Forged In Fire

Episode 28: What Happens When You Sell Your Dream But Lose Your Purpose?

• Nate Pharmer-Eden & Cole Farrell

Share episode

Jerome Myers shares his journey from corporate America dropout to entrepreneurship expert, revealing how he helps founders find post-exit fulfillment rather than just maximizing valuations. 

• Built a $20 million division for a Fortune 550 company before leaving to pursue entrepreneurship
• Created "the eight X's of a founder" framework to guide entrepreneurs through common pitfalls
• Advocates finding mentors who've achieved your goals rather than learning through trial and error
• Explains the "founder's exit paradox" where entrepreneurs feel lost after selling their businesses
• Shares case study of helping a dentist sell most of her practices to achieve financial freedom while maintaining income
• Measures success by time freedom (194 days off in 2024) rather than just financial metrics
• Believes car culture creates opportunities to inspire others by making dreams tangible
• Recommends "Sizing People Up" as essential reading for building trusted relationships
• Emphasizes clarity and elimination of distractions as what separates top entrepreneurs
• Daily habit of intense exercise builds resilience needed for entrepreneurship

Your dream should be real. Most adults haven't heard that in a long time, so if you made it to this part of the interview, you've got to go out and do something about it.


Send us a text

Speaker 1:

Forget what you've heard. Forged in Fire is where real entrepreneurs come to share the untold truths of success the late nights, the crushing setbacks, the moments that change everything. No fluff, just fire, ready to step into the heat and unlock what it really takes to build a business. This is where legends are made.

Speaker 2:

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to another exciting episode of Forged in Fire. I'm your co-host, nate Farm-Reading. I'm going to bring on my counterpart, cole. How we doing brother.

Speaker 3:

Nate. What's going on, man? How are you today?

Speaker 2:

Dude, I'm fired up man. I walked into the office, half the things are on fire. It's like, okay, we got this man. I feel rejuvenated, but how are you doing?

Speaker 3:

A day in paradise. That's how it always is. No, I love it. Same thing A lot on the plate, but things are. I'm excited because, for anyone that doesn't know, we just closed a refi that we were working on for a long time and it was a stressful project. There was a lot of ups and downs. If anyone on here has been through bridge debt, you know about the sleepless nights. So we're super excited that that's wrapped up and now we can kind of take a breath. So that's kind of what's happening.

Speaker 3:

I'm really excited for this interview, for today as well. It's going to be a really, really good one. I think it'll speak to a lot of people. But before we get into that, I have one favor for you Please, please, leave us a review. This helps us grow, this helps us reach more people, it helps us educate others. So the only thing I could possibly ask you to do is please just give us a review, and that would help us expand and keep these conversations going. So, expand and keep these conversations going. So, with that, sit back, relax, enjoy the show.

Speaker 2:

Dude, this is going to be awesome. Today, we are joined by Jerome Myers. He is the founder and CEO of Exit to Excellence. Without further ado, let me just bring this brother on stage. This man is amazing. Come on stage, man. How are we doing?

Speaker 4:

I'm amazing Real estate. Nate Cole, it's good to be with you guys. Thanks for having me on.

Speaker 2:

Bro, the pleasure is ours, man, thank you so much. So please tell us a little bit about yourself. What got you here? What brought you here?

Speaker 4:

I'm a corporate America dropout man. I remember building a $20 million division for a Fortune 550 and getting told that we're going to lay people off year after year. And I was like, man, this is old, we need to do something different. And I want the buck to stop with me. And so jumped into real estate, did that for a while, got lonely because people only wanted to talk to me if they were worried about their distribution or there was an issue with their unit. And then we started working with founders and helping them grow and scale. And so we are the leading boutique firm for folks who are figuring out their exit. And not so much how do you maximize evaluation, but how do you maximize post-exit fulfillment.

Speaker 3:

That is incredible. There's so much I want to dive into there. So first let's go back to the beginning. You said you worked in corporate America, had these issues started or ended up exiting that, so one, can you talk a little bit about that and we're not going to harp on real estate here because I want to focus on other things but tell me about some of the struggles with that, because a lot of people are either thinking about getting into real estate or are in real estate. I'm sure they can relate.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, real estate is a capital intensive business, and so, whether you're doing single family or multifamily, the thing that you have to consider is if you don't have the income meaning if your properties aren't rented or people are deciding not to pay rent you have to deal with the debt, and I think Dave Ramsey tells you to buy it in cash. For most people, that's just not practical, and so if you're going to get into the space, there's going to be debt service in addition to all the operational expenses. We watch many people execute business plans that are destined to fail before they even get into them, and they don't even know why. And the funny thing about real estate is most people think that it's just buying a widget. I buy it for this and sell it for that, I made money. Think that it's just buying a widget If I buy it for this and sell it for that, I made money.

Speaker 4:

If you're doing something that has renters, you actually have to execute a business plan. Right, there's a subscription model, and then you got to get through that subscription for long enough in order to break even, and then you're actually having a conversation about whether you made money or not, and I just think so many people miss that because you can just go buy it and that is probably the least of your concerns if you're doing real estate, and so it's really interesting that people try to do something that we think is really difficult as their first business. There's a ton of risk whenever you introduce that, and it's probably not the easiest way to make money, for sure.

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh dude, you are dropping nuggets already. I am notorious and infamous for doing this. Anybody that's listening. Pause this rewind. Start this back from the top already. But let me jump in a little bit more. So, coming from the corporate America world failed at that, as you mentioned, and then you decided to transition. Talk to us a little bit about your mindset. Talk to us a little about what changed inside of you to be able to say you know what? I can figure this out on my own. I can just go ahead and jump into this and I can start it and I can actually do something that's going to be meaningful, and I can be able to help and inspire and influence other people as well to be able to make that choice.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I mean I mentioned $20 million. So on January 13th I had $0 in revenue and only one other person on the team. By the end of September we had 175 folks on our team and again $20 million in revenue with 30% profit margins. The thought for me was, if I can make $20 million for somebody else, I can make two for myself, and that two going to my pocket versus getting a five-figure bonus made a big difference in the thought process and I thought maybe I'll work less.

Speaker 4:

In the beginning I worked a whole lot more, but you get rewarded for the things that you did. It kind of compounds when you move into entrepreneurship, especially once you get a decade in, and so you know the. It's funny the the Instagram depiction of what entrepreneurship looks like isn't what you experienced in the beginning, and so we created a framework. We call it the eight X's of a founder. The first one is leaving corporate America. Of a founder. The first one is leaving corporate America. The next one is being chief, everything officer, sexy, but if you're the one cleaning the bathrooms and getting the copy papers, you're probably not the one driving the Ferrari, and so the goal for us was to give people a roadmap, because you can get lost in early entrepreneurship, because you don't know what you're supposed to do next, other than you're just figuring out how to make payroll and you're figuring out how not to run out of cash. Most of the time, so good, so good.

Speaker 3:

um, can you expand more? There's so much I want to dive into quickly. Can you expand more on um, the early stages per se? And the reason I'm asking this is we target a lot of people that are trying to figure things out, and so it depends how deep you want to go in. But if somebody is considering this, what would you say to speak to them? Do it, don't do it? Hey, here's something just to keep in mind.

Speaker 4:

So I would tell people to do it, but have a plan. So I did it the worst way. I walked out. I didn't have any clients, I didn't have a business plan. I only had a year's worth of expenses saved. So I didn't even really have any money that I wanted or could invest and I was going to go do the most capital intensive thing that I knew to do, which was buy apartments. That, for me, is silly and backwards. And the other thing I would say to increase your likelihood of success is to find somebody who's done what you want to do and pay them, whatever they charge, to get them to look over your shoulder. Because, I mean, there's a reason why you have driver's ed, right, there's a reason why you have a learner's permit, and many people think, oh well, I'm just going to go do it.

Speaker 4:

The school of hard knocks is stupid, I guess, the most inefficient, ineffective way to learn how to get things done. It's better to learn from the experiences. Experiences is usually a code word for failure the experiences of other people. And so I think that's what I did wrong. I mean, I remember when I was listening to 40 hours of podcasts a week, I was like this is dumb. I could have just paid $20,000 to $30,000, maybe $40,000 for somebody to teach me how to do this, versus just consuming content for hours and hours on end and then getting confused because the guy in the Mid-Atlantic was saying something different from the guy in the Northeast. And then when we started listening to the guy in Texas, he had a totally different perspective on how it was supposed to be done.

Speaker 4:

And I'm just like started listening to the guy in Texas. He had a totally different perspective on how it was supposed to be done. And I'm just like who's got an end-to-end framework to help me do what I want to do? And I think that is the biggest difference between being an employee and being an entrepreneur. There usually isn't a roadmap and you don't know what you don't know. I call it unconsciously incompetent. And so you're out there and you're a bumblebee, you're flying, and you don't know. I call it unconsciously incompetent. And so you're out there and you're a bumblebee, you're flying and you don't know that you're not supposed to be flying, and everybody's there watching and, in a very cold world, they are waiting for you to make the mistake so they can take advantage of you and take advantage of that opportunity of you and take advantage of that opportunity.

Speaker 3:

Nate, before you jump in, I have one thing to add on there, which is oh my God, I just completely lost my question. Damn it. All right, nate, go ahead.

Speaker 2:

This is so good. So let's go a little bit deeper in here. And then, cole, you just let me know whenever you remember the question. But let's go a little bit deeper, like you plus one other person, to a few short buzzwords, to a hundred plus people. Right, what was the first? Let's just break it down into like three to six months, like like cause you mentioned not having a plan. You're just like you know what Yolo, we're just going to go for it. No advice, they don't do that one. So then, when you decided to try to figure out your roadmap and you tried to figure out what it looked like, what were those first action items that you took and what would you tell somebody else that wants to get that three, six, you know, a year in? What would you do?

Speaker 4:

Well, it's funny, you guys open up the show talking about everything was on fire, and you kind of calm and steadied yourself and said, hey, we got this. And for most people that is the experience, right. And if you're leaving a job where you're working nine to five, eight to four, whatever the thing is, you're trading that in for five to nine, and five to nine is 5 am to 9 pm, and the moment that you accept that you're going to have to do more with less is the moment that I think you position yourself for success. Now to get tactical right. Three, the first thing you need to do is to have the product develop, whatever it is, and then sell it right, and you don't even have to have the final release. You just have to have enough of a concept that you can sell to other people so that you can make revenue right. And then you can build it after it's sold.

Speaker 4:

In real estate. It doesn't work, although you will watch a lot of builders sell off plan. If you put together SPAC, you're like, oh well, we're going to build a SPAC home, assuming you're building houses. All right, here are plans and now we need your deposit and your construction loan so that you can build a thing. I think what many people do is like oh well, I'm just going to put my capital into the thing, because that is the answer. It's only the answer if you're trying to save time, and the majority of the time, capital isn't the reason why you're not being successful, and this is the magic of resourcefulness. I believe that if you're not a resourceful person, entrepreneurship isn't for you, and you should, as quickly as possible, find a job that allows you to just do what you're told you to just do what you're told.

Speaker 3:

Oh, my goodness, so good. Two things One, I remember what I was going to say earlier and I'll get that in a second, but now that something else you said, which is like the resourcefulness, and I just want to harp on that because I think it is so important as things are, something that we see in so many people we talk to is that ability to just figure it out because there's no other option. I think a lot of people we talk to and a lot of people I work with on all different industries and aspects, they just keep asking questions and they don't like ever get to like I'm just going to figure it out, where, at some point, somebody just has to figure it out, and if you want to be the entrepreneur, you need to be that person, and it's just do whatever it takes, figure it out, be resourceful, because no one's coming to help you, and that's the basis of it. So I love that you mentioned that. And the other thing that you kind of hinted at that I kind of want to expand on and this is what I was trying to remember earlier is, when it comes to that roadmap, I always think it's important to find somebody.

Speaker 3:

That is where you want to be. They are the actual lifestyle that you want to, you know, basically have at the end goal. Because one of the things I wish somebody would told me when I started is, if you go and find something that looks good but they don't have the lifestyle you want aka if they're working 100 hours a week and you don't want to work 100 hours a week you probably shouldn't be doing exactly what they're doing, because you can't emulate that. You're going to get to the same goal. So there's more to it, of course. I see you shaking your head. So there's things to it, but do you want to add on to anything there?

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I mean I think there's nuance, right, there are phases, right. The entrepreneur who's been doing it for 25 years is different from the entrepreneur that's been doing it for two and a half months, and so I think it is very common that we will try to emulate the result and not the inputs or the effort. And so you can see somebody. You know I like cars, right, so anytime I get to talk to somebody who's got a Lamborghini, I have conversations with them about, well, like, what would you do to get there? And then, does it actually make sense? Or are you, or are you doing this for other reasons, like, oh, networking, or people treat me differently when I show up, whatever their excuse is for it, not just I like the car, so I bought it. It's always fascinating to hear people justify their decision.

Speaker 2:

I think it's very important that you understand that where the person is right now doesn't mean that that's where they have always been or that that's what they were doing when they were at the same spot on the journey as you are right now so tell me a little bit about um future outlook and also like where you are right now and where you want to go, because you it took a lot of time, took a lot of effort and you've got you, clearly developed your plan, but I know that it's not the end. So let us into your world, into what you're seeing. Where do you want to go? How do you want to develop? Is how do you want to develop? Is there a next step up? There's got to be.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, I don't.

Speaker 4:

I've kind of moved past the more and it's probably more about better.

Speaker 4:

And so, you know, our firm helps founders exit and we help them create a legacy, because the company typically isn't a legacy at least not the one that they build to solve the money problem typically isn't a legacy at least not the one that they build to solve the money problem and so we want to really be the go-to. So, if you think about somebody asking a question, so are you going to Tony Robbins or are you going to Jerome Myers and team? That's our goal, and so for us, that's not more but better. It's recognition that we are the experts in the field. We are the ones that understand this niche better than anybody else, and we've got the tools and frameworks that are most likely to help the person yield the success or the outcome that they desire to achieve. And I just don't think many people are committed to being amazing, like world-class leading edge. Instead, they're trying to do a bunch of things to um build their empire. I I think that when you really find something special being the best in the world at it, is the game.

Speaker 3:

That's incredible, and are you referencing basically doing one thing, becoming the best at that one thing and potentially expanding, of course, but like initially.

Speaker 4:

Is that something you would kind of suggest, or yeah, I don't. I don't think expansion is a necessary goal. I think you might vertically integrate so you might do something that's upstream or downstream of what you're doing. But to me, like, expansion usually means going wider and doing more things and you know, gary v talks about it a lot like you got to punch through the ceiling and then, once you do that, you can go in other places. But you, I believe in expertise. I believe that you want to be the one that has the answers. You don't have to go look them up, you don't need AI. You can answer the questions off the cuff and you know what works because you've got the experience, and you've got more experience than anybody else.

Speaker 4:

And for us, this problem of post-exit fulfillment is something that has escaped everybody. I remember when we first got into this, there was a guy who had just exited Kajabi and he was given a seven-step framework for having a double unicorn exit, because they exited for a little over 2 billion. And he was going through the presentation and he said hey, honey, I'm going to go get a burger from In-N-Out. And she's like pick up a job application while you're there. And he's like you want me to go work at In-N-Out, like I just exited for 2 billion. And so he realized that he was having an existential crisis, something that we now call the founder's exit paradox. And what his wife told him was I can tell when you've been stimulated with a business conversation and when you haven't, and you're just sad panda when you're not being stimulated. So we need to get you in a place where you're getting what you need in order to be that happy version of yourself. And I was sitting there thinking because, I mean, conceptually, this guy's worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Now he's got all the resources in the world and this comes back to the resourcefulness but he didn't have the support that he needed in order to make his transition and in order to find post-exit fulfillment.

Speaker 4:

And so I started doing research and there was one Harvard Business Review article and it said congratulations, you sold your business, prepare to be depressed. I was like is that really the goal? And then there's more stats. It's like, oh well, you build this amazing business and only two out of 10 sell successfully if you list it, and then only 25% of people are happy that they actually made the transaction. I'm like, wow, those are slim odds, right? Conceptually, you have a higher likelihood of being a professional athlete than you do of successfully building and selling a business.

Speaker 4:

So, for us, we not only want people to build and successfully exit their business, but we don't want them out to pasture. We want them to then take the time, money and energy that they have because they are free, work optional, and do something to make the world a better place, because, for us, that's the only way that the world is going to get better is by having these extremely talented, resourceful people solving problems for a specific group of people that they have an affinity to. And so, for us, if we can do that right, if we can help these amazing people, help other people, then I think we're doing God's work.

Speaker 3:

Let's talk about a mission that is so powerful, and that sentence you said about getting those resourceful people to change the world should be on a billboard. That's incredible.

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh, holy cow. So question, since we're on the same topic can you give me a scenario? Please don't spill all the tea. Can you give me a scenario? You don't, please don't spill all the tea. Can you give me a scenario, or maybe a case study, of somebody that you've worked with and what that looked like, how you changed their trajectory? Maybe they came in right before the exit. You helped them sort of formulate a plan, and then what they're doing to be able to impact and give back towards the world, you know yeah, I mean so, this is one of my favorite things to talk about.

Speaker 4:

And names, though yeah, I mean so this is one of my favorite things to talk about. And it's interesting because everybody's got a different desired outcome and we don't tell people what the outcome is Right. And so, in this particular case, there was there's a lady who had multiple dental offices, and so she was like I'm burnt out, I'm tired. She was on anxiety medicine, like she had all of this stuff going on where it was just like I'm stressed out, I've got to get out of this. And it was almost like well, I'll just close it. She spent 10 years building it and I was like that's not the right answer. We got to get some liquidity out of this thing, and so we put together a strategy. She sells four of of the practices and then she sells another one. She decided to keep two and she's like now I'm gonna sell this one too, right. So we put the strategy together.

Speaker 4:

She exits those practices. I'm like, why don't we keep one so you keep some cash flow instead of just getting all the cash? And so she keeps one. She moves from charlotte to atlanta, she moves from Charlotte to Atlanta and she's 45. She's made a few million off of the practices. She makes another like 70,000 a month, which she doesn't even have to practice anymore. She's four hours away from the offices and she wanted a break right. She'd been running for 10 years. She just wants to hang out.

Speaker 4:

So we got the best of both worlds. She didn't have to build a post-exit portfolio, which is exit seven in the framework. Exit six is the liquidity event. So we got some liquidity right. We parsed out, got rid of parts of the company, then we kept the piece so that she could continue to have income. She could take that money from the pieces that she sold, invest those in the stock market, because she doesn't really want to do the private equity right now.

Speaker 4:

And her goal was to be a stay-at-home mom right, but she's single, and so the thought of being a stay-at-home mom where you're single just kind of escapes most people, unless they don't like welfare or something right. So she was able to accomplish her dream of being a stay-at-home mom while her daughter matriculates through high school and then when she goes off to college, she'll be able to dive back in if she wants to and build something else. The thing for me that's exciting about that is that was her dream right Before she got divorced, before she had the 10-year run building the portfolio of practices. That's what she wanted, and we were able to help her achieve that. She was able to buy a beautiful home. I think it was like almost a million dollars. There were just so many different things that we were able to achieve and accomplish for her.

Speaker 4:

And now she has leisure so she can go volunteer and do dental work at clinics for low income folks, and she can be an example for all of the folks that she comes in contact with, because for her to be able to retire in her 40s and still have massive income, because she was able to set up a practice and grow it where she didn't have to be there, she's got other dentists practicing for her and she didn't even make them partners. For me it's the best of both worlds. And so, cole, you were talking about a lifestyle. She's got a lifestyle right, and not everybody's trying to build things for maximum value. Sometimes they just want a lifestyle business, and so for me that's a massive success.

Speaker 4:

Other people were like, well, she didn't do the foundation and she didn't exit for eight or nine figures, and it doesn't matter, because that wasn't her goal. From my perspective, right, we wanted to get her to her goal, her dream, and if the goal is to have an eight or nine or a 10 figure exit, we can do that too. But at the end of the day, the money we've learned doesn't really matter, as long as you can have the lifestyle that you want to have, as long as you have the freedom to use your time in the way that you desire to use it, you're wealthy because that is the only non-renewable resource that we have.

Speaker 3:

I love that. I absolutely love that, and that's such a cool case study. I'm sure she's absolutely thrilled and, like you said, achieved what she wanted to achieve. So, before we get into our last section, I have a question for you, which is just talk to about cars. I'm obsessed with cars. Nate doesn't love cars, but what do you have? Anything exciting? What's your favorite?

Speaker 4:

Yeah, oh, my favorite. It's funny my buddy TJ millionaire, tj millionaire mentor. I went out to Beverly Hills and hung out with him, a guy named Todd Johnson in case you guys want to look him up on Instagram, he's got a pretty big following and he was just on that show where the guy walks up and is like, hey, what did you do? Or how much money did you make in a year? He was just on there and went crazy.

Speaker 4:

But he let me drive my dream car. He's got a Venador SVJ, got a vended or svj and we were there and it's crazy because he's got it set up. He's got a um, a huracan, it's sto. So he's got the sto and the svj set up exactly alike. And so we go to cars and coffee, back to back and I'm driving a vended or in beverly hills and it's like what life is this that I'm living? So that was the, that's the dream car. The Revolto is cool, but there's something about just how raw the SVJ is that you know, I'm pretty excited about it. You know, for me, we got a Cybertruck.

Speaker 3:

Me, we got a cyber truck we got um uh gtr gtr on instagram. Yeah, it was awesome.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, um, we just did some big uh turbo upgrades and some other stuff, so that thing is it's wild. I we think we got the loudest one in anywhere in the country right now. That's not a drag car, um. So, yeah, I mean not a drag car. So, yeah, I mean we we're just having fun, man, like.

Speaker 4:

At the end of the day, car culture and sports I think it's done more for race relations than anything else in the country. You know, everybody has a different style, a different appreciation for, different approaches to customization, and it's just my belief that it's an extension of who you are and the ability for you to demonstrate your creativity. And so much of what we do is Black Panther or Wakanda themed and the whole goal is just to spread the joy of dreams being real. And so you know, for me, it's not as much about driving the car as it is about pulling up and the kids saying that's my car and then letting them sit in the car so that they can feel and touch the dream, because I remember being that kid. I remember thinking, oh my gosh, if only I could. And when you start touching it and you start experiencing it, you realize there are no limits, you have whatever you want, and that for me is, I think, the essence of truly living.

Speaker 3:

So good, if they can do it, why not me? I love that. Well, look, I know we're wrapping up here and I know we're running out of time, so I want to jump into our last segment here. These are questions we ask to every guest and I'm extremely excited for your answers. So first question is for you what separates top performing entrepreneurs from the rest of the crowd?

Speaker 4:

Clarity. It's all about knowing what you're trying to accomplish and then eliminating all the distractions around it.

Speaker 2:

So good. What is a daily habit that's contributed to your success?

Speaker 4:

lifting heavy things, raising your heart rate so that you're under stress, making it so that you're moving so hard and so fast that you can't breathe. It gets you, it prepares you, it gives you resiliency so that you can actually endure the challenges of entrepreneurship, love it.

Speaker 3:

What is a piece of advice that you'd give to yourself if you were starting again?

Speaker 4:

Do it now. There's no value in waiting, because you're never going to be ready. There's always going to be something wrong. It's always going to be not optimal, so go now.

Speaker 2:

What is your favorite?

Speaker 4:

business book. Oh man, the one that changed my life was Sizing People Up. I read it in 2020. It was when we got really aggressive on growing on LinkedIn. I was just meeting so many people and I didn't know who I could trust and what I thought trust was. Oh, if I like somebody, then I should trust them.

Speaker 4:

Trust has nothing to do with whether or not you like a person. Everything to do with predictability has nothing to do with whether or not you like a person. Everything to do with predictability. And so if you're paying attention to the economy and what's happening in the US right now not trying to make it super political, but to illustrate the point people don't know what the president's going to do on a day-to-day basis and it's creating a tremendous amount of volatility, and so that lack of predictability is the thing that drives that trust. People don't trust the US right now. Consumers don't trust the economy right now, and it's just because things are erratic and you know that just is a simple of doing what you say you're going to do and you can. The book actually gives you six indicators, or six tells that you can use in order to convince people that doing to them, to you is, I think, extremely important as you're moving through the space and trying to figure out who's on the team and who's not.

Speaker 3:

So good. What is your favorite part of owning your business?

Speaker 4:

You know, for me it's the mission at this point, it's just the ability to help people's light come back on. So you sell. Everybody thinks like once you sell your business, you cross some magic finish line. That would be like saying, oh, I got married and so I crossed the finish line and I don't have to do anything. Like there is, it's just the beginning, right. And so when people say, oh, I sold my company and I lost my purpose, but when we can help that light come back on, you're like, oh, there it is, or they can experience that passion again. That's the whole game, because if you don't have something worth living for, your life is empty.

Speaker 2:

So good. What is something new that you've implemented in your business that's helped drive success?

Speaker 4:

Man, there's so many things. I think what I would say is counting my days off is probably the most important thing that I've done. Uh, so in 2024 we took 194 off, and people are like, well, why is the number of days off important? It's like shouldn't you be grinding, isn't it no days off? Well, if you think about the non-renewable resources and you use that as a measure of your wealth, I had 194 days where I could pick what I did. Right. Most people, regardless of how much money they have, can't say that, and so I think time is more valuable than money. I think if we're good stewards of our time, then we can have a huge impact by being intentional about that allocation. I think most people just kind of give it away, waste it away, and so I would definitely say counting days off is the game.

Speaker 3:

So good, Absolutely amazing. There was so much we covered in this interview and I cannot wait to rewind this back myself and listen to it, because there's so much that I just want to hear again, and I do not say that often. So thank you for being here. I mean it was cool hearing your journey from your corporate world going into real estate and then creating your firm, and all the things that you found and that you're evolving now and the goals. So really, really amazing. I have two last final questions for you. One, any final advice? And two where can people find you? Where can people get in touch?

Speaker 4:

Yeah, exit to excellencecom is the place to go. You can find out all of our stuff. And then you know, my big follow is on LinkedIn. We do a little bit on Instagram, but LinkedIn is where you can get a ton of information as well, and I think it's just Jerome Myers on LinkedIn. As far as advice, your dream should be real, and most adults haven't heard that in a long time, probably since they were, you know, maybe a preteen, probably for most people before that, and so if you made it to this part of the interview, you're welcome, because now you've got to go out and do something about it.

Speaker 2:

Oh my gosh. So mic drop, jerome Myers, ladies and gentlemen, I mean, usually I do like a huge outro, but like I just want to play this stuff, you know what Doesn't matter. Long and short of it was. This has been phenomenal. Our house is your house. I want you to come back whenever you feel as though you would like to go ahead and bless us with a little bit more knowledge, a little bit more wisdom. Please feel free For those that are out there. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of Forged in Fire. If you're driving, get home safely. We truly appreciate y'all, jerome. It's been an honor, it's been a pleasure, it's been a privilege. Brother, you guys take care.

Speaker 1:

We'll see y'all in the next episode. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Forged in Fire. If you enjoyed today's raw, unfiltered stories, don't forget to like, subscribe and leave us a review. Stories don't forget to like, subscribe and leave us a review. Your feedback helps us bring more real-world insights to entrepreneurs like you. Be sure to join us next time for even more lessons, struggles and breakthroughs on the road to success. Keep forging ahead.