get stuck in this cycle and they don't even realize what they want . And so I think it could happen that being miserable could happen .
Speaker 1Whether you're an entrepreneur or you have a job . You just really have to figure out what you want , what your goals are , and then create a plan . So I love that your book is kind of about this , because we need that accountability . Right , we can say all day long you know , oh well , I'm an entrepreneur , business is good , so I'm going to be happy , but you're really not . So having an accountability where you can actually , you know , see what your goals are and know how to go after them and get that clarity , I think is amazing that you wrote the book . I'm halfway through it so I could tell people . You know , if you ever like I was just at Podfest Expo and so , like I was sitting through these speeches and you know , you ever feel like where you're like getting like someone's teaching you something , you feel like you're getting absolutely no value from it . You're like I know this or you know , or this isn't helpful to me . This book is not that .
Speaker 1So I was like okay , like I love how it made me think differently , like you can know all that the stuff , but to actually like sit down and like attack it is really , really important . So I absolutely love the book . I definitely think it's bringing me some clarity , so that's pretty cool . Now , what do you see that you know we talked about ? You know control with entrepreneurs , but what's something that you see ? Them maybe struggle with a lot when it comes to entrepreneurship , especially multiple businesses ?
Speaker 2I would recommend and I so I've got this free quiz on the website . So if you go to million dollar flip flopscom slash quiz , you can take it and it tells you where you fall in these five phases of the entrepreneur . Right , and they go from the believer to the business Buddha . We can talk about what those are , but I think , for for entrepreneurs in general , you can do everything right . That's what makes you an entrepreneur You're very savvy . You're able to to tackle everything that is required to start a business .
Speaker 2You may not be the best at all the pieces , so that's the first layer of that is recognizing where you either don't want to do something or can't do something and outsourcing it , even if it hurts , so you can continue to focus on hell , yes , only activities , but then having somebody in your corner that's unbiased , that is , hands down , the biggest benefit I've ever had in my life is you know , I always say you , you will learn eventually . You will figure it out . Eventually you can sit down and try to do your own taxes . You will figure it out . Eventually you can build your own website you will figure it out . Eventually . You pay for speed . You pay for someone who has done it , knows what to do and now you can do it tomorrow and not a year from now or five years from now .
Speaker 2And myself included , as an entrepreneur , I know I can do everything , so I don't want to pay other people , but that's why I have two coaches . You know that I work with there and very specific things , and I always say you know , michael Jordan didn't have Phil Jackson because he didn't know how to play basketball . You know you can . Only you have to have somebody on the outside of your situation that can look at these things , and I've done countless podcasts of videos and posts about how your friends and family are the worst place for advice . And I drill that into people because and we can talk about that for an hour if we wanted to but you know that's really . It is the outside perspective and kind of knowing when to hand off and understanding what it looks like on the other side of that , not just for your business , but for your well-being and your life .
Speaker 1Yeah , it's all about , you know , being the operator versus working on your on in your business , right ? We actually talked about this deep dive in that . So right before yours , with Robert pool , episode 60 . And he , like is specializes in being the operator and like leaving your job , like having your business grow and run without you , like he's like I can take a three week vacation , my business is going to grow and it's going to flourish . And I think part of that is like entrepreneurs were constantly in this cycle , sometimes like we just we we don't really want to hire , right , because we're like oh , me and payroll is my biggest expense and so I don't want to hire and I don't want to give this stuff away because I can do it .
Speaker 2I know how to do it I do it best .
Speaker 1No one's going to do it better than me . Your business isn't going to grow , you're going to get stuck in this cycle where you're getting overwhelmed , your personal life is going to suffer , you're not going to be happy , and so that's why , like , I'm so big on hiring and automations is because , once you give that away , it leaves yourself open for more opportunities , more money , more growth , more strategizing the things you really should be doing as a CEO . That's why I loved your quiz because it kind of like tested me .
I was all this close to the business Buddha , by the way , and I I love to hear quiz because it made me realize , like the things that I wasn't doing and that , like I know , as an entrepreneur especially , I've been doing this for so long . I know what I need to be doing , but it doesn't mean I'm actually doing it and it's also not what you do .
Speaker 1Like you said , it's how you do it . So having someone to really guide you and mentor you and strategize , that's needed . Coaches are needed because we , like you said , we can do it all ourselves . We're not going to do it the quickest , easiest and most strategized way and we're going to make a lot of mistakes . How much are you willing for those mistakes to cost you ? That's it .
Speaker 1Yeah , because I didn't have a mentor , and I have . We um in our beginning years of business , and I lost thousands and thousands of dollars . Yeah , and money's the big one , right , but then what does it ?
Speaker 2cost you in time ? What does it cost you in anxiety ? What does it cost you in stress and your health ? You know there's there's so many facets to it and you know the , the program we just launched Monday , which I don't know when this this will go out , but it's like almost February right now and we spent I took everybody I worked with for a month and a half , everybody I worked with for the last year , and all of their testimonials , all of their feedback forms , everything , and I just created one specific program and it's it's called legendary living , but it's it's how entrepreneurs can live lives as legendary as their business , you know , and that that's what I , everything I build , natalie , is what I wish I had when I was an entrepreneur . You know we donate a hundred percent of what we do to the foundations . It's like none of this is a money grab for me . It's literally . I want to change a million entrepreneurs lives . I want to change a million kids lives in the foundation . That's it and what this program does .
Speaker 2It's six weeks , because we found that that was like the , the key time where you can turn the ship around fast . You start to see results fast , but then it's a year of follow up . We call them 20 minute cruise control calls where it's making sure you're on pace , but everything gets built into six week calendars and I've got this time hack . I've got a time hack and a decision making hack . I want to , I want to share with you and hopefully listeners find it valuable . So , because , ultimately , what I want for people is business life integration , because I think I think work life balance is a scam . I don't . If you're an entrepreneur and you enjoy what you're doing , you are going to work more than 50% of the time but you don't care because you love it . Right , that's what we're after . Having complete calendar control , which we were talking about before we ended up on the show like how many shows you've done in the last year , how many I've done in the last year . And then having , like the , the peace and the power of every choice you're making is with confidence and conviction and you know that it's leading you towards who you want to become as a person . That's what we do in the program and you're perfect because we build systems right , like that's what the ways method is . Everything else we do in the program is so that you have this tool , that you run everything through . And the way I'm going to impact a million entrepreneurs , or hope to , is that now you can teach this to your colleagues , to your family , to your friends , so that they can start to make more conscious decisions , right ? So if I can impact 100,000 people , I will do a million by proxy .
Speaker 2So there's two tips that I give everybody and we do this in our workshops and everything but one is called the 2244 rule . And when we're building out , we do a triangle model . We figure out what the one big thing is we want to accomplish in the next six weeks , we figure out what those blocks are , and then I do traffic lights , if you've ever seen those . So it's like here's all the satellites and where are my green , red or yellow . So we know where to focus .
Speaker 2And the 2244 rule is you know how , when you look at the clock and it's 11 , it's 222 right now , or it's 1111 , whatever . So right now , 222 , I need to think is what I'm doing right now getting me closer or further away from that goal , that six week goal ? And so every time the clock says 22 or 44 , now you're going to think about it . And you could be at the pub , you could be playing soccer , you could be , it doesn't matter .
Speaker 2What the thing is is what I'm doing right now , getting me closer to my six week goal , if not , change it . So that's number one and number two . And this is going to hit home for you because of what we were just talking about , but I call it if you wouldn't do it tomorrow and if you get asked to be on , if you get asked to go to pod fest , right and you go , yeah , I'm in , because you think in six months you're going to have more time on your calendar . You think in six weeks you're going to have more time on your calendar . You won't If you wouldn't do it tomorrow . Whether it's a speaking engagement , a sports league , it doesn't matter what the thing is . The answer is no , and it makes nos and yeses a first layer of this process , right . So those two hacks will buy you back a lot of time .
Speaker 1I love that . That is actually like super powerful , especially if you know use . You take that willpower you got and you actually do it . Cause I can totally see entrepreneurs be like , yeah , I'm totally going to take that advice and do it and then not do it , so write it down . What do you usually recommend ? Do you recommend like they write down instead of a reminder in their phone For the 2244? . Yeah , just every time . They just see it , just do it .
Speaker 2It's . This is going to be hard to describe because I don't have it in front of me , but you know the KFC logo like the chicken place and the guys got the bow tie , yeah . And then once you realize that it's actually looks like a stick figure . And so now , every time you see the KFC logo , it looks like a giant head on a little greasy armed stick figure body .
Speaker 1Yeah .
Speaker 2Once you know the 2244 role you'll like if you're listening to this right now , you will never get it out of your head for the rest of your life . You'll look at 2244 , you'll think of Natalie , you'll think of me and you'll say is what I'm doing right now getting me closer to or further away from my six week goal ?
Speaker 1Perfect . I love that Awesome .
Speaker 2Sorry , I decided to like visualize it in my brain and remember it . No one's thinking about KFC .
Speaker 1Yeah , that too Hungry , no . So I was like , so I'm like one of those people that has to like visualize it in my head , or else it goes in one year and out the other . So I was just imagining I was like 2244 . And I was like , okay , I got this , now I'm going to start flying that .
Speaker 2So that's it .
Speaker 1Awesome . Well , I absolutely love having you on the call . Can you tell us more about where we can find you and your services ?
Speaker 2Sure , super easy at million dollar flip flops on every channel or million dollar flip flopscom . And then , if you want to take the quiz , just add slash quiz and it'll take you right to the quiz . It's free . There's a ton of freebies . There's my personal reading list for every phase . There's just a bunch of stuff in there for everybody . So only way to get to a million entrepreneurs .
Speaker 1Awesome . I'll make sure I put that in the show notes as well . Thank you so much for coming . It has been a pleasure having you and we'll talk to you guys next time on the virtual antics podcast .