Implementing Media into the Blue Collar Community to Optimize Growth for Contractors with Patrick Carr of Blue Collar Media Group

Jan 5, 2023

On this episode, Mike has on Patrick Carr of Blue Collar Media Group. Patrick, the founder, has built up his content company for blue collar trades, where he works firsthand with all his customers. He found a missing piece in the industry where contractors would make media content but not the RIGHT media content representing their brand and encompassing what they do. On top of this, he takes that media and optimizes it with his team of videographers and editors. 

Patrick and Mike go over being industry leaders, tactics for your business that you can implement right now that will excel it forward, and how you can set yourself up for a successful future with your brand. 

 

 

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ep 18 

They, they know they need to do content, but they don't know how, or they don't know what to start. You make videos about all the shit that people have asked you over the last five years, 10 years, 20 years. Put that up on YouTube and then just transcribe that and take those, the, the, the content of that video and throw it into your blog.

Weakness may sound and feel good in the moment, but it's not going to be something that pays you dividends in the long run.

Welcome back to another episode of Mission Drill podcast. I'm your Mike Digital Agency episodes proudly sponsored by Team Roofer. You help with roof measurements and clean and pristine proposals. Be sure to hit up the team at roofer today. We're with Patrick Carr. None other, the, the man, the myth, the legend.

What's up, brother? Man, I really appreciate you and your team having me on. Um, I think that you are making a positive impact on the blue collar community, um, with your attitude, with just your, your character. . So it's a real pleasure to be able to join you today. Thank you very much. Yeah. I'm equally ecstatic about having you on, and I, I feel very strongly that you're doing the same, so we align in that way and I am grateful for that as well.

So thanks for coming on. Absolutely. So Blue Collar Media Group, what do you guys do? Yeah, so I'll tell you this. There are two sides to my business. Blue Collar Media Group, uh, was established to help contractors with their content. I am not a media, or I should say not a marketing guru. Um, I'm not a marketing company.

We're a content company for blue collar trades, and we have been fortunate to work with roofers and restoration first party claims attorneys, because the fact is, and you see this with your agency, is that people, they, they know they need to do content, but they don't know how, or they don't know what to start.

And my job is to help bring out their story. so that people can fall in love with that company, not just from what they do, but their people, their values, their story behind it all. Um, and hopefully build some raving fans of those companies through great content. Month in, month out, we do a subscription.

So we go out to the business. Um, I don't believe in, you know, living in the ivory tower. I want people to truly meet the companies that we work with month in, month out and fall in love with them. Um, and then I have the podcast side with the Patrick Car Show, and that is about telling the story of entrepreneurship.

Um, it could be, you know, a roofing contractor. We've been doing small businesses. I had a, um, a repair shop that we did for cars. Um, I did a guitar shop last week. Um, building custom guitars. I just enjoy hearing the story that too often men in this country don't get a chance to tell because they don't think it's special.

They don't think it's unique. And my goal is to try to show that in a different light and hopefully be able to do it in a somewhat entertaining way. I think that's a good goal. for sure. Yeah. It's, there's um, there's no money. Like people think that there's no money coming at me from it. Now we've got some great sponsors on our show and you've got roof where I see on yours and, um, that helps to keep the lights on.

But the goal is not just to, to make money, the goal is to be able to have the funds to get out there and to sit down with somebody in Missouri or in Colorado and, and tell that person a story and hear what they've been through. Because I think that people feel they're alone. Like, oh, you know, I've been doing this for 10 years, whatever you're doing, and damn, I feel like I'm the only one.

No, you're not. A lot of people feel this and it feels good to know you're not the only one perhaps going through, um, that scenario in your business. Yeah, that's, uh, I mean, I couldn't agree more. I actually just wrapped up a podcast about 45 minutes ago, and we were talking about things like being vulnerable or even just engaging in that cathartic behavior and.

What's fulfilling for me is, like you said, the same thing is like people being able to have that conversation, because if you don't talk about it, there could be a million people in the same situation as you are eerily similar, but that sense of being alone in that moment, it's taxing on the soul. It makes your days very challenging.

And to know that other people are there with you and they're going through the same type of things, there's a certain relief I feel like that comes with that. So, yeah. That's amazing, dude. Well, I, I, I always say this and you, you used the word vulnerable, and I think this is something that a lot of business owners confuse.

Um, vulnerable is a good thing, you know, but setting yourself up to be for people to show empathy or sympathy towards you is something completely different. Um, you know, saying, Hey, listen, I've, I've, I'm going through something right now. Okay, get it. Three days later, you're asking for people to support you and the b blah, blah.

You're at that point, you're asking for sympathy, not vulnerability. and I think it's a fine line that business owners need to walk, um, and understanding which one is important in the moment that you're in. Mm-hmm. . Um, and I'd rarely tell my clients that weakness may sound and feel good in the moment, but it's not going to be something that pays you dividends in the long run.

People don't want to follow a weak person. They want someone who can handle their problems, handle their business, and get it done. And if you consistently show that you can't, cuz you're trying to be vulnerable all the time and open your doors and show people your problems, I think you're going to find that people don't look at you as the same leader as if you just handled your crap and move forward.

So I think there's this line with vulnerability that sometimes gets confused. Yeah, that's a really good distinction to make. And I, I think also vulnerability is going to have, obviously there's a definition of vulnerability, but the way people perceive it, I think there's a subjective nature of it where it's not always.

Let me reveal the most inner part of my being and which would compromise me potentially as the, through the lens of the people that I lead, but say like, you know, acknowledging that your business isn't perfect and this doesn't need to be on a podcast, right? This can be with a mentor or a coach. This could be with a competitor that you're, that you work harmoniously with, right?

And you guys going back and forth. And even opening up to that level of having that conversation to me would be like kind of a form of vulnerability, especially in blue collar where I don't think that a lot of guys, I think that there's a lot of people that could benefit from having those conversations, but won't make themselves vulnerable enough to acknowledge that there's an issue and there's a lot of opportunity for improvement within that.

Yeah. I didn't, however, ever really think about what you ta, what you had mentioned as far as like going down that road of vulnerability and how that can undermine you as a leader. That's fucking fascinating. That's a really good point. I'll take it a step further cause I'm on a big kick about this right now that I won't let go of and I'm, I plan on not letting go of it for a long time.

I think business owners right now who are highly involved in social media are making the huge mistake of confusing with themself that their questions that they put onto Facebook and groups and Instagram are trying, are doing to benefit their company. I don't believe that I see far too many stupid questions being put out there on Facebook groups.

What they're doing is they're aiming to ask stupid questions in order to get some kind of validity to themself. When 70 people put a comment that I guess makes them feel like, man, my question out there was good, no one's not. It's a dumb question. Go figure it out with people that truly you can trust and that care about your company.

Trusting 70 people with their comments. Cause you want to ask, what the best crm or how do I pay my employees? Or these kind of things that roofing contractors ask. , it is not benefiting you. It's showing that you don't know what the heck you're talking about. If you need to ask 70 people, how do you pay my employees my, if I'm your competition, I'm looking at that going, you don't even know how to pay your employees, bro.

And if you're asking 70 people with their comments, how they do their, their sheet, how do you know this person is successful? Instead, seek out and do a little bit of work. Find five people that have a business similar to yours. It's not very difficult. And trust those people. Mm. Put your, put your trust in that.

But in the effort to gain validity for themself because they otherwise need the attention and aren't getting it somewhere else. They're asking questions that they should already know as business owners. And if you don't, then find people around you that can answer 'em, rather than the guy five states over from you who could care less about your success.

Doesn't care if you and your family go hungry, doesn't care if you go outta business the next day, but you're continuing to ask for his validity. That makes absolutely zero sense to me. I, I just, I just can't see the benefit of doing so. . Why does this happen? Because men, in my opinion, there's a lot of insecurity men want to have in some level in this country right now.

Business owners want to have somebody and say, Hey, I get it. I'm with you. We're trying this thing together. They just want to feel relevant. Um, and so therefore they're asking questions and they're disguising their insecurity with, I just want to hear what people's responses are. I'm looking for something.

Give me feedback to me. What that's telling me is you're not looking for feedback. You're looking for someone to, to say, Hey, I'm here going through this too. I have an answer for you. We can start a dialogue cuz they don't know where else is exactly to turn. Um, and I think it's a real, it's a real shame, Michael, to tell you the truth.

It's a real shame, um, because it's not making them look like a better business owner. And I think they're, they're confusing as what kind of bringing it back to me, um, that vulnerability with insecurity. And that's a, that's a real tough place for a lot of people to be in. Wow. Yeah. That's a, that's a very interesting point.

So how would, how would someone in the moment delineate between a question, kind of along the vein of what you are talking about and then like maybe a question that is suitable for a group that isn't just attention seeking, um, or, or looking to for some sort of affirmation? Yeah, I, I would say you'd look at it and you'd go, okay, if I'm, if, if I'm looking for an answer to a question, because if that's going to benefit my company, not a poll, not trying to figure out, you know, do you guys like this part of accolades versus this part?

Okay. That's not gonna affect, I'm looking for maybe some feedback of maybe what I'm doing wrong with this plugin that I'm using. I get that. But if you're looking for something to, to benefit your company, you're looking for a, a platform to use a piece of technology. , you're, you're trying to figure out, should I do something or should I not?

A decision within my company, and you're asking random people for advice, then you're gonna get random answers. Um, and how do you distinguish between what's right and wrong without knowing that person's company, how long they've been in business? Do they care about you? Or maybe they're just putting on BS out there.

There's a lot of, unfortunately, malicious people in this world, and if I'm your competition, especially within the same state, and I see that, damn, that's it. That's, I, I just don't see how you're thinking you're gonna get the best advice possible, Michael. I just don't. Yeah, I agree. And e even, you know, there's tons of malice.

100%. There's malicious people and nefarious actors, but even for those people, Aren't acting maliciously. There's plenty of people that just don't know and they wanna be a part of the conversation right there. Like, there's a lot of people that are really fucking smart and know their shit, but there are a lot more that don't, I promise you.

And the ones that don't, they're not forthcoming a lot of the times that they don't know, but they're happy to lend their opinion as far as what should or shouldn't be done. Right? So true. I look at, you know, I think about that. I was talking with a, a, a group called She Roofing down here, Orlando today. We were at lunch earlier who I was with him this morning.

Um, and I pointed this out that there are so many fake people because this industry lends itself to it. For instance, somebody can walk out tomorrow and say, I got a $10 million company. I don't know any difference. I I don't have their books in front of me. There's not some, you know, publicly traded platform where we all can see what everyone's doing.

I don't know what's going on in that. . But if I just do a slight bit of work and I, I seek out somebody that another person tells me has helped them, they, they, I build a group of four to five guys around me. You've done a great job of this with marketing companies. You've got a good relationship with other marketing companies.

It seems like, like the hook agency guys and all that. You've got good people that you interact with, and I, I just don't think roofers and restoration professionals are doing an adequate job of finding good, solid people and they're therefore turning to Facebook groups and Instagram posts and YouTube videos for the answers to questions that come from people.

We have no idea if they're even successful at what they do. That hurts me. I want, I want people just to find a good group around them. People like yourself, if they have marketing questions that wanna understand more, not just a random group of people that they can call on. Yeah, that's, I mean, I, I couldn't agree more.

What, what really is like a, a knife through my heart is when I see guys asking like, legal advice on a Facebook group or tax advice. Another good one. Yes. And, and I'm like, you know, and I don't like to chime in because I don't want it to seem like I'm coming f being an asshole or coming from a place I hate, but it's like, man, if there's two areas of your business that you shouldn't go to a Facebook group for, I feel like tax and law are probably the two front runners.

Right. You know, pay a good attorney, pay an a very good accountant and get, get those answers from them. And, but to your point, right, even if you're not at the point, you know, maybe you're just starting out and you're just in the early, early days of your venture as a roofing or a contractor, um, in general, if you build out a network of people, like you said, that are vetted and that you can trust to where you can have a reciprocal relationship like.

Maybe that's a more appropriate question that you can lean on your network for some guidance. Like what have you done? But that implies that they've been there before, so they can actually give you qualified advice. Um, and that would be a good starting point. I would, I would push anybody who has questions about law and taxes to get with a cons, uh, professional.

Um, you know, but some of the, the, the less technical stuff, maybe somebody else can give you some guidance. Um, just don't ask it in a general Facebook group of 30,000 people. Yeah. You know, what is it? What is it? Uh, stupid Que some of play stupid games. Win stupid prizes, . Um, and so in this case right here, ask stupid questions, receive stupid answers.

Um, and, and stupid means it's just ignorant. You wouldn't do this in other parts of your life. The example I use Michael, is if you were a. and you're going through a problem with your wife, d you know, divorce is around the corner. Would you walk into a random group of 50 guys who are married and say, guys, give me advice without knowing if that guy have a successful marriage.

Right. Has he worked through these problems himself? But we do it differently for our businesses, although they're probably the thing that we love just as much as our significant other, we spend just as much time, if not more, with them. So if you wouldn't, that's the point I'm making here kind of round. I know it's been long-winded here, and I apologize to your viewers and you, but I, I wanna say that, think about that example.

You know, why am I going to random people? Why am I not seeking good solid help from marketing, from a, an ascend or someone? Really think about who's gonna be giving you these answers and why you're asking a question like that. Yeah, great point. And to digress for a moment, you say win plays stupid games, win stupid prizes.

I think of, I think I was 12 years old, I was at a carnival and there's that stupid fucking game where there's a basket and it's tilted at 45 degrees, and the Kearney hands you these bouncy balls and he shows you, he's like, all you gotta do is this. And he fucking flips it into the bucket. You get this big old prize, I wasted, I had like 45 bucks on me to my name, and I wasted every one of my fucking dollars and could not sink the shot.

Um, so that was a stupid game, and I didn't even win the stupid prize. Yeah. Yep. So look at that, man. Trust him. , don't fall victim. Be like caries and their tricks. All right. That's right, man. Shoot. I get that, bro. So why love it? Why is, why is content so important? Why, why, why, why? Well, I think then, you know, 20 years ago was less important because you could walk into someplace and you can shake hands with somebody and you could go to a conference.

now it's important because you have an opportunity to shake thousands of hands in a day. Millions, even if you've got a great piece of content and you can put it out there and shake their hand without ever having to leave your office, um, because you say something that spoke to somebody, you're digitally interacting and meeting with people and such a much more profound, and I don't wanna say quick, but it's just a more efficient way of doing business.

You can still go to the conferences and shake hands, but you're not gonna get as far as somebody who's willing to put out consistent content, vulnerable content at times, but that they are, they're now, they're out 10 xing, hundred xing thousand xing, what you're doing at a conference and you had to travel to get there.

It's just much more efficient. Yeah. Yeah. I always, I, I look at it like. If I'm a company, which I own a company and I care what other people, especially those in my target market, how they perceive my company, it's important to understand that opinions while they're formed, they're also malleable, right?

Like we can re reform them, they can be reshaped for better or for worse, right? Mm-hmm. and the type of content you put out, the frequency of the content that you put out will help move that perception and, and push the narrative that you want or should want. Yes. And there's not a better way to do that than video content, right?

like, oh yeah. It's uh, you don't have to be a brainiac, you don't have to have all the equipment. Um, you know, you've probably got the Sure mic right there. It looks like, you know, you've got, um, there you go. So, um, and those are great pieces of equipment, but you know, as well as I do that somebody who's authentic and takes a cell phone video and at least just does something, um, you can, you can have an impact on people.

Um, and sometimes you don't even know how many people you're reaching or the impact you may have. And I think, you know, I got a call from a guy the other day talking about content and um, he's like, you know, I've been doing testimonials with homeowners. It's not getting anywhere. I'm not getting the traction for it.

And I said, how many are you done? 2010, like six, seven, something like that. And I said, do a hundred more. You know, when people talk about podcasts, do 300 and then figure out, okay, where did I go wrong? But there's something to be said for content. The people that consistently do it. I love that. I love somebody that all the time does it over and over again.

Anybody can start doing it. Kudos to you. You keep up with this thing and bring in great guests, you know, as well as I do. Most people give up after two to three weeks. They figure out this is a lot harder than what it's seen, . Um, you gotta edit this stuff. You've gotta find time for it, the guests for it, you've gotta.

Prepare for it. Um, and so content is extremely important, but the people who do it consistently are gonna be the ones who win, not the people who are looking for the flash in the pan and the immediate ROI on one video. Yeah, those are, those are awesome points, man. I, uh, you know, you think back to Joe. I watched Joe Rogan's first podcast yesterday, and the quality of that thing was fucking dog shit.

It was an absolute shit show. Couldn't get the qual, like it was shitty quality if it were to be ran optimally, but they had all sorts of issues with it, and they're troubleshooting it on there and it's like, it's just a testament to what you said, right? Like, , don't be paralyzed by the fact that you are not amazing on camera.

You don't have the best equipment, right? Like those things are, it's okay. Like people will still, in fact, we did. I, I was down in Florida two years ago, a year and a half ago. I shot some drone content, uh, had it chopped up for one of my clients. His content up on a roof with a fucking selfie on like an iPhone eight performed way better on Facebook than that piece of dope content that we shot.

So it's okay. People like that authenticity, right? Like it doesn't have to be 4K perfect sounding. Um, it's all right. Just do it and keep doing it. And rate at the time you want to fucking quit, double down on it. Right. Bite down on your mouth guard and fucking keep it going, dude. I mean, I love what you say there, you know.

Well, I mean, here's the thing. You do a shit ton of content. Like I have a full-time editor in-house. She chops up reels and puts 'em everywhere because, and it sucks, dude. Like when I go into YouTube and I see that, like this YouTube shorts got seven views from three days ago like that. It's discouraging, right?

It is. But I'll also have one that'll pop with 4,000 views, right? Mm-hmm. . And you know what? I am gonna fucking inundate their algorithm with content and we're gonna test different things to see how their algorithm responds to it. And uh, you know, we're gonna take this bitch right here, the mission control from 600 downloads to 6 million.

It's just a matter of how long it's gonna take, and we're gonna keep pushing the needle. and I, I think you make a good point there. You know, you, if you got four views, then you push, you got another one that gets 4,000. I've told my clients that when you want to give up, know, that's when most people do. . So when your view gets four and you go, I don't wanna do this stuff anymore, this is, fuck this, I don't wanna do this stuff.

That's exactly when 99% of people will go enough. You just, you just pushed past 99% right there. Now you're dealing with a smaller group of people who are willing to do more. And if you want to keep on doing it, there'll be these points that you're like, I could just focus on my business. I don't wanna do this anymore.

And then you push back past another and your, your pool gets smaller and smaller, the people that you're really competing against. And I think that's when you get really excited. Like, I'm not giving up, I just beat 99 out of a hundred today. Cuz that's when most people will. Um, and that's the motivation that keeps on going in my head.

Yeah, I, I love the way you put that. It's almost like, I mean, you look like you may have worked out once or twice, right? Like that pushing every, make it through, push it through that last rep, right? That, that to failure rep, right? Yeah. There's immense gains there. Getting up out of bed, getting to the gym just to keep.

So I've always talked to people and I mean, you're in far better shape than me, but I work out pretty consistently. And it's like, dude, there will be days that I don't want to go and I'll just, I'll go and you could call it half-assing it. I'll get a workout in. It won't be the optimal training day, but you wanna know what, we kept the fucking momentum going.

We showed up, we got there . Um, that's sometimes how content is yes for businesses that you just showed up. Um, and you, as I say, you live to die another day. Um, and you got out there, you did what you needed to do and then tomorrow you'll improve. You pushed through what is the workout exam. No one ever says, man, I really regretted that workout.

Uh, they did it and they felt good about it, better about it. Um, and I think that's how, you know, sometimes putting out a piece of content can be, well, you know, I did it today. The video wasn't very good, but I talked about a customer and we did what you need to do. Good for you. Take them, take that moment and say, I did more than what most would do.

most would've just hung it up. Most would've made an excuse. Um, but as a business owner and an individual, I didn't do that. And I think there's something extremely powerful and gratifying in that. Fuck yeah. Fuck yeah. What, how do you structure, so you, you're on Blue Collar media group. You guys go on a retainer and you do monthly content.

Like what does that typically look like for a contractor? Depending on where it's at, it's somewhere around $6,000. Uh, and then that's, you know, every month what that does is we come out to your business, we do a pre-production call, and we figure out what we need to focus on that month. You know, maybe they're, you're doing roof rejuvenation right now.

You're working with like an ugly roof, let's say. Okay, well you need some ad videos and you need to make sure that people in your market know what you're doing. So let's start making some videos. This maybe a couple of them. We'll run a couple of them for you or you'll run 'em. Um, maybe you've got a couple of employees who have done a really great job and you wanna highlight your employees.

You've got a Christmas party. Want us to here? So all of this stuff, Um, we, we figure out what we need to do and then we show up in a week and a half. We get everything down on our videos in one day. So we're, we're eight hours of footage. We come back to the office here and next door. They're doing this right now.

We're breaking that content into short form pieces, and then we're delivering those short form pieces approximately every other day across their social media, website, whatever they'd like us to do. We're branding that company with their own people, and they don't have to give us every day of your time.

We need one full day of your time and for the rest of the month. You don't have to think about your content. It's being delivered to you without you now to do anything. So we're building the brand for that individual. It's not easy. That's why I had to get away from it, because I'm gonna tell you, there's only 20 work days in a month, and if I'm going out there to your business, that limits me to 20 clients.

Um, and I wanted to grow something that would be more impactful, and that's how we started to change and focus also on the, uh, on the podcast and growing that too. because I need to be able to, to maximize, you know, our input, maximize our, um, ability to touch people out there. And I didn't think 20 companies was gonna be enough.

Hmm. Yeah. And for anyone that's listening, that's like, man, $6,000 is a lot. I, I would encourage you to go shoot eight hours of content somewhere and then hop in a editing platform and

ah, that shit is whew man. Oh man. And so here's what people pay me for is most of the time we're not getting paid to be a videographer. We have great videographers on the team. What they're paying us for and what they're paying me to be there for is to go, this ain't gonna work. Or, okay, there's something here.

We need to make this, I know what's gonna work for 'em. Cause I've done it right, hundreds and thousands of times now for contractors. So I can look at it and go, okay, in my repertoire, we tried this two months ago and this ain't gonna work. , we need to re, we need to retool this thing. Just like they pay you, they don't pay Ascend to do, you know, digital marketing let's, they pay for your expertise right in that area, you know, the market.

Um, and so I know the, the blue collar like you do. And so from a content perspective, I'm able to work with digital agencies and marketers to go, okay guys, here's what I was going for in this video. Here's how I think it can be used. You know how to make that happen, but this is what the client wants out of it.

So we become a team with that marketing agency to get good content together with good marketing, and hopefully that builds the brand by more and more eyeballs. Yeah, that's a good strategy. Where do you find that they have most success when deploying that content? Well, in my opinion, the thing that everyone's missing right now is the power of YouTube.

Business owners between 35 and 45 have been told for the last 10 years, social media, Facebook, Instagram ads. They've been told. Gary V has preached that for a long time people saw that. , they're not understanding the power of YouTube right now and how to use content on YouTube. So I tell people this, go, why not just figure out the 20 questions that most of your customers ask?

Create a short three minute video titled exactly what that question is. What's the difference between three tab and architectural shingle Patrick Car explains. And I would go in and put that in there into my YouTube repertoire, along with 19 other short form videos. And then I would go in and put a few dollars behind it and geofenced that video to your five mile radius as our Joe Hu Joseph Hughes says, can't wait.

Hopefully one day I can find a good saying like this, be five mile fence. I not famous. Yeah, it's a great saint. I steal it all the time. Um, but imagine then what happens is, it's so cool, Michael, and you know this, you start to get a snowball effect where somebody in your community, because you put some dollars behind it, starts to see that ad.

Well, they watch it. Your watch time goes up and now other videos and start to appear within your close to your business. And people begin to look at you as the authority. in roofing or in flooring or in first party claims or whatever you do. But if you don't put the answers out there, they're going to find the answers from someone else.

Why shouldn't it be you? And if you believe you're the best at what you do, aren't you, shouldn't you be the one answering their questions? And if, and if you don't have that much confidence in yourself, no matter what content you put out, your business ain't gonna survive. Go work for someone else. Right.

Right. But I, I'm so passionate right now about YouTube because I think that so many people are focused on the Instagram, Facebook side or LinkedIn. They're neglecting YouTube because they don't understand the back end of YouTube. And it's not tough. You just have to learn. And trial and error. We are still learning all every day.

Yeah. Yeah. But you can, you can make a real darn good dent in it by just getting 20 questions together and starting with videos that answer. . That's what I'm hot on. Yeah. I mean, I, dude, that's a drum. I've been banging as far as like the FAQs, um, whether it's social media, whether it's YouTube, like in the specific sense, like YouTube, I, I agree.

It's the second largest search engine in the world behind Google. It's owned by Google. Right? Uh, there, there's tons of opportunity there and a lot of guys, like when they talk about, you know, what can I do? Most, most roofers aren't going to be in my target market because we work with like aggressively growth minded roofers.

And like, that's fine. And that's why I create the YouTube as a resource for all of those that do fit in. But even all of those that don't, right. The 99% that don't fit into being a, a partner for us at that time. Right? And it's like, what can I do to, to help my organic, to help my SEO on my own? That's a really fucking good place to start.

You make videos about all the shit that people have asked you over the last five years, 10 years, 20 years. Put that up on YouTube and then just transcribe that. Let, let YouTube transcribe that and take those, the, the, the content of that video and throw it into your blog. Throw a picture, embed the YouTube clip into the top of the blog post.

Shoot a quick video about the blog post, right? Maybe you've got two videos in that blog post. Like that's the type of shit that will help you from an organic perspective that's not really gonna cost you anything. Um, nothing. That's really good advice, dude. Thank you for sharing that. Yeah, I appreciate it, man.

And you know, I know you're backing that up. I've heard you talk about it before. So I love the blog idea. I think what people truly, what I've seen out there in the field is everybody knows what they should do. They're like, I know I should pay more attention to YouTube. I know I should be running ads.

Well, why aren't you? Eh, I don't know. And then what I look at people and say is, yeah, you do. You just don't wanna be real about it. The real reason you don't is cuz you're insecure. That's the reason cuz you're afraid of what the judgment of others is gonna be, and you're unwilling to admit that to yourself or to your employees.

And when you get real about that, what what'll happen is that you, it takes away some of that power that has over you when you stand in front of your employees. This is the vulnerable I like, and I see a business owner go, guys, I want you to know you're gonna be seeing some videos come out this week. I'm working with Patrick over there, and they ain't gonna be good

I know you're gonna wanna gimme a hard time and you can, but we are going to, I'm committed to doing this and you're gonna be too. We're all gonna do a one testimonial from every four people that you close. And I don't like doing this and you're not gonna like doing it. But that's time that I lead as a leader and show you how valuable this can be to our company.

That's real leadership right there. I'm not good at it. I know you are not good at it. We're gonna learn this thing together and we're gonna, we're all gonna be committed to this thing. What is that called? Like servant leadership type thing? I'm doing it first. Um, and they let go of that. I'm, I'm so nervous.

What are people gonna think? We don't sound good. We don't look good. B, b ba, ba, ba. Um. . I, I think that people do really well to be real with themselves while they're not doing it. And I think let go of that. Let let it, like, you know, move past it. Don't let it have that control over you. Yeah. That's, that's brilliant.

I gotta tell you, you know, people are like, oh, come so easy to you, Mike, you, you do this and I love your content. I'm like, dude, let me tell you something. The first time I turned on a camera, like, I don't know, six months ago to start creating content, I was a fucking hot mess. All right? And I'm still not great.

I'm getting, I'm, I'm, I'm working on getting better every day and I still think I got a long way to go. But where I'm at now is markedly better from the first time I turn that camera on and like, I'm typically like an extroverted person. I'm outgoing, but I just fucking froze up. And I, my first video I made was like eight minutes.

I shot it like 30 times. Cause I didn't realize. How editing worked and that I could . Yeah. I get to four and a half minutes and I'm like, motherfucker, I gotta, now I gotta redo this. It's like, um, so, but you'll learn, right? Like you learn through those repetitions. It's all good. Ab Absolutely. And that people compare themselves constantly, you know, and that's, that's too, that's too bad.

Um, I mean, if you truly believe that Gary V jumps on and just does it that way all the time, you're crazy. Right? Um, and they don't understand the tricks of editing. I'll give an example here. You know, if you would want to bypass one of those mess-ups, oftentimes people will throw in like some b-roll over it, you know, a picture of something and you don't see that they just switched the video right there.

You just hear the sound and it sounds like it flows. Um, but if you don't edit, if you're not involved in that world, you constantly believe that everybody else has a, um, the ability to formulate and throw together sentences that are, that are so engaging and all this, you're not seeing, it takes 'em 15 times to get it right.

Right. Um, you only see the finished product and. , I would encourage people to, to try it themself and see how, how empowering it can be to not let that have its control over you and how successful it can be and how, how it can change your outlook and change your business. It's, uh, it doesn't cost you anything.

Yeah, that's a, that's a really good point. And the fucking tricks of editing, right? There's some magicians out there. It's great. Damn right. Just do it. Do, do all the shit that you, that you don't wanna do and you'll likely land in a place that you want to be. Right. It's mm-hmm. and, and getting on video is one of them.

What, what is one of the, the biggest mistakes that you see from a content perspective for those that are doing content for their business? Stop introducing yourself and your company in the video and what, I fucking do it all the time. . Me too. I, um, now I tell people that in the beginning and when I work with them, you're gonna need to do it because it's gonna get you comfortable leading into the video.

but I'm probably gonna get rid of the intro. So just so you know and edit, I'm probably gonna get rid of your, Hey, this is Patrick Carr with Blue Collar Media Group. Today I wanna talk to you about how to make engaging content, or, or if I'm scrolling through a feed, you lost me. Um, you've gotta have a hook in there that's gonna catch an individual, especially when you're a roofing contractor.

Just roofing ain't sexy, right? Um, it's boring. So you better show me something that's gonna catch my attention the first three seconds or I'm gone. Um, and but going into something like that is very difficult for people, right? Because they need that first sentence to get 'em, okay, now I'm, I'm here. Get the impressive I'm it going

Yeah, and I get that, but I'm gonna go ahead and delete the first part of it. So I'm, I'm just telling you'd say what you want. Um, and, and I think that's where the mistake that I see most often. Um, if you're trying to create something that's gonna grab attention. So what should the opening be? What should they just lead with?

A quick hook. If I'm a roofing contractor and I'm talking about roof rejuvenation, what should my, what should my hook be to grab your attention? . I would say something like you, I would say, let's see your roofing debt. Millions. So, alright, average roof in Florida costs $17,500. If you don't have that in the bank right now, then listen to what I'm about to say.

Um, and then I'd go right into what it is. You don't have 17,500 insurance companies in the state of Florida are paying less and less claims, but you want your roof to last and your family deserves that. I I'm here to introduce you to roof rejuvenation. That's right. You can rejuvenate your roof. You don't need to repair it, you don't need to replace it, rejuvenate it.

We'll show you how to take more life outta your roof for a fraction of the cost of a full roof replacement. You, you click the link below, I'll have somebody tell you you can do it and you can save thousands. Get in touch with us. Something like that. Clear, concise to the point. I fucking like it, dude.

It's a great hook. It's like, it's almost like, it's almost like you've done it before. And maybe a few times . Um, but no. So that's how, that's what I think. I think getting the, getting the hook, um, in the beginning is key, I think. And then, but also not making a click bait. I struggle with this. If you're gonna hook somebody, make sure you actually have something that is valuable to them.

If I'm gonna hook you with that, right, that'll piss somebody off. What do you mean? Where did this go? I thought you were asking me about money. This is now. Whatever this is, this is the one I thought it was gonna be. Um, so not making a click baby. I think it's important too. Yeah. There's a, it's, it's challenging, right?

Because, you know, people respond to good thumbnails and it's like, oh yeah, how are, yeah, because you don't wanna evoke that negative reaction when somebody clicks through. Now they're disappointed because it's not everything they had hoped for. And it's like, well, if my click-through rate dog shit, because I don't make a really sweet, uh, you know, sweet thumbnail, then what?

And it's like, what about the descript? Yeah, it's, yeah, I get it. I struggle with it too. It's all good, . Yeah, but we're learning, you know, everybody is, I mean, and your mistakes help your clients. Right? That's what I love about what you're doing because you get out there and you do it and you're like, well that didn't work for me.

Then you can turn around to your clients and go, listen, I've been trying this, it doesn't work guys. Right. Or that we could improve it this way. And you know that cuz you've done it. Right. Um, and so I think there's lessons to be learned in just creating No doubt, no doubt about it. So, I mean, before you had your podcast, before you had Blue Collar Media Group, like, I mean, were you always a content enthusiast?

Where, like what was your story in the former part of your life? I hated, I hated social media in the former part of my life. until couple. I mean, truly, I went the, the year before I started Blue Collar Media Group. Um, personally, let me say this, back up. Two years before I started, I went a year and a half without making a post on social media.

I, it wasn't. I didn't want anything to do with it. I didn't like what it represented. Um, I was working for a funding company, um, funding insurance claims. Mm-hmm. and I unfortunately got involved with a company that didn't have the funding to do the funding. And so it was robbing Peter to pay Paul. We became no better than the insurance companies cuz they were looking for a ACV checks to come in and then we were gonna fund the rcv on the back end.

And so, you know, basically you didn't have to chase down your money. It was kind of like what Captain or some of these others are trying to do right now on funding companies. Well, when I learned that we, we weren't paying and the time like we said we were gonna do, um, and I was seeing there were problems with people's paychecks, including mine and the leadership.

I quit, um, and had no idea what I was gonna do. I was $50,000 in credit card debt. Zero do, when I say $0, I have a snapshot or of my, of my bank account. Zero is across the board. Um, and I just remember putting my hands in my face and what am I gonna fucking do? What am I gonna do? . Um, and uh, the person I was dating at the time told me the same thing.

They said, what are we doing man? And I just said, I can't go on just for a paycheck. Telling people things are gonna get better and they're not. Um, and so I called up every client that we had, that I worked with, um, I'm happy to say every single one of them, and talked to them extensively about what was happening, what I think they should do, how they're gonna regain their money.

Um, cause they had invested within me. I was the face of it. Um, and the way that I had built that is by running social media ads. Cuz I thought we need to reach a national audience. Let me just learn. I was so fortunate that two companies that you worked with said, you know what, pat, yeah, they screwed us over, but you didn't.

But can you do for that company or do for us what you did for that company across social media? Teach us how to do that. Um, and so I began to do it my first, my first contractor I worked with in Jacksonville, Florida. And I remember I didn't have any money. I had no cameras. I had never edited a video before.

I had never shot with a camera before. I had, I'd had a videographer that did that for me previously, but I couldn't pay him. I had no idea what I was gonna do, but here I am, showing up to them on $4,500 contract at that time with no equipment. And I'm a media company, blue collar media group. formed three days, four, four days before that.

Um, I walked in and the guy, I won't say the company's name, but if you listen to this, he would know I walked in my cell phone. He is like, where's your, like, do you have any equipment? Like, who are you with? , you, you don't even have a shirt. You got no brand? Like, what the hell? And I walked in my cell phone, I said, listen, how I like to do these contracts in the beginning and how I previously did it with my customers is I always like to teach you how to do everything from your phone, teach your sales reps.

And I call it a social selling course if you wanna know the truth. So this will be my opportunity to get your sales reps involved with content on their phone and how to edit and, and do it. The real reason is cuz I had no other option. I never edited on a video. All I knew how to do was edit on my phone through a couple apps that I downloaded a few days before.

Um, fortunately they found some value in it. They gave me a $4,500 check at the end of the day, which they didn't know most of it went to fixing my car. That broke down on the way, which has a whole other thing. So try to get an Uber from a rest stop on I four or on that time, 95. I'm sorry. Um, not fun. So that allowed, I bought one camera used and I brought one lens, which was the wrong lens to buy, but I, I never bought a camera in my life.

I had no idea what lens is, how they worked. Um, and, you know, the rest of the money kept the lights on at the time and we were able to build from there. Whew. So act as if, right. . That's amazing. That's all I can do. Yeah. And it's, it's, that's, that's an experience. And I remember it, and at the time it wasn't very fun.

Um, I remember asking myself, I said, what are you doing, pat? You're a fraud man. I mean, no one's gonna find value in this bs. Um, because there wasn't a podcast I had nobody I could fall back on. Or, you know, when you have success and you're able to look at it and go, okay, but I did this before. I had never done it before.

I didn't, nobody that did know how to do it. Um, but, you know, over the next couple of months I learned how to edit, learned everything I could about cameras, and thank God I did because there's nothing better than a, than an owner of a company who knows how to do the job himself. Um, and the people who work for you appreciate somebody that's done it.

And if you're an owner out there, then if you don't know a certain part of your business, you're probably getting taken advantage of in that park. Um, and I, I believe that when somebody tells you that takes this long to do this on a roof and you're not sure, cuz you haven't done it in 10 years, or you haven't worked extensively with that product, then you should probably know that they're probably not telling you the truth.

Not because they're a bad person, but because you don't know any better. And you wanna make sure that you know your business as well, if not more than the people that you've hired and that are, that have your name across their chest. . Um, and so it helped me to know from the ground up, how long does it take to, to, I don't know, edit a video.

If I hadn't edited before, I'd have no idea. Um, but fortunately now, you know, we've got a base that I'm able to work off of after doing the company myself for, you know, well over a year with no help. Jesus. Yeah. I feel, man, I, I mean, when I brought my, I've got two cameras. I'm looking at one right now, and I went and bought a second one.

So when I have people in office in my little studio here. Yeah. And I, I don't even know how I'm gonna do it once it happens. Um, they're like, well, no, you don't run it through Riverside. You put a sound card in your, in your whatever, the fucking mixer and you do the, I'm like, Adam, I'll hopefully I'll be able to pay somebody when, when the time comes and they can set it up for me.

It was, uh, dude, trying to figure out, like, if you've never done like a podcast, like try, like I deal in Google searches all fucking day, like, and I'm searching. Like how to set up a podcast, uh, studio. And it's like, dude, I couldn't find the information I needed. I searched it a million different ways and I bought a couple wrong things, but I bought this Sony Alpha 73 camera and it seems to do the job, but they're like, you know what, what, what lens do you want it?

I'm like, I don't fucking know one that's gonna make me not look like an asshole. Like one that'll be kind of focused in, and they're like asking me a bunch of questions I don't have answers to. It's very overwhelming. . Well, I use the same cameras. I look at 'em like the Bud Light of cameras. It's good.

They'll get the job done in about any setting. They're great cameras. I use the same ones. Yeah, the A seven three s are great. Um, but people, as you know, man, they will, they will get bogged down by that kind of stuff. Like, I don't know how to create com. I don't even know what camera to buy. Uh, you know what?

Heck with it moving on. I don't have time to go learn cameras so I don't have time. Then just use your phone, man. Yeah. Like you can, once you get a little into it, it becomes kind of fun, but. . And if you're just beginning, you got a cell phone in your hand due with 4K capabilities. That new one on the iPhone fourteens insane.

Um, and I think it's a powerful thing. Just work with what you got. Yeah. A hundred you guys. And you could go back to the Ascend Digital Agency YouTube channel. Like the first couple dozen that we shot were on cinematic mode without an external mic. Right. Literally with a fucking tripod sitting right in front of my face.

Mm-hmm. . And I had people ask me like, dude, your quality's great. Like, what are you using for a mic? I'm like, the fucking internal mic on my iPhone 14, or at that time was the 13. And even that cinematic mode was really good. Um, yeah, you asked a question earlier about being comfortable in front of a camera.

What I do sober October each year, and along with doing sober October, what I do is I try to challenge myself with a daily task that hopefully will make me better. I'll give you an example. Um, one year I decided that I was gonna do something like take a hike or go canoeing. I picked activities each day that I normally wouldn't do.

Um, this particular year. I wanted to become better at being in front of a camera. And I said, well, what is gonna do that? How can I do 31 days of something that I can be committed to? And now here's the way I thought. This is only two years ago, by the way. Um, and I said, I'm gonna take my shirt off in front of the camera each night.

I'm gonna put a neck tie on and I'm gonna call this 31 days a time. Makes sense. And what I was gonna do is try to take difficult things to talk about in the news, and I was gonna talk about 'em with, with no shirt and a tie on. And I thought to myself, one, I hate the vanity of it, which means I'll, I'll be way outta my comfort zone doing that.

I'll receive a lot of negative comments too. But if I can do that, then come November 1st. If I can put on a polo, look halfway decent and talk about something within my industry, ain't nothing gonna be nothing gonna stop me. Not a negative comment. I've already been passed that a hundred times over the month before.

Um, and that's how I became better at it. A random thing to talk about for eight. , and you can look at my Instagram. It's about, I don't know, two months ago I saw one of the first videos I ever did and I decided to repost it two years back. Um, and it was all about how the, how the worst thing you can put on your car, those stick figure families

Um, and literally just a rant about that for, I don't know, four minutes. Um, and I got a lot of negative comments. Uh, who are you do douche bag, you know, meathead bull da blah blah, cool. Close it and moved on my life. Um, and so that's how I started in the content world, was literally doing that. Become better in front of a camera, the biggest growth's gonna take place, and those really uncomfortable situations.

So to, to do something like that, I could see how that'd be uncomfortable and I could, uh, dude, that's amazing. That's, that's a very strategic way to go about actualizing what you were trying to accomplish. I don't think that a lot of people would think of doing something like that. Yeah. The one I did this year, man, is I have a problem with no.

in my life. I don't ask for what I want because I I'm scared of No. Um, and I knew that about myself and I found a lady, a Yale professor who does a hundred days of, no, we broke it down to 31. And what you do is you go out each day and you seek the answer no for something that's way out there. I'll give you an example.

Walk into Starbucks, order your coffee and ask them, well, listen, the only way I want this is if I can go behind the counter and make it, can I make my own coffee? No, you can't do that. Then follow it up. Well, listen, I've got a terrible le allergic reaction. Oftentimes I'd love to at least be back there and make the coffee with someone just quickly to, to just to make sure I'm gonna be safe.

Okay. Um, well, can you stand here at the counter now? Did I get exactly what I wanted? No, but I, this thing that I thought would've been impossible, like they, obviously they're gonna say no. I came pretty darn close. Mm-hmm. . Um, and if you can train yourself to go, okay. I'm going to hear No, you're oftentimes surprised how much you'll hear.

Yes. . I walked into publi to our local grocery store, $60 worth of groceries, people behind me and said, I need to get these for free. Um, why do you not have the money? No, I have the money. Um, but I really would mean a lot. The people called over a manager brought me to the side. I got 25% off my groceries.

Now I ended up giving them, I believe you, I didn't take it. I'm on Douch. . I gave the money back and whatever. I explained to him what I was doing. Alright, but would people think you could get 25% off your groceries randomly just by asking? I'd say probably not. But so many people are afraid to hear. No, me included.

It was my activity to say, get past your own stuff, Patrick. Be okay with hearing no, most of the time. But man, 20% of the time your your butt can get a yes. Right? So why don't you just take a chance? Um, so little things like that, man, sober October and, and, and kind of aligns with some, some growth. Shoot your shot.

Take it, man, shoots your shot, no one else is gonna shoot it for you. Yeah. Um, that's, that's interesting. So when did, when did you become aware of your trepidation of hearing? No. Was that something you've always had and you were always aware of? Or was there a particular instance that brought that out and shine some light on it?

Yeah, women, that's my problem. Mm-hmm. , um, you know, I think that a lot of guys, like for me, I would be looked at as like, oh, may I, pat, you're in shape. You're a decent looking guy, you can string together a few sentences. You have no problem with girls. And people say that to people, you know, like you, you're a good looking guy.

Your hair looks amazing. You run a successful company. Um, maybe people would look at you and go, you can have anybody you want. But my life wasn't going that way. And I was like, why don't I have a woman in my life that I'm proud of? I mean, everyone's telling me I should, I shouldn't have a problem. And it was because I, I finally found out that I'm only approaching women when I drink, or maybe when I was doing drugs or some stuff like that.

Um, and in my day-to-day life, I was too afraid to hear the answer no. Mm-hmm. because it would mess up my ego. And I'm like, man, pat, this is having an effect on other parts of your life. You're not in business, you're not in meetings asking for what you want, cuz you're afraid you're gonna hear no. So unless it's a lay down, you're getting screwed over, you're screwing yourself over.

Right. I get emotional right now just thinking about it. Um, and so I wanted to just try to step out of that comfort zone so hopefully I could be better in my life, better for employees and may maybe find somebodys significant that I could be proud of. Um, and uh, so that's really what it was. It was women that opened my eyes to it.

I think that's uh, well, well thank you for sharing that cuz I'm sure it's not easy to share that. And, uh, thanks for the compliment on my hair, obviously. Appreciate that as well. Um, I, you know, I think that that's a far more pervasive issue than, than what people would think. Um, and I think that it definitely manifests itself in that type of situation.

Um, especially with women. I mean, I've gone out with plenty of my friends who if they're not on the sauce, you, you would, you wouldn't think they were capable of doing anything other than just spitting out a random stream of consciousness. But they get a couple shooters in them, and I mean, they turn into fucking Don won, right?

Jimmy Deane, like, whatever. It's like, it's wild, but it, y you're right. It, it comes back to man, you don't want to hear no, because you have an ego. You don't want that ego hurt. I mean, we've all been there, right? In some degree with something. Um, yeah, dude. Yeah. That's fucking profound. And you've managed to work through that?

Yeah, somewhat. I, I mean, I still struggle, um, which is why some, uh, like when I look at the podcast that I do, Some of that is strategic in that I normally wouldn't have a conversation with some of the guests that I've had on. I got a guy named Brian Hesson last Friday, which we'll come out with it this week.

His podcast runs extremely successful company. Um, and I normally wouldn't be a guy that I talk to, but what the podcast allows me to do is to approach it from a mutually beneficial place. I can have a conversation with you and do something for you, and you want to have the conversation with me to further your brand.

Now I get a chance to, to have conversations without the podcast I normally wouldn't have, cuz I might be afraid to personally put myself out there. Um, it makes me better at it. Um, and so there's a little bit of that. I'm hiding my deficiency by, you know, doing something else, by showing a different part of myself.

But I still know the deficiency is there. I'm, I'm well aware of it. I'm, I'm, I'm definitely am self-aware enough to know what's there. . Yeah. Self-awareness is so crucial in life. Um, and something that you, it's weird. It's something you always gotta be focused on. And so is being self-aware. What makes you say, like in that particular instance, why don't you think that somebody like Brian you would typically connect with outside of the, the podcast?

Hmm. I guess I was gonna be honest with you. I feel as though I don't have enough self-worth, um, to, to talk to somebody maybe cuz I don't feel like I've done it as I'm walking through this in my head with you. Some people that are very successful in business, I'll give another example. Jason, um, an owner of a company called Eustis Roofing.

Uh, they were roofer of the year, um, from Dimitri Lap Penske's group last year with, along with, uh, Martin Petta Group from, uh, from Monarch over there. Yep. I would've never have started a conversation with Jason without the podcast. . And then I went and I sat down with the guy and he is like, man, I followed your content.

I watch it all the time and you know what's going on in the roofing industry. And I thought to myself, I'm like, man, I wouldn't have talked to this guy. He's got a 50 million company. That's not me. Um, and I think that I struggle with the fact of, I, here it is, I'm, now, I'm thinking about this. Perhaps I struggle with people that I feel have done more, even though I feel like one day I'll get there.

Like I haven't gotten there yet. So I don't have the right to question what you are doing, even if it's in a friendly way to try to bring value. Um, but the podcast has allowed me to get out of that and to just, especially cuz it's grown a little bit to approach somebody with, Hey, I can offer you this.

When in reality what it is, it's soap therapeutic for me to get me outta my comfort zone I normally wouldn't even do. Um, so maybe it's cuz I feel like I haven't done it, I haven't accomplished it yet. I don't have the right to yet. Um, Hmm. I could see like, that makes sense as you walk me through that, like the rationale and the logic behind it.

I could see why you'd feel that way. You have a lot of people that listen to your stuff, man. Mm-hmm. . Yeah. And, and value that. So I, I think, you know, it's, God, don't feel that way. You're killing it, man. , I'm walking. It's a, it's a fair question that you ask and not want, I'm, I'm, I'm literally this off the cuff right there, thinking about it.

And man, maybe I need, and believe me, I'm gonna go some thought to that after this. But, um, that's the first time I've really thought about it in that perspective. So I appreciate you asking the question. Yeah, no doubt. What, uh, I, I wanted to mention one thing we just mentioned a minute ago. Sure.

Self-awareness. I think it's important for, if you know, if I'm asking my wife, there's difference between self-awareness, which people have, and emotional intelligence. I think a lot of people are emotional intelligent, meaning that they can yell at an employee and then after they get done yelling at their employee can go, damn, I shouldn't have done that.

That was way outta line. I'm gonna go apologize tomorrow when I get back to the office. That in of itself is emotional intelligence. You're intelligent enough, you made a bad decision. Self-awareness is being in the moment with that employee knowing you want to yell, stopping it because you have previous experience to build on being strong enough and self-aware enough in the moment, and then making a different decision in the moment.

And so I think those are two things that are confused. You want self-awareness and emotional intelligence, but I find a lot more people are emotionally intelligent because being self-aware is a lot tougher, um, to be able in the moment, change the way you were speaking or acting or to the decision you're making in the moment, you know, and then adjust right there.

So I would just say that about self-awareness versus the emotional intelligence side. Bear with me as my small brain processes this. So I agree with that. The only thing that I think would, that I would differ a little bit in my opinion would be you can be self-aware and make the mistake. Now, if you consistently make that same mistake and you consistently take that out to yell at an employee and you lack that discipline in the moment, then I think it becomes the emotional intelligence thing.

But I think that like, you know, you can, you can be self-aware looking retrospectively and still make that mistake. But again, if you continuously make that same mistake, I don't think that that's self-awareness. Does that make sense? It does. I think what you're say, what I would say that I would build off that and say if you've never had the experience before, much tougher to have self-awareness.

Cause you've never had something to build off of. Like you're saying, if you keep on doing it. But if you've had a situation like that before and you're still not self-aware enough to stop, then I would even say you're probably lacking emotional intelligence if you're real with yourself. Um, you may, you may tell yourself you're sorry, but are you really, if you keep on doing it?

Um, but I think yeah, if you've had the situation to build off of, it makes self-awareness a much easier. Um, and I think that's really cool. Um, when I meet somebody who's got great self-awareness. Yeah, no doubt. It's, it's fucking tough. Just like anything that requires discipline, right? Like self-awareness.

It's, it's easy not to be aware of oneself and hold oneself accountable. And I know that those are a bit different, but, uh, those are two characteristics that are incredibly refreshing when, when you capture somebody that has those, like, I can't agree more. What, cool. Do you have any, are there any like exercises or things that you engage in that help you develop.

your ability to, whether it's be a better, be a better podcast or be a better business owner, be more emotionally intelligent, be more self-aware, like what are things that you do to develop yourself that you find helpful? Yeah. I do this, I do this activity once a week. Um, I suggest do it on Sunday if you can, whatever, beginning of your week.

Anytime you just pick and be, be, be good with it. 5 55 rules what I say. So what I do is I take this, they take the camera here and I put it in front of me and I will talk for five minutes about a subject that I just want to talk about to myself. This is only, you're gonna be the only one who sees this.

And so I get done and I press end, and then what I do is I go put the phone down and I put play and I listen to myself for five minutes. What is my audio vision of myself? Okay. There's a visual of myself with the audio and I'm listening to it. Ums likes, whatever it might be. How do I sound? Do I sound too engaging?

Am I too quick? Um, and you have to be open and real with yourself. Cool. Turn the phone up, turn it on. Put it on mute. And I watch myself for five minutes. What was this about? What was this move I did, or, you know, why do I keep on doing the Bill Clinton where I go like this? Um, it's like my favorite go-to move.

Everyone, everyone watch, watch Bill Clinton, and he does one of these. Um, you know, so I'm watching for cues for five minutes, and then I use an app. There's a bunch of 'em out there, and I transcribe the words and I read them. Does it make sense? Why did I use like in that? Or, um, why is there a break right there?

And I'm, I'm grading myself on my performance and five minutes, five minutes and five minutes to read that thing. And within 15 minutes you've got a good, you know, how you look, you know how you sound, and really, you know, how impactful are my words? For instance, uh, very, really, I'm very angry about this. Or I'm really tired.

Okay. Varying really, you could find a different word. There's a different word that could be more impactful for the audience. So in looking for that as I read it, how, why did I do that word there? Why didn't I come? Why didn't my vocabulary come out with something that was better? Um, so I call it the five fifty five rule.

You do it once a week and you'll get better in front of a camera. I'm gonna fuck around and do that. This Sunday I was watching a piece of content. I shot God a few weeks ago. Tons of like, and like, and like, and I'm like, for God's sakes. Why the fuck did you say like 37 times over the course of 19 minutes?

Yes, I know. Um, but the but don't, people don't see that about you. They only see the guy on the podcast who, you know, has got stuff together and can formulate and string together the sentences and talk intelligently about a number of things. They don't see that side of it where you're grading yourself, um, on a video where you didn't like the way you sounded.

Um, and so that's, that's pretty cool because not a lot of people are able to do that, be self-aware enough or emotionally intelligent enough to be able to, to look at their videos that way. Yeah. Thanks, man. I, how do you, okay, so something that I struggle with is always wanting to be better. I, I explain it like this.

I'm running a race that is life. And it could be my business, it could be in a game of basketball, it could be whatever it is that I'm doing. And I look at it like that activity is a race. You could look at the micro macro level, and the way my mind works is as soon as I'm about to cross the finish line, that finish line moves two miles down the road, which is amazing from like a productivity standpoint, very, very productive person in my opinion, and from what other people tell me.

So the challenge with that is that you never get to enjoy the dubs as much, right? Like you get the victory and it's like, man, you're right off to the next fucking goal. , do you experience that at all? Yeah. But you're doing something that I struggle to do. I at least I'm, tell me if I'm right on this.

You're putting some kind of, um, when you say a goal, I'm sure there's a number, there's a tangible thing that tells you whether you lose or you win. Mm-hmm. , I, I wanna do five podcasts this week. Um, like it sounds like you have a goal, you hit it, then you move it to six podcasts the following week. Is that, do I understand that right?

Yeah, because this is what I struggle. Yeah. I don't do that. This is my biggest problem with goal settings. Um, especially when I don't understand something or I don't know if I'm gonna be good at it. Um, I will do something like, I'm gonna do more podcasts this week than I've done before. What does that look like?

How much do you do before? Well, I think I've done five in a week. Six in. . Okay. How do you know that then, Patrick? How do you know whether something is better? If you have no attainable, you have, you've not put a number to it. You've not, you don't have a goal. That's because then I moved my line in the past of what I've done.

Well, I think I did pretty good this week. I did four. It wasn't more than ever, but it was good. And I don't, I don't hold myself accountable to the number cuz I never gave it a number. I never said what the actual goal is. And I think a lot of people struggle with this man because it makes it a lot easier to fail when you don't have that, whatever word I'm looking for.

But you have a number associated with it, it's measurable. That's what I'm looking for when you have a measurable goal. I struggle with that a lot. Um, you know, it's a lot easier when I can just push it off as I did. Good. I did a lot of podcasts this week, . Okay. Did you, at seven, did you, did you do seven like you said you were gonna do?

Well, I never really gave myself that number so I can mentally scurry my way out of the fact that I failed. Um, not, I did good. Not that I was close, failed because I said seven was what I needed to do, and I did six. That's a yes or no of black and white, and I've struggled with that in my life a lot. So there's an opportunity here, there's an opportunity for value to be derived on both sides of, of the frequency that we're transmitting on here.

So why don't we, we're not done yet, but, um, while we're in this conversation, we'll circle back maybe later on today or tomorrow, and we'll both define something that over the next seven to 30 days, whatever is, there's a weeklong goal 30 day goal. And we'll be accountability partners for each other for one specific thing.

You got item, man, it's a deal. And then we, and then we'll, we'll broadcast if we want to. We can broadcast what the goal is, um, and hopefully inspire others by doing it. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's a great idea, man. I really do. I like that. This is good. See, just tons of value coming my way from you. Thank you. Um, yeah, I love it.

What type of, you had mentioned drugs earlier, right? You're like, whether I'm drinking, I'm doing drugs. What kind of impact has drug made, have drugs made on your life in the past?

I think what, what they do to you is they mask, they mask the problems that you have with yourself by giving you a momentary reprieve from really who you are inside. So masking that problem that you have with yourself. The anger or the disappointment or, um, the, the, the, I guess, yeah. Those are two big ones for me.

And even if it's not, I didn't even recognize that I had it. What it did is it gave me the ability to put life away for six to eight hours. and to just feel like I was the man. Mm-hmm. . Um, because I could feel that way when I'm, you know, you know, got a bunch of, uh, let's play powdered Red Bull. Um, and when you got that and you're doing it, you feel so good.

Mm-hmm. , and I think that's why a lot of business owners choose cocaine. Yeah. Um, because they don't give them chance. They don't ever feel anything good. They just get this image in their head where they, they succeed and then there's a problem. Then they put out that fire, then they succeed, then they go home and they got bills to pay.

They got kids to worry about. They got all this stuff and it's just one after the other. And all people want is sometimes just to reprieve from it all. Yeah. Just gimme a freaking break, man. Let me just feel this like, I'm the man, I've worked so hard and I want to be the man. I wanna feel that way. Um, and I think that's what it did for me.

And it's sad because in the course of doing so, it's torn away. , um, years of my life relationships, and like many people who struggle with this stuff, it's a, it's a constant struggle. And I fall off at times. I'll be the first one to say that. Um, because I, I, I struggle with, I, I want to feel that way, and I think I deserve to feel that way because man, I put in all this hard work and I'm tired of feeling average.

Um, and you give yourself permission. And then after giving yourself permission, you are unproductive for two days, right? Because you've been out all night, strip clubs and partying and whatever else. Then you feel like crap about yourself. And it's this revolving door that, that's, that, that people get into.

Um, and it all comes down to insecurities and self worth. And I, I think that I've already shown, I've talked about a couple things here where that is something that I struggle with. Um, and hopefully by, you know, people don't, can say that, Hey man, we all got our own vices in life. Um, . And for some people it's, you know, porn, for some people it's infidelity.

For some it's drugs or alcohol, you know, other people, you know, it might be something else. Maybe it's even healthy. Um, but that's why I turned to it. Um, I just wanted to feel like, you know, hey, listen, I got this. I'm the man. And, uh, it didn't do that for me. Yeah, I, I mean it's, I mean, I struggled with drugs like 10 years ago, almost 10 years ago to the day I overdose on opioids, right?

Was Oh, started taking one or two lower tabs. It's fine, man. I'm super functional still at work, and I feel fucking euphoric. This is great. Uh, I'm gonna smoke a little weed with it. Well now I need three to get that feeling. And next thing you know, you're eating handfuls of pills and you're getting hit with a Narcan pen in the back of an ambulance, which I tell you it ain't fun.

And you know what I. It was interesting cuz that's right when like suboxone came onto the scene and they're like, oh, just take this suboxone. I'm like, nah, I'm just gonna go on a leave from work for three months and just sit in a room . It was fucking terrible. Um, I, I'm very fortunate to have made it out of it, but yeah, I think, uh, you know what I, and then I got into alcohol and, you know, just switched my compulsive energy to alcohol.

It's fine. I'll just drink a bottle of liquor and a bunch of beer every day. Um, and I had an aha moment and I was walking my dog and uh, I was thinking about how ni you know, my daughter at the time I think was like 10, 11, 9, somewhere between nine and 11. And I'm like, oh, it's gonna be so great when she has kids and like, I'm grandpa and you know, we get to hang out with grandkids and then send 'em back to their mom after we're done hanging out for a few hours.

And then I'm like, you know, I think about it, I'm like, dude, you're gonna be fucking dead by the time you're 40 with the way that you're drinking. Like, if you don't fix this shit, um, , and that's when I, that was like my aha moment. Then fast forward like three years and Covid came mm-hmm. and I fucked around and relapsed during Covid because like people that are good at selling though, selling, right?

They can sell themselves equally effectively. Right. So like three years I had gone by, I'm locked in a fucking house for four months, I'm in New York. It was tough here. Not, not that it wasn't tough everywhere else, but uh, you know, I'm not the type of person that can be confined to a small space. I start going crazy apparently, and I'm like, you know what?

I'm three years older. I'm not, you know, I'm not an addict anymore. I'm, I'm way more mature now than I was then. I'm far more better equipped to, to exercise discretion and moderation. Listen, that was a fucking nightmarish mistake, . It was, it was literally like three to four months of drinking from fucking noon until the time I passed out.

You know, start with a glass of wine, evolved into fucking, you know, mojitos and bottles of Titos. And I'm like, you know what, dude? You just have, you have an issue that you're not going be able to moderate these things. Um, do you have a golf, Patrick? No, I don't. Mm-hmm. Can't do it. Try to, don't have the patience.

I suck at it too. Um, so when you hit the ball and you try to edit it straight and it curves off to the right, cuz the way you're striking, it's called a slice, right? And I always tell people like, you can fix your slice, which is way more challenging, where like you figure out mechanically what you're doing wrong or you can play your slice right, where you just aim to the left and hope it comes right back and ends up.

And I feel like that's what I do in life is I play my slice. So I still have all that compulsive energy. I just try to focus on things like podcasting and, and, and working out and working and, um, yeah, that's where we're at. So, well, I've yet to find, and maybe you agree, like you, you, if you were to go back and do some of those pills right now, and I was with you and you know you did 'em, I doubt you'd be like, man, this feels like crap right now.

Um, you'd be singing, this feels good. I remember why I did this stuff. I remember why . Yes. And then, and then for me, I, I say this about, you know, with, with Koch, and I tell people, this one, I've never met somebody who did that. And then the moment they're like, man, this feels like crap. You know? And that's what makes it, what I've seen is somebody go and go, okay, I can see why people get into this shit

Um, and so when you, when you do that, we talked about it earlier with, you know, not letting it have the control over you when you realize like, man, this does in fact feel good and it does have some impact on my body. And it does have an effect on my life. Um, and you start to say that to yourself, you will look at the decision differently to do it.

Um, and the, the, the thing that I use is you don't have to make, you don't have to make good decisions every day. Sometimes you just have to make the right decisions in the moment. And for the friends that I've worked with or that I've talked to about this, if you're having that issue, I say take immediate action in a different direction.

And it has to be physical. Um, it has to be done. You have to do something. And even if it seems so small, for me it was just walking outta the room. I'm gonna walk out, walk down to the end of the end of the driveway, and I'm gonna walk back in. Alright? Am I still gonna make the same decision? Maybe I might, I might.

And there's a good chance I will, but might just go, I don't need to do this. That's a win. That's a win. And you have to give yourself credit for a win. . Um, and you may go back and do it two days later, but that moment you got right there damnit you won. And, and you should give yourself credit for that. And you may fail later.

You may fail 10 other times, but that one time you showed yourself that you got some real guts to you, you got some brass balls. You, you did it that time. Well, I just walked down the hallway or down the, the, the driveway. Mm-hmm. . Yeah. But you did something right. And that to me is where the victories are and these small moments and my, the advice that the only thing that helped me was immediate physical action to do something different.

And I still struggle with it today, but because it's gonna be good when you do it. Take the action to go in, go in a different direction. Maybe you win, maybe you don't, but you gave yourself an opportunity. Yeah. But you know what, dude, those, you know, every winning streak starts with one win. Right. Good point.

Yes. You know, so, , um, you know, those small, those small wins can compound into fucking massive gains. So I really do like that approach. That's, that's really good insight. And it works for everything else too. You wanna go to the gym, okay? You don't have to go to the gym and work out. You can go to the gym and just walk in the treadmill.

So why don't you take immediate action to do it? Well, I'm sitting down right now, then get up. You don't have to do anything more than that. I'm not saying you have to do anything other than get up. Well, now I'm at the gym. Now what? Walk . Walk on a treadmill walk. Put one foot in front of the other. Because sometimes, man, that's all you might have in you.

And because you think like, oh, listen man, all I can do today is this. This is all I can do. That is my cross to bear today. And the only b the burden I can carry is walking. Cool. Um, then walk. Most of the time what you'll see is that, that burden you thought you'll get there in 15 minutes and you're like, well, I'm, I'm here.

I've beared this cross. Let me go over here and put something up and lift it up. . Um, and I think that people would far underestimate the burden that they can carry because they're unwilling to try to carry it. Um, and so carry that burden, put it on your shoulders and find the purpose with your day by taking immediate action that's gonna make your life better, um, and, and rewrite the story that you've told yourself in your head that you're not in shape.

That I can't do it today, that I'm too damn tired by just taking one minute or one moment, one second, to get up off the couch, to walk to the end of the driveway. Do something that's gonna physically put you in a different state, and then you'll make an immediate impact in a positive direction, and you'll change the story that you tell yourself about who you are.

Isn't it fucking wild? How strong our minds are and how like self-limiting what goes on in our minds can be. That's so true. And like, I mean, yeah, I mean the story, we've told ourselves a story for years. You're not smart, you're not in shape, you're not an athlete. . I can't do what? I can't do that cuz I'm not good in front of a camera.

Um, I'm not a good boss because I can't motivate people. You've told yourself a story probably since you were in elementary school about who you are, but you don't even know why you feel that way anymore. I'm not good with numbers. I, I told myself that then all of a sudden I started to realize I'm not bad with numbers

Um, but I told myself that cuz I couldn't, I wasn't good in calculus in high school, so how am I'm not good with numbers all these other smart people are. Um, and then maybe you should just try to stop telling yourself the same damn story and tell yourself a different one and your mind might take over and make you a better person.

Um, like you said, has such control over how we feel about ourselves. Mm-hmm. so much control. Yeah. And to that point, fuck calculus. Okay. never used that crap in my life, ever. I, um, dude, I did really good at math up until, uh, advanced Algebra and Trigonometry. We started doing that shit and I'm like, I just checked out and, uh, dude, I think that was the year.

So my dad was an interesting guy. He was a roofer slash gc and, uh, we got these five week reports, right? Like, let, we'll let you know how your kids are doing in school. So these motherfuckers sent him out on like the 23rd of December, and I had like four of my grades that were in the seventies. This dude flew off the handle.

He threw all of our presents into the back of the truck in the middle of like a fucking snowstorm and dropped us off at our mom's house and. I'm thinking at the school, I'm like, it's your fault. It was my fault. Cuz my grades weren't to where I knew they should be, but um, that was fucking . That was wild dude.

Yep. Oh yeah. And, and algebra and trigonometry had a big part in that. So Miss Odessa, if you're watching God damn you. Yeah. Yep. I remember my lidy, I'll tell you, the teacher who has the biggest impact on my life is a, a speech therapist. Um, in a positive way. I had a, miss Pendry was her name. I couldn't, I couldn't speak to save my life and I still have a lisp that comes through.

Um, so it used to be something that really bothered me. Um, it still bothers me, but that, that lady had a big impact on my life. I think it'd be kind of cool to see whatever happened to her because, you know, I definitely would not be able to sit in front of a camera or done some of the things I've done in my life if, you know, that was constantly what I was thinking about.

And, uh, that was a, that was a big impact in a positive way. I couldn't pronounce like five different letters. No shit. Ss how old were you when you met her? second grade, I don't know what people are, it's second grade, so it had to be, you know, I don't know. Somewhere around being like six or seven, I would say.

Yeah, maybe a little bit younger. And I remember it was, it was embarrassing cuz they got pulled outta class and everyone, yo, you're one of the speech therapist, you can't talk. Um, and I went for five years throughout elementary school and middle school, um, trying to, you know, get my speech to where it was, you know, somewhat, I don't know, impactful or people didn't have to only listen to a guy who sounded like, uh, Rocky Balboa.

Um, and uh, so that helped out a lot. Miss Pendry. I remember that. Well, miss Pendry, thank you for y you know, I would love to find a way to make sure she gets that message. Do you know how fulfilling that would be, fucking 30 years later to, to hear the impact that you made on somebody's life to that degree?

Yeah. The only, only teacher's name I probably remember is hers and, uh, although embarrassing, she never made me feel like I was less of a student or a person. , um, or a kid because I didn't talk like everybody else. And it's funny because now people will tell me that maybe the most thing they remember about me is the, the voice.

Um, and I find that almost to be so ironic that it was one of the things that held me back as a child, but now maybe is, uh, maybe it's something that people can remember in a positive way. Um, and uh, yeah. So it's interesting how that works. Miss Pendry. I mean, you, you'd make her fucking, I don't wanna say life, but it would be making more than making her day.

I can't, dude, I can't imagine. I'm trying to put myself in her shoes and like having a student come up to me decades later and be like, I can't express to you how big of an impact you made on my life. Right? Like, like, let's be honest, when you're a teacher, you're not doing it for the money. No. Right? Like, teachers don't, I don't know.

From what I understand, they. , I mean, for the, for the future of our, of our country and the, the, the folks that are gonna be a part of it, to be being educated by teachers, for them to make what they make, I think they should make a little bit more money. Um, a hundred percent. You know, so, you know, I, I think that's what they're pursuing is that feeling of making a difference.

Man, that would be so meaningful. I'd love to be able to facilitate her hearing that. Me too. I wouldn't, I, I'm sure you know, now that you, you mention it, I've mentioned her a few times on various pod on my own podcast a number of times. Um, and, uh, it'd be pretty cool. Um, I really, you know, I think maybe a broader point is that we all are, we all are struggling with something in life.

And when somebody can make you feel like what you're struggling with, um, is okay, and they can help you work through it, and they look at you and say, Hey man, I got you. I ain't gonna leave. , um, you're gonna work through this. We're gonna get through this. I have the ability to get you better. Um, I know it's hard now, but you're gonna make it.

And you get somebody who follows through on that and sits there and, you know, not like 20 years later she contacted me and go, Hey, listen, I saw you had a little success in business. Really would love this, this and this. They do it completely selflessly, like, man, that, can you make a good point? You just never know the impact that can make on a person when you just recognize that, man, I get what you're going through and we're gonna get you somewhere else.

Yeah. Yeah. That's, dude, this was fucking amazing. Well, I got a question for you. End it. You got somebody that comes from, I mean, it doesn't have to be a teacher, but you got somebody that comes to mind. Somebody you think that if they, they made an impact on you, they don't, that you don't think, like, you don't think they know the impact they made on you.

It could be anybody. I'm just, I'm just curious. For me it would be, You know, maybe he did know he's passed, but my stepfather really funny. Um, yeah, he, uh, I mean, so we, I mean, we grew up in a, in a situation we weren't dirt poor, but we were far from well off, or I would say even financially stable. But I'll tell you what, man, every year starting when I was like 11, he, uh, he would take me, he would bring me to Jim Kelly football camp.

I love football, always played football, right? And I, I was, I was the kid, right? I was always like, struggled with my weight. Like Saturday morning, I'm 78 pounds when I gotta be 75 pounds, he would take me to go run in a fucking garbage bag to get those last three pounds off every fucking week, like clockwork, right?

But, um, you know, right around 11 or 12, they asked me if I wanted to start doing Jim Kelly camp. And I'm like, you know, it's interesting as a kid, like you try to be like aware and cognizant of what's going on. I'm like, It's really expensive. It was a really expensive camp, you know, it was like, you know, 300 bucks for the week or something back in, you know, 1999.

And I was like, yeah, I mean, I'd love to, but can we afford it? Right. Um, and I, you know, he's like, we'll make it happen or whatever. So like, not only would he, this fucking guy, this is just a testament of many of his character. He would take his one week off from work and drive me out to football camp and fucking sit there and watch every drill all day long, all day long.

Like, you get like, and you don't know what that means as a kid, but then as you become an adult and it's like, dude, if you get a week or two off to spend a fucking week at camp with your kid all day, no. No one else's parents did that. They dropped him off. Come pick him up. And, you know, that's just how much that show that he cared was just fucking amazing.

He was such a good dude. Yeah. That's cool, man. You, you think you, you take some of that now into your life. . Yeah, I'd like to think so. Um, you know, we'll talk, you know, hopefully in 20 years, you know, or 10 years when my daughter's older, she's 15 now. I'll, I'll circle back with her and ask her, does any of these things from Grandpa Dave shine through, um,

Did I completely boss this? You know, be honest with me. Uh, , that's great. Yeah, no doubt. No, man. Um, I very cool, man. I see us having many conversations in the future. Um, I am incredibly grateful for you taking time and engaging in, in con, truly meaningful conversation that I just know is going to make a huge impact to somebody, if not a ton of people.

So, thank you very much, Mr. Carr. Uh, I, I appreciate it from you, man. And what I'm, what I said in the beginning, I mean, the world needs more people like you. Um, your, your interest with the people that step in front of you is important and needed. Um, you take a genuine interest in the people in front of you.

and it is very cool to see. Um, and, uh, it's, it's so needed. Um, I hope you continue to do it. I really do, because I think that it's making a very positive impact. And as we said earlier, sometimes you don't know how great of an impact it's making, but I think you're definitely doing that. I, I know you are.

I've, I've seen it myself. Um, so I hope you continue to do this, man. I think people will really appreciate your authenticity and who you are as a man. That means a lot to me. It really does, dude. Um, thank you. I'll tell you what, man. I re thanks for having me on the show. Uh, thanks to your team. If there's anything I can do, You know what we can do?

Whatever else, man. I'm here. Likewise, brother.