We're excited to introduce you to our friend Chris Norris. He says he's a social media COACH, but Dave and I like to call him the social media NINJA because that's truly what he is. You'll hear how he went from starting his career with the Cleveland Indians to just recently being on the Discovery Channel's reality show "Undercover Billionaire." Here's our conversation with Chris.
Find Chris at: https://christopherjnorris.com/
Connect with us at: http://www.squareoneshow.com/
Find all the episodes at: www.SquareOneShow.com
Have a question? Send it to jessica@squareoneshow.com
Need a voiceover? Jessica's Voiceover site www.JessicaLewisVoice.com
Thanks for listening!!
We're excited to introduce you to our friend Chris Norris. He says he's a social media COACH, but Dave and I like to call him the social media NINJA because that's truly what he is. You'll hear how he went from starting his career with the Cleveland Indians to just recently being on the Discovery Channel's reality show "Undercover Billionaire." Here's our conversation with Chris.
Find Chris at: https://christopherjnorris.com/
Connect with us at: http://www.squareoneshow.com/
Find all the episodes at: www.SquareOneShow.com
Have a question? Send it to jessica@squareoneshow.com
Need a voiceover? Jessica's Voiceover site www.JessicaLewisVoice.com
Thanks for listening!!
The bottom line was, the thing that was negatively impacting my family, was my lack of fulfillment in the work I was doing and I felt kind of selfish because I'm like, man, if you're not happy at work and then you're running off and doing this stuff to give you fulfillment, you got to find a balance because your family's gonna suffer.
Speaker 2:[inaudible]
Speaker 3:We're excited to introduce you to our friend Chris Norris. He says he's a social media COACH, but Dave and I like to call him the social media NINJA because that's truly what he is. You'll hear how he went from starting his career with the Cleveland Indians to just recently being on the Discovery Channel's reality show"Undercover Billionaire." Here's our conversation with Chris.
Speaker 1:Hey Chris. Thanks for being on the square one show. How are you?
Speaker 4:I'm good guys, how are you? Great. We're excited to have you on the show today. Chris. Chris is a good friend of ours that we've known for a few years now and I'm just a little bit of background. Chris is, he's done a lot of things. He's got a lot of, uh, titles that he's had. He's a social media and Ninja. He's a had pastor as part of his title at some point he's a worked for the Cleveland Indians and he's now currently a a reality show superstar in the new discovery channel show undercover billionaire, which you can check out and we're going to talk about that in a little bit. But first, Chris, we wish, want to step back and kind of hear your story of how you got started, where you come from and how you ended up at this point. So where did you grow up?
Speaker 1:I grew up in Sharon, Pennsylvania, which is about an hour and a half South of Erie, Pennsylvania. It's pretty much right between Erie, Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Small town. Um, had a great childhood growing up. Lots of really good memories there. I went to college not too far from there at Westminster college where I pursued a degree in broadcast communications because I had a passion for baseball, played baseball all my life. Played through college and hopes and dreams of playing in the big leagues. But, uh, like many people realize at five, 10, in about 160 pounds, I wasn't probably quite have the size to do it or the skills I hate to make, maybe I didn't have the skills, it's not always about the style. So second best was to um, you know, pursue a career. I could just talk about baseball. So I've, I wanted to be like on ESPN and talk about baseball, be a radio broadcast or, so I've got into broadcast communications and uh, from there is really where I developed my communication skills. And I guess probably my personality and even my professional skillset was during the time that I was at Westminster and doing primarily like radio and television type stuff, social media wasn't really even a thing and the internet was still very early, early. And you know, this was like still kind of the early I hear we are like talking to each other on a podcast and this kind of stuff. Not happening when I was in college. So I had been like the[inaudible] two thousands or you make me tell you it was a, let's see, 2004 through 2008 was when I was in college. Yeah. Cool. Yeah, so it was kind of just beginning to take off the social media, not social media. So much of the internet and connectivity. Yeah. Yeah. Everything. And I remember when I was in college was when Facebook first came out and you had to get like approval through your college to get a face. Right. I was actually in college when that happened, so I was like to tell like younger people like, you know, I was like, I was kind of on the pilot program for Facebook, but it wasn't a dating thing at first. Yeah. It was weird. Yeah. It was really designed for like, you know, initially just to be like a college, a way to connect with college. Yeah. College class and people and obviously they don't work from there, but I was there when that all happened. I remember it was like you could only pretty much at first be connected with people that were at the same college as you and then it kind of branched out from there. So yeah. So I finished up there, tells an eight. I did an internship, like you mentioned earlier with the Cleveland Indians. Really started to have a passion for pro sports and uh, went on to work for a AA team here in Erie, Pennsylvania, uh, the Erie that are a AA affiliate of the Detroit tigers. And that was where, um, kind of thing started for me from more of a marketing and social media perspective during my time there.
Speaker 5:Well, let's jump back a little bit. So how did you go from Cleveland to Erie?
Speaker 1:Well, I, I definitely loved baseball. I liked the behind the scenes stuff more so than I thought. And I realized, okay, maybe I want to be more in the production end of things. Not, not, uh, in front of the camera, but behind, if you will. And I remember I just wanted to be involved, uh, from, from that perspective. And it was going to be tough. Obviously. As much as I would've loved to stay with the Indians and, and jump right into a role there. Uh, I got great references, great experience while I was there. So I started to pursue opportunities, kind of like the major league players go through the system. I thought well I'll look and try to involve with a minor league team and just kind of experience there. I'll probably do a lot more, wear a lot more hats in that role. So get the experience at a, in an a minor league level and then work my way up to the big leagues like the players do. So I kinda did these backwards. Everyone always gave me, cause they're like, you started in the big leagues and now you know, you're in AA, I'll work my way back there Sunday. Yeah. That's not how most people would approach it probably, which is I actually, I think that's there.
Speaker 5:That's kind of brilliant because you get, like you said, you were wearing so many hats and you're just out of college. There's so many things to learn about. Right. And the more, the more we understand the whole industry and how it works, the more hats we can wear at the beginning, the more we can probably realize, okay, this is where I see myself like this direction or this taking this path. Yeah. A lot of
Speaker 1:guys will go to the big leagues right away and sit on the bench for a long time. We're playing in the minors or like you did come into here, it gave you, sounds like it gives you more opportunity to learn more and expand your skills. Yeah, definitely. It was an invaluable experience and I, I got to see all the different hats a lot of those folks were wearing, but a, at a level like that with Indians, they put on a top notch show every game from like an entertainment perspective. Uh, it's like, it was like being a part of a television show, but you are your television. Where's the jumbo Tron? And I got to see all the, all the different roles and responsibilities that that took to make it happen. You know, for basically 71 games a season. And uh, I'm sorry, 81 games season, 181 home games. And so that helped me a lot cause then when I went to work for a smaller market team, like the receivables, I kinda had a larger set of skills because I had seen all the other moving parts that went into making, making that happen. So it was great experience and some of the best members of my life. Um, and it just so happened that year the Indians went all the way to the American league pennant games. So I got to be a part of that. They offer on so, and I'm a huge Indians fan so it was really hard to separate pleasure from worker and I would imagine you were a lot more valuable to coming to a smaller market having the skills you learned in the big leagues. So you're almost becoming a big fish in a smaller pond where before you were maybe a lot of the smaller guys. Totally. Yes, absolutely. I'm sure it helped me when I was applying for, for that position to say that I had already had experience with, with a major league team. So, um, like, like Jess had said, and you had said earlier, it's kind of you most kids are coming out of college wanting to get to the majors in old pain, if you will, you know, so to speak. And I kind of was like, well I already did an internship with a major league team and you know, bringing up down Hill from here. Yeah. Right here in Erie, Pennsylvania. But no, that was a great experience too. I mean, uh, working in AA it was a lot of fun. Uh, minor league baseball is a little bit more like zany. It's more like, I don't want to say he can get away with more of, it's a lot more fun to do a lot more crazy stuff. Crazy promotion. And then the big leagues, uh, cause you know, at the big leagues you've got guys that are worth millions of dollars running on and off the field. Every game, minor leagues you got get a lot of guys that aren't that much older or even younger sometimes than you. So it's a little bit more laid back atmosphere and irrigating a lot of great experience to do a lot of fun stuff, uh, while I was working there. And so you started learning social media when you were working with the seawalls like that. I'm sure that's what it was just starting to become more popular then. And did you learn it just by doing it or was there more classes that you took or had you get your, your skills there? Well, I remember that was really when Facebook opened up to a wider audience and you could set up like a Facebook back then it was called a Facebook fan page. So I thought, you know, we'll the seawalls, I mean we are very reliant on our fans to obviously drive ticket sales. And especially from what I'm doing, I'm there to entertain the fans as the director of entertainment. And I thought, why don't we start a Facebook fan page and recruit all of our fans and, and use that as a promotion. And a marketing tool. And this was during the off season. This was like right after the season had ended. So I set up a page and just kinda did a lot of stuff on my own. Again, I didn't go to school for marketing and social media wasn't really even like a degree or quite honestly like a skill set back then. So I kinda just went to, uh, did a lot of research on my own. There was a couple of local, the classes offered a after hours like sessions where you go and learn stuff about this new evolving trend called Facebook. So, um, yeah, and back then these were kind of rare, so I was like, well, I need to find one of these classes and go learn and talk to see what other people are doing. So that's kinda how I got, I guess I'm turned on to the idea of using social media and, and professional sports and as a marketing tool, because again, like we said earlier at this point, Facebook was as it's true as form a social network for socializing with your friends. And at this point to hear it potentially introduced as like a tool to market and promote, uh, in my case, professional sports team was like a whole new concept. And so then you moved from there and your neck was, it was mercy. Here's your next position where you were like the director of their social media and all that, like that became your full time thing, is that correct? Yeah, they had advertised a website, basically a website coordinator position and I had been interested in working there and I remember I, I read the job description and there was like a, just like a mention of social media in there. And I thought, well, um, let me go check their social media and see how they like how they're doing and wonder who actually is responsible for it all in. You can tell they were also like in the early stages of figuring it all out. Like most people were at that point, you know, like how do you use Twitter different than how you use Facebook and then do you use Instagram yet? And it was kinda like, well man I could go in there and kind of have a blank canvas and say, Hey I know that my primary role is this website coordinator position, but I noticed there is a mention of social media in here and I think that you're gonna eventually need someone to be doing a lot more of that social media responsibility, especially at a college because the students that are going to be coming onto campus at some point they're going to, this is all their kind of no social media cause it's really grown. So I accepted that position and they were all about me basically taken on a little bit more responsibility from a social media perspective, which made me really excited and kind of develop some strategy for them, gave them some direction on how to define for each channel. Cause before, like I said, they were just sort of putting the same thing on Facebook and they might put on Twitter and vice versa. I had the opportunity to, to just kind of figure even figure out for myself what it to have different content created for each channel. And many years later, I guess I was there about six and a half years now. They are in my opinion still, I know I'm biased, but I think they do such a great job of catering content for their audience, which is primarily uh, incoming freshmen, high school seniors that are looking for schools. They do a great job now of of using each channel very uniquely to reach a different audience. And luckily, and fortunately I guess I had the opportunity to be a part of the evolution of social media there at Mercer's, which was a huge, a huge, I guess advantage for them too, but also a huge growing experience and um, benefited me greatly as well. We sat about leaving baseball and moving over to Mercier's working for a college university. How has that transition for you? That's an excellent question. I loved baseball, but I came to realize that working in minor league baseball was a huge time commitment. And I kind of actually just from spending so much time at the ballpark started to actually not, not love baseball as much as I'd used to because I was getting to a point where I was like, Oh my gosh, this is actually maybe too much baseball. And on top of that, my wife was a teacher, so she was off during the summer and I was, that was the busiest time of my, my year. So I just wasn't working and I was newly married and I was like, you know, this, maybe this isn't the best thing. I just want to be able to enjoy baseball, not make it feel too much like a job. So, Oh yeah. It was kind of sad to know that I was like getting out of professional sports cause I really thought, again, like this was God's plan. Like, I'm going to be, I'm going to work in sports my whole life, but obviously at this point I see exactly what, what God was up to and, um, I'm grateful for that decision. And I still love baseball. So it clearly was the right move. You love it again. I love it. I, I'm not sure I ever didn't love it, but I could feel like it was turning more of a job than a, you know, a recreational activity. Right. I also want to play again, like I knew there was some adult leagues up here and, uh, I wanted to be able to play again. I was only like in my early twenties. I'm like, well, I could probably still play with some of these college guys. So, uh, I, I knew that by freeing up a little time in my summer, I would be, have the opportunity to continue to play baseball. So it had its definitely had its benefits. So Chris, I think you, uh, you're more passionate about social media than probably anybody I've ever known, which I think is awesome. And you, you know, more about than anybody I've known. But what, what actually motivates you to be, I mean, you started at just start a social media company, digital marketing, which we'll talk about a little bit, but what is the underlying passion that's driving you to really push into this industry? Well, I just keep thinking back to what it was originally set up for when Mark Zuckerberg and his, his buddies were sitting a in their college dorm, and it was, it was to communicate with people. It is called social media. It's not called sales media is not called slander media. It's called social media because people can use it to, yeah, socialize. And I still believe, despite how dangerous of a tool that can be, it can be a tool for comparison. It can be a tool for bullying people. It can be a tool for kind of blasting your, your political agenda out there. I still think there's a ton of power for it to be a place to have people connect and have, make meaningful community meaningful conversations. I mean, a lot of the people that you guys have on your show are the people that, that are part of your community. Uh, you may have never met face to face and maybe you connected on Instagram or maybe you sent somebody a LinkedIn message. Like there's still so much power in the potential to connect with people and form these online communities. And I just think that we just can't like give up on it. I always get sad when I hear people say I deleted my, I'm off social media forever cause I just got tired of seeing you know, the same stuff in my feed. And that makes me sad because I think that yeah, that that's true, but it's, it's still a powerful tool, uh, for connecting with people and it's added a ton of value to my life. I mean, all this stuff essentially I've learned about social media marketing. I have consumed that information from, you guessed it, social media because I follow the right people. I joined these, these, these communities that people that are trying to do the same thing as me and I've, I've just learned a ton from using it as a resource. Um, so yeah, I just still believe in it. That's, that's basically why I'm doing what I'm doing now. And I just love to show people the positive power of social media. Like when I teach them something or show them something and they're like, Oh my gosh, you didn't know you could do that or I didn't realize I could, I could connect with my customers in this in this really unique way. I just kinda thought Facebook was a place where you just posted pictures of your family or you put pap means and things like, no, there's a ton of potential here and you just need, sometimes you just need somebody to come along and guide you and show you some best practices to make it work. And that's where I'm hoping that I can help people. Well, I'm going to jump back. So you're working at Mercyhurst and then at some point you leave mercy Hurst and we're working with Erie insurance for a little bit and then branching off onto your own. So catch us up just a minute, kind of through that process of really starting your own social media company. Yes, I was at mercy. Those six and a half years, probably right in the middle of that experience. I also was getting involved with my church. I do believe so much in that same power of social media to reach people. You know, I think the church definitely is an undertapped resource with social media. And I, I saw that and I went to my church and my pastor at the time and said, Hey, we're not really doing social media that well here at the church. Can I help? And they were more than willing to let me help and, and do that. So I also kind of started doing stuff with the church that ended up turning into a part time position. And, um, that was a great experience as well. And so, yeah, six years at Mercyhurst and then, um, just over a year ago I decided that I had done my, my work there and it was time for the next chapter and I, um, accepted a job at Erie insurance, uh, doing, it was a position that was titled media services. And, uh, I was, uh, hoping to learn a lot about animation and video production because that was one area that really dating back to like my years at Westminster college, I had kind of missed the video production and specifically even animation. I wanted to grow with some of those skills as well. So that was why the job appealed to me and I thought, really, I'm going to take a step back from social media for awhile. Like I, I felt really good about what I accomplished in mercy. Hers I felt really good about the direction I had led the church with, with their social media plan and approach to reaching people there that I thought maybe I'll try something different now and, and see, see what God will do through this opportunity. So yeah, I went to your insurance and took this job working in their media services department. That's awesome. And then it's, how long has it been? About six months or so that you kind of decided took another leap? Yeah, I need to, I need to really push myself even more and let's start my own business. So how did that come about? Yes. I was there about three and a half or four months and realize I actually was missing, um, missing the social media aspect of, of, of my job a lot. Really. I had no, this is corporate America, so there's a lot more hoops to jump through. You don't just get, you know, unlimited access to, you know, their Instagram account and they say and do what you gotta do. Like Mercier's gave me that freedom and years gave me basically, eventually before I left, like a whole staff of students to help with the social media marketing efforts from their perspective. So this was totally different. You know, this was, this was corporate America and things were definitely different. So I did get my feet wet in corporate America, social media and realized, man, I really do miss this. And I th I think I'm still pretty good at it. So I started to do some freelance work and, um, reach out to people and people would actually still reach out to me and say, Hey, we, we could use some help with our small businesses, social media accounts, or we're trying to use social media in a better way. What we're doing now isn't working, could you help us? And I started to do that just on the side. And man, I just kinda got that fire lit inside. And again, like this is so much fun and it's kind of cool to work with other people from a variety of businesses and organizations instead of just being in higher ed or just being in corporate America. So I kind of started to get the itch to maybe I wanted to go out on my own and, and work with people and not have to just be limited to one, um, you know, sort of niche industry, but be able to meet a bunch of different people doing a bunch of different things. So that's what kind of, that was probably when I started to get that. Uh, what do you guys probably call it? Like the entrepreneurial itch. And that was really the beginning of year. So like January of 2019.
Speaker 4:So I think that really fascinating thing about your story is that uh, your willingness to follow your passion and your skills and your talents. And it's like when you were younger you were pursuing baseball and then you realize you weren't gonna be a baseball player. So you went into broadcast and communications, which gave you the opportunity to work in baseball for years. And then you kept following your passion that you were learning about social media, which took you to Mercyhurst and now ended up, yeah, allowing you the opportunity to start this own, this business. And then once you started this business, it freed up some of your time. A little bit. Sounds like too, when you got a phone call or however it happened to be on this reality show, undercover billionaire, sounds like you are able to have some time and opportunity to take that opportunity to. So you want to talk just a few minutes about that, experience this and maybe just explain what the show is and how you ended up.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Shortly after I started to wonder if maybe God is opening some new doors for me in my career. This opportunity kind of came about where a friend of mine sent me a Facebook posts from a local small business development center here in Erie, Pennsylvania that this is very vague, but it just said like somebody was trying to start a business in Erie, which number one, that's great cause that's what we want. We want new businesses in the area. So I'm like, cool. And then it said currently seeking assistance with the following areas and there was all kinds of things like carpenter too. Um, you know, artists, interior designers, marketing people, website developers, social media experts, everything, photography. So I'm like, well this is interesting. And I think that I probably fit in there somewhere, whether it's from just a general marketing perspective or maybe the social media piece. So I, I reached out and said, Hey, I'm interested, I don't really know a whole lot about what you got going on here, but sign me up because I'm not completely fulfilled at my current job. And I feel like there's something going on in my heart so I'm not going to turn down an opportunity like this. So lo and behold, I kind of went to this casting call if you want to call it or an audition. And they interviewed me, they asked me questions about where I was in my career and why I want to get involved with this and like what I thought it was. And I really didn't have any clues but was just kind of a faith thing. You know, where you just like God's up to something and I'm just gonna like what do I have to lose? Like if at the end of the day I wake up tomorrow and I go to my regular job and I'm, I'm treated very well there and it's a great stable company to work for, but let me just explore other things and see what's going on. And yeah, like a couple of weeks go by and I get a call back and they're like, Hey, we want to ask you a few more questions. And we think that the, this gentleman who started this business is interested in working with you. And I was like, okay this is cool. So I at this point thought like, well this might be a cool little freelance project or this will kind of build into my clientele of side work that I'm doing. And still at this point I really didn't get a whole lot of detail. Like what kind of business? Who was this guy that wanted to start the business? Why is he choosing URI? Um, cause he was from out of town. We knew that from the beginning that he and he all in kind of in fine print. There was something about he wanted to document all this through film. So I thought okay this is cool. You know, this guy is just going to make like a YouTube channel about what it's like to be an entrepreneurial theory in this school. Because I think it could be a positive thing for Erie, Pennsylvania because unfortunately over the last 10 years that I've lived here, we've kind of been on the map and on the national stage for a few of unfortunate things like the pizza bomber documentary, huge hit on Netflix, but not exactly right. I mean, I've binged it twice, but it's still like, who has it? Great show. Um, you know, even during the presidential election in 20 2016, we, Erie made the high, uh, the highlights for some, you know, some negative things. And it was cool though because the theory really rallied around that and, um, stepped up[inaudible] we aren't so bad after all, you should come check us out. You know, our city's great and we're on the rise, so there's just this energy around you that I want to be a part of. So I thought this opportunity might, might give me that chance. So anyway, uh, yeah, I got on involved with this, this show. I got to meet Glen who was starting a business here in Erie. I got to meet the other people that were selected. It was a small group of us. I F I, I guess I pictured it was going to be a bunch of people cause there's a bunch of roles and responsibilities we'll listed on this, this kinda, um, classified ad that I saw. And it was a small group of us and I could tell right from the beginning it was a diverse group of people and, and I was really excited because I thought, well man, if I ever do end up going out on my own, this is going to be a great networking opportunity for me just to even meet these other people from Erie that I knew who many of them were but never really had a chance to like actually get to know any of them. So, um, yeah, it was a really cool opportunity, uh, to meet a bunch of new people to meet Glenn. And at this point, after we met for the first time, I knew something was going on because this was going to be more than like a YouTube video. This was like, these were like legit cameras, uh, producers. There's a lot of, yeah, there too. Yeah, right. So like this was when the first red flag went up for me that this opportunity was going to be something pretty special.
Speaker 4:But you still didn't know exactly what I mean, you didn't even know it was discovery channel, did you? At that point it was just kinda, I mean, the premise of the show is that he's a billionaire in real life, but he came posing as just a guy that's trying to start a business in his 50s late fifties. Um, but that the actual show premise is that he's trying to ah, create$1 million business in 90 days with only a hundred dollars. And, but you didn't know that that entire time, correct?
Speaker 1:Correct. Yeah, that is correct. You don't know that he's a billionaire. I don't know that he has a limit and he needs to create a million dollar business. Right. I'll, you know, is that this guy, something's going on and you want to be a part hiring a bunch of cameras. Yeah. Yeah. That's exactly it. And I guess I should go back and say that the first time I met Glen in person in this, this kind of this interview setting, it was after I had gone to the audition. That's when they called me back and said, we got a few more questions for you. We kind of wanted a Glenn to interview. So I'm like, okay. I just, there was some special about him. I liked him. Uh, there's one instinct that I trust the most about myself is my perception of character. And I just got a good vibe, if you will, from him right from the beginning. So, uh, when I was told that, Hey, Glenn likes you, she wants you to be on his team, I was like, I wanna I wanna be around this guy and I, something special about him. He seems cool. I knew his story was like Dave said, he was in his mid to late fifties. He had recently, um, uh, overcome cancer. And from what I was told, this was like kind of like a bucket list thing for him that he wanted to open a business because he almost died. And he realized that, man, life is short. Let's, let's do this now. And he had been working in what was described to me as corporate America and that's exactly where I was. And to hear that this, I waited to leave, it was like 55 to pursue his dream. I was like, well, there's probably no coincidence that God brought this guy into my life because that could be me someday if I don't love corporate America right now. I don't want to wait til I have, you know, a cancer diagnosis to realize, Oh man, I should've really pursued my passions and not waited around for this to happen. So his story was intriguing to me cause I, again, I kind of could connect with it with the season of life I was in. So yeah, I did not realize he was a billionaire because to be honest, not that I know many billionaires, but he didn't seem like somebody with a lot of money and, and a lot to lose. He seemed like somebody that was just trusting, uh, uh, a group of random people from Erie, Pennsylvania to help him accomplish a goal. And I wanted to get behind his goal because I knew that his story was unique and I, I want to back, I wanted to help. I really wasn't looking to make money. And again, it was like a professional thing, a professional move for me. Like I was would be cool experience after I heard it. I was like, if nothing else, I want to help the guy cause I like him. I want to make them, uh, achieve his goal.
Speaker 4:Yeah. And that's what's fascinating about, because none of you guys were paid during that whole time and you didn't even know what the business was. I mean, you guys were kind of all just following on faith and hoping something was going to come out of it, which I think is pretty awesome in which everybody we'll find out next week. I guess by the time this airs actually, uh, the last episode we'll have aired in Wyoming. Yeah. We'll get to know whether or not he was successful.
Speaker 1:Yes. Yeah. This, uh, by the time this your podcast comes out, this show will be over. I can't believe it's been eight weeks already in my opinion, just based on what they filmed and what I was a part of, they could have made this easily a 16 week series because it's crazy to me how much editing and I that you guys know plenty about editing cause you have to, you have to edit this, this spiel down to a reasonable time and um, I can't even understand or comprehend how they were able to take everything a film, then all the content and edit it down to eight hour long episodes. Like it's crazy to me how much has been left out, whether intentionally or, or in intention unintentionally like a, it's crazy. They fit it all into eight weeks and um, yeah, it'll be, it'll be great to see how things finish up here. And by the time folks are listening to this show, they will know, um, the end result. But regardless of what happens, I highly recommend that the folks listening that are from here, he Pennsylvania or within the region here at Northwestern Pennsylvania, um, they should check out the restaurant underdog barbecue because that is essentially kind of spoiler alert for somebody that have a watch, a shoe business that Glen and his team, me included, uh, were a part of starting. So the, it's a reality show. Right? Would you consider it reality now that you've been a part of it and behind the scenes? It's reality ish. Yeah. I, that's a great rate of the thriving David TV, but it has been eye opening for me to see how reality TV is actually made. Obviously, I know that there is some post-production work done and there's some, some scripting and some things that happen behind the scenes, but exactly. Yeah. So it is definitely reality TV because a lot of the, the content they capture is, is raw and it is real. And it's not like a bunch of actors. I know that when the show first came out, there were people that were kind of accusing, uh, some of us like, Oh, these people aren't even from here. These are people from like LA and, and hired help from New York city and stuff that they brought to Erie. Because here is a, an interesting backdrop, but these aren't even real eerie people. But no, we are really ready people. I assure you. And a lot of the storyline and drama is real. Yeah. Well let's talk about the true reality. I think a lot of people when they hear about the here, Oh, you're working with a billionaire now, so you must be at least a million or now because you started this business with a billionaire. So, uh, tell us about that reality. What is it like now having gone through this and where are you at now with your business and how that all functions? Yeah. So all along during the show we were putting in a lot of hours and I was still in my corporate job for, for most of the filming of the show. And several of the people that were involved with the show were owned their own small business. So they were kind of balancing like they're keeping their doors open while also helping Glen. And then there was me and another gentleman that were still in a full time nine to five job. So it was just a really weird balancing act for all of us. And we put in a ton of time and I started to wonder like, man, if, if I'm putting in this many hours and these other folks are putting in probably even more hours than knees, anybody getting paid here because there is this rolling, right? Like what is the end game here? So of course we all started to kind of wonder and formulate our own theories as to what was gonna happen. Some people were suspicious, rightfully so, that this was all going to maybe be a scam. Even my friends were like, dude, you're going to get taken for everything. All this seems so shady. And I'm saying, well yeah, I know you were only a lot of people that did. But gosh, I just, I guess I was inspired by the people around me that they were so trusting of Glen and they were really pouring their heart and soul in and a lot of the projects that he had us working on and I'm like, well, I'm not going to be the one that's like, nevermind, I want out. So I stuck with it and I'm so glad I did because again, like it all just sort of, um, part of God's plan was like this whole process for me because finally about halfway through the show, I really just, I accumulated enough outside client work that I was doing on the side. It really started at hinder with my personal life and I'm like, man, I, I've kind of in the middle now with like, I can't take any more like freelance work on. I also can't work a nine to five and then come home and be like, no, sorry guys, leave me alone. Uh, I have to go into my office and do work. So I was like, maybe this is the right time to really think about jumping in and leaving my desk job and pursuing my own passions and trying to start my own business. And again, the timing with the show couldn't be more perfect because this was a guy who had worked in corporate America and so I had that connection with him and then the people around me, we're all entrepreneurs and I was inspired and kind of motivated by them. Like, man, if these people can do it, I can do it too. And so all the pieces of the puzzle fit together so well that I finally decided to do it. And I know that a lot of people ask me like, Oh, is it, it was the show, wasn't it like you thought you're going to make like$1 million. She left her job and I'm like, no, no. It was really, it was all God's plan because the show is just a piece of the puzzle. That was the next step for me. Yeah. And again, you didn't have any idea what the truth was in the show at that point. You just still thought Glenn was just this guy trying to start a small business. Correct. Yeah, I just knew that. Um, and like I said, I was drawn to him and I wanted to be around more. I wanted to be with the team more. So like they were all doing stuff sometimes during the day when I was still at my desk, you know, at my job, corporate America and I was like, man, I don't know why. I just feel really, I feel really, you know, torn because I want to be out there with them and I want to be helping with them because this is like a true like team project here. When you're working in corporate, it's a huge company and it's, it's siloed a little bit. And this was just like a total team collaboration. And I'm like, I kinda liked this. I kinda like being the, the underdog. If you will. Like I like working together and yeah, and it was just cool when I was still so intrigued by where this is all going. I knew at this point like, like I said, there's cameras everywhere and there was drama happening and they were capturing it all. And I started to think like, this is going to be a TV show. Is it going to be a documentary? Like buried somewhere in the Netflix watch lit. So yeah, I was still very much intrigued by what was going to happen and what was going on with the show. That's cool. Hey, I want take a
Speaker 5:little pause here in between. So you're working a corporate job, you're doing freelancing a, this undercover billionaire is being recorded. All of this at the same time. You're also married with Beth and Grady. Grady is how old now?
Speaker 1:He's two and you're going to be three in a month.
Speaker 5:Awesome. Okay, so let's kind of dive into that a little bit. If you're okay talking about family, how have you, how were you able to manage all of that and how was you and Beth communication? Was there ever a point where bet when Beth's like, Oh, okay, grads, just pick one and go for it. We're like, why are you doing all this stuff for free with this? What's wrong? How did that relationship look like?
Speaker 1:Well my wife was really patient about it and luckily we are definitely on the same page with, with our faith and kind of like what we believe. And she kind of got the same feeling that I did luckily that like God was up to something through this process because you know, just felt, it felt like something cool is going to become of it. So she was really supportive and like I would be gone like on a Saturday or whenever I wasn't working so to speak, um, with, with the team and with Glenn and the film crew, like we'd be gone for a whole day, like filming stuff around town or, or working somewhere on, on, on a project. And she didn't really, I could never tell her like either like what cause you know, she'd be like, what time will you be home? And I'm like, honestly, I don't know because this is like with the filming of things, like it always takes way longer cause they kind of maybe would make you, you know, do something again or if they did an interview with you, they'd ask you a bunch of questions like, Hey, tell us about how today went. And it always took longer than I thought. But Beth was always really understanding cause she agreed that like something cool is, was happening here. So it was hard though because again, like I, I wasn't getting paid. It was a huge time commitment and it was also hard because I was enjoying it and I was really like torn and kind of reaching a point in my life and my career. I was like, I'm enjoying this more than I am, you know, getting up in the morning and going to a desk job. So is this like, is this what I'm supposed to be doing eventually? So start asking them questions. Family dynamic was fine though. Like again, lots of questions, but we knew that um, something cool is happening. So my wife was cool about it and my son luckily is too young to really understand. But it's pretty cool about it. Right? Pretty cool about it. Yeah, he was, I, yeah, he was definitely cool about it, but the bottom line was like deal. The thing that was negatively impacting my family was my lack of fulfillment in the work I was doing. And my wife knew I wasn't happy. Uh, and obviously my son probably could pick up on an at times as well. And so that was really what was more concerning to me is this, this opportunity with the show and with Glen. And the team was more of like an outlet for me. And I felt kind of selfish cause I'm like, well man, if you're not happy, you're at work and then you're running off and doing this stuff to give you fulfillment, you got to find a balance because your family's gonna suffer. So, um, yeah, lots of prayer and, and everything else that goes into making big decisions. And again, this was the right time to make the jump. And I, I took the jump and it's been so much better. Like my wife, she said to me today, like, you know, I'm so proud of you because you, you took a leap of faith and I can just tell, like I can tell even more than maybe you can, that you're just happier. I'm not saying that you were miserable, but I can just tell that you're happier right now cause you are actually doing what you love to do. And for some people, unfortunately, like you guys talked to people on the show all the time, that they maybe go through a lot of their lives not ever really doing what they love to do. So that's where I'm at right now and I couldn't be happier.
Speaker 5:I love that. And because you have started with social media way back when and you understand the roots of it and you understand what it is meant to be, you're able to help people with that, um,
Speaker 4:help connect them. That's what I love, is that you're doing it from an authentic place and it's more a tool to connect people and to serve people. It's not about
Speaker 1:these gimmicky
Speaker 4:sales opportunities and stuff like that. So I think that's, that's awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure. And that's, that's what I love about it. Like I don't, I don't approach it as a sales tool a lot. Like I, if someone comes up to me and says, Hey, we want to hire you to, um, to really drive sales with social media, um, probably that's probably not someone I'm necessarily going to want to work with, if that's their primary objective with social media, because I don't really promote that. I think it can be a tool or a component of selling, but I think it's got to start with connecting and communicating with customers and not really throwing a bunch of sales pitches at them. Um, so yeah, I guess that's, that's kind of where the authentic pieces for me is that I, I've been exposed to it enough. So of you that there's gotta be a better approach to it than just being like, okay, well let's just run a bunch of Facebook ads promoting your, your product.
Speaker 5:Right. And I love, you know, we've worked with you, Chris personally, and highly recommend you, you know, your stuff. I love that you come from it with an authentic heart in place and well, I remember one thing you said to me was like, you know, you can create content. And in my mind I thought, okay, Instagram account, I need to be creating content all the time. And you're like, no, really just create a little bit of content, connect a lot comments on other people's things and be genuine about it. Start those conversations.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's more about that, the social, the social part of social media and authentically connecting with people. Not trying to use them and get something out of them, but to serve them. And I think that's what I've always loved about your philosophy, how you've handled it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely. I always tell, I like to tell people that they should communicate before they create because a lot of people, especially the ones that I get to work with, like the, even like you guys, you're very busy and if you only have like 15 minutes a day, you know, quite possibly that you're like, okay, I'm in front of a computer, I have 15 minutes, I need to, I need to social media. Uh, it's like they put a lot of time into thinking what they're going to post. Like, okay, what can I say? What picture can I upload? Like what can I post? And I'm always like, well, if you've only got 15 minutes, maybe instead of focusing too much on what you're going to post, you focus on who you can go and interact with and comment on and communicate with before you create. So yeah, I definitely believe in that piece of the puzzle and making sure that you spend more time like interacting with people and don't spend too much energy trying to always focus on, well, I have nothing to post like that. I always, I hate when people say, I don't know, I've got nothing to say on social media. I'm like, can you say hi? Can you say congratulations? Can you say thank you? Well, yeah. I'm like, well go, go start there and do that and then come back and figure out based on those interactions with your customers and your audience. Then maybe if you communicate with them first, then you'll be able to figure out like, okay, now I know like I understand them better now I can actually create content for them. That's fantastic. Chris.
Speaker 5:Well, Hey, um, is there any advice that you would give someone with a similar story who maybe is working a desk job and is thinking about taking that leap? I mean it sounds like you've taken four or five leaps, lot of leaps. So for someone ready to take a leap or it doesn't want to take a leap, but know that God's leading them down a certain path, what advice would you give them?
Speaker 1:I would say the first thing you need to do is find positive people in your life that provide like honest feedback and advice. I guess find a mentor. Um, luckily I've have several folks like that. Um, you know, you guys have been a huge help and support for me. I have friends, I have family that encourages me, which is in my life what I need. Sometimes you just need the encouragement. You might do all the math and make your pro and con list and sometimes you just need a little encouragement from people. So find those people and tell them what you're struggling with and ask them for their advice. And definitely that will help a lot because that's all I needed was the encouragement. Um,[inaudible] then I was ready to do it. I'd say the next thing is just to make sure that you are transparent with your spouse or your family or your best friend. Like keep them in the loop with what you're struggling with and what you're going through. Um, don't just come home one day and say, Hey, decided to quit my job. Uh, you know, yeah. And I, I'm sure people do that and um, that is definitely a leap of faith. But I would say keep your loved ones in the loop because they're part of this decision more than you might realize, especially if you have a family. Like I had a, so I would say definitely keep, keep your family involved and then trust yourself. Like I, that's what I've learned actually a lot from like Glen and, and the rest of the team throughout the show is like, his biggest thing was once he kind of revealed to us that he was a billionaire, I was like, okay. And he said to us that he has learned throughout his life that the best way to grow a business and the best way to have success starts with yourself, with good people. And in that moment I thought, Holy crap. Like that to me. Like he, I'm on this team and he's considering me, quote unquote good people. And it was super humbling because I, you know, I'm sure a lot of people out there can relate to sort of self doubt and not, you know, thinking that you're good enough or you're able and you've got to really just trust yourself and your skills and really that you're created in Christ image and like you, you can do this. And once I learned to trust myself and know that I could do it because number one, like I said, I had good mentors and good support from people and number two because my family was, was in on it and they wanted what was best for me. And then the third piece of the puzzle was just saying, Chris, like you, you're good enough for this. Like value your skills and trust God's plan and, and then do it. So those are the three kind of disjointed pieces of advice I would give people. But it's, it's what I did, it's what I did and my approach and I couldn't be happier. Awesome. Chris, can you tell people where they can find you? Yeah. So I am at, my website is Christopher J. Norris dot com at N O. R. R. I S. just like Chuck. And of course I hang out on social media a little bit. Um, primarily, uh, Instagram. Uh, it's Christopher Jane Norris on Instagram. Um, I'm also on LinkedIn so come find me and I love talking about social media as you can tell. So pretty much I'm an open book, shoot me a message asking questions. I love communicating with people on social media. So come find me. Let's chat. Awesome. Thanks Chris. We appreciate you on the show today. Thank you guys for having me. I really appreciate it. You guys do for, for your community and your tribe and the value you bring to everybody. So I'm really grateful to be a part of it. Thanks Chris.
Speaker 3:Thanks. Explore dream, discover. That's what we're all about here. Sharing people's stories and engaging with each other. We hope you found this conversation helpful and encouraging. Well, we'd love to keep in touch. We just created a Facebook group where you can connect on a more personal level. It's called the square one lounge. You can find it by going to our website, square one show.com. Just look at the top and click on the lounge. Well, until next time, this is David and Jessica Lewis. Enjoy your week.
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