Miranda Mounts Interview | Influencer behind Where To Eat Charlotte

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Bobby Starks:

Thank you for tuning in again for Starks Media Podcast. Today's guest is Miranda Mounts. She is the owner and the face behind Where to Eat Charlotte. Let's get straight into it. What was the motivation behind starting Where to Eat Charlotte?

Miranda Mounts:

The motivation was in Wilmington. I was always asked... That's where I used to live, on the Coast, about three hours from here. I always used to get asked where to eat in Wilmington, because I was everyone's kind of go-to guide, because I was working for a seafood company at the time. I thought that I was like, you know what? I get on Yelp and I see these restaurants on there that I've been in the kitchens and I've been in the back doors and I wouldn't recommend them for certain things.

Miranda Mounts:

Yelp wasn't reliable to me. That's why I was like, when I move to Charlotte, I want to start a Where to Eat Charlotte, because everyone used to ask me like, "Hey, where do I eat in Wilmington?" I knew I was moving to Charlotte, so it was a little late to start that in Wilmington. I was like, I'm going to start it in Charlotte and just see what happens.

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Bobby Starks:

In that case, what was your motivation behind food then? You're like, "Hey, I'm a foodie."

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, I am a foodie. I grew up on fast food. End of story. I used to Arby's, Subway. It was always going from practice to practice. My parents didn't cook. A lot of people say, "Oh, did you come from like this family background where your parents used to cook?"

Bobby Starks:

So you were in sports?

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, I was in sports. I played volleyball, and I played volleyball in college too. That's always funny for people to hear, it was like I didn't grow up with these elaborate meals. When I stopped playing volleyball after my second year at school, I went into serving. Because my parents cut me off and they were like, "Hey, you got to pay your own bills," and I was like, "All right, here we go. What's the best way to do that? I started serving at Kickback Jack's. That was my first serving spot.

Miranda Mounts:

And then I started serving at K38, which is the most popular restaurant in Wilmington essentially, and I was just thrown into the pits with serving and basically learning everything about food. I gained my knowledge from those two years of serving in probably like six or seven different restaurants all in Wilmington. I loved dining out. It was my favorite thing. I worked really hard in the gym, and then I was always looking forward to these meals out with my ex.

Miranda Mounts:

We would go out to eat probably four to five days a week. I'm not kidding. It was a lot.

Bobby Starks:

Really?

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah. We went out a lot, and we would travel a lot too. When we would travel, I would always plan around food. I'm sure a lot of people do that, which is so fun. Like, "Hey, where are we going to eat?" I planned around food, and then he's like, "Hey, it's clear that you love food. You plan these vacations around food. Why don't you start working with my dad for Inland Seafood as an inside sales rep?" He covered the Myrtle Beach area. So I was covering the Wilmington area.

Miranda Mounts:

I would just call up chefs every day and be like, "Hey, chef, like what seafood do you need?" And actually they're based out of Charlotte. I used to travel back and forth to Charlotte to train in the fish house, because I didn't really know that much about food as far as like... I was like mahi? What's a ma look? I don't know how much like filet is for mahi. I had to learn all of that. Oysters. We sold beef. We sold crab, lobster, caviar, cheese, all of those things.

Miranda Mounts:

I really dove in then. When I was traveling to Charlotte, I would dine in the restaurants when I was there visiting. I already had a little bit of a knowledge of like the Charlotte restaurant.

Bobby Starks:

You got to learn about the backend stuff too.

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah.

Bobby Starks:

That's pretty interesting.

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, it's different. It's a whole new world.

Bobby Starks:

Did it start as a hobby? Did you like think it was going to turn into the platform you have now?

Miranda Mounts:

No. No. Literally no. I didn't know what it was.

Bobby Starks:

Were you proactive on getting your first client or di a restaurant reach out and be like, "Hey, we're going to pay you to do this?"

Miranda Mounts:

Well, first, I didn't even think I was going to get free food. I was like free food is like the coolest thing ever. I remember a restaurant sent out a meal or they saw me and they recognized me and they sent out a free meal and I was like, "Oh my God!" Or they're like, "Hey, I know you're doing a post for us. I'm going to comp the meal for you." I'm like I'm doing this... Not only am I posting about this, I'm doing it in exchange for food. That was everything.

Miranda Mounts:

But when I started doing it more consistently and putting out content more consistently, restaurants would reach out and be like, "Hey, can you come into our restaurant?" And then I remember being like, I'm going to see if I can charge them because I'm getting reached out to more frequently. I charged them like 150 bucks, and I went in and like did the whole thing. I remember it was like cash. It's like, "Hey, pay me cash." It all started like cash, Venmo. You know how that goes?

Bobby Starks:

Yeah.

Miranda Mounts:

Evolve. Keep going. And then I ended up sending all of my stats and analytics. I was like, "Ooh, let's get into some numbers." I have 3,000 followers. I reach this many people, and I would send them to restaurants. And then they'd be like, "Hey, I don't even know what you're doing. We don't have a budget for this," whatever. I would just keep doing that. I would reach out to the restaurants until they'd be like, "Yeah, let's do it. 150 bucks. Let's go." So it evolved from there.

Bobby Starks:

Nice.

Miranda Mounts:

It was a big moment that I remember when I got paid like a big check. Not like a big, big check, but it was a check, to me it felt really big right, of a package of posts. And I remember I was like... Because I was starting to sell them in packages instead of just doing one, I saw them in like fours or sixes. It made more sense. And then I just remember getting in that check and I was like, "I should have framed it. I should've framed it."

Bobby Starks:

Oh wow. It's the small little victories.

Miranda Mounts:

Oh yeah.

Bobby Starks:

That's awesome. So now you're an influencer. I guess you would call yourself...

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, I would call myself more of an influencer.

Bobby Starks:

Do you call yourself an influencer? Because I know like some influencers are like, "I hate that."

Miranda Mounts:

I don't hate it. I used to say that I hate the word influencer, but I kind of have taken it on, because I'm doing a little bit of outside of food right now. I truly am influencing people to do something. I think it's really cool. I think it's a trust thing. I like the word. I think it works. I don't know what like follower count you have to hit to be considered an influencer, but I don't think it's based off of numbers.

Miranda Mounts:

For me, it's based off of people actually making action when I post things and they do. They make really massive action and it's really cool, because the businesses tell me. That's how I consider myself an influencer.

Bobby Starks:

Let's get into some of the stress of it a little bit.

Miranda Mounts:

No stress. Never stress.

Bobby Starks:

But you know when you're growing your account, you're always going to have like people that either jealous and you call them haters or whatever. How'd you deal with probably people putting negative comments on you or sending you like weird DMs? How do you deal with that?

Miranda Mounts:

The pages evolved. The pages have grown and I have grown. That's been really cool. I didn't know this was going to be a thing along the way. I was just kind of no filter. And like I said, I've grown. I was getting a lot of hate at one point, but I've learned from it. Like I said, I've grown up. Dealing with that was really hard because I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know what this game was. I didn't know the influence I had. I didn't know how many eyes were on me.

Miranda Mounts:

I was just like living through this blog, thinking that I'm like a food critic or whatever. Not the situation, I'm not a food critic, but it was hard. I remember feeling really alone for a little bit when I was getting a lot of hate like on Twitter and a lot of hate from just a lot of Charlotte, like people that have been here for a while. Because I'm doing something different and I didn't know what I was doing.

Miranda Mounts:

As time went on, I had to shape and mold who I was and just be more aware and listen, instead of thinking that I know everything because I didn't know anything. It was hard, but I've come a long way with it. And now I don't really get any negativity, which is really, really amazing. Because I think that when you put out positivity, you get positivity back. Some times I was putting out negativity. "Oh I didn't like this dish. It had too much of this," blah, blah, blah. Like I said, I'm not a food critic.

Miranda Mounts:

So now that I put out positive videos and only highlight people that I want to and the businesses that I want to, it's been a game-changer for me and my followers.

Bobby Starks:

You don't work with everybody?

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah. I just did a question box yesterday actually, and I had that question like, "Hey, how do you get paid, or do you post about every brand?" I get reached out to by brands now, which has been like really interesting, like food product brands. You want to say yes, because it's like, "Oh it's money," but I have to stay authentic and true to things that I'm actually using. I will not post about a service or a product or something that I don't use. End of story.

Miranda Mounts:

If I do, I'm going in to like sample the service, or I'm going in to, excuse me, try the food. That's step one. A restaurant reaches out. I'm like, "Hey, I've never been there." A lot of the times I have, so I know right off if it's going to work or not. But if I haven't been there, then I set up a time to go in, meet the owner, try the food. That's when I'm actually like eating the food. People don't see that. I'm not in there.

Miranda Mounts:

Like, "Hey, what's up? I'm eating the food." If it goes, well, if the food's good, then they're like, "Hey, we want to buy a package of posts," then that's when I go in for the shoots. And a shoot is when I'm literally going in and capturing content. I don't eat the food or I'll take a bite of it, but I usually give it back to the staff or do something with it because I'm not going to sit there and eat all the food.

Miranda Mounts:

I think people get really like... They want to know like, "Is she dining in these photos? Is she eating the food? What's really going on?" I think that's a big question I get, because like I said, who else is really doing this besides other influencers in other cities? That's been interesting to share the whole like what it is.

Bobby Starks:

Yeah. You're always taking these pictures and you have the smorgasbord of just food all over you.

Miranda Mounts:

Spreads.

Bobby Starks:

Sometimes I'm like, okay, she has to be working out because you're... That's like 10,000 calories just sitting in front of you. You're not eating everything there? Maybe just one bite you said from each plate?

Miranda Mounts:

If I haven't had a dish and chef's like, "Hey, you got to try this dish," I'll try it. I'll take a bite. But sometimes I'll have like three of those shoots a day and I'm not going to sit there. I went to New York Butcher and he sent out like some big hunks, you guys probably saw it, of brisket and ribs and chicken and stuff like that. That was stuff that like was going to be sold to customers and I was kind of using it. It depends.

Miranda Mounts:

Usually the foods given to me, I'll literally be like, "Hey, staff. You guys can have it. I know you guys are hungry." It'll be a spread. But like I said, I'm just getting pictures of it. By the time I take the pictures, it's cold. And I've typically already had all the dishes or I've had the main... You know what I mean?

Bobby Starks:

Yeah.

Miranda Mounts:

We highlight the most popular dishes and I've typically already had them. Does that make sense?

Bobby Starks:

Yeah. Do you have a photographer behind the scenes, or do you just here's my phone and somebody just... Hopefully they composition it well and they just get these good photos.

Miranda Mounts:

I was teetering back and forth between using a professional photographer and doing it myself. Sometimes I need a photographer. Sometimes I'm like, "This is a brand. It's wine water. I really want to capture the branding of the wine water. Let's use a photographer." But most of the time I will say, I think people like the real feel of the iPhone. I use a tripod and I do it myself. I know what angles work for me, I know lighting pretty well just from doing this for so long with an iPhone.

Miranda Mounts:

I don't know how to really use a camera. I feel like I could, but I don't have one. I use an iPhone and typically I do it by myself. Most of the time the shoots are just me.

Bobby Starks:

Do you ever feel awkward like setting up a tripod, people are around and you're just like...

Miranda Mounts:

Never.

Bobby Starks:

You do your branding where the smile and your mouth is a little open.

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, that's my signature.

Bobby Starks:

Exactly.

Miranda Mounts:

Holding like two things like this with the food in front. Yeah, it's like my signature thing. No, I really don't ever feel awkward. A lot of people that's their biggest fear is like being seen or feeling awkward to me. I'm doing something different. And yeah, people are going to stare. Of course, I'm holding a freaking thing of brisket. I would stare and be like, "What's she doing?" People would be like, "You're so entertaining."

Miranda Mounts:

I went to Davidson Wine Bar and there was four tables, and I'm doing my thing over here. And they're all watching because they want to be enter. I'm like, yeah, this is wild, right? This is fun. For me it's fun. And I know that at the beginning it was hard because no one understood what I was doing. But now people understand and I'm promoting businesses and making impact on businesses. For me to sit there and get embarrassed doesn't make sense for me.

Bobby Starks:

Probably a good way to almost brand yourself. You're like, "Hey, just follow me on Where to Eat Charlotte?"

Miranda Mounts:

Oh, literally.

Bobby Starks:

And they'll be like, "Oh yeah, we'll definitely check it out."

Miranda Mounts:

That's all I do is literally shout it from the mountain top. I'm like, "Yeah, where to eat? You're going to see this picture up tomorrow." The post did really well, so I was really excited. It was like me holding a cheeseboard, and then I literally gave the cheeseboard. I'm not going to sit there and go in on a full cheeseboard by myself. I literally gave it to them and they took it home. They got to enjoy it. That's kind of like the things that work. I'll be, "Hey, do you guys want some of this?"

Miranda Mounts:

And I always tip and I want people to know that too. That when I go in... I have a server still and they're usually bringing out a spread or the owner will kind of bring out food. But if a server's involved, I always tip and do a penny tab on what the food would cost or how much they like the service. I think that's a stigma that influencers get too like, "Hey, they don't tip. They want everything for free." That's not how it goes.

Bobby Starks:

I think a lot of influencers are that way.

Miranda Mounts:

Maybe. Yeah. Well, I think the serving background really, really helps.

Bobby Starks:

Yeah. Obviously you are eating some of this food.

Miranda Mounts:

For sure. Yeah, I dine out all the time. People see that. I dine out all the time.

Bobby Starks:

Let's get into that. Do you work out? You have to, because obviously you would be 200 pounds.

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, I do work out. I go to Hive, but I'm going to be transparent. I used to work out a lot back in the day. I don't work out as much as I used to. Everyone's laughing because I'm like just getting back into Hive. I've been traveling a lot. I'm really focused on just getting in movement. Every day I try to get into some movement. I know it sounds silly, but walking is like super powerful. I'm just really aware of my body just from like coming from a really heavy gym background.

Miranda Mounts:

I used to track macros, so I'm aware of calories in and calories out. I love eating healthy. It's my favorite thing in the world. I don't even crave really bad food, and I'm around food all the time that it's like food is so beautiful and so great. But like imagine being around some of the best dishes, super grateful, all the time, it's like I don't feel the need to indulge because it's at my fingertips at all times.

Miranda Mounts:

Back when I was a fitness junkie, when I would say, "No, I can't even have a latte. I can't even eat a brownie. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope," when you say no over and over in your head, your brain says, "Oh, I can't have these things? I want them more. I want them more." So now that I don't tell myself no, I had a brownie yesterday. I went to Green Brothers. I got a smoothie. Normally I would never get back in the day, never get one of those brownies. Got a brownie.

Miranda Mounts:

I sat there and I was like, "This is going to be so good," and I ate it and it's what I wanted. I think that has really helped me in my mindset with food is that I am around it all the time. That's been kind of wild. But yeah, I work out. I go to Hive. I do a lot of incline walking, and then I do lifting on my own. I'll hop in a class every once in a while.

Bobby Starks:

Yeah, those classes are pretty good.

Miranda Mounts:

They're really hard. They're really hard. I've been a little like ugh. Because I've been out of the gym for a minute, I'm like, they're hard. I've never gotten sick from a class before and I got sick one time. Granted I was coming back from Napa. It was the day after, so I think that's why.

Bobby Starks:

A little hungover.

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, just a lot of wine.

Bobby Starks:

Yeah, it's okay. It happens.

Miranda Mounts:

But yeah, those classes are really intense. Hive's awesome.

Bobby Starks:

I like doing the full body stuff. It's better on the joints and all that.

Miranda Mounts:

For sure.

Bobby Starks:

Do you eat breakfast?

Miranda Mounts:

It depends. I read my body. I don't keep a lot of food at my house, because I am dining lot. I literally keep veggies. I'm so weird. For breakfast, I'll get up and literally air fry veggies. I just love it. When I say, "I just eat veggies," I freaking love it. I'm a volume meter. I like eating a big portion of things. I'll air fry veggies. Throw some egg white on it, avocado, sriracha seasoning. Sometimes I eat breakfast. Sometimes I don't. I haven't eaten yet.

Miranda Mounts:

Probably why I have so much energy, which reverse. When you're fasting, you have more energy. People know that.

Bobby Starks:

Air fryer. You 30 yet?

Miranda Mounts:

The air fryer is life. I remember my followers. I didn't have an air fryer. And I was like hey. My followers kept mentioning an air fryer, and I was like, "Oh, all right, I'm going to see what this is about."

Bobby Starks:

Life changer.

Miranda Mounts:

Pretty much.

Bobby Starks:

Since you're influencer now.

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, that's my title.

Bobby Starks:

Guess it is kind of your title.

Miranda Mounts:

It's my title.

Bobby Starks:

How is dating like then? Do you go on dates? Do people reach out to you? I mean, obviously what do you have? A little over 40,000 followers?"

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, it's growing up real fast. Real fast.

Bobby Starks:

The majority is probably in Charlotte?

Miranda Mounts:

Yep. Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Bobby Starks:

You probably go out all the time and people notice you?

Miranda Mounts:

A lot.

Bobby Starks:

How does that scene work out for you?

Miranda Mounts:

It's funny. Like I said, I just put up a question box and it was a lot of these questions that you're asking. People are very curious about these things. I haven't been in a relationship since I moved to Charlotte in 2018, and I really haven't been on that many dates. I don't know. I just feel like I'm like super locked in right now. Guys will come up to me and be like, "Oh, you're the Where to Eat Charlotte girl." It's more not like a, "Hey, do you want to hang out?" They're not hitting on me.

Miranda Mounts:

It's more like, "Hey, I really appreciate your page. My wife uses it all the time. Our family loves your page." I don't get a lot of guys walking up to me that are single and they're like, "Hey, let's go to dinner." I don't know if they're intimidated. I really don't, but people think that I get that all the time. I don't. I really don't. I'll get the DM slides for sure. Like, "Hey, put myself out there. Would you like to go grab dinner?" I don't really do dinner. I would, but dinner is number one.

Miranda Mounts:

Can you imagine? I'm doing dinners all the time? All the time. It's like I don't even want to go to dinner with someone, because I'll literally be like talking to Jamie at Barcelona the whole time.

Bobby Starks:

Yeah, exactly. Somebody that goes to restaurants all time. I think you would actually... If I was approaching you, I'd be like, "Hey, let's go on a hike or something instead."

Miranda Mounts:

Thank you. Yes. Yes.

Bobby Starks:

You have to.

Miranda Mounts:

That's what I want. Some activities.

Bobby Starks:

I'm like, you can't take somebody that's an expert in the field and you'd be like, "Hey, let's go get a steak."

Miranda Mounts:

Food is beautiful and it's great, but like exactly. We go to Barcelona Wine Bar. Jamie, the manager's, there. I'm going to be chatting her ear off. We're going to be chatting. It's going to interrupt the date. I know the servers. I know a lot of people in the restaurant industry who are working. I don't want that to take away. Typically, I do coffee. I'll be like, "Hey, let's get coffee," because also dinner's a time investment.

Miranda Mounts:

Some people really look forward to dates and dinners, but with what I do, I'm like that could be like a three-hour time investment. I'm like really trying to be adamant about where I spend my time. Because usually I'm like, "Yes! Yes! Yes," like yes girl. Let's do this. Yes. Yes. I give a lot of energy, and I want that energy back. I'll feel drained if I go into situations where I'm giving all this energy and I'm not getting the energy back.

Miranda Mounts:

It sounds kind of cutthroat, but I truly just believe in mutual value and good energy exchange. Coffee works for me with dating, but I don't do it often.

Bobby Starks:

I mean, that totally makes sense.

Miranda Mounts:

My friends say it's because I'm picky, but whatever, picky, that's bullshit. Literally I have high standards, but I'm not going to ask anything that I'm not willing to bring myself. That's like my thing.

Bobby Starks:

That's fair.

Miranda Mounts:

It seems fair.

Bobby Starks:

Don't don't date until you're 30.

Miranda Mounts:

Right. Exactly. There you go. I'm just busy. I'm trying to do this thing. There's this thing that I have and I want to bring it to the world. I know I'm a very all-in person. I love relationships. It's like I really enjoy them. I love being a partner. I love supporting. I know if somebody comes in, it's going to be quite the distraction. So I'm like I think this is happening for a reason. I think no one's coming in for a reason, so I can stop messing around and do this.

Bobby Starks:

Focus on you.

Miranda Mounts:

Right.

Bobby Starks:

Nice.

Miranda Mounts:

Not me. Focus on the business essentially.

Bobby Starks:

On your brand business.

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, for sure.

Bobby Starks:

Let's do a couple rapid questions.

Miranda Mounts:

Okay.

Bobby Starks:

First date location, where would you recommend?

Miranda Mounts:

Ooh, it's a good one. Honestly, Barcelona Wine Bar because I'm very adamant about bar space. It's one of the only... Not one of the only, but one of the only bars in Charlotte that has a bar where you can see everything. I know you should be like locked in on your date, but first date I want to be in a buzzing atmosphere. Barcelona's buzzing. It's always buzzing. It's always a good vibe. That's what I want on a first date. I say Barcelona and in small plates, so you can kind of pick and choose.

Bobby Starks:

Where would you get wine?

Miranda Mounts:

If I were to get wine, one place?

Bobby Starks:

Yeah. You could only have one glass.

Miranda Mounts:

Oh man. That's such a good question. Am I on a date, or I'm just going for a glass of wine?

Bobby Starks:

Just going for a glass. Say a girl just like, "Ugh! I had a long week." It's a Thursday and she's like, "I just need one glass of wine." Where'd she go?

Miranda Mounts:

Oh man. That's a really good question. I would say Dower Tasting Room does a really phenomenal job. Or I love Italian wine, so I'd go to in Indaco and sit at the bar. They have a good Italian wine list. I love Italian wine, and they're cool about tastings and samples and stuff.

Bobby Starks:

All right. Ice cream after dinner.

Miranda Mounts:

Ice cream after dinner. Well, I don't know if this counts as ice cream, but Paletas Morelia. It's a place I've been highlighting. It's new. It's behind Stir. It's like ice cream, but it's like a Popsicle essentially. Fantastic. The ingredients are like 10 out of 10. You build your own little Popsicle ice cream thing. Some of the best dessert I've ever had. If we're doing ice cream ice cream, I'd say like Two Scoops. Jenny's is good, but I mean support local. So Two Scoops.

Bobby Starks:

Favorite new restaurant that has opened up probably within the last two months.

Miranda Mounts:

Well, I just mentioned it. I'd say Supperland. Doing a really good job. Jamie is a boss babe. She's the owner and it's like her baby. I got to chat with her and I really look up to her. I think she's super empowering. Just like creating that, it's cool. Supperland.

Bobby Starks:

Where do you meet people, because there's always people moving here to Charlotte?

Miranda Mounts:

That's been hard for me to tackle, because I'm out and about all the time so I don't do a nine to five from my computer, so it's a little hard. Because like I said, I'm out and about and I'm very social, outgoing. I would say a gym community. I would start there. Hive. There's other gyms that are as community driven as Hive, but it's just set up for talking. And not like talking a ton, but just being like, "Hey, what's up," right before the group training in the middle.

Miranda Mounts:

Just being like, "Hey, what's up?" You know, you've been there, or sitting at the smoothie bar. I've met more people at Hive just even saying hey like not getting a beer after or anything. Just being like, "Hey, I'm aware of you. You work hard. I have a respect for you," because we both have mutual interests. You love working out. I like working out. I've met a lot of people at the gym and I typically don't meet a lot of people at the gym because I'm like very head down.

Miranda Mounts:

It's a really great space for that. I would say find a gym where you really like the community and culture.

Bobby Starks:

Do you have headphones in? Are you one of those?

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, yeah, I have headphones in, but I was doing the group classes and now I'm lifting on my own. I missed it. But yeah, I'm not like a go tap someone while they're lifting kind of person, as much as I want to sometimes. There's a guy in there and I'm like, what do I do?

Bobby Starks:

Shoot my shot.

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah. I've written notes before. I swear.

Bobby Starks:

What?

Miranda Mounts:

I never forget. I wrote a note. I said, "Hey, my name's Miranda. Don't want to interrupt your workout. If you want to grab coffee or a drink sometime, hit me up." Literally handed it to him as I walked out, gave intense eye contact, and then dipped.

Bobby Starks:

Wow! Good for you.

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, thank you.

Bobby Starks:

People will never do that.

Miranda Mounts:

My mom's like, "Miranda you're too much. You're scary." I'm like love that.

Bobby Starks:

All right. Who do you want to inspire, either through just you as Miranda or through Where to Eat Charlotte? Is there any specific?

Miranda Mounts:

Like I said, I'm changing so much. Just like the past two years, I'm just changing as a person. I used to be like me, me, me, and now I feel like the more that you focus on providing value and the more that you like get out of this, me, me, me mindset, instead of what can I give and not expect anything in return, I feel like that's when you really see things come together and opportunities come together. I just really want to keep focusing on, hey what do my followers want, and bring that to them.

Miranda Mounts:

I want to inspire people to, number one, get out of their comfort zone and just do something. I didn't know what I was doing, and I think you meet a lot of entrepreneurs who have it together. I just came back from an event last weekend. All of them is super successful. All of them said the same thing. "I didn't know what the I was doing." I want to implant that in people's heads and think, "Oh, she just had it all together. Her story was so perfect. It aligned perfectly and that's the journey of Where to Eat Charlotte. So beautiful."

Miranda Mounts:

Nah. No, dog. No. It was not like that. It was a mess. A hot mess. You can ask anyone. I think I want to inspire my followers. We're literally only here one time. Not to get all cheesy, we're here like once. Do what you love doing. Even if you're not trying to turn into your full-time, do it every day. That's what it's about. And then give others in the process. The more that I realize that I give to people, the more I feel like I get back. And my parents are very good about that.

Miranda Mounts:

I'm more like, well, I don't want to me, me, me. The more yo center it on me, the more the universe isn't going to give to you. It's true.

Bobby Starks:

The coolest thing I think I did that opened me up, we had this project to do in high school and I volunteered at this old folks home. I did it for like a month, but all the stories they would tell... All the old people. It doesn't matter, men or women. They were just like, "Young man just do what you love. I wish I did all this wish." Wish, wish, wish, wish. I did that throughout the rest of the year, because I just like sitting down and listen to all the stories.

Miranda Mounts:

How much value did you get from that?

Bobby Starks:

It was great. It was fantastic.

Miranda Mounts:

I bet.

Bobby Starks:

It's like almost a lost art because these older people, even when I was young, I was like 15, 16, they were like in their eighties. It was almost an art how to tell a story so well. You could just like almost feel like you're in that room with them when they're telling these certain stories. I almost feel like I picked up on some of that, because I feel like I almost am a good storyteller sometimes. Not all the time.

Miranda Mounts:

It's a skill.

Bobby Starks:

It is a skill for sure.

Miranda Mounts:

It's a skill for sure. That's really cool.

Bobby Starks:

But going back to what you said, yeah. Just do it, even scares the shit out of you.

Miranda Mounts:

It's uncomfortable. And being uncomfortable is uncomfortable. It is. I get it.

Bobby Starks:

But then you could look back and then it's like, why was I so scared then?

Miranda Mounts:

Once you just keep getting past that little barrier and just push a little more every day, I know it sounds... Like I said these, some of these lines sound cheesy, but they're so true. Going to that event over the weekend and talking in front of 70 women, I've never done that. I was scared for a minute. I was like shit. Like I was up there and I was like you have two decisions. One, you can get nervous and clam up, or two, take control. It's like mental mindset. It's mental.

Miranda Mounts:

Pushing past and getting just a little uncomfortable every day really does add up. Atomic Habits is one of my favorite books. The little things, they really do compound. Consistent little tiny things.

Bobby Starks:

Yeah, that's a good book.

Miranda Mounts:

That's a good book.

Bobby Starks:

I don't want to say it's like groundbreaking. I think Atomic Habits is like the things that you already know. It's just like almost a really good reminder.

Miranda Mounts:

It is. But habits are like... Literally that's why I'm a habit, because habits are who we are. They're what shape us. It's so important to me. Oh, they're just habits. No! You're morning routine, your habits, that's who you are. The things you do every day, the way you talk to people, that's your personality. And that's built off of habits. And you can change it too. That's the cool part about the whole thing.

Miranda Mounts:

Just because I was somebody two years ago in Charlotte who I'm not proud of, I really look back and I'm like, "Dang! She was selfish. She was always late working on that." But you don't have to be that anymore. You can change. It's adding up the little tallies I think to become the person that you want to be. I love that line in there.

Bobby Starks:

You have to want it though.

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah.

Bobby Starks:

You have to want it first.

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah. I don't know if that's like a gene, like some people have or some people don't. I don't know because those girls at the event, and I know I keep bringing it up, but they have something in them that says, "I'm not cool with just be in this version of me, or I'm not cool with being here." It truly is. And we're kind of getting off food a little bit, but it's not for me. I can say this honestly, I don't look at anyone else's stuff and I'm like, "Ah, that should be me. That needs to be me."

Miranda Mounts:

I really don't compare. I'm super grateful. I'll get wrapped up for like five minutes in it, because it's a big compare game out there. But I compare myself to me. That's the only person that I compare myself to because to me that's the only person that matters. I'm in my own lane. And I think we get caught up in really looking at other people's lives. So hard not to, but look at the celebrities out there. They say it all the time. The people on Instagram, the people in the light, it's not what you think.

Miranda Mounts:

The relationships on Instagram, it's not what you think. Not all the time, but everyone struggles with something. You don't see what they're going through because they are putting out their best. Compare yourself to you. Stop comparing yourself to your explore page because that thing is beautiful, but I get wrapped up. I'm like, "Dang! Does everyone's house look like this? Does everyone have this? Is everyone dating this hot man? Is everyone this tiny?"

Miranda Mounts:

I'm just confused. It's truly like, "What? Is this real?" I get wrapped up in it for like five minutes. I'm like, "Nah, that doesn't serve me. I'm out." Being aware.

Bobby Starks:

Let's go back. You're talking about being scared. Let me see if this scared you. When Instagram, Facebook, and all that shut down-

Miranda Mounts:

You would it them up.

Bobby Starks:

...how'd that... Did it mold you? Like, holy crap! Do I have to do other things?

Miranda Mounts:

For a minute, I was like, you know what? At first, I was like, dang, if this shuts down, like what? It was scary, because I'm not on other platforms right now. I'm not on TikTok. I kind of quit with that. I was starting YouTube, but I was like ah. It's like analysis by paralysis. I want to be out there and doing these things, but I'm like, which one do I put my eggs in? I'm actually manifesting... I am manifesting a mentor in my life.

Miranda Mounts:

Not saying I need someone to come and save me or I need somebody that can tell me what move to make. I don't want to make 50,000 moves, and then back pedal. I really don't. I want to make the move. I'm not scared, but I want to make the right move. So yeah, it was scary. Because I was like, "Dang! I haven't made the move to be on YouTube." I don't have that following there. If my Instagram following is gone, I have no following besides Miranda. You know what I mean?

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, it was scary, but I was like, I know that I am value and that I'll make money no matter what, because I believe in myself because I do the work, not because I'm some special fricking person. I get up and read and try to gain this knowledge. It's work. I think people think that. They're like, "You have this thing." It's like no. You do the work. You see people into self-development. They read. They want to be better about something. They journal. They reflect. It takes more time.

Miranda Mounts:

But yeah, I knew I'd be okay because I'm like you figure it out. You always figure it out. You can go back to serving. You can do whatever, but it was definitely a wake up call like, it's time to get on those platforms and the time is now because it's time.

Bobby Starks:

Let's ask you last question, what does the future look like for you and Where to Eat Charlotte? Where do you want to go? Where's it taking you?

Miranda Mounts:

This has been one of the hardest questions because at first I was like, I'm going to be a, so funny, solopreneur where it's going to be me because I do everything and I only like the way I do it. You know how that goes. Don't want to hire because no one can do it like me. Bullshit. A girl was talking about this over the weekend. You're not that special. I'm not that special. This whole solopreneur thing, that's just like limited mindset.

Miranda Mounts:

What I'm thinking and it's changed and I've said this a thousand times on my platform because it's truly like I had this moment a couple months ago where I was like, this is my purpose here. My purpose is to have a platform and to have this personality that I have, that I connect with people, to showcase businesses and people that do a good job at their craft and who are bringing their gifts to the world. You, for instance. You do videography. You do this. These are the gifts that you bring to the world.

Miranda Mounts:

You may not really want to be on social. You're like, "Hey, this is what I'm good at, but I don't know how to project that out there. I don't know how to spread the word." You're just good at your craft, and you're like, "I love my craft." I love that you love your craft, and I want to bring your gifts to the world on my platform. I want to have the voice to showcase what you do, because that's cool. I'm like the middle man. I'm like the, hey, you guys need something.

Miranda Mounts:

I am the one who's going to spread the word and yell it from the mountain tops. And then you have this service or business that's bringing these amazing things, which could be bread, which could be cupcakes, which could be videos, facials, whatever. I see people who love what they do, and I want to be the person that brings that to the world. What does that look like? I think I need to.

Miranda Mounts:

I want to expand, and I want it to be essentially a Charlotte brand that people rely on and they trust to get the best of Charlotte or the best of North Carolina or whatever it may be. I want to highlight more businesses. Instead of, hey, I go to one hair lady. She's great. Yeah, she is great. But let's tap into more hair ladies who are really good, or let's tap into more people that do massages.

Miranda Mounts:

The only reason I was sharing those things is because people were asking and I'm like, yes, that's where I get my hair done. She's fantastic. Then it turned into this thing of people asking me recommendations. You're an influencer now. I'm like, dang, food's important and that's my whole bulk of my brand, but I want to showcase people that do a good job with their craft.

Bobby Starks:

Nice.

Miranda Mounts:

Hopefully email. We need email subscription. We need YouTube. People are very visual. People like visuals. I've noticed that. I make these cool lists, which are helpful. People want to see things. They want to see things. They want to hear. That's why reels are really powerful right now. Yeah, that's what I want to do.

Bobby Starks:

I know I said that was your last question.

Miranda Mounts:

That's okay. Clearly I love talking.

Bobby Starks:

If you had to start over again, is there anything you would do different?

Miranda Mounts:

No. Nope.

Bobby Starks:

Just ride the course as it was?

Miranda Mounts:

Ride the course. Yeah, I just got to ride the course. Looking back I'm like, "Oh, what if I would've done this in this relationship? Or what if I would've done this in this situation?" I think about it all the time. What if I would've not been stupid and texted this guy on my birthday? Whatever. Whatever/ it doesn't matter, because it's in the past. I don't live in the past. The past is not me. I'm here. I'm present. There's only two options now. You learn from the past.

Miranda Mounts:

You move forward. It's gone. You're here. This is me today, and then there's the future of me. That's it. That past shaped me for here. No, I don't. I don't look back. I mean, I look back on the past and I'm thankful for it. I learn from it. That's all you can do. You can't like live in the past. That's romanticizing the past. I don't want to romanticize any of that. I want to be thankful for it, and then I want to focus on future. Romanticizing is a good word, because people romanticize the past all day.

Bobby Starks:

That's depression.

Miranda Mounts:

Like my dad. He's older, whatever. But remember when we did this great vacation that I'm actually playing up in my head that wasn't that great, because I'm romanticizing the past. It's like, yeah, it was great. Cool. Now what are we doing? I think a lot of people get caught up on the past.

Bobby Starks:

Sounds like a good memory for him though.

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, he's great. I love him. I want to create more... My goal, take them to Greece.

Bobby Starks:

Oh, nice.

Miranda Mounts:

Yeah, that's my goal.

Bobby Starks:

That'll be a good trip. Well, it can't end any better than that. If you guys want to get in contact or actually see all of Miranda's cool stuff on Where to Eat Charlotte, Instagram is probably the best, right?

Miranda Mounts:

Yup, until I hop on those other platforms. But yeah, Instagram for sure.

Bobby Starks:

Where to Eat Charlotte.

Miranda Mounts:

It's grown quick.

Bobby Starks:

Anything else people could find you at?

Miranda Mounts:

No. Nope. Just Where to Eat.

Bobby Starks:

I'll put all the other links in the description and all the other platforms so you can find them there, but thanks for joining us and we'll talk to you soon on the streets and...

Miranda Mounts:

No, I'm out. You'll see me. You'll see me. I want to leave everyone with this one line, because I feel like this is my quote, which I just... I don't know. It hit me one day. I was like I love this quote. Live a life true to yourself and not a life others expect of you. That's really resonated with me. If you're living a life true to yourself, that's what it's about. Thanks for having me on. This was fun.

Bobby Starks:

Boom. Done.

Miranda Mounts:

Boom.

Audio:

[Singing 00:37:06]

John Eades Interview | CEO of LearnLoft and Author

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We sit down with John Eades. John is the CEO of LearnLoft a leadership development company which exists to turn managers into leaders. He was named a 2017 LinkedIn Top Voice in Management & Workplace.  His weekly leadership column has over 150k subscribers. He is also the author of Building the Best: 8 Proven Leadership Principles to Elevate Other to Success and is the host of the Follow My Lead Podcast. As a motivational speaker, he connects to the hearts and minds of leaders from all industries and experiences.

Buy Building The Best: https://buildingthebestbook.com/
John Eades Page: https://johneades.com/

Questions Asked:

• 00:16:00 What is your story and tell us about LearnLoft?

• 03:10:09 Is there born leaders or is it leading something anyone can learn?

• 04:53:23 Is there a common trait that you would say that all good leaders have?

• 07:06:01 Do you think in light of the pandemic leadership has changed at all? Is it possible to be a good leader in a 100% remote environment?

• 08:59:14 How has video helped you out during this pandemic?

• 10:45:07 What were some of the fundamentals that you used for yourself to execute yourself being a better leader for your team and maybe even yourself?

• 15:06:17 What do you think is the difference between being a leader or a manager?

• 16:30:08Do you think leadership is a lonely position because nobody is coming up to you and just being like, "Hey, good job."

• 18:02:01 Do people in leadership positions get lonely when they can't lead anymore?

• 22:15:01 Is there anybody that inspires you?

• 24:54:05 Is there anybody that you want to inspire?

• 30:09:19What can corporations do to help managers become better leaders when they move up in their position?

• 35:12:07During the pandemic did you learn any new skills or pick up a hobby or maybe something you learned and you want other people to know?

Bobby Starks:

Thank you again for tuning into Starks Media Podcast. I'm your host, Bobby Starks and today's guest is John Eades. He the CEO of LearnLoft and also an author of the book Building the Best. So instead of wasting any more time, let's get into it. So how about you tell us her story and tell us what LearnLoft is all about.

John Eades:

My story, how far back do you want me to go, Bobby?

John Eades:

No, I'll go from where it really started recently. I got the opportunity to lead a team, we were really struggling. I was about a year into that role of leadership and I let one of my team members go. It couldn't have been John's fault, had to be somebody else's. And she sat in my chair, she didn't know it was about to happen. It was a 45 minute dialogue, a lot of emotion. And at the end of that meeting, she said, "John, I didn't know where we were going, I didn't know what we were doing, And I didn't know how I was helping us get there." It was in that moment that I realized that the problem was not my team, the problem was John and the way I was leading. It showed me the impact and the influence that I had over the people that were in my sphere of influence. And it trickles down way beyond work Bobby, it trickles down to all parts of life.

John Eades:

So it was in that moment when she left my office, I'm a pretty emotional guy, I might cry before the end of this podcast, and she left my office and I put my head in my hands and I cried like a baby. I recognized that the problem was me. And that was a tough thing to realize. There's a guy named Jocko Willink, he says, there are no bad teams, only bad leaders. And I was living proof of it and I hated it. As I got the courage, I was wiping away the tears and I said, "God, I don't know why that just happened, but I'm going to do everything in my power to not let that happen to other people." So the last 10 to 11 years has been all about trying to help managers and executives to lead their best and to lead to the best of their abilities. Not everybody's the same, but to become the best who they can at home, at work, in their personal life. And that's what the journey's been like.

Bobby Starks:

Was that your motivation to start LearnLoft?

John Eades:

It was my motivation to get in the leadership development space. Pain does strange things to people, pain either... I was in pain in that moment. I was in pain that I had failed my team from a leadership perspective, and it bothered me. So when pain happens in your life, whether it's personal or professional, it causes one of two things to happen. It causes you to pause or it creates purpose. For me, it created purpose and it created action behind that purpose that I wanted to do something about it. A lot of people, for whatever reason, that pain causes them to go into a shell, become a much smaller version of what they're ultimately intended to be. For me, it had the different event, and that's what caused me to get in the leadership development space.

Bobby Starks:

So during that story, you were telling me that, the feeling that you're about to cry on, do you think it's born leaders or is it something that anybody could learn to do to become a leader?

John Eades:

It's a great question. There's a study done by Leadership quarterly, are leaders born or made. And what they found is that 24% of us, from a leadership perspective, is genetic, something they we're born with. 76% then is learned or developed. So I don't know if you're wired or I'm wired to be one of the greatest leaders ever, I don't know if I have those leadership genetics. I do know that you and I and anyone else that's listening can become a better leader. Because even the very best leader that comes to your mind right now, guess what they've had to do, grow and develop as a leader. And it's something that with experience and effort and confidence grows that you can lead yourself and others to a better place.

John Eades:

I define leadership in Building the Best this way, "Someone whose actions inspire, empower, and serve in order to elevate others." It doesn't take a title to inspire, empower, and serve somebody else, it takes someone with the courage and the willingness to do it. And my experience has been the people that take ownership over themselves and leading right where they are not only are they more fulfilled people in their own life, but they positively elevate those around them. And I don't know if there's a better thing to do in this world.

Bobby Starks:

Just going back to you writing your book, Building the Best, and I know you interviewed hundreds and hundreds of people, is there a common trait that you would say that all good leaders have?

John Eades:

It's funny, I think at the end of the day, there's not only one way to lead, there's a lot of ways to cut a pizza, there's not only one perfect way. The commonalities across all these leaders across the board are that they find a way to inspire people, meaning I'm not going to demand you to do something, but I'm going to inspire you to do it because you want to do it. The word inspire, what it means Bobby is to breathe life into. So just think about all the leaders in your life that you might think of leaders, did they suck the life right out of you a bad manager, you go home, you're just spent, that guy is the worst or that woman is the worst or did they challenge you and help you become the best version of yourself, but at the same time breathe life into you so that you know that they care about you?

John Eades:

So I think if there's one commonality, I think they do really well is they inspire their teams to become the very best version that they can be. And that's not always easy. I was just at lunch with a guy and he was talking about how he's in a position of leadership, he's a phenomenal person, but he really struggles to have the difficult conversation with his team. He knows what he needs to do, but he struggles to do it. He's like, "Who am I to tell them this?"

John Eades:

And I use the example of, if anybody out there has children, if you're just going to allow someone, if you knew they were capable of more, would you just allow your kid to mail it in? Would you allow your kid to give half the effort that you know they're able to? I certainly would hope not. And if you do do it as a parent, it's time to change. Which means that if there's a tough conversation or there's something that needs to be had with someone, breathing life into them, isn't always easy, in fact, it might be a tough conversation. And a lot of people avoid those unfortunately,

Bobby Starks:

Let's just talk about the pandemic and in your realm, do you think in light of the pandemic leadership has changed at all? Is it possible to be a good leader in a 100% remote environment?

John Eades:

Yes, leadership has changed, the fundamentals of leadership have not. And what by the fundamentals, much a golf swing, it's still going to come down to your grip, your posture, your technique, impact. The fundamentals of shooting a basketball or swinging a golf club are the same. But the game of golf has changed because of technology, the game of basketball has changed because of the way people shoot threes. Leadership is the same, the fundamentals remain, but the game of leadership has changed, and I'll explain what I mean. People have had a new found flexibility, they used to go into the office 8:00 to 6:00, certain way, this is how we do things. The idea of a flexible workspace or work wherever you want whenever you want, it was a pipe dream for many people.

John Eades:

And what's happened is that this pandemic, not only has it opened our eyes to how short life is or how short it can be, but it's also opened our eyes to different ways of working, different experiences of flexibility and freedom and our lives in our families, and being able to do multiple things at one time. Which means if I'm leading a team or responsible for leading other people, I then have to adapt my leadership style and the way that I communicate with my teams to the way they want to work. So I do think the fundamentals are the same, but some of the techniques or strategies that a leader might use to meet and reach their team have changed.

Bobby Starks:

I've done some work for you in the past and you seem to know how to navigate getting your word out there. You implemented videos, you send it off to different clients that you had or partners, and I thought that was a pretty good idea. And it seemed after you did it, a lot of people started following suit. So that helped out for me in a way because I'm in the video production company. So I was just helping other people get more video out there. How has video helped you out during this whole?

John Eades:

I wish I didn't have a face for radio, that might've been more helpful in getting it out. No, I think communication is at the center of leadership. So video is just a method or a medium of communicating. When the world goes digital and people are working and there's lots of content and lots of things available to them to be distracted by, meeting them where they are is an important thing. So I found early on that it's a medium that people enjoy receiving communication. So I tried to meet people where they are and where they were going, and that's why I chose video.

John Eades:

But then again, not everybody learns the same, not everybody to receive communication the same, which is why different mediums are required. Which is why I still write, which is why I still do video, which is why I still do audio. There's lots of... We're wired to learn different ways. So I think as a leader, you have to be not just about what you want to deliver, but what message are you trying to get across and what's the best medium to reach your peoples' hearts and minds. I think that's where having a multi-pronged approach is important.

Bobby Starks:

So what were some of the fundamentals that you used for yourself to execute yourself being a better leader for your team and maybe even yourself?

John Eades:

I think getting to know yourself becomes critical, really who you are. I think I had to take a real deep look inside about not only who I was in the moment, but who I wanted to become. I think too often people are looking at the immediacy that, give me that drip of dopamine right now, what's this quarter? What's this moment look like?. And what it really taught me in this journey is looking at who do I want to become as a man, as a leader, as a father, as a husband. And that's deep work, and a lot of people that's why they don't want to do it. It's going to the gym, it's not easy to get up and go to the gym every day, it's why people don't do it.

John Eades:

But doing some of that deep work about who you are, what are some of your core values, which the vision that you have for your life or the impact that you want to have. Those are some of the things that I had to dig deep on. It's one thing to teach it, it's nothing to eat your own dog food, and that was tough work for me. Sometimes that stuff's hard to look in the mirror and say, "This isn't who I want to be, this isn't who I want to become."

John Eades:

I was reflecting of a story recently, a dad was really struggling, left his family when they were in high school, he didn't think it was a big deal. Thought they were self-sufficient. In that moment, what was right to him was to leave in that moment. And I've gotten to know one of his children and the impact that that had on her the rest of her life. It's the trickle down effect of that one decision by that one man to leave in that moment about what he needed and how much that's impacted her life, about who she wants to become now.

John Eades:

So I think sometimes when we reflect on, we make these decisions in the moment, we don't often reflect on the impact that it ultimately has another people. I've been thinking about this word a lot lately which is commitment. One of our clients, they celebrate these employees that stay for 10 or 15 years. And they get them up, the whole company sees them, it's a big moment for them. And as I was watching this one recently, is a person that had been there 15 years, I imagined how she didn't feel like that every day for 15 years. In fact, she probably felt like, "Man, this is hard work." Or, "Why am I doing this?" Our commitment in those smaller moments on a daily basis, it adds up whether you know it or not. I tell people all the time, there's a big difference in being interested and being committed.

John Eades:

I had a good friend inviting me to go hunting and I was excited. So I got a gun, I got the gear, got up at 3:30 AM, went out to the deer stand with him, it's 100 degrees. Never shot the gun, never saw a deer, never been hunting again. I was simply interested in hunting. Commitment is much different. Doing the things that you don't feel doing but you know it's the right thing to do and doing that over and over and over again even when no one notices, I promise it'll add up. It might not add up on the scoreboard that you want or that I want in my life, but it's going to add up for those that you get the opportunity to influence. And they're going to recognize like that guy or that woman showed up and did the right thing every single day. And you just hope in those moments that they remember you and they do those right things every day. So I do think there's a big difference in being interested and committed, and I think the best leaders are committed.

Bobby Starks:

What do you think is a different between being a leader or a manager?

John Eades:

Well, there's a big difference. Being a manager is about a role that you have, being a leader is about inspiring and empowering and serving those that you get the opportunity to lead. A manager puts together the spreadsheets or puts together the numbers or runs the payroll, all the critical things in that role that need to get done in the job, but it's far from leadership. And the majority of tasks that managers actually do in their role can be automated, leadership can't be automated. A robot can't lead you, it can't lead me. Software can't lead me, software can't lead you. I can sit across this table right now and I could inspire you to go do something when we leave, I could tell a story that says, man, I want to go help the needy or go to this or call someone I haven't called in a long time just to check in. And that's what leaders do, they breathe life into people, they inspire them to go do more, be more, become more. So there is a dramatic difference and one is essential today one is becoming less essential today.

Bobby Starks:

Do you think leadership is a lonely position because nobody is coming up to you and just being like, "Hey, good job."

John Eades:

There's an old quote out there that says it's lonely at the top, is the quote about leadership. I fundamentally disagree. Is leading hard? Absolutely. Do you always get the credit that it deserves? No, you do not. It's far from lonely. It's only lonely when you're not leading people, we don't have people around you and you don't build a team. You go ask any basketball coach or football coach that are great leaders if they feel lonely, there's not a chance. Surrounded by people all the time.

John Eades:

I think there is a tendency for leaders to not get so used to pouring into other people and looking out for others people's best interests that they forget to do that for themselves. That's when it could get a little lonely. Meaning you don't recognize that I haven't taken care of my health or my finances or my marriage or the relationship with my kids. I could see where then those people that felt I'm not getting taken care of by this person and they're giving all their energy to this team or this job or these people that's where it could get lonely. But I don't think leadership is lonely at all.

Bobby Starks:

I'm going to take it back to where you said, "You're lonely as long as you're not leading." So you haven't made it to this point yet, you're not retired, and I only know a few retired people. So do you think it's harder for somebody that's maybe in that leadership position like CEOs or big executive people and that time comes around where maybe they're forced to retire or they're just at that age to retire, do you think it's harder for them to come up with that or not come up with anything, but to accept that then somebody maybe that was just working in finance or accounting and at the time of their 20 years and they're done?

John Eades:

I don't know. I don't know. I do know that we all have a finite amount of time that we're in a position. Every role in the world runs out of time, somebody else is going to have it at some point. The Pope, somebody else is going to be the Pope, the president of the United States, someone else is going to be the president of the United States, CEO of Bank of America, someone else is going to be that. So when you start thinking of leadership in that way, that you only get the roles or these responsibilities, these opportunities, you could call them, for a finite amount of time, wouldn't you want to give your very best while you have them? So there's a last day for all of us at some point, whether you're the CEO. It doesn't matter if you've been wealthy or poor or rich or an ass or the nicest guy in the world, there's an end time for all of us.

John Eades:

So come from the perspective, and I think when I've studied every great leader that I've interviewed, they relish those opportunities while they have them. They know that they're not going to be the CEO forever, so as long as they're in that seat, they're going to give it everything they have. I think that's an incredible lesson for all of us right now. Your families, those relationships aren't guaranteed forever. Relationship with a parent, relationship with a child. It's a humbling thought really to think about, "Am I attached to my phone or distracted by something else when I have this person sitting right in front of me that I might not sit down with again?" It's humbling.

John Eades:

And we don't think that, we think about what's buzzing in our pocket, and it's really unfortunate. But I'm a positive and optimistic thinker and I think there's going to be some inverse effect of social media and technology. Meaning it's not going away, it's a part of our lives forever and it will be. I do think there will be a time where people are going to say, "Does this even really matter, how many followers I have? Does it even matter how many people this picture or this video?" Versus the person that they're sitting across being like, "Guess what, if my funeral was tomorrow, I know they would be there."

Bobby Starks:

That's good to think about actually. And you're right, social media is part of our lives and sometimes I even get wrapped up into it like why isn't this one getting as many followings or likes than maybe something I posted a month ago. And I've put so much more time and effort into something and it's just barely getting any traction. I even think about that and I try not to let it bother me but-

John Eades:

It's hard.

Bobby Starks:

It is hard.

John Eades:

It's hard. And I'm not knocking social media or technology, I'm not. It's great way to communicate, it's great way to grow a business, it's great way to inspire people. But there is a dark side to it, and comparison is that dark side.

Bobby Starks:

Is there anybody that inspires you?

John Eades:

Yeah, there's a lot of people that inspire me. C.S. Lewis, he's passed away a long time ago. As I've gotten older, I try to read more, I read a lot and I listen a lot. C.S. Lewis, speaking of comparison, C.S. Lewis is a Christian writer that wrote about a lot of deep topics as it relates to our human nature and our soul. And he famously said, "Comparison is the thief of joy." So social media, why is this picture? And I'm not saying don't look for new strategies to do and try to improve, but if it's to compare yourself against somebody else or to prop yourself up to make you feel better, then you're doing it for the wrong reasons. So C.S. Lewis is one. I'm thinking of... Ryan Holiday has become someone that I respect a great deal. His writing, I've always enjoyed reading his stuff.

John Eades:

There's a man that I'll give a lot of credit to, his name is John Gordon. John Gordon wrote a book called The Energy Bus and the Power of Positive Leadership. And I had to spend a ton of time with John, but I'll tell this quick story. When I figured out that I wanted to write books and speak about leadership, I had read John's book, The Energy Bus he made it, it's a fable story, and it hit me what I needed at that time. What most people they say, writing hits you right when you need it. I didn't want to meet him at a conference, so I reached out to him and I knew his daughter was going to Clemson. And I said, "I'd love to meet you at a Clemson football game a weekend that you're going to go see your daughter." I figured I'd do that if I was a dad. He's like, "Yeah, I'm going to go to this game, do you want to meet then?"

John Eades:

And he came over to the tailgate and he spent 45 minutes to an hour with, at the time, a 32 year old guy that he didn't know from Adam. And it made a big impression on me. So when I get LinkedIn messages or notes about interviews or spending time with college kids or someone that needs help, I'm eager to do it because of people John Gordon. So he might not even remember that. And that's the beauty of life, is that he took the time to do that in that moment, and I try to give back because someone did it for me. So John Gordon, give him some credit.

Bobby Starks:

In that case, is there anybody that you want to inspire? I'm sure you inspire a lot of people all the time, but is there a specific?

John Eades:

I've been thinking there's not one person specifically or one type of audience. But I will say I would more people, regardless of their age or their gender, to do things that get their emotions involved. When you feel something about the work that you do or you feel something about being involved in something, you feel alive, you're more engaged at work. And I'm not saying there aren't things about your job that you might not like and you have to do, work is not always meant to be easy. But I would like more people to do things that even if they fail they'll feel alive, even if they struggle, even if they post that picture and nobody likes it, they feel alive when they're posting it or they feel alive when they did this interview. I would prefer that versus going through life acting they like don't matter.

John Eades:

There's an old quote that a guy told me, a mentor of mine, he said, "Failure is not final, failure is feedback." And it's always stuck with me because even these moments when I fail at work or this article doesn't do well or the book doesn't do as well as you want or that speaking engagement doesn't go as well as I want, boy, did I feel alive doing it or boy, did I feel alive when I was creating it. More people doing things that get that emotion going in them, it'll inspire your kids to do the same, it will inspire those around you to do the same. So I want more emotion to the surface in people, I think it would help them.

John Eades:

I'll tell one really quick story. I got the opportunity to speak at a conference in New York, and it was the most intimidating speaking engagement I've ever done. It was for an association in New York that they're security guards in jails, not the easiest people to get under their skin, to get to their heart. They've created a skin over themselves and their heart because of what they see every day. And here this, at the time, a 36 year old white guy is in a room of a hundred hard working people in jails all over the state of New York, and I bombed, I really did. It was one of the worst hours and a half I've ever had in my life. I'll never forget I got off that stage and I just was like, "Maybe I'm not good enough to do this." It was in that moment that I remembered failure is not final, failure is feedback. I took out a notebook and I wrote down everything that I learned that I would need to do better from that talk.

John Eades:

I kid you not, nine months go by my phone rings, same association invites me back to speak the next year. I'm like, "Were they not at the first one?" I went back up, same crowd, did 10 times better the second time. I tell that story only because if you're willing to give up after one time, you're never going to reach your full potential. And getting better at anything, building confidence, it comes from consistent daily repetition, and it's steeped in the work. I'm far from a finished product just you're far from a finished product. But that attitude, that today is an opportunity to get better. And no matter what it is that you're doing in life is the right attitude to have. And I think it's what the best leaders do. They're constantly looking for ways to improve, their marriage, their job, the way they interact with their people, the way they... It's I'm never going to settle for average mentality. And I appreciate that in people.

Bobby Starks:

So you mentioned something earlier and I just want to bring it up in a corporate setting. And I've been part of it too, say somebody is in corporate life, they're working finance, and I've been there for five years and they worked really hard into it. And they got to this certain position because they worked hard for five years. All of a sudden they have a promotion, now they need a lead somebody else that they were good at or multiple teams. What can corporations do to be better to help maybe these individuals that get that promotion to start helping them lead instead of being micromanager at that point. Because I think that's what happens, is you get really good at a role, and then you want to micromanage everybody because you were really good at that role. So again, my question is, what can corporations do better to help those people move forward and be better leaders instead of just management?

John Eades:

The first thing they can do is to promote people that have a heart for leadership, that have a heart for people, not just as a retention tool, that's the first thing they can do. Is to evaluate whether that person has a heart for inspiring and empowering and serving people, that is the first thing. After that, that by itself isn't enough, go back to are leaders born or made? They're made and they're developed through a lot of hard work and experience and dedication and training. You have to provide them opportunities to grow their leadership skills in a safe environment. I'm not saying they're going to be leading, they are going to be running meetings, they're going to be having one-on-ones, those are experiences that they're going to have. You also have to create a safe space for them to fail where it's not going to negatively impact somebody else or someone that they're getting the opportunity to lead. They're going to probably do that anyways, leadership is hard.

John Eades:

But create safe spaces, training environments, pairing them with mentors, putting them in situations where they can work and develop their skills so they feel equipped and they build that confidence that they can do it. So number one, promote the right people that have a heart for leadership. And number two, provide them opportunities to learn and grow and develop their skills. It takes time. Everybody wants it right now like the microwave generation. Guess what? That's not the way leadership works. You're a better leader today than you were when you started this organization.

Bobby Starks:

True.

John Eades:

I'm a better leader than I was when I started leading a team 10 years ago. It takes time. People just don't want to wait, they want it right now, so we'll go hire somebody else immediately, terrible, terrible strategy. And in this world we're living in right now and this great resignation where I had a client leave an organization for $5,000 raise, and it wasn't about the money. She left because she wasn't known and felt she belonged with her manager. Now, just think about that. They've spent 2, 3, 3 years developing, molding, paying this person a lot of money, she had a team. But because her manager didn't know how to lead, she left for $5,000 more. You know how much it's going to cost that organization to rehire someone as good as her?

Bobby Starks:

And time and resources.

John Eades:

It's 2X her salary. So if she's making 150 grand, it's going to cost her $300,000 in time, money, development to get someone to speed. And she left for five. Tell me organizations and HR and executives don't play a big role, you've lost your mind. And more HR leaders or learning and development leaders or executives to have that mindset, that one of my number one responsibilities is to retain my people. It's a big one, it's a big one.

Bobby Starks:

That is big. It's crazy how much it... Is it usually-

John Eades:

We'll multiply that by 25 people leaving. Now you're talking about a $295,000 difference times 25, not one, most organizations can withstand one high performer leaving and $295,000 over two years. But when you times that by 25 or by 50 or a turnover rate that's 35%, now all of a sudden you got to bring in a lot of revenue to cover that. So those are my two big takeaways. I'm passionate about that one.

Bobby Starks:

I see it. So during the pandemic did you learn any new skills or pick up a hobby or maybe something you learned and you want other people to know?

John Eades:

I rededicated myself to something.

Bobby Starks:

Oh yeah.

John Eades:

Yeah.

Bobby Starks:

What is that?

John Eades:

I rededicated myself to the game of golf. I have a good friend for those of you that don't know, I played college golf at the University of Maryland on a scholarship. And then I played a couple of years professionally afterwards before I got into professional world. It's always been a big part of my life really since I was five years old, football and golf. And you hit a point where you near 40 and you're like, "I'm either going to not play anymore because I'm used to playing at a certain level or I'm going to rededicate myself to the game." And during COVID, with everything closed, the only thing that was open was my golf club. So I rededicated myself to the game. I got a new golf teacher, took some lessons. I went to work on improving my game, my physical fitness, I went all in.

Bobby Starks:

Oh, wow. But you were already really good.

John Eades:

I'm pretty good, I can hold my own. But it's just... So that's something that I've rededicated myself to, just knowing that I only have a certain window of age where I... I'm not Tom Brady or something. So I rededicated myself to that craft and trying to work at it. That's one thing I definitely rededicated myself to.

Bobby Starks:

Nice.

John Eades:

One other thing.

Bobby Starks:

Yeah.

John Eades:

I've just thought about this. I'm 279 days into listening to the Bible every single day. There's a Catholic priest named... He's a great man, he's a phenomenal man. And they started a podcast at the beginning of this year called Bible in a Year, real catchy marketing title. And I've read over the years the Bible and all the stories in it, but never in a year or through the entire old Testament. And I thought, I learn best audibly, so I'll create a habit where I listen to 20 minutes a day of him reading the Bible and then giving commentary. And I've stuck with it throughout the whole year.

Bobby Starks:

You got to do it for 365?

John Eades:

I'm not stopping now. Now it's just a test. But it's been a great discipline in my life. Some days I don't feel it, some days I don't get a lot from it, but it's the discipline of showing up and doing it and letting it seep in however way it's working. Think about the confidence that it provides, if I can do something for 365 straight days, what else can I do?

Bobby Starks:

How does that fall on your routine though, do you do it in the morning, do you do it at night before you go to bed?

John Eades:

I do it in the morning, typically on the way to the office, I'll listen to it. If I don't finish, I'll finish it on the way home. And then other nights I'll do it. If I don't get it in the morning, I'll do it in bed, I put the AirPods in and listened to it. Hopefully I don't fall asleep. But no, it's been a really great gift that I picked up through this. His name is father Mike Schmitz. But the only reason I why say that is it's a test, Bobby. Sticking with something, committing to I'm going to listen to the Bible in a year is a commitment that I'm making. And then it's a test like, can I create the habits every single day to let me to continue to do this?

John Eades:

And I tell people in leadership workshops and in keynotes all the time, only leaders who are tested become great, that old adage of iron sharpens iron. If you can survive that test, you're going to come out on the other side better off. This goes way beyond a habit of listening to a podcasts every day, it's life. So I'm really encouraged, I'm proud of myself actually, I really am.

Bobby Starks:

That's awesome. That's always cool. I got to hear about the 365 I'm going to text you back, I'm like, "Hey, man."

John Eades:

Now I got an accountability partner.

Bobby Starks:

I'm like, "Hey, it's 365 days, are you still listening?"

John Eades:

Hey, you know what? There's a there's an author that I liked, his name is James Clear. And he wrote a book about habits and he said something in it that really stood out to me. He goes, "You've got to give yourself the grace to know that you're human and you're not going to do it every single day, whatever the habit is. Just human nature. You're going to be sick, tired, don't feel like it, whatever. But can you not miss two days?" Because once two days, and then three days, then four days, all of a sudden you got a new habit, and it's not the habit that you want. So I think about that often, that lesson is I don't expect myself to be perfect, if I miss a day, I'm okay. I just can't miss two days. And that's the adage I've taken. And some days I've had to listen two or whatever. But that mentality that if you're going to... I'll close with this.

John Eades:

There's a lesson in Building the Best, and this is what it says, it's called the route to results, "Standards, produce behaviors, behaviors become habits, habits become your results. All a standard is is defining what good looks like. That's all that it means. Great leaders don't define what good looks, they define what great looks like." So what does great look from a standard perspective? That is going to then turn my behavior or the behaviors of people that I'm leading to meet that standard. All a behavior is, is a conscious decision that you have to make to do something. When you do it for 33 to 66 straight days, that behavior becomes a habit. Something that you do so often it becomes the very essence of your being, that's what a habit is. You don't even think about it, you just do it. And when you get the right behaviors to become the right habits, you're going to get what? Great results.

John Eades:

So when you think about leadership or life or anything, the route to results, what are my standards, defining what great looks, that's going to produce behaviors out of you. When you do it 33 to 66 straight times, it's going to become a habit. Those habits become your results. And it's powerful for leaders, it's powerful for you, it's powerful for me, the route to results.

Bobby Starks:

I don't think you could end a podcast any better than that.

John Eades:

Thanks for having me.

Bobby Starks:

I loved it, man. Hey, if anybody is interested in buying Building the Best, I'll link the links on Amazon. I'll find it on your website. I'll get all the links in the description and I'll put your website on there too.

John Eades:

That'd be great.

Bobby Starks:

Thanks.

John Eades:

Thanks for having me.

Bobby Starks:

Peace.

Bobby Starks:

(singing)

Dianna Bock Interview | Founder Hustle House Fitness

Bobby Starks:

Thank you for joining us again today with another guest. And it's Dianna, she is one of the founders of Hustle House Fitness here in Charlotte North Carolina.

Dianna:

Yes.

Bobby Starks:

And you guys are opening up another location.

Dianna:

That's right.

Bobby Starks:

So before we get into that, did you ever think you were going to be a business owner one day? What'd you want to do when you were growing up?

Dianna:

Oh, I wanted to be a marine biologist because I like to swim. I thought swimming with dolphins would be really cool. But I don't like sharks, so that got squashed. I always wanted to be in business. So I was a finance major as an undergrad, and then MBA and all that kind of stuff. I think that's where it kind of shifted my focus to: how do you really build wealth? And also, what do you consider to be your passion?

Dianna:

And I don't know if you've experienced this ... when you go to your first real job, you're like, "This is what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life?" And I was like, "I might need to reassess what I thought my life was going to look like." So I didn't know what it was going to be, but I was open to trying to figure that out.

Dianna:

So my dad owns his own business. And I never thought I wanted to take on that kind of risk. But then you realize, by not doing it, you're also taking a different kind of risk.

Bobby Starks:

Right.

Dianna:

I'm very risk-averse, which is interesting because we're opening a second business. But we're doing really well so I feel confident in which to do that.

Bobby Starks:

Did you help your dad out?

Dianna:

Yeah, I mean, we would go to job sites, he's a home builder, so we go to job sites and I was always around it. But I mean, again, if we talk about 2008 or other times within recession or high interest rates, it's just, you really feel a lot of it. So it's just interesting, right? Seeing it as a kid where you're like, "I don't, that's so much risk," but at the same time, it's like, well, it's what he loves to do. So now being older, I think that kind of shifted my focus a little bit. It's like, well, at least he's always doing what he wants to do and that's awesome. It's what he loves to do, and he's really good at it.

Bobby Starks:

So what did you do before you got into the fitness industry?

Dianna:

Corporate finance at a couple of big companies then got into consulting, because I liked working with businesses. I mean, granted bigger businesses on implementation, so technology implementation is one thing that I've done. I've also worked on a couple other finance initiatives where I was accounting and things like that, so really interesting stuff. But I thought it was really interesting, but it was learning how business actually runs, which is you kind of peel back the layers a little bit. Again, small portion of a large business, but it's just interesting. You get to see how people actually work, how things actually get done and it's kind of slow.

Bobby Starks:

So why, why the fitness business?

Dianna:

I was an athlete growing up my whole life, so that was a big part of how we spend our time. I was one of four, I am one of four, and two older brothers and younger sister, and we were always really competitive with each other. So it's just something where it's just fun. I mean, we were always playing a sport or attending somebody else's sports game. So something that I just never really gave up and just kind of went through college, played club sports, made sure to kind of do all of that, but still have a social life, I'm about balance. So it was just something that I just never, I couldn't seem to get rid of it. I couldn't not do it, so I got into coaching and then coaching volleyball for high schoolers and then club teams in addition to my full-time job.

Dianna:

So it's always kind of something I've done. And I was like, you know what? I really love this, it's such a positive way to interact with people and it's challenging for them. And it challenges me in new ways to try and motivate or teach or cue or whatnot that I always walked out of there feeling better. And so to me, that's an amazing experience to be able to have, because when I go into my 9:00 to 5:00, it's not always that experience, right? But for that portion of the day, I had a really good hour or whatever the class was. So,

Bobby Starks:

But since you're a business owner now, it's not like you're teaching everybody all the time,

Dianna:

No, but you still deliver the experience. And what's so great is I get to share our vision with other people and people are bought into it. The coolest part to see is when you have people come in and they're like, "Wow, this is really great," or, "I want to be a part of this." I mean, that's where I feel like we're doing the job, right? And there's so many people that are staff members, and now other owners that are so bought in that it's incredible to be able to share that. For me, I love being part of a team. That's where I feel like I really succeed. And so to be able to have this team kind of around me, that's how I knew I could be in business because, or do my own business, because I didn't want to do it alone. I was like, I need to find a good team or good partners with which to actually do it.

Dianna:

So to me, it's even better because now I see all the aspects of it. And it's not just in that one singular focus, but because we do the workouts and deliver them to the coaches and the coaches teach and all that kind of stuff. You really get to experience it not just in one way, but in so many different ways. So it's really cool.

Bobby Starks:

That's cool.

Dianna:

Yeah.

Bobby Starks:

And you built a pretty good team there. I've met a lot of your guys.

Dianna:

Yes. We've been really lucky. I attribute that to luck. I really do. And also to the fact that for the people that are bought into what we're doing, they want to share it. So it's such a... again, it's just such a positive experience for all of them, and then for us as well to kind of see... it's like watching a kid grow up. It really is. You put in all the work it's there like babies and stuff. And then I haven't gotten there yet, but apparently you reap the rewards of that later.

Bobby Starks:

Now you told me, you were just talking about being in the cool part of your job. I saw your passion just in your face. What is some of the not so cool stuff?

Dianna:

Ah, it's the things that I think I don't specialize in. So for example, I do our marketing, but it's so cool to see marketing-minded people and how they work and how much I can learn from them. So to me, it's the part that's become more fun. It's a big challenge, but it's such a great learning experience. I'm a learner. So for me, it's really great. I mean, of course, some of the day-to-day stuff can be a challenge. I think the biggest thing is just trying not to let those little things distract you from the greater picture. And so anytime I feel like I'm getting bogged down with... whether it's just emails or little things, they have to be addressed. I mean, you, can't not, right? The business never stops running.

Dianna:

But it's putting it in perspective of, "Okay. I'm going to have 15 minutes, and I'm going to do those things so that I have the next 45, the next hour, two hours to focus on everything else." So for me, I like to get that little stuff out of the way, but it's just onesy, twosy type things that, again, you just can't not do. So it could be anywhere from... we do client, some client follow-ups or some hard conversations, which you kind of need a little more time for, but those are things that are really hard, but to be honest with you, I've gotten very good at them. So they don't take as much time anymore. And again, we've built a good team to which we can kind of share some of that responsibility. So that's helpful.

Bobby Starks:

So let's talk a bit about... because you have a brick and mortar location and the pandemic. We went through that whole lockdown. And how'd you guys navigate that and keep their doors open because I think you guys did a pretty good job.

Dianna:

We did. Yeah. Again, our timing worked out. If there can be good timing, there is, this was good timing. So I think it's all about how you set up the business. So its example, like when you buy a house, you make... If you're looking at it as an investment, you have to make money on the buy. You have to know up front, you're already going to make money. Now maybe there's more upside than you thought, but kind of... Your base is covered, right? So it's similar to the way I think that we set this up on purpose, but almost by accident. You didn't obviously know pandemic was coming. But the way we kind of negotiated our deals upfront with the people that we were working with for build-out and stuff like that, that favored us going into it. It's all about... At the end of the day, it's about cash.

Dianna:

So we were able to kind of navigate some of that and Destiny and myself really... So my other owner, we went through everything that we could apply for as far as aid, we did. And we did it early. We did it often. We had a good partner as far as... So good banking relationships are extremely important, especially during that time when people were submitting. So having those relationships, we had to really lean into those. And I think that that helped us at least from a cash flow perspective, but from a technology and moving to video on demand or streaming... Actually there are a lot of good platforms out there and the support was there, people working 24/7. That's the way we were able to kind of keep the level of service. We rented out our equipment. We kind of did as many... We opened up our smoothie bar, which we hadn't planned to do until six months after we opened. So we're like, "Let's just push that up," because we wanted to be able to stay open. A little bit on-

Bobby Starks:

You rented out your equipment?

Dianna:

We did.

Dianna:

There wasn't a lot... I mean, of the things that could be rented, they were rented, but... which is a big concern to supply chain if we need to replace. But I mean, everybody was really great and we got everything back, so-

Bobby Starks:

That's awesome.

Dianna:

Yeah. So it was good.

Bobby Starks:

I didn't even think about that.

Dianna:

It was Destiny's idea.

Bobby Starks:

Oh, good for her.

Dianna:

Yeah. And I felt very uncomfortable doing it, but I was like, "I think you're right. You're right. Let's just do it. And we'll figure it out as we go." And that's a lot of what the pandemic was. Figure it out... We have a problem, find a solution, think about some other avenues, try to vet it out, but really it's just... You got to just, you just got to move. So if anything, the decision-making process was a lot shorter than maybe normal, so-

Bobby Starks:

So you guys are opening a second location?

Dianna:

We are, yes.

Bobby Starks:

And when did you guys know you were going to do that? And how hard was the process of finding another location?

Dianna:

So how long did we know? We've always wanted to open SouthPark. I've always wanted SouthPark, but finding a location was always really a challenge. The timing... again, coming through, which is great... So basically what the pandemic did was it forced us to become very good at what we do very quickly and just to be very agile. And so I think we did a really good job of getting through that time. And obviously we're still in it, things look a little bit different because we have so much more information and all that kind of stuff out there. People have actually access to resources to help them. There's actually testing, which they didn't have in the beginning, which is kind of crazy. So there's so much more than we know now. So we're still in a pandemic. However, we're actually able to navigate through that.

Dianna:

So once we kind of came through, I would say maybe the beginning of this year... So we would open a full year and we were doing well... If we can do well now, we can certainly do well again. And it was the point where we know how long the process can be for finding a new location. We're like, "Let's just start looking. We might not find anything for another year. So we have to start looking now." So that's kind of where it just... And we asked a lot of people met with our account. You know what I mean? Met with the people who we kind of wanted to get their business perspective of, "Are we ready for this?" And they said, "If you're willing to do these things, yes you are." We're like, "Well, that makes me feel a little good about it." You feel okay, a little vote of confidence when you haven't done it before, open a second location before, so-

Bobby Starks:

Yeah, I guess when you do it once, you just replicate it.

Dianna:

Well, you're just going. I mean, you're just like, "This is what we're doing. We're definitely doing this." You're kind of full steam ahead. But second it's like, "Now we scale." So scale is much different than first set up, right? It has to be able to run when you're not there, which is a much different process.

Bobby Starks:

So how do you guys find your members? I mean, there's the RockBoxes, there's the yoga studios. What is your guys' method on getting new customers because you guys are always packed out. It's crazy.

Dianna:

Yeah. So we have word of mouth, at least for fitness, is always the best, best thing out there. If you look at the stats, 60% of people are going to be word of mouth, friends of friends. So that's always going to be really important is that people have a... Whoever they are, have a positive experience when they're in the studio regardless if they become a member or not. So we have set up, again, by... We've worked in other studios, understood a couple of other business models, experienced them by whether we go or not. Every place does things very well, but they do them a little bit differently. And so it's just kind of figuring out what we do well. So delivering on that client experience every single time is something we're constantly training, retraining, trying to figure out new ways to make that experience better and consistent every single time somebody comes into the studio. So that's number one. So in studio experience, always making sure we deliver on that for that word of mouth.

Dianna:

And then I think number two, we do challenges in studio and that kind of gets a few more people in, or they might not have wanted to do it before. My goal is always to have a very good relationship in the community. So that's with other businesses, whether it's corporate, corporations, more of like a... professional services type folks, or it's partnering events with restaurants breweries. There's a couple of different things that we can do. So we do a lot of outreach. Setting up at races, things like that. I mean, it's definitely like a lead for lead, but the more leads we have coming in, that's how we get people in the studio. So we just try to be out in the community as much as possible and try to provide a mutually beneficial service for the people that are also hosting us, right?

Dianna:

So there's always kind of some trade-off. We'll come bring their employees in for a private workout or... So we try to make sure that we are good stewards of those relationships, but honestly, it's just getting out there and dropping stuff off and just forming those relationships and figuring out the way to make it work together.

Bobby Starks:

How do you guys... What is your differential between... these other fitness studios, what is your guys' method and what makes it so awesome?

Dianna:

So what I like about what we do in the way we set it up is it's results-based. So what we have built in studio... So it's, strength-based high intensity interval training, so we're building muscle, but we're also bringing that cardio component to it. So for any strength day, so we rotate three different days, upper focus, lower focus, and then conditioning. There's always going to be that HIIT component to it. So that's going to get you that calorie burn, our goal is to get you an EPOC, right? So EPOC is what's going to help you burn calories over the next 24 to 36 hours. That's where the HIIT comes in. And then you got the strength piece that's building that muscle. Again, it's going to burn calories over time. It's very science-based. But what we do to kind of not have to always go into the science of all of it is we have our 3D body scanner, so our members get access to for a year.

Dianna:

And so we'll have weekends where we make sure everybody gets in and does it, or people do it throughout their year. They're able to see on paper, black and white, how their body has changed over time. And so it gives them that kind of real comparison of the progress that they've made, because they're like, "Well, I feel different." Maybe the scale hasn't changed. We don't really look at the scale that much. We really look at body composition. So it gives them 20, 30, 40 measurements all over their body... It's accurate. And then, obviously, body composition on top of that, but it literally has so much data in there and we can kind of scale as far as... So it's personal training... That I think is more of the personal training, like the one-on-one consultation and you get the results-based workouts. So to me, it's kind of the total package.

Bobby Starks:

So how does somebody get into EPOC?

Dianna:

So there's a couple of different factors. So, height, weight, gender, age, but it's all based on your heart rate zones. So if you've got a smartwatch, that's kind of where you're hitting your peak cardio. So it's different based on everybody. So I would say, I think Queens University does like a VO2 max is probably the best way to go do it. They offer it so you can go in and they're like... students will run it for you. It's pretty interesting.

Bobby Starks:

Do you guys do anything with nutrition there? Like talk about it, or-

Dianna:

We do talk about it. So we talk about macros, mostly. We are not nutritionists. So North Carolina, you have to be a registered dietician in order to provide that advice. We kind of guide people as far as... these are the principles, but we do kind of outsource them to people that we have worked with to get that specific nutritional advice, because it's really tailored to the person. And so we can provide guidelines, but I don't like to get too much into it unless they're actually speaking to someone. You can look at the whole picture and they do blood work and it's a full picture. So I never want to discount from the fact that they really need that full-on experience if they're really looking to get into it. And most of our people do. They're like, "I really, really, really want to get to know my body better and how to..." So it's great. Yeah. So it's been pretty good.

Bobby Starks:

Yeah. I guess you could just be like, "Yeah, eat your fruits and vegetables."

Dianna:

We can get into the percentages of protein, fat, and there's a lot of... and we provide them resources of which we've gotten from some of the nutritionists just to kind of get people started as far as how to think about it and what you should eat pre-workout versus post, and things like that. So we really leave it to them, but they've given us a lot of resources to kind of get those conversations started so that people are more educated when they go in and they know more without they're looking for.

Bobby Starks:

Let's go back to just the business portion of it. What was probably the scariest part for you when you decided to... "Hey, we're going to do this at Hustle House?"

Dianna:

Put in your money. When you had to write a big check. It's like when you plan for a group trip, right? And everyone's like, "Oh man, I'm in, I'm in," and then you're like, "Well, it's going to cost this amount of money," people are like, "I'm out, I'm out, I'm out." So I think putting in the money was probably the biggest one. When you have to write that check, I think that's the biggest one because once it's in, it's like, "Well, we're definitely doing it now."

Dianna:

Well, you can always... This is the thing. I think people there's a misconception. You can always turn back, but why would you, you've made so much work. You've done so much work. You're already going, just see what's coming, right? I guess you have to put in so much time and effort. It can take a while to reap the rewards of it, but why stop now? You've already made it this far. But if you write an... you do all the legal documents, you can always walk away. It's just, what are you walking away from? And I think to me, that's actually scarier. It's like, "Well, what would happen without me? I want to be a part of it every time it comes. Like, I don't want to miss it."

Bobby Starks:

Is that what you're scared of now? Walking away.

Dianna:

No. I think the biggest thing, I just want to be good stewards of the people that we're bringing on. So the new ownership that we're bringing on, the new studio manager, we now have an uptown... I want to be good stewards to them. And that's, that's me understanding what our vision is, knowing where we're headed, having good processes, for which to them to, to have a structure of how they're going to do things, but to still give them the room to figure out how they want to be a manager, but I need to have the constructs right for them of what Hustle House does. So we know what we do, but we're owners, so we're more invested, but for somebody who's... didn't put in then it might be different. But for the most, we have a really good team, so I can't... everybody's... does a great job, but it is setting up the contract.

Dianna:

So for me, it's more about the long-term vision and hitting those, and then hitting our quarterly and yearly goals is really where we're at right now. But that's what I'm... I am more scared of missing a goal, but I'm so... I refuse to miss it that I'm not even scared of it anymore. I'm excited to go get it. So now there's not much that scares me anymore at this point, because I think the pandemic got me scared enough.

Bobby Starks:

Kind of already took you over the edge.

Dianna:

It kind of did. I don't know. I mean, gosh, you learn a lot through that. So, yeah.

Bobby Starks:

Well, good for you guys. So let's talk about you personally. So you're a mom, how many kids do you have?

Dianna:

Two.

Bobby Starks:

You have two kids, you're a mom, you're a wife, you got this business, you just opened up another one. How do you navigate all this? Because you just told me you woke up at 5:00, you've got a workout in, how do you navigate your day? How does it even look like? Because you've got so much going on, not just your business. You've got whole-

Dianna:

Every day is different. Yeah. I'm actually Type A, but I've actually learned to become a little Type B, just go with the flow a little bit more, which has been good for me as like growth as a person. How do I manage it? A lot of communication, a shared Google Calendar with my husband, and clearly communicating to what... and being true to what I can really schedule and what time that I want to spend with my kids and have it be kind of undivided attention. So in the time that I'm not with them, I'm working because I'm like, "I don't want to have to do this when I go see them," so it creates a lot of time management.

Dianna:

And then I don't know. I think you just kind of learn by doing. I mean, we have parents that live close by, so that's really helpful, like when you're kind of in a pinch, which is major when it comes to childcare, because that's kind of the biggest thing really for us, it's just making sure that our kids are obviously taken care of with people that we trust. Because at the end of the day, then it's just going to be a Zoom call. But sometimes you have to be there. So it's like, "Well, I'm going to be up late," but no, it's just taking each day and each... truly each week we plan it out and just kind of go one week at a time, but also long-term plan for the business. But as far as our day-to-day, plan one week at a time and try to schedule in a little vacation or a break where we're really disconnected. So just part of communication.

Bobby Starks:

So what would you want to tell people if they're thinking about starting their own business or thinking about [crosstalk].

Dianna:

I say, "Just do it. Just start."

Bobby Starks:

It's easier said than done sometimes.

Dianna:

So for me it was important to find the right people. So no kind of what's stopping you and how you can kind of get through those. So if it's money, right, well, how do you get more money? Or do you really need the amount of money? Because there's so many tools out there that I've learned that you really don't have to pay for. And there are a lot of people out there that are willing to... whether it's friend or a network or whatever that you can tap into. They were like, "You know what, I love this idea. I'm willing to do this for you for free for now. And then when you can pay me, pay me," there's actually a lot. And I don't like doing that because I want to pay people for their services.

Dianna:

But there are a lot of people trying to... whether they're coming out of school... They just want the experience. So there are a lot of people like that. I think it's just trying to find and trying to tell your story and having a solid story. Because you're selling a story, especially in the beginning. There's nothing really to show yet. So I would just say, "Just get started." I mean, what's stopping you? The more you think about it, you're wasting time, is the way I think about it now. Just go do it, just go do it and see. And so minimize your risk and figure out a way to get done.

Bobby Starks:

That's what scares me half the time. It's not like anything else. You know, what scares me is the voice that's always telling me is like, "Are you doing enough? Like-"

Dianna:

You got to be careful of that voice though.

Bobby Starks:

Yeah. I'm like, "Why am I still laying in bed?" It's 4:30 in the morning. I get up [crosstalk]

Dianna:

Well, you get up earlier than me.

Bobby Starks:

But I still got to work out. But that's the thing that scares me. I don't know if you ever think about that for yourself, like, "Am I doing enough? Am I doing enough during the day?"

Dianna:

1000% all the time.

Bobby Starks:

Yeah. I think that's a type a personality.

Dianna:

Yeah, because it... But I think, again, you figure out processes that work for you. So I'm all about processes, if you haven't noticed. Schedule, to-do list and it's figuring out... My to-do list is very long, but okay, so today with the time that I have after I talked to you, this is what I'm getting done. And if I get ahead, great. If I don't, at least I got those things done. So it's kind of knowing what you can do now, what you can do later, and maybe what's something like... I have a whole sheet of long-term projects that I want to do. And when I have time, we'll get to that, or if we bring on somebody and that frees me up to do some other things, then we'll do that.

Dianna:

But I would just say, "Get started." I mean, I think that's the biggest thing is why not just jump in and see where you land and frankly, if you're then not motivated to do it, then you probably shouldn't do it in the first place. But at least you started to try. You figure out where your motivation is when it takes away free time. Once you realize you have no free time, really, unless you schedule it or build it in, it's different. You get in a different mindset.

Bobby Starks:

Got to utilize that word "know" half the time.

Dianna:

Yes, knowing your boundaries.

Bobby Starks:

Can't be afraid to say it too.

Dianna:

Well, in the beginning you say "yes" a lot. And I think it's important to say "yes" almost to then learn where your "no" is. That's how I work. Not to say that that's what everybody needs to do, but I said "yes" to a lot, and then I was like, "Oh, this is kind of maybe not so good." Or you learn what works, what is worth your time, right? I don't know if it was Oprah, whoever, she said "yes" to everything. And then now she's able to say, "No, these are the things I want to do." So it's trial and error. You got to be willing to mess up.

Bobby Starks:

I actually know a cool story on Oprah. I'll tell you after this, but it's interesting, from Nashville. But let's talk about your future. What does it look like personally for you? What does it look personally for Hustle House? What do we got there?

Dianna:

So personally, I mean, it's so tied to just my family, and then Hustle House. So, I mean, I just want my family to be happy, healthy. It's very simple, at the end of the day, that we have enough quality time. My goal is really... I mean, personally, by the time my kids are in kindergarten that I can focus on Hustle House full-time, because I do have another job right now... focus on Hustle House full-time so I can pick them up from school. That's my goal. Might sound crazy, but I just want to be able to pick them up from school... not to say I won't work at night. I mean, I'm not, but just to have that. So I'm not having to put... block my time on my calendar, so I don't have anybody setting up meetings or whatever, but just know that I can be with them.

Dianna:

It might not be every day, but I have the flexibility with which to do that. But you know, once you're an owner, or a founder, or whatever, it's not 9:00 to 5:00. It's every day, and you set your schedule every day, right? So it's just more time, but that's personally my goal. And then at least with my kids and then I mean, with Erin and I... my husband, and it's just to continue communicating, and that's an everyday thing. So that's going to perpetuate forever, and I feel like as long as we're on the same page, we'll be okay.

Dianna:

And then for the gym, I mean, we want to grow. I mean, our goal is we want Hustle House everywhere, but we certainly want to be very smart where we pick and choose and who decides to kind of really be in those kind of foundational, whether it's 5 or 10 studios just because they're just going to be so close. It's going to feel so personal. That's really where I want it to go. I mean, I want it to be national. I want it to be international. I want it to be everywhere, but I certainly don't want to devalue the brand. So we're still kind of figuring out what's that balance and we're not going to know it until we do it. So the goal would be to have multiple and multiple cities.

Bobby Starks:

Nice.

Dianna:

Yes.

Bobby Starks:

So you want to be just South Carolina, Virginia, all of it?

Dianna:

All of it.

Bobby Starks:

All of it.

Dianna:

I want it all.

Bobby Starks:

Good for you. Well, thanks for joining me today. This was a great interview.

Dianna:

Yeah, no, thanks, Bobby.

Bobby Starks:

I think this is educational for a lot of people that just want to talk about getting into business or even fitness. So thanks again. And I'll definitely come in to get a workout. I keep on saying it but-

Dianna:

Yes, I know you do. I'm just going to sign you up. Just so you have the account, I'll put you in at 5:00. Don't worry, we got a big crew for you.

Bobby Starks:

Yeah. I'll just get my ass kicked. Get that EPOC.

Dianna:

I think you'll be just fine.

Bobby Starks:

All right. Well, thanks so much, and-

Dianna:

Yeah, no, thank you.

Interview With Sam Vargas | Content Creator In Charlotte, NC

Instagram sliding art.

Bobby:

Welcome to another episode of Starks Media Podcast. Today, I have with me, Sam Vargas. He's one of the greatest content creators here in the Carolinas. I know he travels around all the time, so let's just get straight into it. What'd you want to be when you grew up?

Sam:

I wanted to be Batman.

Bobby:

Is that your favorite superhero?

Sam:

He is one of my favorite superheroes. No, I think just like any other little kid, I grew up in a Maryland, DC area. It's really close to... So 30 minutes outside of DC, not too far from Baltimore. I had a real interest in firefighting and wanting to join law enforcement and stuff like that. But I grew up in a really Christian home that was against any kind of violence or danger or anything like that. So I was always kind of steered towards doing something in the admin field where, get a manager position somewhere, do something in the medical field, excuse my language. I hated that shit. But I did it for a very long time, but I think growing up, I always had an interest in law enforcement, military, that sort of thing, but never... That's probably one of my biggest life regrets is never having joined the military.

Bobby:

How'd you get into content creation? Making videos and photos.

Sam:

Yeah. So I think once I left my home, I was living with my mother. I think I was 20 years old and left the house and from 20 until about 31, 32, I was just working dead end jobs. I mean like auto parts stores, medical records at some big hospital, barely getting by. I think around 27, 28 years old, I found mixed martial arts and fitness. I was super out of shape and in super in this depressive mode all the time. I found that as my outlet. Did that for a few years, got into really good shape, started personal training. Then I got NASM certified. Started doing personal training on the side. I'm like, "All right, this is it." But it wasn't it. I felt it deep down inside that it just, this wasn't it for me, but I just kept going.

Sam:

I really didn't know where it was going to go. It was kind of like just walking in complete darkness type of a thing. I invested in a camera to do YouTube content for fitness. The first YouTube video I saw on photography and videography was, take your camera with you everywhere, practice on anything, and that's what I did. Long story short, it just kind of fell on my lap. I started falling in love with taking photos and I started taking photos of like butterflies and my dog. I go to a lot of coffee shops here in town, so I would take photos of the latte art, the baristas. I'd go out at night and take photos of the skyline just because, it was literally just because of the love for it.

Sam:

I made an Instagram page, the page that I have now, which is Sam Vargas Images. But back then, it was called Just a Dude With a Camera. I didn't want anyone to know it was me because I really didn't think it was good work. It was just kind of like another outlet for me. Mind you, I was still working a cubicle job, not doing anything with my life. This was my outlet. I couldn't wait to get out of work, go to a coffee shop, and just take pictures of whatever. So someone found my Instagram page and said, "Hey man, do you take portraits?" I'm like, "No." He's like, "Well, I really like your eye. What would you charge me for a photo shoot?" I'm like, "I don't know, dude. I don't know, like 50 bucks?"

Sam:

He's like, "I'll get back to you." I'm like, "Okay, I guess that was too much money." He got back to me a couple hours later and he's like, "Hey man, I talked to a lot of photographers who are charging triple your amount, but I just don't see that they have a good eye." I didn't know what that meant at the time. I'm like, "Okay." He's like, "Well, let's do a photo shoot." I'm like, "Cool." So we met up, did the shoot. I didn't have a laptop at the time or anything like that. I edited all the photos on my iPad and mind you, you can't group batch that. You have to edit each photo at a time. It took me hours to edit.

Bobby:

For $50.

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A post shared by Photographer | Videographer (@samvargas_images)

Sam:

For 50 bucks. I gave him the photos. He was like, "Dude, this is amazing." I'm like, "Thanks." He's like, "This is your first shoot?" I'm like, "Yes, sir." He was like, "You definitely have a future in this." That's when the light bulb just started blinking. I'm like, "Hold on a second. I just made 50 bucks doing this." I started thinking to myself, "If I got better at this, I could charge more, I could do different things, and so on and so forth." That guy turned out to be an ex NFL player/hot shot in college football player. So when he posted those photos, naturally people started falling and...

Sam:

Yes, correct. Then I had a guy who did nightlife stuff in the Latin community here in Charlotte. He's like, "Hey man, you got a nice camera? I'm like, "What do you mean?" Like, "Where are you going with this, dude?" He's like, "Yeah, I'm starting to throw some parties in the Epicenter and I could really use some really high quality photos. At the time, I'm using a point and shoot with interchangeable lenses, but it's still a point and shoot.

Bobby:

What was it? Sony, Canon?

Sam:

Sony A5100.

Bobby:

Oh, nice.

Sam:

Yeah. It's a great camera, but not something you would take on a professional shoot. I'm like, "I mean, I could get a better camera." He's like, "Cool, I need you here in a couple of weeks." So at the time, I'm dead broke.

Bobby:

How much did you charge him for this shoot?

Sam:

Oh dude...

Bobby:

If you remember.

Sam:

I don't remember, but it was very low. It was like 75 bucks for photos.

Bobby:

And you're filming all night, taking pictures?

Sam:

I'm there for two hours, yeah, taking pictures. The video stuff didn't start yet. Then I started doing that, but in order for me to do that, I had to dig into the little bit of savings that I had. At the time, I was dating someone and I'm like, "Hey, do you mind letting me borrow a couple of bucks?" She's like, "For what?" I'm like, "A camera." "You already have a camera." I'm like, "I need a better camera." Whatever, long story short, got me a Canon T6i with a nifty 50 and I got the $40 on camera flash and just shot with that. Little by little, other promoters in the city started noticing my work and it was progressing and progressing. I started getting hired for different things. That was March, 2017. October, 2017 is when I decided to leave my full-time job. I quit right then and there, went into my 401k and bought a Canon 5D Mark IV.

Bobby:

How scared were you to pull that money?

Sam:

I'll put it to you like this, I bought the camera, got it, it stayed in the box for two weeks.

Bobby:

Really? [crosstalk] about returning it?

Sam:

I was thinking about returning it. I said, "This is stupid. I just spent three grand," at the time, this camera was $3,000. I spent three grand on a camera and $1,200 on a 24 to 70. I'm like, "I can't, this is ridiculous. I could do so much with this money. I could get caught up with my bills and all this other stuff." It just stayed in the box for two weeks.

Bobby:

I think that's the problem with corporate life when you're in it, because they don't really teach you how to invest in yourself and, dude, that investment portion, buying that expensive camera, I mean, I'm pretty sure it's tripled your income throughout the time you had it.

Sam:

I made that money back in less than three months, and this was still in my beginner stages, but it was the scariest thing I've ever done in my life. But it was a very humbling experience. I always remember that time because those sort of decisions don't go away. You have to make risky decisions all the time. I just didn't realize it. I thought that was the only time that I had to make a... Yeah. But yeah, that was my beginning. When I got that professional camera, that's when I started diving into video a little bit. People know me as the photographer that does video, but as you know, I enjoy video a lot more than I actually do photos, but that was my start.

Bobby:

How'd you start developing your style that you have? I see you on Instagram. I mean, you have beautiful pictures, portraits...

Sam:

Thanks.

Bobby:

... boudoir. You put these really cool sequences together. How'd you figure out that style that you kind of have online now?

Sam:

Lots of trial and error. The best teacher is experience. You can watch all the YouTube videos you want, you can go to school, you can read all the textbook stuff that they give you. But I literally, I still to this day, I still learn something new every time I go out and shoot, whether it's something about lighting, something about sound design, something about my camera that I didn't know. I'm still shooting with the same cameras I've had for the last couple of years. I'm still learning about them. I'm still figuring out how to get a cleaner picture out of them. It just took a lot of practice. I forced myself to shoot. So I was setting up a lot of collaborative shoots, multiple collaboration shoots during the week, working all weekend, doing different nightlife things. I wasn't working with a lot of lighting in these particular venues. So I got really good at low light shooting because of that. So putting myself in a lot of uncomfortable situations, so to speak, and I'm still sort of developing a style, but I think I've honed in onto what I like and what I don't like.

Bobby:

Do you have anybody that inspires you?

Sam:

Oh yeah. You.

Bobby:

Oh, [crosstalk].

Sam:

Yeah, yeah. When we first met, your video stood out to me on a bigger scale because there was so much effort behind to it. I have a lot of other filmmakers that inspire me, YouTubers, too many to count. I don't know them all by name, unfortunately, photography-wise, but I have a lot of inspiration from other photographers that I follow on social media. But I look at, I think my biggest inspirations are people that are not necessarily in the industry. It's other entrepreneurs that I look up to and follow that know the business world and know what entrepreneurship is. Those are the people that truly inspire me because it doesn't matter what industry you're in, all the rules and the concepts, they're all the same. Business is business.

Sam:

It's just, each industry is different on how you approach that particular business. That's the thing I look at. I'm looking at it more so now as a business instead of a hobby. I think that's where a lot of artists have trouble with progressing. There's a lot of great, great filmmakers, a lot of great photographers, graphic designers, and stuff like that. But sometimes they don't know how to separate the art with the business side. Then it kind of leaves them stuck, so to speak.

Bobby:

Is there anybody that you want to inspire?

Sam:

Yeah. I want to inspire all the, I guess you can call them the newbies. I don't know if that's a good word to describe them, but anybody that's coming into the industry. So cameras are just so much more accessible now that everyone's getting into it. Mind you, you can still see the level of experience. But when I got into it, especially here in Charlotte where the art community is kind of tight, I wasn't welcomed at first. A lot of the photographers and videographers I looked up to didn't even recognize me when I first started up. I kind of want to take that stigma away because the biggest insecurity of an artist is competition. But even in the small/big town of Charlotte, there's very little competition because, for example, you have a different networking pool than I do.

Sam:

It's not common for that networking pool to overlap. You know what I'm saying? I want to inspire those new people that are coming into the industry to not let that tarnish anything that they want to accomplish. Because when I got into it, the first thing I told myself was, "I'm not going to compare myself to anybody else. I'm just going to go into it, figure it out, and do my own thing." To this day, I still don't look at a lot of other people's work because it gets into my head and you're like, "Oh man, I got to do it like they're doing it."

Bobby:

Or get their type of camera.

Sam:

Or get their... Yeah. But when you start thinking that way, you automatically derail from where you originally wanted to go, you know what I'm saying? So those are the people that I really want to inspire. The podcast that I'm starting and hopefully when I get time, the YouTube content that I have in mind is really tailored for those people, for the people that are starting and have questions about the business side, have questions about the technical side, and blah, blah, blah. Everybody thinks about gear as being the main focus. That's really the last thing you should be worried about.

Bobby:

Right. Yeah, limitation of just thinking of gear, but it's about the creativity and the setup [crosstalk] behind it. Do you think you could learn creativity or do you think it's just something that's in [crosstalk] yourself? Or do you have to work on it? Did you always think you were creative?

Sam:

No. Hell no. I grew up playing Call of Duty, man. No, there was not one creative bone in my body. I do think there are people that are just naturally talented, but in the modern world that we live in today, you can learn a lot of those talents and it's just like sharpening a sword, man. You can't really... There's always going to be someone better, but as far as telling a story or playing with different colors or playing with different lighting, setups, or learning sound designed for video, any of those things you can get better at. If you focus at one thing at a time, you can progress into that and then you can start being more creative. The creativity part comes when you are comfortable with something.

Sam:

For example, you can't just pick up a camera and just start being creative. You got to learn how to use the camera first. You got to learn to understand the lighting aspect of it. You can have a great eye, but understanding all the things that compliment your footage or your frames or your photos have a huge impact on your creativity. So I think, yes, there's always going to be someone better, but you can always learn those techniques that those better creators are using and make it something of your own. That's kind of what I've done with my career.

Bobby:

So for being in the content creator space, what's probably the most annoying thing that's probably being in this industry for you?

Sam:

I think the most frustrating thing has been finding an acceptance in the creative space. So what I've noticed with traveling, and mind you, I didn't start traveling until I started doing this. I was always a stay in one spot kind of a guy. But what I noticed was that the creative and artist world is more accepting and I guess more established in metropolitan areas. So in Charlotte, for example, it's really hard to find clients that understand the value of a good content creator. A lot of people have the misconception that you can just kind of just show up and shoot with a camera and that's it, but there's so much more that goes behind it from investing into the right gear, from learning how to light things, to audio, then...

Bobby:

Telling a story.

Sam:

... telling a story, and then we're not even going to talk about the editing, which takes hours.

Bobby:

Yeah, that's the best.

Sam:

Yeah, seriously. But I think that's been the most frustrating part is, I've had people tell me, "I'm not paying for a photo shoot. I can get a photo shoot for free." But showing those people the value between a free product and something you actually invest in or pay for, there's always going to be a difference. You get what you pay for type of a thing. I think that's been the most frustrating thing. But granted, with meeting the right people and networking and investing my time and the right clients, that problem's been going away little by little, but I still find myself working more out of town because I have found clients in different, like I said, more established cities that understand it already. They're like, "Hey man, I need you to do your thing with this." They don't even ask questions, you know?

Bobby:

That's the best.

Sam:

Yeah. You give them your price. They're like, "Cool, man. Let's do it." Not, "Well, could you help me out a little bit?" "Well, here's the thing. I have to invest in this and this and this." At first, I didn't know how to handle that, but now I'm like, "That's not my problem. You want me to show up and shoot your project that you want to invest 500 bucks in with my $3,000 camera? It just doesn't make sense. This doesn't equate." A lot of people just think on the shooting aspect, but they don't think about the pre-production, the pre-planning, and that post-production, the delivery. I mean, there's just so much goes on with it.

Bobby:

Yeah, lots of hours go into it.

Sam:

Yeah. So I feel like Charlotte being a banking city and real estate and restaurant and stuff like that, I still feel like they have more time to understand that. It's growing. Charlotte is growing. I mean, I've been here since '03. So I understand, I have seen the progress and there's a ton of talent here in this city and people doing what I do and making a living off of it. So it is getting better, but that has been the most frustrating part.

Bobby:

Yeah, it is definitely frustrating. I think the pandemic helped a little bit, a little bit.

Sam:

The pandemic helped a lot. It's kind of like...

Bobby:

Kind of open people up, like, "Dang, we need to get in front of people and the best way to do that is film or pictures or whatever it is." And they're trying to figure out like, this is like treating your Instagram like a mini, whatchamacallit? Not webinar, but...

Sam:

Portfolio?

Bobby:

Portfolio or website or anything of the such, people see it and they really judge people on just what they see and doing your work on their page, it's tenfold. They're probably getting a better ROI than what they paid [inaudible].

Sam:

Yeah, they're calling Instagram the new portfolio. I mean, granted, I've been doing this for almost four years and I still don't have a website for any of my brands. I'm just now creating a website because I see the value in it. But before, I just didn't think I needed it because I've literally gotten 90% of my clientele off of Instagram alone. Going into that, you don't plan for that. You don't say, "Oh, I'm going to get all my clientele from Instagram." It just happened. It just happened. I just got into it at the right time.

Bobby:

So what's next for you? What's the future look like?

Sam:

So not to get into too much detail, but I am refocusing and rebranding a lot with all of my brands and I'm focusing more so on video production because that's what I love to do. Like I said, I'm known as a photographer that shoots video. I kind of want to change that now. Doing what I've been doing for four years, it's taking some time and some pre-thought into how I'm going to do that because I've structured everything on photos, photos, photos, photos. Now I have to backtrack and figure out I'm going to do that. It's started making me realize I have a lot to learn about filming, a lot, because creating concepts for photo shoots and creating concepts for a video shoot are completely different things. So it's a humbling experience. It's humbling.

Sam:

I'm realizing how much of a beginner I still am in that world. But that's the focus now. I just, I enjoy it more. Like I said, I want to do more YouTube content, podcasting, filming fun, little commercial ads for social media or whatever, music videos, even though music videos don't have a lot of money into them, that would probably be my creative outlet is finding a good music video project that I can sink my teeth into, so to speak. But that's the plan.

Bobby:

Nice, dude.

Sam:

Video production is the plan. It's going to take some time to get there.

Bobby:

That's the best way to think about it, always think you're a beginner.

Sam:

That's for sure.

Bobby:

Yeah, [crosstalk] think you're a beginner, because then you always want to learn something new.

Sam:

Haven't you ever gone to a shoot and you're like, "Yeah, I killed that shit?"

Bobby:

Sometimes, then when I I get back into the editing, I'm like, "Dude, this sucks."

Sam:

Yeah, exactly. That's why I don't ever think that I killed the shoot. I'm like, "Man, I hope that came back good."

Bobby:

Yeah, was the lighting perfect on that? I think I did something wrong.

Sam:

Yeah.

Bobby:

That's always the worst.

Sam:

Yeah, man.

Bobby:

But let's cut it straight here. If you guys want to get ahold of Sam, I'm going to put everything in the description below, all his channels, email, whatever. But thanks again, Sam, dude.

Sam:

Thank you, man.

Bobby:

Best in Charlotte and the Carolinas.

Sam:

Thank you.

Bobby:

Anybody that's wants pictures or even video, dude, hit this guy up. He's so talented.

Sam:

Thank you, man. Thank you. So are you. I mean, obviously.

Bobby:

Cut.