Living The Red Life Rudy Mawer

Today I've got Brad Sumrok in the house. Termed "The Apartment King". We discuss the conventional wisdom surrounding education and real estate investment. Brad explains how societal norms lead many to unquestioningly spend large sums on a traditional college education, only to find limited job prospects afterward. Reflecting on his own experience, Brad details his journey through the corporate world, achieving degrees and following the expected path until it left him unfulfilled and financially insecure. His turning point came after reading Rich Dad Poor Dad, which inspired him to explore real estate as a viable alternative to traditional employment.
Brad shares how attending seminars and seeking mentorship transformed his career, allowing him to amass a portfolio of over 7,800 apartment units. Initially intimidated by large real estate deals, he emphasizes the importance of starting small and gradually taking on bigger projects. His story highlights how multifamily properties, starting with a 32-unit building, offered a more streamlined and profitable path than single-family investments. He also underscores the value of investing in oneself through education and networking, as these personal investments often yield higher returns than any single asset class. The episode stresses the power of community and continuous learning in achieving long-term success.
CHAPTER TITLES
1:16 - Brad's Background and Real Estate Journey
2:29 - Initial Real Estate Exposure
3:04 - First Real Estate Conference Experience
4:02 - First Investment: From Single-Family to Multifamily
4:44 - Scaling Investments: Raising Capital and Larger Deals
6:10 - Financing and Management of Large Multifamily Properties
6:52 - Transition to Education and Mentorship
8:21 - Building a Community and Event-Based Learning
9:04 - Challenges and Relationships in Business
11:38 - Mindset and Lessons from Large Deals
14:13 - Community Impact vs. Individual Success
17:51 - Is Real Estate a Great Investment?
18:37 - Investing in Yourself: The Key to Success
18:53 - Closing Thoughts & Encouragement


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In today's episode I delve into the three phases of lead generation: cold, warm, and ultra-hot leads. Cold leads are those who are unfamiliar with your brand, requiring substantial effort to convert. Warm leads are somewhat familiar with your offerings and have a higher likelihood of conversion, while ultra-hot leads are highly engaged, long-term followers or previous customers ready to make a purchase without much convincing. I cover the importance of transforming cold leads into warm and eventually ultra-hot leads through strategic content creation, effective marketing, and maintaining strong customer relationships.
This episode will give you practical steps to increase lead quality and conversion rates, such as creating viral content, optimizing ads, and engaging in joint ventures. Also one that people often overlook is the need for compelling offers and consistent branding to attract and retain leads. By nurturing leads through valuable content and building a loyal community, businesses can achieve higher conversion rates and customer loyalty. I give some examples from various industries, including MLMs, to illustrate the process of turning cold leads into super fans, highlighting the significant revenue potential and customer retention benefits of this approach.
CHAPTERS
1:31 - The Importance of Lead Generation 
2:34 - Challenges with Cold Leads
3:09 - Transitioning from Cold to Warm Leads 
3:43 - Benefits of Warm Leads 
4:09 - Defining Red Hot Leads 
5:12 - Strategies to Increase Hot Leads 
6:31 - Building a Brand Ecosystem 
7:14 - Converting Interest to Engagement 
8:23 - Nurturing Leads to Super Hot Status 
8:29 - Effective Lead Capture Methods 
10:20 - Generating Traffic for Lead Capture 
12:25 - Importance of Content Quality 
12:57 - Engaging and Retaining Followers 
13:36 - Creating Super Fans and Community 
18:58 - The importance of building celebrity status
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Jeffrey Hayzlett, an American businessman. Formerly the chief marketing officer of the Eastman Kodak Company, and now the CEO of The Hayzlett Group.
Entrepreneurs often fall into the trap of saying yes to everything without considering the ROI and opportunity cost. Instead, they should focus on five key tasks daily and ensure enough time is allocated for these priorities. The discussion also highlights the shift in content strategy from simply gaining eyeballs and ears to capturing hearts and minds, stressing the importance of reaching the right audience with valuable content at the right time.
Jeffrey shares his journey of acquiring over 200 businesses and scaling them efficiently by leveraging acquisitions for rapid growth. He underscores the significance of understanding the problems a business solves for its customers and maintaining a firm grasp on the company's value. He also discusses the need for entrepreneurs to build systems that support scalable growth, akin to the McDonald's model. The conversation touches on the importance of data in decision-making, particularly for larger companies, and the benefits of having a strong, capable team to support business operations.
CHAPTER TITLES
1:21 - Welcome Jeffrey Hayzlett 
1:46 - Quick Overview of Jeffrey's Accomplishments 
1:55 - Driving Businesses and Leading C-Suite Network 
2:31 - Blending Corporate and Entrepreneurial Marketing 
2:52 - Journey and Bumps Along the Way 
3:20 - Scaling Through Acquisitions 
5:27 - Hustle Versus Working Smarter 
5:58 - Automate, Delegate, Eliminate
10:02 - Learning from Data in Big Companies 
11:52 - Building Scalable Systems 
13:24 - Importance of Team Dynamics 
16:19 - Entertainment and Business Similarities 
17:51 - Becoming a Media Company 
18:41 - Content Drives Community 
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The crucial debate between organic and paid advertising. Paid ads are quicker and more predictable results, but organic has the potential to produce an even higher roi. Paid advertising allows for consistent traffic flow and scalable sales, which are essential for building a real business as opposed to a hobby. Paid ads provide control and predictability, making it easier to achieve revenue goals and demonstrate profitable acquisition channels, a critical factor when selling a business to potential buyers. Organic growth, while valuable in the long run, is less predictable and takes longer to yield significant returns.
Successful businesses need a balance of both paid and organic strategies. While paid ads offer immediate returns and scalability, organic content is a long-term investment that enhances brand value and trust. Effective paid advertising requires testing, optimization, and a solid product or service. By understanding and leveraging both paid and organic methods, businesses can achieve sustainable growth and improved valuations.
CHAPTER TITLES
1:17 - The Importance of Both Paid Ads and Organic Growth 
1:50 - Why Paid Ads are Essential for Business Consistency 
2:51 - Comparing Paid Ads to Organic Growth
4:03 - Analogies: Paid Ads vs. Organic Growth
4:29 - The Challenges and Benefits of Paid Ads 
5:10 - The Long-Term Value of Organic Growth
6:17 - Building a Balanced Strategy 
6:56 - Organic Growth as a Long-Term Strategy 
7:15 - Paid Ads and Business Valuation 
8:44 - Examples of Big Brands Using Paid Ads
9:10 - The Role of Different Types of Paid Traffic 
10:39 - The Myth of Affording Paid Ads 
11:58 - Personal Success Stories with Paid Ads
12:42 - Integrating Organic Growth and Paid Ads 
12:56 - Creating Viral and Branded Content for Organic Growth
14:33 - The Importance of Testing in Paid Ads 
14:51 - Guidance for Members on Paid and Organic Strategies 
16:06 - Summary and Final Thoughts on Paid vs. Organic
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In today's episode we have Ben Press, someone who found some of the greatest stars we have seen in our favorite movies. One he is most known for is securing a role for Amanda Seyfried in "Mamma Mia!" despite initial resistance from the studio, highlighting the importance of persistence and leveraging trusted relationships. He emphasizes never taking no for an answer and building authentic connections that can facilitate achieving significant goals. This mindset, which was crucial in his career as an agent, enabled him to navigate the industry successfully and secure major opportunities for his clients.
In the discussion, Ben also delves into his transition from talent representation to the world of entertainment technology startups. He talks about his involvement in ventures like Russell Wilson's TraceMe, which was later acquired by Nike, and his advisory role at Cameo. He explains how celebrities have become more accessible for brand collaborations due to economic changes in the entertainment industry and shares insights on how entrepreneurs can leverage celebrity partnerships for brand growth. His approach combines understanding target demographics, vetting potential celebrity partners, and structuring equity deals to benefit both parties.
CHAPTER TITLES
1:00 - Introduction and Guest Overview
2:08 - From Mailroom to Agent: Ben's Career Journey
2:30 - Working with Hollywood Legends
3:00 - Packaging America's Next Top Model and Mamma Mia
3:45 - Pivot to Entertainment Tech Startups
4:20 - Leveraging Celebrity for Business Growth
5:00 - Evolution of Celebrity Brand Work
6:10 - How to Engage Celebrities for Your Brand
7:25 - Vetting and Selecting the Right Celebrity
8:45 - Structuring Equity and Compensation Deals
10:15 - The Importance of Fast Decisions in Celebrity Deals
11:00 - Activations and Fundraising with Celebrities
12:21 - Creating Authentic Celebrity Partnerships
13:08 - Case Study: Landing Amanda Seyfried for Mamma Mia
16:23 - Lessons in Persistence and Relationship Building
18:10 - Strategies for Effective Asks
19:27 - Encouraging Staff to Overcome 'No' Responses
20:41 - Turning 'No' into 'Maybe' and 'Maybe' into Meetings
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QUESTIONS
1:37 - What has been your biggest challenge in growing your business online and how did you overcome it?
2:32 - How do you stay motivated and inspired in the face of setbacks?
3:28 - What is a breakthrough moment that significantly changed your business trajectory?
4:13 - How do you balance your personal branding with company branding in your marketing strategy?
5:05 - I'm struggling with creating viral content that resonates with my audience. What is your secret?
5:34 - How do you leverage influencer marketing to boost your own brands' visibility?
6:05 - What strategies have you found most effective for scaling your ad spend profitably on social media?
6:51 - What's the best way that you identify and capitalize on emerging trends in digital marketing?
7:54 - How much do you pay attention to data analytics and how does it play a role in your decision-making in your business?
8:45 - Can you share a story about a successful collaboration you've had with a celebrity or influencer?
9:21 - What is the best way to establish trust in your brand?
9:55 - I'm building my first sales funnel. What are the key elements of a successful sales funnel in your experience?
10:43 - We're struggling to keep customers. How do you approach customer retention and loyalty in your brand and business?
11:50 - I'm just getting my start in digital marketing. What is one piece of advice you would give me right now?
12:39 - How do you look at and measure ROI of all of your marketing campaigns?
12:57 - What's your approach to content creation and distribution across all of your different platforms?
13:34 - How do you manage and motivate a large team to achieve high performance?
14:39 - What do you think will be the biggest change in the next five years in the digital marketing and social media space?
15:03 - A couple of bad reviews have set our business back a lot. How do you handle negative feedback or criticism about your brand online?
16:31 - What is the most valuable lesson you learned from your worst failure?
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FULL TRANSCRIPT
0:00
Rudy, what is the most valuable lesson you learned from your worst failure?
0:04
I think probably the biggest lesson, which is kind of ironic is I'm struggling with creating viral content that resonates with my audience.
0:12
What is your secret?
0:13
Something I've learned from a lot of people that are very successful on socials is just like, what do you think will be the biggest change in the next five years in the digital marketing and social media space?
0:24
The next five years, biggest change will probably be, we're already ahead.
0:28
I would say we've been doing it over 18 months now.
0:31
I think it's gonna change how content's made, how content's produced the ability to create content.
0:37
I think that's gonna be the biggest change.
0:38
It's a good question too.
0:39
I think a breakthrough...