-I don't actually have any employees.
-Where the word entitlement can be softened a little where it is?
-I have not because that would then. -That would ruin it.
-Oh, don't get me started now. We really...
So, tell me a little bit about your workforce.
You've mentioned you there's 31 people. -23 of those are in the Philippines. -Okay,
so I know we've talked about the Philippines in the past. We've talked about
outsourcing to the Philippines and so, 23 now you have? -Yeah, soon because of we'll probably
add another four. -So, that leaves eight here U.S based and what are their jobs primarily here?
Is this production people? -Mostly a great team here we've got two videographers helping film.
So and coaches that help coach and film our clients here. But all the work behind the
scenes is done in the Philippines. -Okay, so, when you're operational in Florida, what size
of a team do you anticipate needing to have there and how will that look?
How do you go about doing that?
How do you select the right candidates?
Things like that. Tell us a little bit about maybe your
hiring practices. -Yeah, well, I'm just from what I've learned as I've built the team here in Utah
I'm doing the same thing. I actually just found a great couple that I'm hopeful to work with.
They're a couple have been working together in videography and they sent me some samples
of their work that really match the type of work that we do that they show me that. They have that
they don't need training on the videography side I'll just need to train them on my system.
-Yeah. -So, it's really like. -How did you come across them? I mean,
how do you... -I signed up for LinkedIn recruiter which
there's different ways that you can pay money to LinkedIn but LinkedIn gives
because LinkedIn has a lot of data. So, I searched for videographers
in Florida and I combed through to just kind of give an initial assessment and
then I sent them an email about what I'm looking for and I've started to get
replies. LinkedIn limits me to 30. I guess it's 30 per month and I'm like, "Well, okay, but what can
I pay you more?". -But we want to know more of your money only 30 and so you've...
Have you asked these two if they want to relocate to Florida? Does that sound
like a plan? -I have not because that would then. -That would ruin it ruin it.
You'd lose a great couple. -Yeah, that is a shame.
You know maybe when you open a hub in Paris or something or maybe Sydney something like that.
-I know you were hoping that we were filming in Florida today. -Yeah, I'm sure eventually we will.
So, but tell me a little bit about how you know your leadership slash management of these people?
Let's talk a little bit about that. Because you come from a background where you were mostly led
in your early roles and then you worked alone for a number of years bootstrapping it. Now, I mean,
suddenly, because I've known you for 4 or 5 years and just in that time you've gone from being
Nate Woodbury, the magical man. What did we call you? Follow me Nate. Love me Nate.
What is it? -I don't know what you called. -The Nate wizard? What's your? -Be the hero name.
-Be the wizard. -Yeah, be the hero. But I mean, to now having a team of 31
and now you've got more. How did you learn that? What's your philosophy?
In terms of leading people now. I mean. -So, I've got a lot to learn when it comes to leadership.
I found that my role is creating systems that's my strength and if I can create a system then
it's easy for me to hire people that enjoy that role and that are good at fulfilling that system
and then what I've also had to learn to do is to praise and I'm so bad at it. I rarely praise.
I typically when there's a mistake I can like, "Remember guys, we're supposed to do it this way",
-It's human nature. -So, that is a big weakness of mine. So like to call
me a leader is like, I'm a struggling leader. The strength that I have is creating a system.
The weakness that I have is assuming that other people know how to create systems too
and don't get me wrong I do have a team member in the Philippines that he is good at creating
systems to an extent. But some systems he creates differently than the way that I would and I'm
really good at creating systems. I've hired other team members that I like you really need to
systematize this. You really need to and this is a person that's no longer with us but Utah based
and I really need you to leverage my team in the Philippines. Use your time where your time is best
you know and I just... my mistake is expecting him to be able to create systems like I can. Just like
look at it, "Okay, here's where we are. Here's the result that we need. We need to
have this part... All these pieces in place and then it can run automatically."
Where a lot of people are just used to running the systems and I just that's not a judgment.
Sometimes it is a judgment but it shouldn't be. It's more of just a difference. It's like I'm
a systems creator, I really struggle with being the runner of the system and other people love to
run the system and it because there's no pressure. -Yeah. -There's no pressure in running the system.
-No, I'm kind of that. I'm sort of the yang to your yen or whatever I mean like.
I don't care. I mean, I don't care to build the system or ideate it or anything. But train me on
it show me it and I'll go. I'll work every day and I'll love it you know provided that I do.
Now speaking of the help. It's you know the nice way of talking about employees.
You and I have had some serious conversations right here on your channel about employees.
Do you remember these conversations? I remember right there. -You've had some pretty strong...
-I've got lots of opinions. -Yeah. I mean, and you know the way it normally is
is not the way that you know the way that you see employee-employer relationships. So, having
said that now that you have 31 of them. -I don't actually have any employees. -Hey,
tell me what you have. -I've got independent contractors and I've softened.
I've softened and I've talked to people like, "Hey, if being an employee. If that's something
you want we can have that conversation." No one's replied to that, responded to that. So, I've got
my Utah people are independent contractors and the nature of people in the Philippines not
being American citizens they can't be employees. So, I kind of treat them like employees in terms
of I give them steady hours you know and we have expectations. They're more salary based.
But technically they are independent contractors. -Interesting. -Which I love because if they
having a team of employees just gets my blood boiling like. -I know. -Because with... -The word
entitlement. -Yeah, that's the word. It's like you can see it in my eyes that word entitlement.
-By the way, was your father an independent contractor as an electrician?
-No, he was definitely an entitled employee.
Complaining about his boss and I feel like as a boss I'm creating opportunity
and I put this opportunity out there. Even if it's like, "Hey, I've got this position.
You can flip burgers. I'm going to pay you $12." Is that what they pay McDonald's,
whatever? -Yeah. -$12 an hour. -10 to 12. -I just watched this video and it was
about like I think the person what company they work for? Walmart. I've seen a lot of
these videos but there was this lady that worked at Walmart, she felt entitled. She's
dedicated so much of her time and her personality to doing her job right and the company is all
successful and look at all this that they're doing. They should give raises. They should like,
"I can't survive", you know so this is her message and when you hear her story you feel the
emotion that she's experiencing and it's real emotion. It's like,
"I can't survive on this amount of money. We've got two income earners and yet
I can't afford the phone that I want. I can't you know, I have to take the bus like because my car
whatever I can't afford to repair it", and I look at that and I empathize yes, struggle is awful.
Like being financially broke is really stressful. I've experienced it. I know exactly what that
feels like. But she didn't have to take that job like the Walmart jobs and whatever her pay was I
don't know. It's like, "Hey here's an opportunity. This is the work that needs to be done and here's
what we're willing to pay for it", and the employee accepts it and so it's like
and we'll even give you this benefit. We'll even give you insurance or we'll give you this or that.
We can talk about benefits because those are golden handcuffs that I don't actually agree
with. I think employers instead of doing that should pay a higher amount of money just
like anyway, because then they're not there trapped but that's a different conversation.
I just don't think entitlement is ever a virtue. I've been dedicating myself to my
company. I'm entitled to a raise like for me when one of my team members comes to me and says, "Hey,
I wondered if I could ask for a raise?", "I'll look at what, you know what you are valuable to
me. Yeah, I'll give you a pay raise." But it's not an entitlement like if there's ever entitlement
I'm likely to let you go. -I think philosophically most people feel the same. There's some integrity
of here's an agreement we both entered into and no one put a gun to your head and blah...
But, yes, there are certain milestones in a person's career overtime where they know
that through their efforts the employer is continuing to increase his or her profitability
and the economy continues to change and the cost of living changes. So, there are certain places
where you go where the word entitlement can be softened a little where it's, "I think I'm due
a raise. I've worked for four dollars an hour for 18 months when I first started under our
agreement", so it sounds like you're willing and open to do that which is great and I think
I think that's where most people are. But especially if you're an independent contractor
that also is your choice. You know, you don't have to be an independent contractor.
You can work for an actual employer as an fte and then avail yourselves of whatever benefits
they choose to allow. Now, a days of course, health insurance is such a looming mandate that
I think some people actually take jobs just so they can have the health care and not have to pay
the ridiculous rates themselves. I know I've been an independent contractor for my whole
career almost and I took a job earlier in the year for a few months and then left but I still
have cobra. You know, so I have their insurance until the end of next year, I'm paying for it.
But it's a lot less than the crab that was offered me out in the Obamacare world of
offerings. Oh, don't get me started now. We really... that's a shame. -So, all of my
videographers are independent contractors and they don't work every day. They take
you know when a client's in town we get two people that are assigned that day and another
team will be assigned a different day and they do videography work outside there and we could talk
about all the advantages of being an independent contractor and having your own business
from you know the tax point of view and whatnot. But I love the freedom and I love
that I'm providing an opportunity and if they have a filming engagement that you
know that they're already booked for and it's more ideal for them. I want them to take that
and then if my you know if they ever get to... One of our team, she took several months off
except for she was available on occasional Saturdays. When we filmed on Saturday because
she had another opportunity come up and you know she was afraid to tell me about it and I said,
"You know what, take it and no problem. We'd still love to have you on Saturdays",
and now that opportunity is in the past and so now she's back available. Like, why would I discourage
her from doing that? She's not an employee. You know she's not captive to me. She had
another opportunity that was really great and you know we missed her because she's really talented.
But we still were able to get her skills on Saturdays and now she's back.
-Well it's just great. So, you're able to bring us back somebody that
really never left they didn't have to. -I think the big transition is from this is an opportunity
to now I'm entitled and this is unfair and that's what I... That's what really makes my blood boil
is when that woman at Walmart when she accepted the job. She saw it as an opportunity like,
"I hope they hire me. I hope that they pick me for this position", but now for whatever reason
it's flip-flopped and "I can't survive with this. This is so unfair. You're taking advantage of me.
You are evil", you know, and that's where I'm just like, oh just quit
the job and go get a different one then. -Which to some would sound overly simplistic
especially given maybe their gender or their race or socioeconomic status. Because sometimes it's
not that easy to just go get another job. -But I'm not saying what I did was easy. -No, exactly.
But the point is is that here in America if you want to you can pull a Nate. You know you can say,
"Alright, well, you know what I had to suck up a lot of debt and it kept me underwater for a number
of years. But all those efforts eventually paid off." Literally and figuratively. You paid off
your debts. You took some risks. You prayed about them. I mean, to me, that's that's where people
could look to you as a great example. -I mean, it's not like it was an easy journey. I did
the six years with world financial group. A year in the middle doing telemarketing sales
and then eight and a half years of struggle in this company.
What does that add up to? -Yea,h 11, 10. -17. -Oh, 6
8, 14, 15. -Whatever that is. -I'll have my team put a number on. -He's not a mathematician.
-I use a calculator now. It took 15 and a half years of business or entrepreneurial struggle.
-23 Youtube channels? -It was good in that there was kind of a pathway laid out for me.
On that channel, it averaged probably about 10,000 a month. -Yeah. good heavens.